14. Lie

From behind a tree, which was across the mansion's gate, the bearer of the gem of darkness watched as the guests continuously poured in, like an infinite wave of water. As soon as he found out about the party and who was going to attend, he knew it was definite that he should go.

He observed the attendees and their formal get-up, making him look at down at his ripped jeans, shirt and hoodie. He frowned, knowing that he wasn't dressed for the occasion, but of course... he had a solution.

Conventionally for him, a dashing young man in a classic tuxedo suit passed by him, so he only had to stare at him for a solid minute before snapping his fingers. Purple mist surrounded his body completely, only fading after a few minutes, and now he was wearing the exact same tuxedo suit.

After ruffling his own hair to style it, he straightened his suit and casually walked towards the crowd, perfectly blending in. When he was about to enter, however, he was stopped by an unusually tall security guard.

"Invitation," The guard demanded, his tattooed arms crossed together. He was also wearing a tuxedo suit but his arms were so big that it looked like they were going to explode in any second.

The bearer whispered a curse since he had forgotten such an important detail. Since he definitely didn't have one, he raised his arms in the air and smiled innocently. "Whoops, I guess I forgot it at home."

"No invitation, no entry," The guard said sternly, not at all amused by the bearer's fake playfulness. He harshly pulled his arm, implying that he should leave. "Next."

"Wait!," The bearer screamed, making the guard face him with a raised brow. After collecting himself, he stood up straight and raised his hand, a knowing smirk on his face. "I just need to tell you this."

Purple mist danced around the bearer's fingers as his smirk turned into a sly smile. He pointed at the guard, the mist swirling around his head before entering his ears, making his eyes flash purple for a split-second.

On the other hand, the bearer's eyes were also purple and he was chuckling at how easy it was for him to control the guard. He was still twirling his fingers, the purple mist dancing in the air. "I don't need an invitation... right?"

The guard blinked rapidly before shaking his head wildly. He took one glance at the bearer before moving aside and opening the door to the mansion. "Y-Yes, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience."

"Thank you," The bearer smirked as he walked in. He could hear the other attendees who had forgotten their invitations as well complain outside, while the guard tried calming down, though he himself was confused. Nonetheless, it had sparked chaos outside.

As the bearer walked in and was greeted by the golden walls, he cracked his knuckles and smiled, exposing his pointed teeth. "Heh, looks like the party is just getting started."

-

"Yo, Cloud, how long are you going to stare at the food like some kind of dog?"

You shot Yoongi a glare as you clutched your purse and continued to stare at the pastries that were lined up on a silver dish. Yoongi was behind you, tapping his foot impatiently while puffing out air, making his bottom lip stick out into a pout.

"Yoongi's correct, Sky, you look like a fool."

"Shut up, K," You hissed in a whisper. "What's up with you? You've been gone more than you've been present."

"...I'm busy."

"You're going to have to tell me one day."

K fell into silence, making you roll your eyes. As soon as she did, Yoongi suddenly held your shoulder, making you jump slightly.

"What's taking you so long," Yoongi dragged the last word of his sentence, making it sound like a statement said out of irritation and boredom, instead of a question.

You turned around, eyes twitching at the way Yoongi's eyes drooped, as if they were going to fall out of his sockets. "I'm having a bit of difficulty choosing one."

"Seriously?," Yoongi grabbed the nearest pastry, which was a caramel waffle dipped in chocolate ganashe, topped with a cherry also dipped in chocolate. "There are only two different pastries!"

"I'm a picky person, okay," You picked up the same pastry and examined it, before releasing a heavy sigh. You popped the dessert in your mouth and hummed at the delicious taste. You then remembered seeing Jin's mother, and remembered the portait, and him telling you how beautiful she was. "Jin's mother... She's gorgeous, isn't she?"

"Yeah...," Since you were collecting more of the pastry, you didn't notice the loving look that Yoongi was giving you and the bright gummy smile on his face. "Gorgeous."

"...Sky, how can you be so blind?"

"What?"

"Whatever."

"...Fine."

However, Yoongi put on a frown as soon as you turned back towards him with a mouth full of pastries. "Do you think Jimin knows that he's a wonder?"

Yoongi shrugged, not really paying attention to your question that much. "I don't know... He may know and is hiding it or maybe he has no idea at all—"

Yoongi paused when he noticed that your watch, which you wore over your long gloves even though it looked... weird since it was necessary, was glowing brightly. His eyes widened because it only meant one thing... Jimin was nearby.

"Cloud," Yoongi flicked his eyes towards your watch and followed his gaze. He grabbed you by the wrist — a bit too tight for your taste — and dragged you across the room, pushing the people away in the most natural way he could. "Don't ask. We can't afford to lose each other in this crowd."

You nodded in agreement, even though you were a bit uncomfortable by how Yoongi seemed a bit... Possessive? You weren't sure if that was the right term. However, it did look like Yoongi knew where he was going — especially because your watch was glowing brighter by the second — so you let it slide.

