Connection | KTH

Chapter 44: Dear Diary

It was the next day. 

Jungkook was trailing behind Ara's parents and the principal as they were on their way to clean out her locker. Mrs. Son had a cardboard box in her hand while Mr. Son held onto his wife's purse and jacket. 

While you had left Taehyung alone at your home and were comforting Jin at his house, Jungkook felt obligated to comfort Ara's parents. 

"Thank you for coming, dear," Mrs. Son faintly smiled. "It means a lot to us that Ara's friends will always care about her."

Once they reached their destination, Mr. Son released a weary sigh. He wasn't ready to be reminded of his daughter. As the principal twisted the lock, he could only imagine the vibrant colors that decorated the inside that very much represented Ara's spirit. 

"I'll just be down the hall in my office. If you need anything, call me," Principal Lee stated. 

Mister and Mrs. Son nodded their heads before turning around as Mr. Lee made his exit. They smiled at the pink interior, only to allow it fade into a sorrowful frown as they realized that the vibrancy would be torn down back into its original state of a boring, empty locker. 

Jungkook focused on the quotes that decorated the metal walls. They were all in her neat handwriting, displaying the encouraging words of historical figures and influencers. 

"I guess we'll take these textbooks to Mr. Lee. Jungkook, do you think you could help with the sticky notes on the walls? You can trash them or keep them. We're okay with anything you do to take it down," Mrs. Son abruptly spoke. 

Jungkook was snapped out of his thoughts as he nodded his head in comprehension.

As they were rummaging in the stuff to grab her textbooks, a sparkly blue and white journal fell out of her locker. Jungkook was the first to notice and picked it up as her parents' backs were facing him. He slipped it into the pocket of his jacket. 

Jungkook was familiar with this journal. He had always seen Ara carry it around after school. There was one time when he tried to snatch it from her, but instead, she almost bit off his finger. 

It was safe to say that Jungkook never had a look inside this mysterious thing, and the possibility of it being something important was either slim or not slim. 

Her parents began to take the other stuff out of the locker, stuffing books and decorative items into the cardboard box. The cleanup wasn't long, which was somewhat good since Jungkook didn't think he could stay for much longer. 

"Well, that's everything. Thank you, Principal Lee, for allowing us to come," Mr. Son smiled. "And thank you for helping, Jungkook. It means a lot."

Jungkook bowed his head to both parents. 

At this point, he was to eager to get home and read what was inside. He felt bad for thinking that way and intruding in her privacy, but he was overcome with temptation. 

—

Jungkook closed his bedroom door and plopped down onto his bed as he took the journal out of his jacket. There was no hesitation when he opened it, and the first words that he read pulled him into guilt: "Dear diary".

He began flipping through the pages. The first few days and months were from her early years of high school. From her first encounter with him and Jin to a vacation in Italy, there were fond memories written on each page. 

But what struck out at Jungkook was the huge gap that she took. Ara stopped writing in her "diary" once she stepped into junior year. Maybe she thought she had gotten too old for it, or maybe she had forgotten about it until senior year. 

However, as he read the next date, he saw your name written on the page. It was the first time she had met you. 

A smile soon appeared on Jungkook's face as he read the encounter. He didn't know this was how you met, and honestly, it was very wholesome. 

Who knew memes could bring people together?

But that smile soon faded as he continued to read:

I tried to warn her. I tried to tell her that he was dangerous, but she didn't listen. Y/N was hurt today by that same idiot I mentioned two years ago—Kim Taehyung. It was only her first day, and he was already looking for fresh meat. I wish I was there to stop him, but knowing him, he would've done the same to me and then some...

At lunch, she told us what happened. She told us what he did to her, and as she did, I couldn't help but notice Taehyung and his goons staring at us with their stupid smirks.  

He continued to read and grew more angry the more he read. It seemed as if Ara didn't care about her experiences at school anymore. She only documented you and your experiences with Taehyung. 

Some dates, there were no mentions of him while others mentioned the terrible things he had done to you. Jungkook's blood began to boil. Some of this stuff he had no idea had even happened to you. Ara knew everything while he and Jin only knew the half of it. 

But there was one event that set it off:

Day after day, Y/N gets hurt because of Taehyung. She believes that she is strong and can handle his taunts and aggressiveness, but deep down, I know she can't. I can see the agony in her eyes when he pushes her to the ground or shoves her against the lockers. 

Just today I saw it at its worst. We were at the fall festival...I should've recognized her fears of leaving the house because of him, but I was selfish and only thought about myself. 

We were in the Hollow. Taehyung and his friends had come in due to some unknown reason, and when he did, he saw her. We ran out of the shop before he could catch us, but he caught up and threw her into an alleyway. 

His friends kept me from reaching out to help her while Taehyung shoved her up against a wall. He said he wanted her dead and called her a waste of space. Before I knew it, he pulled a knife against her throat. 

I saw the drop of blood trickle down her neck and thought: "he's going to kill her."

Luckily, he didn't. He ran because he was too cowardly of being caught by anyone, so he threw her to the ground and left her to cry. 

Before I had ran over to her, I remember hearing her mumble things under her breath. It wasn't clear, but all I heard was "I want him dead" or "anything for him to die". 

I tried to calm her and tell her it was okay, but she had gotten angry at me. I don't blame her either. If your friend said that your bully wasn't going to be in the same place as you but coincidentally showed up, wouldn't you be mad at them?

Exactly. And I'm sorry, Y/N. 

If I ever show this to you or anyone, please know that I was stupid for doing that. And although I cannot fulfill your wishes of getting back at him, I know further down the road that he will receive his pain. And when he does, he'll be on his knees begging for forgiveness. 

Jungkook closed the book in frustration. He didn't know this happened to you, and the fact that you never told him upset him because he could've there for you. He could've gotten back at him the minute you told him to show Taehyung that you weren't to be messed with. 

But Jungkook realized he didn't want to wait another moment before Taehyung attacked again. 

The next time he saw him, he was going to give him the pain that he deserved. 

—