7

Yoon-Gi bit his lip to stop himself from crying. His back ached. His fingers trembled and he struggled to grasp the code for the front door. He entered and disappeared into the darkness of his apartment. He rested his hands against the wall, out of breath. He had always been beaten by Deputy Park instead of Hoseok and Jimin when they were children and then teenagers. In this man's eyes, poverty justified different treatment. Jimin and Hoseok were too noble-blooded for anyone to lay a hand on them. But what was Yoon-Gi? The son of an ordinary cook.

Yoon-Gi knew he would be murdered if Deputy Park learned he was romantically involved with one of his sons.

"Her" was his last hope. Deputy Park had to fall. It was the only way he could survive.

Jungkook was the only one who knew how Deputy Park had treated him. Early in Jungkook's career, he was still regularly beaten for Hoseok's mistakes. For this reason, he took out his phone and dialed his number. It was late, but he knew Jungkook would answer. Jungkook always had trouble sleeping.

"I've got a new song for you" he said when the singer picked up.

"What are the first lines?" Jungkook asked.

"I want to breathe, I hate this night

I want to wake up, I hate this dream

I'm trapped inside of myself and I'm dead

Don't wanna be lonely."

"What's the title?"

"Save me" Yoon-Gi replied.

"I'm on my way to find out the rest of the lyrics, which I think would be perfect for my next album."

Jungkook hung up. A tear of relief rolled down Yoon-Gi's cheek. Jungkook always acknowledged his calls for help. Jungkook's conversions were always listened to by a third party. Jungkook was so alienated that he had become a slave. He no longer had any rights. So they had to find another way to understand each other. He rested his forehead against the wall.

Jungkook was coming.

Without Jungkook, he would not have survived Jimin's absence. He was his closest friend, the one who could hear what Jimin could not bear to know.

Eventually, the door opened. He had no idea how long it had been since Jungkook had hung up. But here he was at last. Everything would be better.

"He did it again" he said.

"Who did what again?"

Yoon-Gi petrified at Jimin's voice. He turned around after a few seconds. Jimin moved closer to him. The front door opened again. Jungkook turned on the living room light, forcing them to face each other. He was holding a bag filled with first-aid supplies. The singer froze as he caught sight of Jimin. The three of them remained silent for a long time. Finally, Jimin took out his cell phone.

The person picked up.

"Taehyung" Jimin said. "You work at the same newspaper as "Her". Come to the address I'm going to send you right now. I want you to do everything in your power to make sure she knows what you're going to learn tonight."

He did not give his interlocutor time to reply and hung up.

"Take off your shirt and turn around" he ordered Yoon-Gi.

At his boyfriend's lack of reaction, he lost his temper.

"Take off that damn shirt!"

"I can't lift my arms" Yoon-Gi apologized.

"I'll get a pair of scissors" Jungkook Saïd while heading for the kitchen.

Jimin clenched his fists to keep his hands from shaking. He could see the blood staining the back of the T-shirt. There was a lot of blood. He watched Jungkook cut the fabric with a grin. The singer looked away for a moment when he saw Yoon-Gi's wounds.

"What did he use this time?" Jungkook asked.

"A belt."

Jungkook turned to Jimin.

"Hyung!" he called out. "Please go and get some tepid water."

Jimin could only obey, unable to think. When he brought the water back to Jungkook, Yoon-Gi was sitting on a stool. When Jimin saw his back, he almost let go of the water. The lacerations were deep and continued to bleed. Jungkook dipped a towel in the warm water and sponged the wounds as gently as possible.

"Hyung" Jungkook said. "Hold his hand, he needs you."

Jimin sat down in front of Yoon-Gi and took his hand. He entwined their fingers and laid his cheek on his thigh. He thought of dying with every groan of pain.

"I'll have to stitch it up" Jungkook said to Yoon-Gi. "Can you stand it?"

"It's not the first time, I'll do the best I can."

"You're... Can you really stitch?" Jimin asked the singer.

"I learned when I was in high school from a friend of my father, I wanted to be a doctor."

"So..." Jimin said, trying to forget the horror of the situation. "Why did you become a singer?"

"I had to pay off my father's debts. I'll start, Hyung."

Yoon-Gi gripped Jimin's fingers so tightly he could have broken them. The doorbell rang. Jimin couldn't leave Yoon-Gi, and Jungkook finally stood up. Jimin looked up as Taehyung arrived. It was when he saw the singer and the journalist side by side that he realized how tired Jungkook's face looked. He was exhausted. Taehyung must have noticed because he was holding him by the shoulder, a worried look on his face.

