After the meet with the doctor, the boys continued to search for answers—more specifically, read the journal. Jimin decided to play storyteller for now and was given the book by Jin. He took the book in his hands and turned to the next entry: February 1, 2014.

"I've been really focusing on myself lately. I'm not being self-centered or a narcissist. I've just been trying to make some self-improvements. Firstly, I have been working on a project in my art class. I have two art classes: drawing and painting. My parents have seen my drawings before, so I want to surprise them by creating a painting for them to put in the house.

But I just started it and it's almost the end of the year. I wish I could have started it earlier, but I was assigned several projects before. The only way for me to paint what I wanted was if I finished the projects early. I only have a month—not even a month—to finish it. I just hope it's great.

I have a lot of extra time to write since we've finished promoting and practicing. The only thing we've been rehearsing for is for live performances. But even so, we don't practice as much as before. It's like a little hiatus. But only for a while. Bang-nim told us that we would be practicing much more once I'm out of school for the year.

Anyway, my painting is the cityscape I see from our dorms. We aren't in a skyscraper or anything special like that. We're actually kind of low in the city. I captured a specific moment with my phone. I took a picture and printed it out. During class, one of my art teachers, Mr. Im, gave me a medium sized canvas to begin my project. I went to my other art teacher, Mrs. Yeon, for advice on my outline. Mr. Im and Mrs. Yeon are both very supportive. They're quite understanding. 

My outline was finished a few days ago and I've started painting. I'm using acrylic paint. Nothing fancy or expensive. My parents also like things that are simple too. I figured this would be perfect. I started by painting the buildings that bordered the edges of my painting. Mr. Im is my painting instructor and suggested that I utilized impasto painting style—the deliberate application of paint to emphasize texture. The building was brick. I tried it and it really did work like a charm. But I'm afraid that it is quite time-consuming. Because nearly all the buildings are brick in my photo, I haven't made much progress.

But you can't rush art. I've been taking as much time as needed to finish this masterpiece. Not only have I been relieving stress, but I've also been discovering new methods of painting. Impasto painting was one thing, but I've also been using razor blades to help clean up the edges, etc. 

Besides my latest art project, I've really been working on my appearance. Because of the new album and promotions, I've been working out more and trying to build more muscle. There are so many new A.R.M.Y.'s now; I don't want to disappoint. I've dropped 7 kilograms since Jimin's birthday without trying much at all! I was actually really happy to see that; I'm not really sure why. It's probably because I wasn't only losing weight, but I was also building muscle.

Also, before I forget, I got a letter from my brother. I didn't think he would be able to do that in the army because he would be so busy," Jimin read.

His eyes looked down and saw a taped piece of wrinkled notebook paper. It had a few brown spots scattered on it and a tear along the side of it from where it was torn out of a notebook. His hands reached for the paper and delicately removed it from the journal. s watched him unravel the paper. Jimin cleared his throat and skimmed the first few lines of it before beginning to narrate the letter.

"Jungkook-ah,
I hope you're doing well. The last time we spoke, you mentioned how busy you were preparing for your upcoming album and comeback. By now I'm sure at least one song has been released. I'm sure it's great! I can't wait to hear it when I'm able to visit.

I know you're probably still upset with me because of my—probably rash and sudden—decision to join the army as an occupation, but I hope you can forgive me. I'm not mad at you; I know I would feel the same way if I were you. Within the past five years, we've only seen each other once since you left for training and it that wasn't long ago.

I can't go much into the training process in the army. But it's basically everything you would think it would be. It's quite strenuous, but yet again, so is idol training! I know how hard it is for you to go away and do that. I'm so proud of you, though. You're finally reaching your dreams," Jimin read.

He folded the paper back up and then returned his attention to the journal.

"Omo!" Jimin suddenly gasped.
"What's wrong?" Jin asked.
"Nothing's wrong. There's a number written on the page where the letter was taped. It looks like a phone number."
"Whose number do you think it is?"
"Probably his brother," Rap Monster replied. "That's the only person I could think of."

