"NOTHING TASTES OF REGRET LIKE WORDS HELD UNSPOKEN
AT THE BACK OF YOUR THROAT,
BOUND BY NEEDLES FEAR AND LEFT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE."

Seokjin had just finished shooting an episode of Run BTS with his members and was preparing to head to a restaurant with them. As they were getting into their car, Manager Yu Beom suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside away from the car.

"Seokjin, you might have to miss the lunch," he said, looking unhappy.

"What's going on, Manager-nim?"

Looking around cautiously, Yu Beom leaned in close. "They've caught the guy."

"What guy?"

"The man who betrayed you. You know, your rival from school," he said anxiously. "The one who gave you the drugged cigarette."

The world came to a sudden halt, leaving Seokjin in a state of shock. A gasp escaped his lips as his eyes widened in disbelief. Processing the information was a challenge in itself. They really caught the man responsible for ruining his career and nearly taking his life? The same person from high school?

Initially, he should have felt relieved, but all he felt was uneasiness.

"Are you certain?"

Yu Beom pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's the problem. The station wants you to come by and identify him. They suspect it's him, but they want your help to be sure."

The day he had never thought would come had finally arrived. He never dared to imagine that the guy would be arrested and face harsh consequences. Hope for justice had long eluded him. However, this turn of events presented an opportunity, a chance to ensure that this man faced the rightful consequences for his actions. For ruining his life.

He nodded. "When do we leave?"

Yu Beom replied, "Right now would be best."

✦✧✧ - ✧✧✦

Entering a police station usually felt like stepping into a world of guilt, regardless of whether you had committed a crime. Even if you were innocent, the mere act of walking into the station made you feel like you had done something wrong.

Three years ago, Seokjin had to come to this police station every day for two weeks. They regularly tested him and checked for any signs of drugs. Then they would put him inside an investigation room and someone would ask him the same questions for an hour. They were determined to find out if he was hiding anything, probing for any signs of illegal substances or deceit.

But he had thought that part of his life was over, that he would never have to set foot in a police station again. It turned out that God had stored many surprises for him.

His manager made him wear a mask and a cap before entering the station. The place was busy with police officers and detectives working on different cases. No one even spared them a single glance. Which was a relief because he didn't want to draw attention to himself either. He just wanted to get out of here.

Yu Beom knew where they needed to go and led him to an empty desk where the police officer was talking to someone on the telephone. He cleared his throat thrice before the officer noticed their presence and raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, I am the one who you talked with on the phone earlier."

The police officer took a few seconds to realize who was in front of him and his entire demeanour changed. He apologized to whoever he was talking to on the telephone and quickly ended the call. Then he stood up and shook hands with Yu Beom, introducing himself as Cha Dong Man, the police officer in charge.

"Good thing you're here today, Mr. Lee," Dong Man mentioned, pointing towards the idol. "Is he the BTS member?"

Judging by the lack of excitement and disinterested tone, it was clear that he wasn't a fan. Seokjin didn't mind either. The police officer simply acknowledged him with a nod before redirecting his attention to Yu Beom. "We caught his gang in Busan last night. He was organizing another one of his illicit gatherings in secret. Some high school boys tipped us off, so our patrol team was able to raid the entire party and arrest all of them. When we arrived there-"

Seokjin lost interest in their conversation and absentmindedly glanced at the cells. It dawned on him that if their gang was apprehended just yesterday, they must be inside one of those cells. His throat tightened as he made his way towards the cell section.

The first cell was unoccupied. However, the adjacent cell was occupied by some intimidating individuals emitting a strange smell. They appeared fatigued, with bloodshot eyes and flushed skin. One of them spotted him, and before he could retreat, that individual widened his eyes as if recognizing him and began shouting at another person.

"Boss! You need to see this."

The so-called boss slowly turned around, and Seokjin's breath hitched at the sight of him. He soon remembered some of the men's faces from years ago at that party. Some of them were present that night. And he didn't need to remember the leader's face because he never forgot it in the first place. His imposing presence and manipulative attitude sometimes haunted him in his dreams.

His heart increased its pace when the boss gazed at him for a long minute before breaking into a wicked smile.

"Look who has finally come out in the light."

He strode forward towards him. Seokjin tried not to let his fear show and acknowledged boldly, "Baek Hee-sung."

"I was waiting for you to come by. I knew you missed me." He had the audacity to wink at him and stood before him, hands inside his pockets.

"Has the drugs made you delusional?"

"No, I actually wanted to see you again. Especially after that little incident of yours."

Seokjin gave a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks to you."

"Of course, I take the full credit." He bowed lightly.

The idol rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Lose the attitude. You are in jail. In case you are not aware, you will be moved to a prison and trust me, you are not gonna be able to get out soon."

"Easy, Kim. Why so much hatred in your tone?"

"You destroyed my life," Seokjin found himself yelling. "You made me trust you, made me come to the party, and intentionally gave me that drugged cigar! You uploaded the video of me hitting you, making sure it was edited to highlight only my actions. You were determined to get me fired, weren't you?"

Heesung didn't wipe that irritating smile off his face. It was as if it amused him.

"Why did you do it?" he asked. "Why? I never did anything to you. I never provoked you. I kept out of your way all the time. We didn't even meet before that day. So why did you want to hurt me? Why?!"

"Oh, Seokjin, you really need to calm down. Indeed, we go way back to high school when my group and your group were rivals. The school favoured your group, didn't they? Since all of you were good-looking."

"No, they didn't favour my group for looks. They liked us. Unlike you, we didn't bully people. We didn't smoke in the class, we didn't throw our homework on the nerds, we didn't tease the girls. We didn't threaten the teachers and we didn't break the school rules. The entire school was scared of your circle."

"Aww, weren't you all goody shoes and teacher's pets..."

Seokjin released a frustrated sigh. There was no point in arguing with him, no point in putting some sense into his head. It was just making him look stupid.

"I want to know what did I do to make you so-"

"Your voice is irritating me now. Fine, I envied you."

The confession silenced the idol. Voices of the police officers faded into the background.

Heesung stared into his eyes quite horrifically. "I have been keeping updates on your group since graduation. You all became big and successful. Remember Chang Bin? He works for Samsung! Woo Seok became a pilot, Min Gyu became a neurosurgeon, and even stupid Jae Beom managed to become a university professor. And you, Kim! Who would've thought you could sing?"

If he didn't know the drug addict any better, he would've thought he was being praised. But he knew exactly what the other guy was indicating.

"All of you became hotshots and I'mma be straight with you: I was jealous of you. I started to wonder what would it be like for you to lose everything you have. No offence; it's just some people have it harder than others. You won't understand since you haven't ever spent an hour penniless. And so yeah, I started with you actually," he smirked. "Since you debuted, people go crazy for you. Your posters were goddamn everywhere! Your ads were popping up everywhere! I just hated you. Loathed the sight of your face.

"And then coincidentally, we met three years ago! How odd was it? I thought when I am ever gonna find an opportunity like this to pull you down. To make you suffer."

Seokjin let out a breathless scoff, unable to believe his ears. "I don't believe this," he could hardly spit the words out. "You were jealous? That's why you wronged me? Is that what you are saying?

"It's not just about you, Kim. I have been making sure your entire group suffers. After your downfall, I went after Jae Beom. Spread some bullshit about him sleeping with his students, and the poor guy lost his job within a week. I was on my way to Chang Bin before I got arrested."

Hot rage boiled in his body. It's all he knew and he felt the anger choking him, surging through his veins. This man was crazy. A living psychopath. He sought pleasure from hurting and ruining others' lives. He not only destroyed his career, but also his friends from high school. Out of resentment, out of jealousy.

Seokjin exploded; the composure was gone, and the steadiness in his voice was gone. "You know what, Baek Heesung? I'm glad you got caught. You deserve to be in jail. I had only feared that I must've done something wrong in the past to make you want my downfall. But I'm relieved that it wasn't," he continued. "You know why they brought me here? To identify the person who drugged me and took advantage of me."

Heesung didn't expect it. It was obvious by the way he reacted. Did he really think Seokjin dropped by to say Hello? He would rather be in a grave. His fingers were in fists at his sides and his jaw was unmistakably set.

"I'm gonna make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life! You will suffer!" Seokjin uttered the last word with a little emphasis and he realized he had never been this angry before.

