Taehyung slipped his tattooed fingers into his fiery red hair and quickly ran his hand over it. For more than half an hour, he had been tapping his foot nervously on one of the table's legs while staring at his phone. Jeongguk promised to call him when he came home from the party. It was already quite late, and his phone was still silent. He knew the party might drag on or the brunet might be tired, and he might just forget his promise, but something in the back of his head kept him from relaxing. He felt strangely nervous, his hands were sweating, and he was rubbing them against his black jeans every few minutes. He couldn't explain it, but he had a bad feeling and all he dreamed about was finally hearing a melodious voice on the other end of the receiver telling him he was okay.

When he lit his smartphone's screen again and his inbox was empty once again, he exhaled loudly from his lungs in a gesture of frustration. He didn't know what was happening to him. This feeling of unease was downright irrational. He had put his son to sleep an hour ago, and since then he has been sitting at the kitchen table almost like on pins and needles.

Unable to bear this inaction and nervous waiting, he slipped his hand into the pocket of the black sweatshirt he was wearing and took out a packet of red Marlboro's. He grabbed one cigarette in his fingers and rose from his seat. He slipped the pipe into his mouth, gently grasping it with his lips, and placed the cell phone in the back pocket of his black jeans, then started toward the balcony.

As he stepped outside, a pleasant, crisp breeze hit him while blowing his red hair back. Taehyung slipped his hand into his pants pocket, pulled out a lighter and lit it. He stuck the tip of his cigarette into the flame and took a long drag to set it on fire. He hoped the nicotine would ease his nervousness, although he knew the hope was illusory.

He took a long drag, then rested his hands on the railing and looked down. For a moment he followed the couple in love as they walked down the street, holding hands. Even though they were far enough away that he couldn't hear them, he was sure the man was talking to the woman. As he guessed, it was probably some kind of joke, or perhaps the stranger was just teasing her, because the girl gave him a gentle nudge in the side, and then laughed. From this distance, her laughter was only a soft melody, but he could hear the joy in it clearly.

Was this what Jeongguk looked like when he stood by Lisa's side at her farewell party?

He knew well that going to this party, the brunet would have to pretend that everything was fine between him and Lisa. He also knew that these gestures meant nothing to him, but he could not deny that he felt jealous at the thought of Jeongguk spending the evening with her, probably she was now standing proudly at his side, telling everyone that this tall, the handsome man is hers, she was holding his hand, perhaps even she was kissing his soft lips.

At the unpleasant thought, his hand rose reflexively to his mouth, and his lips encircled the cigarette for another dose of poison. He took a long drag, pulling his cheeks in gently, then closed his eyes, holding the nicotine in his lungs. He could still feel unease coursing through his veins. He couldn't explain it, the feeling was irrational, but he could almost feel fear creep under his tattooed skin, trying to get to the surface.

He stood there for a moment, eyes closed, letting the breeze gently blow away the red wisps. When he opened his eyes again, he gently parted his lips to let the smoke slowly escape. He looked at the street, where a moment ago he had seen an unknown couple, but there was no sign of the lovers. His tattooed hand rose to inject another dose of nicotine into his lungs when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, so he reached quickly for his cell, trying to pull it out of the tight pocket while holding the glowing cigarette between his fingers. 

"Ah, fuck!" he swore when he accidentally burned his skin on his cigarette, then slipped the tube into his mouth and reached into his pocket again to take out the vibrating smartphone.

As soon as he managed to get the device out of his pocket, he looked at the display. He felt strangely disappointed when the name on the screen wasn't the one he wanted to see so much, but he pressed the green receiver button and put the phone to his ear.

"Yes, Yoongi," he said to the interlocutor, but only the loud signal of an ambulance passing nearby answered him. It was only after the sound had faded that he was able to hear his friend's soft greeting. "Jesus, where are you? Why is it so loud?" he asked reflexively, still feeling the piercing sound of the ambulance in his ears. Yoongi was silent for a brief moment, but there was something in the silence that made Taehyung feel strangely nervous again. "Is everything alright?" he asked, pulling his eyebrows together even though his friend couldn't see him.

"Tae, I was with Jimin today at Lisa's farewell party..." Yoongi finally began, but still Taehyung couldn't contain his nervousness.

He wanted to take a drag on his cigarette, but was unable to bring his hand to his mouth, he only gripped it on the balcony railing. He had a goddamn bad feeling about that evening. When he was talking to Jeongguk, he knew the boy didn't want to go there. He saw his nervousness, and maybe that's why he had the feeling that something might go wrong all the time.

"I don't know what happened... Jeongguk was nervous. Throughout the evening, his family would put out a great show, what a wonderful couple they are with Lisa. I spoke to him and I thought he was getting better, but then... I don't know..."

"Yoongi, what are you telling me? Something happened?"

"Jeongguk... He must have had one of those attacks you mentioned to me... He was pale... Damn pale... He was holding his chest and saying he couldn't breathe..."

Taehyung felt his entire insides rise to his throat. He quickly extinguished his cigarette, pressing the incandescent tip against the small ashtray on the windowsill, and pressed his hand tightly to his smartphone.

"Where is he now? Yoongi, where is Gguk? Is he with you? Put him on the phone," he ordered.

"Tae, Jeongguk collapsed. The ambulance took him. We're just in the hospital where he was taken. I told Jimin I had to smoke to get out of there and call you. Thought you should know..." he explained quickly. His voice was a bit shaky, he was clearly nervous.

