⚠️ Warning: Slightly bloody scenes ahead

Taehyung's POV

3 hours ago

I gasp for air as I stair down at the person that lays slumped on the floor. Dead.

A large dark red spot stains the front of their shirt.

In my hand is a piece of a glass bottle—it's covered in the same red that stain the person's shirt.

That means it was me. Somehow, I did this.

My head pounds, and I feel something warm running down the right side of my face. I put my free hand up to my face and I look at my fingers, they are coated in blood from a wound on my head.

I don't remember anything. Only waking up on the ground next to the body, like I had fainted.

Where is everyone? Wasn't I just at home with all of them? Is this real?

It has to be real.

I look around, frantically searching for something, anything, that could give me a clue as to how I got here.

I spot something in the dim light, near the body.

I grab it and study it.

It's purple, and it has a chain attached. It looks familiar. It looks as if it has been broken off of a bigger piece, like the friendship necklaces I always wanted to get as a child.

I unclip the chain and put the small chain around my neck.

Then I hear them. The sirens are loud and I hear people shouting outside.
The police.

There's suddenly a pounding on what seems to be the front door. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of someone—probably an officer—peeking through the stained glass window.

They glance around and our eyes meet.

It's only for one second, but I know they see me, with the piece of glass in my hand.

If they find me, I'll have no excuse as to why I was at the crime scene. No excuse as to why I was holding the murder weapon.

I drop the piece of bloody glass, and I run. I find a back door slightly open, and I slip through it.

It's snowing lightly and air outside is cold and piercing. I shiver at the feeling of it hitting my face.

I run through the darkness, the only light being from street lamps. Not many people are out, I must be in one of the more rural areas of Seoul.

A shooting pain courses through my right eye and I gasp. I trip over a rock and loose my footing. I let out a grunt as I stumble and fall hard on my side, right into a large puddle of gray melted sludge.

I stand up from the freezing water and I shiver. I continue to run, ignoring the fact that I'm soaked to the bone and freezing.

I hear police sirens, and I know I need to go somewhere that has more people, so I can blend in, but I don't know where to go or where home is from here, so I just go wherever my feet take me.

When I don't know how long I have been running for, I approach a more densely populated area, with cars speeding by and people bundled up cozily in scarves and thick coats, talking and laughing loudly.

Only then do I realize something. My clothes. They're covered in blood. And with my head wound, it's only a matter of time before someone notices and calls the police.

I spot an alley beside a small electronics store, and decide it's my best shot at staying hidden.
At least for now.

˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚

Seokjin's P.O.V

I walk through the streets of Seoul, the ground covered in a thin layer of sludge.

I didn't know what to do in that room—it's a hotel room—and according to the nice lady at the front desk, I have been staying there for quite some time now.

I roll the pendant in my hand. The Love Pendant is what I'm calling it; I put it in my pocket before I left the small, run-down hotel consisting of only three levels.

I explored the room more and found a hotel key-card; cabinet stocked with bottled-water, blankets and non-perishable food; a first-aid kit; a wallet full of money in the top drawer of the dresser in the room; a microwave; a small bathroom and a few more things.

All of which I have no idea how it got there.

Still being disoriented from it all, I walked to the only place that I know: home.

It was abandoned and empty. It looked as if no one had been there for years.

That helped me determine one thing: this is an alternate reality.

It's not that I never thought it possible, I guess it just never occurred to me that something like this could be possible.

What I need to figure out is how to get back. Back to my reality, where I live peacefully and am aware of where my brothers are.

I'm guessing the other members are not here, and if they are, where would they be? Just the thought of them being out there, alone, makes my stomach drop and my heart rate spike.

My babies must be so scared.

I don't know what any of this means. Well, except for the pendant; I'm almost sure it represents love. Most likely the love of all of us, as a family.

But the rest, the picture, the hotel, why I'm even here in the first place, none of it makes sense.

Maybe the picture is to remind me. So I don't forget my family in this reality.

Two police cars, sirens blaring, race by and interrupt my thoughts. I flinch at the sudden loud sound.

My ears ring for next few minutes as I scrape my feet against the pavement. I walk by an alley, and I hear a low cry. It's not a scream or a shout, it's like someone is sobbing.

My ears still ringing, I stop in my tracks and listen. I hear it again, a low sobbing sound. It's someone's voice. I feel like I have heard that voice somewhere before.

I walk back and slowly into the alley, my heart beating quickly.

The sound is more clear now, and I know that someone is crying.

I approach a figure sitting against the concrete, hidden in the darkness.

"Hello? A-are you okay?" I call, my voice shaking.

I hear the person sniff and shrink against the concrete, like they're scared I'll harm them.

"No, leave me alone," they say in a deep voice.

I know that voice. The second I hear it, I know.
It's Taehyung's voice.

"Taehyung?" I say.

He comes slowly forward, into the dim light of the alleyway, and I see him.

"H-hyung?" He whispers.

His eyes are wide, and tears stream down his reddened cheeks.

But that's not what I'm looking at. His hands...and his clothes...they're covered in a red substance. I catch the faint smell of copper and I gasp.

