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"Whether you sniff it, smoke it, eat it or shove it up your , the result is the same: addiction."
― William S. Burroughs

After receiving the confirmation message from Jungkook that he would make his way to their location during the next mission, the two of them decided to camp near the docks and wait for him before they went any further.

For the past hour, Nari and Taehyung spent their time reminiscing the past. Although, it was mainly him who did the talking, she was content with having someone to keep her company.

“Remember when we used to sneak out of the Innermost to explore the Cover?”

Nari smiled, looking out at the rippling water in front of them. She tilted her head. “Are the living conditions there still as bad?”

Taehyung shrugged. “What’s your definition of bad? I’d say it has improved as there’s not too many wanderers out but the Ordinarians still live in the slums. Whenever we go in, we do our best to give them some extra money or some extra food.”

She jut out her lower lip. “There’s more than enough resources inside the Innermost to provide for them. I don’t see why he’s still separating the soldiers from the workers, it’s ridiculous.”

“Hasn’t it always been that way?” he asked. She sighed.

“Man, but growing up a soldier wasn't easy. Not only did we have tough instructors, you led the training sessions. You were the toughest coach ever, honestly,” he said, laughing.

She tilted her head to the side and looked at Taehyung, who went off about what their life was like when they first became soldiers.

Unlike Baekhyun, whom she had grown used to sharing comfortable silences with, Taehyung always found something to talk about or to ask her about.

As she got a better look at his face, she couldn’t help but notice the similarities in their smile, and how the corners of their lips would tug outwards forming almost a rectangular shape. The height of their nose bridges were similar, and their eyes lit up the same way when they laughed.

She found herself absentmindedly nodding along to whatever he was saying because her mind had wandered elsewhere. It wasn't until the longing feeling gnawed at her chest did she snap out of her thoughts.

She shook her head, feeling uncomfortable with the thought and looked away.

“Nari?”

She blinked, turning back to him. He stared at her. “Did you not hear me?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, what was it again?”

He grinned, pointing to the forest behind them.

“Can we try hunting?”

Namjoon stood in front of the door, staring at the faces of the five men who were waiting on his orders.

“I know we are all worried about Taehyung, but our mission today is to return to the Surface and scavenge the other city for any remaining fuel cans.”

The others stayed quiet, allowing him to continue.

“It may not seem like we are doing much, but by continuing our duty to support the lives and wellbeing of the Ordinarians who depend on us, we are doing what we do best.”

He cleared his throat. “We will be the first ones notified if there is any news on Taehyung, so you can rest assured that the Forerunner is doing all that he can. Understand?”

They nodded.

“I don’t want there to be anything that goes wrong with this mission. If it does, what do you think the Forerunner will say? What will the other teams say? We are one of the top teams there is in the Innermost and if we fail once more, there will be things to be said about us.”

“We will do our best, Namjoon,” Yoongi spoke up.

Namjoon smiled, opening the door for them to pass. He waited for Jimin to walk by before holding out his arm, stopping him from going any further. Jimin stopped, looking at their leader with questioning eyes.

Namjoon smiled, holding out a small clear pill and Jimin’s eyes fell onto the Bliss pill in his palm. He looked back up to the pair of expecting eyes, knowing he could not refuse, and before Jungkook could stop him, he took the pill and popped it into his mouth.

“Taehyung will be fine, I promise,” Namjoon whispered, giving Jimin a pat on the back before walking out.

Jungkook watched as Jimin dropped his shoulders, the previous tension seemingly washed away and he turned around with a grin, motioning for him to hurry up.

As they made their way to the exit gate. Jungkook’s mind wandered back to the last message he had received from Taehyung.

Also, if I were you, I’d lay off the Bliss. I know you rarely ever took them but just in case you have an urge to, don’t. They do nothing but wipe your memories of the incident or situation that is making your uncomfortable. It destroys your memories and it gets you hooked on that feeling of being carefree and free of your worries. It’s what the Forerunner has been using to make sure we are in check with our emotions. And as you already figured out, that's not the only thing he's been doing to keep us under his control.

