9
WHY?

"Everything." Daehye managed to let out the words out of her cracking throat, her head buried in Ara's neck. Ara rubbed her nape, fret overflowing her like a tide on a shore. "Daehye it's gonna be fine."

At those words Daehye started sobbing because she knew that it won't be, for sometime at least. "I'm a fucking stupid- I thought that things won't go wrong everytime." she was merely managing to breathe- she was crying that hard. That's what happens, bottle up your emotions and one day it's gonna erupt like a volcano. Ara still held her tightly in her embrace, she was familiar to say at least with Daehye's phases but this one came after a long time, one which felt like an eternity and it would be an understatement to say this was not good news.

"Sit here I'm gonna bring some water." Ara dragged Daehye across the room and made her sit on the sofa, she sprinted down the kitchen and filled a glass of water before hurrying towards her. By the time she reached Daehye was wiping her tears with her shirt's cuff. "What happened?" Ara whispered and her question gave a rise to more salt water in her eyes.

Daehye was at a loss of words- where to start from "me and Jimin- everything was going fine, at least but then today he just- I don't know Ara." Daehye had to take deep breaths in between her words, thinking it would calm her down a little but it didn't. All the memories were rushing to her mind and on top of that she was yet again wishing that he was here- her past, her everything- the one she lost without a reason.

"There's someone else I think." Daehye whispered, her voice didn't shake or crack- it was crisp and clear. It didn't sound envious, it sounded more of how she was frustrated within herself. "I'm not jealous, neither did I even like him to a point where I could've been envious- I'm just disappointed in myself that I allowed myself to feel when I knew it would turn out to be a torture." Daehye's fist got tighter and her nails penetrated deeper in her skin.

"And his words- I hope I overcome those and they don't haunt me forever. I hope that they don't make me feel like I'm never gonna be enough." Ara had tears welling up in her eyes- her sister was in a crestfallen state and it pained even more when she was the one who dragged Daehye to that get together, the one who introduced Jimin to her.

"You're always gonna be enough Daehye- maybe not for some people but you are for me, and for so many others." Ara brushed her hair and she felt an obvious swelling on her head when she did so. Daehye's chest pain kept on increasing, Jimin's words, her past memories were all like a tsunami and it constantly repeatedly was washing off Daehye.

"I miss him Ara." And at that moment Ara knew Daehye wasn't addressing Jimin- but rather someone else, the one who splattered colors on her white canvas but now they started to fade and she didn't want them to.

Ara put a pill in her glass, waited for it to diffuse in the water and kept looking at Daehye who was constantly wiping her tears off. "Drink some water." Ara made Daehye sit up, the house's off-white lights were now making her head throb even more- the tears forming a blurred and disoriented vision.

She gulped the glass down her throat and a sudden dizziness rushed, her sight now hazed. "What did you put in this?" She barely managed to speak as her eyes closed. "It will help you stay at peace for sometime." Ara brushed her hair as she fell in her lap.

A sudden feeling came to Ara, one which she didn't experience earlier- of guilt. She opened Daehye's closed fists and saw crescent cuts created by her nails, blood which was being held previously now rushed out of the veins.

What did you do Jimin?

---

The next morning Daehye woke up when she turned to the other side of the couch but rather fell on the floor, her head throbbing, her throat dry like sandpaper and her vision smeared a little due to all the tears she shed yesterday. The early morning sunshine entering from the windows and the scent of breakfast floating in the air

"Morning, beautiful." Ara had two plates in her hands and an apron draped on her small physique. "I don't feel very beautiful." Daehye said while turning her neck repeatedly which made a cracking sound.

"You're gonna get a plaster on your neck one day because of that." Ara said while ripping off the sheet which was covering Daehye. "I'm gonna shower." Daehye tiredly got up and tied her hair in a messy bun whilst Ara just sat there checking her texts.

Daehye thought that the hot water would at least have a calming effect but nothing, with no classes to look forward to for the day and with no assignments pending Daehye had time to herself, which left a room for thoughts and those were for now quite alarming. She called her mother but she was occupied with her business work along with her father and Daehyun had school.

"Ara I was thinking maybe-" she got interrupted midway when she saw a sticky note on her bathroom door.

Taehyung called I'll be back in a few hours.

Daehye wasn't frustrated, in fact she thought of herself to be selfish and that she wanted to create a plan out of nowhere just for prior distraction. So she let it be, she let her thoughts occupy her mind, she took out literature books and novels which would make her feel emotions maybe the real world could never.

Like in everybody's life, she had days too where she lost motivation for everything but maybe this time it was far more penetrating and riskier on her mental health- A day where music could also not help her calm her nerves down. Whilst flipping the second page of some book she heard the opening of the door and looked up from the floor where her back laid against the bookshelf.

"Hey Ararara-" she called her best friend by the nickname she created but stopped mid-way, cause it wasn't Ara, at this moment it was the last person she wanted to see. His words again flooded her mind like a tsunami, he looked around the house only to find her on a corner, the sun shining on her hair and covering half of her face, her eyes were like honey and giving a better view of her swollen face.

"What are you doing here?" She whisper yelled when Jimin started to approach her, her legs which were on the ground were now wrapped by her arms. "Daehye............" Jimin's voice was trembling, as if he did something he shouldn't have and meanwhile Daehye thought about consoling him but a sudden flashback prevented her from doing so.

"Stay away get the fuck out." She now stood up from her place and deeply sighed, a soft murmur was all which came out of her mouth.

"No."

