honey | taekook

twenty-two

it had been four days. four agonizingly long, terrible days filled with nothing but cold sweats and constant nausea as jungkook's body got used to going without a drink.

for a moment, he swore he saw the gates of heaven open- and then he remembered he wouldn't be going up when it was his time to die. he had cursed his life on earth too much.

he liked it that way.

"how are you feeling today mr. jeon?" a stalky, male nurse entered the room, another fluid drip finding its way to his system in a bid to rehydrate everything he had lost.

jungkook just shrugged. he had spent a majority of his adult life lying but here, he felt more compelled to be honest, "like shit."

the nurse couldn't help but laugh at that, adjusting the pillow at the edge of his bed and gathering a fresh blanket from the laundry cart for him. it was the same routine day in and day out- at least for the first week and despite the suffering, this was the most stable jungkook's world had ever been.

it felt odd to have a routine, a place to go every evening, a spot at a lunch table that was entirely his. he hated to say that he actually was enjoying that bit of it.

"your counselor will come find you in about fifteen minutes or so. they have a surprise for you today!" the man did his best to sound upbeat and excited about whatever it was.

jungkook hoped it was taehyung but, he assumed it was something silly like ice cream.

either way, he would look forward to it because optimism was important! it was part of the healing process, to find good in every day moments, to find a purpose. it seemed odd that being a husband and a father hadn't been enough of one for him- what else was left out there aside from the mundane?

he hadn't even realized the nurse had left him alone, pricked him for vitals and moved right on to another sorry sap down the hall.

on the end table he had left his afternoon goodies- medications and vitamins and a small bottle of water to wash it all down. exciting- in a sarcastic way.

his eyes rolled at the sight of the anti-nausea concoction that resembled muddled chalk pieces in rain water- it was a far cry from tequila which he usually drank when he was feeling like shit and damn how he missed it. the tang of it was no match to the fruit punch served at dinner. the sweet burning of his esophagus couldn't even come close to the scorching hot coffee that was served with breakfast.

"day dreaming again, jungkook?" a middle aged woman with kind eyes appeared in the doorway- his counselor, "i think you'll like what i have for you today, come on." she helped him from bed, noticing that with another day came more loss of muscle mass- he was weak and sick and coming down from something that had geared him up for so long.

she made sure to make note that he would need to go to the facility gym immediately upon clearance, it would be good for him to get back in shape, to be in a place that was natural to him, "should we go out to the garden? i believe your visitor is out there."

"visitor? is that my surprise?" he was shocked, wondering who it might be-

and then he saw her head through the window.  a high ponytail, the color of a crow, looped behind her back with a sea of greenery surrounding her. it felt odd that of everyone who could have been here, everyone he wanted to see- they brought the one person he knew was just waiting for the chance to slice his throat.

the woman to his right noticed his sudden hesitation and the way his hands balled into fists, "she just wants to talk, okay?"

"about what?" he spoke through gritted teeth, "shouldn't we have lawyers present if we'll be speaking."