The court was struck into silence as the people watched the video, on the screen, in horror. The judge's face was scrunched up in disgust and rage as she saw the 12 year old boy sobbing as his older brother touched him inappropriately. Taehyung was begging for him to stop, yet Kim Jiwoon only snickered and shoved the phone into Taehyung's tear covered face.

"Turn it off." The judge hissed, the video immediately being shut off. She pressed her hand against her forehead, rubbing her head in distress before looking down at the broken 15 year old with sadness.

Kim Taehyung was sitting down in his seat timidly, his head was cast down to the ground, making his hair fall into his face to cover up the fact that he was crying. He wiped away his tears, slouching into his seat to try and hide himself from the glares coming from his right.

The judge turned her attention towards the disgusting human being named Kim Jiwoon. The Male was sitting in his seat with handcuffs wrapped around his wrist and an orange jumpsuit already put on. His nostrils flared in anger as he glared at Taehyung, ignoring the judge's gaze.

Taehyung's and Jiwoon's parents, who were sitting behind Jiwoon, trying to support him, were now disgusted and heartbroken after seeing the video evidence of the sexual assault.

The couple didn't want to believe that they had failed as parents and that one of their children was a rapist. They choose to push the entire idea away, thinking that Taehyung was only doing this for attention. Yet their entire world crashed down after seeing the proof that Taehyung was abused for years and nobody helped him.

They both broke down, remembering all the times they pushed Taehyung away, when he tried to tell them about Jiwoon, saying that Tae was only jealous of his brother's accomplishments. They remembered how they disowned him and threw him out, when he went to the police station and filed a report agaisnt Jiwoon. They remembered how they told Taehyung that he was no longer their son right before heading into the court, going after Jiwoon and leaving a sobbing Taehyung behind with his aunt, who was livid.

Taehyung curled into his chair, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his shaking hands against against his face. His breathing slowly picked up as he felt everyone in the court staring, thinking it was looks of disgust for letting his brother touch him in that way.

A gentle hand pressed against his shoulder, grabbing his attention and grounding him. Taehyung slowly pulled his hands away when he felt the person crouch in front of him.

The police officer, that had listened to him at the police department without sending him away, smiled at him gently. The man had been right next to Taehyung with every stop of the way, even going with him to his parents house in case something happened to him. The officer had always made Taehyung feel safe and comfortable, even offering him to stay with his family after Taehyung was thrown out of his house.

The officer smiled, his curly hair being slicked back and his small scrub starting to grow out,"We can go out for some air, if you want?" The officer whispered, his eyes kind and gentle.

Taehyung swallowed thickly, wiping away the tears in his eyes before looked at Jiwoon. The two made eye contact, Taehyung finally noticing the handcuffs wrapped around his wrist and the orange jumpsuit.

"I want to stay." Taehyung whispered, his red face twisting into anger and pain, wanting nothing more than to watch the cops take Jiwoon away in handcuffs,"I want to stay." Taehyung hissed, his eyes squinting as he glared at Jiwoon, momentarily surprising him.

"Okay, we'll stay. Remember that you're safe here and we won't let anyone hurt you, okay?" Taehyung looked back at the officer and nodded, his eyes dragging down to the name tag on his chest, remembering the first one he heard the name of his guardian angel.

'Rick Grimes'

The judge didn't say anything, waiting for Taehyung to calm down and head out if needed. Nobody in the room opposed to the judge's decision, still trying to swallow the idea of Taehyung being sexually abused for years. People occasionally glared towards Jiwoon or whispered among themselves about what a monster he was.

Taehyung calmed down and looked at the judge, his small hands playing with his white sweater. Rick stood protectively behind him, his posture stiff and his expression hard.

The judge nodded, grabbing her papers and looking at Jiwoon with no emotion,"Since the age of 7, you have been taking advantage of Kim Taehyung, using and manipulating a child and his innocence. You used your accomplishments in school to try and create the image that you were perfect and kind, while in reality, you're nothing but a disgusting and vile excuse of a human being."

Tears gathered in Taehyung's eyes as he listened to the judge, staring down at the wooden table in front of him,"An older brother is supposed to love and protect their siblings, help them grow and pick them up when needed. But you...you stole something from your little brother, something that should've been treasured and protected." Taehyung squeezed his eyes shut, biting his bottom lip until it bled as he thought about how would it feel like to have a brother that genuinely loved him.

