Junghwa’s eyes fluttered open, her head throbbing slightly as she slowly woke up. She braced herself for the incoming rays of sunlight to her pupils… but strangely, they did not come. Her vision was obscured by something. Or rather, someone.

She didn’t need to look up to know that she had been with Yoongi the entire night, her fingers still grasping the soft material of his sweatshirt. She remembered the previous night; how she had ended up there after being unable to sleep, and she had come over to his place. And how she had ended up becoming a crying wreck in front of him.

Letting out a content sigh, she nuzzled her face into his chest, allowing the warmth of being in his embrace to fill her up completely. At that moment, his arms brought her closer until she was fully pressed against him, embracing her more tightly. It was comfortable, and Junghwa couldn’t help but smile to herself. It felt nice to be where she was. It felt safe.

She closed her eyes once more, allowing herself to drift away to catch up on the sleep she craved so.

Yoongi opened his eyes, his arm feeling slightly numb at being held in a crooked position for so long. He moved his arm from under his head, before looking down at Junghwa, who was curled up against his chest. Fighting back the slight embarrassment that threatened to consume his face, he brought his hand up to her hair, it gently. He probably shouldn’t have done that, for Junghwa stirred in her sleep, before opening her eyes slowly.

“Yoongi-?” She mumbled, sitting up slowly. “Morning.”
“Morning.” He his back, his voice a little hoarse as he spoke. “How you feeling?”
“Better.” Junghwa nodded, before running her fingers through her hair, the feeling of his touch, for some strange reason, lingering. “Much better.”
“That’s good.” Yoongi smiled, before taking his phone from the windowsill. He unlocked the phone, before letting out a sigh. “Jungkook. He must have guessed you were here, he’s gone on ahead to school.”
“Oh crap, shouldn’t we be going?” Junghwa jumped off the bed, her eyes widening with panic. Yoongi immediately sat up, before grabbing her hand in his, looking at her quietly. He slowly shook his head, pulling her back down on the bed.

“After yesterday, Hwa, I don’t think you can go to school.” He shook his head. “Besides, look at the time. It’s 8:30. There’s no way we’ll get away with sneaking into school today.”
“Alright.” She let out a resigned sigh. “So what do we do? Since we have the whole day to ourselves.”
“Well…” Yoongi mused, his lips pursing into a pout as he thought. “Jin’s at home today, we can always go over.”
“Okay, let me just go back home and ch- Oh, crap.” Junghwa hissed to herself, before looking back at Yoongi. “I don’t have my keys. I can’t come out looking like this!”

Yoongi looked at her attire - a simple tank top and black shorts that only reached her mid-thigh - before realising that she was right. He nodded slowly, letting out a resigned sigh. He motioned at her to wait, while jumping off the bed, before moving towards his cupboard. Opening it slowly, he pulled out a pair of black basketball shorts, and a white sweatshirt.

“Here. Change into these.” He dumped the clothes into her arms, nodding towards the bathroom. “I’ll fix you some coffee, and-”
“Wait.” She began, grabbing onto his sleeve. “Yoongi… wait. Please. Why are you-”

Her words fell flat when Yoongi gently patted her head, before shaking his.

“Nothing’s going to change, okay?” He whispered. “Nothing. Now get dressed. We have a lot to do.”

Yoongi gave her a lopsided grin, before walking out of the door. Junghwa sighed slowly, slinking away into the bathroom, her heart racing in her chest, and for what reason, she did not know.

Jungkook glanced around nervously, before taking out his phone under his notebook. He had just noticed the message from not too long ago, and let out a heavy sigh, as he glanced his phone again.

Yoongi: Junghwa’s with me. She stayed the night.

Jungkook, despite being slightly worried at how close Yoongi was with his sister at this point, was secretly glad that she had Yoongi for company. He had taken the shock of Junghwa’s drug problem better than they all had, even better than Jungkook had himself. And not once had he left Junghwa’s side, even offering to stay over at the hospital if Jungho hadn’t made the flight in time.

