#hitman!jk

Then you hang up and head for the door, leaving it unlocked so the custodian can come in and clean while you're not here. 

You glance down the hall where Mr. Baek's classroom used to be. 

It's been so nice teaching without him breathing down your neck and insulting you every chance he gets. 

One of the other teachers told you that someone had called anonymously the summer before school started the year you were in the hospital and told them he was abusive to staff and quite possibly the children, so after they looked into it and got enough evidence, he was fired. 

They had been looking into it when you were in a coma, and months later when you were able to return, he wasn't there. 

Whoever it was, you'll be eternally grateful for them calling in. 

Stepping out of the front doors and feeling the sun beaming down on your face, you smile. 

This summer is going to be the best one yet, you can feel it. 

Last summer you still had to be extremely careful because of the coma you had come out of the Christmas before. 

This year you're going to do all the things you couldn't.

The honk of a car horn makes you squint in the direction of a red car and smile when you see Jimin leaning out of the front seat and waving, "Come on! We've got dramas to start binging!"

You run clumsily down the steps and to the car, opening the passenger door and climbing in. 

"Hi!"

"Hellooo," Jimin sings as he pulls into the street, "Did you have the best last day ever?"

"Mhm!" You jump up and down in your seat, "It w-was awesome."

"Glad to hear it!" 

You and Jimin talk about work for both of you today as he drives to your place. 

-

You keep blabbing on and on as you climb the steps and go into your apartment, the familiarity of it bringing you a wave of comfort. 

"Mmmmm," You plop down onto the couch and wiggle around excitedly, "I c-can't wait to sleep innnnnnn!"

Jimin laughs and sits next to you, "You can sleep in all you want after we have a good drama binge," he grabs the remote and turns on the TV. 

"Wait! L-let me get sn-snacks!" You jump up and run to the kitchen, but you stop abruptly and grab the counter to stop your momentum, "I also n-need to be comfy!"

You turn and scurry to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable. 

A few minutes later, Jimin laughs when you run into the kitchen, a huge t-shirt going down to your knees the only thing you've got on. 

A moment after going to the kitchen, you hurry to the living room, taking tiny but quick steps as you clutch two tubs of ice cream under your arms and two huge spoons in your fists. 

Jimin reaches out for his ice cream, and you hand it to him before climbing onto the couch and curling up in a blanket, your legs quickly going out of sight. 

You dig into the ice cream, "Go ah-head," you say, staring at the TV. 

-

"P-Pumpkiiiiin," you whine, holding your arms out for the cat to come to you. 

The orange fluff ball quickly runs over to the couch you're lying on and hops up, curling into your bosom as you smile, petting her fur gently. 

"I l-love you, baby," you whisper, scratching under her chin, "You've g-gotten so big."

You're scrolling on your phone and petting Pumpkin when Jimin's face pops up on your screen as it rings. 

"H-Hello?" You answer right away. 

"Hey, ____."

You frown, "You s-s-sound upset, what's wrong?"

He sighs and gets right to the point, "I got a call from Mina today."

Your heart seizes up in your chest with a horrible pain. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you. But I knew you'd find out eventually and I knew it would be better coming from me."

You gulp, "W-what did she say?"

"Well, they were going to do a retrial for her case."

You say nothing, so he continues. 

"The lawyers wanted her to do it, but she refused. They told her they thought they could lessen her sentence if they had more proof that she was mentally unstable at the time."

When Jimin doesn't hear a response, he sighs sadly, "I'm so sorry, ____."

You clear your throat, "It's f-fine, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to come over?" He asks gently. 

You shake your head, even though he can't see you, "No, I k-kinda wanna be alone r-right now."

"Alright, will you let me know if you need me?"

"Mhm."

You say goodbye and hang up, then you look at Pumpkin who is staring at you with huge curious green eyes. 

You try to smile back at her but end up dropping your head into your hands so that she doesn't see you cry. 

She seems to sense it anyway, because she nudges you with her head until she's able to climb into your lap and start nuzzling at your chin. 

"Thank y-you, Pumpkin," you cry softly, grabbing her into a hug and holding her against your chest, "I l-love you," you whisper. 

After crying quietly for a few minutes, you thought you'd be alright, but your chest is starting to hurt really bad. 

You set the cat down and put a hand to your chest, trying to breathe in and out slowly. 

The panic attack is already setting in though, making itself at home. 

A short sob escapes your lips as you force yourself to keep breathing slowly. 

Suddenly, the room feels almost like it's caving in, the walls creeping closer and closer as your breath escapes you. 

Before it can get any worse, you jump up from the couch and try to run to your room. 

But you had left your bag near the end of the couch, and your foot caught on it in your blind panic, sending you tumbling to the floor. 

You keep grabbing at your chest, begging the air to go in so you can breathe. 

Knowing there's only one thing that will make it better, you start crawling towards your room, trying not to think about the walls of the hallway closing in on you faster and faster. 

Finally making it to the room, you crawl hurriedly over to your bedside table and grab your inhaler, taking a few puffs of it until you can get a shuddering breath in. 

Then you open the drawer on the table and reach your hand inside, feeling around for a moment before your eyes widen in horror. 

You stand up shakily and look in the drawer. 

It isn't there. 

Why isn't it there?

Where is it?

You pick up the tiny paper swan from the drawer and place it carefully on your nightstand even as you're panicking. You don't want to lose that too. A sob rips from your chest as you dig around in the drawer frantically, but still come up with nothing. 

You run over to your closet and start tearing through the clothes, looking through all of the pockets as you continue to cry your heart out. 

When you can't find it anywhere in there, you crumple to the floor and curl your knees in, sobbing hysterically. 

A knock on the front door goes unheard by you. 

You keep crying loudly until you see Jimin run into your room. 

"____! What happened?" He kneels next to you but doesn't touch you. 

"M-m-m-my p-p-p-ic-pic-"

He knows exactly what you're talking about. 

Before you can even get the words out, he's jumping up and running out of the room. A moment later he comes back in with a tiny piece of folded up paper, "Here it is, ____, here it is," he pushes it into your hand, "It was in your bag, ____. You put it in there earlier, remember?"

You clutch the paper to your chest, the sobs turning to small whimpers as you unfold it and look at the picture drawn there. 

"Oh," you say in a tiny voice, "I th-thought I l-l-lost it."

Jimin shakes his head, "You're never going to lose it, okay? It means a lot to you, and you always take care of it. You're never going to lose it."

You nod shakily, keeping your eyes on the pencil drawing. 

Jimin gulps and sits down on his bottom. 

It's quiet for a bit as the two of you just sit there. 

After a little bit, Jimin scoots closer, "May I see?" He asks kindly. 

You nod and tilt the picture towards him. 

He looks at the little sketch that always calms your anxiety; it's of a tiny dandelion surrounded by a field of bigger dandelions looming over it as the small flower appears to be trying to reach for the sun. 

He hums softly, "It's beautiful."

You nod and turn it over to show him the other side, a little black cat curled on a pillow. 

"Those drawings are really good," Jimin looks at you, "Where did you get this? I forgot."

You shrug, "I d-don't remember."

He nods sadly, looking at you for another minute in disappointment before he sighs and looks away. 

Sometimes he wishes he could just scream it all out loud until it all comes back to you. 

-

It takes a few days for you to get back to your old chipper self, but you eventually do. 

Jimin knows the whole Mina thing has been weighing you down for over a year. If he could, he wouldn't tell you anything about it. But you always ask him to fill you in and he doesn't want to lie to you. Besides, someone else will tell you if he doesn't.  

It was so much worse because you didn't remember anything about it. 

You woke up and asked him about where Mina was when she never came to visit you. 

He had to be the one to tell you that your best friend turned herself in for assisting in an attempted murder. 

Your murder. 

The last thing you remembered was Mina leaving on a business trip. Other than that, you had bits and pieces of memories of Jimin coming back and the two of you growing closer.

Nothing more.

You had no idea that she had wanted you dead. 

Jimin worked with you though, for a long time, making sure you got to your therapy appointments and that you would be able to sleep at night. 

It took the full year and a half since you woke up to get you where you are now, and he'll be damned if he doesn't make sure you don't go down that hole again. 

He's never seen someone as resilient as you, in all his years. 

"Hey, d-do you want to g-g-get ice cream?" You ask, looking over at him from behind your giant octopus stuffie. 

Jimin chuckles and nods, "Sure, are we taking the giant octopus?"

You make a face at him, "No, and h-his name is C-Cookie!"

"My bad, sorry Cookie."

You make the octopus wave one of its big tentacles at your best friend and respond in a silly voice, "It's ok-kay, I f-forgive you~"

Jimin laughs loudly, "Thanks, I appreciate that."

You set Cookie down on the bed and put the small blanket over him, patting his head gently before leaving with Jimin to go to your favorite ice cream stand. 

-

You're sitting in the grass, eating your ice cream as you watch a few birds fly by. 

"Hey, ____?"

You look at Jimin, "Hm?"

He swallows his bite of ice cream before continuing, "You're still into like...art shows and stuff, right?"

You nod, "Oh d-definitely!"

"Awesome."

You look at him curiously, "W-Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason," he lies on the grass and closes his eyes after setting his ice cream down, "I may or may not have planned a day in Busan for us to go to one of your favorite artist's shows."

You put your ice cream down and crawl over to him, shaking him a little, "This isn't a j-joke, right? Th-this is real, right? Is it K-Kim Junsoo?"

Jimin keeps his eyes closed but he nods, a small smile on his face. 

Jumping up from the ground, you squeal in excitement, "No w-way!!! Jimin, I l-love you!!"

He laughs as he watches you spin around, not able to contain your joy, "Well, I certainly hope you do."

"Oh, w-when is it? When is it, J-Jimin?"

"It's this Friday."

"AHHHHHHHH!" You jump up and down, your sundress bouncing around as you do, "And w-we get to spend th-the whole day in B-Busan??"

He nods, a huge smile plastered on his face. 

"I n-never been to Busan!" You squeal in excitement. 

Jimin's smile falters for a moment, but he gathers himself before you see. 

____________________

The rest of the week flies by as you wait for Friday to finally come.

The night before, you beg Jimin to have a sleepover so you two can plan out tomorrow and talk about it. 

"Are you all packed?" Jimin asks with a smile as he sees you putting together your favorite bag with all your essentials for a full day outing. 

You nod in satisfaction, your hands on your hips as you look at the bag proudly. 

"I'm r-ready!"

"Do you have your little picture?" Jimin makes sure, and you nod. 

"Mhm! I put it in th-the pocket of the sk-skirt I'm wearing tomorrow."

"Alright, we'll double check before we leave tomorrow, sound good?"

You nod. 

Before bed, the two of you watch some of the drama you're in the middle of, then Jimin sleeps on the couch as you go into your room. 

The next morning is a flurry of excitement as you get dressed and brush your hair (after Jimin reminded you to.)

"H-How do I l-look?" You ask, bouncing on the balls of your feet. 

Jimin sees that you're wearing a short black skirt and a huge yellow and white striped shirt with a cute strawberry near your heart. The shirt is so large it goes down far enough so that only a small bit of the skirt can be seen. 

"Cute!" He assures you, giving you a thumbs up, "Definitely artsy."

You giggle and thank him as you pull on your chunky sneakers, "You r-ready?"

"Indeed I am," Jimin hands you your bag when you stand up, "Double check your pocket?"

You put your hand in your pocket and pull out the sketch, then you give him a thumbs up and put it back. 

Jimin calls a taxi to take you to the train station, so that he doesn't have to worry about leaving his car in the lot all day. 

An hour later, you're sitting on the train, trying to keep yourself still because you're just so excited you can't handle it. 

Jimin ends up pulling out his booklet where he writes things down when he's working on an article, "Wanna play tic-tac-toe?"

-

When the train pulls into Busan, you and Jimin make your way around the station to the front where he waves to a taxi. 

"To the convention center please."

The taxi driver takes the two of you there, then promptly leaves. 

You run up to the doors of the convention center and you're about to go inside when Jimin calls to you, "____, wait."

Stopping and looking to where Jimin points, you see a flyer on the door talking about the art show. 

But it says Sunday. 

"Darn it," Jimin mutters, "How could I have messed up the days this bad?"

You shake your head, "It's f-fine! I've done th-that so many times!"

Jimin smiles sadly, "Thanks, but what are we supposed to do now?"

You think for a moment, "Should w-we head home and c-come back?"

Jimin shakes his head, "We shouldn't waste a trip to Busan, we just got here."

He looks around and sighs, trying to think of what you guys might be able to do today to at least make it worthwhile before heading home and waiting for Sunday. 

"Do you," he scratches his neck, "Do you just want to spend the weekend here?"

You look at him in surprise and he shrugs, "I just don't think it's worth it to ride the train four times just because I messed up the dates. We might as well make it a weekend getaway, ya know? We can head back on Monday morning."

A smile spreads on your face and you nod, "That s-sounds like f-f-fun! We should!"

He sighs in relief, "Awesome, then let's see if we can find a hotel, shall we?"

-

The two of you agree that you'll have plenty of time to look around the city on Sunday before the art show, and both of you would rather spend most of the weekend in a more rural area. 

After a bit of digging, Jimin finds a small hotel that seems to be out of the way, tucked in a more secluded place. He decides to rent a car so that you won't have to rely on a taxi the whole time.

When you get there, Jimin books two rooms right next to each other and you're led upstairs by a kind old woman that shows you the rooms, then heads back downstairs. 

One look around the small room and you're already in love with it; it's so beautiful and homey, and there's a gorgeous view outside your window. You can't imagine why there aren't swarms of people wanting to stay here. Apparently, Jimin found a hidden gem. 

After familiarizing yourselves with the hotel, you and Jimin drive to a few local stores to get some clothes for the weekend. A good excuse to get more clothes since you didn't pack anything expecting to stay overnight. 

A few hours later, everything is nicely set up for your stay. 

But now you're starving. 

"I'm starving," Jimin moans, lying on your bed. 

You laugh as you fiddle with the piece of paper in your pocket, "M-Me too, you r-read my mind."

"Should we see what we can find to eat around here? There isn't much for miles."

You stand up, "I th-think we co-could find something delicious, let's g-go!"

Jimin was right. 

There isn't too much around here, which is probably why not many people come to that hotel, preferring to stay nearby places that they won't need to take a car to. 

But after driving for a little while in the car Jimin rented for the weekend, you see a small building up ahead, only a few cars parked at it. 

"Is th-that a restaurant?" You ask. 

Jimin squints at it, "I think so...? Should we check it out?"

You nod, dying of hunger and not wanting to take the chance of passing by somewhere that has food, "It m-might be another h-h-hidden gem, let's try it."

Jimin parks the car and gets out, you following closely behind him as he climbs the steps and opens the small creaky door. A bell clangs when he opens it.

When he steps inside, he sees small tables around the floor of a big room, cushions around each table. A few people are at different tables, talking and eating. He turns to you, "It's definitely a restaurant."

A very old woman hobbles around the corner at the sound of the bell above the door ringing. 

"Ohh, well hello there dears! Just two of you today?"

Jimin nods, "Yes, please."

You follow him as he follows her to a smaller table in a corner of the room, clearly meant for only two people. 

You thank her and take a seat on a cushion, Jimin sitting on the cushion across the table from you. 

"I'll be back with some water," she says kindly before walking away. 

You glance around the room at the people eating and chatting, "It's so c-cozy in here," you say quietly to your best friend, who nods, "I agree, and the food smells freaking heavenly."

Nodding in agreement, you try to sneak a peek at what the table closest to you is eating. 

"I w-want what they have," you whisper, trying not to laugh. 

Jimin glances over, "I'm up to try anything, that looks phenomenal. I think we might've actually stumbled upon a hidden gem for the second time today!"

You clap your hands quietly, "S-See? If you hadn't m-mixed up the dates, w-we never would've gotten to come here! Everything h-h-happens for a reason!"

The old woman comes back with two glasses and a pitcher of water, setting it on the table, "There you are, de-"

You and Jimin look at her in surprise when she stops mid-sentence and just stares at you. 

"A-Are you alright?" You ask gently, and she seems to snap out of it as she nods. 

"Yes, sorry..." She looks at Jimin, then back at you, "What can I get for you?"

-

A few more people come into the restaurant while you wait patiently for your order and you busy yourself with people watching, you and Jimin being nosy as ever. 

A young man with bleach blonde hair comes out of the kitchen with a few plates of food and brings it to a table where the people all thank him heartily. 

"Thank you, Beomgyu!" One of the younger girls calls, making the young man blush. 

You turn and giggle with Jimin about how she must have a crush on him, then someone is setting a few dishes on your table. 

You look up to see a girl with long light brown hair smiling as she gives you the food. 

"Oh, thank you!" Jimin helps make sure the water is moved so there's room for the plates to go. 

"My pleasure, is there anything else I can get for you two while I'm here?"

You both shake your heads, "No, th-thank you!"

She bows, "Oh, and there's one more side dish that will be out in just a minute."

-

"I need you to bring this side dish to the small table in the corner," The waitress hands it to the young man that just finished drying his hands after washing what felt like hundreds of dishes. 

"Why me? Why not him?" He jerks his thumb towards the tall dark-haired man bent over several dishes as he tries his best to make them look pretty. 

"He's busy," she laughs, "And I have more tables to attend, the rush is starting."

He sighs and shakes his head, "Fine."

Maneuvering around her, he makes his way out of the small kitchen as he grips the side dish, being sure not to run into Beomgyu or halmeoni as they make their rounds. 

He glances around the room before his eyes land on the small table in the corner. 

And the two people sitting there. 

Freezing in the middle of the room, he feels his heart shoot to his throat. 

You laugh at something Jimin said, your whole body reacting as you clap your hands and start coughing. 

Jimin shakes his head and scolds you about being careful not to choke. 

Before either of them can look up, he turns and bolts back to the kitchen. 

"Jungkook, why didn't you give them the side dish?" She sighs and takes it from him, "Here, I'll do it."

Taehyung looks up to see his best friend standing there, completely frozen in shock. 

"Hey, what's the matter?"

When he doesn't get an answer, he walks over and touches his shoulder, "Kook? You in there?"

Jungkook's whole body quivers slightly as he stares at the sink that has a few dishes in it. 

Then he turns and goes into the backroom. 

Taehyung frowns, then grabs the waitress gently when she comes back in, "Yeona, what happened?"

She shrugs, "I'm not sure, I just asked him to bring a table a side dish and he came back with it and looked all freaked out."

Tae's brows furrow, "What table was it?"

"The small one in the corner."

Taehyung nods, "Alright, keep working. I'll take care of this," he pats her gently on the hip before leaving the kitchen. 

When he steps into the eating area, he sees you immediately, sitting there and talking to Jimin with a huge smile. 

"Oh, fucking hell."

-

Tae barges into the backroom to see Jungkook curled up in the corner, his knees to his chest as he tries to breathe, his chest rising and falling sporadically.

"Jungkook."

"I- I think I'm h-hallucinating, hyung," Jungkook chokes out, his eyes brimming with tears, "I sw-swear I didn't dr-drink-"

Taehyung crouches next to him and puts a gentle hand on his knee, but the younger one still doesn't look at him. 

"I-" Jungkook chokes out a pained laugh, "I thought I saw her."

He presses a hand to his mouth to stop the sob that's threatening to come out, his eyes squeezing shut as a few tears fall. 

"Jungkook-"

"She was right there," Jungkook whispers hoarsely, "Sh-she was more vivid than she's ever been. I- I know I see her sometimes b-but not like that. Not that clear."

Tae nods, "I know."

Jungkook points a shaky finger towards the door, "Please go l-look at the small table in the c-corner, and tell me she isn't there."

Tae looks down. 

"I can't do that, Jungkook."

Jungkook covers his face with his hands, his entire body starting to shake more than it already was. 

"Don't- don't say that."

"Kook-"

He shakes his head, his dark hair swinging gently, "I don't want you to say anything."

"I know," Tae sighs, "Just let me figure out what's going on-"

"Nothing's going on," Jungkook snaps, "Nothing. It isn't her, both of us just didn't sleep last night. It's someone that looks like her, that's all. I have stuff to do."

The elder sighs when Jungkook stands up harshly and wipes his eyes before leaving the backroom. 

-

"This food is literally so good," Jimin moans, stuffing another bite into his mouth and pretending to cry. 

You nod, "M-My favorite is the- oh!"

The girl that called to Beomgyu earlier steps back in surprise when she sees what she did. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

You laugh and pick up the cup that she knocked over and onto your clothes, drenching you. 

"It's a-alright!" You assure her. 

She keeps apologizing but you shake your head and adamantly tell her not to worry about it. Then you tell Jimin you're going to look for a towel to clean up the mess so the servers don't need to worry about it. 

Moving through the tables, you make your way to where you saw the staff going in and out. 

The kind old woman steps out just as you're coming over, carrying a few plates of food. 

"Oh, how can I help you, sweetie? Is there something wrong with the food?"

You shake your head, "No, n-not at all! I was j-just hoping I could g-g-get a towel, I accidentally sp-spilled something."

She laughs gently and nods behind her, "You are more than welcome to go into the kitchen, one of my servers will help you."

You thank her as she continues into the eating area, then you walk over to the kitchen she gestured to. 

Walking around the corner, you run right smack into a hard chest and stumble back. 

"Oh! I'm s-so sorry!" You bow to the young man you just ran into. 

When a moment goes by and he doesn't answer, you look up slowly to see him staring at you, his eyes as big as saucers. 

You look down to see that he was holding a bowl of cold noodles, the broth now soaking his shirt as a result of your clumsiness.

"Oh m-my gosh," your hands fly to your mouth, "I'm so sorry, I- I- I didn't mean to-"

You grab a cloth that was hanging on a hook next to you and start trying to mop up the mess on his shirt. 

When it proves futile, you glance up to see him gulp, still frozen as he stares at your hands. 

"I-" you kneel down and start cleaning up the broth that fell on the floor, "I'm s-such a clutz, I'm sorry."

When you stand up again and see him still staring at you, you start getting fidgety. 

Why won't he stop staring at you?

It makes it worse that he's extremely handsome; his dark hair falling into one of his eyes, piercings going up both of his ears, and his huge dark eyes boring into yours. 

You clear your throat and look down, forcing yourself not to stare at the tattoos covering one of his arms, his sleeves pushed up to show they go up farther than his elbow. 

Then you notice the bracelets on his wrist and your brow furrows before he seems to snap out of it and puts his hand behind his back, hiding the bracelets before you get to look at them for too long. 

"I-..."

You take a step back, feeling terrible for ruining his clothes and the food he was bringing to a customer. 

Just then, another tall man comes from behind him. 

"JK-"

He stops when he sees you. 

You feel your bottom lip start to tremble, feeling like a burden now that you've disrupted their work so much after making a mess. 

The second young man grabs the shoulder of the one you bumped into and shoves him back into the kitchen, "Go clean yourself up," he says to him lowly before turning back to you. 

He smiles at you kindly and you feel tears prick in your eyes for some reason unknown to you. 

"Sorry about him, he's out of it today."

You shake your head, "It w-was my fault, I bumped i-into him..."

He takes a step closer, "It isn't your fault. Can I help you with something?"

Eyes falling to the floor, you mumble to him that you needed a towel to clean a mess you made. 

The kind young man tells you to go back to your table and he'll get one for you. 

A few minutes later, he comes over with a towel and makes quick work of cleaning the water up. 

Eyes locked on his wrist, you stare at the purple and blue bracelet there as he wipes up the mess. 

You see Jimin's jaw clench and eyes widen when he first sees him, then you see the waiter shake his head a little at your best friend before leaving. 

What the heck is going on?

Jimin urges you to finish eating and you do, but you can't help glancing in the direction of the kitchen every once in a while. 

You don't see either of the young men with dark hair again, only the old woman, the young woman, and the boy with the bleached hair. 

Jimin pays for the meal and ushers you towards the front, not letting you do or say anything else as you make your way out. 

But just before you walk out, you turn your head to see the waiter that wiped up your table going back to the kitchen after bringing out some food. 

He makes eye contact with you briefly, a sad smile on his face before he disappears around a corner. 

_________________________

Pulling into the dirt lot in front of the hotel, Jimin sighs as he parks the car. 

"Well, that place was delicious after all."

You stay quiet, staring out the front window. 

"What's wrong?" He asks after a minute. 

Coming out of your trance, you grab Jimin's wrist and bring it over to yours and hold them next to each other. 

The purple and blue bracelet on Jimin's wrist that matches yours is the same one that both of those workers wore. 

"W-Why did I m-make this with purple?" Your voice is so quiet he almost doesn't hear you, but he does. 

Jimin gulps, "I guess you just liked the color-"

You shake your head, "Your f-favorite color is bl-blue, mine is yellow. W-Why would I make our fr-friendship bracelet with purple and n-not yellow?" 

Your eyes move to the yellow and black bracelet on your wrist, your mind flashing back to the worker you bumped into. 

Did he have the same one?

That would be impossible, you made this yourself...

Why did you make this for yourself?

Confusion clouds your brain. 

No. 

The one that cleaned the water definitely had the same purple and blue bracelet on. You're not crazy.

"Those w-workers had the s-same bracelets as us...A-Are you sure I m-made these?" You ask softly. 

Jimin clears his throat and pulls his wrist back gently, "I'm not sure, ____. It was over a year ago when you gave it to me, maybe you picked them up somewhere."

You swallow thickly and nod, "You're pr-probably right."

You head inside, saying a quick hello to the old woman at the front desk before making your way to the rooms. 

"G-Goodnight, Jimin," you say before going into your room and shutting the door. 

Crawling into the bed, you don't even bother changing out of your clothes, you just pull the covers up to your chin and hold the sketch of the little dandelion up to look at before falling asleep.

________________________________________________

"Jungkook..."

Tae's elbows rest on his knees as he looks at his best friend's face. 

When he doesn't get a response, he whispers, "I'm sorry. I don't know anything more than you do. I was just as shocked to see her today."

Jungkook just keeps looking out the window, his face void of any emotions. 

It's a perfect mask for what's happening on the inside. 

But not perfect enough to fool his closest friend. 

"Talk to me, Jungkook-"

"I did everything I was told to," Jungkook seethes, "I left because I was told to, I stayed away because I was told to, I tried to live my life because I was told to. For her sake."

Tae swallows thickly when he sees Jungkook's eyes water. 

"Why does the universe hate me so fucking much?" Jungkook chokes out, "Why would it put her right in front of me when it knows I'd do anything to be with her?"

"I know it hurts-"

"You know?" Jungkook's gaze turns hard as he looks at Tae, "You know? You don't know anything."

"Kook-"

"No, you don't fucking get it, do you?"

Taehyung shuts his mouth before shaking his head slowly. 

"How do you think you know what it's like to see her again? To see her right in front of me, looking at me without a single ounce of recognition?" Jungkook's voice gets caught in his throat, "I tried everything I could to help with the pain since I left because I was told to move on for her sake, but nothing worked. Not a single fucking thing," He gestures out his tattooed arm and Tae knows exactly what he's talking about. 

The pain in his heart never ceased, no matter how much physical pain he put himself through to distract his mind and heart, "Because I don't want to fucking move on, I'm selfish and I want what I want. I want her. And then she's in front of me, and this time I'm not just seeing things. And all I can do is stand there like a fucking idiot because if I let my walls down, I wouldn't have been able to control myself."

The elder gulps and looks down. 

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Jungkook looks back out the window, "You've got Yeona, how could you possibly know enough to say sorry?"

Tae's jaw clenches and he stands up, "You're the one that told me to accept Yeona, that told me not to give up on something that I cared about."

Jungkook ignores him, staring at the grass blowing in the summer breeze. 

"She was my friend too," Tae says hoarsely, "And I know that doesn't mean fucking shit compared to what she was to you. I'm sorry I was careless with my words just now, okay? I have no fucking idea how much it hurts for you right now. I don't know how to help you."

Jungkook gulps, but still doesn't look at him. 

"Don't shut me out, okay? I only ever wanted the best for both of you."

The younger just blinks, not acknowledging that he heard him. 

"Jungkook-"

"Just leave me alone."

Tae bites his tongue before he can say anything else, then he leaves, the door shutting behind him. 

Jungkook finally looks away from the window, his hand slipping into the pocket of his lucky jacket and pulling out a torn and bloodied letter along with a few band-aids. 

The memory of you giving him the band-aids when he helped you clean your classroom the first time comes flooding into his brain. 

“I i-insist. I have p-plenty, and you n-never know when y-you’ll need a b-bandage.”

He gulps. 

The bleeding ache in his heart is going to need a hell of a lot more than a band-aid.

A few tears slip down his cheeks before he wipes them away and looks at the letter from you that Dae tore to pieces. 

He can only make out some of the words, but he read it so many times before the incident that it's burned into his brain anyway. 

"Fuck," Jungkook wipes at his eyes in frustration. 

It was a freak coincidence. 

He's never going to see you again after today. 

For your sake, he needs to pull himself together. 

For your sake he needs to bottle it up to make sure you live the life you always deserved, the reason he left anyway. 

For your sake. 

“P-Promise me, y-you won’t fall in love w-with me.”

Jungkook swallows the lump in his throat as he messes with the bracelets on his wrist, whispering in his mind the words he promised to say every day, no matter what, the promise he refuses to break, to this day. 

I love you, ____.

__________________________________

The next day, you still can't get those questions out of your head. 

Jimin notices that you're distracted during breakfast and while the two of you go to the beach and look out at the water. 

"What's on your mind?" He finally asks, knowing it has something to do with yesterday. 

"I j-just want answers," you say quietly, staring at the sea. 

Jimin clears his throat, "Are you sure you didn't just buy them at a stand somewhere?"

You shake your head, "N-No, it's the bracelet design I m-made when I was l-little."

He wants to tell you, he wants to tell you everything. 

Honestly, he's been looking for those two ever since they disappeared from the hospital. 

He knows they meant the best and that you were already struggling. He knows that Jungkook didn't want to drag you back into the hell you escaped from after losing your memories. 

But he also knows that you're meant to be together, there's no denying that. 

Searching high and low for almost a year and a half and he always came up with nothing. And now the two of you run into them in Busan? Over a year later? Only because he happened to be lucky enough to get tickets because of a cancellation, and then to mix up the dates and come early and then stay at that specific hotel and eat at that specific restaurant?

No one will convince him it isn't meant to be. 

But right now, is the best plan of action telling you everything? Or is the best plan of action letting you fall in love with Jungkook again naturally?

Did Jungkook find someone else in all this time? 

Maybe he's not even interested in pursuing you, as unbelievable as that seems. 

But he needs to make sure. 

He can't just tell you that that worker was the one you were so hopelessly in love with, the one you wanted to be with forever, the one that put you above himself in everything. 

Because what if Jungkook doesn't feel the same anymore?

As your best friend, he can't put that story into your head just for it to be ripped away from you because he found someone else. 

He needs to be one hundred percent positive and make sure everyone else is on board. 

What good is a wingman if he lets the love of your life get away?

As your wingman, he needs answers. 

And those will only come from one place. 

"I j-just want to go b-back and make sure I'm not crazy," you pout. 

Jimin gulps, then he nods, "Okay, we should go back."

You look at him, eyes bright, "Really?"

"Of course, besides, the food was out of this world."

________________________________________

Yeona smiles at Jungkook as she hands him a few dishes that need to be cleaned, "Think you can handle more?"

He just nods and takes them, dunking them into the water and scrubbing furiously. 

She frowns and walks over to Tae, who is busy plating food. 

"I'm worried about him," she whispers. 

Taehyung finishes up the plates he was doing, sends them out with Beomgyu, then takes her elbow gently and leads her to the back. 

"Did something happen?" She asks, worry creasing her brow, "Please don't keep stuff from me, especially when it's about you two. You know he's like a little brother to me."

Tae bites his lip, "I know."

"So, what's going on?"

"The table you served the other day, the one with the girl and guy in the corner..."

She looks thoughtful, "Oh, the one with the sweet girl that had the cute stutter?"

He nods, looking away. 

"What about them?" Yeona asks softly, touching his arm. 

Taehyung sighs, then he leans against the closed door. 

"Do you remember when we first met?"

She laughs, "Of course, I wasn't sure if you'd return my bike that day."

Tae smiles sadly, "Do you remember why I needed that bike?"

She thinks for a moment, then she nods, "You said you needed it because a friend needed help, right?"

He nods, "Yeah. Well, that girl was the friend."

"Ah," She looks a little confused, "Then...if she was your friend, how come she acted like she didn't know anyone here?"

"Because she doesn't remember us," Tae whispers brokenly, "She lost her memories a little bit before Jungkook and I came back here."

