Work Text:
Hopeless
It’s almost surprising when Yoongi, who’d just woken up from his slumber finds himself panicking after hearing a loud thud outside his bedroom door. He picks his phone off the bedside table and scans the time. He’s not even surprised to see that’s it’s only 6 in the evening. He usually wakes a tad later but Namjoon’s ruckus in their shared apartment is loud enough to wake even the dead.
There’s another crash and Yoongi hurriedly gets out of his bed. He dashes out the room, sweatpants hanging low and shirt rumpled. He scurries to their front door and sees his best friend sprawled on the floor. His bicycle is leaning against the wall and Yoongi’s thankful that it didn’t fall onto Namjoon. There’s a series of grunting and groaning escaping his lips and Yoongi crouches down before him, eyes wide.
“Namjoon-ah?”
Namjoon grunts again and lifts a hand to point his left rib. He’s still wearing his helmet and Yoongi is once again thankful that Namjoon didn’t hit his head.
“Hurts, hyung,” Yoongi furrows his brows. The elder quickly stands up and grabs his coat and car keys. He takes the black Vans cap and puts it on. He slips on his shoes in a haste and helps Namjoon up on his feet.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Namjoon only nods and lets Yoongi help him. Yoongi is thankful he sometimes joins Jeongguk in the gym. At least he can walk his massive of a best friend out the front door and into the passenger’s seat. It was a lot of work, but he'd managed. He arranges Namjoon’s seatbelt and runs around the car. Once they’re set, he speeds to the nearest hospital.
Yoongi assists him toward the Emergency Room and as soon as they got through the doors, a nurse runs to them.
“What happened,” Namjoon groans and tries to smile despite the pain.
“I hit my rib at the handlebar,” Namjoon explains, clutching tightly around Yoongi’s shoulders. Yoongi can’t even understand how the hell it happened. He should be focused on his best friend’s pain but he can’t help it that the nurse who’s helping them is just inhumanely magnificent.
His eyes are wide, brown orbs full of wonder. His lips are so plump Yoongi can’t help but imagine how they feel against his chapped thin ones. The apples of his cheeks are so high and smooth Yoongi wants to squish them. No. He wants to kiss his cheeks!
Okay—maybe Yoongi’s just hungry and Namjoon’s weight is already making him exhausted.
“We need to run a CT scan just to be sure,” the nurse explains. Yoongi nods dumbly and the nurse shouts for another nurse. She appeared with a wheelchair and they quickly maneuvered Namjoon on the chair. The lady nurse guides Namjoon to the Radiology department leaving Yoongi and the nurse with the angelic face.
“You’re his..?” The nurse trails and Yoongi blinks at him. He raises a brow at the way the nurse openly ogled at him. Or is Yoongi just starving that he’s starting to see things.
“Best friend,” the nurse nods and then steps back to retrieve a clipboard from the counter. He hands it to Yoongi.
“Kindly fill this with his details so we can run it into the system and make arrangements,” the nurse instructs. “You can sit there and I’ll get back to you in a minute.”
Yoongi takes the clipboard and the pen. He takes a final glance at the nurse, running his eyes from his head to his lilac scrubs down to his navy blue Crocs. The nurse eyes him back and then Yoongi almost chokes when the nurse smirks.
“Do you need anything else?”
Yoongi schools his reaction, eyes getting bored all of a sudden. He raises a brow back and shakes his head.
“Do you?” Yoongi says, voice low and challenging. “You look like you need anything else?”
The nurse only snorts. Yoongi watches as the nurse was about to raise his arms, probably opting to cross his arms but fights against it. Instead, the nurse flashes a forced smile and turns around. Yoongi couldn’t even understand how the scrubs can even look good at such a man.
Ten minutes later, Namjoon’s back and he’s transferred into one of the hospital beds. Yoongi approaches him and looks at Namjoon worriedly.
Namjoon flashes a smile at him, dimples still striking and Yoongi grins back, gums exposed and pink.
“Oh, so the best friend can smile,” the nurse from a while ago stands at the end of the bed. He’s carrying a sphygmomanometer and a thermometer. Yoongi glares at him and Namjoon chuckles seeing his best friend’s icy glare. He isn’t wincing anymore. He wants to say something but then Yoongi rasps back at the nurse.
“Of course I can, what do you think of me?”
The nurse squints his eyes at him and scoffs. He pulls the velcro's fastening of the cuff and ignores Yoongi.
“Did you just scoff at me?” Yoongi bites and Namjoon thinks his rib starts to feel better now. He glances back and forth, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.
The nurse walks around the bed and approaches Namjoon.
“I am going to take your blood pressure, Namjoon-ssi,” he reaches for Namjoon’s left arm and wraps the cuff around Namjoon’s bicep. He adjusts the Velcro and lines the tube properly before twisting the valve and holding the inflation bulb.
“You have a very hot-tempered best friend, Namjoon-ssi,” the nurse says, voice saccharine. It sounds annoying to Yoongi’s ears but he knows it’s just hunger that makes him think that the nurse has an angelic voice. Yoongi thinks he needs an IV drop with the necessary fluid, particularly caffeine, for his exhausted body.
