Beastly Beauty ✓

05. The House

I stared at the men before me, suspicion slithering up my body like a viper ready to sink its fangs into my flesh, injecting the venom of fear into my bloodstream.

Calm down, Jangmi. It could be anyone. There's no reason to assume it's one of them, I reasoned.

It was new for me to feel so afraid. Sure, I had the typical nerves that came with getting on stage for a performance, as well as the expected stress of attending such a prestigious and competitive school, but never had I experienced such a worry for my own safety.

The men before me were friends with Jimin. They were presumably close to him, which only made me more cautious. The writer had spoken as if they knew me, or at least knew of me. It was likely that Jimin had talked about me to them before—he had a knack for oversharing. It was possible that the writer might've learned about me through Jimin, or if they already knew me previously, perhaps they befriended Jimin strategically knowing that I would eventually show up and stick to his side.

Jimin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Who's he?" His arm tightened around my shoulders, discreetly bringing me closer to him as his sights locked onto the obsidian-haired male named Taehyung.

"I invited him. We used to go to high school together. He just transferred here," the one named Yoongi said.

I glanced back at Jimin's face, noticing how wary his expression was.

"If you'd rather not have me here, I can leave. Just say the word." Taehyung's eyes were full of challenge as they set on Jimin's.

"No, it's fine. I was just surprised to see a new face, that's all," Jimin replied, fingers grazing over my shoulder comfortingly.

I cleared my throat, preparing to speak. All eyes were on me before I even began. "What do you guys normally do when you come here? Why go through all the trouble of getting into this place when you could hang out anywhere?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Jungkook raised a brow, his lips tilting up in one corner to reveal his bright teeth. "You were excited to sneak in here, it was all over your face."

"Okay, maybe it was a little exciting, but why come in from the sky loft? Aren't there other entrances?"

"Every other door has been boarded up to keep people out of here. The door you came in from is the only spot that's still accessible," Seokjin explained.

I glanced at him, immediately feeling the strength of his gaze as our eyes made contact.

He continued, "They decided it was a safety hazard so they wanted to keep students away, but supposedly they still plan to restore it one day. That's probably why they keep one area easier to access."

"If they're so worried about students getting in here, wouldn't they be sure to keep that one door locked?" I questioned.

"They do keep it locked," the man with lavender hair said. Namjoon, I think.