"Thank you."

His voice was still a soft whisper in my ears long after he'd vanished. Even when I heard new footsteps approaching, I couldn't escape the echo of his words. Something about them felt like they marked a shift between us, and I already anticipated our next meeting to discover if it was a positive change or not. I worried that my spying on him might've shattered the hint of trust he had towards me, ruining any possibility of learning more about him. But the gratitude I heard in his tone gave me hope that it was the opposite - that he trusted me more than before. The thought sent a pleasant warmth throughout my chest.

Before I could think any further, someone called my name.

"Jangmi?"

I hardly recognized his voice as I rarely heard him speak, but his flawless skin and wine-red hair became clear under the low light as he stepped onto the platform.

"Yoongi."

He gave me a once-over, his eyes piercing through the darkness, then he cleared his throat. "You're here early. How did you even get in?"

I shrugged, keeping my face impassive. "It was open when I got here."

Yoongi didn't even attempt to hide his suspicion. His eyes narrowed, he crossed his arms, but taking me by surprise was the smirk that tilted the corner of his mouth. He said not a word and we hung in silence until more footsteps approached.

"Yoongi?"

I recognized the huskier voice as Namjoon's, and I could just make out the smile that stretched over his lips when he stepped in front of us and spotted me. "Oh, you're here too. I would've expected you to come with Jimin."

"Normally I would've, but I got out of my class early today," I explained, relieved to no longer be alone with the quieter male.

Namjoon nodded in understanding, then gestured to the ladder. "We should start going down before it gets more crowded," he suggested. "Ladies first-- or not."

Yoongi proceeded down the ladder before I had a chance to accept Namjoon's invitation. I found the lavender-haired male rolling his eyes at his less-chivalrous friend.

As soon as Yoongi made it to the bottom, Namjoon stepped out of the way and allowed me to go next. I descended slowly, the bars cold underneath the grip of my hands. I hated everything about that ladder, from the way it oozed the metallic stench of rust to the way it trembled unsurely with every step I took.

I was still several feet from the ground when the bar beneath my hands suddenly snapped and broke off and I went falling backward. My breath hitched as I feared the instant my head would meet the hard floor, but a pair of arms caught me and my head met a hard skull instead. A groan escaped the two of us as Yoongi righted me and let me go. I turned to face him, the swift motion sending my head spinning.

"Fuck, your head is hard," he muttered as he held a hand to his forehead.

"Pretty sure that sound was from your skull. What are you made of? Stone?" I winced as I gingerly touched the back of my head, a sharp ache branching out in every direction. "But thank you."

"Shit, are you guys okay?" Namjoon asked from the platform, leaning over the railing to see us.

"What happened?" Jin's concerned voice suddenly came from behind Namjoon. I peered up at them, but they were nearly featureless silhouettes from the angle I stood.

"Part of the ladder broke off and Jangmi fell."

"What?!"

"I'm fine," I announced, though pain shot through my head as I spoke up.

"Is it even safe for us to go down there? And how will they get back up?" A third silhouette joined the other two, and I immediately recognized Taehyung's deeper tone.

"It was just one bar, we can still use the ladder," Yoongi said. "We just need to be careful with the gap."

"I don't understand why you guys insist on coming here when things are falling apart. It's no wonder they keep the place blocked off," I commented under my breath.

"If you hate it so much, why did you come?" Yoongi questioned from beside me. I shut my mouth which seemed to please him, but I always second-guessed my interpretation of his expressions. Was he really pleased that I had no response, or was the twinkle in his eyes about something else?

"Who wants to try it next?" Jin asked.

"I will." Namjoon's larger frame moved to the ladder and I watched, holding my breath as he descended and eventually stretched his long legs over the gap to reach the nearest bar. Instinctively, I went up behind him, prepared to help if he needed it. He glanced down and noticed me, grinning as a small chuckle left his mouth. "I'm okay, don't worry."

"Okay," I replied, stepping back to let him continue on his own. Skipping the last few steps, he hopped down to the ground.

Seokjin and Taehyung took their time coming down, but once they did, Jin pulled something out of the pocket of his grey hoodie. In his hands was a small black speaker.

"So we can play music," he explained.

I followed the four of them as they moved across the stage. Namjoon and Jin jumped down to the main floor and went to sit on the nearest seats while Taehyung and Yoongi sat on the edge of the stage, their feet dangling. I chose to join the latter, sitting beside Taehyung.

As music began playing softly from the speaker and the males began catching up, I wondered what Jungkook and Jimin were doing that was holding them back. Jimin was supposed to get out of class with plenty of time to make it, and Jungkook was the one who had invited us to meet in the first place. It felt odd that neither of them had shown up yet.

