Jimin stared in disbelief. He couldn't understand why Jungkook wouldn't speak up about Charlie's role, especially knowing what she had been through in the past.
"So you fucking knew and just sat back and watched her take on this stupid role where other men put their hands on her? What the hell is wrong with you? What kind of fucking friend are you?!" Jimin asked, feeling the anger coursing through him as he glared at the younger boy in front of him.
Jungkook's eyebrows furrowed, confused by the confrontation. He couldn't quite understand why Jimin's anger was directed towards him at the moment since he didn't do anything wrong. "You know what Charlie is like, besides, she can make her own choices," he responded calmly, but Jimin wasn't letting it go, and Jungkook couldn't help but feel slightly irritated at him for insinuating that he wasn't a good friend.
"That still doesn't make it fucking right Jungkook! You're her best friend, shouldn't you be the one to stand up for her? Keep her fucking safe?" Jimin retaliated, stepping closer towards Jungkook as the older shoved him slightly.
Jungkook's tongue poked the side of his cheek as he glared up at Jimin, desperately trying to maintain his cool as he felt his own breathing pick up slightly. "Fuck you, you don't know anything about the situation at all," he muttered, trying to walk away only to have Jimin roughly pull on the back of his shirt, causing Jungkook to slightly lose his balance before facing Jimin again, this time not holding back.
Jungkook moved quickly, immediately gripping Jimin's shirt before shoving him against the dresser, causing some of the little trinkets on the top to clatter onto the floor. Jimin groaned, initially shocked by the attack, but was quick to respond as he threw a punch, causing Jungkook to stumble back, holding onto his jaw before glaring at the man in front of him.
Jungkook's emotions were all over the place, but one emotion stood out over the others: anger. He was mad that Jimin was jumping to conclusions and not even listening to what he had to say. This whole thing with Charlie was complicated and Jungkook didn't know how many times he had asked her to stop doing what she was doing, but her response was the same every time.
"If I can stop what happened to me from happening to another girl, shouldn't I help?" Jungkook never could argue with her on that, plus she reminded him that he was always there in case she didn't feel safe.
Before Jungkook could even try to get up from the ground, Jimin had jumped on top of him, throwing punches to his face and sides. He tried his best to block them and managed to get a few punches in himself.
Taehyung was still in his geek cave when he heard the commotion coming from the other side of the door. He quickly stood up and was surprised to find Jimin on top of Jungkook.
"What the hell!?" he shouted as he tried to pry Jimin away from Jungkook. Jimin had elbowed Taehyung in the stomach in the heat of the moment, his focus solely on Jungkook as he tried to deflect some of the hits the younger boy was throwing. Taehyung stumbled back and ran out of the room towards the stairwell. "I need some fucking help up here!" he shouted, hoping the others could hear him as he rushed back into his room, now finding Jungkook on top of Jimin.
Taehyung decided to try and pull Jungkook away this time, but the younger man just wouldn't budge and ignored everything else around him as he directed his frustration towards Jimin.
Thankfully, Hoseok was the first one to appear, shirtless, as he had been in his own room trying to get dressed for the day. He paused in the doorway briefly, shocked by the sight in front of him before shaking it off as he rushed in and tried to help Taehyung pull Jungkook away. They managed to do just that, but Jimin was quick to his feet and went after Jungkook seeing as he had the advantage now. Taehyung quickly let go of Jungkook and tried to pull him back, but both Hoseok and Taehyung were struggling to keep the two apart.
"What the FUCK is going on here?" Yoongi's voice boomed throughout the room as Namjoon and Charlie stood behind him.
Everyone stopped moving as they turned towards Yoongi. Jimin shrugged off Taehyung's arms and Jungkook was breathing heavily as everyone now turned their attention to the two of them, noticing how disheveled and slightly beaten up both of them were from their altercation.
"Living room, everyone, NOW!" Yoongi said as he turned around and headed downstairs. Jimin was the first to move as he avoided everyone else and ignored the puzzled looks. All the other guys started to follow as Jungkook hung back. He needed to tell Charlie what was going, and thankfully, she waited as well. Once the other guys left the room, Jungkook quickly went over to his best friend, whispering in her ear.
