The stone - at first glance - appeared inconsequential. A meaningless, giant pebble protruding from the ground like those found on a mountain or in the wilderness.

If a person knew it had the ability to hurl them into a spiral of stars and spit them out into another universe, would they approach, or give it a wide berth?

If they knew it had the power to change their life...

'Or ruin it,' Jimin grumbled as he kicked a piece of loose gravel into the trench.

Earlier, when he'd walked into the warehouse to find an elongated pillar in place of the usual stump, Jimin had experienced a fleeting sense of panic.

It was the first time he'd visited since escaping Taehyung, and the sight had given him such a sucker punch that he'd spent ten minutes gawking while trying to piece together what had happened.

He could only conclude that Taehyung had returned in recent days, the freshly dug moat around the perimeter of the stone a sign that he'd tried to remove it from the floor.

'What the hell are you planning?' Jimin muttered while pinching his chin in thought.

Was the cunning man attempting to move it?

Hopping into the knee-height ditch, Jimin approached the dark grey column that rose from the ground like an ancient tombstone.

It was a peculiar conundrum.

There'd been no storm the night he, Yunhee, Jin and Namjoon had come to investigate, and yet, the stone had sputtered out the photo of the happy couple that was stuffed inside his trouser pocket.

The workings of the vortex made little sense, but why would they? Vortexes weren't supposed to exist.

Period.

At least the channel he stood in answered his question of how deep the rock was rooted into the earth.

How much further did it go, though? Jimin had come today to test out their fire theory, but upon seeing that Taehyung had attempted and failed to relocate the object, he was interested in taking a shot at moving it himself.

Wrapping his hands around the smooth surface, he gave the stone post a firm shake, wheezing in shock when it shifted an inch to the left. His bullet wound twinged when he tried again, but after a few vain struggles of trying to haul it free, he realised it was not going to budge.

Jimin scowled at the stone as he rubbed out his aching flesh. 'Piece of shit.'

Saving the women yesterday - along with Byun Mee - had been gratifying, but the task had taken its toll on a body that had yet to fully recover, and his shoulder had given him nothing but grief since he'd carried Choi Miseon out of the cargo container.

As well as that, the authorities would not touch Taehyung, pressed too firmly under his thumb and too afraid to make an arrest. Once again, he would get off scot-free for his crimes, giving him the opportunity to cook up another batch of heinous felonies in not one world, but two.

If the email they'd planted had upset Taehyung, then their latest operation would certainly push him over the edge, and it was only a matter of time before the man retaliated for the loss of the twenty-three women.

Jimin's only saving grace amidst the shitstorm enveloping him was the Zippo in his back pocket, and his clear conscience after speaking to Miseon this morning.

The shaken woman was back home with her fiancé, settled and recovering well after her horrible ordeal. He'd paid her a visit, not only out of concern, but to set the record straight and explain that a woman he cared for had also fallen victim to the ruthless Mafia King.

Only after seeing the fear in Miseon's eyes replaced with empathy, had Jimin left for Gimpo.

Now, as he stood staring at the dead stone, he thought of their guest at the beach house.

Mee's presence was the breath of fresh air they all needed, and he was over the moon to see Jin bonding so well with the charming red head he'd always fancied. It was a stark reminder, however, of the gaping hole in Jimin's heart.

Yunhee wasn't with them.

It was an unfathomable concept, knowing she was in a place that couldn't be reached even if he built a spaceship and travelled through the universe until the end of time.

Yunhee was not millions of light years away. She was just on the other side of a fucking rock embedded in the centre of a rundown warehouse in the back end of nowhere.

Fate was not always sunshine and rainbows. It was cruel, unjustified, and painful. But he was going to try his damned hardest to control it.

Retrieving the silver lighter from his pocket, Jimin popped the lid open and flicked his thumb over the spark wheel.

Would Namjoon's hypothesis work?

With a deep breath, his eyes darted between the stone and the writhing flame at his fingers.

There was only one way to find out.

Crouching in front of the obelisk, Jimin edged closer with the Zippo, holding back his laughter when he realised how ridiculous he looked.

Most men spent their Friday afternoon finishing up work while thinking about how many beers they could chug when they got home, but Jimin's heart was racing in expectation of creating some hocus-pocus with a lighter.

'Come on,' he urged, waving the Zippo over the cold rock.

A light draft swept through the chamber, and Jimin cursed when the flame blew out. Sparking it up again, he cupped his hand around the fire, protecting it from the breeze as he held it against stone for a few seconds.

That's when he felt it.

It was so subtle you would barely notice, but Jimin's skin prickled when the atmosphere shifted from static to electric. Before he could even register what was going on, a fine strand of purple light sprouted from the top like a beanstalk, growing as rapidly as the smile on his face.

'Yes!' he yelled, so excited that he lost his balance and landed on his arse in the dusty trench.

The Zippo clattered to the ground beside his leg, the luminescent line dying the second the flame extinguished.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' Jimin cried, swiping it up and frantically flicking the spark wheel until it was burning once again.

