Chapter 23
I wasn't planning on updating, but I adjusted my update schedule for reasons I don't want to get into in my story. Anyway, we will be chugging along with this story, so I hope you are excited to see what happens next. After all that craziness in the last chapter, Hyunjin is going to struggle a lot to deal with it. That's what this chapter is all about. I hope that you enjoy it!
Hyunjin went straight to his parents when he arrived home. He was a mess. Tears pouring from his eyes and snot coming from his nose. His parents didn't have a clue about what had happened. They tried to get answers, but soon realized it was pointless as their son couldn't get a word out. Jimin and Namjoon comforted him. They hugged him and soothed him, trying their best to calm him down. Eventually, he did. After hours of endless tears and piles of tissues, Hyunjin had relaxed. His face was blotchy and his body weak from all the crying. Jimin and Namjoon tried to get an explanation from him then about what had made him so upset. Hyunjin shook his head and refused to answer. Jimin and Namjoon let it slide, knowing that the boy would explain when he was ready. The next few weeks Hyunjin did all he could to ignore Jisung. He busied himself with school work and studying for assessments. He tried to arrive earlier to school to prevent running into the boy. He kept his head down when he moved in the hallways and took to eating his lunch alone in the nurse's office. Over the weekends and some nights, he went on more missions for the gang. They all, thankfully, went smoothly. Nothing like the first two he was a part of. It seems his streak of terror with missions finally ended. He even hung out with Jinyoung and Jaebum more. Even though he knew they were on to him, he decided the best way to convince them is to act as if nothing has changed. If they were suspicious before, they didn't show it. They acted as if everything was the same. As if they are just nice uncles hanging out with their nephew. It worked. He didn't run into Jisung even once. Although the boy did try to call him, he ignored it along with the other attempts of contact from the mystery person. He muted his chat with Jisung and rejected every call he sent his way. There were multiple each day and it killed Hyunjin to ignore them. He had hoped that as the days went by, Jisung would give it a break, but he never did. Hyunjin would always wake up to a hundred something text notifications from him. It made Hyunjin feel guilty. He could only imagine how Jisung must be feeling. It's probably even worse then what Hyunjin is going through. The only good thing that comes from all of this is that he now knows for sure how he feels about Jisung. The kiss and the pain of having to reject him made it clear to him. It only made his situation that much worse. The fact that he can't let his feelings be known, for Jisung's safety, is like a bullet to the heart. Hyunjin feels a weird aching whenever he spots something that reminds him of Jisung, which seems to be about everything in the world from the sun to an old Band-Aid. It takes all his willpower to not even acknowledge the boy. To ignore every message like he didn't see it. To turn a blind eye each time he so much as spots the back of Jisung's head. It's destroying him. Hyunjin wants nothing more than to be with the boy he likes. The one that always brightens his day and makes him feel special. Han Jisung. But, he can't. No matter how much it hurts him, it's to keep Jisung safe. To keep him alive. At least, Jisung is fine and breathing. The pain is something he'll get over. It will pass. And if it doesn't, well, it will be worth it, because Jisung will be okay.
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"He's meant to end up with her!" Jaebum exclaims.
"Please, he has more chemistry with a rock," Jinyoung states, "He should've freaking ran away with his best friend."
"The friend had that waiter person from the diner," Jaebum states.
Jinyoung scoffs, "He didn't want to be with her."
"How would you know that?" Jaebum questions.
"Cause, I understand emotions!" Jinyoung exclaims.
"I do too! Do you forget who asked who out first?" Jaebum asks. Jinyoung rolls his eyes and continues to bicker with his husband. Hyunjin sits and watches his uncles bicker. He went over to watch a movie with the two. They had just finished and the couple had very different opinions about the ending. They've been going back and forth about it for a while. It was amusing to watch. Hyunjin couldn't help, but smile at Jaebum and Jinyoung's antics. It was times like these that Hyunjin found his uncles so normal. There was nothing off about them at all. They speak like everyday people. They have genuine smiles and they just seem like a happy couple. It was these times that made him see the couple as his actual family. His uncles. It really made him question if maybe they do care. Maybe they don't have this secret plan. Or maybe they did, but they decided to trash it once they realized who Hyunjin is. Whatever they wanted from him isn't important to them anymore because they got their nephew back. Or that's just the perfect little fantasy Hyunjin created in his head. He believed in it. During times like these. Where they just seem to be the uncles that Hyunjin always dreamed of having. They filled up this hole from inside him that's always been there. The hole from not knowing who he really is or where he comes from. Jinyoung and Jaebum filled that hole with their kind smiles and parental personalities. With the memories they made watching movies and looking at old photos. Moments like these are the ones that make Hyunjin forget that his uncles have another side to them. A cruel, harsh side that threatens and hurts. He forgets that they might not even be his uncles. It's in these times that he believes with his whole being that they are his family. He forgets the fact they're gang leaders and the fact that they're after this ring. He dismisses from his mind that they don't have his best interests at heart. He believes so much that it scares him. He's always known that he gets attached fast. It's something he picked up from his appa, but he's never thought he would get so attached to Jinyoung and Jaebum. Especially since he doesn't know for sure if they're his uncles. But, he can't help it. Jinyoung and Jaebum made him believe. Made him hope for the first time. And that's all really a dangerous thing. Hope should be beautiful, but it worries Hyunjin. Cause hope blinds us and sets us up for disappointment. It scares Hyunjin to wonder what his parents would think if Jinyoung and Jaebum are actually his uncles. It makes him feel anxious when he thinks about how he'll react if they actually aren't related to him as all.
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Hyunjin smiles as he steers his bike to the drop-off point. He's giddy. After many nights of group missions, his parents finally have given him a job on his own. These types of missions are rarely given out, but Hyunjin was assigned one. He's ecstatic. Even though his task isn't anything crazy, he still thinks that it's a step up from before. If he does well, his parents may give him more solo missions. Missions where he may infiltrate some places or even lead a small team of his own. He's not even a tad bit nervous about this mission either. It's just to trade coordinates regarding where a deal between Moonlight and another gang will be taking place. He even knows the person that he's supposed to be meeting at the park. They're friends. This job will be a piece of cake. Hyunjin turns to the right and enters the parking lot. It's around ten pm, so the park is pretty much empty except for the few delinquent kids and couples wanting some privacy. Hyunjin gets off his bike and takes his helmet off. He stares at his bike with a small smile on his face. It was new. His parents had refused to let him ride on a bike of his own even though he's a part of a biker gang. He just went with it, knowing his parents wouldn't budge. It didn't matter much anyway, whenever he went on a mission it was with others, so he could always hitch a ride. But, considering this is a solo mission, he can't exactly do that. Imagine his surprise when his parents led him to the garage and revealed a brand new black bike. He couldn't believe his eyes when his parents had said it was his. It means so much to him. The solo mission and the bike. His parents really do believe in him and trust him. They may be extremely worried about Hyunjin when it comes to his involvement with Jinyoung and Jaebum, but this showed the boy that deep down his parents know that he can handle himself. Hyunjin glances at the time on his phone and starts to walk down the path. He shoves his hands into his jacket pockets where a post-it is sitting inside. He keeps his head facing forward and doesn't look around, knowing that he would run into his friend, there's no use in making it obvious. The whole point of this is for the meeting place to be somewhere that no one can find. Hyunjin has to keep this note safe and make sure it gets to where it needs to go. "Hey," A boy his age with red hair says from where he leans against a tree.
"Hi," Hyunjin says, "Did you finish the assignment from English?"
"Yeah, what about you?" The boy asks.
"You've always been better at English then me, Daewhi," Hyunjin states.
"Need help?" Daewhi asks. Hyunjin nods and the boy moves from his position to walk beside him. The two boys continue down the path, no one minding them at all. "What don't you get?" Daewhi questions.
Hyunjin flashes him a sheepish grin, "Everything."
"You're doomed my friend. I can only teach so much," Daewhi says, "I'm no miracle worker."
"Wow, thanks," Hyunjin says sarcastically.
"I'll still help you though," Daewhi says, "We should meet up at the library or something."
"Yeah, better than the park, right?" Hyunjin asks, nudging the boy's side. He takes this as an opportunity to quickly slide the note to the Daewhi, who slips it into his own pocket without a second thought. "Yeah," Daewhi says, "I'll see you soon then."
"Yeah, have a good night," Hyunjin says with a wave of his hand.
