mina let out a deep sigh, shifting from lying on her back to now her side. her focus trained on the clock hanging on the wall beside the bed; it's steady, monotonous tick was this weird mix of soothing and irritating. it provided some decent white noise, but also only provoked mina further as it reminded her of the time passing by where she was unable to fall back asleep.
she had gone to bed that night at around midnight but woke up later at around 3:50. currently it was 4:35; nearly an hour she had spent staring at the wall and tv to lull herself back to sleep. anyway, she had woken up from a bad dream. her mind replayed the events of last night's fight with her boyfriend (soon-to-be ex). even in her sleep, the events unfolded over and over again.
"god," mina muttered as she reached over and picked her phone up. she squinted under the bright light, glaring at the text messages and missed call notifications from him. "i hate you."
they fought often but this one was different. he had taken it too far; shoved her around the apartment, screamed directly in her face, and, sadly, hit her. even when she cried and begged the fighting to stop, he didn't stop. mina hated him right now. or, well, she wanted to hate him. a part of her still cared about him and wanted things to work out between them.
after a few minutes of staring at the words on her phone, she got up and ventured out through the dark apartment. passing through the living room, she ended up in the kitchen where she fished a water bottle out from the fridge. she drank half of it in fast gulps, the cold water cooling her warm body off.
mina put it back into the fridge and wandered over to the grand window overlooking the city of seoul. taehyung had gotten himself a nice apartment, mina thought. she knew he was a fighter— an underground boxer of some sorts— but she never knew the extent of his job
"damn," she muttered, admiring the marble flooring and beautiful view. "he must be good."
she'd actually never seen him fight, even though he's been in the industry for years now. anyway, she searched through the city below, imagining she could find the apartment she shared with hyunjin. well, she kinda shared it. these days it's like he owned it and she simply just lived there.
in the beginning they had both worked to afford to live there together. but as months of dating turned into years, hyunjin thought it would be best for him to be the sole money-maker of the household. she wasn't allowed to work or have friends (or really do anything).
mina brought her hand to the glass, tracing her fingertip along it. later today she'd have to go get her beloved cat who she had left at home when she rushed to pack a quick overnight bag. she felt sorry for leaving the poor thing with that asshole.
mina jumped, gasping out loud as she whirled around and was met with the dark figure standing behind her. "jesus christ, tae," she groaned. "did you have to sneak up on me like that?"
"sorry," he shrugged. "what's up?"
"nothing, just couldn't sleep," mina told him. she quickly remembered what she had been thinking about just a few seconds before. "hey, i um... is there anyway my cat could stay here too?"
"a cat?" taehyung would chortle. "mina-"
"please, tae. just for a few days. i still need to call mom and dad to see if they'll let me move back in with them."
"why?" he asked. "you aren't going back home?"
"no," mina frowned. "i'm breaking things off as soon as possible. i just need to go grab a few things today, if you could take me?"
"oh, mina, i'm sorry," and here came taehyung's soft, nurturing side as a big brother. "you two have been together for so long. what happened?"
"he's a jerk," mina simply said. "i'm not putting up with him any longer."
taehyung would see the fragile side of his baby sister start to show. he knew her better than anyone else and he could tell how upset she was from the shaking of her voice and the fidgeting of her hands. he'd silently step forward and pull her into a hug. mina sighed, melting into the gentle touch of her brother. "we can stop by your apartment later today, okay? get your stupid cat and whatever else you need."
she looked up at him, ready to scold him for talking down on her pet like that, but she was met with a playful smile. it that made her break into a small smile too. "thank you oppa~" she teased, knowing the word made him cringe.
"ew, shut up!" he'd playfully push her away and tousle her hair. "go back to sleep, kid."
mina rolled her eyes and stepped around him, slipping past him and towards the entryway of the kitchen/living room. "goodnight."
"night," he called back. "oh hey, by the way; the boys and i need to go to the gym to train for a few hours. we all have fights coming up this week. you're welcome to come, then we can go to your place after."
"sure," she replied. "i'll go with you. night."
taehyung parked his sleek black car in the lot of the gym. suddenly feeling a bit nervous upon seeing his friends again, mina's fingers fidgeted in her lap. "you okay?" taehyung would ask. he reached into the backseat and grabbed his gym bag. she nodded, watching him sling the bag on his shoulder and climb out.
mina got out too, following closely behind him like a lost puppy. taehyung pushed open one of the glass doors that led inside, giving a small wave of his hand at the person at the front desk. "hey," he greeted. the person greeted back, smiling as the pair walked by towards the practice room the boys had reserved for an hour or so.
the guys were already in there; mina subconsciously hiding behind taehyung more as she felt self-conscious under their curious gazes.
"guess we can have a proper meeting this time since last night was a bit out of the blue," taehyung stepped to the side, nudging his sister into the spotlight. "this is my baby sister, mina. mina that's jungkook, jimin and hoseok."
"hey mina," hoseok smiled warmly at her. "nice to meet you."
she smiled back, shifting her eyes to the tatted, dark haired boy beside him. he was handsome; with big brown eyes and a sharp jawline. he had full sleeves of tattoos, with a few sprawled across his hands. mina couldn't help but look at them, simply curious.
