Jimin’s face was pale. “Ji-jiyeong. Are you a girl?”

Jiyeong opened . Nothing came out. She closed abruptly and nodded. A pang shot through her heart. So the day had finally come.

Jungkook grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him, as to protect her from whatever would happen next. Jimin furrowed his brow at his action. “You knew?” His tone was full of shock, disbelief, and, most importantly, betrayal.

Jiyeong hung her head. “I’m sorry.” Her whisper seemed to carry all the way to the hallway, from where Jin stepped out of that very second. The elder boy froze at the tension-filled situation.

“Sorry about what?” Jin voiced out.

“Hyung, Jiyeong’s a… she’s a…” Jimin seemed to be struggling to acknowledge the fact aloud.

“She?” Jin’s eyes widened when he realized what Jimin had found out.

“A girl.” Suga appeared behind Jin, making them jump and whirl around. The red-haired boy was crossing his arms and leaning against the wall in a nonchalant way. “How did it take you guys so long to find out? Isn’t it obvious?”

Jimin’s jaw dropped open. “Who else knew?” he demanded after finding his voice.

“What’s with the fuss?” Taehyung entered the living room. He had a towel over his shoulders and wet hair as if he just exited the shower. He went to stand next to Jin and surveyed the situation with wide, innocent eyes.

“Jiyeong’s a girl!” Jimin seemed to be nearing hysteria.

Taehyung’s mouth formed an ‘O.’ “Oh dear,” he muttered.

Jimin gaped at his lack of surprise. “What? Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

“I’m sorry!” Jiyeong burst out. Tears were pooling in her eyes. “I just wanted to attend Taejong Boys’ High and find my brother…”

“I invited her into the House of Secrets,” Jungkook stated firmly. “It’s not her fault. She was just looking for her brother.”

“What?” Jin now knew the truth of why Jiyeong was here.

Jiyeong explained her situation to them in short, broken sentences. Her distress was evident in her expression and voice. By the time she was finished, Jimin had somewhat calmed down.

“But you should’ve just told us. You didn’t need to try to deceive us,” Jin stated. Jiyeong flinched when he said the word ‘deceive.’

“Then we wouldn’t have helped her. It was too much already to ask for an invite to the House of Secrets; if we knew she was a girl from the start, wouldn’t we have refused her?” Taehyung voiced out.

“It doesn’t make lying to us right,” Jimin argued.

“I’m really sorry.” Jiyeong bowed to everyone in the room. “I really am. I just…” The tears were beginning to leak from her eyes.

“…really wanted to find your brother,” Jin finished. He let out a heavy sigh. “I understand.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just wish you told us that earlier.”

“I thought we were friends!” Jimin cried out.

Taehyung grabbed his shoulders. “We all are! When we came into the House, we were all living our separate lives despite living under the same roof! Jiyeong broke the barriers between us and cheered us up all the time! Am I wrong?”

Jimin felt a pang of conflict inside of him. “It’s true.” His voice sounded hollow. “But… I completely trusted Jiyeong.” Jiyeong bit her lip to prevent a sob from escaping.

“She’s already full of guilt,” Jin said, gently. “Let’s give it some time.”

“Could you move?” An irritated voice came from behind Jiyeong. Hoseok had managed to enter the House while everyone was preoccupied with the situation. Jungkook quickly pulled Jiyeong to the side.

“Hoseok Hyung!” Jimin cried out. “Did you know that Jiyeong was a girl, too?”

Hoseok turned into a statue. His eyes rounded and he turned pale. Everyone became silent; they had never seen him be so affected. Hoseok turned his head to face the girl, who refused to look up into his eyes. If she had, she would’ve seen pools of shock and anger.

All the pieces had finally been put together in Hoseok’s mind. The girl at the party and Taehyung. The earring he found in the hallway. How Jiyeong seemed too sensitive and emotional. Numerous emotions swarmed around inside of him, half of them he couldn’t label.

Without another word, he marched into the living room and headed straight to the hallway. No one moved until they heard the door to his room bang shut. Jiyeong winced. Jungkook pulled her into his arms to comfort her.

“He’s really mad,” Jimin mumbled, breaking the silence.

“Way to say the obvious,” Suga commented. All eyes turned to him. They had almost forgotten that he was there.

“Okay,” Jimin snapped. He glanced around to check who was in the room. “Who’s going to tell Namjoon Hyung when he comes back from the store?”

“You two can’t possibly share the same room!” Jimin argued. All the residents of the House of Secrets, save Hoseok and Namjoon, were having a Gathering in the living room. The topic had to do with, of course, Jiyeong's uncovered identity.

“But we’ve been sharing my room since she got here!” Jungkook shot back.

“Well, now it’s different since we know the truth!” Just then, Jimin’s face turned a sickly green. “Wait… are you two dating?”

Taehyung stiffened. Jin just rolled his eyes at the heated argument the younger boys were starting.

“No!” Jiyeong burst out. “We’re best friends! Ever since we were little!” Jimin and Taehyung visibly relaxed.

“I’ll share your room with you and Jiyeong can have my room,” Jimin suggested, somewhat forcefully.

“No!” It was Jungkook’s turn to shout out. “Just leave things be! I don’t want to share a room with you!”

“Do you really think that’s why I said that? The feeling is mutual, kid! It’s just that Jiyeong shouldn’t be sleeping with a boy!”

“Umm…” Jiyeong interrupted. “Can you two not talk about me like I’m not here?”

“You two have to chill.” Everyone in the living room jumped when they heard the familiar voice from the door. Namjoon was kicking his shoes off while holding plastic grocery bags in both hands. “What are you guys fighting about anyway?”

Hello!! Here is the latest update! ;)

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