Jin pulls away from you slowly and you open your eyes, looking up to meet Jin’s. The two of you look into each other’s eyes. Your heart beats faster and louder. You gently smile at him.

“Let’s go, Jin.”

You hook onto Jin’s arm and look over to where V was. You brush off his presence nonchalantly and walk away with Jin. You could feel V’s eyes following you as you walked off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Jin arrive at Cheonggyecheon Stream, a place you two frequented in middle school. You sat on one of the steps by the water and looked straight ahead, hands under your thighs, swinging your legs back and forth. Jin sensed that you had a lot on your mind, so he sat beside you and waited until you were ready to talk.

“Was that weird for you, Jin? The kiss, I mean.”

“Well it definitely isn’t normal. I just couldn’t bear to see you so …. sad. It hurt me and I wanted to take the pain away from you. Sorry if it was sudden.”

“Oh no, it’s okay. I would’ve turned into a blubbering mess otherwise…”

You slowly turn away from him, shy. You bite your lip, remembering how soft and warm his felt against yours. Your face turns flushed and you hear Jin laugh.

“No need to be so embarrassed. Just a friend helping a friend.”

Jin puts his hands behind him as he leans back and looks up at the sky. You realized that Jin had taken your first kiss. You didn’t regret that he took it or anything, but it wasn’t exactly how you had pictured in your multiple fantasies played in your mind. You touch your lips, your no longer lips. Jin looks over at you and realizes what he did.

“Wait, did I take your first kiss, _________? Aw man, I didn’t mean to do that….. Not exactly the kind of romantic first kiss that girls fantasize about, huh…”

“Huh? No, don’t worry about it. It’s not like you can take it back or anything.”

Just as you finish your sentence, Jin places two fingers on your lips and pulls them back.

“There, I took it back, better?”

“HUH? What was that? That doesn’t change anything!”

“Just use your imagination silly.”

“I guess…….”

The two of you sit there a while longer, enjoying the warm afternoon sun and the sounds of running water. Then, Jin gets up and asks to walk you home. When the two of you arrive at your doorstep, he stops you before you walk in.

“_________. If V does anything to make you uncomfortable, tell me. I’ll take care of you.”

“Ah.. thank you, Jin.”

Jin pulls you towards him and hugs you tightly. One arm wraps around your waist and one hand is placed on your head.

“I missed you. I won’t leave again. I promise.”

You nod and feel like you melted into his arms. After a bit, you pull away, wave goodbye to Jin, and walk into your house.

You plop onto your bed. You are swirling with different emotions. You hated V for playing you. You loved Jin for being by your side. You made up your mind to never talk to V again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, you make sure to get to school as late as you could in order to avoid any awkwardness with V. You slip into the classroom just as the bell rings and take your seat. You look over at Jin and see him smiling brightly at you. You return the smile and tuck your hair behind your ear. On your other side, you could feel V looking at you, unable to take his eyes off you. Ignoring him, you stare straight ahead, taking notes.

Halfway through class, a note lands on your desk. You look around to see who left it there, but see no signs. Cautiously, you open up the note and see a boy’s handwriting.

“_________, I need to talk to you. Meet me outside at the start of lunch. Please. This is important. - V”

You suddenly feel the warmth drain from your face. You crumple the paper angrily and push it aside. Every part of you refused to go see V and bend to his demand.

As soon as the lunch bell rings, you put your things away and start heading out the door, trying to catch up to Jin, who was walking ahead of you. Suddenly, you feel someone grab your wrist and pull you harshly. You look down at the hand and then look up to see the owner, V. Immediately, you become infuriated.

“YAH, LET GO OF ME.”

You try to pull out of his grip but he is determined to hold on to you and kept pulling you along.

“HEY, I SAID LET ME GO, JERK.”

“Stop struggling. Just come with me.”

After a struggling for a moment longer, you realized that pulling out would not be an option for you; he was too strong. Reluctantly, you follow along. V leads you to an empty part of school behind the gym. He promptly pushes you against the wall and pins  your other hand to the wall. His eyes meet yours and look dangerous and serious. He leans in slightly, intending to kiss you, but you quickly turn your head away to avoid him. V sees you reject him and drops his head for a second, like he was gathering his thoughts and words.

“Don’t misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand, WHAT.”

