"Hyung! Oh my god, Is that you?" A over enthusiastic Jimin exclaimed when he spotted a very familiar man getting down from a black jeep, the man tall with slender legs, face devastatingly handsome with beautifully defined features- full pink lips, flawless skin and innocent almond eyes. 

The man when he heard his name being screamed out in the middle of a very busy village market, he whipped his head in that direction with panic filled eyes and glared at the hyped up shorter man. 

Jimin paid no heed to his hyung's glare and hopped his way like a bunny through the curious crowd and jumped on top of the man, the taller dropping his luggage to the ground to catch him and stabilize himself by trying to hold onto his giant ball of goofiness. 

Jimin nuzzled his face into his hyung's neck, happiness and nostalgia coursing through his veins as he took in the familiar jasmine scent of the older. It always feels forever when he couldn't see his cousin brother. The time span increased even further ever since the older had moved away to the city with his family. Jimin visits the city every two years and stays there for 2 months before he has return back to his home, here at the village. 

He pulled back from the hug and pinched his hyung's cheeks, loving the way they reddened immediately. Jimin giggled, " Jin hyung" he smiled stupidly. 

The said man couldn't help but break his stern façade into a soft smile, two small dimples appearing at the tips of his smile, "Jiminie" he sighed, adjusting his grip on the younger since he refused to get down, "You will never change huh? Shouting is a big no no in public Jimin ah" 

Jimin rolled his eyes and smacked Jin's already red neck before getting off his hyung's firm hold. 

"Boo hoo, you can't blame me hyung. It's been two years since I last saw your ugly face." he laughed out loud when he saw how Jin's eyes widened almost comically. 

Seokjin rolled his sleaves up as he puffed his cheeks up, him looking nothing short of a fluffed up hamster. 

"Yah, you saw me last week on video call you brat! Come here!" 

The old people in the village chuckled as they watched the taller man chase the shorter one, who was surprisingly really strong. Jimin had picked up Jin's two heavy bags on his shoulders and he was running off with a red Jin chasing behind him screaming murder.  

The village felt even more lively with Jin's presence. Although most of the young children and adults don't recognise him, the old grandpas and grannies do remember the child Jin once was. And oh boy did they love how cheerful and perfect the boy had grown up to be. 

Seokjin was beautiful inside out, soft and gentle and one the most educated individuals in the whole village. 

The villagers looked at each other with a small smile on their faces. 

Their Jin was back. 

******************

Seokjin let out a satisfied moan as he jumped straight into bed and cuddled himself under the soft baby pink covers, his tense tired body from the journey, feeling lax under the warmth of the bed. He wore a dark blue sweatshirt paired with beige colored half pants, hair semi wet from the warm bath he just took. 

After heaving a tired sigh, he looked towards his left and he couldn't help his ugly snort at how his cousin was basically inhaling chocolates he had brought from the main city. 

Jimin glared at him, his mouth smeared with chocolate, "Hyung, these chocolates are orgasmic" he licked his fingers clean while saying so, making Jin grimace in disgust, "Yah! leave some for your parents!"

Jimin clicked his tongue in annoyance but he did what he was told. Gently wrapping the plastic wrappers around the half eaten chocolates, he packed them in a cloth bag that he had brought to his hyung's house. 

After washing his hands in the bathroom, Jimin emerged out of the bathroom with a cheeky smile to which Jin's smile immediately disappeared. 

"No no no! Jimin I swear if you ju-ooof!"

Jin grunted in pain when he felt all air in his body pushing out when his cousin screamed 'headshot' and jumped on him like a raging bull, only to snuggle into him, arms and legs wound tightly around his lean body. 

After trying to shove the younger off him, and probably even the bed, Jin gave up on the leech.

"This is the proper welcome hyung! Some rituals should never change" he winked playfully before snuggling further into Jin's body. Seokjin couldn't help the smile on his face. Jimin had always been a touchy person. That's how he shows his affection whereas Jin was and still is a very awkward and shy guy. But he can never say no to his younger brother whom he loves so much. 

Playing with Jimin's soft golden locks, he relaxed into the warmth of his home, "When is your fiancé aka my best friend coming to meet me ?"

