"Where are we?"

Jimin looked around, squinting as the sudden brightness pierced through his retinas, temporarily blinding him.

"Isn't this fun?"

Aera's giggle came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Jimin turned to the side to see her next to him.

Apparently they were at a merry-go-round, he deduced, as he watched her carousel horse bounce up and down idly.

She was dressed in a long pink strapless chiffon dress, sparkling diamond earrings dangling from her earlobes. She looked like a princess, with her cherry lips and rosy cheeks and her eyes sparkling with elation as if they held the entire galaxy inside of them. A diamond tiara was placed on her hair, gleaming under the bright lights of the funfair.

The circular platform kept rotating to the accompaniment of looped circus music. Jimin scanned their surroundings only to realize they were completely alone.

"What is this place?" he looked over to Aera who was too busy releasing yelps of excitement.

"It's the amusement park I used to go to with my mom and dad when I was a little girl," she explained, hands tightly gripping at the iron pole. "I don't know why my mind brought us here. Probably because I've had so many of my happiest moments here."

"Oh right. You've told me about it." He remembered.

"Yeah," she let her body relax, flipping her hair. "It was before Hyuk and Jiah walked into our lives."

The ride came to a smooth halt as Aera hopped off of her horse. Gripping on her long dress, she relocated to Jimin's, sitting sideways in front of him so that his arms were enveloping her and keeping her in place. She swayed her legs happily.

The music started again and the merry-go-round commenced turning slowly.

Jimin felt oddly dazed, like he had taken a sleeping pill that was just now kicking in. He looked at the smiling Aera before him, her face a little bit blurry. His vision moved around like an unsteady movie camera.

"She was his Protector, did you know that?"

"Hm?" Jimin's brows furrowed as something flashed before his eyes.

"My mom was my dad's Protector." Aera grinned brightly.

"Is that so?" Jimin asked absently, distracted by the awful looped music playing in the background.

"Yes," Aera nodded. "Isn't that romantic?"

"Yes," he redirected his attention back to her. He was surprised to notice that there was a thin black thread encircled around her wrist. "What is this?" he asked, grasping on her hand and raising it to his eye level.

"Ah, this?" she looked as if she was seeing it for the first time too. "I have no idea. I don't even know how it got there."

"Did someone give this to you?" Jimin questioned sternly.

"I don't think so." she shrugged, confusion spilling across her face.

He tried removing it, but it seemed like it was glued to her skin. Embarrassed, Aera retracted her hand and put it behind her back.

"Forget it," she mumbled, brushing it off. "Let's enjoy this time together, shall we?" she offered a half-hearted smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, something sparkly shimmering on her finger.

"You're wearing the ring I gave you," he murmured, marveling the striking jewelry.

"Of course!" Aera enthused. "It's beautiful, Jimin. I don't ever want to take it off."

He smirked. "You're gonna have to take it off when I place a wedding ring on that finger one day."

She pouted playfully. "No, I'm just gonna wear them both then!" she chuckled, admiring the beautiful ring.

Jimin was brought back to that day when he gave her the promise ring, she had just woken up after being unconscious for so long and he felt so relieved. They were both so happy that day, thinking their whole life was ahead of them, making plans for their future.

The mental image made him sulk. Little did they know all of that would be taken away from them.

"How many kids do you want?" came Aera's question, throwing him off guard.

"Huh?"

"How many kids would you like us to have?" she chuckled, cupping his face with one hand.

"Oh," he gave a sly grin. "At least ten."

Aera gaped at him slack-jawed.

"Ten?! Park Jimin, are we putting together a whole soccer team?" she exclaimed.

"Why not?" he asked, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist, his fingers gripping on the chiffon.

"You're kidding."

"Okay yes I am. Maybe not ten, but at least three."

"We have a deal, Mr. Park." Aera shook his hand with exaggerated seriousness.

"I want a big family." He admitted.

"We already have one," she said softly, inching closer, her nose brushing against his. "Kookie, Meisa, Joonie, Jin, even Tae and Hobi... they're all our family."

Yes, but that family is missing an integral piece right now, Jimin thought.

He didn't say anything, not wanting to disrupt this idyllic ambiance. After all he didn't know how much time with her he had left.