“Yoongi-hyung’s just hungry,” the nurse’s eyes widen for a second and Yoongi didn’t fail to notice it.
Yoongi smirks and asks, “What’s your name?”
The nurse pumps the inflation bulb, eyes on the manometer gauge. After a couple of seconds, he twists the valve and only hums.
“If that’s your way of asking a stranger’s name,” the nurse responds uncuffing Namjoon’s bicep. “I am sure you can do better than that.”
Yoongi growls and Namjoon glances at him, eyes filled with worry. He’s not even sure what’s gotten into Yoongi acting like a high school student but he reaches for the sleeve of Yoongi’s coat and tugs at it.
“Yoong-hyung,” Namjoons whispers. The nurse then places the thermometer and calls for his attention.
“This will be just quick,” the nurse informs him. “Just making sure you don’t have a fever.”
Yoongi watches in silence as the nurse completely ignores him. He’s affronted but he can’t decide if it’s because of the attitude or the beauty. He knows it’s the latter but Yoongi holds on to the former.
“Didn’t know nurses in this hospital are rude,” Yoongi declares.
“The nurses are actually nice,” Namjoon pacifies. The nurse pulls away from the thermometer and checks it. He smiles at Namjoon and Namjoon smiles back, expression akin to embarrassment.
“Thank you,” Namjoon says, brows raised asking for the nurse’s name.
The nurse collects the sphygmomanometer and places it back in its metal case.
“My name’s Park Jimin,” the nurse supplies. “Your CT scan results will come in a few minutes. Your blood pressure and temperature are both normal so that’s a good sign.”
“Don’t doctors have to check on him?” Yoongi says next. Namjoon looks at him with wide wider eyes this time and he looks at Jimin apologetically.
“He’s just famished,” Namjoon explains and Jimin cocks his head to the side as if not believing him.
“He’s getting feral, I might have to sedate him,” comes the quick reply. Namjoon’s apologetic look has transitioned into horror and he can’t even pinpoint if his rib is the one in pain or his head.
Yoongi doesn’t stoop low, however, and responds.
“I bet you’d like to try,” Yoongi smirks and Jimin squints his eyes, clutching at the sphygmomanometer tightly against his chest.
“I could plug an IV into you, you look so pale,” the nurse retorts, evil smile plastered on his face. “From the looks of it, you lack necessary nutrition.”
Yoongi scoffs, “I don’t need anything, Jimin-ssi.” He crosses his arms and glares. If there’s one thing Yoongi doesn’t appreciate, it’s when people don’t praise his snow-like complexion. There are other good things he’d like to hear instead from Jimin’s mouth but he’s hungry and his brain can’t even supply appropriate words. He terribly needs his caffeine.
“Yoongi-hyung needs his coffee, that’s all,” Namjoon pipes up. He’s been completely forgotten, the tension between his best friend and the nurse drowning him. His rib isn’t hurting anymore and he’s thankful but the annoying knock in his skull is becoming unbearable he thinks he should get another scan.
“Coffee? It’s already 8 pm?” Jimin inquires. He’s already at the end of the bed and one hand at the curtain.
“He’s nocturnal,” the man in bed answers, and Yoongi continues to scowl but this time to Namjoon.
“Don’t share private information, Joon-ah!” Yoongi pouts at his best friend and pulls the lapels of his coat tighter.
Namjoon chuckles and then Jimin giggles.
“And I didn’t know you could pout,” Jimin says, taking another step back. “The doctor will check on Namjoon-ssi soon. There’s a café across the entrance of the Emergency room. I think you should get yourself coffee first.”
Yoongi feels the hair at the back of his neck rising and he looks away. This is not the time to get flustered so instead, he focuses on work, scripts, and all the boring lines he needs to record tonight once they get home.
If they get home.
Yoongi looks at the nurse and calls for his attention this time, in a serious and soft manner.
“Does he need to stay the night? Is it serious?”
Jimin blinks at the sudden change of attitude and looks at the two friends back and forth. He sees Namjoon smiling at him softly.
Yoongi waits for a response, hand creeping over the metal frame and in search of his best friend’s hold. He sees Jimin glancing at their clasped hands and he felt relief enveloping him when the nurse smiles.
“I think the results aren’t alarming. His other tests showed that he’s fine and Namjoon-ssi said that he didn’t hit his head. The scans confirmed that his head is in fact, safe. The doctor will come in just a few to do the last assessment and I am sure both of you can go home.”
Yoongi visibly deflates and when he glances at his best friend he tightens the hold in his hand. Namjoon smiles up at him, dimples and eye smiles.“You should get coffee and food, Yoongi-ssi,” Jimin suggests, pulling the curtains close and leaving them.
The elder blinks at the cloth and looks at Namjoon who’s now smirking at him.
“I’ll get coffee. Do you want anything?”
Namjoon grins evilly. “You’re flirting with Jimin-ssi.”
