Tangeled in shadows | Min Yoongi

Chapter 21: Run for life

The tires screeched as Jungkook made a sharp turn, racing through the nearly empty streets of the city. In the back seat, Yoongi cradled Yoona in his arms, the weight of her limp body sinking into him like a vice around his heart. Blood had soaked through the makeshift bandage, staining his hands and shirt, but none of that mattered right now.

"Faster, Jungkook!" Yoongi growled, panic creeping into his usually steady voice. "We're losing her."

Yoona's breathing had become increasingly shallow, her chest rising and falling with excruciating slowness. Every breath felt like it could be her last, and Yoongi could feel the thread tethering her to life growing thinner by the second.

In the front seat, Namjoon turned to look at Yoongi, his face pale with worry. "She's not going to make it if we don't do something now."

Yoongi's jaw clenched as he scanned her face, watching the faint movements of her chest. Then, just as they approached another corner, her breathing stopped.

Everything seemed to freeze in that moment. The car, the noise from outside, the pounding of Yoongi's own heart-everything ceased as Yoona's chest stilled, and her lips parted with one final exhale.

"No... no, no, no, no," Yoongi muttered under his breath, his hands shaking as he lifted her into a sitting position. "Smoke, don't do this. Not now."

Namjoon's eyes widened in the rearview mirror. "Yoongi, she's not breathing!"

Without thinking, Yoongi shifted her onto her back across the seat, his hands frantically checking for any sign of life. Her pulse was faint-barely there-and her face had gone deathly pale.

"Yoongi, we're too far from the hospital," Jungkook shouted, glancing back at them, panic lacing his voice.

Yoongi didn't hesitate. His training, honed from years of living on the edge, kicked in. He had done this before in battle, with fallen comrades. But never with her. Not with the person he had begun to realize he couldn't live without.

"Namjoon, keep her airway open!" Yoongi ordered, his voice tight, filled with desperation.

Namjoon shifted into the back seat, moving her head to tilt back as Yoongi leaned down, pressing his lips against hers to start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"Breathe, damn it," he whispered between each breath he gave her, willing her to come back to him. "You can't leave me like this. Not after everything."

The minutes ticked by, each one stretching out into an eternity as Yoongi alternated between chest compressions and breathing for her, counting in his head as though every second mattered.

He'd never felt so helpless in his life, every instinct screaming at him to save her, to pull her back from the brink. He couldn't lose her-not after all they'd been through, not when he had only just begun to understand what she truly meant to him.

Yoongi pressed his mouth to hers again, forcing air into her lungs, praying for any sign of life. "Come on, Yoona. Come on."

Namjoon watched anxiously, his hand still supporting her head as Yoongi worked, his eyes darting between Yoona's lifeless body and Yoongi's face, which was a mixture of fear and determination.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Yoona gasped.

The sound was faint but unmistakable-a sharp intake of breath that echoed through the small space of the car. Her chest rose suddenly, and Yoongi's heart nearly stopped with relief.

"She's breathing," Namjoon said, his voice thick with disbelief. "She's breathing again."

Yoongi didn't waste a second. He wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned over her, checking her pulse again. It was still weak, but it was there.