July
It's the middle of the night when the phone rings.
Jeongguk blearily lifts his head, blinking into the darkness of the room. Sleepily he stands up from the bed and shuffles into the hallway where the phone is ringing on its hook.
"Hello?" he answers quietly so as to not risk waking his parents.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night, Jeongguk," says a voice that Jeongguk recognizes as Taehyung's aunt. "But there's been a terrible accident," she continues in a shaky voice that instantly tells him that she's been crying.
"W-What happened?" he breathes out, his heart clenching. "Is Taehyung okay?"
"Y-Yes, he's alive, but his parents..."
Jeongguk bites down harshly on his lower lip, feeling the metallic taste of blood enter his mouth. "Is he in the hospital?" His hand that's clutching the phone is trembling, and he feels a tear drip down his cheek.
"Yes, and he's got several terrible injuries. He- He's very upset, Jeongguk, he needs you right now. He keeps asking for you."
After muttering a quick goodbye, Jeongguk hangs up and races to change out of his pajamas. He throws on a random sweater that had been hanging on his desk chair and tugs on a pair of track pants, before slipping out the front door. He runs all the way to the hospital, the whole time his mind racing with thoughts of his best friend.
When he finally reaches Taehyung's room in the ICU, there is a small crowd of people around the door. Jeongguk tentatively steps forward, trying to slip past the adults. "Excuse me," he mumbles as he squeezes through.
Taehyung is a sight for sore eyes. A thick white bandage is wrapped around his forehead, stained with blood. His right eye's bruised and swollen shut, his left arm in a cast and tear tracks mixed with blood all the way down his cheeks. When Jeongguk steps into the room and into Taehyung's line of view, he looks up with great difficulty with the brace around his neck and breathes out a raspy, "Ggukkie."
All resolve not to cry crumbling, Jeongguk races to his bedside and cups Taehyung's face, tears streaming down his own face. "Taehyungie," he whispers. He grasps Taehyung's non-injured hand and smooths his fingers over the scratched knuckles.
"It hurts, Ggukkie," the older of the two whimpers, weakly squeezing Jeongguk's hands, and Jeongguk knows Taehyung isn't talking about his injuries. "They're gone. My parents are gone." He's an orphan at fifteen, and Jeongguk can't even imagine the pain he's going through, both physically and emotionally.
"I know, hyung, but you're gonna get through this, okay? I'm here," Jeongguk soothes, brushing the soft brunette hair off Taehyung's bandaged forehead. "I'm not going anywhere."
August
"Pass me the chips, hyung?"
Taehyung doesn't even look away from the screen as he takes one hand off the controller to grab the bag and toss it into Jeongguk's lap. As soon as his hand is back on the controller, he swiftly evades the younger's attacks and in seconds manages to kill Jeongguk's character.
A series of indignant splutters and whines erupting from Jeongguk, the darker haired male tosses down his controller and pouts. "How could you? I thought we were friends!?" he complains dramatically. Huffing in displeasure, Jeongguk thrusts his hand into the chip bag and shoves a handful of tortilla chips into his mouth.
Taehyung scoffs. "Oh please. Like you haven't been trying to kill me for the last ten minutes." He rolls his eyes, setting down his own controller and sitting back on the couch before taking a deep breath. "So listen. I wanted to talk to you."
The younger frowns. "About what? Is something wrong, Tae?"
"Ah–," Taehyung sighs, a sad look passing over his face. "I'm uh, I'm moving to Daegu. To live with my grandma."
Jeongguk stares, feeling his heart drop. "But I thought you were okay living with us? Like my mom said, it's really not a bother to have you–"
"No, Gguk. It's not that. It's all the lawyers and stuff..." the fifteen year old explains tiredly. "I told you it was only a matter of time before they tossed me somewhere. I'm just lucky it wasn't foster care," Taehyung looks down, his hair falling into his face. "I like living with you, but I don't have a choice. I have to listen to them."
"B-But... Daegu? That's so far away!" Jeongguk scoots closer, grabbing Taehyung's hands. "I'll never see you!"
Taehyung meets his eyes, his defeated look enough to break Jeongguk's heart a million times over. "I know," he whispers brokenly. "I don't have a choice," he repeats. "I promise I'll come visit you, like, every weekend. Okay?" He forces a smile on his face for the sake of the younger. "Okay?"
Jeongguk sniffles, and Taehyung pulls him into a hug as the ravenette buries his head in the crook of the older's shoulder, crying quietly. "You can't leave me. All I've ever had is you."
