the leaves crunched against seokjin's feet, air cold and crisp, brushing his skin softly, texture similar to a feather's. with a big backpack slung over his shoulder, he sighed loudly, mumbling in frustration as he tucked in his thick sweater.

SEOKJIN
"damn that jungkook, he never listens."

SEOKJIN
"how many times did I tell him to stay away from the woods? now he's missing, what a troublesome kid."

SEOKJIN
" . . . still, he's my little brother."

seokjin's teeth started to chatter at the cold wind, his feet suddenly rooting to the ground when he saw a bright light in between the trees.

instead of sprinting, seokjin calmly walked towards the light, releasing a groan of absolute relief when a tiny wooden cottage came into his view.

a sign hung lazily above the door, serving as welcome to guests: KIM NAMJOON — local doll maker, always open.

the cottage was small, the wood molding, caking the walls, door nearly hanging off the hinges. despite this, knowing that it was the nearest form of shelter in a mile long radius, he knocked on the door, slowly, carefully.

a few seconds passed before the door creaked open, squeaking loudly, the sound echoing in the silent night.

NAMJOON
"why, hello there . . ."

he was strange, deep black trench coat hanging loose from his shoulders, top hat flattening his blonde hair, white gloves covering his hands, a long staff resting next to him.

seokjin thought this was odd but he chose to ignore it — he had to find jungkook.

SEOKJIN
"hello, have you seen my little brother jungkook?"

a moment of silence, then namjoon tilts his head in amusement, smiling with his deep dimples, eyes glinting even in the velvety darkness of the evening.

NAMJOON
"not a single soul has passed by my lovely cottage this evening — except you. would you like a doll? just so you know, I make the best dolls around here, let me show you one."

disappearing for a good minute, leaving seokjin standing on the dirty welcome mat awkwardly, namjoon came back with a small rag doll in his huge hand, the hair red and stringy, a dot on the face where the nose should be, black marbles as eyes and a line of thread as a mouth.

to be quite frank, seokjin didn't really think that the doll was unique — it was a cliche design made with ordinary material. he clutched his backpack whilst namjoon played with the doll, flinging its little arms around.

NAMJOON
"two for the price of one~"

seokjin turned around, frustrated.

SEOKJIN
"i'm sorry mister namjoon but i'm only here to gather information regarding my brother jungkook . . . if you have not seen him, then I shall take my leave—"

NAMJOON
"wait a moment."

a pause. seokjin caught namjoon's smile, his pearly white teeth glowing. his grip on the door was tight, nails digging into the soft wood.

NAMJOON
"would you like some tea? a drink that can energize you? this forest is huge, it will take you a while to find little jungkook."

this made seokjin smile, chuckling.

SEOKJIN
"jungkook isn't exactly little, i'm sure he's taller than me."

it was namjoon's turn to laugh, his chuckles deep and low.

NAMJOON
"care to come in?"

seokjin stepped into the home, namjoon smirking menacingly as he shut the door with a click of a lock.