Unexpected Collapse

Prince Jimin exited the bedroom as soon as he realised Hobi had resurfaced. He wanted to be there for his hyung but Hobi would always push him away. After all this time, he still hadn't figure out how to properly deal with a person who suffered from depression. Doctor Namjoon had told him to never leave Hobi alone in his room because sometimes the swirling thoughts in his mind would turn into physical harm if nobody was there to look out for him. But Prince Jimin did otherwise. He did try though, he really did, many times at first. But after that one day, he stopped trying. Now, he would only let Yoongi know that Hobi was back and the personal bodyguard would already know exactly what to do.

Prince Jimin felt useless that he was unable to help his hyung. To be honest, he was a bit frightened of Hobi's gloomy and dark aura. It had never fitted with his personalities. But it was worse with J-Hope. J-Hope was always angry and violent. He liked to break things and make a mess inside the castle. He liked to say mean words towards Prince Jimin. Whenever he resurfaced, Prince Jimin would lock himself in his bedroom and cover his ears to filter out the loud curses being spat out from his hyung's mouth as tears ran down his face. Sometimes he would cry to sleep. He didn't like J-Hope, he didn't like Hobi either. He only wanted his clumsy and bright hyung, his real hyung, Prince Hoseok.

Prince Jimin was one step into his bedroom when he heard himself being called. "Your Highness!" It was Seokjin's voice. He stopped in his track and turned around to see his personal bodyguard was panting and running towards his direction. Seokjin looked out of breath. He halted in front of Prince Jimin and paused to take a deep breath to calm the hammering heart in his chest.

"Is this an emergency, Seokjin? I need to take a bath."

"Y-your fa—" Seokjin choked on the breath he was holding. "K-king Sihyuk… Your father… He suddenly f-fainted…" he stammered, unable to make proper sentences to explain the situation. Prince Jimin felt his knees buckled upon hearing the news. He would've already dropped down on the floor if it wasn't for his left hand clenching tightly on the doorknob, supporting a portion of his weight. He already knew his father had been sick for a long time, and getting sicker by day, but he never fainted before.

"W-where is he now?" Prince Jimin asked. His wobbly voice sounded an octave lower.

"In the master bedroom. Doctor Namjoon was already there when I left to inform you. I'll stay here, Your Highness," Seokjin reassured the young prince. He stepped aside to make way and Prince Jimin hastily bolted along the hallway after giving his personal bodyguard a quick thank you nod.

Queen Adora was already sat on the bed next to his husband's unconscious body when Prince Jimin arrived, the look on her face was intense with worry. Doctor Namjoon examined King Sihyuk's pulse and heartbeat to make sure that he was breathing properly. He almost looked peaceful if it weren't for his whole figure being drenched with cold sweat. Prince Jimin stepped closer anxiously and climbed onto the opposite side of the bed. He clung his whole upper body onto his mother's arm and ducked his head low, eyes training straight towards his father. Queen Adora brought her other hand up to push the blonde fringe off Prince Jimin's forehead and placed a sweet kiss right on the top.

"What are your thoughts, doctor?" the Queen questioned. Doctor Namjoon peeled off the stethoscope he had inside his ears and placed it around his neck. He paused for a second, trying to form the correct sentences inside his head before speaking them out loud.

"His heartbeat is normal now. But because he is sweating so much and starting to catch a cold, it shows that he suffered from a heartburn during the collapse. You told me earlier that he was experiencing abdominal pain and felt nauseous during breakfast. I'm afraid to say this, Your Highnesses, but from a doctor's perspective, I think he's developing the symptoms of a heart attack. It will happen, sooner or later," the doctor spoke firmly. Doctor Namjoon had been responsible for the royal family's health ever since Prince Hoseok was diagnosed with a mental disorder. He was associated with the royal family for almost 20 years now, which made every each of his judgement reliable and fully trusted.

The information definitely took a few seconds longer for both the Queen and the prince to register. Prince Jimin didn't realise when his eyes started to well up with tears but he broke the dam once he blinked. He fastened himself tighter against his mother and sobbed through the fabric of her clothes. Queen Adora's piercing orbs were glossy as she struggled to control her emotions in the presence of the doctor. The look of grief was written across Doctor Namjoon's face when he resumed, "I suggest we let him rest thoroughly. The ball is in 2 days, we don't want to make the people worry if the King is absent."

