Park Jimin had been out of breath for as long as he could remember. That's what happens when your parents bless you with an incurable genetic disease which leaves you with crappy lungs. He wasn't a stranger to the feeling of his lungs screaming for oxygen, the light-headedness that made his brain feel like cotton, or little black dots dancing over his field of vision when he overexerted himself. Yes, Jimin had always struggled to breath. He hated it, but he was used to it, and today was no different as he ran across the green grass outside the liberal arts building, his converse getting more and more wet from the morning dew. He was late. Again.

There were countless of days when Jimin had asked, begged his lungs to just work a little harder, just to hold out a little longer so that he could enjoy his life and keep up with everyone else. Like when he went to his classmate's birthday party in middle school but had to go home early because he got a fever, or when he'd missed the week-long class trip to Jeju in high school because the school didn't want to be responsible for him if he got sick, or when he'd tried so hard to keep up in dance practice but ultimately had to sit down and watch his peers continue the routine without him. He now begged his crappy lungs to cooperate as he swung the door to the liberal arts building open, pleaded that his breath would return to normal so he could enter the classroom without looking like he was dying.

There was a bench right next to the door and Jimin sat down to try to make his body return to a semi normal state. He took out his phone and looked at the clock. 08.11. He wasn't that late, but Jimin felt embarrassed nonetheless. Punctuality was a virtue in Park Jimin's world, it was something his mother had taught him. "Being late is one of the most disrespectful things you can do, it shows that you value your own time more than other people's." She had told Jimin and his brother Jihyun multiple times. Yet here he was, late for his morning class, again.

The first time he had been late for class had been because of his phone running out of battery which meant the alarm didn't go off, he'd gotten an actual alarm clock after that incident. The second had been a misread number in his timetable, after that he'd always make sure to double check when he started for the day. To be completely fair, it hadn't been entirely Jimin's fault this time. His roommate Hoseok had accidentally turned Jimin's alarm off that morning which resulted in Jimin waking up 10 minutes before his lecture started. He didn't blame Hoseok though, his roommate was a dance major and had to get up at an ungodly hour on Mondays for early dance class and Jimin's alarm clock was right next to Hoseok's.

The answer to why Jimin had to get up at a specific time, like the answer to so many other things about his life, was of course his crappy lungs. He needed to avoid situations like this. Running the five minutes it took from Jimin's dorm across campus to the liberal arts building would hardly put a normal 23-year-old out of action, but of course this wasn't the case for Jimin. He hadn't really run because he knew it would take forever for his breathing to go back to normal if he did, he jogged instead but it was still quite taxing on his lungs. He'd probably pay for his mistreatment of them later, he'd have to skip his evening dance plans with Hoseok if he had any desire to sleep tonight.

Jimin was easily affected by over exhaustion and he easily contracted infections when he demanded too much of his body, it came with having cystic fibrosis. Getting a minor infection wasn't as harmless for him as it was for normal people his age, a cold could quickly evolve into a serious infection that could even be life threatening. Jimin had spent many days in the hospital because of this and would therefore like to avoid straining his body too much. Usually he would give himself plenty of time in the morning, calmly walk to his lesson and his breathing would be fine. So yes, it was important that Jimin woke up at a specific time.

Jimin's breathing was starting to normalise, enough where he knew he could fake complete normalcy. He stood up and opened the door carefully. Jimin stepped into the small classroom, students and benches kissed by the morning sun making its way through the large glass windows. Everyone looked at him, a few of them snickering. Shit, he should have checked how he looked before going in.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Park." Said Ms. Sun kindly. "Have a seat, I was just going to introduce our next book." She smiled kindly and gestured to his regular seat two tables down the middle row. Jimin bowed and stammered out some excuses before sinking down into his seat next to his friend Namjoon who gave him a small smile.

Namjoon was a tall boy with brown hair and the most prominent dimples Jimin had ever seen. Jimin had met Namjoon on their first day of university a little over a year ago and they instantly became great friends. They had a lot in common, not only their major, and Jimin could spend hours picking his friend's brain over a cup of coffee.

"What happened to you?" Namjoon whispered and turned his head towards Jimin discretely so their teacher didn't see.

"Alarm didn't go off." Jimin said bitterly as he unpacked his notebook and pencils from his bag. Namjoon gave him a pat on his shoulder and turned his attention back towards their teacher.

Jimin loved books. He had hundreds of them, most were back in his childhood home in Busan, but he still had acquired quite the collection in his dorm room over the last year. The power books had to take you on a journey to another world, to teach you things about life, and to make you feel things you never had before were just a few of the reasons why he loved books. Jimin couldn't think of anything else he'd want to do as a career so he had chosen literature as a major.

The lesson was interesting, the second book they were going to read this semester was Fahrenheit 451 which Jimin had already read but he didn't mind, it was a great book. The hour went by fast and as they didn't have any more classes until lunch Jimin and Namjoon went to the library to get a head start on their studies.

"I can't believe we're two weeks into the new semester and we already have this much to do." Namjoon groaned as they sat down at a vacant table.

"I know, it's like they were easing us into it last year." Jimin replied while opening his edition of Fahrenheit 451 while grabbing his post-it notes out of his bag to make notes. "I already need a break."

"Why don't we plan something with the rest of the guys? We could go hiking for a weekend or something." Namjoon suggested while flipping through his English book uninterestedly.

Jimin liked the idea of planning something together to take their minds off school for a couple of days, but hiking wasn't exactly his forte. "Or we could go camping?" He suggested as he took the cap off his marker.

"I mean we could do both I guess. I think being outside would do us all good." The brown-haired boy shrugged.

Jimin smiled to himself. Namjoon loved nature and he was always trying to get the rest of their friends to come outside more. The boy could often be found strolling through some nearby park or taking a daytrip to one of the mountains close to the city, but he usually had problems getting the rest of their friends to tag along.

Once it was time for lunch the two friends walked over to the main building on campus where the cafeteria was. When they entered their friends were already seated at their usual table, apparently in a heated discussion over whether hamburgers counted as sandwiches.

Their friend group was chaotic, but Jimin wouldn't have it any other way. All of them were completely different, but they strangely matched really well. Only Namjoon and Jungkook had known each other before attending university, they were childhood friends and had pretty much grown up together. Jungkook had met Jin and Yoongi, two third-years, at a welcome party for civil engineer students, all of them sharing the major, and they had immediately claimed they wanted to adopt the younger boy. Jin's roommate Taehyung pretty much forced his way into the group, much to Jin's dismay, but Jimin and Taehyung got along so well that they soon became best friends. Finally Hoseok, Jimin's roommate, was added to the group when Taehyung had declared that the happiness Hoseok spread all around him was needed to balance Yoongi's grumpiness.

Jimin loved his friends, but there was one person he couldn't stand and that was Jeon Jungkook. The boy was and had everything that Jimin didn't. He was rich, incredibly good looking, and popular. The first time Namjoon had introduced them had been a few weeks after they had started university and Jimin knew immediately that he would dislike the boy. Jungkook had introduced himself confidently and Jimin could see the privilege dripping from his expensive jacket and perfectly trimmed hair.

Jimin hadn't exactly grown up poor, they had lived in a small house and had a car, but his mum was a single parent and she couldn't afford to buy him and his brother all the nicest clothes and other things. Moreover, Jimin's doctor's visits and many medicines were a big expense. He'd always resented rich people because they had it so much easier, they didn't have to worry as much. Jimin could see it in people's eyes, the privilege of being able to wear whatever clothes they wanted, of being able to eat out more than a couple of times a year. He could definitely see it in Jungkook's eyes.

Jungkook was also an ***. From the moment they met Jungkook had made fun of Jimin and he hated it. It started with a joke about his height which Jimin did not appreciate and after that the jabs just kept coming. Jimin wasn't much better as he threw just as many insulting words at Jungkook, but in his defence Jungkook deserved it. Their friends had to endure their constant bickering and Jimin honestly felt sorry, but he would never let Jungkook win in an argument. Maybe it was petty, but the fucker won at everything in life so seeing him lose an argument was like Christmas to Jimin.

Infuriatingly enough everyone else around them seemed to love Jungkook. They all fell for his charms and good looks, but Jimin couldn't see what they saw. The boy always had a group of girls following him around and the sight made Jimin want to go throw up in a trash can. Having to watch Jungkook flirt was probably his least favourite thing, but unfortunately it happened a lot more than he would like.

Namjoon sat down next to Jin and gave him a small peck on the cheek, the two boys had started dating last December after they had (according to Namjoon) accidentally woken up in the same bed after a Halloween party. That left the seat directly opposite Jungkook for Jimin to take. He sat down and gave the boy a nasty look.

"Heard you were late this morning," Jungkook looked at him and gave him a crooked smile and a look showing Jimin he wouldn't get to eat his lunch in peace. "how long did it take your stubby little legs to run across campus?"

