Pied Piper

Part 3 - Jeon Taehyung

6 hours later

It took an eternity for Jungkook to track Tae down. He started calling every damn hospital located by the bridge.

The eternity lasted for almost 4 hours.

4 hours of agonizing pain. 4 hours of the inevitable.

What had happened to his baby?

Where was he?

How was he?

4 hours of burning in hell. The hell he had left recently. The very boy who got him out of that hell was now somewhere fighting for his life.

Thanks to social media he got an update of the car being lifted up from the waters along with the two victims. But obviously, neither the news nor the social media confirmed anything about the condition of the two victims.

He tried calling Yoongi and Jay but their phones were not available for a long time. They both were stuck in meetings with a bad phone network.

When they heard the news Jay fainted and Yoongi had difficulty waking her up and bringing her to the hospital. Once she was in the hospital - and once she was Jungkook breaking down like a baby she couldn't stop her wailing.

The hospital staff had to take them out in the garden area.

It took more than an hour for Yoongi to calm them down. They only stopped sobbing when the nurse came to call the family of Min Taehyung.

The old doctor had a faint smile on his face and they knew he was okay.

"He's fine," the doctor patted Jungkook's arm, "There was too much water in his lungs but he is okay now. But - well - he kind of hurt his head and leg during the accident and his left arm is fractured. So - we will have to be careful of that too. Other than that - all good - he will wake up in a few hours."

Jay broke down again and hugged her husband tight.

"What - what about him?" Yoongi asked about the young driver who saved Tae.

Shin was a college student and a professional swimmer. He had been driving a cab around the city for his college fees.

"He's fine too - hurt his back a bit," the doctor informed and went back to his work.

Yoongi went to get some water for them.

Jay and Jungkook sat outside Tae's room when Jay realized that Jungkook was still crying.

"Kookie - stop," Jay held his hand and caressed it, "Please stop! He will be hurt if he sees this."

Jungkook sighed and shook his head, "I - I overheard the nurse talking. They said - that - if the boy - Shin wasn't with Tae - it would have been difficult for Tae to come out of the water. Because he was an athlete. So strong and a professional swimmer - he could bring Tae out of the water on time. If - he wasn't an athlete - Tae would not have -"

Jay began crying again hearing that and hugged Jungkook.

Yoongi came back and saw the two best friends crying again. He consoled them and told them to forget all the negative things.

The truth was that Tae was alive and he was doing fine.

The nurse said that one by one the family members could see Tae - but only for a few minutes. He was still unconscious.

Jay and Yoongi let Jungkook see Tae first. They went to see the boy - Shin.

Unfortunately, his family was far away and only his college friends came to see him. Yoongi told the doctor that they would pay for his hospital bills.

The cops too had arrived and told the Mins that the truck drivers were arrested.

Slowly opening the door, Jungkook went inside the room and saw his baby sleeping.

He sat on the chair and touched Tae's hand connected to a number of wires.

With tears in his eyes, he broke down again, "I am so sorry baby. I am so sorry. I couldn't protect you."

Somewhere he blamed himself for whatever happened. He should have been with Tae. He should have been there to protect his baby.

He could hear Tae's screams and whines. The way he called for him even during the distressed moments.

'hyung.'

"Hyung will never leave you now baby," Jungkook promised and kissed the boy's cold hands.

Next, Yoongi took Jay to meet Tae only after calming her down.

"You should eat something Jay," Yoongi was scolding her as they sat out waiting for Tae to wake up, "Jungkook - tell her - please tell her to eat something. She fainted after hearing the news. It took me 20 minutes to wake her up."

Jungkook gave some money to the hospital staff and asked them to get some chocolate bars from the vending machine.

"Guys - I - I need to talk to you about something," Jungkook announced getting on his knees in front of his two best friends.

Jay and Yoongi glanced at each other confused.

"I - I have been through hell when Taehyung died in front of me. It took me a very long time to get over it. You both were there for me - but still - to - to love someone was impossible for me. But Tae - my Tae - brought so much love to me. I never expected or deserved so much love that your son has given me. Sometimes even I don't understand why he loves me so much. These last few hours were worse than hell for me. I thought that those 10-15 years were worse for me - when I lived sobbing over Taehyung's death. But no - these 4 hours were worse than those 10 years. I have died every single minute in these 4 hours. And I - I can't live without Tae anymore. I want him by my side all the time. I think I deserve this. I have waited too long for love. And now that I have someone to love me - I want that love for me. Only for me."

Jay blinked and held her husband's hand. She knew where this was going.

"But whatever will happen - will happen with your permission. You are the priority here too. I will never do anything without your consent," Jungkook smiled weakly, "So I ask for your permission the Mins - can I marry your son? I want to get married to Tae as soon as possible."

Both Jay and Yoongi were dumbfounded as Jungkook added, "Can I marry my baby?"