32

"Do you remember Soojin?" Jungkook begins his story. They walk slower than the unaware bunch of people strolling ahead, atmosphere completely opposite from their bright laughter.

"Soojin-eonni? The trainee?" Mia is bewildered at how any of this is related to Jimin. She was pretty close with Soojin who was always there when she needed help.

"She was quite well-known among the trainees since she was pretty much everyone's eonni. She seemed to know the inside secrets of the company too. She guessed that BigHit will be choosing the future girl group line-up," she added.

Jungkook scoffs, "not a surprise. Of course she's doing the same thing as always." His tone sounded negative in a judging way.

"What do you mean?" Mia was offended by Soojin's behalf. "Everyone liked her, she was so helpful and-"

"That's all her act. It's nothing new. I hate that witch so much. She acts all lovely and all that bull-"

Mia snaps her neck towards the boy, furrowing her eyebrows at the possible curse word.

Jungkook purses his lips shut, before sighing to continue. "Anyway, we all knew her since we were younger. She's the niece of someone who used to hold a high position in the company. I guess that's how she knew what's going on inside the company. She practically begged her uncle to stay as a trainee, so they couldn't exactly kick her out. But since her uncle was caught smuggling money out of the company, he got fired and Soojin no longer had anything to keep her place at the company. She was set to debut as well, lucky her uncle got fired right before the announcement."

"Okay, wait. That was a lot of information. And don't be so mean! She worked hard just like every trainees." There wasn't much memories Mia had with Soojin but as someone who went through the same hardship, she felt that she needed to defend her.

"If she didn't persist on staying, she wouldn't have wasted her time. She deserved it," Jungkook shamelessly insults the mentioned girl.

"Hey! I think you've gone too far, what did she do to deserve all your rudeness-"

"SHE RUINED JIMIN-HYUNG'S LIFE!" He finally snaps, his veins from his neck protrudes. Mia slightly jumps, startled at his unexpected reaction. His face reddens as tears begin to form by the brim of his eyes. They both halt in their spots as he starts to break down.

"She tried to ruin yours too. You just didn't know, hyung chose to keep it all to himself, to let only himself suffer, to not let others get affected, especially you." His tears give out, rolling down his glistening cheeks before he aggressively wipes it away. Mia's stomach starts to unsettle, guilt eating away her gut at Jimin's sacrifice and from the crying boy before her.

"What? What do you mean? What did she do?" Mia's voice is soft, slowly patting Jungkook's shoulders in attempt of calming him down.

"She liked Jimin hyung before, possessively liked him. But he didn't, which triggered her psychotic mind. She tried to cause a scandal about him, which pd-nim nearly made him drop out of the debut line. Lucky it was found to be false news, and she should've been kicked out then, but not with her uncle's power. Now that she ended up not debuting, I guess she lost her mind again and-" The ranting boy sighs in frustration.

Mia continues to rub his back which seemed to help cool him down. "How... exactly did she try to ruin mine?"

Jungkook lock his sparkling eyes with hers like a sad puppy. "She threatened hyung to end everything with you otherwise she'll tell pd-nim about you two, and you'd automatically get kicked out of the debut line."

"But with a reputation like hers, they wouldn't fully believe her, would they?"

"She has proof. I don't know how, but she has photos of you two. Apparently lots of it. She probably hired someone to do it. She said some crap about how she doesn't want to be suffering alone. That pathetic little bi-" Mia doesn't stop him as she would understand if he wanted to curse, but he stops himself.

"And basically, hyung was scared of ruining your dreams so he did everything she said. He cut ties off with you, and pretty much to everyone else too. He'd come back to the apartment locking himself in his bedroom. He wouldn't eat for a long time. Everytime I wake him up, I'd see his pillowcase soaked in tears. And I couldn't do anything for him. I couldn't help him, I didn't know what to do." The fragile boy shatters on the ground, exploding in tears.

Mia pulls him in her warmth and company, as she begins to tear up from everything she's hearing. She was grateful, knowing that Jimin didn't want her to be affected. But knowing he had to face the consequences alone makes her feel like she doesn't deserve all the blessings she's receiving.

"What type of friend am I if I couldn't even help him? I'm so-" Jungkook is cut off.

"Shhh, don't be so hard on yourself. Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. You being there with him was enough. So thank you, for staying by his side when I couldn't. When I could've, but didn't," Mia's tears roll heavily as she breathes out an air of utter guilt.

Both stay quiet for a while before breaking the hug of the fragile figures from each other's company.

"I hope you don't hold any grudges against him," Jungkook looks down at the ground.

"Of course not. I had a feeling that he'd have a reason. I knew he wouldn't do something like that without a reason. He's just not that type of person," she reassures the boy.

"Yeah, he has such a kind heart, he doesn't deserve any of this." He wipes his remaining tears, slight embarassed that he broke in front of Mia.

While the boy is busy composing himself, Mia is still full of mixed emotions at the mention of her long forgotten friend suddenly appearing at the surface.

"By the way, do you have any news about Soojin?" Mia blurts out, slightly shocking him.

"Right now, I heard she's up to no good. You should stay away from her Mia, she could be dangerous." Jungkook bewares the curious girl, hoping she'd listen.

They eventually arrive in front of her dorm. She says her thank you and he says his goodbye. Contrasting from Jungkook's words, the first thing she does on her phone, is to contact the person she was told to avoid.