Sat on the soft pillion of the magnificent Harley, Aera wrapped her arms tighter around Jimin, pressing her chest against his back. The close proximity of their bodies evoked the familiar tingling sensation in her tummy despite the cold, violent wind they were met with once the motorcycle shot out down the street with supersonic speed.

As they reached the highway, Aera switched her attention to the changing scenery. The Harley was going so fast that all of her surroundings swirled together and she rested her head against Jimin's back, letting her eyelids fall over her eyes. She felt safe. Secure. Protected. The dreadful feeling she had before had completely evaporated now that she was holding tightly onto him, clinging onto his frame like a life jacket.

Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Jungkook was following close behind them. Even his brand new Subaru WRX was struggling to keep up with the Harley. The motorcycle was faster than a bullet.

Aera's stomach turned in an unfriendly way once they rounded the corner of the street where the Lee family mansion was located. Or what was left of it, for that matter. Suddenly she felt strange, avoiding to look straight ahead on purpose.

Part of her expected that her parents would be waiting there for her. That his father would wave at her from the door, wearing the usual boyish grin that took at least ten years off of his chiseled face.

That her mother would peep from the window, unruly chestnut hair pulled into a loose ponytail, painting brush in one hand and her latest work of art in the other. Her eyes would light up, and she would throw the palettes away to dash towards her daughter and bring her into the tightest hug. The sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon would fill Aera's nostrils once she approached her. The scent of home and family.

She knew. It was stupid.

I miss them so much it hurts.

Even when the Harley came to a halt in front of the rusty gates and Aera's gaze cast over the ruins of her happy home, she still couldn't shake off this ridiculous feeling. Like she'd hear their voices call her name any second now.

But there was only silence.

Welcome home.

Guarded by tall iron gates, the mansion had been built by Aera's grandfather in a quiet and secluded area out of the busy town. It had been so welcoming and vibrant, a place of love and warmth.

Now, what was left of it were the columns and a small part of the roof that even though remaining was being slowly destroyed by the years of rain and sunshine. A skeleton of a loving home, a ghostly shadow of what it once used to be.

Wordlessly, Aera opened the creaky gates and took a hesitant step on the stone path. No matter how much time had passed, the intrusive smell of smoke would still haunt the air around the property, like an old stubborn spirit that just wouldn't leave. There in those ashes lay all of her childhood memories, her personal belongings, her books, her photographs, everything. Gone.

The one thing that seemed untouched by the fire was the enormous oak tree towering proudly in the middle of the property. Swaying with the wind, it looked almost lonely, the only living thing in this place of decay.

Its long branches used to stretch all the way to Aera's bedroom on the second floor and she had used those repeatedly to sneak out of home when she was a rebellious teenager. It had been also how Yoongi had climbed up to her room to surprise her for her 18th birthday party, scaring the crap out of her by doing so. This had been the first time he had ever told her he loved her, too.

She scoffed as the memory resurfaced back in her mind. Funny how people change. First they love you, then they want to kill you.

Indeed the line between love and hate is very thin.

Twisting around to look at Jimin and Jungkook, she saw them standing a few feet away from her, eyes roaming the gigantic property and just a tiny spark of soft panic in their eyes. Looks like they were thinking exactly the same thing as her.

How the hell were they going to find something in here?

Bold of them to assume that they would show up there and this magic object they were searching for would just materialize in front of them right away. This might take days, even weeks, and they didn't exactly have all the time in the world, given that Yoongi and Hyukjae turned out to be at least ten steps ahead of them.

A wave of despair washed over Aera. This was hopeless.

"Shall we, uh, start?" she tried to sound optimistic but it was useless. Jimin and Jungkook instantly became dark, discouragement spilling over their faces.

"What exactly should we look for?" Jimin asked blankly, taking his leather gloves off and shoving them in the pocket of his jacket.

Jungkook puffed his cheeks, his ebony bangs swaying with the wind as he gazed straight ahead at the burnt down mansion. "Well I guess the good thing is that everything around here is so ruined and damaged that anything that seems just a tiny bit intact would instantly stand out. I hope." He added the last words in a whisper and shrugged.

