Chapter 44 - Dere

Author's P.O.V:-

"Those were Geun Hye's folks, indeed." Hoseok twirled the chair around and sprawled himself onto it, "They must be suspecting us to be those ratchets who killed their boss."

"That's the freaking thing, how did they hunt us down?" Namjoon asked, "Since Yoongi was a witness of both the attacks done until now, tell us," He turned around to the male, "Did you get a hint?"

Yoongi was sitting pensively in his own seat in the corner, hands gathered down his chin to hold his face up, "I don't think they particularly wanted to do a harm or kill, rather just do a mere injury browbeating the defense off so that they can get us in the car, or, her." He looked up to face the rest of the members.

"Y/N." Added he.

"Y/N?" Jin reiterated, "But why would they want to abduct her? She is just a staff."

"It's so perplexing,' He said, "Before, in the first attack, it was her who they wanted to kidnap. Then in the next encounter, when those folks attacked us, I don't think they meant to nag me, I was the sidekick, and that, it was her who was the real target. If I hadn't held them back."

"They had attacked again?" Jungkook asked. He had just entered the living room, along with the rest of the maknae line. The three sat down at a corner of the couch.

Yoongi nodded, "Nearby. I was out for a small walk after rehearsal ended. Y/N had come thinking I had left something back. They ambushed on the street."

"What happened then?" Jimin asked. Yoongi shrugged, "I took care of it."

"What about Y/N?"

"She succeeded to get in a car and escaped."

Jin reminded back his previous words, "While you're saying she was the target?"

"Told ya. It's a mere notion."

"Maybe..." Hoseok tried to piece back some congenial equations, "She is our manager and...they thought it's safer to abduct a staff firsthand and use her to get info to ensure if it could be us? Because...the police would be more active to find us out, the company would know immediately if anything happened to us, but in case of Y/N, first off, she lives alone, and last off, one wouldn't immediately conjecture she was kidnapped if she stayed absent for one day at work. Does my statement sound reasonable enough?"

"Yours can be correct, or not. I was there too, alone, and they didn't seem to care much about me. It was only her."

"This is not getting us anywhere. We can't be so sure at the moment. But," Namjoon spoke, "Che Geun-Hye was the main head of the gang. With him dead, currently, the gang's now messed up, the members are acting like some temporary radicals, vulnerable to find out the killer of their boss because they have been demonetized. Either they will gather up with a new leader in no time or some other gang will vanquish and merge them in." He made a tsk, "I know these old, never-changed state of circumstances. These always happen when a gang loses their leader. You too, Yoongi."

"Yeah but Namjoon, we need to keep them checked until the in-no-time." Yoongi said sarcastically, "They have already attacked twice."

"Shall we tell him about this?" Jin asked, that resulted in a small yet noticeable pause by the other three.

"No,' Namjoon answered, 'We can't. It's better if we don't. We will take care of it."

"And let's just tell Y/N that those were some burglars who stroked that time, you handled it and the police came in time and arrested them. Happy ending."

---

: Hi.

The blue screen lit up. I sat up cross-legged on my bed and took the phone. Screen showing the name as Jimin had my eyebrows pulled together.

Y/N : Hi.

Jimin : Are you sleeping?

Y/N : Not yet.

It was left off on seen. Three minutes later, the phone flashed while singing out its ringtone.

"Hi." A solemn voice spoke from the other side, deep, and nourished. Compared to other times, it sounded so different than the real voice of Jimin on the phone. I almost couldn't recognize.

"Hello," I said back. There was no reply for some short seconds, I waited. Yet as nothing came, I added, "Jimin?"

There was a shifting sound from the other side, explaining that the person was present there, listening, doing anything but saying something back in the conversation.

"Was there anything you needed to say?" I asked, "It's late."

"Uhh..." The male finally spoke, taking millions of seconds, "Sorry for disturbing."

"Nah. It's fine."

"Umm, Yoongi hyung told me about the ambush the other day-"

"Ooh yeah-" I had almost forgotten about it, "Thank God the police had come the soonest I left. Is Yoongi okay?"

"Are you fine?" He asked back, "Did you get hurt anywhere?"

"No, I am okay in one piece."

"Don't worry much. Hyung is fine. Nothing happened to him."

"I was worried. He obliged me to get in a car and leave while he was alone in there fighting back-"

"He did right."

"No, what if something had happened to him-"

"Hyung is unflappable at situations. He knew what he was doing."

"It's good that things ended with no injury. I am not just getting a good feeling about these days. Things have been happening so much around lately, i-it's been...weird..."

"Did anything happen after that day?"

I halted. Inside my mind I evaluated its thoughts, justifying how much I should reveal myself to him. He was not someone to trust entirely.