"I'm aware what they do to monsters like you in prison. I hope that they make you feel so much worse than what you made Mr. Kim go through, and I hope you rot in hell for eternity." The judge growled, raw anger and resentment on her face as she stared down a blank faced Jiwoon. The judge scoffed at him and nodded at the police officers,"Take the trash out."

The sight of his abuser being taken away in handcuffs was the best day of Taehyung's life, making him break down in relief and happiness.

|Taehyung|

   A sharp gasp filled the quiet room as Taehyung shot up into a sitting position and scrambled back in his bed. His back pressed against the headboard before he pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around himself.

Taehyung's chest rose and fell as he tried to steady his breathing, his arm grabbing at his chest. His eyes snapped around the dark room, the moonlight illuminating the white door further away from the bed.

Taehyung rocked himself back and forth, quiet mumbles and whispers leaving his chapped lips as he stared at the door, waiting for it to be pushed open.

"Taehyung?"

Taehyung snapped his head towards his left in alarm, quickly scrambling away from the voice. He curled into himself and rose his hands to protect himself.

"Hey, Tae, it's okay, it's me Michonne." The gentle, feminine voice made Taehyung warily look up.

Michonne carefully made her way over to Taehyung's bed, trying not to startle him,"Another nightmare?" She asked gently, crouching down next to the bed to make herself appear smaller,"It's okay, no one's going to hurt you."

This wasn't the first time Taehyung has had nightmares, or rather flashbacks, of his abuse. After it happened the first time, Michonne tried to calm him but she was confused and didn't know what to do. The next day, Taehyung acted like nothing happened and Michonne didn't want to pry either, knowing that Taehyung would tell her if he was ready.

After a few months of being together, and Taehyung having a few more flashbacks and episodes, he was finally ready to tell Michonne. Michonne was horrified and immediately became really protective of Taehyung. After a while, she knew how to help and approach him in situation like these.

Taehyung watched her in silence before cautiously laying back down with his eyes still strained on Michonne's face.

"I'm going to watch over you, okay? I'm not gonna let anyone in, I'm gonna be right here to protect you and scare all the bad guys away, okay?" Michonne whispered, a smile on her face as she carefully slid her hand into Taehyung's open one.

Taehyung blinked down at their hands before looking up at her and nodding. He pulled Michonne's hand into his chest and basically wrapped himself around it like a small child, seeking for comfort and protection.

Michonne's smile never crumbled,"You can close your eyes now, I'm gonna be here when you wake up." She whispered, raising her hand and brushing Taehyung's raven hair out of his face.

Taehyung stared at Michonne's smiling face before slowly shutting his eyes, clinging onto her hand and enjoying the feeling of her brushing her hand through his hair.

|Jungkook|

"Is this it?"

Jungkook's brows rose as he eyed the building in front of him before averting his gaze down to the girl next to him.

Steele grey eyes looked up at him before rolling around. Freckles dusted over chubby cheeks and button nose, pink lips were pulled down into a frown before parting as the girl spoke,"Obviously."

After she tried to kill Jungkook and he flipped her off before walking away, the girl decided that following and bothering him nonstop was a good idea. The only reason Jungkook didn't run away was, well, because she was 10 years old, but mostly because she told him that there was a mall with a lot of supplies and she could take him there. Jungkook agreed, but not before threatening to shoot her if it was a trap.

"Right." Jungkook murmured, chewing on his lip as his eyes ran over the creme coloured walls, the glass entrance and all three stories of the mall,"Tell me everything again." Jungkook ordered, walking towards the entrance of the mall.

Marley huffed and ran after him, trying to keep up with his long strides, considering she only reached his chest,"I tried to get in there once- through the roof, I had a rope and all, but by breaking the glass, I created too much noise and it attracted the corpses." Marley explained to Jungkook as they stopped and crouched in front of the glass doors of the entrance."I think there could've been forty or fifty, I'm not sure." Marley finished, occasionally glancing at Jungkook.

Jungkook nodded wiping the dust and dirt, on the glass, away with his sleeve. He looked through the glass, squinting his eyes to see the inside of the mall. The sight of walkers roaming around the first floor greeted him. Stores raging from clothing to body product ones, made Jungkook's eyes widen before he shook his head and focused back on the task. He could see that the entrance had a grate that wasn't pulled shut.

"Right, here's the plan." Jungkook whispered, looking down and drawing a square box in the dirt in front of him,"That's the mall," he pointed at the box before drawing an X in front of it."Thats you." He drew a circle on the roof,"That's me."

