"Jin's going to kill you," Minji sings out as she walks behind Namjoon to their front door, a bag of take-out food in her hand. She hums contently as she smells the fresh chicken, eager to eat it even though she still feels slightly guilty knowing that Jin had left them some food to heat up for dinner. Namjoon watches her in amusement, shaking his head playfully as he finally opens the door, allowing her to step in first.

"I think I can manage to convince him not to murder me. I'll just tell him we forgot and were too hungry to wait, so we got food on our way back from the hospital," he replies, sitting at the dining table as Minji starts taking out the content of the bag, laying out all the food in front of them before sitting across from her brother.

They sit in a comfortable silence as they begin opening the containers and immediately dig in, eager to get some food in their empty stomachs. Namjoon glances at Minji, noticing the dark bags under her eyes, a result of many sleepless nights. He feels his heart ache in his chest and he thinks about everything that she's going through, wishing that he knew what he could do to make things easier.

He's a bit startled when he hears his sister calling his name, his eyes meeting her as her lips quirk up into a smile.

"I want to say thanks again, for coming with me to visit Tae," she says, staring at her brother while he offers her a small smile.

"Of course, you know I'm always here for you Min," he replies before clearing his throat, momentarily glancing at her again. "So, how are you doing?" he nervously inquires.

Both Namjoon and Jin have avoiding asking her about this directly for a while now, but after going to the hospital with her and seeing her best friend lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to various machines, he couldn't help but worry about how she's handling everything right now.

"I'm fine," she mumbles, feeling her eyes sting as the unwanted tears blur her vision. She stares down at her food, too nervous to look up at her brother while Namjoon feels the lump forming in his throat upon seeing his little sister hurting.

"It's okay not to be fine, I know you have a lot going on right now. Please talk to me," Namjoon pleads, slightly distraught about how Minji is trying to deal with everything on her own. "It's not good to keep everything bottled up inside Minie."

"I just don't want to worry you," she admits, sniffling slightly as she wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt, still avoiding his gaze. She felt like such a burden to both Jin and Namjoon lately with all her other issues that she decided to deal with her emotions regarding Taehyung herself. 

"I'm always going to worry about you Min. You're my little sister, it's my job to worry about you and to protect you. I know you're strong and are capable of handling things on your own, but that doesn't mean that you have to be alone. I'm always here for you, Jin too," he reminds her while she nods, letting out a heavy sigh.

"I'm just scared," she whispers, finally voicing out her thoughts as her vision blurs, a new set of tears threatening to spill.

"About Taehyung?"

She nods, clearing his throat as she wipes her eyes again, finally meeting Namjoon's gaze. "He's been in the hospital for over a month now, and there has been no changes or progress. What if he doesn't wake up Joon?" she inquires.

"He's a fighter Minji, and the doctors are doing all they can. They'll make sure to do everything they can to try to save him," he reassures but she shakes her head, the pressure on her chest slowly crushing her as she lets out a small sob.

"They can't save him, they can't do anything. I overheard them talking to Mrs. Kim the other day, he's got two more months before the cut off his support," she utters. "I can't lose him Joon. He's my best friend, I can't lose him, and yet, there's nothing that I can do to help him," she replies, feeling the frustration building up as she feels helpless, the pressure on her chest increasing as her breathing picked up. She chokes out a sob and that's when Namjoon takes action. 

He immediately notices the change in her demeanor and rushes over towards her, pulling her into his embrace as he tries to comfort her. "Shh, I know you're scared, but I'm here with you, you're not alone," he reassures, gently stroking her hair as she continues to cry, struggling to catch her breath. "Breathe Minie, breathe," he reminds her, trying to take deep breaths and guide her through it, but it gets worse as she starts hyperventilating.

She hated this feeling. She hated how her anxiety got worse daily and how she didn't have any control over it. She also despised how much it affected those around her, and it was in moments like these where Minji wishes she could've been normal.

