XIV

Jimin instantly grew defensive and his tone turned slightly aggressive.

"And how would you know what's been going on?"

Jungkook sighed. "Jimin, just sending me out of the room isn't enough. You all talk pretty loud and it's simple enough to listen in. I wasn't ever going to tell you I knew... But I thought that this might help you."

"What is it, Kook?" Jimin asked then, still nervous but also curious to see what he knew.

"It's just that you've been acting strange," Jungkook said nervously. "It's too similar and it's freaking me out."

"Similar to what?" Yoongi jumped into the conversation while exchanging a concerned glance with Jimin.

"To what happened years ago," Jungkook answered in a whisper. He sounded almost afraid and that didn't help Jimin or Yoongi's nerves whatsoever.

"Are you sure you want to talk about this?" Jimin asked, trying his best to seem the least threatening possible by speaking slowly and softly. Jungkook hesitated, but quietly said yes, taking a  small breath before beginning.

"You know that Jin and I have always been close. I mean, we're step-brothers, we have to be even if we aren't actually related, but we never kept secrets despite the age gap. I remember that it started when I was around seven years old."

Jimin set the phone down on the table, sat back in his chair and listened. Yoongi reached over and held his hand, occasionally giving Jimin a reassuring squeeze.

"Jin started acting really strange. He was always checking over his shoulder and was scared of the dark. He would flinch away from shadows on the walls and all of a sudden made sure that I was never alone, even if I was just going to my friend's house. I didn't think much of it at the time since he's always been a scaredy cat," he said with regret, "but I should have noticed how bad it had gotten. I just thought that it was some new game he had been playing with his friends and decided not to tell me about. The only other thing I remember vividly was Jin always carrying some book with him. He seemed obsessed with it, to be honest."

Jungkook paused for a moment to compose himself.

"We really should have paid more attention to how he was acting. He seemed to get worse and worse until he vanished for a few days. I was terrified, my brother was gone and I didn't know what had happened to him or if he was alright."

He let out a dry laugh.

"My parents were frantic and tried looking for him but we couldn't find him anywhere. We checked with all his friends and they all said that they hadn't seen him since the last time we did. I think our parents almost lost hope."

He exhaled deeply and Jimin and Yoongi focused even more intently on his words. They were worrying, to say the least.

"Around three days after he had vanished, he showed up on the doorstep as if he hadn't been missing for days on end."

"Was he alright?" Jimin asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"He was alright. I think. I was the first person to notice him standing there, bruised, bloody and scared. I remember screaming and my mother freaking out but not much else," Jungkook's voice faded to a whisper by the end.

"I think that was the last straw for my parents." Jungkook reluctantly admitted. "They had us pack up everything and we sold the house as soon as we could. That's when we moved to Seoul."

"And I met you a little while after that," Jimin murmured. "Has he been alright?"

"More worried than usual, but he hasn't said anything to-"

Just then Jimin heard a mumble in the background of the call that sounded like a voice.

"What? Oh- I'm just making sure that Jimin got home safely."

"Is that Jin?" Yoongi asked curiously.

"Yeah. it's me," Jin said cheerfully. Jimin couldn't tell that he was more worried than usual. In fact, he sounded as normal as ever.

"So when's the next movie night going to be?" Yoongi asked suddenly, throwing both Jimin and Jin off guard.

"Whenever you want, really," Jin replied, still a bit stunned by Yoongi bringing up the topic.

Yoongi tsked. "I need a date so we can plan ahead to be there."

Jimin's mouth opened in an o shape as he realized what Yoongi was doing.

Telling Jin that they planned to live.

Jin was silent as he thought it over, occasionally muttering to himself and Jungkook's soft giggles as he listened to his brother.

"Next month? Make it a monthly thing?" Jimin suggested, helping Yoongi out. "But can I pick the movie next time?"

"O-of course." Jin's voice cracked slightly at the start and he sounded like he might start crying at any moment, but he didn't. Jin managed to keep his composure long enough that if Jimin didn't know him any better, he would have thought that nothing was wrong.

"We'll see you then," Yoongi said confidently as if he was hoping that his confidence would give Jin some as well.

"See you," Jin answered quietly before leaving the room. The sound of his footsteps faded until none of them could hear him anymore.

"Thank you, Jungkook. That helps a lot," Jimin told him earnestly, trying to think over the new information.

"Good luck," Jungkook whispered before he hung up.

"Well, let's go look for this book," Jimin stretched his legs and stood up.

"Your house is the only one that's been for sale in the past ten years. I'm betting it's there," Yoongi said as he stood up and walked over.

