You screamed when the first red bullet hit the wall merely an inch from your face. Although only when a firm hand grabbed your arm, your sharp voice reached the highest pitch.

‘What the actual are you doing here?’ your self-proclaimed saviour called you to account in an extremely harsh way while he pulled you away from the chaos.

Even though this Yoongi didn’t harm a single hair on your head - at least not on purpose -, all hell broke loose in the moment you two crossed the threshold and your left shoulder crashed into the metal frame of the exit. You were overwhelmed with anger, desperation and pain not the mention that you were also pretty exhausted due to your constant failures. At this point, after you’d almost been killed by a man whose features had resembled someone dear to your heart, you doubted that you would find Jin before his existence would be erased from your universe once and for all.

‘Well, I don’t ing know so I would be quite pleased if you just let me go,’ you snapped at the mahogany-haired guy whose eyes widened in disbelief as your other hand flew into the air. You acted like a little slip of a thing, that much was pretty obvious. However, the fact that a part of you knew that you had been too much didn’t stop you from throwing a tantrum. If this raw Yoongi with ridiculously dark make-up, leather jacket and shiny chains had been a bit akin to the one in your world, you surely were dancing on  his nerves.

When his almond-shaped eyes twitched out of annoyance, you hoped that he was finally ready to let you go. After all, you were a nuisance and nothing more.

‘That’s not gonna happen. Since you shouldn’t be here, please be a good, little girl and don’t make it any worse,’ he ordered you with his sharp gaze fixed on your bruised skin as his long fingers slid from your arm to your wrist. The whole situation was goddamn pathetic considering the previous realm where the broken hearted version of him refused to help you because of a chaste kiss. The more worlds you visited, the more confused you became.

‘Define worse,’ was all you could say before he pushed you into a massive wall your skull crackling from the sudden force and the luckless angle of incidence. You hissed at the pain but on the other hand you stopped whining for Yoongi’s greatest pleasure. Pure satisfaction glinted in his eyes as he leaned closer his nose brushing against your left cheek. He was so close, way too close therefore his warm breath tickled your lobe while he was whispering into your ear.

‘Look!’ he said, his free hand resting on the cold surface beside your crimson face. You didn’t have to be a genius to notice how much this man loved to have control over others. He was dangerous yet you knew that he would never beat you because of your sharp tongue. It was evident of how frightened he became when he had realized that he caused you pain and visible patches. There was someone even more dreadful above him on the local food chain. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you today but I do not care, okay? We’re going home. It’s out of question.’

You gulped but your gaze was fierce as you tilted your head to right drawing yourself apart from him or at least from his mellow lips that drove you insane within a single heartbeat. Your cleared your throat before you spoke up.

‘I’m not going anywhere with you until you give me a proper explanation. What the hell is going on?’ you screamed into his face too angry to care about the gunfire next door. For the both of your sakes, Yoongi wasn’t as reckless as you were. He put his hand onto your mouth without a second thought and covered it for long seconds that felt like eternity. He also hid you behind his back while he looked around sliding his index-finger to the black trigger of his gun.

For a moment, you forgot to breathe.

‘Gosh! You’re so damn lucky that I promised Jin to take care of you otherwise I would leave you here without even thinking twice,’ he mumbled under his nose, his annoyed words followed by an equally irritated snort. Now that your racing heart calmed down a bit, you were fully aware that you both were in danger and could also die at any time. Yet, as soon as the name Jin reached your ears, it blurred your judgement and you couldn’t think straight.

You took advantage of the mess shamelessly, as you brushed the firm hand off your wrist questioning the man who tried to save your before a wandering bastard could shoot a bullet into your pretty head. It was hella unfair of you but you needed to know.

‘Where is Jin?’ you asked fingers digging into the sensitive spot between Yoongi’s neck and shoulder. It was muscle memory nothing more therefore you were kinda surprised how effective your bold movement actually was.

Yoongi let out a painful moan and almost pulled the trigger exposing your cover. If he could have killed with a single glance, you would have been dead by now.

‘At home, I guess,’ he replied with clenched teeth as he fixed his gaze on the entrance, his mates running down the hectic corridor and the open field ahead of the two of you. Even though his palm itched for a good fight, he knew that you couldn’t stay. Your safety was more important than kicking some douchebag on the to teach them a lesson about blood and brotherhood.

