Chapter Three

“Kim Taehyung! Where have you been?!” Mrs. Park cried excitedly as she opened the door and let the boy in, pulling him into a tight bear hug.

“Hey Taehyung!” Jin called from the living room, not looking up from the book he was reading.

“Hi Mrs. Park, I missed you,” Taehyung said, pulling away from the hug and then waving at Jin. “Hey hyung!”

“Tae’s here?!” Jungkook cried, running down the stairs to face his friend. “Why didn’t you tell me you were on your way?”

“Sorry, Kookie,” Taehyung said with a small smile. “So, uh, what are we going to do?”

“I actually want to talk to you,” Jungkook said, dragging him up to his room. “You have some explanations to do.”

“Aish, I figured this was going to happen,” Taehyung said with a sigh. “You wanna know about mine and Jimin’s past, don’t you.”

“Obviously,” Jungkook replied, finally reaching his room and slamming and locking his door. “So start talking.”

“Erm... Well we grew up together,” Taehyung said, sitting down on Jungkook’s bed and looking at his hands. “We met in preschool and became really good friends. We did EVERYTHING together and we were always at each other’s houses like 24/7. No matter how hard anyone tried, we tried, no one could separate us. And Hoseok came along and we let him into our group with open arms. Hoseok was a great addition to our small group.”

“So then what happened?” Jungkook asked with a frown, crossing his arms and sitting down next to his friend.

“Well... Hoseok’s father started abusing him and Jimin started spending more time with him just to comfort him. Hoseok suddenly turned cold towards everyone but Jimin,” Taehyung said, trying not to cry. “Hoseok started hitting me and blaming me for things I didn’t do. I tried talking to Jimin but he took Hoseok’s side. He also started bullying me. Soon enough, the two got into the habit of bullying anyone and everyone they saw. They hated me even more because I tried to stop them from hurting people. It got so bad that I decided to back out, keeping myself hidden and not wanting to make anything worse. I stayed like that until you came along. I couldn’t stand seeing them hurt you.”

“So they’re like this because of Hoseok’s father?” Jungkook asked in confusion. “That’s... awful.”

“It makes me not want to fight with them and not want to be mad at them,” Taehyung said, shaking his head. “I just wished they let me help them. But they pushed me away.”

“Wow,” Jungkook whispered, just as there was a knock on the door.

“Open the door,” Jimin’s voice was heard on the other side.

“What does he want now?” Jungkook said with a sigh before getting up and walking to the door, opening it up for the boy and his friend.

“You have to come with us to the amusement park. Mom says so,” Jimin said, crossing his arms as Hoseok stared at Taehyung with an unreadable expression.

“Fine,” Jungkook said with a sigh, not being able to reject it after what Taehyung just told him.

“No funny business, Park Jimin,” Taehyung ordered as they walked out of Jungkook’s room.

“Whatever,” Jimin said, rolling his eyes and leading them out of the house.

They made their way to the amusement park, Jimin and Hoseok way ahead of them since they didn’t want to mix with the two younger ones. Jungkook and Taehyung kept quiet, not wanting to disturb the two in front of them. After their conversation, Jungkook wasn’t sure how to act in front of the other two. He felt bad for Hoseok, but he couldn’t understand why Hoseok acted this way. It was all so confusing.

“I need to use the restroom,” Jungkook said as soon as they made it to the amusement park while Jimin went up to buy their tickets.

“Alright, we’ll wait for you,” Taehyung said with a smile, letting his friend go and being stuck behind with Hoseok.

“Er... Can I tell you something?” Hoseok asked awkwardly after a long moment of silence.

“Uh, sure,” Taehyung muttered, slowly nodding his head.

“I- uh... I think that Jungkook kid is a really good kid,” Hoseok admitted. “I don’t like it when Jimin picks on him, but I don’t know what to do.”

“He is a good kid,” Taehyung said with a sigh. “Hyung, what happened to us? Why’d you suddenly start hating me?”

“It’s-”

“Alright guys,” Jimin said, walking over to them. “I have the tickets. Let’s go.”

“Jungkook’s not back yet,” Taehyung said, taking his and Jungkook’s ticket from Jimin.

