Astral difficulties ~YoonMin~

17

When Namjoon opened the front door Yoongi was nowhere to be seen. His shoes weren't there either. He quickly checked his phone to see if he had any messages but it was silent as usual. He sent a quick message expressing his worries for his roommate and hoped he came back as soon as possible.

They all sat down in silence, Namjoon and Seokjin on the small couch and Hoseok, Taehyung and Jeongguk on the big couch, only the occasional sniffling filling the room. He wanted to close his eyes and forget about all of this but how could he really. This whole situation was so crazy, it sent a chill through his spine.

Seokjin was the first who spoke. "I'll explain first because you look terribly lost, but I want to hear your side of the story when I'm done." Namjoon didn't want to tell them how he got to know Mochi but he nodded yes anyway, thinking he could come up with some lie later.

They sat in silence a little longer until Seokjin started, voice a little shaky. "Jimin... he is... was a bit... odd." He softly smiled to himself. "He had a certain interest in astral projection." He bit his lower lip nervously. "Do you know what that is?" Namjoon nodded. Mochi- or Jimin told him all about it so he just recently had done some research on it. Seokjin continued. "Right. So, he wanted to explore it but was afraid to do so alone... and none of us took an interest in astral projection so he started looking for people online who would want to share this experience with him."

While Seokjin mentioned the lack of interest of Jimin's friends, Taehyung started crying again. "If only I said yes," he sobbed while Jeongguk intertwined their fingers. "If only I told him I would try it out with him." They all felt like it got a little difficult to breathe, even Namjoon sat there with a heavy heart.

Seokjin softly squeezed Taehyung's thigh, while Jeongguk whispered things in his ear, too soft for Namjoon to hear. But he guessed it were words of consolation, trying to soothe his guilt. Hoseok seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Seokjin continued once again when Taehyung seemed to have calmed down. "He found people and... practised... with them. Or whatever you call it. And he got really excited, saying he was really on to something. But the happiness only lasted for a few more weeks. He found out he accidentally joined a cult, and they didn't appreciate quitters. It got so bad, he moved out of his parents' second house in Seoul and took hiding in a small apartment. Every day was a struggle, the tiniest sounds scared him, the smallest movements startled him, to the point where he just stopped coming to school." He took a deep breath after he told all that.

It yet again became quiet except for the sniffling and it stayed quiet for a while. Namjoon tried to take in everything he was just told. The last few weeks of his life he lived in agony. No wonder Jimin was in denial, Namjoon thought. There was just one thing he didn't understand. How was Yoongi connected to all of this?

He decided to bring it up slowly. "How did all of you become friends with him?" Seokjin looked at Taehyung, wordlessly asking him if he was able to talk. Taehyung nodded. "I... uh, we met in high school. We were assigned seatmates and became inseparable since then." He choked up again and Namjoon felt the feeling of regret in his stomach. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. Taehyung continued anyway. "We were over the moon when we were both accepted into the same university, he majoring in dance and me majoring in acting." His voice cracked multiple times throughout his story. Jeongguk took over where Taehyung left off.

"I'm a dance major too so that's where I met him and Hoseok-hyung as well. And of course automatically Taehyung-hyung." Jeongguk looked at Seokjin to finish the explanation by telling his part. So he did. "Jimin was sent to me because he violated the rules. He loved to dye his hair all sorts of colours but the teachers weren't quite fond of it. Same with your blonde friend, Min Yoongi. I'm guessing that's where they met."