Aera's P.O.V

I woke up to whiteness. All around me was a blur of whiteness. Bright whiteness. I squinted as I tried to adjust to the light, but it was painful. I groaned and shut my eyes again.

"I think she's awake!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim in a loud whisper.

"What?!" Another voice replied.

I groaned again, to let them know I could hear them.

"Aera! Aera, can you hear me?!" My dad asked.

"Yes," I said as loud as I could.

"I'll get the doctor," Grandad told us.

My eyes finally adjusted, so I blinked and took a look around. I was obviously in a hospital room. I frowned trying to recall what happened. Jungkook. Jimin. Reaper. Death...my eyes went wide as the memories came flooding back.

"Ouch," I murmured, putting a hand over my pulsing forehead.

"How do you feel?" Dad asked.

"Um, a bit woozy," I replied honestly.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked.

"Where's Jimin?" I suddenly said, realizing what had been missing.

"Who?...Oh, that boy who called us?" Dad frowned. "Actually I never saw him. He just called us, and when we got here we didn't bother trying to find him."

Grandpa returned with the doctor at that moment. They knocked and stepped inside. The doctor was an older woman with a serious face, but as she saw me, she smiled.

"Hello, Aera. I'm Doctor Maeng."

"Hello." I nodded.

She ventured forward to my bedside, hands in her white coat.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but it seems someone may have tried to take your life," Doctor Maeng told me, the serious look returning.

"Well, I sort of assumed that," I replied carefully.

"You passed out due to lack of blood flow to the brain, but luckily, whoever was holding onto you let go in time for no brain damage to occur," she continued.

I nodded and looked down in thought.

"Since there is no serious damage, you'll be free to go by tomorrow. Though I think it is necessary to run some tests before you do so."

"Yes. Thank you, Doctor," Dad said.

She bowed and left us three alone again.

"Aera, do you remember who did this to you?" Grandpa asked.

Of course. But "only humans go to prison." I shivered in remembrance of Jungkook's words. He was right though.

"No," I told him quietly.

Dad sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. Grandad watched me with a worried look. I laid back down with a sigh.

"I'm going to sleep," I told them.

•••••••

The next few days passed by in a blur. Dad contacted the police, despite my urge for him not to. Of course, they came up with nothing, closing the case only a week later, stating that "it was a simple thug assault case". And the fact that I "couldn't remember anything" didn't help. Without any leads, and the fact that I hadn't even been seriously injured, made the whole thing easy to drop. Dad and Grandpa were furious, but eventually just focused on me. Dad even suggested setting up an appointment with psychologist, seeing as how I'd almost been murdered, to which I quickly responded with a firm no. All in all, it was probably the worst week of my life. Not to mention the fact that Jimin had disappeared again.

•••••••

"Getting better..." I murmured to myself, studying the fading bruises on my neck.

With a sigh, I turned away from the mirror and reached for my backpack. The whole event was waning into a distant dream, and I should have been grateful for that. But I couldn't let myself forget the fact that it was the last time I had seen Jimin. I slowly descended to the kitchen where my dad was waiting as usual.

"How are you feeling today, Aera?" Dad asked.

"Normal," I replied. Lonely.

"That's good," He said, watching me closely. "Are you gonna eat?"

"Not hungry," I told him, heading to the front door.

I was always earlier than Namjoon now, since my appetite had been diminishing. I would simply get ready than head out to wait for him. To my great annoyance however, Namjoon had figured out why I'd been earlier than him these past few days.

"And this morning, we have egg bread!" He presented, as I stood.

I gave him a look.

"I'm not hungry."

"Doesn't matter, you gotta eat this. It's literally the best in town." Namjoon handed me the bread wrapped in plastic, still warm. "My mother is the greatest egg bread maker that ever lived."

I took it from him and began to put it in my bag.

"Aera," he whined.

"Fine," I groaned, unwrapping it and shoving a bite into my mouth. "Happy?"

"Very happy." He grinned.

It made me sad. Namjoon had easily noticed the change in my mood, and he'd been acting so excessively happy. I felt guilty. But I couldn't change my emotions. To please him, I finished the piece of bread he'd given me.

"You don't need to do this, you know," I told him quietly as we walked up to the school.

"What are you talking about?" He asked me seriously.

I turned to him.

"I won't be able to be happy again, Namjoon. Not until he comes back," I said.

I wasn't going to pretend. I knew it would hurt him, but it would hurt even more to lie and hide it.

"He's not coming back," he snapped.

"What?"

Namjoon suddenly grimaced and stopped walking, looking at the ground.

"Namjoon, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I--I shouldn't have said anything," he mumbled.

"Namjoon, what are you trying to say?" I said quietly.

"Aera...I--"

"Kim Namjoon!" I suddenly yelled.

He flinched, looking distraught.

"Jimin...he talked to me. He called me, Aera. I don't even know how he got my number. He called and said he wasn't coming back. He said I needed to be there for you always," he admitted finally. "He's never coming back, Aera. I'm sorry."

My eyes widened with each of his words. Until finally, I couldn't keep them open any longer. I squeezed them shut and stumbled back a little. As if I'd been hit with an invisible source. I knew what Namjoon said was true. It made so much sense that I hated myself for not being prepared. Jimin was gone.

You were gone. You were never coming back. I would never see you again. What hurt the most was the fact that I'd woken up that morning, feeling as sad as I thought I could have been. Just because you had been gone for a week.

So what am I supposed to do, how am I supposed to feel, now that I know you're gone for good?

Omg I'm making myself sad.
I don't really know a lot about police investigations so forgive me if that whole part was completely flawed lol.