Repeating his earlier action, he held the flame against the stone until the string of light was restored. He licked his lips expectantly, his brown eyes reflecting the bluish tones as he waited for the swaying thread that looked like a snake rising from a basket to expand into a circular orb.

To his disappointment, nothing happened. The heat was working. But...

Jimin cocked his head to the side, his gaze whizzing over the pillar acting as the perfect centrepiece in the middle of the ditch.

At this stage, anything could happen. He didn't want to run the risk of damaging it with intense heat, but if he constructed something beside the stone...

'Fire,' Jimin said with conviction, immediately springing to his feet and vaulting out of the moat. 'I need to build a fire.'

Dashing over to an empty crate, he kicked the side panel so that the box disintegrated into several pieces. He then gathered up the fragments, lugging large chunks of wood and scraps of mismatched splinters to use as kindling into the pit.

Now, Jimin was no Boy Scout (guns were more his forte), but as he swiftly compiled the heap of timber into a rickety looking campfire, he figured he was going to need combustible material to get it started.

Grabbing his switchblade, he perched on the edge of the moat and laid a fractured plank across his lap.

'If you could see me now, boys,' Jimin intoned dryly, imagining Jin's tickled face as he used the flat of the knife to carve shavings onto his makeshift bonfire. 'Bushcraft extraordinaire.'

Genuinely having no clue if the results would be adequate, Jimin brushed his grimy hands over his jean clad thighs and recovered his lighter.

'Here goes nothing,' he mumbled, poking his tongue out as he squatted to set fire to his latest handiwork.

The moment the flame made contact with the tinder, it coiled into black and orange cinders, and Jimin grinned like a moron when it ignited the kindling beneath it.

Wafting the twirling smoke from his eyes, he blew softly on the smouldering firewood, watching in satisfaction as the blaze latched onto the broken pieces of crate and grew in strength.

Just as before, a delicate beam of violet emerged from the stone column, but this time, it thickened in width and transformed into the ball of light he'd seen a few weeks ago.

'Fuck yes! Yunhee, I did it!' he shrieked, bouncing to his feet and fist pumping the air.

Jimin was far too energised to focus, and he had to slap his cheeks to get a grip and bring himself back down to earth.

Clearing his throat, he blew out a calm breath and hurried back to the glowing vortex, wanting to make doubly sure he wasn't imagining things.

He stood in front of the sky blue and amethyst sphere, cautiously stretching his fingers towards the light and marvelling when they disappeared in and out of view.

The portal was nowhere near big enough to pass through, but for the time being, it was all he needed.

With keen determination, Jimin slid out the scrap of paper he'd been carrying in his back pocket, checking over the handwritten note for the twentieth time.

I'm coming for you, Little Legs.

He pondered over the words and speculated whether he needed to write more.

Should he perhaps let Yunhee know that Jin and Namjoon sent their love? What about a warning that Taehyung was trying to follow her?

No, it would only scare her, and God only knew what she was going through on the other side. He would have to settle with the fact that what happened in the library was enough for her to see that they were okay.

It was now or never, and so Jimin tossed the strip of paper into the iridescent bubble before it vanished. The note evaporated into thin air, and he prayed that Yunhee returned to the warehouse to find it.

Unaware of the passing time, Jimin sat and watched the campfire burn, thinking of their reunion and how long it would be until he could see her again.

The vortex eventually diminished alongside the flames, and so he dusted himself off to take his leave with a butterfly infested stomach and a contented smile.

Namjoon, Jin and Mee were waiting for an update at the beach house, and he couldn't wait to get back and tell them that the stone reacting to heat was a success.

The vortex had to be fully open if he wanted to go home, and to do that, he was going to need Namjoon and a whole lot of wood.

*

'Bloody hell, it's Baltic in here.' Jin pulled his grey wool winter coat around him before uncapping a bottle of water. 'I can't function without my leather gloves.'

'Then, why didn't you bring them, dummy?' Yunhee chided as she stepped closer to the lump of rock jutting from the floor.

The weather on the riverside was bitter this afternoon, but she was doing her best to suck it up while her usually resilient sidekick had done nothing but whinge since leaving the mansion.

'I was about to grab them from my walk-in wardrobe, but then someone flounced in and demanded we leave before she kicked me in the bollocks for taking too long to get ready-'

'Seokjin-'

'Temper, temper,' he tutted, angling the bottle so that a drop fell from the top and blotched like ink over the stone.

Yunhee swallowed what felt like a boulder in her throat, but when Jin paused and turned to face her, her nostrils flared in exasperation.

'I was thinking, seeing as this could be a monumental moment, do you want to do it?'

'My God, Jin,' Yunhee bubbled, 'just pour it on the stone before I drown you with it.'

Shrugging, Jin tipped the water upside down, and her eyes enlarged as the liquid gushed from the neck and saturated the rock at their feet. Her breath was bated, and she had to remind herself to draw air into lungs as she waited for a source of brightness to cloak the large hall they occupied.

Nothing happened.