Jin grabbed the journal out of Jimin's hands and examined it himself. Then, he passed it to Rap Monster who immediately pulled out his phone. He began to quickly dial the number and then held the phone up to his ear. He maintained a stern poker face as he remained silent for a long time. The Bangtan Boys stared at him until he said or did something, which felt like an eternity. The heart monitor must've beeped at least a million times before he moved. The boys passed the journal and letter around the room so each of them could examine it while Namjoon steadily held the phone to his face, careful not to break it out of nervousness. The shuffling of feet and muffled words from outside Jungkook's room continued to sound in their utter silence.

And all the sudden, Rap Monster ended the call and sighed in evident disappointment.

"What happened?" J-Hope asked as he passed the book to another member.
"The number was disconnected a long time ago and it's not in use," Rap Monster replied. "No one has that number right now."
"Maybe...it wasn't a phone number?" V suggested.
"No, it was definitely a phone number," Suga said. "It says on the next page that he tried to call his brother. This number belongs to his brother—for sure."
"Alright, so the real question is: where is his brother?" Jin said as he suddenly grew even more engrossed in this complex mystery. "And why wouldn't his older brother be here? Or ever visit Jungkook more than once? It seems reasonable to release a soldier to return home to visit a sick sibling unless they were deployed."
"Then maybe he is deployed," Jimin proposed.
"No...I don't think so."
"Why?" J-Hope looked at Jin.

Jin became silent for a few short moments. His eyes remained focused on the fragile

"I just have a feeling that he isn't," Jin said.
"We can't base everything off of 'feelings'. This is more than abstract objects; this is concrete," Suga said.
"Not necessarily, hyung," Rap Monster disagreed. "Didn't the doctor say that Jungkook has a history with...dysthymia?"
"Oh yeah, he did," V said. "What is that, by the way?"
"It's a form of depression, right?" Jimin asked.

Namjoon took a moment to summarize his answer and make it easy to understand.

"It's kind of like depression. I guess you could say that it's not as...intense—if that's the right word. It is a form of depression," Rap Monster replied.
"That's what I thought. I have a neighbor back in Busan that has dysthymia," Jimin said. "I didn't know exactly what it was."
"But why did you ask, Namjoon?" Jin asked. "What are you onto?"
"Well, from my understanding, dysthymia and suicide are kind of linked together. I'm sure if we find the cause of Jungkook's dysthymia, then we'll find the source of his suicide."
"Good point," J-Hope said. "So our next missions are to figure out where Jungkook's brother is and to find the source of Jungkook's dysthymia?"
"Basically," V confirmed. "Now, can I finish the rest of the entry?"
"That's right. We didn't finish it yet. Sure you can finish it," Suga said. "You don't mind, right, Jimin?"

Jimin reluctantly nodded as V received the journal. V was eager to continue reading February 1st's entry. He cleared his throat and began to read.

"I tried to call him on the day I got the letter, but I couldn't reach him. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I'm glad to have received the letter. My brother and I have always been pretty good friends. Of course, we have those occasional fights, but overall, we have each other's backs.

But for my future reference, I'll explain why my brother is joining the army, even though he doesn't have to right now. It's mandatory at some point in all men's lives, but my brother wanted to join the military as his life-long occupation, which is why I hold a lot of respect for my brother. He wants to defend our country from any impending danger, which is very brave of him.

It's not like he's an idiot either. He's actually quite smart. Maybe even as smart as Namjoon-hyung. My brother studied in America for a semester before going off to a university there, which is quite similar to Rap-hyung's past; he studied in New Zealand. We rarely saw each other because of that.

And school...I don't really want to talk about that. The school dance is coming up and after remembering that Miso-noona is dating Isaac makes me not want to go. The company is fully aware of the dance and when I told them I wasn't interested, they didn't suspect a thing.

I think I really am in love or something. Because I can't stop thinking about Miso-noona sometimes. And I really miss her.

Why?" V finished the entry.

Silence constantly flooded their conversation like high tide at beaches, like in Busan. It kept coming at a constant and predictable time each time they read an entry. And every time they read an entry, it felt like a day passed. The entries went into such detail that the Bangtan Boys felt like they could see everything that was happening; feel everything that was happening; and lived everything that was happening.

"I think we should take a small break," Jin suggested.
"Sounds good," Suga agreed.

And there was no buzzing noise to interrupt them.