Starlight and Petals (taekook)

26: Unveiled

Trigger warning :This chapter contains descriptions of sexual assault and emotional distress that may be upsetting to some readers....

Author's pov:

Jungkook's hands tremble as he stares down at the journal, the very one he'd once glimpsed in Taehyung's bag, only for Taehyung to snatch it away, guarding its contents with an intensity that now made Jungkook's chest tighten. He could feel his pulse pounding as he clutched the journal closer, too aware of the truth that might lie within its pages. Leaning against the bed, he cradled the journal carefully, almost reverently, before slowly flipping it open to the page he'd seen before. Bold and haunting, Taehyung's words struck him again:

My life isn't a rainbow—it's all shades of monochrome.

He drew in a deep, steadying breath, bracing himself for what lay ahead. The ink on the page glistened as he turned to the first entry, and in Taehyung's beautiful, familiar handwriting, the date stood out.

                                                                                 Jan 10 2015

No matter how broken I am, I'll always find my way back to you, because loving you is the only way I know how to survive.

"My love, Jungkook got a new apartment. He didn't tell me anything about it. We argued, and he said, 'I can't keep giving you updates about every damn thing.' Maybe he's right. I shouldn't need every detail. But today, Daniel bullied me again. He locked me in the janitor's closet, and I was so scared. I would have been there for hours if the cleaner, Rose, hadn't found me. All I wanted was to run to Jungkook, to feel his arms around me. But when I got to him, we argued. He left before I could say a word, before I could tell him what happened.

I screamed his name, but he didn't hear me.

I don't think he hears me anymore. Not my screams... not my silence either."

Jungkook's eyes filled with tears as he read, the words on the page revealing a pain he had been blind to. The memory struck him hard—how Mingyu had once told him about a supposed "rumor" of Taehyung and Daniel, how it had filled him with blind rage and jealousy. He'd lashed out at Taehyung that day, letting his insecurities lead him, convinced without evidence. Now, it felt like every word he'd spoken in anger was ricocheting back to him, carrying a bitterness he wished he could erase. With trembling hands, he turned the page, the paper delicate between his fingers. 

Jan 15 2015

My love, Jungkook saw me with Daniel, but I don't think he noticed what Daniel had done to me. All he saw was Daniel holding my hand—he didn't see the bruises beneath his grip. When Jungkook hit him, drawing blood, I felt a brief joy; he was my hero. But then I realized he hadn't done it for me. His anger was for what Daniel had done to him.

"How dare you use drugs on campus and try to blame it on me," he had said, fury in his voice. "Just wait, Daniel. You're dead meat." And then he looked at me, saying only, "Your Daniel will get what he deserves. Enjoy the night with him."

Those words shattered me. Jungkook, the one who once promised he understood my silence, didn't truly see me anymore.

Jungkook slaps his forehead, silent tears falling as he feels his heart may shatter if he reads on. Yet he does—he flips the page again.

Jan 17, 2015

I knocked on his apartment door, heart pounding from missing him so much that I could barely breathe. I ran all the way here just to see him, to tell him how terrified I am—how fear has consumed me, this fear of losing him. When he opened the door, I barely got a word out before he snapped, "Taehyung, stop bothering me. Just leave. I need some peace, for god's sake," and slammed the door in my face.