CORRUPTED

𝘴𝘪𝘹

𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐔𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃
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the small cafe had mostly cleared out by now. dusk had taken over the neighborhood, it's deep orange and maroon skies flooding through the windows like water. serenity hung in the atmosphere, the lively energy of daytime having quieted down. you sat at the wooden table, school supplies sprawled out all over the surface. hoseok sat opposite you, typing away on his computer. the reflection of a word document with lots of writing was visible in his glasses and he donned a pair of airpods. you hadn't seen him this focused on anything in a while.

which is why you didn't start panicking when you saw 7 missed calls from yoongi.

instead you scrolled through his dozens of texts, all asking in one way or another where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing. the sight of these frantic messages and the knowledge that he was upset and worried because he hadn't heard from you made your stomach flip. without saying a word, you redialed his number and put the phone to your ear. it had barely even dialed before he picked up, sounding both concerned and furious.

"finally, you answer!" he roared. you cringed a bit at his tone as he continued ranting "where the hell have you been? i thought you got kidnapped or something!" he said, the aggravation in his voice turning to a tone of genuine concern. "are you alright? where are you?"

"i'm at a cafe, i'm studying." you said quietly, contrasting with the loud volume of his voice through your phone. you shifted in your chair, lowering the volume on your phone. "i'm sorry, i had my phone silenced."

he sighed harshly before responding. "but you couldn't keep my notifications on?! all you had to do was respond to one text, and then i would've left you alone, but no, you can't even do that?" he said irritated. you thought over his words, he made a good point. but that didn't cancel out the fact that he was still being kind of...mean.

"my phone distracts me, yoongi, i have stuff to get done!" you said firmly, "i don't know what else to say!" he scoffed at your defense. "jesus christ, no wonder your parents don't talk to you. you're crazy. do you ignore their texts, too?!" he asked, his tone bitter and angry. your heart sank at his words, you didn't think he'd go that low. "hey, don't go there. that's unnecessary. i told you i was sorry." you said sadly.

you heard a sigh from the other line. "okay, i'm sorry i said that. i was just worried about you. you know i care about you, more than anything, right?" he said, his tone having switched from cold and low to sugary and kind. you muttered a quiet agreement, looking down at your homework and textbooks. hoseok was still writing, totally oblivious to what was happening right in front of him.

"when do you think you'll be done? i want to see you." he said sweetly. you thought for a moment, you had been there for about two hours. you still had more work to do, but this was a priority right now. "i don't know, we'll be leaving really soon. probably half an hour?" you said, coming out as a question instead of an answer. "we? who's we, [name]?" yoongi said, his tone slightly more rigid than before. "are you there with ho-suck, or whatever his name is?"

you looked up at hoseok nervously, who was still blissfully unaware of the raging war between you and your boyfriend. "yeah." you said quietly. yoongi sighed roughly. "fine. whatever. as long as you're not alone." he seethed "but you text me as soon as you get back home, okay? and you don't go anywhere after this. straight home." he said, hanging up right after. you sighed, and looked at your supplies once again. you hated to disrupt hoseok's work by saying goodbye, but what choice did you have? you had worried yoongi enough tonight, it was just better for you to go home.

you started to put your things back into your bag, which caught hoseok's attention. "ready to go?" he asked, taking one of his headphones out. you nodded. "i am, but don't feel like you have to go with me. i'm fine to go by myself." you said, zipping your bag shut. "no way, i don't want to stay here alone." he said, slamming his computer shut. "besides, i'm pretty much done with the paper. it was a bitch to write, though."

you laughed. "really? because you looked pretty focused to me. i don't think i've ever seen you concentrate on anything like that." you said, smiling at the recent memory of him looking at his computer like it was the only thing in the entire world. "oh, [n/n], have more faith in me. i know what i'm doing." he said playfully. you chuckled as he went on about knowing more than he let on and how you needed to believe in him.

you tried to laugh along with his humorous rant, and you tried to stay in the moment with him, but you couldn't get your mind off of you and yoongi's disagreement. his words were dark and murky, they clouded the skies of your mind and pushed the happiness out of your heart. of course, he was right. you knew that. he was just worried about you. wouldn't you act the same way for him?

in reality, you knew that you wouldn't bombard him with messages and calls when you didn't know where he was or who he was with. did that mean you didn't care for him, like he did for you? shame inundated your conscience, the dark, dreadful feeling of guilt not creeping up on you slowly, but jumping out in front and shoving you into the dark alley it called home.

you were so lost in your own emotions, that you almost didn't realize that you had gotten back home. hoseok, who was still telling his story, stopped walking before you did. "[name]." he said confused. you stopped and looked around. "oh." he looked at you, his expressing showing slight concern as he met your eyes. "are you okay? you barely said anything the whole way home." he asked, putting his hand on the gate that led into your yard. you nodded. "yeah, i'm fine." you said softly as you fumbled for your key. "i just have a headache. i need to lie down." you lied. he shook his head. "i get it. get some rest, okay?" he said, patting your shoulder lightly. "i'll see you tomorrow, [n/n]." with that, he started walking again. his favorite yellow shoes hit the ground hard as he strolled away. you unlocked the gate with a tired sigh, and unlocked the house.

taking out your phone to text yoongi, you looked around the empty house. it looked like a family had never lived there, the only signs of life being your shoes and a little, tiny framed photo of you and hoseok from high school. his words barged into your mind again, and you couldn't help but wonder...

was he right?

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𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐔𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