VALETUDO

THE CURSE

It had all been just as beautiful and unproblematic as Jungkook believed it would be.

The sun had shined over them as they ate and then the sky had gone darker as they laid on that duvet looking up at the sky, tangled and hugging close, talking in whispers so as to not disturb the beauty of that moment, giggling in each other's ears whenever one of them got cheeky, and kissing... oh... kissing softy.

Once it was "dark enough" -as Jungkook had called it- they put everything back inside the bag, wearing a tiny smile each, and then kissed each other one last time before departing in different ways. Yet smiling brightly, knowing they'll meet again at the black glass double doors of the Professors' Living Area.

All the while Jungkook walked, he begged nothing and no one would stop him from getting there, or stop them at any point of the night. He avoided the crowded places, mostly the corridors leading to the cafeteria since at six o'clock was usually when they started serving dinner and instead walked fast thru more narrow ones.

But just when he was going around the library, his father turned the corner at the end of that corridor as he talked in rapid, angry whispers with his friend Evans.

Instead of his body freezing in place, a bolt of lightning made him run back to the side door of the library, and he went in. Once there, he walked fast and silently, with one hand holding his backpack strap and the other holding his coat thru desolated tables as he tried to get to the door at the other side.

When someone suddenly stopped him.

He turned around in panic as someone gripped his wrist. But it was only Namjoon, so he sighed in relief. The latter let go of him, breathless just like him as if he had run to catch him, and without saying a word, he nodded towards the librarian's desk a bit away from there with a stare that could only mean urgency. However, Jungkook grimaced a bit.

- I'm kind of running late somewhere else, I'm sorry. - He would hate it if he made Taehyung wait. Also if, because of it, he saw his father again.

His body stilled over a bit as he looked around the library, trying to see the outside from the wide windows towards the inside of the University. But then Namjoon neared him enough to whisper,

- Are you going to meet with that Professor? - Jungkook nodded without looking at him, but Namjoon tugged on his wrist again. - I need to tell you something important. It's about the white pavilion. -

Jungkook snapped his head back at him, his attention grabbed entirely, but instead of going where he wanted to take him, which would no wonder be thru the trap door and down the hidden stairs, he gave a pinch to Namjoon's shirt and took a step back, letting it go as he continued walking to indicate that he should follow. So he took him closer to the side doors where he would be closer to Taehyung's classroom and, in the dim light next to a bookshelf, he finally looked back at him and said,

- I'll come here tomorrow so you can tell me everything, but just for right now, we have three minutes. Go. -

Namjoon widened his eyes and gaped at him.

- Oh, no. Uuuuuu..... - He averted his eyes and tried to think fast as he placed his hands flat over his tensed stomach.

Jungkook saw this and wonder aloud,

- And you're with Seokjin? Jesus. - It still baffled him. But Namjoon frowned a bit at the floor.

- He never puts me under pressure. - He muttered as he thought of something else. It intrigued Jungkook then, about just how different this cold man could be with Namjoon.

- Ok, we'll also talk about him tomorrow. -

Tomorrow, tomorrow, if he leaves everything for tomorrow, he'll just explode when the day comes, and yet, he couldn't help but do it.

- Yeah... - Namjoon said absentmindedly until finally he snapped his fingers and looked up with the question ready on his tongue. His eyes looked around once just to make sure and then leaned in a bit closer to his ear so he could whisper. - Have you two... done it yet? -

What... a weird question... Jungkook leaned back to frown at him, but the latter made a gesture of urgency with his hands, so Jungkook sighed.

- What do you mean? - Namjoon raised an eyebrow at him, but his question had been genuine. - I mean... do you mean like just touching or like... in... -

- In. - Namjoon nodded and made the same gesture as before. So he answered.

- No, we haven't. - Then he thought of tonight just when Namjoon sighed in relief and added. - But nothing's gonna stop us from doing it, so don't you even try--

- Wait, - Namjoon raised his palms up, wide-eyed. - that's where you're going right now. -

Not a question.

- Yes. - Jungkook answered with a bit of defiance. But Namjoon then made a little panicked jump as he shook his hands and tried to get closer to him to whisper once more.

- I need to tell you something about the pavilion before you two do it. -

- But why? - He asked, yet again defiantly but very confused.

But then, there was a second of silence in which an awful thought appeared in Jungkook's mind.

His body froze over, he felt chills run down his spine in such an unpleasant way that his senses went to over-focus as he leaped closer and harshly grabbed Namjoon's wrist to pull it towards him. Breathless and without paying any mind to the latter's little moan of pain, he pulled his sleeve up to his elbow so he could see with wide, frightened eyes if this person also had a tattoo on his forearm just like Garrett. Because, if there was one, there was a very high probability that Jungkook would explode in rage.

But there was nothing but the white skin of someone living mostly in the shadows.

Once his mind caught up to his actions, he realized what he was doing, and Jungkook let go of him immediately.

- Sorry. - He muttered. Astonished with himself that he had actually done such a thing. He had been so terrified by the thought that those people were all around him that he acted on impulse and hurt Namjoon.

Today had genuinely been a rollercoaster. He needed to get back to Taehyung.

- You... -

Jungkook looked up and saw Namjoon slowly pushing his sleeve down once more, but his eyes... were wide and clear as he said,

- You thought I was an Iviai. -

Jungkook blinked and frowned.

- A what? - He had never, in his life, heard such a name. Not even Garrett had said it. He remembers he called them The True Ones, not Iviai.

But Namjoon nodded, sure that he had.

- Yes, you were trying to see if I had any markings. -

...no, he was trying to see if he had any tattoos, not "markings". This was simply getting them nowhere.

- Look, I'm sorry I did that, but it's not for the reasons you think. If we're done here, I have to go. - Jungkook said with urgency as he took a step back towards the glass doors.

- No, wait. - Namjoon stopped him, once more grabbing his wrist. But this time he actually looked much more rushed than ever as he said, - Eadem Veros Inducat. -

Jungkook stilled.

Yes, that was the name Garrett had said, but... Eadem Veros Inducat... Iviai... ¡E.V.I!. Jungkook's eyes widened as he leaned in once more.

