otherworldly ~ coraline!au (pt.3)
PAIRING ~ jimin x reader
GENRE ~ horror/thriller
WORD COUNT ~ 20K
SUMMARY ~ when you discover a tiny door in your home that leads to a much better version of your own life, it seems too good to be true. little do you know, the man posing as your boyfriend may be a lot more dangerous than you care to admit. and he is not intent on letting you leave.
WARNINGS ~ profanity, ANGST, relationship struggles, kidnapping, general creepiness, guilt tripping, spiders, violence, mentions of starvation, minor body mutilation, insects, restraints, blood, rats, non-graphic body horror, slight gore, needles/impalement, referenced medical horror, slight injury, jimin is a creep, dub-con kiss.
A/N ~ thank you for your patience!! I hope you like it :)
PART 1 PART 2
The floorboards aren’t enough to ground you. Not when your heart is about to pound out of your rib cage, shaking hands scrabbling for purchase on something solid, something real.
How does one ground themselves after crawling out of hell?
Sucking in quick gulps of air, you struggle to give your lungs a little relief from the dry burn. You manage to calm your breathing after a few painful minutes, but it doesn’t ease the tight, clenched fist in your chest.
You look back at the little door. It stands silent, unmoving. The wood doesn’t rattle, the knob doesn’t jiggle. You grab the key with shaking fingers and shuffle to the other side of the room.
Calm down, you remind yourself when your pulse spikes again. It’s okay. You’re safe, you’re safe. He can’t follow you out here. He can’t leave.
A chill crawls up your spine. None of them can.
The realization is heart-wrenching, enough to make tears pool in your eyes, stomach bobbing into your throat.
You left them there. You abandoned them, left them to fend for themselves against that...that thing.
Guilt obstructs reason. It doesn’t matter that you know they couldn’t follow you, that they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. All you can think of is the fact that they’re still trapped while you walk free.
You picture Taehyung curled up on that dirty mattress, tear-stained, clutching his stuffed Pomeranian until his fingers go numb. Numb enough to pretend it’s real. Would he ever get out of that room? Who’s to say he isn’t suffering a punishment far worse than a simple time out.
What will happen to Jungkook without you there to cushion the blow? Now that you’ve seen the extent of Other Jimin’s hot temper, there’s no telling what he wouldn’t do in a fit of rage. And now, without you there, he’s got nothing to lose.
The digital clock on the mantel distracts you before you can spiral into a full-blown anxiety attack.
6:37 P.M.
Your brows furrow. That can’t be right. You remember leaving the real world a little after 3 o’clock, surely it’s been more than just a few hours?
That’s not why it feels wrong, though. These late afternoon hours are Jimin’s most productive. Most nights he works straight through dinner, hunched over his desk until his eyelids are sagging and his brain is too sluggish to pump out a single sentence.
It’s about time for his ritual evening cup of coffee, shouldn’t the brewer be churning? The air should be alive with the sound of clicking keys, the shuffle of fabric as Jimin bounces his knee, the drumming of his fingernails on the tabletop.
But the house is quiet. You can’t even hear the creak of a chair.
At first, all you can manage is a whisper. A soft Jimin against the horrible silence that sounds more like a puff of air than a name.
You scramble to your feet. None of the lights are on, like no one’s home and hasn’t been since before the sun set.
The kitchen is empty. You spot the car keys on the counter, Jimin’s scarf discarded beside them. Now you’re calling for him, your voice an unpleasant echo over the sound of rapid footsteps.
Rumpled sheets greet you in the spare bedroom, glaring evidence of your fight and the fact that he spent last night alone. Another flood of anxiety ripples through your body.
You’re practically screaming his name by the time you kick open the bathroom door. Still nothing.
You fly down the hallway, barely sparing a glance into his office in your haste to get to the master bedroom, but a flash of light makes you skid to a stop.
It’s the soft glow of a computer screen, half obscured by an uncomfortably bent, sweater-clad back.
Your breathing is still strained when you step into the room.
Jimin is slumped over the table, head cradled in one folded arm, with his cheek squished and his lips pressed into a sleepy pout. His eyelids flutter ever so slightly behind his crooked glasses like he’s in the middle of a dream.
Instant relief. You release the sigh lodged in your throat and let some of the tension in your shoulders melt away.
He’s here. He’s safe and warm and real.
You reach forward to touch him, to feel his solid body under your fingertips. He doesn’t stir until you give him a gentle shake.
“Jimin,” you whisper, and the name feels so right coming out of your mouth now that it’s directed at the right person.
His eyes crack open, back muscles rippling under your hand as he moves to sit up.
“Hm?” A confused groan falls from his swollen lips.
“You fell asleep at your desk again,” you explain, massaging between his shoulder blades.
Jimin rubs his still bloodshot eyes with one hand while the other runs through his hair.
“I did? Ah, sorry. I know you hate it when I do that.”
He looks up at you sheepishly from under his lashes, and you can’t help the smile that breaks out across your face.
Those full, flushed cheeks, that golden skin, those warm brown eyes. Full of color, full of life.
This is Jimin. Your Jimin.
“Come on, workaholic. Let’s go to bed,” you say, slipping one arm around his waist as you lead him towards the hall.
A shy blush burns at the tips of his ears, but he still returns the smile and wraps his own arm around you, keeping you pressed against his side.
The two of you waddle over to the stairs, refusing to let each other go enough to walk properly.
No spare room for him tonight. You don’t think you’ll be able to get a wink of sleep unless Jimin is right by your side.
It’s barely seven o’clock, but Jimin’s movements are lethargic, like he’s drunk and can’t find his footing. You barely have time to slip his glasses off his nose before he face-plants on the bed.
“You’re more tired than usual. Burning the candle at both ends again, hm?”
Your affectionate scolding only causes him to smile more, enough to make the corners of his eyes crinkle. Slipping under the covers, you lay facing him on your side, and to your surprise, he scoots closer until your faces are only inches apart.
“I didn’t get any sleep last night,” Jimin replies, his gaze flickering over your features now that he’s close enough to get an intimate look.
“Oh?” you reply with a yawn. You’re ready to knock out too, the trauma of today’s events taking their toll.
“I can’t sleep without you there,” he says, and your drooping eyelids snap back open.
That’s certainly not what you were expecting. A small smile creeps onto your face at his confession, pleased that he still wants you, still needs you.
No wonder he’s so tired. If he can’t seem to sleep without you, then last night in the guest room must’ve been torture.
Jimin’s eyes linger on the way your lashes flutter, fighting to stay open.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts out suddenly.
You look up to find him guiltily averting his gaze.
“I’ve been a real asshole lately. I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I let the stress of work get to me and took it out on you. I’m sorry. Work is just so...ugh, and I know I shouldn’t have made you deal with my bullshit but I just...I just thought you’d always be there. And then I got jealous because it dawned on me that maybe you’d had enough of my shit, but I swear I wasn’t trying to push you away I just—”
You stop his rambling with a finger against his lips. His breath catches in his throat, and you’re unsure if it’s because he’s anticipating what you’re about to say or because you haven’t touched him like this in a while.
“I appreciate your apology.”
It’s very carefully worded, and Jimin doesn’t miss that.
“So...are we good?” His voice betrays just how nervous he is, shaky and hitching with each inhale.
There’s a pause before you answer.
“I...don’t know yet. I don’t think you realize how much you hurt me, Jimin.”
You think you see his lip quiver ever so slightly, but it’s trapped between his teeth before you can be sure.
“I understand. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I know I don’t deserve a second chance. I really fucked everything up this time—”
“Jimin,” you interrupt him sternly.
He clamps his mouth shut and curls in on himself like a frightened turtle.
“No more talk like that. No more self-destruction.”
You reach up to card a hand through his bleach-fried hair, and he noticeably relaxes.
You don’t know it, but he’s missed being this close to you. Sleeping curled up against your body, snuggled into your warmth. It seems like a luxury he doesn’t deserve. It’s something he’s been denying himself every night for the past few months. He hasn’t been making as much progress with work as he’d like, so he’s been holding himself back from cuddling with you until he feels he’s worthy of affectionate touch.
He knows he still doesn’t deserve it, but it feels too good to pull away.
“Forgiveness can always be earned, and I’m still willing to give it, if you’re willing to change.”
“Yes,” Jimin blurts out with startling enthusiasm. “Yes, yes, I want to. I want to be better for you.”
The corner of your mouth tugs up. There’s that affinity for praise you know and love.
“Things are going to be different from now on,” you say, calm enough to soothe his nerves, quiet enough to let him know you’re serious.
“I think we both need to work on our communication.”
Jimin ducks his head again, another shameful blush flaring on the apples of his cheeks.
“I know, I understand. I’m...”
Something gets caught in his throat. He gulps down the lump, licks his lips nervously.
“I’m really sorry, Y/N. Really,” he finally chokes out.
“I know, baby. I know. We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”
You both know this conversation isn’t over. There’s still a lot more to discuss, inner thoughts laid out, compromises to be made, but it’s for another time. Right now all you want to do is fall asleep next to your real partner and revel in the fact that things will get better.
Right now, it’s so easy to believe that things will get better.
“Can I have a goodnight kiss?” you ask playfully, and he knows it’s not really a question, but rather you giving him permission, judging by the way he’s been eyeing your lips for the past five minutes.
Jimin’s whole face twists into a near-blinding smile, before he jumps at the chance and smashes his mouth against yours. His grip around your body tightens, like he can keep you from disappearing if he holds you tight enough. Fingers curling at the edge of your jaw, he doesn’t break away until his lungs are burning, letting out a soft, barely-audible whine at the fact that he needs to pull away to get a proper breath.
A dozen frantic pecks follow. They don’t stop until your whole face has been stamped with his lips and you’re giggling uncontrollably.
“What am I going to do with you?” you sigh into his chest.
Jimin slides his fingers up your spine, sweeping deftly over the spot where your hair meets the nape of your neck until he gets the response he’s looking for. He always used to tease you about your catlike reaction, how it’s so easy for him to draw the shivers out of your body with a single touch.
“You’re gonna whip me into shape, that’s what you’re gonna do,” he replies, now petting the back of your head with slow, gentle strokes.
You let out a content hum as exhaustion sinks its claws deeper into your body. It’s really starting to set in, the realization that you’re safe, you’re okay, nothing bad can happen anymore.
How stupid you were to believe that.
Jimin whispers one last “I love you,” but you’ve already slipped away.
Sleep doesn’t bring comfort, not when you’re tormented by dreams of spiderwebs and ink black eyes, of cold, cramped rooms behind mirrors and needles piercing through flesh. That night, little dark shapes skitter behind your eyelids. Someone’s—something’s—low voice breathes in your ear, meaningless words that sound more like growls than decipherable speech.
You only sleep for a few hours. A particularly bad nightmare jolts you awake, but Jimin, being the heavy sleeper that he is, lays undisturbed. Sitting up in bed, panting and sweat-slick, you grip the sheets in tight fists.
Something unpleasant prickles under your skin, and it takes you a few seconds to realize it’s the itch that comes with being watched. It takes you even longer to realize that there’s just something not right about the room you’re in.
The window is bolted, good. The closet door is closed, good. Jimin is still sleeping peacefully by your side, excellent. What is it that’s just not—?
A twitch of movement out of the corner of your eye. It’s barely anything, but it’s enough to catch your attention.
Your heart is in your throat by the time you gather enough courage to turn your head.
Sitting in the chair next to the bed, the chair you’re positive was empty when you went to sleep, is that infernal doll.
The button eyes are too shiny, so shiny they look almost wet. Wide, unblinking, and definitely watching you.
The urge to scream is very tempting, but you can’t risk waking Jimin. Pretending to be calm and collected is even harder, especially with that thing’s glassy-eyed stare trained on your every move.
A horrible, bitter taste burns the back of your throat. With the way your stomach ripples and your breathing shakes in your own ears, you feel like you could puke all over the sheets at any second.