“I wasn’t flirting,” Yoongi quickly counters, voice high. Namjoon only clutches at his hold and raises a brow.
“You like him,” the elder groans and tries to pull his hand away.
“I do not. I think you should be banned from biking. Look where it led you.”
Namjoon chuckles and closes his eyes, hold loosening. Yoongi runs a thumb at the back of Namjoon’s hand and taps him at the wrist.
“Go get some food, hyung. I’ll just close my eyes and wait for the doctor,” Namjoon says, voice getting fainter and fainter.
Yoongi didn’t go, however, and just stayed with Namjoon. A female doctor informed them that Namjoon can now go home and that there’s nothing to worry about. They both bowed down in thanks and left the hospital. Namjoon might have teased Yoongi a lot of times during their walk from the Emergency Room to the parking lot and Yoongi thinks it’s Namjoon who needs to be sedated.
Questionable
It wasn’t a secret to their friends what happened to Namjoon. Even if they were only updated once they got home, Yoongi still informed his Seokjin-hyung and his dongsaengs about what happened to Namjoon.
Seokjin was frantic and did his best to rush into their apartment after he’s closed his restaurant. He spent the night with the two, nursing them both like Hoseok promised to drop by in the morning after he’s done with work. Taehyung and Jungkook dropped by in the afternoon of the next day, bringing building blocks for Namjoon to play with since Seokjin and Yoongi forced him to skip work.
Aside from Namjoon’s little accident, it’s no secret to their friends about Yoongi’s not so little crush on a certain nurse. Namjoon spent a good 4 hours elaborating, repeating, and gushing his hyung’s hopeless adoration.
“He’s gotten so shy he kept on bickering with him, it was adorable,” Namjoon said. Seokjin was hunched on their countertop, brewing tea for him. He was still wearing his uniform, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Yoongi hated all the teasing but he wouldn’t say out loud and deny that Jimin is beautiful. Since it’s true—Jimin is beautiful. And Yoongi is just an aloof, boring, voice actor for National Geographic South Korea. Narrating how predators catch their prey or how deep the ocean is. Sometimes Yoongi wishes he’s someone who actually is in the scene of action; thrill, energy, and excitement. But his nights are just spent working in his home studio, watching clips of animals looking into cameras and recording the narrative in its Korean counterpart.
Jimin looks like a duckling that got lost after playing for so long in the river. Yoongi thinks it resembles highly of Jimin and that alone is enough for Yoongi to think about the nurse on repeat.
He wished he has the guts to just march into the ER and ask Jimin for a date. But Yoongi’s a 28-year-old voice actor sharing an apartment with his best friend. His work schedule is so fucked up that he’s transformed into a total vampire. He’s never stepped out of his house while the sun is still out, opting to just sleep in the day and record narratives in the evening. He works better that way, and Namjoon has never questioned him.
Yoongi has total control of his schedule. The clips are sent 6-7 days ahead and Yoongi makes sure that he’s in good condition before the recording. So right now, as part of making sure that he’s physically and mentally well, he’s lounging in the living room, waiting for Seokjin to finish cooking their dinner.
Seokjin always has the habit of dropping by their house on Thursdays. He volunteers cooking meals for both of them and Yoongi loves it. It’s the only day, aside from Monday and Saturday that he doesn’t have to cook for him and Namjoon.
There’s a random show on the television, the sound on minimum volume. Seokjin’s cooking three meals at the same time and Yoongi offered help but Seokjin tells him to just sit down and relax.
And he should be relaxing but then Seokjin shouts. Yoongi sits up from his where he’s lying on the couch.
“Hyung?”
“Yoongi-ya,” Seokjin croaks and the younger is quick on his feet. He dashes toward the kitchen and sees Seokjin crouching by the sink. His left forearm is blaring red. He shuts off the stove quickly and Yoongi curses when he sees a small cut on his hyung’s right palm.
“We’re going to the hospital now,” Yoongi declares. He’s quick to grab his coat and car keys.
The moment he’s inside the Emergency Room exactly a week after he laughs at himself internally. He hopes it’s not Jimin who assists them because he cannot—
“Yoongi-ssi?”
Yoongi groans and tightens his hold around Seokjin’s waist. He feels the elder gets tensed beside him but he squeezes his waist in assurance.
Jimin is before him, lilac scrubs and navy blue Crocs. He looks like the last time he’s seen him and Yoongi thinks no angel should be in an Emergency Room. It’s cathartic. It’s insane.
And it’s insane how they’re meeting under such circumstances. He hadn’t realized that he’s been staring too long until Seokjin whimpers beside him. Jimin looks concerned and for the first time, Yoongi shuts his mouth.
“My hyung—”
“Let’s get you guys here,” Jimin is quick to lead them to one of the empty beds and Yoongi helps Seokjin in sitting down. The elder smiles at him, but it looks pained and Yoongi only nods, hoping it looks comforting enough.
Yoongi was silent during the entire ordeal. It’s maybe because Jimin is quick and looks more serious compared to the last time he’d been here. He himself can’t even find the strength to throw a remark or praise at the nurse who explained to Seokjin what to do. The burn can’t be considered a first degree and Yoongi’s glad about it. The cut on his right palm was given ointment and wrapped with a bandage.
