Warnings: strongly implied bullying, blood, cursing, mentions of homicide and contemplating suicide, strongly implied child neglect and emotional abuse

Jane had just entered high school when things started getting steadily messier and messier. Skirmishes between the Bad and the police broke out (the mainstream media refused to call them fights, for the sake of preventing Good society from becoming unnecessarily distressed), and the Becks began to consider moving to a safer part of town.

“Mom, Dad, you know that we cannot afford to move.” John was arguing with their parents. He had graduated from high school and had gone straight to work with the local law enforcement to save up to attend a university sometime in the future. “Anywhere deeper in town, and we would be over our heads in bills, even with both Dad and I working.”

“I will be graduating high school this year,” James countered. “Soon I will be contributing as well.”

“It still will not be enough,” John insisted. “We would need to pay someone to act as our agent, and then we would actually need to buy a place. Not to mention we would need to pay to advertise for who knows how long. It simply is not worth it.”

“The knowledge that my family is not in danger of being attacked in the street is worth everything to me,” their father said.

“We cannot even guarantee that someone would take this place from us, and it is not like this place is worth a lot in the first place,” John continued. “There would be no way for us to find somewhere deeper in town for such a price anyway.”

“I am off to school,” Jane said as she passed through the kitchen.

“What? Wait for me!” James exclaimed. Turning to their father and John as he rushed out the door after her, he called, “Please do not make any drastic decisions without me!”

Naturally, James did not seek Jane’s opinion on the matter. No Good gentleman would ever trouble a Good lady with issues such as that. It did not matter, since Jane had mixed feelings about moving and would not be much help anyway. Moving would mean not having to worry so much when walking to school, but it would also mean switching schools, and while some might argue that it would not be a big deal since she all she did was study and therefore had few (no) friends, this was not true. Namjoon was Jane’s friend, and she would worry about him if she left. She knew that he had Yoongi, Hoseok, and Gyeongmin to look after him, but that did not mean she would not miss him.

That afternoon, she went up to the roof to have lunch, as she usually did. It was a private place, where she and Namjoon could sit in the shade and have some peace and quiet, away from Good society. He typically got there after her, since he would often be slowed by trouble from other students, but that day, he was later than usual. Jane saw his face and was upset. “Who was it?” she asked as she moved to help him sit, offering him her cool water bottle to press against his quickly swelling and blackening eye.

“Your brother seems very frustrated these days,” Namjoon said.

Jane was not happy. “I have never wanted to hit him more than I do now,” she said. Namjoon laughed. “What?” she asked.

“If that a phrase with that sentiment had come from the mouth of anyone else I know, it would’ve sounded very different,” was all that Namjoon would say.

James had an away game for soccer, so Jane walked home alone that day. She was glad, because she did not think she could tolerate his presence, knowing that he had harmed her friend. She fumed as she went, formulating excuse after excuse to avoid him, and was just about to turn onto the street to her house when she heard shouting.

Jane froze. The shouts had to be from a skirmish. The people of Good society did not raise their voices continuously like that; it simply was not done. Slowly and quietly, she moved close the nearest building for cover. She was alone and unprotected, and she knew that not all the Bad were like Namjoon, his family, and his friends. If the police were over there fighting, it would be safest for her to stay back and out of their way.

It seemed like an eternity before the shouting ceased. When the police left the street, Jane counted four of them. Their knuckles were bloody, but they did not look hurt. One of them saw her and said, “It is alright now, little Miss. Someone will be along eventually to take him away, but you can pass without fear.”

Jane nodded her thanks before steeling herself and rounding the corner. The blood drained from her face. In the street lay a battered and beaten boy, probably a few years younger than her. His copper-colored hair was dark and matted with blood, which covered his face and stained his clothes. He was partially curled into a ball on side, as if he had tried to protect his body with his legs but had lost the strength to do so, and one of his arms hung loosely over his ribs. Jane could tell immediately that he was a Bad – the hair color was a telltale sign – and she wondered what he had been doing so far from his part of town. She cautiously approached him, wondering calmly (so calmly that she surprised herself; she supposed that it might be shock) if he was dead. Kneeling at his side, she called to him gently.

The boy’s reaction was immediate. “Please stop, please stop, I’ll go away, please, I’m sorry,” he slurred hoarsely as he tried in vain to move to protect himself. Jane could see the angry bruises on his face and his throat that showed why he could not speak well (her trips to Namjoon’s part of town had familiarized her enough with that dialect to know that what the boy had tried to say was not normal), and she could hear his short, pained gasps that signaled injured ribs. She did not know what to do. No one on her side of town would raise a finger to help the boy, she knew that for certain, and her own medical knowledge was limited to extremely basic first aid. She did not know where Namjoon was, and she was not about to waste precious time running back to school to check for him.

