Finally our orders arrive as my brother starts digging in with a wide smile plastered on his face. Even if he is older, I still think he can be my younger brother considering all of his habits.

Sometimes we hum with the song that is playing in the background and giggle. As usual I open my bottles of supplements and medicines and gulp them one by one.

But then I hear the same news flashing in the background.

"An abandoned laboratory that is located between the Black forest has been put back to work after its maintenance. Several researches will be going on related to different aspects. During the inauguration, our country's president himself attended the ceremony."

The television anchor screams in excitement again and again as I groan in annoyance.

How many times have they shown the news already?

"It's the 5th time already," I annoyingly mumble while taking out the pink pill from the container. With a gulp, I let the pill slide down my throat as I cut the cake in two pieces and engulf the larger part.

Not getting any response from my brother— I lift my head at Jungkook only to see his facial expressions stiffening up. The beads of sweat starts forming on his forehead as his pupils dilates. Keeping his stare, all of a sudden his grip weakens on the spoon which falls down with a loud clink.

Feeling quite concerned already, I shake him by his hand.

"Jungkook? Are you okay?" I call his name and never in my thoughts I expected him to flinch away from my touch. While looking at me with those eyes whose meaning I can't interpret— he huffs out and shuts his eyes close while rubbing his hands on his face.

"You okay?"

"Y- yeah, I am."

He confirms, trying to ensure me when his pallid face screams otherwise.

"Let's go home-"

But my cell phone rings and vibrates in my pocket— instantly breaking the precious moment between a brother and sister.

"Yeah?"

And the only reply I get is some heavy grunts.

"Are you okay-"

"Come at the office soon, Jade!"

With that said, my ear is filled with beeps indicating that the person has hanged up.

"Duty calls?" Jungkook asks, now looking comparatively much better than the previous moments as I nod— my eyes still fixed on his face in pure concern.

"Go Jade, rock it on," Throwing me a thumbs up, he waves his hand to shoo me away. "I need to finish these first." Pulling my plate containing half piece of cake, he places another bite in his mouth and moans in ecstasy.

I amusingly chuckle. "Okay, brother, goodbye."

"Hey, at least take the coffee!"

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"Hey J!"

Once I enter the hall of my office, a loud and cheery voice greets me from my neighbouring desk.

The boy stands up from his seat— revealing his constantly happy face as his cheekbones become more prominent when he grins and his eyes forms pretty rainbows.

"Hey, what was that call about?" I remove my purse from my shoulder as he runs towards my side and helps me to take off my coat as well. Feeling quite strange yet oddly flustered, I grab his hand— stopping him midway.

"Spill the tea, Hobi."

"Oh, haha, it actually is nothing but.." Hoseok suspiciously laughs and scratches his head.

"Is it about a case?"

"No, not the case but actually it's for my own interest," He shyly replies while turning away to the other side.

"What? Say it in words Hoseok, you know I am bad in interpreting expressions and emotions," I groan and walk up to my seat.

Fixing the case files and other materials on the desk, I sort out the completed files in order to prepare a month end report which is actually a nerve-wrecking job for me.

"You know that laboratory which has been recently inaugurated, I mean according to media," He explains with his typical hand actions as I twirl the pen between my fingers, giving continuous and due attention to his words.

"According to media? So you think it has been put on work even before the inauguration?"

He instantly clicks his fingers and stops rotating my antique paper weight up and down, I amusingly look back at his face to see if I really did hit the jackpot.

"Are you serious?"

"I swear on my cheekbone dimples."

"That is cruel for me, no!" My clutched fists sends a smack on his arm and him being the over dramatic boy— he pouts and whines.

"All serious, Jade."

"What do you want then? Sneaking in to inspect the inner surroundings of the laboratory which is guarded with high tech powers that are no topic for kidding right?" I scoff and roll my eyes towards the coffee machine. "I mean they seriously are scientists, Hoseok, they probably know all the ways for intriguing."

"Sadly enough, yes. I am planning on doing that."

"I don't have enough money for bailing you out of the prison," Pouring the hot liquid inside my particular doraemon mug, I roll my way back to my desk again.

"Get ready, we are heading in 2 hours."

Ah, Hoseok.

With that said he exits the office, leaving me all alone in the huge empty hall. Apparently, all the detectives are long gone on their break— their files completed for submission as mine are still hanging around like ghosts.

"2 hours then," I sigh while mumbling as I stretch my hands by raising them up in the air.

2 hours to complete the 15 pending files.

Habitual.

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"And we are heading to..?"

"The laboratory!" Hoseok chimes while exclaiming our destination's name. The chill in the air is freezing cold as I rub my palms over my arms to keep myself warm.

It's not even winters yet its super windy.

"Looks like it is going to rain soon," Hoseok announces the obvious and my response to his saying is a loud smack on his back. "Its night too. Hoseok I am telling you, lets head back while we still have time."

"Scared much Jadey?" He smugly questions with his hands now sprawled over my shoulders— a trick he always applies if he wants to convince me. Shrugging off his heavy limbs, I scoff directly on his face.

