[CONTENTID1] Twenty-Six [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

It takes an entire week, and a solemn promise on Jin’s behalf to take care of you, before the doctors reluctantly allow you to leave the hospital. They had wanted to keep you in the intensive care unit for another few days to monitor your condition, but when the police began to poke into your situation, sensing something suspicious about your bizarre accident, it was time to go. Namjoon, with all his eloquent charm, was still no match for the nosy law enforcement agents.

But after many hours of coaxing, flirting, and flat out bribery, Jin finally managed to convince the doctors to discharge you. Your theory is that they let you go just to get the seven noisy boys out of there. After school everyday, their voices could be heard bouncing off the walls, and Taehyung had already broken a stretcher playing with it too hard.

You press your forehead against the cool window, watching the cars and traffic lights zip past your eyes. “Oppa, this isn’t the way to my dorm,” you say in surprise when you finally recognize the street you’re on.

Jin snorts as he makes a sharp turn that sends you flying backwards in surprise, “Like we’d ever leave you alone after that stunt you pulled.”

You have no response for that. You swallow the lump in your throat and concentrate on watching the familiar path Jin steers you through to their apartment.

Jin parks outside of their building and walks to the trunk of the car to pick up your bags. Alarmed, you rush over to try to take them from him, but he shakes you off with a glare. As a result, you’re forced to awkwardly trail after him as he leads you up the stairs and down the hallway.

  Namjoon answers the door, “Oh good. You managed to get her out, hyung. Ok, hurry and come inside.”

“___!” Taehyung bombards you with a rib crushing hug the moment you step through the door, “I’m so happy you decided to live with us!”

“I… I was not aware of this decision,” you mumble to deaf ears as he lifts you off your feet.

“Yah! Careful, kid,” Yoongi scolds him from the side.

Taehyung sheepishly places you back on your feet while Hoseok examines you for damage, “She’s fine,” he says after a minute, and then you find yourself flying off the ground again.

“Ok, everyone calm down, and come here. We have a lot to discuss,” Namjoon calls from the living room.

Hoseok sets you down, but doesn’t let go, his arms wound tightly around your waist as he practically carries you to the other room. As always, nausea fills your chest, but it’s nothing compared to the sickly feeling of a half dozen IV drips or the countless pills shoved down your throat during the week of your hospital stay, and you cherish the warmth of this familiar nausea.

Hoseok plops down on the armchair in the corner and pulls you on his lap, unwilling to let you go for even a second. Jealous, Taehyung climbs onto the armrest and slides down until he’s crushing you under his weight. You just laugh and circle your arms around his waist, pulling him onto your lap like a small child.

The hyungs raise their eyebrows at your little spectacle, but wisely choose not to comment. Namjoon, Jin and Yoongi sit down at the couch, and Jimin pulls up a chair across the room from you. Your breathing stammers at the sight of him. He doesn’t look at you.

He still isn’t speaking to you. Out of all the members still upset with you, Jimin was taking it worst. And rightfully so. Guilt fills your chest and you wonder how you’ll ever make it up to him. While you’re considering these thoughts, it suddenly occurs to you that you’re missing a member.

“Hey, where’s Jungkook?”

The room falls silent at that. You feel Hoseok and Taehyung stiffen next to you. Yoongi exchanges a glance with the leader before sighing and saying, “He’s in his room.”

“Is he alright?” You frown in concern.

“Yes, but he’s still upset… You might want to talk to him after this.”

You nod, even as your stomach sinks. So you’re wrong. Jimin isn’t the only member you have to worry about. Sensing your discomfort, Hoseok squeezes your hand.

“I will.”

“Let’s focus on our next steps right now, ok?” Namjoon says, “I scheduled a meeting with Headmaster Kwon in the morning… Though we shouldn’t have any high hopes for a successful meeting.”

“Headmaster Kwon’s an idiot, but even he should know better than to put the students at danger,” Jin frowns.

