Park Soomi

I couldn't take my mind off of them, the questions swarming around me like bees. What were Hoseok and Yoongi doing right now? Have they found something important?

Were they safe?

My foot tapped erratically against the floor, a new question shooting in one ear and out the next with each beat. My gaze remained unfocused, the blurred waiting room remaining only a backdrop to the concerns that took center stage.

"Ms. Park?" All the hazy shapes aligned themselves into the image of the receptionist. "It's visiting hours now. You're free to see your brother now."

"Thank you," I responded with a smile. As I stood up, I did my best to shove all my useless thoughts to the back of my head, until they were only a faint, buzzing nuisance. I turned to Jungkook and Misa who sat behind me. My head tilted to the side questioningly, confused to see them seated on opposite sides of the bench in their own separate bubbles.

"Hey guys? We could go see—" Just as their heads flicked up at the sound of my voice, Jungkook's phone buzzed loudly in his hand.

"It's Hoseok. It's probably important," he explained, sounding a bit apologetic for interrupting.

"Go take it," I reassured. "We could head to the room first." I subtly gestured for Misa to follow, planning to do some light interrogating on the way there. But instead, she hesitantly stood glued in place. "Misa? Something wrong?"

"Huh? What? No, no, I think I'm just a little hungry," she stammered with a nervous laugh. "You go ahead. I'll stop by the cafeteria first." She scurried off in a rush, my eyes trailing her back in confusion. But I tried my best not to linger too much on the moment, not to distract myself any further from what should be the most important thing on my mind today.

Jimin's finally getting discharged.

My lips curled up in an instant when I pushed open the door and locked eyes with Jimin. His complexion looked so much healthier and full of color, while his entire figure seemed to exude joyful energy.

"Big day! You excited to finally come back home?" I exclaimed while running up to him.

"Won't be any different from here, considering you visit every other day," he teased, and I was quick to slap him on the shoulder.

"Hey! Excuse me for caring about you." The two of us smiled at each other, and weirdly enough, I couldn't help but dwell on the simple interaction..

I hit him. And I didn't worry for a second about hurting him or about the injury. It gave me hope that everything would soon return to normal.

"How was Hoseok and Yoongi's investigation?" Jimin suddenly asked. "That was today right?" My boost in mood took a huge blow as my smile faltered. Okay, so not everything was returning to normal.

"I think they're still over there, but let's not think too much 'bout that, okay?" I asked, hoping to not fall down that same rabbit hole I was in earlier. "You're coming back home today, and we should be focusing on that!"

Jimin grinned at my enthusiasm.

"So," I continued, "what's the first thing you're gonna do when we go back home?" His face gradually flushed a light shade of pink as the question left my lips. The bashful smile that crept onto his face left me feeling immensely puzzled. "What? What's going on"

"Umm, something happened the other day...with Misa."

I felt my heart drop hearing her name, scared of what was coming next. A million different scenarios formulated in my head, and I couldn't help but internally scold myself for the potential consequences. Is it gonna be what I think it is? I should have talked to him sooner...

"Oh...?" It was the only word I managed to let out as the pit in my stomach grew.

"I kissed Misa." There it was, exactly what I was dreading. "And when I tell you that it felt more perfect than it ever did before? I mean, it just felt so...right. So I'm gonna tell her tonight. I'm gonna tell her how I feel. How I still feel."

"How—when did this even happen?" I stared at him dumbfounded. It almost felt like my head was spinning from how unexpected and sudden everything was.

"Funny story actually. I was super loopy when I first woke up, but the first person I saw was her. Everything was super bright. I really thought in that moment I was in heaven." He laughed, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe his own memory. "And in that state, I just couldn't resist. I wasn't in my right mind, but I kissed her."

I didn't know what to say, or rather, how to say it. How could I crush his heart when he looked so excited? How could I tell him the truth when he seemed so hopeful?

"But Misa told you she just wanted to be friends..."

"I know but...she didn't pull away. And it really did feel just right. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was completely horrified when I finally snapped out of it but, you know, what if? What if her feelings changed?"

"Jimin...she was probably in shock. And you literally just woke up. She was probably processing everything."

"I know that, but I'm still glad it happened. It made me realize that I do want to tell her how I really feel. Because if there's even the slightest chance we could go back to the way things once were, or even better, then I just have to take it—"

That's it. I couldn't stand hearing him talk like this any longer.

"Misa and Jungkook got together a while ago," I blurted out the words, hoping it would be like ripping off a bandage. But honestly, I wasn't sure if it was more for him or for me. "I'm sorry."

