After a few minutes Bambam's grip on the steering wheel relaxed. Not because his fury had died down, in fact it was only getting worse, but nostalgia had a way of twisting reality and making you feel out of place.
He was traveling through a familiar yet unfamiliar route. He hadn't been down these roads in a long time, but he couldn't care much. It wasn't like he had warm memories of the place, perhaps some of his worst. But he had his reason to come back now.
He knew all too well where Lisa got that ring from, or rather whom. It would be absurd to suggest Jungkook was incapable of keeping a ring in his possession safety. Especially one of little value to the eye of an outsider. So Bambam had crossed off any situation where Jungkook wasn't the one who gave her the ring. But he did question why and how, out of the thousands of people in Akron, Jungkook found Lisa.
Bambam had tirelessly went through the effort of keeping Lisa away from the prying eyes of the twisted people he knew. As he kept getting in messier and messier situations he further protected Lisa. Apart from a single enemy, nobody dangerous knew who his Lisa was, or at least not in any way connected to him. And while that might provide relief to most, Bambam knew the one person who did know, was still an enemy. But it was indeed a special enemy, not like the rest. What would first seem childish, that until you knew the truth
Grand gates caged an eerily large establishment that one could mistake for that of a headquarter. But perhaps it was somewhat of a headquarter. What it truly was, is a home. A place that quickly told you to stay away. That you do not belong. That you are not meant to be here. But Bambam was, so he slammed the door of his car to see sharp eyes narrowed onto his every movement. The ghost of a smirk appeared on Bambam's face, he was glad knowing his presence still moved them.
"And to what do I owe this honor?" Namjoon snaps. Always speaking in a way that would sound polished but still backhanded to those he didn't particularly like. "I have a simple request," Bambam states matching the tone.
"And why would I do such a thing?" Namjoon curtly refuted. Perhaps it was a fair question when posed to one's adversary, but Namjoon had adopted it as law early on. Everything comes with a price. Those who referred to it as a cliché simply didn't know better.
"This is what I want in return for not telling your precious the truth"
Namjoon's expression changes ever so slightly. He knows this is important. The two hate each other beyond imagination but they have one thing in place. Bambam keeps the secret and they return the favor in some way. And of the many years passed, Bambam hadn't asked for anything yet. That until now you could say.
"What is it?" Namjoon asks with a slightly calmer tone, but cold nonetheless. "Don't even lay a finger on Lalisa" Bambam states with authority. Authority he's never had before. Namjoon's face showed confusion but it was instantly erased as he started to laugh. "Your princess!" He says through his laughter with a slight mockery Bambam didn't miss. Bambam glared at him, but Namjoon chose to continue. "I forgot about her, she must be starting college this year" Namjoon said looking back at Bambam for a response that he wasn't going to give him.
With one final look Bambam gave his last words, "If one of you ever touches her, or even says a word to her in the wrong tone, consider our deal off with no warning" Bambam uttered
And there he was, the great Namjoon was intimidated. To him nothing was to be feared, nothing nor for anything, the man didn't even value his life enough to be intimidated. But this time Bambam had something, something Namjoon would do anything to hide.
Bambam however knew that this sudden power and victory would come with a great cost. He had to watch his words very closely from now on. One wrong move on his part and she would become a target. But he couldn't help but wonder why Namjoon was seemingly clueless to the fact that Lisa had finally come to Akron. As if he didn't know what Jungkook had done.
But of course, if anyone was confused it was Bambam's dear Lalisa who he had left at the front door of the dorm. As she pulled the door open to hold forth with Roseanne she saw nothing but Jennie walking out of her room with a cup of tea. It was then when the dots connected and Lisa remembered Jennie had a near exact reaction to the ring as Bambam. Sure it didn't make any sense to Lisa, who couldn't find any connection between the two, but what did she really have to lose.
