Leap of Faith: BTS Hyung Line FF

Friendly Interrogation

"The police have no record of her, so she has to be staying somewhere."
"Is that all you found?"
"She's smarter than you think, Mr. Cary. She doesn't want to be found."

***

Yoongi was less than satisfied with Winter's constantly vague responses to important questions. He had never been one to accept a mystery as it was. No, he always wanted answers.

It wasn't the best way to go about things, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Yoongi needed to know what Winter was hiding from them.

Winter's tragically unlocked phone gave him the number he needed. It was Namjoon's idea to arrange a meeting with Hana, Winter's best friend.

They invited her over on the condition that she never tell anyone she was there. It would cause a scandal. Hana agreed to the terms since she understood, and they waited until Jin took Winter out to eat lunch and shop to bring Hana over.

Hana tried to contain the fangirl within her. It was a serious conversation, and she tried her best not to lose it entirely, despite how amazing they were in person and how she dreamed of such a moment for years. She internally thanked Winter for the opportunity.

"I hope you don't mind, but we have a lot of questions," Namjoon said first as they sat down across from her on the adjacent sofa. Hoseok leaned against the chair with his arms folded over his chest, while Yoongi plopped down beside Namjoon.

"I don't mind. I know Winter better than anyone," Hana told them honestly. "Where do you want me to begin?"

"The beginning," Yoongi answered, his expression stoic, though inside he was more than anxious to get a peek behind the curtain Winter cloaked herself with.

"Well," Hana inhaled deeply before starting, "Most of what she probably told you isn't entirely true. You should know who she was before her mom died. Winter was a different person then. She was happy, really, and a hopeless romantic. Her favorite colors were baby blue and purple if you can believe it."

It was a stark contrast from the Winter they knew that most often wore white, grey, and black, the last seemingly what she was most comfortable with.

"Her mom had problems with depression," Hana went on. The boys all listened closely. "Winter always thought it was because she missed her father, who was away on business trips most of the time. She spent a lot of time with her mom, trying to cheer her up.

When her mom got sick, Winter started to change. She wasn't as happy, or as hopeful. It seemed like she knew all along that her mom was going to die. Winter didn't think her heart was strong enough to fight to survive."

"Was her mom really sad because of her father?" Hoseok asked, eyebrows furrowed. He was learning so much about Winter, but he needed to know more in order to understand her completely.

"No. See, Winter didn't know this all back then, but her mom was in love with a different man before she got married. Her family pressured her into marrying Winter's dad, but she still snuck out to see her other lover a few times after they got married.

When her mom died, she left a box of letters and keepsakes for Winter. Everything about her affair was in there, as well as paperwork that explained that the father Winter knew wasn't related to her at all."

"The man chasing her down isn't her real father?" Yoongi grimaced.

"No. He found out about the affair, too. I remember Winter telling me how the look in his eyes changed. He stopped seeing her as a daughter, I think. When he was drunk, even if she was young, he saw her as a woman," Hana rubbed her palms over her knees.