"Do me a favor."

"Yes, Sir. Anything."

"Send a hundred thousand— no, two hundred thousand to Hosoek's account, latest this evening," Jin said.

"Sir—"

"The favor... don't let my mother find out about this."

"Yes, Sir."

Ending the call, Jin took the steering wheel with both hands. Just a night away from Hoseok's clutch, he had felt not just refreshed but reborn. It seemed like he was a totally different person, all thanks to Jackson for giving him that extra —yet needed— jolt to take that step in his relationship.

Despite their split and Jin's resolution not to have anything to do with Hoseok anymore, he had been bothered knowing Hoseok was in debt. It had caused him to ponder for a few minutes before he had gone to bed in his hotel room that night and he had come up with a decision to pay it off.

He was bound to sleep better and worry less knowing full well that Hoseok was free, that no one else had to suffer what he had because Hoseok felt choked and frustrated. That Hoseok could go back to being the sweet, cheerful guy he had once known.

It was sad to think he had gone through months of torture because of something he could have resolved with his eyes closed, within seconds. So quickly he could have lifted Hoseok's burden and they could have been just as happy as they had been in the beginning, but Hoseok had let his ego in the way. He had ruined everything when he had resolved not to tell Jin about his problem, despite knowing full well Jin's capabilities of handling whatever monetary matter he had, no matter how big.

Maybe he had been in love with Hoseok at one point, but the only heartbreak he had felt the previous day as he had ended things with Hoseok had been when Hoseok had told him the reason he had turned demonic. It had hurt him to bits because it could have been avoided. But besides that, Jin had lost every bit of emotions towards Hoseok that the only thing that had been holding them together was Hoseok's hard hold on him, there had been no love or desire. The only desire Jin had felt was a desire to get the hell away. And so he did.

He only felt pity for Hoseok because he knew Hoseok was hurting, Hoseok had loved him but the only thing he could do for Hoseok besides paying off his father's debt was to let him off with the little respect he had from his family. Jin's family loved Hoseok and had hoped for them to take their relationship beyond dating —Jin had wanted the same thing too— but as that was never going to happen, Jin was going to let Hoseok's image remain pure and clean to his family.

The mention of his abuse had died alongside their relationship and he had no idea of ever talking about it with anyone else. Ever.

He just had to find something to tell his parents about why they broke up, and that wouldn't be so hard. He was intelligent, he knew how to tell a story by omitting the truth but still not lying. But that was for later.

As he drove through the gates of the high school, one he wasn't familiar with but was compelled by his feeling to be at, he pushed back every other thought and tried to focus on getting back Jungkook.

Jin had arrived Jungkook's school just minutes before the closing bell, so as he leaned against the side of his Range Rover spot, he got out his phone to call Jungkook while using his eyes to locate the brunette, haired boy.

As the students walked past, Jin ignored the stares, whispers, and oggling. He had totally forgotten how easily smitten high school students could get. He, instead, let his eyes roam the area for the taller boy, hoping to catch him in the crowd.

The previous night, laying in bed, he had tried to call Jungkook so they could talk and confirm their meeting that day, but Jungkook hadn't picked up, neither had he responded. Jin had been hopeful that even if he was still mad at him, he would at least, consider to meet up and hear him. If not for anything, for the sake that they had once been inseparable, and for the sake that Jin was trying to make them work.

The compound slowly cleared out and only a few students hung about. Jin had asked a couple of them if they knew Jungkook or had an idea if he was held back in class, but no one had seen him. They advised him to call Jungkook, but Jin already knew that, he had been doing it already.

Worried, Jin turned to his car and buried his face against the roof. He felt uneasy about not being unable to reach Jungkook. His stomach churned and deep down, his instincts warned him that things might not be as smooth with Jungkook as he was trying to force himself to think.

He continued to mumble the name, 'Kookie, Kookie,' like it would cause Jungkook to appear next to him, safe and sound.

Jin had to scold himself. He was just being paranoid. Jungkook was fine. He was just being stubborn. He was probably somewhere hiding behind a wall, looking at Jin stupidly panic. Maybe he was hurting, too, maybe.

He had seen how hurt Jungkook had been that day. Maybe he had not begun to get over the hurt and heartbreak. Maybe he still hated Jin and didn't want to have anything to do with him.

"I'm sorry," Jin said. But he knew he should be saying it to Jungkook's face. Not mumbling it in his absence. And he was going to do it. He was going to apologize a hundred million times if he needed to, but to do that, he had to see Jungkook first.