"I didn't want to go back so soon..." Jimin breathed. "But I don't have much choice, do I?"

"Not really, no," Yoongi laced his and Jimin's fingers together and started leading him towards the door.

"We're going to do this," Yoongi said in a determined tone. "And we're going to go back to Seoul after and have an even better movie night with popcorn and more pillow fights, alright?"

He looked over at Jimin and smirked confidently.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

The walk over to Jimin's house passed in silence. He was afraid and he knew it, but Jimin knew that he had to get over his fear and anxiety in order to end things. Once they arrived, Jimin avoided looking at the mess his house had become and instead rushed up the stairs and let Yoongi open his bedroom door for him. He still didn't want to touch the door and felt like he would start trembling if he had to do it.

Nothing had changed since they had been there earlier and Yoongi unlaced their fingers and walked over to the closet. He opened it and found the board he had tripped on earlier, tapping it with his knuckles and nodding when it didn't sound like the rest of the floor.

"Loose board. Of fucking course," Yoongi grumbled as he set to work prying it up. It lifted a lot easier than he expected and he reached in to lift out an old book. The book was leatherbound with faded pages, yellowed with age and something unintelligible engraved in the cover.

"Alright, let's see what's in this thing," Jimin whispered as he watched from over Yoongi's shoulder. Yoongi carefully opened it and a piece of paper detached from the book and fell to the ground.

"Yoongi you broke it, oh my god!" Jimin panicked. "What the hell!? We need this in one piece!"

"Calm the fuck down. It's another note," Yoongi picked it up and stood to walk over to Jimin's bed and sat there.

"Alright, let's see what this says," Yoongi mumbled as his eyes scanned the paper. "It's in the same code as before."



"Here, I brought the key with me," Jimin pulled it out from his pocket and set it down beside the note. It took them a bit longer than expected, but they finished decoding the note with a sigh.

"Finally," Yoongi breathed as he began reading it, "I assume if you are reading this then you need help or you are just too curious for your own good. This book you are holding is the only one that might have the information you are looking for."

Yoongi looked up at Jimin before continuing once he saw how concentrated Jimin was.

"I hope that no one needs to find this, but if you do, I wish you all the best. Sincerely..." Yoongi trailed off with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Jimin asked as he tried to read over Yoongi's shoulder. He saw the problem immediately and almost cursed.

The signature said only Kim and the rest of the name had been torn off. Jimin grimaced, thinking about just how many Kims there were in Korea and how that didn't narrow down the options at all.

"I kind of want to ask Jin but we also literally just got off the phone," he muttered and Yoongi shrugged. He sighed and set the note aside before offering Jimin the book.

"Do you want to read it?"

"Sure," He took the book from Yoongi carefully and flipped to the first page. He realized quickly that it was more like someone's personal journal than a book.

Every entry was dated and they occasionally spoke about the most trivial of things, like the weather. There was one all about how someone's cow got loose, and Jimin really could have lived without knowing every single plant fact that the author apparently thought was interesting.

It wasn't until about halfway that the entries started to mention anything that could possibly be related to the shadows.

Jimin began paying much more attention then.

"July the twenty-fifth. Foggy as always," Jimin read aloud, "Something doesn't feel right here. I do not yet know what it is, but I feel as if bad things will start happening if we do not leave. It might just be my imagination but I thought I saw the shadows moving on the walls. But that must be impossible. Everyone knows that shadows cannot move.

I will keep an eye out for them just in case.

In other news, Mrs. Choi had her baby last night...."

Jimin flipped ahead several pages and skimmed it for the word 'shadows'.

Ah. There it was.

"August first. Overcast and slightly rainy. Still foggy.

I still see them move out of the corner of my eye and it scares me. I do not know what to expect.

Sometimes I feel like they are watching me and waiting for a good time to strike. But I can't tell anyone.

No one would believe me. I will do my best to be careful."

Jimin flipped ahead again.

"September the twelfth. A bit of sun for once.

I should have warned them. I could have done something and yet I didn't. Does that make me a terrible person?

It doesn't matter. They're dead anyway."

He paused, feeling the guilt start to creep out from where it was slumbering in his mind and he could almost hear Jiyong's bone-chilling laughter echoing in his ears. He took a deep breath to calm himself and regain his composure before continuing. Instead of reading it aloud, he just read silently to himself.

'September the twentieth. More fog. 

I've had enough. In five days, I will end this for good. The shadows are strong but I think I might have found out a way to at least repel them but I will try to kill them if I get the chance. 

I'm tired of being scared.'

-

'September the twenty-fifth. Who even cares about the weather anymore. 