Yeona looks deep in thought as she tries to understand. 

"Is she the one..."

Before she even needs to say it, he nods, "She's the one he's in love with."

Yeona puts a hand over her mouth, tears filling her eyes. 

"But she doesn't remember him at all?"

Taehyung shakes his head, "No."

Yeona turns away for a moment, wiping her eyes. 

"I feel terrible for trying to have him bring that side dish over," she whispers tearfully, "I can't believe he had to go through that."

"It wasn't your fault," he says gently, taking her arms and pulling her into a hug, "You didn't know."

"That doesn't make it any better," she sniffles, "Poor Kook...I can't imagine the pain he must be in right now."

Tae holds her against him, trying to gather his strength, "He's in more pain than I can ever explain."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you everything, just not today."

She looks up at him, "Does this have to do with you being an ex-hitman?"

He gulps and nods. 

Yeona stuffs her face back into his chest, "Ok, I'll wait for you to be ready."

________________________________

Jimin pulls up next to a small blue car sitting outside of the restaurant a little after one in the afternoon. 

"So, what are you planning on doing?" He asks curiously, looking over to see you fiddling with your fingers. 

"Oh," you wave your hand dismissively, "I'm j-just gonna look at th-their bracelets, maybe ask th-them where they got them fr-from."

Jimin nods, "Sounds like a solid plan. And I will enjoy the heavenly food."

You laugh, your nerves quieting down as he chuckles. 

You're not sure why you were so nervous anyway, you just want to know where they got them and if you had just forgotten about buying them from somewhere. It's probably just a silly coincidence and you made up the memory of having designed them when you were little. 

-

The little bell clangs above the door as Jimin steps in and holds it open for you. 

The same old woman from last night hobbles around the corner and smiles brightly at the two of you. 

"Well, what a nice surprise! It's always wonderful to see returning faces."

"We couldn't stop thinking about your food," Jimin tells her sweetly, "I don't think I'll ever be able to eat anywhere else and be satisfied."

She laughs delightedly and thanks him, making small talk with him as she leads you two to the same table as the night before. 

"Thank y-y-you," you smile at her and she smiles back, but there's an almost sad look in her eyes that confuses you. She covers it with a bigger smile and says she'll be back with water. 

Jimin looks around, taking in the simple decorations, "It's so homey, I can't get over it. We're gonna need to make trips to Busan more often just to come here."

You nod in agreement, but you're a little distracted thinking about why she looked at you like that. It almost looked as though she had found a puppy she lost years ago. 

It made your heart ache and you aren't sure why. 

"You okay?"

You snap out of it and look at Jimin before nodding, "Yeah, j-just didn't get m-much sleep last night."

"Ah, wanna take a nap after lunch?"

You're about to answer him when the boy from last night with bleach-blonde hair comes over with cups and a pitcher, "Good afternoon, here's some water for you folks."

Jimin thanks him as he gives him a cup, then turns to hand one to you. 

He freezes for a moment, his eyes widening for a split second before he seems to come to his senses and hands you the cup. 

You thank him and he bows before leaving. 

"J-Jimin."

"Hm?" Your best friend looks at you from over his cup of water that he's currently gulping. 

"Do th-they seem like they're a-a-acting weird to you?"

He sets the cup down and sighs in satisfaction before shaking his head as he wipes his lips, "No, why?"

"Oh...m-maybe I'm more t-tired than I thought."

Jimin watches you carefully for a moment, then the old woman comes back over to take your order. 

A few tables have people eating at them, but not as many as last night. It must be a quiet time for business around this hour. 

Both of you are fidgety, but neither of you notice the other one glancing around nervously. 

"Um, I think I need to use the restroom," Jimin says, standing up, "Too much water," he laughs a bit awkwardly. 

You just nod, "...o-okay."

The dark-blonde stands there for a moment, then he bites his lip and moves away to look for the restroom.

-

Turning the corner where it has a sign for the restroom, Jimin glances back to see you looking at your phone. 

The oversized floppy brown turtleneck you're in is practically swallowing you whole, the short black jumper dress over top of it bringing the outfit together perfectly. He smiles, knowing you would be delighted to hear how cute the outfit turned out, since you weren't so sure this morning. 

He makes a mental note to tell you after he's done with what he needs to do. 

Turning to look for the way to the kitchen, he bumps into someone. 

"Oh, pardon me."

The girl smiles at him kindly, "Can I help you with something?"

He nods, "Yes, actually. Is Taehyung working today?"

She seems a little surprised that he seems to know one of the workers, but she recovers quickly and nods, "Yes he is- wait a minute.. oh, you were here last night!"

He nods, "Yeah, my friend and I came back to try more dishes."

"Oh, wonderful!"

Jimin scratches his neck, "Um, would I be able to speak with him?"

"Tae?"

"Mhm."

"I'll go and see if he's got a minute, I'll be right back."

"Thank you."

______________________

You thank Beomgyu when he brings over the food, noting that he's acting normal this time around. 

Maybe you really did just imagine things earlier. 

You look around for Jimin, wondering why it's taking him so long in the bathroom. 

-

"Jimin?"

The blonde turns to see Taehyung walking over, a look of concern on his face. 

"Hi, Tae."

"Hey," Taehyung swallows the lump in his throat, "What's going on? I didn't think we'd see you guys again after last night."

Jimin purses his lips, "We're staying in Busan for the weekend. I had no idea you guys worked here."

"You couldn't have known," Tae says softly, "I guess the world works in mysterious ways."

"You can say that again," Jimin sighs, "I need to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly, don't sugarcoat a single thing. Do you understand?"

Taehyung nods, a serious look on his face. 

"I've been looking for you two since you left."

He sees the younger gulp at that but doesn't say anything. 

"I know you meant to stay hidden, and I understand. I have no doubt that you only did what you knew was best at the time. But now that we've all run into each other again, I need to know..."

Jimin bites his lip nervously as Tae watches him carefully. 

"Is Jungkook seeing someone else?"

Taehyung immediately shakes his head, "No."

"Has he seen anyone else?"

Another head shake, "Not a single soul."

"Nothing? No one? He hasn't even considered seeing another girl?"

Tae looks behind him, then he moves closer so that only Jimin can hear him, "I know it's been a long time. But Jungkook hasn't even so much as glanced at another girl. To distract himself he just started working out a lot and getting tattoos and shit to feel the adrenaline."

Jimin frowns. 

"Yeah, I know it wasn't the best coping mechanism. They look radical as fuck though, you should see them."

Jimin is about to say something when Tae cuts him off, "Every single tattoo he has is meaningful to him."

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Jimin assures him, "I wasn't judging-"

"I didn't think you were, I just meant," Tae moves closer and whispers, "The kid tattooed his body with reminders of her. You don't have to worry about him seeing anyone else."

Jimin gives him a smile, "Sounds like a simp."

"He's always been a simp for her," Tae pretends to gag. 

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jimin asks after they compose themselves. 

"I don't know," Tae leans against the wall, "I was up all night thinking about it. Now that I know you two are staying at least for a few days, it makes things easier...I think."

-

Jimin has been gone for at least fifteen or twenty minutes and the food is getting cold. 

You sigh and stand up, moving around the tables and walking over to where a sign points to the restroom. After walking around the corner and seeing the bathroom door open and the light off, you frown. 

What the heck?

Where did he go?

You walk further down the hall and end up at a back door made of glass. Outside, there are a few big trash cans and some pieces of scrap metal. 

Right before you turn around to head back, you see a flash of black out by the dumpsters. You stop and look out again to see the young man from last night. 

The one you spilt cold broth all over. 

There’s a black cat with a red collar circling his feet, its tail brushing against his legs.

Your cheeks burn a little as you watch him throw a few trash bags into the dumpster, his sleeve tattoo on full display. Even from here you can see a few bracelets adorning the wrist of the tattooed arm. 

Aha. 

You knew you weren't just seeing things. 

But you'll need to get a better look to confirm they're the same as yours. 

You're about to make yourself walk back and look for Jimin when you see him pull down the top of his unbuttoned button-down shirt so that only his shoulders are visible. He runs his hands through his hair and fans himself with his hands as he looks at the sky, facing away from you.  

Gulping, you try not to stare at the tattoo on his left shoulder that's not hidden by the muscle shirt he's got on under the button-down. 

It's a lotus flower. 

Pretty...

clangclangclang!

"Ah!"

You trip over a piece of metal that was sitting on the steps after the door swings open suddenly. 

You hadn't realized you were leaning against it. 

Barely catching yourself before you faceplant, your arms swing in the air as you stumble. 

Looking up, you gulp when you see the young man staring at you, his eyes wide. The cat is gone, having took off like a bullet at the ruckus you made.

He's already pulled up his shirt and closed it, having done so when he heard someone coming. 

He didn't know it was you though. 

Jungkook feels his breath get caught in his throat when he sees you looking up at him through a mess of hair. 

Why does the universe hate him so fucking much?

You fix your hair clumsily and flash him one of your best smiles, hoping he doesn't yell at you for being out here. 

"S-Sorry, I was looking f-for my friend and got a b-bit lost."

He doesn't say anything.

Why did he have to have that one split second of hope, to think that you might have remembered him and come to find him?

Your look of complete and utter calmness and unrecognition stabs him in the heart.

The universe is so fucking cruel. 

"I hope I d-didn't break anything," You say as you turn to see the piece of metal lying on the ground, "I didn't s-see it there-"

"Are you hurt?"

You turn back to him, a smile finding its way to your face at the sound of his voice. 

Shaking your head, you look at him with those huge eyes he could never resist, "Nuh uh, I'm f-fine."

Thank goodness. 

He bites his lip as his fists clench. 

He needs Tae or someone, anyone, to come out here and save him before he fucks everything up. 

You fiddle with your fingers, looking down. 

"Fucking hell."

"Hm?"

Jungkook startles when you look up at him and he realizes he just cursed out loud. 

"Nothing, sorry."

You smile at him again and he swears to God his heart has never hurt more than this. 

He's been through hell and back countless times his entire life, but nothing has hurt like this, not even close. 

Why can't he just escape pain for once?

Taking a step closer, you frown when he takes a step back. 

"So-sorry," you mumble, stepping away again. 

Jungkook gulps, tears welling up in his eyes as he stares at you, silently begging you to just remember him. To please not freak out if he embraces you right now because he can't fucking control himself.

He lets out a shaky breath and turns away to start walking in a random direction. 

Anywhere that isn't near you. 

He can't do it. 

He can't control himself, and he is not about to touch you when you think of him as nothing more than a stranger. He'd never forgive himself if he scared you like that. 

So, he needs to get away. 

"W-Wait!"

Jungkook freezes, a huge lump forming in his throat that he's pretty sure is his actual heart leaving his body. 

Please, don't make this harder for me. 

"I d-don't mean to bother y-you, but I was w-wondering if I could ask y-y-you a question?"

Jungkook's jaw clenches as he mentally tells himself to keep fucking breathing. 

He finally turns around to face you again, but his eyes stay locked on the ground. 

For a split second, they land on your chunky white tennis shoes. 

They're still tied the way he did it, so you could slip them on and off, he'd swear those were the same knots he made so long ago-

"A-are you okay?" Your small voice reaches his ears, and he nods numbly after a minute. 

"What did you want to ask me?" His voice is hoarse, and you wonder for a brief moment if he needs a drink of water or something. 

"Um, it's a s-silly question, but c-could I see your bra-bracelets?"

You watch as he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and gnaws on it gently. 

"Why?" He eventually asks. 

You gulp, not expecting him to question you. You thought maybe he'd just let you have a look and be done. 

"I just- I th-thought I remembered-"

His head shoots up and the look he gives you takes your breath away; the pain in his eyes making your heart hurt.

"You reme-" he cuts himself off when he sees the confused look on your face. 

Of course she didn't remember.

Idiot. 

Jungkook takes a step back, needing to be farther from you so he can think clearly. 

He's gotta get out of here before he does something stupid. 

All his instincts are screaming at him to hold you and never let you go again. 

But he can't. 

For your sake. 

"I- uh...j-just thought we m-might've gotten them at the s-same place," you whisper, very unsure of yourself now. 

Jungkook holds his arm out and you stare at it for a moment, stunned. 

Then you snap out of it and move closer, inspecting the three bracelets there. 

Hm.

You pull up the floppy sleeve of your sweater and hold up your wrist to place it next to his, not missing the beautiful ink decorating his arm and contrasting against your bare one.

His bracelets...

They aren't just similar to yours...

They're exactly the same. 

He has the yellow and black bracelet, the purple and blue bracelet, and even the silver bracelet with the exact same two charms as yours: the crescent moon and the angel wing.

You slowly look up and see him staring at you, his eyes a little shiny but his face emotionless. 

 A nervous laugh slips out of your mouth as your gaze falls back to your wrists, "They're th-the same."

It's quiet for a moment, then you hear him whisper, "I guess we have similar taste in jewelry."

You nod but continue staring at both of your wrists. 

Then your eye catches the image of two of your favorite flowers tattooed on his arm.

Dandelion and Agapanthus...

Wow, you must have the same taste in flowers too.

Not being able to control yourself, you let your gaze wander over more of the tattoos and see a few words just below the inside of his elbow. 

Live for what you love.

Your eyes slowly trace up his arm and to his dark ones that still bore into you. 

It feels like he's reading your very soul. 

"Who a-are you?" You whisper, not even aware of the words coming out of your mouth until there's no taking them back. 

He pulls his arm back and you see him gulp, eyes never leaving yours. 

"No one," his voice is barely above a whisper as it shakes slightly. 

"____?"

You and Jungkook flinch at the sound of someone calling your name. 

You turn and see Jimin standing on the little concrete steps, holding the door open and looking at you in surprise. 

The other waiter from last night is standing behind him, a soft smile on his face as he looks back and forth between you and the young man behind you. 

You turn and bow to the dark-haired stranger, "S-sorry for bothering y-you, I'll be go-going now."

He doesn't say anything as you hurry over to the steps and climb them clumsily, grabbing Jimin's hand when he reaches for you so you don't fall.

You smile and bow to the other worker and he gives you a tiny bow back, the gentle smile never leaving his face. 

Jimin leads you back down the hallway. You only turn once to see the tall man going through the back door. 

-

"What happened?" Tae asks gently as he approaches Jungkook, who is still standing in the same spot, looking a bit sickly. 

"She just came out of nowhere," Jungkook chokes out, his eyes finally leaving the ground and traveling up to his best friend's smile, "Why are you smiling?"

Taehyung sighs, "Why do you think I'm smiling, Kook? They're staying in Busan for the weekend, it's fate-"

"It's not fate," Jungkook snaps, fixing his sleeves and clearing his throat before walking around Tae, "Don't pull that bullshit on me."

"Hey, now wait a fucking second," Tae grabs Jungkook's arm, ready to start an argument. 

But Jungkook beats him to it; the bottle coming uncapped and the agony inside exploding. 

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?!" Jungkook shouts, his voice breaking, "For over a goddamn year you told me to move on! You told me to move on for her sake!! Now you're telling me it's all clear?!"

He gets up in Tae's face, "You suddenly decide it's okay for me to love her? Now that she shows up and still doesn't remember a single fucking thing about my existence?! When she looks at me and sees nothing but a blank slate? Now it's safe for me to love her?!" 

Taehyung closes his eyes, letting Jungkook scream at him all he wants. 

He deserves it.

"I hate you for making me leave! I hate you for telling me not to be selfish and move on so that she can move on and live her life!! I hate that I can't fucking hate your stupid ass because you did it so I wouldn't be arrested, and you were right!! Is that what you want to hear?! You were right!! I never deserved her-"

"I never said that-"

"YOU THOUGHT IT!!" Jungkook screams, tears building up in his eyes, "WE ALL FUCKING KNEW IT!!"

Tae feels tears well up in his own eyes as he opens them to look at his best friend.

He shakes his head, "I didn't, I've never thought that."

Jungkook's jaw clenches and he almost looks like he's about to hit Tae in the face. 

But the glass door opens and Yeona calls out to them before he can throw a punch. 

"What's going on??" She hurries down the steps and shoves her way between them, keeping them each at an arm's length away. She turns to Jungkook, "Kook, what on earth happened? Why are you crying?"

He steps back and wipes at his eyes, confused when he feels that they're wet. 

Didn't realize he was crying...

When he doesn't answer her, she looks at Tae, "What happened?" She asks fiercely, "And don't you dare say nothing, Kim Taehyung."

He sighs and looks over at Jungkook, who is shutting down. 

"The customers can hear you guys screaming out here," Yeona scolds, looking at them both, "Would you care to explain why?"

Tae's face pales, "Did they hear what was said?"

Yeona shakes her head, "No, thank goodness. Just a bunch of shouting. Now, tell me what happened or I'll make sure halmeoni scolds both of you." 

Taehyung glances at the youngest again before pinching the bridge of his nose, "____ came back here and spoke to him."

"Don't say her name," Jungkook growls. 

Yeona looks back and forth between them, "I'm guessing this is the girl," she says softly.

When neither of them says anything, she turns to Jungkook, "Did Tae push it too far? Did he say something insensitive?"

Jungkook hesitates for a moment, then he shakes his head. 

"Are you sure?" She presses gently. 

He knows she always scolds Tae for being mean and he's grateful that she keeps him in line, but he just wants this whole thing to be done. So he nods, "I'm sure."

Yeona glances at Tae suspiciously, who holds up both hands in defense. 

"I'm gonna step away, I expect no one to throw a punch."

She steps away, then she sighs when no one moves. 

"Thank you. Now, Tae you have dishes you need to prepare. Jungkook, would you like to take your break?"

He nods and walks away before she can say anything else. 

Yeona turns back to Tae, who looks after the youngest helplessly, "You need to let him calm down."

He nods dejectedly, "I know."

"Would you like to help me in the kitchen?"

Tae nods again, letting her take his hand and lead him inside. 

_________________________

"Why doesn't he want to try to get close to her again?" Yeona asks quietly as she and Tae make the food side by side. 

"It's not that he doesn't want to," Tae sighs, "It's that he's been convincing himself for almost a year and a half that she's better off without him. He won't admit it, but he's scared to drag her into his life again because he thinks she was happier before she met him."

Yeona frowns, "But they were in love, weren't they?"

He nods, "More than I've ever seen between two people. I don't know how to describe it...they never actually made it official because of all the bullshit happening. They didn't date like normal people do."

She just listens quietly as he tries his best to explain. 

"It was different, you could almost feel it. The way they looked at each other when the other wasn't looking. They always wanted nothing more than the other to be happy and safe. It was almost tangible when you walked into the room, but it was never awkward. I fucking hate couples, they're gross, but with these two; it was almost like the room was physically brighter when they were together..."

Yeona smiles softly as she gazes at him, "I've never heard love described that way from someone on the outside looking in."

Taehyung chuckles sadly, "I've never described it that way being the one on the outside looking in."

"If he loves her as much as he does, how is he able to keep himself from her?" Yeona asks as she pours seasonings into a big pot. 

"That's exactly it. He loves her so much that he lets himself hurt just to make sure she's happy, yet he still calls himself selfish," Tae plates up some food, "He really thinks she was happier before she met him."

Yeona stays silent as they finish up the last few orders in the small rush. 

_______________________

Jungkook looks up from his bed when he hears a knock on the door. 

"Come in," he says, knowing who it is already.

The door cracks open and he sees Yeona slip in. 

She frowns when she sees him sitting on his bed, his eyes rimmed with red. 

"Jungkook..."

He won't look at her, just stares at the wall. 

"Can I sit?"

He gives her a quick nod. 

She sits on the edge of his bed and joins him in staring at the wall. 

After a brief silence, she sighs. 

"You know you're like the little brother I never had, right?"

Jungkook nods but continues to stay silent. 

"Do you mind if we get deep for a minute?"

He hesitates, then he shrugs and mumbles, "I guess not."

"Alright," she turns to face him, "You were the one that made sure Tae and I could be together. He kept pushing me away again and again, until finally he let me in. And we both have you to thank for that."

Jungkook shakes his head, "You two are meant to be together, you would've ended up together anyway."

"And yet, how many years would we have wasted if his best friend didn't urge him to face me?"

He gulps, starting to understand her point. 

"Taehyung only briefly spoke about her to me all this time, and although I know a little more now, I still don't know everything."

She looks back at the wall he's staring at. 

"Would you tell me about her?"

"I- I don't know..." Jungkook whispers uncertainly, he's never even told Tae in detail all about what he sees in you, too scared to be vulnerable. 

Because look at where being vulnerable has gotten him. 

"Let's start easy, what's her favorite color?"

Jungkook feels a painful jab in his heart but he forces the word out anyway, "Yellow."

"Aw, cute...and what kind of stuff does she like to eat?"

"She loves sweet things... but there's a tteokbokki stand in Seoul that was always her favorite, and she would-" He cuts himself off when he realizes he's going off. 

"And she would what?"

"Never mind," Jungkook puts a hand to his head, "None of this matters anymore, it's not like it's useful to me."

Yeona frowns, "Why are you refusing to let her get close to you again?"

"Tae probably already told you, his big fucking mouth-"

"I want to hear it from you."

Jungkook sighs in irritation, she really is like an older sister, nagging at him all the time. 

"Because she's better off without me, okay?" He snaps.

"What makes you say that? Clearly she's taken an interest in you even though she doesn't remember-"

"Yeona. The first time I saw her, I was figuring out the best way to fucking kill her."

She looks at him in surprise. 

"She was my hit," Jungkook mumbles, "And she was the most innocent human I ever met."

She stays quiet, sensing that he's finally opening up as he gets this faraway look in his eye. 

"She always had this light in her eyes, no matter what happened. The light never dimmed, it was like she saw the world through the eyes of a kid. She saw beauty in the world that leaves us after we grow up, the magic that we all stop believing in."

He drops his head in his hands, "Then it was gone. There was no light left, nothing. I did that to her..."

"Jungkook-"

"I did, I took that light away from her. And now she has it back," his voice breaks, "And if she gets dragged into my life again, she'll lose it forever."

Yeona stays quiet.

"She was and is happier without knowing me."

"Why can't you let her decide that, though?" Yeona whispers, "Why do you get to make that decision for her? Why should Tae get what he wants and you need to suffer? Yes, things happened that hurt all of you guys, but it's over now, isn't it?"

Jungkook gnaws on his lip.

"You're done with the hits, no?"

He nods, "Yes."

"So you haven't done a single hit since the last guy...Dae?"

Jungkook's jaw clenches at the sound of his name, but nods to confirm her question. 

"And the hits were more or less the center of it all...am I wrong?"

He shakes his head a little. 

"So, everyone needs to keep healing, it's going to take a lot of time...but, if she loved you as much as I'm sensing she did; don't you think she'd like to heal with you instead of alone?"

Jungkook gulps, "I wish it was that simple. But if she doesn't remember me, how is that going to work? I'm not going to lie to her and pretend like we didn't meet until now if we get closer. Nothing good has ever come from lying to her. I'm not going to do that."

"Good, because that would be the worst idea ever."

"So, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

She shrugs, "Well for starters, let Tae back in. He's the one that knows you two better than I ever will. And he said something about her friend...Jimin? He said that Jimin wants to find a way to get you two back together."

Jungkook feels his chest tighten, "It's not going to happen unless we tell her everything. And I am not throwing her back into those memories, I'm not going to do that to her for my own selfishness, not when she's finally happy again."

He stands up and walks to the door, "I'm going to the shops, halmeoni told me we needed some things earlier."

The door shuts behind him harshly and she sighs, hoping that he will at least take her words into consideration.

_____________________________________

Jungkook grabs a few bushels of the vegetables halmeoni asked him to get, walking around the little stands where people are shouting different prices and what they have to offer. 

"Can I get five please?" He asks the little old man at the stand with cabbages. 

He pays the man, grabbing the bag and thanking him before moving on. 

At least halmeoni made him bring the cart this time. Usually, he insists he can carry everything, not wanting to lug around this silly thing. But there's definitely more to carry this time than usual. 

Jungkook walks over to the peach stand, glancing over them. 

The memory of you laughing and joking in his old apartment as the two of you make peach-filled mochi floods his brain. 

The peaches in front of him blur and he bites his lip harshly. 

Get it together, Jungkook. 

You don't get to be selfish anymore.

"What can I get for you, sweetie?"

He clears his throat and is about to answer, when another voice speaks up and he realizes the vendor wasn't even talking to him.

"C-Can I please get t-two?"

The sound of your stutter squeezes his heart painfully as he turns to the side to see you standing there, eyes wide as you look at the plump fruit. 

The lady at the stand nods and bags up two peaches, telling you the price as she hands them to you. 

"Thank y-you," you dig into your wallet and pull out some money to hand to her, then you frown when you realize you don't have enough.

"Um, o-one second," Rifling through your change purse, you bite your lip, then you hand the peaches back to her, "I d-don't have enough c-cash-"

You and the peach lady look to the side in surprise when someone holds out a few bills.

"Will this cover it? I'd like to get four myself please."

The lady nods and smiles, winking at you before taking the money in his outstretched hand and bagging up four peaches for him. 

"How is your halmeoni, Jungkook?" The old woman asks kindly. 

You just stare at him, shocked that you've run into him again for the second time today. 

Jungkook...

That's a beautiful name...

"She's doing alright, thank you," Jungkook says politely, but you can hear a slight strain in his voice. 

He bows and turns to move on. 

You can't help but follow him to the next stand, missing the way his body stiffens at the close proximity. 

"Your n-name is b-beautiful," you say, coming up to his side as he forces himself to look at the radishes. 

"Thank you," he mumbles. 

"D-Don't you want to know m-my name?" You ask. 

Your name has been etched into my brain for two years, ____. 

"Jungk-kook," You try it out when he doesn't answer, smiling brightly. 

His throat closes up and he needs to stop for a moment, his hand gripping the handle of the cart until his knuckles turn white.

How can someone saying his name physically hurt like this?

It isn't just someone, though. 

It's you. 

Suddenly he can't breathe. 

Jungkook grabs at his chest, his breath becoming shallow as his eyes water. 

"A-are you okay?"

Your voice is faint in the background as the world turns fuzzy. 

The next thing he knows, he's kneeling on the ground, clutching at his bleeding heart and gasping for air. 

"Hey, are y-you okay??"

When he feels you touch his arm gently, he flinches away, not letting himself see the hurt in your eyes. 

"Please stop," his voice breaks painfully as he stands up and grabs the cart, "I can't take it anymore- just stop."

You watch sadly as he leaves, pushing through people in a hurry to get away. 

________________________________

"____? What happened?"

"I- I ran into the b-boy from the restaurant," You whisper. 

Jimin's eyes widen, "Oh? Well, what did he say?"

"He t-told me to stop," You say sadly, "I d-didn't realize I'd made him unco-comfortable."

He frowns, knowing that Jungkook hadn't meant it in that way at all, but not sure how to tell you. 

"I got p-peaches though," you say with a tearful chuckle, holding up the bag. 

Jimin smiles softly, "I bet they're delicious."

You and Jimin grab a few more things before heading back to the hotel. 

Up in your room, you and Jimin eat some of the peaches as you talk. 

"So, what makes you so interested in him?" Jimin asks as he lays on your bed while you lounge in the comfy chair by your window, "Is it because he's hot?"

Your cheeks heat up instantly, "Jimin..."

"What?" He laughs, "Am I wrong? Those tats are pretty sexy-"

"S-stop!" You throw the pillow you were hugging at his head, making him laugh harder. 

"In all seriousness though," he says after he's finished chuckling, "Why him?"

"I d-don't know," You mumble, picking at a piece of thread on your jumper, "I just f-feel drawn to him for s-some reason...I guess...I d-don't know, it's silly-"

"It isn't silly," Jimin says gently, sitting up and looking at you, "Some souls are connected, I fully believe that."

"What d-do you mean by that?"

He swallows the lump in his throat, "I don't know, maybe you knew him in another life," he whispers, watching you closely. 

You look down sadly before shaking your head, "Or I'm j-just being a w-w-weirdo."

Jimin flops back onto the bed, deciding to change the subject, "Are you ready for the art show tomorrow?"

Your eyes light up and you nod, "Mhm! I c-can't believe I actually get to s-see Kim Junsoo's w-work in person!"

Jimin smiles, "I wonder if he'll be there..."

Jumping off the chair, you point at him, "D-don't put that idea in m-my head! I would d-die."

He laughs, "Well, it is his show. Hey, did you hear about how he's going to be showcasing some other artists' work?"

You shake your head, "I didn't, wh-who else's work is g-going to be there?"

"I'm not sure, there was an article I read about it last night that said he wanted to include a few unknown artists' work as well because he remembers the days when no one knew who he was. He said he wanted to give them the chance that he never got early on."

"That's s-so awesome," You flop down onto the bed next to him, "M-maybe we'll get some n-new artists to love!"

"That would be great," Jimin smiles at you. 

______________________________________

The next morning, Jimin knocks on your door and lets you know he's up and getting ready for the day and you call back to him that you're going to take a shower. 

You get in the shower and wash away all the sweat from last night. You're not sure why you were hot all night long, but it was a pretty icky feeling. 

"Ha," You sigh in satisfaction at the feeling of the water washing all the grime away. 

After your shower, you look through some of the clothes you bought on Friday. They had so many cute things that it was hard not to buy everything. 

Hmm, you want the outfit to be just right today...

Finally, you decide on the sheer white long-sleeved shirt that's sleeves are slightly puffed. Over that, you put on a pale pink dress with ruffles on the bottom of the skirt and ruffled two-inch sleeves; the rest of the dress is covered in strawberries and bunnies. Pulling on some white stockings, you look into the mirror and smile in satisfaction. 

Perfect. 

After pulling on your shoes, you meet Jimin in the hallway. 

"You look great!" He exclaims and you blush. 

"Thank you."

He nods, "Definitely the right choice. What do you want to do until the show starts? It isn't starting until five tonight."

You nod, "I w-was trying to think of th-things last night. Sh-should we just g-go and look around the city?"

Jimin nods, "Sounds good to me! Let's go."

The drive to the city isn't too awfully long. You and Jimin walk around and look at the shops, grab a bite to eat, and then keep walking. 

It really is beautiful here. 

-

"Where are you going so early? I thought the show didn't start until five."

Jungkook looks up from tying his shoes to see Tae leaning against the doorframe. 

"I just felt like getting out," Jungkook says quietly, "I'm too cooped up in here; it always feels stuffy when we're closed."

Taehyung nods, "I agree. Halmeoni said she and Beomgyu will be there. Yeona and I will meet you at the show later too, that's still the plan right?"

The younger nods as he finishes tying his shoes, "If that's what you guys are still wanting to do it's fine with me."

Tae sighs quietly, then steps in front of the door when Jungkook tries to leave. 

"Wait."

Jungkook looks at Tae, not a single emotion showing on his face, "What?"

"I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen."

"For what to happen?" Jungkook asks. 

"This, all of this. I just wanted to protect you, I didn't want you to hurt anymore. But, I fucked up and I'm sorry."

Jungkook swallows the lump in his throat, then he looks at Tae, his face softening, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me, that's why I got so angry, because I knew deep down that it was me who did the hurting. You really only told me once to move on for her sake, I was the one that drilled it into myself for so long. And I know you only said that in a panic to try and help."

Tae purses his lips, not saying anything. He still feels responsible. 

"What were you supposed to do, Tae?" Jungkook asks quietly, "You were the one that saved me from being locked up the rest of my life. You didn't make her lose her memories. I guess fate just doesn't like me very much."

Taehyung gulps as Jungkook pats him on the shoulder, "At least I get to walk around outside, eat normal food, watch my best friend fall in love, feel the sun, and see that she's happy. Knowing she's doing well is what matters to me the most, even if seeing her is killing me. If it wasn't for you, I'd miss all of this. Thank you, I mean it."

Tae nods, a lump stuck in his throat as Jungkook moves past him to leave.

__________________________

It's a few hours until the show and you and Jimin are walking around the park. 

You climbed the jungle gym a few times and slid down the slide a lot, now you're trying to convince Jimin to play hide n' seek with you. 

"What if you wander off and get lost?" Jimin cries. 

"We h-have phones!" You guffaw, holding it up to prove your point. 

"Oh yeah..." Jimin thinks for a moment, then he nods, "You know what, ok. Let's do it. You hide first and I'll find you."

You take turns counting and hiding, laughing your heads off when you find each other. Then you tell him the boundaries for the game are bigger now because it's too easy. He agrees but only because you promise to call him if you make a wrong turn. 

He sits on the swings, covers his eyes and starts to count. 

