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22
Worse Case Scenario

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JISOO

February 4th

The warm weight draping over my shoulder is the first thing I notice when I let my eyes open. Then, the perfectly sculpted and symmetrical face of Kim Taehyung is the next thing.

I stare blankly at the guy for a second or two. His face is puffy, and since it's pressed up against the pillow, his cheeks are squished. It's cute.

Wait...

Why am I in a bed with Taehyung?

It all comes back to me like a broken dam, memories whooshing through my head with so much clarity and excitement that my heart may burst. I immediately sit up, pushing both his arm and the sheets off my shoulder.

His identity. The confession. The cheek kiss. The suturing. The time he jumped around the living room whisper-yelling fuck yeah while thinking that I couldn't see him.

It's almost surreal—no, it is surreal.

It takes me a few moments to steady my heart and breathing.

Yesterday I was already struggling to comprehend the fact that Taehyung and V are the same person, and him deciding to confess to me on the same fucking day didn't help. My mind was about to explode. It was only after a short shower and mental pep talk that I was able to talk (somewhat) coherently speak with him. Even then, I still accidentally implied that he'd be the father to my children and that I wanted to get to know him under his clothes.

I just couldn't—can't—believe that Taehyung is V. I fell for him twice.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have any feelings for Taehyung. I was only rejecting them earlier because it felt weird to like two people, but now... it all makes sense.

I take another deep breath, refusing to look at him as I shimmy out of the bed.

How did he even get there? He was supposed to take the couch, and I don't think he'd be the type of person to sneak in with me intentionally, right?

His arm was over my shoulder. He was hugging me.

Okay, I need to get out of this room as soon as possible before my thoughts go in the wrong direction. I tiptoe out of the room, careful to not accidentally trip over my own feet with how my whole body is trembling with nerves.

I swear, Jin is going to kill me for not talking to him earlier, but it's not like I can summon him when my superhero partner is also in the same apartment. That'd be an even greater risk.

Maybe I can get him here now, while Taehyung is still asleep. If I can't, or if it's too dangerous, Jin will know. He's a better judge of these things than I am.

Hastily grabbing a glass of water for my parched throat, I accidentally spill some on my sleeve a bit, and roll them up, revealing my usually hidden bracelet. It still captivates me every time I see it; the shine of silver and the little white bead in the middle make for a simple, yet intriguing design.

I wonder what Taehyung would say if he knew I was RC. Would he be disappointed? He likes me, Jisoo, not RC.

In fact, it seems that he doesn't like RC that much at all. He's always groaning when I take the lead, and every time I do something he stares at me like he's annoyed. What if he finds out who I am, and then doesn't like me anymore?

This new possibility settles itself in the pits of my stomach. I don't want him to find out who I am.

As I'm about to aggressively shake the bracelet to summon Jin—he says that it causes a whole earthquake in his world—the doorbell rings. I cock my head at it. It's only 7am, so no one usually visits me at this time.

What if Taehyung's parents are picking him up? I almost want to go back in the room to wake him up, but if it isn't them, then that might be awkward.

I tentatively make my way to the door, sliding my slippers against the floor and realizing my current attire. I'm in freaking bunny pajamas. I want to curse at Jungkook for making me only choose animal themed onesies two years ago. I never bought other pajamas, since there was no need to, but yesterday I was surely considering running out to the store just to buy new ones.

Sighing, I decide that I'm overthinking, and open the door with one smooth swing.

A cool gust of wind from the outside is the first thing that greets me, and the second thing is Dr. Kim.

He's helped out Dr. Jung a few times before, and I'm only able to recognize him because compared to the other doctors at the hospital, he's incredibly tall and young. He's a pediatric surgeon who specializes in cardiology, though he's well rounded in everything else too.

"Dr. Kim?" I look around in concern. "Is everything okay?" If he's here at my house, it must be something bad.

"Jisoo?" He somehow looks equally as surprised as I am. "Is this your apartment?"

"Yeah," I answer slowly. Did he not know that? I notice that he's not in regular hospital attire, instead wearing a pair of black jeans and a casual hoodie. "Did you get the wrong apartment, maybe?"

"No," he says, shaking his head. "I think this is right." With a heavy sigh he sends me an apologetic look. "Is Taehyung here?"

Oh.

That's Taehyung's brother, Kim Namjoon. The connection isn't hard to make, but it still boggles my mind. Now that I know exactly who Taehyung's dad was comparing him to, I feel a sudden rush of anger. I have nothing against Namjoon, but to know that he's the cause of Taehyung's insecurities makes me upset.

