Only On Paper / JJK

Chapter 24

"Y/n, would you please come out? You've been in there for hours." Taehyung's voice is muffled by the bathroom door, which you've locked to keep them all out.

You just need some space and time alone. You need to process what you remembered. It's revealed so much, but it's still vague. It wasn't all that hard to deduce that you and Jungkook had been a couple in the past, or that you turned to Namjoon when he wasn't giving you the love you deserved. But the cause of his death is shrouded with uncertainty.

Was it really your fault that he died? Exactly what happened that the past version of yourself was readily taking the blame?

Running a hand through your dark hair, it's waves combing to the back, you look at your reflection in the mirror above the sink.

You need to remember. Not knowing is frustrating you. At this point, you don't care how many migraines you'll have to experience to get your memory back. You just want answers and to understand why this is happening to you.

Jungkook was at the center of it all, being brought back to life, and you know it's cruel to think or say, but you wish he would've stayed gone. Him being here is causing problems. Everyone is on edge, and you're not sure how much more they can take of this chaos.

"Did you...," Taehyung trails off as you bring your attention back to him, "...remember something."

Always intuitive. That or he really is your best friend, and he knows that there's only one reason why you'd shut yourself in the bathroom.

"You did, didn't you?" You hear him sigh as he leans against the door. "Let me in, Y/n. Please."

His voice shakes, and you chide yourself for feeling bad for running away the second you woke up. You take a breath before unlocking and opening the door.

Taehyung stands there with his eyes hooded in concern. "What did you see?"

You motion him inside and close the door. "Enough to be confused on why Jungkook and Namjoon are friends right now."

He lets out a wry laugh. "I'm not sure if Namjoon remembers him yet."

"He probably does. Everyone seems to remember but me."

"We're confused on that too. When we ask Kook about it, he refuses to answer."

You scoff. "Of course, he is."

"Right now, we're all more concerned about you." Taehyung doesn't bat an eye with what he says next. "Especially Namjoon. He loves you even after he forgot everything."

Your chest tightens. "Are you trying to make me feel worse?"

"No, but you can't ignore it either, Y/n."

He's right, and you hate that he is. You don't really want to think about his feelings or yours. Everything is a mess as it is. The last thing you need to worry about is who you like more, especially when everyone else is already aware of the situation. It makes it all that much more awkward.

"No one hates you for what you did, you know." As if sensing where your thoughts are going, Taehyung stops you from thinking the worst.

You shake your head softly. "Doesn't make it right."

"Guess not, but you were vulnerable, and Namjoon, he... He knew what he was getting himself into. He just didn't care, because you were hurting, and he wanted to make you feel better."

"All he did was go out with friends!" You shout back. "That's no reason to cheat."

Taehyung's gaze hardened. "That's not all he did, Y/n."

His statement takes you back. "What?"

For the first time, he looks away and clenches his jaw. You've seen Taehyung upset but never this agitated. Just what the hell did Jungkook do that was so bad?

"You don't even know the half of it, but when you remember, maybe you'll finally stop making excuses for him."

Finally? Did you try to justify his actions back then too?

Whatever he did, it's enough to vastly anger Taehyung.

"If you hate him so much, why are you all letting him stay here?"

"Because even if I don't agree with it, he's still our friend." He snaps his gaze back to yours and holds it there. "And as his friend, I still care for him. Just not as much as I do about Yoongi though."

You don't expect anything less from Taehyung. You're surprised he's lasted this long in the dispute without cracking a joke or gushing about Yoongi, but he knew he needed to be serious when talking about Jungkook and what happened.

Though it was nice to vent about it, easing some of the tension off your shoulders, you still have a lot of things to figure out. For now, you would find relief in Taehyung's attempt at lightening the conversation.

"Your obsession with my brother is getting a little out of hand."

"Probably, but you put up with it because you love me." Taehyung's lips pull into a half-hearted smile.

You laugh. It's so easy to feel better around Taehyung even though the topic of discussion was dark and stressing. He always makes things lighter when he's around. It feels like maybe things will work out, that there's nothing to worry about even when there is.

"This would've been so much simpler if you weren't gay." You lift a hand and ruffle his hair.

"I mean, you kind of resemble Yoongi. I could probably kiss you and not be disgusted by it." Taehyung winks at you jokingly.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say I looked like Yoongi." You drop your hand at your side and playfully roll your eyes.

"You shouldn't. It was a compliment."

"Not to me," you let out a breathy chuckle.

Taehyung laughs with you. "We should probably leave the bathroom before they start questioning my sexuality."

You don't want to, but like he said before, you can't ignore it.

a/n: i had to cut this chapter in half because i didn't want to have it all happen at once. you're going to need the breather. next chapter is going to be a lot. there's a lot of information and figuring things out. there'll be some answers and coming to term with things. chapter 26 and on will be more reminiscing and about y/n's relationship with everyone. there's going to be more character development and A LOT of fluff and angst. after everything you've learned, who are you siding with more right now? jungkook or namjoon? hope to update again this weekend! until then please vote and comment if you liked it!