"Careful, Kim. You don't want to make me mad." Heesung's eyes were flashing bright but his voice was far too calm for his eyes.

Before he could retort, Yu Beom and Officer Dong Man appeared beside him, strengthening his presence. He straightened his shoulders and smirked in response.

The police officer asked, "Is this the guy who drugged your cigarette, Mr. Kim?"

Heesung gave him a deathly stare that almost manipulated him to deny it. But he fought against his fear and nodded his head. "Yes. This is the same guy. I recognize him."

His response somehow made the drug addict angrier. His bloodshot eyes darkened, his wicked smile disappeared and a villainous aura glowed around him. He looked like he could break through the jail bars and strangle the life out of him.

Yu Beom was first to get scared by the intimidating eyes so he pressed his hand on the idol's back. "C'mon, we are done here. Let's go."

They turned around to leave but Heesung decided to strike a chord with a fact none of them were ready to receive.

"How's your little girlfriend doing?"

Seokjin stopped in place and he felt his heart slowing down. Even Manager Yu Beom heard what he said and quickly turned around. But his whole body was frozen, scared to think about what he just revealed.

"My men have been keeping an eye on you. I saw you two one night." Heesung whistled. "I gotta admit, I didn't think your type would be this low."

He slowly turned around, balling his fists. The other was satisfied to catch his attention, his awful smirk returning.

"What's her name again? Let me think...Ah, it's Yoon Min, right?"

The words poured out, cold and steady. "Keep her name out of your foul mouth, you bastard."

It only entertained him more. "Ah, I knew she was important. Too bad she isn't that pretty. Looks like a chicken. What did you see in her anyway?"

Answering him wouldn't be the best idea. But the idol wasn't in the position to think about that. How did he know her name? They were so careful about their relationship. "Don't you dare-"

"Why? Is it because you like her? Are you allowed to? Aren't idols supposed to be not dating? Now that I think about it...she would make a good piece of scandal."

His evil chuckle annoyed him gravely. Heesung gripped the bars and leaned closer. "Can you protect her?"

It was a challenge. A game he wanted to play. And if there was one thing Seokjin was certain about him, it was that he always acted out his threats well.

Before he could speak, Officer Dong Man answered instead, "Big words for someone who's gonna be serving 10 years behind bars. Look around you; you are locked up in jail. There's no way you'll be getting out of here."

The police officer's words didn't even affect the drug addict. He kept intense eye contact with the idol as if telling him the police officer was making a stupid mistake.

Manager Yu Beom got scared again and pulled the idol with him. "Let's go, Seokjin. He can't do anything."

Seokjin didn't want to leave, not without convincing the drug addict that he shouldn't have his hopes up. The fact that he intended to harm Yoon Min was nerve-wracking enough. And he knew Heesung would do anything to hurt his enemy's loved ones.

But he had no choice but to be dragged away by his manager. Even when he was walking away, he could feel those intimidating eyes following him out. Goosebumps rose in his body and terror waved back.

They were out of the police station in the next minute. After getting inside the car, Seokjin shouted a curse loudly and kicked the back of the passenger seat. He had never felt this angry before, not in a long time.

Yu Beom sat in the driver's seat and turned towards him. "See? This is what happens you don't listen to me! I told you not to be involved with that young woman anymore."

Of course, his manager would pour fuel on the fire.

"Do you realize how messed up it would have been if Baek Heesung had leaked something about you? Thank Heavens, he was caught in time! Or else, another scandal could've been made, right before your comeback!" The manager sighed, "Seokjin, you are putting Song Yoon Min in danger as well as yourself. I don't know what sort of relationship you have with her, but I don't want it to continue much longer."

The idol chose not to reply. He never did anything his manager or company told him to do anyway. He sunk in the backseat, closing his eyes.

"Baek Heesung doesn't make light threats," he found himself saying. "He will try to harm Yoon Min..."

Yu Beom unexpectedly seemed concerned about that. He returned to his position and started the car. "He won't. He'll be behind bars soon."

☆THE FAULT IN OUR STARS☆

THANK YOU FOR READING
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A/N: I'm very sorry for the late update. I was busy with exams and my studies. Will be regular from now on.