placing a trigger warning just in case :)
It was a typical school day after the wild weekend. As Jiwoo headed for her next subject after lunch, she received a call from someone she didn't expect.
"You and mom are coming back?!" She gripped the edges of her tote bag in excitement as she walked to her next class. With the sway of her hand, the people crowding at the end of the canteen moved and made way for her.
She gasped. "Does Jimin know?" She continued on walking without minding her surroundings.
"That's great. Call us oka-"
She tripped on her low-heels, and before she could hit the ground, she was luckily caught by a pair of strong arms that swiftly swerved in to save her.
"Woah, slow down there tiger."
Jiwoo looked up to see Taehyung with a wide smirk on his face. "Hey babe, looking gorgeous but seeming stupid today I see."
She wanted to wipe the hell out of that smirk from his 'handsome' face. "Yeah whatever, thanks."
"Jiwoo-ah! Omg are you okay?" A voice rang out from her phone. "Yeah, yeah I am," she reassured the person she was talking to.
"W-Whose voice is that?"
Realizing that this person had heard her conversation with Taehyung, she answered, "Oh well, just some university fuckboy."
Taehyung's jaw dropped in major offense.
"A-Ah I see... it just seemed like from someone I knew. Well anyways, you should really get going to class. I'll update Jimin."
"Mmm okay, take care alright."
"Just some university fuckboy??" Taehyung scoffed with disbelief once Jiwoo hung up the phone.
"Well aren't you?" Jiwoo retorted.
He scoffed once more as he looked away with hands on his hips. He rolled his eyes before facing Jiwoo again then looking away once more. He stomped his foot and scratched the back of his head nervously, debating with himself whether he should tell Jiwoo or not.
"Umm, do you want to say something?" Jiwoo asked as she looked at her watch.
Taehyung finally spoke, "When does your last class end?"
"Around 3pm or so I guess, you?"
"Probably half an hour after you," Taehyung shortly responded. "See you later?"
Jiwoo hummed a yes. The two then headed separately for their respective classes.
Indeed a typical school day it was, for time passed as quick and most of the students were now dismissed. As soon as Jiwoo's last class ended, she received yet another unexpected call.
"Unnie? Classes just en-"
"Ah..." A deep, dark tone echoed into her ears. "So I see your beloved sister's finally coming back? Such great timing."
Jiwoo stood frozen on her tracks as a chill ran down her spine, locking her in a nervous stance.
"Who the fuck is this?" She mustered up the courage to ask as she looked at her phone, only then realizing it was from an unknown id caller.
"Who am I, Kim Taehyung's gir- ah no, sorry Ms. Jiwoo?" The voice scornfully asked. "Come see me in the Magazine Clubroom if you want to know about some things the 'people you love' never told you about."
The mysterious caller let out a cold laugh before hanging up. She mindlessly stared into blank air as numerous questions bombarded her mind. Aside from who this person was, what did he mean about the things no one told her about? Did this have to do something about her family?
Did it have to do something with Taehyung?
Jiwoo
[ taehyung-ah... i'm scared. ]
She hesitated.
[ i'll be in the magazine club
room. come right after? ]
She slipped her phone back into her pocket, and with a deep breath, pushed herself to walk towards her destination.
As she drew nearer and nearer, her heartbeat grew louder and louder until it was the only sound she heard. As she placed her hand on the door's handle bar, she reminded herself, "You're Park Jiwoo."
She pushed the door, immediately met with the presence of three figures in the room.
"Told ya she'd come," the familiar cold voice spoke, belonging to a man who watched her enter with a bemused smirk on his face. The only girl among them, sitting at the edge of the desk, rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"Where's your lover boy?" The man with the cold voice shifted to a mocking, warm tone as he walked closer to where Jiwoo was to intimidate her.
"What does he have to do with you?" Jiwoo fearlessly asked, unfazed and unmovable from her stance. The girl behind him only snickered.
"Well besides that..." He tucked a strand of her hair beneath her ear and drew his face closer to her neck area. He whispered, "...don't you remember me, darling?"
