A Window to the Past | Jikook ♥

Chapter 10

He was still shaking as Hoseok cautiously guided him toward their spacious couch. Six pairs of concerned eyes were now gazing at him, making him want to crawl into the nearest corner. Never had he shown that side of him to anyone, this fragile, broken, in dire need of warmth side.

Never.

And yet here he was, dried tears lingering on his stricken face, exposed for everyone to see how weak and pathetic he was. Eyes downcast and thoughts lost into a whirlwind of unbridled darkness and anguish, he sat there, waiting for someone to talk. Or more for Namjoon to break the deafening silence. As the leader, he was always the first to talk on crucial family meetings such as this one.

A deep voice cleared its throat, and through the foggy haze that was his mind, the dancer knew it was their leader's voice, as he had predicted.

"Jimin, you need to talk to us. There's no other way for us to know what's tormenting you. It's breaking my heart seeing you this way. Please, say something."

His lips remained sealed, as the rest of the members tried coaxing him into confessing. But no matter how much Taehyung begged him, no matter how many times Yoongi tried to reassure him, he still couldn't say it. And only at this moment did he realized the main reason for why he hadn't said anything yet. This wasn't only about him. All the times Jimin had gritted his teeth together and closed his eyes shut as he let Junwoo hurt him until there wasn't a part of his body unbruised was to protect himself from the man's blackmail, sure, but most and foremost to protect Jungkook.

Their relationship was what Jungwoo had used as a leverage after all.

Resigned, Jimin sniffled and wiped his wet nose with his cuff. Damn be hygiene.

"C-can I talk to Jungkook? alone? please." he said in barely a whisper, fumbling nervously with the many ring adorning his fingers. Once again, he didn't dare to look up to see the reactions, but he heard resigned sighs followed by ruffling and the quiet sound of footsteps hitting the parquet floor.

The door closed, leaving Jungkook and Jimin in a heavy and blaring silence. The dancer still didn't dare to look up, scared to death about the confrontation that was to come. Now that the moment to confess everything had come, Jimin felt frozen. What what he supposed to say? Could he even tell him everything? Jimin could barely think about what he'd been through without feeling like breaking down on the spot, how was he supposed to face the younger and tell him that he'd been lying to him? Tell him he'd been lying from end to end. He despised himself for lying to him and the members, so how would they react when he would tell them the truth? He would probably have to leave the group. Yes. Leave them and never look back. He was certain that the second he would utter the horrid truth, it would end their long lasting friendships and break their bond, not to mention what would happen if Jungwoo released that fateful video for the public to see.

Then, leave them without telling anything. Yes, that was it. He would lie again, mold a pretty lie about how he'd been in an off mood lately, that being in the group brought too much pressure and that he could not do it anymore. He would have to-

"Hyung." Jungkook stopped him in his thoughts. Head still spinning with conflicting thoughts, Jimin hadn't noticed the maknae had gotten up to stand in front of him, holding the older's black sweater in his hands.

"Let's take a walk." said the younger firmly. It was clearly more of an order than an invitation, yet Jungkook's tone was sweet and careful, his eyes gauging Jimin's with an emotion the dancer couldn't quite decipher. Jimin swallowed, getting suddenly reminded of him saying "It's not worth it.", indifferent to the younger's cries.

The air feeling heavy around them, Jimin got up, wordlessly took his black sweater from Jungkook's hands, their fingers brushing and, ignoring the full-bodied shudder induced by their fleeting touch, put on his sweater and followed Jungkook out.