"Okay, Hoseok, we're ready. Go ahead."
"Right. Well I guess I'm here because of a party that took place around a month ago, mid-December. A bit of context, I'm a bit of a party animal, pretty much went to parties at least once a week. Now, anyone with experience will tell you that the best "social gatherings", if you will, take place outside of campus and that's where most of them are held. This party was particularly far away but my friends and I really wanted to go. The major problem was that I had afternoon lectures so my friends had to wait for me to finish because I've always been our ride in situations like this. And don't worry, these sorts of parties are ones for predominantly university students and the people hosting know we need to drive to get there so they allow us to stay the night.
"Anyway, because of how quickly it gets dark in December and curfew and everything, we needed to leave campus as soon as I was free to go. I must have had a lot on my plate that day, I mean what university student doesn't, but bottom line is, I was meant to bring an extra injection that I could take on our way to the party, since the last time I had injected myself was in the morning, but forgot. I decided not to mention it to anyone but I started feeling weird as I was driving so that got me a bit panicked. Luckily, I managed to get them to the venue safely. But the feeling didn't go away. So I started drinking to get my mind off it, hoping that it would just pass after a while. It obviously didn't work though. If anything I think I started to become even more jittery.
"I must have looked like there was something wrong with me because this woman came up to me, asking if I was okay. She looked like she was a couple of years older than me and didn't seem like she had any company with her. She ended up leading me upstairs. I didn't object because my head felt like it was going to explode, I needed a distraction and she looked like a good fuck." Jungkook visibly flinched at the comment, his unease not going unnoticed by Jimin, who placed a hand on the younger's knee, hoping to reassure him.
"Much to my surprise though, when we got to a spare bedroom, she started taking care of me. She gave me water and pills to sober me up, opened the windows so I could get some fresh air and gave me space to gather my bearings. I was so confused but I just sat there, with her not saying a word, just standing by the door. Once I was in a better state of mind, she took out a syringe from her bag and sat down on the bed next me. She started explaining that she was going to inject me with something that would make me feel better and that I needed to trust her and honestly at that point I was starting to freak out. But before I could say or do anything, she was already leaning forward and the needle was in my skin.
"When she was done, she sat back with the most satisfied smile on her face while I was just cursing at her. But after a couple of minutes I started feeling really good and like Taehyung said, I realised that this was how I had felt before I started taking the government injections. You really do forget what anything other than fatigue feels like when you're under the influence of that substance. Anyway, she told me that that was an injection that somehow removed all the remains of the tranquiliser in my bloodstream. She said it broke it down or something, I don't know the science behind it.
"She then gave me a full bag of injections that she said were fake. She said I had to inject myself with them as if they were the normal ones and never touch the government substance again, that I would feel like I used to before the dictatorship and that I could feel confident going to the tests because the results wouldn't reveal my disobedience. She told me specifically to not try and find a way to contact her- no name, no phone number or address. She said another party would be held the following month at the same location because at that point the supply of injections she had given me would have started to run out and she would have to give me more. I was meant to meet her again but that didn't happen because of lockdown.
"I don't know if she knew that I hadn't taken the injection that day or if she's trying to get as many people as possible sober. Do you have any idea who she might be, Mist- I mean, Namjoon?"
"Unfortunately I don't," the teacher replied. "But I'd really want to meet her. I wonder what she has planned for this lockdown. I doubt she's going to sit still. It's quite comforting to know that we're not the only ones who are trying to reveal the truth."
A sudden silence settled over the seven as the weight of Hoseok's encounter with such a mysterious woman dawned on them.
"Should we continue then?" Namjoon asked. "I think Jin should go first. The timeline will be clearer that way, don't you think?"
"Okay. So I guess all of you know my dad's a politician. He was quite close with our current president before his rise to power despite them being from different political parties. Then after the dictatorship was established, my dad and a couple of other politicians were offered particularly high positions in this new regime. I just wanted to clarify that but also say that I by no means support my father's beliefs or contributions. So I really plead that you do not associate me with my father," Seokjin said, head bowed.
"Because of my father's position, I was given the privilege of knowing a life of comfort from the moment I was born. This meant that my mum had the means to hire a nanny to look after me when I was little. This was a friend of my mum's who also had a child of her own. A very lovely woman with an even nicer son," Jin said, sneaking a glance at Namjoon.
