26

”What the hell are you doing here?” Yoongi hisses, eyes panicked as he grabs Namjoon’s sleeve and pulls him away from Hara. 

Namjoon smirks, pupils blown wide. “Trynna have a good time, how ‘bout you, Suga?”

“Don’t call me that,” Yoongi snaps, and Namjoon laughs, throwing his head back. Hara does not think it’s that funny. “Leave before you get in serious trouble, Namjoon. Come on.”

Yoongi starts pulling the tall male away from the counter, and Namjoon rips his arm out of his grip and scoffs. 

“You’re throwing your friend out? All because of that rich snob?” Namjoon then looks over at Hara who’s frowning at them, her heart pounding against her chest. “Is this his girl? Is that why he’s hiding her in here?” 

He suddenly walks up to Hara and the latter startles and quickly steps backwards until her back hits the counter, panic surging through her veins. Yoongi follows Namjoon and grips him by the shoulder, but the boy shrugs him off and grins down at Hara. 

“You never told me your name, sweetcheeks?”

“Bad luck, you’re not getting it,” Hara snaps, and Namjoon snickers, clearly enjoying himself. His eyes are bloodshot and he reeks of alcohol, and Hara wonders if he looks intimidating because of the black cloak he’s wearing, or if it’s just the prospect of him wanting revenge on Jungkook that makes him seem really ing dangerous. 

“Feisty, Jeon must love you in the bedroom.” 

“Namjoon, come to your ing senses and leave,” Yoongi growls, coming to stand between his friend and Hara, but Namjoon looks like he won’t give up any time soon, and he pushes Yoongi away and grips Hara’s arm. 

“Come on, let’s put on a little show for that sn-”

“Let go of me,” Hara snaps, but Namjoon just pulls her closer. “Let go of my ing arm, you piece of useless !"

“Let me show him what happens when he uses me for his own benef-”

“Namjoon, I swear to God, let go or I will-”

“Or you will what?” Namjoon yells, whipping his head to the side so he can glare at Yoongi, “what’re you gonna do? You gonna go against your own friend?”

“She’s my friend, too,” Yoongi replies equally fiercly, pulling Hara’s arm out of Namjoon’s loosened grip, and the girl hates how weak it probably makes her look but she instantly moves behind Yoongi, her heart thundering in her chest. “Don’t you ing dare touch her.”

Namjoon stares at Yoongi for a moment, his eyes narrowed but unfocused, and then he scoffs, humourlessly, and shakes his head. 

“He ed you up and now you’re his personal dog, huh? Is that why you’re here in the first place? To guard his belongings?”

“Leave.” Yoongi’s jaw clenches. “Get out.”

“Gladly,” Namjoon mutters, his eyes a little glassy, and Yoongi seems like he regrets what he said but Namjoon doesn’t give him the chance to think much further when he grabs one of the empty vodka bottles on the counter and smashes it against the cabinet. 

Hara yells in surprise, and Yoongi curses under his breath, his arm shooting out as a shield to protect Hara. Namjoon holds the broken glass up and smirks. 

“Jeon has ed up a lot of lives, but he doesn’t know how to get his hands dirty like us.” And then he turns on his heel and leaves the kitchen, anger and determination hunching up his broad shoulders, and Hara feels her heart drop. 

“Stay here,” Yoongi yells and runs off, phone pressed to his ear, and Hara’s mouth runs dry, her hands shakily holding onto the counter to steady her legs. 

He’s going to hurt Jungkook. Namjoon is going to hurt Jungkook. 

It’s a natural response, Hara doesn’t even remember leaving the kitchen and rushing past sweaty bodies, her eyes moving rapidly, searching for a police officer with stupid black sunglasses. 

“,” she whispers, her heart thudding along with the loud bass and the flashing lights, “where are you, Jungkook?” 

She leaves the living room area and walks down the hallways, maneuvering her way around swaying, drunk bodies, and it isn’t until she enters the archway of the hallway leading to Jungkook’s man cave that she finally remembers to breathe because Jungkook is standing there, Sunny cowering behind him, both of them staring at Namjoon who looks absolutely feral. 

“Oh .” 

Hara hides behind the door, her heart thundering in her chest, palms clammy against the wall, and she listens, trying to decide whether or not she’s dying tonight. She doesn’t know what the to do, no one’s near enough to help and Yoongi’s probably on the other side of the house. Hara quickly sends both him and Hoseok a text, but she knows there’s no way help is gonna arrive on time. 