"One...two...three..."

You take off for the trees that you've been eyeing for a while, trying to contain your giggles as you run as quickly as you can. 

There's a path through the trees that you run down, looking back to see Jimin still sitting on the swing. He's too far to hear though. 

You keep running down the path, turning your head every once in a while to make sure you can still see him. 

When your lungs are finally starting to burn, you glance back once more to see the Jimin speck moving. 

He's done counting already???

You squeal and turn back to the front to keep running, but you end up crashing into someone instead. 

Flying backwards from the impact, you land on your bottom with a grunt of pain. 

Looking up to apologize, you see Jungkook stumbling a bit before catching himself. 

"Oh."

He looks up at the sound of your voice. 

You see something flash across his face, but you can't tell what emotion it is. 

Jumping up from the ground, you grab his hand and pull him behind the big tree you were heading towards in the first place. 

Startled by your action, Jungkook doesn't even resist as you yank him with you, making him crouch and putting a finger up to your lips. 

"J-Jimin is looking for me," You whisper, eyes wide as you look at him, "Be q-quiet."

He nods, then his brows furrow before he leans closer to whisper, "Why don't you want him to find you?"

"It's a g-game," You giggle.

"Ah," He nibbles on his bottom lip, forcing himself not to focus on how fucked up the universe is for this. 

What are the fucking chances?

"W-what is that?"

Jungkook snaps back to the present and sees you pointing at his chest. He looks down to see that the chain with his mother's ring on it has come out from under his shirt. 

"Shit," He tucks it back in, "It's nothing."

"That n-nothing is beautiful," You whisper. 

Jungkook closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. 

Don't fucking cry, you fucking wuss.

"She m-must be spe-special to you," you say quietly, looking at him carefully. 

Jungkook opens his eyes and looks at you, his gaze drifting over your face and for the first time since seeing you here, actually takes you in. 

He's not been letting himself look too closely, out of fear of fucking up. 

But he can't resist anymore, he just can't. 

He's too weak. 

And for the first time in forever, that doesn't bother him. 

"She is," He whispers. 

You smile at him, then you look around the tree trunk and put a hand over your mouth, eyes wide. 

Jimin has come farther onto the path, looking around carefully. 

Jungkook gulps as he just watches you, his heart breaking a little more every second, until it feels like a glass that's shattered to pieces. Too broken to be put together again. 

I love you...

_________

Jimin ends up finding you because you couldn't keep your giggles under control. 

But when you turn back to thank Jungkook for not exposing your hiding place, he's gone. 

You look around sadly, not seeing him anywhere. 

He was so quiet, he slipped away too quickly. 

Part of you thinks you might have hallucinated the whole encounter because Jimin didn't even see him. But then you see the leaves that Jungkook was crouching on all crunched up and you know he was actually here. 

Hm. 

___________________

Walking up to the convention center, you feel your heart starting to beat faster and faster. 

"I bet he's inside those doors-"

"Jimin, st-stop!" You cry, hands cupping your cheeks as the excitement starts to take hold, "You're n-not helping!"

"Sorry," He chuckles, "Just remember, he's a man in his sixties that makes beautiful art, just a human like you and me."

You give him a long side glance, "He m-might be a human, but he's n-n-not like you and me."

Jimin guffaws and grabs the door, opening it and holding it for you to walk through. 

"Fair enough."

You step inside and immediately see a bunch of people milling about, soft music playing over the speakers as people dressed in white and black uniforms walk around with trays carrying tall glasses of bubbling liquid.

You and Jimin stand there in shock for a second, your jaws on the floor as you take it all in. 

"Well," Jimin eventually gulps, "At least we aren't underdressed."

You nod numbly, still in awe of how beautiful it all is and you haven't even seen the art yet. 

"How d-do they know who b-b-bought tickets?" You ask, then a second later, a man dressed in a burgundy outfit that looks like the ones the servers are wearing waves to you. 

Oh, he'd been standing there at a small podium looking thingy the whole time, you just didn't see him. 

"Good evening," He says politely, "May I have your tickets please?"

Jimin takes them out of his pocket and hands them to the man that bows after putting them in a little booklet you can't see very well, "Have a splendid time."

"We will," You say, smiling brightly before grabbing Jimin's hand and pulling him into the crowd. 

A lot of people usually make you nervous, but the excitement is overpowering that right now. 

"How c-can there be so m-many people?" You turn around in a circle, looking at the fancy dresses and suits, happy that you went with this outfit. It isn't as glamorous as some of these dresses, but it's definitely you. 

Chandeliers hang from the high ceiling of the spacious hall. 

"Where d-do you think the art is?" You ask jumping up and down. 

"I saw a sign that said it would be on the second and third floors, but they aren't opening it to the guests until five."

"Ohhhh," you look around until you see a staircase leading up and next to it is an escalator, one side going up and one down. There are a few security guards standing at the bottom and top, no doubt making sure no one tries to get up there early. 

"This is way more than I expected," Jimin says in an almost dreamlike state as he looks around. 

You nod, "M-Me too."

"I wonder if they have food?" Jimin muses, trying to see around people.

You laugh, "I th-think they do! I s-saw someone with some ch-cheese."

"Cheese?! Ok, I need to find that food table."

You and Jimin walk around for a while, looking at a few pieces of art that aren't a part of the show everyone's here for, but they're beautiful just the same. 

While looking at the different decorations, you stumble upon the food tables. Fruits, cheeses, crackers, and other little finger foods galore. 

You and Jimin gather as much as you can on the tiny plates, then you go to a corner where you can eat in peace. 

A few judging looks are thrown your way as the two of you sit on the floor out of the way and eat. Neither of you really care though, it's not like you're in their walkway. 

After eating the snacks you got, Jimin throws away the plates and walks back to you, "It's still about fifteen minutes until they open the second and third floors to guests, and even then, it's just walking around when you want, we don't need to rush or anything. Are you good while I go to the restroom?"

You nod and he pats your shoulder before walking away. 

It didn't take him long, but when he comes out again, he runs into a few familiar faces from high school. 

A text buzzes your phone and you grab it, opening it to see a message from Jimin. 

Jimin: I got nabbed by some old friends. They literally won't stop talking, I'll be over there as soon as I can, sorry.

You laugh and text him not to worry because you're fine and that you're just gonna walk around the hall and look at the art you didn't see yet. 

As you're walking around, trying not to get into people's way, you see everyone start moving in a certain direction. 

Looking at your phone, you realize it's five o'clock. 

bzzzzzt. 

Jimin: Hey, where should I meet you? They opened the upstairs and I finally got away. 

You reply quickly, telling him to meet you at the top of the escalators. 

A few minutes later, you're met with Jimin's smiling face as he waves at you, "There you are!"

-

Walking around the art gallery of one of your favorite artists is so surreal; it almost feels like you're walking on clouds as you look at all the gorgeous pieces he created throughout his life. 

After a while, you and Jimin decide to play a game and split up. You each have to find a piece of art on the second floor and the third floor that you think best describes the other person on the outside and on the inside. 

You find one on the second floor almost immediately after leaving Jimin. 

It's a giant painting of the seashore, so realistic you feel almost as though you can smell the ocean breeze and feel the water spraying your face gently. 

There's just something about it that reminds you of him. 

You make a mental note of where it is so you can bring Jimin back to it and show him, then you make your way around, glancing briefly and knowing that you can come back with Jimin and look at the art closer. 

Deciding to go to the third floor, you pass Jimin on the escalators, trying not to laugh as he makes a silly face at you. 

You see a lot more statues on this floor, inspecting them carefully and trying to see if any of them give you Jimin vibes. 

Nothing yet. 

You turn a corner and see a line of gorgeous paintings, your mouth dropping open as you walk in and see an older man looking at one of the paintings. He's the only other person in the room.

Keeping a distance so he doesn't feel uncomfortable, you look at the painting he's in front of. It's one of your favorites, always has been. 

The painting is of a bathtub, bubbles forming at the top of the water and covering most of the body of the woman inside, her hands pressed to her face and her hair in a knotty bun on the top of her head. 

The white tub is lined with gold, and if you look close enough, the woman has a streak of gold leaving her eye from behind her hands, the shiny tear going all the way to her chin. 

You always wondered if she was crying tears of joy or sadness. Nothing else in the picture gives you the answer, leaving you to figure it out yourself. 

"This one was always my favorite," The old man whispers, startling you. 

A smile spreads on your face after the initial surprise and you turn to him, "Really? M-Me too!"

You see a smile of his own light up his face before he turns to look at you. 

He looks kind of familiar...you probably saw him around the city earlier.

"What's your favorite part about this one?" He asks. 

"Mm, it's g-g-gorgeous, but I th-think my favorite part is th-that I can relate to it no m-matter what I'm feeling."

"How so?"

"I c-could never figure out if sh-she was crying because she w-was happy or sad..." You muse, looking at the image closely, "When I'm s-sad or happy, I f-feel like this p-picture is relatable and I c-can connect with h-her. I feel n-not so alone," You whisper.

He nods and looks back at the painting, his eyes a little watery before he blinks rapidly.

"Do you like to paint?"

You nod, "W-When I can, b-b-but I mostly draw because I always have c-colored pencils."

His smile grows a little more, "What kind of stuff do you like to draw?"

You hold up a finger and then reach into your bag, pulling out a few pieces of paper and handing them to him proudly, "I l-l-like to draw cute things m-mostly, just things I l-love."

He takes the pictures and looks at them, seeing childish drawings of bunnies, flowers, and candy. 

"These are beautiful," He says genuinely with a kind smile, "I can see the love you have for these things through your work."

Feeling a bit choked up at his words, you thank him quietly as he hands you the drawings back. 

"Don't ever give up on the things you love, okay?"

You nod, keeping the pictures pressed to your chest. 

"It appears as though I'm being summoned. I hope you enjoy the rest of the gallery," he says before bowing and walking over to a group of important looking people that waved to him. 

That's when it hits you. 

You turn and hear one of the men call him 'Mr. Kim' and your heart stops in your chest. 

Oh my gosh...

Your legs suddenly turn to jelly and you stuff the pictures into your purse before all but running from the room, avoiding his eye as you hurry past him. 

Did you literally just meet one of your favorite artists of all time?

Just by chance?

You need to tell Jimin. 

Trying to find your way back to the escalators, you start getting anxious because of the amount of people coming your way. Suddenly everyone decided to come to the third floor apparently. 

You try your best to get through them, but it gets harder and harder and you can't see over them. 

Now you're getting panicky. 

A man that jostles you roughly is what breaks the last bit of control you had not to freak out. 

You push past people, not wanting to hurt anyone but needing to get out of this throng. 

When you finally get out of the most crowded part, you look around frantically for a sign to the restroom. Seeing one almost immediately, you make a B-line for it. 

Against your best efforts, tears start to stream down your face and your chest gets painfully tight. A few people give you weird looks, but you ignore them as you finally get to the third-floor restroom. 

Inside the door, there's a fancy lounge area and two more doors, one for men on the left and one for women on the right. 

Since there's no one in this area, you hurry over to a couch and sit down, sobbing into your hands for a minute before scrambling through your bag and pulling out the drawing. 

You take a deep breath and focus on the little dandelion. 

"Give me anything, everything you can. I can carry it."

Your brows furrow when the voice echoes through your mind. 

Not knowing why it made your heart ache so bad, you put a hand on your head as you try to figure out where this memory is suddenly coming from. 

Just then, you hear a door creak and you turn to see the men's bathroom door is open and a young man is stepping out. 

Jungkook...?

He freezes when he sees you, then you see a concerned look flit across his face and he walks over to you. 

"Hey," he says softly, "Can I sit?"

You nod as you wipe your tears, a bit embarrassed that he's seen you like this.

Jungkook sits next to you on the couch, a gentleness about him. 

"Are you okay?"

You nod, "J-Just a little o-overwhelmed."

"Ah," he nods in understanding, "It is pretty crazy out there."

You tuck the small picture into your pocket and sigh gently before turning to him, "You l-like art?"

He gulps and nods, a sad look in his eyes as he gazes at you, "I love art."

"Me t-too," you sniffle and wipe your nose. 

It's quiet for a minute, then Jungkook looks back at you, "How are you feeling?"

Just being next to you is killing him. 

But he can't run, not now. Not when you need someone to be here with you. 

Not when you need him. 

"I'm o-okay," Your voice is a little shaky as you turn to smile at him, "How a-are you?"

Jungkook chuckles lightly, "I'm doing fine, thank you."

God, how he wishes he could just pull you into his arms and never let you go. His heart feels like someone just impaled it with a million tiny thorns as he watches you wipe your nose with the back of your hand and then use your thumbs to wipe at your eyes.

He was supposed to be the one to dry your tears, he was supposed to be the one that was always there and making sure that the only tears that slid down your cheeks were ones of pure joy. 

How could everything have gotten so utterly fucked up?

How is he going to be able to let you leave him for the second time?

"W-where is she?"

Jungkook startles at the sound of your teary voice, then he notices you looking at something and looks down to see that he's holding his mother's ring between his fingers, stroking it mindlessly. 

"Oh," He doesn't say anything else. 

You just watch him quietly, waiting to see if he'll tell you. 

"She..." Jungkook swallows the lump in his throat, "She's finally living the life she deserves...I hope."

You nod, watching as he hides it in his shirt again. 

"I'm s-sorry," You whisper. 

Jungkook can't tear his eyes away from the white carpet, "Me too."

"You m-must have really loved her..." 

He nods. 

I do.

It's silent again for a couple minutes, both of you just stuck in your own minds. His presence alone calms your nerves immensely.

Then, there's a voice over the speaker, announcing that the rooms with the new artists' work will be opening in just a few minutes. 

"I sh-should probably find my fr-friend," You say as you stand up, Jungkook following suit, "Thank y-you for talking to m-me."

"Thanks for letting me keep you company," Jungkook says gently, giving you what seems like a sad smile, "I think I'm gonna head out soon." 

"We'll prob-probably run into each other a-again," You laugh lightly as Jungkook nods, "Probably. See you later."

You bid him goodbye and leave, texting Jimin that you'll meet him at the rooms where the new artists' work will be shown. 

Jungkook watches the door swing shut behind you before he lets himself sink back down onto the couch, his head falling into his hands and his chest aching so deeply that he briefly wonders if his heart might actually stop beating. 

-

"Hey, are you alright?"

You nod to Jimin and give him a small smile, assuring him that you'll fill him in later. 

"I didn't think we'd run into you here."

You turn to see the other young man that works at the restaurant with Jungkook, a huge smile on his handsome face. The sweet waitress is next to him, also smiling brightly as she waves.

"Oh, hi!" Jimin exclaims, "What a small world."

"Were you guys here to see the new artists' gallery?" Taehyung asks. 

"Well, technically we came to see Kim Junsoo's work, we didn't know about the new artists until the other day, but we're definitely going to check them out."

The young man smiles kindly at you even though you hadn't been the one speaking, "I think you'll love it."

You smile back, a small ache in your heart once more that you again can't pinpoint.

"Well, we'll see you guys around," He gives you one more smile before walking away with the girl that slips her hand into his. 

Taehyung looks back at you when you aren't looking. 

Come on, ____. I know we're in there somewhere. 

_______________

"Wow, look at this," Jimin points to a statue that looks like it could be a million different things depending on the angle you're looking at it from. 

"C-cool," You muse, walking around it and inspecting it carefully. 

Your heart has been hurting ever since you were in that lounge area, no matter what you do to try and make it feel better, it won't. 

Walking around and looking at all the pieces, you and Jimin whisper about what you think the artists were going for or what might have inspired them. 

After a while, you get to a section that veers off a bit from the others, big and small paintings lining the white walls. 

Just walking into this area makes your body feel all warm and tingly. 

The first painting you see is one of a lotus flower, floating in the water. A closer look shows the reflection of a small boy holding a woman's hand. 

At first glance, one wouldn't even notice it. 

Gosh, it's beautiful. 

Tears spring to your eyes for some reason unknown to you. 

The next painting looks like a butterfly inside a cocoon, so lifelike and pretty.

You turn to see Jimin looking at a painting of a girl standing on the edge of a cliff. 

Walking over for a better look, your brows furrow in confusion. 

The girl's hair is flowing in the wind, and you can tell her arms are crossed in front of her as she hugs herself. 

It's gorgeous, but what confuses you are her clothes. 

She's wearing a short white skirt and a baby blue sweater. 

You have that exact outfit...

Even her socks and shoes look like yours...

"She looks like you," Jimin says quietly, turning to look at you, "Hey, she's even got your hair."

You swallow and nod, then you turn slowly and your breath gets stuck in your throat. 

The next painting your eyes land on is a girl lying in a bed, her hair covering most of her face as she sleeps soundly on a white pillow. It looks like it's through the eyes of the person lying next to her.

Jimin steps up next to you, "Is it just me, or does that also look like you?"

You turn again and see one of a girl wearing a flower crown, looking up to the sky as her arms are stretched above her head. It's only the back of her, so you can't see her face. 

But she's wearing another outfit that you could swear is in your closet and her hair looks just like yours. 

Huh?

Jimin points at another painting, "Ok, you can't tell me that isn't you."

You breathe out shakily as you come closer to the one he's pointing at. 

The girl is on her knees, a pillow under them as she holds a needle and string in her fingers, seemingly trying to thread the needle.  

The view is from above, so you can't fully see her face, but you can see enough of it. 

Your heartbeat picks up as you force your legs to keep walking, eyes scanning the paintings. 

The same girl is in every single one. 

She's hiding behind a purple teddy bear you could swear looks just like Bonbon, she's running in a field of purple flowers, she's holding a giant cotton candy duck that covers her face, she's sitting between the viewer's legs as they run a brush through her hair. And she's always wearing clothes that you know you own.

In all of them, it looks like the painter is capturing how in love they are.

What is going on?

Jimin watches as you start hurrying from one piece of art to the next, until you stop in front of one. 

"Holy shit," Jimin breathes when his eyes land on what you're staring at. 

The girl is sitting in the cart of a Ferris wheel, lights of the fair behind her as she looks up at the person behind the painting. 

The lights shining in her eyes look like a million stars in the night sky. 

Her face is clear as day.

It's you.

You take a faltering step back. 

There's no denying anymore that the girl in the paintings is you. 

You're so confused. 

Breath becoming short and quick, you take another step back. 

You don't know what's going on. 

How could you be this artist's inspiration if you've never met them before?

These things never happened to you...did they?

You turn to leave so that you can clear your head, but you're met with the last painting in the small hall that takes the last of your breath away. 

Jimin stands frozen, staring at the painting that you're standing in front of. 

A tiny dandelion, trying its best to reach the sun despite the larger dandelions looming above it and attempting to cover its humble beauty.

"What the fuck," Jimin whispers, scanning the painting that perfectly matches the drawing in your pocket, the only difference being the size and the fact that it has color. 

You can't tear your eyes away from the image, an overwhelming feeling of grief striking your heart. 

Suddenly, you're at a small dining table, looking at the tiny picture and talking about how beautiful it is. The face of a handsome boy smiling shyly at you appears as he takes it and walks over to his nightstand to put it in the drawer there. 

The one you'll open later and take the picture from, tucking it into your pocket so that he doesn't see.

Being yanked back to the present, you stumble back, a hand pressed to your mouth as the whole summer before you fell into a coma comes crashing into your brain like a fast-forwarded movie. 

"____!" Jimin cries as he jumps forward to catch you as you trip over your own feet trying to back away from the painting. 

He's a second too late as you land on your bottom, whole body shaking violently as tears stream down your face. 

The last memory you had of him, lying in a pool of his own blood, causes a broken sob to leave you as you clamp your hands on your mouth tightly. 

Jungkook.

"We lost him..."

Another sob leaves your throat as more people start to come into the hall, looking at the crying girl on the floor in confusion.

That's when it hits you. 

He isn't dead...

...he isn't...dead?

Jimin flinches when you scramble to your feet, tears pouring down your cheeks as you take off running down the hall. 

"Jungkook!" You run into the crowd of people, catching the attention of a certain young man that was about to enter the hall you were just in. 

"____?" Tae whispers in disbelief as he sees you sobbing and pushing through a crowd, screaming his best friend's name. 

"P-Please move!" You cry, shoving past people and not looking back once as you head for the restroom. 

Slamming into the lounge area, you look around frantically but don't see him anywhere. 

Did he leave already?

You turn and run out, now making your way to the escalators. 

"Jungkook!"

Finally getting through the mass of people, you run for the stairs next to the escalators and grab the railing to keep your balance as you practically fly down them. 

-

"Jeon Jungkook!!"

Jungkook is about to walk through the front doors when he hears someone screaming his name at the top of their lungs. 

He turns to see you running across the giant hall, tears streaming down your face as your hair falls in tangles around your face. 

"____?" His voice seems miles away as he takes a step towards you. 

A sob tears itself from you as you reach your arms out for him. 

Before he can even think, his feet are moving and he's meeting you halfway, catching you when you throw yourself into his arms.

"J-Jungkook," You cry hysterically as you stuff your face into his shoulder, crying your heart out, his name falling from your lips over and over again. 

His hand cups the back of your head as he tries to understand what's going on, tears streaming down his face unashamedly as he holds you tightly. 

Do you really...remember him?

"I th-thought you d-died," You whimper, squeezing him.

"I'm right here," Jungkook's voice shakes uncontrollably, "I'm alive, I'm okay."

"You d-died, you died in m-my arms," Tears continue to pour down your soft cheeks. 

"I'm right here, sweetpea," Jungkook whispers, petting your hair, concentrating on the feeling of you in his arms, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." 

This is real. 

This is real. 

It's not another dream. 

You're here in his arms and you know him. 

This is real. 

Neither of you care about the stunned onlookers staring at you two in confusion.

Running across the hall and stopping a small distance away, Taehyung and Jimin freeze when they're met with the sight of you and Jungkook wrapped in each other's arms. 

"Holy fucking shit," Tae rasps, "She remembered."

You feel Jungkook pull you impossibly closer, "I missed you so fucking much, ____,” his voice breaks as the tears fall endlessly down his face. 

"I missed you t-too," You whisper into his neck.

Jungkook gulps and forces himself to keep breathing even as his brain and heart race. 

You finally pull away just enough to see his face. 

Laughing tearfully, you gently wipe his wet cheeks, "Y-You're alive," you whisper, salty tears still flowing even as a huge smile breaks out on your face, "You're a-actually alive."

He nods as you brush under his eyes, "I'm alive," he says quietly. 

Jungkook lowers you to the ground so he can cup your face with his trembling hands, "I love you, ____." It takes everything he has not to break down into uncontrollable sobs.

Your heart thunders in your chest as he leans down to slot his mouth against yours, the soft touch of his lips bringing fresh tears to your eyes after not feeling him for over a year. 

Jungkook's heart aches deeply in his chest, but this time, for the first time in so long, it's a good ache. 

It feels like he's drowning in you, and he doesn't want to come up for air. He's not going to let go of you again. He won't lose you, never again. 

"I l-love you too," You whisper when he finally pulls away to get a breath, your eyes staring into his, like you're reading his soul. 

It feels as though you're watching all of the agony he went through all this time. 

"I'm s-so sorry I forgot," you choke out, "I'm sorry I d-didn't remember you."

Jungkook shakes his head and smiles at you so softly it breaks your heart, "You came back to me, that's all that matters now."

"I'm n-never leaving again," You promise, lifting your hand and linking your pinky with his. 

After he wraps his pinky around yours and seals the deal, he pulls you into another kiss. 

Taehyung quickly brushes under his eyes before anyone can catch the few tears that escape as he fights a smile. 

I knew you'd come back, ____.

__________________________________________

4 months later...

"Come on, hurry up, slowpoke."

You grumble at Jungkook's words as you climb the rocks going up the cliff. 

"Y-you did this l-last time," you huff and puff grumpily as Jungkook laughs, "There's a p-path and you a-always make me cli-climb this."

Jungkook reaches down and takes your hand, pulling you up the last few feet, "This is more exciting though, don't you think?"

You can't help the smile that spreads on your face as he winks at you. 

Looking around, you sigh happily, not so irritated now that you're at the top and get to look at the gorgeous view. 

"H-Has it really b-been so long?" You muse, walking over to the edge and looking out over the water, remembering the day Jungkook took you here for the first time. It's still hard to believe he was planning on killing you here. 

Jungkook smiles at the sight of your hair blowing in the wind, just like it was back then. 

Feeling his arms wrap around your waist, you let yourself relax into him as you watch the sunset; gold and pink clouds splattered across the sky. 

Jungkook tucks his face into the juncture between your neck and shoulder, "Love you, sweetpea," he mumbles before leaving a sweet kiss there. You smile and rub his hands that rest on your hips, "L-Love you too, s-silly."

He inhales deeply, breathing in your sweet scent and sighing happily. 

"Do you think Pumpkin and Yin are behaving?"

You laugh quietly, "They l-love Tae, Yeona too. I'm s-sure they're being good."

Feeling his tickly breath against your neck, you giggle. 

Jungkook smiles and kisses your neck once more before pulling away. 

You pout and turn to him, "W-why did stop?"

He visibly gulps and you look at him in concern, "H-Hey, are you okay?"

Nodding, he puts a hand in his pocket as he gulps again.

You're about to ask him what's wrong when the words get stuck in your throat as he kneels on the ground and gently takes your hand. 

You can feel his hand shaking slightly. 

"J-Jungkook..."

He pulls his other hand from his pocket, and you see a small black box. 

Your heart races as he looks up at you. 

"____...I-"

It's your turn to gulp as he pulls himself together enough to say what he's been wanting to say for so long. 

"My entire life, I was always searching for a way to be whole. I could never even imagine loving myself, let alone another person," Tears brim in his eyes as he squeezes your hand gently, "I never thought the person I would fall so deeply in love with would be you. And through loving you, I grew to learn how to love myself too."

You resist the urge to wipe the tears from your eyes. 

"I thought loving someone meant growing up, but that isn't what happened with you. I became a kid again and I've gotten to love you with no conditions, no strings attached, no worries to hurry and grow up. I can love you with everything I have and not worry that either of us will ever need something more."

Breathing out shakily, Jungkook opens the little box and you see the ring he's kept with him for so long, your heart pounding frantically. 

"All I want, all I need in this world is you, ____."

You cover your mouth with your hand so you can muffle the cries threatening to come out. 

"It took long enough for us to get here, and I don't want to waste any more time. I want to always be with you, spend every waking moment making you smile, drying your tears, and battling whatever fears come your way. I want to give you the life you deserve."

A soft cry falls from your lips as you nod excitedly at the silent question in his pleading eyes. 

He slips the ring on your finger carefully as his hands shake, a tear slipping from his eye when he sees that it fits perfectly. 

Jungkook stands up and pulls you into a gentle kiss, then he pulls back and smiles softly, "I want to live for what I love."

Remember, only give this precious gift to the person you fall in love with. It has magical powers and you will be together forever if you give it to them! Don't laugh and just believe me, okay?

You'll be okay, Koo.

You felt confident tonight. Your skin looked soft and your acne was apparently taking a rest. The time spent at the gym with Jungkook was paying off. And you felt amazing. You had even reached out for the shortest, tightest black dress in your closet tonight and paired them with some black high-heeled sandals you had bought and never dared to debut. To top it all off you had been confident enough to make a sharp eyeliner - that, don't ask how, had come out perfectly - and applied a bright red lipstick. "What do I do with my hair?" you asked Jungkook, completely ignoring his previous question, which he noticed and chuckled about.

"Hum..." he thought, looking at your now wild long curls. "What about you just let it down? There's nothing prettier than your natural hair."

You smiled his way in genuine appreciation. Jungkook was the best at making you feel good about yourself. He was a flirt, after all. And he had good taste, so you decided to just follow his advice.

"I'm going to a bar with a few friends from uni. We've just finished a full week of exams and they decided to get rid of some stress."

"Hwasa and Seulgi?" he asked.

"Hwasa, Seulgi, Yugyeom, and Joon," you answered, already expecting the following questioning.

Jungkook had offered you a quiet night in, watching movies and cuddling, which you had refused because you had already decided to go out with your friends tonight. And that had slightly upset Jungkook. You didn't pay it no mind - you needed some fun from time to time!

"Joon? Who's that?" he questioned, as you expected, using a noticeable mocking tone, mimicking the nickname you had used to talk about your new friend, Namjoon. You stared at Jungkook through your reflection through the mirror as he took his hands away from your body, resting them on his own hips and slightly raising his chin.

"Stop that," you turned around, throwing your arms around Jungkook's neck and leaning your body to his. "He's a friend, met him a few weeks ago," you answered him, kissing his cheeks.

Suddenly the ringing of your phone took you out of your transe of kissing your boyfriend's face and you walked towards it, reading Hwasa's name on the screen. You picked it up and put it on speaker.

"Babe, we're outside. You ready?" she asked to which you hummed positively, while walking towards your small bag and throwing your house keys, wallet and lipstick inside.

"Who's the designated driver tonight?" you asked, chuckling as they immediately started arguing on the other side of the line, trying to figure out who it would be, until Namjoon interrupted the argument to claim that as the owner of the car, he'd take that responsibility. "Namjoon is!" Hwasa exclaimed.

"Thank God for that! I don't think anyone else would be able to stay away from alcohol tonight," you answered and heard the not-so-surprising agreement from everyone in the car.

"I'll be down in a second," you said and hung up the phone, just before walking towards Jungkook, who automatically placed his warm hands on your hips and pulled you closer, softly pecking your lips. "Hwasa doesn't call him Joon," he muttered against your lips, pettily and you rolled your eyes pulling away from him.

Jungkook had had the chance to meet your group of friends at least once, but not Namjoon, so his sudden burst of jealousy wasn't surprising anyone - especially coming from him, a naturally jealous man. You decided to ignore his jealous antics just for tonight.

"I'm staying home tonight. If Joon decides to get something to drink, give me a call," you chuckled and Jungkook quickly kissed your lips once again, before completely letting go of your body.

"Ok. I'm going now, babe. I love you."

"Love you."

Dirty Habit.

That was the name of the bar you and your friends had gone to and it was full to the brim. There were people in every crevice of the place. Sweaty bodies danced and humped against one another everywhere.

Namjoon had recommended this place to your group of friends. He had been here before and it showed, given the, at least, seven enthusiastic greetings he had exclaimed in the first five minutes you had been in here. You supposed, by the countless number of people that filled the space, this seemed like a very well-known and popular bar, which shocked you, to say the least, because none of your friends had ever heard of it.

Namjoon was new to the group, which used to consist only of Hwasa, Seulgi, and Yugyeom. The four of you had met in your first year of college and had been the closest since then. But when Hwasa showed up at your lunch table, in the cafeteria, with this sweet-looking guy with big cheeks and adorable dimples, you had no choice but to welcome him.

"Wow," you heard Seulgi mutter from your side and looked her way. And it only took one glance for her to know you felt the exact same she did.

Something about that bar seemed quite off. It felt out of the ordinary - the neon lights were brighter than they used to be in other bars, people looked sweatier than usual, more exhausted, and the music was also quite different, you even dared to say it sound quite psychedelic, in a way.

"Should we go get some drinks?" Hwasa, who stood between Yugyeom and Namjoon in that mess of people, asked, turning her head back to look at you and Seulgi, who were a little behind them with linked arms, so you wouldn't lose each other.

Seulgi was the one in your group of friends you were a bit closer to than with others, even though you were all extremely tight. You two were in the same class as you were both studying medicine. You understood each other better than anyone else.

"Yeah, I guess," Seulgi answered, apparently uneasy about the whole ambiance of the smokey space. "Isn't this kinda weird?" she asked you, whispering in your ear and you instantly nodded, feeling her grip on your arm tightening.

When you got to the bar, you sat down on one of the stools, next to your friends and waited for the bartender to come to you. "So, Y/N how's your boyfriend doing?" you heard Namjoon ask from beside you and looked at him with a confused look on your face. "It's Jeon Jungkook, right?"

"Yeah... Do you two know each other-"

"Oh, Y/N! What are you doing here?" you heard a cheerful voice interrupt you, quickly turning your head back to the bar, and smiled widely when you found out the fount of the voice was none other than Park Jimin, your sweetheart and Jungkook's best friend.

"Jimin! Do you work here?" you asked. The excitement to see him was clear in your voice. You hadn't seen Jimin for so long.

"Yeah! Wanted to party tonight?" he asked, a pretty smile on his face.

"Yeah, had to get rid of some stress from uni, I've been having a hard time with that," you answered and he reached over the bar board that separated the baristas from the ones that asked to drink and pinched your cheek, affectionately.

