His Boxy Smiles

Chapter 9

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The whole day was spent staring at Taehyung, listening to the boy's heart beat like music to their ears.

They've drifted in and out of sleep with only their manager looking after them; bringing them food, water and other things.

The manager made sure that the boys stayed away from the reach of any social media until that video was completely taken down from every website. The company didn't want the boys to fall into any sort of health problems, especially one that involved the mind.

Taehyung's family arrived in the afternoon instead due to the traffic and the boys were forced to hear cries of plea from their friend's siblings and it utterly broke their hearts even more. That was the only time the boys left the hallway- to give the family some privacy.

Taehyung's parents took care of them too, making sure that they eat despite their refusal.

One particular encouragement from Taehyung's mother had been extra effective.

'My son would want for you to be next to him. After all, that boy can never live through a day without some form of contact with people, especially with his closest friends. He always talk about you guys every time he calls home. But if he sees you like this, I think it'll break his heart. He'd be really worried and guilty that you're not eating because of him.'

The doctors and nurses came and check on their friend on a regular basis and they had watched them do their work and heard good words about Taehyung's condition.

Good words which made the members feel a little less restless and a little less worried.

By the time midnight struck, the boys had found their smiles and laughter, taking comfort from each other. They had decided earlier on that they will smile and laugh for Taehyung's sake. That they would be there for each other for Taehyung's sake. Because that was what Taehyung would have wanted. For them to spend time together. Although spending time together in a hospital wasn't exactly the ideal outcome, it was good enough.

They were talking about funny stories they shared as a group when suddenly, something went really wrong.

Just when the boys had finally managed to lift their morbid thoughts out of the way, something had had to go wrong with Taehyung.

Taehyung's heart had stopped beating.

The line went flat and its ominous sound pushed the air out of everybody. Everyone was shocked and scared.

"Oh my god-" Namjoon said as he rashed down the hallway. "Nurse! Doctor! Anyone!"

The others didn't know what to do. They were frozen and traumatized, forced to hear the sharp flat line of Taehyung's unbeating heart.

The boys were forced to watch as medical staffs came in through the door.

Everyone was moving in a blur and the boys didn't know what was happening. All they knew was that Taehyung's heart had stopped and the doctors are now trying to get him back.

Having been told that Taehyung's grip on life had wavered numerous times did enough damage to the boys' hearts. However, seeing it happen right before their eyes made it all seem unbearable.

They watched them resuscitate Taehyung for what seemed like hours.

Was Taehyung going to die? Will they be able to bring him back? Were they possibly watching their Tae die?

Jungkook was crying. Jimin was sobbing. Yoongi was biting his lips hard as tears continuously rolled down his cheeks. Namjoon was breathing heavily, face decorated blue. J-hope was trying to calm down while Jin was crying silently, willing himself to be strong for his dongsaengs.

Everyone was a crying mess. Everyone didn't know what was happening, didn't know what to do, didn't know what to think.

Before long, the nurses and doctors stepped back, putting their equipments down.

The doctor was panting. He had been resuscitating Taehyung for five minutes and yet no response. He genuinely wanted to save Taehyung's life. Getting to operate on the kid for eight hours and witness him fight for his life at the times that his heart stopped had that much affect on the doctor. Resuscitating someone for three minutes was normal. But for five minutes... He had to stop.

"No, no, no, no," Jungkook was clutching his hair, pulling on it. He shook his head roughly at the voices in his head that said that his hyung was dying- no, it said his hyung was dead. The video flashed in his mind and it intensified his feeling of suffocation. "No! No! No!"

The line was still flat. How could they stop? They have to try harder.

"No! Why are they stopping?!" Jungkook screamed.

He flinched when he felt arms wrapped around him tightly but nonetheless, he welcomed whoever it was, crumbling.

The door was wide open. They could hear the doctor clearly.

"Time of death-"

"No! You haven't tried harder! You can't just give up!" Jungkook stormed inside the room, his hyungs desperately trying to stop him.

"Hyung! Hyung, wake up! You can't die! You have to wake up!" Jungkook fell to the ground on his knees, wailing.

"Kookie-ah," Jin's shaky and unrecognizable voice seemed to be faded in his ears. He was rubbing the maknae's back soothingly.

Jimin couldn't breathe. He couldn't hear anything else but the flat line that was Taehyung's non-existant heart beat.

It wasn't only him. The rest couldn't breathe too.

Yoongi just stared blankly at Taehyung's now lifeless form in denial. No words forming on his mouth or thoughts clouding through his head. Just plain blank.

Namjoon had both his hands clutching hard on his hair, trying to pull it out. No, Taehyung's not dead. He cannot be dead. Their Taehyung cannot be dead!

Jin refused to look anywhere else but the maknae who was on the floor in agony. He had tears of his own, rolling down his face too but he refused to acknowledge it because if he did, he'd go insane.

Even the hope of the group seemed as lifeless as Taehyung was. J-Hope was completely and utterly hopeless. He stared at Taehyung's hand that was hanging lifelessly off the bed. It had dropped when they were resuscitating him. J-Hope was screaming but it was all in his head. He was screaming and calling for Taehyung to wake up.

Before the boys' eyes, the smiles and laughs that Taehyung had offered them through the years that they've been with him flashed through their mind like a sore reminder. All Taehyung's small gestures, movements, mannerisms, weirdness, randomness, everything- flashed before their eyes. It was now being replaced with the sound of Taehyung's unbeating heart and his unmoving pale body on the hospital bed.

Everything was over.

Taehyung was dead.

Their Taehyung was dead.

And they could never see the cheery boy ever again.

Never again.