↣ SEOUL HEARTS HOSPITAL | DR. KIM TAEHYUNG

Changing into a new pair of blue scrubs in the bathroom, Taehyung asks himself at which point did everything in his life go wrong. He was so tired. So fucking tired and so fucking unhappy and so fucking miserable.

He's been hiding it behind a smile, burying it deep within him.

A pain like no other.

He scrubs his face with a cleanser he thinks belongs to Dr. Yoongi, hoping that it might make him feel grounded in something other than misery. But no matter how hard he scrubs, the feeling's still there.

Like scum.

Patting his face dry with a white face cloth, he takes a deep breath. It might as well tattoo itself across his face, nothing could take it away. Sadness made its home in his bones a long time ago and now he was living with the consequences of it.

The memories of a happy life he once had, grew into shards of glass over time, cutting him up in the inside. Why can't he go back to that time? Why can't he be that person he was? Why does he feel so damn guilty all the time when he was just trying to be a good son for a mother who's on her way out?

The wounds he sustained, ripped open at every reminder of you, are his worst enemy to date. He wonders if his mother's aware that everytime he smiles, the ingenuity of pretending to be happy tastes like rotten fruit on his tongue.

He could never be happy again, as neurotic as that sounds, he doesn't think he deserves to be.

He hates himself.

Staring at his face in the mirror, he takes another deep breath as he stands up straight. He adjusts the lapels of his pristine white coat while brushing his teeth with his other hand. At least he enjoyed his job, the patients were usually older adults who reminded him of his grandmother, it was nice being around people who liked him.

Lots of broken bones.

It was ironic, a doctor who could mend broken body parts for other people, lived uncomfortably with a broken heart.

One he broke himself.

One he could never mend on his own.

Taehyung wondered if he would get any category one acute surgeries tonight. He loved the cases from ED. Traumatic neck of femur fractures -the greater trochanter fracture in particular were fun, he enjoyed being the specialist whenever he ran down. He loved the spinal injuries and the tibial fractures, knees and shoulders.

Bones.

He loved them.

It was the best distraction from life that he knew.

Taehyung had always been really interested in Emergency Medicine but he could never do it, knowing it was your speciality and knowing you'd never want to see him again.

He tried to respect that, he tried to respect the distance you wanted but sometimes, he just wants to know if you're okay.

If you're happy.

If you're loved.

If you ever kept his child.

If someone took up the space in your life that he used to.

He's too afraid to act on those curiosities, to cowardly to come forth, too ashamed in himself for letting people control him, too ashamed for never standing up for himself, too afraid of the consequences his family offered if he did not follow their orders.

He was a coward.

Rinsing his mouth out, he frowns at himself in the mirror. This was the real him, the real Taehyung, the real person who never put up a pretence, someone who was unhappy and in pain every single day.

But who else wasn't in pain.

He adjusts the red, blue and green pens in his front coat pocket and wraps the bright red stethoscope from his pocket, around his neck. He turns the light off before closing the door behind him.

Checking his pager, he clips it on to the waistband of his pants before pushing through the doors with his shoulder.

Dr. Yoongi, Taehyung's bestfriend, waits in the hallway for him with a coffee and an apricot danish for Taehyung.

"Morning loser," Yoongi says, handing him a bag and a coffee, "Got you a coffee that resembles your taste in woman."

"Morning? It's like 8pm," Taehyung smiles, sipping the bitter tasting beverage. "Yuck, Yoongi, my taste in women is not bitter."

Yoongi smiles. "You know, she called me last night, told me you hadn't come home in a month, that true?"

Sighing, he rolls his eyes. "I sent over the divorce papers, I'm only going back there if it's to pick up those signed documents."

"Sounds about right," Snorting, Yoongi wraps his arm around his shoulders. "You'll finally be free from her? How do your parents feel about letting you loose?"

"I haven't told them yet," Taehyung looks away from Yoongi, gesturing to start walking to work. "I'm pretty sure they'll disown me. Anyway, enough of that, ready for a good night?"

"Sure, we'll talk about it later," Yoongi sips his own coffee. "I'm more than ready for a good shift actually. I've slept for 12 hours. Had to lecture the new guppies about social hierarchy yesterday, I swear they get loopy when they have rotations at Forest Lake. What are they putting in the water that makes them dumb?"

"I don't know, whatever you're drinking," Biting into his pastry, Taehyung smiles wickedly at the blonde boy as he marches down the clean white hallway towards the Orthopaedic medical doctors office.

* * *

They stand in the office, preparing to do rounds on the ward. Taehyung's looking at the list of patients he needs to visit experiencing post-operative delirium and constipation. He has students working with him tonight and Taehyung was fully prepared to dump his workload on them for "experience".

Yoongi is signing discharge letters for patients leaving in the morning, writing prescriptions for pain relief and documenting orders for the morning nurses. The ward was quiet this evening, leaving a settled and peaceful evening for the nurses on shift but Taehyung wasn't about to use the 'q' word in front of them.

"Shall we see our patients now?" Taehyung smiles, grouping up his 6 tired orienting medical students. "Why are you looking at me like that guys? Doctors rounds are fun and educational."

"At this time?" One of his students snort laughs. "Not on this ward, it's just old people-

-shut up Taemin," a short girl says, she crosses her hands over here chest, rolling her eyes at the boy as she does. "You're being disrespectful. Dr. Taehyung, please lets visit our patients. Quicker we can do this, quicker we can go home," Younggi smiles up at him, "And I'd personally really love to see their progress."