Soon, you and Yoongi were way behind the crowd, out of the public eye. The two of you were standing next to the stage, in an angle where you two couldn't be seen. "Where—"

"Backstage," Yoongi whispered before drawing the red curtains, glancing behind him to check if anyone was watching. He wondered why there were no guards hanging around to stop people like them from intruding, but he just thought it was tough luck. "I mean, where else would a pop singer be?"

Your jaw dropped at the beautiful set that was being arranged backstage. A large tarpaulin hung from the ceiling, its design being a starry night with a fading blue color as it goes lower. The stage was designed with a cloud pattern, along with the bottom part of the tarpaulin, giving the audience an illusion of being in the sky. Designers putting final touches on the realistic moon prop, which was going to hang from the ceiling as well.

"Jin wasn't joking about this being a high-class party," You whispered as you and Yoongi walked around slowly. Suddenly, you were pulled behind a rack of clothes. When you attempted to scream, Yoongi shushed you and put a finger over his lips.

Before you could question Yoongi, a few security guards passed by, obviously patrolling the area. You clicked your tongue since it was going to be difficult to avoid them and find Jimin.

"How are we going to get passed them?"

"I can burn—"

"Yoongi, no."

You ignored how Yoongi huffed loudly behind you and turned towards him, smiling at the small yet evident pout he had on his face. "Maybe we can—"

"Excuse me but who are you two?"

Both you and Yoongi froze at the third voice before the two of you turned around. A middle aged man was looking down at the two with a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest. His sideburns were grey and there were glasses resting on the tip of his nose. He was wearing a tuxedo as well and had a name tag on: Kang Seito.

"This area is strictly prohibited to employees only," Manager Kang snapped as he glared at Yoongi and you. Yoongi shot up to his feet and pulled you up as well before standing in front of you protectively, his teeth gritted.

"We're here to visit a friend," Yoongi growled, which honestly wasn't the best way to handle this situation.

Your opinion was spot on, since Manager Kang was not at all convinced by Yoongi's aggressive reasoning. "Partygoers have no business backstage. I'm going to have to call the security guards to escort you both—"

"Manager Kang, what's with all the fuss?"

Just when your watch started glowing once again, a young teenage boy walked into the scene. His brown hair was styled, making his swayed bangs just touch the tips of his eyelashes. He was also wearing a pair of glasses, this time having round lenses, and also had diamond piercings on his ears. His eyes were dark green because of contacts, you assumed. He had on a sparkly grey tuxedo and shiny black shoes, his hand adorned by a very familiar grey gem. You instantly recognized the boy: Park Jimin.

"These people entered without proper consent," Manager Kang spat while pointing at the two, Jimin merely raising an eyebrow at him. "Wait— Jimin, didn't I leave you in the dressing room?"

"That isn't important, Manager Kang," Jimin waved an arm at his manager, his eyes staring right at you, which honestly made you feel a bit uneasy. "What's important is the way you are treating my friends."

You and Yoongi stared at one another, stunned by Jimin's words, wondering why the singer was pretending to be acquainted with you two. Could he know something about being a wonder?

"That's impossible," You heard a hint of shock in K's tone of voice. "His gem is grey. He isn't supposed to know."

Before you could answer K, Manager Kang spoke first. "Friends? Jimin, these people—"

"Step aside," Jimin hissed with a wide smile never leaving his face, which looked absolutely terrifying, Manager Kang instantly leaving at the sight. The singer faced you and Yoongi, his expression changing completely, before he whispered. "So you guys finally found me."

"What are you talking about?," Yoongi said with a frown, still clutching your arms and keeping you behind him.

"I thought I'd never meet another wonder."

-

"Emily?," Jin's eyes were wide in shock and he almost lost his balance, but thankfully, he avoided embarrassing himself by regaining it. He was still dancing with Emily, following her footsteps to the slow song. "But— You're Sky's friend, yes? The one who was adopted by a foreign family?"

Emily's eyes widened as well, then her expression changed and she put on a warm smile. Jin stared as her grip on his hand tightened. "So she didn't forget about me..."

"I doubt that she would," Jin smiled as Emily spun — a step in the dance — and literally landed in his arms. "Sky cares about you a lot. She never stops talking about you."

"That's good to know," Emily's eyes were teary and Jin knew exactly what she was feeling. It was the same with Ross and Foy... except that he had completely lost them due to his stupidity. "Thank you."

"You're always welcome," Jin didn't know why but dancing with Emily made him forget about all his problems at the moment. Maybe he was just in his comfort zone... but what was his comfort zone? He didn't even know himself.

Suddenly, Emily froze and bumped into Jin's chest, causing the two of them to stop dancing. He held the girl's shoulders, worry flashing in his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"S-Sky," Emily stuttered and chewed on her lip, tightly gripping onto Jin's arms. Being your protector, she could sense whenever you were in danger, no matter how near or far you two were from each other. "She's in danger. Do you know where she might be?"