"Um, yeah," I finally say, "I can go get him."

"Sorry for having him intrude today." Dr. Kim, or Namjoon, pleadingly smiles. "Don't worry, this won't happen again."

I scurry back inside as I mumble a short 'it's okay', feeling my hands clam up. There's just something about him that makes me uneasy. It's been a few months since I've last seen him, when Jungkook started choking on food and sent everyone into panic, though he was perfectly fine, and even laughing at us at the end. I'm probably just being paranoid.

"Taehyung," I whisper, shaking his shoulders. He has bunched up my covers, trapping them in the confines of his arms and stubbornly sticking his face into them. "Wake up."

"Mm?" When he comes to, it takes him a few seconds to process where he is, scanning my face and my room with visible confusion. His puffy face and sleepy pout make him look five years younger than he is, and it's a little too much for my brain to handle. Don't blush.

"Sorry!" His eyes widen as he jolts up, furiously kicking the blankets off and fumbling out of bed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on your bed, I swear! Holy shit—how did I even get here?" He glares at the bed as if it's at fault for dragging him to my bed.

"Don't worry, I slept on the couch." It's a lie, but I think it'll calm him down a bit. Also, it's a lot easier than explaining that I woke up in his arms this morning.

"Wait, you slept on the couch?" His eyes bulge out of their sockets. Maybe that makes him panic more. Oops.

"Yeah, uh, but it's okay. Really," I assure, though he appears unconvinced.

"I'm really sorry, wow."

I laugh, "It's fine." I hastily walk to the door. "Uh, your brother is here. He's picking you up."

His brows furrow. "My brother?" I nod, watching as a whole new wave of panic overcomes him. Taehyung groans and tries not to trip over his feet while stumbling out of my room and it's only then that he probably realizes how he's in bunny pajamas. Rushing back inside, he makes a beeline to my closet. "Shit, sorry. I'm such a mess—ouch!"

He stubs his toe into the corner of the door, practically falling inside and then slamming it shut. I can only try not to laugh at the sight of him gliding all over my room in frantics.

I make it back to the front as he's changing, and find Namjoon still standing, tapping his foot on the floor and looking around with droll scrutinization; I can't tell if he's judging my apartment complex or admiring it, but he's definitely intrigued.

"Hi, um, Dr. Kim," I start, "He's just getting ready."

"Getting ready?"

I gulp. "Yep." He smiles, and again, it's indecipherable. "But he'll be out in a bit."

Namjoon nods, somehow like he's not interested in Taehyung at all now, and gaze locking on my wrist. His dragon-like eyes squint at it. "That bracelet is pretty nice."

No one has ever commented on my bracelet before. I immediately clench my muscles. He's still looking at it as he waits for my response. "Um, thanks."

"Where did you get it?"

"Just some store..."

Why is the air so thick? He finally looks at me rather than my bracelet, and I hope I'm not obvious about rolling my sleeve down to cover it. It's not like someone can tell that I'm RC just by looking at the bracelet—the rational part of my mind tells me that—but it's still weird to be asked about it.

"Here! Ready! Done!" Taehyung announces, sprinting to the door in his normal, preppy attire. "Hey Joon," he greets casually, though an underlining hint of annoyance lies behind his neutral tone.

"Hi Tae." Namjoon grins seeing Taehyung, an expression with an odd amount of sincerity. They stand side by side outside my door and they look nothing alike; Namjoon's posture is poised, while Taehyung is yawning with quite the amount of bed hair, but then again, he just woke up.

"Thanks for letting me stay over," Taehyung says, not at all embarrassed about his brother hearing.

"No problem."

"I'll see you... soon?" A hopeful glint shimmers in his eye.

"Yeah," I smile. "Soon."

He beams, nodding his head and completely ignoring Namjoon's incredulous look behind him. They turn to leave unceremoniously, Taehyung trailing a bit behind Namjoon. As they make it to the car, I realize that I'm still staring at them and hastily try to hide behind my door, but Taehyung's yelling stops me.

"Bye Jisoo!" He waves, holding onto the car door. "Thank you!" With one last boxy smile, he slips into the car and it drives off, disappearing into the foggy streets of today's morning.

My shoulders drop, releasing the tension that I haven't even been conscious of.

—

The rest of the morning is as uneventful as it usually is; I text Jungkook that I'll be coming over after work—where I'll also pick up Dude—and get ready for said work with a quick change of clothes. I almost forget about the painfully obvious concern looming over my head; V's identity. But, I haven't.

