inseparable︱𝐉𝐉𝐊 ✓

❥ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞

꧁‿︵‿︵♥‿︵‿︵꧂

LJ - 13

Middle school had its ups and downs, but for the most part, I had an easy way of making friends. Over the years, I gained a lot of admirers, and I kind of enjoyed the attention and the social circles. However, as I got older, the attention started to make some of the girls a bit frustrated. By the time I reached seventh grade, I began to experience bullying.

At first, it was just snide comments and mean looks. But then it escalated.

There was this one situation after gym class when I found my shoes filled with water. Another time, my locker was covered in mean notes and drawings. I tried to ignore it and hoped it would go away. It didn't.

Instead, it got worse. I didn't tell my friends, my parents, or Jungkook, thinking it would only worry them. Besides, I thought I could handle it on my own, even though it got harder to hide the signs sometimes.

"Why are you covered in dirt?" Jungkook demanded one day, frowning, after I got home from school alone.

I tried to shrug it off, walking past him to get inside the house. "I tripped, that's all."

He didn't buy it. "Jieun, don't lie to me. What's going on?"

I couldn't bring myself to tell him, so I just shook my head and walked away, leaving him frustrated and worried in the middle of the living room. I could see the concern in his eyes, but I didn't want to pull him into my problems.

It didn't work out as I planned, however.

The end of my suffering came the day I had to wait for him to finish basketball practice so we could go home together. I sat on the bleachers, texting my friends and listening to music while watching the game, when I started to feel strange cramps in my lower abdomen. I pressed my hand on it, waiting to go away, yet the pain only grew.

The practice seemed to drag on forever, each minute feeling like an hour, but when it finally ended, I quickly gathered my things to wait outside for him to come out of the locker room. It wasn't the wisest of my decisions, I realized, after the group of girls who had been giving me trouble found me alone. They cornered and led me to the back of the gym, away from prying eyes.

"What are you doing here, princess?" one of them sneered, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm... just waiting for my brother," I murmured.

"Good to know 'cause we've got a bone to pick with you," another girl said, stepping closer and pushing me against the wall.

I felt an overflow of fear but tried to stay calm. "What do you want?"

"We want you to stop acting like you're better than everyone else," the third girl said.

"I don't... I don't act like that."

"Yes, you do," she barked. "You think you're so perfect, with all the boys following you and everyone wanting to be your friend. It's pathetic."

Suddenly, I felt a warm, wet sensation between my legs and looked down in horror to see blood starting to slide down my legs. The girls noticed it too and started to laugh. "Ew! Look at that! Little princess is having her period!"

I felt my face flush with embarrassment, but I wasn't scared. Mom had told me what this meant. Still, the humiliation was too much to bear. The leader of the group smirked and shoved me harder against the wall, making me yelp in pain. "What's the matter? Scared now? Where's the girl waltzing around like she owns the place?"

"Leave me alone," I gritted my teeth, trapping the tears in my eyes. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh, but you did," another girl hissed. "You made us all look bad just by existing."

The leader shoved my bag on the floor and slapped the phone out of my hands, sending it crashing across the ground. "Pick it up," she demanded.

I hesitated, but the look in her eyes told me she wasn't kidding. I bent down to gather my things, when another girl kicked me in the side, making me fall. My stomach twisted with pain from the cramps and the blow, and I could feel the tears coming at any second.

"What's the matter? Gonna cry?" the leader taunted. "Go ahead, cry for us."

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?" The three girls turned, and their faces paled when they saw Jungkook standing there, his eyes glowing with rage. He had come looking for me when I didn't show up at our usual spot. "Get away from her," he growled, stepping between us.

They hesitated, clearly intimidated by him. "We were just talking," one of them said weakly.

"Doesn't look like talking to me," he snapped before moving closer to them, lowering his voice. "Think about touching her again, and you'll have to deal with me."

They all exchanged nervous glances and quickly backed off, scurrying away. Once they were gone, I felt the life drain out of me, and I started to cry. Jungkook turned to me, his face softening as he quickly pulled me into a hug.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice gentle now.

I just shook my head in response, still crying on his shoulder.

"You're my sister, Jieun, you can't keep hiding things from me," he said, holding me tighter. "From now on, if anyone does something like that again, you are going to tell me, understand? You don't ever have to go through this alone."

I nodded, and we stayed like that for a minute longer until Jungkook sighed and collected my things on the floor, clicking his tongue after seeing the screen of my phone shattered. Once he helped me stand up, he finally noticed the blood and immediately took off his hoodie, wrapping it around my waist to cover the stain on my school skirt.

"Let's get you home."

Jungkook stayed close to me, and I felt protected. I could tell he was still angry about what had happened, but he kept his cool, focusing on making sure I was okay. We didn't talk much during the walk back home, but the silence was comfortable. It felt like we were communicating without words, and I knew he understood how much his support meant to me.

We never told our parents what happened because I asked him not to, even though he was reluctant at first. I did tell Mom about my first period at school, so she wrapped me in a warm hug and assured me that everything I was feeling was normal. She helped me get cleaned up, giving everything I needed to prepare myself for the next ones.

Over the following few weeks, Jungkook kept a closer eye on me at school. He walked me to my classroom and checked in on me during lunch. I could tell it wasn't easy for him to balance his own schedule with looking out for me, though he never complained.

Months passed after that incident. The bullying became less frequent. The girls had finally realized that messing with me wasn't worth the trouble, especially with Jungkook around. He scared them, and that was enough to make them ignore me. I started to feel more confident and less afraid, and through it all, he was there, supporting me every step of the way.

For so long, I had been trying to handle everything by myself, but now I knew I didn't have to. My big brother had my back, which made all the difference.

One night, we were sitting together in the living room, watching a movie, and I turned to him to say, "Thank you."

He looked at me, puzzled. "For what?"

"For everything," I answered, smiling. "For being there for me."

He smiled too, a genuine, warm smile that made me feel like everything was going to be okay. "That's what brothers are for."