But you hold your own, leisurely swinging your legs over the mattress, softly placing your feet on the floor, standing up slowly like the doll isn’t even there.
Because you can’t let it see your fear. You can’t let him know you’re scared.
Jimin is so blissfully unaware, lying there curled up on his side with his cheek cradled in his hands.
A smile tugs itself onto your lips at the sight of him, and you take a moment to bend down, brush his bangs back, and plant a kiss on his forehead. He hums softly, snuggling deeper into the blankets.
The doll just sits there silently.
You’ve made up your mind. You’re not about to tolerate spies in your house.
Stomping over to the occupied chair, you grab the doll by the neck and race down the stairs two at a time. You shove your feet into your rain boots and shrug on your coat, slamming the front door on your way out.
The ground is soggy from the recent rain and the cold bites, but the fresh air does wonders for your nausea. It’s an ungodly hour of the morning, so the sky is still pitch dark and the air is eerily quiet. You’re thankful for the full moon and the light it sheds on the winding dirt path.
The only sound in your ears is the slosh of mud under your boots and the crunch of gravel. It grounds you, eventually syncing with the rhythm of your breathing, your heartbeat dwindling down to a dull thrum.
It’s a longer walk than you thought. By the time you reach the crest of the hill, your toes are numb from the cold and your nose feels like it could snap off. Your grip on the doll, however, has only tightened with each step.
The clearing is just as bare as you remember it. Stripped tree branches, brown grass, and at the center of it all, a ring of toadstools.
You don’t waste any time, dropping to your knees despite the mud and clawing at the dirt until your fingers hit solid wood. Dragging the heavy cover aside, you peer down the wide, black opening of the well until you feel as if the darkness is about to reach out and grab you. You can’t see the bottom, just the moss climbing up the stone walls.
With one last shaky inhale, you let the doll slip through your fingers and tumble down the dark tunnel. The sound of it meeting the water never comes.
When you return, the clock reads 3:28 AM in bright, electric green. You tell yourself that’s why it feels so strange, because of the odd hour. You’re supposed to be asleep, that’s why the house feels so achingly empty.
When you drag your tired limbs up the stairs, down the hall, through the doorway, and find an empty bed, you think nothing of it.
Jimin’s probably in the bathroom or getting a glass of water, maybe working in his office after a bout of late night inspiration.
You slip back under the covers, draw your knees up to your chest, and close your eyes.
Ten minutes pass. Fifteen. He’s probably just piddling around the house.
Twenty. Thirty. He probably just can’t sleep. He’s probably downstairs watching TV. With every passing second, your fidgeting grows a little more restless.
Everything is fine, you tell yourself over and over. And you want to believe it so bad, but it’s been over half an hour and Jimin still hasn’t come back yet. Heat prickles under your skin, sweat collects at the back of your neck. Reaching over, you find that Jimin’s side of the bed has gone cold.
For the umpteenth time that night, you know that something is wrong.
Calling out his name only makes the silence ring louder, echoing mockingly against the thin walls. It’s broken only by the sound of the blankets being ripped off your body and the pound of your feet on the floorboards.
The master bathroom is empty, so is the spare bedroom and the storage closet. Downstairs, you find nothing but darkness and disappointment. The kitchen is barren, the dining room is deserted, the office is vacant.
You’re not prepared for what you find in the living room. It’s uninhabited like everywhere else, though definitely not the same as you left it.
Scuff marks on the wood near the little door’s threshold, faint but definitely there. Jimin’s glasses lay open and discarded on the floor.
Then there’s the little door itself, open a crack with the key sticking out of the lock. There’s no light seeping through the opening, no glowing blue tunnel beckoning you forward. Just a sliver of darkness so thick it looks like a tear in the fabric of reality. If light can shine, then this darkness bleeds.
You can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t even shiver in fear with how tight your muscles are. All you can do is stand there in your cement-filled shoes, plunging, sinking deeper into the icy waters of dread and helplessness.
There’s no doubt in your mind that something is watching just behind the crack in the door.
The thought of approaching it leaves an ugly squirming feeling in the pit of your stomach, but the thought of it sitting there open and unlocked is much, much worse.
So, with trembling hands, you snatch the metal poker from beside the fireplace, and take the first hesitant step forward. You grip the handle tight as the space between you and the little door grows smaller and smaller.
You’re fully expecting something to reach out and grab you when you lunge forward and kick the wood hard, weapon poised and ready to strike, but the door closes without a struggle. Using your knee as a barricade, you twist the key until the lock clicks into place with a satisfying thunk.
Panting and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, you fall back on your elbows with a jerk, scrambling along the floor until your shoulder hits the opposite wall.
Then come the tears. Bitter, frustrated tears.
How naive you were to think that the nightmare was over. How stupid you were to let Jimin get involved in this mess. The mess you caused by indulging in your own fantasies.
You couldn’t save Jungkook, you couldn’t save Taehyung, you couldn’t even save your true boyfriend.
Vision blurred and watery, you crawl over to Jimin’s fallen glasses and clutch them to your chest.
There’s a noise from the window, a soft pitter pattering of small feet. The last fat drops of moisture roll down your cheeks as you look up.
Two shiny yellow eyes stare back at you. They’re surrounded by a dark shape, fluffy around the edges, elegantly silhouetted against the few wisps of moonlight.
It’s the cat, you realize when it paws at the glass and exposes four pink toe beans. The feline waits impatiently as you push yourself off the floor and slide open the window.
“Hello,” you say, unsure if he will reply this time.
The cat hops off the window sill, collar jingling with every graceful movement. He bows his head in your direction, a silent greeting.
“What brings you here?” Your voice noticeably wavers, you can feel yourself choking on a sob.
The cat looks at the little door, at Jimin’s glasses gripped in your hands, then back up at you.
“Do you know what happened to him?”
He blinks and tips his head down. You take that as a yes.
Before you can ask anything else, he turns and saunters out of the room. You follow his swishing black tail, the metal poker still in your left hand, trying and failing to swallow down the lump in your throat.
He leads you to the end of the hall, stopping just in front of the full-length mirror, and sits down with a twitch of his ears.
Obviously, you’re a little confused. Your focus flickers between the cat and where his intense gaze is pointed. He just stares straight ahead, stoic as ever.
Then the glass starts to fog up, though it looks like it’s coming from the opposite side. A cloudy film seeps frost-like over the surface until your reflection is completely shrouded.
A shape, a white shadow, emerges from the milky blankness, moving closer until it’s pressed right up against the glass.
It’s a hand, you realize. It’s someone’s hand.
The hand becomes an arm, the arm becomes a torso, the torso becomes a person. A person with bleach blonde hair and tear-stained cheeks.
“Jimin?”
The image clears to reveal his trembling form, dressed only in pajamas. His eyes are red and glistening, beautiful plump lips bitten to shreds. There’s spider silk tangled in his hair.
“Jimin! Oh my fucking god, Jimin!”
He looks absolutely frantic, expression blown wide with panic as his eyes dart all over your face like it’s the last time he’ll ever see it. Both of his hands are flat against the mirror, sliding, pushing, pounding in their desperate attempt to get to you.
But it’s no use. Even as you line your own palms up against his and press as hard as you can, the cruel barrier won’t budge.
“Jimin! Please, what can I do? What do I do, Jimin!”
He shakes his head vigorously. His mouth is moving, but you can’t hear anything, just the sound of your heaving sobs.
Fresh tears fall over the already existing tracks on Jimin’s cheeks. Behind him, you can see mismatched furniture and blue wallpaper.
“Please, please, please...” You’re not sure what you’re begging for, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. He can’t answer you anyway.
Jimin leans forward to breathe on the glass, fogging it up even more, and uses the tip of his finger to write two gut-wrenching words:
ƎM ƎVAƎ⅃
You look up at him in horror. He wants you to leave him there, leave him with that fucking monster who will do God knows what to him.
Jimin’s lip quivers as he mouths something to you, and you don’t need to hear him to know what he’s saying.
I love you.
The mirror clears almost instantly. Jimin’s face melts away, leaving you to stare at your own pitiful reflection.
You scream his name until your throat is raw, slamming your fists against the mirror, blinking through the burning tears.
Grabbing the poker again, you cock your arm back and bring it down in one powerful swoop. Crack. Crack. Crack.
You swing the heavy metal rod until the glass shatters and falls over you like razor-sharp rain. The only thing behind the mirror is a slab of cardboard.
The cat watches you silently, wide-eyed. Tiptoeing between the jagged shards, he pads over to where you’re sat hugging your knees and rubs his head against your arm. You barely notice his attempt to comfort you. Your chest is heaving too much, blood pulsating in your veins, in your skull.
He sits with you while you cry, brushing your skin with his soft tail every so often. He sits with you even when the first slivers of daylight trail across the floor.
When day breaks, you’re numb. Dehydrated, trembling, aching all over. Your body is sore from sitting on the hard floor for too long, the morning chill seeping bone-deep and leaving your skin cold to the touch.
Apparently, the cat decides that enough is enough. He bumps his head against your arm to get your attention, but your red-rimmed eyes are stuck staring at the glass shards strewn about the floor.
He nudges you with his tail, tugs at your shirtsleeve with his teeth, even gently scratches your exposed ankles.
“Knock it off!” you snap, shooing him away, but he just struts right back to your side.
He’s looking at you expectantly, and you can practically hear the question in his eyes.
Well, what are you going to do now?
Your gaze trails off, glancing back at the broken mirror, at Jimin’s glasses in the palm of your hand.
This bad dream isn’t something you can just wake up from.
It’s clear that running solves nothing. You tried it once, and it only came back to bite you. All that did was hurt the people you care about.
The people I care about, you think bitterly. Now trapped in a nightmare, all because of me.
They didn’t deserve this. Not even Jimin, no matter how bad he’s treated you.
The cat sits on his hind legs and watches the different emotions play out across your face. Regret, pain, fear, doubt, and then, something ignites in your expression like a switch being flipped. A fire behind your eyes that could only be described as pure, unfiltered determination.
No, they won’t suffer any longer. I won’t allow it.
You grip Jimin’s glasses so tight it’s a miracle they don’t snap in half.
I’m going to fix this.
The presence of sunlight makes your task a whole lot less daunting. The cat’s company is a nice bonus too, with his calm yellow eyes and silent encouragement. Not that backing out is an option. You know what you have to do.
You change into comfortable yet practical clothes, lacing up a pair of sneakers. You tie a jacket around your waist in case you, or anyone you encounter, gets cold.
Taehyung lent you his sweater, hopefully you’ll get to return the favor.
Digging Jimin’s old leather messenger bag from the back of the closet, you start to go around the house collecting supplies. A flashlight and extra batteries, lighter, pocketknife, gardening shears, a roll of duct tape, water bottle, a few apples and granola bars.
You pick the sharpest knife out of the kitchen drawer, sheath it inside the plastic cover, and stash it with the rest of your provisions.
Jimin’s glasses are stowed in the bag’s inside pocket. He’s going to need them if—when you find him.
The cat follows as you pace from room to room, hovering at your side as you finally make your way back to the little door.
There’s a thick, stifling moment of hesitation. Your heart is beating fast again, dread sinking it’s ugly teeth into your neck.
You throw a sideways glance at your companion. He looks up at you, nods towards the door, then moves his petite shoulders in what could be interpreted as a shrug.
He’s not coming back on his own, the gesture seems to say.
And he’s right, infuriatingly right. So with one last unsteady sigh, you grasp the cold black key and twist.
The door swings open by itself. A hot, musty-smelling wind brushes across your face, heavy and damp like someone’s breath.
It’s too dark to see anything, so you grab the flashlight from your bag and switch it on. Cobwebs cling to the tunnel walls, dust particles floating in the flashlight’s yellow beam. There’s an oh so enticing spec of light up ahead. Come back, it practically whispers in your ear, come back to me.
You grab the key from the lock, shove it safely inside your bag, and crawl forward. The ground is soft and startlingly warm against your fingers.
