NINETEEN

    Three weeks had passed from the kiss. Three weeks of her avoiding him outside of school, except for tutoring. Three weeks of the boys throwing glares at Zik from the hallways.

     Three weeks.

After the kiss, Jimin had brought her and her sister home. Her mind was in a whirlwind of emotions.

She still had mixed emotions.

      The boys had given her the first paycheck. It had surprised her mother when she gave her the money. Thankfully, it had given them the reassurance that the money could cover all their expenses. It gave them the peace they needed. Everything was going to be alright.

"Yun Nari!" Mr. Hanz exclaimed getting her out of the trance she was in.

      "Yes?" she asked.

      "Could you please read page 64." he motioned to her.

As she read the three paragraphs she could feel Jungkook staring. He had made this a habit by now. Whenever they had classes together, he would stare for the whole hour. He was doing this to make her nervous, Nari thought.

It worked.

     In the course of three minutes that she spent reading those paragraphs, she had stuttered more than fifteen times. She was putty in his hands.

      "Good!" Mr. Hanz exclaimed.

      Had he forgotten the fact that she had stuttered because of that brown haired boy?

The class kept on and on. The sound of the clock ticking drove her insane. She just wanted for lunchtime to arrive.

Food, food, food! Her mind screamed.

Just when the bell rung, the girl didn't think twice before jogging to the door. She went to her locker and stuffed all her books inside. She had left Eun and Hyuk behind.

Her feet stomped as she returned to the classroom. She stood beside the door as she waited for her friends.

     A vibration was felt on her blouse. Her phone was receiving a message.

     Please, not that person again.

Luckily, the unknown number had left her alone. That doesn't mean that she still feared if they contacted her again.

     From: Unknown
       You look even better with the school uniform.

    Her head raised quickly in fear. Whoever was contacting her was in the school. They were watching her.

     To: Unknown
      Who are you?

   She waited a few minutes, trying to catch her breath. After she waited, they replied back.

    From: Unknown
      That's none of your business.

   From: Unknown
      You have to do what I tell you to do.

    Her hands gripped the phone with so much force that her knuckles turned white. Her heart was beating crazily.

    To: Unknown
    What if I don't want to do what you tell me to do. What if I tell anyone that you've been threatening me?

   Instantly, they had replied.

     From: Unknown
    I won't hesitate to point the gun at their heads.

    To: Unknown
   Who?

   From: Unknown
   You know who...

  From: Unknown
  Bangtan and Eun...Hyuk.

  She let out a small tear as she read the text. Whoever was talking to her was threatening to kill all of them. The people she had gotten close to in the span of four weeks. The people she thought she despised, Bangtan, had slowly begun to mean so much to her.

   She had to do it, she just had to.

   Her friends could die.

    To: Unknown
     What do I have to do? Just please don't kill them.

    From: Unknown
    Not yet...I'll let you know when we can begin.

   From: Unknown
    You're such a good girl...

     Her face was filled with tears by now. She couldn't take it. Nari started running to the bathroom. Running, as if that was the only way that all of this would stop. Running, as if it was the only way that she could escape whatever life had in store for her.

Her feet stomped across the hall. She forgot that everyone was looking at her, maybe even the boys. She didn't care, she was scared and couldn't tell anyone the reason why. If she did, everyone's lives would be in danger.

   She pushed open the door and ran to one of the stalls. Sitting down on the toilet, her tears began to fall. Things kept getting worse and worse.

Nari had accepted to be a part of them, this is what had come out of it. One small decision was bringing her life down the drain.

It was her fault.

Her hands were on her face as she let out a countless amount of tears. She was scared, even more scared knowing that her friend's could be killed in any moment.

She heard the bathroom door open abruptly. Footsteps were heard on the bathroom before a voice was heard.

"Nari! Where are you?" Taehyung asked as he paced around the bathroom.

When she heard his voice, a loud sob escaped her mouth.

His footsteps got closer until she could see his feet through the small space between the stall and the floor.

"Open the door, please." he pleaded.

The girl shook her head, "Go away."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me why did you run off without an explanation." he responded.

"How did you find me?" she wiped her tears, she was still inside the stall.

"I was the first to leave the classroom and then I saw you running," he gulped, "so I followed you."

"And the others?" she asked him.

"They don't know, I was the only one who saw you." he explained.

Nari waited a few seconds before opening the door. Once she did, he engulfed her in a tight hug.

"It's okay to cry," he patted her back, "let it all out."

So she did. She hugged him with all her might and cried. The loud sobs filled the bathroom walls. She hadn't cried like this ever since her father had left her mother and them.

After a while she walked to the sink and washed her face. Her reflection showed somebody completely new to her. It showed a broken, vulnerable teen who wanted to feel safe again.

     "What's wrong?" Taehyung put his hand on her shoulder.

  Should I tell him?

      No.

     But if I do, we can figure out who it is and get them to the authorities.

    You can't.

    "I can't tell you, I wish I could." she responded.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Why can't you tell me?"

"I–I just can't," she sighed and turned around so he didn't see the small tear on her eyes, "I'm sorry."

     He just sighed, "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"

She had to lie to him, it was the only way to keep them safe.

    She nodded, "I just get emotional when I'm on those days." she chuckled.

   Nari had just lied to him. She lied to save his life. She couldn't tell him what was really happening.

   Taehyung's reaction made her giggle, forgetting about her troubles. He had opened his eyes and stared at her. He didn't know what to say, Nari thought.

      "Seriously? That's why you were crying?" he asked astonished.

     She nodded.

     "Aish! I don't understand women." he mumbled.

     Nari let out a chuckle, "You should understand them in order for them to like you."

    "Who?" he asked.

    "Women...Eun." she told him.

He stumbled backwards, "How did you–how?"

"I'm not stupid Tae, I've seen the way you look at her." she pointed out.

"I don't know what you are talking about." he began to walk out of the women's bathroom so she followed him.

"You do! The look you give her says everything." Nari walked beside him to the lunchroom.

As they passed the halls, Nari wondered who could be the person who sent her the message? It must be someone inside the school.

Or it could be someone inside the lunchroom...

He passed her the empty tray and they began making the line to receive their lunch, "What look?" he asked sarcastically.

"Like if she's your world." as the words got out of her mouth she realized that Taehyung really loved Eun.

"The look that Jungkook gives you?" he said after a moment of silence.

Her eyes opened rapidly. He must be joking. He is joking.

"What?" she asked as they began to walk to their table.

Just as Taehyung was about to respond, the rest of her friends sat down. Jungkook didn't spare a glance at her as he ate his food quietly.

"Nothing." Taehyung said through his teeth.

She let it slide, she just did. That didn't mean that she hadn't forgotten about it. She'd ask him later.

That's weird, very weird.