And Jungkook was grateful. He was so thankful that there was someone who could understand his sister as much he himself did, and someone who could be there for her when he couldn't. He knew that Yoongi felt her pain, that he felt the same way she did.

They both blamed themselves for the loss of a loved one.

But they didn't allow each other to blame themselves. And by doing so, they were slowly fixing the scars that struck them deep. Two negatives make a positive. In a strange sense that's what they strived to do now.

Jungkook was glad. Despite the little hiccup from last week, had he not only seen his sister improve tremendously after coming to Korea, but his best friend also try to move on from his scarred past. But he couldn't help but worry at the same time.

What if all of this came to naught?

"You ready?" Yoongi looked up from his mug of coffee, and blinked as Junghwa walked up to him, wearing his clothes. His face was again consumed by a momentary embarrassment, before he gave her a small smile.

"These suit you better than they do me." He chuckled nervously.
"They're really comfy." She smiled, before sitting down at the table across him. At once, Yoongi pushed a cup of coffee towards her, giving her a small smile.

“Truth be told... I'm more of a tea person.” Junghwa grinned sheepishly. “Sorry-” Yoongi began to apologise, but Junghwa shook her head, giving him a thankful smile.

“It’s okay, Yoongi. I’ll give it a try.” She nodded, bringing the mug to her lips and taking a tentative sip. Her eyes immediately widened with surprise as she looked up at Yoongi.

“It’s good.” She murmured. “I could actually start liking coffee now.”
“It’s my mother’s special brew.” He smiled wistfully. “When we used to live together, I’d have this every morning. Still do, actually, even though it’s never as good as hers.”
“You really miss her, huh?” Junghwa smiled sadly.
“I do. Her and Yoonmi. My sister, she’s sixteen.” Yoongi began.
“How come you live alone, Yoongi?” Junghwa asked curiously. Yoongi blinked, before letting out a sigh.

“My mother wanted to go back to Daegu, but I didn’t.” He began slowly, tracing the rim of his black mug with his forefinger. "I couldn't leave. There are too many good memories I have here... in Seoul."
"Ah-" Junghwa nodded, though it didn't make as much sense to her as it did to him.

"I wanted to join the same high school as Joon and Tae. That's two." Yoongi grinned. "Ma didn't take it well when I told her I wanted to stay. But she came around in the end."

He bit his lip as he faintly saw the reflection of his face in his coffee, before looking up at Junghwa. “It actually took quite a bit of arguing for her to sway to my side. She was honestly scared of letting me out of her sight. She’d already lost her eldest son, so I can’t exactly blame her.”

He sighed again, looking up at the ceiling with yet another wistful expression.

"But I got here in the end. I got into SAHS with a full scholarship for all the three years I was here." He shrugged. "I've been managing on my own ever since. Ma paid half my rent the first year but I told her to stop cause I got more money."
"How? They pay you good at the garage?" Junghwa asked curiously.
"No. There's not much from that, just enough for everyday stuff." He mumbled. "Most of my cash is from the underground scene. Contests, impromptu cyphers-"
"Wait a second." She arched her eyebrows. "You rap? Underground?"
"That's how I make most of my money..." He shrugged. "Not many people outside the shelter talk about what they do underground... It's all low-key."
"Ah, makes sense." Junghwa nodded. "You got a stage name or something?"

Yoongi bit his lip as he looked at Junghwa nervously, before jumping up to his feet. Her eyes followed him as he walked to the counter, grabbing a pen and a small notepad. Opening it quickly, he scribbled something down just as fast, before walking back to the table, taking a seat he held the notebook out towards her.

"Suga." She mumbled, and couldn't help but smile when he began to blush again.

"I've only talked about it with the other guys. I was kinda pissed when Hobie started chanting it during the match." "I thought that was an acronym for 'shooting guard', something like that."
"It is, actually." Yoongi smiled sheepishly. "But enough about that."
"Okay..." She shrugged, before giving him a curious look. "If you don't mind my asking... What happened to your dad?"