Yoongi was silent as Jimin check for Seokjin’s blood pressure and temperature. He’s so deep into his own thoughts that he didn’t notice how Jimin keeps on stealing glances at him. Yoongi didn’t even realize when Seokjin let out a mall yelp when Jimin had tightened the cuff, unintentionally, around Seokjin’s bicep. Or how Yoongi didn’t realize the pout Jimin has on his lips when Yoongi was focused on Seokjin’s face.
45 minutes later, Jimin told him they can go home and Yoongi only nodded as he walked beside his hyung. He didn’t realize that Jimin was still pouting and just turned around to attend to another patient. When they got inside the car, Yoongi looked at Seokjin who’s also staring back at him with wide eyes.
“That was the Park Jimin?”
Yoongi turns on the headlights and locks the door.
“Seatbelt, please,” Yoongi mumbles.
Seokjin obeys and then ponders, “That was Park Jimin, Yoong-ya?”
Yoongi only nods blonde locks swaying at the movement.
“But he likes you!”
Yoongi almost chokes and whips his head to look at the elder.
“He doesn’t like me!”
“Oh he does,” Seokjin replies knowingly. “He’s been asking for your attention but you were just out of it. What were you even thinking about?”
Yoongi only shifts the gear to drive and slouches in his seat.
“Him, mostly,” the younger mumbles.
Seokjin snorts and pulls out his phone from his bag. Yoongi sighs and steps on the gas.
“It would’ve been better if you actually talked to him,” the elder tells him when they’re on the road. He informed Namjoon not to touch anything in the kitchen and wait like a behaved kid in the living room. Hoseok, this time, went straight to Yoongi and Namjoon’s shared apartment, worried that Namjoon might try something funny being alone.
“As if he’ll talk to me,” Yoongi replies and Seokjin reaches to clasp a comforting hand around Yoongi’s shoulder.
“What’s the harm with trying?”
Yoongi only hums and keeps his eyes on the road. But Jimin liking him? Questionable.
Poor
Yoongi’s just finished recording the latest episode for one program under Nat Geo People when his phone rings.
It’s 3 AM and Yoongi shrieks in his chair at the sound of his phone ringing. He still needs to edit a few parts of his recording but he ignores them for the sake of answering the call.
“Hello?”
“Hyung?”
He tightens the hold on the phone and abruptly gets up.
30 minutes later, Yoongi finds himself in front of the Emergency Room. Yoongi thinks that his friends are making fun of his old single life that they’d do anything just to spice it up.
Hoseok is still in the passenger’s seat of his car, unable to walk because he’s sprained his ankle. He looks exhausted too, probably from too much dance practice. As soon as he’s inside the Emergency Room that’s calm (for the third time), he lets out a small shrill when Jimin taps him from the back.
He turns around and sees Jimin with puffy eyes. He looks equally exhausted, too but he still looks divine. It’s unfair how someone who works in a place packed with so much intensity can still look so beautiful.
“I am starting to think that you want to live here,” Jimin says, left brow raised.
Yoongi rolls his eyes and runs a hand through his blonde locks.
“Sorry to crash your brilliant mind,” the blonde retorts. “I need your help.”
Jimin grins. “You always need my help. I am seeing a pattern here, Yoongi-ssi.”
Yoongi crosses his arms. The smirk that Jimin threw at him isn’t doing anything good to his poor heart.
“My friend—”
“Not your boyfriend?” Jimin teases. Yoongi scowls and glares at him.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Yoongi tells him and then he chokes after spilling those words. Jimin need not hear that. He pouts and scrunches his nose. “Jimin-ssi, I need your help and a wheelchair.”
Jimin’s face spikes with worry and he quickly nods before turning around to fetch a wheelchair.
They’re in the parking lot with Jimin pushing the wheelchair and Yoongi speed-walking beside him.
“So if it’s not a boyfriend,” Jimin trails, hands on the handlebar. “How can you be together at this hour?”
Yoongi wonders how Jimin can handle the cold breeze as they walk across the parking lot. It must be tough being a nurse. And Yoongi’s heart is handling something even tougher.
And when Yoongi’s heart can’t take it, he instantly spits shit.
“How can you be a nurse?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You just don’t look like you belong—”
“And you do?” Jimin pipes up, voice as cold as the cold breeze. Yoongi eyes him and opens a mouth to retort something smart but Hoseok voice slices through their heated conversation.
“I am hurting, bad, Yoongi-hyung,” Hoseok whines from the car. The door of the car’s already opened and Hoseok has stretched his sprained ankle out. “Hurry please?”
Jimin rushes to the car and ignores Yoongi. Yoongi would be offended but Hoseok needed him. They both helped Hoseok into the wheelchair and they silently yet quickly head back inside the hospital.
