PILLOW TALK | VKOOK

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 III

"Hit me harder."

Following the meeting yesterday, in order to prepare for his 'stay' in Aokigara, Kang had ordered Jeongguk to receive intensive training and behavioural exercises continuously for the next one and a half month. Hoseok, his close friend and instructor was assigned to hone Jeongguk's combat skills.

So far all he did was beat Jeongguk's ass up.

"Come on brat, I don't have all day." Hoseok smirked. "Worried you'll bruise your pretty face?"

"Am more worried I'll have to carry you to the hospital." Jeongguk scoffed, adjusting the glove on his right hand. "Don't wanna get fired for breaking your jaw."

"Egotistical brat." Hoseok muttered under his breath. "Just fucking hit me, yeah? I can't have you being such a pussy."

Jeongguk stared silently ahead and charged at Hoseok, fist aiming at his gut. Hoseok blocked his attack by catching his hand between both his palms, but stumbled backwards when Jeongguk attempted to punch his face.

He fell flat on the floor, eyes focused on the other approaching him with his fist raised. Just as Jeongguk was about to strike, Hoseok brought his left foot forward and kicked it backwards, his heel digging into the youngers shin.

"Fuck!"Jeongguk screamed, falling on his knee. "That isn't allowed in boxing you fucking—"

"Oh I'm sorry, did I break the rules? Are you going to tell on me?" Hoseok interrupted. "Man, I sure hope I don't get a foul—"

"Fuck off."

"Gguk." Hoseok chuckled slightly. "Do you really think they will give a fuck about rules? With them you either fight with everything you have, or you die."

"And Kang won't give me my salary if you continue to whine like a fucking child, so come on."

Jeongguk sighed heavily and placed his palms on the floor to help him get back on his feet. Hoseok was more trained than him but he was not stronger. While Jeongguk was, quite literally, being handed his own ass back to him, he began to notice a pattern in the way Hoseok moved, the way he moved his left leg forward before placing a punch. He got up from the floor and stretched his neck, putting his hands back into position with his eyes more focused than ever.

This time Hoseok was the one to make the first move.

He manoeuvred between the punches thrown at him, as he got closer to Jeongguk, waiting for the perfect opening to attack. He noticed Jeongguk was limping slightly, still hurt from his previous attack.

Hoseok moved his leg forward, almost ready to land a blow on the youngers side, when Jeongguk wrapped his unhurt leg around Hoseok's calf in an attempt to make make him lose his balance. Hoseok hesitated but then moved his own free leg to kick Jeongguk at his weak spot. Just as his leg was about to connect, Jeongguk gripped Hoseok's waist, the leg he had moved earlier forcing him to lose touch with the floor, and with one final move, Jeongguk picked him up and threw him back down on the mat, crushing Hoseok's chest with his own body weight.

Hoseok's head had, unfortunately, missed the mat by a few centimetres, resulting in him getting a cut near his eye. Oblivious to his wound, Jeongguk continued to hold him down, until Hoseok used his arm to tap out. Jeongguk got off of him immediately and stood up, back in position.

"What's up bun, was that too much for you?" Jeongguk teased, his body pumping with adrenaline. "Bet you didn't see that coming, right? You should've—" Jeongguk stopped, his eyes widening at the blood drops on the floor.

"H-hyung what—" He took in a shaky breath as he saw the older get up from the floor, his blood stained palm clutching his forehead.

Hoseok looked up at him and widened his own eyes in realisation. "Gguk breathe, fuck its just a little blood, its alright." He tried to console the younger whose breathing was getting worse by the second.

"Jeongguk look at me, look at me in the eye." Hoseok said calmly, making his way over to him. "It's just blood. Everyone has it in them. Now, repeat it."

"I-its just blood", Jeongguk whispered, his eyes glued on Hoseok. "Its just blood."

"Good. Now I need you to take a deep breath in, yeah?" Hoseok continued. "I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Jeongguk obeyed as his eyes fluttered shut, his mind focused on breathing. He inhaled the air in sharply and let it out a couple of times. Jeongguk let his eyes open again when his breathing stabalized, to see the older had already covered the wound with a bandage.

"Hyung I'm so fucking sorry I had no idea—"

"It's okay," Hoseok smiled faintly. "It was my fault anyway. I egged you on earlier"

"But it's not me who I'm worried about." He continued, his smile morphing into a frown. "I thought you got over that phobia of yours, Gguk. How the fuck did Kang assign this mission to you? I'm gonna have to have a lil chat with that motherfucker—"

"He doesn't know", Jeongguk whispered, eyes refusing to meet Hoseok's. "He doesn't know and I don't plan on telling him."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Hoseok questioned after a moment of silence, his voice low but stern. "Do you not know what you're going to witness in there?"

"I know." Jeongguk replied, his voice firm. "But I also know how important this mission is to everyone and how much I need it."

"There will be other missions Gguk, missions that you can do with ease—"

"I can do this, no—" Jeongguk halted. "I have to do this. Not anyone else. Me."

Jeongguk closed his eyes again, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Ever since the accident, his mind had developed this fear of blood,  that even the smallest sight of it could bring out a panic attack. But he was not going to let it get in his way this time. He couldn't afford to.

"Besides, it's only fresh blood that triggers it, not corpses." He stated. "All I would need to do is avoid looking at open wounds, that's all."

Hoseok looked at the younger as if he was about to tell him off, before Jeongguk opened his mouth again.

"Hyung please. I can learn to control it with practice. This mission is my golden ticket to a better life, one with more privelige. And honestly, I'm going to do this with or without your help."

"I fucking mean it." Jeongguk finishes, waiting for the others reply. He was well aware that the older was just looking out for him, but Jeongguk couldn't let anything get in his way. Maybe it was a impulsive and very stupid decision, but he never backed down from anything no matter what. The moment he was about to leave due to the prolonged silence, Hoseok decided to speak up.

"Fine. From now on we practice ten times harder. I will incorporate breathing exercises in between and will be showing you triggering pictures from time to time. If you aren't ready by the end of next month I will tell Kang about this, I fucking swear to god Gguk—"

"Thank you Hyung." Jeongguk interrupted, a small smile on his face. "I will not let you down."

"Yeah we'll see." Hoseok said, getting back into position. He looked at Jeongguk, a wide smile on his face.

"Let's see if you can still walk by the end of this week."