"I'll take over from here" Taehyung said as he watched Jungkook pick up the needle. "I learned in the army."

He put on gloves and took the needle Jungkook handed him.

"Old wounds have reopened, that's why it's bleeding so much. Whoever did this to you didn't go easy on you."

"Thanks for coming, Taehyung," Jimin whispered.

""Her" will know everything you tell me tonight. But in order not to endanger Min Yoon-Gi, I don't think she'll be able to publish anything immediately. But she'll find a way to use the information when the time comes."

"Do you know "Her" personally?" Yoon-Gi asked, trying to forget the pain.

"Yes" Taehyung replied simply. "The first wound is sutured. Two more to go. I admire your mental strength."

"How... how is she?" Yoon-Gi asked.

"I think "Her" is a man" Jungkook stated.

Taehyung froze for a moment.

"Hiding behind a female penname would be ideal to remain anonymous as a man."

Taehyung finished suturing Yoon-Gi's wounds in silence. Once he had been treated, Yoon-Gi headed for his room and fell onto his stomach. He sighed with relief. He was exhausted by what had happened. Jimin sat down beside him on the bed and invited Taehyung and Jungkook in. They sat down on the sofa against the wall.

"Who did this to him, Jungkook?" Jimin asked.

"I... I don't want you to hear it from anyone else," Yoon-Gi said.

Jimin looked at him in silence.

"It's your father, Jimin.

Jimin blanched but put his hand on his boyfriend's hair and stroked it gently to let him know he was all right.

"I'm ready to hear the whole truth" Jimin told him.

"Your father never beat you and Hoseok, even when you were getting into trouble. Instead, he beat me to let off steam. After you went abroad, he stopped. But today, our cont..."

He paused, relieved that Jimin couldn't see his expression.

"My name was leaked and that upset him" he continued. "When we came up with the idea of mentioning me in that interview with Jungkook, we didn't think he'd go so far... I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't want you to know."

Jimin cried silently. Taehyung had listened attentively, a somber look on his face. He was far from having all the elements in hand to bring down Deputy Park. He also did not know what his connection was with Jung Eun-Chae's death, or even how involved he was in Jungkook's future death.

"Sleep now" Jimin whispered to Yoon-Gi. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Taehyung, Jungkook, sleep here, we haven't finished talking about this."

They left the room. They sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"It's you, "Her"" Jungkook whispered.

Taehyung didn't reply.

"Don't give up on us... they'll kill us in the end."

It was the first time Jungkook had confirmed the seriousness of the situation.

"I'll save you" Taehyung promised.

Jungkook's head fell on his shoulder. He had finally succumbed to the fatigue that was slowly killing him. Taehyung finally closed his eyes too. He rested his cheek on the top of the singer's head and drifted off to sleep.

He was in the hotel room. All was black. Moonlight bathed the room through the gaps in the shutters. The double bed was unmade. There was a folded piece of paper on the bedspread. He couldn't touch it, and it killed him. He'd never know what it said, what they'd made Jungkook say in that final letter. On the bedside table, there was a clock radio showing the time and date.

2:11 am. May 14th, 2020.

He could hear the bathtub running in the bathroom. He rushed to the door. He entered. Jungkook was lying in the full tub. He was dressed. The water from the tap ran on and on, making the water overflow, the same water that had turned red, stained with blood, lots of blood. Jungkook was extremely pale.

Jungkook was dying in front of him.

Taehyung fell to his knees, out of breath. His heart ached.

Taehyung bent over him, tried to touch his face, but to no avail.

"I'm here, Jungkook..." he whispered, even though he knew he couldn't hear him.

"I... don't... want... to die..."

Tears flooded Taehyung's cheeks. The gleam in Jungkook's eyes disappeared and he died.

When Taehyung awoke, Jungkook was gone. Anguish compressed his chest and he jumped to his feet. Jungkook appeared in the living room, a glass of water in his hand. A tear of relief rolled down Taehyung's cheek. Jungkook was alive, yes, he was still alive

He went over to him and put his arms around him, squeezing with all his might. Jungkook dropped the glass of water to the floor in surprise.

"Hyung..."

"I'll save you" Taehyung whispered to him.

Jungkook remained motionless for a few moments before raising hesitant hands to Taehyung's back. His fingers clung to the young man's clothes.

"Yes, I beg you, save me... I... I don't want to die."