To your surprise, the cat follows you here too, albeit begrudgingly. His nose twitches in obvious discomfort, ears pressed flat.
“You don’t have to come with me,” you say, not really expecting a response. But, to your surprise again, he replies in that same deep voice:
“You need all the help you can get.”
Despite the situation, you let out a chuckle.
“You’re talking again,” you notice, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.
“How very observant of you.”
A few quiet seconds. The tunnel seems a lot longer than it was before, more suffocating.
“You know, you’re walking right into his trap,” the cat says, sounding slightly disinterested.
“I know what I’m doing.”
He doesn’t look convinced.
The air stirs impatiently around you, sucking you in as the light at the end of the passageway shines brighter and brighter.
“I can’t just leave him there,” you say to no one in particular.
The cat seems to understand, bowing his head in what looks like pity.
“Make it a game, then,” he says. “Believe it or not, he wants your respect. Give him a chance to earn it.”
You consider it for a moment. A game, a chance to even the score.
“Hmm. That could work.”
“No need to thank me,” the cat remarks with a proud quirk of his head. “But he won’t play fair, remember that. Even if you win, he won’t let you go so easy.”
His words send a shiver down the back of your neck, the weight of the situation finally setting in.
It’s then that you finally reach the end of the tunnel.
The parallel living room looks perfectly inviting, nothing at all like the last time you saw it. Instead of pulsing green walls and insects clinging to every solid surface, warm tones and softly glowing lamps decorate the space. Everything is plush and homey, from the comfortable furniture to the roaring flames burning in the fireplace.
Light seeps in through the kitchen door, along with the heavenly scent of cooking food. A sweet, male voice is singing quietly.
You look down to find that the cat has vanished. Guess I’m on my own then. Shoving the flashlight back in your bag, you square your shoulders and walk right into the belly of the beast.
The table in the center of the room is so loaded with food there’s barely any room left. Tendrils of steam rise from a tower of stacked pancakes; the eggs are cooked just how you like them, presented next to a platter of already-buttered, perfectly golden toast. You can hear the gurgling of the coffee pot.
Your throat constricts when you spot him.
The Other Jimin stands at the stove, spatula in one hand, leaning over a pan of sizzling bacon. His back is to you, and he doesn’t acknowledge your presence until you step onto the kitchen tiles.
“Oh, good morning sweetheart,” he says as if you’ve startled him. “Breakfast's almost done. Have a seat, won’t you?”
He’s too focused on the crackling pan to face you, merely gesturing towards the two empty chairs at the table.
You don’t move a muscle. Feet rooted to the floor, you just watch as he transfers the bacon to a plate. He unties the apron from around his waist, runs a hand through his hair, and turns around.
Your stomach flips, but it’s not out of disgust.
His tan skin is dewy and smooth, a healthy blush blooming across his cheeks. Your eyes drink in his velvet-soft lips, his sharp-cut jaw and the way his silken black locks fall over his forehead. He’s dressed in a t-shirt and star-patterned cardigan, tapering down to the tightest pair of black skinny jeans you’ve ever seen. They cling sinfully to his thighs and ridiculously thin waist.
He’s gorgeous and he fucking knows it, judging by the smirk on his plump, rose-pink mouth.
“Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving,” he says, moving to sit at the table.
You make no effort to join him.
He stares you down with those dark bottomless eyes, letting out an amused chuckle after a few seconds of silence.
“Stubborn,” he mutters under his breath, like he’s dealing with a petulant child. He scoots his chair back, approaching with a few strides of his long legs, and pushes you gently but firmly into the seat opposite to him.
Your stomach growls. Loudly. It’s hard to remember the last time you ate something, but you’re not about to give in to his temptations so quickly.
Jimin busies himself preparing a cup of coffee. He sets it down in front of you like an offering, loading your plate with a little bit of everything from the table.
Even though he said he was starving, he makes no attempt to eat anything, just sits there watching you.
You realize with an unpleasant sinking feeling that it’s not food he’s hungry for. He’s hungry for your reaction, your praise, your validation.
With this little detail in mind, you reach into your bag and grab one of the apples, biting into it with fake enthusiasm.
The corner of his eye twitches.
“Please don’t be difficult,” Jimin says, fingertips drumming against the tabletop.
“I want Jimin back. The real one,” you say with a stronger voice than you were anticipating.
He narrows his eyes, perfectly sculpted brows furrowing.
“Come on now, babe. It won’t do you any good getting such silly ideas.” His tone is chastising. Impatient.
But you’re determined to shatter the illusion he so desperately clings to.
“I. Want. Him. Back.”
The muscles in his jaw clench impossibly tight. His already-piercing gaze darkens.
“You know, I have half a mind to teach you a lesson after the stunt you pulled,” he grits out from between his teeth. “After you abandoned me and left us all to starve.”
You dig your fingernails into the flesh of the apple, skin sticky with juice, trying to suppress the shiver that threatens to give away just how terrified you are.
He must be able to tell, because a smug expression flits across his features.
“But no matter, I forgive you, baby. Love the sinner, hate the sin, as they say. I’m tired of giving punishments anyway.”
This time, you can’t hide the way your body trembles in fear.
“What did you do to them?”
Jimin smiles, teeth bared and eyes crinkling. He’s loving this. Having you here, so scared and helpless, clinging to his every word. He could say whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted to you and there would be almost nothing you could do about it.
“They’re intact, don’t worry. I didn’t have to do much, they got their fair share of pain from just watching you leave them.”
You continue to munch on the apple, trying to distract yourself from his words and their poisonous influence.
“Kookie cried for hours. Poor kid, wouldn’t stop until I forced him.”
"What—” you start to say, choking halfway through the word. Never mind, you don’t want to know.
“And Tae was so disappointed. He was convinced that you’d stay for him, or at least try to take him with you.”
The Other Jimin sighs dramatically.
You know he’s lying, trying to manipulate you into feeling guilty for running away. You want to stay unaffected, but the mental image of Jungkook crying his eyes out, of the criss-crossing stitches over Taehyung’s chest...it gets to you a little bit.
Make it a game. The cat’s voice echoes in your head. Believe it or not, he wants your respect. Give him a chance to earn it.
This is your only shot. You have to get it just right.
“I don't love you.”
He bristles, hands clenching.
“Not if you force it,” you blurt out. “Love is meaningless if you force it. Wouldn’t you be happier if I loved you willingly?”
Despite his efforts to appear unfazed, there’s something undeniably eager dancing in the black of his eyes.
“Are you offering something?” he asks, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy.
“A game, a test of willpower. The winner gets my freedom.”
The Other Jimin raises an eyebrow.
“You’ll never try to run again?”
Your throat has gone so tight that speech seems impossible, so you simply nod your head in response.
“You’ll stay here forever?”
Nausea curls in the pit of your stomach, but you manage another nod.
“Hmm,” he mutters, considering it. “And what happens if you win?”
If anything, he sounds amused, like the idea of you winning this game makes him want to laugh.
“Then you let us all go. Me, Jimin, Taehyung. And you promise to never hurt Jungkook again.”
Leaning back in his chair, the Other Jimin juts his lips into a pout.
“You’re forgetting one important thing, Y/N. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
Fuck. You were really hoping he’d let that one little detail slide.
“Even if you lose, what’s to stop you from trying to leave me again?”
Shit shit shit. You can’t let him sew the buttons, you just can’t. Come on, think of something.
“I’m asking for a bit of mercy here,” you say, letting your voice drip with vulnerability and delicious weakness, praying that he takes the bait. “You already have an advantage.”
Another wicked smile spreads across his face.
“Alright, my love,” he purrs, slow and disgustingly sweet. “I can be lenient just this once, for you.”
You unclench your jaw.
“You’re right about one thing, though,” he says as he rises to a stand and approaches you with a few strides of his long legs. Hovering behind your chair, he slides his hands up to your shoulders and leans in uncomfortably close.
“I’d much rather win you fair and square.”
The heat of his breath tickles your ear. You fight the urge to flinch away.
“When you lose, when you finally give in, you’ll beg me to sew those buttons.”
One of his hands snakes down to rest over your sternum.
“After you learn to love me, you’ll want nothing more than to be connected to me in every way possible.”
You can only form one coherent thought in your head:
Fuck.
He seems reluctant as he pulls away, fingertips lingering a little too long. The fog in your brain clears a bit when he’s a safe distance away.
“I’ll give you three challenges. If you can get through all of them without breaking, I’ll let you all go,” he drawls almost lazily, walking around you in slow circles.
Without breaking? Your heart rate jumps a little at that.
“You’ll need to bring me something from each challenge, so I know you completed it.”
“How am I supposed to—” you begin, but he interrupts by reaching into his pocket and tossing something at you. Catching it by some miracle, you see that it’s a triangular stone with a hole in the middle, dark green like it was cut from jade.
“Look through the stone. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out,” he says with a grin. You can’t tell if the gesture is fond or condescending.
“Oh, and there will be a time limit, of course. You have until the moon is new.”
A scoff escapes your lips.
“Anything else?”
He only smiles again, eyes crinkling.
"One more thing.”
He closes the distance between you once more with a mischievous grin. Some of the juice leftover from the apple still lingers on the corner of your mouth, and he reaches towards you to swipe it away with his thumb.
Your stomach gives a little flip when he pops the digit in his mouth. And, judging from the dark look in his piercing, slitted eyes, he knows exactly what it does to you.
All this food on the table, and the only thing to pass his lips is the sweetness that has touched your own.
“I think that’s everything,” Jimin says nonchalantly, audibly sucking the last of it from his fingers.
“Do we have a deal?”
He extends his ringed hand with an expression that is downright ravenous. It’s unfair how attractive he is, with the faint yet sultry eyeshadow on his lids, the fluid lines of his neck and collarbone peeking out from his shirt.
You can’t help but agree with the cat’s words. You know, you’re walking right into his trap. But what other choice do you have? Jimin and Taehyung are here somewhere, and you’re the only one that can do anything to save them.
You shake his hand, and just like that, your deal with the devil is sealed.
“Good luck, sweetheart. I’ll be watching.”
The Other Jimin sidesteps you, skirting out of your field of vision, and when you turn around to keep him in your sights, you find that the room is empty. Except the feeling of eyes on your skin hasn’t disappeared with him.
Too long, you think bitterly. It’s been quiet for too long.
You’ve practically torn this house apart, kicked open every door, upturned every piece of furniture, scrutinized every nook and cranny for even the slightest trace of Jimin or Tae. And in that time, nothing’s jumped out at you, nothing even resembling a “challenge” has turned up.
The worst part is that you’re not sure if he’s toying with you or setting the stage for something truly horrifying.
The mirror at the end of the hall mocks you. It stays solid under your fingertips, leaving you glaring at a reflection you barely recognize. You have a feeling that the cold, dark room behind the glass is probably empty, anyway.
“You really are hopeless.” A voice, slick as oil, calls from behind you.
Whipping around, you’re met with the shape of the cat silhouetted in the kitchen doorway. There’s a moment of relief, then irritation as his words set in.
“It’s a big house, alright?” You bite back in frustration.
The cat rolls his eyes and musters a sigh.
“You won’t find anything in the house, stupid girl. Look at how much time you’ve already wasted,” he says, pointing his chin towards the window.
A sliver of darkness crawls across the full moon, covering nearly a quarter of its pale glow.
Shit. He wasn’t kidding about that time limit.
“I guess I’ll have to hold your hand through this one too,” the cat grumbles, sauntering towards the front door without checking to see if you’ll follow.
Of course, you hurry to catch up. His self-assured movements make you nervous, though. The slanted, almost bored look in those feline eyes, the slow sway of his tail. Why does it seem like he’s done this all before?
The cat leads you to the front yard, where the air prickles and hangs heavy with uncharacteristic humidity. His paws are silent on the dirt as he rounds the corner and stops at the basement stairs.
The entrance to the couple’s apartment is outlined in flashing marquee lights. You can hear the faint sound of music coming through the door.
