✔️ Tongue-Tied ➳ vmin

v. tell me am i wrong (falling in love with you): 🥕12🥕

A/N: This entire section is dedicated to my older sister, bless her for putting up with me 24/7 and helping me with my fanfics, you great mastermind.

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v. tell me am i wrong (falling in love with you)

Winter has finally rolled around, bringing chillier and wetter days. The sky has become a permanent colour of murky grey, ominous with the prospect of frequent showers. The trees have wept their last golden tears for the passing of the warm season, their denuded forms standing stark against the bitter cold, braving the constant, harsh pelting of rain. The rain-washed pavement's glossy beneath the dark skies, and puddles ripple with the constant drizzle from above.

But the miserable conditions do nothing to dampen the kindred spirits of the student body. A festive ambience has settled over the campus, anticipation buzzing for the arrival of the Christmas break. However, along with the bleak weather, a disturbing change had come over a particular, fire-haired boy.

The transition had been gradual, yet obvious nonetheless. Jimin had watched helplessly as Taehyung withdrew into himself, bolting his doors to the world. Taehyung's presence, previously dominating, had now but diminished to a sombre, empty shell of his former fun and cheerful self.

Instead, a broody and alien stranger had taken his place. Uninterested in anything, it was as if Taehyung was treading on the bottom of the sea, everything just washing over him, leaving no impression whatsoever. Communicating with him was like talking to an inanimate object, the boy as unresponsive as a wooden dummy. The more everyone reached out, the more distant he became, shrinking away into the background. Jimin could see the membrane separating Taehyung from him, as if the boy existed in a whole different plane.

Figuring that Taehyung needed time to himself to let off steam, everyone gravitated away from him, keeping their distance. Although Jimin chose to remain by his side, it seemed pointless. Taehyung gregarious self had gone into hibernation, lost behind the walls that he had put up around himself.

And Taehyung remained cocooned within his own thoughts, until Jimin checks his phone after class one day, only to find seven missed calls from Namjoon and a hauntingly disturbing text from Jeongguk.

goldengullboy

3.08PM

hyung... am i just a pretty face?

The more times Jimin reads it, the more troubled he becomes. But before he can even think of calling Jeongguk, his phone suddenly rings uncontrollably in his hand, the caller ID of Namjoon flashing urgently on his display. Jimin's just answered the call when the RA's panic-stricken voice shrieks into his ear.

"Jimin! Where the hell are you!?"

Jimin can barely hear his hyung above the racket in the background, despite the senior bellowing at the top of his voice.

"Get over here!" Namjoon yells from the other end, "Hoseok's gone completely berserk!"

Jimin frowns. "That's nothing new. He's always crazy. Look, I need to talk to Jeongguk—"

"Hoseok's going to put Taehyung in the infirmary if we don't stop him! We can't hold him down!"

Hearing this, Jimin's blood runs cold, and his grip around his phone slackens. "Hoseok? TAEHYUNG?"

"I don't know what the fuck's gone down, but Hoseok's been shouting about Taehyung forcing Jeongguk out of college or something—"

But Jimin's already sprinting, trudging through the mud as fast as he can towards the dorms, an ominous feeling stirring inside him as he mentally connects the dots between Jeongguk's message and Namjoon's words. The moment Jimin sets foot into the building, the loud commotion that greets him has dread welling up in his chest.