16

“I’ve never taken the bus before,” Taehyung says, excitedly grabbing Hara’s arm as they begin walking in the direction of the school’s exit.

Hoseok is on her right, typing away on his phone, and Hara mentally wonders where Jungkook is. 

“Well, you’re in for a long ride.” Hara grins when Taehyung frowns at her. “You’re used to driving with I-Don’t-Follow-Traffic-Laws-Jungkook, the bus actually keeps the speed limit.”

“So how long does it take to get to the park?” Taehyung asks, and Hara shrugs. 

“Twenty, twenty-five minutes, depends on traffic.” 

Any excitement Taehyung must’ve felt slowly evaporates and Hara giggles at the way his shoulders seem to deflate a litte. She gives him a small nudge and he pouts but smiles eventually. 

“I sent Jungkook a text,” Hoseok says when they walk across the campus, “told him we’re taking the bus so he doesn’t wait up for us. Should I call him just in case?” 

“No need.” Hara watches Sunny enter the grey maserati, her minions jumping into one of the jocks’ car behind them. “Seems like he’s quite booked already.” 

Taehyung and Hoseok turn towards the parking lot, but then exchange a small look between themselves before smugly looking away, and Hara pretends not to have caught the interaction.

“Let’s go, bus is gonna be here in five.” 

The bus ride is uneventful, except for all the times Taehyung excitedly points at different buildings that he usually don’t get to see due to Jungkook’s speeding. Hoseok is still texting on his phone, and Hara wonders if it’s Jungkook again. 

They make it to the park at four-fifty, and as they walk in the direction of the swings, Hara suddenly makes a beeline for the bench area and the boys follow her with frowns on their faces.

They move past trees and walk further into the forest part of the park, and Hara hopes Yoongi doesn’t bail on her because no one’s there to ruin any chances of reconciliation between the boys and this might just be her only shot at it. 

“Hey, Hara,” Taehyung calls, pushing a branch out of the way before it can smack him in the face, “where are you taking us?”

“Just a bit more, I wanna see the red lake.”

"It's not really red," Taehyung grunts, ducking under a leafy branch, "so don't get your hopes up like I did."

"Idiot," Hoseok snorts and Hara mentally prays they remain equally calm and relaxed when they find out who they're about to face.

It's mostly Hoseok she's worried about because of his reaction on Wednesday, and she spares him a quick glance over her shoulder, guilt bubbling in her belly at the thought of throwing him on the spot like she's about to. 

Hara pants when they finally reach their destination, relief evident in her slumped shoulders when she sees a familiar figure sitting on the grass near the lake. 

Taehyung stumbles past a few bushes and accidentally pulls Hoseok along with him, and the commotion causes Yoongi’s silent staring to turn into angry glaring once he turns around and finds the source of the noise. 

“Okay,” Hara wearily says, holding her hands up in silent surrender when Taehyung and Hoseok get to their feet, both looking uncomfortable and on guard, Hoseok more than Taehyung who seems mostly confused. “I can explain this.”

“There’s no need, I’m going.”

“Hoseok, wait,” Hara says, quickly grabbing him by the elbow when he turns to leave, and he whips around with wide, angry eyes.

“You have no business doing this,” he snaps, and Hara lets go off his elbow and takes a step back, nodding.

“I know, but Hoseok, you have misunderstood the whole thing.”

“There are no misunderstandings,” Hoseok grits through clenched teeth when he looks over to Yoongi who has moved closer now, arms crossed over his chest in a nonchalant manner yet his shoulders are tense and he looks ready to fight. “He almost killed Jimin.”

“He didn’t mean to,” Hara tries, “you haven't heard his side of the story, Hoseok, he didn’t want Jimin to-”

“He gave him the drugs, didn’t he?” Hara closes when Hoseok suddenly shouts. There are tears in his eyes and his voice shakes when he speaks. “He took him out to clubs, he made him up in school- he-he ruined him-”

“I never wanted to,” Yoongi cuts him, jaw clenched, stare hard, “I never ing wanted him to become addicted.”

“Then why did you let him try it in the first place? None of this would have happened had you kept that part of you to yourself.”

