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Jimin hasn’t always been afraid of water. In fact, he used to love it. As a child, he would jump at the first chance to go swimming regardless of the weather. His mother had been proud to claim that he would one day be an excellent swimmer. And at the time, he had believed her.
But when he nearly drowned, still at a young age where he hadn’t even hit his teenage years, he bid away with any hope and dream of swimming.
He’d been young enough that his short body still relied on things such as floaties and inner tubes. He remembers a majority of that day fairly well, which is a bit odd for him. A lot of his childhood memories are nothing but short snippets of one of the five senses.
He remembers how, for some odd reason, he’d been compelled to feebly swim (his version of swimming back then mainly consisted of flailing legs and wiggling his hips to use the inner tube to his advantage as much as he could) further into the lake his family had gone to that day. His mother and father had been occupied in trying to keep his younger brother sated, whose favorite floaties would inflate no more on their own.
Jimin doesn’t know why he had the irresistible urge to go further in. He thinks that maybe it’s because he was sure he’d seen something or heard something, because he still clearly remembers looking around for some unknown item. Whatever it had been, he was quick to abandon his endeavours the moment he spotted a small floating object.
The object in question had been a necklace. Even from where it was submerged in water and floating just below the surface of the water that was murky with no visibility past his ankles - Yes, he’d checked, because to him it was quite fascinating that water could hide his feet like that. And if his feet couldn’t be seen, then what other treasures were hidden below? Maybe some shells - Jimin could tell that the necklace was beautiful. Not for him to keep probably, the chain was too big for his tiny body, but it would be a lovely addition to his mother’s neck.
Excited that he could gift his mother with a lovely surprise he’d found, Jimin wiggled the remaining distance to the brilliantly shining necklace and leaned over to pick it up. It required a bit of stretching on his part thanks to the float, but he was so close -
And suddenly he was falling in head-first.
After the split second of initial panic and instinctively closing his eyes as his upper half was submerged, Jimin recalled that he could easily right himself. He felt his fingers wrap and tangle in the chain of the necklace he’d been aiming for, so that was a plus, and he immediately tightened his grip while he tried to squirm back upright. How had he even fallen over like this? He was positive he was keeping his balance. In fact, Jimin knows he had been. The float wouldn’t let him tip over usually.
Except, now that he was trying to upend himself, he couldn’t flip it again. Why couldn’t he flip it?
He had been hooked by the waist, so Jimin had attempted to squirm back onto his stomach. But no matter what he did, it wasn’t working, and his lungs was very quickly running out of air. Squirming very soon turned to frantic thrashing.
Panic was easily set back into place, and when Jimin opened his eyes, he suddenly saw movement from below him. It was impossible to see what, exactly, it was, but Jimin knew that it was far from being one of the tiny fishes he’d seen closer to the bank. In fact, it was huge for a fish. He had the suspicion that it wasn’t a fish at all.
Just when fear was beginning to overtake him, and his vision was blurring even more than lake water ever could do, the movement pattern suddenly shifted. It was swimming towards him now, and it most certainly wasn’t a fish. The closer to the surface it got, the more human-like the thing was. Jimin would have been screaming his heart out by now, would have been crying and flailing and who knows what else, but he no longer had the energy to do that. The most he could do was watch and allow the rest of his air to run out in small bubbles that he envied (they were able to escape to the surface, while he, who needed it most, was trapped by the contraption that was meant to save him) as the terrifyingly human-like not-fish got closer, and closer, and suddenly he could see razor sharp teeth and unnaturally widened eyes and nails aimed straight for him. For his throat? For his chest? Or maybe for everything?
However, before it could get any closer, he was suddenly lifted out of the water enough so that his upper body was brought out of the water. By then, most of his vision and consciousness was gone except for blurs of blue and green that he assumed was the sky and surrounding trees, and he was left for his mind to visually repeat what he’d seen before his very eyes as he waited for the creature to claim him. It would, it had nothing stopping it, Jimin was sure of it. Except, it didn’t. The longer he waited, the more confused he became.
