c o m f o r t

chapter 4

(quick author's note: so in celebration of bangtan's new MV I'm gonna come off hiatus for a little bit! self harm trigger)

"Hoseok, I need to talk to you."

Hoseok groaned in response, twirling a pen between his fingers.

"I can't exactly talk right now, Jimin."

"Please, it's really important."

Hoseok slammed down the notepad he was currently drawing on, staring Jimin in the eye, anger consuming him.

"We can talk in the back room."

Jimin followed Hoseok into a storage type room that was filled with all sorts of flowers.

Roses, different kinds of lilies, and tulips were scattered across the floor, contrasting against the grey cement floor.

"It's beautiful in here." Jimin heard himself say out loud.

Hoseok closed the door behind them, the sound of the thud echoing throughout the room.

"I know what you're going to say." Hoseok declared, crossing his arms across his chest.

"And what's that?"

"You've come in here because last night, I decided to get fucking wasted, and then I happen to go to your shop, get my damn nipples pierced, and now you're here to ridicule me."

Jimin sighed.

"No, Hoseok. That's not why I'm here."

"Then why do you need to talk to me?"

Jimin began to hesitate. Maybe this whole thing wasn't his business, and maybe he should just leave it alone.

No, he couldn't do that. If Hoseok ever did anything else to himself, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

He took a deep breath, looking down at his feet as he spoke.

"Um, so last night when you came in for the piercings, I saw something."

Hoseok finally understood what people meant when they said they could feel their gut drop down to their feet. It was a feeling of fear.

"I, uh, I saw what was on your torso."

Jimin took a step forward, closing the space between him and Hoseok. He reached out a shaking hand to grab the hem of Hoseok's shirt.

"M-May I?" He looked at Hoseok uncertainly. Hoseok nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Jimin lifted Hoseok's shirt, just so that his lower torso was uncovered, and all his worries were confirmed.

All sorts of injuries littered Hoseok's torso. Some ranged from little cuts similar to cat scratches, and some were purple scars, and Jimin could tell that they were deep cuts.

Jimin also saw that there were a few new ones, but they were fairly small. His slowly lifted his hand, fingers tracing over the red marks.

"Why do you hate me?" Jimin whispered, his voice breaking. He was about to cry.

Hoseok shook his head, wiping away at the tears on his face. "I don't know. I guess I just thought you were cocky and rude." He confessed.

Jimin laughed softly, pulling Hoseok's shirt back down.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like that."

Hoseok suddenly yelled out in anger, stepping away from Jimin.

"If you start to think that any of that, was your fault," he said sternly, pointing his finger to Jimin's chest, "I will actually start to hate you."

Jimin nodded, gazing at Hoseok. He seemed so heartbroken, and yet when he was out in public, with friends, he kept it covered up.

Jimin thought that it was both brave and cowardly at the same time. He could shatter at any point, and yet he kept it hidden.

"I'm so sorry." Jimin burst out as he began to cry. Hoseok was already crying, and so he wrapped his arms around Jimin's frame as they both sank to the floor.

They both sat there, as Jimin cried, for what seemed like forever. And then, Hoseok started to laugh.

"I can't believe that just 20 minutes ago, we hated each other." Jimin laughed softly in response, wiping the remainder of the tears away.

Hoseok stood up, reaching out his hand to help Jimin up, and they walked out of the room.

"Hey Hoseok?"

"Yeah?"

"If it's all the same with you, I like it better when we don't hate each other."