Minji
I had been staring at the wall for the past hour or so. I knew Jimin was with me in the room and that Jungkook and Taehyung were right outside but I could not even look at anyone, not even my brother.
‘Minji, sweetie, please drink and eat something,’ Jimin said but I shook my head. I heard him sigh as he sat down on the bed. ‘Can you at least look at me?’ he asked, his voice sweet and gentle.
I gulped and turned to look at him. It had been a while since I last saw him. This wasn’t how our reunion was supposed to go.
‘O—oppa,’ I said as I felt new tears coming. He scooted closer as he enveloped me in his arms. His hold was tight and secure as he squashed me against him. I grabbed onto his shirt, holding it tightly between my fingers.
‘It’s okay. Cry angel, go ahead and cry,’ he said as he rubbed my back.
‘Oppa… I was such an…an *,’ I sob out. I felt him pull back as he looked at me.
‘Please talk to me. Tell me what happened,’ he said. ‘I won’t get mad at you – just at the * who dared to hurt you,’ he said and I nodded.
‘Can you… can you hold my hand?’ I asked. He smiled a little as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
‘I’ll always hold your hand my little angel,’ he said, squeezing it again. ‘Now, tell me,’ he said.
‘I met him four months ago. He was a regular at one of the Casinos. I went to talk to him, trying to find out more and he said he was there because he liked me,’ I said shrugging. ‘I was a pathetic * for believing him,’ I said.
‘Hey don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault if he lied or whatever he did,’ he said.
‘I… we started going out. I wanted to be like other girls – have a boyfriend. We got together and then one day he was … he pressured me to have sex with him,’ I explained.
‘What do you mean? Did he rape you?’ Jimin asked. I could feel the hate and the anger radiate off of him. I shook my head but still felt tears running down my cheeks.
‘No, not like that. I meant, he kept saying that if I love him, I would not deny him like that. I … I wasn’t sure if I loved him but… I thought it was stupid but I slept with him anyways,’ I said.
‘Aish Minji. No man who loves you would pressure you to have sex when you’re not ready, not even in our world. It’s disrespectful and manipulative,’ he said.
‘I know. Anyways, two days ago I found I was pregnant. I wasn’t sure how he would take it but I… I was happy. I was going to tell him but…’ I stopped, remembering the whole scene.
‘But what? Did he take it badly or force you to do something else?’ Jimin coaxed.
‘No. I um, I overheard him on the phone. He was talking with someone else and I found out he had been using me from the start to try and get to you,’ I explained.
‘What?’ Jimin shrieked and I sighed. I knew he would take it badly. ‘What do you mean? Did he hurt you to hurt me?’ he asked and I nodded. ‘That *er! I’m going to end him!’ he said, seething. ‘What happened after the phone call?’ he asked.
‘I um… I left. I went to Hiro but didn’t tell him the details. Just not to trust him and took the first train here. He must have found out I knew and wanted to shut me up. At least that’s what he said,’ I told him..
‘And he didn’t know you were pregnant for his child I imagine,’ he said and I shook my head. ‘What is his name Minji?’ he asked and I sighed.
‘Eric Noshimuri,’ I said. His eyes went wide, almost as if he recognized the name. ‘What? Do you know him?’ I asked.
‘I know why he did this,’ Jimin said. ‘A couple of years ago, we had a deal in Japan with Eric’s brother – Adam. The deal went wrong and his gang and him pulled their guns on us. We tried to stop the fight but they started shooting. Adam had managed to hit Taehyung and I had shot him dead,’ he explained.
‘So, you killed Eric’s brother to protect Taehyung,’ I said and he nodded. ‘He wanted to hurt me, to hurt you, like we said – sibling to sibling,’ I added.
‘I’m sorry Minji. I am so sorry,’ he said as his own tears started rolling down. ‘I can’t apologize enough. You got caught into this without any fault. I am so ashamed to call myself your brother after failing to protect you like this,’ he said among the tears.
I squeezed his hands and wiped his tears. I forced on a smile as I rested my hand on her cheek. ‘It’s not your fault. You killed Adam to save Taehyung. It is NOT your fault, Oppa,’ I said.
Jimin
‘I am going to kill this guy. I swear I am going to *ing kill him,’ I said angrily as I slammed my fist on the table. ‘*,’ I yelled as I paced around the room.
‘Jimin stop. Calm down,’ Hoseok said, trying to get me to actually see sense. I scoffed and shook my head, unable to help the rage inside my chest… rage and guilt.
‘I know you’re angry, but I want you to focus. I don’t want you going after him blindly,’ Namjoon said. I knew why he was saying that but I could barely focus on what he was saying.
‘He hurt my sister. He killed my nephew or niece. We didn’t even get to know the gender,’ I yelled, tears spilling over. I lost count of how many times I have ended up crying.
‘We know Jimin,’ Taehyung said. I looked at all their faces as they stared at me, their faces full of emotions that they do not know how to express.
Taehyung seemed like he wanted to just take away my pain from me. Namjoon looked as if he was struggling with his own anger and guilt. Yoongi looked angry, as if he was ready to murder Eric with me. Hoseok had a pained look on his face – he understood what it means to lose family – to lose an innocent child, even if my sister’s baby was not even born yet. Hanuel was extremely quiet as she sat in the corner, hand gripping her sword.
I felt my knees buckle but Taehyung was quick to put the chair under me. I just started crying all over again. I don’t even remember the last time I cried as much as these last couple of days.
‘He… he ruined her life because of me. He wanted me to pay for what I have done. Why could he not just come after me instead of going after her?’ I asked.
‘Because he knows that the biggest way to hurt you is by going after people you love,’ Hanuel said as she approached me. ‘Hoseok and I would know,’ she said with a sad sigh.
I remembered how Hoseok lost his wife and son to people like Eric – people who were coward enough to not face Hoseok but went after his innocent family. I remembered how Rosa killed Hanuel’s and Yeonjun’s parents just to get back at Hanuel for refusing to work with her and betray us.
‘They’re such cowards,’ Jin said shaking his head. ‘People like these…who go after family, they’re nothing but cowards,’ he said.
‘I agree and we need to figure out what we’re going to with Eric and how we’ll handle him,’ Namjoon said just as my head popped up. ‘I know you really want to kill him yourself right now but I don’t want you going after him without a plan. That could get you killed and I’m not having you die on me, got it?’ he asked.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I nodded. ‘I know you’re right Namjoon and I appreciate you looking out for me,’ I said.
‘We always do,’ Taehyung said. I nodded once again, this time in gratitude. Before I could say anything else, we heard a knock on the door.
‘Come in,’ Namjoon yelled. All eyes turned towards the door just as Soobin walked in. He looked worried and tense. ‘Soobin. Is everything okay?’ Namjoon asked.
‘Um I’m not sure. ‘Have any of you seen Yeonjun?’ Soobin asked. We exchanged looks just as Hanuel stiffened. She seemed to tense up all of a sudden.
‘No, why?’ Hanuel asked, a certain urgency in her voice. Soobin gulped, seemingly more worried now.
‘I can’t find him anywhere. I know he was in the tech lab before. He seemed angry and like he was ready to murder someone. I… I think he might have gone after Eric,’ Soobin explained.
‘What?!’ I exclaimed as I stood up. ‘Why would he go on his own? Is he crazy? Does he want to get killed?’ I yelled. I’ve known Yeonjun for a couple of years now and he’s like a little brother to me. If something happens to him because of this…
‘Hyung…’ Soobin began. He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. ‘Hyung, he loves Minji and right now he’s just full of anger towards him…’ he explained.
‘What did you say? What do you mean he loves Minji?’ I asked again, wanting to make sure I heard him right.
‘I mean, before she left for Japan, they were really close but he loved her and never told her. He just used to talk to me about it. He never confessed because he didn’t know if she loved him back and because…’ Soobin paused as he looked at me with uncertainty.
‘Because what Soobin?’ I asked as my body shook. How could I not realize this sooner? They were always together. Minji had spent years being his shadow. I would always hear them giggle away at night or whenever they did something they were not supposed to.
‘Because he thought you would never accept him because he’s a lower ranking member of Bangtan and she’s your little sister,’ he explained.
‘*! I would have loved nothing more. Dammit Yeonjun!’ I yelled angrily just as I saw Hanuel ready to rush out.
‘Hanuel wait! What are you doing?’ Hoseok asked as he grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. Her eyes had a deadly glare but there were also traces of tears that were refusing to fall.
‘I’m going to go get my brother before he gets himself killed. I can’t wait for you guys to come up with a plan,’ she said. For the first time, she sounded almost desperate.
‘Hey, I know you’re right, but you’re not going on your own,’ Hoseok said.
‘Definitely not. Jin and Jungkook as well as Myung are with Minji right now but the rest of us can go. Soobin I want you to go to the hospital. Take Taehyun and Beomgyu with you. Inform Jin and Jungkook. Tell Jungkook to stay there but tell Jin to come home. We might need him,’ Namjoon said quickly.
‘Will do boss,’ Soobin said as he left in a rush. I went over to Hanuel and placed a hand on her shoulder. I could almost feel the worry radiate off of her.
‘He’ll be okay. We’ll go get him and he’ll be okay,’ I said, wanting to try and offer her reassurance. She didn’t say anything but gave me a small smile.