"Jesus Christ," Yoongi curses under his breath. "Fucking brown noser."

The student ignores Yoongi as she stares back down at her black leather loathers.

"Every patient is your grandmother, try to think like that," Hitting the top of Taemin's head with his clipboard, Taehyung instructs a third student to push the trolley of patient files with them as all 6 students follow him down the ward hallway. Taehyung discards his coffee in the rubbish bin on the way. "Okay, because I know you all want to go home and sleep, let's work in a team. Sound good?"

They all smile. Walking over to the trolley, he gives each of them a patient file. "What do you want us to do with these?"

"There's six of you, pair up," he says, watching them look at each other in confusion. "One of you will be assessing and the other will be scribing. You have two patients each, remember to switch."

Taehyung folds his arms over his chest, they all look at him scared. "Oh come on, when my best friend in med school was in third year, below all of you, she was diagnosing aneurysms and scrubbing in on operations and you guys can barely talk to a patient without crawling in on yourselves. Get a grip, all of you."

"But ...without you?" Taemin asks. "Can we do that?"

"I've worked with all six of you this month. Closely and together as a group. You've all grown so much and I believe that you all will make exceptional doctors. Believe in yourselves?" he says, watching them all smile, "So, look at the patient files for five minutes before going in, be polite and think before you speak. If you can't answer their questions, use your confidence and come and get me. I hope that doesn't actually happen though because you all should know the answers. Go on now."

They all smile at him, clearly happy with the assignment.

"God, Taehyung," Yoongi groans from behind him. "You still do that? You treat them like babies. That's why they get dumb."

Taehyung rolls his eyes as he watches the students head off to their retrospective patients. He'd given them all stable patients who had questions regarding the postoperative process. Nothing they can't answer but it was always a confidence booster for his students and he loved seeing them go home happy.

"Yoongi, this is why I am the educator on this ward and you're an asshole," Taehyung picks out the last couple of folders before walking into the 4 patient room, handing one to Yoongi.

Yoongi sanitises his hands, pulling out his favourite black pen before following him in into the cubical.

Yoongi watches Taehyung sweeten up to the old lady covered in a mountain of blankets as he reads over her notes. "It's lovely to see you again Dr. Taehyung, how are you?" she smiles, gazing up at Taehyung like he was the sun and she was the moon. Yoongi watches his little hands rub up and down on her purple, green and pink crochet blanket on top of her.

"I'm better now that I have seen you," he winks and she laughs softly. "I'm here to talk to you about your bowels. The nurses tell me you haven't moved your bowels since the operation three days ago."

"Ooh my dear, a lady never does number 2 and tells," She widens her eyes at him. "But yes, I have not. Those wicked nurses have been trying to get me out of bed, I'm just too old for this, doctor. It hurts too much."

Taehyung sits on her bed, cupping her hands. "They're doing that for you. Exercise is good for recovery, especially since you've had a hip replacement. Quicker you're up, quicker you can go home and be with your kittens."

"Oh is it?" she opens her mouth in a little 'o' that makes Taehyung giggle. "My kittens, oh I miss them terribly so."

"Do you usually take medication for your bowels?" he asks and she shakes her head. "How about we try some?"

She frowns. "I'm not taking any more of your pills doctor. I'm quite content with my remedies but the nurses won't let me take my herbal remedies and rubbing crystals. What can I do?"

"Some of your remedies can have a dangerous effect on the medication we give you here, that's why you can't take them," Unwrapping his stethoscope from around his neck, he smiles softly. "What about kiwifruit?"

"What about kiwifruit?"

"Kiwicrush. It's a little shot of kiwifruit that helps you move your bowels, it's like a natural remedy, I assure you that it tastes very good," he informs her, she nods hesitantly. "I'm going to listen to your stomach now, my stethoscope is a bit cold so don't be surprised okay?"

"Okay," She nods again. "I'll try the fruit doctor."

"Good, Yoongi please make a note of that," Placing the diaphragm of his stethoscope on her abdomen, he listens for any present bowel sounds. Yoongi draws a little picture of abdomen in her files as he examines her, watching Taehyung's face for an answer.

Taehyung frowns, shaking his head for Yoongi.

Yoongi then draws a cross through it. Yoongi writes the prescription in her drug chart for kiwicrush and signs her notes before closing them and slipping out of the cubical to tend to the last patient in the room for him.

"Everything okay?" she asks, a worried expression drawn across her face. "You frowned, am I dying?"

"Oh don't be silly," Clasping her hands again, he smiles tenderly. "It's just that I am a bit worried about your bowels at the moment, and getting you up seems to be the best option right now. I'm going to ask the nurses to give you some pain relief before getting you up tomorrow morning, just so it's a little easier for you and then, I'm going to ask you to give it your best shot. Mobilising will be very good for your stomach Maurine."

"You sound like the nurse," She laughs, smacking the top of his warm hand. "I'll try for you. So, please, call me mama. I'm too damn old to be called anything else."

Standing up, he lifts the blankets up to her shoulders, making sure her toes are covered the way he knows she likes. He turns off the overhead light, leaving a small night light on for her. "Alright mama, you have a pleasant sleep, okay? I'll see you in the morning."

