새장
A WEEK HAD slowly passed since Jungkook's birthday, since Mina ultimately got rejected without him ever knowing that she loved him. Loved? Love? She didn't know anymore. Was it even worth loving him? She knew she would never receive the love in return.
Yet, every time she would see Jungkook in her classes throughout each passing day, it was as if she would melt back to default, falling back in love all over again. Then she would be reminded that he was in love with someone else, and her emotions would fade into sadness again, creating an endless cycle of destruction.
"Do you want my pudding?" Bitna's question brought Mina out of her thoughts as she glanced at her best friend, slowly shaking her head in refusal before looking down at her barely touched food again. Bitna frowned, dropping her spoon gently onto her plate. "We should go to the mall, what do you say?"
"I have to go to my singing lessons today," she answered, monotonously.
"We have to do something to get your mind off of you know who," Bitna said. "It hurts me to see you like this."
"What do you mean?" Mina raised her eyebrows at her. "I'm fine."
Bitna tilted her head and gave her a disapproving look, making the girl look away defeatedly. "We both know you're not fine, after Jungkook's birthday party. When I saw Raven in front of me for the first time," she slipped away for a second, before shaking her head out of her thoughts. "Listen, boys aren't worth mulling over. Especially not Jungkook. Why don't you talk to Yunho? Maybe ask him to hang out?"
Mina smiled a bit at the thought of Yunho. They had gotten closer within the past week, spending time together in the hallways and during classes. Yunho was one of her very good friends, a quite good-looking one in fact, that sometimes her heart would beat quickly around him.
"I'd feel bad to use him like that," Mina frowned. "To get over him."
"I guess you're right. You also can't avoid Jungkook that much, either. We literally have a group project with him in history," Bitna sighed.
"Didn't the teacher say we have to work on it out of class?" Mina asked. Upon seeing Bitna nod, a thought came into her head and she began speaking without even thinking. "I can ask if we can do it at my house today. Just to get the project over with."
"Really?" Bitna raised her eyebrows excitedly. "Will your dad let them come?"
"I can ask my father's secretary, Yeojeong, to ask him. I don't know why he'd say no, I mean, it's for school," she shrugged.
She had no idea how wrong she was.
-
Mina climbed into the passenger seat of her car, while Namjoon, Bitna, Seokjin, Yoongi and Jungkook shuffled into the car. Kangho was in the driver's seat, glancing at everyone in the rear-view mirror.
Mina was starting to regret letting her house be the study place; Jungkook was going to be in her house, in her room. She didn't know how to act around him anymore, and having to be in her bedroom with him sounded overwhelming.
Yeojeong had told her it was okay, considering she had asked her father and he agreed to it, surprisingly to Mina. He was going to be at a conference, so he would not be home anyways. The boys were ecstatic to have a proper reason to miss practice for once.
"Everybody comfortable?" Kangho asked politely, smiling a bit as Bitna grunted while being smushed in between Namjoon and Yoongi. Jungkook and Seokjin took the two seats in the back of the car, a bit cramped due to their broad shoulders but manageable nonetheless.
"Yes, sir," Namjoon smiled at him back before the car began to move. Mina was silent in the front seat, nervously fiddling with her fingers as they passed several buildings, getting closer to their house as every second passed.
"So, this is for a project? What kind of project is it?" Kangho asked as he kept his hands on the wheel firmly.
"It's a history project. We have to make a presentation about the effect of trade in ancient civilizations," answered Yoongi from beside Bitna, who shifted uncomfortably with her legs crossed.
"Wow! That's so interesting!" Kangho exclaimed before letting out an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, I'm not very sure how to talk to Mina's friends, considering she's never had any before."
"Kangho!" Mina scolded him playfully, making him laugh, the sound echoing in the car.
"Don't worry," Bitna spoke up. "I can tell she's never had any before."
Mina scolded her as well, emitting some laughter from the others in the car, including Jungkook. He smiled as he peeked through Bitna and Namjoon's heads, seeing Mina in the passenger seat with a smile on her face. It was rare those days, to see her smile. Even during chemistry class, she would barely talk to him, and it would make him wonder if he did something wrong. He would never want to hurt her, given that her friendship was important to him.