“Listen to you,” Yoongi mutters, a humourless huff leaving his lips, “you sound just like him.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Hoseok snaps, angrily wiping his cheek when a tear slides down without warning.

“Has Jeon been poisoning your minds this whole time?” Yoongi looks over at Taehyung who hasn’t said a word since the confrontation began. “You too, Taehyungie?”

“Don’t call him that,” Hoseok shouts angrily, and Yoongi’s jaw clenches.

Hara feels guilt and panic sliding along her nerves, and she her dry lips and clears . 

“Yoongi never forced Jimin to do anything, but it seems like you guys have misunderstood that part of the story.” She looks over at Taehyung who has been lost in his thoughts this whole time, his fingers tightly clutching the straps of his bag. “You guys used to be friends, right? When Yoongi first started at your college?”

Truth is, she never really got the details of the story, and she realizes that while fixing this broken relationship between the only people in this town whom she actually cares for, she can also sate her godforsaken curiosity. 

“Jimin was the first to approach him,” Hoseok mutters bitterly, “he was always like that, a social butterfly and everything. The rest of us came with the package.”

“Except for Jungkook.” Taehyung speaks up for the first time, his voice a little hoarse. “He instantly sensed that something was off, but he didn’t tell us until a couple of months had passed. Yoongi hyung was always so quiet it seemed suspicious, but with us he could be himself.”

“And look how that backfired.” 

Hara jumps in surprise when a new voice speaks up from behind them, and they all turn towards Jungkook who looks ready to murder someone.

He steps past a tall tree and moves towards them.

“The scholarship was implemented into our system to show our college’s interest in turning dreams into reality.” Jungkook gives Hara an angry shake of the head when he passes by her, his jaw clenching, before he turns his hard stare towards Yoongi. “We took in students from different districts, Min’s case was supposed to be charity.”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung warns, frowning is disapproval, but Jungkook seethes, lips pulled into a snarl.

“He might have arrived with his dreams and aspirations, but he also brought his shadows along.” He steps closer to Yoongi who looks surprisingly tired and defeated. “Jimin doesn’t laugh anymore, you know. His cheeks are so thin his dimple has disappeared.” 

Yoongi’s nose flares, his eyes bloodshot and teary, and Hara feels her heart rise to . 

“It’s all your fault, Min. You did this.”

“He didn’t,” Hara argues, walking over to the two boys, “he said he didn’t do it, Jungkook, he never forced Jimin to do anything-”

“What the do you know?” Jungkook snaps, and Hara blinks in surprise at his harsh tone. “You got here a month ago, anything you know is based on rumours and gossip.”

“Rumours and gossip that you yourself have blindly believed.” Hara wants to smack the boy glaring down at her. "In fact, it almost feels like you started some of them yourself."

Jungkook slowly steps closer, his neck slightly bent so he can look Hara directly in the eyes, and she feels fear bubble in her abdomen because he looks like he could break her in half if he wanted to. 

“What are you implying, Kim?”

“I’m not very fond of people who annoy me,” Hara says, “I usually find an easy way to dispose of them.”

It takes Jungkook a few seconds to realize what she’s doing, and Hara takes advantage of the moment and takes a step back.

“That’s what you told me on my first day here. Is that what you did to Yoongi? You didn’t like him so you tried ruining his life?”

“What is she talking about, Jungkook?” 

Hoseok looks confused but also weary, and Hara realizes after seeing the look of pure confusion on Taehyung’s face and the bitter smirk on Yoongi’s that maybe Jungkook’s problems go further than an inferiority complex and a toxic ego. 

“You’ve never told them?” Yoongi asks, calmly tilting his head to the side. Jungkook looks murderous but he doesn’t say anything. 

“Told us what? What is he talking about Jungkook?” Taehyung steps closer and frowns, a panicked edge to his voice. “Kookie, what is going on?”

“I started wondering why they chose to stay with you,” Yoongi mutters, putting his hands in his pockets while shrugging, “it makes sense that you'd leave that part o-”

Jungkook suddenly crosses the space between them and pulls Yoongi close by the collar, an arm drawn back to send what would definitely be a knockout punch to Yoongi’s face, but he manages to stop himself, eyes wide and furious. 

