Mino's POV

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It had been a few days since Taehyun came knocking on my door.

I had been skipping school to sulk around the house. I feared running into him, and I couldn't focus on anything productive. I had tried to get my mind off him by working on some unfinished tracks but it felt so pointless.

I regretted shutting the door on him as soon as I did but I was too proud to apologize or go back on my decision.

The story Bobby had told me played on continous loop in my mind. It was almost as if I had been there with him, hearing him tell it.

I couldn't think of an easy way to go about asking him so Seunghoon and I made sure we got him good and drunk beforehand, seeing as no one was as honest as a drunk who had gone through sorrow.  I didn't tell him about my relationship with Taehyun but I did say that he had taken an interest in me and asked if he knew anything about him.

His usual cheerful demeanor faded, drastically, at the mention of his name which made me nervous. He started cursing him out and it took Seunghoon and I a minute to calm him down, apologizing for bringing it up. He insisted on going on and the booze-infused ramblings of his recollection went something like this:

"Nam Taehyun. I remember him, that bastard. I can't forget his stupid..pretty..face. Heh. I remember his mocking grin when he walked by me in the halls.. I had a black eye from these..f-ers who jumped me the day before. I'm pretty sure he paid them off, or somethin'. His face told me so. Even if he hadn't, it was not the first time and it wouldn't be the last...although, to tell y'all the truth, the beatings weren't the worst of it.

I wish I had never crossed him. I tried to understand why he was doing this to me but it just seemed so harsh. I couldn't remember what I did to deserve it..other than Hanbin...of course.. but that didn't last and I'm not sure how he found out about it.

I think the worst part was... how lonely it felt. It's amazing how disgusted people are when they find out something like that. They'll point and whisper when you walk by. You can't go anywhere without feeling eyes on you...watchin' your back at all times. Always being scared and not knowing if you might actually die that day.

Hell, sometimes I wanted to be dead but I sure didn't want it to be at the hands of some hateful bastard, ya know what I mean?

Man, they usually don't even care if it's true... they will take their anger out on you because they're ignorant or scared....They're scared of seeming like they support you 'cuz they don't want to get ridiculed with you. It's ed up, dude. You learn a lot about the people on this earth when you go through that...people are in' cowards.

After awhile, I couldn't bear to show my face around there. I knew there was no point in transfering schools..that type of rumour follows with you and spreads like wildfire. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to college in the first place so I just dropped out, hoping people would forget.

These days I figure I might have done the same if I was them.. I was no better.

But after having gone through it, myself, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." 

He ended up passing out on the couch after telling me this. Drunkenly hugging me good-night and telling me he had my back if anything were to happen. That made it hit me harder.

Hearing that Taehyun was the cause of making someone that miserable was a hard pill to swallow. I didn't want to accept it which is probably why it lingered in my mind. I wanted so badly to go back in time and never have found out about this. Although, I knew I couldn't help what he had done in the past and would have probably heard about it, eventually.

I layed on the sheets I had spread on the floor, in my dimly-lit living room, which had no windows. Seunghoon was at work at the bakery and Jihoon would still be asleep for a few hours before his shift. I insisted that they each take a room, when we first moved in. I liked being near the kitchen and there was more space for my DJ and recording equipment, out here. We all had to share the one bathroom, but that usually wasn't an issue since we tended to leave the house at different times.

I decided to take this opportunity to get a shower in. I hadn't really bathed the other day and wasn't looking forward to Seunghoon's incessant nagging, if I didn't. I walked over, lazily stripping my hoodie off and dropping it somewhere on the floor. My shirt came off with it too, but that was ok. I turned the light on in the bathroom, which was located in between the two bedrooms.

As soon as I shut the door, I heard a faint knock.

I groaned and swung it back open, walking to the front entrance, thinking it must be the Chinese food I had ordered an hour ago.

"Man, y'all are late I ain't paying fo-" I trailed off as I realized it wasn't the delivery man.

I was pretty shocked to see that it was Jinwoo, standing before me.

He looked down at my half body and cleared his throat, asking if he could come in because he had something to tell me.

He acted pretty cold towards me, in the past. I hoped he didn't come over to give me grief about the way I had treated Taehyun.

I shrugged and stood aside so he could walk in by me. I slammed the door shut, without meaning to, creating an awkward silence. I walked over to him and he seemd to flinch when I bent down to pick up my shirt from the floor, next to him. I slipped it on, hoping it would ease his nerves.

He chewed on his lip, eventually looking up to meet my eyes and began talking; stuttering at first.

"I just wanted to say...uhm.. I'm sorry this is kind of weird. I was.. mad at Taehyun for a long time, before a few days ago.. There's just something you need to understand about Taehyun. He may seem overconfident and he may be charming but... he is extremely sensitive to rejection. He becomes irrational when someone hurts him. I'm not sure how much you know but.. he had a crush on Bobby..and when he was rejected, he lashed out. Look, I know what he did to Jiwon was awful but he's acknowledged that. I am certain he didn't mean for it to go as far as it did. I really hope you'll be able to look past it, someday."

I stared into his eyes for a few seconds, biting my cheeks, not sure of what to say. He looked down, and slowly began to turn away.

"I've never seen Taehyun so upset, you know. He hasn't eaten in days and he barely speaks. You must be really special to him. I don't think he would ever intentionally hurt you." He finally looked back and said.

"Not intentionally, huh.." I smirked and nodded, thanking him.

Althought our meeting was brief, he really knew how to get his point across. It almost felt like he came over to ease my mind, rather than solely to vouch for his friend. I guess I was wrong this whole time; he didn't dislike me, at all.

I walked him to the door and held it open it for him.

"Anyways, uh, sorry for coming over, uninvited." He gave me a small smile, along with a bow.

"It was good to see you, actually. Come by, sometime, I need to get you drunk. I'm sure you got at least some embarrassing stories about Taehyun."

He chuckled "You're right. He kind of deserves it." He grinned widely, making me notice the dimples on his cheeks. 

I patted his shoulder "Don't be a stranger, a'ight? Drive safe."

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A/N: MinWoo stop. So much angst *sob* guys I promise this will be resolved next chapter (probably). Thanks for reading.