The One He Tried To Forget | 18+ |

32

WARNING

There are depictions of bullying, violence, domestic abuse, and physical injuries in this chapter. If you are easily triggered, please exercise great caution or skip this chapter altogether.

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Ten years ago...

"I can't believe your friends!" Jin cried incredulously. "Were they trying to drown me? Look at me!"

Jin stood shivering in his wet uniform as he waited for Jung Kook to open the door to his apartment. Even his hair had not escape the unexpected dousing that Jung Kook's friends had given him when he and Jung Kook had returned to their classroom to collect their bags and jackets after the graduation ceremony. Jung Kook had not suffered the same fate because his friends had separated them and held him back before dumping several pails of cold water mixed with a red dye on Jin.

When Jung Kook had yelled at the culprits and demanded that they stop, they had laughed and told him that it was a harmless prank. That it was just their way of congratulating Jin for being the top student of their graduating class. But watching his boyfriend shivering in his soaked uniform on a cold February day had infuriated Jung Kook, and it gave him the strength to shake off the hands holding him apart from Jin.

He'd immediately wrapped his arms around Jin in an attempt to share his body heat but when Jin's trembling worsened, he had turned to glare at the group of boys who were now standing a few feet away, talking and laughing among themselves at Jin's sorry state. He couldn't believe they were his friends. They always pulled this kind of shit on Jin even when he had told them to discontinue.

"Aww, come on, Jung Kook. It's just a joke," the tallest and most burly lad in the group had chuckled. "No harm done. Besides it's the last day of school. It's not like Jin's going to wear his uniform again."

"It's winter, you dickhead! You poured cold water on him! Are you trying to give him pneumonia and kill him?!" Jung Kook yelled.

"Good grief, Jung Kook. You're no fun anymore since you started dating Jin," the boy grumbled before turning his attention to Jin. "Good job sucking out the best part of Jung Kook, Kim Seok Jin. He was so much more interesting before you came along."

Jung Kook's eyes had flashed as he turned to advance on his friend but before he could take a step forward, cold shivering fingers closed around his wrist to keep him in place. He looked back at his boyfriend, his brows furrowed with displeasure.

"Kookie, don't. It's not worth it," Jin whispered through chattering teeth.

"It's worth it, Jinnie. I've had enough of this bullshit. It stops now," Jung Kook's face was flushed with anger.

"No, Kookie. It's the last day of school and I'm cold. Please... let's just go," Jin pleaded.

Jung Kook was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to tear into his friends for tormenting his boyfriend. But on the other, he couldn't ignore Jin's wishes. He just couldn't understand why his friends -- the people that he had grown up with -- would behave so badly towards someone dear to him. None of his past boyfriends had ever been subjected to the kind of treatment that Jin faced regularly, and it completely baffled him why his friends disliked Jin so much.