Another week flew by and Jimin wanted to be alone during lunch on a Friday, so he went to the library. This made Taehyung worry a bit, but Jungkook assured him that Jimin just needed to be on his own for a while to gather his thoughts. Jimin had pulled out a random book from one of the shelves just for show so he wouldn't get kicked out by the librarian and sat at a secluded table in the back.
 

His thoughts went back to this morning, he had woken up to the faint sound of his parents arguing. Jimin had gone to the kitchen and overheard his dad telling his mom that she shouldn't be treating Jimin this way, his mom hadn't said anything and simply stated that she was going to the grocery store. Jimin watched her go and had felt the same hurt he had felt the first day she started avoiding him. His dad had spotted him and gave him a little shrug before saying he wasn't going to give up until Mrs. Park saw the mistake in her actions. Jimin had gone back to his room, using the excuse that he had to get ready for school so his dad wouldn't see his oncoming tears.
 

If I hadn't said anything, they wouldn't be fighting... thought Jimin with a sigh as he felt a prickling sensation in the corners of his eyes; it wasn't the first time his parents had argued about him.

He was just so tired of this. He was tired of his mom ignoring him, he was tired of his dad fighting his battles, he was tired of lying to his friends that he was fine, he was tired of crying every time things got this overwhelming. Jimin let out a soft sob as tears rolled freely down his face and covered his face with his hands. What he was tired most of all was having to pretend like all this wasn't completely getting to him.
 

He was feeling so frustrated and lost, he wasn't smiling as much anymore and the people who care about him were starting to notice. First, Hoseok tried to cheer him up, but Jimin had just up and left with the over used excuse of having homework to do. Next, it was Namjoon and Yoongi who tried to distract him with basketball, but Jimin had ended up feeling annoyed all of a sudden and threw the basketball as he stormed away. Jin tried showering him with affection, but Jimin would feel smothered and found himself wanting to just tell his boyfriend to back off. Taehyung was a bit more apprehensive in approaching him, but Jimin couldn't find it in himself to get mad at him.
 

Jungkook seemed to be the only one to understand that what Jimin wanted was some space, so he would only leave Jimin alone when the latter asked him to.
 

They say truth is supposed to set you free... but why do I feel so trapped? thought Jimin as another soft sob escaped him.
 

He doesn't regret coming out to his parents, he just wished things hadn't turned out this way. He knows it could have been worse and both of his parents could have turned their backs on him, they could have even kicked him out of the house like Hyeri's parents had done to her. There was just this inner turmoil that was affecting Jimin so negatively that he couldn't stand it. It was like his body was suddenly on auto-pilot now as Jimin stood up while wiping his tears away, he looked towards the double doors of the library and just ran out; ignoring the librarian's protests. He ran into the hallway and continued to run aimlessly, going down some stairs and jumping the last few.
 

Pretty soon, Jimin found himself out the front doors of the school and ran towards the closed gates. His momentum let him easily jump up and climb over them, he then safely jumped down and slowly stood back up. Looking back at the school behind him while breathing heavily, Jimin gave it a good look before turning back around and started walking to wherever his legs would take him.

===================================

"What do you mean Jimin left the school on his own?" asked Jin with an unsettled expression as he looked at Taehyung and Jungkook; the two had suddenly rushed over to his place.
 

They explained how they had gone to the library a few minutes before lunch ended and didn't see their friend there. They asked the librarian and she said Jimin had run out. Feeling uneasy, they tried calling and texting him countless times as they did a thorough search of the school.
 

"He wasn't anywhere in the building and we checked the whole school... Three times." said Taehyung, his expression looking like he was on the verge of tears.
 

"No one saw him leave and he never answered our calls or texts." said Jungkook with furrowed brows.
 

"This isn't like him at all." said Jin as he put his hand on his forehead with a worried look on his face, he then looked at the other two again.
 

"Well, let's round up the others and check his favorite places, that's the obvious thing to do right now." he said.
 

Taehyung and Jungkook nodded and after gathering the others, they picked who went where and spilt up. But as the day started fading into night, the guys had no trace of Jimin. Jin was trying to control the rising panic as he and the others gathered at his place once again.
 

"Where else could he possibly be?" asked Jin as he paced back and forth in the living room, thinking hard about any other possible place his boyfriend could go to.
 

"Did anyone check his house?" asked Yoongi, who was sitting on the edge of the couch.
 

"I did." said Hoseok with a raise of his hand from his spot on the floor.
 

"His mom was there and when I asked if Jimin was home, she just said no all too quick and closed the door on me. Then I heard her calling out to him, but I never heard Jimin answer back." he explained.
 

"That means he wasn't there. When we were younger and Jimin would get sulky about something, he would still answer if his parents called him." said Jin as he furrowed his brows.
 

"Should we contact his dad? Jimin might be with him." suggested Taehyung.
 

Jin nodded and stopped his pacing to call Mr. Park's cell phone, since he was still at work. They talked for a bit and when Jin hung up with deflated shoulders, the others knew it was another dead end.
 

"He says Mrs. Park called him a bit earlier and asked him the same thing." said Jin, he let out a sigh and looked down at his phone.
 

"That means she's not completely against Jimin." said Namjoon, perking up a bit.
 

"You're right... Mrs. Park calling Mr. Park is a sign that she still cares about Jimin." said Taehyung, his face lighting up.
 

"Okay, then that means we can't give up in trying to find him." said Hoseok, he got up and looked at the others with a determined look.
 

"Let's go and do another search. If we try our hardest this time, I'm sure we'll find him safe and sound." he said.
 

The others let out cheers of approval and bolted towards the door in an unruly fashion, but that was to be expected. Hoseok was about to join them when he noticed Jin had taken a seat on the couch and had his face covered by one of his hands, he walked over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
 

"We'll find him, Jin hyung. I promise." assured Hoseok with a small smile.
 

"I hope so." said Jin with a soft sniff.

===================================

"'Give Jimin hyung his space, Taehyung hyung.' 'He needs to be alone to think, Taehyung hyung.'" mimicked Taehyung with a grouchy look as he walked with his arms crossed.
 

He knew Jungkook meant well in leaving Jimin alone, but Taehyung kept having this nagging feeling in his gut that something bad like this would happen. He had searched the dance studio again, but didn't see any sign of Jimin. Taehyung then wandered aimlessly while keeping his eyes alert for anyone who resembled Jimin, he would occasionally stop someone and show them a picture of his friend and ask if they had seen him. This went on for a good hour until he asked this elderly couple sitting on a bench and pulled out the picture of Jimin on his phone.
 

"Excuse me, but have either of you seen him? He's my best friend and my friends and I have been looking for him all day." said Taehyung.
 

The couple took the phone in their hands and gave the picture a good look.
 

"I recall seeing a boy who looked just like this walking by here about and hour or two ago." said the elderly man as he squinted his eyes.
 

"R-Really?! Um, which way did he go?" asked Taehyung, trying to contain his excitement in case he was let down.
 

"I believe he went that way." replied the elderly man as he pointed to the left.
 

"No, dear, he went that way. Towards the Han River." said the elderly lady with a kind smile as she pointed in the other direction.
 

"Oh, that's right. He did go th