BLACK TIGER | YOONMIN

Prologue. Betrayal

"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies."

Back against the wall, crouching legs, chin on knees, arms wrapping them.

Jimin was crying alone in his corner.

The moonlight illuminated the dark room. A scent of fear, vengeance and regret flowed with the gentle evening breeze.

The white t-shirt, which he had offered him for his birthday, was now covered with his blood.

Him.

The one whose smile shone on every photograph that was in the room. On the dresser, the nightstand, even inside the wardrobe.

The one who only a day ago was his everything.

Jimin looked at his hands, they weren't soft and clean as they used to be. He stared at them like they didn't belong to him, like someone took his hands and replaced them with new ones. They were dirty and covered with blood, their blood.

Them.

The two people who meant everything.

His tears flowed as slowly and abundantly as a fountain whose water shone with the moonlight.

His eyes were swollen, his face was sticky and his cut lips tasted the salty taste of his tears. Tears of anger, disappointment...emptiness.

"Why..." he whispered with an exhausted voice. His eyes rested on the picture, their smiles, their happiness, their love.

"Was it even real..." he said, remembering the truth he knew about the day before. "It was all fake." he chuckled and wiped his tears. He didn't care about staining his face with blood. He was already dirty, his soul was dirty.

"Fake." he mumbled, his eyes fixed on their recent picture, it was only a few weeks ago, during his birthday. Their arms were around his shoulders while he was holding the red velvet cake they made for him. "It was all fake..." his voice cracked again as more tears fell on his cheeks. "Just a fake love."

The peaceful moonlight has disappeared in the midst of strong red and blue lights.

The noise of the siren was only background sound to Jimin, a loud beep played in his head, he could hear nothing, see nothing. He remained frozen in his corner for a long time until a loud bang woke him from his trance.

"Park Jimin! Open the door!"

His heartbeats suddenly sounded louder to his ears. His hands and legs started shaking, he couldn't breath properly.

"We know you are here! Open the door!"

He wanted to stand up but his body was no longer obeying him, he could not move. He felt his heart explode inside his chest whenever the police knocked loudly on his door. He had to help himself to the night table near him to take a little balance and finally get up.

He stood up in front of the window and hide himself behind the curtains to see what was going on outside discreetly.

At least two or three police cars were in front of his house. A dozen of officers were waiting for him, with a gun between their hands, ready to shoot.

He panicked. He didn't know what to do, he took a deep breath and looked around the room, searching for something. He opened the drawer and took a photo frame, it was a picture of him and his mother when he was only seventeen years old. He folded it and put in inside his jean's pocket. He ran downstairs and spotted two officers' silhouettes behind the glass door. It was dark in the hall so, they couldn't see him. He went to the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge. He hasn't eaten or drink anything since the day before, his throat was dry and stomach kept on growling.

When he was about to open the bottle, a loud noise surprised him. Glass shattering... they entered.

He heard them walking inside his house, they were in the living room, just a few meters away from him.

He covered his mouth, not knowing what to do. He couldn't move, he couldn't risk making any noise, but will it help him to stay frozen there? Oh, hell no.

He saw the door which led to the terrasse. He pressed his lips, remembering where he last put the key.

The officers were approaching, he could hear their footsteps.

The key was above the fridge, he couldn't see anything so, he just put his hand there and started searching as quietly as he could. He wasn't very tall so, he had to stand on tiptoes to reach it.

No more time.

He put the bottle down and inserted the key inside the lock, he bit his lower lip very hard, trying not to make a single noise. Good thing he has always been a discreet guy, he always succeeded to go unnoticed.

The door was open, he grabbed the water bottle and stepped outside.

The light from the beacons was blinding, the red and blue reigning all around his house. The neighbors were standing behind the cops, whispering and wondering what was happening.

The terrace was in the other side of the house, so he still had a chance to escape. He leaned and snuck between the trees to disappear completely from the area.

He put on his black hood and ran between the narrow, empty streets of Seoul.

~~

His heart pounced every time he bumped into a random person in the streets. He felt that everyone knew him, that everyone wanted to stop him, that everyone knew he was a criminal.

He entered a convenience store and bought a ramen cup. He put on the broiling water inside, paid the cashier and left as quickly as he could.

He heard three men talking about a college student who murdered two people the day before. He gulped, the news flied faster than he imagined.

He hide his face and left the street. He spotted a bus arriving to its stop. He ran, holding the cup in a hand and the bottle in the other. He got inside the vehicle, paid the driver with the little money he had left and sat in the back.

He was so hungry that he didn't hesitate to eat the hot ramen, despite the bus rules.

The drive was long, he watched people leaving one by one, each heading home, work... or the ones like him, the ones who didn't really know where they were going.

He saw the big boulevards of the capital from the window. He remembered their walks in the evening after finishing studying. They walked hand in hand, talking about everything, laughing and planning their future. Oh, how he loved to be near him, hear his voice and feel his body against his.

"Betrayar..." he whispered, his head resting on the glass.

He looked at the silver bracelet around his wrist, J + J was engraved on it. He chuckled, "A promise." he mumbled. This gift he had received from him three years ago was a promise he had made him. He told him that after their studies, he will buy them a house in Busan and live together forever. "Liar."

"Young man." the driver interrupted his thoughts. He raised his head and saw that he was the only one left inside. He didn't even realize the bus has stopped. "This is the last stop." the man said with a tired voice.

