—First life. St. Vincent's Hospital, year 2027—

Perhaps I should have known better than to let my hopes up.

I should have known that my life would never be so easy no matter how hard I tried. It had been years since I had anything good in my life, as if the whole universe was trying to conspire against me. And once again, it refused to give me what I wanted to have the most.

The next day, I spent the whole day with the doctor. There was no test run, but I was presented with the results of my tests and my X-rays, being shown how my illness was progressing. The only test I had was with my therapist, where she laid me down on the treatment bed in her clinic on the top floor, and she instructed me to move on my own.

I had no problem with being active without help as long as I was in bed. I was able to roll on my sides, back and forth, without a problem. I could sit on my own, push myself off the bed, and even though it was exhausting and I ended up completely out of breath, I was able to perform all the morning exercises the therapist had always made me do without any assistance. I could also handle some weight, something that I had knowledge of but still had to show her since I could not possibly tell her about my late-night make-out sessions with Jimin.

The only problem I had was walking.

Taking the few steps off the bed and off a chair was something that I could manage to do, and I have done this every day when I had to go to the bathroom by myself.

But it was different when I was told to walk around the room all by myself, without help, without any tools to keep myself up, and just after walking two rounds across the room, it felt as if my body was about to break into pieces.

"The doctor was right, although you are ready to be sent home, you won't be able to handle too much physical exertion," my therapist said to me once I was seated back on the wheelchair that was used to send me here.

At first, I only accepted its presence due to the hospital's regulations which said that patients could only be transferred on wheelchairs or a gurney. Now, I had no choice but to admit that I might actually need it after all.

"So I guess that's no more going on dates or bar hopping for me, huh?" I joked with her, even though I also meant it to find out if that was a sign that I had to say goodbye to any chance of normalcy in life.

Not that I had any tendency of partying all night. I just thought it would be lovely to have one night, a normal night, where I could walk out in the city with Jimin, hand in hand as we finally had a normal date night that didn't require sneaking around and nearly breaking the hospital bed right after.

"Definitely no bar-hopping for you," she said with a grin. "I'm just saying that the hospital will only release you with a note and a warning that you will have somebody to tend for all your needs. I know that you live with your brother, so that's a plus, knowing that he can take care of you. But I'm going to give you a referral for a standby nurse, just in case. You will also need to do all the exercises I gave you while you are off the hospital and you might going to need help on that from someone who has been properly trained to assist you."

I frowned, not liking where this was going. "I was planning to find a place to live on my own. I've been too dependent on my older brother and I just want to start a new life without having to be too much of a trouble for him," I told my therapist. I had to look away when she was looking at me with a concerned look on her face.

The therapist took her seat in front of me. "That might work if you have no trouble with your body experiencing pain," she added. "The thing is, I have read on your report that the last time you were admitted to the hospital with an attack and a recurring pain, added with a sudden undetected growth on the malignancy, was when you were living under your brother's guardianship. You have been showing some progress so far, but we have no idea to what extent your body would be able to handle any independent activity until your next treatment."

I gripped the armrests to my wheelchair as the disappointment sent my body shaking. Whatever she was going to tell me, I was never going to like it. And I was right.

"You may be able to convince the doctor to release you soon, but he will still need my referral and my notes as consideration. And I am going to have to advise that you are to be released with a live-in nurse if you are not getting any better before the day of your release," she said with her lips curling to a regretful smile. "I'm so sorry, ______."

The disappointment followed me for the rest of the day.

I was terribly exhausted, my body was practically numb after a whole day of experiencing pain. But I was mostly dejected after having gotten my request for independent residency possibly denied. It had not been determined yet, since I was still going to have to talk about it with Hoseok. But knowing my brother, he would not agree to my demands if he had heard what the doctor and the therapist had to say about my condition.

That was how Jimin found me when nighttime came.

I was lost in my own world, a deep frown covering my face and my eyes held the unshed tears of having my hopes and dreams crushed because of what I had in me. Just like how I was able to see it when Jimin came to me completely troubled, he knew it the minute he saw my face and our eyes met.

Jimin said nothing when he came to the bed with determined steps. His jaw twitched for a second and I could only guess that he was able to see the glow in my eyes. Either that, or because a tear did slip and fall without me noticing.

