If you haven’t caught on by now, a big chunk of Blood of Flowers was inspired by BTS’ Blood Sweat and Tears era, both the Korean and Japanese music videos, so if you have not seen both of them I highly suggest doing so before reading this chapter as it will really help you visualize my story from a clearer perspective. Happy reading! xoxo

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Jungkook slowly lifted his head off of the pillow, looking around himself in a complete daze. He was in a small, claustrophobic room that looked somewhat like an attic, and dim light filtered in through the curtains in front of the single window. Vivid splashes of magenta colored the walls like splatters of blood, looking neon and far too bright for Jungkook’s sensitive eyes. He groaned in the effort of swinging his legs off of the mattress, rubbing his eyes and glancing back. Where he had been lying down, there were streaks of that same vivid shade of purple-pink. What does all of this mean…? I must be in the Dream World…For some reason he couldn’t quite explain, sheer panic washed through his veins, and he was overcome with the sudden urge to flee the room. He let his legs carry himself through the doorway and then he was running in the hall, glancing behind every few seconds in paranoia. What am I even running from…? But he could feel the walls closing in on him as the carpeted floor began melting and transforming into what looked like hot lava. A terrified cry escaped Jungkook’s lips as he sprinted as fast as possible before realizing he had stepped onto the ceiling, and somehow the world had flipped upside down for him. It wasn’t possible. He was dreaming. Well, of course he was dreaming, because he was in the Dream World. But this was a nightmare.

His hands pushed through a set of double doors that opened up to a spacious room complete with a full floor to ceiling window overlooking the Dark City, except it was all wrong. Instead of the normal gloomy aura of his hometown, there were neon lights and flashing sings hanging off each building, giving a colorful, electric vibe. The closest sign to the window read THE JADE HOTEL, the glowing green light washing into the dimly lit room. It was another long moment before Jungkook even noticed the table and two chairs placed in the center, with RM occupying one.

“Ah, Jungkook. You found me,” slurred RM, reaching across his seat to grab an empty wineglass and pouring the green absinthe into it. He shoved it towards Jungkook eagerly. “Come, have a drink with me.”

He obeyed, sitting down and sipping lightly on the absinthe, but he knew they shouldn’t be wasting time as they were. V had said that time was extremely precious here in the Dream world, and it had ways of trying to trap you. Jungkook shuddered at the thought of being stuck in such a place for all of eternity. It was far too trippy for his taste. “RM, let’s go find the others.”

The vampire took off his sunglasses and slouched over his chair, his eyes half-closed. “This place will create fake versions of places we know in reality, such as my mansion, or your school. It will create illusions, hallucinations…but you mustn’t let it get to your head, Jungkook. Let’s stay strong and accomplish what we came here to do.” With that, RM finished off his drink and followed the human boy out the room.

They were strolling through the hallways, Jungkook realizing that they were in the apartments located near the Jade Hotel. They took the winding stairs all the way down to the first floor and made it outside. What hit Jungkook first was the weird, damp air that felt almost humid yet wet to him, sticking to his clothes and making him feel ill all at once.

“RM? Jungkook?” a distant voice called out to them in relief.

RM furrowed his eyebrows. “Suga?”

The second oldest vampire belonging to the Bangtan clan appeared in front of them, a smirk twisting the upper corners of his mouth. He ran a shaky hand through his black hair and adjusted his wrinkled, collared shirt, his top two buttons undone. “I just woke up and was looking for you guys. I already found Joy; she’s passed out on the bed of a truck that’s parked in a nearby street. I tried to wake her but she’s in a deep slumber.”

Jungkook nodded. “Okay, that’s alright. I have a feeling some of the other guys are in the Jade Hotel.”

The three of them hurried over to the hotel and found that the front desk was vacant. In fact, the entire hotel seemed to be vacant, as it was eerily silent and nearly all of the lights had been switched off. Jungkook noticed that all of the hotel keys and cards were in place above the desk, all except for one.

Room 216.

A chill slithered down Jungkook’s spine. He remembered Room 216; he’d paid a visit there with Joy awhile back. It was there that they’d met the ruthless vampire Hyuna, and she had fed off him in exchange for a few words of information.

RM was right about this place recreating locations that are meaningful to us in the real world…

They took the elevator up to the second floor and reached Room 216. With a sense of strong déjà vu, Jungkook turned the spare key in the lock. The door slid open to reveal the same hotel room he remembered, only re-colored with vivid sparks of crimson, aqua, and bronze that made Jungkook’s vision swim unbearably.

“Who’s there?” he called out, moving to the side so Suga and RM could come through.

A rustle of movement made the window curtains sway, and footsteps sounded in his ears. V appeared in a flash by the bathroom mirror, leaning against the wall wearing only a navy and white striped bathrobe and holding a glass full of absinthe in one hand, the green liquid swishing against the edges and spilling onto the floor. “Oh, you found me at last. I’ve been waiting.” V smiled, baring his glistening white fangs.

“Come on, we have to go find everyone else,” Suga said, tugging V’s arm.

V didn’t move. “I have a better idea,” he said, never breaking eye contact with Jungkook. “Let’s play a little game.”

Jungkook could feel goosebumps rise on his skin. “What game, V?”

“Just you and I, Jungkook. A game of hide and seek. What do you say?”

