Fateful (book 1 of the OT7 series) ✔️

Chapter 4

After the boys left, Aerin walked over to check Miki was ok. Still in disbelief this was all actually happening, she thought about what Miki was going to say when she woke up. She was probably going to swear off dates altogether. It was hard enough to get her to go on that stupid date in the first place. She was never going to hear the end of this. Miki was sleeping peacefully, so Aerin adjusted her blanket and stepped away to check on Jungkook like she promised.

Even in his current state, she could tell he was a good looking man. Boy-ish, with fluffy hair that came down halfway down his face. He looked so pale but the steady beeping from the machine assured Aerin that he was ok for now. Just then, the door opened and a doctor in a white coat and a face mask walked in.

He seemed surprised to see her, but then quickly said, "It's time for more painkillers so they don't feel uncomfortable when they come to." Aerin nodded and stepped away from Jungkook's bed.

She felt her phone buzz and looked down to see Yoongi's name on her screen. He must've saved his number down when she went to the bathroom earlier.

"Hey Yoongi, what's up?"

"Hey I'm at your place, but I can't find the bag you mentioned. Where did you say it was again?"

"Just on the floor by the kitchen bench. It's a red duffel bag, with a big bear key ring on it."

As Aerin spoke on the phone, she glanced at the doctor fiddling with Jungkook's IV line. She noticed he was wearing combat boots, which seemed like an odd choice to wear for a doctor. She suddenly felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Something felt wrong.

"Excuse me, what did you say you were giving him again?"

"Painkillers." He mumbled beneath his mask.

Aerin can hear Yoongi calling her name from the phone line but she ignored him as she walked towards the doctor.

"What did you say your name was? Jungkook just had painkillers given to him an hour ago, is it ok to give him more so soon?"

The doctor quickly turned back and connected a syringe to Jungkook's IV line. Aerin's stomach dropped. Something definitely felt wrong here. She put her hand on the doctor's forearm and said, "Please stop. Can I just call Dr Choi and double check? I'm sure he just gave painkillers a little while ago."

Aerin saw his eyes widen harden. He shrugged off her hand and said menacingly, "Get out of my way and I won't hurt you."

Realizing he was not a doctor, Aerin lunged for the syringe and knocked it off the IV line.

"Get away from him, asshole." Aerin yelled as she tried to get between him and Jungkook.

He slapped her hard in the face. She saw bright spots appear as she held on to the bed, determined not to move. She reached across and managed to press the emergency call button. Alarms sounded and she heard the quick footsteps of nurses and doctors running in response.

The man cursed under his breath and quickly turned and exited the room. Aerin slumped down to the floor and finally allowed herself to close her eyes and give in to the darkness.

==========

Yoongi heard the whole exchange through the phone call. As soon as he heard Aerin's voice talking to the doctor, he knew something was not right. He jumped over the couch and bolted to his car, parked just outside Aerin's apartment complex.

As he drove the short distance to the hospital, his mind raced with all the possibilities of what happened. He worried about Jungkook getting even more hurt in his vulnerable state and yes, he admitted, he worried about Aerin too. She was only such a tiny thing. If anything happened to either of them, he'd never forgive himself.