32 | THE THIEF

I was caught between the warmth of the body embracing me and the flare of the eyes ensnaring me. The dim lights of the theatre flickered as Hoseok walked up to us with his arms crossed over his chest. He moved his glare to the bandaged arm that was wrapped around me.

"Are you okay to dance with her?"

Jungkook loosened his hold and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, it's pretty much healed already."

"Even if you have to lift her? Because I can step in if—"

"It's fine," Jungkook said shortly.

Hoseok's gaze found mine again, his eyes hardening into something unreadable. "You take the lead. Show us what you have in mind, and I'll give suggestions."

"Okay," I replied before facing Jungkook. He glanced down at me with the ghost of a smirk on his mouth, but I wouldn't let it break my focus. "It's about a shared past, and one dancer forgets their history. The other is trying to help them to remember."

Jungkook snorted. "A little on the nose, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "Yes. But nobody else knows that. I wanted to choose something meaningful to me. Something I can connect with."

"Not the most subtle on your part," Hoseok said, and I could hear in his tone and see in his eyes the amusement he felt. "But it has potential for good choreography."

"Would you two stop teasing me? Let's get started." Straightening my posture, I locked eyes with my dance partner. "I want us to start together at center stage, then we'll grow apart and move to opposite ends."

"As you wish." With a wink, Jungkook took my hands and backed up, positioning us right in the middle of the floor.

Hoseok set down his portable speaker, then asked for my phone. I pulled it out of the pocket of my leggings and handed it to him after opening the file of the song. He clicked the screen, and familiar piano notes began playing, the new violin chords stringing along with the rhythm.

"Woah," Jungkook commented, still holding my hands. "They came up with this in just a day?"

I shook my head. "They said they were building off of projects they already started. But they adjusted it to fit the mood I was hoping for, and then they added the violin yesterday."

"Still impressive," Hoseok said.

"Can you start it over?" I requested, having visualized a few potential moves as the song carried on in the background. Even as we were speaking, there were silhouettes dancing in my head.

Hoseok restarted the track, and as soon as the first keys grazed my ears, I took Jungkook's hands, pressing our palms together and slowly raising them between our chests. As the notes quickened, I pushed against him and turned away from his body.

"Then you catch my wrist and pull me back," I said, feeling his fingers wrap around my wrist right as the violin swept over the piano. Jungkook tugged me back, and I spun into his arms much like before.

The music cut out.

"May I suggest something?" Hoseok asked as he stepped toward us.

Already?

"Sure," I replied, watching his every move.

He stopped at our sides, then reached out to guide Jungkook's arms more fully around my frame. "Put your hands here," he instructed, and I held my breath as both of their hands went to my ribcage, just below my chest. "Then tuck your chin into her shoulder." Jungkook's cheek was hot against mine as he rested his head near the crook of my neck. Each breath he took was felt by my back, and Hoseok's smooth voice was close, "Jangmi, if you lean into him a bit and tilt your head back—good."

I was worried about Hoseok's reaction to me dancing with his brother, but there he was in choreographer mode—firmness in his voice, concentration sharpening his gaze and drawing his brows.

"I like this better," Jungkook murmured by my ear.

"It's up to Jangmi," Hoseok snapped as he stepped back, meeting my gaze. "If you don't think it works—"

"No, no. I like it better. Starting off with that intimacy will make for more contrast."

"Exactly."

It seemed such a small thing, but I loved how Hoseok so easily understood the vision I had for the project, and it was attractive to me that he wasn't afraid to step in and offer possible adjustments. It elevated my confidence because he was proving to me that he trusted I could take the critique.

"From the top?" Jungkook suggested, releasing me from his hold.

I nodded, and Hoseok looped the song again. That time, Jungkook was able to follow along more intently, holding my gaze as our hands met between us. The notes picked up and I turned away, beginning to lean forward in a near-fall. He gripped my wrist and instead of pulling me back to him, he came behind me and resumed the embrace Hoseok has guided us into, wrapping his arms around me and placing his hands on my ribs, face nuzzling into my neck. I leaned back into him, tilting my head closer to his, and my hand naturally came up to caress his head.

Anticipating the next part of the song, I told him, "Now lift me just enough for us to spin."

Bracing my raised hand onto the back of his neck, the other came to hold his forearm as he used his hold on my chest to lift me just barely off the ground, then he spun so that my pointed toes brushed the floor. As we slowed, I used the last of our momentum to twirl out of his grasp.

We went on testing different moves, me thinking of the next steps, Hoseok offering his input, and Jungkook working to mold to what I asked of him. As we continued and ran through the same sections several times over to get it right, the two of them began inquiring about my visit with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Taehyung.

"Did you notice anything off?" Hoseok asked after he helped us improve a step.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable around any of them, really, but I never noticed them say anything that stood out as being strange—"

"So nothing at all?" Jungkook asked with furrowed brows. I let him guide me back to center stage so we could run through the beginning of the routine again.

"Well if you would've let me finish—"

"My bad, Red."

I shook my head at him playfully. "Anyways, I was going to say that I did get a flash of another memory."

Both of them perked up at my words. "What happened in it? Did you see his face?" Jungkook asked.

"If I saw his face and knew his identity, don't you think I would've told you two sooner?"

"Fair point."

"What did you see?" Hoseok questioned, brushing his hair away from his forehead.

"I was playing the piano next to him. All I saw were his hands. No voice, nothing else."

"I... don't remember him ever playing the piano." Hoseok's gaze snapped to his brother, and they shared a wordless exchange.

"What?" I asked, looking between the two hesitantly.

Jungkook sighed as he returned his attention to me. "Do you remember if he was good at playing?"

I frowned. "It was brief, but it did seem like he knew what he was doing. Why?"

