Five

Chapter Five

Namjoon POV

My alarm went off early this morning. I groaned and rolled over in bed to try and hit my phone as it continued screaming. I opened my eyes in groggy delusion and grabbed my phone from the side table. I silenced it and looked over at Jungkook who was still asleep like a rock. He hadn't even flinched from the ear piercing racket. I stretched my arms over my head and arched my back, stretching the sleep away. I looked over at the window and saw the trees were finally barren of their snow. The room was nearly silent, all except for our breathing and the slight whir of the overhead ceiling fan. The sun was just barely peeking through the trees. I was reluctant to get out of my warm bed and the blankets felt heavy.

"Jungkook-ah," I groaned, rolling over onto my side to look over at his sleeping form. He was buried underneath his blankets, only part of his left arm poking out. "Wake up." No response. I forced myself up into a sitting position. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I shivered in the chilly air. The fireplace must have gone out during the night. I stood and made my way over to Jungkook's bed. I pushed his shoulder and pulled his blankets off. He groaned and tried to grab them back.

"Rise and shine, we got stuff to do today." I said and then opened the door to the bedroom. It was colder out in the living room and I cursed myself for not putting in more firewood. I padded down the stairs and over to the couch where Jimin and Taehyung were still fast asleep. I noticed the kitchen had been raided and figured the two culprits were right here. Jimin was on his side facing the fireplace with Taehyung halfway across him on his back. How the position was comfortable was beyond me. I poked Jimin's side, hitting his rib harder than I intended. He hissed in a breath and glared up at me. He then noticed Taehyung's weight on his back and shoved the boy off. Confused and half asleep, Tae sat up with his hair in every direction, his hand gripping the edge of the couch.

"Get off me." Jimin slurred and sat up himself. The blankets fell off him and he looked over at the fireplace. "Why is it so cold?"

"Fire died last night." I moved over to Taehyung who was drifting back asleep as he leaned against the back of the couch. I rubbed his back, up and down his spine gently, and he opened his eyes halfway to look around. I could hear Yoogi's alarm going off in his room still, meaning that he too had slept through it. Jimin stood up from the couch haphazardly and moved over to the fireplace.

"Who forgot to put away the leftovers?" I heard Jin's irritated voice say and I turned to face him.

"I was hungry." Taehyung finally spoke, his voice still sleepy. Jin opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Jimin agreeing with Tae. Leaving the room and Jin to rant, I moved towards Suga and Hobi's room. As I opened the door, I realized just how loud his alarm was blaring. I shook Yoongi and then reached over to whap Hobi on the back. Neither responded and I groaned, pulling the blankets off J-Hope. He blinked against the light of day and looked at me confused.

"Yoongi, are you awake?" I lifted the covers off his head and received a low groan. "How can you sleep through such noise?"

"Like this," He pulled the covers back over. Hobi sat up in his bed and shivered. "Let go." I was still holding onto his blanket.

"Jin is gonna make breakfast, get up." I said as Hobi stood to get dressed. I left the room to go investigate Jungkook's absence. I found him sitting up in bed, one eye still closed.

"What time is it?" He muttered and rubbed his closed eye.

"Time for you to get dressed." I tossed his jeans at him. They hung over his shoulder but he didn't move. "7 am."

"Why so early?"

"We have stuff to do today, like wake up." I headed back downstairs. Jin was well into making breakfast and the fireplace was back up and running. Jimin and Tae both were sitting in front of it with their blankets. I sat down on the couch and pulled out my phone.

Yoongi POV

The only reason I got up was because the enticing smells of breakfast were wafting into my room and making my stomach growl. I rolled onto my back and processed the bright light from outside. Hobi was already dressed and making his bed. Forcing myself up, I groaned at the sheer cold shock.

"Are the backpacks ready?" I heard Namjoon ask. Oh yeah, he wanted us to hike today. I knew Jin wasn't going to, and neither was Hobi. I was still on the fence. Part of me liked nature and to hear the birds singing, smell the pine and dead leaves. But the other part of me was tired and wanted to curl up in front of the fireplace. Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook were going. I stood and moved towards the dresser. Hobi was already leaving and ready for his day.

I walked out of my room and the smells of breakfast were stronger. Almost everyone was around the table talking quietly and I took my seat next to Namjoon. Jin was dishing everyone up.

