39 | THE HUNTERS

"It was never supposed to happen," Hoseok told me after we arrived on campus. I'd stayed quiet for the last few minutes of the drive attempting to process the new revelation.

The snow had started back up again, just a dusting of white particles that melted the moment they met my skin. I let him continue while we headed to the opera house where we had agreed to meet Taehyung and the others.

"He was one of the only classmates I had who took an interest in getting to know me instead of being afraid or making fun of me. He must've noticed more about my abilities than the others, because he asked me one day about what I could do. Asked if it hurt when it flared up, asked if my face changed and if that's why I wore the bandanna. No one had ever asked me so directly and it freaked me out. I tried to avoid him, but he always followed me around. Then one day, I was walking home and he kept pushing for answers so I cut into the woods with the hopes that he'd give it up. But he didn't."

I glanced at Hoseok, noting the tension that pulled on his brows, the lowered gaze that kept him far from our present surroundings. My hand reached out to entwine with his.

"It's so strange remembering everything that happened but forgetting who he is," he mused quietly. "I can still feel the guilt even though I can't remember who it's for."

"What happened in the woods?" I gently pressed.

"He just kept pushing. He wanted to rile me up to the point where I'd lose control so he could see the full extent of what I was. And I let him. I let him hit every nerve until I was panicked and angry and then I shifted into that beast."

"And you bit him," I finished so he wouldn't have to. But he went on.

"It was barely more than a pin prick. I managed to pull myself away from him and kept breathing until I wasn't that thing anymore. It was the first time I ended it so fast, but it didn't matter. It only took a minute for his eyes to start glowing, and another minute for flames to light on his fingertips. He almost seemed excited in the beginning, but then the transition started. He cried and screamed, and I stayed and did everything I could to help him through it."

"At least he wasn't alone," I whispered, though I knew it was a weak attempt at comforting him.

Hoseok stopped to look at me. "Jangmi, I know you always try to see the best in a situation. I know your instinct is to protect me or help me come to terms with things, but this... I don't want you to try justifying what happened. I've accepted my mistake and I know it's something I'll always regret. I made him the same as me, and at one point I was glad that I did. But looking back now, I'll always have to live with the fact that I sentenced a kid to suffer the same pain I bore all my life."

He was right. Every muscle in my body had to fight the urge to defend him or rationalize what happened, but in the end, it was something terrible that Hoseok had to come to terms with long ago. It wasn't my place to make it all okay when he had already taken responsibility for it.

"So you became friends after that? I mean, that's when you introduced him to me and Jungkook, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, taking my hand again as we resumed our walk. "He needed my help to learn how to control it, so he stayed by my side. And it felt like he forgave me once he started adapting and accepting what happened. Sometimes it even seemed like he was thankful for what I did, like he enjoyed what he became. So I trusted that he didn't hold it against me and introduced him to you guys, and then we were all inseparable for a while."

"So that night I remembered—when he lost control and started shifting... that was quite a while after you'd been helping him?"

Hoseok sighed. "Several months later. That was my fault too, in a way. He got all worked up because I confronted him about you."

My eyes snapped to his face but he kept staring forward. Afraid to see my reaction. "About me? What do you mean exactly?"

"His closeness to you. It was becoming an obsession, and like I mentioned once before, I knew he was delving into that dark side. I feared he was starting to put you at risk, so I tried to talk to him about it and that's why he lost control that night. I didn't know that you and Jungkook had seen us and followed us until it was too late."

I knew he couldn't answer if I wanted any chance of remembering the third boy's identity, but the question still slipped out with a hesitant breath: "What was he to me?"

Tensing up was the first thing I expected him to do. Perhaps he'd avert his eyes and change the subject. Maybe he'd place that figurative veil over his face so I couldn't read him, then he'd remind me that he couldn't tell me. But he did none of that, and I almost wished he had.

Hoseok turned his head to face me, and the deep-rooted sorrow that stained his visible features made my stomach drop.

"You'll remember soon enough."

* * *

Jungkook and Jimin were already waiting for us when we entered Gisaeng Hall. Both sat on the grand staircase, and I couldn't help but notice the way Jungkook rested his elbows on his knees and twiddled his thumbs, and Jimin ran his hand through his hair. Each their signature nervous ticks. They were as stressed about this meeting as I was.

Jungkook was the first to notice our presence, and he stood as soon as he did. Jimin followed suit, and the two waited until we were right at the foot of the steps.

