More days passed and slowly, Hoseok had given up on trying to stop the pain. He accepted that he was dead, that this was his punishment, to watch them suffer. He really couldn’t do anything about. Following Jimin once more, he watched him repeat the action and fill the bath full of cold water. Jungkook wasn’t home this time to stop him. When the bath overflowed, the young boy stepped into the water and sunk down under the surface, not even bothering to turn off the faucet.

Though it would make no difference, Hoseok still tried to stop him. A useless act, he knew, but he had to try. Standing in the water with him, he tried to pull the boy up, but it was useless. Under the water, the small Maknae opened his sad eyes, looking up at J-Hope. He watched the boy’s eyes widened and suddenly, Jimin sat up, coughing up the water. “H-hyung?” he asked, but he couldn’t see the older sitting next to him. Had he really seen his hyung above him from under the water, screaming at him to stop? Hoseok placed a hand on Jimin’s shoulder and the boy shivered. Had he been so close to death that he saw his ghost?

Stepping out of the water, Jimin slid down the side to sit up against the tub. “You’ve been watching, haven’t you?” Hoseok nodded, though it was pointless. Once again, the boy couldn’t see him. Even so, the boy nodded and stood. He left the bathroom and changed quickly. Then, without a word to anyone, he left, ignoring the rain that fell onto his already wet hair. Shivering again, he made his way down the road like he had walked it every day of his life.

Eventually, he made it to the cemetery and then to Hoseok’s grave. The funeral was small and the location a secret, but every day since, he had visited the grave. Sitting next to the stone, he leant back and stared at the sky. “I’m sorry” he murmured, somehow knowing that J-Hope had followed him. “It just hurt so much.” Once more, Hoseok placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, but this time, it fell through. “When you left, I didn’t want to believe it. But you know what? I know why now. Because… Because the way you moved, the passion in your steps. I loved it. And I… I think that…” Sitting next to the boy, Hoseok silently waiting for him to continue.

“Hyung… I think I really loved you…” He may have been dead, but the pain Hoseok felt at those words hurt more than anything. He wanted to reach out and comfort the boy, but he could do nothing for him. Sighing, the boy closed his eyes, unaware that another was watching. Out of the corner of his eye, J-Hope watched Jungkook run off.

Standing, he made to follow, though Jimin remained by the grave. Pausing, he decided that the boy was fine. He needed to follow Kookie. Running after the boy wasn’t easy, not when he had a head start, but when he finally caught up, the kid was running his arms over his face, trying to stop the tears from falling. As Jungkook finally slowed from a run to a walk, Hoseok tried talking to the boy. He had communicated with Jimin, somehow, perhaps he could try with the boy. But of course, his attempts were futile.

Still walking, it didn’t take long for the Maknae to calm and after a while he began to look around, as if looking for something in particular. When the boy’s eyes landed on a couple of men ahead, his pace picked up. “Kookie? What are you doing?” Hoseok asked. Again, he wasn’t heard. As the boy neared, he was the first to throw a punch. The hit missed and the man’s friend threw his own. Hoseok could only watch.

Looking past the fight, the ghost noticed a familiar figure, though it seemed he didn’t recognise the boy on the ground. Calling out, he tried to grab the attention of the boy, but it didn’t work. Turning another corner, Namjoon paused. Had he heard his name then or was he hallucinating? He hadn’t eaten for a while, so it was possible and the voice… It had sounded like J-Hope, so it couldn’t have been real. But, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he needed to go back. Shaking his head, he returned to the scene to find Jungkook on the ground, the other two kicking at the young boy.

With a scowl, Namjoon ran over, throwing a punch at the taller one and trying to kick away the other. He did his best to fight and eventually, he had managed to scare them off. Wiping the blood from his lip, he turned back to Jungkook, who remained on the ground. Kneeling next to the boy, he gently lifted him and sat him in his lap. “What happened?” No answer. “Kookie, please.”

“Why did this happen?” was all the boy said before he began to cry.

“Things happen,” Namjoon murmured, trying to sooth the boy. “And people react in different ways.”

Jungkook looked up at him. “Yeah, you left us.” The older flinched. “You left us and we fell apart. Jin, he doesn’t do anything. He stares at a wall all day! Yoongi… He’s so scary and Jimin even tried to drown himself” He pulled away from the older. “how could you leave us?”

“Koo-“

“No!” Jungkook stood despite the pain in his leg. “You left us!” At that, he turned and ran and Namjoon watched.

“I’m sorry,” the boy whispered, pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. “I didn’t know what to do…” Hoseok remained by his side, wanting to comfort him. “He wasn’t there to help."