The 7th Year | Kim SeokJin

Chapter 15

Short little guy.

Late 2016/early 2017

*-*-*-*

"Hyung, who is Rachel?" Jimin asked, turning his life vest around to display a name written in permanent marker. Jin's eyes bulged out of his head and he grabbed the vest out of Jimin's hands.

"No one, just put it on." Jin tried to cover up but it didn't work.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Jungkook asked, causing Taehyung to laugh silently beside Jimin.

"No, I don't know who Rachel is."

He was a bad liar.

"Look." Taehyung pointed as he put on his own life vest - and Jin knew he would murder Rachel. Taehyung modeled a matching one to the one hanging in Jimin's hands.

"Matching life vests?" Jungkook, now pointing between the two.

"Don't know her? Who is Rachel!" Jimin screeched, showing the name again. "Who does this this beautiful hand writing belong to Hyung!" He whined like a child, because he felt betrayed and treated like a child.

"No one." Jin answered again, keeping about his business of ignoring anything involving Rachel.

"And brought her on the boat." Taehyung pointed out and Jin wondered what type of sailboat Rachel would like to be murdered on.

Jimin angrily put the vest on as Taehyung grinned at the fact they now matched and that Jimin was mad.

"This is a major betrayal." Jimin huffed to Taehyung as he plopped into a seat.

-*-*-

The second time someone got wind of a Rachel; it was Yoongi. They each seemed to get tidbits of her; without putting the big picture together.

His ears only caught the tail end of a conversation; and he didn't mean to eavesdrop. He was walking to the kitchen, like he normally did when he heard Jin -

"Yes Rachel." He laughed quietly, a gentle laugh. "No." Stern words. Yoongi scratched his neck as he walked. "See you later."

It wasn't much. He didn't think much of it, and Jin didn't even know he had heard. He kept walking, and never put it together until the big reveal in Japan. But first after a few more trips to Korea for Rachel....

-*-*-

Rachel stood in her empty California apartment and said her final goodbyes. She was going home.

"Ma'am." The stewardesses caught her attention and Rachel smiled at her. "Refreshment?" She offered, motioning to her tray.

"I'm okay for now, thank you." She answered, going back to her book.

The stewardess trolleyed her cart along and Rachel yawned. She would have to stay awake for most of the flight, sleep the last 4, and that should set her up for just a tiny bit of jet lag as she got used to the time.

That was hard for her, she came to find out on her other trips. The second trip was hell, and she got sick, so she was hoping that never happened again.

Little did she know that wasn't the sick one she needed to be concerned about.

She hadn't talked to Jin in almost three days. A usual thing for her now, going days without hearing from him; and she figured he would be sleeping when she arrived home.

She was wrong.

"Jin, are you sick?" Rachel's face flashed with every ounce of worry upon seeing him layed up in bed, obviously not feeling well. She was getting annoyed as she wondered through the house calling for him with no answer, but all that annoyance fluttered away, replaced with worry at the sight of the sick man.