Okay so I had a little bit of a writer's block regarding where I wanted to take this story, but I've decided what to do now! We should be ending within the next ten chapters or so. With all due thanks and love, I really appreciate everyone who has read this story and decided that you like it and subscribed. It's really heartwarming to see that a lot of you like it! Even though it's just a story to you, I am ashamed to admit that I spent a LOT of time trying to craft out the characters and make them as 3 dimensional as possible (IDK if I've failed or passed but what the hey). I hope that you enjoy reading!

What on earth was I really going to say to Kim Minho?

I paced outside the door of the rooftop, debating furiously with myself.

The guy had been making a name for himself throughout the school apparently.

Mirae had used her talents once again and procured information for me.

The boy had long broken up with his girlfriend. He’d joined a gang from a rival school just before we’d had the altercation, and was known for harassing the girls in our school, pestering them to sleep with him. It’d been bad before, but it’d become even worse. He got into fights daily, and got his lackeys or gangmates to come fight his battles, just as he’d done with me.

The boy was drunk with power, and it was up to me to get him out of it.

I took a deep breath and stepped onto the roof. Kim Minho was leaning against the rooftop fence, smoking a cigarette. As he turned his eyes to face me, he stubbed out the cigarette and threw it onto the floor, a glare present on his face.

“What do you want with me?” he asked brusquely.

“You and I both know that what you’re doing is wrong,” I stated clearly.

He let out a bark of laughter.

“It’s wrong, but it feels so right,” he bared his fangs. “You must know how it feels too, huh? I bet you love this. I bet you absolutely adore crushing these peasants under your feet.”

“Yeah,” I conceded. “I did love it. I loved the power I had. I loved the freedom. I loved the fear that everyone had for me.”

“Is it so wrong then?” he asked wickedly, relishing the taste of the cigarette ash in his mouth. “I’m just having a little fun, just like you.”

“Yes, it is wrong,” I reaffirmed. “I was wrong.”

“Hah!” the boy chuckled. “Lee Youngmi actually admitting she was wrong. That’s a first.”

“What I did to everyone back then; that was bullying. I’m sure you have a reason why you’re doing it too,” I said. “What’s wrong, Minho-ssi? I can help you.”

The boy laughed madly, doubling over as I stared at him in concern.

“You? Help me?” he laughed merrily. “I don’t need trash like you to help me. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Look Minho-ssi, I know something’s troubling you,” I insisted, standing my ground. “Tell me. I can help you, whatever it is.”

“Why do you think I have a reason to hurt other people?” he asked mirthfully. “It’s not like you did when you hurt me.”

And there it was, the real reason why he was hurting others. I could see in his eyes the fear and loneliness he felt when I had basically humiliated him all those months back; how he felt that he actually had control when he played with people; just like me.

I felt my heart hammering in my chest as I considered my options.

I had to do what was right.

“I had a reason,” I said steadily.

Kim Minho stopped laughing, but his beady eyes zeroed onto me curiously, wanting me to continue.

I took a deep breath. I had kept this a secret for long enough.

It was now or never.

“Before my father passed away, he abused me physically and verbally,” I explained slowly. “I got molested when I was 11 by one of his friends, and he did nothing. My mother abandoned me when I was 5 years old, and she took my siblings away from me. I was so emotionally scarred from the constant abuse and threats from my father that I had to find an outlet for the pain. I took it out on people whom I felt did me wrong. I thought it was the right thing to do.

“For the longest time, I was hurting inside, but I protected myself by building a shield around me. I used the fear that people had of me to shield myself from being hurt even more. I treated people like they were nothing, because I was afraid that they would hurt me too. I didn’t even have any real friends.

“But then I met someone who changed my life. Someone who looked at me without fear, someone who spoke his mind about everything. He showed me what being a true friend was like. He never questioned me, but he treated me with love and respect, something that no one had ever done before in my life. And that changed me. Love changed me.”

Kim Minho was silent as he digested my words. I felt the burden of telling the truth lighten from my shoulders as I visibly relaxed.

