Please, You Stay Alive

[JIMINIE]

The operation on Jiminie took longer than Lee Tang had anticipated. He had been hoping it would take at most three hours but when the right hour clocked, Lee Tang was sure he would lose his mind. 

He didn't understand what was taking so long and why they were making it so complicated. How hard was it for them to stop the bleeding and clean Jiminie's womb? He needed answers and he needed to know whether his best friend was okay. 

However, even in his state, Lee Tang cared enough not to push the door he had been leaning in since he left that infirmary. He hated how he felt about this and Gods be damned if he found Agust.

The Kiyoto beta would fight the king on Jiminie's behalf. The Agust that Lee Tang had heard of from Jiminie was a morally gray person, sure but he was also an angel in Jiminie's world, which made it all so confusing. 

"You need to go game shower, if you want to see him, Tang-ah," Doctor Jung Hwa said to the tired beta when the operation was finished thirteen hours later.

Lee Tang was still flooded on the floor in front of the infirmary. He looked so heartbroken in his sleep even as he tried to make it work for him. He could only hope that Jiminie knew he wasn't ever alone in this shit show. 

The heartbreak that Jiminie had gone through was unforgivable and it didn't matter whether the universe was on Agust's side because Lee Tang had a lot to say to the damned bastard. 

"Is he awake? Did he survive? Is my best friend okay?" Lee Tang asked and Doctor Jung Hwa looked at him with a soft smile as if to assure the tried beta that his alpha was okay. Maybe it was in her face, but Lee Tang needed to hear it.

"Yes. The operation was a success. But you need to be clean," the doctor said and Lee Tang got up from the floor before pulling the doctor into a tight hug, thanking her for helping his friend.

Of course, Jiminie dying was never an option because King Agust would kill the entire Kiyoto, but it was worth something. It had to be because it wasn't daily that this kind of mad shit happened in their home.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, doctor. I'm sorry, please excuse me while I go clean up," Lee Tang said excitedly as he made his way towards the quarters, only for him to stumble and fall. However, he didn't stay on the ground for long. 

He was too happy and this wasn't going to stop him.

"Are you okay?" Doctor Jung Hwa asked.

"Yes doc, I', more than fine. Jiminie is awake!" Lee Tang said as he rushed to clean up. He didn't care that it was a little past midnight and he was probably making the night long for other people. Well, that didn't matter because his best friend was alive.

"He's too excited, isn't he?" a tired So Hee said to the doctor who was watching Lee Tang fondly even as the man fell down a few times. That was however expected, seeing as the man had been fatigued and had laid on the cold floor for too long.

"His alpha is back. He will not rest until Jiminie is okay. That is good news for him," the doctor confirmed and So Hee let out a sigh of relief. She was happy that it had been a success, but she could feel her body giving up.

"Could you please show me where to clean up? I'm so tired," So Hee said.

"Come with me."

"I can't leave the prince consort alone. The nurses already left. He can't be alone," So Hee said, making the consort remember that this woman's sole responsibility was to be here with Jiminie and make sure Jiminie had everything he needed to get better.

Her role wasn't exactly the easiest in the realm, but she had made a promise and she had to keep it regardless of what she had to do. She couldn't break Jiminie's heart the way Agust had earlier.

"He's still unconscious, So Hee. You need a break too. Besides, Lee Tang will probably clean up in two minutes and be back to watch over him. The guards at the end of the hallway are also here to make sure no one gets in.

"The alpha is safer than he has ever been. Besides, you will be useless to him if you're fatigued and enemies attack. You need to rest," Doctor Jung Hwa said and So Hee sighed in agreement.

She couldn't deny what was at stake, but the risks would be higher if she didn't get to take a break for a moment. She had to be the best of the best even in her state. Besides, the doctor was right anyway.

"Fine, lead the way," So Hee gave in.

While everyone was sure Jiminie was asleep and even unconscious, the alpha was awake. Granted, he had been injected with drugs to make sure he didn't dare to move a muscle until he was healed, he was awake.

Even through the operation, he had been awake, silently crying for the man who would never come back for him, a man who had abandoned him in his time of need. The drugs that were meant to knock him out had failed and he had simply shut his eyes.

Jiminie had felt every pain that came with the blades on his stomach, the reminder of an emptiness that would forever be there. He felt it when they cleaned his uterus, when they sighed defeatedly at how empty it was.

He felt it when they looked at him sadly, silently wishing for the impossible on his behalf, and hoping that maybe the one who had broken him would come back. He had felt it all and it hurt like hell. But then it was never going to compare to the hell in his heart.

But Jiminie was numb to it all. The physical pain he felt at the operating table was nothing compared to the emotional pain he felt when Agust really left. Jiminie's world had fallen apart and no one had understood him even now.

The empty room staring at him, the stench of medicines, and the reminder that shit had happened and Agust had left, broke his heart more than he could imagine. Jiminie had always hoped for a happy ending even with the devil, but he never got one.

It was almost like he was doomed to forever be alone, a truth that was slowly manifesting into reality and breaking him with every chance it got. He was hopeless and broken in one too many ways that it hurt so bad.

"Jiminie…" Lee Tang's voice interrupted the alpha's lonely thoughts, making Jiminie let out a low whimper. It was like he was letting himself embrace the reality of shit for the first time because Lee Tang was familiar.

Lee Tang was someone he could rely on when shit went sideways and unfortunately for them both, it really had. This wasn't how Jiminie had hoped for his future to turn out, but then he didn't have much of a choice now, did he?

"It hurts, Tang-ah. It really hurts," Jiminie whispered groggily.