To Save Him | YOONMIN

Nineteen

Jimin wished he could say he woke with happiness in his heart the next morning. He wished he didn't wake up sore and worried, but he did.

He wished that what happened to him in the past few days had been a freak, one-time occurrence.

In all honesty, things like that had happened to him many times in his six years of working the streets. Daehyun had forced him to do many things, and this, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

It was close to four a.m. the next morning when Jimin started thrashing in his sleep, muttering words like "no," and "stop."

Yoongi groaned when he got hit in the ribs with an elbow. "What the f-"

Jimin was whimpering, fresh tears on his face, and kicking his legs out. He seemed to be having a nightmare.

"Hey-" Yoongi rolled over and began to shake Jimin's shoulder gently in order to wake him up. "Wake up, Jimin."

With a loud gasp and a cry of fright, Jimin's eyes flew open, his legs and arms scrambling to get himself away from Yoongi. "I said I do-"

"Jimin, hey, it's okay. You had a nightmare. It's okay." Yoongi sat up cautiously, putting a gentle hand on Jimin's arm to get his attention. "You're okay," he repeated.

Frightened eyes looked up at Yoongi through faded, pale pink bangs. They softened when he realized he was no longer dreaming, therefore not in any immediate danger. He was still crying heavily.

"You're okay," Yoongi breathed, pulling Jimin in for a hug, which the younger accepted gratefully with a sigh. He noticed that he was trembling, so Yoongi held him tighter.

"T-Thanks, Yoongi." Jimin hiccupped.

Yoongi nodded, bringing his hand to Jimin's face to wipe away the tears that lay there. He brushed a hand through Jimin's tangled hair soothingly and pulled the boy in closer to his shoulder. 

It was a while before Jimin was able to calm himself down enough to pull away from Yoongi.

When he did, though, his breathing had almost returned back to normal and his face had begun to dry. Jimin sniffled. 

Yoongi smiled fondly at the beautiful boy in front of him, still stroking the side of his face with his thumb. "Better?"

Who would ever want to hurt someone as innocent and beautiful as this?

Jimin nodded shakily, taking a final deep breath to clear his thoughts. He let out a breathy laugh. "God. how old am I that I'm still getting nightmares?"

Yoongi shook his head. "Hey, if I had went through everything that you had went through, I'd have nightmares too. You're strong, Jimin. You may not think so, but you are." He smiled reassuringly.

Oh.

Jimin didn't understand how Yoongi could hold him close and not be repulsed. He was dirty and broken, and he just couldn't comprehend it.

No one had ever called him strong before.

Somehow, Jimin couldn't stop himself from believing the words a little as they left Yoongi's mouth.

Yoongi tilted his head at the boy. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jimin squeezed his eyes shut tightly, remembering the vivid dream he had just woken up from a few minutes ago.

No, not really, he wanted to say.

"You don't have to, of course. I'd never force you to do anything. You can tell me if you feel like it," Yoongi hurriedly added, in order not to pressure the boy.

Jimin laughed nervously.

Maybe...opening up would help.

Jimin sighed, nodding his head uncertainly. "I think that would be a good idea."

A few seconds passed of Jimin gathering his words, thoughts, and courage before he spoke again.

"It was a few years ago when Daehyun forced me to do something similar to what happened last night. I didn't want to do it, but I was too fucking terrified of the bastard to go against him. It was a much shittier place than the club, it was the basement of this gross BDSM club. Last night, he told me not to scream or resist, but there, he only laughed and encouraged it. It-" Jimin faltered, the words getting caught in his throat. This was the first time he had told anyone what had happened that day. "It started immediately after I was thrown into the room. All of them were old men or rich men or both. They forced me to do things that I'm not even going to repeat, to spare you. I screamed myself hoarse within the first hour and ran out of tears in the second-" Tears began to pour down his cheeks again, but he let them, because it felt so good to finally let it out. "Thirty men used me that night and towards the end, I passed out. I guess if I'm conscious or not is unimportant when it comes to-"

Yoongi immediately shushed him, having stayed silent this entire time. He knew Jimin had it bad, but he didn't know just how bad until that moment. "Don't say that. Of course it's important." He brought the crying boy's head back to his shoulder. "It's always important."

Jimin said nothing, holding onto Yoongi a little tighter for support. 

"Did you hear me? Consent is always important and this entire thing that you've been a part of for the past few years hasn't included that. You're a victim and I don't ever want to hear you blame yourself again." Yoongi squeezed the boy tighter.

Jimin didn't respond to Yoongi, even though his words made his heart soar wonderfully.

He took a deep breath, deciding to finish his story from the safety of Yoongi's warm shoulder. "The day after, I couldn't walk. I was beaten and whipped so badly." Jimin smiled remembering the next thing that had happened. "I ended up passing out against the brick wall next to a coffee shop, I was so tired and weak. When I woke up, it was many hours later and someone had moved me inside of it. Namjoon and Jin first thought I was dead. Thankfully, they didn't ask questions and just dressed my wounds and gave me a blanket and ice for my face, which apparently looked like I had snuffled a beehive." Jimin laughed in spite of himself. "They got me up and moving and gave me food. They were the first people to show me kindness in such a long time," he sniffled. "Every now and then, they would say hi to me and offer me things like food and coffee." Jimin paused. "I dreamt I was back at the club, and no matter how loud I screamed, they just kept hurting me. No matter how much I said 'no' or to stop, they didn't."

Jimin shuddered in Yoongi's arms. 

Yoongi nuzzled his nose into the crook of Jimin's neck. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise you, Jimin. You're safe now," His warm breath against the younger's neck soothed him.

And you know what? 

Jimin believed him.

He wholeheartedly believed him.