paranoia | jikook

jungkook.

the intermingled smells of alcohol and sweat assaulted jungkook's nostrils as he ventured further into the nightclub. familiar neon signs hung on the ceiling and along the railings on the second floor. the night was still young but the dancefloor was already as crowded as it could get. loud, blaring music was paired with multi-coloured beams of lights. the clinking of glasses and drone-like chatter surrounded jungkook, making him feel a little out of place.

entering the club was no easy feat.

jungkook's first attempt had failed terribly. he had tried pleading but the redhead would have none of that.

"please leave if your id is not with you."

"no wait!" jungkook half-shouted and ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "i really did visit this place before. i'm not crazy, i swear."

the guy raised his eyebrows and stared at jungkook questioningly. jungkook was already grateful enough that the guy was willing to spend time listening to him. he did sound crazy, after all.

"please believe me." he continued. "you can check the cctv! i was wearing this plain black t-shirt underneath a dark grey cardigan and—"

"you mean what you're wearing right now?" the guy pointed out, looking at jungkook's outfit.

looking down, jungkook realised he was wearing the exact same outfit he had worn the other day. his mind reeled as he tried to reason with himself.

deciding that this wasn't working, jungkook let the group of guys behind him to go first. right after they were granted access, he had followed close behind them and thankfully merged into the crowd.

but what am i going to do now? he thought.

"call the goddamn police for help," a voice in his head nagged.

but a few seconds after the call went through, it ended with a narrated voice saying, "please record your message after the tone," followed by a beep.

bringing the phone away from his ear, he stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with it. since when was the police hotline unavailable? before he could dial the number again, however, the battery went flat.

glancing around, jungkook approached the kindest-looking man he could find. well, he seemed a lot more sober than half of the people in there.

"i'm sorry to disturb, but can i borrow your-"

the guy waved him off.

jungkook frowned but bowed nonetheless and sought help from others instead. everyone he approached, however, had the same reaction. for the first time in a very long time, jungkook wanted to break down. he felt helpless and scared.

then he remembered the events that had happened when he came with jimin that night.

biting his lower lip, jungkook approached the first guy again. "can i, perhaps, know the time instead?"

without hesitation, the guy showed jungkook the lit up screen of his phone. on it were the huge numbers: 9.01pm.

approximately the time he had went up to the rooftop to find jimin.

there was only one option left. throwing a quick thanks to the guy, jungkook half-jogged to the stairs and made his way up.

as he burst out into the open air, a strong sense of déjà vu washed over him. everything was too familiar. except that this time, he was a lot more clear-minded, not to mention the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

allowing his memory to guide him, jungkook took slow, careful steps to his right and towards the corner. as if he was treading on glass.

the all-too-familiar view came into sight. with his back facing jungkook, jimin was towering over the young boy, a metal pole held tightly in his hand. a shrill ringing melody filled the air. this time, though, the conversation was different.

"hello?" jimin answered.

a few seconds of silence.

"i'll make sure of it. i'll get it done by 21st march and surrender to you on that day. so please just..." jungkook could imagine jimin gritting his teeth from the tone. "don't touch her. don't touch my sister."

jungkook looked up sharply.

his sister.

he was doing this for his sister.

looking back again, jungkook saw that jimin had already raised the metal pole. as it caused a sickening thud when it came in contact with the boy's shoulder, jungkook squeezed his eyes shut and backed away. he couldn't watch this anymore, he felt the urge to run, he wanted to escape—

but for some reason, he had a gut feeling that he would regret badly if he left jimin behind.

so jungkook stayed. he willed his legs to stay rooted, no matter how much they yearn to take him away from this hell-like place.

then he heard harsh whispers coming from around the corner. it sounded like jimin talking with urgency.

"god damn it, i'm not going to repeat a second time so go now while there's still time."

the metal pole dropped onto the floor with a loud clank, causing the young lad to flinch. a few seconds more of staring at jimin in confusion and he was off, scrambling into the safety of the club.

just as jungkook was about to step out, jimin jerked and fell to his knees with a hand pressed tightly to his side. everything happened way too quickly for jungkook to comprehend. a figure stepped out from the shadows and walked towards jimin with a gun held in his hand. a silencer was attached to the head of the gun.

he crouched, prodding jimin's chin up with his index finger. "i knew you're too soft-hearted for this, jimin."

with that, he let out a sigh that almost sounded regretful before standing up and taking the same route as the young boy did.

"jimin?" jungkook called out, his voice weak and a lot smaller than he planned. he took fast, unstable steps towards him. jimin, on the other hand, was then lying on his back and breathing shallowly. he craned his neck and saw jungkook.

"what are you doing here?!" he hissed.

without replying, jungkook clamped both of his hands over jimin's wound, trying in vain to stop the blood flow. his eyes were burning and his vision blurred. unknowingly, a lump had formed in his throat, causing pain as he tried to swallow his cries back.

"what should i-" he whispered with choked sobs. "h-how do i s-stop this?"

to stop the burning, jungkook blinked, hard. the tears flowed down relentlessly as blood continued to seep out from between his fingers that were firmly pressed together. he looked at jimin, then back at the wound. back and forth, again and again.

"it's not working," using his sleeve, jungkook wiped the sweat off his face. "fuck, it's not stopping!"

"don't curse, idiot." jimin groaned. he placed his quivering hand on jungkook's, gently removing them from his side and received a confused frown.

"get out of here, this is not the place for you."

jungkook shook his head frantically. "no, i won't leave you."

shutting his eyes, jimin exhaled slowly through his mouth, seeming to contemplate his options.

"then it's time to wake up, jungkook."

"huh?"

"i said it's time to wake up. it's time to go back."

blink.

darkness.