Homme Fatale | KSJ | ✓

Terminal Illness

Jaehwa stepped back slowly, her heart racing in fear and before long she was backed into the wall.

"I-I... I didn't m- mean..." she stuttered helplessly looking around. She cursed her luck. Why did she have to run into him of all the people in the hotel? Seokjin seemed to have caught on to what had happened and he didn't seem too happy about it. She didn't want to do it but she had accidentally given her word to Sahan and she couldn't back out of it. Even Jaehwa had to admit that it was such a petty move. All just so that Yoongi would make a bad impression on the Chairman and Sahan could stand out. What was she even thinking?

"Why did you have to switch the whole bag?" Seokjin wheezed just as his arm suddenly gave out from under him and his shoulders slammed into the wall. He winced. Jaehwa scrunched her eyebrows as she watched him slowly begin to hyperventilate. "W-what?"

"Med- medications were in there- Argh!" he collapsed to the floor.

"SEOKJIN-SSI!!" Jaehwa ran to his side. He was sweating profusely and his breaths came out in tiny gasps. It seemed as if he was barely holding himself up. Jaehwa crouched down to him as she shook him by the shoulders, "WHOAOO! Come to your senses, Seokjin. Open your eyes!"

His eyes were slowly sliding shut and Jeahwa panicked. "Oh god, what do I do? What do I do?" She looked around, panic slowly making her fingers tremble. "E-emergency. What's the emergency number." She slid her hand shakily into her bag and fished out her phone. She was about to type in the number when his hand clasped around her wrist.

"D-don't call them." He wheezed out.

"But, but you're- you're-"

"Just don't. Please..." he cried and suddenly flinched as if he was feeling pain.

"Th-then what do you want me to do?"

"Just help me get to my room."

Ten minutes later Seokjin collapsed onto his bed wincing and grunting as if he was hurting severely and Jaehwa didn't have a clue as to what was happening. Was it a panic attack? Asthma? Seizure? Whatever it was, it looked serious.

"Kim Seokjin why do you not want me to call the EMT. This looks serious!"

"Just don't, okay?" He sighed painfully. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?" Jaehwa parroted. "Okay, I admit this is my fault but can you at least tell me what your medicines were for?"

Seokjin scoffed, though through his pain it appeared more like a grimace. "Do you think I will reveal something personal like that to you? Especially after what you did? That was such a petty move Han Jaehwa. I expected better from you. Clearly, I overestimated you."

Jaehwa opened her mouth to protest but then closed it shut. Dang it! He was right. She couldn't even find a good retort since he was completely right.

"How are you going to take responsibility for this?" he asked, squirming as if it pained him to talk. "What are you going to do if something happens to me?"

Ignoring his questions Jaehwa went around his hotel room, looking for something that could help. Please, there should be a first aid kit or an ice pack or something! Anything!

Nothing. There was nothing of the sort inside the room. Of course, what did she expect from a hotel room? Jaehwa walked back to the room where Seokjin was lying on the bed shivering as he clutched the sheets.

"Please, if you don't want me to call the emergency service, let me at least look around. There might be someone who can help-"

"No! I don't want anyone to find out. I hate the fact that you had to be the one to find out." Seokjin snapped.

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" She cried. She had had enough of his stubbornness. Just how stubborn is he to not call the hospital when he was in so much pain!

"I'll just lay here. It'll go away. It'll probably go away..." He bit out from between his sheets fighting the shivers. Jaehwa shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine." She spat out folding her hands. "As you wish! But I'm going to stay here and watch you until you feel fine. You wanted me to take responsibility for this, didn't you?"

Seokjin only glared back painfully from under his sheets before he turned away, facing the other side. Jaehwa stomped up to the nearest cushion chair and flopped down on it crossing her hands.

Seriously? The jerk was too headfast for his own good! She couldn't, for the love of God, fathom the reason he so strongly insisted that they don't call the emergency. What did he mean he didn't want anyone to know about him. Was there some huge secret involved with his health issue? Was it some kind of terminal illness or something? Cancer? AIDs? Her K-drama-obsessed brain came up with several crazy but interesting theories for his weird situation which she dismissed with a shake of her head. What even was his issue?

Fishing out her phone once again, she typed in his symptoms wanting to gain at least some insight on what his condition was. All the search results listed several reasons which all ended up with him dying of some horrible, long-term, incurable disease. "Aaeesh!" Jaehwa threw the phone on the heavily carpeted floor. Go*gle was no better than her.

Breathing out a frustrated sigh, she looked towards the certain sick jerk. It seemed as if his shivers were slowly subsiding. Maybe he was right. It might go away on its own. Nevertheless, it didn't feel good. The guilt made it all the more unbearable. Jaehwa had wished the worst upon him a number of times but never did she mean any of that. She would never actually wish harm on anyone. Though she appeared to be quite the indifferent, inconsiderate person, she was exactly the opposite of it.

She looked up to the man who laid on his bed, his chest slowly rising and falling rhythmically. She slowly tip-toed up to him and leaned forward to see his face. Her suspicion was right. He was fast asleep. Jaehwa noted how peaceful he looked when he was asleep. He almost looked different. Vulnerable.

She tucked the sheet that had ridden down, back up making sure that he was warm. Sighing tiredly, she went back to reoccupy her cushion chair by the window. The sky had already invited the night, painting itself in dark indigo colors with occasional stars barely peeking out from behind the clouds. The city was lit up in an assortment of colors and Jaehwa had to admit that Tokyo was indeed one beautiful place. Leaning her head on the window sill, she watched the peaceful night sky and the lights of the city, relishing in the cold sensation of the glass window against her face. Sometime into the night, her eyes slowly drifted shut and she let herself sink into the deep abyss of sleep.

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Aaeesh- a Korean expression of frustration.

(Yes I am aware that it's spelled 'Aish' but I felt like it sounded cringy. This lettering felt less cringey to me."