Jimin was driving back home. He rubbed a hand across his face. He was exhausted. That was exactly what he had intended though. He wasn't able to fall asleep unless he was bone tired. The image of Sua glued to Jungkook, looking up at him with her mouth slightly parted as if expecting to be kissed by him, was etched into his mind. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about it. The moment he closed his eyes, he could see it. Only way for him to sleep was to tire himself out and fall on the bed to a dreamless sleep.

He had been doing ground work in Seoul. He could have easily assigned it to one of their many hands but he needed the distraction. He had even tried to pick up girls at the local bars and tried to lose himself in mindless sex but that hadn't worked either. He had always been good with women. He had the charm, the looks and he knew the effect he had on the opposite sex. But he couldn't feel it lately. The women he met seemed boring, their eyes dull unlike the sharp blue gaze he craved.

Guess that's what love does to you. Messes with your head and screws up your heart. He loved her. Yoon Sua. He had fallen for her the moment he had looked down into her eyes in the infirmary. And the fact that she was a beautiful person inside and out had only fueled the fire in his blood. He'd wanted to tell her so bad, he had everything planned and then Jungkook had asked her to dance. He knew the moment he saw her in his arms that he had already lost her. She was completely whipped for Kookie. How could she not be though? Jungkook was the golden maknae, good at everything he did, everyone's favourite little brother. He loved him but having to lose the girl he loved to his little brother was a hard pill to swallow.

He had waited too long, he thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to dispel the beginning of a headache. But he had wanted to give her time to heal and to come to him, with her heart free of any gratitude she may feel towards him for taking care of her. But he had waited too long. He clenched his teeth as the image of them together crept into his mind again.

He knew he would have to eventually accept it. He would back off obviously. He wouldn't stand against his brother. He would come to terms with it. All the hyungs had been telling him to get over it and talk to her. He missed her so much his heart ached.

When he had found her note yesterday, it had broken him. He had wanted to go to her but he'd held back. He wasn't ready yet. If he looked into her eyes again he wasn't sure he could let her walk away from him. And so he stayed away. It was better this way. But knowing she missed him just as much was a small consolation in his abyss of pain.

He would accept it of course. He would do anything for his Jungkookie but that didn't mean it would hurt any less. His pain was only his to bear.

He reached home and parked his car outside. He was walking towards the door when he heard Jungkook's voice. He was screaming. Jimin broke out into a run. Reaching the front door he opened it.

His heart stopped and his entire body turned to ice at the sight of Jungkook strangling Sua in the living room. She was barely moving, her arms hanging at her sides.

"Let go of her" He screamed at Jungkook with fury. But Jungkook didn't seem to hear him. Sua went completely limp in his grasp. Jimin's mind reeled in shock.

"No!! Jungkook-ah, Je-bal" He pleaded as he ran towards them.

The rest of the brothers had come down too. Yoongi and Joon helped Jimin pull Jungkook off Sua.

"She knows about Song-i. She knows, she's involved in some way." He kept muttering as the hyungs pulled him away.

Jimin held Sua before she fell to the ground. She wasn't breathing. He tried to find a pulse, his hands were shaking too much to find a pulse. He didn't want to waste anymore time trying to find one. He quickly laid her on her back and held her nose as he blew into her mouth starting CPR. He worked on autopilot, doing chest compressions and counting "Hana.. Dul.. Set.. Net.. Daseot... Yeseot.." he went on to 30 and then bent over her again opening her mouth and laying his own on hers to give her two deep breaths.

Jin knelt down beside him. He gently picked up Sua's wrist to check her pulse. Jimin saw his hands were shaking too but he didn't have time to linger on any of that. He just needed to get her heart beating again he couldn't think beyond that. He continued his compressions and the counting.

"Jimin...." Jin said softly.

"No Hyung, I won't stop. I'll never stop. I'll keep her heart pumping like this forever if I have to."

"You don't have to Jimin-ah. There's a pulse." He placed a hand on Jimin's to stop its progress. "You should stop. See she's breathing..." He said gently.

And surely as he stopped, he noticed that she was indeed breathing. Jimin looked up at him. Jin nodded. All the emotions he had suppressed, came flooding back to him at once and he broke down. His sobs echoed through the house.

