CHAPTER 12: UNRAVEL

SAVE ME

Jin Ri and I were in the middle of talking when a furious knock came into my door. My mom was shouting outside and I frantically opened the door. Her face looked pale and tears were starting to form on her eyes. 

“He’s dead.” 

My lips trembled as I looked back at Jin Ri who’s still sitting at my bed. She was wiping her tears away—she’s been crying a lot since she started talking to me about Jimin. My chest heaves as my eyes went back and forth to mom and Jin Ri. I stepped out of my room and closed the door behind, and as the door closed my eyes did too. A tear brimmed out as I let out a shaky breath. 

Mom wrapped her arms around me as silent sobs escaped my mouth. More tears ran down my cheeks as Jin Ri’s voice echoed in my head. “So here’s what you need to know about Park Jimin.”

“How…” I asked mom as my tears continuously ran down. I wrapped my arms around mom’s waist as I buried my face deeper in her chest. 

“So here’s what you need to know about Park Jimin.”

Flashback

It’s only a few days since classes started. We’re on our junior year this year—then next year we’d be on our senior year—after that the boy’s and I will be auditioning for Big Hit Entertainment and we’d try to be idols. By the time we turn 24 and none of us had debuted yet, we’d all quit trying to be idols and put up a business instead. We’d probably have a restaurant like the ones Jungkook’s family have. 

“If we’re planning to become an idol—then we should think of our screenname! And our position in the group” Taehyung said enthusiastically. We’re currently at Taehyung’s house since our usual hangout place—a.k.a Jungkook’s family restaurant is packed with a lot of people—Jungkook told us that it had something to do with their buy 1 take one promo. 

“Shouldn’t we think of our group name first??” Ho seok suggested and Yoon Gi second his motion. We sat there for minutes when all of a sudden, Taehyung’s new brother/ current campus crush walked inside the house. All eyes were on him—his face turned red as he placed a hand on his nape. 

“Yah, Jimin-ah~ come here, I’ll introduce you to my friends! They’re your friends now too” Taehyung went up to his feet and immediately went to Jimin. He draped an arm around Jimin, and it’s really obvious that Jimin’s uncomfortable by the way Taehyung had his arm around him. The other boys and I tried our hardest to suppress our laughs—Jin ended up snorting like a pig when he did.

Only a week ago, Taehyung told me that his new brother hates him—maybe now I know the reason why Jimin does. Taehyung’s clinginess knows no boundaries at all! And it definitely shows. 

“This gummy boi is Ho Seok—If you want the latest anime release, then he’s your hope, he’s my hope—he’s our hope—HEY DUDE I THINK I KNOW WHAT YOUR SCREEN NAME SHOULD BE!” Taehyung exclaimed. Ho Seok put a hand on his chin as he scrutinized Taehyung. 

“Gummy Boi?” he said skeptically. Teahyung’s eyes deadpanned and the whole house was engulfed by our laughter. Even Jimin joined the laugh fest—though it was quite obvious that he’s trying to not laugh. Ho Seok scratched his head as he slumped back to the sofa. 

“None of you can borrow the latest one piece volumes. And I mean it” Ho Seok said as he crossed his arms, we laughed harder and this time Jin was rolling at the floor. Yoon Gi was the first one who stopped laughing and his eyes went back to Jimin. Soon enough the laughter died down, but Ho Seok was still making faces—as if it really offended him. 

“Anyways, that old grumpy man is Yoon Gi, his dad’s super brainy—he acts as if he’s on the same level,” Teahyung said as he pointed his finger in Yoon Gi’s direction. Yoon Gi waded off his middle finger at Taehyung. Taehyung returned the favor by doing the same. 

“That one’s Namjoon, his sister is hot—and he’s not” Namjoon just smiled slyly. He’s the only sensible person among these dorks. Jimin bowed at his direction. Namjoon and I exchanged glances—as if we already knew that Jimin knows that he’s one of the normal ones in the group. 

“And that ugly earthworm is Jia—she’s off limits—dating her is like dating me.” Taehyung said as he looked at me. I met Jimin’s gaze and he looked down at the floor. My eyes then roamed around and found that Jungkook’s looking at me. He was sporting a grin—I grinned back like an idiot as Taehyung’s voice echoed in my head—dating her is like dating me. 

“Fck You” I mouthed and Jungkook started laughing again. Jungkook’s laughter was cut short when Jimin spoke. 

“Okay” The moment he opened his mouth, all of our attention was pulled towards him. Silence loomed around the house and Jimin looked at us with confusion in his eyes. To ease up the tension, teahyung said something stupid. 