"This stupid carousel is making me dizzy." Aera complained and the moment she said that the ride stopped spinning.

Suddenly Jimin had the strongest urge to capture her cherry red lips with his. His hand traveled to the back of her neck as he pulled her in, her sweet scent invading his senses.

"Oh," Aera giggled, teasing him with her lips. "You want us to start making those babies already?"

He scoffed a breathy laugh, hypnotized by the alluring vision of her. It was enticing him, inviting him in to have a taste of her sweetness.

"Maybe."

Aera bit back a smile, putting a hand over his.

"Okay, but... You're gonna have to catch me first!" she jumped off the carousel and started running, grasping on the fabric of her dress and lifting it up so that she wouldn't step on the pretty piece of clothing.

A hungry growl resonated in Jimin's chest as he hopped down from the ride and shot forward after her. Not wanting to ruin her fun, he gave her a little bit of time to advance before he started lightly running after her.

Aera's excited chuckles filled the air as she kept glancing over her shoulder, smiling as she saw Jimin trailing her. An amused smile was painted over his lips also as he followed her.

"What's the matter Mr. Park, can't keep up with a girl?" Aera teased, looking back and meeting his hungry gaze again.

The scenery around them swirled and Jimin was stunned to see they had now entered some kind of a labyrinth made of tall grass. Aera turned the corner, her long dress gliding after her as he caught a glimpse of the mischievous glint scintillating in her orbs.

Jimin's pace slowed down to a leisure walk as his brows furrowed with agitation. He didn't appreciate the chase but rounded the corner after her anyways, only to see her whirl around and start walking backwards, her hazel locks bobbing up and down with her movements.

"I'm right here, all you have to do is reach out and grab me," Aera teased, raising her chin defiantly and daring him to touch her.

The teasing aggravated him further and Jimin shot forward, reaching for her waist but she eluded his grip only by an inch.

"Too slow!" she laughed, earning a huff from him as he rolled his eyes.

"The longer you delay this, the more you're going to regret it, Aera," he grumbled, his heavy breathing accelerated as he burned with impatience.

She gave an audible and exaggerated gasp, twirling around gracefully before she faced him again.

"Is that a threat?" she raised her brows. "Or is it a promise?"

"See for yourself." Jimin growled, having had enough of the chase.

Before she could tease him more, he was already grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into him. Surprise painted over her face before being replaced with excitement. Jimin pressed her against one of the trees and she simply raised a brow at him.

"You can be a real brat sometimes, do you know this angel?" he purred, giving her body a possessive grab and Aera simply smirked. He drew in closer as her fingers gravitated towards his full lips, grazing them ever so tenderly as her mouth parted with her uneven breathing.

"But you like it, admit it," she whispered, their lips separated by a single breath.

Jimin's hand weaved into her hair, yanking her head back as he slammed his lips into hers. The need to take her right here and now washed over him as he kissed her greedily. There was passion and ferocity entangled in that kiss. He pushed her back up roughly and she released a soft gasp into the kiss as he tugged at the roots of her hair and her bottom lip tugged at his own in retaliation. His hand found her waist and ran down her hip as he grabbed her thigh and put one of her legs around his waist, prompting a muffled squeal from her.

He hadn't touched like this in so long, he hadn't held her and kissed her like this. And right now his body needed her desperately. A plethora of emotions burst deep within him, pain and pleasure mixed together resulting in the bittersweet realization that she was here, but at the same time she wasn't.

He pinned one of her hands up over her head, his ringed fingers tangling between hers and she released a breathy moan. He started trailing kisses down her neck and to her exposed collarbones.

Suddenly a jabber of muffled voices reached his ears, making him whip his head to the side.

"What is it?" Aera breathed out, her hooded eyes easing open.

"Did you hear that?" Jimin asked sharply.

"Hear what?" she was bemused, looking at him with confusion.

The voices grew louder but still nothing could be made out of the unintelligible mess of hisses, groans and moans. Jimin felt highly unsettled, frantically scanning around for anything that could have made those sinister sounds.

"Someone's talking." He gulped anxiously.

"I don't hear anything," Aera's brows pulled together. She secured her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him, but he moved away, too alarmed to return her affections.

Stunned, Jimin watched as the scenery around them shifted and the labyrinth disappeared. Shadows fell and everything around them turned dark, he clasped instinctively at Aera's waist to keep her safe.

