A/N Trigger warning: Verbal bullying

"There was a time when he would gladly do anything for my sake."

Jia sighed knowing that it was not true in her case. The more she had thought about it, the more it became clearer to her that everything had not been all rainbows and fun. Perhaps he had liked her at first, but it must have faded away gradually. Jia had to keep reminding herself that it was a natural phenomenon, but it was hard not to think the obvious 'What is it about me that screams unlovable?' When she had asked this same question to Mina, her friend had calmly pointed out that Yoongi was only her first boyfriend. "There's plenty more love to come, honey. Trust me." Jia decided to do just that: trust Mina. It wasn't like she had any other choice.

'Fuck, I'm zoning out again.' She thought to herself and blinked to surface out of her thoughts. But by the time she had regained control of her mind, it had been too late. To make up for the awkwardness, she smiled slowly and then broke out into an awkward fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, but every time you say that line, I have to hold myself from cringing hard."

"Believe me, I understand." Daeun said, plopping down onto the tiny stairs by the stage. "But you have much cringier lines than I do. So, it doesn't bother me as much."

"Ouch." Jia chuckled, relieved that she had played it off well. This was a common occurrence now. For someone who had her heart crushed and handed to her, Jia was doing pretty good. She was sad, a lot of things kept reminding her of him and on certain occasions like these, she'd completely lose track of reality and submerge into her vast ocean of thoughts. But that day at Jungkook's had been the peak of her outburst. She'd sometimes occasionally cry at night reading their old messages or browsing their old photos, but for the most time, she had convinced herself that she was fine.

It was a little hard at first, bumping into him at random niches of the school, but they'd both promptly avert their gazes and walk away as though they'd seen nothing. In a matter of two weeks, Jia was starting to feel pretty much like her old self. But this disturbed her a little as well. Had she really loved him? Or had she only been obsessed with the idea of loving him? Surely, the movie and book protagonists usually took it pretty hard after their first breakups. When she had raised this matter in the group, Namjoon had supplemented his divine wisdom by stating "Love has no measure. Neither does grief." A fancier way of saying that it's all relative and subjective, Jia noted.

It was a given that her blood boiled hot whenever she thought back to the girl's face. 'How could he?' and that thought gave her instant solace from her tendency to whine. She also wondered if perhaps having supportive friends helped her get through it better. They'd put up with her random bouts of rants and would simply listen to her. Even Taehyung. Jia knew that she was comfortable being vulnerable around him when she had spontaneously opened up about the incident. He had seemed equally surprised and touched at being let in on it and had promptly hugged the life out of her. He further offered to have Jongin and his friends beat up Yoongi, but Jia had declined it politely. But it had been a generous offer nevertheless.

Of course, she was most grateful for Jungkook. She realised how important those few hours had been. His tactful handling at the moment, she believed, made the whole process less burdensome. She had been vulnerable in and out, volatile to even minor mistakes. But he had managed the situation gracefully with an admirably high presence of mind. The comfort and the opportunity to let out all her emotions without judgement had been blissfully therapeutic.

"See you later, Daeun." Jia waved, dragging Taehyung along with her. "And don't forget the rehearsals this weekend! He yelled out.

"Wait, we have rehearsals this weekend as well?!" Jia whined.

"I've literally told you like eight times already." He crossed his hands across his chest. "Why? Do you have plans with someone? Perhaps a new boyfriend?" He smirked.

"Yes, actually." She smiled smugly.

"W-what? Already? Who?!" He asked, his glasses magnifying his bewildered eyes.

"His name is Hercule Poirot and he's super smart." She nodded triumphantly.

"Oh? That's a weird name- oh." He deadpanned, catching onto her joke. "It's another one of your fictional characters again." He rolled his eyes.

"You walked yourself right into that one." She snickered, jumping over a lost pencil. Jia had lately been obsessed with Agatha Christie's detective story collection that she had stumbled across at her grandmother's place. It was then that she learnt that her grandma had been an ardent fan, owning a huge stack of the British author's book. Needless to say, Jia was now a part of the fan club. "But now that I think of it, he's old and retired. So maybe not a boyfriend."

It was only then that she noticed that Taehyung had gone unnaturally quiet. Perking up, she looked at him, only to see him paused on his tracks a few steps behind. "What's wrong?" She asked quickly.

"Uhh, nothing. Can we take the other way? I feel bored and I think more walking is exactly what we need." He nodded eagerly.

"No, why would we do that? We're so close to the sports ground already." She whined. Just then, she heard a voice calling loudly behind her. The unmistakably annoying voice made her understand why he wanted to turn away.

"Oh look! It's the scared gay loser." Said Jimin, walking speedily up to them. Jia's fist clenched automatically upon seeing his face. He walked closer and stood across them, eyeing her closely and flashing a suggestive smirk. "And hey Jia. What's up."

"Go away Jimin." Jia said, crossing her arms in what she hoped was an intimidating manner.

"Easy, tiger. I just wanted to hangout and ask my good friend Taehyung here if he enjoyed his little gift this morning."

"What did you do?" She asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Nothing too fancy, but I'm disappointed that he failed to appreciate it." He said, faking a frown at Taehyung. "Who doesn't love a few insects down their bag?"

"Come on Jia, let's just go. He's doing it for attention." Taehyung said, pulling Jia by her elbows.

"Wow, that hurt." Jimin mocked, eyeing Taehyung's hand which remained gripped on Jia. "Ooh, I'm surprised. How did a faggot like you land a smart one like her?"

