The Truth Untold: Yoonmin

5

Taehyung was MIA again and Jungkook was tired. He usually texted him and called to see if he was okay, until Tae came back as if nothing had happened. Tae never told him what he did on those days and Jungkook had stopped asking because he was sick of the deflection. "I was just at home." "I was hanging out with old friends." "Nothing, Kookie, don't worry about it."

It was all the same and Jungkook didn't have the energy to be sad about it anymore. Taehyung would come back. Or he wouldn't. It wouldn't be the end of the world for Jungkook. He couldn't let it be.

He tried desperately to hide it within himself, to push it into the farthest recesses of his body and mask it with smiles and laughter so that nobody would see that he was on the verge of being completely destroyed by it.

But Jimin saw the sadness in him and it pained him to see Jungkook lose himself in it. Even now as they got to Taemin's party, Jimin could see the unease in his friend's eyes.

College parties were definitely built differently than any high school party he'd ever been to. There was more alcohol and a bunch of other shit Jimin had always been keen to avoid. Jungkook, however, went straight for the coolers to grab a can of cheap beer and chug it. Jimin had never seen Jungkook do that before. He had half a mind to call Yoongi to come and get his brother, but he immediately pushed the thought away.

His mind flashed back to the way Yoongi had scoffed at him and his blood boiled. A bitter resentment latched itself to Jimin's heart and twisted.

Jimin had been trying to be nice, that was all. Yoongi could've just said no thanks and called it a day. He'd left Jungkook's house with tears of embarrassment clinging to his lashes but he refused to shed a single tear over someone like Yoongi. Someone he didn't even know whose opinion shouldn't even matter to him.

What the fuck, you're Park fucking Jimin. Get a grip, he told himself but rushed to join Jungkook by the coolers and chug his own beer. The drink was bitter and bubbled all the way down settling uncomfortably in his stomach. He got too full too quickly and he felt himself getting sick.

He needed air. The party was loud and crowded. Bodies pressed up against each other, bitter breaths mixing in the air. Jimin's lungs constricted a little as he forced his way through the thick crowd. This always happened. Tight spaces, crowded rooms, they always made him anxious. He saw the backyard doors ajar and felt the cool night breeze hit him softly. He tried to chase it but something blocked his way. He turned right, finding a space to squeeze through but again, he found his path blocked. He turned left and then the bodies began to press in on him. Jimin tried to focus on the light coming through the door, on the promise of fresh air but it felt impossible now. He shut his eyes and tried to just bulldoze his way through but the bodies had become a wall. Just as he felt the flow of air completely cut off, something strong grabbed his arm and pulled.

Jimin gasped into the open space of the small backyard, inhaling the clean air, eyes shut tight to calm himself.

When he finally opened them, Yoongi was there, holding firmly onto Jimin's arm after having pulled him outside. Jimin took a gulp of fresh air and then another until his heartbeat settled. His eyes darted to where Yoongi's large hand still held him and the latter promptly dropped it, ears burning red.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Jimin could only nod.

"Sorry for grabbing you, I just saw the panic in your eyes. I figured...anyway. Did something happen?"

Yoongi rubbed at the soulmark on his neck, feeling the prickling diminish a little as Jimin's body relaxed.

"I'm claustrophobic," Jimin admitted breathlessly, looking back into the crowd with a slight shudder.