???? ????? ?? ???? -tk

chapter 31

Why? Why me? He wanted to scream, but all that came out was a quiet sob. He couldn't help it. The touch-so foreign, so disgusting-made his stomach turn. He felt powerless. Helpless.

The guy's eyes raked over Taehyung's body disgustedly. "Look at you, crying like a little slut. Is this what you wanted, huh? ?" He leaned in close, his lips brushing Taehyung's ear as he whispered vilely,

Taehyung's face contorted in anguish, his sobs echoing softly against the silent terrace. Guy's words pierced him like daggers, each one chipping away at his self-worth. "Please, stop... I'm not like that... I'm not..."

The guy's voice dripped with disdain as he spat the words, "You're gay, aren't you, Taehyung? You're a fucking faggot, and you love it. You love being the pretty little boy that guys like me use and abuse."

And that's when the world seemed to shift. Taehyung's tear-filled eyes flicked up to see someone standing in the distance. Yoongi.

The guy saw him too and immediately let go of Taehyung's wrist, stepping back with a mocking laugh.

"Looks like your knight in shining armor's here," the guy muttered before walking off, leaving Taehyung trembling in his place.

Taehyung barely registered the guy leaving. His mind was a haze of confusion and pain, his chest tight as the sobs he'd been holding back finally broke free. His body shook with every breath, his throat tight with the need to scream, to cry, but he couldn't.

Yoongi was approaching him slowly, but Taehyung couldn't bring himself to look at him. The shame, the disgust, the helplessness-all of it poured out as he cried in the open, not caring anymore. Not caring who saw.

Suga knelt down beside him, his eyes unreadable. There was pity in his gaze, but there was something else too-something darker.

"Taehyung," Yoongi's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Are you okay?"

But Taehyung didn't answer. Instead, he wiped his eyes harshly, trying to get rid of the tears that refused to stop falling. His whole body ached, as though the assault had taken more than just his dignity-it had taken a part of him he didn't think he could get back. The guy's touch still burned on his skin, and Taehyung felt the overwhelming urge to scrub it off, to remove it, to somehow erase everything that had just happened.

"I... I just wanted to be left alone..." Taehyung gasped, his voice trembling. "Why... why does it always have to be me?"

Suga remained quiet for a long moment, his expression softening. He could see the pain in Taehyung's eyes, the emotional toll it had taken on him. It reminded him of someone else-someone he couldn't forget.

He hated seeing Taehyung like this. His heart hurt for him, for the loneliness, the fear, the way he seemed so broken, so lost. But what could Yoongi do? The damage had already been done, hadn't it?

Taehyung, still crying, finally met Yoongi's eyes. In that moment, Yoongi saw not just the broken man in front of him, but a person he didn't know how to help. The guilt gnawed at him. He knew the feeling, the helplessness of wanting to protect someone but being unable to, even though he was there now.

What good am I? he thought bitterly, as Taehyung continued to weep, his sobs echoing in the emptiness of the terrace.

The worst part wasn't that Taehyung had been attacked-it was that Yoongi could see the part of Taehyung that was resigned to it. The part of him that had learned to expect it, to expect the hurt and the abuse. It wasn't just a physical assault-it was a mental one. And it had been happening for far too long.

"Taehyung," Yoongi finally said, his voice low and filled with an emotion Taehyung couldn't quite place. "Don't cry. Please. Not like this." He reached out, but Taehyung flinched back, wiping his eyes harshly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Taehyung whispered through his tears, his voice breaking. "I can't do this anymore... I can't keep pretending I'm fine when I'm not."

Yoongi's heart twisted painfully in his chest. He hated the sight of Taehyung like this, but he couldn't help him. Not the way he wanted to.

He had tried to protect someone once before, tried to stop the pain, but in the end, he had failed. And now... now he was witnessing the same despair in Taehyung's eyes.

"I'll take you home," Yoongi said quietly, not knowing if he was making the right decision. But he had to do something. Anything. "You don't deserve this, Taehyung."

But Taehyung didn't respond. He simply nodded weakly, his body still shaking, tears still flowing. As Yoongi helped him to his feet, he couldn't help but notice the way Taehyung clung to him-like he was the only thing left that could hold him together.

As they walked off the terrace, Yoongi glanced back, his heart heavy with the realization that no matter how much he wanted to save Taehyung from this, there were some battles that couldn't be fought with just words.

And maybe, just maybe, it was too late to fix what had been broken so long ago.

———🌷

Group Chat: University Students

[Unknown Number]
📸 Picture attached

[Message from Unknown Number]
"Slut, trying to seduce a straight guy. Pathetic."

[Phone screen showing the picture with his arms around a guy, the angle making it look like he’s the aggressor]

_____🌷

Tbc~