XIII

They didn't end up finding anything else by the time the library was closing, and judging by the glare the librarian was shooting at them, Jimin would be shocked if they weren't banned for life. Admittedly, they had been quite loud upon the discovery of the paper and Jimin couldn't really blame the librarian if that was the case.

They returned to Yoongi's house, set the paper down on the table and stared at it silently for several minutes.

"So," Jimin said, breaking the fragile silence, "any ideas?"

"What makes you think I'll know anything at all about this?" Yoongi looked at him strangely and Jimin only shrugged his shoulders. 

"Well, it was worth a shot. I'm clueless too," Jimin groaned. "I've never been good at codes and such. Tae and Jin, on the other hand, used to pass notes in code during class all the time and I never understood them."

He paused, eyes opening wide in realization. 

"Tae and Jin used to use codes to pass notes!" He stood up suddenly and frantically searched his pockets for his new phone. 

"Are you saying-" Yoongi leaned closer, understanding what Jimin was attempting to say. 

"Yes!" Jimin cheered when he found it. "Maybe they can help!" 

He pulled out the phone and dialed. Jimin set it to speaker and waited anxiously. Luckily for them, Jin picked up shortly after. 

"Hello?" 

"Jin we need your help!" Jimin shouted, probably a bit too loudly, but he was too excited to care. 

"Who is this?" Jin asked in a bewildered tone, "How do you know me and what do you want?" 

"It's Jimin! We might have found something over here and I'm fairly certain you can help us!" 

Jin stayed quiet for a moment before replying. "How the heck am I going to help from Seoul?"

"It looks like it's in code and Jimin told me that you know some stuff about them," Yoongi said all of a sudden, taking the phone from Jimin's hand.

"Jimin who's that?" Jin's confused voice filtered through the speaker, "Wait, oh my god is it the hot-" 

"That's Yoongi. Just- just Yoongi," He tried to fight the blush on his cheeks. Dammit, why did Jin have to be like that? 

"Fine, fine. Do you know what type of code it is?" Jin asked immediately as if flipping a switch.

"Weird lines and dots," Yoongi answered as he scrutinized the paper. "Do you know it?"

Jin hummed for a moment. 

"I'd have to see it. There are a lot of codes that use lines and dots, unfortunately, and sometimes handwriting is a factor too."

Yoongi sighed. "So what, do we have to mail it to you?"

Jimin shook his head. "No, it would be more practical to bring it ourselves."

He looked at Yoongi. "It would take far less time than relying on the postage service."

His message was clear. They didn't have the time to waste on that, not when their time may be running out as it is.

Yoongi thought with a soft hum. "We can probably get train tickets to the closest main line and then get a ticket to Seoul. Does that sound good?"

"You're coming tonight?" Jin asked shocked. "I can make sure you have a place to crash here, I'll just need to shove some stuff about first - and once we figure this out we can have that movie night you promised."

Jimin laughed. "Of course. Is Tae going to be there too?" 

"He's basically living in Kook's room these days. So, yes," Jin said with a sigh, "at least the brat sometimes does the dishes. I'll be seeing you soon then? Do you need me to meet you at the station?"

"I'm sure I can remember the way to your apartment," Jimin laughed, "don't worry."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Yoongi said with finality. "See you then."

"See you. Have a safe trip, alright?" Jin said softly.

"We will," Jimin said with a quick farewell and hung up the phone shortly after. Yoongi got up to put some clothes in a bag for the both of them, picking out several different outfit combinations and grimacing when he didn't like how they looked.

"Why are you putting so much thought into this? It's just clothes," Jimin muttered from where he was sitting on Yoongi's bed.

"I have to make at least a half-decent first impression," Yoongi replied, "They are your friends, after all."

"Yeah, lame ones."

"Come on, Jimin, can't I try to actually look nice without your teasing?" Yoongi groaned.

"It's not like you're meeting my parents for the first time or anything," Jimin sighed, picking at a loose thread on his shirt.

"Yes, and I made such a wonderful first impression that time."

"Hey, at least you met them before we came back covered in blood," Jimin said with a shrug despite the internal turmoil that came with speaking about Jiyong's death. That laughter echoed in his mind and Jimin had to restrain a shiver.

"Let's just not speak of that, ok?" Yoongi said as he shot Jimin a glare that really didn't have any malice behind it at all.

"Also, are we going back to my house to get my clothes?" Jimin asked, deciding it was for the best to change the subject.

"I'm not making you go back there," Yoongi said as he set down the bag of clothes on the bed beside Jimin. "I already grabbed you some clothes because we're about the same size."

"Ah, thanks. Are we ready to go then?" Jimin wondered, standing up and heading toward the door. At Yoongi's confirmation, he picked up the paper from the table and headed out the door.

Jimin kept the paper close when they left to buy the train tickets. The last thing either of them wanted was for the code, what might be their only chance at figuring things out, to get lost.

The stationmaster looked at them suspiciously but let them get tickets and let them know that they made it at the perfect time for the last train out of town and that they wouldn't be able to come back until the next day.

They got on the train and sat down, staring at the foggy town as they pulled away from the small station. The further they got, the more it felt like an unnatural weight was lifted from their shoulders, almost as if the air itself was lighter. They rode in silence until they arrived at the larger station and caught the train to Seoul.

Their small talk was awkward and it was obvious that they were both equally nervous.

"If it can't reach us here," Yoongi whispered, "shouldn't we just stay in Seoul?" 

Jimin glared at him. "What about everyone else? What about my parents? I'm not leaving them defenseless while we live in safety!." 

"We're defenseless too!" Yoongi argued, voice almost rising to a yell, but he caught himself after remembering that there were other passengers on the train.

"At least we have more of an idea of what we're up against here," Jimin pointed out in a hiss.

Yoongi only grumbled and stared out the window, watching the passing countryside turn into towns and small cities. Getting to Seoul took far less time than they would have expected but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The train pulled into the station and Jimin took the lead. It had been over a month since he had left, but he already felt more at home here than he did in the new house.

It might just have been the distinct lack of murderous shadow monsters, but it could have been anything, really.

Jimin led Yoongi down several busy streets until they arrived at a nondescript-looking apartment building. He opened the first door and sent a message to Jin to let them in as they waited awkwardly in between the door and the lobby.

The door unlocked with a click and they entered before taking the elevator up to the right floor. 

"It'll be ok," Yoongi promised softly, subtly doing his best to relieve Jimin's worries.

Jimin gasped slightly when Yoongi's warm hand grabbed onto his but he didn't want to pull away for anything. He wasn't sure how much longer they could act carefree or even how much longer they would survive.

If they survived. 

It didn't matter. Jimin decided to treasure the present. The future is tomorrow, and there's nothing he could do to change it drastically. Live in the present, learn from the past and look to the future; something his grandfather used to say. 

He had to make his own correction though.

If things started going badly, Jimin knew what he would undoubtedly do.

Jimin would die in the present so that everyone else could live in the future.

They stopped in front of the door labeled with the number 446 and Yoongi knocked on the door loudly. They could hear muffled voices from inside and footsteps coming towards the door. It was flung open and they were dragged in by their wrists without even a chance to say hello.

"Jin! They're here!" Jimin looked up and shook his head in exasperation before pulling his wrist free.

"Kook you need to not grab so hard!" Jimin scolded as he held up his hands jokingly. "I think I'm getting bruises." 

"Sorry. I'm just excited," He flushed and looked away, "It's been a whole month since I last saw you, after all."

"Just relax a bit, please," Jimin laughed as he stood on his toes to ruffle Jungkook's hair. "You really did dye it without me, you traitor! And you got taller too!  Can I just cut you off at the knees, please and thanks."

Jungkook laughed cheerfully and picked Jimin up. "I didn't just get taller you know! I've been going to the gym too!" Jimin squirmed and cursed at the younger boy until he was let down. 

"To me, you're always gonna be the little Kookie from when we met," he pouted, lightly punching Jungkook on the arm. 

Jimin turned around and pulled Yoongi forward in order to introduce him. 

"Kook, meet Yoongi. Don't kill each other, please." 

Yoongi just nodded silently. Jin poked his head out from another room and waved quickly. 

"Make yourselves comfortable. Tae's just in the other room getting the movie set up." 