"Jimin knows. He knows everything that happened to you," he said, pulling away and looking at the shocked expression on her face.
"Dammit," Charlie muttered. "Why were you beating the shit out of each other though?" she asked. Jungkook lowered his head, still feeling hurt by Jimin's words.
"He said I was a bad friend for not keeping you safe... because I let you do what you do for the team." He couldn't make eye contact with Charlie as he started to believe Jimin's words. Maybe Jimin was right, maybe he was a bad friend for not fighting harder to keep her from the traveling hands of our targets. He felt a hand on his shoulder and then his cheek as Charlie forced him to look at her.
"You are my best friend Kook, and you know it was my choice. All you have ever done for me, and what you still continue to do, is to keep me safe. You're not a bad friend, you hear me?" She watched as Jungkook slowly nodded his head.
"Get down here you two!" Yoongi yelled up the stairs and Charlie and Jungkook quickly walked to the living room, finding a place to sit on the couch next to each other. Jin had joined the group as well after hearing Yoongi yelling at the others, Taehyung filling him in on what happened upstairs since he missed the fight. Everyone was very confused as to what had just happened between Jungkook and Jimin as they kept glancing between the two.
Jimin was sitting in between Taehyung and Hoseok, who were both trying to get him to talk and tell them what had happened, but he stared at the ground bouncing his leg, still seething with anger from earlier.
Yoongi looked at Jimin and then at Jungkook, standing in front of everyone, arms crossed.
"Well? Which one of you is going to talk first?" he asked. Jimin refused to look up at the leader and Jungkook only glanced up for a second before looking at Charlie and then back to the ground. Yoongi started to wonder if Charlie was somehow involved in this as well. When no one spoke up, Yoongi felt his control slipping as he started to get irritated.
"In our line of work, we talk with our fists and bullets, however, when it comes to another member of this household, we do not fight like children but instead talk it out like fucking adults. So I will ask again, which one of you is going to talk first?" Yoongi looked back and forth once more to see who was going to speak up, but instead, noticed the slight glance that Jimin gave to Charlie, causing him to become even more confused.
Charlie couldn't sit still knowing that Jungkook wasn't going to say anything. She honestly didn't know if she was ever going to tell the rest of the house about her past, but this definitely wasn't how she pictured it going if she had planned it.
"I will," Charlie finally said as all eyes darted towards her. Jungkook lightly placed his hand on her knee and shook his head.
"Charlie, this is clearly between Jungkook and Jimin, they need to own up to it," Yoongi said in a much softer tone.
"But it's about me," she said as she looked up at him. "Jimin knows." The words rolled off her tongue and pierced through Yoongi. He didn't need anymore of an explanation as he knew exactly what she was referring to.
"Alright then, Jungkook and Jimin, to my office where we can discuss this further." Yoongi motioned for them to follow as the two of them slowly got up along with Charlie.
"Hold up," Namjoon interrupted, causing everyone to freeze. "I don't mean to step on your toes Yoongi, but I think this is something that we all need to discuss. Clearly, Charlie is involved in this somehow and you seem to know what's going on. I think it's only fair that we're all aware of the situation since it caused a fight between two of our members." Yoongi looked at his closest friend with a hardened expression. "Transparency, remember? That's how we get through shit together."
"Joon, there are some things that are best left unsaid. I promise you that it's not something the whole house needs to know," Yoongi said, but Namjoon refused to back down on this one as he stared at Yoongi, waiting for an explanation.
"It's ok boss," Charlie insisted, giving him a small smile. Yoongi walked over to her as Jungkook and Jimin sat back downl.
"You do not have to do this. I can take care of it," He said quietly. Charlie felt her heart melt at how caring and sincere he was being. The fact that Yoongi was willing to keep her secret for her was reason enough for her to come clean to the rest of the guys, she just hoped that they wouldn't treat her differently. She gave him a small smile letting him know that was going to tell them all.
