"yerin called me."
my eyes widened at her statement. at the name i felt myself tense up. i repositioned in my seat as i stayed silent waiting for her to continue her explanation.
"she told me to meet her at this place, and bring one of you guys along." she added as i scratched the back of my head, utterly confused. i stayed silent trying to process and understand why yerin called specifically asking for aera and i to meet up with her.
"and you dragged me into this because..." i trailed off, waiting for her to answer the question.
"you're the one i trust most." she said. "i'm not close with the rest, and i couldn't bring jungkook."
"listen, it's a lot to explain because she demanded me to meet up with her for a reason that didn't even make sense." she spoke fast, keeping her eyes on the road. i notice how tensed up aera was, and how she gripped onto the steering wheel tightly.
"woah, slow down," i cut her off.
"can you explain this again? and more slower?"
aera groaned. "yerin called me to meet up with her. she wanted me to bring one of you guys, and said to bring one i trust most — which is you." she paused, as i nodded along taking in her information.
"aera, why did you listen? you could've just stayed at your school—" aera cut me off.
"no, you don't get it!" she raised her voice.
"she said i have to be there in half an hour because she threatened me with my leaks."
with wide eyes, my jaw dropped at the last part.
"your what?!" i raised my voice, making her flinch. aera sat there silent, as she kept her eyes on the road. she was nervous, and afraid. meanwhile i felt disappointment and shock invade me within seconds at what she had committed to.
knowing aera since we were young teenagers, it shocked me to an extent where i feel anger build up inside of me. aera was never the type to disrespect herself in that way.
"i'm sorry, what?" i question.
she sinks in her seat, "for the past month i thought i was talking to a guy who hit me up. he said he goes to your college. but turns out that i was catfished by jaehyun."
hearing the devils name i knew this lead to no good. jaehyun alone was a terrible person, a guy who tries taking advantage of girls and a complete asshole.
and from what i remember, he was the biggest jerk to especially y/n as well.
"so we talked for a while, and i don't now what was wrong with me but he convinced me to send him pictures."
"pictures as in..." i paused.
and unfortunately, my assumption was correct.
nudes.
aera nodded, biting down on her lower lip as guilt was written all over the poor girls face.
"so after i sent them, the guy blocked my number. and just today, i got a call that if i didn't meet up with them, they'd expose my pictures." she finished.
i sighed, as i sat there silent not knowing what to say about the situation. it was fucked up. threatening someone with their nudes was fucked up. my hands balled up into fists just hearing what she's done and now has to go through.
"is that... all?" i asked and she nods her head which made me feel somewhat relieved.
however, what i was told was already bad enough.
"taehyung, i'm so sorry. i didn't want to drag you in this but— but i had no choice." looking at aera, i noticed how tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes as she kept her focus on the road.
her voice was shaky, and sounded like she was going to breakdown any second.
i stayed silent, letting the shock overtake me.
i struggled to provide a response, but couldn't. the only way i figured was to calm her down.
"don't apologize, we'll get through this."
i place my hand on her thigh in a comforting way for a few moments as she began breaking down. seeing aera this tensed up and broken hurt me. no, i didn't have feelings towards her anymore and what happened in the past stays there.
the rest of the car ride went silent, and eventually aera and i ended up at ghetto motel. we exited the cars and aera checks her phone.
"look for room eight."
i nodded, and began walking around the building until we found the correct room number. i glanced at aera seeing her eyes glued to her phone.
"put that away." i demanded as she sighed, tucking her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.
knocking onto the door, the door suddenly swings opened, causing a creaking sound to be heard. this motel looked old, and ancient as if it was about to collapse. once the door opened, i inhaled deeply as the door revealed the people whom i hated most.
yerin, who sat down on the queen sized bed with her legs crossed in a feminine way. as for jaehyun, he leaned against the doorframe.
he grinned, stepping aside to let us enter the room.
we entered, and i shot yerin a glare.
"what the fuck do you want us here for?" i cursed at her, making her look taken aback.
"taehyung, is that any way to greet an old friend?" she asked as i scoffed. i stared down at her with disappointment and disgust in my expression. as i became silent, she took that as a hint to speak up.
"i have a few tasks for you." she grinned evilly.
"are you serious? do you think threatening a girl with her nudes is a good way to lure us here? you're so fucked up in the mind, yerin!" i raised my voice.
she lifts a brow, crossing her arms.
"it worked, though." she smirked. i mentally cursed to myself, and sighed, running my fingers through my hair realizing she was right.
we fell right into her trap.
yerin stood up, and took a step closer towards me. the room was small, so our bodies were nearly pressed against each other.
she placed a hand over my shoulder, "taehyung, i just have an offer for you."
i stared at her, with anger filling my expression. i poked my tongue on my inner cheek, feeling myself become impatient as she grinned, noticing my facial expression.
"get to the damn point already." i demand through gritted teeth, as my hands balled up into fists.
"calm down, the veins on your neck are visible. i know when you're mad." she proceeds as i inhaled.
"what the hell do you two want." i asked in a low tone, my question sounding more of a demand to know what she wanted instead of a question.
"you know what i want, taehyung." she licked her lips, causing me to notice the smeared lipstick. immediately i knew that this sick slut had herself all over jaehyun, that bastard, before we even arrived.
i gave the two a look of absolute disgust.
"all i want, is jungkook."