- Do you know about them? -

- I've read about them. - Namjoon answered rapidly, always in whispers. - Do you know any? -

Should he tell him? Should he tell him?

Jungkook knows Namjoon's good at keeping secrets and his current rush transpired no hostilities, so maybe he could. Yes, he could, he's Namjoon, he could tell him everything.

- Yes. - Jungkook answered and watched how his companion's shoulders rose in excitement as he tugged him closer by the wrist he held. - There's three of them here that I know of. -

- Who? - He asked fast, jumping again. But Jungkook shook his head.

- I... don't know how to explain it. - However, he remembered with a blink, and rushed to tell him. - But I think one of them is in the woods right now. He said he would do a ritual. -

Namjoon let go of him as he took a step back and looked off, wide-eyed and tense.

- A ritual? Tonight? - He whispered to the floor and then snapped his head up. - Does that ritual have anything to do with what you two are going to do right now? - He asked in a rush, but Jungkook frowned.

He was really starting to get more than frustrated at feeling so stupid for not being able to understand certain things. But he shook his head because all he knew was that Garrett was meant to do a ritual to thank the spirit of the woods for answering his questions. Even if such a spirit had not talked to him at all. Though, he still didn't know that.

- Not as far as I know. I haven't even talked to them that much. -

- Ok, we need to talk about this, right now. - He tried to take his forearms to tug him toward the trap door, but Jungkook took a step back.

- I'm busy, Nam. We'll talk tomorrow, I promise. - He turned around, feeling rushed to leave now that this conversation had turned too serious too soon and he knew Taehyung was waiting for him by now. But Namjoon ran to put himself in between Jungkook and the glass doors, scaring him when he took him by the shoulders and looked at him with frightened eyes.

- You might be doing something really bad, Jungkook. You have to know, I have to tell you about--

- Namjoon, please, - Jungkook tried to shake him off with a gentle voice. - This can wait. -

- No, it can't. - He shook his head vigorously, breathing rapidly. - If you really found that white pavilion, you can't sleep with him. -

Jungkook stopped for a moment, but then slowly, as a frown deepened on his forehead and he reached up to grab Namjoon's hands from his shoulders, he remembered just how beautiful this day had been at that white pavilion. He remembered how Taehyung had looked beside it, how the carvings whitened in the sun, and, most importantly, how he had fallen inside the circle of earth once his foot was at the other side of that narrow creek. How could they do something they shouldn't have tonight if everything had been perfect?

At once, he took Namjoon's hands off of him and took a step back, pointing a finger at his chest.

- Stay right there. - He said strongly so he wouldn't try to grab him again. This has gone way too far and he had no time to listen to any explanation. Namjoon looked at him imploringly and, judging by how The True Ones seem to be 100% real, he couldn't think he was exaggerating. So, instead of giving any more of his precious time with Taehyung away, he told him rapidly. - I can't talk with you about this right now, but maybe my friend Garrett can. If he really is in the woods right now, he would be northeast of the white path leading out of the Students' Living Area, alright? I have to go. -

- But--

He heard nothing more as he bolted around Namjoon and pushed the door open so he could run out and towards his love.

Without ever looking back at just how terrified Namjoon looked.

Namjoon turned back around after he saw him running away and shook in terror of what that pair might unleash upon the world, again.

If they really were the pair for which the curse had been placed...

Immediately, he ran back towards the librarian's desk -which was deserted as it always was on Sundays- and ran back down the metal stairs. The massiveness of the room below surrounded him the moment his head had gone beneath the floor, and once his feet touched the ancient wooden floors, he legged it towards that large rectangular table which was against a side wall made of old stone and in between two different sets of new metal stairs leading up to different trap doors. He took off the white sheet he had placed there to cover what he had been studying and looked down at the mess, trying to find his own notebook.

Books of various different sizes laid over this table, some opened in drawings, others closed, but every single one of these shared the same characteristics: They all spoke about the curse laid upon this world thousands of years ago by an evil Goddess, and their authors have all died of unnatural causes. Without any regard to which century these authors were from, every time one of these precious books was written, the curse would work against them. Every time.

These books were one of a kind, and there must've been many more of them he knew nothing of, so why are they in this particular university? Namjoon has only an idea of how it could've been, and it was all because of the way he found them years ago.

In one of his scoutings to get to know every shelf in this secret place, he found that one of the shelves in the section beneath where the encyclopedias would be was pushed a bit to the side. It was not aligned with the others. So he aligned it back, just so it would all look tidier even if it was just himself down here, and he found then, a carving on the wood, as little as a coin.

It was The Owl of Athena, an ancient Greek symbol of the owl that always sat at the shoulder of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare.

So, for curiosity, he went to the Greek mythology section and found that the oldest book of Greek mythology also had the same owl drawn on the spine of the book. This book was The Homeric Hymns by Anonymous, written 4-7th century BC, and he read it until he found the owl once more, though this time it was written in black ink, right next to the quote said by Hermes in Hymn 4: "I neither declare myself to be guilty nor have I seen anyone else who stole your cattle.".

Newborn Hermes, smart even as a child, tries to convince his older half-brother, Apollo, that he has not stolen Apollo's cattle. Hermes is not saying he's not guilty; he's just saying he won't call himself guilty. Nor is it a lie to say he hasn't seen "anyone else" who stole the cattle, since he's the thief. As the newest god to join the pantheon, he must earn his place by trickery.

So the Owl of Athena next to the God who earned his place by trickery was a game of words. Wisdom in trickery, and cunning in the fit of war. Characteristics, no doubt, of the person who left this puzzle behind.

By the end of the book -which took two weeks for him to finish reading- he found half of a very old silver coin with one point sharp and the other round as if used to carve the owl on the floor. But also something else just as strong as wood or even more so. Therefore, he went to the shelves closest to the walls, but specifically the shelf of the century this coin was from.

The thief had not only left clues about the object but also about who he had been and why he had done it. Because Hermes had stolen from someone who considered him close so he could earn his place with the Gods, which could only mean that this person had stolen this object in the name of something just as important.

And Namjoon found it.

