Martyr | Yoonmin [1] (unedited)

chapter 26

"Hobi?" Jungkook grabbed the paper airplane and threw it across the room, hitting directly in the center of the other boy's back.

The orange-haired boy was hunched over his laptop, turned away to hide whatever he was working on, and didn't react to the paper plane. Jungkook sighed, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. This was going on for too long, and he was tired of it.

"Can I go out today?" Jungkook asked after another two minutes of silence.

"No," Hoseok replied immediately.

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "You can't keep me in here," He whined. "Why can't I just go out for an hour?"

"Because I said so," Hoseok's fingers stopped typing as he snapped at the younger boy.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Jungkook protested loudly. Maybe a bit too loudly that which he meant to do. "I've been sitting here for days doing nothing. I'm bored."

Hoseok sighed, turned his head and looked at his friend. "Look, I'm sorry I've had you cooped up in here, but something's happened, and I need you to be ready."

"Ready for what?"

"When we have to leave again," Hoseok murmured. "and when that needs to happen – I just need you to stay with me."

It wasn't a secret, Hoseok was stressed, and Jungkook could see it. His friend hardly slept or ate. Jungkook would wake to Hoseok hunched over his laptop the past couple of nights, or he would hear him leave. Sometimes he left for a few minutes, and most times, he would return before the sun rose.

Jungkook blinked. He pushed off his bed and slowly walked over to his friend. Hoseok tensed up again and closed his laptop. Jungkook sat down beside him and took the laptop. Hoseok watched him open it and on the screen was a picture of a boy. Jungkook stared at the boy with soft features, but the main thing Jungkook noticed was the sadness in the boy's eyes. "Who is this?"

Hoseok sighed. "His name is Jimin,"

Jungkook saw that there were a few more pictures of the boy, but one, in particular, made his stomach churn. Jimin was photographed in the street standing beside two other people, one of them he didn't recognize, but the other Jungkook had no reason to doubt in his mind that it was Taehyung.

"Is he another Taehyung - is he going to hunt us down and kill us too?" Jungkook muttered, dragging another tab to show another picture of the stranger. This one was taken like a mug-shot without the board, of course. Jimin stared back at the camera in this one, but what disturbed Jungkook was that there were no emotions in the boy's eyes. They looked empty.

"That's what I am hoping to prevent," Hoseok said softly, and Jungkook looked at him with uncertainty. "He is an old friend – I know you don't remember him, but he was your friend as well."

-

Jimin opened his eyes to a white wall and started scratching at his arms. The uniform they were making him wear was terribly irritating to him. He sat up, pushing the blanket down to the bottom of the bed. His eyes felt swollen, and he rubbed at them until he saw stars. A knock from the door startled him.

He slipped on his slippers and opened the door. The nurse gave him a soft smile, "Good morning, Jimin. Your breakfast is on the table."

She bowed and headed down the hall. He followed behind and stopped by the rec room while she left through the exit, where he watched her use a key card to open the doors before the doors closed behind her. Jimin frowned and went into the room.

"Good morning," Jimin stopped in his tracks to see Taehyung sitting at the table and his breakfast waiting for him. "How was your sleep?"

He had been forced to stay in his room after his supper the night before. He tried to leave, but his bedroom door was locked, and he swore he felt like he would go insane. Before passing out, he had been crying for hours, explaining why he felt like his eyes were swollen.

He stood where he was and didn't answer Taehyung. Instead, he spotted the letter he had completely forgotten about, and he swore he had left it in his bedroom yesterday.

"So," Taehyung clapped his hands together. "Today's agenda will be training, and the exciting part is the training will be with me. But first, you need your breakfast, now come here and eat."

Jimin hesitated before walking over and sitting beside him. He stared down at his food. It looked delicious, but he wanted Yoongi's breakfast. "When can I go home?" he asked quietly.

"Not right now, okay?" Taehyung gave him a slow smile. He patted his shoulder before standing up.

Jimin grabbed the envelope before he forgot it again, but he would wait to open it. He would wait until Taehyung left. "You said I could live with you," Jimin trailed off, unsure if he wanted to continue his question.

"Yes...?"

"When is that going to happen?" Jimin felt stupid for considering Taehyung's suggestion, but after what he endured the evening before, he'd take it. He couldn't stand the isolation; he would lose his mind. He would do anything to avoid spending hours and hours alone.

"Eat up, Jimin-ssi," Taehyung appeared from behind, plucking a strawberry from the plate. He was holding something now, and before he slipped it inside his coat, Jimin saw that it was one of the journals. He glanced over to the bookshelf and noticed that the first one with the name Jungkook was missing. "It's going to be a long day."

Jimin turned his head, and Taehyung was inches from his face. The boy smiled a Cheshire-cat smile, and his eyes gleamed blue.