“Would you like to date me Jimin-ah~” The confusion on Jimin’s eyes grew wider with Teahyung’s question. We ended up laughing our asses out when Jimin realized that it was a joke. 

“That was a joke okay… but if you’re into guys, it’s alright with me too—okay who do we have next—ah, that one’s Jungkook—he’s an , he made Jia cry, but he gives us free food every now and then, so we still invite him sometimes” taehyung said with a wide smile on his face. Jungkook pouted as he crossed his arms. Ho Seok sat beside him and together they had their mouths formed into pouts. 

“Okay, you can go now—” Taehyung finally let go of Jimin—Just as then, Jin protested that he still hasn’t introduced him yet to Jimin. 

“Am I not your friend?? After years and years of letting you copy my math homework~ this is what I get??” Taehyung rolled his eyes as Jimin bowed to us one more time before heading to his room. 

“Is he off to somewhere?” Namjoon casually asked. Thank god he did. Taehyung sat beside me and stuffed some marshmallow on his mouth. 

“He meets his friend every now and then. Poor girl, her mom has cancer. So every time she calls, Jimin goes to her without any second thought, I think her name’s Jin Ri or is it Jin Ra?” 

END OF FLASHBACK 

I was still wrapped around mom’s arms as the door flew open. I peeled myself off from mom and looked at Jin Ri. Her swollen eyes met mine, and the moment it did confusion arose her. Her words earlier echoed in my head once again. 

“So here’s what you need to know about Park Jimin. He’s my best friend”

“Jin Ri—H-he’s” before I was able to finish off what I was about to say, Jin Ri clasped a hand at as she suppressed a shriek. I draped my arms around her, and soon enough mom did the same too. 

“So here’s what you need to know about Park Jimin. He’s my best friend and he’s also hurting the same way as you are. And every single day, he blames himself for everything that happened—even if he’s not really the one who caused the accident—It was you guys”

After all this time… I pinned the blame on Jimin—when in fact, it had been our fault all along. 

- F L A S H B A C K -

A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT

*Third Person’s Point of View*

Jimin still hasn’t grasped the fact that he finally has a complete family now. He’s still not used to the fact that he now has someone he can call ‘Hyung’ and Dad. He’d always dreamed of having a whole family. When he was younger, he often got jealous of his best friends Haru and Jin Ri—for they both had a complete and loving family. Up till now, everything still felt surreal for him. Despite the joy he felt, he can’t really show how happy he was, he’s having enough troubles conveying himself at home, and he can’t talk to Jin Ri nor Haru about it at the moment too. 

Especially Jin Ri, since her mom was recently diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer. Jimin can’t tell her how happy he was with his family when he knows that Jin Ri’s hurting. All he can do is be there for her, despite the distance. Jimin traveled every day for a total of 6 hours just to be with Jin Ri when she visits her mom at the hospital. 

Today’s the 7^th day of September. One week has passed since the opening of classes started. Jimin transferred to Bangtan High where his new brother is studying—and so far, he’s received nothing but warmth from the students, most especially from his ‘hyung’ and his friends. And recently, a certain someone has been able to pique his attention.

“Jimin!” A voice called behind him. He turned around and saw a petite girl walking towards her. Jimin isn’t that tall, but when he’s with her, he feels like a 6 footer. 

“J-Jia” In his mind, he already practiced saying her name over and over again so that when he actually calls her, he won’t end up stuttering—and yet, he still managed to stutter—despite the fact that Jia’s name is only made up of 3 letters. Jia was able to catch up with Jimin and she beamed a smile at him. 

“Are you off to see Jin Ri now?” she asked casually. Jimin’s hand gripped the straps of his backpack as he nodded at her. Jia offered a warm smile as she flashed a paper bag in front of him. 

“Taehyung told me about Jin Ri’s mom… he—told me that Jin Ri’s mom had her hair shaved off so that she won’t see them fall out of her head during her chemo, Taehyung can’t really keep a secret—and I just thought it would be nice to give her a turban… I knitted it on my own” Jimin smiled as he took the paper bag out of Jia’s hand. Their fingers brushed lightly at the interaction. Jia bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling wider than she’s supposed to—Jimin on the other hand, placed his free hand on his neck and slightly looked at the floor. 

“I-uh—Should go now,” Jimin said timidly, this time Jia nodded instead of saying anything. Jimin was about 5 steps away from Jia when she called him. 

“Jimin” he halted and turned to her once again. Jia smiled as she spoke. 

“The guys and I are gonna grab some drinks tonight, you can head over to us after your visit—after all, there won’t be classes tomorrow.” Jimin smiled coyly at her—and she blushed furiously this time. 

“I don’t drink, but text me the details —and I’ll be there”