𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 ( 𝐀 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬)

•31•

He didn't dare to breathe, he couldn't dare to do it. The world was tilting beneath him, spinning too fast. But he couldn't afford to fall not yet. Not until he saw her.

After those years of silence and those years of vanishing into nothing. Out of nowhere she was in a hospital.
Alone.
Alive.
Maybe.

The Mercedes screeched to a halt outside the emergency entrance, tires shrieking. Jungkook was out before the engine stopped, the downpour drenching him instantly. He didn't flinch, didn't hesitate.

He looked like something torn from the wreckage of a battlefield hair plastered to his forehead, black shirt soaked and clinging to his frame, boots trailing muddy water across the sterile white tiles.

The nurses at the front desk froze.

"Sir...wait! You can't just go in there-!"

"I'm looking for my sister," Jungkook said, voice low, tight, sharp as shattered glass. "She was admitted tonight."

One nurse rose cautiously, her gaze wary. "I'm sorry, we can't release any patient information without ID or consent-"

"She's my sister," he said again, firmer now, fighting to stay calm. "Her name is Y/n. Please."

"I understand, but without confirmation-"

The lobby hummed faintly under the weight of lights, too calm for the chaos storming inside his chest. His boots struck the tile with sharp, echoing steps. His patience was unraveling.

"Jungkook!"

Mingyu's voice cracked like lightning.

He stood near the hospital bench soaked, shivering, his fingers twitching like they didn't know where to go. Relief washed over his face when he saw Jungkook but it wasn't just relief.

It was fear.

"She was bleeding," Mingyu choked out, panic rippling through every word. "Her nose, her lips… She was sitting in the middle of the damn road, shaking. She had a knife, Jungkook. A knife. I didn't know what to do."

"Where is she?" Jungkook's voice was thick, almost strangled, his breath coming in short, ragged bursts. His heart pounded painfully against his chest.

"Where is she?" He repeated, more urgent now, his entire body shaking with the effort to stay grounded.

"Under intensive care. They sedated her... She was trying to hurt herself. The doctor said she was hallucinating, withdrawal symptoms and some old injuries."

Jungkook's breath hitched in his throat, his chest tightening, as if he couldn't get air. He didn't respond, just spun on his heel and started toward the hallway. His mind was a blur, thoughts jumbled, each step heavier than the last.

But then, a voice stopped him cold.

"Mr. Kim."

Jungkook turned sharply to see a police officer standing at the edge of the lobby, flanked by a younger officer and a nurse. The older one, mid forties, had a calm yet firm gaze, a hand resting over a notepad. But to Jungkook, it felt like an obstacle he couldn't get past.

"I understand your urgency and concern," the officer said, his voice steady, but something about it felt suffocating. "But you can't go back there yet."

Jungkook's eyes flashed, wild with frustration and fear. His chest was rising and falling with each jagged breath. He took a step toward the officer, voice trembling with a mix of panic and anger.