Travelling back to the city Tanaka looked outside the window, remembering the conversation she had with Zuri her eyes glistening, she opened the window trying hard not to cry

         'I hope I made the right decision ' she said to herself

Park Bo-gum and Jungkook sat at the VIP lounge at the Jomo Kenyatta Internation Airport waiting for their flight

         'You think she bought it?' Jungkook asked Park Bo-gum

        ' I hope so, otherwise, all our efforts would be in vain' he said

Tanaka looked at her small bedsitter rented house, she admired her works, all around the wall were story ideas written in sticky notes, she caressed them then moved to movie posters, she was a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan, she laughed at her choices, she then moved to her bed section where it was all BTS, she admired their faces but her expressions fell flat when she held Jungkook's photo next to it was Park Bo-gum's photo

          'I am sorry, guys, I had to do it for your safety,' Tanaka said fanning herself trying not to cry, she proceeded to pack her necessities in a suitcase, she cleaned her room and finally settled down to call her grandmother, she dialled her number but the call went straight to voice mail 

          'Hi, grandma, hope you are allright, I have got an interview in two days, and I am to travel tonight. I promise to call when I land, take care, I love you. ' Tanaka cut the call. She had refused to accept that the person she's known her entire life was not someone she could trust. Flashes of her conversation with Zuri came back 

        'You've got ten minutes' Tanaka said 

        'You were taken under Kanapoi's care when you were young to avoid the same fate' Zuri stated 

        'See that is bull, sorry to curse' said Tanaka who was seeing Zuri as a player who was after heaven knows what 

       'Have you ever wondered how your parents died yet there was no grave?' 

       'they were cremated and what does that have to do with anything?' asked Tanaka

       'See now that's a story she wants you to believe because we all know, no one in this village cremates their loved ones' Zuri said 

        'Let's say I give you the benefit of a doubt, what makes you think I will believe you in the end?' Tanaka asked

        'Because by tomorrow morning you will not remember the Boys and it will be like when you were nineteen' Zuri said

              'How do you know what happened when I was nineteen?' Tanaka asked

                'That's when your mother died but you will need to find the circumstances surrounding her death on your own, now you do not have time, all you need to do is pretend you do not remember the two and everything will be back to normal' said Zuri 

             'Why would I pretend ?' she asked,

           ' Actually, you don't have to the tea will do the work' that's when it hit Tanaka that she had been sipping tea, she put the cup down but it was empty

           'What did you do to me?' Tanaka asked getting up 

           'Go home, take rest and return to the city tomorrow, make up a lie and go back to South Korea that's the only way you will get answers' for some reason Tanaka decided to trust Zuri as she was the only person who was willing to tell her the truth about her past even if it had come at a cost, she walked to the door before Zuri stopped her

           'This time fate is on your side and I am too do not disappoint us' she said, Tanaka looked at her before heading out. 

Tanaka was brought out of her flashback with her alarm ringing, she sighed before heading to take a shower

**********

 Tanaka landed at Incheon International Airport, she waved at a taxi that was coming her way                      'She is here' a guy dressed in all black said, he ended the call and walked past Tanaka, bumping into her, he was wearing a black mask and a cap. 

             'Sorry' the guy said

             'It is all right' Tanaka replied, she opened the taxi door and settled in, the guy watched the taxi driving off before getting one himself.

Tanaka stood in front of a posh apartment in Seoul, an old lady in her early sixties held her wrist 

            'You are putting them in danger, walk away now before it is late' she said, Tanaka tried to loosen her hand from the tight grip 'you cannot play gods because everything Is already laid out for you' the old lady said and walked away leaving Tanaka confused

Tanaka walked to the lift nervously, she tried to adjust her outfit and checked her breath, though she was tired, she tried to practice a warm smile. The lift came to a stop on the 21st floor, she got out having her suitcase in hand, she walked towards apartment 2107, she fixed herself one last time before typing in the password and opening the door, she walked into a worried Park Bo-gum and Jungkook, she let go of the suitcase and went in for a tight group hug.  After sometime Tanaka had settled in, she wanted to hear all the stories from her boys

            'You know when someone says, "do not look for me" they desperately need your help' said Park Bo-gum chuckling 

            'forgive my dramatic self and again I had a weird feeling so I thought warning you were best than being caught off-guard' Tanaka said, the entire time Jungkook was silent, he did not even utter a word

             'Jungkook are you okay?' Tanaka asked 

             'So now you remember me?' he asked quite mad, Park Bo-gum noticed the air getting tight, he decided to excuse himself 

             'I will give you guys space' Park Bo-gum said and walked to his bedroom, Tanaka moved towards Jungkook trying to hold his hands but he backed away 

             'You know how worried I was, I did not have your number and the worst thing is you couldn't even contact me, I have to wait and hear news from Hyung ' Jungkook said, Tanaka looked down, her eyes glistening with tears, Jungkook noticed and moved towards her cupping her cheeks with his hands

             'Hey love don't cry' he said 

             'I am sorry Jay, I didn't mean to, I wanted you to be safe and when you came to my hometown, I remembered everything I wanted to hug you and say I'm sorry but I had to pretend like I didn't know you plus the tea I was given was making it hard for me to even show any kind of emotion towards you or Bogummy, I am sorry' Jungkook couldn't bear to see her cry he engulfed her in a hug patting her back, Park Bo-gum looked at them from his bedroom corridor tears rolling down his cheeks, it wasn't that he was hurt but whatever emotion she felt he felt it too.

