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As Yugyeom walked to the Principal’s Office, backpack on his back and phone in his hand, he was trying to think of excuses. It was hard when he didn’t know why he was being called in the first place, but he had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.
Yugyeom sighed, annoyed he had to be called not even five minutes before the final bell to signal the end of school rang. If he was right, and this was something bad, he’d be talking to the principal for a whole lot longer than five minutes.
Yugyeom pushed open the office door and stepped inside. The woman at the desk, the one who took late calls and sick calls and things of all kinds, gave him a firm smile and gestured for him to go inside the office. Yugyeom pushed that door open, too, and watched the head of the school snap up at the noise.
“Ah, Yugyeom, why don’t you take a seat for a minute. I need to finish this up, it’ll take just a moment, and then we can talk.”
Yugyeom wanted to groan out loud. If he was being called down here, his time after school going to be interrupted, why couldn’t this fucking guy make it a little bit more bearable? The boy pulled out his phone and started scrolling, though it wasn’t like he had much to go to through. There was one text from BamBam, his older brother, that he hadn’t bothered to read. It most definitely said something about covering for him skipping out on school. That’s probably what this meeting was about, to be honest.
After a few minutes passed by, the bell that signaled the end of the day rang, and Yugyeom huffed. After some more time, the principal tucked the papers he was writing on into a file and neatly placed it into the filing cabinet. He shut the drawer and finally turned to face Yugyeom; he wore a thin smile.
“Yugyeom-ah,” the man began in a friendly manner that had Yugyeom fighting the urge to frown, “you are close with your brother, aren’t you?”
Yugyeom was right. This was about BamBam.
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Yugyeom nodded, deciding to go along with this. He wasn’t sure if the words he said were true, though. He and his brother had once been attached at the hip, but now Yugyeom wasn’t so sure about how close they were. With how BamBam had started skipping school and not telling Yugyeom why, or where he was going, Yugyeom’s image of his brother was beginning to diminish.
“That’s good, that’s good. And from what I've seen and heard, you’re close with your parents as well?”
“Sure.” Now that one, Yugyeom was definitely lying about. Once upon a time he’d been close to both his parents, and had been able to tell them anything without fear of being punished or reprimanded without a long talk and input from Yugyeom himself. Recently, though, something had happened between his parents and his godparents, and all four of them had basically been at each other’s throats constantly. The anger and stress had started showing up more and more at home, and his parents had been increasingly irritable with both him and BamBam. It resulted in more frequent yelling, disagreements, and to be honest, Yugyeom couldn’t remember the last time he’d just talked with one of his parents without the other making it a scene or one of them getting irrationally angry. He was sick of it, but they were his parents, he couldn’t do anything about it without getting yelled at.
“I’m glad to hear that, Yugyeom. Let me ask you what I called you down here for. Your older brother BamBam had become increasingly absent in the past month or so. Going from a student who achieved good grades to one with increasing truancy has me worried something has happened, and you may be inclined to follow him, as his little brother.”
Yugyeom wanted to run away from this conversation already. BamBam was probably somewhere, having the time of his life, and here Yugyeom was, covering for him time and time again.
“I’ve attempted to contact your parents, but it seems I only ever call when they are unavailable. I’ve sent some emails, to which I’ve gotten a reply, but I still wanted to talk to you.”
That one, right there, had Yugyeom a little surprised. His parents, for all their recent faults, were still pretty involved in his own and BamBam’s grades and things like that. To hear the principal say he’d called, but never received an answer, that made Yugyeom confused. They had the school as a contact for things like sick days, so hearing this had him a little concerned. It was unusual, but ultimately Yugyeom could sum it up to be his parents just not caring anymore. Whatever.
“Do you know where BamBam is going?”
“Listen, my parents must be forgetting to call him out sometimes or something, okay? He’s been pretty sick recently, so he’s had to go to appointments and he needs rest, and with everything going on I guess they forgot to call him in. They’re pretty busy already.”
The principal seemed to think about this for a couple moments. They sat in silence together, and Yugyeom sat back in his seat, still annoyed. He knew it wasn’t that believable, but if he was expected to continue to come up with excuses, then they should be expected to get worse. He’d already used up “got sick in the middle of the day”, “meeting with the school counselors about his schedule”, and “in the bathroom, he wasn’t feeling good”, as well as a host of others to tell his teachers where his brother had disappeared to.
