Author's POV:

    Jungkook stomped down the school halls. He knew exactly where those assholes would be. With every step, he grew angrier. They had done this countless times before. It used to be fun, but it was starting to get old. He had been feeling that way for a little while, but he never spoke up about it for Taehyung's sake. This time he couldn't sit still and watch. He didn't know if he had finally gotten fed up with the games or if it was because of Jimin. Whatever it was, this festering feeling was finally going to implode. He didn't care what Taehyung would think anymore. He was done.

On the way, he recognized the brown wavy hair of one of his so-called friends bouncing down the halls as he sprinted. Jungkook stopped him in his tracks grabbing his shoulder and forcefully shoving him into the wall. "Where the fuck are you going so fast huh? Trying to warn the others?" He growled as this pinned the boy up by his collar.

"Jungkook? I-I thought you were with the freshman?" Yugyeom's eyes shot open with fear. Jungkook looked ready to murder him and he wasn't ready to die yet. "Did Taehyung send you to finish me off?"

"Just shut the fuck up. Tae didn't send me to do shit. He also didn't send you assholes to do that to Jimin either."

"What?! He's lying. He's the one who told us to bully him. Those were his orders." The latter argued. He wasn't going to let the one who started all of this let them take all of the blame.

"He told you to just mess with him and scare him, not play dress up and beat the shit out of him."

"In our defense, the instructions weren't that clear. Besides I'm not the one who beat him. That was Jackson's idea. I stood to the side the whole time. We were just there to get some embarrassing information for Taehyung to hold over his head, and then Jackson went crazy. I even tried to stop him at first, but he continued. Actually, before you walked in, I was the only one trying to help Jimin. You can ask him." The boy spat out twisting the truth to shift the attention away from himself

"If you're so innocent, why did you look so startled to see us?"

"That's because I wasn't expecting to see you. Like I said I was helping him and he started freaking out because I think he thought I was trying to hurt him like the others, so I did give him one little smack, but only to calm him down. I didn't mean for it to be that hard. I didn't realize my strength, and I panicked when Tae saw—."

"Just stop talking. You're always so full of shit."

"But I—" Jungkook tightened his grip on the latter's collar.

"I said, shut. up. There was one thing you were right about, it was the fact that you did not act alone. I'm assuming you asked all the guys to meet you in the hangout. That's why you were going in that direction in such a huge hurry. Am I right?" Yugyeom only nodded since his airway was slowly starting to be shut off by the taller's hold. "Let's go then." Jungkook yanked him off the wall dragging him the rest of the way while Yugyeom struggled to regain his footing.

____

Jimin sat on the edge of the examination table in the nurse's office as she tended to his wounds. Jin had just left to go fetch his clothes and phone from the locker room. When they first entered, the nurse was about to turn them away since it was her lunchtime, but she reconsidered after seeing Jimin's condition. The small boy had expected her to bombard him with questions he'd be too scared to answer, but thankfully she didn't. She just told him to sit and got to work. However, Jimin did find it a bit alarming that she hadn't said anything. It just made him wonder how often this happens.

"There you go, kid. All better. Luckily, your injuries are just surface-level, so you'll heal in no time. For the time being, take some painkillers and get some rest in your dorm. Don't worry about the rest of your classes today. I'll make sure to email your teachers and let them know, so they can excuse you."

"Okay, thank you for your help." The nurse nods with a smile before Jin reenters the room with his arms full.

"Here are your clothes. I managed to get your phone from under the lockers, but unfortunately, it is completely shattered." Jimin pouted. He felt really bad. He hadn't even had this gift for a full week before he broke it. What would he tell Mrs. Kim? "I also got you some food since you weren't able to eat. If she's done here, you can go change and I'll walk you back to the dorms."

"What about your other classes?" Jimin gave him a concerned look before the nurse chimed in.

"Don't worry. I'll write your friend a note too. You can go take care of him and make sure he rests."