You genuinely liked Jimin. Ever since you had gone with him and Jungkook to get breakfast, he had conquested your sympathy. Even though he was rough around the edges, he had a good heart - reminded you of Jungkook. Jimin had had a rough past, from what he had told you, and the only job he could land with the pratice he had had before with the part times he had had during his teenage years was as a bartender. You didn't know that he worked in this bar, though.

"So, what can I get you all?" Jimin asked your group of friends, sparing everyone a glance and spending a little more than a second on Seulgi, who sat on the stool to your left.

"I'll get your number," you heard Seulgi speak from your side and widened your eyes, looking at her, utterly shocked by her unusual boldness. The whole group started oohing and Jimin's smile got wider - you could swear there was even a bit of shyness as he lowered his head and licked his lips.

"We'll see about that," he answered and then, looked back as you started saying your order.

"I'll get a Cosmopolitan," you said laughing at your friend who took a chance to wink at Jimin when he stole a last glance her way, making him laugh too.

After everyone had their drinks in their hands, you and the rest of the group walked towards the dance floor - but not before Seulgi wrote her number on a napkin and seducingly handed it to Jimin.

The music resonated through your body like it hadn't in a long time. Seulgi, Hwasa, Yugyeom, and Namjoon were nowhere to be seen, even though you all came to the dancefloor to dance together. You couldn't care less though.

Your hips swayed from side to side, as you danced with your eyes closed with a drink in your hand. The neon lights run through your skin and the alcohol through your veins. It wasn't the first drink Jimin had handed you, even though he would warn you to be careful on the dancefloor every time you went to the bar to ask him for a refill - needless to say, you dismissed his warnings every single time.

It had been a while since you felt so free of all worries. You didn't care about other people dancing around you. You didn't care about the guy that had approached you before, asking you to dance with him - which you kindly (and drunkenly) refused, saying 'my boyfriend Jungkook is picking me up later, you know??'. And if you weren't that drunk you would have probably noticed the fear in that guys' eyes when he heard your boyfriend's name.

A few minutes of dancing later, you felt two strong hands gripping your hips and joining the sway of your body. You didn't even realize it at first, but the grip got tighter when you rolled your hips along with the music playing and you turned around. You intended on telling this guy that you were very much taken, but as you turned around, you came across a pair of very dark eyes. They didn't make you feel good.

"Hey bro," Jungkook greeted lazily, munching on a handful of popcorn he had made to watch the new Spiderman movie.

He loved lazy days. The only thing missing was your cuddles, but he was still making it work. Sweet popcorn had always been his favorite.

"Hey, dude!" Jimin answered in a awkwardly panicked tone of voice.

"Are you really on your phone WHILE working? What a bad-"

"Listen, I wasn't going to tell you anything. Wanted to let your girl have her fun, but I really think it's better if I tell you because Yoongi just got here, so I thought I'd let you know Y/N's here too," Jimin talked quickly and with a certain fear to his voice. He knew about every single thing about your and Jungkook's relationships, even the darkest parts that not even you knew about.

"At the bar?" Jungkook asked, already up and getting dressed to go get you.

"Yeah. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but I just didn't want to ruin her night, she seemed to really need to have her fun. I didn't want to keep her from it, but Yoongi just got here..." Jimin explained and Jungkook mumbled an 'it's okay', just before hanging up on him and calling you.

Calling...

No answer.

"Do I know you?" you asked, taking the man's hands off your hips, to which he chuckled, quickly getting a hold of you again and tightening his grip on your hips so that you wouldn't be able to get rid of it again. "I have a boyfriend, let go of me, please?"

"You don't remember me?" he whispered in your ear, after approaching your face, and it all came rushing to you. Your eyes widened as the memories of that night flooded your brain.

It was all coming back.

You tried, helplessly, to get his hands off your hips and get out of that club, but he was stronger. Your panic was obvious, and you just wished that someone would get off that numb stage that everyone seemed to be in and help you, but no one seemed to notice your fear.

"You're gonna calm down and walk with me, down that little corridor, yeah?" He whispered again and you whimpered, trying to stay calm.

It was him. After a little more than a year, he was back. The man who had made sure you were traumatized for the rest of your life and about whom you still had nightmares, was now standing right next to you in a club full of people, who were absolutely unwilling to help you.

You started walking with him. "Please, let me go." you whimpered as he gripped your arm roughly. The man took you to an empty aisle with red neon lighting and pushed you against a wall. "Stop, please."

"What are you doing here?" he growled and you shrank away from his face, which was centimeters away from yours. "Talk!" he growled.

"I-I just ca-came to have f-fun with some friends," you whimpered and he laughed sarcastically.

"You really want me to believe that?" he mocked, gripping your face in his hand. "You came here, trying to find me, right? You fooled my brother into thinking you didn't remember a thing so you could get rid of him and now you're here looking for me, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," you cried and he furrowed his eyebrows in anger.

"Don't be a bitch and just fucking spit it out!" he growled again, grabbing your jaw and banging the back of your head against the wall behind you. "Or do you need me to make you?" he whispered and you felt something cold and hard pinching the bottom of your belly. It was a gun.

"I don't know! I don't know! Please, s-stop!" you screamed in panic and watched the unknown man smiling sadistically and pushing the gun harder against your body.

"Yoongi!" you heard a familiar voice and your eyes widened as more tears fell.

Jungkook.

"Let her go," he said, walking closer to you two, as the man, whose name was, supposedly, Yoongi, stepped away from you, with a grin on his lips and his armed hand raised.

"I didn't know you two were back together! Isn't my little brother the cutest? Trying to save his girlfriend..." Yoongi said, mockingly and your brows furrowed.

"What?"

Jungkook stayed still, looking at Yoongi as if looks could kill. "Did you know she was gonna come to look for me tonight?"

"I didn't."

"W-What are you talking about? What is this about!?" you asked, absolute panic written on your face. "You're his brother?!" you asked your boyfriend but Jungkook's face showed no sympathy towards you. It was like a completely different person was standing right there in front of you. That was not your boyfriend.

"Oh, poor girl..." Yoongi mocked and you felt the physical need to shrink against the wall behind you, trying to get away from the scary voice that had filled your nightmares for months on end. "She's clueless. If I knew how clueless you were, I wouldn't have approached you. But Kookie here had told me you two had broken up so I thought - well now this crazy bitch is seeking revenge!" he laughed and you closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. "Guess I was wrong," he was the next to sigh.

"Just let her go." you heard Jungkook's cold tone of voice, directing your gaze towards his and watching him lower his eyes as soon as your eyes crossed. "I'll deal with the rest."

"Oh no! I'll do that! You took the goods out of this pretty little thing. I want that too," Yoongi denied, stepping close to you once again, making you scrunch your face and turning it to the side. Jungkook would prefer if you had turned it to the side opposite of him, so he didn't have to see the pure fear, panic, and disgust present on it.

"Yoongi, step away," you heard Jungkook say ina low voice that could barely be heard - it was like he was scared of his brother. As Yoongi pressed his body against yours, you took your hands towards his chest to push him away. "Get off me!" you screamed, tears already streaming down your face. Yoongi was way too strong for you to be able to push him far away from your body.

You couldn't understand why Jungkook, your boyfriend, the only person who was allowed to touch you like this, wasn't doing anything. Why was he allowing Yoongi to touch you like this right in front of his eyes? Seeing how helpless you were. How disgusted you felt.

In Jungkook's mind, stepping in was showing his weakness - which was you. And he couldn't show it, especially not to his brother. But after about a minute of seeing his brother try to use you, he couldn't stand that anymore and stepped in, pushing Yoongi's body away from you, and standing tall in front of you, protecting you from his brother. "Don't fucking touch her!" he growled and you heard Yoongi chuckle ironically.

"Oh... What is that? Was this pretty girl able to capture my brother's heart? For real, Kook? You could do so much better than that!" he joked and you saw Jungkook's fists closing in anger. "Does she know? Did you tell her everything? Because before you two elope on your romance, she should know why you approached her, in the first place..."

"Shut up-"

"Y/N, before you fully commit to my brother, I just wanted you to know that the only reason why he approached you was to kill you," Yoongi clarified and your eyes widened. "Yeah, you know me now, right? Do you remember that eventful night? Yeah, I couldn't kill you then, so I had to ask someone else to, or I was sure you'd end up going to the police. This pretty guy right here volunteered to do it! Well, a few months in and he told us you seriously didn't remember a thing. So his only job throughout this whole relationship of yours was to guarantee you wouldn't say a thing. That's the only reason he stayed with you. And well, it had been working until now!! I just had to come up to you a ruin everything, didn't I? Damn it, Yoongi! I guess now you have to die!" Yoongi exclaimed in the most enthusiastic voice ever, as if that was the most exciting news ever. He reached over Jungkook's shoulder to see your teary eyes. "You didn't really think he was in love with you, right?" he asked, and laughed out loud, seeing the miserable look on your face. "Kook, take care of this. Make sure she doesn't leave this place alive. If something gets out, you pay the consequences. It's you or her."

And with that, he walked away. And you broke down.

You felt your body shaking uncontrollably and unconsciously sliding down the wall you were previously leaning against, as your legs lost their strength.

Jungkook turned around, his eyes full of the sympathy he was previously lacking. He crouched down in front of you and got ready to embrace your body. "Baby-"

"Don't fucking touch me!" you yelled in his face, as his eyes widened and he took a step back. "What the fuck was he talking about?"

"Y/N-"

"Was all of this a lie? Were you with me just to keep the business safe?-" you took a break as the tears started running down your face faster and your voice started wavering. "And god... D-Did you really just approached me to get me killed? What the fuck, Jungkook. How fucking twisted is that?"

"Well, I didn't! I didn't kill you! Because I fell for you-"

"And is that supposed to make me feel better?!" you screamed and swore to god that if no one in this club had heard you two screaming at each other, they must be really high. "Is this the business headquarters? Is this where everything takes place?"

"Yes," Jungkook mumbled, looking down at the floor in shame.

"Were you ever going to tell me your brother is the one who almost killed me a few months back?" you asked, standing up from the floor but still keeping your distance from the boy.

He didn't answer, making it all more obvious to you. "It was all just an act, wasn't it? When I woke up at night, terrified by my nightmares and you were the one to comfort me. I never told you what I dreamt about, but you fucking knew who I dreamt about - your fucking brother! And you never told me a thing!"

The cold silver hidden against his hip throughout the night only burned his skin as he got to know you. He had taken you out that night with full intentions of doing just that— taking you out.

It’s what he was hired to do after all. Get you alone to a secluded place, make you comfortable enough to turn your back to him, and give him the chance to earn the $100k pending in his bank account.

So why had the two of you been out longer than he’d expected? Why was he actually enjoying every hour that passed by, ignoring every chance he got to finish the job? You were making it hard to kill you and he knew if he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t be able to pay off his many, many debts. If he didn’t do it you’d just be in danger of someone else doing what he couldn’t. Earning his money.

He’d coincidentally matched with you on a not-so-well-known dating app he was told you were on. He spent hours swiping left on several attractive women until he finally found your profile and swiped right. Thanks to an inside source your other matches were mysteriously erased leaving only one contributor, him. And fortunately for him and his handsome looks, you were very much intrigued with him.

You made the first move to his surprise, politely greeting him. From there he used his practiced charm to flirt his way into asking you out for a date which you not so surprisingly suggested.

He picked you up in a rental car he used under a fake name, making it easier for him to ditch this ride after he did what he needed to. Then he took you to a crowded restaurant with many faces to lower the chances of anyone remembering you or who you had been with. The last step of his plan was to convince you to go with him to a secluded walking trail mostly used by hikers in the summer months.

What he didn’t account for was how he’d feel by the end of the evening. You

You were nothing like she had told him when he asked for details about why she needed the job done. He expected someone deceitful, harsh, brooding, and awful. But you were far from that. You were kind, gentle, warm, inviting and any other positive affirmation someone could think of. Why someone would want someone like you out of this world was beyond his understanding.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

His phone buzzed away in his left front pocket pulling him from his thoughts. He hadn’t realized his eyes were glued to you until he refocused. You were preoccupied with the dancing stars above you, leaned back on your hands with his coat draped over your shoulders and the bouquet of flowers he had brought you in your lap.

The flowers— they made him sick to his stomach. It was something he often did when he was assigned to women. He’d buy them flowers to place over their graves when done was done. But now he wanted to take them and throw them as far as possible, you deserved real flowers, not death roses.

Looking down at the device in his hand he let out a sigh.

INCOMING SMS FROM: x xxx-xxx-xxxx

It’s been hours. Is it done? Is she dead?

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, not sure what to say. Both his money and life were on the line. He couldn’t let that all go to trash because of some girl he barely knew. Even if the sight of her made his head messy and his chest fuzzy...or could he?

“Everything alright? Need to be somewhere?” You ask, leaning your head back to look at him. Even at such an awkward angle, your smile was making his cheeks heat up like they had been all night. He swore his face was on fire.

“Yeah actually.” He muses, putting his phone away and joining you on the grass. “Right here.”

“Cheesy.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely.”

The two of you say in comfortable silence, fingertips ghosting over each other. It was nice.

“Daehyun?”

His head snapped up at the name he’d spent a good half of his previous week learning to respond to for this specific occasion. He’d used a lot of made-up names in the past and had no issue but something in the pit of his stomach hated that name. Not because of anyone specifically but because it wasn’t him and hated that you thought it was and you said it so sweetly instead of his actual name...

“Yeah?”

“I had a lot of fun and I want to thank you for that. This probably just a date for you...” Wrong. It was meant to be so much more and he hated it. “But to me, it was a perfect getaway.”

“Getaway?” He chuckles “I picked you up a half-hour from here.”

“A getaway from my mind. I didn’t plan on bringing this up on the first date but I just went through a breakup a few months ago and I’m still dwelling on it. My boyfriend...we’d been seeing each other intimately for two months before he made things official and then he dumped me a year in. I thought it was because he got scared when I asked him to move in with me. Then he came back around a week later and insisted that we get back together so we did. I found out after a three-year relationship, two false pregnancies, and a real one that he was married. She found out and threatened to cut my baby out of me. I got scared, really scared and I started drinking. I know it was dumb...and I got punished for it...because I-I...” Your voice caught in your throat and a few tears slipped.

“You don’t have to tell me...I can tell it’s hard for you to think about.” He smiles sincerely, pulling you into his side and noticing the way you relaxed into him.

“I lost my baby. I lost my baby because I was scared of losing my baby. I was a bad Mom before I even had the chance to experience being one...” Now you were in tears, heavy tears and all he could do was pull his coat tighter around you to try and comfort you in any way he could.

These weren’t the tears he was used to. He was used to tears of fear, people begging him to have mercy which he never did. These were tears of pain and heartbreak.

“I—“

“Don’t say you’re sorry. Everyone says they’re sorry but what are they sorry about? Nothing. They’re just pitying me and using the same old response you always use when someone is going through loss. I don’t want you to respond, I just want you to know that this night means a lot to me and I can’t thank you enough for helping me forget even if it’s just for a few hours. This is the best I’ve felt in a while.”

“If it’s any consolation...you’re helped me forget too. My job...I hate it, I hate every single part of it. But it’s the only thing I’m good at...so I do it and I do it well. But tonight it hasn’t crossed my mind as often and that’s thanks to you and your great company.” For the first time in a long time, this was him talking...not some made-up person he created to trick his poor victim into a form of submission. But the person he once was, the one with clean hands and a good heart...not the one whose hands were drenched in blood with a dark chunk of coal sitting in his rib cage.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He let out a groan feeling the phone in his pocket vibrate aggressively against the handle of the gun tucked into his waistband, reminding him of the person he regretfully was.

“I’m sorry. It’s probably one of my friends messing around.” He lies. What friends? The ones he up and left ages ago when he started his path to hell? Yeah...they had no care for him anymore.

“It’s okay. I should probably get home anyway. It’s late and I have work in the afternoon. You think you could take me home?” By now it was too late. You were standing onto your feet and dusting your dress off, offering your free hand not holding flowers out to him.

“What kind of guy would I be if I left you out here?” He teases even though that’s exactly what he had planned. Leaving you out here with no pulse, shallowly buried somewhere, wrapped in a trash bag and soaked in an acid-like chemical— “Let me text my friend back and I’ll start the car.”

INCOMING SMS FROM x xxx-xxx-xxxx

Answer me! Is. It. Done? Remember what’s at stake for you here...don’t be an idiot.

He looked up from where he stood, chewing violently at the inside of his cheek. You were standing by the car with the sweetest smile on your face admiring the poorly given bouquet.

His hand glided down his side, untucking his shirt to wrap his hand around the thick handle, he hated how comfortable it felt to have such an awful weapon in the palm of his hand. He didn’t want to hurt you, he really didn’t but the money...he needed it so bad...

He licked his lips and felt his heartache, this was wrong and for the first time in a long time, he knew that. He shouldn’t have taken the first life he did or the second or the third and so on...

OUTGOING TEXT TO x xxx-xxx-xxxx

Calm down. I always keep my word. I’m doing it now. She’s not as easily trusting as you might think.

Raising the object from his pants he aimed it, tightening his hand in an attempt to pull together some courage. You were so oblivious, so vulnerable...just happily staring at your flowers in a daze. How was he about to do this?

By the car, you waited, counting each individual rose and noticing a few ants had found their way into the velvet red petals. And for a moment you’d hoped you could be one of them, just living amongst such beautiful flowers without a care in the world.

Your attention was taken away by the sound of footsteps approaching, you’d almost forgotten you weren’t alone. Daehyun walked closer with a smile but one that didn’t quite reach his beautiful brown eyes. Maybe something had happened over his text messages? His shirt was messily tucked and his hair was slightly standing at the side of his head. How long had you been distracted?

“Is everything okay?” You question, looking up from the flowers but instead of responding, he was tilting your head up, using his finger under your chin.

He stayed quiet, searching every inch of your face like it was made up of words in a book. “Do you believe that bad people, as awful as they may be could be good? That they could change?”

What was he even talking about? You wanted to ask a million questions, to be scared...but you were so calm. He was a walking pain killer. So you answered truthfully with a nod.

His eyes flickered to the lower region of your face for a moment, lingering on the lips you’d spent an hour trying to pick a color for. You wanted him to mess the lipstick up, smear it on both your faces but instead, he nodded, moved his hand away, and opened the car door for you.

“Let’s get you home then.”

The ride back to your apartment was driving him nuts. He felt ridiculous for thinking he could take your precious life, ridiculous for even considering it...but what really made him crazy was the sudden strong smell of the roses you’d been so attached to.

He needed you to toss them out. To hate them...

Pulling up to your apartment building he parked between two of the fades lines on the cracked concrete and looked over at you.

“I had a lot of fun—“

“I didn’t.” He states. He was lying the whole world knew he was lying...except you because God did you look hurt.

“But I thought you—“

“That was when I thought I was going to get laid.” He wanted you to punch him. Kick him. Hate him. He needed you to so you could drop those stupid fucking flowers and be okay...

“Are you serious?” Your eyes were welled up with tears and your hand was reaching for the handle on the door. “Is that all you cared about tonight?”

He swallowed hard and nodded his head. He wanted to apologize, to tell you his name...his real name, tell you what he had planned to do, tell you why he couldn’t, tell you the whole truth, and leave no details unsaid. But if he wanted you safe he couldn’t do that.

“Yeah and if you aren’t going to give me what I came for then get out of my car.”

He didn’t need to tell you twice because before he could blink there was a stinging sensation on his cheek, roses smashed against his chest and a car door slamming in his face.

He watched you go up to your apartment. He knew he should have driven away but he needed to know you got there safely. He even lingered for a few moments after just in case. Then he drove away, buying a bottle of corn syrup and red dye.

He spent the night back in the abandoned woods, digging a too deep hole, throwing in a trash bag full of leaves and limbs, covering it back up, dropping the hates flowers on top, and covering his hand and clothes in the sticky syrup mixture. He truly looked like he had the worst possible thing and thinking back to what he told you...he felt like it too.

OUTGOING SMS TO x xxx-xxx-xxxx

Done! Now send me my fucking money.

He sent the message and changed into the clean clothes he kept in the trunk of his car.

Back at his sad excuse of an apartment the next day he stared into his roaring fire pit, watching the flames turn his ruined clothes into ash. The lip of the whiskey bottle all too familiar against his tongue.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He rolled his eyes knowing he was needed for another job. He hated it. He hated what he did.

Pulling out his phone he expected to read his next mission but instead, his heart was stopped.

INCOMING SMS FROM x xxx-xxx-xxxx

You idiot. Did you really think we wouldn’t check? Not only are we going to make you pay for cheating us but her life won’t be taken as quickly as we had once preferred. I hope you’re happy with your choices.

Attached was an image of the poorly wrapped bag of brush and the strewn about flowers.

What did he do?

—

Another few minutes pass before he lifts his head and forces himself to look at the clock on the side table between the two beds. 

12:02

"Shit, really?" He grumbles, then he glances over to the bed where you and Jungkook sleep. 

He sees a mess of hair and assumes you're on the side closer to him. 

Jungkook must be closer to the bathroom. 

Tae yawns and stretches his arms over his head. 

What a shit week. 

He sits up and looks over to again see the back of your head and all your unruly hair. He looks further over your shoulder to see Jungkook sleeping soundly, over on his side of the bed, curled up in the covers. 

Taehyung smiles and shakes his head. 

He's not gonna wake you guys up, clearly you all needed the sleep. 

He rubs his eyes and sighs deeply. 

"Tae?"

He startles at the sound of your voice, whipping his head over to see your eyes peeking at him from the bird's nest that is your hair. 

"W-What time is it?" You whisper. 

"A little after twelve," Tae whispers back, not wanting to wake the last of the trio. 

You blink owlishly at him for a minute, he knows you're probably just as surprised that you all slept this long. 

Then you sit up very very carefully, looking over to make sure Jungkook hasn't woken up. 

He hasn't. 

You breathe a sigh of relief and start climbing out of the bed. 

But just as you're halfway out, you see Tae is halfway out of his bed too. 

You both freeze and stare at each other, instantly knowing what the other is doing. 

He shakes his head, "Nah, girl. I woke up first- ____!" He hisses as you bolt out of the bed and make a run for the bathroom. 

You're almost there when he snags your wrist and yanks you back. 

"No, you don't," Tae refuses to let go of your wrist when you try to pull away. 

You glare at him and try to tug loose again, "Let m-me go, I n-need to pee!"

"Yeah? So do I!"

You gape at him when he sticks his tongue out at you, but that just gives him the time to slip around you and make a run for it. 

"Tae!" You whisper-shout, grabbing his shirt and holding on tight as he struggles to get free. 

"Let me go, you little deviant!"

He finally pries your hands off and goes to run again when he smacks right into something hard. 

Taehyung stumbles back before realizing what it was he ran into. 

Jungkook. 

The last one to wake up is standing there in confusion, arms crossed over his chest as he looks at the two of you acting like toddlers. 

"What the hell is going on?"

You and Tae both start talking at once, pointing accusing fingers at each other like you just got caught fighting over toys and your father is demanding an explanation. 

"T-Tae won't let me use th-the-"

"I woke up first and I was ahead of her and-" 

 "-bathroom and I r-really need to pee!"

"-she tried to cut me in line!"

"And-"

Jungkook holds his hands up, "Shut up, both of you."

You both snap your mouths shut and glare at each other. 

"Tae, what did you say?" Jungkook asks in exasperation, rubbing his temple.  

While they're distracted, you decide to take a chance. 

You're almost past Jungkook when one of his arms shoots out and wraps around your waist, effortlessly lifting you off the ground. 

"Hey!" You grumble. 

Tae laughs as he sees you dangling from Jungkook's forearm, your socked feet swinging in the air. 

"P-Put me down!" You whine. 

Jungkook moves his arm forward and inwards until you're trapped in his chest with his arm caging you in.

You give your best pout as you stare at his chest.

You really need to pee.  

He looks down at you and lifts your chin so that you look at him, his heart fluttering at the messy hair in your face. 

"You don't need to go and be a cheat," He says sternly, but you can hear the fondness in his voice, "Go to the bathroom," He releases you from his hold.

Tae's laughter at you getting in trouble cuts short, "Wait, what?!"

You giggle and stick your tongue out at Jungkook's glowering best friend as you skip around your boy and run to the bathroom. 

"What the fuck you take her side for?" Tae grumbles. 

Jungkook laughs quietly, "You weren't even in front of her."

"How do you know?"

"Because I was awake, dumbass."

Tae reddens at being caught in a lie, "Yeah well, that doesn't make it any better. Why'd you let her go first? She wasn't in front of me either."

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?"

"Well damn," Tae mutters, "Might as well go and be a lady, damn."

Jungkook laughs at Tae's grumbling until you come out not too long after going in. 

Taehyung sticks his nose in the air and walks past you, "Humph."

You smile at him as he walks into the bathroom and shuts the door. 

"He's s-so moody," You laugh lightly. 

Jungkook nods, "He's been like that for forever."

You nod, noticing that Jungkook tries to give you a smile, but fails miserably. 

It's quiet for a minute before you hear him speak again. 

"He likes you, you know."

"Hm?" You look up, slightly startled by the unexpected sound of his voice. 

"Tae."

"T-Tae, what?"

"He likes you," Jungkook gives you a small smile, "I just want you to know that."

You nod absentmindedly. 

"H-How do you know?"

"If he didn't like you, he would be avoiding you, not fighting you for the bathroom like a little sister," Jungkook chuckles softly, "People know when he doesn't like them, he makes sure of it. I'm really glad you two get along so well."

You nod again, "Oh, w-well, I'm glad he doesn't h-hate me."

"No one could hate you, ____-..."

Jungkook realizes his words the second they leave his mouth.

You look down at your fingers and wiggle your toes mindlessly. 

"I-" Jungkook clears his throat, "I mean that."

You look at him and he knows what you're thinking. 

If someone didn't hate you, there never would have been a target on your head for more money than your apartment is worth. 

"Not even Dae hated you," Jungkook says, despising the way that name tastes in his mouth, "He's just a psycho bastard that can't take no for an answer."

He sees you staring at the ground again, "I w-wish he hated me," You whisper. 

"____-"

"M-Mina hated me."

Your voice is so quiet that he barely hears you.

His heart pinches in his chest. 

"Mina didn't know what she had until she lost it."

You look back at him again, something twanging in your heart that you've never felt before. 

"Your family didn't deserve you," He whispers, reading your mind. 

You sigh, "It's okay, y-you don't have to r-reassure me."

Jungkook lost his mother and now he's comforting you, it's all wrong. 

He smiles, "I'm just saying what's coming to my mind."

Deciding to move, you walk over and wrap your arms around his waist. 

"Thank y-you," You whisper. 

He just places a tiny kiss on the top of your head in response, his arms circling around you. 

Taehyung comes out of the bathroom and walks past you two, still grumpy. 

He walks to the mini fridge and pulls out last night's leftovers, "If anyone's hungry that's too bad, you can go and find your own food."

You feel Jungkook's chest rumble with laughter, "Alright, ____ and I will go find some fresh food. Enjoy your cold steak."

Tae hesitates as he sets the food on the coffee table in front of the couch. 

Then he sighs loudly, "Fine, you can eat some of the leftovers."

Jungkook gently pushes you towards the couch, signaling you to go get some food. Then he goes to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower," Jungkook calls out to you and Tae as he shuts the door. 

-

The food tastes delicious even after being in the fridge for hours, you wonder how good it would've been when it was fresh last night. 

Tae shovels mashed potatoes into his mouth at record speed and you briefly wonder how the heck he hasn't choked yet. 

"Don't w-worry, I know the H-Heimlich maneuver if you ch-choke," You say calmly as you take a bite of your steak. 

Tae stops for a moment, fork midair and almost in his mouth, a mile-high mountain of mashed potatoes topped with a piece of steak sits there precariously. 

Then he grins, "You'd like that wouldn't you?" He proceeds to shove the whole bite into his mouth and chew vigorously, "Don't stress, you ain't gotta worry about me, babe."

You shake your head with a laugh. 

rrrrrrrring!

You both freeze at the sound of a phone ringing. 

rrrrrrrring!

"Oh, shit that's mine," Tae jumps off the couch and flies to the bed where his phone is tucked under the pillow he slept on. 

"Hello?"

You see his face change as he recognizes who called. 

At first, he looks serious, then his eyes light up a little and a small smile appears, "Really?"

You take another bite of steak, watching him. 

"Fuck yeah, thank you. Can I get them today?"

Looking back down at your plate, you pick at your food as he says a few more things before hanging up. 

"That was Namjoon," he says as he joins you on the couch again. 

"Oh, w-what did he say?"

"He didn't just find the polaroid camera, he found all the photos I told you about, remember?"

You nod with a small smile, "The ones w-with small J-Jungkookie."

"Yeah," Tae smiles brightly, then it turns sad. 

"Um, I know it might seem weird right now because of what happened yesterday," He pokes at the broccoli on his plate, "Jungkook isn't going to mourn like people normally do."

You swallow thickly. 

"He's been terrified of losing his mother since he was like six. Now that it's happened, I don't think it has fully registered in his mind, you know?"

You nod.

"Jungkook is going to deal with it in the way that works for him. When I lost my grandparents, I became angry and hateful. I can't say what Jungkook might do."

The sound of the shower is still going, so Tae doesn't worry that Jungkook might hear him. 

"We need to act as normal as we can even though it's killing me," He sighs, "I knew her since I was six. She was like a mother to me too. But what I need to worry about right now is Jungkook. If I lose my cool, so will he."

You frown. 

They have only ever lived like this, hiding their emotions out of fear for everyone else. 

They don't know anything more. 

Jungkook won't show that he can be vulnerable because he was raised to believe that being anything other than closed-off is weak and weak is bad, Tae won't crumble because he fears Jungkook will follow him. Both of them fully believe that if you are anything but guarded, you will pay dearly for it.

It's a nasty cycle that needs to break. 

But you don't know how to break it. 

-

Jungkook is leaning his shoulder against the wall of the shower. 

It was cold when he first leaned against it, but it's warmed up now. 

He stares at the small shampoo bottle that they give guests, his eyes locked on the flowers covering the label. 

The water is rushing down his back, which always makes his scars feel weird and he hates it. 

But that isn't even on his mind right now. 

He can't think of anything but his mother's face. 

Terror consumes him every time he thinks he might have forgotten what she looked like. 

What she sounded like. 

How comforting her hug was. 

How beautiful her singing was. 

He's scared to not think of her every second he's awake. 

He might forget her. 

She died yesterday, but it almost feels like it was a hundred years ago. 

She died so long ago in his brain, but he still misses her more than ever. 

How is he supposed to live now?

He was living for her.

That was always what kept him going, what woke him up in the morning and made him get out of bed. 

She was always his number one priority, and he knows she would hate that if he had ever told her. 

She was the reason he didn't give up. 

Now what is he supposed to do?

Jungkook sees your face flash in his mind and his heart breaks just a little more. 

He doesn't deserve you. 

He never did and he never will. 

"Fuck," Jungkook mutters, dragging his eyes away from the shampoo bottle as he moves to lean his back against the shower wall. 

He winces a little at the cold touch on his scars when he adjusts. 

His hands move to cover his face. 

Dae needs to be stopped. 

But Jungkook refuses to let it end with him only paying for it behind bars. 

It isn't ever going to end until that bastard bleeds to death from his hands alone. 

Then he needs to go back to Seokjin and Yoongi. 

Shit. 

All of this, and it's going to end with him locked up and his mother gone. 

No matter what happens, that's how this is going to end. 

What is he supposed to tell you and Tae?

You can't live your life waiting for him to get out, he isn't going to let you do that. 

He won't make you run away with him to live your life in fear of getting caught by the police. 

He's going to be arrested and he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison. 

And he needs you to move on from him, to be happy. 

That's all he's wanted for you and all he will ever want. 

And Taehyung...

He sacrificed his entire life for him and this is what he gets for it?

Jungkook's stomach twists with guilt. 

Tae is never going to forgive him for leaving him alone, and he doesn't deserve that forgiveness anyway. 

He doesn't even realize that he's crouched on the shower floor.

He's never going to see you or Tae ever again. 

_____________

"Where did Tae go?" Jungkook asks when he comes out from the bathroom. 

You look over to see his wet hair dangling around his face. 

He's so pretty. 

"____?"

You snap out of it, "Huh?"

"Taehyung left?" Jungkook asks. 

"Oh, y-yeah. He just w-went to get something."

"Oh, ok."

"You sh-should eat something," you say softly, pointing at the food that Tae didn't devour. 

