https://youtu.be/wagn8Wrmzuc

Judas - Lady Gaga

Jungkook

I had read about curfews and riots, but I never experienced them in my life. I was sure the tense environment in Jimin's room was pretty close to it. He waited for everyone to agree with him, and when no one answered for the next few seconds, he practically flew out of the room.

I ran after him, starting a commotion.

Taehyung Hyung grabbed Jimin and he pushed him back. Christoph was next to hold him, but it was as though anger had doubled his strength. He was unstoppable.

I felt like crying. He was hurt because of me. Urich was hurt because of me. I was to be blamed for anything that was going to happen.

My friend had warned me that he had seen the fifth years' outside Jimin's dormitory wing, but I ignored him like every other time. We had been sneaking in for almost a year, and nothing had happened, so I took all the warnings for granted. 

I recollected when Jimin wasn't supportive of us waltzing in unannounced. He had a reason. I had to find it the ugly way.

As he roared to get out of almost everyone's grip, and no one could handle him, I jogged ahead and hugged him with all my might, pushing him back with my body weight. My eyes widened when he pushed me away, but when his eyes fell on me, I caught him jolt before stopping.

Taehyung Hyung quickly gained traction. "We will handle them, but not like this, Jimin-ie." He gripped Jimin's cheeks, speaking in his face.

I didn't like how close he was, their lips inches apart, but I soon realized Taehyung Hyung was trying his best to divert Jimin's attention. And it worked when Jimin blinked and his body swayed. Everyone reached out to help steady him, but he raised his hands. "I am fine."

"You are not fine, Hyung," I told him.

He came in front of my face so fast that I thought I imagined him moving. "You are hurt." He touched my forehead.

My fingers trailed where he touched and all I felt was loss of his warmth when he moved away. "I am okay."

He turned to Taehyung Hyung. "Who is coming with me to the sixth-year dorm?"

Taehyung Hyung let out a loud breath. "That is what I was thinking, but not now. It's late. Let's sleep on it and approach this with a straight head."

"On the contrary, I have never thought straighter than I do right now. I am going with or without you."

When no one disagreed, Jimin moved towards the exit and all of us followed.

"That's what I thought." He snarked. 

My heart was mimicking the bass of a speaker, pounding. We looked around before skirting the wing. I had never seen this side of the uni. It was more secluded than the jungle behind the cafeteria. It seemed like this was a good spot for doing anything, but we found not a single soul wandering outside.

Taehyung Hyung and Christoph walked side by side and Jimin and Wolfgang led them as we entered a corridor.

They walked straight to the last dorm, as though they knew who lived there. I heard them knock.

When the door opened, an extremely tall and handsome man came to the door, his hair blonde and his jaw sharp. With his icy-blue eyes, he looked us over. "Sir," it was Jimin who spoke. "We were ambushed in our dorms."

Everyone seemed nervous. It was the first time I understood the gravity of the hierarchy system, why Ulrich always told me not to call Jimin and Taehyung 'Hyung'. I understood why Ulrich warned me to not be friendly with the seniors, and why he reprimanded me every time I went to the senior's dormitory. I didn't follow the rules. I was an anomaly.

The handsome senior remained calm before he scanned each one of us. His eyes stopped on me for a few seconds too long and I squirmed, automatically shifting behind Christoph.

"You," he pointed at me. "And Taehyung."

Taehyung gaited ahead, grabbing my hand. Then the cold-looking senior looked at Jimin. "Come in." 

He opened the door wide.

When I entered, I was stunned to see how organized everything was. There were more books than clothes. Every wall was covered with study charts and the study area was bigger than the bed.

I remained standing while he offered a seat to Jimin and Taehyung Hyung. I could see the respect in their eyes for the senior. They sat, posture ramrod. "Where did it go so wrong?" He spoke in his heavy voice.

All I could do was reflect on my childish and stubborn actions and how much these two let me do it. Sure, Taehyung Hyung allowed it because he liked me, but Jimin did, too, despite having objections, and he was hurt the most. My mind swam with thoughts, the voices drowning.

When they stood up, Jimin grabbed me and walked me out of the room. He then said something to Taehyung Hyung and grabbed Ulrich before silently starting to lead us back to our dorm.

I was walking with him, but the only thing I could feel was numbness.

Ulrich opened the door and Jimin sent us to wash up and change. I went through the motions like a robot and then he instructed us to get inside our comforters. We both laid down on our beds and Jimin sat on the bean bag. I looked at him and when he caught me staring, he smiled softly. "Go to sleep, kid."

Sensations came back to me and I realized that Jimin was in my room. Ulrich had passed out.  I sat up.

"Hey, go back to bed." His voice was soft. He was looking nothing but drained, a purple bruise had formed on his left cheekbone.

My hand raised to touch it, and he hissed before swaying back his head. "You are hurt because of me," I told him, my voice small.

He sighed as though he knew what would I say. Getting up from the bean bag, he sat beside me on the bed and gripped my face firmly. "You didn't do anything. It was them and they are being dealt with as we speak."

"I am sorry, Hyun-sir." I didn't know how to stop the trembling in my jaw as he held me. He pulled me in and hugged me, and I tucked my nose in his neck, smelling his shower gel and faint cologne.

He laughed gently. "You can call me, Hyung, Kook. Shhh... Don't think too much now."

"But-" I tried, and he didn't let me finish.

"No," when his fingers rubbed a soothing motion on my back, I closed my eyes, my heart stabilizing. "Don't do this to yourself. Okay? We won't let anything happen to you or Ulrich."

