[ ok, so, when wattpad was going through it's fuck up period, it told me this chapter never published. yet, apparently, it published a total of twice with 3 half-written drafts. some people read this, some read the other, and i can't bring myself to unpublish this one and lose the comments that are here. so! this is the same chapter as the other '6 days since game night', just republished as a duplicate because i wanted to respond to the comments on this one too. skip this if you've already read it! ]
[ we're back, bitches ]
Namjoon had never, in all 21 years of his life, been a part of a situation or scenario as breathtakingly uncomfortable as the one he found himself in on the way to Yoongi's apartment block. A shivering, whimpering mess of a boy by the name of Park Jimin was clung desperately to his right arm, red hot tears soaking his already damp jacket and creating patches of wetness that felt only the slightest bit (see: extremely) disgusting against his skin, whilst a far too positive Hoseok was singing loudly to mask the sound of Jimin's sadness.
Something soft was playing on the radio, a woman's voice, soothing and melodic, but Namjoon couldn't quite make it out. His mind was racing, thoughts going at ten to the dozen to try and make sense of what had been happening recently, but he was shaken out of it when the car came to a halt and a cold gust of wind slapped him in the face.
"We're here, Joon. You wanna pass Jimin over to me?" the redhead spoke, his voice almost mimicking that of the lady on the radio with its dulcet tones. His eyes were bloodshot, red-rimmed likely from the crying he too had done earlier on in the day, cheeks puffy with obvious tear tracks down them, but Namjoon didn't feel it was his place to say anything.
Hesitantly, he pried Jimin off of his arm, wrapping his fingers gently around the younger boy's wrist to guide him up and out towards Hoseok. He was a dead weight and moved with little to no effort; a worrying sign instantly. "Jimin, I need you to listen to me for a minute, okay?" he whispered, voice low as to not startle the fragile boy. "We need to go and see Yoongi, and I think it's best if you co—"
"No!" the pinkette shouted, his head snapping up to meet Namjoon's worried gaze. "No, I refuse to speak to that piece of shit. You guys go ahead, I'll wait in the car." Jimin yanked his wrist out of Namjoon's grip, tugging his hand back to hold it protectively against his ribcage. "I'll lock the doors, I promise."
Noticing the furrow of Jimin's brow and the intense look of pleading in his eyes, Hoseok and Namjoon came to the decision that it probably was best to speak to Yoongi sans the heartbroken male. After all, would it really benefit him to be hurt again?
"Okay," Hoseok mumbled, eyes focused on Namjoon's half-lidded eyes. "Okay. Stay here, keep the keys, and do not get out the car. You know this area's notorious for muggings, and you aren't exactly in the strongest form to fight against anyone." The unspoken words "or even look after yourself" hung in the air, but nobody dared to voice them. With a brisk action towards Jimin, Hoseok handed him the car keys; a large set of multiple coloured and themed keychains to add to the weight. "We'll be 30 minutes maximum. Any longer and you make sure to call up, just in case we lose track of time."
Jimin nodded, his eyes still a little bleary from the unshed tears in them, but glanced up to Hoseok and gave a small smile. "Thank you." He turned to Namjoon, "you too, hyung. Don't get into an argument with him, please. It's my battle to fight."
Hoseok's lips quirked up in a limp, reassuring grin, and Namjoon finally stepped away from the car, closing the door behind him gently and zipping his jacket up to the top. It was slightly tight against his neck, but better that than freeze. Namjoon couldn't promise Jimin that an argument wouldn't ensue, so he felt it was easier to just not answer his pleas in the event that he broke his word for any reason.
