Taehyung stirred in his sleep when he heard a small whimper from beside him. His shoulder was tense and a bit sore from the weight that rested on it, but he didn't care too much for the pain since he only had one concern on his mind right now. He tried to stay still, slowly craning his head in order to get a better glimpse of his best friend as he felt Jimin start to shake next to him.
Taehyung felt that familiar ache settling in his chest, the same ache that he felt last night when he followed Jimin to the medbay.
His worried gaze had focused on his best friend as Jin worked on cleaning up his wounds, observing Jimin's blank stare as he looked at the floor. Taehyung could barely recognize the broken man sitting in front of him.
It was silent in that room since neither Jin nor Taehyung knew what to say. Both of them were still trying to process the news themselves, still in shock over the loss to their family. When Jin was finished wrapping up Jimin's shoulder, he rested his hand on Jimin's knee, squeezing it slightly in comfort while Jimin bowed his head as the tears started to fall once more.
Taehyung immediately stepped forward, eyes momentarily meeting Jin's before he wrapped an arm around Jimin's waist, helping his friend up as he led him back up to their room.
It had been hours before either of them had fallen asleep. Jimin's body shook, wracked with grief as broken sobs escaped from his lips. Taehyung had led him to his bed, occupying the spot next to him as Jimin wrapped his arms around his best friend, tightly clutching him as he was tormented with his loss.
Taehyung harshly swallowed the lump in his throat, his own eyes welling up as he tightly held Jimin in his arms, gently patting his back as he tried to comfort his best friend while trying not to fall apart himself.
Taehyung could feel the tears streaming down his own face, trying to make sense of what went wrong last night but turned his attention towards Jimin when he heard him muttering in his sleep. At first he couldn't discern what he was saying, but his voice grew louder, growing more panicked as he kept repeating the same word over and over again.
"NO, NO!" Jimin screamed, causing Taehyung to respond quickly as he desperately tried to shake him awake, an attempt to pull him out of the nightmare that was haunting him.
Jimin jolted slightly as he felt someone tugging his body, eyes already welled up with tears as his somber gaze met his best friend's, who also had a similar expression on his face.
"Fuck," Jimin croaked out, pulling away from Taehyung as his head fell into his hands, his fingers slipping through the strands of his hair before he started tugging at it. "FUCK!" he screamed, fisting his hands around the material of his shirt as he tried to pull it off of him, feeling like he was suffocating as the scenes from last night invaded his memory, scenes that he wished he could've permanently erased from his mind.
Taehyung felt the tears streaming down his face as he watched his friend break down, feeling the agony that Jimin felt as he listened to the screams and sobs that left his lips. Taehyung immediately shifted closer to Jimin on the bed, wrapping his arms around his best friend as he held onto him tightly, trying his best to let him know that he was there for him.
"Please don't do this to yourself," Taehyung said, his voice breaking as he pleaded with his friend.
"She's gone Tae," Jimin sobbed, grabbing onto Taehyung's arm as he felt the heavy pressure resting on his chest as the grief consumed him. "She was there, she was right there, and I couldn't save her," he mumbled, another sob escaping from his lips while Taehyung tightly closed his eyes, trying his best to remain strong himself.
"There was nothing you could've done," Taehyung whispered, his voice failing him as his resolve disintegrated. He couldn't help but break down as well, no longer able to keep up with the facade.
"It's my fault," Jimin uttered out. He felt like he should've done better, like he should've done more to keep his girls safe. He should've closed down Cliff Hangers sooner, he should've been there himself to keep them safe, he should've made sure they were all protected... maybe if he had done all that, Raven would have still been alive.
Taehyung immediately pulled away from Jimin before standing in front of him, crouching down in order to meet his best friend's gaze. Taehyung wiped away the tears from his eyes as his eyebrows furrowed, a serious expression on his face as he stared at the fragile man in front of him. He noticed the heavy bags under Jimin's eyes, the slight redness surrounding his puffy eyes and the way his lip slightly trembled as he tried to hold back his tears.
"Don't you dare say that," Taehyung firmly replied. "Don't you dare blame yourself Park Jimin. You and I both know that there was no way to have prevented this, so stop kicking yourself." He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully as his features softened. "Besides," he mumbled, "Raven wouldn't have wanted this. She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself, so please stop blaming yourself and stop carrying this burden alone. I'm here for you, we're all here for you, don't forget that, and I promise you we will crush Ganghan, we'll make them pay for everything they've done!"
Jimin sniffled as he intently looked at his friend, feeling slightly guilty as he noticed the concern and pain etched into his features. Taehyung had been trying his best to help him deal with his grief that he failed to notice how Taehyung was suffering as well. He knew how Taehyung had looked up to Raven and was close with her, and he knew he must've been hurting as well.
