The Escort

Act To Achieve

The psychiatrist visited the next morning.

"We can all talk together. That's fine." Jungkook said, when she asked if they wanted to talk separately. The lady nodded.

"This has been a very traumatic event for him and he will need your unconditional support to get through it. But you've also experienced trauma as well and it's legitimate."

"I feel so helpless." Jungkook whispered. "If I hadn't...I went to the bathroom and when I came out he was gone. It was just a couple minutes...."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Kook." Taehyung said, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Jungkook bit his lip and nodded.

"I know. I know....I did everything I could....but still....." He leaned back and covered his eyes with his hand. The lady looked at Y/N who had sat quietly, just staring at the floor the entire time.

"How are you feeling, ma'am?" She asked quietly. It was probably a full minute before Y/N replied. The psychiatrist was about to ask again, thinking maybe she hadn't heard her.

"I cried after they checked me. I'm not an idiot, I wrote a paper on sexual assault statistics and attitudes in college."

"It's good he has someone so knowledgeable by his side." The psychiatrist said gently. "It's good he has someone who won't perpetuate toxic attitudes." Y/N barely nodded.

"How are you feeling now?"

"I wish....." Y/N stopped and cleared her throat, her voice becoming a little stronger. It sounded like she was coming in to herself. "I wish I had kept them both by me. I don't know why he was their target, yet, but nothing would've happened if they'd been with me."

"You know it's not your fault though, right?" Y/N nodded.

"I don't blame myself. But I wish to god it hadn't happened." The lady smiled at her.

"It's good that you don't blame yourself."

"I didn't stop." Y/N whispered, staring off towards Jimin's bed, her mind moving in another direction. The lady's smile grew confused.

"Didn't stop what?" Y/N focused again, looking directly at the psychiatrist, and it was like looking at another person. She looked cold. She looked angry.

"I saw him, I saw that motherfucker on him. And I wrapped a belt around his neck and squeezed till he couldn't breathe. And I didn't let go. No matter what they did...." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't let go. I didn't care if they permanently hurt me, I didn't let go."

"Uh....um...it's very admirable that you intervened and put yourself in physical danger..."

"No." Y/N shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm not explaining it well." She took a deep breath, looking more normal. "I'm a good person. Everyone knows it. I don't tolerate injustice. I want what is right. But....." She looked at Jimin again. "A good person should be upset they did that. I'm not. I just wish after I tightened the belt, I'd stepped on his back and snapped his fucking spine." There was silence for a moment. Taehyung wasn't sure what the problem was, he was wishing the same thing now that he heard about it. But the psychiatrist saw. She pursed her lips, thinking for a long moment, then she bent down so she and Y/N were face-to-face.

"Life is ugly, dear. Sometimes to put it to rights as much as possible it needs cataclysmic destruction. We don't know why that man did what he did, but something went wrong a very long time ago that led to what happened today. A good person accepts reality. They accept that the people that would define that as "bad" are the same people who would protect that man. A good person sees the ugliness and does what they need to do to stop it, even if it means more ugliness at the time." Y/N laughed, but it was hollow. "They may not like it, but they see enough to understand it must be done."

"That sounds like the end justifies the means." The lady stepped back and shrugged.

"It's not, but you can call it whatever you want. You're not saying it's justified. You're saying it simply had to be done to achieve another event. Sometimes you shouldn't assign a value judgment, you should just see what is." Y/N bit her lip but nodded, turning the words over in her mind.

The psychiatrist promised to stop in again soon and left. Taehyung scooted them closer to him, and held both of them until another visitor was announced.