Ephmera || MYG

26. Drunken Confession.

Taehyung, Namjoon, and Jimin were passed out on one side, tangled limbs and soft snores. Jungkook leaned against the kitchen counter, arms folded, silent and tense.

Y/N stood in the middle of the chaos, sober, a worried frown etched on her face.

Hoseok staggered forward, swaying slightly, eyes glassy from the alcohol but burning with something deeper.
"Why don't you ever look at me?" he slurred, voice cracking halfway between anger and heartbreak.

"Hoseok-" Y/N started, stepping towards him, but he raises a hand- just to stop her words.

"No," he said, louder now. "When are you gonna fucking realise?"
She blinked. "Realise what?"

A pause. A charged silence.

Then Yoongi shifted behind her, stepping forward. His eyes are darker than usual, but he was not stumbling like Hoseok.

"That..I-"His jaw tightening as he held him back by his collar.
"That's enough," he demands, voice low and firm.

Hoseok laughed bitterly. "You don't get to play her knight, hyung. Not when you spent years treating her like a little sister. Harin's barely cold in the ground and you're looking at her like she's your second chance."

Yoongi's fists clenched at his sides. Jungkook muttered something under his breath but stayed back.

Y/N freezed. "Hoseok, stop it-"
What the heck are these two up to?

Crack.
Yoongi punched him.

It's quick, sudden, and brutal. Hoseok stumbled backward into the couch, nearly tripping over Jimin's leg. For a second, nobody moves.

Then Hoseok lunged.
They crash into each other-Yoongi's back hits the coffee table, bottles shatter, and Jungkook moves to pull them apart but Y/N throws out an arm.

"Don't!" she yells, voice trembling but clear.

Yoongi shoved Hoseok off, only to get pulled back in by the collar of his shirt. Hoseok's words spill out between hits
"You don't even know what you want-how can you love her when you're still stuck in the past?"

Yoongi? Min fucking Yoongi? And me?

Yoongi growled back, "And you think being around since childhood earns you her heart? You don't love her. You're obsessed with the idea of her choosing you!"

Jung damn Hoseok too?

A fist connects with a cheek. Blood at the lip. Y/N flinches.

"Stop it!" she yells, stepping between them just as Hoseok reels back for another punch.
They freeze.

Her voice breaks.
"You're both drunk and acting like it's a prize to win. I'm not."
Breathless silence.

Hoseok swayed. Yoongi's chest heaves. Jungkook finally moves, grabbing Hoseok's arm and pulling him back.
"Enough, hyung. Enough."

Jungkook pulls Hoseok away while Y/N brings a first aid and treats Yoongi's wounds as Hoseok stares while in Jungkook's grip. He trembles slightly with increasing rage at scene infront.

Footsteps become nearer outside, A key turns in the lock and the door opened.

Seokjin.

Yoongi and Hoseok stare at each other-bruised, bleeding, but saying nothing more.

The door creaked open, and Seokjin steps into the chaos.
"What the hell happened here?" He locked eyes with Yoongi.
And then with Hoseok whose rage seems uncontrolled.

And then... with his sister, who stood between them, trying not to fall apart yet, raged.

I came in between two close friends?

Seokjin's eyes sweep the room. Passed-out bodies. Broken glass. Yoongi's bruised jaw. Hoseok's bloody lip. And Y/N, standing in the middle of it all, looking like she's about to cry but refusing to.

His expression hardening. "Someone better start talking."

Yoongi stepped back first, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"It got out of hand."

"That's not an answer." Seokjin snapped, voice sharp with disbelief.
He then turned to Hoseok.
"You too? What the hell were you thinking?"

Hoseok didn't respond. He just looks at Y/N with eyes still glazed in pain-not just from the fight, but something older, deeper.

"You should go," she whispered, not even looking at either of them.
Her voice is tight. Cold.

Yoongi hesitated, his fists finally unclenched, but his heart not.
"Y/N..."

"I said go."

Silence.

"You hate me too, don't you?"Hoseok murmured his gaze burning.

"What?..."

"YOU HATE ME TOO!" angry tears streamed down his face

"You almost starved him to death Se-eul!"

"I had work to do!"

"You should Atleast look after him!"

"I told you, I didn't want a child."

"You're his mother Se-eul!"

"Oh Hobi..." Y/N murmured her hand twitched in hesitation whether to comfort him or not.

Jungkook guided Hoseok away first, an arm slung around his shoulder. Hoseok didn't resist. He stumbled out the door without another word. Yoongi lingered.

Seokjin stared at him.
"Do you love her?"

Yoongi's eyes flick up, and for the first time tonight, he didn't lie to himself.
"I don't know what it is yet," he stated. "But it's real."

Seokjin breathed out slowly, torn between betrayal and understanding.
"Then figure it out before you hurt her more."

Yoongi nodded once, turned, and left.

The door clicked shut.

And the silence afterward was the loudest thing in the room.

Seokjin walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her back.
"You okay?"

She didn't answer right away. Just looked down at her shaking hands.

"They made me feel like I was just... something to fight for, and I caused them to fight. I don't want to ruin their friendship." she finally whispered.

Seokjin swallowed hard, pulling her into a hug.
"You're not a prize. You're my sister. And anyone who wants to be in your life needs to remember that."
Jin's arms protectively engulfed her. If a man other than him, wanted to be in her life and be with her to protect and love her, they would always have to pass his test and the problem is that, both. Both the men, had passed in his eyes.
Yet, he had doubts.
Where was Hoseok in his childhood? Why has he never told anyone about it?

And Yoongi?  How can he forget Harin?

"They were the ones who fought. You didn't tell them to"

"But still oppa."

In the background, Jimin snored. Taehyung muttered something incoherent in his sleep. Namjoon shifted and groaned. These three were damned passed out and would be suffering from a long hangover the next day.

And Jungkook, now alone at the door, just watched her silently-eyes wide, thoughtful.

"Noona... I'm with you. I'll support you." A smile found a way to Y/N's lips.

"Thank you Jungkook."