"I've soulmate bonded."

Hearing the words come out of his own mouth was surprisingly easy.

It didn't break him.

But then again he'd spent the whole night staring into nothing, collecting himself.

Namjoon had been a statue, but then suddenly sat up and his chin stuck out and he grabbed the back of Jungkook's head and said forcefully,

"We're gonna help you. No one, no one, is going to do anything but help you until you're safe, Jungkook. You know that, right?"

He had looked into Jungkook's eyes.

But the truth was Jungkook didn't need it.

He had already known that.

He had already spent the few hours of silence in the dorm thinking about it all and he was ready to fight.

Ready to fight,

for his life.

-

Fighting actually involved doing a lot of absolutely nothing, it turns out.

"Drinking lots of water and staying as still as possible delays the effects," the noona reminds him for the third time.

It had been news to him the first time she had told him.

Everyone had all learned about soulmate bonding, but that was back in elementary school. Kids were always taught to report any bruises they didn't remember getting hurt for and that was a LOT.

Like almost all of them.

But even in the youngest known soulmate bond the younger person was at 18 years old and so no one really ever took the kids seriously. It became a joke, almost, to shout "SOULMATE BOND" as you punched someone and gave them a bruise.

They were all taught about it again in high school, but all that stuck with him was how unlikely it was.

That it only happened to 1 in every 1000 people.

Most people wanted it.

The idea of being with the person meant for you was too enticing to pass up.

Never be lonely again.

Never experience a breakup again.

Always love and be loved.

Some people didn't want it.

Those people wore gloves.

Because sometimes you don't find your soulmate in time and dying was the consequence.

He dropped the empty water bottle in his hand and let the noona put a new, full one into it.

He was going to throw up if he drank more, but he did anyway.

He sipped slowly, moving as little of his body as possible.

He couldn't lift his right arm anymore anyway even if he tried. The dull throb now ebbs through the entire arm and over his shoulder, reaching toward his chest.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared.

So he lied.

He lied when he'd called his parents, lied when he told the rest of Bangtan, and lied to every staff person.

He knew that all of BigHit's resources and manpower had only one objective now.

To find his soulmate, and save him.

But it didn't stop the fear that flowed through his veins.

1 in 4 people died from lack of contact after bonding.

Even that aside, the panic that gripped him also saw the inevitable hard turn his life was being jerked into.

The loss of everything he'd ever sacrificed and worked for.

Sip.

Another sip.

Because somehow his brain still wanted him to keep living.

His left hand brought the bottle to his mouth again and he hiccupped and regurgitated some water up his esophagus, back into his mouth.

Without even thinking it was gross, he swallowed it and took another sip.

He was lying in the sofa they had moved from the living room and thrown against the bathroom door, blocking off the entire hallway. Everyone had to squeeze past by bending and forcing their bodies into the tiny gap left between the sofa back and the wall.

But it was good for him. Because his only job now to was sip.

And with lots of sipping came the need to go to the bathroom.

The open side of the sofa was lined to the bathroom door, so he could just roll off, pee, and lie right back down.

Sip.

The noona pulled the blanket back over his body.

He was cold.

So cold.

Maybe it was from not moving all day, from just lying down.

But a nasty voice told him, it's because you're dying.

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Hi!! Thank you so much for reading this orz

The story picks up after the first bit so please be patient!

Please check out my other stories and let me know what you'd like to read!

Jimin and Yoongi both have Soulmate stories too

for, which happen EVERY month.

https://twitter.com/minxy_keys