Chapter 2

For the next few days, Yoongi made it a point to visit the recreation center. Of course he mainly went there to play the Piano only, but he couldn't help but keep an eye out for the honey blonde man. The second time he had gone to the recreation room, the man had been seated at the same table Yoongi had spotted him at the first time. The third time he'd came down, the man was still seated at the table. Day after day, the man remained in that very spot. He wore the same clothes, the same posture, and the same sad expression, not a hair out of place. It seemed as though the man never moved, though Yoongi was sure the hospital had an opening and closing time for the center, so that wasn't possible. What was even more interesting to him was that no matter the day or time, nor a single person paid the strange man any mind.

And so, as Yoongi waited for Seokjin to come escort him to the center, he had decided that he'd…confront the man.

The very thought of going out of his way to talk to someone made his heart race and caused fear to grip at his nerves. Now Yoongi wasn't a bad person, nor did he see himself as arrogant. He just had a hard time talking to people first. Especially strangers. Hoseok, Jungkook, Namjoon, and Taehyung had all initiated their friendship.

Oh well, there's a first time for everything.

A familiar rhythmic knock on the door pulled him out of his rampaging thoughts.

"Good afternoon Yoongi! Your handsome Doctor has come to see to you!" Seokjin sang as he all but gilded into the room, chin held high.

"How wonderful of you to grace me with your presence oh handsome one." Yoongi joked with a playful roll of his eyes. He wouldn't call Seokjin a friend per day, but the tall male's lax and playful nature had made it easy for him to warm up to. One thing Yoongi could say about Seokjin was that he was a breath of fresh air in the otherwise bland hospital.

"Of course! Everyone deserves to see me at least once a day!" Seokjin winked with a hearty laugh. "Now! Before we go, I want to let you know that Doctor Namjoon will be coming to give you another check up later today. Your vitals are good and your minor injuries are mere scabs and scars now. Some of them may disappear, others may not." Seokjin raised a brow. "Are you feeling okay today?"

"Yeah I'm fine!" Yoongi nodded. "My ribs aren't hurting as much anymore and my leg, still feels heavy, but I think that's because of the cast." He looked down at his thickly wrapped leg. "I can still feel a dull ache in it but, it's nothing that's causing an annoyance or anything."

Seokjin nodded. "That's good! Be sure to tell that to Doctor Namjoon when he comes to give you a check up. You're healing exceptionally well Yoongi! Not long from now you'll be able to start physical therapy!"

"Honestly I can't wait to get out of here, no offense." Yoongi sniffed. "I feel like I'm on probation and I can't do anything without my parole officer."

"Sounds pretty accurate." Seokjin snickered. He patted the wheelchair. "Are you ready to go?"

Yoongi nodded, sighing shakily. "As I'll ever be."

*****

"Alright Yoongi, I'll roll you in and stay outside as usual." Seokjin informed as he wheeled Yoongi into the recreation room.

"Actually…" Yoongi hesitated momentarily before looking up at Seokjin. "I wanted to do something else today."

Seokjin's eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. "Oh? What might that be?"

Yoongi didn't answer immediately, instead he let his gaze rake over the room in search of the familiar stranger. When his eyes landed on the man's sulking form, his breath caught in his throat. "Um..can you wheel me over to that table and just..walk away?"

"Wheel you over…and walk away." Seokjin repeated slowly. "Can I ask why?"

"I don't want you standing over me!" Yoongi somewhat whined. "I don't function well with people staring down over my shoulder you know that! Surely you can watch over me from a distance. Please?"

"…Okay." Seokjin sighed. "That table?" Yoongi nodded. "Alright, off we go!"

Slowly, Seokjin wheeled Yoongi over the polished floors and towards their impending destination. Yoongi clutched at the armrests on the wheelchair as the man's figure he's closer and closer, breathing slowly and counting to himself to calm his frantically beating heart.

And then, the wheelchair came to a halt and Yoongi found himself seated across from the honey blonde.

The man hadn't seemed to notice Yoongi's presence. His head was still bowed, his shoulders still sagged and he looked to be deep in thought.

"…" Yoongi opened his mouth to speak but found no sound coming out. His mouth suddenly felt dry and blood roared in his ears. If Yoongi didn't know any better he'd think his fight or flight instincts were kicking in with the way his every nerves were on high alert.

'Come on Yoongi! It's just a simple hello! Quit panicking and say it! On the count of three! One…Two…Three!'

"Hello!" The word came out in a raspy, high pitched squeak that made Yoongi's cheeks turn pink with embarrassment. He wanted to whisk around and scream for Seokjin to take him back to his room, but that wouldn't be possible since the man's head snapped upwards and his eyes locked into Yoongi's.

Yoongi could see the man's face clearly now. His skin was flawless save for a small mole on his forehead, full lips that were slightly agape and showcasing a single crooked front tooth, and almost black eyes that were wide with bewilderment.

'Okay…he's kinda cute.' Yoongi mentally noted as he squirmed in the wheelchair uncomfortably, growing a bit more nervous due to their stare down. "H-Hello." He greeted once more, hoping he hadn't made a fool of himself by attempting to initiate a conversation for the first time in God knows how long.

The man blinked rapidly, confusion now dancing across his face. He swung his head from side to side twice before fixing his eyes on Yoongi once more. "Are you talking to me?"

