Narrator

Jungkook slammed the door to his room shut. He didn’t bother turning the lights on, instead he fell on his bed, letting the darkness consume him.

He hated the fact that he was so weak— one word from her and he breaks. Why was it so difficult when it came to her? Why did it had to be so complicated?

“Because you fell, idiot.” He muttered and rolled over, burying his face on the pillow. The sound of his phone buzzing made him sit up.

Could it be her?

He hurriedly got the phone from the coffee table and opened the message. It wasn’t from her though. It was an email with a file attached. He hesitantly pressed it open and an audio clip played.

There were some shuffling noises and some grumbling. Then he heard distant voices. Finally, a voice he recognized so well shouted.  

“You really don’t understand, do you?!”

“Jongin, please contain yourself.” Another voice interrupted, although he wasn’t so sure who it was.

“I want Sera,” Kai whispered, and Jungkook’s grip on his phone tightened.

 “You don’t understand, Sehun-ah.”

He was about to stop listening when Kai’s voice stopped him.

“I ing love Park Sera.”

That was it. That was why she was telling him that he was free, that he had a choice. She didn’t want to play him for a fool. She finally got what she wanted all along. Kai likes her back. Hell, Kai loves her.

He wanted to be mad, but he couldn’t.

When you care for someone so much, you’ll do anything to make them happy.

In this case, he’ll accept even his own misfortune for her happiness.

Namjoon was pacing back and forth on the living room. Sehun was sitting on the couch, laptop on his lap. Sera was beside him, uneasy. She was looking at her phone every once in a while.

“It’s getting worse. I honestly don’t know their motive.” Sehun mumbled.

“It must be one of the board members— that’s why they were able to get access to company files. After all, they all see Sera as a threat from day one.” Namjoon stopped, his forehead creased.

Sera bit her lip in concentration, and shook her head after. “I don’t think they’d get personal with me, though.”

“Oh, greed can make anyone step over a lot of boundaries, Sera. Trust me.”

Sehun shut his laptop close. “Will it be okay for you to be with Jongin?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She muttered. “But why are you asking?”

“He’s been receiving these anonymous notes, about, well… about his feelings for you. Apparently these people want him to fight for you.”

Sera looked at her phone again and exhaled. “These people want to cut me out of the Jeon Group.”

“It must be an investor who has interests on the Jeon Group!” Namjoon said. He hurriedly walked out of the room, dialing his secretary on the phone.

As soon as he was gone, Sehun turned to his friend. “Are you okay?”

She scoffed. “With all this—“

“You know what I mean.” He interjected, looking at her knowingly. She sighed and looked at her phone again. “No. No I’m not. I miss him and I feel bad pushing him away.”

“Sera, sometimes, pushing people away is not the solution.”

“He asked me if I knew where my heart lied, Hun. I didn’t get to tell him the answer. I didn’t get to tell him that he was wrong.”

Sehun watched Sera closely. He mused at how she grew, from being a high school student to a company director at nineteen. From straight-up cold , to someone who knew what mattered the most.

But there was no time to applaud her for that.

Jimin barged in Jungkook’s room, prying off the comforter off him. The latter grumbled in annoyance, sitting up and giving his hyung his deadliest glare.

“Oh don’t you look at me like that, you’re the one acting like a total .”

“What?” He ruffled his hair, standing up to put on a shirt. “What are you talking about, hyung? And why are you here?”

“While you’re sleeping here like a pig, your fiancé is being targeted by some unknown group.”

That got his attention. He turned around to face Jimin, who was looking at him with an annoyed expression. “I just heard from Namjoon hyung, okay? Apparently, someone hacked into the Park files and retrieved all of Sera’s documents. Then, they infiltrated their system and messed everything up, managing to get hold of the company’s trade secrets. On top of that, someone’s been stalking Sera for months now, taking pictures and obtaining personal information! I mean, why would someone do that?”

Jungkook took everything in calmly. He slowly sat on the bed and exhaled. Jimin looked at him exasperatedly and stomped his foot. “Well? Aren’t you gonna get dressed?”

“I don’t think she needs me right now. It’s best if I—“

“What the ing hell are you talking about?! If there’s one time that she needs you the most, it’s today!”

Jimin rarely cursed, and Jungkook of all people knew that. He wanted to tell him why he couldn’t go there, but Jimin looked so pissed it wasn’t a good idea. In fact, when he didn’t budge, Jimin heaved out a sigh and stormed out of the room.

Sera stepped out of the car and nodded at the staff assigned to her first project as director. They were going to examine the land where the school was about to be built.

That morning Namjoon told her not to go to work, but she firmly disapproved. She wouldn’t let some people bring down her passion to help out those in need. She would continue and she would show them who they were messing with.