As he pulled his face away from her, that was when Jiwoo noticed more of his physical attributes then distinguished a bit sense of familiarity from him.
"You're the guy from Jin's party," she pointed out. "B-Baek-"
"-Hyun," he continued as he clicked his tongue in amusement. "Wow, I didn't expect that you'd remember."
He stepped back and dived his palms into his pockets. "Except you actually missed out on the finer details."
Jiwoo raised her brows.
"We dated for a month until you dumped me right on a date, but of course you didn't remember who I was that night we talked."
She blinked her eyes, processing the thought then let out a soft, petty laugh. "So what, take revenge for just that? Lmao."
She continued on laughing but none of the three spoke regarding her remark. Jiwoo gradually silenced as she felt the atmosphere darkened a bit more than it initially did when she entered the room.
Jiwoo looked at his other companions more clearly. The girl was the member of the magazine club who once approached her for an interview; the other guy who wore glasses and up until now kept silent was none other than her 15-minute fling from detention, both with whom she had not-so-significant encounters in the past.
Her eyebrows furrowed a bit.
"What do you guys want?" Jiwoo asked boldly, though ironically, her heart was thumping out of fear and uncertainty. Her stomach churned in agitation, her gut feeling sensing terrible news. She noticed stacks of papers on the desk— most likely the newly-published school magazine yet to be released for the semester.
"What do we want?" The girl mockingly repeated her question as she stood from her position. She was younger, tall, and distinctly beautiful, but her eyes burnt a fire for hatred and revenge. She reached for a copy of the school magazine and passed it towards Jiwoo with a weak throw so that it fell on the ground in front of her.
This wasn't the same respectful girl who asked to interview her a few months back, or was all that just a facade for her actual intentions? Jiwoo bent slightly to pick up the school paper when her attention was caught by the bold headline that protruded from the front page:
Park Jiwoo's past revealed: A cheating father and a deranged mother?
just in case you need it,, deranged means crazy or mentally unsound :)
The suppressed emotions from the past resurfaced and enveloped her chest, numbing her entire body and blacking out her mind. Her thoughts whirled as her eyes traveled down the paper, pummeled by the words that caught her attention. Infidelity, mental facility, family.
"Once all these copies get distributed, everyone in the university will flip." Tzuyu laughed in a cynical yet elegant manner.
Jiwoo's knees gave up and she eventually fell on the ground. Her body was visibly trembling all over as she felt like fainting. The thought of these people digging and knowing her family history made it difficult for her to breathe.
"The all-mighty Park Jiwoo fallen? Look at how pathetic she really is Jeno," Baekhyun spoke to the younger guy beside him who only looked down the whole time.
"H-Hyung, I really don't think this is right..." Jeno spoke lowly. Baekhyun only snickered.
"H-how..." Jiwoo searched for her voice but only fumbled her words. Her throat tightened from preventing her tears to come out.
"All thanks to Tzuyu for her writing asset, my younger cousin Jeno for his hacking skill, and of course to me for my connection inside an intel company," Baekhyun applauded in a merciless tone and watched Jiwoo tremble in towering anxiety.
"How can you do this to me?" Jiwoo managed to complete her sentence, but her voice broke and tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
Baekhyun scoffed without remorse. "It was fine with me, but you can't play with my cousin like that." He once again drew closer to Jiwoo then kneeled to get on the same level as her.
Jiwoo only kept her head down the whole time as she began to breathe unsteadily.
"But we haven't reached the climax yet, have we?" Baekhyun amusingly chuckled as he faced Tzuyu momentarily. "It's in the other side really but I doubt she has the strength to flip the page. Care to reveal that information for her?" The corner of Tzuyu's lip rose.
Baekhyun harshly placed his fingers on her chin and raised it to face him. There was no more courage in her now swollen eyes, but powerlessness. He whispered coldly, "I don't know what games you and Taehyung are playing at, but you two are more related than you actually know."
"Now listen up," he hissed into her ear and as his grip tightened, making Jiwoo twitch due to the force he was exerting on her.