"Jungkook just texted me. He and Jimin are running late but they're still coming," Namjoon told us after glancing at his phone.

My own phone dinged just after he spoke. I pulled it out and saw a text from Jimin explaining that he got caught up and would see me soon. I sighed, feeling out of place with Jimin missing. Jin was the one person I knew among the group before me but that did little to help my unease. Nari's claims were like jet-black vines that relentlessly crept up my legs, along my spine, curling around my chest and throat. Every time he spoke, every time I caught sight of him, the vines would constrict to remind me of the possibility of him being a stalker.

I was never going to be released of such a hold until I confronted him. Jimin and I hadn't agreed on a plan, but every part of my being urged me to just get it done. There were three others with us and there was nowhere for him to run. It was likely the best opportunity I would get.

Wait. Let his guard drop first, my inner voice advised. I chose to listen as my gut felt more trustworthy than the men surrounding me.

"Have you two started on your dances for that competition yet?" Namjoon inquired as he looked between Taehyung and me.

"Yes."

"No."

Taehyung raised an eyebrow at me while I looked at him in surprise. He started already?

My expression must've betrayed my rising worry as his normally stony face brightened, eyes livening with newfound confidence and lips pulling into a mischievous smirk. "Better catch up, sweetheart."

My jaw was tempted to drop at his sudden shift in demeanor. Before I could respond, Yoongi chuckled.

"Taehyung's the most competitive person I know. You'll have to step up your game."

"I guess so," I hid my nerves behind a light laugh, "But I have no idea what to do for the music and I can hardly start on the routine without a track."

Yoongi leaned forward, peering beyond Taehyung to meet my gaze. "I can help you with the music."

Taehyung immediately frowned at his proposal. "What about me?"

Namjoon stretched his arms along the back of the chairs, clearing his throat to gain our attention. "I'm a composition major too, you know. I could help you, Taehyung."

"Why don't you help Jangmi and Yoongi can help me? I know him better than you. No offense," Taehyung said calmly.

Namjoon shrugged, glancing at me and then at Yoongi. "I'm good either way. I just need the practice."

"I'll help Tae, you can help Jangmi," Yoongi decided.

"I can help Jangmi, too," Seokjin said, catching my eyes.

With a frown, I asked, "What would you help me with?"

"The story behind the choreo, the expressions your dancer should use," he replied surely. "Theater comes in handy when you need to add depth to the performance."

I brushed my hair behind my ear, realizing and hating that he was correct. Taehyung already had a background in theater which gave him an additional advantage. To accept Jin's help meant boosting my chance of victory, but I wouldn't do so until I addressed the Nari issue first.

My patience ran dry and the next thing I knew, I was asking Jin if we could talk.

"Again?" Taehyung mumbled snidely, glaring between the two of us.

I ignored him and the other's gazes as I stood and jumped down from the stage. Jin led the way, walking up toward the middle aisle much like we had previously done. The dim lights flickered menacingly, almost as if warning me not to proceed. But when he turned to face me, I saw a flash of the night when everything had shattered between us and my mind was made up.

"What do you need?" His voice was both gentle and curious, his face full of fondness. I clenched my fists to ground myself, hoping to prevent my soft spot for him from getting in the way.

"I talked to Nari," I plunged right in, observing his reaction carefully. Aside from the slight twitch of his brow, he gave no indication of his emotions. I continued, "She had a lot to say about you-"

He scoffed, his poker face already beginning to crack. "I'm sure she did."

"Jin, I just want to know the truth. Did you really stalk her?"

He remained silent and my heart skipped. I watched his jaw clench and unclench, then he brought a hand up and ran it over his face, groaning frustratedly. "Why did you talk to her all of a sudden?"

I frowned and my chest tightened. He was deflecting, avoiding my question. Not good.

"You were acting weird every time she came up. But that doesn't even-"

"What did she tell you?" he cut me off.

"She said that after we broke up, you started texting her and following her even when she asked you to leave her alone."

"And did you believe her?" His voice grew stiff.

I took a deep breath, staring at him as sincerely as I could. "I don't want to. That's why I'm here, asking you about it. I want to hear what you have to say." My words seemed to soothe him just slightly, and he took his time to answer.

"I... I did message her. I was so upset about losing you and instead of taking responsibility for my mistakes, I channelled all my anger towards her. She ignored me when I kept asking her to message you. I wanted her to apologize and explain the situation better, because she knew I really loved you. I thought if you heard it from her, maybe you would forgive me. But she had always been jealous that I really did move on from her, so she never wanted to help me get you back," he paused, reaching out to grab my hands. I was too concentrated on his words to have the sense to pull away.