"Okay," I answered. "What will Taehyung Hyung do now?"

"You should go to sleep." He pulled away and slowly pushed me down.

I didn't want to. I held his hand, and he let me. "Please. Tell me."

"They must be in the fifth-year dormitory, warning them that if they did this sort of thing again, sixth years won't tolerate it."

"Why are sixth years helping us?"

"It's complicated. We did them some favors when they were in their fourth year. Let's just say, we hid quite something and cleared their way not once, but twice. And fifth years know not to provoke them. The sixth years' will be doctors from the next year, and they could make things difficult for any of their juniors. It is necessary to maintain an unsaid decorum inside and out of the Uni."

I nodded. With Jimin's soft voice and warm hand, I didn't know when I fell asleep.

**

The next morning, the news of something happening was making rounds before I even made it to class. I tried to find anyone to talk to, but Ulrich didn't let me, telling me that our class was the only one that was not being investigated and we had to keep it that way. 

The activities starting from sports to dance were canceled for the whole week.

In the evening, I strolled up outside the dean's office which was buzzing with the fifth-year students, a few with bandages on their heads or their arms. 

I wanted to see if I recognized anyone. Before I walked closer, someone grabbed my torso and pulled so hard that we both went tumbling back on the ground. I turned in fear and panic.

My breath of relief whooshed out on seeing a friendly face. "Ulrich!" I whisper-yelled. 

"Are you trying to get caught, too?" He yelled at me, angrier. 

I crawled back until I was hiding behind a wall. "I was trying to suss out if someone took our names."

"They won't take anyone's name. Jimin sir ensured of it." Ulrich chastised, gritting his teeth. 

"How do you know?"

"When you were sleeping like a pig," he pointed his finger at me angrily. "Jimin sir swung by and told me to stay normal and go about my day. Taehyung sir and the seniors beat the ones involved in the fiasco yesterday while their fellow fifth-year students watched. They were afraid that if they supported them, the sixth-years would retaliate."

"Oh," I blinked, registering that when I was sleeping, they were fighting for us. Did Jimin also join them after leaving our dorm? My thoughts halted when Ulrich slapped me across my head. "OUCH!"

He pointed his finger at me again, his eyes widening and head tilting in warning. "No one will speak. Not unless you provoke them. Let's go now before I tell Jimin sir."

"Geez," I pouted and got up when he offered me a hand. "You are a mean friend, you know that?"

Ulrich scoffed, his hand gripping on the strands of his hair. I could sense he was afraid as he looked around to ensure no one was watching us as we made our way to the common ground.

I wanted to see Jimin or Taehyung Hyung. I wanted to ask him how he was doing. I parked that thought for later because I didn't want to get slapped by Ulrich again. 

When we made it back, I closed the door and shook my head. It was funny that a thousand stories were unfolding at that moment inside the university, and no one knew about what exactly went down. For the first time, I felt privileged to be the one in the inner circle of the infamous seniors. 

I also learned another lesson. Helping someone with something shady could grant you a favor in the future. It was a big yes. The way Jimin had maintained the relationship with his seniors, I was going to do that with mine, not only for obvious reasons, but it was good to have a shield of alliance who would stand up with me in thick and thin. 

And then we went to the cafeteria for dinner. Something good came out of all that because without the extracurriculars taking our time, we were free to do what we wanted. 

As Jimin instructed, I and Ulrich behaved normally, like nothing happened. When we finished eating and were on our way out, my eyes fell on the group of seniors and my heart skipped a beat when a specific someone from that group winked at me as they crossed us. 

Flutter in my stomach, I smiled.

Jimin seemed to be walking fine, and I was pretty sure he had covered his bruise with makeup. 

Feeling too much in love, I made my way back to the dorm while Ulrich stopped by the library to get the new books.  

When the door was knocked, I thought Ulrich's hands must be occupied with the heavy weight of the books, so I rushed and opened it to find Rosenow standing outside. 

"Can I come in?" She asked. 

I nodded in my shock, not knowing why the hell was she there. 

She stepped in and stood in the entryway, a few meters inside. "What is it?" I asked, my hand still on the doorknob.

"I am not going to beat around the bush, Jungkook. What were you doing in Jimin's room yesterday when I stopped by."

"Why?" I asked, my jealousy, anger, and defenses all coming up instantly. 

She narrowed her eyes at me as though she knew everything that was happening inside my head. "Let me be very upfront... Jimin isn't interested in men. And if you think you could throw yourself at him like a person with no self-respect, that maybe he would at least experiment in his Uni life, and perhaps do something with you, I am sorry to have you know that you'll be disappointed."

"You are very insecure. It shows." I said in a deadpan, squaring my shoulders. I never felt more wrecked and triumphant at the same time. 

"I have no reason to be insecure." She fired back.

"Then you have no reason to be reminding me of Jimin's sexuality instead of worrying about his well-being."

That ruffled her feathers. Her nostrils flared. "You don't have to tell me to worry about my boyfriend. I know how to take care of him."

"So you keep telling me," I said slowly. I didn't want to fight with her. If Jimin knew, he wouldn't approve of it. I didn't want to be the one to disappoint him again. 

She would've said more, but Ulrich appeared holding the heap of books from his chest to his nose. He looked at Rose and then at me before walking inside. 

With one last hateful glare, Rose left me alone to what I was sure a third-degree with my roommate.  

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13 Nov, 2024