✪9✪

Jungkook, Sarah and Hoseok were gone within the blink of an eye. My eyes landed on the little grey teddy bear which Jin had given me as a birthday present when I was six years old and my hands reached out involuntarily to touch it. As I fondled with the small red bow on the nape of Little Jin’s neck, I felt Seokjin slide up to me in the dark and touch my arm.

“I didn’t expect you to still have it.”

I blinked up at him. “Little Jin is the only thing I like more than you, of course I kept him!”

“Little Jin?” Yoongi snorted.

“I named the bear when I was six, cut me some slack, you old goat!”

Jin placed his hands on either side of me as he stared me down. His nose brushed mine and his breath was hot. “So you like the bear more than me?”

I pushed him off and cuddled my toy. “Definitely.”

Jin clutched his chest in mock pain. “Ah, to be jealous of a stuffed animal!”

“Shut up, pretty boy.”

I grabbed my backpack from the floor and put Little Jin in it, just as thudding sounds were heard from outside. A few yells and bangs later, the door budged a few centimetres to reveal a narrow gap.

“Yoongi,” I called to the boy. “Will you take defence?”

He blinked lazily at me. “Sure.”

I smiled gratefully at him. “Don’t use your powers except when absolutely necessary. We don’t want them to know we have a fire-thrower.”

“Okay.”

“No one survives,” Jin stared pointedly at me.

I rubbed my knife on my palm. “I have a brother to avenge. I’m not letting anyone get away.”

“He gave the doll to you when you were six? How long have you guys known each other?” Yoongi asked incredulously, his cat-like eyes wide.

“You’re still stuck on that?” I groaned out loud while rolling my eyes.

“Clearly.”

“I’ve known him since I was three.”

“How’d you meet him?”

“The ‘him’ is right here, you know,” Jin muttered grumpily.

Yoongi and I ignored him. I considered not answering the question but I had nothing to lose. “He saved me from drowning.”

“Drowning?”

“Yeah. My parents were trying to drown me in a tank of alcohol.”

“Your parents-?”

“Ah, look who is here,” I glared at the ebony-haired man who finally stumbled in, whose eyes widened on seeing me. He opened his mouth and closed it before looking at the doorway.

A split second later I jammed my knife in his throat and the man wordlessly collapsed, blood issuing out of his neck. I slowly stepped back.

“You know that man?” Yoongi asked.

“Hm.” How would I not know the man who burnt my brother? Who carried the blazing stick and set the hay over which Matt was tied on fire? Having a photographic memory meant I didn’t forget anything. It was both a blessing and a curse.

“Can I just burn them all?” Yoongi whined, wrinkling his nose as footsteps were heard.

“You know what,” I turned to him. “Go for it.”

Jin raised his eyebrows slightly but didn’t say anything.

“Wait, seriously?”

Armed people burst into the room like confetti.

“You should burn them,” I told him quietly. “I’m not going to do anything more.”

The click of bullets sliding into place was heard as the men readied their guns, their faces masks of cruel determination. They were emotionless puppets who didn’t care that they were killing young boys and girls everyday, just because they were afraid that we were stronger than them.

They didn’t deserve to die quickly with a stab to the throat.

A slightly crazy grin later, scorching heat flowed out of Yoongi’s palms. Roaring fire blew over the shrieking men as they dived for cover and tried to escape, only to find that the door was locked.

They hollered and pleaded, and I did nothing.

I watched the last painful moments of twenty-seven men as they perished in the fire. I was sweating profusely, my eyeballs were burning from the brightness but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I recognised fifteen of those cruel-hearted men to be the leaders that were involved in Matt’s death.

How ironic but how fitting that they should die in a fire too, burnt to death, helpless and alone.

***

“Hello?” My voice sounded weary and tired as it echoed slightly in the call.

“Hello Joan, are you’ll okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Anyone hurt?”

“No. No injuries.”

“Thank God,” Jungkook’s sigh was deep.

“Where are you? You guys are fine too right?”

“We’re nearing the pub house and we’re okay too. Stopped for a bit so Hobi could pee.”

“Hobi?” I giggled. “It’s cute.”

Jungkook hummed over the line. “Hoseok’s parents and sister called him that.”

“Aw. Sweet,” I gushed. “We’ll be at the house in an hour.”

“An hour? That’s not long. Are you planning to fly here or something?”

“Jin’s car is parked around half an hour away. Once we get to it, he can drive us home.”

“Okay. Stay safe.”

