Inside The Kim Line - ArielleWrites - 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys (2024)

Chapter 1: Trapping Namjoon

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You’re sick of his sh*t.

Don’t get you wrong, you love him, but you’re sick of his sh*t.

You’ve been together for two years and you’re in love. Like love love. Like forever love, like over the rainbow kind of love. Of that you’re sure and that’s why his unexplained absences piss you off so much. He says he loves you and you love everything about him… except for the week every month that he just up and disappears.

And you mean EVERY month.

Two years as a couple and 24 weeks out of those two years he has been gone.

Sometimes it’s a business trip. Sometimes it’s sick family. Sometimes it’s a work retreat. He’s had every viable excuse in the world, but 7 days out of every month he’s just gone and you’re supposed to believe it’s all this completely random, unrelated events?

Or is your Goddamn boyfriend having an affair with some bitch?

You don’t know, but you’re going to find out tonight, because you’re not going to let him out of your sight.

You unzip the garment bag and practically swooned over the sequined red Valentino dress you’d purchased just for this occasion, for trapping Kim Namjoon.

You also bought sexy lingerie in his favorite color, black, knowing how much he likes to pull a garter off you. You’re going to keep him here, all night, trapped between you legs. Unable to run away like he always does. That’s right. You’ve seen him get up in the middle of a date and literally run away. He runs and then hides himself away for a week then he comes back with flowers and apologies but never the truth of where he was.

You run fingers over the delicate material and imagine the look on Namjoon’s face when he sees you in this hot number.

It still shocks you that he’s your boyfriend. He’s a guy you never in a million years thought you could get. When you first met you felt silly, foolish, how could he ever like you back? But he did and he does… except for his monthly disappearances.

Where does he go? Does he have a wife and kid hidden away somewhere? Does he have a side chick he meets monthly? Or, are you the side chick?

You don’t think so, but what else could possibly be going on?

Determined to get to the bottom of this you put on the lingerie and top it off with the red dress. You know that Namjoon will watch the clock, ready to make his speedy exit but your job is to make him forget the time, forget the date and frankly, forget his name. You want him so lost on you that he won’t disappear at midnight like your very own Cinderella.

When Namjoon arrives with his toolbox, you have a moment of doubt. He had a busy day, but here he is with a monkey wrench, because you called and said you needed him.

It takes twenty minutes tops for him to fix the leaking sink and turn to you with a triumphant smile. You don’t think, just kiss him.

And you keep kissing him as you lead him up the stairs to your bedroom. Namjoon kisses you back, wrapping his arms around you and lifting you up his body, you wrap your legs around his waist.

You stayed away from him for days in prep for this moment; he’s completely caught in a lust filled daze with you. You fall together on the bed and you know he didn’t see your surprise. You don’t tell him just keep going the way you planned to.

You strip him down and honestly he’s too caught, staring at the black lingerie, his hands caressing your body and slowly unwrapping you from the sexy underwear like you’re a Christmas present.

You’re naked, he’s naked, his body is hard and your puss* is wet, so you climb on top of him. Ready to get it on when suddenly Namjoon stops you. He looks up at you with sad eyes, “I have to go.”

He cannot be serious. You think as you stare down at your nakedness, his nakedness and his hard co*ck that is perfectly lined up with your puss*.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do,” he says, his hands going to your hips, ready to lift you off of him.

“No you don’t,” you say again, your knees bearing down on to the mattress, you grip his body between your legs. “I checked with your assistant. You’re all clear for the week, and you’re spending it with me.”

Namjoon looks shocked, stricken by the concept and your stomach falls to your knees. It never crossed your mind that Joon wouldn’t want what you were offering. That he wouldn’t pick up what you were throwing down.

“Is it over between us?” You ask in a small voice, terrified you overplayed your hand.

Namjoon freezes in the act of trying to lift you off his lap. He looks up at you and says, “no, never.”

“Then where are you going?” You ask, your voice is calm, because you can see that he’s panicking.

Panicking. Kim Namjoon, your boyfriend, is panicking at being alone and naked with you!

“I have a meet-“

“Checked with your assistant remember?”

Namjoon’s eyes widen, he looks frantically around the bedroom. Not sure what he’s searching for but you watch him hit with the realization that he is well and truly trapped. That you lured him to the middle of nowhere. That you undressed him so he can’t easily get away.

“What is this?” He asks. “What are you doing?”

“Trapping you,” you admit.

“Why?”

“Because you have lied to me once a month for our entire relationship,” you tell him.

He looks at you, shocked, as if he didn’t realize that you knew he was a goddamn liar. But you did know and suddenly you’re offended that he could think you’re so simple that you’d buy his bullsh*t excuses.

You use his distraction to wrap the ropes tied to the headboard, around one of his wrists. He pulls at it, but it doesn’t move.

“I have to go,” he tells you again and you hear an emotion in his voice that hurts you… Namjoon is scared. Afraid for you to see whatever he’s about to do.

You know that tying him to your bed is extreme, but you feel crazy. Here is a guy who claims to be committed to you, but keeps some kind of strange secret that he won’t share with you? It doesn’t make sense. You want answers.

Is he a hitman on a job? A soldier on an under cover mission? Seems unlikely.

“Tell me what’s going on,” you demand. “Just tell me and I’ll let you go.”

Namjoon doesn’t answer. He pulls at the rope trying to free himself. But he can’t. You’re basically a professional knot tier, so he’s going nowhere just like you planned. He strains, fights and bucks his hips but instead of freeing himself, when he thrusts up, his co*ck slips inside your soaking wet puss*.

You both groan at this happy accident and you watch Namjoon lose the fight. His expression blanks as you position yourself more comfortably on top of him and thrust down. He thrusts up to meet you, seemingly against his will and you know you’ve won this battle. He’s yours, well and completely caught by you.

Namjoon lies there trapped in you. Veins pop on his forehead and sweat forms on his brow as you ride him for all you’re worth. You’re disappointed in him, you’re mad at him but his co*ck is a perfect fit and the power you have knowing that he protested but never said no and did not put up a fight.

He can’t resist you. He didn’t even really try and that soothes your fears. He loves you and all that’s left between you is his secret.

As you ride his co*ck, the tension in the room rises and Namjoon’s face contorts. At first you think his face is just contorting due to the pleasure you’re giving him, but after a moment you realize something else is going on… something crazy.

Namjoon’s head tosses from side to side and as he does this his body starts to vibrate. You’re frozen in place watching the impossible… Namjoon is changing.

His body shifts beneath you. Still broad shouldered,and toned but you watch in shock as his body transforms into one slightly smaller. His head twists and impossibly turns before your eyes… shifting. Namjoon is shape shifting into someone else!

This is some sci-fi sh*t and you don’t know what to do or even what to think as even the co*ck filling your puss* seems to shift, lengthening inside you, pushing you even closer to an impossible explosion, as Namjoon’s body shape shifts.

You blink and suddenly the man beneath you is different. His head shakes, his face shifts and he thrusts up, inside of you, filling every inch.

You scream, your mind blanks and all you can think about is the pleasure building inside you as you stare down at the impossible.

You explode in a climax. You see stars, but so much more. Because now you get why he ran. Why Namjoon thought he had to hide whatever the hell this is because your boyfriend Kim Namjoon is gone and in his place is Kim Seokjin.

You both breath heavy, coming down from an epic and impossible org*sm and as you do, your brain clears.

You stare down at the man beneath you, in shock. Because you know Kim Seokjin. He’s Namjoon’s friend and roommate. One who you have spent time with. When you can’t hang out with Namjoon because he was gone for a week… and now you’re seeing that they’re the same person? You took Namjoon to your bed and somehow his friend Jin gave you the final climax…

You look around the room to see if maybe you teleported or something but there’s no sign of that impossible way of traveling. Yet somehow Namjoon has shape shifted into Jin.

You scramble off of his lap confused and feeling crazy. You had sex with Namjoon and he transforms into Seokjin? How is this possible?

But none of that comes out of your mouth. Instead you look down at the naked body of Seokjin tied to the bed.

Instead you ask the one thing that comes to your mind, “WHAT?”

Chapter 2: All My Faces

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“Wha-what? What?!” You ask Seokjin.

“I can explain,” he says, finally freeing his wrist from the rope, getting off the bed and slipping on his boxer briefs… Namjoon’s boxer briefs. You know they’re his, because you pulled them off of Joon yourself.

What the hell is going on? You ask yourself because you feel crazy. You feel silly. You feel stupid. You feel overwhelmed. You feel insane.

Seeing him in underwear makes you remember that you are also naked. You hurriedly throw on a robe while glaring at your boyfriend’s roommate with the heat of a thousand suns. You’re angry as hell. This is not ok. You didn’t consent to sex with Seokjin, so what the hell is he doing in your bedroom naked and satisfied?

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” you ask him. Your panic and anger rising with every word. “Did you and Namjoon seriously pull a David Blaine on me? Where is he?”

It has to be that. You will find Namjoon and you will kill him. This is not f*cking ok and you believe in revenge so you will make both of these men pay.

“I am Namjoon,” Seokjin says.

You shake your head. That made no sense.

“You’re Seokjin,” you say, dumbly.

“My face is Seokjin—“

“Just your face?” You ask, your eyes narrowing as you stare at his impressive but unfamiliar physique

“Ok,” concede’s Seokjin. “My body is Seokjin. But everything else… my memories, my mind, etc is Namjoon. I don’t know what it is or why it happens but every month for a week I change into someone else.”

“What?” You ask again, because what is he a comic book character? A Time Lord?

“Every month I change,” he repeats as if saying it twice makes it make sense or gives it credibility in the real world where you live.

You stare at him. Your mind racing, trying to figure out what the hell Namjoon’s roommate is trying to say.

“Do I look like an idiot?” You ask.

“No, you look like my girlfriend who watched me change before your eyes. I was trapped between your legs, literally.”

Your heart pounds as your mind jumps back to that moment, where his face had seemed to contort, not in pleasure… no his nose and mouth seemed to melt and then reform. Your body was ramping up toward org*sm so you thought you were seeing things, but… no you weren’t seeing things. Namjoon transformed into Seokjin.

“Oh my God,” you say because what else do you say when you find out your hot boyfriend transforms into another version of your hot boyfriend?

“Where did we meet?” You ask because you just can’t take his word for it. You can’t even believe your own eyes and memory. You need even more proof.

“It was raining and you didn’t have an umbrella or coat. So I walked you back to your apartment with my umbrella.”

“You know what? Namjoon’s roommate would know that story,” you tell yourself and him.

“Sure but would Namjoon’s roommate know that you rambled about how you cook good spaghetti and that you would make me spaghetti as a thank you? Would a roommate know that you put a harbenero pepper in your sauce so you made two sauces in case I didn’t like spicy food. Would the roommate know that you couldn’t figure out how to make your grandmother’s recipe so you created your own using a bunch of recipes from the google until you found your perfect recipe? Would a roommate know that I liked my dinner so much I leaned across the table and kissed you when your mouth still full?”

You stare at him as he recounts the details of how you first met Namjoon. You could imagine telling your best friend that level of detail but did guys talk like that?

“It’s me,” he says. “I’m cursed or something and that’s why my body shifts. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but… how do you tell someone this ?”

You shrug because honestly… you don’t know. It happened before your eyes and still you don’t believe it.

“I worried about this moment a hundred times,” Seokjin says. “But I’m glad you know now. It’s been hell staying away from you monthly.”

You stare at his beautiful face in shock. This is crazy, because it means if what he’s saying is real… you can be with Kim Seokjin and Kim Namjoon and it’s not cheating on your boyfriend who you love because they’re both your boyfriend… who you love.

“This is confusing,” you admit, sitting down on your bed to clear your mind.

“I know,” says Seokjin sitting down beside you.

“Does Taehyung know?” You ask, thinking of their third and final roommate.

“The thing is… I’m Taehyung, too.”

“What?” You practically scream because the world just doesn’t work like this. It can’t work like this.

“This month I turned into Seokjin, so next month I’ll turn into Taehyung. We switch off, so you’ll see me every other month.”

You just stare. Thinking about last month’s drama marathon with Taehyung. You watched all the shows of Park Seo Joon. Next month you were going to do Park Hyungsik. Next month when Taehyung was “free” again. This is crazy.

“I know it’s crazy,” he says. “But at least you know all of my faces.”

“All of your faces?” You ask, turning to face him on the bed. “Seokjin how can you have three faces?”

“I don’t know, but it’s always been this way. Since I was a kid.”

“How did your parents deal with it?”

“By taking me to every shaman, bruja and witch they could find, but now I’m in my 20s and it’s still happening.”

“This is crazy,” you say.

“I know,” he says. “My body changes but do you know what never does?”

“What?”

“My love for you,” he says. “Every moment, every day and every body… I am in love with you. And I hope you will love every part of me.”

You nod, because in a way you already did. You already do.

“I love you too, Namjoon,” you say.

“Don’t call me that!” Seokjin suddenly snaps.

Oh… ok. Just got more confusing.

Chapter 3: A Fantasy You're Afraid of

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“You’re confusing me.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before,” he admits.

“If you’re Namjoon, why can’t I call you Namjoon?” You ask because just as you’d wrapped your head around this insane situation, he set your mind spinning again.

“Because this isn’t the face I was born with. It’s still me but my original face being called Namjoon is how I hold on to my identity. Call Seokjin, Seokjin and Taehyung, Taehyung.” He says.

You nod because that makes sense. It will be easier for your brain, but…

“I’ll feel like I’m dating three men,” you admit.

Seokjin nods, “In a way you are. The body is different, the face…”

You nod. “Okay, Seokjin.”

He smiles, walks closer and pulls you into his arms for a kiss. It’s familiar… but different. It’s hard for your mind to process that you’re kissing Seokjin, beautiful Seokjin, but somehow still kissing your beloved Namjoon. Boggles the mind.

You pull out of the kiss. Your heart racing. Part of you still thinks this could be a prank. That Namjoon is somewhere watching you blissfully kissing his roommate.

“Still weird?” Asks Jin.

You nod because it is weird. So weird . He’s Seokjin. And you’re kissing him. This is insane. It’s something you thought about in a small corner in your mind because he’s handsome—like worldwide handsome— just full gorgeous so , of course, you imagined it. Of course, it’s a fantasy but just that. Fantasy, because you love Namjoon.

So you tell him. “I love Namjoon. Like truly love Namjoon.”

“I know,” says Seokjin with a smile. “He knows.”

You nod, again. “I don’t want to risk what I have with… Namjoon.”

Seokjin smiles, “how about this? We’ll keep our hands off of each other until you see me shift back into Namjoon.”

You nod because you need more proof. You need to be sure… that they’re not f*cking with you. And that means.. next month you can touch Taehyung. You shake your head because no, you know better than to imagine yourself doing that.

“That works for me. Does that work for you?” You ask him.

Seokjin smiles, “just being able to talk to you about this… that means so much to me. You have no idea. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times.”

“Really?” You ask.

“I love you,” he says again. “I want you to know everything about me. Even the weird sh*t, but I couldn’t begin to figure out how to tell you. I hated lying. I’m sorry for lying to you.”

“I hated that you lied, but sh*t I understand why.”

Jin laughs and you laugh with him, feeling a rush of relief. This is strange, sooo strange you admit, but… Thank God it wasn’t another woman. You know it’s petty, but your boyfriend shifting into his equally hot friends is so much better than him being with another woman.

“We should have dinner,” you tell him remembering the week you planned to keep Namjoon trapped in your house with you.

Seokjin smiles and puts on his jeans… Namjoon’s jeans. You laugh, seeing it. Namjoon has really bulked up in the last year. You’ve considered locking the gyms because he has gotten so hot, too hot. Jin, while incredibly fit, doesn’t have Namjoon’s thighs so the pants are a bit too big for him. Somehow the jeans falling of the hips look is sexy as hell on Jin. Maybe because of the glimpses of his incredibly toned body.

He helps you by setting the table as you heat up the meat sauce and boil the water for pasta. For this first night, you planned to recreate your first date with Namjoon. But it feels a little weird to see Seokjin moving around your kitchen with ease as if he’d done this before. Seokjin hasn’t, but Namjoon has. Many times.

“Wow,” you say, your eyes locked on Seokjin as he takes the ingredients to make a salad out of your fridge.

“What?” He asks, eyebrow lifting in question.

“I didn’t see it until this moment, but you totally are, Namjoon,” you say.

He laughs, “and you’re totally recreating our first date.”

“I was desperate to keep you here and learn your secret,” you admit. “And holy sh*t is the truth stranger than my imagination.”

“What were your guesses?” Jin asks as he washes tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers for your salad.

“Another woman. A secret family,” you tell him.

“Wow, please tell me you had ideas that weren’t my cheating on you which should have been last on your list.”

Your heart thuds at the certainty in his voice. As if he could never, would never cheat on you. As if Namjoon could never, would never. And in your heart you know it’s true. You can’t help yourself. You throw yourself into Seokjin’s surprised arms and plants a kiss on his lips. Overwhelmed you can do this.

Finally, you think somewhere in your selfish mind. You secretly wanted this but thought you never could have it. Not without being the worst. Not without hurting Namjoon. But Seokjin is Namjoon and Namjoon is Seokjin. So nothing is wrong and everything is right.. you can have them both!

And, whispers your traitorous mind. Taehyung.

Chapter 4: Your Shower Is A Car Wash

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TWO YEARS AGO

“What are you doing?” Your best friend asked as you climbed the fence to the Hot Boy House.

You couldn’t have been the first girl to hop that fence but you were probably the least athletic. You’d never hopped a fence before. This was your first ever fence so when you got to the top, you were embarrassingly slow when you threw your leg over the side and froze at the top.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” you said to yourself as you looked into the hot boy yard and saw how high up you were and how far you down you had to fall.

“What?” Your BFF whisper yelled.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” you repeated, as your heart hammered with fear. “I’m stuck!”

The fear swamps you without warning and suddenly you’re afraid. Afraid for your life because you climbed a stranger’s fence to spy on unknown hot boy neighbors. And now you live on this fence, unable to climb back to safety. And that’s when you heard it, laughter, decidedly masculine laughter.

You closed your eyes and prayed against all hope that the laughter wasn’t coming from where you thought it was. You prayed that it wasn’t the masculine laughter of one of the hot boys you’d come to see.

The neighborhood has been losing their minds about the new occupants of the house even though no one had really seen them. The three guys with the last name Kim who moved into the newly built house at the top of the hill.

You’d glimpsed one of the guys. Just in passing… perfectly coiffed hair, dark brown eyes, and full kissable lips. Or maybe that’s what you imagined based on rumors because you honestly just got a glimpse.

You climbed this fence to get a better look at the hot boys who lived in this house, but it seems all you’ve done is give them a better look at you.

Slowly you turn to find a guy standing by the house’s back door. Your breath catches at the sight of him; wide smile, square jaw, thick head of hair, and an adorable mole on his nose that added an imperfection to an otherwise perfect face. You just stare at him.

“Do you need help getting down?” He asked as he approached, his smile locked on his face.

He is so beautiful.

You just stared at him.

“Hello,” he said holding his hand out to you. “Do you need help?”

Do I need help? No, I just need to stare at you forever.

His eyes widen. Your friend gasps on the other side of the fence and that’s how you know that you said that out loud. He heard you. But all he does his smile, again, and reach out to you.

“Take my hand,” said the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life. “I’ll help you down… then you can stare at me forever.”

Your eyes widened as you took in the words of his joke. Joking at you. Laughing at you. But when you reached down to take his hand and he helped you down off the fence, you get a better look at him and realize… he’s not laughing at you. He’s laughing with you.

He helped you off the gate, your body sliding down his toned frame as your feet rejoined the ground.

“I’m Taehyung,” he introduced himself and the rest, as they say, was history.

NOW

You wake from a deep sleep feeling disoriented and confused. You look around the bedroom and spot Seokjin lying beside you, asleep in your bed and for a moment you’re brain freezes. Did you finally give in to temptation and cheat on Namjoon with one of his roommates? You promised yourself you never would. That you’d ignore the chemistry between yourself and the other two who lived in the Hot Boy House. But clearly, you threw caution and Namjoon’s heart for the wind and—

“I am Namjoon,” Seokjin said to you that first day, then the next, and for six days that followed. Today is day seven, the day he’s supposed to turn back into your boyfriend.

But still, you worry. You need to see it happen to be completely comfortable with a world where Seokjin and Taehyung spend a week in your bed without any concern of losing Namjoon. You’d know soon enough. Trust but verify has always been your motto.

It’s happening today so you will watch Seokjin every second. If Seokjin knows why you won’t let him out of your sight… he gives no sign. You brush your teeth together. Make breakfast together and watch early morning cartoons together.

“I need a shower,” tells you. “I’m guessing you will take the shower with me.”

“Is that ok?” You ask getting to your feet.

“Of course,” he says, pulling you in his arms. “You want to see me shift into Namjoon, I get it. And I want to be with you again before Seokjin disappears for two months.”

“Because next month you’ll be Taehyung?”

“Exactly,” he says and before you can ask him where exactly he and Taehyung disappear to when Namjoon is in control, Seokjin kisses you, pushing every thought from your head.

Seokjin had moved us back to the Hot Boy House after a few days and now you follow him into Seokjin’s room. Namjoon owns a three-bedroom house, it’s usually empty, the other rooms belonging to his roommates; Seokjin and Taehyung. But this week was the first time you’d really been allowed into Seokjin’s place. There were things in his room that reminded you of Namjoon’s, but somehow there were aspects that seemed completely Seokjin.

You stop short as you flip on the switch in his bathroom, an immaculate well-lit space with contemporary cabinetry and modern stone vessel sinks. But it was the shower that left you speechless, a room made of glass and slate and granite, with rows of dials and knobs and thermostats. "Why is there a car wash in your bathroom?"

Seokjin walks past you, opening the glass door, and going inside his shower. As he turns knobs and adjusts the temperature on digital screens, jets sprout from every conceivable place, and steam is collected in white drifts. Three rainfall streams came directly from the ceiling.

"Aren't you going to come in?" Seokjin’s voice filters through the sound of abundant falling water.

You go to the glass doorway and peek inside. Seokjin is a magnificent sight, all bronze and lean, a sheet of water glimmering over his skin. His stomach was drum-tight, his back gorgeous and sleekly muscled.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this," You say, "but you need to start exercising. A man your age shouldn't let himself go."

Seokjin grins and gestures for you to come to him. You venture into the maelstrom of competing sprays, battering you with heat from all directions. "I'm drowning," you say, spluttering, and he pulls you out of the direct downpour of an overhead spray. "I wonder how much water we're wasting."

"You know, you're not the first woman who's ever been in this shower with me—"

"I'm shocked." You lean against him as he soaps your back.

"—but you're for damn sure the first one who's ever worried about wasting water."

"How much, would you say?"

"Ten gallons per minute, give or take."

"Oh my God. Hurry. We can't stay in here long. We’ll throw the entire ecological system out of balance."

“The ecological system won't notice." Ignoring your protests, Jin washes and shampoos your hair. It feels so good that you finally shut up and just stand there, letting his strong, slick hands run all over you while you breathe in the steam-laden air. And you wash him, dreamily sifting your fingers through his soapy chest hair, tracing the wonderful masculine textures of his body.

There was a feeling of unreality about all of it, the muted light and water sluicing over your skin, the frank sensuality that left no allowance for modesty. His mouth fastens on yours with wet, sucking kisses, and his hand slips between your thighs, the long fingers gently playful. You press your cheek against his shoulder, gasping.

"The first time I saw you," Seokjin murmurs against your sodden hair, "I thought everything about you was so cute, I could hardly stand it."

"Cute?"

"In a sexy way."

'"I thought you were sexy in a jerky kind of way. You're—" you paused, my vision blurring as his fingers slid inside you, "—not at all my type."

You feel him smile against your scalp. "Really? Because right now my type seems to be working for you."

He lifts one of your knees until your foot is propped on a cypress shower stool. You hold on to him, weak with lust. Seokjin’s body presses against yours, length to length, and the desire was a back-and-forth current between you. Careful and intent, he strokes you open, positioning himself, Seokjin slides deep inside you. His hands grip your ass and compress it with his fingers. For a moment you stay like that, your body, motionless and filled and possessed.

You stare, blinking, into his dark wet face. Seokjin is no rush toward quick satisfaction, only this leisurely discovery. Your flesh throbs around him as he held you steady against a slow, rolling rhythm. You felt as if you were the only fixed point of the universe.

Each time he drives in, you shiver and hold his shoulders, as he gathers you closer. The accumulating pleasure seems to dissolve your bones. You feel his tongue lick the hot mist from your neck. You writhe, your body sliding in his grip.

But without warning the rhythm breaks, and Seokjin withdraws, leaving you trembling, bewildered. "No," you say, clinging to him. "Wait, I didn't. . . Jin . . ."

He’s turning off the knobs, the waterfalls stop." I wasn't finished yet,” you tell Jin, your heart racing as you basically beg him to come back, to f*ck you longer.

Seokjin has the nerve to grin. Taking your shoulders in his hands, he guides you out of the shower. "I wasn't, either."

"Then why did you stop?" Privately you excuse yourself for whining. Any woman would whine in such circ*mstances, especially with someone as beautiful as Jin.

Jin grabs a fluffy white towel and begins to dry you off, efficiently. "Because you're dangerous when it comes to standing-up sex. Your leg muscles give out."

"I was still standing!” You yell, offended.

"Barely." He scrubs your hair with the towel, then reaches for another to dry himself. "Face it—you're at your best horizontal."

You gasp. What rude sh*t to say. Best Horizontal? You can have sex in any way.

Throwing the towel aside, Seokjin pulls you back to his bedroom. In a matter of seconds, he had tossed you onto the bed as if you weigh nothing.

You squeak in surprise as you bounce on his mattress. "What are you doing?"

"I'm fast-tracking this.”

You frown and push a tangle of damp hair back from your face. "Let's wait until we have more time."

But you found yourself covered with nearly two hundred pounds of playful, aroused male.

"I can’t go out like this," Seokjin said.

"Too bad," you tell him sternly. "You can either wait or do it a cappella."

“Baby,” Jin cajoles, "let's finish what we started in the shower."

"You should have finished it right then,” you say stubbornly, knowing you’re cutting off your own nose to spite your face. You want Seokjin, but you really wanted him five minutes ago and he stopped.

“I didn’t want you to get a—“ suddenly, Seokjin stops. He stares at you with wide eyes. “It’s happening.”

He tells you.

What? You ask yourself. But then it happens, Seokjin freezes, his face contorts, his head shakes, and then he looks at you… and it’s not Kim Seokjin, but Kim Namjoon.

“Hey baby,” says Namjoon, his bare chest wet as if he just came out of the shower, and not… Seokjin… because they're both well and truly, him. “Where were we?”

Namjoon falls on top of you, taking your lips with his in a soul-consuming kiss. It’s so different from the kisses you shared with Seokjin and yet so similar.

Oh god,you think. I’m in over my head.

Chapter 5: Namjoon From The Beginning

Chapter Text

TWO YEARS AGO

Great!
It was raining and you once again did not have an umbrella. It’s not the first time this has happened, hell, it’s not even the first time it’s happened this month. Judging from all the people walking around with umbrellas, raincoats and boots… this was all your fault.

You consider running, knowing that at least if you run you’ll reach home quicker. But if you do that you’ll be soaking wet, sweaty, and exhausted. If you walk you’ll just be soaking wet and sad. You’d be sad if you ran home because soaking wet is the real issue here. You just did your hair! It’s all uploading to your general appearance and it’s only going to last a day, because you continue to dress for the weather of yesterday like an idiot.

That’s right. You’re about to get soaking wet because you’re an idiot. You take a deep breath for courage and then step out of the train station and out in the torrential down pour ready to get soaked… but it doesn’t happen. You look up in surprise to find a large black umbrella over your head! You follow the arm that holds the umbrella to a conundrum of of a man. He’s 6’0 ft tall with arms wrapped in muscle, and a body so stacked it’s impossible to look at him and think of anything other than sex and yet he smiles at you with the most adorable expression as he saves you from the rain.

“I thought you could use some help,” says the stranger. “My umbrella is big enough for two.”

“Wow, thank you so much. I was for sure going to get drenched,” you say with a nervous giggle, unable to look away from his face and struggling to think of anything but his dimples. “But you don’t have to do this for a stranger.”

“You’re not a stranger,” he says. “We’re neighbors. I live up the street from you.”

You gasp before you can stop yourself and ask, “the Hot Boy House?”

You cover your mouth wishing you could put a muzzle on yourself, wishing you could fall through the sidewalk, wishing you could disappear. But you don’t disappear or dissolve. You continue to walk in the rainstorm after admitting to yet another member of HBH that you think he’s hot. You wish you could die, but you don’t die. You continue to stare blankly at him.

“So that’s what you call it.” He says with a smirk

You shake your head, vehemently, “No the neighborhood! That’s what the neighborhood calls you. I’ve never even seen you before. None of you three—“

“Aren’t you the girl who climbed the fence?” asks hot umbrella guy from the HBH.

“How do you know about that?” You ask him shocked.

“Taehyung told me when he pointed you out to me,” he says. “What were you hoping to see?”

“You know,” you shrug.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs.

“Just a glimpse,” you finally admit after a long silent pause.

“Got you. Glimpse of the hot guys.”

“Subject change please.”

“Terrible weather we’re having.”

“Terrible. Thanks for the save. I left without checking the weather this morning.”

“Risky,” he says.

“Foolish,” you say. “I always dress for the day before.”

“Does that work for you?” He asks.

“Not at all,” you admit.

“And yet you keep doing it?”

“Told you foolish,”

“You are adorable,” he announces, turning to face you.

You look up at him, under the cover of his umbrella, the rain falls around you, and he is so handsome. You feel like you’re in a Korean drama.

“And you are?” You ask, realizing you still don’t know this hot guy’s name.

“I’m Namjoon,” he says taking your hand.

“Nice to meet you,” you say when he gives you your hand back, you simply couldn’t formulate words while he touched you.

“And you,” he says, turning to look ahead and continue walking you home in the rain.

“Did you know I made good pasta sauce?” You ask as you walk side by side in the rain.

Namjoon smirks, “no, I didn’t know.”

“Well, I do. You should come over and have some.”

“Ok,” says Namjoon, “I will.”

NOW

“The beginning of a beautiful friendship,” you say, rolling over to look at Namjoon.

He caresses your bare hip and says, “a lot more than a friendship.”

You’re in Seokjin’s bed, lazing about after making love for hours. Your boyfriend’s back. You know that the other two are also your boyfriend, but your still getting used to it. The Seokjin face is so handsome but Namjoon is the one you love.

