You step inside the room and sigh, watching Jimin place the white rose in a vase. "Nice that the place is big enough for us to have our own rooms," you say, trying to make conversation.

He hums, making sure the flower is in the light. "Thanks again, I can't remember the last time someone gave me flowers. It means a lot."

You come over and back hug him, him chuckling. "Anything for you, Min."

"You don't know Yoongi's favorite flower yet do you?"

"I don't know Yoongi's favorite flower yet," you reply, snickering and backing off.

"Well I'm sure I can find out for you. Be like a detective."

A laugh leaves your throat. "Nice try, Park, but I think I can figure out my boyfriend's favorite flower on my own," you reply. The two of you go quiet, neither of you knowing what to say for a beat. Then, you light up. "Want to explain why you're a bitch to Ariel?"

"Huh? I'm not a bitch to her."

"You are a little bit. Jin told me about how cold you two were being to each other a couple days ago. Care to explain?"

"I literally helped her pet a deer," he says.

"You literally don't let her curse and grunt whenever she enters a room."

"I don't trust people, you know that. It takes me a while."

"She's thirteen."

"So were you," he whispers.

You freeze. "Wha... What?"

"You were younger than thirteen when your father started forcing his ways on you, and only sixteen when you took over. Three year difference. Three years. Who's to say she isn't a threat? Here we are, hiding out somewhere I don't know with people who hated each other this time two weeks ago and a random little girl we almost died saving. I'm on edge around her, okay?"

"Jimin." He leans against the wall, eyeing the Dumbo plush on his bed. "You're the best person we have for taking care of her," you say, keeping your tone even.

"Please don't," he whispers, his voice nearly breaking. "Don't make me go through this again. Please."

"I'm sorry, but Yoongi and I are going out soon to get leads on Madam Avasa."

"Where the hell are you gonna get leads for her in the middle of no where?" Jimin asks.

"I have no idea, but we have to try. We're hoping Jungkook comes soon. And we might have taken a map of all of the old man's hideouts while he wasn't looking."

"If he finds out, he'll kick us to the curb," Jimin says.

"Exactly why we need to hurry, so we can get a lead before he finds out. The quicker we take down Madam Avasa, the quicker we can maybe live a decently normal life."

He strokes his hand over the white petals of the rose. "Find someone else."

"There's no one else," you say. "Namjin are in their own world and can't even function properly. Hoseok is Hoseok and Tae's scared."

"You think I'm not?"

"I know you are, but you're better at hiding it than him. Please, it's not for too much longer," you say.

He turns to meet your eyes. "Are you asking me as my friend or as my boss?"

"I want to ask as a friend, but if I have to ask as your boss, I will," you say. 

Jimin comes over, the pads of his fingers leaving the white petals. When he gets closer to you, you can't help but admire how muscular he seems to have gotten. Of course Jimin has always been strong, but it seems like he put on more muscle. Strange since no one's eating very well. He must have a balance between working out and eating. You wish you had the talent and knowledge to figure something like that out.

"Princess, I'd do almost anything for you," he says, sighing. He takes a moment to compose himself, running a hand through his hair. "There's maybe two things in this world I wouldn't do, and this is both of them."

"Min..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this. You and I both know that," he says.

"Please," you whisper, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's not easy-"

"Not easy? Listen Y/n, I get you're trying to do the right thing, and you know you're my closest friend in the world, right?" You nod. "Good, but no matter how close we get, no matter how much I tell you, you will never understand even a fraction of the amount of pain I go through every day. This isn't trauma, Y/n. It's worse than that. It's the worst fucking pain anyone can go through, and you're asking me to go through it again."

"I'd never ask that of you," you say, praying you don't sound desperate. "Please believe me, nothing bad will happen to her."

Jimin dryly chuckles, shaking his head. "I thought the same thing once. I thought we were safe in the middle of the woods, that nothing would happen to us. Nothing bad. Now look at where I ended up. We were never supposed to meet princess, but now we have. Why?"

Your lower lip quivers. "Because something bad happened."

Jimin sucks in a breath. "I need to be alone."

"Jimin-"

"Please."

Although you really don't want to leave him here alone, you do. You saunter away albeit reluctantly, closing the door once you leave the room. God dammit, you feel like an asshole. He's right: you'll never understand what he went through, not unless it happens to you which dear lord you hope it doesn't. With a sniffle, you wipe the tear you didn't even realize was streaming down your face. There has to be a way. As much as Jimin might not like it, his only hope is this. 

