"

"Girls... you might wanna know that your bikinis are missing."

I prowled around like a panther, checking if the wind had spirited them away, but nothing. Not a single scrap of fabric to be found. My shirt was gone too.

"What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?" Mona snapped, covering her boobs with her hands like a scandalized nun.

"Yep, that's right—this is how you girls are walking back to the camp." I tried to play it off with a smirk, but their faces were pure fury. If I didn't shut up, I was pretty sure they'd drown me and claim I slipped.

"I swear to god, the guys are pranking us," Emily said. She looked more pissed than scared, which was... something.

"Wow, is she serious?" I said to no one in particular. "If that's actually true, I'm gonna cut off their penises and mount them as trophies." My voice was all sarcasm, but inside I was already plotting revenge. Enough of their stunts.

"Don't worry, I'll go back and bring your clothes," I offered, pausing for them to protest.

"Well go then, what are you waiting for?" Emily snapped. Her voice was so sharp it made me flinch, but I wasn't about to argue. They were right—it was freezing out here, and it wasn't my place to let them suffer any longer.

So I left them there, fuming and half-naked, and started sprinting back. My mind was already playing out exactly how I was gonna gut the guys if they had anything to do with this. My girls didn't deserve this shit.

I was halfway there when it happened. A hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off my scream. I was shoved hard against a tree, bark scraping my back. My heart slammed into my ribs. My mind went blank except for one name—Jason.

"I told you to wait for me after the game, didn't I?" he hissed in my ear, his breath warm and disgusting.

"I don't have a choice if you're gonna disobey like this," he said, his hand fisting in my hair. I wanted to puke.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?" My voice trembled, but I managed to say it.

"Why should I, Nina? If you don't want everyone to know your dirty secret, you'll do as I say," he sneered, his fingers twirling a strand of my hair like he owned me.

"You and your clothes... can it get any sexier?" His words dripped with something vile just before he crushed his mouth to mine.

I tried to shove him off, but his body was like a wall. My wrists were pinned above my head, his weight pressing me into the tree. My mind screamed at me to fight harder. His lips moved on mine, but all I tasted was bile.

When his hands reached down to tug at my panties, I lost it. My teeth sank into his neck. He let out a yelp of pain, just as I brought my knee up—swollen ankle be damned—hard into his leg.

He stumbled back and I ran. My breath was ragged, sobs tearing out of my throat as I limped as fast as I could. I could hear him laughing behind me, that sick, twisted laugh that made me want to curl up and die.

Then I saw the camp. Relief and panic blurred together. I was almost there—I just had to keep going. My head snapped around to see how close he was, and in that second I crashed into someone.

I fell back, pain shooting through me. My eyes squeezed shut, and I begged to whatever was out there that it wasn't Jason.

"Please... please let me go..." My voice broke into tears as I scrambled back.

"Nina?"

I looked up and my heart cracked open. It was Jungkook. His eyes were wide, face pale as I launched myself into his arms, shaking like a leaf.

"Jason tried to rape me," I gasped out, and the words tasted like blood.

AUTHOR'S P.O.V

Jungkook's entire demeanor hardened when he saw Nina, her body trembling like a candle in the wind as she clung to him, like he'd vanish if she didn't hold on tight.

"Where the fuck is he?" he snarled, glancing at the shadowy path she'd just escaped from. He pulled back slightly, just enough to see her face—wide-eyed, cheeks tear-streaked, lips trembling. Then he noticed the bruising on her neck. His jaw clenched so tight it ached.

He wanted to kill him. He wanted to watch him suffer.

"We were just swimming, but then the girls' clothes vanished... I was on my way back here to grab something for them when he showed up and—" Nina's voice wobbled, panic woven into every word.

"Shhh," he hushed her gently, though his eyes were anything but soft. That's when Jason appeared, stumbling into view with blood oozing from his neck.

"How fucking dare you, asshole," Jungkook growled, his voice low and lethal as he stalked forward. One punch and Jason was down in the mud, Jungkook's fists raining on him like a storm. Jason's pathetic gurgles only fueled his rage.

"Jungkook... he's gonna die," Nina shrieked, grabbing at his shoulders. Jason was choking on his own blood, his eyes rolling back.

"I bet that's what you want right now," Jungkook spat, shoving her hand away.

"Jungkook, let him go," she pleaded, tears brimming as she pressed her shaking fingers to Jason's blood-smeared face. "Don't do this..." Her voice was a soft sob, cracking through the night air.