"What if I say that I am? Not like you are gonna be of any help."

"I will protect you."

Jade, control.

Don't ruin his little bubble of confidence.

But the little chortle leaves my lips even without my own control, what more worse is directly on his face— completely ruining his pride moment.

No way he is even going to try to fight off the danger. He is that type of person who will scream his throat out while calling for help and if no one comes, he will run away with his precious life.

Which actually means he is of no use and eventually I will have to step up.

"Jade, you-"

!!!

His horrified expressions kicks in once the loud sound of thunder strikes within the clouds— immediately bringing water with it. While we still are in the way to the laboratory— now its past that time where we can still turn around and call our investigation off.

Thunder emerging over our heads with rain wetting our clothes— its small durational showers and the path we are going on which is filled with rotten and dead leaves and probably walking in the centre of the forest brings me no calm.

This is terrible and now that I am shaking, my only source of heat— my endurance is soon going to die down.

My endurance power is too weak for a normal person, no matter how hard I work over building it back again, coma still has affected my life from every aspect.

"Shit," I curse under my breathe but Hoseok did hear it between the constant obstacles in our way. "What?"

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

"What the hell happened, Jade?"

"I forgot to tell Jungkook that I am coming home late tonight. Shit, he is going to be so mad."

The idea of calling him now suddenly emerges in my head as I take out my phone from my pant pocket and open its lock through the waterproof cover.

I glance up at the notification bar, only to witness the presence of no bars.

No network.

"Seriously, why is this happening to me?"

"Lets go further, may be we will find network there?" The boy beside me advices and to be honest there is no other option to choose than complying to his plan.

We walk and walk, don't know for how long but now my shoes are dripping of the wet mud and grit and just everything that is truly disgusting. Hoseok seems oddly unfazed by the mess of his clothes and the horrible and terrorizing path that we are walking on.

Of course we have gotten the combat training too, but what if a mastermind jumps between our path?

Jade, you idiot, its not helping the situation at all.

A faint, quite a faint border of the building comes in my vision— it is so hazy that I can even consider it as my hallucination too because the image I have thought of the laboratory is a huge, abandoned one which was neglected because of a mishappening or two.

But when a yelp of joy emerges from Hobi's throat— I realize that it indeed is real.

We have finally found the building.

When the building seems to be a few meters away from us— being captivated by it is an understatement.

But then something rustles around our side due to which me and Hoseok instantly stop.

As usual, Hoseok tries to hide behind me as my hand grazes around the cold surface of the knife's cover that is firmly attached to my waist. If that thing jumps on us, I won't take a second and finish it off.

Survival is the top priority, after all.

No matter how hard it will be, I have to do it because of 2 lives that have foolishly gotten themselves into this shit hole.

The movement subsides for a minute— me and Hoseok still in our fighting positions but when I realise that the sounds has stopped, I easy myself.

"All your fault, Hoseok."

"What? I am sorry but it is a normal detective tendency," He defends yet with terror dripping from his voice.

"Fuck that tendency," I scoff under my breathe and scurry behind Hoseok— not an attempt to hide but only for investigation.

"I don't think it is going to stop any soon," Raising my hand up in the air, the drops of water falls on my fingers and dances their way down the ground, leaving a cold and refreshing feeling behind. It makes me feel happy and tension free.

"Jade I-"

But then he stops speaking.

"What Hoseok?"

Silence.

"Hoseok, continue please."

Silence.

"Hoseok? Your soul still there or not?"

Utter silence.

I ask him over a multiple times but still his response remains the same. Only sound that can be heard is the rain drops meeting the leaves of trees and the ground beneath us with a large force— nothing else.

"Hoseok-"

Just when I walk towards the position I was previously in to check Hoseok's condition, my eyes falls on him as a reflex, who was nowhere in my vision before and now is staring at me with his eyes wide open like he has seen a ghost or something.

What troubles me the most is just everything.

The way he appeared out of nowhere and is currently standing at the same place where those odd movements were seen before doesn't make it any better.

And such a boy— with a comparatively healthy fit, his shoes dripping from water, face ashen like a corpse but still those beautiful features outshine the pallidness.

Although the large hood of his raincoat seems to cover half of face yet I see those uneven eyelids that are looking ethereal— only thinking of that sends my world into a cyclone.

My heart starts beating faster— a speed that I have never felt before after recovering from coma. I don't understand what is going on, it is getting harder and harder to breathe as my chest goes up and down in swiftness that is scaring me as well as the unknown boy.

Needless to say, it's painful.

But once the black flashes starts appearing in my vision, I slump down with a large force only to meet the muddy ground beneath. My head is throbbing at a tremendous speed yet the visions doesn't subside— they keep on becoming hazy and the most strange thing is that this has never occurred before.

Even after waking up from coma— I was alright but now?

Is that boy responsible for my condition?

His eyes seems to widen even more than possible, he also tries to leap at me but Hoseok beats him to it. Just when he realises the situation, without turning his back at me, he runs away from the scene.

Who in the hell is he?