Yoongi stood back up and walked over to an open spot on one of the couches, sitting down before letting out a deep sigh. Those who still did not know what was going on watched as their leader sat down, opening the floor for Charlie to continue speaking while the others waited. She sat back down so she was more comfortable and continued.
"I haven't been fully honest with you all about what happened in our foster home," Charlie said. After she took a deep breath, she looked at all their eyes, feeling slightly nervous as everyone was staring at her. She had their undivided attention, however, as she began to reveal the full truth, she watched as each and every pair of eyes left her gaze and instead, met the floor. THere was an awkward silence among them all when Charlie had finished talking. She felt Jungkook's hand rub her back slightly, letting her know that everything was ok.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Taehyung asked, being the first one to actually meet her gaze.
"Because I was afraid of this!" Charlie gestured at each one of them as some of them still avoided looking directly at her. "For Christ's sake, none of you can look at me right now! I am not some fragile little thing that can't handle herself and needs to be codeled all the time." Charlie looked over at Jimin who finally had looked up from the floor and met her eyes. "I thought you of all people would understand that. Also, everything that I have done was and still is my choice. Jungkook has tried to talk me out of it many times, but he doesn't force his decision on me," Charlie stated as she continued to glare at Jimin.
"I'm sorry," he finally mumbled, a small pout on his lips as he stared up at her.
"Look, shit happened to me and yeah, some days are harder than others, but my past is not who I am now, it doesn't define me. I am able to do what I do because I know that all of you would be there in a heartbeat if I needed you. Please, do not let what I just told you change how you view me," Charlie pleaded with them.
"So..." Hoseok spoke up. "How do we get Alice and Tucker out of there?" The rest of the guys nodded their heads in agreement, wanting to get the young kids out of that house.
Yoongi chuckled, earning confused glances from the room as everyone now turned their attention to him, staring curiously at their leader.
"I uhh, actually placed them in a new home not too long ago," Taehyung admitted, staring at the members as they tried to keep up with the new information.
"Okay, perfect...so we can take care of the problem then?" Jimin asked, looking particularly at Charlie.
Before she could say anything, Yoongi spoke up.
"It's already been handled. He's at the bottom of the river currently." Namjoon was the most surprised as he turned to Yoongi, staring at him with wide eyes.
"You knew?" Namjoon asked.
"He kind of just found out," Charlie said. "He was there when I slit my foster father's throat." All the guys' mouths dropped, not believing what she had just confessed to them.
"And his wife?" Jin asked, glancing at Charlie as he waited for an answer.
"Joined him, with a bullet between her eyes," Jungkook added, causing the oldest to turn towards him with wide eyes.
"Holy shit," Namjoon said with a proud smile. The tension seemed to ease up a bit, but Jimin was still on edge, feeling slightly disappointed.
"Were you ever going to tell us the full story?" he asked, looking at Charlie who met his sad eyes.
"I honestly don't know Jimin. To be honest, I didn't even really tell Kook about it," she admitted.
"Then how did he know?" Jimin asked.
"He was with me when I took a pregnancy test and asked way too many fucking questions." Charlie noticed the frozen expressions on all the guys' faces. "It was always negative, so calm down." She tried to keep everything lighthearted as the awkwardness in the room was getting to be too much.
"Well, I think we all need to relax for today. I'll head out and pick up some lunch for everyone. You ok with that, boss?" Namjoon asked.
"Sounds perfect," Yoongi replied, standing up. "Jungkook, Jimin, I think you two still need to have a discussion," he said. Both of them nodded their heads as the living room cleared out, leaving Jungkook, Jimin and Charlie alone.
"You should have come to me first," Charlie said, looking over at Jimin.
"I know, but I didn't know what to say and then I saw Jungkook and figured he should know, and then both of us could talk to you...I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry, to the both of you," he admitted, feeling guilty for the way he reacted and handled the situation. Jimin buried his head in his hands and Charlie got up and walked over to him.
"Don't worry about it," she reassured as she placed her hands on his, pulling them away from his face. "It happened, but it's over." She smiled at him and he finally smiled back at her. "How did you find out anyway?"
