Not For Long

.19

Jungkook heard from Chaeyoung that the condition of Taehyung's mother was getting better, and although he didn't know the woman personally, he was relieved. It had been a few days since she was hospitalized, and Jungkook had been in the hospital more than he realized just to keep an eye on Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung was fine, except that she'd been so quiet. It wasn't as though she didn't talk at all, but it was clear that she was battling with her own thoughts in her head. She only did the talking when she was asked something or she really needed to say something to someone. Otherwise, Jungkook noticed that she'd spent her time to stare into space, getting lost in her sea of thoughts.

As for Taehyung, he did get out of the room once in a while, but never had he gone far away just in case something happened that he needed to be informed of. But on that day, when Jungkook went up to the rooftop just to take in some air, he found the male sitting alone. And he didn't need to narrow his eyes to see that there were smokes around Taehyung.

He made no attempt to let his footsteps approaching the other male go unheard. Jungkook stood a few steps behind Taehyung, his hands shoved in the pocket of his pants, eyes settled on the smokes dancing in the air.

"I know you didn't come here because of my mom nor did you come because of me," Taehyung said and took a long drag, releasing it shortly after. "I know you came here because of Chaeyoung. But I still want to thank you for coming."

"As far as I know," Jungkook began after some time. "Chaeyoung hates even the sight of cigarette."

There was a low chuckle coming from Taehyung, and what came next was an even thicker smoke. "Should I clap for you for getting facts right about her?"

Jungkook scoffed out loud, rolling his eyes as he looked at somewhere else briefly. "How long have you been a smoker?"

He couldn't see it as he was still standing behind the male, but when Taehyung took another drag and twisted his foot against the cemented floor next, Jungkook figured that maybe Taehyung was done smoking the cigarette. "I am not a regular smoker," Taehyung responded. "I just smoke when I feel stressed."

Out of curiosity more than sympathy, with furrowed brows, Jungkook's question tumbled out of his mouth without any second thought. "What's stressing you out?"

Taehyung responded with laughter before he replied, "Do we actually know each other for me to tell you what it is that's stressing me out?"

"No. But I just have a feeling that it's involving Chaeyoung. And whatever involves her will spark my curiosity."

Taehyung went silent again and only after a few moments that he nodded slowly. "It involves both my mother and Chaeyoung."

It didn't seem like Jungkook needed to push the other male to speak more of it when the latter went on to continue telling Jungkook why the two women were stressing him out. "My mother...she's not going to make it."

The first person that came to his mind when he heard that was none other than Chaeyoung, and it was natural to have her in his mind first and not Taehyung's mother because he had never known the latter like how he knew Chaeyoung. He thought of what the outcome would be to Chaeyoung if the lady wouldn't be able to make it.

"What do you mean she's not going to make it? Chaeyoung said that your mother's condition is getting better."

Taehyung nodded. "That's what I told her. But I lied."

Jungkook's face fell into a frown. That couldn't be true.

The other male scoffed, shook his head before he kept his head hung low. His fingers grabbed a hold of his hair while his other hand cupped his own neck. "Chaeyoung wasn't there when the doctor came to tell me that my mother's chance of surviving is very thin, and he was telling me to get ready of all the possibilities. What an honest doctor he is."