“Thank you for this chat, Yugyeom-ah,” the principal finally spoke after a while. He gestured for Yugyeom to head out of the office, and Yugyeom bowed before making his way out of the office. As he passed the secretary, she gave him a smile.
Yugyeom pulled out his phone and wanted to groan. The principal, with all his stupid writing and waiting, had managed to keep Yugyeom fifteen minutes past the final bell. Begrudgingly, the boy made his way to the almost empty parking lot and to his car. Normally, at this point, he’d wait for BamBam, but it wasn’t like the older was even at school to be driven home.
Yugyeom climbed into his car and stuck the key into the ignition. He sat there for a moment, hands braced on the wheel, thinking. He let out a brutal sigh and turned the car on. He pulled on his seatbelt and swung out of the parking lot. He had a lot of homework to do.
——
“Yugyeom, come here!”
Yugyeom’s head jerked from where he had fallen asleep at his desk. He sucked in a breath, surprised, eyes blinking rapidly at the sudden awakening. He pushed himself up, a piece of paper falling from where it had stuck to his face for a moment.
He blearily pushed his desk chair back and stood, heading for the closed bedroom room. A few steps before he reached it, it swung open. He jumped a little, surprised, and looked up to meet the eyes of his Dad.
“Jinyoung, at least knock first,” came his Appa’s reprimanding tone, and Yugyeom didn’t like the quick glare his dad sent his appa.
“Why haven’t you cleaned the bathroom like I asked? And emptied the dishwasher?”
“Uh-”
“Jinyoung, if you would just listen to me-”
“Yugyeom, tell me.”
“Because it’s BamBam’s turn to do it this time? You asked him, not me. I already did the downstairs bathroom and my room, like you asked.”
“See, if you listened-” Jaebum tried to begin, but Jinyoung cut him off.
“Where is your brother?” Yugyeom’s dad asked him, catching his eyes, unwavering.
“I don’t know,” Yugyeom answered truthfully, and then came the lie, “but I think he mentioned he was going to hang out with Chan for a while after school. Did he not text you?”
At this, Jinyoung pulled out his phone. He frowned, and just as Yugyeom thought, his brother continued to use the same excuse with his parents. Always with Chan; at least he had some form of consistency that Yugyeom could rely on.
“Oh, I guess I didn’t see that,” his dad muttered, and Yugyeom really just wanted to close the door in his face. He loves his parents, but he really, really needed to study for a test he had the following day and he needed as much time as he could get.
“Gyeom-ah, can you please do your brothers chores?” Jaebum asked, and Yugyeom felt a little pit forming in his stomach.
He had two options here: he could say no, and run the risk of making one of his parents blow up or get mad when the other wouldn’t offer to do it themselves, or he could say yes and take time away from his studying.
Yugyeom sent a longing look at his books, probably the only time he’d ever do something like that, and turned back to his parents.
“Sure.”
He supposed it was worth the smiles on both his parents' faces. He hadn’t seen that in a while.
——
Yugyeom’s just finishing his warm up in the dance studio when BamBam opens the door. He tries to act like he’s not surprised, and he’s not sure how well he did, but considering the way BamBam looks like hell, Yugyeom’s not sure it mattered.
“BamBam, where have you been?” Yugyeom asked after he hurried over to the sound system and turned his music down.
BamBam shrugged, and Yugyeom scowled.
“Appa and dad made me do your chores, Bam. I’ve been covering for you during class, I even had to cover when the principal called me down to the office to ask why your ass hasn’t been seen in days. What’s up with you?”
“Oh, it’s not like it matters! By the time dad and appa get the divorce they’ve both clearly been avoiding, I’ll be 18 and out of the way, and they’ll be left fighting for custody over you. They both want you on their side, you know?”
“Hyung, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t tell me you’re suddenly blind, Yugyeom-ah. The only reason they’re still together is because neither of them want to be stuck with me. They both want you, and only you. When I turn 18, you can bet your ass they’ll be getting divorced the next day. Even uncle Jackson and uncle Mark haven’t been getting involved lately, and certainly not Youngjae, who always vouches for Appa. This is serious, Gyeom.”
