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Chapter 1:

Childhood Friends

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 Sighing, Jungkook dropped his bag on his desk before he sat down at his designated place. He ignored the glances thrown at his way, used to the love-struck expression of his female classmates. The brunette was exhausted after getting application forms and invitations shoved in his face the moment he entered the school grounds.

Why can’t people understand that he’s not interested in joining their respective clubs? Sure, he likes arts but he doesn’t plan on getting himself involved in representing the campus nor does joining a sport to compete with other schools nor even performing arts just because.

Jungkook has a lot of hobbies. Once upon a time, he used to join more than one clubs—especially in middle school where he juggled his schedule between basketball practice, performing arts and painting. But back then, he was inspired to see a certain someone’s smile and he craved for that person’s appreciation.

But now, Jungkook has lost all that inspiration since that day. The person he cared for distanced himself away from him, which in return, Jungkook has detached himself as well. And that’s how Jungkook found himself joining the least popular club, reading books and falling asleep in his free time.

If anyone told young Jungkook that he’d no longer be basketball captain nor would he become the star of the campus any longer, he’d raise his eyebrow at you in disbelief. And if anyone told him before that he’d be spending his free time around nerds—reading books, then he’d laugh at your face.

Guess where he is right now.

As he settled himself in his chair, pulling out his notes to study for his first subject test. Ah, Physics. Jungkook thought. He has studied about reflections and mirrors last night but he decided to review once again, having nothing else to do.

Let’s see—Light rays follow a rather predictable pattern when it comes to reflection off a plane mirror surface. The angle at which the light ray approaches the mirror surface is equal to the angle at which it depa— .

He looked up to see a bright smile plastered on the girl in front of him, holding another application form that prints ‘Theatre club’ on its heading and Jungkook resists the urge to curse them all to leave him alone in peace. Before the girl could even open , Jungkook raised a hand to stop her, “Excuse me, but I’m in the middle of reviewing my notes. The class is starting in a few moments, I’d go back to my class if I were you, and otherwise, you’ll be late.”

The girl looked insulted by his statement before she had that bright smile on again, except this time, it looked forced. “Ah, you don’t need to worry about that Jungkook-ssi. In case you didn’t notice, we’re classmates.”

Jungkook stared blankly at her face, trying to recall if he had seen her before but to no avail. The brunette was certain that he’d recognize her if she was a classmate. After all, Jungkook was not a snob, he just wasn’t interested in entertaining persistent (annoying) students.

“My name is Hyejin.” She smiled at him, “My friends call me Jin. You can call me that too if you want. Especially if you join our club. We saw your performance in last year’s theatre project and you have so much talent! It’d be great if you—“

Jungkook drowned the rest of her words as the past came back to haunt him.

“Jin-hyung! I scored three points in today’s game!”

“You were amazing, Kookie! Hyung is so proud of you!”

“Jin-hyung, look! I painted a picture of you.”

“Kookie, it looks great!”

“It’s still not that good but I promise I’ll paint a better picture of you.”

“Thank you, Kookie. You don’t need to but I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, hyung.” Young Jungkook said shyly before saying, “I really like you hyung. Like lots.”

A smile. “Hyung likes you a lot too.”

“—so we were thinking of casting you in our upcoming Hamlet play. It’d be really great with someone like you who could project your emotions really well. We’re also planning on a musical play. With your vocals and dance skills, it’d be really helpf—“

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook cut her words, “But I’m not interested.”                          

“But you have so much potential.” She said with a pout, “It’d be a waste of your talent to not—“

“I’m sorry, Kookie. But I—“ a shaky breath “I can’t meet you anymore.”

“I’m not interested,” Jungkook said with finality and there was a hard look on his face that made the girl flinch. “Look for someone else.”

Hyejin hesitated for a moment before she backed away when the teacher entered the room.

Jungkook went back to his notes but he could no longer concentrate as the memories came back. He cursed the voice from the past as his pretty face haunted him again. The brunette hated that part of his childhood. But deep down in his heart, it was also his most precious memory. Even if it left his heart and mind in ruins.

He wondered what would’ve been his life today if that day didn’t happen. If only he knew better.

He suddenly recalled the message from last night.

Jungkook held back a shiver. It can’t be that it’s coming back, right? It’s been so long that the brunette was almost convinced that it’d been nothing but a nightmare. As if it didn’t exist.

The teacher called for their attention as Jungkook kept all his notes away. In a few moments, they’ll be starting their test. The brunette cleared his mind as best as he could.

Taehyung fell asleep in class.

He woke up to the sound of his name called by an angry voice that came from none other than his Geometry professor. Apparently, he was called three times in a row.

He was immediately told to go to the Guidance Office and his professor would see him there after class. After a pissed ‘disrespectful brat’ comment from the old man, Taehyung was kicked out of class.

