Chapter 6 – My Residence
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Student profiles shouldn't be so easy to access.

     Jimin jumped back in fright, gasping lightly. 

"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. 

"I...I'm sorry. This is Taehyung's house right?" 

The lady - wearing a long red, formal yet reserved dress, and the owner of long, flowing hair - gave Jimin a quick glance from head to toe before grabbing his arm and yanking him down the corridor, quick-stepping away from people who were chatting nearby. Too flustered to say anything, Jimin just let himself be pulled along as he took the chance to look around the mansion. 

Gosh, the walls were high. Looking at them, he saw tough frames with family photos, most likely of several generations. In the latest, he saw two parents and two children - two boys with black hair. In the rush of being tugged, Jimin squinted his eyes and distinctively, he swear he saw Taehyung in the smaller boy's eyes. 

"Why did you come... You shouldn't have come." He snapped back to reality and listened to the lady mumble, more to herself than to him. Even though she was being rough with him her soft hands told him that her personality was otherwise. She quickly stopped and pushed Jimin to the wall, a hand over his mouth as they stayed silent out of the light for two people to walk past. After slipping by unnoticed, Jimin wanted to question why they were hiding. 

"Sorry, umm...Aunty? Why are we hiding?"

She quickly shushed him, shooting him a look in all serious; Jimin took in her gestures and body language, almost feeling like being spotted here meant he was in big trouble. She leaned in to whisper so softy that he had to hold in his breath just to hear what she was saying. "No time to explain. I have to hide you somewhere and you have to promise to be silent and not make a move. If you do- understand?" 

Jimin nodded, completely confused, but he trusted her. She nodded back and she continued taking him silently through the corridors. They walked past glass-walled slide doors that opened to an open field; Jimin assumed it was the massive field despite the darkening sky outside. As he kept his eyes on it, he saw something peculiar that caught his attention. Beside the long high fence that extended for metres stood a post, and on that post, hanged a long rope. Only Jimin knew it wasn't just rope, it was a whip, and he could distinctively see the colour differences on it - it was stained with blood. 

Eyes widened, he began to tremble, wondering if he was in the right place. Before he could ask another question, they heard muffles of distant voices coming closer, and the lady grabbing him swung open the door of the closet beside them and shoved Jimin in. Before she could shut the second door he stopped her with a hand to it; he needed to confirm at least one thing.

"Wait- Please...who are you?"

She gazed back at his youthful eyes and gave him a faint smile, "I'm Taehyung's mother." 

She shut the door and walked away. Jimin scrunched himself up into a ball and felt his own breath cease to seep out of his mouth when the loud footsteps right beyond the door made their way past him. Assuming they were owned by two men, he stayed silent as he listened to their deep, coarse voiced conversation. Lucky there was a small hole in the slit of the closet; Jimin peeked his eye through it and saw two wide-shouldered and scarily muscular men of roughly the same height. 

"His first one went quite well, almost perfect." 

"Don't praise him so fast, he's still got a long way to go."

"I know that. So how's the list going?"

The more chubbier of the two rubbed his nape. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to work out who- and what they were talking about.

"Not getting much shorter. Also, that payer from almost twenty years ago has recently caught up with me again."

Jimin watched as the other man looked at the one talking with surprised eyes. "Really? Why?"

"They have another target." 

The man nodded, amused. "Well, Taehyung can handle it. Just pass the case to him."

"I was thinking the same. But the payer's put up a large price, if V can't do the job, I may consider bringing him in."

The two men walked away and Jimin sat in the closet alone for almost another ten minutes before someone came to let him out. 

As the red-dressed, especially soft-handed lady saw her chance to return, Jimin smiled as he watched her be cautious. Taehyung's mother...he could definitely see where the boy got his looks from. She was definitely all definitions of loyal, kind, warmth...love. As she managed to slip the two of them out the front door, Jimin threw his arms around her the minute he could, surprising her. 

"W-what..." 

He pulled away and shot her a child-like smile with sprinkles of adolesence, showing her he was just in the moment. "Thankyou, Aunty." 

They exchanged a brief moment of smiles before she patted him off, her eyes showing deep concern after he was out of sight. She rushed back inside to make a phone call. 

[ BG MUSIC ]

     Taehyung slumped his bag down, crossing his hands over one another as they leant comfortably on his knees. He lifted his head - with a rare sight of unstyled hair - and gazed at the stars, the stars that sparkled in the darkening sky. What a miraculous sight, to watch the night sky from the riverside rather than a contained grass field. No words left his mouth, he couldn't think of anything to tell himself. So he sang; Jeongkook told him that if you ever have times where words can't describe how you feel, then let lyrics replace and express your heart's truest emotions. He sang, filling the close to empty area around him with a soothing melody all his own. 

His phone rang and he took his time in fetching it out of his bag that overlapped itself all around. 

Listening to the long explanation from the other side, his eyebrows furrowed. "What? Why would he go there?" 

"..." 

"So- is he okay?" The words left his mouth with a bit of hesitation.

"..." 

"So...do you know where he went?"

Taehyung ended the call, put his bag strap over his shoulder and left the beautiful, mesmerising scenery he promised to come back to one day. Maybe even with company the next time.

He dialled a number, biting his lip as he waited impatiently for the call to be answered. "Hyung!" , that left too quickly. He immediately regretted his panic, squinting his eyes as he mentally kicked himself. 

"Taehyung? Where are you?" "Where are you?" The two asked simultaneously. 

"Just tell me where you are." Taehyung demanded. 

"I'm...on my way to Jeongkook's house. He said I could stay if I needed to." 

Taehyung felt his face turn grim, and in turn, he stuttered. "D-don't go bother him, I heard he's really busy. Their family's big on tradition."

"Oh...he told me-"

"Just-just come stay with me. I don't have any plans of celebration." 

There was no reply to that and Taehyung felt his eyebrows furrow once again, isn't he going to tell me he visited my house?

"Wh-where are you?" Jimin's voice was soft and hesitant, like he was afraid of his own thoughts going through his head. 

"I'm heading back to school, we should still be able to get into the dorms." 

"Alright, I'll meet you there."