In The Heart of Darkness

🖤28🖤

Taehyung watched Jimin sleep. It terrified him to think that his friend might never wake up. Of course, no one had said that to him, he was just scared because Jimin had been incoherent for far too long, in his opinion. He stared at the bandages scattered across most of Jimin's body. His face scrunched into a deep frown as his hand reached out and adjusted the white gauzy material wrapped across the deepest ones on Jimin's chest.

Taehyung let out a ragged sigh, his hand trembling as it tugged and pushed the bandage. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, staring at Jimin's face through his tears. "If I could, I would hunt them all down and kill them all for doing this to you. You deserve so much better, Jiminie. You deserve a good life. You've been through so much. You could be living a great life somewhere if it hadn't been for my mother." Taehyung's head dipped down against his chest and he took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves and racing emotions.

Jimin had just had a lifetime of bad luck. His fate had been sealed the moment he had been found on the Kim property. But he deserved better. Much better.

"My parents were dead, Tae...what kind of life would I have lived," came a raspy voice, a hand reaching over to pat Taehyung's downturned head.

Taehyung's head jerked upwards and he looked at Jimin, who was now wincing and adjusting his position in the bed. "You're awake?! Jimin! I was so scared!" His tears fell freely now as he scrambled to help his friend be more comfortable.

"You're such a baby," teased Jimin. "I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. You lost a lot of blood. They're still waiting to see if there was any internal bleeding. You could have died, Jimin!" Taehyung tried to reign in the anger in his voice, but he couldn't help it. He was angry. Not at Jimin, but at the people who basically used him as a carving board.

"But I'm not dead. I'll live," sighed Jimin, still trying to get his eyes to adjust to the lighting in the room.

"The scars-"

"Will fade. Look, I've had worse, right? Anyway, are you alright?" He looked at Taehyung and frowned at the bruises and cuts on his face.

"Yeah. I'm good. Don't worry about me."

"It's my job to worry about you." Jimin's tired eyes fixated on his boss and friend.

Taehyung's hands fidgeted with his shirt hem. "It doesn't have to be, you know," he whispered. He was blinking rapidly.

Jimin sighed and let out a chuckle, following it up with a groan. "Oh, Tae... You aren't getting rid of me. I've been with you too long. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to train another me?"

Taehyung gave him a puzzled look for a moment and then a look of chagrin passed across his face. "A lifetime, I suppose."

"Exactly." Jimin suppressed his urge to giggle, but his lips twitched with a smile, despite the cuts on his lips. "Master, you're wish to fire me is rejected."

Taehyung grimaced and leaned back in his seat, pointing his index finger at Jimin. "Stop calling me that," he grumbled.

Jimin chuckled and then grimaced as his wounds ached and stung. "I'm probably going to need a few days off. I'm putting in a formal request."

Taehyung felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards into a smile and he nodded his head. "For you? Anything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JK had the music booming in his basement lair. The steady R&B rhythm pulsated in his chest, manifesting through his fluid movements. His anxiety slowly left him as he danced, the mirrors reflecting his flawless movements back to him.