Namjoon:

"Should we really be at school right now?" Hoseok asks, frowning deeply, "shouldn't we be looking for Seokjin?"

Namjoon sighs sharply, feeling like he's stuck in an endless cycle of the same conversations over and over again.

"For the last time, Hoseok," Namjoon murmurs, "It is almost impossible for us to find him without some way to track him. He won't just be hiding out somewhere. He can cloak himself, become invisible... We have to wait him out,"

It has been a few days since Seokjin, aka Z, attacked Hoseok out of nowhere. They did their research and found a solid solution that should work better than any exorcism could. The hardest part is finding him.

Z knows that they have found ways to contain, bind, and banish him. He won't let them find him. Hoseok and Namjoon visited Seokjin's house and spoke to his parents. Apparently, Seokjin arrived at his home, collected some things, and left. They haven't seen or heard from him since. That is all the information they have. But Hoseok is starting to get impatient, worrying about his friend. Namjoon understands where he is coming from; Seokjin is his friend too. But these endless repeated conversations are driving him mad. It is hard to figure out what to do next when you have the adult version of 'Are we there yet?' playing on repeat in your ear.

"I still think we should use Hana as bait," Yoongi grumbles, his arms folded.

"Me too," Hana agrees. Namjoon looks around at his friends, sitting at their favourite lunch table in the food court. They all look exhausted and grumpy, frustrated by the fact that their progress has come to a standstill.

"I don't want Hana to get hurt," Namjoon says firmly, "Z now knows that we know more than he thought. We no longer have the element of surprise,"

"But it's a good idea," Yoongi pushes, "He wants her, and we can still protect her,"

"Why do you want Hana to get hurt so bad? Huh?" Jimin snaps, "He could kill her,"

"Well, I mean..." Hana smirks, "Joining him in the afterlife is dying,"

"Exactly!" Taehyung yells, "He's not going to avoid hurting you, knowing it'll lead you to him!"

"Is there a way we can keep her safe?" Jungkook asks. Taehyung and Jimin glare at him.

"Not you too!" Jimin stands, followed by Taehyung, "We are not hurting Hana! Right Namjoon?"

Taehyung and Jimin are glaring at him, looking for support. Yoongi and Jungkook look frustrated, but closer to defeat. Hana just looks annoyed. Hoseok is looking around at everyone sadly.

"Okay, I have a plan," Namjoon sighs, rubbing his forehead of the tension headache forming, "Hana, Yoongi... if you can find a way, something that has a 100% success rate, to keep Hana safe... then we will consider it," Hana and Yoongi smile, their shoulders dropping with relief.

"Seriously?"

"What the fuck Namjoon?"

"Jimin, Taehyung," Namjoon says loudly, talking over them, "You two can start looking into another way that doesn't involve putting Hana at risk, maybe a tracking thing?"

Jimin looks like he's about to argue, but he doesn't. Instead, he nods, sitting back down in his seat. Taehyung follows him, sitting down beside him and crossing his arms.

"Okay, we'll do that," Taehyung nods.

"Hoseok, Jungkook," The two guys look at Namjoon expectantly, "Check out any locations you know Seokjin would visit,"

"Why?" Jungkook frowns, "I thought you said Z wouldn't go there?"

"Just in case Seokjin has found a way to take control," Namjoon explains, "He would be scared and confused,"

Jungkook and Hoseok nod along.

"What are you going to do?" Hana asks.

"I am going to prepare for the main plan," Namjoon says firmly, "Now, we will need to get it done as soon as we find Seokjin... if you really don't want to stay here for the rest of the day, let's head out,"

Almost as if waiting for Namjoon to give them permission, they all stand up and start making their way out of the food court, in the direction of the front entrance to the university, the exit they all take at the end of the day.

Namjoon scoffs, chuckling at their lack of shame. They really didn't want to be here, huh?

He stands and follows them out, mentally preparing for his role in this process.

. . . . . 

Hoseok:

Hoseok and Jungkook get onto the subway, taking a seat near the doors. They are tense, but Hoseok tries to ease the atmosphere by joking and comforting Jungkook. Jungkook responds kindly, but he doesn't relax. After a while, Hoseok decides to just address the reason for his tension.

"All right, so we'll head to that park first," Hoseok begins listing, "Then our old hang out spot in the mall, and lastly the restaurant near the water,"

"How do you know he'll be there?" Jungkook asks.

"Those are the only places he ever ran off to," Hoseok explains, "They are his favourite places besides my house, Namjoon's house, and the University,"

"Do you think he will be there?" Jungkook mutters. Hoseok doesn't respond, not wanting to make him feel hopeless. If Seokjin had regained control over his body, he would have come looking for Hoseok or Namjoon. As much as all this is deteriorating at his sense of reality, especially after realising Namjoon has been dealing with this his whole life, he knows Seokjin wouldn't hide. Namjoon might have been comfortable keeping it a secret, but Seokjin would seek help.