“What’s serious is that you don’t seem to care about trying! Clearly I’ve seen our parents fighting, it’s not like they do it every day,” and Yugyeom’s sarcasm was beginning to take over, ”and you’re making it harder! The school is going to be making more calls soon, more of them and more frequently, and you won’t be able to stop them from finding out.”
“You know what, I lied! They don’t want you, they just want to get divorced and dump the both of us on the other! At least I’ll be able to get out legally! You’ll be stuck living in a house where nobody cares about you anymore! They’ll fight to get rid of you, but they don’t want abandoning you to be on their records, so they’ll just settle for joint custody and you will be bouncing back and forth between houses, and everywhere you go you will know that there’s nobody left who gives a damn about you!”
Yugyeom felt like he was suffering from whiplash after how hard BamBam turned his opinion. What was going on? Why was his brother, his best friend, turning on him like this?
“What’s wrong with you? You’re never-” Yugyeom cried, “never like this!”
“Maybe it’s because I’m not going to just sit around and take our parents yelling at us and yelling at each other. I’m not going to be a little bitch like you and bend to their every will!”
“What the fuck, Bam?”
“Oh, get off, dude, it’s not like you really care. I never should have talked to you in the first place, I knew you wouldn’t care and just be a pussy about it. God, grow up, would you? You can’t keep hiding in a lie, you baby, because it’s going to catch up to you, and it’s going to rip you to shreds.”
With that, BamBam pushed Yugyeom out of his way and stormed through the open doorway. The door slammed shut behind him and his loud footsteps echoed down the hall.
Yugyeom couldn’t stop the tears from building, and in all his desperation he couldn’t get them to stop falling, either. He collapsed to the floor and scrambled to the wall, tucking himself between the sound system and the shelf meant for bags, shoes, and water bottles. He pulled at his skin, his knuckles white from his tight grip, and struggled to breath.
What was going on?
——
Yugyeom got home right on time. He stepped inside and heard yelling, not coming from his parents, and he registered the cars parked outside the house belonged to Jackson and Mark, and the other to Youngjae. Of course they were here, because they probably forgot that Yugyeom was supposed to be home, too.
There was yelling from four voices, and then something that could be classified as a screech from a voice that could only be Youngjae, and Yugyeom wanted nothing more than for the house to be just a little bit quieter.
Yugyeom trudged to his room, numb. He ran into something on his way there and stumbled back. He blinked once, twice, realizing it was Jackson he was staring down at. The man, one of his godfathers, grabbed his shoulder and he stopped for a moment.
“Gyeom-ah, your parents said you weren’t home,” he murmured softly, but the way he almost phrased it like a question made Yugyeom’s mind start whirling.
“If they bothered to pay attention, they’d know,” Yugyeom replied, and he kept going, “this is the time i always get home. It hasn’t changed in years.”
“Yugyeom…”
The teen pushed open the door to his room and shut it behind him, absently going for the lock. He tossed his bag on the floor and sat on his bed and stared at the carpet. As if controlled by someone else, he mindlessly did his homework in the newfound silence, probably thanks to Jackson telling everybody he was in the house.
Yugyeom finished his work after a few hours, shoving it all back into his backpack with more force than necessary. He stumbled to his bed and sat, playing with his fingers and staring at the wall, unfeeling.
The doorknob to his room jiggled, then again more aggressively. There was a heavy knock.
“Gyeom-ah… open up,” Jaebum demanded, but the boy turned from the door. As the knob kept rattling, Yugyeom undressed. He dug himself under the covers of his bed and stuffed his head under a pillow to muffle the noise.
“Fine, if the damn kid won’t talk to me, I won’t talk to him,” Jaebum grumbled, and he stomped away from his youngest’s bedroom door.
“What, so you’re ignoring both of our kids now?” Jinyoung snapped, and Jaebum gave him a harsh glare.
“It’s not like you’re trying either!”
“At least I’m still talking to you!”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t be!”
“You know what, fuck you, Im Jaebum!”
In his room, Yugyeom fell asleep to the tones of his parents screaming, cheeks wet.
