Clash Of Hearts | Jungkook ✔️

31. "Still with You"

Author's POV

Ena sat curled up on her bed, her body trembling uncontrollably as the haunting memory replayed in her mind. The maids had helped her back to the room, their concerned murmurs a blur against the deafening echo of her thoughts. She didn’t know how Jungkook was doing. The image of his blood, dark and glistening, dripping onto her face was seared into her memory.

When the bookshelf had come crashing down, everything had happened too fast. She had frozen, paralyzed as Jungkook shielded her with his body. She could still feel the weight of his pain, the warmth of his blood soaking into her skin, and the panic in his strained voice when he told her not to move.

The guards had arrived quickly, lifting the fallen shelf and carrying Jungkook away to tend to his injuries. She hadn’t even been able to speak, her voice caught in her throat, her legs too weak to follow them. Now, the silence of her room was suffocating, her mind a whirlwind of fear, guilt, and helplessness.

Unable to bear the heaviness in her chest, Ena staggered to the bathroom. She gripped the edge of the sink, her fingers trembling as she glanced up at the mirror. The sight that greeted her made her breath hitch—a streak of Jungkook’s blood stained her cheek, dried and stark against her pale skin.

Her knees threatened to give out as her teary eyes locked onto her reflection. She raised a shaky hand, brushing her fingertips over the crimson streak, as if hoping to erase the evidence of his sacrifice. A choked sob escaped her lips.

“Why… why would you do that?” she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of her emotions. Tears streamed down her face as she clenched the sink tightly, her knuckles white. “Why would you hurt yourself for me?”

The unanswered question echoed in the empty room. The memory of his labored breathing, his whispered assurances that he was fine even as blood seeped from his wounds, replayed in her mind like a cruel reminder of her helplessness.

It had been two hours since the incident, but each minute felt like an eternity. She had been waiting, desperate for news, for any sign that he was okay. Yet the uncertainty gnawed at her, her imagination conjuring the worst possibilities.

Ena sank to the floor, her back pressed against the cold tiles of the bathroom. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself as fresh waves of tears spilled over. Guilt clawed at her insides, sharp and relentless.

“This is all my fault,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “If I hadn’t gone there… if I hadn’t distracted him…”

The weight of her thoughts was unbearable, each one pressing harder against her chest until she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could turn back time, undo the moment that had put him in harm’s way.

A faint knock on the door startled her, pulling her from the spiral of her thoughts. Her heart leapt as she scrambled to her feet, hope igniting within her. But the fear of what she might hear rooted her to the spot.

“Madam” came the soft voice of a maid from the other side of the door, “Master Jungkook is asking for you.”

Her breath caught, her heart pounding. She wiped at her tear-streaked face, steeling herself as best as she could. She didn’t know what state he was in, but she knew one thing for certain—she needed to see him.

Ena couldn’t bear the suffocating silence of her room any longer. Her thoughts spiraled relentlessly, dragging her back to the moment the bookshelf fell, the sound of the crash, and the sight of Jungkook shielding her as blood trickled down his face. The weight of his pain felt unbearable, knowing he had suffered because of her. She had to see him.