second choice. ʲʲᵏ ˣ ᵖʲᵐ

[04]

it was a dark, foggy night. the moon was barely visible through the thick clouds.

jeongguk sat in the passenger's seat of the car, fiddling with his fingers and chewing the inside of his cheek as he stared off into the distance. an uncomfortable silence had fell upon the car and jeongguk was desperately trying to find the words to break it. he glanced beside him cautiously and decided to speak up.

"i'm really sorry to make you pick me up this late," he said lamely.

jeongguk had gone over to taehyung's house to work on a school project. usually, he would have just stayed over at his house, like he always did. however, this time, taehyung and jeongguk had gotten into a childish fight and pettily, jeongguk had asked his brother to pick him up late at night to take him home, since he wasn't old enough to drive.

all so that he wouldn't have to deal with taehyung's stupidity that night.

he was met with a sigh. "it's fine, i know. i'm just a little annoyed that you called right when i was about to go to bed."

"well if you had told me that, i could've asked mom..."

"jeongguk, it's fine. i'm your older brother after all. i'll always be here for you. even if you are annoying sometimes."

jeongguk smiled at his older brother in the driver's seat. jeonghyun met his gaze and smiled back briefly before turning his eyes back onto the road.

"it just sucks that it's so foggy tonight. i can barely see where i'm going."

jeongguk hummed in agreement.

he looked out the window.

the only thing he could see clearly was the tall trees and bushes on the side of the road they were on as they passed by.

the fog hung thick in the winter air, making it impossible to see three feet in front of them in the night, even with headlights on.

he watched as the leaves moved in the wind, almost tantalizingly, back and forth, back and forth. back and forth.

jeongguk thought he saw a black cat run past the front of their car.

...something was wrong.

was this how it was supposed to go?

suddenly, jeongguk felt anxious. the feeling crept up his legs, swarmed his stomach, weakened his arms, dizzied his head. he tightened his grip on the seat he was sitting on.

this isn't how it's supposed to be.

the pit in his stomach grew larger. his hands became sweaty, his heart pounding against his chest. this was all wrong, it wasn't supposed to happen like this.

no.

"hyung, stop." but jeonghyun seemed to not hear him. the wind whistled eerily through a slightly ajar window.

he should've just stayed at taehyung's.

no. no.

"hyung, wait." jeongguk's voice sounded like it was coming through an extremely long, narrow tunnel. his vision became blurred. panic rose in his chest, the blood pounding in his ears.

why, why, why did he call jeonghyun to come get him at an hour like this?

no no no. your fault. it's your fault.

"hyung, stop the car!"

jeonghyun wasn't listening. in fact, it seemed like he couldn't hear him at all. he kept driving, eyes casually focused on the road ahead of him, his head slightly bobbing to the soft music from the radio, a focused look on his face as he tried squinting through the fog.

tears streamed down jeongguk's face as he realized how helpless he felt.

"hyung, please," jeongguk sobbed. "listen to me!"

but jeonghyun couldn't hear him or feel him anymore. it felt as though he was watching the scene happen from up above, with no way to stop the inevitable.

and then, it all happened so quick. a loud revving of another engine. bright, blinding headlights. a car moving so fast, too fast. coming towards them. straight at them. jeongguk heard jeonghyun gasp audibly.

no! stop!

jeongguk barely had time to scream as the car made impact with them.

everything became dark.

"jeongguk? are you okay?!"

jeongguk awoke with a start. the popcorn ceiling of his dorm room looked a dull crème color in the morning light. he was dimly aware of the sweat that had soaked his shirt and face, making his bangs wet and stuck to his forehead. his mouth felt extremely dry as he tried to swallow. he grunted and tried to pull himself up from his sleep.

jeongguk was met with the sight of jimin leaning over him, arms on either side of him. he looked terribly worried, his eyebrows creased, his blonde locks tousled effortlessly. jeongguk jumped at how close jimin was examining him.

jeongguk could usually barely get a word out in the mornings, let alone when a beautiful creature stood a mere three inches away from his face. he put a hand on his mouth, suddenly self-concious of his morning breath.

"w- what happened?" he asked weakly, sitting up. the sunlight shone bright through his window, making him squint his eyes. what time was it? when did jimin get back last night?

jimin stood up straight, sighing and weaving his hands through his hair. "sounded like you were having a nightmare." he dropped his hands to his sides, looking at jeongguk. "a really bad one, too. you were thrashing around on your bed, screaming 'no' over and over. i just had to make sure you were okay." jimin put a hand to jeongguk's forehead, to which jeongguk flinched a little bit and looked away, embarrassed of his sweaty, morning appearance.

"you really worried me, jeongguk." jeongguk's heart leapt as jimin spoke his name. "but you feel fine, i think," jimin smiled, eyes crinkling in amusement at jeongguk's reactions.

"no yeah, i- i'm fine, thanks." jeongguk stood up, heading over to the closet to grab some clothes so he could shower, his head spinning.

"does this sort of thing... happen often?" jimin must be referring to the nightmares. jeongguk wondered if he should lie or just come clean. then again, he didn't really feel like discussing his past trauma with jimin just yet, he had literally just met him yesterday. probably not a good idea.

"um, not really. don't worry, i'm fine."

"okay, if you say so." a pause, and then jimin continued. "it's almost 10. i was just about to head out to grab some breakfast and coffee," jimin stated, leaning against his bedframe and watching jeongguk intently at the closet, who was busily rummaging through his clothes. "do you... wanna join me, maybe?"

jeongguk's heart did another little flip in its ribcage. of course, jimin was probably asking just to be polite and get to know his younger roommate a little better, but jeongguk's heart leapt at the thought of it becoming something more. he cleared his throat, trying not to sound too eager, keeping his eyes on his closet.

"yeah, sure. just give me ten minutes."

"okay." jimin smiled, almost knowingly, as jeongguk hastily grabbed, threw away and regrabbed clothes and speed walked to the bathroom to freshen up, muttering under his breath.

"what a cutie," he commented to himself quietly, eyes smiling.