If this were any other day, Taehyung would grovel and pull out his best aegyo to get on the good side of his professor, usually, they would give in because who wouldn't. But today was not any other day, Taehyung was completely drained.

Today was the going to be the audition for the roles in Hamlet. He stayed up all night practicing lines that would get him the part he wanted. But after receiving the message, the silver head lost all the charisma he had and was replaced with anxiety. In result, he kept tossing and turning in his bed, his head filled with disturbing images that lead him to suffer the rest of the night.  

He woke up in cold sweat as he relived that day in his nightmares.  

At this rate, Taehyung wasn’t even sure if he could get the role he wanted. He was drained and his head ached and he wanted nothing more than to drop everything and bury himself to the ground and sleep for eternity and his body felt like it was crushed under debris and—his mind was running a thousand miles per second.

It was heavy. But not as heavy as his heart.

His heart was a baggage of emotions—fear, pain, anger, anticipation, and anxiety. So many things that he can’t find it in himself to be productive today.

Lost in his thoughts, Taehyung faced a dead end. He blinked, wondering how the hell he could get lost in these hallways that were always familiar to him.

Sighing, Taehyung wondered where he was supposed to go again, Oh yeah. Guidance Office. He turned his heels to retrace his steps before he stopped in his tracks. For some reason, the hallways seemed longer than usual today.

In Taehyung’s eyes, the halls stretched all the way across that the other end seemed too far away. But the walls were closing in on him, the doors parallel to each other came closer as if they would meet. The narrow ways made Taehyung feel claustrophobic and he held his breath.

On the other end of the halls, there was a person who stared back at him, eyes wide in shock and mouth hanging slightly open. His heart skipped a beat because it was him. His heart from the past.

“Hoseok-hyung!”

“Yah! It’s J-hope now!”

“What’s a J-hope?”

“It’s my stage name. In the future, I’m going to be a well-known dancer and I’m going to be known as J-hope!”

“Hyung, that’s so cool!”

Taehyung was frozen on the spot. It’s been so long since he’s seen him. Ever since that day, he never talked to the others, never talked to him. He heard about the others, he’s heard about him and he knew about his struggles and he had been so worried but he had to hold back because they can’t meet each other anymore, not after that day, no, that day ruined everything and he doesn’t—his mind is going overdrive once again.

Taehyung had to be the first to break their eye contact, turning away and closing his eyes to cure an impending headache. When he looked back again, the hallways were no longer narrow, the other end seemed closer now but he wasn’t there anymore. As if it all never happened and he never existed and there had been nothing in the past and—please stop thinking.

Taehyung always hated this part of him. The part where his mind tended to think and think and think and he grows more anxious with every thought and it needs to stop.

Maybe he should get going now. Yes, he should. Go where? Ah, yes, the Guidance Office. He should really go, or else he’ll get in trouble. Trouble. Trouble leads to more trouble. Such as…such as not getting a role in Hamlet. , Hamlet. He forgot the lines. What is he going to do later? God, help him. He’s lost. It’s all because of that ing message, it’s because he saw him today and he ca—

“Kim Taehyung.” The said silver head turned to the sound of a professor’s voice, “Why are you standing in the middle of the halls? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Uhh,” Taehyung was left dumbfounded. “I was told by Sejin-nim to go to the Guidance Office.”

The other professor stared at him in disbelief, “Well then why are you standing there?”

“I’m on my way there,” Taehyung said, bowing to the professor before hurriedly leaving.

He ran across the hallways, keeping his mind as blank as he could, focusing solely on the path to the Guidance Office. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think—

Let’s play

Words flashed in his mind and his heart picked up again. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t thi—

In the woods

Kim Taehyung fell unconscious. The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was a familiar voice that called out to him.

Jimin was late for school. Like, thirty minutes late. After overworking last night, he didn’t hear his alarm go off this morning. He was surprised to see the time when he woke up. He left his phone at home, not wanting to see it after last night.

His phone must be broken, yeah it must be. Or last night was probably a prank. That’s what it most likely was.

Jimin didn’t have it in him to fool the Hall monitors so he willingly walked his way to the Guidance office. Jimin was a good student, he wanted to disappoint no one. He will be honest. He will be good. He won’t break rules.

As he walked towards the office, he sighed before he reached out for the doorknob. This was going to be his first offense. He’ll probably just get an oral warning for this but Jimin is already beating himself. Because how can someone be so careless and stupid?

Jimin shouldn’t have let the text affect him so much. The professor would be disappointed in him, his parents would be disappointed in him, heck, Jimin is disappointed in himself. Maybe he should’ve puked more last night. Maybe he’ll puke so much blood that his heart would stop beating. He wished it stopped beating.

Jimin wished—the thought was cut when he heard the sound of frantic footsteps.