"There has to be something, otherwise my uncle wouldn't have led us here," Aera mumbled, crossing her arms and rubbing her hands on her shoulders as if she wanted to soothe and reassure herself.

"What exactly do you imagine the thing we have to find here to be?" Jimin asked her.

She paused for a while, her thoughts running in frantic circles as she desperately tried to find recollection of any object that would be of importance to her family. To no avail.

"I don't know, maybe..." her teeth caught her lower lip and she felt tension starting to build up in her forehead. "I guess some kind of jewelry, a ring, or a clock, a cup..." she began listing objects from every fantasy story she had ever read. "Something that wouldn't burn? Or something that could be easily hidden. Perhaps a book, like a diary or a memoir? Honestly, I don't know." helpless, her shoulders drooped with frustration.

Jimin nodded. "This narrows it down, so..." he trailed off, his voice lingering with uncertainty.

"Let's start, then." Jungkook said with no enthusiasm whatsoever as the three of them made their way to the abandoned property reluctantly.

As time passed, Aera grew more and more worried that they would have to head back empty-handed. She strained her eyes for any gleam of metal or silver she could detect, but soon she realized this wouldn't work. She would have to crouch down and dig into the ashes and dust with her own hands, searching for something she feared she'd never find.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Jungkook's voice reached her ears and she whirled around to look at him. His own clothes covered in dust and filth as well, he was pointing towards another smaller building, kind of like a cottage across the property, the only thing of it still standing was a wall.

Aera squinted, hazy memories flooding her mind. "This is the house my dad built for my grandma when she got sick. She used to live there," she answered back.

The truth was, Aera had no vivid recollection of her grandmother, even though she was named after her. She remembered that Adara was quite odd, often sitting in her swaying chair, dark unmoving eyes staring into empty space. They seemed so cold, almost hollow. She never talked much, and when she did, she used to say these really weird things that used to creep her granddaughter out.

Some years after Aera's parents passed away, her uncle Dongho had placed Adara in a mental institution where he claimed they'd take better care of her since she started having these episodes where she'd scream and talk nonsense for no apparent reason. Aera never questioned his decision, she never really knew her grandmother well and quite frankly, this all made perfect sense to her, giving her an explanation to Adara's bizarre behavior.

Over the years as Aera grew more conscious and mature, she started feeling worried and kind of guilty that she never paid her grandma a visit. She was her family after all, mentally ill or not. Maybe she'd be better now that she was being treated. She tried going to the mental hospital a couple times, but the guards never let her through, saying that Adara was a lost cause and a dangerous patient, quoting it was 'doctors' orders'. Nothing worked, not even bribing them with money.

It made Aera feel awful. This sounded ludicrous. How dangerous could an old lady be? Especially one as lifeless as her grandmother. What were they afraid of, that she was going to jump at them and karate chop them to death?

"Should we go and see what's there?" Jungkook asked cautiously, sprinting lightly towards Aera.

Jimin came over as well, patting the dust off his jacket, his usually lustrous blond locks now covered in ashes and cobwebs. "If I have to be completely honest, something tells me that if we find something today, it's gonna be over there. No offense Aera, but your grandma was a rather... peculiar person," he seemed to be picking his words carefully.

"You don't need to sugar-coat it, my grandma used to scare the shit out of me too," Aera offered him a crooked smile. "I never once got what her deal was, so many mysteries around her. So I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," she agreed and the three of them strolled down the field before finally reaching the crumbled cottage.

"Do you remember your grandmother clinging tightly onto something in particular?" Jungkook asked once they were in front of the spooky house, strolling down and looking around.

"I don't really know," Aera shrugged. "I mean, she used to keep a lot of books. But nothing in particular, no."

"That's too bad, because if it was a book indeed, it would have been the first thing to burn down," Jimin commented, letting out a soft groan and blinking very slowly. "Which means we're already too late."

author's note:

a picture of Jimin on his Harley: