Chapter VIII "House of Confrontation"   

"I still can't believe it. All of this seems like a dream." ~ Bangtan Boys 'Butterfly'   

 “I have a job for you Scythe.” The charcoal snake hissed slightly, its head shaking automatically as the girl giggled. Her hand reaching out playfully and it offered a treat, it was a mouse. A tiny little mouse that rested on her palm, but it wasn’t alive nor dead. Actually, it didn’t even hold any life because it was made up of metal.

The snake looked like it was contemplating, the temptation of the treat being too great for its animal instincts to refuse. The black snake snapped its body forwards, taking in the metal mouse in one mouth full.

“I’ll be waiting in the roof when you’re done.” She finished her instructions with a simple saying in where she will be awaiting the results from the job. The snake coiled around her arm playfully before dropping onto the ground. It begun to slither away, its body being dragged along the floor as he tried to see where his instincts will take him.

An hour later, the snake returned, a piece of paper in between its teeth as it approached the girl. Her legs were dangling on the side of the building as she was anticipating the snake’s return. Her lips curved in a smile as her cheeks were being tinted a peachy shade of pink. The snake coiled around her arm before giving up the note that was caught on his fangs.

“What do you mean someone saw you? Are you sure?” She spoke, her voice filled with worry and disbelief. It was impossible for anyone to see him, unless they aren’t human. The snake nodded as he looked at the note that was being suffocated in her grasp.

“Who was it?” She asked her eyebrows knitting in confusion and doubt as the creature simply turned his head. There, walking along was Jungkook. His skin was paler than usual, his hair was saturated in water and a bandage was tightly wrapped around his forearm. If he saw Scythe, then he isn’t human.

“Could he be?” She whispered, her head replaying to Saturday’s hospital visit where he showcased his angel like voice. He had a beautiful voice, he could really hypnotize you with his singing. The voice, the skin and his positivity.

“Is he?” She spoke, the snake tilting his head as if to show a human shrug and then rested his head on her arm. She wasn’t sure, Junhoe should have picked up on it when he saw Jungkook’s injury but he didn’t say anything. He had to be though, there would be no other explanation as to why he could see her pet.

“I need to talk to you.” Her words were released calmly as she meet him at the door of the building. His face were dropping in exhaustion as his tired eyes simply looked around, making sure she was talking to him.

“I haven’t seen you since Saturday, where were you?” He asked, a surge of confidence boiling at the pit of his stomach as he begun to forget the slight pain his forearm is still in.

He remembered she told them they had family things to do. But he was doubting everything. His dream, the dream he had Saturday was too bizarre to discard. She didn’t know Jin and the sad reality is, he is already dead. He was simply having this feeling that she was lying, about a lot of things. Especially about where she was.  

Jungkook remembered that before the accident, he didn’t even see Junhoe or her at all. No one did, they just jumped off campus. And the more he gets to see her face, he noticed something.

He’s been seeing a transparent cloud hoovering in the cheeks of every face he sees. And since Saturday, he’s been slowly going insane about it, but why wasn’t he seeing it on her face? What made her so special that she didn’t have the little cloud of color? And why did she come back from her trip to just talk to him, no hello or how is your arm? She shouldn’t be the one asking to talk, he was the one who needed to talk to them. He was the one who was being eaten alive by questions and insane assumptions.

“I told you, Junhoe and I had family affairs to take care of.” She spoke, her mind being turned into a jumble. Part of her wanting to speak as if he was what she assumed.

“I haven’t had time to treat Junhoe to a meal to thank him for helping me Saturday, do you know where he is?” Jungkook spoke, his body feeling at ease. He didn’t know why he wasn’t questioning where Minyoung was taking him. He didn’t know what happened, a second ago he was so dubious about her ever action and now, it was like he never wondered if she lied.

“He’s been trying to take care of Jiwoo. Anyways, we have some discussing to do.” She spoke, her confident attitude dripping from stair case to stair case. Jungkook didn’t even realize that she was leading him into the roof, but as she opened the door, he had this odd sensation.

Why does Junhoe need to take care of Jiwoo? But if they were there to discuss things, he wanted to give the first jab, he didn’t want to rattle his brain about everything that is going on.

“Yeah, weird things have been happening. I don’t know if I’m seeing things, but I have this feeling that some of them are real. I came to the conclusion that you are different.” He spoke, his body tensing up as his heart fell heavy from asking such things. His nerves begun to throb as they made his palms sweaty. “What are you?” He asked, the question that he has needed ask. The question that has been written and rewritten over and over again in imaginary conversation was finally released into the air.

