Okay this chapter is a little messy (and a little edited) but uh... here you go.

"I'll miss you so much if you go. But I think it's a good idea for you to do that."

"Thanks Cassy. I just felt that if there was anyone to tell other than my mom and sister, it was you."

"Awww, thanks. I'm flattered that you think about me that much."

"It's cause you're my best friend," you say honestly. "Anyway, I-"

Your old phone rings and you gasp. You grab your old phone while muttering out a, "Cassandra, I have to go, call you later."

And then you hang up on her as you look at your old phone.

Chim😌🥰💖 is calling...

You accept the call and bring it to your ear.

"Hello?" You ask nervously. You're not sure what you should expect.

"Y/n, it's me."

"Oh my god, your voice," you murmur. His voice is hoarse and croaky. "Are you sick?"

"Doesn't matter. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"You didn't call the police."

"No."

"Jimin... how can you let this happen? You have a way out."

"I-I know. But Jihyun..."

"Your brother? Jimin, forget about it. This is a hell of a lot worse than what he'll feel when he finds out. He'll get over it. You won't. You'll have scars that wouldn't have gotten there in the first place if you would just call the police. Please Jimin."

Silence.

"I love you."

"Don't change the subject. You wouldn't just let this happen. There's something else-"

"Please say it back?"

Your breath hitches. "I love you too. But Jimin, I-"

"They're coming back. I just wanted to tell you I love you."

Panic rises in your chest. "No-Jimin wait- I-"

"I'll try to call you tomorrow."

"Jimin!"

It's too late. The call ends.

You slam your phone down on your desk and kick your desk chair. "Just fucking listen to me!" You cry. Why won't he call the police? He knows his brother will be okay in the end. He knows that it's better to call the police. Why won't he do it?

You sink to the floor and bury your head in your hands. It's going to be a long night.

•••

"I can't give you more than two days off, Y/n."

"But-but this is really important to me. Something has come up and I need to take care of it."

"Do you mind sharing or is it private?"

"Private."

"Look, you're a good employee, and you work really hard, but I can't give you a lot of days off."

You sigh and look away from your manager, Mr. Shroeder. He really is a cool manager. He tells you to take care of yourself and sends you home when you try to overwork yourself- at least when he's around. He knows about your depression and how bad it got, so he makes sure you're doing okay.

"I..." you think about your next words. If they're even worth saying.

Jimin is worth everything you're about to lose.

"Then thank you," you mumble. "But I'm going to have to put in my two weeks notice."

"What?" Mr. Shroeder asks. He shakes his head. "You can't just quit like that."

"Yes I can. Even if you don't let me, I'm still going to leave. I need to go on this trip."

Mr. Shroeder presses his lips into a firm line. "I can't promise that you can have your job back when you return."

"That's okay. I promise it'll be worth it."

Mr Shroeder nods. "Okay," he says. "Then... alright. That's okay. I'll really miss you- don't tell the others, but you've been my favorite employee."

You smile. "That's good to hear. I'm sorry I have to leave."

Mr. Shroeder nods. "Well, your job awaits. Have a good day."

You give your manager a short nod and head back to the break room to pull on your apron and put your hair up.

Jimin is worth losing your job over.

•••

"So what'd you talk to the manager about?"

You sit in the back room for lunch break, after working the whole morning off.

"I'm quitting work," you say plainly.

"What!?" Kieth asks, surprised. A little panic flashes in his eyes. "Why? Did something happen? Is this about what you told me? Because I can keep that to myself-"

"It's not you," you say. "But yes. It has to do with that."

Kieth bites his lip and looks at the table. "Are you gonna tell me about it?"

He looks... hurt, almost.

You purse your lips and stop what you're doing. You sit down in the chair across from Kieth's at the table.

"Jimin woke up," you murmur. You look at your fingers, which are splayed across the table.

"He's awake," you say. "And I have to go find him."

"That-that's great," Kieth says. "Why... why don't you look happy?"

"Because he's in a worse situation now." You take a deep breath and meet Kieth's eyes. "I'm going to visit him," you say. "And find him."

Kieth furrows his eyebrows. "Just out of nowhere? Does he even know?"

"No. I haven't been able to tell him."

"You're... just going to up and leave. But what are you going to do? What if something bad happens and you can't get him back?"