Soon enough, they had reached Mina's mansion, causing the five in the backseat to gawk at the sight. They exited the car, jaws dropped as they glanced up at the mansion.
"What the hell, Minnie?" Bitna whispered as they walked toward the entrance. "You're basically a princess, where's your glass shoe and talking mice?"
"Shut up," Mina cleared her throat as the boys followed behind.
They entered the foyer, being met with Yeojeong, her hands neatly folded in front of her before bowing slightly, causing the others to bow deeply in response.
"Hello," Yeojeong smiled before looking at Mina. "You have until 5 when your father returns from his conference."
Mina nodded, glancing at the clock in the corner of the wall. They had about two hours to work on their presentation, so they had to get started.
"Come on," Mina dragged Bitna away, who was gawking at the large chandelier in the foyer along with the others, their eyes gleaming like moths drawn to a flame. "Let's go," she chuckled, snapping them back to reality. They followed her up the marble staircase, and down the wide hallway to her room.
She hesitantly opened the double doors to her room, revealing her pristine bedroom to her friends. They walked in, immediately making surprised remarks and gasping.
"What the-" Yoongi cut himself off as he stared wide-eyed at something in the corner of her large room. "You have a grand piano?"
He walked to it, gently caressing his fingers along the shiny black grand piano.
"Yeah," Mina said shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You have a walk-in closet!" Mina heard Bitna yell from another room, making her wonder how she could quickly get to her closet, which connected to her bathroom.
"Bitna, we have to work on our project!" yelled Namjoon as he gently set his backpack on the ground.
"Thanks, Namjoon," Mina chuckled as Bitna stepped back into the room, joining everyone on the floor. They huddled around in a circle, as Yoongi's eyes stayed glued to the piano.
"Do you play the piano?" Yoongi asked her.
"Obviously she plays, there's a piano in her room," Seokjin remarked, playfully slapping his shoulder from beside him. Jungkook sat crossed-legged, timidly looking around her room. He was amazed at how clean it was, compared to his, which looked like a tornado hit the inside of his room.
"Yeah," Mina nodded with a chuckle. "My mother made me learn when I was a child, but I haven't played in forever."
The mention of her mother had her bowing her head slightly, fiddling with her fingers, something Jungkook noticed.
"Let's work on our project. We don't have a lot of time," Jungkook suggested, shooting a gentle smile toward Mina. Her eyes met his, and for a second, Mina knew she fell in love with Jungkook all over again.
This is going to be difficult.
-
An hour had passed and they had progressed through their project quickly, working together in a circle as Yoongi typed away on his laptop, working on the presentation. It was new for Mina, having her friends over, even if it was for school. She never thought this day would come, and she never wanted it to end.
Except it as inevitably going to; and harshly on that day. Little did she know, her father had pulled in the driveway already, back an hour early. And another thing she didn't know was that her father was completely unaware that her friends were there. Yeojeong had lied; the poor secretary knew Sungyun was completely stressed out over a business deal and knew he would say no. But she cared for Mina so much that she secretly allowed them to come over, knowing that Sungyun would come back at 5.
But he didn't. It was 4 o'clock when he stepped through the door.
"I think the Silk Road is really important to include," Mina looked up at Yoongi from her textbook. "I mean, it completely connected the Western world to Asia and the Middle East, so it brought a lot of new technology and inventions."
"She's right," Namjoon nodded. "Definitely mention the Silk Road."
"How do you guys know all of this stuff?" Seokjin asked as he lazily leaned back onto his palms. "I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast."
"Maybe if you actually read the textbook for once, these things will stick in your mind," Namjoon cocked his eyebrow at Seokjin, who rolled his head back tiredly.
The abrupt sound of her door swinging open startled the six, causing their gazes to snap toward the door, seeing Mina's father, a very angry expression on his face.
Mina felt her heart race at the sight of her father, before she quickly stood up, folding her hands nervously. "Father, what are you doing back home early? Weren't you supposed to come back at 5?"
"What the hell is going on here?" he ignored her question, glaring at her and then her friends, who stared at him wide-eyed. "Who allowed this?"
Mina blinked in confusion. "Y-Yeojeong said you did."
