✔ || Save Me [[SEQUEL to DISTRACT ME]]

Chapter 40

{A/N: I posted 2 chapters today, so go read Chapter 39!!}

"I, uh," Taehyung squirmed, biting his thumbnail agitatedly. "I'm not sure you want to know what happened, jagiya."

Jeongguk frowned. "Why not?" When Taehyung didn't answer, he pressed, "No question is off limits. That's the rule, remember?"

Taehyung sighed, dropping his hand away from his mouth. "Yeah, jagi, I remember."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Jeongguk not budging. Taehyung getting more and more fidgety.

Finally, the elder said, "I died."

Shock. That's the best word to describe what took over the maknae. Shock.

"You what?"

Taehyung scrubbed a hand down his face. "I came back to life, obviously, but...well, when we Fall, we literally fall. Like, out of heaven, through the atmosphere and into the ground." His mouth screwed up in discomfort. "How many details do you want? Because I'm not going to lie, it was - it was a lot."

"What does that mean?" Jeongguk asked, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Taehyung had died.

"Well," Taehyung squirmed under the weight of the maknae's stare. "To start, you know how rockets light on fire when they come into the atmosphere?"

Jeongguk didn't have time to let that gory image form before the elder continued, "That was the first thing that happened, and then I hit the ground." He chuckled dryly, and Jeongguk almost slapped him for being so nonchalant about it. "Jesus, it hurt like a bitch. I'm not entirely sure at what point I died, but I know it was after I entered the atmosphere because the last thing I thought to myself before it all went black was shit, I think I'm on fire."

Taehyung laughed at himself but choked it back when he saw Jeongguk's scowl. "I woke up and it was raining, and I could feel my body putting itself back together with the last of my magic."

"Why did most of your magic go away after you fell?" Jeongguk asked.

The elder frowned at him. "One question, remember? That was the other rule."

Jeongguk deflated, "Right."

He'd ask tomorrow night.

"So," Taehyung heaved in a mighty breath, "I was dead, and then I woke up while my body was trying to figure out how to piece together 206 shattered bones while recreating all of my internal organs since the originals were pretty much unusable. I probably looked like raw hamburger -"

"Sweet Jesus, Taehyung, that's an image," Jeongguk interrupted, shuddering.

"Hamburger," Taehyung repeated with a wry grin just for shits and giggles. Jeongguk punched his arm, but it was distracted and weak. The elder continued, "Come to find out, I was in the middle of a field in Daegu. My halmeoni found me. She just," he shrugged, "found me, helped me up, and didn't say anything about the pool of blood and body tissue just floating there in the mud." Jeongguk cocked his head at the strange light that appeared in the elder's eyes. "That family took care of me. They let me stay with them, and they didn't question the two open wounds in my back. Halmeonim knew I was an angel," he frowned, "though I'm not sure how, and she only mentioned it once."

Jeongguk said softly, "That's the family you were talking about, right? The one that you want me to meet?"

"Only if you want to," Taehyung quickly said. "I would never force you to do anything, jagiya."

"Hyung," Jeongguk chided, "of course I'll meet your family. I'd love to meet them as your boyfriend, but we both know why that can't happen."

Taehyung nodded tiredly. "I have a little brother who's fourteen named Donghae. He loves video games and rap music. And a sister who's eleven this year. Ara. She loves pestering her big brothers, and I always let her get away with it, and she was a fan of BTS before I even showed up. She's the one who convinced me to turn in an audition tape."