v. departure
maybe we can try again

Two weeks passed quickly in blissful rediscovery. Though of course the whole process would be years in the unmaking, Hoseok was slowly finding himself again. With her help, he was regaining confidence in himself.

With just her presence, though, his apartment quickly became his home.

That was also two weeks away from the boys, an unprecedentedly lengthy amount of time. By the end of two weeks he knew he had to make a choice: go back to them or leave.

Well, there wasn't much of a choice really. Since the first moment he saw her in his home, his decision had already been determined.

He had to leave.

He'd been ignoring their calls and they surely didn't remember where he lived, as he'd only shown them once. He thought he would be safe until he decided to go to them of his own volition.

But he was wrong. They might not have remembered exactly where he loved but they did recall a vague direction. And it was this vague direction, plus a bit of luck on the boys' side, that allowed them to run into him on the street one day.

With her in tow.

The second he had noticed them all clad in black and marked by their white symbol, he had whispered in her ear to run. He had previously explained to her the mechanics of leaving a gang—blood in, blood out—but he'd reassured her that he had no intention to submit willingly to a beating. They were still his friends, and he still wanted to open their eyes to what they'd become.

But she had second thoughts about leaving him alone with them. "H-Hobi, no, let's just both run," she begged, tugging at his arm, but he shook his head and smiled gently.

"I'll be fine, I promise. I'll come back to you soon so wait for me at home okay?" He kissed her sweetly and tasted her tears. "Lock the door and don't let anyone in until you hear me say the password."

She nodded slowly, shakily, and pressed one more desperate kiss to his lips before taking off. Hoseok straightened and faced his friends.

They approached him with ugly sneers.

"Not you too," Jimin scoffed. "A girl again? What's wrong with you idiots?"

Suga ordered, "Maknae, go get her."

"Don't you dare," Hoseok warned before Jungkook could move. The younger boy hesitated.

"You have no authority left here! Maknae, do what I say or we'll beat you up too!"

"Please, Jungkook," Hoseok entreated. "Please don't go after her."

There was a split second of indecision. But then Jungkook's face smoothed over and hope was lost. "Sorry, Hope-hyung," the younger boy muttered before taking off.

Hoseok cursed under his breath. He hoped Jungkook had enough sense left in him not to hurt her, at the very least.

"So," Suga smirked as the four remaining boys began to circle around Hoseok, "you wanna leave us too?"

"I am leaving," Hoseok said firmly. "I am."

"Fine! You know what happens to traitors," Suga snarled.

Jimin cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

Hoseok sighed. "I'm not as nice as V. I'm not gonna let you guys beat me up."

"It's four against one, you really think you have a chance?" Jin asked quietly, cocking his eyebrow.

Hoseok shrugged. "I know how you guys fight. I think I have more than a chance."

"Even if you get away, if we don't beat you up, you're not out of the gang," Jimin smirked.

Hoseok snorted derisively. "You guys are so stupid. Gang? We were never meant to be one. We were just a group of friends who would always be there for each other. What changed?"

"We did!" Suga snarled. "Because our ty lives changed us!"

"We thought you understood us, J-Hope," Rap Monster spoke up. "You never said anything before."

"That's because I couldn't see it before. I couldn't see how bad we had gotten. But I see it now and you guys need to open your eyes too. We were being chased by the ing police the other day!"

"And they didn't catch us! Just goes to show how ed up the police are around here." Jimin spat on the ground.

Hoseok laughed. "We're pretty ed up too, if you hadn't noticed."

"Why are we standing here talking?" Jin asked with a sigh. "If he wants to leave, then let's get on with it."

"I love you guys like brothers but that doesn't mean I won't punch you," Hoseok warned.

"Brothers don't abandon each other," Suga growled and attacked.

Hoseok knew he couldn't beat all four of them. But he did know that he could hurt them just as much as they hurt him. He dodged Suga's wild fists and Jimin's weighty kicks, whirling past Rap Monster's measured attacks and Jin's deceptively lazy movements. Despite his earlier proclamation, he couldn't bring himself to hurt them.

"Why do you keep running away?" Suga yelled. "C'mon you bastard, fight!"

"I told you I don't wanna fight you guys!" Hoseok shouted back as he ducked an incoming kick.

"Dammit! Where's Jungkook when you need him?" Suga growled, unsuccessfully punching forward.

