"I'm not broken, I am nothing."

-Hotel Books

Jimin

TW: SA, Bullying, Homophobic language

It was finally Friday, and Tae was coming over after school for a much needed best friend date. Of course, I'd seen him everyday at school and we texted every night, but we hadn't had a chance to talk talk in days. I had a LOT to say because I hadn't told anyone about my new crush and I was dying to spill, but it didn't feel right to tell Taehyung over text. He might just kill me. In the meantime, I spent the week wrapped up in daydreams of my new crush.

Now that I was aware of Yoongi, I was suddenly seeing him everywhere. I passed him in the halls, saw him in the cafeteria, and once swore I saw him coming out of the convenience store when mom pulled in to get gas. More than that, the more I noticed him, the more I was sure he was noticing me.

Yesterday at lunch, I scanned the cafeteria because I had just realized he was in my lunch period, and there he was...looking at me. He quickly looked away, but I even thought I saw him blush. The thought made my stomach turn in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

However, before I was free for the weekend and able to gush to Tae about everything I had been thinking, I had to make it through my final class...gym.

It's not like I'm against exercise or anything. I like to go hiking with my dad, and I dance so I'm pretty in shape. It was more that I minded who was in the class with me. First of all, none of my friends were in the class. Tae had taken it Freshman year to get it over with, but I had transferred in halfway through that year and didn't realize how smart that was. Now, here I was a junior with a bunch of Freshmen and a couple other slacker Juniors and Seniors.

Unfortunately for me, Seo Kunghe had somehow managed to fail the class or something, so he was also in the loser gym class. It didn't matter what we were doing in class, Kunghe always managed to play his favorite game, torture Jimin.

And today we were playing the worst game of all...dodgeball. The thing is, I'm a dancer. I'm pretty good at dodging, but Kunghe plays on the baseball team and he's a lot better at throwing. After the third time of getting knocked flat on my ass, I faked an ankle injury for the coach to let me sit out for the rest of the game.

I was sitting on the bleachers nursing my "hurt ankle" when a ball came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of my face. I leapt to my feet and almost forgot I was "injured".

"What the hell, Seo! I'm not even playing!"

"Park!" Coach Jung snapped, "Watch your language. Your attitude may convince me you are feeling well enough to play after all. And Seo, make sure you are actually aiming for players still in the game." He then went back to his Sudoku puzzle and continued ignoring the chaos.

Kunghe just smirked at me. Holy fuck, I hate that guy.

Once he turned around, I flipped him off. It didn't really do anything, but I felt a bit better afterwards.

When I got out of the shower, I noticed my clothes were missing...again. Closing my eyes, I let out a loud sigh of annoyance.

It wasn't the end of the world. He probably just scattered them around the school again. It's such a hassle to track everything down. I could only hope they were still inside and not in a mud puddle in the parking lot like that one time. I really liked the sweater I wore today, and I think it's dry clean only.

I stomped over to Yugyeom's gym locker. Of course I knew the combination, and I always kept an extra outfit in here just in case of such a situation. Luckily, my friends had my back whether they were able to physically be there or not. Jinyoung's locker held an extra pair of shoes and Jackson made sure to keep my dance gear safe for me.

Taehyung was waiting for me outside the gym.

"Back-up clothes huh?" He sighed as he looked me up and down. "Are they ruined or are we hunting?"

"Scavenger hunt time!" I said with mock enthusiasm.

"Are you sure you don't want me to beat the shit out of this kid?" Taehyung offered like he did every other day.

I just stared at him. "What are you gonna do to him Tae? He's, like, twice your size."

"Okay fine, how about Jackson and Mark beat him up, and I turn him in to the office for being a piece of shit?"

"That didn't work last time. He's worse once he gets back from being suspended, you know." Tae looked down, obviously feeling frustrated and helpless. I understood the feeling well. The air was suddenly tense and I didn't like it.

"Okay, so I'll go to the main hallway, cafeteria, and auditorium if you wouldn't mind checking the English wing and freshman hallway. If you find both of my shoes, I'll buy you ice cream." He looked up at that.