“Please try not to die,” Jane politely requested as she stood. The boy gave a vague, pained groan that may or may not have been a response. Taking a deep breath, she then hurried off to Namjoon’s side of town.

It was strange heading down the streets on the other side of town all alone. She soon became keenly aware of the stares she was garnering and the whispers that were exchanged. Jane realized that she was plainly in her school uniform, and that it was a sure sign that she was a Good. Suddenly, she did not feel very safe. She kept running, however, because that boy’s life most likely depended on her. An angry-looking woman tried to block her way, but Jane ducked under her arm with a quick, “Excuse me, ma’am,” and continued on toward Namjoon’s apartment. Considering the looks she was getting, she was afraid that she might not make it.

A flash of pinkish hair caught Jane’s eye, and she had never been so happy to recognize a person as she was in that moment. She rushed up to him and tugged on his sleeve. “Hoseok,” she called. “Hoseok!”

“Eh?” He turned, and Jane saw that he was with Yoongi and another boy with shorter brown hair that she did not know. “Jieun! No Namjoon today?”

“Please, Hoseok, you have to help me,” Jane gasped. “There is a boy and he ran into the police and he is very badly hurt-”

“Whoa, sister, slow down,” Hoseok said, placing a hand on her wrist in a soothing manner. “I can barely understand you.”

Jane took a deep breath. “There is a boy on- on my side of town. He is from here, though. He got in trouble with the police and he is very badly hurt. I do not have the medical knowledge to help him and I do not know what to do. I thought that Namjoon might, but I do not know where he is, so I came here to go to his apartment and then I saw you. Please, I do not know if he will be alright.”

“What’s going on? Who’s this?” the boy who Jane did not know asked.

Yoongi answered him quickly, and Jane could hardly distinguish where his words started and ended. When he finished, the boy she did not know said, “Yoongi, Hoseok, you know her so you should probably go with her. Bring the kid back to my spot and I’ll take care of him.”

“Got it,” said Yoongi. “See you in a bit, hyung.”

“Lead the way, sister,” said Hoseok to her.

Jane felt significantly better with the two older boys at her side. Somewhere along the way, Yoongi got tired of looking at her long hair and shoved his beanie onto her head, and then Hoseok draped his jacket over her shoulders. When they reached the place where she had left the boy, Jane breathed a sigh of relief. He was still where she had left him.

“Oh, ,” Yoongi muttered as he knelt next to the boy. “Hey, brother, can you hear me?” He felt his neck, checking for a pulse.

“He’s alive?” Hoseok asked. Yoongi nodded and Hoseok breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to Jane, he translated, “The kid’s hanging in there. You were smart to get help, though. He’s in really bad shape.”

“Do you think he will be alright?” Jane asked hesitantly.

“With lots of care, I think so,” Hoseok said. Then he turned to Yoongi. “Hyung, do you think we can move him?”

“We’re gonna have to,” Yoongi answered. “We’ve gotta hurry. Don’t the police usually send guys to clean up the mess?”

Hoseok’s face became tight with worry. “You’re right,” he said. To Jane, he said, “We’ll take good care of this little guy, don’t you worry. You should go home now, alright?”

Jane nodded and put Yoongi’s beanie back on his head before giving Hoseok back his jacket. “Thank you for your help,” she said.

“It’s nothing, sister,” Hoseok told her. Then he and Yoongi sat the boy up and slung his wounded arms around their shoulders before picking him up like he was sitting. When the boy struggled weakly, they spoke quietly and soothingly to him as they carried him off. Jane watched the three of them disappear around the corner before hurrying home.

When school ended the next day, Jane met Namjoon in their usual spot near the convenience store, as had been their habit for several years now. “Sister,” Namjoon greeted her (Jane had decided that she liked him calling her ‘sister’ more than ‘Miss.’), “Yoongi and Hoseok told me what you did yesterday.”

“They did?” Jane asked.

Namjoon nodded. “Of course,” he said. “They told me how you went running into our side of town in your school uniform. Yoongi made me promise to tell you that you shouldn’t be so brave that you’re stupid.”

“I apologize,” Jane said out of habit.

“Don’t apologize,” Namjoon said. “It’s just Yoongi worrying about you in his Yoongi way.”

