9 Golden Boy

Slipping through the densely packed forest, Taehyung's mind had frozen.

His body was still working; but it was like an error message had appeared within his mind. The surrounding scenery was like a blur as he was led through the forest by the golden spirit, who clung onto his hand tightly.

Weaving in and out of low lying branches and thick undergrowth with ease, the spirit led Taehyung to the base of one of the golden spires. The spire reached towards the sky, breaking through the cloudy cover.

Vines, creepers, and other unknown greenery covered the base. Taehyung watched in amazement as the spirit lifted part of the thick layer of vines to reveal a spiraling stairway, going deep into the earth.

The golden spirit stared at Taehyung.

"Ah," he called out, pointing towards the stairway.

Should Taehyung trust this spirit? He didn't seem to have malicious intentions towards him, but he wasn't comfortable going first into the stairway. The golden spirit tilted his head curiously upon Taehyung's hesitation.

The spirit shrugged and went in first. With a click of his fingers, several wall torches lit up, each with a silvery flame instead of the usual gold. He turned around, and beckoned towards Taehyung once more.

Now that there was light, Taehyung could see that the stairway was quite well made. The stone had been carved out with intricate patterns, drawings, and unintelligible words. He stepped forward, holding onto the vines with one hand.

Taehyung absentmindedly traced along the curve of a mighty dragon, admiring the workmanship and the amount of detail. Every scale was delicately carved out, right down to the smallest scale on the dragon's body.

"Ah, ah," the golden spirit called out once more, beckoning with a naive smile.

Taehyung nodded his reply, stepping down and releasing his hold onto the vines. The curtain of vines swished behind him, blocking out the rest of natural light.

They went down the staircase, which led to a narrow hallway, also carved out of same golden stone.

In front, was a singular wooden door, the rich oak decorated with silver swirls.

The spirit rushed up to the door and placed his hands onto the door. Even though they were underground and there was no wind, his golden hair swayed softly. Taehyung sensed energy coming from the boy's direction.

So this was...magic? No, it wasn't really magic. It was the power that Taehyung had tried to master earlier, only to fail tragically.

The door swung open, revealing a darkened room. The spirit clicked his fingers once more, and several lanterns lit up the room. In the corner, a raging fire roared to life, already stocked with firewood.

Taehyung stepped in and closed the door gently behind him.

Now, this room was properly furnished, with wooden floors and beams supporting the structure. It was a singular room, with several living areas melded together. A single bed stood in the corner, ancient Chinese tapestries hanging nearby, depicting misty mountains and deep valleys. Another wall had several unknown structures(he later found out it was for cooking). Overall, the room gave off a well lived-in, cozy feeling; the difference between a house and a home.

Somehow, Taehyung was hit with a sudden feeling of nostalgia of his trainee days with the other members. How tough it was, how much blood, sweat, tears they poured into training. How they came home, everyone rooming together in a small room that was just like this one, but also majorly different.

He chuckled inwardly. Was he missing the other members so much to the point that even a small room directed his mind back to them?

The golden spirit went to a drawer and pulled out a grinding stone, ink, paper, and a brush. Taehyung watched as the spirit grinded the ink, blotting the spirit's fingers with black.

The spirit noticed him watching, and gestured to one of the chairs near the fireplace.

Taehyung sat, a little uncomfortable from intruding someone else's home.

The spirit came over, bringing over the paper, ink, and brush and laying them out on the low lying jade table in front. With swift strokes, the spirit wrote, then passed the still dripping paper to Taehyung, urging him to read it.

[I am Jin Tong, a gold spirit.]

Taehyung smiled. So Jin Tong was the golden spirit's name.

He scratched at his head. "I don't remember my name, nor what I am. But you can call me Tai'er."

That was the closest he could get to his Korean name using a nickname.

Jin Tong grinned and took back the paper.

[That's okay. You can always stay with me.]

Taehyung was stunned.

"Thank you," he stuttered.

Jin Tong shook his head and clapped lightly, opening his mouth even though no sound came out. He caught sight of Taehyung's questioning look and quickly scribbled an explanation.

[My vocal cords are damaged. Clapping at least lets me imitate laughing.]

A jolt of sorrow went through Taehyung's heart. Who was so heartless as to cut out the tongue of a naive spirit and damage their vocal cords to the point where they couldn't laugh?

He apologised. Jin Tong shook off his apology.

[Do you know where you want to go?]

Taehyung thought hard. Inside his mind, he sifted through the broken shards of the memories he was given, studying each of the places.

"Where are we right now?" he asked.

[3rd Heaven.]

The young woman he saw was from 6th Heaven. He himself was also from 6th Heaven. There had to be something there, a clue. Anything to help him find the other member of BTS, who was also trapped here.

The bodiless voice didn't say how close the member would be to him. Taehyung glanced at Jin Tong. Could he be secretly one of the members?

Despair filled Taehyung's heart. The member who was in this world could've died the moment he set foot into this world. That member could be in any of the Heavens; they and Taehyung may have never met in this life.

How could he find the members, when he couldn't even find out who he was in this life?

Who the people around him were?

Worst case scenario, the other member who was here was already dead, or sentenced to death.

But he couldn't allow himself to think of the worst case scenarios.

He had a mission to complete.

"I need to go to 6th Heaven."