His only hope is Ariel, the only problem is, he doesn't realize it yet.

~~~

Maybe he's being overdramatic, but Yoongi always loved the night sky. He glances up at it, letting the tall grass brush by the skin on his arms. Tonight's the night they search for her. The woman who started it all. Yoongi shakily stands, observing the vastness of the grassland.

They're in the middle of no where, their hideout near-invisible to the world. There's nothing here, not for anyone, not even the ones hiding away. He finds himself sighing, the pads of his fingers playing with the single strand of grass that comes up higher than the rest. The wind makes it tickle the top of his index finger, Yoongi almost smiling from the tingling sensation. 

"I didn't think you liked grass so much," her voice calls.

He turns to see his girlfriend there, a gentle, almost teasing smile on her face. Yoongi chuckles, letting her come closer. "Are we ready to go?" he asks. 

He wraps an arm around her, the two staring up at the Moon together. She hums in response, not opening her mouth to give verbal confirmation.

"Do you think we might actually find anything all the way out here? She has hideouts and arsenals all over the world. Is there a chance we might just, I don't know, stumble upon one?" she asks. 

Yoongi shakes his head and rubs his hand up and down her arm, closing his eyes to bask in the glimmering white light. He should've brought a jacket. The cold air bites his skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. Despite the chills reverberating down his spine, he still manages to return her teasing smile.

"If we did, I don't know if we'd be extremely lucky or just plain stupid," he says, almost snorting.

"A bit of both," she replies. "But Tae brought some files he thought might be useful. He said he's going to ask his friends to bring him some more from his office assuming they can get in. It's probably swarming with guards by now." 

He nods in acceptance, attempting to mentally prepare for the failure that's going to come. Inevitable defeat. Feels like that's what they've been going through for countless weeks. Hell, maybe months. Actually, maybe even years.

Yoongi uses his free hand to run his skin through his hair, gingerly opening his eyes. "I thought we'd have more than this by now," he murmurs. "But here we are. On the run. Hiding out with a bunch of people who secretly hate each other with known violent pasts. Sounds like the script to a comedy movie." She nuzzles up more against him, a spike of warmth hitting his core. "I don't know how to react to that."

"Neither do I," she whispers back. "I don't know where we're going from here, but on the bright side, at least we're not alone."

He chuckles. "Our 'friends' are violent psychopaths who've killed more this year than most serial killers combined."

"Ah, that's cutting it close," she jokes. Her attempt to ease the tension mostly works. Mostly.

"Should we start going now?" he asks. She clings onto him tighter, her fingers digging into his side.

"Maybe another minute. When's the last time we've had a night like this?"

"Yesterday," he says.

She whacks his chest. "I'll break up with you right here, right now."

"And then come crawling back when you're-"

"Finish that sentence," she says. "Go ahead, finish it."

He glances down at her, noticing her hooded eyes glaring right back at him. "You know what, I won't say anything. Let's get started, yeah?"

Her lips twitch up into an amused smile. "I'm fine with that. Should we look at Tae's files?" 

He purses his lips, eyebrows knitting together. What good would the files do? Well, it can't be any less helpful than searching through a grassland for clues about the leader of the Underworld. Yoongi has to bite back his laugh. A laugh of irony. They're hunting the whole damn Underworld with scraps, their best nutrition beans and soup.

"Something on your mind?" she asks at his silence. 

He tilts her chin up with his index finger, quickly mumbling a 'sorry' at her wince from the coldness. Yoongi pecks her forehead, sighing right afterwards. If he had a shot every time he's sighed today, he might actually be happy enough to feel optimistic about their situation.

"This isn't working," he says. "Even if his files give us some amazing insight, we still have to somehow investigate a lead with little ammo and no phones. No way to contact our friends."

She places her free hand on his cheek and rubs her thumb back and forth. "Do you have a better plan? Do you want to hide here until we die from old age or get found? Yoons, you know as well as I do that this isn't permanent. They'll find us eventually. The quicker we move, the more likely we solve this and maybe, just maybe we have a chance to live again. Be free again," she softly explains.

He nods against her skin, breathing out and seeing the white cloud that passes his lips. They both end up smiling, a strange comfort being found in the cold land. "Do you think we'll be okay?" he asks, not hiding the fear in his eyes. 

She takes both his hands, giving them a squeeze that makes his body erupt with ease. Her smile only widens more with each passing second, her lips parting to speak.

"Yeah, I really think we will."