"Where is he?" Seokjin asks, hoping deep down that Hoseok actually doesn't have a clue and Taehyung's left the property with you for the time being. Unfortunately, none of those are the case. You and Taehyung have no idea there's a storm coming, let alone something like this. It just makes things that much worse.
There must be a good reason why you did it..
There must be.
"He's in the kitchen." Hoseok answers, almost apologetically. They both know what they're doing must be done, but that doesn't change the fact that it still feels awful and wrong. "Y/N's in the Quarter by herself. Jimin's on standby, just like everybody else."
The energy around the house since everybody was informed about this situation has been weird. The only person who wasn't told anything is Jungkook, the reason being that he might tell you and Taehyung something and even help you leave. No one wants to believe it, but Namjoon does, so it doesn't matter. They all know what they must do.
"Okay, then." Jin exhales, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw. Just thinking about all of this makes him want to wake up, hoping this isn't really happening. How could Taehyung do this? He's loyal to the team, to his father who held his place before him, to the cause. Why would he help you betray the very unit he's so proud of being in?
"Hyung," Hoseok looks up at Jin as he begins heading towards the hallway. He knows he's supposed to stay quiet, keep things running smoothly with no trouble, but he can't let him walk away just yet. Not yet. Not until it makes sense. "Why did he do it..?"
Jin stops just before stepping out the doorway, looking down and letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't know." He shakes his head, clenching his jaw for that very reason. "I really wish I knew." He looks back, "But then again, what difference would it make? He still did it."
"Right." Hoseok replies quietly, looking down in what seems like sad defeat. There's still a couple of questions present in his cloudy mind, "What about Jungkook? What happens to him?"
"Well, that depends." Jin answers, remembering what Namjoon told him before instructing him to do what he's about to do and hoping it didn't have to come to that for his youngest friend. "What happens to him depends entirely on how he acts."
"So, he's gonna end up just like them." Hoseok mutters, closing his eyes and letting out another small, frustrated sigh. Even if he wants to, there's nothing he can do for the three of you. All he can do is convince himself you all deserve this. That way, it won't be as difficult.
—
"It's time." Namjoon says as he walks by Jimin, who's standing outside the closed Training Quarter lost in his jumbled thoughts. Without even actually looking at Jimin, Namjoon continues his way down the hall to be on standby, watching Jungkook covertly. He wants no flaws in this. You and Taehyung will learn your lesson. Even if it means Jungkook has to learn one too.
Jimin looks down and pushes himself off of the wall, hoping he's detached himself enough to go through with this smoothly. Only time will tell at this point if he actually did. With a small nod, more to himself than to RM, he walks the four steps towards the Quarter door and twists the doorknob.
"Jungkook, I already told you to stop messing with my flowe—" you turn around, surprised, "oh! Jimin." You slightly widen your eyes, seeing the face of someone who didn't match your words. You become a little embarrassed for opening your mouth so confidently. "Sorry, I—I thought you were Jungkook. He said he was going to the Garden and told me he'd be back, but—"
"Taehyung's in the kitchen." Jimin interrupts, almost completely emotionlessly. There's a coldness in his tone that wipes any trace of a smile off your face. He looks so detached, so different. Before you can even ask him anything, he opens his mouth to speak again. "Namjoon knows. Get there quickly."
"What?" You furrow your brows, feeling a tight, uncomfortable sensation starting to creep through your chest. "What are you—?"
"Don't act like you don't know." Jimin's voice breaks of its icy mask, letting the slightest bit of emotion seep through. It almost sounds like reproach, as if you'd hurt him in some way and he resents you for it. But even if it hasn't clicked yet, you know you've hurt someone else even more severely. "Taehyung is in the kitchen. Get there quickly." Jimin repeats, saying so as if he's trying to get back into the flow of some type of script.
"Okay," you nod, observing him with a bit of worry, "okay." You wait for him to look you in the face once more, but he doesn't. "Is everything alright? Did Taehyung call me? What is this?" You ask, trying to step up to him but surprised to see he doesn't let you. He holds out his hands and steps back as soon as you move your foot. "What does Namjoon know, Jimin? Why are you acting like this?"
"Get there quickly." Is all he follows up with.
