Resumed story: 22nd June, 2017

Seokjin could hear the shuffling of feet and the endless chatter of the two youngest members of their group from the breakfast table. He finished the last of his coffee just as his phone beeped, indicating a new message. It was from his classmate, telling him that his attendance would be taken care of for the day. Jin sent a reply back thanking him and pocketed his phone.

In the process, his hand brushed against a certain object he had placed in his pocket of his jacket unmindfully, the night before. He pulled it out and saw it was Ye Seul’s identity card that he had salvaged from her bag.

“Kang Ye Seul.” Jin muttered, his eyes brushing over her name on to the photo. She looked pretty much like he had seen her look like yesterday in her school attire. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face was devoid of make-up. The image from day before flashed in Jin’s head, the day he had seen her for the first time, when she had glared at him with her dark eyeliner lined eyes.

Jin admitted, at first glance he had had to hold his breath. He had had to stop himself from openly gaping at her as the light shone down on her face, highlighting her sharp features. Jin had admitted to himself that she was a fantastic dancer when he had watched her dance.

But her becoming a member of their group in the blink of an eye was something he was still not ready to accept. Jin knew there were a lot of girls involved in the underground hip-hop scenario, and if he was completely honest with himself, Jin hated the idea of them being involved. But they were none of his business.

However, Ye Seul was a completely different case altogether. Hoseok had made her a member of Bangtan out of the blue, and she was in it deeper than she realised. Her being ignorant of the functioning of this hidden society only made her more vulnerable to incidents like yesterday and Jin hated feeling responsible for someone like that. It was a burden he was not willing to carry, but had no choice but to carry it.

Had Hoseok introduced Ye Seul to them at any other place, under vividly different conditions, Jin probably would have taken a liking to her. Jin would have flirted with her and played her, like he did with any other girl. After a few heartbreaks, she would have gotten over him. And that would have been the end of their story.

But now, they were entangled in a situation neither of them could escape. And it was all Ye Seul’s fault.

 And Jin hated Ye Seul for that.

“Jin hyung! Let’s go!”

Jin looked up from the identity card that he had been staring at for the past fifteen minutes and nodded at Taehyung.

“I’ll be right out.” Jin said, “Get in the car.”

He pocketed the card and stood up. With a sigh, he followed Taehyung out of his apartment, locking the door behind him.

“Jimin’s not coming, right?” Jin asked, looking around at s.

“Nah, Jimin can’t skip school.” Taehyung shook his head, “His parents will flip if they find out.”

Jin nodded again, getting behind the wheel of his car. Taehyung and Jungkook followed him into his car.

“Hoseok hyung said he’ll pick Yoongi hyung and Namjoon hyung up from the restaurant and reach the hospital directly.” Jungkook informed Jin from the back seat.

“Alright.” Jin said, starting the car and pulling out of the parking.

“We won’t run into her parents, will we?” Jungkook asked nervously.

“Hyo did say they left an hour ago.” Jin said, concentrating on the road, “They must be busy people too.”

“And Hyo needs a break. She needs to go home and wash up and stuff.” Taehyung added, “Hyo thought she could leave yesterday after her parents turned up. But they just assigned a nurse to take care of through the night and left after an hour or so. Hyo didn’t want to leave her alone because Ye Seul was already freaked out about the whole situation. So, Hyo stayed the night at the hospital. They only came to visit again in the morning before leaving for work.”

“Really?” the corners of Jin’s mouth drooped in an objecting frown, “What sort of parents are they?”

Taehyung just shrugged and turned away to stare out of the window. The frown remained on Jin’s face till they reached the hospital.

“Oh, they’re already here!” Jungkook pointed at Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok waiting for them outside the hospital.  

“Hyung!” Hoseok came running up to Jin, “How you feeling?”

“As usual, why d’you ask?” Jin shrugged, walking past him. Hoseok’s face twitched into a small frown, before he rearranged his expression and followed Jin into the hospital, the rest of the boys tailing after them. The younger boys waited a little distance away as Jin and Yoongi enquired at the reception about Ye Seul. They noticed the receptionist shoot their little gang a suspicious look, but Jin’s easy charm won her over eventually.