"Yes, of course. Jimin go change." The smaller one nodded and took his clothes with him into the nurse's bathroom.

"That boy. He is the boy Mrs. Kim brought here, right?" The nurse asked once he was fully gone.

"Yeah. He's the newbie in our aristocratic circle. I think that might be why he's getting a bunch of slack." Jin sat in the chair next to the nurse's bed staring at the bathroom door perturbed. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just heard about him. He seems to be sparking everyone's interest these days, but if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say it was the Kim boy and his gang that did that to him." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter.

"How'd you know?" Jin furrowed his brow.

"He's a freshman, isn't he?"

"Yeah." Jin was confused at first but then he realized what she was getting at. She continued turning her back to him and reorganizing the area back to the way it was before they came.

"I've been working here for many years. Trust me when I say he's one of many who come to see me with those types of injuries. Some bite their tongues in hopes that I don't ask in fear that they would have to tell just as your friend did, and others spill the beans as soon as they can in hopes that I can do something about it."

"You say that as if you can't." She froze.

"Let's just say I wouldn't be still sitting here if I could." Jin's furrow turned into a frown. "Look after your friend and make sure he stays out of trouble." Jin opened his mouth to say something but before he could Jimin walked out of the restroom back in his normal clothes seemingly ready to go.

"All done." He forced a smile.

"Great, let's go."

"Thank you again, ma'am." Jimin bowed his head on the way out.

"Get well soon." She smiled and waved them off. As soon as the boys were completely out of sight, she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hello? Mrs. Kim? I have some news on Park Jimin."

____

Jackson looked up at the clock and sighed. "Where the hell is he? I need to get to the cell store before my free period is over." The rest of them shrugged. The three of them have been sitting on the couches waiting for the boy who called.

"I'm with you. Why would he call us all here just to wait around to hear something he could've told us earlier? I mean we just saw each other." Jaebum added.

"I wanted to take a nap before practice tonight. I know coach is going to work us like dogs since we almost lost the last game." Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Just wake me when he gets here."

"Well, I'm not just gonna sit here and wait around. I need my phone. On the bright side, I've been wanting to upgrade it anyway. That little shit better be grateful that's the case. Otherwise, I would've broke his face." Jackson stood up and paced over to the door but before his hand could reach the knob, the door flung open with enough force to make it bounce off the back of the wall. Yugyeom came falling in right behind it landing right in front of Jackson's feet. "What the hell?" Jackson jumped back and the other two in the room stood up from where they were to see what all the commotion was.

    They all stared as Jungkook walked in stepping over the boy on the ground. The rest cowered back in fear. They knew what that look meant. Jungkook was pissed, but why? What did they do?

"Yo Kook, what's the matter." Jackson frowned. Jungkook didn't respond. He only walked up to the latter and landed one huge right hook to his left cheek. "What the hell dude?!" Jackson exclaimed cupping his cheek while the rest stood in awe.

    "What did you do?" Jungkook now had him by the collar.

    "Listen, dude. Chill. I don't know what are you talking about?" Jackson raised his hands surrendering.

    "Don't 'dude' me. I'm talking about Jimin. What did you do to him? You're bestie here told me that you decided you wanted to beat him." He gestured to Yugyeom who was still knocked out on the floor from the impact of being thrown into the door.

    "Look. Hear me out. We were just playing around with him and the bitch hit me first so—"

    "So you beat the kid up so bad he could hardly walk?" jungkook tighten his jaw.

    "What's the big deal? We do this all the time. Why are you acting brand new? Sometimes you'd even lead the pack."

    "Maybe I don't want to be like that anymore. Maybe it's because I'm sick of all this dumb childish shit. Grow the hell up." He roughly shoved Jackson back, letting him go in the process.

"Are you sure that's it or is it something else?" Jackson challenged him. Jungkook clenched his jaw harder staring at him warningly. "Everything was fine until that freshman came around. What's so special about him that gets your dick so hard huh?" Jackson sneered cuffing Jungkook's crotch.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Jungkook violently shoved the other away again. "You're a fucking perv. Is everything just about sex to you? How about being a decent fucking human being?"