All the hope and excitement seemed to lift from his body like smoke, leaving only the ashes of a burned out flame. It killed me how my words seemed to just break him, all in the matter of a few seconds.

"You okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, of course." His mumbles quickly crescendoed in volume as he forced out a laugh. It was as if he were overcompensating to hide his disappointment, but I could easily see past the facade. "I guess sometimes I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic, huh?"

"Guess it runs in the family... Maybe you get it from me," I chimed in, trying to lighten up the situation before laying down against his arm.

"Hey now," he said while flicking me gently on the forehead. "I'm the older one here. If anything you got it from me."

"That's not something to be proud of." I laughed, rubbing my forehead as I stared up at him. We stayed like this for a while in silence. I examined his face as he let out a deep sigh.

"Or maybe we got it from our parents," he mumbled. I furrowed my eyebrows as he said this. We looked at each other with the straightest of faces before bursting into laughter.

Yeah right, our parents being hopeless romantics. Their divorce would say otherwise, but maybe being married to work counts.

"Speaking of our parents, have either of them called? After the incident?" Jimin asked, once our well-needed laughter died out.

"Dad's called a couple of times to check in on your recovery. And Mom, well..."

"Hasn't called a single time, huh?" He finished my sentence with a scoff, though I detected a bit of disappointment in there too. "I don't know why I even bother asking. I know she doesn't care—"

"Hey, she's probably just busy with work," I defended. "Of course she cares."

"Try telling her that." The tone of his voice was a bit spiteful, which didn't match at all with the smile he forcibly mustered.

I didn't know how to respond, and thankfully I didn't have to figure it out as a doctor stepped into the room.

"Good news, I'll be doing one final check-up on Jimin, and then he'll be free to go. Would you mind waiting outside?" the doctor asked me. I slightly nodded before exiting the room.

I deeply exhaled as the door closed. It was as if I had been holding my breath in there ever since I told Jimin about Misa, even if I was breathing just fine. The atmosphere felt suffocating, forcing one smile and laugh after the other.

My eyes went to scan the waiting room, but neither Misa nor Jungkook were anywhere in sight.

Why were we all like this? How is it that we were all going through high school level drama all over again?

As I leaned against the wall, pondering all of this, I felt my phone buzz. I pulled out the device, staring at the name on the screen.

Taehyung.

Speaking of drama...

I debated whether or not to respond. It was only a simple question. How's Jimin feeling? Is he back at the house now?

It's pretty harmless if I answer, right? Without even noticing, my fingers typed a response and slipped onto the send button.

I bit my lip, scrolling through all the messages we had been exchanging in the last couple days. It was all just small talk: asking how I've been doing, asking about Jimin's recovery...apologizing for so suddenly confessing and putting a lot on my shoulders when I had so much to think about. I guess all those harmless messages start to pile up after a while.

But it's okay because it doesn't mean anything, right?

"You ready to go?" My head shot up as Jimin was suddenly beside me with his arm hung around my shoulders. I frantically closed my phone, almost dropping it in the process before messily tucking it away. Thankfully, Jimin was too excited to notice my strange behavior.

"Yep, all set!" I nervously laughed. "We just gotta find...Jungkook and Misa first..." It was if the air grew cold in the midst of the awkward silence.

This was going to be a long car ride home.

⋆⋅✯⋅⋆

As the four of us stepped out of the car and onto our driveway, I couldn't help but feel surprised that the ride back was not as awkward as I expected it to be. I guess I underestimated how happy Jimin would still be to finally be around Jungkook, even in spite of everything. The two conversed the whole way back while I stole glances at Misa every so often.

It made sense now, why she was acting strange, but I knew that it wasn't the right time to talk to her about it yet.

"Wait." Jungkook abruptly held up his arm, stopping us from walking forward as we neared the front door. The sudden motion made me jump, and I looked towards him to see his troubled expression. I followed his gaze and quickly realized the cause for his alertness.

The front door was slightly cracked open.

"Did we forget to lock it?" I whispered.

"No, I definitely made sure everything was locked before we left." Jungkook insisted. We all looked at each other with concerned faces, terrified of what could be behind those doors, but Jungkook remained calm and collected.

"Stay behind me," he whispered, while pulling out his gun. The three of us huddled back as he inched closer and closer to the house.

And cautiously pushed open the door.

——
{a/n}
Ahh sorry, did not mean to delay this chapter for so long :c It's been a while since I last wrote so I apologize if the chapter is not as good as some past ones, but I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!