Love After Death | taekook

chapter ★ ⸝⸝ 6

The world around Jungkook felt like it was collapsing slowly, a heavy weight pressing on his chest. Every breath was labored, every step felt like he was dragging the weight of the universe. Weeks had passed since Taehyung had left, weeks since their hurried goodbye, and the only thing keeping him tethered to the world was the quiet, short phone calls at night. The omega would listen to the alpha's voice, sometimes soft, sometimes tired, but always full of love, and he would murmur a few weak words back before cutting the calls short, unable to face the growing pit of guilt in his stomach.

The omega's guilt was suffocating, creeping into every moment of his day, consuming his thoughts, until it began to eat him alive. Jungkook’s skin felt too tight, his mind too full of chaotic thoughts he couldn’t escape. His nights became sleepless, haunted by memories, and his days were plagued by nausea and dizziness.

He needed to stay busy, to keep his hands moving, to drown out the overwhelming pain and guilt. But his body was slowly failing him. The dizziness was becoming more frequent, his legs felt weak under the strain, but still, he worked. He scrubbed the floors, cleaned the rooms, ignoring the way his vision blurred and the floor tilted beneath his feet. He couldn’t afford to stop. Stopping meant thinking, and thinking led back to the shame, the guilt, and the crushing weight of what he’d done.

It all came crashing down one morning.

Jungkook was on his hands and knees in the main hall, scrubbing the floors when the world around him seemed to shift. His vision blurred, the corners of his eyes darkening, and before he could catch himself, his body collapsed onto the cold floor. The brush clattered out of his hand, the sound ringing in his ears like a distant echo as everything began to fade.

"Jungkook?" A voice called out, but it was distant, muffled.

The head servant rushed to his side, kneeling beside him and shaking him gently. "Wake up, child" Her voice was full of panic, her hands trembling as she patted his cheek lightly, trying to stir him awake. The omega's body was limp, his skin cold to the touch.

The grandmother, who had been passing by, gasped in horror and hurried over, kneeling beside Jungkook with a hand on his forehead. “He’s burning up… we need to take him to the hospital!”

Somi approached closer and crossed her arms, her expression as cold as ever. Her eyes narrowed as she looked down at Jungkook’s unconscious form. There was something about the way he collapsed that unsettled her, a suspicion swirling in her mind, though she kept her face neutral.

They immediately took the omega to the hospital. The ride felt like a blur, time stretching out endlessly as Jungkook drifted in and out of consciousness. His body was unresponsive, his breathing was shallow.

The hospital room was quiet except for the soft hum of the machines. The female, middle aged doctor frowned as she looked over Jungkook, glancing at the readings with a confused expression. The tension in the room grew thicker, and then, the doctor’s voice broke through the silence.

"How much time have passed since his marriage?" the doctor asked, her tone casual, almost as if she were inquiring about the weather.

Somi’s eyes snapped to the doctor, her face paling slightly. "Excuse me?" she said, her voice cold, almost icy.

The doctor, oblivious to the storm brewing in the room, glanced back at the file. "Well, he’s expecting. So I just assumed—"

"What?" Somi’s voice cut through the air like a knife. 

The grandmother’s face went pale, her breath catching in her throat. She staggered slightly, reaching for the edge of the hospital bed to steady herself. Her eyes flickered between Jungkook’s unconscious face and the doctor, her mind spinning with shock. Expecting?