Today is the day. My last entry. Unless I come back alive that is. But I don't expect to. That's why I'm leaving this for the future if I fail so that someone else can finish the job for me. I have faith that someone who is capable will find it. 

In twenty minutes I will leave and try to destroy it, I'm quite confident about my plan, to be honest. I think it should work. 

Shadows exist because of light. If you take the light away, shouldn't they go away as well?

Just in case though, I've... Borrowed... A butcher's knife in case I end up needing it. I hope that it doesn't happen. 

And so I will leave for the last time. I hope the sun shines brightly down on tomorrow. 

Farewell.' 

Jimin was about to close the book when he saw more words.  He turned to the last page and stared at the scrawl there.

'September thirtieth. 

I think I did it. I haven't seen them since that day but I can't say for sure. I still feel unsettled and strange but it's in a different way than before. I worry for those who come after me.

I will leave this in the library where someone could find it in the future just in case. I am running out of room on this page, so I will make this brief. 

Don't take anything at face value. They are brutal and stop at nothing. My advice to you is run while you still can. 

Good luck. Stay alive'

Jimin shut the book after ensuring that it was the last entry and turned to Yoongi, holding out the book.

"You have to read this."

Yoongi took the book and read the words within its pages, his frown deepening with every new entry.

"It says that light is the key," Yoongi muttered as he pointed at the entry. He looked back up at Jimin with a serious face.

"We have one problem, though. It attacked you in broad daylight."

Jimin clasped his hands together as he thought, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"It attacked me at night too," Jimin answered quietly and Yoongi swore.

"But there was still some light coming through a window, right?" Yoongi stood up suddenly and began to pace back and forth across the hardwood floor. Jimin watched as Yoongi muttered to himself.

"But what he's saying is an absence of light - total darkness - should be enough."

Jimin sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Yoongi, if it's completely dark, we can't see anything. It'll be even more dangerous than if we just charged in with lit torches and pitchforks like crazy people."

Yoongi just stared at him with a weird expression.

"Really, Jimin? Pitchforks?"

"No one's used a pitchfork in ages. Get with the times. God," Yoongi scoffed. Jimin groaned loudly and threw his hands up in the air.

"That's not the point, Yoongi."

He stopped his pacing and knelt in front of Jimin, looking straight into his eyes.

"In the end, Jimin, it doesn't matter if there's light or not, we're at a disadvantage no matter what we do"

Jimin looked down and Yoongi slightly tilted his chin back up.

"We just hafta give it our best shot."

Jimin tried to smile but it probably came out more grim than encouraging.

"We can try."

Yoongi stood up and his expression was serious once again.

"So when are we doing this?"

Jimin looked from his room to the foggy streets through the window to the ruined hallway.

"I don't know. I want this to be over as soon as possible but I don't want us to rush to our deaths."

"No one truly wants to die, Jimin. Not even the people who try to kill themselves. They're just scared and confused and can't see any other way out of the situation."

Jimin watched as Yoongi's face hardened and his eyes grew sadder. As if he was speaking from experience.

"But don't worry, Jimin. I already told you, I won't let anything happen to you."

Jimin clasped his hands together tightly and gathered the courage to speak.

"Can we have one more night. Just one to pretend that we might not be dying soon," He whispered.

"One night," Yoongi agreed. "For tonight let's just forget all this," He gestured around them. "Forget who we are and what we have to do."

When Yoongi offered Jimin his hand, he took it without hesitation and allowed himself to be pulled along as they ran out of the house and through the fog filled air. The sound of their laughter echoed around them in the empty streets as they forgot all their worries and problems.

Just until tomorrow.

They spent the afternoon watching whatever was on the channels Yoongi had access to (which honestly, wasn't much and all the shows were terrible), snacking on Yoongi's food and sitting much too close to each other for just friends.

Jimin knew they had never talked about what they were to each other, never defined it, and he didn't mind that.

It meant that he never had to deal with rejection.

At about half past three in the afternoon, Jimin felt a familiar tightness in his chest and sensation at the back of his throat. He got up without much fuss and gestured to the washroom when Yoongi shot him a questioning glance.

He locked the door behind him and listened to make sure that the movie was loud enough that Yoongi couldn't hear him. It was better to lie than tell the truth.

He was expecting this.

Jimin bent his head over the toilet as he heaved and coughed over and over until he could breathe somewhat normally again. Everything hurt and the familiar copper taste on his tongue was as disgusting as ever.

He shouldn't have gone back to Seoul and he knew it. He had made it weeks without an attack, but the smog and pollution in his lungs from a single visit undid all the progress the clean air had made.