She hums her response as she turns her attention to the window beside her. She stares at the moon with a gaze he can only describe as suddenly haunting as the soft hues of light accentuate an unspoken fear drawn across her face, something Taehyung feels uncomfortable about.

"What are you staring at mama?" he whispers, following her gaze out the window. "Are you okay?"

"I am okay for now," Standing by the window, he presses his hand to the cold surface as he feels the wind brush against the surface underneath his palm. She laughs softly under her breath from behind him. "It's a full moon. The wolves are out howling for blood. I'd be careful on such an auspicious night Dr. Taehyung, who knows what might happen."

He turns back to her. "It's always an auspicious night when one is in a hospital mama, anything could happen here too." Leaving her cubicle, he pushes the hand sanitiser on the wall into his palm, rubbing the dollop into his hands as he walks down the hallway.

"You know, the other patients call her a witch," Yoongi says, walking beside him with the trolley, patient file on top as he hurries with writing the last note. "Her notes say that she chants under her breath at people, gave me the shivers reading it but you seem close with her, so good for you. If you get hexed, let me know."

"You shouldn't talk about people like that Yoongi," Taehyung laughs, walking towards the nurses station. "You'll be the one hexed. So, what was that patient's primary concern?"

Looking back at the notes, Yoongi says. "Another patient needing laxatives. Typical for this ward. I don't know why you don't just prescribe laxatives post operatively anyway. Saves so much time."

Taehyung shrugs, leaning against the station. "I would if it were me doing it. It's Dr. Minho. He thinks the best laxative is water and exercise."

Yoongi snorts. "He sounds out of touch with real patients."

"He's a good doctor Yoongi."

"We're all good doctors until we're proven that we are not." Settling in the nurses station, Yoongi starts nibbling at the cake the nurses left out, as Taehyung leans against the station. It was dark, the nurses had turned off the hallway lights so patients could settle to bed. The nurses station was empty as nurses eat their dinner in the fishbowl behind it. Their laughter flutters nicely out from their office into the long empty hallways. Taehyung's ward was the only department in the hospital who did night doctors rounds. It was the only department in a rush to discharge people, shift them back home for recovery and it was good for student practice.

"Dr Minho's on tonight, floating between orthopaedics and urology by the way. You in ED tonight?" Taehyung asks, "I hear it's been really busy down there."

"I'm the floater tonight," Yoongi shakes his head. "We've got too many staff on down there. Too many damn know-it-all students too."

"Isn't that good though for the acuity?" he asks and Yoongi rolls his eyes. Looking over Taehyung's shoulder, Yoongi sighs. "Speaking of the devils."

The first lot of students walk towards Taehyung, file outstretched waiting for his signature to co-sign.

"Younggi," Taehyung says, reading over her exceptional penmanship. "Next time, just draw the lungs if you assess them. What is your plan? What do you want the nurses to do?"

She smiles, looking at her partner. "Regular repositioning in bed, PRN asthma medications when symptomatic and lots of pillows for comfort."

"As if they aren't doing that already," Yoongi snorts behind Taehyung. "Your kids need to spend a week with the nurses, that'll make 'em work."

All the students arrive back and Taehyung reads through their notes, signing his name at the bottom. Congratulating them on their first lot of assessments. "Now, that is how we'll do our night rounds from now on. In the morning however, it will be different. I will be assessing your assessment skills on morning ward rounds. One at a time, in front of all of us."

They all groan.

"Oh shut up, if you don't like it, drop out," Yoongi cackles, "You with the orange hair, put the folders back in the office and if you groan again, I'll steal the muffin I saw in your backpack you had on earlier."

Taemin, the boy with the orange hair, disappears to do so.

"God," Taehyung says, yawning into the crook of his arm, "Why is it so settled tonight?"

Yoongi laughs. "Trying to avoid the q word?"

"What's the q word?" a student asks.

Know it all Younggi fills her in. "It means quiet, he's asking why it's so quiet tonight."

Taehyung sinks against the station, dropping his head onto his hands, a loud groan falling from his lips as Yoongi leans up and smacks his head. "You didn't tell your stupid fucking kids not to say that word did you? Great."

"Did I say something wrong Dr. Taehyung?" she asks, insecurity suddenly plaguing her usually confident demeanor.

Taehyung stands up, turning to face her. "That word is a cursed word. We don't use it here."

"Oh. I'm sorry?"

Re-emerging with his phone in his hand, Taehyung gasps loudly as Taemin walks towards him, face focused on his phone. He was 100% against students using phones on the ward at all times, often challenging them to stay engaged. "Taemin, you know the rules, I don't like phones on the ward-

-you're gonna wanna hear this though. A code black has been triggered at Forest Lakes Hospital," he looks up at the two senior doctors, suddenly pale faced. "My girlfriend's a nurse there and she's just texted me "FLH called a code black, it's not a drill, I am fine." oh god."

"What's a code black?" one of the students asks much to the chagrin of the other students. "That some sort of medical emergency alarm bell?"

Taehyung and Yoongi trade vacant looks. "What?"

"It's probably just a drill," Yoongi says, picking his nails. "They always do them over there. They're close to a military camp, lots of North Korean defectors get treated there. A code black is a bomb threat kids."