His eyes softened and he climbed on the bed, expertly taking the empty space next to me where he lied down and took me in his arms, wiping the stray tear away while asking me, "Is everything alright, love?"

Nodding my head, I held back a sob as I answered, "It is now that you're here."

He leaned into me, pulling my head against his chest while his lips were pressed against my temple. I closed my eyes and enjoyed his warmth, his presence that filled the void inside my heart the way he always did.

He smelled like a mix of soap and shampoo, with a refreshing fragrance engulfing me each time I breathed in, and it made me feel good. After breathing in the antiseptic and disinfectant scents covering the air all over the hospital, the fresh scent he carried with him was pure bliss.

Jimin shifted closer to me, running his fingers across my cheek before he leaned down, capturing my lips on his. As his lips crossed lightly over my mouth in a gentle caress, I could feel everything — the stress, the exhaustion, the pain, the despair I felt all day — downshifted, falling back into a steady rhythm as I breathed out a relieved sigh into the kiss.

Jimin snaked his hand beneath the covers and started to run it along my stomach. Normally, I would wear my own pyjamas to sleep, with the kind of tops that would be thin enough that the tip of his fingers could slip through the hem to find skin. But with the back pain I woke up with this morning and the exhaustion I felt after the exercises I had, they had switched them with a hospital gown to make it easier for me to change. Yet it only made me feel like I couldn't get close enough to his touch.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked me.

"I'm better now," I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant and hide the way my body was shuddering under his touch. "I had my pain meds. Got some food in. Been lazying around all day. Found some new series on HBO that got me distracted for a bit since I wasn't able to take a nap."

Jimin seemed pleased and nodded. "Therapy?"

"Skipped the morning exercise today cause they let me sleep off my morning sickness," I said, pursing my lips. He was already gone by the time I woke up, having the habit of leaving right before the first rounds of nurses came in to avoid being scolded, so he completely missed out on the morning drama where I threw up the breakfast I had just finished eating.

Which was a shame, really. Because I was finally getting something that didn't make my tongue feel bitter after the meal. If only my stomach didn't hate it as much.

"But I did go to see my therapist after lunch today. We had a long talk and did a few workouts before I got too exhausted and was sent back to my room," I added, before shutting my mouth so I did not have to tell him all the possible bad news.

It is not finalised yet, I told myself then, convincing myself that there was still hope. And there was no need for me to tell him anything yet and made him concern for nothing until it was decided.

"That's bad," he hummed. "Didn't they say your little workouts were supposed to be good for speeding up recovery?"

"And to fight off pain, they say," I added, suddenly noticing that he was no longer talking about my daily routine. Not when I felt his entire palm sliding down the rough fabric of the hospital gown I was wearing. "What are you thinking?"

Jimin's eyes had grown darker at this point, and he only gave me a small grin. "Giving you a little workout before bed," he said, his eyes moving down to see through the covers as his hand continued to travel lower. "I miss your pyjamas. Does this thing ever come to end?"

He kept moving his hand lower, tentatively reaching almost to my knees when he finally reached the hem. He watched my face again as he did it, then squeezed my leg while he gauged at my reaction. I wet my lips, reading the look in his eyes that could no longer hide his intentions. I kept my eyes on him as I reached out to rest my hand on his upper arm, hoping that he could see it as a sign for him to continue.

A small smile grew lazily on his lips when his hand loosely made its way past the hem of my gown and up my skin. He paused when the tip of his fingers met the hemline of my panties just as he grazed over my hips.

"Lace?" he asked, raising his brows. "Aren't you cold?"

Chuckling softly, I tried to shake my head. "I felt kinda hot today."

I didn't notice it until I finally spoke, but my breathing had somehow sped up. The shudder on my skin grew intense as I was still sensitive to the touch. Jimin's eyebrows creased and I could tell that he was worried.

"You sure you're all right?"

He stopped whatever he was doing when he asked me this, so I reached for his hand through the sheets and abruptly moved it up, leading him to cup me between my legs, right where I was already feeling all hot and wet.

"I will be," I whispered to him, looking straight into his eyes as I said this.