"**** off Jungkook, I'm not in the mood." Jimin said through clenched teeth while taking his lunch out of his bag.

Other than time, food was another area Jimin was very particular with. Because of his cystic fibrosis he couldn't absorb nutrients as well as other people and therefore had to keep track of what he ate. He had an especially hard time with absorbing fat which was why he put extra butter in everything, his food often came with cream based sauces, and he wasn't afraid to have dessert. Additionally, he always had a special nutritional drink that was prescribed by his doctor. The drink didn't taste the best, and it only came in strawberry and chocolate flavours, but it made it so much easier for Jimin to keep weight on.

Jungkook would often make fun of how much food Jimin ate and how he still seemed to be as skinny as a stick. Jimin bit his tongue every time, reminding himself that the consequences of telling Jungkook the real reason why his diet was the way it was would outweigh the satisfaction he'd feel seeing Jungkook's smug expression turn into shock.

His friends didn't know about his condition and Jimin was planning to keep it that way. Nothing good ever came from telling people you were sick. Jimin had had to tell many people in his life previously, whether he wanted to or not, or they just found out because he'd collapse at school or the teachers would say something about his absence. Jimin had lost every single friend he'd ever had because of cystic fibrosis and he wasn't about to let that happen again, not when he'd found such amazing people who seemed to genuinely like him. He didn't want to be seen as the sick and broken one and once they knew that was the only way they'd look at him.

The only one who knew was his roommate, Hoseok. Jimin had planned to keep it a secret from him as well, but the red-haired boy had accidentally opened Jimin's mail and seen a letter from his doctor a couple of months after he had moved in. Hoseok hadn't read it but he couldn't avoid seeing that it was from a specialist clinic for pulmonary diseases and Jimin didn't know how to explain that so he had to tell the boy.

His roommate had reacted the way he'd expected; shock, confusion, sadness. Jimin liked Hoseok and he didn't want to lose him like he had lost so many other friends, but to Jimin's surprise Hoseok didn't stop being his friend. Sure, he acted a bit weird for the first few months until he got used to seeing Jimin's oxygen tank he kept for bad nights and listening to his strained breathing when he got sick, but he didn't leave. Hoseok was the only friend he'd ever had who hadn't looked at him like he was a broken human being after finding out and Jimin was beyond grateful for his luck. Hoseok still babied him a lot, but he did that with everyone so Jimin didn't mind so much.

"So, me and Jimin were talking about doing something fun together now that the semester is in full swing." Namjoon said excitedly while shoving the gimbap he'd bought into his mouth. "I don't know about the rest of you but the teachers have been piling on work already."

"Tell me about it." Taehyung replied. "I can't believe we're two weeks in and I have a test next week."

"Yeah it would be nice with a break." Yoongi muttered across from Namjoon. "What did you have in mind?"

"We were thinking of going on a small trip or something. Do some hiking, camping, that sort of stuff." Namjoon said while chewing his gimbap and eyeing his friends expectantly.

Loud grunts were heard from Taehyung and Yoongi while Jungkook let out a small laugh through his nose. "I'm not going 'Namjooning'." Taehyung groaned.

"It doesn't matter how many times you say 'Namjooning', it's not going to stick Tae." Jimin said and laughed at his friend.

Taehyung gave him a glare. "I want to relax, not go out in the wilderness or whatever."

"I'm going to have to agree with the idiot." Yoongi said and Taehyung threw a scrunched-up paper towel at him.

"I'm going to help out at this camp this weekend as a dance instructor," Hoseok said while ruffling his cherry red hair "I get a whole cabin to myself and there are lots of activities you can do in the area. We could all go there?"

"What kind of activities?" Jin asked

"There are hiking trails nearby, the cabin is by a lake so you can go swimming or you can rent kayaks, and there are restaurants and shops down in the village."

"That sounds perfect!" Namjoon practically bounced in his seat making Jin look at him fondly.

"Why haven't you told us about it before." Jungkook said raising his eyebrows.

"He told me." Jimin said taking a sip from his nutrition drink. "Maybe you're not important enough."

Jungkook gave Jimin the finger and looked at Hoseok.

"I don't know, it just didn't come up." He shrugged.

"But why do you have a cabin to yourself?" Taehyung asked.

"I'm the only guy going, they didn't want me staying with the girls apparently." Hoseok said with a little laugh.

"You sure it's okay we stay there too?" Jin said raising his eyebrows.

"I think so, but I'll ask to make sure."

"Okay, so is everyone in then?" Namjoon looked around at his friends and they all agreed.

Jimin couldn't help but smile a little. A trip. He was going on a trip with his friends. Growing up he hadn't been able to take many trips with his family or his friends. His mum worked a lot and they couldn't travel anywhere too expensive so they'd only gone on a few road trips, some of which Jimin's crappy lungs had ruined and they'd ended up in the hospital. He wasn't allowed to go on school trips because the school was worried he'd get sick on the trip and he never had any friends long enough for the suggestion to come up. So to say he was excited was the understatement of the year.

He was going on a trip with his friends, for the first time ever. Not even Jungkook could ruin the glee Jimin felt.

---

Jimin was sitting at the small desk between his and Hoseok's beds. They had sacrificed fitting two desks in their tiny dorm room so that they could get a small sofa instead. Jimin didn't mind, he preferred to study at the library or at a coffee shop anyway, but tonight he had promised Hoseok to stay home.

Hoseok had felt really bad when Jimin told him about the mishap with his alarm. He had gone from begging Jimin to forgive him and promising he'd make it up to him to scolding him for running and making him promise to rest for the remainder of the night. Jimin knew better than to argue with Hoseok on this matter, he had gone against Hoseok's advice a few times only to end up in his friend's car on the way to the hospital half of the times. Hoseok had barely talked to him for a week the last time it happened.

Jimin wasn't looking forward to the amount of work he would have to get done in the next few days if he was going to be able to enjoy the trip over the weekend. Two new tests had been added to his workload just that afternoon and he felt like he could kiss his free time goodbye until Friday.

Jimin hated feeling stressed. He used to dance when he was stressed, it was his way of letting all the tension in his body go. Jimin had started dancing when he was five years old, he had begged his mother to take him to the dance studio a few blocks away from their house for months and she had finally relented when she'd realised that he wasn't letting it go. His lungs worked better when he was little so he could basically do anything the other kids in his class could, but as he got older his breathing got progressively worse and he couldn't keep up anymore. That didn't mean he stopped dancing though, no he kept going to the dance studio every week and danced the best he could.

There wasn't a more freeing feeling than flying across a room, feeling the beat of the music in every movement. He didn't let his crappy lungs stop him from experiencing that. When he applied for university he signed up for a contemporary dance class as an elective and revelled at the opportunity to learn new moves from the very talented dance instructor. His classmates were all really nice and equally talented, dancing in that class had been one of Jimin's favourite times of the week. He had cried when he had to give it up.

Barely six months into his first year it was becoming painfully obvious that his body couldn't keep up with dance class anymore. Jimin had tried so hard to keep up that he would almost collapse at the end of every dance practice. Towards the end Hoseok would have to come take him back to the dorms, half carrying him. He would also miss many lessons because his constant over exhaustion was causing an increasing amount of infections. When Jimin had ended up in the hospital, the second time in a month, with a particularly bad case of pneumonia Hoseok had pleaded with him to quit dance class. Jimin finally agreed, but that didn't mean he stopped dancing.

A couple of times a week him and Hoseok would book one of the dance studios, Hoseok insisted on being there and Jimin didn't want to argue knowing his friend wouldn't let him say no. Jimin cherished those nights with Hoseok in the dance studio, it gave him a satisfaction he couldn't get any other way. He wished he was in one of those studios right now, but instead he was rereading the second chapter of Fahrenheit 451 trying to focus.

He was about to pick up his notebook and continue his notes on the book when his phone lit up announcing he was getting a call from his mum. He quickly grabbed the phone and answered.

"Hey mum! How are you?"

"Hi honey! I'm good, how are you?" Hearing her calming voice filled with honey immediately relaxed Jimin. He hadn't talked to her since the first night he got back from summer vacation.

"I'm fine, they've already given us so much school work though so I'm a bit stressed about that."

"I'm sure you'll manage, you've always been the smart one in the family." His mum said.

Jimin laughed a little. His mum hadn't gone to university because she couldn't afford it and Jihyun had no interest in school. Jimin was the only one who was getting a higher education, thanks to the scholarship he'd managed to acquire through his perfect grades in high school. That didn't mean his mother and brother weren't smart though. "You're smart too, you just don't want to spend your life with your nose down a Charles Dickens book."

"That's true." Jimin's mum's laugh rang through his phone and it made him smile.

"What's up with you guys? Anything new happened since I left?"

"Hmm, not really." His mum sounded a bit distant, like she was wondering whether to tell him something. "We've just been busy with Jihyun starting school and things have been picking up at the restaurant, at least I'm getting loads of tips."

