Detecting Falsehood

Jungkook curses under his breath, dropping the flip phone to the floor and then kicking at the muddy wall, trying to get it to collapse on itself. I stare at him in confusion, both of us breathless at the distance we've just sprinted in an attempt to get away from the position we were at. "They must have connected with my phone, I need to make sure we leave it somewhere. We can't be found, Tae. They'll kill you."

I nod in understanding, beginning to help him try and dissemble the wall, even if I don't fully understand what he's trying to do. My kicks aren't at the same strength as his, but that's because he's been trained as a fighter and attacker. He's not quite roundhouse kicking at the mud, which would just be over the top. But it's still quite powerful.

"How would they find us, if we're underground?" I ask him, smacking into the mud on top of me with a hand. He shrugs, backing up slightly and then jumping upward, punching the ceiling with surprising force. A long crack runs along it, and he smiles darkly to himself, watching as the whole tunnel begins to strain from keeping itself up.

"Get ready to run, hyung," he says simply, his eyes running over the fault before he grabs my hand, practically dragging me down the system of corridors. I somehow find the energy to persuade my own feet to move, helping us to speed up slightly now that I'm not as much of a dead weight. "They will find my tunnels if we're not careful. Then we'd have to go overground."

My eyes widen in surprise, even as the breath catches in my throat, and I start having a coughing fit.

Jungkook slows to a fast walking pace, as I start to struggle to run, and his eyes flash with panic before he smacks me hard on the middle of my back, causing whatever it was that started the hacking coughs to go away again. I start to half-run again, placing a hand on my back and wincing at the sting of the hit.

"Sorry," he says quietly, seeing the action, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to help you."

I smile gratefully, my heart fluttering slightly when I realise that he's telling the truth. He wasn't being violent. He just wanted me to stop coughing, and he thought it would work. He's not the person he used to be. And I sort of feel bad for forgetting that. It's not his fault, we've been over this so many times. And yet I keep on blaming him for things he can't control.

"No, Kook, I'm sorry," I say quietly after a few seconds, as he tugs me round a corner, and he glances over, frowning in confusion. "I keep treating you like I used to, and it's really not fair. When you're not talking, my abilities can't tell whether things are meant to be aggressive or helpful. And then when you do talk, I realise that you really do care, and I just feel bad."

The corner of his mouth lifts up ever so slightly, and then he looks down as the expression takes over practically his whole face. "Hey, it's alright. I understand why. I haven't exactly been the most trustworthy in the past, have I? You have every right to be unsure about these things. Honestly, I'd be the same in your position."

I wave away the thought with my free hand, shaking my head. "Jungkook, you deserve an apology from the whole world for the life you've had so far. For now, I'm afraid I'm the only one who can do so. Therefore, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that your mother died, of something nobody understands. I'm sorry you were caught up in a car crash and lost your twin brother and role model. I'm sorry that your father blamed your true self for the tragedy in your life, because it wasn't your fault."

His eyes flicker over to look at me, and I see a glimmer of tears in his eyes. But I know that I'm doing the right thing here. He deserves to know that he's not a bad person, because everyone else has been criticising him from day one. The only person who tried to make him feel better died when he was a child, and then he was blamed for that death as well.