ᴄʜᴀsɪɴɢ ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ

~14. The scared father's hatred

Bellyache - Billie Eilish

Jimin woke up to see strangers peeking down at him inside his car, which was pressed into a wall. He had blacked out for some time, but it seemed like it wasn't that long. He groaned in pain when his neck hurt. The murmur turned into a frantic bout of yelling as they realized he was up.

Starting the car, hoping it would at least take him to the place where he wanted to go, he backed away. His left arm slung to his right shoulder and he pressed on it to check the amount of damage while handling the steering with one hand. 

He drove for a good thirty minutes. Although the pain started pinning his ass only after ten minutes, he continued.

When he located the Skoodle, a pediatric hospital, he pulled inside the building's parking and stepped out of the damaged vehicle. 

A few of the working staff knew Jimin, so they bowed at him and greeted him as he made his way inside. Long queues in front of multiple specialties had Jimin wince to think just how many children were in pain. He followed the green boards with white signs until he found his way to the office he was looking for. 

Knocking once, he barged in without waiting for the answer. Hoseok was walking, talking on the phone, and when he saw Jimin, he mumbled 'I'll call you back' before disconnecting the call and just staring at his friend. "Jimin...long time."

Jimin walked up to the desk, placed his hands on the edge, leaned down, and pulled the chair close to sit there. "Have a seat," he indicated at Hoseok, who did, his eyes squinting. "I am not going to keep you in suspense. I need Jungkook's home address."

"What?" Hoseok thought if he acted dumb, he'd buy some time to come up with a better excuse to tell Jimin. 

"I know Taehyung has asked you not to, but I am asking you a favor. One friend to another. I'll owe you one."

Hoseok breathed in and exhaled softly, reached for the glass of water on the coaster, and had a sip. "Please, Hobi."

The man put the glass back down. "I am not sure what is it that you want?"

"I have to find him," Jimin answered honestly.

"Not that anyone could all these years. But I am curious. If you do... Then what?"

"I only need to know if he is doing fine and I won't even come in front of him. I just need to see for myself," Jimin offered, but Hoseok looked unperturbed. "Come on, Hobi! You know in your heart that it wasn't my mistake. Taehyung was too blind to see anything else. I am not blaming anyone who agreed with him and stopped being friends with me, but I am not a bad person."

Hoseok sighed again. "Taehyung will sever all ties with me if he knew I helped you."

"It won't happen. This will remain between us."

Hoseok's office phone rang and he picked it up without missing a beat, out of habit. He listened intently before flinching. His wide eyes looked at Jimin with disbelief. "You've had an accident?!" The receiver was down. Hoseok got up and skirted to check him for injuries himself. "They saw your car."

"I am fine," Jimin waved his hand in a half-motion. "Give me the address."

Hoseok pressed his lips together, his brows deep in a frown. "Fine," he mumbled so slowly that it didn't reach Jimin's ears all too well. Picking up a sticky note, he wrote down something and handed it to Jimin. "This is the golf course where Mr. Jeon goes every Wednesday. I don't know their home address either. But know that you'll be disappointed. You'll not get any answers."