"Patience is a virtue that I certainly don't possess, so whoever pulled some kind of voodoo crap on me better admit it at once so I could rip his head off and be done with it." Taehyung chuckled, the face-splitting grin adorning his lips contrasting with the feral blaze smoldering in the bottomless pools of ink in his eyes.

Aera recognized that blaze, knowing Taehyung wasn't to be messed with. He was wild and untamed, with sharp edges that cut deeper than blades, too lost to care about what anyone thought of him.

Something about him had always resonated with the darker parts of her, pulling her in, and somehow they had formed a peculiar bond that came back to life now that she was seeing him again.

The silence that followed was suffocating and the air became so brittle that it might snap any second now, and if it didn't, Aera knew she would. Her lips parted for some sound to leave her mouth, but she remained silent, her breath caught in her throat.

"I thought I told you not to come here anymore," Jimin was the first one to speak, his stare cold and rigid.

"See, I'm not the type of person to be told what to do," Taehyung shrugged and kicked the door, slamming it shut. Meisa let out an audible gasp, instinctively tugging at Jungkook's sleeve and he stepped in front of her firmly.

Taehyung seemed to notice the subtle gesture instantly. "Oh, no need to try and protect your girl from my charm, man. She'll fall for it anyways," he smirked, plopping down on the couch with a loud grunt and stretching his legs wide apart, one arm over the cushions and the other still gripping on the pocket knife, folding and unfolding it. "Hey, babe," he gave Meisa a small hand wave. "I'm free every day that ends with y." he winked.

"Hey, dick." Jungkook growled, his soft doe eyes turning completely black as he balled his hands into fists. "Watch it. If I were you, I'd be more careful with my words. Take a look around, you're outnumbered."

"Oh, what are you gonna do, bunny boy?" Taehyung snorted, flashing a cocky smile. "Turn invisible on me?" he looked around the room, scanning everyone's similarly stunned faces before grinning widely. "That's right, I heard everything. I don't give a damn what this fucking sorcery is, but whoever dragged me into it will pay."

"We have absolute no idea what you're talking about so I'd recommend you to scram while I'm still feeling friendly." Jimin threatened, the vein on his right temple twitching menacingly.

Aera's whole body tightened as she detected the subtle sings of his temper that was a slowly filling glass until the liquid reached the top, then it would rain down on whoever had provoked him like a storm of hail. Breathe. If Taehyung were smart, he'd know better than not to poke the beast that was hidden deep within Jimin.

Taehyung's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. "Was it you, midget? Did you put the fucking curse on me?"

Jimin's body slightly lowered, resembling that of a lion ready to lunge at its prey. He drew in a deep breath, his lethal stare piercing through Taehyung who seemed utterly nonchalant, grinning and staring back at him cunningly.

"Am I the only one who doesn't understand what the hell he's talking about?" Jin intervened, thankfully managing to shift Jimin's focus and Aera let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her bodyguard's shoulders relax.

"I'll gladly tell you, pretty boy," Taehyung let out a humorless laugh. "Or better yet, I could show you, but I don't think you'd actually want that." He paused, chewing on the inside of his cheek as his midnight eyes fixated on Jin. "Or perhaps you would, I don't want to assume anything. I don't discriminate."

"Enough jackass. We're throwing you out right now," Jungkook snarled, stalking towards Taehyung who just leered a him, the outward corner of his lips tugging upwards.

"If I were you, I wouldn't touch me, Glasses," he warned before his whole face contorted from trying to hold in his uncontrollable laughter. "Fuck, now I know who you remind me of. Korean Clark Kent," he snorted loudly, ruffling his shaggy jet black bangs and rested his elbows on his knees. "Why don't you get back to your desk, hiding behind the computer screen, you creep?"

Red in the face and trembling with fury, Jungkook lunged forward, abruptly stopping in his tracks when Namjoon's solid grip encircled around his arm.

"I don't think you should." he cautioned sternly and Jungkook yanked his arm off, still fuming with anger.