He turned to the sound and was surprised to see a familiar face running towards him with an anxious expression on his face. Jimin felt uneasy when he saw the other in his disheveled state. He was about to turn and pretend not to have seen him when the silver head collapsed.

“Taehyung!” Jimin exclaimed before he even realized and rushed to catch the man’s unconscious body. “Taehyung? Taehyung, wake up!”

The shorter called but the other was out cold. He sighed and looked around for help before the door from the office opened and the Guidance counselor peeked out to see what the ruckus was. His eyes widened when he saw the two of them on the ground, one unconscious.

He crouched beside Jimin and asked, “What happened to him?”

Jimin shook his head saying, “I don’t know. He was running and then he suddenly collapsed, I—“

“Hold him.” The counselor said, “I’ll call the clinic nurse.”

Before Jimin could say anything, the man left him to call for help. The shorter boy held Taehyung closer as he gazed at him worriedly, wondering what had caused this. Jimin couldn’t help but fret over his childhood friend—his best friend, no less—but Jimin wasn’t sure if he still had the right to call him that after all these years.

Have you been taking care of yourself, Tae? Jimin can’t help but mentally ask his friend. The words wouldn’t come out of his mouth even if Taehyung was unconscious.

Jimin missed him like he missed the others. But none of them had the guts to talk to each other anymore. They parted ways and pretended that they never were friends from the beginning.

He sighed, wondering if their decisions were right. Jimin was not a fool. He knew that every one of them was suffering. Some were just good at hiding it than the others. But Jimin had always been good at reading his friends.

None of them were okay. I mean, who would be?

Jimin turned to the direction where the nurses came with stretchers. He helped them in carrying Taehyung, careful not to hurt him. Jimin gave his friend one last worried look before he looked away.

The bell rung. Jimin just missed his first hour of class.

But that was the last of his worries by now.

Kim Namjoon took a deep breath. The entirety of the school population was gathered in the campus auditorium. The previous principal quitted in the middle of the school year, thus there is a new principal being introduced.

Namjoon frowned as he scanned the auditorium just to see students falling asleep or talking to their peers. It left him perplexed how these people could be so disrespectful to authority. He’s definitely going to do something about that.

His thoughts were disturbed as soon as his attention was called by the Student Council moderator, signaling him to prepare for he was going to speak next. Taking another deep breath, Namjoon mentally prepared himself as the new principal finished his speech.

As soon as the few attentive students clapped their hands after the principal’s speech, Namjoon walked towards the stadium. Upon seeing him, the students started sitting straight, halting their conversations and hurriedly waking their sleeping peers.

The president could barely hold his smirk as he noticed how his presence alerted the students. It seemed that his influence as the president was working.

“Teachers, fellow students, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.” Namjoon gave a slight bow as he greeted, “first and foremost, I would like to extend my warmest welcomes to our new principal Mr. Kim. We are extremely grateful to have you in the midst of this school year. We wish to have a great year with you and once again welcome.”

Namjoon paused for the audience’ applause before he continued, “Secondly, I would like to address regarding the upcoming school fest—“ this announcement led the students to cheer in delight, “and I would like to remind all of you to join an event as you are required. Let us make this year’s event merrier than the last. Also, I’d like to congratulate the campus’ pride and joy, the Bulletproof Basketball team for entering the championship round.”

“The school gives its full support and hope for the best.” He said, “Lastly, prom night is just around the corner. The prom committee is inviting everyone who is willing to help organize the event. If you want to join, please approach Song-nim. The art club is also planning on putting up an exhibit for next week, feel free to visit and support their works. There is also a contest about the school’s theme for the prom. Anyone is free to suggest a theme and there will be judges. Whoever gives the best suggestion will be rewarded.”

With all of that said, Namjoon wrapped it up with a conclusion as he gave the room for the band to officially end the event.

As the members of the band entered, the auditorium came alive, filled with screams coming from the female population of the campus. Especially when the lead vocalist gave all of them a wink and an alluring smile, were metaphorically dropping on the floor.

Namjoon held back a smile as he looked at one of his childhood friends, Jimin, singing in front of the crowd and making it alive. He never imagined that the shy boy he knew back then would become the dropper he was right now.

If only they weren’t as foolish as they were back then, maybe they wouldn’t have to go separate ways.

Namjoon couldn’t help but wonder how things would go if it had been different. They would probably be together, complete and—

No, he can’t go there. He needed to forget. Stop thinking of ‘what if’s because it won’t bring the dead back.

It never happened, Namjoon told himself.

After the band performance, there was another performance by the dance club. Hoseok couldn’t help the jealousy and longingness that clenched his heart as he watched the others perform.

Once upon a time, he was a valued asset to the school. A dancing machine that won many competitions and brought home trophies. He was always the center of their performances and choreographed majority of their dances. But right now, he was merely looking up at the people who were once his friends and dongsaengs. It stung his heart, thinking how he was once there, dancing with the rest, and now he was just watching them from the crowd.

