Misun
*A week later*
I sat on the hospital bed, feet dangling, waiting for Jungkook to come back. He had gone to sign my release letters…finally. I was simply counting the minutes until I got to leave this place.
I couldn’t complain about the staff – they were all so nice and caring. I couldn’t even complain about the food, which unlike what many people said, wasn’t that bad, even though I preferred Jin’s or Yoongi’s cooking. I was simply bored out of my mind.
Jungkook had been released four days ago but Boram insisted that I should stay more, especially because it seemed I inhaled more smoke, and thus there was more damage to my lungs than him and because of the burn on my back. She was scared that I could risk infection which would only complicate things. Perhaps, she also knew me too much and knew I would simply want to get to work.
Jungkook of course, at the first word, was already fighting with me so that I would stay. Eventually, he managed to convince me. He visited every day, making sure I wasn’t alone and bored or having an excuse to run away from the hospital. The rest of the team visited as much as they could even though they were dealing with a murder case.
It seemed some teenage kids stumbled on a body when they had gone camping. At first, it appeared as the person had overdosed but after careful examinations done by Namjoon and Yeonjun, they managed to realize, it was made to look like it. It had led to a whole investigation which was being led by Taehyung and Jimin while Jungkook and I recovered.
I frowned, having gotten bored waiting for Jungkook. ‘Seriously, what the hell is taking him so long?’ I mumbled to myself as I made my way to the window. I looked out of it, the view being of the garden. I smiled as I recalled how many times Jungkook and I had visited the garden this past week.
My eyes fell on a kid and I could not help but feel my heart clench. The kid, who insisted to be called Peter Parker, like his favourite superhero was just eight years old. He was suffering from leukaemia. He had been going through some gruelling chemo and medical procedure. On most days, he was weak and felt nauseous a lot. He had even lost his hair. Yet, on his better days, he was one of the most energetic people, full of positive energy.
I smiled and cried at the same time, just as I felt someone next to me. I turn around to see Jungkook who frowned.
‘What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you in any pain?’ he asked but I shook my head in response.
‘It’s nothing. I was just,’ I paused, taking a deep breath, ‘I was just thinking of Peter Parker,’ I said with a small smile.
‘Ah, I see,’ he replied as he followed my previous gaze. He knew the kid as well, having talked to him before. The kid had insisted that Jungkook shows him his gun and badge and his “cool police pose”. ‘I like that kid,’ he said and I nodded.
‘Me too. Hey Jungkook…do you want kids in the future?’ I asked, my eyes going back to the boy. I wasn’t sure where that question even came from. It just felt like I needed to ask. Yet, I didn’t want to look at Jungkook when ‘discussing’ that topic.
‘I don’t know. I mean, the things we see, sometimes it scares me to have my own kids. I mean, there are so many cruel people, not just the law-breaking ones you know? The morally horrible ones and there are diseases too,’ he said as he shivered and I nodded. I understood because I shared those same fears.
‘Yeah I get it,’ I said as I frowned, knowing he was right. How fair was it to bring kids into this cruel world?
‘Still, I think eventually I would want,’ he said after a bit of a long pause. ‘Seeing our hyungs with their kids makes me crave my own, but for now, I’m happy being on fun uncle duty,’ he said with a laugh.
‘You’re definitely winning in that category,’ I said as I turned to look at him more fully. He had somehow grown to be more handsome, not that I would admit that to him.
He turned to look at me and smiled at me. ‘Shall we leave princess?’ he asked and I nodded, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.
‘Yes, I have everything ready,’ I said as I went back to where there was my bag. Jungkook was quicker as he swept past me and grabbed my bag for me. ‘I can carry my own bag,’ I said, giving him a side-eye but he just chuckled.
‘I know but I’m not anywhere near done spoiling you princess, so just shut it and let me do things for you,’ he said. I rolled my eyes and didn’t say anything and just followed him.
The two of us had decided to stop for a few minutes at the park on the way home from the hospital. We had stopped at the park and sat on a bench, enjoying the non-hospital environment.
‘It’s such a beautiful day today,’ I said as I enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my face.
‘Yeah, it definitely is,’ he replied. ‘I’m glad you’re finally out of that place,’ he murmured. I knew that even though he hadn’t talked about it, he still felt somewhat guilty, even though I tried to convince him otherwise.
‘I am too. I swear I couldn’t stand being another day in that place. Don’t get me wrong, everyone was so nice and you and the others kept me sane you know? But still, I mean, I just couldn’t wait to get out of there and I can’t wait to get to work again,’ I said.
‘Aish, don’t start talking about work already. Give your body some time to heal and rest Misun-ah,’ he scolded, which caused me to giggle.
‘I know, it’s just, I don’t know not doing anything. It’s not me. I like being at work. I like the action and I like making a difference,’ I said with a shrug.
‘I know that, but you have to be in the best shape to do your work properly,’ he said and I nodded.
‘I wonder how the others are doing on the case,’ I said as I looked at Jungkook who smiled at the mention of the others.
‘Really good. Jimin-hyung called me earlier. They got a warrant about two suspects and they were on their way to arrest them,’ he explained.
‘That’s good,’ I said, nodding to myself, just as we both heard the beautiful melody of the ice-cream truck. My head instantly perked up and Jungkook laughed, loudly, at my reaction.
‘I’ll go get you some ice cream,’ he said as he stood up. I smiled as I watched him jog quickly towards the truck. I laughed out loud as I saw him among a queue of children. They looked so small compared to him. As they giggled, he manoeuvred his way and ended up giving his order first.
I closed my eyes and looked back at the sky, feeling the sun on my face. The warmth was something I always welcomed, but I quickly got distracted by the itch on my back. I closed my hands in a fist, hoping the itch would go away soon.
‘Hey, you okay?’ Jungkook asked, bringing me back to reality. I opened my eyes and put on a smile as I nodded.
‘Yeah, I’m fine...it’s just,’ I paused and gulped. ‘Itchy. Anyways, what flavour did you get me?’ I asked as he handed me the cone.
‘Salted caramel,’ he replied as he sat down on the bench next to me.
‘Yummy, let’s take a selfie before it melts,’ I said as he chuckled. He took out his phone while I scooted closer to him. He quickly snapped a photo and as soon as I saw him going for another, I leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek, just as I heard the click of the camera.
‘Wh—what was that?’ he asked, his cheeks slightly tinted which only made me giggle more.
‘Nothing, just a thank you kiss,’ I said as I licked the ice cream. I giggled again as I saw him staring at me, still in disbelief. I wasn’t one to show a lot of affection, definitely not like that and most definitely not in public. ‘You better eat your ice cream or it’s going to melt,’ I said.