“Is… is the boy alright? Did they tell you?” Jane asked.

“Yeah,” Namjoon said. “I can take you to see him, if you’d like.”

So off they went. Namjoon led her through the streets of his town, going a different way than usual. He brought her into an out-of-use parking garage and they went down several levels. “Your friends brought him here?” Jane asked.

“This is the best place for him,” Namjoon explained. “Yoongi’s family would never open their doors to a stranger, and while Hoseok’s definitely would, both families struggle to feed the mouths they have. My friend Seokjin, on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about a family or paying rent.”

They navigated the poorly-lit parking garage until they reached the spot where Namjoon’s friend sat changing the wounded boy’s bandages. “Namjoon! Ah, and Namjoon’s lady friend. Come to see me?”

“Of course, hyung,” Namjoon answered. After spending so much time with him, Jane could understand him when he spoke both the Good dialect and the Bad. “But we’re also here about the boy. How is he holding up? Did you get a name?”

The other boy, Seokjin, nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Jeon Jungkook, the kid said. I sent Yoongi out to see if he’s got a family or not. For such an antisocial person, the guy has a lot of contacts who know stuff.”

“Jungkook,” Namjoon told Jane. “That’s the boy’s name. Also, I know you two met yesterday, but let me introduce you. Jane, this is Kim Seokjin. Seokjin-hyung, this is my friend from school, Baek Jieun.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Jane said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Seokjin replied, and Jane could see in the dim light that he was smiling kindly.

“Will- will he be alright?” Jane asked hesitantly, trying to mimic Namjoon and Seokjin’s accent.

“I think he’ll pull through,” Seokjin answered. “He’s gonna need a lot of attention, though. He’s- how do I say this? He’s got quite a few fractured ribs, some nasty internal bleeding, a broken arm, a twisted knee, a concussion, and probably a fractured skull and shoulder blades.”

“He’s got a lot of bruises, a concussion, and quite a few broken bones,” Namjoon summarized for Jane.

“I don’t know how to set them right,” Seokjin admitted. “Someone’s gonna have to find a someone with some experience, not to mention some bandages or something to hold little Kookie here together.”

“Bandages are no problem,” Namjoon said. “I’ll have my sister grab some rags from a scrap store.”

“I can do some reading,” Jane offered, feeling bolder than usual. “You- you probably realize that I am not from this side of town. I can go to a library and do some research.”

“That would be very helpful, sister,” Seokjin said.

Namjoon sat down next to Seokjin, and Jane followed his lead. “Has the kid woken up yet?” he asked.

“A few times,” Seokjin answered. “I had him drink a little water the first time, and I got his name the second time. I tried to feed him recently, but his jaw is busted.”

“All this because he wandered too far from our side of town,” Namjoon said with a shake of his head.

“You’d better watch your back,” Seokjin warned. “Those police might forget that you’re a special student.”

“I know,” Namjoon said.

Jane was still processing Namjoon’s previous statement. “You said that the police beat Jungkook because he came into the Good side of town?”

“That’s right,” Seokjin said. “He’s not the first one it’s happened to, either. He’s just one of the few lucky ones who made it back home alive and in one piece.”

They sat in silence for a little while, watching Seokjin soothingly Jungkook’s head. Eventually, Yoongi came over to their corner with news. “So, turns out the little guy is the problem child of a Jeon family that lives a little north of here,” he reported. Jane was surprised by how much of what he said she could understand. “He’s thirteen and sort of comes and goes as he pleases, and driving his parents and older brother crazy. Apparently, they’ve got for weeks on end without seeing him. He just likes to live in the streets sometimes, I guess.”

“This time he wandered a little too far and got himself in trouble, then,” Namjoon said.

“That sounds about right,” Yoongi said as he plopped down with them. “Now, you lot owe me a nap for my work.”

Jane and Namjoon did not hang around for too long after Yoongi went to sleep, as they both had homework to do. Namjoon walked Jane back to her side of town, and then she headed to the library to look up how to help poor Jungkook. By the time she returned home, it was nearly dark and police patrolled the streets. When she entered the house, she heard her father and James talking, and her mother in the kitchen.

“Janie,” James called to her, “you should not come home so late. It is becoming more dangerous.” She forced herself not to scowl. Since she had been spending more and more time with Namjoon, who encouraged her to be expressive, she had found herself having a harder time controlling her reactions in general.

“There are police protecting us,” Jane stated. Her family knew that. John was one of them.