"Oh God, what about him? Is he okay?" Kim asked, feeling his insides rise to his throat again.

He felt dizzy, as if the world was starting to spin around him. He knew something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones, in every cell of his body. He couldn't explain it, but he just knew something was wrong with Jeongguk, but he hoped it was just a silly, meaningless feeling. But when Min acknowledged his greatest fears, he couldn't breathe, as if he had been deprived of oxygen as well.

"I do not know. When the ambulance took him away, he was unconscious... The doctor hadn't come to see us yet... But as soon as I found out something..."

"Where are you? Which hospital was he taken to? I'll be there soon."

"Tae, everyone's here," Min said carefully. "His parents, his brother... Lisa."

"I don't care, Yoongs!" he growled.

The words sounded a bit too sharp. He was fully aware of it, but he couldn't help it. He didn't care that there were others there that they could see him and find out about everything. He should be there too...

"Sorry," he said quickly as he realized that he had raised his voice at him. "I have to be there," he said softly.

"They took him to that private Seoul Grace hospital near Gangnam-gu. If I find out anything, I'll let you know," Min replied. "I have to go back or Jimin will start to suspect something."

"Yoongi!" he called quickly to keep his friend from hanging up. There was complete silence between them for a few seconds. "Thank you," Taehyung said finally, then hung up before Min could reply.

Kim slipped a hand through his red hair and looked at the display. It was already quite late. Jae was asleep in his bed and he didn't want to wake him up, but he had to go to that hospital. He knew Jeongguk had seizures, but he did not mention to him that they were sometimes so bad that he was hospitalized. He knew it wasn't an ordinary attack. Something more must have happened at this party. Something that perhaps no one but Jeongguk knows. He must have seen him. He had to be with him.

Without hesitating, he entered his contact list and chose one of them. While waiting to be connected, he began to move his right leg nervously. He was so damn upset his body began to shake slightly. He would have liked to have run out of here right now, hop into the car and drive to Seoul Grace, but he couldn't leave Jae alone.

"Mom!" he said as soon as he heard someone finally answered the phone. "Can you come over and stay with Jae overnight? I know it's late... But Jae is asleep, and I don't want to wake him up, and I..." He paused for a moment, trying to calm his breathing. "Jeongguk was hospitalized," he finally confessed. "I have to go there..." he finished in an almost pleading voice.

"Oh, son," the woman groaned. "I'm so sorry... I'll be with you in half an hour."

"Thank you, Mom," he whispered, and hung up.

He finished the conversation as soon as possible, for he felt his throat tightening unnaturally with each word. He felt sick. He slipped his cell phone into his pants pocket and rested his hands on the railing, his long fingers clasped around it. For a moment he tried to breathe in the evening air to calm himself down a little.

He felt something was wrong. He knew Jeongguk did not want to go to this party. He should have stopped him or done something to prevent it.

If something happened to him, he would not forgive himself. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do when he got to the hospital. Since his whole family and Lisa were there, he wouldn't be able to show himself to them. Even though they did not know him, his presence would not go unnoticed. Someone may wonder how he knows Jeongguk and why he came to the hospital at night when he heard that the man had collapsed, but if something happened to him, he will not forgive himself for not being there.

With the constant racing of thoughts in his head, he felt bloody nervous. He returned to his apartment and sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table, placing his cell phone in front of him. He stared at it until he heard the sound of the lock on the door open. His mother had her own set of keys in case something happened, and she had to take care of Jae. When you're a single parent, these things can save your ass when your life is giving you a hard time. Taehyung knew it all too well.

At the sound of the door opening, he sprang to his feet. He had been sitting at the table for a good fifteen minutes, ready to leave. He was wearing boots and a jacket, and he was clutching his car keys and a cell phone. As his mother stepped in the doorway, the woman smiled gently at him as if to comfort him, then without saying anything, wrapped her arms around him. Taehyung was much taller than she was, but he allowed the woman to draw him against her body.

"I'm so sorry, son. Do you know what happened?" she asked gently.

"I don't know anything except that he collapsed and was taken to the hospital," he explained quickly. "I'm going. Jae is asleep, so he shouldn't wake up. I'll let you know when I find out something."

"Drive carefully," the woman said.

Taehyung placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then turned on his heel and ran out of the apartment. He was running down the stairs as fast as never before. He felt his heart pound hard against his ribs, as if trying to free itself. Even when he got downstairs, he couldn't stop and ran to the parking lot to find his damaged car. He slipped into the driver's seat, fastened his seat belts, and started the engine, which answered with a loud grunt.

***

Jimin felt shaky. He had witnessed Jeongguk's attack before, but it was a few years ago and that attack was nothing like what he had witnessed this time. When the brunet fell to the ground, he was so pale that his skin seemed almost transparent, he was moving his lips, trying desperately to get even a little bit of the necessary oxygen into his lungs. Jimin could still hear his words, 'I can't breathe,' and he had the feeling that his lungs would just fail to obey him. Every breath seemed to burn his throat.

He tightened his small hands stronger on Yoongi's black suit jacket and cuddled against his chest. They were standing in the hospital corridor, waiting for one of the doctors to come out to them and say what about Jeongguk, and the tattoo artist held him in his arms, occasionally running his hand over his back.

"Don't get so stressed, Minnie," he whispered in a low, slightly hoarse voice almost directly into his ear. His warm breath hit the younger man's cheek pleasantly. "Everything will be fine," he added.

