My name, scribbled in dark crimson red, glistens in the moonlight.

Park Y/n.

I freeze. Realization sparks through me like a bolt of lightning.

They know where I am.

They know where we are. They know where Base C is, they know the exact room where I sleep. We all thought we were safe in hiding, but we aren't.

Holy shi-

All previous exhaustion forgotten, I inhale sharply and run out of the room, down the tunnel, and emerge in the main living room.

Who should I go to?

I think quickly. Suga is off limits. Taehyung and Namjoon I don't know well. Jin I trust, but after hearing him go on his fire rap-rant to Jungkook and J-Hope before dinner, I don't want to bother him. Jungkook and J-Hope need their rest. Which leaves...

Jimin.

I think of his lovely personality and our first conversation on the green couch. He saved my life from Suga. And he made me feel so welcome here. Yes, I can definitely trust him.

I take a breath, resolute.

Jimin it is.

But which tunnel is it?

I look around myself at the tunnels, 11 others in total. How can I find which one Jimin's room is?

He gave me a tour of the whole place, too.

But I can't remember.

Oh get yourself together, Y/n. Surely it's not that hard.

Jimin likes the green couch. Didn't he say something about his room being close to the green couch? I walk over and stand next to it, uncertain. From here I can see two tunnels - a pink one and a brown one.

The brown one I didn't get to see, because after taking a look at Jungkook's room dinner was ready. I'm almost certain that it leads to the treehouse.

So it must be the pink one... right?

I want to hit my head on a wall for not being able to remember.

Oh well - there's nothing I can do about it now. What's the worst that can happen anyway?

I crawl through the pink tunnel and arrive at the door. There's a little golden ring hanging on it, shining in the dim light.

It's identical to the one on Jungkook's door.

It must be the good luck charm Jimin told me about!

With slightly more confidence that I've found the right place, I knock on the door.

I try to steady my breathing while I wait. 

Before I know it, the door opens and a sleepy Jimin in striped pajamas is standing in front of me. An eye mask messily pulled up to his forehead makes his hair stick up. He rubs his eye as he looks on, slightly confused.

"They know where we are!" I whisper-yell at him.

Jimin pauses in his eye rubbing and blinks slowly. "Huh?"

C'mon Jimin! How do you not get this?

I blurt everything out, impatient: "The freaking Freedom Academy, Jimin! The people Jungkook and J-Hope and I ran from earlier. The people who wanted to capture me to study me and do who-knows-what to me!"

I was keeping calm up to that point. But the more I rant on, the more terrified I get.

"There's a letter on my windowsill Jimin, it's from them, it's got the stupid stamp on it, someone put it there but I swear my window was locked the whole time, Jimin please help me I just wanted to sleep peacefully but now we have to move -"

"Woah. Y/n. Calm down," Jimin says. He puts a hand on my shoulder.

Like before, when we were sitting on the green couch, his physical contact eases the anxiety inside me. I relax a little, but I still feel jumpy.

"Let's take this one thing at a time." He looks into my eyes intently, searching. "There's a letter on your windowsill?"

"Yeah, with the FA stamp, it's this dark crimson red -"

"And it's still on your windowsill?" he interrupts.

I nod.

"Did you touch it at all?"

"No, I only looked at it. And then I got scared so I ran here."

Jimin's methodic and straightforward questioning steadies me. Gears are turning in his head, despite the foggy just-woke-up state he must've been in a few moments ago.

Jimin nods, reaching a decision. "Okay. We need to figure out what the letter says first. Then depending on what it says, we'll decide what to do with Namjoon's help. I need you to stay calm, okay?"

"Okay."

Jimin lowers his hand from my shoulder. "Let's get the letter first."

We crawl our way back to my room. Jimin is surprisingly really good at moving around quietly.

I'm really grateful for the night lights along the walls - without them, I'd be lost in the dark. And the last thing I want is to trip over something and cause a loud ruckus in the middle of the night.

I lead Jimin past the door of my room, which I'd left open in my panic, and we walk together towards the window.

Sure enough, the white letter is still sitting there. Jimin narrows his eyes when he sees it.

I look from Jimin to the letter and back to him, unsure of what to do.

I stay silent.

He eventually sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll open it," he says. "You stay back. I don't want you getting hurt."

I nod in response.

Jimin walks up to the window.

He does it so quietly that I don't hear a single sound. It's uncanny.

When he gets close enough, his arm darts out super fast to grab the letter off the windowsill. I raise my eyebrows, surprised at his speed.

He scans the envelope quickly, then tears it open to take out the letter inside. His hands never stop moving.

"I don't sense any traps on here," Jimin whispers. His eyebrows are furrowed in worry.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is. But it feels wrong... it's like they want you to read it without getting hurt." He turns to me. "We know that's not true though."

Jimin unfolds the piece of paper. He runs a hand through his hair again as he reads the contents.

I hold my breath in anticipation.

"Ohhh..." Jimin smiles.

"What does it say?"

He hands the letter to me. "It's just your test results. Have a look."

I take the paper from him.

Dear Y/n Park,

Congratulations for passing your elemental capability examination! We are proud to announce your results.

Elemental: Air

Specialty: Sound

Please contact your teachers with any questions you may have. We wish you good luck on your journey to mastering your elemental power!

Now prepare for your standard exams. Don't forget about those.

Most sincerely,

Proud Principal of Freedom Academy

"I thought it would be a... less cheerful message," I say in wonder.

"I thought so too," Jimin replies. "Turns out they're just sending out your results. Congrats on passing, by the way."

"Thanks." 

A beat. 

"But we're still doomed, Jimin. They could come here any moment!"

"Let's get Namjoon then," Jimin replies. He holds his hand out. "I'll hold the letter in case there's a timed trap on it or something."

"Okay."

I shove the letter into Jimin's hands and take off down the tunnel.

To Namjoon we go... to Namjoon we go...

"So, what do you think Namjoon will suggest we do?" I ask when I'm halfway to the other side.

No response.

I look back the way I came. Jimin isn't in sight.

Uhhh...

"Jimin?" Silence. "Jiminnn~"

I sigh in annoyance. Just as I'm about to crawl back, his voice reaches my ears. "Hang on Y/n! I'll be right there."

"What are you doing?"

"Just a second!"

I sit in the tunnel and wait.

For a good while.

Jimin eventually exits my room and crawls toward me in the tunnel. I narrow my eyes at him. "What took you so long?"

"I was double checking for timed traps," he says. "Can't hurt to be too sure."

"Sure, sure," I roll my eyes as I continue forwards.

"What? I care about you. I just want to make sure you're safe... and I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you."

That was smooth.

But I refuse to admit it out loud.

I can almost hear the knowing smirk on Jimin's face as we continue towards Namjoon's room in silence.