Archive of Our Own ^beta

The night was chilly and Taehyung probably should’ve worn more than just a t-shirt, but the happy blaze in his heart - and a tummy full of Seokjin’s cooking -  kept him warm and content. Their campfire was slowly burning out to cinders and Taehyung poked it with a stick to keep it alive. 

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with clean forest air. Their one-week vacation away from the busy metropol had been much needed and oh-so-effective, Taehyung felt more rested than he had been in months.

He took a sip of his cola - he was the only member who wasn’t drinking anything harder. It was still hilarious to watch the other members who did, as the hyungs, though being quite elegant with it, were all slightly tipsy and were engaged in either dance battles or political conversations. Jimin and Jungkook on the other hand… They were pretty much wasted. Like, rolling on the ground hugging each other, laughing and hiccuping with happy tears in their eyes -wasted. Taehyung snapped a few photos on his camera for later blackmailing.

It was the last night of their vacation, which made Taehyung slightly wistful. He would’ve liked it to last forever, but everything beautiful has to end at some point - they were leaving bright and early in the morning, heading straight to work without even stopping by their dorms.

Though, he was sure that after being well rested the next comeback was going to be amazing . 

Taehyung scrolled through some photos on his camera. During the vacation he had affiliated the duty of a cameraman - he had filled several memory cards with fun memories and artistic photos of the forest. 

The photographing had been kind of his own little thing; the others had been so focused on their well-deserved lazing around to spend much time with him by walking around in the forest with a camera. And as much as he would’ve liked to use someone as a model in his photos, he was also happy to see the members fully relax.

Taehyung passed another can for Jimin who had stumbled over to his bench by the fire. Taehyung knew he maybe should be the sober adult and not let Jimin have any more - but he wanted them all to enjoy their last night in the forest to the fullest.

The morning was a problem for tomorrow’s BTS.

---

“Tae, the cars are here”, Namjoon called in a drowsy voice, leaning to the doorframe. He had visible bags under his eyes and his hair was ruffled, and Taehyung would’ve laughed out if he wasn’t feeling so stressed.

“I can’t find the memory card box for my camera, it must’ve dropped it in the woods.” Taehyung kept digging through his bags on the floor of his, Yoongi’s and Hoseok’s shared room. Those memory cards held the hundreds photos he’d taken during the week, he couldn’t bear to lose them. “I have to go find it.”

Namjoon let out a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. “Whatever. Just hurry up.” His footsteps retreated on the creaky floorboards of their cabin.

Taehyung checked under every bed, every cupboard and closet and swept through all the floors, not finding the box with the cards. Yes, he had definitely dropped them somewhere - probably around the nearby lake he’d spent most of the week.

With a determined sigh he zipped shut his luggage and dragged it to the front porch, where everyone else was already loading the two cars that had come to pick them up.

Everyone was equally rugged and sleepy - except for Jimin and Jungkook, who looked downright half dead. Both wore sunglasses and sat on the porch with their heads down while the hyungs were taking care of their luggage for them.

Taehyung calculated that he had about 10 minutes to go find his memory cards before anyone would get too mad for having to wait for him. He slipped quietly off the porch and into the forest so no-one would stop him - he was sure going to receive some scolding, but they wouldn’t leave without him. 

And they would thank him later for having recovered the photos they could reminisce about their awesome week with.

---

Jimin surprisingly slept through almost the whole three-hour drive. He still had a plastic bag at hand in case the last night’s fun decided to resurface, but the painkillers and the car sickness-pills Seokjin had forced in him did their job rather well.

He was carpooling with Seokjin and Jungkook, so the backseat had plenty of comfortable space. He was feeling kind of bad for the other car with all the seats crammed full - but then again, they didn’t have to poke a snoring maknae awake every time they wanted some silence.

Still, Jimin couldn’t help but feel compassion for his best friend. Being the youngest member in the other car, everyone else had most likely pulled their hyung-cards and made Taehyung sit in the middle - while all the hyungs had a soft spot for Tae, they wouldn’t be ready to sacrifice their legroom for him. 

Jimin was so going to hear him complaining about jammed muscles and sore behind for the rest of the day. 

When the cars finally pulled into the parking garage of the Bighit building, Jimin was ready to just risk getting scolded by the big boss himself and walk out to the dorms to sleep the day away. Seokjin and Jungkook seemed to share his sentiments as they groggily fumbled with their seatbelts, muttering some half-assed thank yous to their driver.

Dragging his feet for the trunk to get his stuff, he realized they were jammed under Taehyung’s heavy bags. The second maknae had an obsession that bordered unhealthy about clothes and fashion, and he tended to pack a lot to every trip they ever went.

“Tae, come get your stuff, they’re blocking mine”, Jimin shouted out, giving his bag one more frustrated yank, not getting them to even budge under the heavy load on top of them. “Taehyung!”

He didn’t get an answer, so Jimin marched to the other car. “Tae?” He called again, searching for his best friend, not seeing him anywhere.

Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok all paused their movements, frowning at him. 

“He’s not here”, Namjoon said, confusion clear in his voice. He continued to lift bags out of the trunk, but now glanced around in search of his dongsaeng too.

Jimin’s heart dropped a beat. “What?”

Namjoon froze again mid lift, locking eyes with Jimin again. “He rode in your car.”

“No?” Jimin’s pulse had begun to pick up, a horrifying possibility tingled the back of his neck even when he tried to push it away.

“Wait, he wasn’t in either car?” Yoongi joined the conversation, almost letting go of his bag full of expensive music equipment.

“No, he’s-”

“Then where is he?” Yoongi’s tone got louder, drawing the attention of Seokjin and Jungkook who both paused to look at the situation unfolding in front of them.

“Oh my god.” Jimin shook his head, cold spikes running through his spine. It couldn’t be… They wouldn’t… He wasn’t...

Namjoon dug out his phone, his face fallen completely serious. “I’m calling him.”

A few seconds ticked in the silent garage, until they heard the faint, first notes of Taehyung’s ringtone. Jimin followed the sound to the car trunk, to Taehyung’s bags. The phone was there, all Taehyung’s stuff was there.

Where was Taehyung himself?

“Oh my god”, Jimin clutched his hair, his hands beginning to tremble. “Oh my god.”

“Jimin, take it easy”, Seokjin said slowly, reaching for Jimin as he saw what was happening.

Jimin shook him off. He couldn’t breathe. Dropping down on a crouch, his hand clasped over his mouth to try to control his gasps. His ears rang and the edges of his vision started to blur.

It couldn’t be .

He hadn’t seen Taehyung getting into the car, he had just assumed so. In fact, the last time he’d even seen him was during the night. Where had he gone to?

Though they were born the same year, Jimin was still the older one - that meant he should’ve taken care of his friend better. Yet he hadn’t even been paying enough attention to make sure they wouldn’t leave him alone in the middle of a forest three hours away from home .

His vision was close blacking out completely, and he barely felt the hands trying to shake him.

He was such a terrible friend .

Oh god .

He could still faintly hear the members calling his name somewhere far away before the panic took over completely.

---

The cars were nowhere in sight. The cabin door was locked. The members were gone.

It was getting hard for Taehyung to even think straight. Tapping his pockets, a horrifying realization dawned upon him - his phone was in the car, along with his bags. He was completely alone in the middle of the woods, the closest town was half an hour drive away. He hadn’t paid much attention to the route when they were arriving, so he had no idea where to turn from the very first crossroads.

It was most likely a prank, some kind of a hidden camera thing. There was no way the members would have just left him. They could all count, they knew six was less than seven - even with a killer hangover. They wouldn’t just forget him.

It had to be a prank .

…

… 

It wasn’t a prank. 

The members weren’t cruel enough to let it last that long. Hours long . And it was an unwritten yet sacred rule of pranking in the Bangtan household that everything stopped with the very first tears.

They had really left him.

The sun had set high over the horizon, it must’ve been close to noon. The members were probably at home already, he was sure it wouldn’t take them long to realize they had forgotten something in the forest.

Taehyung sat on the front porch of the cabin, head in his hands. It wasn’t that cold, yet he was shivering - his breath hitching with dried out tears. He had no certain way of keeping track of time, but it felt like he had been alone there for days. 

When he’d finally get back to Seoul he was going to have a whole liter of ice cream by himself while the members watched, begging for a spoonful yet receiving only a cold shoulder. After his well deserved revenge he was going to need cuddles. Lots of cuddles. And maybe a temporal discharge from dishwashing duty.

Taehyung was too deep in plotting against his members to notice the scrapes of car tires against the gravel road until it was right around the corner, making his head snap up.

They were coming back for him .

He stood up on his shaky legs, taking a little bit of support from the porch. He wasn’t sure how to face them - he wanted to be mad, and maybe slightly offended that they had just forgotten him, but he knew he was probably going to burst into tears when finally seeing them.

Except it wasn’t a familiar car - it was an rusty old pickup truck, faint red paint flaking off and the dented bumper leaking something along the way. 

Definitely not one of the company cars.

Taehyung took a few steps backwards, not sure what to do. Maybe it was someone from the rental service coming to check up the cabin? The bed of the truck seemed to hold some sort of soil bags, a hose and some tools, it was most likely a gardener.

The car came to a stop right in front of the porch and an elder, vigorous man stood out, his graying brows scrunched under his sun-faded cap.

“What are you doing here kid?” The man’s tone wasn’t unkind, just surprised to see him there - or he had just seen a ghost. 

Taehyung couldn’t even answer. He just slumped back on the porch, his head falling to his hands. He was so sick of waiting there alone, without even knowing for sure that anyone was coming for him - he didn’t have his phone, and unless he learned to make smoke signals he had no way of contacting anyone so deep in the woods.