"You too," Daewhi states. The red-haired boy turns to the right while Hyunjin turns back around and starts walking to where he parked his bike. He has a small smile on his face, proud of himself for completing the mission. He knew he didn't have anything to worry about. He takes a deep breath as a breeze passes by, making a bit of his hair fall into his eyes. Hyunjin pushes his hair back as he steps into the parking lot. "You're beautiful," A voice says from behind him. Hyunjin turns around to look at the source of the voice and feels his heart still when he sees Jisung. He looks bad. His hair is disheveled and his eyes are red. His skin is blotchy and his throat sounds off. Hyunjin frowns, "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you," Jisung says. Hyunjin shakes his head and turns back around. He makes his way to his bike, trying to imagine he hadn't even seen the boy in the first place. Jisung huffs and quickly walks forward. He grabs onto Hyunjin's wrist and pulls him closer. "Please don't run away," Jisung pleads, "I just want to talk."
"We don't have anything to talk about," Hyunjin states, pulling his hand out of Jisung's grip. The boy rushes forward again. He steps right in front of the boy, blocking his path to his bike. "Yes, we do," Jisung says, "We have a lot to talk about."
"I don't want to talk, Jisung," Hyunjin says, sidestepping.
"Why?" Jisung asks, following Hyunjin's movements, "I don't know why you ran out of there, but we can figure it out together. You're my best friend, Hyunjin. I love-"
"Stop it," Hyunjin states, "Don't say it." The boy can feel his heart ache, knowing that he needs to lie. Jisung will never stay away from him any other way. Hyunjin has avoided him for a reason. It will all be useless if Jisung does things like this in an attempt to get him to talk to him. He's dreading this, but knows it's what must be done. "Why? Why Hyunjin? Why can't I say it? You kissed me back that day. Why did you run away after that? You kissed me back," Jisung says, "You have to feel the same way about me as I feel about you. You just have to."
"I don't," Hyunjin says in a monotone voice.
Jisung shakes his head in disbelief, "I don't believe that for a second. This is not some one-sided love. I know it for sure. I know you. I know you feel the same. If you ran because you're scared, it's okay. We can make this work..."
"You know that I don't feel the same," Hyunjin says, "You know I ran because I don't. You know all of this Jisung. Why else would you have cried so much?" Jisung's face falls and he stares right at Hyunjin, who shifts uncomfortably. "Don't lie to me, princess," Jisung pleads, "Don't do this to me."
"I'm not doing anything except telling you the truth," Hyunjin says, keeping his face as neutral as possible, "I'm sorry, but I don't like you back."
"That's...no...it's not true," Jisung murmurs, "All those moments we shared...all of it...there's no way I was the only one feeling those things..." Hyunjin doesn't speak for a second, feeling a war of emotions about to come flooding out. He takes a deep breath, fighting against them. Jisung can't know. He can't know that Hyunjin fell in love with his eyes. His cheeks. His smile. His joking demeanor. His everything. He can't know that the day he hugged Jisung for the first time, he never wanted to let go. He can't know that he's the first person he's ever let hold him during his panic attacks. He can't know how much he wants to kiss him again and again. Hyunjin shoves the emotions down and forces the next words to come out of his mouth, "You're just my friend. Nothing more, nothing less. I left because I didn't want you to get the wrong idea."
"You don't mean that," Jisung says, "Hyunjin...please...whatever is going on we can figure it out. Together."
Hyunjin sighs, "I mean it. Nothing's up. It's just the way I feel. I don't like you. Not in that way. I never will. Just let it go, Jisung. Let me go." Jisung's shoulders slump and his eyes become glossy. Hyunjin lowers his head and steps to the side again, not wanting to see Jisung upset. This time Jisung lets Hyunjin go, tears slowly dripping from his eyes in steady streams. "Princess..." Jisung mutters, "I don't know why you're doing this. You can keep acting, but I know you. I know you don't mean anything you're saying right now. Not a single word. I know that you like me back, so please just stop this. It hurts, Jinnie. Stop please..."
"Don't do this, Jisung," Hyunjin states with no emotion. He grabs his helmet and slips it onto his head, trying to cover his face so the other doesn't notice the tears slowly building in Hyunjin's eyes. "I think you and I should stay away from each other," Hyunjin says, "Until this passes."
"Hyunjin," Jisung cries, "Please."
"Goodbye," Hyunjin says, his voice shaking just a little. He swings his leg over his bike and starts the engine. He doesn't even look at Jisung as he pulls out of his parking spot and out of the park. As he drives down the street, tears slowly drip down his cheeks and a pit starts to dig itself deep inside Hyunjin's chest.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's a lot of crazy emotions going on as Hyunjin tries his best to process it all. The kid is going through a lot. I hope you enjoyed this and if you did please give me some love by voting, commenting, following me, adding this story to your library, and checking out my BTS AU Night of Sin. I will see you all in the next chapter <3
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