Yoongi’s PoV.

                They had left footprints for me to follow for the first few miles. After a while, they had disappeared. But I still found them.

                And now I was watching. Seokjin and Namjoon continued to talk with a hushed voice as my Kookie, my cute little Jungkookie, continued to sleep.

                I bit back a sob as I thought of Taehyung.

                “Yoongi, get up! We need to go, sleepyhead~” Taehyung cooed, kissing my cheek.

                I groaned, pulling him closer. “No, Taetae. I want to sleep. They won’t find us, just let me sleep a little more, please?”

                He huffed and pouted but curled up next to me, burying his face in my chest as he exhaled softly. “Just fifteen more minutes, Yoongi. But we need to go…”

                I kissed his head and drifted back off to sleep.

                “Yoongi. Yoongi! Yoongi, we need to go. Please wake up, Yoongi!” He was shaking me violently, the playful tone of his voice now replaced with a rapidly growing urgency.

                I sat up and looked around. I didn’t see a threat.

                But I heard it.

                Footsteps. A lot of them.

                Taehyung grabbed my arm and threw his small backpack over his back, sprinting into the woods further. “Yoongi, hurry!”

                I sped up to keep pace with him, panic reverberating in my chest in beat with the footsteps. I wouldn’t let them take my Taetae. I couldn’t.

                “Yoongi-“ He looked over at me, eyes filling with tears. “I don’t want to leave you. I- I already miss Kookie, and I don’t want to lose you now too.”

                I took his hand in mine. “Taehyung, I won’t let them take you. Don’t worry, okay?”

                He nodded as we ran even further.

                The footsteps faded behind us as we continued to sprint. Thank goodness for Taehyung’s lively attitude; keeping up with him made it easier for me to run miles without stopping.

                We continued to run. Taehyung was gasping for air beside me. My lungs were burning, too. But we couldn’t stop.

                We ran throughout the entire night, slowing down to a walking pace for much of it so Taehyung and I could breathe.

                Finally, I was sure we had lost them. Taehyung collapsed against me, sobbing. Whether it was in relief, pain, or something totally different, I didn’t know.

                He buried his face in the crook of my neck, his chest heaving up and down as he continued to sob. “Y- Yoongi, I’m scared… We almost got caught… I don’t want to lose you, Yoongi!”

                I rubbed his back and tried to hush his rambling. “Hey, Taehyung. I’m still here. You won’t lose me, okay?”

                He nodded, sniffling. “I- I know… But the thought of it…” He sobbed again, pulling me closer. “It hurts. It hurts me, Yoongi…”

                I smiled sadly. Thinking of losing Taehyung hurt me just as much, as if I had been shot in the heart. I cupped his face in my hands, turning his gaze to me. “Taetae, look at me.”

                He sniffled and met my gaze softly.

                “Am I still here?”

                “Y- Yes…”

                “So why are you crying about me when I’m right beside you?”

                “I- I don’t know…”

                “Then don’t cry, Taetae.”

                “Yoongi?” He moved closer, putting his arms around me again.

                “Yes, Taetae?”

                “You love me, right?”

                I smiled. “Of course. Forever and always.”

Jungkook’s PoV.

                I swore there was somebody else there. Namjoon and Mr. Kim were done talking to one another and had gone back to cuddling, closing their eyes and smiling.

                Weirdos.

                I could feel eyes following me as I stood up slowly, stretching my screaming muscles. But when I looked around, there was nobody there.

                But I wasn’t some paranoid person, not like Namjoon was. He was always talking about how the Society was corrupt, or something. I, honestly, couldn’t care less.

                There wasn’t a reason to care.

                There.

                I couldn’t have been imagining it. I saw something move.

                Or someone.

                A face, peeking out from behind a tree for a moment.

                My eyes widened.

                I hadn’t seen that face in so long.

                The eyes were dead, the hair was scraggly and unkempt. A thin frame, with barely any muscles and a pale complexion that made him look like a vampire.

                Yoongi.

                My dad.

                I trembled as I thought back to him. Him and Taehyung.

                Taehyung had always cared for me even more than my mother. She barely had time for me, while Taehyung made sure to visit me and Yoongi every day. And he smiled so brightly. And it seemed to infect my dad; he barely smiled when Taehyung wasn’t there.

                And the face I saw peeking out from behind the tree held none of that happiness in his face.

                He was a hardened shell of himself, a neutral expression embedded in his lips.

                I wanted to scream.

                I wanted to sob and call out to him, to run over and hug him and ask why he disappeared. Ask why he and Taehyung never came back for me like they had promised.

                I wanted to yell at him for never even bothering to say hi to me for all these years as Namjoon raised me, trying his best to act like a father figure even though he was only a few years older than me.

                There was so much I wanted to do, but I just stood there and stretched.

                For all I knew, I was imagining it. My stomach grumbled loudly as my throat dried out, as if agreeing with me.

                Until I had food and water, I wouldn’t know if I was dreaming or not.

                I looked over to Seokjin and Namjoon, who had stood up as well.

                “Hey, we should try and go get something to eat or drink, right?”

                They nodded. “The Society told us about wild animals supposedly roaming around, I wouldn’t be surprised if we would be able to catch one and eat it,” Namjoon said.

                Seokjin made a face, but nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll bet there’s some source of water near here. I can look for it.”

                Namjoon nodded. “We should go, then.”

                As they left, I continued to stand there.

                And then the figure came out.

                He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, his features so sunken it looked as if he were about to collapse in on himself.

                “D- Dad?”

                He stared at me, jaw hanging slightly slack. His eyes, empty abysses, glistened with the slightest bit of emotion. “Kookie… My little bunny…”