THE PRESENT
Yoongi stared at the bruise on his jaw, lightly touching it, his eyebrows creasing a little at the physical and emotional pain it caused him. The look of utter betrayal in Taehyung's eyes was enough to make him want to cry. He knew what would happen, he knew how Tae would react, but the reality hurt more than he expected it too. All he wanted to do was protect Taehyung, to put an end to all of it.
A year ago, in all his ignorance and naivety, he'd said that if Taehyung came back and just became bait to draw out Choi, it would mean that his leaving was pointless. He could have done that six years ago. Now he regretted saying it, regretted planting the idea that Taehyung's sacrifices and pain and suffering was all for nothing because it wasn't for nothing.
Yoongi deserved the punch from Jimin for breaking Taehyung's trust and adding to his pain. This was how he was going to make up for it, by throwing himself on the grenade, as Taehyung had put it. It hadn't taken much to convince Kyung to help him. They could both see how much Taehyung was struggling, although he tried his best to hide it. He had lost a lot of weight, he was hardly sleeping, his fans were all concerned for him online, and Bang PD was stressed about how hard Tae pushed himself, even if he didn't show it. Yoongi was scared about the repercussions of his actions, but he was more worried about Taehyung. He just didn't know about Jungkook and Jimin before he released the song.
That changed things. It was obvious now that Choi was angry that Taehyung had revealed something to Yoongi, but it was also clear that Jungkook and Jimin were very much in his sights as well. Moving out of Jin's place had been a wise decision and Yoongi assumed it had kept him out of too much danger. Choi seemed mostly focused on Jungkook and Jimin in any case.
Now that Bang PD had no choice but to increase the security for them all, Yoongi didn't know what was going to happen. It hadn't been part of his and Kyung's plan to make him the bait to draw out Choi. There were too many variables at play now. He sighed and left the bathroom, running his eyes tiredly and headed back to his studio.
He laid on the couch and pulled his blanket over him in the dark, willing himself to sleep, just a little, so he could face what would inevitably be a hectic tomorrow.
**
Jimin woke up to strange noises and something touching him hard and uncomfortably, it took a moment to realise what it was.
"No...No... No please, not him, don't - "
Taehyung's moans and cries were getting louder and Jimin blinked before quickly pushing Jungkook hard to wake him. He made an annoyed noise in his sleep and Jimin, rushed and uncertain of what to do, pushed him harder.
"Wake up, Kookie. It's Tae."
Apparently that was all he needed to say, because Jungkook was suddenly alert as Taehyung began to shout.
"No... Not Kook... Please, NO, DON'T TAKE HIM FROM ME! NO!"
Jimin and Jungkook quickly pushed off the blankets as Taehyung thrashed, kicking Jimin in the leg, which hurt but was the least of his concerns. Jungkook jumped out of the bed and Jimin scrambled to turn on the light and he was shocked at what he saw - the sweat pouring down Taehyung's face and matting his hair, the pained grimace on his face, the white-knuckle grip on the pillow he held.
"I'm here. Taehyung, Tae, I'm here!" Jungkook grabbed Taehyung, his eyes wild as a scream ripped through Taehyung's throat and his eyes shot open, unfocused.
Jimin felt a lump in his throat, a tearing at his heart.
"Tae, baby," Jungkook breathed, releasing Taehyung's shoulders, he gently caressed Taehyung's face. "I'm here. It's okay."
YOU ARE READING
Beneath Your Mask
Fanfiction"You didn't have to go, Tae. Everything would have been different." "I know." "We could have fought this together, I would have helped you!" Taehyung looked up at Jungkook, vaguely noticing his darkening and blurring eyesight. He gave a smile, but h...
