"You have to eat something," I said, standing at the foot of mum's bed, watching her hug a large pillow to her small body while staring off into nothing. "You haven't eaten since the day before yesterday."

For a moment she was quiet, then she asked, in a scratched, small voice. "Have you eaten anything? Your cheeks are losing their charm," she said without looking at me.

"Let's eat together," I said. I wasn't hungry, didn't have a single appetite and if not for my mother, I was fine going on without eating. But I was worried for her and would happily shove every bite of food into my mouth if it would make her eat.

No one had eaten dinner the previous night, so Aunt Soohyun was reheating the meals to have that morning. I had gone downstairs to find her in the Kitchen. She'd asked me to set the table and then go ahead to wake my mum, only she was wide awake when I had walked in.

"Come on," I urged, peeling the covers from her body. I handed her a thick robe to wear over the thin sleeping wear she had on, then I took her hand and helped her out of bed.

She felt so fragile in my arms, I almost wept. I had never seen her so weak and helpless. Even when dad had left the first time, it had been tough on her but she'd still managed to get on her feet by herself and make them both breakfast. I would hear her cry herself to sleep every night, but every morning, she'd have wiped every trace of her tears and would put on a mask to hide her pain from me.

This was different. This time was different. She didn't hide her pain and wore it on her face like a second skin. Her small eyes were almost non-existent behind swollen, dark lids. Her lips were pale and chapped. Her cheeks were sunken like a skeleton. Even the way she walked, dragging herself in the most strenuous attempt at movement was mummy-like. I had to hold her against my side with my arm around her waist so she wouldn't go tumbling down the stairs.

She was not taking this too well. I felt so sorry for her.

"Oh, Jia, come sit," Aunt Soohyun called, pulling out a chair from the table. She dished out rice in 3 small bowls as I led my mother to sit in front of one of the plates. "You look like you got run over by a bus, girl!"

Mum sat quietly on the sit, propping her elbows on the table and cradling her head in her hands. "I wish I'd been run-" She stopped and turned to look at me, her expression turning apologetic. She gestured for my hand and kissed it, holding it to her chest. "No. No. I'm sorry, baby."

This was too much.

"It's fine, Mum. Just eat," I said, pulling out the seat next to her.

We all sat in silence eating breakfast. I made sure to swallow every grain because every time my mother saw me eat, she ate, too.

After breakfast, I walked Aqua around the neighbourhood to pass time. The sky had glazed over with dark shadows hanging over my head. I hated it. I missed sunny days. Lately, I had noticed how the weather seemed to always align with his mood. Such a miserable coincidence.

Honestly, I felt bad for my pup. She'd been quiet the entire time the house had been thrown into mourning. She seemed to understand everyone had so much going on, and no one had been paying attention to her. I just wanted to take her on a walk, then to an ice cream shop to get her a pup cup as compensation.

But we had barely made it anywhere when the clouds parted open and pissed all over my plans, literally. Hurriedly, I led Aqua back to the house, shocked to find Namjoon in my room.

Namjoon didn't look as bad as he did two days ago, but his bruises were still pretty obvious. "I went to check on your mum."

"I think she's asleep," Jin said, slipping out of his shirt and throwing on a hoodie.

"Actually, she's awake. She was going through your baby pictures."

I didn't want to comment on that. I didn't want to read too deeply into the emotions she was having to do that, so I asked instead, "What did she say about your face?"

"That I should be more careful so as not to get into any more fights."

"You told her you got into a fight," I said, not shocked that she hadn't followed up on it. She wasn't herself. Normally, she would have drilled him for more details and scolded him until he was sulking in my room.

"I didn't want to be at Jungkook's place anymore. It was suffocating being there. My best friend is going through the worst moment of his life and I stayed there hiding because I didn't want anyone to find out my bad decisions had caught up to me? I had to come back."

The punk had really grown up. I smiled, despite sadly. I was grateful for Namjoon being there.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Namjoon asked. "About anything."

I shook my head, letting out a sigh. I turned my reading chair to face the bed before sitting on it and crossing my left leg over my right knee. "No. I really don't want to. But I'm okay."

I didn't tell anyone about the letter, that i was the reason I was hurting as much as I should. I didn't want to. Dad had told Junho it was a secret for the men in the family and it was going to remain that way. Our little secret.

Namjoon nodded. "Do you want to go somewhere? I have money, you know? My father may have cut me off but my older brother is a K-pop idol."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean your father cut you off?"

"Oh." Namjoon pursed his lips and gave an awkward smile, scratching his mop of hair that was long overdue for a haircut. "Yeah. He said he didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

"When did he say this?"

"On Friday night. After Jimin told me about your dad, I may have gotten in my feels and called mine." He shrugged, picked up a pillow from behind him and hugged it to himself, obviously done with what he was saying.

But I wasn't done hearing. What the fuck?

"Namjoon, talk."

"That's it. I called him and he told me to never show my face at the house again and to never contact him again. Nothing much."

I stood to my feet, angry. "Nothing much? What the hell are you talking about? Does Hoseok know about this? How can he just cut you off like that?" I could understand him being angry at Namjoon for dating an older man instead of taking his future serious, but cutting him off completely was a little too heartless.

