✔️ Unconditionally [Book 2] | Jeon Jungkook

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Jungkook checked all of the compartments in the wardrobe one last time to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, then did a final walk through the bathroom just in case. A bottle of raspberry scented shampoo sat on a shelf in the shower, probably because he had gotten distracted while packing. He tossed it into his suitcase on the bed, then reached over to silence the alarm on his phone telling him it was almost time to leave.

Alarms had become his way of life. Since the accident, his sense of timekeeping had diminished and he would have missed mealtime on more than one occasion had he not had a nurse assigned to check on him every half hour. Now he had an alarm set for all of his important tasks of the day in case he forgot.

A knock sounded at his open door and his nurse Nari poked her head in. "All set, Jungkook?"

He looked up and smiled. "Yeah, I think so. I just, um... I just need help zipping my suitcase, please."

"Sure," Nari smiled, zipping the suitcase and sitting it upright on the floor while he put on his coat. "I can take this for you if you want since you'll have your wheelchair."

"I can do it. I think I'll walk if it's ok with you," he smiled shyly.

Nari had watched him go from needing almost constant supervision, not being able to walk nor perform the mundane everyday activities that people take for granted, to being well on his way to independence, communicating more clearly and with a renewed sense of self-esteem.

And walking. His biggest hurdle having been surmounted.

"Of course it is!" She beamed. "I'll walk with you."

He was escorted to the entrance and arrived just as Taehyung stopped the car in front of the center. He jumped out of the car and quickly closed the distance, trapping Jungkook in a bear hug and lifting him off the ground. Laughter echoed until the greeting concluded and Jungkook was finally placed back on his feet, only to have his hair ruffled by the older.

"My son is finally coming home!" Taehyung said, picking up Jungkook's suitcase and storing it in the trunk.

"You're not my dad," Jungkook laughed. "We had to have talked about this before."

He then turned to Nari and embraced her warmly. "Thank you for everything."

"Just doing my job," she smiled. "I'll see you around when you come for therapy."

Taehyung stood by and resolved to hold the door for Jungkook after his helpful hands were playfully pushed away. He might not be able to zip a zipper very well but Jungkook could at least get into a car by himself. He buckled his seatbelt and gave Nari one last wave before they drove away.

The closer they got to home, the more his nervousness and excitement simultaneously grew. He hadn't seen his home in about two months, and although they visited frequently, he missed his family terribly. The days of missing them were now over, as he and Taehyung parking behind his father's car sometime later.

He climbed out and pulled his puffy coat closed to ward off the cold air of mid-February, his eyes examining how the outside of the house had changed from what he remembered. The driveway was darker and looked to have been repaved, and the surrounding foliage seemed to have flourished overnight, even though the branches were bare thanks to the wintry air. He shook off the odd feeling that came over him, reminding himself that how different his home looked now didn't matter.