"hey, beautiful," the tatted man started to say. jimin reached over and slapped him on the leg.
"hey," taehyung warned. "you're not going to whore over my sister, jeon. watch it."
"yeah, kook, leave her alone," jimin chimed in. "you're creeping her out."
mina sheepishly retired to the sidelines of the practice room and took a seat against the wall. she pulled her phone out for a distraction, feeling embarrased now. the boys started getting ready, discussing their upcoming opponents. taehyung and jungkook headed for the punching bags while the other two men lifted weights together.
mina could feel it; every few seconds jungkook's eyes would find their way on her. little did she know, he found her to be genuinely beautiful. she pretended to ignore his gaze though, and played on her phone.
after about forty minutes passed the boys settled for a five minute break. taehyung went to the bathroom while the remaining group went and filled up their water bottles in the lobby of the gym. mina was stood to the side, waiting for her turn at the water station when she happened to look up through the glass windows and watch as a familiar car pulled up into one of the front spots.
her heart stopped for a moment as all the color drained from her face. hoseok glanced towards her and noticed her strange behavior, "you okay mina?" he looked out the window too, searching for whatever had made her react like that.
she nodded, awkwardly clearing her throat. "um, e-excuse me for a moment." she turned and dashed out into the parking lot.
"what are you doing here?!" she cried once outside, watching her boyfriend climb out of his beat up car.
"what the fuck are you doing here?" he snipped back, throwing his arms out to emphasize his frustration. "i've been calling and texting you since you left yesterday. why the fuck are you ignoring me?"
"why would i want to talk to you?" she challenged. "did you forget how you treated me yesterday? i needed some space."
he stormed up to her and grabbed her by the wrist, squeezing her skin so tight she could feel another bruise forming. "don't get smart with me," he yanked her forward. "you're coming home. now," hyunjin demanded, lowering his voice to show he really meant it.
"get the fuck off of me," mina pulled back. she planted her feet into the cement, using all her strength to stay put. "i'm not some little ragdoll you can pull around, hyunjin-"
rage settled over his face and he reached his hand up, bracing himself to hit her across the face. "don't argue with me you bitch-"
mina and hyunjin froze, the two casting their glances sideways to find a tall, tatted man standing beside mina. it was jungkook, and he had his head tilted to the side as he stared back at hyunjin with an inquisitive look.
"can i fucking help you?" hyunjin hissed, giving one last tug that nearly knocked mina over completely. she stumbled and fell into him, wincing in pain as he held her there next to him. "who the fuck are you anyway?"
"no, who the fuck are you to be pulling her around like that?" jungkook didn't back down; in fact he stepped closer and zoned in on the man. hyunjin visibly stepped back a bit, shrinking back like a coward. "i'd suggest you get the fuck off her before we have to take this any further."
"jungkook-" mina murmured, looking down at the ground in shame. "don't-"
"who the fuck is this mina?" hyunjin suddenly asked, yanking her arm again to get her attention. a deep lump settled in mina's throat as she felt tears start to gather in her eyes. "huh?"
mina gulped, willing herself to breathe around the lump in her throat. she fucking hated when he yelled at her like that; it made her feel like a small, helpless child. the embarrassment started to kick in too, as she became another burden for everyone to take care of. "taehyung's friend." she murmured.
"unbelievable," hyunjin let her go as he threw his hands in the air again; the immature man huffing and puffing. "what is up with you? can't even handle a little disagreement? gotta go running to your brot-"
"it was more than a disagreement, hyunjin. you took it too far." mina said, reaching a trembling hand up to hurriedly wipe the tear that had start to sneak down her cheek.
"you know what mina, i don't have time for you and your bullshit. i'm going to be late for work," hyunjin's hands came slamming down at his sides. it made mina flinch. "i'll see you tonight."
and with that he turned, walked back to his car and got in. he instantly drove off, leaving the pair behind on the sidewalk.
"i'm sorry," mina breathed out a sigh of relief she had been holding in for a long while now. she clutched her throbbing temple. "fuck. i'm so sorry."
jungkook didn't say much as his eyes focused on her raised arm, noticing the browning bruise hyunjin had left behind. "i..."
"don't tell tae about this, please," mina pleaded. "i'm trying to break things off with him."
and with that she stepped around him and went inside, heading straight for the bathroom with tears still brimming in her eyes. a moment later jimin came to the entrance of the gym. "jungkook?" jimin called from the door, looking at the youngest in bewilderment. "what happened?"
jungkook shook his head, long black hair falling over his eyes. he had really witnessed only a fraction of the abuse mina had secretly been putting up with for awhile now. a heavy feeling settled over his chest; genuine remorse and an overall sorriness towards what he had seen. god, it made him furious to see a man lay his hands on a woman like that. if mina hadn't of been there jungkook would've knocked the prick out.
he turned and looked at jimin. there was worry written over the older's face. for the first time in a long time, jungkook was genuinely speechless. "i... i don't know."
