20 | THE ONE TO TRUST

"Mi, can we talk?"

Seokjin's tone was soft while his eyes begged me to accept. The wild desperation that stained his face the last time we spoke was replaced with a look I never could forget. The regret he wore was just as strong as the day he shattered my heart.

"So what's the plan?" Namjoon's husky voice saved me the trouble of responding. The tall male walked up and brought his arm around an aggravated Jin, squeezing his shoulder.

Taehyung lagged behind and went to stand near Namjoon. "Will we be heading back soon?"

"You guys can go back whenever you want. I'm staying overnight," I said, earning their attention.

"What about your classes?" Namjoon asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure staying with Jimin is worth missing a day or two of classes."

"I wasn't trying to say they're more important, I just wanted to make sure you knew to email your professors," he explained. "They're relentless when it comes to attendance."

"He's right. To them, missing even just one class translates to you wasting their time and not taking your acceptance into the school seriously," Jungkook said. "They'll usually let you off for one or two absences if you email them about it, but even that's pushing it."

My heart sunk. "What about Jimin? He'll have to sit out until his feet heal. You don't think they'll suspend him or anything, do you?"

Jin brushed aside his annoyance enough to join in. "No. They can't suspend anyone from their program on the basis of an injury. It has to be the student's decision, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried pressuring him to drop out."

The fury over what had been done to Jimin reignited in my chest, sparking out to every part of me. What The Hood did to him went so much deeper than physical burns. I had to see him, I had to let him know that I couldn't involve him any more than I already had.

"That won't happen. Jimin would never give up his spot, so let's not worry too much," Jungkook said, assuring me with a slight smile.

"I think we'll head out after I see him. Yoongi's in there now. That sound okay?" Namjoon asked as he brushed lavender hair from his forehead.

"That's fine with me. I'll probably need a ride back tomorrow morning though."

"I'll come to pick you up in the morning if you want," Jungkook offered. I searched his eyes briefly before nodding.

"That works."

"Jangmi, do you think we could talk now?" Jin asked, and I felt tension return to my body.

Namjoon's eyes found mine, surely noticing my discomfort. He looked back at Jin. "I don't think that's the best idea. Things didn't exactly go well the last time you two talked alone."

Jin sighed defeatedly, lowering his head. "I know. I screwed up, and I understand why you're hesitant to let me talk to her. But I just... I need one more chance to explain things. After that, if Jangmi asks me to leave her alone for good, that's what I'll do."

Each of them looked at me in some form of concern, and I was surprised when Taehyung spoke quietly beside me, his tone so deep that it was difficult to make out.

"Careful."

I looked at him for a second, his alert eyes hidden behind black curls. Was that a warning, or is he truly concerned?

"It's okay," I said, turning back to Namjoon. "We'll talk here. You guys can stay in sight so everyone feels at ease."

As much as I dreaded another interaction with Jin, I knew it was best to get everything cleared out once and for all. Then, of course, there was the issue of determining if he was my tormentor or not.

"We're ready to step in at any time," Jungkook whispered for my ears only. I gave him a short nod and waited for them to walk away, my gaze finding Jin's.

He remained in place, keeping a fair distance between us. I stood in silence while he bit his lip nervously.

"I have a lot I need to say, but I'll start with an apology. I'm so sorry, Mi. I was desperate and afraid of losing you a second time because of what Nari told you. I lost it and I never should have acted that way with you at the opera house. I never meant to make you feel unsafe with me."

Though I had always believed I knew him well, I had to question his sincerity. His expression was sorrowful and from what I could tell he was being honest, but I kept recalling my nightmare - how that monster had apologized so softly the moment he realized I was in pain. There was a clear pattern of mood swings that seemed to match up with the two, but that certainly didn't classify as proof.

"I never thought I would feel so uneasy around you. Even after our breakup, it was painful to see you, but I never felt the way I do now," I said in a broken whisper, sounding more vulnerable than intended.

His expression crumbled with devastation. "I know nothing I can say will excuse what I did. I know following Nari was wrong, and I know the way I held you and lost my temper was inexcusable, too. But if you'll let me, I'll tell you my side of things. The full story, not just what I said in a panic last time."

I considered his offer, debating if he deserved one last chance to explain himself. A large part of me worried that he would simply lie to gain my sympathy, but I trusted myself to not give in if that was the case. Ultimately, the wisest choice was to hear him out in case what he said would reveal any further insights.

"I'm listening."

He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. With a frown, I watched him search for something until he finally had it pulled up, then he showed me the screen. Leaning forward to see better, I read over the messages.

