It’s a long day for Jimin.  The boy has six classes, and it doesn’t make him feel any better when he arrives to his last period directly after a harsh dance practice.  Apparently, the school’s dance team had refused to acknowledge his existence, and no matter how hard Jimin had tried to befriend them, they still continued ignoring his presence.  But Jimin swore during that hour that he’d make them feel sorry for doing so.  He was the best dancer at his previous school in Busan after all; he and Jungkook were even famous throughout the city for their gift.  Jimin sighs a bit as he stands beside his sixth period teacher, waiting to be introduced and reminiscing of old memories he had with his close friend and dongsaeng.  He begins to wonder how Jungkook is doing; however, the bell interrupts his thoughts.

            “Good afternoon, class,” the woman adorns her glasses as she smiles to the exhausted students.  “Isn’t it lovely how the second semester brings forth a new opportunity for everyone to start over?”

            A few murmurs are heard and a couple of nods are observed.  Jimin awkwardly shifts back and forth on his toes and heels, unintentionally gathering attention from his soon-to-be classmates.  The woman suddenly turns to him with a bright smile.

            “Hello, Park Jimin-sshi, my name is Ms. Jeon,” she greets him in a whisper.  Jeon, Jimin smiles because his best friend shared the same surname.  Jeon Jungkook.  He really did miss the boy…

            “Class, please welcome your new student, Jimin.  He has just transferred here from Busan, and will be joining us for the remainder of the school year.  Let us all embrace the history of Korea together in this classroom,” Ms. Jeon pauses for a few seconds as she takes the moment to examine the walls of her classroom, filled with maps of her native country and posters of infamous former leaders and generals.  “Do take care of our new classmate.  Jimin, you may sit wherever you’d like.”

            Jimin nods and bows respectfully to the instructor before scanning the classroom for empty seats.  He then realizes that he has three choices: he could sit in the lonesome corner of the room, next to a guy that was probably asleep since the period began, or he could sit in between two girls who most likely had their eyes menacingly locked on him since he stepped into the room.  Neither of these two seats seems to appeal to Jimin, but he soon realizes that the third seat seemed much more interesting.

            Jimin recognizes the face of the student seated beside the unoccupied desk he was looking at.  He couldn’t forget the name of the face either. Taehyung.  How fortunate he was to share even one class with this boy.  Jimin had sworn to himself earlier that morning that he’d make a difference in this depressed boy’s life.  He wanted to be the friend that Taehyung could depend on, because Jimin well-understood the situation that the male was in.  Why?

            Because Jungkook had saved him from the same situation before.

            Jimin was never the type to mess around with anybody’s business and his peers had respected that fact about him throughout his elementary and middle school careers.  Something flickered during his freshman year in high school though, when word got around that his father, the owner of his family’s successful supermarket, had allowed a so-called friend to buy off half of his store.  Profits were being lost and rumors that forecasted the fall of the Park family’s financial status were afloat.  Jimin didn’t know how news of his family’s situation could have possibly broken out, and furthermore, he could not understand why his peers would target him for it.  How could his family’s struggle ever serve as a reason to victimize him?

            Jimin felt isolated after the birth of the rumors, as every one of his friends began to abandon him.  The invitations to parties stopped, and Jimin only knew these parties existed because he heard his classmates talk about them at school.  Eventually, he started sitting alone at the lunch tables, independently eating his leftovers from last night’s dinner.

            It wasn’t until midway through his sophomore year that someone finally decided to approach him during his lonely lunch hour.  The boy was a freshman, who Jimin soon learned had transferred from a different high school in Busan because the other school was facing budget cuts that cut out the boy’s favored elective: dance.  When they discovered this shared interest, their friendship blossomed.  The boy became Jimin’s shield and rock to lean on until he was finally able to put himself together during his junior year.  His name?  Jeon Jungkook.  Although he was a year younger than Jimin and thus had no other classes with him, the two of them still spent the time of their lives during their one shared period of dancing.

            It broke Jungkook’s heart though when Jimin had to break word to him that he was moving to Seoul.  Jimin’s father had lost the entire business to the so-called friend that turned out to be a traitor.  He left his wife in shame after that, leaving Jimin’s mother to tend to her son alone.  And they both knew that she would find a job more easily in a busy city like Seoul.  Jimin cried on the phone with Jungkook the night before his departure, but he swore that he would never forget the boy’s impact on his life.

            And now he was ready to place the same impact on someone else.

            “I’ll sit next to Taehyung-sshi,” Jimin announces, evoking a stir of murmuring among the crowd.  He doesn’t think much about their hushed whispers though as he approaches the empty seat, flashes a smile at Taehyung who is no longer wearing his faded black hoodie (probably because doing so isn’t allowed during school hours), and takes a seat beside him.