Jimin shuffled off the bed, sitting in front of Taehyung before wrapping his arms around his best friend, holding onto him tightly as he felt Taehyung's arms wrap around him. "Thank you Tae," Jimin whispered, his hold tightening as he felt Taehyung sob into his shoulder.
In the room across the hall, Jungkook had just woken up to a tingling sensation in his fingers. He slowly opened his eyes and felt the weight on his bicep, remembering how Charlie had fallen asleep, crying, in his arms. She was still asleep as he slowly reached over with his other arm, holding her close once again. She stirred slightly and he pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head, quietly shushing her as he hoped that he hadn't woken her. Jungkook watched as Charlie nuzzled into his chest and her arms wrapped even tighter around him.
Jungkook moved slightly to regain the feeling in his fingers while Charlie opened her eyes but didn't move, not wanting Jungkook to know she was awake yet. She felt his fingers run through her hair as he tried to keep her calm and asleep, wanting her to be as relaxed as possible. She closed her eyes, focusing on his touch rather than the pain she felt. Jungkook's hand slowly found its way to her waist and unintentionally, he squeezed her as he adjusted his position in her bed. Charlie jumped at the ticklish feeling of his fingers digging into her side.
"I'm so sorry," Jungkook quickly said as he pulled his hand back.
"Morning to you too." Charlie gave a soft chuckle as she sat up a little more, but still remained in his grasp.
"How did you sleep?" Jungkook asked, letting his thumb lightly rub against her arm.
"Like a rock. I'm sure all the crying helped," she replied with a small chuckle.
Jungkook gave her a sympathetic smile, even though she couldn't see it, and kissed the top of her head. "Do you want me to go grab breakfast?" he asked, pointing to the door behind him.
"I don't think I want to eat right now." Charlie pulled herself away from his comforting embrace and walked over to her desk. "I just want to focus on something else."
"Do you want to tell me what's on your mind?" Jungkook moved to the edge of her bed, watching as she grabbed the sweatshirt that was draped across her desk chair... his sweatshirt.
"A lot Kook," Charlie said as she pulled his sweatshirt over her head. It still smelled like him, and even though he was right in front of her, she loved how close he felt right now. She looked over to him and noticed how he was waiting for her to continue, not pushing her at all. "She was right there..." Charlie found her eyes meeting the carpet, but it wasn't the cream colored fibers that she saw. "Right there, and I froze. I should have begged sooner, I should have-"
"Whoa," he interrupted. Jungkook stood up from her bed and held up a hand seeing how worked up she was getting. "Slow down. Begged? What are you talking about?" He was concerned about what she was saying.
He barely knew what all happened that night after Taehyung had muted all their mics. All he remembered was the hoard of men that he and Hoseok had encountered, and Taehyung telling them to get to the lower level as soon as possible. He saw that Jimin and Charlie were in trouble. When Hoseok threw the smoke grenade, he was able to run in and grab Charlie, seeing the outline of Raven's body on the ground. He pieced together some of the events from the expressions on Jimin and Charlie's faces.
"They want me for some stupid fucking reason and I could have made a better deal with them to spare Raven! Take me and save her." Charlie choked on her words and Jungkook quickly walked in front of her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him.
"Don't you ever think that giving up a life for a life is worth it, especially yours." Jungkook was firm, but he didn't raise his voice. "I cannot lose you," he whispered. Jungkook slowly moved his hand from her chin to the side of her face, bringing his forehead to meet hers.
Charlie took a deep breath, relaxing her crazy thoughts, but she still felt the tears find their way down her cheeks. "I don't ever want to lose you either," she softly said.
Jungkook pulled away and raised his hands to her face, wiping away the tears from her cheeks as he gave her a small smile.
Charlie quickly used the sleeves of his sweatshirt, the one she was wearing, to wipe her eyes clear. "Enough of this emotional shit, I need to punch something."
Jungkook started to laugh and Charlie quickly joined.
"I hope you mean the punching bag and not me?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.
"I already beat your ass once, no need for a second time." Charlie gave him a small wink as she headed for the door, but before she was able to reach for the doorknob, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back.
"Trust me, you won't get lucky a second time, I can promise you that," he whispered in her ear and Charlie felt her body go rigid at his deep voice, but she couldn't help the smile painting itself across her face.
Both friends giggled as Jungkook let go of Charlie, making their way down to the kitchen.
~☾~
It had been a few days since Raven's death, but the dark cloud of pain and sorrow still shrouded the Bangtan house. Everyone had been trying to cope with Raven's death for the past few days, but Jimin and Charlie had been hit the hardest, especially since they watched as she died right before their eyes. The two of them struggled the most, both of them unable to escape the dark slump that tightly latched onto their hearts and refused to let go until it destroyed them.
