[CONTENTID1] An Ally [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Let's see... I think Moonbi already met some our bois without really knowing them. I'm going to go ahead and allow her to get pretty cozy with our guy Tae for now, lol. Hope you guys can follow without much confusion, and if there is then I'll try and make some clarity of it.

warning: Another long chapter ahead!

January 10th, 2018

♦

    Taehyung. Kim Taehyung.

They happened to have a couple of classes together starting with biology. Moonbi sat ahead of him by three seats, but luckily it is an interactive laboratory which meant she spent most of her time talking to him.

He seemed to be a pleasant guy. Relaxed, talkactive and incredibly extraverted since he's the one initiating most, if not all of their conversations. In Moonbi's moreso girlish frame of thinking, Taehyung is just the genuinely type of person anyone can easily warm up to.

Now, don't get her wrong, it's actually nice exploring outside of her environment and experiment with social different norms, but it's not like she's intentionally trying to be friends with him. He simply radiates this wholesome warmth.

Thick eyelashes fluttering every two to three seconds. Eyes narrowed in concentration and Moonbi didn't notice until now the sun-kissed freckles reflecting on his cheeks from the light.

"You came from a small town yourself, correct?" She asked Taehyung. They were working on the analysis of multi-celled plants and wanted to partner together. "Yeah, I did." He replied without removing his gaze from the microscope, "Born and raised in Daegu for majority of my life. My grandmother was the one who raised me and my siblings." A short pause later, and Taehyung sighed.

"Though, her health isn't in top shape like it was before."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He swapped out one of the glass tubes for another. "I have Jungkook to keep me company for the most part." Jungkook...- wait a minute. It's the guy I sat next to earlier, isn't it? The one everyone is claiming to be as troublesome. She wanted to immediately inquire about it but considered it might cause a bit of unnecessary tension.

All Moonbi could do was nod.

"I see."

"We were childhood friends. Grew up in middle school and were pretty active in sports and drama clubs." At that a snort escaped from her lips. Smirking ever so deviously Taehyung had nudged Moonbi a little. "C'mon," He said, "You didn't participate in any clubs? You had to do something."

"Nope." Exclude from the constant photoshoots and commercials. Though, that's definitely another story.

After biology class held business economics. Surprisingly, Moonbi would have never interpreted Taehyung as a business savvy type of guy. Then again, it's not like she anticipated pretending to be a guy and inserting herself in an all-masculine, rowdy infested school filled with gossiping teens.

Once more Moonbi found herself sitting next to the guy. Honestly, call it what it is but... is this a coincidence? Or... is she looking too deeply into this matter? Moonbi shook her head.

Maybe she's looking too deeply in this.

Lunch came around noon when they finally left the classroom. "Hey, since you're new around here then don't mind if I introduced you to my friends?" The question made Moonbi feel oddly queasy. She looks away, shoving the textbooks in her newly assigned locker and then bit her lip in contemplation.

She didn't get the opportunity to speak, however.

"It's okay," Hands raised to his defenses Taehyung shook his head. "I don't want to force you into something you're uncomfortable with. You're still getting accustommed around here, anyways." His eyes lowered to the floor, and just... god damn it, but something about it all made Moonbi sigh.

"I mean, I don't mind, I just need time to warm up to people."

"I understand. I won't pressure whatsoever. In fact, it can be just you and me today. How about that?"

Lunch today seemed reasonable, she thinks. Bulbogi, pickled veggies, steamed rice and a bowl of miso soup. She was waiting in the line saving a spot for Taehyung. Said he needed to talk to his friends about something. 

"I'm back!" The ray of warmth and sunshine captured her attention. Taehyung waved at Moonbi while she backed an inch away to leave an opening for him. "Told my friends I'll be hanging out with you today. They understood but are really curious." He stated with an grin.

"You didn't tell them about me?"

"Nah! I wanted to leave us a mystery, but I'm sure they'll pester about it later."

They moved towards an empty table. Not too far from the crowds but neither in the midst of it. The two sat with contentment on their faces as they settled on more simpler topics such as art, photography, music.

It kind of reminded Moonbi of the conversations Daemin used to have with her. It was good for a little while.

"Tsk. There's the new kid again."

"Yeah, hanging out with the Jeon's ."

"You'd think he's trying to recruit the guy into that cult?"

"Definitely."

Murmurs. Gossip. Hearsay.

"So sad... He might disappear within a week dealing with them."

"Not a week, but a few days if Jungkook doesn't beat him down into a bloody pulp."

They heard it all from a distance. The once blissfulness wrapped around his bright face was washed away with a grim look. Then, without saying a single word Taehyung turned from his seat and looked into the direction where the gossip was radiating from.

It's the same guys from the hallway. The ones who made those remarks about her dead brother. One of the guys looked over his shoulder and tensed, snapping his head back to his food. 

A minute. Two minutes.

Finally, Taehyung returned his gaze back to his own food. It didn't seemed like he was really eating, though, but rather playing around with it. His boxed lips thinned into a firm line, Moonbi watched as the boy repeatedly stir his rice and meat.

Taking note of the thickening silence made Moonbi feel odd. She didn't really understand the depth of his situation, and wasn't sure how to assess it. With a gentle chuckle Moonbi tries to lighten the mood.