Jin could vividly feel the excitement bubbling through the younger's body. Jimin blushed as he showed his left hand to his hyung, the blue sapphire looking beautiful as ever on his small yet manly hands, "Yoongi said he'll be here in an hour or so, he's on his way. Oh, and he's bringing food that mom made for all of us."

"Can this day get any more perfect. I missed Aunty Min's food. I should meet her as soon as possible" Seokjin sighed as he reminiscenced his childhood before he went to Seoul. Seokjin, Jimin and Yoongi had gone through so many obstacles and yet after almost two decades, their friendship is as strong as ever. Distance was never a factor or a problem, although they did miss each other a lot. They tried their level best to meet up as much as possible. 

Yoongi and Jimin had opened up a school in this village and they were practically loved by all villagers. Seokjin on the other hand chose to learn herbal medicines and pursue his medical degree at Seoul. Now that he had become a full time herbal doctor, he wanted to return back to his hometown to open his very own clinic and continue his research here. 

The mountains are knows to habitat over 500 species of herbal plants, a treasure for Jin. 

After talking for 10 mins about their lives, both of them had fallen asleep in each arms, the warmth making their body lax with sleep.

A warm calloused hand threaded softly through Seokjin's soft black hair and the older couldn't help but sigh at the feeling. It feels just like home when his mother would whisper soft words and put him to sleep. 

"Hey hyungie, I missed you. Glad to have you back here." Yoongi softly whispered and hugged Jin by cradling his head gently on his chest, careful to not wake Jimin up. Jimin on the other hand smiled slightly in his sleep as the man nuzzled into Jin's shoulder, mumbling incoherent words.

Jin was about to fall asleep with all the warmth surrounding him, making him feel fuzzed up but it all came crashing down when his best friend chuckled. Squinting one eye open he glared up at the man next to him. Yoongi had twinkles in his eyes as he covered his ears and said," You might wanna wake up Jin. Jimin's drooling on your sweatshirt" his deep voiced whisper snickered against his ears and that was enough to make Jin snap fully awake. 

His eyes locked with the warm but amused ones of Yoongi who smiled his gummy smile at him. Seokjin was about to say something but then Jimin had to sneeze on his face in his sleep making Seokjin scream bloody murder. 

Both the men swore they saw crows flying away in fear. 

"Stop glaring at me, you asked for it" Seokjin snickered as he poured hot coffee into three mugs in the kitchen. It was an open one, so it was very easy to spot a feather and cotton covered Jimin with a laughing Yoongi behind him trying to pluck them one by one off his head. 

Jimin licked his teeth as he growled back, but Jin knew he meant no harm and that it was all bark with no bite, "Yeah well, your only cousin was trying to get some sleep. You're a bully hyung." Jimin kicked his legs like a child throwing tantrum before looking back at his fiance and he pouted, "Baby, I give you all the rights in the world to throw my hyung off a ship" he pouted.

Yoongi smiled before leaning down and pecking his pout away and he resumed back to pluck all the stray cotton off the younger's head, "We're soulmates Jimin ah, can't do that. I'm with hyung on this one" 

Jimin huffed a sigh before looking at the man in the kitchen and he couldn't help the small smile that etched his face. 

He gently shook his head before murmuring to himself, "Good thing I missed this idiot. Why is he so cute? The man's almost 30"

Yoongi leaned down to plant a wet kiss to Jimin's cheek before whispering in his ear, "Jin never ages. Although, we would look good in our old ages. We'll claim Jin as our child then" 

"Idiot"

Jin gently applied the green herbal paste on the burn wound on a whimpering boy and he smiled when the boy squinted his eyes open one by one when all he felt was a cooling sensation over the burn on his right thigh. The herbal paste felt like ice and it was just what he needed. 

"Feels good right?" Seokjin said cheerfully, pride swelling in his chest when the young lad gave a toothy grin back. 

Securely bandaging the affected area tightly, Jin removed his white surgical gloves and crouched down in front of the boy who was sitting on the bed inside his clinic, "How about you promise me and your mom right there never to play with fire?"

All the happiness seemed to ebb away at the mention of the word 'fire' making Jin question himself whether he hit a sore spot.

The child, not more that 15, had tears in his eyes, " I did not play! I was trying to protect my calf! But he took her away"

Okay, Jin thought, this confuses things.