——
“Yugyeom, where's your brother? And don’t tell me he’s sick, I know he’s not,” Yugyeom’s math teacher asked, and the boy lazily looked up. The threatening stare and voice of his teacher caused the class to fall silent.
“Well? Where is he?” the teacher prompted.
“I don’t know,” Yugyeom replied, monotone. He had dark bags under his eyes; he looked stressed and exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in a while. The whole combination made his teacher pause, mouth slightly open, but they blinked and shook their head.
“Did Yugyeom just leave BamBam hanging?” somebody whispered.
“Did I just hear Yugyeom not covering for his brother? What the hell happened between the two of them?”
“Come on, now, Yugyeom. Where’s your brother?” the teacher prompted again.
“I’m not lying. I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since Tuesday,” the boy replied. A hush fell over the room, even if just for a moment. It was already Friday, so if the two boys who never separated hadn’t seen each other in so long, something must have gone down between the two of them.
“Oh,” the teacher said, stunned, “well, uh…”
Yugyeom slumped in his seat. He was exhausted. He wanted to go home; but did he?
——
“Park-Im Yugyeom! Get your ass down here right now!” Jinyoung yelled.
For a moment, Yugyeom thought about just not moving, and not going downstairs. He thought about what might happen if he locked his door again, and didn’t come out. He wondered, for a few seconds, if he could just ignore his dad, but he knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.
Yugyeom opened his door and trudged downstairs, lifeless. He stepped into the living room to find it a mess, something he certainly had not done, and both his parents looked disappointed.
“Why don’t you clean up after yourself?” Jinyoung asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Uh… I do.. and this wasn’t me?” Yugyeom replied, confused. It was clearly BamBam’s doing; his favorite chips were out, his shoes were the ones by the couch, the blankets pulled out were his favorites, and the TV was still playing the channel that always did reruns of his favorite show. Was this not obviously his brother?
“I’m case you haven’t noticed, Yugyeom, your brother hasn’t exactly been home to make this mess. Clean it up.”
“But-”
“Don’t argue with me! Clean!”
Yugyeom startled when his dad started yelling, but he wasn’t going to argue and prolong this any longer. He quietly shuffled to the coffee table and began tidying up. He moved from the kitchen to the living room with haste, cleaning everything up in under 10 minutes. When he finished, he practically stormed to his room, passing both of his parents on his way up with a glare that could set a room on fire, and only just resisted slamming the door so as not to create more chaos. He locked his door and vaulted onto his bed. He was so tired.
——
“Gyeom… I think you should probably just go home,” Jungkook murmured. He was sitting on the floor of the dance studio, one knee tucked so he could rest his chin on it, the other bent underneath him.
“I’d rather break my legs then go there right now,” Yugyeom replied offhandedly, still going through the dance team routine.
Jungkook sighed.
“Gyeom-ah, you should really talk to someone about what’s going on. Even if it’s not me, I want to know you’ve got somebody. BamBam?”
“Haven’t you heard? I literally haven’t seen him since last Tuesday. It’s been a week and a half, and I haven’t seen the person I’ve been closest to in my entire life in that time. Who the hell knows where he went, because I certainly do not know, and honestly, I don’t think I care anymore. If BamBam wants to ruin his life by skipping school and ignoring reality, good for him. Maybe one day it’ll come back and kick him in the ass.”
Jungkook’s mouth was slightly open in disbelief, eyes a little watery. This wasn’t really Yugyeom, was it? His friend, always so optimistic, so positive?
“Why… why haven’t you said anything?”
“I haven’t said anything because it’s not even the worst part!” Yugyeom snapped back, finally stopping his dance to turn on Jungkook and combust.
Jungkook let him have the time.
“I haven’t had a single day without either of my dads yelling at each other, for months. They dragged their friends into, and I’m pretty sure they dragged BamBam into it, and Jackson tried to apologize to me for them. I’ve been yelled at for problems that I didn’t make, I've been doing my older brothers chores for three weeks now. I had to clean up the mess he made at home, and yet, not once did I even see a glimpse he was there. My dad didn’t believe me when I said it wasn’t me because BamBam hasn’t been home in so long. And of course, one of them always ‘needs me’ for something, and when I don’t answer them they start yelling at each other. What am I supposed to say, Kook? ‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure my parents are going to get divorced and all my older brother has been doing is skipping school and ignoring me?’ Right, like that would come across smooth! They didn’t even know what time I’d get home from school, despite the fact that that specific time hasn’t changed in three and a half years!”
