Jin was seated on the edge of the pool, looking down at the rippling of his reflection. He wondered where Yoongi and Hoseok were. If they were really dead or if they were somewhere alive. It bothered him that he didn’t know. The other members had completely stopped trying to be rebellious, and now, five weeks later, had gone about their lives here. As if Yoongi and Hoseok had been forgotten. But he hadn’t. Jin refused to forget.

The sun was setting. It was late in the evening. Birds were singing, but further, it was quiet. He sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. Stars that started to appear. Wherever his two friends were, he was worried about them. He wondered if he’d ever be at peace with himself. Probably not, considering he was still being watched by Lilly and the other guardians. He was the only one who still refused to believe Hoseok and Yoongi were dead. Jin wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea, but he was not one to give up now. One day he’d find out what happened, and then hopefully, he could be more at peace than that he was now. He sighed and looked down at the water again.

“Jin?”

Taehyung sat down beside Jin and looked at him. He seemed to look better. The past few weeks had been difficult on the orange haired male.

“Yes?”

“Why are you still outside? It’s getting cold.”

Jin smiled and shrugged. “I don’t feel like going inside, yet. Being outside, here, makes me feel at peace.”

Taehyung nodded, looking up at the stars and smiling faintly. “The stars are really bright tonight,” he said.

Jin looked up, and smiled. They were, indeed. Brighter than he’d ever seen before. He wondered what that could mean. Had Yoongi and Hoseok really passed away? Or was something good coming their way. He hoped the latter.

“They really are,” he spoke.

Taehyung sighed. “I miss Yoongi and Hoseok,” he said. He looked down at the water and his feet.

Jin wrapped an arm around the younger man and nodded. “Me too. Hopefully, they are at peace.”

Suddenly, Lilly appeared, splashing them with water and a playful giggle. She swam to the other side and got out.

Jin rolled his eyes and released Taehyung. They watched Lilly quietly, wondering what she wanted from them. It made Jin suspicious, he hated how she watched his every move and listened to his every word he said.

“Ah, guys, relax,” Lilly said, cocking her head to the side and raising a brow. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Unless, of course, you decide to start rebellion again. In that case, you have every right to be terrified.” From sweet and innocent to outright scary. Lilly knew exactly how to intimidate these two.

Taehyung didn’t respond much. He just stared at the water, quietly. Jin too didn’t respond, just looking up at the sky. He wanted to ignore her. However, she didn’t allow that. Lilly appeared behind them and pushed them into the swimming pool, startling them.

Jin climbed out, soaked and stared at Lilly with narrowed eyes. He went inside, not amused by her behaviour.

Taehyung also climbed out, looking at Lilly as if he was a lost puppy that had just been betrayed. She smirked and followed him to his bedroom. He tried to close the door before she came in, but she pushed the door open and came in anyway. He swallowed and backed away, wondering what she wanted.

“Please, just leave me alone,” he said. His voice was shaky and he felt hardly able to say a thing. Lilly forced him to fall down on the bed and she climbed on top of him, grabbing his hands and pinning them down above his head. She was incredibly strong, stronger than he was.

“Don’t struggle,” Lilly said, gently his cheek and lowering her face so their noses touched. She her lips, Taehyung moving his head to the side. That angered her, and she slapped him hard. He bit his lip and looked at her, tears in his eyes. He just wanted to be left alone. “What did I say?” she spoke, raising a brow. She lowered herself and kissed his lips, staring into his eyes as he did not respond. She rolled her eyes, slapped him again and vanished.

Taehyung sat up and rubbed his painful cheeks. He sighed, wondering why she had to be this mean and left his room to find some food. He was hungry. He found Jin in the kitchen, just seated on one of the table chairs. He swallowed, unsure if he should tell Jin.

He decided to be quiet and just sat down on a chair next to him. They remained silent, until Taehyung eventually burst out crying and Jin turned around to comfort him. Not that he said anything, but he just hugged him and let him cry as much as he wanted. He’d noticed the red cheeks and knew exactly what Lilly had done.

And suddenly, again, Lilly appeared, looking at the two as if they were a cute couple. Her eyes then turned dark and she raised her chin, looking down at them.

“Shall I show you where Hoseok and Yoongi are? A quick and last reminder of what will happen to those that disobey?”

Jin narrowed his eyes and looked at Taehyung. “Go to your room,” he said, having a bad feeling. He didn’t want Taehyung to see any more than he’d seen already. What all of them had seen was enough to scar them for life. And especially Taehyung and Jimin had been affected. Taehyung left, and Lilly changed the scenery.

He was in a dark room. Yoongi laid on bed, seemingly asleep. He had several improvised bandages, but not enough to cover all the wounds. Hoseok sat against the wall beside the bed, almost falling asleep but trying to stay awake. Jin swallowed and got up.

