Caught Up, In Neverland [JM]

[Chapter 13- Burned Bear]

[Chapter 13- Burned Bear]

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The wind breezes between the two as they begin to walk home. It's already dark and the stars seem to shine brighter than the moon in the cool and hardly dark night sky. Jihyun finally looks away from the stars and admires Jimin's shoulders from behind as they continue to walk together. Jimin hasn't said a word to her after what had just happened at the small forest and she's a little afraid to say anything herself. The boy had just showed a different side to her and exposed it, so she's not quite sure what to say.

What if I say something wrong? What if I hurt his feelings or do something to upset him?

She shoves those thoughts aside when she takes a large step towards Jimin. She places her hand delicately but firmly on his shoulder and his steps silence as she pulls back slightly to turn him.

"Jimin... I'm sorry about what happened with Jungkook. I didn't know you were going through that alone", Jihyun says and she can feel his shoulders relax beneath her grip. He turns around halfway and shrugs while gently removing her hand off of him.

"It's fine. I'm kind of used to it by now", he says nonchalantly and she raises her eyebrows in response. The two look into each other's eyes silently as another howl is heard from the breezes that seem to tumble by endlessly around them.

"What are you talking about?" She asks once the wind has died down a bit. She notices the corner of Jimin's lips twitch- as if he wanted to form a smile- and a bounce of his shoulder shows another shrug as he puffs out his bottom lip.

"What do you mean you don't know? Obviously you know because it has to deal with yourself after all", Jihyun says and she begins to get aggravated at Jimin being uncooperative. Why is he keeping so many secrets? What could he possibly be hiding? Why won't he tell her anything?

"It's not the time to know, yet" Jimin replies and he turns away with his hands finding their way into his pockets. Her eyebrows furrow frustratingly and she groans at her lack of patience.

"Jimin I'm tired of you keeping secrets from me. I want to know-"

"IT'S PERSONAL", Jimin yells right when his patience turns sour as he turns around to say those spite filled words to Jihyun. His expression is sharp and harsh as the moons glow shadows his prominent features- making his frightful look all the more scarier. Her eyes widen at his sudden loss of temper and the anger in his eyes quickly dissipates at the realization of what he has said.

"I-I'm sorry... it's just that it's a very hurtful topic for me- and frankly I don't like to talk about it because..."

Jihyun watches Jimin's face contort into pain and he quickly looks away to avoid the confrontation of tears threatening to fall. Every time he thinks about it, his chest hurts and his lungs begin to suffocate. He feels as if he can't breathe and he hates this feeling- The feeling that he's drowning in his own emotions.

"Be-Because it's just... hard for me to talk about. Please understand that it's personal and that it has nothing to do with you... okay?" Jimin looks back towards Jihyun and gives her a small smile as he sniffles. She can feel a specific vibe coming from Jimin and she suddenly has the urge to comfort him.

As Jimin begins to turn away compeltely, Jihyun takes a step forward to say what has been on her mind since the beginning. Finally, with a swallow and intake of breathe, she releases the words that had been trying to break free.

"I know you're hurting... inside", Jihyun says and Jimin slowly turns back towards her again. His eyes don't look at her at all and instead his gaze moves to the floor in front of her. "What do you m-"