🥀 Love is pain 🥀 ' Junoon ❣️ ' ( ✓ )

68.

As Jimin descended the stairs, his eyes immediately locked onto Jungkook, who was seated across from Taehyung. For a split second, Jimin felt like he was transported back in time—back to when everything was simple and Jungkook was still the brother who looked up to him with admiration. But now, the warmth was gone, replaced by a coldness Jimin hadn't felt before.

Jungkook's face twisted into something unreadable, his eyes hardening as they settled on his older brother. The first words that left his mouth struck like a blade.

"What are you doing here, Jimin?"

Jimin froze mid-step. His heart clenched painfully, and his grip on the railing tightened until his knuckles turned white. That voice—his baby brother's voice—it was filled with something Jimin had hoped he’d never hear directed at him: disdain.

Before he could respond, Jungkook stood up, his posture rigid, anger barely restrained. "After everything you did—after what you told Yoongi—how do you have the nerve to show up here like nothing happened?"

The pain sliced through Jimin, his knees buckling slightly as the guilt, fear, and shame washed over him in waves. The words from his past echoed in his mind—how he had lied to protect Yoongi, how he had told Yoongi he didn’t love him to keep him safe. Jungkook had no idea about the threats, about what Jack and his parents had done. All Jungkook knew was the story he had been fed, that Jimin had walked away, heartlessly.

Jimin's breath quickened, his vision blurring as his mind spiraled into panic. The pressure was unbearable. His chest heaved, trying to get enough air, but everything felt tight, constricted. His world was closing in.

Jungkook's next words hit him like a hammer. "Why, Jimin? Why did you break his heart? You didn’t just betray him—you betrayed me too. You were my brother... and now you’re—" Jungkook's voice broke, his expression darkened. "Now you’re just..."

Jimin’s body trembled violently. "No..." he whispered, barely audible as his breaths became more erratic. "No... I didn’t... I didn’t want to..."

Jungkook’s words were too much, the accusation, the misunderstanding—it overwhelmed him. His panic attack surged full force, his vision blurring as his surroundings started spinning. Desperate and lost in the haze of his fear, Jimin turned and screamed out for Yoongi, his voice cracked with terror. "Yoongi!"

Yoongi’s heart sank the moment he heard Jimin’s voice. He bolted toward the stairs, fear flashing in his eyes as he saw Jimin trembling, struggling to breathe. He rushed to Jimin's side, immediately grabbing his hands and pulling him into his arms. "Hey, hey, it’s okay," Yoongi whispered softly, trying to calm him down. "I’m here, Jimin, I’m here."

Jimin clung to Yoongi, shaking uncontrollably, his body wracked with panic. "He... he doesn’t know," Jimin sobbed into Yoongi's chest. "He thinks... he thinks I did it... that I just left you... I can’t—I can’t handle it, Yoongi."

Yoongi gently led Jimin to the couch, sitting him down and holding him close, letting Jimin cry against him as his breaths started to steady.

Jungkook, still confused and hurt, took a step forward, but Yoongi shot him a sharp look, his voice low and protective. "Enough, Jungkook," Yoongi said firmly, his eyes dark with anger. "You have no idea what’s really going on."

Taehyung, who had been watching quietly, put a hand on Jungkook’s arm, urging him to step back. "Kook, maybe there’s more to this than you think," Taehyung said gently, his tone cautious.

Jungkook’s confusion deepened, but the sight of Jimin shaking, utterly broken in Yoongi’s arms, sent a wave of guilt through him. He had never seen his older brother like this—so vulnerable, so scared.