If there is nothing Hoseok is certain about, he is at least certain of that.

But they still check Seokjin's favourite hang out locations and hideaways, running down memory lane as they go.

When they reach the park, Hoseok recalls the days they spent here. The day Seokjin broke his arm and was hitting him with his cast. The day Namjoon brought them candy and soft drink. He feels a deep sense of nostalgia looking at the browning grass and rusted swing set. It's not a fancy park, but it was their park. But there is no Seokjin to been seen.

They head to a small section of the mall that has an arcade, an PC room, and a manga café. They begin wondering around the stores, looking out for Seokjin. Jungkook asks the staff at each of the locations, but they haven't seen him. Hoseok chuckles as he spots 2 specific computers in the PC room. Seokjin used to verse him in so many games. Neither of them was better than the other, but it was super fun playing together. Seokjin always made moments like that interesting.

In the manga café, he spots the chair Seokjin would always sit at, an entire series on his lap. In the arcade he finds the dance machine, something they were terrible at. But it was hilarious watching him play the game.

All these memories, and no Seokjin to reminisce with. He misses him.

Once they have concluded that Seokjin isn't in the mall, they head over to the river, watching the water flow past freely as they quickly walk up and down the area. But Seokjin isn't here either.

"Hoseok..." Jungkook mutters, looking out at the sun setting over the water, "I don't think he's here,"

"I know," Hoseok replies, "I'm glad we checked though,"

"Do you want to call Namjoon?" Jungkook asks, ignoring the emotion he can hear in Hoseok's voice.

"Yeah, I'll do it," Hoseok sighs, pulling out his phone. He finds Namjoon's contact and calls him.

"Did you find him?" Namjoon asks, answering almost instantly.

"No, he's not here," Hoseok mumbles.

"It's okay, Hoseok. We'll find him," Namjoon breathes, "For now, come back here. You can help me,"

"Alright," Hoseok agrees, hanging up, "Let's go back, okay?"

Jungkook nods, giving Hoseok a sad smile. Hoseok returns it, following him as he starts heading towards the subway station. He pauses, looking back at the water with a deep pressure on his chest.

We'll save you, Seokjin, Hoseok closes his eyes, wrenching himself from the memories.

. . . . . 

Namjoon:

Namjoon watches the four of them, Taehyung, Jimin, Hana, and Yoongi, research as if their lives depend on it. Well, Hana's life depends on it. They try to avoid bickering, but occasionally Hana or Yoongi will get excited, which sets Jimin off immediately. Having to separate them every single time they fight is setting Namjoon back. He needs to get his part done, and they are making it harder.

They are once again sitting at Namjoon's dining table, the only one of them with a reasonable amount of space to organise this. Other than Yoongi, he is also the only one who lives alone.

Namjoon doesn't need to ask them which one seems to be the better option. Hana and Yoongi are getting further and further, closer to absolute certainty of Hana's protection. But Jimin doesn't give in, and Taehyung is too scared of losing Hana to give up.

Namjoon was expecting it to be this way. He didn't want to tell Jimin and Taehyung that Hana and Yoongi's plan is better, so he's left them to try and prove him wrong. Occasionally they'll pipe up with an idea, but most of the time it won't work.

"What about a location tracking rune?" Jimin asks.

"I'm not a witch, I don't know how to work those things," Namjoon replies.

"Do we know a witch?" Taehyung asks.

"Do you?" Namjoon retorts.

It goes back and forwards like this, and so far Hana and Yoongi have created such a complex protection bind rune that she will be protected from all gods. Now they are just trying to figure out how she should have it on her.

After a few hours, Taehyung gives up, moving over to see how Yoongi and Hana are going. They have decided to write the bind rune on her skin with a marker so the sigil can't be seen or removed. It's a very intricate design.

"Wow, that looks really good," Taehyung eyes it, "Can we get that tattooed after all this?"

It's a very complex bind rune combined with intense protection symbols from a variety of other pantheons. They have also added banishing and repelling elements. With this, Z shouldn't be able to read her, possess her, or use any powers on her. Hopefully.

"I mean, it's the same sigils and runes this protection necklace is made from," Yoongi explains, "And we know this works,"

Jimin glares at each of them in turn. Finally, his eyes land on Hana.

"Are you really going to do this?" Jimin asks quietly. Hana turns to look at him, her eyes full of sadness as she sighs. She moves towards him and takes the seat Taehyung was in. She leans in for a hug, pulling him towards her.

"I need to," Hana mutters, laying her head on his shoulder, "We need to save Seokjin,"

Jimin breathes a deep, shaky breath as he wraps his arms around her, burying his face into her neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so scared... I don't want to lose you," Jimin murmurs.