Another nurse approached Yoongi, handing the same clipboard that he’s been all too familiar with. He recalls one of the episodes of Nat Geo People he’s recorded and wondered why this Emergency Room is so peaceful? It’s maybe because they’re in the quiet part of Seoul but Yoongi is feeling grateful that he’s not seeing that sort of rush he’s seen on one of the episodes he’s worked on.
A couple of minutes later, Jimin and Hoseok came back from the Radiology. Hoseok’s settled on in one of the cubicles and he goes to check Hoseok’s blood pressure and temperature. Yoongi approaches them after giving the clipboard back to the lady nurse.
The two are laughing like they’ve been friends for so long. Yoongi isn’t even fazed at how it turned out. Hoseok’s always been so outgoing and approachable. He could easily make friends with a drunkard and Yoongi doesn’t even understand how his friend could do it.
“So you’re a dancer, too?” Hoseok asks and Yoongi raises his brow.
There’s a roll of bandage on the table beside Jimin and some spray. Yoongi only watches in silence as they continue chattering like he isn’t standing beside them.
“Only in high school. I couldn’t join any clubs in uni,” Jimin supplies, removing the cuff and placing it back in its tin can.
“For a hospital that’s considered high tech, you’re still using an old sphygmomanometer,” Yoongi comments.
Jimin only hums at him and places the tin can on the table. He grabs the spray and the bandage and bends down beside Hoseok’s sprained ankle.
“For someone who’s been here for the third time, you’re pretty annoying?”
Yoongi laughs lightly.
“Are you telling me I am pretty?”
Jimin glares at him from here’s crouched and Yoongi smirks down at him.
“I really want to sedate you,” Jimin grumbles, lifting Hoseok’s foot and placing it on his thigh. Yoongi can’t help but notice how thick his thigh is. Yoongi confirms that Jimin is indeed a dancer. It really is unfair how someone can still look good wearing lilac scrubs.
Jimin is carefully wrapping Hoseok’s foot with a bandage and Yoongi knows he should observe how it’s done because of the chances of him helping Hoseok with his bandage.
“That’s kinky,” Yoongi spits, and Hoseok yelps when the nurse pulls the bandage a tad too tightly.
“Ji-Jimin-ssi,” Hoseok’s whimpers were ignored, however, and Yoongi continues to smirk at the glare Jimin is throwing at him.
“You don’t look frightening,” Yoongi supplies, nudging his left shoulder nonchalantly.
“I can be frightening if I want to,” Jimin mumbles, loud enough for Yoongi to hear. He wraps the bandage around Hoseok’s ankle this time. He continues glaring at Yoongi, hands going on autopilot.
“I am frightened,” Hoseok cries, hands clutched tightly on the armrest of his wheelchair. Unfortunately for him, no one has heard him. Yoongi’s still glaring at the nurse.
“You look like a cat throwing a tantrum,” Yoongi waves a hand, and Jimin pulls the bandage tighter.
The loud cry was unheard, yet again.
“Well, you look like putty with legs,” Jimin bites, tying the bandage around Hoseok’s foot and clamping it with the metal clasp.
“You need to do better than that, darling,” Yoongi tries to contain the choke. Where did darling even come from, he didn’t know. He schools his reaction and glances at Jimin with cautious eyes.
Jimin sighs heavily and rolls his eyes. Hoseok is still whimpering but is afraid Jimin might do something since it’s his foot that’s just inches away from the nurse’s hand.
“Are you hungry? Caffeine? Or perhaps blood?” Jimin asks playfully. He shakes the tin spray can and sprays its content on Hoseok’s ankle.
“Why would I need blood? I knew you’re kinky but I didn’t know to that extent.”
Jimin presses the nozzle harder and the tin spray can make a loud noise. Hoseok is silent, afraid to make any sound since 1) he’s going to be ignored and 2) he rather have his foot intact.
“I don’t know, you being pale gives off a different vibe,” Jimin says. He shakes the tin spray can again and sprays it directly on Hoseok’s ankle. Yoongi is sure he’s doing it the wrong way but he doesn’t voice it out, instead, he snaps.
“Are all nurses in this hospital kinky?”
“Do you need to get laid?”
Yoongi swallows the lump in his throat. He runs a hand down his coat.
“You won’t find it here,” Jimin continues. He looks at Yoongi straight into his eyes and winks.
Yoongi fidgets at one of the buttons of his coat.
“Are you sure?” The blonde asks. Jimin grins and gets up. He looks at Hoseok and flashes him a small smile. He reaches for something from the table and hands it to the patient.
“You can change into this tomorrow,” Jimin explains, handing an ankle brace to Hoseok. Hoseok flashes a queasy smile and Jimin looks at him worriedly.
“I actually can’t feel my ankle. Or I can, but it’s like beating—throbbing?”
Jimin blinks and then gasps.
“I must have wrapped your foot too tightly. I am so sorry!”
Yoongi only laughs but Jimin glares at him before crouching down again to fix the bandage. It was quicker and more silent this time.
When they left Hoseok kept on complaining while he’s clutched on Yoongi’s arm.
“You were doing things with your eyes hyung. I can see dirty thoughts running a mile per minute through your eyes, not cool. I could’ve lost my foot,” Hoseok grumbled.