"Yeah sounds like it." Jimin felt like that wasn't the first thing that had come to her mind, but he didn't want to push her. "Hey, I'm going on a trip with my friends in a few days. Hoseok is going to be a dance instructor at this camp and he invited us to come along." Jimin couldn't hide his excitement and his mother seemed to be able to tell how happy he was.

"That's amazing honey, I'm so excited for you! Just be careful okay?"

"I know, I'm already taking it easy. Nothing will ruin this trip for me I swear."

"That's good to hear. Promise me you won't be too upset if you end up missing it or having to go home early though." His mum knew him too well, she couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted and just tried to make sure he would be alright if his cystic fibrosis got in the way.

"I promise mum."

"Good." Jimin could practically hear her smile through the phone. "Anyway, I need to get started on dinner now but it was so good hearing your voice. It's empty here at the dinner table without you."

"I miss you too, I'll try to visit soon okay?"

"Please do."

They said their goodbyes and finally hung up. Funny how talking to his mother could make all the stress leave his body.

Jimin had barely picked up his pencil before he heard the door opening behind him and saw his roommate walk through the door, his gym bag slung over his shoulder. He looked exhausted.

"How much have you slept in the last few days, you look awful." Jimin eyed his friend's figure as the boy threw himself onto his bed.

"It's that recital next month," Hoseok said after sighing loudly. "it's double the work since I'm doing a group dance and a solo dance."

Jimin hummed understandingly. Hoseok had been so excited when he found out he would get to do a solo dance, in addition to the group dance with his street dance class, for the annual dance recital the dance majors put on to welcome the students back to the new semester. It was huge to get to perform solo as only two students from each year were chosen. Hoseok had spent most of his waking hours preparing and it was definitely taking a toll on his body.

"I've finally decided on the last steps of the choreo for my solo, but there's still so much work until the performance is where I want it to be." Hoseok looked almost desperate, he rubbed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair.

"Hey Hoseok, don't stress too much. Not sleeping isn't going to help." Jimin said, concern clearly audible in his voice.

"Don't worry about me Jiminah, I've got it under control."

"So, you're allowed to worry about me but I can't even tell you to sleep?" Jimin said feigning offence.

Hoseok laughed and threw a sock at Jimin. "Okay, I get your point."

Jimin walked over to Hoseok's bed and laid down next to his friend. The red-haired boy put his arm under Jimin's head and he leaned his head against his friend's shoulder. "I'm really looking forward to going to the cabin with everyone." Jimin said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"So am I." Hoseok replied. "I think we all need a break."

Jimin nodded against Hoseok's arm. "I just wish-"

"What?"

"I just wish Jungkook wasn't coming."

Hoseok laughed and Jimin couldn't help but smile too. "Yah Jimin, don't let him ruin it for you. Just ignore him."

Hoseok was right. He would not let ******* Jeon Jungkook ruin this trip for him. No way.

If there was one thing Jimin enjoyed about Fridays it was his 8AM English class. Not because he particularly liked English or found the teacher's ramblings about adverbs remotely interesting, no the reason why Jimin liked English class was the view. Through the window next to his desk he got a full view of the courtyard outside the dance and art building and sitting on the grass with his face turned to the other side was a platinum blonde boy stretching his long limbs. The boy, Yeonjun, and Jimin had been in the same dance class the previous year and Jimin had slowly developed a crush on the boy.

Yeonjun was ridiculously attractive, his body all muscle and face soft yet manly. He was so far out of Jimin's league that even the thought of Yeonjun finding Jimin attractive was laughable. He was always nice to Jimin though, and he couldn't help but indulge in his crush.

On Fridays Yeonjun had an early dance class that ended just as Jimin's English lesson started and Jimin internally thanked the university administration for aligning their schedules so perfectly. The boy liked to stretch outside, something Jimin was well aware of having joined him a couple of times when he was still attending the class, and he couldn't help himself from watching Yeonjun tend to his sore muscles. The sun was out and it reflected in Yeonjun's hair making him look almost angelic.

Jimin finally tore his eyes away from the boy outside to focus his attention back on the teacher who was listing new words for them to learn until next class. He picked up his pen and started copying the scribbles in his notebook, he would much rather have kept looking at Yeonjun.

If his 8AM English class was one of his favourites of the week then it was a stark contrast to his 10AM class. Since Jimin couldn't take dance anymore he had looked for a new elective subject, he'd found it difficult but finally settled on photography thinking it might be a useful skill to learn. He had been looking forward to his new class, even bought a small photo album where he thought he could store some of the pictures he took, that was until he walked into the classroom the first week and spotted a familiar smug face. ******* Jeon Jungkook.

Jimin had cursed himself not thinking of the possibility Jungkook could be in his class, knowing that photography was a hobby of the boy's. To be fair Jungkook hadn't had room in his schedule for an elective last year and Jimin didn't think this year would be any different. He had been sorely mistaken.

Jimin had wanted to switch classes but it was too late, all the other subjects were already full. He was stuck in the same class as Jungkook. For a whole year. What had he done in his previous life to deserve this kind of punishment.

Jungkook had seemed just as surprised as Jimin to learn that they would share a class this year. He had recovered quickly though and Jimin had had to endure countless mocking comments about his small hands not being able to hold the camera properly over the past week.

As Jimin walked into the classroom with a couple of minutes to spare he couldn't see Jungkook anywhere and he silently hoped the boy had fallen and broken his perfect nose on the way to class. He wasn't so lucky though as the taller boy sauntered into the classroom with only seconds to spare. His eyes flickered over the classroom looking for an available seat and his gaze finally landed on the empty chair next to Jimin. ****.

Jungkook walked over towards Jimin, but Jimin didn't look up from his edition of 'The Old Man and the Sea' which he had been preoccupying his mind with for the last couple of minutes. He kept staring at the page and took a sip of his coffee. "Keep walking Jeon."

Jungkook ignored him and sat down in the empty seat. Jimin turned his face towards the brown-haired boy and glared at him. "Sit somewhere else."

"I don't want to sit next to you either believe me," Jungkook said in a bored tone. "but this is the only available seat."

Jimin looked around and could see he was right. He put the book back in his bag, carefully making sure to put the bookmark between the pages to mark where he left off, and took out his notebook and a pen instead.

"Are you seriously taking notes on photography?" Jungkook eyed him mockingly and scoffed.

Jimin could feel his cheeks redden. "Yes, I'm actually trying to learn something you ***." Jimin snarled. "If there's a test I'm at least going to be prepared."

Jungkook laughed and leaned back in his chair looking incredibly smug. "Oh come on Jimin, we're not going to have a written test on photography. How dumb are you?"

Rage was bubbling up in Jimin's chest. He clenched his fist around his pen, knuckles turning white. He decided the smartest thing to do was to ignore Jungkook, he wouldn't give the boy the satisfaction of seeing him get angry.

Jimin enjoyed photography, the lesson was focused on learning how to use light and shadows to portray different moods and he was eagerly taking notes. However, not even the most interesting topic could completely distract him from the fact that Jungkook was sitting next to him. The boy would intentionally kick Jimin's chair to bother him and scribble obscene words in the corner of his notebook when he wasn't looking. Jimin got his revenge though, with ten minutes left of the class Jungkook stretched his arms above his head and yawned which gave Jimin the opportunity to 'accidentally' spill some (actually a lot) of his now lukewarm coffee in Jungkook's lap. The taller boy gave him a scathing look, gathered his things and left the classroom. Jimin smiled triumphantly and went back to his notes. He'd won this time.

---

At 3PM Jimin, Hoseok, Taehyung and Jungkook were sitting in Hoseok's car, finally on their way to the cabin. The other boys would take the bus out of the city later that night since they had late classes, but their luggage was packed in the car with everyone else's. It was cramped in the car and Jimin was happy he'd managed to get the passenger seat.

Jimin had packed lightly, they were only going to spend four days on the trip so he just needed a few changes of clothes and his meds. It all fit in a duffle bag that was sitting comfortably on the floor between his legs. Taehyung on the other hand had brought two bags and a one metre canvas that was currently pressed against the window on Taehyung's side. The art-major had insisted on bringing his art supplies arguing that being in nature would inspire him and it would be a travesty to waste it on doodles in the corner of napkins.

Jungkook was sitting in the back with his backpack in his lap trying to push Jin and Namjoon's massive suitcase more towards Taehyung's side. "How come Jimin gets to sit in the front, he's smaller." The boy grunted. It didn't seem like he had forgotten the incident with the coffee from earlier.

"He made me a sandwich this morning, what have you done for me today Jungkookah?" Hoseok answered cheerfully.

Jungkook muttered something inaudible and Jimin couldn't help but smile smugly. "How long till we get there Hobi?" he asked looking out at the city disappearing behind them.

