Two-Sided Coin

Chapter 23

The sharp words cut deep into his core, bringing up his blood to a boil. He gritted his teeth and clenched his teeth, then the foolish kid spoke again and V stood, his chair falling back loudly. Rage was burning hot in his eyes, contrasting with how stone cold the rest of his features were.

"Not one sound," he warned, the words seemingly cover the room with frost. Everyone fell silent, their eyes training on him. But that boy...

"What's wrong, Tae?" he pressed with what he must have thought was a threatening smile, taking a step towards him. V smiled darkly, sort of glad that J-Hope decided to speak. His fingernails dug into the palms of his hands so tight that his knuckles let out a satisfying cracking sound.

"You're mistaken," he told him in an eerily calm voice. His gaze slid over the whole room before landing on J-Hope. The older boy's face fell slightly and he swallowed, seeing an unfamiliar intensity in his victim's dark eyes.

"What's that, Tae?" he asked none-the-less, too confident for the danger he was in. A smile grew on V's face, bringing a whole new level of insanity to his look.

"I'm not Tae," he told him, practically spitting the name. A soft lull of confusion passed through the students and J-Hope raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you, then?"

V cleared his throat, shifting his weight. He took a few steps towards J-Hope, the older boy refusing to move back, apparently treasuring his pride more that his life.

"Nice to meet you, Hoseok," V suddenly hissed and J-Hope noticed just how close he'd gotten. No more than a feet of distance was between them and his throat went dry. The boy he knew as Taehyung was searching his eyes and J-Hope noticed a spark in the younger boy's eyes. It wasn't anything he'd seen before. His pupils were dilated and a terrifying mist had clouded them, giving the impression that he was on some sort of drug.

"Hi," V whispered, the abrupt drop of formalities sending a jolt through J-Hope's spine and stabbing at his pride. But he just grit his teeth and bore with it.

"I'm V," he introduced himself, cocking his head and smiling strangely. "I'm not the Taehyung that just goes to your school and sits in front of you with class. I'm the person that you bully. I'm the one that you kick, punch, push, scar both physically and mentally. I'm the one that felt your touch, heard your whispers, bore with the pain. I'm the one who held back tears brought forth by you and your...entourage."

By this point, V had almost closed the gap between the two of them. He didn't speak above a whisper, but the whole room had fallen into such an absolute silence, everyone heard everything he said clearly. V paused to moisten his lip. J-Hope felt his heart pounding painfully, but he waited patiently for V to continue.

Finally, he smiled slightly, an amused look on his face.

"I've changed, Hoseok," he breathed, the words hot against J-Hope's skin. "I'm not going to just sit there anymore. I hope you realize what that means. Our perfect little...relationship must end."

J-Hope swallowed thickly, not trying anymore to keep the terror from his face. V noticed and grinned.

"Don't be afraid, Hoseok," he assured him lightly. "Just think of it as...returning the favor."

He took a small step back and rolled his shoulders. Flashing another grin at the audience, he pulled back his fist and threw the first punch. It landed perfectly on J-Hope's jaw, causing the boy to stumble to the side from the unexpected strength.

"I'd like to think of us as close," V continued, rubbing his knuckles absently. J-Hope raised his head slightly and V threw another punch, hitting him just to the side of his nose.