rivals | taejin

XVII

Taehyung turned in his sleep, his face contorting in anger and distress.

"No! What are you doing to him?!" he screamed in his dream, trying to run and take Seokjin away from the men dragging him away and out of his grasp.

His head was turned to the side by a finger on his chin, his mother's face coming into his center of vision. "Why are you yelling, Taehyung? You knew this was going to happen. Don't be so surprised."

Taehyung pushed her away, shaking his head. "No...stop."

Athena smiled, "What do you mean? You know this is your fault. For being selfish and wanting to keep a friendship with him. Well," she stopped, her face contorting in disgust, "You two had something beyond a normal friendship, didn't you?"

Taehyung shook his head, hearing Seokjin yell his name. He turned around, wanting to run over to him but no matter how many times he tried, his feet were planted in place. He could just watch as Seokjin cried out to him, being dragged away.

"This is what happens when you let your selfish desires take over you, my dear Taehyung. If only you had listened when I had told you. Don't you wish you had followed my orders? This guilt is going to rest within you until the end of your life."

Taehyung woke up in cold sweat, his shirt drenched in sweat. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest at any moment. He pushed back his bangs that were stuck to his forehead from sweat. He looked around his room; nothing had changed.

"Seokjin is safe..." he murmured to himself. He got up from his bed and walked over to the bathroom with shaky legs. He turned the light on and slightly gasped at seeing his reflection. His face was covered in scratches as well as his arms. His eye bags had somehow gotten worse and his eyes held no life within them. He sighed and applied some cream on it so they wouldn't get infected, then he took out the concealer he had recently bought. It didn't fully cover his scratched face, but it helped somewhat.

He then got out his room, making himself some coffee to wake up. He despised the taste of coffee with a passion, but he found it to be the only thing keeping him awake. It was almost five in the morning, so he decided to not go back to sleep; he'd have to wake up soon to attend school anyway. As he was drinking his first sip of coffee, he realized something was different.

"Jimin isn't here..." he whispered to himself.

He set the mug down on the counter and went to check his room. And as he said, Jimin wasn't there. He frowned; Jimin always stayed the night at his house.

"This means...",he thought, "Something might've happened to him."

He went to get his shoes and after putting them on, ran out the house. He searched up and down every single hall, which seemed ominous thanks to the overwhelming darkness. But without any luck, Jimin didn't appear anywhere. He started to worry and different horrible scenarios filled his head. He had begun to spend so much time looking for him outside, that the sun started rising.

He sat in a bench in front of the dorm building, his eyes looking all around for a signal of movement. After what felt like an eternity, he saw a blue head of hair walking to him. He got up instantly, surprising Jimin, who stopped walking. Taehyung walked closer to him, "Where were you?" he asked.

Jimin cleared his throat, "I don't think you mentioned I had to tell you about my whereabouts, did you?"

"No, but you can't just leave like that without saying anything. I was worried, you know?"

"Why? Is there a reason for you to be worried? You know I can take care of myself. I'm not a child." Jimin said, raising an eyebrow.

Taehyung shook his head, "No...am I not just allowed to be worried?"

Jimin didn't reply, looking at him with a questioning look. He sighed, "There's something going on, Taehyung. Something you aren't telling me about."

Taehyung rolled his eyes, "There's nothing going on. Let's go, class is starting soon."

"Oh, you're going today?"

"Yes, I mean, I guess I should since i'm already awake." Taehyung shrugged.

Jimin looked at him and shook his head. "I wish you were more honest about needing help."

***

"So, what happened?" Seokjin asked, sitting down on the chair in front of Jimin. They were currently at a cafe.

"Not much. He was just worried because I hadn't been there for the night. He didn't say anything, either." Jimin replied.

"I guess he'll need some more convincing."

"Definitely." he stopped for a moment, "I've been thinking, maybe you have too, about the person last night and who it could've been."

"Yes, without a doubt, it was Athena's minion." Seokjin said, Jimin nodding in agreement.

"They know we know about what they're doing to Taehyung. So, they'll probably torment Taehyung more. I wish we could know why Athena is doing this in the first place. I understand maybe past grudges with your mother, but to pass that down to his son and purposely harm him? There must be something else."

"You're right. This is all very peculiar."

"Maybe with some more convincing and affirmations, Taehyung will—"Jimin stopped, his eyes widening. He got up abruptly, taking Seokjin's wrist and rushing out the establishment quickly. Seokjin was confused, but let him pull him to wherever it was he wanted.

They stopped behind a wall, Jimin put his finger over his lips, telling Seokjin not to make a noise. "She's with him over there."

"Who?" Seokjin whispered.

"Athena's minion is with Taehyung."

Jimin looked back at them and took Seokjin's hand, "We're stopping her, now."

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