If only he didn’t give in to that guy’s temptation. Jung Hoseok couldn’t help it. Choi Jun-hong stole his heart in the most unexpected way. He was too blinded by his love to realize that he fell for the wrong person.

Jun-hong was his dongsaeng when he was the leader of the dance club. He had always adored the younger for his charisma and talent, and most of all his quirky personality that matched his. And the way Jun-hong smiled, it reminded him of a certain smile from the past he wished to forget.

That smile that always looked up to him. That smile that gave him hope. Hoseok saw that person earlier that day when he was escaping his bullies. They stared at each other in the hallways, trapped in each other’s gaze. But that person was the first to break eye contact, Hoseok also woke up from his trance and ran away.

He committed a grave mistake by falling for Jun-hong. He can’t commit the same mistake for falling for his first love once again. No, this time it won’t end like it did with Jun-hong.

With Jun-hong, he was broken but he could still pick up the broken pieces of his heart. But if he falls for him once again, if he commits another mistake, it will be the end of him. This time he won’t be picking up pieces of himself because there would be nothing left. He will lose everything.

He can’t risk that.

Hoseok thoughts were interrupted by the round of applause and he mechanically followed everyone by clapping along. He didn’t even notice that the performances had just ended. He could see Namjoon walking forward once again for the closing program.

Staring at the other, Hoseok realized that Namjoon was much taller than he used to be. The president has always been tall as a child but now, he towered over all of them. He used to be a shy and clumsy kid who would read books that none of them could relate to. Only Namjoon found Science books more interesting than the picture books the rest of the read.

Everyone has really grown, huh. Hoseok mused to himself, holding back a bitter smile, although we have grown apart.

“—and that will be all for today. One final announcement before I will en—“ Namjoon’s words were cut off when the lights flickered. Hoseok looked around, surprised before he glanced at Namjoon who kept testing out the mic that failed to work.

There was another flicker and this time the lights were off for a longer time before it went back on. There were hushed voices around Hoseok, students mocking the school for their poor maintenance.

He never really understood why people would think that way but then they were too arrogant to even consider these mistakes. Hoseok was about to close his eyes and sigh, but then he heard it.

There was that sound, so small that one would have to strain their ears to hear. But Hoseok heard it clearly. It was a whisper, a very hushed whisper.

Hoseok couldn’t make out the words. He didn’t understand. All he could hear were gibberish words repeated like a mantra. He felt the hairs on his body stand and the room’s temperature dropped by a few degrees.

Suddenly, there was ringing in his ears and he could hear his heart beating loud. So loud. He could hear nothing else but the ringing silence, his heartbeat and the echoes of that voice.

Llllee—plla—eeyy-ennnz—

Hoseok brought both his hands up to cover his ears, shutting his eyes and blocking the words. But no matter how hard he covered himself, the words echoed louder and louder by every second. As if they weren’t whispered in his ears, no.

They were all in his head.

And the past came back to him.

“It’s a promise!” he said with a bright smile as he placed palms over the others’ as they gathered in a circle, “No one will be left behind. Everyone plays! Let’s play together!”

Then as soon as that memory flashed, everything went back. Gone were the ringing silence and the voices in his head. Hoseok looked up and saw his peers staring at him strangely. He learned to ignore them by now, however, he looked up and saw Namjoon looking alert. Gone was his calm aura as his eyes kept darting around the area as if he was wary of something.

The moderator had to call his attention to tell him to finish up the program. Namjoon seemed to have woke up from whatever trance he was in as he remembered what he was supposed to do.  With a forced smile, Namjoon formally ended his speech and soon everyone was dismissed to leave.

Hoseok took his time to observe his old friends then—Jungkook was on the left side of the auditorium, near the fire exit where his classroom was designated to. The youngest had a desolate look on his face as if he was deep in his haunted thoughts. A few rows behind him, Hoseok immediately looked away, was Kim Taehyung who met his gaze earlier this morning and just recently as well.

Why was the younger staring at him? And he looked pale, Hoseok was wondering what happened. Shaking his head, he turned from the stairs that lead to the backstage and saw Jimin walking out, bringing a guitar. The younger looked alright, but Hoseok knew better. Jimin was keeping his distance from others and that bothered Hoseok who recalled how the younger was always so cheerful and clingy with his hyungs.

Sighing, Hoseok scanned the room to look for his other friends but he needn’t have to look much. For a yell was heard just a few rows behind him.

Yoongi glared at the man he had just punched. The guy was his annoying classmate who thought he was brave enough or just plain stupid to mock Yoongi the way he just did.

The other had a scandalized look on his face as he held his bruising cheek and looked up at the man whose eyes shot daggers at him. “What the , man!” he yelled at the dark haired male.

“Don’t speak to me like that.” Yoongi spat out, “ you.”