"I'm having so much fun right now," an arrogant smirk graced Taehyung's lips as he bounced up and down in his seat like a happy kid. "You guys are hilarious. You know what would be even more hilarious? Making you want to hump your brains out." His eyes sparkled mischievously.

Simultaneously, everyone's gazes pinned at him in bewilderment.

"Yeah," Taehyung hummed. "I have the power to liquefy your brain and force you to fuck each like rabbits for all eternity. Nice, huh?"

"He's like us." Namjoon whispered, eyes rounded and jaw slacked in disbelief. "I don't know what it happened, but he's like us."

"Oh, I'm so not like you. I'm, like, a hundred times more attractive." Taehyung scoffed, sparkling jet black orbs darting at Meisa. "No need to drool, baby."

"I'm not listening to this. Out, now." Jimin growled, his hand darting at the handgun hanging from his belt and he took it in his palm, white knuckles enveloped around the small object.

"Jimin!" Aera gasped, lurching forward instinctively but stopping in her tracks.

Taehyung didn't seem the least bit impressed by Jimin's deadly glare, picking at his nails nonchalantly. "Here, let me show you then," he smirked devilishly, standing up and strutting towards Jimin , taking his hand.

Momentarily, Jimin's eyes boggled as if they were about to jump out of their sockets and his back arched, his arms twisting and curling in peculiar motions. The veins on his neck became protruded and his whole face turned red with resistance as though he was struggling to breathe.

Before Aera knew it, Jimin's other hand shot to Taehyung's arm where he grabbed on it, possessed by what seemed like an animalistic rage. Earning a horrified cry from her, he swiftly lifted Taehyung's whole body up as if he were a rag doll, sending him right against the wall where the tattooed man hit the concrete surface with a cracking sound before slumping down on the floor, his form loose and lifeless.

"What did you do!" Jungkook cried out in pure terror, bloodshot eyes roaming the room frantically before casting over Taehyung's limp form on the ground. He flew forward, falling to his knees next to the unconscious man, obviously hesitant to lay a finger on him. "I don't think he's breathing." he announced in a hoarse voice.

Jimin stood rooted to the spot, wearing the face of a man that had witnessed a massacre in his own home. He looked down on his hands in shock, as if they weren't his.

"What just happened? How did you do that?" Jin rasped, slightly frantic and clutching on his chest as he stared down at Taehyung who lay down, eyes shut, arms dropped to his sides and head hung low.

"I don't know," Jimin simply grumbled, picking up his gaze to peer at everyone in the room. Aera flinched at the way everyone was looking at him as if he was some kind of a monster, even though that wasn't the case. She shuffled towards him silently, resting her small palm on his back lightly.

"Jimin, what happened?" she asked softly, noticing how he was getting increasingly upset by the way his body shuddered against her touch. What did I just do? He seemed traumatized.

"He turned into the fucking Hulk, that's what happened!" Jungkook snapped, face creasing with immediate regret once he was met with Aera's hostile glare. "Sorry," he mumbled apologetically.

"I didn't mean to do... that," Jimin whispered, chest rising and falling. Aera's thoughts crashed around her brain as her mind replayed images of the other day when her bodyguard had practically moved faster than a bolt when he saved her before the chandelier could come crashing down on her. Or the time just some hours ago when he easily and with no major effort lifted up a framed mirror that weighed far too much for one person to lift it up.

"Shouldn't we do something? Call an ambulance?" Meisa whimpered, leaning down with caution to look at Taehyung as if he were a sleeping beast that would wake up any minute. "Is he alive?" she whispered.

"I don't know about y'all, but I ain't touching him to check his pulse," Jungkook gripped on her arm, jerking her backwards slightly. "And you're not either." He peeked at her anxiously.

"Jimin," Namjoon spoke up, placing the tips of his forefinger and middle finger on his chin. "When he touched you, what- what did you feel?"

