drown for you | jjk

16

"What do you mean 'it's grown back?'"

There's just no way the wound could've possibly closed up since you saw it.

"Exactly what I said!" Hoseok argues, eyebrows furrowed at your lack of understanding.

You stare at him, how his chest still heaves slightly, either from shock or the physical exertion of hurriedly hunting you down.

"So it's completely closed up now? The hole's gone? Is that what you're trying to say?" you question in disbelief.

For a few, long seconds, he stares back at you, until his eyes widen in some sort of slow realization. "No one showed you pictures of Jeongguk from when he first arrived, did they?"

Bewildered, you shake your head slowly. The focus has always been on the future, on getting the siren to trust you so you can release him. You haven't seen any photos.

"Shit. Come with me, I have something to show you."

Hoseok turns, his hand motioning for you to follow him back to the lab.

"Wait! What about the exam?"

He stops in his tracks. No one can blame you for prioritizing the examination when you've worked so hard to gain enough of the siren's trust for it in the first place.

Hoseok notices the concern written across your face. "I performed it already," he informs and continues to walk. You're forced to jog a few steps in order to catch up to him.

You're confused. The phone call only lasted a few minutes. Is that really enough time to complete a physical exam? You also know Jeongguk, and he can be anything but helpful if he's not in the mood.

"So fast? And he just let you? Just like that? Didn't put up a fight or anything?"

"No, he was very well-behaved. A little... distant, but I guess that's understandable."

"Oh. Well... what do you think? How's he doing?"

"He seems well. Allowed me to listen to his heart and... lungs, I guess, and let me look him over. Other than the injury—which is also healing incredibly well, he looks good."

You nod to yourself, still surprised at the turn of events. You hoped Jeongguk would stay true to his word and let Hoseok check him out, but you'd assumed he'd only do that with you present. But that's good news, isn't it? Maybe he's beginning to trust the others too? You exhale in relief. At least the siren's doing good.

Upon arriving back at Hoseok's lab, he heads straight for some drawers at his desk. Keys jingle as he unlocks them and you wait patiently while he rummages through them. He's looking for the pictures, you assume.

"Ah, here they are," he mumbles, inspecting multiple sheets of A4 papers. One is handed to you as he leans back against the desk to look through the others.

With the printed picture in hand, you let your gaze travel over the flimsy paper. It's the siren, a full-body picture of him, shot from above at a slight angle.

He appears to be sedated, cramped up in the tiniest tank he could possibly fit in. It's most likely a transportation tank made out of plastic, the white color of it contrasting deeply with the black scales and blood-red water.

In hopes of being able to discern further details, you bring the paper closer to your face, but it's hard to tell. Jeongguk lies on his side in a fetal position with his tail bent underneath him, all in order to fit inside the box.

There isn't even enough water to cover him completely, and you can definitely tell that his gills on one side are above it. Below them, a few small sores decorate the area where his two halves meet, where skin turns into scales. Since you can't recall seeing those, they must've healed quickly, you conclude.

Due to the angle of the shot, the closest side of the tank obscures anything lower than Jeongguk's mid-tail, and you're unable to see the fin. Hoseok hands you another picture, a picture that happens to be a close-up of said fin.

It's the same setting, the same light, so it has to have been taken within a few moments of the first. However, this time, the fin has been pulled up over the tank so that it's hanging over the edge, the white plastic acting almost as a backdrop while the red water drips.

You want to cry.

Jeongguk's flukes, which connect to the tail and look just like those of a whale, are... half? One side of it is the same as it's always been—big and stretching out from the middle where the tail branches out into two. Or, rather, where it should branch out into two.

On the left side, there's nothing.

Half of the fin is missing.

Hoseok hears your distraught breathing and when you look up from the horrible picture, he meets your eyes and offers you a sad smile.

You've been so consumed by the shock and sorrow that you've almost forgotten why he's showing you the pictures in the first place, but as your brain starts to piece two and two together, you keep glancing between Hoseok and the photo.

The missing piece he saw just minutes ago is certainly around the same size as when you saw it. Perhaps a bit smaller, but not a lot.

The majority of the healing occurred between the moment of the picture and when someone—you—finally got the chance to see the fin again. Without anyone knowing, around ninety percent of the fin had grown back, leaving only a fraction that has yet to close up.

You realize that you just never discussed any specifics regarding the size of the missing chunk before, when you spoke of it, Hoseok and Namjoon assumed it was still half the fin, and you assumed it had always been much smaller than that.

"How? Wh—what does—How is this possible?" you stutter, waving the papers in front of your face. Hoseok, who's had a few more minutes to process the discovery, simply shrugs.

"Some animals, like lizards and starfish, can regrow some body parts. It's rare but not impossible."

"Does that mean that he'll be completely healed eventually?"

You hold your breath as you await the answer. After everything Jeongguk's been through, you pray he'll at least be spared the scars.

"I think so. I could be wrong, the regeneration could happen in spurts that make estimations harder, but judging by the time it's taken him to regrow this much, he'll probably be all healed up in a week or two."

Although you're still feeling incredibly sad and upset, Hoseok's confidence calms you. Jeongguk will be fine. When you think about it, the theory that his regrowth happens in spurts makes sense because when you asked him if the fin hurt, he answered 'sometimes.' Maybe it's only painful during those phases?

"Oh, fuck! I completely forgot, how's your mom?"

You nearly snort at Hoseok's panicked face. Your mom's fine, and you'd pushed that phone call to the very back of your mind so fast.

After briefly explaining the situation and watching relief color his expression, you excuse yourself.

On your way back to the siren's room, the wound still occupies your mind. The jagged, meaty edges along the middle that imply that the fluke hadn't been cut off with just one clean hit of that butcher's knife they'd mentioned before.

Your heart hurts, and your eyes water as you picture Jeongguk being mutilated like that.

Sweet, sweet Jeongguk, he didn't deserve anything of what he's been put through.