"It's just... if he played often, we probably would've known about it. But neither of us remember him ever being into music."

Beginning to catch on, I looked at them both. "You think he erased more from you two than you originally thought?"

"Maybe."

"But if he could take that, then why not just take all of your memory? Wouldn't that make things easier for him to not have you two on his trail?"

Hoseok paused the music, slipping my phone into his pocket before looking at us. "I kept wondering the same thing. Why let us remember events but not his face? But he was younger then, and newer Bul-Gae are weaker, so I think he just erased what he needed us to forget the most. And now, I think that he realized that without us here to help you, you never would be able to remember him either."

"He did tell me he's waiting for me to remember," I recalled, feeling a chill like ice water dripping over my bare skin. It didn't sit right with me knowing that the monster I was trying to escape wanted exactly what I did. A shared goal with him couldn't possibly have been good.

"Woah, hold up. She knows?" A certain anger brewed within the stare Jungkook sent to his brother.

Hoseok muttered under his breath, "Here we go."

"You gave me shit about wanting to push her to remember, but then you just decide to tell her what you are? Are you kidding me?" Jungkook stepped toward him, but halted as soon as I pressed a hand against his chest.

"Stop it," I said firmly. "He didn't show me on purpose—"

"Show you?" His eyes were only on mine for a second before they shot to Hoseok's again, and his tone went cold. "Did you lose control with her?"

I glanced over to see Hoseok look away.

"He just... got a little worked up," I explained, hoping to diffuse the building pressure. "I saw his eyes glowing, that's all."

Jungkook's gaze fell to me, the heat in them dissipating slightly. "But he told you everything?"

"What else was I supposed to do, Jungkook?" Hoseok spoke up. "She saw me, she was confused. I asked if she remembered the legend that I told her when we were kids, and it jogged her memory."

"But when I jogged her memory, you were pissed and told me I shouldn't have done it!"

"That was before she knew anything." Hoseok's voice came out deep, "This was different."

Jungkook scoffed. "Of course it was."

"Just stop it, both of you!" My abrupt shout was followed by silence. Neither of them would look at me, but I went on. "You both did what you thought was right, and what's done is done. There's literally no use fighting over it now."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Jungkook questioned. I caught myself under his stare, taking in his near-desperate expression. He despised feeling uninformed, which I remembered was the case even when we were younger. But how am I supposed to tell him what happened between Hoseok and me?

"I took my mask off for her."

Jungkook's eyes never left me, even as Hoseok's statement made his jaw tick. His irises scanned mine, and a glint of hurt dashed across them.

"Did she remember anything more about you after that?" he asked, finally breaking our contact to look at his brother.

Hoseok shook his head. "Just the time I told her about the legend."

Dragging his teeth over his bottom lip, Jungkook let out a chuckle. "Why don't we change that?"

"What?"

"Think about it, Jangmi." he latched onto my hand, squeezing as if to tell me how closely I needed to listen. His volume lowered, "Why do you think you've hardly remembered anything about Hoseok? He's not trying to help you get those memories back like I've been."

"Jungkook—" Hoseok called weakly, but it made no difference.

Jungkook's face was as sober as I'd ever seen it. "You just said The Hood wants you to remember your past, so why would he have taken it from you? Who is the one person who was against you getting your memories back from the start?"

With his pause and the absence of music, the abandoned theatre harbored an ear-splitting quiet that made it difficult to think.

"What..." I could scarcely hear my own voice. My gaze found Hoseok, and the fear in his yellow eyes caused my heart to pound. As I looked back to Jungkook once more, he wore that same anguish that I'd seen the night he drove me to the hilltop by the ocean, hugged me, and whispered the words that stirred up a fragment of our past.

The ebony-haired boy with chocolate irises, cheeks stained with tears, and downturned lips whispered, "Please don't forget me, Jangmi."

The vision expanded, filled my sight until I was right there, reliving every second. We were in an open field of tall grass as we stood underneath a tree. The red and orange leaves rustled above us while the grass swayed across our legs. The sky was darkening as the blanket of night drew nearer. Jungkook was clutching my small hands, sobbing as someone took hold of his arm and tried to tear him apart from me.

"Jungkook, we have to go." The voice was firm, though I heard it waver.

"NO!" Jungkook screamed, thrashing against the second boy. "Why did you do this?! Why did you have to make her forget me?!" he choked out, yelling as his hold on me finally broke away. His eyes were red and puffy, and he was gritting his teeth between every shout. "PLEASE!"

I was still. Despite the cracked shards falling from my heart, I could only watch in a haze as the taller boy pulled the younger one away from me. Then he turned his head to show his profile, revealing the bandanna wrapped around the lower portion of his face. His gaze lingered for only a second, and though the look in them would've been enough, he spoke through the sobs of his brother.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

• • •

A/N:
I know this update is a bit shorter than usual, but I'm trying to be more consistent in posting while also balancing school, so sometimes my planned chapters will end up being split into two parts like this one. If this were formatted as a traditional novel then I'd make continue with the chapter, but since this is Wattpad and I'm updating as I go, this is what sometimes works best! Hope you understand 💜

So what do you think so far? There's plenty more that'll happen while these three are together in the opera house, but how do you feel about where we ended? Did you suspect Hoseok was the one who made her forget, or did you think it was The Hood or something else?

The next chapter is already in the works, so expect a timely update!

If any of you are interested in more of my work, you can check out the one shot in my Elysia & Plutonia book, or The Siren's Curse! I don't self-promote much, so figured it wouldn't hurt today 😂

Thank you all for the continued support. Super excited to be back soon. Your comments mean so so much to me, I hope you know that.

Your just-turned-22-author,

Kat 💜