𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍┃𝐓𝐊 ✔

Part : 29 Hope

Jungkook's eyes slowly fluttered open, the sterile white ceiling above him casting a harsh light that made him wince. His head throbbed, every part of his body feeling heavy and detached, as if he were floating outside himself. His vision was blurry, and it took a moment to make out Yoongi's concerned face, leaning over him with a hand gently placed on his shoulder. "Hey, Jungkook... you're awake."

Jungkook tried to speak, but his throat was parched, and a sharp, searing pain shot through his collarbone, making him wince. Yoongi held a glass of water to his lips, helping him take small sips as he steadied himself. The cold water eased his throat, but it did nothing to quell the panic starting to build within him. He noticed his manager, uncle and aunt, standing a little farther back, their expressions tight with worry.

"Are you... are you okay?" Yoongi's voice was gentle but cautious, as if he were afraid Jungkook might break at any second.

Jungkook blinked, struggling to focus, feeling the fragments of last night claw their way back into his mind. Flashes of Taehyung's smile, the soft glow of candlelight by the beach, and then the sudden terror of gunshots. He gritted his teeth as the memories sharpened, the fear he'd felt, the sight of Taehyung's wide, terrified eyes. The pain of the bullet, the cold ground, Taehyung's screams...

His heart raced, panic flooding his veins. "Taehyung..." The name escaped his lips like a desperate prayer. His gaze darted to Yoongi, searching for any hint of reassurance. "Where's Taehyung?"

Yoongi's face clouded over, and he looked away, his expression unreadable. "We... we don't know, Jungkook." His voice was soft, careful. "When we got here, we were only told you'd been found injured on the beach."

Jungkook's blood ran cold, the room spinning around him as his mind tried to grapple with the news. "What... what do you mean, you don't know?" His voice was hoarse, his eyes wide with dread. "He was with me. They... they were after us."

Yoongi's face softened with sympathy as he squeezed Jungkook's shoulder. "We came as soon as we got the call from the hospital staff. We've tried asking around, but..." He hesitated, the weight of his words making his throat tighten. "No one has seen him, Jungkook."

Jungkook's heart pounded as he clenched the sheets beneath him, his hands trembling. Taehyung was gone. He could still feel Taehyung's weight in his arms, the warmth of his body before he was ripped away. The thought of him alone, scared, surrounded by those men...

"No..." Jungkook whispered, his voice breaking as his chest tightened with a suffocating ache. The pain of his wound was nothing compared to the raw, hollow anguish tearing through him.

Jungkook's chest felt hollow, a cold emptiness settling deep within him, one that no warmth or reassurance could reach. His thoughts raced back to just hours before, when he and Taehyung had been laughing under the soft, sunlit sky by the beach. He could clearly the warmth of Taehyung's hand in his, the way Taehyung's laugh had echoed so freely, his eyes crinkling with that softness that only came when he was completely at ease. They'd been safe, untouched by the shadows lurking in the world around them.

But now, all of that was shattered. The image of Taehyung's laughter was now overlaid with the vision of his tear-streaked face, his desperate cries as he'd tried to shake Jungkook awake. The memory replayed mercilessly in Jungkook's mind, the pain in Taehyung's eyes etched there as vividly as a scar.

A deep ache settled over Jungkook's heart as he imagined what Taehyung might be enduring now. The thought of him---alone, afraid, maybe hurt---left Jungkook feeling as though he were suffocating. His fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms, but the pain was nothing compared to the terror gnawing at him.