Chapter 3

The steady humming of the AC in the hospital room filled Yoongi's ears. He was somewhat awake, but apart of him wasn't ready to open his eyes and actually get up. So he laid there in the bed, letting the distance noises of bustling bodies on the hall and the strong smell of Lysol waft over him.

That is, until something starting blowing directly on him.

It was close, right up on the bridge of his nose, gentle gusts of air hitting him in a rhythmic manner. Yoongi groaned, eyes clenching and nose twitching in annoyance. "Ugh." He swung his left hand up in a lazy attempt to swat the source of his irritation, but was stunned to be met with something icy cold, soft, and solid. Slowly, his lashes fluttered open and shut in an effort to clear his vision.

The first thing he saw was a pair of large, dark eyes staring down at him curiously.

On impulse, his body seized up with a terrified scream as Yoongi attempted to scramble farther up the already situated bed and away from whatever was above him.

"Ow! Fuck!" Yoongi hissed, teeth gritting as pain shot through his rib cage and his casted leg hit the rail guard on the bed.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down Yoongi!" Jimin waved his arms in an effort to calm the shocked patient. "It's me! Jimin!"

Yoongi's chest heaved, heart pounding rapidly beneath his aching rib cage. "Wha-Jimin?!" He clutched at the sheets on his bed. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I wanted to come visit you!" Jimin tugged at his sleeves nervously. "I wanted to be here when you woke up, but it was already past ten in the morning and you still hadn't woke up! I thought maybe you'd…." Jimin trailed off, eyes falling to the ground. "I just wanted to surprise you. I didn't mean to scare you or hurt you."

'He thought I had kicked the bucket while I was asleep.' Yoongi sighed, slowly relaxing into the bed. He took in Jimin's sullen expression, the way he fiddled with his sleeves while staring at his wiggling toes. "Hey..it's okay. I know you didn't mean it. And you did surprise me! Just…be more careful next time. You might scare me to death!" Yoongi joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Jimin cringed at that. "Yeah…wouldn't want to do that."

"Hey-" Yoongi started in an effort to cheer up the younger man, however was cut off by the door being flung open and Namjoon rushing in.

"Yoongi! Are you alright?!" Namjoon hurried to his friend's side, grabbing onto his wrist and searching him over frantically. "I was in the break room when I heard you screaming. What happened?! Are you feeling an intense amount of pain? Does anything feel off?!"

"Uh..n-no.." Yoongi stammered, blinking rapidly. "I was screaming because Jimin scared me! I woke up to him breathing right in my face."

Namjoon seemed to freeze at that, obvious confusion on his face. "…Who?"

"Jimin." Yoongi repeated. "He's right-" He lifted his finger to point to where Jimin stood, only to be left speechless when Jimin was nowhere to be found. Yoongi's gaze traveled over the room in search of where his small companion had disappeared to. "Wha…what are you doing?" He tilted his head in perplexed manner once he located Jimin hiding behind the window's curtains.

"I'm hiding!" Jimin wore a deep pout as he poked his head out from behind the curtain, voice nothing more than a whisper. "You're the first person I've talked to in ye- a long time Yoongi! So sorry that I'm not to keen on meeting your doctor!" Jimin drew his eyebrows together as his nose scrunched up.

Yoongi's mouth opened and closed as he searched for words that would convince Jimin that he had no reason to hide. However as he took in the man's pleading eyes, he found his resolve crumbling. With a good natured sigh, he turned his attention to a bewildered Namjoon. "He's a little shy, so let's just carry on like he isn't hiding behind paper thin curtains right now." Yoongi gave a low, amused chuckle upon hearing Jimin's soft huff of "Don't make fun of me!"

"….You were screaming because…Jimin…who is currently hiding behind the curtains, scared you. Is that right?" Namjoon spoke slowly, attempting to get a clear understanding of Yoongi's explanation as his eyes traveled from his friend to where Jimin hid.

Yoongi nodded. "That's right! I hurt my ribs when he startled me because I moved too much, but I'm fine now! He didn't mean any harm!" Yoongi quickly added the last sentence when Jimin's shoulders sagged.

Namjoon remained silent for what felt like an eternity, staring at Yoongi with an expression he couldn't quite name, but knew he wasn't too fond of. Alas, Namjoon straightened his posture and let the hand on Yoongi's wrist fall back to his side. "Very well then. I'll send a nurse in to bring you breakfast shortly. If you need either me or Seokjin, just use the remote to call for us okay?" Yoongi gave a nod. "I'll be going now! Tell….Jimin…no more scaring you." Namjoon gave a curt nod before turning an exiting the room, leaving a puzzled Yoongi and a still hiding Jimin to to themselves.

*****

The clattering of silverware against ceramic plates echoed throughout the room alongside the soft sound of the television. Yoongi pushed around the food on his plate, half of his mind pondering over Namjoon's odd reaction to hearing him bring up Jimin and the other half off put by the tense silence that was between he and Jimin.

The blonde male was seated in the large windowsill with his knees hiked up and his arms wrapped around them. His head was tilted towards the window, staring out to the world outside with a distant expression. Yoongi pokes at the last of the scrambled eggs on his plate as he watched Jimin.

The man was a mystery. Though it hadn't been long since their meeting, Yoongi found the other's presence..enjoyable to say the least. The way he carried himself, his appearance and pouts, Yoongi found them all to be endearing. It was almost alarming to him how quickly he took to Jimin and how it bothered him that he knew next to nothing about him. It also bothered him that despite wondering, he was wary of asking.

