“What the hell happened?” Hoseok asked the moment Taehyung plopped down on a chair next to him.

“I—I don’t know. I really... I have no idea,” Taehyung breathed out, his eyes still reddened by his fit of crying a while ago.

“Are you okay, Tae?” Jimin questioned in the softest tone possible as he curled an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in his hug.

“No. Of course I’m not okay. I just saw Jeongguk beat up Juseong like he was a punching bag. What is wrong with him?”

“I’m sure he had a good reason,” Yoongi voiced out hesitantly, not wanting to anger the confused boy.

“A good reason? What reason would be good enough to justify his actions?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Tae.” Yoongi gazed at him with sullen eyes as he was lost about why Jeongguk did what he did as well.

“Is Juseong okay?”

“They took him to the treatment room, but we don’t know anything else. He was in a bad shape,” Seokjin informed in a quiet tone.

The bell blasting out through the entire building indicated to the students the break was over, and as people around them started moving right away, the six boys sat still.

“Will you go to your class?” Jimin asked the boy he still held in his arms.

“Yeah, it’s an art class, so I’ll enjoy it at least.”

“Do you know if Jeongguk will go home?” Namjoon questioned as they rose from their seats.

Taehyung shook his head as he gave them a tight-lipped smile. “I don’t know. Mr. Kung told me to leave the office to talk to him.”

“Okay, see you guys later,” Namjoon said, and once they said their goodbyes, they headed to their classes.

Taehyung didn’t know what to feel about everything that happened, and he also couldn’t stop replaying the events in his head. It was the first time he saw such a fight in person, and he had no idea how to process it. And not knowing why it happened only worsened his agitated state.

 
After his class, instead of meeting his friends, he dragged his feet towards Mr. Kung's office. He stared at the wooden door, contemplating if he should knock or just drop it and go home. His need to talk to him overcame him, and he raised his quaky fist, knocking three times.

“Come in.”

“Mr. Kung. Do you have a minute?”

“Yes, of course.” He beckoned him to take his seat on the couch, and the other did a few seconds later.

Mr. Kung perceived at first sight that something was troubling the boy, and he smiled sadly as he dragged his chair around the office, placing it in front of him before he sat down. “What’s wrong?”

At the simple question, Taehyung felt a lump form in his throat as a storm of tears brimmed his eyes. “I’m s-sorry, I’m j-just overwhelmed with everything that happened,” he choked out, uneven breaths leaving his mouth as he endeavored to muffle his broken sounds.

“It’s okay,” Mr. Kung said in a hushed tone as he patted his shoulder. “You were scared, weren’t you?”

Taehyung brushed off his tears, blinking away the wetness from his eyes, and focused his gaze on him. “I was. And still am.”

“Why are you still scared?”

“I’m scared for Jeongguk. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, and I can’t help him. His friends don’t tell me anything, and he doesn’t tell me anything. I don’t know what to do.”

“Taehyung, you don’t have to know what’s wrong to help someone.” A soft smile spread across his face. “It’s ideal, but it’s not necessary. Knowing or not won’t make a difference here because you can’t do anything about it. No one can.”

Taehyung absorbed his words in silence as he hadn’t thought about that before. “And what if someone doesn’t want help? How can you help them?”

“You can’t. You can’t force someone to accept help because it won’t have the same outcome as it would if they chose to accept help. It would be forced and sometimes just torture for them.”

Taehyung nodded as his tears had now stopped coursing down his face, leaving sorrow whirling inside him. “What about Jeongguk?”

“What about him?”

“Does he want help?”

The older reclined in his seat while he continued peering at him, letting a few seconds of silence reign over them. “No, he doesn’t.”

“But he needs it, right?”

“No, Taehyung. He doesn’t.”

“But he just—“

“Jeongguk has reasons when he does something. Trust me on this one. He doesn’t enjoy hitting people. Some things just trigger him so much that he can’t control himself yet. But he has made a lot of progress since I first met him. He’s doing the best he can. And if he doesn’t want to tell you what’s wrong, it’s his choice, and you can’t force him to do it. Now, why don’t you tell me why you want to help him so much?”

Taehyung pondered over the real reason he just realized today himself, and a slight smile tugged at his lips as he lowered his gaze. “At first I thought it was because he reminds me of a classmate I had in London. He killed himself and I knew something was wrong that day, but I didn’t do anything to stop it.”

“And you want to help him because you’re afraid the same thing will happen here?”

“At first, yes. But the more I talk to him, even if we just fight, the more I realize how much I care about him and it’s crazy because I don’t even really know him. How is this possible? He’s so, so mean to me and I just can’t stay away.”

“The human mind is extremely complicated, Taehyung. There’s no explanation here. You just feel a connection with him and the reason doesn’t matter. Maybe there isn’t even a reason.” Mr. Kung paused when he discerned Taehyung's mystified look and set a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from sinking into his thoughts.

“It seems like you always want to help when you can. But keep in mind that if someone talks to you about his trauma, problems, or whatever, it doesn’t mean you’re helping them. Sometimes, all people need is someone to sit with them in silence and feel their presence to feel better”—he leaned a tad closer then and whispered—“and just between us, Jeongguk doesn’t need any more talking. He’s done that a lot.”

Taehyung let his words sink in as he stared at the man, who smiled warmly at him, and he nodded a few moments later. “Thank you, Mr. Kung. Thank you for making me realize some things I haven’t even thought before.”

“No problem, Taehyung. I’m always here if you want to talk. And it’s impossible to realize something you haven’t thought before without some help. So don’t feel bad about it. All we need sometimes is another perspective.”

