lung bouquet | j.jk + p.jm ✓

chapter two

jimin wakes up still on the couch hours later, twisted in an uncomfortable position. everyone's left the room and the tv is off, leaving him in semi-darkness. the only light is coming from the moon shining through the windows, giving the room an eerie atmosphere.

he pats at his pockets until his hands find his phone, pressing his thumb to the home button so the screen lights up. his vision blurs at the sudden burst of bright light, but it soon clears up, the time now visible.

12:37 a.m.

jimin groans, pushing himself up into a sitting position. his back aches and his neck feels stiff, a terribly uncomfortable combination. he twists his body and stretches until his back pops enough to loosen up, then tilts his head until the bones crack.

it takes a little effort, but he manages to stand up, his body feelings weak and tired despite having been asleep for hours. it's probably because he didn't eat anything for breakfast then slept through the entire day. his stomach growls and begins to hurt, indicating he was right.

he walks into the kitchen, surprised to see light spilling out of the fridge. jeongguk's back is turned away from him as he pours himself a glass of what looks like orange juice. with a heart rate that's increasing by the second and a brain that's unable to form actual words at the moment, he stands there, watching until jeongguk puts away his orange juice and turns with his back against the counter, their eyes meeting.

jeongguk is surprised when he sees jimin, nearly dropping his glass on the ground. he chokes on the juice he'd began to drink, coughs shaking his body. almost instantly, jimin is by his side, turning on the light over the stove and patting his back as coughs fill the silence around them.

"are you okay?" jimin asks, still patting jeongguk's back even once his coughs turn into stuttering breaths.

"yeah, thanks," jeongguk says, giving a small smile.

jimin can feel his lungs painfully constricting, flowers beginning to bloom in his respiratory organs. he suppresses them by holding his breath for a moment, mesmerized by the smile jeongguk flashed him with. he hates how jeongguk has this much control over his emotions without even realizing it.

"why are you up?" jimin asks in an attempt to break the silence even though he knows the answer. his voice comes out a little strained as the flowers fight back, trying their hardest to bloom.

jeongguk hums, leaning backwards until his spine meets the edge of the countertop. he gestures to the glass he had set on the table at the beginning his coughing fit. "i couldn't sleep, so i tried to get a glass of orange juice to help me relax. i don't think i can get to sleep now even with the orange juice since you scared me."

despite jeongguk being obviously sarcastic, jimin instantly feels bad and dissolves into apologies, something he would have never done before he realized his feelings for jeongguk. before, he would've just laughed and pushed him, saying something like well you're the youngest, so you should have the most energy anyway, but he can't bring himself to anymore. things have changed. he has changed.

"sorry, i didn't mean to," he apologizes, biting his lip. jeongguk gives him a puzzled look but pats the top of his head, a pearly grin on his lips.

"well, well, well. would you look at that. hyung is actually saying sorry," he teases, ruffling jimin's hair as if he's the younger one.

jimin huffs and pushes jeongguk's hand off of his head, the tips of his ears and probably his cheeks a bright red. "fine, see if i ever apologize to you ever again."

"aw, don't be like that," jeongguk says, the smile on his lips never leaving his face. jimin's still having a hard time keeping the flowers down, but his chest feels lighter than it normally does. maybe because there's not the usual affection being shared between taehyung and jeongguk, or maybe he's getting better at hiding his condition.