“Where is he? I’m not waiting,” Jimin said, before walking away.

“Suit yourself then,” Hoseok said, his own ticket in hand.

“Yah! Jung Hoseok!” Jimin cried, turning on him.

“I’m not leaving without Jungkook,” Hoseok said, shaking his head. “It’s his first time here. He’s from a different country. He’ll get lost.”

“Then let him get lost,” Jimin said, shrugging his shoulders and walking away.

“Jerk,” Taehyung muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

“I don’t know why Jimin turned out like this.... Why I turned out like this,” Hoseok admitted. “Jungkook coming made me realize just how much of a jerk I’ve turned into. And I’m not proud of it, either. And I turned Jimin into a monster.”

“Then change,” Taehyung said, looking at him. “Go back to how you were before. I know things are hard for you. I understand that very well. But living this life isn’t good for you. You can move out, you know. Run away. We’ll gladly take you into our place. No matter how much of a jerk you were to me in the past, you were always my best friend. You know my brother, Nam Joon, loves having you around. Hyung, you know I miss you.”

“Tae, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for everything I did to you,” Hoseok said, shaking his head.

“Then forget and start anew,” a voice said as Jungkook popped up behind them.

“Jungkook-”

“If you want to be his friend again, then make it happen,” Jungkook said, smiling at them. “It’s not hard. You can make things happen that you want with YOUR own willpower. If you wanna move away from your house, then move away. Taehyung said he’ll take you in. And just maybe if you change, then Jimin will too.”

“I guess you’re right,” Hoseok said, nodding his head. “I shouldn’t continue living like this.”

“No you shouldn’t,” Jungkook said, shaking his head before looking around. “So where’s Jimin?”

“He already went in,” Taehyung said with a frown. “He didn’t want to wait for you.”

“Of course he didn’t,” Jungkook replied, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, let’s go in.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Taehyung asked him, frowning.

“I’ll be okay,” Jungkook said, nodding his head. “Let’s just have fun.”

Next thing he knew, Jungkook was sitting on a rollercoaster next to Jimin because the other two were too afraid to go on it. Jungkook was terrified of heights, but the others didn’t know that. He just wanted to go on it to have fun. However, being stuck on it with Jimin wasn’t really what he wanted. He sighed and buckled on his seatbelt, looking at Jimin who was doing the same thing. Jimin then brought down the safety bar and they waited for the ride to start.

In any other situation, Jungkook would have happily admitted that he was nervous. But saying that in front of Jimin didn’t sound like an idea he was fond of. So he just sat there quietly, biting his lips. He wished the others were there, cause he felt so damn awkward he couldn’t even handle it. He would feel a little better if the ride just started. He didn’t want to be stuck on this with Jimin longer than he should be.

The ride soon started, and it went smoothly. Yet at the highest point of the ride, probably the highest point of the whole park except for the Tower of Doom, the ride suddenly stopped. Jungkook suddenly started freaking out, not wanting to be stuck in a roller coaster all day long. He looked over at Jimin, who looked equally as scared.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience,” a voice said over the intercom. “The ride suddenly stopped for reasons we don’t know. Please bare with us while we fix it. It will be at least 30 minutes until we can get it started.”

“You guys are lucky we’re not f*****g hanging upside down!” Jimin shouted before cursing some more and turning to a very pale Jungkook. “Are you alright?”

“N-no,” Jungkook whispered, shaking his head. “I’m absolutely TERRIFIED of heights. If we stay up here for too long, I might get a panic attack.”

“No no no,” Jimin said, shaking his head. “Stay calm, okay? You’ll be okay.”

“I-I-”

“YAH! HURRY UP AND GET US THE F**K DOWN!!” Jimin shouted on the top of his lungs, causing other riders to turn and look at him. “MY BROTHER IS GONNA BE F*****G SICK!!!! GET HIM DOWN NOW!!!!”

“A-are you m-mad that I’m gonna get sick?” Jungkook asked, not sure about Jimin’s motives.

“No, I’m worried!” Jimin cried, before turning looking around at the other riders.

