Work Text:
Crack …
Was the only perceptive sound in the empty practice room.
Crack!
And Jimin fell to the ground unable to get up, the pain that ran through his leg was the beginning of that tornado of bad news.
His ankle was broken and badly hurt, he'll, maybe, couldn't dance for a month, maybe more, it all depended on how much rest he'll have, but resting was impossible with a schedule like his.
He couldn't even go to see the others practise, he can't do anything, anything but stay in bed without moving all day.
The first week went well, he wasn't alone at all, the others took turns to keeping him company.
Tae lifted the covers as soon as he entered the room to wrap his arms around him and tell him everything about his day.
Jin arrived with food for both of them and didn't leave until Jimin had finished everything; even when he would take hours to eat a single dish.
Joon entered with his computer and lay down next to him, allowing the younger to rest his head on his shoulder and see what he was doing, sometimes he worked on songs, other times he just watched videos of something funny on youtube.
Kook arrived with his portable console and threw himself on top of him, taking care to not fall on the hurt foot, and spent the whole afternoon there, Jimin and Jungook didn't have the best relationship in the world but Jimin's heart felt happy to see that the maknae felt so comfortable around him.
Hobi was the best of all of them, always looking after him, he was the only one who texts him all the time, sends him memes, gives him updates and sometimes even sends a video of the practices.
The only one who never showed up was Yoongi. But at this point, it's not like he's really expecting him to do it.
Things started to change in the second week, the visits began to be less and less frequent and shorter, and at the fourth week, Jimin noticed that he had not seen anyone but Hobi for three days straight, Hobi was the one who kept bringing him food and cuddling him to sleep. But maybe it was because they were roommates.
At week five he started the rehabilitation: exercises in the water that left him exhausted, long walks that made him cry, and ankle exercises that made him think that he wouldn't dance anymore.
What would he do if he couldn't dance anymore? If Jimin stopped dancing, he would no longer have a place in the band, in fact in the videos Hobi sends him, everything seemed more organic and organized, as if Jimin was not necessary. As if he had never been really necessary .
Deep down, at the bottom of his guts, he always knew it, being the last member to join the band, he came to find a united team and he always was the "plus one", they needed someone who was ready to show the abs and he had them, it was not a secret to anyone that the reason why they put him in the band was that. After all they didn't need a fourth vocal, when three rappers and three vocals it was more than enough. But they needed someone who would show skin. The sexy one, the sensual one, someone who would atract people with sex appeal and looks.
That day he cried himself to sleep, And when Hobi came in with dinner he pretended to be asleep already, the older got closer to ruffle his hair and leave a cup of tea by his side.
The next day he didn't go to his morning therapy.
Two days later he stopped going to the others.
His foot was still injured, he no longer needed crutches to walk but still he couldn't support his feet well on the floor or move at his normal speed, it took him ten whole minutes to cross the room to reach the kitchen, and once there he didn't have the energy necessary to return to his bed. The others didn't notice, not when they had a lot of work to do.
Two weeks later the inevitable call came, suddenly he was in the central office beside Namjoon.
"Why did Jimin stop going to his therapies, Namjoon?" the young leader paled, not knowing what to respond. Until that day no one knew that Jimin had abandoned the rehab process. "It's your obligation as a leader to be aware of these things, tell me if you can't do your job well so I'll find someone else who can do it right."
The manager didn't even turn to see Jimin, as if he wasn't an adult who can make his own decisions.
Jimin promised Namjoon he would get back to therapy, he promised to eat more and do more chores on the house, he swore he would give 1000% to get back to the band as soon as possible.
But three days later an email arrived informing him that he was on 'temporary leave', he had to move to the training building to continue with his therapies.
He didn't know about the photoshoot until he saw the photos on the internet.
He didn't know about the comeback until someone asked him why he wasn't there.
He received his last check in the last week of September.
He turned 26 and celebrated it at home, with only his parents.
Only Tae called.
There was never an official statement, but only a few people really asked about him, no one was surprised when the temporary absence became permanent.
The next album was a boom!, the release was shortly after his dismissal, which let him know that they had already recorded all the tracks before his accident. Confirming his worst suspicion. He was never necessary.
Jungkook and Hobi were in charge of filling his place of stage. Yoongi looked more relaxed when dancing with Kook his parts in "DNA" and "Spring Day" than was with Jimin, "The Truth Untold" sounded better at three voices, Hobi shone more on "Blood, Sweat and Tears". Soon people forgot that there was a seventh member in the band.
With the little money he had left, he bought a house beside the sea, he was tired of seeing the condescending gaze of his parents faces, he could not bear to see his brother grow up and live a life that had been taken away from him by selling his soul for a dream who spat it out as soon as he stopped being useful.
Alone in his house he dedicated himself to see the sea and wait.
Through the large windows he could see the change of seasons, every December he went out to receive the snow, until the snow moved to his hair and did not leave him anymore.
He knew about the dissolve of the band thanks to the television. He tried to contact his old members but his words were lost in a sea of fans' messages. He never got a follow back . And every single one of them changed their phone number without telling him.
He congratulated Namjoon when he became a father.
He bought the Agust D record as soon as it came out and cried with happiness to see Yoongi receive a Grammy for it.
He continually traveled to Daegu to see the art exhibitions at Taehyung's gallery but he never got the chance to see his old friend.
He never heard about the others or their whereabouts anymore.
He got used to the weight of the cane in his hand, he got used to walking more slowly and dragging around an useless foot. He got used to the cold greetings people gave him because no one really likes to see a broken star.
He buried his parents alone.
He said goodbye to his little brother at the airport with a hug and a promise to keep in touch.
But those promises are destined to fail.
He realized and understood his mistake too late, and whole life continued itself in front of his eyes. He dedicated himself to wait for the end.
By the time death came for him, Jimin was so tired, he received her with a smile and the reassurance of knowing that he would not cause more sadness in a world that never was made for him.