"Jimin, I told you I don't wanna see you again, talking is a far thing. Please leave." she tried to control the urge to scream at him, yell at him, tell him he had no right what he did.

"Daehye I'm sorry." Jimin's eyes were now glassy, he was such a mystery that it was frustrating now.

"Sorry? You're sorry? After what you did? You had no fucking right to scream at me, call me things which trigger me, I was there to fucking help you Jimin- and you, you just said what came on your goddamn mind and you gave zero fucks to how it could've impacted me." Daehye raised her voice now, Jimin stood there feeling guilty, his eyes downcasted while she searched for an answer.

"I wasn't- I wasn't me." Jimin moved towards her and held her arm which she slapped off, tears threatening to spill at his contact.

"Jimin, you had no right to scream at me, let alone push me so hard that it gave me a concussion. That hardly matters though, it's- it's your words." Daehye looked at him finally, his hair was messy, his eyes were having dark circles under them, he looked wrecked.

"That's why I'm here- realization hit me." Jimin said apologetically and Daehye scoffed at his words. "No it's pity- wait no I was the one pitying you right? When I left immediately without explanations only to be almost hit by a glass."

"Daehye like I said I wasn't me, I'm sorry." Jimin held her hand again but she yet again shrugged it off.

"Okay then I forgive you, now go." Daehye stared at him with rage in her eyes, her lips trembling. "I don't wanna." he said and that was when she reached her peak, that was when she realized that Jimin was maybe using her- for distraction.

"You don't- you actually wanna catch a distraction, a replacement- someone- someone you can use." her tears now started to spill, she was beyond devastated at this point.

"Who the fuck said that?" Jimin's voice ensured that there was a sense of fear in her, he was pissed now. He raised his hand and as a quick reflex she covered herself with her arm, her hair slightly bouncing when she did so, rather than a slap came a soft caress on her head.

"Why are you afraid of me?" he asked her, his voice shaky and cracked now, "why do you think you're a replacement?" He continued and she quietly managed to say at first nothing but then it hit her.

"Why do you keep calling me Grace?" she snapped back, Jimin was now shocked, all that surrounded them was silence. "Why do you call me Grace under the influence of Alcohol? Or why do you say that I'm never gonna be enough, or why do you even compare me to her."

Jimin was dumbfounded, his lips didn't look luscious like they always did, rather he was pale now. "I'm not her." She wiped a lone tear on his cheek yet managed to speak.

"Silence explains everything now doesn't it?"

Meanwhile on the other side of Seoul things were good, they were not off the charts and the atmosphere wasn't filled with malaise. "You'd do anything for Bangtan right?" Ara asked from the kitchen counter while Taehyung flipped the pancakes and concentrated. "Yes." he said that in the blink of an eye, it was kinda habitual to get used to his six brothers and after all they were his family.

"You remember when you cancelled our date after I prepared a whole plan for you, it wasn't long ago." Ara said while smiling and got off the counter to take out some plates.

"God- I can never forget that day, Daehye threatened the shit out of me just because I cancelled a date." Taehyung's face had a scoff covered.

"Exactly, that was just a date and look how she called you. Just think about what I would do if someone dared to hurt her." The smiles now faded, the atmosphere was now injected with seriousness.

"I don't know what happened between Daehye and Jimin oppa but whatever it was, it shouldn't happen again." Ara exclaimed and sat on the table. Taehyung meanwhile was aware that something happened but he had no idea of what exact events took place.

By the time he entered the penthouse he saw Daehye leaving but when she did, Jimin was asleep on his bed. Taehyung tried to wake him up, by shaking his body or by lightly slapping his puffy cheeks but he just laid there, merely moving an inch. The medicine really showed its effect and when he woke up he said nothing and just left the house in the morning itself.

"He won't, I trust him but........." Taehyung deeply thought and Ara stared at him as if she'll find an answer. "But?"

"But let's just not interfere, they are not kids they really can handle themselves well. To be honest I was the one being babied by him but- all I'm saying is- they are mature people, more mature than us ourselves so let them be." Taehyung's words had no lie, rather all he said was true from every aspect but sometimes people really do need support, or someone who stands there as their strength.

Taehyung kept his hand on Ara's and kept her other one on his before leaning in for kissing it, Taehyung seemed to blush at her acts, they didn't seem new to him now but he would always blush at her affectionate actions. Ara trusted Taehyung.

---

Days passed, there was no trace of Jimin and Daehye didn't really care- or maybe she really did but never admitted it. After a whole week of checking for his texts or even a call Daehye kinda concluded that after that day Jimin won't really show up or even talk to her.

Daehye tiredly took off her lab coat and exited the chemistry lab and searched for the car keys in her pocket but remembered that Ara took the car. Taking the bus was the only option left so she waited on the university's main gate while checking the bus timings, it would've been by this time but suddenly she felt a grip on her waist.

"What the fuck-" she applied pressure on the person's wrist with her finger nails and when the grip loosened she twisted their arms and spinned the person who was taller than her, "fuck you're stronger than I expected." the other person said and immediately after listening to his voice she let go off him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked Jimin who was dressed in formals. "Sit in the car." Jimin opened the car door which was parked in front of the gate. She wanted to question him but thought of staying quiet. She turned to see her head to see a large bouquet and a box of chocolates.

"Are we going to meet someone?" she asked Jimin who just sat in the car and brushed his hair with his fingers. "Yeah." he said and a smile plastered on his face.

"Who?"

"Grace." 

|<|Author|>|

I'm still alive and unmotivated lmao-