Nari shifted, taking her leg out from under her body weight before it fell asleep. The roof of the truck cracked under her weight and she winced, hoping she wouldn’t wake up the sleeping body in the seat beneath her.

Taehyung had gone a full day without sleep because he had to watch over her while she was out and when she woke up, they had to gather and stock up on food. He had finally given in and decided to rest when Nari promised him she would be fine keeping guard by herself.

She stared off into the darkness, her surroundings barely illuminated by the moon. She looked up, staring at the white light.

She lifted her hand, pinching her thumb and index finger together as she squinted one eye. She remembered the days when space travel was still possible and she let out a sigh, dropping her hand.

Her gaze drifted towards the rippling water and her eyes grew dim.

Baekhyun loved the water. He was more skilled than her when it came to catching fish, and he never failed to point it out to her when they were out. It seemed like it was just yesterday that they were shoving each other into the water and competing to see who caught the most fish by the end of the day.

But before the tears could form in her eyes, the itch in returned and she doubled over coughing. The dry pain pulsed through her lungs and she clutched at her chest, feeling the pain grow by the second. A headache was beginning to form and she grew alarmed when her vision started to blur.

She was barely able to make her way off the roof in search for her bag. She took the sleeve of her sweater and covered it over in hopes of muffling the sounds. She blindly rummaged through her bag with one hand and when her fingers felt the cold metal box, she tugged it out.

She opened it, and the reflective surface of the lid revealed her sickly state. Even through the hazy vision, she could see the tinted red pupils that stared back at her and she quickly reached for the needle. With the other hand, she took the small cloth inside the box to clean the needle and then extracted the thick fluid from one of the small glass vials.

She felt her heart rate slow down as the liquid settled itself into her body and she let out a sigh of relief. She collapsed against the side of the truck.

Letting out a laugh mixed with the tears running down her face, all she could do was pity herself at the moment at the irony of it all.

Jungkook stared down at the crossbow in his hands and he let his fingers run over the polished finish. He didn't even notice that someone had stood in front of him until the sunlight was blocked from his view.

“Jungkook?”

He looked up, seeing Jin. The older boy took a seat beside him and he turned, looking at the uncommon weapon of choice.

“We aren't hunting, what made you bring the bow?” Jin asked, motioning to it. Jungkook shrugged. “I just missed using it, I guess.”

“Are you feeling alright? You've been looking out of it all morning. If there's something on your mind, you can tell me about it.” Jin pointed out. Jungkook let out a sigh mentally. He really couldn't be sharing his thoughts but nonetheless, he nodded,

“I know. I'm just a bit tired.”

Jin tilted his head. “Do you need some Bliss? Namjoon made us bring extra.”

Jungkook shot him a smile and stood up. “I'm good, don't worry. I'm going to look around.”

He walked off, seeing Suga and Hoseok work on fixing the vehicle. It had refused to start after they loaded the trunk with the gas cans they found at the gas station which was why they were now parked inside of the parking lot of what used to be a shopping plaza.

Namjoon was still inside the vehicle, looking through something on his wrist device and Jimin had made his way to sit with Jin against the curb.

He pushed the door to the small convenience store open and he looked around. Many of the stands had toppled over and along with garbage, the food products lay scattered along the floor.

He found himself inside the back room as he looked around for something salvageable. His eyes landed on the metal door and saw the light streaming in from the bottom. It took a bit of force to push open, but when he did, he was met with the backlot of the gas station.

His eyes landed on the motorcycle strewn against the ground on its side and he looked behind him before making his way towards it.

“Is it still not fixed?” Jimin asked, walking over to stand beside Hoseok. He looked down at Yoongi who was hunched over the hood of the vehicle with tools in his hands. Yoongi straightened up and turned to Hoseok.

“Try starting it for me.”

