Chaeyoung couldn’t see a thing. Her eyes were wide open, but the world around her was pitch black, without even the slightest trace of light to illuminate her surroundings.

She was sprawled on what felt like damp soil, her cheek pressed firmly against the ground and her feet dipped into a slimy puddle of unknown liquid. It took her a few seconds to come to her senses, her head spinning and burning. She blinked and rubbed her eyes repeatedly, twisting and turning her head in hopes of seeing something. Anything.

“Jisoo!” her voice came out in a choked croak as she slowly sat up, still unable to see.

No response.

Carefully, she put her hands out in front of her and reached for the wall, relying solely on her sense of touch to identify her surroundings. The wall was composed of ragged rock-like structures that were cool and moist to the touch. She explored it with both hands, reaching up to feel the curve at the top. She sniffed the area carefully and winced at the repugnant scent of dirt and decaying flesh. In the background she could hear the distant chirping of crickets and the slow, continuous drip of water.

She was in a cave.

“Lisa!” this time her yell was much clearer, but to no avail.

Gliding her hand across the wall to orient herself, she began to take several steps forward, one of her feet bare and soaking wet while the other was wrapped in a protective shoe. With each step forward, more and more substances clung to her bare foot, blanketing it in a mush of what she hoped was only soil. She explored the wall desperately, looking for any sort of opening or guidance.

“Taehyung!” she tried again, this time her voice loud enough to echo through the cave.

She expected to be met with silence yet again but was surprised to hear a low groan come from her right side. With a hopeful gasp, she whirled around and rushed towards the noise, keeping her hands out in front of her to avoid bumping into anything.

Eventually, her foot touched a clothed body.

Immediately, she knelt down and began blindly feeling around the area.

“Taehyung?” she asked eagerly when her hands roamed across strong biceps.

“Sorry to disappoint,” the man laughed lightly before sitting up, “but it’s just me, Seokjin.”

“Seokjin!” Chaeyoung exclaimed even more eagerly than before, ecstatic to have finally found someone, “you have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

“You can see me?” Seokjin exclaimed in astonishment, “I can’t see a thing in here.”

She chuckled in response and shook her head before standing up, “it’s a figure of speech. I can’t see anything either. I’ve been using my hands to feel around me while I walk. I suggest you do the same.”

Slowly, she reached out toward the wall again, feeling comforted by the familiar ragged edges that allowed her to have some sense of direction in this unfamiliar place.

“What happened?” Seokjin asked from behind her as they began slowly making their way through the dark path, “I remember eating a delicious meal at a small cottage with a sweet old lady, and then I woke up here with a throbbing headache.”

Chaeyoung sighed, “I don’t think she was as sweet as we thought.”

“Say what you will about her, but damn did she make good rice,” he exclaimed, and she could practically see him patting his tummy in satisfaction, “at least she fed us before betraying us.”

Chaeyoung laughed quietly and continued walking. She never would have expected such cunning behaviour from an innocent old lady. Her father had repeatedly told her to never trust anyone, and here she was openly walking into danger twice in one day. He would be disappointed in her. She was disappointed in herself. Maybe if she had listened to –

She was so distracted with her self-deprecating thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps approaching. As a result, she crashed straight into a firm body, her nose hitting a sturdy jaw with a painful thud. The impact caused her to stagger backwards and clash into Seokjin, stepping on his feet and causing him to release a loud yelp.

“Sorry!” Chaeyoung gasped over her shoulder, momentarily disregarding the body she just collided with.

“Ow,” a deep voice complained from in front of her, causing her to whip her head around eagerly.

“Taehyung?” she asked, taking a long stride forward and placing her hands in front of her to identify the newcomer. The first thing she touched was his firm, broad chest, exploring the area thoroughly to ensure they had found the right person. Working her way up, she was satisfied to feel his sharp jawline and smooth cheekbones. It was him.

“First my neck, then my jaw,” he responded, lightly holding her wrist to stop her from groping him any longer than she already had, “just what part of me are you going to scar next?”

“Probably your heart!” Seokjin exclaimed with a loud laugh from behind, causing Chaeyoung to roll her eyes in annoyance.

She finally lowered her hand and took a small step backwards to give Taehyung space, feeling slightly embarrassed for her overly eager greeting. But in her defense, she was merely concerned for his safety. They had been placed in a dangerous, stressful situation with no warning. She would have reacted the exact same way upon finding any of her other 5 companions.

“How did you find us?” she asked as he led the way through the rest of the ragged path while she and Seokjin followed closely.

“I heard Seokjin’s laugh. You can probably hear it from across the world if you listen closely enough.”

“Aw, thanks man!” Seokjin called out in a genuinely pleased tone that made Chaeyoung grin despite herself, “glad to know I possess such a strong presence and useful power.”

Just then, the loud fluttering of wings and high-pitched squeaks sounded above them, causing Chaeyoung to gasp and Seokjin to squeal.

“Are those bats?!” he exclaimed, clutching onto Chaeyoung for dear life as the flock of creatures flew past their heads, their wings producing a cool wind that rummaged through their hair, and their squeaks ringing painfully in their ears.

They remained perfectly still, Taehyung standing tall in front of Chaeyoung, just close enough for his back to graze her chest, while she gripped onto the rocky wall for support, and Seokjin continued to cling to Chaeyoung’s back.

Thankfully, the bats disappeared towards the very back of the cave almost instantly, although Chaeyoung was certain their disturbing squeaks would haunt her for a long time to come.

“I still don’t understand what the hell is going on,” Taehyung said when they resumed their journey, “it’s clear we were poisoned by Jackson and his grandmother, but why did they bring us here instead of directly delivering us to the royal palace?”

“That would have been the easiest way to claim the bounty, if it was money they wanted,” Seokjin replied thoughtfully.

“Then, maybe they’re not after the money,” Jisoo’s voice suddenly interjected from a few feet in front of them.

“Jisoo!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise and a warm feeling of relief flooding her chest.

She brushed past Taehyung eagerly, following Jisoo’s deep voice.

“Careful you don’t—” Taehyung began to warn but it was too late.

Her foot caught on a deep pothole on the ground, causing her to tumble face first into a shallow pond of ice-cold swamp water.

“trip,” he finished his sentence with a deep sigh, leaning down to carefully grasp her drenched arms and help her up.

“Chaeng!” Jisoo exclaimed, rushing towards them, the sound of her feet sloshing through the water filling the cave and splashing the rest of them with murky liquid, “what happened, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured her with a smile (even though she wouldn’t be able to see it) as Jisoo engulfed her in a tight hug.

“Kim Taehyung, how could you not catch her? Poor baby is shivering already. She’s going to freeze to death at this rate!”

“Jisoo, I’m fine—”

“Do you really think I willingly let her fall?” Taehyung demanded, “first of all, I can’t see in this cave. Second of all, she fell forward, how was I supposed to catch her when she fell forward??”

“Well, we wouldn’t even be in this situation if you hadn’t chosen to follow shady Jackson through his shady tunnels –”

“Ya because we would’ve been dead, instead.”

Jisoo exhaled sharply in frustration at that but was effectively silenced, knowing deep down that Taehyung made a fair point.

Chaeyoung released a heavy sigh, “guys, I know this is a frustrating situation to be in, but our only hope of surviving is to work together. Blaming one another isn’t going to resolve anything. There’s still two of us missing. The first thing we need to do is find the others and then proceed calmly from there.”

She took their silence as agreement and pushed ahead of them, taking the lead towards the rest of the endlessly dark path. She suddenly missed the warmth and vague sense of comfort Taehyung’s back and quiet footsteps provided but was determined to tackle this obstacle as a true queen should.

She carefully trudged through the shallow pool of water, inhaling sharply upon the impact of the chilly liquid against the raw, bare skin of her foot, gradually numbing it until she could barely move her toes.

After clearing the swamp, she raised her arms to feel the roof again, noting how much lower and sharper the points had gotten. The ground beneath her feet transitioned from a mushy, soil consistency to a ragged, hard surface that inclined downwards.

“Watch your step here,” she warned over her shoulder to the rest of the group, just before Taehyung released a low groan of pain.

“and your head,” she added belatedly with an amused chuckle, somehow sensing that Taehyung’s tall height had made him a victim of the jagged roof.