"I still think he lied about being sick in that one memory," Yunji told them.
"Why?" J-Hope asked.
"Because—"
"No. He was really sick," Jin interrupted.

Yunji turned to him, as did the rest of the members. No one could recall what happened after their concert in Vietnam or what they did beside perform and meet fans.

"Jungkook and I decided to go out in the market and buy some food. He bought some food for later and, I guess, ate it after he landed in Busan on our break. When he and Jimin came back to the dorms, he told me he just had the food from Vietnam a day before he left Busan. To me, it was obvious that the food wouldn't be good anymore by the time he ate it. Not only that, but there was a stomach flu virus circulating through Seoul and at the airports. I figured it was food poisoning mixed with the stomach flu," Jin explained. "I took care of him until he got a little better, but he really couldn't keep any food down, so he wasn't eating then."
"Alright, so I guess he was legitimately sick then," Yunji sighed.
"So—" Suga started.
"Sorry to interrupt, oppa, but I think we should discuss this when I'm out of school. I only have one more hour."
"Why don't you just leave now? You have a valid reason why."
"But no one is here to pick me up."
"We're here."

BTS smiled at her and she shyly smiled and blushed. Her facial expression and timid body language reminded them all of Jungkook. When he was first introduced to Bangtan, he was very shy and somewhat reserved. He didn't talk much to his hyungs, which was normal for a maknae, but his voice and skills were very impressive. V, at least, thought so when he first met Jungkook.

Similar to one of Jungkook's journal entries, the BTS members all secretly envied him. V admired Jungkook's persistence and hard work at vocal lessons and dance practices. Jimin, for obvious reasons, was jealous of Jungkook's height and natural talent. Rap Monster wished he could dance like Jungkook and sing like him. J-Hope loved Jungkook's voice. He was secretly listening to one of Jungkook's vocal training classes. Suga simply adored Jungkook. He liked everything about Jungkook, especially how he handled idol training and high school. In a way, he thought Jungkook was cute, which led to him calling the maknae "Jeon Jungkookie". Jin liked Jungkook's voice, dancing skills, and his rapping skills as well as the general nickname "Golden Maknae" that Rap Monster made. Jungkook kind of reminded him of himself when he was a teenager, which causes him to be so mother-like to him.

****

Before they knew it, they had walked outside of SOPA and Yunji was with them and they were on their way to the hospital to see Jungkook. Yunji was worried to see her cousin. She didn't know what to expect. Was he physically hurt? Were there bruises all over his body? Or was it all internal? Or mental?

As they walked along the streets, BTS and Yunji passed several newspaper stands and people began to notice who they were, despite being in disguise. Yunji tried to take a glance at one of her favorite magazine brands, but suddenly felt a huge force swing her back and drag her further and further away. Then, she noticed that her feet were lifted in the air and that she was being carried by someone while being chased by a mob of paparazzi and news reporters.

"Run!" Jin yelled.

Yunji began to feel strange. And it wasn't from the constant motion caused by being slightly lifted and dropped blended with her moderate vertigo—as the person carrying her was sprinting for their lives. Something that she hasn't felt in a long time since she received a phone call a good year ago. Fear. She glanced up at the man who held her, Jimin, but he didn't look down. His priority, as well as the rest of Bangtan, was to escape the paparazzi.

"Jimin!" Yoongi shouted from beside them.
"Take her to the hospital. We'll try to distract!" Jin said.
"Got it!" Jimin said back.
"V, go with them," Rap Monster added.

At the next corner, BTS split up. Jimin and V were the fastest runners out of the six Bangtan Boys there, so it was best for them to take Yunji to protect her from the commotion of the paparazzi. There was no reason for all of the Bantan Boys to take Yunji to Jungkook if it was unnecessary, so by all means, they had to make sure V and Jimin made it.

Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok all stopped and let the crowd of people "eat" them. They couldn't avoid the press—they never could. They simply wished people understood they were only people too. But it was about time they satisfy the paparazzi's voracious appetite for information and to simply get it over with.