"What happened?" Everyone was screaming at once.

"Did she.... Die?" Tae was shaking violently, tears following down his face.

Namjoon and Yoongi came running out of the office where they had taken Jungkook. Hobi knelt down beside Jimin. They were all distraught beyond words.

"No. She's alive, there's a pulse. She seems fine for now. Jimin's just relieved." Jin answered patting Jimin on his back.

Jimin wiped his face with his hands, standing up.

"Where is he?" He growled, his voice rough from crying.

"Jimin-ah!" Namjoon warned.

"Nevermind. I'll find him myself." Jimin said walking towards the office and pulling out a gun from the back of his jeans.

"Jimin-ah No!!" Yoongi yelled as Jimin stepped into the office and locked the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook couldn't see past the red hot rage he felt coursing through him. His mind was spinning so fast, he couldn't think straight anymore. He sunk to the floor pulling his knees up to his chest. His body trembling as the memories flooded him. 

Song-i was a beautiful little girl in pigtails always running behind Jimin, trying to get his attention. Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung were joined at the hips. She would constantly pester Jungkook into letting her hangout with the three of them. Song-i knew the only way Jimin would hang out with her was if she came with Jungkook or Tae. So she would beg and plead, even bribe Jungkook into taking her with them. She was smart, beautiful and full of love and light.
He had always been shy when it came to talking to girls but Song-i had never given him the chance to feel shy. She had just come and sat next to him, offering him the snacks that she had been munching on and started talking. Being the youngest member of the group was sometimes lonely but since Song-i was the same age as him he felt more comfortable sharing his true feelings with her and she had shared hers with him too. They were inseparable but she only ever had eyes for Jimin.
At sixteen she had finally found the courage to tell Jimin she loved him. But when Jimin had rejected her advances, telling her in no uncertain terms that he thought of her as a little sister and nothing more, she had been distraught. All the light had seemed to go out of her. She didn't smile anymore, she barely ever talked. She had become a shadow of a person she once was. He hated it. Every day without her light was unbearable for him.
And so he had come up with the most stupidest idea in the world. They were seventeen, too young, too sheltered by their brothers to understand what they were doing was dangerous.
"But Kookie, do you really think it would work?" she had asked, her eyes bright with excitement. He hadn't seen her light up like that in months. That had bolstered his confidence that this was the right thing to do at the time.
"Yes. I'm sure it will." He had assured her. "Don't worry I will be with you the whole time."
"I really want it to work. I can't live without him." She had said in a small voice.
"He's just used to having you around all the time, Song-i. A few days away and he will realize that he cannot live without you either." Jungkook had said.
She had been so happy. She had spent hours with him planning their escape. They had planned to run away together. Jungkook would leave her in a hotel near Daegu and return home. Once everyone realized she was missing and started to look for her it would make Jimin realize his true feelings for her and then Jungkook would take them to her.
But Jimin'd had a girlfriend then and he really wasn't interested in Song-i. He'd gotten extremely mad after reading the letter Song-i had left him, saying she would come back only if he missed her and truly loved her. If he felt the same, he should tell Jungkook, the letter had said. And that is how the brothers had figured out that Jungkook knew where she was. When they had cornered him, he had reluctantly agreed that he knew everything and had taken them to the place where Song-i was hiding.
But when they had reached the hotel, the room had been empty and Song-i was gone. They had searched high and low for her. Jungkook had almost lost his mind running along the streets yelling her name. But they hadn't found her.
After over a year of looking for her, the news of her death had reached them. There was no way to verify of course, but they slowly started to accept it and move on. His best friend. His only confidant, his light was gone and it was completely his fault. He had never been able to forgive himself.

A sharp kick in his side pulled him back to present. A punch to his face. Pain seared through him as he spit blood.

"You Bastard!" Jimin yelled. "You almost killed her."

Jimin kicked him in the gut pulling a groan from him. He pulled Jungkook up by his collar and punched his face again. His rage driving his fists. Jimin could hear his name being called from outside. There was pounding on the door but nothing could stop him from beating the boy in front of him to an inch from his death.