Jimin hated being told it was going to be okay. Life had taught him that usually these were just empty words, spoken by people who had nothing better to say, and that had nothing to do with honesty or truth.

This time, however, he liked how the words sounded as they rolled from Yoongi's mouth. It seemed to him that the tattoo artist's tongue somehow caressed the vowels, softening their sound and making his body calm.

He hated feeling weak and dependent on anyone, appreciated the freedom that open relationships and fleeting affairs gave him, but he would lie if he said he didn't like how familiar a man's arms were. Probably for the first time in his life, he felt really good when someone cared for him and on the one hand he wanted this moment of waiting and ignorance to end, and on the other he wanted Yoongi to hold him in his arms the end of this world.

He couldn't even put it into words, but he felt almost tangibly that this moment changed something about their relationship. Perhaps it was one of the irreversible changes that he had so far avoided, the ones that paralyzed him with fear and made him run away, but not this time...

This time he was not going to run away.

So he clenched his hands even tighter, pressing his slightly trembling body against the other, and inhaled the soothing scent of his perfume into his lungs, while closing his eyes. They stood there for a moment longer, Jimin trying to focus on the warmth of the tattoo artist's body and the beating of his heart close to his ear, when suddenly he heard that the door behind which Jeongguk had been located suddenly opened with force.

He looked up quickly and with the corner of his eye he saw Seokjin and Jeongguk's father rise from their seats. He knew Lisa was sitting next to her fiancé's stepmother, but from where he was standing he couldn't see her. The doctor removed the latex gloves from his hands, peeled off the mask, and looked at them.

"What about him, doctor?" Seokjin asked, daring to be the first to speak.

Jimin looked at his face. He looked very tired and worried, as if what had happened suddenly made him age. His usually beautiful, calm face took on a kind of austerity, his lips were drawn in a narrow line, his eyes were slightly red.

"The patient is stable. It looks like it was a very strong panic attack, but to be sure, I ordered some additional tests. I have seen in his medical history that there have been cases of similar attacks before. I do not know if the patient is under the care of a psychiatrist and is taking regularly recommended medications?"

"I-it seems that he has not attended therapy recently... When I talked to him, he said that he was fine..." he replied confused, looking for Lisa with his eyes, as if she was able to answer the question asked by the man.

"My poor Jeonggukie! Can I see him?! I was so scared," the blonde lamented, approaching both men.

"The patient has been given very strong sedatives, and we are giving him oxygen, but you can come in for a while. However, you can not overdo it, so please make it a maximum of two people. I think he had enough attractions for this evening. We'll keep him under observation for a few days to make sure he's okay." That said, he nodded to Seokjin and Lisa, then walked off down the hall.

"Yoongi, will you take me home?" Jimin asked softly. "They won't let me in anyway... And my head is pounding from these nerves."

"Sure. Let's go," saying that, Yoongi indicated that the blond man should go ahead.

On his way out, he looked back and saw Lisa heading towards the room where Jeongguk was lying.

***

When Jeongguk lifted his heavy eyelids, he felt confused. At first, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. The image in front of his eyes was still slightly blurred, the sounds reaching him strangely distorted. He tried to move and only then noticed that a drip was connected to his left arm and a cannula to his nose that carried oxygen into his body.

And suddenly it all came back to him.

Lisa's party, his embarrassing speech and then Minho...

His threat...

He wanted to get up to look for his smartphone, but he felt confused, dizzy, still felt his lungs burning, as if every breath hurt him. Before he could pull himself up, he heard the door to his room open.

"Oh, Jeonggukie!" a woman's voice squealed from the threshold, and before Jeon turned his gaze toward the door, he knew who she would see.

Lisa was still wearing the evening dress she had shown to her party and she looked perfect. The girl grasped the fabric of her dress in her hands and, gently lifting it up, she moved towards him.

"Sweetheart!" she called again, reaching out to stroke his cheek. "I was so worried."

Jeongguk raised his hand and placed it on the girl's, then gently took it away from his face.

"The is no need to be worried," he said. "I'm fine."

"The doctor said you had a panic attack. What happened? I don't think it's because of the embarrassing speech you made," she said casually and chuckled softly.

Perhaps it was meant to be a joke to ease the tense atmosphere, but Jeongguk caught that bitter note in her voice that indicated that she was not quite joking. He knew Lisa was disappointed with his speech, but he said nothing, pretending he hadn't read the sharpness in her voice.

"It's nothing," he lied. "It's just that I have a lot on my mind lately, and I'm a little tired. Do not worry. I'm fine," he added.

"Oh that's good, because I don't have the head for such things right now," she sighed. "I'm leaving on Sunday and I still have to pack my suitcase and I still don't know what to take with me."

"Relax, go home. Take a break. I'm fine," he replied, looking at her coolly.

He wanted to snort under his breath at how ridiculous the moment seemed to him, but he held back. Lisa stood up and stroked his cheek again, then kissed his chapped lips lightly.

"I'll come see you tomorrow," she said softly. "Goodbye, sweetheart." That said, she gripped her long gown in her hands again, lifting it just enough not to stamp it on with her heels, and headed for the door. Jeongguk watched her go, the bitter taste of disappointment on the tip of his tongue.

Had Lisa just proved once again that he never really meant anything to her?