"Thank you, doctor. Are you going to provide new medications?"

"As for now, just stick with the current ones I've prescribed. Make sure he takes the right dose every day," Doctor Namjoon removed the stethoscope from around his neck and placed it inside his leather medical briefcase. He packed up all of his things and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his knuckles before standing up on his feet. His phone inside the front pocket of his pants produced a buzz so he took it out and read the screen with squinted eyes, "While I'm still here, I will go check on Prince Hoseok. Yoongi just texted me telling that Hobi has resurfaced again."

"Y-yes, he did. Not even 20 minutes ago. I was with him but I l-left and asked Yoongi to look after him," Prince Jimin was still solid and stiff in his position when he said this. Queen Adora kept on running her hands up and down the small back of Prince Jimin, feeling the bump of his spine over the thin layer of his clothes. His sweat from earlier had already dried off completely. Doctor Namjoon bowed down in front of the royalties and departed from the master bedroom.

The atmosphere was a lingering silent for a few minutes before Queen Adora whispered, "Are you still having trouble communicating with Hobi?" Prince Jimin pursed his rigid lips together and screwed his eyes shut to restrain himself from letting more tears roll down his face. He ran his tongue across the inside of his lips and he could feel the salty liquid slipping through from the corner of his mouth. He knew his mother would ask this same similar question that she already knew had the same similar answer, every time, so he didn't utter a single word, he simply nodded his head once. "You're so patient and strong, Jimin. Please stay that way for me. Will you, my good boy?"

He nodded again, but he didn't trust his actions. They stayed that way for a while, wrapped with warmth against each other before Prince Jimin asked permission to leave because he wanted to go take the bath he planned to earlier. He found Seokjin still waiting patiently outside the door of his bedroom but he seemed more relaxed now. His attention perked up as soon as he acknowledged the arrival of his prince. He abruptly noticed Prince Jimin's mournful demeanour and opened his mouth to ask whether the young prince needed anything to regain his composure.

Prince Jimin held his hand up to halt his personal bodyguard when he said, "It's okay, Seokjin. I don't need anything." He spared a glance alongside a weak smile and stepped inside his bedroom after Seokjin opened the door for him. He stopped in his track and delayed for a while before turning around to face Seokjin again. "Can you cover for Taehyung tonight? I don't want to sleep alone."

"Anything for you, Your Highness. I will give him a call."

"Thank you, Seokjin. You can go now. I won't be anywhere except in my bedroom, but I'll be at the dining hall when it's dinner." Prince Jimin walked back inside and Seokjin closed the door shut. The prince leant his back against the door and slid down, dragging his shirt up in the process. He couldn't find any strength left within himself to actually go take the bath he needed so he resolved in sitting there, staring into the air of his dimmed-lighted bedroom, his bare back slicked with dried sweat pressing hard and cold against the wooden door.

He didn't go clean himself up until it was half an hour before dinner time. He managed to arrive at the dining hall 5 minutes early. Dinner today was different; King Sihyuk's seat was vacant. Although Hobi had disappeared and Prince Hoseok was back, which was a good thing, but the ambience was still sour. This was their first time having dinner without the head of the royal family. Yoongi had already informed Prince Hoseok regarding King Sihyuk's current condition so there were no words about the King being exchanged during dinner. The tension was suffocating for Prince Hoseok and Prince Jimin knew that so he tried his best to crack some jokes and talk about the grand ball preparations despite the unbearable ache in his heart. He didn't want his hyung's other personalities to appear again because that would make his worst day, if it was possible, become even worse.

The dinner was delightful as usual but Prince Jimin didn't really have the appetite so he only ate a small portion from his plate. He requested the butler to pack the remaining of his food so he could give it to Taehyung later. When he got back to his bedroom, he decided to take a nap to kill some time while waiting for his childhood friend's arrival. The packed food was placed on his bedside table and he hoped it won't get too cold anytime soon. His eyes were getting droopy by the second, his mind was exhausted. Before he could realise, he already fell into a deep slumber. He was awakened an hour later when he felt a weight settled down on the bed beside him.