Taehyung had managed to coax Jungkook back over to the couch after their talk, and there, he stayed with him. His heart had been moved by the other's tears, by those profound words the boy poured out as he confessed everything he had been hiding from Taehyung.

Side by side on the couch, having abandoned their half-eaten breakfasts, the two just sat in silence, Jungkook clinging to Taehyung's arm as the latter ran his fingers through the boy's hair. Every so often, Tae would press a soft kiss to Jungkook's head, as it was resting on his shoulder. In that moment, things had never felt so peaceful. To either of them. Even though both their hearts beat wildly, it wasn't frantic, but simply out of a shared feeling.

How tragic that moment of peace had to be shattered so soon.

Out of nowhere it seemed, the front door swung open, triggering both Jungkook and Taehyung to swivel their heads around to face the one who had entered so conspicuously - Yoongi, to neither of their surprises, however the expression Taehyung's friend now wore did surprise them.

Taehyung made a brief glance at Jungkook who still clung to his arm. "Uh, Y-Yoongi, there's something I wanted to tell you-"

"Yeah, well there's something I gotta tell you, too, so who's gonna go first?"

His voice was unidentifiable. Concerning, to say the least. Taehyung scanned Yoongi's face and hesitated before rising to his feet. "Yoongi, what's wrong?"

"This." He held up what Taehyung could only assume were photographs. "This is what's wrong."

"Yoongi, please-!"

As if the current situation hadn't already thrown him for a loop, a new voice abruptly entered the conversation, and within seconds the owner of that voice came to a frantic stop at the door.

Through that doorway Taehyung met eyes with Jimin.

And that feeling of confusion and betrayal from before rekindled itself.

"Yoongi, what's going on?"

"Sorry, went for a little chit-chat with your neighbor, he pricked his finger for me, there was blue, wild, but this is what I'm more concerned about right now."

While Jimin seemed almost too scared to set foot in Taehyung's apartment, Yoongi adamantly marched over to where his friend was standing and grabbed one of his hands so that he could slap the photographs on his palm.

It was a lot to process. Even without having yet looked at the photos, Taehyung needed a moment to take in the rushed explanation Yoongi had just given him.

"You talked with Jimin...?"

"Yeah, wild, now look at the photos, Tiger, this is important."

He blinked away the strong sense of puzzlement bubbling in his head, enough for him to focus on the small task in his hands. Curiously, Taehyung flipped over the photographs.

Everything seemed to stop. His brain, his heart, the room around him, time itself. Everything.

It didn't make sense but he knew he wasn't imagining this. His eyes weren't trying to trick him.

These photos. The one, of Yoongi and Jimin. The other, of him and Jimin.

He felt sick. Sick, nauseous with incertitude and anxiety, but a type of anxiety he had never felt before. The longer he stared at that photo he was in, standing right next to Jimin, the more the nausea increased and his chest began to hurt.

"What...what is this??"

"Tae, what's wrong?"

In the heat of the moment Taehyung almost swatted away the hand that reached for his, but he caught himself and grabbed it instead. Jungkook didn't deserve to be pushed away again. Not ever.

"Jimin, where did these photos come from?"

He could feel approaching dizziness. But with Jungkook's hand tightly clasped in his own, Taehyung felt just a little bit steadier.

"Jimin, get in here right now."

As if a physical barrier stood between them, Jimin gazed through the doorway in distress and shook his head. Taehyung took a step towards him. Jimin shook his head again.

"You'd never believe me," he whispered, voice soft but strong enough to carry its whimpering body to Taehyung's ears. "I'm just a liar, a no-good liar, you have no reason to believe anything I say..."

It struck in such a painful, yet indescribable way. Jimin wasn't an idiot. To use Taehyung's words against him, right now, was probably the smartest thing he could have done to get out of this situation. But Taehyung wasn't willing to let that happen.

"This is different," he said firmly in opposition. "Get in here. This is physical evidence, you have to say something."

"You still wouldn't believe me, Taetae, you'd never-"

" 'Taetae' ?"

He looked the closest he could be to collapsing, barriers having been torn down one by one as he was helpless to hold them up anymore. Jimin's chest rose and fell erratically.

"Jimin, just come in and sit down."

Taehyung did his best to relax his voice. If he kept up with his current behavior, the perplexed and distraught yelling and demanding, nothing would be accomplished.

"I promise not to get angry."

There was a long moment of silent staring. Unbroken eye contact between the two, with Jimin still not daring to take but a single step towards Taehyung.

"No."

"Jimin-"

"I deserve to have you hate me."

"Then expla—h-hey, where are you going??"

He bolted. And instinctively, so did Taehyung, regrettably letting go of Jungkook's hand in the process. It wasn't that he wanted to. He just knew it wouldn't be any easier to catch someone running full speed away from him with someone holding his hand.