Jimin pointed the gun in his hand at Jungkook's head.

"I should shoot you. I want to." Jimin said harshly barely holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. But Jungkook's eyes were unfocused as if he wasn't there at all.

Jimin wanted to pull the trigger but punched him again instead.

Jungkook was bloody and whimpering but not once did he raise his fists to defend himself. Another kick, another punch. It was mindless until the only voice that could break through through the murderous haze in Jimin's mind at that moment, fell on his ears.

"Jiminie" Sua called. "Please stop. Let me in." her voice sounded hoarse.

He stopped.

"Please Jimin-ah. Let me in. Please?" she called again.

Jimin opened the door. The brothers and Sua all rushed inside. Sua gasped and headed straight to Jungkook.

"What did you do Jimin-ah?" She cried as she knelt down next to Jungkook. She gingerly placed a hand underneath his head and helped him sit up. Jimin couldn't believe his eyes. After everything, she still wanted to choose him?

"Sua?" he asked.

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. His heart cracked.  She rose from next to Jungkook once Jin had taken over and walked to Jimin.

"You shouldn't have done that Jimin-ah" she said quietly.

"No? Then what should I have done Sua? Let him kill you?" he asked his voice cold. "How can you still choose him?" he asked finally unable to control himself.

"I haven't.... I didn't choose.... Jimin?" she asked looking at him but he avoided her gaze. He was disgusted with himself. How can he still hold hope in his heart?

"He's your brother Jimin." She reminded him gently.

"Yes and he just tried to strangle you to death." He replied his heart skipped a beat remembering her unresponsive body in his arms. He wanted to hit Jungkook again.

"Yes he did. But he didn't kill me. He could have, he if he really wanted to, he could have. Very easily and you know that."

"You know what, I don't give a shit anymore. He had no right to put his hands on you. That's all I care about. I would beat his ass all over again if I have to."
Jimin said irritation evident in his voice.

"Namjoon-ah help me carry him. He's going to need stitches." Jin said from the floor.

Jimin's head snapped to them. Regret shone in his eyes but he steeled himself against it. Sua noticed. She quietly slipped her hand through his. "Let's get out of here Jimin-ah" she said quietly, pulling on his arms. He let her drag him out.

They went out to the living room where Sua sat him down on the sofa. She went to the kitchen and brought out an ice pack from the freezer. She gently placed it on his bloody knuckles.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after he had calmed down a little.

"I'm Ok. Don't worry."

He suddenly pulled her into a hug. "I thought I had lost you." He whispered. "It made me realize that I don't care who you choose to be with Sua. All that matters is that you are alive and well and happy."

"I haven't chosen anyone Jimin-ah" she said hugging him back.

But Jimin knew she had. She might not know it yet. But her heart had already chosen and it wasn't him. His chest constricted at that thought and his grip on her tightened.

Her heart swelled. "I've missed this" she sighed.

"I've missed you too." Jimin replied.

Tae walked out of the infirmary at that moment. He saw the two of them hugging and rushed towards them. He jumped on both of them. Hugging them tightly, "I'm so glad you guys both made up." He sniffled. "I love you both and I have missed this"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sua had taken a long shower, trying to wash away her pain. She sat at the vanity and rubbed a towel through her hair. Her eyes looked over bright in her pale face. Her gaze travelled down to her neck. The angry red bruises stood out against her cream skin. They would get even worse tomorrow, she thought. She turned her head to one side to look at them properly, if she looked closely enough she could make out the outline of Jungkook's fingers where they had gripped her throat.

She couldn't believe she had almost died. Again. Tae had told her Jimin had started CPR on her because he thought she was dead. But when Jin had checked, there was a pulse and she had been breathing. She had just fainted and Jimin had overreacted. She had come to when all the brothers were screaming at Jimin to open the office door while pounding and pushing at it.

Jungkook's unmoving bloody face drifted to her mind and her heart ached. Jimin had been fine with just his injured knuckles. That meant Jungkook hadn't fought back. Why? she wondered.

She didn't know what had happened but Tae told her Jungkook was muttering about her knowing Song-i - someone they had known a long time ago. So she figured she probably had said her name in her sleep. She vaguely remembered a flash of the nightmare that had gripped her last night.