He moistened his chapped lips with his tongue. He was very thirsty. He rose with difficulty on the strong forearms, lifting his body to a semi-sitting position and reaching out to the glass of water that was sitting on the table beside the bed but couldn't reach it. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to lift even more, but he felt so bloody drained of all his energy that even such a simple task seemed to overwhelm him. As he stretched his arm towards the table again, the sound of the door opening crept into his ears again.

"Gguk, leave it! I will do it!" a familiar voice suddenly called, and after a while a tall, well-built man with jet black hair ran up to his bed.

Seokjin took the glass in his hands and quickly moved it towards him. Jeongguk looked at his face. He did not like when others did things for him and did not want to be treated like a child, but he felt so weakened that this time he allowed the man to hold a glass to his mouth. The elder carefully tilted it slightly, letting the clear liquid just drip into Jeongguk's slightly parted lips. The water was too warm and disgusting to taste, but he drank the glass all at once anyway. He felt so thirsty as if he hadn't drunk anything in many years.

Only after he was finished did Seokjin put the dish on the table and, holding his shoulders, helped him slide down again on the soft pillow. Jeongguk looked up and for a moment their eyes met. His brother was still wearing the suit he was in at the party, and he looked intimidatingly beautiful. Only his tie was loosened and slightly twisted, as if he was undoing it in a hurry. His eyes were slightly red, and he looked clearly concerned. Watching him so close, he noticed that one strand of his dark hair curved and protruded slightly to one side. He wanted to reach out and sink his fingers into his dark hair to bring it back into a perfect whole, but he didn't budge.

"You really scared us, Gguk," Jin finally confessed, sitting down in the chair next to his bed.

"I know. I'm sorry," he whispered.

He wanted to say he got scared too. That for a moment he thought he was really dying, and he was fucking scared of it. That when he couldn't catch his breath, all he thought was that he might never be able to see the people he really loved again. He looked around the room full of strangers and couldn't find anyone he could ask for help.

"Gguk, silly boy," Jin began, grabbing his hand. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"L-Lisa is disappointed that I ruined her party. First that pathetic speech, and then this..."

"Gguk, it's not your fault. Besides, this party was so boring that you at least gave us some attractions." He joked, to which Jeongguk rolled his eyes and snorted lightly under his breath.

"The star of the show."

Seokjin laughed, and when his laughter finally faded, he shifted his gaze to his brother and looked at him closely. There was no trace of elegant clothes anymore. The boy wore a white hospital outfit that made him look even more pale. His hair was slightly disheveled, falling in soft waves over his dark eyes, under which darker shadows appeared, his lips slightly chapped.

"What happened there, Gguk?" he asked suddenly. "I haven't seen you have a seizure like this since... Haven't seen it in ten years."

Jeongguk was silent, not knowing what to say. Seokjin was right. The last time he had such a severe attack was a few months after their mother died. The more time passed since the accident, the attacks became lighter and less frequent, but today...

"I didn't know you were having seizures again. You didn't say they've renewed again? Why? What's happening?" the man continued when the younger one still said nothing. "Gguk, if something happens, you can tell me."

"Jin... These attacks..." He trailed off, not knowing if he should tell his brother the truth. Before he thought about it properly, his lips parted again, letting the words he had held back fall from his lips. "These attacks never stopped," he confessed. "They got lighter, they appeared sporadically, but... They never stopped. Recently... They have intensified again."

"Gguk, why didn't you tell me?"

"What would you do?"

"I do not know. I could help you somehow. Sign you up again with a psychiatrist or psychologist or... I don't know. Then this therapy helped you, right? Now it could help you too," he explained.

"Jin, I've been to a psychiatrist and that doesn't help me at all. They just want me to take different pills."

"Do you have pills? Are you taking them?"

"I don't want to take them. They are making me feel sleepy and dizzy. I don't need them," he protested, pulling himself tighter on the bed. He felt his nervousness grow, making him feel the burning pain in his chest again.

"Gguk, maybe that's why you had a seizure," the older man said gently.

"I don't need these drugs to prevent attacks, Jin. I found a way to deal with them, and I've been successful recently."

"Jeonggukie, you are in the hospital because you were not able to breathe normally..."

"Recently I managed to deal with a strong attack without medication. I don't want to take antidepressants all my life, and they just make me dizzy. I want to cure myself of this."

"Okay, we'll talk about it when you get out of the hospital. You shouldn't get too nervous now," Seokjin agreed, seeing the agitation his words had caused.

He studied his brother's face carefully for a moment. All in white and with tousled hair, he looked even younger. Seeing Jeongguk doing great in the office, he sometimes forgot how young he really was. People his age would party, travel, have fun, and he always did what was expected of him. He had never before wondered if it was putting too much pressure on him.

"Lisa said she saw you talking to that... Jimin's boyfriend. Did he tell you something that upset you so much?" he asked suddenly.

"What? No! Of course not," he quickly protested. "Yoongi... He was actually the only one who listened to me."

"What happened, Gguk?"

"It's nothing," he lied. "It's just that I've had a lot on my mind lately. Taking over the company, this new contract, the wedding... Perhaps I took on too much..." he added, to somehow dismiss his brother.

"Oh, Ggukie. You are Jeon. You can handle everything... Besides, you have me and Lisa. We will help you run this business. This is what we dreamed about so much. You have nothing to stress about."

Jeongguk just nodded.

'Everything we dreamed about', he heard in his head, and he couldn't take the weight of these words off his shoulders.