“The real question is what are you?” She spoke, her words somehow sounding too earnest. She looked at him as if his question was a joke, as if his scheme was revealed and she was expecting this.

“I’m Jungkook. When I meet you, I started to see more abnormal things than usual. I just want to know why.” He spoke, not understanding why she looked so determined to figure out who he was. This conversation should have been him interrogating her but he’s slightly getting more discourage.

“Define abnormal.” She spoke, her words being spoken playfully as he simply shivered as he felt her deep gaze burning holes on his face. He was confused, how exactly did he come up with this again?

“I’ve seen what you can do, you’re not like me. I saw Jiwoo move her hand and smear a pastry all over the table without touching it. I saw both you and Junhoe running off and disappearing in seconds. I felt Junhoe’s strength and it’s not humane.” He spoke, his words were shy and timid, he was not confident at all with his accusation. She looked at him with a smug look, as if she knew he as planning something and seeing right though it as if it was glass. But he wasn’t planning anything, he just wanted an explanation.

“And you can’t figure out what I am from just that?” She laughed, her laughter was full of amusement and Jungkook oddly felt like she was mocking him. “I know what you are and I haven’t even spent much time with you. You have pale white skin, your lip are the color of cherry blossoms. You have pure intentions and a hypnotizing voice. You’re an angel.” She spoke, her confidence seeping through her soft voice.

An angel? Jungkook took a step back as she begun to pace around on the roof. She thinks he is an angel? Why would he ever be such a mythical creature if he himself is human down to the bone?

“I am not an angel. I’m human, why do you think I’m not?” He asked, feeling annoyed because it felt like she turned the tables on him. It was like she was trying to make him forget why he was there, which was answers to the abnormality that he has been seeing.

He feel ridiculed and as she stared at him with wide eyes, he felt more of a fool than before. She shook her head, and then all amusement faded from her visage like she had a sudden realization. She scanned his body from head to toe and left it at that. There was only silence now.

“You can’t be human.” She spoke, her words being released a bit lower as she was trying to figure somethings out. He clenched his jaw, noting that she was genuinely surprised to see that he was in fact human.

Jungkook wanted to back up his statement. He was made of flesh, blood and bones. He was nothing like her. But before any word could escape his lips, the black snake slithered between his legs. He jumped, his body jerking to the side as the snake coiled around the girl’s leg. She looked at him in utter shock.

“If you can see Scythe, you cannot be human. Explain how a plain human, as you say you are, can see my snake?” She begun to murmur, her eyes widening in shock as her pupils begun to dart back and forth, as if she was reading something. He begun to tense up, feeling this weird feeling crawl up his spine.

It was odd, he always felt secure and safe around her. But now, his spine is curving in fear, it was warning him to run.

“You’re darkness, aren’t you?”  Her voice stiffen as anger begun to take over her calm aura. He saw the tough and brutal stare fall upon him, like he was an enemy or something she needed to kill. It was the hunger a predator has over a prey and Jungkook’s heart begun to raise as his need to get away was increasing.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” He was growing nervous and tension was strangling his peace of mind. He needed to calm her down, he needed to assure her that he was not harmful, that he was not dangerous.

“You can’t fool me. How many of you are there?” Her words were cold and bitter. They were spoken through gritted teeth. The black snake that was coiled around her leg was now standing full tall and it transformed into a reaper Scythe. The same type of weapon she held in his dream. To what extend was that nightmare real?

He didn’t have time to ponder on the question. He was in a deathly situation. She was ready to kill him and for a reason he doesn’t even know.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m serious, I have no idea why I see that thing in the first place.” His voice was desperate and shaky. His throat burned as a knot was making him sound like a child going through puberty.

“Minyoung wait!” Jungkook heard the shout but it was too late, he was thrown off his feet out of pure fear. He backed away, feeling the air being cut by her speed and the next thing he knew, his heart fell out of his chest.

He was falling. Gravity was crushing him as his stomach turned, he felt like his insides were falling out as he was about to meet the ground. He didn’t came here to die, he came for answers and his throat wasn’t clear enough for him to scream in fear of death itself.

He didn’t meet the ground bellow. He felt two arms grasping his body and cradling him. He opened them to see an ocean, his ocean eyes meet his and the next thing he knew, he was lunched into the air again. His strength was incredible, he pounced on the floor and was sent flying back to the roof. The air was making Jungkook feel lightheaded as his body was shivering from the utter shock.

“He’s telling the truth.” Jungkook didn’t know how long his fall took and how long it took him to get back to the roof. But he imagined it happened in five seconds. His heart was racing and pounding against his chest, the organ wanted to jump out as his lungs were extracting, huffing for air.