It was a screenshot of his conversation with Nari, and it appeared that she was threatening me. Jin was telling her that she was jealous and cruel for not doing anything to help him get me back, and she replied by saying that she was tired of everything being about me. She said he wasn't really in love with me and he would realize that as soon as I was out of the picture.

Jin handed me the phone and I continued to swipe through multiple screenshots, all full of Nari threatening me in one manner or another. Jin was furious in his messages, telling her she had lost it and that he wouldn't let her touch me.

"She thought she wanted me to move on, but then when I actually did, she fell so deep into jealousy that she was like a different person," he said.

"If this is true, why didn't you tell me about it before? I gave you the chance to explain yourself and you never mentioned her threatening me," I said as I returned his phone to him.

"I know," he sighed. "You asked me right away if I followed her, and I did. I followed her before she had started to threaten you. I was never intending to be a creep, I just was trying to find a way to talk to her in person because she kept refusing to talk over the phone. She even told me if I wanted to speak with her that I would need to meet her in person, but then she never gave me a time or place to meet.

"I think she set me up and purposely made me desperate so she could get proof of me trying to approach her. I know I should have just left her alone - I'm not saying what I did was okay. But after she had proof of me 'stalking' her, that's when she started to threaten you, and she blackmailed me with that evidence to make sure I never told anyone about the threats she was making. They were probably all empty anyway, but I was afraid that she might actually carry them out or get someone else to do it for her. It was only when I agreed to stay away from you and let you go that she finally dropped the threats."

I stared at him, absorbing all that he said and all that he showed me. The jealous behavior of Nari lined up with the messages I had seen years ago on the night Jin and I broke up, and Jin never denied that he was trying to approach her. His story was believable and I was inclined to accept it, but one thing still left me puzzled.

"All of that still doesn't explain your mood swings, how panicky and desperate you get. Why act that way?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. I don't want to use it as an excuse. It's not an excuse."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? Seokjin, if there's something behind your behavior, I want to know. I'm trying to understand so that I don't have to feel this way every time we're near each other."

He looked at me carefully, brows drawn together in reluctance. "Do you remember me telling you about Sara?"

I nodded, recalling the girl he had once told me about. I knew very little about her - only that what happened to her had affected him greatly. "Your childhood friend, right? The one who disappeared?"

He crossed his arms over his chest almost as if to comfort himself. "Yes. I never told you the full story. It was my fault that she disappeared."

Resisting the urge to jump to conclusions felt nearly impossible, but I waited for him to explain.

"What do you mean?"

"Our parents always had us walk home from school together. We were little, but it was a short distance and it was still early in the day. We lived right next to each other in a safe neighborhood, and we were old enough that they thought we'd be fine. But that was always assuming that we would stay together the whole time.

"But I failed her and I failed our parents. There was a group of boys playing soccer on our walk home. They invited me to join them, but Sara didn't want to. Our houses were just down the block, barely out of sight, and I thought it would be fine if she went the rest of the way by herself." His voice cracked with emotion, and I could see the impossible guilt he carried on his shoulders.

"I played but I kept an eye on her until she passed a bend in the road. That was the last time I ever saw her." Jin bit his lip to keep it from trembling, and he blinked away the tears that filled his eyes. "I never want to use what happened to her as a way to justify my actions. I'm ashamed of how I've been acting, but if you want to know where my fear comes from, this is it. Both with Nari and then with you, I was terrified to lose another person I cared about, especially as a result of my own mistakes."

What he told me weighed heavily in my heart. I did sympathize with him and it hurt to imagine how difficult it must've been for him, even up to the present. But what made me believe him was the fact that he was so reluctant to ever tell me the story. If his aim was to manipulate me into pitying him, it would have been the first thing he told me. He would've denied his actions and defended them rather than taking responsibility and not using his tragic experience as an excuse.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Jin. I really am," I said, holding his gaze so he could see I meant it. "I can't say that everything is suddenly fine, and I can't act like nothing happened, but I appreciate that you told me. I believe you."

A wave of relief crashed over him, and the tears returned to his eyes, only further softening my heart toward him.

"Thank you, Jangmi," he said, and I knew he was sincere at the use of my full name. "Where does this leave us?"

I sighed, giving him a broken smile. "I don't know. Back at square one, I guess."

He nodded. "I'm leaving it up to you. If you don't want me around, tell me and I'll stay away."

"I don't need you to stay away when we meet as a group. I just need you to let me come to you instead of you coming to me."

"Okay."

~

As I walked into the room, Jimin's eyes instantly found mine. Seeing him in that state was no easier the second time, and guilt clawed at my chest.

"Hey, it's just you and me now. The guys left," I announced.

"You okay? You look upset," he said gently.

I nodded and let out a faint chuckle. "It's just not easy seeing you like this. But shouldn't I be asking you that?"

