It took time for Yoongi to get acclimated to his new life. He'd been living in such an abusive environment for so long, he'd picked up habits that he hadn't even realized.
Despite knowing their apartment was his home and that he could come and go and do as he pleased, Yoongi would ask Namjoon if he could do things before he did them. He asked if he could eat. He asked if he could take a shower. He asked if he could go to sleep. He even asked if he could go to the bathroom. Simple, every day tasks that one wouldn't even think about before doing were a cause for panic for Yoongi. He didn't want to do anything that had gotten him in trouble with Chul. He'd always had to ask Chul for permission to do things. His life had been so dictated by Chul, that he even feared doing things when he was alone.
Luckily, Yoongi was still willing to go to therapy, and he began seeing Dr. Kang regularly. And true to his promise, Namjoon went with him every time. It was beneficial for Namjoon as well, seeing as he was living with Yoongi and was the one being asked if Yoongi could do everything. Knowing it was normal and how to handle it was a great comfort to Namjoon. He just hoped his friend's life could return to some semblance of normal soon.
Yoongi still had nightmares, and there were nights where he and/or Namjoon would be sleep deprived. He didn't like talking about them or telling anyone what happened in them. He didn't even like to tell Dr. Kang. She was patient with him, and let him know that when he was ready to talk about it, they could work through some of his fears that were manifesting in his dreams. Deep down, everyone hoped he would open up about it soon because they hated seeing Yoongi suffer this way. But in the end, they just had to give him time.
Raised voices were another thing Yoongi feared. Even if they were excited or saying happy things, he would get nervous. It only took once for the exuberant Hoseok to see his friend cowering in fear from him to reign himself in. Going out in public was difficult for a while, as no one could control what other people did or said. There was one time where they'd all had to leave a restaurant in the middle of their meal due an argument a couple was having at a nearby table.
The worst part for Yoongi's friends, however, was the self-deprecation. If Yoongi did or said anything wrong - such as drop something on the floor or even just pronounce a word incorrectly - he would dissolve into a mess of calling himself things like stupid and worthless. It would sometimes even escalate to the point of a panic attack if he concentrated on it too hard and couldn't move past it. When this would happen, they were all witness to another habit he had picked up; one that only Seokjin had seen before. Yoongi would thrust his hands into his hair and violently pull at it. Sometimes, he would even pull tufts of it out. It was so distressing and difficult to watch, that sometimes some of his friends had to walk away before they themselves fell victim to the anxiety it could cause.
His friends were all very understanding and patient, though it was strange and difficult to see the Yoongi they knew as strong and tough succumbing to fears and being reduced to tears so easily. They knew it would take a lot of time, empathy and therapy to rebuild who he had been before Chul.
-
"Hey, Yoongs, can you come into the living room for a minute?"
Yoongi was in his room, wrapped up in a blanket and working on breathing exercises when he heard Namjoon calling him. He hurriedly extracted himself from the blanket, but he didn't make it into the living room before Namjoon called him again.
"Yoongs?"
"I'm sorry!" Yoongi said as he rushed into the living room. "I'm so sorry, I just – "
Yoongi stood stock still. Jungkook was sitting on the couch next to Namjoon.
"It's okay, Yoongs," Namjoon said. "I just wasn't sure if you might be asleep."
Yoongi turned his eyes toward Namjoon. "Sorry," he said again quietly before hanging his head.
Namjoon glanced at Jungkook before sighing softly. "It's okay, Yoongs. I'm not upset with you."
Yoongi nodded, but didn't move. "You can sit down, Yoongs, if you want."
Yoongi nodded slightly again before sitting down in a chair.
"I hope it's okay, but I asked Jungkook to come over today," Namjoon said carefully. "I thought maybe you two could talk...clear the air a bit?"
Yoongi peeked up at Namjoon. "I'll be nice to him, I promise. I'll be his friend if you want me to be."
"No, Yoongs, that's not why I want you to talk to him. I want you to get to know him. And he and I both want you to get an explanation as to why he - and we - did what he did. We both agree that you deserve that."
Yoongi glanced quickly at Jungkook, then back at Namjoon. "I-It's okay," Yoongi said. "I-I'm over it."
"It's not okay," Jungkook said quietly. "What I did was wrong. I want to apologize to you, Yoongi."
"You don't have to," Yoongi said. "I'm really not worth apolo – "
"Yes, you are," Jungkook interrupted firmly.