“Drop it, Kim,” Jungkook warns, his tone dangerously low, and Hara feels a shiver run down her spine. “You don’t want this on your record.”

Namjoon cackles loudly. “Haven’t you already ed it up? There’s not much for me to lose, you know.”

“Leave now and I won’t press charges.” 

“Nah,” Namjoon clicks his tongue, “you’ve been having fun ing us all up, Jeon. It’s time that us poor dogs have some fun too, no?”

“This is your last chance, Kim. Leave and no one gets harmed.”

“I’m the one with a weapon here, Jeon, you’re in no position to be giving out orders,” Namjoon barks, and Hara feels her heart jump to . 

“Let her go. She doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Hara can hear Sunny’s quiet crying, and she feels panic well in her belly. 

“This another of yours? I guess I found the wrong one in the kitchen.” 

The sudden drop in the atmosphere is almost palpable, and Hara holds her breath when it turns quiet. 

“What did you do to her?” Jungkook’s voice has never sounded this threatening, and Hara rapidly blinks, adrenaline rushing through her veins. “Did you touch her, Kim? Cause if you did, I swear to God you will regret it.”

Namjoon snorts and moves, his footsteps echoing in the almost empty hall. 

“Didn’t really get to, your new dog got in the way.” 

It’s quiet for a moment before Sunny suddenly whimpers and then there’s loud footsteps, clumsy and all over the place, and Hara jumps in surprise when Sunny rushes past her, sobbing into her hands. 

She mentally prays the girl brings help before Namjoon gets the opportunity to touch Jungkook, but some part of her just knows it’s too late. 

“People like you shouldn’t be given this much power,” Namjoon drawls, and Hara feels sick and tired of his dramatic antics. And here she thought Jungkook was the main drama queen.

“And people like you shouldn’t leave the slums,” Jungkook replies, calm and collected but there is venom in his words and Hara has half the mind to curse at him for being so stupidly stubborn even in the face of danger. 

A couple of bells ring in her head, reminding her of another awfully stupid, annoying and stubborn person, but Hara does not have the time for self deprecation right now. 

“You’ll get multiple years, no probation, if you do this.” Namjoon doesn’t say anything for a moment and Hara feels hope slowly spark in her chest at the prospect of said male finally coming back to his senses. “Your little brother will suffer, Namjoon. He won’t have anyone to look out for him. Do you really want that?” 

“Shut up. Shut the up."

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Namjoon, I am giving you a final chance,” Jungkook firmly murmurs, and Hara holds her breath, heart thundering against her chest because it is quiet, way too quiet for a couple of moments. 

But Namjoon, , that son of a has a goal and he clearly won’t leave before he somehow hurts Jungkook. 

“Your words stopped carrying meaning the day you set my best friend up.” 

 Hara closes her eyes and drags in a deep breath. 

She reaches for the gun placed in the inner pocket of her blazer and mentally thanks Yoongi for still keeping some of his childhood toys, only to then briefly wonder why the his stupid played around with real looking guns. 

“Oh, and obviously you’ve stopped keeping tabs on all the people involved in your life.” 

Hara snaps out of her thoughts and tries to hold the gun the way they do in those CSI tv shows, hands clammy and warm against the plastic. 

“My little brother is dead, Jeon. Hit and run, by a rich like you.” Namjoon goes quiet for a moment and Hara knows 's gonna happen now because the anger dripping from his words is lethal. “Isn’t it time you pay for what you and your kind keep doing to people like me?” 

Hara has got zero ideas what the she’s about to do, but if she doesn’t act now someone’s gonna get seriously hurt.

She quickly breathes out in determination and mentally prays Namjoon is high enough to fall for her act before stepping out from behind the door. 

“Drop the bottle, Namjoon,” she orders, gun pointed at the boy who turns around halfways with a frown on his face, eyes full of angry tears. Hara ignores the skip in her heartbeat. “I said drop the bottle.” 

“Aren’t you taking your costume a bit too seriously, sweetcheeks?” Namjoon calls back, the broken shard of glass still pointed in Jungkook’s direction, and Hara slowly steps into the hall. She pulls the safety pin down and mentally screams in joy when a loud clicking sound fills the hallway. 

“Wouldn’t take my chances if I were you.” 

Namjoon actually looks convinced that the gun is real, but he’s still smirking and Hara can see signs of him tensing up, perhaps preparing to turn around and just take a ing swing at Jungkook who looks alarmed but on guard. 

“The police are in the driveway, we are seconds away from being interrupted by a bunch of armed officers, Namjoon,” Hara says, stepping closer, “drop the glass and haul before they catch you.” 

