Jungkook didn't see Yoongi at all the next day. He figured Yoongi was avoiding him, and Jungkook couldn't blame him.

Everyone knew things were getting even worse when Namjoon brought the news that he'd seen Yoongi multiple times that day, and every time, Yoongi hadn't spared him a glance, let alone returned his waves and attempts to approach. If Yoongi was avoiding Namjoon, everyone knew that things were damn near hopeless at this point.

"I'm just gonna confront Chul," Jimin said as they all sat around a table at the cafe.

"What?!" Taehyung and Hoseok both shrieked.

"Why not?" Jimin said. "Go straight to the source."

"Jimin," Jungkook said carefully. "We've got to get Yoongi out before we can say anything to Chul. If you confront him, and he goes home to Yoongi..."

Jimin sighed. "We have to do something. Anything! This is getting out of hand, and I miss Yoongi. I'm so worried about him!"

The others were quiet. Jimin had just voiced what all of them were thinking and feeling. Jimin turned to Jungkook, tears in his eyes. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Jungkook sighed. "I don't know."

"You're the one who said you have experience with this sort of thing," Taehyung said. "Don't you have a plan?"

"It's not that simple – "

"What is your experience?" Seokjin said suddenly. "If you don't mind me asking."

Jungkook suddenly looked very sad, and Seokjin regretted asking. He was about to tell Jungkook nevermind, when Jungkook whispered something they barely heard.

"My sister."

Everyone was very quiet, waiting to see if Jungkook would elaborate. After many moments of silence, Jungkook continued.

"She was in an abusive relationship. It started with some slapping, some minor bruises here and there, on her arms and legs. But it escalated. She started coming around with bruises on her face. Then, a busted lip. Eventually, a broken nose. Then the cuts started showing up. Up and down her arms and even some on her face every once in a while."

No one dared say a word. Jimin's and Taehyung's mouths were slightly agape, but beyond that, no one had moved.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook," Seokjin eventually offered. "I didn't mea – "

"It's okay," he replied. "Really. It's only fair that you all know this since I'm helping with your friend."

"But – "

"I reacted the way you all have," Jungkook continued, ignoring Seokjin's additional protest. "I confronted her, and she denied everything. Eventually I confronted her boyfriend. He tried to write it all off as self-harm. But I knew better."

"So, how did you get her out of that situation?" Jimin asked quietly.

"I didn't," Jungkook said softly. "I couldn't."

"What – "

"That night, after I confronted her boyfriend, he attacked her. She called me screaming as he was kicking her in the stomach repeatedly. I called 119, and they went and got her out of there, but..."

No one asked any further questions. They just waited with bated breath to see if he would continue.

"He'd damaged her internal organs. Her injuries were too severe, and..."

Jungkook finally looked up. "There's a way we have to do this, you guys. We can't go in, no holds barred. We have to be delicate. I know it hurts to think of Yoongi still getting hurt. But if we intervene too quickly or too harshly..."

"It's okay, Jungkook," Seokjin said as he laid his hand on Jungkook's arm. "I think we understand now." Everyone else nodded.

"I'm not an expert, though. I only know what I witnessed. So, I won't always know what to do. But, I do know that we can't just confront and accuse. That will make things so much worse. Chul is already kicking Yoongi in the stomach. I heard it. We can't let that escalate any further."

"Maybe we should talk to an expert," Namjoon suggested.

"What do you mean?" Hoseok asked.

"We could talk to a doctor or therapist, or a domestic violence shelter. Someone. Anyone."

Jungkook nodded. "That's actually a really great idea."

"I'll look around and see if I can find anyone who might be able to help," Namjoon said. "Let's meet up again tomorrow and I'll let you all know what I find."

-

And that's how, three days later, all six of them found themselves sitting in a therapist's office, waiting for her to enter. Namjoon had found her through his research and once she'd heard a little bit about the situation, she'd agreed immediately to see them.

She entered and all six of the boys stood up and bowed. She returned the bows and gestured for them to sit back down.

"I'm Doctor Kang," she said politely. "I understand you are all here on behalf of your friend."

"Yes," Namjoon took the lead. "Yoongi. His boyfriend is abusing him."

"First things first, are you sure?" Dr. Kang asked.

"Yes," Namjoon said. "Three of us have heard it happening."

"Has he been acting withdrawn or canceling plans?"

"Yes," Jimin answered. "He stopped hanging out with us, and now he doesn't even talk to us. I heard his boyfriend tell him that he wasn't allowed to hang out with us anymore."

"Yeah," Namjoon continued. "He got mad at Yoongi when we tried to talk to him."

Dr. Kang nodded as she made some notes on a piece of paper. "So, he's isolated."

"Very much so," Jungkook said.

"Have you seen any signs of physical abuse? Injuries?"

"Yes," Jimin said. "It started with some bruises on his wrists, but the other day, he skipped school because his stomach hurt after I heard his boyfriend kicking him. I called him to see if he was okay, but his boyfriend answered. The next day, he showed up with a huge bruise on his face."

Dr. Kang frowned as she made some more notes. "Have any of you confronted either one of them?"