“Did Hyo leave already?” Jin asked Yoongi as they thanked the receptionist and started in the direction of Ye Seul’s room.

“I dunno.” Yoongi shrugged, “We just reached before you guys turned up.”

Jin nodded as he slid open the door of Ye Seul’s room. Yoongi walked right into him and bumped his nose on Jin’s broad back, as Jin stopped abruptly at the entrance.

“What happened?” Yoongi groaned, rubbing his nose.

“She’s not here.” Hoseok said in a grim voice, eyes narrowing as he glanced over Jin’s shoulder, “She’s not in the room. Where is she?”

“Maybe we should ask at the reception again.” Yoongi suggested with a frown.

“They would’ve told us if they knew.” Namjoon shook his head, “Perhaps she went for a walk or something? To stretch her legs?”

“There she is!” Jungkook suddenly said, making all the boys turn to the direction in which Jungkook was pointing. All of them visibly relaxed as they saw Ye Seul walking back towards her room with a bottle of water in her hand. It wasn’t like anything would have happened to her in the hospital, but recent events had made the boys rather wary.

Ye Seul stopped in her tracks, pupils blown wide, as she took in the sight of the seven boys, their gazes fixed on her.

“Oh, hello.” She said, apprehensively, approaching them, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“How are you?” Hoseok asked, concerned.

“I’m…alright now, I guess.” Ye Seul shrugged, “Shaken up…a bit.”

She looked around at them awkwardly as none of them said a word.

“Erm…Hyo told me what happened…and um…thank you.” She muttered in a small voice finally, not meeting any of their eyes. She couldn’t exactly un-see the bruise on Hoseok’s cheek and the blackening of Jin’s knuckles and it made her feel extremely guilty.

“And I’m sorry too, I guess.” She added, sounding rather miserable, “Look, I just wanted to go out and dance and have fun for one night. I’ve been to loads of clubs with my friends back in Seoul and we’ve never landed up in something like this. Ever.”

Ye Seul stopped to gauge everybody’s reaction to hr words. Hoseok was frowning slightly, but had an understanding expression on his face. Taehyung and Jungkook just smiled at her kindly. They were that rebellious age too where they could afford to understand her. Yoongi, Namjoon and Jin however sported frightfully blank faces that made Ye Seul rather anxious.

Drawing her eyes away from their expressionless faces, Ye Seul asked, “Jimin didn’t come with you guys?”

“He might drop in in the evening.” Taehyung answered her, “He can’t skip school, in case his parents find out.”

“Oh. Right.” Ye Seul nodded, letting them slip into the dreaded awkward silence again.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Hoseok asked, after a while.

“Yes, a while before you guys came.” Ye Seul nodded, and added, “Hyo left right after breakfast. She said she’ll be back during lunch.”

“Right.” Hoseok nodded, frowning at the other boys for being so unhelpful when it came to making conversation.

“I was wondering,” Jin said suddenly, startling everyone, “if there’s any need for us to be standing like this in the middle of the corridor.”

“Yeah, gosh, sorry,” Ye Seul stuttered, “Let’s just go to my room.”

Shuffling forward slowly, and avoiding Jin’s gaze, Ye Seul walked into her room with the boys in tow. She sat herself down on the bed while the boys made themselves comfortable on the couch and chairs. Except for one person.

Ye Seul was startled to find Jin standing right next to her bed, holding out an object.

“Oh! My identity card!” she exclaimed, taking it from Jin’s hand.

“I’m assuming you didn’t miss it.” Jin said, looking away and settling down on the chair next to the bed, “We needed your parents’ number to contact them after the incident.”

“Thank you.” Ye Seul muttered in a low voice, staring down at her hands.

“And I’m sorry.”

“Excuse me?” Ye Seul squeaked out, not daring to believe her ears. She looked up to see the rest of the boys mirroring her astounded expression.

Jin looked visibly uncomfortable, a distinct pink hue spreading over his ears and neck.

“I-I’m sorry.” Jin muttered, “I realised I was a little too rude to you.”

“Huh.” Ye Seul gaped at him, stupidly.

Jin frowned and looked at her, “I’m trying to be civil and apologise here. Can you please be a little more receptive?”

“Huh!?” Ye Seul spluttered, “You cannot just be cold