Lost & Found

11 Years Earlier

11 Years Earlier
11-Years-Old

Aera pushed her way through the small crowd that had gathered in front of the science classroom.

"What's going on?!" she exclaimed as she fought to make her way to the front.

Yoongi hadn't turned up to her class to walk with her to their next one, so she'd decided to go looking for him. She had almost made it to his previous classroom when she found the crowd blocking the way.

"Dude is whaling on him!"

Aera's brow furrowed, then raised as her eyes widened. Surely it wasn't...

"Yoongi!" Aera shouted as she finally broke through the crowd.

Yoongi immediately froze, fist poised in the air over Seung's face as he straddled him on the floor. Blood was smeared across Seung's face. Aera looked at Yoongi in horror. He lowered his fist.

"A..."

"What is going on here?!" A teacher suddenly appeared beside Aera. "Mr. Min! What is the meaning of this?!"

"He – "

"Come with me!" The teacher grabbed Yoongi's arm and pulled him off of Seung. "Someone escort Mr. Lee to the nurse's office!" She continued, addressing the crowd.

Aera watched helplessly as Yoongi was led away. After a couple of Seung's friends had helped him off the floor and away from the area, the crowd dispersed and Aera stood there, alone.

She was shocked. Yoongi had just been talking about not wanting to punch anyone, and less than two hours later, here he was, beating the crap out of their classmate. After a few moments, she finally turned and numbly walked to their next class.

All eyes were on Aera as she entered the classroom. She lowered her head and made her way to her seat, sighing as she glanced at Yoongi's empty desk beside her.

Aera suddenly became very aware of the fact that eyes were still on her and that there was much whispering going on. She looked up and over at the people sitting on her other side.

"What?" she asked, as they quickly looked away.

She turned around to the whispering girls behind her. "What?" she asked.

"Don't you know why Yoongi was beating up Seung?" one of them asked her.

"No," Aera admitted. "I didn't know anything was happening until after the fighting had started."

The girl smirked. "Seung said something about you, and Yoongi just went nuts."

"How sweet," the other girl cooed. "Standing up for his girlfriend."

"Yoongi's not my boyfriend," Aera said with exasperation. "And what did Seung say?"

The two girls looked at each other before turning back to Aera with uncomfortable looks.

"What?" Aera said, losing patience.

"He, uh...he said something sexual," one girl admitted.

"Yeah," the other agreed. "It was pretty graphic."

Aera blinked. That was the last thing she'd been expecting. "I..." She wasn't sure how to reply.

"Don't take it personally," the first girl continued. "Seung's pretty gross. He says stuff like that all the time."

"H-He does?"

"Oh yeah."

"A-About me?"

The two girls glanced at each other. "He's said stuff before," one said. "He's always trying to get a reaction from Yoongi."

"But this was definitely the worst he's said. I don't blame Yoongi for going off."

Aera swallowed hard. She hadn't realized her heart had been racing until that moment. She wished Yoongi were there with her. She wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly what Seung had said, but it really bothered her that he'd said anything at all. And Yoongi was a great comfort to her. She really wished she could have one of his hugs right then.

"Thanks," she muttered to the girls as she turned back around. The teacher had entered the classroom and was about to start class. But suddenly, the door opened and Yoongi walked in. Whispers started all over again as all the students stared at him.

"Take your seat quickly, please, Mr. Min," the teacher said without even looking at him. Yoongi nodded and trudged over to his desk next to Aera.

"Yoongs – "

But Yoongi turned his head away from Aera and wouldn't look at her. Aera felt a sting in her chest. She frowned.

"Yoongs, I – "

Yoongi laid his head down on his arms, still facing away from her. "I don't wanna talk about it," he mumbled.

"But – "

"Drop it, Aera."

Aera blinked. Though she was sure he'd said it much harsher than he'd intended to, his short response hurt. Her eyes filled with tears as the teacher began class.

She spent the entirety of the class worriedly glancing at Yoongi every once in a while. Once it was over, she wasn't sure what to do. She quietly packed her things into her backpack. Just as she was about to stand, she looked up to see a hand in front of her. She looked up into Yoongi's eyes, which appeared regretful.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Aera took his hand and he helped her stand. "It's okay," she said thickly.

"No, it's not."

"Are you okay?" Aera asked carefully as they began walking to the door.

Yoongi shrugged, and Aera squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry that it all happened."

"It's not your fault," Yoongi replied with a shake of his head.

"I feel like it is." They were walking down the hallway now, still holding hands. People were staring, but Aera didn't care. They needed each other right now. People could talk if they wanted to. "I heard that Seung said something about me – "

"Please don't ask me what it was." Yoongi's voice sounded strained. "Don't make me repeat it."

"Okay," Aera agreed.

Suddenly, and without consulting each other, they were exiting the school and heading to a bench outside instead of going to class. They sat down beside each other, still holding hands. Aera then laid her head on Yoongi's shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Yoongs."

Yoongi sighed but said nothing.

"Thank you for standing up for me."

"I love you, A."

Aera smiled. "I love you, too."