"I want to be an X X face. Can I be an X X face?" Marley asked, looking up from the drawing.

Jungkook huffed and drew another X next to the already existing one before adding a smile,"That good enough for you?"

Marley smirked teasingly,"It should be a frown."

Jungkook scoffed and rolled his eyes,"Shut up and listen to the plan." He scolded, looking at her firmly, making her pout and shut up.

"You stay here, bang against the door and draw the attention of the walkers-"

"Walkers? Is that what you call them? That's kinda la-" Marley shut up once she saw the glare Jungkook was sending her. She blushed and averted her eyes,"Right, sorry."

"As I was saying, you get the attention of the walkers, while I go into the mall through the roof. Once most, or all, of them are banging against this door," Jungkook lightly tapped his fingers against the glass entrance behind him,"I lock that grate behind them." He pointed at the open grate a little away from the main door.

"Woah, that's actually smart." Marley murmured, staring up at him with wide eyes filled with innocent amazement.

As Jungkook looked back at her, he rolled his eyes and gave her a fake smile,"Yes, now stick to the plan."

"Yes, sir!" Marley chirped happily, raising her small fists to bang against the glass door, while shouting for the walkers to come to her.

Jungkook watched carefully as the walkers made their way towards the sound before turning around and running around the building. He found metal stairs leading up to the roof, immediately climbing them to get to the top.

The sound of Jungkook's pants and his boots hitting the metal stairs filled the air. He stopped when he was at the top, allowing the gentle breeze to ruffle his messy locks before glancing over his shoulder to look down. The ground looked so far away and for a second, Jungkook thought that the building was swaying and was ready to collapse.

"Fuck." Jungkook gritted, forcing himself to look away from the ground and shakily step on the roof. Gravel was sprinkled over the concrete ground and random skylights were placed in some places. Kook eyed the skylights before noticing broken glass shards around one of them.

Jungkook ran towards the skylight, peering over the edge to look down. He saw a rope tied to the windowsill, going down and pooling on top of a bed, in the mattress store. Jungkook crouched down and looked through the skylight, trying to spot any walkers.

After seeing none, Jungkook carefully climbed over the windowsill, immediately latching onto the rope for some leverage. Jungkook swallowed thickly, wrapping his arms around the rope. As he released his hold on the windowsill, his weight fell on the rope, only for it to snap in half.

A loud yelp left Jungkook's lips as he fell and landed on the glass covered bed. Jungkook hissed, feeling a shard dig into his lower back as he slammed against the mattress. He pushed his body up and carefully climbed out of the bed, making sure not to touch the bed more than necessary.

Jungkook released a soft gasp, his face scrunching up in pain as he took a step forward and the glass shard shifted in his skin. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, Jungkook twisted his arm around and blindly grasped the glass coming out of his skin. Inhaling sharply, Jungkook swiftly pulled the glass of shard out of his back before dropping the bloody thing on the ground.

Warm blood poured out of the wound, dripping down his lower back and soaking in his grey shirt. Jungkook ignored the stinging sensation in his back and made his way out of the mattress store.

Jungkook eyed the empty floor, realising that there had probably been an emergency and the shoppers were escorted down to the first floor. He peered over the edge of the railing, noticing a faint sound of growls and the walkers banging against the glass door, only drawing the attention of more walkers.

Jungkook quickly turned around and found an unmoving escalator, trying to descent it as quietly as he could. Once he reached the bottom, Jungkook's eyes dragged over the shops and the few stray walkers walking towards their snarling buddies. His eyes focused on the small horde of walkers gathered around the glass entrance, banging and snarling against the glass.

Jungkook jumped into a sprint, his feather like footsteps barely hearable above the sound of the growls. He tried to steady his pants as he reached the entrance. The foul smell of rotten corpses and blood filled Jungkook's nose, nearly making him gag.

Jungkook could faintly hear Marley as she banged against the glass and shouted something. He grabbed a hold of the grate, keeping an eye on the distracted walkers as they pushed up against each other to try and break through the glass. Jungkook winced when the grate rattled as it was pulled shut, capturing the attention of the walkers. They swiftly turned their attention on Jungkook, one even turning around and shoving through the small opening.

Jungkook slammed the grate shut on the walker's extended arm, the force of the shut, making the arm snap off and fall the the ground. Jungkook gaged before grabbing the lock, that was already in the grate, and locking it.

Jungkook stepped back, running a hand through his sweaty locks as he watched the walkers turn their attention on him and push against the grate. Their hands slipped through the grate, reaching out to try and grab him.

