Agape | TAEKOOK (REWRITING)

𝟐𝟖 : 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐄 (rewriting)

plaque
/plak/
a small, distinct, typically raised patch or region resulting from local damage or deposition of material, such as a fatty deposit on an artery wall in atherosclerosis or a site of localized damage of brain tissue in Alzheimer's disease

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The hospital used to feel like Taehyung's second home.

Now it feels like he walked into a cemetery.

He had never realized until now how much death reminded him of hospitals. Hospitals are were you treat the injured. The sick. The dying.

He used to walk into a hospital with his head held high, trying to exude confidence to make up for the real reason he is such a good surgeon. But now, he walked in with his head down, his gut telling him that it could be the last time he ever saw Jungkook.

"Hello, Dr. Kim," the receptionist said, snapping Taehyung out of his daze. Taehyung waved awkwardly and cleared his throat before speaking.

"I'm here for Jeon Jungkook," he said, mentally applauding himself for not breaking down at the mention of his boyfriend's name. The receptionist nodded and typed away at her keyboard, her eyebrows furrowing when something, or whatever she was looking for, popped up.

"I apologize, Dr. Kim. He's still in surgery. You can wait here and we'll call you back when he's been moved to the ICU."

Taehyung nodded awkwardly and walked back to a chair in the waiting room. He sat down and put his face in his hands. This must be how all of his patient's families felt while the patient was in surgery. Not knowing what was currently happening or if something went wrong. Not knowing if they'll even make it out alive.

Namjoon finally ran into the waiting room after parking his car, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes since it was barely two in the morning. He sat next to Taehyung and rubbed his back to try and calm him down.

"I'm sure he's fine. Jungkook's really strong," Namjoon said, trying to keep Taehyung thinking on the positive side while his boyfriend was undergoing surgery. Taehyung nodded and tried to keep the tears at bay. If only he could be in the operating room with Jungkook, just to at least hold his hand.

Seconds dragged on into minutes which dragged on into hours. The stress that Taehyung was experiencing was unbearable. He wished he could do something or that the doctors and nurses would do something, anything to let him know that his Jungkook was okay. Namjoon had gotten up to use the bathroom and Taehyung was letting his horrible thoughts get the best of him.

"Dr. Kim," a voice called and Taehyung saw a random nurse talking to him. He got up quickly and rushed over, almost tripping over his feet. "Right this way," the nurse said, leading Taehyung down a long hall until she stopped near the end. She opened a door and stood there, holding the door open for Taehyung. Taehyung bowed quickly and rushed into the room.

He didn't know whether to feel relieved or heartbroken.

Jungkook was definitely alive; Taehyung could hear the steady beat of his heart echoing throughout the room. But Jungkook was hooked up on wires, so many wires, and his skin was covered in bandages and casts. His clothes were replaced with the scratchy, white gowns that the hospital gave out and a clear mask was hooked over his nose and mouth.

"J-Jungkook," Taehyung called, feeling tears begin to stream down his face. He rushed over to the side of Jungkook's bed and held the boy's hand tightly, afraid that if he let go Jungkook would disappear.

"Oh my god, b-baby, I... I'm so sorry," he cried, pulling Jungkook's hand up to his lips to pepper soft kisses on it. He pulled a chair beside Jungkook's bed and sat down beside him, holding his hand in his two larger ones tightly. He tried not to cry, knowing that him being sad or depressed could greatly affect Jungkook's condition.

"Dr. Kim?" A voice called from outside of the room and Taehyung was greeted by two doctors. One he didn't recognize and... Jin.

"Hi, I'm Kim Junmyeon, I work in orthopedic surgery," the other doctor said, holding his hand out for Taehyung to shake but blushing when Taehyung didn't move. He bowed instead, feeling embarrassed and more awkward than before.

"We've met before, Dr. Kim. But it's good to see you again," Jin said, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. He and Junmyeon each grabbed a chair and pulled them across from Taehyung to speak with the man about Jungkook's condition.

Junmyeon glanced at Jin but realized he wasn't going to start talking any time soon, so he cleared his throat and glanced around the room awkwardly. "T-The car was totaled and I heard that they weren't able to salvage anything from it."

Taehyung inhaled deeply and nodded, biting on his lip so he wouldn't start crying again in front of two coworkers. Junmyeon gave Taehyung a minute to process everything before speaking again about Jungkook. "The car came in quickly on his left and crashed into his car. He got pushed over the guardrail and the car rammed into the trees in the forest opposite the guardrail," Junmyeon added, and Taehyung could only imagine what Jungkook was having to go through.

"His left leg is broken pretty badly, but it's nothing I can't fix. Of course he has a ton of bruises and small cuts, but those are the least of your worries for now," Junmyeon added, glancing over at Jin to continue the conversation.

Jin inhaled deeply and looked at Taehyung before speaking. "Jungkook underwent a few spinal injuries. He's in an unconscious state right now and pumped full of painkillers, but we won't know if he'll be able to walk or move his arms until he wakes up."

Taehyung felt shocked and let a few tears slip from his eyes. The thought of not being able to see Jungkook happily prancing around their apartment or drumming his fingers on the steering wheel when he drove broke Taehyung's heart.

"I know it's a lot to take in right now, and if you need anyone to talk to, we'll be here okay?" Jin said, reaching out to hold onto Taehyung's hand. Taehyung nodded and let out a choked sob, gripping onto Jungkook's unresponsive hand even tighter.

"Spend as much time as you can with him right now, visiting hours ended a really long time ago so you're not really supposed to be back here," Junmyeon said, standing up from his chair and putting it back in its original place. "But we can make an exception," Jin added sadly, engulfing Taehyung into a quick hug before putting his chair back and walking out of the room quietly.

"I'm so sorry Jungkook," Taehyung cried, holding onto Jungkook's little hand and pressing little kisses all over it.

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