Taemin looks up at Yoongi. "With all due respect, there is no way in hell that this is a drill. Look," Turning his phone screen to Taehyung, a picture of ambulances rushing patients out, all wearing equally terrified facial expressions as they pile in the back of the trucks. "They're evacuating people."

"Are you sure you aren't being pranked?" Younggi asks, hovering over his phone to check. Taehyung watches her double tap the picture, her face suddenly growing pale.

"Doesn't look like a prank does it?" Taemin whispers and they all watch her retreat back as she shakes her head.

And then, all of their phones vibrate, pinging with texts, tweets and calls.

All 8 of them, pull out their phones.

Yoongi and Taehyung's pagers go off.

Ward phones start ringing.

Grabbing his phone out of his coat pocket, Taehyung opens the first notification on the screen and the picture makes his heart stop; a wing of the hospital was on fire. A wing of your hospital was on fire.

"Dr. Yoongi," a nurse runs out, all the nurses following behind her. "Did you check your pager? Am I calling it in?"

"Call it in please. Get your manager to remove all the patients in this ward. Orthopaedics is the mass casualty ward for this hospital kids. Whoever is the ward co-ordinator tonight in the nursing team, call all the other nurses, get them to come in immediately and cancel every single elective operation scheduled for tomorrow," Yoongi says, reading his pager. "I want this ward cleared of patients within half an hour. I assume from the distance, patients will be arriving soon. So, let's do this quickly and properly according to your emergency protocol."

"Why do we need to remove all the patients?" a student asks and Yoongi frowns at him. "Victims do better psychologically and physiologically where other victims are. Hence, why we need to get everyone out now and get the ward prepared for incoming patients."

"How many do you think we will get?" he asks again, his eyes widening in fear.

Looking up to all the students and nurses pooling out from their office.

Taehyung's hands suddenly begin to tremble by his side. "In this case, probably a lot."

"But you never know." His heart begins to pound harshly against his ribs. Adrenaline surged down his body at the prospect of all those incoming patients; at the thought of you being in that building.

"Text your families that you're okay." Yoongi announces, pulling him out of his thoughts. Putting his pager in his pocket. Looking up to each and every nervous face in front of him, he grabs the department phone, immediately pressing the emergency number and holding it up to his ear.

His hands are shaking but the only one who notices is Taehyung as a voice loudly screams into the receiver. Everyone in the room watches Yoongi's eyes widen and his head nod before hanging up again. "Fuck, it's real. All of you go, get ready. Remove these patients and clear this fucking ward right fucking now."

"What about us?" Younggi asks, as the ward lights turn back on and nurses begin to frantically run around them. "What do we do?"

"Text your families right now, none of you are going home tonight."

↣ FOREST LAKES HOSPITAL | DR. Y/N

The first blast hit the far west side of the hospital, where the VIP recovery ward was located, as you had run back into the dark and desolate, abandoned looking Emergency Department. You could smell the fire, you could even see it's smoke boil up from the building in the northern windows of the ER.

You ran harder.

You were panting, completely solely running on adrenaline.

Your heart raced out of your skin as you looked in every room. In every bay. In every office. You were running completely on instinct and your instincts were telling you, someone was left behind.

And you don't leave people behind.

No, not you.

The force of the blast rumbled the entire floor, it was weak, a warning of what was yet to come and had you not been standing by an empty bed, it would have knocked you clean off your feet.

Falling onto the white bed, plaster from the ceiling fell and the room seeped into darkness as the electricity completely cut out. No generator back up or anything provided you with a light to see in the dark either.

You coughed into your hand as you inhaled the plaster.

"Hello, is anybody here?" you had screamed, coughing as you run through the hallway you've memorised by heart. "We don't have much time, is anyone here?"

A voice muffled behind a door screams loud and clear out for you as they bang their fists on the hard wood. "PLEASE SOMEONE, I'M STILL IN HERE!"

You were right.

"HELP ME, I'M STILL HERE, OH GOD I'M STILL IN HERE, HELP ME PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Running down another hall, you hear a terrified scream from behind the controlled drug room. Someone remained like you had thought, banging on the door for their dear life. The door shook from the sheer force of their desperation to get out but the lock made it impossible to break free.

"I'm still here," they sobbed, banging on the other side of the door, "Please save me."

You don't think as you run towards it, punching in the code for the room and forcing the door open with all of your might. The doctor on the other side had tears down his face, falling straight into you.

It was Jungkook.

Idiot doctor and housemate, your Jungkook.

"Y/N," he sobbed, looking completely broken. "I thought I was going to die."

"Well, I'm glad you're alive and all but we need to go, right now."

He looked distraught and terrified, but of all, he looked relieved. Grabbing his hand, you run with every inch of strength you can muster out, of that goddamn building. He holds your hand tightly, practically dragging you as he runs faster, jumping over shattered glass and plaster.

You hold images of Sunny in your mind as you pick your feet up. You hold the sound of her laughter and her cries, her singing, her screaming. You think of Taehyung, his smile, his embrace, his warmth. You think of a life you still think you can have. You think of punching Taehyung in the jaw when you see him next, you couldn't die today knowing you haven't.

No, not today satan.

You run towards the clearing.

And the automatic doors...

...they don't open.

"What the fuck, why won't they open?" you ask, waving your hand up to the monitor. "Fuck, I thought these would open in an emergency?"

