3000 Stars

Aftermath

The officers were kind enough. Taehyung convinced them not to call his parents, though he ended up having to do that himself when he ended up in the hospital for the cut on his back. It was power-induced, so they were able to half-heal it, but he was warned not to do anything strenuous, and that included running home so he wasn't late for dinner.

His mother was the one to pick up the phone.

"Where are you?!"

"I'm sorry, Mama," Taehyung said, gritting his teeth as he dumped his ruined jacket in an outside garbage can and tossed his mask and gloves out with it. He would need a less recognizable outfit, and his parents knew the clothes too well. He shifted the phone to one ear so he could remove the other earring, sighing. "Someone mistook me for a rival in the station and jumped me."

"What?! But the rules--"

"You still follow the arena?"

"Well, no, but they sent new copies of the rules to us when they were changed. Honey, that was illegal. Were you able to...?"

"I've got a cut on my back and I'm a little shaken up," Taehyung said, forcing a laugh. "But I'll be okay. I promise. I'm on my way home now."

"No, no, no, let us pick you up! What if they see you again?"
"Mama! They arrested them. It was the middle of a station, some kind of alarm went off." Taehyung didn't mention that he had been the one to trigger it. He counted himself lucky for being able to keep his phones in different pockets so they weren't crushed when he fell. He took a deep breath. "Is Papa there?"

"Yes, you don't worry about that, I'll explain everything to him. Will you need anything when you get home?"

"I won't be too late for dinner, will I?"

"Of course not, I'll set some aside for you. Be careful on the streets."

"Of course," Taehyung said, "I love you, Mama."

"Love you too, sweetie. See you soon!"

"See you soon."

Taehyung ended the call, taking a deep breath. He felt a little guilty for not telling his mother about the panic attack, but she had enough to worry about. She didn't need to know he was going back into the arena.

His phone vibrated. He took a deep breath, pulling it out of his pocket and wandering into a clothes store. His mother would assume he was just dawdling. He checked his wallet, then grabbed a fresh white mask, loose red jacket, and a pair of black gloves. Perks of not going shopping as often as Hoseok. He pulled the clothes on as soon as he had paid for them, sighing in relief as he zipped the phones into the pockets of the jacket. This was much more convenient. He would do as Dreyk had suggested and edit his hack as well. He didn't want to be attacked again, whatever he might say to them.

Had Dreyk known? But then why hadn't he told him? Taehyung knew V had made enemies, but... his thoughts trailed off as he remembered the message. A few nasty self-directed names later he opened the new messages from the unknown number.

***-***-****: Phew they scolded me pretty badly

***-***-****: sorry bout your back

***-***-****: U ok

T: Stop messaging me.

***-***-****: I apologized

***-***-****: why is that not enough for u

***-***-****: you shouldve fought me

T: I don't want to fight you

***-***-****: You fought Zen and Dreyk

Taehyung's blood froze.

T: How do you know them?!

***-***-****: aww why did that get your attention

***-***-****: cmon fight me

T: no.

Taehyung turned the notification volume all the way off and shoved the phone in his pocket, picking up his pace. He just wanted to get home. He would be safe at home, with his parents. They were right, after all. The arena was too dangerous. He shouldn't stay in it any longer than he had to.

Why didn't he just tell Yoongi?

As the thought entered his mind, he felt a surge of guilt and disgust. Yoongi had never seen the videos of V. Yoongi had never seen him fight. Yoongi didn't know what he had done before, both on and offscreen. It was better that way. It was better if Yoongi never knew who V was. If Namjoon showed him the videos, he would just be disgusted.

As irritating as Yoongi and his no-strategy approach were... Taehyung didn't want Yoongi to hate him.

He stopped walking, letting out a long sigh. Once he got home, the last shreds of V's persona would leave and he would just be Taehyung again. Taehyung, with his overprotective parents, disappearing summer vacation, and irritating friends.

But did he really want it any other way?

He thought of Yoongi again. Yoongi reminded him of himself, when he had entered the arena for the first time. He had thought it would all be so much fun, so easy... whether or not he liked it, Yoongi was about to learn a number of rough lessons.

And Taehyung knew he would be a part of them.