“Your welcome,” the cat says, sounding very impressed with himself.
“Glad you don’t let it go to your head.” You don’t bother masking your annoyance this time.
He watches you venture down the stairs, tail twitching, and adds in a cool voice:
“Don’t forget to look through the stone.”
When you glance back over your shoulder, the cat is gone. A tiny bit relieved, but mostly terrified, you push open the door and step into the waiting darkness.
This definitely isn’t the grand theater you remember. The once vibrant, plush velvet curtain is faded and moth-eaten, its gold trim reduced to mere threads. Cobwebs and patches of damp mold cling to the rows of seats. The dimly glowing house lights reveal just how much dust floats in the air, you’re surprised you aren’t choking on it.
Something rustles from above. You look up at the arched ceiling just in time to see a dark shape crawl back into the shadows. Fishing your flashlight out of your bag, you flick it on and direct the beam.
They skitter to avoid the light. Dozens, hundreds of shiny black creatures with round bulbous bodies and too many long spindly legs to count. Each about the size of an overweight house cat, hanging upside down like bats.
You let out a startled yelp and point the flashlight back down at the ground.
Got it. Don’t look at the ceiling.
You don’t even have time to catch your breath before a blinding spotlight cuts through the dark room. The illuminated stage is occupied only by a gramophone seeping with crackling music, and two figures hunched back-to-back on the floor.
With one hand holding the flashlight and the other hovering over your bag, ready to grab a weapon, you begin your trek down the aisle.
The stench of rotting wood seems to thicken with each step towards the stage. Your footsteps are muffled by the filthy carpet, but you can still hear the creatures above your head shifting restlessly.
You’re only a few feet away from the stage when the two figures snap their necks to look at you.
Yoongi and Hoseok. They’re dressed in the same pink and green ensemble from the other night, but the colors seem...duller. Now that you look closer, you can see that they’re both covered in a thin layer of dust.
“Ahhh, our guest has finally arrived.”
Hoseok’s voice comes out garbled and distorted. If you hadn’t seen him open his mouth, you wouldn’t have believed it came from him at all.
“What took you so long, Y/N? We’ve been waiting for you.”
It’s Yoongi’s voice this time, but deeper and more croaky, like the inside of his throat has rusted.
Their bodies jolt into action, spines bending unnaturally backwards as they rise to a stand without the help of their arms. They seem unfazed by the sound of their joints cracking.
You take an involuntary step backwards, and their vacant stare follows you.
“We’re so glad you could join us tonight.” Hoseok's smile is a little too wide.
“Yes, we’ve been preparing for your visit. So that you’ll never think to leave us ever again,” Yoongi adds with a nonchalance that doesn’t match his words.
They’re still attempting to be theatrical despite their derelict surroundings. Even after the auditorium, and the fantasy along with it, has decayed beyond recognition.
When you don’t offer any kind of response, their expressions visibly wilt. They look at each other for a split second, and you can’t quite pin down what they’re feeling in that exact moment. Discouraged? Irritated? Anxious?
It dawns on you the next time they glance your way.
The almost frantic look in their eyes, the way their bodies fidget and tremble. They’re not just dejected, they’re scared.
“Won’t you have a seat and enjoy the show?”
The show. You’re reminded of the challenge. This is all meant to distract you from the game.
You reach into your bag and shuffle around until you find what you’re looking for. The smooth jade is warm to the touch.
The world is a flat black and white when you look through the stone, except for two flickering sparks of color. Their wedding bands, you realize. The ring on Yoongi’s left hand glows powdery pink, while Hoseok’s is a bright, taffy green.
The air seems to shift. Something in their black eyes sharpens with your realization.
The creatures clinging to the ceiling start to shuffle. Still keeping to the patches of darkness, their twitching legs scrape and tap against the wood.
“Don’t you want to stay with us?”
“We’re just trying to make you happy.”
At this point, you can’t tell who’s saying what. All you can focus on is the sound of the creature’s footfalls. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a mass of black shapes inching down the walls.
They’re coming towards you.
“You’d never be unhappy again. We’d make sure of it.”
“You’d never be uncomfortable, never feel unsatisfied ever again. We’d always take care of you.”
Yoongi and Hoseok walk slowly across the stage, circling each other. But their movements are jerky and awkward, like they aren’t in full control of their limbs.
“You could help us, Y/N. Won’t you help us?”
The sharp tapping suddenly turns muffled, and although the sound is less unpleasant, a chill runs down the back of your neck. That means the creatures have reached the carpeted floor.
I need to get those rings.
It can’t be just that easy, though. There must be some sort of riddle or clever solution.
“We’re so lonely, Y/N. You’d really leave us all alone to starve? We’ll all die without you.”
You've heard those same words so many times, but somehow they hurt more coming from different voices.
Something thin and slightly sticky brushes against your leg. Flinching away, you realize that the creatures have gotten close enough to surround you.
“Shit shit shit.” You sweep the flashlight beam back and forth, keeping them at bay.
The only other source of illumination in the room is the bright white pool from the single spotlight. You hoist yourself onto the stage just as another gangly leg snags on the material of your pants.
Yoongi and Hoseok lurch forward as you dig in your bag for a weapon. They reach out to—you’re not sure. To attack? To subdue? It doesn’t matter, because your fingers have already found the handle of the knife.
Fight overpowers flight, and you swing without a second thought.
There’s no cry of pain, no gasp for air. Hoseok doesn’t even blink when the blade slices across his forearm.
You never thought the absence of blood would bother you so much.
It doesn’t deter them in the slightest. They continue their advances, pulling, grabbing, dragging you despite the frenzied slashing of your knife. Bodies covered in deep, ugly gashes, yet not a drop of blood.
How can you win this fight? How are you supposed to beat this impossible challenge?
There must be something you’re missing, some sort of clue, the last piece of the puzzle that will make it all connect.
Scrambling back and swinging your weapon with everything you’ve got, they push you to the edge of the stage where the creatures are waiting ever so patiently.
“We don’t want to hurt you.” Yoongi’s voice sags with guilt.
“But you know we have to do this,” Hoseok finishes, reaching to grab your ankle.
Just as you’re kicking away their outstretched arms, your attention catches on the shadows cast by the spotlight. Three silhouettes, one crumpled and small, two standing tall. The silhouette on the ground, your silhouette, has nothing unusual about it. Yoongi’s and Hoseok’s silhouettes, though, don’t match up with their owners.
Several long, thin lines rise from the tops of their heads to the rafters above. They move when they move, one connected to each of their limbs.
Two seconds, three seconds, then it clicks.
You don’t second-guess your revelation or dwell on the cruel joke. In the time it takes Hoseok to pin down your flailing legs, the knife has been switched out with the shears.
All it takes is one sweep of your arm, this time aimed just above his head, to take Hoseok down. You feel a tension against the shears, something invisible but still tangible.
Snip.
Hoseok falls like a sack of potatoes. Nothing but dead weight, his body hits the wood with a heavy thump.
You expected Yoongi to be angry, to attack you with renewed ferocity, but the only emotion to flash across his face is fear. A pained cry that sounds like Hoseok’s name is torn from his chest. He reaches for the fallen man without a second glance your way.
That’s when you slice at the air above his head and send him tumbling to the ground as well.
The theater is silent. The music from the gramophone screeches to a halt, the creatures retreat from the edge of the stage and settle back against the walls. Eventually, the thrumming of your heartbeat quiets too.
Yoongi and Hoseok are motionless on the floor. At first, you think they’re unconscious, then you’re met with the sound of sniffling.
“Hobi? Hobi!��� Yoongi calls desperately.
“I’m here, Yoon,” Hoseok responds, trying to keep his voice steady, but you can hear the sobs bubbling in his throat.
They’re facing away from each other, bent uncomfortably on their sides. They can’t even move to wipe the tears that drip down their noses.
The rings, get the rings.
You drop to your knees by Hoseok’s body and slip it off his finger.
“Please...please don’t, Y/N,” he begs, but he’s helpless to stop you.
Yoongi is next. Doing your best to ignore his soft weeping, you grab the ring and let it disappear inside your bag.
“Don’t leave us like this, please! He’ll hurt us, he’ll separate us.”
As much as you might wish it, Yoongi’s pleas don’t fall on deaf ears.
Your feet freeze on the edge of the stage. Maybe it’s a mistake, but you take one last pitying glance back over your shoulder.
Poor things, you can’t help thinking. Puppets with their strings cut, blindly following orders. Beings motivated by fear.
Not you, though. You won’t be motivated by fear.
Yoongi is hyperventilating, now. Hoseok’s voice is shaky as he tries to talk him through it with sugary-sweet, comforting words that Yoongi clings to.
The sight makes your heart ache a little bit, but you can’t afford to stay any longer. The spotlight dims with each step down the aisle, so does the sound of their sobs.
You tell yourself that you have to keep going. You have to do this, for Jimin and Tae. If you can win this challenge then you can win the next two.
You can keep going. You can beat him.
Out of all the things you expected to see waiting for you at the top of the basement stairs, the cat in his human form is certainly not one of them.
Namjoon is wearing a path in the dirt, pacing back and forth with his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his pressed slacks. His appearance is as polished as you would expect, but even with his neatly groomed hair and crisp black clothes, you’ve never seen him look so disheveled.
His head whips around when your foot meets the first step.
“What took you so long!” Namjoon snaps. There’s panic laced in his normally smooth voice.
That sends another chill through your body. It means something’s finally cracked his aloof demeanor. It means you’re in trouble.
Apparently, you’re not moving fast enough, because Namjoon rolls his eyes and huffs out a breath.
“You’re beginning to worry me, you know.”
The clearly exasperated man grabs your arm and drags you up the final steps. He starts to pull you through the garden, towards the line of trees that surround the property.
“Why are you worried? I completed the challenge, didn’t I?” You struggle to match the strides of his long legs.
“Oh, don’t be naive. This isn’t about the challenges, this is about distracting you. Look at the moon!”
You can’t, too afraid of what you’ll find. If Namjoon’s voice is any indication, it can’t be good.
“He wants you to run out of time, he wants you to feel guilty,” Namjoon says, dragging you along with renewed urgency. The garden seems darker than it was before. You realize with a swell of nausea that it’s because the moon is no longer full. Half of its pale glow has been swallowed by darkness. Half of your time, gone.
“You’re getting emotional.” He digs the stone out of your bag and shoves it in your hands.
“Don’t. That’s exactly how he wants you.”
With that, he shoves you to where the garden’s manicured lawn meets the forest’s dirt floor.
Of course, you scoff to yourself. Of fucking course the next challenge is in the deep dark woods.
You dig out your flashlight and shine it on the overgrown path, through the twisted, reaching branches ready to snag on your clothing. After one more impatient push from Namjoon, your feet are moving and your gaze is cutting through the tangle of vines and shadowy trees.
These woods are dense, so dense that the reach of your flashlight beam only stretches a few feet in front of you. All you can see is gnarled roots and the occasional spiderweb, the dew drops on its delicate strings illuminated by a few wispy curtains of moonlight.
You reach for the stone and hold it up to your eye. It’s much warmer than you remember, a dull heat thrumming against your fingers. You can’t see much, just darkness and the texture of foliage.
Something glints up ahead. A speck of light, a candle flame trembling in the gentle, chilly wind. Pale yellow, it flickers like a dying firefly.
Dead leaves crunch under your feet as you approach the only beacon of light to guide you. With this newfound target, it’s easy to ignore the sound of rustling and scattered footsteps that come from inside the woods.
You follow it deeper and deeper into the forest’s beating heart, fighting the urge to hesitate or even turn back altogether. The image of Taehyung’s tear-stained cheeks and stitched-up chest, of Jimin’s eye smile behind his crooked glasses, reminds you that you can’t.
You have to see that smile again. Even if it’s just once.
The light is much closer now, though you still can’t see its source. You swear you can hear several sets of footsteps instead of just one, and it’s unclear if they are faraway or right next to you.