'Well, that was an anti-climax!' Jin chortled while screwing up the plastic container and flinging it next to the case.

Yunhee scrunched her brow; the water wasn't working. But...

'It needs more,' she uttered before loading her arms full of bottles and simultaneously trying to remove the caps. 'We need to drown it.'

'At least you no longer want to drown me,' Jin shot sarcastically as he aided Yunhee on her mission.

Together they unscrewed every top, pouring litre after litre of fluid over the dark stone while desperately anticipating some sort of change.

'It's not working!' Yunhee whined hopelessly as she tore into another pack.

'I can see that.'

'Why isn't it working?'

Jin was stationary now, chewing on his plump lips in thought with his hands planted firmly on his slim hips. After a few seconds of Yunhee being positive he was going to provide all the answers, he swivelled around and bent over to scoop up an unopened case.

'Wait!' Yunhee cried, rushing after him when he began to walk to the exit. 'What are you doing?'

'Putting these back in the car,' Jin said so nonchalantly that Yunhee panicked.

Was he seriously calling it a day?

'No, you can't!' she urged, gripping his sleeve and making him drop the water so that it split open on his foot. 'Not yet! We have to use it all-'

'Yunhee,' Jin grimaced as he polished his leather shoe along the back of his calf, 'it's not working-'

'But we have to keep trying! Your element theory is brilliant,' Yunhee spoke frantically as she scrambled to accumulate the bottles rolling over the concrete floor. 'I'll never threaten you again. I'll do everything you ask. I won't stomp up and down the stairs like a child or glower at you for putting your feet on the table. Just please stay and help me.'

'Yunhee,' Jin chuckled, catching her eye as he squatted down and caught a stray bottle, 'I'm not giving up, okay? It's clear that pouring water onto the stone isn't working, so it'd be in our best interest to go away and try to figure this out some more.'

Frustrated beyond belief, Yunhee collapsed onto her bum, her chin wobbling as a sob of grief left her parched throat.

Jin was right. He was always right.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' Jin smiled sympathetically, reaching out to fondly tuck her chin. 'I know this is difficult, but I feel the same way as you. I'm just too poised and sophisticated to show it.'

'Pretentious snob,' Yunhee laughed as Jin smacked his thighs and pushed up to his feet. He extended a hand for her to take, and she grinned wickedly, making a point of wiping her palm across her snotty nose before accepting it. 'Thanks.'

'You're disgusting, Miss Hahm.' Jin shook his head in amusement as he cleaned his hand on his pristine trousers. Picking up the torn case, he heaved it higher in his arms and then looked at Yunhee over the top. 'I'll be right back. Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone.'

Yunhee nodded and shuffled back to the inert vortex as Jin loaded up the car with the unused water.

It really was cold out today. Drizzly, dank and befitting the mood of the woman standing in the middle of the empty chamber.

The grey walls of the cavernous room matched the turbulent skies outside, the smashed crates and bullet shells the only sign that something extraordinary had happened in days gone by.

Yunhee's heart sank as her toes touched the edge of the stone. Such a lifeless and insignificant feature, yet it could destroy a life and take away everything you loved in the blink of an eye.

Like the last time, there was no light, not even a faint glimmer to give her hope. Like the last time, she felt nothing but disappointment.

She was home. And Jimin wasn't with her.

'Any change?'

With a heavy sigh, Yunhee stuffed her numb fingers into her pockets and turned to face Jin who was standing a little way behind her. She smiled sadly, his warm eyes and graceful forehead reminding her of the handsome friend in another world.

'No.'

Jin nodded and twitched his head with a smirk. 'Come on, trouble. Let's get out of here before we freeze to death.'

Yunhee sniffed and pulled her collar closer around her neck. She didn't want to leave the warehouse, but every day she told herself that there was always tomorrow.

'How do you feel about Soju and Kimchi soup?' he asked as she followed him to the door. 'I know a place over in Dongjak-gu that-'

'Jin,' Yunhee halted when a waft of air tickled her face and picked up her hair. 'Wait.'

Jin turned first, his mouth dropping open and his dark brows shooting skywards as he glanced over her shoulder. A tiny gasp left Yunhee's mouth and she turned, too, stunned to see a hazy glow puffing from the stone.

'Well, holy shit,' Jin uttered as Yunhee slowly walked towards it. Her heart fluttered to life, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she crouched to pick up the scrap of paper that had floated through. 'What is it?'

Yunhee choked on a bout of laughter, her fingers shaking as she read the note in her hand.

I'm coming for you, Little Legs.

'It's him.'

***

So, there you have it. Another short chapter, I know, but there's plenty more long-ass ones around the corner.

So, Yunhee has the note that Jimin sent to her in Chapter 51 of Hahm, but do you all recall what happened in the Epilogue? ;-D #soon

Also, did anyone notice how Jimin didn't get blown back when he touched the stone? What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks again for your continued support and comments throughout this whirlwind of a story. There's such a long way to go yet, but every moment is going to be filled with action, adventure, comedy and love.

Tannie x

9th November 2020