For Charlie it was a bit easier to cope with the trauma while with Jimin it was entirely different. Jimin tried his best to be strong, but some days were harder than others. He barely ate and he barely left his bed. With Cliff Hangers still being shut down, he didn't see the point in doing much of anything.
Taehyung walked into the room with a tray of food, letting out a heavy sigh as he approached Jimin. "You can't keep doing this to yourself," he muttered. He offered the food, but Jimin shook his head, shifting in bed as he turned his back to his friend, wanting to be left alone. "That's it," Taehyung grumbled, setting the tray down on the bedside table before grabbing Jimin's arm and dragging him out of bed.
"Taehyung, just leave me alone," he protested.
"No," he sternly replied. "We're not doing this shit anymore. You need to go take a shower and get dressed, we've got somewhere to be." Jimin was ready to argue again but stopped when he noticed the irate expression on Taehyung's face. He could see that he was fed up with his shit and let out a heavy sigh before finally giving in.
Jimin grabbed a fresh pair of clothes before trudging down the hall to the bathroom in order to get ready.
As they drove through the city streets, Jimin watched the landscape passing by, everything moving in a fast blur as his mind wandered elsewhere. He didn't pay much attention to their surroundings and was confused when Taehyung stopped in front of a tall building with huge windows located in a nicer part of town.
"What the hell are we doing here?" Jimin asked as they got out of the car.
"You don't recognize this place?" he asked, glancing back at his friend for a brief second before turning back to the front door, easily putting in the security code they needed in order to enter the premises.
Jimin glanced around again, taking in the surroundings before it clicked. This was Yoongi's safe haven, the one he had secured just in case they ever needed a place to hide out... the place where his girls were staying.
He rushed past Taehyung, moving quickly as he impatiently hit the call button on the elevator multiple times. Those few seconds felt like hours, and when the doors finally opened, his feet moved on their own as he navigated through the hall before he found himself in front of Yoongi's secret place.
He froze, staring at the wooden frame in front of him. He wanted to see them, but he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door.
"It'll be okay," Taehyung reassured, his hand resting on Jimin's shoulder before giving it a light squeeze, letting him know that he was there for him.
Jimin nodded, letting out a deep sigh before finally mustering up the willpower to knock on the door.
He heard faint chatter behind the door before a small voice called out, asking for who was at the door.
"It's just us," Taehyung replied, glancing at Jimin, who was staring intently at the door.
Jimin felt his heart rate pick up as it opened, revealing Cherry. She offered them a small smile, but Jimin immediately noticed how it didn't reach her eyes... just like his own smiles lately.
"Come in," she said, gesturing into the apartment as she nodded to Taehyung, letting him know that she would look after him while he offered her a small bow before walking away as Cherry led Jimin to the main seating area where the rest of the girls were.
Taehyung could feel the tension resting heavily on his shoulders as he let out a heavy sigh, rolling his neck as he headed towards the car, eager to get back to work and find more answers that would get the closer to taking down Ganghan.
As he walked in through the door of the Bangtan house, he was greeted with a sleepy Jungkook. The younger man trudged down the stairs, his hair in a disarray as he headed towards the kitchen.
"You look like shit," Taehyung said as the younger reached for a cup of coffee.
"Morning to you too Taehyung." Jungkook's entire body felt sore as Charlie was constantly insisting on sparring and boxing with him. He wasn't complaining as her coping method was better than most people in her situation.
"Long night?" Taehyung asked as he leaned against the kitchen island.
"More like a long day," he responded, sipping on the black nectar. "Charlie wants to spar all the time and my muscles are not used to her style." Both men let out a small laugh. "How's Jimin?" Jungkook asked. He had barely seen Jimin the last couple of days and knew he wasn't doing too well. He had wanted to check up on his friend, but Charlie needed someone too.
"Terrible... but I'm hoping a visit with the CH girls will be able to help," Taehyung replied and Jungkook nodded.
"That's a good idea. Maybe I should get them to take Charlie off my hands," he muttered. The laughter grew as Jungkook and Taehyung shared sincere smiles.
"We're pretty good friends, aren't we?" Taehyung winked.
"The fucking best." Jungkook held his coffee mug up and clinked it with Taehyung's.
"Want to go relax and watch a movie?"
"Dear God please!" Jungkook begged, eagerly following Taehyung up to his room.
~☾~
Jimin couldn't deny the relief he felt knowing the rest of the girls were safe, and it seemed that they had all been worried about him too since Taehyung had been keeping them posted on how things had been back at the Bangtan house lately.
A couple hours later, and the chatter was still going between them all. There were drinks scattered around the table as the conversation shifted from catching up on things to sharing fond memories of Raven. Light laughter filled the room, trying to break through the dark clouds that had settled over all of them the past couple days.