Suddenly, the kitchen was silent again, filled with yet another awkward silence as Yoongi stared at his clenched fists, glaring at the table mat with such ferocity that even Junghwa felt intimidated, and he wasn't even cross with her.

Junghwa opened to say 'Never mind', when Yoongi glanced up at her, giving her a sad smile.

"Remember how I said I'd never understand how you feel the day your father passed?" He began quietly, and Junghwa nodded, a shiver running down her spine as she remembered the phone call from Jungho that day.

Yoongi sighed, and said, "My dad's dead. And I don't miss him."

Junghwa noted the way the words dripped off his tongue with disgust, resentment... shame?

"Surely, that can't be." She stuttered. "You must have loved him at some point-"
"Please. That abusive son of a ?" He scoffed. "I did 'love' him at some point. He's done things that'll make your toes curl, Junghwa. He's really not that great."

Yoongi let out a sigh, before he looked back at her. "He was an alcoholic, well before I was born. It had never been that bad until fifth grade. When the got fired from his job. That's when things hit the roof. He used to beat me and Ma all the time. It's why I don't speak much, I guess. I was scared of him. I'd never stand up to him for me and her. And I hated that. And I hated him."

His eyes glazed with anger as he looked away, shaking his head. "Things were really bad for us after he died. Ma worked triple, often four shifts a day to pay the bills. Yoonjae hyung worked odd jobs, even Yoonmi chipped in with her small pay from a job at the local convenience store. This was when I first started writing songs."
"You were really young, weren't you?"
"Middle school. Just shy of fourteen when my brother took me to an underground gig. It was awesome." Yoongi grinned slowly. "I'd sneak out at eleven, when everyone was in bed, and take part in contests. I was lucky enough to win for quite a bit."
"Your mother didn't catch you?"
"Oh no." Yoongi smiled again, much wider than before. "Only hyung knew about it, and he wasn't stupid enough to tell Ma. He knew I could take care of myself."

"Yoonmi took his death harder than any of us did. But that only fuelled her want to help the family out." He smiled wistfully. "She works as a waitress back home to get in more money. Me and Ma were dead against it at first."
"What made you come around?" Junghwa questioned.
"The fact that the restaurant she works at is owned by her best friend's family. They're good people."

Junghwa sighed, before smiling at the wooden surface as she twiddled her thumbs. "I used to work part-time. At a garage and some other place I can't really remember."

Her smile immediately disappeared as she glanced back up at Yoongi, giving him a defeated look. "I did it to get my hands on stash."

Yoongi looked at her silently; he didn't say anything, but the intensity reflected in his eyes propelled her to continue.

"No one really- wanted to be friends with me. Everyone felt like there was something... off about me." She mumbled. "High school was when it all began. Grade nine. That's when I first started pot."
"How'd that happen?"
"I was walking back home when I stumbled upon the druggie crowd from eleventh grade." She sighed. "I knew it was wrong but I was happy when they called me over. Happy to have been noticed after being invisible for so long."

"I- that's how it all began. I used to hang with them. Smoke up and . I didn't need anyone else. We were never friends, per se… but this would do." Junghwa sipped at her coffee again, which was already lukewarm. "And then I got caught in school."
"And that's how your parents knew."
"They didn't know I had been doing it for most of the year." Junghwa shrugged. "Until Jungkook told them. Rehab followed, for two months."
"How did the alcohol start...?" He asked hesitantly, and she shook her head as she looked up at him again.

"I hit rock bottom after I was expelled. My family was disappointed in me and that killed me on the inside. Even considered suicide, at one point... But I decided to start drinking instead."

"The pain," Junghwa smiled wistfully. "It was so much more bearable. Of course, now I had to be extra careful. We relocated to New York from Jersey after the whole thing, and I got my own room and stuff."
"Let me guess..." Yoongi said quietly. "You'd sneak out when everyone was asleep."
"Yep. Another year of this followed. And then, when I was out at someone's house for a party, this guy thought it would funny to slip me a toffee spiked with acid." She sighed. "Needless to say, the trip was a bad one.”
“How bad?” Yoongi asked hesitantly, and Junghwa sighed again, looking up at him painfully.