"Whose ring is this"
Jennie stopped dead in her tracks. Not because she was surprised Lisa would ask her such, after all she wasn't foolish. She realized she did an awful job concealing herself upon seeing the ring that first night. But what was foolish, was the current situation. How could she have let Lisa go see Bambam with that ring on her finger knowing the utter chaos it would bring. I mean letting it happen was almost a hate crime in and of itself.
"It's not my place to tell you" Jennie simply stated while furiously balling her hands for letting it come to this. The plan was for the two first years to know absolutely nothing, but here she was revealing all too much one day at a time. Then again she couldn't really avoid it now that Lisa had got herself caught right in the middle of a cross fire. Worse, Lisa seemed to know nothing about any of it in the first place.
"please" Lisa whispered helplessly and suddenly she seemed to crack Jennie's surface. See being in the dark, is an awful feeling. No matter how many guards you put up, it hurts. Simple as that. But what's even more painful, is being the one who keeps the secrets. And Jennie knew that feeling all too well. "I'll tell you" was all Jennie said before taking a seat on the couch, gesturing for Lisa to do the same. Maybe it was selfish, but Jennie felt as though telling Lisa the truth would make herself feel better too. As a certain someone would say, she was being the little girl she worked so hard to conceal.
Lisa was brimming with anticipation, finally all the enigmatic pieces would come together, or so she thought. Maybe things weren't as simple as Lisa thought. Not as crystal clear and shiny as Lisa thought. Maybe things were tainted with blood and lies.
"What has Bambam told you?" Jennie asked wanting to know just how much explaining she would be doing. fortunately, Jisoo and Rosé went for groceries. It was fortunate because Jennie had no intention of telling Rosé everything too, and well Jisoo, she would cause hell if she knew what Jennie was about to do.
"Nothing he just told me to take it off and stay away from the man who gave it to me" Lisa responded with innocence. "He said man, not them?" Jennie thinks out loud with surprise evident in her voice. How far was Bambam going to go to keep the truth locked. On the other side, upon hearing Jennie say them, Lisa wondered if this was still the same them the man had mentioned that day. She was indeed right. "Has Bambam told you about his . . . friends" Jennie said in an attempt to not be too blunt. She may be used to deception, but was Lisa? "His friends, not really why?" Lisa was starting to feel frustrated with Jennie's cryptic words. Jennie, however, sighed at Lisa's response. She knows nothing.
"Tell me, that man I met he's a dangerous man right? Let me guess, he's a robber! And this ring, did he steal it? That's why I can't wear it or meet him again?" Lisa suddenly ranted hoping to get a nod. "Not quite." was all Jennie could let out before she bit back a giggle. "I'm sorry is something funny?" Lisa glared. Usually a laugh or two would be in her favor but the curious cat was far too frustrated. "Right, I'm about to tell you something pretty important. So before I start promise me you won't tell anyone, not even Roseanne or Jisoo", Lisa nodded and Jennie continued, "And also no questions, i'll tell you what you need to know and nothing else". Lisa could see that Jennie meant it by the way her eyes had suddenly narrowed down like she was looking down at her prey.
"Bambam isn't here for the college. In fact he first made his marks in Akron 6 years ago. You may not remember but Bambam spent much time here before he finished high school, I suppose he did a good job of deceiving you, as you seem surprised." Jennie watched as Lisa's brows furrowed. "He did this because he joined a gang run by Akron's oldest mob association, but don't be fooled it extends far past Akron. But there isn't just one gang, there's two. It so happened to be that the man you met belongs to the other. And as the cliché continues, they're rivals." Jennie pauses with a bitter smile. "That's why you should stay away from the man and all his counterparts. We don't want trouble."
"Is he a criminal, Bambam?" Lisa asked with hesitation as if she was considering that she had just heard wrong. Jennie however stalled, looking down, erasing Lisa's hope every second she stayed silent. "He is isn't he." Lisa said trying to keep it together but once she got a nod from Jennie her voice wavered. "Im sorry" Jennie simply said, though she had comforted people before they were usually the kind that didn't like extra sugar.