"I think all three of them are already here," Jimin informed, casting a glance at Jungkook.

I eyed the two of them. "What is it?"

Jungkook shook his head and shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. "We just think we should make a game plan before we head in there. Figure out what we want to do, you know?"

Hoseok nodded, wrapping his arm around my waist before he talked. "Right. We still don't know for sure if Yoongi and Namjoon are clear. We can't hand our trust over too easily."

Both Jimin and Jungkook's eyes snapped to where his hand rested on me, but neither commented on it.

"Maybe we can come up with a code word or some kind of signal. Something to know whether we're on the same page about trusting them or not," I proposed.

Jungkook replied, "If one of us still doesn't trust them, we could make up an excuse about having to leave early. If we don't, it means we think they're telling the truth."

"That works," Jimin mumbled before leading the way up the stairs. He paused halfway to look over his shoulder at us, speaking quietly. "If we all trust them by the end of this, what do we do? Are we going to tell them about the Hood to see if they can help?"

Each option left me uneasy. Not trusting them meant we would have less people on our side, and if they really did know how to stop Bul-Gae, their assistance could rid us of the Hood once and for all. But if we did choose to trust them and ended up being wrong, things could turn worse than ever before.

"Let's see what they have to say. We can decide whether to tell them or not after we hear their case. We'll only mention it if there's no question that they're here to protect Jangmi." Hoseok pulled me closer into him, and I let his warmth melt away most of my fear. The three most important people in my life surrounded me, and each one of them had my best interest at heart. I knew beyond a doubt.

We waited for a few students to leave the building before following Jimin up the remainder of the ornate staircase, down the lengthy hall, through the secret entrance, and onto the high platform in the skyloft. Familiar chills crept over my skin like a ghost's breath. All I could remember as I peered down at the stage were the tears that Hoseok and I shed when I learned that he wiped my memory, then the echoes of slow claps and the scorch of two fires. The night the Hood showed up to challenge Hoseok in some way.

I recalled what he said back then, wondering why I hadn't understood what he meant sooner.

"You always were a hypocrite. Making me the same as you, even when you hated what you were. And now," he snickered bitterly, head tilting as if in disbelief, "you've grown close to her, even after everything you did to separate her from us."

If I had taken the time to really think about his words back then, it wouldn't have been tough to guess what he was saying. Hoseok had always despised what he was, yet he turned the third boy—the Hood—into the same beast as him.

"I see you brought company," Taehyung's voice yanked me out of my thoughts as soon as we were near the ledge. He walked closer, hands in his coat pockets while he stared up at us. Yoongi and Namjoon lingered behind him, shadows casting harsh lines over their faces.

"I wasn't going to come alone." My response was firm.

"Of course not. I just figured what I told you and Jungkook would stay between us for a while longer," he replied while Jimin began descending the ladder. Jungkook was close after him, and he hopped down before he reached the bottom.

"There's three of you. We weren't going to show up just the two of us," Jungkook said in a challenging tone.

I began climbing down the ladder, wary of that damn missing rung.

"We aren't a threat to her or to you." I heard Namjoon take a slight step forward after he spoke. Reaching the floor, I turned around to find him glancing meaningfully between Jungkook and Jimin. Then his eyes dusted past me and found their way up to where Hoseok still stood on the platform. "Him, on the other hand—"

"I brought him here because I trust him," I stated before he could go on. "And if you guys want me to hear you out, you'll hear me out about him in return."

Namjoon and Taehyung exchanged looks, then Yoongi sighed. "You shouldn't have brought him here. Do you really think we'd want to discuss what we do in front of the enemy?"

"If he's truly an enemy, what's stopped you from hunting him or whatever it is that you do?" My question hung in the abandoned space, and their silence filled me with greater confidence. "If he was really a threat, you would've done something already."

"We may not be able to act without you being in direct danger, but that doesn't mean he's good or even close to trustworthy," Taehyung argued calmly. "This always ends the same way, Jangmi."

A light scoff sounded from above, and I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Hoseok lean over the edge of the platform. "Now that everything's out in the open," he muttered before stepping off. My heart skipped at how similarly he moved to the Hood—landing with scarcely a noise, almost like he never touched the ground at all. He rose slowly to his full height, taking two silent steps until his arm gently wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush to him. My eyes lingered on his stone-cold gaze, prying away only to take in the five males that stared back at him like he was a predator that must never escape their watch.