"Five things you see," Namjoon utters, loosening his hold on her as she sits up, wiping her eyes as she struggles to catch her breath. She manages to take a deep breath before staring around the room, slowly listing the things that she sees. "Good, four things you can touch," he encourages, watching as her hands reach out for his.

"You," she starts before moving her hands towards the table, then to her knees, and finally to her cheeks, listing each thing her fingertips graze.

"Good Minie, now, three things you hear," he utters.

She takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm as she closes her eyes, listening intently to the sounds of the room. "My breathing, yours," she pauses, straining to hear another sound. Namjoon smiles before whistling a small tune to one of her favorite songs, causing her to smile. "My favorite song," she concludes, opening her eyes as he nods.

He continues, asking her about two things that she smells and one thing she tastes, listening to her responses as he notices how her breathing slowly returns to normal, a calmer aura on her features as she looks at him again. "How are you feeling?" he inquires.

"Better, thanks Joonie," she mumbles while he nods in response. "I'm sorry-" she starts only to get cut off.

"Don't," he sternly states. "You have nothing to apologize for Minji. We're family, we're always here for each other, no matter what. Just... please don't feel like you have to do this alone. We're all here for you, whatever you need," he reminds her while she nods and gives him a small smile, hoping to ease his worries a bit. "Have you talked to appa lately?" he asks, causing her to tense up slightly as she starts to feel the guilt seeping into her heart.

"No," she mumbles, her eyes wide as she realizes it's been over a month since she's talked to her dad. He head lowers as she avoids Namjoon's eyes, feeling disappointed in herself for not staying in touch like how she promised.

"You should give him a call, talk to him," Namjoon suggests. "He misses you."

She nods, excusing herself as she trudges to her room while Namjoon remains seated, trying to figure out what he could do to help her. 

Minji immediately plops down on her bed, laying on the sheets as she stares at the ceiling for a moment before pulling out her phone. She searches through her contacts, pausing as her fingers rests right above Appa. She pushes the phone icon, holding the phone to her ear as she takes a deep breath.

"Hello?" she hears and feels her heart clench at the sound of his voice. She can't stop the tears from falling yet again as she clears her throat, trying to sound strong before she finally replies.

"Hi appa," she croaks, slightly flinching at the sound of her voice, cursing herself for sounding so vulnerable. She sits up, bringing her knees closer to her chest while her chin rests on her knees.

"Minji, how are you my darling? I haven't heard from you in a while," he sadly states, causing the hold on her heart to tighten at his words as she tries to choke back the sob threatening to spill out.

"I'm good appa, sorry I haven't called in a while," she mumbles, sniffling as her father smiles sadly, heart hurting at the sound of his daughter's soft sniffles.

"It's okay Minie, Namjoon told me you've been busy with your studies and with your friend," he replies, recalling the details of what Namjoon told him, from the nightmares that haunt her every night to her best friend being in the hospital. "Taehyung-ah is going to be okay my darling, the doctors will take good care of him, just have faith," he encourages while she nods, wiping away her tears as she takes another deep breath.

"How are you doing? How's work?" she asks, eager to change the topic.

"Work is good," he responds. "I've been picking up extra shifts lately to stay busy. It's been strange getting used to the silence around the house again, I'm used to the three of you always causing trouble," he jokes, but she doesn't miss the slightly hint of loneliness in his voice.

She now wishes she had stayed with him, but he was the one who encouraged her to go and pursue her studies in the city, even though it pained him to let her go. He knew she had a life to live and didn't want to hold her back, so he made sure to insist that she go after her passions and stop worrying about him. Whenever she had extended breaks from the University, she would go back with Namjoon and Jin to spend some time with their dad.

They spent at least an hour talking to each other, catching up on what they missed in the past month. Minji told him more about Taehyung's situation and her feelings in regard to that, while he listened and consoled her, offering a few words of comfort. She also told him about her classes and about the new partner project she was working on with Jungkook. He told her about his weekly meetings with some of the guys from work, how they would get together to play chess or card games while complaining about work and life in general. She was glad he at least had someone to talk to every once in a while.