"Is he okay?" You begin worrying even more, your legs already moving you towards the doors before you even realize. "You're acting really weird Jimin, just tell me what's going on!" You pause right before exiting the eerie room, turning around to see Jimin is still standing where he was. Why isn't he following you? Shouldn't he be? "Jimin!"
"My words were simple." Jimin's eyes stay on the stained floor, seemingly lost in thought. He sounds like a robot, you think. Why is he acting this way? What's wrong with him? "Do you not understand what 'get there quickly' means?"
"What's with you? Seriously." You shake your head, deciding its best to just step out and make your way to the kitchen like he asks before you really make him upset. Out in the hallway, all you can think about is Taehyung. What does he have to do with all of this? Is he okay? Why is it so important that you go to the kitchen where he is?
This isn't about 'Busan', calm down..
— I really hope so.. This doesn't feel right
You don't have the silver tree-engraved ring on your finger anymore. After Jungkook asked you about it yesterday night before going to sleep, you put it under some shirts in one of your drawers and locked it. Luckily, you were able to come up with a quick lie for Jungkook, but you can't risk anyone else not believing you. Especially RM or Taehyung.
"Hey, Y/N—! Woah,"
"What?"
"Where'd you get that from?"
"What—? Oh, this?"
"Yeah. Did you get it in Busan? I'd never seen you wear any jewelry other than the bangle before."
"Yeah, I did get it in Busan. I liked the—um, the tree."
"It looks cool."
"Thanks."
The house is too quiet. You notice this as you quietly walk down the hallways, clearly able to hear your thoughts in your confused mind. Usually, they'd be interrupted by some type of yelling or laughing or even sometimes the television screens blasting somewhere. Today, however, it's as if no one's here. But you don't remember anyone saying they'd be going out.
This takes a quick three-hundred-sixty degree turn, though. The closer you get to the kitchen, the more angry voices you hear.
"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY!" You hear Taehyung's voice yell. "SHE WAS GONNA DO IT ANYWAY!"
"What the..?" You walk a little faster. Your heart begins to pound a little harder, and with every passing second and muffled word, your pace quickly becomes a run. As soon as you come up to the wide kitchen doorway, your heart drops.
"WHY?!" Jin yells angrily, swinging his fist to hit Taehyung hard right across the face. It seems to have taken Taehyung completely by surprise.
NO!
"OH MY GOD, WH—?! HEY!" You scream, "JIN!" He doesn't even turn to acknowledge you. "TAEHYUNG!" You run into the kitchen, widening your eyes to see Taehyung fall hard on the floor. Jin stands over him, breathing relatively hard. It's almost as if he's waiting for Taehyung to get back up. You run over to Seokjin and pull his arm back, trying to establish some sort of distance, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
They know about the kid, Yuri.
"Get.. out of here Y/N," Taehyung mutters, bringing the back of his hand up to his busted lip. "L-Leave." He stumbles a little, having a bit of a hard time finding his balance back on his feet, "Now." Jin pulls free of your hold easily, lunging at Taehyung once again.
"No, I'm not leaving! SEOKJIN, STOP!" You frantically scream again, watching them engage in back and forth heavy punching while trying your hardest to get Jin off of Taehyung. "STOP IT! PLEASE! ENOUGH!" Your efforts are futile. You're too weak to match. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! STOP FIGHTING!" You continue to try, seeing blood being the last straw. "NAMJOON!" You call, naively thinking he'd help. He's the one who sent Seokjin. But, of course, you don't know that.
"Joon won't do anything." You hear a painfully familiar voice behind you. Before you can even react, his hand clamps over your mouth and he pulls you back, intensely restraining you and keeping his hold strong enough to hurt. "Why did you do it?"
Your eyes widen as you let a scared gust of air out of your nose. For a few seconds, you freeze. Taehyung looks up at the both of you, hanging his head. You've done a couple of things worthy of something like this. The challenge is figuring out which one Hoseok is talking about, or if he's talking about all of them.
How much do you know..?
That's when Jin gives Taehyung another blow that takes him down to the floor, but Jin doesn't stay standing this time. You snap out of your brief scared shock and scream through Hoseok's hand, trying to fight out of his hold but being completely unsuccessful. You grab his hand and try pulling it off of your mouth while squirming to try and get to Taehyung, but in the end, your strength doesn't match Hoseok's.