Jungkook sighed a little. He pushed himself up from the floor, wiping his hands off on his pants hastily. He hurried over to Yugyeom, who was still just standing in the middle of the studio, and he embraced him as tight as he could.
“It’s gonna be okay, Gyeom,” he murmured.
Yugyeom stifled a sob and let his head fall on Jungkook’s shoulder.
“It’ll get better, I promise. Maybe not very quickly, or soon, but it’ll get better.”
Yugyeom couldn’t do anything but nod. He didn’t stop crying for a while.
——
Yugyeom was back in the studio, this time he didn’t have anybody with him and the door was shut. The “do not disturb” slot was checked on, so hopefully he would go uninterrupted.
He had been dancing for at least an hour at this point, frustrated and angry and desperate to release his pent up emotions. It was working pretty well, but Yugyeom knew he probably wouldn’t be able to keep it up for much longer. He had the room booked for another full hour, so when he finished up maybe he’d just do his schoolwork in the comforting feel of the studio.
Yugyeom hummed as he continued to dance, sweat covering him. He’d already slipped off his hat and his shirt was tossed next to his bag. He was hot, and increasingly so as he continued to dance, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He just needed to relax, and if the only way he could do it was by dancing, then here he was.
Yugyeom slowed down his movements as an unexpected wave of dizziness hit him. He blinked a few times, surprised, and actually stopped moving. He shook it off. He didn’t have time to be dizzy or nauseous, he just needed to sweat away his problems and dance until he couldn’t remember how to do anything else. He needed release from his emotions, and he needed it immediately.
Yugyeom went in for another move; now he was just screwing around and freestyling to release tension. He took in a deep breath and shuddered in excitement, and kept going. He lost track of time, and lost track of how long he’d been going without a break.
Though exhausted, Yugyeom dropped to one knee for a spin and it all seemed to hit him at once. He wobbled up, still turning, and cried out in pain as his knee and his ankle shifted and twisted unnaturally. He hit the floor with a loud thud, nose smacking against the wood, and he felt blood running down his nostrils.
Yugyeom groaned, but let out a hoarse yell when he shifted his knee in an attempt to move. He felt his breathing speeding up, anxiety flooding his system. He struggled to maintain his breathing, and he could feel himself beginning to fully panic. He was soon taking short breaths, tears streaming down his face from this incomprehensible feeling of desperation and pain, and he just wanted his world to stop. He managed to flip himself over, but all it did was send a hot flash of pain searing through his body.
His eyes fluttered, desperate to stay awake, and he was shivering at the cold air, but he couldn’t force his eyes to stay open. They slipped shut as he passed out, alone in a dance studio, nobody caring where he was.
Absently, he wondered if his parents would see him in the hospital, if he ever got there.
——
“Hey, wasn’t Yugyeom-ssi supposed to be out of this room like ten minutes ago?” Jimin asked, a little confused.
“Yeah, he was… should we bother him? Didn’t Kookie say something about him and that he was having some personal shit going on? What if he just needs the alone time?” Taehyung replied.
“Yeah, but I really need to practice, so if he’s busy we’ll just say sorry and I’ll go find somewhere else. Besides, wouldn’t it be a good idea to check on him if he is having a hard time?”
“Maybe, yeah.”
“I can only hear his music going, I can’t even hear any steps or stomping or anything. Let’s just see.”
“Fine.”
Jimin opened the door after a hesitant knock with no reply. He stopped dead in his tracks. The younger boy was sprawled out of the ground, like he’d fallen. Jimin snapped out of it and rushed forward.
“Yugyeom!” he shouted, and he pressed a hand to Yugyeom’s head. He was burning up, but the rest of him felt cold. He scanned his body and a choked noise left his mouth.
Taehyung hurried in behind him, leaving the door ajar. He kneeled down beside the younger and Jimin shifted anxiously.