"But the code-" 

"You owe us a movie night, Jimin. You're staying overnight anyway, might as well enjoy yourself while you can."

Yoongi shrugged and walked behind Jimin into a room with a tv and a couch. Popcorn had been put in large bowls and was ready on the small table.

Taehyung was seated on the floor, flipping through settings and channels until the disc began to play. He looked over his shoulder and smiled brightly when he noticed them standing there. 

"Jimin! This must be Yoongi, right? It's nice to meet you," He shook Yoongi's hand quickly before hugging his best friend enthusiastically. 

"Tae? You feeling okay?" Jimin asked as he extricated himself from the hug.

"I'm feeling fine!" Tae chirped. "Why?"

Jimin fidgeted nervously. "You've been acting strange ever since I left. Jin says so too." 

His smile dropped. "Is this about the phone call? It is, isn't it." 

"Well, yes. But also no. I'm talking about everything, Tae," Jimin said without meeting his eyes.

"I-" Tae opened his mouth to answer when Jin and Jungkook rushed into the room and threw themselves onto the couch.

"I win!" Jin cheered as he shot a smug look at his brother. 

"You cheated!" Jungkook pouted and threw a cushion at him. "You tripped me in the hall!"

"Did not!" Jin protested as he threw the cushion back. "You tripped on your own, you clumsy oaf."

"Okay calm down you big children!" Taehyung said seriously. The two reluctantly stopped throwing things at each other and sat sheepishly on the couch.

"Sorry..."

"You better be! Movie now, fight later."

"I thought Jin was supposed to be the responsible one," Jimin snickered as he plopped himself down on the couch and Yoongi sat down reluctantly next to him. Jin only shot him a glare that made Jimin laugh more.

"I feel very out of place right now," He admitted in a whisper. Jimin giggled and shook his head. 

"Yeah, we can be pretty overwhelming at first. Sorry about that," He ignored Yoongi's huff and paid attention to the movie's' opening credits. 

"About Time again?" Jin groaned. "We watched that, like, three days ago." 

"At least it isn't Iron Man," Jimin pointed out to Jungkook's indignant protests of how Iron Man is a masterpiece and how they can't appreciate good cinematography. 

Jin just laughed at his brother, taking the lead and teasing him. At that moment Jimin relaxed and laughed along with them. The movie started and he wished that he could stay like this forever. 

Pretending that everything was alright. 

Safe in the presence of his closest friends. Yoongi included. 

He snuggled closer into Yoongi and watched with a smile on his face.

The movie ended a few hours later after all the popcorn had been eaten and everyone had somehow ended up in a cuddle pile with a very reluctant Yoongi at the bottom.

He growled and shoved everyone off him and onto the floor where they lay there laughing for a moment. Jin sat up and caught his breath a few seconds later. 

"Well, that was fun. It's pretty late and I'm sure you're tired," He smiled over at Yoongi who had been basically pleading with his eyes to just let him sleep. 

"You can take my bed if you want," Jungkook offered. "I can sleep on the floor here."

"Yeah!" Taehyung cheered, "I'll join you, Kook. It'll be like a sleepover!"

"This is a sleepover though," Jimin said flatly from where he still lay on the floor. "No like about it." 

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Don't burst my bubble Jiminnie. You suck all the fun out of stuff"

Jimin sighed and stood up with a stretch and winced when his back cracked.

"Well," he declared, "since Tae is being a brat I'm just going to go sleep with Yoongi." 

The room was silent for a moment and Jimin realized his mistake a moment too late. Taehyung was already giggling.

"Oh, will you now?" He teased mercilessly. "Did you hear that? Our little Jiminnie is growing up." Taehyung dramatically wiped a fake tear from his eye.

"Oh fuck you," Jimin groaned as he mentally added it to his list of things he regretted saying. 

"Nah, not my type. Save it for someone else," Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at Jimin and Yoongi.

"You know that isn't what I mea-" Jimin began, face completely flushed in embarrassment.

"It's not like it would be the first time," Yoongi interrupted and Jimin gaped. 

"Yoongi! Don't encourage him!" Jimin tried to scold but it wasn't very convincing when he flailed nervously.

Yoongi smirked at him. "But it's funny seeing you get embarrassed."

Jimin squeaked and launched himself at Yoongi armed with a pillow. 

