Your eyes

Chapter 32

Taehyung's POV

I watch blankly as Jungkook returns to his seat, his presence beside me providing a sense of comfort I didn't know I needed. My hand is still latched onto Jungkook's, his grip tightening in a way that seemed different from the protective squeeze he had been giving me before. I look up at him and I can't help but notice that there is a strange tenseness in his features. Why? Is it because of what Hoseok wants to say?

A sense of foreboding fills me, and I turn my gaze back to Jhope. My stomach flips with nervousness, and even though I don't know the power that Hoseok's story might hold, I can't help but anxiously wait for him to speak. I want to know.

"Ah geez... Where should I start?" My hyung mumbles, tilting his head back and releasing another heavy sigh. "Well... I guess I can start from the beginning." Hoseok turns his gaze back to me, a look of nostalgia crossing over his features. Patience radiates from his stance, but I am anything but that.

"Before I became friends with Jimin and Jungkook, Yoongi and I were friends. We were childhood friends. In all of the years I knew him, despite him being my only friend for a while, there was still a border between us. We were best friends, but anytime I asked him something personal, he wouldn't answer. He never liked talking about himself."

Jhope sighs, and shakes his head, his disappointment from back then showing on his face. To say the least, his words surprised me. I wouldn't have thought that Hoseok and Suga would have had any relationship at all, let alone being best friends.

"By the time I became friends with Jimin and Jungkook, a sort of distance had grown between us. He didn't talk nearly as much, and he became much more irritable. I tried to talk to him, and find out what was making him act so differently, but he just wouldn't talk to me about it, whatever it was."

Hoseok turns to look at Jungkook, and as if on cue, Jungkook gives my hand another nervous squeeze. Despite how tight it was, I beared through it, knowing that this story must mean something to him too. Unsure of how to feel, I gave Jungkook a gentle squeeze back, letting him know that everything's okay, even if it might not be.

"When I introduced him to Jimin and Jungkook, he and Jimin hit it off right away. They became such good friends so quickly, however Jungkook-"

"I never trusted him." Jungkook interrupted, his voice surprisingly firm. He kept his gaze trained on Hoseok, as if he was trying to convince him of something. "I could see it too, hyung. How he was changing... I just didn't want to get involved."

Jungkook turns to look at me, his round eyes encapturing me. "I tried to warn Jimin, and you too, Hoseok hyung. Jimin just wouldn't listen..." A look of solemn understanding reflects in Hoseok's eyes, and he turns his gaze to the ground.

"Before long, Yoongi transformed into someone I didn't recognize. He swore all the time, became rude and physical... Nothing like the childhood friend I once had. I saw this, and became much more cautious, but Jimin... He wanted to believe in his friend. That's exactly what he shouldn't have done." Jhope places his hand on his neck nervously, seeming as if he was struggling to find words. My body trembles with anticipation, anxious to finally understand why things are they way they are now.

"Eventually, Suga got caught up in things he shouldn't have. Drugs, gangs... All of that type of stuff. Even then, Jimin believed in him. He couldn't bring himself to leave a friend behind, that is until that day." Jungkook's grip around my hand tightens once again, Hoseok's voice unbelievably somber. I can't help but want to know, but now I'm not so sure anymore if knowing is a good thing. Should I really be listening to this?