This university was founded in 1520, about 499 years ago. The majority of the walls and foundations including the shelves, floors, even chandeliers, curtains, and carpets are still the same, they have only been perfectly kept by staff specialized in these certain things. Also, because back there they did it all so it could last, they rarely needed to change anything, only the stairs leading to trap doors in this place as well as electricity and other modern buildings to extend the university, but other than that, this library was one of the places that rarely changed at all.

This half of a coin was exactly a British coin from 1520, so the author of this thievery had either been one of the twelve founders or someone who wanted to be part of their table, so he stole this from one of them to be there. Once Namjoon was on that shelf, he pushed it away from the wall as far as it could go, and there, sweating and panting, he had found the carving on the stone wall left by this coin, right in the middle of what seemed to be a particularly large stone. So, as gently as he could, he found out that this stone could be taken out with enough determination without the wall having any damage, and, by doing so, he also found that this stone had been cut in half so that the place remaining could work as a hiding shelf. Which hid...

...the thirty-seven books he now had over this table.

When Jungkook had told him he had found the white pavilion, all Namjoon could remember of the books he read five years ago were only the pretty parts of the whole story about how only worthy people could find that place. But he still had a bad gut feeling about it all, so he took them out of their hiding place and read it over only to fall captive to the fear that came with knowing he was probably in the middle of possible warfare.

He had been waiting for days, getting out of his hiding places much more than usual only to see if he could find Jungkook again to warn him. But the latter never came back.

And now Jungkook is off to do just the thing that will doom them all and Namjoon lost his last chance to stop him.

Once his frantic eyes finally landed on his own notebook, he grabbed it and ran out of there. But not up through one of the trap doors, instead, he went towards one of the wooden double doors on the other side of the room.

He ran through the stone corridors illuminated by warm light, flying past openings to other corridors and leading straight towards the farthest west opening, closest to the Students' Living Area.

What he had written in that notebook were the most important parts of it all, and, as he ran, his mind panicked thru what he had read in those books, making him more frantic.

Thousands of years ago...

A curse left by a Goddess driven mad by envy...

Envy because a human boy stole his God away from her...

A curse left by a Goddess, to bind humans onto lonely hardships...

To bound them, unable to love freely, unable to be free, unable to feel innocent happiness without being destroyed by the anger she felt towards those who had what she didn't...

Only despicable ones, aligned with her darkness, could be free to do what they wished...

She bound the two lovers who destroyed her life to never be free from their bodied prisons...

Their souls were bound to live countless lifetimes... Their souls were bound to never be free; to never get liberated from their skin and shine freely on the night sky as all the other souls; all the other stars...

They couldn't escape... And because of the abhor, even if they found each other, they couldn't love...

Bound to live a torment of unfairness. Forced to follow the only kind of people who could arrive to power; vile ones. Forced to never let themselves free without consequences...

Consequences...

Namjoon ran as hard as he could up the stairs leading to the insides of the Students' Living Area.

Consequences of their love; the love that made her lose everything; the love she hated. True, happy, innocent, shining love...

Without thinking of the people in the Arcade Room, he sprinted towards the glass doors at the other end. Not giving any mind to their gawking for just emerging from an "out-of-bounds" door in the back and instead clutching his notebook tight to his aching chest.

Consequences of their love, their bond; unbreakable, unparalleled, true, pure, and eternal. Consequences of the bond woven through their souls, tying them as one... when their bodies were as tight to each other as if they were only one...

Under the moonlight of the outside, only the crunching of the pebbles surrounded him as he bolted through the white path and went headfirst into the dark and ominous woods he had never before dared to enter. But now, it was of a matter way more important than his own fear.

He ran as hard as he could, but the night was such that he barely could make out the outlines of trees until they were close enough to collide. He fell a fair few times as he went northeast, where Jungkook told him that E.V.I could be, all the while he cursed himself over and over for not having the courage to grab Jungkook while he could. He panicked when he left; he froze. And now his hand was cut open in consequence of having to run through the darkness.

Even as he ran, he still wanted to believe this curse wasn't real and it wouldn't ignite in full power once Jungkook and that teacher...

Yes, he wanted to believe it wasn't real even if he was crying in fear.

Fear because he knew it was real. Because everything made sense once one realized it was real. Because it was the truth.

Suddenly, he stopped short and held on tight to a tree. His heart was going a mile an hour and it was only when he looked down at the floor that he realized he wasn't about to fall off a precipice.

He had believed he was about to fall terribly, that's why he stopped. But why had he believed that?

Namjoon rested his forehead against the tree as he shivered and tears flowed down his panicked stricken eyes. All he could hear was the pounding in his ears. He had no idea where he was, he couldn't glimpse any light coming from nowhere, he was in deep darkness, and he was afraid... so afraid...

- ...m...h... -

Namjoon frowned a bit and closed his mouth to try to breathe in deeper. The wind was making weird noises, he was getting paranoid.

- ...tell... mh... -

Slowly, he opened his eyes against the tree once more. He was sure he heard a voice this time. But he was so afraid of the darkness that he feared it would be the spirit guarding the woods, so he stayed as still as possible and tried to listen, to hear if he could discern the words.

And there they were again.

- Luz... -

Namjoon's eyes widened and he turned around as a chill ran down his spine. There... away from the sight of the way he had come, hidden by a massive rock and wild bushes, he could discern the warm light of what appeared to be a candle. It was a perfect hiding spot, so perfect that he had no idea it had been there all along.

If he had continued running, he would've missed it.

At once, he straightened, and, with weak legs and frozen tears, walked towards that single sparkle of light.

Jungkook hadn't been as late as he thought. The moment he arrived at the black, glass doors, was the same as Taehyung. Though from different sides, they both had arrived panting and wide-eyed. But no matter, when they looked at each other, all worry flew out and they smiled breathlessly as Taehyung unlocked the door with his card.

Now, they were both inside the apartment, smiling. Jungkook smiled because of love while Taehyung smiled because of shyness as he avoided his stare and gently took out the other dish he had left in the oven to accompany it with a fine bottle of wine. He was shy because he had just told him why he had been panting when they met downstairs.