"DIE!" He screamed as he smacked Yoongi over and over until he accidentally missed and hit Jin in the face. Jin blinked before grabbing his own pillow and grinned widely. 

"Oh watch out, Jimin," Jin cackled, "I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're cute." 

In less than five minutes they had all forgotten about sleep and instead were launching pillows at each other. 

Yeah, Jimin thought to himself, I missed this.

In the end, he never did get to talk to Taehyung before they all basically passed out on the floor from exhaustion.

He woke up in the morning to the smell of food and followed his nose to the kitchen. 

"Back to the world of the living, I see," Jin joked as he placed an egg in front of him. Jimin picked up a fork and started eating in a daze, still half asleep and only motivated by his stomach. 

Taehyung and Jungkook were just finishing their breakfasts and Yoongi hadn't moved at all from the night before. He was still out cold and Jimin could practically see a trail of drool down his chin. 

"So. Codes," Jin began, sitting across from him. 

"What about a code?" Taehyung perked up in interest, shuffling his chair over to get closer to Jimin. 

Jimin got up and grabbed the paper from his coat pocket before sliding it across the table to his two friends. 

They looked at it for a moment before Tae smiled. "Jiminnie, have you ever heard of shorthand? It's really easy once you get the hang of it."

"What?" Jimin stared blankly at the mess of lines and dots on the page. "I don't understand. How is that easy?"

Jin looked closer and laughed. "Jimin, Tae's right. This is really simple, it just looks like an older version." 

Taehyung stood up from the table and grabbed a piece of notepaper before scampering off toward Jin's room. He came back shortly after with a book and sat down, flipping through the pages until he found one that resembled the code on the paper. Taehyung quickly copied down the key with a grin and placed down his pencil.

"It's called Taylor shorthand," Taehyung explained as he passed the paper over. "Each symbol corresponds to the one on the key. It's super easy as long as you remember that most vowels weren't included in the middle of words and that you have to be careful of the handwriting too. Also, shorthand is written how it sounds, not necessarily how it's spelled."

Jimin looked between the key and the coded message. "So? What does it mean?" 

"Ah you have to do that on your own," Jin smiled, tapping the page with a pencil before handing it over.

Jimin stared at it for a moment before realizing what he had to do.

"Oh, I get it now! I think I can do this." 

He began transcribing the symbols into letters and began to see a message forming on the page. 

He frowned when he read over the completed message. 

"What the-"

"What's wrong?" Taehyung asked as he leaned over to read it. Jimin quickly covered it up with his hands.

"Don't worry. I'll... Figure something out. I just wasn't expecting this," He admitted. Jin just nodded quietly and pulled Taehyung back. 

"He doesn't have to show you."

Jimin looked down at the message again.

If this was telling the truth... Maybe there was finally something they could do. 

On the other hand, could they really trust some message he found in a book? 

Jimin shook his head to clear his thoughts. Any lead is better than no lead.

Jimin looked at his friends again. "Thank you. I owe you both now."

Jin waved him off. "You'll just owe me another movie night." 

Taehyung nodded in agreement. "We need to have many many more movie nights! And bring your boyfriend too." 

"Not my boyfriend!" Jimin squeaked, to Taehyung and Jin's amusement.

Jin smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on Jimin's arm before leaning in and whispering.

"This is about those things you were talking about before, right?" He said nervously. 

Jimin nodded. "I have to go back." 

Taehyung stopped smiling as soon as he heard that. "You aren't staying?" 

Jimin shook his head. "I can't stay. I'm sorry."

He stood up suddenly and shoved the decoded message in his pocket. Jimin walked over and gently woke Yoongi up by nudging his side. He groaned and grumbled but Jimin pushed him into a chair and forced him to eat.

"We're leaving the second you're done," Jimin said seriously and Yoongi sighed.

"At least say goodbye to everyone before we leave," Yoongi said with a flash of worry in his eyes. Jimin understood without words.

They might not be coming back again. 

"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Don't worry," Jimin whispered. Yoongi just ate in worried silence.

He ate slowly as if he were afraid of finishing. Of what it would mean.

The second he ate the last bite it would mean that the dream was over for both of them. 

