That night, you tossed and turned, sleep refusing to settle upon your swirling mind.

You sit up with a groan, rubbing your eyes with a pout. The ruffled, untucked red sheets were proof of your turmoil throughout the night.

You squint your eyes as you look at the time on your phone.

3:32 a.m

"Damn this." You mumble, stumbling out of your bed and into the dark bathroom. Light floods the room as you switch it on, your reflection in the mirror catching your eye.

You had the worst bed hair. Combing your hair in the mornings were tenuous tasks to be done, but you couldn't be bothered anymore since you wouldn't be attending the institute for the next week.

Tucking your fingers under the little groove, you open the cabinet behind the mirror and pick up a bottle of sleeping pills. You pop two capsules in your mouth with a gulp of water and trudge to your bed lazily.

As you lay in bed, your mind wandered to everything that's been happening in this week.

Jungkook's loss.

His distant eyes.

Jimin's weird behaviour.

Taehyung being my sole pillar of support.

Bora's antics.

Betrayal.

My suspension.

You close your eyes, body sinking into the soft bed as you let the pills do their job, pulling you into a deep slumber.

*~°~*~°~*~°~*~°~*

You sit up straight with a scream as your hands hug your body. Your soaking wet clothes stick to you as your eyes dart to the person next to you, standing with an empty bucket in his hands.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Tae?!"
You yell, looking at the blankets and mattress that will have to spend the day out drying in the sun as you shivered.
"I tried shaking you a million times but you wouldn't budge! I thought something was wrong, a-and I panicked!"
He yells back.

"I- you- last night- ugh!"
You stutter, peeling the blankets off you and you stumble to the closet, eyes begging to be closed again as the drugs weren't completely worn off.
"I had stuff planned for us today too.."
Taehyung mumbles, silently placing the bucket to rest on the floor.

You ignore his statement and slam the bathroom door shut as you hastily change into dry clothes.
It had taken you almost fifteen minutes to get your hair completely dry before you stepped out to see your bedsheets and mattress missing.

Your eyes snap to the balcony, where the crimson bedsheets gently blew with the wind, and the soggy mattress lay in the sun. You ruffle your hair with a sigh, entering the kitchen.

You stop midway when you see some bacon and poached eggs on two plates, with Taehyung munching away at one of them.
"Why did you have to wake me up like that?"
You whine, shoving a piece of bacon into your mouth.

"Who the heck sleeps that heavy? For what I know, you're an extremely light sleeper." He says, poking at his egg.
You sigh, slumping your shoulders, taking a deep breath.

"Imayormaynothavetakentwopillslastnight."

You ramble in one breath and Taehyung furrows his eyebrows.
"What?"
"Imayormaynothave-"
"Slow down!"
He whines, shaking his fork at you.
"I had two pills last night, for Christ's sake!"
You blurt out, later retreating into your chair, eyes focused on your food.

"Why?"
He bluntly asks, disregarding his food.
"Why else would someone take sleeping pills?"
You say with a scoff.
"You know that's not what I mean."
He says, eyes glazed with concern.

"What did you have planned for us today?"
You ask, changing the topic.
He sighs, popping the last piece of bacon into his mouth.
"I found a gym nearby. They do training for boxers, champions and beginners."
You shake your head immediately.
"No way. No way, Tae! I can't sign up somewhere else."

"Why not? You can't waste an entire week doing nothing! You have a tournament in a month's time for Christ's sake!"
He raises his voice a little and you nibble on your lower lip.
"I know that."
You mumble, continuing.
"It's just that.. I know they'll recognise me."

Taehyung kneels down next to you, so his face is aligned with yours.
"Look, what matters right now is you. Your health. Your reputation. Don't throw it all away over what other people think.."
He says softly, his long fingers clasping around your shoulders as he brings his lips to your forehead for a split second before pulling away.

You're taken aback by the gesture, and your heart races at his touch.

He's held me and kissed me many times before. Why does it feel different this time?

You slowly nod your head, hugging him for a moment and standing up from the chair.
"Alright..alright. I'll check it out."
"The thing is, we're going right now."
He says, a small smile gracing his perfectly chiseled face.

After getting yourself ready, Taehyung's next words leave you shaking your head vigorously.
"I don't want to go in your car!"
You whisper yell as he drags you out of your apartment and towards the elevator.

"Stop acting like it's the most revolting thing on earth!"
He whisper yells back, offense clearly swiped across his facial expressions.
"No. No. No! I'm not stepping into it, Tae!"

His hands fall limp by his side as he bluntly replies.
"Then you'd have to risk walking past the institution. The press still swarms the entrance everytime the CEO enters or leaves. Heck, they're even snatching the trainees away and bombarding them with questions about you."

You nibble on your lower lip under your mask as the elevator dings, leaving the floor you were on.
"We can use the street behind the institute. No-one uses that back door anymore either. It's only the gym's windows that look down onto the street."

Taehyung sighs in frustration.
"You're making things harder for yourself. What if the press sees you? We'll be done for!"
"We won't get caught!"
You stride out of the elevator as it opens, not waiting for Taehyung who jogs up to you.
"I give up, you're old enough to make your own decisions."

"Exactly."
You say, shooting him a little glare as you wrap your hand around his arm, a small smile erupting on his face before you pinch his stomach and he laughs, rubbing the area after.

*~°~*~°~*~°~*

You tug on your black mask up your nose a little more as you keep your hooded head lowered, making sure not to make contact with anyone as you walk up the narrow steps of a building in an alley.

You glance at Taehyung with raised eyebrows, indirectly asking him if this place was safe. With a single nod, he pushes open the door and blaring music hits you in a wave as you see multiple people doing there own thing.

