Tessa slowly approached Jungkook, knowing too well what he had come here to talk about. As the days went on, Jungkook had been getting more and more eager to join the Scarlet Guard and escape his impending enlistment. He brought it up with Tessa almost every chance he got and every time Tessa would shoot him down, reminding him of what happened to her brother. Jungkook knew how much Jimin’s disappearance pained Tessa, and the last thing he wanted to do was add to that pain. Jungkook figured the only way to prevent Tessa from getting hurt was to convince her to join him in the resistance, that way they wouldn’t have to separate. 

    “I don’t want to hear it, Kookie.” Tessa dismissed the boy, rolling her eyes.

    “How did you know what I was going to say?” Jungkook asked with a faint smirk on his face to lighten Tessa’s mood. 

    “It’s all we ever talk about.” Tessa replied, sadly. “I wish you would stop bringing it up. Our days left together are numbered and every time I see you, you have to remind me of it. I just don’t want to spend my final days with you, arguing over the Scarlet Guard.”

    “It doesn’t have to be this way, Tess.” Jungkook replied, stepping towards her. He reached out his hands and interlocked his fingers with her’s, something he did often to calm her. “Come with me.” He pushed. “We can join the Scarlet Guard together. We can fight the Silvers together…we can find your brother…together.”

    Tessa retracted her hands, breaking eye contact with Jungkook. “I can’t lose you like I lost Jimin.” she replied, looking at the muddy ground.

    “I’ve been talking to this correspondent, V. He said he could get us into the Scarlet Guard. He said they need more soldiers. This is our chance, Tess! This is how we stay together. We won’t have to worry about the Silvers sep—”

    “Just stop it already!” Tessa interrupted. “The Scarlet Guard is the most difficult group to infiltrate, aside from the royal family themselves. You honestly expect me to believe that you are in contact with one of their members? Kookie, that’s not how these things work. You keep searching for a way out and in doing so, you’re forgetting about the one person that needs you most. I’m the last person that wants to see you shipped off, Jungkook, but even I know that the Scarlet Guard can’t help us now.”

    “How can you say that when the Scarlet Guard saved your brother’s life?” Jungkook blurted out, quickly realizing he had brought up a sensitive topic. 

    “We’ve talked about this, Jungkook. We’ve talked about how much it hurts me to be reminded of him and you do it anyways. I’m not running off to join the Scarlet Guard and if you had any sense left in you, you wouldn’t either.” Tessa responded, forcefully. 

    She pushed past Jungkook and stormed off to her family’s shack. What Jungkook said next was enough to stop Tessa in her tracks. 

    “What if I said V told me he knew where we could find Jimin?”

    The Min family was the most feared bloodline in centuries. They ruled with an iron fist and anybody that dared to get in the way of that would soon be found six feet under in a wooden coffin. They were a small family, what with one son and another boy they adopted after his parents died. They were known for being heartless and their upbringing of this boy was thought to be no exception. They allowed the boy, Jin, to live with them in exchange for work. Jin was a servant of sorts, always at the disposal of the true son of the King and Queen who was only a year younger than him. Jin was born with the power to heal others, however living with the royal family, he rarely needed to use it. Silvers were led to believe Jin was treated mercilessly, however, those that knew the family well, like Layla’s family, knew they loved Jin like a son. 

    The legitimate son of the King and Queen was named Yoongi. He was 2 years older than Layla and largely kept to himself. Similar to Layla, Yoongi possessed a rare power fit for a king. Yoongi was one of ten Whisperers that have ever been in existence. He has the ability to tap into a person’s mind in order to control their actions and read their thoughts. Layla had been dying to learn the ways of a Whisperer and Yoongi was the perfect master to go to. The King had offered Yoongi’s training to Layla many times, but Layla could never bring herself to accept his generous offer. There was something about Yoongi that intimidated her. He was always a quiet child, never making a fuss over broken toys or being force-fed vegetables. Like any master Whisperer, it was nearly impossible to read him. He always wore a blank expression on his face that rarely faltered. 