While that was not what triggered his attack, there was a grain of truth in that. He felt overwhelmed by it all. He knew everyone was expecting him to take over the business and marry Lisa, and with each passing day he found out that maybe this was something Lisa, his brother and father had dreamed of, but that is also all he doesn't want.

***

It had been a good hour since Taehyung got a call from Yoongi to the moment his car was finally parked near Seoul Grace. He quickly extinguished the engine and jumped out of the car. His heart was beating hard, and he felt his hands trembling with nervousness. Meanwhile, Min sent him a short message saying that Jeongguk seemed to be fine and that he was going to drive Jimin to his apartment. However, he had to convince himself that the boy was safe and sound.

He must have seen him.

He ran quickly towards the main entrance and entered the building. Seoul Grace was one of the most expensive private clinics in Seoul. He could have expected the Jeongguk family to do anything to get their son taken here. From the very beginning, it was clear how much money is behind this institution. As soon as he put his foot inside the building, he saw a tastefully decorated waiting room and on the left side of the main entrance, a reception desk with registration.

When he looked in her direction, he met the surprised gaze of the woman sitting behind the tall counter. The Korean immediately stopped tapping her fingers on the keyboard and put her glasses on her nose to get a better look at him. Feeling her appraising gaze, he instinctively ran his fingers through his red hair and moistened his lips nervously. He knew his appearance was immediately obvious, and he certainly didn't look like someone to heal here. He looked more like someone who would like to rob this place than visit someone he really cares about. He had felt so fucking small in these situations, and he hated the feeling.

But he forced himself to come closer and smiled at the stranger. His smile was a bit fake, nervous, but he couldn't help it. He moistened his lips again and cleared his throat softly.

"My... friend was brought here recently. He collapsed during a family celebration and... I know he ended up here. I'd like to see him..." he explained, choosing his words carefully. "Or at least I wanted to make sure that he was okay..." He added, seeing the woman's skeptical gaze.

The Korean sighed loudly, then turned her face to the computer monitor and typed the password to unlock the screen.

"Name," she said dryly.

"Jeon. His name is Jeon Jeongguk," he replied with a hope in his voice.

"And you are who? Someone from the family?"

"N-no... I'm... We're friends, and I'm very worried about him."

"Yes. He is here. He got to us almost two hours ago, but the family made a reservation that only people on the list should be allowed to visit him. I'd like your ID, please."

"I-it won't be necessary. I am definitely not on this list. Couldn't you make an exception? Please, this one time," he asked almost pleadingly.

"If you are not on the list, Sir, I am forced to ask you to leave the hospital building."

Taehyung stepped nervously from foot to foot, then rested his body on the counter and leaned closer to the woman who looked at him through her thick glasses, unfazed. As he rested his hands on the wooden furniture, her gaze fell on his tattooed hands for a few seconds, and he could almost swear that the corners of her lips curved in a disgusted grimace. He was used to being judged for his appearance. The fact that he has tattoos had earned him many biting remarks and judging glances more than once, but now it didn't matter in the slightest. She could judge him as much and as she wanted, as long as she let him see Gguk.

"Please. At least, tell me if he's okay."

"Please get out of here before I call security!" The woman replied with a firm voice.

Taehyung saw her right hand find its way almost automatically to the phone, which he guessed had a permanent connection to the security department. He exhaled loudly from his lungs and, resigned, pushed himself away from the counter. He ran his hand over the red strands and started toward the exit. When he took a few steps, however, he noticed a young Korean woman standing under one of the rooms down the hall. Perhaps he would not normally have paid attention to her, had it not been for the fact that he noticed that her long bottle-green coat hid a black elegant gown. It was definitely not an outfit that someone was going to visit the hospital in.

He glanced quickly at the woman on the desk, then looked at the stranger again. Her coat reminded him of someone, and it took him a moment to realize where he had seen it before. Yoo was wearing the exact same coat when he saw her this afternoon.

Could it be that this woman is Yoo's mother?

Feeling the watchful gaze of the woman on the reception desk, he took a few slow steps towards the exit door while glancing at the elegant stranger. The longer he looked at her, the more he was sure she was Yoo's mother. Suddenly he heard the door of one of the rooms open and after a while a tall, well-built man emerged from the room. He also wore a suit with a black coat over his broad shoulders. He had no problem judging that his clothes were certainly from some expensive collection.

"Get out of here, now," the woman at the desk said, urging him on.

Taehyung saw her hand clamp over the telephone receiver and nodded to her, simultaneously raising his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I'm going," he said quickly, and withdrew enough to be out of her sight, still glancing at the pair.

The man and woman must have known each other. The Korean stretched out her hand and caressed the man's cheek tenderly, and he grabbed her hand and put a gentle kiss on it.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Better, but... I don't know. I thought these attacks were a history," the man replied.

Hearing these words, Taehyung was almost convinced that they were talking about Jeongguk. He wanted to go up to them and ask them to let him see him, but he knew he couldn't do that. Gguk did not want his family to know about them. He had no right to make this decision for him. He pressed himself against the wall so that by chance the woman at the desk couldn't see that he was still there. However, close enough to hear the couple's conversation.

"I thought so too. What happened there?"

"I don't know, Yeri. Gguk said it was the stress of taking over and getting married, but... I don't know. I think there is something he's not telling me," he replied.

"Maybe he just needs time to get used to it all. He is so young."

"Yerim, he has attacks all the time and I didn't notice anything. He had been hiding it from us for several years. I am his older brother, I should know that something is happening to him," he said with clear reproach.

