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[Caution: mention of blood ahead.]

"Taehyung, can you please reconsider it?" Namjoon plopped down on the sofa, unbuttoning his blazer to get comfortable.

"I have never taken decisions based on intrusive thoughts. When the person is worthy of a second chance, I have given them mercy, you know how I am." Taehyung looked outside the window, taking in the scenery of the woods spreaded far and far in the unknown.

His demeanor was calm and collected like a constant river flowing down the forest; but don't let yourself underestimate his strength, one ripple caused by you in the calm waters and he will wipe everything out with just one stroke.

"Jiwoong is still here, only because you are always helping him out. Does he really deserve this place?" Taehyung turned around, his dark yet glimmering eyes staring right at Namjoon's soul.

"He is... not a bad person." Namjoon looked away, his face firm, eyes focused.

"Can you take the responsibility?" Taehyung stepped forward, a small smile playing on his lips.

Namjoon looked back at him, trying to figure out what was going on inside Taehyung's mind.

Taehyung on the other hand scoffed, one corner of his mouth slowly titling upwards as his eyes remained sharp, the usual golden glint present in them.

"I might need him in the future, but..." he approached Namjoon who was sitting still on the sofa, looking up at Taehyung. "...seems like you need him more than I do." Taehyung bent down, putting a hand on his shoulder, his voice, a mere whisper.

He stepped back, elegantly fixing his shirt and exited the room but halted at the doorstep, "it's soon the time. I'll see you after it's over. If there's an emergency, you know where to find me." He looked back at him, "Don't you?" he then threw a smile at Namjoon who nodded his head and Taehyung took his leave.

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"The insides of the woods." Jungkook flipped the cover page of the book after reading the title, barely making out the details of the fonts because of the dust.

He slumped down comfortably on the couch like a lazy bear going for a winter sleep in his cozy cave.

"Well, this can help me pass some time while I'm here." he shrugged lazily, snuggling more into the pillow that was on the couch.

He briefly went through the first two pages of the book which was mainly about what this book contained and some other important and unimportant things. He skipped through many pages but one specific chapter caught his eye.

His eyes quickly scanned the page and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion and a little surprise.

"The medicinal resources?" this caught his attention. His dad's condition was always in his mind and reading something about medicines and cures of disease, he was intrigued. Maybe he was just hoping to find some magical cure for his dad?

He turned the pages impatiently searching for something; anything that might help him. He sat up straight, focusing more into reading.

His finger brushed along every line of the page as his eyes scanned every word. The book was written in a difficult language, often using words that didn't ring a bell to Jungkook, but he found something strange as he flipped every page.

Other than the printed fancy fonts, there were little to more described scribbles here and there in the book but due to the withered pages, it was hard to read. He squinted his eyes, trying his best to read it.

"The phenomena of moonless night... concealed within the dense woods, surrounded by the glowing miracles, under the... water surface-" he read it out aloud, scrunching his nose, "what the heck is this language? Does it even make sense?" he threw the book somewhere on the couch and stood up, brushing his hair back and walked to the window.

One of his hands fondled with his hair while the other was occupied with the curtains that were attached to the window as he fidgeted with the cloth.

"Shining...? Under water?" he attempted to reason with the words he had just read but he could think of nothing. "This thing is supposed to be in the forest?" he sighed, "I'll go crazy, just leave it." He gave up, turning around; but before he did, he caught a glimpse of something glowing from his side vision.

He quickly turned around, moving his head closer to the glass window, trying to find a better angle to see what it was. When he finally managed to see behind the green bushes, he found himself looking at that water source from before. It seemed like a lake but something was unusual as he could see a faint neon light coming from there.

"What is this even... wait- the glowing miracles?" his widened eyes turned back on the book and something clicked inside his head.

He ran back to the couch, once again taking the book and opening the same page where he had left off. He searched for those scribbles, which seemed like the simple descriptions of what was written in the book. He found it when he turned the page.

"When the moonless night approaches, the foot of the mirror lake will be glowing with dazzling miracles and the animals will all go in a deep slumber for the night." he took a breath, eyes focused, and continued.

"The twilight has a magical hour when the glow is at its peak, the mirror lake becomes a gateway for your cure. Anything is possible, but the crimson sacrifice must be made within the time of the magical hour. If you hear any noise, take a step inside the lake. Let yourself get engulfed by the water. Anything is curable; within the magical hour." he had to take a deep breath again to digest what he had read just now.

"Is this even real?" he chuckled, trying to take everything in. He was hesitant, but the urge to know if this actually works or not was dominant. He shook his head, "No way!" he put the book aside, sitting on the bed and let himself fall back on it, closing his eyes, covering them with his forearm.

He didn't realise when he fell asleep and when the morning sun shone at him through the window again.

