trouble ➳ bangtan boys

NINE

"Have you done any work on your project yet?" Eunki asks as we're walking through the corridor during free period.

I nod. "Only a little. What about you?"

"No, Jimin keeps saying he's 'busy'." She says, rolling her eyes, using quotations marks with her hands on the word busy.

"V's being surprisingly co-operative," I chuckle, excluding the details of that night. "I sympathise with you."

"Thanks," she laughs but her look of frustration at the mention of Jimin doesn't fade. "Speak of the devil."

I look over and see Bangtan standing by their lockers looking like typical jocks. My eyes involuntarily travel to V and his messy hair and leather jacket. He looks good today, like, extra good.

"It's Halloween next week." Eunki states and I nod.

"Is anybody hosting a party?" I ask curiously.

"I think so, somebody usually does. I don't even have an outfit."

I shake my head. "Neither do I."

"We're going shopping after school, no excuses." She says seriously and I laugh.

"Sure."

The bell rings signalling the next lesson. Eunki groans and I mimic the gesture, knowing that I don't share the lesson with her.

"I'll see you after school." I tell her.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." She waves and we both walk in different directions.

I walk into the classroom and sit at the back with a few empty seats beside me. I've never really minded this lesson, maths, even though I'm not good at it. I just guess the answers or hide my calculator underneath the desk to help me.

I see Jin and Namjoon walk into the classroom, and a few girls share noticeable glances between themselves. I roll my eyes. They're all obviously blinded by their bad-boy aesthetic.

Of course, they occupy the empty seats beside me and a few girls send me glares which I ignore. Even though Bangtan and I haven't hated each other as much recently, I still find them both arrogant and pretentious.

"Hey, Violet." Namjoon smiles in a surprisingly sweet tone.

I smile. "Hey."

The teacher enters the classroom with a miserable look on her face and I sigh quietly. Honestly, I find lessons extremely difficult to enjoy if the teacher doesn't make an effort to show any emotion but misery. If a teacher walks into a lesson with a bright smile on their face and a positive and uplifting attitude, I'd enjoy the lesson so much more.

"She doesn't look happy." Namjoon whispers and I nod in agreement.

"I know. She needs to smile more, her expression is depressing me."

He chuckles lowly. "You're funny when you actually speak. You should talk more."

"I do speak." I resort, raising an eyebrow.

"Not enough."

I ignore his comment and pursue with the prolonged lesson until the final bell rings, sounding like music to my ears. I pack away my belongings and swing my bag over my shoulder, turning to leave but I feel a gentle yet firm grip on my wrist. I turn around to see Jin looking at me with a somewhat blank expression.

"Are you still going to the bonfire on Wednesday?" He asks quietly and I nod.

"I think so."

He smiles. "I'll see you there, then."

I politely smile back before leaving the classroom. I walk towards my locker where Eunki is already is already waiting with her phone attached to her hand.

"Hi, sorry I'm a little late." I tell her.

"Oh it's fine, you're not. Come on, if we leave now the traffic won't be bad."

After catching a bus into town, we arrive at the shops and Eunki immediately pulls me towards a fancy-dress costume store. I laugh when she picks up an ever so revealing 'naughty nurse' costume and holds it over her clothed body.

"How do I look?" She asks, posing dramatically and I giggle.

"Naughty." I admit and we both laugh loudly.

"Oh my goodness, this is so cute!" She cries, picking up a 'Mario' girl outfit.

"It is," I nod, agreeing. "You should definitely try it on."

"No, I meant for you!" She squeals and my eyes widen.

"I would never look good in that."

"You so would," She tells me but I shake my head adamantly. "At least try it on?"

I sigh. "Fine."

Eunki picks up a zombie cheerleader outfit before we travel to the dressing rooms. When the curtain is pulled closed, I change into the Mario outfit and examine myself in the mirror. It's short but not too short, about knee length, and the dungarees look surprisingly cute on me. I've never seen a Mario outfit in the style of a dress but there's a first time for everything, I guess.

I step out of the dressing room and see Eunki in her zombie outfit, examining herself in the larger mirror.

"How do I look?" She asks.

"It looks great." I tell her honestly.

"You look so cute." She chuckles, looking at me through the mirror.

"Thanks, I quite like it actually. I didn't expect to."

After a successful shopping trip, we catch the next bus home. We say goodbye as we separate into our different routes home. When I reach my house, I see my mum asleep on the couch and I fetch a blanket before laying it over her. Like usual, she looks so tired and I feel guilty that I can't do anything to help.

Just as I'm about to travel to the kitchen for a drink, a soft knock on the door is heard and I frown. It's almost 7pm, who could be here at this time? I open the door nevertheless, feeling shocked at the sight.

V stands before me, yet another bruise evident on his cheek. But this time, there's dry tear stains on his face.

"What happened?" I ask softly and he shakes his head, biting his lip as a new layer of tears surface in his eyes.

I open the door, inviting him inside. I press my finger to my lips, signalling him to be quiet and I point to my sleeping mum. He nods silently and follows me upstairs.

"I'm sorry." Are the first words he says once we reach my room.

I frown. "Why are you sorry? What happened?"

"I wish I could tell you," He whispers with a hoarse and fragile voice which breaks my heart. "But there's so many things which need to remain unknown."

author's note; aw poor taehyung :(

i don't know why but writing this book makes me feel really, super protective over him and i just want to hug him really bad