【 Jungkook 】

The day of the long-awaited road trip finally arrived, and it had started painfully early since you all agreed to leave Seoul before the morning rush hour could settle in— knowing you otherwise could've easily gotten stuck in the busy and slow-moving traffic for god knows how long. So after packing up everyone's luggage into the two cars that had been rented the day before the trip, all that was left now was to divide the group into two and then decide on which two would be the first ones to drive— excluding Namjoon hyung of course, as he preferred getting by through local transportation, walking, or bicycling, meaning he had no use of an expensive driver's license; so for legal reasons and everyone's safety, he would not be driving at any point during the trip.

Either way, the groups swiftly ended up being split so that Taehyung, you, Hoseok, and Yoongi took one car whilst Jin, Namjoon, and Jimin took the other one, and once everything had been settled, the 4-hour journey to Busan together could finally begin.

All though the tiring start to this early trip hadn't felt too enjoyable, once the caffeine from the takeaway coffee you got on your way finally kicked in, you were all able to fully appreciate the sacrifice of waking up unlawfully early for a weekend, as the beautiful sight of the sunrise painted sky along with the traffic which moved along smoothly made it all so worth it

Though at the last pit stop which was around a 30-minute drive from your final destination, you and Taehyung ended up suddenly being pulled away from each other by your friends and lead towards different cars; clearly seeming to have had enough of the continuous flirting that had been happening between you two for the last 3 hours— leading to them secretly conspiring the sudden separation act

Of course not without earning a couple of displeased whines from the couple, making them all giggle from amusement whilst teasing the two of you, especially Taehyung as he was the one whining the most about the short parting, earning himself the new nickname 'clingy bear' from the rest of the friend group

Nonetheless, not much time was spent complaining about the playful 30-minute separation act, as you both of course had some self-control (maybe), so the drive resuming towards your destination from the pit stop still proceeded smoothly

Joyful laughter shortly followed by simultaneous singing now echoed inside the car you were in, as Jimin and Jin lead their own car karaoke concert at the front, meanwhile, you and Joon were seated in the back, joining into their tunes every now and then but also enjoying the sight of the scenery that was passing by through the window— though your moment of peace was soon disrupted, as a flow of notifications suddenly echoed from your phone; and upon further inspection, your previous bright smile soon began to fade slowly.

It had been the University's website blowing up after an anonymous post was published on the community bulletin board, and more specifically, the post had been about you.

(You bet I had to edit and include this detail hehe✨ -Jing)

Feeling too afraid to even open the full post— let alone see the replies, you couldn't help but shiver from discomfort as you blankly stared at the screen while gulping down the suffocating lump forming in your throat; practically having to remind yourself to breathe as your hands began to tremble lightly

The fear you thought you had been able to put aside all rapidly bubbling up yet again along with the past memories from when this had happened the first time, sending you into a small panic attack which you tried your best to hide from the rest, not wanting to ruin the trip for everyone else

However, it unfortunately didn't take long for Namjoon to notice something was up, as he reached over and placed a comforting hand on your upper back, rubbing comforting circles as he flashed you a mildly worried look

Namjoon: Hey Gguk, are you okay bunbun?

Though you could only nod silently, not trusting that your voice wouldn't betray you and break at this moment. But after receiving a not-so-convincing response from you, he gently took the phone out of your grasp to see what you had been staring at so intensely, only to widen his eyes as he read the post— a frustrated groan immediately leaving his lips as he filled Jimin and Jin in about its content without necessarily reading the full message out loud; probably as a way to spare you from having to hear those harsh words twice.

But they could almost guess the blank slurs he had tried to leave out, making Jimin's grip on the steering wheel tighten as he gritted his teeth, voice audibly coated in pure venom and spite towards whoever the poster may be as he spoke angrily

Jimin: They posted what now?! Oh whoever that fucker is, they must have a damn death wish!

Jin nodded in agreement as he glanced at you through the rearview mirror out of concern, voice a tad bit more gentle yet just as outraged as Jimin's

Jin: Un-fucking-believable. The post was clearly made to stir up a fight, what the hell kind of obviously uneducated nonsense was that?! And what the hell do they get out of posting that crap?!

A shaky sigh left your lips as you forced a faint smile, raising your head while fidgeting with your hands slightly in an attempt to soothe your own nerves

Jungkook: I-Its fine... Thankfully we're on break now, if I'm lucky people will have forgotten about the post by the time we start our 3rd year. B-but even so, it's still my last year so I'll be fine either w-way!

Namjoons focused and annoyed expression soon turned into one of relief as he began to scroll down— seemingly reading through a lot of the replies before turning towards you, handing your phone back as he encouraged you to take a look whilst speaking more calmly

Namjoon: Whatever that anonymous poster tried to accomplish with this foul post, they clearly failed. Take a look Jungkook-ah

Upon reading through the comments underneath the post, seeing how nearly all comments with the exception of a few had been on your side; the suffocating tightness in your chest gradually began to ease whilst a more genuine smile now painted your lips from surprise and relief

Jungkook: T-they're on my side?

He reached over and playfully ruffled your hair as he flashed you a warm and reassuring smile, nodding in confirmation

Namjoon: Yes Gguk, we all are, so don't be afraid anymore. We won't let what happened in the past repeat itself

A sigh of relief left your lips as you put away your phone and leaned back in your seat— previously tensed muscles finally relaxing as what you had feared for so long ended up not being as scary and horrible as you had imagined; things really changed for the better, in so many ways.

| Later...

Once the car finally pulled into the little driveway of your childhood home, a happy squeal left your lips as you hurried out of the car and ran up to your parents whom had come outside as soon as they had seen you all pull up— immediately being engulfed into a warm and near bone-crushing family

Dad: Oh our little Ggukie, we missed you so much!

Mom: Was the trip here okay sweetie— have you guys eaten?

They glanced over at your friends, and a soft giggle left your lips as you nodded in response to both of the questions, meanwhile, your hyungs happily walked over as they greeted the elders and almost instantly began to make small talk as they were received so warmly

Mom: We're so happy to finally meet our son's friends, although we were hesitant when he first transferred to Seoul, we're so glad to see he's been in good hands!

Dad: Though didn't you say you were 7 people in total, where are the other 3?

Jimin: Oh yes, they'll be here any minute now!

Almost as if on cue, the other car finally pulled into the driveway as the remaining trio got out and walked up to you, heart happily fluttering as you could hear them brightly greet your parents while approaching

Once a certain male came up next to you, his familiar deep voice whispering out soft ''Hi Bun'' which made giddily you glance up at him as you bit back a bright smile— that same faint yet magical color swirl instantly painting your glimmering doe eyes as you looked at each other oh so fondly whilst the surroundings of your childhood garden began being painted in beautiful colors for the very first time.

That same swirl didn't go unnoticed by your parents either, as they eyed the two of you in surprise, clearly not having expected to find out their son had found his probe— let alone that he'd be standing right by his side at this moment. And an evident look of worry now painted both of their expressions as a wide range of questions undoubtedly busied their minds regarding the male and just what kind of relationship the two of you had, so your mom cleared her throat while looking at you two one more time before tearing her gaze towards everyone else present, her voice skeptical and hesitant when she spoke up

Mom: Well do come inside for some tea, we have a lot to talk about after all.