Kim Namjoon considered himself to be a man of culture.

Coming from a family of marine biologists, you could say that his interest for sea creatures was almost his nature. He frequently visited aquariums with his parents throughout his childhood and teenage years. The sharks were his baby sitters and the crabs were his best friends. Thus he never really enjoyed sea food, but that's beside the point.

Namjoon hasn't been feeling all that well lately.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor?" His mother asked. A fork laid elegantly in her right hand as she took a bite of the eggs his father had made for them that morning. She spoke with her mouth full. "Because I don't mind taking you there today before your internship at that aquarium. I don't want you to feel unwell during it, it won't be a good look to your superiors."

Namjoon caught himself before he rolled his eyes, "No Mother, I'm sure I'll be fine. I just want to get it done and over with. If I still feel unwell then I can take myself to the hospital."

His father stayed quiet at the end of the table, spooning the eggs into his mouth as he read a file Namjoon knew nothing about. Namjoon doesn't know much about his parents other than the fact that they were marine biologists and that they really valued outsider approval. Hell, he probably spent more time with the dolphins at their family aquarium than his own parents. It was an odd feeling really, he lived with his parents, had breakfasts and dinners and birthdays and Christmases with them, but he felt like he barely knew them. It was almost like they weren't even his real parents.

The closest thing he could use to compare his relationship with his parents is trying to establish an emotional connection to the drywall in his bedroom. Thus he felt  incredibly lonely for most of his life. Animals though, specifically marine animals, filled that hole in his heart. Filled the hole where the love and connection from his parents should've been. It was really the only reason he followed his parent's footsteps in marine biology in the first place.

A quiver in the muscle of his thigh brought Namjoon out of his thoughts once again. He's been feeling uneasy for the last week and a half. It started off as a small pit in his stomach, a feeling that began to grow until it took over his whole body. It wasn't a bad feeling per se, rather, a feeling of anticipation, as if some sort of event was rapidly approaching and Namjoon had no way of knowing what it was. The feeling had taken over his muscles, they were sore for most of the day and would spasm late at night. Against his better judgement, he had even resorted to searching up his symptoms on WebMD and surprisingly, absolutely nothing had come up.

And as a result, Namjoon was beginning to think he was going crazy. Which did not help lessen any of the symptoms he had been having throughout the week.

And out of all the days he'd been experiencing these medical anomalies, today had hit him the worst.

The muscle spasms that were once reduced to the night hours were now slipping into the early morning and Namjoon had a sneaking suspicion that it'll continue throughout the rest of the day. This would be a problem.

Not only did he have school today, he also had that fucking internship.

And as Namjoon shakily walked up the stairs, his muscles quivering and clenching. He could only imagine that today will not work out in his favour

*****

Namjoon's learned that he hates being right.

Not only had the pain and spasms in his muscles persisted throughout the day while he was in school. It had also gotten worse in intensity the closer he got to the aquarium. Still, Namjoon persisted, he'd rather die than miss his first day interning at this damn aquarium. If he can't get through this one he'll be forced to work at the one his parents own.

He'd rather not do that.

As Namjoon stepped through the door it felt as if the muscles in his chest were actually shivering. It was such an odd feeling that Namjoon actually stopped and stood at the door of the establishment before he willed himself the rest of the way inside.

The internship started with a tour of the aquarium with the other interns, maybe if he stayed towards the back of the group he could slip out and in when he needed to without being noticed. There was one problem though.

"Namjoon!" A soft voice said excitedly and Namjoon could hear footsteps creeping up behind him before he turned around to greet his friend.

"Jisoo!" Namjoon replied with a forced enthusiasm that went unnoticed by the shorter girl. Jisoo was his friend of 5 years, they had met at his parent's aquarium when Jisoo had asked him if she could try feeding the fish in the tanks. She also had a love for marine biology and the two teens developed a bond over that shared interest. As Namjoon and Jisoo spent more time together their bond had only strengthened, they encouraged and supported each other through thick and thin. To put it frankly, Namjoon didn't know what he'd do without her.

So she'd definitely notice if he went missing from his intern group.

He trusted her though, immensely, with his whole heart even. She could probably cover for him.

He checked the time.

5:30pm

The internship ended at 8:00pm. He had to tell her, besides it was just some muscle aches- no matter how weird his symptoms were- it was probably from something normal, like stress or something. No biggie.

"Listen Jisoo." Namjoon started, glancing over at the gathering group of interns and pulling her aside. "I'm not really feeling well today- well I haven't been feeling well this past week- but there was no way I was gonna stay home and miss this internship, so if I slip away during the tour to collect myself, would you be able to cover me? Only if they notice I'm not there."

Jisoo's eyes widened in concern, her arms coming up to hold his elbows gently. "Of course, but what's going on with you? How are you not feeling well... is it a cold?"

Namjoon shook his head, guiding them back to the intern group as they began to start their tour. "It's nothing too serious, don't worry about it. I'll just need a couple of minutes every once in a while and I'll be fine."

Jisoo nodded, patting Namjoon's back before looking over towards their tour guide and smiling at Namjoon's whispered 'Thank you.'.