Hazy silhouettes entered his vision. They were coming from everywhere, advancing on them like a horde of looming shadows. The voices grew harsher and more aggressive as the faceless figures approached mercilessly, threatening to close in on them any second now.

"Jimin!" Aera gasped as he pulled her in, trying to protect her.

"Stay close to me!" he demanded, his mind frantically searching for a way out of this situation.

"Jimin..." he heard her voice become thicker and distorted. It captured his attention and alarmed him as his head swung to look at her.

An eerie face-splitting grin was written over her face, but that wasn't what horrified him. Aera had become a shadow of herself, her skin was dark and scorched and her eyes and hair were gone. The only thing left was the sparkling tiara on her hairless head.

Jimin reeled back from the shock, almost passing out from the ghastly, sickening sight. It was nauseating and he found himself fighting back the urge to vomit. The impulse to cover his eyes washed over him, but the panic was paralyzing his movements.

"Jimin?" her real voice was back but now it sounded faint and fragile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"That's not real, that's not real," he kept mumbling to himself, trying to steady his heartbeat but it was in vain as he heard the hissing voices come closer and closer.

"Jimin? Why did you stop kissing me?" she asked but the creature's mouth didn't move an inch, always spread in that large sinister grin.

"You're not real." Jimin squeezed his eyes shut, desperately attempting to get himself out of this nightmare.

"Jimin... kiss me."

A hundred pairs of hands grabbed him and started dragging him down into a bottomless pit. Jimin felt himself lose his balance as a blood-freezing scream was ripped from his chest.

***

Jimin's eyes opened like two flashlight beams as he sprung up in the bed, clawing his way into sitting up straight. His heart was pounding and his shirt was drenched in cold sweat.

Every dream he had of Aera was extremely vivid and every single time it would end the same way. In screaming.

Jimin felt as if someone had splashed a bucket of ice cold water over him. He jerked to the side and reached to grab his phone, the fluorescent light flashing over his face.

4 am.

A slim shaft of light penetrated from the gap between the closed door and the floor, signaling him that someone must be up. Coming down from his nightmare, Jimin slithered from underneath the blanket and left the comfort of the bed, his feet hitting the cold floor.

Running a hand through his messy hair in an attempt to flatten it, he turned the door knob and stepped in the dark corridor. It was very quiet. The faint light was coming from the kitchen and he shuffled towards it.

Wafts of smoke floated upwards, forming random shapes. Jimin's gaze cast over Hoseok who was sitting on the kitchen table, one hand splayed over Adara's diary and the other holding a cigarette between his fingers.

"Good morning, sunshine." Hoseok uttered in a mockingly cheerful tone, not raising his eyes from the book.

Jimin merely grunted sleepily, making his way to the sink to pour himself a glass of water that he gulped down thirstily. Hoseok seemingly wasn't paying attention to him, instead focusing on the book.

Exhaustedly, Jimin slumped down on the chair across from him and ran a hand over his face.

"Why are you up?"

Hoseok shrugged. "I just kept tossing and turning like a maniac. I think my organism has gotten used to not sleeping."

Jimin hummed, tapping his fingers on the table. He was a notorious insomniac himself.

"Hey Hoseok."

"Mm?" Hoseok took a draw of his cigarette absently.

"Do you have more of that weird drink you gave me?"

The red-haired man's brows snapped together as he lifted his gaze towards Jimin. Without a word, he put out the cigarette in the ashtray.

"You already ran out of it?"

"Yeah well, it was a tiny bottle."

"That's true." Hoseok simply nodded and looked away.

Deafening silence engulfed the both of them.

Jimin bit his lower lip, glancing over at him briefly. He was starting to get clammy and frantic, wanting nothing else but another quick fix. No matter how badly his dreams ended, at least the beginnings were perfect and whimsical. He could settle for a horrible ending if he could at least see Aera again, even if it was for a little while.

His mind was clamoring for the desired mental image. It was like his brain had transformed into a lab mouse wildly running on a wheel and nothing could calm it down except for her, nothing could bring him the serenity he so desperately craved.

"So?" Jimin pressed, tapping his foot on the floor rapidly.

