SCARRED | TK

Chapter Six

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"There is a swelling storm
And I'm caught up in the middle of it all
And it takes control
Of the person that I thought I was
The boy I used to know

But there is a light
In the dark, and I feel its warmth
In my hands and my heart
Why can't I hold on?"

His fingers were still outlining the drawing when the doctor's familiar footsteps echoed outside his room, breaking his chain of thoughts and forcefully pulling him from the comfort and silence of his own mind.

Jeongguk lifted the blanket from the bed and hid the drawings underneath it, hoping Taehyung would not be able to see them there. The door opened, slowly, and the same slender figure entered through it, shaking hands holding a tray with plates and a glass on it.

Jeongguk's  eyebrows furrowed as three other people appeared in his room, carrying a small table and two chairs inside. 

Why were there two?

He didn't even need to voice out his question because Taehyung, after probably sensing his confusion, flashed him a smile before answering.

"As promised, I brought you a table and I felt brave enough to bring a chair for myself as well so that we could chat." He explained, pointing towards the second chair and making Jeongguk furrow his brows at his words. "Come on, get up and come eat, Jeongguk."

The boy hesitated, remembering that under his thighs were paper sheets that could make noises or, worse, rip under his weight but the pain in his stomach and the look the doctor offered him determined Jeongguk to slowly get up from the bed. He moved his body as softly as he could so that the sheets of paper under him wouldn't get damaged and, after fully getting out of bed without making a sound, Jeongguk felt the need to smile.

He walked slowly to the table, stumbling at some point, his condition worrying Taehyung because suddenly, the boy seemed far too pale and weak.

He knew that Jeongguk's blood had been collected that morning as well but, even though he was now in charge of his condition, he was still forbidden to participate in that activity—forbidden to stop it and let the boy's body recover from all the tests he underwent.

"Are you okay?" The man asked in vain, already knowing that no one was going to answer him, but it was worth a try.

The teenager simply stared at him as he finally took a seat in the second chair. He way trying to appear fierce, the look in his eyes even making Taehyung giggle. You're kidding me, Jeongguk would have probably said, that's what his eyes were giving away. 

Taehyung wondered as he watched the teenager eat what his voice would sound like. It could be thick and hoarse from those many years of silence or it could be soft and higher pitched, melodic. Taehyung didn't know why but he wanted to find out, wanted to hear Jeongguk talk so badly that he sent his mind to make it happen.

Taehyung smiled as he looked away from the boy, not realizing that Jeongguk was staring at him as well, his spoon still stuck between his lips and his eyebrows furrowed in an amusing way.

A colorful laugh broke the silence of the room when Taehyung turned back around only to be met by the sight of the teenager staring at him with his spoon still in between his lips, that laugh that Jeongguk considered melodic, relaxing. The teenager quickly withdrew his gaze from the doctor's face and continued to eat, with a tiny but present smile on his face. 

Taehyung rested his elbow on the table, letting his chin rest on his palm as he continued to watch Jeongguk eat. His gaze analyzed the boy's face carefully as he examined his prominent jaw, well-contoured cheeks and his pink lips, the upper one being smaller than the other. His dark eyes contrasted with his own grey ones—courtesy of the virus flowing through his veins and slowly destroying his body—the long eyelashes giving him a childish image along with his tousled brown hair.