25 septembre

25 septembre is anchored in the narrative by a brief but consequential episode at Ares Garden: Jungkook turns accumulated anger into a violent training session, and Namjoon arrives to find him with bloodied hands. The date places this outburst immediately after a quieter encounter between Jungkook and Shelby, setting companionship against the pain he still directs at himself.

Date and Setting

The entry identifies the day as Wednesday, September 25, and gives the time as 17:20. The scene takes place at Ares Garden in Ellensburg. It follows the previous night, when Jungkook and Shelby silently shared a joint; after it was finished, Shelby thanked him with a slight smile and hurried back to her dormitory. The shift from that subdued companionship to Jungkook’s solitary violence gives the date its narrative contrast, without suggesting that Shelby’s presence caused his anger.

The Outburst at Ares Garden

Jungkook positions himself before the punching bag and strikes it repeatedly, using the impacts to release the anger he has accumulated during the day. He wears neither gloves nor hand wraps. His fingers redden and approach bleeding, but the physical pain seems insignificant beside the rage driving him. The scene makes his distress visible through bodily damage rather than explanation: each blow intensifies the cost of his attempt to discharge it.

Sweating, Jungkook shouts until his cries fill the room. He is alone, avoiding the possibility of frightening anyone else, and continues until his left wrist cracks. He then drops onto the floor, his hair sticking to his forehead and his chest rising and falling rapidly. The cracked wrist abruptly stops the session; the anger has not been described as resolved, but its physical expression has left him hurt and exhausted.

Namjoon’s Arrival and the Wider Pattern

Namjoon opens the door and finds his friend on the floor with bloodied fists. His alarm is immediate: he hurries toward Jungkook, but with care. The scene ends on that discovery, turning a private act of self-endangering anger into a moment witnessed by someone close to him.

Other episodes in the novel show distress recurring in different forms, though the text provided does not establish them as events of September 25. During a panic attack, Shelby recoils from Cassiopée’s touch; Cassiopée remains calm and tries to approach her without forcing contact. At Ares Garden on another occasion, Jungkook finds Shelby crying in the showers and stays beside her while she calms. Later, he places a hand on her knees when she breaks down, while Madison responds to another crisis by seeking him out rather than continuing to touch Shelby. Set beside these scenes, the September 25 episode stands out for its reversal: Jungkook’s own distress is not met within the scene until Namjoon enters, and its first visible sign is injury.