34

“Jungkook, can you calm down?” Taehyung tries to reach for his arm but the boy sidesteps him and continues pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. “The police said they’re looking for her, there’s no need to worry.”

“What if she has left town? What if she’s in another city, far away from here?”

“She can’t be, it’s only four o’clock,” Yoongi says from the couch, fingers incessantly tapping against the coffee table, “with the holiday traffic blocking up the roads, she can’t have made it that far.”

Hoseok, who is sitting next to him, frowns deeply. “But why would she leave the house in the first place? Isn’t she still healing? Why would she do something so reckless?” 

Neither Yoongi nor Jungkook reply.

They don’t want to disclose Hara’s secret yet, she has made it clear that she doesn’t want anyone to know. But both Taehyung and Hoseok have finally caught on now, and they share a look of frustration because something is clearly going on behind their backs.

“Can someone tell us what on earth is going on?” Taehyung asks, turning towards Jungkook. The boy is about to sidestep him again, but Taehyung moves directly in front of him and holds onto his shoulders. “Jungkook. What the hell is going on?” 

Jungkook stops his crazed pacing, eyes bloodshot, nose still red and lower lip chapped from how much he has been biting it. Taehyung’s angry glare instantly softens and he frowns, gently cupping Jungkook’s cheeks because the younger boy looks like he might break down any second now. 

“Oh my- hey, Kookie, look at me, are you okay? What’s going on? Why the hell are you crying?” 

Hoseok shakes his head in both frustration and concern. 

“I don’t understand why you two are doing this! You’re obviously not telling us something important, and we want to know what the hell is going on.” He looks over at Yoongi and moves so he’s facing him. “Where is Hara? Why aren’t you guys contacting her family? I mean, I know her parents are on a business trip abroad, but what if they know something? And why the hell is Jungkook on the verge of a mental breakdown. Yoongi, can you please explain what’s going on? Why-why does he keep saying that she has run away?”

“She hasn’t,” Yoongi says, getting to his feet. He shakes his head when both Taehyung and Jungkook turn towards him. “She wouldn’t leave. Not now.”

“How do you know that?”

Jungkook’s voice is so fragile, so weak, and all of his hyungs instinctively move closer to him, wanting to offer him comfort and reassurance. This is the first time they have seen him this broken, this hopeless.

“Because she has made a commitment,” Yoongi whispers, lips curling up as he releases a short and bitter laugh, “it’s probably the hardest decision she has ever made, but I know she’ll come back. For us. For you, Jungkook.”

There’s a glimmer of hope in Jungkook’s big, wide eyes, and Yoongi feels a little relief at that, wanting to ease the other’s pain. 

“It’s going to be alright, Guk-ah, I promise.” 

Jungkook stares at Yoongi, his jaw clenching as he tries to keep his emotions at bay, and Taehyung gently reaches over to the younger boy and pulls him into an embrace. Jungkook is pliant and instantly melts against his hyung, hands tightly clutching onto Taehyung’s shirt. 

Taehyung looks over his shoulder, eyes meeting Yoongi’s, questions swirling in them, but Yoongi just shakes his head. Now is not the time. 

Taehyung is satisfied with the confirmation - there’s more to this than both him and Hoseok know, and Yoongi seems willing to elaborate. 

The silence is broken by Jungkook’s ringtone, however, and he startles and moves away from Taehyung, quickly grabbing his phone from the coffee table.

He picks up on the second ring. “Yes?”

His eyes are wide as he listens, and he watches Yoongi who is across from him all the while. 

“Where?” Jungkook hangs up without another word and puts his phone in his pocket before rushing out of the living room. The boys all follow him with frowns of various severities on their faces.

“Who was it? What happened?” Taehyung asks, pulling on his shoes while holding onto Hoseok for balance.

“The police, they might have a clue.”

Jungkook doesn’t even bother to pull on his coat and rushes out. The boys follow him after Hoseok has grabbed Jungkook’s coat and Yoongi has locked his apartment door, the sound of their shoes squeaking against the stairs being the only thing loud enough to drown out the questions in their minds. 

Once they’ve made it outside, Hoseok jogs over to Jungkook and throws his coat over his shoulders, earning a grateful look before they enter Jungkook’s car, leaving Taehyung’s tesla parked there to avoid wasting time.

“What kind of clue?” Taehyung asks when Jungkook drives out of the neighborhood towards the main road. 