“But that’s not actually the first time we met,” you tell him.

“Yes it is,” he argues.

“No. The fence,” you say, giggling about the things Namjoon, Seokjin and Taehyung have known about you, and your relationships, that they probably shouldn’t have.

You thought they were best friends that shared everything to an inappropriate level. But Namjoon wasn’t whispering secrets with Taehyung in the middle of the night. He was Taehyung helping you down from the fence and Namjoon appearing suddenly with an umbrella. It’s crazy to think about. That Namjoon saved you with the umbrella because he had already met you.

Same Hot Boy, two different faces. Three faces. All beautiful in their own unique ways.

“Namjoon, I’m an idiot… who has never seen you or Tae or Jin together.”

You face palm, seeing how much you missed. Namjoon pulls your hand from your face, brings it to his lips and kisses it.

“You knew something was going on, baby. You figured it out and how were you supposed to naturally get to my boyfriend has three faces?”

“That’s true,” you say, forgiving yourself for not guessing he’s was a shapeshifter because… whywould you guess that? How could you have guessed that?

“It’s crazy,” says Namjoon.

“Yea, even when you see it… it’s hard to believe. Why haven’t you told anyone? Do you think people will lock you in a cage or experiment on you?”

“All of the above,” says Namjoon.

“Then how will you ever understand what happened to you… is happening to you. Or what you are?” You ask, honestly interested in how easily he seems to be coping with the impossible.

“I already know what happened and what is happening,” he tells you. “I’m not exactly human.”

Your mind blanks. But last week Jin told you he didn’t. He said that this was as strange and mysterious to him as it was to you. Now Namjoon has answers? You stare at him, your mind running through his words.

“What?” I ask. “What do you mean you’re not exactly human?”

“I wasn’t originally born on earth,” he says.

And your ears start ringing.

Chapter 6: Potential

Chapter Text

“Weren’t born on earth?!” You ask, shocked. Your heart racing and your mind blanks because… What?! “Like an alien?”

Namjoon nods, solemnly. “Afraid so.”

“What?” You ask probably for the 100th time in the last week. “What planet are you from?”

Namjoon bites his lip, struggling to control his… laughter. Suddenly, he bursts out laughing, giggling uncontrollably, holding his stomach as he laughs… at your expense.

“Ugh!” You yell, frustrated as hell as you lunge at him over the covers of Seokjin’s bed. “You bastard! You’re not an alien!”

Namjoon grabs your hands and playfully wrestles you as you try to get at least one hit in. He deserves it for laughing at your expense. You believed him for a second, why wouldn’t you? He literally transforms into two other people!

He rolls you beneath him on the bed and smiles into your face. “I don’t know why this happens. It’s crazy I know but it’s been my every day for so long, I am just ok with it.”

“Ok with missing weeks of your life every year?” You ask.

He shrugs, “I don’t miss it. I’m still living it and I get to do it as someone else. It’s different but not bad. Just how my life is.”

“Wow,” you say. “You’re amazing. Positive. A glass half full person.”

“Your a glass half empty person,” he says, knowing you as well as you now know him.

“Definitely,” you say with a smile and then he leans down and kisses you.

You wrap your arms around Namjoon’s neck and hold on to him as his heavyweight lies on top of you and his gentle hands caress you, everywhere. He rolls off you, gets too his feet and bolts out his hand to you.

“Let’s go,” he says.

“Where?” You ask as the blood rushes through your veins.

“My bedroom,” he says.

You look around Seokjin’s bedroom and figure… Yeah, it is a little weird. So, you grab his hand and let him pull you to your feet. When you’re out of Jin’s room and headed to the master bedroom that is Namjoon’s you jump onto his back and he gives you a piggyback ride as you both giggle.

He drops you onto your back in the middle of the bed and then crawls on top of you.

“I love you,” says Namjoon. “I love that you know. I love that I can joke with you about this. I love that you have chemistry with and are attracted to all my faces. I love that we have fun no matter which version of me I am. I love that you didn’t run away and that you’re still here. I love that the way you look at me is the same.”

“It’s because I love you, Namjoon. Nothing can change that,” you swear to him. “I also know that you are more than strong enough to push me off. I know that you willingly submitted.:

Namjoon just shoots you that dimpled smile that makes you want to hold him close and ride his co*ck, all at once. He’s adorable. He’s sexy. He’s yours.

“Thank you for trusting me,” you say leaning up to kiss him once again. You love his lips. You love his face. You love all of him. “I love you.”

Namjoon smiles. “What do you want to do today?” He asks.

“Be with you,” you say leaning up to kiss him quickly on the lips.

“Good,” says Namjoon, his hand caressing your naked body, caressing your breasts, running his hands down past your stomach to the v at the center of your legs. “But first…” He says, lining his co*ck at your puss* then thrusting home.

You clutch at Namjoon’s neck. You scream.

TWO YEARS AGO

You rang the doorbell to the Hot Boy House, your heart pounding hard in your chest and your palms are sweaty with anticipation and nerves. You know that you don’t have an invitation but you hope it’s ok that you’re here. Your macarons came out very well and you want to see if Namjoon wants some. If not him then maybe Taehyung? Your traitorous heart always reminds of the first hot boy you glimpsed. The one who helped you down from the fence and treated you as if you were a damsel and not a creep who climbed his fence to get a look at him.

You haven’t seen him since that day and you haven’t heard from him even though you gave him your number. He’s clearly not that into you. But you know who is!? Namjoon! It’s exciting because he’s so damn hot and nice and smart and creative. He’s too beautiful for words, on the inside and out. You like him so much. You think there’s potential between you. You hope he thinks that there’s potential between you, too. How awesome would that be?

When you hear the front door lock unlock you hold out the pastry box you filled with your homemade macarons with a smile. But the man who soon fills the doorway is not Namjoon or Taehyung but still, your heart skips a beat. This guy is gorgeous, perfect like a picture in a magazine. Like a model on a billboard. Like an A-list actor in the movies. He’s like a statue, something so gorgeous he’s practically perfect.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” you say and tell him your name.

“I know,” he says. “Your Namjoon’s friend, right? I’m Seokjin, his roommate.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Seokjin,” you say breezily with a smile as you awkwardly shake his hand.

Hot Boy House was perfectly named. How is it possible that Namjoon and Taehyung who are both unbelievably hot, live with this guy who is perhaps the most beautiful man you have ever seen in your life.

“Namjoon isn’t here, I’m not sure when he’ll be back, but you’re welcome to wait,” says Seokjin, holding the door wider for you. “I just ordered chicken and beer and I’m about to start a new drama.”

“Cool,” you say taking him up on his offer. “I brought dessert!”

“Perfect,” Seokjin says taking the box from you as you take off your shoes and follow him into the main room.

You’ve never seen the drama he’s got tee’d up, but you’re excited as you both sit on the floor using the coffee table as a dining table as Seokjin shares out the food and you check out what the drama is.

“Doom At Your Service?” You ask, intrigued by the title.

“I know nothing about it except it stars Park Bo Young, who I love,” admits Seokjin.

“I love her too!” You say excitedly, “I love Strong Woman Do Bong Soon!”

“Me too!” Says Seokjin excitedly. “Have you seen Oh My Ghostess?”

“A personal favorite,” you admit.

“Me too,” says Seokjin holding up his beer bottle. You take yours and clink the bottles together. “This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I approve of you and Namjoon.”

Your heart stutters. Me and Namjoon? Namjoon and Me?! What does he mean? I would love it if there was a Me and Namjoon. But there isn’t a you and Namjoon... as far as you know.

“What do you mean?” You ask, trying to keep your voice calm and your hopes down.

“Oh sh*t,” groans Seokjin. “You didn’t know that he likes you?”

“He likes me?”

“Don’t you like him?”

“Of course I like him, he’s perfect. Exactly what I’m looking for in a guy,” you admit, quickly, your hand reaching out to grip Seokjin’s arm as you try to figure out what he’s saying.

Seokjin smiles, “then just you wait.”

“Wait?” You ask.

“Namjoon likes you too,” says Seokjin. “But pretend that I didn’t tell you that.”

You are at him for a long moment, even after he looks away, back at the food he’s sorting out. You stare at Seokjin in shock. You are absolutely… floored. Namjoon likes you too?

Namjoon likes you too. You can’t stop smiling as you turn to the television screen to watch Park Bo Young wish Doom on the world, only to have Doom ring her doorbell ready to grant her wish. And he is played by none other than the drop-dead gorgeous See In-guk. But it’s hard for you to focus. You’re going to have to watch the show later to really get what’s happening because Kim Namjoon likes you back!

NOW

You nudge Namjoon in the side with your elbow as he falls asleep. He jumps fully awake, holding on to his abused side and staring down at you in shock.

“Ow!” He says dramatically, staring down at you like what the f*ck?!

“You’re Seokjin!” You whisper-yell to him in the dark of his bedroom. You’re both naked after a marathon session of love-making and ferocious f*cking from Namjoon because he “missed you.”

“Yes,” he says, slowly, not getting the big deal.

“Seokjin is the first person I told that I liked you… he told me you liked me too,” you remind him.

“Well, I did like you too…”

You hit him again. “You’re Seokjin, Namjoon! You! You let me confide in you about you!”

Namjoon bursts out laughing. “I know, it’s sick, I’m sorry. But I had the perfect opportunity to admit how I felt without actually risking anything. We never had to have a face-to-face about it with me as Namjoon, if you weren’t into me.”

“Still…” you say, hitting him again, playfully, of course, you could never hurt Namjoon. Never.

“I’m sorry,” he whines as he fends you off.

“You better be sorry,” you yell.

“But hey,” he says grabbing both your wrists in his hands, “it worked out didn’t it?”

“Yea, it worked out.” You say.

Then Namjoon kisses you. Your toes curl, your heart beats in time with his and your spirit soars. You love this man so much, his transformations, and all.

Chapter 7: Surf and Turf

Chapter Text

TWO YEARS AGO

You’ve planned it all perfectly. Peeled the shrimp, whisked three different cheeses into heavy whipping cream then let it simmer into Alfredo sauce. Then you showered, shaved, moisturized and primped all before the doorbell rang announcing Namjoon’s arrival. You lead him into your apartment as the water boils and you throw in the pasta watching the time closely wanting the pasta at al dente perfection.

“It smells delicious in here,” Namjoon says trying to peak over your shoulder to see what you’ve got cooking.

It does smell delicious in here, but mostly because you used your aunt’s old trick of sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil to make your house smell fragrant and your man believe you’re a gourmet cook. Lucky for you and Namjoon you are a pretty good cook… if you watch the stove. Which you did because you have a man to impress.

A very hot man, you think as you glance over at him where he’s opening the bottle of wine he brought for you both to enjoy.

“I hope you’re hungry,” you say as you take the shrimp you’ve seasoned with Cajun spices out of the fridge. “Dinner is almost ready.”

Namjoon looks down at the uncooked shrimp, and blanches before quickly smoothing his face into a blank expression. But it was too slow, you saw it.

“What?” You ask, looking down at shrimp afraid it went bad and you didn’t notice.

“Nothing,” says Namjoon quickly.

You look up at him with a frown, knowing it wasn’t nothing. He reacted to the shrimp… badly.

“Oh god,” you say the realization slapping you hard in the face. “You don’t like seafood.”

Namjoon squints his eyes in regret. “I’m sorry, I don’t,” he says with a shake of his head.

“Oh God,” you say again, your brain quickly running through the other options for your already made alfredo sauce and your currently boiling pasta… chicken? Frozen. Sausage? Frozen? Steak? Frozen.

“It’s ok,” Namjoon says, trying to calm you as you panic. Tossing the shrimp back in the fridge and staring into its contents confirming what you already knew… You’ve got nothing.

Damn, damn, damn.

“It’s ok, I’ll eat the shrimp,” says Namjoon.

“But you don’t like shrimp,” you counter, unwilling to force him to eat something he won’t enjoy. “Why did it have to be shrimp you didn’t like?”

“I don’t like seafood, if that helps?” Says Namjoon.

You laugh. It doesn’t laugh at all but it’s funny. Of course he doesn’t eat the one thing you know how to make well and felt confident serving him. Of course.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who is sorry because I should have asked.”

“Or I should have volunteered it,” Namjoon says unwilling to let you take the entire blame.

“I don’t have anything to replace it,” you admit.
You stare at him for an awkward moment as you both struggle to think of something to do. Then the obvious answer comes to you. “How about pizza?”

NOW

“That was a great night,” Namjoon says with a chuckle. You’re lying in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms as you wait. “Your pasta Alfredo with garlic knots, chicken wings and a pepperoni pie was the best first meal ever.”

You laugh thinking about how stuffed you both were that night, and the way you worked off those extra calories. All night long in your bed while you scratched his back and memorized his name. The way he kissed you that first night is seared into your brain. It was the beginning of the worlds greatest love story; the one you star in with Kim Namjoon.

“I knew you were the one that night,” you admit to him.

“I knew it too,” he says and kisses you gently, soft on the lips with the care of a man in love. Your man in love. Your Kim Namjoon. Well for the next few minutes. Then he’ll be someone else, not completely, not in soul, but in body and God what a body it is.

Your heart skips a beat at the thought of him. Taehyung. Before, when you thought about him you felt traitorous. Like deep in your heart you were cheating on Namjoon, if only in your mind. Taehyung was this fantasy you never let yourself have even though you can’t help but notice how beautiful he was. Not just outwardly handsome, but also inwardly as precious.

You can wipe that guilt away now. His exterior may be different but his soul is Namjoon and you must have sensed that. It wasn’t his roommate that you were crushing on; but on Namjoon. It’s always been Namjoon.

“I’m going to miss this face,” you tell Namjoon softly caressing his cheek, because even with your anticipation of finally touching Taehyung, you will miss this face. The face of the one you love.

Namjoon moves his head and kissing the palm gently caressing his cheek. It’s an intimate moment between you and he. You smile at him. He smiles at you. You blink and when you open your eyes it’s to find yourself staring into the eyes of Kim Taehyung.

You jump. He grabs your shoulders and whispers, “don’t be scared.”

You’re a little startled but not scared. Never scared. Not with Namjoon. And not with Taehyung. Before and after you realized they were the same person. And they are the same person, because here you are lying together in bed and he literally became someone else in the blink of an eye.

“Taehyung,” you say, your mind still slowly processing information. This is Taehyung and he’s in bed with you and if you want to.. you can have him. You can take him inside your body right now and feel no guilt. He’s your boyfriend.

Taehyung must agree, because he doesn’t bother with words, he just grabs you by the back of your head, jerks you forward and takes your mouth in a searing kiss. The kind that brands his name in your heart. The kind of kiss that tattoos his possession on your puss*.

Your brain clears as you kiss and you climb on top of him, trying to get him closer, trying to meld you both together.

Taehyung moves fast, pushing his hand between your bodies, his fingers finding your cl*t. He kisses you like his every breath comes from your lungs as thumb moves in a circular motion over your cl*t, causing your hips to thrust up, wanting closer, feeling empty and demanding more.

As Taehyung holds you against him, back to front, he pushes forward, the plump head of his co*ck, breaching your entrance with ease, he slides a palm around your waist, flattens his hand on your stomach , and pulls you even closer to him as he tunnels his entire length inside your puss* with a solid thrust.

You cry out, putting a hand over Taehyung’s and as your fingers entwine, as he f*cks you from behind. His hips thrusting forward, pushing his co*ck into you until you scream.

Taehyung draws your arms up and over your head, pinning you the bed as he nuzzles against the crook of your neck. He pulls out and then slides back inside you, nice and slow with a rhythm that has you moaning with every single thrust, and as the pleasure increases, Taehyung digs his fingers into your hip.

“Oh God,”you say as Taehyung sucks on your neck. “So long. I’ve wanted you like this for so f*cking long.”

Taehyung rocks his hips forward and up, quickens his pace as you move back on him, and the tempo is f*cking perfection. Every moment with Taehyung is perfection and you’ve felt like you have waited so long for this. Your entire life you’ve waited to have Taehyung to herself. To have him beside you. To have him inside of you and now he is. All yours. The way Namjoon is all yours. The way you’ve always wanted.

“Me too, sweetheart,” Taehyung whispers back to you in your ear, making your heart soar, and then he kissed your temple and the world slows; becoming just you and Taehyung.

“Now,” he says. “Show me how this tight little body of yours can move.”

You whimper but then thrust back on Priest over and over, your puss* swallowing the full length now with ease as you use Taehyung to chase after your org*sm. And God, does he deliver.

#

You spent an hour getting dressed. Not that it takes you an hour but because you didn’t know what to wear. But you’re glad you went with the little black dress with simple black heels for this dinner with Taehyung. He said tonight was a night to celebrate and he wanted to go out and you have no problems with that. Though you’re not sure what he’s celebrating.

“Being together,” he tells you when you ask and that makes butterflies jump in your stomach.

You’re nervous. You’ve been nervous from the moment you opened your eyes and saw this face.

But that’s silly. He’s Namjoon. You’re comfortable with Namjoon. You’d trust him with your life. This is just another face. He’s Namjoon. You remind yourself over and over but for some reason it’s not working.

It’s just impossible for you to see them as the same. Similar. Lots in common. But the same? It doesn’t feel that way even though you know that they are. Namjoon is Taehyung, Taehyung is Seokjin and Seokjin is Namjoon. You have to remember that even as it’s hard.

Taehyung pushes your chair in and then walks over to sit in his own chair and look at the menu.

“What looks good here?” You ask.

“Everything,” Taehyung tells you and he’s right.

The dishes you glimpsed while walking to your table looked scrumptious and the menu has multiple dishes you know you’d love. You’re about to ask Tae what he thinks of entrees when you look up to find him watching you.

“What?” You ask, suddenly feeling shy.

“I’m thinking about the first time I saw you,” he says.

You cover your face remembering the fence.
“Don’t remind me.”

He tilts his head to the side. “I don’t think you’re thinking of the right thing,” he says.

“When you helped me down off the fence?”

He shakes his head. “That was the first time you saw me not the first time I saw you.”

Your brain blanks because you have no idea what he’s talking about. The first time he saw you?

“What do you mean?” You ask.

“I was moving in to the house. I was in the flatbed of the truck when suddenly I heard a voice singing terribly in broken Korean. I looked out and there you were with these huge blue headphones, walking, singing, spinning and smiling. You were so happy, so full of life.. I wanted to know you, I even said hello. You didn’t hear me.”

“They were noise cancelling headphones,” you say.

“That explains it. I was sad not have been able to talk to you. I hoped I’d see you again and then there you were stuck on my fence. Like fate left you there for me to help you down. For us to meet.”

“Wow,” you say. “I didn’t know that.”

“Because Taehyung, your boyfriends roommate couldnt say any of this,” he says just as the waiter comes to take our order. Your surprised with he orders the surf and turf but then smiling knowing the lobster and shrimp must be for you. He’s so sweet.

When the waiter goes off to place our orders, Taehyung and you fall into old habits. You decided on just friends when Namjoon and you started dating. Good friends because you always have things to talk about together. When the food finally comes out, you’re feeling famished and could eat a whole horse.

“Ha,” says Taehyung at your cheesiness. “Feel free to have any of my meal as well.”

You look at him in surprise. “Didn’t you get the surf for me?”

Taehyung frowns. “No I wanted the seafood for me. But have as much as you like I don’t mind.”

“But…” you say, your mind replaying that first dinner with Namjoon and every dinner with him since. “You hate seafood.”

Taehyung laughs, “no I don’t.”

And as if to bring home the point he picks shrimp up with his fork, puts it in his mouth and says “Yum.”

He says something else but you can’t hear him. Not over the beating of your heart and the ringing in your ears.

You have no idea what the hell is happening and why they think they’re the same person… but this beautiful man sitting in front of you is Taehyung. Not Namjoon.

Nothing about this man is Namjoon. Not the way he kisses, not the way he touches and not the way he makes love. Now he eats seafood with joy? It’s something so simple but it’s also something that Namjoon would never do.

Oh my God, You think to yourself. He’s not my boyfriend. He’s not Namjoon. What have I done? What… do I do?

Chapter 8: Out of the Box

Chapter Text

Your phone rings for the tenth or so time. You don’t bother looking as you set it to silent. It’s Taehyung. He’s called all morning, but you’ve ignored his calls. You’re not ready to talk.

You’ve been locked in your bedroom all day, because you’re hiding. Hiding from Taehyung. And hiding from yourself and the thoughts you’ve been having. That no one has to know. That you can have all three of them… and no one has to know.

Namjoon thinks he’s Taehyung, and Taehyung thinks he’s Seokjin. They’re at peace with the thought that they’re the same person with three faces.

You’re the one who notices personality differences. You’re the one who thinks they’re three different people. You don’t even know what it means that they seem to be different. They’re fine with life as it is. They’re fine being the same person and sharing a life. They’re happy now that you know. You can have all three of them and no one has to know

Taehyung calls, again. You ignore it, again. You don’t know what to say to him now that you don’t think he’s Namjoon. You slept with him. Had sex with him and loved every minute of it, but… he’s not Namjoon. You don’t know what to do with the last twenty-four hours, because more than revealing that they’re different, it revealed that you really like Taehyung.

You like him more than you realized. You like him as more than a friend. Before learning that Namjoon shifted into him, you put Taehyung in a “do not touch” box. Now that he’s out of the box… now that you’ve touched him and he touched you… how can you put him back in that box?

You don’t think you can. You think it’s out now, your romantic, sexual, and opposite of platonic feelings for him.

I like Kim Taehyung. You think in certain terms. Putting your feelings into thoughts if you’re not yet willing to put them into words. You can’t tell Taehyung what you’re thinking because it’s crazy and you don’t have it fully formed. It’s just a question so far… what is happening to Namjoon? How and why is he sharing his body with two other men. How do I get it to stop?

Do you want it to stop? asks your traitorous brain. The truth is that you don’t know. Do you want to give up Seokjin? Do you never want to see him again? Do you never want to kiss Jin again? Never want to hold him? Now that you have… now that you’ve held him in your arms and felt his heart beating against your own chest… you’re bonded to Seokjin. You’re bonded to Taehyung…., You don’t know how it works but you know you don’t want to give up anyone or anything.

You’ve spent the day combing the web for answers. You google “shapeshifter” which takes you down the rabbit hole of werewolves, skinwalkers, and Kumiho, but nothing about humans that shift into other humans. When Google and Wikipedia lead you not to answers but more questions, you take to Reddit and Quora, searching through questions and stories that begin “I think my boyfriend is a shapeshifter.” But all these posts seem insane, not the type of insane that reminds you of your current situation but the kind of insane that comes with delusion and fantasy.

You’ve researched curses, shamans, and humans with super abilities. You google and check Wikipedia but nothing seems quite right. You have bookmarks and subjects to look into deeper but nothing you’ve read answers the mystery of Namjoon.

Taehyung calls. You ignore it.

He’s persistent but you’re not ready. Not to talk to him when you don’t have answers. Not to look at him and see that beautiful face when you have no self-control.

Deep in the shapeshifter forum of Reddit, you find a lone post with no reactions, comments or hits but for the first time, you read something that you find promising.

Every month I change into someone else. The post begins. I literally change; my body, my voice, and my face becomes completely different. For a week or so every month, I’m not myself, I’m someone else. I’m unrecognizable to everyone, even my family’s, even my mom! I don’t know why or how, but does this happen to anyone else? Are there any shapeshifters out there like me?

Your heart pounds as you read the post by someone named Jeon Jungkook. Everything he wrote sounds true to you. He sounds alone and desperate the way you feel, the way Namjoon must have felt. Jungkook wrote this post two years ago but there have been no more updates. You click on his profile to see there are no more posts or activity from this Jungkook since the lonely post searching for someone, anyone, like him.

You decide to message him. Just a quick communication that says this happens to your boyfriend too and that you’re searching for answers if Jungkook has any he’d like to share. This guy could be crazy but he’s the only thing resembling an answer that you have.

If nothing else, Namjoon may not be alone. This Jungkook guy could be just like him. And you think that Namjoon could probably use a friend. You thought Seokjin and Taehyung were his friends, his best friends, and roommates. But now you know that’s not true snd realize that you are the only thing Namjoon has ever given himself. He sticks to his home, working on art remotely, and then he has you, the only thing in the world that makes sense. At least that’s what he’s told you. It’s how he feels. And it makes your feelings for Taehyung and Seokjin treacherous. You’re all Namjoon wants but it turns out he’s not all you want… because you want Seokjin and Taehyung, too.

Suddenly there’s a noise outside your window. Which should be impossible as you live on the third floor! You run over to the window, ready to call the authorities if need be, you lookout to see Taehyung is climbing the tree outside your window. He moves with stealth and grace that makes you wonder if perhaps he can also shapeshift into a monkey.

You open the window and yell down, “what are you doing?”

Taehyung doesn’t respond, just continues to climb up the tree, with the aerobic skills you had no idea he had. When he gets to the window he just looks at you, so you move out of the way and he comes in.

“What are you doing?” You ask Taehyung.

“Me?” he asks, as he struggles to catch his breath. “Why aren’t you picking up my calls?”

Why haven’t you been answering? You know, but you didn’t expect him to come here and question you straight to your face. You’ve been avoiding him. Avoiding him, and all the things you feel and all the things you think.

“What?” You ask, as a way to give yourself time to find an answer that is not the truth.

“I have called you a dozen times,” Taehyung says grabbing his phone from his pocket and showing his call log. “You literally disappeared in the middle of the night.”

“I didn’t disappear in the middle of the night.”

“You did. I woke up at 3 am and you were gone. Woke up again at 9 am and you were gone.”

“I had to come back home.” You tell him.

Taehyung looks around your bedroom, the TV is on and your computer is still open to Reddit on your bed. He raises an eyebrow.

“Had to come home, huh?”

“Yes, I had to feed the dog.”

“At 3 am?”

“He had a weird sleeping schedule,” you tell him.

“You understand that we know each other very well, right?” Taehyung asks. “You understand that I am Namjoon and Seokjin as well as being Taehyung? There is nothing about you that I don’t know. And that means I know that Jetson isn’t your dog. That there is no reason for you to need to feed Jetson even if he had a strange eating habit. He’s your roommates. So try again.”

And with that Taehyung sits on your bed and waits. Waits for what you’re not exactly sure.

“Try again?” You ask.

“Why are you avoiding me?” He asks. “We admitted last night how long we have waited to be together and now you are… what? Avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you…” you say, but Taehyung picks up your phone and shows you the lock screen. Missed calls all from him. “…Much.”

Taehyuing tosses your phone on the bed and comes toward you, you back up. You don’t stop until your back is against the wall and he doesn’t stop until he’s pressed against you.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Taehyung asks again.

Because you’re not Namjoon. Because I love Namjoon and you are the biggest threat to him and to us and to me. I could be in love with Taehyung and I have always known this about me and about him. Now that we’ve slept together… How do I put it back in the box?

You have to figure out what’s happening with Namjoon. You have to figure out why Taehyung is inhabiting your boyfriend’s body.

“Why are you avoiding me?” He asks again.

“It’s weird,” you say without thought.

“That I’m Namjoon?” He asks,.

“And Soakjin. For two years you were Namjoon’s roommate,” you say working your way through the situation. Hoping that it will work like a diversion the way it does on TV. “It’s so weird. I had a boyfriend who loved me a month ago and now he’s just… gone.”

“But the feeling is not,” he says.

You shake your head in confusion because what could he possibly mean by that?

“I love you,” says Taehyung.

You shake your head. “No, you don’t.”

He nods. “I love you as Namjoon. I love you as Taehyung. I love you as Seokjin. And you… love me. You love me as Namjoon. You love me as Seokjin and you love me as Taehyung. Don’t deny it. Every other month for a week you have been mine. We just didn’t act on it. And now we have and you’re hiding from me? I only have five days left.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“If you’re Namjoon… why do you only have five days left?” You ask.

Taehyung blinks and you see the question cross his features. Why does he feel like his time is ending when Namjoon is always around? You watch his mind blank and then you watch him shake it off. It’s amazing to witness. It’s Denial. Somewhere inside Taehyung and Seokjin and Namjoon, they know they’re not the same person, but they’re in denial. They’re fighting the truth. And you get it, if Taehyung isn’t just another side of Namjoon… then who is he? And why doesn’t he have a body of his own?

“I am Namjoon, but this is the first face you saw. Two years ago when you climbed the fence to get a look. You saw me. You liked me. When you rang the doorbell to bring Macoroons it was to eat them with me. But you met my roommate and then you kept meeting my roommates and the one you saw most of all was Namjoon. That’s why he’s your boyfriend. Not because you liked him first. Not even because you saw him first, but because he was the most readily available guy.”

“Whoa,” you say holding up your hands and pushing at Taehyung’s chest where he leans against you, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t budge, doesn’t care. “Don’t talk about my relationship like that. Namjoon is my boyfriend. We are in a committed relationship. I love him.”

“And if Namjoon and I were both walking around at the same time. You would have chosen him over me?”

You blink. Taehyung smiles.

“It’s me, baby, it’s always been me. And now you get to have me.”

Your heart thunders in your chest at his words. At the truth in them. You get to have him… You try to talk yourself out of it. You really, really do, but you want him. He wants you. And until there is proof that says otherwise… he’s Namjoon. Taehyung kisses you. He frames your face with his palms and angles your head and lips for his possession.

It’s so sexy, so committing and then you realize… Taehyung is a face holder. Namjoon is not. Your brain stutters. And once again you get the overwhelming rush of worry. Something is wrong. Namjoon is not Taehyung. No matter what they tell you and what they believe in their hearts… Taehyung is not Namjoon.

They are two different men. Who kiss differently. Who look and smell differently. They taste different. They feel different. Because they are different.

A phone rings. Both you and Taehyung freeze. You stop and stare at each other. It’s not mine, both of you seem to say silently. And if it’s not yours and it’s not Taehyung….

You both look over at the ringing phone. It’s Namjoon’s cell phone. Taehyung answers the phone. “Hello? Kim Namjoon’s phone… ok. I will let him know.”

Taehyung hangs up the phone.

“What was it?”

“Namjoon’s client is on his way to the house,” says Taehyung.

“What?”

“Namjoon’s client is headed toward the house.”

“Whose house?”

“My house.”

“Where Namjoon isn’t at?” you ask.

Taehyung’s eyes widen. “Oh, no.”

“Stop him!”

“How? He’s on his way now!”

You stare at each other at a complete loss… how do you make Namjoon appear?