Light, fast approaching footsteps, caused Jungkook to pull out his gun and turn around in alarm. His first thought was that the walkers were evolving and they knew how to run now.

But instead of seeing a running walker, the tip of his gun was met with the unimpressed face of Marley,"Are you gonna shoot, asshat?"

Jungkook scoffed and shoved his gun back into the holster. He ignored Marley and her snarky comments, instead, walking past her and further into the store.

The store was quite large and dark, the roof of the main hallway towered over Jungkook, displaying all three floors of the mall. There was a long skylight, travelling from the entrance all the way down to the end of the hallway. Since there was no electricity, the sun shining through the skylight was the only source of light.

"We should go to the pharmacy first, you're injured." Marley said firmly as she caught up to him, grabbing Jungkook by his wrist and pulling him in a certain direction.

"And who's fault is that?" Jungkook sassed with an eye roll, allowing the younger girl to pull him to the pharmacy.

Jungkook's eyes ran over the different stores, making sure to remember them as he passed by. He wanted to use the bathroom to clean up and change his clothes. Even thought it was the apocalypse, hygiene was still important and walking around with a 3 day old shirt was really bothering him.

"Look." Marley puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, releasing Jungkook's wrist to turn around and face him,"I never wanted to kill or hurt you. I just wanted to distract you for a while so I could take your stuff and get away unharmed."

Jungkook stared down at her blankly, blinking slowly to see if this bullshit was real,"That doesn't sound much better."

"The idea that I never wanted to hurt you counts!" Marley exclaimed, her chubby cheeks gaining a hint of pink as she got frustrated.

Jungkook cracked a smile when he saw her scoff and pout, before crossing her arms over her chest like a scolded child,"Help me treat my wounds and I'll forgive you." Jungkook sighed, watching as her face lit up.

Marley quickly grabbed him by his wrist, pulling him to the pharmacy. They took a sharp left turn and walked through another hallway before stopping in front of the pharmacy. Jungkook eyed the store with the red '+' sign above the entrance. He carefully entered the store, his fingers running over the dust covered shelves and the bottles of the pills laying on the shelves.

"How do you know what to get?" Jungkook raised a brow, approaching Marley, who was eyeing different packages before grabbing a few.

Marley shrugged, squinting her eyes to read what was written on a bottle,"My sister taught me everything she knew when this happened. It didn't matter that I was 8, she just shoved a gun in my hand and told me how to use it."

Jungkook bit the side of his cheek, staring at her baby fat covered features,"Where's your sister now?"

Marley paused, her whole face dropping as she looked away from the bottle as if she was remembering something. Marley shook her head, looking back at Jungkook,"I know how to disinfect or even stitch, show me what hurts."

Jungkook nodded without mentioning how she avoided his question, guessing that her sister was no longer with them. The two decided to walk around the counter for more protection before Jungkook lifted his shirt up to expose his stomach.

Marley's brows raised and her eyes widened when she saw dark green bruises forming right on top of Jungkook's abs. She winced, noticing the scratch marks covering Jungkook's pecks. She looked up at Jungkook's deadpan face, shooting him a sheepish look.

"Sorry." Marley murmured, her words laced with guilt as she gently disinfected the wounds.

Jungkook sighed, looking away from her,"I understand why you attacked me and tried to take my stuff. The shelf thing was pretty clever but you left behind a trail that anyone could track." Jungkook shook his head in disapproval, hissing when Marley purposefully pressed the cotton pad harshly against s scratch mark.

"Do you know how to track?" Marley perked up, finally registering his words. She decided not to cover his scratch marks and just let them heal, along with his bruises.

Jungkook sighs, allowing his shirt to fall back down before turning around and lifting it back up to reveal his other wound,"I'm bad at it. My...uh...friend taught me. I wish there was more I learned, he was...he was great." Jungkook whispered, his voice thick with emotion as he thought about Daryl.

Marley eyed the deep wound on Jungkook's lower back before grabbing her medical stuff and working on it,"Is he...dead?"

"No!" Jungkook immediately exclaimed, his head snapping back in alarm.

Marley sent him a weird look, grabbing a gauze and wrapping it around Jungkook's abdomen, making sure it pressed down on the wound.

"Why aren't you with your friend now?" She raised a brow, pursuing her lips as Jungkook let go of his shirt and turned around.

"It's complicated." Jungkook shot her question down, turning around and walking out of the store. Marley grumbled under her breath as she ran after him,  grabbing his arm and directing him towards the food market.

