🌻

The room was fairly quiet. After everything that happened, Jungkook did not press charges. But in exchange, Hermes took Jimin with him and transferred him to the Roman side. And Roman kids were banned from crossing Greek territory. They could only cross neutral but with close eye on him, he wouldn't even dare come near the circle.

Jin, Jisoo, Jennie and Namjoon were all still fairly shocked when they found out it was Jimin all along. The news broke out when The Fate posted about it.

"So," Jungkook said breaking the silence. "What do you guys wanna know?"

The four--including Hoseok, started to throw questions at him. There was a lot of what's, who's and how's.

"One at a time!" he continues making them stop. "Geez. We haven't slept much. Give us a break."

"Why did Jimin do all this?" Jennie asked away. "And the scale of this... I don't even want to know what this is. Revenge?"

Jungkook nodded. "Like you said, Jimin wanted revenge after I exposed him and Ro. He held a grudge 'coz it was me who told Lisa--and everyone who had access to the blog, about their affair."

"Plus he said so himself, he wanted to get Lisa back," Yoongi supplied. "He wanted to get everything Jungkook supposedly stole."

"But what about Taehyung?" Jisoo suddenly said making the guy turn towards her. "I mean, they were together. Does this mean he used... him?"

Taehyung sighed before nodding. "Yes. He used me to get information about Jungkook. To dig dirt he could use against him. At first I didn't want to believe it but... well, I can't deny it when he said it himself, right?"

He laughed bitterly. You can clearly see how much the betrayal hurt him. Lisa suddenly gave him a hug from behind.

"I'm really sorry, Tae," she said softly making the guy smile and pat her head.

"It's not your fault, Lis," he said. Then he chuckled. "But then again, it might've been. You really have poor taste in men."

His words made the mood lighten a bit.

"You and me both," the girl answered smiling.

"I'll be fine," he assured everyone. "Being like this... I knew it was too good to be true. I knew Jimin for the longest time and I knew he was straight. There was just this part of me who wanted to believe I had a chance at happiness, you know?"

"You'll find your happiness, Tae," Jisoo walked over to him then gave him a hug. "But for the mean time, you have us."

"Yeah, but it's strictly PG-13."

Jisoo hit her boyfriend's arm.

"Thanks guys," Taehyung said laughing. "But I think I won't be getting involved with someone other than friendship for a while."

"Well I have another question," Jin suddenly said. "Since when was Jungkook awake?"

"Say two days after I got shot," Jungkook answered the query himself. "I heal quick."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Namjoon ask earning a nod from the others.

"That would've ruined the scheme—"

"We didn't want to involve you guys," Lisa explained cutting Jungkook off. "I don't want you to get involved. Jimin was our friend."

"But how did you know it was Jimin?" Jisoo asked. "I mean, he's Jungkook's best friend."

"It was only a hunch at first," she answered. "I never really thought it would be him but I guess my hunch was right."

"How?"

"Remember his post regarding Jungkook's wasted ticket?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"How would The Fate know about it? I mean, I didn't. And the only ones with us in Santorini was him and Taehyung. So I thought, maybe it was one of them," she stated. "Then the Bahamas photo. If it was Taehyung who was behind The Fate, then he wouldn't have posted that knowing it was fake. Jimin didn't. So I thought it was him."

"That small detail and you still managed to link them together?" Namjoon said. "Wow. Hands down, Lis. Hands down."

"I've been always curious who The Fate was," she continued. "I was always on the look out for slip-ups. And those were the first ones. But I guess that wasn't really The Fate's fault since he wasn't technically the one posting. I genuinely had no idea that The Fate was Jungkook before he revealed it himself."

"You wouldn't know it's him because you two are alike in some ways," Jin intervened. "I mean, the both of you are master schemers. You both know that a simple slip-up would cause great damage. You pay attention to every small detail. That's why even if they're clearly manipulative, those schemes are ingenious."