“Bad enough to give my mother several panic attacks until we got to the hospital.” Junghwa mumbled, feeling tight as she spoke with much struggle. “I- I screamed so loud you could hear it down the hospital hallway.”

Yoongi didn’t know what to say. Having suffered from the abusive nature of his alcoholic father, his natural reaction, of course, would have been to feel repulsed by this other side of Junghwa. But he couldn’t do that.

And he sure as hell wouldn’t, either.

“And then, rehab again… which .” Junghwa shrugged, finishing the last bit of her coffee in a single gulp. “Then, in eleventh grade. And, you know what happened after that…”

The accident. Yoongi sighed as he looked at Junghwa, the forlorn expression on her face making him feel horrible on the inside. After all that had happened over the last week, it had become difficult for Yoongi to see his friend even remotely sad, especially the previous night.

Yoongi opened his mouth to offer words of comfort, but found himself unable to think of anything to say without inflicting more harm than good. He swallowed his words, before exhaling slowly.

“To be honest, Hwa… I don’t know how to make you feel better, at this point.” Yoongi began, giving her a painful look. “But if it offers you any comfort… whatever’s happened in the last week, and the knowledge of your past, it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a small smile. “That makes me glad, truly, it does. T-Thank you. For hearing me out. Really. I wasn’t expecting you to… say much, but I’m glad you heard me out, and stuff.”
“Anytime.” Yoongi shrugged, before glancing at the clock. “Hey, it’s 9:00. If we’re lucky, we might be able to make it to Jin’s for breakfast.”

Junghwa stood up, offering to put away Yoongi’s mug with hers. As she walked to the sink, she heard him say, “Jin bought a new car a few weeks ago.”

And Junghwa knew Yoongi well enough to easily pick up on the tone of mischief in his voice. She glanced around, raising her brows as she asked, “Have you got different colours?”

With a smirk. Yoongi pulled out a bundle of colourful Post-Its from one of the kitchen drawers, waving it in the air. “You should know, Hwa, that I was prepared for this from day one.”

“Yoongi? What are you doing?”

Yoongi and Junghwa looked up from the body of the sleek black car, freezing in their spots as they glanced back at the older, brown haired woman. Junghwa could immediately tell that the woman that had walked on their mischief making was none other than Kim Seokjin’s mother.

Oh boy.

She immediately glanced at Yoongi nervously, but the older male was far from nervous, standing up to give her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, Mrs. Kim. We thought this might be a nice shock, er, surprise for Jin-”

“Save the explanations, Yoongi.” Mrs. Kim shook her head, but Junghwa was even more surprised to see that there wasn’t any irritation on her face; rather, she looked mildly amused.

“Please, go ahead.” She suddenly laughed, making Junghwa blink rapidly, unable to believe what she was hearing. Yoongi, seeing the utmost shock on his friend’s face, laughed as he gently ruffled her hair.

“I forgot this was the first time you’re meeting Jin’s mother. Mrs. Kim, this is Junghwa, Jungkook’s sister.” He grinned at Mrs. Kim as he patted Junghwa’s head.

“Oh, Junghwa! Jin’s told me a bit about you.” Junghwa’s eyes nervously scanned the older woman’s face for any signs of malice; fortunately for her, there seemed to be none. However, it was with much hesitance that she walked over to Mrs. Kim, who had beckoned her to come and take a seat on the porch beside her.

However, Junghwa soon found that she could be very comfortable with Jin’s mother, who was just as good natured as he was, perhaps a tad bit more mischievous, too, as she would occasionally walk over to her son’s car, helping Yoongi stick some more notes across the windows.