He scoffed and gave me a flat look. "Trust me, I've been asked that enough times today."

"You seem a little better than before," I commented.

With a shrug, he said, "I'm just trying to put on a brave face. I'm terrified that I won't dance again, but the only thing I can control right now is my mindset, so I'm trying not to dwell."

"Good."

Jimin's eyes narrowed at my short response, picking up on my nerves faster than anyone else ever could. "Come here."

Moving to sit on the chair beside his bed, I kept my gaze trained on the monitors of the machines behind him. Only when he brought his fingers under my chin did I finally meet his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked softly, taking in my expression. Then he frowned as he came up with a realization, his face going stern. "Don't tell me you're beating yourself up about what happened to me. This is not your fault, Jangmi."

"But it is, Jimin," I whispered. "He warned me not to tell anyone about him, but I told you. He found out and attacked you to show me what he's capable of."

"Are you saying he set the fire or something? How do you know?"

"He didn't just start it, he controlled it." Sighing, I tried to formulate my words to sound less insane. "Look, you know how I told you he visits me in my dreams? Well, I had another one today and he was there. He knew about what happened to you and he... he was bending fire, Jimin. He was the one who hurt you."

Nope, still sounds insane.

Jimin dropped his hand from my face, his features hardening. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I know it was The Hood, I just don't know his true identity-"

The snort that he let out cut me off, and I glared at him.

"I'm sorry, but The Hood? Couldn't you have come up with a better name?"

A loud smack echoed in the room as I slapped his arm. "Jimin! Do you seriously find that important right now?! Besides, he doesn't deserve a decent title."

He pouted slightly and rubbed his arm. "I know, I know. I just needed to lighten the mood somehow... But it really isn't your fault. You may have told me and ignored his warning, but I don't blame you at all. You can't bear this all alone, and I'm your best friend. We'll just be more careful not to talk about anything in front of the others next time. You still think it's one of them, right?"

I placed my arms on the bar at the side of his bed, resting my chin on my hands. "It must be. He told me before that he saw me and interacted with me, and they're really the only people I've spent time with so far. And if he has to be close by in order to get in my head, that also means it has to be one of them."

"Wait, you said he attacked me because he found out that I knew about him, right?" Jimin sat up, looking at me with a new intensity. I lifted my head and stared back.

"Yeah, why?"

"What was the only time I ever hinted at knowing something when it wasn't just the two of us?"

Without a second passing, I answered. "At the opera house. I fell asleep and had a nightmare and when I told you, you said 'again?'"

"Right. That was stupid on my part - which just proves again how this isn't your fault - but Jangmi, we can narrow down our suspect list. Jin left a while before you ever fell asleep, and Hoseok wasn't there either. There's no way either of them could have heard me say that, so they wouldn't know that you told me anything."

I nodded, mind scattered with conflicting thoughts. Did that mean I could trust both of them? Was there something we were overlooking, or could I finally drop my defenses around the two of them? There were still other reasons to not feel entirely comfortable with Jin, but my heart was admittedly all too eager to cross Hoseok's name off the list.

"Seokjin gave me a better explanation today about all the stuff with Nari. She was threatening me and he was trying to look out for me, even though he went about it the wrong way. I'm still not comfortable around him, but I don't really think he's the one doing all of this either."

Jimin kept quiet, running a hand through his indigo hair. I knew him well enough to recognize it as one of his tells. He was debating whether to say something or not.

"What is it?"

He met my eyes. "You trust me, right?"

I frowned, tilting my head slightly as his question left me uneasy. "Of course I do... Why?"

"I know one more person to cross off the list."

"Who?"

"Jungkook."

The name did not surprise me. As much as I had previously questioned Jungkook, I could never imagine someone feigning the guilt and worry I'd seen in his eyes as he told me about what happened to Jimin earlier. That, and their stories had lined up seamlessly. What did bother me, though, was how Jimin could be so sure.

"What do you know?" I asked, positive from his guarded countenance that he was hiding something.

He waited before speaking. "You'll have to ask him about it. I'm sorry, just please believe me. I know it's not Jungkook. I won't be there with you on campus for a while, so you have to trust him instead, alright? I don't want you to be completely on your own while I'm gone."

"So you're hiding things from me now, too?" My voice came out hopeless and weak.

"Jangmi, no. It's not like that - it's just that it's not my place to tell you. Please, just trust Jungkook and ask him to explain things later, okay? Please," he begged. There was no lack of the usual love in his eyes. Whatever he was keeping to himself, it wasn't meant to harm me - yet it brought me more pain than the beast's claws in my nightmare.

"Alright, I will."

