The disaster

I was in a daze. This envelope in my hand…this tiny piece of paper- could be the answer to all my questions, the cure to my sickness, and the relief to my pain. What this envelope carried in its belly could be a new beginning or a deep, dark end which I could never be brought back from. I wanted to rip it open, the temptation was so bad like a lollipop in front of a child only much, much worse. Yet something was holding me back, telling me it was not the time or place. If I had to open it here, all hell would break loose. I knew I would make a fool of myself, maybe in anger or tears. So I did what was best for everyone—I kept it in my bag with trembling fingers and looked up at Sejin.

"You're not going to open it?"

"Not yet, hold on…" I said steeling myself. "How did you find this out so soon?"

"I knew it all along, darling"

"What? Then why didn't you tell me? Why tell me now?"

"All will be answered in good time. I have to go now, sorry" he said checking his phone and dashing away.

"Wait, no come back…Sejin, I need to know"

But he was already gone.

When I got a hold of myself I ran towards the ladies room and splashed water on my face a couple of times. I had to be strong. I had to face the others. Just for a while until I got back to my room. With that self-encouraging talk, I walked back to the others. I didn't realize when Taehyung was calling my name so it surprised me when he walked up to me and flicked my forehead.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"I've been calling you for ages"

"Oh sorry, I'm just a bit out of it"

"Clearly"

Before I could say something in return "slumpy" Yoongi called him over. So I just left it at that and instead focused on the dangerous bomb in my bag, I kept repeating only one sentence in my mind "When I get home" over and over again. It worked.

The drive home was quiet—for me anyway. I hadn't talked much to Taehyung or the others. As soon as we reached I bolted to my room, but before I could reach someone grabbed my arm. Unsurprisingly, it was Taehyung.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room"

I was about to rush in but he stopped me again. I sighed.

"What do you want?"

"What's wrong, you've been acting all weird ever since the performance ended."

"Nothing, I just have some mail that I really want to look at"

He looked at me skeptically but then sighed.

"Okay, see you later"

I walked into my room and closed the door. I took out the envelope from my bag and tore it open. I quickly unfolded the strip of paper, it said "Ronald and Laura Rodriguez". Who were these people? Why did their names sound so familiar? The questions spun around in my head in different directions. I quickly took out my phone and searched them up.

The results were bewildering. Apparently, my parents shared a company with Ronald and Laura Rodriguez and to my utmost surprise…wait for it Sejin. He fit in perfectly- he knew who I was, who my parents were and took care of me secretly since I was a child. It was only obvious he would know who killed my parents. Then why did he wait this long? Why did he bother to find me all these years later?

Among all these questions I knew I had only one goal, to find out who these people were and destroy them. According to the articles I found online, the couple had a sole successor to their estate, a Lauren Rodriguez. What? No no, it couldn't be the Lauren I knew. Just because they shared the same surname didn't mean it was the same girl. Then one look at their family picture threw me off. It was her; it was Lauren in full flesh.

I crumpled to the ground in a heap, dazed and distorted. The one I trusted the most, I cared about the most, was probably plotting against me for a decade. Their plan was obvious; the heir is getting famous so get close to the girl, get rid of her before she finds out anything about her parents and problem solved.

I cackled out something between a laugh and a sigh. This day just keeps getting better and better. Suddenly the door opened and Taehyung walked in.

"Hey, we're having dinner come joi—what happened?"

"N-nothing"

He stepped closer to me. I looked up at him, my eyes full of tears.

"Nicole, what's wrong? Are you okay?" His concerned voice broke my heart. I couldn't hold it in anymore, the floodgates burst open.

In one quick movement, he leaned out the door, yelled something out, came back in, locked the door and took me into his arms. The comforting smell of brownies wrapped around me like a shield. He rubbed my back and whispered soothing things into my ear. I fell asleep in his arms, sobbing my heart out.

I woke up the next morning… on the floor, and I couldn't move. I looked up and saw Taehyung's face. Were we here all night? I wriggled out of his grasp, but I was unsuccessful and he woke up.

"Sorry" He stood up and helped me to the bed. The events of last night came crashing down at me like a high-speed roller coaster and I gasped. Just then Namjoon walked in holding something in his hand. He stared at me with a frown.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do" He lifted the newspaper with my name all over it.