It seems to jump out at me every single second I try to forget; the wrinkles of my blankets seem to scrunch up in the shape of his face and the dent in the mattress of the bed reminds me of the fact that he was here a mere moment ago. Everything I look at only reifies my reality even more; I know the identity of my superhero partner, who happens to be Taehyung, my kind-of-more-than-a-friend friend.

Rubbing my temples, I sigh, deciding to get to work and focus on that before trying to sort through all this superhero drama and love stuff.

Except I can't, because the second I open the door I come face to face with my lovely, wise, and very angry guardian.

"Oh, I'm just so overjoyed to finally see my beautiful darling holder," he coos in a tone that suggests he isn't happy at all. I gulp. "Jisoo, anything you'd like to tell me?"

"I think you already know," I squeak. He drops the menacing smile and sits down at the sofa, motioning for me to join him.

"Let me start off by saying that it's not your fault that you found out," he says, taking a weight off my shoulder. "But, you inviting him to stay over was not smart."

I slouch into the couch like a child. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Seriously? 'V ready for bed'?" He scorns, not having a drop of mercy for my already bruised ego. "What if you accidentally revealed it? Imagine all the trouble that would've caused. I would've had to do some serious damage control and we'd have to hold a meeting and—"

"I get it! I messed up." I grab a pillow and hug it, finding comfort in its softness compared to the derision in Jin's tone. "I already said sorry."

I hear him sigh. "At least you finally kissed his cheek. Not gonna lie, that was pretty cute."

"Hey!" I throw my blue pillow at him and try to hide my burning face in my hands. "How much of this do you even see? Are you spying on me 24/7?"

"Only when you get emotional," he explains, "When you feel something extreme I check in on you to make sure that you're not in trouble."

"Well I was definitely not in trouble! You didn't have to stay to see all of that." My complaint does nothing to wipe the dumb, teasing grin on his face.

"Oh I know." He leans back, looking at the ceiling in an attempt to conceal his mirth. "You two are just so funny to watch."

Abruptly marching to the door, I yell, "There was no need for this conversation. I'm going!"

He's quick back on his feet, running up to me and grabbing my arm. "Woah, hold your horses. Let me tell you one thing before you go."

"What," I huff, still annoyed, and face him expectantly.

He sighs, seriousness overtaking his features, and I straighten up too. "You can't tell him that you know about... his identity—and anything surrounding it. He can't know yours either."

"I figured that," I reply. It makes me feel guilty but it'll keep us safe. Safer, at least. "I can handle it, and I'm sure he'll understand when I do get to tell him. But first, we find and defeat The Sender."

"And so that's the thing." For the first time in forever, Jin appears nervous to tell me something. "Doing that might be especially hard, since Yoongi and I think we might have found The—"

My phone rings, cutting him off mid-sentence. I pull it out to hit decline because Jin seems to have something important to say, but I immediately answer when I see the number.

Dr. Jung usually never calls me himself.

"Hello?"

"Jisoo, I need you to—"

My heart drops.

His words become an unintelligible series of noises, because as soon as he says that Jungkook is in the ER and needs me to be there, I'm sprinting to the door with my clattering keys. I don't even care about Jin frantically yelling for me to listen to him first, because I need to go.

"Wait!" Jin grabs onto my sleeve.

"Let go," I spit out, shaking my arm. His grip loosens but he still holds on. "I said, let go!"

"Jisoo, listen to me first. It's about The—"

"I don't care about that right now!" My voice breaks and reveals a hint of a cry, but I don't let myself completely succumb to the demons of my worst-scenario-thoughts. With one final shake, Jin is off of me and I'm out of the house.

There's nothing in my mind except calling a taxi and demanding the (slightly scared) driver to step on it. Go, go, go.

My breathing becomes irregular halfway through the ride and I rely on the rapid tapping of my feet to keep calm. Trees, buildings, and the foggy morning blur from outside my window—adding to my fear of facing the hospital, but also adding to my impatience.

"Miss, that'll be thirty—"

I shove a random bill into the driver's hand and spring out the car, tripping over my shoelaces as I dash to Jungkook's room on one of the top floors.

When I get there, I'm breathless, having just ran through crowds of people and a whole freaking hospital. My mind draws blank when I get to Jungkook's room, because he isn't there. I hung up on Mr. Jung too quickly; I don't know where they are. It might be a minor issue—I'm sure I can find them quickly—but it intensifies my panic tenfold.