“Yeah, but he kind of has it out for us,” Hoseok says as he examines the contrast of your skin against his, “I think he’s holding a grudge against ____, Namjoon and me for the Aorn incident.”

“That’s why we need a game plan,” Namjoon speaks out, “A way to tackle on Headmaster Kwon, so he has no choice but to help us out… And we should start out by having ____ tell us everything about that night, once and for all.”

You stiffen, and your eyes jump to Jimin. He stares back, his expression unreadable. Taehyung soothingly his fingers through your hair, “It’s okay, ____-ah,” he murmurs, “You can tell us anything.”

You nod and take a deep breath for courage. Your father needs to be stopped. Time to start strategizing.

After your impromptu meeting, you decide that it’s beyond time you talk to Jungkook. Compared to Jimin, the way the maknae is acting out is equivalent to a temper tantrum, and anger is easier to deal with than Jimin’s pain. Anger is something you’re very familiar with.

You rap your knuckles against the door of the room he shares with Namjoon and wait. No response. You sigh and try again. Still nothing. This time, you open the door a crack and stick your head in, “Jungkook, can I come in?”

“Do whatever you want,” he mumbles, his back turned to you on the bed.

That isn’t a full out rejection, and you’ll take it. You slip into the room and close the door behind you. “Let’s talk about this, ok?” You say as you awkwardly take a seat on the corner of his bed.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he turns even further away from you, muffling his face in a pillow.

It’s times like these where you’re reminded of his age. Despite his masculine appearance, he’s just a kid at heart. “I’m sorry, Jungkook.”

He stiffens, but still refuses to say anything. You stare at his prone form, covered with blankets stubbornly pulled over his head. There is no sense in appealing to his logic at this point. He’s clearly too upset to listen to anything you have to say.

So you do the only thing you can think of. You pull up the covers and slip in bed with him. There is a beat of silence as Jungkook tenses under your touch. Fearful that he might spurn your advances, you nevertheless curl your arms around his waist and press your face against his shoulder blade, “I’m sorry,” you whisper.

He is as still as a stature, every muscle flexed with tension underneath your touch. Embarrassed heat creeps up your neck as the seconds tick by. You’re about to climb out of his bed with an apology on your tongue when Jungkook finally reacts.

He abruptly rolls over and his eyes lock on yours. With his face so close to yours, his gaze pierces you, and you unconsciously scoot back a few inches on the bed. He doesn’t stop staring, and you nearly go cross-eyed trying to meet his gaze.

Inch by inch, you slowly curl your arms around his neck, as though approaching a wild animal. He stiffens against your embrace, and for a second, you’re afraid he might bite. Instead, he sighs deeply, exhaling hot air against your hair.

And then, he’s rolling over, pinning you against the mattress. His arms cage you in and he settles his whole weight on top of you with no reservations about your comfort. It’s a selfish action, but you willingly endure the constriction of your lungs and the ache of pain in your ribs from his crushing weight. It’s the least you can do after all the pain you’ve put him through.

Jungkook burrows his nose deep in the crook of your neck, past all the layers of hair, and inhales deeply against your skin. You shiver at the sensations and rake your nails against his scalp in little soothing circles.

“I almost lost you,” he whispers. His lips are so warm against your skin that you shiver again, “Noona… Never do that again.”

The thinly veiled devastation seeps through the cracks in his tremulous mind block.

“If you feel so strongly about me… Then you must understand why I did it, Jungkook,” you sigh, “I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to you…”

“And you don’t think I feel the exact same way?” he snaps. Startled by his harsh tone, your hands still in his hair. He bites his lip, guilty about raising his voice, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just—I love you, too… You know that right?”

“I do now,” you smile. You can feel the heat of his blush against your neck, so you politely refrain from teasing him. “I am so truly sorry for hurting you.”

“I know you’re used to acting on your own… But we’re a family now. You can’t forget about the rest of us.”

“I know, I know. If there is any way I can make this up to you, I would.”

“Well…” He says, thoughtfully tapping on his lower lip, “There is something you could do…”

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter