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2020. kth - 23. jjk - 18.
The birds were chirping in the hospital's garden, their wings rustling in the leaves while preparing their nests. Jeongguk stared at a pair of parents who were carrying sticks in their beaks, working hard to make a home for themselves.
Taehyung silently pushed the other's wheelchair around the green area. It took a while to get the younger to agree to the outing, and despite him eventually agreeing, he hadn't spoken a word since.
A strong breeze suddenly brushed through the garden, Jeongguk's round eyes observing as the birds cringed onto the branches with their small talons.
The older sighed, he had enough of the lack of words exchanged between them and decided to speak up.
"You know... When I first got to university, I had a really hard time adjusting." He began, still pushing Jeongguk down the stone path using the handlebars of the creaky wheelchair. "Being in a foreign country, away from my family and everyone I ever knew— it's scary."
The ravenette still kept his gaze trained on the birds, who had gone back to work after the wind had calmed down. Some of the twigs had fallen to the ground in the process, so the couple had to swoop down to collect them again.
"I wasn't fine for a very long time... I just wanted to go back home." The older stopped in his tracks and raised his head toward the sky, closing his eyes while basking in the sunlight, enjoying the cool air from the breeze. "I didn't have the university experience you always see in movies for a while. Well, until I jumped deep into alcohol consumption and went partying every night. That all ended up with a tattoo on my arm and a huge medical bill after getting my stomach pumped."
He enjoyed the serenity a little more, inhaling deeply while feeling the weight on his lungs deflate into the air.
Jeongguk noticed another—bigger—bird landing onto the same tree as the couple he had been watching for the past few minutes.
"Do you regret it?" The younger asked in a hushed voice under his breath, still focused on the birds. Taehyung peaked his eyes open and smiled when he heard that he received a response.
"Regret what? The tattoo or university?" His tone was playful, hands coming back on the handlebars to continue pushing Jeongguk forward.
"Leaving."
Taehyung hummed, eyes casting down to look at the raven curls that rested on the top of the younger's head.
"Probably my biggest regret." He spoke softly. Jeongguk watched as the bigger bird approached the smaller ones, back and neck hunched over as his talons slowly crept up closer to the nest. "Because I wasn't here for you."
At that, Jeongguk lets out a small scoff in sarcastic disbelief. Without peeling his eyes away from the animals in the branches; Jeongguk watched as the big bird lurched forward, beak gaping as he dove down into the nest. The smaller birds cried helplessly, chirping in fear and distress. The larger winged-animal came flying out, and Jeongguk didn't even blink when he spotted the small newborn being carried off by the neck.