"Y/N?"

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Nothing much, maybe I am just being paranoid or-"

"Tell me." His tone was getting stern.

I exhaled a silent sigh, but the male could hear it. Sounds of his breaths reverberated from the side, he waited for an answer.

"I-I think..I'm being followed. Someone...or some people."

A period of silence showered over. Jimin replied later, this time his voice so stiff, so fretful, he sounded almost like he was worried about me, "Did you see them?"

"Not quite."

"Can you then tell how they may look like?"

"Tall, bearded, this one guys had a scar on his cheek," I tried to brush it off, "maybe he was just a random guy, I am overthinking, it's been just too much stress lately."

"When are the times you felt like you're being followed?"

I quirked at it, vaguely replying, "Whenever I'm outside, heading for work, or going to a store, I don't know...Stop interrogating me now."

A deep sigh came from the other side, "Y/N."

"It's nothing. I'm alive and will be."

"Stay careful."

"I always am."

"Don't go outside alone. At least don't go anywhere too empty of people. And when you face something, the first thing you do is run. Save yourself."

"You're being so much of a parent, God, chill."

"I am not joking here." He scorned, "You don't know how dangerous these people are."

"And you know these people?" No reply came to that. I sighed, swiping back my hair, "Alright. Fine."

The conversation seemed to end, both of us should have said the goodnights already.

"Hello, Y/N?"

"I'm listening."

Holding the phone left and putting it on the loudspeaker, I laid back prone on my bed. There was nothing more I could bring up to talk further, but my finger wouldn't press the call cut off. Neither did he, from his side. I heard the rhythm of his breaths in the calmness, slow and periodic, an acapella mellifluous with perfect resonance. Never been a silence too ear-pleasing. I wanted the call to never end. It was him who first tarnished the silence.

"How are you?"

"...Maybe we should end the call now-"

"Stay for a minute, na?" He sounded like he was pouting, "We...haven't been talking a lot in a while."

I stopped, "...have we? I don't know actually. The only times I see you are when you are practicing. I don't see you in breaks, or anytime else. You have been practicing so much lately too a scary level. Stop and take a breath. I don't think you've been eating properly either. You've started to look unusual."

"Unusual? Do I? How so?"

"Thin to all angles and bones," I rolled back on the sheet, "Eat when God has given you food. And stop overworking yourself."

"Tsk."

"And you've been quieter. Did something happen? Are you okay?"

He went silent again, in a way to prove my statement or not.

"Jimin?"

Silent.

"You have been avoiding me lately. Am I right?" I asked, bold at questioning that. Times I found him checking a conversation, taking a route opposite, except only the other day at the practice room. It had me questioning, "Did I do something wrong?"

Silent, just silence. It started to seem like a simplex conversation. I thought he was disinterested to talk any further. Should've I ended it with a bye?

A shift from his side was heard. I was about to say something, his voice interluded the initial.

"You've been holding me a mess."

"Huh?" I was confused, waited if he would add something to that. He didn't.

"What did I do?" So I asked.

"Nothing." He was skilled to shutter the topic quickest like always. I knew, no matter how much I tried, he wouldn't speak up now, or later, or ever. There was no point in asking him back.

"It's getting later, go to sleep," He said, "And do you remember what I said? Next time if you sense something odd, run and save yourself. And text me instantly when you ever face an odd."

"Then what are you gonna do? Run from the other side of the world and come to me?" I grinned. He ignored me.

"Goodnight." He said.

"Y/N?" He asked. "Are you there?"

I could faintly hear him speaking. My eyes were fixed at my window, the curtains blowing. The porchlight was dimly lit, and with the help of that, I could see an unobtrusive silhouette standing behind the gate, possibly eying me the same way I did. He was of medium height, slender, almost resembled Jimin.

"Hellooo?" My phone was yelling at me lying on the bed. I picked it up.

"Jimin, you didn't have to prove your words when you said you would run from the other side of the world and come to me." I laughed lightly.

"Eh?"

"What? Isn't it you standing outside my house right now?"

"I am not?" He sounded confused, I rethought if he was speaking the truth and looked outside. The silhouette was gone.

"Y/N, is someone there before your house? Do you see someone?" He asked worriedly. The phone would give back anything but a reply of worded sound. He spoke again.

"Y/N?"

"Are you there?"

"Hello?"

"Do you hear me?"

"Y/N?"

At the sound of loud glass crashing in the background, inevitably, the male had flinched on the other side. The phone had shaken in his hand, he almost screamed the name.

"Y/N!"

A/N: I'm going to sit for the nationals in April, so studies and life have been hectic for me, a reason for this late and upcoming late updates. I hope you can understand. Thank you for reading the chapter though. I hope you liked it.