Your foot knocks into a dark shape, a fallen branch or stray rock. You don’t fall, regaining your balance just before your palms hit the dirt. The flashlight beam catches something.
The bottom of a shoe, the bottom of a leather boot.
Breath shaky in your ears, you sweep the beam higher. Ripped black jeans. Higher. A torso engulfed by an oversized coat. Higher. Matted black hair, silver earrings.
“Jungkook.”
His body is propped up against a moss-eaten tree trunk, head lolled to the side at an uncomfortable angle. Several days worth of fallen leaves are scattered over his clothes.
You drop to your knees and grab his arms. Shaking his shoulders doesn’t make him stir, neither does calling out his name. He’s still alive, according to the weak rise and fall of his chest, even if his skin has lost all traces of it’s youthful glow.
The stitches over his lips has been cut, letting his jaw go slack. When you lean closer, a green six-legged insect skitters out of his open mouth.
Grabbing one of your water bottles, you tip some of its contents past his cracked lips, then over the top of his head to try to wake him. It drips down the curtain of hair covering his eyes, down the slope of his nose, but Jungkook doesn’t so much as twitch.
“Come on, kid,” you mutter, gently slapping his cold cheek.
No movement. Tilting the bottle until water overflows down the sides of his mouth, he finally jerks awake, sputtering and coughing.
A groan rumbles from his throat.
“Master?” It comes out as a dry rasp.
“Jungkook, it’s me. It’s Y/N,” you say, soothing your hands up and down his arms in an attempt to generate some heat.
“No...no, no,” he mumbles, sighing your name like it hurts his lungs.
He won’t look at you. Head hanging low, bangs covering his face, his gaze fixed to the ground.
With a thick feeling welling up in your throat, you grip his chin and force him to look up.
Again, painfully again, you make out the shape of criss-crossing lines, dried blood and scabbed-over puncture marks.
This time they’re over his eyelids.
The sparse moonlight falls on the dark lashes now permanently stuck fanning against his cheek.
He wouldn’t stop crying until I forced him.
“Shit,” you gasp, tearing your hand away like you’re the one who’s been tortured, but Jungkook reaches for it again the second it leaves him.
He mutters something unintelligible, so you lean in to catch it better.
“Hungry, please.”
Hungry, hungry, he’s hungry. How long has he been out here?
You reach for a granola bar, crumbling off a piece and pressing it to his mouth. Tentatively, he parts his lips and lets you feed him. He chews once, twice, then spits it out with a gag.
“No, no, hungry. I’m hungry, please.”
Your brows furrow in confusion.
“‘M hungry,” he begs, pulling you closer by the wrist.
It’s only then that you remember what you’re here for. Shuffling a little closer to his huddled form, since he seemed to tense if you strayed too far, you bring the stone up to your eye with the hand that isn’t trapped in his iron grip.
The source of the yellow light is his charm bracelet. It glows more vibrant now that he’s conscious. The stone, too, burns hot in your palm.
“Jungkook, listen to me,” you begin, as if he could do anything else but listen with his eyes sewn shut.
“I need this.” Your fingers brush against the bracelet’s chain.
A jolt pulses through his body, stiffening immediately.
“What?” he blurts out. “Why?”
If he could look at you, you have no doubt that it’d be with those begging, watery eyes.
“You know why, Jungkook,” you reply solemnly.
His breath is quickening, limbs restlessly twitching. The hand around your wrist tightens.
“You’ll leave again,” he mutters, lip trembling. You wonder if he’s aware, or maybe it’s intentional, of the way your chest seizes with guilt.
“I need this to help you!” Slowly, you reach for the bracelet. “I’m trying to help you.”
He seems to anticipate it even without his sight. Ripping his hand away, he scrambles back until his back is pressed against the tree trunk.
“You need it?” His voice sags. “You already have everything you need. It’s all right here!”
Your face falls. He’s much too far gone to reason with. This isn’t the same boy that helped you escape. This is Other Jimin’s poison, this is fear and desperation and blind survival instinct.
The worst part is that you can’t decide if you resent him or feel sorry for him.
“You don’t want to help, you want to leave!” he snaps, eyebrows creasing like he would glare if it was possible.
“All you do is try to leave! You want us to all starve!”
You grit your teeth. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to do this the hard way.
“I’m sorry, Jungkook.”
As quick as you can, you grab his hand and slip the bracelet off his wrist.
An awful betrayed sound leaves his throat, and for a moment he’s shocked still, still reeling from the realization that you’d leave them all again. The next second, he’s lurched into action.
He reaches for you with both hands as you move to stow your prize in your bag. Catching you by the shoulders, he tries to pull you down to the ground.
You’re knocked down to your elbows. Curling up on your side, you deflect his advances for a brief second, which you use to stash the bracelet in your bag along with a handful of dirt.
There’s that sound again. The sound of footsteps.
You feel Jungkook frantically grabbing at your limbs, anything he can reach. Without thinking, you deliver a powerful kick behind you.
An audible crunch, then a groan and broken sob. Foolishly, you sneak a glance over your shoulder.
Black fluid flows from the hand cupped around his nose, muffling his pained whimpers.
Even though your throat feels clogged, you use the moment of precious distraction to haul yourself to your feet. You manage to get a few feeble steps in before a hand wraps around your ankle and you’re yanked back down to the ground.
Both hands gripping your ankles now, Jungkook uses all the strength he can muster to drag you backwards.
You feel the sharp bite of scattered rocks and fallen branches against your body, mud caked under your fingernails as you scramble to crawl away.
There are faces peeking out of the woods.
Pale, misshapen faces with too-long necks and dull, marble-like eyes. Some have gaunt frames with sinewy limbs, some have bloated bodies that resemble rising bread dough. They look as if they’ve been molded from lumpy clay or melted wax.
It’s hard to tell if Jungkook is crying or simply heaving with the effort of holding onto you. Whichever it is, you know that he’s not letting you get away without dragging it out first. And with one look at the moon overhead, you know you don’t have time for a dragged out escape.
So you do something he doesn’t expect. You turn and attack.
It’s clear from the way he gasps and flails that his only concern was keeping you from running away, and it seems he burned most of his energy doing just that. Blind, starving, broken, his attempts to defend himself are pathetically weak.
He’s so taken aback, so terribly dismayed by your assault. It only makes you feel that much more guilty at the fact that he never expected you to go on the offensive.
Decisive and deliberate, the grotesque forest creatures react to the rustling. Jerking towards you, they start to make their way through the brush. They seem to be drawn towards sound, much like how the creatures in the theater were repelled by light.
You wonder how long you have until they reach you. Then, a horrible idea flickers in your head. A cruel, effective idea.
There’s a few moments of struggling before you manage to pin Jungkook down and wrestle his arms behind his back. Fumbling for the roll of duct tape in your bag, you hear the slow approach of the deformed creatures through the overgrown thickets.
You’ve got both legs straddled on either side of his body, using your weight to keep him still. Or rather, as still as possible.
He’s struggling considerably, using every bit of strength left in his body to fight you off.
It’s no use, though. In just a handful of seconds, you’ve got his wrists bound. Then his ankles after switching your body around to face his legs.
There’s no fight left in him now, only sobbing and begging.
You look back to the way you came. The bracelet is lightweight, but your bag feels heavy enough to drag on the ground.
Don’t look back. Don’t. It’s Namjoon’s voice.
The creature’s footsteps are hurried, then suddenly cease. The same time that Jungkook’s sobs turn to screams.
You’re getting emotional.
Rustling, the sound of boots frantically kicking. Pained grunts and hitches of breath.
Don’t. That’s exactly how he wants you.
With the creatures distracted, you make your escape.
Namjoon is not waiting for you when you emerge from the woods. The pristine lawn is empty, not even an insect can be found. There are just the vines slowly slithering over the garden wall, the swollen flower buds pulsing like beating hearts, looking like they’re ready to burst with pus.
When your eyes shift over your surroundings, a distant light catches your attention.
It’s the door to the attic apartment. Swung wide, a deep orange glow emits from the opening, shedding light onto the metal staircase below. The light seems to cast more shadows than actual illumination.
You don’t have to hunt for this challenge, and you have a feeling that that’s not a good thing. It's practically beckoning you.
You can’t help but approach it hesitantly. A quick look at the moon proves to be a good motivator. A waning crescent.
You’re almost out of time.
Taking the stairs two at a time now, you reach the landing out of breath. Peering into the room, all you can see is the miniature circus tent. It glows bright red and yellow, while the rest of the room is shrouded in complete darkness.
You take the first tentative step forward, then the next, then the next, until your next step is met with a stomach-churning squeal and a squirming mass against your shoe.
Yanking your foot back, you realize with the sounds of skittering little paws that you stepped on a rat’s tail.
“Shit fucking shit fuck,” you blurt out almost involuntarily.
Small, scattered footsteps echo around the room.
“Rats. Lovely,” you mutter, mentally brushing yourself off before trekking deeper.
You pause at the shrunken entrance of the tent. Then the nauseating realization hits you. This is the last challenge. It all comes down to this.
You shove down the sudden wave of fear that wells up inside you.
Only one more to go. You’ve come this far.
You know that pretending to be brave sometimes helps. So, with squared shoulders and a clenched jaw, you bend down and brush past the tent curtains.
Once again, the inside of the tent defies all physics. It’s the size of a real amphitheater, only now it is covered in cobwebs and scraps of fallen, rotting fabric.
A hanging sign across the theater reads Hall of Human Curiosities.
In the center of the arena is a crumpled shape. It twitches every time you move, like it can feel you shift in the air. You can vaguely make out the outline of a coat and top hat.
With each step forward, the shape rises and elongates, growing taller and taller until you’re at its feet as if it’s being pulled taught by an invisible string. Even though it’s too tall to be considered human, you recognize it as Mr. Kim. Top hat draped with spiderwebs, golden tassels frayed, the rich royal blue of his jacket faded and dull.
His mouth is stretched in a wide, teeth-baring smile that his eyes don’t match. You wouldn’t be surprised if it was forced to stay that way with wire or string.
“Finally.”
His voice is so deep and distorted that it almost makes you shiver, sounding more like it’s coming from an animal through an old radio. Despite his too-wide grin, the tone of his voice is devoid of emotion.
“It was cruel of you to keep us waiting for so long.” Mr. Kim says, eerily slow. “You know how hungry we are. I can’t...hold them...much longer.”
You feel frozen under his intense gaze and unflinching smile. Not to mention that he’s several feet taller than you, looming over your form enough to cast a shadow. You have to crane your neck to look at his face.
“I-uh...Whe-Where is it...?” you manage to get out.
He just stands there staring down at you, unblinking.
You start to take a step backward, but he grabs your arm with startling force. His long, thin fingers are big enough to wrap around your whole bicep.
“Come now. We’ve waited long enough,” he snarls, pulling back the curtain to reveal a hallway lined with doors. He roughly drags you along, lifting you by the arm so your toes barely touch the floor. His eyes are fixed on you the entire time, not once glancing ahead to see where he’s going.
He stops by one of the doors and pushes it open, smile impossibly growing.
“Behold, the Two-Headed Monster.”
You really shouldn’t have looked.
The sight alone is enough to make you gag, not even considering the pitiful sounds coming from the unfortunate creature in the center of the room.
Barely even human, more like a sick deviation of humanity gone wrong. A creature with one head of pink hair and one head of white. Crudely stitched together, it’s nearly impossible to discern where one begins and the other ends.
You slap a hand over your mouth.
Remnants of the sparkling pink and green suits, now patches of fabric, are littered across the floor. Now you can scarcely make out the shape of the two of them.
They’re a mass of flesh now. Some body parts are stretched and engorged, with others severed and reattached somewhere else. Stripped, tormented, ripped apart, and sewn back completely wrong.
They wanted so badly to be together.
You close your eyes and stumble back into the hall, feeling Mr. Kim’s towering shadow behind you.
“Shocked?” he asks blankly.