His voice was soft yet upbeat in tone, not high pitched but not shockingly deep either. Neither shy nor forceful, but right in the middle.

"Well, Yeah! You're the only other person at this table!" Yoongi laughed nervously. "My name is Min Yoongi. You are?"

"…Jimin. My name is Park Jimin." The blonde introduced slowly, still somewhat in a daze. "You'll have to excuse me for my initial reaction to your greeting! It's just…it's been awhile since anyone's talked to me!" Jimin gave a soft hearty laugh, eyes narrowing into crescents and lips pulling upwards as he did so. "I was shocked!"

"Really? I started coming down here a few days ago and I noticed you sitting at this table all by yourself." Yoongi explained, feeling his apprehensiveness slowly begin to ebb. "No one ever even looked your way. I got curious about you and decided I'd come and say hello today."

"You've been aware of me for days?!" Jimin gaped. "I hadn't even noticed you! I'm pretty familiar with all the faces here so I should've noticed when a new one came around!"

"Well to be fair you did look pretty sad and in your own little world..." 'He knows everyone by face? Just how long has he been here?'

"Was I? I tend to get so swamped in my thoughts these days that I don't even realize when I've zoned out!" Jimin stretched his arms out across the table.

"I know what you mean!" Yoongi sniffed with a small smile. "Have you been waiting for someone here?"

Jimin frowned upon hearing the question. Yoongi could even swear he saw his shoulders sag once more. "Yeah…you could say that. By the way how old are you?"

"Oh…uh…twenty six!" Yoongi stammered over his words, taken aback by how abruptly Jimin changed the subject. ' Yeah, that's definitely forbidden territory. Stay away from that topic. Noted.' "You?"

"Hmpf! Twenty four." Jimin pouted, cheeks swelling with air. "I wanted to be the Hyung!"

"Too bad cause you aren't!" Yoongi let the smile reappear on his face. "But you can just call me Yoongi. My younger friends don't call me Hyung so I won't make you do it, Jimin."

"Jimin…." Jimin sighed, an expression that Yoongi couldn't quite name drifted across Jimin's face. "It's been a long time since I've heard anyone say my name. I forgot how it sounded."

Yoongi found himself stunned into silence. He watched as Jimin tugged on the sleeves of his shirt with a reminiscent smile and his half lidded eyes stared at nothing, apparently lost in thought. Sure they'd just met and Yoongi didn't know much about him, but you don't have to know someone's life story to feel compassion for them.

'I don't really see the point of making relationships with people in here. It seems pointless to formulate bonds with people who could quite literally die in a moments time you know?'

Ugh. His words would always come back to bite him in the ass.

"Hey…" Yoongi called gently, pulling Jimin out of his trance.

"Huh?" Jimin sat upright. "I spaced out again huh? I'm so used to being left to my thoughts that I just do it without intending too!" He gave a light laugh. "What were you saying?"

"It's nothing really..I was just wondering if you'd be interested in a card game?"

*****

If Yoongi had to use only one word to describe the trip back up to his room, he would describe it as uncomfortable.

Very uncomfortable.

Save for the occasional squeak of the wheelchair against the waxed floors, the halls were silent as it had gotten very late. For the first time since meeting Seokjin the Doctor was unusually silent. He wanted to say something to break whatever it was that was causing the awkward atmosphere but really, what could he say? He didn't even know what the hell was the problem.

"Yoongi."

"…Yes?" Yoongi's fingers pulled at the sleeves of the hospital gown.

"Who were you talking to?" Seokjin's tone was careful. "At the table I mean."

"Oh him? That was Jimin." Yoongi answered warily. "I'd seen him sitting at that table every time I came to the recreation room to play the Piano." 'Doesn't he work here? Had he not seen Jimin before?' "Have you ever seen him around?"

"…No.." Seokjin replied slowly. "But that isn't abnormal. Most Doctors are assigned to a certain floor and certain patients, so we can't see everybody that's here."

"That makes sense." Yoongi nodded. "It's just weird."

"How so?" Seokjin stopped at the door of Yoongi's room, pushing it open before wheeling Yoongi into the room.

"He said that I was the first person to talk to him in awhile. Most people ignore him like he's not even there from what I've seen." Yoongi explained. "It sucks cause he seems like a really nice guy you know?"

Seokjin said nothing in response. Instead he wheeled Yoongi over to his bedside and proceeded to help the younger male get into it. He shifted the pillow and sheets, and propped Yoongi's broken leg up to get him comfortable.

Alas, he gave a deep sigh as he fixed Yoongi with an intense stare, the uncomfortable silence from earlier returning. His expression was unreadable, but he was obviously contemplating something.

"Doctor Namjoon will be in tomorrow to give you a check up. Afterwards, I'll bring you something to eat and then we can decide what you'd like to do for the rest of the day. Okay?"

Yoongi blinked, slightly taken aback by the sudden seriousness and professionalism portrayed by the usually light hearted Doctor. "O..kay.."

Seokjin gave a curt nod. "You have a goodnight then Yoongi. I'll see you tomorrow."

Yoongi watched as the tall man exited the room, leaving him with a giant question mark above his head.

'Why the sudden change in attitude when I mentioned Jimin?'