"Medusa what now?" Jungkook's eyebrows pulled down into a small frown. He let out a grunt upon Meisa throwing her whole body over him, showering him with butterfly kisses.

"You're alright! Kookie, you're okay! I'm so glad!" she squealed, pinching his cheeks with as the joy practically radiated from her.

"Why are you three looking at me like that?" Jungkook asked, encircling his arms around Meisa and pulling her closer before his face suddenly fell. "Um, listen, I can explain. Meisa and I..."

"They already know," Meisa said in a small voice, slightly flushed.

"What? How?" he asked, eyes flickering to the security team leader. "Oh my god, Namjoon," he ran a hand over his face. "Before you say how unprofessional is that of me, I really, really-"

Namjoon cleared his throat, cutting him in the middle of his sentence. "Jungkook, what is the last thing you remember?"

Jungkook's tongue glided over his bottom lip, his gaze drifting to the floor. "Well, Ms. Jung... I mean, Meisa-" he stuttered, flustered all of a sudden.

"Oh, whatever, we don't care about your teenage drama. Just get to it," Jimin groaned.

Jungkook shot him a glare but resumed nonetheless. "We were talking. Fighting, I mean. Next thing I know, she looks at me and I see this super bright light like a camera flash, only ten times brighter. It was so blinding, it felt like my retinas were on fire. And then..." his lips slightly parted as he scowled. "Actually, I don't remember anything from then on."

"Oh my fucking god," Jimin let out an exasperated sigh, turning around and pressing his forehead to the wall. "I just can't believe this."

A sharp gasp escaped Aera's trembling lips. Instinctively, her eyes darted to Namjoon who for her was the only person left in the room that represented any kind of reason.

"Why are you guys so tense? Is it because of me getting involved with Meisa? I mean, Ms. Jung. Am I getting fired?" Jungkook's worried eyes traveled to and fro Namjoon and Jimin.

"Jungkook," Namjoon exhaled sharply. "You were unconscious for more than twenty minutes. Do you remember this?"

"No," Jungkook whispered.

"You were practically dead," Jimin grumbled.

"What?!" Jungkook exclaimed.

"And you're absolutely sure you saw the bright light the exact moment Meisa looked at you?"

"Um, yes."

"Did she remove her contact lenses before that?"

"What?" dumbfounded, Jungkook stared at Namjoon.

"Answer me." Namjoon deadpanned.

"I mean, I guess. Now that I think about it, perhaps she did," Jungkook rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Aera's heart skipped a beat as the information flooded her brain. All of her thoughts morphed together in chaotic twists and turns as she struggled to comprehend what exactly was happening. Jungkook seemed almost dead one second and then just casually sat up the next, talking to them. No matter how hard she tried to formulate a reasonable explanation for it, this whole thing was highly unsettling.

"Guys, where are you going with this? Did I come back from the dead? Oh my god, am I a zombie now?" Jungkook gasped.

"What was it that you said just now? About Medusa Gorgon?" Aera's restless eyes suddenly shot to Namjoon.

He took his bottom lip in between his teeth anxiously. "This whole thing reminds me an awful lot of the mythical creature from Greek mythology, Medusa, who turned into stone those who gazed upon her."

"That's ridiculous!" Jimin scoffed, eyes rounding in disbelief.

"I think he has a point," Aera let out quietly, causing Jimin's widened eyes to stare at her.

"Are you guys comparing me to an ugly mythological monster-woman with venomous snakes in her hair?" Meisa sounded outraged.

Namjoon shook his head. "As a matter of fact, according to some sources, Medusa was a ravishingly beautiful maiden, but the goddess Athens put a curse on her so whoever dared to look at her face would become petrified. I think the state that we found Jungkook in is very similar to being petrified. And I'm not saying you are Medusa. I'm saying this situation reminds me of it," he explained flatly.

"But if everyone that looks into her eyes turns to stone, then why haven't we fucking turned into rocks yet?" Jimin asked, uneasiness evident in his voice.

