Heartbeat // JK

39- Collateral Damage

For a moment, no one moved.

The chairs sat crooked.
The napkins still half-folded.
The water glasses trembled with the weight of what had just happened — like the air itself hadn't caught up yet.

I was still standing.
Hand at my side.
Cheek throbbing.

Sebastian was gone.
But somehow, he was everywhere.

The shadow still stretched across the table.
Still soaked into the glances, the breaths, the silence.

Yoongi's voice was the first to break the silence.

"We should go."

But I was already moving.

Chairs scraped. Jin called my name. I didn't stop.
Hobi was faster than I expected, looping around from the other side of the table.

"Eva—wait."

I cut past him.

"Don't—please just—"

I shouldered the door open, sunlight flashing hard in my eyes.

Taehyung was right behind me.

"You don't have to say anything," he said.

"But don't run. Not from us."

I didn't answer.
I just walked.

My heels hit the path like gunshots. The valet station was twenty feet away.

Jimin was already jogging beside me, breath uneven.

"Eva—seriously—we're not just gonna let you go like this."

"Then try and stop me," I muttered.

Yoongi's voice called sharp from the restaurant entrance.

"Don't grab her—Jungkook—"

But it was too late.
His hand caught mine.
Gentle. Familiar. Too familiar.

"Eva," Jungkook said, voice breaking.

"Please—don't do this."

I spun.
Not away.
On him.

"Let me go."

He didn't. He didn't move.

"I'm not trying to hurt you—"

"Then why are you grabbing me?!"

The rest caught up behind him.
Jin looked winded. Hobi's brow furrowed. Taehyung hovered just close enough to catch me if I collapsed.

"I just want to talk—" Jungkook said, voice rough.

"Well I don't!"

It came out like a fire alarm.
Sharp. Loud. Final.

I felt everything in me shake — but not from fear. From heat. Rage. Shame.

Jungkook's jaw clenched.

"Okay you don't have to tell me everything now but—"

"Then why do you look like you need answers?" I yelled.

"I do need answers," he said.

"Because I love you. And I need to know how to protect you."

I laughed. It sounded like it belonged to someone else.

"Protect me?"

"Yes—"

"You think love means you get to know everything about me? You think you have the right to this part of me, too?"

Jin stepped forward.

"No one said that."

"You didn't have to," I said.

Taehyung looked stricken.

"We just want you safe."

"And I'm not!" My voice cracked.

"Okay?! I'm not safe. I haven't been safe since I was born in that goddamn family and you—none of you—can fix that!"

Namjoon stepped toward me, hands open, voice low.

"Eva," he said.

"We're not trying to corner you. We just—"

I cut him off.

"You want to help?" My voice shook.

"Then fucking stop!"

The words landed harder than I meant.
But I didn't take them back.

Jungkook's eyes didn't leave mine. Not once. Not when I turned. Not when I tried to walk again.

"Eva," he said, breathless.

"Just tell me what can I do to make you okay?"

I stopped in my tracks.
Laughed once, sharp and ugly.

"You really want to ask that right now?"

"Please," he said, softer.

"Just—how can I make you safe?"

"Safe?" I repeated, turning back toward them all.

"Do I look safe?"

Nobody answered.

Taehyung's mouth pressed into a line. Jin's brows knit. Jimin swallowed like it hurt.

Yoongi didn't move, but his eyes were locked on me — reading everything I wouldn't say.

Then Jungkook again, voice rough from holding it together too long.

"You don't understand," I hissed.

"This isn't about bad memories or secrets. This is a fucking minefield. Every step, every word, could hurt someone. Could ruin someone. And now that he saw you—"

I stopped myself.
Too much.
Too late.

Jungkook's eyes didn't leave mine.

"Then let us help."

"You can't!"

"We can try!"

"No!" I snapped.

"You think this is about love? About being sweet and supportive? It's not. It's war. It's bloodlines and silence and names that can make people disappear."

My voice cracked.
And still—no one moved.

Yoongi's arms were crossed. Jimin looked wrecked. Namjoon's jaw was locked.

Jungkook stepped forward, eyes dark.

"I'm not afraid of your past."

"Well maybe you should be."

Jin stepped forward, calm but cautious.

"Eva—"

"Don't," I said.

"Don't tell me to breathe. Don't tell me it's okay. You don't know what okay looks like in my world."

None of them spoke.
And I hated it — how much I wanted them to.

A cab rolled up like it had been summoned by the chaos inside me.

I turned — not slow, not gentle.

"Don't follow me," I said, already reaching for the door.

"Don't try to fix this."

Taehyung's voice came quiet, but sharp with worry.

"Eva, please—don't shut us out like this."

My fingers tightened on the doorframe.
My voice came low. Sharp. Final.

"Then don't stand in my way."

I got in. Slammed the door.
Didn't look back. Didn't breathe.

Just let the car take me anywhere they couldn't follow.