Dr. Yang invites Jeongguk in alone first, asking Seokjin to step out for a moment.

"I'll be right outside, Taehyung," Seokjin says before leaving the room, making eye contact with Jeongguk as he enters the room.

Taehyung looks up from his hands when he hears him shuffling into the room. When he sees him he isn't sure what to feel.

He doesn't feel real, and he doesn't feel like this is really happening.

Jeongguk doesn't wear the usual clothes he's used to seeing him in. He wears an oversized black hoodie and a pair of dark jeans, his hair is unkempt and his face, although still flawless, isn't completely blemish free like he's been seeing it for the past year. Taehyung thinks his sees black ink peaking from under his sleeves—tattoos?

"Taehyung, this is Jeongguk," Dr. Yang introduce, gesturing for Jeongguk to take the seat across from Taehyung.

"Uhm," Jeongguk starts, looking intently at Taehyung. "H-Hi, Taehyung."

Taehyung sits with his arms crossed, looking at Jeongguk with a blank expression. His head was spinning and even if wanted to say something right now he couldn't.

"Taehyung," Dr. Yang says. "Do you remember where you told me you met Jeongguk?"

"No," Taehyung lies, his hard gaze focused on the table between them.

"You said you met him at the library," Dr. Yang says. "He was sat in your usual table so the two of you sat together."

Jeongguk nods along with the story, looking at Dr. Yang before returning his l eyes to Taehyung.

    "Why don't you tell Taehyung about yourself, Jeongguk?" Dr. Yang suggests, trying to get a conversation going between the two.

    "I don't know what to say." Jeongguk chuckles softly. "I'm from Busan, I have a brother...I work at the environmental resource center. Uhm...I don't know, I guess that's it."

    "Would you like to tell Jeongguk about yourself?" Dr. Yang asks, looking at Taehyung.

    "You should leave," He says, his eyes not leaving Jeongguk's. "This was a really bad idea, you should go."

    "...Okay," Jeongguk says, looking at Dr. Yang. "I can leave."

    "Taehyung, I think it could be helpful to get to know this version of Jeongguk, the real Jeongguk," Dr. Yang says. "That way you won't be haunted be the version of him you created."

    "He should leave," Taehyung repeats, his blank eyes glossy with tears as he stares at the table between them. "This is a horrible thing to do to a person, Dr. Yang. This is terrible."

    "I'll go," Jeongguk says, standing. "I'm sorry, Tae."

    "Thank you, Jeongguk," Dr. Yang says. "I'll be in touch."

    "Yeah, no problem," Jeongguk says, glancing at Taehyung once more before leaving the room.

Taehyung looks up at the door at Jeongguk leaves, and when he does, he sees Jimin.

If his heart was going haywire before, laying eyes on Jimin for the first time since this entire ordeal sends him into a full blown panic attack.

    "I want to go to my room," He says. He stands, pacing back and forth to try and regulate his breathing. "I don't want to do this anymore, Dr. Yang, please just take me back to my room. I can't take this."

    "Taehyung, I know this is all very hard to comprehend~"

    "No, you don't know," Taehyung snaps, tears welling in his eyes. "I don't even know if this is really happening. You can't possibly understand how that feels. You don't know what it's like not being able to trust your own mind."

    "That's fair," Dr. Yang says, standing. "I'm sorry, you're right."

    "I want my medication," Taehyung says, still pacing the small room while fidgeting with the bracelet on his wrist. "I-I-I just want to take it and go t-to my room. I don't want to do this anymore."

    "Okay, I'll send someone to escort you now," Dr. Yang says, walking to the door. "You did a great job today, Taehyung. I'm proud of you."

Taehyung shakes his head without responding. He didn't want to hear about how great he handle the situation, he  wanted to get as far away from everything and everyone as possible.

It didn't matter if this new version of Jeongguk wasn't anything like the monster he created in his head, he still looked like him. He still sounded like him, he was him.

And that wasn't ever going to change.

~

Time can only heal so much—in the end you either learn to live with the pain or end with it. Taehyung didn't want to live with the scars that Jeongguk left behind, but he was trying to.

"For mom," He'd repeat to himself during the darkest hours of the night when it was the worst. "For Seokjin, dad too."

He wanted to get to a point in his life where he could work and live on his own—for now, he was stuck at home again. And his parents were dead set on not letting him out of their sights.

So, when the opportunity arises for him to have some time alone—he makes sure to double down on his efforts to make them leave.

"Your dad travels without me all the time, Taehyung," His mother says as she sorts out his medication for the day. "Two and two. You know the deal."

"I know the deal," Taehyung says, taking the four tablets in his hand. "But, like I said before~"

"Kim Taehyung," She says, cutting her eye before going to put the medication back in its lockbox.

"It's Daegu, mom." He gets down from the barstool he's sat at to grab a water from the fridge. "Grandpa's there, Imo...that lady that used to make you pickles every holiday."

"Okay, first of all, I hated those pickles~"

"They were organic~"

"If you wanted to see your aunt and grandpa all you had to do was say so."

"Oh, that's not..."

"I'll tell them we'll be in town and that you wanted to see them~"

"No."

Mrs. Kim's eyebrows quirk curiously as she faces him. "No?"

Taehyung forces a short laugh. "No, I mean...that'd be great, obviously, but I'm not well, so...I should stay here and rest."

"You are well, Tae," She says with a sympathetic expression. "You're managing your condition perfectly."

"I just got back out of hospital."

"Months ago."

He nodded, looking down at the tablets in his hands. "What is this?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you," His mom says. "Dr. Yang thinks it's best if you don't know for now."

"I know but~" He shifted uneasily. "I have a right to know...don't I?"

"Sweetie," She says, walking over where he stands in front of the fridge and taking his face between her hands. "It's what's best for now. Trust me."

"I trust you," He says. "I'm sorry."

"Take them so I can check," She says before stepping away and patiently waiting for him to swallow the four tablets. He does as she says before opening his mouth—lifting his tongue to show that they were gone. "Good boy."

"I'm not dog, mom, jeez," He complains. "Are you going to Daegu or not?"

"Not."

"You should go."

"Why?"

"Because I think it's your only opportunity for a while to get away from all the crazy I've caused."

She sighs and leans back against the island with a thoughtful expression.

"Seokjin and I also might...I don't know, have a rager or something when you're gone." He laughed softly.

"Per usual, huh?" His mom laughs.

"You know how wild we get when you're away," Taehyung says, cringing inwardly at himself. "I wish you would go. Try and have some fun."

"...I'll consider it, okay?"

"Okay."

He waited until he was walking out of the kitchen to let the smile on his lips break through.

Hopefully his persuasion would be enough to make her go.

🌤🌤🌤