Park Soomi

"Taehyung's in the hospital?" Jimin stammered.

"Why would the suspect target Taehyung?" Jungkook questioned.

I was utterly speechless, but they were asking the exact questions swirling around my muddled head.

"You and everyone you love aren't safe..." Yoongi muttered. My breathing quickened as those words finally returned to haunt me. I remembered the exact moment I read that threatening note. I remembered how every muscle in my body tensed up, how I could practically hear my heart pounding in my ears.

My phone buzzed in the back pocket of my shorts, and with trembling hands, I reached towards it.

Are you afraid now?

I quickly powered off the device, the unknown message striking me with a sudden surge of fear.

"Soomi? What is it?" Hoseok asked.

"W-we thought there was nothing to be worried about. W-we said so this morning."

Everyone grew silent.

But one lingering question only grew in volume, terrifying me.

"Is Taehyung okay?"

I anxiously awaited Hoseok's answer.

"There were only minor injuries, and the surgery was successful, but he hasn't woken up yet."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Successful. That was the only word I could focus on.

"We can take you to him now. I have the address," Hoseok said.

I froze.

Do I want to see him? My heart was screaming yes, but my head was saying no.

He ripped your heart to shreds, Soomi. He's fine. He doesn't care about you, and you shouldn't care about him.

But I couldn't help but feel guilty. Taehyung was hurt because of me.

"No...I don't want to see him." I finally managed to answer. Hoseok's eyebrows creased together in confusion.

"What? Don't you want to see your boyfriend—"

"He's not my boyfriend anymore, and I don't need to see him," I said as firmly as possible. His eyes widened in surprise. "Can we just go home, please?" I asked the others.

"It's okay if you want to see him," Yoongi said.

"No, I've made up my mind. Please, let's just go home."

"We, umm, kind of had a surprise waiting for you at the house," Jimin said, rubbing the back of his neck, "but we'll completely understand if you're not up for celebrating anymore—"

"Why wouldn't I be? Of course I'm up for it," I said with a nervous laugh. "What are we waiting for then? I wanna see the surprise."

*

"Okay, open your eyes."

I gaped in awe. With the darkening evening sky, the fairy lights adorning our patio shimmered like stars, and the paper lanterns painted splashes of pastel colors on the dark canvas.

"When did you guys do this?"

"Jimin and I decorated last night," Jungkook responded with a grin.

"You really didn't have to..."

"That's not everything," Yoongi said. I turned to see him holding a bag. "Just a little something."

I pulled open the bag, and I instantly smiled.

"You got me a whole box of pepero."

"Yeah, white chocolate cookie. I remember you saying these were your favorite. I know it's not much—"

"Thank you." I pulled Yoongi into a hug. His arms brought my body warmth in this cold outdoor breeze, while his thoughtfulness brought warmth to my heart.

"There is one more thing," Yoongi said while pulling away. I stared back into the bag, seeing a little book I hadn't noticed earlier.

"It's beautiful." I gasped while examining the book, the cover embroidered with an intricate floral pattern.

"It's a new lyric book since you filled up your old one with..." Yoongi's voice trailed off, and I instantly knew why.

Taehyung. Somehow, everything always led back to Taehyung.

"Thanks, Yoongi. Anyways, let's eat, I'm starving—" I tried changing the subject, but Yoongi wouldn't let it slide.

"Are you sure you don't want to see him? Maybe take some time to think about it."

"Let's not talk about him, okay? Let's just have fun tonight. Besides...no amount of time is gonna make me change my mind."

*

Two days. Two days was the amount of time it took to change my mind.

Everyone had been on high alert these last few days since the guys had been unsuccessful in figuring out who was responsible for the car accident.

Anxiety was eating away at me. Nothing else had happened, but it always felt like someone was lurking around every corner.

So the moment I overheard Hoseok mention that Taehyung had woken up, I finally caved in. I needed to see he was alright, so here I was now, standing in front of his hospital room.

"You ready?" Yoongi asked.

"I'm ready." I prepared myself before walking through the door.

But I didn't prepare myself for this. The girl from before sat at his bedside, holding his hand. The two simultaneously looked up at me, and it felt as if I was punched in the gut when I saw Taehyung's face drop.

"Could I have a moment alone with Taehyung?"

The girl quickly stood up from her seat, looking at me with a nervous expression.

"I-I'll just be outside," she stammered before scurrying out of the room. I slowly walked to his side. Taehyung's face remained blank, not even sparing me a glance.

But all I could focus on was how weak he looked: his pale face, the scrapes against his cheeks and arms.

And it was all because of me. Because I cared about him. Because he was someone special to me. Words couldn't even begin to describe the guilt I felt.

"What are you doing here, Soomi?" His harsh tone quickly washed away a bit of that guilt.

But only the tiniest bit.

"I was worried about you."

"Why do you even care?"

Why do I care? How does he even have the nerve to ask me that?

"Because you may have stopped caring about me altogether, but I didn't just stop caring about you."

"Whatever," he scoffed, before wincing slightly after shifting his position in the bed.

Something inside me snapped. Part of it had to do with guilt, but overwhelming it was because I was angry at his cold attitude.

"Look, you have no right to be angry at me. You cheated on me. I'm the one who should be mad, but here I am worrying about you like crazy!"

"You're the one who—"

"No! I don't need your excuses this time!" I paused to calm myself, realizing I was raising my voice.

And I finally realized the more important reason I needed to come here.

I needed closure.

"I'm not here to fight. I just, I hope you take care of yourself and have a nice life. And I hope you don't hurt the girl you're with the way you hurt me."

His eyes softened, and for the first time in forever, I thought I caught a glimpse of the man I fell in love with, but I knew it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

"You aren't the guy I used to know, but I hope you find your way back to that person because the people in your life deserve that version of you. You deserve that version of you." I inhaled sharply before managing to muster a light smile. "Goodbye, Taehyung."

I felt as if a weight lifted off my shoulder as I walked out of the room.

"How'd it go?" Yoongi asked.

For the first time, I was able to genuinely say that I felt—

"Good. I think I really needed that."

"That's good to hear," he said as we exited the hospital.

I stopped in my tracks, and Yoongi turned back to look at me in confusion.

It always feels like someone's lurking around every corner.

There was one more thing I needed to do, to feel truly at peace.

"I'm done with him!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, ignoring the judging and perplexed looks of few bystanders. "I am officially over Kim Taehyung!"

So please don't ever hurt him again because of me.

Yes, I was finally ready to move on, but on the off chance that the suspect was out there listening to my pleas, I prayed that he would never lay a hand on Taehyung again, that Taehyung would be out of my life and out of my head for good.

"What was that about?" Yoongi questioned, slightly amused.

"I'm officially moving on. With everything going on in my life: my work, these...threats, I can't afford to be thinking about boys now."

Guess this was finally the end, and it was all for the best.

Because there were much more imminent problems lurking in the shadows to worry about.

——
{a/n}
Guess that's the end of Taehyung. Or...

Hahah jk...unless 👀

Anywaays, just curious but would anyone be interested in being a character in this book? Basically Soomi's friend who may have a thing with one of the members 👀