STELLA SYNDROME. ✓

XII. eclipse

XII.
e c l i p s e

━━

THIS was worse than bad. this was a tragedy.

and kim taehyung was scared. scared. for the first time in his life, he was beyond it.

he was petrified.

so petrified, his nervous jitters and new tendency to fiddle with his hands attracted unwanted attention from the other members.

"whoa whoa," hoseok backed away while flicking water from his hands. "watch where you fling your fingers." the younger boy smiled weakly and went to go grab some paper towels after accidentally spilling the liquid all over the rapper. he knew his hyung didn't mean it in a rude way at all, but he also knew he was giving him a concerned look as soon as his back was turned.

"hey," hoseok said gently, face usually lit brightly with a grin now crinkled with worry. "are you feeling alright? for the past few days—"

"oh, oh no no no," he quickly retaliated, making sure to shake his head and simper sweetly. "i'm okay. i just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"oh, well okay!" a pat and a beam were his two acts of comfort, and taehyung was grateful for his quick relaxation.

he didn't see jimin standing in the doorway, the color drained from his face.

━━

HIS hands were trembling when jungkook entered their room an hour later. "whoa," the brunette stared at his face in confusion, "are you feeling okay?"

the blonde's face paled and went blank as he whispered, "no."

jungkook sat down on the bed next to him, brows furrowing. "wait, what happened?"

his voice shook when he answered unsteadily, "it's taehyung. he told hoseok he wasn't sleeping well."

now, the maknae's eyebrows raised. "... and?"

jimin scoffed and blinked incredulously. "and isn't that exactly what you used to tell us when you were sick? have you already forgotten?"

jungkook sighed. "no, of course not. but are you sure that he has the same thing i did? he really could just have slight insomnia." he wrapped an arm around the elder's shoulders, ready to comfort him.

the latter inhaled through his nose sharply, biting his lower lip. jungkook wouldn't believe him if he told him the truth, that whenever he wasn't looking (which was a lot, since he was so oblivious), jimin would watch taehyung watch jungkook with wistful eyes. he contemplated telling the younger, but didn't want to hurt make him feel bad and ruin his relationship with taehyung by confronting him about it.

"c'mon," the brown-haired boy ruffled the other's hair and smiled. "you're overthinking it. let's go get some food; i'm starved."

jimin rolled his eyes before following him out. "didn't you eat half an hour ago?"

"... maybe?" jungkook sheepishly threw over his shoulder, smiling mischievously.

the blonde sighed in content. he was ecstatic to see that the boy had gained a lot more weight and was beginning to look healthy again. it was still too soon to begin working out again, but he was getting to be more active. the first week back, he could barely survive taking a walk and would often have to turn around. jungkook was full of determination and arrogant pride, so he pushed himself to his limits. he was proud of him, but also nervous. the younger could hurt himself if he wasn't too careful.

"you coming, hyung?" a call from the living room.

jimin smiled to himself before jumping up to meet him on the couch. "yeah."

━━

"WHAT are we going to do?" taehyung's voice shook, and he paced the room with wobbling knees. "they'll see. they'll find out, and we'll have ruined everything! oh god—"

the bluenette sitting on the mattress was silent. for the first time in his life, min yoongi was not quick to reply. he was not confident in his answer. he was not the one who kept his friend calm and sane. because for the first time in his life, min yoongi was terrified.

he had to pretend for taehyung, though, since the boy seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. "just breathe, okay? they won't find out. we have to tell them."

the other boy stopped his pacing to stare ludicrously at his hyung. "are you crazy?" when yoongi didn't revoke his response, he blinked and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "hyung, we can't. you know we can't."

"well, look what happened with jungkook," the elder fired back haughtily. "he was half-starved and coughing up blood and whatever-the-heck those things were when we found him. do you want that to be us?" he was quiet, and yoongi nodded sharply. "that's what i thought."

"but what about jimin and jungkook?" taehyung murmured. "they're going to be heartbroken. and even if we do tell them, what do we do? what's the solution for this?"

"we could get the surgery," the other boy mumbled, fiddling with his sleeve. "then everything would be fine."

he knew neither of them would do that anyway. there were unspoken words between them: i don't want to stop loving him.

it was movie night once more when the two boys came out of yoongi's room and sat down beside hoseok and seokjin on one of the couches. there was more space next to jimin and jungkook, but like hell were they going to torture themselves watching the two cuddle fondly. taehyung swallowed; it made him feel so sick yet so guilty for loathing the sight. why couldn't he just be happy for his friends? why did his feelings have to obliterate everything he loved most?

but the bluenette next to him had gone rigid. the movie...

"i feel so bad for him," jimin whispered to jungkook, who was currently rubbing the blonde's back gently. taehyung had to look away before he threw up in his mouth. "he loves her, but she's in love with the other guy."

"i love tragic love stories," seokjin said wistfully. "they're so heartbreaking but so romantic."

"i hate them," yoongi snapped, standing up abruptly and making a move to leave. "they're worthless. i don't know why people keep making shit like this."

"wait, don't go—" hoseok yelled after him but to no avail. he frowned and turned to taehyung. "is he alright? you talked to him last, was he any different than normal?"

the model tried not to show the truth on his face. "uhh, no." he weakly laughed and attempted to play it off. "maybe he really does hate one-sided love movies."

"but he doesn't," namjoon said softly, raising his eyes to meet taehyung's and bore into him. "he loves them." i know, his eyes seemed to say, i know your secret.

taehyung knew they were in a shitload of trouble.