Apparently, he had gone back to the white pavilion to leave a daisy he had found on the way. To thank the place for their beautiful evening.

Indeed, Jungkook could not smile softer than he was now as they walked towards the coffee table. They sat on the floor, leaving the food and two forks over it, with two wine glasses and the bottle. For a moment, it was all dark but for the scarce light of the night outside, until Taehyung lit up the candles he had organized there before leaving for their picnic.

And everything was so perfect, so beautiful, and he was so in love, that Jungkook could only wait for him to sit back down before finally leaping up to kiss him on the lips; earning a wonderful laugh in return.

Namjoon could see him. He was in the middle of what appeared to be a natural circle or small clearing of trees and bushes. But he was on the phone with someone else, so that's why he had been able to hear him.

However, it wasn't this last fact that made him stop short in the shadows, it was the light. He had thought it was coming from a candle, but in reality... it was floating in front of him. A little, yellow flame as if made by a candle, floated before him with no candle to speak of as he sat with his legs crossed and the flame made a perfect line upwards.

He had his eyes solely focused on the flame while he listened to whoever was on the other side and then chuckled softly.

- Yes, it was your fault, don't say it wasn't. - ... - No, Luz, you punched him first. - ... - I don't care if he was warned, you two shouldn't even be fighting. -

It was... so weird to see a guy performing magic and still smile so softly as he was now. And it was right at that moment that Namjoon realized he had been believing the stereotypes of E.V.Is. How rude of him.

However, he was still shaking and frightened, so it took all his effort to step inside his line of vision and into the light.

The second his eyes landed on him, the guy jumped, literally jumped from his sitting position and onto his feet; knees bent, back arch inwards, hands ready in front of him, eyes never leaving him. The phone fell but neither paid no mind to it, and the little fire of light started moving like a normal flame would; erratically thought with its center in place.

The guy frowned a bit in recognition and then said.

- Aren't you the guy who works at the library? -

Namjoon's mouth was dry as he saw how this guy -whom he knew could kill him in a second - didn't relax his stance. But he nodded nevertheless.

- Namjoon, isn't it? -

His chest rose with fear at how much this person knew about him that he had no idea about, but he nodded again.

- Why are you here. - It wasn't a question, it was a demand; strong, sure, and laced with the promise that a wrong answer could end badly.

Although this guy was surely handsome, Namjoon grimaced and shook worse than ever as another tear flowed past the corner of his eye. Nothing could soothe him. The lump in his throat was such that he nearly couldn't breathe right, much less speak, but he had to, otherwise, what would this person do to him?

He tried to swallow down his fear so he could speak, but the sight of that flame slightly growing in size made him fall to his knees with a strangled sob. Frantically he let go of his notebook and made it slide across the grass towards his feet, next to the phone.

With his head down and his nails digging into the soil, Namjoon stayed as still as he could while he tried to concentrate on things that would help him calm down.

He thought of Seokjin. His beautiful love, his honest, gentle eyes, his soft smile, his wonderful laugh, and his sense of humor. Yes, he thought of him and only him as he closed his eyes and tried to calm down, breathing deeply, desperately trying not to vomit in his panic.

Garrett was still with his guard up as he knelt to grab the notebook, his eyes never leaving Namjoon. For one last time, he extended a dome of his aura as far as it could go, but he detected no other living person close by. Or dead for that matter. So this guy was completely alone and desperate by the look of things. It even seemed like he had been looking for him and only him.

With sure hands, he grabbed the notebook, always keeping his body ready to leap up if need be. But, just in case, right before he opened the object, he assessed his companion's aura simply to see if he could sense his intentions. But he could only taste anxiety and panic.

So, Garrett opened the notebook. Only to find it filled with notes he had no time to read over. The size of the letters was too small for him to read quickly, so he simply skimmed over them, trying to see if he could detect a word of something that could explain to him why this guy had looked out for him so rapidly.

But... that's a drawing of Adstrum...

That a drawing of how the world had been when Gods were still able to roam the earth; a drawing from before the curse...

He flipped to the next page and found more drawings. Of how the world was before, how the lines were blurred and the walls were destroyed when the curse had been placed upon the humans, how the darkness that was not allowed to enter Adstrum was finally free to eat away the light, how... how The True Ones were picked up from the rest...

"Eadem Veros Inducat (E.V.I): The True Ones. Taught by the Stranded God who was left on earth when all the doors were sealed, to be able to connect with their own souls and keep the world from being killed by the darkness with their own light."

...this guy, this... bookworm was somehow able to get his hands on sacred information from his people.

- Where the fuck did you get this. - He demanded to know with a low voice and immediately tasted dirty snow in his mouth from the fear in that guy's aura, making him grimace as he waited. But he couldn't wait for a second more, not with everything that had happened today, he was already at his limit. - Speak! -

- A-a.... - He whimpered like a wounded animal with his head still down. - I... found books... -

- Found them? What do you mean you found them? Where are these bloody books? - A part of him, of who he was, felt terrible for being so harsh right now, but he needed answers and he needed them now. It was not usual for anybody to simply find him as they clutched a notebook filled with secret information and tears ran down their face. Garrett's anxiety grew the more he waited for this guy to answer, so he barked again. - Where! -

- In the--! T-the library. Beneath the library. H-Hidden in a wall... for... I-I think for half a millennium... -

Garrett frowned worse than ever. Five hundred years ago? When this library was... built?

His frown disappeared.

There's a legend that claimed one of the founders of this university had been The Rose in a past life who could remember the white pavilion was hidden in these woods, so that's why he chose this location.

If what Namjoon said is true, then the books he found were the same ones The Rose himself had gathered to find this location and build a university here. For what purposes, he wasn't sure, and his brain was too overwhelmed to think of that right now.

- What do you want. - This was the crucial part. Because this guy knew of them and, most importantly, he had run to him tonight, right when he had been in this circle. How he knew he had been here and why he needed him, that's what he needed to know right this instant. But the guy started to breathe faster, almost hyperventilating in his fear, and he needed to answer quickly or Garrett would lose the small control he had over this small flame making it either die down or explode. - Tell me, now! -

- The curse! - Namjoon screamed as his whole body tensed over with the effort it took to speak. Garrett froze over at that, even the flame stopped moving around as he stared wide-eyed at him. Then his heart leaped up in his chest when the latter lifted his head and he could see the panic on his face as he continued. - The curse... Jungkook... -

His heart missed a beat.

