Upon registering Hoseok’s words, Jimin blurted out: “Then you weren’t clear on the specifics of Ju-yoon’s car accident in Southeast Asia?”
Hoseok shook his head.
Jimin suddenly felt a little deflated.
Hoseok stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets, his tall figure silent and unmoving for a period of time. He levelled a gaze at Jimin. “There are a few things I haven’t mentioned.”
Jimin looked at him inquisitively.
“The brothers and I had known each other long before Ju-yoon’s accident,” said Hoseok. “Ju-yoon confessed his feelings to me, but I turned him down.”
This was something Jimin hadn’t anticipated, and the surprise showed on his face. “Because he’s a beta?” Jimin reflexively asked.
Yet Hoseok shook his head. “It has nothing to do with gender. At the time, I liked Yoongi more.”
“So you’ve known Yoongi and Ju-yoon from the start, and Ju-yoon liked you, but you liked Yoongi more?”
Hoseok gave a single nod. “It’s just, back then, I hadn’t confessed to Yoongi yet.”
“So, after Ju-yoon and Yoongi came home from their trip after Ju-yoon got into that accident, you made it official with Yoongi?”
Hoseok walked up to the window, an outstretched hand pressing on the window frame. As he gazed outside, he said, “Yoongi said that Ju-yoon was in a bad mood, so he took him on a trip to Southeast Asia to cheer him up. Before they left, I told Yoongi that I had something to tell him when he returned, but before they could, I learned that Ju-yoon had been in an accident. They had to stay in Southeast Asia for a long time and only returned when Ju-yoon was well enough to fly.”
Jimin listened to him mutely. He had a few questions, but he was in no rush to ask them, not quite willing to interrupt Hoseok’s recollection.
“When they’d just gotten back, seeing how severely injured Ju-yoon was made me feel awful, so I kept my mouth shut and didn’t tell Yoongi everything I wanted to say to him,” Hoseok continued. “But about a month later, Yoongi took the initiative to tell me that he liked me, and that’s when we started dating.”
Jimin cut in, “Since you liked Yoongi so much, how did you guys end up like this?”
Hoseok fell silent for a moment before saying, “We’ve been together for such a long time… and I’ve only just realised that we aren’t a good match. Maybe I was never really sure if I truly liked him from the beginning.”
“Then who do you like? Ju-yoon?” Jimin probed.
Hoseok didn’t give an immediate answer. His grip on the window frame tightened involuntarily, and not long after, he slightly ducked his head, saying, “I’m not—Ju-yoon and I aren’t in that kind of relationship.”
The second he finished speaking, Jimin’s phone rang. It was Taehyung, asking him where he was.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” Jimin told Taehyung.
After hanging up, he looked up and asked Hoseok, “You’re seriously not going to go see Ju-yoon?”
“Maybe another time,” said Hoseok. “I’ll have my chance.”
When Jimin returned to Ju-yoon’s room after Hoseok’s departure, Aunt Lee had arrived, so Taehyung got up and left with Jimin in tow.
On the drive back to the Kim house, Jimin told Taehyung about his encounter with Hoseok.
“Ju-yoon liked Hoseok, and Hoseok liked Yoongi, but now Hoseok doesn’t like Yoongi and is really concerned about Ju-yoon instead.”
Taehyung drove soundlessly.
Jimin leaned over. “How come you’re not saying anything?”
“I’m paying attention,” said Taehyung.
“Do you not have any thoughts about this?”
“No.” Taehyung frowned in thought after uttering this single word, then reiterated, “None.”
Jimin assumed that he, like Jimin, had his own guesses. They’d always had vague notions in their heads, but there was a layer of fog that made seeing the big picture impossible.
“I want to eat fried dumplings,” Jimin let slip as he looked out the car window at the flashy, flickering signboards.
“Hungry?” Taehyung glanced at him.
Jimin shook his head, then turned to face the front and sat upright. “I just suddenly thought of my grandpa,” he said.
“You sure have a lot on your mind,” Taehyung retorted coldly. Even so, at the next intersection, he turned his steering wheel to the right.
Jimin sat in the passenger seat, paying no attention to the road ahead of him; he only knew that Taehyung had taken several turns in a row, and they had wandered around the streets of the bustling city centre before pulling over on the side of the road. Looking up, Jimin noticed the signboard of the fried dumpling shop from earlier.
“Hm?” Jimin turned to Taehyung with a puzzled expression, but Taehyung had already opened the door and exited the car.
The air outside was chilly. Though the skies were clearly sunny today, the day became gloomier as the sun set, as if rain and snow were amassing, pressing down on the thick clouds and ready to fall at any moment.
A cold draught poured in as soon as the door was opened; Taehyung quickly shut the door to prevent any heat from escaping. He’d gotten out of the car without even putting on a coat, wearing only a sweater over his shirt.
Jimin pressed his face against the window like a little kid, following Taehyung’s figure and watching him as he entered the fried dumpling shop, spoke with the cashier, and took out his phone to pay for his order.
The dumplings were still frying on the flat pan, so Taehyung stood and waited inside the shop. Jimin discovered that, when his face was expressionless, the corners of his lips were actually slightly downturned, giving him an unhappy appearance.
A tall, sullen-faced alpha stood in a small shop, exuding an intensely oppressive aura that made other customers visibly wary.
Taehyung, however, was unaware of this. He was only interested in purchasing Jimin fried dumplings.
Taehyung emerged from the shop two to three minutes later with a takeout box in a plastic bag, opened the car door, and handed Jimin the piping hot fried dumplings wrapped in heat-resistant packaging
Acting like he wasn’t as touched as he was, Jimin glanced at Taehyung and said, “Want one?”
Taehyung didn’t answer. “Put your seatbelt on,” he said after adjusting the rear-view mirror.
“Don’t you wanna eat a few of these first?” Jimin offered. “They’ll go cold in a while.” If Taehyung started the car right now, they wouldn’t have time to eat before they got home.
Without hesitation, Taehyung started the car and eased it onto the road. After rejoining the flow of traffic, he said, “A car is following us.”
“Huh?” Jimin paused in the midst of opening the takeout box. When he looked at Taehyung, he registered his solemn, deadly serious expression and immediately twisted around to look behind them, trying to find whichever vehicle was following them.
Because the streets were clogged with cars at the moment, Jimin couldn’t tell which car was on their tail.
Taehyung hadn’t noticed it either, at first, but when he turned the car around to buy fried dumplings for Jimin, he coincidentally discovered that a black car had been following them the entire time.
The car had pulled over on the side of the road when Taehyung entered the fried dumplings shop, and by the time Taehyung came out, the car’s headlights had remained lit, indicating that the driver had not left the car.
And when he’d started the engine, the car had also followed them—none of this was a coincidence.
YOU ARE READING
On-Way Passage || ᴠᴍɪɴ
Fiksi Penggemar[COMPLETED] Park Jimin, a Beta, awoke after a car accident discovering that he couldn't remember anything from the last six years. He didn't remember being the top perfumer in the world, the death of his grandfather and, most importantly, he didn't...
