always, i'll care

chapter seventeen

Taeil held his fists, almost holding his breath as he stared at Doyoung, who lay unconscious on the hospital bed. His hands were still aching from driving, and every part of him was still trembling the moment Taeyong called regarding Doyoung.

The last time he saw Doyoung lying unconscious like this was years ago, and he promised himself that he would never let Doyoung go through something like this again but - he failed. again.

Kyuhyun - the man Taeil would and can kill with his bare hands if Taeyong did not intervene. Kyuhyun has a lot of power and authority behind him; small blunders might help him win cases.

Doyoung can be painted as the villain.

Taeil cannot thank Taeyong enough. He is unsure what he will be without Taeyong by his side.

"Here," Jaehyun offered Taeil a drink, pulling him back into reality.

Taeil takes a deep breath, raises his head to meet the omega's gaze, and smiles before accepting the drink. "Thank you."

"Doyoung is a strong man, don't worry," Jaehyun hesitates, questioning whether his comments are even relevant here. Considering that he was the one who hindered Taeil from taking care of Doyoung.

Taeil couldn't look directly into Jaehyun's mind because she was too preoccupied with Doyoung. Taeil sighed loudly, his chest heaving with the weight.

"I know..." His voice broke, "Because he is strong, I wanted to be right by his side. He pretends to be strong because he believes that I'm not by his side - I promised to take care of him, but see how I failed every time. Every single time."

He feels so useless, his whole body started trembling when guilt and anger slowly taking over him - "I really want to take away all of his pain; he had been through so much. Everything happened because of me; from the minute he met me, everything was difficult for him. I should have stopped him from seeing Kyuhyun; I should have been firmer. I knew this man, and I kept being stupid. I-"

Jaehyun pulled Taeil into an embrace. stopping his alpha from saying things that would only harm himself. Always blaming himself for things he didn't do or things he couldn't control.

...

Rain poured heavily against the window. Taeil took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the downpour. Jaehyun, watching Taeil's intense focus, glanced at the darkening sky and the few lights that flickered on. Time felt lost; how many hours had passed? Jaehyun had no idea.

The bright sky had turned dark, with only a few lights illuminating the scene-probably street lights or cars. Jaehyun didn't know. His body felt exhausted; he could barely feel his legs, and his tummy growled.

Oh... he hadn't eaten since they arrived at the hospital.

"Are you hungry?" Taeil looked at his omega. Jaehyun's tummy noise wasn't loud, but Taeil could tell he was hungry and realized he hadn't paid attention to the man. "Let me get food for you. What would you like to eat?"

"No... um..."

"Hmm?" Taeil stood up and loosened his hold on Doyoung's hand.

"I am... um... a bit sleepy-tired. I think I should go to Taeyong's place. I can come back here in the morning, then maybe you can get some rest. We can take turns."

Taeil pursed his lips. He was so caught up with Doyoung that he had completely forgotten about Jaehyun, who needed rest, food, and time to take his medication.