When you look up at him, hand still over your mouth, there is something darker in his eyes.
“Why should you be? You’re the one who condemned them to this fate.”
His voice is colder, sharper.
Mr. Kim grips your arm again and hauls you further down the long corridor. He stops at the next door down, opening it with his gaze still stuck to you.
“The Human Pin Cushion,” he announces proudly.
You don’t look. At least, not at first. But you can hear Jungkook's screams.
Somehow they're worse than the screams that rang through the woods. Those were panicked and scared, still tinged with the possibility of attracting help.
These are utterly hopeless. Jungkook's tortured cries don't ring with any semblance of hope. Broken sobs rip through his lungs. Sniffling whimpers and hitched breaths, all uttered with the knowledge that no sympathy will follow.
Your face is decidedly turned away, eyes squeezed shut.
Mr. Kim grabs your jaw, pinches hard on your cheeks, and wrenches your head to face the poor boy in the middle of the room.
"Look! Look at what you've done!" he snaps, voice so deep and rumbling that it seems to make your bones vibrate.
Oh god. Oh my fucking god.
It takes a moment to recognize that the figure in front of you is a person. No one's spine is supposed to curve back like that. The joints in the elbows and knees are supposed to bend in the opposite direction.
Jungkook is a crumpled shape, stripped down to his barest form and cruelly contorted to fit the name of the exhibit, his arched torso as the "cushion."
And just as the name suggests, every inch of his flesh is pierced with needles. Small, syringe-sized needles, needles the length of your hand, giant needles big enough to stab through his chest and come out of his back.
Thick, strong needles pin his hands and feet to the floor. They’re plunged deep into his ear canals, twin rivers of blood flowing down his neck. They’re in his eyes and through his tongue.
Then a truly horrible thought enters your mind. With so much bending in the wrong direction, kneecaps shattered and spine broken, along with the lethal stab wounds, he should be dead by now.
But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?
Jimin doesn’t want them dead. He wants them to suffer. He wants you to watch them suffer.
You can’t think of a worse state to be in. Never dying, only the pain of dying.
It’s too much. You wrench yourself free from Mr. Kim’s grasp and turn away, a sob getting stuck in your throat.
“Had enough yet?” he asks, patronizing.
Slowly, you pivot to face him. Then you spit in his face.
A growl rumbles in his gut as he wipes his cheeks. That infernal smile doesn’t so much as budge as his brows furrow and his eyes zero in on you.
"Fucking bitch," he hisses.
The next moment, he has your hair in his fist, dragging you back into the hallway. You scream and struggle, but all he does is give another cruel yank.
You only break free when you throw your elbow back and hit a particularly soft spot in his abdomen. A shrill, squeaking cry immediately follows, and you feel a chunk of your hair being ripped from your skull as you jerk away from him.
Panting, you stumble backward.
Mr. Kim is clutching his stomach with hunched shoulders, looking like he's ready to lunge at you. Small, restless lumps shift under his clothes.
Something lights up in those sinister eyes, as if he's been given permission after all this time holding back. That fleeting light turns to something darker.
You were right to take a step back when Mr. Kim unbuttoned his jacket, because clinging to his dull, greying flesh is over a dozen oversized rats.
They've chewed most of him down to exposed tissue and sinewy muscle, down to the bone. Elongated, yellowed front teeth gnawing away at him bit by bit.
He doesn't even seem to notice. All he does is stare you down with those sharp eyes and stomach-churning smile. He doesn't even flinch when one of the rats bursts an artery and sends blood spurting from his rib cage.
Mr. Kim's eyes roll to the back of his head.
"Didn't I tell you? We're hungry."
Then the rats turn their red-eyed sights on you.
Falling from Mr. Kim's body, they close the distance with startling speed. They crawl up your legs, jump up onto your torso, skitter up your sleeves and down the back of your shirt.
You scream and flail when they bite into your flesh and make deep gashes with their claws. The sensation of foreign paws all over your body makes shivers creep up your spine.
You can hear Mr. Kim's cackling laughter as you grab each small, wriggling body and toss it to the ground. Just as you're sure the last one is off of you, Mr. Kim opens his jacket more and a fresh surge of rats pours out.
They scurry across the floor, but you resort to frantically stomping to keep them at bay.
There are too many. They keep multiplying out of thin air, their squeals and pattering feet worming into your ears.
You don't realize that you're retreating until your back hits the wall. In a panic, you reach back and yank on the first door handle you find, slipping inside and slamming the door behind you.
There are a few seconds to catch your breath before a fuse fizzles and the popping sound of illuminating light bulbs fills the room.
You whip around, grimacing in the harsh light. By the time your eyes adjust, you can hear the sound of soft breathing.
You don't know if you could even define this space as a room, there are no discernible walls or ceiling. It's just a darkness. A darkness broken only by the presence of several fluorescent lamps and a narrow table.
You hesitate, pressing yourself as close to the door as possible, but you can still hear that quiet breathing. It shakes a little, then steadies itself as if the person it belongs to is trying to calm themselves.
Taking a slow step forward, you see the rise and fall of someone's chest from atop the table. Another step, and you can see the person's legs, then their arms, then the top of their head.
You can see that their limbs are pinned down with thin straps. You can see that their torso is bare. You can see that it's Taehyung.
A stream of muttered expletives fall from your mouth. Lunging forward, you stand over the table that he's sprawled across and yank on the straps.
They're made of hard, strong material, serrated on the side against the skin so the more he struggles, the more it cuts. Each strap is secured by a silver padlock.
"Fuck!" you shout, the sound echoing in the nothingness.
"It's okay," Taehyung says gently, reaching to place two fingers on the back of your hand in comfort.
His wrists are covered in shallow gashes and dried blood.
You finally bring yourself to look at his face. Curly hair matted and sweat-pasted to his forehead. Red, watery eyes that look like they've been crying for hours. Face drained of color, drained of hope.
Yet he still finds it in himself to give you a small, sad smile.
"It's okay, let's just get it over with," he says, looking away.
You furrow your brows in confusion. Taehyung doesn't meet your eyes.
"What?"
He still doesn't look at you, only nods his head to his left.
You have to lean to see the other side of the table over his body. It's lined with gleaming tools, oversized tweezers, odd-looking scissors, saws of all different sizes. Then you look to the left a little more, to the row of scalpels.
It's then that you realize what you're really looking at. Surgical lights, an operating table, medical tools.
"I don't understand," you say as a squirming knot forms in your stomach. It's a bit of a lie. You're beginning to, but it's too horrible to admit.
You glance back at the door you came through. The sign reads LIVE Open-heart Surgery!
Taehyung gulps, eyes going shiny.
"Look through the stone," he says.
Reluctantly, you pull it out of your bag and raise it to your eye. You scan the edges of the "room," finding nothing with your gray-tinted vision.
"Look down," Taehyung encourages.
You don't move, something cold and paralyzing has taken hold of you.
"Y/N, look down."
The urgency in his voice forces you to comply. The surrounding area of his chest is gray, but in the center, right over his heart, are two glowing circles.
The thing you need to complete the last challenge.
The stone clatters to the floor.
"Oh...fuck," you exhale as the strength vanishes from your legs. You brace yourself on the edge of the table, eyes stuck to the spot on Taehyung's chest where the stitches lie.
"Not that. Please not that," you mutter.
Taehyung's tears have escaped his eyes despite his best efforts.
"It's okay, it's okay," he says, though his voice sounds broken.
"It's not okay! That sick bastard!" you scream, slamming a fist down on the surface of the table. Frantically, you grab one of the tools and try to cut through his straps.
"Y/N..." Taehyung sighs.
The material won't even fray, the blade seems to slide off like it's coated in oil. You abandon it and grab the scissors.
"Y/N, please..."
It's the same story, not even a scratch. Tossing it away, you grab the sharpest-looking saw.
"You know that's not how this works," Taehyung says, almost too quiet for you to hear.
"Screw how it works."
The saw's teeth refuse to catch, pressing harder, harder, harder until it slips from your hand completely.
Two sounds ring in your ears, the clang of metal on the floor, and the faraway reverb of laughter.
His laughter.
"You don't have much of a choice," Taehyung whispers.
It's beginning to set in. Another cruel joke to stomach. You'd hoped and prayed for Tae to be free somehow. Obviously not like this.
"Please," Taehyung murmurs. "Please...do it."
By now the tears have pooled enough to blur your vision. Your hands shake with the thought of holding one of those scalpels.
"Can't," you barely manage to get out.
"Yes you can," he continues gently. "Do it for me. Do it for you."
"It would kill you!"
He tries to blink away the water in his own eyes.
"It's okay, I want you to do it."
You turn away from the table in frustration, pacing back and forth.
You can barely begin to wrap your head around how you could manage it. Just cutting into his chest with no anesthesia...
The blood. The smell.
You’d have to saw through his ribs, reach between his lungs. There are no clamps or tools that could be used to prevent hemorrhaging. You have no idea how to avoid major arteries. He’d bleed out in minutes.
You could hardly bear hearing Jungkook’s tortured screams, you don’t know if you could handle Taehyung’s too.
Something cracks underneath you.
You look down and find a fracture along the ground a few feet away.
Taehyung hears it. His eyes widen, breath quickening.
“You have to! Please, Y/N!” he pleads. “You have to get out!”
You hover over the table and try to console him, but he only jerks against his restraints.
Another crack sounds, louder and longer.
“Take it!” he says frantically, nodding to one of the scalpels.
You pick it up because of the panic in his voice, hand trembling.
"You just have to cut the stitches," he rambles on. "You just have to...just..."
His eyes dart back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of the floor. You barely hear it or care to look, too focused on the spot over Taehyung's chest.
"Come here! Y/N, come here," he orders, and you comply hesitantly.
"Just listen to my voice, okay?"
You don't feel yourself nod, even though you know you told your brain to.
"Okay, good. Now, take the blade and cut the first stitch."
The breath clogs up in your lungs, a distressed wheeze escaping your throat.
"It's okay! It's okay, don't freak out! We'll take it one step at a time."
He brushes your other hand with his fingertips. It makes you look at him and his leveled stare.
"You can do it. Just the first stitch, okay?"
The certainty in his voice guides your hand since your brain has checked out. The blade hovers over the black string.
"Do it," he says sharply, and you bring it down to snip it away.
Taehyung can't hide his flinch.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" you blurt out.
He clenches his teeth and controls his expression.
"It's okay, you're okay. Now the next one."
You stare down at it, limbs frozen.
"Come on, you can do it," he encourages.
You shake your head.
"I don't think I can."
Another crack rings in your ears.
"Just do it, Y/N!" Taehyung shouts, frantic now.
Panicking, you reach over and cut the next stitch. Your hand is shaking so bad that it jerks and slices through the scar tissue, blooming red.
Taehyung exclaims in pain, his whole body arching in a painful grimace.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" you shout like it's being ripped from you.
Taehyung tries so hard to hide it all, tries so hard to look brave.
"It's...okay. I'm fine."
He sniffles and takes a few sharp breaths.
"Keep going," he urges.
Again, you shake your head.
"Come on, Y/N. You can do it," he continues. "Just cut the rest of them, and then...then make the incision."
His breath catches at that, the incision. As if the weight of what he's begging for finally sets in. He's begging you to kill him.
"Just get it over with! Please!"
He's beginning to hyperventilate, arching against the cool surface of the operating table.
“Please, please,” he sniffles, deflating in resignation.
“I can’t let you be trapped here.”
Something about that statement takes the air right from your lungs.
Because it's you who's supposed to be saying that. You were the one who made that promise to him. It's one of the reasons why you came back.
Why you came back.
You came back to free them. Jimin, the real Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook if you could manage it.
But it's clear now that you can't do both. You can't free yourself and the rest of them. Jungkook would still be stuck here, and Tae...
If there was a pool of nausea at the bottom of your stomach, then a stone of dread just plopped down into it.
Because you just realized. You can't do it.
