MALEVOLENT HEART | TK

Chapter Nineteen

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"Farewell, I've gone to take my throne above
But don't weep for me
'Cause this will be the labor of my love."

Jeongguk hasn't talked to Taehyung in two days.

It's been two days since Taehyung's panic attack but Jeongguk, no matter how much or how intensely Taehyung stared at him, didn't look like he wanted to open up about what happened between them. They still had to interact, with Taehyung being the only capable doctor in that place, but their conversations always drifted to other subjects and Taehyung knew that Jeongguk was avoiding the matter at hand—intentionally.

He had asked him that morning about it and Jeongguk had barely blinked.

"Don't you think we should talk about what happened?" He had asked while his fingers worked their way around the bandages covering Jeongguk's torso, their eyes meeting halfway and making Taehyung's whole body freeze under that intense glance. There was something in Jeongguk's eyes that always made him wonder if the man was even real. "I think we should talk."

His hands had paused on Jeongguk's skin, feeling the warmth and softness of it, which made Taehyung's own prickle with shivers and goosebumps. Jeongguk looked at him like he was the only person that mattered, he always did. Even when Namjoon or Seokjin were in the room, Jeongguk always looked at him—he always asked for his opinion and valued his thoughts.

Jeongguk no longer acted on his own in that life of his. He now included Taehyung's opinion in each choice he made but, no matter the amount of respect he showed Taehyung, he still chose not to talk about the one matter that pressured the doctor's shoulders and heart the most.

"There is nothing we should talk about." Jeongguk finally said, his voice stern.

There was no movement on his features, no way for Taehyung to find out if he was shocked by his question, if he felt something at all. Still, even if Jeongguk's face was expressionless, the man seemed to notice Taehyung's distressed face and his shaking fingers.

Taehyung stepped away, letting the bandage he was holding fall in Jeongguk's lap. The man stared at it for a second, brows lowered into a frown before he raised his head and met Taehyung's eyes.

"What do you mean there's nothing to talk about?" He asked.

His hands were shivering. He felt such anger flowing through his veins that he wondered for a few seconds if he was going insane. Was he on edge? He probably was. He's been through so much in the past few weeks and his life has changed drastically.

Hell, he was dead to the world.

Stepping away from the bed, Taehyung turned his back to Jeongguk and headed for the door, feeling like he could no longer be there, in the same room as the man who made him feel such mixed emotions. Jeongguk was a ticking bomb and Taehyung was no better. He knew that the man tried his best to reason with him because, after all, he did disrespect him a lot. Jeongguk was used to having control over anyone—he was used to being obeyed.

Taehyung?

Taehyung hated being told what to do and he hated being under someone else's control even more.

"Kim Taehyung." Jeongguk's voice echoed behind him, making the doctor stop for a second, head turning sideways to glance at him. Jeongguk was standing now, the bandage almost coming undone and leaving his body on display for Taehyung to see. The scars—he would never even try to understand what Jeongguk's been through in order to have some scars. When he raised his head and met those obsidian irises that seem to reflect nothing and everything at the same time, Taehyung wondered if the scars on Jeongguk's chest were mirrored in his eyes as well. "Do not walk away from me."