STELLA SYNDROME. ✓

VII. mars

VII.
m a r s

━━

JIMIN felt like crying.

he had heard everything, despite what jungkook believed. "sure, whatever. it's not like he'd care anyway." with every word, jimin broke a little inside. "he hates me. you see the way he treats me..." he stifled a sob, head falling into his hands. i'm sorry, jungkook, he thought miserably, i failed you.

two, three, four days passed. jimin waited at the maknae's door, back pressed against the wood as his tongue struggled to form the words he wished to say. countless times, he summoned his courage and raised his knuckles to knock, expecting himself to say when the boy came to the door, "jungkook, i need to tell you something." but then his knees would buckle before his lips could part, and he stumbled away in fear, only to retreat back to the same place later.

the other members were starting to get nervous. jungkook was slower and slower in practice, and he immediately rushed to his room after they got out of the car, never sparing a look or word to any of them. the door would slam sometimes; sometimes gently shut; and sometimes just half heartedly swung.

"i just don't know what's wrong with him!" seokjin wrung his hands anxiously, eyes wide.

"i thought he said he's just having insomnia," taheyung's eyebrows rose, and jimin wilted inwardly.

"no," namjoon muttered, tapping the counter with his finger, "this is different. he hasn't told us everything."

"should we force it out of him? i'm getting sick of this bullshit." yoongi ran a tired hand through his hair and shot a scared look at the youngest's door.

"no, i think we should give him space." namjoon shook his head. "he'll never trust us again if we make him tell us. besides, if it gets too serious, he'll come and tell us. he's not stupid."

"okay..." hoseok trailed off, and jimin sighed. this can only get worse.

━━

HE hated to be right.

jungkook didn't get better, as he knew would happen. his door kept slamming, his eye bags grew darker and darker, and he kept ignoring them. it was only a matter of time that yoongi got fed up with his lies and exploded, and jimin was not looking forward to that day.

the blonde chewed the inside of his cheek nervously, hands clasped tightly together. he sat by himself in his room, stomach faintly growling but not enough to get him out of his bed. jimin hadn't been getting much sleep lately either due to worrying fitfully about jungkook. he kept having nightmares of jungkook's skin turning golden and exploding again, waking up in a cold sweat. this charade had happened again only moments ago. jimin ran a hair through his hair, eyes closing slightly. he missed jungkook.

so much so, he was willing to break his number one rule.

he slowly opened the door to his room, tiptoeing down the hallway to stop at the maknae's door. bitter silence blanketed the apartment, and jimin felt the hairs on his neck rise in anxiety laced with fear. but his mind wasn't thinking straight—or rather, it was thinking so clearly he didn't know what to do with himself. his hands tightened on the doorknob, turning it to the left and pushing it open.