"Feeling used to being forgotten
It's my immaturity
Trauma arising
From my doubts
What is the reason I'm alive" – Trauma by SEVENTEEN, 2017

It had been 3 or so years since Jimin's disappearance. The police kept telling the company that they were looking as hard as they could, but if that was true they would have found Jimin already.

Bangtan was on hiatus, all of the deciding to go in for their mandatory military service at once. They decided they needed some time away, some time to collect...

They desperately needed that type of change. After Jimin had vanished and he never popped up, all hell had broken loose.

Seokjin stayed in his room a lot. He never came out unless he really needed to for things like food and water or to clean himself. He tried to lighten up the mood around the dorms, but he eventually gave up entirely. He stayed in his small shell, trying to block out the rest of the world. As the oldest, he scolded himself for not being there or his dongsaengs as much as he knew he should, but he couldn't bring himself to. It was selfish of him... But weren't they all being selfish in a way?

Yoongi was either hanging out in a club or bar with some late-night hookup or in the studio, working himself to exhaustion. Usually, Jungkook or Hoseok had to drag him out in the middle of the night and neither party was happy to do it when they did. Yoongi was a raging mess when he was drunk. In the past, he was a lot more toned down, but with all the tension in the dorms, it all came out at once when Hoseok or Jungkook had to bring him home. They say a drunk mouth speaks a sober truth, and it spoke volumes for Yoongi's situation. He always said things he swore up and down he didn't mean... But everyone knew he meant it.

Hoseok... He was one of the reasons the dorms were a lot less lively. Jimin was apart of the infamous sunshine line and his roommate. They were dance partners and helped each other with their different methods. You couldn't just replace Jimin, it wasn't possible. How could you simply replace someone who had been in your life for years?  They had been with you through thick and thin, hell or high water, and then all of a sudden, they disappeared from your life and were about to be presumed dead?

It was too much, and the once lovable sunshine of Bangtan shut down.

Namjoon had been under the most stress regarding the situation. As the leader, he was the one being interviewed the most. He was the one attending the press meetings, being updated on the investigation when the company couldn't...It was always the same old story. They had been drawing up blanks for years now and they were all tired. Even if they knew Jimin wasn't dead... There was something pulling in his heart that told him that Jimin was out of their reach. He had been running himself into the ground, trying to bury himself in work.

Taehyung and Jungkook were different cases altogether. They lashed out more than anyone and had more out of pocket tongues than Yoongi. As the other two members of Bangtan's maknaes line, they were inevitably closer to Jimin, they felt the most loss when he was taken.

ARMY often referred to the Vmin pair as a couple with how they acted around each other. Taehyung and Jimin have even proclaimed each other to be soulmates on more than one occasion. It was only because they cared about each other so much...

There were a lot of close moments they shared... Blood, Sweats, and Tears... Jimin had been there for him during his darkest moments and he had done the same. They helped each other and they lifted each other up Sometimes they didn't even need to talk. They just needed to look at each other and understand. Taehyung missed that closeness they shared. Taehyung would be lying to himself if he said he didn't miss him dearly. It was JIMIN. How could he not miss him?

And Jungkook... Taehyung wanted to hate the maknaes so badly for what he said before the concert. But when he saw how badly Jungkook was taking the entire situation, he decided to let up this one time. Taehyung never missed that look on his face, that looked that always told him that something was wrong, and he knew it had something to do with the maknae.  Taehyung had always believed that Jungkook was unfair to Jimin and unnecessarily harsh to him for no reason. As much as he wanted to hate and berate Jungkook for the rest of time, he knew Jimin wouldn't want things to come to that, for the two people closest to him to fight.

Jungkook held lots of resentment towards himself over Jimin's kidnapping. They had had a minor fight where he had said some things he had regretted right before the concert in Seoul. It was during rehearsals...

'Well maybe if you weren't starving yourself all the time you'd be able to hit the moves right!'

Jungkook KNEW that was a touchy subject to hit on... It slipped out in the heat of the moment and he chased Jimin away right before the concert. Jimin had come back, all smiles and touches and insisted Jungkook didn't need to apologize.

He should have kept trying to convince Jimin that he was being serious... He never got to apologize to him correctly and he regretted it so much. He held so much self-hatred and guilt that had been weighing down more and more ever since Jimin disappeared. Jimin could be dead right now and he would have to carry this burden through the rest of the years he was alive. Jimin could be dead and he could have already forgiven him for saying such an awful thing, but Jungkook would never, ever forgive himself. Until Jimin was safe and was brought back safely, he was never going to let go.

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One by one, in the year 2022, the members of BTS began to return from their military service. Seokjin was making jokes about how he missed having long hair, or at last trying to. He had stopped using his overconfident facade a while ago and it wasn't having as much of an effect as it once did in the past.

Taehyung was doing his best to reciprocate the jokes, talking about how he missed his hair when it was much longer than it was. He wanted to grow it back out again and maybe even get a ponytail... Their loyal fans had drawn art of him with long hair and he wanted to see if it was possible for him.