“You’re right. Thank you again.” He gave him a small smile and heaved himself to his feet.

“And one more thing,” Mr. Kung said, stopping him before he could open the door. “Ask him what happened today. He won’t want to tell you, but push him on this one. He needs to tell you, and you have to know.”

“Why do I have to know?”

“Because one part of the story has to do with you. The other part doesn’t concern you and don’t ask about it, okay?”

Despite being baffled by his remark, Taehyung nodded. “Okay.”

🥀

After the three boys returned home, they cooked something to eat. Yoongi visited the younger’s bedroom, and they chatted for a while, but Jeongguk refused to tell him what exactly happened.

They all went to their jobs as usual, and by the time Taehyung finished and went back home, Jeongguk still hadn’t returned.

He sat in the living room, waiting for him, but even an hour later, Jeongguk didn’t make an appearance.

He decided to take a shower and write a few more things for the next chapter, but he couldn’t stay focused for more than two minutes. Mr. Kung’s words were heavy on his chest, and only if he found out what happened that feeling would go away.

   
About two hours later, his patience ran out, and he hopped off his bed, scurrying towards the living room. “Jeongguk isn’t here yet?”

“No, I called him, but...” Hoseok let out a deep sigh.

“Did you call the place he’s working at? Did he leave?”

“Tae, the last thing he needs is us treating him like a child,” Yoongi muttered, his bitterness apparent in his tone.

“What if something happened to him?”

The door opening had the two bursting out of their seat and the one jolting in his place.

“Ah, Kim,” the younger said with a snicker as he shut the door and edged closer to him. “When will you stop pretending that you care?”

Taehyung’s stomach dropped at the stinging question, his heart thumping harder by the sudden blaze of unfairness. “Guys, give us a moment.”

“Don’t bother. I don’t feel like talking.”

“I don’t care.”

Jeongguk maintained the now electrified eye contact for a little while longer and raised a disdainful brow at him before he took off towards his room.

Taehyung charged right behind him, and he pushed Jeongguk into the room the moment he opened the door.

“What the fuck?”

“Shut up,” Taehyung growled, a fierce scowl engraved on his traits as he glared at him. “What the hell happened, Jeongguk, huh? Why did I find you beating up that guy?”

“I had nothing better to do,” Jeongguk said rather impassively as he shrugged a shoulder.

“Stop lying! I’m sick of your damn lies!” Taehyung hollered at him, all out frustrated. “Whatever asshole facade you’re trying to pass off to me, it’s not gonna work anymore, okay? You had a reason to do what you did and I want to hear it.”

“I don’t give a fuck about what you want. When will you get that?” Jeongguk asked with a derisive chuckle, keeping his nonchalant manner and suppressing his rage.

A fog of utter disappointment blended with dejection veiled Taehyung's figure and brought tears to his eyes, unable to keep his suffocating emotions in check anymore.

Jeongguk’s body stiffened the moment he espied Taehyung's gleaming with tears eyes and spun around, feeling a weird, awful tug at his heart by the sight without knowing the reason for its existence. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“No one likes crybabies, so don’t do that.”

“Is there anything I do that doesn’t piss you off, Jeongguk? Is there?” He could barely force the last few words out before he broke down, unleashing all the sadness he had corked up with countless tears.

“You don’t piss me off when you stay away.” His voice was small and faltering. Still facing away from him, he clenched his fist when faint choked breaths reached his ears.

“Oh yeah? I stayed away after you screamed at me in the cafeteria. Why the hell were you glaring at me almost nonstop and why the hell did you ask where I was?”

“Who told you that?”

“Does it matter?” Taehyung sighed as he wiped the wetness from his cheeks, drawing in a series of calming breaths.

“I—I just blurted it out without thinking. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Okay, I don’t care about that, anyway,” he whispered as he took a few steps closer, wanting to place a hand on his shoulder, but he knew better than to touch him. “I just want to know what happened and I’ll be out of here. I’ll leave you alone like you want me to.”

Jeongguk sensed his presence closer to him and glanced over his shoulder to verify it. A soundless sigh seeped through his lips as he pivoted to look at him, feeling a flutter of relief when he didn’t spot any fresh tears on his rosy cheeks.

“I’ll tell you what happened. But you won’t ask me anything, and I mean nothing at all after that. Got it?”

Taehyung gulped as he took in his stern gaze and gave a stiff nod. “Okay.”

The younger slouched towards his bed and sank down, pressing his fists against the mattress. “As I passed by him and his friends, I heard him say, ‘I bet Kim will gladly suck any dick he’s given like a lollipop. I can’t wait to choke him with mine.’ I asked him if he was talking about you and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m talking about that dumb bitch, you have a problem with that?’ And then I dragged him where you found me."

Taehyung was left with his mouth hanging loosely by his shock, his wet eyes double their size, his whole body frozen. What did he just hear? What did Jeongguk just say?

“Maybe you’re a pain in my ass, Kim, but I can’t stand hearing so disgusting things. Even about you.”

“You don’t have to explain,” Taehyung said in a daze as he hazily stared at the floor, not knowing what to think about the new information or what to do about it. “I, uh, I’m just gonna—yeah,” he mumbled and headed to the door, his steps wobbly and fast.

“Kim,” he blurted out before his brain could tell him to stop, but Taehyung bolted out of the room as if he never heard him.

⚜✳⚜

Damn, the weekend has come again! I'm losing track of time in this quarantine shit😅
Have a great weekend, everyone💜