"Oh." Jimin nervously rubbed his neck. "I'm sorry, thank you." he left the vehicle and found himself in front of the river.

No one was walking on the bridge so late at night. The wind was stronger in this part of the city.

He threw the empty ramen cup in the bin and started walking, his eyes staring at the reflection of the moon in the river. It looked so peaceful and beautiful that he wondered what it would be like to end his days under the water.

He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment, he forgot that the cops were looking for him, that two families were sad because of him, that his poor mother was disappointed in him. He reopened his eyes to face the reality, his cruel reality.

He ruined his life and other's in a fraction of seconds. All his projects, his achievements, his friendships, his life were finished.

There was no returning back the time, he had no chance to correct his mistakes.

He stood on the iron bars, his hair was moving along with the breeze, he opened his arms wide and faced the river. He couldn't hear anything besides the deafening silence reigning around him and his loud breath.

He looked down, it was dark, deep and scary. Nothing to do with what he saw earlier from afar.

That's when it hit him.

He was on the verge of ending his life, him who always loved himself and made people around him happy. He was about to kill the person his mother worked hard to feed and raise, the one who spent his entire teenage years studying like crazy to get in the best college and start his dream career, the one who was respected by all people around him, the one others took as example, he was about to kill Park Jimin.

Tears started falling uncontrollably, it was amazing how someone's life could change overnight.

"Y-you betrayed me." he sobbed, feeling the bracelet burn his skin. "WHYY!!" he shouted so loud that he almost lost his voice. "Why did you have to betray me..."

He stared at the river and imagined what would happen after he jumps. He will die under the water, the police will find his corpse, he will be buried as a criminal who killed himself because he was scared of the world.

He shook his head. No, he didn't want this ending, he didn't want to be remembered this way.

He remembered them again. The scared look on their eyes, their trembling hands, their little cries...

He shook his head again, violently.

"Why..." he cried.

He took a deep breath, then jumped.

Not in the water, but in the other side of the bridge.

"I'm not gonna kill someone else." he mumbled, wiping his tears.

He decided that if he was going to end his life, he better do it with honor. He was going to turn himself in to the police.

He walked away from the river, he was crossing the road when a strong light hurt his eyes and a loud brake sounded. Someone was about to hit him with a motorbike.

He just stood in the middle of the pedestrian crossing, his eyes wide, looking at the silhouette.

The lights were turned off and he could finally see the young man.

He was tall and skinny, he envied him for his long legs. He took off the helmet to reveal a dark brown hair styled messily, in an attractive way. He was wearing a black leather jacket with colored patterns, black jeans and black boots. His clothes were very expensive as well as his motorcycle. "Park Jimin." he said with a deep voice, surprising him.

"How do you know my name?" Jimin asked, his eyes growing wider.

"Don't do anything that you might regret later." the stranger ignored his question.

Jimin stared at him confusingly then chuckled, "It's too late, I already did."

The guy didn't say anything, he just kept staring at him.

"Who are you? Are you... a cop?" Jimin asked with a low voice, trying not look scared.

"Do I look like one?" the stranger smirked and walked toward him, "Do you know what will happen if you turn yourself to them? You will spend the rest of your life in jail."

Jimin gulped. He wondered how a stranger knew about his crime and his decision. "Who are you?!" he shouted.

"You can do it of course, but do you really want to?"

Good question. Jimin thought.

The guy stared deeply into his eyes, like he was searching for the truth.

"Spending your days in the same cell, watching the same walls, eating the same food and living with the same stupid hope that one day you will get back to your normal life." the guy scoffed. "Do you want this?"

Jimin frowned. He gave him a death glare, "If you were that worried about me, then you should have hit me! Why didn't you do it?!" he shouted.

"To go to jail instead of you? Oh, hell no." the tall guy laughed.

Jimin ran his fingers through his black hair and spoke with a calmer tone, "Now tell me who you are and what do you want from me?"

The stranger sighed. "It's still not the time for me to tell you who I am, but the only thing I can tell is that I can give you two choices; spend the rest of your days in jail or start a new life."

"Start a new life?" Jimin furrowed. "What do you mean?"

The brown-haired approached more until there were only a few centimetres between them. "You hate betrayers, right?"

Jimin gulped.

How much does he know about me?

"If you come with me, you'll have the chance to get rid of all the betrayers in the world." the stranger continued. "You know how life will be better without them, right?" he said.

Jimin kept staring at him, he was waiting for him to say that it was all a joke but the guy looked very serious. "How... how can I trust you?" he asked.

The guy walked back to his motorcycle and got in. He stared at Jimin and smirked, "The choice is all yours pretty boy."

Jimin pressed his lips. He knew that turning himself to the police only means that he would voluntarily end his entire life. He stared at the stranger, his skin was glowing under the street lights. His ear piercing was shining as well as the glitter on his jacket. Something about his deep stare made Jimin think that he could maybe trust him.

Don't do anything that you might regret later. He remembered his words.

What will he regret? Trusting him and starting a new life however it was, or going to jail?

He scratched the back of his neck and sighed heavily, "f**k it." he mumbled before walking toward the guy and sat behind him.

The stranger gave him a helmet. He turned to look at him and smirked, "Good choice pretty boy." he mumbles before starting the motocycle.