Hoseok just sighed, gaze pinned at the table in front of him. He pushed his hair back and pressed his lips into a thin line, looking over at Jimin.

"Jimin, I've been down this path before."

"What path?"

"Addiction."

Jimin scoffed, rolling his eyes. What kind of bullshit was Hoseok talking about, there was no way he was an addict. It's just that he needed to see Aera again, that was all. And also he felt like he would literally die if that didn't happen.

Hoseok tilted his head to the side, offering him a skeptical look.

"I can recognize that look everywhere... the dead eyes, the nervous tapping, the wincing. I know it because I saw it in the mirror for years."

"Yeah, but not everyone is you. I just asked you if you had any left, no need to turn this into a lecture." Jimin sneered spitefully.

"You're in denial. Just like you're in denial about those hallucinations. You wish to act as if they never happened. I thought the elixir would help stabilize you, I really thought seeing Aera would have a positive impact on you."

Jimin's chest collapsed in a heavy sigh as he winced, turning his face away. It was painful letting go of her in those dreams and it left him with nothing else but wanting to see her again. Just a little bit more time with her, that's all he wanted. He had found himself in a vicious cycle of joy and pain and realizing it make him feel even more desperate than before.

"Jimin, there's probably not a single person on this world that understands this better than I do. Addiction is a monster. It turns you into someone you're not. Someone who lies, steals and cheats to get what they want. Believe me, you don't want that. I was so fucked up I can't even remember half of the shit I've done under the influence. It took everything away from me, my friends, my family, my future. My sister was the only one who stuck with me through that dark time, and I'm sure even she hated me back then."

Jimin's heart pounded with distrust as he eyed the remorseful Hoseok in front of him.

"The disappearing memory of her is all I have left." he finally caved, his face slumped as he averted his gaze to the floor.

Hoseok sighed, rubbing his temples. He was by no means a sentimental person, but the suffering radiating from Jimin, a man who had always been in such phenomenal control of himself, was almost palpable. It pulled at his heart and he felt sorry for him. He had never seen a love so intense and devoted like this in his whole life, in a sense it was touching and he felt his stone hard heart soften a bit.

He turned around and shoved a hand in his backpack.

"This is all I have left," he said quietly, tossing Jimin another small bottle. It wasn't completely full, but there were a couple of drops left at the bottom. "I'm giving this to you... but I don't advise you on drinking it. Or at least drink it if you really, really can't take it anymore... It will suffice at least until we structure our plan and leave for Abaddon, which I hope will be in a couple days."

Jimin grabbed the crystal bottle immediately.

"Jimin," Hoseok's voice was deep but quiet. "Please don't make me regret giving you this."

"Of course."

The sound of footsteps coming from the corridor startled them both. Hastily, Jimin stuffed the small bottle in the pocket of his sweatpants and sat up straight in his chair as Hoseok observed him with his brows furrowed.

"What are you guys doing up so early?"

A half-naked Jungkook appeared at the door, rubbing his eyes and yawning sleepily.

"Ugh!" Jimin grimaced. "Would it hurt you to put on a pair of pants?"

"Hey," Jungkook frowned. "You're lucky I even remembered to put on my underwear. You know I like to sleep butt naked."

"Man, I know we're gonna become family soon, but that is too much information even for me," Hoseok mumbled.

"Don't worry, I already flashed Namjoon earlier tonight on the way to the bathroom. There will be no other victims," Jungkook grinned, sauntering in the room and grabbing a glass of water.

He gulped it down loudly and put it down on the kitchen counter before turning to the other two men.

"Whatcha guys up to?"

Jimin and Hoseok exchanged knowing looks.

"We were just going through Adara's diary." Hoseok explained very convincingly.

"Yeah, both of us couldn't sleep so we decided we'd do something productive." Jimin added.

"Look at you getting along already," Jungkook smirked, his sparkling eyes jumping back and forth between them. "Who would have thought you'd be pointing guns at each other only to work together some hours later."

"Yeah." Jimin scoffed a humorless laugh.

"Okay tell me, what did you guys come up with?" Jungkook grinned, taking a chair and flopping down on it.

"I'm sorry but only people who are wearing pants are allowed to sit at this table." Jimin uttered.

