Jin was about to walk towards his room but he stopped at Taehyung's. He went inside.
"Taehyung, what are you doing?", he was shocked to see Taehyung packing his stuff.
"I need to leave. I don't want to live here, I can't", Taehyung said.
"What? Why?"
Taehyung didn't reply. Jin felt weak at the thought of Taehyung leaving like this, his heart skipped a beat.
Taehyung took the bag and started to walk towards the door, ignoring Jin. Jin couldn't think straight, he didn't want him to leave, he couldn't let him.
Jin grabbed the bag from Taehyung, pulling Taehyung back, and held him so that he doesn't go. "Tell me why do you want to leave so suddenly".
Taehyung didn't want to say the reason as he thought Jin wouldn't let him go, also he wasn't able to speak anything because of how close Jin was leaning into him staring into his eyes, looking for answers. "Say it", Jin said.
"I-", Taehyung wasn't able to speak any further. Jin regretted being that close. For a second he didn't even realize that his lips almost touched Taehyung's. But Taehyung stopped him, pulling away the next second, even though it broke his heart to do that; he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself once gave into it. And that would end up messing with Jin's life even more.
"I'm sorry. I don't know how-", Jin was interrupted. "It's ok. I'm sorry too", Taehyung said. Jin didn't feel that it was necessary, just being with each other's company, a simple touch or a hug was enough to feel the connection but he didn't know what made him suddenly do it.
Taehyung leaned his forehead on Jin's, squeezing his eyes shut, not wanting to look at Jin. There was a knock on the door.
Jin ignored it, he didn't know what was happening, he wasn't in the right state of mind but he thought that he felt one of Taehyung's fingers hooked on his belt loop for a few seconds.
"Taehyung, look at me", he requested, "Don't do this. Don't leave"
"Why?'', Taehyung asked with his eyes still closed.
"Please don't. I feel like I'm losing my mind. I don't know when or why but something about you has been carved in my heart. As if it left a scar that I can't get to heal. I don't even know what it is but I can't make it go away, Taehyung", Jin answered.
When Taehyung opened his eyes, Jin could see those tears. "I don't like the thought of you feeling that. I- I don't like you", Taehyung said.
Jin regretted what he just said. He felt the heaviness in his heart. Yet he tried to listen to his mind and avoid his heart as he realized that Taehyung didn't feel the same.
"Sorry. Forget it. Forget what I said. But you can't leave right now, where will you go? We need to find a place for you first. And even if you leave right now, I'm going to find you. I cannot let you wander alone like that. So don't even try it.", Jin looked into Taehyung's eyes. Only after Taehyung nodded, Jin walked towards the door to open it. It was Ken.
Taehyung sat in the room, thinking.
-------------------------------------------
After an hour, when he walked outside the room, he heard some faint sobs from Jin's room as the door wasn't fully closed.
Jin was feeling really depressed for the last few days. He was trying his best to not show it to Taehyung but when Ken was talking to him, he couldn't help but cry.
"I'm sorry. I don't understand what's happening, I feel that something is wrong right now. I'm not ok", Jin said.
"Do you like Taehyung now?", Ken asked.
"No, at this point I don't know.", Jin replied.
"How can you say that you don't know? Do you think that it's easy for me to see you hurt like this? I like you and I can't let you be like this in my presence.", Ken said as he cupped Jin's face.
"I know, I'm sorry. Please don't worry right now. I'll be ok.", Jin replied.
"Why do you keep saying sorry. Why do you keep crying? It worries me, I've never seen you so gloomy. And are you at least sure that you love me?", Ken asked.
"Yes, I think that I still do, Ken. If I know what love is then I still do", Jin replied. He thought about all the times he spent with Ken, all the promises they made, and then about the current time. It was making him sad. It was his fault to make Ken worry like that. He knew how much Ken liked him. He should've kept his boundaries. He didn't admit it, but at this point, he was doubting if he ever knew what love is.
Taehyung heard all of it, even the sobs. It broke his heart. His heart broke more and more every time he recalled how he messed up Jin's and Ken's life, how he made the person who he always wants to see happy, cry.
He didn't realize how or when Jin started to become the most important person in his life, how much he started to love him, and how much courage and hurt that love game him. And if Jin being happy meant that he needed to stay away from him forever, he would do it, even if it hurts him every second.
'Ken was right when he said that Jin had changed after I came into his life. Mrs. Kim was right when she said that I'm not good for anyone and that I'll end up destroying other people's life. I should have never come out of the house that day. I should have never come into Jin's life. I still have a chance to make it better, to go somewhere far. Where all the people I'm close to won't find me. That way I won't destroy their life'.
