Chapter Text
It was supposed to have been a good day.
Jin has his back turned to stare out the windows of the apartment, he can't bear to look at Yoongi right now. He knows he crossed lines in their fight, but he's too stubborn and angry and scared to admit it right now, not when he knows it won't change the fact his boyfriend is probably deploying to a war zone.
On the other side of the room, Yoongi sits on the couch with his face in his hands. There's nothing he can do to comfort the love of his life, no way to assure him that everything will be okay, that he'll make it out of this mission alive. That's the risk a Special Forces soldier accepts when they choose to serve in the unit.
In the back of his mind, all he can think about is the fact he was supposed to be going on vacation in a month with the only person he considers family. That the company switch is in just two weeks and he'll be halfway across the world dodging bullets. That the ring hidden in his military dress-shoe box will have to sit there for indefinitely longer. He doesn't even know if it will see the light of day again.
Jin had come home from his shift at the ER to Yoongi sitting at the kitchen island in his uniform, a packed go-bag sitting by his feet. It wasn't an uncommon sight, and he wasn't upset by it at first, Yoongi was only ever gone for two weeks at most.
But this time? Hearing that it could be three months to half a year? Yoongi's look of despair when he asked him how dangerous this trip would be? That terrified him more than anything.
So he did what he always did when he was scared; he deflected, he argued, he yelled, and now all he can do is cry.
Yoongi snaps his head up when he hears Jin move away from the window, watching as he storms to their bedroom and slams the door shut, not looking back once. He has to leave soon, and he can't bear to take a single step towards the door without Jin to see him off like always.
Approaching the locked door, he rests his forehead against the cool wood, fighting with every fiber of his being to hold his tears in.
"Jagiya, please. Don't leave it like this, I promise I'll come home to you as soon as I can."
There's silence on the other side of the door, and Yoongi can imagine Jin curled on their bed holding his pillow to his chest.
"Hyungie, I love you, please... come out, don't let me leave like this.
Again, nothing but muffled sniffles
The first tears are starting to drop now, and the buzzing of his phone alerts him that Hoseok is here to pick him up.
"Jin-ah... hyung, I love you. I love you so much, please, at least say it back." His voice is cracking now, and he can now clearly hear the sounds of Jins' sobs. "Hoseok-ah is here, I have to go. Jagi I have to leave please just come out."
"Go Yoongi, you can't be late." Comes the muffled response, voice cracking in despair.
Oh, that hurts, hurts more than the time he got stabbed, hurts more than when a grenade detonated near him once.
"Hyung won't you say it back? Please say it back, I love you, please tell me you love me too." His phone is buzzing in his pocket again, another call from Hoseok. It feels like his heart is squeezing itself to death in his chest, he knows Jin loves him, he also knows that Jin is the most stubborn person he's ever met and would rather step on hot coals than say it back right now.
Because he knows the moment he says it back Yoongi will leave him.
"I know hyung, I know, I promise I'll come back. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can and I'll hold you for as long as you want, and I'll take you on our vacation and it will be beautiful. Then we'll go to your parents, and your Uncle's strawberry farm, and I'll make you as many jars of my strawberry jam as you want."
Each sob that ripples through the air is like a stab to his heart, but he knows he can't stay here any longer. He has a responsibility to his team, to his country, that he can't hide from no matter how much he wishes he could.
He straightens up, swiping his sleeve across his face to remove the tears. Pulling out his phone to tell Hoseok he'll be right down and depositing it back in his pocket, Yoongi takes a deep breath and picks up the go-bag by his feet.
"It's okay Jagiya, it's gonna be okay. I love you and I'll see you soon. I promise, my love."
The stability and confidence of his voice earns a hitch in the sobs, silencing them as Jin holds his breath on the other side, listening. With a final deep breath, Yoongi turns from the door and heads to the entryway, slipping into his combat boots and lacing them up with precision. As he pulls the front door open, he takes one last look around their home. Settling his gaze on the bedroom door for a second, and then turning to step out of the threshold, closing the door behind him.