Jungkook nodded and closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing. Jimin suddenly took off his phone from a hook on his belt, which was fastened on tight so he wouldn’t lose it, and dialed Hoseok’s number. Jungkook silently watched, hoping he wouldn’t start hyperventilating. If it got worse, he might even throw up. This was a really bad situation on his part.

“Jimin? What’s wrong?” Hoseok asked, worriedly.

“Tell those f*****g guards to get me and Jungkook down. Jungkook is terrified of heights. He’s starting to have a panic attack. He can’t stay on this thing. If he does, he might pass out. They need to get him down NOW!”

“H-hyung,” Jungkook whispered with tears in his eyes.

“HURRY!” Jimin shouted. “Calm down, Jungkook, you’ll be okay.”

 

...

 

“S**t,” Hoseok cried, ending the call and putting his phone in his pocket.

“What’s wrong?” Taehyung asked, not taking his eyes off the stationary roller coaster.

“Jungkook is about to have a panic attack,” Hoseok replied. “He’s afraid of heights to the extremes. Jimin’s trying to calm him down, but there’s nothing he can really do. We need to get to the operators.”

“Are they going to be able to do something?” Taehyung asked.

“I don’t know,” Hoseok replied, shaking his head as they started pushing past people to make it to the operators.

People starting yelling at them because they thought they were cutting, but the two ignored them and continued pushing through. They had to get those two off the ride as soon as possible. One man tried blocking them from getting through, but Hoseok yelled his head off at him, shoving him harshly aside so they could continue on. Once they made it to the front, they ran right over to the operators. People were giving them strange looks, but they ignored it.

“My friend up there is having a panic attack!” Hoseok cried, pointing at the stationary cars. “He’s about to pass out! You need to get him down like RIGHT NOW!”

“I’m sorry, we’re trying,” one man said, pushing buttons, but nothing worked.

“Don’t try, DO IT!! He needs down right now!” Hoseok shouted, causing a scene.

“Hold on, let me call someone to get him down,” the operator said, taking out a walky talky. “Hey, we have an emergency over here. We need the helicopter pronto.”

“What’s wrong?” a voice asked into the walky talky.

“There’s a kid having a panic attack. He’s about to faint. We need to get him down,” the operator said, glancing over at Taehyung and Hoseok.

“Give us a second, we’ll be right there,” the voice said before the guy put his walky talky away.

“We’ll get him down as soon as we can,” the man assured him. “Do you want to wait at the front gates? We’ll drop him off there.”

“And our friend with him?” Hoseok asked with a frown.

“He’ll be there as well,” the man said.

“Alright, let’s go!” Hoseok cried, pulling Taehyung’s hand as they rushed over to the front gates of the park.

As they rushed through the lines once again, people continued to glare at them. They didn’t care, however. All they cared about was the safety of their friends. Once they made it outside, a guard came over to them and led them to where the helicopter would land with their friends. The two nodded and followed him.

After about five minutes, the helicopter finally arrived and the two nervously ran up to the door. It opened and Jimin came up, holding a very unstable Jungkook. Taehyung helped him with Jungkook as they got off the helicopter. The pilot then came out and told them an ambulance was on their way. Everyone nodded their heads, very worried about the youngest boy.

“I’m s-so s-scared,” Jungkook whispered with tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Shh, Jungkook, it will be okay,” Taehyung said, hugging him tightly. “You will be okay.”

“I w-won’t,” Jungkook whispered, before pushing him away and rushing over to a trashcan, vomiting into it.

“I’m gonna call his brother,” Taehyung said, before pulling out his phone and dialing Jin’s number.

“Hello? Taehyung?” the voice of Jin said as soon as the call went through.

“Hyung,” Taehyung whispered, glancing at the heaving Jungkook.

“Jungkook was on a rollercoaster... And it stopped working... He had a panic attack... They took him down and he’s really sick,” Taehyung told him. “They’re taking him to the hospital. We’re all with him right now.”

“WHAT?!” Jin screamed into the phone.

“Meet us there,” Taehyung said, hanging up the phone just as the ambulance truck drove up to retrieve Jungkook.

Reviews

[Akashi]

I really like the story! Can't wait for the next chapter! :)