"Mum let her bring her son to our house every day, partially so she could work without worrying about care for her son, and partially so the both of us had someone of a similar age to play with. And that's how I met Namjoon," he continued with a smile, making the rest of the group smile as well.
"We got along really well, spent our whole childhood together and everything. Joon became really interested in politics from a young age. I'd tell him things that I'd hear my dad say in passing about what he was working on, anything about other politicians, stuff like that. I myself was never interested in anything relating to politics in the slightest. I was really close to a close friend of my father's, though. Even though my father was physically present, he was absent emotionally, so to me, this man was like the dad I never had in that sense. There came a time where they started drifting apart though, and I began to see less of him. When my father started to form an alliance with the man who would one day become president, he was really vocal about the fact that he didn't approve. He didn't think it was a good idea in the slightest. My father didn't listen and it was clear he wouldn't be changing his mind any time soon.
"Days before the election, he came to find me. He seemed to be in a rush. Told me about the times that were to come, about these injections- I was so confused. But he made one thing very clear. Under no circumstances was I to take these injections; I had to find any way possible to avoid them and not get caught. At the time, I wasn't aware that that would be our last meeting. When the new government was imposed, he was taken away, probably locked up somewhere, because of his resistance and opposition to what was happening. I really hope he's alive and that I'll be able to see him again.
"Anyway, skip back again, I told Namjoon everything as soon as the conversation was over. Now there were two people confused as hell and slightly scared about what was to come. Obviously everything made sense when all the announcements were made on the government's part. And I guess Namjoon can continue the story?" Seokjin asked, looking over at the elder.
"Yeah, so on the day the injections were announced, Jin and I had a long conversation about what we were going to do and ultimately decided that I wouldn't take the injection at all and stay sober, while Jin would, just until I had come up with something, to make sure he was safe. The fact that I'm a chemist definitely worked out in our favour. We'd be screwed if I didn't know anything about chemicals!" Namjoon laughed.
"Anyway, it was pretty easy to catch onto what the injections did and it was just a matter of playing along. My mission from the beginning was to make a fake version of the tranquiliser as quickly as possible, which proved to be really difficult. After seeing such stark effects of the substance though, I became all the more determined to make this work. I had one week at the most. It started with analysing the substance then figuring out correct proportions- it was a pain. I managed to stay behind after work hours to use my lab at the university and after a couple of days I had formulated a recipe of what I hoped would be a good enough fake to fool the government and not kill us.
"Before giving it to Jin, and a couple of others which we'll get to in a minute, I injected myself and went to get tested to make sure it was working correctly, something that I hadn't told Jin about at the time. Luckily for us though, the test came out positive and I didn't have any side effects or anything. And that's how Jin and I are sober," Namjoon concluded. "Jimin, I think you should continue," the teacher said reassuringly.
Jimin tugged at his sleeves and looked to Jungkook shyly, having been dreading speaking up this whole time. Jungkook, understanding what was going on, said, "Actually, I think it's best if I continue because Jimin's story weaves into mine and I don't think he remembers much of it in the first place," the youngest chuckled, Jimin smiling at him appreciatively.
"Damn, this is going to be so embarrassing to tell though," Jungkook mumbled, shaking his head. "Okay, so I have a fear of needles."
"Oh Lord, please don't tell me this is going where I think it's going," Yoongi scoffed in disbelief, Namjoon sending him a stern look.
"On the day the injections were announced, I freaked out. I got to my dorm after all my lectures and just sat on my bed, staring at the box full of the injections. No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to inject myself. I didn't want to text anyone about it because it's stupid and I couldn't get my parents to inject me or anything because I live on campus while they live outside of Daegu.
"Anyway I must have been exhausted that day, the multiple mental breakdowns not helping my case at all, and I ended up accidentally falling asleep quite early on in the evening. When I woke up the next morning and realised what had happened I freaked out even more because, bearing in mind I didn't know what the injections actually did, I had classes that day and I had no clue how I was meant to act. As I walked into the building I felt like everyone's eyes were constantly on me and that they all knew. I managed to find Jimin pretty quickly and as soon as I did, I told him exactly what had happened.