“Mind your brother, Jane,” her mother called. “He knows better than you.”

The little voice that had been growing louder in the back of Jane’s head muttered something about the amount of time James had spent out in the streets versus the amount of time she had, but she held her tongue and dutifully replied, “Yes, Mama.”

She spent the following weeks going to Namjoon’s side of town as soon as she was free every afternoon. With her allowance, she bought disinfectants, bandages, and healthy food for Jungkook, who slowly but surely began to recover.

“It’s because our Seokjin-hyung is such a good mother,” Hoseok told Jane one day when she commented on the wounded boy’s progress. Since she was spending so much time around him and the others, her understanding of their dialect had improved remarkably.

Jane was confused by the comparison. “But Seokjin is a boy,” she said. “How can he be a mother?”

“It’s a stupid language convention,” Yoongi said from his spot lounging in the corner. “Your Good people made up the rule that a mother is a female caretaker and a father is a male protector, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

It had been about six weeks after Jane had found Jungkook when Seokjin came back to the garage with a boy with rich brown hair. The others were on their feet a few seconds after they heard their friend approaching. “, is that blood?” Yoongi asked. “What the happened?”

“Long story,” Seokjin said. “Can someone take the gun from me?”

“Gun?!” Hoseok eyed the weapon testily as he took it. “What-? Why-?”

“I’ll tell you in a second,” Seokjin said as he leaned against the wall. “Hey, um, Taehyung, right? Can you let go of me? I need my friends to take care of this…”

Namjoon gently took the younger boy by the shoulders. “Come on,” he said soothingly as he detached him from his friend’s side. “It’s gonna be alright.”

“You’re shot!” Jane was startled by Jungkook’s sudden declaration. After weeks of him spending most of his time sleeping, she was still not used to him being conscious.

“, that is your blood,” Yoongi cursed as he forced Seokjin to sit.

“Now you’ve gotta tell us what happened,” Hoseok fussed as he grabbed some of the extra bandages and disinfectant that they had saved from treating Jungkook.

“I’m fine, I was just lightly grazed,” Seokjin grumbled as his both Yoongi and Hoseok took charge. “It was-”

“It’s all my fault!” the new boy, Taehyung, wailed. “I didn’t mean to, I swear! I’m sorry!”

Because he was crying, Jane could hardly understand him, but Namjoon rubbed his back in a calming way and asked, “Can you tell us what happened?”

“There were a bunch of people and they wanted money, but I don’t have money,” Taehyung rambled. “They were gonna shoot me, but I had gotten a gun and shot them first, so they dropped their guns and I had more, and they were all dead and- and- and I didn’t realize that I’d hit other people, and they were all dead too and it was all my fault. I screwed up again and I understood why they kicked me out, and I still had guns, so I figured that I’d killed so many people already that I might as well just kill myself too-”

Jane noticed that the other boys were looking at Taehyung strangely, and she glanced at Namjoon. “Is he alright?” she asked softly.

“Not really,” Namjoon said quietly.

“Wait, this noona’s a Good? Oh no, is she gonna turn me in? I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die! Actually, I deserve it, I killed people, but I’m scared!”

Taehyung continued talking, and Jane gave Namjoon a quizzical look. “I cannot understand him very well,” she said.

“He hears your accent and thinks you’re gonna get him in trouble,” Namjoon answered.

Hoseok nodded. “He’s also saying a lot of concerning things about himself,” he added.

The sight of the blubbering boy moved Jane with compassion, and she scooted over to his and Namjoon’s sides. “I promise that I am not frightening,” she told Taehyung. “I will not cause you trouble.”

“Wh- what did she say? I can’t understand her, what did she say?” Taehyung asked frantically, skittering back.

“Easy there, little brother,” Seokjin said from where Yoongi was patching him up. “This sister won’t hurt you.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook piped up from his makeshift hospital bed. “Noona saved me from the police. She’s awesome!” When he spoke, Jane saw Yoongi catch Namjoon’s eye and mouth something.

“Hey, now,” Namjoon said brightly. “Why don’t we leave all this depressing talk behind us? Why don’t you tell us about yourself?”

Taehyung paused. “Well, um, I’m Kim Taehyung,” he said, sniffling. “I’m- I’m not sure how old I am. I think I’m fourteen?”

“And here I was, hoping I could have someone call me ‘hyung!’” Jungkook said playfully.

“Do you live around here?” Hoseok asked him.

“I don’t think so,” Taehyung answered. As he calmed down, Jane began to be able to decipher his words. “Mom and Dad, they kicked me out. I’ve kind of just been going here and there.”