She needed to tell them about Song-i, she figured. She had never dreamed that they might know her. It probably wasn't the same Song-i but they had the right to know. However she was a little unsure about talking to Namjoon about it.

There was one person she knew who would listen to her calmly without judgement. She quickly got dressed and went down to the office.

She knocked. "Jin Oppa?" She called.

"Come in Sua. Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked looking up from his PC.

"Can we talk?" She asked

"Sure. Come in, have a seat." Jin said rising from his own and indicating the sofa on the other side of the room.

Sua let him quietly lead her to the sofa and sat down. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Tell me what's bothering you Jag-eun sae" he said gently brushing a strand of her hair away from her face after he sat down next to her.

She knew then that she had made the right choice by coming to him. This gentle giant of a man truly loved her inspite of the trouble she had caused his brothers.

"I want to talk to you about Song-i" she said in a small voice.

"Okay. Tell me then. I'm listening." He assured her.

"I don't know if Tae told you. But I was sold to traffickers?" She looked at him and he shook his head. She was amazed at the loyalty Tae had shown her.

He looked at her patiently waiting for her to speak.

"I was sold to traffickers. They... had me checked before deciding on what to do with me. When they realised I was... uhm... innocent, they decided not to send me to the brothels. Instead I was sent to this place which looked like a hostel. Lots of girls lived there." She swallowed.

"I was bullied by the other girls because of my looks, especially my eyes." She choked back on her tears. "They were violent, these girls and one night they snuck into my room and some held me down while one of them tried to put a spoon into my eye, intending to scoop it out." She couldn't stop the tears now.

Jin quietly placed a hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing her back.

"This girl came out of nowhere, screaming and knocking the girls off with her purse." She smiled weakly. "She took me to her room and let me sleep on her bed while she slept on the floor."

"She took care of me. Helped me with my wounds, introduced me to some of the other girls, showed me how to do my makeup, helped me get my confidence back. She taught me how to tackle the unwanted advances and take care of myself. We were all escorts, you see. Meant to accompany and entertain men in business parties. And she taught me everything she knew."

"She was my ally. My friend. Park Song-i" she paused.

"Park?" Jin asked his brows furrowed.

"Yes, her name was Park Song-i. Why?" She asked.

Jin shook his head. "It's nothing. What did she look like?"

"She was beautiful. Tall and lean with long hair and kind eyes, just like yours actually." She said looking into his eyes confused with what she had just noticed.

Jin smiled. "Go on please. Where do you think she is now?" he said rising from beside her and walking back to his desk.

"She didn't make it." Her breath hitched.

Jin stopped in his tracks slowly turning back to her. "What do you mean?"

"She had been there longer than any of the rest. She was privy to more.... Confidential.... Information than any of us. She found out that I was to be sold again. Auctioned actually. The man she said, who was willing to pay the highest amount for me was a monster who had maimed even killed the girls he had bought before." She took in a shuddering breath.
"Song-i told me that she had been working on an escape plan for almost a year and that she wanted to take me with her." Sua closed her eyes remembering the terrible day. "At first everything had worked out perfectly like we planned but then one of the guards had brought a girl down to makeout into the tunnels where we were supposed to escape from. He saw us and radioed it in. Before we knew it the place was swarming with guards who were shooting at us. Song-i was shot." Her voice faltered as the tears flowed down her face and into her lap. "She told me to run. I wanted to carry her out but she wouldn't let me. She told me to find her brother." Sua couldn't go on as sobs racked her.

Jin had walked back to her his eyes brimming with tears too. "Are you... sure she's dead?" he asked his so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

She nodded. "I saw her being hit. I held her in my arms as she breathed her last." She sniffed.

"She told me to find her brother." She repeated. "I don't even know his name. How do I find him Oppa?" She looked at him as he knelt down at her feet and hugged her.

"I think you've found him Sua" he said painfully.

Sua was taken aback. "What??" She asked surprised "Who?"