“If he isn’t darkness and he isn’t an angel, what is he?” She spoke with soft words, she was questioning everything. Junhoe stood strong and tall, she wanted to reap the dark soul inside the boy and Junhoe stood in her way.

“He doesn’t know what he is. I have an idea, but even if I’m wrong, my heart tells me he shouldn’t be killed.” His words were released with mercy and compassion. It made her want to laugh but she knew she had to hold in the mockery.

“Your heart may tell you to let him live but my instincts tell me nothing good will come out of him.” She spoke, her bitter words causing a tighter grip to strangle her scythe’s staff. The golden snake uncoiled from the boy’s arm and it took the form of a triton. The golden weapon was tall and sharp, the three points were knifes that could pierce more than flesh itself. Just like the weapon that he held in Jungkook’s nightmare.

“Listen to me, if he was darkness, how come Scythe didn’t pick up on it. You have to listen to me.” The girl didn’t look moved by the words at all. She looked ready to strike either way and it was making Jungkook feel uneasy. He was having a hard time breathing and he could barely feel his limbs. He was laying on the ground, staring at the scene, he felt like a fish out of water.

“I’m listening.” She spoke, her weapon turning back to a snake as it coiled around her forearm. The golden snake did the same but it didn’t coil on Junhoe’s arm. Instead, it moved with a wicked smile towards Jungkook. He breathed heavily, yelling at himself to move but his body was still in shock from the fall. It slithered and whispered something in his ear before sinking its golden teeth onto Jungkook’s wrist. It whispered wickedly, ‘The Ice shall no longer sleep.’

He screamed in agony. The bite stung and the metal teeth felt like two rods were jabbed into his flesh, ripping through his nerves and veins and leaving gaping holes. He squirmed, trying hard to move away but the bite was over in a seconds. The snake bit quickly but the effect was worse, it felt like poison was trying to take over him, his wrist felt hot as if it was burning off. He bit down on his lip, trying to keep his scream down but the pain was too much, he felt like venom was slowly eating his arm away.

Junhoe tumble over, his arms wrapped around his torso as if he as just hit. He tried holding back the scream, but he pain was boiling in his throat. His torso was on fire and he couldn’t hold back the rough scream that he tried keeping down. Seconds passed, and he was able to recover from the pain, enough to speak.  

“That bite could kill any human in five seconds, a slow painful death. But with us, it’s nothing, it can’t affect us because of our chakra. But him, it’s been more than five seconds and the pain is high but leveling off, he is affected but not like a human.” Junhoe spoke, his voice strained a bit as he couldn’t bare hear the screams and his lungs were aching for air. But his words were true.

The burning was dying slowly, it felt like someone threw a steam of cold water on it, it was becoming bearable and Jungkook was left panting. “I think he is a mortal phoenix.” His words caused a steam of memories to rush past his eyes. It was like he received a key to a memory held inside a box.

It was as if his body was frozen and his soul was taken back to the event that made him lose his best friend. The fire was roaring high and the walls were soon about to give out. He was bleeding too much but he was not trapped under the inferno because of his best friend. The pale boy laid next to him, bits of debris were left on his clothes and the smoke tinted his soft skin black. The stained hands reached towards his wound in his stomach, soon, tears were b in his eyes.

“Jin.” He whispered as he felt the smoke invading his lungs and suffocating the clean air. His friend cried, tears rippling from his cheek onto his wound and for every tear dropped, his pain subdued. He was going unconscious though, and he knew it was the end. He saw Jin’s lips move briefly before he fell into a deep sleep. Jungkook now knew that was what Jin had whispered. The last sight he would remember is Jin mouthing the words, ‘I’m sorry you’ll have to be a mortal phoenix.’

“That isn’t possible. Humans can’t even be turned into a phoenix being, so why would he be a mortal Phoenix. It’s against the laws of nature.” She whispered, her eyes widen in disbelief as her sight fell upon Jungkook. He was regaining his strength, and he didn’t know how he was recovering so quickly. “No human could handle the chakra, that’s why it’s impossible.” Her words were reaching into a desperate idea, she didn’t want to believe his She refused to even consider it.

“It’s because he was saved by a phoenix, one who didn’t inject him with chakra but passed a third of his powers over.” Junhoe spoke, his words dancing on his mouth as the pure idea was so sinister and wrong. "It's against our nature to create something from nothing, but we're nothing like the Phoenix masters, maybe they can." Junhoe's voice wasn't all too convinced, he wanted to forget the idea and hope that it was all a bad assumption for the hope of the boy. They both hoped that the idea was completely false.