Jungkook rubs his hair with the towel once more before tossing it into the bathroom and walking over to sit next to you. 

"Is it good?" He asks as he stabs a piece of steak with a fork. 

You nod, "Very."

He hums with satisfaction at the bite in his mouth, "You're right."

You smile; it's nice to watch him actually eat something. It feels like forever since you've seen him eat anything even close to a meal. 

Jungkook doesn't notice you watching him chew, he just starts eating faster, reminding you of what Tae was eating like not too long ago. 

Did they get enough food when they were young hitmen? Maybe they had to eat as quickly as they could to get enough of it when they had the chance.

The thought passes your brain briefly before you feel Jungkook touching your thigh and you snap out of it. 

"D-Did you ask me something?" You ask quickly, glancing at his hand that's resting just above your knee then looking at his face. 

You automatically assume he had asked you a question when you blanked out again. 

Jungkook smiles softly and shakes his head, "I didn't ask you anything."

"Oh," Your voice is small in confusion. 

Jungkook goes back to eating, chewing like a rabbit just like always. 

You look back down at his hand that's still resting on your leg and see him start to gently rub your knee with his thumb.

When you glance up at him again you realize he's doing it subconsciously. 

You don't think it's even registered in his brain that he's touching you. 

Jungkook stabs a piece of broccoli and puts it in his mouth. 

The angry look on his face as he chews makes you giggle.

He's so cute. 

He looks over at you, confused at your sudden laughter. 

"What's so funny?" He asks, mouth still full of food. 

"Oh, nothing, sor-sorry," You purse your lips and look away. 

Jungkook stares at you for a moment longer before shrugging and going back to his food. 

-

You and Jungkook toss the last of the trash into the garbage bin, then you sit on the couch again. 

He grabs the TV remote before joining you.

"Why are you so far away from me?" Jungkook asks. 

You look over to see him on the other side of the couch. 

"Y-you sat there, I w-was sitting first," You stick your tongue out at him and turn back to the TV that he had turned on. 

A squeal bursts from your lips when you feel his arms wrap around your waist and he lifts you off your bottom. 

You hadn't even noticed him standing up. 

Jungkook carries you over to the other side of the long couch and plops down, making you sit in his lap. 

Your cheeks burn like crazy at the proximity. 

"You're being a brat," He mumbles into your shoulder, keeping his arms locked around your waist, "Why?"

You gulp, not used to him being so forward like this especially when Tae could walk in at any moment. 

Your heart stops in your chest when you feel Jungkook's lips brush against your neck before leaving a kiss there. 

"J-Jungkook-"

He swipes the hair from your neck and plants another kiss a little below your ear, sending shivers down your spine, "Mm?" He hums, the arm still around your waist tightens a bit more. 

"I-"

Jungkook puts his fingers under your chin and turns your head gently so that you're looking at him, "What's wrong? Too fast?"

You shake your head slowly, not wanting him to stop but also scared for him to continue. 

"What's on your mind?" Jungkook whispers. 

"I- I want you t-to keep going, but I'm sc-scared."

He nods, keeping his eyes on you. 

You've never felt so heard before. 

He hasn't said a word, but you can tell he knows exactly what you're trying to say. 

It's such a relief to not have to struggle with your words to explain what you mean. 

No one has ever given you that before. 

"I'm not going to do anything you aren't comfortable with," Jungkook says lowly, watching you closely. 

You nod, knowing that he would never pressure you into anything. 

It just doesn't feel like the right time for anything right now. You're still trying not to cry over his mother every few seconds and you only ever met her twice. 

His and Tae's way of dealing with stuff is not the same as yours and it's hard to try and shove yourself into that mold so suddenly. 

You heard his heart break yesterday, you felt the agony seeping from him, saw the life leave his eyes.

It has yet to come back. 

Jungkook looks back and forth between your eyes, "You're thinking about her, aren't you?" He asks gently. 

You gulp and nod. 

It's freaky how good he is at reading you. 

He lifts your chin to look at your eyes again when you duck, "Look at me."

You do so and see a deep sadness in his eyes that you could only imagine someone who has lived hundreds of years and lost everything would be able to portray. 

"I'm okay," He whispers. 

He sees your face change, morphing into one of such sympathy and sadness he almost breaks. 

"She's in a better place," Jungkook says, "It hurts like hell, but I'm not going to give up until my job here is done. She did what she set out to do, now we need to do the same."

You nod, still not convinced that he's doing as well as he claims. 

Jungkook has you turn so you're fully facing him, your knees tucked under you as you sit between his legs. 

"I'll cry when I'm ready," He promises, holding his pinky out to you. 

You hesitate for a moment before wrapping your pinky around his. 

Jungkook pulls your hand towards him while your pinkies are locked, making you come forward too. 

You only realize at the last moment what he's doing, so you move your head just enough for him to miss your lips and kiss your cheek instead. 

He pulls back, shocked and faking offense as he looks at you. 

"Alright, you asked for it," He lets go of your hand in order to cup your face. 

"Ah!" You squeal and wiggle away from him before he can kiss you, jumping off of the couch and making a run for it. 

Jungkook catches up to you before you make it very far though, swooping you up into his arms and chuckling at your shrieks of laughter.

Next thing you know, he's literally tossing you onto the bed, your limbs flailing before you hit the mattress with a bounce, your hair falling all into your face so you can't see. 

But you can feel him get on the bed, which scares you enough to be able to get under the covers and hide. 

You feel him tickling you and you wiggle around, "Stop!"

All you can hear is him laughing at your predicament. 

Jungkook finally stops tickling you long enough for you to come out from the covers. 

You peek your head out to see him smirking at you. 

"Y-you're evil," You pout. 

Jungkook pulls the covers off of you and crawls closer, "I'm not evil."

"You are."

"No, you're just being stubborn."

You finally break a smile when he leans forward and kisses your forehead, a sweet gesture that's so soft you almost cry. 

Then he kisses between your eyebrows, then your nose, cheeks, and chin. 

You know what he's doing, but you don't say anything. 

Jungkook pulls back and looks into your eyes for permission. 

You gulp and nod right before he surges forward and presses his lips to yours for a second.

"J-Jungkook, wait."

He pulls away and looks at you. 

"Tae m-might walk in-"

Just as you're saying that, the lock beeps on the hotel door and it swings open, Tae waltzing in with a look of satisfaction on his face as he tosses a satchel he's carrying to the side where it lands with a thump. 

He freezes when he sees you on the bed, your eyes wide as you stare at him. Then his eyes travel higher up to see Jungkook hovering over you, also looking at him in surprise. 

"Uhhh..."

No one moves for a second. 

Jungkook is the first to snap out of it as he moves away from you quickly. 

Taehyung's mouth twists in amusement, "Sorry, dudes."

You drag your eyes from Tae over to where Jungkook is clearing his throat, his cheeks tinted pink. 

"Did I.. interrupt something?" Tae is fighting demons as he tries his damn best not to laugh. 

Jungkook's face immediately turns irritated as he gives Tae a look. 

"I said sorry, I didn't know y'all were gonna jump each other's bones while I was gone-"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Jungkook barks, climbing off the bed. 

"Ok, ok, ok," The eldest holds his hands up in defense, "I don't know why I'm being growled at, damn. I wasn't the one locking lips-"

You gasp as Tae ducks just in time to miss a swing from Jungkook's fist. 

"Damn, JK! Calm down!" Tae laughs and runs around the younger, narrowly escaping as Jungkook turns to glare at him. 

"It was a joke, it was a joke!" 

Tae shrinks back onto his bed when Jungkook steps closer. 

The sight has a laugh bursting from your lips. 

Usually Tae is the intimidating one, but you guess he pushed Jungkook's buttons a little too hard this time. 

"I'm gonna kick your ass next time I've got you alone," Jungkook points a finger at his idiotic best friend. 

"Oh shit, sounds like a fun time, I'm in."

"You fucking-"

"Ahh, let me go!" 

You're rolling around on the bed, stomach cramping from laughing so hard as you watch Jungkook wrestle Tae, who as it would turn out, is quite the squirmer. 

Taehyung is cackling the whole time while Jungkook seems far from amused. 

Finally, Jungkook has Tae on his stomach, his arms pinned painfully behind his back, "Holy shit," Tae pants with laughter, "This escalated quickly."

You wipe at your eyes, literally crying at the polar opposite looks on both of their faces. 

Jungkook smacks the back of Tae's head in annoyance, pushing his arms up more, just to teach him a lesson. 

"Ow! Shit!" Tae laughs even as he cries out in pain. 

"Shut up," Jungkook snaps, glad he finally won a fight. 

"Yes, daddy."

A scream of laughter rips through you as Jungkook shoves Tae off the bed, "Dumbass!"

Taehyung falls to the ground in a heap of laughter so intense he can't even get a breath in. 

"Fuck, I'm sick you, you fucking shithead," Jungkook steps over him and walks to the bathroom to splash water on his face. 

He's got to calm down or he'll really snap Tae's neck. 

Your stomach is seizing up from how hard you're still laughing, looking at Tae rolling around on the floor and crying from his own laughter, tears streaming down his face. 

Jungkook dries his face off and steps out to see you and Tae extremely red in the face as you both struggle to breathe. 

A smile tries to fight its way onto his face, but he smothers it. 

"Idiots," He mutters as he runs a hand through his hair.

Taehyung finally settles down enough to pick himself up off the floor and get onto the bed, his face still a shockingly unnatural color as he fans himself to cool down. 

"Shit," He pants, "I've never laughed so hard in my fucking life, holy fuck."

You've got your face stuffed into a pillow, forcing yourself to take deep breaths and stop laughing. 

"Ow!" Tae exclaims suddenly, looking down at his abdomen in a panic, "Ow, it hurts."

He stands up and turns away from you and Jungkook to lift his shirt and look at his stomach. 

"I think I gave myself a hernia," His voice is laced with such concern you find yourself slapping a hand over your mouth so as not to laugh again. 

Jungkook scoffs, "Serves you right, fucking dipshit."

You're trying so hard not to cackle that you find yourself crossing your legs and humming, just like you used to do when you did yoga to calm down. 

Anything will do at this point. 

Tae looks over at you, then looks at Jungkook, then back at you. 

"The fuck you doing?"

You open your eyes to see them both staring at you.

"Anyway," Tae says slowly, "I-"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Jungkook interrupts him without thinking, "I need to go somewhere today."

You uncross your legs and look at him curiously. 

"Where?" Tae is the one to finally speak. 

"I just need to get something," Jungkook brushes it off, "But I'm gonna go soon, I don't want to waste any more time."

"Do you want us to-"

"No," Jungkook is quick to say, "I'm fine."

"Ok," Tae reluctantly agrees. 

You don't know what to say. You're anxious about him going out, especially alone. After everything that's happened, you don't want the three of you to split up anymore. It seems like bad things always happen when you do. 

No one moves for a second, then Jungkook snaps out of his thoughts and moves for the door, "I'm just gonna go now, I'll be back soon."

Neither of you say a word as he slips his shoes on, grabs a keycard and his motorcycle keys, then he's gone. 

The sound of the door shutting somewhat loudly, is what breaks the silence in the room. 

"That was weird," Tae mumbles, looking at the door with a frown. 

"You d-don't think he's g-go-going to do anything dangerous, do you?" You ask worriedly. 

Tae shakes his head, "No, he's smarter than that. I just don't think he should be alone after what happened yesterday."

You nod, eyes downcast. 

It feels like he just keeps running away, moving further and further from you each day.

You wish you could help him like he's helped you all this time. 

Part of you is afraid that he's never going to let you in. 

-

Jungkook opens the door to his old house, glancing left and right to make sure that there still isn't anyone watching him.

When he goes in, he heads straight for the back towards his old room. 

He immediately sees the small green safe in the corner of the room and walks over to it quickly, moving to his knees to unlock it. 

-

You feel the weight of Tae sitting next to you on the couch almost half an hour after Jungkook left. 

You look over to see him holding the satchel he came in with. 

He reaches into it and pulls out an old polaroid camera, handing it to you before reaching into the satchel again. 

You turn it over in your hands, inspecting it carefully. 

It feels so weird to hold something you know they held when they were so young. 

"____."

You look over and see Tae holding a bunch of photos.

Setting the camera down next to you, you lean closer as he tilts the photos towards you. It's almost like you can feel the smile radiating off of him as he shows you the first picture. 

It's of Jungkook sitting in a chair, facing a vanity, his reflection making your heart ache. 

Taehyung is clearly behind him in the mirror, but it looks as though Jungkook doesn't know that he's taking a picture. 

The young boy seems to be in the middle of saying something, too distracted by the conversation to even see the camera in his friend's hand. 

"He's s-so small," You whisper, tearing up already. 

Tae nods, "He was sixteen here. We were talking about a hit Namjoon gave us, it was the first time we were going to be far from Busan. We were really nervous and excited," You can hear the emotion in his voice. 

Taehyung goes to the next picture, "Ah, this was when Namjoon threatened to ground us both for accidentally setting the shed in the backyard on fire."

You chuckle, "How d-did you manage th-that?"

He shrugs, smiling at the picture of Namjoon shaking his finger in Jungkook's face. 

"We were idiots."

"W-were?" You ask slyly, making Tae laugh. 

You look back at the photo and smile at Jungkook's wide eyes, "His eyes h-have always b-been huge, I g-guess."

Tae chuckles, "Yeah, definitely. And this was when he was growing into them too, he was sixteen here as well."

The next photo is of Tae hanging on Jungkook's shoulders, laughing about something. Jungkook's shy smile makes your chest all fuzzy as Tae tells you about what was happening. 

"I hadn't known Joon hyung took the picture until a few years later. He broke his own rule... I think Jungkook might have been seventeen here. This is one of the few memories I have of Kook smiling ever since the first hit..."

"W-What made you guys l-laugh?"

Tae furrows his brows, "You know, I don't remember..."

For some reason, that hits you straight in the heart, a piercing pain that makes you almost physically wince. 

He moves on to the next one, "Oh this is one of my favorites," Tae's smile grows as he shows it to you. 

Jungkook has on a winter hat, the puffball at the top covered in snow and his eyes looking at a huge icicle almost dreamily, one of his gloved hands raised as he points at it. 

"It was so fucking cold that day," Tae reminisces, "We had a hit that morning, it was over and done with quickly, but Namjoon had told us he couldn't get a ride for us to get back because of a blizzard that was coming, so we had to walk to a motel that was five miles away."

"Oh, g-gosh," It's almost like you can feel the chilly air through the photo. 

"Jungkook was pissed, and I was pissed and we were frozen at this point, we were probably about halfway to the motel," Tae bites his lip, "Then we saw this massive icicle hanging from a tree branch. Jungkook looked so enchanted by it that I couldn't help but get a picture. I was lucky I'd randomly thought to bring the camera."

You swallow thickly, "I'm gl-glad you did."

The look on sixteen-year-old Jungkook's face is something far from anger, it looks almost like he forgot what he was doing at the time, only focusing on the beauty in front of him. 

It hurts to look at but also brings a warmth to your aching heart. 

He doesn't look like someone that had murdered someone not too long before the photo was taken. He doesn't look capable of something like that. 

Tae moves on, "I think you'll like this one."

He hands it to you and you bring it closer to your face. 

Jungkook is sitting crisscrossed on the floor of the same room where the vanity picture was taken, and in one of his hands is a bowl of something, a spoon in his other hand that's being lifted to his mouth. 

His gaze is focused on something outside of the frame. 

You smile sadly, "W-What is he looking at?"

"The TV," Tae says quietly, "We used to watch this weird kid's show that came on one of the only channels we got. I don't even remember what the fuck it was called. But it always seemed like it calmed him down when we watched it."

You run your thumb along the picture, trying not to cry at his zoned-out look. 

"He was fifteen," Tae informs you gently. 

You nod. 

"He's s-so little," A frown paints your features as you start to notice how small he actually was. 

Tae nods slowly, "This was when he finally started eating better."

You look at him, "W-What?"

"He couldn't stomach a lot of the food for a while when we first did hits regularly, couldn't stomach the fact he was a hitman."

Your own stomach turns at the thought. 

"He was always small," Tae whispers, handing you the next photo. 

You take it and see Jungkook lying on a bed, reading a book.

He looks almost sickly. 

"He was fourteen in that picture. His father didn't feed him a lot," Tae swallows, "Like I said the other day, from when he was six until he was thirteen, he got most of his food from me."

Your heart feels like it tears into two at the reminder. 

Looking at Jungkook now, you would have never suspected that he was malnourished as a child. He has so much muscle on him and he's tall too, nothing even close to the kid in this snapshot from the past. 

A single tear slides down your cheek as you gently touch Jungkook's sweet face, running your finger over it and wishing he never had to suffer.

After going through all the pictures, it almost feels like you could physically see Jungkook's personality change. He was small, innocent, and afraid at the beginning, and with each picture; he seemed to grow harder, angrier. 

It hurts to see it. 

You can't imagine what Tae felt like, seeing his best friend go through that. But then again, Tae went through the same thing, so maybe it wasn't as jarring for him as it looks in the photos. 

Your heart aches for them, especially because there is nothing you can do to fix it. 

Taehyung slips the photos back into the satchel and takes the polaroid camera back to put it with the photos where it's safe. 

"Thank y-you, for showing m-me."

He nods with a smile, "You're welcome."

__________________

Jungkook grabs what he needs from the safe, then he makes his way back out of the bedroom and through the empty house. 

rrrrrrring!

For the first time in the past few months, the sound of his work phone ringing doesn't cause chills to go down his spine. 

He knows who it is. 

Pulling out the phone to see an unidentified number, Jungkook doesn't react. He simply answers it and holds it up to his ear. 

"Hi, Lotus. I wasn't sure you'd answer."

____________________

"Hey, Kook."

Jungkook forces a smile on his face when he sees you and Tae sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Hey."

"Did you get what you needed?" Tae asks carefully, confused when he doesn't see Jungkook holding anything. 

Jungkook nods, looking at the TV to see some random cooking show. Then his gaze lands on you. You're sitting on the couch, your legs folded up and your hands in your lap as you play with your fingers, avoiding his eyes.

"What did you guys do while I was gone?" Jungkook asks, trying desperately to sound casual. He can tell neither of you fall for it, but at least he tried. 

"Uh, we sat around and talked, and watched TV," Tae gestures at the big screen that's now displaying a man quickly chopping up a bunch of green onions. 

Awkwardness falls over the three of you as Jungkook nods, his lips pursed. 

"Cool."

Tae's eyes slowly look around, not sure what to focus on, "Yeah."

Silence settles around the room, making the tension feel even more tangible, almost like a thick fog that's going to choke all of you to death. 

The sound of a text breaks through the seemingly impenetrable fog. 

Taehyung stares Jungkook dead in the eyes, but the younger doesn't flinch as he looks back at him steadily. 

"I'll be right back," Jungkook says before turning and leaving the room again. 

Taking Taehyung by surprise, you get up off the couch suddenly and stomp towards the door of the room, opening it and letting it go when you step out. 

The door shuts roughly as Tae stares at it, startled at your sudden anger. 

He's irritated with Jungkook too, but he thought that out of the two of you, he would be the first one to snap.

-

After walking for a minute through the halls, you see Jungkook standing over by the couches in the fancy seating area. He's looking down at his phone; reading something intently. 

No doubt the text he just got. 

"Jungkook."

He looks up in surprise at the sound of your voice. 

You sound pissed. 

You look pissed too, marching towards him with a serious face. 

"____, what're you-"

"D-Doing out here? I'd l-like to ask you the s-same thing."

You see him swallow, "I'm just taking care of something-"

"What?" You snap. 

He just looks at you for a second, taken aback by the tone of your voice. 

"It's-...It's nothing you need to worry about, ____-"

"Yeah, I'm- I'm sure."

Jungkook turns the phone off and slips it into his back pocket, "____-"

"Don't l-lie to me," You whisper fiercely, "I've h-had enough of it."

Jungkook's face falls at the angry look on your face, "I'm not lying."

Your eyes narrow more, "Oh r-really?"

He takes a step towards you, his heart breaking a little when you take a step back. 

"I th-thought we were over this," You say quietly, "I thought y-you were done lying."

"I am," Jungkook swallows thickly, "I-"

"Liar."

His chest physically aches at your bitter accusation. 

You stare at each other for a minute, neither of you saying anything. 

"I c-can see right through you," You finally say, "You're lying t-to me."

"Yeah?" Jungkook snaps, suddenly getting pissed off, "You wanna talk about lying?"

He doesn't know why he's doing this, why he always does this. 

Why does he feel the need to sabotage himself just because he's convinced someone will do it anyway?

He moves forward, "You think you're the only one that knows better, ____? I can see right through your lies too, don't even try to act like you're innocent."

Your brows furrow, "What are y-you talking about?"

He scoffs, "You and Tae? You lied to me. Think I really believe you watched TV and talked the whole time? Fucking bullshit."

You look at him in confusion, "What a-are you accusing m-me of?"

"I don't know ____, you tell me."

You take another step back, disbelief clouding your mind. 

He can't possibly think something happened between you and Tae. 

He's just making this up, to get you to forget that he's lying.

Jungkook doesn't flinch, his glare trained on you. 

"Nothing to say?" Jungkook pokes at your silent response. 

That makes something snap in you and you stomp towards him. 

"You're th-the one that makes up lies t-to cover up what you're doing," You seethe, pointing an accusing finger in his face, "You're the one th-that compulsively l-lies."

Jungkook's jaw clenches as you go off, "You li-lied to me, over and o-over again. I've alw-ways come clean. Y-You want to know what w-we did? Tae showed me pic-pictures of you from when y-you were younger."

His face softens at that, realization hitting him, along with the guilt of accusing you. Just because he was mad that you exposed his lies. 

Shit, he's an asshole. 

He can see the tears building in your eyes even as you hide them with anger. 

"How d-dare you accuse m-me of anything more," You whisper, "How dare y-you stoop so l-low just because I c-called you out. B-Because I'm scared f-for you."

The childish light in your eyes is gone, which makes his heart hurt even more than it already had. 

"____-"

"No," You snap, "My reasons f-for lying were to pr-protect you, in case you d-didn't want to relive the past. W-What are your reasons?"

He stays quiet. 

"N-Nothing to say?" You throw his words right back in his face.

After another beat of silence, you look back and forth between his eyes, "You d-don't deserve m-my trust." 

Jungkook swallows, "I-..."

You hate that he's made you angry with him, after everything that's happened. He just lost his mother, the last thing you want to do is be mad. But the fact that he won't stop lying and doing things that can cause him to get hurt, kindles a flame in your gut that you can't extinguish. 

It’s as if anger is a mask for the fear.

You glare at him for another second, then you turn to walk away. 

But Jungkook grabs your wrist before you can get very far. 

"Wait-"

"Let m-me go!" You yank your wrist from his grasp, ignoring his hurt look. 

When you turn again, you feel his hand on your arm, "____, please-...don't walk away."

Your heart feels like it's bleeding, but you push his hand off anyway. 

"D-Don't touch me," You try to breathe, willing yourself to calm down. 

What has happened to you?

You used to be the most forgiving person, you never thought ill of anyone, no matter what they did to you. 

You know he's hurting, but it's almost like you can't stop the anger that's planted itself in your heart. The fear and anger are in control right now, and it honestly scares you. 

Jungkook sees you look back up at him after a minute, your eyes full of bitter tears, an ache behind them so deep it takes his breath away. 

The only thing going through your head is how wrong you were. 

You were so so stupid. 

Living in this stupid world like there wasn't a single thing to worry about. 

"You're different," Jungkook says slowly, pain clear in his voice. 

You shake your head, "I was j-just shown how cr-cruel this world really is," then you turn and march back down the hall, your steps soundless since you've only got socks on, having rushed out of the room to follow him. 

After a second, he goes after you. 

He's not going to lose you, not like this, not because of his careless tongue and self-destructive idiocy. 

"Leave m-me alone, Jungkook," You huff, determined to get to the room without him stopping you. 

"____, please," He says as he catches up to you, "Please let me explain."

"No th-thanks, I'm tired of this g-game."

Jungkook snags your wrist again, making the anger boil over inside you. 

You whip around to give him a mouthful, "I sa-said don't t-t-t-to-to-touch-..."

Confusion clouds your brain as you stumble, losing your balance for a second. 

"Whoa, hey, hold on," Jungkook takes your arms as you shake your head. 

"D-do-don't touch me," You mumble, your words starting to slur together as you falter again. 

Jungkook sees the unfocused look in your eyes as you blink rapidly. 

"____, listen to me, you need to sit- fuck," Jungkook keeps a hold of you when you start to go limp. 

"Shit," He carefully lowers you both to the ground, still holding you gently, "____, you still with me?"

He doesn't get a response, but he wasn't really expecting one. 

Jungkook sighs, keeping you cradled in his arms as he sits in the middle of the hallway. 

Your back is pressed to his chest, his arms wrapping around you protectively as your muscles start to spasm a little. 

He swallows the lump in his throat before sighing shakily, "You're okay," He whispers, "I'm right here."

Jungkook kisses the top of your head, his eyes welling up as he gently caresses the back of your twitching hands. 

"You're okay." 

Only a minute passes before he feels you start to come back to your senses. 

Neither of you says anything for a minute. 

You just sit there, staring blankly at the wall across from you, even though you know the seizure is over. 

"I'm t-tired," You whisper after a bit. 

"I know," Jungkook whispers against your hair, his voice breaking, "I'm sorry."

His arms tighten around you for a second, "I'm a fucking idiot, I shouldn't have said those things back there."

You don't say anything, too drained to think about what to say. 

The feeling of him rocking you slightly brings a rush of comfort over you, "I didn't mean any of it," Jungkook says, his voice thick with guilt, "I was just mad. I'm so sorry, ____."

You nod, acknowledging his apology but still far too wiped out to do anything more. 

He continues to rock you gently back and forth, keeping your tired body upright in his arms. 

"I know it feels like this world is nothing but cruel," Jungkook says quietly, "But you taught me that there's more than that."

"I th-think maybe I was wrong," You whisper weakly, a single tear rolling down your cheek. 

Jungkook holds you a little tighter, "Please don't say that."

You continue to stare at the wall, wondering why you're fighting so hard. 

What's the point?

"It's just a bump in the road," He says, "But we're together, and it'll be better because of that."

"How can w-we be together?" You ask slowly, "There's s-so much that's always trying t-to rip us apart."

"Exactly. So much that's trying to rip us apart. It hasn't worked though," Jungkook assures you, his thumb rubbing the bracelets on your wrist that match his. 

You're not so sure. 

He's still lying to you. 

He hasn't stopped. 

Nothing beautiful and strong can be built on so many lies. 

You say nothing though, not wanting to fight with him again. 

Choosing not to speak anymore, you just lean back on his chest, resting your head and letting your eyes close. 

You don't care that you're in the middle of the hallway, it's not like anyone goes around much up here anyway. 

_____________

Taehyung keeps his eyes glued to the man stuffing dumplings on the TV when the door opens a little while later. 

He can see out of his peripherals that you go into the bathroom and close the door. 

Jungkook sits next to him a second later, his head dropping to his hands. 

After a minute, he mumbles, "She had another seizure."

Tae looks over at him, "Is she okay?"

He nods, "For now, but it can't stay like this. She needs to get home; we can't keep running and dragging her around with us."

Taehyung nods, "You're right. So, can we take her back?"

Jungkook sighs heavily, "We don't have a choice. I'm going to meet with Namjoon tomorrow. Can you bring her back for me?" 

"Tomorrow?" Tae clarifies. 

Jungkook nods. 

"Where do I take her?"

"To her apartment," Jungkook says quietly, "I'll let Jimin know to expect you."

"She isn't going to go without you."

"I know, but you need to make her."

"Why? Why not wait till you're done meeting with Namjoon? Then we could all just go together-"

"Because she needs her medicine," Jungkook snaps, beyond stressed out at this point. 

Realization dawns on Tae as he nods slowly, "Ok. I'll get her there, don't worry JK."

_____________

That night, you're lying in bed, facing the bathroom. 

Jungkook slept on this side of the bed last night, but you felt like sleeping here tonight and he didn't mind. 

You can hear Tae and Jungkook whispering about something before someone turns out the lamp on the bedside table and then you feel Jungkook's weight as he climbs into bed next to you. 

An arm wraps around your waist and you feel his breath against your neck, "Is this okay?" He asks softly. 

You nod, "Mhm."

The soft and warm touch of your skin brings a comfort to Jungkook he hasn't felt in a long time. 

He's lost so much; he can't lose you too. 

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I figured you would want a rematch, see who wins this time. Maybe it'll be another tie until the next time-"

"Next time?" Jungkook spits, "I'm going to fucking kill you, you bastard, there isn't going to ever be another next time."

Dae laughs, "You're confident, I like it. Especially since I've seen you at your weakest."

Jungkook doesn't say anything, rage consuming him at the mere sound of this pathetic fuck's voice. 

"I'll send you an address. If you think you can actually beat me this time, I'll be waiting there tomorrow."

The line disconnects as Jungkook clenches his fist. 

He's going to get rid of him once and for all. 

You'll never have to live in fear again. 

Jungkook sighs and pulls you impossibly closer, trying his best to memorize the feeling of your soft body against his. 

He can't lose you. 

"Please forgive me," he whispers when he can tell that you've fallen asleep. 

____________________

"____, would you like some pancakes?"

You give Tae a half-hearted smile and nod, "Sure, th-thanks."

You walk over and sit next to him on the couch, watching silently as he carefully puts a few pancakes onto a plate and hands it to you. 

"Thank y-you," you whisper. 

"You're welcome," Tae says as he hands you the syrup. 

You take it numbly and pour it over the pancakes.

Jungkook comes out of the bathroom a few moments later, "That was fast," he says as he takes a seat on your other side. 

Tae nods, shoving a huge bite of pancake into his mouth and talking around it, "Yeah, the kitchen staff are quick as fuck here."

"Can I have the syrup?" 

You hand Jungkook the syrup without a word. 

"Thanks," he mumbles, pouring it onto his food. 

The pancake feels like it's stuck in your throat with every bite as you try to choke down your breakfast. 

Everything is so wrong. 

To avoid more awkward silence, Tae turns on the TV. 

It's some show where these celebrities are doing different challenges. 

Taehyung laughs loudly as some idol slips and falls on his ass, "Ha! Never liked that guy anyway."

Jungkook and you watch the show quietly, not really reacting to it much. 

After breakfast, you walk over and sit on the bed to check your phone that's plugged into the charger Tae bought last night for all of you to use.  

Seeing a text from Jimin after your phone has been dead for days, you stand up and head for the door. 

"I'm st-stepping out for a s-second," You call to them before leaving and making a straight shot for the sitting area down the hall. 

"She's pissed."

Jungkook sighs at Taehyung's observation. 

"I know."

"She's not going to go; she's going to know something is up. She won't believe that dumb lie."

"Well try to convince her," Jungkook hisses, standing up and walking over to plug his phone into the charger you left. 

"It won't work."

"What do you want me to do, Tae?" Jungkook's voice raises considerably, "We don't have any other options!"

"Yes, we do."

"What?" Jungkook snaps, exasperated. 

"I'll meet with Namjoon, you take her back. I can give you whatever Namjoon gives me, and ____ won't even question going back with you-"

"Tae-"

"-and you won't have to lie to her again."

That makes Jungkook stop for a second. 

Tae knows he got him with that one. 

Then Jungkook shakes his head, "It's for her own good."

"Don't do this, Jungkook. Don't make me lie to her for you, I won't do it. Not again."

"Why do you care so much?"

The older of the two stands up, walking closer to his friend, a look of anger flashing in his eyes. 

"You seem to forget that she's my friend too. You're not the only one that cares about her."

Jungkook's brows furrow at Tae's choice of words as he looks at him. 

"Don't be daft," Taehyung scoffs, "You know that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

Tae grabs Jungkook's shirt, bunching it in his fist as he drags him closer, "Stop acting like I don't care about you," he growls, "Why can't you see that I'm doing this for you?" He shakes him a little, "Why can't you see that?"

"How are you-"

"I won't just stand here and let you ruin shit for yourself!" Tae hisses, "You don't stop lying, and she's never going to trust you again."

"I'm doing this for her-"

"No, you're doing it for you."

Jungkook glares back at Tae's accusatory look. 

"You want her to believe you? Then grow up," It hurts his heart to say this to his best friend, but he needs a reality check, "Stop fucking lying to her. Don't be surprised if she stops coming back to you. And don't be surprised if I stop defending you when she does."