"We..." Namjoon gestured to himself and Jimin. "confronted Yoongi. It didn't go very well."

Dr. Kang nodded. "That's not surprising. Confrontation is not the action you want to use. You want to use a soft and gentle approach. The confrontation probably caused him to react defensively, right?"

Namjoon and Jimin nodded.

"What about the boyfriend?"

"Chul. No," Jungkook said. "We're too worried that if we do, he'll hurt Yoongi more."

"Yes," Dr. Kang said. "That's one of the worst things you can do right now. Leave Chul alone. He's dangerous"

All six of them nodded.

"Have you done anything else?"

"Well," Jungkook began. "Yoongi didn't actually know me, nor that I was friends with everyone else here. So, I approached him, trying to strike up some conversation and a friendship. He was actually receptive, and we ended up having coffee. It went well until..."

Jungkook paused, remembering what he'd heard after they'd had their coffee outing. Dr. Kang watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"Until...?"

"He lost track of time, I guess. Said he was running late and took off without any more explanation. I followed him to his apartment and that's when I heard the abuse. I guess Yoongi had made up an excuse that he was working on schoolwork, and Chul almost caught him in the lie. He accused him of..."

"Of?"

Jungkook swallowed thickly. He hadn't told the other guys this yet.

"Sleeping with me," Jungkook finished. There were gasps all around, from everyone except Dr. Kang.

Namjoon finally broke the silence that had followed. "And now we don't know what to do. That's why we're here. We need advice."

Dr. Kang finished writing a few more notes, then nodded as she looked up.

"Again, do not use confrontation. You won't get anywhere, and you'll likely make him push you away more. What you need to do is approach gently. Let him know that you're concerned about him. Don't accuse or say something like, 'I know what's happening, you have to get out of it.' Instead say something like, 'I'm concerned for you because I've noticed...' Let him know how concerned you are. Because you're not judging him, which is what confrontation will feel like to him. Let him know through your actions that you're not being judgmental; that you're just concerned because of things you've been noticing."

Everyone nodded.

"Do point out what you've noticed. But again, gently. I wouldn't point out at this point that you've overheard the abuse. That will make him feel like you're eavesdropping on a very private matter, which will feel like a betrayal."

Dr. Kang looked at all of them very seriously. "The last thing you want to do is make him feel ashamed. He is already ashamed, even if he doesn't realize it yet. Don't give him any reason to think that you're disappointed in him."

Again, they all nodded.

"Don't ask open-ended questions. Things like, 'How are you?' or 'Are you okay?' His immediate answer will be that everything's fine, and you'll find yourself at a bit of a stalemate. Because in a normal conversation, that would be the end of it. You've got to get him talking. But it has to be on his terms. And if he tells you he's okay, the conversation is automatically over in his mind. Anything you ask or say further will be pressuring him and he'll get defensive again."

"So, have we ruined it already?" Namjoon asked. "From our previous confrontation?"

"No, not completely," Dr. Kang said. "You can still recover. But, at this point, it's probably a good idea that whoever approaches him next should not be whoever did the first time."

A look that can only be described as pain settled on Namjoon's face. And everyone knew why. Yoongi was Namjoon's best friend. And now Namjoon could no longer be a part of the beginning of the solution.

Jimin placed his hand on Namjoon's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Hyung. We trust everyone here to do what's right. We all care deeply for Yoongi."

"I know," Namjoon whispered hoarsely. Jimin could see the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"So, what about me?" Jungkook suddenly asked. "I don't know him well. Would it be a good idea for me to try to approach him about all of this?"

Dr. Kang considered this. "Probably not," she said. "This is a very personal, private matter. Yoongi will be less likely to open up to you. He doesn't trust you as implicitly as he does his close friends yet."

"I understand."

"But, if no one else can get him to open up, you could maybe give it a try. But let's wait and see how it all goes first."

Jungkook nodded.

"Now," she said, turning to Seokjin, Hoseok and Taehyung. "If he decides to open up, just let him talk. He doesn't want to hear advice or suggestions. He just wants to talk. Be gentle; he's admitting that there's a problem, and that someone he loves is treating him less than loving. He'll want to tell you his fears. And some of them will be hard to digest. Don't argue. Just let him talk it all out. Do let him know that what he's feeling is normal, however. He needs to know that his feelings are valid."

"I'm nervous," Hoseok suddenly admitted.

"That's normal," Dr. Kang said. "If either of you feel nervous, too, then you need to have two people go. You can't have one person go and panic and forget all I've said here. But, don't all three go. That will be overwhelming, and he may feel attacked."

"I'll do it," Seokjin said. This came as a surprise to no one, as Seokjin was very much a leader in their group. He was self-assured and knew how to handle conflict. If not Namjoon, Seokjin was the perfect person to handle this.

Dr. Kang smiled at Seokjin. Then she looked around at everyone. "So, we have a plan," she said. "I'd like you to come back after you speak to him. Let me know how it goes."

They all nodded.

"Thank you," Namjoon said quietly. "This has been really eye-opening and helpful."

She smiled. "Good luck."