chapter twenty-two / eeship-i
Epiphany
(022)

"Trying to leave us again?" I'm startled by the sudden disruption of the silence around me. I turned around swiftly, only to relax when I realized it was just Jin behind me. I was shocked to see anyone up so early. The sun had just started to peak it's head over the mountain peeks, casting a rose gold light on the hills and the water. Cotton candy floated in the sky with paintings of black birds moving through it. It was peaceful, dreamlike. The air was a little chilly, but nothing Namjoon's oversized sweater and a cup of hot tea couldn't solve.

I frowned at Jin. "Does it really look like I'm about to leave?" I looked down, motioning towards my pajamas and slippers, and then my unkept hair. Jin shrugged his shoulders as if my appearance had nothing to do with me about to leave or not.

I huffed out an exasperated sigh. "I would never leave you guys," I defend.

"You tried before. Remember? If I hadn't stopped you-"

"That was before. It's different now."

"How so," Jin questions, his one eyebrow quirked up.

"That time I tried to leave you guys behind, I did it because I was afraid you were all just following me out of guilt or obligation, and that you'd all end up dead because of that," I paused and let out a long breath, "but now I know that you have families and lives that you're fighting for, just like me. This is your own decision, so I'd rather be with you to help if I can because I know you won't just sit back."

Jin smiles at me, gleaming with pride, "we love you, Wren, but I'm glad you realized we weren't risking our lives solely for you. It's for us too." I nod in understanding, and for a while, we just sit in silence, gazing at the rising sun until Jin speaks up again. "You remind me a lot of my younger sister. She has cancer, so I want to make it back before she..." he trails off, not seeming to want to state the inevitable. I turn my head to look at him, but he won't meet my gaze. I can see how his eyes shimmer in the morning light. He blinks his eyes before any tears can fall from them.

I place my hand over his. He turns his hand over to grab my hand, maybe hoping to get some comfort. "We'll get our real lives back." The words I speak hold so much strength, no trace of doubt. There's no room for fear, no room for anxiety or misgivings. If I let any of those negative things seep into my heart, I know I'll fail.

"Let's finish our business in Genkaku."

I'm glad that Jin doesn't show any signs of concern for me, or ask if I'm sure about my decision. He knows I'm finally ready and that nothing can get in my way now. Not the boss from Genkaku, or any other boss. I've finally stopped fearing what they can do to me; it's about time they start fearing what I'm going to do to them.

"Remember, we stay together no matter what," Namjoon instructs us with an authoritative voice as we wait nervously for the train to take us back to Genkaku, "We've got to have each other's backs, or that thing can get any one of us." We all nod our heads in understanding. If we're going to do this, we've gotta do it together. I know I can't do this without any one of them. Through our time spent together here, we've become a team, almost acting together as one mind in separate bodies, a collective. We all have our talents, but this isn't a fight that can be fought alone.

Before I know it, we're back at the underground tunnel. Last time, the lights down here still worked, but for some reason, this time is different. The darkness of the underground tunnels almost seem like a solid wall that you can reach out and touch, but instead, it absorbs you, engulfs you. Luckily, Taehyung takes a lantern out of his inventory, the glowing blue item floats above our heads at his command, conveniently freeing his hands in case he needs to use them to defend himself. The lantern casts a pale, almost sterile looking light on the cracked walls of the tunnel and on our skin.

Though the light isn't very bright, I can still make out the details of my surroundings, enough to make me feel a bit more at ease. I glance at Namjoon, noticing the way his jaw is tender and his eyebrows furrow. I take his hand in mine, enjoying the soft feeling of his skin. He turns his hand to interlace his fingers with my own. I look down at our connected hands, then back up at his face to see him already looking at me. The corners of his lips tug into a small smile, one that tries to hold comfort and reassurance. "We'll get through this," he affirms. I smile back at him and nod my head. I believe with all of my heart that what he said is true.

"I'm reading posts that other players have left on the Elysium's forums," Jungkook announces, breaking up the sound of our footsteps and labored breathing, due to the thick humidity in the air. "The boss isn't in the same spot as before. It's strange because it mostly stayed in the same train all this time, but players have reported sightings in several locations."

I can hear Yoongi puff out a sigh from behind me. "Then how the heck are we supposed to find it? The tunnel system down here is pretty extensive and complex."

"I downloaded a map of the underground tunnels and how they run. If we split up into teams of-"

"No, we aren't splitting up," Namjoon quickly interrupts Jungkook, "it might take us longer, but I don't like the idea of us getting separated." I can tell Jungkook is upset by Namjoon's dismissal of his plan. Jimin seems to notice this too and quickly tries to make the situation better.