The place was definitely run-down, with large gashes in certain areas of the walls but with the neon lights and ample equipment, it gave the area a vintage chic style.

A few men eyed the two of you as you entered, seated on chairs, wrapping gauze on their large hands. Taehyung nods at a few people who send him a short head bob, indicating that he spends time here when he's not around the others.

With his hand on your shoulder, he guides you to the end of the large hall, where a single office with blurred glass stood. The door was left ajar, with only the shadow of a sitting person falling through.

Taehyung steps forward, knocking on the door while peeking in at the figure.
"Taehyung! What brings you here?"
A cheery voice booms as a short, bald man appears at the door, startled by your presence before turning to Taehyung.
"Who's this?"
He mumbles and Taehyung pulls you into the room, shutting the creaking door behind him.

"Hello." You greet him bluntly , bowing as the bald-headed man nods with a small smile. The man hadn't recognised you yet because your face was hidden by your mask, and your looming hoodie covered most of your forehead, barely leaving a peak of your chocolate orbs to be seen.

Taehyung leans against the wall with his elbow, tilting his head to the side as he speaks to the man.
"Yunho, please accept this favour."
The man whose name was now disclosed, shook his head with a sigh.
"What is it this time, Taehyung?"
"Let her train here for a week."

Yunho furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.
"Alright. What's the big deal?"
You clear your throat, slowly pulling down your hoodie and slipping the mask off your face.
You expected to be kicked out any moment now, but there was nothing but silence as the man stared at you.

"Jeon Y/N, I finally get to meet you! Zhang Yunho."
He says with a laugh, holding out his hand for you to shake.
You furrow your eyebrows, glancing at Taehyung who grins away in his corner as you take the man's rough hand in yours.

With a firm shake, you speak up.
"Mr. Zhang, have you not heard about what's happened?"
You were worried that this man may not have heard about your incident, and might throw you out once the word reaches him.
He sighs, his lips pursing into a straight line.
"I've heard through word of mouth among the trainees, but I don't enjoy indulging in gossip, or the downfalls of a person."

You lower your gaze, clasping your hands in front of you as you nod.
"Thank you."
His voice suddenly goes sterner than what it was.
"Nevertheless, I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour in my gym, Ms. Jeon. Am I understood?"
Your cheeks heat up in embarrassment as you bow.
"Crystal clear."

*~°~*~°~*~°~*~°~*

"Good work!"
Jimin yells, clapping his hands at his trainees that trained profusely on punching bags. Of course, the two lonely ones towards the end of the hall caught his eyes, but he shook them out of his thoughts.

"Use your abdomen and back muscles as well, not just your arms. You need to enforce power into every punch! Not overly done so that your energy is drained, but hard enough to give your opponent something to think about when that belt is around your waist."
Jimin says firmly, walking past each of them with his hands folded behind him, scrutinizing each movement.

The grunts and sounds of glove against rubber filled the room, and the smell of sweat topped it all off.
Because that's what boxing is about. Engaging your mind, body and soul into one thing - punching the hell out of your opponent.

It may be labeled a 'brutal' and 'merciless' sport, but it's what kept most of these trainees on their feet throughout their lives. And Jimin experienced that first-hand ; having to fend for himself in a world where he was an innocent lamb and ravenous wolves lurked in the shadows.

So he became one of them. Most people were used to the proverb,
"Wolves in sheep's clothing."

But to survive, he became the sheep in wolves clothing.

He made sure to level himself with them, all while knowing how far to go, and not become as hard-hearted as they were.

He learnt their ways of living to defend himself from them, and succeeded.
Boxing was his way out, his fleck of light at the end of this extremely dark tunnel that was never guaranteed to stay forever.

So he made sure to utilize this opportunity he was given, to mould these younger men and women to be independent people, able to fend for themselves when time of uncertainty dawned upon them like a lion stalking its unsuspecting prey.

"Break!"
He yells, as the exhausted trainees slump down anywhere they found comfortable. Their bodies were drenched, and they closed their eyes, wanting to curl up and die that very moment. Every muscle in their body sent shock waves as they moved, and that's what Jimin was aiming for.

Aiming for their muscles to experience utter exhaustion so it won't fail them during hour-long fights.

Meanwhile, the other group sat jobless for their leader was still admitted in hospital, bed-ridden.

"When are we supposed to start training?"

"Who's going to take Jungkook's place?"

"How come they get to start earlier than us?"

"This is bullshit."

The men and women mumbled amongst each other. Jimin leaned against the open window as cool air blew against him. His eyes suddenly caught two silent figures hurrying along the street.

Their backs were facing him, and his eyes roamed the figure of the larger person. His build and walk seemed extremely familiar, and Jimin couldn't put his finger on it. They were both clad in black and hooded, making it difficult to make out any features.

The figures soon turned the corner and disappeared, leaving Jimin confused. He shakes his head, assuming they were strangers. At that moment, the coach strode into the room with a large smile plastered on his face and an unusual twinkle in his eye.

"I have great news!"
He yells, gaining the attention of everyone in the room and Jimin pushes himself off the wall, approaching the ring where the coach had everyone gathered.

"As you all know, our former champion Jeon Jungkook suffered a great loss in an important match.. so we have a replacement."
He spoke, a smug smirk on his face.
"We have a prestigious one, too."

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, scanning through every celebrity boxer in his mind.
The coach turns, pointing to the blurred glass door.

"I present to you..."
The figure opened the door, striding to the ring as everyone gasps, later roaring with cheer and whistles.
Jimin's jaw drops to the floor, and he couldn't believe it.

" The current Female Lightweight Champion of the world, Park 'Flames' Nari!"