Namjoon turned his head and followed the rest of the group from the back with Jisoo, ignoring how the muscles in his arms twitched and spasmed.

And honestly, Namjoon shouldn't have been surprised that he lasted 10 minutes before everything went to shit. They had just finished checking out where they kept all the crabs, discussing their anatomy for a couple of minutes before he felt his body twitch involuntarily. He checked the time again, the end of this internship couldn't come any sooner. 5:40pm.

Fuck.

The muscles in his legs squirmed, causing his knees to buckle as he almost fell to the floor. Jisoo was quick to notice though, catching him before his knees hit the ground. It wasn't long until his lungs felt as if they were shivering. He gasped quietly for air as Jisoo frowned heavily and her eyebrows meeting one another on her forehead.

"Oh my god, Joonie? Are you alright?" She whispered, trying not to catch the attention of the other interns a couple of metres in front of them.

Namjoon nodded, no he wasn't. But he didn't wanna worry Jisoo more than he already had. "I think I'm just gonna need to take a second before I can rejoin you guys. Stay here yeah?"

Jisoo nodded hesitently.

Namjoon smiled and backed up a little, keeping his eyes on the tour guide (who was faced away) and turning down the hallway. He waited until Jisoo could no longer see him before he began running down the empty hallway. He hadn't noticed that Jisoo had followed him instead.

He ran and ran, his arms aching and straining. Namjoon could feel his chest caving in on itself as he heaved breaths in and out. He felt the pressing need to run and keep running, to make sure no one could see him for whatever happened next.

He wasn't dying, Namjoon knew that. This was something else, something different.

Something he definitely couldn't do out in the open.

Namjoon found an empty janitor's closet in a secluded hallway and stumbled inside before all but slamming the door, walking into the middle of the room and finally falling to his knees.

He felt his arms burn and he looked down and gasped in horror as the skin and muscled moved and twisted. Namjoon could hear his bones pooping and his joint creaking as everything under his skin began to move out of place. His arms were morphing and it fucking hurt.

Namjoon's mind was racing and his head darted back and forth between both of his arms, his chests stuttering and his breath hyperventilating. "What the fuck?" He whispered and tears fell down his, dropping against the twisting skin of his arms. What's going on, why is his skin moving? Why are his muscles moving? Why the fuck are his bones breaking.

He whimpered in fear and pain, biting his lips to keep any further sounds in as he watched the movement of his arms lessen before stopping.

'Oh my god' Namjoon thought.

He had fucking crab pinchers for arms. The skin on his arms had turned a burning red colour before they had hardened and his fingers had morphed together as his thumb elongated into a sharp claw looking thing. He moved his pinchers, watching them open and close.

He sighed heavily, trying to calm his breaths so he could figure out some sort of way to get his hands back to normal and with the calming waves of his breath, Namjoon watched in joy and shock as his left arm slowly and painlessly began to morph back into its original state. Namjoon smiled, maybe this way all in his head after all? Hallucination maybe?

There was a knock at the door and Namjoon jumped in fear, placing his fucking pincer behind his back and calming his breaths once again. Nope definitely not a dream.

"Namjoon?" He could hear Jisoo's voice call out softly to him from the other side of the door, she knocked again gently. "Are you alright?"

Namjoon struggled to find words, his mouth opening and closing about 5 times before he chocked out an awkward "Uhm, I'm fine Jisoo! Don't worry about me!"

Namjoon currently wanted to slap himself in the face with how embarrassing he sounded.

He could almost see the confusion on poor Jisoo's face before she began to speak again.

"But-" Jisoo was suddenly interrupted suddenly by an unfamiliar voice that spoke in a low tone. They seemed to be exchanging words and although Namjoon tried his hardest he couldn't figure out what the hell either of them was saying. Namjoon waited anxiously and almost sighed in relief when he heard Jisoo's voice again. "Okay Namjoon, I'll meet you back at the group. Don't get lost."

"Okay!" Namjoon replied shakily before glaring at his right pincher, slapping it lightly and whispering a soft. "Change back, you idiot!"

The pincher refused, keeping its crab form as he heard keys jiggling into the keyhole. Namjoon looked up in alarm and feeling as if he was going to faint he scurried to the back of the room, sliding down the wall and looking around frantically for something to hide his arm before shoving his crab arm into the mop bucket next to him. He grimaced at the smell and the texture of the thick water that was probably months old. The door opens and a figure wearing a janitor's uniform walks in, their back towards Namjoon as they shut the door. Namjoon practically stops breathing or moving at all, waiting anxiously as the person begins to turn around and-

It was a boy, one around his age. He had red hair and intense brown eyes that peered into the very depths of his soul. The boy almost looked unimpressed at the fact Namjoon had his arm in a mop bucket. The boy leans against the door before smiling and giving a casual wave. "Hey there!"

To say Namjoon was shocked would be an understatement.

He hesitated, "Um, hi?"

The boy scratched his head as if he was trying to figure out what to say next. Like he hadn't planned this far ahead. "I'm Kim Taehyung...and you don't know me but I know you, or at least your first name and what you look like. As well as how, why and when you'd be here. Well, I don't exactly know why you're here or why I'm here but I suppose that's something we're supposed to figure out together."

Okay, there's a lot to unpack there but before even getting a word in the boy spoke again.

"Your name is Namjoon and you currently have your right arm in a dirty mop bucket because you ended up half turning into a fucking crab. Right?"

Namjoon's eyes widened, taking his arm out of the bucket to reveal it back to normal. He stared at it before looking back at Taehyung with skeptical eyes. "How do you know all this?"

Taehyung lifted his head up in exacerbation and stomped his foot lightly as if he was annoyed he even had to explain. "It's because I had a dream, or a vision, or whatever." He walked up to Namjoon helping the boy up as he continued. "What I know so far is that I'm able to see things before they happen and yesterday I saw you in this very closet, in this aquarium, at this very time and date. I also know now that the past happens at the same time as the present and the present happens at the same time as the future. As we speak, me from yesterday is seeing all of this in my dream. Which, eventually, leads me into finding you at this exact moment and even now the me from the day before is watching from right over there." Taehyung points towards the empty space from next to the whiteboard.

Taehyung turns around and paces around the room and Namjoon could only look on in amazement as he continued his rant, the boy's hands circling around one another.
"This creates a cycle that goes on and on and on. Which is also why I know that we have about." Taehyung glances up at the clock and ignores the absolutely bewildered look on Namjoon's face before continuing again. "Three minutes before Jisoo comes to check on you again."

Namjoon should be skeptical, he's never seen this boy in his life but somehow Taehyung has come all the way here, knowing his name, his best friend's name and the exact place and time all of this would occur. And he wasn't weirded out by the fact that Namjoon was literally half a fucking crab when he came in here? Who the hell was this kid?

Despite everything, he decided he couldn't stay, this internship was already a fucking bust and Namjoon was pretty sure that Jisoo wouldn't be able to help him with his crab problem without fainting. He didn't trust Taehyung as a person but he did trust him as an answer.

"So what do we do?" Namjoon said, his voice wavering.

Taehyung smiled reassuringly, resting his hand on Namjoon's shoulder and patting it. "We get the fuck outta here."

***

Jisoo walks down the hallway in a hurry, leading an onsite medic to the closet where her best friend had disappeared to. "He was in here."

The medic unlocked the door and the two of them burst into the room to find it empty.

Jisoo glanced up at an open window near the ceiling and a shelf placed precariously under it.

The medic sighed, walking out of the closet to go back to whatever they were doing and leaving Jisoo alone in the room.

"Where the hell did he go?" She frowned, turning back and joining the rest of the group to continue the internship tour.

***

It had been about a week since the crab incident and Taehyung and Namjoon stayed in close touch. When they weren't able to see each other in person they'd facetime and text just to be sure the other was still okay and wasn't in need of any help.
Namjoon's muscle pains and spasms had stopped after that day and he was beginning to think that maybe everything would turn out okay? He hadn't tried to "shift" again as Taehyung would call it, he was still afraid of the pain and the chance of not being able to change back. But Taehyung insisted the quicker you "embraced it" the easier all this change would be.
Taehyung explained the depths of every dream he had to Namjoon, the boy probably relieved he finally had someone to talk to and Namjoon happy that he wasn't going completely crazy.

It had been a week and a couple of days after the crab incident before Taehyung showed up at Namjoon's door early Saturday morning. At 6 fucking am.

"Tae?" He said, watching as the boy stood wide-eyed outside of his bedroom door.

"Hey! Don't worry, your mom let me in," Taehyung said barging into his bedroom. "There's another one of us Joon, a boy."

"What do you mean? You had another dream?" Namjoon asked, closing the door and sitting on his bed.

Taehyung nodded, his eyes practically stuck to the floor in deep thought as if his mind was running through all the possibilities of what the day could bring them. "Yeah, he's one of the eight people I had seen in my dream before I had a dream of you individually. I think I'm given individual visions so we could find the others when they need us the most. Before I found you, everything was jumbled together, but now that my visions have sorted themselves out we have a chance of finding everyone else."

"So, what happens?"

"An accident, in public, surrounded by people. He survives something a normal person would've been killed by." Taehhyung replies. "So we have to be there before it happens and snatch him to avoid the aftermath, at that point we won't have time to explain. We'll have to take him first."

Namjoon nods, slowly and concerned. "What's his name?"

Taehyung looks up at him, a small smile on his face. It doesn't go unnoticed by Namjoon but he does decide to ignore it. "Jungkook."

"And when does this accident happen?"

"Today, 5 hours from now."

_____________

Okay but I just loovvvveee discussing and making my own theories on how time/future stuff works and Taehyung's ability gives me the perfect chance to delve into it. Taehyung's little nerd rant about how time is constantly moving and goes in cycles was my favourite part to write in this chapter.

I've devised some questions that might come up sooner or later in the book.

what do we think about this chapter in particular?

why do we think Namjoon's relationship with his parents is the way it is?

since we already know what jungkook's power (Ace) is, what do we think will happen to him?

and do taehyung and jungkook already know each other? if so, how well and how do you think they know each other?

Comment, vote and come back after reading later chapters to see if you're correct!

additional update coming soon!

See ya!!!