You frown. "I will," you say determinedly. "If I lose him, I don't know what I would do with myself."

"What situation is he in?"

"A bad one. I can't tell you what, but it's not good, and he's getting hurt, and I need to get him out of it."

Kieth purses his lips, as if thinking something over, and then decides to come out with it. "What if he's faking the situation he's in? What if it's all a ploy to-"

"Shut the fuck up Kieth."

You don't mean to sound so vicious, but your voice comes out in a growl and you glare at him.

"He wouldn't do something like that to me. You don't know him like I do."

Kieth doesn't argue with you. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I... I didn't think."

"Clearly," you say placidly. Your words cut across him like a knife and he flinches. "Cassandra's coming to get me for lunch. You can come if you want, I'm sure she wouldn't mind, as long as we don't talk about Jimin."

"That's okay," Kieth says awkwardly, shaking his head. "You go do that. I'll just- I'll be here."

As if on cue, you get a text from Cassandra saying she's outside waiting for you.

"Well, I'll see you after break," you say, and you leave him alone to eat his lunch.

•••

"Okay sweet, I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Bye Y/n."

You hang up the phone. You just called Namjoon and together, you spent the past hour searching up flights to Seoul. On a normal day, the ticket would cost up to $3,000 but you're lucky today. You're in a pandemic, and flights don't cost half as much as they're supposed to.

You managed to get a ticket for a flight to Incheon airport for under $800 and it leaves on Sunday, which is in four days. Today is Wednesday.

The plan is for mom to drop you off at the airport, you hop on a plane, fly all the way to Korea (with a pause in the middle to get on a different plane), and have Namjoon and Yoongi pick you up. After that, they're going to take you to Namjoon's apartment because by the tile you reach Seoul, it'll be nighttime. You'll spend the night, have a good breakfast in the morning, and then Taehyung will drive you and Namjoon to a train station, where the three of you will take a train to Busan to find Jimin.

Taehyung wanted to tag along because Jimin is his best friend and if anyone has been worried sick about him, it's definitely Taehyung. Excluding you of course.

Your old phone rings and you immediately lunge across the room, grab it off of your bed, and answer the call.

You bring the phone to your ear. "Jimin?"

"Y-yeah."

His voice sounds worse than before.

"Are you sick? Your voice-"

"Maybe."

"Jimin I swear to god- are you sick?" You demand. His answer comes slow.

"...yes."

"How bad is it?"

"I-I dunno. I don't... I don't feel good."

"Why won't you call the police?"

"This again?"

"Yes, Jimin. This again. You have to call them. What is holding you back? I'm not gonna accept this bullshit about your brother."

Silence.

"Jimin?"

No answer.

"No- Ji-Jimin?"

"I'm- I'm scared."

You purse your lips and soften your voice. "Hey, why are you scared? If you call the police, they'll get you out. you'll be safe. Your parents can't hurt you then."

"If I call them, what if my parents send them away?"

"They can't do that."

"They-they can't? What if they tell the police that it was just a prank call?"

"Jimin, listen to yourself. It's just the fear talking. Think about your friends. Think about me. We're all trying to find you. I promise it'll all be okay if you just call the police."

It's hard to keep the desperation out of your voice.

"Just-please Jimin- you-you don't know how much I need you here."

More silence.

And then a faint whimper.

"Jimin? Are you okay?"

"No," he lets out in a shaky breath. "I-I don't know what to do, it-it feels impossible Y/n. It feels like I'm trapped here."

"You're not. I promise. Make the call."

Jimin goes quiet again. This time for longer.

"Jimin?"

Nothing.

"Jimin please don't hang up on me again, I-"

"I won't hang up," Jimin says. He sounds out of breath. "I... I made sure to... to call after she left."

"Hey, you don't sound good. Jimin, hey. Police. Talk to me."

"I... I can't breathe..."

"Hey, listen. I'm right here. I'm not- I'm not going anywhere. Just breathe with me okay? In, out-"

"I don't feel good. I think I'm... I think I'm gonna pass... pass out..."

You hear a loud thud on the other end. Your heart stops. Tears fall from your eyes.

"Ji-Jimin?"

Nothing.

"Jimin are you there?"

You bite your fist to keep from sobbing.

"Jimin-"

"S-Sorry. I-I dropped my phone."

"Can you FaceTime me? I need- I need to see you."