"Hey it's my body, deal with it," Jungkook frowned playfully, patting his stomach. "And would you look at those abs, I haven't worked out since I was a baby and yet somehow they're still here. This is one of nature's miracles, bitch."

Jimin covered his face with his palm, already done with this conversation.

"Isn't Meisa gonna get worried when she wakes up and sees that your side of the bed is empty?"

"Nah," Jungkook waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "She's such a heavy sleeper if she puts up with my snoring. You can literally walk in with a chain saw in that room and she still wouldn't wake up."

"Yikes."

"If you're done with this pointless conversation, I actually have something important to say." Hoseok tapped his finger on the small book in front of him, grabbing their undivided attention.

"Yes of course, go ahead." Jungkook urged him eagerly.

"The Black Thread. Have you heard of it?"

Jimin and Jungkook both tensed up, involuntarily leaning in simultaneously.

"We know about it, but we could never truly understand what it means or symbolizes." Jimin explained breathlessly.

"Yes, we couldn't unlock Adara's diary so there was no way for us to comprehend it. We thought a lot about it, but never figured it out and couldn't be sure of any of our guesses." Jungkook added.

"Then I think you're going to find this information here very fascinating," Hoseok looked down at the pages, gliding his finger along the lines.

He cleared his throat and started reading.

"By definition the Black Thread is a spiritual link between two individuals exclusively that connects them since their birth. Much like the Red Thread, it is a lifelong bond that pulls them together, but as opposed to the latter, it's essentially detrimental to both of them. It manifests under the form of a relationship centered around insecurity, dominance, control, power.

"The people involved in it feel an intense attachment to the other to the point of an unhealthy co-dependency. Other characteristics include hurt, disappointment, guilt, jealousy, anger, chaos. This type of relationship almost always brings out the worst in whoever's involved in it. While the Read Thread balances out the darker sides of each partner, the Black Thread reinforces them. Both bonds can be very intense and blossoming at the same time."

"So the Black Thread is kinda like the opposite of the Red Thread?" Jungkook gawked.

"In a sense yes, but also no," Hoseok shook his head. "It says in here that people bonded by the Black Thread can love each other very deeply and want the best for each other and still be damaging for one another. It's just that the way the relationship is wired is very chaotic and draining."

"Does this type of toxic relationship sound familiar to you?" Jungkook asked hesitantly, throwing a wary look at Jimin.

"Jungkook, you can stop walking on eggshells around me, I'm not going to combust if you say his name." Jimin gritted.

"It's just that Yoongi-"

"Yes I know, Yoongi is a very big part of Aera's past that I've accepted and he's currently one of the people she's stuck with in that godforsaken land of the dead, so we can't exactly pretend like he doesn't exist at all." Jimin snapped, silencing Jungkook who seemed thrown off by this response.

"While I do have to admit that this description fits perfectly what Aera and Yoongi used to have back in the day, we have to consider the possibility that this may be just a coincidence," Hoseok reflected. "I mean we're sure of the fact that Jimin and Aera are destined to be because there's the prophecy Aera's grandmother made about them. It's more or less set in stone at this point that they're soulmates. But Yoongi? She never said anything about him, this is just some text that clarifies the notion of the Black Thread. I advise on not trusting it too blindly."

"True," Jungkook agreed. "And anyways isn't it more important who your soulmate is? Of course at the end of the day you're going to choose a relationship that is based on unconditional love and mutual respect, a powerful bond that is rare and treasured, and not some toxic mess that doesn't benefit you in any way?"

"Only if you truly realize what you're going through is toxic." Hoseok stated.

"Exactly," Jungkook confirmed. "Anyhow if I were you Jimin, I wouldn't worry too much about it, I believe Aera is too smart to fall down that rabbit hole again."

But what if she already has, Jimin wanted to say but he remained quiet. His friend was obviously worried for him and wanted to offer him some kind of comfort but the little green-eyed monster inside Jimin raised its beastly head. No matter how much Aera loved him he couldn't escape the fear of losing her to someone else. He had no idea what the point of this whole Black Thread thing was, if it really meant something but he didn't want to know.

All he could do was hope that whatever was going on at the other side of that portal in Abaddon wouldn't change this thing they had between them.

Just two more days. Two more days and he was going to get her out of there.

He just wished she'd be waiting for him.