Somehow you were able to face Yoongi and Hoseok, cut their ties and leave them severed. And somehow you were able to resist Jungkook's desperate pleas, then leave him behind for who knows what to feed on.
But you can't do this. You can't torture Taehyung with your own hands. You can't throw his life away just so you can walk away from the mess you caused.
You were a fucking fool. You were a fool to believe that he would let you walk away so easily, without losing something.
How naive of you. In the end, you didn't prevent any suffering, you just prolonged it. And now he's throwing it back in your face.
If you want to save yourself, the rest of them must suffer.
Part of you wishes that you didn't care about their fate so much. Most of them aren't even human, technically. Just puppets in his game.
But then you think of how Jungkook helped you escape despite his fears, how Hoseok and Yoongi love each other so desperately. Beings with free will.
And Taehyung. Taehyung with his sweater and stuffed Pomeranian. Kept and punished like a pet, just because he wanted to be loved. Now willing to give himself up so you can escape his same fate.
In the end, Namjoon was right. You walked right into his trap.
But you suppose you were right too. After all, when you came crawling back, you said you knew what you were doing. You knew what you were willing to give up.
The cracks crawl towards your feet, intersecting at their jagged edges as they go.
You can't do it, and Taehyung knows it when you let your limp wrist hit the edge of the table.
His eyes follow the motion, widening in horror. When they look back up at you, they're filled with pitying disbelief.
"What are you doing?" he whispers.
You try to hide the way your mouth and chin contorts when you're about to cry.
Wiping your slippery cheeks, you take Taehyung’s hand.
“It’s going to be okay," you begin, pinning his gaze with your own.
His eyes are wider and glossier than ever, and when he tightens his hand around yours you see his lip give a slight quiver.
"It's all going to be okay.”
The floor is a web of intertwining fractures. You swear you feel it moving under your feet, swelling and deflating slowly, breathing in anticipation.
Your throat constricts in a tight swallow.
“I promised that I’d get you out of here, didn’t I?” you whisper with a defeated smile.
Tae’s eyes lock on your face. You think you hear him mutter your name tearfully, pityingly.
The scalpel slips from your other hand.
It hits the floor.
The ground caves in.
You have no idea how far the fall is. Whether it's a few feet or few floors, all you know is that your body stings sharp all over.
Maybe you lost consciousness, because the first thing you register is squeezing your eyes shut, then wrenching them open to see your surroundings better.
You're not surprised to find that it's extremely dim, too dark to see the top of the ceiling, if there is one. Shards of glass litter the ground, a floor of rotten wood slats. Upon looking down at yourself, you find that you're covered in cuts and gashes, in addition to the numerous rat bites.
Peeling wallpaper, once white, now a faded and stained beige, lines the four walls. It bulges and swells in some places, as if the room is bursting at the seams.
One shadowy corner is flooded with piles of old books, scraps of fabric, pieces of broken furniture, all spilling out from a split in the wallpaper like pus from an infected wound.
Another corner is occupied by an ancient-looking grand piano. A few rats linger atop the yellowing keys, occasionally setting off one out-of-tune note.
But more than anything else, the room is filled with strands and strands of thread-like silk. Clinging to the walls, creating webbed hammocks over your head, rising from the piano's lid in a spiraling tower.
In some places, it's sparsely woven, like a net for catching big game. In other places, it's knit thick and tight like a finely crocheted blanket. They reach from wall to wall, from floor to unseen ceiling, all creating a massive web that barely lets you move around the room without touching one of the delicate fibers. A hoard of miscellaneous things are tangled up in it. Scraps of paper, silverware, old keys, knickknacks and trinkets.
Hot breath hits the nape of your neck.
You flinch with a short gasp, whipping around.
There is no one behind you. Nothing but silence and your own shadow.
Then a pair of hands comes to rest on your shoulders. That same wisp of breath fans against the back of your head. Breathing you in, inhaling the scent of you.
"Fucking finally."
Everything freezes, everything but the pound of your heart in your ears. You don't think you could move if you tried, all your limbs feel foreign and solid as lead. Your skin is crawling, hyperaware of the way his fingertips graze down the slope of your neck, across the curve of your collarbones. The way his cold hand wraps softly around your throat.
"Waiting, waiting, waiting, and now...finally."
His hand tightens with the word. The patience of a predator worn thin.
Helpless defeat. You feel like you're shrinking, deflating with the pressure of his hands on you. As if he could mold you like clay, press you down until you're small enough to squirm in the grip of his fist.
"Aww. Scared, love?"
You didn't realize that you were shaking. You hear him chuckle, clearly amused.
"Poor thing," he drawls tauntingly, squishing your cheeks and gently moving your head side to side.
"So kind, so selfless, so naive."
His right hand doesn't leave your face, holding your chin, while his other hand wraps around your waist from behind.
"So lovely. Trying so hard to save everyone. I couldn't have asked for anyone better."
His fingers trace down your spine, earning another shiver.
"And you tried sooo hard, didn't you?"
His patronizing tone makes your eyes burn, threatening tears. But you don't want to give him the satisfaction.
"Tried so hard to resist, to deny me, to be stubborn. Tried to save your precious Taehyung and that fucking parasite you call a boyfriend. And just look at you now."
His hands slip away from your body so he can walk around you in a slow circle.
"A sweet little thing who bit off more than they could chew."
Something in your brain says that you should be angry. But all you are is numb.
"After all the things you've done...Your actions deserve to be punished, really. But there will be time for that."
"All that I've done?" you blurt out, but it comes out as more of a whisper.
You feel his eyes lock onto your form, but you still refuse to look at him.
"You think laying this place to ruin is a simple offense? Don't forget, you tried to kill us."
You glare at the floor, clenching your fists at your side.
He scoffs.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
He crowds your space, nose brushing your cheek, chest pressed up against your side.
"This is my world you're in, and I make the rules here."
Your eyes are shut tight, jaw clenched to avoid saying something that will add to your long list of regrets.
"Look at me," he commands.
The stubborn thing that you are, you only turn your head away a fraction more.
"I said, look at me." His voice has gone deeper, a perfect imitation of Jimin's accent when speaking his native dialect. He puts two fingers on the cheek turned away from him and guides your head to face him.
Reluctantly, you obey.
He's dressed in black. A jacket thrown over broad shoulders, sleeves a sheer black lace to reveal the toned muscle underneath. Unbuttoned, it shows the smooth expanse of his chest, down to the cut V below his thin waist.
Below that, black pants that cling tight to his thick thighs. Silver jewelry glints all about him, dangling from his ears, from his wrist, rings on nearly every finger, a body chain draping tantalizing down his torso.
He moves his fingers to your chin and tilts it up.
His hair is long and wavy, dark curtains hanging over his eyes. Those eyes, hooded and black as pitch, are fixed on you intently. And again, you're stuck staring at the sharp line of his jaw, the dewy skin on his cheeks, those lips, now quirked in a smug grin.
"Just look at me. You know I’m beautiful.”
Clenching your teeth, you hate the fact that he’s right. As much as you wish you were sickened by the sight of him, you can’t deny that his face is the most stunning thing you’ve ever seen.
“Look at what’s yours," he says, letting his fingertips trail down the column of your neck. He pinches the front of your shirt and tugs you closer when you subconsciously try to step away.
"Look at what you fell in love with," he says sharply, gripping the hair at the back of your head and forcing you to meet his eyes.
"Here, I'm a god."
It's that statement that finally triggers your rage.
A god, he says. Yes, a cruel, cunning, manipulative, deceitful, sadistic god. Playing with all of your lives like they're as meaningless as chess pieces. Taunting you just because he can.
Now you're clenching your teeth and digging your nails into the meat of your palms.
"You're not a god. You're a monster."
He stiffens.
"You still don't get it. Nothing you do or say will ever make a difference to me. I don't love you, I never will."
He takes a step back like you've punched him, the confidence draining from his face.
Good. All you have are your words, and you want to use them to make him crumble. You want to gut him.
"You're fucking disgusting. You're sick and twisted and unworthy of love. You're right, I did try to kill you. And I would do it again in a fucking heartbeat. I would leave you here to rot and starve for the rest of your miserable existence and not even bat an eye."
He backs away from you like that will protect him from your venomous words, one hand moving to clench his chest.
"You're ugly inside and out. You make me sick! I hate you! You hear me! I HATE YOU!"
It looks as though his whole face quivers. For a moment, he looks like a little boy playing dress up, pretending to be something pretty only for reality to crush his fantasies.
Cradling his stomach, he hunches over and lets out a guttural groan. His breath hitches, gagging and retching until he vomits up something thick and black.
When he looks up again, dark liquid stains his lips, dripping down his chin. And his eyes, they've gone completely black again. And just like two wells of ink, they leak twin streams of black tears.
The center of his chest, right over his heart, is bleeding.
"Spoiled brat," he spits. Even though his eyes are a bottomless black, you can see the fury inside them.
"You want me to be the bad guy so badly."
His voice is different. Something in it is unhinged, eerily calm.
"All I've done is give you exactly what you asked for. Better house, better companions, better food, better sex..."
That makes a shameful blush flare on your face.
"And yet all you want is to make me the villain. Well fine. I'll be your villain. Maybe then you'll be happy."
He doubles over again, but this time it's from laughter. It builds and builds until he's practically cackling.
"Or maybe you don't want to be happy. You say I'm sadistic, but I think you're just a masochist."
His shoulders are hunched unnaturally, slowly growing under the material of his jacket.
"Is that it, babe? You need me to be the bad guy so you won't feel guilty about being with me?"
Something is falling from his shirtsleeves, from his pant legs. When you look closer you see it's handfuls of beetles and maggots, skittering and wriggling out of his clothes. A dank, musty smell fills the air.
"Need me to snatch you up so it's all out of your control?"
His limbs are stretching, legs turning lanky, too-long arms hanging down in front of him.
"Ahh, that's it, isn't it? My little glutton for punishment."
You're backing away, now. As his skin drains of color and his cheeks become sunken, a dark mass begins to grow from his back. The skin of his right hand peels and rots away, leaving behind a skeletal hand of metal, fingers long and sharp as needles. His other hand looks like the hand of a corpse, with graying skin and knuckles held together with string like a doll. It's wet with that same black liquid, which leaks from the stitches littering his skin and drips down his fingers.
Another look at his torso, and you can see his ribs pressing against his flesh. His stomach and waist are shriveled like a starving man's.
"You know, all I would dream of is stealing you away, taking you for myself, spoiling you, filling you to the brim with my love, stuffing you so full of me that you're bursting. Turns out that's what you wanted all along too."
"No!" you protest, trying to distance yourself from him as much as you can.
"Deny it all you want, sweetheart. But I know you. I know you in ways that you don't even realize."
"You're fucking delusional," you say, not sure whether to laugh or cry at the realization.
He just laughs again.
"I'm the delusional one? Don't forget that it was you who asked for a different life, for a partner that actually wanted you. And trust me, I want you."
A wicked smile appears on his blackened lips.
"I see now that I've been too soft on you, love. If you want me to be a monster, then I better start acting like one."
The mass on his back swells and squirms. It grows and grows until it looks like the abdomen of some giant spider. His eyes close, head leaning back as the veins in his neck strain. A deep, inhuman growl rumbles from his chest.
It's as your back hits the wall that eight black, gangly legs burst from the bulbous mass.
A scream for no one to hear rips through you.
They keep stretching and growing until they nearly reach the walls on either side of him. His body is lifted off the ground and hangs limp, now towering over you.
You're sliding along the wall, desperately trying to get away as he slowly advances.
"Do I disgust you? Am I as ugly as you say? Are you proud of the monster you created?!"
"Get the fuck away from me!"
"All I wanted was to show you how much I love you. Is it really so hard to love me back?! I was everything you wanted, now look at me!"
Those misshapen legs, pointed at the bottom, click on the ground as he edges closer. You stumble over the littered debris, dodging the silk strands. Every step he takes makes your heartbeat quicken. You can feel the sweat running down your back, dripping down your face.