RM sighed impatiently. “V, this is no time for your silly games.”

“It’ll be fun, Jungkookie. You hide, I’ll come after you.” It sounded almost like a threat.

“No, I-I really think we should get g-going,” stuttered Jungkook, slowly backing out of the hotel room. But all of a sudden Suga and RM were no longer present, and the walls were melting, faces poking out of the wallpaper to watch him. He let out a scream, feeling the room close in on itself, threatening to bury him alive. He ran, the sound of his sneakers hitting the floor filling his ears, his breaths coming out fast and hard.

The vampire was not far behind, stumbling down the stairway while dragging his knife along the wall, causing the paint to peel off. “I’m coming to get you!”

Fire seemed to burn up in Jungkook’s lungs, choking him and making him cough and spit. He burst through the kitchen, where all of the chefs had left bowls and utensils scattered all over the countertops.

V’s frenzied laughs bounced off the corridors and reached the kitchen, filling Jungkook with a sense of dread. “HEREEEE COMES JOHNNY!” he roared.

Jungkook’s hands fumbled to pick up the biggest knife he spotted. The kitchen doors swung open and in entered V, smiling like a maniac and staggering right towards him. “Stay away from me,” mumbled Jungkook, backed up against the wall now.

“I wish I could, pretty boy. But you’re just so…irresistible,” breathed V with a of his lips. He slit his wrist and pushed it up against Jungkook’s lips, forcing him to swallow the warm, coppery-tasting liquid. He choked and sputtered, the taste almost bad enough to make him sick. V then slashed his knife xacross Jungkook’s left wrist and let his weapon clatter to the tiled floor. V held up Jungkook’s arm to his mouth, his eyes shut as he took a whiff of the scent of human blood. “Mmm. I bet you’ll taste delicious.”

Jungkook let out a scream as he felt the vampire’s fangs dig into his flesh.

Jimin was walking quickly through a black tunnel, desperate to reach the blinding light ahead of him. It seemed so near yet so distant at the same time, messing with his head. Why did it feel like he was moving but wasn’t actually getting anywhere, like he was running on a treadmill? Jimin shook his head, his hand coming up to wipe away the beads of sweat situating on his forehead.

I can do this.

But as much as he tried, he was stuck in the dark part of the tunnel with no way of escaping. Jimin banged his fists against the tunnel walls, crying out in desperation and fear. Where were the others? Where was Joy? He remembered his promise to stay by her side, even in the Dream World, and thought of how foolish and naive he had been to assume everything would be alright. This was the Dream World, a different dimension…They didn’t control it; it controlled them. Jimin understood that now.

He sank to his knees, utterly alone in the pitch blackness.

“Uh…” moaned Jungkook as he mustered up whatever strength he had left inside of himself to get up off the tiled kitchen floor. His head was spinning and he felt like the world was going round and round, as if he were clinging onto a fast carousel for dear life.

He was going to be sick. Jungkook sprinted out of the kitchen and into the nearest restroom he could find and ducked into one of the stalls, retching into the toilet. He wiped away spit from his mouth and collapsed onto his feet, panting hard, his clothes sticking to his body in sheer sweat.

A figure appeared standing above Jungkook, and he scrambled to get away on his hands and knees, terrified that V had come for him again. But it was only Suga.

“Jungkook? Are you alright?” asked Suga, his voice full of concern. He bent down to help steady the human to his feet, but Jungkook felt his stomach turn again and he heaved into the toilet though nothing else came up. Suga held his hair back just as Jungkook’s mother had when he got sick in the fifth grade with a stomach bug. He suddenly missed her and wanted to return to the real world.

“…I’m okay now…thanks,” he breathed, leaning against the vampire.

Suga sighed. “It must be the absinthe. RM told me he gave you some more just before you guys met up with me. That fool, he should know that humans have a lower tolerance for it than vampires.”

Jungkook shut his eyes, his head resting on Suga’s shoulder. “Maybe RM wanted me to get sick. Maybe…maybe he’s working with V.”

“I don’t think so…” Suga sniffed the air, his eyes turning into a deep shade of crimson. “Ah, I smell blood,” he moaned. “, you’re bleeding a lot, Jungkook!”

Jungkook glanced down at his bloody wrist, remembering how V attacked him and cut his wrist. His shirt and jeans were all stained in a red dampness, and the sight of it made his head spin again.

“Jungkook, listen to me very carefully. Did V feed you his own blood?”

He nodded weakly. “…yes…V force-fed me his blood before drinking mine…But I threw up, so it doe-”

“It’s not possible to throw up vampire blood; it infects the system as soon as it slips past your lips and coats your insides like a disease. The only thing you threw up was the absinthe. If you die with his blood in your system, you’ll return as a vampire, at least that’s how it works in the real world. Here, I don’t know. But either way, you mustn’t die here, Jungkook. Souls who die here become trapped; they can neither go to heaven nor hell, rather, they float around in here for all of eternity. It’s a fate worse than being a vampire.” Suga lifted him up with ease and carried him on his back like an older brother. “I’ll get you to safety. Stay with me, alright? Don’t close your eyes and don’t fall asleep. I can’t lose you.” V is lurking around here, somewhere in the shadows, I can sense it…The vampire moved at lightning speed towards the exit of the Jade Hotel, knowing there was no time to waste.