3

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.

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