 “Hey, hey. Don’t get angry. I was only telling the truth.” The man fearlessly said as he stood up, looking down at the smaller male, “The only reason you’re not getting expelled is that you’re a spoiled brat who gets away with anything all because of mommy and daddy.”

The people left to witness the scene held their breaths as they saw Yoongi’s expression darken. Everyone thought that the man was too reckless to call out the most feared person a spoiled brat, even if everyone had the same view.

“You,” Yoongi gritted his teeth, hands clenched into fists as he was shaking with rage. There was a murderous glint in his eyes that made the foolish student flinch when he realized he had crossed the line. He took a step forward as his classmate took one backward. Forward, backward, forward, backward, until his classmate’s back bumped against another person’s chest.

The scared guy turned abruptly to see the student council president. But the president was not looking at him, but towards Min Yoongi who had stopped glaring.

The taller male held an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at the delinquent in front of him. Yoongi stared back at the taller with an equally blank look. He looked as if he was waiting for the other to speak first.

It felt like an eternity before one of them finally spoke, but the words were not directed at the other.

“Leave now,” Namjoon told the student and he did as he was told without second thoughts.

Yoongi watched as the man left through the doors and out of his sight before he diverted his gaze to the student council president, who was once his childhood friend. With a scoff, he turned his heels to leave.

“You heard it, didn’t you?” Namjoon asked the other. The dark haired male paused as he heard the other spoke.

“Heard what?” Yoongi replied. He knew what Namjoon was talking about. He heard the whispers, he recognized the words. But he opted to feign ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“But—“ Yoongi turned around to glare at the taller, leaving him speechless. Voice cold, the man said with finality, “I didn’t hear anything.”

But Namjoon was relentless, “You can’t ignore it, hyung.”

“I can’t ignore something I never heard.” Yoongi spat back, “Now off.”

“No, hyung.” Namjoon was persistent, “If you have not heard it, at the very least, you must’ve gotten a message last night, didn’t you?”

At that, Yoongi stared wide-eyed at Namjoon. The shock was only there for a split-second before his eyes flashed a spectrum of emotions from anger to fear to wariness.

“So you did too, huh.” Namjoon mused. He looked around for a moment, seeing that there were only a few people left. And coincidentally, the few people left were all his childhood friends. From the looks of it, they had been listening to the conversation.

Yoongi also noticed the others. He turned to glare at all of them before his eyes landed on the short vocalist. They held each other’s gazes for a few seconds before Yoongi broke it by looking back at Namjoon. “What are you thinking?” he asked the man who was suddenly silent.

"I'm thinking that he must be back." Namjoon slowly said, observing everyone's reactions that ranged from anger, fear and disbelief.

“You’re kidding.” Yoongi scoffed, “he’s not real. He was nothing but a made-up monster from the past.”

“You know that’s not right, hyung.” The taller retaliated,"If he wasn’t real, then that’s just like saying that…” Namjoon paused as the memories went back again. With a more hushed tone, he said, “that Hyosang-hyung didn’t exist.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened at that as he scanned the room to look for a certain someone’s expression and his gaze landed on Kim Seokjin. The elder had a broken look on his face at the mention of his late best friend. He turned to Namjoon, about to berate him for saying that name but someone else had beat him to it.

“I thought you were better than that.” A low voice spoke and everyone turned to see the brunette speaking. Jungkook had a cold look on his face, “I get that you were trying to convince Yoongi-hyung but mentioning his name is just out of the line.”

Namjoon seemed to have realized his mistake as he turned to Seokjin and apologized, “Hyung, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—“

“It’s okay, Namjoon.” Seokjin said but his eyes were averted so that none of them could see how they were glistening with unshed tears, “I’ve long accepted that h-he’s gone.”

Everyone was silent for a while. There were different feelings swirling inside their hearts. At the mention of the past, they couldn’t help but let the memories come back.

Sensing the dampened mood, Taehyung decided to lighten up the atmosphere, “Hey, now that we’re all here. It’s been so long since we’ve all gathered and spoke to each other, let’s try to not fight okay?”

“Yeah, right. We haven’t been on speaking terms for years because the last time we saw each other was at our friend’s funeral. Let’s act as if we’re all in good terms, shall we?” Yoongi said sarcastically.  He shifted his gaze towards Hoseok and said in a voice dripping with poison, “Whose fault was it, to begin with anyway.”

The ex-dancer flinched at the accusation as he backed away. Taehyung glared at Yoongi, “It wasn’t his fault alone. We were all to blame! We all agreed so we’re all equally at fault.”

“But we all wouldn’t have agreed if a certain someone didn’t push the thought. “ The man glared harder at Hoseok, “We all initially said no. But he insisted on it.”