"Not too long, 30 minutes maybe?"

Jimin hummed happily. The weather forecast for the next few days promised bright sun and minimal wind, temperature high enough to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt but not too hot that they wouldn't be able to do the activities they had planned. The whole thing still felt like a dream to Jimin. He had thought about all the things he wanted to do while they were there and he couldn't wait to get started. He wasn't going to overdo it, he had been realistic in his plans, so he was confident that nothing would ruin the trip.

The car ride continued with Jimin and Jungkook bickering over what music to listen to, both refusing to give up. Hoseok finally rolled his eyes and turned on the radio to shut them up. Taehyung had fallen asleep in in the back only 15 minutes after they'd left and Jimin smiled as he looked back at his peaceful face. His eyes momentarily drifted over to Jungkook who was looking at his phone. His eyebrows were furrowed and there was a look of concern in his eyes. Jimin almost opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but stopped himself. He had just decided to pretend Jungkook didn't exist for the duration of the trip, then he wouldn't be able to ruin it for him.

As they continued driving the motorway took them to smaller roads and after rounding a corner the view of the lake was flooding Jimin's vision. The view probably didn't look that special to most people, the water was murky and green and there were bugs flying around in the shade of a big tree they passed, but to Jimin it was one of the most beautiful places he'd ever seen.

He looked out in awe as Hoseok pulled up to the cabin they would stay at for the next few days. It was located only 50 metres from the lake and Jimin could see a small dock stretching out into the water. To the left there were other identical ones to theirs and to the right the forest spread out, a small sign at a path indicating different trails you could take up the mountain.

"I'm going to run down to the reception and get the key, you guys unload the luggage while I'm gone." Hoseok said throwing the car key to Jimin.

Jimin ruffled his blonde hair and looked at the cabin. It wasn't huge, but he didn't doubt that the seven of them would be able to fit inside without a problem. The dark wood of the panelling contrasted beautifully against the bright green of the forest. There was a big porch wrapping around the entire front of the house with a pair of inviting armchairs next to the front door. It gave off a comfortable and cosy vibe and Jimin couldn't wait to go inside.

He turned back around towards the car and saw that Taehyung was making his way out of the backseat rubbing his eyes and squinting in the bright sunlight. "Are we there?" He asked groggily.

Jimin walked over to the sleepy boy and pinched his cheek. "Yes, we're here Taehyungie." He cooed.

Taehyung's face broke into a smile and he lifted Jimin up and spun him around while Jimin held onto the boy's shoulders protesting loudly. He finally set the blonde boy down after Jimin had threatened to pour ketchup in his white sneakers.

"Will you come paint with me later?" Taehyung asked eagerly.

"Of course." He smiled at his best friend. "Can't wait to see your next masterpiece."

"Are you two going to confess your love for each other this year or are we going to have to wait even longer?" Jungkook's annoyed voice came from the other side of the car.

Jimin refused to look at the brown-haired boy, he was not going to acknowledge his presence. He was going to keep pretending Jungkook wasn't there.

"I confess my love to Jimin all the time." Taehyung said with a big smile and pulled Jimin in for a warm hug. "You're just jealous I don't love you as much." He continued jokingly.

Jungkook rolled his eyes and leaned against the roof of the car. "He probably needs it with his terrible self-esteem."

Jimin turned towards the boy and couldn't help the words coming out of his mouth. "**** off Jungkook. Use your money to buy a best friend if you want one so badly."

The taller boy's cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink and Jimin felt satisfied, he seemed to have hit a nerve. Jungkook didn't have time to say anything back because a loud voice was suddenly booming up at them.

"Yah!" Hoseok's yelled as he was walking towards them. "Have you seriously not unloaded a single bag? Can I not trust you to do anything?"

The red-haired boy shook his head and pushed Jimin and Taehyung back towards the car. "Go! Take your stuff out before I regret bringing you here."

They unloaded the car quickly and Hoseok unlocked the front door to the cabin. On the other side of the door a small entryway greeted them with hooks to hang their jackets on and a shelf to put their shoes. Moving through the archway they stepped into a narrow hallway which had a couple of doors on either side and stairs leading to the second floor. On the left was a big archway guiding them into the open plan kitchen and living room. Jimin marvelled at the open fireplace in the back of the room and sat down on the comfortable couch.

"Jungkook, Tae – you're sharing one of the rooms upstairs." Hoseok declared. "Me and Yoongi will sleep in the one at the end of the hallway downstairs and Namjoon and Jin will take the master upstairs. Jimin, you can have the one right by the stairs."

Loud protests came from both Taehyung and Jungkook, both clearly wanting a room to themselves. Hoseok only laughed and ushered them towards the stairs. Jimin gave the red-haired boy a grateful smile and walked towards his room. Getting his own room would certainly make things easier for Jimin, now at least he wouldn't need to hide in the bathroom to take his meds.

Jimin opened the door to his room, stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The room was small, there was only enough space for a bed, a nightstand, and a small closet. The walls were made of the same wood as on the outside of the cabin, but it was painted white, and a huge picture of the lake was hung above the bed.

He walked over to the bed and set his bag on the green duvet. He took out his clothes and put them in the closet and laid his books on the night stand. Jimin took out the fairly large bag containing all his medicines and looked at it for a moment considering where to put it. He finally decided to cram it into the shelf in the nightstand. That bag contained everything Jimin needed to keep his cystic fibrosis in check, well except one thing. The only thing he hadn't brought with him was his oxygen tank. It had genuinely slipped his mind as he didn't use it every day, but he had realised his mistake as he was getting into Hoseok's car parked outside the dorm building. There had been plenty of time to run back upstairs and get it but Jimin had decided against it. It was difficult to bring without the others seeing it and he couldn't risk that.

A small twinge of worry hit him. When his breathing got bad Jimin's saturation easily dipped and he'd need his oxygen tank, not having it with him could be a problem. Jimin quickly shook the thought out of his head. He wouldn't need it, he was taking it easy and right now he was feeling perfectly fine. There was no need to worry.

---

Jin, Namjoon and Yoongi arrived a couple of hours later and quickly settled into the cabin with the other boys. They had brought pizza with them from the little village nearby and the seven boys were currently sitting around the big dinner table shoving food into their mouths.

"We should go on a hike later, go see the sunset." Namjoon suggested, mouth full of pizza.

Taehyung and Jungkook quickly agreed and after a nudge from his boyfriend Jin also nodded, a fond smile on his lips.

"I'm not going." Yoongi said, to no one's surprise. "I'm exhausted."

"Jimin?" Namjoon looked at him hopefully.

Before Jimin had time to tell Namjoon he just wanted to read by the lake for tonight Jungkook spoke up. "There's no point in even asking him Joon, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He's too weak." The boy gave Jimin a challenging look.

"Actually, I was hoping Jimin would help me plan the dance class I'm holding tomorrow." Hoseok sounded almost too cheery and Jimin recognised the nervousness under his friend's happy tone. His roommate clearly didn't think it was a good idea for Jimin to go hiking if he wanted to make sure not to get sick. Jimin would have to agree, but the look in Jungkook's eyes made all his rationality fly out the window.

"I'd love to come Joon." Jimin said not taking his eyes off Jungkook. The younger boy raised his eyebrows and twisted his lips into a grin.

"Jimin don't you think-"

"I'm going Hobi, I'll help you later." He cut his friend off and gave him a look that told him not to argue. Hoseok looked back at him, but finally pursed his lips and nodded.

20 minutes later they were making their way up a trail to a lookout point a few kilometres away, Namjoon had looked it up beforehand and raved about the view. Jimin was not dressed for hiking, he hadn't planned to tread out into the forest at all so he hadn't packed any appropriate clothes. His feet were starting to ache in his converse and the wind was going straight through his jean jacket. He already regretted the decision to join the excursion.

His friends were all fit, Jungkook and Taehyung did long distance running together and Namjoon spent an increasingly large amount of time at the gym. Jin didn't have the same dedication to exercise as the others, but he had no problem keeping up with the impossibly fast pace they had set.

It didn't take more than three minutes for Jimin to get out of breath, his chest begging for relief. He was good at controlling his breathing, keeping it at a normal rate even though his lungs were screaming for more oxygen. He did not want to show how affected he was after such a short amount of time, if Jungkook saw how much he was struggling he would never hear the end of it.

It wouldn't be the first time Jungkook had made fun of Jimin's breathing. The younger boy would often comment on how unfit Jimin was and it made his blood boil. Jimin knew that he shouldn't take any of Jungkook's comments about his physical state to heart, the boy didn't know that he had a debilitating lung disease and he probably wouldn't make fun of him if he did, but the things he said would still bother him. Jimin hated how weak Jungkook made him feel. He hated looking weak, especially in front of Jungkook.