"Do you remember when I first started working there?" Jade chimed in, letting out a light giggle before taking another sip of her drink. Her cheeks were slightly blushed as she recalled her first night at Cliff Hangers, not able to contain her amusement.
Jimin glanced up at her, swirling his drink around as a smile tugged at his lips since he remembered that night very well.
"There was this asshole who kept hitting on me and Raven was not having it. She ended up trying to drag this grown-ass man out by his ear," she squealed, laughter filling the room yet again as some of the other girls joined in. "And then this handsome man over here," she dramatically stated, wrapping an arm around Jimin's shoulders, "came to her aide in order to make sure that guy never came back again."
"I remember!" Cherry chimed in, a small fit of giggles escaping her lips. "Didn't you break his hand?" she asked, amused eyes staring at Jimin, who merely nodded in response.
Jimin wished he could stay in this happy little bubble, but he knew that this was only a temporary fix and that as soon as he was alone, the overwhelming sadness he had been feeling would crawl back into his entire being and drag him into the dark depths of his mind. He hated the way he felt the grief gripping his throat, tightening around him as it took over his entire body, securing his heart in its clutches as it tore him apart.
The smile he wore earlier was now replaced with a pout, his eyes glossing over as he tried to blink back the unwanted tears. He didn't want to hurt anymore.
He cleared his throat as he tried to form his thoughts, wanting to preserve Raven's memory as he carefully picked through his moments with her, a small smile resting on his plump lips as various ones flashed through his mind before his expression turned more serious.
"You know, she helped me become the man that I am today," he mumbled, his voice slightly cracking as he spoke. A light scoff escaped his lips as he recalled the first time they met. "It's funny because she actually hated my guts the first time we met. Some of you might remember this, but I used to go out often before I started running the club. I was this dumb kid who thought I was so cool at that time. I spent almost every other night in a different bed and was Tae's perfect wingman since I was so damn good at playing the game, and Raven hated it."
The room was silent as everyone listened intently to Jimin's story while Cherry felt a stray tear streaming down her cheek. She let out a shaky breath as she tightly shut her eyes, feeling the pain creeping in as she tried to hold herself together... she had to, for Jimin and for the rest of the girls.
"She taught me better though, set me straight," he continued. "She told me that if I was going to take this job seriously then I needed to show more respect towards women. She always saw through my shit and never hesitated to call me out on it, even back then. I never told her this, but I had a feeling that she probably already knew how deep those words had cut. It made me think about who I was as a man and made me realize that I wanted to do better. I'm who I am today because she played a huge role in helping me figure it out," he shared, feeling the ache in his chest as it settled in that she was truly gone, she wasn't coming back.
A somber mood settled in the room as Jimin's eyes fell to the glass in his hand, watching the amber liquid as he swirled it. He could feel the small stream of fresh tears on his cheeks as he tried to hold the pain in, but it was unbearable.
He couldn't contain it anymore and hated the small sob that escaped his lips. Cherry was quick to her feet, latching onto his arm as she asked him to help her out with something in her room, offering him an excuse to leave while he reluctantly followed. She slowly led him down the hall to one of the rooms in order to give him some privacy to mourn since she knew he wouldn't want to do this in front of the other girls.
As soon as the two were in the room, Jimin let go, pained cries leaving his lips as he sunk to the floor, clutching his chest as his forehead rested against the cool wooden floor. Cherry sniffled as she watched him, slowly stepping towards him before she wrapped her arms around him, careful of his wounded shoulder as she rested her chin on his back. She held tightly onto him, trying to keep him together while she felt herself slowly start to unravel, tears streaming down her face.
Jimin reached for her hands, interlocking his fingers with hers as he tried to offer her some comfort as well. It was the least he could do since he knew that she needed someone too. The two remained in each other's hold, relying on each other for comfort and warmth in order to subside the pain.
Cherry had spent the past couple of days trying to remain strong for the other girls that she rarely had time to deal with the loss of her best friend. She had many sleepless nights, but it was rare that she found herself alone since quite a few of the girls slept in her room, none of them wanting to be alone at a time like this.
No words were exchanged between the two as they stayed there on the floor, holding tightly onto each other as they tried to ease the pain they both felt, an empty feeling settling in from their loss.
They both wished they had gotten more time, more memories... Wished that life wasn't so shitty and cruel and destructive... but instead they had to settle for treasuring the precious memories that were left behind by Raven's warm presence, the happy moments that were desperately trying to hold the pieces of two shattered hearts together while everything felt like it was falling apart.
A/N: Reminder to please check out @GalxyDefendr she is an amazing author and she is the reason this story exists!!!
Thoughts?? ----------->