“Now I’m showing you the same love that he showed me,” I continued clearly. “Minho-ssi, I know you’re hurting. Tell me, so I can help you.”

There was silence as I waited with bated breath. He looked like a fragile vase that had been glued together and was about to break again. Would I be able to warm his heart?

---

Jungkook nibbled his fingernails nervously. Hoseok-hyung sat in Youngmi’s seat, fidgeting with his jacket as the both of them trained their eyes on the door.

To be honest, Jungkook was pretty worried about Lee Youngmi, but he knew she could handle herself. He knew Hoseok-hyung knew that too, deep down, but the boy was beside himself with worry and guilt.

“What if she gets-” Hoseok-hyung started, but Jungkook shushed him.

“She’s going to be fine. We saw only the two of them going up, and she can handle her one on one fights pretty well. You know how strong she can be!” Jungkook reassured.

“I shouldn’t have let her go,” he sighed deeply, running his fingers through his hair.

“She would have gone either way,” Jungkook shrugged. “With or without your permission. She’s kind of stubborn that way.”

Hoseok-hyung let out an ironic chuckle.

“And that’s why you love her,” Jungkook sent him an encouraging grin.

“Thanks kid,” the older boy quirked his lips in an attempt to smile, but his eyes were still dark with worry.

The back door creaked open. Jungkook and Hoseok-hyung whipped their heads around, expecting the worst.

Instead, Kim Minho crept in through the back door, flanked by the girl of the hour. He looked utterly terrified and beaten emotionally, whereas the girl was the epitome of sunshine, her beaming smile radiating.

She bounced over to them, Kim Minho following behind her.

Hoseok-hyung immediately stood up from the seat and pulled her into a crushing embrace. The girl’s face turned a light sheen of pink as she muttered a small ‘oof’. The boy nestled his nose into her hair, breathing in deeply.

Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly, the atmosphere suddenly getting stuffy. Kim Minho scuffed his shoe on the ground, refusing to look at anyone.

“You worried me so much you idiot,” Hoseok-hyung mumbled into her head.

“But I did well?” she asked quietly.

“You always do,” he said.

Jungkook didn’t need to look at them to know that she was smiling.

Kim Minho cleared his throat, attracting Jungkook’s attention.

“Look, Jungkook,” he said, staring at the wall with shame and guilt. “I was an to you. I…”

“No worries, Minho-ssi,” Jungkook interrupted, knowing what he really meant. “You’re forgiven.”

The boy brightened, smiling shyly at him.

Jungkook wondered if the two of them could be friends after all.

---

One month later

---

“You seriously got a D for math,” I deadpanned, looking at the big red D scrawled over the top of his paper.

He nodded sheepishly, scratching his head in embarrassment as I flicked through the papers, casually perusing his answers and tutting aloud.

“Your girlfriend is top of the level for four subjects,” I sighed, “and you got a D for math.”

“Well I didn’t think to ask for your help before this!” he whined, pouting slightly. “I have to go to college. My parents would be so disappointed in me if I couldn’t make it into the top 3 universities. Like, Yoongi-hyung and Seokjin-hyung are in Seoul University, Namjoon’s aiming for Oxford… I can’t be left behind and not have a degree.”

“Why are you even going to college, if all you want to do is dance?” I asked curiously, putting aside the paper. “There’s no point studying something you don’t love.”

“Well, my parents want me to get a stable job and income,” he explained. “And I don’t want to risk starving when I’m out of school, you know?”

I shot him a doubtful glance.

“You shouldn’t let your parents direct your entire life,” I said. “They’re not the masters of your universe. You have to do something that you’re passionate about, or life will be meaningless.”

“I’m passionate about not starving to death,” he joked as I rolled my eyes. “There’s no career in dancing, Youngmi.”

“Do you even know what you’re going to do in university?” I asked.

I could see the wheels in his head turning as he churned out an answer.

“Maybe accountancy?” he shrugged. “I’ll decide when I get my results.”

