PERSONA ✓

15.

"Taehyung, what the hell was that?" Seokjin asked once the two of them were home.

Seokjin wasn't angry at Taehyung. He could never be angry at Taehyung. He was more... confused as to why Taehyung had an outburst like that.

"What was what?" Taehyung asked, heading up to his room.

Seokjin jogged up the stairs, following him.

"What you said to Namjoon..."

"He's given up."

"Yeah, but what you said was really mean, Tae," said Seokjin. He knew Taehyung was the type of kid to say what was on his mind without worrying about how it might make other people feel. Which was exactly why Seokjin had to remind him of the impact his words could have.

"Maybe that's what he needs right now," Taehyung said nonchalantly. "Someone to say something really mean, so he can get his head on straight and get over it."

"Taehyung—"

"And he will get over it." Taehyung pulled out a book from the large bookshelf in his room and sat down on his bed in the corner of the room, flipping to a marked page.

"How do you know he's going to get over it?" Seokjin asked. "Taehyung, you can't just expect him to—"

"Why else would he have been given these powers?" Taehyung interrupted. "Atlas chose him, correct? There must have been a reason for that."

Seokjin leaned against the door frame, struggling a bit to find words. "Little dipper, about me raising my voice..."

"It's fine, hyung," Taehyung said. He didn't sound mad.

"Yeah, but I still have to apologize—"

"Is that why no one liked me in middle school?" Taehyung asked suddenly, cutting Seokjin off. "I said mean things, like I said to Namjoon?"

Seokjin felt his heart drop from his chest to his shoes at the mention of middle school. He was only around for Taehyung's first and second year. By the time Taehyung was in his third year, Seokjin had gone off to high school. It worried Seokjin that he wasn't around — who knows what happened that last year?

"Hey," Seokjin said, cornering some 7th graders in the hallway. Being pretty tall for an 8th grader, they seemed pretty scared of him.

And they should be. They messed with his little brother. He couldn't sit back and let that happen.

"What did you say to Taehyung?" Seokjin asked. When the 7th graders looked at each other with wide eyes, hesitating to answer, he said, "I'm only asking once more. What did you say?"

"We didn't do anything!" one of the kids said. Seokjin raised an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed. The kids cowered.

"We both know you're lying. Why don't you tell me the truth and we finish up here?"

He had to leave, and fast. Taehyung was waiting for him all the way across the school, at his locker. And if these good for nothing kids made him keep Taehyung waiting, they were only going to make it worse for themselves.

"He didn't have anyone to partner up with for the group project," another kid piped up. "So the teacher assigned him to our group..."

"And you treated him badly, and then proceeded to dump all of your work on him?" Seokjin growled. "And this has been going on for months?"

This time, all the kids stayed quiet. Seokjin turned to walk away, but not before giving them a parting word.

"Don't go near my little brother ever again."