Hara gasps, Hoseok and Taehyung instantly try to pull him away, but Jungkook pushes them off and focuses entirely on Yoongi. 

It almost feels like he could hurt Yoongi using only the rage radiating off of him, and Hara realizes she has ed up real bad because she’ll be going home to this monster after the commotion is over. 

“Are you going to punch me?" Yoongi murmurs, voice calm, hands still deep in his coat pockets, "are you going to hit your hyung, Guk-ah?”

The smile on his face is mocking and bitter, and Hara wonders who it’s directed at, himself or Jungkook. 

“Don’t call me that.” Jungkook’s jaw clenches with each word, his fist shaking midair with the effort of holding back. “Don’t ing call me that, you sick .”

“If I’m a sick ,” Yoongi says, arching an eyebrow, “what does that make you?” 

“Jungkook let go.” Hoseok grabs his elbow and tries pulling him off, but Jungkook doesn’t budge, and Taehyung quickly puts his hands over Jungkook’s fist. 

“Stop it,” he orders, angry and confused and hurt because none of them have seen this side of Jungkook before. “Jungkook, stop.” 

Jungkook pushes Yoongi away and rips his arm out of Hoseok’s grip, his chest heaving heavily with restrained anger.

Hara quickly steps between him and Yoongi, a hand held up as a warning not to do anything stupid, and Jungkook scoffs humourlessly and shakes his head. 

“I tell you to stay away from him and this is what you do,” he says, and Hara frowns in anger, frustration, fear - a lot is going on in her brain at the moment and she’s just happy she’s still standing on her shaky legs. 

“You ed up many lives, Jungkook.” She swallows the knot in . “I don't know what you've done, I don't know why you've done it, but I know for a fact I won't let it hide behind your name and wealth.”

“Two months aren’t enough, though,” Jungkook murmurs so only Hara can hear, and she feels her blood run cold. 

The smirk on Jungkook’s face is mocking, and Hara’s breathing feels constricted all of a sudden, her tough mask falling off in a split second. Jungkook witnesses it all and as much as he’s enjoying it, anger presents itself in the way his jaw clenches and his eyes narrow. 

“You thought I wouldn’t figure it out, huh? I wonder how it’s gonna turn out now that you’ve meddled with my business.”

“You wouldn’t,” Hara snaps, on the verge of hyperventilating because , if Jungkook ruins her plans of escaping she might just have to kill herself. “, Jeon, don’t you dare-”

“I told you to stay away from him.” Jungkook takes a step back, his eyes darting over Hara’s shoulder for a quick second before he shakes his head. “You never really listen, birdie.”

He turns on his heel without another word and leaves. Taehyung and Hoseok both look shaken, and they quickly follow him after offering Hara half-hearted goodbyes. 

There’s a loud roaring in Hara’s mind, and she can feel her pulse pounding in the back of , short pants pushing past her lips as she tries calming down.

, , , this is not happening.

Jungkook is going to tell Yunho, he's going to tell Sora and ruin Hara's chances of leaving without any hindrances. What if she's stuck here for good? What if she's emotionally blackmailed into staying?

What if her dad finds out?

There’s a sudden pressure on each side of Hara's face, and she jumps in surprise, her eyes widening when Yoongi's face fills her line of vision. 

His left hand is cold against her cheek, the bandaged one warm, and the contrast distracts Hara from the train wreck that is her thoughts. 

“Breathe,” Yoongi orders, and Hara manages to nod harshly, closing her eyes to drag in deep breaths, and Yoongi doesn't step away until her pants turn into slow, gentle inhales.

His eyes are tired and red rimmed, and Hara is thankful there's no pity in them.

Guilt and panic suddenly hit Hara in the guts when she realizes that Yoongi never knew what was coming, and she opens , trying to rake her brain for a proper apology, but Yoongi just shakes his head and instead points at her. 

He wants to know her story. 

Hara blinks and dumbly stares as Yoongi drops down on the grass, makes himself comfortable and then sighs. “We should’ve brought food.”