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절망적인 - MAY 12
SEOKJIN HAD DISAPPEARED after that night at the hospital, ignoring Luna's multiple calls for an entire day. She was worried for him, but a part of her was angry as well, at the fact that he was shutting her out. They were supposed to be in this together.
Luna clocked out, ending her shift as she let out a small sigh. Hoseok hadn't gone to work that day, calling out for a reason she didn't know. Everything felt so weird to Luna, and for the first time in a while, she felt uncertain.
She'd decided to volunteer once again, in hopes of running into Jimin and seeing if he was okay. Even if he would try to push her away, she just had to go and see him to make sure he was safe.
Walking down the same bleak hallways, the events from two nights before replayed in her mind. The way Hoseok shouted at Seokjin, Jimin crying in the dark room. She just wished this would be over, and everyone would be happy as they should be.
Abruptly, Luna stopped in her tracks when she turned a corner as she watched a few nurses frantically pound on a door, yelling loudly.
"Park Jimin!" they yelled, knocking on the door. "We know you're in there!"
Park Jimin?
She began to step closer, a mixed feeling in her gut.
"Mr. Park! We're opening the door!" they shouted before swinging the door open. Luna jogged behind them as they sprinted into the room, a small bathroom, tiled and dark.
Luna's heart nearly stopped as she saw Jimin, laying in the full bathtub, water up to his forehead as he laid still.
Oh my God.
She shrieked before pushing past the nurses, delving her shaky hands into the water to grab at Jimin's hospital gown. She grunted as she pulled him out of the tub, the water splashing onto the floor and completely staining her clothes as he fell into her lap.
Her hands were shaking as she put her palm against his cold, wet cheek as his eyes remained closed.
"Ma'am, please!" One of the nurses tried to grab at her arm, to which she shoved off forcefully. "Are you his guardian?" they asked, but she didn't answer, focused on the frail boy in her lap as she panted.
Her breath hitched when she saw his eyes slightly open, pitch black irises meeting with hers. The nurses were all trying to speak to the two, but they weren't listening.
"Jimin?" she choked out. "Can you hear me?"
"Luna?" he whimpered quietly, until tears began to fill his eyes and spill onto his pale skin. "Get me out of here."
She watched in horror as the tears streamed down his face.
I have no choice.
"C-Can you stand up for me?" she whispered to Jimin, making sure the nurses wouldn't hear. He slightly nodded in response before she began to help him up. Her clothes were dripping onto the floor, but she didn't care. She had to get him out of there.
"Jimin, are you okay?" one of the nurses began to walk toward him, but before they could do anything else, Luna grasped onto his hand and dragged him out of the room.
They could hear the nurses shouting and chasing after them, but they kept going. Jimin's grip on her hand remained tight as they sprinted through the hallways, leaving traces of water dripping off of their backs.
Jimin took a deep breath after they'd ran through the exit, the cool breeze touching his wet skin. He hadn't smelled such fresh air in a long time.
"Get in!" Luna exclaimed as she let go of Jimin's hand to run to the driver's seat of her car, which had been parked in the closest spot. He obeyed, quickly jumping into the car. Luna started the engine, driving away as she saw the nurses run out of the exit in her rear view mirror, waving their hands frantically. Jimin noticed them too, a pang of guilt consuming him.
Luna let out a sigh of relief as they made it onto the road. She had no idea what she was doing, but it felt right to finally get Jimin out of the hospital. She glanced over at the boy to see him staring out the window, shivering as he crossed his arms.
"Here," she said as she grabbed her jacket in the backseat, carefully putting it on his lap, along with turning on the heater.
"W-Why are you being so nice to me?" Jimin sniffed, taking her jacket and covering his upper body.
"I care about you," she replied.
"Why?"
Luna blinked for a second, unsure of how to answer that. "You deserve better," she said.
Jimin thought about her words, looking back out of the window. Why would this girl, who he'd only seen a few times and spoke to once, care about him enough to break him out of that place? Though, for some reason, he still felt safe with her, hesitant but still knowing she wouldn't hurt him. He hadn't talked to someone like her for a long time.
"How do you and Seokjin know each other?" he asked, recalling the other night.
"... Mutual friends," she mumbled her usual reply.
"Where are we going?"
"To Seokjin's," Luna said. She wasn't even sure if he was home, but she knew she was going to give him a fit if he was there.
Jimin seemed confused but nevertheless, looked back out the window as he snuggled into the jacket, leaning his head against the cold glass.
The two had drove into a tunnel, the light being sucked from the car. Jimin felt so cold, and small in the darkness. He'd never liked it; he always felt so helpless and afraid, like the darkness was going to consume him. It almost had that day.
As they reached the end of the tunnel, he squinted at the bright sunlight, until he suddenly noticed a sign standing outside of the tunnel, one they were driving toward.
'GRASS FLOWER ARBORETUM', it read.
Jimin felt his heart drop to his stomach, his pupils shrinking as he picked his head up from the window. The car had halted to a stop at a red light, but he felt like the entire world was spinning as the memories flowed through his head. The air began to close on his lungs, his heart pace quickening.
"No..." he choked out. Luna turned her head to him, eyes widening when she noticed his expression and him fiddling with the door handle. "I can't... be here," he stated before hastily opening the door and bursting through it, setting off in a sprint.
"Jimin!" she yelled and hastily unbuckled her seatbelt, running after him. Cars honked beside her as she ran past them, keeping her eyes only on Jimin, who had distanced himself even further.
She watched as he ran past a construction sign, until she suddenly felt her heartbeat pulse through her body, sweat excessively dripping on her forehead. It was as though the ground was pulling at her feet and gravity was pressing down on her as it became harder and harder to run after him.
No, she thought in her head as she felt her feet slowing down, the world spinning around her.
"Wait!" she strained before everything turned white, and the last thing she heard was the piercing sound of the intense breaking of glass.