Jungkook bangs against the glass. Jimin and Seokjin look up, prompted by the loud banging. Ramming his shoulder into the glass, it doesn't budge. He throws everything close to him at the doors, again, it doesn't budge.

They're stuck.

Irene holds back the boys from running over to help you. They had parked on the far end of the carpark to be safe as they waited.

You both stare at the red lights of the ambulance in the night. "We need something heavy to smash it." you say, "We'll get out, don't worry."

"How can I not fucking worry?" Jungkook shouts, throwing himself at the glass doors. "It's just fucking glass, why won't it break?"

"It's shatterproof material Jungkook." Looking for an emergency button on the doors and falling short, "I'm going to find the emergency axe thing Jungkook, keep trying to pry it open okay?"

You were certain that there was an emergency axe somewhere, you had seen it before and wondered if you'd ever need to use it and for what. Slipping on blood, you fall to the floor as the ground continues to shake beneath you.

"Where is it, come on Y/N, think."

Getting up again, you run to the hallway leading off to the operating theatres and that's where you find the axe, contained in a glass box, nailed to the wall by a fire extinguisher. Punching the glass, it's splinters piercing your knuckles, you grab the axe. You were certain that when this adrenaline stops fuelling your attempts to survive, everything is going to hurt.

But you don't have time to think about that as you run back. Jungkook's running into the doors, kicking and screaming at it, continuously bruising his shoulder. "I'm not dying in this fucking building."

"Jungkook," you shout, he turns, eyes glinting in happiness at the sight of the axe. "I have no strength, you smash it."

He takes it happily, immediately hacking at the door. "I need to get out." he chants, each time the axe hits the doors. "I'm not dying today."

The axe cracks the glass but it doesn't shatter like you thought it would. He hits it again and again, only cracking it. "What the hell is this fucking thing made of?"

"Jungkook," Turning to survey your area, you grab anything hard enough to throw through the glass. "Jungkook, move out of the way."

"What?" He turns, watching you throw a vital signs machine straight into the cracked glass with a strength you didn't think you had, shattering it completely.

He watches in slow motion as the glass shatters and falls to the linoleum floor. He screams happily as he throws the axe into the reception to their left. He grabs your hand as you run over the ocean of glass pooling onto the sidewalk as you both run into the carpark. The ambulance was so close, yet so far away.

The fresh air hits your lungs as you breath it in and then out.

You were free.

You would be okay too.

Jungkook turns to you, smiling widely at you. "I'm free!"

"Kim Seokjin! Park Jimin!" you scream, running towards them, "Open the back doors!"

But they never hear you, and that you are grateful for because what happens next would've definitely hurt him too.

The second blast hit as you were running out of the building with Jeon Jungkook. The force of this blast, much bigger than the first, had thrown you in the air and onto the soft grass by the car park, metres away from the now swaying ambulance, winding you.

Jungkook had fallen onto the hard concrete pavement of the carpark beside you, hands falling on shards of broken glass, blood dripping from his forehead. He screams in agony, feeling the bone of his arm break and tear through his skin on impact.

Black coloured smoke rushes out of the burning building, covering you and Jungkook in a cloak of silent darkness. It chokes you, filling your lungs with it's painful toxin as you try to breathe.

Jungkook looks at you, expression pleading, lips moving to form words you can't understand.

Everything is blurry and dark and deep and your falling into yourself as black spots fill your visual field. You can't hear anything but a loud ringing in your ears, you can hear the faint scream of Jungkook at the back of your brain but you can't process what he's saying.

He looks at you desperately, is he hurt?

That's a stupid question.

You know you should get up but you feel compressed, stuck to the ground, and you can't breathe, feeling winded as though your lungs had lost their ability to take in oxygen.

You try to get up, falling back to the ground.

Were you hurt too?

You look over to Jungkook again, watching him battle his demons, forcing himself to get up and to you.

You watch as if it were in slow motion as Jungkook pulls himself up, rushing over to you as he cradles his left arm in his now dirty white coat. There's a god awful whirlpool of horror in his brown eyes as he runs over to you, you may have saved him but he definitely earned it because he saves you right back.

You pull yourself up as much as you can before his arm wraps around your waist, holding you up as you both run to the ambulance.

You look back at the building, still standing with flames and smoke boiling out the windows. You knew it wouldn't last long until it collapsed or forced to the ground by another and much larger explosion.

You didn't want to be here for that.

Blood dripped from your ears and down the sides of your soot covered face, building materials you couldn't identify laced through your hair, shards of glass embedded into the skin of your arms. You felt like you had been punched in every soft part of your body.

Jungkook looked equally as dishevelled.

Waving you both over, Jimin and Irene rush you both into the back as Seokjin revved the engine. Minutes pass of complete silence as you rush. Isn't that weird, after something so huge, there was just silence? No piercing screams, no sirens, no pleas for help, just fire, fear and silence.

Pulling themselves in first, Irene and Jimin sit opposite each other, strapping themselves in.

The third blast hit when you were trying to close the doors behind you. The blast wave hit the truck, pushing you into the back of the truck, shattering the windows, prompting Seokjin's immediate acceleration as Jungkook toppled straight on top of you.

The glass from the window narrowly missed the intubated patient on a stroller in the middle of the ambulance, but it cuts across Irene's cheek, something she'll probably need stitches for. She wails in agony, holding a hand against her cheek, immediately applying pressure to the wound as dark red blood dripped down her neck and onto her scrubs.

