444 (BTS Hyung Line x OCs)

Twenty-Two: Secrets and Warnings

The night air was still warm as Lola and Julissa stepped into the house, the faint scent of saltwater lingering on their skin from the beach. The house was dimly lit, and Morgan and Justice were already sprawled on the couch, dressed in comfortable loungewear, sipping from mugs. The easy atmosphere was exactly what Julissa needed after her date with Seokjin, but her mind was still swirling with thoughts from their conversation.

As Lola kicked off her shoes, she caught the curious glances from the other two girls. Justice leaned forward with an expectant smirk. "So... how was it?"

Lola rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "It was good. Really good, actually."

Julissa slipped into the kitchen to grab herself a cup of tea, but she couldn't escape the girls' inquisitive eyes for long. By the time she returned, Justice was already perched on the arm of the couch, her brow raised. "What about you, J? Spill."

Julissa sat down slowly, taking a deep breath before answering. "It was nice. But, uh... we talked about BLACKPINK."

At the mention of the name, Morgan's face dropped slightly, and Justice leaned back, folding her arms. "Oh, really?" Justice's tone was more curious than accusatory, but there was an undercurrent of tension in the room.

Lola hesitated for a second before speaking. "I mean, yeah... we met them at the beach, remember? It's kind of hard to ignore that they're connected to the boys."

"Connected," Julissa echoed. "More like dated."

There was a pause as the weight of the word sank in. The girls exchanged uneasy looks, knowing exactly what that implied. The idea of the boys being involved with BLACKPINK was intimidating, even if it had all happened in the past. The group was famous, successful, beautiful, and undeniably talented. There was no escaping the comparison.

Morgan broke the silence first. "Did... did they say why things didn't work out with them?"

Julissa shook her head. "Not really. Seokjin said they just grew apart, but it didn't feel like the full story, you know?"

Lola sighed, curling her legs up beneath her on the couch. "Hoseok didn't give me much either. He just brushed it off, like it wasn't a big deal."

Justice looked deep in thought, her fingers tracing the rim of her mug. "It feels weird. Like they're hiding something from us."

There was a shared understanding in the room. The girls had their own secrets too, things they hadn't yet shared with each other, let alone the boys. But hearing about BLACKPINK stirred something deeper, a sense of insecurity none of them wanted to admit.

"I just... I don't know how I feel about it," Julissa murmured. "It's one thing to have exes, but when they're people as big as BLACKPINK..."

Lola nodded, biting her lip. "Exactly. How do we even compete with that?"

Justice set her mug down and crossed her arms. "Well, we don't. It's not about competing. We have to trust that if the boys are spending time with us, it's because they're interested in us now. Not their past."

Morgan gave a small smile, though the uncertainty lingered in her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. But... it's still hard not to think about."

As the girls fell into a comfortable silence, their conversation still weighing heavy on their minds, across the street, Hoseok and Seokjin had just arrived back at the boys' house.

Hoseok was unusually quiet, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he walked into the living room. Seokjin glanced at him, sensing the unease. They had spent the evening with the girls, but now that they were back, both of them couldn't shake the uncomfortable realization of what was bound to come up during Namjoon and Yoongi's upcoming dates.

Seokjin cleared his throat as they sat down. "We need to talk to Namjoon and Yoongi before they head out with the girls."

Hoseok nodded, his face serious. "Yeah. I don't think they're prepared for the BLACKPINK conversation. Lola didn't really press me on it, but it's definitely on her lol I'll minds."

As if on cue, Namjoon and Yoongi wandered into the room, both of them looking relaxed and casual. "What's up?" Namjoon asked, noticing the serious expressions on Seokjin and Hoseok's faces.

Seokjin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You guys need to be ready for something."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow, sitting down on the edge of the couch. "Ready for what?"

Hoseok sighed. "BLACKPINK. The girls met them at the beach. They're going to ask questions."

Namjoon's expression darkened slightly. "I figured that might come up eventually."

"They're curious," Seokjin added. "And honestly, they have every right to be. I just... don't know how much to tell them."

Yoongi's jaw tightened. "We broke up with BLACKPINK for a reason. Do we really need to drag all that up again?"

Hoseok shrugged, glancing at Namjoon. "They're going to ask. And it's better if we're honest with them, at least about the basics."

Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. "We'll have to tread carefully. The girls don't know everything yet. If we're not careful, we could push them away before we even get a chance to explain ourselves."

Yoongi's gaze flickered to the window, his mind already racing with thoughts of how he would handle the situation with Justice. He hadn't been expecting this to come up so soon, especially with everything else that had been happening between them.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, the maknae line had overheard the conversation. Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of concern and amusement.

Jungkook leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "This could get messy."

Taehyung snickered, shaking his head. "More like it's already messy. The hyungs are all falling for these girls, but now BLACKPINK is back in the picture—at least indirectly."

Jimin bit his lip, his eyes thoughtful. "Do you think we should do something? I mean, we know why it didn't work out with BLACKPINK. The girls don't."

Jungkook shrugged. "It's not really our place to interfere, but I don't know... I feel like we need to make sure the hyungs don't mess this up."

Taehyung smirked, leaning back on the couch. "Or we could just sit back and watch them sweat. It's kind of funny seeing them so rattled."

Jimin chuckled, but there was a flicker of worry in his eyes. "Still... I don't want this to end badly. The girls are great, and the hyungs really like them."

As they debated what to do next, Justice was upstairs in her room, staring at her phone. She had been replaying the night in her head, the way Yoongi had opened up to her about his family, about his mother's abortion and how it had shaped him. It had made her feel vulnerable in a way she hadn't expected, but at the same time, she had felt a strange sense of relief, knowing someone understood—at least to some degree.

But now, as she lay in bed, a sudden vibration jolted her from her thoughts. She grabbed her phone, her heart sinking the moment she saw the name on the screen.

It was him. The last person she wanted to hear from.

Her ex.

The one who had been responsible for everything. The abusive relationship. The abortion. The pain she had tried so hard to bury.

Her hands trembled as she opened the message, her eyes scanning the words that instantly reignited the trauma she had tried to forget.

Justice, we need to talk. It's time to face what happened.

Her stomach twisted, and the room seemed to spin around her. She gripped the phone tightly, her breath catching in her throat as memories flooded back. Memories she had been trying to suppress ever since she had left him.

She wanted to scream, to throw her phone across the room, but all she could do was sit there, frozen in place, as the past she had been running from began to catch up with her once again.