Sticks and Stones • Park Jimin

xvi.

"I don't...I don't want to do this," Jimin said, shaking his head and trying to step back, but Kyung-soo grabbed his arm, tightening his grip hard enough to leave bruises.

"You said you'd do whatever I told you to do," Kyung-soo said, his mouth right next to Jimin's ear. "Unless you want all of your precious friends to discover how pitiful and pathetic you are."

Jimin bit his lip while shaking his head. "I can't- I won't-"

"You will."

Jimin fisted his hands at his sides and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Think of Taehyung, of Jungkook, of Jin, of J-Hope, of Namjoon...

Do it for them.

Jimin opened his eyes and looked at the boy in front of him. The boy was standing, his arms held out to the sides by two of Kyung-soo's friends.

The boy wasn't attractive. In fact, rather the opposite. He was overweight and riddled with acne, sporting a pair of glasses with thick lenses.

Jimin looked at the boy, and he saw himself mirrored back.

The boy looked at Jimin, and in his eyes, Jimin saw pleading, begging Jimin to be on his side, to fight back again Kyung-soo, to protect someone other than just himself.

But Jimin couldn't.

"You're ugly," Jimin said, the words spilling from his tongue like poison. "And you're fat. N-nobody will ever..." Jimin had to pause. He felt sick. "And nobody will ever want to be your friend."

The boy's eyes burned. Both with hurt and humiliation, but also with betrayal. Bullied kids weren't supposed to pick on each other. That was what bullies did.

But Jimin had done it. He had brought down someone else in order to protect himself and his own needs.

Jimin had bullied someone.

"Go on," Kyung-soo instructed.

Jimin ran into the bathroom and threw up.