Namjoon taps his foot impatiently, watching all this unfold. He wants to step forward and pull them apart, but he knows he needs to get used to her hugging her friends. She hugs everyone, and he needs to understand that.

"Anyway, Jimin," Yoongi clears his throat, getting Jimin's attention. They pull apart, moving towards Yoongi.

"Yeah?" Jimin asks, frowning.

"What do you think?" Yoongi gestures to the sigil.

"Will it work?" He asks.

"Of course," Yoongi replies.

"That's all I need to know," Jimin replies.

"Alright, where should we put it?" Yoongi asks.

"Shoulder blades?" Jimin asks.

"Stomach?" Taehyung asks.

The more they suggest, the more Hana blushes.

"Y-Yah, you guys aren't writing on me in those areas!" She snaps.

"Well, it's gotta be hidden," Namjoon says firmly, taking a seat at the table, "Shoulders would be less intrusive,"

"Sounds good," Taehyung agrees. Hana pouts slightly before nodding, avoiding eye contact.

"Namjoon," Yoongi grins wickedly, "You're the best artist here, you draw it,"

"Huh?" Namjoon blushes, "No, I'm not,"

"What?" Hana blushes as well. They look at each other before looking away. Sure, Namjoon has been enjoying teasing her, but this is too much even for him.

"Sounds good," Taehyung smirks, catching on to Yoongi's plan.

"Here you go," Jimin picks up Yoongi's laptop, passing it to Namjoon.

"Don't forget this," Yoongi passes him a marker, "I'm sure Hana wants some privacy,"

All three of them gesture upstairs expectantly.

Namjoon looks at Hana hesitantly, waiting for her reaction. She is staring between the three guys with a look of annoyance. After a moment she sighs, turns around, and begins heading upstairs. Flustered, Namjoon looks back at the guys, silently cursing their existence, gesturing at them aggressively.

Yoongi, Taehyung and Jimin silently laugh, dramatically pointing at Namjoon's expression while telling him to go.

Namjoon follows her upstairs into his room. He opens the door to find it empty. Sighing with relief, he starts setting up the laptop on the bed, trying to think of the best way to do this.

"Okay, I'm ready,"

Namjoon looks up at Hana's voice. She is wearing a hoodie backwards, the zipped side on her back. She has managed to zip it up halfway, so it covers most of her. He smiles, pointing towards the bed so she will sit down. She scurries over, sitting with her back facing him.

He shuffles closer, unzipping it a little more so he can see all of her shoulders.

This is not sensual; this is not sexual. This is fine. It's fine.

He starts planning out the placement, trying to not touch her too much. If it's only the marker, maybe she will be more comfortable?

Once it is all planned out, he places the marker on her skin. It's hard to draw something so intricate when hovering over the area with one hand, especially with her moving slightly. The marker must be tickling her.

"Stop moving," Namjoon mutters.

"I can't help it," Hana snickers, "It's so cold,"

Namjoon grabs her shoulder, spreading his fingers so he can keep her still.

"I'm going to mess it up," Namjoon murmurs. Hana stops moving and responding, but he can feel that she is tense under his fingers.

"W-Why didn't we use a stamp?" Hana murmurs.

"Didn't you see the design? It's too big," Namjoon chuckles, "If you stay still, I'll get it done quickly,"

"I am still," Hana retorts, sounding annoyed, "I could start wiggling,"

She waits until the marker isn't on her skin before wiggling in place, giggling as Namjoon grumbles in response.

"YAH!"

Suddenly, Namjoon grabs her with one arm, picking her up slightly and moving her. She looks down, realising she is sitting between his legs. His arm is still wrapped around her, pressing her against him so he is looking down at her shoulders. His legs are encasing her, holding her in place. The marker is back on her skin, startling her again.

"Now you can't move," Namjoon chuckles.

Namjoon would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying this, and he is glad she can't see his blushing face. Hana, however, has a very distinct flustered voice.

He continues drawing the design, keenly aware of their closeness and the fact that Hana is not pushing him away. After a while, she starts relaxing a little. This only makes him happier.

Eventually, it is done. It really is an intricate sigil.

"Do you want to show the others, or...?" Namjoon asks, unwrapping his limbs from hers. She shakes her head.

"No, no way," She chuckles, "Can I... get dressed now?"

Namjoon smirks, cocking his eyebrow at her.

"You mean get changed? You are technically dressed," Namjoon comments, grinning as she blushes more.

"Stop being a perv," She hits his leg, "I meant... it won't rub off or anything?"

"No, you'll be fine," he rubs her back with his hand before showing it to her, "See? Not even a smudge,"

Pouting, she stands up and rushes out of the room, leaving Namjoon to laugh at her retreating back.

So cute... if only you would understand me.

If only you believed me. 

(A/N) 🫰🫰🫰

I love the little cute interactions RM gets with Hana, it's so cute. Definitely in my top 10 fave moments from this story.