Chapter 9: Unsustainable

Chapter Text

You’re running. Full speed ahead with Taehyung running beside you, matching your speed or perhaps you’re matching his speed… either way, you are both running very fast to make it home before the client…Namjoon’s client. The one heading to the home office to see Namjoon who is not around. Who cannot be reached; not by phone and not by text, because Namjoon isn’t around at the moment, because he’s currently Kim Taehyung. Because your boyfriend is a shape shifter.

It’s super confusing, you know, but what’s important is that Namjoon is not around and one of his most important clients is waiting to meet him and waiting for an update on the project that Namjoon has been putting his heart and soul into. You have seen how hard Namjoon has been working on this project and your heart races at the idea that he could lose it, because he’s not here…. But he can’t be here.

Taehyung unlocks the door, holds it open for you and then keeps going into the house. He turns on the lights and then turns to you with a blank expression.

“Wait,” he says. “What are we doing?”

“What?”

“I’m here, but it’s not like I, Taehyung, can give the client an update on Namjoon’s work. He doesn’t know who I am.”

“Can you say you’re Namjoon’s assistant or… apprentice! Can you be Namjoon’s apprentice?”

“And I am doing the work for Namjoon?”

You blink. That’s a bad idea. Namjoon is an artist who gets jobs based on his work, his art work. It would be bad if he got the reputation of farming out work to subordinates.

“No, don’t do that,” you say to him.

“Then what?”

You don’t know and of course, that’s when the doorbell rings.

You and Taehyung exchange wide eyed stares. Damn. Damn. Damn. He’s here! The client.

“We should ignore it,” says Taehyung.

“But you turned the lights on. They know we’re here,” you say.

“Who knows?” he asks.

“The guy outside? The client,” you say.

Taehyung laughs. You laugh. This has reached a level of farce. This is ridiculous.

“I thought you’ve been shifting since you were a kid!”

“I have!”

“Then why don’t you know how to handle this?”

“I don’t know!”

You laugh. Taehyung laughs. The doorbell rings again.

Holy sh*t! What do you do? What does Taehyung do?

Taehyung swallows and then walks to the door and opens it.

“Hello, Mr. Seo,” he says.

“How do you know my name?” Asks Mr. Seo, stepping into the house and handing off his hat.

“Sorry, sir, my name is Kim Taehyung, I am Namjoon’s assistant and his cousin,” says Taehyung taking the hat. “But unfortunately Namjoon had to run out on a personal emergency and will not be back any time soon.”

Mr. Seo looks over at you and nods, “You’re Namjoon’s girlfriend.” He says remembering you from before.

You nod, “Hi, Mr. Seo it’s nice to see you again. I am so sorry that Namjoon isn’t here. I can’t even get in contact with him.”

Mr. Seo nods his head and thinks. “This is what I get for showing up unannounced. I just wanted a quick look at the piece.”

Taehyung looks at you. You look at Taehyung.

“I can show it to you,” Taehyung says.

“Could you?” Mr. Seo says with a wide smile.

“We shouldn’t tell Namjoon,” says Taehyung with a charming smile.

Mr. Seo laughs and pretends to zip his lips with his fingers “my lips are sealed.”

You giggle, because you can’t help it. This is ridiculous. Taehyung and Namjoon share the same body, they share a consciousness and they believe they are the same person. So, Taehyung showing Namjoon’s work is basically Namjoon showing his work… god, this is confusing. Your brain is tired.

“Is something funny?” Mr. Seo asks.

You shake your head, “no, nothing is funny. It’s just that… Taehyung can’t show you the work, because he doesn’t know if Namjoon is ready to show it to anyone, especially not the client.”

“I’m Namjoon’s assistant,” says Taehyung. “I think I know how he feels about the work that I assist on.”

“Did he say this is ready to show people outside of you?”

“I just know what Namjoon would want,” says Taehyung through clenched teeth.

Annoyed at you, but you don’t care. If you didn’t know who Taehyung really was you would be very annoyed at his assistant for stepping over the line with Namjoon’s client so you feel like you’re doing what’s best to preserve the secret. And you both need to get Mr. Seo out of there sooner rather than later.

“I think I know what he would want too and that’s to get to witness Mr. Seo’s reaction when he shows him the work.”

Mr. Seo sighs, “my dear, I believe you’re right. We can’t deprive the artist of his glory. I’ll wait. Thank you both for accommodating me on such short notice.”

Mr. Seo bows and quickly makes his entrance, waving goodbye and taking his hat with him. You feel relieved; you saved Namjoon’s secret from a major client that he would hate to lose. Couldn’t afford to lose, really. You feel pleased with yourself and proud like you’ve really accomplished something.

But then the door slams and you’re faced with a pissed off, Taehyung.

“What the hell was that?” He asks.

“Umm…” you begin but falter at the livid expression on his face thats directed at you. “Protecting you, Seokjin and Namjoon’s secret.”

“The secret doesn’t need protecting,” he tells you. “No one in the world is going to jump to… wait, are they all the same person?It’s just not going to happen.”

“I really think that the artist’s girlfriend would really make it so that her boyfriend got to present his work to his client.”

“Maybe that would work in any other situation. Like a situation where Namjoon and I are not the same Person. I wanted his eyes on the work! I wanted to see his reaction because the piece is beautiful.”

“But he hired Namjoon, Taehyung. He’s the artist, the face of your business and if Mr.Seo doesn’t like it he will think that Namjoon’s assistant worked on it and not the artist he hired.”

“But you deprived me of a moment I have been waiting for my entire life! I want to be the one to get the praise and the gratitude from clients. I almost had it and you put Namjoon first.”

“Taehyung, do you hear yourself?” You ask. “It’s because you’re different. You’re different from Namjoon. You’re different from Seokjin. That’s why you’re so upset that you didn’t get to see the client’s reaction.”

Taehyung says nothing. He just turns away to stare out a window. You go to touch his shoulder but he pulls away.

“I’m Namjoon,” he says. “I don’t know what will make you understand that. I don’t know what will make you believe… but for right now… I need you to leave.”

You gasp. Completely shocked. You didn’t see this coming.

“You’re kicking me out?” You ask.

“Yes,” he says. “I need distance and space to think through things, so I’m asking you to leave.”

“Taehyung,” you begin.

But he cuts you off. “Please just leave.”

You’re shocked. And sad and scared that you’ve crossed the line, but you turn on your heels and walk out the door. It’s totally demoralizing and depressing to know that your suspicions and good intentions went in one way and out the next. And worst that it hurt him. You hurt Taehyung and it’s not a good feeling to have.

You drag yourself into your house and up to your third floor bedroom with a heavy heart. You may have ruined everything. You opened your mouth about your suspicions and ruined everything, hurting Taehyung and yourself.

It’s when you get on your bed with your laptop that you realize you may be at a point of no return because Jeon Jungkook responded to your message with two simple but terrifying worlds.

Let’s meet.

Chapter 10: Meeting Jungkook

Chapter Text

“…leave your message after the beep.”

BEEP!

“Taehyung? It’s me… I’m sorry about earlier. I know you’re mad and I hope this doesn’t make you madder… but I’m going to meet someone I met off the internet. I know it’s crazy, but Taehyung he claims to be a shapeshifter like you and I know you’re not searching for answers on the strange case that is you… but I am searching. I hope I find answers and I’ll report back.”

You leave the name and address of the library and the name of the man you’re meeting and then you hang up the phone and take a deep breath for courage. You know how many true crime stories begin and end with meeting randos on the internet, but you’re not meeting him in private, there’s a paper trail and Taehyung knows where you are… if he even cares.

“I’m a guest of Jeon Jungkook,” you say as you nervously slide your ID across to the university security, guarding the entrance to the largest library you’ve ever seen.

You’re faced with 8 floors filled with knowledge and the tools for education. There’s a specific ancient tome that you can only access via an appointment and thanks to your new… friend you have one, a library appointment on the campus of a school you have no ties to. That’s why you’re here, to look at an ancient and historic book of magic. You feel like Hermione Grainger as you take your guest pass and walk deeper into the university’s “Hall of Learning.”

Email from Jeon Jungkook to you, titled:Let’s Meet. It sounds like you and your boyfriend are looking for answers. I’m still searching for answers. I’ve found some, but mostly my research leads to even more questions. The search has gotten complicated, perplexing and out of this world. I have a reservation at my University’s main library branch at 5pm… TODAY. I know it’s short notice but it would be good for me to have an extra pair of eyes and a second opinion, because whats happening to me and maybe even your boyfriend… well, it’s crazy.

It’s crazy. You know that already which is why you’re a bit scared to hear whatever this Jungkook guy has to say. You didn’t expect an easy answer, but you hoped for one, because you’re confused by your feelings for the hot boys known as Kim, terrified to learn what crazy sh*t has happened to make them this way and worried that you are in way over your head.

You take the elevator up to the top floor where the rare and special books are kept. You walk through automatic doors to yet another desk that bars your entrance. This one manned by a petite woman in a teal blue cardigan that brightens up the other wise boring and stately building.

You walk over to her, matching her kind smile, and open your mouth to ask about Jungkook’s whereabouts when you hear your name. You spin around and take in your first look at Jeon Jungkook and honestly he’s a complete surprise. You knew that he would be younger as he’s still in school, but everything else about Jungkook is unexpected.

His black hair is styled to the side, showing off his eyebrow piercing that you didn’t expect from someone with such a scholarly air. Nor did you expect the lip piercing that twinkles in the light when he smiles or the tattoo sleeve he shows off proudly in his black tank top that he’s topped off with black jeans and motorcycle boots that makes you wonder if he rides a motorcycle.

Can I ride your motorcycle? you ask yourself before quickly shaking the thought off. You’re already dealing with two men too many, you don’t need another one, but.. God is this man hot!

“Jungkook?” You ask as he approaches all confidence and sleek style, which is the opposite of what you expected after reading that sad and lonely Reddit post.

“Hey,” he says shaking your hand, but you can’t help notice that his eyes scans over your head, searching for your other half.

“He’s not here,” you say. “Namjoon isn’t really searching for answers. He simply thinks that he, Seokjin and Taehyung are the same person but different faces.”

“But you disagree?” Jungkook asks you.

“I do,” you admit.

Jungkook nods, “we agree with you but I once felt how your Namjoon felt. That Yoongi and Hoseok were different faces versions of each other, but then… Yoongi left me a letter. It was personal and I won’t repeat it but reading it I could tell it was written by someone else. His word choice, his feelings and even his style.. they weren’t me. It was shocking.”

You nod, as Jungkook leads you deeper into the library and into a region of restricted and hard to get books.

“I think Namjoon will need a lot more nudging to believe he’s not the other two,” you admit.

It’s Jungkook’s time to nod as he pauses outside a door and uses his guest pass as a key fob to open the door. When we go in we put on gloves before handling the two books that Jungkook has put on reserve for us; “Korean Myths and Legends” for Jungkook and “The Creature Codex” for you.

You get to work reading deeper into Kitsune, Gumiho, werewolves, skin walkers and Samdugumi which at least is a three-headed spirit, but nothing seemed to fit Namjoon.

“Were you born a shapeshifter or were you made one?” You ask him as you both work through the huge tombs you’ve been tasked with researching.

“I don’t know that exactly… definitely not born with it. I was a normal kid and then when I was fifteen my life changed and I became Yoongi. The first week that I was Yoongi was terrifying. Here I was fifteen years old and no one recognized me, not even my family. I slept on a park bench for a week, ate at homeless shelters or just straight stole from markets. It was terrible. I shifted in front of my parents so that they would believe me. A month passed without incident and then one day I looked in a mirror and was Hoseok.”

You can’t touch him because of the gloves and the ancient books so you give Jungkook a half hug, wrapping an arm around him but being careful not to use your hands. But that story deserves a hug so you give him one. Alone all this time but now he’s not alone anymore, Jungkook has you and eventually he’ll have Kim Namjoon. You’re confident the two men need each other, as friends.

“I’m so sorry,” you tell him. “That sounds scary and overwhelming!”

“It was and for many years I was depressed and in and out of psych wards until I realized… something isn’t wrong with me… something wrong was done to me… like the curse of the three faces or something.”

“You think this is a curse?” You ask and he nods.

That makes you think… a curse of three faces, what in this book is similar? With this new focus you find Jeju island’s shamanic myth of Samdugumi.

“Do you know the shamanic myth of Samdugumi-bonpuri?” You ask Jungkook after a few hours of quiet research.

“I know Bonpuri is shamanic myths from Jeju island,” Jungkook says as he comes over to read your tome with you.

“Samdugumi-bonpuri tells the origins of Samdugumi, a Three-Headed-and-Nine- Tailed creature who is neither human or spirit,” you read outloud. “Sadugumi can transform its appearance and takes on three different heads.

You’re very excited but Jungkook is less so, not hearing the connections you are.

“But I’m human. I have a mother, a father, grandparents and a clear family line. I also don’t have nine tails, because I’m not a Fox or whatever this creature is.”

“I agree!” You say quickly not wanting Jungkook to get offended. “I just think it’s possible you’re cursed like you said before but specifically the curse of the Samdugumi.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened, “holy sh*t!”

You nod, excited he’s finally putting the connections together.

“We have to go to Jeju island,” you say.

Jungkook nods in agreement, “we have to go to JeJu island and find the Magic Shop.”

“The what?” You ask.

“In my mythology tome there are lots of references to a mysterious but all powerful Jeju Island Shaman who is immortal, studies ancient and dark Magic’s, but will help anyone lucky enough to find this shop.”

“Oh my god, maybe we can get answers if we find this-“

“Jimin, the texts call the shaman Jimin,” Jungkook tells you.

“But how do we find this Jimin?”

Jungkook opens his mouth to respond but is suddenly drowned out by the sound of chaos on the other side of the door. You exchange confused looks as your heart begins to pound loudly. What if someone knows we’re looking for answers and will not allow it? What if a villain did this to Namjoon and Jungkook and what if that villain is on the other side of the door with intentions of stopping you?

Suddenly, you hear the brightly dressed Librarian from earlier yell that someone can’t go in there. Alarmed you and Jungkook stand and face the door just as it swings open revealing Taehyung. You slump in relief, not a villain but one of your three impossible boyfriends.

“You!” You say as relief floods your system an you relax a bit.

“Me,” says Taehyung, his voice tight with anger. “And now we’re leaving.”

Taehyung doesn’t say anything to Jungkook, doesn’t even acknowledge the other man’s presence, he just grabs your hand and drags you out of the room, through the library to the outside.

When you’re on the street, you finally get your wrist out of Taehyung’s iron grasp and turn on him with an anger to match his own. What is he a Neanderthal?! He grabbed you and dragged you out of a library!!

“What the hell are you doing, Taehyung?” You ask pointing back at the building he pulled you from like a child. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Me?!” He asks, the astonishment clear in his voice. “What the hell are YOU doing? You meet some guy that you don’t know anything about in some super private room with only some old woman to watch the door? Are you crazy?” Taehyung asks taking you by the shoulders and shaking you. “Do you have a death wish? How could you come here and meet this strange guy?”

“Because I’m just like you,” says a voice, cutting through the tension. We both turn to find Jungkook standing a foot away.

“I’m not like you,” Taehyung spits the response at Jungkook in disgust.

Jungkook sighs, “changes his face once a month. Shares his body with not one but two alter egos? I’d say we were very alike.”

Taehyung shoots you a look filled with hurt, betrayal and anger and you feel that look to your core. You told someone outside of the circle of trust. You shared his secret with someone Taehyung doesn’t know or trust. You shared Namjoon’s secret. You shared Seokjin’s secret and it’s not until this moment that you realize that you betrayed them. You betrayed their trust because you need to know, not because they asked you for help or to get answers… this was all you.

Taehyung just grabs your hand again, turns to the younger men and says, “Stay away from my girlfriend.”

Taehyung starts walking, dragging you along to follow and you suddenly feel like a heroine in a drama, they’re always being dragged around by the wrist by the male lead and today it’s you, being dragged by the wrist by Kim Taehyung. You don’t argue or fight but how can you when you f*cked up so completely? You’re just happy he’s taking you with him and that he didn’t simply walk away. He’s holding on to you so you hold on to him and pray he doesn’t give up on you forever.

You’re about to turn the corner and disappear from his sight when you turn back to Jungkook to find that he hasn’t moved an inch.

Jungkook meets your eyes and mouths two words, “call me.”

And despite everything you’re sure that you will because you need answers even if The Kim line that shares your boyfriend doesn’t. You hope you can make Taehyung understand and if not him then Namjoon, because this is important. Figuring out what’s going on with him is important because you love him.

And because you love him you’re determined to go to Jeju Island to find the magic shop and the mysterious Shaman known as Jimin.

Chapter 11: A Guest in Someone Else’s Love Story

Chapter Text

You sit across from Taehyung in the living room of the Hot Boy House at a complete loss for words. You didn’t think it through when you reached out to Jungkook. You just needed answers and you thought he could give them to you. That’s as far as you thought. You didn’t think about the betrayal of trust it is to tell someone, anyone, Namjoon’s secret.

“You told him about me, about Seokjin and about Namjoon,” Taehyung says simply.

“I am so sorry,” you say. “I didn’t think it all the way through and it was reckless and I put you all at risk. I am so sorry, Taehyung, so sorry that I betrayed your trust.”

Taehyung just nods his head. “Who is he?”

“Jeon Jungkook, he’s a shapeshifter like you

“Have you seen him transform?” Asks Taehyung.

“No,” you admit.

“So you just took his word for it?”

“I guess I did,” you admit.

“Why?” He asks, the frustration clear in his voice. “Why did you tell him my secret at just the word shifter? Why did you go searching for him? What were you doing in that library?”

“Searching for answers on how to make you whole,” you tell him, just the idea makes you giddy with excitement for what could be.

But Taehyung doesn’t match your excitement. Instead he stumbles back as if he has been slapped.

“Whole?” He asks.

You take his hand, stare him in the eye and say the next sentence clearly, leaving no room for misunderstanding or doubt.

“You’re not Namjoon. You’re not him, Taehyung,” you tell him. “I want to find a way to seperate the three of you and give you your own lives. Jungkook has an idea to go to—“

“Are you out of your Goddamn mind, Woman?!” He asks, his voice cutting through the space between you like a whip. “He is a stranger off the internet with a wild story. You are never going to see that man again.”

“I have to,Taehyung,” you argue. “I want toknow for sure what happened to you and Jungkook. I want to unravel the bonds that bind and give you a life. You deserve to have an independent life, one all your own.”

“I have a life,” he tells you.

“Namjoon’s life,” you counter.

“Where does that leave me? A Backseat driver of my own life? A guest in someone else’s love story or worst, an interloper?”

You shake your head, “of course not Taehyung. I’m saying that you are your own person with your own soul. You and Seokjin deserve to have an identity and life of your own. I want to help get that for you.”

“And what happens when I get this new life?” He asks. “You stay with Namjoon full time and I lose you forever? Is that what you’re saying?”

Your brain clears of all thoughts, of all sense. You can’t think of anything to say. You can’t even begin to wrap your mind around what he’s asking. Around the reality of what it means to commit to Namjoon and only Namjoon.

Deflect. Deflect! DEFLECT!

“I’m saying that I want you to have a full life and that your life shouldn’t be one person,” you say diplomatically.

“Bullsh*t,” says Taehyung. “Many things shouldn’t be in this situation. Like I shouldn’t share a life with two other men. I shouldn’t be around for only one week at a time but I am. That’s how it is. This is my life. It’s one week every other month where I get to weigh in on Namjoon’s art projects sometimes at the start, sometimes the middle and sometimes the end but that system works for us. I get to binge watch dramas and have movie marathons,and I get to make an insane mess in the kitchen while I make dinner… with you. I’ll admit that life was bleak and boring for most of my existence but then you came into it two years ago and brought color and magic into my life. You are my life. That’s how it is and you’re telling me that you want to rip it away from me?”

“Taehyung,” you say slowly, not sure how to break through to him or to make him hear you. “When it comes to cooking… Namjoon is banned from the kitchen, Seokjin is such a great cook that I function more as his assistant and then there is you… you are my partner in the kitchen as we read recipes closely and you’re deep in the trenches with me as we try our best not to burn the fancy dishes we love to try. You’re different, Taehyung and you deserve to have everything Namjoon has.”

“Including you?” He asks.

You stomp your foot, it’s petulant, but you’re frustrated and become even more so when you see that Taehyung smirks at you like he thinks you’re adorable.

“Don’t you understand?” You ask him. “I’m trying to say you deserve the world.”

“Don’t you understand?” He asks you. “I’m trying to say that you are my world.”

Your heart skips a beat.

“You are everything I want,” he tells you.

Your heart restarts, racing at double speed.

“You should want so much more,” you tell him.

Taehyung groans, he grabs you by the wrist, pulls you into his arms and kisses you.

“Stop trying to fix what isn’t broken,” he whispers in your ear. “You get the three of us. We’re all yours. Stop trying to fight it.”

Maybe he’s right, you think. Maybe you should stop searching for answers to questions you’re not even sure how to ask. Maybe you should let it go. Maybe you should keep them all, maybe you can keep all three.

Chapter 12: Love Square

Chapter Text

You wake with a start in Namjoon’s massive King bed, it’s too big for just you and that might be what woke you up. It’s still dark outside but you don’t feel like you’re going to go back to sleep anytime soon. It’s been a crazy twenty-four hours; you met Jungkook and made up with Taehyung, but you couldn’t spend the night with him, you couldn’t sleep with him… not when you know he’s not Namjoon.

But you also have no idea who or what Taehyung and Seokjin are. Taehyung pouted as you parted ways, but you felt that sleeping in Namjoon’s bed, alone, was the best thing for all four of you.

And you do believe it’s four of you; Namjoon, Seokjin, Taehyung, and you.

Too confused by your unsettled thoughts, you throw off the covers and get out of bed. You think a glass of water will settle your nerves enough for you to go back to sleep. Because sleep is the only place you can get peace lately. In sleep, you’re free of your thoughts.

You walk into the kitchen, turn on the light and then jump three feet into the air at the sight of Namjoon sitting slumped over at the kitchen counter.

You’re about to yell at him for scaring the hell out of you when you see that his shoulders are shaking.

He’s crying is all your brain has time to process before your feet are rushing over to him and your arms are wrapping around him.

Namjoon doesn’t move or acknowledge you, but he doesn’t push you off so you hold him while he quietly sobs. Somehow the silence makes the tears worst for you. Like his suffering is so deep he can’t let it all out.

I did this to him. I broke Namjoon. I broke the person I love the most in the world. you think to yourself, but you don’t voice it because this moment isn’t about you, it’s about him.

When Namjoon stops shaking and the tears stop, you pull away to look at him. He looks wretched; he’s wrecked and it’s all because of you. You did this. You’re the life destroyer.

“I know everything,” he tells you.

“Everything?

“You don’t think Taehyung and I are the same person,” he says.

You nod and quickly list some of the reasons you don’t think they’re all the same person. Namjoon listens closely and without comment as you discuss style, personalities and taste. Taehyung loves seafood which is such a small thing except that Namjoon hates seafood.

“I’ve always thought of my alters, as you call them, as opposite sides of the same coin. I like black and Tae is the part of me that likes green.”

“I don’t understand,” you admit because you don’t.

“We all have suppressed desires and different sides to our personality. I’ve always thought Jin and Tae were my other sides coming to life.”

“And you no longer believe that?”

He shrugs, “I don’t know what I believe. Not anymore.”

“I am so sorry,” you say, feeling like the world’s worst girlfriend. You should be supporting him through this insanity, not making it worst. But you love him and you think he’s cursed.

“Taehyung asked you not to see Jungkook,” says Namjoon.

“You really do know everything,” you say, stunned. “He did. Are you going to ask me not to see him, as well?”

Namjoon shrugs, “not sure. I want to meet him first.”

#:

Namjoon and I sit in a coffee shop waiting for not Jungkook, but one of his alters named Yoongi. Their transformation time is different from Namjoon’s. My boyfriend came back and my new friend disappeared, Jungkook literally doesn’t exist in the world when Yoongi does. It’s crazy to think about. Namjoon doesn’t exist when Seokjin does. Yoongi doesn’t exist when Jungkook does. It’s mind-blowing.

You feel exhausted like you’ve thought too much if that’s possible.

“Is it possible to think yourself into exhaustion?” You ask Namjoon who is so much smarter than you when it comes to science.

“Maybe,” says Namjoon with a laugh. “You’ve been thinking a lot?”

You nod, “Obviously. What is Namjoon? What happened to him? Where did Seokjin and Taehyung come from? If Taehyung isn’t Namjoon why does he like kissing me so —?”

You cut yourself off, why did you even go there? You want to slap yourself for talking too much and being an idiot.

“Let's not talk about that,” says Namjoon.

“Ok,” you say.

“I know we have to talk about it eventually,” he says. “But not now.”

“OK,” you say again.

“f*ck,” says Namjoon covering his face. “Are we in a love triangle? f*ck is it a love square?”

“I don’t think so,” you say.

Namjoon nods and lets it go, but it’s you both know that you are headed toward a problem. You may be in a love triangle. Hell, it might even be a love square.

You hear a strange voice say your name and turn to the man approaching from the entrance. Jungkook had to be 5’10, but this guy looks an inch or so shorter. Jungkook had his natural black hair, while Yoongi is blond. He’s got an energy that is… overwhelming. He’s got this swagger like he’s the coolest person in the world. When his eyes land on you, it feels like a spotlight.

“I’m Yoongi,” he says holding his hand out to you for a handshake.

You shake his hand and then watch as he and Namjoon introduce themselves to each other. You feel like it’s a momentous occasion, the first time the other has met someone suffering from the same… disorder.

“So, you’re a shapeshifter?” Yoongi asks, getting straight to the point.

Namjoon looks around, in shock, terrified someone might overhear, but there’s no one close enough to hear.

“It’s my secret too,” says Yoongi. “Don’t worry.”

“Man, I am worried. Who are you even? You call my girlfriend and have her meet you here, why?”

“Because she promised to help me find answers,” says Yoongi.

“What answers?” Namjoon asks.

“Answers to what I am and why I am. Questions I’m sure you’re asking yourself and if you’re not… you should.”

“Who are you to tell me what I should or shouldn’t be doing?” Asks Namjoon.

“Who am I? I’m just like you. Well no, I’m just like Seokjin and Taehyung. I share the body of Jungkook, but this is his life, not mine.”

Namjoon looks shocked but says nothing.

“Why did you want to meet, Yoongi?” you ask.

He goes into his bookbag and pulls out a leather-bound journal. He flips to the last few used pages and reads through it.

“Are you journaling?” Asks Namjoon.

“Sure, we’ve been using journals to talk to each other for years,” says Yoongi putting the journal on the table for us to see. It’s filled with three different styles of handwriting. “I usually write in black, while Jungkook writes in purple and Hoseok in blue. What do you and your alters use?”

Namjoon shoots Yoongi a blank look. “Talk to each other? Me and Seokjin?”

“Yea…?” Asks Yoongi, slowly.

“We don’t talk to each other,” Namjoon admits.

“That explains it,” says Yoongi grabbing the journal and flipping to the last few days.

“Explains it?”

“Why you think you’re all the same person… when you’re not.”

The words land in the room like an explosion. Namjoon looks angrier than you have ever seen him.

Distract. Distract! DISTRACT!

“Why did you want to meet, Yoongi?” You ask to change the subject.

“Because Jungkook thinks he found it,” he says.

“Found what?” you ask.

“The Magic Shop,” says Yoongi.

Chapter 13: So show me (I'll show you)

Chapter Text

Namjoon just stares at you.

“What?” You ask.

“You’re going to Jeju Island with a guy you’ve met once?” He asks.

“Twice” you correct.

Namjoon shakes his head. “You do not know that. You don’t know that! You’ve seen me shift several times. You have physically seen me transform into Seokjin and Taehyung. You know that I’m a shapeshifter and even if you haven’t seen the proof with your own eyes, baby, you know me. You don’t know this Yoongi. You don’t know Jungkook. What the f*ck is happening with you right now?”

“I’m trying to help you,” you say. “I’m trying to help all three of you. I want you to be whole.”

“You mean normal,” says Namjoon his voice cold, his mouth turning down in a frown.

“What?”

“You want me to be normal. You don’t like the way I am.”

You don’t hesitate, you just go to him and wrap your arms around him and thank God he lets you.

“Kim Namjoon…normal is relative. This is your normal and it’s fine. You three are surviving. I want you to more than survive. I want you to thrive. I want you to have everything. I want you to have the world.”

“I do have the world,” he counters. “I’m an artist the way I wanted to be. I’m successful and I have a woman that loves me. What more could I want?”

“To be Kim Namjoon 365 days a year. 366 on leap years, Namjoon. I love you. I want to give you everything and I believe this is the way. If you don’t think it’s safe for me to be alone with him then come with me to look for the Magic Shop.”

Namjoon rips himself away and turns to stare at the window. “Do you hear yourself? Magic shop? What is this? An anime?”

“Maybe! You SHAPESHIFT into two other people. That is some fantasy, sci-fi, anime sh*t. So maybe this is an anime. Maybe we are in a book. Either way, I am going to find the Shaman Jimin and I am going to get answers.”

Namjoon walks over to you, grabs you by the shoulders, and leans down to stare into your eyes. “Can you just… let it go, baby? Can’t you just be with me the way we have?”

“No, it’s dangerous,” you say.

“To who?”

“To us, Namjoon. It’s dangerous to us. And you are way too important to risk. I can’t sweep it under the rug. I have to find the answers, why the hell don’t you want to?”

“Because we don’t know what we’re going to find!” he yells, before turning his back on you to stare out the window. “It could be so much worse than you think. So much worse than a curse. We have no idea what is on the end of this journey.”

“Answers,” you say.

“I don’t know if I can take answers,” he admits.

“Because you’re afraid,” you realize.

“f*ck yes I’m afraid. I don’t know what you’ll find. I don’t know what the answers will be and I’m terrified,” he admits. “I don’t want to disappear.”

You grab his hand, he turns to look at you. “I will never let you disappear, Namjoon. I swear it. I will never let you go.”

He tightens his hand on yours. “Neither will I.”

“So, show me,” you say.

Namjoon laughs, “I’ll show you.”

He kisses you, pulling at your clothes, you get undressed and within moments you’re lying flat on your back, your thighs spread wide for Namjoon’s thrusts.

Neither of you is ready to speak of the other emotions that float around you; Seokjin’s emotions and Taehyung’s emotions… And yet, the emotions you and Namjoon feel for each other is in every kiss, in your every touch. You love Namjoon. That is just a fact. There are things happening between you and Seokjin and between you and Taehyung, but you will have to put that spark aside to embrace the fire that is Namjoon.