Downstairs, Yoongi throws his bag into the trunk and slides into the backseat without a word. Hoseok, Namjoon, and Jungkook all glance a look at him; he knows that it's obvious he's been crying.
Namjoon keeps his eyes locked on him through the rearview mirror, "Are you okay hyung?"
All Yoongi can do is chuckle quietly while holding back his tears, putting his elbow up on the car door and resting his face in his palm, covering his eyes.
"Your cousins’ stubbornness was always something I found endearing, but right now it's kicking my ass."
No one says anything further, choosing to mentally steel themselves for the chaos they're about to walk into.
Day 1 of the operation:
The various clicks of pistol clips and rifle magazines being checked and reloaded add to the whir of the helicopter's rotor. The cabin is silent, having already entered the outer skirts of enemy territory with the dark zone approaching quickly, everyone is in their headspace.
Yoongi's earpiece comes to life with a brief blip of static, Felix's voice coming out the speaker from the cockpit.
"This is Tweedy Bird to mission control, we are T-30 to comms dark, please confirm Alpha Team is clear for deployment.
"This is mission control, Alpha Team is cleared for deployment, the drop zone is two Klicks out from current position and is satellite clear."
"Copy that, Captain Agust please prepare for drop."
Yoongi reaches up to switch his comm on, "Copy that, preparing for mission drop."
The buckles of the parachutes snap quietly as the team gears up, Felix counting down in their ears as they approach the dark zone, where they'll be officially cut off from the Korean governments' reach.
"Switching to comms dark, we are now T-60 to the drop range."
The helicopters' communications system is disengaged with the outside world, Black Box and navigation system going with it, making them an unidentifiable aircraft. Yoongi looks up at his team as he always does before they officially start a mission, putting his fist out for the others to join, creating a circle.
"Let's get this done well and get back to our loved ones safely, is that understood?"
A chorus of 'Yes, Captain's' reverberates in the cabin, and he acknowledges them with a firm nod. Dropping his fist and turning around to release the door, opening up the cabin to the outside world.
"T-30"
Yoongi looks up at the dark sky and thinks about the love of his life that he left behind at home. He's never been religious, but right now he hopes that if there is a God out there, that it will let him come home safe.
"8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Initiate drop, see you on the flip side."
Day 21 of Yoongi Being Gone:
Jin does not want to be here.
Ever since Yoongi left three weeks ago he threw himself into work as a distraction. It's worked for the most part, spending 20+ hours each rotation in surgery will do that. In fact, it's where he wants to be right now if it wasn't for his little shithead residents.
Jimin and Taehyung ambushed him as soon as he walked in for his shift, so he couldn't go sign up to be an extra on-call surgeon. They even managed to weasel their way into the scheduling station to get the nurses to put him in Radiology today. He's fucking pissed, to say the least, so all he wanted was to spend his lunch in peace, but he can't do that with two sets of puppy dog eyes boring into him from across the table.
"Will you two PLEASE stop looking at me like that!" Slamming his chopsticks onto the table, hoping his outburst would get them to back off, but they have the audacity to look even more concerned instead!
"Hyung, you're not okay and you need to slow down before you collapse." Bless Jimin's pure heart, if only Jin didn't want to wring his neck right now. The boy has the decency to look a little sorry when his hyung sends him the meanest death glare he can muster.
He begins cleaning up his stuff to leave his two annoying maknaes to find some much-needed peace and quiet when the most blood-boiling voice ripples through the air.
"Leaving so soon Dr. Kim? Won't you stay a little longer? I did this lunch as a special treat for the Emergency Department after all."
Ah, the 'Rich Witch' as Jungkook calls her. The chairman's daughter, who's had way too many scandals with the Doctors here to consider her career motives innocent. She's hit on Jin more times than he can count, constantly pressing his boundaries and making comments about his relationship status. He hates her, and right now he doesn't know if he has enough patience to deal with her.
"Sorry, Ms. Choi, Dr. Kim has been working really long hours recently and we asked him to go rest for a bit before the next half of his rotation." Bless Taehyung's bullshitting abilities.
"Oh that's right, I did notice that." Her annoying heels click as she walks around the table to face Jin. "You've looked so depressed lately, did you and your girlfriend break up? I could treat you so much better you know."
Her saccharine smile makes him want to gag and the hand she placed over his own makes his skin crawl. He can't think straight, he's so tired and all he wants is Yoongi's comforting touch and this nasty heifer is polluting his skin and it REALLY pisses him off.
He rips his hand out from under her grip, and the shock is plastered all over her face. "My boyfriend and I are perfectly fine, thank you for asking. He's actually active duty military and deployed right now which is why I'm sad. If you'll excuse me I'd like to go take a nap."
The whole cafeteria is silent as Jin places his tray on the conveyor belt and walks out swiftly. Like he hadn't just come out as gay AND turned down the chairman's daughter IN PUBLIC no less. Jimin and Taehyung simply look at each other in despair, these are going to be a hard next few months.
Day 107 of the operation:
"Agust to Hope, are the missiles ready?"
Yoongi is crouched low in the brush surrounding the compound. It's taken a long time to observe and record enemy operations enough to properly plan a breach, and tonight it will finally all end. They had notified Felix, who had been laying low in neutral territory nearby with the helo, on when they would need him for pickup and what supplies they would need dropped off beforehand. According to their information, this will be the best timeframe to strike with the least amount of enemy contact.
"Hope to Alpha Team, missiles are ready, coordinates are locked, we are ready to strike Captain."
"Copy that, good work. Go move into position at the pick-up zone."
Yoongi straightens up enough to begin their descent on the compound, staying low and sweeping their surroundings for anyone who could give them away before reaching the breach point. They stick close to the wall when they make it across the stretch of land, reaching the metal door they deemed the weakest and therefore the best method of entry.
Jungkook comes around the team when Yoongi signals, plastering the C4 charge onto the lock and stepping back. They all take one last look at each other, before nodding that they're ready, Yoongi looks back at Jungkook and seals their fate for the night.
"Agust to Bugs, begin breach."
The charge goes off with sparks and a sharp bang, ejecting the lock from the metal door. Yoongi kicks it in and the team follows him inside as they start to pick off enemies alerted to their presence. They know from the mission brief the compound is holding two hostages in the center chambers. They have to get in, get them out, and then blow this compound and its illegal weaponry to smithereens.
Gradually progressing further into the maze they've memorized like the back of their hands, they're meeting less resistance than expected. Yoongi should have known there was something wrong, he should have known something wasn't adding up. They make it to the room the hostages were being kept in and make quick work of freeing them.
"Wolf, Porky, get the hostages out. Bugs cover their 12, RM and I will take their 6. Hope we're coming out, cover us."
Hoseok's voice crackles in his ear as they make their move. Turning a corner, bullets start flying as they scramble to take cover, and Yoongi can hear Jungkook yelling that he's been hit in the leg. They return fire, picking off enemies only for more to take their place.
"Fuck, Fuck! It's a trap!" Yoongi reloads his clip quickly and resumes fire. "We gotta get out of here now!"
He spots a metal barrel labeled as a fire hazard to the right of the enemies and decides to take a chance, they have a second route of escape, they just need a distraction to slip out. He snags a grenade from his belt and pulls the pin, holding down the lever.
"Get ready to move, RM grab Bugs." He waits until they're ready and then tosses the grenade. It detonates seconds after landing near the barrel, and the blast from the fuel sends shrapnel flying, some of it grazing Namjoon. They move quickly, taking out more people on the way, with Yoongi walking backwards at the rear of the group to pick off any followers.
Finally, they make it to the compound warehouse, and Yoongi sends Chan and Changbin ahead of them to get the hostages out of harm's way first. More bullets come flying in, hitting the flammable cargo and setting it off, sending Namjoon and Jungkook sprawling. Yoongi having to drag them to cover by their collars.
"Are you two okay!?" He gives them a quick glance over, relieved to see that they're just battered with no serious injuries. They give him a nod and they return fire together, slowly getting ready to begin backing their way out of the compound. Yoongi shoots at another barrel to give them some cover, yelling at Namjoon to move, the fire ceases in the wake of the explosion and Yoongi continues to cover them as they get closer to the exit.
All it took was a split second, a split second where he looked back to check on his teammates, a split second for the bullets to rip through him.
They pierce through his left collarbone, right lung, and left abdomen. His body twisting each way with the force they pack as they tear through his flesh. He can hear Namjoon and Jungkook screaming, feel them moving him to shelter. He knows Namjoon can't carry him, not while having to support Jungkook. He knows he's not getting up from this, he can already taste the blood coming up his throat.
All at once clarity comes back to him, he watches as Namjoon panics, looking between him and Jungkook in desperation. Both hands putting pressure on the two lower wounds that Yoongi can’t even feel anymore.
Yoongi uses one hand to grab Namjoons’ wrist over the wound and the other to pull the missile detonator out of his pocket. He places the detonator in his palm, watching as his face flits through confusion, horror, and denial as he realizes what his hyung is doing.
"Hyung no! No, no! I'm not leaving you, I'll get you out of here I promise. Just hold on for a little longer."
He simply gives a sad smile to his dongsaeng and reaches up to fully open the communication line on his comm.
"This is Agust to Alpha Team... announcing.. Second-in-command... RM will now... take over Mission Control..." He wheezes with every few words, blood beginning to drip from his lips, he knows he's drowning from the inside out and soon his consciousness will fade.
Jungkook is sobbing next to him as Namjoon continues to refuse to leave him.
"Listen to me!" He snaps with all of the energy he has left. "This is my final... order.... take the kid... and get out of here... you understand!?" The voices of his other teammates cry out in his ear.
"Hyung!" Namjoon is crying and pleading, but he grabs Jungkook anyway. The maknae screams that he won't leave, scrabbling and clawing his way to Yoongi. But he can't do much to fight Namjoon off with a bum leg, the gradual blood loss making him weak.
"Hyungie will... cover you... for as long... as I can. Please... tell hyungie... I'm sorry... I couldn't... keep my promise."
Namjoon lets out another sob as he takes in Yoongi's figure for the last time, an iron grip on his rifle in order to protect them, even as his life is quickly slipping away. Blood from his mouth paints his chin and streams down his neck, with more pooling around him on the floor from his torso. He looks like a Hero to Namjoon, and in a sense, he really is one.
With Jungkook screaming on his shoulder, he turns and moves faster than he ever has carrying someone. He can hear bullets ring out behind him as he steps out of the compound, the chopper already waiting for him with Hoseok covering him with his sniper. He pushes Jungkook into Chan's arms and pulls himself up into the cabin, shutting the door as Felix begins to lift them up.
"Agust!? Agust are you there!? Do you copy!?"
The few beats of silence are gut-wrenching, not wanting to believe their beloved captain is gone yet, until a wet cough comes over the line.
"I told...hyungie...I'd come home..." The gurgling and wheezing of Yoongi’s breathing is painful for the team to hear, but they listen quietly to their Captain's last words.
"Ah...'ungie......'m sorry......love you.....'ove you."
The wheezing stops a beat later and they all cry out loudly for their captain. Watching as they get further and further away from him.
Finally, as Namjoon sobs endless apologies, he flicks open the detonator.
Taking a deep breath, he presses it. They all watch the missiles create lines of smoke as they launch, landing on the compound, painting the night sky in a haze of fire and shrapnel.
Day 109 of Yoongi Being Gone:
Jin's sitting in his office filling out paperwork when a nurse knocks on the door, saying the words he's been waiting months to hear.
"There's someone here to see you, Dr. Kim, they're in the lobby."
She's barely finished her words before he's up and racing out the door. He passes by Taehyung and Jimin, not registering a single word they say. He's focused on getting Yoongi in his arms, telling him that he loves him, that he missed him.
When he makes it to the lobby he frantically looks around for his boyfriend until he finally spots a military uniform.
But it's his cousin instead of Yoongi, calling out to Namjoon as he jogs over, still looking around for his favorite person.
"Namjoon! You're back! Oh my god, are you okay?" Now that Jin’s closer he sees the bruises and scratches on his face and forearms.
"Where's Yoongi? He's not hurt too is he!?"
Jin half expected a good joke from him, like that he had tripped over a tree root in a rainforest somewhere and rolled down a hill. That Yoongi was still on base explaining to their superiors how one of their best soldiers is the clumsiest man alive.
What he got though, was nothing he could have ever fathomed.
He watched as his cousin slowly lowered himself to the ground and bowed with his forehead to the floor, breaking out in sobs.
All Jin could do was panic, pleading for him to get up and gritting out frantic 'What the hell are you doing!?'s. Not understanding the reasoning or implications of Namjoon's behavior.
When he finally sits up, Namjoon pulls something out of his pocket, offering it to Jin with his head lowered. It's then that Jin realizes what Namjoon was sobbing out, he was saying he was sorry, over and over again.
When Jin's eyes lock onto the items in Namjoon's hands, he recognizes Yoongi's dog tags sitting on top of an envelope addressed to him, written in his boyfriend's scrawled handwriting. He feels the world open up beneath him, drowning him in a blur of muddled emotions.
Somewhere within the fog of his mind he registers Jimin trying to soothe him, can feel someone's arms around him. But mostly, he can hear someone screaming and crying, he doesn't realize until later that it's his own voice.
Eventually, there's a pinch in his arm and everything fades away into darkness.
Day 35 post-operation:
The funeral was a small affair that mostly went by in a blur in the coming weeks after Namjoon returned home without Yoongi. When he woke up in a hospital bed that fateful day, he realized the news hadn't just been a horrible nightmare.
Everything moved so fast after that, being taken on base to sign NDA paperwork and attending the reading of Yoongi's will, in which he had left everything to Jin.
It had also given him the opportunity to meet Yoongi's estranged parents.
He doesn't remember everything he said, but he knows he was angry when Yoongi's father began to spout putrid things about his son, his mother sitting back and doing nothing. He can remember Namjoon's scandalized face at the colorful vocabulary he apparently used in front of the base commander, he doesn't regret it though.
For the funeral, they had decided to dedicate a memorial plaque in the cemetery, there was no body to bury or cremate after all.
The fellow soldiers on Yoongi's team and his trainees at the base performed the burial honors, and the commander bestowed Yoongi a posthumous promotion to Major. Jin received the bars in his place along with the rest of his things that day, including his phone, uniform, pictures, and books that he had kept in his locker.
Jin still hasn't read the letter Yoongi left him, he asked Namjoon to explain it to him one day, so the younger told him about how they all write a letter to their loved ones before they leave.
He doesn't know if he can handle reading it, if he deserves to after the way he let Yoongi leave, the guilt eating him alive.
He stares at the little white square every night, debating on if he should open it or not. Right now as he bores holes in it with a glass of wine in his hand, he almost feels like it's calling to him. So he chugs the glass and sets it down, and then reaches to open the letter, unfolding the sheets of paper inside.
My dearest hyung,
If you're reading this letter, it means that I have failed to keep my promise to return home to you. I know we didn't leave on the best of terms, but I want you to know that it's okay. Your stubbornness has always been an endearing quality to me, and even now that doesn't change, I know when you say 'go' you really mean 'stay'.
You didn't have to say you loved me back for me to know that you did, every sob that came out was really an 'I love you'. But can you blame me for wanting to be a little selfish? I wanted to hear you say it before I go like always.
There are important things I need to say to you in this letter, so I need you to listen well hyung. The first thing I want to say to you is inside my dress-shoe box, I had debated on if I should give this to you, but I bought it for you and I want you to have it regardless.
Jin stops reading as he gets up to search the closet, finding the box and opening it, not knowing what he's looking for until he moves the tissue paper stuffed around the shoes and sees a black velvet box.
He puts the shoe box down and takes his find back to bed, settling in again with the letter in front of him. Opening the box, he is greeted with a beautiful gold and diamond encrusted engagement band, the metal woven like a blockchain. The inside of the box lid contained a tiny fabric banner that said 'Marry Me?'.
"Yoongi you asshole!" He sobs out, "You can't just propose to me when you're dead, that's not fair! What am I supposed to do with a Ring but no fiancé!? You have to be the one to put it on me!"
He grips the little box tight in his hands as the tears drip down onto the letter, barely able to make out the words through the blurriness.
I know you're probably cursing me to hell right now for giving you that, but as I sit here just a few hours from takeoff, all I can think about is 'What happens if I don't make it back?'. I write a letter like this to you every time I leave, and this is the first time I've really thought about what would happen to you if I didn’t come back. I usually write simple ‘I love you and I’m sorry’ letters, because I’m always so sure I’ll make it back to you… I can’t be that sure this time.
So, Kim Seokjin, love of my life, would you do me the honor of marrying me?
I hope you say yes, (I think you'll say yes). You could never resist my gummy smile, after all.
The second thing I need to tell you is that I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't take you on our vacation, or propose to you in-person, or visit your family together this summer. I know you must be devastated, and angry, and you probably feel like life will never be the same again. But one day, the pain and the grief will fade, you'll be able to remember me without tears and think of the happy moments in fondness. You will find someone who will love you just as much as I do, and I will be with you every step of way. Because not even death can keep me from you, I'll be in your heart, I'll be in your memories, you can find me in warm sunny days at the beach, in the smell of fresh coffee at a quiet café, the sweet taste of strawberries, or the strum of a guitar. You and I have shared our love and our lives through all of these things, and this is where I will stay so long as you hold them close. Which brings me to my last topic of discussion.
Keep your head up, Jagiya. Dry your tears. You are the strongest and bravest person I've ever known, you're going to make it through this.
I promise, my love.
Sincerely, your Yoongi-chi
Day 63 post-operation
Cold water splashes violently onto his face, waking him with a gasp. The chains above him rattle as he jerks from the impact, his fucked up shoulder screaming in agony.
Yoongi doesn't know how many days it's been since he woke up strapped to a makeshift operating table, but he does know he's in some kind of underground bunker. At the start of his captivity when he was recovering from his surgeries, they withheld painkillers from him as a form of torture.
It's not so pretty now that he's healed.
He knows his shoulder will never be the same, the doctor had told him so when he had woken up. The bullet that hit his collarbone had shattered both itself and his bone, a piece ricocheting off into his rotator cuff. The doctor said he was lucky it didn't go the other way through his neck, he's not so sure if he'd call that lucky right now.
The Special Forces trains its soldiers to recede into their minds in order to survive torture and create a world in which they live, a fantasy of sorts that they can escape to when they experience pain.
Most days he dreams of Jin, of the life they would have had together. Getting engaged on their vacation, Jin happily shows off his ring to anyone that will pay attention. Getting married the next year, right at the beginning of summer when the flowers are in full bloom and the weather is just the right warmth.
The ceremony is as luxurious as can be because Jin wouldn't have it any other way. But the guest list only consists of close friends and family, because Yoongi doesn't like crowds and Jin loves him just enough to sacrifice the chance to show off their wedding to everyone he can think of. Namjoon and Hoseok surprise Yoongi by sitting where his parents would have during the ceremony and reception. Jin's parents tell him to call them 'Eomeoni' and 'Abeoji' afterward because he's just as much their son as Jin.
A winter honeymoon in the Austrian mountains would take place later that year. Spending two weeks in a suite at the ski lodge, sipping hot chocolate at night by the fireplace. Taking to the slopes during the day and spending the evenings dining at all the little mom-and-pop restaurants in the community. Having shopping days down the mountain to experience the beautiful Austrian culture and day-to-day life.
He's dreaming of a precious little boy in his arms, barely 7 lbs, when he's ripped from his haven.
The smell of burning flesh greets his nose first, then excruciating pain wrenches screams out of him next.
Day 91 post-operation:
The necklace holding a gold diamond-encrusted ring bounces against Jin's chest with every purposeful step he takes. Jimin and Taehyung are hot on his heels, pleading for him to calm down and think before he does something crazy.