 Tanaka and the guys had settled down having lunch, being a chicken lover Tanaka had ordered fried chicken not to forget Ramen which had become her favourite while watching K-dramas, while eating Tanaka decided to ask how they reached her home town considering they were strangers to the land, Jungkook who had become cheerful decided to get her up to speed with the story

             'We need to get to her before it's late' Park Bo-gum said just then they heard the doorbell, Park Bo-gum looked through the video doorbell camera but he did not know who he was, he shrugged off thinking it is just one of his  fans

             'I know how to get you to her hometown' the guy said, well to them now it was normal, for a couple of days they had experienced a rollercoaster of life-changing incidents and this was not new, Park Bo-gum opened the door and the guy came in 

             'First, wear the bracelets it will protect you as you do not know who is after you now, do not panic nothing will happen to her and pack stuff for a few days, it's going to be a long journey' the guy said

           'and why should we trust you?' asked Jungkook

           'Because just like you, she is trying to find answers and I am trying to help all of you find them' he said 

            'whats in it for you?' asked Jungkook again who was dissatisfied by his answer

              'I get to go back home if I help her, to be honest, I do not care about you' he said

             'That's fair' Jungkook said Tanaka cut Jungkook's narration short 

            'Wait I met that guy at the airport ' 'He was probably making sure you were all right ' Jungkook said, Park Bo-gum who was zoned out saw a pop-up text in Tanaka's phone 'Come to the above location alone or the boys get hurt' Park Bo-gum took out his dishes slowly sliding Tanaka's phone in his other hand walking towards the kitchen, Knowing the password was his name, he unlocked the phone and deleted it, he walked back to the living room 

              'sorry I mistook your phone for mine' Park Bo-gum said he then slid the phone back at the table and picked his, even though his phone was nothing like Tanaka's, uninterested in the phone situation Tanaka continued to listen to Jungkook

              'I will be going out for a bit, I might not be back till tomorrow, you guys have fun' he said to Jungkook and Tanaka, Tanaka found it weird but shrugged it off

               'How did you guys get this house?' Tanaka asked 

               'The dude arranged it for us, it is a safe space for you till we figure out what is going on' Jungkook said. as they were talking Tanaka received a video text she unlocked the phone seeing Park Bo-gum being tortured, he was lying on the ground blood gushing through his mouth and nose, the video followed with a text, 'I told you they will pay the price  for your ignorance', Tanaka tried to breathe her eyes flooding with tears, Jungkook was also getting worried for what was happening, Tanaka went straight to the room allocated for her, she took her suitcase threatening to go back, Jungkook held her hands, the only thing coming to mind was hugging her, Tanaka sobbed in his embrace

                'I'm so sorry Jay, I was so stupid I thought coming here, getting to live a fairy tale life with the two most important people in my life would bring me joy, but all it did was cause accidents and pain again 

                'Don't say that' Jungkook told her, pain written all over his face as she was suffering. 

                'I did this Jungkook, he is lying there unconscious because of me, and who knows, you might be next. I wish I had listened to her right now Bo gummy would be here' Jungkook saw where the conversation was going, he decided to cut in before she suggested something much worse

                'I know what you're going to say, but I am not going to listen because you brought this upon us, and you don't get to leave halfway, not until we get answers' Jungkook said his eyes glistening 

             ' Please Jay, I can't imagine a world without you two, I will be a living mess, please don't do this please' Tanaka begged Jungkook to let her go but he was not ready to see her go, a part of him knew he did a mistake before, letting her go but this time he was not ready to do the same, he engulfed her in a tight hug, Tanaka sobbed in his embrace.

Jungkook took Tanaka to see Park Bo-gum at the hospital even though she was sceptical as she did not know how to confront him. Tanaka looked at Jungkook who assured her that everything will be all right, she opened the ward door revealing a sleeping Park Bo-gum, Tanaka sat next to his bed, she took his hand and placed it on her cheek

           'I'm probably the last person you will want to see right now but I need you, please wake up' Tanaka said sobbing, she felt like she was losing her mind and him not waking up was adding to her worries. Park Bo-gum opened his eyes, he did not want to interrupt Tanaka, he watched her blubbing her mind, Park Bo-gum tried to adjust himself and Tanaka felt the movement she looked up

          'Don't look at me with sad eyes' Park Bo-gum said

           'Why didn't you wear your bracelet? do you know how many people's days are made by just looking at your face, why would you try to ruin it ?' Tanaka scolded him,

           'They didn't even touch a single bone in my body, I made them regret touching me' he said jokingly 

'Do you think this is the time to joke, you know what, do whatever you want, go to every single danger hotspot point, come back bruised be the hero you want to be ' Tanaka said frustrated, Park Bo-gum held her hands

         'Come here' he patted the small space on the bed, Tanaka climbed the bed adjusting herself next to him, he hugged her, her head resting on his chest

        ' i didn't mean to worry you, it's just a small scratch nothing I can't handle ' he said

          ' Am I a curse?' Tanaka asked snuggling in his chest

           'Why would you say that?', he asked getting no answer he continued ' you are a blessing, until now aside from my family I didn't have anyone to worry about but you gave me a chance to feel that and I couldn't be more grateful' he said, Tanaka looked at him sniffing from crying 

           'Thank you gummy for being a part of me' she said

           'Don't stress too much we will get through this together' he said

****

Back at the village, Kanapoi made a phonecall

          'We sent them a message hope this time they will see it is serious' she said before ending the call.