Yoongi's house was just down the road from where the party was. Even as he pulled into his driveway, he could still hear the music from his rolled-down windows and the party house was still in sight. The only reason Yoongi drove down the street was that he was too lazy to walk there, and it was sprinkling right before he left his own house. But now, as he steps out of his car, the concrete he's standing on is wet, but the sky now free of rain.

  "Yoongi," a voice came from the darkness, towards the steps of his house. He recognized the voice right away, already knowing that Seokjin would be at his door or possibly already inside the house when he drove back. Yoongi could see him stand up from the steps with a concerned look on his face.

  "I'm fine, hyung."

  "You have blood on your shirt."

  "It's for decoration—"

  "Yoongi," Seokjin said with a stern voice as he walked forward. "You need to get cleaned up. If you want me to stay here tonight, I can."

  The younger shook his head. "I want to sleep, hyung," he said. He stepped by Seokjin and walked up the steps to his door, thanking everything that his parents weren't home for the weekend. "Go home." He smiled reassuringly at Seokjin. "I'll be okay."

  With a worried look, Seokjin slowly turned away, telling Yoongi to stay safe and to sleep well. Turns out, it was okay. Yoongi fell asleep with a wet towel on his neck like a scarf, and he swallowed painkillers right before doing so. But then the next morning came.

  Yoongi panicked the next morning.

  All of the events from last night hit him like a truck. It felt like a dream at first, but the pain and headache he had was real. He went to the bathroom to wash up and freshen what hell of a mess he was. He frowned at his blood-stained shirt as he took it off to take a shower.

  He stood under the water and slowly took in the memories from last night. Puking onto the wet grass next to the house, being gripped by some stranger, a sharp knife digging into his skin, blood dripping as the two men in front of him started going WWE on each other. And then Kim Taehyung.

  Now that Yoongi thinks about it, how the hell did that skinny boy succeed in attacking someone who had a knife, and not come out terribly injured? He's the one who threw the serial killer into the house, and he's the one who shoved the serial killer into the ground— all like an action movie. But how? Taehyung has no muscle at all. He doesn't look like he could even hurt a fly.

  Kim Taehyung is one of the most mysterious students in Yoongi's school. He had moved to Yoongi's school not too long ago, as did a bunch of other people. It could've been maybe two or three years ago when Brighton High School once had a massive intake of new students. Then again, the school had built more over the summer. More classes, extra room, even their own library and a little cafe attached to the side of it.

  Yoongi wouldn't have even had friends if it weren't for the new students. His best friend had moved away a few months before school started, so when Yoongi went to the new library and met Namjoon and Seokjin, he was very lucky to have done so. They introduced him to Hoseok and a few other friends of theirs— weird how they had friends, being new students, and Yoongi had none at all.

  Can't say that anymore.

  But at least Yoongi's friends weren't so mysterious. Kim Taehyung and his friends are too mysterious. They won't talk to anybody but their own little group. As far as Yoongi could tell, Taehyung mostly hangs out with Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook, sometimes a few other people as well. They give aggressive stares, they're quiet, they act like they're all in one big gang or something. They never leave each other's side. It's weird.

  Then again, all friend groups like to stick together. Yoongi can't blame them.

  For some reason though, that group is just unusual as hell. Something about them just makes you feel strange towards them. Judging by how fearless Taehyung is, Yoongi thinks that the evil stares they give everyone are valid. No way in hell will Yoongi mess with someone who would fight a killer, and win.

 
  But then Yoongi saw him.

  That evening, Yoongi went out to buy himself something to eat and there sat Taehyung, far back inside of the booth inside the restaurant, staring up at Yoongi already. Yoongi looked from the menu to Taehyung, deciding whether he should go and try to talk to him. He was sitting alone, which is odd. Yoongi had never seen him without his friends. Not until last night. And now that Yoongi thinks about it, he can't even remember Taehyung being at the party.

  Taehyung's face was blank, eyes dark as ever. It was like he was waiting for Yoongi to come and say something to him, eyeing him.

  Yoongi was about to step in that direction, but a firm hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey." Hoseok's voice sounded forced as he pulled Yoongi back into the line that he was about to leave. Yoongi could see Taehyung avert his eyes, and so did he, looking up at Hoseok in confusion. "You ordering or what?"