"I'm staying whether you're happy about it or not," he said in a voice that demanded to be heard. "You need to understand that I hate Bul-Gae as much as you do. I want to protect her more than you possibly can. And I care about her as much as Jimin and Jungkook, so if you were planning to trust them, you can at least tolerate me."

"Our tolerance will only go so far." Yoongi looked like he always did with those blades for eyes, but this was the first time their bloodthirst was so evident.

"It doesn't matter what you say or how you feel about her," Namjoon started. "We're still going to tell her every reason she has not to be around you and every reason we'll have to stop you once you cross a line."

Hoseok didn't move an inch. "Go ahead. If I do cross a line, I welcome you to stop me."

My jaw clenched as the three of them shared a glance. The air in that theatre felt so thick—too thick to enter my lungs.

"He can stay as long as he behaves. Just be clear that we still plan on stopping him if he makes any..." Taehyung simmered on his next words before committing to them, "unfortunate decisions."

Hoseok heaved an obvious sigh and crossed his arms. I could tell he was biting back a whole slew of snarky responses, so I worked to shift the subject.

"Tell me why I should trust you guys. Explain to me who you are and we'll see where to go from there."

Namjoon and Yoongi's mouths curved with amusement. Taehyung looked about as bored as ever, even as he started to inform me about the secret society of supernatural hunters.

"The Hunters recruit only two types of people: Descendants and those who have been directly affected by Bul-Gae. They need hunters who fully understand the danger and tragedy that inevitably comes with them. We train recruits until they're deemed ready, then they wait to be assigned to a target once Descendants in our group have sensed the presence of either another Descendant or a Bul-Gae. Where one is, the other always ends up being too."

Wait. If they can sense Bul-Gaes' mere presence, how have they not discovered the Hood yet?

"You say you can sense us, but why have I never noticed or sensed that you were like me?" I inquired, to which Taehyung allowed a faint smile to pull at his lips.

"No offense, Jangmi, but you hadn't tapped into that side of yourself in years, if ever. I'm assuming you've seen a glimpse of what you can do. But getting a little sparkle in your palms won't suddenly unlock all your abilities. You're essentially a baby—"

"Fine, I get it." It was all I could do not to scowl or feel offended.

"So you're assigned to protect Descendants, or is your job description more along the lines of eradicating an entire species?" Jungkook asked from beside me.

"Both."

It was Yoongi who answered, and the two males locked eyes for a moment too long.

"We protect Descendants before anything else," Namjoon insisted. His lilac hair better resembled molten silver under the low lighting. "Until they directly put the Descendant at risk, we're prohibited from acting against them. Can't risk exposing ourselves until our hand is forced."

"What if the Descendant never learns what they are?" Jimin was next to ask.

"The only time that would ever happen is if they never met any Bul-Gae. And that doesn't happen." Taehyung's dark eyes trapped mine, not letting me flee until he was through. He was too desperate for me to listen—to really hear him. "Those beasts will instantly feel drawn to the power, even at its most dormant state. And they will take their time playing with their prey until they've provoked them enough for that power to rise up. Because that's what they're seeking in the first place. That magic has to be right at the surface for them to consume it."

And that was exactly why the Hood was stalling this entire time. Why he'd dragged me through so many games, fed me so many riddles. He was leading me ever so deliberately to his den, marinating me all along the descent so that my arrival was timed correctly. All a design crafted for my demise.

I anticipated everyone's silence before it came, but I still voiced my question anyway. "What happens when they feed?" No response, just as I expected. I tried again, nudging farther. Voice with a slight tremble, "What would happen to me?"

"You'd die."

Everyone stilled. My heartbeat shuttered. Bones chilled.

Namjoon went on. "But we can keep that from happening. You just have to choose to trust us. And maybe start questioning those you trust already."

Hoseok let out a sharp scoff, the sound scraping the air unforgivingly. "You're wrong. About all of it." Then he was turning to me and had my face between his palms before I could release a breath.

"Maybe what they're saying is true for what they've seen. But they haven't seen us—not really. It'll be different for us. We'll make it different."

I wrapped my hands around his wrists as my brows furrowed. "I'm not worried about us," I said quietly. I'm worried about the Hood. About all he has been plotting behind the scenes.