"What's wrong" Lisa asked seeing the worry stricken expression Jennie held. "He probably went to them, he's is dangerous Lisa" Jennie explained. "Wh- What will he do?" Lisa stutters. "I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it went past words." Jennie said with a solemn expression.
Lisa felt lost. Past words . . . she would have never thought he would do something like that. The Bambam she knows wouldn't even think to do that. Was she living with a lie, was she that stupid, that she didn't even realize it.
"What's his name? The one who gave me the ring. You must know if you can recognize this ring" Lisa asked lifting up her finger weakly. "You don't need to know that" Jennie abruptly stood up. "And what if he wasn't the one who gave me the ring, what if it was someone else." Lisa said hoping to get something more from Jennie. It was too bad that Jennie was much smarter than Lisa thought, but she played along. "Fine I'll show you a picture and you tell me which one gave it to you" Jennie said.
Lisa was sure she'd be able to spot him. His image had been etched in her mind as so many strange things had happened after she met him. "How many are there?" Lisa asks as Jennie begins to search her bag for something. "There are 6 in your brother's group and 7 in the other" she responds as she pulls out a book. Lisa watched as Jennie opened a small, well used book, searching for a page before pulling out a photograph from years ago that was lodged between two pages.
It was 7 men standing together in front of a grey wall. They were all dressed in black, from jeans to dress shirts and even vests. Lisa scanned through the photo instantly finding the man who brought so much change in such little time. His big doe eyes and boyish grin made him look far from a criminal, but Lisa knew better now. I was an idiot to think he was a good guy. I was an idiot to not see that Bambam was the same. I was an idiot to not realize something was wrong when Bambam came home with cuts on his face and how he would quickly hide things behind his back when I entered his room without permission. How he'd disappear for weeks.
"Him" Lisa pointed angrily. "Jungkook, always reckless" Jennie muttered under her breath without realizing. "Jungkook?" Lisa asked. Jennie just let out a sigh. Perhaps it was better for Lisa to know from her rather than searching for it on her own. "Right I need to go" and in a matter of seconds Jennie stood up and grabbed her coat while stuffing her book back into her bag. It was quite impulsive of her but she needed to tell someone, she was sure as hell he didn't.
"Where are you going?" Lisa asks standing up with Jennie. "I have to tell one of them" Jennie says absentmindedly as she searched for her phone. "Take me with you" Lisa blurts out without thinking. "What!" Jennie says exasperated as she looks back at Lisa, "Lisa, you don't know how dangerous they are, I can't just take people with me." to which Lisa hangs her head helplessly. "And Lisa, when the girls come back just tell them I went to the library" Jennie says as she steps out the door only to turn back one last time, "Remember your promise". Lisa gives her a nod before closing the door and locking it.
Lisa's head was still spinning but this time it wasn't with questions, but betrayal. All she could do was sit down and let her tears fall. As she brang her hand up to wipe her tears she felt the cold metal ring against her skin. She stared at the detail once again before ripping it off her finger and dropping it. The sound of it bouncing off the floor, echoing in front of her.
She closed her eyes to think but they instantly shot open when she heard a sound. She searched for the source, knowing she was alone, only to see that Jennie's book had fallen out of her bag. Curiosity overpowered her morals as she went over to the book and opened it to the page the photo was sticking out of. Why did unnie have a photograph of them anyway?
Lisa began to flip around when she noticed that each page had a date and there were more than just pictures tucked into the pages. She started to read a page near the end.
I found another document. This one had the date of the incident and all the details about the family car. Just as I had suspected it was indeed an old car that hadn't been repaired nor checked in years. Though I haven't figured out exactly what might have gone wrong I believe the break was broken because that's how it all happened. That's how they died.
Lisa let our an inaudible gasp as she quickly put down the book feeling as though she had read something she shouldn't have. This isn't just a book, it's a diary. Lisa slips the diary back into Jennie's bag as guilt flooded through her.
What more does she not know?