Another five minutes of walking later and the path was starting to incline which made Jimin want to throw up. Sweat was running down his back and he was getting lightheaded. He was falling behind a bit and finally allowed himself to breathe faster, to give his body what it needed. His respiratory rate was picking up fast and it seemed to ease his struggling muscles, for a while at least. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this pace up and he cursed himself for letting Jungkook get to him.

The wind was picking up now that they were getting higher up and it made the sweat on Jimin's back feel like ice. The gap between him and his friends had grown larger, they were probably over 20 metres ahead of him and they didn't look back. Jimin seriously considered sitting down on the ground to get some energy back and then turn back to the cabin, but he quickly decided that that wasn't an option. He could only imagine the comments Jungkook would make if Jimin didn't even make it to the top.

So he pressed on, ignoring his body pleading for him to stop, to catch his breath and rest. His fingers were tingling and his vision was blurry, but he kept going. Suddenly his foot got caught on something and he tripped landing on all four on the dirt path. Jimin cursed and examined his palms to see if he had hurt himself, thankfully his hands were only a bit red from the impact. He allowed himself a minute to regain some energy, the others were far ahead anyway so it wouldn't matter.

Before he got back up he saw a hand reaching out in front of him. Jimin looked up to see Jungkook standing in front of him holding out his hand to help him up, his face completely expressionless. Jimin quickly got control over his breathing, ignoring the stabbing feeling in his chest. He hadn't heard the boy approach him and he didn't like the thought of Jungkook seeing him sitting there on the ground, his breathing out of control. Jimin looked back at Jungkook and pushed his hand out of the way without saying anything in fear of not being able to hide how much he was struggling.

"Okay, suit yourself." Jungkook scoffed and turned back around to walk up the path.

Had Jungkook just tried to... help him? That seemed impossible to Jimin, he must have had some ulterior motive. He watched as the boy climbed the steep incline with ease, quickly catching up to Namjoon and Jin who were holding hands. Taehyung had run ahead and was nowhere to be seen.

Jimin stayed on the ground for a few more seconds before he willed his body into action and stood up. His legs were wobbly and his chest was still moving up and down rapidly. He could see the top now, just a few more minutes and then he would be there. He could do it, he had to.

When the trees finally dispersed and an open clifftop appeared in front of Jimin he stopped for a second trying to collect himself, he probably looked awful. There wasn't much he could do about his appearance but he tried to wipe some of the sweat off his forehead and bite his lips a few times to make colour return to them. Thankfully visibility was deteriorating rapidly in the twilight and hopefully his frazzled state wouldn't be too noticeable.

Jimin looked over to where his friends were sitting on the bare cliff and saw how the sun had just dipped under the horizon. He'd missed it. The sun had already set and he could see how his friends were getting to their feet, probably planning to go back down.

Namjoon spotted Jimin standing at the edge of the path and ran over to him. "Hey, sorry, I didn't know you were so far behind. You just missed the sunset." Namjoon gestured to the remaining streak of red light colouring the clouds over the treetops.

Jimin only managed to nod, concentrating on not letting his breathing betray him.

Jin, Taehyung and Jungkook joined them while Namjoon was telling Jimin about how beautiful the sun had looked as it set over the lake, unknowingly rubbing it in further. Jimin's gaze flickered over Jungkook for a moment only to see that the boy was already looking at him. His eyes were unreadable and he didn't say anything. Why was he staring at him?

"We're heading back down." Jin proclaimed while back-hugging Namjoon, his chin resting on the boy's shoulder. "I want to get a round of table tennis in before bed."

"I'll stay for a minute." Jimin managed to say while keeping his breath steady.

"You sure? It'll get dark soon." Namjoon furrowed his brows and looked at him.

Jimin nodded and gave them a smile he hoped looked convincing.

"Do you want me to keep you company?" Taehyung asked and took his hand.

"No." Jimin shook his head, not meeting Taehyung's eyes. "Go."

"Okay, I'll see you later then." Taehyung let go of his hand and gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

Jimin watched the four boys beginning their descent down the small mountain. He knew he shouldn't, he knew it was petty, but he resented his friends. They didn't know how lucky they were to be perfectly healthy, their bodies not betraying them at every opportunity. They would never understand.

Just as Jimin was about to avert his eyes from his friends Jungkook turned his head around and looked at Jimin with that same gaze, the one that he couldn't interpret. Jimin couldn't look at Jungkook any longer, there was something in the taller boy's eyes that made him uncomfortable. Jungkook had yet to mock him for taking so long to get to the top, or for falling while trying to get there, and Jimin didn't want to give him the opportunity to do so.

He walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down. The rock was still a little bit warm from the sun that had just shone upon it, but the air was chilly, the wind now quite strong. Jimin looked out onto the lake below him and put his arms around his body, hugging himself. Tears were pooling in his eyes as he let himself catch his breath.

He had let Jungkook get to him like he said he wouldn't. It had been so easy, just one sentence and Jimin had thrown away all his plans for the weekend. Why did he care so much what Jungkook thought?

Jimin was upset, he was angry. Angry at himself, at Jungkook, even at the damn sun. He wasn't really upset that he hadn't been able to see the sunset, he could care less to be honest. No, it was what the damn red orb descending behind the trees represented that upset him. He pushed himself so hard to keep up, he tried his best and it still wasn't enough. Jimin would never be normal, he would never be able to do the things his friends did. It didn't matter how hard he tried, how much he wanted to do things, his body was broken and there was no fix.

He hugged himself tighter and let the tears fall down his cheeks. Darkness soon fell around him, shadows enveloping his surroundings. Jimin sat there until there were no remnants of the sun left to taunt him.

---

It didn't take as long to walk back down to the cabin as Jimin had thought. Now that he was walking alone and could pick his own pace the path didn't seem so intimidating. He used the flashlight on his phone to illuminate the ground before him, careful not to trip over any stray branches or rocks. Before he knew it, he was exiting the forest and making his way towards the cabin.

He was only a few metres away from the house when he noticed that someone was sitting on the porch, he only needed to take a few more steps to see that it was Jungkook. The boy was clad in black sweats, explaining why it had taken Jimin so long to spot him, and he was looking down at his phone.

When Jimin's footsteps became loud enough for the younger boy to hear he looked up and put his phone in his pocket. "Hey."

"Hey." Jimin said through clenched teeth, he did not feel like talking to Jungkook right now.

"You alright?"

Jimin laughed a humourless laugh and stopped in front of the boy. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be."

Jungkook shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Jimin looked at him incredulously. When did Jungkook ever care about how he was doing? "You wanted to do what now?"

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes and fixed Jimin with an intense stare. "We're friends Jimin, why can't I check if you're alright?"

Jimin laughed again. This was a joke, right? "We're not friends Jungkook. We never have been."

The taller boy frowned at him, not seeming to understand what Jimin was saying. "What do you mean we're not friends, we-"

"Are you ******* serious right now?" Jimin shook his head and moved to walk up the stairs to the front door, but Jungkook put out his arm effectively stopping Jimin from going any further.

"Why do you dislike me so much?" Jungkook asked. "What's your problem?"

"You're kidding, right?" The walk down to the cabin had calmed him down, but now Jimin was getting angry again and this time he had someone to take it out on. "You treat me like shit, you mock me every chance you get and you wonder what my problem is?"

Jungkook looked stunned for a second before he collected himself. "We joke around, we insult each other. It's our thing. You do it just as much as I do." He argued back.

"You think I enjoy it? You think I like being insulted and made fun of. Well newsflash, I don't." Jimin balled his hands into fists and took a step forward towards Jungkook. "You think you're so important with your money and your perfect life. Did it ever cross your mind that maybe life isn't that easy for other people?"

Jungkook stood up on the stairs and took a step closer to Jimin, pointing a finger at him. "Just because I have money doesn't mean I don't have problems. You know nothing about my life and what I have to go through."

"Let me guess, you didn't get the car you wanted for your birthday." Jimin said in a mocking tone. "Cry me a river."

"**** you." Jungkook's face was contorted with rage.

"Yeah, right back at you." Jimin pushed past Jungkook, walked through the front door and slammed it shut behind him.

The second day of their trip went by fast. Jimin spent most of it inside the cabin reading on the couch or keeping Taehyung company by the lake where he was painting a realistic image of the landscape. He'd managed to avoid Jungkook for most of the day and when they'd been forced to be in the same room during lunch the younger boy had ignored him, a bit of an improvement if you asked Jimin. He couldn't explain Jungkook's strange actions from the night before, it made no sense. Jimin really regretted agreeing to go on that hike.

Jimin wasn't dumb, he knew that he had overdone it the night before and exposing himself to the surprisingly cold air hadn't been such a great idea either. Hoseok had scolded him for being so reckless and threatened to drive him home if he didn't take it easy. He knew he'd made a bad choice and the pressure he'd felt in his chest every time he took a breath was a constant reminder.

Jimin didn't tell Hoseok he wasn't feeling well. He didn't want to worry him and most of all he didn't want his friend to make him go back home. This trip was too important to Jimin and he wouldn't let his crappy lungs ruin it. Not this time.

His breathing got progressively worse throughout the day, not noticeable to his friends but it wasn't difficult for Jimin to tell. He desperately hoped that the sensation in his chest would go away, that for once in his life he wouldn't be punished for one bad decision. Of course, he was never that lucky.

It was now 2 AM and Jimin couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept for more than fifteen minutes, at best. It wasn't the first time his lungs had prevented him from going to sleep, and it wouldn't be the last. Hoseok had been right to scold him, Jimin knew that, but a small part of him hoped that maybe today his lungs would work fine, that they'd just do their damn job.

He tried to sit up a bit more, propped up against the extra pillows Hoseok had brought for him. Jimin was used to sleeping in a seated position. He'd spent many nights sleeping sitting up in his bed, in the comfortable armchair his mother had bought one time when Jimin's breathing had been particularly bad, or simply wrapped in his mother's embrace with his head resting against her chest. He was told from a young age to sit up whenever his breathing got bad, it facilitated the accessory breathing muscles, or so he'd been told anyway. It usually helped a lot, but tonight it didn't seem to be enough.

Jimin was trying to focus on something else than the pressure on his chest, something other than his hoarse breaths. He picked up the book he was currently reading, 'The Moon is Down' by John Steinbeck, a favourite of Jimin's. He'd read it at least four times before, he couldn't get enough of Steinbeck's beautiful descriptive writing. The book wasn't very long so Jimin would savour every sentence, every word, but tonight the words didn't seem to register, the pain in his chest far too prominent.

After another five minutes of trying to take calm breaths, panic didn't exactly help you breathe better (something Jimin was far too familiar with), he sat the rest of the way up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His hand was shaking slightly as he reached over to his medicine bag that was sitting on the small wooden bedside table. With unsteady hands, he rummaged around until he found what he was looking for, one of his inhalers that was specifically for situations like this. Jimin took the lid off, exhaled fully and took a deep breath into the inhaler. He put it down on the bedside table and put the lid back on. He put his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes slightly until stars were dancing against the darkness of his eyelids.

It would take a few minutes until the medicine would work and he needed his breathing to calm down. He cursed himself for not going back to get his oxygen tank, it would definitely have been useful now. He decided to go outside, fresh air usually helped. Jimin used to go sit on his backyard porch a lot when he was younger, when he didn't want to worry his mum. She had found him asleep against the railing in the morning more times than either of them would have liked. Jimin thought about waking Hoseok up to keep him company while his lungs struggled to calm down, but quickly pushed the thought away. He didn't want to worry the boy, he did that enough as it was. Some things never change, Jimin thought.

He put a fluffy blue sweater on and slipped his feet into his slippers. Jimin opened the door carefully, thankful that the hinges had been oiled thoroughly. The cabin was quiet, all his friends sleeping soundly he presumed. Jimin walked carefully in the darkness towards the front door, trying not to walk into something on the way. He tried to keep the sound of his painfully tight chest to a minimum, it wasn't easy as squeaking sounds came out every time he pushed air out of his lungs. He didn't want anyone to hear him and find him in this state.

The air outside was cool, a small breeze caressing Jimin's cheek as he sat down on the porch overlooking the tranquil lake. It was even more beautiful like this he thought, with the only source of light being the moon reflecting on the still surface.

It was completely quiet except for Jimin's jagged breathing and the squeakiness coming from his chest. He leaned forward slightly and looked at his hands, they were shaking a bit more now, a side effect of the medication. His hands were slightly clammy and he rubbed them against his pyjama bottoms. Shit, it wasn't supposed to be like this, he thought. He was supposed to have a good time with his friends, enjoy himself and take a break from school and doctor's visits. He was lost in his thought and didn't hear the front door open.

"Jimin?" He froze, hands stilling on his knees. He turned his head towards the door and saw the person he'd least liked to have found him. ******* Jeon Jungkook. Jungkook was standing in the doorway with a glass of water in his hand looking at him with a slight frown on his face. He was dressed in an oversized black t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair fluffy and hanging over his eyes. He looked good even like this, damn it.

Jimin just looked at the boy for a few seconds not knowing what to say. He tried to calm his breathing like he always did around other people, but to no avail. He was painfully aware of the audible squeaks coming from his chest with every breath as well as his rapid respiratory rate. There was no way Jungkook wouldn't notice. He was right.

"Hey, are you ok?" Jungkook looked at him with an unreadable expression, if Jimin hadn't known him better he'd almost have thought it was worry.

"I'm fine." Jimin managed to say in between breaths. He turned his head back around towards the lake. Shit. ****. No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Of all the people who could have been standing there it had to be him. His disease wasn't something he wanted Jungkook to know about, he didn't want to give the boy something else to tease him about. He closed his eyes and hoped Jungkook would believe him and go back inside. Just leave, Jimin thought. Just... please leave.

But Jungkook didn't leave. He walked up to Jimin and sat down next to him on the steps, setting the glass of water down next to him. "What's wrong? You don't look too good." Jungkook spoke calmly, but there was an edge to his voice. It wasn't mocking like it usually was when the boy directed words against Jimin, he couldn't quite identify it.

"It's...nothing...go back...to bed... Jungkook." Jimin tried to speak nonchalantly, like there was absolutely nothing wrong, but of course that wasn't very easy when he couldn't even utter more than a couple of words between each breath. Why hadn't Jungkook come out three minutes later, his medicine would have started to work by then and Jimin would be able to speak relatively normally.

"This doesn't look like nothing." Jungkook frowned and put a hand on Jimin's shoulder. The blonde boy quickly shrugged his hand off. Jimin couldn't understand why Jungkook cared, especially after their argument the night before.

"I'm fine... just needed... some air... I'm... fine." The brown-haired boy didn't seem to believe him for a minute, the frown on his face growing deeper by the second.

"You're not fine. You look like hell, maybe you should go to the hospital." Jimin closed his eyes when Jungkook mentioned the hospital. He knew he probably should go, but he really didn't want to. Besides, after his medicine kicked in his breathing would get substantially better. Plus, he silently promised himself he would take it easy tomorrow too. He didn't want to leave, he didn't want his stupid crappy lungs to win this time.

Jimin forgot that he hadn't answered Jungkook when he felt him grabbing his arm and squeezing it slightly. It was a tender gesture, not at all something he would have expected from Jungkook who from Jimin's experience was anything but gentle. "Jimin. Hey, can you hear me?"

"Yes... I can... hear you... fine." He just needed Jungkook to understand that he didn't need to go to the hospital, his breathing would calm down within a few minutes. "I took... my medicine." He squeaked out before he could stop himself. Damn it. He definitely shouldn't have said that. Now he would know. Now Jungkook would know that Jimin was sick.

"Medicine?" Jungkook looked slightly surprised. "What do you mean? Has this happened to you before Jimin?" The blonde boy hated how he used his name so much when he addressed him, his mother always did that. It made him feel guilty because it reminded him of her. His mother would have wanted him to go to the hospital too.

"Yes... it'll start... working... soon so... you can... go." Jimin looked out onto the water instead of the boy next to him. He waited a few seconds for the boy to get back up and return into the house, but when he didn't Jimin looked at his face again.

"I'm not leaving as long as you can't breathe properly." The slight mocking tone was now back in Jungkook's voice and it sparked even more annoyance in Jimin.

"Fine." Jimin said through clenched teeth. Jungkook seemed to understand that speaking wasn't exactly helping Jimin's breathing as he didn't say anything else. The silence that was now enveloping them wasn't as uncomfortable as Jimin would have thought. There was a certain calming quality to Jungkook that he hadn't noticed before. To be fair he had never been alone with the boy for this long before, usually he would have stormed out at this point.

Thankfully his medicine finally started to work. Jimin could feel how the pressure in his chest was getting lighter, his respiratory rate was going down, and the squeaking sounds audible with every breath subsided slightly. Jungkook seemed to notice too as he turned his head back towards Jimin.

"Is it working? The medicine?"

"Yeah." Jimin didn't know what else to say. He just wanted Jungkook to leave now. Why hadn't he left already? The breeze had picked up a bit and Jimin shivered.

"So, what's wrong with you?" Jungkook's words felt like a slap in the face. He hated those words. He'd heard them so many times before from his friends, classmates, and even strangers. Some said it with fear, some with worry, others with disgust. Whoever uttered those words, and in whichever way they said it, the answer would never warrant a good reaction. Telling people you have and incurable disease isn't the most cheerful topic. He didn't like telling people so he surprised himself when he spoke up.

"I have cystic fibrosis." Jimin said and sighed. He hoped the boy wouldn't ask any more questions. He refused to look at Jungkook, instead he looked out onto the lake again. The water was now rippling slightly from the wind.

