Seok Jin opened his eyes, blinking multiple times to get a clearer vision. The moment he could see clearly, he was struck by a wave of confusion. Looking at the window, he saw that it was already morning. From where he was, he could see the rest of his room. That meant that he was standing in front of the mirror, which was odd because he didn't remember going there.. Heck, he didn't even remember waking up from his sleep.

"How did I get here? Was I sleep-walking?" He thought to himself but the next thing that happened made his face turn pale. Appearing right in front of him, was himself. 

"Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were there." Jin's eyes widened. He wasn't the one talking. The figure in front of him wasn't himself but it.

"Surprised?" It said as it scoffed into a smirk.

"What's going on?" Jin spoke. His heart was beginning to beat irregularly.

"What's going on, my dear friend, is that right now, I'm the new Seok Jin." Seeing the panic-stricken expression on Jin's face, it let out a sinister laugh. "That's right, after battling for so long, you've finally given up and now I have total control over your body. There's no such thing as us now, only me. You've lost Jin, you've lost."

Jin attempted to hit it but his hands only came into contact with something that felt like glass. Jin gasped as he tried to reach out his hands, only to be touching glass. That was when the truth dawned on him. He wasn't standing near the mirror, he was in the mirror. Jin began pounding onto the glass as he spat out words that even he, himself, couldn't make out. While all of that was happening, it only laughed at him, it's laughter reverberating around the room.

"Well, I have to go now. Wouldn't want to be late for school. I wonder what my friends would think of the new me," it smirked. Jin struggled even more as he continued to pound onto the glass, in hopes that somehow, he could step back into the real world. Throughout the whole time, it simply stood there and watched, the smirk never leaving its face. Eventually, he grew tired and slowly, he began to give up. His eyes began to cloud and in due time, tears began to fall from his eyes. Seeing that Jin had finally given up, it brought its face really close to Jin.

"It doesn't feel nice to be the one in the mirror, now does it?" 

Jin jolted upright as he panted heavily. Cold sweat trickled down his face. His vision was cloudy, not from sleep but from the tears that were threatening to fall. His heartbeat was speeding up with every second. Jin looked at his bed, feeling every inch of it. He looked around his room and reached forward, half expecting to come into contact with glass. When that didn't happen, Jin sighed in relief as his lips trembled and his body shook. Tears were already falling from his eyes as he pulled his knees close to his chest and buried his face into them. 

That wasn't the first time in which he had such a dream. There were times when he dreamt of doing something evil or sinister such as killing a random person, his friends and even his own mother. Then there were other times in which he would dream of having a meltdown in front of everyone. Sometimes, like that dream he just had, he would dream of losing the battle and having it take over his body completely. But the worst of them all, he'd dream of being put into the asylum to join his father.

His father, the man Jin blamed for what he had to go through. His father, the man who ruined everything for Jin. His father, the man who Jin hated to no end. Jin hadn't been born with split personality. In fact, he was perfectly fine and sane up until he turned sixteen and everything began to turn for the worse in his life. Having a father with split personality scared the living life out of Jin because he knew that there was a high chance he'd develop the same disorder as his father. Well, Jin was right. 

Two years ago, Jin's father was put into the asylum. Two years ago, Seok Jin developed a mental disorder known as split personality. Two years ago, Seok Jin's life changed. 

Of course, he didn't tell anyone about it, not even his friends. He thought he could keep it away from them permanently but the truth was tugging at his heart. He wanted them to know. They were his friends and they deserved to know. But as much as he wanted to open up to them, Jin was afraid. Afraid of how'd they react. Afraid that they would never see him as an equal again. Afraid of the pity in their eyes once they realized just how screwed up he was.

Only one other person knew about his split personality and that was his mother. Jin was thankful to her. Even after all he had put her through, she never left his side, not even once. Jin's mother was the only one who could bring him back, the only one who could knock sense into his head whenever he was in an unstable state. But Jin was tired. Tired of depending on his mother. Tired of seeing her suffer for his behavior. Tired of being a burden to her life.