Yoongi put his head down again. "Sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Yoongi," Jungkook assured him.
Yoongi finally looked up and at Jungkook long enough to make eye contact with him. "W-What do you want to say?"
Jungkook took a deep breath. "I didn't know any of your friends before I approached Jimin one day. We have a dance class together and I noticed he was all out of sorts - getting steps wrong, looking upset, generally being distracted. It worried me, because that was very uncharacteristic. So, after class, I asked him if everything was okay. Of course, he was confused and a little stand-offish. He didn't know me, after all. But I told him that if he ever needed someone to talk to who could be an impartial party, he could talk to me."
Yoongi quietly continued to listen with an unreadable expression on his face.
"He called me that afternoon, concerned because he said he thought his friend was being abused and he didn't know what to do."
Yoongi blinked. "How did he – "
"He overheard it, Yoongs," Namjoon said gently. "He went to your apartment the day before and heard it through the door." Yoongi's eyes widened with shame.
"You missed school the next day," Jungkook continued. "And he called to check on you, but Chul answered. What he said...it led Jimin to believe that he was going to hurt you again. He didn't know what to do, but felt like he needed to tell someone, so he called me. I convinced him to talk to Namjoon."
"I couldn't believe it at first," Namjoon interrupted. "So, I went to talk to you and then...I heard it, too."
Yoongi hung his head again.
"But believe me, Yoongs, I was mad at Jimin for bringing Jungkook into it. I got upset, too. It wasn't until Jungkook started giving us some great advice on how to handle the situation that I really started to accept him."
Jungkook nodded. "I've been witness to domestic violence and abuse before," he said softly. "I knew that confrontation and running in without a plan was a recipe for disaster. And you could get hurt worse."
"Jimin and I knew we couldn't handle the situation on our own, so we told the other guys. That's when we came up with the plan for Jungkook to approach you. You were avoiding all of us, and we didn't know how else to get through to you."
"I talked to you the next day. I wasn't sure how you would react, so I didn't tell you that I knew your friends, because I figured you'd turn me away. So then when you didn't, I knew I had to keep it a secret."
"That was dishonest," Yoongi whispered.
"I know," Jungkook said. "And that's why I'm sorry. I need you to know, though, that even though I didn't even know you, I cared for you. I wanted to help."
"Why?"
Jungkook paused. He hadn't expected that question.
"Because my sister was a victim of domestic violence and – "
"Dr. Kang says we should say 'survivor' instead of 'victim'," Yoongi interrupted.
Jungkook nodded. "But she was a victim. I couldn't save her."
Yoongi looked up, startled. His eyes softened and he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"I didn't want you to be a victim like her, Yoongi. I wanted to help you be a survivor."
A tear ran down Yoongi's cheek. "I felt like I knew you to an extent, through what your friends had told me," Jungkook continued. "You sounded amazing, and I wanted to learn more about you, but from you."
"That's why you said you wanted to know everything," Yoongi said softly.
Jungkook smiled. "Yes, exactly! And I intended on becoming and continuing to be your friend. That's why, when you couldn't come up with much on the spot to tell me, I told you I had time to learn more."
"There's that word again," Yoongi mumbled. "Friend."
"What do you mean?" Jungkook asked. A blush crept across Yoongi's cheeks, not having realized Jungkook could make out what he said.
"I think what he's trying to say," Namjoon intervened. "is that a friend is honest, and that's why he's been having a hard time accepting what happened. Right, Yoongs?"
Yoongi looked at Namjoon, who gave him a small, knowing smile. Yoongi simply nodded.
"I'd really like it if you could give me a chance to show you I can be honest," Jungkook told Yoongi. "If you can't, I'll understand. But in that case, I really hope you can at least believe that I care for you, Yoongi. Whether we're friends or not."
After a few very long moments of silent anticipation, Yoongi finally looked from Namjoon to Jungkook. "I-I think I can give you the chance."
A big, beautiful grin spread across Jungkook's cheeks, causing the pink on Yoongi's to deepen. "Thank you, Yoongi," Jungkook said. "Thank you, and I promise I won't let you down."
-
It was a couple of days later that there was a knock at the door. Namjoon was in the other room, and Yoongi almost called out to ask him if he could answer the door, but then he remembered that he didn't need permission anymore. And he marched over to the door and proudly pulled it open.
And immediately wished he hadn't.