“I’ve come too far to just leave now.” Namjoon laughs, cackles, and Hara tries not to show any emotions, fear rushing through her veins at the broken sound. “, this is it for me. There is no need for more chances.” 

“Drop the ing-”

“This one is for you, Jackie,” Namjoon murmurs, smiling as he points up at the roof and then closes his eyes, bracing himself for the swing he’s about to send in Jungkook’s direction, but Hara suddenly acts on impulse and drops the gun, crossing the short distance between them before she throws herself against the male. 

Namjoon grunts and stumbles, and Hara mentally wonders what song they’re gonna play at her funeral when she feels a sudden stinging sensation in her side, but she doesn’t let go off Namjoon, and the male looses his balance. 

Jungkook is one second too late but he manages to get the upper hand and sends a harsh blow against Namjoons face, and the boy is instantly knocked out, falling limp to the floor where he remains. 

Hara manages to remove her arms from around his neck just before he falls and she stumbles backwards, her back hitting the wall. 

“Holy ,” she murmurs, her eyes slowly moving downwards until they land on the piece of glass sticking out from her shirt. 

Namjoon had managed to strike her when she had jumped him, and her blazer had oh so conveniently moved aside just then. 

Hara suddenly realizes that she has been stabbed, the white material of her shirt is slowly but surely turning an alarmingly dark red and she gasps in pain when her brain properly catches up.

“No,” Jungkook whispers, his eyes wide and full of panic as he steps past Namjoon’s unconscious body and reaches Hara, “no, no, no-”

“Jungkook!” 

Hara winces at the loud sound that comes from the end of the hallway, and Jungkook doesn’t even bother to offer Hoseok a glance, his attention solely on Hara and the broken ing piece of glass still sticking out from her side. 

“What the is going- oh my god!” Hoseok comes to an abrupt stop a couple of feet away from them, Taehyung who stumbles into the hallway right behind him also freezes when he sees Hara, and Yoongi is the only one who manages to walk all the way up to them. 

“The police and medics are on their way,” he says, voice shaky, eyes wide in fear and worry and Hara feels very cold all of a sudden, her clammy hands tightly holding onto Jungkook’s arm when the boy lowers her onto her back. 

“, that hurts like a ,” she wheezes, and she can hear Hoseok’s muffled crying somewhere behind her. 

“Yeah? Whose ing fault is that?” Jungkook snaps as he takes off his tie, throwing it aside. 

“Hey, I saved your stupid life and this is how you thank me?” 

“You almost got killed!” Jungkook growls, and it’s then that Hara realizes the wetness on his face is from tears, his eyes are literally bloodshot and his nose is slowly but surely turning red. 

“I’m aware,” Hara whispers, grimacing as she weakly places a hand on the skin next to the wound, “I’ve got a reminder here.”

“When the is the ambulance arriving?” Jungkook all but roars, and Yoongi snaps out of his thoughts at that and fumbles for his phone, swallowing harshly as he checks the time. 

“Now, they have to be here right now, any moment now, , give me a second.” 

He turns on his heel and stumbles out of the hallway, probably to guide the medics to their location, and Hara wonders how much blood she has lost so far because her head is spinning and she feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. 

“Jungkook,” she whispers, and the boy looks up from her wound, eyes wide in panic.

“They’re gonna be here any second now, just a moment longer, Kim, hold o-”

“It hurts,” Hara whimpers, hating how weak she feels, “remove it, please, it hu-”

“It’s keeping the blood inside you, I can’t,” Jungkook says, his jaw clenching when Hara releases a dry sob because it hurts so ing much, what the , is this even allowed, holy fu-

“Hara, hold on, they’re gonna be here any second now!” Taehyung drops down on his knees next to the couple after making sure Hoseok hasn’t passed out where he’s sitting against the wall opposite them, head between his knees, hands tightly clutching his disheveled hair. “Please, Hara, you’re the strongest girl I know, please hold on for a bit longer.”

“But it hurts,” Hara whimpers, tightly clutching Jungkook’s hand with hers, and the boy looks seconds away from punching holes into the wall next to him as he closes his eyes and drags in a deep breath. Hara feels something wet spatter against her cheek. 