It's blood.

"Oh my god, Taehyung—"

I'm cut off by him slamming his body into me, squeezing me so tight I can't breath. The ringing in my ears stops suddenly and
I'm too shocked to do anything but squeeze him back.

I hear him let out a heart wrenching sob into my shoulder.

"H-hyung...you're here," he says shakily.

After a minute, he let's go and looks at me. I see that he has blood running down the right side of his face, from his hairline to his chin.

"Taehyung, what happened? Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?" I ask frantically.

He looks at me with glossy eyes, more tears forming at the corners.

"Hyung, I'm okay, I think, but the police. They're after me," he whispers, pulling me deeper into the alleyway.
"I woke up and...and I was in someone's house, and there was blood and glass everywhere, and I...I think I...killed someone. Hyung, I-I don't... I don't..."
he falters and his chest rises and falls rapidly. His breaths come out in short gasps.

I think he's panicking.

And did he just say he killed someone?

No. Right now, I need to focus on calming Taehyung. I push the thought to the back of my mind.

"Um, okay Taehyung, it's okay, hyung's here. Breathe for me, baby. Just breathe," I say in a soothing voice.

I move us so that we sit in the damp alley, against the icy-cold brick wall.

I do what my mother used to do when I had panic attacks: I slip my arms under his shirt and around his waist and I smooth my hands up and down his back, brushing gently with my fingertips.

I realize that his clothes—which consist of a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, and jeans—are damp and feel almost frozen.

"Sweetheart, why are your clothes wet?" I ask quietly.

Taehyung shivers beneath my touch and I feel goosebumps rise on his cold, smooth skin.

"F-fell i-in a p-puddle," he breathes out.

My stomach sinks at the words. He could be getting sick, being out here in the cold with wet clothes on.

I whisper words of comfort in his ear.

After a few minutes, Taehyung relaxes into my embrace and I can tell that his eyelids are getting heavy with sleep, but he's still shivering and his breathing is quick and shallow.

He probably used up all of his energy on the panic attack. And who knows how long he had been sitting here sobbing before I found him.

I need to get him back to the hotel room, though. If he is getting sick and if the police really are looking for him, he needs to be somewhere safe.

˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚

I carry Taehyung back to the room. It's a good thing it was only a few blocks from where I found him.

I got a few confused looks while walking with him in my arms, but no one said anything.

I lay him down on the large bed and get a warm, wet towel to clean the small wound on his forehead. I put a bandaid from first-aid kit on it.

I grab a fresh pair of clothes from the large suitcase.

"Hey, hey," I say, lightly tapping his face, "Let's get you out of these clothes."

He nods sleepily and helps me to pull his
still-damp hoodie and long-sleeved shirt over his head. I see something on a chain around his neck and I look at it closer. It's a piece of the Love Pendant.
I take my piece out of my pocket and compare the two. They definitely look like they could fit together with more pieces to fill the gap.

"Sweetheart, how did you get this?" I ask. But Taehyung doesn't answer, and I realize he's shivering more violently and his eyes are clouded.

"Taetae?" I say worriedly. This isn't normal. He's sick, I just know it. And if he's sick, he'll need medicine. I don't want to leave him, but I might have to.

I get him changed into his new clothes and I wrap him in a blanket.

"Taehyung, I'll be right back, I'm going to get you medicine, okay?"
His eyes are still clouded, but he gives me what I think is a nod, and I go with that.

I kiss Taehyung's cold and clammy forehead, and I reluctantly leave the hotel.

I ask someone walking if they know where the nearest convenience store is. They say there's one close by and I follow their directions.

After about ten minutes of walking, I see spot a billboard marked with a convenience store and gas-station logo.

I cut through some trees and I see someone in the parking lot. It's a man, and It looks like he's arguing with someone. The man shoves the other person to the ground and I quietly move closer to get a better view. I can hear them now.

"Didn't you hear me?! This car is expensive! Now say something, you imbecile!!"
I hear one of them shout, and then an apology from the other one.

The man continues to shout and say harsh words. I feel bad for the other person, it didn't even look like they did anything.

The one that was shoved now gets up and pins the man against his car.

That's it, I've got to do something before they kill each other.

I walk closer, but I stop suddenly. My Love Pendant is humming again, and I have an odd feeling. I keep walking and the person pinning the man down let's go of him and turns.
I was right. It is him.
I yell Namjoon's name, I yell it and we both know.

We quickly walk towards each other, and the humming grows louder.

"Hyung? Is that you?" I hear him say.

When we reach each other, the humming suddenly stops. It's as I thought, it starts and stops when we reach a certain range. I pull him into a tight hug.

"Hyung," he whispers, laughing a little.

The man gets in his car and drives away.

I pull away quickly, my expression changing from a smile to a frown.

"What's wrong? Where are the other members?" he asks, looking worried.

I shake my head.

"I don't know yet. But for now, we have another problem. It's Taehyung. He's in trouble."

˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚ ˚✧₊⁺˳✧༚

A/N: that feeling...it's like, deja vu, like I've written this before...