Taehyung dragged his feet outside and plumped down on a bench, closing his eyes and letting his head hang back, mentally exhausted.

He had so many questions, and the one who had all the answers refused to help him escape his pitfall of head-aching thoughts. The one who had all the answers didn’t even want to see him, and how could he pretend it didn’t hurt? He couldn’t do that. It stung him deeply to know that Jeongguk couldn’t even stand seeing him at that moment.

Was he supposed to apologize to him? He had no idea what he did wrong. Jeongguk was the one who called him a slut, and then he seemed to lose his mind by his rage? He didn’t even know what happened to him.

The delicate sound of the wind brushing against the trees shattered momentarily when the building’s door opened, and Taehyung jerked his head in that direction, hoping to see the caramel-haired boy.

Instead, he saw Desin walk outside with two unfamiliar, suited men by his side, and he ducked his head as his fingers dug into the edge of the bench.

Don’t talk to me, don’t talk to me, please—

“Taehyung.”

Fuck. “I’m not interested to hear anything from you.”

“I’ll meet you in the car,” Desin said as he beckoned his two chauffeurs to continue their way.

“Your parents don’t like waiting. Make this quick and behave yourself,” the one man said before they strolled off.

“So are you Jeongguk’s new sex toy?”

“What?” Taehyung asked as his face crumpled in disgust blended with shock at his words.

“You know, he protects you in exchange for sex. It’s his thing.”

“It’s a load of bullshit, that’s what it is. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Why did he protect you if you don’t have that deal with him?”

“What are you doing exactly? You're talking shit about him because he caught you harassing someone and reported you? Got you suspended?”

“He didn’t get me suspended. I’m being transferred because of that fucker. But if you don’t believe me, ask him who Johan is.” He sent him a wink that infuriated Taehyung more if it was possible and then took off with his cocky smirk plastered proudly on his lips.

Johan? Deal? What the hell is he talking about?

Unable to stop musing over it, Taehyung slipped his phone out of his pocket and texted Jimin.

Taehyung: Do you know anyone named Johan who attended this uni?

He pushed himself to his feet and started wandering around the uni in hopes he would run into Jeongguk.

Jimin: Doesn’t ring a bell. Why? And are you okay? What the hell happened? They forced us to get into our classrooms without telling us anything. I heard someone harassed you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, Tae.

Taehyung: I’m okay, don’t worry, Chimchim. We’ll talk at the break.

He went to his contacts and let his thumb hover over Yoongi’s name, contemplating if he should ask him or not. He was sure Yoongi would know about that guy. He was Jeongguk’s best friend along with Hoseok. There was no way they didn’t know.

Screw it.

Taehyung: Hey, I’m outside of your classroom. Can you come meet me?

He peeked inside and watched as Yoongi sneaked his phone out of his pocket, but he didn’t text him back.

Taehyung: It’s about Jeongguk. He’s not okay and I can’t find him.

He redirected his gaze to Yoongi, who rubbed his face and then rose from his seat, probably asking for permission to leave.

A tiny smile tugged at his lips once he noticed Yoongi walking towards the exit, but it faltered upon seeing his worked-up expression.

“I hate liars, Taehyung.”

“What?”

“Jeongguk is home already.”

“He’s—What? Seriously?” he questioned louder than he should, causing Yoongi to shush him, and he dragged him a little further away.

“Yes. Hoseok drove him because he was a fucking mess. What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear!” he whisper-yelled in an outpouring of panic, lines of distress forming on his forehead. “He called me a slut. And I got pissed of course and told him he gets mad when people call him something he’s not, and I get mad too! And then he just lost it. He stormed off, but I stopped him and then he said for my sake to leave him alone. So I did. And I have no idea what I did wrong. He was the one who called me a slut after all.”

Yoongi ran a hand through his hair and grasped it as he worked off the stressful realization by pacing from side to side in a daze. “Damn.”

“What, what?” Taehyung asked in a frantic tone, his doe eyes now double their size in anticipation to hear what Yoongi had to say.

“He regretted it. He got so infuriated because he regretted calling you that and he didn’t know how to process it. This is so fucked up.”

His words rendered Taehyung in a whirlwind of mind-numbing astonishment, which impeded him from letting them sink in. “What...” he drawled as he hazily stared into space, feeling something heavy press down his chest.

“Tae.” He set his hands on his shoulders, something that stirred the boy to flinch and jump out of his trance. “I’m sorry I accused you. He was really shaken, and I just thought—“

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

Yoongi gave him a tight-lipped smile, as well as an apologetic squeeze on his shoulder before he retracted his hands. “I have to return soon. Why did you want to meet me?”

“Oh, yeah. Who’s Johan?”

A cloud of surprise settled over Yoongi’s features at the name, and he frowned darkly as his eyes bored holes into him. “Where did you hear that name?”

“It doesn’t matter. Who is he? What’s his story with Jeongguk?”

“Who talked to you about him?”

“Desin.”

“That son of a—“

“He’s gonna transfer to another uni.”

“Why?”

“We can talk about that later. Tell me who’s Johan first.”

“Tae, I can’t—“

“He asked me if I’m Jeongguk’s new sex toy, Yoongi. If he’s protecting me in exchange for sex. What the fuck is all that?”

