Be With Me >Vkook<

Playing from memory

Taehyung was in a heated argument with Jungkooks doctor. He was absolutely furious. This person hadn't had more than 6 years in medical school, yet, here he is, treating a patient wth a widely unknown disease. He had no understanding of it. Didn't know where it started, what it does, or how it should be treated. While Taehyung was a psychology major and he knew the basics of Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. He had read stories of other people who have had it, and yet, this person who was supposed to be a doctor had just prescribed Jungkook with his 19th daily medication.

"It's because his condition is only getting worse," the doctor said.

But Taehyung slammed his fist down on the desk.

"No!" He yelled, "all this medicine is destroying his body!"

"Look, I understand why you're worried," the doctor started, but Taehyung interrupted.

"Yeah, it's because you're killing this kid and you don't even know it! It's a Congenital disorder why can't you understand that?!"

The doctor frowned and set his clip board down and calmly spoke.

"Mr. Kim, please let me do my job, and I'll let you do yours."

He then walked away, leaving Taehyung red faced and fuming with anger. He couldn't stand the way the doctors treated Jungkook here, or all the patients, really. He figured that if Jungkook was given such poor care, than all the other kids probably were as well, and it just made Taehyungs will to get Jungkook out of there stronger.

Taehyung let out a long and exasperated exhale as he turned to go to Jungkooks room, planning to go to the rec room with him that day.

He quickly walked down the long white hall, wanting to get to Jungkook as fast as possible, but the door to his room suddenly opened. Jungkook slowly trudged out with his head hung low. One of his arms was being held in the hand of a lady in white, while the other hand gripped a pair of headphones. He looked up to see Taehyung and his eyes widened with hope.

"Hey kookie!" Taehyung said, smiling. But to his surprise, Jungkook didn't say anything back. He watched as the younger boy glanced up at the lady who smiled and greeted Taehyung.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kim," she said.

"Hello," Taehyung replied. "Do you mind if I take Jungkook from here?"

The lady looked at Jungkook as he shuffled nervously on his feet.

"Alright," she said as she released Jungkooks wrist from her grasp, Jungkook ran to Taehyung and grabbed Taehyungs hand with his now free one.

"Thank you," Taehyung smiled before him and Jungkook made their way to the next room.

For a playroom built for kids, the room was boring like no other. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all white, just like the rest of the facility. Little kids who were small and pale, just like Jungkook, sat around round tables, coloring, playing games, or just talking. But they weren't isolated like Jungkook was. They were all friends with eachother, and some even had parents visiting them, talking and laughing, like they weren't locked up in some sort of hell.

Once they entered the room, it got a bit quieter, a bit colder. All of the smaller kids eyes were drawn to Jungkook. they looked surprised that there was someone other than a person in white walking with him. Taehyung, being a psychology major, could read their faces. They were looks of fear and hate. None of them accepting of the boy whose been here so long. Jungkook still kept his head down.

"Where are we going, kookie?" Taehyung asked quietly as Jungkook led him across the large room. The younger boy stayed silent, gripping Taehyungs hand so tight, desperate for skinship of the person who cared about him.

Eventually, the two reached the beat up key board in the corner of that room and Jungkook sat down on the stool in front of it. He patted the empty spot beside him for Taehyung to sit down.

"You play piano?" Taehyung asked as he took his seat. Jungkook nodded shyly. He plugged his headphones into the keyboard and handed Taehyung one earbud while putting the other one in his left ear. He looked up at Taehyung and finally spoke, but very quietly.

"I wrote this," he said before he placed his fingers on the black and white keys and began to play.

Taehyung practically melted at the first chord. Being a lover of classical music, the notes under Jungkooks fingers had him in a state of calmness, and he soon noticed that there was no music on the stand in front of him.

Taehyung watched jungkook's fingers as they moved over the black and white keys, effortlessly, as if he had invented playing piano. The minor key had Jungkook entranced, chords balanced under perfectly spaced eighth notes that syncopated into sixteenths.

The music sounded almost heartbreaking. Giving a sad feeling and a sense that something was missing. The time signature not sounding quite complete that made the song even more emotional.

The fact that Jungkook was playing all of this from memory, and that he had written it by ear, made Taehyung realize how intelligent this boy really was. He was so mysterious. Longing for conformity while pushing away most other people. How he did so amazing in school, yet, his common sense was sometimes clouded by the insane amount of medication he was given. Taehyung was surprised he hadn't been diagnosed with some sort of bipolar disorder. But then again, if he had been, that would just leave him with more medicine that would just make his condition worse.

Taehyung closed his eyes and let his mind focus on the music instead of all of the other problems in Jungkook's life, like they were even his to worry about. He relaxed and rested his chin on Jungkook's shoulder. He had the typical smell of hospital laced on his clothes. His hair had no scent, which made Taehyung wonder what kind of generic shampoo they give him to use.

Jungkook's fingers pressed down keys more furiously by each note as he reached the climax of the song. His hands moved so fast across the keys that Taehyung's eyes could barely keep up with them. Jungkook moved from one end of the keyboard to the other, then finally landing on a diminished chord, which left the song sounding unfinished. Taehyung waited for something else to happen, but Jungkook removed his hands from the piano and sat back, looking at Taehyung.

"That's it?" Asked the latter. But Jungkook looked disappointed, flashing big sad puppy eyes. He nodded slowly.

Taehyung caught on to his feelings and immediately changed his tone.

"No! It was it was amazing!" He said, "but, it sounds like you haven't finished it."

The raven haired boy only shrugged. Even he, himself didn't know exactly how that song came to him. He played over so many notes, so many times, trying to find the notes that fit right. But that last chord, he really couldn't get it quite right. Taehyung was right when he said it sounded unfinished.

Jungkook sat silently staring at the keys, his mind completely blank of anything else to think about.

"Jungkook," Taehyung said, getting his attention. "I really liked it."

Jungkook smiled.

+

I'm sorry this took so long but I hope you like it :))))