Jungkook was afraid of letting you go, and for that, he saved you again. The doors slapped against the sides of the ambulance as Jin speed through the carpark and as far away from the hospital as he could.

You wrap your arms around Jungkook's waist tightly as he held onto anything that would keep you both in the ambulance as it sped away. His dead arm curled up painfully against your chest underneath him as Jin's abrupt driving makes you swing underneath him towards the other side of the truck causing shards of glass to tear through your coat as you do.

You scream in agony, feeling the shards slice and embed into the flesh of your ass. It's sweltering, a burning pain filling you by waves as it rolls over you, over and over again. You were hurt everywhere.

"Are you okay Y/N?" Jimin shouts at you. You clasp onto Jungkook tighter, eyebrows flexed as pain tears through your body. "Hold onto him, we'll get you out of here!"

Jungkook sobs, wailing in pure agony. The sound breaks Jimin as he watches, the once strong Jungkook, completely break and fall apart.

"It's collapsing!" Irene shouts and you all look back to watch in horror as the sound of destruction echoes across the night sky. "The hospital. Our homes. You guys could've ...that was so close." she sobs loudly, feeling the horror of what could've been you two so deeply into her bones.

"Drive faster," Jimin screams, hitting the back of the front seat. Jungkook and Irene watch the orange flames burst from black clouds of smoke, as the hospital collapses from the emergency exit they just left, "Drive fucking faster Seokjin!"

He presses his foot on the accelerator with sirens blasting and red lights flashing through the graphite night as he zips away. "I'm driving as fast as I fucking can!"

Irene screams when he skids around a corner, her head hitting the wall hard as he drives straight through the car park entrance sign. The sound was like nothing she had ever heard before when she looks to her right, the once dark night now full of orange light as the fire boils and consumes her home away from home.

It was haunting, something Irene would never forget.

They had only just gotten away from the building in time when fire began to rain down onto the trees, there would no doubt be a forest fire too. Everyone would be working overtime tonight.

"Irene, are you okay?" Jimin asked, watching her rub the back of her head. She pulls her hand back, fingers covered in blood. Grabbing one of the only packets of gauze from beside him, he clears his throat. "Hold these to your head and hold on tight to your chair okay? We're going to be fine."

She pants, biting her bottom lip. "Are you sure?"

Jimin looks at everyone in the ambulance, he doesn't think he should dignify that question with a response, you were all safe now.

"Go, Seokjin! Get us out of here!" Jungkook yelled, as he sunk his head into the crevice of your neck. "Get us to the hospital!"

How you both hadn't died was a mystery.

Irene and Jimin pull you both further in by the collars of your coats, dragging your glass covered bodies further into the ambulance when Jin drives over a bridge, forced to slow down.

"Irene, grab Jungkook," Jimin says, watching her pull Jungkook up beside her, strapping him into the seat. Pulling you up, he forces you into the seat beside him as he sobs. "Y/N, I've got you. You're okay now, you're okay now." He holds you close, telling you something you can't hear but he's crying and he's crying hard.

He looks like a wreck.

Holding your hands up to his checks, you wipe away his tears only to smear blood and soot across his face, he leans into your warmth. At least the sentiment was there.

"Jimin, I have no idea what you are saying," you think you shout, dropping your hands and leaning against him. The blood dripping down your right ear stains his green scrubs. "The barotrauma ...I think I have a ruptured eardrum in my right ear. Left feels like it's resolving. I can only just hear you kind of."

He nods, red eyes sweep over yours. "I'm very glad you're safe" he mouths and you smile softly up at him, glad you are too. Jimin hands you a bottle of water as he pulls out the first aid kit to attend to the cuts on your face. "Call Yoongi, tell him you're okay. I know he's probably worried."

Jimin smiles, lips quivering. "I did, he was scared, still is I bet. The phone cut out during the second explosion, I'm just going to have to wait to see him at the hospital."

"What? I can't hear you? Did you call him? yes or no?"

Jimin nods, gesturing for you to drink the water. You looked worse for wear with your bloodied and blackened white coat; ripped, crimson stained scrubs; messy hair tied in a loose ponytail; and soot covered face but you were okay.

You were feeling okayish.

Drinking the water, you sag against him. Jimin dabs your fingers, brushing his fingers over your pulse, completely thankful you still had one.

You look out the ambulance window to see your hospital, the once tall white and green structure, up in flames. All those years of hardwork, patients you've saved, lives you've lost, friends you've made, memories you've cherished.

All gone.

Seemingly in the blink of an eye.

You suddenly want to cry.

Today wasn't a normal day at all.

As you drink the last of your water, you feel your left ear pop and then you hear the unmistakable sound of the ambulances sirens and Irene shouting at Jungkook and Jimin shouting at Seokjin to update the hospital.

You could hear and you wish you couldn't.

Everything happened at a lightening speed, as though it all occurred within the single blink of your eyes.

Seokjin pulls out the radio, bringing it to his lips as he speeds through the intersection, sirens blazing. "Seoul Hearts hospital, this is Ambulance 22 Kim Seokjin speaking. We are currently enroute to your facility with a 32 y/o male motor vehicle accident victim from Forest Lakes. Patient is unconscious, intubated and-

-yes, we came from Forest Lakes," he stops, listening attentively to the voice on the other end that you can't quite hear. "Mass casualties ...how many have you already got?"