- What happened to him. - They both froze. Garrett because he was dreading he had lost The Rose, while Namjoon seemed to be astonished to realize he knew who Jungkook was. Garrett gritted his teeth as he looked directly at him. - What... happened. - He spoke clear and cut, making him shiver before he finally answered.

- He found his mate. - Garrett's body stiffened at what that could mean. - They had both found the white pavilion. - In mutters, he heard the frightened explanation of the guy while his body simply kept on getting colder. - He told me... tonight they'll seal their union... and I couldn't... stop him from leaving... - Tears fell rapidly from his eyes as his arm lost strength and he shook.

And Garrett... Garrett realized exactly what was about to happen.

And he acted at once.

Knowing that this guy had concluded that by Jungkook finding the white pavilion it immediately made him part of that ancient story, he accepted him and went straight towards his side to grab his shoulder tightly.

As if ice-cold water had been poured down on him, Namjoon gasped and straightened with his wide eyes to the heavens. Garrett had done just that; made him wake up from his fears.

- Get up, we need to move. - He told him surely as he let go of him and went back to retrieve his phone. Just a glance told him that Luz had stayed on the other side, waiting for him, maybe still unknowing of what had taken place. He debated whether or not to tell him what was going on, but then figured it would be best to get to him with a solution instead of just problems given how much had been happening to him lately. So he placed the phone back in his ear and spoke as normally as he could. - Luz? -

- You're back. - He chuckled. - I thought something happened, I got scared for a second. -

Garrett swallowed but made a sure gesture of his hand to make Namjoon come closer to him.

- I'm sorry, something happened and I had to leave for a second, but I'm back, don't worry. - He gave the notebook back to Namjoon and with two fingers tight against each other he made the flame illuminate their path to get out of the woods easily. And they followed the light at a fast pace.

- I thought you were alone in the woods. -

- Me too. - He felt terrible for lying to him just after he told him he hated to be lied to. He was being such a massive hypocrite. He couldn't. He couldn't lie to him, not even if it was the best for him, he couldn't do that. Garrett let out a deep sigh and started running as fast as he could, making sure Namjoon was still with him as he told Luz the truth. - Something's wrong Luz. -

At once, he felt the change in atmosphere on the other side.

- What is it? -

- I've just been told that The Rose had found his mate and they're meeting tonight to seal their union. -

Because The Rose and their mate had never done something as mundane as "fucking", no, not even "lovemaking", they are a pure union made in The Sun, meat to last eons in a star of their own, they have never been "just mundane", so their union, their raw and flesh to flesh union had the power to alter the curse of the world.

But, because of the curse, this union made to bring light only works as a target point for all the darkness to destroy. They had to stop this union from happening before it was too late.

And Luz knew this.

- ¡You have to get to Yoongi and Hoseok right now! -

- Yes, I am. - He answered, sure and simple as he made their guiding flame disappear before they left the line of trees. - I'll hang up right now, I'll call you later. -

- Hurry! -

His panic was exactly the reason why he hadn't wanted to tell him anything was wrong, but his conscience felt clear at having told him the truth thru and thru. So he hung up and pocketed his phone right before punching the glass doors open for him and his companion.

- Why is everyone running all of a sudden? -

- Is something wrong again? -

He heard students muttering close by as the both of them ran up the stairs, but he ignored it all.

His companion was heaving as they got to the third floor, but he wasn't even breathless as he knocked on the door twice.

- It's Garrett. - He had knocked so hard and spoken so hurriedly that his urgency was transparent enough to make Yoongi open the door right when Namjoon had stumbled his way next to him.

- What is it? - He asked at once, frowning, and opened the door wide enough for him.

Garrett entered and at once started to speak.

- Jungkook--

But he stopped short the moment he saw Leo was also in the room. He was to the left side of the room, taking clothes out of his dresser as if he had been forced to leave his own room. But right when he heard that one name, he stopped what he was doing and stared at Garrett wide-eyed.

- What happened to Jungkook. - He demanded in soft tones, his eyes unforgiving as he let go of the fabric and turned around to face him. Worry laced his aura with a taste like sour candy.

But before Garrett could say anything else, Hoseok straightened away from his desk, sensing the urgency of the moment in both newcomers' auras.

- Leo, go. - He told him simply, with a final nod. But the latter shook his head incredulously.

- No, no... I demand to know what happened to my brother. -

- He's your brother? - Garrett asked, confused about whether this was fraternal or biological even if such a thing was inconsequential at a moment like this. His brain was simply taking it all in like muddy water.

- That doesn't matter. - Yoongi snapped and looked away from Namjoon to stare at Leo. - You have to go, now. Go back to your green-eyed friend before I kick you out. -

- I'm not going anywhere! - He screamed with fury, the sour taste turning spicy hot as he turned from worried to angry. - Tell me what happened to him! Where is he!? - No, no, there was worry, but the anger was too spicy to discern any other taste. It was burning Garrett's sense of taste, making him take a step back with a grimace before he finally closed off his aura, not able to take it anymore.

He heard Leo's thunderous steps as he approached him but he was stopped short by Hoseok who grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. He might be slimmer than him, but he was nowhere near weaker. Channeling his physical strength from the earth was a gift and a curse in itself, but the gift was to keep him alive, so it was all worth it.

- Get out of here, right now. - His commanding, Wisdom Core voice, chilled Garrett on the spot.

However, it was the loud thunder outside the building which froze them all up. All expect from Namjoon who seemed to have channeled that lighting as he screamed,

- ¡The curse! - It seemed as though it had been ripped out of his whole body, that scream alone. Not because of how loud it was as it was masked over by the thunder, but because of the truthful alarm in his voice. It was an ancient fear.

The four looked back at him as he fell to his knees before the open door, but only three of them knew Namjoon had just channeled a real spirit in his scream.