My boldness seemed to bring something in him to life and he wasted no time to press me down into the bed. His fingers slid my panties to the side, opening their way into my leaking folds. He gasped softly when he touched my heat, as he was met with the wetness that had built up right at the center of my folds. Then his breath came to a sigh as he slipped two fingers inside me, sending my body arching upward on the bed as I was revelling on how good it felt to be filled with his delicate digits.

He waited until my breathing steadied and my body grew less tense to move his fingers, cautiously at first, before my gasps turned into soft moans and his fingers moved fluidly in and out of me more confidently and with a purpose.

My hands came up to hold on to him for leverage when the pleasure began to rise, when he built my body to succumb into it with a quick and steady pace. He kept watching my face closely as he thumbed the little bud peeking from my folds which had been throbbing with each thrust he made, looking as if he was not sure if he should take it slow and easy or move me along so he wouldn't tire me out too easily too soon.

So I took over and made the decision for him. Tightening my hands on his biceps, I used them to hang on to him as I began grinding my hips against his hand, fucking myself on his fingers. His wariness lessened, and he began to feel more confident as he worked me up quickly, his hands thrusting hard and tight, until my thighs began to quiver around his hand.

My hand flew to my mouth when I felt it, as my body coiled with the rushing warmth of pleasure, and I bit my palm when it came to me, holding back the cries that erupted together with the shuddering climax as I came undone in his hand. I felt my walls tightening around his fingers, just as he curled them inside me, moving in scissoring motions to rub his knuckles against my throbbing walls. The slick noises of my release echoed to each thrust he gave, and he continued moving in and out of me even as I was squeezing him tightly.

"God, Jimin," I gasped, squeezing him against me while my body continued to shake and shiver with the spasms of my release.

He still had his hand between my legs, his fingers sliding between my pulsing walls. He kept the pressure even and steady, meeting the pulsing of my climax with his own gentle caress as he brought me down carefully, in degrees, until I settled back on the bed with a content sigh.

While my heartbeat began to pace slower, my whole body felt warm. I could hear each pulse of my blood rushing to my head, but my body was far more relaxed.

Jimin held his palm against my pulsing core for a moment longer before I felt him withdrawing from me gently. I blinked my eyes when I felt my walls pulsing against nothingness, missing his presence, and I watched him lick his fingers clean, tasting my release with a soft hum.

"Hmm, tastes like cherries."

His words made me chuckle. My voice was breathless when I spoke, "Like the cough syrup?"

Jimin pulled his fingers out of his mouth, cleaned himself before resting his hand back on my waist. He then gave me a smirk. "Better. Like those syrups you put on ice cream or hot pancakes."

I couldn't help but laugh. Then my face felt so warm I had to plant my head deeper into the pillow. Jimin noticed this, and reached out to brush my hair away so he could see me.

"That took a toll out of you, didn't it?" he asked softly.

I gave him a small smile. I didn't want to admit it, but it drained something in me until my chest grew something tight. My eyes were fluttering to close when I felt him tugging my gown back down over my legs and gathered me into his arms.

My eyes snapped open when I felt his covered bulge pressing against my hips, straining with need and ready for me when I ground myself against him.

"Jimin, you didn't—"

"Shh," he stopped me, instantly pressing his hands on my waist so I would stop pressing against his hard-on. He leaned in and kissed my hair. "You're tired. I just wanted to help you relax and forget everything. We can do more later. One day," he said while shifting our bodies so he could lie down more comfortably next to me and the bed complained with a squeaky groan beneath us. "Yep, definitely later. Somewhere in a space where we can call our own and when I don't have to worry about breaking something expensive."

I gave him another smile and leaned to him. Our lips met in a soft and gentle kiss that held the same promise that his words carried, before he slid his tongue in, deepening it further until I was melting in his arms.

"I can't wait," I whispered to him breathlessly once we came apart. My chest grew tight once again, not because of the exhaustion and the craving for more pleasure, but to the thought that it may never come true.

He said nothing about it, then tucked my head into his neck, the spot that I had found to be my favourite place to nestle into while he held me to sleep. With the promise that we gave each other, I fell asleep with the lulling beat of his heart, followed with a beautiful dream of us, together, in a far away place that we could call as our home.