Hoseok opened his eyes and froze, seeing Jin. He got up, not sure if it was actually Jin or not. And then wondering why Jin was here.

“J- Jin?” Hoseok gulped, narrowing his eyes slightly in confusion and suspicion.

“Hoseok…” Jin was speechless, not sure what to say. Seeing one of his friends look like he was starving, with scars and fresh wounds was such an alien concept to him. He approached Hoseok, who seemed scared and looked at him.

“What have they done to you?”

Hoseok swallowed, looking down. “I’d rather not tell.” Jin could understand, he looked at Yoongi who was still asleep. He must have been exhausted.

“Did they do the same to…?”

Hoseok nodded and glared at Lilly. “Why did you take him here?”

Lilly shrugged, a bright smile plastered on her face. “It was a quick warning. If he breaks the rules, he’ll end up like you and Yoongi,” she said with a giggle. To her it was amusing. To her it was entertainment. To them it was cruelty.

Jin looked at Lilly and narrowed his eyes. “This is inhumane! No one should go through what they’re going through! How dare you treat people like that!”

Within less than a second, Lilly stood in front of him, eyes dark red. “Say another thing and I will not take you back,” she warned, voice low and threateningly.

Hoseok shivered and looked at Jin. “Please, go. You don’t want to end up here,” he said.

But Jin was too stubborn. He turned towards Lilly. “You have no right to treat anyone like this, no matter what they’ve done.”

Lilly raised a brow and smirked. “Let’s see how you like it here. And then you can beg me to take you back,” she said and vanished.

Now there were three men in one tiny cell with one bed. Yoongi, in the meanwhile, had woken up and was groggily rubbing his eyes after he had gotten up. He noticed Jin and for a moment, didn’t trust it, until he saw Hoseok.

“Wait, why is Jin here?”

Hoseok sighed and sat down against the wall, burying his face between his hands. He wanted peace, not this.

“I told Lilly the treatment you were going through is inhumane. I guess I pissed her off,” Seokjin explained. He shrugged, but from the inside, he was really scared. Seeing what had been done to Hoseok and Yoongi, he knew what was coming for him and it terrified him.

And soon enough, men came. Hoseok and Yoongi immediately each fled to a corner, obviously terrified. Jin swallowed as they took him. He didn’t struggle, he followed them politely and silently. Whatever was going to happen, it terrified both Hoseok and Yoongi. As he was lead to another room, he looked around to see if there were any ways of escaping. It didn’t seem so, but he didn’t really get the chance to take a good look as he soon was pushed into another room and seated and tied to a wooden chair.

The men stepped into the darkness as a dark coloured woman stepped into the light, soon joined by the three men, now holding electric sticks. Jin swallowed and concentrated on the woman.

“Are you Kim Seokjin?”

“Yes,” Jin answered, voice shaking. He tested the bonds, but they were strong and it would be unlikely that he could break free from them.

“Are you from Bangtan Sonyeondan?”

“Yes,” he said again.

The woman looked at him, writing it down on the clipboard she was holding. “Do you know why you are here?”

Jin gulped, having a vague idea. But he shook his head and gasped as he felt a strong electric current go through his body. He clenched his fists and bit his lip hard, tears forming in his eyes as he squeezed them shut. This is what Hoseok and Yoongi must have gone through, but then worse.

“You are here because you didn’t obey.”

He opened his eyes, looking at the woman through blurry eyes. He gained control over his breathing again, staying quiet.

Suddenly, Lilly appeared. And a tall man. They were arguing with each other.

“Lilly! Shut up! You were given them to take care of them, not to completely destroy them!” The man looked down at the girl, eyebrows furrowed.

“But dad! They don’t listen!”

“Maybe that’s because you’re being so cruel to them. If you would have been kind, like all the way in the beginning, and not force things onto them, they probably wouldn’t have done this and would have actually listened.”

The man let the bonds of Jin vanish and looked at him. “My sincere apologies,” he said. Jin sat there, wide eyed and not sure what to think. He didn’t dare move.

“Lilly, bring your prisoners back home,” the man ordered.

“No!” Lilly screamed at her father. “No! I won’t bring them back! They’re mine!”

He grabbed her hands and frowned. “You sure you want to break the rules?” he asked, voice low but not threatening.

Lilly swallowed and narrowed her eyes. He released her, and she gave up, not wanting to go against her father’s will. She turned to Jin, eyes narrowed and obviously angry as she took his arm and vanished from the dark room into a hospital room.

“Not fair,” she grumbled as she started to erase his mind until the moment he passed out in his room with the white flower. She was too quick for Jin to react. And so he passed out, and she laid him in the hospital bed and connected him to the machines that started bleeping. The only thing she couldn’t erase were the scars. She did the same to the rest, connecting them to the machines, watching them once more and sighing. She brought Taehyung to the police station, putting him in the cell. And then she vanished, leaving them.