Jin smiled weakly as he rose again and walked back to his desk and pulled out a picture from one of the drawers. He stared at it for a moment and then brought it to her. Sua stared, unable to believe her eyes. It was Song-i. A much younger version, but it was definitely her. She had her arms around a very handsome young boy. It was Jin. Their eyes, their smile were so familiar that her heart clenched.

"She was your sister?" She asked

Jin nodded.

"But she said her name was Park Song-i" Sua muttered

Jin chuckled through his tears. "She was in love with Jimin. I guess this was her way of holding on to a part of him."

"She was with Jimin?" Sua was shocked.

"No. She wasn't with him. He treated her like a sister. I'm partly to blame for that of course I warned all of them to stay away from my baby sister. But I didn't take her feelings into consideration. She was madly in love with Jimin."

Sua nodded.

He continued. "She ran away in some misguided attempt to make him like her back. We never found her and later we heard she had been killed." He hung his head. "We shouldn't have believed it. We should have looked harder. She had been alive all this time. Eight years." His voice broke. "She must have waited for me to find her."

"She was a strong girl, Oppa. She took care of me. She was healthy. She told me to find her brother and tell him what happened because he needed closure. Also that she loved him and missed him everyday."

Jin cried, his tears following more freely now. "I have already mourned her death but it feels like she died all over again. I will always regret giving up and not looking for her more."

She put her arms around him and they held each other again. They mourned the girl they had both known and loved.

"Thank you for telling me, Sua-ya" Jin said letting go of her and wiping away his tears.

"There's something else you should know." She said pulling away from him.

He looked at her questioningly.

"I was born in Washington D.C. USA." She looked at him apprehensively.

"Ah. I was wondering about that accent of yours. I couldn't place it." Jin said chuckling.

"Yeah its learned and practiced." She smiled sheepishly.

"How did you end up here then?" He asked

"I came to find out more about my mother's side of the family. She was Korean, she went to America and met my father there. He abandoned her when he found out she was pregnant. My father is a congressman so he wanted to hush everything up. My mother didn't get rid of her pregnancy like my father had told her to. She died during childbirth. So I was named after my mother and left in the care of strangers all my life." She sighed. "I came here to look for her roots. I was in Busan for a week, when I was kidnapped for ransom which my father refused to pay." She finished looking down.

"Is that why they sold you to traffickers?" Jin asked.

She nodded "After they had beaten me bloody"

Jin clenched his fists. "You are safe now Sua. We will take care of you. Do you.. want to go back to the US?" He asked apprehensively.

"There's nothing there for me. My home is here with all of you. I'd like to stay if you would have me." She smiled.

"You will always have a place in my home and at my table Ja mae" Jin said holding her face in his hands. "I was mad at Song-i for running away for a long time. But she sent me you to make up for her absence and I will always be thankful for that."

Sua smiled through her tears.

"Jin Oppa, the others...." She began

"Don't worry about it. You don't need to say anything. I will take care of it." He assured her.

She nodded. That would be better. She wasn't sure she would be able to go through this all over again.

"You should get some rest now Sua. You've barely slept. I have left painkillers out for you in the infirmary, take some before you head to bed." Jin advised.

Sua bowed to him "Thank you"

She left him with his thoughts and headed to the infirmary for her pain meds. As she entered she saw Jungkook's sleeping form on the bed. She picked up the meds Jin had left on the table and looked back at Jungkook. He looked troubled even in his sleep. She swallowed. She walked to him and adjusted his blanket so it covered him properly. He whimpered slightly but didn't wake up. She brushed his hair away from his eyes. So handsome, she thought. Even with the bruises and cuts that covered most of his face, he was still dangerously beautiful. He sighed and fell into peaceful sleep.

Sua walked back to her room and fell onto her bed quickly falling asleep herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/n: Angst Angst and more angst.  😅

Hit the star people ⭐️

Translations:
Je-bal: Please. Technically please in korean is juseyo but je-bal is used to say please in a more pleading or begging way.
Hana, dul, set, net, daseot, yeseot: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Native korean numbers used for counting.
Jag-eun sae: Little bird
Ja mae: Sister.

Are you learning a little bit of korean with me? 🤭
Stay tuned for more.

Love,
Writeria29
22.03.2023