He was tired, hungry and anxious.

He just wanted to go home. Fuck any revenges, he needed the cuddles immediately.

---

Namjoon sat next to Jimin at the backseat of their minivan, holding an oxygen bottle at his face. They had been on the drive for a little more than an hour, and Jimin had shown zero signs of calming down.

“Just keep your head down”, Namjoon kept patting the younger’s back. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not!” Jimin bursted through his tears. “I-I can’t believe it, how the fuck didn’t I notice.”

Namjoon pressed the oxygen a little closer as his dongsaeng kept shaking, his fast breathing fogging the bottle.

Seokjin let out a deep, defeated sigh from the front seat. “Well, I’m the oldest here, I’m supposed to be responsible for you.” Namjoon could see from the rear mirror how Seokjin had his head slumped against the headrest.

“No, it’s my fault”, Namjoon shook his head, a hollow guilt carving his chest. “I’m supposed to do the headcount.”

It had grown into such an unconscious habit for Namjoon to count everyone before any departure, even when they were leaving from dorms to the studios. He couldn’t find any clear explanation for his brainlag in the early morning - tiredness was not an excuse he could allow himself to hide under.

“I think we all feel like shit right now, so no need to fret on it any longer before we get Taehyung”, Yoongi said in a slightly dark tone, keeping his gaze strictly on the road ahead, his hands clenching on the steering wheel. He had volunteered to drive, most likely so he had something distracting him from the situation at hand.

“He’s right”, Hoseok said quietly, not looking up from his lap - he clearly had a bit of trouble believing in his own words. 

Jungkook sat in eerie silence, and Namjoon wanted to reach for him to make sure if the maknae was alright, but he knew the answer to that without even asking.

All members had gotten in the car to drive back the whole three-hour trip with no questions asked - they hadn’t even notified the company first, because getting a driver and a company car - not to mention a permission - would’ve taken too much time. Namjoon had quickly notified a manager about the situation, but he knew a shit storm was awaiting back in Seoul.

Yet, he couldn’t care less about the angry company right now - he was too busy thinking ways to try to make it up for Taehyung.

---

“So, Kim Taehyung was it?” Mister Lee Jung-hoon, a gardener for the company owning the cabin, asked while driving his old truck on the bouncy road. “I think I haven’t seen you around here before. Where are you from?”

Taehyung fiddled with his seatbelt. He knew it was a big no-no to just get in some stranger’s car, but the man seemed kind and honest enough. “Seoul.”

“Oh, a big city boy”, Junghoon’s smile grew wider, deepening the creases around his eyes. “What brings you here alone at the back of nowhere?”

“We were on a vacation”, Taehyung said, looking out of the window to see trees driving past them. “I… I got lost.”

Junghoon hummed, nodding his head. Back at the cabin Taehyung had asked to borrow a phone, but Junghoon didn’t have it on him - instead, he had offered to drive Taehyung to his own cottage nearby to use a phone.

“You know kid…” Junghoon said after a second of silence, his eyes gained a slightly longing tint. “I actually used to live in Seoul a long, long time ago.”

Taehyung nodded politely.

“I moved here when my son died…” Junghoon continued, his expression now falling sorrowful. “He was the only family I had left.”

Taehyung bit his lip. “I’m so sorry”, he said, voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s okay - it’s been close to 20 years anyway”, the man brushed off, the smile returning on his face. “You remind me of him a lot, to be honest - I actually thought for a second that it was him standing there on that porch.”

Junghoon chuckled with humor in his voice, but Taehyung couldn’t help but frown slightly. He felt so sorry for the man, yet he didn’t know what to say to that, so he just stayed silent, listening to Junghoon telling him about his son.

In around 5 minutes the pickup truck rumbled to a park in front of a slightly smaller, yet similar looking cabin that the member had rented.

“Home sweet home”, Junghoon smiled, climbing off the car.

Taehyung followed him through the porch as Junghoon unlocked the door, letting him in. The inside was nice and tidy, furnished with restored old furniture and warmly colored rugs. Large windows in the kitchen shoved the lake just a few hundred meters away.

“Make yourself at home”, Junghoon said with a proud smile. “My phone is on my night table, I believe, through that door. I’ll put on some tea.”

“Thank you so much.” Taehyung bowed quickly and followed the direction.

He found the old flip phone from the table, it was neatly set on a lovely lace linen. It didn’t have any passwords, the wallpaper photo had the younger Lee Junghoon with a boy around Taehyung’s age, who must’ve been Junghoon’s son. It was true - he and Taehyung shared quite many features.

There were many pictures of the same boy hanging on the walls. There was also a beautiful woman in most of the photos - maybe Junghoon’s wife? A small photo of all three of them sat on the night table, taken around a hospital bed the woman lay on smiling, IV-drip on her pale arm and her hair all gone.