Garrett mused for a flicker that it must've been because of the books he had read. Those were dangerous books for a human to handle.

But then there came the loud dripping of droplets falling from the sky in heavy rain and they knew, they knew something wrong was about to happen.

Darkness was here, waiting for it to happen.

Hoseok let go of a heavily confused Leo to then turn him around by his shoulder and hit him strategically in the middle of his spine. Leo jolted and his scream of pain never got the chance to get out of his mouth before he fell to the floor, unconscious, right before a panting Namjoon who recoiled away towards the nearest wall right when Yoongi closed the door shut beside him.

Hoseok turned to Garrett with a serious expression and simply waited for him to begin, so he did.

- Jungkook found his mate. -

- Are you sure it's the mate? -

- They both found the white pavilion at the same time. -

- How do you know? -

- Namjoon told me. -

The three of them turned to Namjoon who was still staring wide-eyed towards Leo sprawled on the floor, and Yoongi went straight to him.

- Don't. - Hoseok stopped him from possibly grabbing him harshly to make him stand, and instead he was the one who walked straight towards him and knelt. - Namjoon. - But the latter was panic-stricken, with dried tear tracks and dirt staining his face and clothes, the only thing he clutched tight to his chest was his notebook but that seemed to be muscle memory.

Yoongi turned to Garrett in an instant.

- Do something and calm him down. - He snapped in a clenched-teeth whisper. And right before Hoseok tried once more, Garrett walked forwards, opening his aura again to do what he did before. And again, as if iced water had been poured down on him, Namjoon gasped as his back arched away from the wall.

He shouldn't do this for a third time or he'll hurt him in the long run. With a grimace, Garrett stepped away right when clear, wide eyes looked toward Hoseok.

Suddenly, he grabbed his shoulders, letting go of the notebook, and said with urgency,

- You have to stop them or everyone in the capital will die. -

A prediction?

Their hearts missed a beat at what they had heard. Because "everyone" could only mean... all of their people who were trying to fight for the light. Was this darkness so massive that it would be enough to kill all those fighters at once? Surely it could. If it was strong enough to make one German man kill thousands upon thousands of innocent people brutally all those years ago, then their groups all around the world would be nothing compared to that.

Just the right kind of ignition would make it all come down in a terrible fire. The ignition being... The Rose and his mate.

Hoseok grabbed Namjooon's shoulders in return.

- Do you know where they are? -

For a moment Namjoon's eyes slowly fell in anguish as he tried to think quickly. But then he looked back up.

- He's a teacher. A teacher. They must be in his apartment. -

- A teacher? - Garrett asked, thinking immediately of the man he had seen taking Jungkook to his room the other night. A man who had looked at his tattoos with a grimace, as if he hated them.

As if he remembered them and hated them.

Garrett's eyes snapped wider as he slapped his hand over his forehead.

- Professor Kim. -

Namjoon looked up at him at once with confusion. So Garrett returned the stare.

- Kim Seokjin? - Namjoon asked with a shake of his head as if he already knew that was the wrong answer. But Garrett also shook his head.

- Kim Taehyung. -

At once, Yoongi hissed.

- That bitch-ass name sounds too familiar, you dumbass. How could you not have realized!? -

Garrett frowned at him and curled his hands into fists at either side of him.

- I'm the first one in five generations to be born with markings. Why do you always forget I hadn't met them in my previous lifetime!? - And blamed him for it; always blaming him as if he had anything to do with it. And the worst bit was how he didn't even apologize, he simply huffed and turned around angry.

- This is Darkness clouding your senses. - Hoseok tried to remind them. Wisdom has always been better at keeping his head, but the Healers should too, Garrett was simply too tired by now. How dangerous.

As Garrett and Yoongi tried to remain focused, Hoseok stood up and went straight to his computer, leaving Namjoon where he was on the floor.

- Shouldn't we get going then!? - Yoongi said angrily, driven to panic by the urgency of what was going on.

All the while, Garrett thought over and over about all the problems they've all had this week, slowly realizing as he went that it must've been because The Rose -Jungkook- had met his mate -Taehyung- at the beginning of this week. "Out of the ordinary problems that seemed to happen too often to be anything but fate" was one of the basic characteristics of when the two of them met once more. Not only meeting but engaging in a relationship that would always end up in their physical union, which would then mark them.

Darkness was made to break that bond apart every time it ignited once more, to make them suffer in each lifetime they're forced to live; to keep the world from having light.

So, the importance of them stopping anything from happening was for everyone's good. Because, if The Rose is targeted by Darkness, he might die and then they will lose him, as well as their people in the capital right this instant. The darkness will favor only itself, so yes, they would lose the fight if The Rose's bond with his mate is complete.

Garrett and Yoongi stood quietly as Hoseok did whatever he needed to do on his computer, knowing very well that he was doing what must be done for them to stop this without arousing suspicion or worry.

One last click and Hoseok had what he had been looking for.

Jungkook leaned back until he was against the coffee table as he laughed; one hand gently over his mouth, the other holding his cup of wine. He sat right in front of Taehyung; his bum laid against the floor right before the latter's pelvis, his legs laid over his companion's upper thighs, and his feet rested at each side of his hips, while Taehyung had his legs straight and parted before him to allow Jungkook a comfortable place as he rested his back against the foot of the couch and his elbows over the seat of it, comfortable after having fastly finished his glass and smiling, looking at Jungkook as he laughed at his short anecdote.

- Oh, no, he actually started to quack at everybody? - Jungkook asked with a wide, disbelieving smile.

- Yes. - Taehyung laughed too at the embarrassing memory. - He got too drunk at that party. And it was a black-tie event. - He shook his head as he remembered everyone's astonishment.

- I can't believe a dean would do that. - Jungkook answered with a shake of his own head.

- Neither did he. I don't know whether he was fired or quit his job but he was gone by the next week after the videos were leaked. -

- Oww, way below the belt. - Jungkook hissed, and as he took the last sip of his drink, Taehyung lowered his arms to rest them over his legs so he could hold the latter's thighs gently. Jungkook smiled softly and turned slightly to leave the glass over the table.