"32?!" he shouts, "We'll you're about to get three more-

He then scoffs into the radio. "Don't interrupt me. I have nurses Park Jimin and Bae Irene, Drs. Jeon Jungkook and Y/N who are injured-

"Yes, I know the hospital has just blown up, I'm looking at it in my rearview mirror right now, we have two injured doctors in the back of the ambulance as well! Possible internal trauma, possible broken extremities," he snaps, frustration ebbed into his voice, "We are unable to take current accurate vital signs of the patient and the doctors but our patient is unstable as hell. I'll update you if things change. See you in 5 minutes."

He slams the radio back down. "Buckle up kids, we're driving through the city now. Y/N," Seokjin shouts from the front, "You good?"

You nod, feeling your hearing fully come back in your left ear. "I think so?"

"Good, you crazy fucking bitch, don't you ever fucking do that again or I'll cut your legs off."

You're all staring out the back of the ambulance, watching the reactions of the public move out the way for Jin and gape at the very mangled up looking ambulance. It's almost a spiritual experience being in this position, having people responsibly move out of the way for you as you zip impossibly fast through red lights and traffic.

"How's the patient doing?" you turn and ask Jimin, who had been watching you the entire time. His face pale. "What's his vitals looking like?"

"What?" Jimin shakes his head, forcing himself back into reality. "Um, I haven't checked. Hold on."

You watch his heart monitor, the vital sign of life beat after beat after beat. You frown at a particular beat as it moves. "His hearts not looking too good," you point out. "It's not often but his hearts skipping a couple beats."

"After everything, I would expect that too. We're just lucky he hasn't got a serious cardiac illness otherwise, he's fucked." Jimin says, shifting beside you.

You watch him try to breathe. It was an insidious reminder of your responsibility to save this man. He was dangling by threads, he was so close to death.

You look away from the numbers on his screen.

You stare at your soot covered hands.

That could've been you.

"Seokjin," you shout, "How far away are we from Seoul Hearts?"

"A couple of minutes," he shouts back at you, "You don't need to shout at me you know!"

"I can't hear anything well," you say, pointing to your ear and the dried blood around it. "I think the blast burst my right eardrum."

Irene laughs suddenly, smacking her thigh. "I hate to laugh but consider yourself lucky it was just that. When you ran back in, I didn't think we'd see you again. Jimin ...he-"

"I thought I lost you," Jimin interrupts, not wanting to relive those moments of his life. "You're stupid but you're incredibly brave saving Jungkook like that. How did you even know he was in there?"

"I had a feeling someone was still in there, that's just it," you nod, looking over to Jungkook. The boy looked frightened as hell. "He would've saved me too, that's for sure."

Jungkook stays silent, eyes wide as he tenses his jaw. You watch him cradle his arm, was he hurt? Jimin looks at him, shaking his head. "She saved your life Jungkook, you could've died back there. Why do you consistently and constantly go against your superiors instructions? What is wrong with you-

-I got locked in the drug room!" he shouts back at Jimin, "It locked behind me when Namjoon asked me to clear it, she only found me because I was screaming for my fucking life. You think I don't already know that I could've died back there, I know okay! I know it very well. I called my parents while I was holding a vial of fucking ketamine, I apologised for being a shit, I told them that I was locked in a room and that I was going to die. You think I wanted to hear my mother cry?"

"Jungkook," Jimin musters, unsure what to say, "I'm sorry, I-

"-I was going to swallow it, you know. With the first sign of fire, I was going to kill myself. My girlfriend ...all I could tell her was that I was sorry that I loved her... I could've died back there, I could've seriously died back there."

Jimin crosses his arms over his chest. "But you didn't because she ran back-

-and saved my life." Jungkook finishes.

"Oh shut up both of you," Irene shouts, "Pick up your damn phone and tell your family, you didn't die already. Who knows what they're doing thinking you're dead. Hell, if I loved you, I would be driving out here right now to try and get you out."

"Seokjin," You ignore their discussion as you gaze back at your patient. "Are we close?"

"I'm driving as fast as I can with my sirens on, Y/N," he shouts back clearly agitated, "Just focus on monitoring your patient. And Jimin, shut up and please Irene, fucking deal with Jungkook's arm instead of pissing him off. It looks bent as fuck from the rear-view mirror. The kid is obviously hurt psychologically and physically, stop being assholes and be compassionate."

"You're hurt?" Irene gasps, her voice now dripping in sympathy. Her bloodied fingers reach out for him. He lets her tender touch explore the mangled arm from underneath his coat. "It's broken. How did this happen?"

You snort. "Besides the hospital blowing up and the waves that were emitted from the explosion travelling at a supersonic velocity straight through us, throwing us in the air with all that glass and onto hard concrete and debris?"

"I fell on it," he says, watching Irene open up the bag on the floor. She nods her head. "You hurt anywhere else?"

He shakes his head, letting her dab the wounds on his face with saline and gauze. It's quiet again as she works his wounds, there's not much she can do with his arm trapped in his coat like that, he's just going to have to wait. Irene hands Jungkook her phone to call his family before finishing up on his wounds.

Jungkook dabs her cheek with some gauze. Everyone was hurt in different ways but they were alive.

The ambulance grows silent when Jungkook sends the group text to his parents and to his girlfriend.