This time he made up his mind to go away from Jin's life forever.
The next morning-
Jin walked downstairs, expecting to see Taehyung. Previously, at midnight, he had this urge to check on Taehyung, to see if he is okay but he didn't check.
He looked around but he couldn't find Taehyung downstairs. He went to Taehyung's room in a panic, checked everywhere, but he wasn't there. He looked outside his house and even the nearby areas, but couldn't find him. And Taehyung's phone was still in his room, so there was no use in calling him.
"There must be some emergency, so he may have left without informing, he must be safe. Calm down.", Ken tried to calm Jin.
"What emergency? Who would he go to? He doesn't even have a family that's close to him", Jin felt like he was going to lose his mind. At that instant, his eyes wandered around the desk; there was a note, he went to read it without wasting any time.
"I'm sorry for leaving this way. But I had to. You won't find me, so don't look for me. Don't worry about me. I'll be ok. Trust me. I also want to apologize to Jimin and all my other friends who I left without saying a last goodbye. But I'll always remember the five of you. What you did for me means a lot to me. I'll never forget it and I'll always be grateful for it. I'm sorry, I couldn't return the favor. But this is all I could do for you".
Jin crushed the paper and threw it. He was sad, frustrated, and probably out of his mind. "What the hell is he saying! Who does he think he is to leave like this. I told him not to. I hate him. I wish I never met him", Jin yelled.
But the next second, he sat on the floor crying. He picked up the paper that he threw a few seconds ago, unfolded it, thinking that it may be the last memory of Taehyung.
After a few minutes, he wiped his tears and got up. He knew that he had to do something instead of losing his mind. There was still a chance to find Taehyung.
----------------------------------------------------------
He went to his workplace.
"Jin, you ok? What-?", Jimin's words were interrupted, "Taehyung is missing", Jin said as he gave Jimin Taehyung's letter.
Jimin read it. "When did you last see him, any idea when he left?", Jimin asked looking for quick answers, he was worried too. They knew how Taehyung was. Also, he had no place to go to.
"I last saw him at 10 PM, he was in his room. I didn't check on him after that.", Jin answered not being able to get over the regret of not checking up on Taehyung at midnight.
"Did he take anything? Is anything missing?", Jimin asked.
"No, I don't think so", Jin answered.
Jin was pacing back and forth. "Twenty-four hours! Why does one need to wait for that long to file a missing person's report", he yelled.
"We cannot wait till twenty-four hours. We need to start looking for him at all the probable places", Jungkook suggested. The three of them were thinking about the same thing.
------------------------------
Jin went to the restaurant where Taehyung worked.
Hoseok went to Jin as soon as he saw him. "You called me asking for Taehyung. But he is not here. What happened?"
"Hoseok, he is missing", Jin said, still looking around.
"What!", Hoseok was shocked and worried.
"Did he say anything to you yesterday? Do you have any idea where he would go or why? What did he say to you?", Jin asked.
"He was behaving a bit differently. But then I thought- Yes, he told me to give this to Yoongi", Hoseok said, taking out the envelope from his pocket.
Jin grabbed it as soon as he saw it. "It was only for Y-", before Hoseok could complete his words, Jin had already started reading the letter.
"Hoseok, why didn't you open it before?", Jin said crushing the letter in his hands. His expression was somewhere between pain and anger.
Hoseok took the paper from Jin's hand and read what was written. It was a resignation letter.
"Sorry Jin, I had no idea, I didn't know", Hoseok said.
"Of course. How would you know when he would have fooled you with those innocent eyes!"
Hoseok looked at Jin who looked helpless, "You need to calm down. How can we look for him if you are this stressed?"
"Hoseok, I've checked almost everywhere. Where would he go? You know how he is. How can I calm down?", Jin said teary-eyed.
"I hate him so much. He cannot do that to me. If he wanted to leave from my place, he could have at least gone to Jimin's or yours. What if something happens to him? Where did he go Hoseok? Where is he?", Jin didn't want to break down like that in front of Hoseok but he couldn't help it.
"Jin-"
"It was all my mistake. He didn't deserve any of it. I hate him, I hate his family. I wish I had suffered it all instead of him. He is too precious for this world. What if he gets lost, what if someone does something to him?"
Hoseok looked at Jin in worry, "Nothing bad is going to happen. And right now you need to stop this, you need to calm down".
After getting a bit calm Jin looked at all the nearby places where Taehyung could go but he wasn't there.
Then, he had one place in his mind where Taehyung could be; the abandoned house where he found Taehyung for the first time.
He went to that abandoned house that evening and looked all over the place, even asking people from the distant neighborhood about Taehyung but he didn't get anything.