ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴇʟsᴇ || ᴍ.ʏɢ + ᴘ.ᴊᴍ ✔️

chapter twenty-five .

After his conversation with Namjoon that late July afternoon, Yoongi began to sink into a state of despondency. He didn't leave his house for the rest of the summer, save when he had to go to work. He ignored all text messages sent to him--those from Namjoon, Jimin, Hoseok...everyone. If someone tried to call him, he would hang up right away, without doing so much as glance at the caller ID. Needless to say, this raised quite a bit of concern from Yoongi's friends, namely those who were completely unaware of the reason behind it all, which was all of them but Namjoon. Jimin more than anyone, though. Because it happened out of nowhere. One day, Yoongi was replying to his messages like normal, and the next, he doesn't get a reply for over a month, and longer still. The calls, too. He had attempted to call Yoongi several times, but he wasn't greeted by a voice mail box--no, he was hung up on. Immediately. Deliberately. Something was wrong. Jimin didn't need Namjoon to tell him that. He didn't need anyone to tell him that. He didn't want to invite himself over Yoongi's house, however, though that thought did cross his mind. Truthfully, he was more than a little scared. Surely, if Yoongi had shut himself off so abruptly like this, there must have been a significant reason. Perhaps one that left Yoongi in a deep and fixed state of depression that only Namjoon could pull him out of. Of course, Jimin wanted to be able to do something. But he was terrified of being pushed away. For quite a while now, that fear plagued Jimin's mind. He was scared of Yoongi rejecting him as a friend, let alone his love confession.

A part of Jimin hoped he had been overthinking things. Maybe there really was nothing wrong. Maybe Yoongi had just been too busy lately to talk, maybe with something so important that he didn't want or need anything around to distract him. He was aware it was more than likely foolish and wishful thinking, but regardless Jimin tried desperately to convince himself of this. But then school started again. The new term in late August. Jimin walked to school that day with Taehyung as usual, and although neither boy said a word on the subject, both were secretly a little anxious to see Yoongi--or, if they would see him at all.

They did see him. Jimin and Taehyung found the mint-haired boy sitting at his desk, head facing down, resting in the crook of his elbow. They went over to him cautiously. Jimin sat down at his own desk and spun around.

"Yoongi?"

No answer. Somehow, Jimin knew that he was awake. And that made it all the more painful to hear his silence.

"Yoongi, what's wrong? You haven't answered any of our texts for the past month. We're worried about you."

It had hurt Yoongi all the same to hear Jimin's voice after so long. He refused to lift his head. He wouldn't, he couldn't look that boy in the eyes. Not now. Not with everything Namjoon had said to him still floating around in his mind.

"Yoongi, if you're even listening to me right now, I just want you to know that we care about you. I care about you, and...and whatever's going on with you. If you're sad, you know you can talk to us, right? You know...we would listen to you. And I know I can speak for all of us when I say that I don't like seeing you like this. I won't pressure you, just..."

There was a long pause.

"...just remember I'll be here for you, Yoongi."

It took a whole lot of willpower, but Yoongi didn't give in. He continued to shut everything out. Everyone out. He didn't avoid Namjoon, per say, but he didn't talk. And Namjoon didn't force him to. In one sense, Namjoon believed he had made a horrible mistake that day on the basketball court for ever having said what he said to Yoongi. He wondered if things would have worked out better if he had simply let things play out naturally. So he made the decision, for the time being, to keep quiet on the matter and pretend that nothing had happened. That he was back to being Yoongi's protector, the guardian that stood by his side and warded off anyone who would come too close to the boy's bubble.