"It's a good plan, Kookie, but I agree with Hyung," he says, gently patting the younger boy's shoulder, "simply because if anything happened to one of the other teams, I would feel so guilty for not being there to help. Splitting up might make us quicker, but it also takes away our manpower."

Jungkook slumps his shoulders and pouts cutely, but I can tell now that he sees the logic in the decision. "Fine," he breathes out, "but I don't want to hear any of you old people complaining about being tired since you wanted to increase the ground we all have to cover."

Jin crosses his arms over his chest and glares. "Who are you calling old?"

"You and grandpa over there," Jungkook retorts, pointing to Yoongi, who is leaning on Hoseok sleepily. Yoongi seems to be unfazed by the comment, as he only shrugs his shoulders, but I can practically see the steam rising from Jin's head.

Before Jin can fuss anymore at Jungkook, Namjoon interrupts their bickering. "Guys, can we please focus and be serious right now?"

Jin lets out an annoyed huff and Jungkook snorts. I try to hold back my laugh. Jungkook thinks he's slick just because he got away with being a brat... for now.

We all take turns leading the group while studying the map, trying to study it to effectively cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. It's not an easy task, and many mistake are made due to the fact the the tunnels make so many different turns and twists. We're all tired, frustrated, and weariness grows as does the darkness and thickness of the air.

"Which way should we go?" Taehyung asks for anyone's advice once we come up to a section where the tunnel splits off into two directions. We all crowd around Taehyung to study the map, deciding on which direction we should go in.

"I think we should go this way," Namjoon and Jungkook both respond at the same time, pointing in different directions. Realizing they had a difference in opinions, they both scrunch up their faces and cut their eyes at each other. They've been butting heads all day, and I know this is going to cause some trouble. I sigh to myself, knowing we'll have to wait for them to argue about who's right before we can move on. That's exactly what happens until Hoseok interjects.

"Can't we just take a vote?"

"That's a good idea, but what if the votes split evenly between the two?" Jimin questions.

"If that happens, then maybe we should just split up," Jungkook mumbles which earns him a glare from Namjoon.

The rest of us study the map for a moment, deciding which direction we'll vote for. As I look over the map, I cant help but agree with Jungkook. I don't want to agree with him; I want to agree with Namjoon because I know if I don't it'll hurt his pride, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible, and I think the best way to do that is Jungkook's way.

In the end, Jungkook gets more votes, me, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jimin agreeing with him. When I vote for Jungkook's way, I can see the disappointed look in Namjoon's eyes. It makes my heart feel like it's clenching and dropping to my stomach. I don't want this to cause him to feel upset with me. Should I have ignored my instincts and what I felt was right to spare his feelings? Part of me says no, because just as important as his opinion was to him, my opinion is just as important and I won't ignore what my guts tell me, but another part says that it wasn't that important and that his feelings matter much more to me than what I feel is right. Maybe he doesn't even have the right to be upset about this situation, but his feelings are valid. I just wish that we could both have our own opinions without that getting in the way of anything. Maybe it's just a matter of pride. Either way, it hurts when he looks away from my eyes and walks right by me. I can feel the hurt and disappointment that he feels.

"Namjoon," I call out softly, but he only goes in the direction of the tunnel that Jungkook chose. I let out a sigh before Jungkook puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about him, he'll get over it."

"I wish there wasn't anything for him to get over." I lower my head and walk forward along Jungkook. My vote was Jungkook's winning vote. There might've been even more arguing if it was a tie. Maybe it's a good thing that the blame is on me.

The silence magnifies my guilt, multiplies it, going from a pebble to a large boulder that I just can't swallow. I want to walk by his side, not behind him.

Jungkook notices the gloomy look on my face. He hasn't shown much affection to me lately, so when he walks next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder, I'm a bit surprised. He leans into my side and cuddles into my arm like a small child. He looks up at me with wide eyes, almost like he's begging away my negative feelings with his puppy dog eyes. I chuckle and ruffle his hair. I haven't realized how much I've missed spending time with him until he shows me the slightest bit of attention.

"If I would've known this would cause you to feel like this, I would've just went Hyung's way," Jungkook mumbles.

I look down at him, smiling at how he's leaning down just to cling to my arm. Surely the position must be uncomfortable since he's much taller than me. "Don't worry about us, Kookie, listen to your instincts. They're there for a reason."

"But I don't want to listen to them if they end up hurting my friends." My heart warms but aches at the same time due to his words. There's times when listening to your instincts is important, but when there's a chance it'll hurt the people you care about, is it worth it? I might've made either person upset with either choice I made.