    Layla felt uncomfortable knowing he could read the thoughts of anyone he wanted, however, what she didn’t know was that she was different. Yoongi had not found a mind he couldn’t break into, that is until he met Layla. Each time her family was invited to the royal palace, he became determined to worm his way into her mind, and each time they left, he became increasingly discouraged. Visit after visit went by without Yoongi knowing what Layla had in her head and it intrigued him. He was always fascinated by Layla and the fact that his powers didn’t work on her made him want to know more. She would have no idea of this though, nobody would because Yoongi was a master Whisperer and it is nearly impossible to read a master Whisperer. 

    Layla found herself sitting beside the adopted son of the Min family in a large coliseum. She scanned the marble walls with her eyes, inspecting the exquisite gold detailing. She had done this many times, each time trying to distract herself from what was to come. Layla’s father dragged her and her brother to the capital city as a sort of punishment for the rations incident. The King had invited the Kim family to watch this months Harvest, as he does every month. 

    The Harvest was a monthly celebration organized by the Silvers to affirm their dominance over Reds. Two Reds were chosen each month and put into the center of the coliseum to fight to the death. The two contestants are told the last one standing will enjoy unlimited electricity and extra rations for a year. What they don’t know is every month the Silvers go back on their promise and murder that winner in front those lucky and rich enough to buy a seat in the coliseum. Layla hadn’t been to a Harvest in years, refusing to watch the slaughter of two innocent Reds. Her father warned her of the dangers of making a scene over the death of a Red in front of the King who, over many years had become his good friend.

    There Layla sat, two seats away from Yoongi, distracting herself with the fine details of her surroundings and hoping against all of her senses that Yoongi wasn’t listening to her mind filled with thoughts of pity for the Reds and disgust for the Silvers. 

    As she finally managed to quiet her thoughts, a loud voice blasted through countless speakers notifying her that the Harvest was about to start. Layla shifted in her seat uncomfortably, catching the attention of Jin. As the announcer introduced the two Reds that would both be dead in a matter of minutes, Layla tried harder than ever to find something to busy her mind with. She was determined to avoid seeing the murder of two innocent souls. An ear shattering gong sounded, signaling the start of the match. The crowd began cheering loudly, thankfully masking the sounds of violent contact coming from the match. Layla refused to look at the match and without the sounds to paint a picture in her mind, it was almost as if she was back at home, in her bed having a nightmare and not at the event she vowed never to attend again.

    Suddenly, Layla felt a cold hand lightly grasp her chin. She looked up only to find Jin looking directly at her, hand on her chin, urging her to watch the match. 

    “A girl of your status shouldn’t shy away from the spilling of Red blood.” he said playfully, almost mocking her fear. “You are sitting in one of the best seats in all of the capital and you dare refuse a good show?” he added, a little more forcefully. 

    “I don’t want to watch.” Layla replied, shortly. She then jerked her head away from Jin’s hand in an act of defiance. 

    Jin then reached his hand out, grabbing her face, again. He jerked her head forward, forcing her to watch the bloodbath unfolding in front of her. “It would be a shame for you to waste such a great opportunity from the King. Few Silvers will ever be able to see a Harvest in person. You really should be more excited, Layla, otherwise it almost seems as though you pity them.” Jin responded, almost challenging her. 

    Layla felt helpless. She was being forced to watch two innocent people die all for the purpose of establishing Silver dominance over Reds. 

    “If she doesn’t want to watch the match, Jin, don’t make her. She is free to feel and do whatever she wants, just as you and I are.” a stern voice came from next to Jin. Layla looked up only to lock eyes with the mysterious boy she had been trying to understand for years. As Jin let go of her face, allowing her to freely move her head and shield herself from the horror that was about to occur, Layla saw a change in Yoongi’s stone cold expression. For the first time in her life, she saw a look of pity wash over Yoongi, not for her or Jin, but for the two Reds that were barbarically fighting each other in the ring for what they believed was the chance to live.