Raising an eyebrow at the child but face ever so soft and gentle, he asked again, "Protecting your calf? Who took her away darling? Wolves?"

"Ah Dr. Kim!" The mother intervened, looking so nervous and body tense, "Thank you for taking care of my boy. You're a life saver. We w-would love to s-sit and chat but there's work to do. Hajoon ah, let's go"

The boy looked desperate and pleading making Jin want to intervene and ask as to what exactly happened but the way the mother dragged her son away bewildered Jin. 

Back at home when he narrated the whole story to Jimin and Yoongi while cooking their dinner, he had noticed the concern and fear that coursed through their eyes. 

Seokjin was never a quitter. Life at Seoul was tough especially since he came from a very small village. But he managed to accustom himself to everything. He didn't make much friends though since he was a very shy boy but people and children his age loved him because he was the sweetest boy one will ever meet.

Not to mention studious.

He did know that living in a village is really tough, especially since it's surrounded by mountains and its wilderness. He would keep his eyes and ears open- his village was a small one. A single rumor can spread like a wild fire. 

So when he first got to know about Hajoon's calf going missing, he found himself in a dilemma and a shock when he found out such occurrences were very common. It's been happening ever since he had left for the city, one old man told him while he was smocking weed. 

"And no one bothered to stop this? I mean, you said once someone goes to the mountains, they never return. How can you people be so indifferent about this!?" 

The old man, with eyes withering away and a toothless tired smile, he replied softly, "The holy tiger spirit Jin ah. We worship him. We sacrifice so that he can bless our village. We had stopped once when there was a famine here. And trust me, that day was the worst. The tiger spirit would usually feast on our animals. But 10 years back, it took some of our brave men and women. Never anger the holy spirit. When we had offered him 10 of our cows, we were blessed within the next week. Beautiful rains to quench the thirst of the whole village, fruitful crops and new lives were reborn."

Seokjin felt chills run down his spine as he heard the old man say all these brutal facts as if he was merely stating the weather. 

As a science student, Seokjin knows that there's no such thing as the tiger spirit. It was just a man eating tiger looming and haunting around the village. 

And he needs to do something about this before it gets out of hand. He has to reach out to the tiger before it reaches out to him, Jimin, Yoongi or for that matter, anyone from his village. 

Seokjin had never seen his cousin so serious and so furious before.

"You will stay out of this Jin and I fucking mean it" Jimin seethed but Seokjin wasn't going to back down. Not when he felt so betrayed. How could his own people keep such a horrendous and huge information away from him?

People were loosing their lives, getting eaten alive by some ferocious animal and no one was batting a single eyelash at it. Who so ever were grieving their loss are forced to swallow down their anger and sadness. He can't just sit there and watch people or animals disappear. 

"Can you even hear yourself Jimin? When did you become so heartless? I thought better from you. Could have at least called someone from the police or the wildlife helplines to capture the man eating tiger!" Jin's face was red and he knew he was seconds away from sporting a headache. 

Jimin let out a frustrated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to collect himself because after all Jin was older to him by a good three years. 

"Hyung, please listen to me carefully and don't think about anything else. Okay? The thing in the mountain? It's not a tiger hyung. It's a spirit"

Seokjin had his mouth open in utter despair. They were educated people. Spirits and ghosts don't fucking exist, he wanted to scream and Jimin knew that his hyung was doing everything in his will to keep his anger at bay. 

Yoongi spoke up next, voice serious and heavy as ever, "It's true hyung. It's been haunting us ever the same year you had left for the city. We have never seen it and whosoever have, never were seen alive again hyung. The tiger spirit leaves dead flowers over the person or the animal it wants to claim as his sacrifice and the whole village will do everything in its power to please him. I and Jimin have no say in this but I promise you, we don't indulge in such atrocious activities. We can't leave the village either hyung, we're cursed. The tiger spirit will do everything to bring you back where you belong"

Seokjin was speechless. 

He tried to convince himself that they're just brainwashed but hey, it's Yoongi we're speaking about. 

"We love you hyung and we cannot bare to lose you. So please just drop this matter. Don't anger the tiger spirit. We wake up everyday in fear as we anticipate when we will find those specific rotten carolina flowers on our doorstep. I beg you hyung, please drop the matter" Jimin hugged Jin tightly from behind and the oldest felt the wet tears on the crook of his neck. 

