insanity.

Chapter 18

"I'm sorry, you wanna run that by me again?"

I pursed my lips as I clasped my hands together in my lap. I had just finished telling Taehyung about Jungkook and he was very clearly not impressed.

"I know it sounds bad--"

"He followed you to America, Haeyoung," he cut me off, shaking his head. "He basically threatened you to stay with him, and you're telling me you don't see the problem here?"

"He was just scared to be alone, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," I lied through my teeth. I silently prayed he didn't pick up on it. "Besides, I missed him."

"Jimin misses me but you don't see him getting on a fucking plane to track me down," Taehyung snapped, getting up and walking towards the door. "I won't tell Namjoon, but the second I see any signs of him being the slightest bit controlling, I'm ratting you out."

With that, he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him as I flopped face down on the bed. I hoped Jungkook would return back to his normal self once he realized I wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't handle another Hoseok situation.

I heard my phone begin to ring and I glanced over to see it was the group chat I was in with Riley, Areum, and Sejin. I quickly answered.

"Wow, there she is, Miss New York City herself!" Areum teased me and I rolled my eyes as the other girls laughed. "How is it? Is it anything like you dreamed it would be?"

"It's been amazing, besides the smell," I said, pulling at a loose thread on my pajama pants. "We'll have to come here together when we're older."

"Hey, what's bothering you?" Sejin immediately noticed my behavior and I bit down on my lip. "And don't say nothing. You know we've been friends for too long for you to even try to lie to me."

"It's...it's about Kookie," I mumbled, sighing heavily. "I think there's something seriously wrong with him."

"I could've told you that," Riley snickered, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm serious. I think I'm digging myself a hole I can't crawl back out of," I mumbled, looking around and feeling slightly paranoid. "He...followed me to America, begging for us to get back together. Yes, we were dating."

"I told you, Riley!" Areum said as Riley just rolled her eyes. "But. what do you mean he followed you to America? He's there?"

"He must've found out somehow that I was leaving Korea, and followed me here. Doesn't that sound...crazy?"

I was hesitant using the word "crazy" since I knew Jungkook hated that word.

"Girl, what is up with you and dating crazy people?"

"I think it's romantic," Riley sighed, and Sejin gagged in response. Areum just shook her head. I received a message from Jungkook at that exact moment and bit my lip.

Bunny Baby: come outside.

"Listen, I gotta go," I sighed, grabbing a jacket nearby and slipping on the closest pair of shoes. "I'll talk to you guys soon, okay?"

"Haeyoung, wa--" I hung up on them and opened the door to my room, seeing Namjoon and Jin cuddled up on the couch. Ava sat next to them, her arms crossed and her jaw clenched.

Jin looked over at me with a smile. "Headed out?"

"Yeah, I want to grab some more food so we don't have to eat out all the time," I lied smoothly, and Namjoon looked over at me. "Do you guys want anything?"

"Yeah," Namjoon mumbled, moving his arm from around Jin's waist. "I want your brother to go with you."

My heart dropped into my shoes, racking my brain for some excuse as to why Taehyung should not go with me. "Taehyung, go with your sister to the store."

Taehyung stepped out of his room, already dressed and I knew Namjoon had already planned on having him go with me. I just pursed my lips, silently moving towards the door.

Once we were outside, Taehyung cleared his throat. "To be clear, I didn't tell him about Kookie. He just doesn't like you going out by yourself. "

"Yeah, yeah," I brushed him off, looking around for Jungkook. "Just...don't tell him you know anything."

At that moment, Jungkook stepped out of one of the nearby alley's. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once he saw Taehyung. "I don't have anything against your brother, but I would prefer to talk to you alone."

"Well, unless you would rather have Namjoon out here, count your blessings," Taehyung snapped, and I elbowed his ribcage as Jungkook scoffed. "What? I never said I was going to be nice to him."

Jungkook slipped his arm around my waist without another word, and I could practically feel the anger rolling off of him like waves. We all silently walked down the street to the grocery store.

Once we got there, Taehyung sighed. "I'll grab the groceries. Which gives you two about 30-45 minutes to discuss whatever it is you need to talk about."

"Thank you, Tae, I swear I'll make it up to you," I mumbled as Jungkook silently led me away from the store. He still didn't say anything until we ducked into a nearby alley.

"I wanted you alone," he grumbled as my hands cupped his cheeks. I was trying to calm him down, unsure if it was even working. "Why did your brother even show up?"

"Namjoon wouldn't let me leave unless he came with me," I sighed, shaking my head. "Protective older brother things."

He just sighed, and I felt him relax as his hands found my waist. "I missed you though. Sorry, I'm a bit...on edge."

"Why, love?" I questioned, rubbing my thumb across his cheekbone. He closed his eyes for a moment, and neither of us spoke.

"Yoongi's here," he finally said, opening his eyes and meeting mine. "He thinks I'm...unstable. But, he's wrong. I'm okay now, because you're here. You don't think I'm unstable, do you?"

I hesitated, unsure of how to properly answer his question.

"I wouldn't say...unstable," I answered cautiously, studying his face. "But we both know you have your issues."

He just nodded in response, and I sighed. I was about to say something when someone cleared their throat. I looked towards the opening of the alley, and heard Jungkook groan.

"Thought I might find you here," the man said, stepping closer to us. As he came closer, I saw it was Yoongi. "Hello, Haeyoung. I'm sure you remember me."

"Why are you here, Yoongi?" Jungkook asked in irritation. Yoongi sighed and looked over at Jungkook, pulling out a plane ticket from his pocket.

"I'm here to bring your stupid ass back to Korea,"