"Remind me again why we're hiding inside the janitor's closet?"

"My father sent two of his men disguised as substitute teachers. And I think- well I don't think. I know they're looking for you." Jimin peeks through the door to check if the coast is clear. "I'm not exactly sure what the old man has up his sleeves but they're never good. Looks like we lost them. If we make a run for it now, we can make it to class on time."

"What makes you think they're after me?"

"They kidnapped you once and you escaped. Need I explain more? Aside from that, they know you're connected to Jungkook. They capture you, they capture his weakness." He pushes the door to the classroom open and lets you go inside first. "In other words. You're in terrible danger. Maybe now you can put that Taehyung guy into good use."

You raise your eyebrow at him.

"I'd like to stay around and chat some more, but I better get to class. And as much as I hate Taehyung, I'd stick around him as much as I can if I were you."

"You think I can't take care of myself."

"Oh, I know you can. But two heads are better than one am I right? Chào."

When he leaves the room, that's when Jungkook enters. He looks you with narrowed eyes like he's demanding an explanation

Why were you talking to him?

A dark shade circling his left eye captures your attention. "Did someone beat you up?" There's a visible difference in coloration and you're pretty sure it hasn't been long since he revived a punch. You're about to touch it when he looks away.

"Even if I did, it's not like you care." What's with this salty attitude of his? Is it because he saw you talking to Jimin?

Obviously.

"Am I not allowed to talk to anyone then?"

"Want the honest truth from me? Yes. If I could have things my way, I wouldn't let you step foot outside." His voice brings chills all over your body.

"You're sick."

He rolls his eyes and walks past you, bumping your shoulder in the process. Those curious stares gradually divert their attention some place else.

First you find out you're being hunted by men impersonating themselves as teachers and now your best friend's threatening you.

Then again, when has he never threatened you?

Class begins the second Mr Chan enters. He grabs a marker and scribbles words on the board. "The true self and the false self are a psychological dualism conceptualized by English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. Winnicott used "true self" to denote a sense of self based on spontaneous authentic experience and a feeling of being alive, having a real self with little to no contradiction. Now can anyone here tell me what the opposite of that is? Mr Jeon?"

"False Self."

"Care to brief us on that?"

" It rests on the surface, as the self presented to the world. It stands in contrast to the true self that resides behind the facade or image. "

"Exactly. Real-life examples of the false self are based around certain beliefs that we take on in order to fit into our worlds better. If I am pretty, I will be more likeable. If I have a lot of money, I am successful. If I work hard more, I will have more value. " He says. "It is an artificial persona that people create very early in life to protect themselves from re-experiencing developmental trauma, shock, and stress in close relationships. It relates to negative affectivity, especially when adolescents try to hide their true self and they have this feeling that they are not good enough for others."

Class goes by just like that. While going through your locker, someone taps your back for you attention.

"I got what you asked." Taehyung shows you a medical kit but raises his arm just as you're about to take it.

"Tae-"

"I'll give it if you tell me why you need it. Are you hurt?"

"Of course not."

"Prove it." He says it in a serious tone.

"What do you want me to do? Take my clothes off out in the open?"

After staring for a good ten seconds, he sighs and hands you the kit. It's heavier than you expected it to be.

"Sweet. How much do I owe you?"

"It doesn't matter." He mumbles. "Your aunt's worried about you. She says you haven't been answering her calls."

"Right. About that. I've been busy." Avoiding eye contact in a not so obvious manner, you shove the kit inside your locker and lock it with a click. "But I'll make sure to call her tonight."

You're about to walk away when he traps you by placing his arm on the locker, doing the same on the other side. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this. But you're in danger."

"Oh. Well lucky for you, I can take care of myself." You push pass his arm.

"Aren't you curious about anything?" He yells as you walk away.

"Not really. The less I know, the more likely I'll have anything to worry about. I'll see you later after school." You give him a smile, walking backwards. "We still have to work on that group project."

"My place?"

"I was thinking the workplace near your place. See you, Tae." Turning your back on him, you decide to stop by the restroom before heading to your next class. You splash your face with water, allowing your mind to cool down. Just because you look unbothered on the outside, doesn't mean you're not worried on the inside. Because you are.

Your life's literally in danger.

You shake your head and give yourself a nod while staring at your reflection.

You can handle this.

As long as you don't jinx yourself, you'll be fine.

Without expecting too much, you flinch when you realize who's waiting for your outside the restroom.

"For the love of god Jimin." Exhaling, you slap your chest and glare the guy leaning against the wall with arms crossed.

"Mhh. What happened to my suggestion of you sticking to um, the Taehyung guy?"

"You don't expect me to actually do that?" You utter in disbelief. "You don't think I can take care of myse- god, I've been saying the same thing since this morning. Give me a break already."

Annoyed would be an understatement. No matter how much you tell them, they still don't believe you. Do they want a visible presentation then?

"Okay fine. I'm sorry. A-and I believe you." He steps in front of you before you can walk away. Clapping his hands, he blows and looks you straight in the eye. "It's just that.. I'm worried about you okay? And the reason I even bring up Taehyung- despite how much I hate his name- it's because I can't risk being seen with you."

You take a step back and cross your arms, looking him up and down. "How do we know those men acting as teachers aren't here to keep you in check then?"

"Because they're not. At least I know they're not."

"Uhm okay. If sticking beside Taehyung's all it takes for you to relax, then I guess I'll do that. Just stop what it is you're doing. You don't think I haven't noticed you following me around?"

"In my defense, I was only following you to make sure you're safe." He utters in a matter of fact tone, defending his actions. "You can't blame me now can you?"

"No." You shake your head. "But I'd still appreciation it if you stopped doing that."

He gives it a thought, before making a thin line with his lips. "Yeah, can't do that. Guess you'll just have to deal with it."

"See you around, Jimin." You pat his shoulder and walk away.

-

You wait for Taehyung outside the school gate. You find him approaching the exit with his eyes glued to his phone. By the time he's three steps away from you, you stretch your arms both ways to block his path.

He goes from annoyed to neutral within seconds. "That's a first. Didn't expect for you to wait for me. Did I do something wrong?"

"What no? But I know you spent at least six hundred thousand won on that medical kit which is equivalent to at least five hundred dollars."

He shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah so what?"

"It means I can't pay you immediately."

"And I remember saying 'it doesn't matter'." Casually putting an arm over your shoulders, he leads the way outside school perimeters. "So before we start on that project, do you wanna maybe grab some dinner?"

You check your phone for the time. "It's still six."

"Snacks then maybe?"

"I could use a drink." You take his arm off since it was starting to feel like a second backpack. "Remind me to stop by the bookstore after we work on the project."

"Hey what's this?" He leans in to get a better look at your neck, pressing cold fingers against it. You flinch back. "You're hurt."

"No shit Sherlock."

"What happened?"

"Got into a fight with knives and stuff happened. Minor accidents." You shrug it off like it's no big deal. Because it really isn't. It's not the first time it happened.

All of a sudden he stops under a light post and looks around. You stop as well, giving him a strange look. However, something in the air feels different. There's not a lot of people around and it's starting to get dark. "Tae-"

"Shh. Someone's following us."

It could be Jimin.

"It's probably noth-" You stop in your tracks when men with masks show up out of nowhere with knives. "-and I spoke to soon. Watch out!"

You push Taehyung to the side when one of them charges at him with a glowing, sharp knife. He lands on the ground with an ugly thump. They begin circling you next.

This isn't fair. Five against one? You're unarmed on top of that.

When one jumps at you, you avoid them by sliding to the side, taking the next attacker by the arm holding a weapon and throwing them over your shoulder. Three of them are down but they're recovering fast.

Just as the fourth one shoots his chance of harming you, a new figure jumps pops into the scene and counterattacks with a sharp punch to the neck, sending them to the ground.

The new guy goes into a protective trance in front of you. The bottom part of his face is concealed but something about him screams familiar. "You're Arson."

You whisper enough for him to hear and he glances at you for the slightest moment before combating the next attacker. In terms of martial arts, he's really good. Taehyung recovers to come to his aid, fighting them off until they all retire to the ground.

When all that's over, Taehyung runs to you, grabbing your shoulders. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I'm fine." Arson suddenly groans while clutching his abdomen and you run to his side. Taehyung follows suit. He collapses to the ground with face contoured in pain. The knife's still sticking out and he's losing a lot of blood.

"Taehyung we need to get him to the hospital. He won't stop bleeding."

"Right." He fumbles for his phone, dialing emergency number.

"Good evening sir, this is one one two. Kindly state your emergency."

"We need an ambulance right away. We found a man bleeding on street xxx xxx."

"Very well sir. Maybe I get your name?"

"It's uhm.. Kim Taehyung." He says while looking at you attempting to stop the bleeding from gushing.

Exactly three minutes later, ambulance begin to fill the air. You watch as they put him inside the emergency van and just as you're about to go with them too, Taehyung pulls you back.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't go with them. You don't even know him. He could be dangerous for all we know."

You take his arm away from yours and confidently assure him.

"I know what I'm doing."

He pokes the inside of his cheek in annoyance and it looks like he's about to explode. But then he looks down and forces himself to stay calm before meeting your eyes. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."