Warning: Unedited. (Sorry.) Also, please read the note at the end! 

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Taehyung awoke the next morning to the smell of Seokjin’s cooking, sure that everything that had happened in the past week was all a dream. After all, how could any of that have happened? Hey, he woke up in his street clothes, which he had gone into sleep in, so -

He opened his eyes to a ceiling that he didn’t recognize.

.

Well, it was worth a shot.

He sighed and sat up, his spine cracking with soreness. He had been sleeping on a couch that was not designed for sleeping. Early rays of pastel sunlight were permeating through the glass doors that led to the balcony.

The sound of glasses clattered from the kitchen. Taehyung looked in the direction the noise had come from.

Seokjin was reading something off a label pasted to a spice jar. “You talk in your sleep,” he said without his eyes leaving the jar.

“I’ve been told that.”

Seokjin hummed in response before tapping some of the red spice into a pan that was sitting on the stove.

Taehyung thought back to the night previous. After Namjoon and Jeongguk had disappeared, the manager came in, his face a bright red. He yelled at the remaining boys for several minutes without taking in a single breath, but the boys weren’t listening. They seemed generally afraid of Taehyung. When the manager was done, Jimin had looked at Taehyung with wide eyes and begged him that he would explain everything the next day. How he knew about the scar, why he was there, how he seemed to know so much of them.

Seokjin had ordered Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok to go to their apartments to rest, even though it didn’t look like they would sleep at all.

The world then descended into the silence of the night.

“Go out onto the balcony there,” Seokjin told him. Taehyung obediently got up, unlocked the door, and was met with a cool gust of wind. There was some grassy area, then a wide expanse of trees.

In the middle of the city? That was new.

“You see the forest?” Seokjin asked.

“Yeah.”

“Folks say that it’s haunted. That the spirits of those who died there hundreds of years ago still roam. That’s why no one has cut it down and no one goes into it. Even greedy men who would gain a lot of money by building there don’t touch it.” Seokjin paused to taste test something from the pan, apparently deciding that it needed more salt. “People swear that in some areas of the forest, you can actually hear some of the spirits talking or crying.”

“Sounds creepy.”

Seokjin laughed for a moment. “I suppose so. Go into the forest,” he said.

“What.”

Seokjin was completely calm. “Walk for a ways into the forest. There will be a small lake near the edge of the trees. By the lake, there’ll be a small shack. You can’t miss it, it’s the only human-made thing in the forest. Go there,” he said, “and you might find something that you’re looking for.”

It was the dumbest idea Taehyung had heard in a long time.

But then again, he was in some parallel universe where everyone was different except him. So really, how did stupidity compare to insanity?

Taehyung pulled on his shoes and began the trek into the forest.

The trees seemed eerie from a distance, but once inside the forest, it wasn’t so bad. The temperature was warmer and it was far more humid. Insects buzzed around his head, causing him to flail his arms about in an attempt to rid himself of them. Much to his surprise, there seemed to be a sort of footpath there, even though Seokjin had told him no one went into the forest.

There was a sound coming from far away in the distance. It sounded a bit like a woman crying, but perhaps it was just the wind.

Sure enough, not long after entering the treeline, he heard the quiet sound of barely-there waves hitting land and saw a small building standing amongst the trees. He went nearer to it and saw that a small window was open. He tried to be quiet as he trod over damp leaves and bright green ferns. As he got closer, he realized that there was an odd sound coming from the window. He stopped walking to hear better.

It was a person humming.

There was only one person Taehyung knew hummed when he was in a good mood and thinking. The boy smiled.

He stood there, listening to the humming fade in and out, meaning that Namjoon was walking around. He had just begun to get a feel for the tune, the ins and the outs, the highs and the lows, when the humming stopped. In surprise and disappointment, Taehyung leaned closer, wondering if Namjoon had just gone out of earshot.

Suddenly, a face was three inches away from his.

Taehyung shrieked and fell to the damp ground.

Namjoon watched calmly as Taehyung choked on his own heart. After the younger boy had finally gotten his racing heart down to a normal pace, he stood up and tried brushing the leaves off of his clothes. “What the hell?” he shouted, his voice definitely not a bit higher-pitched than usual. “What gives?”

Namjoon shrugged, causing a long lock of silvery hair to fall past the windowsill.

“How did you know I was here?” Taehyung asked.

The older boy smirked. “This sounds like something the others boys would say to me as an insult, but you’re a really loud mouth breather.”

Taehyung held his breath. Was he really that loud?

“That,” Namjoon continued, “and only a select few people know this house exists. And all those people would have just brought their stupid asses in without permission.”

Taehyung smiled.

“Come on in,” Namjoon said, pulling his head back into the house. “The door’s facing the lake.”

So, Taehyung went around to the front of the house, marveling at the sight of the young sun reflecting on the water. It was really quite beautiful. He found the door by hearing the sound of several locks being unlatched. He opened the door as Namjoon was turning away.

“If no one knows that this place is here and no one comes into the forest, why do you have locks on the door?” Taehyung asked, realizing that the other boy was entirely shirtless.

“One, for the reason I just mentioned.”

“You lock the others out?”

“That was sort of a joke. The more important reason is because locks work both ways, and drunk people usually have a tough time with them.”

“Oh.” Wait, what? He stared at the boy’s untanned back as he walked into a small area that looked like a kitchen. The open window that Taehyung had been listening through was above a small fireplace.

The boy’s platinum hair was untied in any way, half of it strewn over his and the other half thrown over his shoulder. Unlike every other time Taehyung had seen him, he didn’t wear his earring. Thinking back, Taehyung realized Seokjin hadn’t been wearing his that morning either.

“You’re the one who hasn’t been wearing the…” Taehyung paused, not knowing what it was called. Instead, he gestured to his midsection.

Namjoon slightly rolled his eyes. “It’s a corset, Tae. Call it what it is. And yeah, I am. When I don’t have to wear it, I don’t.”

“How come?”

A small shrug. “It makes breathing hard. And trust me, my stupid heart needs all the oxygen it can get.”

Taehyung tilted his head. “Is there something wrong with it?”

Namjoon nodded, turning towards Taehyung and pulling his hair so it would fall onto his back. Taehyung was surprised to see that the area surrounding where the boy’s heart would be was covered with long, jagged scars. “The thing ain’t ever worked right a day in my life,” he said with a small laugh.

Not knowing what was making him do it, Taehyung reached out and ran his fingertips over the scars. They were deep. When he pressed his hand down, he could feel the older boy’s heartbeat. It wasn’t steady, but it was oddly rhythmic. “Why are there scars?” he asked.

He raised his eyes from the scars to see Namjoon staring at him with shock in his eyes. “Um…” he said, as if trying to configure the right words. “Bad attempted surgery a few years ago. Black market doctors aren’t the greatest.” He turned away quickly, pulling Taehyung's hand away from his chest. “I don’t mind it, though. It’s th