Jin was mad too. Mad at it for interfering with his life. Mad at his father for being the cause of his disorder. Last but not least, Jin was mad at himself for being so weak and vulnerable. Every now and then, Jin would raise the 'what ifs' in his head. What if he gave up and lost the battle? What if he turned into a twisted monster? What if his dreams came true? 

Jin was dangerous and he knew it.

≈♦♦♦≈

Jin tried his best to focus on what was being written on the board but his mind often wandered off elsewhere and he had a hard time regaining his focus whenever that happened. His brows furrowed as he struggled to take down notes. Eventually, he gave up. Placing his pen down with a thud, he resolved to staring out of the window instead.

"Hyung," Jimin called out to him, his voice hushed. Turning to face the younger, Jin raised his brow, gesturing for the younger to go on.

"Are you okay?" Jimin asked. His forehead creased with worry. The younger had noticed Jin's behavior that morning.

No. Jin thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jin answered before turning to look out of the window again.

"Hyung." Jin heaved a sigh and turned to the younger once more.

"Yes, Jimin?" Jin asked with a forced smile.

"What happened between you and Hyun Ji yesterday?" The younger asked as the forced smile on Jin's face slowly faded away. Jin hadn't thought of the argument between him and Hyun Ji since he was too pre-occupied with his own personal issue. But when Jimin brought it up, Jin couldn't help but to replay that argument in his head, the whole scene still etched into his mind.

"Hyung?" Jin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the younger.

"Nothing happened," Jin lied but Jimin knew better than to fall for it.

"It didn't look like 'nothing' to me," Jimin smirked.

"I told you nothing happened so nothing happened," Jin said, the warning clearly evident in his tone. Jin hated it when people pestered him. It was something Jin had yet to find a tolerance for.

"Hmm...hyung," Jimin paused. "Do you like Hyun Ji?"

Jin furrowed his brows. His patience level was slowly reaching its limit. "No."

"Oh come on, stop denying it. I know you like her," Jimin teased. Apparently, the younger had been oblivious to the warning given by the elder earlier on.

"I don't like her," Jin said with clenched teeth.

"Stop lying, it's not healthy," Jimin said in a sing-song manner, chuckling afterwards. His laughter didn't last for long though because it died down the moment Jin's eyes turned bloodshot. Jin stared right into the younger's soul as a second warning. That time, the younger got the message. Not wanting to face Jin's wrath, Jimin raised both arms in mid-air as a form of surrendering and immediately went back to taking down notes.

On the other hand, Jin was trying to calm himself down. He knew he almost lost it earlier on but he was glad Jimin didn't probe him any further. Jin inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, letting his anger fade bit by bit. It was crucial for him to keep his anger level at its lowest because it was at its strongest whenever he was angry. Causing a scene in front of everyone was the last thing he wanted to do.

≈♦♦♦≈

Hyun Ji was making her way to the canteen exit just as Jin was making his way to his usual table in the canteen. Both of them had crossed paths and for the slightest moment, they slowed down. Hyun Ji flicked her gaze towards Jin and Jin did the same as both spoke no words. As quick as she had made eye contact with Jin, she had looked away. Without so much as a second glance, Hyun Ji walked right by Jin and Jin did the same.

It was almost as though they were strangers, strangers with their own share of secrets.

The rest of Jin's friends had seen the brief interaction between the two and shared mixed reactions. Even so, they all had the same question bugging their minds and they weren't planning on letting it bother them any longer. The moment Jin settled down at their table, Jungkook spoke.

"Hyung, what's going on between you and Hyun Ji?" Upon hearing that question, Jin paused and scowled. He was tired of being interrogated over the same topic again and again.

"Are we actually doing this again?" the elder asked, in hopes that they would drop the topic but his hopes were crushed. Every one of them had their eyes on him without even blinking. They were waiting for an answer. They wanted an answer. Jin sighed again.

