Hoseok was running. Looking around him frantically. Trying to escape whatever was chasing him in the darkness of the shadows around him. He was somewhere he could place, and endless world of darkness with a light grey floor. All he could see was a few metres ahead of him, and there was only the floor that he could see in the distance. It was confusing and disorientating, but he had to keep running or he’d die.

A arm stretched out to him, dripping the dark stuff it was made from. Hoseok’s eyes widened and he edged towards the right, trying to get away from it. But from there, hands came as well. Tears welled up in his eyes as he was gripped by the shadow hands and covered in the black sticky stuff. He was dragged down, through the floor. But he heard a woman’s voice, a voice he recognised.

“Hold your breath,” the voice whispered to him. The Asian male to the advice, in air and holding it, closing his eyes as he stuff surrounded him, covering him. He felt like it was pressing down on him, as if something heavy was pressing on him. Eventually, he released his breath and started panicking as he couldn’t breathe. He tried to scream, beg for help, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t open his eyes, he couldn’t breathe. He was dying, conscious of the process as it slowly took him. He started getting lightheaded. One last time, he screamed out.

The raven-haired male woke up with a start, sitting up in a quick motion and slapping around him, his vision blurry, his breathing quick. There were patches of white surrounding him and a patch of black, as his vision started getting clearer he recognised it were Jin, Jimin, Taehyung and Yoongi who had awoken and were surrounding him, all worried and pale, looking more tired than ever. And then he saw his Guardian, holding one of his hands as he had laid them in his lap, looking tired and startled from what she had seen. The girl released his hand and got up, stepping back to give him some space as his breathing calmed down and he regained himself.

Immediately, he started feeling guilty. He must have screamed and woken up them up. “I’m so sorry! I had a nightmare, I didn’t meant to scream!” But Jin smiled and nodded.

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Jin said. “What was the nightmare about?”

Hoseok thought for a moment but he couldn’t remember anymore. It had been a few minutes ago, but here he was not remembering the dream. “I can’t remember,” he said with a sigh, as if disappointed that he couldn’t remember something that he just dreamed a few minutes ago. Ridiculous.

They nodded and headed back to their rooms to continue to sleep, but the Guardian stayed, watching him intently. At once, he started remembering it.

“It’s okay,” she said. “This will be one of the many dreams you’ll have, good or bad. Don’t worry about them, they have no significance.”

Hoseok frowned, confused. “Will the others have those dreams too? And how do you know I will have all these dreams?”

The Guardian sighed and sat down at the end of his bed. “No, not all members will have these kind of dreams. Some will and others won’t. It honestly all depends and it seems to be random. I know because I dream them too. I dream exactly what you dream, but also, I will guide you through these dreams. I am your Guardian. These are things I must know in order to protect you and in order to guide you.”

He still looked confused, but decided not to question it more. He then realised something, he never knew what her name was. “What is your name?”

She smiled. “My name is Lilly.”

“That’s a beautiful name. Were you a Dweller too, once?”

The girl shook her head and looked at the window. “No. I was never a normal human being. I was born as a Guardian, hundred years ago. Actually, tomorrow is my hundredth birthday.”

What date was it tomorrow? Hoseok scratched the back of his head. But she seemed to have read his mind. “Tomorrow it’s the 25^th of June. And it’s 2016.”

He blinked for a moment, nodded and yawned. It must still be late and he felt tired. “I’m going back to sleep, I guess.”

Lilly nodded and vanished. His door closed. The male sighed and curled up, pulling the blankets over him and closing his eyes, falling asleep.

The sun woke him up, warming his face. He groaned and stretched with a tired yawn before turning away from the light and slowly opening his eyes, getting adjusted to the brightness of the morning sun. He rubbed his eyes a few times, not wanting to get out of bed. He wondered what time it was, but he didn’t want to come from underneath the covers. They were warm and cosy, concealing his fears, his doubts. But eventually, he would have to get up. He smelled food, something that seemed to be bacon or eggs, or toast. His stomach growled, he was hungry even though he’d eaten tons of food last night.

The man sighed and pushed away the blankets reluctantly. He felt so tired, but his hunger forced him to get up and drag himself downstairs, still in his clothing from yesterday, a dirty short and tanktop, both black. The closer he got to the dining table, the hungrier he became until he stumbled in, half asleep and sat down, barely noticing the other members as he hungrily dug in. 

The other members did the same, although not with the hungry hands like Hoseok. They ate and chatted while the male was just focused on eating, until he remembered that he wasn't alone. He swallowed the piece of toast and turned towards the rest, smiling.

"Good morning!" he said brightly, happily munching on a third piece of toast.

