I know what I'm about to ask is going to sound bad but I need to get an answer. "I...I'm maybe thinking wrong about this but..." I look at him without feeling shy or awkward. "You said he got wasted last night...I can't stop thinking he might have gone out to just have one night stand with a girl or do nasty things...that makes me feel disgusted and scared..."

"I don't think he would do that, especially since he loves you," he doesn't convince me. "He always told me that he's not that type of guy anyway, he wouldn't have sex with a girl just for fun, he wouldn't want to have a one-night stand or anything like that...he only did it once and it was...with two guys but that never happened again and...I know him...I know he wouldn't have sex with someone if he's in love...and in this case, I know he would consider it as cheating because he doesn't want to leave you."

All those words are suddenly brightening up my mood, that's a relief to hear them. "Really...? I thought there was something that he was hiding when he...broke up..."

"What do you mean?" he doesn't understand me but I get it off my chest. "I keep believing that he broke up with me...only because of me...like..." I remove my eyes from him. "I really feel like he used this stupid excuse because he just doesn't like me that much or...that physically...I'm not his type and he just realized it-"

"No y/n," he shakes his head and cuts my sentence short. "Seriously, I can promise you and swear on everything, he loves you more than anything and finds you hot as hell. It really is because of his guilt and how much Jisung manipulated him on that day."

"Sure...?" I look at him with teary eyes, the pain inside never leaving because of my stupid self. "Yes, sure y/n," he smiles at me and brings some cheer. "I never did this for one of his girlfriends...but this time...I feel like you both are a great couple that could last long. You're like the type of girl he needs, he can talk to you about anything he wants and never feel uncomfortable because he knows you think like him, he can also be clingy and never feel like he's too much with you...he feels good with you and I can see that you feel the same for him."

I nod to confirm his words but he doesn't take his eyes off of me. "What if...I get closer to you...? Just to make him jealous and regret what he did?" he suddenly lets out. This is maybe the idea he had to make Jungkook regret what he did.

I don't answer right away, finding this a bit mean given how Jungkook seems to be feeling lately. "That would hurt him..."

"I know but he hurt you when I told him to not do that only because of the damn Jisung..." he shows a lot of frustration regarding this mistake and break up. "And...he's been making me so mad that I want to make him open his eyes. His mother was hurt when she got to know he smoked and got wasted...he's being an asshole..."

He said he would not do that to his mother again, I feel like he seriously regrets what he did. "So yeah...I don't know..." he ruffles his hair but sighs loudly. "Whatever...I'm here to tell you that if you need someone, I'm there for you too. We didn't get to talk in private that much but that was pretty cool to be with you the other day..."

"Yeah...I liked it too," I tell him the truth about those short two hours we spent together. We both remain silent for some seconds, the sounds of the birds chirping filling our ears only. "Do you want me to come pick you up tomorrow?" he suddenly breaks this quietness but surprises me with a question I didn't expect to hear. "You have a driving license?"

"I do, I'm twenty-one," he affirms but links his hands together between his thighs. "I know...I failed last year so now I'm considered as a dumbass."

"No...that's not what I meant by that..." I regret asking after this answer. "You're not dumb just because you failed. That can happen. I just wanted to know."

"Anyway," he smiles as if my sentence made him feel better. "Do you want me to drive you to school tomorrow?"

"Well...I can't refuse," I accept with happiness, feeling relieved about the fact that I won't have to take the subway and bus all by myself. "Great, we'll be able to talk more together. When do you want me to come?"

"Seven am is good, is that okay for you?" I make sure this is alright for him as well but he acquiesces. "Yes perfect. I'll just need the location."

"Wait, I'm giving it to you now so I don't have to send it through texts," I take my phone out and let him save the location of my stepbrother's house in his notes. "I can't take too long because my friend is waiting for me at his house, you remember Jimin, don't you?" he chuckles but gets me to do so by reminding me of the messages I saw appearing on his phone when we were on the bus. "I do."