"Rumors. They , I get it, but hey, I don't think I'll get beaten up anytime soon. Am I right?"

Instant regret.

Something flashed in Taehyung's eyes. Something dark. It happened so quickly that Moonbi didn't have the opportunity to process it. And that's when Moonbi knew she crossed a boundary she shouldn't have.

"I apolog-"

"Don't go sprouting you don't understand." His words incredibly clipped, Moonbi flinched. "Whatever you hear doesn't define Jungkook at all. He's nothing of those things. So, if I were you I'd suggest you don't go sticking your nose in people's business where it doesn't belong."

And with that Taehyung abruptly stood from the table with his lunch. Eyes distant, lost in sea of darkness and swirling emotions. By the looks of it Taehyung was about to walk away. To disappear with those unfamilar yet embittered emotions she once embodied.

"Wait." With a hand reaching out to Taehyung, Moonbi hoped for him to listen. She needed to redeem herself from such drastic mistake. "I didn't mean to come across as rude. Please forgive me, I was only trying to lift the mood."

This time it the was absolute truth. Somewhere deep inside herself Moonbi didn't want Taehyung to leave upset. She never wanted to be the cause of his anger.

A sense of hesitancy. Contemplation.

Dark brown orbs locked onto her own for what seemed an eternity. Like an oxygen cut from a scorching flame, Taehyung carefully sat at the table with a solemn appearance. "It's... not okay." He stated to her as Moonbi can see vivid emotion within him.

Pain. Pure, raw pain disguised as his eyes.

"Things like that really get to him, you know? It pains me to see him constantly hurt. Jungkook's my bestfriend and brother, and it's unfair for him to be treated this way. It's wrong and it's cruel to bully someone based on false accusations. He..."

A sharp inhale, and then a shaky breath. "He sometimes cries himself to sleep whenever he thinks I'm asleep. Or sometimes he won't sleep at all. Lately he's been worrying me nonstop by coming back extremely late. I just-" He grabbed a good chunk of his hair in frustration, in fear, in confusion. 

Loss.

"I just don't know what to do."

Moonbi didn't know what to say. So, she did the closest thing that she understood.

"Let's take a walk. Is that okay?"

"...Sure."

They walked through the hallways in silence. There were many thoughts lingering on their minds although they both refrained from saying a word. Instead, they allowed this prolonged silence to instill some sense of comfort.

While simmering in this silence Moonbi felt incredibly conflicted. She wasn't sure if Taehyung was still mad at her or didn't care about the situation anymore, but the troublesome paranoia of hers didn't help her increasing fears.

Did she really piss him off? She didn't mean it. Not deliberately. It wasn't her intention. It wasn't. She didn't mean to.

The hallways filled with students preoccupied most, if not all, of their attention. They blended into the crowds quite nicely like regular students going to their next class, when in actuality they didn't have a class until two o'clock. Normally Moonbi would relish in this quiet tranquility and remain content. That's how she always managed with things. 

Yet, she cannot cease these thoughts of worry, of lingering fears and disappointment.

Finally Moonbi couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Do you hate me?"

"Hate you?" His response sounded more like a scoff. "Dude, I don't even know you well enough to hate you! But no, I definitely don't hate you. Hate is a strong word that I never use unless I absolutely meant it. And last time I checked you're far from that term buddy." Relief washed over Moonbi. 

A thought soon crosses her mind.

"Are you... still mad at me, then?" Moonbi was indeed hesitant to ask, but needed some sort of validation.

Taehyung looked over his shoulder with a grin. "Nahh, I'm over it! We already made up at lunch. Remember?" Wait, they did? She can't remember.

"Just remember to make better jokes next time."

"I'll try my best."

A genuine smile filtered his eyes. "Don't worry, I know the perfect person to get jokes from. Sometimes he can go overboard with the dad jokes but some of them are actually..." He trailed off at the end of his sentence and like earlier Moonbi noticed the abrupt change in his eyes. 

As soon as Taehyung's happiness returned, it left.

When Taehyung stopped walking altogether Moonbi nearly stumbled over her own two feet. What the hell? What is his problem? She looks over her shoulder to find him unmoving. Hell, he even appeared like a deer frozen in headlights.

"Hey, Taehyung!" 

Moonbi looked in Taehyung's direction with a raised eyebrow.

There is a man eagerly waving at them. Tall, yet incredibly burly with muscles poking out from his white polo shirt and red shorts. Thick curls of black hair with fuzzy sideburns, fuzzy arms, thick legs, and a half-shavened face. If you remove the humanity of it all then he's nothing more than a bear. 

Behind this man stood maybe four or five other similarly masculine looking men. By mere appearance Moonbi could already guess he was a gym coach or someone very active in sports.

Despite this friendly demeanor Moonbi couldn't help the unease she feels when gazing into his eyes. Something... something about this man seems... vile. "It's so nice to see you around! We've been missing you since you left the soccor team!" He finished with an incredibly overjoyous laugh. A little too joyous for her comfort.

The air felt stilted and suffocating and hot and so, so uncomfortable. But just as Taehyung did, Moonbi also stood her ground without falter.

She sees his hands curling and uncurling into fists. Taking rather deep, slow breaths as intense anger was radiating from Taehyung's n