"So Jin and Hobi, you're not coming?" Joon clarified and they both nodded. I knew Jin wanted to relax and read some, Hobi probably just didn't want to freeze. I raised my hand and Joon looked over at me.

"Same here." I said and he nodded.

"We'll be back in a few hours then." He said as he continued eating. "We won't go too far out, but I do want to check out the frozen lake."

"Be careful, frozen water is dangerous." Jin said as he sat down.

"Yes mom." Jimin teased, which earned him a glare.

Taehyung POV

We stood at the front door getting all of our backpacks on and zipping up our coats. Jin and Namjoon required us to have some snacks and water in our packs, as well as a lighter. We wouldn't be out too long, I thought it was unnecessary. Joonie opened the door and the cold air hitting my face made my breath freeze in my chest. Most of the snow had melted at least and the air was humid but freezing. Suga, Jin, and Hobi watched us all march out of the cabin.

"Everyone in." Namjoon got into the drivers side of the van. We had to drive out to our hiking spot. I set my pack at my feet and leaned against the seat. My coat was zipped up and I stuffed my hands into my pockets. I wanted to see this frozen lake and if I could skip a rock further out across its surface. Jimin buckled up next to me and shoved his pack into the backseat. Jungkook took the front passenger seat.

The ride to our hike was mostly quiet, as it was still early. I was still sleepy but I'm sure moving around in the cold would wake me up more. I watched Jimin play his racing game on his phone most of the way. The closer we got to our destination, the less snowy it got. Most of everything had melted and water dripped off the pine trees slowly. Even the parking lot where we stopped seemed kind of muddy. We all filed out and shrugged on our packs. Namjoon led the way onto the dirt path leading into the trees and rocks.

We moved in single file, with Joon leading, and me taking up the rear. Jungkook was second, Jimin was third in front of me. The forest was alive with the chirps of birds. Water dripped from the trees overhead, and squirrels scurried through branches. The air was crisp and smelled of dead leaves and pine. Rocks jutted from the ground around us and we occasionally needed to step over a fallen log in the path. Some areas were more overgrown than others, with plants sometimes hiding most of the path. Jimin tripped on an exposed root in front of me and stumbled forward. I stepped over the root, laughing at him.

The path was now an upward slope, and the elevation made it difficult to breathe. My heart pounded in my chest and my breath came out in rushed clouds of steam in front of me. Everyone seemed to be struggling with the elevation as well. Joon stopped after a few minutes to let everyone catch their breath. Jimin and Jungkook panted as Joonie leaned down onto his knees.

"I forgot about elevation." He chuckled and I nodded, too out of breath to say anything. After a minute or so, we noticed the silence of the forest. It was eerily comforting but also made me nervous. Joonie began our trek again and we filed into line once again. I jumped as I heard a twig snap behind us and I grabbed Jimin's arm as I moved to walk next to him. He looked back to where the noise had come from. 'Probably just a deer,' he reassured me and I nodded, focusing on my breathing again.

"There's the lake!" Jungkook said excitedly and picked up his pace. Namjoon cut through some of the rocks and bushes off the path to get closer. Eventually we stood at the lakes edge and marveled at its size. It was about the length of a football field and looked to be frozen all the way across. The white ice was nearly pristine, not a single crack through it. I picked up a small rock and hurled it across the surface. It slid almost out into the middle before it stopped.

"It's so big, how could it all freeze?" Jimin asked.

"It gets cold out here at night." Namjoon said and carefully set a foot onto the ice. It supported his weight and he moved out a couple steps onto it.

"Be careful!" I said, reaching out to grab his arm as he tried to inch out further.

"It's fine, Tae, look." He jumped in place and I cringed, expecting the ice to shatter underneath him. He grinned and motioned for me to come out and join him. "Jimin, hold onto these!" He took out the van keys and tossed them to him. Jimin caught them and stuck them into his pocket.

"Guys, don't move." Jungkook's voice was very serious and I froze immediately. Namjoon and I looked over at him as he stood fast, staring into the forest's edge. He and Jimin were holding onto each other's arms, their eyes locked on a dark figure at the base of a large tree. I sucked in a breath as it stood, getting larger and taller. It moved closer to us, the light finally hitting it's huge, furry muzzle. It's black and beady eyes locked onto us and Jungkook gently moved Jimin towards the ice edge. The animal was a massive bear, and it had us in its sights.