“You didn’t lose your foot, stop being dramatic.”
“You almost lose him,” Hoseok said with a laugh and Yoongi sighed heavily.
Fair
The fourth time Yoongi comes to the hospital was around in the afternoon. It’s a Wednesday; a month after Hoseok’s sprained ankle.
Normally, he’s still sleeping at 2 in the afternoon but Yoongi finds himself standing at the entrance of the Emergency Room. He’s prepared this time, a cup of iced Americano in one hand and Taehyung’s hand in his other.
This has got to be the most insane reason why Yoongi’s here but it’s Taehyung and Taehyung’s never liked to be classified as normal. But this has got to be the most hilarious and most embarrassing reason why Yoongi’s accompanying a friend to a hospital.
“Let’s meet Jimin-ssi,” Taehyung says excitedly. He shouldn’t be excited, Yoongi screams in his head.
“This is not a playdate, Taehyung-ah,” Yoongi informs the younger, squeezing his hand.
Taehyung visibly shakes beside him, swinging their arms and pulling the elder to get inside.
See, the thing is. Taehyung and Jeongguk were playing in Seokjin’s restaurant when Taehyung shove one of the display bowls on his head. It’s funny at first but when Jeongguk tried pulling the aluminum bowl off of his hyung’s head, droplets of blood started trickling behind Taehyung’s ear. Seokjin called Yoongi because he can’t leave Taehyung with Jeongguk and he wouldn’t risk another accident.
So here they are, waiting by the bench. There are still small droplets of blood trickling behind his ear, staining the collar of his shirt. Yoongi dabs it with the table napkin he’s gotten from the café to wipe it off.
When a nurse approached them, Yoongi’s surprised to see Jimin.
He thought Jimin had the evening shift.
“Shifts change though, Yoongi-ssi,” the nurse says. He’s even more beautiful with the sun teasing his features. He looks even more golden like this and Yoongi likes to see this version of Jimin every day.
There’s an elbow nudging at his arm and Yoongi looks up at Taehyung, fits of giggle escaping his lips. It’s only then that Yoongi realized that he had said his thought out loud. He blinks at the nurse rapidly but decides to just pretend it didn’t happen.
“He needs tendering?” Yoongi croaks. Taehyung giggles again beside him.
Jimin nods. He glances at Taehyung and pouts.
“How did this happen?” The nurse asks as he guides the both of them to a cubicle. Yoongi has memorized the drill already that he just allowed Jimin to lead Taehyung on one of the beds as he head straight to the counter. He retrieves the clipboard and fills in Taehyung’s information.
He’s busy writing the details down, scanning his phone, and copy-writing it on the form when Jimin appears beside him.
“I always wonder how’d you memorize your friends’ information,” Jimin says, reaching for his thermometer and sphygmomanometer. “Disappointed but not surprised.”
Yoongi doesn’t look up, instead, he continues writing. “That’s too much information. My brain couldn’t handle that.”
Jimin leaves a breathy chuckle. “So you wouldn’t even try memorizing details? Keeping them in mind?”
He scribbles down Taehyung’s social security number and grunts.
“I would. For those I deem special,” he replies boringly.
The nurse went silent for a few minutes. He taps the counter and then says, “Day shift from Monday to Wednesday. Night shift from Thursday to Saturday. I get off on Sundays, 6 am.”
Yoongi stares at the paper quietly but his eyes are wide. He couldn’t look up, afraid that the moment he does he’ll see Jimin smiling at him with something he couldn't decipher. It feels like he’s in one of the Nat Geo Predator and Prey programs he voice-acts for. Thankfully, Jimin leaves him. He hears Taehyung’s voice dramatic whining and Jimin’s soft giggles.
Yoongi thinks it’s the loudest moment he’d shared with Jimin.
Taehyung is holding his hyung’s hand the entire time. They had to slice the bowl open. There are wearing earplugs and the curtains were shut close as Jimin and another nurse assisted the doctor with a metal slicer. It was quick and when the metal was removed, the doctor was quick to assess if the cut was deep. Luckily for Taehyung, the cut isn’t deep and only cuts the first layer of his skin. The droplets were caused by the pressure of the rim on Taehyung’s head.
Yoongi knows Taehyung’s hyper-dramatic on things like this and he’s glad that Taehyung wasn’t showing any signs of fear when the doctor was scanning his head and face.
“Patch him up Jimin-ssi,” the doctor announces. “There’s no need to run tests, it doesn’t look alarming.” When the doctor left, Jimin sits beside Taehyung and starts cleaning his wound.
Yoongi is still holding his hand.
“So you’re a baby?” Jimin asks playfully, making Taehyung flash his wide squarish smile.
“You can be too,” the latter replies, and Jimin chokes on his own spit. Yoongi wants the floor to swallow him whole.
“I think he needs a scan, just to be sure,” Yoongi supplies quickly, taking a sip of his coffee.
Taehyung whines and tugs on Yoongi’s hold. “But you’ve been coming here every month, hyung. What do you think, Jiminie?”