  He frowned as he looked back up at the menu once again. "Yeah," he said. "Ramen."

  Hoseok nodded. "Good choice," he murmured as he stared at the menu as well. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened last night." His voice was sincere and his eyes worried as he looked at the marks on Yoongi's head and neck. "I wouldn't have asked you to come to the party if I had known," he told Yoongi.

  Unbothered now, Yoongi shrugged. "At least I'm alive." He smiled at his friend.

  Hoseok shook his head in disbelief. "You nearly died and you don't even care?"

  "Guess so," Yoongi laughed.

 
-

  During school on Monday, Yoongi tried his best to just focus on his test. He studied in his usual spot in the library, skipping breakfast in the cafeteria and instead munching on a banana and coffee to fill him up. His usual spot in the library is in the very corner, a stool, facing the window that Yoongi always finds himself peeking out of from time to time.

The window shows a clear view of sidewalks and a part of the new building that his school had built. His spot in the library gives him a place to sit, relax, and study.

  After school was over, he took off straight to the library. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and eyes on the sidewalk as he walked, hoping that nobody was going to question him or stop him, including Seokjin, who he had been trying to dodge questions from all day.

  He was close to the library, but his hopes were shattered when an arm was suddenly thrown around him. Instead of continuing his path, he stopped in his tracks when he realized that the pair of shoes he saw was not any of his friends'. His eyes shot up to the person, widening as he saw such an angelic face so close to his.

  Park Jimin.

  "Where ya headed?" Jimin asked.

  Yoongi stepped back, making Jimin's arm fall from him. "Huh?" He kept his hands in his jacket pocket, pressing deeper in fear of a new face suddenly coming up to him. Why is Park Jimin even touching him? Why is he asking Yoongi where he's going?

  Jimin stopped as well, his eyes trailing Yoongi. "So crazy how you don't pay attention to your surroundings." He shook his head. "What if I was a murderer?" The world seemed to stop at that sentence, but Jimin merely smirked and walked away, not caring about Yoongi's expression. Murderer?

  He shivered.

  What the fuck does that mean?

  Yoongi stepped backward, not even caring about going to the library anymore. What Jimin just said freaked him out a little too much for his liking. So he turned around to go to his car, but he ran into someone. He instantly threw his hands up, thinking about what Jimin said about not paying attention. He pushed the person, achieving nothing. The person stood still in front of him, suddenly reaching for Yoongi's wrists.

  "Woah," the person said.

  Yoongi looked up, mind bursting with humiliation and confusion when he saw Kim Taehyung looking down at him. He had tried to push Taehyung away, but now Taehyung was just standing in front of him, holding his wrists with an offended look on his face.

  "Your friend is a killer."

  Taehyung chuckled, the first time Yoongi had ever heard any sort of amusement from him. "I don't know what Jimin just said to you," Taehyung said as he let go of Yoongi. "But you should really watch where you're going," he said, almost confirming that he and Jimin have some sort of telepathic friend connection. Yoongi can watch his back, why do they think he can't? He's not a child.

  "Your friend shouldn't be saying anything to me at all, anyway," he huffed out. "Both of you. I'm fine. But you? You got slammed into a tree. How the hell are you fine?" Yoongi looked up at Taehyung, who looked completely unfazed by what happened over the weekend. "It was you, right?" Yoongi asked.

  Taehyung shrugged. "I don't know what you're saying, dude," he admitted.

  "You—" Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember the party. He tried to remember Taehyung's face. To remember the fight and the aftermath of it all. The way Yoongi saw Taehyung at that restaurant, the way he was looking at Yoongi. It must be him. "It was— hey!" He grunted as Taehyung pushed him to the side, ignoring him.

  Yoongi reached for Taehyung as he began to walk away, his arms not quite long enough to catch the fast boy. He instead watched as Taehyung walked away, his back facing Yoongi. He watched as Taehyung fixed the back of his hair, his fingers tightly scrunching at the long black curly locks.

Rude boy. Who just walks away during a conversation? Assholes. Assholes and guilty people. Yoongi knows who he saw that night.

  It was Kim Taehyung.

~