Jimin fusses over your knuckles, his mind on fire with residual grief and anger over your stupidity and bravery.

But you were okay.

For now.

* * *

Jungkook stares at the face of your patient.

He filters through the faces he knows, the patient's he's treated before leaning forward to look at his wrist band. "Oh it's this guy, oh man, didn't think he'd come back," he says, looking up at his cardiac monitor carefully, scrutinising every wave of his heart beats, "Y/N, are you aware that your patient has a past cardiac history?"

"Yes, angina pectoris," You nod your head, pointing to his monitor as Jimin cleans your arms, "Are you worried about those PVC's (heart skipping a beat) too? He's post motor vehicle accident, fucked himself up pretty bad. He needs surgery pretty much as soon as we get to Seoul Hearts."

"Angina?" He frowns, prompting Irene to swap places with him beside the head of the patient. "He doesn't have Angina, I have a photographic memory, I would've remembered that. He had an acute myocardial infarction a couple weeks ago and he hasn't been compliant with his medication-

-what!" you shout, interrupting him, commanding the attention of the truck as you dart your eyes into his. "This patient's had a heart attack before? That wasn't in his medical files at all when he came in. That's pretty fucking important information. Jimin," you turn to the boy. "Did you get a history from the family?"

Jimin shakes his head. "Didn't have time with the code. They still don't even know he's a patient."

"I can see Seoul Hearts Hospital now, we're about 2 minutes away." Jin says, but you're heart is racing hard against your ribs now. It's like a dose of adrenaline and you suddenly feel so awake.

"If what I am thinking has happened, this patient probably crashed his car because he had chest pain. Irene," your voice is shaky, everyone in the ambulance detects the urgency in your voice. You forget about the bomb. "Did you get any cardiac biomarkers from the bloods you took?"

"The ones that detect heart muscle death?" Her eyes widen as she tries to remember, clearly put on the spot as everyone looks at her. "Oh my god. I think so, like almost ...almost immediately but Dr. Namjoon came in before I got to ...I didn't have time to check exactly."

"What were they, do you remember? It's okay, take your time. It's important to remember which ones there were."

She closes her eyes and Jungkook resets the vital monitor to get an accurate reading. "He's hypotensive with ventricular dysrhythmia," he says, printing the ECG out. He grabs the pen from his pocket as he reads the rhythm carefully. "Was it troponins T and I Irene? Do you remember a T?"

She opens her eyes, pursing her lips at him. "I think it might've been but I don't remember-

-Y/N, his heart rate is 165, blood pressure is 80/40. I think he's in cardiogenic shock," Jimin cuts in. "Vitals are crashing."

"Good timing." you slap yourself.

"Fuck the bloods. Holy fuck," Jungkook circles a portion of the rhythm, spotting an ST-elevation in the electrocardiogram (heart attack), holding it up to you as Seokjin drives. "He's having a fucking heart attack right now Y/N."

"What do we do?" Irene asks. You look back at his cardiac monitor seeing it clear as day now that the patient's heart rhythm goes from erratic to nothing.

"HE'S CRASHING," Jimin shouts, pulling you out of your gaze. "He's going into cardiac arrest Seokjin!!"

"This can't be fucking happening right now. Jimin, we need the defibrillator he needs defibrillation immediately." You shout, unsure if you could jump straight onto the patient with the door open like that.

It looked dangerous.

"The ambulance isn't stocked, there isn't one in here," Seokjin shouts from the front, "You're going to have to do chest compressions until we get there but fuck, it could be dangerous for you with the door open so be careful."

"I've got this," You close your eyes. "I can save him."

"Jimin, ambu bag, right now. Get on the resps." Without hesitation, you get out of your seat as Jin turns, to straddle the patient. Holding your arms straight, you press the heel of your palm on his lower sternum, compressing it in a steady rhythm with your interlocked hands, one on the other. You hear a couple cracks almost immediately. "Irene, do we have any adrenaline in that bag?"

She tips the back out onto the seat looking for a little vial, it all flies out the ambulance anyway. "There's no medication in here, so no we don't."

Jimin gently squeezes the ambu bag twice. "We're nearly at the hospital, I can see it out the window now."

"Beginning ...30 compressions to 2 breaths. Jimin watch me closely," you say, feeling your own heart rip through your ribcage. "Seokjin radio report change in status."

"Will do," he shouts, pulling down the radio to call it in. "Hi, this is Seokjin, incoming ambulance from Forest Lakes we have a cardiac arrest in progress in the back of our truck, prepare for defibrillation on arrival in less than a minute."

"25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Resps!" Perspiration drips down your dirty face as you pause your chest compressions, turning to the two to the left of you. "Irene and Jungkook prepare to wheel me out of this ambulance and in to that fucking Emergency Department. No one is dying on my watch, not if I can help it."

Jungkook and Irene look at each other as the ambulance comes to a halt outside the Emergency Department at Seoul Hearts Hospital. Turning off the engine, Jin runs around the truck, pulling down the ramp and grabbing the end of the stroller.

You can ear the screams of agony inside the Emergency Department from here as doctors rush in bright yellow aprons, blue gloves and white face masks towards your truck.

"Let's go, get out Irene and Jungkook," Seokjin yells, pulling the stroller towards him and down the ramp with Jimin shuttling beside it. "Let's move team! Keep doing compressions Y/N and hold on tight."