"Good morning,'' Jin said, looking slightly surprised. He'd expected the rapper to be grumpy of some sort, but that didn't seem the case. He seemed cheery, maybe he'd just been very hungry. He still wondered why his friend had screamed so much last night and he felt exhausted from being woken up throughout the night, several times to the screams of the younger male. But there was nothing that he could have done and so, after the screaming stopped, Jin had returned to sleep. But damn, he was exhausted from the ordeal. But with some food in his stomach, his energy flared up. He was really excited to explore the village today, together with the other members, and perhaps check the internet and watch some television.

Hoseok nodded towards Jin and chatted with the others while they ate, enjoying their meals. He wondered if the Guardians would prepare their meals every time, or if there came a time where they'd be on their own. He didn't mind either way. Today he'd go out to the village, like the rest of the members. He hoped they'd go as one group to explore the village, however, at this time, everything was still uncertain. The chatter continued and some questions popped up in his head.

Would they die at a certain point? Would they be able to get sick, or injured? 

He shrugged, perhaps, he'd ask his Guardian later. After breakfast, Hoseok took a shower and got dressed in a dark grey sweatpants and white sweatshirt. He got his favourite sneakers on and waited for the rest to get ready, before the whole group went out to explore. Happily they took their bikes and cycled through the village, taking it easy and making sure they got to know the village a bit better. The majority of the houses looked the same, all made from wood.

They made their way over towards the city's centre and locked the bikes in place, then went to explore the shops and restaurants. Hoseok was cheery, even though he was still doubting everything here, including his existance, and even though he still felt empy from within, knowing he couldn't contact friends and family. However, he kept pushing those thoughts away to enjoy his time with the other members, to forget about what had happened the past few weeks and to be happy again, to live again. It was a difficult time, and they really needed each other. He enjoyed these times, where they were just happily together doing stuff, being friends and enjoying their time together. These were the best kind of moments, the moments he treasured so much.

Eventually they went inside the McDonalds and ordered some fries and chicken nuggets. They ate, while chatting about how much they'd missed each other. Hoseok was distant, staring somewhere at a window, trying to process his thoughts and feelings. He didn't know why he had so much difficulty adjusting to this situation, but it wasn't helpful much. He wanted to enjoy this just as much as the rest, but instead, he felt sad and unsure.

The rest had noticed and fallen quiet. "Hoseok? What's wrong?" 

It startled him at first, hearing Namjoon ask that question. He turned towards the rest of the group and sighed. Perhaps it was better to spill his thoughts and feelings to see what the others thought.

"Well... Doesn't it bother you guys that you cannot contact family and friends? Or fans? Let them know that you are alive and well? I mean... I'm just worried about my family and I want them to know that I'm okay, that I'm alive. I want to continue our performances for our fans, to make them smile because I know they smile when they see us, no matter how bad their life might be at that moment. I know that, when they see our videos and when they see us perform and when we sign their stuff that, for a moment, they feel happy. And that makes me happy. But now..."

There was a long silence, neither of the members really knew what to say. Hoseok just sighed and looked down, biting his lip softly. This was cruel, kind of. And he hated it. "Just forget it," he eventually said as they continued to be silent, not even eating. "Lets finish lunch, mhm? Maybe we can do something else afterwards." It was a suggestion the rest of the members agreed to and they continued eating the fries and chicken nuggets until they were done. They payed and left, took their bikes and continues cycling through the village, taking in the scenery.

Hoseok noticed there were lots of playgrounds and parks, with trees and flowers everywhere. He quite liked it, it made everything look so bright and happy, even though the circumstances weren't as bright and happy. It made him smile, it made him feel warm inside, but it also made him miss home. But perhaps, he could learn to just accept the situation and move on. After all, he was lucky the rest of the members were there as well. That he had a system he could lean on, that he could draw support and wise words from. But he was still hesitant about the whole situation.

Eventually, they returned home, putting the bikes in the garage and going back inside. He was ready for a swim in the pool, got changed into his swimming shirt and jumped in without hesitating. The others joined him, swimming and playing around in the warm water. For the first time today, he truly enjoyed the activities and the day without having to constantly push back feelings and thoughts.

As the sun started setting, they all got out and wrapped themselves in towels, before settling down in the dining room again for dinner, prepared by their Guardians once more. It smelled delicious and they dug in, hungry from the day's events and the swimming.

After dinner, Hoseok helped the Guardians with the dishes to clear his mind. He kept watching his own Guardian, wondering if she could read his thoughts. She turned around and watched him for a moment, then smiled and continued on with the dishes as Hoseok left the kitchen and went towards the living room where the rest was gathered, watching television quietly. He turned to the tv to see BTS on it, with the headline "All BTS members now gone" and the scene turning from them performing to their graves where fans were grieving. He in a breath as he felt a sharp pain in his chest, unable to breathe. After a few more seconds, he passed out.