apology

twenty-three

this chapter is basically just filler kiNDA

and thanks so much for 600+ votes omf this is unreal

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December 25, 2015, 4 a.m.

"OH MY GOD!" I stuff my pillow over my head as the annoying ringtone of my phone resonates across the room, waking me up in the middle of the night for the third time this week. "Is it planning to ring every night?!" I groan.

After a while, the ringtone fades, and I sigh in relief, but then it rings again, and I almost cry out in annoyance. Removing the pillow from my head, I sit up and answer the phone before Taehyung is woken up.

"Hello? Who is this?" I greet, not bothering to check the caller ID. However, when pained sobs come from the other end of the phone, I stiffen, eyes widening. "M-Mom?" I frown in worry. "Are you okay?"

"Min-Minrae-ah," my mother chokes out, "Your-your brother was sh-shot-" She bursts into tears again.

"Shot?" my frown deepens. "Like, by a gun?"

"Y-yeah," She continues to cry while I quickly climb off the bed and shake Taehyung furiously, waking him up mid-snore.

"Wh-" he starts to complain, but shuts up when I switch the phone to speaker mode, making Mom's cries audible.

"Where was he shot?" I ask Mom, explaining the situation to my older brother in just four words. Immediately, Taehyung's eyes widen, and he bolts up, now alert.

"In the shoulder," Mom explains. "It hit a nerve. He-he can't move his arm..." She starts to cry again.

"Where are you right now?" Taehyung cuts in, taking the phone from my hands.

"We're at the Yeungnam University Medical Center," Mom sobs. "I'm so scared..."

"We'll be there in two hours," Taehyung quickly assures her, glancing briefly at the clock on the wall. "Wait for us, alright?" With that, he hangs the call and returns me my phone. "Go wash up and change," he orders me, big-brother-mode on. "We'll catch the next train to Daegu."

***

We reach Daegu's train station at 6.15 in the morning, taking only five minutes to check out and hail a taxi. Fortunately, there aren't many passengers waiting for a cab, and thus Taehyung and I manage to hail one of the first ones that come in.

"Yeungnam University Medical Center," Taehyung hastily tells the driver, "Drive faster, please."

In a matter of fifteen minutes, we are in front of the hospital. My brother quickly hands the driver a fifty-thousand-won note, having no spare change in his pocket. "Keep the change," he says, before hopping off the vehicle with me behind him.

"Is there a patient by the name of Kim Mingyu?" I rush to the nurse at the counter, who takes her time to flip through the hospital catalogs in search of my twin brother's room. "Quick, please," I snap, half annoyed.

Finally, the nurse stops at a page, her polished finger pointing at a room number on the book. "Room 406," she tells us. Taehyung and I rush into the lift before she even finishes her sentence, quickly pressing the button for the fourth floor.

"Room 406, room 406," Taehyung mutters repeatedly as we stroll through the hallway, looking for my brother's ward.

Finally, we arrive at our destination. Through the small window on the door, we see our mother crying beside the hospital bed, desperately holding onto my unconscious brother's hand while begging for him to wake up.

"Mom," I greet my mother as we scramble into the room. At our arrival, my mother rushes into my arms, tears streaming down her cheeks as she explains what happened.

Apparently, there was a robbery at one of the jewelry shops in Daegu, where Mingyu happened to be with his girlfriend. He took a shot for her, and boom. The bullet hit a nerve, so his arm is now paralyzed. The doctors still haven't diagnosed whether the paralysis is temporary or permanent, though, so there's still hope.

"Woah," Taehyung widens his eyes at Mom's story. "I never knew my brother was such a man."

"Priorities," I snap at him, but silently agree. "Where's the girl now?" I ask my mother.

"I sent her home a few hours ago, although she insisted to stay," my mother explains, wiping off her tears with the back of her hand. "She's a good kid."

I force a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "At least it didn't hit anything vital," I think on the bright side. Mom nods.

"I'll go cancel all my schedules for today," Taehyung starts to excuse himself, digging out his phone from his pocket, but I stop him.

"It's okay, Tae. I'll take care of Mingyu and Mom. You can go back to Seoul. I'll stay here," I offer, but my brother frowns in reply.

"Do you even know the way back to Seoul?" he asks. "How are you going to go back by yourself?"

"I won't be going back," I find myself saying. With everything that's happening in Seoul, I'm not sure I still want to stay there. Plus, Mingyu is more important. Mom will have a really hard time taking care of him by herself. She probably won't manage without me.

At my words, Taehyung widens his eyes, but nods understandingly. "I'm sorry," he suddenly apologizes, probably because I'm the one staying behind instead of him, the sole breadwinner of the family.

I shake my head. "It's okay. Now go. You still have a drama to film, remember?"

With that, Taehyung gives a small smile, before leaving the room without another word.

Park Jimin, I guess this is goodbye.

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this chapter was really short oml i'm so sorry :< 

thanks for reading though :") look forward to the next chapter mwahahaha 

:hoseokieomo