"Suga! Suga-sshi!" one reporter tried to get his attention through the swarm of blinding camera flashes. "Did you know about Jungkook-ah's suicide attempt before he did it? Why didn't you stop him?"
"Why did we do this? This is insane!" Suga looked at Jin and spoke in his satoori.
"Well, we can't run away from our fate," Jin responded.
"Rap Monster, you're the hyung Jungkook would always go to if he needed you? Why didn't you help Jungkookie?" another reporter asked.
"We didn't know Jungkook had so many problems. He's very good at hiding things," Rap Monster replied.
"But how didn't you notice?"
"This isn't something you can see, this is mental! Physical and mental illnesses are extremely different!" Rap Monster shouted back.
"J-Hope! Who was that mysterious girl? Where is Jimin and V?" a third reporter yelled over the raucous commotion.
"Yeah...good question," J-Hope silently murmured, "where are they?"

****

"Okay!" Jimin panted as Yunji was carefully released from his tight hold. "We're safe."
"Now, to Kookie's room," V said.

V and Yunji began to quickly walk past the hospital lobby to the elevator, with Jimin slightly lagging behind. They all caught a vacant elevator and entered to further separate themselves from the outside world. And once they exited the elevator, they stepped into the hallway and began to make the final steps to Kookie's room.

Without hesitation, Yunji entered the room. And it seemed as if she had been here before. She seemed so numb. He doesn't look as bad as I expected..., she thought to herself as she slowly approached him. She touched his hand.

"He's freezing," she simply said.

She stared at his pale, hollowed out face, and his lips. He was so fragile. Life support, bluish-tinted skin, not to mention that he looked like a skeleton. Suddenly, the door opened and slammed shut. A loud noise sounded as the door opened and closed. The remaining Bangtan Boys entered the room and closed the door. Rap Monster locked the door as J-Hope and Jin closed the blinds on the couple windows looking into the room. The people were loud outside, but they couldn't see into the room. So it was somewhat peaceful.

"Well, it looks like we'll be staying here a while," V said.
"Yeah...," Jin nodded.
"No dip, Sherlock," Suga sarcastically muttered.

Yunji sees the bag of items on a table in the corner. She walked over and began to open it, without even asking.

"Those are a few things I found at the tower he jumped off of. I'm not exactly sure how they're relevant to why he did it, though," Jin said.

Yunji reached in and pulled out one object. An empty bottle of pills.

"What's that?" J-Hope asked as everyone gathered around Yunji.
"His antidepressants," Yunji replied. "He had them refilled a month before. Who knows how much he overdosed on?"
"It must not have been that much because they were able to get it out of his system after they found him," Suga thought out loud.

Yunji sighed and reached in again. This time, her hand withdrew a stack of three letters, clipped together. She then realized what they were and she dropped them on the table. Involuntarily, she let out a little gasp and choked on a sob as memories played back in her head.

"What's wrong?" Jimin asked Yunji. "What's in those letters?"
"Have you all read to November 23, 2014?" she asked back.
"No. We haven't," Jin told her. "What happened?"
"You guys know about Jeon Junghyun? Jungkook's older brother who joined the military in 2014?"
"Yes?"
"There was some...crazy accident at one of the bases...some weapon malfunction. Junghyun-oppa was too close to the explosion when it occurred. He and a few others were killed while others were merely injured."
"What?" Jin gasped.
"Are you serious?" J-Hope worriedly asked.

Yunji nodded her head. She reached down and grabbed one of the letters. Its paper was thick, a beige kind of color, and was covered with a stamp.

"Family of Jeon Junghyun,
It is our utmost regret to announce the death of Jeon Junghyun. On November 14, 2014, there was a small explosion at one of our bases. Jeon Junghyun, as well as a few others, were in the room when the explosion occurred. Our medical team did their best to try and save Mr. Jeon, however, we were unsuccessful.

We are deeply sorry for your loss and," Yunji read before she gave up and dropped it on the table.

Tears filled her red eyes as she tried to consolidate her emotions. She took a deep breath and wiped away the few tears that had escaped her eyes.

"Um...of course our family received some money to make up for our loss but...nothing can bring back a person, obviously," Yunji said. "I barely knew Junghyun-oppa, but...it still hurt so much when we all found out. And I regret not taking the time to know him. I still can't fathom how Jungkook-oppa and his parents felt."
"So, did this lead to a down spiral of some sort?" Suga asked.
"I don't know...maybe?"

The room remained deathly silent. And it stayed that way for a while. Only a short while...