Stay.

Chapter 17

the next day, jungkook was discharged from the hospital. the older was driving them to his place, making sure to stop at the pharmacy to get all of jungkook's medications before finally arriving at home.

taehyung helped the other out of the car and into his apartment, then asked him to lay in bed as he went to the kitchen to fetch him a glass of water. when he came back, he put the water on the nightstand along with two medicines, "i'll make you something to eat so you can take your medications on time." taehyung said, starting to walk away, when jungkook held onto his arm. "sit down first." he said, and taehyung did.

when he sat down on the bed next to jungkook, the latter took his hand. "are you still not going to ask about it?"

taehyung sighed, "i want to make sure you're okay first." jungkook smiled at him, "i'm okay now. i swear."

the older nodded, kissing his forehead, right when jungkook started talking. "i was in my second year of high school when i came out to my parents. i thought they loved me too much that they wouldn't really care about my sexuality, you know? but i was wrong. the first thing i received was a slap from my father." jungkook said, tensing, and taehyung could feel that. so he caressed jungkook's hair, muttering a you're okay now, i'm right here which helped him relax a bit before talking again.

"then they were on about how wrong it is and all that. the next day i went to school with a black eye and i could tell everyone was looking at me weird and talking about me. but then my father made me drop out since we were leaving seoul." taehyung nodded at him, not sure what to say.

"we went to busan, where my aunt lived. her husband was some kind of religious man so my father told him about me, and he started making me very uncomfortable, trying to make me normal again. he would sit down with me for hours, talking shit about me and my sexuality, and when he thought i didn't seem to understand, he would hit me. and my parents stood there doing nothing about it." jungkook said, rubbing at his face before he felt a soft peck to his temple.

jungkook turned to look at taehyung, he saw his eyes glistening with tears so kissed his chin, "don't cry." he whispered but taehyung shook his head, "i'm not, really. you can keep talking." jungkook kissed his chin again, nodding.

"okay so of course, i decided to run away one day. but when i was on my way out of there, my father caught me and he was very upset about it. he beat me up, he hit me everywhere on my body, even my head. and the next i knew is that i woke up at the hospital." jungkook chuckled sadly, "turns out my mother wasn't really okay with my sexuality but she hated the way her husband was dealing with everything. she called the cops on him, that's why he's in jail now, has been for a couple of years. she told them everything he's been doing to me and then took me to the hospital."

he felt his hand being squeezed when he spoke again, "turns out he had hit me too hard that my legs literally gave out on me. i couldn't move, i couldn't feel them. something from the hit on my head has affected my entire body. you know, major multiple trauma. i had trouble focusing or remembering things, i suffered from severe headaches. i had to go through physiotherapy for my legs too. it was the worst, so so painful. but because of that i can walk again now." jungkook said, patting his legs as in a see? kinda thing.

"i was kept at the hospital for nine months before being sent to a rehabilitation center where i stayed for like i don't know, fifteen, sixteen months? yeah then i when my legs were making progress and finally i could walk again, i was let out of the hospital for the first time. the night we met? it was my third time only out of the hospital. and the whole time at the hospital i was alone, my mother left. she just paid and still pays the hospital bills but she doesn't really check on me. i don't know what kind of logic that is but i'm kinda thankful she's paying for that because otherwise i wouldn't be here."

"i was then assigned a psychiatrist to help me deal with all the things that have happened, and i guess you could say it did help? because the whole thing put me through a very bad mental state i literally thought of suicide 7 times. you see the tattoos on my chest? the lines? i got each of them separately. every time i had the thought that suicide is the only way out for me, i'd get a line tattooed. i believed that if they reached ten, instead of tattooing the last line i'd just kill my self. but as you can see, i haven't reached that point yet." jungkook said, and he could tell taehyung was crying beside him, but he couldn't stop talking. this is the first time he's ever spoken about this, and it was just as exhausting for him as he had imagined, but he needed to let it all out, that's what his psychiatrist had said.

"when was the last time you got a tattoo?" taehyung decided to ask, afraid to hear the answer. maybe jungkook had added another line, and they were closer to ten now. "remember the first time i disappeared on you? i got line number 7 then."

"and about the whole disappearing thing, i always have to go for this check up routine i have. they do many tests to see if there's something worrisome. i go through some physiotherapy to strengthen my legs better, and overall i just have to stay at the hospital for months, when things are okay, i leave in a month or two, and when my condition isn't the best i stay for longer." jungkook explained, "the last time i only stayed for a month because apparently my condition was way better than before, until the whole thing last night."

taehyung nodded, "why weren't you taking your medications?"

"i didn't have enough money to buy them." taehyung frowned, "isn't your mum supposed to pay for that?"

jungkook nodded, "she did, but i didn't use it, i'm saving up." taehyung frowned once more, "what for?" jungkook shook his head, "i wanted to move out of this shitty place. i don't want to live here anymore. it's very cold in winter, no heating system. the water is barely clean and it's too small. i don't want to live like this anymore."

"jungkookie, your medications come first okay? we'll figure something out about this, i promise. but please, please take care of yourself."

jungkook nodded, about to speak again when taehyung cut him off, "i can't even begin to imagine the pain you went and still going through. going through all that because of something you have no control over is absolutely terrible. i hope your father rots in jail like he deserves. you didn't deserve any of that, no one does. but i'll make sure all you go through from now on are happy things. your happiness matters the most to me, jungkook. if you let me, i want to be there through every check up you have. i don't want you to be alone at that hospital anymore. i want to be by your side, like i promised i would. so please let me." he couldn't stop the tears from falling, especially not after seeing jungkook cry.

his heart was broken into a million pieces after everything he heard, but he'll be strong for jungkook, exactly like how jungkook has been for him.

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sooo we're here!! this is a real thing if you want to read about major multiple trauma on the internet. i want you to remember that you are strong and that i love you. and to everyone reading this and leaving votes and comments on my book, thank you so much, i love youu!!!🤍