"Min Yoongi?"
"Joon!" Yoongi called. When there was no response, his voice became desperate. "Joon!"
Namjoon came rushing out into the living room. "Is everything o – "
He hurried over to the door, and stepped in front of Yoongi protectively. "Can I help you?"
"Is there a Min Yoongi here?"
"He's Yoongi," Namjoon said, pointing over his shoulder.
"We need to ask him some questions regarding Lee Chul."
Behind Namjoon, Yoongi's eyes widened. Namjoon turned around and before he could say anything, Yoongi began shaking his head.
"It's okay, Yoongs, they're here to help."
"I can't," Yoongi whispered.
"They just have some questions. It'll be alright. I'll be with you, okay?"
Namjoon led a shaky Yoongi over to a chair, then beckoned the police officers inside. Namjoon pulled one of them aside.
"You'll need to be patient with him," he said quietly. "He's still traumatized, and he may need some time to answer questions."
The officer nodded. "I understand."
"Do you think you'll be able to answer some questions for us, Mr. Min? We thought you'd be more comfortable here than at the station."
Yoongi timidly nodded his head. Namjoon thanked whatever higher powers he could think of that the police had decided to come to their apartment. There was no way Yoongi could handle going to the police station right now.
"Please, sit," Namjoon gestured toward the couch. "He'll be less nervous if you do," he continued, knowing that authority figures standing over him would be intimidating to Yoongi.
The officers nodded and sat. "Just be as detailed as you can be, Mr. Min," one of them said. "If anything makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to answer it right now. We can always come back another time when you're feeling more up to it."
Yoongi nodded again.
"How long were you dating Mr. Lee?"
"E-Eight months."
"And how long did you live together?"
"Six months," Yoongi answered quietly.
The officers nodded and made some notes.
"Did the abuse begin before or after you moved in together?"
Yoongi sucked in a deep breath. There were several long moments of silence before he finally answered.
"Before."
Namjoon looked over at Yoongi, shocked. He had no idea it had been going on that long. He'd assumed it had started once Yoongi and Chul were living together.
"What happened during the first incident?"
Yoongi looked up. "W-What do you mean?"
"The first time Mr. Lee was violent toward you. What happened?"
Yoongi glanced at Namjoon, who smiled encouragingly.
"I... I was late to a date at a restaurant. I had gotten caught up with some work at school, and I wasn't paying attention. I was five minutes late, and he was already angry by the time I got there."
"What happened after that?"
"H-He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the restaurant and took me back to his apartment. Then..."
The officers waited patiently for him to continue.
"He slapped me. He said I was stupid that I couldn't keep track of time."
"Did he explain why it made him so angry?"
"He said that he was planning on telling me for the first time that he loved me over dinner. That's why it made him so mad - because it was supposed to be special and I ruined it."
Namjoon grit his teeth.
"But we made up. He apologized for hitting me and told me he loved me. I told him it was still special to me because it was the first time. And I told him I loved him, too."
The officer made some more notes. "And the next incident?"
Yoongi hesitated. "Do... Do I have to say?"
The officer put down his notebook. "Not if it makes you uncomfortable."
"He has a therapist," Namjoon suddenly said. "He's very comfortable with her. Could he maybe give this information to her and she could give it you?"
Yoongi perked up a bit. That sounded like a much better idea to him.
"Only with your permission," the officer addressed Yoongi directly. "You have doctor-patient confidentiality with your therapist. Legally, she cannot tell us anything without your consent."
"I think I'd rather do that," Yoongi said. "I-If that's okay with you."
The officer nodded. He then handed Yoongi a card with his name and number on it. "Give this to your therapist. She can contact me after she has you sign the proper forms."
Yoongi looked extremely relieved as he took the card. "Thank you," he said quietly.
"Thank you, Mr. Min, for the information you've given us today. It helps." Yoongi nodded. "We'll be in touch."
"Thank you," Namjoon said as he led the officers to the door. "for being so understanding."
The other officer nodded this time as they exited the apartment. "We understand how traumatizing these types of situations are. We're happy to do whatever we can to accommodate the victim."
After Namjoon closed the door, he turned to look at Yoongi, who was staring at the officer's card.
"You okay, Yoongs?"
Yoongi didn't look up. "Do you think I'm weak?"
Namjoon moved to sit beside him. "No, Yoongs. In fact, I think you might be the strongest person I've ever known."