The truth untold

-twelve-

Park Jin Hyung residence (Aichul, Seoul) - November 2017

The maknaes of BTS and Twice returned back to the party, and as they parted ways, Jungkook passed her a knowing glance before he joined the GOT7 members' conversation. Tzuyu, light-headed from the overwhelming amount of information and feelings, inched her way to the living area to find her unnies. Momo was the first who saw her arrive and rushed to her side. "Tzuyu-ah, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Nailing a smile on to her face, Tzuyu gently pushed away Momo's hand that tried to reach out to feel her temperature. "I'm fine, unnie. I feel a bit exhausted after playing some basketball, that's all."

"I saw you with Jungkook. Did he say something?"

Tzuyu shook her head. "No, no. He was teaching me how to play."

"You don't look so well, I'm worried," Momo stated with concern.

"I'm fne, unnie," Tzuyu reassured again, and she turned to take a seat with her members when she spotted Ji-Hyo animatedly speaking with Jeongyeon and Jimin; her heart fell, still suffering from the fresh feelings of betrayal by her most trusted unnie. With a mountain effort, she fought back the tears that stung her eyes; the last thing she wanted was something to come between her and Ji-Hyo, but she couldn't deal with it now. She didn't want to be in the same room as her while she hurt.

Jeongyeon noticed her standing by and approached her. "Tzuyu, what's wrong? Sit with me."

"Unnie," the maknae said, "I want to go home. I'm tired, and I'm really not feeling my best."

Jeongyeon wasn't oblivious to the evident change of mood on Tzuyu's exterior, so she nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll ask manager-unnie to arrange a vehicle for you." Before the older girl could leave her, Tzuyu pulled her into a hug, her mind and body desperately seeking some kind of comfort. "I'm sorry, Unnie. I wish I could be here with you longer on birthday."

Jeongyeon gently stroked her hair. "Don't ever apologise for such silly reasons." She released her from the hug and held Tzuyu's face in her hands. "I know there's something up; we'll talk about it once we get home, okay?" She smiled as Tzuyu nodded, and she walked away to inform the manager. The manager immediately instructed one of the JYPE drivers to fetch Tzuyu from the party.

Tzuyu picked her belongings, said her goodbyes to everyone she knew (including Jungkook and excluding Ji-Hyo) and waited for the vehicle to arrive at the entrance. Expecting to be alone, she softly hummed to herself in an attempt of distraction, when she heard someone approach her; it was Jimin.

"You're alright?" he asked, his hands in his pockets.

She nodded, saying nothing more.

"Jungkook told you, didn't he?" he inquired and Tzuyu's mild, shocked expression provided him with the answer he needed. "He told me on the way here that he would do it. I didn't exactly believe he would do it. He isn't the kind of person to approach women casually; he can actually be pretty shy."

Tzuyu stared at her shoes. "I'm glad he told me though."

"What are you going to do about it though?"

Her eyes shot up to meet his. "What do you mean?"

"Well, now that you know the truth, what are you going to do about it?"

"I want to know about what happened and why it happened," she replied. "I probably owe an apology to Taehyung Oppa too."

Jimin nodded in acknowledgement. "He's not really expecting any apology from you. Because he knows it's not your fault and you don't know the whole story. But, when you talk to your leader, do keep in mind that she was doing this for your sake. She thought it was best for you, and she did what she had to. Be careful with how you approach her."