“You too. Message me when you enter the house. Lock the door, Jin has the keys.”

“Okay.”

A short silence followed. “Jungkook?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not hanging up.”

“Neither are you.”

More silence.
“Did you…did Jin, um, did anything happen with him?”

“What do you think?” I asked softly.

“Oh.”

“You’ll find someone better, Kookie. Don’t worry. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for.”

“I want hugs.”

“I am hugging you in my mind, can you feel it?”

“Joan,” he whined. “I’m serious. I feel alone.” Crap, I felt terrible. I left him when it was an emotional and trying time, of course he felt lonely and abandoned.

“I’m so sorry, Jungkook.”

“Can we…could we cuddle tonight? If Jin is okay?”

“He’ll be fine. Even if he isn’t, tonight I want to sleep squishing your cute face.”

“You mean it?”

“Definitely. I will hold you until you feel happy again. Jungkook, if you want me around, then you don’t even have to ask. You can just jump on me and smother me with kisses. I honestly don’t mind.”

I could his chest vibrating with laughs. “Okay, Joan. I’ll hold you to it.”

“You do that, babe."

“Give me the phone!” I could hear sounds of scuffle from the other end.

“I’m talking to her, you blue-eyed pigeon!”

“I can see that. I want to talk to her too, so take your sweaty paws off it!”

“It’s my phone!”

“No one cares. Ask Hobi. Hobi does it matter?”

“Huh?”

“Exactly! Hand me the phone mister.”

Distant thuds echoed on the line.

“Hey, girl,” Sarah chirped happily.

“Hi. How many times have you tried to kill each other?”

“Roughly two dozen,” I could hear her bouncing on her feet as she skipped ahead. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk.”

“No?”

“No. We stopped at the Pizza place because I got hungry again and apparently it is not open 24/7, can you believe it?” her outraged voice snapped, scaring several birds.

“Wow, scandalous, I’m sure.”

“Indeed. Anyways, there were these two absolutely delicious guys packing up outside, you should have seen them! They were so polite and so, so good looking that it was illegal!” Sarah dreamily muttered. “One had this rich deep voice like honey and his smile was like those boxes in which you store grains, but his eyes were so beautiful! They shined like the stars. And the other one had these adorable mushy cheeks that I wanted to squeeze so, so bad and he stumbled around everywhere like a new born puppy! Joan, my eyes have been blessed!”

“Wow, um, congratulations?” I asked uncertainly.

“I gave them my number!”

“You have a phone?”

“Correction,” I could hear her grin evilly. “I gave them Jungkook’s number.”

“Oh no, you didn’t,” I stopped in my tracks.

“Did too!”

“He is going to kill you, babe. He’ll use his muscles for once and smash you like a mosquito.”

“I’m sure he’d try. But alas! What good would it do if he was unable to see me?”

“Oh, you devious fox,” I grinned, impressed. “You’re my inspiration.”

“Of course I am. So anyways, those boys are new here so I told them that if they wanted anything at all, they could just give us a ring! Amazing, huh? I’m brilliant!”

“Sure.”

“Give me back my phone! Hello, Joan? It’s Jungkook again, my battery is
is nearly over, I’m going to have to cut your fangirling session.”

“Just five minutes more!” I could hear Sarah plead. “I need to tell her how the guy’s eyes became these crescent-shaped holes when he smiled and-”

“NO! Bye, Joan, talk to you later!”

My phone beeped, signalling the end of the conversation. I grinned and gazed up at the twinkling stars in the inky blue sky, my fatigue forgotten.

I barely knew Sarah, Hoseok and Yoongi but I already felt such a strong connection to each of them. Even Yoongi who not so long ago, had tried to fry me. Honestly, having friends was the most amazing feeling in the world.

┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻
A/N_

BE OHMYGOD BE OHMYGOD OHMYGOD
ITS FRICKING AMAZING And BRILLIANT AND I CRIED MY EYES OUT
I SOBBED SO MUCH OMG
I AM IN AWE I CAN'T BELIEVE JK- THE MULTITALENTED GOD- DIRECTED THE MV AND THE SONG OMG THE SONG
THE SONGS*
DIS-EASE IS A FRICKING MASTERPIECE I DARE YOU TO CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE

SEE THIS SMILE? THIS WAS WHEN I DIED, YOU HEAR ME? HOBI HOW DARE YOU KILL ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION
OH WAIT
YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION KEEP KILLING ME LIKE THIS I DON'T FRICKING MIND

Stream Life Goes On y'all.