Chapter 4: The Silence Before the Storm

The sky was heavy with clouds the next morning, mirroring the weight in the mansion.

Namjoon was in his office, fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard as he reviewed security footage from their properties. Jin was on a call, managing their overseas restaurants. Yoongi was half asleep in the music room, headphones draped around his neck. J-Hope was reviewing supply reports in the basement, deep in logistics.

And the three youngest—Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook—were sparring in the training room. Their shirts clung to their skin, sweat dripping, as the sound of punches echoed.

None of them noticed the time.

None of them noticed the silence.

And none of them noticed Y/N wasn’t home.

Until 11 a.m.

It was Jungkook who paused mid-punch, looking up at the clock. “Isn’t it past school time?”

Jimin blinked. “Wait… did Y/N come home yesterday?”

Taehyung frowned. “I didn’t see her. I thought one of you picked her up.”

A cold wave of silence fell over them.

Jin’s voice suddenly echoed through the house from the intercom. “Where’s Y/N? She didn’t come down for breakfast.”

Namjoon appeared in the hallway seconds later, brows furrowed. “She’s not in her room. Her bed hasn’t been touched. Her phone’s here.”

Yoongi stood slowly, his usual calm cracking. “She didn’t come home at all?”

Fear hit like a gunshot.

The brothers scrambled to check every security camera near the house, school, and neighborhood. It was Jungkook who finally found the footage—grainy but clear.

Y/N.

Walking toward a pharmacy.

Looking sick. Weak. Pale.

Then—

She collapsed.

Their world froze.

Jin dropped the glass he was holding. The shatter barely registered.

“Call the pharmacy,” Namjoon said, already dialing numbers.

It didn’t take long. The woman who helped Y/N explained everything she could—how she fainted, how she hadn't eaten, how scared she looked. The pharmacist added that she had bought sanitary pads, and she had whispered something about it being her first time.

The line went silent.

Seven grown men stood frozen in place, guilt wrapping around their throats like chains.

“Her first time…?” J-Hope echoed, his voice cracking. “And she had no one to talk to?”

“She didn’t eat for days?” Jin whispered. “We didn’t even notice…”

“She fainted… alone?” Yoongi muttered, eyes dark.

None of them could breathe.

They found her hours later.

Curled up in the corner of her bed, still in her school clothes from the day before. Her face was pale, her lips dry. Her schoolbag lay on the floor, untouched.

The chocolate bar wrapper was beside her.

Jungkook was the first to move. He knelt down and gently brushed the hair from her face. “Y/N…”

She stirred slightly, blinking up at him.

And for a moment, there was no recognition in her eyes. No warmth. Just tiredness.

“…Kookie?” she croaked.

“Yes, it’s me,” he whispered, gripping her hand. “We’re all here.”

Jimin rushed forward next. “Y/N, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t cry.

She just stared.

Namjoon stepped back and pressed his palm to his face.

“We failed her…” he whispered, voice cracking. “We let her down.”

Jin knelt beside her, tears welling in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Y/N slowly turned her head. “Because… you never asked.”

That one sentence pierced deeper than any blade.

The room went silent again.

She sat up slowly, clutching the blanket around her. “I got my period yesterday… I thought I was dying.”

J-Hope choked back a sob. “God…”

“I went to the store alone,” she continued, voice barely above a whisper. “I bought pads. I fainted. A lady helped me. Not my brothers. A stranger.”

Yoongi’s jaw clenched. “We didn’t know…”

“That’s the problem,” she said, looking at each of them. “You’re my brothers. But you don’t know me.”

Her words weren’t angry.

They were numb.

Detached.

Taehyung sat beside her, pulling her into a hug despite her stiffness. “You’re right. You’re completely right.”

“We weren’t there,” Jin added, his voice shaking.

“We punished you without understanding,” Namjoon admitted, dropping to his knees.

“You were alone, scared, and we were blind,” Yoongi said, standing in the corner like a ghost.

Jungkook wrapped both arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry…”

For the first time in years…

They saw her.

Not just their youngest sibling.

But a 13-year-old girl who needed her family. Her protectors. Her safe place.

And they had failed.

That night, none of them slept.

Instead, they sat around her room in a circle—pillows on the floor, lights dimmed. Jin brought soup. J-Hope brought water. Jimin made her laugh a little with a silly story from training. Taehyung wrapped her in three blankets, saying “princesses need their cocoon.”

Namjoon sat quietly, watching her with tired, guilty eyes.

Yoongi handed her his hoodie—the one she always wanted but never asked for.

And Jungkook never left her side, holding her hand the entire time.

It was the first night in years that they were all together again.

It was the beginning of their healing.

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