Jungkook gulps and rips Tae's hand from his shirt, "Fine," he spits, "Tell her the truth, I don't give a fuck. Tell her I'm not going with you and that I'm staying to meet Namjoon but get her ass on that motorcycle and back to Seoul. I don't care how you do it."

____________________

"Hello? ____?"

You smile sadly at Jimin's voice, "Hi, J-Jiminie."

"Oh praise the heavens!" Jimin exclaims, "I've been worried sick over here. Your location wasn't showing up for days."

You laugh, "My l-location?"

"Yeah, I figured out how to track your location with your number. But it wasn't working and I was freaking out."

"Why d-do you track m-my location?" The amusement is clear in your voice. 

Jimin laughs, "Maybe because my girl is always being whisked away by two crazy ass dudes that are dark and mysterious and I'd like to know where she is?"

A smile breaks out on your face at his words, "F-Fair enough. I think it probably d-d-didn't work because my ph-phone died."

"Oh, yeah that might explain that...Anyway," Jimin sighs, "When are you coming home? What's going on?"

"I'm c-coming home today," You whisper. 

"Oh, thank God," Jimin cries, "Finally, I can't wait to see you."

"Me t-too," Tears spring to your eyes at the overwhelming week it's been and how relieved you are to be heading home. 

You, Tae, and Jungkook nearly died. 

Jungkook's mother did die. 

You feel like you're turning into something you're not; something bitter and angry.

You don't know how much more of this you can handle. 

"Are you okay?" Jimin asks softly after a moment. 

You sniffle and wipe your nose, "I'm fine."

"Liar," he says gently, unjudging. 

You're not sure why, but that is the one word that makes you break. 

Jimin stays quiet as you cry, trying your hardest not to be too loud since you're in the hallway and anyone could come out and see you at any second. 

"I'm so sorry, ____," Jimin whispers. 

He can hear the sound of your heart breaking through your tears, his own heart ill with worry for you. 

"When will you be home?" He asks when you've calmed down a little. 

"I th-think we're leaving soon," You hiccup, "Tae is t-taking me back."

"Tae is?"

"Yeah."

"Why not Jungkook?"

"They said h-he had to do something r-really quick but he'd be right behind u-us."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I d-don't believe it either," You scoff and wipe your tears, "He's probably m-m-meeting up with Namjoon or something."

"Why wouldn't he tell you if he was?"

"Be-because that's who h-he is," You say bitterly, one last tear rolling down your cheek and dripping from your chin, "Apparently, I c-can't be trusted with th-the truth."

Jimin sighs angrily, fed up with all the lies and bullshit you've been put through because of those two idiots. 

"I'll be relieved when this is all behind you," he says, his voice low with exhaustion and worry.

"I'm sorry, J-Jimin," you say tearfully.

"What for?"

"For pu-putting you through this."

He laughs lightly, "I can take care of me, ____. You're the best friend I've ever had and I'm glad we reconnected. Nothing can scare me away again."

________________________

"I'll see you in Seoul," Jungkook says quietly to you a few hours later. 

You keep your eyes on the ground, "Sure."

"____-"

"I know y-you're lying, but I w-w-won't ask why. You won't t-t-tell me anyway."

Jungkook swallows, not knowing what to say to that. 

He just wants to keep you safe; he's not going to lose you. 

You feel him take your hands, butterflies swarming your belly even though you wish they wouldn't. 

"I'm sorry," he whispers, finally catching your eye. 

You shake your head, "Tell m-me that when we're b-b-back home."

He knows you're tired of his apologies, and he's tired of having to give them. 

You deserve so much better than he can give you, and that hurts like a fucking bitch. 

But once he gets done with this, it will be better for you. 

You won't have to live in constant fear of Dae getting out and hurting you. 

You can finally start to heal, and that's all he wants. 

Whether he's in that equation or not. 

All he cares about is you finally being free to be who you are and not go to sleep at night wondering how you're going to make it through the next day. 

"I'll be quick," he assures you, squeezing your hands gently, "I just need to meet with Namjoon for a bit."

You nod, knowing now that you had been right in your suspicion earlier and grateful he decided to be honest. 

Jungkook leans forward and kisses your forehead, "I'll be right behind you guys."

"Ok."

He pulls away and walks over to grab his keys and phone, then he calls to Tae, "I'll see you later. Thank you."

Taehyung nods, "Yeah."

He's relieved that Jungkook at least decided to be truthful with you and tell you the truth about how he was going to meet Namjoon. At least now there are no more lies. 

Neither of you suspect Jungkook's true intentions as he walks out the door. 

You both thought maybe he had finally been honest this time. 

I'm sorry, you guys. 

The door shuts behind him and he makes his way down the hall towards the elevators. 

____________________

"Are w-we leaving now?" You ask as Tae walks over to sit on the couch. 

"Yeah," He yawns, "Let's get our stuff together."

It takes longer than you thought it would, only because you suddenly can't find your phone. 

You and Tae are searching the hotel room top to bottom, but your phone is nowhere to be seen. 

"What the fuck?" Tae exclaims as he takes the sheets off of his bed, "Where the hell could that motherfucker have gone?"

You sigh, "I have n-no idea, I was t-t-talking to Jimin before and set it on th-the bed, but now it's gone."

You toss the pillows around, looking under them. 

"Do you th-think Jungkook accidentally gr-grabbed it instead of his?" You ask suddenly. 

Tae thinks for a minute before shaking his head, "Nah, I saw him grab his phone and he didn't have anything else but that and his keys."

You huff and cross your arms, looking around the room. 

Where is it?

______________________________

Jungkook turns off the motorcycle, looking over at the abandoned apartment buildings he's parked in front of. 

How utterly ironic. 

He pulls his keys out and slips them into his pocket before zipping up the thin jacket he picked up at his old house. 

Tae had brought it for him the day he got you out of the school. 

It's been his favorite jacket for years, almost acting as his lucky charm. The chill in the air plays no part in the reason why he's wearing it now. He just wanted a little bit of luck. 

Jungkook swings his leg over the bike as he gets off, standing up next to it as he stares at the dilapidated complex. 

"Please say you'll stop, Koo. Promise me."

His mother's words ring in his head, but he shakes them out. 

"I'm sorry, mom," he whispers as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and makes his way towards the front door that has long since disappeared. 

_____________________________

"I found it!" Tae hollers in victory, holding your phone aloft as he stands precariously on the couch. 

"Ah! W-Where was it?" You cry, running over and taking it when he hands it to you, "Thank y-you!"

"Sure thing. It was under one of the couch cushions."

You make a face of disgust, not wanting to dwell on what else might be under those cushions. 

Taehyung grabs the satchel, where he also puts the charger he bought, then he turns to you. 

"We should go."

You nod. 

Jungkook is probably already on the way to Seoul at this point, seeing as it took you forever to find your darn phone. 

"I'll let Kook know we're on the way," Tae mumbles as he texts him, "Don't want him freaking out because he gets there first."

You walk over and open the door, holding it for Tae as he thanks you and walks out. 

The two of you are just reaching the sitting area when Taehyung groans in annoyance, "Shit!"

"W-What?"

"I forgot my damn wallet," Tae sighs, then he pats his pockets, his eyes wide, "Damn it! I left the key cards in the room!"

You laugh, "I'll g-go get a worker."

You walk towards the elevators as Tae walks back towards the room, grumbling. 

Right before you get to the elevator, you see a worker walking down the hall. 

"Oh, exc-cuse me!" You wave him down and he follows you back towards the room. 

"It happens more often than you'd think," The worker laughs after you explain what happened. 

You see Taehyung standing outside of the room a minute later, a frown on his face as he looks at his phone. 

"I f-found someone!" You call, making him look up. 

"Oh, awesome."

The worker lets you guys into the room, then he goes on his way. 

"Where d-did you leave it?" You ask as you step into the room, looking around. 

When Taehyung doesn't answer, you turn to see him holding his phone up to his ear, a look of concern on his face. 

"W-What's wrong?" You ask quietly. 

"Jungkook isn't answering," Tae says bluntly, trying again, "It's going right to voicemail."

"Did his phone d-die?" 

He shakes his head, looking down to text him again. 

"No, it was charged," he mumbles, "I wouldn't usually think anything of it, but these days, he answers right away. Whether he's with Namjoon or not, he'd answer."

"T-try Namjoon?" You suggest, then you realize he's already doing that. 

He gives you a grim smile and nods, the phone up to his ear. 

"Hello?"

A look of relief crosses his face, "Hey hyung, I was just wondering if you could tell Jungkook to turn his phone on, he's a dumbass."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, can you just tell Jungkook we're on the way to Seoul now?"

"Why would you need me to do that? Tae, I'm not with Jungkook."

"Shit, he already left? That was faster than I thought-"

"Left? Wha-...Tae, what are you talking about?"

You see a look of fear flash over his face as he looks at you. 

"Jungkook wasn't meeting with you today?"

"I haven't heard from Jungkook for a while, Tae. I wanted to give him space because of his mother."

"Ok, thanks."

Taehyung hangs up the phone, then he heads for the coffee table and grabs his wallet, "He didn't say anything to you?" He asks as he walks over to you. 

You shake your head, "He w-was more honest w-with you than me."

Your stomach turns with anxiety as Tae sighs, "Apparently not," he growls. 

"Where did he go?" He mumbles to himself, thinking as hard as he can, "Why would he lie to me? Me?"

That's when it hits you. 

"Oh no."

Tae whirls on you, "What is it?"

"It hurts like hell, but I'm not going to give up until my job here is done. She did what she set out to do, now we need to do the same."

"J-Jungkook, he s-said something the other d-day..."

I'm not going to give up until my job here is done. 

You look at Taehyung, your eyes wide with fear, "I th-think he's g-going after Dae."

"God damn it!" Tae cries, grabbing at his hair, "Fucking fuck!"

It feels hard to breathe all of the sudden, panic surging through you like a massive wave. 

Where could he have gone to meet him?

"W-we gotta go," Tae stutters, "We need to get him."

You nod, hands turning sweaty as you wring them, "How d-d-d-do we find him?"

Taehyung takes a few deep breaths before calling Namjoon again. 

"I need you to find Jungkook," he says the second the elder answers. 

"What's going on, Tae?" Namjoon asks darkly. 

"Jungkook went after Dae," Tae has a hand in his hair, gripping it tightly, "You need to track his location."

-

"I can't find him," Namjoon sighs after a few minutes, "His phone is off."

"Fuck, there must be some way you can track him."

"Did he have anything else with him? Anything he would have kept on?"

Taehyung sighs deeply, "If he turned his phone off, he didn't want us to find him...shit."

When Tae walks back over to you, you look up at him expectantly. 

"Did he say anything else?" He asks seriously, his face void of anything but anger. 

You shake your head, "N-No."

"He had to have let something slip," Tae mutters, running his hand through his hair, "He had to have slipped up-"

"W-wait.."

"What? What did he say?"

"N-Not him...Dae," You whisper, "I'm s-sure Dae came up with th-the location."

You look at Tae with wide eyes, "He l-loves to play with p-p-people. It would n-need to be somewhere that m-maybe linked with Jungkook. It w-would need to be funny t-t-to him."

Taehyung's eyes darken at your words. 

He puts his hand to his head, thinking hard. 

Where could they be?

Where the fuck could they be?

Where would he want Jungkook to be when he killed him? Somewhere it could make his little game more fun...

"I've got it!" Tae hollers, startling you, "Fuck, I think I know."

"Where?" You stand up. 

"The place that started all of this shit," Tae whispers. 

___________________

Jungkook walks through the doorless doorway, his nose scrunching at the rancid smell coming from the old building. 

He brings a hand up to cover his nose, "Shit."

Walking in further, the sound of leaves and broken glass cracking under his feet echoes around the empty lobby. 

Jungkook looks around, refusing to let the anxiety consume him. 

He never thought he would ever step foot into this godforsaken building ever again, as long as he lived. 

Jungkook slips his small frame through the front door after opening it slightly, flinching when it creaks on its ancient hinges. 

He looks around fearfully, fully convinced that at any second a ghost is going to appear in front of him. He can almost visualize the pale face and huge dark eyes staring at him from one of the dark rooms. 

He wants to go home. 

He doesn't want to be here. 

The hitman walks towards the stairs. He knows exactly where they are even though it's been over a decade since he's been here. 

Turning on his flashlight, Jungkook lights his way up the stairs, willing himself not to dwell on the fact that he lied to you and Tae again. 

He hopes you'll forgive him. 

Flinching at the sound he caused by tripping on a stone, Jungkook tries his best to hype himself up. 

He isn't going to call Tae. 

He needs to do this himself; he can't always run for help. 

The young boy takes a few deep breaths before walking up the stairs, the flashlight on his phone lighting the way for him, the beam shaking slightly on the ground. 

"Third floor, third floor," Jungkook whispers, coming to a stop on the level he needs and seeing a big door in front of him. 

He grabs the handle and pulls as hard as he can, panting with exertion as the door slowly opens, inch by painfully loud inch. 

The loud groan of the door on the third floor doesn't even make him flinch as he yanks it open and walks through; letting it slam shut behind him, the sound bouncing around the hall. 

Jungkook walks down the hall with purpose, not stopping to think about the last time he walked these cursed halls. 

Finally, he stops in front of a door. 

3C...

Jungkook wrings his hands, closing his eyes and telling himself not to be such a weakling. Just get in there and do it. 

His small fingers wrap around the doorknob and twist. 

_______________________________________

You follow Tae down the hall, running as fast as you can to keep up with him. 

Taehyung slams his hand on the button, "Fuck, please hurry," he growls at the elevator. He whips his head around, "Where the fuck are the stairs, damn it?!"

You look around, confused at the fact that there really aren't any stairs to go down. 

bing!

Taehyung rushes into the elevator with you right behind him. 

He aggressively pushes the button for the lobby, his foot tapping anxiously on the ground. 

The doors start to close. 

"Anyone stops these doors and they die by my hands," he seethes. 

The doors close and the elevator starts to move. 

Thank you. 

You watch the number go down, trying to keep your breathing steady. 

The number nine flashes above the doors. 

Then the lights flicker. 

You look at Tae, realizing that he didn't even notice. 

He's looking at his phone. 

"Why the fuck is there no service?" He hisses. 

Just as you pull out your phone to check, the lights flicker again. 

Tae notices this time. 

"What the shit-"

A scream leaves your throat when the whole elevator suddenly jerks to a stop, flinging you to the ground. The lights flicker once more before turning off completely. 

There's nothing but darkness and the sound of you and Tae breathing heavily. 

"Oh, God," Tae whispers in horror, "Fuck, no."

Your hands are clamped over your mouth, your whole body shaking violently with fear on the floor of the elevator.

"____, are you alright?" You hear him ask shakily. 

You whimper and pull your hands from your mouth, "Y-Y-Yes, I'm okay."

Then there's suddenly a light shining on you. 

Tae's phone flashlight. 

"It's alright," his voice shakes uncontrollably even as he tries to reassure you, "We're fine. It's just a-...just a-..."

You look over to see him squeezing his eyes shut as he crouches in the corner, "Just a small m-malfunction," he finally grits out, "Easy fix."

You nod even though you know he can't see you. 

You're terrified and the fact that Tae seems to be faring no better is making it a lot worse. 

He's supposed to be the brave one, not you. 

You can't even stop shaking long enough to get a grip. 

"We gotta push the button," Tae finally rasps, "The emergency button."

The buttons that usually light up are completely dark now. 

You don't think the emergency button is going to work. 

"Ok," you whisper. 

But neither of you makes a move. 

You look at him again to see that he's still in the corner, his eyes pinched shut and his whole body trembling slightly. 

You've never seen him so afraid before; it's unsettling. 

You'll just have to be the one to do it...

You look over at the buttons again, only being able to see them because of Tae's flashlight beam. 

Ok, you can do this, ____. 

The fear in your stomach is making your whole body clench up. 

You're convinced that when you move, it'll make the whole elevator drop and fall all the way to the bottom. 

Of course you had to stay on the tenth floor. 

The feeling of being suspended in the air with no idea what's holding this metal box, is horrifying to say the least. 

But you grit your teeth and slowly uncurl yourself anyway. 

You can do this. 

Be brave, for once in your life. 

You start to crawl painstakingly slowly, towards the buttons. 

"Shit, shit, shit," Tae mutters when the elevator creaks. 

You breathe out shakily, forcing yourself to keep going. 

Don't stop. 

Don't stop. 

Don't stop. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, you reach the panel of buttons. 

Your trembling hand reaches up and presses the emergency button. 

But nothing happens. 

You press it again. 

Nothing. 

"Is s-something supposed to h-h-happen?" You whisper. 

Tae nods, "Yeah, did you press it?"

You nod and turn to look at him, "It's not- not working," you whimper. 

He gulps, "Fucking shit."

You curl up beneath the button panel and force yourself to breathe. 

If you hyperventilate, you will pass out. 

A few minutes pass in silence, then you hear Tae clear his throat. 

"I don't think anyone's coming to help us."

You keep your face hidden in your hands. 

"We need to get out of here ourselves," he says, a bit unconvincingly. 

"How?" You ask. 

"I'm still thinking about that," Tae laughs nervously. 

You sigh and pray to whoever might be listening that you two get out and to Jungkook on time. 

-

After a while of trying desperately to call someone and shouting in hopes that someone might hear you, both of you sit quietly, defeated. 

"Why a-a-are you scared of elevators br-breaking?" You ask quietly after a few minutes in silence. 

Tae looks at you, "Well, this right here is pretty shit."

When you don't say anything, he knows you're not convinced. 

"I got stuck in an elevator when I was a kid," he mumbles, looking at his fingers, "My grandpa brought me with him to this big fancy bank. I was so fucking excited."

You listen intently as he picks at his nails, "We went all the way to the top floor, it was one of the coolest views I'd ever seen."

Tae leans his head on the wall, "The elevator was made of glass, you could see everything...I asked my grandpa if I could go ride it again while he was talking to some dude about boring stuff. He said I could, so I did."

You can guess what happened at that point. 

"The elevator got stuck not long after leaving the top floor. It was the scariest thing that had ever happened to me. I was alone and had no way of reaching my grandpa. I kept pushing all the buttons until finally pushing the emergency one...they got me out quickly, but it still fucked with my head."

"I b-bet," you whisper, "I'm s-sorry Tae."

He shrugs, "I can't tell which is worse. I can't see how far up we are, but we also actually can't reach anyone."

You nod, staring at the ground. 

"At least I'm not alone this time."

You look at him to see him smiling at you. 

You smile back, "Yeah."

Silence falls over you again. 

"Do y-you think Dae will h-h-hurt him?" You ask after a while, your tummy turning again. 

Tae shakes his head, "No, he couldn't take Jungkook on. Not even if Kook brought a knife to a gun fight."

"Then w-why are you so sc-scared?" You whisper. 

He closes his eyes, knowing you're aware there's something more going on. 

"Because he promised."

"Hm?"

You see Tae blink, making the tears fade away. 

"The last thing he promised her, was that he wouldn't kill another soul."

Your heart tears into two at his words. 

"I can't let him break his promise," he whispers brokenly. 

After another second, Tae clears throat, "I'm not going to let him," he stands up abruptly, startling you. 

"We gotta get the hell out of here."

______________________________

Jungkook walks into 3C, the stench inside the room somehow even worse than outside of it. 

Looking over the room, his stomach twists with anxiety at the memory of this place. 

Sitting in the far corner across from him, is a pile of splintered wood. 

Jungkook walks over slowly, not trusting his own eyes when he sees the body of a man lying on the pile, a bullet wound in his head and blood spilling everywhere. 

The young hitman stands there for a second, staring at the body in horror. 

Then it fades away, disappearing into thin air as his hands shake slightly. 

The only thing that's left is a decade old splatter of dark blood on the wall. 

It was never cleaned off. 

Swallowing thickly, he takes a faltering step back. 

"Do you like it?"

Jungkook whips around to see Dae standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face. 

Looking him over briefly, he sees that his shoulder is bandaged from when he shot him. 

There's still a look of utter calm in his eyes, far more unsettling than the crazy glint Jungkook had seen in Kihyun's gaze. 

"I picked it out specially for you," Dae singsongs, stepping into the room. 

Jungkook doesn't move a muscle, keeping his ground. 

"You really don't have anything to say? Not even a thank you?" Dae asks with a slight pout. 

"Why the hell would I ever thank you?" Jungkook grits out. 

"Ah, the boy does speak."

Jungkook watches his every move as Dae slowly makes his way into the room. 

"That was a nice trick you pulled last time. Wonderful acting skills."

He doesn't give him the satisfaction of answering him. 

Dae's smirk grows, "Unless.. it wasn't an act?"

A beat of silence passes before a low chuckle echoes off the walls, "So, it was just luck that your buddy showed up after all, huh? Guess you had a lot of that this year, didn't you?"

Jungkook moves to the right as Dae comes closer on his left, keeping a safe distance between the two of them. 

"Oh wait..." Dae's expression morphs into one of mock sadness, "Oh shit, I forgot. How could I be so heartless? Condolences on your mama's passing."

Jungkook's heart seizes in his chest. 

"How utterly unfortunate. My men didn't even need to kill her, she was already dying," Dae smiles at the look of murder on the young man's face, "It's a good thing you didn't shoot your little whore to save a woman that was already gonna leave you."

Clenching his fists, Jungkook forces himself to stay level-headed. 

Dae is trying to fuck with his head. 

He's not going to let him. 

____________________________

"What are y-you doing?" You ask as Tae carefully makes his way over to the elevator doors. 

"What I should've done a long ass time ago," he sighs. 

You see him start pushing on the doors, trying to open them. 

"Oh n-no," You hide your face in your hands. 

"I need you to help me," he pants after a second, "Get that satchel and hand it to me please."

You do as he says, watching as he finds the metal buckle that's on the strap. 

"Can you push from this side?" Tae asks, gesturing at the door. 

You're not sure how much help you'll be, but you nod and join him anyway. 

On his count, both of you push on the door. 

It's difficult because of the awkward side angle you're pushing it at. 

You hear Tae grunting with strain behind you just before the door opens the tiniest bit. 

"Ah!" You shout, "It's o-opening!"

Tae quickly wedges the metal buckle into the door, keeping it open just the tiniest bit. 

"Shit," he pants, "That was harder than I thought it would be."

You nod, trying to catch your own breath. 

After a second, Tae looks through the crack. 

"Oh shit."

"W-What?"

"I can see the ninth floor."

"Huh?"

"I can see the ninth floor," Tae rasps, "The elevator hasn't completely left it yet."

Relief floods through you, but then you frown. 

"How c-come I can't see th-the light?" You ask, looking through the crack. 

To be fair, Taehyung is quite a bit taller than you. 

Tae points and you see a little tiny bit of light peeking through at the top of the crack. 

Oh. 

"The top of the elevator is at the bottom of the doorway," Tae says, inspecting it closely, "Even if we opened the doors, there's not enough space to climb out."

You wring your hands anxiously, "What d-do we do?"

You see him bite his lip for a second, then his eyes light up. 

"____, I have an idea but I need your help."

You nod, willing to do anything to get out of here. 

"I'm going to lift you up to the ceiling-"

"W-What?"

"It's alright," Tae says as he shrugs his jacket off, "I'm not going to drop you, I swear. Jungkook would murder me."

You look at the ceiling of the elevator uncertainly, "Ok," you say slowly. 

Tae kneels on the floor over by the back wall, "Get on my shoulders."

"I d-don't think I can-"

Taehyung looks at you and you can clearly see the desperation in his face even in the dim light shining from his phone. 

"Jungkook needs you, ____."

You walk over, not needing any more convincing than that, "I don't w-want to hurt you."

"It'll take more than this to hurt me," he promises you, gesturing for you to stand on his shoulders. 

You climb onto his shoulders carefully, holding the railing on the wall for support. 

"I c-can't reach- ah!"

You grab at the wall in an effort not to fall when Tae suddenly stands up. 

"W-w-w-w-what do I do now?" You cry frantically, your head touching the ceiling. 

"See if you can loosen any of the ceiling tiles up there," Tae says calmly, which helps your nerves. 

You push at the ceiling, "They w-won't move-" you grunt. 

Then one finally gives way, "Ah! I got it!"

"Hell yeah," Tae sighs, "Push it up and off if you can."

It takes a few minutes of struggling and balance until you've got the ceiling tile off and can peek out into the black void. 

"I s-see the doors to the n-ninth floor!" You cry with relief. 

Taehyung taps your leg, so you look down to see him holding his jacket up to you. 

"Take it."

You grab it. 

"Put it up there, I don't know what's on the outside of this elevator."

You lay it down where the two of you will climb out, praying there aren't any spiders. 

"Ok, d-done."

"Ok, I'm going to jump. I need you to get your ass up there. We've only got one shot at this because it's probably gonna kill me."

You sigh at his words, "Alright."

"On the count of three...One, two, three!"

Tae had crouched for the first two seconds, then he jumps up.

Thankfully it was just high enough for you to get through the opening, struggling to pull yourself up. 

"I'm up," you gasp, clinging to the jacket for dear life. 

You always liked this part in the Toy Story movie, you never thought you'd be living it though.

Thankfully, the elevator is close to the walls, so there's no way for you to fall unless the whole thing falls, taking you with it. 

"Can you get to the ninth floor?"

"Y-Yes, but the doors are cl-closed."

Tae nods, he figured as much. 

"I'm gonna come up," he calls, "Here, catch,"

You grab the satchel he tosses up to you.

You see him climb on the handrail and grab the ledge of the small opening, heaving himself up and through easily. 

"Alright, let’s get the fuck out of here."

_______________________________

"I'm offended that you're not happier about where I chose to meet," Dae pouts, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, practically lounging. 

Jungkook hasn't moved from where he's been standing this whole time. 

"It seemed fitting you know," Dae says absentmindedly as he picks at his nails, "To end everything for you where it began."

"How did you know-"

"I've got my ways," Dae snaps, looking at the young man in front of him. 

Jungkook clenches his jaw, mentally going through everything he's going to do to this sick bastard. 

"Where are your men?" Jungkook asks calmly, "I'm surprised you're not cowering behind them. Oh yeah, I forgot, they're all dead."

Irritation flickers across Dae's face briefly before he stands up and walks towards Jungkook. 

"You think I don't have more? Silly boy. I have more people working for me than your little friend could handle."

"And yet, you couldn't even handle the three of us," Jungkook shakes his head, "Pretty pathetic, don't you think?"

"Not as pathetic as sweet Mi-Young holding on for so long just to-"

Dae falls right on his ass when Jungkook throws the first punch, blood already trickling from his nose. 

He flinches as Jungkook grabs his collar and drags him closer, "Keep her name out of your filthy mouth," he spits. 

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make it slow," Jungkook whispers sadistically, a crazed look shining in his eyes. 

Dae smiles, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, "Go ahead."

Jungkook straightens up, keeping his hand locked on Dae's collar as he drags him across the floor and pins him against the wall, making him choke as he tries to get a breath in. 

"Gladly," Jungkook says quietly, pulling a switchblade from his back pocket. 

Dae flinches slightly when Jungkook presses the knife to his throat. 

"I could slice your throat right now and you'd be dead in seconds."

The man pinned to the wall looks between Jungkook's eyes, trying to gauge how serious he is. 

"I've killed people that weren't even half as deserving as you," Jungkook whispers, his face an inch from Dae's, "You seem to forget I'm a hitman. I won't feel an ounce of guilt for killing you this second."

"Then do it," Dae grunts. 

"Noo, no, no, no," Jungkook hushes him, "See, that wouldn't be any fun, would it?"

He moves the knife to a point on his neck, "See, if I cut you here, you'll be dead in less than a minute. You'll bleed out quicker than you can realize what's happening. That's no fun, especially for someone like you."

Dae trembles slightly, making Jungkook chuckle, "You like that, huh? You like games, don't you? Let's play a little game then."

The bloodied man crumples to the floor when Jungkook lets go of him. 

Then Jungkook crouches next to him, "Let's play a game where we see how loud I can make you scream, see how long it takes for you to beg me to just kill you already."

"You won't do it-"

"Wanna bet?"

"____ would never look at you the same, you wouldn't want her to know what you're capable of," A twisted smirk lights up his face. 

Jungkook licks his lips and leans in close, "I don't think you realize. I already lost my mother and I'm going to jail anyway. I'm going to lose ____ and my best friend no matter what happens here."

Dae's eyes widen at his next words, "You shouldn't be so confident around a hitman with nothing left to lose."

Dae gulps, "You don't have it in you."

Jungkook leans even closer, a maniacal glint in his dark eyes, "Let's find out, shall we?"

_______________________________

Taehyung grunts loudly as you both push on the doors, then he bangs on them angrily.

"Someone help us! Fuck!!"

You pant as you continue to slam your fists into the door. 

Finally, you hear something. 

"Are you a ghost?"

You and Tae startle at the small voice coming from the other side. 

Tae is the first to recover, "No, we're not ghosts. We got stuck in the elevator. Is your mommy or daddy there?"

"Um, mommy is in the room-"

"Go get your mommy!" Tae hollers. 

You shush him and get closer to the doors, "Sweetie, c-can you please go g-get mommy and t-tell her that p-p-people need help in the elevator?"

"Ok."

The tiny voice says nothing more. 

A few minutes pass in agonizing silence. 

"The kid pulled one over on us," Tae growls. 

You shake your head, "N-No, he didn't. He'll b-be back."

Just as you're saying that you hear a little knock on the doors. 

"I got mommy!"

"Th-thank you!" You cry, "Hello?? Is s-s-someone there?"

"I'm here!" You hear a woman call out, "I've called the front desk already, they're sending someone up, hang tight!"

Tae sighs and leans against the doors as he closes his eyes, "Thank fuck."

_______________________________

Dae groans loudly, his face bloodied and bruised. 

"You're a fucking psycho," he spits at Jungkook. 

The younger bends down and jabs his fist into Dae's bruised ribs, making him groan again, "I'm just getting started, doll."

Dae glares at the mockery dripping from Jungkook's lips. 

"Giving up already?" Jungkook pouts, imitating Dae's typical behavior with his victims. 

"Hardly," Dae whispers, a smile spreading on his lips. 

Jungkook stands up, then he kicks Dae in the stomach, making him double over as he coughs violently. 

"You wanna live?" Jungkook pants, voice tinged with insanity, "Then fucking beg."

Dae just flops to the floor, an arm around his stomach. 

Jungkook chuckles darkly at the form on the ground, "Well, look at that. The big bad boss, defeated with a few words and a good punch."

Dae kicks out his leg suddenly, but Jungkook steps to the side, effortlessly avoiding his attack. 

"You can't possibly be this pathetic," Jungkook shakes his head. 

"Yeah?" Dae rasps, "Wanna know how pathetic I am?"

Jungkook doesn't bother saying anything. He really doesn't give a flying fuck what this guy has to say. 

Dae struggles to sit upright, "I'm just as pathetic as you," he whispers, a smile growing when he sees the flicker of confusion cross Jungkook's face. 

"That's right," he pants, "I fell for her too."

Jungkook's jaw clenches. 

"I guess we have a thing for innocence," Dae says tauntingly, "It just falls right into our laps, where we can taint its beauty and make it our own ruined perfection."

Jungkook's hands start to shake, a newfound rage boiling inside him that he's never experienced before. 

Jungkookie, don't l-listen to him. 

He flinches when he hears your voice in his head, clear as day. 

He shakes his head to clear it. 

Dae chuckles, "Want some tips on how to deal with her?"

Jungkook's eyes lock back on him and suddenly all he can see is white. 

The next thing he can see is Dae's face scrunched in pain, blood dripping from his shoulder. 

Jungkook stumbles back when he realizes he stabbed him, the knife still lodged in his shoulder as he screams. 

His whole body is trembling with a hatred so strong that he can physically feel it pulsing through his veins. 

"Damn it, fuck," Dae coughs, gripping his shoulder and glaring daggers at his opponent. 

Kookie, pl-please stop! You promised.

Don’t give in to it.

"No," Jungkook's voice shakes.

You're not here. 

It isn't you. 

Dae grabs the knife and pulls it out, screaming in pain and anger as he lunges at a disoriented Jungkook. 

They tumble to the floor and Jungkook immediately goes for the wound, punching it with as much force as he can muster, ripping another scream from Dae. 

It's a tangle of bloody limbs and curses as they both fight to be the one on top. 

clink clink clink

Jungkook's switch blade goes tumbling across the floor, well out of reach. 

At least that means Dae doesn't have it. 

Jungkook punches him in the face. Then again, and again, and again, until his face is practically unrecognizable. The rage consuming him is in control. 