“Stop it!” Jimin finally said as he glared at Yoongi. “It’s not his fault alone. Hyosang-hyung was to blame too. And besides, we all agreed because it was for your birthday! So technically, it was your fault.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, Jimin regretted it. Yoongi looked hurt for a moment before his face was back to its cold expression. “Yoongi-hyu—“

“Oh yeah. Forget it. It was my fault then.” Yoongi laughed, but there was no joy. It was bitter and the sound made Jimin’s heartache in regret. “What’s the point of this conversation anyway? It’s done. He’s gone.”

A sniffle was heard and everyone turned to the direction of the sound. It had everyone surprised to see their calm eldest hyung wipe his tears. Seokjin was known to be a really calm person but then, they realized that Hyosang had a special place in the eldest’s heart.

“I’m sorry.” Seokjin furiously wiped his tears with his sleeves. He abruptly turned to leave, “I think I need to go.”

Jungkook looked like he was about to chase after the elder but stopped himself. He then turned to glare at the rest before he turned to Yoongi. He looked like he wanted to say something before he decided against it. Wordlessly, the youngest left them in their silence.

Slowly, they all took their leave until there was only Namjoon, Jimin and Yoongi left. Jimin still had that guilty look on his face as he failed to look at Yoongi in the eye, not that Yoongi was looking at him. They were all occupied with their thoughts.

It was then Namjoon who broke the silence, “I think we need to go home. It’s getting late and we still have class tomorrow. Maybe, if we let it rest, we’ll be able to think clearer tomorrow.”

“There will be no tomorrow.” Yoongi said, “I’m not going to talk to any of you anymore. Just being around all of you. It makes me sick.”

With that, Yoongi left the scene.

There was only Jimin and Namjoon left. The younger was about to take his leave as well, but he heard the president’s words. “Hey, don’t think too much about it. He doesn’t hate you.”

“But he was hurt,” Jimin said. “Because of what I said.”

“He is. But he will never hate you for it.” Namjoon comforted the younger. “Also, he may not show it. But he misses you. I—I also miss you guys too.”

Jimin paused to think about the other’s words. Before he cracked a small smile at the taller, “Yeah. Me too. I miss you guys too.”

“What took you so long?” said a woman who was hunched over the table, voice hoarse. Her hair was unruly, her once beautiful tresses now messy with all the pulling she did. Her face was filled with fresh wounds and scratches as she clawed herself with her sharp nails.

She stared at Seokjin with her reddened eyes. Tears dried at her cheeks. She looked so broken that it shattered Seokjin’s heart.

His mother was always so beautiful. Even now she was beautiful in his eyes. But her eyes had lost its glow. Her mother was now a shadow of who she was before. Broken and fragile.

Holding back another wave of tears, Seokjin forced to keep a kind demeanor. He placed his bag at the side before he approached his mother the way you’d approach a frightened animal.  Careful as he peeled the half-empty bottle of soju from her mother’s trembling fingers.

Her mother tried to take it back, but Seokjin wrapped his arms around her petite figure. Patting her hair, Seokjin couldn’t help but recall how he was once the one basking in his mother’s warmth as she held him in her embrace. Right now, her mother was so small and fragile. He felt the need to protect her.

“Shh, it’s okay now,” Seokjin said as her mother’s body trembled as she cried, her tears wetting his shirt. He gently placed the soju on the ground, beside the empty bottles that haphazardly around the living room.

Carefully, he carried his mother in a bridal style and brought her upstairs to her room. He took care of him like she always did to him. He assisted her to the bathroom as she puked her guts out. He helped her change into clean clothes, treat her self-inflicted wounds, and stayed to comfort her until she fell asleep.

When Seokjin was certain that his mother was as comfortable as she could be, he exited the room. He went downstairs to clean up all the mess before his father would come back. empty soju bottles made The number ofSeokjin frown, especially when he had to scrub some of the dried blood on the floor.

He also had to change the couch covers and furniture throws for it reeked of alcohol and some had blood stains. When Seokjin had the job done, he walked towards the kitchen to make food for himself as he was starving.

He contemplated if he would make dinner for his father, initially hating the idea of making anything for the man that caused all this mess, before he told himself that no matter what, that man was still his father. So he cooked for two.

He decided to eat first, finishing quickly before he washed his plate and went back to the living room. He picked up his bag and took out some of his assignments and started working on it diligently. He was immersed in analyzing his math when his phone rang.

Seokjin picked up when he saw the caller ID was his father. “Hello, dad?” Seokjin greeted.

“Son, I won’t be coming home for tonight.” Seokjin’s heart drop at those words. But he tried to act nonchalant.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah, I have an important business to attend and I’ll probably come home late.” His father said. Seokjin could hear a woman’s voice in the background and it bothered him. Was that his father’s mistress or was it just his colleague? “Anyway, don’t wait for me, son. Lock the door, I have my keys with me.”

Seokjin was silent for a while as he processed his father's words before he nodded hesitantly.

