Park Soomi

It was as if everything slowed to an unsettling stillness. The wailing of once distant sirens grew louder by the second alongside murmurs of the gathering crowd outside the door. If it weren't for the noise reminding me of the passing time, I could've convinced myself that life had come to a halt.

Because here we were, the same shocked expressions frozen on each of our faces as we stared with widened eyes towards Taehyung. He wore a similar expression, except his eyes remained glued to the body that now lay lifelessly on the marble floors.

"Are you crazy? You might've killed him!" With this sudden shout, everything sped back up to normal motion. I watched in alarm as Yoongi charged towards Taehyung. I flinched forward, seeing him roughly grab Taehyung's collar, the crowd behind them gasping from the sudden aggression.

"What? Aren't you gonna thank me for, oh I don't know, saving your goddamn life?" Taehyung remarked in disbelief.

"Thank you? We need him alive, you dumbass." Yoongi seemed to get more riled up as Taehyung harshly pushed him away. A few of Taehyung's employees stepped forward to intervene, but he gestured to them to stay back.

"You know what? Maybe I shouldn't have stepped in then, but at least now I can mess you up myself."

I rushed over and stood between the two, feeling uneasy by the fact that Taehyung still had that gun in his hand.

"Yoongi, stop. He just did what he could to help. We can deal with the consequences later," I muttered, glancing over to the pool of blood beginning to stain the floor around the man. "And Taehyung," I started, directing my gaze towards him, "thank you."

As I stared into his eyes, I noticed them visibly soften, some sense of genuineness swirling around those orbs. We stayed like this for a moment, the look on his face leaving me with a familiar yet foreign feeling.

Before I had the chance to figure it out, chaos ensued from outside. The watching bystanders got restless as the police and ambulance arrived. They rolled in a gurney, and my first reaction was to direct them towards Jimin, completely blocking out anything else happening around me.

I was about to follow them out when a second gurney rolled in. I stepped aside to make room for them, watching as they lifted the man onto the stretcher. But something peculiar caught my eye as his shirt tousled up slightly from the action: a hint of an all-to-familiar tattoo peeking from underneath the fabric. Not much was visible, a brief sight lasting maybe only a second or two, but the image still etched into my mind.

"Mr. Kim? You are the homeowner, correct?" I picked up on the officer's question from the other side of the room.

"Yes, I am," Taehyung responded while fixing his ruffled shirt and straightening his tie. The officer jotted something down, eyeing the gun still in his hand.

"We'll need you at the station for questioning."

"Questioning? Right now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No need to worry, Mr. Kim. Just some standard procedures."

Taehyung grumbled, glancing over to me for a brief second before slowly nodding.

"You and Soomi should head out first. I'll be right behind you," Jungkook said to Yoongi. He didn't say a word in response and simply held onto my hand. I glanced down at our intertwined hands as he gently yet urgently guided me out of the room.

We were soon outside, the flashing blue and red lights illuminating the darkening sky of a young night. Yet, with the series of events that just occurred, it felt like an eternity had already passed since this morning. It still felt unreal, stepping into the ambulance to sit beside Jimin. My gaze never left him, fixated only on his peaceful expression.

Because I couldn't bring myself to think about the what-ifs and what could happen. I focused solely on his face, void of any fear, of any pain, to fuel the hope that everything would be okay.

"You knew..." Yoongi's quiet voice broke through the sirens I've grown accustomed to. "You knew exactly where Jimin was even before I called Jungkook," he continued. "You're not telling me something."

I couldn't look him in the eye, unsure of how to respond.

"Have you been receiving messages? You can't keep things like that from me," he continued to push.

"It's not like that. And I didn't know exactly. It was just a hunch..."

"Based on?"

"Umm..." I hesitated, feeling myself shrink under his persistent stare, but a part of me knew it was time to say something. "...a dream." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion from my confession.

"A dream? That doesn't make any sense."

"I know," I burst out in frustration. "I know it doesn't make any sense! That's why I didn't say anything before because I didn't think it was a big deal. I thought I was just scared. It was just a bad feeling. They weren't supposed to mean anything..."