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" He screams, never ceasing his pummeling on the nearly unconscious man on the ground, "You did this to her, you fucking bastard! You ruined her life! You're the reason she's suffering so much!"

Jungkook lifts Dae enough to smash him against the ground again, his head smacking the concrete with a loud crack. 

He only stops when Dae goes completely limp. 

Then he rolls off of him, hacking up a lung as he struggles to breathe, his own chest bruised beyond what he's ever experienced. 

Jungkook lies on the ground, staring at the ceiling as it spins and spins. 

The room starts to warp like mirrors in a fun house. 

It's getting harder for him to get a breath in. 

"Shit," he mumbles. 

Jungkook finally manages to get onto his hands and knees, swaying as the room continues to spin violently. 

He coughs a few more times, then he starts to get to his feet, praying the room stops going around like a carousel at least long enough for him to get out. 

He never heard Dae getting up behind him. 

shlunk...

Jungkook freezes, then he looks down to see a knife sticking out of his abdomen. 

He stares at it in confusion for a second before a hand grabs it and yanks it out, then proceeds to stab it into him again. 

Jungkook falters on his feet, stumbling backwards into Dae as the crazed man pulls the knife from him a second time. 

Dae wraps an arm around Jungkook's chest and yanks the hitman into him, "You really thought you were going to win?" He whispers with effort. 

A pained gasp leaves Jungkook as the knife is buried into him for the third time. 

"Fucking pathetic," Dae giggles, "I didn't think you'd actually believe you had the upper hand."

The fourth stab is what brings Jungkook to his knees, Dae cackling as he kicks him to the ground. 

Blood seeps out of the wounds in Jungkook's abdomen, staining his shirt and quickly pooling onto the floor. 

He gasps in a breath, his body wracked with immeasurable pain. 

Dae kneels next to him, "Want another one?"

Jungkook pinches his eyes shut when Dae drives the knife into him for the last time. 

He can't even scream, his body seizing up painfully. 

Dae unzips his jacket pockets and pulls out his keys and phones, looking at them before tossing them to the side. 

The crinkling of paper in the other pocket piques his interest as he digs in it and pulls out a folded-up piece of white paper, now stained with Jungkook's blood. 

Dae pulls the knife from his body carelessly and stands up, unfolding the paper and scanning it before bursting into laughter. 

Jungkook doesn't react when Dae waves it in front of his face, "This is the best thing I could've hoped for."

His breath gets slower with every passing second, his vision blurring and clearing up sporadically as he blinks slowly. 

He can feel himself growing colder. 

"Dear Jungkook," Dae begins to read the letter, holding in his laughter. 

"Please be nice to this dandelion. It may be a weed, but it is also beautiful. You may think it has no purpose but it does. Did you know that dandelions symbolize hope, love and happiness?" Dae glances at Jungkook to see that he's closed his eyes, but a single tear has trailed down his bloody cheek, his body trembling slightly. 

"Remember that, even when you're feeling sad and like you have no purpose, you bring happiness to people around you. Thank you for today, Jungkook. I had so so much fun. You are a good friend. Sincerely, ____..."

Jungkook's heart hurts more than the wounds Dae gave him. 

He stays curled up on the ground, letting a few more tears slip down his cheeks. 

It's quiet for a minute as Dae stares at the letter and the picture of the dandelion that you drew. 

"Huh," he eventually says, "Damn, that sucks."

He crouches next to him, "How long was this in your pocket?" 

Jungkook opens his eyes but doesn't say anything, just gives Dae a watery glare. 

"Want to hold it for the last time?" Dae asks, handing it over. 

Jungkook's bloody fingers wrap around it, holding tightly to the last thing he has to remind him of you. 

When he has a grip on it, Dae yanks it back, tearing the letter in two. 

"No!" Jungkook screams weakly, clutching the torn piece still in his hand to his chest, refusing to let Dae get the rest of it even as he attempts to pry it from Jungkook's fingers. 

"Whatever," Dae scoffs, standing up and ripping the rest of the letter, dropping it unceremoniously onto Jungkook's body. 

"Guess my job here is done," Dae snickers as he nudges Jungkook with his foot, causing a groan to leave his lips. 

Jungkook closes his eyes again, feeling himself fade quicker with each breath struggling to pass his lips. 

"Thanks for the fun," Dae says before turning to leave. 

-

You run into the room moments after he leaves, you never even saw him. 

You and Tae had split up to look for them. 

When you see Jungkook lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of his own blood, a scream rips itself from you as you run over and drop to the ground, "Jungkook! Jungkook w-w-w-wake up!" You cry, tears pouring from your eyes as you shake him, "Don't d-do this. Please wake up! Taehyung!!"

You press on his abdomen in an attempt to stop the bleeding, then you gently slap his cheeks, "W-Wake up," you urge him, smacking harder each time. 

When his eyes flutter open, your heart stops in your chest. 

"Jungkook!"

His brows furrow slightly as he croaks, "____?"

You nod, "It's m-me," you choke out, "I'm right h-here."

A small smile pulls at his lips, "____."

"Yes, y-yes," you cough, your tears dripping onto his broken body. 

"Please don't leave me," he whispers weakly. 

You shake your head, "I'm n-not going to leave y-you, I'll never leave y-you again."

His smile gets a bit stronger, "I'm okay."

A sob bursts from your lips, "You'll b-be okay, we're g-g-going to save you."

"You already did," he says softly, reaching up a shaky hand to touch your cheek. 

You grab his hand, shaking your head frantically, "Do-don't-..."

"____..."

"Jungkook, d-don't leave me," you whimper, "Please, don't do th-this, please stay a-awake."

The hand that was on your cheek drops lower to take your wrist. 

You look down to see him fiddling with the three bracelets you always wear.

The two charms on your silver bracelet make a weak smile appear on his face, "Pretty," he mumbles, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he touches the angel wing charm that matches the one on his. 

His eyes travel back up to yours and you feel your heart sink at the look he gives you. 

“____?”

“Mm?” You choke on your tears. 

“D-did he get his happy ending?” Jungkook asks, voice strained. 

“W-who?” You whimper, not knowing what he’s talking about, your mind in a blur of panic. 

“The Velv-veteen Rabbit,” Jungkook whispers, his teary eyes begging you to tell him. 

You nod tearfully, “Y-Yes, he got his h-happy ending.”

Jungkook smiles weakly.

"I broke our deal," he whispers, "I'm not sorry."

Your mind flashes back to when he agreed he would never fall in love with you. 

"____..."

You gulp, grasping his hands and holding on for dear life, "Don't l-let go," you whisper, "Don't y-you dare let go."

You see his chest rise and fall slowly as he tries to get air in. 

The panic fully consumes your mind; you have no idea what to do. 

Fumbling, you grab your phone out of your pocket and shakily dial the number for an ambulance, "Hold on, K-Kook," you whisper. 

"119, what is the emergency?"

"S-Someone's been st-stabbed," you whimper, "Please hurry, h-he's dying-"

"Where is your location?"

"The o-old apart-"

When the line cuts out, you look at your phone in a panic, "Wha-"

You try calling again, but all you get is a beeping sound. 

"No, no, no," you cry, "Please n-no."

Jungkook swallows with an effort as he looks at your face, seeing the tears streaming down, his blood streaking your cheek. 

"____."

You shake your head as you grasp his hands again, "D-Don't say goodbye, I w-won't listen."

A tear slips down his cheek as he takes a deep breath, "I'm sorry I lied to you."

You feel your hands shaking uncontrollably as you shake your head again, "No, hm," you hold in a whimper as you brush his hair from his face, "Stop."

Pulling back, you look around frantically for anything that can help you. 

"Taehyung!" You scream, "C-Call an ambulance!"

You don't know why your phone won't work. 

Refusing to sit here and do nothing, you look around again, then you have an idea. 

You unbuckle your overalls and grab at the shirt tucked into them, ripping off a huge chunk until it's in tatters. 

Jungkook just watches you quietly, not strong enough to say anything. 

You look at him to see his eyes are closing. 

"K-Keep your eyes o-open," you beg. 

He winces when you lift his shirt. 

The sight of his bleeding abdomen makes your stomach lurch. 

There's so much blood. 

You can't even see where he's been stabbed because of all the blood. 

Your mind starts to shut down, hands shaking violently as you stare in horror. 

Snap out of it. 

Snap out of it and save him, you idiot.

SNAP OUT OF IT!

You flinch as you suddenly catapult back into your body. 

Don't you dare give up. 

Pressing the cloth to his abdomen, you gently slap his cheek again until he opens his eyes slowly. 

"Keep your e-eyes on me," you say softly, "Just l-look at me, okay?"

He nods weakly, "Ok."

"TAE!" You scream at the top of your lungs, turning your head towards the doorway.  

Where is he?

Looking back at Jungkook, you see him fighting to keep his eyes open. 

"____," he whispers, his hand grabbing at yours. 

You can see a flicker of fear in his eyes as he breathes quicker. 

"Sl-slow breaths," you remind him, keeping pressure on the wounds. 

"Ineeda tell something," His words slur together, you can't tell what he's saying.

"Hm?"

"Need to- tell you something," he repeats himself, his voice cracking, his eyes darting around your face. 

"W-What is it?" You ask gently, praying that he won't let go. 

"I-...."

You cup his face with your free hand, "It's okay," you whisper, "You c-can tell me."

_________________________

Dae turns just before he leaves the building when he hears the sound of footfalls on the stairs. 

Taehyung stalks towards him, his face void of any emotion as he walks up to him and throws a punch. 

Dae dodges the first one, but the second hits him in the ribs, making him double over with a groan. 

"Shit."

The third hit brings him to the ground. 

Taehyung is about to grab him, when a sharp pain flares up in his leg and he realizes that Dae stabbed two broken pieces of glass into his thigh. 

"Fuck," he curses, grabbing the first piece of glass and pulling it out. 

It gives Dae just enough time to grab the plank of wood next to him. 

Tae drops the glass but doesn't have a moment to think before a pain shoots through his skull and everything goes black. 

_________________________

You can't stop the tears as they fall down your cheeks, your heart in your throat as Jungkook struggles to speak. 

"I-...thank you," he breathes heavily.

A broken sob rips from your chest, "Pl-please- please don't leave me."

Jungkook gulps, the pain starting to dwindle as the shock shuts his body down. 

"Please be happy," he pants, grabbing your hand, "Please promise me?"

You shake your head, "N-Not without you," you sob. 

You feel him take your cheek in his hand, more of his blood smearing onto your skin, "Please," his voice breaks as the tears fall, "Don't let th-...this world break you."

His other hand reaches up shakily so he can cup your face, "L-Look at me."

You do, but you can barely see him because of the tears blurring your vision. You blink harshly, the panic rising as his sad smile comes into view. 

"____-..."

"Don't-"

"I love you."

Your heart shatters into a thousand pieces as he wipes the tears from your cheeks. 

More of his own tears trickle down, "M' sorry it took me so long t-to say."

You shake your head, "N-No, I- I don't wan-want you to say that-"

You start to hyperventilate. 

You're losing him. 

He's letting go. 

Please don't let go. 

"Don't yo-you dare leave me," you whimper, "Please, J-Jungkook."

You see even more tears slide down his dirty cheeks, leaving streaks on his pale skin. 

"I'm sorry," he whispers brokenly. 

"Hey," you whisper softly, cupping his cheek, "it's okay, y-you're okay."

He knows that isn't true, but he nods anyway. 

"Please tell Tae that I'm sorry," he says tearfully, his eyes darting between yours.

"Y-You're gonna be okay. W-We're gonna fix you up and you're g-g-gonna stay with me and T-Tae forever, okay?"

He gives you a small nod even as he feels himself slip further into the tempting sleep that tugs on him relentlessly. 

"Don't f-fall asleep-"

He hears your voice but it's faint, slipping into the background as the room blurs. 

He's trying to stay awake, but the sleep that's calling to him feels so nice. 

You see him glance behind you and a small smile tugs at his lips. 

"M-Mom?" He whispers. 

You throw yourself onto him, hugging him as tight as you can. 

"I l-love you, Jeon Jungkook."

A small sob escapes his lips at your words. 

You're sobbing hysterically as his shivering body starts to slowly relax. 

"Please d-don't give up," You cry desperately, "I c-can't- I can't go on without y-you."

"I love you," he mumbles, his hands slipping to the ground as you scream his name. 

"Jungkook!! No, p-please no!"

You're hugging his limp body as if he's the very source of your strength, the sobs tearing through you. 

It doesn't register in your brain when someone lifts you roughly. 

"NO!" You scream, kicking and sobbing as you're dragged away from him. 

The last thing you see is Jungkook curled in the pool of his blood, then something smashes into the side of your head, and you fall to the ground, blackness swarming over you. 

-

Taehyung drags himself through the doorway by his arms, his legs practically useless at this point, dragging behind him and leaving a trail of blood. He looks around, the room spinning like crazy. 

When he sees you lying on the ground, blood trickling across the floor from under your head, he gulps painfully as a cry gets stuck in his throat.

A turn of his head to see his best friend motionless and covered in bright red blood makes a sob escape him as he crawls over to Jungkook. 

"Kook?" He whimpers, shaking him gently, "Wake up, please."

When he gets no response, tears cascade down his cheeks as his body shakes in disbelief. 

"J-Jungkook, open your fucking eyes you fucking asshole-"

"Shit, looks like you were too late this time."

Tae turns his head to see Dae standing over you, a smirk spreading on his face.

The room fades away as he stares at the man responsible. 

He grabs the knife lying next to Jungkook and struggles to stand, a pained scream leaving his lips when he finally gets to his feet, wobbling as he tries to keep his balance.

The room is tinged with a red hue, the rage coloring his vision as he takes a step towards Dae. 

The older man just smiles cockily, "Damn, I can't give you a break, can I?"

Tae takes another step towards him, ignoring the blood seeping from his thighs to the ground. There are still pieces of glass lodged in his legs from him dragging himself up the stairs and down the hall. 

"I'm going to kill you," Tae's voice cracks as his fist tightens around the knife. 

"Aw, that wouldn't make your family very proud, would it?"

Tae takes the last few excruciating steps before grabbing Dae's collar and yanking him close, until their chests are pressed together. 

"You took the only family I had left," he whispers, "I'm going to slit your throat and you're going to die slowly."

Dae just chuckles. 

"I don't think you have it in you anymore, Judicium."

"My name is Kim Taehyung," Tae seethes, a tear slipping down his cheek, hands quivering with hatred, "Remember that, because my face is going to be the last one you see."

A flicker of recognition passes Dae's face, then he bursts into laughter. 

"No way. Kim? Kim Taehyung? So, it was you."

Tae narrows his eyes, gripping the knife harder. 

"You're the one those old bastards begged me to spare them for."

The room spins around him as Tae's breath quickens. 

"What?" 

"They were my first hit," Dae whispers, "Were always my favorite to think back on. The way they were begging on their knees for me to spare them, only for the sake of their dearest grandson, taetae."

Dae's face blurs and warps like a fever dream as Taehyung's body shakes violently. 

"Too bad they had been framed for something they didn't even do."

He chuckles at the devastation on his opponent's face. 

"At least they went knowing their grandson would be okay."

A ringing sound pierces Tae's ears. 

"Oh wait, they didn't. They died knowing someday I would kill you in the same way I killed them, with a knife to the heart," Dae whispers in amusement as he sees more tears stream down the young man's face, his eyes wide with betrayal and enraged grief. 

Taehyung brings the bloodied knife back, his hand shaking like a leaf before he plunges it deep into Dae's heart, keeping him against him so he can't get away. 

Dae gasps as the blood drips down his chest, choking violently before his eyes roll back in his head and he falls, taking a now unconscious Tae to the ground with him, both of their blood staining the floor of the room where it all started. 

_________________________________________

She lifts him off her lap, then she gets onto the floor on her hands and knees. 

"What are you doing, mommy?" Jungkook asks, standing next to her. 

"I think maybe we need to be animals to find it," she says with a smile. 

Jungkook drops to the floor immediately, "Yes! I'm a lion mommy, raaawr!"

She laughs, "Uh oh, I better run."

He looks at her in confusion, "Why?"

"Because I'm a zebra! I don't want you to eat me."

Jungkook laughs and starts crawling towards her on all fours, "Raaawr, run zebra mommy, I'm going to eat you!"

Her laugh rings out across the living room as she crawls away from him, "No, no, no! Don't eat me!"

Jungkook chases her around the living room for a few minutes, laughing like crazy at her silly antics. 

Eventually he stops, "Ok, I won't eat you."

She turns and sits on the floor, looking at him, "Oh? Why not?"

"Mm, I'm not hungry!" He giggles. 

"I thought lions were always hungry," She muses. 

He shakes his head, "Not me, and I don't want to eat the mommy zebra."

"Ohhhh, I see," She stands up, "Well, you better run then."

"Why?" Jungkook looks at her with huge brown eyes. 

"Because now I'm a... tickle t-rex! Raaawr!"

Jungkook squeals with laughter as he leaps up and bolts for his bedroom, "Ahhhhh! Don't get me mommy!"

She chases him into his bedroom where he jumps on his bed and hides under the covers. 

His laughter is piercing but so beautiful to her as she tickles him until neither of them can breathe from their giggles. 

Once they've both calmed down, she pulls him into her chest and brings the covers over them. 

"Are we hiding, mommy?" Jungkook whispers under the dark stuffy blanket. 

"Yes," She whispers back. 

"What are we hiding from?"

"The aliens," She says in a silly voice, making him giggle again. 

She brushes the hair from his face and kisses his forehead, "I love you so much, my sweet Kookie."

__________________________

"W-What's going on?" You ask breathlessly as Jungkook is dragging you back through the forest to the boxcars. 

"My mom," His voice breaks as he pants, but he says nothing else. 

Your heart flies to your throat at his few words and you squeeze his hand tighter. 

It doesn't take very long until you're both crashing back into the clearing where Tae is just getting onto his motorcycle. 

He must have gone back to get it earlier. 

Taehyung nods at Jungkook as his motorcycle revs loudly, silently agreeing that he'll meet him there.

Then there's a billowing cloud of dust as Jungkook pulls you towards his own bike.

Without him needing to say a word, you hop on, holding his waist the second he sits down. 

The engine roars to life and a moment later, the trees are blurring by on all sides. 

-

"Why is she still here? Why isn't she at the hospital?" 

Tae shakes his head at Jungkook's panicked questions, "I don't know, Kook."

The three of you are running to the entrance of the place Jungkook took you before. You know it's some kind of assisted living for people that are chronically ill to the point they need constant medical assistance but don't need to stay at the hospital.

Jungkook can't get through the doors fast enough as he almost knocks over a woman carrying her child out after visiting a family member. 

"Sorry," Tae apologizes to her for Jungkook, who is just in a blind panic to get to his mother. 

"Jungkook," The woman at the front desk stands up when she sees him. 

You recognize her as the one that checked you guys in when you came to visit. 

"Jungkook, hold on," She comes around the desk as he tries to just walk to the room. 

He doesn't even acknowledge her until she grabs his arm, "Jungkook, wait."

It takes a moment for his brain to register what the older woman is saying, then he looks at her in confused betrayal before pulling his arm away and heading towards the room again. 

You and Tae look at each other before following him and the nurse. 

"Jungkook! She isn't in there!" 

That finally makes him stop, seconds before he went into the room his mother was in for years. 

He looks at the nameplate by the door to see a man's name, his mother's nowhere to be found. 

Jungkook turns in a panic, "W-Where is she? Why isn't she-"

"Listen to me, sweetheart," The kind nurse holds his shoulders to ground him, "She just moved rooms, we put her into a room where she can have more intensive care."

"Why?" His voice shakes. 

"I need you to take a deep breath and we can go back to her, okay? Everything will be explained."

You watch with an aching heart as Jungkook forces himself to take deep breaths until the nurse deems him calm enough to go back.

Tae and you follow behind silently as she tells Jungkook that he can see her for a moment, but then he will need to wait and let them finish taking care of her before going in for a longer visit.

The four of you turn down a hallway to see it lined with doors spaced further apart than the other ones you were just at. Benches and individual chairs are placed outside of each room. 

This hallway is cold...not warm and welcoming like the rooms close to the front. 

Your stomach turns when you stop outside of a room that's door is open as nurses go in and out, not frantically, but not like they are walking around casually either. 

The older nurse that brought you here turns to you and Tae and smiles kindly while gesturing to the seats outside of the room. 

Tae plops down on the bench, his hand immediately going to his mouth as he bites his nails, and his knee bouncing with anxiety. 

You sit next to him a moment later, feeling stiff and anxious yourself. 

Jungkook is the only one still standing as he walks over to the room and slowly goes inside. 

-

He sees her, lying in the white bed, one that surprisingly looks even more comfortable than her own bed in her old room. 

A floral scarf is wrapped around the top of her head. 

Her favorite scarf. 

"Mom?" He whispers, terrified that she won't answer him and terrified that she will. 

She doesn't. 

Her eyes are closed, a soft smile on her face. 

"She's sleeping," The nurse assures him, making his anxiety melt away. 

"Is she okay?" 

The nurse bites her lip as she looks at the beautiful woman lying in the bed, "She's not in any pain. She's comfortable..."

Those words make Jungkook's stomach plummet. 

No. 

No, no, no. 

He looks at the kind woman that has kept his mother alive and content all these years. 

"What do you mean?"

She shakes her head, "I-...I'm sorry, Jungkook..."

He looks back at his mother, the room blurring rapidly. 

"How long?"

"We were hoping for a few days. But I'm not so sure anymore. I'm glad Namjoon called you, we couldn't get a hold of you."

"Fuck," Jungkook's voice breaks, "I-...I thought I-...Why-"

"Hush now," His mother's nurse and dearest friend lays a hand on his arm, "You did everything you could, dear."

He shakes his head. 

"Yes, you did."

It's silent for a minute, then she sighs sadly, "I'm sorry Jungkook, but we do need to do a few things for her. Would you mind waiting out in the hall?"

He nods numbly, turning to leave. 

-

Jungkook came out of the room almost three hours ago. 

He sat on one of the chairs on the right side of the door, opposite where you and Tae still sit on the left side. 

"Are y-you sure we shouldn't t-t-talk to him?"

You whisper as quietly as you can to Tae, who shakes his head solemnly, "Not right now, ____. He checked out."

You both glance at the young man across the door from you, his gaze locked on a floor tile that's half purple and half white. He's been staring at it for hours, ever since he sat down. 

"When he checks out like this, it's best to let him be. He'll come out eventually, but if you startle him out of it, he'll go into a panic attack."

You swallow the tears threatening to come, "I wish th-there was something I could d-do to help him."

"Me too," Tae whispers. 

The nurse told Jungkook over two hours ago that he could go back in and see his mother, although she was still asleep. But he hasn't moved from that chair. 

You wonder what's making him scared to go in and be with her while he can. 

It kills you to have to do nothing but sit here and watch him suffer silently and alone. 

After another half hour has passed, you sneak a glance at Jungkook again. 

He's in the exact same position he started in, almost four hours ago. 

This can't be right, this can't be the only way for him to cope right now.

-

You get up to go to the bathroom. 

"Please t-tell me if anything ch-changes," You whisper to Tae. 

He nods, "I will."

You hurry to the bathroom and shut the door. 

The tears finally come, free to stream down your face without an audience as you crouch down and bury your face in your hands. 

You can't imagine the pain Jungkook is in right now. 

It's killing you to see him like this, and his pain is a million times worse than yours. 

It feels selfish to cry when it isn't even your mother that's dying. 

But you can't help it, seeing him in agony and knowing that that sweet lady is dying has your chest aching deeper than it ever has. 

After letting yourself cry it out for a bit, you force yourself to get off the bathroom floor and use the restroom, then wash your hands and leave. 

It feels almost like you're a robot, just going and going with automatic motions. 

When you sit back down, Tae tells you he'll be back and leaves. 

You can't stop yourself from looking back at Jungkook.

He blinks but does nothing else.

It hardly even looks like he's breathing. 

It can't keep going on like this...

"____?"

You turn to see Tae holding out a candy bar and a bottle of water.

"I got it from the vending machine in the lobby."

"Oh, th-thank you," You take it and stare at the package, reading it over and over again for the next few minutes. 

When you finally decide you can't stomach it, you slip it into the pocket of your overalls. 

But as you put it there, you feel something else in the pocket that makes you pause. You wrap your hand around whatever it is and pull it out. 

Oh...

It's four purple and blue bracelets...

You made them the day before you found out Jungkook's secret. The last time you saw him before he saved you from Kai at the school. 

You had planned on giving them to Jimin, Jungkook, and Tae. 

They were supposed to be friendship bracelets, kind of along the same line as the black and yellow ones you made for you and Jungkook. 

Those had a different meaning though...

You carefully clasp one of the bracelets onto your wrist, right next to the yellow and black one. Then you turn to Tae and hold out one of them. 

He looks at your hand to see a purple and blue bracelet sitting in your palm, made with the string you had bought when you got the stuff for Jungkook's surprise. 

So, that's what you were making with them.

Tae takes it, clasping it on his wrist and showing it to you proudly. 

You hold up yours. 

Tae gives you a small smile and a thumbs up, then goes back to eating his chips. 

You glance at Jungkook for the hundredth time, something telling you to talk to him. 

When you stand up to do so, Tae gently grabs your wrist and shakes his head. 

You lean down and whisper, "I know th-that maybe this is how J-Jungkook coped in the past. B-But I want to try."

He reluctantly lets go of you. 

-

Jungkook doesn't move a single centimeter when you approach him. 

It seems as though he doesn't even sense your presence even as you sit in the chair next to him. 

"Jungkook," You whisper. 

He blinks again but doesn't respond or acknowledge you in any way. 

Your stomach is tight with anxiety, afraid that you'll set him off into a panic attack. 

Maybe Tae is right, maybe you need to just leave him alone for now. 

But something is telling you not to, telling you to try something different. 

Maybe Jungkook coped like this because he had no other way, and of course Tae knows that if you startle him, it'll send him into a panic. Tae was young too, he didn't know what to do, he couldn't figure out another way to help him, and that's okay. They managed with what they could.

They were children that had gone through stuff no child should ever even be able to imagine.

But now, it can change. 

You've worked with some students that had trauma, you've seen and developed countless ways to cope with it. 

Hopefully your knowledge on the subject will pay off right now. 

"Jungkook, i-if you don't want to talk, give m-me a nod."

It takes a minute for him to answer, but he does, giving you the tiniest nod.

"Ok, y-you don't need to talk. If you w-want to be alone, can you g-give me another nod?"

A few moments pass but he doesn't nod. 

Ok, so he doesn't want to be alone, and he doesn't want to talk. 

"If y-you want me to not talk, you c-can give me a nod."

Another few moments pass, and you don't get a nod. 

So, he wants me to talk. 

At least you're getting somewhere, and that somewhere isn't a full-blown panic attack. 

"One m-more question, if y-you're okay with me touching you, give m-me one last nod."

A few moments pass and he doesn't move, so you assume he doesn't want to be touched. 

But then, you see him nod, his eyes welling up with tears. 

"Ok," you say gently. 

Carefully reaching a hand out, you place it on top of one of his. 

You're going to go slow, rushing things will only make it worse. 

Finally, Jungkook looks away from that tile he had been staring at for literal hours. His eyes shift just enough to look at your hand on his. 

He stares at it for a few minutes as you whisper to him about the hallway. 

All you're doing is describing different things, wondering aloud how they made that chair across from you, or who painted that art hanging on the wall and what they were thinking at the time. Wonder who made the frame?

Small things that seem insignificant and stupid in this situation, but what you're trying to do is talk and talk and carefully get him out of that numb zone. 

If you start talking about anything that will trigger an emotion, he might snap back in that zone or freak out. 

And that's the last thing you want to happen right now. 

"Mm, th-that crumb on the fl-floor is so tiny I almost c-couldn't see it. I b-bet an ant c-could carry that on h-his back easily," You muse while Jungkook just continues to stare at your touching hands. 

"I'm scared."

You almost jump at the sound of Jungkook's voice that you haven't heard in hours. 

Ah, it worked. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

"I know," You whisper back, seeing his eyes fill with tears. 

You never knew how much you missed his eyes until they finally meet yours after what felt like an eternity. 

"I c-can't do it. I can't lose her, ____."

You nod, "I know, K-Kookie, I know."

"I'm scared," His voice breaks, "I thought I did enough..."

You move as close to him as you can while being in two different chairs, "I'm not g-going to tell you that y-you did enough. Because you don't n-need to hear it fr-from me."

He stares into your eyes as you continue, "You d-don't need to hear it from anyone b-but her."

You're right. 

He didn't know it until now. 

No one is going to convince him he did enough but her. 

"She w-wants to see you," You whisper, "She l-loves you."

Jungkook gulps, that word is so strange to him, even though he knows she loves him. 

She's always loved him. 

He just didn't want to admit it for a long time now, ever since he started the hits.

"Do y-you resent her for it?" You ask slowly. 

Jungkook thinks hard for a minute. 

He never ever wanted to even entertain the thought that he blamed her for getting him into this life. 

But now you're making him think it through and confront it for the first time. 

Does he?

It takes him a good minute to figure it out, but then he finally shakes his head, "No, I don't. I don't blame her, and I don't resent her. She had nothing to do with it. It was never her fault she got sick and that I made the decision to kill people to save her."

It seems almost like a weight is physically lifted from his shoulders; you can see it. 

He finally faced it, and he finally figured it out and accepted it. 

Now he needs to face her. 

Jungkook swallows thickly, "I should go see her, shouldn't I?"

"You c-can go see her," You change his wording, which makes it feel less daunting to him. 

He nods, but still doesn't move. 

You reach into your pocket and pull out one of the last two bracelets, putting it on his wrist next to the yellow and black one, just like yours, "T-Tae and I are here f-for you," You say gently, "No m-matter what."

Jungkook squeezes your hand, finally getting the courage he needed to go to her. 

"Thank you," He whispers.

_______________________

His eyes lock on her the second he comes through the door. 

She's still asleep. 

Jungkook walks soundlessly over to her bed and sits on the chair beside it, then he takes her cold hand in his. 

His thumb rubs absentmindedly over her delicate skin, wanting nothing more than to protect her forever. 

Looking down at their hands, his brain swarms with regret.

"Oh my, what did I do to deserve such a handsome boy coming to visit me?"

Jungkook looks up to see her smiling at him, her eyes squinted as she adjusts to the light. 

"Mom," His voice breaks. 

"I'm okay," She whispers, "I'm okay."

He feels a single tear slip down his cheek and he wipes it away, embarrassed.

"Ohh," She chides him sweetly, "It's okay to cry, you'll still be a man."

He chuckles tearfully. 

"I missed you," Her voice is weak, and it breaks his heart even more. 

"I missed you too, so much," He responds softly, bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss it gently. 

Her smile widens and brightens up the whole room, "My goodness, you are so handsome."

Tears are threatening to choke him as she reaches a hand up to touch his face, "I always wondered what my bunny boy would grow up to look like. I'm so happy I got to see that you look like me."

"Mom," He coughs tearfully, "Mom, I'm sorry-"

"No," She whispers with a weak smile, "My sweet boy, no. You worked so hard."

There is no stopping the tears now streaming down his face with no restraint. 

"If I just-"

"Listen to me," She speaks as softly as she always has. 

Not once had she ever raised her voice at him, only ever being as gentle as his father was rough. 

If only he appreciated it more. 

If only he showed her how much he cherished her. 

"You worked so hard and suffered so much. You did enough," Her voice breaks slightly with the tears now coming to her. 

She knows that's what he needs to hear.

Jungkook shakes his head, "I should've come to you more often, I shouldn't have left you alone for so long. I-"

"I know everything, Kookie."

His face falls when he sees her knowing look. 

"Namjoon told me," She whispers. 

Fuck. 

She wasn't supposed to know. 

She was never supposed to know. 

"What?" His voice shakes. 

"It's okay, I asked him to tell me where you got the money. I knew you wouldn't be able to cover my treatments with a regular job. I'm sorry, Jungkook-"

"No," He assures her gently, holding her hand for dear life as he moves closer and cups her pale cheek, "No, no, no. It's okay, I'm okay, I really am. It was my decision, I swear. It isn't your fault, mom, please- don't think like that."

She nods, but the tears still trickle down her face. 

Just then a nurse comes in and Jungkook realizes that the machines by his mother's bed started making some noise. 

He hadn't noticed.

His mother smiles at the nurse and nods, "It's okay, I'm okay." 

The nurse understands immediately, quieting the machines and leaving to fetch someone else. 

Jungkook looks at her in a panic, "What's going on?"