Junghwa and Mrs. Kim were in fits of laughter by the time Yoongi had put the finishing touches of the sticky notes on Jin’s brand new car, which was now a colourful masterpiece with all the sticky notes they had plastered onto the metal body and windows. Much to both the women’s excitement, Yoongi had the nerve to draw a large smiley face on the Post-Its stuck across the windshield.

“You’re pretty cool, Mrs. Kim!” Junghwa laughed. “Having you side with us was the last thing I’d ever have expected.”
“Well, Junghwa, I suppose I have my moments.” Mrs. Kim winked at the younger girl as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s nine thirty-five, which means Seokjin’s going to step out right about now.”

And Mrs. Kim had barely finished speaking those words when her son walked out the door, running his hand through his messy hair. He rubbed his eyes as he walked over to where he thought his mother was; his hands immediately went around Junghwa as he pulled her into a tight hug.

“Good morning, Jin.” Junghwa laughed, to which Jin sleepily replied, “Good morning, Junghwa.”

Jin immediately did a double take, backing away slowly as he rubbed his eyes, before weakly muttering, “Junghwa? Where’s Mom?”

“I’m right here, Princess.” Mrs. Kim spoke up, raising her mug of coffee at her son. “And so are your friends.”
“Oh hey, Hwa. You skipped school too?” He smiled at her sheepishly, embarrassed at having mistaken her for his mother.
“Oh, she isn’t the only one, Jinnie.”

Jin arched his eyebrows, walking across the porch towards the sound of what was unmistakably Yoongi’s voice. His eyes fell on the black haired male, who was smiling up at him cheekily.

That was when he saw the colourful mess they made of his car.

“The ?!” Jin ran up to his car, his eyes widening at the mass of Post-Its that nearly completely covered the black body. Junghwa and Mrs. Kim burst out into shrieks of laughter as a distraught Jin ran his fingers through his hair with complete confusion and desolation.

“Min Yoongi!” Jin suddenly turned around, glaring at the shorter male. Before Yoongi could even move away, Jin had tackled him, holding him in a headlock as he growled, “You’re going to clean my car for the rest of the year if the paint’s ed up, you hear?”
“Jin! Language!” Mrs. Kim gave her son a reprimanding look, before sighing at Junghwa. “I’m sorry, my son often has violent tendencies at home.”
“I would have never known, he’s not like this at school.” Junghwa murmured, amazed by the sudden change in Jin’s demeanour.
“Honey, I don’t think anyone ever is.” Mrs. Kim shrugged, giving her son a wistful smile.

Those words struck harder than they should have ever been allowed to.

And Yoongi and Jin could notice Junghwa’s expression change, though it wasn’t very obvious at first. And they knew that those words might have inflicted damage they hadn’t intended to.

Yoongi was the first to act, walking up to Mrs. Kim. He put his arm around her shoulder as he began to lead her away, while saying, “Mrs. Kim, isn’t it time for breakfast now?”
“Oh, so you think you’ll be staying for breakfast, Yoongi?” She looked at him amusingly as the both of them walked back inside the house, their laughter reaching all the way outside.

“She didn’t mean it in that way.” Jin sighed as he patted Junghwa’s head. “Yeah?” “I know. Just-” Junghwa shrugged, looking down at her shoes as the horrible thoughts of her past began to torture her mind once more.

“Yeah, I know.” Jin slung his arm around her shoulder, looking down at her with a kind smile. “Breakfast?”
“Yes please.” Junghwa nodded, slowly smiling as she allowed Jin to bring her inside.

And that's the end of chapter 23! :0 I am so sorry that it's shorter than what I normally write, but it's just that my writer's block is so bad and I kinda got lazy with the ending too, but now breakfast with the amazing Mrs. Kim is something you all have to look forward to. Anyway, do leave a comment, if you'd like to, and also I've replied to some today (they have been such late replies and I am so sorry T.T) and I love you all so much <3 Ephemeral is at 158 subs and it makes me so happy that there are so many people to read it :) I guess that's all from me today! Hope you like it, and sorry for the length T.T