His throat burned and his head spun as he hacked up more of the red liquid into the toilet.

Jimin closed his eyes and held on tightly to the seat as he tried to find his internal balance again. He stood shakily and slowly, wiping any visible blood off his lips. Yoongi couldn't know. Not now.

He would explain everything if they survived this.

He just needed one more day.

Jimin stared at his reflection in the mirror intently for a moment before leaving the washroom and sitting back on the couch with Yoongi.

If he held onto Yoongi's arm tighter and cuddled closer into the warmth of his body than before, then Yoongi never commented on it.

He just hooked his arm around Jimin's shoulder and held him.

Jimin shamelessly snuggled his face into Yoongi's shirt. Why should it matter anyway? This might be their last day alive to enjoy life.

They stayed there for hours and Jimin had stopped paying attention to the shows long ago in favour of staring at the different lights that swept across Yoongi's face in gentle waves. They ate as nice of a dinner as they could, talking and laughing at whatever the other had said.

Jimin felt warmth bloom in his chest with every gummy smile that Yoongi sent his way and would always return them with his eye smiles.

Everything was alright, Jimin lied to himself. Nothing would go wrong tomorrow.

As the night fell, they had to get up from the couch and move somewhere else. Jimin giggled when he saw the indent from where they had been sitting for hours and Yoongi chuckled a bit when he noticed.

"We should get as much sleep as humanly possible," Yoongi said as he stretched and heard a pop from his back. "We're probably going to need it."

Jimin nodded and followed him over to the bedroom.

"So uh... I only have one bedroom, so you can have the bed. I'll take the couch," Yoongi said as he tilted his head towards the door. Jimin frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yoongi, I'm not kicking you out of your own bed. I'll take the couch," He argued back, not willing to budge on the matter.

"Jimin, you're my guest. You are not sleeping on the couch," His voice was stern and left no room for argument

"For fucks sakes, Yoongi. Let's just share and be done with it," Jimin huffed in exasperation before his voiced turned teasing and echoed Yoongi's words from the previous night, "It's not like we've never done that before."

Yoongi stopped in his tracks and stared at Jimin for a moment before blinking, flushing slightly red, and walking into the bedroom. Jimin couldn't help the laughter that escaped him and laughed even harder when a muffled "shut up" came from inside the room.

"Feel free to use the shower if you want to." Yoongi waved in the general direction of the bathroom and holding a pair of pajamas in his hand.

"I think I'm good, but thanks anyway," Jimin sat down on the bed and caught the pajamas that Yoongi threw at his face.

"I'm not having one either," Yoongi shrugged. "More time to sleep I guess."

They both turned in opposite directions to change clothes but Jimin still felt himself flush a bright red at the mere idea of Yoongi seeing him like this.

Jimin lay down on the bed next to Yoongi and pulled the blankets up over them both. He whispered a quick goodnight before succumbing to sleep in Yoongi's arms and drifting off into dreamland.

Before long, Jimin was twisting and turning violently as the nightmare returned.

He once again stood in the empty streets except the fog was completely gone. It was as if it had never even been there in the first place.

It was unsettling and strange, and Jimin didn't like it one bit

He heard the whispers coming for him but he stood his ground.

"It's only a dream," He told himself. "It can't hurt me."

He knew that, he knew it wasn't able to actually hurt him but still his instinct kicked in and urged him to run. He sprinted away until the whispers were gone and hid in an alleyway next to where the coffee shop was... Used to be.

Jimin peeked out into the street and listened carefully He heard nothing and relaxed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

He backed into the alley again and stopped when he heard a squelching noise from under his foot. He slowly looked down and jumped away from the bright red blood (too bright) that was running down the street.

Jimin sucked in a breath and stayed completely still when he felt something come and cup his chin.

"Welcome back, Park Jimin," The voice cackled. "I've missed you."

His chest felt tight and the panic set in.

No. No no no no. Please no.

He exhaled sharply and suddenly.

"Let me leave," He hissed, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Oh, no can do," The voice whispered teasingly into his ear. "You already made that choice."

Jimin ripped himself out of the hold and spun around prepared to fight back.

"What do you mea-" Oh.

He ran from the whispers. He made a choice.

"It's a shame that you didn't come back sooner. We didn't get to have that much fun last time."

Jiyong's face had even less skin on it than before and both his eye sockets were dead and empty, his smile skeletal and his flesh rotting.

Jimin took a step away from him.

"I don't think I like your idea of fun too much," Jimin muttered. Jiyong had obviously heard him since his smile grew larger.

"Oh, but you do," He laughed, the chilling sound reminded him of the screeching of nails on a chalkboard. "You do, Park Jimin. You just don't know it yet."