"Jin, it's fine." He laughed. "I promise, I'm fine. I'll just let him be. No big deal."

Fine? Namjoon looked nothing like fine. Besides his darkened bruises, his eyes were red and glossy with tears. He was failing miserably at hiding his pain behind a forced laugh.

"I'm 18. A lot of kids get disowned or emancipated from their parents at a way younger age."

"That means nothing. Do you understand the gravity of this? He didn't abandon you. He isn't trying to reach out to you. He just doesn't want to have anything to do with you!" I said in irritation.

Why was it so easy for people to throw away their family like thrash? Did family mean nothing to anyone anymore? I couldn't fathom it.

"I understand what it means."

"Namjoon, let me go and talk to—"

"No."

"How about we call Hoseok? He'll know what to do," I suggested again, my heart breaking as Namjoon kept wiping the tears that wouldn't stop falling from his eyes.

"Hoseok doesn't need this distraction. By the way, I know my father. He's a narcissistic prick. He wants to punish me. He'll call me back in a few months."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means he wants to punish me for leaving in the first place. He'll call me when he's ready."

I wasn't sure I believed Namjoon, but for his sake, I would. "Alright. Let's give him space to punish you. But you're staying here until whenever he decides you're his son again, you know that."

Namjoon laughed and this time it reached his eyes. "I have nowhere else to go." He got to his feet. "Come on. Let's go have fun."

"Where are we going?" I asked, reluctantly standing to my feet, pocketing my wallet and phone.

"I know a place," Namjoon said, winking and snatching his car key from where he'd tossed it on the reading table. "Let's go!"

"Did you have to invite that backstabber?" Namjoon groaned, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to hang out with you, but you had to be the good samaritan and invite Yoongi who invited— Hi, Yoongi. How's it going?"

Yoongi stopped walking in front of us, smiling fondly. "I'm good. What happened to your face?"

"Mr. Cho happened," I answered, turning to look at Taehyung who was standing awkwardly beside Yoongi. "Hi, Taehyung."

Taehyung gave a small nod. "How are you doing, Jin? Um, I'm sorry for your loss. I sent a message in the class group chat but I don't think you've been able to read them."

"Oh, I haven't gotten to read them. But thanks for the message," I said, sincerely. I wasn't yet ready to read or respond to DMs, so I'd just kept my phone in my drawer, although occasionally checking for messages or missed calls from Jungkook.

Shockingly, I had not been able to get through to him all day, plus Jungkook hadn't shown up the previous night as he'd promised, which was odd. I was going to have to ask Namjoon if he'd been home in the last few hours.

"No problem," Taehyung said.

"So, where is this hangout spot, Jin?" Yoongi asked, pushing his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants. "I'm in desperate need of a reset, right now."

"Student body president responsibilities?" I asked.

"Not even that. Just general exhaustion. I'm tired from running for student body president. Tired from doing homework and reading for tests. Tired from soccer training. Tired from chasing Taehyung."

"Hey!" Taehyung called, smacking his arm playfully.

"So, you guys are a thing now?" I asked looking at Yoongi who was biting back a smile.

Yoongi nodded. "Kinda."

"What do you mean kinda? We are a thing," Taehyung bantered.

"How cute," Namjoon said, boredly.

I turned to give him a look, shaking my head subtly to tell him friend to not act like a dick but Namjoon was in the mood to be a dick, so he ignored my disapproval.

"I thought K-pop idols were your thing," He asked, busying himself by staring at his overgrown nails. "I guess your type has changed to student body presidents."

"Can we just try to get along?" Yoongi asked.

"We are getting along. He was in a relationship with my brother, wasn't he? It's only right for me to understand why he doesn't want to be with him anymore."

"No, you don't have to know anything," I gritted out to him. He was annoying.

"Jin, it's fine," Taehyung said to me, before focusing on Namjoon. "Your brother and I never dated. We fooled around because we were bored until Yoongi came along, then we called it quits. There's nothing else to it."

Namjoon frowned. "Whatever." He turned around and headed towards a towering building. "Let's just get this over with."

I shook my head. Namjoon was still so childish, it was something I realized was never going to change in Namjoon. "You're an ass, you know that?" I asked, throwing my arm around Namjoon's shoulder, pulling hime against my side as we headed towards the place. "Just give him a break."

"He snatched your first love," Namjoon sulked.

I chuckled. "Stop," I said, shaking him. "Hoseok is my soulmate. Always had been and always will be, but we weren't meant to be together. In fact, I'm glad we didn't date. I can't imagine losing Hoseok if we date and broke up or never being Jungkook."

Namjoon turned to give me a look. "So, you're cool with him now? I mean, Taehyung."

"Yes," I said, sincerely. "And I want you to be, too. Can you do that?"

Namjoon crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. "Whatever. But do we have to hangout with him? I mean, I like Yoongi, but—"

"No buts." I shook him. "Just come show us your secret hangout spot," I said. "Also, their company would be nice. The more the merrier."

"If I wanted more, I'd have hired strippers," he chided, but led the way towards the building.