Hello, honey! 💜 Long time no see! Hope you’re doing well. 😁 Enjoy this new part. 💖

Please Comment and Vote. 💜💜💜

_____________

Author's POV

“Yah, where have you been all this time?”

Hoseok had just entered his shared residence with his bandmates. He hadn’t even taken off his shoes when the daily lecture, as he called it, began.

“Let me remind you of something simple yet crucial, Hyung. I’m not a kid,” Hoseok replied, forcing a smile as he emphasized each word.

“Don’t you have any shame? Allowing worry and concern to invade my heart is technically impacting my handsome face, you know?” Jin exclaimed dramatically, placing one hand on his forehead.

“You can just stop worrying about me. Isn’t that simple?” Hoseok shot back.

“The real issue I have right now is that I care about my family. So please, get your act together and apologize to Jungkook,” Jin said sternly, suddenly serious.

“Hyung, this is between me and Jungkook. Don’t interfere.”

“I will gladly stop meddling in your matters when my maknae stops overworking himself, when he starts eating like a normal person when he stops blaming himself for something he didn’t do, and when he goes back to being the radiant, easy-going person he used to be. Simply put,” Jin stated firmly.

“What about me?” Hoseok mumbled quietly, aware of the impact his behaviour had on his beloved dongsaeng.

“You’re the only one responsible for this, Hobi. If you had acted properly the first time this poor kid tried to introduce us to his family by inviting us over, you wouldn’t be in this situation. Apologizing is the least you can do.” With that, Jin turned around and went to his room.

Hoseok didn’t know what to do. He was aware of how much Jungkook loved and always spoke fondly of his sister. The only thing he couldn't fathom was how the timid and gentle girl he used to ignore had grown into such a brave and confident young woman.

As he dragged his feet to his room, he felt his phone buzzing in his back pocket. He instantly answered the call without even checking the caller ID.

[Phone call]

"Dad, please, I said that I'm not ready to get into a crappy relationship with someone I don't know," Hoseok roared, not giving the other person a chance to respond.

"Pardon?" he heard a soft voice.

Surprised, Hoseok finally looked at the caller ID and saw it was an unknown number. Strangely, the voice sounded somewhat familiar. He cleared his throat, putting the phone back to his ear to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," he murmured guiltily.

"It's okay," the person replied. "Sorry for calling this late, but I'm worried. Is my brother with you?"

Hoseok looked puzzled; he couldn't figure out who the caller was. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind, helping him recognize the voice.

"Sae-Saera, is that you?" Hoseok stuttered, unsure.

"Yes, now please answer me," Saera replied impatiently.

"N-no, actually, I don't know where he is. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Hoseok, I think Jungkook has been kidnapped," she said worriedly.

"What? How do you know?"

"A few minutes ago, someone called and told me that Jungkook was their guest and that I should wait for news from him—without telling anyone. So I was wondering if you knew anything," Saera informed him, anxiety in her voice.

"No, I don't. Wait, I’m going to see if he's in his room…” He turned toward Jungkook's room. He wasn’t there. "Damn it! What else did the person say?" Hoseok asked her.

"He just said not to tell anyone..." Saera paused and then continued, "Is it stupid that I'm doing this?"

"It's the right thing to do. I'll go look for him now. Don’t worry; he’ll be okay. Call me later," Hoseok said, trying to reassure her.

“Okay.”

[End of the call]

She ended the call, and Hoseok felt a wave of worry wash over him. He grabbed his coat and headed out of the mansion.

“Jungkook, please be safe…” Hoseok mumbled as he started the engine.

After some time, he received a message from an unknown number instructing him to come to a particular address. He texted back trying to gather more information, but he got no reply.

He immediately made his way to the address, which led him to an old house.

He double-checked the address he received. Once he was sure of its accuracy, he approached the door, knocked three times, and, receiving no response, pushed the door open to find it wasn’t locked. He stepped inside to explore the place.

The old house, with its weathered facade and mismatched furniture, seemed frozen in time as if its inhabitants had left but not entirely departed, leaving traces of their presence in the cosy, lived-in atmosphere.

"Jungkook! Are you here?" Hoseok shouted.

"Hoseok, is that you?" he suddenly heard, and what surprised him was that he recognized the voice.

"Saera?" He called out, seeing her figure emerge from the living room.

On the other hand, Saera was equally shocked to see him there.

"Did you receive the message too?" she asked.

"Yeah, but he's not here. Damn, I think we're trapped here. Let's get out of here." Hoseok said, hurrying towards the door.

Instantly, the door shut, locking both of them inside.

"Shit!" Saera muttered under her breath. "What should we do now?"

"I don't know," Hoseok replied, pulling at the door in frustration.

"You both won’t get out of here until you've reconciled. Once that’s done, you can go back to your respective homes. Oh, and don’t worry about me; I’m perfectly fine!" Jungkook giggled, pleased with his plan.

To be continued...

———

Hello, dear readers! This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, and I apologize for that. 🤕 Right now, I'm juggling a lot of work and projects for my last year of university. 🤧 It’s overwhelming... 😮‍💨 I’ll try to publish as often as I can.

Anyway, please take good care of yourselves. Love you all! 💜❤️

Please Comment and Vote. 😁

Borahae! 💜