Fading Away | Taekook

52 - Reports

Day 1

Jin, Jungkook, and Namjoon spent the night in the hospital waiting room; none of them even suggested the idea of leaving. In the morning, Namjoon had to go to work, a meeting scheduled months ago that couldn't be canceled.

Jungkook went to the hospital cafeteria and brought back a latte and a muffin for Jin, and for himself, a banana milk and chocolate cookies. "Have something to eat, Jin hyung. Besides not eating for hours, we need to recover from yesterday's drinking. Tae needs us to stay strong for him."

Jin thanks him and takes his snack, feeling a bit more alive after a sip of caffeine. "This doesn't feel real, does it? It feels like Tae will show up any minute with that sleepy face of his." Jungkook smiles, remembering how swollen Taehyung's face would be some mornings, looking like a ball of cuteness.

Around ten in the morning, a doctor approaches the duo. "Good morning, I'm Dr. Lee, the attending physician for Taehyung. Can you follow me?" The guys quickly get up and follow her to a medical office.

There she hands them the medical report of the care provided by the paramedics, the report made for the police and the list of procedures performed on Taehyung so far, as well as everything concluded through exams and tests.

"I ask that you read everything carefully later, if you don't mind, I'd like to discuss some things about the patient at the moment." Jin and Jungkook agree and she continues, "It was concluded that Taehyung's cardiac arrest was indeed caused by cocaine use. My nurse informed me yesterday that when you found out that the drug was found in the patient's system, you reacted very badly."

Jin opens his mouth to argue, but she signals him to wait, "although we found cocaine in his nostrils, Taehyung did not inhale the substance. The drug was administered by injection into his right arm, along with another drug commonly used for weight loss."

What? Jungkook has never used the drug she's referring to, but he has an idea of what the doctor is talking about. It's no secret that BE models abuse medications to lose weight, including this injectable one that is highly sought after. Jimin has used it many times.

"...we have passed this information on to the police; perhaps the drug use was not consensual. The drug in the nostrils indicates staging sometimes. And Taehyung was severely beaten on the face, indicating that he suffered some kind of attack. The police will take care of investigating that part."

"Kim Taehyung is one meter and seventy-nine centimeters tall and weighs fifty-eight kilograms at the moment. In addition to being way below his ideal weight, he is malnourished due to nutrient and vitamin deficiencies. I heard that he's a model, does he suffer from eating disorders?"

Jin and Jungkook are in shock. Fifty-eight kilograms? Even after Jungkook discovered the bulimia, he continued to lose weight, probably from the times he returned to the farm and continued his ritual of purging food. And also because of the weight loss medication. They informed about the bulimia and that Taehyung also suffered from body dysmorphia.

"His heart, brain and body are fragile. Taehyung is stable, but his condition is delicate. IV fluids and medication are being administered to him to try to improve the malnutrition over these five days of induced coma."

"We also need to talk about what to expect when he wakes up. At the moment, everything that can be done to reduce inflammation and possible sequelae from lack of oxygenation is being done; now, it's the brain's job to heal."

"Taehyung went without oxygen for twenty to twenty-five minutes, which is a dangerous margin for sequels and brain damage. We should hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. What I'm about to say is not to scare you, but to ensure you're ready and can help your friend in any scenario, okay?" She pauses for the guys to recover; they look like two children getting scolded by their mother, eyes and mouths wide open while holding onto each other.