Tzuyu coughed in amusement as she watched the helpless woman in front of her. She began in a light, amused tone, "Your family history is so messed up, but do you know what's more fucked up?" Her voice became colder. "You're dating the guy who's responsib-"
"JIWOO!" An enraged roar was accompanied by a thunderous slam of the door. Everyone in the room, except for the person whose name was just called, immediately jolted their heads and saw a man by the door who heavily panted from running as quick as he could from the other side of the school.
His eyes darkened at the sight of his girl, weak and defenseless in the hands of a stranger.
"Get. your. hands. OFF. HER. YOU ASSHOLE!" The knuckles of his right hand formed into a fist as he plunged towards Baekhyun in a flash. His left hand picked him up by the collar as the other advanced to punch the guy near his jaw, causing him to fall right back at the stack of papers on the desk behind him.
Tzuyu screamed as she hastened to pick up the school magazines that fell whilst Jeno rushed towards his fallen cousin.
"Jiwoo? Can you hear me?" Taehyung panicked as he took ahold of Jiwoo's frail body and held her close to his chest. He noticed the rapid streaming of her tears and her unstable breathing. He supported her weak body with his arm as his other hand found and clutched unto hers.
"J-Jiwoo-ah. Focus on me..." Taehyung's low voice trembled as a familiar scene played at the back of his head. His whole body stiffened, but he shook that memory away and focused on Jiwoo.
"It's me, Taehyung... I'm sorry I wasn't able to come immediately, but I'm now here. Don't worry, I'm here." He wiped the tears from her cheeks with gentle strokes. "Ssh... don't cry, you're with me. I'm here," he repeated as he drew himself closer and hugged her. Jiwoo's breathing began to slow down, feeling a bit sense of security with Taehyung's presence.
"Can you hear me?" He waved his hand in front of her eyes. She gave a small nod. "Listen to my voice, okay? I want you to breathe in and out with me." Taehyung guided her breathing until it finally stabilized, giving him a rush of relief.
Tzuyu glared at Taehyung's direction and whispered to herself, "Told you you'd pay for this." She picked up her purse and rushed to exit but was stopped just in time by a group of men who just arrived at the entrance of the club room.
"POLICE! Byun Baekhyun, Lee Jeno, Chou Tzuyu, you are under investigation!"
The group of policemen were led by none other than Kim Seokjin whose handsome face no longer contained a friendly smile but a controlled scowl. Alongside him was Park Jimin, who immediately rushed to the aid of his sister.
"Is she alright?" Jimin asked Taehyung worriedly.
"I think she had an anxiety attack, but she's beginning to calm down now..." Taehyung responded but his eyes remained fixed on her.
Jimin scanned around the room and spotted the number of magazines scattered on the floor. He picked one up and as he read what was written on the front page, his blood boiled in high degrees. His eyes slowly darted atBaekhyun's direction, lunging to attack the said man as the school paper fell from his hands.
"Jimin, get ahold of yourself!" Seokjin blocked the aggrieved man and held his shoulders firmly until he calmed down a bit. "Our company will handle this case."
"Byun." Jin faced the partially conscious man who was assisted by Jeno and the policemen around. "You and your companions have violated the Data Protection Act. You have endangered your company's ties with ours. Your father is going to be disappointed in you."
Jin slightly bowed his head to Taehyung then nodded at the female head police officer. "I'll be counting on you Jieun," Jin told the head officer with a little smile.
"Pleasure all mine," she replied with warm professionalism. Now with a stern tone, she spoke to the three, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in court." The policemen then led the culprits out to investigate them further in the station.
At the same time, the magazine that fell from Jimin's hands when he charged at Baekhyun landed right open on the second page.
Taehyung could not read much of it, but it did not matter to him at the moment.
All of sudden, his heart stopped upon spotting a familiar name on the paper...
His dead brother's name.
🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏
thank u so much for 70k+ reads!! that's crazy asf i dont deserve yalls 😭 now 5 chapters to go :))