"Is anyone else here?" She asks sweetly, ignoring his question. 

He nods, "Tae and ____ are here, they're outside."

"Oh, tell them to come in, Kookie please? I want to see them."

Jungkook hurries to the door and frantically tells you two to get inside. 

You do, and you see her smiling the second you walk in. 

Goodness, she is so beautiful even when she's so sick. 

"Oh, Taehyung."

Tae doesn't even hold back his tears the moment he lays eyes on her. 

He practically runs to the right side of her bed and engulfs her gently in his arms, "I missed you," He mumbles into her shoulder. 

She laughs lightly, "I missed you too, you little rascal."

Jungkook is on her left side, holding her hand gently as Tae pulls away, tears falling endlessly. 

"Thank you, Tae," She whispers, "For everything."

He nods. 

"I love you," She nudges his shoulder, "People love you Tae, you need to let them."

You see Tae bite his lip harshly at her words. 

"Don't you dare even think about missing out on a family, I'll haunt you."

He nods tearfully, "Yes ma'am. I love you too."

She smiles at him, giving his hand a good squeeze. 

Then her gaze lands on you and she holds her arms out. 

You walk over timidly, not quite sure if you belong here right now. 

That worry evaporates when she pulls you into her arms, "Oh my sweet girl," She whispers, "I don't even know how to thank you."

You fight back tears, to no avail, "You d-don't need to thank me."

She nods, "I'm just so grateful that you are part of the family now. I couldn't ask for anyone better."

You wipe at your eyes, but the deluge is nonstop. 

You hug her again and whisper in her ear, only for her to hear. 

"You are the m-most amazing mother to ever exist, thank y-you for bringing him into this w-world. I pro-promise I will love him f-forever."

In that moment, you unknowingly released her from the only thing holding her back. 

Now, she can finally rest, knowing that her most beloved will be taken care of. 

When you pull away, you see nothing but pure joy reflecting in her eyes. 

She puts a hand on your cheek, "Thank you."

You nod and pat her hand gently before pulling away so she can talk to Jungkook. 

The older nurse from earlier walks in and sees the four of you and her eyes well up. 

"Oh, Mi-Young."

She walks over to the bed as Mrs. Jeon reaches out a hand to take her friend's, "I'm alright, Mira."

Mira nods, understanding even though she doesn't want to, "I know."

A moment later, Mira turns to the three of you and nods. 

She then bends down and kisses Mrs. Jeon's cheek, "I'll see you again," She whispers before moving away. 

You and Tae back up with the nurse as Jungkook takes her hand in both of his, "Please don't go," He whispers brokenly, "Please don't. I'm sorry..."

She smiles sadly, "Don't cry for me, love. I'm alright, really. I'm okay. I've done what I needed to do, it's my turn to go home now, I'm ready."

Jungkook chokes on his tears, "I don't want you to go."

"Oh, let me go," She rubs his cheek with her thumb, "Let me go, let me be free."

Jungkook's bottom lip quivers as tears continue to pour, "You're not supposed to go yet, you're supposed to stay with me. I can't do it alone."

"You're not alone," She reminds him, "You've got Taehyung, and ____. And I'll always be watching over you, I promise."

He shakes his head, he's not ready to let go. 

He didn't kill people just for her to die like this. 

He didn't work so hard just to lose her. 

She's supposed to be with him until she dies of old age, not this, not because of this. 

She's still so young. 

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. 

She was supposed to be at his wedding if ever he had one. 

She was supposed to be the grandmother of his children if ever he had them. 

She was supposed to come to his house for holidays if she didn't already live with him. 

They were supposed to be together for a long time. 

He needed to make up for the time he lost with her. 

He can't let go. 

"I wanted you to get older with me, you promised me," Jungkook whispers, his voice thick with grief. 

She was so young when she had him, she was supposed to be around for a long time. 

"I'm sorry, Koo..."

"I'll- I'll take you to all the ballet performances you wanted to see, I promise."

Tears cascade down her face at his desperate bargaining not to lose her. 

"I promise I- I won't leave you alone anymore-"

She shakes her head, "I wasn't alone, don't think like that."

Jungkook chokes on his sobs, "Please, please don't leave me. Please, please-"

"Hey," She coos softly, cupping his face. 

You can see her fading as Jungkook's panic rises. 

"You can stop now," She whispers for only him to hear. 

He knows exactly what she means. 

He was never going to stop killing as long as it kept her alive. 

No matter what he lost in the process. 

She's giving him permission to stop now. 

It hurt her so much to know what he had done to save her, but she never thought of him any differently.

She's letting go and telling him too as well. 

"No," He whimpers, "No, please. It's okay, I can do it, I don't mind-"

"I do," She cries softly, "I want you to stop. Please say you'll stop, Koo."

Jungkook nods, his tears never ceasing. 

"Ok," He chokes out. 

"Promise me."

“Promise me you’ll clean up your toys, Koo?” 

Jungkook nods and she smiles, “Once you’re done, we can get ice cream.”

“Yes, ice cream!” His lisp makes her smile wider as she crouches down to his level and holds out her hand. 

He links his pinky with hers, just like they always do. 

She leans down and kisses her fist as he kisses his, their pinkies still entwined, sealing the deal. 

"I promise," Jungkook whispers as he gently links his pinky with hers and brings his lips to his fist, sealing his last promise, "I promise, I'll stop. I'll let go."

She smiles once more, "I love you."

"I love you," He kisses her fingers that are still wrapped around his. 

A moment of silence passes as you see her look towards the ceiling, a smile on her face as if she's seeing something beyond beautiful, then her eyes flutter before closing.

Your face is drenched in tears and they aren't stopping anytime soon, a hand clasped over your mouth to keep your cries muted.  

Jungkook's hunched over body is shaking with silent sobs as he lowers his head to lay in her lap.

The nurse, Mira, appears to be wiping at her eyes before promptly leaving the room. 

It feels almost like the very sun has started to dim the moment Mi-Young passed away. 

The room feels cold and empty.

Tae is turned away, facing the corner. His face is stuffed into his hands as his shoulders shake with the tears he's trying so hard to make sure aren't heard. 

You don't even know what to do right now. 

All you can do is lean your back against the wall and keep your hands pressed to your mouth, salty tears dripping over your fingers. 

Everything they did was to save her. 

Now she's gone. 

The pain in your heart is so intense, you can't even begin to imagine what they are feeling right now. 

What Jungkook is feeling. 

A few minutes pass, no one saying a word or even moving a muscle. 

You see Jungkook very very gently rubbing his thumb on the back of his mother's hand, his head still in her lap. 

Suddenly, you feel someone touch your arm. 

Tae holds your elbow gently and nods toward the door. 

You leave with him, closing the door behind you two to let Jungkook be alone for as long as he needs. 

-

"I'm sorry, mom," Jungkook whispers, "I'm so sorry..."

He's no longer sobbing, but tears continue to fall silently, dripping over the bridge of his nose and into her lap. 

Jungkook curls in closer to her, resting his head against her abdomen like he used to when he was a small child, and something scared him or made him cry. The comfort of her soft lap and beautiful voice would always calm him quickly, no matter what happened.

He breathes out shakily, taking her hand and laying it on his cheek, closing his eyes and trying his best to conjure up a memory of her voice singing his special song. 

But he can't. 

Panic starts to set in when he realizes he can't remember. 

He can't remember. 

-

Almost an hour has passed since Mi-Young passed away. 

The nurse, Mira, comes back down the hall.

She sees you and Taehyung sitting outside of the room, both of your eyes rimmed with red as you stare straight ahead. 

Neither of you has dry cheeks, a few random tears spilling once in a while. 

But when Tae notices her standing there, he wipes his eyes and stands up. 

"Please don't make him leave," He whispers hoarsely. 

Mira swallows the lump in her throat, "Mi-Young asked me not to let him be with her too long after she passed. She said it would be harder for him the longer he got to spend with her."

Tae hesitates, then he nods slowly and steps away from the door. 

Mira walks into the room to see Jungkook sleeping beside his mother, curled into her side. 

He's so much larger than the small woman, but at this moment, he looks like a tiny child that snuck into his mother's bed in the middle of the night. 

Her heart breaks at the sight. 

She hates that she needs to wake him.

But Mi-Young asked this of her, it was her last request. 

And she must honor that.

-

When you see Jungkook walk out of the room, your heart cracks a little more. 

His eyes are red, and he looks a little disoriented. 

At first, you think he's going to walk past you and Tae, ignoring the two of you like he always does when he's upset. 

So, you're both taken by surprise when he walks right over to Tae.

The oldest holds his arm out and takes Jungkook into them. 

Jungkook doesn't hug him back, he doesn't have the strength to. He just lets Tae hold him, keeping his face stuffed into his best friend's chest as his arms hang limply. 

The look on Taehyung's face makes you wipe your eyes again. 

You've never seen either of them so broken. 

"She's free now, Jungkook," Tae whispers, "She's not in pain anymore."

Jungkook nods, keeping his face hidden.

"Do you remember how she used to talk about heaven, Jungkook?" Tae keeps the tears back as best as he can. 

Jungkook nods again. 

The elder squeezes him tighter, "She's the lucky one, Kook. She's in heaven now with the angels she used to tell us stories about. We're the ones that should be cried for," His broken laughter is brief, "We're stuck in this shithole. But she will never feel pain or sadness ever again. And she gets to watch us with my grandparents until we go with them."

It seems like Tae's words are the only thing that make Jungkook feel better, even if it's slight. 

You look at the two of them, pain squeezing your heart. 

They lost everything. 

Taehyung lost his grandparents a long time ago and Jungkook held on to his mother for so long only to lose her too. 

It was always them against this cruel world. 

You wipe your eyes again, holding your arms across your chest in a hug. 

"____."

You look up at Tae calling you. 

He's holding one of his arms out, telling you to join the hug. 

You shake your head a little. 

You don't belong in this moment. 

He just nods and waves you over again, so you walk over slowly. 

Tae grabs your sleeve and yanks you into the hug. 

You feel Jungkook wrap an arm around your waist and hold you tight as Tae's arm goes over your shoulders. 

"We're not the only ones who lost someone," Tae whispers into your ear, bringing tears to your eyes again. 

You feel both of them hug you tighter, keeping you warm and safe. You're not quite as big as them, but you hope they feel just as comforted by your hug. 

____________________

"Jungkook, I have something for you."

The three of you look up from where you're sitting on the sidewalk just outside of the building where Jungkook's mother stayed. The sun warming the sidewalk was actually helpful, as Tae said it would be. 

It's like a warm hug and a breath of fresh air at the same time. 

Mira is standing there with a white envelope in one hand and a tiny black box in the other. 

She crouches down in front of Jungkook, who still looks like a mess. 

"I knew your mother for almost twenty years, she was my best friend. She was so young; she was only a little younger than you when she first came to us...Mi-Young always told me stories about you and I remember being so excited when I first got to meet her most beloved boy."

Jungkook listens with rapt attention, not wanting to miss a single detail. 

"She loved you more than I have ever seen a human love another. Not a single day went by that she didn't tell me how much she loved you and wished you happiness beyond imagination. She lived a life full of happiness and love, don't let yourself believe anything else."

He swallows thickly, tears springing to his eyes once more. 

"She really was relieved to go, although she felt sorry," Mira clears her throat, "Your mother will be watching over all of us, never forget that."

Jungkook nods, wiping at his eyes for the millionth time. 

Mira grabs his hand and puts the envelope and box in it, then she wraps him in a brief hug, "I'll always be here for you, if ever you need me."

"Thank you," He whispers as she stands up and makes her way back inside. 

You and Tae sit quietly on either side of him as Jungkook stares at the envelope in his hand. 

"I'm scared to open it," Jungkook finally whispers after a while. 

"It's alright," Tae says, patting him on the shoulder, "You don't have to open it now."

The younger nods, "Ok," he says in a small voice.

Silence washes over you three again until Jungkook clears his throat, "Where are we going?"

"What do you mean?" Tae asks gently. 

"Where are we going to stay now?" Jungkook asks again, his face seemingly emotionless. 

"Oh...we could stay at a hotel?" Tae suggests. 

You and Tae agree that that would probably be safest, especially because Dae is still out there. 

Jungkook says nothing though. 

He didn't tell you two about Seokjin and Yoongi and how he promised them he would come back after he saved you. 

Was that really just yesterday?

It feels like forever ago.

"Jungkook?"

"Huh?" He starts at someone calling his name. 

"We were wondering if you were okay with a hotel," Tae says slowly. 

He nods, "A hotel sounds fine to me."

You and Tae give each other a concerned look.

Jungkook has a habit of snapping out of stuff quickly and then tumbling headfirst back down into it when people think he's okay.

Standing up and brushing off his pants, Jungkook stuffs the envelope and small box into his pocket, "Let's just get out of here."

After deciding where to go, you follow Jungkook to his motorcycle as Tae goes to his. 

"See you soon," Tae says before slipping his helmet on and starting the engine. 

You hold onto Jungkook as he starts up his own engine.

He's in a lot of pain, you can tell.

Years of pushing feelings down and corking them up like a bottle ready to explode is not going to take a short time to heal. 

He's dealt with pain by shutting it down for his entire life. 

His brain developed with those coping skills; it isn't going to fix things so quickly. 

That realization causes you more physical hurt than any bruises can. 

You're going to try your best to help him. 

He's just so broken.

___________________________

"Room for three?"

The worker at the front desk of the really nice hotel you came to gives you guys a funny look as he confirms what Tae asked for. 

Taehyung nods politely, "Yes, please."

"And how long will you be staying with us?" The worker asks slowly, looking over the three of you once more. 

You know you look like a mess. 

All of you are sweaty and tired with red eyes and tear-stained faces. 

You have no bags, nothing. 

It doesn't look like the three of you could afford a decent meal let alone a room in this place. 

Tae looks back at you and Jungkook, who both shrug. 

He turns back to the young man who continues to stare rudely.

"Um, can we please do it for three days?"

"Of course," The worker seems to finally act more normal the second he sees Tae pull out a card and hand it over. 

Tae gets his card back and two room keys, then he bows slightly, "Thank you."

You follow the boys to the elevator, glancing behind you to see the worker staring at you. 

"Don't worry about him, ____," Tae says as he gets into the elevator behind you and presses the button for the tenth floor, "He's just a jackass."

Jungkook leans back against the railing in the middle of the elevator, his face clearly depicting how exhausted he is. 

"Damn, this elevator music sucks," Tae groans, a shoulder leaning against the side wall by the buttons. 

You're standing in between them, hands clasped in front of you as you anxiously tap your toes.

"Finally," Tae sighs as the doors open after a while. 

But then you realize it's only the sixth floor and a family of four is standing there, waiting to get on. 

They crowd in, much to Taehyung's annoyance. 

The elevator wasn't very roomie with just the three of you, now it's even worse. 

Jungkook just stares at the floor numbly, not moving from his spot. 

The mother and father come in first, standing on the far-left side. 

The daughter who appears to be around ten comes in next. 

You smile at her, and she just sticks her tongue out. 

The last one to get on is the son, who looks to be in his late teens if not early twenties. 

He walks in and knocks your shoulder roughly, making you stumble. 

A hand on your waist keeps you from losing your balance and you turn to see Jungkook glaring at the young man. He pulls you into him as he moves to the far-right corner behind Tae. Your back is pressed into his chest, his arms wrapped around your abdomen protectively. 

When you glance down at his hands, you see him take one of yours and gently rub the back of it with his thumb as he rests his chin on your shoulder. 

Just before the elevator doors close, someone grabs it, and it opens to reveal an older businessman. 

He shoves his way in. 

"A whole ass party, lovely," Tae mumbles, "What floors?" He asks, voice tinged with irritation. 

"Twelve," The father of the family says. 

You remember the worker saying the pool was on that level.

"Eleven," The businessman snaps. 

Ah, and the conference rooms were on eleven.

Tae presses the buttons, and the doors start to close again, but not before another hand grabs them and opens them. 

"Oh, for the love of God," Tae grumbles when a couple comes into view, "There's no room!"

"Ah, there's plenty of room," The boyfriend says as he pulls his girlfriend on and they squeeze in, "Twelve, please."

"Already on the way," Tae says shortly, "Not like there are any other elevators right next to this one," He keeps muttering to himself as the doors start to close again. 

After the couple got on, it pushed people further into you, which is starting to make you feel squished. 

Jungkook feels your breath pick up as you get anxious with the businessman pressed almost right into you. 

You feel his arms hold you tighter for a moment as he maneuvers you, turning the two of you so that you're in the corner and he's closer to the old man. 

He just switched your places, but it makes your heart pound harder at the gesture. 

And now that Jungkook is facing you, his arms on either side of you, you feel a blush creep into your cheeks. 

He gives you a small, tired smile and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. 

It doesn't seem like he's even affected by the people pressing against his back, his eyes just trained on you. 

"Praise be to God," Tae clasps his hands as the doors close and the elevator starts to move. 

It jiggles for a second, making your heart leap to your throat. 

You hate when elevators are sketchy. 

One of your worst fears is an elevator breaking while you're in it. 

Apparently, it's one of Taehyung's too, because you see him put a hand over his eyes, "If this elevator breaks and we die, I'm gonna kill all of you."

The young man in the family that pushed you snickers. 

Jungkook sees you stiffen at the jolt when the elevator picks up speed. 

"You're alright," He whispers, "If this elevator broke, you'd be with the perfect two people in that case." 

You laugh nervously, knowing that he's right. 

If you were to get trapped in an elevator, he and Tae would be the best to get stuck with. They'd find a way out quicker than any rescue team. 

That calms you down considerably. 

*bing*

The number 10 lights up on the top of the doorway and you hear Tae sigh in relief as the doors open. 

"That'll be us," Tae says as he shoves past the couple, "Pardon."

The others move a little, but Jungkook still needs to shoulder through them to get you out. 

The doors close again when the three of you are free at last. 

"Fucking damn," Tae shakes his head, "Never in my life."

He stares at the elevator for a second before shaking his head again and walking away. 

You and Jungkook follow closely behind, his hand holding yours securely. 

Tae turns to the right and walks to the end of the hall, all the way to the last door, "Couldn't have been a more perfect spot," he says in satisfaction as he unlocks it and pushes it open. 

The room is extremely nice, something you would never be able to afford for even a single night. 

The setting sun shines through the window in a golden hue, falling over the room. 

There's a huge TV mounted on the wall in front of two decent sized beds. A couch is lined along the wall under the huge window, a gorgeous view of Busan greeting you when you walk over to it after slipping your shoes off at the door. 

There's a mini fridge and plenty of drawers and desk space to put things. 

"Holy shit!" 

You look over to where Tae is coming out of the bathroom, "The bath is bigger than your apartment, JK."

Jungkook rolls his eyes and sits down on the couch with a heavy sigh. 

"Tae, h-how could you af-afford this?" You ask, eyes wide as you walk into the bathroom, which is as beautiful as Tae said. 

He smirks as he sits on the couch next to Jungkook, "Being a hitman has its perks, babe."

Then he pats Jungkook's thigh, "We'll be okay here, Kook."

The younger nods, "I know."

You and Tae know Jungkook will continue to mourn his mother when he's ready. That isn't when you think is best, but Jungkook isn't going to listen to either of you. 

The only comfort he has right now is knowing she's in a better place. 

"Well, I'm starved."

You can tell Tae is trying to lighten the mood, which is difficult after what's happened today. But when you see the look on Jungkook's face, you can tell he's grateful. 

You're not sure how they're able to bounce back so easily after stuff, it must be the way they grew up. 

Jungkook still seems off though, no matter how much he tries to pretend like he's not going to cry anymore. 

Taehyung orders room service as Jungkook lays on one of the beds, resting his eyes, at least that's what he says. 

While waiting for the food, you and Tae watch some TV, but neither of you are really paying attention, you're just lost in your own little worlds.  

Everything seems so wrong. 

Jungkook lost the person he loved the most in this world. It feels like this is the last place you should be. 

-

None of you eat very much of the food when it comes. 

The food looks wonderful and not a single one of you has had a decent meal in days, but you don't have an appetite. 

Jungkook picks at the food a bit before saying he's just going to go to bed. 

You and Tae eat a few bites before putting the rest of it in the mini fridge and heading to bed as well. 

Taehyung goes to the left bed and climbs in, tucking himself under the covers and going silent. 

You can tell by the slight shaking of his shoulders a few minutes later when you come out of the bathroom, that he's crying again. 

About to get on the couch to sleep, you're startled by a pair of arms wrapping around your waist. 

"You're not going to sleep with me?" Jungkook asks quietly. 

"I th-thought you were asleep," You whisper back, glancing over to see that Tae is out like a light. 

"I can't sleep," Jungkook mumbles into your shoulder, "Please lay with me."

You nod, turning in his arms to face him, "Ok."

He takes your hand and leads you over to the empty bed closer to the bathroom, the light of the moon lighting your way. 

You get out of your overalls, in nothing but your shirt and socks before climbing into the bed. 

Jungkook climbs in after you, laying his head on the pillow with a quiet sigh. 

"I don't want to talk about today," Jungkook whispers before you even say anything. 

You nod, "Ok."

"I just want to sleep," His voice cracks slightly, but he recovers quickly, "I'm tired."

You slide down into the covers more until your chin is at the top of them, nothing but your face sticking out. 

Jungkook reaches out a hand and smooths it down your hair, "Goodnight, ____."

"N-Night, Kook."

_____________

Almost two hours later, Jungkook is still awake. 

He watched you fall asleep, hoping it might help him to fall into his own dreamland, one where she is happy and healthy and there with him. 

But sleep won't even come to his rescue now. 

Jungkook sighs and runs a finger down the bridge of your nose, the soft touch of your skin bringing him a small comfort. 

He smiles softly at your sleeping face, "You're so beautiful," he whispers, knowing you'll never hear him.

Your little mouth is open slightly but you're breathing in and out through your nose. He isn't sure why it's so cute, but it is. 

To think he was so ready to kill you all those months ago...

How was he ever unable to see your beautiful soul?

He used to stay up at night trying to figure out how to get rid of the girl that acted like there wasn't a single worry in the world, now he can't imagine his life without you. 

"Sweet girl," he mumbles, tracing your lips with his thumb. 

Jungkook leans over as carefully as he can, placing his lips on yours so gently that you don't even stir. 

Then he pulls away and carefully climbs out of the bed. 

He walks over to the desk by the window and grabs the box and envelope from his mother, then he goes out into the hall after grabbing one of the key cards. 

A short walk down the hall leads him to a sitting area with big couches and side tables. 

He sits down on the red couch, looking around for a moment. 

It's really late and there isn't a single soul around. 

After another minute, Jungkook finally looks down at the white envelope before opening it carefully. 

It feels extremely fragile and he's as gentle with it as he can be as he pulls out the handwritten letter to see his mother’s distinct handwriting. 

Dear Jungkook, 

If you're reading this letter, that means I must not be with you anymore. I'm so sorry, my sweet boy. I wanted to be with you for a long time. 

I found out today that I am very sick. I haven't told you yet, but the doctors are not very hopeful. I pray that I will be able to see my sweetest boy grow up to be a strong and handsome man. 

I can't tell you enough how sorry I am that I have nothing to leave you but what is in the box. It is something that is very special to me. 

Once upon a time, Kookie, I met a very kind young man. He was tall and handsome and always knew how to make me laugh. We were only eighteen at the time and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. 

It turns out that I was wrong, but I know now that I wouldn't change it for the world. 

I ended up with a different man, and I had the most beautiful baby boy. I wouldn't trade him for all the riches in this world. He is my dream come true and all I want in this life. It isn't fair that I might not have as much time with you as I had hoped. Sometimes life isn't fair, baby, but it will all be okay, I promise.

I love you more than words can ever tell. 

Every morning, your sweet face is the first thing I think of and the last thought in my mind until I fall asleep at night. 

Thank you Jungkookie, for coming to me. You are the most precious gift God has given me and I will continue to thank him for the rest of my life and more. I think that maybe my mother sent you to me from heaven when she passed away. 

You are my best buddy in this whole world and I pray every day that you will find someone like I did when I was younger. My first love gave me what I am now giving to you. Make sure you give it to someone that holds your heart the way he held mine. 

One day, you will find that person. I promise. 

Oh, and Kookie? Please tell Taehyung I said hello and that I love him and that I am so grateful he is in our lives. I hope the two of you will grow up to be best friends forever. I really believe you will. 

I think I hear you calling me. You must have woken up from your nap. I love you sweet boy, please forgive me for going first. I promise I will save your spot in heaven right next to mine!

Remember, only give this precious gift to the person you fall in love with. It has magical powers and you will be together forever if you give it to them! Don't laugh and just believe me, okay?

You'll be okay, Koo.

You were always enough for me and I will always love you,

Mommy

"Mommy?"

"I'm coming, love!" Mi-Young carefully folds the letter and tucks it into the white envelope next to her before licking the seal and closing it. Then she tucks it into a shoe box, setting the tiny black box on top of the note before closing the lid and hiding the shoe box under her bed. 

"Mommyy," Jungkook cries, coming into the room as he rubs his teary eyes. 

"Oh baby," Mi-Young picks up the five-year-old and cuddles him close, "Mommy is sorry she didn't come quickly."

Jungkook tucks his face into the juncture between her neck and shoulder, breathing shakily, "I was scared mommy," he hiccups, "I woked up and you were not there."

"Mommy is right here, baby," She coos, "I'll always be right here."

A teardrop lands on the paper as Jungkook reads it again, then again. 

He hadn’t known she had gotten sick that early on. 

His fingers grip the paper tightly as he rereads it for the fifth time. 

She was in love with someone else before she met his father.

He never knew that. 

Of course, she wouldn't have told him when he was a child. 

Jungkook swallows thickly, a few more tears falling onto the letter before he folds it back up and tucks it into his pocket.

He never realized how much she truly loved him, how selfless she really was. 

He stares at the black box sitting on the table in front of him. 

Part of him wants to know what it is, another part of him is terrified to know. 

Jungkook finally reaches over and grabs it, holding it tightly for a second before opening it. 

Inside, is a small ring. 

His mother always had small hands but seeing the ring that used to fit on her finger brings tears to his eyes that he wasn't expecting seeing how small it is compared to his own now. 

The ring is simple, but beautiful. 

It is a rose gold color with the tiniest, most delicate leaves wrapping around all of it and three very small diamonds in the middle. 

He proposed to her...

She was really going to marry him...

Jungkook wonders what happened to them as he stares at the ring. 

He knows his mother doesn't regret anything though, she wouldn't have had him if things hadn't changed. She said as much in her letter. 

Gently taking the ring out, Jungkook looks at it. He notices it's on a chain as he pulls it out more.

It's definitely something his mother loved dearly; it’s in pristine condition after probably close to thirty years since it was made.

He slips the chain around his neck, making sure it's hidden in his shirt before closing the box and putting it into his pocket. 

___________________________________

a/n: im sorry...

___________

"You...what?"

"Oh, don't act so surprised, Mina."

Mina's stomach plummeted to her feet and she resisted the urge to hurl.

"B-But, I thought you cared about her."

"Oh, I did. Very, very, much. I cared about her more than I cared about you," Dae watched Mina's face fall, a sick satisfaction soaring through him.

"...huh?"

"Oh yes, I asked her to be with me. But she refused."

Mina felt a stab of jealousy shoot through her. 

"You know, she hurt me, deeply. That's why I did it."

Mina stayed quiet, so he continued, "You understand, don't you? She's just like that. You do everything for her and she pushes you aside. She kept giving me mixed signals, leading me on only to hurt me in the end."

Your best friend swallowed thickly. 

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" He whispered, "You've always stood up for her and taken care of her, and yet she went after me just to mess with you. She knew you liked me, didn't she? Maybe you didn't tell her, but she knew, how could she not see it?"

Her teeth clenched as she listened to his words, like poison seeping into her veins. 

"Of course, you were the one I had always been in love with, she just made that hard for me to see."

"Really?" Mina's voice quivered.

Dae nodded, a sad smile on his face, "With her out of the picture, I could have you all to myself without worrying about her ruining things for us."

Mina looked uncertain as she clenched her fists.

"I know you care about me, Mina."

"I do."

"Can you help me?"

Mina looked up at him, her heart melted in her chest at the look he gave her.

"Yes."

"I knew I could count on you."

________________________________

Present Day...

"Mina messaged me."

Jungkook looks up at Tae from the strawberries he was cutting for your lunch, "What?"

"She messaged my work phone, obviously that's the only number she has."

It's been almost a week since Mina left, today is Friday and no one has heard anything from her.

Until now.

Jungkook sets down the knife.

"What did she say?"

"She said they agreed to call off the hit on one condition."

"And that is?"

"They want the money back from the first payment they gave you."

Jungkook narrows his eyes, "That's it? That's all they want?"

Tae shrugs, "That's what she said."

"I don't believe that, not for a fucking second."

"I don't either. What am I supposed to tell her?"

They both hear the toilet flush and the sink turn on.

"Just, tell her you'll get back to her later today. We can figure it out when I get back from taking ____ to work."

Tae nods, but when Jungkook turns to keep cutting the strawberries, he asks, "Would you actually give them the money back?"

Jungkook doesn't look at him as he cuts a little berry, "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"I mean, what about your mom's treatments?"

Jungkook swallows hard, "I'll figure something out."

The door to the bathroom opens and you come out, a tired look on your face as you walk over to Jungkook and Tae.

"Good morning, ____," Tae says with a smile. 

"M-Morning, Tae!" You say brightly despite the exhaustion covering your face.

Jungkook turns and leans against the counter as he looks at you with a smile, "You look sleepy."

"I'm a-always sleepy," You say with a laugh. 

Jungkook laughs lightly as you walk forward and give him a hug.

His cheeks burn at the intimate gesture in front of his best friend, but he wraps his arms around you anyway.

After a second, you pull away and look at the cutting board with strawberries on it, "Ohh, s-strawberries!"

"You can have one now if you want," Jungkook grabs one and hands it to you, "Here."

You take it happily and start munching away as Tae grumbles about how Jungkook didn't let him have any and how he's playing favorites. Jungkook grabs another strawberry and pops it into Tae's mouth as he's ranting.

The older boy chews it up, then turns and winks at you before heading over to the couch. 

You smile at him and then turn back to Jungkook, "Thank y-you."

He nods with a smile sweeter than the strawberry you just ate.

"Are you all dressed for work?" Jungkook asks as he finishes up packing your lunch.

"Mhm," You reply, watching him closely.

Jungkook turns back to see your hair is a knotted mess.

"What about your hair, silly?"

You reach up and touch it, a little frown on your face, "I'm t-too tired."

Jungkook laughs, "Here, let me do it. Go get your hairbrush and hair ties."

You skip away to your suitcase and rummage around in it for a second before pulling out the things he needs to fix up your hair.

Jungkook sits on the couch next to Tae, then spreads his legs a bit and drops a pillow on the floor so you can sit between his legs.

You sit down on the pillow and get comfy, one of your arms draped over his thigh and your head resting on it as he brushes your hair. 

Jungkook is gentle as he gets the tangles out, then he brushes it all back and pulls it into a ponytail, one much better than the one he did earlier this week.

"There you go, sweetpea," Jungkook whispers in your ear.

"Thank y-you," You say shyly as you stand up and go to get your shoes on.

"I'm taking her to work, I'll be back in a little bit," Jungkook says to Tae as he grabs the keys. 

Tae nods, "I'll be here."

-

"I'm gr-grateful that you k-keep making my lunch," You whisper shyly as Jungkook drives to your work.

He smiles, "I'm glad you keep liking them, I enjoy making them."

Jungkook stops the car at a red light.

Something has been nagging at you this whole week, so you finally decide to ask him.

"J-Jungkook?"

"Mm?"

"W-When you first g-got me that night..."

"Yeah?" He looks at you. 

"Um, y-your face l-looked like you h-had been in a fight."

"Oh."

"And s-so did Tae's."

Jungkook bites his lip, contemplating what to say.

"Yeah, Tae and I had a fight."

He's not going to lie anymore, he's in deep enough already when you find out what he's lied about.

Which is basically everything.

That realization makes him ill.

"About w-what?"

"You."

Fuck.

Your head snaps in his direction, a look of bewilderment on your face, "M-Me?"

He nods and you see him gulp, "I hadn't told him about you and he was angry."

"He-...He w-was mad about m-me and you b-beat each other up?" You ask in disbelief, making Jungkook cringe.

"Uh, yeah."

"I th-thought he l-liked me," You say quietly and look out the window. 

"H-He does!" Jungkook says quickly, "He does now that he knows you."