Jisoo POV

Kim Jisoo was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 17. When she was younger, she had lived a happy, perfect life, surrounded by loving parents and friends, blessed with popularity and good looks. She knew how lucky she was, too, and was unendingly grateful for it. So, in the effort to give to those who couldn't experience her luxuries, she constantly donated to charity, gave up countless hours for volunteer work, and hand-crafted gifts to the many people who called her their friend.

When she was 15, she had her first hallucination. She was in her room, home alone, trying to figure out the best way to make a friendship bracelet for her and Seokjin. After grueling over the task for hours, she placed the last bead on the bracelets, and was finally content with the beaded accessory. Soon after, she heard a voice, seemingly from behind her. "I hate it." came Seokjin's voice, and it began to echo in her ears. "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it." He repeated those words over and over, with every repetition getting louder and louder, to the point where she had to cover her ears. Even so, his voice kept booming on, increasing volume and intensity, until she curled up into a ball on her bed. She tried to scream to drown out his voice, but she was easily eclipsed. She felt blood leak from her damaged eardrums onto her hands.

When her parents came home, she was still in that position, tears staining her face from the experience. However, there was no blood on her hands or in her ears, and there was no Seokjin to be found. The only remnant of that trauma was her shredded vocal cords.

She was unable to look at Seokjin fully in the face for a few months after that.

That was her first hallucination.

And that was the first time she realized she wasn't normal.

Ever since then, her life fell to . Her "friends" left her: the knowledge of her condition was apparently too repulsive for them to even consider all the things she had done for them in the past. Her parents, at first, tried to be supportive, but she apparently became too much of a burden to even put on a smile for. The only person who stood by her side, ironically, was Seokjin: her bully in her first hallucination.

But now, even he, too, had left her.

She had no one. Nothing.

The world had turned against her, after all of her generosity and kindness, so now she was going to turn against the world.

It's a pity, she thought. that those two have to be the ones to go first. It's an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She admired the looked at the couple sleeping on the couch through the living room window. They're really not the worst people.  But life's that way, I guess. Cruel. Unforgiving.

She turned away from the house and started to walk away. "Jeon Jungkook, Park Chaeyoung. Soon, you will be no more."

*

Jungkook POV

Jungkook woke up early the next morning, before the sun had even risen. He carefully took out his phone from his pocket without waking Chaeyoung, who was asleep on his lap. He texted Jimin, who was probably still awake, considering it wasn't past 4 AM yet.

Jungkook: Down to eat out tonight?

Jimin: sure, but jennie's out of town so chaeyoung might feel left out

Jungkook: That's great, actually. I wasn't planning on bringing her.

There was a pause, and a reasonable one, too. Jimin knew that Jungkook and Chaeyoung were practically inseparable, and such a remark from Jungkook was bound to be suspicious.

Jimin: is there something going on between u 2?

Jungkook thought for a moment. Jungkook's reason for asking Jimin out to dinner was for a plausible excuse to tell to Chaeyoung for going out without her. From what Namjoon had told him, the restaurant above the drug operation was just a normal, albeit very expensive, restaurant. He and Jimin would be in relatively little danger if they were actual customers, but danger was still danger nonetheless. So would telling him the truth, or telling a harmless lie be better in this situation?

Jungkook: She's having a night out with her girlfriends. So I thought I might just pass the time with you.

Jimin. ah, ok. so, where to?

Jungkook told him the name of the restaurant and when to be there, then placed the phone back into his pocket. He looked at Chaeyoung, whose figure he could make out despite the dark. Today was going to be a rough day for him, as he had to be untruthful for her. 

But once today past, he would be able to tell her, and all would be well again.

He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

*

Chaeyoung POV

"So do you think he's cheating on me?" Chaeyoung asked Lisa. She was lying down on the couch, using the younger girl's lap as a pillow. She had come to her friend's house that morning, after trying, with no success, to question Jungkook. Now, she was repeating the question she had asked Lisa many times in the past.