He felt guilty for focusing so much on himself and his family that he forgot about Jeongguk. When they were young children, they were almost inseparable. Later, each of them had different interests, and thus they drifted apart a bit. Jeongguk was interested in art, painting became his passion, and he had two left hands for it. He saw, however, that his brother had a talent, and one day he would have sworn that this was the field of his adult life, but then this accident happened, and nothing was the same.

"Jin, honey, you didn't do anything wrong." That said, Yerim climbed on her toes and kissed his lips gently. "Now you know what Jeongguk is struggling with. We'll try to help him together, huh?"

"I love you. You are the most wonderful woman, the most wonderful wife and mother," he whispered, then kissed his wife's hand again, and together they headed for the exit.

Taehyung, scared that they would see him soon, left his hideout and walked quickly towards the door, wanting to disappear before Jeongguk's brother and his wife left the alley, but suddenly a couple came around the bend, and he almost collided with them. He stopped abruptly, raising his hands defensively to keep from crashing into Yerim. The woman looked at him with surprised eyes and for a short moment their glances crossed.

Yerim looked exactly like Yoo. The girl certainly inherited her mother's beauty. They both had the same dark eyes and the same delicately defined nose with a slightly rounded tip. Yerim was beautiful.

"I-I'm sorry," he choked out and smiled apologetically at her.

"It's okay," she said, studying him closely.

There was something strange about her gaze. For a moment she looked at him as if she had seen him somewhere before, or as if he was someone from her past whom she had met once and couldn't remember where or what his name was, which made him feel strangely awkward. He bowed and walked quickly to the exit, almost running outside.

He stopped at the short distance from the hospital and slipped his hand into his jacket pocket to find a pack of red Marlboro's. He took out one cigarette and lit it. As he inhaled, he noticed Jeongguk's brother and his wife leave the building and walk across the parking lot towards their luxury car. As they passed the wing they had left a moment ago, Seokjin looked up almost involuntarily at one of the windows as if he expected to see Jeongguk in it.

Taehyung took a hard drag on his cigarette, then let a mischievous smile crept over his perfect lips. He was sure where Jeongguk was. Now it was only necessary to figure out how to get there.

It's funny that his mother always said, 'When someone locks the door for you, go in through the window.'

***

Jeongguk raised his eyelids again. They were still heavy, and he felt lethargic and terribly tired. He knew that he had been given strong sedatives, which kept him asleep and awake every now and then. He didn't know how much time had passed. He only saw that it was almost dark outside.

He promised Tae that he would call him when he came back from the party. He looked at his phone on the bedside table. He wanted to reach out for it and call him, but he didn't want to worry him. He knew that if he talked to him, the tattoo artist would sense something was wrong.

He rolled carefully to his side and slipped a hand under his cheek. He closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep, but his restless thoughts kept returning to the events of tonight. He felt humiliated and was angry with himself for not standing up to Minho. The bartender was right, he was just a pathetic rich man who couldn't even admit to himself who he really was.

Suddenly, a strange noise broke him out of his thoughts. His eyes snapped open, but he couldn't locate the sound that woke him. At first, he thought that his mind, intoxicated with drugs, was playing strange tricks on him, but then he heard it again. He blinked a few times and only now realized that the noise was coming from behind him. As he realized it was the sound of a tugging outside the window, his heart sped up involuntarily. He was alone in the room, no one could open the window.

He lifted himself cautiously on his forearms and began to turn towards the window, when suddenly the same sound entered his ears, but this time more intense. He turned his face to the window quickly and saw that the window was opening, and after a while something large and black burst into the room. He was still a little dazed with the drugs that were given him, and it was all happening so quickly that he couldn't register what it was.

"Oh, holly shit!" a low, deep voice swore.

And only hearing this voice, Jeongguk realized that it wasn't something that had rushed into his room, but someone...

He blinked a couple of times and sat up. The sudden rush of adrenaline gave him strength, and he was able to rise without any problems. He looked down at the ground and saw something he couldn't believe.

Taehyung was lying on the ground next to his bed. The tattoo artist looked at him and smiled that beautiful, mischievous smile of his, then pushed his tousled hair back and began to lift himself off the ground.

"Did you just pop into my room through the window?" Jeongguk asked, trying not to smile.

"It seemed a little easier when I thought about it," Kim said, laughing at himself. "Your family gave a visit list, and they refused to let me in, so... I let myself in," he explained, shrugging. "It's good that this is the first floor, because if you had a room on the last floor, I would need resuscitation myself..." the tattooist began to say chaotically, finally getting up from the ground. "Have I ever told you that I am afraid of heights? This first floor seemed to be lower before I started my climb. When you look down from the top, it's not low at all..." he joked, running his hand over the fiery red strands.

"Tae..." Jeon said, trying to silence him. He held out his hand and Taehyung approached his bed, allowing him to take his hand. "Did you come to me through the window?" he repeated, though it wasn't a question at all.

He felt a strange pressure in his chest, though he knew it was not due to the attack this time. He liked knowing that Taehyung had done something as crazy for him as climbing a hospital building. Nobody had ever done anything like it for him before, and he had to admit there was something damn charming, even romantic in it.

"I had to see you," the tattoo artist replied, and without hesitation he lunged at him, perching on the edge of the bed.

