There was a bleating Goat tied to Namjoon's car.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I had done was go online to check if Mr. Cho had gone through with his threats about Hoseok. The man was a psychopath, so I had expected to meet a bunch of lies and rumours in a bid to tarnish Hoseok's image.

But I hadn't found any, shockingly and thankfully. Maybe he realized it wasn't worth something so extreme as destroying the life of an innocent person. Maybe he decided to wait and not act so speedily which would give us time to catch him before he did something reckless again.

Whichever one it was, I was glad to not have found anything implicating or damaging. The only news online were in praise of Hoseok's band, BRAG, which was more than satisfying to me.

But seeing this Goat—big brown bleating Goat—had taken away every feeling of relief and had deposited, instead, a panic in my body. There was no one around, no note anywhere but I knew it was him.

This Goat was a message telling us that he knew Namjoon was here. I'd advised against the car because it was a dead giveaway. It was like waving a freaking flag and announcing he was here.

But Namjoon had protested. He'd said not taking one of his cars was like taking away his freedom. A car promised him the freedom he sought. So, after dropping us off yesterday, Jungkook had gone back to Namjoon's father's house to bring one of Namjoon's flashy cars and along with it, unwanted attention.

The people in my neighborhood were not early risers, and for the first time, I was grateful I was one of the only two people in it that went to school, which meant it was still empty at this time of the morning.

I couldn't go back into my house or mum would suspect and Aunt Soohyun had a stomach ache so she wasn't coming out of the house anytime soon.

I quickly dialed Namjoon's number and when he picked, I asked him to get outside as fast as he could. He was still mourning his dead relationship but we had a bigger problem to worry about. I stood by the side of the house, so my mother wouldn't see me from any of the windows and waited for Namjoon to come out in order for us to figure out what to do.

In less than two minutes, Namjoon was slipping through the door in a yellow oversized onesie and crocs. He looked irritated that I'd interrupted his sleep but the Goat made a sound, diverting his attention and altering his mood.

His mouth flew open in shock and soon, he was bending over laughing his heart out. So much for appreciating the emptiness of the street, his laugh was going to bring everyone outside.

"Who tied a fucking Goat to my car?" He asked, gesturing towards the animal like I didn't see it before. He started to walk towards it, clicking his tongue at it.

"Who else do you think would do something so psychotic?" I asked in a whisper, going to meet him by his car.

He squatted in front of the Goat, and started to path it gently. Although, his gesture spooked it and the Goat bleated even loudly, sidestepping around Namjoon's car.

"Stop. You're scaring him!" I whisper yelled, looking around. "We have to figure out what to do?"

"It's a her," Namjoon said smiling at the Goat like it mattered what gender the it was. I didn't care! All that mattered to me was getting it out of here before my mum or godmother walked out on this joke and find out I'd been lying to them.

"Whatever. We have to get it out of here. Aunt Soohyun could walk out that door anytime and my life would be over. I don't think I can utter another word of lie to either her or my mother. We better not let them see or I'll talk." It wasn't a threat, it was guilt speaking.

I was fed up of lying. I hated what I'd become recently and it was eating me from inside out. I wanted it to end. The charade. The cat and mouse game with Mr. Cho. My dad dying. All of it.

"They won't," he said, then stood up to his full height. He watched the Goat for a moment, then started to walk backwards. "Give me a minute," he said, before dashing into the house.

By the time Namjoon returned, I'd untied the Goat and was struggling to hold it still but it wouldn't stop running about, trying to escape. Namjoon unlocked his car, opened the backside door and together we carried the loud Goat into it.

"Are you coming?" He asked, once the door was shut, all trace of the Goat being tied to the car gone besides the little black droplets scattered around.

"Where are you taking it?"

"Pet shop," he said, climbing into the driver side. "I'll drop you at school afterwards."

I climbed into the passenger side and Namjoon drove out of the street. I felt my shoulders deflate in relief that no one had seen us, or the case would have been different.

If the pepper spraying, the dozen ugly rose thorns and the texts hadn't shown that Mr. Cho was crazy, this had just done that. The man was out of his mind, frantically chasing after Namjoon and me over something I still didn't know.

"Why is he even doing all of these?" Namjoon asked out of the blue. We'd been driving in silence for the past few minutes, both lost in thought.

"I was hoping you would answer that," I said.

"Answer what— Wait, you think I know why he's doing this?" He asked, looking sincerely surprised, which shocked and disappointed me. Because if Namjoon didn't know and Mr. Cho wasn't saying anything, how were we supposed to know?

"Not even a clue?" I asked. "You have to try to remember something, Namjoon."

"Remember what? I've never interacted with that man in my life. I don't even remember him from the time I went to your school. What could I have possibly done to someone I don't know to turn them into a teasing freak?"

It wasn't making sense. I understood what Namjoon was saying, but the whole thing wasn't adding up. "Why then is he coming after all of us?"

"Because his miserable life's so boring and lonely so he's messing with a bunch of kids to have a little bit of entertainment," he concluded. He raked one frustrated hand through his hair. "It's why he brought a fucking innocent Goat into this."

Yeah, the Goat. It was on the backseat, looking between Namjoon and I like she could understand what we were saying. Maybe she could. I wish she could, maybe then she'd be able to advise me on what to do.

"I found some stuff on your phone last night," I said.

