Tin Whistle (NAMJIN)

// 14 // Alt. End

The lady nurse's pat on his shoulder brought Seokjin back into reality. He checked his surroundings to make sure he wasn't imagining things anymore.

He softly inhaled the smell of freshly mowed grass, shutting his eyes for a few seconds. What he had seen just mere minutes ago completely changed.

The castle, his butler, the statue, Namjoon...

Where the castle stood is now a mental institution, dark and full of unstable minds. He was in the garden but there was no statue to be seen anywhere. The statue, it wasn't there. It was never there.

While the fact that he lived in a castle with his parents being real, the existence of the statue isn't. The dancing furnitures and knight in armours coming to life never occurred either.

He stared at the tin whistle he had been grasping in his hand. He'd been going wild in that place asking them for the tin whistle. Every time they sedated him, almost immediately he'd go on a rampage about the instrument after waking up.

It was a hassle for the doctors to calm him down for he was a strong person  and it would need more than a few doctors to hold him down.

And so, they decided to get him a tin whistle to overcome their troubles. Besides, there was no harm that could be done if Seokjin owned an instrument.

However, not once did Seokjin play with it. It was always in his hands whenever the nurse took him out to get fresh air and that was it.

Though, it didn't bother anyone as to why he wasn't playing with the tin whistle at all so it stayed like that until now. "Seokjin, we'll have to go inside now. We can come back out when tomorrow arrives, alright?"

Although her sentence was clear as day,  he paid no attention to it and gave a slight nod. He grew accustomed to the things she said, they were all the same and he didn't have to do a lot to respond.

All the answers to her statements only required a nod, if not a shake of the head which was not often. So whatever she said, Seokjin would nod.

The first time the psychiatrist diagnosed Seokjin of suffering schizophrenia, he denied everything the doctor told him saying he was fine.

But his parents were having none of it. Listening to their son talk to his alleged friend, Namjoon quickly became unbearable. Namjoon, didn't exist.

None of Seokjin's friends had that name and realistion hit them after knowing their son was seriously sick. However, they still had a little bit of hope that this Namjoon person was real and that they just haven't met him.

But it turned into a false hope when they, themselves were finally certain of Seokjin's true condition after witnessing him talk to nobody, Namjoon so cheerfully in his bedroom.

Seokjin had a fit when he found out even his parents didn't have his back but stood with the psychiatrist instead, he felt betrayed. He felt compelled to prove that Namjoon was real.

His parents were even more saddened when they were met with Seokjin vigorously motioning towards nothing beside him, saying Namjoon was there.

It didn't take long for Seokjin to be sent into a mental institution. His parents were heavy hearted about it and were guilty about sending him there but they had no other choice.

Seokjin's state would only worsen if he didn't get help and so, he was admitted there, having to meet with a psychiatrist once every three days to see if he made any progress.

His condition, if anything it was even more terrible. Soon, he fell into depression and barely spoke to anyone. He also needed a wheelchair to get around as he strongly refused to walk anywhere.

"Now why don't you give me that tin whistle hmm? I'll keep it safe for you" the nurse asked with an adjusted gentle voice, fearing he might be triggered if she used a rough tone.

She kneeled in front of his wheelchair where he sat, looking at her with emotionless eyes. This time, her question didn't require a nod and it took a minute for him to register it into his mind.

The nurse held her hand out, "I promise I will hand it back to you when we go for a walk again" she assured him. Seokjin reluctantly gave the instrument to her.

He shifted his gaze to look at the flowers for the last time until he gets to see them again the next day. After tucking the tin whistle into her pocket, the nurse began to push Seokjin's wheelchair past the flowerbeds.

What Seokjin did not notice were the king and queen, his parents watching over their son from afar. Each seconds tearing at their hearts seeing their child sickly pale and behaving lifeless, almost.

A tear rolled down his mother's cheeks as Seokjin's wheelchair rolled through the sliding door and eventually entirely disappearing out of her sight.

The king consoled her by hugging her to his side and slowly ushered her to the carriage to go back to their palace- now noticeably quiet place without Seokjin to bring life to it.

Little by little, they parted even further from their only son, leaving him to reside in a place still so unfamiliar to him.

THE END

yall I got a new book out titled VOLITION (VKOOK) and i hope you'll give it lots of love

pls knw that this is an alternate ending so, you can choose the ending yourself, be it a happy one or a slightly sad one

Id like to thank sorrybaee for always supportin this book and i really really hope that i didnt disappoint you in any way 😘😘