"Hey..do you want some breakfast?" Yoongi offered after swallowing down what he had in his mouth. "It's Toast, Eggs, and Turkey Bacon! It's really good!"

Jimin slowly turned his head towards Yoongi and smiled that smile that Yoongi found, dare he say it, adorable. "No thank you Yoongi! You need it a lot more than I do! The more you eat, the more energy you have, and the more energy you have, the faster you'll heal!"

"I guess so." Yoongi returned the smile. "I can't wait until I'm better! This cast on my leg is getting irritating!"

"The difference in skin tone between the rest of your leg and what's in that cast is gonna be a sight to behold!" Jimin teased as he slid off the windowsill and strolled over to Yoongi's bedside.

"Ugh! Taehyung and Jungkook are gonna have a field day with that!" Yoongi groaned, imagining his two friends cracking jokes about the slight discoloration that'll no doubt be present.

"Oh it won't be that bad! By the way," Jimin tilted his head, causing some of his hair to fall over his right eye. "What happened to you anyways?"

Yoongi pursed his lips, eyes shifting to look elsewhere as his cheeks turned pink. "I…got hit by a car trying to keep Taehyung's puppy from being hit."

At first, Jimin said nothing. His eyes just went wide with shock as he absorbed Yoongi's revelation. Then slowly, the biggest smile Yoongi had ever seen stretched across Jimin's face. His cheeks rose high, his eyes narrowed, his nose scrunched up and his shoulders rose.

"Don't-"

"That is the cutest thing I've ever heard!" Jimin all but squealed. "You risked your life to save a puppy! How heroic of you!" He fell over dramatically, a squeaky laugh tumbling from his parted lips as his head gently rested against Yoongi's shoulder. He placed his hand over his chest with a exaggerated, swooned sigh. "Congratulations Min Yoongi! Your preciousness has just won my heart."

"S-shut up! It's not that big of a deal!" Yoongi stuttered, blush deepening.

"But seriously though!" Jimin fixed his gaze on Yoongi. "You could've died! The fact that you risked your life to save your friend's puppy means you care about him very much. That's an admirable trait and truly a testament to your character."

Yoongi whined deep in his throat, body squirming with the effort to keep the smile threatening to split his face in half at bay. 'This man…he's so…sickeningly sweet.'

"What about you huh?" Yoongi nudged Jimin's shoulder. "How did you end up here? Did you have a 'heroic' accident?"

The smile fell from Jimin's face almost instantly. "I don't know about it being heroic, but I had an accident…of sorts." Jimin's voice was soft. "Obviously I'm fine now."

'Here's your chance Yoongi, just ask him!' "If..you don't mind me asking, if you're fine now..why are you still here?" Yoongi's fingers played with his hospital gown. "You're not wearing a gown..so I'm guessing you're not a patient here…"

His question was met with a tense silence.

"If you're not comfortable answering you don't have to." Yoongi made sure to keep his tone soft, hoping to show that he was in no way trying to pressure the other. "I understand. When we first met I asked if you were waiting for someone and you said that it was something like that. Whoever you're waiting for here…I hope they're okay and that you can see them soon. Maybe it'll bring you some peace of mind." Yoongi motioned to Jimin's body, signaling he had been referring to the tension in it.

"Funny, you don't strike as someone who has much regard for people who are far from okay."

That caught Yoongi off guard. "What makes you say that?!"

"When I was talking about how you saved your friend's puppy you said it was no big deal." Jimin turned his attention to his swinging legs. "That shows me how dismissive you are of your own near death experience. If that's your attitude towards your own life I'm sure you feel the same way towards others."

"Dismissive is a harsh way to put it." Yoongi frowned. "It's not that I don't care..I just have a unpopular opinion on the topic of life and death."

"Oh? What are your thoughts then?" Jimin arched his eyebrow in question. "I'm curious."

"Well I.." Yoongi hesitated momentarily, wanting to make sure his wording didn't offend his companion. "I just think that formulating bonds with people that are near death is pointless so to speak. I'd imagine that laughing, smiling, and creating memories with people who could pass on in the following minutes is painful. I can't imagine how empty you'd feel. How much it hurts to carry on as if you have all the time in the world to spend with them while knowing their time is running out…that sounds like torture to me." He sighed. "But on the other hand, Namjoon told me that forming relationships with anyone is never pointless. He said that you never know, one conversation can make someone's last minutes on earth the best moment of their lives. I guess he's right about that."

"…I think he's right too." Jimin murmured. "Do you remember I told you that it's been a long time since I've talked to anyone? Well I've been waiting all this time on my own, with no one to talk to. But you know what? The conversations I've had with you have made all those lonely days seem like a distant memory. It's definitely been worthwhile."

Yoongi stared at Jimin with wide eyes, a sickening feeling pooling in his stomach as a heart wrenching thought clouded his mind.

'What if…what if he doesn't have long to live and what he's been waiting for..was someone to spend his final moments with?'

Yoongi fisted the sheets, swallowing back the tears that threatened to cloud his vision.

'You never know, a five minute conversation can make someone's last five minutes on Earth the best moment of their life.'

Fuck was life unfair.

"Well then!" Yoongi straightened his posture, bravely throwing a trembling arm around Jimin's shoulders. "Let's hope I can make our coming days together worthwhile too."

He wouldn't ask again, he didn't want to ask again, he could only pray his thoughts were wrong. But if not, if Jimin truly was on his last stretch of life, then he'd make sure Jimin wore a smile to the very end.