By the time Jimin’s vision focused, he was pressed against somebody’s chest with his chin resting on their shoulder as he was being lugged back to the shore. He was aware that whoever’s chest he was laying against was speaking, but everything still sounded as if he was underwater. At the moment, he didn’t care what they were saying. He was staring into the water that he’d been saved from, and as if to prove what really happened, he saw the head of the almost human peek out of the water, and dead eyes stared at him blankly, calculatingly.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the necklace he’d retrieved and still wound tight in his fist. It was glistening in the sun, reflecting the light back up into his face.
Ever since then, Jimin grew a dark hatred of water. Lakes, specifically. Anything that he couldn’t see the bottom of, although pools and oceans and rivers weren’t exempt either. His parents assumed it was due to him almost drowning, and while that may be a part of, that’s certainly not the main reason. It’s not like he would, or could, ever tell them. He had already tried once or twice, soon after the incident had happened. He tried to tell them that he wasn’t the one who caused him to spill in, that he’d seen something trying to get him, that it almost had , but they’d brushed it off. After a few more attempts, he’d been forced to give up when it only angered them.
He would just have to deal with the knowledge on his own. It’s not like he would be going back anytime soon on his own will, and that’s all he needed to know to keep calm.
Jimin never once doubted that it happened. It was impossible. He couldn’t doubt it, not when he still had the necklace as evidence, as well as a small, barely noticeable scar along his ribs where he’d been grazed and hadn’t noticed until he was already home.
Over the years, the scar had faded as he grew older and his skin transformed from a pale complexion to a more tan tone. But it was still there, and Jimin was sure it always would be.
For some reason, Jimin kept the necklace. He isn’t sure why, exactly, it was kept. But he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. Jimin had tried once, had stared at it as it dangled from his hand over the pile of trash that was soon to be burned. But he couldn’t do it. He would freeze up, just stand there for minutes at a time, until he slowly lowered his hand back to his side, necklace still in his grip, and turn and walk away. It would end up resting nestled between his collarbones by the end of the day, just as it always did.
An oddity he noticed about the necklace is that it never weathered or was broken. He’d seen other necklaces that had lasted only about a month before the metal would dull or brown, but this one always remained in pristine shape. It never needed to be polished, and the chain never broke despite having caught multiple times on stray twigs or his jackets or other objects that neared his neck.
To this very day, the necklace gives him chills. And yet, he can’t stop taking it along wherever he goes. It’s only taken off when he showers and sleeps, and it feels like those are the only times that he can breathe without something weighing down on his chest.
There’s also the occasional moment where he would take the necklace off to study it. The teardrop-shaped opal necklace rimmed by what could have been diamonds was quite the beauty, but staring at it always made him uneasy. Holding it in his hands now, while he was in the back of his friend’s truck, Jimin could swear that it was cold to the touch. Any colder and it would start to hurt.
Jimin inhaled sharply and shuddered before looking up. The route they were taking seemed startlingly familiar, and he squinted his eyes at the smiling driver. “Jin… Where exactly are we going?” He murmured, unconsciously cutting off one of his older friends sitting to the left of him who grunted in mild displeasure at the interruption.
“I wouldn’t tell you before, what makes you think I’ll tell you now?” Seokjin flashed him a mischievous grin through the front mirror.
“Come on, Minnie, you know Taehyung and Jungkook already nagged at him for the better part of an hour. He’s not telling until we get there.” Namjoon snorted and glanced over his shoulder at him from his honorary - to him, at least - shotgun seat. He sent Jimin a secretive and exasperated smile that he instinctively returned.
No, Jimin didn’t know. For the most part of the drive, he’d been spaced out or halfway drifting between wakefulness and sleep. “Right… Well, I can still try.” He played along.
“You did try. But don’t get your hopes up.” Namjoon laughed and flashed his dimples at him again through yet another smile before turning back around to spare the trouble of getting a crick in his neck. Jimin studied the back of Namjoon’s head fondly before he looked back down at the necklace and returned to his thoughts while he tuned out Taehyung’s excitable shouting and Hoseok laughing wildly in the back.
