Fallen

Chapter 2

“Dad! Please, no. Stoooop!”

He woke up terrified, feeling someone shaking him. His breathing was ragged, his throat dry, sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked around. Jin was sitting next to him, watching with worried eyes.

“Another nightmare?”

“Hyung…”

His voice cracked as he choked up, throwing himself into Jin’s arms. He cried loudly, and Jin knew that no words could help now. After five years, he had learned this.

Taehyung didn’t know how long he’d stayed in Jin’s embrace, but when the familiar emptiness returned—like always—he got up. He went to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. Dark circles under his eyes, his skin pale. He turned on the tap and splashed cold water on his face.

It had been weeks since the last nightmare, but something had shifted since yesterday. He turned off the tap and wiped his face with a towel. As his gaze met the mirror again, his eyes widened, and his hands began to tremble. He screamed and punched the mirror.

Hearing the shout, Jin rushed to the bathroom, kneeling in front of Taehyung, who was frozen, staring at the shards of broken glass.

“Taehyung?! What happened?!”

“He was there… b–behind me… in the mirror… I saw him.”

“Taehyung, darling, you know he’s dead. Stop this.”

“He’s alive! I saw him with my own eyes!”

He shouted at Jin and got up. Jin sighed in frustration.

“Okay… whatever you say. But now you need to eat something. Jungkook called, he said he’ll pick us up at the end of the street.”

Taehyung left the bathroom and sat on the floor beside the breakfast Jin had prepared. He tried to eat more than a single bite, but he couldn’t. It felt like his stomach was already full.

His phone ringing saved him from Jin’s scolding. It was Jungkook.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Jungkook. I’m waiting for you guys down the street.”

“Alright, we’ll be there.”

He hung up, grabbed his hoodie from the corner of the room, and put it on. Jin was glancing around the house with regret.

“I’ve told you ten times, come live with me and Grandma. But do you ever listen? Why do you even stay in this burned-down house with walls about to collapse?”

“You don’t get it, hyung… it’s the only thing left of them…”

Jin sighed and followed Taehyung outside. They waved when they saw Jungkook’s car. Jin took the back seat again. Taehyung was about to join him, but Jungkook opened the front door for him instead.

The moment Taehyung stepped into the car, he could smell Jungkook’s cologne. It was so strong it never left your mind—and that was true for both Taehyung and Jin.

“Your cologne smells interesting.”

Taehyung blurted out. Jungkook raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Deep down, Jungkook knew Taehyung was right. The scent of lust was appealing to anyone. It didn’t matter who you were.

“Shall we go?”

Jungkook asked, and Taehyung nodded. They drove in silence until Jin’s phone rang.

“Yes, Grandma? … Yeah, we’re on the way… Yes, he’s here too… Yeah, he’s fine… Maybe we’ll be done by four. After that, I’ve got something to take care of… Okay, I’ll get it… Bye.”

Jin ended the call and stared out the window. For Jungkook, it was the perfect chance to dig a little.

“Your grandma must be a really kind woman.”

“She is. An angel.”

“Pity that angels fade away so much faster than demons.”

Jungkook thought to himself, hiding a sly smirk.

“It’s good you have someone like her in your life.”

Two birds with one stone: he got Jin talking and caught the flicker of change on Taehyung’s face. Another new note about mysterious Kim Taehyung: he was deeply lonely. Jungkook could smell it.

“Yeah… but I wish she could stay forever…”

“She will.”

“Maybe… if it wasn’t for this damn illness…”

Jin swallowed his sadness and leaned his head against the window. Just then, the scent of regret filled Jungkook’s senses—until suddenly it disappeared. Jungkook glanced in the mirror: Jin was smiling now, and he had wrapped his arm around Taehyung from behind.

“But you know, as long as we’ve got each other, you’ll never really be alone.”

Slowly, even the scent of Taehyung’s loneliness faded. Maybe the most important thing Jungkook learned today was this: the first thing he needed to destroy was Kim Seokjin’s hope.

They stopped in front of the university.

“Alright, we’re here. See you later. Take care, Tae Tae.”

Jungkook winked at Taehyung, and Taehyung realized this was payback for the nickname he’d teased Jungkook with yesterday.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Jin asked.