But Jungkook and Yoongi shared the same thought. Neither were any bit willing to be left out of this, Jungkook determined to keep Taehyung safe, and Yoongi the same, but now he had someone he needed answers from, too.

So they went after them. Recklessly, running without care or consideration, Taehyung far ahead of them but Jimin even farther.

Taehyung didn't even take notice of the two boys following him. All that was on his mind was Jimin.

In that brief window of time before Jimin had taken off, Taehyung saw a spark of familiarity, a dollop of fear and uncertainty that he recognized all too well from himself. At times it was near impossible to see past his own anger, but beneath those harbored feelings of negativity Taehyung knew that they were the same. Maybe not in every way, but it was likely they shared more than he initially took into consideration.

If he could just get some sort of explanation. For the photos, for whatever else Jimin hadn't told him that Taehyung had a right to know.

Because right now, Taehyung was questioning everything. Starting with the fact that Jimin seemed terrified to talk to him, so much so that he genuinely looked to be running for his life.

Carelessly. Recklessly.

Frantic, beyond belief.

Terrified. To the point of immense irrationality.

"JIMIN, WAIT-!!"

An oncoming vehicle, unknowing that some ignorant boy would race out into the street while there was a red light - brakes were slammed, so the force of impact was decreased significantly, but any sort of impact in such a scenario wasn't particularly good news.

Yoongi and Jungkook had seen it happen, too. However neither quite as well as Taehyung saw it.

The nausea returned. Full-force. Doubled. Tripled. His head spun as he stared unblinkingly at Jimin now lying still in the middle of the cross-walk. The person who had hit him exited the vehicle immediately, straightaway making her way over to the victim in a panic. The woman spoke, exclaiming in shock and regret despite not being to blame for the incident, and soon she turned to Taehyung who had been standing at the edge of the sidewalk.

"Sir, could you please call an ambulance? I don't have my phone, please-!"

"I'll take care of it ma'am, don't worry."

It was another stranger, another witness who had replied. Not Taehyung. Taehyung couldn't speak, couldn't think, eyes refusing to shift a centimeter from Jimin, refusing to shut for even a fraction of a second in fear something else would happen.

"I called an ambulance. They're on their way. There's a hospital not even two miles from here."

That word.

That word was what snapped Taehyung from his daze.

"Hospital?"

"Hold on, what's that on his face, is that paint?"

"It's blue, it's gotta be-"

"Don't touch him!!"

It alarmed the strangers, to say the least. The woman turned to Taehyung. "A-are you with him? I'm so sorry, I didn't expect him to just come out into the street like that. An ambulance is on its way, it'll be here in no time, so don't-"

"No, no, he can't-" Taehyung's breath hitched. "He can't—the hospital, he can't go there, he's-"

"Tae, calm down."

Yoongi approached him from behind and placed a hand in his friend's shoulder, triggering a harsh flinch from the boy.

"Tiger, breathe, you need to breathe."

"No, no, Yoongi, he—" He choked on his own words. "The hospital, he can't go, he can't-"

"Tae, look at him. He has to. Just calm down-"

"I think that's blood. But it's blue, what happened??"

From nearby a voice cut through to reach Taehyung's brain. But this time, he didn't have the strength to lash out again. Everything in his vision spun wildly, his head pounding. Nothing was clear.

"Tae! Tae, you gotta stay with me. C'mon, Tiger..."

"Yoongs, what if he's scared like me?"

A hand took his own. Taehyung couldn't see clearly, but he recognized Jungkook's touch. He gave the boy's fingers a tight squeeze.

"Yoongs, what if he's scared? What if he's scared??"

"There's the ambulance. Is he awake? Hang in there, sir, we're gonna get you help."

"Excuse me, ma'am, would you mind driving us to the hospital? I doubt they'll permit three people to ride in the back, if any at all."

"Y-yes, of course, I don't have any passengers, you're welcome to get in."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Tiger, can you hear me? We're gonna go to the hospital for him. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Tae?"

Jungkook squeezed his hand tighter.

"Tae, Yoongi and I are here."

"Just help him get to the car, Jungkook, he'll be fine."

It was like slow-motion and fast-forwarding at the same time. Watching, feeling like he was only half-conscious, as paramedics hoisted Jimin onto a stretcher and wheeled him into the back of the ambulance, then hastily confirmed with someone which hospital they'd be taking him to.

In seconds, the ambulance was gone again.

Jungkook, suddenly feeling a reminder of the pain that he, also, was experiencing from last night's incident, faltered as he tried escorting Taehyung to the woman's vehicle. He was in no physical state to be out and about running in the first place, but he had done so regardless because Taehyung was more important to him. And now he had to keep reminding himself of that as his knees threatened to buckle from beneath him.

"Jungkook, you okay?"

He shrugged off Yoongi's concern - not that he didn't care, but he knew thinking about it would only make it worse. "Yeah. I'm great—Tae, just lower your head a bit more and get in the car, we're right here, I'm right here."

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end of chapter twenty-three.