"Look at me! Look at me like you're afraid!"
You don't have to pretend to be afraid of him. Looking into his dark-rimmed eyes sends a wave of nausea through your gut. You're practically choking on your own breath as the panic builds.
Scrambling back, you duck under a curtain of webbed silk, nearly tripping over a broken chair.
"Where do you think you're going? Do you really think you can get away from me now?"
The distance between the two of you is shrinking, enough to make your limbs feel like jelly and your lungs to burn. His eyes never leave you, pinned to your body from under his dark hair.
"Stupid girl. You were mine the moment you came crawling back."
One of his black limbs reaches towards you, snagging on your pants and pulling your legs out from under you. You hit the ground with a grunt, hands scraping against the broken glass. You feel like your breath is getting clogged in your throat, almost hyperventilating.
"Aw, look at that," he drawls. "You're scared now, aren't you? How cute."
A spark of anger still flickers through the fear. You reach into your bag and feel around for the knife. Finally finding it, you unsheathe and point it right at him.
"Oh? Still got some fight left in you?" he quips with a chuckle. "Fine. We can play dirty if you want."
He lunges forward, truly looming over you now, and grabs your ankle. With a yank, he drags you towards him across the floor, the scattered glass and splintery wood cutting into your skin.
You let out a yelp, struggling in his grip.
"Let go of me!"
He clicks his tongue in disappointment.
"I don't think so. You've done enough running."
He keeps dragging you back until you reach the center of the room. Your hand tightens around the blade's handle. With a determined huff, you swing with all the strength you can muster.
He dodges it easily, laughably.
"Come now, babe. Let's not pretend you're getting out of this one. You've already lost the game."
He bats the knife away like it's a feather, sending it flying across the room and out of your reach.
"I'm tired of humoring you. This game of ours is getting old."
You feel the tip of his legs brush against you, resulting in a violent flinch.
"Don't touch me!"
"I'll do whatever the fuck I want to you! You belong to me now!"
You move to shuffle away, but several of his legs pin you down. They're deceptively strong considering how thin they are, keeping you pressed to the floor no matter how hard you thrash and fight.
Jimin leans over your struggling form, looking amused.
"Such a stubborn thing. If you insist that this place is a prison, then I think you need to be restrained a little."
Another flood of nausea ripples through you.
"What?!" you blurt out as he roughly flips you over. He wrenches your arms behind you and you feel a strange material being wrapped around your wrists. It's soft yet oddly strong, and in a matter of moments your arms are tightly secured behind you. He grabs your legs and pins them together.
"Wait! Stop! Stop it!" you plead, desperation growing.
"Oh hush," he scolds. You feel him lean down closer, his mouth almost touching your ear.
"We both know you like being tied up," he murmurs, and you can hear the smirk in his voice.
Your face burns, an unknown feeling blooming in your stomach.
"Fuck you," you try to snap, but it comes out weak and quiet.
His hand grips your face and tilts it up to meet his eyes.
"Watch your mouth before I gag you too," he snaps, setting you with a glare.
Jimin wraps your ankles in the same strange substance, then your knees. Then he bends your legs back and connects your wrists to your ankles so you're trussed up like a prize pig. When you look down at yourself, you realize that you're bound in that same webbed silk.
You continue to squirm and writhe in your bonds, growing in distress until you've exhausted yourself. You're not getting out of this anytime soon.
Helpless and overpowered, you hang your head as the fatigue sets in your limbs.
"Look at that," Jimin says as you're hoisted into the air, hanging from a silken strand like all the other objects in the room.
"Look how calm you are now that you're all wrapped up."
Swinging in the air, you're now at his eye level. But you can't meet his gaze. Your head hangs heavy with failure. The next second, your eyes are burning and welling up, hot tears rolling down your cheeks with no way to hide or wipe them away.
"Aww, poor baby," Jimin coos, patting your cheek. "Cry if you want. Get it out of your system."
And you do. You let the tears flow freely, let the sobs erupt from your chest. Because you've lost. You've lost everything.
Jimin steps closer to you, his face inches from yours, and licks up the wet stream on your cheek.
He lets out a deep sigh, almost a moan.
"Tears of defeat are always sweeter," he whispers.
Bitterness builds up in your throat.
"I hate you," you spit.
"No you don't," Jimin replies calmly. "You think you do, but I know you don't. Just you wait, baby. You're going to love it here."
"No I won't. You're crazy if you think I'll just forget everything you've done."
"You might fight it at first, but not for long," he says as he circles around you, admiring his new plaything.
"You're wrong. I might be trapped here, but I'll never give in."
He meets your glare with a knowing smile.
"Never is almost as long as forever," he says, tilting his head to the side innocently.
"The human spirit can always be broken. With love."
He trails his fingers along your body, along the silk binding you.
"I'll enjoy breaking you. It'll be easy. People aren't meant to fight what feels good."
As if to prove his point, he ghosts his fingers up the back of your neck and massages the growing knot there, and you can't help but melt a little.
"Ah, so many things I want to do to you. And you're going to take all of it."
You try to swallow the lump in your throat as the tears keep falling.
"You'll give in soon enough."
"No," you mutter weakly, sniffling.
"Oh? Not even to save them?"
Muffled cries.
You whip your head up. Against the wall, in the wall, are two writhing bodies. They're pinned underneath the wallpaper, stuck like insects behind glass. You recognize the real Jimin's face even as it twists and strains under the film, as he screams fruitlessly. Next to him, Taehyung's taller form struggles to move his limbs, but to no avail.
Your heart sinks to the pit of your stomach. You shout their names, thrashing with renewed urgency.
"They can't hear you," Jimin says, watching you closely.
Your gaze flickers between the wall and Jimin's smug face, feeling the panic well back up inside you.
"Don't you fucking dare," you hiss with as much venom as possible.
He raises one eyebrow. Taking his sweet time, he slowly saunters over to where the two men are stuck to the wall.
"You should know by now not to tempt me," Jimin replies, raising his metal hand and bringing his sharp fingertips down across the real Jimin's cheek.
Screaming louder now, he squirms desperately as blood stains the wallpaper pressed against his face.
"No! Stop!"
He doesn't respond, digging his needle-like fingers into the real Jimin's side.
"Stop it! Please!"
He cuts cruelly into his chest, into his stomach. Red drips from his metal hands. He keeps looking back at you, almost expectantly.
Fresh tears wet your face as your cries are ignored. The real Jimin can do nothing but writhe as he's cut into again and again.
The next time you meet Jimin's dark, awaiting eyes it clicks. You get it now. It's not an easy pill to swallow, but you get it now.
"Alright! Alright, Jimin! I'm sorry!" you cry out.
His hand freezes a mere inch away from the real Jimin's face.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry..." your voice falls, out of breath.
Turning to look back at you, his eyes spark with some unknown emotion.
You're still struggling to catch your breath, buzzing off the panic.
"That's enough now," you mutter. "You win."
A slight smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth.
"Are you done?" he asks with a raise of his eyebrows.
You sag in your bonds, all the fight leaving your body. You're tired. So fucking tired. It's all catching up to you, body and mind heavy with fatigue.
It's an odd relief. To give in.
"Yes. I'm done. I'll...be good."
A smile stretches across his face. His hand falls back down to his side, all interest in the real Jimin lost as he steps towards you.
"I'll do anything you want. Just please let him go." Your voice stutters around a sob.
Something snaps inside you. With one last swell of emotion and adrenaline, the floodgates burst open and let loose all the tears that you have left. Your vision blurs with them as you empty your lungs and let the tension drain from your muscles. Not caring that your face is mess and that you sound pathetic, you let the reality finally sink in.
Jimin strokes your face and presses a kiss to the top of your head.
"It's okay, love. It'll be okay," he murmurs, soothing. "I know it's hard, but you'll get used to it. I'll take care of you."
"Please," you squeak out. "Please just let them go. I'll do anything you want. Please, please..."
There's a pause. He continues to wipe your cheeks, contemplating.
"Anything, hm?"
You look up and meet his eyes. His face is content and calm, patiently watching as he gets everything he wants.
You manage to nod your head.
"Beg."
Your eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"What?"
His eyes are full of hunger.
"I told you that you'd beg me to sew the buttons. So go ahead. Beg."
You're numb at this point, so the realization barely stings. It only makes the lump in your throat grow.
The next moment, one of his legs reaches out to snip the strand of silk that you're hanging from. Catching you before you can hit the ground, he loosens the strands binding you so you can move freely again.
"Beg properly, now," he instructs, nodding towards the ground.
You grit your teeth as you sink to your knees, craning your neck to look up at him.
"Please..." you begin in a voice he can't resist. "Please, Jimin. I want you to sew buttons into my heart. Please."
His smile grows with each word, looking like he wants to consume you. In a way, he already has.
"How badly do you want me?"
What you want is for all this to end.
"I want you so fucking bad, Jimin. I want to be yours."
His eyes narrow slightly, cutting deep into you.
"Say it. Say it and mean it," he orders.
You close your eyes and imagine the real Jimin's face. The warm brown eyes, the faint freckles, the acne scars, the crooked glasses. You hear his scratchy morning voice, feel the brush of his hair on your skin.
"I love you, Jimin."
A sharp inhale.
You open your eyes, and the man standing in front of you nearly makes your heart stop.
He's standing there on his own two legs, no monstrous growths or oversized limbs. His skin is bright and healthy, glowing with sun-kissed color and a soft blush. Hair full and downy, it flows with a golden sheen.
But it's his eyes that pierce you. Because they're his eyes. Not dull and lifeless like glass marbles, but the eyes of the man you met years ago. The eyes so wide and full of expression, the eyes that crinkle shut when he laughs. Eyes that can barely contain all the love stored for you.
Jimin blinks, scanning you up and down, drinking you in.
"Kiss me," he whispers.
You close the distance with rapid steps, crashing into him. Warmth, his body radiates with it. His lips press soft and sensual over yours, arms wrapping tight around your body.
He is solid and alive. The only thing left to lean on.
You suppose you should be afraid. Now that the steel table is underneath your back, arms and legs held down with padded straps, most people would be afraid.
But somehow you're not. It might have something to do with the cloudy liquid that Jimin had you drink earlier, saying something about helping you relax.
You were afraid then. You were afraid when he lead you to his workshop and showed you where it would happen.
The space was cluttered with rolls of fabric, hoards of swatches and spools of thread, mannequins of all shapes and sizes. He led you past the cobweb-draped sewing machine, past the large desk that was covered in oddly shaped tools and instruments.
You were afraid when you saw Taehyung already spread out on the table. Sedated, secured just like you are now, he looked peaceful there.
You remember struggling to contain the contents of your stomach when Jimin made the first incision. You forced yourself to watch, to make sure he delivered his promise. You watched as the two bloody buttons dropped into the silver tray with a clink. You watched Jimin stitch up the wound, clean it and dress it.
Then you watched as he slid the black key into the dusty lock hole. The little door, looking as if it hadn't been touched in decades, swung open to reveal the cobweb-lined tunnel. He laid the two men's unconscious bodies few feet inside, then closed the door and locked it for the last time.
You watched through the keyhole as they stirred. Jimin awoke first, frantic and confused. He tried to shake Taehyung awake, but he was still drugged. Slowly yet desperately, he dragged him through the tunnel until they disappeared through the other side.
You were afraid then, but not now. Jimin told you over and over again that you wouldn't feel a thing. He had the two buttons picked out and waiting there, next to the spool of black thread and a clean needle.
He assured you that it wouldn't hurt. You'd wake up foggy and be sore for a few days, but other than that there was nothing to worry about.
He said that the hardest part was behind you now, that only good things were ahead.
The last thing you remember after he put the mask over your nose, other than the smell of vanilla, is hearing him singing softly. The same song you'd heard him sing before.
Just let me love you.
~~~
a/n: 👉👈. thank you so much for reading!! if you enjoyed the story I would be so extremely grateful if you shared your thoughts!! :)
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