I could see there was no budging in him, even though I knew he was talented enough to make it as a dancer, even with the cutthroat industry out there. Why couldn’t he see that he was born for more than just a 9-5 office job, wearing a striped tie and drinking coffee from a “World’s Best Worker” mug?

I didn’t know much about parenting, but if I had a kid, I would want him to pursue something he really loved and would work hard at doing, not something that he was obliged to do because of his degree. And I was sure Superhero-sunbaenim’s parents would agree. I mean, they didn’t even know he liked dancing. How could he gauge their reactions to allowing him to dance if he hadn’t even told them yet?

“I’ll tutor you,” I finally said, frowning. “On one condition.”

“What is it?” he asked curiously.

“You tell your parents about your dancing when you graduate high school,” I said.

“Youngmi, you know I can’t do that,” he groaned. “They deal with enough already at home and with my sister and me. If they found out I’d been wasting valuable time on my hobby and not studying, they’ll kill me!”

“I think it’s a good idea,” I sniffed, sticking my nose into the air. “They deserve to know, sunbaenim.”

“They don’t even know about BTS aside from Namjoon, let alone my dancing,” he groaned. “Can’t you pick another option?”

I shook my head stubbornly, ignoring the pleading puppydog eyes he was sending my way. He sighed and straightened up, giving up on convincing me.

“I only have to do it when I graduate, right?” he asked hesitantly, as I shot him a beaming smile and nodded my head.

“Fine,” he sighed, hanging his head in defeat. “But if I get disowned, your bed is mine.”

“Are you saying you wanna sleep with me?” I joked as he turned an unhealthy shade of maroon.

“S-shut up,” he snivelled, stomping off as I followed after him, chuckling gleefully.

“So your house or mine?” I asked cheerfully as we walked to the bus stop, him a pace ahead of me.

“What for?” he asked curiously, forgetting about my innuendo.

“Tuition, duh,” I shrugged. “We have to get your grade up, somehow.”

“We’re starting now?” he asked, flabbergasted. “But I have practice-”

“I told V-oppa that you’re staying home for,” I pushed my glasses up my nose, sending him a demonic grin, “intensive study sessions.”

I held back an amused chuckle as he crumbled to the floor, wailing in agony. Life was going to get so fun.

---

Hoseok was quiet the whole bus ride, as Youngmi fiddled with her phone, mind clearly elsewhere. He looked at her reflection in the window fondly.

He really was proud of her. She’d come a long way from who she had been in the beginning of the year. He’d taken months to work off the walls she’d built around herself, and now he was beginning to see the fruits of his labour, when she finally stood up for someone who needed help.

He felt bad that he hadn’t trusted her before. She had made a good point: that he would always seek to help others in need, like Jungkook and even herself. But somehow, his fears for her safety and wellbeing had overtaken his drive to help others, and he was kinda ashamed of that.

He knew she didn’t blame him for it, but he still felt bad. After all, he’d sacrificed his values to try to protect the person he loved, when he knew in his heart she didn’t need protecting at all.

She shifted her head onto his shoulder, closing her eyes as the drone of the bus lulled her to sleep. Hoseok observed their entwined hands, remembering the obstacles they had gone through to be together.

He remembered the morbid curiosity he had towards her scars and bruises. He recalled the fury he’d unleashed when he found out about her father, and how he’d grown to despise the man who dared to treat his precious jewel like that.

He squeezed her hand a little tighter, feeling a sense of relief that she was here with him, and she had opened up to him and had changed because of him.

He returned to his memory sorting.

He remembered the anguish he felt every day as he thought about the times when she was dating Jungkook. He didn’t feel angry with Jungkook that it had happened, but he felt rather bittersweet instead. If it hadn’t been for Jungkook, who was the first one to realise that he didn’t belong with her, Hoseok would have always refused to do the right thing and break up their toxic relationship. He knew that the two of them were too broken to be with each other, but his love for the both of them had clouded his judgment.

But thanks to his friends, especially Yoongi-hyung and Namjoon, he’d opened his eyes and they were both… happy.