Namjoon wraps a palmful of your hair around his hand and then sinks into your puss* with a groan. You groan with him, frantically meeting him thrust for thrust. The way he f*cks you sets you on fire. The way he loves you sets the world on fire.

You wrap your legs around Namjoon’s waist, holding on while he gives you a hard ride. You burn hot, your mind going blank, your eyes shut with pleasure. With the connection. He’s here with you and it’s perfect. You’re perfect and his body is pure perfection as his ass clenches and contracts as he repeatedly plunges into your puss*, drilling into you mercilessly.

You f*ck hard, Namjoon and you, sexually bonding with each other in an almost desperate fashion. So much is happening and so much has happened.

Namjoon raises his head and finds your mouth open, soft and yielding. He tastes your full, hot, lower lip on and draws it into his mouth. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss, your breaths blend as he moves his tongue against yours and his co*ck thrusts inside you in long slow strokes.

Your rhythm is perfect, a song that is just you and Namjoon.

Suddenly, Namjoon slams forward, driving every hard desperate inch of his co*ck as deep as it will go inside the depths of your vagin*. Your mouth pulls away from his kiss, opening on a desperate cry. Your pupils dilate in pleasure, a harsh warmth spreads through you as your hips push against him, demanding more.

You feel his muscles bunch as he braces himself with knees and elbows, then gives you what you want. What he needs. His hips powering into you. Thrust after long, hard, powerful thrust and you both groan, arch, and slam your bodies into each other, fighting for the ultimate high as your blood thunders.

You scream for him, he likes it. Loves it. Namjoon relishes the sound, thrusting deeper inside you as he feels your puss* clench and gush. You let out another sharp scream as you climax, harshly. Namjoon watches you, taking in your expressions even as he’s only a second away from org*sming. He grits his teeth, fights a shout, and Namjoon loses his control as he feels the rippling power of his org*sm tearing through his body.

He cries out your name, holding himself deep and tight within you as his cum pumps hard and fast inside you gripping, spasming flesh. You feel thoroughly pleasured. You feel centered. You love him so much. You intend to keep him.

“I’m going to Jeju Island with Yoongi in the morning,” you tell him, leaving no space for arguments.

Namjoon rolls you both over until you’re wrapped in his arms and he places a kiss on the top of your head. “Then I’m coming with you,” he says.

Chapter 14: An Impossible Door!

Chapter Text

You’ve always wanted to go to Jeju Island and now here you are, but you’re not on vacation or here to sightsee. You’re on a mission, a quest! You’re searching for… you don’t know what you’re searching for but your new friend Yoongi knows.

“What is it?” You ask Yoongi.

“The Magic Shop?”

You nod, “A storefront? A shack in the woods? The basem*nt of this Jimin’s house?”

“That’s what’s confusing about JK’s notes… I really don’t know,” admits Yoongi.

Or, maybe Yoongi knows as little as you do.

Namjoon spins around to glare at Yoongi as he asks, “what? You don’t know where we’re going?”

“The instructions are… ah… vague,” says Yoongi.

“What does it say?” You ask.

Yoongi turns to look at you with a little smile that screams embarrassment. “It says something about good intentions lighting the way.”

“Whaat?” Asks Namjoon his eyes widening even larger with shock at what he’s hearing.

“Can I see his notes on the Magic Shop?” You ask Yoongi, praying that Jungkook’s words can soothe a Namjoon’s concerns.

Namjoon turns to look at you in stunned silence as Yoongi goes into his bag and pulls out the journal. He quickly opens it and flips through the pages before handing it over to you and pointing to the section in question. You quickly read what Jungkook says there then reread it not sure you understand what you’re reading.

According to the legends, The Magic Shop does not have a set location. It is not open to all people. Its doors open to customers by invitation only. The shop has to find you and decide you are worthy before it allows you to see its location.

You stop reading Jungkook’s notes to quickly glance at Namjoon who patiently waits for you to share what it says. You know you should speak up, but you hesitate because you just don’t think he’ll go for what you’re reading in Jungkook’s journal. But you keep going.

My friend and I were looking over books in the occult and-

You stop reading to ask Yoongi, “what friend helped do this research?”

“There’s a girl who lives next door who has been JK’s friend their entire lives. Don’t worry, she can be trusted. She’s known from the beginning,” says Yoongi.

“So a girlfriend?”

Yoongi shakes his head, “no just a really good friend who has always watched our backs.”

You nod, feeling assured that this girl is probably safe but skeptical she’s just a friend. Not that guys and girls can't be friends, but you've seen Jungkook and Yoongi. Besides, you thought you were just friends with Seokjin and Taehyung but now you know it’s so much more than friendship. You have a feeling Jungkook, his alters and this girl will have a mess on their hands when you get to the bottom of the curse… if you ever get to the bottom of it. You look back at the book and keep on reading Jungkook’s words.

My friend and I were looking over books in the occult and finding the magic shop isn’t really a thing. The Magic Shop finds you. You have to focus on the idea of it with good intentions and if it believes you then it will lead you to the front doors.

“What in the world does that mean?” Namjoon asks, suddenly, he’s reading the journal over your shoulder.

“We keep thoughts of The Magic Shop in the back of our minds and explore the island. Is there anything you want to see? If not I have a list,” says Yoongi.

Namjoon’s eyes widen. He stares at Yoongi. He looks at you and then back at Yoongi.

“Are you out of your mind?” Namjoon asks. “This island is 413 miles. You don’t even know which region of the island the shop is located? Is it in the north? The south?! How could you lead us here without a plan?”

“I have a plan; wishing for the Magic Shop with the intention of learning about what happened to Jungkook, Hoseok and myself. And I plan to explore Jeju Island as I’ve never been but have always wanted to,” answers Yoongi with a nod grabbing for the journal you still hold.

“He’s crazy,” Namjoon tells you. “He’s crazy so we have to leave. Right now. We’re leaving.”

You shake your head and shoot him a small smile, “I’ve always wanted to see the Manjanggul Caves.”

Yoongi smiles. Namjoon sighs.

“I guess we’re going to check out the lava caves,” your boyfriend says and you happily kiss him on the lips.

Later That Day

The Manjanggul Cave is one of the world's longest lava tunnels, formed more than 2.5 million years ago! It’s a Jeju Island attraction that you’ve always wanted to see and here you are staring up at the natural formations of lava tube tunnels. Along with the soft colored lights that illuminate these natural formations, you sense an eerily magical quality to this cave.

“I wonder if this is where we will find the Magic Shop,” you say to Namjoon as you stare at the purple walls of the cave.

“It does feel like magic could exist here,” says your boyfriend with a smile.

You know that Namjoon’s not completely believing of this journey like you and Yoongi are, but he’s being a good sport and enjoying the tourist spot and the natural wonder of the world that is this lava cave.

It’s amazing seeing the rare animals like the bats that call these caves their home, so you’re not surprised when you hear flapping sounds, but you admit to some anxiety, because… are vampires real?Not something you’ve ever considered before but shapeshifters are real so why not vampires? You shake such thoughts from your head because you can only deal with one supernatural phenomenon at a time.

“So, can you and your alternates communicate in your head?” Yoongi suddenly asks Namjoon?

“Not exactly,” says Namjoon. “I just sort of know how they think and feel about things.”

“Really?” Yoongi asks. “How?”

Namjoon shrugs, “difficult to explain.”

“Hmm,” says Yoongi staring up at the lava formations on the wall. “Jungkook, Hoseok, and I don’t share a consciousness. Every time that I take over, I have to read over a months worth of journal entries to catch up on what’s happened on the surface.”

“The surface?” You ask.

“The Surface is what we call being the active personality. Like right now I’m “on the surface,” but sometimes we call it being “active” or “in control.” I don’t love the last one,” Yoongi tells us.

“In control is probably the most accurate,” says Namjoon.

“Probably, but that doesn’t make me like it anymore,” Yoongi shoots back.

“What do you call it when you’re not on the surface?” You ask, finding the difference in how the men deal with their… disorder.

“Being asleep,” Yoongi tells you. “Jungkook begins most of his journal entries with ‘while you were sleeping,’ and that’s how it feels like I’ve woken from a very deep sleep.”

“A month-long sleep? Isn’t that closer to a coma?”

Yoongi just shoots you a humorless smile, “why do you think we’re trying to break the curse?”

You just nod, because the Kim Line thinks of their disorder as a blessing, sure, annoying, but a blessing to get to live as someone else, but speaking to Jungkook and Yoongi makes you feel correct in your doubts and theories. What’s happened to Namjoon is not a blessing, you’re starting to agree with Yoongi, it’s a curse.

Someone cursed your boyfriend when he was a child and you don’t know what to say or what to do. So you continue exploring the island while sending up silent prayers to the universe to find the Magic Shop.

“Is that how it feels for you?” You ask Namjoon. “Like you’re waking up from a deep sleep?

Namjoon shakes his head, “no it feels like I was experiencing the world from a water tank and when I come back, it feels like I can finally breathe again.”

Your heart trips over itself at the visual his words give you. Namjoon, Seokjin, and Taehyung feel like they’re trapped underwater when they’re not on the surface. You take and squeeze Namjoon’s hand.

“I don’t understand that,” says Yoongi. “Being underwater.”

“I see and feel everything Jin sees and feels, but from a distance. Things aren’t completely clear, but for example; when Taehyung and Jungkook met, I was aware. I felt Taehyung’s distrust and dislike of him. I felt unsure of how to act when Jungkook came back into the picture, but…”

“You met me instead,” Yoongi realizes.

Namjoon nods, “met you instead.”

“And do you dislike and distrust me?” Yoongi asks.

“The jury is still out on that one,” Namjoon says truthfully.

“Your girlfriend likes Jungkook and me both,” Yoongi says and your eyes widen because he has no chill.

Yoongi is bating the bear that is Namjoon’s possessiveness. He’s got it under so much more control than Taehyung but it’s still there; an urgent need to possess and own your heart, but they must understand that you can only belong to one. They have to decide who they are because they’re not the same person. They have to come to terms with that horrible truth. Maybe Jungkook, Yoongi, and Hoseok will help them.

“I know she does,” says Namjoon. “That’s why the jury’s out. I can trust a stranger with a lot, but not my girlfriend… I’m here just to watch you.”

“Not to get answers?” You suddenly ask.

“I'm sorry, baby, but I sincerely doubt we’re going to find answers on a quest that doesn’t include actually searching. This guy has us sightseeing.”

“We’re looking for the Magic Shop,” says Yoongi.

“Oh, yea? Where is this mystical shop? In this cave?”

You step forward ready to play referee between the two shapeshifters who refuse to acknowledge that they need each other and were meant to be friends. When Yoongi says the most ridiculous thing.

“The cave wall is glowing,” says Yoongi.

You and Namjoon both turn to look at him, dumbfounded.

“What?” You ask.

“The cave wall is glowing,” repeats Yoongi, pointing to the wall behind you.

You turn around to face the wall and sure enough, it’s glowing! Like you’re in a movie a light literally appeared on the wall in the shape of a door! You look around you but the other people in the cave don’t seem to see it; just you, Namjoon, and Yoongi.

“This is insane,” says Namjoon staring at the magical door suddenly carved into the wall of an ancient cave.

“What should we do?” You ask.

“Walkthrough it,” says Yoongi.

“It’s a wall,” says Namjoon.

“It’s a door to the Magic Shop,” says Yoongi. “It found us just like Jungkook thought it would.”

“How can you be sure?” Asks Namjoon. “That could be a door to hell if it’s even a door.”

You think it’s a door. It’s like something out of Harry Potter or the Lord of The Rings. Suddenly, in the cave created by a million-year-old volcano eruption is a door. A magic door that appeared through thick layers of wall and leads to a magic world. A magical place — the Magic Shop.

Through that wall is the answers. The key to freeing Namjoon from his curse. You’re sure of it. You feel it in the center of your being. So you walk toward the glowing wall and the impossible door.

“What are you doing?” Namjoon asks, desperately grabbing your hand. “This is dangerous. You have no idea what will happen to you if you try to walk into a wall.”

Namjoon is right. This could be so dangerous. You could walk into a hard surface like a cartoon character, you could hurt yourself. The glowing wall could be volcanic hot. It could burn you. It could kill you. But you’ve begun the journey and you will do anything to free Namjoon, Taehyung, and Seokjin from their curse. You’ll do anything to free them. Because you love them and that is the only thing that matters.

You reach for the glowing wall and watch as your hand goes right through it. You can’t see what’s on the other side but you can feel the cool wind touch your hand. It’s not the solid wall. It’s something else.

“There is something on the other side,” you tell them feeling the warm wind touch the hand that has disappeared in the wall.

“What if your hand gets stuck?” Namjoon asks, pulling your hand from the wall and holding it firmly in his.

“It won’t,” you say with the most surety you’ve ever felt.

This is the way. Through this wall, following the magical path impossibly put before you. This door is the way, you know it.

So you shoot Namjoon a reassuring smile, turn to the glowing door impossibly leading the way out of the cave and into a magical universe. This is the way. You know it, so you walk forward, through the wall, following the path to the other side….

Chapter 15: Into the Magic Shop

Chapter Text

You’re screaming! At the top of your lungs screaming because you’re being pulled through a vortex.

You thought you were just walking through the magic door in the cave wall but the minute you walked through it pulled you at 50 miles per hour through an impossible tunnel of matter and stars and magic.

When the vortex spits you out the sun has set and you’re in the middle of a forest… at night. Your heart pounds as you stand to your feet dusting the dirt off your hands and knees. You feel unsteady and woozy like you’ve just come off a roller coaster that spun you upside down. Your tummy feels queasy and the world spins.

That’s when you hear a loud whooshing sound followed by two loud thuds. You turn to see Namjoon and Yoongi on their knees behind you. You rush over to see if Namjoon is alright. He seems fine as he puts his hand on yours, looks you in your eyes and asks if you’re ok.

“I’m ok,” you assure him. “But how are you?”

“I’m good,” he says and quickly gives you a kiss on the lips before standing to his feet.

“I’m ok, too, not that anyone asked,” says Yoongi and you shoot him a smile.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” you tell him.

“Thanks,” he says. “So where are we?”

You look around to take in your surrounding. It’s dark, it’s wooded and it’s isolated. God knows where you ended up. You do a slow spin around, your eyes searching for anything that could be…

You see it. Up on a hill sits a regular old store front with a neon sign that reads “The Magic Shop.”

“Guessing that’s our destination,” you say pointing the building to the two men.”

“Holy sh*t,” breathes Namjoon in shock.

And you don’t blame him. It’s not every day you are pulled through a vortex and then dumped in the middle of the woods with a strange old… magic shop. You were expecting something stately, like a castle with lots of money because they’d figured it out.

“Wow,” you say staring at the magical store that sits impossibly in the middle of nowhere. “Let’s go check it out.”

The two men nod in agreement then you lead them up to the front door. A bell even chimes to the door when you open it. It all seems so normal with hard wood floors shelves but then what happens next isn’t normal.

You walk in. Then Namjoon walks in. Then Yoongi slams into an invisible wall. He stops. Looks up and around in confusion. He takes a step forward and once again bounces off thin air.

“What the f*ck?” Yoongi asks in confusion.

His hand shoots out and comes across a “‘barrier, an invisible one. You can’t see it but there something stopping Yoongi from entering the magic shop.

“There’s like… a force field of some kind stopping me from coming in,” Yoongi tells you and Namjoon in bewilderment. “I can’t enter.”

Namjoon steps out of the shop then turns and steps back inside. There’s no force field or barrier for him. You all look at each other in confusion. What’s going on? You reach out and your hand goes through the open door just fine, normal, like any open, empty doorway. But Yoongi cannot enter. His full body is blocked, his hand is blocked.

“I can’t come in,” observes Yoongi.

“I don’t like this,” says Namjoon. “The Magic Shop is separating us.”

“Why?” you ask, because it makes no sense. This is Jungkook and Yoongi’s quest as much as it’s yours and Namjoon. You all are searching for answers. You all deserve answers.

“I don’t know,” Namjoon says, testing the door again. “Let’s try again.”

Yoongi moves in close behind Namjoon, barely an inch separating them. Namjoon walks into the Magic Shop to stand by your side but once again Yoongi slams into an invisible shield, he bounces off it and falls back onto the dirt, landing on his ass. You cringe, that must have hurt.

“Just leave me,” Yoongi says with a sigh.

“I don’t like it,” says Namjoon with a shake of his head. “I don’t like leaving you out here and I don’t like walking into unknowns. What is this place and why are you trapped outside?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” you say taking his hand in yours.

Yoongi nods, “we need answers and I don’t care how we get it.”

“This could be a trap,” argues Namjoon.

“If it is… the Shaman already has us. I don’t know how to get out of this forest, do you?”

The question hits Namjoon square in the chest. He looks around you, dazed and confused.

“The only way is forward,” you tell him. Turning to face the shop.

You leave Yoongi alone in a possible enchanted forest as you and Namjoon walk deeper into the mythical Magic Shop. The first thing you notice is that the shop is empty. Every shelf, display and cabinet is empty. Dust covers every surface of this place, making you sneeze.

“Hello?” You call out into the empty shop that seems to go on for miles.

The Magic Shop is huge, but completely empty. You’re confused. You thought you’d find old books, magical items and old man who runs it all but there’s nothing in the shop. There’s no one in the shop. Just you, Namjoon and your confusion.

“I thought this was some kind of store,” says Namjoon, perplexed.

“It is,” suddenly says a voice.

You gasp, and turn toward the voice to see not the Shaman Jimin, but a tall old woman with white hair, fine features and wrinkles that could mean she’s 60 or over 200. Something about her seems more than old, she seems ancient. Her wool robes wrapped around her almost like a nuns habit.

“Where did she come from?” Namjoon whispers in your ear.

But hell if you know. The shop was empty a second ago, just you, Namjoon and dusty shelves. The old woman appeared out of nowhere, she appeared as if from out of thin air.

“I am the Dolma,” she tells you in a loud and regal voice, one fit for a Queen. “I am the guard of the magic shop. To see our treasures, to meet the Shaman known as Jimin and most importantly to receive his help, you must go through me.”

“What does that mean?” Demands to know Namjoon.

“Do you think anything in the world comes free?” Asks the Dolma.

“Of course not, but we only want to meet the Shaman Jimin,” says Namjoon. “Not be bamboozled by his mother or whoever you are.”

“Do you think anything comes easy? Do you think getting face time with an ancient and powerful Shaman is easy? Is it something everyone does all the time? Will your friends be dropping by tomorrow?”

You shake your head. Namjoon looks down with a frown knowing he’s lost. The Dolma just smiles and continues with a test... of sorts.

“What has 13 hearts, but no other organs?” She suddenly asks and Namjoon’s head shoots up and his frown becomes a flip side of annoyance.

“A riddle?”he asks. We have to solve riddles to see the Shaman?”

“Twenty seconds,” is all the woman says, so Namjoon quickly yells out “A deck of cards.”

You and Namjoon exchange confused looks. Yoongi is trapped outside. The magic shop is empty. There is no Jimin, just an old woman and riddles.

Is this a joke? Have we stumbled onto a game? Are there cameras? You look around for a sign of something that makes sense, but there’s nothing. Nothing makes sense because you’re in some kind of alternate universe where force fields keep out your friends and some kind of witch gives you riddles.

“If you’ve got me, you want to share me; if you share me, you haven’t kept me. What am I?” Asks the Dolma not even giving you a clue if Namjoon got the first riddle right.

But you know the next answer and whisper it in Namjoon’s ear. He smiles down at you with an expression that tells you he hadn’t guessed the answer.

“A secret,” you say without even knowing how much time is on the Dolma’s unknown countdown.

The old woman nods and asks, “What word in the English language does the following: The first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire word signifies a great woman. What is the word?”

“Heroine,” says Namjoon after a quick debrief with you. You nod thinking you’re both rights

“It belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do. What is it?” Asks the old woman.

“Your name” you answer feeling weary of the never ending riddles. You thought your only have to guess one… but you guess not.

“You say you’re in love—“ begins the Dolma.

“We never said that,” says Namjoon to the old woman with a frown, he’s unamused and unimpressed while you’re amused and impressed that he know she was talking about you both and not some stranger couple in a riddle.

“But you think it,” she counters with that same amused smirk on her lips. “You think that you feel it.”

That makes your brain freeze and your thoughts coming to a stop. Can this woman read my mind? Can she read our minds? How did she know I was in love with Namjoon? How does she know he’s in love with me?

For the first time you feel a rush of fear. Maybe you’re stupid and should have been afraid this whole time. But there’s something afoot here. There’s a feeling in the air, an invisible electric buzz. You can’t see it, but you feel it and you think it’s magic.

“We know that we feel it,” says Namjoon. “We’re in love. Is that the test? The strength of our feelings?”

The old woman just smiles, “we’ll see. I can break, I can be clogged, I can be attacked, I can be given, I can be kept, I can be crushed, yet I can be whole at the same time. What am I?”

You and Namjoon think. You ponder her words. Break, clogged, kept… crushed?

What can be clogged? A toilet… a—

You gasp. Look up at Namjoon with wide eyes. He meets them and you can tell that the light bulb has come on. He leans down and whispers his guess in your ear. You nod, excitedly, because that’s what you think the answer is too. Namjoon gives you a nod of approval snd you answer.

“A heart.”

“Good,” says the Dolma but then keeps on going. “I hurt the most when lost, yet also when not had at all. I’m sometimes the hardest to express, but the easiest to ignore. I can be given to many, or just one. What am I?”

Namjoon smirks, the look he gets when he knows the answer instantly.

“I told you we felt it,” he tells the old woman before turning back to you. “Do you trust me?”

You nod, because of course you do.

Namjoon turns to the Dolma, positive and sure, “the answer is love.”

“Last one and then I will present you to the Shaman Jimin,” says the old woman, so you guess Namjoon was right. “I am a nine-lettered word and rhyme with perfection; I am yet another name for love. What am I?”

You and Namjoon think. Your mind races over all the other words for love… devotion? No that’s 8 words not nine… infatuation? No, that’s ten words…

“Affection!” You blurt out without thinking. Realizing what you’ve done you slap your hand over your face to shut your fool mouth up.

“Is that your final answer?” The Dolma asks.

“Yes,” says Namjoon without hesitation, backing you and having a faith in you that fills
you with warmth, happiness and love. Trust goes both ways and you have Namjoon’s trust as deeply as he has yours.

“Very good,” says the old woman.

“Now you’ll introduce us to Shaman Jimin?” You ask hoping the tests are done and you can get to the answers.

“Oh darling, haven’t you figured it out?” asks the old woman. “I am Park Jimin.”

You open your mouth to ask her what she means when it happens… a familiar golden shimmer appears all around the old woman’s body. She shakes, she sways and then suddenly in the place of the fine featured old crone is a handsome, fine featured man with blond hair and killer earrings in both ears.

“Hello, lovelies, I’m Park Jimin, welcome to the magic shop, how can I help you?”

Chapter 16: The FOUR of You

Chapter Text

You look at the beautiful man in front of you and shake your head. No way. He was just an ancient old woman. And now he’s a hot man.

You look away from the impossible Shaman to check out the Magic Shop, it’s come to life. There are books and tomes of all sizes on the bookshelves in the room with you. You can see further into the store where crystal balls, incense, religious statues and candles fill the shelves and display cases. Magic. It’s all come to life with magic!

You look at Namjoon to find his eyes locked on Jimin. You look back at the shaman to find him staring at Namjoon; his face intrigued and his eyes scanning Namjoon from head to toe.

“I’ve never seen anything like you before,” says Jimin to Namjoon.

Your boyfriend laughs, “me? What about you?”

”Me?” asks the Shaman. “I’m what I have always been. But you… tell me what you are.”

“I’m a guy,” says Namjoon.

“You’re three guys,” says Jimin.

You gasp, shocked that Jimin knows. That he somehow guessed the presence of Seokjin and Taehyung.

“Jungkook was right,” you say.

Jimin just smiles but keeps his eyes locked on Namjoon. “What are you?” He asks again.

You nod at Namjoon. He has to trust someone with this and an ancient shaman that can transform into an old woman has to be the way to go. Who else can help you with this impossible situation?

“I’m a shapeshifter,” says Namjoon.

“And how long have you been a shapeshifter, Mr. Kim?”

Namjoon blinks, but that’s the only surprise he gives at Jimin so casually dropping a name you haven’t mentioned.

“Since I was twelve,” says Namjoon.

“So you were a normal boy but one day you became three?”

“Yes,” says Namjoon.

“What happened the first time you changed, Mr. Kim?”

“I became another boy, one named Seokjin,” he tells the Shaman.

“And what did he do?”

“Seokjin?” asks Namjoon.

“Yes.”

Namjoon shrugs, “I have no idea.”

“Hmm,” says the Shaman. “I better ask him.”

“What-“ Namjoon barely has the word out when Jimin snaps his right finger and Namjoon’s body suddenly spins, impossibly, like a tornado he whips around and when he stops he’s no longer Namjoon, but Seokjin.

You gasp, shocked by the impossible. Namjoon has three weeks before Seokjin comes to the surface. How did Jimin do this?

“The other Mr. Kim,” says Jimin.

Seokjin looks around, shocked. His eyes wide, his mouth hanging open and his breath catches as he looks around him, confused and disoriented.

“Wha-what?” asks Seokjin. He walks backwards, away from Jimin, and slams into a shelf. “Where am I? What is this place?”

“Jin,” you say, gently, trying to calm him. You take his hand and Seokjin looks at you then looks down at your connected hands and seems to settle. You’re here. He’s safe. “That’s the shaman Jimin. He brought you to the surface to ask you a question.”

“A question? I feel like I’ve been tossed in a washing machine, I feel pulled inside out,” he tells you.

“Fascinating,” says Jimin.

Something inside you snaps. It rips and explodes. “Fascinating?” You ask this cold son of a bitch. “You just pulled him, without warning, from god knows where and all you can say for yourself is fascinating?!”

“It is fascinating,” says the Shaman. “I’ve never seen the like of the three Mr. Kim’s in my life and I have lived for four hundred years. Mr. Kim when you transformed from Namjoon into Seokjin… what did you do?”

“I ran,” says Seokjin.

“You hid?” Asks Jimin.

“Yes,” says Seokjin.

“Why?” Asks Jimin.

“Because I was afraid,” says Seokjin.

“So you feel fear?” Asks Jimin.

Seokjin nods, “of course I do.”

Jimin nods. “Interesting. Fear is a human emotion. Thank you,” he says and snaps his fingers.

Seokjin spins, twisting like a tornado he turns in a semi-circle and when he stops… he’s Namjoon again.

Namjoon stumbles, you catch him. His eyes glaze over, his face covered in sweat and his focus is beyond you. He looks drunk or blissed out.

“Namjoon,” you say in a stern voice. He blinks. His eyes focus… on you. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he says back.

“Are you ok?”

“I think so,” says Namjoon. “Where am I?”

“With me in The Magic Shop.”

Namjoon blinks. It’s just like with Jin’s short and impossible appearance; he’s disoriented and confused. He doesn’t know what the f*ck is happening. You hold on to him. You squeeze his hand. You kiss his cheek.

“Good,” says Jimin, grabbing both of your attentions. “There is true love between you.” The Shaman looks directly at you and somehow, impossibly you hear him in your head. All four of you.

You blink at his whispered words, but Jimin just stares at you his expression serious but his eyes somehow smiling. Did he say what you think he said?

“What’s happening?” Namjoon asks.

There’s love between all four of you.

“You’re cursed,” says Jimin. “Come have a cup of tea.”

“Our friend, Yoongi, is outside,” you tell him.

Jimin turns back to look at Namjoon. “Is this Yoongi like you?”

“Not exactly,” admits Namjoon.

“That’s why he cannot enter,” says Jimin with a shrug. “Let’s have tea.”

You and Namjoon follow the Shaman Jimin into a back room that’s really a sitting room with a small hot plate with a tea kettle.

“So you were a normal child. Born to normal parents. Growing up normally and then suddenly you were three different boys?”

“You think we’re different?” Namjoon asks and you take his hand. Knowing the answer to this has weighed on him for weeks now.

“I met Kim Seokjin,” Jimin tells Namjoon.

“What?” Namjoon asks turning to look at you.

“You don’t remember? He snapped his finger and suddenly you were Seokjin. Then he snapped his finger again and you were back.”

Namjoon turns his eyes to Jimin who somehow has put on the tea kettle even though… there doesn’t seem to be running water, bottled water or any sort of water source in the room and yet the kettle boils on the hot plate.

“What are you?” Namjoon demands to know.

“A shaman,” says Jimin simply. “And you Kim Namjoon… are something I have seen before. A three headed creature who is not a dragon, a spirit or a Goblin. You’re human. Seokjin is human.”

“Then why do they shift?” You ask the question you have wondered since that first night, the night you trapped Namjoon.

Jimin shakes his head, “I have no idea.”

Your heart drops. This was the only thing you could think of. You traveled to JeJu island. You found a magic door. Traveled a vortex. Was tested by a witch and now having tea with a shaman. And he doesn’t even have the answers? Maybe there are no answers? Maybe this is a dead end. Maybe you ruined Namjoon, Seokjin and Taehyung’s peace when there is no way to give them better.

“But don’t worry, kids, I intend to find out,” says Jimin.

“You help us?” You ask, afraid to hope.

“I’ll help you,” says Jimin getting to his feet. “You should come back for the tea and being the other you.”

“Seokjin?” Asks Namjoon.

“Jungkook,” says Jimin and you see the words slam into him. That you were right. Jungkook is just like him. You know it’s hard for him, but you’re happy… Namjoon isn’t alone because there is someone who understands the impossibility he finds himself in, Jeon Jungkook.

Jimin walks you to the door as he explains he intends to go into his world and find answers. His world is a world of magic, of spells, of magic creatures and maybe even gods! This was done to Namjoon and Jungkook of that Jimin is sure and he’s going to find the answers.

You want to cry and give the shaman a hug but you’re afraid to touch someone as ancient and powerful as him.

“Go and be safe,” says Jimin. “I will call you to me when I have answers.”

“How?” Asks Namjoon.

“I’ll send you a door,” says Jimin as he opens the magic shop front door and follows outside.

Yoongi is sitting under a nearby tree but stands when he sees us. Jimin looks at Yoongi. He walks over to him and walks in a perfect circle around him.

“Fascinating,” says Jimin. “Comeback as Jungkook and we’ll find the answers.”

“Why can’t I find the answers?” Asks Yoongi.

“Because I have no idea what and who you are, and neither do you, but I will help you find it. We will find out who you really are… Yoongi.”