“Should we call an ambulance? What happened?” Taehyung asked.
“God, Tae, his knee, don’t look at his knee.”
Taehyung looked at the boy's knee out of reflex and felt bile come up, but he shoved it down. It was shifted out of place, and unlike what tended to happen, the dislocated kneecap had not popped itself back into its correct position.
“Ambulance, call an ambulance. He’s passed out and I think he did something to his nose when he fell. He’s bleeding. And he dislocated- oh my god, that’s gross.”
Tae nodded and pulled out his phone. He dialed and began to explain the situation. Jimin, tried to lift the boys head and pinch his nose to stop the blood, but to no avail.
The paramedics soon arrived, telling the boys they did the right thing to call. Yugyeom was shipped off to the hospital, leaving the two boys behind.
“Let’s call Jungkook. He might be able to get in touch with BamBam or Gyeom-ah’s parents,” Jimin suggested once Yugyeom was gone.
“They’ll probably call his parents at the hospital, but from what I’ve heard from Jungkook, apparently neither one of them has been picking up calls from the school, so I don’t know if they’ll pick one up from the hospital. Maybe they’ll pick one up from Jungkook?”
“Yeah, do that.”
Taehyung once again pulled out his phone to call.
“Hyung, what’s up?” Jungkook answered.
“Don’t freak out on me, Kookie, okay?”
“Yeah, okay, what’s going on?”
“Jimin-hyung and I found Yugyeom-ah passed out in one of the dance studios, and we're pretty sure he dislocated his knee, like big time. We called the paramedics to come get him. They said he should be okay, but didn’t really say anything else. Do you… do you know if something is going on with him?”
“Oh, for god's sake, hyung. Please come pick me up and take me to see him,” then under his breath, “I doubt his parents will come.”
“Okay, we’ll come get you.”
“Okay.”
——
Jungkook paced back and forth in the hall. His hands were shaking, but he wasn’t sure if that was his anxiety or if it was fear. To be honest, it was probably both. He chanced a glance at Tae and Jimin, who were sitting in chairs, watching him.
“Park-Im Yugyeom?” someone called, and the heads of all three boys snapped to look. They scrambled over, nervous.
“Are you friends? Or family?”
“I’m his best friend, these are my friends, they were the ones who found him. Please, is he okay?” Jungkook asked. Taehyung grabbed his sweaty, shaking hand and squeezed reassuringly.
“Please, follow me. He’s asleep at the moment, but he should be waking up soon,” the nurse explained as she walked the trio down a few halls and to a door.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” Jungkook prodded as they filed into the room, and he had to force his gasp down his throat when he saw Yugyeom.
“Yugyeom suffered from a pretty bad dislocated kneecap on his left leg, as well as a twisted ankle. They have both been set in place and are currently wrapped so he’ll be unable to move them. We’ll get him a brace when he’s discharged, and some wrap for his foot. He also broke his nose, probably when he fell due to the dislocation; the discoloration is bruising from the broken bone and the impact. He does not seem to have suffered from a concussion. Additionally, he seems to have been dehydrated and also probably hasn’t eaten in a day or so. We have him hooked up to an IV. He’s currently asleep, and due to his apparent exhaustion, we’re unsure exactly when he’s going to wake up, but he should be awake by tomorrow at the latest.
“Okay,” Jungkook whispered, nodding, “thank you.”
“Have you called his family?” Jimin asked, ever the one to worry about others.
“We tried to call his parents, but they didn’t answer. His emergency contact, a Jackson Wang, I believe, was called as well, and when he was unavailable as well they called the secondary contact, Mark Tuan. I am unsure if they got into contact with him. There was another name listed, Choi Youngjae, but I’m unsure of the affiliation to the patient. If any of you could get into communication with his family, that would be greatly appreciated.”
The nurse told them goodbye, and the three boys bowed in thanks. She left with a small smile, and Jungkook collapsed into the empty chair when she was gone.
“I think… I think I can find a way to get into contact with BamBam,” Jungkook said weakly, “because if he won’t answer me, or Yugyeom, there’s still a slight chance he’ll answer a call from Lisa or from Chan.”