“They found security camera footage from the street behind the house,” Jungkook says, eyes focused on the road, “said she entered a car.” 

Hoseok leans forward in his seat. “What? Whose car was it?”

“An uber. They tracked his license plate and called him in for questioning.” Jungkook’s jaw clenches. 

She really left. After everything she said. After everything Jungkook told her, all the honesty and raw vulnerability.  

No one speaks for the rest of the short drive, and Jungkook slows down a bit when he enters the street leading up to the police station. He parks outside of the building and kills the engine before rushing out. The boys follow suit and soon they’re inside, met by an officer who seems to have been waiting for them.

Jungkook walks up to him and quickly greets him before stepping back. “Donghae, I need to see him right now, I need to ask hi-” 

“We haven’t started yet, come on, he’s in the interrogation room,” the officer says, jerking his head for the boys to follow along before he starts to walk deeper into the building. Jungkook’s heart is pounding in his chest, hard, and his mouth has gone dry for some reason. 

Taehyung stays close to him, Hoseok too, and Yoongi trails behind them, not exactly fond of police stations. They move past a bunch of people working on files and computers before they end up in a long, wide hallway with rooms on each side. 

“Right here,” Donghae says, stopping in front of room 3. He turns towards the boys and points at Jungkook. “You know the rules, Jeon, no aggression, no violence, and only three questions. The rest of you can wait outside.” 

Taehyung is about to argue, but Yoongi gently tugs on his sleeve and shakes his head. Hoseok also looks annoyed by the command but decides to comply and takes a step closer to the boys while Jungkook and Donghae enter the interrogation room. 

“Yoo Jaesuk, recently turned 48, used to be on tv or something but resigned and became a taxi driver before moving over to the uber industry,” Donghae says, sitting down across from the annoyed looking male already waiting by the big desk placed in the middle of the room. 

“I was a tv-show host,” Jaesuk corrects sourly, but Donghae waves it away.

“You escorted a girl somewhere today.” Donghae leans forward, eyes intimidating as he stares Jaesuk down. “Where did you take her?”

“She just gave me an address to follow,” Jaesuk mutters, “I’m an old man, I don’t remember the exact route I took.”

“You have a GPS installed in your car.” Jaesuk blinks. 

“Then why are you guys bothering me? I can send you the file later! My daughter is alone at home and I need to-”

“There’s no way you took on a client without knowing where you were going,” Jungkook says, trying his best to stay calm, “you must have seen the building’s logo at least.”

“This is a police investigation, Yoo-ssi,” Donghae adds, “if you omit any important information in your statement, you risk either a fine or a couple of weeks behind bars, depending on the severity of it.”

Jaesuk pales and stares at Donghae with wide eyes. He then looks over at Jungkook and swallows thickly. 

“Are you her boyfriend?” Jungkook had manage to keep a calm facade so far, but he is caught off guard by the man’s question. 

“Hey, this is about you,” Donghae snaps, “we’re interrogating you, not the other way around-”

“No,” Jungkook interrupts. He shakes his head, stays calm. “I’m not.” 

Jaesuk stares at him for a moment before biting his lip. He’s still hesitant, so Jungkook tries his best to make his features as soft and gentle as he can and smiles a little.

“But she means a lot to me, Yoo-ssi. Maybe as much as your daughter means to you. I cannot risk any harm coming to her.” Jungkook’s eyes are getting teary, and he realizes it has nothing to do with his facade. “Please, if you know anything - anything at all, you have to share it. Please, Yoo-ssi, I need to find her.”

Jaesuk’s brows have furrowed in sympathy and he drags in a shaky breath, nodding. 

“She had an injury, her ankle, she said, but I thought maybe-maybe it was more than that. Felt like someone had hurt her, maybe her boyfriend.” He looks a little guilty at that and sheepishly scratches his neck. “She went to the rehab facility downtown, the big, grey one, with the prison-like fences. Didn’t say anything at all, but I could tell she was in a bad state mentally. Looked like she had been crying, too.” 

Jungkook’s heart jumps in his chest, and he looks over at Donghae, eyes a little wide. 

“I’ll take it from here,” Donghae says, nodding, and Jungkook quickly shoots to his feet and offers Jaesuk a bow before booking it. 

The boys jump up in surprise when Jungkook exits the interrogation room. 