"That's it." Said Jia, raising a clenched fist, ready to charge. She was boiling with anger and desperately wanted to smash his skull with her fists.

"Jia, no!" Taehyung held her back, gripping her even tighter. "I told you, he's not worth our attention." He threw an icy gold glance at Jimin, an expression she had barely ever witnessed on Taehyung. He tugged lightly at her arm once again and beckoned her. "Come, let's go."

"That's right, go run away like you always do, you coward." Jimin called out. "Oh, and Jia, you'd be much better off with a cool guy like me than with that gay loser. Think about it." He smiled smugly. Taehyung had to put all his might in restraining Jia from charging at the mop-haired boy yet again.

By the time they reached the sports ground, the team had retired from their practise. A few of them still sat taking a breather on the benches while the others had already started dispersing off the field.

"I am so fucking angry that I could just kill him." Jia grumbled, plopping down next to a sweaty Jungkook. Taehyung timidly took the seat next to him on the other side.

"I fucking know right? How dare he." Jungkook nodded, his teeth clenched in anger.

"Wait, we haven't even told you anything yet, how are you angry already?" Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" asked Jungkook, apparently snapping out of a trance. "Oh, right. I was angry about uh-" he shot a quick glance at Jia and swallowed his words. "It doesn't matter. Why are you guys angry?"

"I am pretty okay. She's the one who is angry." Taehyung shrugged.

"That bastard Jimin." Groused Jia. "He just won't stop bullying Tae!" she complained, explaining in detail the incident that had just taken place. "I don't understand how a person can be this horrible and annoying." she finished.

"Sometimes soon, I am gonna ram that dude's head against the wall." Jungkook sighed. "Some people are just born mean."

Seeing that the one who actually got bullied was staying quiet, Jia turned to look at Taehyung who surprisingly sat smiling shyly.

"What?" She enquired.

"Nothing." He shook his head, blushing deeper. "I am just happy that I have friends who are angry for me. Why would I ever bother about Jimin when I have you guys protecting me?" He shrugged.

If it weren't for social constraints, Jia would've pinched and kissed his cheeks to show her affection towards this immensely adorable kid. She couldn't understand how he could remain so calm and cute after encountering an asshole like Jimin.

"And besides," Taehyung continued. "I read an article the other day which explained a lot about his behaviour. It said that kids who bully others by calling them names are actually projecting their insecurities onto others. In this instance, he bullies others by calling them 'gay' to perhaps cover up a part of himself." He nodded.

"Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense." Jia agreed, musing on it.

"Agreed." Jungkook nodded. "Can we go eat now?"

***

"Taehyung is not here. You can tell me what actually happened now." Jia said, kicking a random stone along her path.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." He said, confused.

"You were angry about something?" She prodded.

"Oh that. Uh-nothing happened. I was just angry at uh-Seju."

"Mhm. I believe you one hundred percent." She nodded. "Now tell me what actually happened." She demanded.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But you shouldn't read anything into this. Got it?" He said uneasily.

"Alright." She agreed.

"Yoongi talked to me today." He sighed.

"W-what?!" Jia asked dumbfounded. "Why? When? How? Why?" The thought made her heart beat fast.

"He dropped by the track a few minutes before you two arrived. I guess you missed him with all the Jimin fiasco." He replied.

"Wh-uh... what did he say?" She tried to act unenthusiastic but it was evident that she could barely keep it in. Her mind was exploding with innumerable possibilities, although she knew that it was logical not to expect much.

"He wants his pen drive back." Jungkook scoffed. "He does all that and has the audacity to ask for a pen drive? I mean, how dare he?" He kicked a stone hard.

"Oh." Jia replied softly.

"He said he'll pick it up from me tomorrow because he didn't think you'd be comfortable seeing him." Jungkook continued. "I'm surprised he has enough brains to know that. But if you ask me, I suggest you throw it away. Or even better! Plug it to the local internet café before you give it back. I hope his whole computer gets destroyed by the virus."

"I see." Jia said, only half listening to the rest of his rant. 'That's it?' she thought to herself. She felt crushed. 'Did she not mean anything to him? Not even a little? No matter how much she tried to deny it, it stung like hell.

Jungkook must have noticed her spacing out, for he looked over at her a little uncertainly and started slowly "He also uh..."

Jia quickly turned her to him. "He what?" she asked expectantly.

"He asked how you were doing." Jungkook said, frowning at the pavement. "He also uh... apologised."

The words hit Jia like a comet. But before she could process further, her friend cut in.

"To which I nearly punched him."

"What?" Jia asked, looking at him in legitimate panic.

"I said 'nearly' punched him. Calm down. But I badly wanted to. Because if he truly felt sorry, he would've done it in person. He wasn't scared about making you uncomfortable. He was scared of making himself uncomfortable. That jackass." Jungkook grumbled.

Jia replied nothing and simply mulled over the words. Jungkook did have a point. But nevertheless, it felt satisfying to know that Yoongi at least did that. Apology, Jia realised, gave her a better sense of closure. Even if it doesn't undo his mistakes, it felt better to know that he wasn't completely carefree. She knew that he wouldn't have bothered to apologise (even if it was to Jungkook), if hadn't felt at least a morsel of guilt.

"Jia." Jungkook called out. "Please don't do anything stupid."

"Roger that." Jia smiled lightly. "I've learnt my lessons, oh wise Coconut head." She sniggered.

"Fuck off, princess." He rolled his eyes.

Jia strode with a tinge of confidence and her heart weighed a little lighter than before.

A/N: Although it's a little too late, wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! 🥰💜