"Such a fan you are, Jin," Jisoo muttered. "Still you do know your schemes should stop now that the whole thing's over."

"So everything's finally over?" Jennie suddenly said gaining everyone's attention. "There's no more The Fate to stress us all out?"

Taehyung, Lisa and Jungkook eyed each other before smiling.

"Yeah," Lisa managed to say. "I guess so."

"The Fate is officially... dead."

🌻

Months Later...

"I swear, Kim Seokjin, if we miss graduation I'm gonna skin you alive!" Jisoo hissed at her boyfriend who was busy buttoning his dress shirt as they walked briskly towards the auditorium. "You and your damn hormones!"

"You didn't say 'no', Chu," he answered back. "And don't say you didn't enjoy it 'coz you were louder than the usual."

This made the girl roll her eyes before putting her graduation cap on.

"Whatever."

The couple went inside the room hand in hand just in time.

"Look who decided to join us," Jennie said as the rest of the circle members turn towards the latecomers. "Soo-ya. The headmistress was looking for you. She said something about a speech."

"The valedictory address?"

"Whatever that is," she answered. "I can't believe you beat my Joonie for valedictorian."

The tall dimpled man put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.

"It's fine, babe," Namjoon said assuringly. "I'm really not after awards. Being accepted to Dartmouth is good enough for me."

Jennie scrunched up her nose. "You're such a stalker. How'd you found out I was going there?"

"You're not that good at being discreet."

She rolled her eyes before turning around to cling on Rosé's arm.

"Subtle hints, huh," the girl teased. "He still doesn't have a clue that you purposely left your acceptance letter in his drawer?"

She just shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yoongi approched the two girls and kissed his girlfriend's cheek.

"Ready to finally leave this hellhole?" He asked.

"College awaits," Rosé answered smiling. True to their words, Jungkook and Lisa didn't throw her under the bus. She just got her acceptance letter to her dream school, Yale.

"Hey Guys," Hoseok greeted the three. Then turned to Rosé. "When will you be moving to the dorms? Wanna carpool?"

Hoseok got in to Yale as well.

"Yoongi's driving me but you're welcome to join us if you'd like."

The guys turned to Yoongi who had this 'don't you even dare' look. He immediately shook his head.

"Oh. I forgot. I'm carpooling with Jin."

"But isn't he going to Brown—" Rosé was cut off with the sight of Lisa approaching them. "Lis! Over here."

The girl—who was now sporting an ashy gray hip length hair, walked towards them. And like before, the people standing in her way immediately made way.

"Lis, where's you cap?" Jennie asked.

"Cap?" She chuckled. "I don't do caps. I have my own style."

She took out a hairpiece—the tassel detail like the ones on their graduation cap, and clipped it on her hair.

"That's just weird," Jennie snorted.

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment."

Lisa grinned. "I know."

"So when are you moving to Oxford?" Rosé asked.

"After graduation," she dropped making the two girls scream.

"What?!"

"Pipe down. I think London heard you," Lisa sassed. "Yes, I'm leaving right after the ceremony. I need to settle in early for my program."

"But... But that'd too soon!" Rosé argued. "Don't we get to hang-out or party one last time?"

Lisa just shrugged. Then Taehyung and Jungkook approached them.

"Hi guys," Taehyung greeted them enthusiastically. But then he instantly saw the scowl on Jennie's face. "What's up with you, Jen?"

"Ask Lisa," she mumbled. The guy turned towards the girl.

"Don't listen to her," Lisa said with her arms folded over her chest. "She's just having major PMS."

Then her line of sight landed on Jungkook. She rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I'll be leaving you here for a moment. The headmistress wanted to talk to me about something."

As Lisa left the group, Jungkook took a small flask from his coat pocket and drank from it.

"Is that even allowed, Jungkook?" Hoseok asked.

"It is if you no one knows about it," he answered before leaving as well.

The rest of the gang eyed each other.

