ᴛʜɪʀsᴛ ☑

# 9. Broken

"Do I know you?" Jimin stood up slowly, squinting his eyes on the younger male. 

"I am Jae," Jungkook spoke, wanting to put Jimin's frown at rest. "I - I mean, I am Jungkook. But I made that profile."

"You are the one who has been talking to me?" Jimin asked after taking a moment. His voice quivered and he cleared his throat.

"This was my lie that I said I will show you." Jungkook felt like crying, seeing how Jimin's face was aghast and he wasn't blinking at all. 

 "Is this some hidden camera thing? Is she your friend? Where is she?" Jimin suddenly grabbed Jungkook's arm to shift him aside and look towards the entry door.

"There's no she," Jungkook bit his lips together as his eyes fell down in shame. "I created that female account. Ask me anything, I would know because I was the one talking to you."

Jimin's face now overcame with the fury that he barely managed to keep under the rug. Without another word, he began to hastily pick up his wallet and car keys from the table.

Seeing Jimin winding up the evening, Jungkook's eyes welled up quicker than he could blink. "J-Jimin," he spoke softly, his heart quailing as he saw the result of his catfishing. He hurt a real person, a man whom he liked.

The older didn't say anything as he swayed from the table. Before he could walk away, he remembered he had ordered the drinks, so he quickly turned while taking out cash, and putting it under a glass. 

Jungkook could only watch, not daring to say anything. When the man disappeared from his sight, he snapped out of his dilemma and rushed after him. "Jimin!" He yelled, getting out of the restaurant and seeing the gorgeous man walking powerfully. Even when his mind must have been boggled, he looked graceful. "Jimin, please listen to me!" Jungkook sped up further and leveled up to the man who was just about to enter his car. 

Feeling the light tug on his sleeve, Jimin yanked his hand so hard that Jungkook flinched away. "Get away from me, you freak!"

"I am sorry," Jungkook said, not caring about a few people looking at him being humiliated. Jimin looked revolted by Jungkook's presence as he held onto his car door's handle. Jungkook neared closer but maintained a safe distance to not earn another push from the older male. "Please listen to me. Please give me a chance to explain. I knew you would just skip me or stop talking to me at all if I were to tell you this over text."

"So you decided to play it out? YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO ME!" Jimin now raised his voice, his composure leaving the sane parts of his mind. 

"You lied too, but I-"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Jimin screamed louder than before. "I lied about my height. I didn't pose as a whole other person who probably doesn't even exist. Was anything you told me the truth?"

"Everything I said was true," Jungkook started sobbing, his drool and tears mixed with each other as he wiped his runny nose with his sleeves. "I live with my grandparents. My parents are dead."

Jimin didn't know about the teen's parents' passing. Hearing about the tragic truth for the first time, his heart softened, but not enough to comfort the teen. He took a deep breath. "I told you I was straight, whatever your name is," he spoke calmly, but stressing on each word to drill it into the seemingly dense mind of the teenager. "You disrespected me and enfeebled my trust. How am I to trust anyone? You played with my sentiments."

"Jimin -" Jungkook tried to hold the man's hands now, seeing that he wasn't yelling anymore, but Jimin stepped back and raised his finger at the teen threateningly. 

"If you weren't a teenager, I would've pulled your limbs apart by now without caring about anything. Take one more step and I will punch you."

Seeing the rage bubbling in Jimin's eyes, Jungkook almost crumpled. He couldn't bear the harsh words anymore, so he turned around and ran in the opposite direction of his home. 

Jimin looked at his retreating figure disappearing into the darkness. Grabbing his head, he madly pulled onto his hair and kicked the ground. "Fucking degenerate!"

When he thought things were going to change, he ended up with a big headache and the trauma of a lifetime. He got in his car and saw flowers in there. Grabbing the rose bouquet he had placed in the front seat, he threw it out and sped away. 

His phone was constantly getting notifications from Momo. The woman's husband was returning in two weeks, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Jimin until then. On the other hand, Jimin knew he didn't want to continue whatever the two had. He had been avoiding her by having meaningless sex with the people he met online. But that also started weighing him down — to sleep with people he felt no connection with. All he wanted was for this night to change that.

Taehyung had been waiting for Jungkook for two hours. He hesitated, but still texted the teen at last.

Date going well? I hate to be the one to say it, but Grandma must be worried. It's almost ten.

He gave five minutes, but when Jungkook didn't respond or see the text, he got up and walked out of the cafe into the night and cold air. 

I am coming there. Sorry, but we have to go back. 

Taehyung felt apologetic for rushing Jungkook when he was supposedly having a good time. It was the boy's official first date, and he couldn't be happier about it. But being an older brother — a fun one — but still older, he had to be responsible. Thrusting the accelerator, in no time he reached the restaurant where he had dropped Jungkook. 

He sat on the bike while peeking inside and dialing Jungkook's number. When the operator's voice informed him about Jungkook's phone being not reachable, Taehyung worried now. He grabbed his helmet and walked up to the stewardess with his phone in front of his face as he redialed the number. "Excuse me, miss?"

The girl looked up and smiled at him. "How can I help you, sir?"

"I am here to pick up Jeon Jungkook. Could you please show me his table?"

The woman looked in her register, but she couldn't find him. "I am sorry, sir. We don't have anyone by that name dining with us tonight."