For a long while, they had merely been talking and enjoying each other's company as they always do. But Jungkook wanted to take advantage of the atmosphere the candles made and talk about things they would usually never like to do, so he leaned in a bit better to rest his forearms against Taehyung's chest as his hands held the back of the latter's head comfortably. He saw him smiling as he looked straight into his eyes with so much warmth that the rain outside could do nothing against them, and then he muttered,

- As amusing as that story might've been... - Taehyung knew where he was getting at, so his smile got a bit sheepish as he averted his stare. - You know that wasn't what I asked. -

Taehyung took in a deep breath before finally looking back up at him. It was obvious that he didn't want to answer it, but he knew why it was so important that he did. Because it was something he had been avoiding both remembering and telling him about it, and it involved her.

- A drunken regret? - Taehyung asked, earning a small nod from Jungkook who kept on holding his head gently. - I can't say the graduation was something I regret because then I wouldn't have met... - His kids. Jungkook nodded with a kind smile, waiting for him to swallow down the lump. And once he did, he returned the smile before continuing. - Since then, I've never gotten drunk drunk. Though, when I drink, I am a bit looser, a bit... more... compliant. A bit more generous, a bit more... willing to do things I normally wouldn't... - With a small grimace he averted his eyes. Jungkook caressed his fingers against his scalp to soothe him as a growing worry was placed upon his stomach. - I was invited to so many black-tie events, there was a new one almost every two weeks, and... obviously, because she's my wife, I'm expected to bring her along. - He shook his head.

- It felt like she was using me as something to brag about. Like I was her trophy. And I had to smile and hold her hand and hug her to me as if I wanted to do any of that or be there for that matter. - The grimace returned, and still he wasn't strong enough to look up at him, only down at his shoulder. - So I had to drink if only for something to do. In the beginning, I tried to drink only water, but she would frown at me, so... eventually, I changed. I genuinely believed I was trying to make my wife happy at the time while I was actually only wishing she would stop judging me. So yes, I would drink and... hug her tighter, that's... what I... -

But then he let out a deep huff of air as he closed his eyes and lowered his head, seeming either defeated or embarrassed.

Maybe a bit of the two.

- That wasn't exactly what I didn't want to talk about. - He admitted. - I mean, it was, but it wasn't... - He sighed and lifted his head once more. But still, his eyes avoided him. - It was what came after. The things that would happen whenever we would come back to the house and the... kids were asleep. I... - He stopped talking again and his hands let go of Jungkook's tights as they closed into fists. Jungkook stiffened. And once Taehyung took a deep breath, he got ready. - Daphne... is always serious and focused, way more mature than her father who always opens his mouth whenever he wants to but talks much more than her mother, and whenever she does open her mouth, her words are always precise. She rarely opens up with anything that makes her happy or sad, I've only truly known her anger but nothing more. - He sighed. - I didn't know how she was after a couple of glasses of champagne until I was invited to my university's new year's party (because I was the secretary of two teachers), a year and a half after we moved to London. - His eyes darted beside them for a second, trying to find the words, trying to see how to continue.

It looked like he didn't know how to, but he forced himself to continue. And Jungkook knew that if he stopped right now, he would lose his courage.

- She would be completely fine at the party; composed and poised as always, smiling a bit more than usual but fine. But then we got to the house and... she started crying. I didn't know what to do, I had no idea; she wouldn't even let me help her whenever she got sick all through her pregnancy. - He roused his shoulders tensely, feeling the bafflement of that distant memory once more. - I didn't know whether to just go and leave her to check on the kids or stay. I... I chose to do the second one because... I had also taken a few glasses and I was feeling much more emotional or... sensitive, I don't know. I... I was feeling bad for her. - He finally admitted what he had been trying to avoid. It was obvious that it was this fact the one weighing on him when his shoulders fell as well as his head and he hid in Jungkook's neck slowly, like a kid trying to find a safe place after doing something he shouldn't have.

Jungkook frowned. Why would Taehyung feel guilty for feeling bad for--

But then it clicked.

She hurts him. It's only obvious that Taehyung doesn't want to feel bad for someone who treats him badly.

Jungkook had never liked her, and he had made his feelings clear about it, so he tried to restrain his anger as he said,

- Go on. - He whispered softly, gently, filled with as much kindness he could muster for him so Taehyung could let it all out regardless of how he thought he might take it.

And Taehyung let out a deep breath before doing so.

- I... don't want to feel bad for her. - Jungkook hugged his head gently to his neck. - She's an awful partner. I don't even know if she's an awful person or not, but a partner? A companion? She's terrible at communicating what she wants or doesn't want from me, she just wants me to assume everything right and then explodes when I can't do it. She's controlling. Too controlling. I had no idea just how much until... you. You made me realize her harshness, her... wrongness. And she's been using me like a dog. Working only wherever she wants me to work, talking only to the ones she wants me to talk to, dressing only how she wants me to dress; she has a phone that tells her everything I do on mine, she always knows my schedule and gets angry when I change something without telling her first. - He sighed greatly, his forehead feeling heavier on Jungkook's neck as if everything he was saying was pulling him down to the floor.

Outside, the rain fell heavier as thunder boomed in the distance. And, as Taehyung felt like he was slowly trying to hide away, the flames of the candles by Jungkook's back seemed to dim just as gently.

For some reason, Jungkook felt like the three factors were somehow correlated, so he followed his gut and hugged Taehyung around the shoulders as he leaned his lips down to kiss his temple and whisper,

- I'm here. I'm holding you. I'm here. I'm holding you. - Taehyung took in a breath and his arms curled tightly around his waist, tight enough to pull him into his lap, so Jungkook organized his legs in a way that would let his own knees rest at each side of Taehyung's hips. And they held on tightly as Taehyung hid away, feeling safe.

And the small fire behind him shined as bright as it could once more.

