Aera's P.O.V

I gave Jimin another glance, still trying to process his presence. It had only been two hours since I first saw him. But it felt like he'd never left, at least after all the tears had been shed.

"I'm hungry," he said with a frown, suddenly breaking the silence as we walked down the sidewalk.

I was quiet, still not quite back to reality. He turned to me.

"Noona?" Jimin said quietly.

I was broken from my trance at the sound of his voice. My mouth turned up at the edges. His voice wasn't like Yugyeom's after all. That was nice to be reminded of. Maybe I'll finally stop comparing them now, I thought.

"What is it?" Jimin asked.

"Nothing, I'm hungry too."

We finally made it back to my dorm, and I was extremely relieved to find it Laurel-free. It was nice to know I wouldn't have to explain Jimin, at least not for a few hours.

"I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do..." I thought aloud. "What am I supposed to tell them?"

Jimin walked into the room behind me, he stopped and looked around before his eyes landed on me. Concerned.

"You don't have to tell them anything," he told me.

"You know I can't I keep you a secret."

"Then tell them I'm a new student who you met recently, I guess."

"Namjoon's here, remember? He knows you."

Jimin was silent in reply, probably planning something in his head. We both jumped when a knock came on the door. He looked at me with wide eyes that I returned. I shrugged and hesitantly walked over. It couldn't be Laurel, she obviously wouldn't have knocked. So who was it? I slowly opened the door.

"Aera," Namjoon said with slight relief. "Are you okay? Yugyeom texted and said you--"

I tried to cover his view, but it was too late. He'd already seen Jimin, who was still too confused to think of hiding. I gulped.

"Namjoon, he--"

I was rudely interrupted when Namjoon suddenly shoved past me into the dorm, straight to Jimin. I wheeled around in surprise, watching as he grabbed Jimin by the collar.

"Namjoon!" I gasped.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Namjoon asked Jimin in a threatening voice.

Jimin was silent, also shocked at the suddenness of the whole situation.

"What are you doing here?!" Namjoon yelled.

"I'm here to see Aera," Jimin said evenly.

"No. No, you don't deserve to see her. You don't deserve to say her name!" Namjoon was livid.

I hurried over, still dumbfounded.

"N--Namjoon what are you doing?!" I asked. "Let go of him!"

"Get out of here, Jimin," Namjoon spoke his name as if it were a bad taste in his mouth. "Get out of here and never come back!"

"No." Jimin's simple reply was quiet yet strong.

"You don't have a choice. I never want to see you near her again."

"Namjoon, cut it out!" I cried in frustration.

"Do you know what you did to her?!" Namjoon asked Jimin, ignoring me. "Do you know what happened after you just left without a word?!"

No, I couldn't let Jimin go through this. He knew what he did. I knew how painful it was. Someone yelling it at his face wasn't exactly helping to heal the wound. Desperate, I grabbed Namjoon's shoulder and pulled him away, stepping in between the two as I created some distance. I grabbed his shoulders, looking up at his face.

"Namjoon. Calm down. This isn't any of your business," I reminded him slowly.

"Aera," Namjoon looked down into my eyes. "Please just make him leave. Don't let him hurt you again."

I was taken aback at the sound of Namjoon's soft, pleading voice, so different from his harshness with Jimin.

"Namjoon, you don't get it, I'm okay now. Leave Jimin alone," I assured.

He looked at me with that same look he'd given when I'd left the cafe with Jimin after their fight. As if I'd abandoned him. Chose Jimin.

"Namjoon..."

"Don't say my name...don't talk to me." The emotion left his eyes, leaving them cold and guarded, unfamiliar. "I'm not going to watch you go through that again."

He turned slowly, then walked out of the dorm, slamming the door. I stood and watched with a shivery feeling, my stomach dropped. Namjoon was gone in an instant.

"A--Aera...I'm so sorry..." Jimin's soft voice finally sounded again.

I felt him wrap his arms around me.

"I should have never..."

I closed my eyes, waiting for the words I thought for sure would come next. "I should have never come back." But they didn't come.

"I should have never left."

I turned around and hugged him back. He may not ever know it, but in that moment, it was all I needed to hear.

"You just realized that?" I asked, jokingly, but it came out weak and sad.

"He will come around, Aera, though it make take a bit." He hugged me tighter. "Because, I'm not leaving so easily this time."