Where the fuck is he?

If the various people walking down the suffocatingly white hallways notice my erratic behavior, they aren't saying anything about it.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Jisoo?"

Whipping around, I find Dr. Kim, freshly donning his lab coat and glasses. It's like he's a different person from the one I saw only an hour ago.

"Do you know where Jungkook is?" I ask, not wanting to waste time.

His eyes widen, as if realizing something important. "Yes, follow me."

He takes me through a series of hallways, all of them slightly unfamiliar, but then again I doubt that I'd be able to recognize anything in my frazzled state. The smell of antiseptics doesn't aid my already faint mind either.

He's going to be okay. This isn't it.

I chant the affirmations in my head like a mantra, and almost bump into Dr. Kim's back when we finally come to a stop in front of a far too intimidating ER room.

"Do you know what happened?"

I shake my head no. "Can you tell me?"

"He..." Dr. Kim is unsure, pursing his lips together in thought. "I think it'll be better if you hear from Dr. Jung." He slides the door open and motions for me to come in.

I don't hesitate to march inside, immediately searching for Jungkook. He's in the bed, a ventilator over his face and with various IV lines surrounding him.

He doesn't deserve this. He did nothing wrong. Why is the universe after him?

Seeing him is like the last straw for my already weakening will to not cry.

"Hello Jisoo," Dr. Jung starts, a comforting smile on his face as always. "Have a seat." He pats the space on the seat in the corner of the room.

As I sit down, he hands me a tissue. "Thank you," I mumble.

When I've settled down he speaks up, "Look, what I'm about to tell you may scare you, but you can handle it. Your aunt is unreachable right now and I hate to put all this pressure on you, but you're a legal adult and his relative. I can't contact anyone else. "

Having pressure on me isn't new. I'd rather hear all about it than be kept in the dark. "I understand."

He nods, smile wiping away. "Jungkook had another flare-up." He watches my reaction carefully. I take a deep breath. Flare-ups are normal for people with COPD, but since Jungkook is in stage four, they're more severe. "Except this time... it was because someone gave him the wrong medication."

A sharp knife lodges itself in my throat. Someone did this? For some eerie reason... I don't think it was an accident. I can't be going insane, right? He's been on the same meds for practically the whole year. Why mess it up now?

"I see," is the only thing I manage to choke out.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." My answer is confident, but the stinging of my eyes says otherwise.

"We managed to stabilize him for now, but it's really bad this time. The pills he took have extreme side effects. We're thinking about a lung transplant." He pulls out a clipboard, clicking his tongue and showing it to me. "We'd need your consent. Look over the papers, and ask me any questions."

Robotically, I reach for the daunting documents and scan through them, trying to make sense of it through my muddled mind. The words don't make sense to me at all. I can't even read properly.

Useless.

My hands start to tremble.

"Alright! I'll take that now." Dr. Jung quickly snatches it away from me, likely sensing my worsening state. "I'll tell you the most important parts, okay?"

"Okay," I sniffle.

He tells me about the payment aspect of it; my aunt's insurance can cover most of it but I' have to pull through with a pretty hefty price myself. I don't mind, as this is why I've been working all these years anyway. He tells me about the organ donor, who unfortunately just passed in a car accident. I sob harder at that, because they don't deserve to die—both Jungkook and the organ donor.

Life is so unfair. I hate it. I don't want to live like this.

I'm pretty sure that I'm ugly crying at this point, but it's hard to care. He hands me another tissue, which I accept with shaky hands.

There's more stuff about the procedure and time of surgery, but that doesn't catch my attention as much as this last part.

"So, here's the thing with this procedure and his health," Dr. Jung starts, voice as soft as ever, "Best case scenario, the operation goes successfully and while it won't cure him completely, he'll be able to live for much longer. Maybe even fifteen years."

"Fifteen years..." I trail off, wondering how much we could do during that time. I'll probably bring him to a gaming convention at some point. He'll be able to see me graduate college, too. Maybe... he'll even get to see me start a family.

The effects of the good news doesn't last long, though. I realize that there's another possible outcome. Dr. Jung takes a huge breath, one that demands my attention.

"And worst case scenario..." He gulps. "He dies."

Author's Note:

hello lovely readers! updates will be slower with my huge wave of exams coming up T^T. i apologize in advance. also, i'd love to hear theories about what's gonna happen next hehe.

thank you SO SO SO much for sticking around! i love you lots hehe.

<3 lalalalala7fire