“Jiminie?” The nurse smirks, raising a cotton ball with antiseptic behind Taehyung’s ear. He cleans the wound and smiles at Taehyung.
“I can call you Jiminie, right? We’ll become friends, anyway. Since we’re the same age, you’ll be Yoongi-hyung’s baby, too,” he answers, raising a thumb up.
It’s now Yoongi’s turn to tug at Taehyung’s hand.
Good
Out of all the times, Yoongi’s brought a friend to the hospital—this is the worst timing. It’s 2 AM on a Sunday, and it’s raining cats and dogs. Yoongi carefully drives along the streets leading to the hospital with a shaking Jeongguk in the passenger’s seat.
He’d be calm just like the other times but it’s Jeongguk, his youngest friend, their baby and as much as he loved all of his friends equally, Yoongi’s guilty that he spoils Jeongguk the greatest. So when Jeongguk called and asked what he can do to cure the simple flu, Yoongi drove to Jeongguk’s apartment despite the rain.
It’s a good decision that he did because it wasn’t just the simple flu. Jeongguk’s running hot and has been vomiting for the past 20 minutes, only taking breaks to breathe.
Yoongi’s so used to seeing a peaceful Emergency Room that when they got inside, he’s surprised to see everyone running frantically around. It just so happened that there had been a traffic accident. Yoongi tried to calm himself down but Jeongguk is shivering against him, a bin between his arms because he still hasn’t stopped puking.
He helps Jeongguk on one of the benches and crouches before him. Jeongguk looks at him, trying his best to flash a wide smile. Yoongi already feels like crying because he’s seen clips like this on his screen a lot of times. What if it’s not just the flu? What if it’s worse? And Yoongi’s always been good at overthinking and overanalyzing things.
The elder reaches out a fidgeting hand and brushes Jeongguk’s locks off his forehead.
“I’ll get help, Ggukie-ah. Wait for hyung,” he whispers. Jeongguk only blinks and curls over the bin. He starts throwing up again.
Yoongi scans around the floor and finds himself breaking down because everyone looks occupied. He tries searching for the lady nurse who had been handing the clipboard to him but she was busy asking questions to the man who’s lying on one of the beds. She’s making sure that the man stays awake.
The two doctors who had helped him were also busy with other patients. He glances behind him and sees Jeongguk getting paler at each passing second and it makes him want to cry. He’s always been like Jeongguk’s father, always wanting to take the pain off of the younger.
If the familiar faces were busy, Yoongi’s certain that Jimin would be busy like them, too. He hears Jeongguk’s cry of pain, he’s been puking his guts out for almost an hour now and he knows that it’s not good. He doesn’t want to bother people and look like a lost kid because this is not the place to act like he owns the place. He can still see gurneys entering the emergency door and he knows there’s no way someone can assist with them yet.
Yoongi sees that it’s still raining outside but he decides that they should just move to another hospital. He’s too focused on his thoughts, eyes strained at the glass window. He didn’t realize the sob that escapes from his lips, the way his shoulders shake in fear, or the tight hold around his left bicep.
He didn’t even realize that his coat is soaking wet until someone had squeezed him. When he looks at his side, he sees the familiar face that he’s engraved in his mind. He feels himself relaxing, the tears rolled freely against his cheeks.
“Yoongi-ssi,” Jimin says, eyes wide and alarmed. “You’re soaking wet.”
Yoongi only nods, damp blonde locks lying lifelessly on his head. He sees Jimin reaching out a hand, wiping the tear from his right cheek and the droplets of water falling on his nose.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need help,” Yoongi says, finding no energy to bicker or flirt. He just wants Jeongguk to be okay. “It’s Jeongguk. My dongsaeng, he needs help, Jimin.”
Jimin takes a hold of his hand. Yoongi holds back and even before the nurse could ask where his friend is, Jeongguk makes a loud belching sound from the waiting area. Jimin is quick to drag Yoongi to the benches and pulls the younger by the shoulders. Jimin is still holding Yoongi’s hand as he wrapped Jeongguk’s shoulder with the other.
“Let’s get you settled,” Jimin’s voice slices through the white static. Yoongi’s eyes are focused on the floor, feeling completely helpless. Jeongguk gets up from the bench, flimsy arms holding the bin carefully. Jimin pulls them to the farthest end of the floor and pulls the curtain open.
“He needs to lie down,” Yoongi hears Jimin. He reluctantly lets go and stands at the end of the bed. He watches in silence as the nurse pulled the bin off of Jeongguk’s grip. He watches in silence as Jimin guides Jeongguk in bed, fixing the pillows so he’s comfortable. He hears them converse but the noise from the outside is too distracting that Yoongi can’t focus.
Yoongi feels hands on his shoulders. He sees Jimin and he pouts when the nurse shakes him lightly.
“I will be back, don’t cry,” Yoongi nods. “There’s a stool under the bed, you can sit there and remove your coat. It’s soaked. You might get cold and I am sure Jeongguk-ssi wouldn’t like that.”