Seokjin frowned. “How long have you been alone?”

“Always,” Taehyung answered, and everyone was concerned. “Well, sort of. My younger sister and brother were there sometimes, but only sometimes. On the days when I wasn’t too freakish. But then I was a bad son and got too freakish and hard to take care of, so when money got tight, they made me leave.”

“That is awful,” Jane found herself saying.

Taehyung looked confused. “What?”

“She said, ‘That’s awful’,” Namjoon translated.

“No, I deserved it,” Taehyung said. “I’m a freak.”

“You seem pretty nice to me,” Hoseok offered.

“But I’m not,” Taehyung insisted. “I’m a thief, I’m a freak, and I’m a murderer.”

“I mean, we’ve all got our flaws,” Yoongi said.

“Bet you’re not as bad as me,” Taehyung said.

“I’m a homeless scrap scavenger,” Seokjin said. “If I’m really down on my luck, I’m a fairly successful gentleman of the night.”

“Dropout freelancer,” Yoongi told him. “Basically unemployed. Sometimes I do little favors for people.”

“I’m a high school student with no talents,” Hoseok added.

“I’m a social experiment in a Good high school,” Namjoon said. “I go to school on the other side of town and get beat up.”

“I am a Good who really does not know anything at all,” Jane said.

“I’m a part-time runaway and pickpocket with no hope in school at all!” Jungkook said cheerfully. “Since I’ve missed almost two months, I guess I’m a serial truant too, huh?”

“Okay,” Taehyung said. “But no one’s killed anyone, right?”

“Possibly,” Yoongi said. “I didn’t look back so I really can’t say.”

“I almost was killed,” Jungkook said. “Does that count?”

“The point is,” Seokjin said, “we don’t really care. It sounds like you’ve lived a hard life-”

Taehyung interrupted him. “Not really,” he said. “Eomma and Appa did their best to make me a good son. I’m just so terrible that it didn’t work.”

“Did they ever hit you?” Yoongi asked carefully.

“Ew, no,” Taehyung said. “They never touched me. No one did. Why would they ever want to risk my freakishness rub off on them?”

Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t know,” he answered evasively. “I’ve heard that some parents do that sometimes.”

“No, no, no, they’re good parents,” Taehyung said firmly. “There was always food, and I had a little room and everything.”

“Wow, they sound like they deserve a parents-of-the-year award,” Yoongi said, though his tone clearly indicated the opposite.

“Yup,” Taehyung said genuinely, much calmer now. “They put up with me for so long, they definitely should get one.”

“I was- you know what? Never mind,” Yoongi said as he finished bandaging Seokjin’s shoulder. “How’s that feel, hyung?”

“Pretty good, thanks,” Seokjin said.

“Take it easy,” Hoseok told him. “Let us help you for a while, okay?”

“Let the eldest do his job…” Seokjin protested weakly.

“Not until you’re fit for your job, hyung,” Namjoon said.

“What can I do to help?” Taehyung asked. “It’s my fault you’re hurt.”

“Hey, now, I thought we were past that,” Seokjin said. “You don’t have to do anything.”

“No, I’ve gotta do something,” Taehyung insisted.

“I’ve got an idea,” Namjoon said. “Since you’re gonna be resting, hyung, you’re gonna need an extra pair of legs to get things for you and Jungkook.”

“Yeah!” Taehyung grinned brightly and broadly, a wonderful contrast to his still-tearstained face. “I’ll get you guys food and anything you need. Please let me stay, please, please, please!”

So, Taehyung stayed. Each time Jane returned, the younger boy was always running here and there, sometimes scavenging food and sometimes selling scraps. He was quick to stop fearing Jane’s status as Good and embraced her (often literally) as his friend. He always greeted her with a happy cry of “Noona!” and showered her (and everyone) with a physical affection to which she was unaccustomed but by which she was pleasantly surprised. Both he and the fast-recovering and terribly mischievous Jungkook brought a delightful youthful energy to the group of friends, and Jane sometimes wondered how she and Namjoon’s friends had ever gotten along without them.

I’m back from an amazing two-and-a-half months in Taiwan! I saw my first K-pop concert and enjoyed being basically on the same time zone as my favorite idols. But now it’s back to the grind…

I’m still looking for pairing suggestions! I’m Suga-biased, so I’m leaning towards him as Jane’s romantic partner, but I’m open to polyamory, as well as the boys pairing off with each other. Leave me your thoughts in the comments!