ACT III | SCENE XIV

❝HEARTLESS❞

THE COLD BREEZE wafted around the three men who were silently mulling over the situation. "i've got nothing." seokjin announced. "and we've been out here for far too long." he added. jeongguk's head bobbed in agreement, eyes flickering to the door that led back inside.

"but, hyung." yoongi whined. "yoongi, after this all blows over, the chances of you meeting them again are quite slim. you just have to bear with it until then." seokjin answered. "what do you mean 'bear with it'?" yoongi's eyes narrowed at the choice of words. "you think the media is magically going to leave that woman alone after today?" seokjin arched an incredulous brow at him.

"what? am i supposed to move them into my apartment or something?" yoongi asked drily. "if it'll help." seokjin shrugged nonchalantly. "as if that wouldn't fan the ridiculous flames. and i'm supposed to return to normalcy, which that definitely is not."

"listen, i don't fucking know anymore, yoongi. i'm sure you're already exhausted with everything. let's take it one step at a time. for today at least, you just have to bear with it. then we'll take them back to their place in the evening. and tomorrow, we'll see if the reporters will still be as persistent." seokjin sighed. "now, we have to go back inside because that woman is already uncomfortable as it is."

silence loomed over them once more. yoongi let out a sigh of his own, pinching the bridge of his nose. "i'm sorry for dragging you two into this." he mumbled, eyes shut. "i'll figure it out." his eyes fluttered open and he let a small smile tint his lips. "thank you so much for the help."

"hyung..." jeongguk frowned, recognising what was happening. yoongi was retreating into his shell and would try to fix everything on his own. he had accepted help for far longer than usual, most likely because he was so distressed earlier. everyone who knew him personally was well aware that he didn't fancy being too dependent on others. "yoongi, don't do that." seokjin seemed to have picked up on it as well.

yoongi looked at him innocently. "do what?" he asked. "that stupid thing you're doing right now. that i can do it all by myself attitude." seokjin responded. "i don't know what you're talking about." yoongi denied easily. "we should go back inside." he redirected, getting on his feet.

jeongguk's eyes fluttered shut, lips pressing in a line and seokjin sighed, rubbing at his forehead. it was far too late. yoongi had shut down.

they watched as he walked back inside. "just fantastic." seokjin remarked with irritation as the glass door slid shut behind him. "he's not going to accept any more help from anyone." jeongguk mused, still staring at the closed door. "i probably shouldn't have said that." seokjin groaned into his hands. "it's not your fault, hyung." the younger man consoled. "you think?"

jeongguk nodded in the affirmative. "i think he was bound to close up sooner or later. he hates the idea of being a burden." he said, eyes still fixed on the door. "he's never been great at accepting help." seokjin exhaled through his nose. "it's a miracle that he let us help this long." jeongguk cupped his cheeks with his hands. "well, the miracle's over." seokjin stood up. "let's go back inside."

jeongguk imitated him, following the older man as he ambled back into his home. as they made their way into the living room, they could hear voices. yoongi and rian's. he was asking if she'd been able to explain her sudden absence at the hospital to which she answered in the affirmative.

"i'm sorry that you have to go through this." he said softly. "i thought you only apologise when you do something wrong?" rian replied curiously.

seokjin suddenly stopped in his tracks, holding an arm out to force jeongguk to do the same. "what?" jeongguk whispered, brows furrowing. seokjin held a finger to his lips, making a soft shushing sound. he pressed his lips together, hoping not to interrupt the conversation happening in the adjoining room.

"i'm not saying i did something wrong. i just feel apologetic because you're in this mess because of me." yoongi explained. "i wouldn't say it's because of you though." rian countered. "it's not like any of us could have predicted this." she added in an understanding tone.

seokjin peeked out to see haneul wriggling her way into the small space beside yoongi. he glanced down at her with an unreadable expression before giving in and scooting to the side to give her more room. seokjin's head tilted with interest. "huh," he hummed out.

"i'm sorry about that." it was rian's turn to offer an apology, her chin nodding towards the child that was beaming from ear to ear while chewing on dried fruit snacks. yoongi gave her a look she seemed to understand because she nodded once. "right."

"i'll get you home, later. i'm sure the reporters would have mostly dispersed by evening. and if any of them approach you, just ignore them. don't bother saying anything because they'll just end up twisting your words. there's a possibility that they may return tomorrow, maybe not as fervently as today. but since the hospital has gotten a firsthand experience, they'll be more prepared, so you should be safe inside."

"thank you. you didn't have to come for us today." rian said gratefully. "i may be cold but i'm not completely heartless, miss son." he replied. both seokjin and jeongguk let out soft scoffs at that. "he has the biggest heart i've ever known." jeongguk whispered. "the softest one too. heartless, my foot." seokjin added.

haneul offered yoongi some of her fruit snacks, eyes widening the slightest bit. he shook his head, stiff smile on his lips. seokjin tutted at the sight. a small smile broke on his face. "he's never going to be able to break that little girl's heart and tell her plainly that he's not and will never be her father. he's incapable of being heartless."

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this chapter is coming a day later than usual. i had some things to deal with yesterday and didn't have enough time to even be online yesterday.
happy birthday to our not so little guk! i hope he's having the best birthday so far uwu.
hope you enjoyed this little chapter! have a good day/night 💛