yellow; yoonmin

chapter three

everything reminds me of you nowadays. the soft breeze that moves the leaves on the trees ever so gently, the warmth of the sun, the unknown happiness on stranger's faces. they all remind me of you.

yoongi was an hour late to his first class, which was an hour earlier than he usually was. it wasn't new to him. he had stopped caring for a while now about his grades. his hopelessness and him being a family disappointment worried him more.

as he staggered out of the building half asleep, someone clapped him on the back, frightening him. dark brown hair, matching eyes, and a bunny toothed grin came into view.

"jungkook, i have no idea how many times i've told you this, but you need to stop," yoongi grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "my heart is already failing me because of you. you're trying to kill me, huh?"

the younger boy huffed, shouldering the strap of his backpack. "you're such a grandfather, yoongi hyung. i can't even touch you anymore."

"yes, please don't touch me."

"you're no fun." jungkook pouted, but got over it. "anyways, where are you heading? do i get to hear another masterpiece in the making?"

yoongi sighed. "i wish, kid. you caught me in the middle of a writer's block. and either way, i never keep my songs. i have to sell them."

"hyung, we've had this talk before!" jungkook exclaimed. "you can write such amazing music, but it only really has an affect when you play! other people... they just don't have that touch on the piano."

"i'm not playing you a song, jungkook," yoongi groaned as he walked down the steps. "and i'm not keeping any of the songs i write. there's just no point in doing so."

"you're so stubborn!" jungkook bounced down the stairs. although his happy appearance, his voice was scolding and disapproving. "what do you mean there's no point? before all of this, you wrote and played your own songs with so much ease. why all of a sudden are you dooming yourself?"

yoongi whirled around to face the kid. instinctively, jungkook took a step back and winced, his eyes closed tightly as if expecting the worst. he then realized what he did and collected himself.

yoongi hesitated. "jungkook.." he began. "what was that?"

"n-nothing hyung. it was... nothing at all. i promise."

"i don't believe you."

jungkook just shook his head and smiled as if nothing had happened, but yoongi could tell that the younger was repressing something. it was in his eyes: the fear of betrayal, the fear of making a single mistake and having it cause him the world.

yoongi tried again. "kookie, your parents-"

jungkook stiffened at the mention of them. it was slight, but yoongi definitely noticed. "what's going on at home, jungkook?"

"i said it's nothing, hyung." jungkook didn't want to yell, but his patience was waning. he didn't want to talk about it any more than yoongi wanted to talk about jimin.

"i know you don't mean nothing. you wouldn't do that if nothing was going on," yoongi replied matter of factly. jungkook tried to walk away, but yoongi grabbed his wrist. The younger boy winced, trying to pull back, but before he could, yoongi rolled up the sleeves of his jacket.

purple bruises covered jungkook's arms, as well as red cuts. they seemed fresh. the angry red color looked back at yoongi, and for a brief moment, he was reminded of the grave he had just visited.

"explain, jungkook," yoongi stated. he tried to be gentle, but the frustration gnawed at him from inside out. he didn't want jungkook to have to hide these kind of things from him.

jungkook looked defeated. "it's-"

"don't you dare say that this is nothing, jeon jungkook."

"it's better if you don't get involved, yoongi!"

those words made yoongi stop in his tracks. better if you don't get involved. that sounded too similar to what jimin had told yoongi only a few weeks before his death.

"it's just..." jungkook gently pulled away from yoongi's grip. "too complicated right now. i'll tell you when i know it's safe to."

yoongi shook his head. "kookie, you can't keep living this way. i don't want this for you! and you can't keep me guessing like this! it's not healthy for me or you to both be worrying like this about each other!"

"i know hyung. i know."

"when? when did this all happen?"

jungkook remained silent. he rubbed his arm softly as if just now feeling the pain behind the marks. or maybe he was reliving them.

"jungkook!"

"please stop it!" he shouted, turning away from yoongi. "look... there's just somethings i can't talk about. there are limits to the things people can talk about. i know you know all about that."

the words hit yoongi like a slap in the face. they were true, but he didn't want to believe them.

jungkook realized what he had said. "yoongi, i didn't mean it that way-"

"no, you're right." yoongi wasn't mad. in reality, he was glad jungkook had decided to point it out to him. "i don't want to talk about jimin. and you don't want to talk about your parents. so i'll respect that, but we need to get you patched up, despite you not wanting to tell me anything." the words still stung yoongi like salt in an open wound, but he didn't say anything.

jungkook shyly nodded, tugging on the ends of his shirt sleeves. "i'll allow it, but nowhere public. i don't want questions."

"right, okay." yoongi shook his head. "you kids are going to give me a heart attack one day, i swear it's gonna happen soon."

jungkook laughed. in the early morning, this soon after class, right after this kind of news was revealed, the kid had the nerve to laugh. it almost made yoongi want to smile.

the two boys walked off to yoongi's apartment, if it even could be called that. it was only a five minute walk away from the university, but the more the two walked, the more concerned yoongi grew. how long had jungkook been hiding this from him? all of his couldn't have happened recently, because those bruises and scars were too many to count. he wanted to slap jungkook upside the head for not asking advice or help of any sort, but he knew that pushing him wouldn't help the situation. yoongi had already escalated it enough.

yoongi unlocked the door to his dorm and allowed jungkook inside, closing the door behind him. he motioned the younger boy to sit on the ratty couch. while yoongi searched for his first aid kit, jungkook put his legs up on the table. "you know," he said, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. "this isn't so bad."

yoongi rolled his eyes. "you only say that because you don't live here, punk. trust me, it gets worse when you have to use the restroom."

jungkook cringed. "okay, i'll take your word for it."

yoongi settled next to jungkook with the small first aid kit in his hand. he took out a small bottle of solvent and some bandages and was ready to begin when he realized something.

"so, not to be gay or anything, but i kinda need you to take you shirt off."

jungkook looked at yoongi for the briefest second. 

"on my way," he said, almost ripping his shirt off.

"you're disgusting."
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a/n: hehehe hi