ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘᴜʀᴘʟᴇ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ || ᴋ.ᴛʜ + ᴊ.ᴊᴋ ✔️

twenty-eight: protector

Skipping class wasn't something that concerned Taehyung. Especially not now, with everything that had been going on with Jimin and whatnot. College was the last thing on his mind. And work was the second to last thing.

Yoongi, however, seemed to consider these things more than his friend. After the second day of both Taehyung and Jungkook staying cooped up in the apartment, he spoke to them. Encouraged them to go to class, to go to work as usual, because Jimin didn't need three caretakers, and besides, it could do them some good. To get out and about and do something.

"I'm on vacation, not you two," he joked, which only made his friend pout in disappointment.

"But we were supposed to hang out over your break..."

"Tiger, we'll still do that. But right now I think you need some fresh air."

"I'm not gonna get any fresh air sitting in a classroom..."

"You know what I mean, Tae."

"I know what this is, you just want alone time with Jimin."

"...Tae, he's recovering from a getting hit by a car, please..."

It took a lot of convincing, but Yoongi somehow managed to succeed. It certainly helped that Jungkook also contributed to the efforts given, and with both his best friend and boyfriend supporting the same idea, he couldn't argue.

So soon enough Taehyung finally decided to return to class - he had only missed a couple days, but then again so did Jungkook, so this time he couldn't rely on the boy to help him catch up.

Of course, there was still Seokjin. But Taehyung doubted he could ask him, considering the several occasions that boy begged to copy homework because he wasn't, one might say, the most diligent student.

Un-shockingly, the moment Taehyung walked into class that day and approached his usual seat with Jungkook in tow, Seokjin reacted openly to seeing both boys after their absences. At first, it was a simple hello, followed by, good to see you again. But then followed the greater concern, which skyrocketed after he laid eyes on Jungkook's face.

"Holy crap, dude."

Jungkook gathered these words were directed at him, so he smiled somewhat reassuringly and waved.

"What..." Now Seokjin was looking at Taehyung. "What happened to him?" Back to Jungkook. "What happened to you??"

"Bad people," Tae answered vaguely.

"Bad people?"

"Yeah."

The memory still upset him. So Taehyung did his best to suppress it, the mental pictures of Jungkook beaten, bruised, and bleeding in that alley, and took out his notebook from his book bag. But Seokjin didn't seem happy with letting the subject drop.

"Do you know who they are?" He asked, peering at Jungkook's face but the boy seemed too uncomfortable to reply. "You gotta report that kind of thing to the police!"

"They took off before I found him," Taehyung answered again.

"Who on earth would have something against Jungkook enough to beat him up like that in the first place??"

"It wasn't his fault. They wanted me, not him."

He spoke in a low, evidently pained tone of voice that silenced Seokjin. For a number of reasons. Taehyung's choice of words, though few, conveyed a darker message that didn't go over the boy's head. He could hear it, moreover detect it in Tae's expression, which he had grown accustomed to seeing solemn on a daily basis. But this was different.