All that Jin felt was confusion...and desperation. 

Seokjin decided to sneak out one night when the village was dead asleep and silently followed a group of people who were busy taking their sacrifice of the month to the mountains. A baby deer this time. 

Not the smartest decision but he just had to get into the matter and see for himself.

Just who is the 'tiger spirit'?

Seokjin felt his heart bleed with how innocent the baby fawn looked, who was not more than a few weeks old. The fawn on the other hand was just utterly confused and reluctant as to why he was snatched away from his mother and dressed with dead flower garlands. 

It was over a mile walk and when they reached the entrance to the actual wilderness, Seokjin felt shivers run down his spine. He remembers every nook and corner of his village. Even this place. 

But never in his life did he feel so cornered and scared. 

The place reeked of something evil.

Something dead. 

The fawn whimpered as he was tugged harshly and pushed past the warning sign. Jin watched from behind the thick bushes as the deer wobbled on his weak legs trying to take in his new surroundings. 

One old man, the same old man Jin realised that had eerily told Jin the story, stepped forward and he bent down to his knees. All the rest 12 followed his lead. After praying words Jin had no idea what they meant, they got up and slowly left the scene, the fire in their hands slowly fading away as they walked farther and farther away. 

It wasn't long when he and the confused fawn were plunged into the pitch black darkness making Jin curse at himself. 

He should have just stayed home. 

Before he could even get up from his crouched position, he froze dead in his spot. 

A low growl echoed through the forest and for a moment Jin forgot how to breathe. His heart thundered against his chest and his vision swayed for a moment. 

He was feeling suddenly feeling breathless. 

Forcing himself to calm down, Jin slowly crouched back down to his initial position and made sure not to move an inch, his eyes dead ass staring at the fawn, who had definitely picked up that something was going to happen.

Something horrible. 

Wearing his night vision goggles, Jin placed his hand tightly over his mouth to prevent any sort of unintentional noises escaping from him.

He wanted to do a lot of things.

Primary being taking the fawn in his embrace and console the poor thing.

The trees were overgrown, soil freezing cold and moist. Insects crawled here and there and Jin shivered at that thought. He always hated the dark because it's nothing but the unknown. Anything can happen and you'll never know what hit you.

He's scared but his feet plant him immobile to the ground. He cannot move.

The inexperienced fawn raised his head in alarm, looking frantically around the darkness trying miserably to channelise the source of the threat. He let out pleading noises of fear that made Jin want to crawl deep into his grave and never come back.

Seokjin felt guilt pool in his stomach. He wasn't man enough to save the poor baby. His fear overpowered him.

Seokjin wiped the cold sweat dripping down his chest and his face as he brought out his polaroid camera. With trembling hands, he raised it to his eye level and clicked a few pictures silently.

Crunch...

Seokjin let out a loud gasp as he felt something behind him. It was the faintest of touch near his neck. And Jin swore he felt a warm breath breathe against his nape, just by his ears.

And before he could look back and attack with the dagger he was clutching with all his might, his head snapped to his front when he helplessly saw how the fawn just straight out collapsed out of nowhere.

And Jin's mouth remained open in a silent scream as he watched how the fawn was tugged backwards, blood as deep as the night seeping from his neck.

There was a moment of silence before he found a feeble amount of strength in his body, Jin scrambling up hastily only to fall again back.

He clawed at the hard ground, nails bleeding when he scratched too hard on the sharp stones.

"Jin..."

Jin couldn't breathe.

His nightmare...

It was back.

All these years what he thought he had escaped, it's all coming back.

"We can't leave the village either hyung, we're cursed. The tiger spirit will do everything to bring you back where you belong" Yoongi's voice echoed through his brain, so much so it was borderline painful.

And before his body actually gave away, Jin swore he saw two yellow beaded eyes just a few metres away from him, canines dripping with blood, the fawn's head in its mouth.

"You're back"

A/n:- Chapter updated! Sorry I took so long. Next chapter will be updated as soon as possible. My hands just can't stop typing. I need to see Taejin action 😁

Till then TNTies 💜