And you my dear are in for a trial. A test. As a difficult choice lays a head of you.

What choice? I whisper back to the Shaman in my head.

Who do you really love?

And just like that Jimin and the Magic shop vanishes from sight. Leaving you, Namjoon, and Yoongi alone in the dark.

Chapter 17: It’s Getting Hot In Here

Chapter Text

You can’t sleep. All you want to do is sleep but you can’t sleep, because your life is crazy. Well, your life is crazy adjacent. Namjoon’s life is crazy. Seokjin’s life is crazy. And Taehyung’s life is crazy. You could walk away at any time. Then the crazy would stop. Your life would be normal. But you’re life would be without the three Mr. Kim’s as Jimin called them. Your boyfriends.

And by boyfriends you mean your
boyfriend and and your friends. You think. That’s what you have to mean, because you love Namjoon. You’re committed to Namjoon and that’s why you’re up at this time of night.

It’s not because of Jimin’s words in your head. There’s true love between you… all four of you. What does that even mean?!!! What did Jimin mean?

But that’s not why you’re up. You’re up because you’re worried about Namjoon. You, Joon and Yoongi stumbled around in the dark for an hour before finally finding your way out of Bijarim Forest. You didn’t end up on the side of the road or even in the lava caves, but right outside of Seoul! The three of you decided to take cabs home to your neighborhoods, because after the day you’d had you deserved it. Namjoon was quiet the entire taxi ride home and then he dropped you off at your house with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to see you later, because he had to “think.” Whatever the f*ck that means. Think about what? And why can’t you be there for his thinking?

With that thought you roll out of bed, throw on some sweats and march up the hill to the Hot Boy House. Where Namjoon lives most of the time and his alters live some of the time. But you always have a key. When Namjoon first gave it to you, you worried about how Taehyung and Seokjin would feel knowing you could come in and out of their home whenever you wanted. Now you know that thought is laughable.

Or is it? They are different people. Three different men. Maybe Jin and Tae were annoyed when you got a key but were never around to voice their dissent. Maybe they’re still annoyed.

There’s true love between you… all four of you. What did Jimin mean, goddamn it? Did he mean because you’re all friends? Now that Jin and Tae know that they’re not Namjoon there is no way they still believe that they’re in love with you. Can they? Probably not. But you’re all friends. You’ve always been and you intend to continue being friends even if they both know what every part of your body taste like.

You use your key to let yourself into the house and walk through the foyer into chaos. You pull up short at the sound of the smoke alarm in the kitchen, Every light is on on the main floor and Namjoon is sitting crosslegged on the floor of his living room with books scattered all around him.

“Namjoon what are you doing?” You ask.

“Reading mythology and occult books,” he tells you.

“It’s 3am,” you say.

“I know,” he says.

You look over at the burned pot on the stove.

“What happened in the kitchen?” You ask your boyfriend.

“I tried to cook,” he tells you.

You nod, “I see that. Why?”

“Jin can cook but I can’t,” Namjoon tells you something you’ve always known. “Why? It’s the same body isn’t it?”

“No. Not really,” you say shaking your head, thinking of the differences of the three gorgeous and chiseled, but different bodies.

“That was a rhetorical question,” says Namjoon, deadpan, suddenly frowning and squinting at you.

Oh. Obviously it was, but you can’t think with the damn smoke alarm beeping uncontrollably. So you run into the kitchen, open the windows and wave at the smoke that pools around the stove. After a moment of air coming in, the smoke alarm shuts up. You turn back to your boyfriend.

“Why are you reading mythology and occult books at 3 o’clock in the morning?” You ask him.

“Finding everything I can about the random dudes living in my body,” he says, the passion in his voice a clear sign of his anger.

“They’re not… random dudes,” you argue.

“I know. They’re leeches. Parasites. Hanger ons.”

“Namjoon! No they’re not. They’re just like you. They’re innocent,” you remind him.

“Innocent?” Namjoon spits out at you, angrily. “They’re using my body.”

“Yes, I know, but they’re innocent,”you say. “They’re innocent victims just like you in whatever this is, baby. They’re not parasites. They’re not leeches. They’re your brothers.”

“And they’re in love with my girl!” Namjoon yells.

Uh-oh.

“Namjoon, no, you’re in love with me and they thought they were you!”

“But they are not me,” says Namjoon.

“I know.”

“And they’re just in here taking up space. Stealing years from my life. Not just time with you, but time with everyone. Time away from everything because I’m not myself I’m them and it’s not fair!”

“I know,” you say with a nod.

“I just want my life back,” says Namjoon, his voice dropping some of the fury and coming back to himself.

He just needed to get the rage out and you’re happy to do it for him. To be this person for him. Even if it’s his verbal punching bag… though he barely laid a hit. He just raised his voice a little and that’s how you know he’s rattled, he never raises his voice. Not at you.

You walk over to where he sits on the floor and shake it off; Jimin’s words, Taehyung’s intensity and Seokjin’s patience. You shake it off. All thoughts and feelings and desires that are not Namjoon.

You wrap your arms around him and hold Namjoon close. You were tempted by his alters because you’re human. What woman wouldn’t want to touch and kiss and possess men as beautiful and as kind as Taehyung and Seokjin. But you can’t get confused. You love Namjoon. It’s always about Namjoon… at least it should be. It is from now on.

“Where did you get all these books?” You ask, holding on to him, unwilling to let him go.

“Yoongi came over and let me borrow these,” he tells you,

You feel a fission of unease, “you didn’t tell Yoongi you’re trying to eradicate his kind with his books did you?”

Namjoon frowns, “give me some credit.”

You wait. He says nothing more. “Is that a no?”

“Oh my god, of course I didn’t say anything close to that! I just told him I was looking for answers to which he went ‘finally.’”

You laugh. “He’s feisty that one.”

“Is Jungkook feisty?”

“Not that I could tell,” you say with a shrug.

“They’re different people,” he says.

You nod, because they are. Completely different people.

“Jungkook and I are the hosts and they are leeches.”

“Namjoon,” you say with a sigh. He’s angry and you get it, but you think Jimin is right. There is some one to blame but it’s not the host or the alters. “You have shared your body with Taehyung and Seokjin for a long time. You know they’re not bad people. You know they have watched out and protected not just themselves but you every single time they’ve been on the surface. You know this..”

Namjoon sighs, “I do know. It’s just crazy. I thought they were me so I shared everything with them. I shared too much.”

“No,” you say shaking your head and holding him even closer to you. “They’re your brothers. You shared just enough.”

You tilt your head up at him and he takes your head in his hand and kisses you. He pulls away. He stares into your eyes.

“I love you,” he says. “I love you so much. Thank you for not leaving me when you found out my insane secret. Thank you for staying by my side and helping me find answers. Thank you for loving me so fiercely.”

“I do,” you say. “I love you fiercely.”

Namjoon nods. “I know and now I have to have you.”

“Good,” you say. “Because I want you.”

Namjoon wraps his arms around you and stands, holding your body against him as if you weigh nothing. He lifts you into his arms and carries you bridal style up the stairs to his bedroom. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling his face closer to yours and kissing him with everything you have. Trusting that he knows his way and will get you both to his bed, safely.

And he does, Namjoon walks through his open bedroom, slams the door shut with his foot and stands above the bed with you in his arms as you kiss him, his tongue ravishing your mouth as your hearts pound in sync, your blood steams and your puss* gets wet.

He drops uou onto the bed.

“Get naked,” he orders as he pulls his shirt off.

You’re happy that you only threw on sweats and pull your clothes on, as he watches you and bites his lip.

“God your hot,” you say to him.

“My thoughts exactly,” he says as he stands before you naked, staring down at you, equally naked.

“I’m going to have my way with you,” says Namjoon.

And your heart beat speeds up, your breathing is out of control and your heart pounds so loudly.

“Touch yourself,” he commands.

“Where you ask?”

His eyes leave your eyes and scan down to your open legs.

“That wet puss*, of course, rub your cl*t,” he demands and you slowly trail your fingers down your taught stomach down to… “wait,” says Namjoon, he grabs your fingers and quickly dips them into his mouth, sucking and licking at your fingertips, wetting them.

Namjoon pulls your fingers from your lips and puts your hand directly on your puss*. No time for teasing, he places your fingers on your cl*t and leads them around your sensitive nob in a gentle circular motion.

“You’re so wet for me,” he says. “Make yourself wetter.”

“Oh god,” you moan.

“Not god,” he says. “Namjoon.”

And he kisses you as he uses your own fingers to rub your cl*t. His mouth moves over yours, pulling and nipping at you with his teeth, this kiss about so much more than romance but about pleasure. Mind numbing, out of this world, pleasure.

Your hips trust up, forward, wanting closer. Wanting more. Wanting him, inside you, riding you toward the edge you so desperately want, the org*sm that will fill you, taking everything and giving it to him, Namjoon.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers in your ear as he pulls himself away from your introductory kiss and moves on to the main event. He flips you both over; he’s on his back and you on top of him.

His co*ck perfectly aligned with your entrance, Namjoon thrust up, needing to be inside you. Your teasing laughter taunts him as you pull yourself away from him, but you know you won’t hold out for long. You’re so damn horny and you want him so much. His earlier cl*t play ramped up your need to a boiling point. You’re about to tip over.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes,” you whisper, your desire ramping up to fever pitch as he lays beneath you, his body tense and his co*ck hard.

“Then ride me,” he says.

And you do, dropping down on his co*ck, taking his co*ck inside you, accepting his hard co*ck inside your body inch by delicious inch.

“You’re a goddess,” Namjoon groans as your body envelopes him, taking him deep inside and surrounding him with warm heat and unimaginable pleasure.

The tight grip of your puss* makes him grown, Namjoon tells you it’s like nothing he’s ever imagined that you’re perfect.

If you’re a goddess, he’s a god. His body perfect. His face ethereal snd locked on you as if he can’t believe you’re real when it’s you who can’t believe it.

You grind your hips in a circle. Namjoon groans louder, his fingers digging into your hips as he holds on for dear life.

You ride Namjoon, your pace increasing. Long slow penetrations fading into quick shallow
thrusts. You moan and flip your hair out of your face. God you’re hot. You feel close to exploding. Your rapid breathing fills the room and you can feel that you’re both close.

The sweet vibrations of his co*ck inside you, screams that you’re both close.

You ride harder, thrust faster wanting to get to that blissful edge. Wanting to fall off of it snd take Namjoon with you.

“Cum, Namjoon,” you demand as you grind down on him.

“You first,” he says, as he slides his hands between you and rubs your cl*t, once, twice… Thats all you need as your puss* explodes, your mind blanks and you give into pleasure.

You hear Namjoon’s cry as he meets you in your climax, the both of you org*sming together in synchronized pleasure. You’re together, you’re one as you float down from the highest peak, your body slumping against him.

You’re lying there exhausted when suddenly you hear a sound, like a poof, like smoke being blown out.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” says a voice from suddenly behind you.

You quickly climb off of Namjoon as he frantically covers both of your nakedness with a sheet. You both look over to see the Shaman Jimin standing at the foot Namjoon’s bed.

“What the f*ck?” Asks Namjoon looking at the clock on his bedside table. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“And in our bedroom!” You yell at the cheeky Shaman that had to have seen everything about you when he suddenly appeared in the room.

“Apologies, but I could sense you were awake and I have a question.”

“It couldn’t wait?”

“Not if you want to be separated from your alters, no,” says Jimin.

And that shuts you and Namjoon up as you both remember the important thing which is giving Namjoon, Taehyung and Seokjin their own lives.

“Whats your question?” Asks Namjoon.

“When this transformation happened, did you have anyone who hated you? A sworn enemy?” Asks Jimin.

“Me? No? I was 12,” says Namjoon.

“Hmm,” says Jimin simply and then snaps his fingers.

Not again!

You look in time to see Namjoon’s head shake from side to side and suddenly he’s got Seokjin’s head. That’s right, Seokjin’s head on Namjoon’s body. It looks like a circus act. You look back at Jimin, he’s scary. Powerful snd scary. Thank God he’s apparently on your side.

“Do you have any enemies? Someone who clearly hates you?”

“No,” says Seokjin. “Not that I know of.”

“Interesting, thank you,” says Jimin then he snaps his fingers again.

You turn to look at Seokjin to see his head shaking from side to side. Then something insane happens. In the blankness that is the transition youve seen before with Jimin’s magic. A face forms; not Namjoon, not Seokjin but Taehyung! There’s a look of pure rage on his face as he tries to push through, as he tries to take control.

“Fascinating,” says Jimin. “The Mr. Kim I haven’t met seems very, very strong. Perhaps his hold on this world is stronger than any of you realizes.”

Jimin looks at you. Your heart pounds hard, it stutters, it quakes… because that look says one thing… that you are the thing that is making Taehyung stronger. That youare Taehyung’s hold on the world.

You have no time to think about this clearer, because Jimin snaps his finger again and Taehyung vanishes and once again Namjoon is back.

Jimin shoots you a grin and raises an eyebrow at you. “Fascinating. Your trials will begin soon,” he says and you have no idea what the tell he means because he focuses back on Namjoon.

“How about your parents? Who are their enemies?” Asks Jimin.

“I don’t think my parents have enemies,” Namjoon says.

“I think they do, Namjoon,” says Jimin. “I think your family and Jungkook’s family has an enemy. Someone who hates you more than anything. Someone who stole your life snd gave it to others.”

“Who?” Asks Namjoon.

“I have no idea, that’s for you to find out,” says Jimin and once again he vanishes, disappearing from the room and leaving you and Namjoon alone again, and confused.

“I think we should visit my parents,” your boyfriend tells you. “I think they have a lot of explaining to do.”

You just nod. Life is getting more and more complicated by the second.

Chapter 18: Who Could Hate You This Much?

Chapter Text

A YEAR AGO

You are going to kill him. You know murder is wrong, but you’re going to do it anyway. Because why is he out with some girl who is not you?

She’s pretty enough, but you can’t tell what she has that you don’t.

“I feel crazy,” you say to yourself as you watch Namjoon pick up his Americano while smiling at another woman!

The truth is you are crazy. Crazy about Kim Namjoon and now you’re stalking him. This is what he does to you, but you thought he loved you. You thought it was you and Namjoon forever.

Now he’s in this coffee shop smiling at some girl who is not you!

“I can’t believe this,” You say taking another sip of your iced latte but it’s not cooling you, it’s some how fueling your fire. You’re drinking all this sugar and milk and whip cream and it’s his fault!

How could Namjoon do this? You thought he loved you. How could he be out here on a date with another girl after exchanging vows of love with you? So this is what he does when he disappears for a week. He spends it with this girl.

I can’t believe it. You think, because you can’t. Because you believed him! You feel like an idiot.

You thought you were in a great love story. But it’s not. He’s having a great romance with another woman!

When he stands and gives her a hug, his eyes meet yours. They widen in surprise but that’s the only hint Namjoon gives that he saw you. He looks away without even acknowledging you! He doesn’t even wave! At. You. His girlfriend! He turns instead to her. He smiles at her. He says something to her and then suddenly he and his date are walking… toward you!

“Hey,” he says greeting you with a smile. He says your name then, “Rachel this is my girlfriend. Girlfriend this is Rachel the editor of Arts Magazine.”

“Hello, Namjoon speaks so wonderfully about you,” says Rachel, the reporter. “He calls you his muse.”

“Oh,” you say like an idiot because you’re truly stumped by how wrong you were. “Wow, I had no idea he called me that.”

“It will definitely be in the article,” Rachel tells you, turning to Namjoon with a smile. “Wonderful to meet you. I will send you the article for your final approval before going to print.”

“That would be awesome! Thank you,” says Namjoon, waving at Rachel as she walks away.

“Why didn’t you come over,” Namjoon asks when you’re alone, sitting in the seat across from you.

“Because I thought you were on a date,” you admit with a cringe.

Namjoon’s eyes widen in surprise. He drops his head back and laughs.

“A date?! With another woman? Are you crazy?” He asks.

You nod, “I felt crazy.”

“It’s only you, baby. It’s always only you, got it?” He asks.

“Got it,” you say, because God you love him.

“Good, because I want to introduce you to my parents,” says Namjoon. “It’s time don’t you think?”

NOW

“When she learned you were coming, Eun Chanprepared a feast,” Mrs. Kim says about their family housekeeper.

Namjoon cheers, runs pass his mother and envelops Eun Chan in a bear hug. “I was hoping you’d cook for me! My girlfriend has heard fabled stories of your cooking.”

“Many stories,” you add in helpfully.

“It’s lovely to see you, my dear,” Namjoon’s dad says giving you a kiss on the cheek.

His mom pulls you in for a hug and you feel so warm and happy, but with a tinge of fear. Will they still like you and welcome you with open arms when they hear what you’re up to?

“Thank you, Eun Chan, but I’m afraid that we must speak to my parents before we partake in your wonderful meal,” Namjoon says to the housekeeper with a smile.

Eun Chan smiles and exits gracefully with a promise of keeping the meal warm. Namjoon’s parents look at him with curious expressions.

“It’s not often that you call a family meeting, son,” says his dad with a wave, leading us into the study.

Namjoon nods, “I know but there have been some developments about my… ah… disorder.”

His father stops walking, suddenly and switches directions. “In that case let’s go to my office.”

We file into the home office. Namjoon’s dad sits in the desk, his mom perched on his comfortable looking office chair while you sit beside Namjoon in the guest chairs in front of the desk.

“What’s on your mind, so ,” says his mother, anxious to get the conversation going.

“Seokjin and Taehyung are not different sides of me. They’re completely different people,” Namjoon says getting straight to the point.

Both his parents stiffen and their eyes turn to you, wary.

“She knows everything,” Namjoon assured them. “She is the one who realized me and the other two are different people. She’s the one who started searching for the answers. And we’re on the way to finding some.”

“Namjoon,” begins his dad, hesitatingly. “When this affliction first took you, your mother and I went to every shaman, mudang and baksu. Remember that trip we took to Haiti when you were fifteen? It was to take you to a voodoo priestess and she could not answer what was happening to you.”

“We searched ancient texts, we searched fairy tales and legends of several cultures,” adds Namjoon’s mother. “We did everything we could possibly think of and we found no answers.”

“We found a 400 year old Shaman who owns and runs the legendary Magic Shop of Jeju Island,” you tell them.

Namjoon’s parents exchange confused looks and then look at Namjoon for answers. Clearly they think you’re insane.

“We’ve seen his magic,” Namjoon assures them. “I’ve seen their magic.”

“He’s the real deal and he thinks that someone hates your family, he thinks someone cursed your family,” you tell them.

“And I’ve found someone just like me. He shifts into two other men. I’ve met one of his alters,” Namjoon tells his parents.

“I’ve met both the host and an alter and Jungkook is as different from Yoongi as—“

“Jungkook?!” Namjoon’s mom interrupts with wide eyes. “Jeon Jungkook?”

You blink. Then nod. “Yes, the other host is Jeon Jungkook.”

“Oh my God,” whispers Mrs. Kim in shock. “What else does this Shaman say?”

“He says that someone hates you so much that they have done this to me, they have stolen my body and shared it with others. Who could hate you this much?” Namjoon asks.

“Oh, God,” says Namjoon’s mom, her eyes far away, locked on images from the past.

“My dear, what’s happening?” Asks his Dad.

“Call Jungkook and ask him to come here,” says Mrs. Kim. “And tell him to bring his dad.”

Chapter 19: Dead Wrong

Chapter Text

“Sit,” commands Namjoon’s mom, so you stuff yourself between Jungkook and Namjoon on a loveseat.

It’s a tight fit, but you have no complaints.

“I’ll start from the top,” says Namjoon’s mom as she takes a seat beside Jungkook’s dazed father on the couch.

“That would be good,” says her son, pissed all the way off.

You put your hand on Namjoon’s thigh to calm him. You don’t know that the vitriol is deserved yet. All you know is that Namjoon’s mom somehow knows Jungkook’s dad. He takes your hand and nods, holding his ire until he's sure where to put it.

“How do you two know each other?” Asks Jungkook.

Jungkook and both his parents arrived an hour or so after you called and told Jungkook what happened. You were relieved when he picked up and not Yoongi, because it's Jungkook and his parents that you need. Jungkook and his parents are somehow connected to Namjoon’s family.

“We don’t know each other,” says his dad quickly. When Jungkook just raises a disbelieving eyebrow, his dad blushes a little and corrects. “Not really… I used to work for her, sort of.”

“You only kind of know each other and you worked for her… sort of?” Namjoon asks with an unimpressed frown.

“He worked for the Kim Bussing Corporation,” says Namjoon’s mom. “That’s why sort of. I would not have known Mr. Jeon at all if not for the accident.”

“The accident that messed up your leg?” Jungkook asks his father.

“Yes,” says Mr. Jeon . “I drove passenger and school busses for the corp.”

“There was an unexpected storm and it was no one’s fault, but there was a terrible accident; ten died, many were injured, including your father.”

“It was the worst day of my life,” says Mr. Jeon, causing Jungkook’s mom to stand from her seat several feet away, to join him on the couch to hold his hand. “I still hear the sounds, the screams, the metal tearing…”

“It was a bleak, terrible day,” says Mrs. Kim. “But, Namjoon, when we took you to magic practitioners we told them the story. Several of the parents tried to sue our company, but we were found to be free of blame because our buses have always been top of the line and up to code. We truly were not to blame.”

“Clearly someone disagreed,” says Jimin from the back of the room.

You gasp, standing to your feet in shock. How did he get there? When did he get there?

“Where the f*ck did you come from?” Asks Namjoon in shock.

“Namjoon!” Says his mother, scandalized by his language.

He smiles, abashedly, “sorry mom, but where the heck did you come from?”

“I heard that you were getting the backstory, so I figured I’d listen in,” says Jimin.

“Where did you hear that?” You ask him because it’s not like you or Namjoon got the shaman’s cellphone number the few times you’ve seen him.

“I have my ways, my dear,” he says.

How are your feelings these days? The Shaman Jimin whispers in your head! Secure, I hope.

What does that mean? You ask in your head, but he ignores you, turning his attention back to the people in the room and Namjoon’s quick explanation that Jimin is a Shaman and owner of The Magic Shop.

“Take this down,” Jimin says to Jungkook who stares at him in shock, this is the first time he’s seeing the Shaman and he’s impossible, but real magic.

Jungkook opens his mouth, probably to ask what Jimin means when suddenly he holds a pen and notepad in his hands. “Holy sh*t,” Jungkook whispers, turning to look at you with wide eyes.

“You were right,” you whisper to him. “He’s the real deal.”

“I would like the following… the list of all the victims of the accident — living and dead. I would like a list of all the shamans, brujas, witches, mudangs, and baksus you took this issue to. I want Namjoon and Jungkook’s family trees on both sides. And, I want an accounting for current and former employees close to the family.”

“That is a lot of personal information about our family,” says Namjoon’s dad.

“So?” Asks Jimin with a little smile.

“We are a powerful family,” says Namjoon’s dad.

“Yes,” agrees Jimin. “And that would explain the powerful curse on your son. But I could care less about you, sir. I am here to help her and that is it.” Jimin points directly at you, making it clear on who and what he means by “her.”

“When you have the things I’ve asked for put them in this,” says Jimin and suddenly a black box appears in his hands. He places it on the coffee table and then turns to Namjoon’s mom and Jungkook’s dad. “Was it truly an accident with no one to blame?”

“Yes,” says Jungkook’s dad nodding. “I couldn’t have lived with myself if I had been anymore responsible for so many deaths beyond driving. That guilt is enough to bury a man.”

Namjoon’s mom places her hand comfortingly on Mr. Jeon’s shoulder, “it was a tragic, and terrible accident. We did nothing to get the verdict of no blame beyond being blameless.”

Jimin nods and vanishes from sight. Everyone in the room exclaims and reacts, besides you and Namjoon who are used to Jimin’s style of exiting a conversation.

“Wow,” says Mrs. Jeon. “That was real magic.”

You nod because it was.

Later that night you’re all sitting around the dining table enjoying the feast prepared for you by Eun Chan, the Kim housekeeper.

“What have you been doing all of these years?” Namjoon’s mom asks Jungkook’s dad.

“I took the very generous pension Kim Corp gave me,” he says with a content smile. “Retired and moved to the countryside.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, “He started a farm that grows medicinal herbs and is now an expert in homeopathic pain management.”

“And that,” says Jungkook’s dad with a twinkle in his eye.

“Wonderful,” says Namjoon’s mom. “I had no idea that your son was afflicted with the same disorder as my Namjoon, but the instant I heard the name Jungkook I knew it had to be your son and how we were connected. I was a fool to think it could be anything else when children died.”

“But we did think of it,” says Namjoon’s dad. “But over and over we were told that wasn’t the source.”

“Could it be the Park family they were furious when the judge dropped their suit against the company?” muses Namjoon’s mom.

“Or the Moon’s whose son was in a coma doctors said he’d never wake up from,” suggests Mr. Jeon.

“I forgot how bleak this accident was,” says Namjoon’s mom.

“I didn’t,” says her husband.

“Neither did I,” says Namjoon’s mom. “But, God, I hope it’s not the source of Namjoon’s curse.”

“I hope it is,” says Namjoon. “Then we can get to the bottom of this.”

“What is getting to the bottom for you?” Asks Jungkook.

“Getting our lives back,” says Namjoon.

“And what happens to our alters?” Asks Jungkook.

“Hopefully they go back to where they come from.” Says Namjoon.

The rest of the people in the room, including you, look back and forth between the men like you’re watching a tennis match. They volley words back and forth like they’re high-functioning Olympians.

“And where is that, Namjoon?” Jungkook asks.

“I don’t know,” says Namjoon in response. “But I’m not sure that is my problem.”

Your heart stops. Namjoon has turned his back on Seokjin and Taehyung. Jungkook is focused on a better world for himself, Yoongi, and the yet to surface, Hoseok. But Namjoon seems to be living “everyone for themselves,” which could be very bad. You know that they all have to work together; Seokjin, Namjoon, and Taehyung.

But you have no idea what could happen if they decide to mutiny. If they stop living in sync. If they stop believing in each other.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Namjoon says to you. “If you believe for one second that Kim Taehyung wouldn’t get rid of me at the first chance… then, baby, you’re dead wrong.”

Chapter 20: Come With Me

Chapter Text

“I need you to come with me,” Jimin says appearing out of thin air in your bedroom.

You scream, grabbing your towel off the bed and wrapping it around your nakedness.

“You pervert!” You hiss. “You purposefully came in here while I was naked!”

“Possibly,” says Jimin. “I’m old. Not blind.”

“Wha-“

“I need you to come with me,” says Jimin to you again.

“Get out!”

“Why?” Asks Jimin, truly perplexed.

“Because I’m naked!”

“As you’ve pointed out,” says the shaman with a smirk. “I’ve already seen everything.”

“Oh my go-“ you begin to yell but suddenly everything changes.

You look down at yourself. You’re dressed.

“You put clothes on me?!”

“First your being naked was the problem and now being dressed is the problem,” Says Jimin with a roll of his eyes. “If you want to be naked then be naked. If you want to be clothed then be clothed. But make up your mind because we don’t have time.”

“Clothed!” You yell, sure that Jimin could have you naked with just the snap of his fingers. Literally.

“I need you to come with me,” the shaman says for the third time.

“Ok,” you say. “Where?”

“To conduct a test,” says the Shaman turning toward the door as if he’d satisfyingly answered the question.

“What kind of test?” You ask, far from satisfied. “The trials you told me about?”

Jimin shakes his head, “that’s not tonight… I don’t believe.”

“You don’t know?”

“No, not for sure. What I do know for sure is that your heart will be tested, broken and rebuilt. And that the person who cursed Namjoon is a lot closer than you think.”

That catches your attention.

“What do you mean… close?”

“Jungkook and Namjoon sent me all the relevant files and a name popped out,” he says.

“Which name?”

Jimin snaps his fingers and you go from inside your bedroom to suddenly being outside the Hot Boy House. You stumble, you heave, you feel like throwing up but you don’t. You do glare at the Shaman Jimin.

“We could have walked!” You say to him.

He frowns, “but this is faster.”

The world is spinning. Everything is crazy and upside down for a moment, because you teleported! Jimin is magic. Actual magic like a character in a fairy tale or a legend. Someone who snaps his fingers and makes the world bend to his will. His power defies physics, it defies logic and it’s real. Just like Jungkook and Namjoon being shapeshifters. Just like how you’re in love with a man whose beauty defies the senses. These thoughts settle you. Which is good because Jimin once again unsettles you.

“Namjoon,” he says in a whisper that seems to scream and echo directly at the hot boy house and you just know while it was deafeningly loud the only people who heard it were you and Namjoon. Whose bedroom light comes on. Namjoon opens his window and sticks his head out of it with a frown.

“I need you to come with me,” Jimin tells him.

“With us,” you correct.

“Where?” Your boyfriend asks you, knowing the Shaman is not the best with straight answers.

“Jimin thinks he knows who cursed you.”

“I’ll be right down.”

As you wait for Namjoon to get dressed and meet you, it occurs to you that he got to dress normally while Jimin just drops in on you.

“What did you mean when you told Namjoon’s dad you’re only helping me?” You asked the Shaman.

“You were the person who caught my attention back on Jeju Island,” Jimin tells you. “I could hear your heart and all it wants is to help others with no concern about the consequences to you.”

“What consequence?” You ask but Jimin just shrugs. You sigh, and grab his arm, turning him to look at you. “Don’t do that! Don’t be coy and say things that don’t explain what I’m asking. Why is helping Namjoon a risk to me?”

“Because one day you will have to decide which one you love the most and that choice will be a matter of life and death,” Jimin tells you and his words are a punch in the gut.

“Why?” You ask.

“Because magic comes with a price,” he says.

You’re about to demand more questions when the door to the hot boy house opens and Namjoon comes walking out. He kisses you on the cheek then turns all of his attention on Jimin.

“Who cursed me?” He demands to know.

“Good question,” says Jimin and snaps his fingers.

You grab on to Namjoon as the world vanishes and reappears. You’re no longer up the block from your house at Namjoon’s. You’re now in a unfamiliar, high priced neighborhood and Jimin is marching toward an unfamiliar, high priced front door.

“Whose house is this?” You ask Jimin as we wait for the door to open.

“Someone whose son was badly injured in the bus crash,” Jimin tells you.

You gasp. You look up at Namjoon in surprise. Your mouth dries in fear as a light turns on and someone begins to walk toward you on the other side of the door.

“Shouldn’t we have brought Jungkook?” Asks Namjoon the same time that you ask “shouldn’t we have brought back up?”

Jimin laughs, “I am back up.”

