"Right there," the brown-haired boy breathed out, throwing his head back as his eyelids hooded his darkened ebony orbs. His hand darted unsteadily to remove the black-rimmed specs from his face, a small groan leaving his lips. "Fuck, baby, you're so good at this," he glanced down at his lap, his other hand clasping at the arm rest.

Muffled slurping sounds came from under the desk where his gaze was pinned at. He raised his hips a little bit to intensify the pleasure and dug his teeth into his lower lip. "Oh my god," he aspirated, chest heaving and breathing irregular as the fluorescent light coming from the numerous screens on the wall was the only thing that illuminated his face.

"I'm so close, keep doing that," he rasped as a succulent moan escaped his lips. Just as his breath caught in his throat, his gaze traveled to the upper left screen on the wall in front of him and he nearly choked. "Wait a minute. Oh, holy shit," he exclaimed breathlessly and straightened up, eyes becoming as wide as pancakes as his hands searched for his specs on the desk.

"What is happening?" an annoyed female voice came from under the desk just as a blond head peeked over, eyebrows knit together.

"Something's wrong, something's terribly wrong. Oh, holy crap!" he rambled frantically, fingers running over the keyboard in swift, precise motions as he went through all of the surveillance cameras. His pale face contorted in a horrified grimace as he watched how dense clouds of smoke coming from the penthouse slowly obscured the whole hallway like thick fog, only that this smoke had been darker than any other smoke he had seen.

He shivered. The terrifying fumes were coming from behind the door of Aera's penthouse like from a crater in the ground.

"What the fuck is this?" the girl gasped, watery eyes enlarged and her complexion pale, as if all the blood had left her face.

"A fire," he let out through shaky breaths, the word was the only thing his distorted mind could produce at that moment. But this wasn't any ordinary fire and he was sure of that, even if he didn't realize it at the moment. This smoke was pitch-black, creating a darkness that made his gut twirl. "I have to call Namjoon and the others," he aspirated, his hands rummaging through the desk for his earpiece.

"No," the girl deadpanned. "No one can know I'm here. Jungkook, do you hear me, no one can know I'm here!" panic-struck, she grabbed him by the arm and started jerking it.

"For fuck's sake, Meisa, there's a fucking fire!" Jungkook snapped, fully aware that they were running out of time. "Don't you see the smoke? If Aera is in there, she might suffocate any minute now and the only thing you're concerned about is your boyfriend finding out you're sleeping with the security!"

Meisa's sea green eyes rounded as she stared at him jaw-slacked, shocked from his sudden shift in demeanor. Jungkook had always been quiet and shy and a little bit slow, never raising his voice at anyone. She remained silent, his abrupt lash out finally shutting her up before she retreated to rest her back against the wall.

"Emergency in the penthouse, I repeat, emergency in the penthouse," Jungkook leaned in to talk into the small microphone. Time had seemed to stop even though it had been nearly just a minute before a tall, slender male form barged in through the door.

Namjoon's face remained calm, the twitching of the left side of his mouth the only betrayer of his anxiousness. It only took him two or three strides to find himself standing next to Jungkook, tense eyes scanning the surveillance cameras. His whole body slightly lurched forward when his gaze fell onto one of the screens. The smoke had filled the entire hallway now as nothing could be made out in the eerie darkness, it seemed like someone had just turned the camera off.

"It may be a fire, but I've never seen a fire like this," Jungkook's voice trailed off as he stared at the screen as well, letting out a shaky breath.

"I'm going over there. Call the fire brigade at once," the security team leader ordered in an authoritative voice, reverberating with power. "Stay here and watch the other surveilled areas. If something similar happens, let me know right away. And call Jimin. Now." Namjoon spun on his heel with haste and headed for the door. Before stepping out, he came to a sudden halt, his head swinging around only for his gaze to pierce through Meisa. "Good day, miss Jung." His face expressionless, he offered her a firm nod before disappearing through the door, missing out on the opportunity to witness how her cheeks turned nearly vermillion red.

***

The adrenaline rushed through Jimin's veins like an overflowing river, making him lose all rationality. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he was more scared, or he could. It was the previous time when they almost lost her one year ago. He wasn't supposed to leave her alone but he did it regardless, all because of that dull ache in his knee. Speaking of the pain, it had nearly disappeared as Jimin rushed through the stairs, taking the fifteen stories in one run without stopping to catch his breath.

Upon reaching the penthouse hallway, he tried breathing but air wouldn't fill his lungs. Instead, what he inhaled was a smothering, thick smell of burning and chemicals and his eyes started throbbing and welling up with tears from the leftover smoke in the air. The odor hit him in the face relentlessly, making him cover his mouth with his hand. However, it wasn't difficult for him to spot her sitting on the floor next to a wall, wrapped in a blanket and head hanging low.

"Are you alright?" Jimin asked breathlessly when he sprinted towards her, bumping into several firemen on the way. He crouched, bending over so that he could look into her eyes.

Her lip buckled upwards and eyes glistening with a glossy layer, she bobbed her head into a faint nod. Jimin felt as though something was clasping on his heart as he scanned her ashen face and almost bluish lips. "I'm okay," she assured him, her voice cracked as a choked cry erupted through her mouth. Suddenly all Jimin saw was her, everything else fell away as their surroundings became just distant noise.

"How did it happen?" he breathed out, inadvertently clenching his jaw as he felt the urge to take her hand but pushed it aside in his head.

"I have no idea," Aera hugged her knees to her chest, slumping forward as her gaze dropped to the floor. "Hyuk woke me up when he came to my room this morning just to blab nonsense. I was so angry after he left that I just went back to sleep. I had the worst headache," she inhaled sharply and bit her lip when her chin started trembling. "When I woke up, everything was pitch black. I was suffocating. I couldn't see any flames," she raised her eyes to meet Jimin's. "I tried screaming, but couldn't force a single word out. That's when I blacked out... the next thing I remember is Namjoon and the other security guards dragging me out."

