Stronger || NCT mafia au

Chapter 56 | "stay strong"

"Taeyong? Taeyong wake up." Taeyong felt a hand on his shoulders, waking him from his sleep. He looked around, briefly alarmed by his settings before laying his eyes on Jihyun.

"Hey Tae," he turned to look up, seeing Sicheng looking down at him. "We brought the guys in, why don't you go home for a bit?"

Taeyong stood up, stretching out and smiling at the younger boy.

"Thanks, Sicheng." He paused next to her bed, staring at her unmoving figure. The only sign of life still in her being the subtle rise and fall of her chest and slow but steady beeping of her heart monitor.

"Go and rest. I'll let you know if anything happens." Sicheng comfortingly rubs Taeyong's shoulder with a sad smile before the older leaves the room.

"Go ahead in," he says, seeing some of the boys leaning anxiously against the wall.

All of the boys slowly make their way in, tears welling in their eyes as they see Jihyun's seemingly lifeless form. They all say a few words to her before leaving, most too overwhelmed to stay and stare at her.

After talking to the doctors, Yuta and Kun round up the boys to bring them home.

"Hey Kun?" Jaehyun calls out, causing the older boy to turn around, "I'll be home later. I wanna stay for a bit." Kun nods in understanding, pulling the rest of the boys away.

Jaehyun walks over towards her, taking a seat in a nearby chair and resting his elbows on the edge of her bed. He stares at her, his hands clasped tightly in front of his face.

"Hey Ji, it's Jaehyun. Um, I know you can't hear me, but there's some things I need to say, and I don't think I'll be able to say them once you wake up." He lets out a deep breath.

"I think I might love you, Jihyun. I can't believe it took me this long to realize, and it might be too late, especially after the hell I've put you through this past year, but I know now that I love you."

"I've honestly been too stubborn to even see how much I loved you, let alone tell you. I'm not great with the emotional stuff, but instead of just toughening up and talking to you, I might've pushed you away instead." He continues, a single tear falling down his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't be the one to save you. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most. I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain, and I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you. But please come back to me." He chokes out a sob.

"I-I can't do this without you. I can't go on if you're not in my life. You've been there through it all with me, you've been my rock since I was 5 years old. I guess I took it for granted like the idiot I am" he says with a bitter chuckle.

"I probably sound crazy right now but if there's any way you're hearing this, please fight. We're all waiting for you. I need you to come back to me." He falls silent, the tears slowly streaming down his face as he sits alone in the quiet.

- - -

"Jaehyun. It's time to go home." Jaehyun looks up to see Kun looking down at him.

"Who's going to watch her?" He asks, Kun just turns his head towards the door where Jeno is standing. Jaehyun silently stands up and leaves the room with Kun, nodding to Jeno on his way.

"Hey Jihyun..." Jeno says, taking Jaehyun's spot. "I never thought I'd see you like this..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Well um all things considered the gang is doing well. We all miss you but we're trying to stay strong for you." He says with a sad smile.

"You've always told me to be tough and intentional with everything I do, right? I guess your training will never really go away."

"I wanted to thank you," he continues quietly, "you saved me. You gave me a chance. A chance at a life. A chance to do something with myself. A chance to find this crazy family called NCT...and an even crazier girl named Jihyun, who's completely stolen my heart and flipped my world upside down." He chuckles out.

"What a strange confession this is, isn't it? You can't even hear me...maybe it's practice for when you wake up." He takes a deep breath. "I'm not so dumb that I don't know that Jaemin and Jaehyun like you, but I just hope that I'll be able to tell you how I feel soon. Heal quickly, okay? I'll be waiting."

Jeno drifted off to sleep next to her bed, lightly holding onto her small hand.

- - -

A few days pass, the boys all taking turns visiting her as well as the other gangs stopping by periodically. Taeyong walked down the stairs to go and get some coffee before starting his day. He walked into the kitchen, sighing as he looked at Jihyun's mug and quickly closing the cupboard. He made a cup of coffee and walked out.

As he did, he noticed Jaemin sitting at the dining room table, staring off into space. Taeyong took a sip of his coffee, looking at the boy in confusion and walking over.

"Jaemin? Is everything okay?" At the sound of Taeyong's voice, the younger snapped his head to the side, blinking rapidly a few times before letting out a sigh.

"Oh hi Taeyong."

"Are you okay Jaemin?" Jaemin didn't answer him, turning back to stare into space. Taeyong pulled out a chair, sitting next to the younger and waiting to him to speak.

"How's she looking?" Jaemin breathes out, turning to look at the older again.

"The doctors said she's doing okay. They can't say she's getting better yet, but she's not getting any worse. When I went to pick up Jeno last night, she looked the same as when you saw her a few days ago." Taeyong responded, taking another small sip of his coffee, the pair sitting in silence for a bit.

"I didn't see her." Taeyong turns to the younger, pure shock written on his face.

"What?"

"I didn't go and see her. I haven't seen her yet." Jaemin replied quietly.

"Why not?"

"I-I was going to." Jaemin stutters out, "but I couldn't. I couldn't make myself go. I don't know why but the very thought of seeing her like that...it feels like I'm about to break down." He continued, trying, and failing, to blink away the tears in his eyes.

"When we rescued her, when I saw her tied up...She just looked so broken. So defeated and destroyed. Like a shell of the person she used to be. seeing her like that...its like me whole world fell apart, like my heart broke for her. I don't know if I could face her." Jaemin whispered out, his voice breaking as tears ran down his cheeks. Taeyong comfortingly rubs his hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

"It's hard, Jaemin, I know it is. It's hard to stay strong."

"I-I want to go see her, but I don't know if I can."

"Why don't we go together? I have to go and talk to the doctor and you can go and spend some time with her." Taeyong offers, slowly standing up. Jaemin looks up at him, wiping the tears form his eyes and then slowly nodding. The two leave the main room and make their way to the parking lot to go and see Jihyun.

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Double update🥺