He went on, "All I wanted was to get her to tell you how I really fell for you. But she ignored me because she hated that I wasn't interested in her anymore. I was so angry and I let myself believe that losing you was all her fault. I got... desperate."

"So you stalked her?" I whispered, finally withdrawing my hands from his.

"No, no," he denied, "It wasn't stalking. I just... I tried to come up to her to talk to her. I needed to convince her-"

"Did she tell you to leave her alone?"

"Yes, but-"

"You followed her even after she asked you not to, Jin. That's not okay," I said, looking at him in disappointment.

"Jangmi, you have to understand," he whispered, stepping closer before grabbing my forearms to keep me from backing away. "I was just desperate to get you back-"

"Don't touch me."

"-I wasn't in my right mind back then, I was all messed up from losing you and-"

"Stop," I said firmly, trying to escape his grasp. His fingers sunk into my skin as he squeezed, his face losing its composure. I could see the fear in his eyes, same as the night we parted ways. Fear of losing me. Fear of me discovering the darker truth of him. "Jin, stop it! Let go!" I shouted.

In a flash, Seokjin was shoved away from me while a pair of arms hooked around my waist and pulled me back into a hard chest. I struggled to make sense of things, taking in the fact that Namjoon had pushed Jin back while Yoongi stood between us, which meant Taehyung was the one holding me.

"What the hell, Jin?! She told you to back off!" Namjoon yelled, his neck straining as he kept his hand on Jin's chest.

"You could have hurt her!"

Yoongi's words seemed to snap Jin out of it and his eyes cleared as he looked over Namjoon's shoulder at me. The selfish fear I'd seen in him morphed before my eyes into a simpler worry for my well-being.

"I-I'm sorry, Mi. I'm so sorry," he said almost pleadingly. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I replied with a shaky voice. My heart felt like it was breaking yet again, as if I'd lost Seokjin a second time.

I didn't want to overreact, and I did believe him when he said that he wasn't doing anything sinister. I could sense that he was truthful about wanting to convince her to talk to me, but he still followed her, intimidated her, and wouldn't leave her alone. He was harrassing her and if he had that tendency with one ex, he was capable of employing that behavior with me as well.

Taehyung's hold finally loosened and he let me go, allowing me to turn to face him. I found, quite unexpectedly, an abundance of concern in his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, inspecting my face attentively. I nodded, too confused by his display of care to speak.

"The hell is going on?" Jungkook's voice hollered from a distance.

Taehyung and the others turned to find him, and we all watched as he and Jimin hopped off the stage and ran up to us.

"What happened? Jangmi, are you okay?" Jimin asked hesitantly, breaking his gaze away from me to observe the way Namjoon blocked Jin from me.

"I'm okay," I assured him. "But I think I want to go back to my dorm."

"No, I'll go and you can stay here," Jin said quietly. I looked back at him, a new wave of conflict washing over me. I was upset about what he did to Nari and how he so easily lost his temper lately, but I couldn't ignore the glimpse of sadness that continued to make an appearance in his eyes. It reminded me of the person I fell in love with and it hurt to see him so lost.

Part of me wanted to ask him to stay, but from his own face and the rest of the males' expressions, I felt it was better to let him go.

So he did, and the others immediately asked me what happened as soon as he was gone. When I told them I would rather not discuss it, they reluctantly dropped the matter.

Jimin grabbed my hand to tug me behind him while everyone returned to the stage. We all sat in the seats of the front row, brushing dust off the arms. After noticing that Jin had left his speaker behind, Namjoon asked if we would like to hear his latest project. Yoongi seemed especially intrigued as we all agreed.

The music that wafted from the speaker a minute later was wonderful. Each note was light, almost airy, yet they rang with a faint echo that added depth to the song. There was a vague, high-pitched vocal beneath the notes, weaving a haunting energy into the sound. It was crafted with care, and the beauty of it managed to lull me into a dreamy state.

I slowly began nodding off, but the second my eyes closed, that familiar hooded figure was there, ready and waiting to greet me. With a loud gasp, my eyes shot open and I sat up straight, only to find that I was no longer in the same place.

Jimin was gone. All of them were gone. But the hooded man was very much still in front me.

• • •

WHEW. Hello. So we had a confrontation with Seokjin. Did he give the answers you expected? Were you surprised by his response? How we feelin' about him? And what about the others?

I know you guys miss Hoseok already and I SWEAR he's going to start showing up more and more frequently. His screen time is lacking for now but that's just part of what is necessary for this plot!

And who is looking forward to the encounter with the hooded man? Gonna be pretty interesting next chapter ;)

I also have another beautiful fanart to share! Thank you so much @AntiQueen1323 (instagram)

See you guys in the next one! And thank you so much for 40k 🥺

-Hoseokiiss (Kat)

June 26, 2020