sixteen

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JIMIN

The walk back to the motel is fast and still quiet.

Another four days of this and we'll be out of here. I should probably start planning some kind of introduction before I meet my aunt.

As we reach the motel, Jungkook starts slowing down.

"What is it?" I ask in confusion, looking slightly up at him. His brows are furrowed and his face is paler than usual.

"Are you sick?" I ask again. His eyes simply keep looking on and I follow his gaze. The manager of the motel is speaking to some staff animatedly and suddenly, they're pointing at us. We stop a few feet away from the entrance as the duo approach us.

I start thinking of everything I could've done wrong that could've warranted such menacing looks.

"I don't think this is good," Jungkook mumbles weakly as they stop in front of us.

"Is there anything-"

I'm cut off by the manager.

He pulls up a piece of paper and I want to die right now.

It's a drawing of me below huge fonts that scream out "WANTED". There's a caption below that reads "Park Jimin, last seen at Folkestone train station with another boy. 10,000 pounds for his return and 15,000 pounds for his and the other boy's return".

Dear Lord do I wish to sincerely rot right now.

Blood drains from my face and I can feel myself grasping at excuses and smooth reasons but nothing is coming out of my mouth.

"This is you, no?" the manager asks gruffly and my voice seems to have dried up - along with my throat and eyes.

"And you are the other boy?" the manager nods at Jungkook who is just as stiff as me. The manager starts gesturing for some staff when we fail to reply and they start walking towards us too.

"Listen, there's been some huge mis-"

The manager clamps onto my arm and alarm sirens go blasting off in my head. I quickly twist it so that I am free and I look to Jungkook in panic.

"Run! Post box!" Jungkook suddenly yells before taking off. Fight or flight kicks in - and I'm not about to fight ten people. I take off in the direction we came in and I realise that Jungkook is no longer beside me.

"Damn it, Jungkook," I grit as the staff chase after me. I can't stop to see if he's made it the other way. But I know which post box he's talking about. He spoke about it at lunch - how strange it was that there was a post box along the train tracks in the middle of nowhere. So now, that's the only place I can go.

My footsteps thud more loudly as I go on and my rib cage seems to be closing in on my heart and lungs. My coat makes it so painfully difficult to run quickly - and it's not as if I've been very fit lately. All of this running right after lunch makes my stomach seize up but I cannot stop.

This town is no longer safe.

As I'm running and losing the staff, I start thinking wildly of how Mi Cha has already gotten word of my disappearance out.

And how Jungkook is officially knee-deep in my crap along with me - if he's not already doomed for death.

JUNGKOOK

Jimin takes off down the path while I charge straight up the stairs of the motel. The manager chooses to come after me, his hands noisily grabbing onto the railing as he scales the stairs with me.

I know that we'll never survive without our things. And Jimin does not look like he can do whatever it is I'm doing now - so I'll take one for the team. The epically failing team, apparently. I try not to think about how horrible and awful it is that I'm now being hunted too but it's difficult.

So I try controlling my breath instead.

The stairs are small but steep so I manage to skip several of them at a time. I'm panting by the time I reach the room and push the bed close to it as a barricade. I try to stuff as many things as I can into my bag before picking it, and Jimin's bag, up. The footsteps on the stairs echo and ring loudly in my head like a ticking time bomb.

And then there's banging on the door and my heart is ablaze. I pant and try to catch my breath but all I'm breathing is icy cold air and it makes me feel so incredibly alive.

I look at the window and I think. I try so bloody hard to think.

And then I remember.

There's a roof below.

And that's all it takes before I am smashing through the glass and rolling onto the roof. The force pushes me to the edge and I instantly start clambering to back up and not fall to my death. The bags cushion my fall ever so slightly that I can get right back up with minimal injuries. I quickly look at the ground that lies waiting for me and I take a deep breath.

I drop our bags down first before thudding onto the pavement.

Onlookers and store owners nearby are gasping and just looking at me as I cast a quick glance up at the window I fell through.

Small shards of glass are on Jimin's coat so I just hop about to get them off. Then, I grab our bags and their weight makes my shoulders ache already.

And then I bolt.

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