"Deal!" He eagerly took off in the direction of the English wing. With another sigh, I headed off to see if I could find my things.

From the cafeteria window, I could see my new yellow sweater run up the flagpole outside the band room. How does he even manage to do this stuff. Doesn't he ever get tired of it?

I decided to cut through the bandroom to get outside faster. I knew the band director, Mr. G, would yell at me if he caught me, (No one but band students were allowed in the bandroom) but I didn't care. I just wanted to go home and have a good weekend. Luckily, the band students were practicing formations out in the practice field, so the band room was empty.

I cut through the dark room lined with huge trophies and instrument cases. There was soft classical piano music coming from a speaker somewhere that I couldn't quite place. In the corner, there were towers of stacked chairs, and it kind of looked like someone had intentionally placed them to look like a dick. I snorted and rolled my eyes. Band kids.

Once the back door was properly wedged open so I didn't have to walk all the way around the building, I headed straight for the flagpole. I didn't notice Kunghe and his asshole friends until it was too late.

My back was slammed against the brick wall of the school and in an instant I was surrounded. There were three of them, and they were all bigger than me.

"What the fuck, Seo! Why can't you just leave me alone." I coughed a bit as I tried desperately to look intimidating.

He laughed and it gave me an awful churning feeling in my gut. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I just don't like you. Something about your stupid fairy face is just incredibly...punchable." His friends moved forward and grabbed my arms while I tried to push them off. One minion dragged me forward and then slammed me back into the wall knocking the breath out of me. The other, who looked a little bit like a rodent, grabbed my hair and turned my face up to look at Kunghe who towered over me. Stupid tall guys and their stupid height.

Kunghe grabbed my face roughly. "See that's the thing, Park. I see you strut around this school like you own the place. You think everyone should worship you because you can dance and get good grades. Expecting everyone to fall down at your feet. But when I look at you all I see is a weak, pathetic f*g. You are just a disgusting waste of space. So, I just want to wipe that smug little smile off your face for good."

That's when I did the dumbest thing I could possibly do.

I spit right in his face.

The punch to my cheek hurt more than I expected. Pain exploded across my face and my vision went white for a moment. I had never been punched in the face before. Kunghe had made my life miserable by constantly messing with me. I'd had food dumped on me and my clothes stolen. He'd shoved me, knocked me down, smacked books out of my hand, and constantly mocked me. But he had never actually hit me before.

I staggered a bit at the sensation, but was held up by the two goons at my side. Before I could recover, he had hit me again. This time in my stomach. The next two pouches landed in the same place right after, and then he hit my face again. I wanted to curl up and die.

I felt myself gag, and he backed up when I started to throw up.

"Eww! Disgusting!" One of the asshole sidekicks shrieked. He and his friend jumped away, still laughing. As soon as they released my arms, I slumped to the ground.

Kunghe leaned down and grabbed my hair tilting my head up to look at him. "This is what happens when you are a pathetic, bitch-ass f*g." Then he spit right on my face and laughed.

I could no longer hold back my tears. They ran down my face as little rivers of pain and embarrassment.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" I yelled at him. Though, with the knot in my throat and my inability to draw in a full breath it didn't come out very loud.

He paused and looked at me. Even in a situation like this one I couldn't keep my mouth shut. No matter how much trouble it got me in. I couldn't see the anger burning in his eyes through my tears. I missed the warning signs. "I mean, what, did your mother never love you? Is that it?! Why don't you just go to therapy instead of being a walking caution tale for unresolved daddy issues?! Huh?"

Both his friends let out an "OOOOOooohhh".

One even muttered a quiet, "Oh, damn."

Kunghe took a step closer and that's when I saw it. There was murder in his eyes. It was too late though.

"You're real good at talking, aren't you, Park?" He grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. "You just don't seem to know when to keep that pretty mouth of yours shut." He started dragging me towards the open bandroom door.

"Kunghe, wait…" I tried to dig my heels into the ground, but he wasn't slowing down.

