*Dis a pretty important chapter. Brace yourself*
The tiniest breeze whirls the perishing leaves across the pavement, causing them to move against their lost will while some get stuck in the cracks of the concrete. It's chiller in this part of the city and darker, weirdly enough as the sun decides not to shine as courteously like it does in the centre of the city.
Even the corners of the buildings stay grey and casted into darkness, only making the alleyways leerier and more perilous. Graffiti doesn't hesitate to crawl across the walls of the buildings just as the boundless rubbish continues to blow down the pathways, destroying the cleanliness of the city.
Jin never comes down here. He's never had a reason to. And it turns out other people don't either since the cafe he sits outside of is just about empty. He adjusts his blazer uncomfortably, the expensive material deceiving him as it fails to keep him securely warm. Coming straight from work, he didn't have time to go home and change and he was already regretting the long walk back. He couldn't let his driver know to where he is, especially today.
While he stares across the shady street where no cars drive, he can't help but let him mind dig deeper into the remorseful memory that brought him here in the first place.
"Just let me drive." Jin tells his friend again, placing more persistence into his voice that his friend only decides to shrug off.
"Not a chance, Jin." He replies, slurring his words a bit as he speaks which only worries Jin more as it proves just how drunk his friend is. "I'm the daddy tonight."
Jin bursts into laughter, feeling a bit tipsy from the alcohol he's had himself. "You're fucking crazy." He shakes his head as he makes his way around the car, settling himself into the passenger seat.
His friend only winks at him as he gets into the big black car, almost tripping as he misses the step the first time. It was a miracle of how vacant the street was that night. Maybe that's why Jin let his drunk friend drive instead. The absence of cars gave him a little reassurance.
The streets were dark, barely any lamps to properly light up the roads ahead. This late at night, the town was pretty much asleep. No shops were open, most curtains were drawn of the neighbouring flats and no one was to be seen wandering the treacherous streets at the late hour. The only thing that kept the town alive that night was the big black car driving right down the centre of the road.
"Duuuuuude." Jin sings out a groan. "Stay to one fucking side. You're gonna make me throw up with your driving."
The man driving snickers. "Go ahead, bro. I'll throw up with you." He says, feeling a little sick himself.
With a roll of the eyes, Jin ends up laughing along shamelessly, forgetting all his concerns that he shouldn't have been forgetting.
The car approaches traffic lights but his friend doesn't show any intention in slowing down. "Bro, stop the fucking car. It's red."
All he does is scoff. "Who the fuck is going to be driving out at this time, hyung?"
With that, he steps on the pedal, increasing the speed just to freak Jin out more. It rips a thunderous shout out of Jin as he does so but not because of the crazy speed he was going at but because of the car no one saw passing in front of them. But his scream didn't mean anything as the big black car crashes into the next, impaling the smaller car with theirs.
"NAMJOON!"
"Jin."
The voice causes his eyes to be torn off the grey concrete and focus on the man standing next to his table. He responds in a low and hushed voice, a mix of emotions threatening to overwhelm him as he stares up at the tall man. "Namjoon."
Namjoon gives a genuine smile, his styled dark grey hair blending into the buildings behind him. "It's been a while, bro." He says as he takes the seat opposite of him.
Jin gulps. He's unable to return the smile, his expression staying the same. "It has."
"So," Namjoon glances around, observing the foreign area to him. "You said you had something important to talk to me about."
"Yes." Jin replies in a tough tone. "Something I apologise for having to bring up."
By now, Namjoon's smile has slowly faded along with his defined dimples. He nods with a serious look on his face. "Okay."
It takes a lot for him to form the words of the question. "You know the car accident we were both in three years ago? The one I managed to get us out of any consequences?"
Namjoon's face hardens, his features drawing in. "I do."
"And you remember our car hitting another?"
He repeats himself with same expression. "I do."
Jin takes a breath inward and explains. "Well it turns out the car accident did end up injuring one person severely."
Namjoon narrows his eyes, not following. "Of course, that's definitely expected. We both had to get a few stitches."
"No, Namjoon, I'm talking about severe injuries. An underage girl lost her sight in that accident." As hard as it is for Namjoon to hear it, Jin doesn't hesitate to throw the tragic news in his face.
Burning a stare through him, Namjoon lets out a sigh and sits back in his chair while his eyes drop to the surface of the table. He places his hands on the table, tapping his fingers away at a slow pace. "I know."
Jin's eyebrows draw near while his eyes widen. "You already knew? All this time? You knew that it's our fault a girl went blind?"
Namjoon nods calmly in response, bringing his eyes up to meet Jin's frantic ones. "I know who the girl is too."
Jin can't believe his ears, the gentle breeze suddenly feeling ten times colder. "Namjoon, how? Do you know what this means?"
