Gallery

Make It Right

I calm myself, taking deep breaths I look for things to focus on. I can smell cooking from one of the apartments and I hope that it's mine. I can hear laughter but it's dulled by the thick, grey washed brick walls. I can taste cigarette and mint on my breath as I heave breaths in and out hard and slow. I can feel... pain. This wasn't helping and the dark stairwell surely wasn't helping my situation. I can hear footsteps approaching as someone pops their head around the corner and into view. 

'It's Jimin?' 

"Why are you hiding here? Oh god, why do you look like this Y/N? Did someone hurt you?"  While Jimin and I had grown close, but he'd never seen me like this, much less responded to me like this in any of the previous situations I'd experienced. But there was no way I was admitting to what had really happened. 

"No, Jimin-ssi I promise. I just got scared... the fans... they're a lot. How do you all do this?" 

I wasn't completely lying, but with how he was watching me closely, touching his arm gently against my shoulder I felt safe again. Everything with Chan and then Jungkook dissipated as he took my hands, encouraging me to rise to my feet where he embraced me into his arms. I sobbed on his chest, his hand stroking my hair I felt guilty knowing it wasn't the whole truth. But for now, I needed him. 

'I always need them.' 

"We get scared too. Once things got really big, we'd be like this on a daily basis. But we know they won't hurt us. I promise, we won't let them hurt you either."

After a few minutes, he takes my waist and guides me into a suite which is filled with familiar faces and the smell of Jin's cooking. 

Jungkook is on his phone, responding to comments I assume, he doesn't look up as I'm guided in sniffling. I clutch at Jimin's shirt as Jin rushes to meet us. Jimin shakes his head, and Jin immediately hugs me as I remain at Jimin's side. The others file in as I listen to Jimin explaining everything to Jin, filling in the others Jimin guides me to an unfamiliar room where he turns the lights off and lays me down. He climbs over the top of me, sliding in behind me he cuddles me. It's definitely weird, in a good way, but I'm grateful for him. Soon, Tae joins us, sliding in front of me on the bed he faces me and strokes my cheek. 

"We'll look after you, Y/N. We promise."

His soothing voice reassures me, not that he knows who I really need protecting from. While Jungkook's actions hurt, it's myself that I need protecting from. I can't unpack my own feelings, can't be strong enough to love who I love without consideration for an army of fans, staff and celebrities who find themselves wishing to be theirs instead. I won't even allow myself to entertain the notion of sticking out something, let alone who I'd truly want to go through all of the drama with. 

I feel my eyelids growing heavy, as someone peaks in the door. He whispers something, before Jimin replies softly. 

"Don't wake her, she's been through enough. I don't know if that's the whole story but I'm not letting you in here. She's got us, we'll keep an eye on her." 

"Jimin, I told you. I'm over it." Namjoon says, dryly. 

"You aren't and neither is he. If you guys really want to keep her around, leave her with us." 

Jimin isn't holding back, I can feel Tae as he takes slow, deep breaths. His breath tickles my cheek and I figure he's asleep as his hand rests in front of my face on the pillow. Jimin must have remained awake, keeping an eye on us as I settled into a state of comfort and safety. 

The door clicks closed and the room goes dark again. I can feel Jimin shifting in the bed behind me but I don't want to risk waking Tae. "This is a mess. Y/N, I really hope I'm right about this." 

He brushes the hair from my face as it falls behind my ear. I try not to smile and find myself quickly falling into a deep sleep. While the bed may be small, being there with them like that didn't feel as strange as it may sound. They were attentive, and as though they'd done this for years they comforted me despite the less-than-accurate information as to why I'd become so shaken. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~The next morning~

I wake up to see Tae smiling softly, I listen and can hear Jimin-ssi still behind me grumbling to himself about something. As I look around, the room is soft and warm and bright light is spilling in through flowing curtains. A breeze flows through the window and out the open door as a familiar smell fills my sense. Someone must have been up brewing coffee and I imagined that Yoongi must have been up already. 

"You're up, feel better yet?" Tae whispers, smiling his usual boxy grin. He's still half asleep, but I giggle at the memory of fans in line at the first concert squealing about him looking like an angel up close. 

'They're not far off.'

"You guys didn't have to stay with me all night, I would have been okay." I say, my voice breaking as I slowly sit up to yawn. My clothes from yesterday still hung loosely on my frame as I realize thankfully my blazer had been stripped from me before I'd been put to bed. 

"You were pretty shaken up, I, we didn't want you to take up by yourself in a strange apartment." 

"And you give alright snuggles too." Tae was the biggest teddy bear I'd ever met, and was almost nose to nose with me while Jimin had slept with a protective arm wrapped over my midsection. While I'd seen the boys share beds in the past, it hadn't occurred to me the comfort that being this close to each other might bring. That sleeping in the beds together might still happen on occasion. 

Tan yipped at the end of the bed, brining Tae to life he swings his legs out of the bed and drops to his knees to love his pup. I follow suit, in search of my true love. Thankfully, my senses still worked as I'm greeted by a grumpy looking Yoongi sipping at a cup of coffee with several cups waiting for other members. Jimin followed me shortly after, dragging Tae and Tan with him they all collapsed into the couch as myself and Yoongi slowly began to make breakfast. As he'd already begun, I volunteered to help and to wash up. It at least let me feel like some sort of assistant and presented me with the opportunity to listen as the boys ran through their itinerary.