To Sink Like a Stone

8 - A Real Showstopper

Jungkook's eyes fluttered open. He woke up to the sound of Jimin rustling around in his own luggage, mumbling something to himself about earrings. There was no sunlight filtering through the curtains, which meant it was still very early. But Jungkook barely even needed to check the window. His eyelids already felt like they were tethered to cinder blocks.

"Jimin," he said groggily, his throat hoarse, as it was every morning. "You're up early, aren't you?"

Startled, Jimin snapped his head toward his roommate at the sound of his voice. "Hm? Oh, I guess I am. Sorry for waking you up," he apologized, then sighed in frustration. "We all have to get up way earlier than usual because Yoongi didn't come to practice all week. The show is today, yet we're still not entirely sure we'll be able to perform. Funny, isn't it?"

Jungkook scoffed, pressing back into the headboard of his bed frame. "Doesn't sound like it's so funny to you." After a few moments, the youngest realized he couldn't nod off with Jimin stomping around, even if it was hellishly early. "Do you think I would be able to tag along?"

The older roommate rolled his eyes. "Jungkook, it doesn't matter what the manager says or even what the doctor says. If it were a yes, you wouldn't just 'tag along.' You would insist on performing, so no, you would not be able to just 'tag along.'"

A defeated groan was all Jungkook could offer as a response. He rolled over onto his stomach and nuzzled his face between his pillows, trying to block out the sights and sounds that were keeping him awake. He was just beginning to drift off when something disturbed him. Jimin was up early because Yoongi wasn't at practice all week.

So it wasn't just Jungkook he was ignoring, was it?

"Okay, maybe we should run through the first song one more time. It seems like we have everything down well besides the third chorus, right?"

Practice was going unexpectedly well. Yoongi was still rather tight-lipped, but he hadn't forgotten the dances or the lyrics they needed for the day. Fortunately his parts in the performance had gone mostly unaffected by the absence of Jungkook.

Namjoon dismissed the practice session with plenty of extra time so everyone would have the opportunity to shower and freshen up one last time before they departed for the performance. As the rest of the group headed out, he left last, watching as Yoongi swayed out of the room. He was limping ever so slightly. Namjoon could tell he was in pain while they practiced. But the leader simply kept it to himself. He just wanted the show to go smoothly. Then they could worry about their personal issues.

The crowd's cheering was audible from backstage. It was a very small concert in comparison to what the boys would normally showcase, so the audience was equally as small. But the fans were still just as enthusiastic.

Most of the extra effects had been cut out as well. It was an indoor concert, so there were no smoke machines or pyrotechnics, no lifts onto the stage, no excessive strobe lights. For their first show without Jungkook, and hopefully their last without him, the pressure was being kept to a minimum.

One of the makeup artists was struggling to reinsert Yoongi's contacts while the rest of the boys hyped themselves up for the stage. "Three minutes until showtime!" one of the stagehands called back.

After Yoongi's eye makeup was touched up, he joined the rest of the members at the foot of the stairs. "Let's do this!" Hoseok shouted. "Remember, Namjoon, we turn our heads clockwise for the chorus. And Jimin, remember your position change in the second verse. We can't have an empty spot on the stage."

Hoseok put his hand on Yoongi's arm last, right before they headed out to perform, and giggled while he said, "And you just need to stay awake for the next hour."

The cheers were nearly deafening as the boys took their places on stage. Before they performed, Namjoon took a few moments to thank the audience and passed his monologue to Taehyung and Jimin. Hoseok nodded through the whole speech, unable to put his own gratefulness into words.

Finally, the lights faded, a few spotlights left on the stage's center. Just as the first few notes of the song played, the audience split open with a roar, all excited to see the performance.

Jungkook's lines were split between the rest of the vocalists, while Hoseok and Jimin took on most of his dancing role. The first song slid by easily and ended well; everyone hit their marks and stayed in time with the beat. A feeling of elation spread across the stage. Even without suitable practice time, even without Jungkook, they could manage a near perfect performance.

Then the next track began. Namjoon stomped up to center stage and waved around, delivering his lines as he always did, laxly but articulated. Hoseok took up the next part, filling in the empty space where the seventh member would have rapped, then Taehyung was in the spotlight, leading the whole song.

It wasn't long before Yoongi stepped up for his section of the song. It was a short rap, and without Jungkook to do the heavy-lifting, the dance was extremely simple. Yet when he finished and as Hoseok moved forward for his part, Yoongi began to sink to the ground.

It was slow and barely noticeable at first, but he didn't move from his spot at all. He wasn't sliding back into the formation as they'd practiced so many times; rather, he was falling to the ground at funeral pace, his knees failing and his hand losing its grip on the microphone.

The loud screech of the microphone sounded over the speakers. Hoseok, already reaching forward for his position at center stage, ran to Yoongi, who was fully seated upstage, heaving breaths. Without thinking, Hoseok hooked his arms around Yoongi's chest and pulled him to his feet. Yoongi must have fallen unconscious while being dragged offstage because at first he planted his feet on the ground and took a few steps forward before going completely limp.

As he struggled to pull his friend out of the audience's view, Hoseok held on. He held onto his friend. He held onto his breath. And he held his back tears as his fingertips brushed over Yoongi's gaunt rib cage.

Hoseok wasn't struggling because of Yoongi's weight. There was no weight; he was as his lightest, weak and starved. Hoseok was struggling because of Yoongi's skeleton. He couldn't move without feeling a spine or a shoulder blade driving into his chest.

Yoongi had collapsed. The concert was over. They headed home. Yoongi woke up in the car but refused to say anything or move.

He was exhausted and starved. He was neglected. And Hoseok felt the repercussions of his own oversight. The other members had to comfort him and keep him from taking all the blame upon his own shoulders.

Taehyung was scolded for not telling anyone, for ignoring Yoongi's atrophy, yet all the members knew it was Taehyung who'd tried hardest to help his roommate.

Namjoon was interrogated. What was Yoongi like when he'd gone up the first day of practice? Why didn't he try harder to get him together with the group?

It was a game of pointing fingers. But it was a whispery and unproductive game. And when they returned home, they dispersed to their respective rooms just as quietly.

Sorry for not updating this one for a while again. I rewrote this chapter twice because I wasn't sure how I wanted to deliver the last few events, but LOOK, I UPLOADED! Also it is 3 AM, and I just dove into my first Spotify Playlist from 2.5 years ago. It is AWFUL. I listened to like 3 Minecraft songs and a bunch of Linkin Park.