Paradise in You | sope

paradise lost | two

It was not okay.

As Yoongi was gathering his things from his locker, expecting to have a quick path home, he noticed the rush of students sprinting to the outside of the school— far more than usual. Thinking nothing of it, he continued grabbing the last of his things, before shutting his locker shut. No sooner had he locked his locker, Namjoon appeared in front of him, a wild expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Yoongi tensed at Namjoon's hurried stance. Not answering him, Namjoon grabbed Yoongi's wrist, quickly pulling him towards the direction of the student traffic, talking in hurried tones.

"Apparently, Joshua and his friends are going to beat the shit out of Hoseok."

Yoongi stopped short at the statement, and for the first time, he didn't bother correcting Namjoon about his language. The air felt like it had left its lungs as Namjoon dragged him down the stairs, clearly with the intent of Yoongi stopping the mess that was currently unfolding. He remembered Taeyang telling him about the possibility of them doing that, and Yoongi had completely forgotten to warn Hoseok about it. He'd been too wrapped up in his own worries that he forgot to mention to Hoseok that he should watch his back. But, he didn't think that Joshua would pull through. Yoongi thought he'd managed to calm them down a bit, and that they would be fine with Hoseok being one of the members.

He felt like such an idiot.

"Joon, Taeyang warned me that this was probably going to happen," Yoongi breathed, his eyes already starting to water. "He told me that it was a possibility, and I forgot to warn Hoseok. It slipped my head. But I-I didn't think that they'd pull through. Why would they hurt him?"

"Because he's not like them, Yoongi," Namjoon said, sounding disappointed. "Or you, for that matter. He's different. People hate different. You should have told him immediately, Yoongi. Excuse me!"

Namjoon began shoving against the crowd, Yoongi following behind. The students were cheering far more than Yoongi was expecting, anticipating what was to come. Everyone held their phones, recording the fight that would start any moment, no one lifting a finger to try to help. Yoongi could already hear Joshua shouting at Hoseok, his voice loud, aggressive, spewing slurs and riling the crowd up.

Not a single administrator in sight.

"You have to stop this, Yoongi," Namjoon urged, continuing to shove around the seemingly endless crowd. "They're your teammates, and I know that you probably don't like Hoseok being on the team, but you can't let him get hurt. He isn't doing anything wrong."

What could Yoongi do?

He was placed in a predicament. If he decided to side with Joshua, then Hoseok was going to get hurt. That was the safest route. Everyone was on Joshua's side. Hoseok was someone that stuck out in the pristine, perfect St. John's. He didn't belong in anything, and now that he was placed in a team that has recognition, Hoseok was being too bold. His other option was to come to Hoseok's aid. Taeyang had already mentioned that the others had suspected that he and Hoseok were friends, which wasn't true, and if he stuck up for Hoseok, Yoongi would be in more trouble than he deemed worth it.

But, Hoseok had been nothing but nice to him since they had started talking again.

Hoseok, despite them not speaking in years, was just as hospitable. There had been a form of trust that had formed between them, and it wouldn't be fair if Hoseok got hurt. Besides, Yoongi had told Hoseok that he would have his back if anything rose up. But surely Hoseok knew that there was a risk in him coming back to the team as abruptly as he did. And for him to be better than all of the team, that was bound to bruise everyone on the team's egos.