Tears rose to Taehyung’s eyes as he studied the picture more closely. It was so unfair - Junghoon had lost his everything, and was now living alone deep in the forest. He was such a nice man, yet the world had to take away both his wife and son.

Taehyung was going to call his own family as soon as he got back to Seoul.

He typed in his oldest hyung’s number, pressing the dial. The members usually didn’t answer unknown calls, but now they were probably expecting Taehyung to call as Seokjin answered just after two beeps.

“Hello?”

“Hi, hyung”, Taehyung said, biting his lip to not start crying.

“Tae, we are on our way. Are you still at the cabin? Are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m okay, I’m with a worker for the company, at his cabin. It's… Wait a second.”

Taehyung dropped the phone from his ear, taking a few careful steps back into the combined kitchen-living room where Junghoon was busy simmering a teapan on the stove.

“Excuse me, sir? What is the address?” Taehyung asked with a short, polite bow, and Junghoon answered him with a warm smile.

Taehyung relayed the address to Seokjin, who then mumbled something at someone near him before focusing back on Taehyung.

“ Can you hold up until we get there? We’re already in town, but it’s going to take us half an hour or so. ”

A quick pause. “Yeah.” Taehyung nodded just to reassure himself, as there was no way Seokjin could see it. He just tried to keep his voice as stable as possible, even when his whole body had begun to slightly tremble again.

“ And Tae… ” He could practically hear the remorse and self-blame from Seokjin’s voice. “ I’m so so sorry. We all are. I don’t know how it- ”

“I know hyung”, Taehyung cut him off, trying to sound stern yet letting his hyung know he was fine for a little more time. “But I have to stop now, I don’t want to extend this phone bill more than necessary."

After a short silence, Seokjin spoke again. “ Alright. We’re coming to get you. Love you .”

“ Yeah. See you hyung. ” With that, he cut the call.

Dropping the phone on the bed, Taehyung ran a hand through his hair. He was going through so many mixed emotions that his head had started to throb. He wanted to be angry, but he really couldn’t. He wanted to be bitter at them for forgetting him, yet he couldn’t really blame them.

Taehyung’s fingers brushed against the memory card box in his pocket. He wanted to chug it in the lake for causing this whole mess, even when he knew it was really his fault. If he hadn’t lost it in the first place, he wouldn’t have ran off alone in the forest while others were busy piling up in the cars.

A polite knock to the door frame alerted Junghoon’s presence. “Did you finish the call already?”

Taehyung put the phone back onto the night table. “Yes. Thank you for letting me borrow a phone.”

“So someone’s coming?” 

Taehyung nodded. 

“Good. The tea is ready, come on.” Junghoon gestured for the shared kitchen-living room and led Taehyung on the small sofa, where he’d set a steaming cup on a coffee table.

Remembering how hungry and thirsty he was, Taehyung immediately took a few long sips, feeling the comfortable warmth spread in his body. He drank the tea rather quickly, and Junghoon poured him some more.

The tea made him grow slightly sleepy, which made sense as he’d slept for only a few hours and then spent hours alone and scared - now that he was somewhere safe, his body and mind were both giving in to the tiredness.

Junghoon seemed to notice it. “You should rest”, he said with a soft smile, yet there was a slight hint of coldness in his voice. “Your friends are already close.”

Taehyung frowned slightly as the world started tilting - almost like he was heavily drunk instead of just tired. His body soon flopped on the cushions heavily, uncontrollably.

Something was definitely wrong. His heart spiking, Taehyung tried to push himself up on his elbows, but his arms were too weak to carry his weight.

“Junghoon-ssi…” He gasped out, trying to scramble up more frantically, only to thud off the sofa onto the cold, wooden floor. 

“I’m so sorry kid”, Junghoon said, shaking his head. There was something that could only be described as deep sorrow in his eyes. “But you look way too much like him.”

The lights went off.

---

Yoongi drove with record speed. Clutching to his seatbelt, Seokjin was sure the half an hour drive raced by in 15 minutes. Normally he would’ve put a quick stop to such reckless driving, but in these circumstances he wasn’t even sure Yoongi would listen to him.

And Seokjin wouldn’t blame him.

Arriving at the address Taehyung had given them, he was expecting to see his dongsaeng waiting at the porch either crying, running up to hug them or both. What he hadn’t expected was no sign of him at all.

“He’s probably sleeping or sulking inside or something”, Namjoon let out a strained laugh, getting out of the car after Seokjin.

Yoongi was first rapping at the door. They waited, all seven of them glancing at each other anxiously as no signs of life appeared inside.

“I don’t think anyone’s home”, Hoseok said, peering through a window. “Are you sure this is the right address?”

“There’s a garage here, a car is inside”, Jungkook called out behind the cabin.

Seokjin hadn’t even noticed the youngest wandering off, and his heart thumped in his chest. The last thing he needed was more lost maknaes - when he finally got all three of them rounded up in the same place, they were in for an earful. 

Running up to Jungkook, Seokjin saw him already busy trying to ram the doorknob of the backdoor of the cabin.

