Chapter 5 – My Instincts
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I lied. I'm not that dumb to tell the truth.

[ BG MUSIC ]

     "Jimin hyung. Jimin hyung." Taehyung shook the raven haired boy lightly. As he did so, a creeping smile teased upon his blank expression; the sight of Jimin waking up was one he wouldn't miss for the world. Especially when the shorter opened his dazzling eyes, Taehyung swear he felt his heart stop beating. He gulped as Jimin's eyes searched the ceiling before meeting his.

"Good morning." Jimin greeted, smiling. Taehyung gave him a warm smile back, a kind of smile that rarely flashed across his face. "Where...where were you last night?"

Taehyung's lips became slightly firm as he turned silent. Jimin sat up with his legs hanging off the side of his bed. "Nevermind, I respect your privacy. Forget I asked."

Taehyung stood while Jimin got up and their shoulders brushed past eachothers'. He gritted a low 'sorry'. Jimin paused for a moment, twisting his neck back to see Taehyung's figure from the corner of his eye. "It's fine. We all have our secrets."

     The seven friends had breakfast together in their homeroom - it is a literal 'homeroom' since all students treat it like a massive lounge. Jin made breakfast and served it in uneven portions, signs of his professionality. Rap Monster, Jeongkook and himself had the biggest portions while the other four had less. 

"Gosh, your bed hair." Rap Monster commented sarcastically, chuckling at Suga who just woke up. He was always the last to wake up. The others giggled along and enjoyed their warm meal; it was almost the middle of winter and that meant the New Year was coming up. 

"Oh, by the way. Taehyung-ah," Taehyung lifted his head to J-Hope's calling, "what was Jimin's secret present?" 

Taehyung glanced over at Jimin who was blushing, stuffing his mouth with food to ease his hot cheeks. The orange-haired sat speechlessly, only being able to let out an extending 'ahh' sound. Jimin suddenly choked on his food, muffled coughs leaving him. Jeongkook patted his back as the elder tried not to kill himself. Just as they were about to continue waiting for Taehyung's answer, all their attention turned to the television hanging up on the wall in the corner of the room. 

"Breaking news here. The body of a seventeen year old boy who attends the prosperous B.H High has been found in an abandoned alley this morning. His neck had been slit approximately three centimetres deep and he died after loss of blood. The police say he was likely to be murdered though they are unsure of the reasons yet. The case is being treated as suspicious and they are definitely going to look into it further. This is a rare sight that has not been seen in almost twenty years, the last being the death of a married couple outside Seoul. We will update you on this case when we have more information." 

All students in the room froze, stunned by what they had just heard, as well as Junhong's ID picture on the screen. Several heads turned towards each other as they began mumbling, others remained speechless. Taehyung specifically took note of a fellow classmate named Jongup, watching motionlessly in his seat at the boy curling into a ball of his own grief. Taehyung was probably the person in the room with the least reaction; his face was deep yet blank like always, emotion running through him like it was completely invisible. After momentary pauses - where students came and left the homeroom, running to find their friends and inform the teachers - Taehyung returned to his food, which had suddenly felt ice cold in his mouth. 

Damn it. He still wasn't able to control his emotions; he thought he'd be done with this by now. 

     Two days later and everyone was busy packing for the mini-holiday: the New Year's break. Since the lunar new year was later in the year compared to the western new year, they were only allowed two days off. Celebrating Christmas would come at a later date too; the school usually celebrates the occasion a full three weeks after it has passed. Weird, but special in the way that it was unique to only them. A full three days of craziness and chaos would always provide highlights of the year.

Taehyung began filling his large bag when he noticed Jimin just sitting on his bed and watching him with fluttering eyes. 

"Aren't you going to pack?" Taehyung asked.

"Can I come over to your house for the break?" Jimin suddenly asked, completely pushing the previous question away. Taehyung stood surprised for a moment. He was only packing necessities, he had no plans to spend his break at home. That would be completely dumb and useless. 

"Umm. No." 

"Then how about you come over to my place?" Jimin offered, only to have Taehyung shake his head again. 

"Well, can I at least drop by your house and take a look around?" Jimin persisted, finally making Taehyung put down his stuff and look at him with full concentration.