"I'm decent enough." Jackson chuckled at his reaction. "The thing is that you're the one who's more indecent than anyone here. Do you really think we don't know that you're not truly one of us? You came from a gutter just like that piece of shit. The great illegitimate Jeon grandson. You and your mom were nothing until your granddad needed you. You're right. You're not like us. You never were. You're just a dog kept on a tight leash." Jackson seethed.

Another right hook connected with his face, but Jackson wasn't going to just take it this time. He pulled back and swung on Jungkook and missed. Jungkook grabbed Jackson's extended arm and wrapped it around the boy's neck making him choke himself. Jackson thrashed around but the other's grip only got tighter. Jungkook leaned into his ear.

"I think you forgot who the fuck you were talking to." Jackson clawed at his arm trying to release the slightest bit of pressure but nothing worked. As the boy's face began turning purple the other two in the room who had been stunned by the whole interaction, finally rushed over to pull their friends apart. As Jackson was freed he went into a coughing fit before straining to speak.

"I'm so fucking sick and tired of you. I used to pity you and take your side whenever Taehyung would say the things he would say, but now I realize why he did it. You're a cocky piece of shit that constantly needs to be knocked down a peg. I'm going to tell everyone about you. Do you really think they'll still love you when they find out the truth about the perfect heir? Better yet, what will your granddad say when he finds out about the freshman?" Jackson chuckled insanely, teeth red from the blood filling his mouth.

"You seem to forget that you're not the only one who knows some shit. What will your dad think when he finds out about last summer? The son of a doctor taking a life. How fucking ironic." Jungkook tilted his head raising one brow sarcastically. His friend's smile quickly disappeared. He clearly had forgotten.

"Kook chill. We said we'd never speak about that again." Jaebum cut in with a concerned look.

"That was an accident and you know it!" Jackson shouted furiously.

"Right. An accident." Jungkook mocked.

"Jungkook calm down. What is all of this for? Why come here and pick a fight? We are your friends remember." Yoongi stood in front of him.

"With friends like you people, I might as well just have enemies. They're easier to deal with." He glared at them. "Just stay away from Jimin. If any of you lay another finger on him, you'll be dealing with me." With that, he left his shocked group of friends behind. He wanted no needed to check on Jimin once again. His friends weren't the only ones shocked by his actions lately.

This new boy brought out a side of Jungkook that had been dead for a while. This side of him died with Jihae. He had been an empty shell ever since. It was easier to do those types of things that he and his friends were used to when he felt numb inside. Now that Jimin has awoken him again, he can now get his old self back. He thinks it's amazing how much this boy has changed him in such a short amount of time.

Meanwhile, the others watched as Jungkook cut around the corner. Yugyeom was starting to wake up. Jackson was still fuming.

"How dare he speak to us like that after all we've done for him? A bitch like him needs to be taught a lesson."

    "And how will you do that? You heard him. He has just as much shit if not more on us than we do on him, moron." Yoongi rolled his eyes and pulled Yugyeom up to his feet.

    "I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is, just know he's going to deserve every bit of it. He'll get what's coming to him soon enough."

——

    Jimin laid spread out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in his plushy robe. He had just gotten out of the shower, and Jin had left not too long ago after getting him situated. The boy had a lot on his mind since a lot had occurred from the time he had arrived until now. These last couple of days felt like weeks. He didn't know what he had done to end up in this situation. He thought this would be fun, but now all he wants to do is run back into his parents' arms. He missed his sheltered life under his parents' protection. This wouldn't be happening if they were here. The only thing stopping him from finding them is the fact that he has no clue how to. He's stuck and feeling more alone than ever.

He was startled as he heard a knock on the door. Sighing, he rolled out of bed, thinking maybe Jin had left something. Never in a million years did he expect to see this person standing at his door.

    "T-taehung sunbae?"