From the corner of your eye, you could see that the battle was coming closer and closer. Although you only flinched when a stray bullet hit a hole on the wall scratching the upper part of your arm. Tears blurred your sight as pain spreaded all over your body.

‘Show me the way!’ you asked him faintly hiding the vividly red drops with your shaking palm. You felt pathetic especially when Yoongi looked down on you observing you from your head to your toes as if you had been an alien. He didn’t understand the sudden change in your behaviour but honestly, he didn’t really care. He was relieved that he didn’t have to take serious measures and carry you on his shoulder all the way back home.

You followed him in silence acting like that good, little girl this world knew by heart and your blind obedience - to your honest surprise - turned your grumpy saviour into an almost bearable company. Yoongi prefered dirty alleys over crowded streets and abandoned paths over broad roads but eventually you did arrive to that small wooden house he called your home.

A smile took place on your face when you recognized Jimin behind the rusty oven placed under the kitchen’s window. You couldn’t wait to see the others, especially Jin.

You tore the door open with pure happiness in your chest, greeting the youngsters - Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook - who had stayed out of the local big boys’ business. You were glad that they were all just fine playing video games, making a mockery of Jimin’s cooking skills and preparing the gang’s dinner which was bulgogi and boiled rice if you had seen correctly.

‘Hey, you!’ Yoongi shouted at Jimin with his index-finger pointing at the said boy. His eyes were on fire as he got around the kitchen counter full of raw ingredients. ‘You better be a prodigy in the kitchen because you’re a worthless babysitter.’

He then looked at you and you couldn’t help but hide behind Taehyung. You didn’t want to make him so upset that he would let off steam on the poor guy right next to him. Jimin, who had apparently let your alter ego sneak out under his watch, tried to make himself as small as possible.

You took a deep breath digging your nails into your skin in silence before you could finally gather enough courage to ask that one question out loud that poked you from the inside. No matter how much you enjoyed watching your friends fighting over a silly game, you had to find Jin before he would switch universes once again leaving you speechless, breathless for twenty-two more hours of idleness. It was your fourth day after all. When the watch hit the last hour for the seventh time, you would be forced to choose between going forwards or turning back. You didn’t want to think about this option.

‘Where is Jin?’ you asked in a raspy tone a bit unsure of your voice. You pulled your knees up, your limbs fitting close to your chest; waiting. A part of you was obviously afraid of the answer you might have gotten. Because what if you had been too late? What if this Jin had been erased just like the previous ones whose bodies had been used by your desperate lover? What if his whole existence had been vanished from all the universes around before you could have done anything? Your mind started to attack your sanity with the worst scenarios pushing you to the edge.

You flinched when Taehyung’s palm touched the top of your head fondling your hair with utter care.

‘Sorry, sweetheart but he left a few hours ago and he hasn’t returned ever since,’ he informed you with an ugly grimace on his face making a weak attempt to cheer you up. False hope bloomed in your chest bruising your lungs with nasty thorns and dark leaves that cut the air out of them, merciless.

‘What do you mean by that? Did he go out shopping?’ you asked ever so desperately, with your big eyes full of childish wonders. You wanted to believe in those fairy tales your mother had always read you before sleep about knights in shining armours, princesses and the invincible power of true love. You wanted to believe that whatever you two shared was able to overcome everything such as the reason of Jin’s runaway.

‘He means that Jin went to the petrol station to buy a bar of chocolate then disappeared like every single bastard when they get tired of their lives,’ Yoongi interrupted the conversation all raw and nonchalant as he took a seat between the boys on the couch. He held a mug of bitter coffee in his hand looking out of his head, his gaze focused on everything and nothing at the very same time. You wished you could have read his mind, the sorrow hidden behind his emotionless words.

‘Well yeah... something like that. Sorry,’ Taehyung murmured in a low voice as he ruffled your already messy hair. He then turned towards the television with both of his hands stuck on his controller, swearing and cursing whenever the younger beat his avatar stealing precious health points from the green monster with dreadful claws.

‘I see.’