He leaned his head onto the crown of her head just as the bus pulled up to his house.

“Hey, we’re here,” he nudged her, pulling her out of the bus by hand. She followed quietly, blinking sleep out of her eyes and yawning.

And then just as they walked into the complex and entered the lift, she was wide awake, a frazzled look seeping into her features. She looked like a terrified cat, including the pacing, whining and even some of her hairs were standing up. Hoseok blinked in confusion, unfamiliar with this sudden mood change.

“What’s up? You’ve been here before,” he asked, staring at her weirdly as she started to scuff her shoes on the ground, tucking and untucking her hair behind her ear in nervous energy.

“I-it’s just… I’ve never met your parents before,” she chuckled nervously. “Boy am I excited. Yes. Excitement.”

“Well I’ve met your mum and she was pretty nice to me,” he shrugged, not understanding her trepidation.

“Yeah, but you’re a good guy,” she motioned. “I’m a gangster. And I used to bully people… including you.”

“Oh yeah…” he remarked, his chin. “But you’re none of that now. At least, you’re not a bully any longer. Don’t freak out so much, kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” she growled, the old fire returning to her.

“Sure you aren’t, kid,” Hoseok ruffled her hair cheerfully, ignoring the whines of protest emitting from her.

“Ah, you’re cute when you’re angry~” he cooed.

She flushed a dark red, flicking her eyes away from him and pouting, but Hoseok was glad because it at least got her mind off of his parents.

I mean, what was she so freaked out about? They were pretty much normal humans, and he didn’t exactly need to reveal her past to them either. It wasn’t like they were against him dating anyone too, though they didn’t encourage him to. The fact that she was a gangster might throw them off a bit though, but Hoseok shoved the thought aside, content to burn that bridge when he crossed it.

But then again, he did kind of feel a little nervous about his family meeting her, but not in a bad way. He was really close to his family after all; they meant the world to him, and he wanted them to know the one big part of his life too, especially his sister.

“You’ll be fine, pabo,” he flicked her head playfully before squishing her in a bear hug, nuzzling his cheek against the crown of her head. “Just eat as much as you can. Eomma loves it when Joon eats his bowl clean.”

“… Okay…” she sighed, powerless against the magic of his squishy bear hug.

Just in time too, because the lift door opened, showing them the row of apartments, of which one of them belonged to his family. They walked down the hallway, Hoseok confidently holding her hand as she glanced around in trepidation, hissing quietly at everything that moved.

“Noona, I’m home!” he called as they reached his apartment. “I brought someone!”

The door opened and a brown and white blur escaped out of the apartment, jumping into Youngmi’s arms. She let out an ecstatic laugh as Mickey’s jump barrelled her onto the ground. He attacked her face with kisses, causing her to giggle with glee and snuggle her face into his glossy fur.

Hoseok watched the two of them fondly, a grin on his face.

“Oh?” Jiwoo-noona peeked her head out, grinning mischievously. “Who’s this pretty little girl?”

“Meet Youngmi,” Hoseok introduced his sister to his girlfriend rolling on the floor with his dog. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“So this is the elusive girl that you’ve been telling me about?” Jiwoo-noona giggled, taking a good look at Youngmi. “She likes Mickey! You found a keeper.”

Hoseok chuckled in embarrassment as Youngmi finally peeled herself off the ground, Mickey running in circles around her legs.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, before suddenly remembering her manners and bowing hurriedly. “I’m Lee Youngmi.”

“I’m Jung Jiwoo,” Jiwoo-noona offered her hand, smiling. “How old are you sweetie?”

“I’m 15, Jiwoo-ssi,” Youngmi bowed again and accepted the handshake.

“You can call me unnie,” Jiwoo-noona waved her hand carelessly. “Oh, where are my manners? Please come in. You can leave your shoes in the cabinet.”

As she turned to go in, Hoseok sent Youngmi a secret thumbs up, which she nodded excitedly at. The two of them followed after his sister, Hoseok feeling a particular sense of pride at his sister’s approval of his girlfriend.