His phone went off, indicating a call. He rustled in his sleep, sleepily putting the phone on his ear.

"Hello?" he said groggily, rubbing his eyes and opened them, taking his time getting used to the light.

"Yaah, big baby! Wake up already." Hobi laughed and Jungkook yawned, stretching his hand, he arched his back and got up.

"Why did you call so early in the morning?" Jungkook almost whined.

"Early? It's already 9 am. Wait- I know! You went to bed late again, didn't you?" Hobi said. He was probably getting ready for his daily dance practice right now.

"I was occupied with something... actually, nevermind." he facepalmed himself upon almost letting the secret out of his mouth.

"Huh? What were you doing, Jk?" Hobi sounded suspicious making Jungkook curse at himself in mind.

"I was trying to count those fungus growing on the fallen trees outside my room window. It was.. so fascinating somehow. Different shapes and colours." Jungkook made it sound as normal as possible.

"Weird! But, okay, take care. I'll have to head out now." Hobi said in a hurry and Jungkook sighed in relief.

"Okay, bye, hyung." he hung up the call.

He got up, hopped in the shower, prepared himself something to eat and another day, slowly yet calmly, passed without any hassle.

He refrained from touching that book again all throughout the day but when the sun was about to set, his curiosity was at the peak level. His desire to redeem himself from the immense guilt took over his mind completely and he found himself out of the house, open in the wild, under the vast sky. He slowly looked up, the sky was clear with no clouds.

What happened was; he had been curious and ended up searching about the moonless night. Knowing it was today, something stirred inside him.

"Is this supposed to mean something? Is this fate? What should I do?" questions like this had kept popping up in his mind all day and finally, being frustrated, he had decided to check the place out himself.

That's how he ended up standing outside of the house. He had never even imagined himself going out, alone, in the forest full of things he never came across before.

"What I'm doing doesn't make sense." he muttered, taking a step away from the house, mentally scolding himself for doing crazy things.

The sun was setting, its red hue was all over the sky and his face was shining under the tender sunlight too. He kept his steps steady, walking in the direction of the lake that he saw through the window.

He passed through many bushes, small plants, vines covered trees, all while listening to some owls howling somewhere from the trees.

He finally set his feet on the lake grounds, where the soil was muddy and not solid. There were many flower plants surrounding the lake. He even caught a rabbit, hopping away in the distance, in his eyes.

His breath was quickening, heart not able to beat at a normal pace as he looked around. He was surrounded with nothing but nature, this, however wasn't a pleasant feeling and he almost felt scared of being there alone but his heart was determined to get this done for once and all.

The brightness in the sky had now disappeared, darkness gradually covering his sight as he waited for the magic hour to begin.

"I'm sure, nothing is going to happen." he scoffed. "Magic hour, my ass!" his attempts of saving himself from getting scared went to vain when it was finally twilight.

It was like his heart forgot to beat for a little fragment of a second when he found himself getting enveloped with silence, all of a sudden.

All this time, he had been able to hear the insects and birds. However, now he could hear nothing but small rumblings of clouds above his head and the wind passing by with speed.

He remembered the sky being clear when he left the house.

A sudden wave of wind made him close his eyes for a brief second. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with a literal phenomena.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he witnessed the places around the roots of the flower plants start to glow with a radiant neon hue. The yellowish green patches of neon lights were really mesmerising that it made the lake look like an unearthly place.

His eyes were filled with light, if he wasn't shocked to the core, the scene in front him would be no less than a fairytale scene to him.

He did get a glimpse of this glow last night but watching it from afar and actually witnessing it closely are two different things.

His eyes were unfocused, he looked around here and there, not believing what was happening.

He needed to get it together and think properly. While the rumbling only got louder, he proceeded with his plan.

He took a step forward, now his feet were inside the water. The water was cold at touch; icy cold.

"Damn it!" he went further in, and recalled the words from the book.

A sacrifice. He needed to sacrifice his blood. The amount doesn't matter.

He looked up and quickly pulled out the small pocket knife that he fetched from the kitchen.

"Just a little won't hurt, right?" he took a deep breath, extending his hand in front of him, his eyes closed as he gulped the saliva down his dry throat.

Slash! In a second, the blood slowly started to ooze out from the tip of his finger. The shiny crimson drops instantly dripped down under the law of gravity and got dissolved in the water beneath him.

There was a thunder roar exactly when he slashed the skin of his finger and that reminded him of the next steps.

His chest heaved up and down and his mind was stuck in a frenzy. Now all he had to do was take a deep breath and a dive inside the lake.

His legs went deeper and deeper inside the water until the water was now at the level of his waist. He prepared himself for it.

"Stop right fuckin' there." but suddenly, a voice startled him and he flinched.

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