“I’m really sorry, Tae. I have to go back, I’m sorry.” He scurried back to his class before Taehyung could even protest, leaving him with even more questions rampaging in his head.

🥀

Taehyung lay flat in his bed, his eyes transfixed with gloom and staring vacantly at the ceiling as a tsunami of thoughts ran around in his head in circles, preventing him from drifting off to sleep.

His all-consuming trance made him lose track of time, not knowing for how long he had been lying there, unmoving, replaying the events that took place in his head over and over like a broken record.

He didn’t attempt to talk to Jeongguk, not even see him. He avoided him for the rest of the day, but it wasn’t so hard since Jeongguk did the exact same thing.

He rolled onto his side and brought his knees closer to his chest as he clutched the pillow in his hug tighter. God, he was so drained, but he still couldn’t sleep. His head ached so much as if someone hammered it brutally on repeat. His body was so enfeebled it didn’t feel like it was his.

He strove to force his thoughts to stop, and the moment his eyes fluttered closed, a sonorous bang cut through the absolute silence that led him to jolt in his spot.

He gathered every shred of strength he had and crawled out of bed. A series of shuffling sounds pierced through his ears when he stepped outside, and he crept closer to the source.

The more he approached Jeongguk’s bedroom, the more the weird, concerning sounds intensified, sending a sudden surge of worry rushing through him.

A door was yanked open then that had him flinching by his surprise, and he threw a hand over his chest, holding his racing heart.

“Go back to bed,” Yoongi said.

“But I heard something, Yoon. I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“He’s fine. Let him be.”

“But maybe something happened—“

“I told you he’s fine.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t check on him?”

“Yes, I’m sure. He doesn’t want that. He’s gonna get angry if we try to talk to him.”

“He’s angry all the damn time.”

“He’s... Yeah. Anyway, goodnight.”

Taehyung trudged back to his room, but another loud thud froze him to his spot. “I can’t, I just can’t,” he muttered to himself as he twirled around and charged towards his room, wanting to at least see if he was okay.

“Jeongguk.” He knocked on his door as he slid it open with slow, faltering moves and peeked inside.

His mouth parted around a trembling gasp as his eyes stared at the devastating sight in big circles, a sickening wave of consternation bubbling up from his belly.

“Oh my God,” he spluttered as he spectated the boy slamming his fists together while shaking uncontrollably, drenched in sweat, and his knuckles painted with blood that dripped onto the floor.

He took in with terror his trashed room, different objects scattered all around as if it were struck by a hurricane, and the stabbing pain ripping his chest apart only deepened with every second that rolled by.

“Jeongguk—“

“Get out!” the manic boy screamed from the top of his lungs, his face beet red and swollen by his firmly contracted muscles.

“Hey, calm down please, please, Jeongguk.”

“I said leave!”

“I told you to leave him alone,” Yoongi said as he burst into the room, disapproval engulfing his traits.

“Leave, Yoongi, I got it.”

“No, you need to leave.”

“Please, I got it.”

“Taehyung—“ The rest of his remark was strangled as the said boy forced him out of the room and locked the door. “Yah! What the hell?” He banged on the door, worried to the bone about him since he wasn’t safe around a crazed Jeongguk, and he knew it.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay.” Taehyung faced the still frenzied boy, who went back to smashing anything he found in his way, and he gulped hard, pushing down any flicker of fear. “Jeongguk.”

“Fuck off.”

“I just want to help, okay? You’re hurt and you need help.”

“I don’t need your help!” he barked at him with a ferocious fling of his arm, feeling as if he would explode by the insanity that had consumed his whole existence.

“Okay. I’ll just sit here then and you can continue trashing your room,” Taehyung stated calmly as he edged closer to the bed, monitoring his every move through agitated eyes.

“What?” Jeongguk spat as he whipped his head to look at him, his chest rising and falling at a rapid tempo.

Taehyung perched on the floor with extremely careful movements and rested his back against the bed, his gaze anchored on Jeongguk's face. “I’m here, okay? I’m sitting right here.”

“Kim, leave, or else I’m gonna fucking punch you!”

“If that’ll make you feel better.”

Jeongguk released an outright frustrated cry as he lunged at him, grasping his neck and pressing him against the bed. “You know what will make me feel better? If you left from my life! If I hadn’t met you!”

The boy visibly tensed at the iron-like grip around his neck, his heart stumbling over its quick rhythm as he panted, struggling to bring air into his lungs. “O-okay. But I am in y-your life. You h-have met me. That’s the reality, and you have t-to find a way to accept it because I’m not going anywhere. I’m r-right here.”

Jeongguk uncurled his fingers from his neck as his words were like a harsh tug, pulling him a fraction away from the turbulence inside him. “The reality,” he rasped, his wild eyes filling with haziness as he recoiled with quaky, tiny steps.

“Yes, Jeongguk. This is the reality. I am here, and you are here. In reality.”

The dulcet sound of his soft-spoken words filtered into his system and blanketed any ounce of fury, turmoil, and insanity that had swept over him, leaving him with a lifeless body barely able to hold him on his feet. “Fuck.” His legs surrendered under the pressure, and he collapsed on his hands and knees, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as possible to choke off his stifling tears.

⚜✳⚜

☹

The second update is coming soon! 💜