"TAEHYUNG!" You scream through his forceful grip, not wanting to let yourself give up. "JIN STOP! PLEASE STOP!" You cry, watching helplessly as Jin repeatedly hits an already bloody Taehyung while kneeling over him. Your words are barely understandable, but they don't have to be for everyone in there to know you're distressed.
"Why did you do it, Y/N?" Hoseok asks again, with a tiny bit more emotion this time. You're too anguished to notice. All you do is scream muffled cries and uselessly try to fight your way to stop Seokjin. Hoseok watches too, almost flinching every time Jin's fist lands on Taehyung. "WHY?!"
It wasn't his fault..
"JIN STOP! PLEASE! IT WAS ME! IT WAS ALL ME!" You scream over and over again, but no one can make out your words clearly enough to do anything about it. There's too much chaos in here. Before you know it, Jimin and Yoongi are in here too. Everything is happening too fast to process right.
"I sorry.." Jin pauses, holding his fist up in the air as he breathes heavily. It's as if he's trying to stop himself from hitting him again even though he knows he has to. His mind is fighting to bring it down once again, but his heart doesn't want to let him.
Sorry?
Taehyung looks up at Seokjin and takes his chance, knowing that if he doesn't, the only way he'd be getting off of this floor would be unconsciously. He takes Jin's wrist quickly, twisting it and shoving him off so he can get a chance to fight back. Meanwhile, your dismayed cries and everybody else's troubled confusion continue.
"No!" You scream, widening your eyes again as the surprise of the turn renders you almost limp. Taehyung gets a good few punches in, wasting no time in getting Jin on the floor before Jimin and Yoongi run to hold him back. There's so much screaming, you're head hurts. You don't remember the last time your heart ached this bad—the last time you were this immensely scared. When Jin stands up and starts walking towards Taehyung while wiping the blood off of his busted lip, your heart sinks completely. "STOP! STOP!" You manage to get Hoseok's hand off of your mouth just long enough to be understood, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
"How much did you tell EXO?" Hoseok asks you, not putting his hand over your mouth anymore. Instead, he wraps his arm around your neck, slowly making it harder for you to breathe. You desperately pull at him, feeling your heart accelerate by pure panicked survival. Your eyes widen as your oxygen depletes. You don't see it, but Hoseok closes his eyes and clenches his jaw as he feels you start to gape for air, almost apologetically. "How much did you tell them about Capo through that damn ring, Y/N?"
"What!?" Taehyung furrows his brows, looking up at you directly as his arms are held firmly by the people he considered brothers—as if he were about to be put out on a stake. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HOSEOK?!" He asks, trying to yank himself free but having no luck as his injuries render him just as weak as you. "Y/N—!"
"Don't act like you don't know what he's talking about, Taehyung-ah." Jin blocks his direct view of you and looks the beat-up young man dead in the eyes. "You traitor.." he clenches his jaw, taking a deep breath and punching Taehyung right in the gut. That word filling him with disappointed rage.
"No!" You cough, trying to cling onto consciousness the way you're trying to cling onto Hoseok's arm to get it off. "No.."
"We won't get caught, don't worry."
"How are you so sure?"
"I'm not."
"Taehy—!"
"Either way, all we did was give the
kid a grave. It's not like that's punishable
by death."
Everything starts to go in slow motion.
You can't breathe.
Taehyung looks straight out at you, blood trickling down into his eyes from a cut on his eyebrow. He squints, blinks a couple of times.
You could've sworn you saw a tear.
Then again, it could've just been more blood.
He breathes heavily.
You can't breathe.
I'm so sorry..
Screaming. So much screaming.
The image of Taehyung being held back by Jimin and Yoongi starts to grow darker and darker and darker.
You can't breathe.
Your hold starts to weaken, strength starts to falter.
Then, everything goes black.
• • •
Sorry for the delay, I know I usually update a little quicker than this.
Would you have told Taehyung about what EXO made you do?
— Also, you guys, I don't hate EXO!! I love my boys! Don't think that I made them the 'bad guys' because I'm one of those fans that put these two legend groups against each other. I just did it to include them and have some fun!
Please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes!
See you next chapter!❤️