"Suppose time will tell," Namjoon muttered. I glanced over at the three of them, guiding Hoseok's hands away from my cheeks. He intertwined our fingers instead, and I could still feel his gaze settle as a light breeze over my face.

The three men watching us appeared tightly wound and ready to spring. I spoke as clearly as possible in the aim of taming their instincts. "If I'm just some assignment to you, how can I believe you'll actually care enough to be on my side? How do I know you won't just hurt Hoseok against my wishes even if he does nothing wrong?"

Taehyung's eyes lingered on Hoseok before finally snapping to me. He sighed. "It may not mean much to you, but Descendants share a bond. You'll feel it the more you tap into that side of yourself. But for me, that feeling is at full force. I won't do anything to hurt you or someone you care about unless it means saving your life."

For someone who I'd always considered serious, I knew the words he just said to me held greater weight than anything so far. I didn't think he could get more serious, yet there he was looking at me like I was a tiny, lost fractal of some bigger whole, and he was waiting for me to find my way back.

Familiar yet still unnerving was the stirring force deep in my blood. Yearning, brightening. Awakening.

"Well, what about you two? If you're not Descendants, what makes you trustworthy?" Jimin asked shortly.

Namjoon tensed, though he didn't seem surprised by the question. We waited until he finally opened his mouth. "My sister was a Descendant. I didn't know anything about it at the time, but I watched someone get close to her. Gain her trust. Then he drained the life out of her day by day, but I was too young to really recognize that something was wrong. When he was finally trying to kill her, I walked in on it all. Hunters were there to stop him, but—" he cut short to close his eyes. A muscle at his jaw ticked. "They weren't fast enough."

Is that why he has always been protective? Why he bothered to check in on me a few times? It wouldn't be a stretch if I remind him of his sister.

"He saw everything, so he was recruited," said Taehyung faintly.

Namjoon's eyes were set to the ground, and it wasn't until they gleamed with moisture that they met mine, burning in sincerity. "I've vowed never to let that happen again. Not under my watch." The intensity of his tone was sourced of the agony he'd experienced. "Your trust in me, or lack thereof, has no influence over my ending him the moment he slips."

"You won't lay a hand on him because he won't fucking slip," Jungkook nearly barked. I looked over to find him glaring at Namjoon, ignoring the shocked stare of his brother. Of course Hoseok was surprised—he still convinced himself that Jungkook despised every part of him.

"Like I said, we'll see."

"Yoongi?" I called. The heated atmosphere diffused in wait for his reply.

"My parents," was all he offered. But contrary to the two words from his mouth, his eyes spoke a thousand.

Jimin and Jungkook were dissatisfied. They glanced over at me for any hint of my thoughts, but I could only return to Yoongi's expression. Something about it was powerful enough to etch an impression on my heart. Because he presented himself as the hardest to crack, yet one whisper of his parents proved his willingness to risk a break in the facade.

Taehyung stepped closer to me, his eyes softer than usual below that inky hair. "Jangmi, all three of us have seen examples of how things could end up for you. I don't expect you to like everything about what we do. All I want to propose is that you let us try to protect you against what might happen. We could teach you how to defend yourself, for starters."

"I don't know," Jimin said, and I knew he was enacting the plan for our code. "It's getting late. Maybe we'll just go and get back to you after Jangmi has a chance to sleep on it."

Jungkook and Hoseok both reached for my hands simultaneously, fully prepared to walk out so we could discuss things. But we'd said leaving meant we didn't find them trustworthy.

"No." Freeing my hands, I met the eyes of each of them. "I'm staying. And my training starts now."

• • •

A/N: aaaand welcome back! thanks for returning to another update 💕

What do we think of this chapter?

First of all, how many of you facepalmed after that reminder of what the Hood said in a previous chapter? He practically spelled out the fact that Hoseok turned him 👀

Do you guys think Jangmi is right to trust these three now that they've explained more about what they do and who they are? Who is your sus rader zoning in on now?

Look forward to the winter showcase in the next chapter!! And then we all know what comes next (;

While you're here, I want to tell you about the discord server I've started! it's a writing and reading focused server geared toward support, motivation, and fun! Whether you're a reader or a writer or both, there's space for you and I'd love to see you there! There's also some special content regarding my stories! how much or how little you're active is completely up to you. The link can be found in my bio! ❤️

See you all soon.

Your-hopeful-to-chat-with-you-author,

Kat ✨

October 6, 2021