"Those are old nudes, Jin. I haven't taken one since a week now," he blurted out defensively.

"Oh God," I cringed. "If I ever saw your nude I'd gauge out my own eyes."

"Oh," he grinned. "Then what?"

I decided to just dive into the news. "Mr. Cho sent some texts to your phone last night," I said. "He threatened that Hoseok was next. I thought I'd wake up to an avalanche of scandals about him. But we got a Goat, instead," I explained. Then added, as an afterthought, but utmostly necessary. "Luckily."

Namjoon stayed quiet. He wasn't grinning or being funny anymore. He just stared ahead at the road in thought.

"He's doing too much. We're doing too little," I said in grievance. It felt like the man was attacking from all angles and we were just there, taking it like fools.

"What's Jungkook doing about this?" He asked.

"I don't know but he—" I was cut off by my phone ringing. Speak of the devil. It was a surprise he hadn't called all morning to check if Mr Cho had kidnapped me over night. "Hold on," I said to Namjoon before connecting the call.

"Hey, what's up?" Jungkook's voice came through the speaker.

"Fine, like I told you I'd be," I said. "How about you?"

"Good. I'm good. And there was no problem last night?"

I took a brief look at the Goat and decided it wasn't worth disturbing Jungkook about. "Nothing happened last night, Kook. I'm fine. We're all good, I promise."

I heard him let out a sigh, I could tell he must have been worried all night. I won't lie, so had I. Knowing Mr. Cho could easily have access to Jungkook's place had scared me. What if he went? I'd thought. Jungkook would have definitely appreciated that but I hated even nurturing the idea that the psycho could get so close to him.

I didn't want anything happening to Jungkook. I couldn't bear it.

"Perfect," he said. "There's been a development on Cho," he added.

"What do you mean?"

"I found where he's been hiding," he said. "I'm headed there."

"You found where he stays?!" I asked, like that wasn't what he'd just said. But I'd heard him clear and my heart had started to race.

"Yes. It'll be over soon."

"Are you going with the police? You have contacted them, right?" I asked.

"Not yet. I will, don't worry," he said. For someone about to meet a stalker, Jungkook sounded fucking calm. Like, he sounded pleased. I didn't like it.

"Jungkook, listen to me—" I started to say.

"My love," Jungkook called, cutting me off. "There's nothing to worry about. Just go to school, and we'll talk when you get back. I'll be fine."

"Not good enough," I said, shaking my head. "That's not fucking good enough, Jungkook."

"If you weren't upset right now, I'd say you sound so goddamn hot cussing at me," he chuckled.

This wasn't the time or place for this. "Don't flirt with me. Give me the address," I demanded. "Tell me. I'd call the cops myself."

"I'll call them later."

"Not later, now! I don't trust you to do it. So, give me the address and I'll call them right now. Please," I begged desperately.

"You don't trust me?"

"No! I trust you with my life. But I don't trust that you'll call the cops. You sound like you're enjoying this. You have a flair for dangerous situations and you're liking chasing after him yourself."

"Hmmm. Right. Wrong. Right."

"What?"

"I am enjoying this. I do not have a flair for dangerous situations. And I like chasing after him myself. But that's only because he hurt you. I want to hurt him, too. I want to beat him until he sees stars. Until he vomits blood. Until he's a mix of pale, black and blue. When I'm done with him, then I'll call the police."

Fuck. I ran my shaking hand through my hair in frustration. Namjoon had parked the car and was watching me silently. "He's going after Mr. Cho on his own," I said to Namjoon, answering a question he hadn't asked. "Jungkook, please."

"Jin, baby, I promise you I'll be fine. I'm going to get the bad guy, you should be pleased."

I was shaking my head frantically. He wasn't listening to me. I was speaking but Jungkook wasn't hearing me. I unlocked the passenger door, climbed out into the noisy road side and shut the door behind me, school and the bleating Goat long forgotten. "Jungkook, if what you said is true—if you truly meant what you said in my room about how much I mean to you, then please don't go on your own. If he hurts you– I don't know what I'll do," I said.

I didn't care that I sounded like I was groveling. I just wanted him to be safe, and the chance of that happening if he went alone was slim.

The line stayed quiet for a while. I thought he'd hung up. I was scared he'd hung up. It'd mean he hadn't meant it. It would mean I meant nothing to him. It would mean I wasn't worth listening to. That I could speak from now until tomorrow and he would never listen.

I was sincerely scared.

"Jin," was all Jungkook said. For a moment more he stayed quiet, and I knew it was taking a lot from him to think through what I said. It was Jungkook after all. He was stubborn like that. "I'll go with someone."

A wave of relief passed through me and I felt it in my soul. I nodded like he could see him. "Who?"

"Someone worth, at least, 10 policemen," he assured me and that was enough for me. At least, to an extent. "I'll be fine."

Again, I nodded. "You better be."

I could almost hear him smile. I could see it when I closed my eyes. It was the most beautiful sight in the world. "Alright. Go to school. I'll call you later."

"Call me as soon as you're out of there. No matter what time it is. Okay?"

"Alright, baby. You take care, okay?"

"I'll talk to you later, Kook. I love you."

I ended the call and turned, heading back to the car. Then it hit me, like a truck load of bricks. My legs stopped moving and my mouth flew open.

What the fuck did I just say to him?