"I miss you appa," she whispers, leaning back on her pillows as she feels the fatigue taking over, her eyes straining to stay open.

"I miss you too Minie, make sure to take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything, I love you," he replies, bidding his farewells before hanging up.

Minji set her phone down, settling herself further into the cushions before she gave into sleep, her breath shallow as she fell deeper and deeper into a dark slumber.

Minji is walking through the halls of her University, her footsteps eerily echoing through the vacant and dimly lit space.

She keeps looking up and down the halls, a shiver running down her spine as she feels the pressure against her chest tighten. She just wants to go home. Her pace quickens, eager to get out of the damn building and get some fresh air when she hears it, the familiar sound she hears every night that causes her heart to sink into her stomach.

Frantic footsteps are coming from the other end of the hall, drawing her attention as she turns towards the sound, waiting for the familiar shadow person. She feels her hands shake as she waits, her heart pounding heavily against her chest. Her eyes widen once she sees a young man emerge instead, a hoodie covering his head. He collides into the wall from the force of his speed before pushing himself off of it, quickly rushing down the hall towards her. The shock is evident on his features when his eyes lock with hers.

"Tae," she whispers, stunned to see him. The small smile that forms on her lips quickly fades when he approaches her, the initial shock wearing off as the fear is clearly evident in his eyes.

"Run Minji!" he breathlessly exclaims, grabbing onto her hand before pulling her along with him. Her heart rate picks up as she follows him, the adrenaline rushing through her as she can't help but feel scared.

His hand still tightly holds onto hers, pushing her to keep up even though her legs are screaming in pain as she tries to maintain a fast pace. They turn another corner, coming to a dead end. Taehyung groans, quickly rushing towards one of the rooms as his hand reaches for the doorknob, jiggling it repeatedly in hopes that it'll open. He rushes to the other end only to find that the other room is locked as well.

"Fuck," he mutters, turning to Minji as he notices how quickly she's breathing, her chest rising and falling at an abnormally rapid pace. He immediately knows what's going on, and even though the shadow is getting closer and closer, there's nothing else that he can really do at this point to save either of them.

He rushes towards her, hands immediately resting on her shoulders as he bends his knees a bit, eyes leveled with hers.

"Breathe," he encourages, taking deep breathes as she stares at him with watery eyes, trying her best to follow his movements. She hears loud noises coming from down the hall, causing her to turn away as the panic courses through her, wide eyes awaiting for their doomed fate. "Don't focus on that, focus on me," Taehyung encourages, taking a step closer. "Breathe," he repeats, and she does, trying not to think about the dark shadow that's after them and quickly approaching.

She continues to stare at him, taking deep breaths with him as a sad smile appears on his face. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this, but I really need you," he whispers, causing her to stare at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Just promise me that you'll help me, promise me that you'll try to save me Minji," he rushes out.

She's trying to process his words, staring at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asks, but he is unable to respond as the sinister force that's been chasing them engulfs him in dark smoke, taking him away before evaporating, leaving Minji on her own.

She feels the tears streaming down her face as she now stands alone in the halls, Taehyung no longer in front of her. She collapses to the floor and brings her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she buries her face into her arms and cries.

Minji sits up in her bed as the loneliness takes over, an empty feeling settling into the pit of her stomach. She's breathing heavily as she's trying to tell herself that it wasn't real, that Taehyung is okay, but she can't help the gut feeling that's disagreeing with her reassuring words, telling her otherwise as the dread settles in.

She's startled by the ping of her phone, quickly reaching for the device before she feels a chill run down her spine as she stares at the notification.

Taehyung
Hwlpme

A/N: Hello! Sorry it's been a while, I had been struggling with writing this chapter for quite some time now and finally managed to put together something that I was content with. Please be patient with me, updates might be slow as I try to figure things out and find my motivation for writing. Thank you for reading, hope you liked the new chapter!

Hope you are doing well and taking care! Stay safe <3 

-Em