“Seokjin?” his father’s worried tone made him realize that the man couldn’t see him so he voices out, “Uh, sure. I understand.”

“That’s good.” There was silence on the other side of the phone before his father said, “Take care.”

Seokjin hesitated in his reply but he eventually said a shaky, “Take care.”

His father bid him goodnight and goodbye with Seokjin saying his timidly in return. When the phone call dropped, Seokjin buried his head in his arms with a heavy sigh.

He was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and just take a rest. Seokjin looked at his assignments and let out another frustrated sigh. He wondered if it would be okay if he skipped school for tomorrow. However, he shook his head thinking that he cannot afford to do that for it’ll only make his mother worried.

At times like this, Seokjin would’ve probably call Hyosa—

He stopped at mid-thought. There was a dull ache in his heart as he remembered his late best friend and first crush. There was a heavyweight in his heart as he remembered the kind smile of his friend.

Hyosang would always come to him whenever he had problems, pat his head and comfort him. Hyosang always knew how to make him laugh, how to make Seokjin forget about his problems even for a moment. He made Seokjin feel like he was not alone, made him feel so strong.

Whenever he was with Hyosang, he felt like he could do anything.

A knock on the door surprised Seokjin out of his thoughts. He turned towards the door, wondering who would come at a time like this. His father had the key so it wouldn’t be him.

Who would come this late at night?

Cautious, Seokjin picked up the broom he had used to clean earlier and held it tightly. He opened the door carefully to peek at the outside only to find that no one was outside. Eyes wide, Seokjin fully opened the door and looked around. There was none.

Nobody was outside. Seokjin walked forward but he accidentally stepped on something. He backed away and looked down to see a box with a ribbon wrapped around it. A gift? Seokjin wondered with his eyebrow raised as he picked it up. He wondered who had given it as he looked around and found no one.

After checking to make sure that there was no one in sight, he brought the gift inside and locked the door. Under the bright light, Seokjin felt that the gift box had looked familiar. The way it was wrapped, the way the ribbons were tied, the weight—Seokjin held his breath.

The gift was eerily familiar.  He looked at the card that was plastered to it—it had three balloons with a curved font of happy birthday on it. His heart thumped. It wasn’t his birthday.

But he could recall that yesterday was a certain someone’s birthday. Yoongi, Seokjin thought. It was his birthday yesterday. And this—

With shaky hands, Seokjin opened the card and there written in big letters

To: Yoongi-chi

Happy Birthday! I hope you like this. Hyung made this for you.

From: Jinnie

It was his birthday gift to Yoongi from years ago. He failed to give it that night because of what happened. He had dropped it in the woods and he had forgotten about it after that incident. Why was it here?

Another ding from his phone almost made Seokjin jump. He was trembling with fear by now. He warily stared at his phone, as if anticipating another call. His heartbeat accelerated and he was sweating. The room suddenly felt colder.

And then, there was another ding. And another ding. And another ding. There were a series of dings and Seokjin’s heartbeat quickened with each. Until eventually, the dings became a call.

Breathing heavily, Seokjin reached for his phone with his shaky hands. He saw that reflected on the screen was an unknown number. He hesitated to answer, torn between throwing his phone away and answering it.

In the end, he decided to do none and just ignored it. He placed his phone back on the table and left it alone to keep ringing. Then it stopped. There was silence for a while before there was one final ding.

Minutes passed and Seokjin stayed frozen in his place, staring at his phone. It’s been a while and the messages have stopped. After calming himself, Seokjin decided to risk it.

He peered at his phone and saw that there had been 3 missed calls and 12 messages. He decided to read the messages.

Unknown number: Hyung, this is Namjoon.

Seokjin released a breath of relief when he saw the first message. He had been worried about nothing.

Unknown number: I’m sorry but I kinda dug into your records to find your contacts.

Unknown number: are you busy tomorrow?

Unknown number: Hyung?

Unknown number: Hyung are you there?

Unknown number: Hyung please reply

Unknown number: I texted the others as well hyung

Unknown number: I know that you don’t want to remember about this and that you’re still bothered about Hyosang-hyung

Unknown number: I’m sorry Hyung, I didn’t mean to mention him and hurt you

Unknown number: I’m really sorry hyung please forgive me

Unknown number: Anyway, can you meet me tomorrow 4:30 PM at the café near the campus?

Unknown number: please come hyung

All of the messages were about 30 or more minutes ago and Seokjin felt guilty for having ignored the younger. He decided to save the number and label it “Namjoon”. He then hesitated in his reply, wanting to reject the meetup. But he took another glance at the “gift” and sighed heavily.

Reply: Alright. I’ll come.

It didn’t take a second before he immediately received a reply

Namjoon: Thanks hyung

Namjoon: I’ll add you to the group

Seokjin’s eyes widened. What group? The next thing he knew, he was added to the group message containing everyone—his childhood friends.