“I don’t think Tae-hyung is inside”, Jungkook said, his eyes wide from both confusion and worry.

It was pretty obvious. Gritting his teeth, Seokjin dug out his phone to call the number Taehyung had called them for, anxiously tapping his leg with every beep going by.

Letting out a curse he shoved the phone in his pocket. “Goes straight to voicemail.”

“Then where is he?” Jimin asked, his voice cracking at the end. It seemed to be a matter of minutes before he would need the oxygen bottle again.

A deep, dark feeling wellowed at the bottom of Seokjin’s stomach. He did not know or understand why, but there were sirens at the back of his head screaming that they had to find Taehyung - and fast.

“Kookie, go back to the car with Jimin, watch the cabin and call if you see anyone”, Seokjin raises his hyung-voice to signal the two that it was no time for questioning him. They seemed to grasp on it quickly, both nodding with slightly paled faces.

A track was leading into the forest behind the garage. Usually Seokjin preferred to rely on logic instead of pure intuition, but with a feeling this strong he knew better than to ignore it.

”Let’s search some of the surrounding areas - after all, our Taehyungie has a bit of a habit to wander off.”

Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok all nodded in serene silence, following their hyung. As much as they liked to joke about it, Seokjin’s “maknae-sense” had never failed.

They would find Taehyung.

---

Taehyung’s head was all fuzz, and he felt his face laying on something soft and slightly moist. His body was glued heavily to the ground, it was a struggle to even lift his eyelids.

It was too bright, like he was having a world-class hungover. He slowly started to recognize something dark green, moss like …moss around him, and saw one of the weirdest bugs he’d ever seen right at his face.

He was in the forest. Why was he in the forest?

His awareness slowly starting to peek, he recognized the movement a few meters in front of him. There were sounds of metal scraping into the ground and clinking to rocks as layers and layers of ground were being shoveled away. 

Someone was digging a hole.

Junghoon.

Taehyung’s heart skipped a beat as his head grew clearer, blood suddenly rushing into his brain. What was going on? He was just at Junghoon’s house waiting for the members, drinking some tea that made him weirdly drowsy...

“I’m so sorry kid, but you look way too much like him.”

Taehyung flinched, trying to get himself up but realizing he couldn’t move his arms. They were stuck behind his back, bound by thin cords around his wrists. His ankles were bound too. With a flash of panic and a choked gasp he tried to tug at the ropes, but a shape crouched right in front of him, grabbing him by arm.

“Awake already?” Junghoon asked, his tone deathly calm and his face stoick and unbothered, leaning to a rusty trenching shovel.

Taehyung’s breathing picked up and he tried to struggle away but his movements were drunk and sluggish. He couldn’t make sense of anything that was happening. It was way too real to be a nightmare, yet it was too bizarre to be true.

“Jung… Junghoon-ssi, what are you-” Taehyung could barely gasp out, voice trembling. He tried to roll onto his side but ended up just face planting the forest floor.

Junghoon just got up, shaking his head with a frail compassion. “I hate to do this, but I don’t have a choice.”

“Hate to do what?” 

Taehyung honestly didn’t even want to hear the answer - and Junghoon didn’t give one. With a dry huff he returned to dig his hole. When Taehyung’s eyes met what was right next to it - a patch of ground different from the surroundings, clear of any vegetation. At the end of it there was a gruff stone standing unnaturally, leaning to it there was a most beautiful collection of cut garden flowers and a single, unlit candle.

A grave . 

And what Junghoon was digging right there…

Oh god .

Taehyung shook his head, all color that had been left drained off his face. “No. No, please, don’t-” He kept tugging at his bounds, trying to scramble away with no avail.

Junghoon just loomed over him with his arms crossed, his expression never even twitching. “I’m sorry kid.”

Taehyung choked down a sob and a thind breath of air, as he finally managed to get his elbows under him and somewhat awkwardly to hold his weight, feeling the ropes around his wrists starting to give in slightly. 

“Why?” He managed to gasp, only for Junghoon to turn away from him.

“You look too much like him.” It was a statement that the man apparently expected Taehyung to take as a logical explanation. The words were said in such a sorrowful mix of both longing and distaste, making his head spin even more.

“I don’t understand, who?” Taehyung cried out, finally succeeding in levering himself to sit against a tree.

Junghoon’s eyes downed upon the filled grave with the stone and flowers, the wrinkles on his face getting deeper and darker. “My son.”

Taehyung still didn’t get it. He opened his mouth to say something, anything that could get some sense into the man. His brain was all scrambled and his every nerve was screaming in panic - what was going to happen? Was Junghoon really going to...going to...

Tears welled in Taehyung’s eyes, his breathing getting even more frantic. “Please, don’t do it, just… Just let me go!”

He just wanted to go home. He just wanted to see the members. He wanted to wake up and hug the first person ran into at the dorms.