The door opens and Namjoon’s eyes widen, your eyes widen and Jimin’s smile widens to see that you and Joon both recognize the man who opened the door.

“Mr. Seo?” Namjoon says to his client the same time that his client says “Artist Kim?”

Jimin snaps his fingers and Namjoon does the tornado thing, spinning in an impossible circle and when he stops he’s no longer Namjoon, but Kim Taehyung.

Mr. Seo blinks and a million emotions cross his face as he stares at Taehyung.

“Who is this to you?” Jimin asks Namjoon’s client.

“My son,” says Mr. Seo.

You gasp as the world seems to come to a complete stop. Mr. Seo stares at Taehyung with tears in his eyes while Taehyung stares back in shock.

“You don’t recognize him?” Jimin asks Taehyung.

“He’s Namjoon’s client. I met him at the house last month. He wanted to see Namjoon’s art.”

Jimin nods and then he blows some kind of gold dust into Mr. Seo’s face and says, “forget this ever happened. Go back to sleep with no memory of this conversation.”

Mr. Seo nods, in a daze, turns back and goes inside without another word or look at you or Taehyung.

“How can I be his son?” Taehyung asks Jimin.

“I have a suspicion, but I have to do a bit more research before I can explain,” says Jimin. “Any last words?”

Taehyung doesn’t know what he means but you do. He’s bringing Namjoon back.

“See you next month,” you tell Taehyung.

“What?” He asks.

Jimin snaps his fingers. Nothing happens. Jimin tilts his head to the side and really studies Taehyung. His eyes narrow and the Shaman snaps his fingers again. And again, nothing happens.

Taehyung snaps his own finger. “What is this? What does it mean?”

“It means that your will is so much stronger than anyone imagined.”

“What?” Taehyung asks again, as your brain tries to comprehend and put together what is happening, and what it means that Jimin’s finger snaps doesn’t seem to be working.

“It’s time to bring Namjoon back out,” Jimin explains to Taehyung.

“What does that mean? Time?”

“It means it’s still Namjoon’s turn to be on the surface,” Jimin tells Taehyung something he should already know.

“Who says? The person who cursed us?”

Jimin puts his hands on his hips and glares at Taehyung. He lifts his right hand and once again snaps his fingers. Nothing happens. Jimin glares. He raises both hands and snaps his fingers in tandem.

Nothing happen.

“Bring Namjoon out, Goddamn it.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “No,” he says, he takes your hand, wraps it in his and pulls you away.

You walk down a residential street of a neighborhood you don’t know with your impossible Taehyung in an impossible situation.

“Taehyung,” you begin hesitantly. “What are you doing?“

“Taking over,” Taehyung tells you. “I’m taking control.”

Chapter 21: Speechless

Chapter Text

You’re speechless in the back of a taxi. You have no idea what to say. Hell, you don’t know how to think or feel now that Namjoon is gone and Taehyung is in control. Whatever the hell that means. He sits stoically beside you, Taehyung. His face gives absolutely nothing away. You have no idea what he’s thinking or feeling.

You hate feeling this way, but you’re afraid. The man beside you is one that you’ve known for two years but also one you’ve never known. What did he just do? To Namjoon? To Seokjin? To himself? What did Taehyung do?

It’s all you know right now. It’s all you can think about… What did he do?

Your phone buzzes in your pocket. You grab it and see a text from Jimin!

This is my number. Call me when you have a chance. Be safe. -Shaman J

“You gave him your number?” Asks Taehyung and you look up to see him looking at your phone that admittedly is out in the open.

“Not at all,” you say.

Taehyung sighs. “Trickster.”

You don’t know what he means, but you don’t have time to ask because the taxi comes to a stop outside your house. You tell the driver thanks and immediately slide out of the car. You have a moment to decide whether to run into your house and slam the door or to wait as Taehyung pays for the ride.

You wait when you realize Namjoon has a key to your house. Which means Taehyung has a key to your house. You could slam the door and lock it in his face, but then he’d just unlock it. You wait. Your heart pounds in anticipation. No, it pounds in fear as you watch Taehyung close the door and wave the Taxi off.

You’re alone with him. You’ve been alone with Kim Taehyung a hundred times but something about tonight feels different. Something about Taehyung feels different.

You’re scared of the unknown. You’re scared of him and what he might have done to Namjoon. What did he do? Namjoon said not being in control was like being under water. There was something about those powerless snaps of the shaman’s fingers that makes you worry that Namjoon drowned. That Taehyung drowned Namjoon.

He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have.

Where is Namjoon? Where is Seokjin? Are they still in there the way they’ve always been? Of course they are. Nothing tells you that they’re not… except this feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s terrible and it worsens whenever he looks at you.

“Say it,” Taehyung suddenly whispers to you in the dark.

You jump. Seeing it, he sighs.

“Say what?” You ask him, ignoring the fact that you’re afraid and he knows that you’re afraid.

“Whatever you’re thinking. Say whatever you want… as the girl who loves Namjoon,” says Taehyung from his blank face.

He’s still expressionless. His face giving absolutely nothing away about what he’s feeling inside. Even as he used those pointed words… the girl who loves Namjoon.

“Why do you say it like that?” You ask him.

“What?”

“The girl that loves Namjoon. It’s true,” you say. “I do love Namjoon.”

“I know,” he says.

“Then why do you say it like that?”

“Because I know other things too,” he says.

He’s talking in riddles. He’s learned from the best. Jimin would be proud.

“Where’s Namjoon?” You ask

He tilts his head to the side. He touches two fingers to his temple. “In here, as always. Did you think he wasn’t?”

“I don’t know what to think, Taehyung. I don’t know what’s happening,” you admit.

“Why does it matter?” He asks.

“Why does what matter?”

“Whether it’s me or Namjoon or Seokjin whose on the surface?”

“So Seokjin is still in there?” You ask feeling relieved.

Taehyung sighs again. “Who do you think I am? A butcher? You think I would just kill Namjoon or Jin?”

“I-“

“Don’t answer that,” Taehyung says. “Let’s go inside.”

You hesitate. He sees it. He sighs, again.

“I’ll sit on the opposite side of the room if that will make you feel safer,” he says.

You nod and grab your house keys. When you unlock the door an enter you hear him sigh, but he closes the door quietly.

“Really?” He asks when you turn to face him. “You needed a promise of me keeping my distance to feel ok being alone with me? I have never hurt you. I will never hurt you.”

“Your energy is off.”

“My energy is off?” He asks with a frown.

“Yes. You don’t feel like my friend Taehyung right now,” you tell him.

“And what exactly does your friend Taehyung feel like to you?”

“Drama binges, and ice cream and platonic fun times,” you tell him.

“That explains it. Why I feel different, Sweetheart. All of thatis over,” says Taehyung grabbing you by the wrist and pulling you into his arms. He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you flush against him. “You know it and I know it. That easy friendship zone sh*t is over. That putting me in a “do not touch” box is over. I’m not your boyfriend’s roommate. f*ck friend Taehyung. I’m not the guy you hang out with for just a couple of days before I vanish again. I’m not going to be out of sight anymore. I’m going to be right here, offering you all of me. I’m Kim Taehyung, a man who loves you. A man who wants to be your boyfriend.”

“I have a boyfriend,” you remind him dumbly.

He laughs. “I know.” He says and kisses you.

Oh, God, You think. What do I do? Taehyung is kissing me. And that’s when you realize… you’re kissing him back.

You’ve thought about this so many times. So many times, deep in the deepest depths of your heart, you imagined it. And then you had it. Him in your arms and it was bliss, but then you didn’t realize it was wrong. Now you realize it’s wrong. Because now you know for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, he is not Namjoon.

This is cheating. This is stepping out of your relationship. This is betraying Namjoon. You know it, but f*ck you can’t stop.

You kiss Taehyung back, giving him back everything that he’s giving. All the passion. All the desire and god help you… the love.

You cling to him as your lips touch and his hips grind into you and you know it’s going to get f*cking crazy between you. His kiss is all consuming, all controlling, and so you give Taehyung everything.

He picks you up and carries you fireman style over his shoulder and up the stairs to your third floor bedroom. He pushes the door open, slams it closed with his boot and places you on your feet.

Taehyung pulls you against his body, unable to wait another minute before touching you again. His lips covered yours, catching the breathy little moan that escapes as one hand clenches in your hair.

Your hands are on his shoulders, his co*ck is pressed against your belly and you know he’s on the edge of his control. He presses his tongue to your lips, sinking into your mouth as you shudder against him.

This is crazy. You absolutely cannot f*cking do this. Absolutely you should f*cking do this. I can’t…but god his lips… they are so soft… Taehyung kisses your thoughts from your head , along with your morals and dignity.

Your nails bite into his shoulders, your tongue tangles with his, drawing him deeper into the storm of pleasure that his touching you evoked.

There’s no stopping it. There’s no controlling the volcano that is Taehyung and you. As he lowers you to the bed your brain thinks of nothing but him. You want him until you can’t breathe. You undress each other, pulling out of the kiss only long enough to pull off shirts and pull down pants and off underwear.

His body is perfect, but you already knew that. He moves on top of you and everything becomes about getting him closer, getting him inside of you.

He kisses you like you’re all he needs. Your lips, this bed and this moment. You two. Together. The both of you melding as one and when Taehyung thrusts down, shoving his co*ck inside you.

You scream, “Yes!”

“More?” He asks.

“More!” You demand.

He gives you more. His lips are at your neck, nibbling, licking your skin as you tremble and gasp.

“I could eat you up,” Taehyung growls as he f*ck you.

His hips thrusting, your thighs trembling. The pressure builds and Taehyung grabs your jaw and demands, “look at me.”

Your eyes pop open as he twists his hips and thrusts his hips with everything, f*cking you with his full focus, his eyes locked on your eyes.

“See me,” he says.

And you do see him. You feel him. You hear him. You smell him. You know him.

You thrust up as he smashes down and the friction sends you spiraling into the atmosphere with an org*sm out of this world. He holds you, letting you ride out the explosion as you cum, and scream and give in to everything. You give in to him.

When you’re done, spent. Your body limp beneath his as you both catch your breath.

Taehyung looks at you. “You love me,” he says, sure of himself. No room for argument. “You love me. And I love you. Admit it.”

He’s demanding it. He’s commanding it. He wants it all from you. He won’t let you out of this bed without the truth. He deserves it, you know he does. But the minute you say it everything changes. Everything gets messy. Everything gets ruined.

“Admit it,” he says again.

“Ok,” you say because you can’t deny it. Not now, here , in bed with him, in his arms, basking in the after glow of the org*sm he gave you.

“Ok, what?”

There’s no denying it.

“I love you, Kim Taehyung,” you admit, cracking the world open.

Taehyung smiles, “I know, because I love you too.”

Chapter 22: Weird? Try f*cking insane!

Chapter Text

You’re awake. Your mind is racing. What did you do? You’re in bed. You’re naked. Taehyung is beside you. Equally naked.

Taehyung leans down to kiss you, but you pull away. He tilts his head in question.

“Can… Namjoon see?” You ask.

“Isn’t it a little too late to be worried about Namjoon?” He asks.

“Excuse me?” You ask, pulling even farther away from him. “What does that mean?”

“It means if he can see now, he could see last night, sweetheart.”

You stare at him. Your heart racing as you realize what you’ve done. What you risked. “Could he see?”

“Yes,” Taehyung answers truthfully.

“Well, so could I,” says Jimin, who suddenly sits on the corner of your bed.

“Holy sh*t!” You scream, pulling the bedsheets up to cover your nakedness. But there’s no need because Taehyung’s already shifted, using his body to block Jimin’s view.

“I need you to come with me,” says the Shaman.

“More parents for me to meet?” Taehyung asks and you place your hand on his shoulder, realizing that you haven’t talked about Mr. Seo at all. You suddenly wonder if he’s drowning out the revelations of last night with you and sex.

“Something, a little bit closer,” says the Shaman. “Get dressed.”

Then he vanishes as quickly as he appeared.

“I don’t like that guy,” says Taehyung.

“What could be closer than your possible father?” You ask Taehyung.

“Let’s get dressed and find out,” he says, rolling out of bed.

When you’re dressed and ready, Taehyung takes your hand and you walk out to meet Jimin on the street. Jimin glances at your intertwined hands and looks up at you with a raised eyebrow.

You shift uncomfortably. You know you’re being a complete unfaithful bitch to Namjoon. But your romantic feelings aside, Taehyung is your friend and you have a feeling that whatever Jimin is about to show him is going to be tough. Taehyung looks pale, and he keeps pulling at his shirt collar. You squeeze his hand, hoping he can feel comfort from the gesture. This is a crazy situation on all sides.

And you’re stuck in-between. Jimin whispers in your head.

You glance over to him to see him staring at the sky as if studying the weather or something.

“Are you ready?” He asks without looking at either of you.

You look at Taehyung, knowing he’s the important one in this situation. That’s what you have to remind yourself constantly. Namjoon, Taehyung, and Seokjin are the important ones in this situation. They’re the ones sharing a life, you’re just along for the confusing ride.

Taehyung nods at you, so you speak for you both when you say, “We’re ready.”

Jimin snaps his hand and you teleport from in front of your house to in front of a clinic or hospital of some kind.

That’s when you hear a door slam and you look over your shoulder to see that Jungkook is jogging over to you from his parked car.

“Good, you’re here,” says Jimin in greeting.

You give Jungkook a hug and kiss on the cheek. Jungkook looks over at Taehyung with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t think it was your time on the surface,” he says.

Taehyung ignores him completely, turning to Shaman Jimin. “What is this place?” Taehyung asks.

“Home,” responds Jimin, walking toward the front door.

You, Jungkook, and Taehyung exchange confused looks then follow the Shaman into the medical center. When you walk in you see a normal-looking medical office waiting room, but it’s completely empty of patients.

“What is this place?” Taehyung asks again.

“Weird that there aren’t any signs of a clinic name, right?” Says Jungkook as we follow the quiet Shaman deeper into the clinic.

It’s then that the nurse behind the desk seems to notice that there are visitors. She jumps up and hurries forward.

“Um, excuse me,” she says. “This is a private clinic. We do not take patients or—“

The nurse stops talking. Her eyes widen, her mouth drops open and she just stares… at Taehyung. He stares back, confused by her and her reaction.

“Hello,” he says after a moment.

“Ho—ho—how?” she asks.

“What?”

“You’ve seen him before?” Jimin asks.

The nurse nods but doesn’t rip her eyes away from Taehyung. She stares at him in complete shock. Almost like she’s staring at a ghost.

You and Jungkook share wide-eyed glances, you’re both just spectators in this insane moment in Taehyung’s life.

“Where have you seen him before?” Jimin asks, his voice forceful, demanding and you have a feeling that he put magic into the question. Compelling the nurse to answer.

“In…”

“A hospital bed?” Asks Jimin.

“Yes! In…”

“A coma?” Asks Jimin.

You gasp when the nurse nods. Her shocked eyes never leaving Taehyung’s face.

“She knows you,” Jimin tells Taehyung. “Because you’re here.”

Taehyung’s hold tightens on your hand as the full force of Jimin’s words hit him. He’s here. Taehyung, his body, his real self… is in this clinic.

“Show me,” he says to the nurse.

She nods and comes around the counter as if in a trance. She leads the four of you down the hall, where you pass other nurses, doctors, and employees who freeze at the sight of Taehyung. They’re in shock to see him up and walking. The closer that the nurse leads you to the room down the hall, the more stressed you feel.

Is he really in there? You wonder as you walk to the door. Jimin looks back at Taehyung once, before opening the door and walking inside.

You gasp when you see the lone occupant in the room, because… Taehyung is asleep in the bed. It’s impossible, but it’s him. Who would know better than you? Who would have a better shot at recognizing him? He’s standing beside you and impossibly, he lies unconscious in the bed.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jungkook asks the nurse.

“Brain damage” answers the nurse. “He was in a terrible bus accident as a kid. He hasn’t woken up since. He’s brain dead, but his parents refuse to give up. That’s what this clinic is, we serve patients who are brain-damaged and in comas.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Do you have more patients?” he asks the nurse.

“Yes,” she says.

“Let me guess,” says Jimin. “Three more.”

The nurse nods. “Can you show us them as well?”

“Um… It was ok for me to show you Taehyung because this guy is clearly a family member, but we can’t break HIPPA laws by bringing you into meet the others,” says the nurse.

Jimin snaps his finger. “Please show us your other three patients?”

“Sure,” says the nurse with a goofy smile, she turns and heads out of the room without another word.

Jungkook and Jimin follow her, you turn to do the same, but realize Taehyung hasn’t moved. You go back to him. You retake his hand, and you squeeze it.

“What are you thinking?” You ask.

“That’s me… right?”

You nod. “It sure looks like you.”

“You don’t usually see yourself from this point of view,” he says.

You just nod, because what the f*ck do you say to that? Taehyung has just met himself and he’s in a hospital bed, in a coma.

“I really am stealing Namjoon’s body,” he says.

You shake your head. “Not you. Someone did this to you. Someone did this to all three of you.”

Taehyung looks at you and it’s like your words visibly hit him. “Someone did this to us,” he says. You nod. “Someone f*cking did this to us.”

“Yea, they sure as f*ck did,” says Jungkook coming back into the room.You look at Jungkook and he is angry, livid. It comes off him in waves. “It’s them! Yoongi, Hoseok and Seokjin. All in hospital beds. All in comas.”

“Holy sh*t,” you say.

“You’re telling me,” says Jungkook. “I don’t know why, but I wasn’t thinking something like this!”

“Really?” Asks Jimin, walking back into the room. “The curse of the Samdugumi you called it? I think you’re right. This is a curse.”

“How do we break it?” You ask Jimin.

“I don’t know,” he says and your heart breaks for the six men who are impossibly in this room, all somehow hearing and processing.

Taehyung turns and storms out of the room. You follow, calling his name and asking for him to stop. He doesn’t stop. He storms out of the front door and then comes to an abrupt halt.

“I don’t know where the f*ck we are,” he says, keeping his back to you.

“I know,” you say taking his hand, but still he doesn’t turn to you.

“My stolen body and my real body are here and I don’t know where the f*ck this is,” he says.

“I’m sorry,” you say.

“Don’t be sorry,” he says. “You didn’t do this.”

“I know, but I don’t know what else to say. I am sorry and shocked, and scared,” you admit.

“Why scared?” He asks.

“Because I don’t know what’s happening. I wanted to give you back your body, but your body is in a coma and I don’t know what that means, but Jimin will figure it out. We just need to have patience.”

He finally turns to you and what you see, makes you drop his hand and take a step back. His face is… deformed…

It’s still Taehyung’s body, head, lips, and chin… but the top of his head; his forehead, and his eyes… are Namjoon.

You stare into your boyfriend’s eyes and see nothing but rage. He’s pissed. First, he learns for a fact that he’s cursed, his body sold and rented out to others. And on top of that he’s betrayed, and cheated on by you.

“Namjoon,” you whisper, your hand going to cover your mouth at the monstrosity their split body is. Half Namjoon, half Taehyung. It’s wrong, so wrong and it was done to them. Done to them by a villain. Someone who wanted them cursed and by someone else who did the cursing.

And because of these evil people… your boyfriend is split in three and you are caught in the middle.

Taehyung/Namjoon shakes their head, so hard, you’re afraid he’s going to knock out his brain or something. It’s fierce; a violent jerk of their head. It’s intense because they’re fighting for control of their body somehow.

You watch, stunned, not sure what to do. Not sure what’s happening and not sure exactly how you want it to end.

Namjoon or Taehyung? Taehyung or Namjoon? Who will win? Which want do you want to win?

You have no idea, but it doesn’t matter, because when the fight ends and the shaking stops, it’s Kim Taehyung that stares back at you,.

“Holy sh*t,” you exclaim.

“That must have been weird,” he says.

“Weird? It was f*cking insane!” You say.

“I’m sure,” says Taehyung with a smile. Taking your hands and pulling you in for a kiss.

Like hell. You think pulling away from him. Like hell, are you going to kiss him seconds after what you just saw?

“Namjoon can see,” you say, thinking about the look in his eyes, the rage, the upset, the hurt.

“I told you that,” he says. “I told you it was too late to worry about it this morning. By this morning he knew everything. He knew that I had you. He knew that you love me, and you admitted it.”

“Oh God,” you whisper shaking your head, your mind swimming with the knowledge of what you’d just done. Your mind drowning in it.

“Don’t do this,” Taehyung demands. “Don’t make him more important than me! Sure, he saw it, once, last night. But I have always f*cking seen it. I’ve always been trapped behind a wall watching as you loved another, touched another, f*cked another! You will not freak out about Namjoon seeing what I have always f*cking seen. You will not.”

You don’t know what to say to that and there is nothing to say to it because at that moment you hear a voice behind you.

“Taehyung?” Asks the voice, in a small, anguished voice.

You both turn to see a beautiful middle-aged woman staring at Taehyung with tears in her eyes. She gasps when his eyes meet hers. So identical. Staring into her face you instantly understand why Mr. Seo never looked like Taehyung to you, why his presence never set off warning bells.

Because Taehyung doesn’t look like his father at all.

The woman runs to Taehyung, practically pushing you aside to run into his arms and envelop him in a hug.

He looks at you over her head with wide eyes. And then he turns to look down at her and asks, “mom?”

Chapter 23: All Is Lost

Chapter Text

The woman who is Taehyung’s mother stares down at the version of him in the hospital bed with sorrowful eyes.

“He’s not a bad man,” she says.

“Your son?” Asks Taehyung.

“No, your father. When the doctors said you would never wake up… he lost his mind with guilt,” she explains.

“Lost his morals too,” says Jungkook.

“Yes,” Says Mrs. Seo. “You’re right about that, I think. He was drunk one night after getting the news and unfortunately, ran into fate when he saw the Kim family and completely lost it.”

“Why?”

“They had a son around your age and he was healthy while our son would never wake up,” Mrs. Seo begins her story. “He says the Shaman found him, but I’m sure he went searching… the Shaman offered him a way that Taehyung could live again. The Shaman had a son of his own but no prospects who were around his son’s age to be a host and so the Shaman and your father agreed that the Kim’s son would be the perfect host. Your father thought that living sometimes was better than never getting to live. So the Shaman connected your life forces. As long as Kim Namjoon lives, you live Taehyung.”

“You call this living?” He asks.

“I wasn’t involved. I swear,” says his mom, holding her hands up in surrender. “He came home one day and told me what he had done.”

“You did nothing to reverse what you’re husband did,” accused Jungkook.

“Like what?” She asks him. “What should I have done? You have a Shaman and still you are afflicted.”

“Cursed,” corrects Jimin.

“The man in the hospital bed is afflicted. I am cursed. Jungkook is cursed. Because of what our parents did,” says Taehyung, he sounds tired, weary and probably a lot disappointed in who his father turned out to be.

“Wait, I don’t understand,” says Jungkook, suddenly anxious “That happened when Namjoon was 12… but it happened to me when I was 15. That was six years after Taehyung’s accident. Who are Hoseok and Yoongi?” Asks Jungkook.

Mrs. Seo shrugs, “I have no idea. One day I came to visit Taehyung and there were two more patients. Your father claims not to know.”

“Is that credible?” Jungkook asks.

“He told her everything else,” says Jimin.

“True,” concedes Jungkook. “I’m sorry to be this person, but I have to get the hell out of here. I can’t take anymore of this sh*t today.”

You quickly give Jungkook a hug, because you know the last few days have been filled with hard revelations. He hugs you back briefly, then let’s you go with a promise of calling you tomorrow.

“Won’t you be Hoseok?” Jimin asks him.

Jungkook nods, “I’ll be Hoseok, but I have written him so many notes he’ll be up to date.”

With that he’s gone and you turn your attention back to Taehyung who stares at his mother.

“The diagnosis is that I’ll never wake up?” He asks her. “Not a chance? Even with modern medicine.”

“If I didn’t see you with my own eyes… I would think you were a vegetable,” she admits the hard truth to Taehyung.

Jimin clicks his teeth together in thought, “tricky.”

“Tricky as in difficult or tricky as in Impossible?” Taehyung asks.

Jimin just smiles, snaps his fingers and suddenly you and Taehyung are back in your bedroom. Taehyung stumbles back, but catches himself and falls hard on the edge of the bed.

“That could have been bad,” you observe.

“That f*cking guy,” mumbles Taehyung, righting himself on the bed. “Are you ok?”

You nod, “but how are you about everything you heard today?”

“Processing,” he says. “But I sort of guessed it was something like this. Why do you think Mr. Seo came to the house that day? He knew Namjoon wouldn’t be there.”

“I think he wanted to see and talk to you,” you tell Taehyung.

“I think so too,” says Taehyung. “It’s crazy. I’d seen him before. Many times. Never had an ounce of suspicion. But he’s my dad and he did this to me. To Namjoon.”

“Jungkook shifts into Hoseok tonight,” you tell him. “Does that mean…”

“That Namjoon comes back?” Taehyung finishes for you. “No idea. It’s technically Seokjin’s turn. But I don’t intend to give up my independence.”

“Does it bother you not to know?”

“Yes,” he admits, taking a step closer to you. “But I still think I should seize the moment.”

“Ok.”

“You’re the moment,” he says wrapping his arms around you.

“I don’t know about that,” you say as he leans closer, rubbing his check against his cheek.

When Taehyung’s hands, slide down and cup your ass, you know that you’re not dreaming and his mind is going down the wrong paths.

“I think you’re using me as a distraction,” you whisper as he kisses your neck.

“Then distract me,” he says.

You tsk, shaking your head, “it’s more important for you to deal with what happened today and the revelations than to worry about me.”

He puts his head down, hiding inside your shoulder. His body trembling with laughter.

“But I want to lose myself in you.”

“Seems unhealthy and co-dependent,” you say.

“Extremely,” says a voice that’s not Taehyung.

Suddenly, he pushes you away, you stumble back and stare up at Namjoon.

Your eyes widen. You open your mouth to say… nothing.

You’ve got nothing to say. Not that it would matter if you did, because Namjoon’s turns on his heels, walks out the door and slams it behind him.

You listen to his footsteps as they retreat down the stairs getting farther and father away. You jump when you hear the front door slam.And then you just stand there in the deafening silence that he left behind.

It’s ruined. Everything. You ruined it.

Between you and Namjoon…. All is lost.

Chapter 24: Enter Damian

Chapter Text

You’re standing on an elevator that’s trapped on the 999th floor. Your heart pounds as you stand very very still, holding your breath, afraid of what happens if the elevator cables snap. It can end ok. The elevator can move at its normal speed, open on floor 998 and you can walk off this death trap, but you have a feeling you won’t be so lucky.

That’s when you sense the other presence on the elevator. You look to your right, shocked that you’re not alone, when you see a man in a long black coat and a face for the history books; it’s that beautiful. But while Jin’s beauty is heightened by an authentic warmth, this guy is as cold as ice.

“I planned to kill you,” says the man in black.

You stare at the stranger in black in confusion and fear; you’re not sure how to get out of a situation where the elevator is stuck and the only other occupant is insane.

“You were to die in your sleep, completely moved off the chessboard and out of my way,” says the man in black. “But my son is in love with you.”

He comes closer to you, so you lean as far back and away from him as possible, but there’s no room on the elevator, you’re trapped with a man who speaks about killing you as if discussing something mundane like the weather.

“Who are you?” You finally work up the nerve to ask the beautiful but cold man. You’ve heard of women referred to as an Ice Queen, but this is your first run in with a man who fits the perfect definition of an Ice King.

There’s something coldly ruthless about the man staring down at you in the closed confines of the elevator. There’s a lack of emotion behind those eyes, a lack of caring. He says that he wants to kill you and you feel it in the depths of your soul that he will.

“Haven’t you figured it out?” He asks you with a cold smile. “You’ve been searching for me.”

“I’ve been searching for answers,” you counter.

“And here I am,” he says then he does the thing that clues you in on who he could be, he holds up a hand and snaps his fingers.

Shaman your mind takes a moment to process but only a moment because he didn’t just snap his fingers, he snapped the elevator cable!

You press even closer to the wall as the elevator drops at an impossible speed. You’re dropping! Down 900+ floors. There’s no surviving it. You’re going to die. You let out a scream of abject terror as you drop to your death.

You wake up. You’re safe in your bed but your heart races, your breathing is labored and sweat pools on your brow. That was a dream and now you’re awake, but you don’t feel safe.

“You’re the only person to survive that dream in a hundred years,” a cold voice rips through the silence of the night.

You gasp, sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp to see what you felt, you’re not alone. The shaman from your dreams sits in your desk chair, casual, comfy and deadly.

Jimin, you call to him silently in your head. Please help. There’s a shaman in my bedroom. He’s uninvited and evil. Please, please help.

“Even in a coma the boy has found himself in the usual mess… over a woman,” says the dark Shaman, spitting out the last words with disdain, clearly he has no use for women, especially smart and capable ones like you.

“Are you going to kill me?” You ask him because that’s the only thing you can think of.

What does he want? Why is he here? Jimin please help me. I don’t think I can save myself.

It’s true. Your phone is on your table, out of reach but even if you could get to it what good would a phone do you? Will the Shaman sit quietly and wait while you call the police? Not bloody likely.

“Haven’t you been listening?” He asks. “No. I want to kill you for being an annoying little bee buzzing around and making a mess but I can’t kill you. The boy has been through enough already, he doesn’t deserve to have to mourn the woman he loves.”

“Who are you?” You ask, knowing that you know Namjoon’s parents, and you’ve met Taehyung’s parents so this is Seokjin’s father; the one responsible for it all.

“I’m Damian,” he tells you.

“A shaman?”

“Yes,” he says. “I know you prayed for back up, but I’m afraid I’m not ready to be interrupted.”

That’s when you hear a BOOM, it’s your bedroom door. There’s someone on the other side, banging on it, trying to get in but there’s just no use.

Jimin? You mentally call out, afraid to believe help is on the other side of that door, but you hope he’s there. You hope you’re not completely alone.

I’m here. There is a force field surrounding your room. I’m going to break it Jimin’s words filter through your head, giving you a sense of ease, but not completely because while he tries to break it, you’re completely alone with a dark magician, who hates you.

“Park Jimin,” says Damian. “It’s been two hundred years since we scuffled. He stays out of my way and I stay out of his. But here he is, in the middle of my business, for the first time in centuries, because of you. Who are you? What are you?”

“Wha—“ you begin, but your mouth shuts closed with an audible click.

You can’t open your mouth, you can’t speak or verbally destroy him with sarcasm, because your mouth is somehow sealed shut. You want to scream but you can’t scream. You have no control over your body, because Damian took it away. Your control and autonomy , he took it, stole it from you and all you can do is sit there and stare.