A slight wince passed through Jimin's face. "I'm sorry," his voice was lower now, a little bit hushed as he stared deeply into Aera's eyes. "I should have been here. I should have-"

"Don't," she cut him off, her hand shot up to tug lightly at his side, chasing all the air from his lungs. "Even if you were in the building, there would have been nothing you could do. I couldn't make a sound and it was too dark for me to find the panic button."

"I could have... stayed," Jimin's voice disappeared towards the end of his sentence, his own hesitance taking him aback. His eyes rounded and so did Aera's as apparently they were both reminded of last night. The was a baffled pause while no one peeped as much as a word, both of them sinking in the awkward silence.

"It's all extinguished now," a deep baritone reverberated through Jimin's bones, causing his head to spring upwards and glance at Namjoon.

"What was the cause of it?" Jimin questioned, his face straighter than that of a poker player.

Namjoon's jaw clenched and released. "They couldn't say. Nothing in the room is burned. It's as if the smoke came out of nowhere."

"But that's impossible," Aera stood up, slightly swaying before leaning to rest her back on the wall to steady herself. "I felt it. I felt the heat. It was like a hundred degrees in there, something was definitely burning. And I heard a loud thud, like a..." she nibbled on her lower lip.

Namjoon threw her a furtive glance before folding his arms in front of his chest. "Like an explosion?"

Aera gave a nod. "Something like that, but not as powerful."

"Do you think it might have been an explosive?" Jimin cocked a brow, staring at Namjoon intently. The elder one offered him an almost imperceptible nod of confirmation, causing Jimin's face to harden. Every single day he did a routine check of Aera's room, including the day before. The only person to have entered the penthouse except him was...

"It's not possible," Aera interrupted his train of thought as if she could see into his mind. "He had nothing on him. And he was half-drunk, he could have never planted it without me noticing."

"What's the whole fuss about?" speak of the devil, Hyukjae was strolling down the corridor, followed by a rather anxious looking Yoongi. Brows dipped slightly, his eyes were glimmering with concern which he quickly hid when he met Jimin's gaze.

"There was a fire in miss Aera's room," Namjoon informed him blankly, his shoulders tensing up immediately after feeling Hyukjae's presence.

"A fire?" Hyukjae sneered, snorting in the form of a laugh. He stretched out his neck to glance to the door of the penthouse. "So why isn't anything burned?"

"We still don't know," Namjoon deadpanned, barely containing his annoyance.

"So you believed her?" Hyukjae's mouth stretched in a sarcastic grin, baring his teeth and giving him an almost maniacal look. "Wow, so dumb of you."

"I've had enough of you in one day," Aera grumbled darkly, her hands clasping on the blanket around her body.

"There is evidence of fire, even a dumb person can see that," Namjoon shot back. "We have yet to see, but if this turns out to be not to be an accident, then it could be considered an attempt at murder." his words caused Jimin's blood to freeze in his veins. To know that the danger had been so close and he hadn't been there to do something.

"Don't make me laugh," Hyukjae rolled his eyes. "That's nonsense. What do you want, to cause even more disturbance after our uncle's passing? You really think someone's going to try to harm her right here, in her own home? With this level of security?" he scoffed. "Personally, I don't think it's very rational to believe the words of a disturbed delusional girl who set fire to her own house one year ago."

"You asshole!" Aera seethed, abruptly taking a step towards her brother so that Jimin had to stand in her way to hold her back. "You don't even know what you're talking about! You weren't there!"

Hyukjae's smirk didn't fade but instead only grew bigger as he obviously found pleasure in observing his sister's rage. "Oh, how convenient for you that no one was there when you burned our entire house down. Look at yourself now. Admit it, sis, you've never been in your right mind. You're deranged. Even father thought so. Why do you think he preferred his other child over you?"

"Don't talk to her that way," Jimin snarled, suddenly overcome by a burning rage that demanded release.

Hyukjae's grey orbs narrowed at him, causing Jimin to wince when a sharp pain pierced through his head. "There he is, the loyal one. I imagine you have to be just as mental as her to be following her this blindly. This 'fire'," he finger-quoted. "is just an excuse for her to scream for attention now. Poor girl. So path-"

"Enough," suddenly Yoongi stepped in, grabbing Hyukjae by the upper arm, his voice stern and menacing. "That's enough," he repeated darkly, staring at his friend as the words slowly left his mouth. Jimin found it odd how Hyukjae's expression slowly morphed into a confused one, his eyes drifting off somewhere in the distance. Before Jimin knew it, Hyukjae's face was back to his usual cold, spiteful expression.

This was strange.

"Whatever." Hyukjae simply shrugged, dropping the subject oddly quick. There was still a shadow of perplexity painted over his face, but it was almost imperceptible.

Yoongi peered at Jimin from under his disheveled jet black bangs, his expression practically unreadable. "Get her out of here," his voice was barely above a whisper. "Take her somewhere, away from here." there was something similar to begging in his tone, close to desperation.

Still a little bit confused, Jimin felt obligated to do it. He gave a firm nod then glanced over at Hyukjae who had fallen oddly silent, staring off into the wall sightlessly as if he was in a trance.

"I'll walk you guys outside," Namjoon announced, heading for the elevator.

Jimin continued to stare at Yoongi's face for a couple more seconds, his mind clamoring for an answer to a question he still hadn't formulated. He finally looked away the moment he felt a loose grasp around his hand, Aera's small palm slightly tugging on his sleeve.

"Come on," he ushered her, setting free a long sigh. "We're getting out of here."