Work Text:
"Sometimes, Jungkook, I hate who you are as a person."
Jungkook gave Jimin a playful shove after his hyung's comment. He was used to being teased for his bravery, but the teasing from his hyungs came more from a deep place of worry on their part.
Their adventurous, brave, willing to do anything that most people are afraid of, maknae. The boy responsible for their constant anxiety.
Once again, Jungkook had suggested a dangerous stunt for the group's upcoming music video.
He was going to fly through the air.
Yoongi and Namjoon tried to talk him and the entire production team out of it, but Jungkook argued back and said it's not the first time he's flown through the air as a stunt. He'd already done it for his Euphoria performance and other live shows.
"And we've hated it every single time." Yoongi crossed his arms, trying to make it clear that he wanted Jungkook to stop trying so hard.
"But every single time, I have been fine. You guys worry too much for nothing," Jungkook argued. He really thought it would be cool for the music video. It's not like they're the ones who would have to do it. I don't see why they're being so hesitant.
Namjoon turned to the production crew and said he really wouldn't like that to be part of the plan because he was worried about Jungkook's safety. Granted, he had no reason to be. Jungkook had in fact done flying performances multiple times but he agreed with Yoongi, it gave them all bad anxiety and they'd prefer to have a video shoot where the rest of them didn't have to feel like they'd be holding their breath worrying about how it would go for Jungkook. The rest of the members were sitting around the table as well, getting on Jungkook's case about how they didn't think it was a good idea.
"I'd like to enjoy the video shoot for once without having to worry about you." Hobi reached over and grabbed Jungkook's hand. "I understand you think those things are fun but the rest of us don't."
Jungkook ignored Hobi and faced the people on the production team, widening his eyes and pouting.
"I'm sorry, Jungkook, it would seem the band consensus is that they don't want you doing it," one of the team members replied.
"Ugh! Everyone worries about me too damn much! It would make for a great video!" Before waiting for anyone else to put their two cents in, Jungkook stood up and stormed out of the room. He really had a vision for a great concept and knew ARMY would love it. He had never felt more held back by his members than in that moment.
Which is why he didn't give up.
He spent the next week begging his hyungs to let the music video have a part where he could fly around. He went so far as to show them past videos of him doing it, and had researched just how safe the ropes were that lifted him in the air.
He had been so annoying about it that it got to the point where Namjoon had finally caved, and to Jungkook's favor, Namjoon had a lot of say in how the music video shoots went since he was the leader. He was able to slowly convince the rest of the group, one by one, to at least let Jungkook try. He made it very clear to Jungkook that the moment the members started to feel like it was too dangerous, the music video would have to go a different route.
A few days later when everyone arrived at the video shooting location and saw the crane with the dangling ropes that Jungkook was supposed to be attached to, they panicked. Taehyung turned to Jungkook and said, "Absolutely not. Nope. No way. I'm sorry but-"
However, Taehyung and the rest of the members were reminded very quickly that they were all absolute pushovers when it came to their maknae. He had his way of persuasion, and it didn't even take words. The hyungs practically fell to their knees with cuteness overload whenever Jungkook widened his big boba eyeballs and pouted. He was giving Taehyung and the rest of his hyungs that look before Taehyung could even finish his statement.
"Ugh! Fine!" Taehyung grabbed Jungkook's arm and gently squeezed it. "You're lucky you're cute! But if you get hurt-"
"-Thanks, hyungie! And will you relax? I'll be fine." Jungkook was smiling. He felt bad that everyone was so worried, but he knew they had no reason to be. He fully trusted the contraption he'd be strapped to and the crew who had shown up that would be controlling it. "Everyone here is a professional who has done this before. You're panicking for nothing."
"He's not panicking for nothing," Hobi interjected. "He's panicking because he cares about your safety. We all do."
"I appreciate that you all care but I promise I will be fine. Let's just enjoy the video shoot today and have fun, okay?" Jungkook didn't want this to hinder the other members' moods. He wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and have a good time as he excitedly awaited the part where he got strapped to the ropes and got to fly around.
The concept of the video was the members chasing different dreams of theirs but something would get in their way to make them faulter. In the end they were due to come out on top. Hobi's concept was a car accident, Jin's concept was a bone injury, Yoongi's and Taehyung's concepts were both mental health, Namjoon's concept was the fact he couldn't drive (the members really got a kick out of that one). Jimin's concept was parental pressure to do something else.
Jungkook wanted his concept to be that he gets swept up in a hurricane and flies around in it.
"He's always been a very unique boy," Jin had teased when Jungkook first brought up the concept.
The members were going around and getting acquainted with some of the crew members. The man in charge of the rope crane came over and introduced himself to Jungkook as Chlux.
Jungkook bowed to the man. "Nice to meet you."
Yoongi overheard the man introducing himself and ran over. "You're the one who controls the ropes? Do you mind if we go take a look at them?"
"Yoongi hyung, please..." Jungkook didn't want his hyungs to annoy the man about the damn ropes.
Yoongi ignored Jungkook as he remained looking at Chlux. "We just like to check them out before he goes in the air. We like to know he'll be safe."
Jungkook rolled his eyes, but knew Yoongi was going to have his way with this one. Yoongi called the others over and mentioned that Chlux was in charge of the ropes that Jungkook would be hanging in the air from and had Chlux lead the way over to the crane.
"So, in the background we will have the wind and water simulator going to give the effect of a hurricane. We will lift him up and then turn those on. They'll have to go in later and do more editing on the computer after the recording is finished to give it the full effect." Chlux was showing the members the crane and the ropes. He grabbed the individual ropes that all had hooks on the end and demonstrated where they'd be placed on Jungkook. He'd be wearing a harness under his outfit that the hooks were going to be attached to.
Namjoon was grabbing the ropes to get a feel for how sturdy they seemed. "These seem thinner than ones he's used in the past."
"They're fine, hyung," Jungkook said as he also took the ropes in his hands. They did seem thinner than what he was used to, but the youngest wasn't worried about it. He trusted that Chlux knew what he was doing.
Chlux agreed with Jungkook, stating that the ropes were fine.
"Well, if you're sure." Namjoon shook Chlux's hand and said he looked forward to them being able to work together for this video shoot. The rest of the members followed by example and shook Chlux's hand, repeating what Namjoon had said about looking forward to the shoot.
Things were going really well when the members started recording. They'd been in the dance studio day and night for weeks to get the dance routine perfect, so recording turned out to be a breeze because nobody was making any mistakes. Thankfully the hyungs were able to put the anxiety about Jungkook aside while they filmed their group shots.
When it came to the individual concepts, Jin's and Hobi's were to be recorded first. They were both done rather quickly because they were so professional at their craft that once again, there weren't really any mistakes.
And then it was Jungkook's turn.
"Finally!" Jungkook walked around cheering and clapping.
The hyungs, on the other hand, were not as excited as their maknae was.
"Ugh, let's get this part over with." Jimin couldn't really figure out why this felt so off to him. It was true that Jungkook had been hoisted into the air with ropes countless times but the air today just felt...different. He knew the rest of the members felt it too. They all looked at each other with concerned expressions as they followed Jungkook and Chlux over to the crane so they could attach the ropes to the harness they'd put Jungkook in.
As Jungkook stood there getting attached to the ropes, the members were surrounding him. He could see their little nervous habits kicking in, such as Yoongi biting his nails and Taehyung constantly playing with the hem of his shirt. "Hyungies," Jungkook started, "it's really not a big deal. I'll only be in the air for a few minutes anyway. Please don't look so worried."
"But you'll be up there with the wind and rain machines and stuff," Jin said in a sullen voice. "It's a hurricane simulator, Koo. Forgive us for worrying." He reached out and gently grabbed his maknae's chin. "But I'm sure you'll be fine." Jin was trying to reassure himself, not so much Jungkook.
Jimin was clearly the most antsy. He turned to Chlux. "You're absolutely sure these ropes won't break?"
Chlux nodded. "Yes, I am absolutely sure."
"But what if they do?" Jimin asked.
"Jiminie, please stop." Jungkook didn't want anyone to worry about the ropes like that. "Let's just all have fun, okay?"
Jimin sighed. "Fine."
Camera directors came over and mentioned that they were ready to start filming as Jungkook was getting the last rope attached to his leg. Some other crew members came over and placed mats down underneath Jungkook for support.
"I need you to lay on your stomach, and then the crane will slowly lift you into the air. We will wait until you're up there before we get the wind and rain going." The way Chlux was speaking with such authority made the member's minds ease up. They knew the only choice they had was to trust Chlux, even though the hardest thing they ever had to do was watch Jungkook's life be put in a strangers hands.
Jungkook lay down on the mat and the crane immediately started lifting him. Once he was dangling level with his hyung's faces, Hobi instinctively grabbed his maknae's hands. "Have fun up there, Koo." He truly wanted Jungkook to have fun, even if that meant suppressing his own panic.
Taehyung turned to Chlux. "How high in the air are you sending him for this?"
"One hundred feet up," Chlux replied.
"One hundred feet?!" All of the members, even Jungkook, shouted the question in unison.
Chlux started laughing. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. He'll go about thirty feet up, get a feel for it, and then we will start recording."
Yoongi had to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
As Jungkook was lifted higher, Jimin couldn't help but reach up towards him. "I love you, maknae!"
Jungkook made hearts with his fingers and blew playful kisses down to his hyung.
Once the crane stopped thirty feet up, Jungkook took in his surroundings. His hyungs looked really small and he found it hilarious. He didn't understand why they got so nervous about these things when it was such a thrilling experience. He wished they were a bit more adventurous the way he was. He remembered the comment Jimin had made, teasing him about hating who he was as a person, and laughed to himself. He knew what Jimin meant. Jimin hated how brave he was because it always sent the others spiraling.
He couldn't stop thinking about how this was going to be such a great shot for the music video. He thought about ARMY's reactions and how cool the concept was. He hoped it didn't take too long, though, because dangling in a laying position high up by ropes and a harness wasn't exactly the most comfortable experience.
The hyungs watched from below, yelling up to their maknae that he looked so cool and he'd do great. No matter what, they were going to be supportive.
The camera director yelled action and a lot happened at once.
The wind and rain simulators were turned on and Jungkook was completely caught off guard by just how difficult it was going to make lip syncing with the background music. He didn't expect the water to practically be ice cold, and mixed with the wind, he felt his body instantly begin to shiver. His lips went numb. The rain was hitting his skin too hard and each raindrop felt like a sting. Instead of concentrating on the lyrics, all he could think was ow and what the hell.
"That looks tough," Taehyung said as he spectated from below. He saw Jungkook struggling and started to worry a bit more. "You can do it, Jungkook-ah! Fighting!"
"Fighting!" The rest of the members spoke in unison.
As soon as Jungkook was finally able to get a grip on some body control, tragedy struck.
The wind threw his body backwards and every single rope holding him up snapped at the same time.
At thirty feet in the air.
And because of the wind, his body wasn't headed straight down onto the mat that had previously been put there beneath him.
His body was headed straight for the concrete.
Jungkook heard the ropes snap and he instantly felt his body dropping. He panicked and clenched his eyes shut as he began screaming. He didn't know what else to do. He knew he was falling but it was as though his brain completely shut off to block it from the fear he felt. It all happened so quickly he didn't even have time to attempt to catch himself. All he heard was a chorus of voices screaming in terror.
He didn't feel his body smash into the concrete, because the very second his body hit it was the very second his world turned dark.
"Jungkook! Jungkook! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Jimin was already on his way to Jungkook before the boy had even hit the ground. All of the hyungs and the rest of the filming crew were at the youngest's side in a heartbeat.
Chaos had erupted quickly. Multiple people were calling for an ambulance. People were running around getting towels to try and stop the bleeding from Jungkook's face and head.
"My baby, my baby," Jin repeated over and over as he sobbed.
Hobi just kept repeating, "No, no, no, no."
Jungkook's face and head were completely drenched in blood. His body had slammed flat into the ground, with the side of his head hitting it dead on. Everyone could see that his left leg and right arm were twisted in ways they weren't supposed to be.
Yoongi shoved everyone out of his way and checked for a pulse, because Jungkook looked lifeless. Thankfully he had one, but it was getting weaker by the second. "Someone help him! He's not going to-" Yoongi was cut off by his own sobbing for a moment, "he's not going to make it..."
Taehyung's eyes started rolling around as he leaned forward and began throwing up all over the ground. He felt like he was going to pass out. Time suddenly stood still and it looked like everyone was moving in slow motion. Why aren't they moving faster? Can't they see he's hurt? Can't they see he's dying?
Jin wanted to cradle Jungkook's head in his lap. He couldn't bear to see his baby laying there on the freezing ground, unconscious and face down in a puddle. However, he was warned not to move Jungkook too much incase the boy had a broken neck or back.
Crew members were holding towels to the open wounds on Jungkook's head and face so that he would stop losing so much blood.
There was so much blood.
Namjoon turned to Chlux and began screaming at him. "You said he'd be safe! You fucking liar! You're a goddamn fucking liar! What the hell happened?! What did you do wrong?!"
Chlux, in a fit of tears, put his arms up in surrender. "I-I don't know what happened! I don't know why they snapped! That shouldn't have happened!"
Hobi was ever so gently rubbing Jungkook's back. "Hang in there. Hang in there, okay? You're going to b-be okay. You'll get al-l-l the help you ne-e-d, baby. I promise. Hyungs are going to make sure you get all the h-h-elp you need."
Jimin had dropped his face down next to Jungkook's and sobbed uncontrollably.
While Hobi was gently rubbing Jungkook's back, he suddenly noticed the faint movement of breathing had stopped.
"Jungkook?" Hobi waited a few seconds and kept his hand on his maknae's back, praying for movement.
Nothing.
"He stopped breathing! Oh my god! He's not breathing!" Hobi was frantically turning and screaming for someone to help. "Help him! Please! Someone! Where the hell is the ambulance?!" The sirens were in the distance and the ambulance was only a few seconds away, but with Jungkook not breathing anymore, every single second counted.
Crew members very carefully turned Jungkook onto his back, making sure to keep his neck as supported as they could. They began CPR efforts as the members were advised to back up to give them room.
"Don't let him die," Yoongi cried, "don't let our-r-r kid die."
Snap.
Everyone heard the echo of Jungkook's rib break from the CPR.
The sound sent a wave of nausea through all of the members, and all of them collectively started throwing up.
"No..." Jin whispered as he brought his head to the ground. He let the snot and tears pour off him. "No. Don't h-hurt him. You're h-hurting him." Jin lost sense of what was happening as everything around him became fuzzy. He's hurt. Jungkook is hurt. My baby.
Namjoon couldn't control himself. He got up and lunged at Chlux, tackling him to the ground. "You were supposed to make sure he was fucking safe!"
Chlux, consumed with tears, shoved Namjoon away as he repeatedly apologized and said he still didn't know what happened. Some crew members had to pull Namjoon back because it was clear that the leader was about to start punching the man. He tried to get out of the crew's grip and still take a swing at Chlux. "That's my little brother. You may have killed my little brother." Namjoon's vision went blurry with tears.
Paramedics were finally on the scene and took over. They had to hook Jungkook up to a defibrator and started poking and prodding him with IV's. Yoongi got dizzy at the sight of all the needles. Once Jungkook was placed onto the stretcher, all that was left on the ground was puddles of blood.
His baby brother's blood.
Yoongi put his hand over his mouth as he began gagging.
Jungkook was out of sight and being rushed to the hospital within an instant. Nobody knew if he'd even gotten his pulse back before the paramedics had snatched the boy away.
Police officers were surrounding the place asking everyone what happened. Another cop was trying to gather the members and get them into his vehicle to escort them to the hospital, but they could barely stand on their own two feet. For all they knew, Jungkook was going to be dead by the time they got there. They could already feel the grief.
They were finally all piled into the back of the police cruiser, curled up and crying together. Other officers stayed behind to get the full story and investigate.
"I knew today would be bad. I knew it. I could feel it. I should have d-done something. I should have said something. I should have stopped h-him." Jimin was continuously wiping his tears off his cheeks. Immense guilt was eating him alive. He had such a good instinct when it came to his members, and he had a gut feeling something was going to go wrong during the video shoot.
Nobody else knew what to say. They all felt guilty. Like it was all their fault for giving in and letting Jungkook do the stupid stunt that now could have possibly cost him his life.
Once they arrived at the hospital, they actually didn't rush inside. They took slow, hesitant steps. Their biggest fear was that once they walked inside they were going to hear that Jungkook didn't make it.
At least if they were outside, they wouldn't know.
They all stopped at the front door.
"I don't think I can go in there." Hobi kept his gaze at the ground. "I can't hear them tell me-"
"-We have to believe he will be okay." Jin, once again, was trying to reassure himself with his own words. "This is Jungkook we're talking about. We...we won't lose him so soon. He'll b-be...fi-i-ne...he's going to be-" Jin broke out into a heart wrenching sob. Taehyung wrapped his arms around his hyung and then everyone else surrounded them as well.
The police officer who drove them had already walked inside and grabbed the attention of a nurse. They both came outside and the officer said he'd be heading back out to the site to continue with investigations.
"If you investigate anything, or anyone, make sure it's Chlux. He was in charge of the rope crane," Namjoon informed. The police officer took that information into consideration.
"Thank you for the ride," Yoongi said to the officer. "I'm sorry, we didn't catch your name."
The officer introduced himself as Mr. Lee before departing to get back to the investigation.
The nurse was able to escort the members into a waiting room and said the only update she had on Jungkook was that his pulse came back in the ambulance but it was extremely unstable.
"So you're saying he's not in the clear yet? You're saying he still might die?" Hobi asked.
"I'm very sorry. The team is doing all they can for him." The nurse looked at them with empathy in her eyes, but unfortunately she also had to get back to doing her job.
Now it was Namjoon's turn to throw up. He ran to the trash can sitting in the corner of the sterile white room filled with nothing but ugly brown chairs, barely making it in time.
"I don't understand," Taehyung started, "why him? How could this happen to him, of all people? He's the last soul on earth who deserves this."
Nobody replied, because nobody knew why this happened to Jungkook. Everything had been going so well up until that point. With anxiety and guilt eating away at everyone, all any of them could do was sit there and cry while they waited for news.
Within three hours the only news they had gotten was that Jungkook had needed multiple blood transfusions because he'd lost so much blood.
After another three hours, the doctor came back and finally had an extensive update.
The members didn't bother to stand, they knew if they were told Jungkook wasn't going to make it or was still going downhill they'd all drop to their knees anyway.
The doctor looked at his clipboard and sighed. "Well, as you all know, he took a tragic fall."
"We are well fucking aware, thanks," Yoongi scoffed.
Jimin reached over and grabbed Yoongi's arm, a silent indicator that the doctor wasn't an enemy here.
"I'm sorry," Yoongi said.
"I don't want to call Jungkook lucky, however, usually if someone drops from thirty feet in the air and lands on their stomach and head, they die on impact. Call it a miracle or whatever you want to call it, but despite his injuries, Jungkook is what I would consider lucky."
"So he's not going to die?" Hope filled Jin's heart. "You can tell us he's not going to die?"
"I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I also don't want to stand here and leave you guys wondering. His vitals are more stable and he's currently in surgery. However, his injuries are quite extensive."
"I'm too scared to know what they are," Jimin admitted. "He's so hurt..."
"Would you like me to not tell you?" the doctor asked.
The members spoke amongst themselves for a moment and decided they wanted to know.
"He did land on his head, resulting in a fractured skull and brain bleed. He also fractured his cheekbone. He had multiple broken ribs, some from the fall and one due to the CPR that was administered."
The more the doctor spoke, the more the members felt their heart's sink lower and lower in their chests. They couldn't believe something so terrible had happened to Jungkook. They held each other's hands as the doctor continued.
"He has internal bleeding, and lost a lot of blood but the blood transfusions have helped. He does have a broken arm and a broken leg, and his appendix ruptured, so we also have to clear his body of any possible infections. He needed about two hundred stitches in total. Now, I don't say this to concern you, but don't expect him to wake up anytime soon. With this kind of trauma, and with a head injury this severe, he will more than likely be in a coma. There's no telling how long it will last."
"A coma?" Taehyung's voice was very quiet. "He will wake up though, right?"
"To be completely honest, there is the possibility that he doesn't. Or he might wake up, but he won't be the same boy as before. This kind of traumatic brain injury can alter personalities or also send people into a permanent vegetative state."
"So what you're saying is he will live but we might still lose him anyway?" Hobi finally lifted his gaze to the doctor.
"Yes, I am sorry. Only time will tell how he heals."
Namjoon turned and buried his face into Jin's shoulder to muffle his screaming.
None of the members said thank you to the doctor before the man departed because they weren't thankful for that kind of damn news. They were glad he'd live, but at what cost?
--
Jungkook had been in a coma for six weeks.
A lot had happened in that time.
Firstly, once the members had finally been allowed into his room they didn't leave him alone for a second. They stayed in the hospital day and night for all of those weeks, despite the fact the sight of him was absolutely devastating. He was covered in bandages that were protecting all his stitches, he had an arm cast and a leg cast, he had bruises and scars. A tube ran through his nose and down his throat for feeding. He had multiple IV's in his arms. All of the members wished they could take his place. They'd give anything to go back in time and fix this.
Secondly, Chlux had been arrested for attempting premeditated murder.
As in, he'd planned this.
Mr. Lee had sent his officers into a very, very deep investigation because even he found this entire thing suspicious. He even got the NIS involved and it came to light that Chlux was an anti and had planned for those ropes to snap. The members were informed that the ropes he used were actually designed to break apart like they had, they were in no way up to regulation nor were they even the correct kind of rope.
Chlux had planned for Jungkook to drop to the ground and be killed.
Rage filled the members, and they all wanted even just five minutes alone with Chlux to unleash their wrath, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. The man was already behind bars and would be for years and years to come.
At the end of the sixth week in his coma, Jungkook's fingers started to twitch and a quiet groan left his lips.
"Maknae?" Namjoon whispered as he ran close to his maknae's face. "Can you hear me?"
"Hmm?" More groans came from Jungkook's mouth and his entire body started to shift.
"He's waking up! He's waking up!" Hobi cheered.
Everyone was at the boy's bedside asking if he could hear them.
For the first time in six weeks, Jungkook's eyes slowly opened. The first thing he noticed was that his head and body hurt like absolute hell, and his vision was blurry. He also realized there was something in his throat making it hurt and making it a bit hard to breathe. He wanted to scratch at his throat but he was too weak to lift his arms.
Yoongi noticed him struggling and ran into the hallway to call a nurse in. The nurse ran in and took the feeding tube out, and Jungkook fell into a coughing fit as his vision slowly came back to him.
His hyungs came into clear focus as he remained silent but looked around the room. "Mmmm," was all he could say as pain shot through his body. He knew he was in a hospital as soon as he saw the nurse and all the tubes and wires attached to him.
"Hey, shh, it's okay. You don't have to talk," Taehyung informed as he gently held Jungkook's hand. "We're all here. You see?" he gestured to the rest of them, "all of your hyungies are right here. We never left you, not even for a second."
Now that Jungkook was awake, the members knew it was the moment of truth. They still had no clue what Jungkook would be like when he woke up from this coma. They had hoped and prayed for weeks that he woke up the same old maknae, but even if he didn't, they'd still love him the same nonetheless.
His eyes darted back and forth between his hyungs and he could see all of them were smiling, yet crying at the same time. He tried to muster up all his energy again to move his hand, and he was finally able to lift it up enough to reach out and touch Taehyung.
Taehyung gently squeezed his maknae's fingers. "I'm right here, Kookie." He gently kissed Jungkook's fingers.
"Jungkook?" The maknae turned his head when he heard a voice come from his left. "It's me. It's Jiminie. Do you...remember me? Us? Do you remember what happened?"
"Jimin, maybe now isn't the time to start asking a bunch of questions," Yoongi lightly scolded.
Jungkook opened his mouth, choking over his words a bit. "I-I don't re-memb-er what-" he paused to take a deep breath, "-h-happened." This much was true. Jungkook had absolutely no idea why he was in the hospital. His first thought was perhaps he'd been in a car accident but he couldn't really express all that. Talking was painful and exhausting. He continued. "But I-I know my h-hyungs."
Namjoon covered his face with his hand to try and calm his immediate crying. Simply hearing that Jungkook at least remembered who they were was already such a good sign to him.
When Jungkook saw Namjoon crying, he slowly reached out his other hand the best he could. "Joonie h-hyung," he whispered, "d-don't cry."
What the h-h-hell h-happened to m-me?
Namjoon took Jungkook's hand in his. "I promise they're happy tears, kiddo."
Jungkook didn't need to ask what happened, because the others got right into it. They informed him of their video shoot and how he had been lifted with ropes by a crane and they snapped.
The nurse who had stayed in the room explained the extent of his injuries and hearing this, Jungkook broke down into tears. "Am I g-going to d-die?" He couldn't remember the accident at all, he didn't even remember that day at all, so he had no clue if he was supposed to live or not.
The nurse smiled. "No, you won't die. You've already made it through the hard part. The accident happened six weeks ago."
Jungkook couldn't believe it. Six weeks ago?!
All of this was too much for him to handle at the moment, so he couldn't help but pass back out. The hyungs freaked out but the nurse assured them that this was normal.
"The fact he remembers who you all are is a great sign, it means the part of his brain the doctor's were most worried about seems to be fully functioning. I'd say, by the looks of it, you're getting the same old Jungkook back. It will be a long road to recovery, but you'll all get there."
--
The nurse hadn't been wrong. It was a long, long road to recovery.
Jungkook had spent two more months in the hospital after he'd woken up. He had to undergo a few more surgeries, physical therapy sessions, and he also had to attend regular therapy, especially after finding out the only reason he had fallen was because Chlux was trying to kill him.
There were still gaps in his memory, but as the weeks went on bits and pieces of the day came back to him. He got chills every time he thought about how that fall was supposed to kill him. He also knew how guilty his hyungs felt, and that killed him the most because he started to remember how pushy and adamant he'd been about doing the stunt in the first place. He'd told them, "You were just trying to give me what I had wanted. You were just being good brothers. It's not your fault."
As happy as everyone was that he was on the road to healing, Jungkook was still aware of his hyung's constant worry and sadness for what had happened. He didn't know what to do, and kept reminding them that he wasn't angry and he was glad that he lived.
He also promised to never push for something like that ever again. He vowed to listen to his hyungs when they expressed concerns about his safety.
The thrill isn't worth it.
Once he was discharged from the hospital, Jungkook could finally relax at home. His hyungs waited on him hand and foot even if he insisted on trying to be independent. He was still having some memory issues, mainly short term, where he'd forget what he'd just said or he'd forget what he was doing. Thankfully, he had a loving family to take care of him.
His hyungs didn't mean to be, but they'd become even more over protective than they already were. Even when Jungkook would shower someone would sit in there to make sure he didn't fall and hit his head.
It took a long time for him to stop having headaches, and sometimes his vision would go blurry. Not only was he in various therapies, but he was also on an array of medications to help with all the pain he was in. Sometimes he'd have nightmares or panic attacks during the day when he thought about how he almost died.
He wasn't the only one to have those problems, either. All of his hyungs had the same problem when they got flashbacks to seeing him fall.
Yoongi started to tease Jungkook. "At least you didn't have to witness it."
"Witness it?! At least you're not the one who fell!" Jungkook teased back.
"I wish I was the one who fell! Then at least it wouldn't have been you!" What had started as teasing turned quite serious very quickly. Yoongi had started crying and repeated, "At least it wouldn't have been you..."
Jungkook wrapped his hyung in a hug. "If it had to be any of us, I'm glad it was me. I can't imagine how scary it was to witness that. I can't imagine seeing one of you go through that."
"Can't we all just agree that we wish it was none of us?" Jimin asked.
Yoongi and Jungkook laughed. Jimin had a point.
Jungkook couldn't believe he'd been given a second chance at living after experiencing something that should have killed him. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve something so fortunate in life, but he was grateful.
He was at a follow up doctor's appointment with all of his hyungs when the doctor couldn't help but notice that he was healing faster than what was normal or expected.
"Not only did you survive that fall, but now you're healing at an accelerated rate." The doctor was actually quite baffled. Jungkook was a true miracle case.
The maknae looked at his hyungs and then back at the doctor. "Well, I'd say it's because I had six angels watching over me in that hospital bed."
"Are you referring to us?" Jin asked.
Jungkook sighed. "Yes, hyungie. I'm talking about you." Jungkook couldn't help but giggle. Sometimes his hyungs were really bad at picking up on compliments.
"Yes, I suppose you did," the doctor replied. The man continued to talk about more things involving his aftercare and before anyone knew it the appointment was over and the maknae wouldn't have to go back for another three weeks.
As they were leaving, the hyungs noticed that Jungkook's eyes were misting over with tears. Yoongi immediately pulled him into a hug. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry," Jungkook said as he rested his head on Yoongi's shoulder.
"What? Sorry? Sorry for what? No, bun, don't cry." Yoongi used his fingers to wipe the tears that were dripping off Jungkook's chin. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Jungkook wasn't even entirely sure what he was sorry for. Maybe it was a lot of things mixed together. Such as persuading his members to let him do that stunt. For falling. For scaring the absolute shit out of them and putting them through literal hell. He didn't know what to say. He was just...sorry.
The members wrapped him up in a group hug.
Jimin kissed Jungkook's head. "We love you, Kookie."
"I love you too, hyungies."
All of them stood there embracing each other for quite a while.
A few months ago, the hyungs watched their entire world collapse right in front of them. They dreamed of being able to hold Jungkook again just like they were doing right now. They knew that nothing in this world mattered more to them than each other.
And as long as they stuck together, they would always have angels around.
[The End]