"There's nothing going on between me and Hyun Ji," Jin insisted but they weren't buying it the least bit. The air surrounding their table grew still for the slightest moment but the silence was broken when Taehyung asked a question.

"Hyung, do you like her?" 

"Gosh, for the umpteenth time, I'm telling you, I don't like her," Jin answered, feeling as annoyed as ever. He didn't know what it would take to get that answer through their heads. Jin knew that his friends were aware of the fact that Jin wouldn't fall for any girl so easily so why wouldn't they believe him?

"Then tell us why you often approach her and stare at her. Also, what was that all about just now?" Yoongi asked, referring to their brief interaction earlier on.

"It's just that..." Jin let his voice trail off as he hesitated to complete his sentence. I might have found someone. Someone who might understand. Someone who might just share the same pain as me. Jin thought to himself. Realizing that saying that would only bring up more questions, he simply shook his head and said that it was nothing. His friends weren't willing to drop the topic just yet\but they knew it was the end of their interrogation the moment Namjoon shot them a look.

Somehow, Namjoon knew. Namjoon understood. He always did and he always would.

She doesn't know it yet but the two of us are connected. Jin thought to himself. We're more alike than she thinks.

≈♦♦♦≈

Jin heaved a low, exasperated sigh as he made his way home. His argument with Hyun Ji the day before kept replaying in his mind. More questions flooded his mind.

Why is it wrong for me to help her? Why does she keep shunning me away? Why does she want to be unnoticed?

Jin's footsteps grew heavier as he pondered over those questions, only to be left with no answers. While Jin was walking, a particular sound caught his attention.

Searching the area, his eyes landed on a pair of twinkling eyes. The owner of those eyes was standing right in front of him. Its fur was golden brown and its tail was dragging itself across the floor from left to right. Jin remained frozen on the spot as he stared into the creature's eyes, hoping it wouldn't think of him as an enemy.

When it meowed, Jin knew it was okay with him. Crouching down, he held out his hand and brought it close to the creature's nose, allowing it to sniff him. Seeing that the creature hadn't made any attempts to claw at him, Jin brushed his hand against its head.

"Hey buddy, why are you all alone? Have you eaten?" he asked. As though it understood him, it meowed in response. Scratching it below its chin, Jin chuckled when he heard it purr.

"Wait here. I'll get you some food." Standing up, Jin entered the shop right in front of him and bought a pack of snacks suitable for cats. He wasn't surprised to see the cat just where he had left it. He knew it'd wait for him. Approaching it, Jin tore the seal of the food packaging and poured a sufficient amount of its contents onto the side of the pavement. The creature's eyes twinkled when it saw the treats laid out in front of it. Without a second thought, it indulged in them. Every now and then, it would look up and meet Jin's eyes. He could've sworn he saw it smiling.

Jin simply smiled in response but as a particular scene replayed in his mind, that smile of his disappeared. Instead, a sigh left his mouth.

Well, at least you're not pushing me away.

Seeing that it was done with its meal, Jin stood up and was about to continue on his journey when he felt a fur-like texture against his leg. Stopping in his tracks, he looked down at his leg only to see the cat looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Crouching down, he pat its head. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll come back and see you real soon okay? Hopefully, you'll still be here."

Once Jin said that, it didn't try to stop him from leaving because it knew he'd keep to his words. Giving it one last pat, Jin stood and continued his journey home. As the cat watched his figure disappear from its sight slowly, the cat was reminded of another person it had met some time back. They were two different people, but they were also alike in ways one could not pick up with his or her own eyes.

A/N: Presenting to you, Chapter 5! :) I'm sorry for making you wait but I was held up with my examinations so it was hard for me to work on my updates. Anyways, I'm only left with three more papers and I'll be free! So, what do you think of this chapter? Am I killing you with curiosity yet? This is only the beginning guys. With every new chapter, more secrets and hints will be told so be sure to pick up each and every one of those puzzle pieces, alright? ;) 

Comments make my day and so do subscribers as well as upvotes hehe. I'll be sure to update soon. Have a nice day/night! 

-RedGuitarist