Shoulders and head drooping low Junghoon turned his back on Taehyung and kept swinging his shovel, grunting with every lift. 

Every time a pile of soil was tossed away, Taehyung’s heart skipped a beat. His whole body trembling in absolute, stunning fear, something at the back of his head kept kicking him to move. 

Do something . Escape while Junghoon was looking away. 

It was absolutely hopeless as he had no idea where he even was and if his legs would even bear his weight, but if he stayed there he was sure going to die.

The mere thought made the burning panic flare even stronger. Would he ever be found? What would come to his family? The members would blame themselves. Even while it was mostly Taehyung’s own fault, he knew them too well to have no doubt they would.

He didn’t want to die .

He wanted to go back to the members .

Taking a short gasp of breath and gritting his teeth so hard he tasted blood, he forced his head in line. He knew he didn’t have much time as Junghoon seemed to be ready soon. He tugged at the ropes that had loosened quite a bit from the beginning - they seemed to be pretty hastily tied, so with little struggle and some prayers to higher beings Taehyung managed to loop his arms around his legs, getting his hands in front of him without Junghoon noticing.

The world kept swaying and darkness creeped at the edges of his vision, but he began to fumble at the cords around his ankles - he could get his wrists completely free later, now he just needed something to run with.

Kicking the rope off, he spared one last glance at the Junghoon who was still hunched in the hole, shoveling up rocks and dirt.

Getting on his trembling feet with the help of a three, he took one light step to sneak away, yet aborting any means of silence as he stepped down a twig.

“HEY!”

The shout was like a starting pistol at olympic games, shooting adrenaline and energy up in Taehyung’s body he hadn’t even known he possessed anymore. Running at a random direction with much less speed and balance than he wanted, his lungs tried desperately to catch some air as the rumble behind him grew closer.

He was going home. He was going to forget this nightmare. He was not going to die .

Taehyung’s foot caught on something and before he could even realize he was in the air, he crashed onto the forest floor, a dull shock of pain striking through his body barely registered. 

A hand grabbed the back of his jacket, yanking him up roughly, making him cry out.

Why? 

Why was this happening to him?

Taehyung fought like a rabid wildcat, kicking and screaming as he was being dragged back. While he had managed to get his hands free of ropes, the man’s iron grip didn’t even budge no matter how much he struggled. A hand clamped over his mouth, muffling his desperate cries for help, echoing through the forest with no-one to hear them. 

Why?

Taehyung’s struggles grew weak as his tears rolled down on the hand on his face. He couldn’t get enough air through his nose and the pressure in his head was growing unbearable. 

He knew it - he was going to die .

Taehyung didn’t first notice the crash of twigs just a few meters right to him, but his eyes widened as he heard the loud, fuming voice he’d normally be quite afraid of, yet now it made him thank the heavens and anyone who would listen.

“Let go of him you fucktard!”

Jin-hyung .

---

Sprinting down the forest path, his dongsaengs trailing somewhere after him, Seokjin couldn’t calm his racing heart.

Screams. Taehyung. He could recognize the voice anywhere. And it was full of raw panic and anguish.

Seokjin just wished he would get there on time, wherever that there was. Was Teahyung being attacked by a wild animal? Or humans? Was he hurt? Bleeding out, with only seconds to count his life?

Seeing movement behind the trees in the very same direction of all the noise, Seokjin picked up the speed. 

He recognized Taehyung.

And someone else.

Taehyung was being dragged back rather strongly by an unknown old man, who seemed frenzied enough to not even notice Seokjin at first.

His eloquent yell got both Taehyung and the man’s attention, both visibly startling, yet Taehyung recovered from it quicker - using the moment of confusion to get an arm and hand free to grab and claw at the man’s face. 

Good boy .

The split second of surprise, the reflex for the man to duck his head further and his other hand flying up to protect his eyes allowed Taehyung to let out a sharp cry and wrench himself fully off the iron grip. The man recovered fast, shooting for a new hold on Taehyung, but way too late.

Seokjin was already colliding with the man, crashing them both on the forest floor, pounding his fists down with cries of fury, his vision flashing with hateful red. He did not have any clear picture of what had happened, but the condition of his dongsaeng gave enough clues.

Seokjin was going to fucking murder the man .

Someone grabbed his wrist as Seokjin was just raising it for another strike, faint words somewhere far away kept telling him that it was enough.

It wasn’t . That man was going to pay for hurting his dongsaeng, his little brother, one of the six best friends Seokjin had ever had. He wasn’t normally a violent person - but there was no media, no cameras, no consequences. Except for the one who had hurt his Taehyungie .

“Hyung, enough”, Yoongi’s stern voice came through to him, and Seokjin’s arms finally flopped down as he gasped for breath.

The man laid there under him ugly and unmoving, but another check back confirmed that he was still somewhat awake and breathing. Seokjin slowly got to his trembling feet.

Taehyung .