"Were you separated?"

"No."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes."

"Was he a bad person?"

"Absolutely not."

"Was he hurting you?"

"Never."

"Then I don't see why you're not with him." Marley shrugged, skipping over to the food market and grabbing a cart.

Jungkook inhaled sharply, closing his eyes to compose his annoyance. He released a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose before opening his eyes. Jungkook's mouth fell open and his eyes widened in alarm when he saw Marley trying to climb into a cart.

Jungkook quickly ran over to her, grabbing her by her armpits and swiftly pulling her out of the cart,"What are you doing?!"

"Hey!" Marley whined after Jungkook took her out of the cart, destroying her fun.

"There's an age limit and so many things could go wrong. The cart could break and you could be spared on a broken piece. You'll be screaming as I try to pull you off the bent metal, only to attract the remaining walkers that's in this place." Jungkook rambled all in one breath, exhaling deeply and slouching his shoulders when he's done. 

Marley's lips were parted and her face was scrunched up as she stared up at Jungkook. She slowly shook her head before placing her hands on her hips,"Does it hurt?"

Jungkook rolled his eyes, grabbing the cart and pushing it into the store,"Does what hurt?" He asked with annoyance, not even looking at her.

"The pole shoved up your ass."

Jungkook's head snapped towards her and he stopped rolling the cart, sending a smirking Marley, a glare. They two had an intense staring contest, Jungkook squinted his eyes even more and bent down to get into her face. Marley snorted and raised an unimpressed brow at Jungkook's tactic of intimidation. Jungkook groaned and straightened out, looking away in defeat,"Get in the cart, brat."

Marley grinned widely, grabbing the edge of the cart and climbing into it. She leaned into the cart so that her back was to Jungkook. Even though it was hard to control the cart with the extra weight, Jungkook chose not to say anything after noticing Marley's huge grin.

"We should go faster." Marley suggested, her hands gripping the edges of the cart as Jungkook pushed her through the store.

"I'm the one pushing the cart, so no." Jungkook grumbled, carefully turning the cart into the food isle. Jungkook grabbed packets of chips and other snacks, throwing them into the cart and onto Marley's lap.

"Maybe the extra speed will help you get that pole out of your ass." Marley said rather loudly, grabbing a pack of chips and pulling them open.

Jungkook rolled his eyes, glaring down at the back of her head,"I don't have a pole shoved up my ass. And you can't curse, you're a child." Jungkook scolded, making Marley turn her head around and give him a look of disbelief.

"I'm sure that kids aren't meant to use guns either." She pursued her lips, staring up at Jungkook sassily as she shoved a handful of chips into her mouth.

Jungkook squinted his eyes and delivered a quick, light smack to her forehead,"Respect your elders, brat."

Marley yelped, rubbing her forehead with a frown,"Why are you so uptight anyway?" She asked, turning her head back around to look ahead.

Jungkook stopped rolling the cart when he reached the end of the isle. He eyed the main isle, noticing that it was empty and was just a long, straight isle with nothing, but refrigerators on the side.

"You want speed?" Jungkook asked Marley, who stopped eating and looked up at him with curiosity. She nodded cautiously, making Jungkook smirk widely.

Before Marley could react, Jungkook began to run and push the cart at full speed. When the speed was enough and the cart was rolling on its own, Jungkook jumped up on the cart, positioning his legs on the back wheels.

Marley grinned widely, raising her hands up in the air and cheering as they rolled down the isle. Jungkook didn't even notice as a grin split his face in half and he released a small laugh, enjoying the way the air brushed against his cheeks and pushed his hair back. The cart continued to roll until it began to swerve around and nearly hit another isle.

Jungkook quickly jumped off, grabbing the cart and stopping it from slamming into an isle that displayed sweet peanuts in cans.

"Again!" Marley yelled in excitement, looking over her shoulder at Jungkook with wide eyes filled with excitement.

As Jungkook looked into Marley's eyes, he finally noticed the way her eyes glistened with purity. After all this time, no matter what happened to Marley or what she's seen, her soul still managed to shine brightly with raw happiness and innocence.

In that moment, Jungkook's walls crumbled and his whole world shifted as he promised to protect the only innocent thing left in this world. Maybe that's what made Jungkook turn the cart around and roll down the isle again and again until the store was filled with joyous laughter, that pushed out the sound of the walkers growling.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

We're so close to Taekook meeting! What do you think about Taehyung's past and Marley?

~ Benikru