“No, I don’t have class today. Just came to pick you guys up.”

“I’m planning to take Taehyung out after class. Want to join?”

Jungkook could hardly believe how easily these idiots had been fooled into trusting him.

“Of course. I’ll pick you up after class.”

“Alright.”

Jin smiled and got out of the car.

“Bye…”

“Taehyung.”

Jungkook cut him off.

“Maybe later we should talk about this knife.”

He handed Taehyung the knife he had picked from his pocket earlier, pretending it had just fallen out.

“I’m sorry.”

“We’ll talk about it later. Go, before you’re late for class.”

“See you.”

“Later.”

As soon as Taehyung left, Jungkook drove off. It still wasn’t enough. He needed four more people. Somewhere crowded, yet a place where people went to relax and empty their minds. The café he stopped in front of was the perfect choice.

He fixed his hair in the car mirror and walked in, feeling the usual stares follow him. A tall, young, well-built man in a long black coat, black shirt that matched Jin’s style, and black boots definitely caught attention.

Almost every seat was taken except for the one across from a slightly shorter boy with green hair, staring blankly at his Americano.

“Excuse me, can I sit here?”

The green-haired boy nodded silently, and Jungkook sat down. Though he didn’t like the café’s bright white decor, he knew he might find something here.

A young black-haired waitress came over, flirting a little as she asked for his order. Jungkook almost wanted to tease back, but remembering his afternoon plans, he just ordered an espresso and let her leave with a disappointed face.

He took out his phone, pretending to scroll while secretly studying the boy across from him. His face was bandaged, and he looked drained.

The boy’s phone rang, and when he answered, a girl’s voice screamed so loud even Jungkook could hear it:

“Yoongi…”

She sounded like she was crying.

“What happened…?”

“Hyuna…”

He didn’t let her finish. Cursing under his breath, he hung up and tossed his phone on the table.

And Jungkook knew that smell well: regret. But before Jungkook could say anything, Yoongi got up and left the café. Too late… or maybe the perfect chance.

Jungkook quickly paid and followed him outside. He was in luck: Yoongi was standing by the street, trying to catch a cab. Jungkook started his car and stopped in front of him.

It was almost funny how Yoongi was so lost in thought he didn’t even realize Jungkook was the same guy from the café.

Yoongi gave him an address—the central hospital. Jungkook parked outside and planned to follow him, but he didn’t need to: Yoongi had barely stepped out when he collapsed on the ground. Jungkook could practically feel something terrible had happened.

He hid his grin and hurried over, wearing a concerned look.

“Let me help you inside.”

“Thanks.”

Inside the hospital, Yoongi walked over to a girl crying by the wall. The girl looked up, slapped him hard, and shouted:

“You bastard… why did you come?! Get lost!”

“I…”

“Shut up and go away!”

Another girl rushed over, telling the first that she had been the one who called him.

Then, a stretcher was wheeled out from a room, and the crying turned into sobbing. The girl pulled the sheet back—and all that was left was a burned, blackened face.

Yoongi’s eyes widened, and he fell to the floor.

“See?! She’s dead! Now get out of here!”

The nurses took the stretcher away, and the two girls left with them.

Yoongi was still sitting there, frozen. And the scent that Jungkook loved: despair mixed with regret. He swallowed his smile, knelt beside Yoongi, and asked gently:

“Hey… are you okay?”

“She’s dead…”

“Do you want help standing up?”

“She’s dead…”

Jungkook took his arm and helped him up. After Yoongi washed his face, Jungkook waited by the restroom, still hearing his sobs clearly. Things were going better than he could’ve imagined.

When Yoongi came out, Jungkook stepped closer.

“Feeling better?”

“Y–yeah. Thanks… you really helped.”

“It was nothing. Need anything?”

“Can you just get me out of here?”

“Of course.”

They left the hospital and got in the car.

“Where to?”

“Anywhere I can get drunk… I just want to forget her face.”

“Alright.”

Jungkook started the car. Yoongi’s gray shirt and black pants were dirty, and his face said everything: he was in pain. Deep pain. But it was only for a moment. The burned face and bones wouldn’t leave his mind.

When Jungkook stopped in front of the bar, Yoongi got out quickly. Even before drinking, his mind already felt numb.