It would be time to face reality. 

The last bite was finished ten minutes later and they exchanged a somber glance.

It was time to go.

Jimin went over and enveloped each of his friends in a tight hug. 

"I'll miss you," He whispered. Taehyung and Jin both held onto him tightly and were reluctant to let him go. Jungkook looked like he was about to cry when Jimin said goodbye to him.

"It sounds like you're saying goodbye for the last time," He whispered into Jimin's ear. "Promise you'll be safe?"

"Don't worry," Jimin whispered back. "I'll come back." 

With the last goodbye finished, he left with Yoongi. He closed the door behind him and wiped away tears. He waited for a moment just outside, waited for his words to sink in. When he heard Jungkook fall to his knees and sob, he knew the boy understood. 

He had never promised.

"Let's go," Jimin pushed off from the wall he had leaned against to support himself and began walking. Yoongi caught up easily and frowned.

"Did you really have to do that to him? That was cruel." 

Jimin breathed in the smoggy air once they left the building. 

"I did. He had to know."

"I get that," Yoongi sighed, "but you could have said it better."

"I had to make sure he understood, just in case," Jimin sped up slightly as they walked towards the station. 

"Fine. If you think that was the right move, kid. So when will you tell me what it said?" Yoongi asked.

Jimin glared at him and punched his arm

"Just for that, I'm not telling you until we're on the train, angsty lighter dude." 

"I thought we were past that," Yoongi frowned and held his hand to his heart in mock hurt. 

"You called me kid." Jimin pointed out. "I'm completely justified." 

"I haven't even carried a lighter with me recently."

"Not the point," Jimin waved him off as they got into line to buy train tickets. Yoongi grumbled but didn't argue any further. Once the tickets were bought and they boarded the train, they sat as far away from other people as they could. It wasn't a busy commute time either so most of their train car was empty.

"Alright. Spill. What was so shocking about it?" Yoongi asked, leaning his elbow on the windowsill.

"Someone else knows about them," Jimin answered. He pulled out the paper and unfolded it. "Here. Read it." 

Yoongi's eyes widened. "You're serious. I'm glad you found this."

"I assume you are searching for information on the shadows. If you are not, forget you ever saw this. If so, I have failed. I have hidden his book under the loose floorboard in my closet. Good luck, stay alive," he read aloud. Yoongi looked up from the page.

"One problem. Which house?"

Jimin blanched. "I... Didn't think of that. Crap."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the original message, unfolding it hastily.

"There isn't anything else here..." He breathed. "Fuck." 

"Great. We finally have a lead and then it leads us straight into a dead end. Just great."

"I swear to god if we have to invade every single house in the town I'm gonna murder a bitch," Yoongi growled. "Why couldn't this fucker just give us clear instructions?"

Jimin shrugged. "I have no idea. No time, maybe? They could have written this before they were killed."

"Who knows. We kind of have bigger problems than if this person is dead or not," Yoongi looked out the window at the passing countryside.

"We'll just have to do our best," Jimin answered. 

They sat in silence until they reached their stop. They waited there on the empty platform for the train back into town.

It arrived around an hour later and they arrived at the station about an hour after that. The streets were just as foggy as they had been when they had left (or were they worse? Jimin had no clue) and they walked down them to Yoongi's house.

They sat inside nervously and read the message over and over until Jimin thought he'd see it in his mind whenever he closed his eyes. 

"We need a plan."

"No shit, Sherlock," Jimin rolled his eyes. "Running and screaming will only get us killed quicker."

Yoongi leaned back on the chair. "I know that. Thanks for stating the obvious." 

"You're very welcome," Jimin replied blankly. "I'm honestly more interested in who 'he' is." He paused. "And how 'his' book is of any importance to this." 

Yoongi shrugged. "How to kill shadows 101?" 

Jimin glared at him. 

"Hey, a man can dream." 

Jimin slumped forward. "I just want this to be over." 

It was silent for a moment but it was shattered by Jimin's ringtone piercing the air. He pulled out his phone and stared at it for a second before answering and putting it on speaker. 

"Kook? Why are you calling? We got back just fine if that's what you were wondering-" 

"It's not that," Jungkook spoke quickly and nervously. 

"It's about what's happening to you."