“What did he say? That was quick,” Taehyung says, struggling to keep up with Jungkook’s pace. Hoseok and Yoongi jog after them, and soon they’re snuggled into the car once more, racing on the main road. 

“Why would she go there?” Jungkook whispers to himself, “why would she go see him? What if she did it to say goodbye-”

“Jungkook, what are you talking about?” Yoongi cuts in, but Jungkook is lost in his thoughts.

“What if-what if she asked him for advice and he told her to go-

“Who are you talking ab-”

“Oh god, he probably told her to go, he probably told her to escape this hellhol-”

“Jungkook, come back to your ing senses.” Yoongi’s voice is loud and authoritative, and Jungkook’s mumbling instantly stops as he blinks, focusing on the road again. It’s a miracle they haven’t crashed yet. 

“Jimin,” he whispers, “she went to see him today.”

“What?” Taehyung turns in his seat to look at the boys in the back. “Why would she do that?”

“But that was hours ago,” Yoongi mutters, “the footage was from 10 a.m., where has she been for the past six hours?” 

No one says anything, but there is a question hanging in the air. 

What if she left after visiting Jimin?

They make it to the rehab and Jungkook leaves the engine running as he rushes inside. To his dismay, the guard that usually leads him to Jimin's quarters steps in his way and informs him about Hara having exceeded the allotted visiting time.

Jungkook feels anger wrap its fiery claws around his heart.

“But I have to see him,” Jungkook snaps at the guards preventing him from entering further into the building. “Move out of the way.”

“He isn’t allowed more visitors, it is the rule, Mr. Jeon.” 

The guard sounds anxious, Jungkook knows that it’s because of his status, and he also knows that he can have him fired if he wants to.

“I won’t say it again,” Jungkook growls, “move out of my ing way.”

“Mr. Jeon, this is my job, I cannot allow you further entrance into the build-”

“I have to see him right now! I need to know what she said to him,” Jungkook yells, his voice ringing loudly in the reception, and some of the other guards tense up, alert. 

“Sir, please calm down.”

“I won’t ing calm down! She left me! She ing left me, after everything we’ve been through she just-she just-.” Jungkook squeezes his eyes shut and drags in a deep breath. His heart is burning in his chest, feeling like it will explode any moment now, and Jungkook feels hot tears stream down his cheeks. 

There’s no point in doing this, visitors are only allotted forty minutes at most, Hara has probably left the city long since. 

What went wrong? What did he do wrong? What mistake did he make? Was it the kiss? Did he rush it? But Hara pulled him in, he tried to stop but she didn’t let him. 

Did he scare her away?

“What’s going on?” The boys have entered the reception, all of them carefully walking up to Jungkook, but he is lost in his thoughts. 

What the hell was Hara thinking leaving him behind? What is he going to do without her?

How is he going to survive without her? 

“Jimin is not allowed any visitors today, you can come back tomorrow,” the guard says, looking hopeful that maybe the boys might be more reasonable than Jungkook. “I have to follow the rule, I’m afraid.”

“ the rule,” Jungkook spits, sorrow turning into anger. It feels familiar, the itch under his skin, and he realizes he hasn’t felt it in a long, long while. He feels the beginnings of it, can feel his emotions slowly but surely drowning in the fury that keeps filling him up, drop by drop.

She left him. 

“Jungkook, hey, calm down,” Hoseok says from behind him and gently grabs onto his shoulder, but Jungkook rips it out of his grip and steps closer to the guard.

“Move.” His voice is low, expression murderous, and the guard nervously looks over at the other boys, seeking at least some form of help because Jungkook looks like he might pounce any moment now.

“Mr. Jeon, please, don’t make this harder than it needs to-”

“I said move, didn’t I?” Jungkook tilts his head to the side, jaw clenching, his mind flashing pictures of Hara - what if her injury has worsened, what if she does make it to her dad’s home but finds it empty because the er has fled the country, what if someone finds her alone on the streets, “move right now, or I swear to god I will kill you.”

Jungkook doesn’t care what his hyungs are thinking behind him right now, and he ignores Taehyung’s weak “oh my god,” and Hoseok’s “wait, Jungkook, look,” - he needs to see Jimin right now, and he momentarily considers using his authority to his benefit because he can have the guard fired on the spot if he wants to.