"Oh. I think I've heard about it before. What is it exactly?" Jungkook sounded almost curious. But Jimin wasn't interested in telling the boy about his cystic fibrosis, he didn't want to tell him anything. He wasn't some zoo animal for Jungkook to look and laugh at.

"I'm not explaining it to you." Jimin hissed. "Google it if you're so interested." Jungkook didn't say anything to that and silence fell over them yet again. It wasn't until Jimin could hear typing coming from somewhere on his right that he realised that Jungkook had taken out his phone.

"Wait are you actually googling it?" Jimin looked at the boy next to him in pure disbelief.

"Well yeah. If you're not going to tell me, I guess it's the next best thing." He said with a shrug. Jimin turned his head back to the water, he could feel his cheeks getting slightly warm. He thought Jungkook would send him a scathing comment back or even leave, he had not expected the boy to actually do what he said. He hadn't even really meant it, it was just another sarcastic comment like the ones he and Jungkook would spit at each other all the time.

"Well that sucks." Jungkook said after a few minutes had passed and he'd put his phone back in his pocket. Jimin couldn't help but laugh, his eyes still focused on the lake.

"Yeah, understatement of the year." Jungkook didn't laugh, but Jimin could see a small smile from the corner of his eye.

"I had no idea you were sick, I'm sorry." The sound of Jungkook's words left a sour taste on Jimin's tongue. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

Jimin turned and looked Jungkook, straight into his big brown eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Because of that." He hissed, pointing towards the other boy's face. "Because of what your face looks like right now."

Jungkook looked confused so Jimin continued. "The pity, I hate it."

Jimin didn't wait for Jungkook to say anything before he stood up and started walking towards the lake. He couldn't be near the taller boy at the moment. He didn't want to hear anything about how bad Jungkook felt that Jimin was sick, he didn't want to hear how strong he was for bearing through so much pain, he didn't want to hear how brave he was for continuing with his life despite knowing that it wouldn't be as long as everyone else's. He'd heard it all before. He wasn't interested in Jungkook's pity, he didn't want it. This was why he didn't tell people about his condition, it changed things. It changed how people looked at him, it changed how people talked to him.

Jimin had only walked about 15 meters towards the lake when he could hear Jungkook's voice from the cabin. "Are you sure you should go out there?" Jimin spun around looking back at the boy.

"Why do you care?" Jimin said. "Why do you even care, it's not like you ever have before. This doesn't change anything. Just because you found out I'm dying doesn't mean you suddenly have to be nice to me."

Jungkook stared at Jimin, he looked shocked, maybe even a little sad. The boy looked like he was about to say something, but closed his mouth after a few seconds. He just looked at Jimin with dark unreadable eyes. The blonde boy couldn't stand it anymore so he turned back around and continued walking towards the lake. He didn't look back towards the cabin.

The water felt cold against the skin of his feet as he sat down on the dock and hung his legs over the edge. He took a deep shaking breath. His breathing had improved a lot at this point, but the pressure was still there. His breathing still felt a bit laboured and the squeaking wasn't completely gone. He hadn't expected it to go away completely, but that hadn't stopped him from hoping it would. This wasn't a good sign and he knew it.

Despite the thoughts of an impending infection looming over him, Jimin couldn't stop thinking about Jungkook. He forgot to ask him not to tell any of the others. Would he do that to Jimin? Would he mock him every time he got out of breath now? He wouldn't put it past ******* Jeon Jungkook to do something like that. But he couldn't get the look in Jungkook's eyes out of his head, the way he had stared at him after Jimin had snapped at him. Almost like he had understood him.

Jimin sat on the dock for another 20 minutes before he decided to go back to bed. When he made his way back onto the porch Jungkook wasn't there anymore. The only sign of the boy was the glass of water he'd set down on the steps, completely untouched.

---

When Jimin woke up the next morning he could immediately tell he was not feeling better, he'd gotten even worse. The pressure in his chest was back in full force, it felt like an elephant was standing on it, the squeaking was also just as loud as it was last night. In addition, he had developed a cough, a nasty sounding deep cough that hurt every time. Great, he thought. He was most probably developing an infection, like he had assumed last night. He might be able to make it to the end of the trip if he took it easy and doubled some of his meds, it wasn't the best idea he'd ever had but he just didn't want to leave.

He had to tell Hoseok though. The boy would figure it out anyway if Jimin stayed in bed all day. Besides he thought he'd probably need help to take his medicines properly in his current state. He picked up his phone from the bedside table, it was 10 AM, a bit later than he'd planned to get up. He shot the boy a quick text asking him to come into his room.

While waiting for Hoseok to come he sat on the side of the bed and looked in the mirror on the wall on the other side of the room. He didn't look great, he had to admit it. He was shaking slightly, he could see his chest moving abnormally and his lips were a bit pale. Jimin looked away, he didn't like looking at himself, especially not when he wasn't feeling well.

Two minutes later Hoseok knocked on the door before slipping in. He looked worried as soon as he saw Jimin. "**** Jimin, you look awful." Hoseok said as he knelt in front of the blonde boy. His eyes were drifting from Jimin's shaking hands to his chapped lips.

"Yeah... I'm coming... down with... something." Jimin managed to get out while one of his hands were rubbing over his chest.

"This doesn't look like it started today Jimin. You should have told me yesterday." Hoseok knew him all too well. Over the last year, the red headed boy had seen Jimin get sick quite a few times. He'd learned how Jimin's breathing would change with the onset of an infection, he'd learned which medicines would need to be prioritised when Jimin couldn't take all of them, and he'd learned when it was time to go to the hospital even though Jimin insisted he'd be fine.

Jimin just nodded as a reply. Hoseok gave him a sympathetic look before turning towards Jimin's medicine bag. "Are you able to take all of them or is it pneumonia cocktail time?"

The blonde let out a small laugh which only provoked a particularly painful cough which earned him another worried look from his friend. "All." Jimin said when the pain in his chest subsided slightly.

Hoseok helped Jimin take his medicines and then put them back into the bag. The boy looked around the room before asking "Where's your oxygen tank?"

"I forgot... it at... home." Hoseok didn't look pleased at the news, Jimin couldn't blame him.

"You're staying in bed today, I'm not joking." Hoseok gave him a stern look. "If you start feeling worse you tell me right away, okay."

Jimin looked down at his hands while nodding. He felt bad for not having told his friend about his current condition, he just didn't want to hear the classic 'Jung Hoseok speech' about how Jimin needed to take it easy and stay inside. He just wanted to enjoy this trip, have fun with his friends and just be normal for once.

It was almost like Hoseok had read his mind because he put a finger under Jimin's chin making him look at the red-headed boy. "I know how much you looked forward to this trip. It sucks for you not to be able to participate in everything we do, but you know your health is more important, right?" Jimin nodded in response and Hoseok squeezed his hand while giving him a soft smile.

"You need to eat something." Jimin made a face hoping his friend wouldn't see it, he didn't really have any appetite. "Don't think I didn't see that, you know you have to eat. I'll bring you some eggs and your drink. Chocolate or strawberry?" He should have known Hoseok was too quick to miss it.

"Chocolate."

Hoseok came back after a couple of minutes with Jimin's breakfast and stayed with him as he ate. Jimin had started to feel better when his medicines started to take effect and was now eating his food quite happily. Hoseok was entertaining the blonde boy with some story he'd apparently missed when the others had breakfast.

"Where are the others anyway?" Jimin asked after gulping down the last of his drink.

"Kayaking. They left right after breakfast." Jimin nodded looking down onto the bedsheets covering him. He'd really looked forward to kayaking. It wasn't that straining and he had wanted to see what their surroundings looked like from the middle of the lake. Then Jimin realised something.

"Hobi, why aren't you kayaking?" Jimin thought he probably already knew the answer to that question but he couldn't help asking anyway.

"I didn't want to leave you here alone, in case something were to happen." A stab of guilt hit Jimin in the gut and he looked down at his bedsheets again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry you didn't get to go because of me."

Hoseok just laughed. "Are you kidding? As soon as I realised you were still asleep and wasn't going I went back to bed and managed to get another hour of sleep myself, best decision." Jimin knew Hoseok was trying to make him not feel guilty, he was thankful for it.

"The others will be back at lunch time and then they're going on another hike which I'm definitely not going to tag along on. More mosquito bites? No thank you." Hoseok waved a finger at the forest visible through Jimin's window as if he were threatening the insects. "So, you're stuck with me today whether you like it or not." Jimin smiled back at his friend. He knew Hoseok's statement wasn't entirely truthful, but he was thankful that his friend tried to make it seem like he wasn't staying back just for Jimin. He always felt really guilty when the people he loved had to sacrifice parts of their lives to help him and even if it wasn't the entire truth it felt better to think that Hoseok actually didn't want to go on that hike.

"So, movie marathon today?" What genres should we do? Thriller maybe?" Hoseok looked excited, a boyish gleam in his eyes.