He grasped Jeongguk's face in his hands and without asking, pressed their lips together in a tender kiss. He kissed him a little chaotically, a little nervously, letting all the fear escape in this caress. But when the brunet parted his lips more, letting the man's tongue slip into his mouth, Taehyung visibly calmed down.

Redhead, drawing his face to his lips, kissed him slowly, tenderly, fervently, overwhelming all senses with passion. After a while he almost devoured his mouth, then slowly bit his lower lip and finally pulled away from him gently, letting the brunet's soft bottom lip just slide out of his teeth. He rested his forehead on his and let their hot breaths mingle for a moment.

"I was so fucking scared I'll never see you again," he confessed.

"I'm sorry, Tae. I..."

He didn't even have time to finish his words, and the tattoo artist kissed him again, as if he felt that if he didn't, Jeongguk would melt in his hands like a beautiful dream. This time he did it slowly, tasting him delicately but thoroughly. Jeongguk instinctively tightened his hands on his leather jacket, trying to keep the distance between them to a minimum. He felt that for the first time that evening he could breathe normally, stealing oxygen from the lungs of the man who kissed him as tender as if no one and nothing existed.

It was only when he returned his kisses that he realized how much he needed him.

"Don't ever do this to me again, Naughty Boy. You hear me? Never again..." Tae whispered, his voice almost desperate, feeling his own body tremble slightly under the influence of his emotions.

When Yoongi told him that Jeongguk had fainted and was taken by the ambulance service, he thought he would go mad with anxiety. Only now, feeling his lips under his, holding his body in his arms, did he feel his nervousness slowly ease off.

"I thought I could handle it... But I couldn't catch my breath... And..."

"Gguk, what happened there?" the tattoo artist asked, his face still in his hands. He looked him straight in the eyes, and his hot breath hit the lips of the brunet. "Is it because of Lisa again? Did she say something to you?"

Jeongguk stared at the tattoo artist's beautiful onyx irises for a moment. Their impenetrable blackness might engulf him, but he knew there was more to his gaze. Some strange promise that even if he was ever consumed by darkness, in that darkness he would find a hand to grab him and lead him back to the light. A hand with beautiful, slender fingers, now adoringly tracing the soft contours of his lips with its thumb.

For a moment it occurred to him to lie, to make up some excuse, to say he didn't know what triggered his attack, but he couldn't lie to him. He could lie to everyone around him, but not to him. Taehyung was his safe place, the only real thing in his life, and he wanted it to stay that way.

"It wasn't Lisa, Tae," he said carefully. "The whole party was one big failure. Tons of unknown people that I had to smile at, pretending to know who they were. Then I made a very embarrassing speech as Lisa's goodbye... I felt overwhelmed and nervous about it, but somehow I managed to calm down a bit. But then something happened that no one else knows..."

He paused for a moment, feeling his breath contract with the memories of that evening. He grasped Taehyung's hand tighter and began to play with his fingers. Feeling the warmth of his hand in his, he calmed down enough to continue his story. The tattoo artist was silent, did not press on him. He just looked at him carefully, letting him decide what to say and when. After a short while, Jeongguk looked up and met his eyes again.

The boy was still pale. There were distinct shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in a long time. A drip tube hung from the stand next to his bed, still attached to his forearm, and ended with a cannula which was secured with tape and a small bandage. An oxygen cannula was placed on his face, which supplied his body with an additional dose of oxygen.

"It turned out that Minho was one of the bartenders at the party," Jeon confessed after a pause, and his words made the tattoo artist visibly tense.

He knew it couldn't be good.

"Did he tell you something?" he asked, drawing his perfect eyebrows together.

"He found out who I am. He saw me with Lisa and... He found out that my family didn't know that I... That we..."

"He threatened you?"

"He threatened to tell them everything. He said that he will tell that I'm sleeping with you, that I'm..." He broke off, trying to steady his breathing. "I didn't know what to do..."

"Did that motherfucker do something?" Kim asked, clearly agitated. "Gguk, did he tell someone?"

"No," he said. "But he said if I didn't give him the money he would tell them I was sleeping with you," he finally confessed.

"That piece of shit," he growled under his breath. "He won't get a dime from you. Do not worry. He won't say anything to anyone, Gguk. I won't let him do that."

"Tae..." Jeon began, licking his lips nervously. "I gave him that check. He was going to go to Lisa and my father... I had no choice... I didn't know what to do, and I had to stop him somehow..."

"Oh, Gguk..." Taehyung groaned, then reached out his hand and gently stroked his cheek. There was so much tenderness in that gesture that Jeongguk felt his chest tighten again. "People like Minho..." the redhead began, staring directly at his doe eyes with hot chocolate colored irises.

"He's not gonna stop, is he?" Jeon asked as he finished his thought, and the tattoo artist nodded his head and smiled sadly.

"He won't stop," he confirmed. "When he sees that you are afraid of him, that he can feed on your fear... He will."

Jeongguk swallowed hard, feeling the lump rise in his throat, tightening it. His eyes glazed over, and he blinked quickly to keep the tears from flowing into his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He felt like a wild animal, cornered - helpless and vulnerable.

"When I gave him the check, he said he doesn't know what you see in me because I'm pathetic... He was right, Tae. I'm... I'm so fucking pathetic..."

As soon as these words rolled from Jeongguk's mouth, Taehyung parted his lips to contradict him, but the brunet beat him and continued speaking in a slightly trembling voice. His dark eyes glazed with the pressure of tears.