Yoongi read the change in Seokjin’s demeanor in a split of a second, and immediately pointed towards where the rest of them were a few meters away, kneeling on the ground, their hands hovering over Taehyung who kept gasping for air, flinching back everytime Namjoon or Hoseok tried to touch him.

Tears rose to Seokjin’s eyes as he took in the sight of his dongsaeng. Physically, he seemed to be alright - just some visible scratches and tears on his clothing, but Seokjin knew they had to be careful as they didn’t know what the shock and adrenaline was masking.

Mentally… Seokjin couldn’t even begin to assess how deep the damage was. If he would just find out what had happened… But Taehyung didn’t seem to have processed it either.

Taking one last look at the man lying nearly unconscious at his feet and getting a nod from Yoongi to know he was keeping watch of the man, Seokjin quietly reached Taehyung, pushing Namjoon and Hoseok slightly further away as he kneeled in front of him.

“Tae? Taetae?” He started softly, trying to hold a small smile just for the sake of his dongsaeng. “Can you hear me? It’s me, Jin-hyung.”

A single tear rolled down on Taehyung’s cheek, which Seokjin took as a yes.

“Did he hurt you?” Well, it was quite obvious, but he had to make sure there wasn’t anything life-threatening.

Taehyung shook his head slightly, a movement barely a centimeter. He opened his mouth to let out a gasp and a choked sob, biting down to his lip. 

Seokjin tried to give him an encouraging smile, before turning at Namjoon and Hoseok, whispering. “He’s in shock, call an ambulance.”

A silent whine brough Seokjin’s attention back to Taehyung, who had tears streaming freely on his face.

“He… He tried to… He was going to...” Taehyung couldn’t get another word out as he started to slump forward.

Hoseok immediately lunged in to catch him, wrapping arms around him carefully like he was made of fine porcelain.

Seokjin let his shoulders slump in defeat, and let some tears fall on his cheeks. Were they of relief, shame or fear - he didn’t really know. Brushing Taehyung’s hair off his eyes, he was feeling slightly grateful that the younger had passed out - he was breathing much better, his pulse starting to come down.

“We have blankets in the car, let’s get him there”, Namjoon said, standing up. Even he had to fix his balance slightly even while he was able to hold his leader-mode almost convincily. 

“I can piggyback him if you help me get him on”, Hoseok offered, yet his words were less of a request and more of an order.

Seokjin complied, getting Taehyung securely settled on Hoseok’s back, but keeping close in case the other needed help as they began their trek out of the forest.

Yoongi strided next to him, first glancing at Taehyung, then back to the trail they’d come from - and left an unconscious person there unattended like every good citizen would do. He tried to reason his peeking conscience that they didn’t know how dangerous the man was and if he was armed.

“I don’t know what that man did… But I’m going to bash his fucking head in”, Yoongi grumbled out, low and threatening. 

No-one said anything against it.

---

He was drowning. Alone in the black sea, kilometers of water mass pressing down on him. No matter how much he tried to flounder he couldn’t get any closer to the surface, his moves sluggish and heavy. He couldn’t scream as water filled his lungs, his voice completely choked out. 

He was alone, suffocating, dying.

And no-one was coming.

The sea turned solid and collapsed on top of him, crushing him with unbearable pressure. He saw a face, an unrecognizable face, but something in it made him burst with panic - yet he couldn’t get away, he couldn’t move an inch - he was alone, left alone - to die - he was going to - die-

Die .

He was going to die.

Alone.

His body shot upright, a scream choked down in his throat. Taehyung kicked away his tangled blankets, gasping for air he couldn’t draw in. 

He was home. He wasn’t drowning.

Yet it felt like he was. The feeling from the nightmare didn’t stop, his chest was still being squeezed with a mass of the earth. His lungs were completely paralyzed, no oxygen reached his brain. Clutching his head, screaming with no voice coming out - Taehyung couldn’t stop drowning.

Something wrapped around and Taehyung jerked violently away, expecting resistance but with a surprised cry he flopped down on his bed as whoever grabbed him immediately let go.

“Breathe Taetae, just breathe , it’s me, it’s Jimin.” He finally registered the whispers, recognizing the voice of his best friend. “You’re safe, you’re okay.” 

Taehyung’s heart pounded vigorously as the pale face of Jimin formed into view. Worried glint in his eyes, Jimin sat at the foot of Taehyung’s bed, his hands hovering but he didn’t try to touch him anymore.

“Taetae? Can you hear me?” Jimin asked carefully, his lower lip was slightly swollen, a few drops of blood seeping from a small cut.

Taehyung’s breath hitched as some oxygen finally entered his lungs. “Oh my god, Jiminie, did I hit you?”, he gasped out, eyes widening.

“It’s okay Tae”, Jimin stretched out a small smile, his shoulders relaxing down slightly. “You were having a nightmare.”

Taehyung shook his head, tears burning his eyes. He lunged to hug Jimin, who was quick to catch him. “I’m so sorry!”

