Her sobs gradually quieted, though her fragile form still trembled in Jimin's arms. He held her close, rocking her gently back and forth, his hand brushing over her back in soothing motions. He wasn't sure if it was working, but at least she wasn't screaming anymore. At least she wasn't pushing him away.

Jimin's mind raced as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Could it be the meds? Or the trauma? The memory of the gunshot wounds she bore was still fresh, their origins shrouded in a darkness neither he nor Taehyung had yet known.

But no matter how many explanations he attempted to piece together, they crumbled under the weight of the unknown. Her cries, the way she clawed at him to escape Taehyung's presence, the accusation that he was "the reason she failed her" it all pointed to something much deeper, something personal.

Her family. Her Mother!

Could it be that something happened to her mother?

The thought hit Jimin like a whisper in the dark. It made sense, in a way. But how could Taehyung possibly be connected to that?

Jimin glanced over at Taehyung, who stood a few feet away, frozen like a statue. His eyes were glued to her as if searching for answers in the lines of her trembling form. He looked hurt, not just confused, but wounded in a way that was almost too vulnerable for someone like him.

The accusation. She'd said it so easily, so fiercely, as if the weight of her words was undeniable. "You're one of them! You're the reason I failed her!" What had Taehyung done or been part of that boiled such a reaction out of her?

Jimin's arms tightened protectively around her as a sinking realization settled over him. Whatever had happened to her, whatever had broken her so badly, it wasn't something they could easily piece together. Not until she was ready to speak. And judging by the way she clung to him, terrified of Taehyung, that moment felt impossibly far away.

"Jimin?" Taehyung's voice broke the tense silence, trembling and fragile, laced with desperation. His dark eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he took a hesitant step forward.

The blonde stiffened, his protective hold on the girl tightening instinctively. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting the former's pleading gaze.

"Please" He choked out. "I... I want to hold her. Please, Jimin. Just let me—" Jimin's brows furrowed, uncertainty flickering across his face. He glanced down at the girl, still trembling in his arms, her face buried in his chest as if hiding from the very world around her.

"Taehyung..." Jimin began softly, his voice careful, but the other interrupted him.

"Please" Taehyung begged, his tone raw and broken, the kind of vulnerability that felt rare and painful to witness. "I don't know what I did, but I—I need to fix this. Please, just let me try."

Jimin's jaw tightened, torn between the two. His gaze lingered on the raven head for a moment longer before he whispered, "I don't think she's ready. Look at her, Tae... she's terrified."

The words hit Taehyung like a physical blow, and his shoulders sagged, his hands balled into fists at his sides, his chest heaving with unspoken anguish. "I... I would never hurt her, we both know that" he murmured, his voice so quiet it was almost lost in the stillness of the room.

"I know but-" Jimin let out a tired sigh, his gaze shifting to the one in his embrace, wet lashes stuck to her icy cheeks that lost that occasional rosy shade to them under the weight of all the pain and misery lately. She looked much sober and peaceful compared to earlier and it gave him enough hope. He glanced at Taehyung and gave a reluctant nod.

Taehyung moved cautiously, his steps slow and deliberate as though any sudden movement might break the delicate balance of the moment. He lowered himself behind her, his movements gentle. Sliding his arms around her trembling frame, he offered a warm, protective hug, cradling her as if trying to shield her from the weight of the world.

Her body stiffened at first, a faint tremor running through her, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he held her firmly yet tenderly, his embrace carrying a silent promise.

"I'm here" Taehyung murmured, his voice soft, barely audible. "I'm not going anywhere"

Jimin watched closely, his own heart heavy with worry, as he hoped she would accept the comfort being offered and snap out of the misery that blinded her.

Moments went by like that.

"I was scared" A broken voice spoke from between them and they both felt the tremor rippling through her body.

"I still am..." Her voice trembled as the words escaped her, barely a whisper. She shifted slightly in between them, her eyes still distant, not looking at any of them as if she were reliving a nightmare she couldn't escape. "The closet... it suffocated me."

A shudder ran through her, and Jimin's grip tightened around her, though he was careful not to overwhelm her.

"I heard her cries" she continued, her voice breaking with the weight of the memory. "But I stayed inside the closet... just the way she told me, just the way I promised her."

Taehyung's chest tightened, and he lowered his head, unable to look her in the eye. The pain in her voice was unmistakable, cutting through him like a blade. Whatever had happened in that moment, whatever had been promised and broken, it haunted her. He could see that!

"I w-watched them... m-murder her, rape her and leave her on that wooden floor sticky with her blood- I couldn't..." Her breath hitched, and her hands gripped onto Taehyung's hands on her ribs, as though seeking to anchor herself to the present, to the safety of now. "I couldn't step out. All I did was watch her with a sealed mouth, sealed for an eternity, it haunts me..."

Jimin exchanged a worried glance with Taehyung, his heart aching for her. Something deep, something terrible had happened, something that bound her to the past in ways they couldn't yet understand.

"Wh-who did that to your mother?" Taehyung's voice cracked as the question slipped out before he could stop it. His eyes widened as soon as the words left his mouth, realizing the weight of what he'd just asked.

Her body stiffened in their arms, a sudden tremor ran through her as if the very mention of it reopened a wound too deep to bear. The room seemed to hold its breath, the tension thick and suffocating.

Jimin shot a quick, concerned glance at Taehyung, silently pleading for him to hold back. But the damage was done. Her eyes, already filled with pain, darkened as if something inside her recoiled from the question. Slowly she turned around to face Taehyung causing Jimin's arms to loosen around her as well as the raven head's.

The way she gazed at him was too unsettling for the former, he felt as if a pair of two invisible hands crawled up to his neck and choked him holding at the spot.

"T-Taehyung? Taehyung did it?" The words slipped past Jimin's mouth and he bit his tongue in response trying to hold back.

"No." The word came out simple and hollow, her voice echoing with emptiness as she spoke.

And that was it. The shift within her was almost imperceptible, but undeniable. Taehyung watched as her hazel irises darkened, the vulnerability from earlier slowly vanishing behind a wall of cemented emotions. The rawness of her pain was replaced by something far harder to decipher, a mask that concealed whatever truth lay beneath.

Her lips parted again, and she spoke with an unsettling calmness, as though the storm of emotions she had been carrying was finally breaking.

"What I am going to say now... It's going to change everything" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper but carrying a weight that seemed to fill the entire room.

Jimin held his breath, and so did Taehyung.

They weren't ready for what was to come, the way her tone had gone ice cold with a deep seated calmness frozen to many degrees. They knew they weren't ready!

"I've been holding this in for too long... and I can't anymore, you need to hear it now. And, you will hate me for this"

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ℑ𝔶𝔞𝔫𝔨𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔳𝔬𝔱𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔡𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔰.
𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯
𝕍𝕍

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