Meraki | jikook

Chapter VII

The Swirling Emotions In My Chest Make Me Breathless

Jimin sighed, eyes squinted as he peered closely at the words written on the scrolls spread out on the table. His table was a mess, scrolls and books and splattered drops of ink everywhere. A few used scrolls were discarded on the floor next to his chair. Jimin ran a hand through his pink hair and leaned his cheek against his palm, eyes closed as he wondered how to come up with the medicine he was working on at the moment. One of the housemaid’s daughters had developed an unusual flu, coughing up blood every now and then. Ever since he had heard about it, the prince had spent hours into the night studying every book on medicine available and making notes.

“Difficulty in breathing,” Jimin muttered to himself. He remembered the housemaid telling him the symptoms her daughter had been facing for the past few days. “A paste of blood root should do,” Jimin grabbed a quill and dipped it harshly into the inkbottle in a hurry to write it down so he wouldn’t forget. “What else did she say?” Jimin squeezed his eyes shut, racking through his brain to remember all the symptoms. “Coughs and swelling of skin was it?” Jimin twirled the quill in his hand, leaning back into the comfortable chair he was currently seated on. “And irritation of the throat,” the prince bit his lip. “Let’s see, a little bit of foxglove extract would give relief from the violent coughs.”

Jimin heard a knock on his door and didn’t even bother looking up as he yelled out for whoever it was to come in. Jeongguk stepped into the room, taking in the sight of the prince’s messy state. His pink hair was strewn in all directions, an outcome of the prince having run his hand through his hair numerous times. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, cheeks red from having pressed his palms to them too often. Not wanting to disturb the prince who seemed quite absorbed in whatever he was doing, Jeongguk quietly took a seat on the carpeted floor next to the bed. If Jimin were to notice him sitting down, the knight would get an earful about how he was allowed to sit on any of the chairs or even the bed without any permission since he was considered an equal. But the prince was too far into his own world to notice and so Jeongguk leaned his back against the built-in mahogany wardrobe behind him.

“Sore throat,” Jimin whispered to himself as he picked up books that were lying on the table, eyes scanning through the titles as he threw the unwanted ones onto the floor like it was a normal thing for him to do. “Not this, not this either,” the prince had tossed five books onto the floor before he picked up a thin paperback book and smiled to himself. “Aha! Found it!”

Jeongguk held back the affectionate chuckle that almost escaped his mouth. He had grown so close to the prince by now. It was almost funny how just a few months back the knight had found the mere presence of the prince annoying because of petty reasons but now every single thing the prince did had a mountain of affections blooming through the knight’s chest. Park Jimin was adorable to say the least, oh so adorable, so adorable that sometimes Jeongguk wanted to kind of kiss his nose or hold him across his tiny waist from behind or brush his hair away from his forehead as he slept. Jeongguk’s eyes widened when he realized what he was thinking and he shook his head as if that would shake him out of the things going through his mind. But when his eyes fell on Jimin again, the emotions came crashing back making his heart hurt. Jimin had always been a familial figure to Jeongguk. The prince was older to him and so gentle and affectionate, it reminded him of his sisters back home. He hadn’t had the opportunity to visit his town for almost a year now but he wrote to home every week, Jimin encouraging him to do so. But now Jeongguk was scared, because somewhere in his heart and mind he knew he never saw Jimin as an older brother, never as a replacement to his sisters. The prince was something different, something enticing, something more.

“Hyssop extract,” Jimin wrote down on the scroll and put his quill down, closing his eyes as he leaned against the chair and stretched his cramping neck. He had been sitting in the same position for more than three hours and his body felt rigid without any movement for so long. “Blood root paste, foxglove and hyssop extract,” Jimin said to remind himself as he stood up and stretched his arms, moving over to the table that contained herbs and vials. That was when the prince spotted a figure sitting on the ground and he jumped, placing a hand over his heart. “Holy heavens,” Jimin gasped, eyes widening as he took in Jeongguk’s frame, the knight snickering in amusement at the sight. Jimin frowned, grabbing a ball of cotton from his table and flinging it at the knight, who cackled more in response. “Jeon Jeongguk, how many times should I have to tell you that you can sit on my bed? You are an-“