He froze, breathing hard. For a second, he just stared at her, chest heaving with fury. Then he shoved Jason's head back in the mud, wiped his bloodied knuckles on his jeans, and grabbed Nina's hand.

"Wait here. Don't go anywhere," he ordered, his voice rough as he dragged her back to their tent. He was burning with fury, while she was just a sobbing, trembling mess.

He stomped out again, tracking down Taehyung and Elijah to tell them about the missing clothes and the girls' safety. They took off immediately, and Jungkook raced back to the tent.

"What the fuck happened?" he demanded, voice raw. She flinched, quickly pulling her T-shirt over her battered skin, as if she could hide it all away.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked, his voice softening just a fraction as he cupped her face, brushing hair away to inspect her forehead. "What about your ankle? Does it hurt?" She nodded, sniffling.

He didn't say a word, just reached for the sprain spray, and gently misted her swollen ankle. She winced, but he held it steady, his brow furrowed in worry.

"This is the last time I'm gonna ask before I kill that piece of shit. What happened, Nina?" he said, his voice deathly calm. She just bit her lip, silent.

"I fucking dare you to answer all of my questions, Nina," he growled.

"Don't yell at me," she snapped, smacking his chest with a trembling hand. "Stop yelling at me..." She pulled back, hiccupping on her tears, the small tent too cramped to let her hide.

"Would you tell me if I asked nicely?" he challenged, his own voice dropping.

"Yes," she shot back, her chin tilted stubbornly. He let out a slow breath, his jaw working.

"Okay. Tell me. Yesterday you were screaming at him, and today he was hunting you like a predator... what aren't you telling me?" he pressed, his tone steady but his eyes burning. "I swear I'll try not to kill him."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"I promise."

She took a shaky breath. "I come from a nursing home."

"You're a nurse?" he blinked.

"No—like sisters."

"You're a nun? Your mom's a nun? How the hell were you born then—"

"Can you shut up? Do you want to hear this or not?" she snapped, slapping his shoulder lightly. He raised his hands in surrender, and she let out a sigh, bracing herself.

"I grew up in a nursing home run by sisters," she began, voice low. "My family... they didn't want me. My dad kicked me out, forced me there to become some obedient wife-slave. My mom would visit sometimes, but a few months ago she helped me escape. I came here to live my life. But Luke... he found out. He knew everything. My past. My family. I didn't want anyone here to know. I didn't want anyone to see me as some girl with no real home, no real childhood... just a bunch of cold, emotionless nuns. I don't want that. I like it how it is now."

Jungkook's brow furrowed, his frustration clear. "What's there to be embarrassed about, Nina? If your father's an asshole who sees his daughter as a fucking sex slave, that's on him, not you."

"I told you—I don't want anyone to know," she said, her voice cracking. "If they know... they'll pity me. They'll look at me different. Everything will change. Don't you get it?"

He studied her for a moment, then exhaled. "Your friends... Mona, Emily, Taehyung, Elijah... they'd never judge you. And for everyone else—fuck them. Why should you care what they think?"

She shook her head, wiping her tears. "I don't want their pity. I don't want their judgment. I just want things to stay how they are."

He took her chin gently, lifting her face to meet his eyes. "Then we'll keep it quiet. But I swear to you—Jason will never speak a word of it."

She swallowed hard, and he ran his thumb over her bruised neck, his expression darkening. "I wish I'd been there to stop him. Do you ever fight back, at least?" he asked with a small, bitter laugh.

"Fight? You want me to end up like your knuckles?" she shot back, pointing at his bloody hands.

He rolled his eyes. "You're such a smartass." But she just pulled out the first aid kit and started cleaning his knuckles, dabbing the stinging tincture harder than necessary.

"Does it hurt?" she asked sweetly, eyes wide.

"Obviously," he bit out.

"Good. That's what I was going for," she said, packing up the kit with a satisfied smirk.

"You know, beating the shit out of people isn't always the answer," she muttered.

"Oh, and what about you? Why the hell do you keep hitting me?" he teased, cocking an eyebrow.

She paused, blinking. "...Because you're special," she said finally, grinning a little. "And you need to be knocked around to knock some sense in."

He snorted. "Stop—"

"Ow—!" She stumbled, faceplanting straight into the ground.

"Too late," he laughed, shaking his head as she groaned. "Not my fault. I warned you." Jungkook laughs at her struggling to get up from the floor. He put round marbles under her sheets to make her fall but this was way better for him.

........

Wc - 1793