21] If only you were here, would I still be shivering?

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Chapter -XXI

Jungkook shivered under the warmth of the burning sun. Limbs heavy, body too exhausted to move, just relieved to be breathing. Until the memories came rushing back and his solace turned into one of sorrow. He masked under the serenity of his calming chest steadily rising. Any deeper and his lungs restricted with refusal, shooting a sharp pain down his nerves, numbing his body back to rest. Without having the need to look, he knew his skin was covered in bandages and cotton, keeping everything from falling out. The tightness around his chest, his arms and legs, the extra layer on his forehead and with more focus he noticed the trapped feeling of his right eye. Nothing left for imagination. It was only when he felt a sudden twitch in his hand did he attempt to open his eyes, to realise he couldn’t even if he wanted to. An initial panic settled within him. His lids were shut tight, no amount of willpower tore them open, he twitched and rolled but it was to no avail. He couldn’t move, nor could he tighten his hold on the hand that was in his, or speak to let the figure beside him know he was awake. He felt alive in a dead body. He had a heart but no pulse. His fright didn’t last long as an intolerable tiredness loomed over and pulled him back to unconsciousness.

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Jungkook was even more disorientated when he woke up again. The simplicity of day, time and week were unknown and how long he had been asleep were his first recollecting thoughts. It wasn’t more so that he chose to wake up, but was instead woken from the voices around him. He laid there, almost as if he didn’t exist and listened.

“Why won’t he wake up,” the voice whispered, emptiness in each word spoken, almost as numb as Jungkook was feeling. “It’s been two weeks, so why isn’t he awake, Junghoon. Why?”

It was Taehyung's voice. Jungkook could pick him out, his breath alone in a crowd of thousands. He sounded desperate, almost pleadingly, pain so deep in his voice. It caused Jungkook his own misery. If he had no courage to be alive, no will to live then he would do it alone, just for him not to sound like that again.

“I don’t know.” Junghoon replied, his voice was unsteady, and wavered a little. Jungkook smiled inwardly, always the one that was a little too emotional for his own liking. “The doctors have said he should have been awake a week ago.”

Jungkook tried to move again, anything to let them know he was there, awake and trying. But as much as he struggled, his fingers remained still, almost paralyzed.

“About what happened back there-”

“I told you before, I don’t want to hear it, Junghoon. Not now.” The answer was sharp, cut through like a sword, his response left no room for fighting so Junghoon didn't. He held his silence, only muttering a final few thoughts.

“What one says out of anger is not true to what one feels. Consider that before anything,” he voices out loud and clear, out of sureness. “He has witnessed, seen and held endless life between his fingers. I have yet to know and see only a small percentage of it.”

“He’s your king, you have to be on his side-”

“He’s not just my king, he is my brother, he is my blood and I owe my life to him,” he finished before a click was heard a few seconds after, of him exiting out the room.

Taehyung's hand lingered near his body, Jungkook could feel the warmth radiating from his skin on to his own. He felt the gentle fingers smooth out the lines on his face, before cautiously re-wrapping a new set of bandages on his wounds with steady hands. “To him you might be a brother, but to me, you are my husband. To me you are my beginning and my end. So why won’t you continue our story,” he pleaded, voice distant. His words unfiltered, left unguarded masked under the safety of Jungkook sleeping, unaware of his actual conscious state.

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