"I don't look... I don't look good."

"I don't care."

Jimin video calls you. You accept it.

It is night where you are at, and quite the opposite on the other side.

There he is.

You haven't seen him for months, and there he is, finally, on the phone with you.

Jimin's face is on your screen, and for once it's not a recording.

And he looks terrible.

His hair is shorter now- the nurses at the hospital must have cut it. It's not silver anymore. It's black. His eyes are almost closed, squinting at you through the screen. He's covered in sweat, lips parted, panting for breath. He's pale, he's skinny, he's exhausted. He's not himself.

You cover your mouth with your hand.

"Jimin, call. The. Police. You need help. You're sick. This isn't something you can just push through."

"I can't... can't see you."

You walk to your door and turn your light on. You can see as your face is suddenly illuminated in the corner of your screen. Jimin smiles a little. "I miss you," he murmurs.

"Police."

"Don't-don't cry, it's okay. I'm here."

"It's not okay, Jimin," you say. Despite your best efforts, the sentence comes out as a strangled sob. "Please call the police."

"You're so pretty."

"Stop-stop it!" you plead. Your face contorts and you can't hold back your sobs. "This is bad, Jimin."

His eyes widen and his eyebrows furrow. "Bad?" He asks. "Am I... am I making you upset?"

You shake your head. "N-no just- please-"

"It's so bright here. I'm starving."

"Are they-are they starving you?"

"Wait, I... I can't..." Jimin closes his eyes and leans his head back against the box he's sitting against. "Can't breathe. Can you... you repeat that?"

"Jimin-"

"Hey are you crying? Don't cry, it's okay. I'm here."

For a moment, you're confused. He already said that. But then you realize what's happening, and your stomach drops.

Jimin's eyes are red. He's mentally disoriented. You don't think he understands what's going on.

"Jimin did they drug you?"

"Drugs?" Jimin looks at you, eyes wide. "Y/n don't do drugs. Drugs are bad."

You let out an ugly sound and cover your mouth. The tears take over.

He's either been extremely sick for days, or he was drugged. Either way, he needs attention, and he needs it now.

You compose yourself the best you can and look at Jimin seriously. "Jimin, hey, Jimin, I need you to listen to me very carefully."

"Why don't you call me Chim anymore?"

"Chim," you sigh exasperatedly. "Please, I'm begging you to listen to me. I need you to do something for me."

"What do I get out of it?" Jimin asks, a mischievous smile on his face. Is this how drugged people act? Or is this worse and much more serious? Does he have bad brain damage? Is he going to be like this permanently?

You try to clear your thoughts and keep yourself from crying harder.

"You-you get to see me, okay?"

"Do I get kisses?"

"Yes, Chim. I'll give you lots of kisses. Just please do this."

Jimin looks at the camera excitedly, eager for you to give him his task. He's still panting, unable to breathe properly. The sight is heartbreaking and all you want to do is reach through the camera, pull him through, and hold him close.

But you can't.

"I need you to hang up on me- no, not yet- and dial 119 okay? Then-"

"Wait but isn't that for emergencies?"

"This is an emergency. Okay? Now listen. Call 119, tell them your address okay? Then tell them- listen to me- tell them that you've been drugged and you're trapped in your attic, okay?"

Jimin blinks unsurely. "But wait, isn't that-"

"Chim, I will give you all the kisses if you do this for me- please."

Jimin's face lights up when he remembers his prize and he nods rapidly, then grimaces and holds a hand to his forehead. "Ow," he says. "I don't feel good."

"I-I know. Hey, repeat the steps to me. What do you do?"

"Um..." Jimin hesitates, and your heart falls as hope begins to fade away. But then he speaks again.

"Hang up, call 119, um... tell them my address, and then say that I'm drugged and I'm trapped."

"In your attic, yes," you sigh, relieved. You sniffle and rub the tears off of your face with your left hand.

"After you do that, call me again and tell me you did it."

"Then I get kisses?"

You nod. "All the kisses."

Jimin looks so excited he might burst. "Okay! I'm hanging up now."

"O-Okay."

Jimin hits a button on his screen and yours goes black.

Now all you have left to do is wait anxiously for him to call you once again.

I HAVE NO CLASSES TOMORROW YEESSSSS!!!

Have a great day/night!<3

-L