“What you saw yesterday……. I can explain.”

“I don’t need your excuses. I know what I saw.”

“No. You don’t. She was just a family friend I was showing around town.”

“OH YEAH. Of course. What do you play me for, a fool? Cut the crap, V. Whatever we “had”, it’s OVER.”

V was quiet for a bit. Trying to think of another excuse for you, no doubt. You scoff at his pathetic attempt. You try to pull away from him and leave, but his hands tighten around your wrists.

“You’re not getting away that easy.”

V suddenly forces a kiss upon you. He’s not gentle and doesn’t care about how uncomfortable you feel. You struggle and use all your strength to pull away, but your attempts are futile. You hate what he’s doing to you and feel so used. Then, you quickly kick V in the shin, causing him to recoil in pain and let go of you. You run away from him as quickly as you can, tears starting to flow down your cheeks. Why did you have to get involved with V. Why did you let him deceive you like that…..

You quickly run into the cafeteria and look for Jin. After a quick scan, you see him in the corner with BTS. You dash towards him and quickly hug him from behind. Jin is surprised by the sudden contact and quickly realizes that it’s you. The other BTS boys look at the two of you and as if on cue, pull out the “Ohs” and “Ahs”.

“OHH NOONAAAAA, what is thissss~”

“DAMN JIN, what are we missing?”

“Ohhhhhh, what is this, Jin?”

Jin laughs off the guys’ immature remarks. You’re still crying softly into his backside. He catches the faint sound of your crying and his demeanor completely changes. He became serious and turned around quickly to face you. Your head was lowered; you were too ashamed to look him in the eyes. He brings your eyes up to meet his. It was almost as Jin could look right into your soul. Without even knowing what had happened, Jin pulled you close to him and hugged you.

“It’s okay. No one can hurt you now.”

You nod quietly, enjoying his strong and protective embrace. After a bit, your tears had dried and you pulled away.

“Better?”

You nod at him, giving him a small smile to reassure him. He rubs your head and tells you not to worry. You turn your attention towards the BTS guys that were gawking at the two of you. Jungkook speaks up.

“...... noona…….. are you and Jin………. together? I THOUGHT NOONA LIKED MEEEEE.”

“Haha, Jungkook, how could I not like you!”

You rub his head playfully as he pouts with jealousy. Jin laughs at the maknae’s jealous fit. All the guys were slowly grasping the situation, understanding that something must have been going on between you and Jin, but did not inquire about it. They were really good about personal space.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After avoiding any further contact with V, you were grateful that the school day was over. Jin was waiting for you at your locker, smiling when he saw you.

“So what happened today? Something I should be concerned about?”

“.... I think you can already imagine who it involved.”

“Ah…… him. I knew he was up to no good from the start.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you in the first place, Jin….”

“Hey, we all make mistakes right?”

You smile at Jin. You loved how accepting and understanding he was. After closing your locker, Jin offered to walk you home. Gladly, you accepted his offer; some company would be nice.

He held your books for you as the two of you walked towards your house. The two of you talked about a variety of random topics; it was obvious he was trying to get your mind off what had happened today. Jin always knew how to make you feel better. Before you knew it, the two of you had arrived at your place. You take your books back from Jin and thank him for accompanying you. You stand awkwardly before him, not really wanting to leave him yet but not really having anything to say. Suddenly, Jin leans towards you and kisses you on the cheek, making you blush profusely. He laughs at your expression.

“Bye, ___________. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Jin walks away, leaving the embarrassed you standing there, burning up. You slowly turn towards your door and go inside. Once inside, you head to your room and put your stuff down. On your desk is a small white envelope. There’s nothing written on it but your name in cursive. Confused, you ask your mom.

“Moooooom, what is this envelope doing on my desk?”

“Oh it’s for you! Someone rang the doorbell and when I went to check, all I found was that letter!”

“Ahh okay, thanks!”

Curious, but cautious, you open the envelope. Inside was a single slip of paper that said:

“it’s only over when I say it’s over.”

A photo suddenly drops from the envelope. It’s a polaroid. It was Jungkook….. he was tied to a chair, beaten and bruised. Your heart suddenly drops. The papers slip from your hand and you stumble back, shocked and filled with disbelief. V was bad news. He had hurt someone close to you…. what did you get yourself into….