"Come on Hobi you can't handle scary stuff." Jimin said with a laugh and he almost managed to stifle the cough that was trying to replace the laughter. A quick look of worry flashed over the red-headed boy's eyes again but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"Alright, that's true." He said with a pout. "How about some rom-coms and we can cry about our tragic non-existent love lives?" Hoseok wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner towards Jimin and the younger couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend.

"Fine, but we're not watching 'Love Actually' again, I'm telling you it's a Christmas movie. Maybe we could wat-" He stopped talking when he saw that Hoseok had taken out his phone and was frowning at it while typing quickly. "What is it?"

Hoseok looked back up at Jimin a bit uncertainly. "It's nothing really, I'll sort it out."

"Oh, come on, just tell me."

Hoseok sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. "They need me for a dance class later tonight. Apparently, the girl who was supposed to hold it has sprained her ankle."

"When is it?"

"Between six and seven."

"You should go." Hoseok looked like he was about to protest, but Jimin cut him off. "The guys will be back by that time. I'm not going to die just because you're gone for a couple of hours."

Hoseok flinched slightly at Jimin's words. The blonde boy knew his friend didn't like when he joked about him dying in this kind of situation, but he couldn't help it. He suddenly remembered that Hoseok wasn't the only one of the cabin's inhabitants that knew about his illness anymore so he added-

"Besides, Jungkook...he knows." Hoseok looked at him with nothing short of pure shock. His friend was fully aware of how far Jimin had gone to hide his condition from everyone they knew, of course it would be surprising that Jimin had told someone else.

Hoseok collected himself after a second. "What- I mean, how does he know?"

"I had an episode last night and after I took some medicine I went to sit outside, like I used to do when I was younger. He must have heard me or something because he came outside. It was a bit hard to hide, you know how I get when I have an episode."

Hoseok nodded taking in the new information. His eyes scanned Jimin's face as if he was trying to figure out how this had affected the boy. "How- uhm... How did it go?"

"I told him, he looked sad. You know the drill." Jimin looked at his hands, avoiding Hoseok's eyes. He didn't really want to talk about it any further. Hoseok seemed to pick up on that because he didn't press Jimin for any more information.

"Ok, I'll tell them I will hold the class then." He didn't look entirely excited about his decision, but Jimin smiled at him and assured him he'd be fine. Because of course he would, what could possibly happen within the time Hoseok was gone?

---

They spent the day in Jimin's bed watching movie after movie, only taking a break when the rest of the guys came back and Hoseok had to go tell them Jimin wasn't feeling well and that they'd stay back at the cabin.

Jimin was feeling progressively worse. The cough was becoming more frequent and the pain in his chest more intense. He didn't say anything but he caught Hoseok glancing over at him from time to time. He was getting tired too, struggling to breathe will do that to you. When Hoseok left for his dance class he thought he might as well sleep to make the time go faster and hopefully sleeping would make him feel a bit better.

He had just turned his computer off and was making himself more comfortable against the fluffy pillows when he heard a knock at the door. Before he could say anything, the door opened and Jungkook was standing in the doorway. His hair was damp and his skin looked golden, like he'd been in the sun all day.

"Hey. I just wanted to say it's just you and me here now, the guys went to a restaurant and Hoseok, he is- well you know." Jungkook looked a bit nervous, almost stressed. He wouldn't look at Jimin but chose a spot on the wall next to him to focus on. If Jimin hadn't felt so crappy he would have made fun of him for it. Instead he just nodded.

"If you need anything just shout or send me a text or something." Jimin nodded again Jungkook left his room, but he left the door slightly ajar. This annoyed Jimin, he immediately thought the boy had done this just to get on his nerves, but he didn't have enough energy to shout at him to close the damn door.

Jungkook was doing something in the kitchen, pots and pans were banging against different surfaces. Jimin couldn't even bring himself to care, sleep slowly erasing the world around him. It didn't even take five minutes until he was blissfully asleep.

Jimin woke up in panic with the familiar feeling of not getting enough oxygen. He didn't know how long he had slept, but it couldn't have been more than an hour. He started coughing and it felt like there were razor blades in his chest. He sat up struggling to get more oxygen, he turned towards his medicine bag trying to find his inhaler. In his haste, he pushed the glass of water Hoseok had left for him on the floor, soaking the carpet. The sounds coming from his chest were obscene, a mix of wheezing, squeaks, and rough coughs. This seemed to have alerted Jungkook because suddenly he was kneeling in front of the smaller boy. The brown-haired boy looked at Jimin, eyes slightly frantic at seeing the panic on the boy's face.

"What do you need?" Jimin couldn't speak, his lungs wouldn't allow it. Instead he gestured to the medicine bag. Jungkook didn't hesitate to grab it and empty the whole thing on the bed. Jimin quickly grabbed the right container and opened it with shaky hands. He breathed a shaky breath into the inhaler while holding onto Jungkook's shoulder. This wouldn't be enough and he knew it, but he needed to get his breathing enough under control to be able to at least communicate properly. Or at least not feel like he was dying.

Jungkook didn't seem like he knew what to do, he just held onto Jimin's arms as the boy struggled to get enough oxygen. "Can I do anything, do- do you need anything else?"

Jimin just looked at Jungkook with panic-stricken eyes. The pain wasn't subsiding, his breathing wasn't getting any better. He looked at himself in the mirror. His lips were white, almost blue at the edges. His hair was laying slick against his sweaty forehead and his chest was rising and lowering at an alarming rate. Jimin met the brown-haired boy's gaze again and tears started to sting at the corners of his eyes as he held onto Jungkook like his life depended on it.

Jungkook seemed to realise something was wrong because his eyes went wide and he stood up. "Shit. ****. Okay. I'm taking you to the hospital, it'll be faster if I drive." Jimin didn't contest. Before he knew it Jungkook had picked him up and was carrying him bridal style towards Hoseok's car. On the way out Jungkook grabbed their jackets, Jimin was thankful that he had left his wallet in his.

Jungkook sat Jimin down in the passenger seat, draped both of their jackets around him and fastened his seatbelt. Jimin's head felt fuzzy and his every breath hurt. Before Jungkook could close the door to the passenger side Jimin grabbed his arm and squeezed it while looking into his eyes.

"It's okay Jimin, it's going to be okay. I'm not leaving you" Jungkook looked scared but determined. "You're going to be okay." Jimin managed to nod before letting go of the boy in favour of leaning forward to put his hands on the dashboard. He dug his nails into the plastic surface while he tried to concentrate on something else than fuzzy feeling in his head caused by the lack of oxygen.

Jungkook drove fast. Well over the speed limit, Jimin was sure of it. But he didn't care, he needed relief. He needed to be able to breathe. His breathing wasn't getting any worse but neither was it getting better. Jungkook kept looking over at the blonde boy at every opportunity he got, Jimin almost used the little energy he had left to hit the boy on the arm to make him focus on the road. He didn't though.

Jimin didn't know how long they had been in the car, he was just hoping the hospital would appear in his field of vision soon. Finally, Jungkook was getting off the motorway and driving up a very familiar road. They were almost there.

Jungkook parked the car right outside of the emergency room and ran over to the passenger side of the car. He picked Jimin up again and ran through the doors of the hospital.

"Help! Help him, he can't breathe!" Jungkook was shouting. Jimin couldn't see what was happening around him because he had his head leaned against Jungkook's chest, his visual field mostly taken up by his own broken body and Jungkook's shirt. He didn't have enough energy to lift his head and find out either.

Suddenly he was laid on stretcher and wheeled away. An oxygen mask was placed over his face and he was hooked up to beeping monitors. He managed to get a glimpse of Jungkook behind him in the reception area. The boy had his hands over his mouth and he looked like he was about to break down. Jimin tried to lift an arm to give him some sign that he was alright, but it ended up being impossible. He didn't have any energy left. He tried to convey the message with his eyes instead, he had no idea if Jungkook could even see his face though. The last thing he saw before the doors to the trauma room closed was something resembling tears in the taller boy's eyes. Jimin was sure he was mistaken.

Jimin had been in the emergency room many times before, this particular one at least a handful. He knew the drill. The steady flow of oxygen was helping and his head was feeling a bit clearer. As soon as the nurse was asking him for his personal information he gestured to his jacket which had his phone and wallet in the pocket. His wallet had his ID and his phone had a medical ID that had all the information they would need.

Once he was sure they had gotten the information they needed he let go. He let his mind slip away into darkness for a few seconds before he was roughly shaken awake by the nurse. He needed to stay awake, he knew this, but it was hard.

So, he did. He stayed awake. He let them stab him with needles, take tests and give him the treatments he needed. After 30 minutes he was stable, his breathing more controlled and he was no longer in a state of panic. While he was being wheeled to his room in the all too familiar ward he finally closed his eyes. He was exhausted. Sleep took him within seconds.