"It's a shame they had to part ways," Hoseok said as he heaved a sigh. "They were so good together."

"If you mean they keep each other in check, yes. Yes they were," Jennie uttered. "But they do make the best come out of each other."

Rosé agreed. "Yeah. I do hope they'd at least be able to talk before Lisa leaves. Jungkook's a jerk but he's her jerk."

"We all hope for the same, Ro," Taehyung said popping out of nowhere. "There's no Bonnie when there's no Clyde."

The whole gang agreed.

🌻

The graduation rites commenced smoothly as planned. Jisoo gave her speech and everyone applauded. Now, the headmistress stood at the podium to give out the diplomas to the students of Olympus High.

But during Lisa's walk, the phones chimed one after another.

🔔 : The Fate just posted an update!

READ
YES     |     NO

All hail the Queen Bee of Olympus High. You've been through so much haven't you? But fret not, my Little Queen, for all your woes will come to an end. With graduation, you're leaving with the best honor there is. The Crown. But after, your nothing more than just a plain demigod. Because from now on, you're officially irrelevant.

xoxo, The One and Only Fate 💋

Murmurs echoed through the hall as a fuming Lisa tried to compose herself and walk graciously back to her seat with her diploma. Her eyes darted straight to a certain drunkard watching her by the auditorium's door.

After a quick sip from his flask, he left. Lisa clenched her phone and followed him.

"You just can't let me graduate in peace, can you?" she blurted out making Jungkook stop on his tracks. "You just got to humiliate me and make me a laughing stock. Well congratulations, Jeon. You're right. I'll be irrelevant. But that's fine because I don't want to bear the burden again. I'm fine being invisible. And I'm fine being out of your miserable life."

As Lisa walked out of the building, Jungkook gaze just followed her figure leaving. He tucked his hands inside his pockets and went towards the opposite direction.

🌻

Lisa scrolled through her phone. She's still contemplating whether or not she'd delete Jeon Jungkook's phone number.

Delete Contact?
YES   |   NO

She can't seem to click either option. She heaved a heavy sigh.

In ten minutes, she's about to board the plane to London. She chose a school away from everyone she knew. Not because she hated them or anything but she just wanted to be invisible. No pressure, no anything. She'd still stay in contact with them though. Especially with the girls.

"All passengers boarding Flight 2701 bound for London please proceed to the boarding gate..."

Lisa sighed. This is it. She's finally leaving for good. Away from the limelight, away from her friends. But it's fine since Seulgi and Joohyun are attending Oxford like she was. And Mingyu. That green goblin's too heartbroken to even follow Tzuyu to Berkley.

But the most painful part of it is leaving Jungkook. They love each other, yes but, it takes more than love to make a relationship work. And their ship sank.

"You're really leaving without even saying goodbye?"

Lisa's head snapped towards that familiar baritone voice.

Kim Taehyung waving with his signature boxy smile just a few meters away. And behind him were the gang.

She felt a slight sting on her eyes she left the queue and walked towards her friends.

"You guys..." she said as they too walked towards her.

"You can't escape us that quick, Lis," Rosé said smiling. "If you can't attend the afterparty, we'll bring it to you."

"Sorry Lis," her brother Yoongi said. "They threatened my life if I don't tell them your flight details."

"Ro threatened to break up with him," Jisoo revealed making her chuckled. "But seriously, you can't just go without us having a proper good bye."

"And without this," Jin intervened and gave her a small lunchbox. "Airplane food's not that good so I made you a bento box. I won't be saying goodbye 'coz I demand a life update from time to time."

Lisa chuckled. Sassy Jin as always.

"Jaewon and I wanted to give you this," Hoseok said giving her a small paperbag. "Just something to put in your new dorm room. Don't worry, he didn't rig that with a hidden camera or something. I checked."

"You guys are so sweet," Lisa said smiling. Then she turned towards Jennie who was awfully quiet and avoiding her gaze.