The me that I've been trying to work on is saying that my opinion wasn't worth hurting Namjoon and that he's much more important. He is important, but am I not more important to him than his pride? By the way he's treating me, it seems not. We're both putting this silly decision above each other. I'm willing to apologize and put this whole thing behind us, I just wonder if he is.

"Namjoon," I call out, quickening my pace to catch up with him, walking to his side. Namjoon doesn't even glance my way, or say anything to acknowledge me. I try not to grow discouraged. "Can we talk about this?"

"There's nothing to talk about," he coldly replies.

I purse my lips together. "You're obviously upset with me, so I think there is." Namjoon stops walking rather abruptly, causing me to bump into his side. When I look up at him, my stomach lurches. The look in his eyes isn't something I'm used to seeing. Since I've known him, his eyes always looked soft, patient, and kind, especially when looking at me. Now they only hold burning anger and it makes him look like a completely different person, someone I don't know anymore.

"There's nothing for us to talk about because I'm not interested in fixing our relationship. You've shown where your loyalties lie."

I stare at him, mouth wide open as I try to comprehend what he just said. It's not that I don't understand what he means, it's just hard for me to believe those words and lack of good reasoning cams from him, the most logical person I know. "Loyalties? You're kidding, right?" I scoff, before pinching the bridge of my nose. "You think my decision was made because of something petty like who I'm biased to? I know we haven't known each other for a very long time, but I thought you knew me better than that.

"Do you really think I would be stupid enough to make an important decision based solely on something like that? We won't always have the same opinion, but if you can't put your pride aside to accept that I won't always agree with you on things and that it's okay to feel differently, then maybe you're not the person I thought you were. I'm not gonna follow you blindly just to stroke your ego." By the time I finish speaking, tears start to sting my eyes. It feels stupid, and I curse myself for not being able to stop my eyes from watering, but the anger and frustration I feel bubbling in my chest demands an outlet to release some of the emotion I'm feeling.

I can almost hear the boys around us gulp, the air so tense, it feels like it's forming into a wall around our bodies, stopping any one of us from moving. I hate that we're arguing over something so insignificant at a time and place that's very inconvenient. I hate that the one person I've grown the closest to, the one I always look to for comfort, for warmth, for a hand to hold, for someone to talk to, is the one that has so suddenly become the most distant. Maybe the stress of our situation has finally become too much for him. Maybe he's just having a difficult time right now. I want to believe that it's something else because believing that this is his true nature is too hard to swallow. There has to be something more.

"You're right, Wren," Jungkook interrupts, a weary look on his face, " he isn't the person you thought he was. He doesn't have a gamer tag; that's not Namjoon." Jungkook grabs my arm and quickly pulls me to his side, shielding me from whoever or whatever that thing is.

The person that looks exactly like Namjoon let's out a breathless laugh, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a smirk. "I was wondering how long it would take you to notice, Jungkook. Part of me was starting to wonder if you were really the genius that created me."

My heart drops to my stomach, and my stomach threatens to hurl it back up. I look at Jungkook, my eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. He stands frozen, almost like a statue until I see his Adam's apple move up and down as he gulps anxiously.

"Jungkook, what is he talking about?" Yoongi barely uttered loud enough for us to hear him.

"Oh? Your little friends don't know yet, do they?" The thing disguised as our friend surmised.

"Shut up," Jungkook growled, his jaw clenched so hard I could see veins sticking out on his face and neck, but this only seemed to spur the other on.

"Seems I'm not the only fake person in the room, the only one hiding their true nature." Suddenly, the familiar features of Namjoon's face begins to morph into something entirely different, but its a face I recognize. It's the woman that I saw here before, right before I was thrown into hallucinations. This is the boss of Genkaku. "Surprise, surprise! I'm not your friend, I'm a boss, but an even bigger surprise is that's not your friend either," the boss disclosed, pointing her long finger at Jungkook, "that's the hacker."

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A/N -

Wow Jungkook is the hacker?!!?! 🤭😮😧 I'm sure you guys are all so shocked!!! I'm being sarcastic, so many of you guessed it was him lol I suck at subtle hints.

Okay but guys.... WHERE IS NAMS?!!?? Like seriously please tell me where he is and what happened to him because I have no idea. I had a whole different plan for this chapter before I started writing it and it just progressively spiraled out of control. Like I hadn't planned for Namjoon to be replaced with the boss or for Jungkook to be exposed but here we are! Yay for writing without a plan 🥳😭

I've been wanting to do a Q&A for my characters in this book, so drop any questions you have for them next to their name. Make sure to comment so I can post the answers sooner than later!!

Wren -

Namjoon -

Jungkook -

Taehyung -

Hoseok -

Jin -

Yoongi -

Jimin -

Yani -

Kai -