He reacts with some embarrassment but lets his laughter out. "Well, he's the one waiting for me to go to his house and he's as annoying as he was last time so...I should not make him wait."

"Alright, I need to go home too anyway," I stand up to make the first move and he follows me. "Did you come by feet?"

"No, my stepbrother drove me here so...I can't be seen with you or else he..." I restrain my words right when I realize I should not continue this sentence. "I just have to be alone. So...see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," his facial expression exudes some confusion but since I don't want to receive any questions from him, I bow to him and go back on the way that I took to come here.

I grab my phone and text Minkyu to tell me he can come back. He's for sure not far away from here since he likes to stalk me. Once he answers me to say he's on his way, I turn my phone off and wait.

•••

8 pm.

"Baby..." Minkyu walks into my bedroom when I wanted to be alone. I lock my phone to stop the conversation with Mino but look up at him. "Hm?" my simple answer echoes through the room. "Come in my room...I wanna be with you."

"Why...?" I try to give myself a chance to stay here all by myself but he insists. "Because I want to be with you," he shows his earnestness so since I don't want him to stay here and keep on asking, I stand up and send one last text to the man I was talking to.

I tell him good night while my stepbrother is following me from very close to enter his bedroom. Once we're there, I turn my phone off and put it down on his nightstand. "Who was it?" he questions me as I just sat down on his bed but I slide towards the wall to have it in my back. "Mino..."

"What was it about?" he doesn't stand to not know what was said through the messages and sits down next to me, to lay his hand on my bare thigh. "I just told him I'm going back to school tomorrow..." I answer while gazing away but fear this day. I wonder if I'm going to see Jungkook, how he's going to react and what he's going to say or do.

"Hm..." he caresses my skin with his fingers but comes closer to me, to press a kiss on my jawline. "You said you would dance...I want you to do it now...I'm gonna help you..." he plants another kiss on my shoulder but I bend my legs up. "I don't want to..."

"Just for me baby..." he places his hands on me but moves me towards him, to force me to end astride his lap. "You're gonna be away from me tomorrow..." he gazes up into my eyes with a sorrowful gaze but cups my waist, to bring me closer to his torso and press his lips on my neck.

I sigh but move back to get up on my feet. "Which song do you want?" I give in to him but he answers with a smile. "24 hours by Sunmi-"

"No," I chuckle but go back on the bed to lie down and keep my legs over his. "Come on...!" he slaps my thigh and comes closer to bend over me but I push him away, asking him to leave me alone. "Stop doing this," he grips my hip and pulls me in, for his lips to be attached to my neck and kiss me more than he should.

He drank too much alcohol again with some friends. This is starting anew.

"Minkyu..." I keep my arms between us to try to get him away from me but he doesn't stop, sliding his right hand down my side to reach my thigh but lift the bottom of my nightdress up. His hand grasps the back of my thigh and he pushes me down on my back to top me and connect his lips to mine. "Come on baby..." he speaks between the touches but I turn my head to the side and move myself up to prevent a kiss from happening. "Stop..." I look back into his eyes but keep a gap between our faces. "You said you wouldn't do this again..."

"But it's hard to hold back when I have you with me," he licks his lips without removing his hand from my body but I don't allow more. "Just...stop...you drank too much..." I show him I'm uncomfortable as the reason for me to stop him is caused by someone. He shows some obvious frustration but leans on the side. He lies down next to me and leaves us in silence, so I get in a proper position and cover my body with the blanket.

"Y/n..." he pronounces my name in a weird voice but I don't look at him. "What...?"

"I..." he hesitates and shows some unusual doubt when I'm used to seeing him full of confidence with me. "You don't want to have sex with me just because of the relationship between our parents...?"

I think thoroughly but feel scared to hurt him with a wrong answer. "Minkyu...I just...don't want to...I'm sorry."

"Alright..." he makes it evident this isn't pleasing him and exhales sharply. "No need to say sorry...I'm the one apologizing..." he moves onto his side of the bed but leans over me, to turn the lights off and then get back in his position. "Sleep tight," he covers his body with the blanket. "I love you..."

"I love you too..." I answer a bit awkwardly, feeling the tension I provoked. I don't dare say another word but he turns towards me, to wrap one arm around my body and sleep close to me. "Are you mad at me...?"

"No..." I don't remain angry. He pushes his lips on the back of my ear and hugs me. "I wasn't feeling good again..." he explains himself as he did last time he got drunk and tried to do this as well. "I needed to take my mind away and I drank more alcohol than I should have..."

"Why aren't you feeling good...?" I ask but look straight before me. He tightens his hold around me but keeps his head in the back of mine. "I'm worried about you...I know you're hurt again because of a damn asshole and that gets me mad...I'm scared you could cry every day again...I don't want it to happen..."

"This won't happen..." I tell him without being sure of my own words. He doesn't let go of me but keeps me warm in his embrace.

- Next day -

Thursday, November 12, 2019.

6:30 am.

"I'm leaving y/n," Minkyu enters the bedroom as I just put my uniform skirt on, wearing only my bra as a top. "Alright, see you later."

"I..." he doesn't go but keeps a hold onto the door's handle. "Before going, I wanted to apologize about last night. I'm sorry for the things I said or if I made you feel uncomfortable...I don't know what was happening with me."

"It's fine," I reassure him about it since I don't want him to hate himself because of something like that. "I promise this time it won't happen again...I swear..." he repeats himself again when he told me this some months ago already. "It's alright Minkyu...really..."

He steps closer to me without saying anything but takes me in his arms. "Forget what I said last night...alright? I just drank a bit too much..." he speaks in my ear while holding me tight but I nod. "Yeah."

"I love you," he places his hand in the back of my head and kisses my cheek. "See you later," he steps back but says the same words for me to see him leave the room. Once he's out, I put my dress shirt on and an oversized sweater over it. Since I still have some time before seeing Mino, I grab my phone and get out of my bedroom to head downstairs at the sound of the front door of the house closing.

I told Minkyu I would buy a uber to go to school but I had to lie, he would never have let me leave the house if I had told him I'm going with Mino.

I walk up to the kitchen and go get a banana milk but like every morning, I check Jungkook's Snapchat to see if he posted something but notice a new snap is remaining unseen.

_ imma tattoo her name on my body idgaf _

This was posted eight hours ago. Isn't he supposed to sleep at that hour?

I frown but don't react that much to it, I exit the app and check my texts to send one to Mino.

[ are you awake? >

< yep I am! ]

[ I'm ready so you can come pick me up if that's alright for you >

< I'm coming, I was waiting for you to tell me😁 it will take around ten minutes ]

[ alright, I'll wait in front of the house >

15 minutes later...

At the sound of someone honking, I lay my eyes on the car I was expecting to be Mino's one and grip on the strap of my bag to walk up to it in a rush. I don't take too long before opening the door and entering the warm inside to sit down.

"Hey," he smiles at me as I just got on my seat but I do the same while putting my seat belt on. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good...what about you?" I lay my bag and binder on my lap and he gets back on the road. "I'm going good too, I just got to know that my math teacher isn't here so that means I'll leave at two pm," he says enthusiastically while I'm not as happy as he is. I know I'm going to leave school two hours after him so I'm not that lucky. "Anyway," he already stops at a red light but looks for something in the compartment before me.

"Can I ask you something?" I dare to voice out while he's taking a pack of cigarettes and lighter out. "Yep?" he nods and closes the small compartment to get back in his previous position. "Have you seen Jungkook's snap?"

He smiles but brings a lit cigarette up to his mouth, to clasp it with his lips and leave the items between us. "You're still looking at them?"

"Yeah..." I glance down out of shame but he answers me while getting back on the road. "I did but he published a few snaps during the night because he was a bit drunk or out of his mind from what I understood so...which one are you talking about?"

"The one where he says he's gonna get a tattoo..." I mention it but fear his answer. "Who is he talking about?"

"About you obviously," he lets out directly with a soft chuckle. "I texted him when I saw that and told him to stop being a kid because it's his fault if you're away from him but just from the way he was speaking in his texts, I knew he drank and he told me it was too late because he already had done the tattoo."

"He did it?" I gape with surprise but he nods, to affirm it. "I have the picture," he puts his cigarette between his lips and takes his phone out. "Wait a minute, I have a minor with me," he laughs in a quiet manner but stops on the side, to be focused on his phone and get in his gallery. "Here you are," he hands it to me but as soon as my eyes land on the screen, my heart bumps into my chest.

"You can take it so I can drive," he makes me grab the phone so I do it and keep my eyes on my name tattooed over Jungkook's torso. "Is he insane? Why the hell would he do that?" my shock escapes me with no restraint. "I know right. He did this already but it was for his first love. I don't know if he told you about it..."

"He did but not in detail..." I nod but lock the phone to stop looking at the picture. "Well, he had a tattoo because he thought he would end his life with that girl but of course, this didn't go well and he had to erase it but that happened when he was going through a hard time because of his stepfather and all...so...I don't understand why he did this again...he's being immature and getting on my nerves."

I don't say anything more to this, wondering why I'm having such an effect on him when he barely showed me he had feelings. "By the way, I forgot about this thing dammit," he suddenly throws his cigarette out of the car after rolling the window down. "He's gonna kill me if he knows I smoked next to you."

"Well...he does it when he's all alone so I don't care..." I raise my eyebrows and look out, feeling lost when I should know what I feel or want. "He did it one time but once I told him that you would hate him for doing so...he didn't try again."

I let him talk and remain silent. I can still not believe that he got a tattoo of my name just like that. "And...I told him you're coming back today so...he's waiting for you in front of the school."

"I was expecting it..." I mumble but feel my pulse hastening at the sound of this sentence. "Uhm...also..." I dare to bring something up after what happened last night with Minkyu. "I'm sorry for not answering your last text last night...I had to turn my phone off..."

"That's alright, don't worry," he smiles in the kindest manner. "Why did you have to turn it off though?"

"It's my stepbrother..." I look in front of me without meeting his gaze anymore, feeling embarrassed about this whenever someone tries to know more. "Hm. Your stepbro..." his voice echoes in the car with what sounds like concern but a moment of silence weighs upon us. He taps his finger on the gear stick right between us. "What did you do when you got home?"

"I went in my bedroom and studied," I answer his question. "And nothing bad happened with him? He didn't annoy you?"

"No...he went out to have a drink with his friends so I was all alone for some hours," I remind myself of it since I slept and forgot some of the things I've done but he shows some more curiosity. "Ah alright. I guess he came back drunk and made you deal with him afterward?"

"He was drunk but that was alright..." I don't let him know more about it since he would probably not want to know what happens between us. "That's good 'cause I know that when I get drunk, people tell me I tend to be annoying as hell and never stop talking or asking for hugs to the first friend I see, I tend to touch other a bit too much as well without wanting to," he laughs but the sound of it makes me smile. "And Jungkook is like a weirdo who starts way too deep conversations about stuff that no one wants to talk about, and he also giggles for no good reason even if no one talks to him."

My smile widens at this sentence mentioning Jungkook as I could imagine every little thing about it. "So your stepbro is the type to sleep once he gets drunk?" he speaks about him again and grins at me. "Not really...he's more like you, he's annoying and always clingy..."

"Well...as long as he's just clingy and not too handsy," he lets out while turning the steering wheel, exposing an expensive watch around his wrist. He lays his eyes on me for a second. "He isn't, right?"