Nodding, Hoseok hopped into the driver's seat and turned the keys. When the engine roared, he hopped out and grinned, seeing Yoongi and Jimin laugh. Yoongi closed the hood and hopped back into the driver's seat to test it for himself. Namjoon looked up.

“If it's fixed, then we're ready to leave.”

The rest of the members piled back into the vehicle.

“Where are we going next?” Jimin asked. Jin looked down at his device, looking through the marked spots on his interactive map.

“There’s another gas station to our east. We’ll head there and hopefully reach out to the other ones surrounding it and head back before it gets dark.”

Yoongi looked into the mirror. “And how many cans do we have total?” Hoseok looked back from his side seat and counted the cans stacked up against the back doors of the vehicle.

“We have 8 right now. I’m estimating we’ll reach 15 by the time we return.”

“Keep your eyes open for any inside the vehicles, that’s where the most of them would be,” Jin advised.

Jungkook had stayed quiet as he stared out the windowing, trying to devise a plan as to how he would be able to slip away from them without them thinking he did so deliberately. All of them were quite perceptive and keen to details, so they would know if something went amiss. He sighed, wishing he could ask Taehyung for advice. 

As the scenery moved past him through the windows, his eyes spotted another small plaza. He turned back, motioning towards it to the others.

“Should we check through there? There’s a lot of cars parked in the lots.”

“Have you heard anything from Jungkook?”

Taehyung looked up from his criss-cross position on the ground as he was grilling a rabbit over their bonfire. He shook his head, reaching for the device in his pocket.

“Nope, no messages yet. He probably won’t be able to send any until he’s alone.”

Nari nodded, sitting down beside him. He turned to look at her briefly. “How are you feeling? You still look really sick.” She shrugged, putting her hands up against the fire to warm her body temperature.

“I don’t feel that good but I’m recovering slowly. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

She sat there quietly, watching him turn the meat around on the wooden stick. “I’m surprised you know how to cook an animal. Didn’t you guys only eat packaged meals from the kitchen in the Innermost?”

Taehyung scoffed, slightly offended at her comment. “Come on, we’re not completely sheltered fools. We know some things necessary for survival.” She laughed, seeing his expression.

“You know, I feel bad that you’re stuck out here with me,” she whispered. He stopped. “What are you talking about?”

She faced him. “You could have lived your life in ignorance if you weren’t sent out that day. And if you didn’t recognize me, you wouldn’t have sustained these injuries.”

Taehyung frowned. “If I didn’t remember you, I would have shot you on sight.”

“Maybe that would have been the better option.”

He sighed, taking the meat away from the heat so he could focus on her. “Nari, why would you think that? I’m happy I remembered you and I’m sure as hell the others would be too.”

He blinked. “Did you not want us to remember?”

She waved her hands. “That’s not what I meant. I just feel terrible that you’re out here suffering with me and now Jungkook’s on his way too. If Soohyuk finds out you’re here with me, he’s going to kill you. It’s like I’m tearing apart your team one by one.”

“We were torn apart since we lost you, Nari.” She said nothing in response to his comment so he continued. “And plus, I’m pretty happy out here. I mean, look, I got to fish, hunt, and drive a vehicle because Yoongi’s not around. What more could I ask for?”

She cracked a smile. “I guess you’re right.”

He nudged her. “So cheer up, Nari. I don’t think it was mere coincidence we saw you that day on the farm. It was also not a coincidence that you happened to go back and find me lying there in the middle of that rising sandstorm.”
 

a u t h o r ' s    n o t e 

      I swear, sometimes I go back and re-read some of your comments because they're genuinely funny or they make me really happy. So, thank you! 

      I really wanted Jungkook to meet Nari and Tae soon but ugh it didn't fit in yet so him getting to them will take some more time. I just want to write about my bias so bad. I still have no idea who I want the main love interest to be. Or maybe the main love interests? (note: the plural in 'interests' hehe)

      Okay, buh bye my lovely readers! You'll see Kookie soon, I promise!

him being sad 'cause he doesn't know what to do lol