"I did not," Sungyun clenched his jaw before walking toward Mina, grabbing onto her wrist to pull her out of her room, but she resisted. He turned his head at her, looking at her incredulously.
"Father, we're working on a project, c-can't we study for a little longer?" Mina asked, unaware that her voice was shaking in fear. Her father's grip on her right wrist was getting tighter, and she could feel it.
"I want everyone in this room out of my house in the next 5 minutes," Sungyun spat, glaring at the five on the floor before looking at her. "And we are going to have a long talk about your manners, young lady."
Jungkook was quick to stand up, his eyebrows furrowed and his fists clenched tightly. "Sir, with all due respect, we're working on schoolwork."
"I don't care," Sungyun seethed. "Stay away from my daughter," he said before dragging Mina out of her room, nearly tripping on her own feet, leaving her friends in her bedroom, shocked and frozen.
-
Mina crashed onto her bed an hour later, sobbing uncontrollably into her lilac purple blankets, her tears staining the fabric. Her father had yelled at her constantly, lecturing her for her misbehavior. Everyone had left already, helped by Yeojeong who had briefly apologized to her about lying.
She couldn't blame her. Her father was indeed very scary when he was stressed out, so she would have done the same thing.
What she hated the most was that her friends had to witness that, her father tossing her around and treating her like that. This day would forever be etched in her mind; the day her friends came over for the first time and ended with them being told to stay away from her.
She wondered if her father ever wanted to see her happy. He'd been this cold ever since her mother passed away, and Mina had always dismissed it because of that reason. She missed her mother as much as he did, but that gives him no reason to be an asshole.
The ringing of her phone caught her attention, and she slowly reached for it on her bedside table, seeing Jungkook's name on the screen. Her eyes widened before sitting up, sniffling her tears away. Why on Earth was he calling her at this time?
She pressed the phone to her ear, her breathing staggered as she tried to steady it. "H-Hello?"
"Hey, Mina," she heard his voice on the other line, sweet as honey and beautiful as the morning sun. "I just wanted to check up on you. Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, I am," she replied, biting her lip to hide her tears. "I'm sorry about my father, he's a bit of a drama queen," she let out a fake chuckle.
"Don't worry about it. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, Jungkook," she said, her heart aching as his name rolled off her tongue.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Sweet dreams," he said into the phone.
"G-Goodnight, Jungkook," she replied monotonously as she stared at her pillow, sliding her phone off of her cheek. The call ended, leaving the room in silence and making the hole in Mina's heart empty once again.
Mina's tears subsided enough for her to stand up, fixing her hair before walking toward the window, opening it wide. She sniffled as she tapped twice on the purple jewel of her bracelet, her returning tears beginning to cloud her vision as she felt her suit transform on her body. She needed to get away from her house, this cage before she would go crazy.
She flew out of the window quickly, feeling the wind breeze through her hair as she glanced down at the nighttime city below her. She wanted to be a part of it, to be able to walk around at night with her friends without worrying about being caught by her father. Even if she was able to go to school, she knew she would always be trapped in this cage, locked by the key of her father's making.
She hated it.
Mina blinked her frustrated tears away before she flew down toward an alley, landing in it and immediately dropping to her knees as she began sobbing. She felt an enormous amount of energy exert from her trembling body, and within a second, she heard the alley surrounding her rumble, along with the clashing of the dumpster and the other objects in the alley.
The dumpster had turned upside down, the several storage crates scattered around the ground that was cracked underneath her. Her power caused an earthquake in the alley with that one burst of energy.
Mina ignored it, burying her face in her hands as her shoulders shook.
She didn't even notice the sound of uneasy footsteps coming toward her in the alley.
"Raven?" she heard a familiar voice, immediately knowing it to be her partner, Firedrake. He kneeled down in front of her, gently putting his hand on her shoulder as he looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?"
Mina shook her head, letting her body lean into Jungkook's, longing for the comfort that could temporarily fill the inescapable void in her heart. Jungkook hesitantly wrapped his arms around her shaking body, sitting onto his bottom as she buried her face into his neck. He held her tightly, the sound of her crying tugging at his heartstrings. Although he didn't know why his partner was crying, he never wanted to hear the sound again.
Because her being in pain was something Jungkook never wanted to see. He cared for her too much. He loved her too much to ever let that happen.