8 NO

It's the last day of her life.

It's almost ten in the evening. The sky has already turned dark and the cemetery had become more sinister than ever before. A black van parked next to a red sedan, its door slowly opened as a leg with a band-aid on the knee stepped out.

"Wait, Bae Jihyun-sshi!" The figure stopped and turned her back when she heard her name. "V wants you to have this," he said to her and handed Jihyun an envelope.

The man had a huge build but his aura was really gentle like a boy-next-door. It's no wonder why he's one of the most respectable Managers of BTS—Lee Sejin. Even this manager has its own fan base too, Army just couldn't get enough of his fluffy appearance.

When Bae Jihyun saw him smile, she inevitably smiled back but her eyes still looked at the envelope with suspicion. "What is it?"

"Uhh," he laughed, scratching his head in embarrassment. "V's pictures with his signature on the back."

'I don't need it!' But looking at the way Manager Sejin begs with his adorable puppy eyes, Bae Jihyun couldn't help but facepalm. 'Did Kim Taehyung told him to use aegyo on her?'

"I really don't need it," she coughed but still grabbed the envelope and shove it in the back pocket of her shorts, albeit carelessly as if it was trash.

Manager Sejin shook his head helplessly, "Please take care on your way back."

"Thank you, you too."

The man nodded and started the car once again but just as he drives away in the distance, he looked at Bae Jihyun once again with a sparkle on his eyes. 'So this is the woman Taehyung hugged desperately in the parking lot! Am I gonna call her sister-in-law in the future?'

He chuckled, remembering how foolish Kim Taehyung looked when he grabbed his own pictures and signed it without the 'fan' even asking for it. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Aa-y-yes." Bae Jihyun stuttered, watching the black van driving away until it disappeared into the road.

After a minute, she stood there dumbfounded and blurted out "Hey, I will NOT see any of you tomorrow!" 'What in the world is he saying?'

Bae Jihyun head throbbed in pain. She massaged it for a while before stepping in her car to rummaged in her backpack and popped something in her mouth. After taking a mouthful a drink, Jihyun grabbed her phone with a dark expression as if she was ready for war.

The second she turned it on, the screen flashed and rang out continuously throughout the quiet and eerie cemetery. As expected, Bae Jihyun saw messages after messages, that made her already dizzy head feel as if the world was spinning.

And thus, judgment day has come.

The screen turned darker than the night and it felt as if her life did too.

The song, Singularity, was once again heard but this time, Bae Jihyun is much more terrified than ever before.

♪ A sound of something breaking ♪

'YEAH! IT'S THE SOUND OF MY BONES BREAKING, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!'

"...."

"Did you come here to relax?"

A snap was heard as Bae Jihyun's Auntie Kang Seulgi removed her gloves, sounding like a whip hitting her body. Jihyun couldn't help but flinch especially when a piercing glare shot right through her.

"Or did you come here to kill yourself?"

"I-" She stuttered, sitting up from the bed while lowering the hem of her shirt to cover up her body. "I'm fine, Imo. Nothing happened."

Her Auntie rolled her eyes and began to quickly write something on her pad. "Since when did you become the boss here?" After signing at the bottom of the paper, Seulgi ripped the note and handed it to her. "You know what to do and what not to do, Jihyun-ah."

"Don't make your Appa worry."

Bae Jihyun nodded. "Yes, Imo, I know."

"Okay, don't be late tomorrow." Kang Seulgi squinted her eyes. "I mean it. He almost called the whole Swat Team on you."

'Heol.' Jihyun trembled, clutching the piece of paper into a ball before walking towards the door. "I won't." Thinking of her Dad waiting for her outside, Bae Jihyun paused and turned her head once again. "Uhm.."

"What?" Her Auntie didn't look at her, she was busy typing on her computer. "If you're asking for a way out, I can't help you."

"No, I-" She hadn't even said anything and yet Kang Seulgi already knows what was on her mind. Bae Jihyun felt helpless. "It's nothing. I'm going home."

A storm greeted Bae Jihyun the second she got out of the room. Her Dad, Bae Soobin, was wearing a darkened expression as he stood up and walk towards her. He was already 50 but because he takes care of his health and regularly exercises, her Dad looks much younger.

At this time, he looks overbearing and cold as he takes the pad off Bae Jihyun's hand and asked "So?"

"I'm fine..." Bae Jihyun reassured in a soft voice. "Appa, don't worry too much."

"Who should I worry about if not my own daughter?" He took off and she meekly followed behind with her hands clasped, feeling wronged.

Jihyun didn't dare say anything as she watches her Dad complete all the procedures. Even as they get in the car, silence still engulfs the two. It was awkward and suffocating.

It wasn't until they got home that her Dad finally appeased and asked: "You said you met that brat, Taehyung?"

"Yes." Bae Jihyun nodded, feeling relieved that they finally have a conversation. "He went to visit Halmeoni too."

Bae Soobin poured two glasses of water for him and Jihyun to drink while frowning. "Isn't he really famous now?"

He remembers how his granddaughter watches videos of this... BTS group, every day and night. Whether Bae Soobin likes it or now, he knows who they are and what kind of music they sing and dance.

Didn't his two precious princesses go to an event this morning to see them too?

"Don't stick to him too much." He warned Jihyun. "Celebrities are always followed by scandals. I don't want you to get involved with the media and get bashed by their fans."

Bae Jihyun opened her lips to protect Kim Taehyung but she didn't know what to say. It was true that the entertainment world is a cruel place.

"He also dared to take you to a hotel late at night. It doesn't matter if you had someone else there too but aren't they all men? What in the world was he thinking? Can he not wait until tomorrow for your reunion? Are they so arrogant now that they think they can do anything just because they're famous? Do they not care about what would happen to you? Why is he so selfish? Or what, does that brat still like you?"

Bae Jihyun bit her lips and felt her heart ache as she listens to her own Dad criticizing BTS. She was so upset that she didn't think too much of what he meant by his last question. "Appa, they're not like that."

Every single one of them was warm and gentle. Even if it was the first time for Bae Jihyun to speak to the other members in real life, she has followed their steps since debut to know that they are not a bad person.... but of course, her Dad didn't believe her.

After recalling something from the past, her Dad turned even more sinister and added: "Wasn't he at fault to why that happened to you too?"

"Appa!" Bae Jihyun paled and couldn't help but shout.

"What?" He shot her a glare.

Jihyun choked, her tears were threatening to come out of her eyes because of grievance. "Stop blaming him! Taehyung-oppa had been taking care of me and protecting me since we were young! He was the one who stayed by my side whenever you-!"

"Jihyun-a!" Her Dad went livid and cut off her words.

He slammed his drink on the counter, spilling all the contents all over the floor. "How dare you raise your voice at your own Father!" He growled, his tone lowered and pierced at her in anger.

Jihyun flinched at his terrifying expression. Her own glass of water she was holding dropped on the floor in shocked, crashing to the floor and breaking into tiny fragments...

... and so did her fragile heart.