It wasn’t much longer before Jin pulled to a stop at their destination, and Jimin looked up when he heard the three in the back squealing as they stood up before Jin had even completely pulled to a stop and began to get off.
The sight laying in front of Jimin made his heart stop. There, just an uncomfortably close distance away, was the lake from all those years ago.
All of a sudden, the door next to him was opened and he was being dragged out. His initial reaction was to let out a cry of surprise and fear, but a fraction of his nerves were soothed when he realized it was only Taehyung who was giggling in his ear, mistaking his fear as something else.
Being outside of the vehicle suddenly made his fears seem much more realistic. A small part of him had been hoping that what was in front of him was only a dream, but he could tell from the smell of land water and the freshness the trees brought that it was real. It was real.
“-Surprise!” Seokjin announced proudly, startling Jimin out of his reverie. “It’s pretty, isn’t it? I heard of it from a family friend, and I thought we could come here for a while to relax.” If it had been any other place, Jimin would have been cheering along with his other friends. As if on some cue, they scattered and began to unpack what they’d brought, setting up the equipment for grilling and swimming, god, please no and… camping. Camping? They were going to camp out here? Suddenly, the recollection of Jin demanding for them to pack for a few days made sense.
Jimin was going to be sick. He could already feel it, the telltale shudders that afflicted him from head to toe, the nausea building up in his throat, the dizziness that was slowly overwhelming him. Without a word to the others, he stumbled toward a tiny rundown building that - yes, he remembered this, too, he remembered investigating it when they’d first arrived - had once served as a bathhouse. Now, it was too decayed and forgotten to use. It had been the first time he’d come here, and it looked even worse now. But that wasn’t the reason he was unsteadily walking to it. Instead of walking in, he went around the back and collapsed to his hands and knees. Jimin was surprised he made it that far. He was sure his knees would give out the moment he was forced into a standing position by Taehyung.
Jimin took a few deep breaths as he felt shock and something else unidentifiable set into his system. The moment he’d caught sight of the lake, it was as if he’d dipped his head under cold water. The lack of a warning combined with the old memories easily fueled his uneasiness, and he fought to keep it under control.
Fortunately, his efforts were aided when he felt the warm arms of Namjoon wrap around his middle. He was gently tugged up into an upright position, where he was pressed up with his back against Namjoon’s chest.
“What’s wrong, Minnie? You’ve been looking off all day.” Namjoon’s deep voice helped calm him down, and his breathing slowed down to a more even pace. He could feel the initial shock slowly wearing off, but it was replaced by urgency.
“Hyung. Hyung - Namjoon, we need to get out of here.” Jimin squirmed until he was released and turned around to grip at Namjoon’s biceps with shaking hands. He could see Namjoon raise his eyebrows in surprise, could see the concern that darkened his irises and tugged his eyebrows and corner of his lips down.
“Get out of here?” Namjoon echoed in confusion. “Why? We just got here.” He reached up and ran a hand through Jimin’s hair in what he hoped was a soothing attempt.
Despite the situation, Jimin found himself relaxing just a little into the touch. He tightened his grip on Namjoon’s arms slightly as to keep himself focused. “We- We just have to leave. Right now.” He looked up at the taller, and Namjoon found his heart clenching some at the expression he was being given. “I’ve been here before and it’s - it’s not… normal, Hyung. Please.”
Namjoon let slip a small “aw” and he pulled Jimin into a hug. “Ah... Jiminnie, Jiminnie. I’m not sure what brought this about, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. You’ve been here before, right? I don’t know what happened, but it’s fine. You’re here now, aren’t you? You’re with us. We’ll make sure nothing happens, not to you, not to anybody.”
For some reason, Jimin was speechless. It was kind of Namjoon to reassure him like that, but… He wasn’t so sure it would all work out. In fact, he was certain it wouldn’t. But he couldn’t speak. There was nothing he could say without either sounding insane or manipulating. So against his wishes, he found himself nodding. Pacified for the time being, Namjoon first kissed his forehead before he lifted Jimin to his feet and began to lead him back to camp.
