Forever And Ever (BTS)

Chapter 25

"Jin hyung, wanna play together later after you finish your homework?" Tae asked with a hopeful smile. Jin ruffled his hair fondly, and replied, "Sorry Tae Tae, I'm going to be home late tonight. I'm studying with my new friend." Tae frowned, but relented anyway. Jin seemed happier nowadays, and he wanted to see his brother be as happy as possible. If hanging out with his new friend made him happy, then he should go. Tae went back up to their room where Jimin was waiting. "Is he playing with us?"

"No, he's busy tonight."
*******

Jin met up with Dae Ho in front of the school entrance as usual. "Hey Jin, thanks for agreeing to study with me later. I need all the help I can get. School's really starting to weigh me down." Dae Ho was talkative as ever. "No problem. When someone has too much weight on their shoulders, the best thing to do is try and unload some of it for them. That's all I'm doing. Hopefully your weight will feel lighter as I study with you." Dae Ho couldn't help but think to himself, 'You say that, but have you ever let someone lighten your weight?'
*******

Jimin and Tae were sitting together in the school canteen eating lunch. "So, how did you get almost full marks for that homework assignment? It was so difficult!" Tae asked in envy. Jimin froze. He couldn't tell Tae about his alter ego, but what could his cover be? "Um... I... Asked a classmate! Yes. I asked a classmate." Jimin stuttered, causing Tae to look at him suspiciously. "You don't sound like you're telling the truth, Jimin. What's going on? What did you do that you can't tell me?" Jimin sighed. He wouldn't get out of this one. He had forgotten how easily Tae could notice if he was lying. "I'll tell you later, at home." Tae nodded, not happy to be kept waiting, but understanding that it was serious.
*******

Hobi reached down to touch the floor, making sure to keep his legs completely straight to feel the stretch in his calves. It was at that moment that he heard his name being whispered amongst two other boys. He paused, then started jogging, subtly moving towards them while pretending to be busy exercising. He strained his ears, and finally heard what they were saying.

"He's such a show-off, always making sure he gets to dance in the front."
"Ugh, I know. And when he asks us if we want his help, it's like he's mocking us."
"He never lets us have a chance to show what we've got. He just keeps making himself look like the most hardworking to overshadow us."

Hobi's gut wrenched. Was that what they all thought of him? Was he putting in too much effort? Was he stopping the others from getting the opportunities they deserved? Maybe I am, he thought, maybe I should just tone it down a bit and let the rest have a chance.

That day, Hobi started to mess up for the first time.
*******

"Hey, could you help me with this topic? I don't really get it," Namjoon nudged the boy sitting next to him. But his classmate merely frowned at him and asked, "Shouldn't you know? You're the genius. Why are you asking others to teach you when you should be able to learn it yourself?" Namjoon sighed. Was it so hard to believe that even the ones at the top had flaws? Perfection didn't exist, surely they should know that. Why did expect him to make no mistakes? He was a child. Children were bound to make mistakes at some point. He took another look at the question on the board. He really didn't get it.
*******

Yoongi had no reaction at all when he saw his failed test. Mr Kang didn't expect anything else, but he did stil wish that Yoongi would find some motivation to put in a bit of effort. "Yoongi, I know you don't like having to learn these things, but it's the only way you're going to get to move on in life." Yoongi, always having an answer to everything, replied, "Is it really the only way? There's always the option to be self-employed. I won't need qualifications then." Mr Kang found it hard to argue against that. Nonetheless, he had to try. "Don't you want to eventually learn literature and English though? You're going to have to do well for these subjects first in order to get a choice." Yoongi only shrugged, giving no other response.
*******

Jungkook waited in line to have his height and weight taken. Once his name was called, he stepped up to the ruler stuck to the wall. Average height, nothing to take note of. Then, he stood on the weighing machine. His physical education teacher raised an eyebrow at the number that appeared, before briskly saying, "Come to my office after this, we need to talk."

When Jungkook entered his teacher's office, he was immediately hit with a question. "Why is your weight almost half the average? That's severely underweight!" Jungkook shuffled his feet, noticing how skinny his ankles were. "I...don't know..." Unfortunately for him, his teacher saw right through him. "I know you're lying, you do know." Jungkook couldn't help but feel scared. If he admitted that he purged every bit of food from his body, would they make him eat? Seeing his petrified face, his teacher's softened. "Kook," he said, kneeling in front of the small boy, "I'm not angry. I just need to know what you've been doing to make yourself lose so much weight so that I can help you."

Jungkook's voice trembled as he whispered, "What if I don't want to lose weight?"
*******

When everyone got home, they went around the house to do their own activities. Tae and Jimin, however, went to the bathroom for privacy. They sat on the edge of the bathtub, and Tae waited for Jimin to start speaking. Jimin was hesitant at first, but when Tae said "I'm here for you, you can tell me anything," he felt the sudden urge to let everything out. So he did.

"Well... I kind of have an... alter ego." He scanned Tae's face, but all he saw was attentiveness and willingness to listen. "He comes out during class, and during breaks if I'm not with you. It's like I'm trapped in my own body and I can't control it." His eyes started to water. "He bullies the others in the class and they get so scared of me, but it's not me. I just watch and I feel so... helpless. I can't do anything." The tears were flowing down now. "Tae, I'm scared. What's happening to me? Am I weird? Is there something wrong with me?" Tae's arm went around him instantly, Tae's voice came after, soothing him, "No, you're not weird at all, Jiminie. You're okay. And don't worry, I'll always be there. If you need help, just come to me." Jimin let his tears pour in the comfort of Tae's support.
*******

"... and that's how you get the answer." Jin had just finished explaining multiple questions to Dae Ho. Dae Ho couldn't help but be impressed, "Woah, you got everything so quickly! You have to give me some of your brain skills!" Jin chuckled, "It's just practice. Keep doing questions and you'll be fine." He rolled his head, getting rid of the kinks in his neck that had formed from staring down at the workbook for the past few hours. As he did so, his eyes caught the time from the clock hanging in the corner of the room. "Wait, is it that late already? I need to get home," he quickly packed his bag, saying out a quick "Goodbye Dae Ho!" before rushing off.

By the time he got home, the rest had eaten dinner and were getting ready to go to bed. Mr Kim ushered him to the dining table, "I reheated your food for you, you must be hungry." Jin nodded in thanks, but it wasn't just physical hunger that was there. It was the need to do everything with his younger brothers still.

Meanwhile, the others took turns to wash up and brush their teeth before settling into bed. They heard Jin downstairs. "I hope it's not like this every night. I miss him," Jungkook said. The others agreed. But deep down, they had a feeling this wasn't going to be a one-time occurrence.