"Hyung..." His voice was stern and Jimin gazed down, knowing he had gone too far. He opened his mouth to apologize, but hesitated with unknown thoughts and remained silent as Taehyung finished packing. 

"I'll see you after the break hyung." Taehyung said, flinging his bag over one shoulder and making his way to the door. 

Jimin swayed his legs back and forth beside each other. "I'll miss you," he said softly, still looking down. 

Taehyung stopped and turned back, meeting Jimin's risen gaze. The younger stood by and simply gazed back, unsure of what to do. Unclear thoughts travelled through his head as he felt confused; 'what would normal people do in respond to this situation?' was what he wondered about. So he let his instinct-following body take him back to Jimin, and he wrapped his arms around the boy, lifting him to stand up and hug him back. The shorter rested his head besides Taehyung's neck, breathing in deeply as he took in the warmth Taehyung sent through him. Taehyung leaned his head down to feel Jimin's fuzzy hair by his cheek, shutting his eyes, loving the skin contact. 

They broke away, and with no more words, Taehyung hesitantly left the room, giving Jimin one last glance before shutting the door behind him.

Jimin kept his eyes on the door for a while before taking out his phone.

"Yes. Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine, step-mother. Alright, thanks. Happy new year." He grinned and hanged up the call, putting on his medium-sjzed back pack and leaving the dorms. Jeongkook was standing by the school gates. 

"Jeongkook-ah." Jimin greeted, smiling. The maknae immediately pushed off the wall he leaned on and Jimin watched as his face lit up, "Oh! Hyung!"

"Are you heading home for Thursday and Friday?" 

Jeongkook nodded. "What about you?" 

Jimin shook his head and Jeongkook's eyes showed concern. "Then...where-"

"I'll find somewhere, don't worry." 

Jeongkook's lips pouted before he spoke again. "Why don't you come over to my place?" 

Jimin paused for a moment as he shot Jeongkook a look of appreciation before ruffling the taller's fluffy hair. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He slapped Jeongkook's arm playfully before walking past him with a wave. Jeongkook watched Jimin walk off, his eyebrows furrowed as worry sunk into him. 

"Take care hyung." He mumbled as his car arrived. 

     Several hours later, the streets were alive in the city with loud music and sounds of celebration. People of all ages crowded the countless aisles of street-side stores selling accessories, food, clothing and more. Jimin wandered through the big market, his skin looking slightly yellow from the strong lights hanging around the street. With one hand on his bag strap, he smiled as he watched the lively, high-spirited activity around him. 

A stand selling lollipops caught his attention, and he purchased three big round, rainbow-swirled lollipops. He put two away in his bag and held one as he continued walking around. Not long after a little girl came up to him. He smiled, bending down to speak to her. She was only about six years old. 

"Happy New Year, sir." She said brightly with a cute voice. Jimin giggled and ruffled her hair gently, giving her the lollipop he held. She held it in her hands with eyes of delight and courtesy. "Are you giving this to me?"

Jimin nodded. "Take it. Enjoy your new year with your family, and call me 'oppa'." He told her, grinning. She nodded, thanked him with a big hug and ran off. Jimin rose as he kept his eyes on her, admiring the picture of her running into her mother's arms, the two of them exchanging laughs and smiles. He felt his eyes water and didn't realise they were sparkling until a while later. After almost an hour of his little solo journey, Jimin felt mischieviousness overcome him as a risky thought came to his head. Yet smirking, he decided to put the crazy idea into action. 

He left the busy streets and set foot in the direction of Taehyung's address. He knew where his friend lived, he just didn't want to go without permission. But today - tonight - was an exception. 

Arriving outside the location, Jimin stood for a moment with wide eyes and an open mouth. He never expected a mansion, and the one of this kind. It was massive, and Jimin didn't even want to imagine how much bigger it looked on the inside. Stepping to the side, he saw the high fences that extended for metres back, probably even containing a large grass field. 

With a gulp, he entered the unlocked front gate and was surprised to find the two-wide doors unlocked too. Letting himself in silently, he glanced around with no words. Honestly he was intimidated, scared to even announce his presence. He took a few steps in further when a high voice caught his attention and made him jump back. 

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" 

He met eyes, and in those eyes, he saw panic, even more panic that was flashing in his own.