Jungkook was young and experimental with his fighting style. He incorporated the moves he'd learned from all of the boys, so he was unpredictable. Good in a fight against Hoseok who had studied each member's fighting style separately.

"You sent him after the , remember?" Jimin gritted his teeth as Hoseok finally made a move and slammed his fist into Jimin's hard abdomen.

"Don't you dare call her a again," Hoseok warned venomously.

Jimin landed on his and coughed in pain before grinning sloppily. "Ah. Found your weak point."

Hoseok laughed. "Weak point? No, she's my strength. Mention her again and I'll destroy you."

Jimin was about to retaliate when suddenly Jungkook came running back. Huffing, he said, "I-I lost her."

Suga yelled in frustration, "Can't you do anything right?"

Hoseok looked at Jungkook strangely. The maknae's heavy breathing was too theatrical. Could it be?

Jungkook caught his eye and gave a tiny nod. Relief and gratitude filled Hoseok. Jungkook had let her go.

Before Suga could release his anger on the maknae, Rap Monster pulled him back and said, "You know what? He's not worth it. Let's just go." He turned and started walking away, Jin following behind wordlessly.

Suga tsked loudly and spat at Hoseok. "You got lucky, bastard. If I see you again, I'll kill you." Then he swaggered away.

Jungkook was about to go when Hoseok called his name. "Hyung?"

"Thank you," Hoseok said sincerely.

Jungkook shrugged. "She's innocent. No point dragging her into this."

Hoseok smiled gently. "You can leave too, you know. Just walk away. You're not meant for this life, Jungkook. None of you are, but you especially."

Jungkook didn't respond. He just half-smiled and left.

Hoseok sighed. He hoped Jungkook would see sense soon. Then maybe they'd have a chance of helping the others.

Rushing home, he knocked on his own door and called, "Airplanes!"

The door creaked open and there she was, welcoming him home. He smiled, even when she threw herself into his arms and sobbed.

"I was so scared! Are you okay? Are you hurt? God, never scare me like that again!" Her fists weakly thumped his chest.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She melted into his embrace. "I love you so much," he murmured into her hair. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for, idiot?" she mumbled into his chest and he knew she was blushing.

"But you love this idiot," he teased.

She didn't answer.

"Yah!" He shook her. "Yah, you love me!"

She giggled shakily and pulled back. "Of course, of course, I love you too." She stretched up and he leaned down and their lips met in sweet kiss, full of promise for a long future together.

"So you've left them, right? Like actually left?" she asked later when they were eating.

He nodded.

"But...they didn't hurt you."

He grinned. "They tried."

"Jung Hoseok! That is not something to smile about!"

"Okay, okay. I think they didn't wanna fight either. I mean, no matter what, we're all brothers. We were all completely depressed after we beat V up." He shook his head and a sudden thought struck him. "That's right, V!"

"What?" she mumbled around her rice in confusion but he just got up and fetched his phone.

He found the contact and his finger hovered over the call button but he hesitated. Would he even pick up? Taking a deep breath, he decided it was worth a try.

He pressed.

Rrrrrrring! Rrrrrrring!

"Hope-hyung?" His voice was wary.

"Ah, V—no, Taehyung-ah. How have you been?" Hoseok asked nervously.

"Good, I guess. Why are you calling me?"

"Blunt as always." Hoseok chuckled a little. "I left."

Taehyung immediately knew what he meant and his voice brightened considerably. "Really?! You too? Why?"

"Well..." Hoseok glanced at his reason, who was still stuffing her face greedily. He grinned. "A girl. Just like you."

"Ah." Taehyung's voice took on an understanding tone. "Anyone else?"

Hoseok shook his head before remembering Taehyung couldn't see him. "No, but I think Kookie's close."

"So are you calling for my help to get him out?" Taehyung asked shrewdly.

"Oh yeah, I guess. But actually, I wanted to know if you're up for a double date?"

notes: And that's the end! :') I hope you all enjoyed it! I had great fun writing it and I'm thinking about writing Jungkook's side too. Maybe I should just do them all. Haha I probably will eventually! xD I love BTS too much not to. Anyway, thanks for reading and thank you BeautifulRain for commenting and upvoting! <3

Until my next story! (Sooner than you might think. Any guesses for the group? Hint: it's a boy group but not one I've already written for. :D)

skyblaze208, OUT!

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