° ᴛᴜɴɴᴇʟ ᴠɪsɪᴏɴ ° || ʏᴏᴏɴᴍɪɴ sʜᴏʀᴛ sᴛᴏʀʏ ✔️

°eight°

I never spoke a word about Sungha to Yoongi, nor to anyone, for that matter. And I believed that was only for the best. After approximately one month of shutting himself away, Yoongi finally abandoned his life as a recluse and went back to school--and of course, I was ready to meet him halfway, claiming the privilege of leading him there by the wrist. His complexion had grown visibly paler, physical strength no doubt still less than either of us desired. But it was okay. Even if he collapsed one day, my legs could be strong enough for the both of us.

I was happy. Yoongi had chosen this out of his own free will. No one else had tried to persuade or guilt-trip him into returning. It was all him. For whatever reason this idea had struck him, the idea that maybe living in solitude forever wasn't such a good idea, I felt immensely grateful for it. This was one step closer to finding his cure.

He still wasn't speaking, though, and to be completely honest there was a part of me that feared I would never hear his voice again. Even if that did happen...I told myself...I could never let him forget the sound of mine.

"You came back just in time for the summer festival, Yoongi," I chimed, beaming regardless of the fact his gaze was on the ground. "Summer vacation starts soon, and every year there's this place near the river where people set up booths to sell food and whatnot; we should go, Yoongi. There are fireworks. I want to see them with you. Don't worry, they're bright enough. You shouldn't have a problem seeing them."

I gave his wrist a gentle squeeze, proceeding to quietly and tenderly lead him into the school building and straight to our classroom. Several of our classmates gasped softly at the sight of Yoongi, and spontaneously they burst into conversation concerning his sudden return to school. A few of the girls seemed to be teetering back and forth mentally as though silently trying to decide whether or not to approach him. In the end, no one did.

No one, that is, except Jungkook.

"You ain't lookin' so great, pal."

My friend approached both Yoongi and me, his arm akimbo, head tilted and one eyebrow quirked. The fact that his eyes were fixed on the blonde boy shocked me, and I actually stepped back for a moment to ensure I wasn't misinterpreting the direction or purpose of that gaze. Surely enough, I hadn't misinterpreted anything, but, presuming that I were trying to escape, Jungkook extended his arm and took hold of my shirt.

"Not so fast, ChimChim, we have to do this now," he stated firmly.

"J-Jungkook, what're you talking about?"

"Jin made plans to do this on the day of the festival, but just in case I can't make it, I wanted to be properly introduced to your special friend."

Yoongi's expression tightened, fists curling and uncurling as his mind reviewed the pros and cons of making eye contact with another human. This wasn't the first time perplexity had taking his being into captivity, but this instance was a bit...different. I simply wished I knew why.

"You're Yoongi, right? The partially blind student everyone gossips about." An audible sigh left Jungkook's mouth after he'd voiced that rhetorical question, brow furrowing for a moment in an open display of exasperation. "Personally, I'm real sorry 'bout them. Should've warned you a lot sooner; not everyone around here's as angelically friendly as Jimin. He's one of a kind, ya know? I hope you're treating him well."

He finally looked at Jungkook--Yoongi, with his eyes opened to their full capacity, jaw slightly dropped, had urged himself to meet the taller boy's gaze, and from his seemingly feeble position in his seat, Yoongi appeared to be trapped in the shadow Jungkook so mindfully casted. But I couldn't sense fear. Not even for a second. The quivering of his lips implicitly hinted at a desire to voice a question of his own, but a switch must have been flipped in his head, bringing back to his attention the fact that he wished not to speak. It was controversial, and undoubtedly unpleasant for him as well.