“I’ll call Namjoon-Appa. I think he knows or works with the Jackson Wang they were talking about, right? Maybe he can get in touch,” Jimin offered, and Jungkook nodded.
“Tae, do you think you could try to call BamBam, too? Maybe he’ll pick up his phone with four people calling.”
“Of course.”
The trio tried contacting every single person they could to get in touch with somebody Yugyeom was related to, and after at least half an hour, Jungkook almost screamed.
“I got him! BamBam! Where are you?” Jungkook put the man on speakerphone for the whole trio to listen to.
“Ayyy, Kookie, what’s up?” BamBam asked, like he hadn’t been dodging calls for 30 minutes.
“BamBam, do you know where your brother is right now?” Jungkook asked, simmering with anger.
“No clue. Why?”
“Because currently he’s knocked out in a hospital bed and I don’t see anybody except for me, Tae, and Jimin around. The nurse said they couldn’t contact your parents, and you need to get the fuck over here right now.”
BamBam was silent.
“Hospital?” he croaked.
“Yeah, dumbass. Get here, now!”
“W-which hospital? Why? What happened?”
“He dislocated his knee pretty bad. Call your parents too, please. The hospital couldn’t contact them,” Taehyung added, but BamBam scoffed.
“What makes you think they’ll answer me if they don’t answer the damn hospital? Whatever. I’m coming, okay? Tell me if he wakes up?”
“Of course,” Jungkook promised, and BamBam hung up.
About fifteen minutes passed and BamBam practically broke down the door. All three boys already in the room jumped, but one look at BamBam’s face had their hearts clenching. He looked devastated, and his eyes were red rimmed like he’d just been crying. He stumbled his way to Yugyeom’s side and Jungkook gave him the chair. BamBam scooted as close as he could to the hospital bed and grasped Yugyeom’s hand in his own.
“Why… why is he asleep?” the boy croaked, rubbing at his eyes with his hand.
“He was passed out when we found him,” Tae told him, “and the nurse said he was exhausted. Said he was dehydrated and hadn’t eaten in a while.”
“Oh,” BamBam sniffed, “oh.”
“Listen, Bam, we’re going to head home. You need to stay with him, and you need your parents here,” Jungkook insisted. “We tried calling, but we couldn’t get in touch. We left some voicemails, and our Appa said he left a voicemail on Jackson Wang’s phone, but no answer.”
BamBam nodded, like it was all normal. For him, it probably was. Taehyung and Jimin shuffled out of the room, leaving BamBam and Jungkook behind.
“Text me when he wakes up, and if anything happens, okay?” Jungkook asked. He pulled BamBam into a hug, rubbed Yugyeom’s good leg and fixed his blankets, and then he was also out of the room.
BamBam sat there for a while, just holding his brother’s hand.
Eventually, BamBam sighed and pulled out his phone. Maybe he could get his parents to answer. Just maybe. Before he did so, or even tried to do so, a nurse stopped by to tell him visiting hours were ending soon. He told him his story, and she simply gave him a nod and let him be. It was better if he was here, especially if their parents never showed up.
——
“Bammie?” a gentle voice asked, one comforting hand on his shoulder and another running through his hair. At the touch, he slowly blinked open his eyes. He focused on his dad's face on his right, and his appa was standing above him on the left.
“Hey, buddy,” Jinyoung murmured, and BamBam was suddenly transported back to when he was a kid, a much earlier time. His parents hadn’t called him that in ages.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked, genuinely curious. They hadn’t answered his calls, but he’d only tried once for each parent, then he’d fallen asleep with his head pillowed on Yugyeom’s bed.
“The hospital called, and we were idiots. We’ve been making some really bad choices lately, bud, some really idiotic ones,” Jaebum added, “but we need to get past our problems right now. Yugyeom is hurting, just like all of us are, but he’s physically injured. The doctors said he was exhausted and dehydrated, and that he was probably stressed. We did this to him, we hurt him like this, and now we must help him heal.”
“Promise?” BamBam asked, sounding more like a child than he ever had before, and his parents nodded.
“We’re going to try.”
BamBam accepted the apology for what it was for the moment.
They all settled in silence for a while, maybe about an hour. It was dark out, and visiting hours had long since passed, but it seemed like they were going to be undisturbed for now.
BamBam and Jinyoung were fast asleep, the boy curled up into his dad. Jaebum was in another chair, holding onto his youngest boy, rubbing his thumb slowly over the back of his hand. Yugyeom twitched under him and Jaebum looked up to see his son's eyelids moving. He slowly opened them, clearly drowsy and disoriented, but he recognized where he was within moments.
“Appa?” Yugyeom asked, and Jaebum smiled.
“Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?”
Yugyeom shuffled.
“I guess I’m okay.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jaebum sympathized, cracking a little joke, and Yugyeom gave him a weak little smile.
“How’s the leg?” Jaebum asked.
“Dunno. Not too bad. Painkillers are probably doing something about that.”
“Gyeom-ah…. you know me and your dad love you, don’t you? We love you so much.”
Yugyeom didn’t say a word, so Jaebum laid his head down on Yugyeom’s stomach and looked up at his youngest child with so much guilt and regret.
“We’re going to do so much better for you two, please. We’ve been delusional to think you two aren’t impacted by our actions lately. We want to do better, make it better.”
“Appa…” Yugyeom murmured, so soft and watery, “Appa, why don’t you ever believe me?”
“What do you mean, kiddo?”
Yugyeom sniffed, holding back a couple tears, but he didn’t think it was worth it and let them fall. Jaebum reached a hand up and gently wiped them from his son's face.
“You and dad, it felt like you were blaming me for BamBam not being home, and when he came home for a night and left a mess, you didn’t believe it was me. Dad yelled at me. You… you guys didn’t know I got home from school one time while you were arguing, even though it was the same time it’s always been. I don’t understand… have I been doing something wrong?”
“Oh, god no, Gyeom. You haven’t done anything wrong, okay? It’s all me and dad, making bad choices and arguing and getting frustrated too easily. You shouldn’t ever have to worry about us, or be scared, or cry because of something your dad and I have done.” Jaebum took a moment to collect himself before continuing.
“You should feel safe and comfortable in our home, free to talk to your parents about things bothering you, not hiding away because your parents can’t end their pissing contest. Please, we’re going to try to do better, for you guys. I promise you, kiddo, we’re going to try everything we can. Jinyoungie and I are going to try some counseling, or couples therapy, or something to help us get through our problems. You should not have to deal with us screaming every night.”
“Promise? Promise you’ll try to get better?” Yugyeom asked, holding out his pinky finger. Jaebum caught his sons finger with his own and they curled them together. They brought their lips to their own hands and kissed them, like a kiss to seal the promise on.
“I promise,” Jaebum agreed, “we’re going to do everything we can.”
“Appa… can you… just stay here?
“Of course I can, Gyeomie.”
They clasped hands, and Yugyeom squeezed as tight as he could for a moment before relaxing.
Jaebum laid with his son, just watching him breath. Neither of them were asleep, but both were drowsy and tired.
“You awake, Gyeom?” a different voice asked, and Yugyeom flicked his eyes open to see his dad looking at him. Yugyeom nodded; Jinyoung moved BamBam and got him settled in the chair alone, and Jinyoung quietly picked up a different chair and scooted close to Yugyeom on the left side of Jaebum.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m okay, dad.”
Jinyoung nodded. He stood up and hugged his boy, careful arms wrapped around a lithe body, holding him close so as to protect him from everything he could.
“I’m so sorry. We’re so sorry,” Jinyoung murmured, pulling away. He ran a hand through Yugyeom’s hair, fussing over him, and Yugyeom just watched him. He watched how Jaebum smiled a little at Jinyoung’s actions, how the duo didn’t talk much to each other, but always managed to be sharing glances; he watched his parents get along for the first time in a long time, and he hoped it could stay like that.
After a while, Jinyoung settled back down in his chair. He ran his fingers down Yugyeom’s arm, soothing his youngest, and eventually slowed and fell asleep. Jaebum was quick to follow, still loosely holding on to Yugyeom’s hand, and holding on to Jinyoung with the other. BamBam was still asleep, on the other side of Yugyeom’s bed, head on the sheets.
Yugyeom stayed awake, looking at his family, and took a deep breath. Maybe things could go back to normal.
Just maybe.