"They? As in more than one?" he asked. I didn't know what more to say, but my silence seemed to answer his question. "Soomi...you can talk to me when something's bothering you. No matter how small or big you think it might be, you need to come to me with those things."

My lips parted slightly, surprised by his response. I expected the scolding tone of his voice, but I was caught off guard by the genuine concern in his words.

But was I just imagining it? Conjuring up feelings that didn't exist? I felt confused as I finally looked up to face him.

Something's changed. He's different.

As I was still processing my thoughts, I felt the ambulance brake to a halt. Relief washed over me, knowing that we were finally here. That, and the fact that I didn't have to respond to Yoongi. The ambulance doors soon swung open, and I followed along anxiously as they rushed Jimin into the hospital.

Everything was chaotic: doctors shouting to each other about the situation, people urgently moving around the building. I could feel the intensity in the air, unsure of what to pay attention to or where to look. I mindlessly followed Jimin while the attacker was close behind. Amidst everything, I managed to make out something about a surgery, but any details were soon lost in the jumble of noise from my pounding heart and the cynical voices in my head whispering doubts into my ears.

Both Jimin and the man were wheeled into different rooms of the hospital. I was about to follow Jimin when a doctor stood there before me, blocking my path. I couldn't focus on what he was saying. Can't come in... Will have to wait here... Only a few words made it through to me as I continued looking over his shoulder, desperately trying to push through.

But then, a pair of arms wrapped around me, holding me back. I instinctively shouted out, the words incomprehensible even to me as they came out like a cry. But there was nothing I could do, and I watched helplessly as the doctor turned around, and the doors in front of me closed shut.

And then there was silence. Only silence. I should be relieved that the restlessness and chaos from before finally died out.

But why is it that the silence feels even more haunting?

⋆⋅❈⋅⋆

Min Yoongi

"Soomi! Oh my god, are you okay?"

I glanced up, seeing Misa, Jungkook, and Hoseok entering the room. The two of us had been quietly waiting for any news from the doctors, but none had arrived. Soomi stood up as Misa pulled her into a tight embrace. "I've been so worried since this morning. I swear, my heart sank when Hoseok told me it happened."

I still couldn't get over what Soomi had told me in the ambulance, and seeing the glisten in Misa's eyes, something told me that she was aware of it all.

"So, she knew too," I mumbled, causing all of them to turn to me. "But you couldn't tell me?" Jungkook and Hoseok stared at me in confusion as Soomi let out a sigh.

"Yoongi, we already went over this. It's just the stress and anxiety acting up. I didn't say anything because I didn't think it mattered."

"But you have to talk to me. I'm here for you too, you know."

"Talk to you?" Judging by the tone of her voice, I already knew she was on the brink of snapping. "How exactly would I have had the chance to just talk to you when we couldn't even be in the same room together? You avoid me for so long, and then, all of a sudden, you insist I have to come to you about these things because what? You're here for me? Maybe I'll start talking to you when you come clean about things too."

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered out, taken aback by the outburst. Everyone else didn't know what to do either, awkwardly looking around the room to avoid eye contact with either of us.

"What I mean, is that you've been acting weird! With the party, with what you're saying now. So why don't you talk to me about what's going on."

I glanced over to Jungkook, and from the look on his face, it was clear that both of us knew what was happening. I thought back to the conversation I had with him.

Work it out. Tell her the truth.

Even though I had been trying to make things more comfortable between us, I never thought about how it would look to her, or how sudden it would be. I never stopped to think about the messages it might send her without giving a proper explanation.

But is it wrong that I don't have that explanation yet?

"Now's just not the right time, Soomi," I vaguely answered. It pained me to see the look of defeat and frustration glossing over her eyes. But she didn't say another word, running her hand through her hair as she turned away from me.

"Mr. Min? Ms. Park?" A doctor approached us, and we all turned to him. I could feel everyone's breath hitch seeing the solemn look on his face. We waited impatiently for whatever news he may bring.

But why is it that the silence itself was already so telling?

"I'm sorry. We couldn't save him."

——
{a/n}
Happy holidays everyone! I'm glad to be back! ❤️

I'm on break for three weeks, so I'll try to take this time to write more so I could sustain more regular updates in the future. Thanks for being patient with me and this book ☺️