Yoongi only sighs.
“I have no energy to tease, Jimin-ah.”
Jimin taps his left cheek lovingly.
“I don’t want to bicker. Now is not the time. All I am saying is that I wouldn’t like you catching a cold, Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin says softly and Yoongi looks at him directly in the eyes.
“You’ll be back? Make it quick?”
Jimin smiles. He bops Yoongi’s nose and takes a step back. He shuts the curtains close. Yoongi turns around to see Jeongguk looking at him with half-lidded eyes. He looks terrible but he looks better now. He makes grabby hands for the elder and Yoongi obliges, He settles on Jeongguk’s left and removes his coat. He drapes it on the table beside and holds the younger’s hand.
“Jimin-ssi said it might be stomach flu,” the younger groans. “He’ll be back to inject IV and a doctor. It’ll be fine, hyung.”
Yoongi hopes so.
Diagnosis
Yoongi didn’t realize that he’d fallen asleep. When he wakes up, he sees Jimin sitting across from him, asleep. He noticed that Jimin had already changed his clothes. He’s wearing a baby blue cashmere sweater and black jeans. His arms are crossed and he’s in a position that looks so painful to sleep at.
He scans his surroundings and notices that there’s a blanket around his shoulder. Jeongguk’s also sleeping but he looks so much better now. He picks up his phone from the table and glances at the time. It’s only 10 minutes past 6 and Yoongi’s shocked to see that they’ve been staying there for more than 4 hours.
He opens his phone and is about to send a message to their group chat when he hears Jimin shuffle on his chair.
“You’re awake,” Jimin whispers. He flashes a bright smile at Yoongi and the elder smiles back albeit small. Jimin looks cute and soft and Yoongi wants nothing but to pull him on his lap for an embrace.
“He’s alright, it’s just stomach flu,” Jimin informs him. He gets up to check Jeongguk’s temperature by the touch on the forehead. Yoongi places his phone back to the table.
It’s different like this. He can’t decipher if it’s a bad difference or something else. But it’s something Yoongi is willing to take even if his only reference on social skills are the clips of Nat Geo programs he’d voice act for.
“It’s Sunday,” Yoongi blurts, the blanket still wrapped around him. Jimin adjusts the IV drip hanging by the metal rack and nods in response.
“It is,” Jimin replies, voice mesmerizingly sweet. Yoongi notices that there’s a bag leaning against the nurse’s chair.
“It’s past 6 am,” Yoongi continues, pulling the blanket off of his shoulders.
“It is,” Jimin giggles.
Yoongi stands up, the blanket lying on top of Jeongguk’s thighs. Jimin giggles some more, eye smiles and it’s making Yoongi feel so much braver.
“Don’t flirt in front of me, please,” Jeongguk groans. He noisily pulls his blanket over his head. He flaps his legs on the bed, throwing a tantrum like a proper kid. “Please leave. I already messaged Jin-hyung. They’re going to pick me up. Please don’t kiss in front of me.”
“Who says we’re going to kiss?” Jimin shrieks.
“I wanted to kiss you!” Yoongi says. It’s so sudden and careless and Yoongi feels his cheeks getting warm. He stares at Jimin’s raised brow, mouth agape and the shade of his cheeks resembles just like his.
The elder watches as the nurse lifts his bag and hoists it on his shoulder. Jeongguk is laughing under the covers and Yoongi squeezes his shin.
“We’re leaving now,” Yoongi announces, pulling his phone and the coat that’s now already dry and hanged in a hanger. Jimin must’ve done that.
Jimin is waiting outside the cubicle. When Yoongi sees him, he did the first thing he had wanted to do with the nurse on their first meeting.
He leans in to press a chaste kiss on the younger’s cheek.
Check-up: Bonus
Eight months into the relationship, Yoongi has thought that it’s about time that he and Jimin live together. Namjoon can attend to himself on his own. Yoongi is sitting on the kitchen island of his and Jimin’s apartment. Jimin is busy peeling tangerines by the kitchen sink his back facing Yoongi.
“Slowly, one by one, he peels the tangerine with careful hands,” Yoongi narrates. "Fingers are a little chubby but it's alright. It's a good thing they look cute."
Jimin lets out a scoff, focused on his task. The elder can see the stretch of Jimin's cheeks and he knows that his description was on the spot.
“The pith is the most annoying part of the tangerine—the stringy, spongy white stuff that makes the fruit unbearable to eat. It’s bitter but mostly inedible,” Yoongi continues. Jimin stops mid-air and turns around to face him. He glares at Yoongi to which the elder only laughs in response.
“Don’t narrate it like some Nat Geo program,” Jimin laughs, lifting the plate and approaching Yoongi. He sets the peeled tangerine before the elder. He leans across the table and places a chaste kiss on the blonde’s lips.
“It’s better than any Nat Geo program,” Yoongi replies, grabbing a tangerine but Jimin stops him. Instead, he gets a piece and feeds it to Yoongi.
“See? This is better.”
Jimin only laughs and Yoongi pulls him for another kiss on the lips.