It wasn’t until the sun was beginning to set and the lake was barely visible that anything happened. Jimin had spent the day as far as possible away from the water, while everybody except for him, Namjoon, and Seokjin jumped in at varying points during the day. Namjoon must have sensed his continued stress, because a majority of his day there was spent cuddling into Namjoon’s side and only looking out on the water to ensure that his friends were fine (They would occasionally scream as the braver/careless Jungkook and Taehyung threw themselves off of the cliff they’d deemed safe and into the water.) Once all of this was over, Jimin would be sure to make it up to his boyfriend.
Once the pleasant blues of the sky disappeared, however, Jimin’s anxiety spiked, and along with it came the odd occurrences that only he seemed to see.
The things that he saw came in small glimpses, flashes from the corner of his eye. Most of the movement came from the surface of the lake, but sometimes he would think he’d seen a figure standing, or lying, or sitting on one section of the lake. He noticed that with every glimpse, it toyed with him. It would come closer and closer until he was left a trembling mess, and then disappear for a few minutes. It would repeat the process from another large distance away.
It wanted him scared, and it had accomplished that much. Jimin was horrified.
At some point, he began to question if he was really seeing things or if it was his imagination. After all, every time he tried to look directly at it, it would disappear. But his hopeful theory was crushed when he saw Yoongi once or twice turn his head and squint, as if trying to spot something.
Eventually, Jimin caved. He knows that it’s thanks to the fear, because just a minute ago he’d seen the creature standing just a few feet away from him. That was the closest it’s gotten thus far. “Seokjin-hyung. Can we go home?” He probably sounded like he was whining, but at the moment he didn’t have it in him to care. The tremor had come back to his hands and the only way to keep them still was to either sit on them or hold on to something. At the moment, that something was Seokjin’s arm.
And, like the motherly hen Seokjin is, immediately grew worried. “Jimin? Are you not feeling well?” No, Jimin was most certainly not feeling well, but that wasn’t the point.
“Aw, Jimin is scared? How cute!” Taehyung cooed from a few feet away and Jungkook giggled from where he was leaning against Taehyung.
“I don’t blame him.” Hoseok muttered under his breath. The darkness had made him paranoid, but Jimin noticed that he had yet to see anything.
“Hush, you.” Seokjin scolded the two youngest gently before he moved to card his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “He doesn’t look like he feels good. I think it’s time we retire for the night. Go on boys, I’ll set out the fire and be there in a minute.”
Jimin felt the urge to cry as he was led away to the set of sleeping bags and blankets by Namjoon and Yoongi. He didn’t want to go to sleep, he wanted to leave . When he looked up at the attached mirror on the truck as they passed, he saw the creature standing so close behind him it could easily reach out and grab him.
It had been more than a few hours since they’d bedded down, and Jimin hadn’t slept a wink. He didn’t know exactly what time it was, but he suspected that it wouldn’t be long until the sun rose. He’d spent the entirety of the night clinging to Namjoon, much like a koala bear. At some point, the tall dimple-cheeked man had fallen asleep, and then he was truly alone. By then, the others had most likely fallen asleep, and he was too afraid to open his eyes to check.
Truthfully, Jimin thinks he knows exactly when they’d all fallen asleep, because that’s when the noises started up. He would occasionally hear the sounds of footsteps, heavy and waterlogged, trudging towards him. Sometimes it was dragging. And when it reached him, he would hear ragged breathing that would have matched his own, should he allow himself to breathe during those moments. If he wanted a particularly bad scare, he would even hear giggling. But it was only after the creature walked or dragged itself away again that Jimin allowed his aching lungs reprieve.
It was sometime during the morning, where the sun was just beginning to rise to where he could feel the rays on his eyelids, that he slipped up. It had been yet another repeat, one that he was hoping wouldn’t happen again, because aren’t these things supposed to stop when morning comes? But here it was. The footsteps, the hissing and giggles and moaning. The pattern had been longer than usual this time, so Jimin had made the mistake of letting his lungs get air. That wasn’t what messed him up. Part of his mistake was in the whimper that followed. The moment it escaped his throat, he could tell that he’d done something wrong.