“I know,” Taehyung desperately cries out, “but Yoongi is gonna be here any moment now, please hold on-”

“Tell mom I’m sorry for everything I’ve done,” Hara gasps out when black dots start appearing out of nowhere, her vision blurry, but she can see enough to notice Jungkook’s eyes snap open, “tell her I love her-”

“Don’t you ing dare, Kim-”

“And-and Jimin, ,” Hara coughs, and she hears Taehyung choke on his sobs when he sees the red liquid trailing down Hara’s chin, “tell him-tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to chris-”

“Tell him yourself, Kim, you’re gonna tell him yourself,” Jungkook firmly says but it’s easy to detect the absolute panic in his voice as he gently moves, placing Hara’s head against his thighs so she won’t choke on the blood in . 

“I-I’m sorry, Jung-”

“Shut up, stop talking,” Jungkook snaps, gently wiping away the tears streaming down Hara’s cheeks, his hands turning red each time they near her chin, and Taehyung watches in horror, his body slumped against the wall next to them. Hoseok has looked up and he seems seconds away from passing out. 

“I don’t- I don’t hate y-”

“Hey, Kim? Which part of shut up did you not get-”

“I don’t hate you, I don’t h-hate you, Jungkook.”

Jungkook won’t look down at Hara, too stubborn to accept the fact that she's really bloody hurt, and the girl closes her eyes when the pain becomes too much, her torso burning like hellfire and her head throbbing in pain. 

Taehyung suddenly gasps upon noticing and Hara can hear him shuffling closer. "She’s closing her eyes, her eyes, Jungkook, she’s closi-”

“Hey, Hara, snap out of it,” Jungkook quickly says, gently smacking her cheek a couple of times, “Hara, don’t you ing dare die one me-”

“Jungkook, do something, she’s dyi-”

“Shut up, Taehyung, she’s not ing dying!”

“This is all my fault, why did I leave her side,” Taehyung cries, almost hysterically, and Hara wants to tell him that it’s not his fault at all, what the , but she can barely move her toes at this point, and honestly she feels like if this is the way she goes than so be it, life wasn’t that good anyways, right?

Memories of the past couple of weeks here in this town slowly resurface, and Hara feels warmth spread in her chest as she is reminded of every time she has smiled, laughed, felt happy, felt at home because of the boys, because of Leeteuk who probably doesn’t know he won’t be asking her down for breakfast tomorrow morning, or Siwon who won’t be giving her his dimpled smile and cheeky wink when she declines his offer to drive her to school, holy , what about Yunho and Sora?

Hara can’t hear anything besides a loud ringing sound, but she suddenly feels her body being hoisted up, most probably by the medics who have finally ing arrived and Hara startles a little when she feels relief at the prospect of being saved because Jungkook is worriedly staring down at her, his hand still firmly clutching hers as he runs next to the stretcher, and Hara suddenly does not want to die? 

“Stay with me, Hara,” Jungkook yells, “don’t you ing dare die on me.” 

“Hey, move out of the way.”

Hara can hear Yoongi’s loud voice, and she notices how the music has died down, the only sounds surrounding her being the shocked gasps and loud whispering of the students. 

“You heard him, move the out of the way!” The voice sounds awfully familiar, but Hara cannot open her eyes no matter how much she tries, so she relies on her memory and realizes it’s one of the dudes who used to beat Yoongi up. 

“Yo, move your asses-”

“Hey, yes you, the one in the sausage costume, you’re blocking up the whole ing hallw-”

“Dude, he's even got pickles on him, that’s a lot of ing sodiu-”

“We’ll take it from here, boys.”

It’s probably an officer, judging by the absolute exasperation but also authority in the voice, and Hara would have laughed at the absurdity of this whole situation had it not been for the giant ing piece of glass stuck in her side.

“Mister Jeon? We need you to stay behind for questi-”

“I was there, you can ask me the questions,” Yoongi can be heard saying, and Hara suddenly feels cold, very cold, and she realizes it’s because they’re finally outside and she’s being pulled into the ambulance. Jungkook’s hands are still tightly clutching her cold almost lifeless one. 

“But we need to talk to him first given that this is his family's residence. We also need to take a quick sweep of the building to make sure there are no traces of illegal substances, so I am afraid Jeon has to s-"

“Yeah, that can wait,” Yoongi interrupts, but the officer in charge sounds very ing annoyed when he clears his throat.

“As far as I am concerned, Jeon is not injured, he can stay behind for a couple of words.”

Hara feels hands on her, and she would have jerked away in discomfort but she is barely conscious at this point, and the last thing she remembers before blacking out is Jungkook’s loud and firm “I’m not leaving her ing side, officer. Now, can somebody start the ing car and get us to the hospital or do I have to do it myself?"