Too late for that.
Jin slams the doors open and watches as the chairman's daughter nearly jumps out of her skin, cell phone flying across the room.
"You fucking BARRED me from the Operating Room!?" He seethes out.
Her sly smile replaces her expression of shock, knowing she finally managed to pluck his last nerve.
Turns out the pea-brain Jin thought she had didn't even exist, she had been harassing him for months over the incident in the cafeteria, not believing that he would out himself as gay just to reject her and that he was actually playing hard to get. She had been gone on some impromptu trip to the Caribbean when he learned the news of Yoongi's death and when she got back he was on leave.
He had decided to go on the trip he and Yoongi had planned (and of course sobbed his eyes out when the hotel informed him of the proposal Yoongi had planned for their last night). When he had come home he felt like it hadn't been enough time to grieve, his benefits plan had family emergency-related leave, and when he talked to HR he found out he could take a month off for the passing of a spouse/significant other.
So he did just that, he spent an entire month visiting Yoongi's favorite places, eating entire tubs of ice cream while crying his eyes out, having picnics at his memorial in the cemetery, and getting absolutely hammered some nights when it all felt like too much.
When he returned to work he felt like he could begin to find his footing, only for the crutch to be bitch smacked out from under him in the form of Ms. Choi. She had continued her harassing after his return (despite the fact literally everyone in the hospital knows he lost a significant other). No matter what he says she still clings on to him like a leech, it's already hard to get out of bed some days and she doesn't help his motivation. So he had started scheduling office days so he could quite literally lock her out.
She obviously didn't take it well.
"Dr. Kim, using profanity towards a superior is highly unprofessional." Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to him.
"You wanna know what's highly unprofessional!? Sexually harassing a grieving man and making his life even more miserable than it already is!" He watches as she rolls her eyes, letting go of the faux professionalism.
"Oh come on! Not this again, how many times do I have to tell you I won't fall for it?"
He starts to charge towards her desk when Jimin and Taehyung wrap around him to try to stop him, noting the way she takes a step back in surprise at his livid expression.
"I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not at this point, I quit! I refuse to let you torture me for a second longer, I already live in hell every day when I wake up without the love of my life next to me." Gripping the ring sitting above his heart, he continues his rant. "The only person I will ever be with for the rest of my life is the person who gave me this wedding band, and he's dead, so you can fuck right off!"
The look of offense on her face does give him some satisfaction, so in a final flourish of 'fuck you' he takes his resignation letter and throws it towards her. Pivoting on his heel he starts marching out of the office as she splutters in disbelief behind him. Stopping at the door to turn back and tell her that he WILL, in fact, be suing her before continuing his march.
Day 218 post-operation
Turns out that if you sue a rich girl for sexual harassment and have an entire hospital's worth of eyewitness accounts, you get a hella fat settlement sum.
Jin's sitting in his brand new private medical practice supervising the construction workers and electricians as they adjust the property structure to one fit for a Doctor's Office. He even hired Tae and Jimin as his first employees, not that he needed to, they told him they would follow him anywhere.
He's looking at what hospital beds to order when Namjoon comes busting into the front doors.
"Yah! Kim Namjoon, don't you dare break my precious office doors! I -" The pale of Namjoon's face cuts him off from his lecture, a sinking feeling appearing in his gut.
"What? What is it?"
Namjoon looks like he's seen a ghost, and he opens and closes his mouth multiple times to try to speak the words in his mind.
"I... I need to speak to you in private hyung..."
Jin quickly gets up and walks outside, telling Tae and Jimin to watch over the workers, as Namjoon follows him outside.
He whips around on Namjoon as soon as they're far enough away from the building.
"Talk, now."
"Hyung..." He looks up to meet Jin's eyes, and there's a profound sadness within them.
"I know you got a brief explanation of the kind of mission Yoongi hyung and I were on that day at his will reading, but..." Jin just continues to stare, waiting for him to continue.
"The compound we were breaching wasn't just a single-time thing, the group still exists even if we take out a location. I got a call from the commander, apparently, a U.S Black Ops group busted an underground bunker beneath the compound we destroyed..."
Namjoon looks like he's trying to swallow an egg instead of getting the next few words out, "Namjoon, spit it out, what about the bunker!?"
"They recovered a body... they found Yoongi hyung, and they're flying him home, he'll land in about an hour."
For the second time in his life, it feels like the ground is slipping out from beneath his feet, Namjoon is holding him close and he's gripping onto his shirt like a lifeline.
"Take me to him, Joon. I want to be there, take me to him now." Namjoon's chin is resting on his shoulder, and he can feel his chest vibrate when he says okay.
They had called on the way to the airfield to make sure Jin would be allowed on base to receive Yoongi's remains, and luckily everyone had so much respect for the fallen soldier that they guaranteed everything would work out even if they had to go against regulations.
Sitting on the base taxiway, they watch as a clunky gray cargo plane lands on the runway and slowly makes it around. While an ambulance pulls up next to them and the paramedics slide a metal gurney out, no doubt to take Yoongi to the morgue. The dread is slowly rising in him and he doesn't know if he can do this; if he can handle seeing the black body bag that contains his fiancé.
The plane finally gets cleared to cut its engines and lower the cargo door, and Jin feels like he's going to throw up as the medics push the gurney up the ramp into the cabin.
"I can't look Joon, I can't!" He throws his head into the crook of his neck and Namjoon shushes him as he tucks his face against Jin's head, vowing that he won't look either unless Jin does.
They can hear the wheels rattling as it comes down the metal ramp and onto the concrete, closer and closer to the two of them, who have their eyes shut tight.
"Geez, I didn't think I looked that horrible, can't even dare to take a peek at me huh?" Yoongi's oh-so-familiar deep and lulling voice grumbles out next to them, and Jin swears his heart stops as they both gasp and whip their heads up in response.
"Hyung, oh my god!" Namjoon cries out.
There, strapped into the gurney, is a very alive Min Yoongi with his shit-eating gummy grin. He's a little worse for wear with his arm in a sling, a cut running down his right eye from above his eyebrow to his cheekbone. Various other cuts and bruises peek out from his clothing and he looks like he hasn't slept in a long time, but he's alive, and that's all Jin could ask for.
"You!? You're- You're alive!" As soon as the words leave his lips Jin is crumpled on the ground crying his eyes out, a frantic Namjoon catching him before he hits the concrete.
"Jagi!" Fighting against the straps Yoongi gets up to get to Jin, only for his knees to buckle and send him tumbling as well. Jin shooting up to catch him in his arms.
The moment he has him in his arms again, Jin wails and clutches at the back of his shirt for dear life as Yoongi just lets out tearful apologies on repeat.
"You asshole!" he gasps between his cries, "How could you leave me like that! I didn't tell you I loved you! You're not supposed to leave before I tell you I love you!"
Both Yoongi and Namjoon chuckle between their sniffles at that.
"Why are you laughing!? And how could you propose to me like that! Don't you know you have to be the one to put it on me, I've been wearing it as a necklace all this time so I couldn't even show it off!"
Now they're full-blown laughing, even getting a chuckle from the medics, as Jin sob-yells all of this against Yoongi's shoulder, snot and tears running down his face in an endless stream.
"Well then let me fix that, my love." Pulling back from their embrace, "You're going to have to help me with the chain though." his cheeky little smile peeking out.
With shaking hands, Jin removes the chain around his neck and undoes the loop holding the band in place, dropping it into Yoongi's open palm.
"Kim Seokjin, love of my life." He looks up into Jin's eyes, "Would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"
Everyone around them is shedding their own tears as they watch the reunited couple.
"Only if you promise to never leave me again," Jin says tearfully, holding his hand out for Yoongi to slide the ring onto his finger. Leaning in to kiss him with all of the pent-up longing and sadness and yearning he's felt in Yoongi's absence.
When they break apart, Yoongi leans his forehead against Jin's and exhales a shaky breath.
"I promise, my love."
Seokjin's Fancy Ring:
