CHAPTER 16 - JIMIN AND JUNGKOOK

Jungkook didn't know what to think.

In his lab were the people he cared about most. They were finally together again. Only it wasn't in a natural way. Jimin and Raven were here because of a tragedy: a tragedy Jungkook rescued them from. Against their will (kind of). Angelina patched them up with the help of Aviva. Angelina was still bandaging Raven's gash, Aviva glancing between all of them.

At night, Jungkook was a superhero. That was how it worked. Taehyung, Aviva, and Angelina were in the lab monitoring the gear and preparing for Jungkook's return so they could do a 'superhero report'. Now it was Taehyung, Aviva, Angelina, Jimin, and Raven. Like the good old days. But the tension didn't dissipate just because they were reunited. They were reunited in the worst way, and Jungkook wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"How are you feeling?" Jungkook asked, directing the question toward Raven. Jimin was an entity he'd handle in a few minutes.

"I'll live," she replied, her eyes on the ground.

Well, this was awkward.

Taehyung was by Angelina and rubbing her shoulder, so Jungkook joined them, sitting next to Angelina. She was smooshed between them, but she didn't complain. Angelina was trembling, much to Jungkook's surprise. "What the hell was that?" she asked in a whisper. "Why was there an explosion? There were kids there... kids..."

"I don't know. When I saw Jimin and Raven, my priority was getting them out," Jungkook replied.

"To think we were a few steps away from getting killed," Jimin said, glancing at Raven before holding her hand as tightly as possible.

Jungkook wished the circumstance was different. Based on the way Jimin was holding her, Jungkook assumed they were together now. They were always close before (and even touchy), but not like this. It felt different. It felt like there was a weight to it.

"What the fuck," Angelina muttered.

Taehyung gave up with the shoulder rubs. He hugged her, and the woman was quick to hug back, burying her head on his chest and trying not to break down. Jungkook was in similar shoes. Seeing those flames, then seeing his two friends near it? It shattered him. It didn't help to hear Jimin's raspy voice apologizing. Jungkook wished he could grab both the redhead and the nerd and pull them into a hug. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like that was an option right now.

"I haven't heard anything on the scanner in a while," Tae said, holding it up. "It's been radio silence. I think the police are just as shocked as us."

"Do we have any TVs here?" Aviva asked. "If not, we can watch the news on our phones."

Angelina was quick to slip her phone out of her pocket, blindly handing it to Jungkook. He took it, and she went right back to hiding in Tae's arms. Jungkook didn't comment on her state. He wanted to, but he didn't. it wasn't like Angelina to bend so easily. She was a party girl with a certain amount of seriousness to her, sure, but she was emotionally strong. Sometimes Jungkook forgot they were still kids. All of them. They were in the same new adult range, and the oldest of them was Taehyung. Yet he was only a sophomore.

Jungkook peered at the screen of her phone, his fingers hovering over the keypad to type in Google. He gave up and handed it back. Although confused, Angelina took it without uttering a word. Truthfully, he didn't have the courage to see the terrible news. That was the last thing they needed now. They were in low enough spirits as it was.

"I wish we could talk to you on the scene in an easy way. I'm getting tired of giving you phone calls," Aviva said, Jungkook agreeing. "Maybe we can work on earpieces like in those sci fi movies. Would that work, Angel?"

She reluctantly parted from Tae, but she remained in his arms regardless. "I don't know. That isn't my wheelhouse, I'm not a tech girl, I'm a formula girl. Physics, not engineering."

And everyone's eyes fell on Jimin and Raven as if on instinct. As if it were the old days, and they were teasing poor Jiven for being in love. This time it was different. When Jungkook's stare locked on Jimin's, he ripped his gaze away. Jungkook couldn't handle seeing the broken eyes of the man he cherished most.

"Why are you looking at us? I'm off the team, Raven doesn't know what she wants," Jimin said.

"Sorry, it was just instinct," Jungkook replied, the words scratching on his tongue as they passed.

"I wouldn't mind helping you make a new gadget. If it'll help you, I'll try my best," Raven said, and everyone snapped their attention up at that. "I just... I don't know if it'll be a full-time thing or not."

"It's okay if it isn't. It doesn't have to be," Aviva said, and Raven gave her a grateful nod.

Jimin, on the other hand, was shuddering in his seat. He wrapped his arms around Raven and glared right at Jungkook. "If she's gonna be here, around Jungkook? Then I will too. But I'm not on the team, and I'm barely helping. I'll only be there to make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Raven glanced at him. "I'm more than capable of protecting myself from my own friends."

"Really? And that's why Jungkook bit you last time?" Her lips turned up in a grimace, and Jimin realized how shitty of a thing that was to say a second too late. Before he could apologize, she hopped out of his arms and limped out of the room, shutting the door behind her. "Shit," Jimin whispered, running a hand through his hair.

"Look, we're all stressed right now. I get it. I can't imagine what it was like to experience that. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Jungkook said, approaching Jimin. He was amazed when the man brought his eyes up to meet Jungkook's.

"Where's the but?" Jimin asked.

"There's no but. Why would there be a but to that?"

"It felt like that was what you were leading to. Offering sympathy, then saying that being negative right now won't help solve anything and we need to join the team to make you the ultimate badass warrior. Yeah, well newsflash Jungkook, you still have everything in life, don't you?" Jimin hopped out of his seat and stood in front of Jungkook. Despite their size difference, Jungkook had to admit the sudden proximity made him shiver. "You have a new girlfriend all set up for you, actual good friends, superpowers, great grades, and I bet the dean fucking loves you now, right? All it took were a few apologies and suddenly you're just getting handed everything, huh? It must be nice to have everything you've ever fucking wanted. And what do I get? I do nothing but be your little pushover, I watch the woman I love get a seizure, and I get to be next to an explosion, at your mercy. It must've been out of the goodness of your heart that you saved me, right? I bet this is all a game for you, right Jeon?" Jimin shoved him back a bit, Jungkook taking it. "Right? That's all this is, right? One big game where you come out on top no matter what, and I still fucking suffer!"

At his shout, Jungkook widened his eyes. Not because of the shout, rather because of the tears falling down Jimin's cheeks. "R-Right?" Jimin asked, stepping back for a moment. No one answered. Jimin glanced around at the others, and his breathing picked up. His breaths became gasps, and hyperventilating couldn't even describe how fast Jimin was breathing.

"Jimin," Jungkook said in what he hoped was a delicate manner. Jimin allowed him to come closer, the man's skin glistening with moisture.

"I-It's not you," Jimin said, his voice coming out as a croak.

"What?"

Jimin's voice was more like a wail, his body continuing to jolt and shudder from the weight of his incoming panic attack. "You're not ruining a-anything," Jimin replied, whimpers passing his mouth. "It's me. I-It's me. I'm ruining e-everything, aren't I? I'm the bad person, I... I..."

Jungkook ran over and hugged him, Jimin breaking down in Jungkook's grasp. Pools of moisture formed on the arms and chest of Jungkook's suit, but he didn't care. Jimin's sobs sounded more like shrieks, the volume of his cries crushing every cell inside Jungkook's body. And the worst part was that Jungkook couldn't help. All he could do was hold the man as he went through his episode.

Jimin clawed at the fabric on the back of Jungkook's spider suit, nearly ripping off chunks of it from the force of his grip. Jungkook stroked his hair and shushed him, the others wiping away tears from seeing Jimin like this. Jungkook didn't realize he was crying until his lower lip quivered, a salty taste coming to his tongue.

"I'm sorry," Jimin said, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry. Jungkook, I-I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, it was never your fault. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He repeated the words over and over again, and the more he said it, the more his voice broke and descended into a mess of whines and sobs. Jungkook couldn't speak. His throat was closing, his lungs refusing to accept the air he attempted to bring in. No one else raised their voice either. Angelina even left the room, Taehyung following after her. Aviva was bound there, her wheelchair refusing to budge. So the three cried together, Jungkook rocking Jimin's frail form back and forth until he calmed down. It took ten full minutes for Jimin to go from a heaving, quaking mess to just crying and sweating.

Jungkook sat Jimin down, and they were silent for perhaps too long. Raven, Tae, and Angelina didn't come back yet. Aviva did her best to pretend she wasn't there, allowing Jimin and Jungkook a moment of false privacy. Jungkook appreciated her efforts nonetheless, and he took the opportunity to hold Jimin's hand.

"They were kids," Jimin said, his sniffles sounding more like thunder. "Kids. They couldn't be any older than 10, and that explosion..."

Jimin broke off and wiped the wetness off his face, Jungkook holding his hand tighter from the sight. "Jimin. Jimin, please look at me." Although it took a few moments, he did, and Jungkook saw the irises he admired speckled with blobs of grief and suffering hidden inside. Every wall Jimin ever had fell in front of Jungkook. It was almost like he could read Jimin's mind in that moment. For the first time in what felt like years, he was connected with Jimin on a personal level. A level Jungkook never wished to leave.

"I'm sorry..."

"You're not a bad person. You never were, and you never will be. Quite the opposite is true. Jimin, you're the greatest guy I've ever met. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today. And what you said is right. I lost a lot of shit on this journey, but that's just it. It was all shit. A shitty football team, shitty friends, and a shitty life in general. Now I have superpowers, good grades, and yeah, you're right, the dean does like me. But I would trade all of that in a second to have you back in my life, Park Jimin."

His eyes expanded, and Jungkook came closer, placing his free hand on Jimin's shoulder. "You're my best friend," Jungkook said, his voice a murmur. "I could have everything I ever wanted in the world. An amazing job, the approval of my parents, a wife with two kids - whatever. All of that would be fantastic, but the truth is all I want right now is you. You're not shitty, and it's not your fault. I bit her, not you. I got the superpowers, not you. The explosion happened from something outside of your control. Min, it's not your fault. None of it is. Please, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, stop blaming yourself for every bad thing that happens in the world. You're perfect to us just the way you are, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

The words settled in the air. Jimin absorbed each one, nodding afterwards. When he finally processed it all, he embraced Jungkook again. This time he wasn't sobbing. There were still tears that stained Jungkook's suit, but it wasn't in the same mass as before. Jungkook was about as much of a mess as Jimin, so he was in no position to complain.

"Why us?" Jimin asked, and Jungkook sighed at the question no one could answer. "We're only kids, but we're dragged into this. I just want to be a kid. I just want to..."

He trailed off, and Jungkook let his hand play with Jimin's hair. The door opened, revealing the trio who left before. Upon seeing Jimin's broken form, Raven sprinted over as best she could, and Jungkook handed him off to the woman. It was their turn to hold each other, Jimin resting his head on her chest while she kissed the top of his head.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook mumbled, but the words fell on deaf ears. No one was listening to them. Not because they didn't want or care to, rather because they were too preoccupied with everything else. Taehyung went to Angelina, the pair hugging and whispering to each other. So Jungkook took it as an invitation to go to Aviva. The woman in the wheelchair peeked up upon his arrival, and he knelt by her side. "I don't know what to think. Do you?"

"Not really. An arcade exploded. Exploded. If I was there, I would've died. There's no way I would've gotten out in time or even known about it. Jimin and Raven got lucky. Do we know the death toll yet?" she said.

"As far as I know, no. Tae would've said something if he heard on the scanner. Maybe we can Google it, but that's about the most we can do." Jungkook chuckled, but the humor was drained from the noise. "I'm a damn superhero with a team of people around me, yet the most I can do is use Google."

"Why don't you go back and help the police?"

"From what I can tell, the police don't like me very much. They made a statement saying that they don't approve of vigilante behavior. But if I have powers, I should use them. Right? Avi, am I making a mistake by doing this?" he asked.

"You saved Raven and Jimin, didn't you?" He nodded. "Then that's good enough for me. And for the others, I think they feel the same way. Imagine all the other people you can save. The people who are the Jimin's and Raven's to their friends. Imagine the pain you've stopped people from feeling. If you even save one person from having to go through that loss and pain, then isn't it worth it?"

He took her hand and kissed the back of it, sighing afterwards. "Sometimes I don't know. I want to think so. It's hard to think that when the rest of the world seems to be against you." Jungkook paused, rubbing his fingers against the back of her hand. Their eyes remained on each other's, and he grinned. "But maybe that's a good thing." She did her best to squeeze his hand.

"Yeah... Maybe."

Aviva and him continued their staring contest, and neither of them could look away. A lot had happened in such a short amount of time. The bite still haunted Jungkook, and he knew the arcade would too. And there was one other thing he knew for sure...

This was far from over yet.

~~~

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