CHASING YOU || JIKOOK ✅

9

Jungkook pov

I decided to build a campfire just before the sun set. It was colder than I thought it would be.

I spread out the old flannel blanket I kept rolled up in my sleeping bag right in front of the fire.

Part of me considered making the hike back down the mountain and driving back to school that night.

It would be the responsible thing to do. Saturday was a big game, and everyone was counting on me.

The responsible thing to do would be to get back to my dorm room and get a good night's rest before Friday's practice.

I didn't feel like being responsible.

I didn't have to be at practice until noon the next day and, as long as I got up at first light, I be back on campus with time to spare.

I was tired of everyone counting on me.

I was tired of being responsible I was fucking exhausted from hiding who I was.

I didn't even know what compelled me to hike up the mountain that afternoon.

The guilt over how I treated Natalie was still eating me up inside. I felt the same way after I broken up with Kara.

But nothing consumed me more than the hatred I had for myself for the way I treated Jimin.

I guessed that was the real reason for my trek up to Black Bear Camp Ground.

I needed to punish myself, just like I had done almost every morning for the last three years when I stood at my window and watched Jimin jog past my building.

Rarely did a day pass when I didn't think about our last camping trip.

I hated myself for not being as brave as he was. I hated myself for hurting him. I hated myself for losing him.

But I had lost him, and I had no one to blame but myself.

I reached in my coat and pulled out the bottle of Jack Daniels that I had stashed in the inside breast pocket.

I unscrewed the cap and took a long sip and then I laid back on the blanket, searching for stars.

It was so quiet. There were no sounds at all except for the occasional crackle of the fire and the faint rushing of the river; the entire campsite was lifeless.

There were no cicadas or crickets singing, no animals rustling in the woods, no laughter, or singing. It was eerie and peaceful at the same time.

I closed my eyes for a second and imagined for the thousandth time what I might say to Jimin if I ever worked up the nerve to talk to him again.

I must've drifted off to sleep because I was startled awake by a scream.

I sat up. I couldn't tell what direction it came from.

The next time I heard it, it was clear.

"Help." It was almost completely dark, so I rushed into my tent and grabbed a flashlight as I tried to make out the direction of the screams.

It sounded like it was coming from the river, so I sprinted in that direction.

When I reached the river bank, I frantically shined the flashlight in every direction.

The screaming had stopped and, for a second, I was worried that I had run in the wrong direction.

I wandered over to the rock where Jimin and I used to sit, and I heard something. It was a muffled cough or something.