Always (Jumin X Zen)

Chapter 7

|Thoughts and Masks|

The others had come, of course, hoping to receive an explanation from Zen. And what did they get?

A bright smile plastered on Zen's face, quiet words questioning how their lives were going. No one mentioned the IV strapped to Zen's hand, nor the cuts lining his wrists. His waxy complexion was not spoken of, nor the dark bags under his crimson eyes. They were all just glad that he was there, alive, breathing.

But remember now, Zen's an actor--and a fantastic one at that. Fabricating falsified emotions came easily to the silver-haired male, especially when it came to the people most important in his life. Laughing and smiling was a simple task, and something he knew he should have done since the beginning.

The RFA members remained until visiting hours ended. None wanted to conclude their conversations, even though they were only about meaningless topics, but they knew that by ending them and departing, they would be leaving Zen alone in the hospital. They were unsure of how the night would go, and could only hope for his well-being as they left.

~~

Jumin sits on the edge of his bed, almost unfamiliar with the polished room that he hadn't visited for more than two weeks as a result of taking care of Zen. He was angry. Angry at Zen, the world, and most of all, himself; how could he, the one person holding Zen up, yell at him like that? Instead of offering him support in his time of most need, he shoved him away with all his might and forced him to stay, staring from afar. He was supposed to hold him close enough to hear the constant thumping of his heart and feel his soft breaths on his skin.. but he only managed to create a wall between them. They could be only a few inches apart but it'd seem like there was an eight-foot-tall, 3 yard thick wall between the two.

He puts his head in his hands, sighing heavily while digging the back of his palms into his eyes. He could feel an oncoming headache, the guilt and worry in his head causing his thoughts to spin in endless circles while he sat there. There was so much to do, so much to fix. Is he expected to fix everything wrong with this world?

"Damn..." he mutters under his breath. "Who knew I could feel so useless.."

A moment later, a sleek white ball of fur rubs against his legs, purring softly at her owner's return. Jumin sighs again, lifting the cat up and running his fingers through her smooth fur. He missed the comforting feel of Elizabeth's small, warm body in his arms, the way her body vibrated softly as she purred in contempt, her whiskers brushing against his hand.

A small smile creeps onto Jumin's face, his mind put at ease in that time. How could anyone be unhappy with an adorable kitten purring at their side?

And then an idea clicked.

A/N:
Lmao so I changed the cover, if you didn't notice-
Also.. I'm sorry I keep dying lololol I'll try to keep updating regularly bUTT I'm terrible with keeping a schedule
It's pretty sad that I take forever to update and then give you guys trash TuT sorry

Edit: I changed the cover back because I liked the old one bEtTeR