Sempiternal: •D.E.A(live).D• || BOOK 4#

5. Time Trial

"I'm not going to lie to you, if he survives, it will be a miracle."

Chaewoon had gone too long without such distressed reactions. Mainly because she never had any case as serious as Yoongi's. The amount of flesh he lost is coming back, but so slowly that she doesn't know if he will die from so much pain. He is in a coma, they can keep him like this for a month until the serum and other medications are insufficient to continue.

He won't be well in a month, he won't even make it to a week. Anyone would give him up for dead, it would put him out of his misery, but Chaewoon is not capable of asking them to do so. Those who have so much faith that Yoongi will wake up. That he is still alive because he wants to be, fighting hard to stay in this world.

"What does he need? How much can you do? Th-there must be something we can do." sobs Hoseok in despair. Chaewoon looks back into the room, where Boom stands supervising for safety.

"Beyond increasing the stock of serum and other medications urgently needed to keep someone in a coma... nothing. Pray he doesn't die. He is very serious, regeneration is very slow and also hurts him" Notifies with regret the doctor. "His legs are very bad, who knows if he will be able to walk; his face is hopeless in a situation like this. The only thing that can be done, is to donate blood to him. Maybe so-"

"I do it, he and I are a match" Namjoon states quickly. "We can... We can contact Yeou! He'll have what's needed already if Yoongi is okay. Write everything down on a list and we'll get it."

"I'll go get the communicator. Hopefully it responds quickly." announces Jin hurriedly, leaving from there. Chaewoon exhales with pity for them.

"I can't promise them he'll survive" Chaewoon repeats. "They have to be prepared for the possibility that he might pass away." recommends and Namjoon shakes his head.

"I know he's going to make it. He... he's strong, he's going to keep fighting. Trust him. Please." asks Namjoon almost on the verge of tears. Chaewoon nods to please him and nothing more. Even if Yoongi is strong, he can't fight against something like this.

~ * * * ~

"It's my fault that Yoongi is about to die."

Jungkook remains slack on the bed, sitting up and facing a corner; clothes in disarray, dirty with Yoongi's blood along with more grime; hair disheveled and covering part of what swollen, dirty face. Taehyung approaches him, standing in front of him. Jungkook's puffy, red, and haggard eyes don't deign to go toward Taehyung.

"I should have pulled him tighter... I should have gone down for him.... I should have... listened to him and... no... It was his day off, he just wanted to come back here and I... because of me he's dying."

Jungkook kept thinking about the many signs that Yoongi was not well. That a thousand things were happening to him at the same time that, as usual, he was keeping quiet. His inability to move, the ankle, the blur, so many things. Still, Jungkook is so clear about his cries. Resounding inside his head like church bells.

"Yes, it was your fault."

Taehyung's empty, dark stare competes with Jungkook's. Which one expresses more pain, which one expresses more regret, guilt, regret, anguish; it's impossible to say which one is worse. Taehyung sits behind him on the bed, hugging him from behind and hiding his face in that wide space; hiding his tears.

"It's your fault." He repeats and Jungkook says nothing, still stunned and with Taehyung's words bouncing around inside his mind.

That's a lie.

Taehyung is lying.

He knows it's false, that no one can even be blamed. Yoongi was wrong, he should have declined to go; Jungkook is not all powerful enough to take on an entire horde; they were both careless. There are a thousand and one justifications given by reality: it's no one's fault...but it's my fault, Taehyung thinks. He's the one who insisted that they go to see if it was Seojoon, he's the one who gave that pressure that Jungkook wanted to satisfy.