Jiyong chuckled and shook his head sadly.

"Oh, you poor, poor child. You don't even know what you're capable of."

He looked up with a piercing gaze.

"What we're capable of."

Jimin took another step back for every time Jiyong took a step forward.

"Such a poor, naive child."

After the next step, he ran for it. He ran as quickly as he could, as far as he could until he couldn't hear that laugh anymore. He didn't know where he was or where he was going, only that it was away . Jimin stopped behind a wall to catch his breath and listened. No whispers. No laugh.

Instead, he heard something far worse. Something that made his heart clench. Something that caused panic to rise up within his body.

"Jimin!"

He spun around in a frenzy. Where was it coming from? What direction did he have to run?

"Jimin!"

There.

He rushed down one of the endless side streets towards the voice. He had to go there. He had to.

Occasionally he stopped to listen for it and then kept going.

The voice called out to him again. It was drawing him towards it with no way to fight it. Not that he wanted to.

Every time he thought he would find it just around the corner, it would vanish and reappear much further away than before.

"Stop moving!" He yelled in frustration.

"I'm coming for you!" He shouted but his only answer was another call of his name and the sound of the wind.

He turned down another street and pushed himself to go faster. He rushed around a corner and gasped when he took in the scene.

"Yoongi," He breathed, horrified.

Yoongi lay there in a pool of his own blood, ripped clothes stained completely in the colour. Jimin collapsed next to him with a sob and hesitantly touched his cheeks.

They were cold.

"Yoongi!" He screamed to the sky. "You can't be dead. I can save you, just wait for me. Wait for me, please. You'll be alright, I promise."

His voice cracked as he choked back another sob.

Jimin tilted Yoongi's head back with shaking fingers and then placed his hands on Yoongi's chest the way he'd been taught.

"Yoongi, please come back to me," He pushed on Yoongi's chest with as much of his weight as he could and flinched when he heard the cracking of bones.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," He repeated over and over. It didn't matter what happened, he couldn't stop. He tilted Yoongi's head back, pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth with desperation.

"Please, just breathe. Please."

He cried tears of desperation as he repeated the process over and over until he was exhausted and felt like if he moved that he would collapse.

Jimin didn't even notice the gaping cuts on Yoongi's sides or the severed artery in his neck in his panic.

Blood coated his hands and ran down his arms as he leaned over and cried.

"See? You are helpless."

Jimin looked over his shoulder with eyes still blurry from tears and saw the vague form of Jiyong standing there a few feet away.

"Piss off and die," Jimin hissed venomously.

He shrugged. "Been there, done that. It isn't that great."

Jimin threw himself over Yoongi's body protectively.

"If you want him, you're going to have to go through me first."

Jimin didn't care about the consequences of the action. He had to keep Yoongi safe. They promised each other. He couldn't break his promise because that was bad bad bad bad BAD -

Jiyong reached out towards them and Jimin closed his eyes. It was over.

His hand came to rest on top of Jimin's head and he opened his eyes in shock.

"This man is your weakness, Jimin," He said with disdain, looking at Yoongi spiteful.

"You don't need him. He is holding you back, you could be so much more!"

He stared Jimin in the eye after glancing at Yoongi again.

"But you insist on trying to save him when you know he can't be saved... Why?"

His voice had a hurt tone and yet was still bitter. Jimin couldn't understand.

"Why do you choose to save him before anyone else? Why did you save him but not me!?"

Jimin's fingers clenched tighter into Yoongi's shirt.

"There is a huge difference between him and you," Jimin spat angrily, holding Yoongi closer.

"And what could be so different?" Jiyong's voice was a snarl and Jimin struggled to hold his ground.

"I love him. That's all there is to it," Jimin said confidently for the first time. "I love him so much."

Jiyong retracted his hand and stood straight and imposing.

"Love makes you weak."

Jimin glared up at him. "Love gives you a reason to keep fighting when nothing else is left."

"And can you say that he'd do the same for you?" Jiyong mocked, walking in slow circles around them, "How do you know that he won't just abandon you and leave you to die?

"Yoongi would never do that," Jimin said with a glare. Jiyong laughed and Jimin couldn't help the flinch that followed when Jiyong leaned in close to tilt his chin up with a single finger.

"Say that to me later and we'll see if that truly is the case," Jiyong said as he stood up and began to walk away. "Watch out Park Jimin. He may return to ashes one day."

Jiyong looked back at him and hissed a few more words that resonated within him in a way Jimin never wanted to feel again.

"And when he does...

It will be

All

Your

Fault."