You stood up ever so slowly, leaving your cheerful friends behind when regardless of the last round of their fight a concerned Jungkook made you stop on the second step of the ladder-like object. It was handmade, a bit primitive here and there but you had seen worse so it really didn’t bother you at all. Although you had lived in Seoul in your whole life, you weren’t as snob as your rich classmates, those jerks of the privileged ones who had looked down on everything that wasn’t made of gold.

You looked at the boy from above your shoulder. His eyes were filled with anxiety.

‘Are you okay? Did you get hurt?’ he asked, his gaze fixed on your injured arm that was dirty both from the abandoned streets you had chosen and your own coagulated blood. Strange, but in the rush of your heated emotions, you had completely forgotten about the physical pain.

‘I’m fine. Thank you, Jungkook,’ you whispered with a soft smile playing on your lips. Truth to tell, you didn’t want to turn him down although you simply couldn’t open your heart in front of a stranger either. Because no matter how familiar his deep brown eyes looked like, you would have been delusional to think that you knew him. You didn’t know anything about this gang. Without memories, they meant nothing to you. ‘I think I take a quick shower if you don’t mind.’

‘Sure,’ he said scratching his nape out of slight embarrassment. It looked like this Jungkook was just as pure and chaste in this universe as he was in your own. It turned your clumsy smile into a honest grin followed by a low-key chuckle. Your reaction painted his ears and cheeks different shades of red from faint scarlet to crimson. ‘The dinner is ready within twenty minutes or so.’

You nodded then disappeared behind the bathroom’s door for almost an hour. Nobody had come looking for you.

When you returned to the living room, you heard Namjoon talking about those bastards who had been killed by them in the afternoon and also Hoseok who were complaining about Jin and how strange he had become from one day to another. It was obvious that they all put the blame on him for turning his back on the gang therefore you were incapable of joining the conversation. With a deep breath, you took your leave with an empty stomach walking upstairs to find a bed where you could finally fell asleep peacefully.

You woke up to the familiar scent of fresh coffee and your mouth opened wide when you realized how long you had been sleeping.

After stretching your sore muscles, yawning for long minutes and brushing the sleepiness out of your eyes, you climbed downstairs just to find the whole building surprisingly empty. Well, almost empty.

‘Morning,’ you greeted the man who sat on a barstool leaning his left elbow onto the kitchen counter. Even though his mug was far from being full, he seemed pretty tired and grumpier than ever. As if he had been awake all night. Even though he looked at you, he chose to nod instead of greeting you the same. It appeared to be a wise decision to drank your own coffee on the opposite side of the room.

Without saying a single word, you counted the passing seconds for five everlasting minutes. Although, it caused you literal pain to remain in silence when you had company.

‘I’m sorry about yesterday,’ you said when you couldn’t hold your words back any longer. You put your mug into the sink then turned towards Yoongi with an apologetic smile as you sat onto one of the barstools right in front of him.

‘Whatever.’

You grinned at his weak reply leaning your forehead against the wooden surface. You had absolutely no idea how to start a conversation with a person so introvert. You fidgeted with your hands out of frustration and even nibbled on your hair to do something, anything that would help you to speed up your remaining twenty minutes at this place.

Slowly sipping the last few drops of your drink, you were ready to break the constant muteness into pieces when suddenly Yoongi jumped off his seat grabbing your hand and pushing you behind the counter. In the middle of the crossfire, you were unable to speak.

‘Damn it! Go upstairs and lock yourself up in the bathroom!’ Yoongi shouted with his gun already in his hand. He then looked out of your cover and shot once, twice to kill those s who were stupid enough to stood in front of the kitchen’s window. Your limbs turned to stone. ‘Are you deaf? Move!’

It took you awhile but in the end you managed to crawl to the ladder in one piece as if your prayers had been finally heard. You did not hesitate to climb upstairs running towards the bathroom as Yoongi had said. Yet, as your feet touched the worn carpet, you realized that your enemies were already inside the house. There was nowhere you could hide.

As you faced the devil dressed in all black like a rebellious angel, you felt something warm forming in your chest. It was a red bullet that hit you merely an inch from your heart. You fell onto your knees then to the ground. The pain was unbearable yet you was too tired to scream.

You heard your arriving friends swearing like a sailor, warm bodies collapsing all over the house. Someone touched your arm. He called you on your name; worried. Everything was blur. And then…

Nothing.