One message can ruin everything. Taehyung realizes that the hard way when he gets a strange message from his best friend's phone. Written by his parents, Taehyung knows he can't waste any time to go visit them.
But when they tell him about Jungkook'...
Taehyung could barely believe it. When he got that message from his best friend's phone, he thought it was a joke. It had to be...
And yet, something in Taehyung told him it wasn't. Maybe it was that nagging feeling at the back of his mind, maybe it was the way the message was worded, just maybe it was the way he remembered Jungkook had looked at him when they had last seen each other; though, back then he'd just dismissed it as his best friend being tired. He knew it couldn't be a joke.
So he did what he was asked to do; he stopped what he was doing, put on his jacket and shoes and drove to Jungkook's place. The entire ride there was spent overthinking just about everything that had happened in the past three months. But he couldn't think of anything that would drive his usually so happy and cheerful friend to do such a thing.
It hit Taehyung hard. The realization that Jungkook may not be the only one; others could feel that way and Taehyung would have no idea. It scared him.
The despair he felt at that moment couldn't compare to anything he'd ever felt before. And if a few tears ran down his cheeks at that, he would never admit it.
When he arrived at the Jeon's house, he swore he could feel how tense and sad the atmosphere was. He quickly got out of his car and walked up to the house he usually loved so much. He wished he wouldn't have to be here under such circumstances.
When the door opened, it revealed a small woman. Mrs. Jeon. Immediately, Taehyung reached out to give the miserable-looking woman a tight hug. She had deep bags under her red-rimmed eyes and her cheeks were wet and puffy from crying. He felt bad for the poor woman, and seeing her like this made him want to curl up and break down as well. But he couldn't, not yet. He had to know what exactly happened before he would allow himself to cry.
The fragile woman led Taehyung to the dining room, where he was met with the sight of Jungkook's dad and his friends Jimin and Hoseok sitting at the round table. The only thing on the table was a book, a worn-out, dark blue book.
After a few comforting hugs and words, Taehyung sat down next to Jimin. "What happened?" he asked.
After a minute of silence, Mr. Jeon opened his mouth to speak, seeing that nobody else was about to explain the situation to the young man. "Exactly what we explained in the message we sent you... Jungkook is in the hospital now. We were waiting there, when... Well, Jimin realized that Jungkook once told him about a diary he's been writing... We think it m-might be a good idea to read it to find out more about why he..."
He trailed off, the grief on his face and the tears glistening in his eyes tugging at Taehyung's heartstrings. He'd never seen the man so helpless before. "But we didn't want to do this without you. We know how close you and Jungkook were."
Taehyung looked at the book on the table. "That's his diary?"
Mr. Jeon nodded. Taehyung took in a deep breath, "And you want to read it? Without his permission? I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. What he wrote in there is obviously private..."
Silence. Of course, they all knew this, but the need to know more was almost suffocating them all, including Taehyung. Despite what he said, he wanted to read it too, and it's not like Jungkook would ever know...
"We're doing this whether you stay or not," Mrs. Jeon suddenly spoke up, startling all of them since she hadn't said a single word the entire time. "It's your choice if you want to know or not, but I am reading this diary tonight and nobody can stop me. I need to know what happened to my son!"
"Taehyung..." Hoseok then said. Taehyung turned his head to look at his friend. "I think you should stay... I know you don't want to invade his privacy, but this is serious. Maybe it concerns you too..."
Taehyung sighed. He knew Hoseok was right. And he knew if he left, the curiosity would eat him alive. So he nodded.
"Fine, let's do this."
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A/N: So! This was the prologue! If you're an old reader, you'll know this is very different from the old version. I hope you like it!