“No,” says the Shaman Damian. “You don’t need to speak for this. I prefer silence.”

The Shaman stands and walks to the foot of your bed, studying you. You have no idea what he’s doing but you feel cut open, like he’s staring into your very soul and judging what he sees.

“It’s only been a couple of years, but boys are all attached. You’ve imprinted on their hearts, but why? You could be anyone? Any girl from anywhere. Nothing especially interesting about you… except perhaps the way you love. You love like a weakling giving it out to whoever is nice to you. I love one person in all my centuries, my son, and he loves you. What a mess.”

Your heart races as you sit there trapped in this bedroom with an immortal. He’s lived for hundreds of years and has a very different pov on life. Ageless tends to think and feel differently. You’ve noticed it with Jimin a lack of every day social niceties, not that he’s a barbarian but that he doesn’t care that the normal way is to use the doorbell and wait for entrance. Jimin just walks in, and so does Damian, but he walks in and locks the door behind him.

“If you love them,” says Damian. “Then protect them. If you seperate Taehyung and Seokjin from Namjoon… they will die. Namjoon is the host and sure he wants his selfish independence, but he can’t have it. Namjoon keeps Seokjin alive and if you’re boyfriend decides not to keep my son alive… I’ll decide not to keep him alive, not to keep you alive. Do you understand?”

You nod, because you hear the threat. If you follow through with your plans to separate the Kim Line… then they will die or lapse back into comas. If that happens you and Namjoon will die because Damian will kill you.

“Good,” says Damian just as the door to your bedroom flies open, landing with a loud crash, on the opposite side of the room.

In the doorway stands Jimin and behind him stands Seokjin and a cute guy with platinum hair who you guess is Hoseok. Damian hesitates for just a moment, staring at Seokjin. They had a f*cked up way of dealing with it but it’s clear to you that Taehyung and Seokjin’s parents love them.

But sometimes love kills.

Jimin flicks his hand out and Damian goes flying back, away from you. Jimin has tossed Damian across the room but before he slams against a wall, Damian disappears.

“Coward,” hisses Jimin. “He never wants to face me.”

Seokjin pushes pass Jimin, crawls onto your bed and pulls you into his arms. You’re shaking, trembling, in fear. You now understand how dangerous this situation is and how far over your head you are.

Seokjin holds you as the last hour hits you like a brick. Damian’s cold, menacing presence and his threats.

“You’re ok,” whispers Seokjin in your hear. “You’re ok. I won’t leave you alone again. We won’t leave you alone again.”

“It’s time,” says Jimin. “Now that I am sure the spell caster was Damian, I know how to break the curse.”

You shake your head, regain your voice and say, “no, we can’t. Everything must stay exactly the same.”

Chapter 25: Worth The Risk

Chapter Text

“The same? You’ve been the loudest advocate for change.”

“That was before Damian told me that the alters will die if separate from the host.”

Jimin tsks, “Oh ye of little faith. They won’t die, because I will save them.”

“Then fall back into a coma,” you concede.

“They won’t fall into a coma because I will save them.”

“Jimin be serious!”

“I am serious!” Jimin says, his tone hard. “Damian has half of my power. Why do you think he ran away? He had to attach their souls to others. He couldn’t wake them from their comas. But Ican.”

“I guess it’s a risk for us to take,” says Hoseok. “But it is our risk to take.”

“I agree,” says Seokjin. “Worth the risk.”

“Small risk,” says Jimin, annoyed.

“Still,our risk,” says Hoseok.

“No,” you say shaking your head. “If… by the small chance, you die, Damian will kill me and Namjoon.”

Seokjin’s eyes widen, “why would he take such steps?”

“He’s your father,” you tell him. “And he loves you.”

“Well I love you,” says Seokjin. “And I don’t take kindly to threats against you.”

I want to kill you for being an annoying little bee buzzing around and making a mess but I can’t kill you. You remember Damian’s cold words.

Without Seokjin here to love you, his father will kill you. His father will kill Namjoon. You know it’s true. You feel it in your bones.

“Can you set up a meeting between Damian and me?” Seokjin asks the good Shaman. “I think it’s time for my father and I to meet.”

Jimin smiles at Seokjin, it’s vicious, almost scary, but you blink and the smile is gone. He’s beautiful and magical Jimin again.

“I’ll set it up,” the Shaman says and then disappears.

“I guess I’ll find my own way home, after being zapped here,” says Hoseok with a sigh.

You giggle and introduce yourself to the final alter in Jungkook’s trio. He’s gorgeous with perfect skin and a smile that’s infectious. You wonder if being beautiful was a requirement for Damian to curse you.

“Nice to meet you,” says Hoseok. “It will be even nicer in the morning.”

“Do you want to head home or do you want to crash at my place with us?” Asks Seokjin.

“With you?” Asks Hoseok and the way that he says “with” gives you and Seokjin pause.

“In one of the extra rooms,” explains Seokjin. “Or the couch.”

“Oh,” says Hoseok and you don’t know why but he seems disappointed. “Yes, thanks I’d love a place to crash. And I suspect we shouldn’t be alone. Any of us.”

Seokjin nods, “I agree. Pack a bag,” he says to you. “I won’t let you out my sight.”

“Namjoon won’t be happy,” you tell him.

“He might not be happy with you, but he definitely doesn’t want anything to happen to you,” Seokjin tells you. “He may not speak to you, but he’ll want you to stay at the Hot Boy House.”

“The what?” Asks Hoseok with a confused frown”

“Long story,” Seokjin says with an amused smile on his lips. “Let’s go.”

You pack a bag then you and Hoseok follow Seokjin home. Hoseok is sweet, checking on your mood and commenting on how insane the journey has gotten.

“Jungkook’s entries were about searching some books with you. Then Yoongi’s entries were about finding the magic shop with you. And my entries will be about a dark Shaman who may or may not be Seokjin’s father,” Hoseok recaps. “This story is getting crazy.”

“You can say that again,” says Seokjin letting us in the house.

He puts Hoseok in the guest room that doubles as Namjoon’s office then Seokjin joins you in the kitchen.

“Are you tired?” He asks you.

You shake your head, “wide awake.”

“Same,” says Seokjin. “No idea how Hoseok can sleep after all of that. Let’s make a late night snack.”

You laugh, “whiplash.”

“I know but cooking settles me, maybe it will settle you.”

You nod and follow Jin into the kitchen. At the very least you’re excited to keep busy. Seokjin checks the kitchen with a frown.

“I can never trust those boys to keep this kitchen stocked,” Seokjin mumbles.

“I cook or we order food a lot,” you admit.

“I can see that,” Jin says pointing to the leftover delivery boxes in the fridge. “It’s a good thing Namjoon is a chaebol.”

“And a talented artist!” You insist, defending your boyfriend.

“And talented artist,” Seokjin concedes. “He does have customers not Taehyung’s parents”

“That’s still crazy to me! Who Mr. Seo is,” you exclaim.

“He bought so much of our art, he basically bought this house,” says Seokjin with a smile. “Let’s make scallion pancakes.”

You nod as Seokjin takes out the ingredients to make the dish. You chop when Jin says chop and you whisk when he commands you whisk, but mostly you stay out of Jin’s way as he flips the frying pan and cooks perfect pancakes.

“I love watching the master work,” you tell him as he places a large pancake in front of you.

“When I have my own body, I’ve been thinking of going to culinary school,” Seokjin tells you.

Your heart drops to your knees, “you still want to seperate?”

“We have to seperate, this is no life. We can’t continue this way, especially now that we know we’re different,” says Seokjin.

“But the risk—“

“It’s worth it to me, to Taehyung and even Yoongi and Hoseok,” Seokjin says. “I am positive that Jimin will protect you from Damian.”

“But then you’d be dead, Seokjin!”

He shrugs, “it’s worth the risk.”

“You’d really leave me here with Namjoon?”

“He loves you,” Seokjin says. “It’s hard seeing you with someone else. It’s hard knowing that we share your love. For so long he thought of you as just his.”

“I was just his,” you say forlornly.

“No,” says Seokjin with a laugh. “You were never just his. And you know it.”

You stare at him with wide eyes as his words and what you’re saying hits you. As what Damian says hits you.

“I love you,” he says.

You smile. “Aren’t you angry? About me letting Taehyung break the rules?”

“No,” says Seokjin. “Unlike Namjoon, the minute I accepted we were different men, I knew we were in a love square.”

“A square?”

“Three men, three hearts and you in the middle,” he says. “It must be a lot.”

“It is,” you admit.

“That’s why I won’t pressure you. That’s why I won’t push you. That’s why I won’t drop my jealousy on you. This is an unfair situation. It’s an impossible situation. I’m not going to expect anything when this beyond expectation,” says Seokjin. “I’m going to protect you. Your heart from the three of us and your body from Damian. I’m going to protect you, because you put us first. I get that. You could have kept the three of us in ignorance forever. But you didn’t. You chose us and what was best for us, so I choose you and what’s best for you… even if it isn’t me.”

You feel warm. You feel happy. You feel safe for the first time in weeks. You feel loved. You feel love for Seokjin. So you do what you feel in that moment. You kiss him. Seokjin kisses you back. And you feel safe, safe in his arms.

And you know that the Kim Line is worth any risk.

Chapter 26: Tomorrow

Chapter Text

You’ve been waiting with Hoseok in the clinics empty waiting room for hours, because this is the day he gets visitors. Well, not him… the version of him that’s in a clinic… it’s so confusing. But you’re there for a glimpse of his family. You figure the minute they see Hoseok sitting up and talking they’ll freeze and you’ll know they’re there for Hoseok.

“How do you feel?” You ask him for the 10th or so time.

Hoseok giggles and looks at his watch, “you mean since two minutes ago? Think nothing has changed.”

“But you’re about to meet your parents,” you remind him.

Hoseok tilts his head, “Hmm. The people who I am connected to biologically. But Jungkook’s mom took care of me when I was sick and taught me to drive. His dad taught me how to tie a tie and cut my hair… they’re my parents.”

You nod, because of course he’s right. Sure it was for 12 weeks a year, but it was for a decade. Namjoon’s parents raised Taehyung and Seokjin. Jungkook’s parents raised Yoongi and Hoseok. Separating them completely is impossible.

That’s why you don’t know what to do about your love square. Namjoon is angry, jealous and possessive. He’s struggling with the idea that he has shared his body for so long with complete strangers. He’s upset that I told Taehyung I loved him and by now he knows that Seokjin and I also have a strong connection.

He knows we’re in a love square and he’s angry. At you. At Taeyhyung. At Seokjin. How are they supposed to continue as a family? Seokjin had already decided to remain Kim Seokjin after separating from Namjoon. Your boyfriend can’t take sons from his parents anymore than he can take parents from the other two. They have to come together as a family which means they may need to move forward without you.

Your heartaches at the idea that you could lose all three but if it’s what’s best for the Kims then you will do it. You’ll walk away. You’ll give all three up. They’ve lost so much how can they lose their family? Because of a girl? No. Not you. You won’t be the one who takes away what little they have left.

The door opens and it finally happens. A woman in her early 20s walks in, heads towards the nurses station then freezes. She just stops… she backs up and looks at Hoseok. Just stares at him.

“Holy sh*t!”

You and Hoseok exchange confused stares because this girl is not old enough to be Hoseok’s mother or close to having been around when the curse happened.

“You know me?” Asks Hoseok.

She nods, “I’m your sister… don’t you remember?”

“No, I’m sorry,” he says.

“I am much older now,” she concedes. “But why didn’t they call and tell me that you woke up?”

Hoseok and you exchange looks again.

He clears his throat, “I am sorry. I didn’t wake up.”

Her eyes widen and she looks hella confused. “You’re not Hoseok? You look just like him.”

Hoseok looks at you with wide eyes, because holy sh*t, what should you do? What do you say?

“You don’t know what your parents did… do you?“ you ask the other young woman.

She shakes her head. “Did they pay for new specialists or something?”

You exchange looks with Hoseok again because she obviously has no idea and neither of you know where to start.

“Come with me,” says Hoseok after a moment and walks toward the room where the other him sleeps.

His sister seems to know where he’s going and is close on his heels. You’re slower to follow. Not sure if you should be around for this but wanting to give Hoseok support if you need to.

It’s crazy how quickly you took to Hoseok, but you figure it’s because he’s in a similar situation as the men you love. That’s why you’re close to Jungkook and Yoongi, you’re all in this together.

You hear his sister gasp and ask what the f*ck is going on. You glimpse inside the room to see Hoseok lying unconscious on the bed. It’s always jarring to see them there, the versions that are comatose.

“It’s kind of a long story,” says Hoseok.

“So start from the beginning,” says his sister.

#

“I can’t believe it,” says Hoseok’s sister. “And yet I completely can. You were their golden boy. They would have done anything to get you back. I see that they did anything.”

“This is a curse. I’m basically a parasite to this guy’s life. Do you know why Jeon Jungkook?” Hoseok asks.

“I don’t know Jungkook, but we had an older brother who died in a bus crash and the drivers name was Jeon.”

“f*ck,” says Hoseok.

“No one believed the bus company wasn’t at fault,” you observe seeing as there is one connection to the curse.

“My parents didn’t and it infuriates them that no one went to jail for killing children,” she says. “When you had your accident they couldn’t stand it, their other son, another child.”

“That doesn’t make it right,”says Hoseok.

“No it doesn’t,” agrees his sister.

“Do you have pictures of them? Can I see what they look like?” Asks Hoseok.

“Of course,” says his sister scrolling through her phone before handing it over.

Hoseok takes the phone and almost drops it when he sees the picture of his parents smiling into the lens.

“I know them,” he says. “I know them.”

LATER

“So, his sister had no idea?” Seokjin asks as he takes the steak off the stove. “That’s crazy.”

“Yes, but great,” you say as you set the table. “Now he can have a relationship from someone in his family. She’s innocent and seems awesome.”

“I’m jealous,” admits Seokjin. “Not like I’m interested in that Shaman.”

“That hurts me,” says Damian, suddenly sitting at the kitchen table.

You let out a Yelp, back up and then run into the Kitchen to hide behind Seokjin. He easily steps in front of you and you’re so grateful for him and how quickly he was willing to stand between you and Damian.

“What are you doing here?” Seokjin asks.

“I wanted to talk to you,” says Damian.

“About cursing three boys to share a body and to live half a life?”

“About the reasons why and how the curse backfired to punish me,” says Damian.

“To punish you?” You ask, skeptical AF.

Damian frowns at you and you can hear the silent question why are you even here? come off him in waves.

But he doesn’t say it. Opting for, “magic comes with a price.”

“ If anyone paid a price it was Namjoon, Seokjin and Taehyung.”

“And me,” insists Damian. “I wanted you to be alive all year round, illness free.”

“And the curse backfired?” Seokjin asks?

“Yes,” says Damian. “I thought it didn’t work and then one day I saw Taehyung and followed him. I figured he wouldn’t know who I was and I was right. I’ve seen you from afar many times but being closer to you is a dream.”

“Strange,” Seokjin says after a moment.

“I’m your father,” says Damian. “You need to come stay with me to learn the craft.”

“I have magic?”

Damian nods, “it’s just a spark because of your bloodline, but to be a Shaman you must be trained.”

“I will train you,” says Jimin, suddenly sitting across from Damian at the kitchen table. “If you want.”

Damien bites the air and glares at Jimin. “I will train my son.”

“You lost rights to your son when you did this to him,” Jimin tells Damian.”tell me what this curse was. The elements and the ingredients, everything.”

“You think I’m going to help you kill my son so that she can get her boyfriend back?”
Damian asks, nodding his head at you.

“We’re doing it in the morning whether you help us or not,” Seokjin tells him.

Damian shoots you a mutinous look. “Didn’t I tell you what would happen?”

“If you threaten her one more time…” says Seokjin, his voice dark and thunderous. “I love her. Whether I live or die, she’s the one I love. Protect her. Not threaten her.”

“I’m trying to keep you alive,” insists Damian.

“Then tell me the ingredients and elements of the curse,” repeats Jimin.

“Please help us,” says Seokjin. “You got me into this, help get me out of it.”

Damian stares at his son for a very long time. Then he turns his attention. “If you do this, we do this with our combine power.”

“Why would I trust you?” Asks Jimin.

“He’s my son,” says Damian with some sort of power put to his words, like an echo of the wind.

“Truth,” says Seokjin the same time that Jimin says, “truth seeker.”

To your surprise Jimin nods and says, “deal.”

Damian nods and suddenly pen and paper appears in his hand and he begins to write the list of ingredients and elements.

“Tomorrow?” You ask, your heart racing.

Jimin nods, “tomorrow we separate them. 6 souls into 6 bodies.”

Wow. Tomorrow everything changes. Tomorrow it will be… better or… not. Tomorrow.

.

Chapter 27: Moment of Truth

Chapter Text

You’re holding Seokjin with all your might; pouring all your hope and love into it. You’re scared, so scared, because tonight’s the night. It could go perfectly. It could go horribly wrong. There’s no middle ground for this one; it either works or it doesn’t, so you’re embracing Seokjin with all you’ve got.

It’s not just for him. It’s for Namjoon. It’s for Taehyung. It’s all your hopes and dreams. Your greatest wish for them is that they end the day in three separate bodies. Their own person. Standing on their own two feet - it’s what they want, it’s what they deserve.

It took you hours to set up, but the clinic’s waiting room has been decorated for the ritual. There’s an alter, incense, and a selection of instruments that Jimin was adamant he would need. It’s not clear exactly how you got permission but you have had full run of the clinic all day.

The alter sits in a circle of kitchen spices like tummeric and topped off with regular flour for baking.

“Not salt?” You asked Jimin, thinking about every movie you’ve ever seen with supernatural rituals.

Jimin just frowned at you and said, “I guess you didn’t hear me,” before listing off his list of spices and all purpose flour for a second time.

Damian stopped by earlier to give Hoseok and Seokjin the white ceremonial robes they’ll wear during the ritual. Nervous you ask the dark Shaman that’s suddenly on your side if this is safe to do with the alters instead of the host. If it would be safer with Namjoon and Jungkook you should wait, but Damian just glared at you and asked if he seems willing to risk his son.

That’s true but you’re still nervous. Nervous that Namjoon won’t be there but Damian will. The Shaman may love Seokjin but he’s evil and only loves Seokjin. He will do anything to ensure his son lives even if it means sacrificing the other two. Hell, even if it meant sacrificing everyone on earth, Damian will ensure Jin’s survival.

He’s a wild card. He scares you. He always has, from the beginning.

But today calls for setting aside your fears and being brave. Today calls for the suspension of disbelief and blind faith. Today calls for the belief in magic.

When Jimin arrives you instantly understand how he can allow Damian’s involvement, because he doesn’t arrive alone. Four other Shaman’s appear in that way you’ve become used to; from thin air. Two men and two women arrive dressed in colorful shaman hanboks.

You don’t know what all the colors mean, but Seokjin and Hoseok wear white robes to symbolize purity, Jimin wears a blue hanbok to bless the future and Damian wears Yellow to symbolize rebirth.

You’ve been holding on to Seokjin as the Shaman’s arrived and finished their set up. He lets you. Standing comfortable in your arms. He loves you. You love him and you give him all the strength you can muster before Damian comes to pull him away. You quickly hug Hoseok and then watch with your heart in your throat as the Shaman’s stage them for the ritual.

“You’re here as a witness,” Jimin tells you as he commands you to stay out of the way and to never interfere. “You are not to speak, or react. This ritual calls for our complete attention and you could easily distract us and ruin everything.”

You swallow hard and nod, “I’ll be quiet and stay out of the way.”

“Yes you will,” says Jimin walking away.

You try not to let his terse tone effect you. This is serious and you’re happy that Jimin is taking it seriously. It’s also not about you. It’s about the six men who have suffered long enough.

The ritual to separate the six souls is filled with spectacle and history. Jimin talks Seokjin and Hoseok through every step or goriof the ritual.

“Before any gut is performed, the altar is always purified by fire and water, as part of the first gori of the ritual itself. “

Jimin snaps his finger, and the circle of kitchen spices bursts into flame. You smother your gasp as the flame burns in a perfect circle, burning the path around and leading toward the alter. The flame is bright blue, telling you that the fire is dangerously hot and yet it’s somehow contained.

Not somehow, Magic. You know the clinic won’t catch on fire, this place won’t burn down because the magic won’t let it.

Jimin has a small red bucket filled with water and he splashes it all over Seokjin and Hoseok as he chants. You have no idea what the chant says so you focus on Seokjin, kneeling side by side with Hoseok in the center of the fire.

While Jimin splashes the water, the other five shaman chant in perfect sync as if they’ve practiced and done it before.

This is the purification section of the ritual and as you sit there, crosslegged on the floor, you feel a resonating hum inside you, as if you too are being cleansed and purified for the next step.

Next, Damian recites the a myth invoke the deities called bon-puri. The spirit he invokes in his story is the Samdugumi! The very spirit you found in the creature codex all those weeks ago. You were right! Jungkook was right. Damian put a curse of a three headed dragon on the six men afflicted with sharing a body. You inwardly squee at having been so on point and so right with the little information you had. You can’t wait to exchange a “told you do” high five with Jungkook.

There’s an electricity in the air; Magic. It causes sparks to fly, hearts to pound and energy to soar. It’s impossible to describe or to explain, but Magic is real. It ebbs and flows silently in the room like it’s own presence, rolling like a river, moving in and out of the spaces between the humans in the room. It’s like an invisible sheet has covered you all, connecting you all in the communion of magic.

The third and final gori in the ritual involves a dance. Jimin holds a shamanic fan called a Buchae in one hand and a brass handbell called a mudang as he dances around Seokjin and Hoseok with the grace of a ballerina, he’s the black swan, moving around the two men with practiced and flawless movements.

It’s then that Seokjin and Hoseok begin to tremble. Electricity races up their spines and they both stiffen, and then… vibrate. They shake the floor, the walls and the ceilings like the center of an earthquake. Seokjin and Hoseok shake, so the building shakes.

You feel like the center of a storm. Ground zero. As an impossible wind whirls through the clinic and the chanting crescendos, the shaman voices melding into one, deepening into a loud voice… Jimin’s voice! Deeper and filled with power, Jimin controls the chants.

Jimin places his fan and rattle down, to grab the third instrument that makes up his Shaman mengdu; tools. Jimin lifts a pair of brass ritual knives from the alter and steps forward. As the Shaman chants continue, voices uniting into one voice; Seokjin and Hoseok continue to tremble, their eyes are presssed shut and their bodies continue to vibrate, tremble and shake.

Jimin takes the ceremonial knives and gestures in a slicing motion, slicing the space around Seokjin and Hoseok. Suddenly, the two men lean back, still on their knees, their bodies pull back as if caught in an impossible but forceful wind, a flicker, a blur, as a images of Namjoon and Taehyung pull away from Jin’s body. And images of Jungkook and Yoongi pull away from Hoseok’s kneeling form!

Their souls! that’s what you’re seeing. Jimin is pulling the souls apart, ending their cursed soul bond.

Jimin continues to slice at the air, ripping, tearing and cutting through the curse until suddenly Jimin’s knife can’t move! He’s stuck, the knife caught in an invisible net that surrounds Seokjin. Damian surges forward with his own brass knife and you feel a flash of fear as the dark wizard approaches Jimin with a knife in his hand.

You promised not to interfere, but you want to scream, to warn Jimin whose knife is caught in an impossible trap, an invisible one. You stand to your feet, wondering if you should just charge at Damian. You rush forward, slam against a forcefield and crash backwards, silently falling to the linoleum tiles.

You pull yourself off the ground where you lie flat like a cartoon character, in time to see Damian use his knife not to attack Jimin, but to assist. Damian uses his brass knife to slice the air around Jimin, freeing the other shaman’s ceremonial dagger.

Freed, Jimin slices down his knife one more time in the area over Seokjin’s head. Then once more over Hoseok’s. The two kneeling men, fall forward like a sack of flour and when their bodies land they’re no longer Jin and Hoseok, but Jungkook and Namjoon!

The chanting comes to a poetic end, the fire snuffs out and the room is left in darkness. Someone snaps their fingers and the ceiling lights turn on, illuminating the room and the aftermath of the ritual. Namjoon and Jungkook are unconscious in the center of burnt ashes.

“It’s done,” says Jimin.

You don’t hesitate, you hop over the circle of ash and run to Namjoon. You check his pulse. It’s there, strong and steady.

“They will both sleep like the dead for twenty-four hours or so,” Jimin tells you. “Their bodies have been through the most.”

With that Jimin snaps his fingers and both men disappear.

“Where did they go? Where did you send them?” You demand to know.

“Home to their beds,” Jimin assures you. “The others will not need nearly as much rest. I am sure they feel they’ve slept enough.”

You look at Jimin with wide eyes. His words slamming into you and their meaning terrifies you, because… what if it didn’t work?

“It worked,” Jimin says, reading your mind as always. “It worked and now your trial begins. I warned you so I hope you’re prepared.”

You only hear half of his warnings, because you’re running. Through the clinic and down the hall, the first door is open, Damian stands in the doorway, staring at an awake and lucid, Jin! Knowing that Damian will not give up this moment with Jin, so you keep running to hisroom.

You burst through the door to see a dream, an impossible dream, because just this once it came true.

It worked! It actually worked! Six souls and now six bodies.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” says Taehyung, awake in his hospital room. He holds up the IV sticking out of his arm. “You think they’ll be mad if I take this out?”

You don’t answer. You just surge forward and wrap your arms around Taehyung.

Chapter 28: The First Day of Forever - Part 1

Chapter Text

Part One - Namjoon

The moment your eyes pop open you know it’s going to be a lovely day. You jump out of bed and rush to get ready. You have two stops to make. After you confirmed that all six were separated, Jimin announced they needed rest then snapped you right to your bedroom. You decided to take the shaman at his word and stay put. But it was hard, you’d never leave their side if it were completely up to you, but it’s not completely up to you.

You hurriedly throw on shoes and run out of the house to check on Namjoon. And he’s only Namjoon!!! Jimin said he’d need at least 24 hours of sleep, so you intend to silently check in on him. You need to make sure that his heart is still beating and his breathing is steady. He’s been the host for so long, Namjoon has forgotten how to simply be himself. His body might feel off to him.

You use your key to let yourself into the Hot Boy House, with a smile on your face because for the first time it’s truly the home of three men… well, if Namjoon let’s them stay… you don’t think about that as you walk up the stairs. You hear voices, the simmering of bacon on the stove and music.

Namjoon’s awake! You run up the stairs excited to get eyes on him, only to get an eyeful of so much more. Namjoon sits at the kitchen table looking hale, whole and handsome. But he’s not alone. Taehyung stands by the computer DJing the tunes, and Seokjin is in the kitchen cooking bacon.

All three of them! In the same place! At the same time! It’s a beautiful sight. A perfect sight. It’s right, the way it should be. You let out a squeal of excitement and jump up and down, clapping with a big smile on your face.

“It worked!” You scream.

“It worked,” Namjoon repeats with a small smile.

You shine the bright light that is your smile on all three of them. They smile back, but you have to greet one of them first and you know which one it has to be!

You know that you messed up. You know that you cheated and betrayed him. You know that Namjoon is mad, but this is monumental! This is amazing! This is everything!!!

So you run up the rest of the stairs and throw yourself at Namjoon. You drop into his lap and wrap your arms around his neck. To your relief he holds you back.

“You’re free, you’re free, you’re free!“ you chant over and over, holding him close to you.

“I am,” he says. “Because of you.”

“Because of us,” you correct. “You were there at Jeju island, you helped us convince Jimin to help. And you all survived the ritual! You’re all here! It worked!”

“It worked!“ repeats Seokjin as he puts on some more bacon.

“Wait,” you say pulling back to stare at Namjoon. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I was awake so I got up,” he tells you.

You shake your head, getting to your feet, you grab Namjoon’s hand and he lets you pull him to his feet.

“Jimin said that you needed to rest for at least twenty-four hours and that’s what you’re going to do,” you tell Namjoon as you lead him toward his bedroom.

“Jin is making breakfast,” Namjoon argues.

“I’ll bring you a plate,” you tell him. “In bed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” says Namjoon with faux meekness and for a moment you feel like yourselves, you and Namjoon, the strong unit built on the foundation of true love.

You lead him into his bedroom and right to bed. He obediently gets in bed and stares up at you as you sit beside him.

“I’m conflicted about you,” he says.

“Why?” You ask, even though you have a suspicion.

“Because you and I are magic,” he tells you. “You and I are a rush, two halves of the same whole. No one else has it. I know that, but I don’t think you do.”

His words hit you hard in the chest, because you know what he means. Does no one else have it? You have a pull with Taehyung and Seokjin, they would probably call it magic.

“I don’t think you do,” repeats Namjoon. “And it pisses me off. I am free of my curse, but all I can think about is that you let Taehyung touch you.”

You don’t know what to do. You don’t know what to say. This is an impossible situation, but you’re in it. You’re all just in it and even though it may not feel that way to Namjoon it’s honestly no one’s fault.

“I’m going to let you rest…” you say about to stand to your feet, but Namjoon suddenly grabs you by the wrist and pulls you back down, directly into his arms.

“No,” he says. “You’re not going any where.”

“You’re mad at me,” you say.

Namjoon nods, “yes. I can’t remember the last time I was this angry, baby. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this angry.”

“Then let me go,” you say.

“No,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’m so pissed but I love you. I love you so f*cking much and my body is my own. And it’s in a major part because of you. So I’m angry, and apart of me hates you, but I want to kiss you and that is how I feel.”

“Ok,” you whisper and Namjoon kisses you.

It’s not the kiss you’re used to. This isn’t the careful clinging of lips with the one who loves you. Namjoon is mad, so mad, and there’s a punishing element to his kiss. He’s rough, taking no care for you, just what he wants.

Namjoon twists you, opening your legs to straddle him then slides you down his body until your covered cl*t slams into his covered co*ck. You both groan.

“Get naked,” says Namjoon. “Cause if I keep touching you I’m going to rip your clothes off.”

Thud, goes your heart. You stand to your feet and quickly pull off your clothes. Your heart thunders in your chest and you know if this were any other man you would be afraid of his intensity and rough hands, but this is Namjoon. He may be all the way pissed off but he would never ever hurt you. That’s an undeniable truth, so when he pulls you into his arms, slamming your naked chest against his, taking your lips in a relentless kiss, you go with it, because you trust him.

Namjoon throws you on the bed like you’re a rag doll putting you to kneel in the center of his bed. His co*ck is perfectly aligned with your lips. He grabs the back of your head and the base of his co*ck, aiming it directly for your mouth.