The creature had been midway through walking away when the sound escape, and for a split second there was nothing but silence. His friends were sleeping, no animals were making noise, there was no wind to mask the sound of a gleeful, demented giggle. And then, silence. Silence, and more silence.
There was silence for yet another hour, and for yet another hour Jimin would lay there, frozen in fear. It was only when he heard the stirring of his friends that Jimin opened his eyes, and he was face to face with the creature.
Jimin’s breath caught in his throat, halfway in the form of a gasp or a scream, but nothing came out. Nothing could come out, not when his throat was in the slimy and cold grasp of the creature. If that wasn’t a warning, then Jimin didn’t know what was. He was trapped, and could only stare up at it.
And then, Jimin was moving. He was slowly sitting up, actions not his own. He felt at first confusion, fear, then nothing. As silent as a mouse, he crawled out of the sleeping bag and stood up. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Jimin was terrified and trying to back away. Maybe to run, maybe to climb back into his sleeping place and cling to Namjoon. But despite his wishes, he began walking. Soon enough, he was walking through the surrounding trees, through an unmarked trail that he’d seen the daring maknaes take several times yesterday.
His footsteps crunched lightly on stray fallen leaves as he followed the pathway up the incline. As Jimin walked, with the creature either no longer here or behind him, he began to get an inkling of where he was going. He was walking around the lake, up the path that led to nothing more than the overhanging cliff.
After a few minutes of walking in the silence, Jimin arrived at his unwanted destination. By the time he walked out of the trees and got to the edge, he could see that the sun had made a full appearance, and was breaking through the trees.
From up here, the view was beautiful. It’s a truly morbid thought to have, at such a time when he couldn’t control his own body and was standing above the lake that haunted his consciousness for years. But it’s true. From here, he could see miles of land. He could see mountains in the distance, trees just about everywhere. He could see his friends, who were now waking up.
For a few seconds, he stood on the edge. Jimin was so close to the edge that his toes were hanging off of the ledge, and it wouldn’t take much more to have the rest of him over it as well. He could feel his hands shaking as he inched forward some more against his will, and it was at that moment that he met Yoongi’s gaze.
It was hard to tell from such a distance what the elder’s expression was like, but he could see the surprise from the way Yoongi’s jaw dropped. He thinks there might be fear, too, from the way Yoongi’s head shifts slightly to Jimin’s left, but there’s no way to tell.
Jimin has a split second of hope at a sudden realization. If Yoongi is awake, that means that maybe he can retrieve him from the edge. Maybe he can be saved from this creature that, for some odd reason, only has malicious intent for him. Maybe they can leave. But as he opens his mouth to call out to him, Jimin is suddenly falling. He sees Yoongi jump to his feet, presumably to wake all of the others, but by then he’s hit the water.
Jimin no longer knows how to swim.
When he hits the water, he immediately sinks a few feet below the little clarity that the water offers. Yet, when he opens his eyes, he can still see the surface and the glimmer that the sun was causing. For some reason, this second of silence gives him a sense of peace, despite knowing how this was going to go. It was going to be the same thing as last time.
Jimin hopes that’s not the case, as the air stowed in his body does a small service by slowly causing his body to lift to the surface, but the moment his hand breaks the water’s surface, there’s a hand around his ankle, crushing and piercing, and he’s just as easily yanked back down.
Once again, he’s face-to-face with the creature, but it seems so much worse under the dark water. It’s hands are suddenly at his throat, clawing and scratching, and Jimin realizes it’s pulling at his necklace.
While that’s the case, it clearly has no regard for his body, for he was the one who had taken it from the lake. He can feel it’s claws sinking into the soft skin of his neck and around his collarbones.
It’s clear that the creature wants this necklace, while most likely wanting his death as well, but Jimin can’t even reach up to take it off, for when he tries he feels his hands get more damage than his throat is suffering. Trying to fight free is just as useless.
While he can carry more air than his child self, Jimin is still on a limited supply, and his chest begins to ache as he feels the same signs as he had suffered once before.