            Taehyung still remains cold, emotionless, and silent throughout the class period.  As Jimin rushes to adjust to Ms. Jeon’s note-taking speed, he steals a few glances at Taehyung to see the boy occasionally jotting down a few bullet points here and there.  In Jimin’s perspective, it almost appears as though it hurts Taehyung to write, as if his arm is frozen or partially paralyzed and he is trying to force it to work.  Taehyung’s left arm remains under the desk the entire time, and Jimin is flustered at this; how can the boy simply write on paper without another hand to keep the paper from moving?

            The class period ends with Jimin giving up on writing down Ms. Jeon’s main ideas, since her pace had proved to be too overwhelming.  The boy is still observing Taehyung’s stoned expression and his lifeless movements when the bell rings and everyone begins storming out of the classroom.  Taehyung works with one hand to place his books and papers into his backpack, and Jimin watches curiously as he cleans up his own supplies.  If Taehyung were fully aware of Jimin’s watch on him, he surely wasn’t showing it.

            Taehyung leaves the classroom first.  Not wanting to appear like a stalker, Jimin stays back for a couple of minutes, and even approaches Ms. Jeon at her desk to ask for the best method in copying all of her notes quickly and efficiently.  He almost palms himself in the face when she informs him that all of her lectures can be found online and even printed.  He wastes no more time in bidding her goodbye and exiting her classroom.  When Jimin reaches the bus stop, he mentally curses himself, because staying back with Ms. Jeon had caused him to miss his ride home.  From the corner of his eye though, he notices a familiar figure walking in the same direction as his house.  Walking home suddenly didn’t seem too bad to Jimin.

            “Taehyung!” Jimin calls out with no hesitation.  He runs toward the boy as if he had known Taehyung for years, chuckling a bit as he is finally able to catch up.  “You missed the bus, too?”

            “No,” Taehyung coldly replies.  Jimin cannot tell if the boy wants him gone or if the boy is secretly appreciating his company.

            “Why didn’t you board the bus then?” Jimin follows up with another question.  But after he realizes what he had asked, Jimin really does face palm himself this time.  “Sorry, forget I said that.  I’ll walk you home.”

            “It’s okay, I can myself.”

            “I insist, Taehyung!  Let me talk to you,” Jimin puts on his friend-making smile.  However, Taehyung isn’t convinced.  He seems bothered by it even.

            “Don’t.”

            “I know you want me gone,” Jimin replies, his expression falling as he acknowledges the fact.  “But I also know you need help and I want to help y—”

            “Don’t act like you care,” Taehyung interrupts the boy as he continues walking, not caring about whether or not Jimin is going to follow him.  He is a bit surprised though when the other male persists.

            “I’m not acting, just let me help you.  I know you feel troubled and—”

            “And what?  And you’re going to make fun of it like everyone else?” Taehyung’s voice rises a little, surprising Jimin.  “Do you really want to know why I didn’t board the bus, Jimin-sshi?  It’s because I didn’t want to get strangled again.  I don’t need another busted lip.  I don’t need another bruised eye.  I don’t need another day of life either, okay?”

            “W-What are you suggesting?” Jimin nervously asks, his eyes almost bulging in fear of the answer to his own question.  “Taehyung, think rationally about this.  I can help you.  I understand…”

            “No, you don’t.  Your parents aren’t dead,” Taehyung spits the words out as if they’re metallic blood spewed out from a long battle with oneself.  “So get off my back.”

            Taehyung begins walking again, but Jimin is too taken aback to follow him.  So he does what he can at the moment to keep Taehyung still.  Jimin reaches for Taehyung’s left arm and stubbornly clutches it.  He lets go immediately though and almost gasps in shock when he hears Taehyung scream in reaction to his sudden, yet harsh grip on the boy’s fragile limb.

            More concerned than curious, Jimin reaches toward Taehyung’s uniform sleeve, and although hesitantly, he begins to roll it up.  The boy shows no sign of protest, and Jimin assumes it’s because Taehyung is too tired and sick of things to fight back.  Even though Jimin had half-expected to see what he sees, it still surprises him.

            The white sleeve to Taehyung’s button-up shirt underneath the uniform is dyed in bright red.

            “Oh my god, Taehyung…” is all Jimin can mutter.  He takes a look at Taehyung’s face, which suddenly appears even paler than it was that morning, almost white to be exact.  Jimin is about to reach up to test the temperature of his ghostly cheek when Taehyung’s eyes fall and he collapses.  Jimin is lucky to catch him before he plunges toward the concrete.

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A/N: Yeah, I made Jungkook one year younger than Jimin, rather than two years younger (like he is in real life)... It just fit more, I suppose. xD Sorry this chapter took so long... I hope it compensates for the wait!