Namjoon: 4:30 Pm tomorrow at Heaven’s Café.

There were several dings that followed, messages from the others sending their confirmations to go. Seokjin wondered how it was possible to make everyone come when it had been a mess between all of them earlier. He almost chuckled when he thought about how Namjoon must’ve been very convincing.

But then Seokjin’s eyes caught the birthday card once again. Realization hit him when he thought that perhaps, like him, people didn’t need to be convinced to come.

Circumstances were enough to get them convinced.

The sound of laughter pierced through the otherwise quiet woods. There were eight children gathered around to play. Not paying heed to their parents’ warning, they entered the woods to play hide and seek.

“No fair, why do I always get to be ‘it’?” the child who was the smallest of them all whined. He then turned to another who had cat-like eyes, “Yoongi-hyung, I don’t wanna be ‘it’.”

The child named Yoongi looked like he was contemplating something. He could hear the others telling him not to give in, but the smallest child gave him a teary-eyed look and he caved in. Showing his gummy smile, he said, “Alright, I’ll replace Jiminie. I’ll be the ‘it.’”

The rest of the children groaned at his declaration.

“No fair. Yoongi-hyung always finds us.” One of the children with his voice deeper than the rest, though not really deep but deep for his age, whined, “It’s like he has this superpower where he could see us when we hide.”

“I know right.” Another one with a louder voice exclaimed, “And he always plays favorite with Jiminie.”

“That’s because I’m hyung’s favorite dongsaeng.” The child everyone called Jiminie stuck his tongue out, “TaeTae and Hobi-hyung always disobey Yoongi-hyung, so you don’t get special treatment.”

“But there’s one person that Yoongi never catches.” One of the children said, his expression carefree as he stared at the youngest of them all. “He never finds Kookie.”

The child named Kookie looked at his hyung shyly before he hid behind the one with the broadest shoulders. The broad-shouldered child patted Kookie and smiled, “That’s because Kookie is very good at everything he does, Hyosang.”

At that, Kookie blushed and smiled shyly at the compliment. Carefree Hyosang seemed to have noticed this as he teasingly said, “Oh, Kookie is blushing. Kookie likes Jinnie.”

“What? No, I don’t. I mean—not like that. I-I” Kookie stuttered but reddened, even more, when Jinnie smiled at him. He patted his head and said, “Don’t worry. Hyung likes you too!”

“Hey, let’s start now.” The tallest child said, “Fifty counts?”

“Too long.”Yoongi said, “20.”

“That’s too short!” TaeTae whined, he turned to the tallest child, “Joonie-hyung, it should be 40 counts, don’t you think so?”

“That’s still too long.” Jiminie pouted, “Let’s be fair.”

“30 counts then.” Hyosang pacified with a smile, “That’s half a minute. Long enough for us to hide, and short enough for Yoongi-chi’s patience.”

“Fine. 30 counts it is.” Yoongi said as he turned around. He closed his eyes and started counting out loud. “1.”

Everyone giggled in excitement as they ran separate ways to find their hiding spot.

“2.”

 “Hyung!” TaeTae called out to Hobi.

“3.”

“Let’s hide together.” TaeTae offered and Hobi nodded along as he followed.

“4…5…6”

Hyosang went to a different direction away from the rest.

“7”

Joonie somehow tripped on a log and fell on his face.

“8…9….10”

Jiminie, being the soft heart he is, helped the taller up and agreed to hide together.

“11...12.”

Joonie was happy to have Jiminie accompany him because having Jiminie meant he’ll take advantage of Yoongi’s favoritism for the younger boy.

“13…14…15”

Kookie saw that the others were pairing together so he grabbed his hyung with his small fists.

“16…17”

“Come with me, Jin-hyung.” Kookie offered, “I know a good hiding spot.’

“18…19…20”

The footsteps were getting further but Yoongi was smirking to himself, thinking that he’d still find them.

“21…22…23”

Slowly, it was getting silent. Yoongi didn’t mind. He could feel the heat of the sun peek in between the trees. It was comforting.

“24…25”

Yoongi could hear the birds chirping. He couldn’t hear the others anymore, he wondered if they ventured too far.

“26…27…28”

It didn’t matter, Yoongi thought. He’ll still find them and he’ll punish them for not following the rules they set for the distance.

“29.”

Yoongi was shaking with excitement.

“30.”

He turned around ready to catch them all. In his excitement, he didn’t see the eyes that watched in the shadows.

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And that's our chapter 1! Hoped you liked it! I plan that for this story, I'll have the present and a small part from the past at the last part shown in every chapter. Or... would you rather have me write the rest of the past in one chapter at the near end of the story or would you prefer it if I unravel the past slowly every chap? Please tell me so :) Comments are much appreciated and I accept criticism. Til next time!

-Chrysallion