Jimin grabbed my hand and we locked eyes. While both of us reflected the same sadness, he also held concern in his gaze. I knew mine were clearly displaying how lost I was, especially as he opened his mouth to add something more.

"I know this might just make you more confused, but I need to say one last thing..."

"What?" I asked nervously.

"You have to be careful around Hoseok."

~

After talking a bit longer with Jimin, he convinced me to take another nap, knowing how worn down I was from all of the recent stress. With the revelation that Jimin, too, was keeping information from me, I gladly followed his suggestion for want of a short escape, moving to lay on the small couch at the corner of the room.

Never had my body rested so deeply. Knowing I was safe with only Jimin around, far from the clutches of whomever the beast was, allowed me to finally regain the peace that was stolen from me, even if it was only temporary.

The sound of footsteps and several voices was what finally brought me out of my sleep. Slowly blinking and adjusting to the light, I sat up as I noticed two people standing around Jimin's bed. All three of them were speaking to one another, and it took a moment for my senses to sharpen. When they did, I relaxed and stood up.

The woman with short black hair, soft features, and doll-like lips noticed me first, wasting no time in rushing over to pull me into an embrace.

"Hi Mrs.Park," I said against her shoulder, returning the hug. She leaned back to look at my face.

"Hi sweetie," she forced a smile, though her eyes were watery.

Jimin's father came to hug me next, then the four of us were discussing what had happened. His parents apologized endlessly for taking so long to arrive, but Jimin scolded them for feeling bad over something they couldn't control. Our hometown was several hours away from the campus, yet they acted like they should've arrived five minutes after they received the news.

I let Jimin explain to them what happened, feeling my heart crack all over again as he relived the awful experience. He was careful not to mention the way the fire seemed to have a life of its own.

"So this Jungkook, he saved you?" his father asked quietly.

Jimin nodded. "He pulled me out before things got any worse."

As they continued to talk and began to ask about Jimin's future in dancing, I politely excused myself.

"I'll leave you three alone for a little while and find something to eat."

"Okay, dear. Come back any time, don't worry about interrupting," Mrs.Park said, smiling through her pain yet again. I returned the smile and caught Jimin's gaze, sending him a silent goodbye before leaving the room.

The door clicked shut just as my eyes landed on Jungkook.

"You're here," I stated, then frowned and blinked. "Why are you here?"

"Glad to see you too," he replied with a smirk. "I'm here to save you from the horrors of hospital food."

I glanced down at his hands, finding one of them playing with the bandage on his opposite forearm.

"You're empty-handed. Where's this food that's supposed to save me?"

He grinned, showing off a smile that was outrageously charming. "Well, I have to take you to it. If you agree to let me, of course."

With narrowed eyes and hands on my hips, I asked, "What kind of food?"

"Telling you would ruin half the fun."

The memory of Jimin's voice rang in the back of my head, reminding me that I could trust him for reasons unknown and that if I wanted to learn those reasons, I would have to ask Jungkook directly.

"Okay."

The way his face lit up flattered me, to say the least. He had a talent for making me feel like a night star that many passed under without ever noticing, but he took the time to look up at and admire.

"Really?" he asked like he couldn't quite believe my answer.

I tried to bite back my smile. "Yes, really. Jimin's parents just got here and I wanted to let them catch up, so it works out."

"Great," he said as we began walking down the hall toward the elevator. "I just hope you're braver than you look."

I looked at him as the doors closed. "What? Why would I need to be brave?"

His eyes sparkled in amusement. "You'll see."

And I did see exactly what he meant after we walked through the main lobby and made it outside. The sky was fading to midnight blue with a slight orange hue just above the horizon. The stars were already shining and the moon was up, despite the lingering splashes of color from the sun.

Even with all the beauty that the sky had to offer, my attention was drawn to Jungkook as he sauntered over to a glossy black motorcycle. I watched as he smoothly swung his leg over and sat, resting his elbows on the handlebars so he could peer up at me, his gaze playful and his lips tugging upward.

"What do you think, Red? You like?"

"You've got to be joking."

• • •

A/N:

Another one down! I know this chapter had a ton of dialogue, but it's all moving the plot forward. This is also the highest word count of any chapter so far. Can't believe we're at 20 already!

Please do let me know what you think of the following things!:

Seokjin's explanation about his actions and his behavior? Do you trust him or is he still sus?

Jimin's hiding of information, as well as his advice to trust Jungkook?

Jimin's warning to be careful around Hoseok?

Jungkook's ownership of a motorcycle (oops)?

Thank you once again for returning and spending some of your time on this story. Your comments mean the world to me, and seeing your familiar usernames in my notifs always makes me happy.

Can't wait to see you next week!

-Kat

September 28, 2020