Taehyung had to admit, this place, in all its mistakes, was stunningly beautiful. And by this place, he meant the lake outside the cabin. Not anywhere else, he didn't know enough about anywhere else to make an informed decision on that. And really, he didn't want to. He just wanted to go home. He closed his eyes and leaned back, taking in his surroundings. The water of the lake calmly lapped against the rocks surrounding the lake. Had it been a bit warmer, Taehyung would have gone into the water. As it was, he was already wet from the water fight and he shivered every time there was a small breeze of wind.

"Y'know, Hobi refuses to even be out here alone," an expected voice made him jump and his eyes fly open. He spun around, and Yoongi raised his hands defensively. "Wow. Relax, Tae, it's just me." He walked closer and sat himself down right next to Taehyung, lying down right on the ground. "Though, it could have been someone else."

"Oh yeah, right," Taehyung recalled. "Haunted forest."

Yoongi nodded. "Mm. You a superstitious man, Kim Tae?"

Taehyung nodded, though Yoongi's eyes were closed in relaxation. "I come from a farming family. I know a superstition or two. Or three hundred."

A pleasant smile graced Yoongi's face. "I like you, kid."

Taehyung looked back at the water. The sun was now shining on it, causing its yellow glow to be reflected in shimmers.

"I want to go home," he whispered to the water, the wind, and maybe the boy next to him.

There were a few seconds of peaceful quiet, the only sounds being the small waves and the birds in the trees.

"I know you do," Yoongi said.

After that was said, it seemed that even the lake stopped making noise. The world was then full of the deafening sound of silence. It was incredibly lonely feeling, the kind of loneliness that seeps through your skin and causes a heavy weight to pull your heart down.

"Hey, Tae," Yoongi said. Taehyung looked at him. The older boy was still lying on his back, his long dark hair a mess around his head. He looked strangely peaceful like this, with his eyes closed and perhaps a faint smile gracing his lips.

"Yeah?"

"That tan skin of yours, is that a beauty standard where you're from?"

Taehyung was momentarily confused, then looked down at his bare arms and realized how much darker his skin was than Yoongi's freakish ashen, washed-out color. He blushed. "No."

Yoongi didn't move, didn't even open his eyes. "Well, that's a shame."

The world made sound again, and it didn't feel nearly as lonely anymore. "It is?" Taehyung asked. "Why?"

This time Yoongi did open his strangely colored eyes, but instead of looking at Taehyung, just stared at the sky. "Because it's gorgeous."

This time when Taehyung blushed, it was in a good way.

Yoongi stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes. "C'mon, we think we know a person we talk to. Maybe he'll know how to get you home."

Taehyung's heart fluttered in his chest at the idea of being able to go back home. "Really?" he sputtered. "Who?"

Yoongi seemed to ponder that question. "That's a bit hard to explain. But I can say that the two of you have something in common."

He began walking back to the cabin, and Taehyung ran after him. "Hy - Yoongi! What do you mean 'something in common'? What do we have in common?"

The older boy flashed him a toothy grin. "Neither of you make any damn sense."

~

Before they left the forest, Taehyung watched as all the other boys tied their long hair either back or into some form of a braid and put those long gold earrings in. It was strange how methodical it all was, the way they all moved in one fluid motion around each other. Though, it was to be assumed that they had done this many times before. (The process was also frequently interrupted by Jeongguk running away into a different room and when someone went to go retrieve him, saying that they had to leave soon, he would squeak "I don't wanna!

"That boy," Hoseok sighed, shaking his head.)

The boys had apparently decided that wherever they were going, it was close enough to warrant not driving. Instead, they walked out of the forest and walked through the eerily empty streets. There were people, of course - ones that often gave the group very strange looks and sideways (or backwards) glances - but it wasn't nearly as busy as the streets of Seoul or Tokyo would usually be.

But the people... "Why are they looking at you?" Taehyung whispered to Jimin after a particular dark-haired girl looked at them for at least ten seconds before her pink lips turned into an O shape and she grinned from ear to ear.

Much to his surprise, the brunette boy smiled. "They're not looking at us. Or maybe a little, but not really. They're looking at you."

Taehyung was taken aback. "Me? Why?"

Jimin reached his hand to Taehyung's hair and tugged on it gently. "Such a pretty boy," he said in a condescending, squeaky voice. "He even cuts his pretty gray hair like a girl's!"

Narrowing his eyes, Taehyung slapped the hand away. "You know what, where I come from this is how boys cut their hair!"

Jimin wasn't affected by the snappishness, he just shrugged and twisted the damaged ends of his brown braid in between