"Because she's wearing contacts right now. This is why I specifically asked whether she had them at the moment of Jungkook's petrifaction," Namjoon pursed his lips.

"Petrifaction? You're telling me he was like that because of me?" Meisa let out in a shaky voice.

"That's absurd and I refuse to believe it," Jimin gave a skeptic look, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Do you have another explanation?" Namjoon glared at him. "You saw him with your own eyes. You even touched him. Did you see how rigid his muscles were? And his eyes were wide open. If he had just passed out, his eyes would have been closed and his body would be loose."

Aera felt light-headed. What Namjoon was saying made sense, only if they were in a fantasy novel. But this was real life. Mythology creatures were just that – mythology. Fiction. Product of human imagination, altered by years and years of storytelling. Could it be?

"Guys... I'm starting to freak out a little bit," Jungkook grumbled, pressing the scared Meisa closer to himself.

Namjoon sighed and rubbed his temples. Slowly, he walked over to one of the desks, leaning back as his white-knuckled hands clasped on its edge. Absolute silence hung in the air like thick fog.

"I'll tell you guys something but you have to promise not to call me crazy," the words were breathy as they left his mouth, he was obviously nervous and this seemed to make everyone else nervous too.

Each of the other four offered him a firm nod as no one made even the slightest noise.

"Ever since yesterday, I've been feeling strange. I have this weird feeling of irreversibility, like someone has flicked a switch somewhere and there's no turning back. Somehow everything seems different. Didn't you guys find yesterday odd? How could there be a fire with no flames? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been asking himself these questions," he paused, eyes flashing through everyone's faces as if he was waiting for some kind of reaction.

Aera exhaled heavily. She was instantly reminded of her meltdown just some minutes ago. In her blinding fury, she had wished for the chandelier to fall down from the ceiling and it suddenly did. She knew that chandelier hung from the ceiling of the hotel lobby for over ten years. How did it manage to crash down so easily?

"You're not," Jungkook suddenly uttered. "I've been sensing something too. But I wouldn't use the word different. More like wrong."

Namjoon nodded and took a deep breath in. "Then yesterday, the craziest thing happened. I was doing a thorough check of the penthouse and ran into Layla, the young maid. We were talking and she said she needed to clear one of the French windows. I was skeptical about letting her do it. Before I could say anything, she climbed on a chair and started wiping the glass. The next second, just as she was talking to me, she staggered backwards and fell through the window."

"Oh my God!" Meisa gasped, horrified.

"Is she alright?" Aera asked, her heart rate skyrocketed when she recollected the red puddle of blood she saw that morning right as she and Jimin arrived at the hotel. Was that from Layla?

Much to her surprise, instead of looking sorrowful, Namjoon gave a crooked smile. "She is. Because this never happened."

"What exactly do you mean?" Jimin knit his eyebrows.

"Needless to say, I completely freaked out when it happened. My first thought was how much I regretted not offering to do it myself. There had been something I could have done, and I had just stayed there, watching as she fell. Then something happened. I can't exactly explain it, but time went back to the moment we were talking just before she said she needed to wipe the window."

"Time went back?" Aera repeated, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I think so. This is the only explanation I could think of," Namjoon shrugged, his gaze traveling to the floor as silence engulfed them once again.

"But how did you do it? Can you show us?" Jungkook questioned.

Namjoon shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I don't think it works that way. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I'm fairly sure it would happen if there is something else I terribly regret. Time won't turn whenever I please."

Apparently, everyone had trouble processing what exactly was happening as they stared at each other wordlessly.

"But why?" Jimin uttered. He had always been a logical man. By the looks of it, this conversation was putting him on edge. "Why is this happening?"

"I have no idea." Namjoon simply said.

"I have another question," Aera let out a long sigh. "If Jungkook really was petrified, then how did he come back to... life?" she paused before pronouncing the last word, unsure of how she should put it.

Everyone stared back at Namjoon.

"You want my guess?" he offered them a weak smile, briefly glancing at Jungkook. "I think Meisa's tears healed him."