"Since you are so good at opening that mouth of yours, why don't I finally find something useful for you to do with it so that you will shut up for once."

He slammed open the door and I realized he was walking towards one of the soundproof practice rooms. For the first time in my life, I was filled with real and true fear. It spiked through me like a bolt of lightning.

"STOP! Kunghe, stop! Please! Please, don't." I begged and clawed at his arm uselessly.

He threw me into the practice room and let the door close behind him. I was backed into the corner as he advanced. He forced me down onto my knees and left one heavy hand on my shoulder pinning me down as he reached for his belt buckle.

The door flew open, and before I could see who it was, Kunghe was ripped away from me and pinned against the wall.

Min Yoongi stood with his back to me. Despite the fact that he was much smaller than my attacker, he held the other boy securely. He had his forearm across Kunghe's throat and a knee in his crotch. I then saw a glint of light and realized he was holding a knife to Kunghe's side.

"Jimin are you okay?" He called over his shoulder. I tried to speak up, but I could only cry. Yoongi pushed the knife a little closer into the boy's side.

Kunghe glanced nervously at the knife pointed between his ribs. "What's this? Does Yoongi have a new little boy toy? He doesn't seem like your usual type. Then again you are a f*g whore, so it's not surprising you wou-" Yoongi cut him off by pressing harder with his knee.

"You should shut your mouth if you know what's good for you." Yoongi hissed.

"What? Scared I'm going to out your little secret to your crush? Tell him about what you do at-" Kunghe continued with a smirk before Yoongi pressed his forearm even harder across his throat.

Yoongi's eyes were dark. It was a side of him that I hadn't seen yet, and I was starting to understand where the rumors came from. He looked terrifying. Anger practically rolled off him as he held down a boy almost twice his size.

His voice was low and deep as he responded, "If you do, I may have some stories to tell of my own and I don't think that would end well for anyone. How do you think your family would handle it? Huh?"

Kunghe shut his mouth and just stood there. "Listen closely," Yoongi continued in a slow and menacing tone, "Jimin is under my protection. If you touch him, talk to him, or even look at him wrong, I will take that as a death wish. I have no problem with mutually assured destruction. You won't get another warning. Now, leave before I lose my temper."

Kunghe scowled but scurried from the room as soon as Yoongi released him.

The smaller boy then turned his sharp eyes on to me, and I shrank back against the corner. He moved to the side so he was no longer between me and the doorway. He squatted down but didn't come any closer.

"Jimin? Are you okay?" There was no trace of the anger or sharpness that his voice had held a minute ago. Now it was soft and calming, like velvet.

Slowly, I nodded, still staring off into space. What just happened? I was suddenly aware of the situation I was just in and what might have happened if Yoongi hadn't shown up when he did. A small sob broke from my chest.

"Jimin," Yoongi continued in his soft velvety voice, " I'm going to come closer to you to check on your wounds. Is that okay?"

When I nodded for the second time, he quietly moved closer. He reached up and lightly ran a finger over my cheek that was already starting to bruise. I winced slightly.

"That's gonna need some ice. And the cut on the other side should probably be patched up as well. Did he hit you anywhere else?" It was all suddenly too much. I threw myself into Yoongi's chest as sobs wracked my body. As soon as I touched him, I felt him tense beneath me, but after a moment he slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.

I was startled when I felt his trembling hand softly pet my hair as he started to hum quietly. I couldn't place the song, but the simple tune in his deep voice along with the gentle touches eventually calmed me down.

Once, I had managed to get a hold of myself, I pulled out of his arms with a deep blush. He released me after a second and leaned back looking down into my face. That face that only moments ago was sharp and scary was now full of nothing but concern.

"M Sorry." I mumbled, sniffing.

"It's okay. Let's get you cleaned up. Okay?" I nodded and he helped me to my feet. The bruising on my stomach and ribs made it difficult to walk easily. Yoongi wrapped an arm around me and guided me out of the practice room and bandroom towards the cafeteria.