"I found out who the girl was the same day you managed to bribe the police to keeping it a secret. Her name's Y/N." A selfish smirk edges his mouth. "She's quite pretty, it's a shame."
The last comment causes an angry twitch in Jin's expression. "How do you know her, Namjoon?"
He throws his hands up, giving a heartless shrug. "Call me crazy but I dated the chick. Sounds selfish, I know but she seemed pretty eager at first."
"At first?" Jin questions, shooting daggers.
"Yeah. That's the sad part." He says, staring out into the street as he thinks back. "She wasn't as eager to do everything else after a while."
A strong grimace passes Jin's face in unbelievable disgust as he connects the lines together. "So, you decided to use the girl you made blind for sex and dumped her when she refused?"
The careless shrug Namjoon gives only ticks him off more. "You're a pig."
Jin can't even remember why he was this guy's friend in the first place. He always knew Namjoon wasn't the kindest soul out there but for him to do such a terrible thing and then talk about it as if it meant nothing drives him to the edge. His patience wears thinner than a piece of a string and when he speaks again, he doesn't both to add any politeness to his words.
"I'm handing us in." He straightforwardly states, expecting Namjoon to explode but he carries on. "Y/N is my best friend's girlfriend now and he means a lot to me. She makes him happy which makes me happy so I can't go on and act like I don't know anything about the fault of her accident. I can't betray them like this."
He braces himself, thinking the cruel man in front of him was about to flip the table and go ballistic. But to his complete surprise, instead of Namjoon exploding into anger, he explodes into laughter. The loud, mocking and evil cackling kind. The kind that sent an odd spray of shivers beneath his thin suit and he knew he can no longer blame the cold wind for it.
"You-" Namjoon pauses to contain his laughter as he sits up straight. "You want to turn us in? You want to hand me into the police for what exactly?"
Jin furrows his eyebrows fiercely, trying to figure what he said that was so wrong. "You were the one who was driving the car intoxicated in the first place. If anything, there's more to blame on you than me."
"Yes, but who's car was it, hyung?"
His question strikes him like lightning, the shock travelling through every nerve in his brain.
"And what evidence do you have that proves that it was me driving, huh?" Namjoon chuckles in between his words and sits back to watch Jin's frozen features. "What are you going to tell them? Hey, my friend is the one who drunkenly crashed my car into another while I was present in the car, also drunk?"
"Y-yes." Jin says, his confidence fading while his friend mocks him.
Namjoon shakes his head at that in disapproval. "And all I have to do is deny it. I already have an alibi and everything, hyung. I was prepared just in case you wanted to pull this shit."
His words are a slap in Jin's face, leaving the reddest mark to embarrass him further. He's lost. Completely lost.
Namjoon stands up, pushing his chair back as he intimidatingly stares down at the helpless man. "Don't bother, Jin. If you go to the police, it'll just cause unnecessary drama and the chances you have of putting the blame on me are very low." He speaks in a softer tone while he attempts to convince him. "You'll only end up placing the blame on yourself."
Jin is too disorientated to speak, nothing sensible coming to his mind to say. There was no point. No point in trying to fight now.
Namjoon sighs, straightening his coat as he prepares himself to leave. "I'm off. Sorry to say this but let's not see each other again. We have no reason to."
All Jin can do is let the devious man walk free, staring hopelessly until he disappears from sight. He doesn't realise how long he's staying still in his seat, his thoughts consume his consciousness, until one of the waiters approaches him.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir. But we're closing soon."
Jin looks up at the man, keeping a blank expression and nodding instead of saying anything. The young boy bows and walks back into the cafe, glancing back at him uncertainly. With a blow of breath, he gets up and straightens his suit.
Walking down the fading streets, the lamp posts start to light up as the sun goes down. He has no reason to gaze up at the sky today, no reason to smile. While he fights with himself to come up with a solution to all this, the realistic part of tells him to give up, saying there's no hope in this situation. Not this time.
The long walk becomes a short one even though he walks incredibly slow, his wide shoulders drooping and arms sinking into the sidewalk. The wind becomes his enemy, turning colder and colder by the minute but he ignores the shivers that shakes his tall frame. He comes to a stop somewhere along the way and finally lifts his head up to the sky, his neck aching from carrying the heavy thoughts in his head. With the clouds carpeting the sky tonight, there are no hopeful stars to wish upon.
"Oh, Taehyung." He whispers, clouds of icy breath blowing from his freezing lips. A guilty and saddened tear rolls down his face as he gazes up. "Forgive me."
_________
I didn't realise how hard it is to portray Namjoon as the villain when he would never hurt a fly in real life...
Like...I love him 😔