“Good morning, Young Miss. I will show you around. I’m Kim Minsu.” A man bowed at her and she smiled politely. “Thank you, Minsu-sshi. I would like to know the specifics of the—“

“Young Miss, we have a problem.” Her secretary cut her off, whispering. She politely excused herself and turned to her employees who were already huddled in a small circle, their faces painted with worry.

She had a bad feeling but she shrugged it off. “What’s the matter?”

“The land, Young Miss. The previous owners are claiming that we obtained it illegally.”

Her brows furrowed. “Nonsense. We dealt with all the legal processes. They have been paid.”

“They already filed charges this morning. A suit against the company has been filed.” One employee managed to say. All of the staff looked down, dejected.

Sera closed her eyes briefly, muttering under her breath. “Which means we could not go on with the project until the suit is ongoing.”

“No I won’t just sit back while they ruin my life! They sabotaged my project!”

Mr. Park winced at the tone of his daughter. Sera realized her outburst and sat down. She searched for her father’s eyes but he was looking elsewhere. “I’m sorry, Dad. I shouldn’t have…”

“I understand. I just.. I’m just as confused and bothered as you.”

She shook her head and moved to sit beside him. “Dad.” She mumbled, touching his shoulder. Mr. Park hugged his daughter briefly and pulled away.

“I… I never should’ve asked you to give me something I wasn’t prepared for. The people are right. I’m too young to be a director.”

Mr. Park looked up and stared at her. “If there’s two things that I expected you to learn from me… one is that one should stand by the decision he makes.”

“But if the decisions are not right in the first place?”

Mr. Park smiled a little. “That brings me to the other thing. Decisions should be well-thought and given enough consideration so that they’re always right.”

“Abbeoji…”

“We will get through this, so get yourself together and be ready for what they do next. For now, go home and help Sehun and Namjoon. I believe they’re waiting for you.”

Yoongi sipped from his coffee. He enjoyed the quiet, peaceful ambiance of his favorite café. He went there every time he needed some peace; and he was proud that he kept the location of the café all to himself.

That way no one could bother him.

“Hyung.”

He looked up to see Jungkook pulling a chair in front of him. He frowned, tilting his head. “How did—“

“We all know where you go to when you want to be alone, we just don’t bother you. We know how much you value your alone time.”

“Then why are you here?” He asked, irritated. So they all know this place?

Jungkook didn’t reply. Instead, he looked outside the view and just kept his thoughts to himself. Yoongi got even more peeved. “Yah, you didn’t go here and bother me to just have your own alone time. Spill it out and let me have my peace after.”

The younger one sighed. “Sera…”

“She pushed you away, didn’t she?”

Jungkook gaped at his hyung. “How did you know?”

“It was gonna happen sooner or later.” He shrugged. Those words hit Jungkook so hard. The feeling of the world closing in on him was back, his chest tightening. “You knew she doesn’t feel anything for me?”

Yoongi looked at him to check if he was serious. When he realized that he was, he rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You honestly think she doesn’t like you, that’s why she pushed you away?”

“What else can it be?”

“Are you dense, or just purely dumb?”

Jungkook stopped short, looking at his hyung. Yoongi got an irritated expression— much like Jimin's that morning. When he realized Jungkook wasn’t going to say anything, he sighed.

“I’ve seen how you two look at each other. Each of you would sacrifice just to protect the other. That’s what she’s doing. With all the attacks on her name right now, she’s most probably trying to protect your name too. She doesn’t want you to get in the drama. But damn, no one needs to sacrifice anything. What are you two, ing martyrs?” He sighed again. After all, it wasn't often that he spoke more than three sentences.

“Kai loves her.”

The two remained silent for a few minutes. No one dared to say anything. They just stared at nothing in particular, both deep in thought. Finally, Jungkook chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. Yoongi hated the sight of it. He hated that the maknae looked like he was losing hope.

“What did she say?”

“Wha—“

“What did she say when she pushed you away?”

Jungkook bit his lip, recalling the exact words. “She told me that I wasn’t bound to anything. I was free to step away if I wanted to do.”

Yoongi pulled his hair in frustration. “You really are so ing dense.”

Jungkook’s brows furrowed in confusion. He replayed what Sera said over and over again in his head, his jaw clenched.

“I… I’m just telling you that if you want to step away, please… please do.”

He abruptly stood up, his fists balled. He looked at his hyung one more time before rushing out. As soon as he got on his car, he stepped on the gas as if he was running out of time.

If. If I want to step away. That’s exactly what she said.

Hell, I don’t want to.

I want to hold on no matter what it takes.

_______________________________________________________

go get her tiger