art || vkook || discontinued

lucky

jungguk is disoriented when he wakes up, the effects of the anesthetic still in play. the first thing he notices is the way his abdomen stings. the sensation isn’t anywhere near as bad as it had been before, but it’s still enough to cause him to hiss in pain. as soon as the small noise leaves his mouth there’s a hand on his shoulder and a concerned face hovering over him.

“yoongi, call a nurse. he’s awake.” a familiar deep voice sounds from above jungguk. he tries to sit up but is held down by taehyung. “don’t do that quite yet, ggukie. let the doctors check on you first, okay?”

jungguk hums and relaxes his muscles, grabbing the hand that grips onto him and playing with taehyung’s fingers. he keeps his eyes clamped shut, not wanting to see the room around him. hospitals bring back bad memories. they remind him of sleepless nights and stinging wrists, silent tears and worried words. those two separate weeks had been hell for him. he spent the entire time wishing that he was dead, that namjoon hadn’t found him, or that he hadn’t been so weak. he doesn’t want to open his eyes and be faced with all of it again.

“how are you feeling, ggukie?” taehyung smiles down at the boy, even though he can’t see him.

“like shit.”

“that’s expected.” taehyung laughs. “i think i’d be more concerned if you didn’t”

the long-haired man feels proud of himself when jungguk’s lips curve into an amused smile. taehyung has no idea how much pain the younger is in, no idea what’s going through the boy’s head, he doesn’t even know the details about the day before, all he knows is that whatever happened is going to be hard to recover from. taehyung decides that he’ll do everything in his power to get jungguk through this.

there’s a gentle knock on the room’s door followed by the entrance of two nurses and a doctor. taehyung withdraws his hand from jungguk’s grip, drawing a displeased whine out of the boy. the older steps back from the bed, offering a smile to the trio. the hospital staff start working the moment taehyung is clear, checking jungguk’s vitals and asking the boy questions about how he feels. taehyung doesn’t understand why the younger is still refusing to open his eyes, why he protests when one of the nurses goes to examine his eyes, though he decides that it isn’t his business. he knows that it’s linked to an uncomfortable feeling.

a few minutes pass before the nurses leave the room, giving the doctor time to inform everyone of jungguk’s condition. yoongi and namjoon have been in the same position since the morning, pressed against each other, worried sick about the boy laying ten feet away. taehyung hasn’t been able to stand still. he’s been in and out of the room, alternating between sitting, standing, and pacing, anxious for jungguk to wake up. now, all three are standing, stock still, waiting for the report on their friend’s health.

“jungguk is very lucky,” the doctor begins, “we’re not seeing any internal damage around the knife wounds, all of his vital organs are intact and functioning properly. our main concern is his head. there are signs of repeated impact and the dilation in his pupils suggests a pretty severe concussion. i recommend at least four weeks of bed rest. he needs to have a week of complete shutdown, and, it’s up to him, but i’d like to have him here for the duration of that time. it will make it easier to track his progress and keep an eye on his stitches.” he pauses, eyes scanning the men in front of him. “i know you’ve already informed me that his insurance holder is unable to be here, but i can’t allow any of the three of you to make decisions about his state. i’ll be calling them in a moment to give them this information. i’ll leave you alone now. be sure to keep him calm and, if possible, laying down. we don’t want to risk him popping any of his stitches”