"Raven called me last night after you two left the bar. Her and Cherry put it all together."
"Those smart motherfuckers," Charlie said while laughing. "I'll go talk to them real quick. Will you two be ok alone?"
"Get outta here," Jungkook playfully said, pushing her away as she rolled her eyes, grinning at him before leaving the two of them alone.
Charlie went upstairs to her room to put on some different clothes since she didn't feel like going out in her workout attire. Once she slipped on a comfortable sweatshirt, she heard a knock at her door, telling the person to come in.
"Hey." Charlie looked up to see Namjoon enter her room and close the door behind him.
"Hey Joon. Do you need some help getting lunch?" Charlie asked, figuring that was why he was showing up at her door.
"Not right now, but thanks. I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said and Charlie couldn't help but shake her head. This is exactly what she was worried about, being treated differently.
"I asked to not be treated differently, I'm fine. I have been fine. Like I said downstairs, I'm not a fragile little girl Joon, I can-'' Charlie was getting heated and Namjoon could see that, so he quickly intervened.
"I know, Charlie, and I don't see you as some broken person, but everyone has a breaking point sometimes. Even the toughest of us have our moments when we become overwhelmed with shit, and I just want you to know that it's okay to step back sometimes, take a break. I'm not trying to treat you differently, that's not what this is, I just want you to know that if you need a minute to process shit, then take it," Namjoon said and Charlie stood there stunned at his words.
"I have had time to process this and I'm fine, really," she replied. Charlie walked over to her bed and sat down while Namjoon pulled out the chair from her small desk and sat down in front of her, resting his arms on the back of the chair. "So have you hit yours? Your breaking point I mean," she asked.
"I have...when I was 14 actually," Namjoon admitted, looking at the ground. "Yoongi and I were always forced to fight each other on our fathers' orders, trying to turn us young boys into men." Namjoon rolled his eyes at the memory. "Yoongi was always the better fighter and his father would tell him to finish me off multiple times, but he refused. We were friends, and even at a young age, we knew we needed to stick close to each other over our own flesh and blood."
"We were fighting against each other, again, and Yoongi refused to keep going once I hit the ground. His dad got pissed and called a bunch of his men to fight against us. He said that since we wanted to team up, then we could fight some of his best fighters." Namjoon scoffed at how idiotic it was. "We were two teenagers, against three full-sized men. My father would always tell me how worthless I was and how I would never amount to anything. That day was my breaking point as he continued to berate me while I was being beaten." Namjoon took a deep breath and looked over at Charlie, the heartbreak evident in her eyes. "I taught myself blade work, figured if I could throw a knife at the right speed and direction, I could stop anyone from getting close to me again."
"The shit still haunts me. The last time Yoongi had me out on a mission where I needed to fight... I-I nearly ruined the whole thing. I wasn't mentally ready then and I'm honestly not sure when I will be," he stated. Namjoon smiled at Charlie. "I don't know how you do it Charlie. With all the shit you've been through and what you just told us...You are the best fighter we have, and don't you dare go telling Jimin I said that." Both Charlie and Namjoon chuckled and then a silence fell over them.
"You're an amazing teacher, Joon. Thanks for everything," Charlie said, offering him a grateful smile.
Namjoon nodded before standing up, putting her chair back by her desk.
"My whole point for this is...we are all a little fucked up, so don't hesitate to back away from something if you need to. We will understand more than anybody." Charlie nodded. "You know, now that I think of it, I could use another pair of hands carrying the many pizzas I'm going to have to get to feed this house. That is, if you're still willing to help," he said, grinning at her as she eagerly nodded.
She hopped off her bed and walked towards the door, glancing back at Namjoon. "Let's go!" she insisted as he quickly followed her. As soon as they got in the car, she turned to him again, her face a bit more serious. "Thanks again Joon, for not treating me differently," she mumbled while he simply nodded, pulling out of the driveway as they listened to the soft music playing from the radio, a bit closer now than they had been before.
A/N: Secret revealed a little earlier than she would have wanted, but now everyone knows!
Thoughts?? -------------->
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