By the time he feels the chain around his neck snap, he’d already released all of the useless used-up air bubbles, and when Jimin tries to breathe in, he’s not surprised when he gets nothing but water. He feels the presence of the creature leave, pacified that it had the necklace and that the thief would be dead soon, but he has no energy or ability to bring himself back to the surface.
He’s mostly unconscious with his lungs having given in some time ago by the time he sees something fall into the water near him, followed by two more human-sized things. He sees a glimpse of Namjoon’s face and feels the sensation of him being pulled along somewhere before he closes his eyes.
Somehow, that last fraction of consciousness does not leave his body as his head is pulled above the surface of the water. He feels it waver as he’s pulled onto land, feels it stretch thin as he hears gasping and shouting. There are a hands all over his body by that point. He feels somebody pressing down on his bleeding hands and somebody else is covering his neck. He definitely feels somebody pumping at his chest with such force that it hurts, and he almost wants to tell them to stop. He feels somebody’s mouth covering his own, and he thinks he knows who they belong to.
It’s only when he’s weakly coughing up water after several more repetitions of the pumping to his chest and shouts had turned into murmured pleas and sobs that he begins to regain consciousness. He almost wishes it hadn’t, because breathing had never once hurt so much.
By the time he opens his eyes, he realizes his head is laying on somebody’s lap and that he’s no longer on the shore of the lake. Once his eyes adjust, he recognizes the interior of the truck. He lets out a groan as his mind forces himself awake more, and grimaces when his throat burns as a result.
Jimin startles when he’s more or less attacked with affection from all sides. The moment it’s made known that he’s awake, he feels hands on his head, stomach, and legs as the surrounding men all try to gather his attention. He looks around with wide eyes and sees that he’s stretched across the laps of Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung while Jungkook is squished into the remaining space in the floorboard. He can see Jin and Yoongi in the front, and a large part of him wonders how all seven of them managed to cram into a five-seater successfully.
He forgets that they had all been trying to get him to answer at once when Jin finally puts an end to the loud noise, and the near-silence that follows afterwards is what startles Jimin the most. Eventually his gaze lands on Jungkook’s, who is the easiest to look at in his position.
“What…?” Jimin tries to ask but winces again when his throat protests.
Jungkook takes that as his cue to talk and hurriedly begins speaking. “You’re awake, hyung! Are you - Are you okay? When we woke up, you weren’t there and - and Yoongi-hyung saw you, and he said he saw something! We didn’t really be-”
“You saw it?” Jimin asked in disbelief. He turns his gaze onto Yoongi, who makes an uneasy face and nods.
“Yeah… I thought I was seeing things, but when you fell, it was standing there. I saw it before then, too, I think.” Yoongi explained. “I told the others what happened when you were at the ledge, and Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jungkook went after you.”
“I thought we were too late.” Taehyung added, uncharacteristically quiet. “Y-you weren’t breathing, and Namjoon k-kept trying…” He cut himself off with a wounded sound and hugged Jimin’s middle as well as he could given the position.
“And those injuries… from the… thing. They looked so terrible.” Hoseok murmured. “They were fairly shallow, but it didn’t look that way at the time.”
There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence as they took in the moment before Jin shook his head. “I should have listened to you, I’m sorry. You said you wanted to leave and I ignored you.”
“N-no, it’s fine. There’s nobody to blame for this.” Jimin halfheartedly disagreed.
“Don’t you ever do anything like this to us again, you hear me?” Namjoon placed his hand on Jimin’s forehead and lightly rubbed at the skin there. He ran his thumb over Jimin’s eyebrows, down to his eyelashes, ran over his cheeks before returning to his hair. “You had us worried sick. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t listen to you, either. What kind of boyfriend does that?”
Despite himself, Jimin smiled. “You worry too much… It’s not your fault. None of you knew this would happen. For now, I just want to go home…”
“Then we’ll go home.” Namjoon promised with a loving caress. With that caring promise, Jimin allowed himself to doze off, feeling safe in the presence of his family.