"I should have told Lisa that I don't want this wedding, tell my father that I don't want to run the family business, tell them that I suspect I'm gay... or actually I don't suspect it anymore... I think I'm sure of it already... I should have told them that... that there is someone I really like and who makes me feel better every day, who makes my demons disappear somewhere, and I can breathe again, who is by my side despite the fact that I don't deserve this and..."

Taehyung took his face in his hands again, pulled him closer and pressed their lips together, kissing him tenderly. He could feel the salty taste of his tears and the trembling of his lips, but he didn't stop kissing him until he ran out of air. Only then he moved away gently and rested his forehead on the forehead of the brunet.

"You're not pathetic, Gguk. You don't even realize how strong you are. You may not see it yet, but I do, and you have to believe me, because I climbed in here and burst through your window like some fucking Romeo, only to see you again and tell you how fucking amazing you are."

Jeongguk let a soft laugh escape from his lips and quickly wiped the tears rolling down his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"I've always liked the Romeo and Juliet story, but I didn't think someone would ever break into the hospital for me," he replied, laughing softly. "But I have to admit, it's quite romantic," he added, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling.

"It's not funny," the tattoo artist replied. "I really am afraid of heights. I thought I was going to die of fear climbing, and then I also bruised my ass falling off the windowsill. You should move around and make room for me too, because I think I'll need some help soon," he teased.

Jeongguk shifted on the narrow hospital bed and patted the place next to him, and the tattoo artist laughed softly, but then he lay down next to him. Slipped gently under the covers and snuggled into the body of the brunet, pulling him to him and sticking tightly to his body. He put his arm around him and kissed him gently at his exposed neck. He could still smell the faint scent of expensive perfume on his skin.

"Are you wearing such a sexy hospital dress where your ass stick out?" Kim asked after a moment, muttering in his ear and gently lifting the covers, pretending to look at his ass to test the truth of his theory. Jeongguk chuckled and grabbed the covers, stopping him.

"I don't have my ass out," he whispered, embarrassed.

"It's a pity because you have a really delicious ass," the redhead muttered sexily.

His low voice caressed each syllable tenderly, and his tongue seemed to twist the words in his mouth every time the man drew out each vowel sexily, letting it finally roll resonantly from his lips and crept into Jeongguk's sensitive ears in a form of a deep baritone. 

"Tae, I'm already getting the oxygen," the brunet scolded him, swallowing hard. "You want me to be unable to breathe again?"

In response, Taehyung pulled him closer to him again and snuggled into his body.

"I was so fucking scared," he confessed, whispering straight into his ear and hid his face in the hollow of the brunet's neck, absorbing the scent of his body into his lungs. "Don't ever do this to me again."

"I won't. I promise," Jeongguk whispered, feeling sleepy again when finally his body was able to relax in Tae's safe arms.

He closed his eyes and let Morpheus take him into his strong embrace, just like the red-haired man lying behind him on the narrow hospital bed.

***

When Jeongguk opened his eyes again, he felt that Taehyung was no longer lying on the hospital bed with him. He rose cautiously on his forearms and looked around the room, but there was no sign of Tae anywhere. The window in the room was still slightly open, but he was convinced the tattoo artist must have sneaked through it, leaving him alone again.

He did not know how much time had passed, but it was surely quite late, for he noticed that it was already dark outside. He reached out to reach for his cell phone and saw that there was a small note on the pillow next to him. He took it quickly in his hand and carefully unfolded it. The handwriting was neat, the letters were even, but there was something artistic about them. He had never seen Tae's handwriting before, but now, looking at the note, he was sure it was a message from a tattoo artist. He moistened his lips and unfolded a note completely to read the message the tattoo artist had left. But there was only one sentence in the middle. Seeing its contents, he felt his insides rise to his throat.

He knew exactly what the words meant...

He reached quickly for his phone and dialed Tae's number, but as expected, the tattoo artist didn't answer. He didn't know what to do. He slipped his hands through his dark hair, trying to come up with a good solution. He wanted to get out of here and find him, but knew his body was too weak to handle it. Besides, he didn't have his car here. But he knew there was one person he could count on. He entered the contact list and punched the blond tattoo artist's number.

"C'mon... Pick up, please..." he whispered, nervously listening to the next deaf signals.

"Jeongguk?" a low, slightly sleepy voice suddenly asked. 

"Yoongi, please, you must find Tae."

"Why? Jeongguk, what's going on? Something happened?" he asked quickly.

"That attack I had... It's Minho's fault. He was at Lisa's party and blackmailed me that he will tell my family about everything. Tae was here, and I told him about it... Then I fell asleep. I don't know when he got out of here. Yoongi, he wrote to me that he would fix everything... I'm afraid he might do something really stupid. Please, you must find him," he pleaded.

"Oh, fuck. He will probably want to confront him," Yoongi said. "Don't worry, Gguk. I'll go to the pub where Minho works. Probably Tae went there."

"Please stop him from doing something stupid. You have to find him..." he repeated in a trembling voice.

Yoongi quickly said goodbye to him and hung up, and Jeongguk sat for a long moment on the hospital bed, clutching the phone in his hand, listening to the dull signal reflected from the white walls of the hospital room. In his head, he could still hear the words written on the little white sheet of paper which he was still holding in his left hand.

"I promise I'll make it right."

***

Ayashee:

And how did you like the chapter?

Do you think Tae will find Minho?
What happens when they finally meet face to face?
Will Yoongi stop his friend from doing something really stupid?

xoxo