Behind the Veil: A Captive's Tale

32

### Chapter Thirty-Three: Shared Stories

Hana's heart ached as she sat there with Yoongi. The depth of the sadness in his eyes as he reassured her only made her more curious about him, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt an urge to understand him and the other boys. The fear that had been gripping her since the attack by her father's men had started to ebb away, replaced by a growing sense of connection.

After a moment of silence, she found herself asking the question that had been lingering in the back of her mind. "Yoongi," she began hesitantly, her voice soft, "can I ask you something?"

He looked up, his dark eyes meeting hers with quiet attention. "Of course," he replied, his tone gentle, encouraging her to continue.

"What’s your story?” she asked, searching his face. “I mean, how did you and the others end up… like this?”

Yoongi was quiet for a moment, his gaze drifting away as he seemed to consider how to answer. His usual stoic expression softened with a touch of melancholy, and Hana felt a pang of guilt for prying into something that might bring up painful memories. But then, just as she was about to apologize and take back the question, Yoongi sighed softly and began to speak.

"We weren’t always like this, you know," he said, his voice low and almost wistful. "There was a time when things were different. We were different."

Hana leaned in slightly, listening intently as Yoongi spoke.

“There was a girl,” he continued, his gaze distant as if he were seeing her in his mind. “We all loved her, in our own way. She was… everything to us. But she was also involved with someone else—our rival. We knew it was dangerous, but… we couldn’t help ourselves. We thought… we thought she cared about us too.”

Hana’s breath caught in her throat as she listened to Yoongi’s words, feeling the raw emotion behind them. There was a deep pain in his voice, a wound that had never fully healed.

“But it turned out she was playing us,” Yoongi continued, his tone growing colder, sharper. “She was just using us to get closer to our rival. She betrayed us, Hana. We trusted her, and she turned on us. Because of her, we lost everything we had worked for… and more.”

Hana’s heart broke for him, for all of them. She could see the bitterness in his eyes, the way the betrayal had hardened him and the others. It explained so much—their guarded nature, the way they kept everyone at arm’s length. They had been hurt so deeply that they had built walls around their hearts to protect themselves from ever feeling that kind of pain again.

“I’m so sorry, Yoongi,” Hana whispered, her voice thick with emotion. She reached out, almost instinctively, and placed her hand on his arm, offering what little comfort she could.

Yoongi looked at her, his expression softening as he met her gaze. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes, as if he hadn’t expected her to care so much. He hesitated for a moment before giving her a small, sad smile.

“It’s in the past,” he said quietly, though Hana could tell the wound was still there, just beneath the surface. “But it’s a big part of why we are the way we are.”

Hana didn’t know what to say, so instead, she did the only thing she could think of. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a soft, gentle hug. It was a tentative embrace, almost shy, but it was filled with warmth and sincerity.

Yoongi stiffened slightly at first, clearly not used to such an intimate gesture. But after a moment, he relaxed into it, his own arms coming up to hold her loosely. It wasn’t a passionate embrace, but it was comforting, and Hana hoped it conveyed just how much she cared.

“Thank you for telling me,” Hana murmured against his shoulder, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know it must’ve been hard.”

Yoongi didn’t respond immediately, and when he did, his voice was soft, almost a murmur. “You’re the first person I’ve told about this in a long time,” he admitted, and there was a vulnerability in his tone that tugged at Hana’s heart.

She pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at him, and gave him a small, encouraging smile. “I’m glad you trusted me with it,” she said softly.

Yoongi’s eyes held hers for a long moment, and there was something in his gaze that made her heart skip a beat. It was a mixture of gratitude, sadness, and something else—something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Before she could process it, Yoongi leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her hair, so quick and gentle that Hana barely registered it.

Her eyes widened in surprise, her heart fluttering at the unexpected gesture. Yoongi pulled back just as quickly, a soft smile playing on his lips as if he was amused by her reaction.

“Thank you, Hana,” he said quietly, his tone warm and sincere.

Hana felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, but she couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. She didn’t know what this new feeling was between them—if it was the beginning of something more or just a deepening of their bond—but whatever it was, it felt… right.

As they sat there in the quiet of the library, the weight of the past seemed to lift just a little, replaced by a sense of understanding and connection. Hana wasn’t sure where things would go from here, but for the first time in a long while, she didn’t feel so alone.

And as Yoongi’s hand found hers again, giving it a gentle squeeze, she realized that maybe, just maybe, she was exactly where she was meant to be.