"Knowing the person that he is, I figured he'd freak out and scold me, maybe offer to inject me himself but the only response I got were small grunts of acknowledgement. It was then that I realised that everyone we were passing were equally as unresponsive and I grew even more frantic. I genuinely didn't know what to do. Luckily for us though, we had passed Mr Kim's lab while I was telling Jimin about everything. As I was about to have my nth breakdown of that morning alone, I felt a pat on my back and turned to see Mr Kim. He told me to come to his classroom really quickly. I said bye to Jimin while internally freaking out even more because if a teacher heard what I had said I was screwed.
"Once I was inside Mr Kim explained that he had overheard our conversation, although I'm not sure you could call it that since it was pretty one-sided, and that he had followed us down the corridor. He told me the effects of the government injections and that he was working on fake ones, you know the drill. He said that since I was already sober, he might as well make a batch for me as well and that I should be able to collect it in a couple of days' time. I asked him if he could make a batch for Jimin as well and I took him to Mr Kim's lab at the end of that week so that's how he's sober as well. Obviously this didn't solve the problem of my fear of needles but at least I wasn't being drugged. Jimin ended up being the one to inject me for the first couple of weeks until I got used to it and then I managed to get into the habit of doing it myself.
"And then Mr Kim neglected me, his original child, and became a father figure to Jimin instead," Jungkook concluded dramatically.
"Hey! Mr Kim told both of us we could come to him whenever we felt the need to and you only ended up showing up from time to time. He noticed that I was struggling and offered to mentor me, that's all," Jimin defended while Taehyung mumbled something about how half of their group had daddy issues.
"Okay, I think that wraps that conversation up pretty nicely. Thank you all for sharing. I think we all have a better understanding of each other's backgrounds and situations now, and I hope it will help us be able to support one another going forward," Namjoon said. "What do you guys suggest we do now?"
As the group dived into a new topic of conversation, Hoseok shuffled towards Jungkook. "Kook, can we talk in private?"
Oof. Hi guys!!! First of all, I apologise from the very bottom of my heart. I genuinely thought that because of lockdown I'd be able to write so much more and make up for my already inconsistent publishing pattern but clearly that didn't work out. A lot has happened since I last published and it's crazy that it's already almost the end of 2020. To be completely honest, this update would probably be out a lot later if it weren't for the fact that it was DOBIS's 1st anniversary. Yes, I'm posting this on the date I first published this book. Although the preface was published on 4th December, the prologue was published 5th December and that's the actual start of the story so I went off of that. I really really wanted to put something out to celebrate and say the biggest thank you!! Thank you for being here!!!
We actually reached a massive milestone- this book now has over 1K reads!! That's INSANE!!! Like seriously, who's reading this?!!! On 22/07 I actually posted an announcement, thanking you guys and saying I'd try to update as soon as possible in celebration but that clearly didn't happen and I'm so so sorry for that!! Hopefully this makes up for it?? But honestly thank you so much!!
We're obviously living in very tough times and I hope everyone's doing well. How have you been? What have you been up to? I'd love to know and if you're ever struggling you can always come talk to me.
Now onto this chapter. I'm really sorry for the quality. I'm not entirely happy with it but I really wanted to put this out here after literal months of my absence. I'm sorry that this is really information heavy. I'm also sorry if the structure is really stiff, if it doesn't flow like a normal conversation should and if it seems rushed towards the end. I also wanted to ask if this is realistic enough? I know I took on a challenge writing about some of the things that I did and I want to highlight that it is not my intention to romanticise ANY of these issues in any way, shape or form. Please let me know if you feel that I wrote about a certain aspect incorrectly! I will change it right away!
Sorry if I'm making Kook the dumb one in the group. It just kind of ends up that way, I swear it's not intentional! I also hope that you see that Jimin and Jungkook's friendship isn't one-sided. Jimin's love for Kook may be, but they are best friends first and foremost. Jungkook is oblivious but that doesn't mean he doesn't care.
To finish up on a lighter note: BTS COMEBACK!! How are we feeling? Thoughts? Please let me know.
Once again I apologise for everything. Thank you so much for continuing to give me your support and just being here in general!! It means so so so much to me!!! I swear I don't deserve you guys!! Just thank you!! Please make sure you're staying safe and taking care of yourselves! I love you!!! Hopefully I'll see you soon!!! 💜💜💜
Published: 05/12/20