Chuckling, she pulled the brunette—surprising the girl, into a hug. Jennie Kim cried and hugged her back.

"She's been scaring me for the past hour," Namjoon revealed. "She was so quiet on the way here."

"Shut up, Joonie," Jennie hissed.

As she scanned through her friends, someone was missing. She sighed. This caught Jennie's attention.

"I asked him to come, Lis but he didn't answer," she informed. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay, Jen. It's not a big deal. You guys are here. That's what's important."

"We're gonna miss you, L," Namjoon said making everyone else say the same.

"I'll miss you guys too," she said almost choking. Before her tears started to form, she bade goodbye. "I'll be going now. We'll still see each other during holidays. And we can FaceTime anytime we want."

They all agreed.

As Lisa felt a single tear drop on her cheek, she turned away.

"I'll go now. Or I'll miss my flight," she said as she walked away.

The gang watched as Lisa's figure vanish in the crowd.

"My brother's such an idiot," Jennie mumbled. "How can just let her leave without saying goodbye?"

"I'm not an idiot, dear sister."

Wide-eyed, the gang turned towards a guy in black suit with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Jungkook?" Taehyung blurted out. "Since when were you standing there? You just missed her."

"Just as how I planned," he said smirking earning a confused look from everyone. He chuckled and took his passport out and boarding pass. "You really thought I'd let her go?"

Various reactions including cheering, back slapping and laughter came from the whole gang. Then the final boarding announcement echoed.

"'Til Thanksgiving," Jungkook cooly said before leaving. Then he turned to face them again. "Thanks, everyone. I mean it."

As Jungkook made his way to the gates, Jin suddenly laughed.

"Lisa crying and Jungkook saying thank you. I think this afterparty is a success."

"But that doesn't mean we can't have an after-afterparty," Hoseok suggested to which everyone agreed.

Taehyung turned and faced the gates. He smiled.

"'Til next time."

🌻

As the plane took off, she sighed. Lisa gazed through the window with a sad smile. Her heart felt a little bit heavy but she knows it'll all just go away. Or maybe it was just because she can't handle take offs.

Then she felt someone hold her hand.

"What the—" Her eyes grew wide when she saw his face.

"Relax, doll," he said before she could say anything. "Pilots know what they're doing so don't worry too much."

Then he winked.

"Surprised?" He smirked. "I'm a little offended that you thought I'd just let you go. I chased you since middle school. Give me some actual credit."

"Bu—"

"You didn't even ask me," he said—rather seriously. "You decided to break up just because. You didn't ask for my opinion."

"Your world would be better without me."

"True, but..." he adjusted her hands on his and entwined them firmly before kissing it. "It wouldn't be my world without you in it."

And there it was. The heaviness started to slowly fade away. Now it was replaced with something else. Tears started to stream down her cheeks.

"I got into Oxford too," he said. "Want to be roommates?"

For the first time in weeks, she laughed wholeheartedly again.

🌻

Enemies are like weeds. You pluck them out but they still grow.
Careful, darlings. I see tons of them around.

xoxo 💋

"Here's my paperwork and my check. It's really great I got accepted here in Dartmouth."

The old lady smiled as she checked her computer.

"Welcome Ms. Kim," she said. "We'll update your status here and you're good to go. Do you have any other requests before we give you your dorm assignment?"

"Oh there is," she answered smiling. "I'd like to be roommates with Jennie Kim. She and I are best friends and it would totally be a big help for us adjusting here."

"Alrighty," the woman said and typed something into her computer. Then she gave her a piece of paper. "There you go, Miss Yerim. Have a great year."

She smiled widely.

"Oh I will."

🔔 : The Fate just posted an update!

READ
YES     |     NO

You can be rid of Jeon Jungkook but you can never be rid of me.
There will always be someone wanting attention.
And some, vengeance.

Who am I now? That's one secret I'll never tell.

xoxo The Fate 💋

[THE END]