All of those times, the answer had been the same.

But unlike those times, now, neither of them were sure of the answer.

"Let's go over your so-called 'evidence' again: he didn't want to tell you something, and he was texting someone without your permission. And... that's it?"

Coming from Lisa's mouth, it sounded like Chaeyoung was just being paranoid. "Well okay, yeah. The first part might sound stupid to you. But he usually tells me everything in his mind, without holding any of the details out. Plus, he didn't just text someone. He did it at 3 AM, when I was asleep. If I hadn't woken up..." She didn't know how to finish that sentence. What would have happened if she hadn't woken up? I probably wouldn't be having this talk right now, she answered herself.

"Still..." Lisa answered logically, "it's nothing too suspicious. You're making it sound like you want him to be cheating on you."

"No! It's not like that. It's just... how do you expect me not to think like this with every past boyfriend I've had? With every disappointment I faced? Every single time, it was the same thing."

"Then, is Jungkook like every other guy to you?" Lisa asked.

Chaeyoung did not have to think much to answer. "No. He's everything to me."

"Do you think he feels the same?"

Chaeyoung reflected on everything she'd experienced with Jungkook, how he looked at her as much as possible, as if she was the only thing worth his gaze.

Before she could answer, however, Taehyung came into the room, rubbing his eyes groggily and yawning. He spotted  Chaeyoung on the couch, and waved to her, not bothering to flatten his wild hair.

"Boy problems?" he asked, afterwards throwing a glance to Lisa as if to say I told you so. "What's the issue this time?" he asked, plopping down on another couch.

"It's complicated," replied Chaeyoung. She usually only confided her problems in Lisa, and telling anything to Taehyung would feel awkward.

Taehyung just shrugged with her vague response. "He's been seeming fishy to me for the past few days, as well," Taehyung replied.

What? Does he know something I don't? Chaeyoung lifted her head out of Lisa's lap to look at Taehyung, silently urging him to elaborate.

Taehyung recognized the meaning behind her look, and held his hands up. "I don't have any evidence or anything, if that's what you thought I meant. It's just that... he seems to good to be true. And that probably means he isn't."

Chaeyoung was speechless. Was Jungkook really not being truthful? She thought back to his recent actions. Sure, they were sketchy, but the amount of actions that said otherwise completely outweighed those. Still... she could never be too sure.

Taehyung seemed to read her mind. "I can keep tabs on him, if you want. See where he goes without you."

"You mean, like stalking him?" asked Lisa, obviously disapproving of this notion. "He already gets enough of that with Jisoo around."

"Do it," Chaeyoung said. She didn't know why she said it, as she was on the same page as Lisa. But instinct and experience told her this was necessary. "I need to be sure."

Taehyung nodded. "I'll start tonight."

*

Jungkook POV

Night fell on Seoul much more quickly than Jungkook had hoped. He checked his reflection once more, admiring the outfit Chaeyoung had picked for him. Though it was simple- a large white button up shirt with black skinny jeans and a belt- the look made him seem more sophisticated and fashionable.

Just then, Chaeyoung appeared in the reflection of the mirror, her head tilted to one side as she examined the result of her choices. "It looks good," she said, a smile on her face.

A smile that didn't reach her eyes, as it normally did.

Jungkook was quick to notice this, and he turned around to face her. "I know you're upset with me."

"What? No I'm-"

"I'm upset with myself, too. I haven't been a good boyfriend lately." He took two steps to reach her, and put a hand on her cheek. She put her hand on top of his, holding his hand in place. The gesture, however, seemed sad, halfhearted. He took her face in both hands and tilted it upward, so that she had no choice but to meet his gaze. While the normal look in her eye was there, there was another element present that pained him. The look of uncertainty.

Even though he was the one who initiated the eye contact, he could barely maintain it. But he did. Because even if he was hurting her feel