- I love you. - Taehyung whispered. Meaning it with every heartbeat, every breath, every syllable. Jungkook kissed his head and left his lips brushing the side of his forehead as he continued in a low voice. - What happened was this: Whenever she drinks, she's more open with what she wants and whenever I drink I'm more emotional. So she would cry, I would hold her, she would let me, and then give vague reasons. Nevertheless, I would listen. And because she was hurting and I hated seeing people hurt even more so if I drank, I would be desperate to do anything that would make her feel better; only thinking of her. She knew this. And I knew she knew this because she would always give me one more glass before heading home. It would always give me flashes of graduation and how they forced me, but I would look at all those strangers in suits and then down at her, knowing she needed to cry and for me to be less tense about it, and I would drink it. -

- I... have to tell you... I think I only say I haven't been drunk since graduation because I'm afraid. Because the only thing I know about being drunk is getting sick, losing memory, and being handover. So, even if I know I haven't been sick or hangover with her again, I don't know if I haven't lost memory or something like that. Like–... But–... I'm not saying I have a thing against drinking, I'm just saying, like, I would rather do it with you than her because... Well... she would ask me to hug her, brush her hair, and take off her jewelry... and I just wanted to please her. To make her feel better. Because she would cry. And seeing women cry is... awful to me. I don't know why but it makes me afraid and sad at the same time; It makes me desperate to make them stop crying by any means. But I know you wouldn't do that to me. -

He sighed greatly, pushing his head back enough to let Jungkook witness the fear and pain in them as he said,

- There's a part of me who wants to avoid those nights at all costs and I don't want to know why. That's why I've been avoiding telling you this. I don't want to think through them and find something better left alone. Like, just now, I just told you I might've been drunk, but only because I realized it on the spot, not because I ever wanted to admit it. - And with that, he went back to Jungkook's neck and hid away in his hold.

The latter remained silent as he held him gently; as he thought.

She would always give him one more glass before heading home. She knew how he would react after drinking a certain amount as if she had always known. And she would take advantage of his willingness, to make him treat her in ways that he would usually never do even with a ring on his finger and his kind heart. Taehyung sober wants to help, but Taehyung after a few drinks needs to please.

This would explain a bit how he ended up doing something he certainly didn't want to do on graduation night.

Jungkook hugged him tighter, pushing himself against him even more.

To think of Daphne completely sober that night ten years ago as she took advantage of a drunken Taehyung... It brought fire to his veins. Taehyung had just said he's somehow fearful of women crying; fearful and sad. What if she had realized this? What if he had merely said "Tell me how to help you, I'll do anything", and he had indeed done everything she said?

Jungkook tried to keep his venom to himself, but then he remembered how Taehyung had called his father by his full name as he looked at the cup the man had used, in disgust; and he couldn't help the soft, deadly smile that appeared on his face.

He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes, feeling something new erupting from his chest and into his mind. Like an image alongside the feeling that had flowed through him. Like the image he had seen mere hours ago of a beautiful home, but this time it was different. The image was of a little room with stone walls and a pointed ceiling from which protruded a yellow light light bomb that illuminated over bookshelves latent with various things that somehow he felt very possessive over. Aside from leather-bound books, there also was what looked like an old 40's radio closest to the desk, and a teddy bear high on another shelf. The desk took up most of the second half of the room and what he felt was his chair sat in between the table and a small window paralleled to the door which stood at the other wall beneath a clock.

Somehow the image brought in him a sense of self he hadn't felt before; a sense of power and malicious intelligence. A sense of possessiveness towards whoever owned the second chair in the room, on the other side of the desk.

A sense of possessiveness ruled over his body for that one moment of pure anger as he held Taehyung differently than he usually did, with one hand cradling the back of his head to his neck while the other went around his shoulder and pushed him against his chest with his hand against his shoulder blade. As if he was protecting him while also keeping him away from everything that wasn't him.

"You're mine". The words flowed from the depths of his chest and into his mind like an intruder while possession coated his veins. But he had enough consciousness to keep his mouth shut. He had no idea where the image -which was now fading- had come from, but he waited until it would leave again. This image had not at all been like the one that brought him to tears this afternoon, this image was cold and lonely, the complete contrast to the sense of home he had felt before. In this new image, he had felt a sense of loathing against whoever had hurt Taehyung, strong enough to make him want to kill.

It frightened him.

Jungkook stayed as silent as he could while the image and the remnants of this feeling were gone once more, and little by little he slowly rearranged his arms and hands to hold Taehyung gently and surely, but not possessively, with both arms around his shoulders.

He swallowed down the fear of not knowing what was happening to him, and breathed in deeply, solely concentrating on the sound of the rain as he finally opened his mouth to tell him something.

When someone knocked on the door.

The both of them leaned away from each other to look directly at it with furrowed eyebrows. It hadn't been a hurried sound nor loud, but it was sure enough to tell them this person was here for a reason and they would not leave. Though, they had no idea who this might be at this hour.

They turned their heads to look at each other again. The sadness from what Taehyung had admitted to him lingered and was now mixed with fear as he glanced behind Jungkook at the coffee table. The wine, glasses, candle, and the empty plate with two forks; the remnants of their date night in full display froze them for a second before Jungkook turned around in his seat, lifting his leg to get off him, and leaned in to blow off the candles. At once, Taehyung stood up and grabbed the plate, placing the glasses over it to take it all in one hand as he took the bottle with the other while Jungkook organized the candles to make them look like the decoration on the small table. Then he stood up and went to the bookshelf to grab five of Taehyung's study books (which he knew exactly where they were) before bolting to the other side of the apartment and placing them over the dinner table as if Taehyung had just been showing him his notes in each of them.

He looked up as Taehyung closed the plate washer and turned on the light in the kitchen at the same time as the light over the dinner table. They looked at each other with their hearts in their throats for one last time before Jungkook sat down and Taehyung turned around to open the door.

Jungkook heard the clicking of the door opening, and then an immediate sound of hurried footsteps entering the place.

Alarmed, he sat up, and locked eyes with Garrett and Hoseok who looked just as alarmed as he was. His heart stopped altogether as his eyes scanned from behind them to where Yoongi had Taehyung pinned against the wall next to the now closed door.

Then, outside in the night sky, a tremendous thunder shook the grounds as if the sky itself was angry for their intrusion.

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🌼Thank you for reading Chapter 55 <3<3<3

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