“Shh, it’s okay, it doesn’t even hurt.” Rubbing circles to Taehyung’s back, Jimin let him sob it all out onto his shoulder.

“He… He was going to kill me, Jiminie…”

“I was so sure I was going to die…”

”I was so fucking scared…”

Every time Taehyung spoke, Jimin hugged him closer.

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. At some point Taehyung heard Jimin talking to someone at the door of his room, but he didn’t care to listen. He just wanted to truly cry his heart out the first time since the incident.

It had been only three days since they all got home - the members had been questioned by the police and Lee Junghoon was in custody, but the members knew nothing more. The company tried to keep the whole thing under wraps to not attract the attention of the public - but as always, rumours about their extended vacation had started to spread like wildfire in the media.

At some point, Taehyung’s sobs started to fade. Laying on the bed side to side with Jimin, he drew in a long breath, exhaling slowly as he relaxed back on the mattress.

“Feeling better?” Jimin whispered, squeezing his hand.

Taehyung hummed, squeezing back. Taking a glance around his room in the faint light of a night lamp set in his room after a first night of waking up in a nightmare, seeing that the first rays of sun were starting to peek behind the blinds. Normally they would be getting up and heading for their morning practice at this point.

“Jiminie”, Taehyung started, turning towards his best friend. “Sorry I woke you up again.”

Jimin had been sleeping in Taehyung’s room for the past few nights, and had been woken up like that multiple times. He felt bad for his best friend, but Jimin always insisted that he wanted to be there for him.

And Taehyung trusted him.

”You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Besides, I was already awake”, Jimin said, wrapping his arms under his head, keeping his gaze fixated on the roof.

Taehyung snickered. “So you were watching me sleep?”

Jimin just shrugged.

“Creep.” 

Throwing his blanket over both of them, Taehyung deemed they didn’t need to get up just yet. They still weren’t on their normal schedules, the company most likely puzzled on what to do about the situation. Most likely they were just going to give Taehyung a few weeks off and consult him to a therapist.

They both lay in silence, and Taehyung didn’t feel like falling asleep anymore. Not all because of the nightmare - but because of his natural clock yelling at him to get up and go to work. He knew Jimin was awake too, as he wasn’t puffing and mumbling like he normally did while sleeping.

“Taetae?” Jimin whispered after a while, breaking the silence in the room.

“Yeah?” Taehyung turned on his other side to face Jimin’s back.

“Where did you go back then?” Jimin spoke carefully like he was a royal advisor telling a king to not start a war. Like he really wanted to ask but wasn’t sure if he could without afflicting a bad reaction.

Taehyung took a second to swallow a lump in his throat before forcing his voice to stay as stable and normal as possible. “Well I… I lost my memory cards in the forest. I-I had to go get them.”

“Oh.” 

For a split second Taehyung feared Jimin was going to lecture him. Maybe tell him that he should’ve just let it go or at least told someone first before going. Until Jimin turned at him, a small smile on his face.

“Well, did you find them?”

Taehyung grinned, reaching for the memory card box in his nightstand drawer. Fumbling it in his hand, he let out a sigh. He had yet to watch any of the photos he went through such a trauma for.

He faced Jimin with a serious expression, holding the cards up in his hand. “In one of these bad boys is a photo of Yoongi-hyung drooling on his shirt while sleeping. Not to mention everything I have of your and Kookie’s last night in the forest - these cards hold the power of getting me out of dishwashing for weeks - I had to go and get them.”

Jimin just stared for a second - and burst out in a hysterical laughing-fit.

---

Namjoon did the headcount five times. Seokjin did it seven times. Yoongi, normally not as cuddly in public, was pretty much clutching Taehyung to his side the whole time they waited for their ride in the parking garage of the Bighit building. Hoseok was not-so-subtly holding the other two maknaes by their sleeves like they were helpless little babies (which they were according to the hyung line) and not adult men (what they actually were). 

Yet no-one even questioned it. The manager didn’t question it. The driver didn’t question it. That was just how every departure with the members was nowadays - even when they were leaving the dorms or the company building.

Taehyung rarely slept in his own bed, and when he did, he had dragged one or two of the members there with him. It was more than fine with anyone - even when Taehyung was quite active and cuddle-hungry sleeper - they could cope with tiny disturbances during the night if it meant that Taehyung was going to have a nightmare-less sleep, or at least someone there to calm him down after one.

And while Seokjin lay there on the very edge of his bed with his blanket stolen and Taehyung squeezing the every last bit of breath out of him, Seokjin couldn’t feel more sure that they could win this together.

They would adapt to the trauma.

They would all help each other through it.

Seokjin smiled fondly as Jimin quietly slipped into the room and crawled next to Taehyung, the younger just mumbling something incoherent in his sleep as Jimin wrapped his arms around him.

They were all going to be just okay.

Though, Seokjin himself would be even more okay if he just could have some of the blanket for a change .