There was a little bit less tension in the air once they were all in the same space, but tension was tension, and they were all feeling it.

"So..." Jungkook started, "Any news?"

Namjoon nodded, "Actually, the police think they may have found a lead to where Jimin might be... Let's just prepare ourselves for the worst if-." Namjoon caught himself, pausing right in the middle of his sentence, "-when they find him."

Everyone had caught his slip-up. It wasn't like Namjoon to make that type of mistake, but since the future was so unclear, it was only right that that slip-up was understandable.

"Yeah... One day Jiminie will come home... And one day... We can see him smile again."

They were all simultaneously clinging to the hope Jimin was still out there. Throughout their time with the military, they were all hoping they would hear something from the company about Jimin. They were hoping that one day before they left, Jimin would pop up at their door, holding some type of snack for each member. He would apologize for leaving so suddenly and they would all embrace him...

As the days got longer and the lonely nights colder, most of their former hope had been stripped completely bare from them. It wasn't fair...

They all had one similar thought, "Of all people... Why did they have to take Jimin?"

They thought it was a bit selfish of them to think that. It almost held the same energy as someone needing a transplant and waiting for someone to die so they could receive what they needed... While it wasn't exactly the same, there was one shared thought, "Why me?" or "Why us?"

"I miss him, hyungs..." Jungkook said softly.

"I know, Kookie. We all do..."

Everyone had gotten settled in the familiar dorms and they tried not to fall back into old habits. Yoongi no longer drank as much as he did before as they made him kick that habit the second he got to the military. Yoongi seemed a lot less angry now that he wasn't drinking 64% of the time.

Even if things weren't the same as they once were, they were sort of liking the way some things were beginning to turn out.

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It was another month before they got more news on Jimin. It wasn't much to go off of, but it at least gave them a little hope things were going to be alright.

The police believed that Jimin's situation was tied to something a lot more than just a simple kidnapping. Over the years, even before Jimin was taken, many people that were in the entertainment industry were stolen off the face of the Earth. They believed that this was all one big plot to garner as much money as possible off of those people.

There were multiple factors involved and the police officer was listing them all of them for them on the phone

'We believe... We believe this is all a big human trafficking scheme...'

It made them all sick to know that Jimin was being used for such sick purposes. Their Jimin didn't deserve to be used in such ways that just dehumanized him entirely... Yoongi had done a little more research and he felt he needed a drink. None of them faulted him for it, they all wanted to forget what they had just heard over the phone.

'All of these people... They are known for things such as having an abundant amount of sex appeal... Or looking... younger than what they actually are. There are plenty of sick fucks that will pay good money just for a little bit of time with them...'

Taehyung covered his ears, not wanting to hear any more of what the woman had to say. He had heard too much and so many images were filling his mind at once...

Jungkook let out a hurt noise, his hands within the slowly growing amount of hair on his head. It was a sustainable amount, but not enough to rip out of his scalp. Jimin could be dead from all the abuse and he would still be thinking about them...

Did Jimin think they were going to be able to save him?

They failed Jimin... They failed Jimin and now they were going to pay for it.

'We're going to launch a rescue once we have the go-ahead and the proper equipment. Please prepare yourself for the worst if it is to come.'

The words hung in the air like a heavy fog even after the officer had hung up.

"Please... Please..."

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In 2023, on February 26th, the rescue was launched. The news was covering it as they flew overhead in their helicopters. Police had completely swarmed the area.

They weren't going to let this chance go even if they died for it.

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"POLICE! POLICE!"

He bolted out of the bed, leaving me behind without even a second look.

There were lots and lots of loud banging noises... Screaming... Yelling...

I crawled under the bed, the shackles around my neck, wrists, and ankles hurting me greatly. I curled in on myself as much as I could without greatly hurting myself. I just wanted it all to stop...

There were feet pounding all over, "I'll search this room for any more of the hostages!"

The door was opened, and there was white light shining all over.

"Wait, what are these chains?"

Someone tugged at my chains and I choked, letting out multiple hurt noises.

"Hold on! We have someone over here, chief!"

They slowly brought me from underneath the bed and I began to cry, trying to fight to get away.

"Please no-no please-."

"Ssh..." a woman, "We're here to save you... Someone get me some bolt cutters!"

Soon the chains were removed from my wrists and I was covered in the blankets I was sleeping under.

"Hey, kid... Are you ok?"

I furiously shook my head as she brought me to my feet, "Do you think you could walk for me?"

I leaned on her for support, my ears roaring with so much noise.

"Come on... We're almost there..."

It was so cold when we went outside, but the only thing I could feel... Was relief.

Outside... He hadn't been outside in so long it was almost dizzying how much was going on at once.

He cried as the paramedics began to tend to him.

He was free... He was physically free...

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'This just in! Park Jimin amongst many other male and female entertainers have been safely rescued and in the hands of the authorities!'

They could only stare at the television in shock.