In an instant, Jimin's face hardened, becoming ghastly pale. "It's better if you don't know." he uttered.

"Did he cause you pain?" Namjoon continued interrogating.

Jimin shook his head.

"Did his touch by any chance evoke something in your mind?"

"No." the blond bodyguard grunted.

Aera shuddered, the vivid image of Jimin's muscular chest hovering on top of her and his ringed fingers expertly tracing the distance between her collarbone and belly button invaded her mind. It happened in a flash, fading away as abruptly as it had appeared. She stiffened.

Woah.

Hold up.

What was that?

"Hello, I think we're forgetting the fact that Jimin was possessed by the spirit of Hercules just two minutes ago." Jungkook sucked in on his teeth. Namjoon nodded.

"At first I couldn't believe it too, but this just confirms my predictions further. Apparently, for some reasons that are incomprehensible for all of us, you seem to have developed superhuman strength, Jungkook has the ability to render himself invisible, and-"

"You can become invisible?!" Meisa's voice cut him off as she whipped around to stare at Jungkook in astonishment.

"Yeah, babe," Jungkook nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line and seeming completely unbothered as if he had finally come to terms with the disturbing fact while Meisa continued to gape at him. "Long story. We already went through it. I'll tell you about it later."

"Um, Jungkook." Aera threw him a wide-eyed look, glancing briefly at Hoseok and Jin whose presence in the room seemingly became even more obvious just now. They had witnessed and heard everything but had kept their silence up until now. What could possibly be going on through their head right now? They were probably already planning a trip to the local psychiatrist for everyone as soon as possible.

"Oh." Jungkook froze, digging his teeth into his lower lip.

"It's okay," Meisa cooed, her face softening as she reached a hand for her brother, looking at him lovingly. "Guys, Hoseok, he- he's been experiencing the same things as us." She declared, offering a reassuring smile to her twin. "Tell them, Hobi."

"Tell them what?" Hoseok mumbled.

Meisa's face fell. "What do you mean? About the fire, of course. You-"

"What about it?" Hoseok continued to stare at her, his face not betraying any kind of emotion except for the usual bored indifference.

"You know what," Meisa was confused by her brother's behavior, her eyebrows shot sky high. "How it started. You-"

"I didn't do anything." Hoseok uttered flatly, leaving her no room for objection. Meisa's jaw hung as a small sigh left her lips. She drooped powerlessly, refusing to look away from her brother's pitch black eyes, the two of them probably having some kind of silent conversation.

"Okay, we're getting sidetracked here," Jungkook said, still looking perturbed as he pointed at Taehyung whose existence seemed to have been briefly forgotten up until now. "What about him? What are we doing with the body?"

"We still don't know if he's dead for sure," Namjoon retorted darkly. "For all we know, he could wake up any minute now. What's happening right now is beyond our understanding. We cannot predict anything anymore."

Aera's brain was a violent whirl of shock, bewilderment and fear. It was mind-numbing. Uneasily, her eyes gravitated towards Jimin's slumped form next to her, white as chalk. She could see the distress radiating from his whole body, no – better yet, she could sense it. It was like this knowledge of his emotions was somehow given to her, even though he remained as still as a statue. He felt horrible and it was evident, but what was more, she was feeling the same as though it was her who had thrown Taehyung at the wall.

"Jin," Aera suddenly turned to her childhood friend, her voice barely above a whisper but still managing to gather everyone's attention. "Do you think we could call your father? You know, maybe he could look at him." She glanced at Taehyung, cold shivers raking through her whole body at the sight of him still laying on the ground lifelessly.

"I don't really think that's the best idea, dragging even more people in this," Namjoon's sigh was long and heavy as it left his mouth. "Moreover, we're not dealing with something ordinary here so I'm fairly certain conventional medicine wouldn't help us."

"That may be true," Jin said something for the first time in so long, causing everyone's gaze to snap at him, including Jimin who finally broke through his shocked stupor. "Yet, I still think there might be something I could do."