But there’s suddenly a hand on his shoulder, gently tugging on it, and he snaps and angrily turns around, thinking it might be Hoseok again, except it isn’t.

Hara looks guilty, apologetic, all kinds of miserable, and she bites her lip to keep her tears at bay. The roaring in Jungkook’s mind instantly fades into nothing, the adrenaline rushing through his veins stops in his heart which skips a handful of beats, and he just freezes. 

No words are uttered, the two of them stare at each other for a moment, Hara in painful realization that , Jungkook truly is a piece of her, and Jungkook in relief, pure and utter gut-wrenching relief.

“Hey,” Hara whispers, voice low and scratchy, and Jungkook feels worry course through him. Has she been crying? How long has she been here for? Did she know he was going to come look for her? "I-I want to apologize.”

Jungkook just stares at her, not trusting his voice yet. There’s a knot forming in the back of his throat, and his eyes are burning with the effort of keeping tears at bay. 

“I tried to run.” Hara averts her gaze, lower lip trembling. “I tried to leave, Jungkook, I wanted to get the out of here because it was all too much. I finally understood, finally realized that I’ve got everything I need right here, in this town. I got- I got scared.” 

Hara closes her eyes and drags in a shaky breath. Jungkook can’t help it when he reaches over and gently wipes away the tears that have escaped, and this only further pains Hara who whimpers at the familiar touch. 

“I’m so sorry,” she cries, finally looking up at Jungkook, “I’m so sorry for leaving you - for scaring you like that, I was being selfish and stupid and reckless, and I know you’re mad at me, heck even I am mad at mys-”

“It’s okay, Hara,” Jungkook interrupts, shaking his head because despite her words being true, the relief of finally having her here, in front of him again melts away all of his other emotions. She’s safe and she’s with him again. Jungkook isn’t alone anymore. Jungkook won’t be alone again. 

“But you did so much for me, Jungkook, you’ve been helping me out this whole time, Jimin told me about dad and-”

“Hey, I told you, Hara, everything is fine.” Jungkook gently cups her face and arches both eyebrows. “You’re here now, aren’t you? Just-just stop worrying, okay? I don’t care about what happened today as long as you promise to never do it again.” 

“I’m sorry,” Hara whispers, finally letting out the sobs she has been keeping back, and Jungkook instantly crashes her to his chest, his scent filling all of her senses, lulling her into safety and familiarity and home. 

Taehyung, Hoseok and Yoongi watch the whole confrontation with teary eyes, Yoongi more than the rest because he knows the reality of the scene before him, knows exactly what this reunion means for Hara and Jungkook.

And he knows it’s going to be hard, he knows they’re going to struggle in the beginning, but he can feel that everything will solve itself. It was almost like fate for Hara to enter Jungkook’s life and set him on the right path again, and for Jungkook to give Hara what she has been needing all her life by letting her enter his world of so many opportunities.

Taehyung and Hoseok are smiling, but there is curiosity in their eyes, and Yoongi looks up at Taehyung, silently conveying a message. Taehyung stares at him, brow furrowing before realization kicks in and he silently gasps.

“But wait, they're family friends, right? Does that mean they're cousins?” he whispers, leaning closer while watching the couple. "Yoongi, are they cousins? I'm freaking out over here, please answer me."

Hoseok also catches on and frowns, moving over to them. 

“Wait, is this-is this more than I think it is? Are they more than just friends?” Hoseok’s eyes widen and he stares at the couple still lost in each other’s embrace. 

"Hoseok hyung, this is some next level romance ."

"Looks like a scene from the Notebook, holy , Tae."

Yoongi stares at the bewildered boys for a moment and then bites back a small smile. He is grateful that they’re handling it so well, so open mindedly. Warmth fills his heart and happiness and relief take residency in every cell in his body, because one of the biggest issues he had been worrying about all this time no longer poses as a hurdle that needs to be crossed. 

Every thing is falling into place, Yoongi thinks, as if it truly is their destiny.

He sighs and huffs, watching as the couple finally pulls apart and smile at each other, their eyes shining with pure love and relief. Jungkook suddenly leans in and pecks Hara's forehead, and the girl smiles, a tear trailing down her cheek.

Taehyung squeaks at the confirmation while Hoseok tightly clutches onto his arm for stability. Yoongi bites back a laugh and shakes his head before turning on his heel.

“Yeah, you two have a long night ahead of you.”