Taekook Oneshots

Into the Unknown (1)

(A/n: There will be a taekook based part two, but the first part ended up being more of a buildup. You'll quickly see what I mean. Hopefully you enjoy it all the same!)

"Hey, Siyeon, how are you feeling today?"
"Like shit." I frown, concerned.
"What's up? Are you in pain or anything?" She shakes her head, scowling slightly.
"Someone hid my glasses again. Fucking assholes."

I sigh, running a hand through my hair and closing my eyes, trying to think of who could've possibly done something like that. Or, more likely, where my patient could have put her lost glasses. She loses them all the time. "I'll have a little look and see if I can find them for you, how about that?"

The resident smiles gratefully at me. "Thank you, Jungkook. I know I can be difficult, but I promise that I have never lied to you."
"Siyeon....dragons don't exist." She shrugs.
"They don't exist here, right now. That doesn't mean anything for anywhere else." I frown, confused.
"What do you mean, anywhere else?" She just smiles that familiar mysterious smile, that always happens when she's finished telling one of her stories.

She's always the protagonist in these tales, and most of the other nurses have dismissed her as crazy, stating that it's a symptom of her old age, or maybe even a sign of some sort of disease. But Siyeon is not crazy. Rather, she seems very aware of her own words, and she's always been perfectly clear to me. So maybe I'm crazy too, I don't know. But she deserves to be listened to, like anyone.

Her brain is fine, it's her body that struggles.

And so I've been the one to hear the vast majority of these stories. Sometimes they can be quite dramatic, sure, and unrealistic: with dragons, and other fantastical creatures. But I don't see anything wrong with trying to make your life sound more exciting than it is. Most people do that, anyway. So what's the problem?

"Is it alright if I take a look through your drawer and see if it's been left there?" I ask her carefully. She nods, turning to look out the window for a few moments whilst I search for her glasses. I don't know what she sees, since she suffers from some really awful vision. I've tried to look through those glasses before (on her invitation), and it's dizzying. It's not my place to question, though. If she's happy, then she's happy.

I take the actual drawer out, placing it on the bed and then starting to systematically check it, taking out the usual suspects: a small Bible that the nursing home offers the residents, a pack of tissues, a few pieces of jewellery....

And then something strikes me as odd. I don't remember these drawers being that shallow. So I dig my nails into the corner of the bottom of the drawer, only to find that it peels off surprisingly easy, revealing a second layer. "Siyeon?"
"Huh?" She turns around, tilting her head slightly when she sees what I've discovered. "Oh, you discovered my stash of secrets."

I place back the piece of felt before it's totally removed, feeling almost guilty. "I didn't mean to uncover anything, I don't think your glasses are here-" She holds up a hand unexpectedly, and I fall silent, confused.

" Jungkook, take that out. I want to show you a few things. I know what people say about me. And I know that I'm an old woman, so nobody will ever believe any of the things I say."

My eyes widen, but I don't question her words until the fake bottom is peeled away to reveal a whole other section of the drawer. There are precious gems in here, the likes of which I've never seen, and a few other artefacts that I don't recognise. "Siyeon, what is all this stuff? Where did you get it? And what does it all mean?"

She just smiles, placing one hand on the wheel of her chair and moving herself over to me, carefully. "These are the remnants of a life that nobody believes that I had. It's hard to say if this is all I will ever have. I don't know if anyone else will ever truly see what I did, in the same way. But I will do my best to explain."