Jin thought about it for a while. Now he regretted running away after seeing his parents but at the same time, he was glad because he would have never met Emily if he didn't. Knowing that Jimin was a singer, there was one solid possibility. "I think that she and Yoongi are backstage."

"Yoongi? Another wonder?"

"Yes, he bears the fire gem."

"Interesting... and you obviously bear the water gem, yes?," Emily smiled, Jin nodding as a reply to her question, impressed at how you were already on your way to finding the third wonder. "Let's go find Sky before it's too late."

Jin kept his head low as Emily pulled him through the crowd, fearing the possibility of being spotted by his parents. It seemed strange to him that Emily knew how to move around the place but he just assumed that her supernatural abilities had contributed to this.

Everything happened so suddenly. Something had dashed through the air, separating Jin and Emily, also causing panic because of how it disintegrated everything that came into its way, including the people.

A stampede followed afterwards, accompanied by screams and loud footsteps. Jin stood up, almost falling back down because of all the bodies that collided with him, and screamed: "Emily?! Emily, where are you?!"

Jin flew in the air for a few seconds as something brushed by him with amazing speed. He groaned as he landed on the table that had a bowl of punch, frowning because of how his tuxedo was ruined because of stains and torns.

Finally, the creature revealed itself. It looked like some kind of lizard but it had feathered wings and four eyes, enhancing its visual abilities. Its skin was scaly and black, smoke covering its whole body, and it had a long snake-like tongue. It was hanging from a chandelier and was staring right at Jin — obviously after a wonder.

Jin gritted his teeth and formed a water ball above his palm as his eyes turned blue. He threw away his mask since it hindered his sight, no longer caring about being recognized, since it was more important to kill this creature that was endangering the lives of everyone inside. He still saw no sign of Emily so instead, he prayed that she was safe and sound.

The creature spun — turning into a ball of black smoke — and flew towards Jin. He didn't expect a winged creature to attack the monster before it could reach him.

-

Jimin sighed as he stared at his reflection in the mirror of his dressing room, deep in his thoughts, chin resting on the palm of his hand. He pouted his lips and scrunched his nose, playing with the round-lensed glasses on his nose. He was absolutely unaware of the other him — someone pretending to be him — who was conversing with you and Yoongi.

After leaning on his chair, Jimin huffed out a bit of his breath, blowing the stray strand of hair hanging in between his eyes. He sighed as he stared at the mirror again — glancing at the light pink eyeshadow he had on, the slight foundation on his cheeks and the contact lenses that made his eyes look bigger — as he thought of his past and all the events that led to this moment.

Jimin — a small and bright ten year old boy — was practicing a piece on the piano as his smiling mother and father watched from behind him. A brilliant piece by Beethoven, one that he had learned to play in an impressively short amount of time, rang through the room. He was praised multiple times for his intelligence, as he was born with the gift of music.

At least, that's what Jimin's parents thought and expected out of him. Simply mastering a piano piece made them think that their child was someone born to play and sing in front of billions of people.

"I am proud to have a son like you, Jimin," His father told him the day that Jimin showed them his piano masterpiece. "You will grow up to be a musician loved by all. Pursue your dream, my son, and make us proud. Just ask of it and we will grant you with whatever your wish."

Little Jimin smiled, grinning with his pearly white baby teeth, feeling proud of himself for hearing such great praises from his beloved father. This little boy had not realized what his dream was. At that very moment in front of that forsaken piano, Jimin decided that his parents' dreams were his own dream.

"I promise to make you proud, daddy."

Years passed and Jimin grew older and more mature. Slowly, he started to have his own thoughts, and doubted if being a singer was really what he wanted to fulfill in life. With every day that his fingers pressed the piano keys, he wondered if this really was his dream.

Jimin had found out that he had passion for writing around the age of sixteen, when he would spend his leisure time making drafts of all around genres of creative writing: fiction, non-fiction, descriptive, poetry, etc.

However, Jimin didn't pursue his passion. He wanted to make his parents proud, so he enrolled in a music school, despite having the option to take up a writing course. He wanted to fulfill his — or rather his parents' — beloved dream. He loved them and was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for them.

Jimin wasn't aware that he was slowly sinking into depression due to this factor. He pretended that everything was alright and denied that he had problems of his own, despite the fact that his inner self was slowly cracking — breaking apart like a withered marble statue.

A fatal car crash that killed his mother, father and younger brother had awakened Jimin from the illusion that was his life. However, it was too late, he was already caught up in someone else's dream.

Jimin opened his eyes, using the tips of his sleeves to wipe away the tears forming. He held his cheeks and inhaled deeply. "Concentrate, Jimin. Don't think about the past. You can't change anything, you're already here."

Purple smoke started to form behind Jimin, making the singer's eyes widen since he could see everything through the reflection in the mirror. He stood up, trembling a bit, as the man across him stared back with an expressionless face.

"Park Jimin?"

-

A/N - Jimin's story may or may not be based on true events. More action promised in the next chapter. Sorry for the late upload.

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