But why did he have an unsettling feeling that something was wrong somewhere?

"Hey."

Jin swiveled sharply, like a lightning bolt. Disappointedly though, he should have known. Jungkook had a smaller voice.

"Are you okay, man?"

Jin eyed the student. He was a good looking one with a voice too deep for a high school student. "Yeah, I am."

The boy nodded, he moved towards a BMW parked next to Jin's car and fetched a key from his pocket.

"You look like you're waiting for someone. Maybe I can help, you know," He said with a shrug.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm looking for someone. Um... My friend... Jungkook. He goes here."

The boy stopped. He looked up at Jin, this time he sized Jin up. "Jungkook?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing you know him?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." He didn't get into his car again. Instead, he began to walk towards Jin. "Who are you, if I may ask?"

"I'm Jin. I go to college in the city. Jungkook's my friend," Jin explained.

"I see. Jungkook has a college friend," He muttered audibly. "Interesting."

"Do you know where he is?"

The kid shrugged. "Maybe. But what if he doesn't want you to know where he is. I mean, what if you're a creep or worse, a serial killer who happens to know Jungkook's name and wants to abduct him?"

"That's crazy. No, I'm not. I'm a friend okay? I just need to see him. It's important."

Running a hand through his hair, the boy sighed. "Okay. Whatever. Jungkook went home. He found out some shady stuff about this guy he used to hang out with, Yoongi."

"Yoongi? As in, he found out some shady stuff about Yoongi?"

"That was what I said. Anyways, apparently, Yoongi is a creep."

"Excuse me. What do you mean Yoongi is a creep? And how do you know this?"

"Since you say you're his friend. I'll tell you. So, Yoongi is a manipulative, lying, backstabbing, creepy bastard. He would do anything to get what he wants even if it includes embarrassing Jungkook on Facebook and pinning it on someone else so that Jungkook could take comfort in his arms."

"Wai, the Facebook post? Wasn't it Jimin that made it?"

"Nah. It was Yoongi. Yoongi hacked into Jimin's computer, created a fake Facebook page and made the post. The IP address was traced to Jimin's computer. It was a pretty stupid plan, now that I think about it. I mean, right after the post, Yoongi still went ahead to get into a fight with Jimin, getting Jimin suspended even before the post was traced to Jimin's account. He didn't have to go through the trouble of hacking and outing Jungkook like that in the first place. He's just as stupid as he is weird. I just know Jungkook would never forgive him. He doesn't deserve it."

Jin was dumbstruck at the information. He had been dealing with his open issue and had had no idea Jungkook was going through a horrible issue too.

"I mean, only a wicked person would do what Yoongi did. It was totally uncalled for."

He swallowed hard. "Sorry. What's your name?"

"Taehyung."

He was the Taehyung. The one Jungkook had almost cried blood for.

"Jungkook and I dated, that's how I got to know all these. Although I wasn't the best boyfriend to Jungkook, at least, I was loyal and never lied to him. Plus I care about him. He constantly looked for approval. He always wanted to find the perfect person. He never just calmed the fuck down. To Jungkook, the world would end soon, so he wants to receive all the love and attention and all the promises of milk and honey he could get in a few days, so when the world passed he would have no regret. That is the fucking problem with him."

Jin shut his eyes. All of these were difficult to hear, to process. He fingered his hair, running his hand over the back of his neck.

"You say you're his friend, right?" Taehyung asked.

"I am." At least, he thought he was.

"I hope you can talk to him and advice him accordingly. Whenever I try to, he cries or just insults me and eventually makes me into a bad person. I hope he listens to you."

Jin nodded. He was almost speechless. He had so much to say that he didn't know where to start and just found himself not having anything to say, at all. His head was about to blow up.

"So, maybe you should check his place. Or call him. Maybe, he needs a little time to himself. Yoongi was his friend and I know Jungkook cared for him. It's a lot to take in the betrayal in just a few hours."

Mustering a small, barely existent smile, Jin stretched out his hand towards Taehyung. "Thanks, Taehyung. You're a good guy."

Taehyung took his hand. "No problem, man. And," he smiled brightly at Jin. "Good luck."

As Jin climbed into his car, his mind spiraled and his heart raced. Somehow, he had a deep-rooted fear that he was not going to find Jungkook at his house.

***

Who else thinks Jungkook is fine and Jin might be getting paranoid over nothing?

Also, congrats to us as we are gradually approaching the end of this book ❤ Thank you for the love and support, bebes.