The Ringleader | knj

23

As the sun started to fade, Jimin wrapped up our conversation and began to drive us both back to the house.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you find such a beautiful house like this one... being mafia and all," I asked as he sped down the road, the flashing street lamps whirring by in a blink.

His lips tinged up into a small smile and I saw as his hands that were once firmly clutched to the wheel, let go all of a sudden.
I loudly screamed, terrified by his sudden life-endangering actions.

WAS THIS MAN LOOKING TO GET US KILLED??

"Chill, it's self-drive," he rolled his eyes at my elaborate reaction. I laughed nervously, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Anyways your question right? It belongs to Taehyung." He said, turning to face me.
My jaw dropped.
Taehyung?? That whole house was his??

"He inherited it from his grandparents after they died... they'd looked after him pretty much his whole life," he elaborated.
"What happened to his parents?" I wondered, a little obnoxiously. He swallowed, a bitter expression lingering across his face.

"They were murdered." He bluntly said, the words instantly making the atmosphere darken. My eyes glistened at his words, remembering Taehyung's sweet and gentle mannerism from the day I tried to run away.

He didn't deserve this.

"Taehyung was in my year at high school, he was always so cheerful and had the bubbliest personality. Though one day, he received some news from the principal that changed his life forever. His parents had been murdered at home during our last semester, and his sister had been badly wounded. After hearing that, it's like his own happiness was murdered too,"

Tears welled up in my eyes as Jimin retold Taehyung's heartbreaking story. The thought of this shy and timid boy that once used to be so loud and optimistic pained me.

He'd lost his whole self, let alone his family.

"His grandparents took him and his sister in and raised them far away in the countryside so that the memories of the murder would be far away from the both of them. The house we're staying at was originally theirs. Once they died, they'd left the house for him and his sister," Jimin continued. "Then he let Bangtan stay there, transforming it into our own home which was pretty useful since it was discreet and well hidden."

"What happened to his sister?" I looked up, intrigued. He took a deep breath, chewing at his bottom lip.
"His sister left abroad. She couldn't stay here anymore. The incident had scarred her since she'd witnessed it first hand. Taehyung couldn't stop her either, because he knew how much she'd been traumatised by what had happened... much more than he had,"

"So... so he was left all alone?" I felt my voice begin to quiver.
He shut his eyes, slowly nodding.

My heart sunk as I'd gotten an introspect into some of the hell-bound lives these boys had gone through, their stories sounding a million time worse than mine yet they never complained.

"Don't feel like your problem isn't that big Seoyeon," he said, as if reading my mind. "Every problem is a problem, every pain is a pain, every sorrow is a sorrow. It doesn't matter if it's on a large scale or not, what matters is that you don't disregard it as nothing because you feel like it's not worth mentioning, and then let it kill you slowly." He looked up at me, placing a hand upon my shoulder.
I smiled at his words, nodding.

"Thank you Jimin," I felt a little more comforted by him.
He smiled up at me, caressing my cheek.

His flirt-boy mask had been completely eradicated and all that was left was his true sweet and affectionate demeanour.

Man, were Bangtan lucky to have him as part of their family.

Jimin took back the wheel to turn into a deserted side road, when suddenly, two other cars also did the same. He raised an eyebrow as he adjusted his wing mirror, an expression of suspicion lingering across his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, watching as he tensed up at the sight in the rear view.

"Unexpected guests." He bitterly muttered, my eyes widening as I saw a single black gun wavering menacingly in his hand...