Twisted Every Way || Vmin/Yoonmin {Complete}

10 -- Lie

"I have a few more conditions for you," he declared suddenly. Jimin looked at him reluctantly, his eyes becoming tired. "The vocal lessons are your choice. If you should continue them with me, they'll be at the normal time in your dressing room. However, I will expect you to come out with me from time to time, as you did tonight. I'll always give a few days notice, in whatever way I see fit." Jimin was silent, staring numbly in the man's direction.

"... Why are you doing this?" Jimin asked, at this point more fatigued than angry. Yoongi sighed, looking Jimin over. He knew this tactic wasn't working; he knew he needed to do something differently, he just wasn't sure how to compete with the likes of the Kim heir's brother, though he would have never admitted it.

"You really want to know?" he asked, his voice growing quiet. Jimin stared at him with the last of his patience. "Because I'm lonely as hell, that's why," Yoongi snapped. "And I don't want anyone but you to save me from it, Park Jimin." The dancer's gaze softened a little as he watched him, reminded of the desperate begging he had been subjected to when his angel facade had first been shattered. He wondered if perhaps his own fowl attitude had brought out the worst in Yoongi, and once more found himself feeling guilty. He still hadn't had any right to force him on a date, but there was kindness and genuine loneliness under his sullen exterior; he just didn't seem to know how to socialize or properly convey his feelings.

Jimin couldn't bring himself to respond. He felt an odd mix of emotions as Yoongi, who looked physically vulnerable, turned his head away. With his eyes never leaving him, Jimin touched the ring on his finger. Somehow, he wished he could fill the void in the man before him, but it was clear that what Yoongi was yearning for was more than platonic. Though he knew he loved Taehyung--though it had devastated him to leave him hanging--it also hurt him to see the state of the man who had once been the inspiration for his voice. He sighed to himself, wondering how it was possible to personally be so surrounded by love, and for others to be so deprived of it.

Jimin turned to the window as the limo pulled up outside his apartment. He held his breath for a moment before moving to scoot toward the door. However, he immediately stopped as he felt Yoongi's hand on his arm.

"Remember, Jimin," the ghost said with desperation, "the more you resist me, the more I want you. Please don't make me be drastic again. I don't know how much more rejection I can take." Though his words could have been threatening if said differently, the man sounded so helpless that Jimin couldn't help but feel a tug on his heartstrings. He turned his head just far enough that he could look at him out of the corner of his eye; he lacked the courage to look at him straight-on.

"Good night, Yoongi," he murmured, before turning away as the door opened for him. Yoongi slowly pulled his hand back, watching longingly as the blond moved from the vehicle to inevitably disappear behind his front door, and cursed under his breath.

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When Seokjin got home that evening, he immediately looked for Taehyung. He swore he remembered his brother mentioning having plans that evening, yet he could see the light on, seeping through the cracks of his bedroom door. He knocked twice, as lightly as he could. When there was no answer, he slowly opened it and peeked inside to find Taehyung passed out on his bed over the covers, an arm over his face and his phone in-hand. This only got Seokjin's mind going even more. He must have been expecting a call that he never got, or why would he be lying there like that? With a sigh of pity, he turned off the lights and shut the door once more.

Taehyung woke up the next morning without having heard anything more from Jimin. As a result, he began to fall into a state of depression. He might have felt more inclined to check up on Jimin if the boy hadn't been so evasive the day before, but that being said, it seemed like prying would make it worse. Maybe he really was just ill, as far as he knew; if that really ended up being the truth, he knew he was going to end up feeling guilty about making such a fuss. Yet for some reason, he couldn't stop himself from wondering if something else was going on.

He was upset and groggy when Seokjin knocked on his door that morning, but Taehyung let his brother in anyway, and they sat themselves on the two armchairs as they had the last time they needed to have a talk. Taehyung was rather unsuspecting at what was about to come. He did immediately assume that their conversation was going to concern Jimin, but not in the sense of what was about to be said to him.

"Taehyung, I'm sorry, but there's something more I need to talk to you about," Seokjin started gently. "It's about Jimin."

"I see." Taehyung held his head for a moment, his eyes sensitive and his heart feeling numb. "What is it this time? More Studio Ghost nonsense?"

"No," Seokjin said with a small shake of his head. "Actually, Taehyung, this is... somehow a lot harder for me to say." At this comment, Taehyung refocused on him, frowning with worry and completely dumbfounded. "Look, I don't mean to make assumptions. I don't know for sure what's going on between you and Jimin, but I feel obligated to tell you that I saw him last night." The younger's brother's eyes opened wide and his heart skipped a beat.

"Where?" he demanded.

"I was out to eat last night at Pierre Gagnaire; I saw him there with another man," Seokjin said, as calmly as he could. He didn't want to tailor his words to invoke any specific reaction. Rather, he wanted to see how Taehyung took it. The young man before him went pale, the look in his eyes growing distant, yet within him, a fire was burning. He wasn't sure what to think of this; was Jimin forced into something, or had he willingly cheated on him? He had thought he knew Jimin well, but the boy he loved wasn't a liar, and nor was he unfaithful. 

He tried to tell himself that maybe there was more to this story, some reason why Jimin had handled it the way that he did, and yet he couldn't stop his emotions. But he did know one thing: the man he was with was more than likely the Studio Ghost. He wished he could ask Seokjin if he had seen the face of the other man, and if he remembered it well enough to describe him to the police. Yet if he did that, he would be making Jimin look even more like an accomplice of the terrorist. And so, he held his tongue as his hands began to shake.

"I'd like to be left alone," he said, trying and failing to keep his voice from quivering. Seokjin stood, surveying him for a moment longer. He now considered his suspicions confirmed; there would be no reason for Taehyung to get emotional over such news if he didn't feel something for the boy in question. He wondered if this turn of events would cause his feelings to disintegrate--perhaps he even hoped for it. Still, he looked to his brother with sympathy.

"I understand. Let me know if I can do anything for you," he said softly before departing.

Taehyung moved from his armchair to his windowsill as he was left in solitude; the sky outside was bleak and colorless. He could only hold himself together for a matter of moments before dropping his head. He wasn't normally the type to cry so quickly, yet he felt there was nothing he could do but weep; he wept because of jealousy and self pity, over the feeling of his heart shattering like glass, and--perhaps most of all--out of fear that Jimin had succumbed to his angel of darkness all over again.