His Boxy Smiles

Chapter 37

When Taehyung woke up, he knew immediately that something was wrong.

Aside from the memories of last night; the unbearable ache of his heart and the guilt that was threatening to engulf him fully, his limbs felt numb. Much like when he first woke up from his mini coma after his car accident. His body didn't feel right (not like it hadn't been already). His throat hurt, head pounding hundred times harder and his eyes hurt bad. There was a dull ache in his side, where his main wound resided. Exactly like he'd just gone through another stitching session. Everything hurt more. In fact, he felt like he was weaker. Like all the days he'd spent to heal, all the efforts he'd put in to recover, had gone to waste.

He was too disoriented and confused to notice the nurse that had come in to check on him and give him his daily dosage of medicine.

"Good morning, Taehyung-shi," she'd greeted him. "You're finally awake! That's good!"

He looked up.

Before he could even ask, the nurse saved him his energy.

"You're still running with a fever."

"I..." Taehyung was still disoriented. He heard her but his mind was too fuzzy and he felt too light headed to actually comprehend what she was saying. "Still?"

"You've been sleeping for three days. Dr Lee was really worried about you. I'm supposed to give you your medicine now but I was told to call him once you wake up. I'll be right back!"

She was out the door in record time.

Three days? What...

Taehyung was certain that he hadn't slept that long and given that the new burden in his heart felt fresh and vivid, how could he possibly sleep for three days straight?

"Taehyung-shi! Nice to see you awake!" his doctor said the moment he walked in, a victorious smile on his face. "You scared a lot of people."

"I..." Taehyung tried to pull himself up to a sitting position but his doctor pushed him back in a hurry.

"I advise not, Taehyung-shi. Your wound reopened three days ago. Your new stitches aren't solid yet. Please refrain from any unnecessary movements."

And he was right. As soon as Taehyung moved, he felt a sharp pain on his side.

Taehyung was quiet after that, watching the doctor check his vitals and everything else.

"You had us all worried, Taehyung-shi. You almost gave me high blood pressure," he joked, an attempt to lift Taehyung's seemingly low spirit.

The boy appreciated that so he smiled although he was still dazed beyond his wits.

He injected a liquid into Taehyung's IV.

"Well, please go back to sleep. We can talk more about your condition and everything else later. Right now, your vitals are really below our liking. Sleep is probably best for now."

As much as he wanted to protest, he could already feel his eyes drooping. It was probably the medicine.

So he just nodded and watched as his doctor left.

He looked around the room, everything coming back to him, all at once, crushing him mercilessly.

His members...

He hurt them.

They left.

He's alone.

The silence scared him. The emptiness was killing him. He was suffocating and he wanted to scream.

He wanted to get out of there. Escape to somewhere else. Some place where he could forget about everything and everyone, including himself.

And he was slowly pulled back to sleep, the medicine taking its toll on him.

Again, he slept restlessly, haunted by the same nightmares.

However, this time, he knew for a fact that he was truly alone. That when he wakes up, no one would be there.

This must be his punishment.

A cruel one.

And the next time he wakes up, oh how he mourned the weight of his crimes even more.

Because hurting his family was the biggest injustice there will ever be in that world to him.