“You know what I want,” he says and you do, so you open your mouth and let him shove his co*ck into it.

“Yes,” groans Namjoon when your lips wrap around his co*ck, and your cheeks hallow out as you suck.

His hands are in your hair, but he doesn’t pull, he massages your scalp and whispers praise into the silence as you suck his co*ck.

Your lips tighten on him, one hand moving to cover the base of his co*ck with your own hands, gripping him tightly as your mouth covers the remaining flesh begging for attention. It stretches your lips, they feel bruised as Namjoon thrusts against you, but the feel of him in your mouth, and his deep groans echoing in the room spurs you on.

You love the feel of his flesh, so hard and hot, filling your mouth, stretching your lips. You stare into his face, watching the flush that mounts Namjoon’s cheeks, the way his eyes darken, filled with lust.

“Suck it hard,” he bites out fiercely. “Suck it hard. I’m going to cum, baby.” Two hard thrusts later you feel the thick jets of his cum pulse into your mouth as he buries his co*ck deep. Namjoon’s body jerks in time to the hot pulse of his release, his gasps harsh and agonizing as you keep sucking.

Suddenly, just as quickly as Namjoon thrust his co*ck in your mouth, he jerks it free. He stares down at her, you, eyes dark, almost frightening, his flesh still hard as he breaths roughly.

“f*ck that was good,” he says. “But we can’t do this.”

“What?”

“Get dressed,” Namjoon commands, backing away from you, his hard co*ck swinging as he moves.

“You still want me,” you say, nodding at his still hard co*ck.

“Always,” he says with a nod. “But I don’t want to touch you while I’m mad at you. I don’t want to treat you like some f*ck toy that I use to get off. You’re my girlfriend.”

“I am,” you agree, assuring him.

“But all I can see is Taehyung’s hands on you,” he says. “That’s all I see. Even just now I wondered if you’d done this with Taehyung.”

“Namjoon, I am so sorry,” you say.

“Don’t you get it? That’s what I pissed about!” He says. “You’re sorry I know. You’re sorry you got caught. You are sorry I’m mad at you. And that’s the problem for me. If you were sorry we could move on, but you’re not sorry. It’s complicated I know, but I need time to process, to deal.”

“Namjoon, don’t push me away,” you plead. “Let’s work through it together.”

“You know what I want?” He asks , leaning down to stare me in the face. “To f*ck you into submission. To make you scream so loud that he hears you and knows who you belong to.”

“Ok,” you say with a nod.

Namjoon hisses, like you burned him and stumbles back, out of your reach, like you’re guilty.

“f*ck no,” he says. “I love you, we are not muddying our relationship with my possessive jealousy. So you’re going to get dressed and eat breakfast with them and I’m going to try not to stew and get the rest Jimin says I need.”

“Namjoon,” you begin to argue.

“Get out,” he says then softens his words with a kiss.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 29: The First Day of Forever - Part 2

Chapter Text

Part Two - Seokjin

Namjoon slams the door in your face. You stare at the wood paneling in shock. You reach for the door handle but before it connects you hear the lock click into place. He kicked you out! Slammed the door in your face! And now he’s locked you out?

You angrily twist the knob. Is he kidding? You know he’s mad at you, but he just went through a supernatural ritual. He had two souls cut from his body! He can’t lock the door. Not from you! Until he literally breaks up with you .:. You are his girlfriend!

You kick the door, “Namjoon! Stop this. It’s gone too far!”

“Time,” says Namjoon through the door. “I need time.”

Time. Time can heal a broken heart. Or build walls around it.

He could want you even more at the end of his “time” or he could be completely done.

He locked the door. He’s not going to open it for you. Not now. Not today and maybe not at all this month. So you head back downstairs to the kitchen.

Seokjin is still cooking in the kitchen but Taehyung is no where to be found. Probably for the best, you think as you join Seokjin in the kitchen.

“Wow,” you say at the spread of waffles, eggs, and pancakes that he’s spent the morning cooking.

“I woke up with the urge to cook,” Jin tells you with a bashful smile.

“You mean hungry?” you ask.

Seokjin laughs, washes his hand and turns to face you. “How are you?” He asks. “I heard the end of whatever that was with Namjoon.”

“He’s mad,” you say with a shrug.

“He’ll get over it,” Seokjin assures you.

“Maybe,” you say with another shrug.

“Don’t worry,” says Seokjin. “He will when he realizes the choice is up to you and not him. It’s better to catch bees with honey.”

“Am I the bee or the honey?” You ask.

“Both,” Seokjin says, then he leans forward and kisses you on the forehead. “Clean up and help me peel and chop potatoes?”

“Sure thing,” you say heading for the bathroom. You wash your hands, brush your teeth, and wash it out with mouth wash.

When you step back into the hallway, you pull up short to find Taehyung coming around the corner. He sees you and comes to a stop. He looks up the stairs then back at you with a questioning lift or the brow.

“You’re here,” he says.

“Yup, going to help Seokjin make potatoes,” you tell him, moving around him.

Taehyung grabs your hand and pulls you around to face him. He pulls you into his arms, smiles and kisses you. You kiss him back, it’s sweet because these are his lips not borrowed, stolen or possessed.

Just his.

When he pulls away he smiles at you.

“Thank you,” he says. “For figuring out we’re different people and finding the shaman Jimin.”

“You’re welcome,” you say and he smiles wider at you.

“Go help Jin,” he says, continuing to wherever he was headed before he saw you.

You head back to the kitchen and join Seokjin at the sink. “I want to make home fries.”

“Yum,” you say. “Very Western.”

“I’m feeling adventurous. Tomorrow I want to make seafood pancake.”

“Back to Korea?”

He nods, “exactly.”

You and Seokjin discuss his possible future as a chef. You think it’s a great idea. He’s a great cook, you can’t imagine what would happen to his cooking with even more recipes and skills.

Your phone rings. You gasp when you see the name. You dry your hands and hurriedly answer Jungkook’s call on speaker.

“Hello, Jeon Jungkook, you are free!”

“I am free!” He crows, you and Jin cheer loudly. “We did it!”

“We did it!” You say back to him.

“What are you doing with your new life?” You ask.

“I just woke up to be honest,” says Jungkook. “And Hoseok and Yoongi are here. We’re going to find some breakfast but I wanted to check in with you.”

You and Seokjin exchange wide eyed stares. “Why don’t you come here?” Suggests Jin.

“Yes! Seokjin has been cooking all morning and he’s not done! Join us we’ll have a victory breakfast!”

Jungkook asks Yoongi and Hoseok their opinions and they agree. The decisions made, you hang up, excited to see them in a few minutes.

“This is so exciting,” you say to Seokjin. “All of you in the same place at the same time.”

“That wasn’t possible yesterday,” says Seokjin with a goofy smile, it’s so happy and free.

“No it wasn’t,” you say with a nod.

Seokjin pulls you gently into his arms and kisses you. “Today is the first day of forever and it’s possible because of you. Because you weren’t afraid to be uncomfortable in your search for the truth. You faced my father, you faced your fears and you faced the impossible… for us. I’ll never forget it. Never.”

His mouth clamps over yours, and he begins to kiss you as if his life depends on it. He kisses you like a starving man. It is a gesture filled with promise, gratitude and love.

The pressure of his mouth increases, searching until your lips are coaxed farther apart. You never imagined that Seokjin would kiss you like this, deep, tenderly impatient caresses that seem to sap you of strength until you closed your eyes and lean into the hard support of his chest. Jin takes instant advantage of your weakness,molding you against him until not an inch separates , and your legs parted by the intrusion of his powerful thigh.

The tip of his tongue plays inside your mouth in sweeps of warmth that explore the edges of your teeth and the silken dampness beyond. You’re shocked by the intimacy, you don’t know exactly why, but Seokjin always seemed less intense in his desire for you, but now you understand it’s not that he lacked fire.

Jin has all the passion, intensity and yes fire as both his hands slide up to cradle your head. The kiss is deep and feels like it has gone on forever, but really it’s just moments, perfect moments with Jin.

“I am so grateful to you. So proud of you. So in aweof you. And… I’m in love with you,” he tells you as he pulls away, leaning his forehead against yours. “I loved you when I thought I was Namjoon. I loved you when I didn’t know if I would survive the ritual. And I love you now that I’m my own man and in my own body. I love you.”

You stare at Seokjin absolutely stunned. You open your mouth to respond, but Jin shakes his head and kisses you, silencing you.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he says. “In fact don’t say anything. I’m not saying this to you to pressure you into answering. It’s true so I said it. I just want you to know.”

You nod, overwhelmed as he turns back to chop the potatoes you peeled. Your heart is pounding and the world tilts on his access.

Namjoon is mad at you. Taehyung is… waiting. And last but not least, there’s Seokjin. All three so different. All three in love with you.

You love all three of these men in completely different ways. But who do you love the most?

As Seokjin goes into the cupboard to pull down a frying pan, Taehyung appears, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“You’re preparing a feast,” Taehyung observes.

Seokjin spins around, surprised, his shoulders relax and he laughs. “Still getting used to you being out here.”

“Same,” says Taehyung. “So, can I steal your assistant?”

Seokjin just smiles, it’s friendly and not, all at once. Your heart skips a beat as you witness the tension filling the air. You hope one backs down, you’re deep in potatoes so you throw Taehyung a look, asking him to knock it off.

Seokjin tilts his head, “I would prefer you didn’t.”

Holy sh*t! Shocked at the explosion that’s about to happen, you move.

But Taehyung doesn’t see your subtle gesturing. Taehyung stares at Seokjin. Seokjin stares back. Something they literally couldn’t do twenty-four hours ago. There’s testosterone filled tension crackling through the room.

“I’m afraid I must insist,” says Taehyung.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 30: The First Day of Forever - Part 3

Chapter Text

Part Three- Taehyung

Seokjin stares at Taehyung. Taehyung stares at Seokjin. Their facial expressions are friendly, but their stances are not. They look like two bulls about to strike.

You open your mouth to say… something. To separate them. But you can’t think of anything to defuse the bomb you feel about to go off.

Ding-Dong.

The doorbell! Thank God, you’re saved by the bell.

“Taehyung, can you get that?” You ask him with a big smile. “We’re still cooking.”

Taehyung just laughs. “Sure thing,” he says and exits to answer the front door.

“Whew,” you say with a smile. “That was tense.”

“I said I wouldn’t pressure you and I won’t. I didn’t say I would concede my alone time with you just because he wants to hang out with you. What does he think we’re on? The Bachelor?”

“This is going to get so hard,” you say, realizing that you well and truly are in a love square. You kissed all three of them already and you haven’t even had breakfast yet.

“It is,” says Seokjin. “All of our feelings are real and deep and true. And returned which is the problem.”

“My problem,” you say with a groan.

“Our problem,” says Seokjin, then he kisses you on the cheek.

That’s when Yoongi walks in. “Oh my God!” You scream, quickly dry your hands and rush over to give Yoongi a hug. He wraps both his arms around you and pulls you into a bear hug.

“Thank you,” he whispers in your ear and then physically hands you to Hoseok who wraps you in his arms and shakes you left and right with an abundance of joy.

“Our hero!” Says Hoseok with a loud, joyous laugh.

“Alright, alright,” says a familiar voice behind me. “My turn.”

Hoseok puts you down and you turn to stare at Jungkook, standing in the doorway.

“It all started with a Reddit post,” you remind him.

“I never thought anyone would respond, but as soon as you joined the search we found the answers. My good luck charm,” says Jungkook pulling you into a bear hug.

You’re so grateful Jungkook, Hoseok and Yoongi are here! They’ll defuse the bomb building between the Kim Line. You’ve been through an ordeal that has bonded you for life and it’s all platonic, carefree and easy. Because they are just your friends and their gratitude doesn’t come laced with sexual tension and deep feelings.

When Jungkook pulls out of the hug and turns to greet Jin, Taehyung steps up and pulls you into his arms for a quick kiss. He pulls back and whispers, “that’s what I had to say earlier.”

When you pull back, you’re once again speechless, so you turn back to your saviors with a huge smile.

“Look, Seokjin has prepared a feast,” you announce pointing to the food keeping warm in the kitchen.

“You helped!”

“At the very end,” you laugh.

“How can I help?” Asks Jungkook washing his hands in the kitchen sink.

“Mr. A+,” says Yoongi under his breath, but you all hear him.

Jungkook stiffens, but says nothing as he turns all of his attention on Seokjin. Something dark passes over Yoongi’s face to be ignored, but he says nothing to Jungkook as Taehyung comes over and shows him and Hoseok where to sit.

Hmmm, is all you think at this little reveal behind the curtain of the other three in this strange world you’ve found yourself in.

Breakfast is filled with laughter, and plans for the future and friendship. There’s still a little tension between Jungkook and Taehyung which JK is sure will go away when Tae realizes that the other former shifters and I are just friends.

You sit between Seokjin and Yoongi, listening as they exchange recipes and cooking advice. They’re fast friends, making plans to go fishing together and possibly applying for culinary school together.

When breakfast is over the group splits up in small groups, continuing the conversations that started over the table. When Jin and Yoongi’s conversation dips into fish bait, you excuse yourself to take Namjoon the plate of food you set aside for him.

You knock on his door and call, “food!”

There’s no response on the other side of the door so you walk away with a sigh where you hear hushed male voices. You keep going, quietly, wondering what’s happening when you find Hoseok and Yoongi.

“You think avoiding the situation will make everything better?” Yoongi asks Hoseok.

“Of course not, but I don’t know what you want from me, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Neither does she.”

“What do I want you to do? I want you to help me bring up the conversation. The four of us have to talk!” Says Yoongi.

“It’s going to be tough,” says Hoseok. “The talk.”

“Since when is anything worth while, easy?” Yoongi asks and that’s all you let yourself hear, slowly backing away and quietly up the stairs out of earshot before they catch you listening. You don’t know what’s going on with them, but you’re sure you were not meant to overhear.

That’s where you run into Taehyung, loitering on the stairs.

“Hello,” he says.

“Hi there,” you say in response.

“I’ve been trying to get you alone,” he says.

“Why?” You ask.

“Why do you think?” He asks and then he kisses you, hard on the lips. He pulls you against his body, lifting you into his arms.

The kiss is passionate. It’s filled with love, desire and sex. He’s walking backwards, and up, leading you to his bedroom when you hear it… “son of a bitch.”

You pull away from Taehyung, scrambling down his body and wiping your mouth as you turn to face Namjoon.

“What are you doing, man?” Namjoon asks Taehyung.

“You know I love her. That has never been a secret,” responds Taehyung.

“In my damn house, you asshole?” Namjoon asks.

“It’s my house too.”

“Not any f*cking more,” says Namjoon, the rage riding his voice. “Get out.”

You gasp. You turn toward Namjoon but he’s only got eyes for Taehyung. Namjoon comes charging down the stairs and Taehyung backs up, taking you down the stairs and out of the range of fire.

“Joon—“ starts Taehyung, but your boyfriend has no time for whatever he’s about to say.

Namjoon pushes Taehyung, hard, causing Tae to stumble backwards, toward the door.

“Get out of my house!” Yells Namjoon again, opening the front door and pushing Taehyung out of it.

He slams the door in Taehyung’s shocked face. It all happened so fast, Tae didn’t even have the chance to process, never mind fight back.

“What are you doing?” Namjoon asks after the door slams behind Taehyung.

“I’m trying to figure you out,” you say.

“Me? I’m the one struggling with your relationship with him. And what do you do? Continue your relationship with him. I feel f*cking crazy that you’re not even trying to fight for our relationship!”

Now it’s your turn to yell, “Me? I’m the one who was told by YOU that the three of you were the same person! You were the one who kept a secret so explosive, it left a vacuum for them to fill, monthly. You were the one who gave me permission to be with them. You were the one to urge me to let my walls down with them and opened a door between me and them that didn’t exist before. All I’ve done is fight for you and all you’ve done is push me away!”

“Because when you take a break from fighting for me, you f*ck Taehyung!” He yells. “There has never been anyone else for me. It’s only you, baby. I’ve told you that before! I’ve promised you that before. It’s always only you! But you can’t promise the same so get out.”

“It’s only me? And yet you’re throwing me out, again! You never talk about your feelings, you never talk about my feelings. And now I’ve lost my faith in you, Namjoon,” you say.

“You didn’t lose it, you threw it away!” he counters.

“Let’s just go somewhere and talk,” you say.

“No,” says Namjoon. “The only thing I want to hear from you is that you will never see him again. That’s it.”

With that Namjoon turns and walks away.

Chapter 31: The First Day In Forever - Part 4

Chapter Text

Part Four - …

You sit on the front steps of the Hot Boy House in shock. Namjoon kicked you out. Maybe you’re not completely kicked out, but you’re not welcome until he’s the only one in your heart.

You understand that. You’re the only one in his heart. It’s not fair to expect him to share. But this entire situation isn’t fair. None of it.

“You got kicked out too?”

You look up to see Taehyung leaning against the gate.

“He gave me an ultimatum,” you tell him.

“Namjoon?”

You nod.

“Kick me to the curb and be with only him?”

You nod.

“What does he say about Seokjin?”

“Nothing,” you admit.

“He’s so much better at hiding his emotions but the guy who stared me down in the kitchen this morning isn’t going to let go without a fight.”

“I know,” you agree. Because Jin really, truly loves you. The way you love him. And that’s the problem. “I’m in love with all three of you.”

“Ouch,” says Taehyung.

“Why ouch?”

“You can love all of us, but you can’t possibly love us the same… can you?” Taehyung asks.

You don’t know how to answer that. You don’t know.

“I can’t… quantify love, Taehyung,” you say, frustrated and annoyed.

“Maybe not,” he agrees. “But you will have to choose.”

Taehyung stares at you. You stare at him. Your brain is empty. You don’t know what to say. Choose? How? They’re all important to you. They all play an integral role in your life and always have. With Tae and Jin, even before turning sexual they were… pivotal.

“Change of subject?” Taehyung asks.

You nod, “yes please.”

“I’ve decided to go and see my father.”

Later That Day

“I thought you’d come to see me,” says Mr. Seo, putting a tea tray on the table.

“The Shaman Jimin broke the curse,” Taehyung tells his father.

“What?”

“Seokjin, Namjoon and I are all walking around right now. I woke up in the hospital.”

Mr. Seo’s hands shake in the act of trying to pour tea, so he just quits. Placing the cup back on the table, Mr. Seo’s eyes widen as his brain races.

“You’re awake from your coma?”

“I’m awake from my coma,” says Taehyung.

“How?”

“She found a stronger shaman,” Taehyung says with a nod toward you.

“So, you’re my son?” Asks Mr. Seo.

“That’s up for debate,” says Taehyung. “You cursed me to a half-existence, half a life for over a decade.”

“Half a life is better than no life,” Mr. Seo counters. “You experienced the world, you met a girl… it wasn’t all bad for you.”

“Just Namjoon,” you say.

“The Namjoon whose art has shown all over the world?” Asks Mr. Seo. “The Namjoon who owns property? The Namjoon whose name is world renown?”

Taehyung leans forward, “why did you sponsor him if you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him. The sins of his parents fell on him. Besides, I wasn’t sponsoring him, I was sponsoring you.”

Taehyung nods, “that’s what I thought.”

“I understand that you don’t like my methods, son, but you do understand that I did this all for you? To give you a chance.”

“I do understand. That’s why I’m here,” says Taehyung. “To punish you would be to punish my mother.”

“She doesn’t deserve it,” says Mr. Seo.

“I didn’t think so,” says Taehyung, then he leans forward and finishes what his father started and pours the tea.

#

“You and Seokjin have such an upward battle with your parents,” you observe. “But you should probably start climbing it now.”

“Besides I’m homeless,” he says with a laugh.

“Do you really think he was serious?”

Taehyung nods, “deadly. All of us in the same house was going to get a bit uncomfortable sooner or later.”

“I want you guys to be like brothers. After everything you’ve been through you’re family!”

“I agree,” says Taehyung. “We’ll get through
it, but it all has to happen first.”

You think about that on your walk home. That there’s a chance they could all forgive each other. But how long you take to decide could play a factor in how much they can forgive each other.

Mr. Seo actually lives close to the Hot Boy House which means it’s close to you, too. You head back to the HBH, checking to see if Jungkook, Hoseok and Yoongi are still there.

You use your key to let yourself into the house and into chaos. At first you think an industrial fan is set to high and blowing all over the first floor. But that’s when you see Jungkook standing in the center of the room, you see that Jungkook is center of the storm. A powerful wind somehow comes from within Jungkook, tearing him apart.

Jungkook is deteriorating. Breaking into pieces and becoming one with the storm.

Yoongi jumps forward, holding on to Jungkook, keeping him together.

“What the f*ck is going on?!” Screams Yoongi.

You don’t know why or what it is, but a chill races up your spine as you watch Yoongi and Hoseok struggle to hold on to Jungkook. You turn, rush up the stairs and burst into Namjoon’s room. You were right. Namjoon is crumbling, falling apart, becoming one with the wind.

You rush to him, throw your arms around him and hold him closely.

“No, no, no!” You scream.

Namjoon looks down at you, he touches your cheek, he smiles.

“I love you,” he says.

You scream, tears bursting from your eyes at the impossible. He’s disappearing into nothing, right before your eyes. You hold on to him, but you know it’s not enough. You know it’s happening. He’s breaking apart, he’s becoming nothing. He’s disappearing from the world.

Namjoon crumbles. He breaks down into nothing, gets pulled into the wind and blows away.

You scream. You cry. You break. Your heart is nothing.

Namjoon disappeared…in your arms. He literally became nothing. In front of your eyes. Namjoon disappeared.

“Jimin!” You scream at the top of your lungs and as always, the shaman doesn’t make you wait.

He appears in the center of the room, he’s in a silk robe with his arms crossed against his chest.

“Listen girl, I’m not your fairy godmother—“

You grab Jimin by the neck and throw him against the wall, “Namjoon is gone. Get him back.”

Chapter 32: He’s Gone.

Chapter Text

“I can see you’re upset,” says Jimin. “So I’m going to forget this happened.”

You open your mouth to ask what the hell he’s talking about when he simply disappears from your grasp. You spin around, confused to find him behind you, of course. Tricky shaman.

“Bring him back, Jimin!” You yell at the Shaman who stands looking around the room.

Seokjin comes running into the room, his eyes scanning the place. His shoulders slump after a moment when they don’t find the one who is no longer there.

“Did Namjoon… disappear?” Jin asks.

“He’s gone,” you say. “Bring him back, please, Jimin.”

“Sure,” says Jimin. “Where is he?”

Your heart drops. Jimin was your only hope. “You don’t know?”

Jimin shakes his head, “I was about to get in the hot tub when you called me. I have no idea what’s happening.”

“Namjoon disappeared. Literally in front of my eyes he became dust and blew away!”

“So did Jungkook,” says a ragged voice behind you.

You turn to find Yoongi in the doorway, looking as terrible as you feel. You go to him, wrap your arms around him and you both just hold each other. You don’t know exactly what’s going on with the other three guys, but you think Yoongi understands how you feel.

“He just disappeared,” Yoongi whispers in your ear.

“We’re going to get him back,” you say and you mean it.

You didn’t know what was wrong with Namjoon, you didn’t know if there was anyone like him or if there was a way to find answers. But you did. You found a powerful shaman and united the alters with their families… you’ll find Namjoon.

“We found the magic shop and the shaman Jimin… we’ll find them,” you tell Yoongi.

He meets your eyes and nods, “we’ll find them.”

Jimin whistles, loudly, grabbing your attentions. “What do you mean… disappeared?”

“JK was sitting in the living room, shooting the sh*t and laughing with everyone when suddenly he stood up and said he felt… wrong,” Yoongi begins the story that you don’t know all pieces of. “I didn’t know what wrong meant, but then he started… breaking apart. But not like limbs breaking, but his entire existence. It’s like someone erased him with an eraser head and then blew at the dust.”

You nod, because that was a pretty accurate way to describe the impossible.

“Where are Taehyung and Hoseok?” Jimin asks.

“I left Hoseok downstairs when I came to check what was happening up here—“ Yoongi’s eyes widen and he takes off, rushing back down the stairs.

Jimin and Seokjin follow him as you grab your phone and call Taehyung. Your heart pounding at the thought that he disappeared, alone.

“Hello again,” he says, his velvety voice comforting your soul a bit.

“Come to the Hot boy house,” you say. “Now.”

Then you hang up, rushing downstairs to see what the others are up to. Hoseok is there, kneeling on the floor, his eyes locked on the space where Jungkook used to be. Yoongi drops to his knees, beside Hoseok, and pulls him into a hug.

“We were celebrating, Jimin,” you say, forlorn at the sight of Yoongi and Hoseok mourning, you know that Taehyung and Seokjin will help you get Namjoon back, but you know they won’t mourn like this. The only one to truly mourn Namjoon will be you. “Everything was beautiful because they were all free.”

“Free,” repeats Jimin. Suddenly the latest iPhone is in his hand and he’s on the phone. “Hell has broken loose. Come to Namjoon’s house.”

It’s then that Taehyung comes into the house, takes one look at you and pulls you into his arms.

“You’re going to be ok,” he says. “Joon is going to be ok. We’re going to figure this out.”

“We have to,” you say.

“Wait what’s happening?” Asks Damian from his spot on the couch where he suddenly appeared.

“Jungkook and Namjoon are gone, they disappeared on the wind,” Jimin tells him.

“sh*t,” says Damian in a voice that sounds anything but surprised.

“You know what’s happening?” You demand to know.

“I have a suspicion,” says Damian.

“So do I,” says Jimin. Then the two Shaman’s disappear from sight.

“Holy sh*t!” Yells Hoseok in shock. “They just left. They couldn’t have just… left could they?”

You look around shocked, but there’s no sign of Jimin or Damian. You take out your phone and dial the shaman Jimin.

“What?” His voice answers behind you.

You turn to find him holding his phone that’s apparently on silent.

“Where are you guys going? What are you doing? We need help!”

“Obviously, we’ve gone to find a way to help you,” says Jimin. “Hold tight.”

Then he disappears again. You wish he wouldn’t do that, it triggers you. People vanishing. Disappearing in your arms.

Taehyung and Seokjin come to stand in front of you, side by side. “What can we do?” Asks Taehyung.

“How can we help you?” Asks Seokjin.

What could you possibly do? How can you possibly help me? Can you bring Namjoon back? you think but you do not ask it. You control your anger because you know they don’t deserve it.

You shake your head, “I just need a moment alone.”

“Alone?” Repeats Taehyung, his tone incredulous.

“I need a moment,” you repeat.

I can’t look at you. I can’t listen to you. I can’t look at you. Either of you. Looking at you just reminds me of who’s not here.

Taehyung stares at you, his mind racing with thoughts you can’t decipher on his face.

“Taehyung,” says Seokjin, his voice calm, the peacekeeper. “Namjoon disappeared.”

“Exactly,” says Taehyung. “The three of us should stick together.”

“I’m just going to Namjoon’s room,” you tell them.

“For what?” Asks Taehyung.

“To cry!” You yell at him. “Is that Ok with you?”

“No,” says Taehyung. “Lean on us. Let us support you through this.”

“I can’t,” you say, shaking your head and turning toward the stairs.

“Why not?“ asks Taehyung, grabbing your wrist.

“Because this is all your fault!” You yell, pulling your wrist away.

Pushing Taehyung with all your might, you rip out of his reach and run up the stairs, slamming yourself in Namjoon’s bedroom.

It’s so quiet. Empty without him. Your heart cracks open as you stare at his inner sanctum. You love Namjoon. You’ve always loved Namjoon. That was never a secret, was it? He was mad at you, but he knew you loved him, didn’t he?

“He did,” says Jimin.

You’re not surprised to see him, or even Damian. Somehow you knew they needed to get you alone.

“To be clear… I didn’t know this would happen,” says Damian. “But when we performed the ritual to separate the bodies we made an error.”

“What kind of error?” You spit the words out at the Shaman whose fault this always was.

“We didn’t make a sacrifice,” Jimin tells you. “It’s been centuries since I did magic so big. I didn’t consider the cost.”

“The cost… to who?“ you ask.

“Magic,” says Jimin. “All magic comes with a price. I knew it. My ceremonial knives were formed with my blood melted into the steel that sacrifice is enough for most rituals.”

“This wasn’t most rituals,” you say.

“I know,” says Jimin. “My fault, I’m sorry.”

“Where is Namjoon?” You ask.

“His soul was taken as payment for the ritual,” says Damian.

“What does that mean?” You ask, your terror rises with every word the shaman’s tell you.

“Namjoon doesn’t exist anywhere that a human can travel,” Jimin tells you. “Magic took him and Jungkook.”

“How do we get them back?” You ask, your mind racing through the possibilities of bartering with magic itself.

“I told you before that your heart will be tested, broken and rebuilt,” says Jimin.

“Ok. Is this the broken?” You ask.

“This is the test,” says Damian.

“What’s the test?” you ask.

“Do you love him enough to give your soul?” Asks Damian.

“My soul?”

“Namjoon, Taehyung and Seokjin’s souls are still connected. The price for their healed bodies is Namjoon. To get him back he needs a soul to tether to. A soul to keep him in this plane.”

“From the beginning, you swore the love between you was real,” says Jimin.

“It is,” you insist.

“Then are you willing to give your soul for him?”

“Absolutely f*cking not,” says Seokjin from the doorway.

You turn to find both Jin and Tae standing in the open door. It’s like the two men changed places. Seokjin seems emotional, Taehyung calm.

“Find another way,” Taehyung demands as if it’s that easy.

“There is no other way,” says Jimin. “Either we find a soul to tether Namjoon to the human plain or the three of you go back to your shared existence.”

“What’s the third option?” Seokjin asks.

“Namjoon stays gone, forever.”

Chapter 33: My Soul To Take

Chapter Text

“That is not an option!” You tell them. “Namjoon gone forever is not a damn option.”

“Absolutely not,” says Jin the same moment that Taehyung says, “of course not, what?”

Your heart soars for a second. Somewhere in the back of your mind you feared that Taehyung and Seokjin would fail not just you but Namjoon, but of course not.

“Namjoon can tether his soul to me,” suggests Taehyung.

“Or me,” offers Seokjin.

You laugh, “he won’t go for that.”

“He’ll go for living,” counters Seokjin.

“Not a chance,” says Damian, suddenly, his voice filled with rage. “After everything we did to make you whole? Not a f*cking chance Seokjin.”

You nod, “I did a lot to separate you! To give you your own lives.”

“I wanted my own life to be with you!” Says Seokjin.

“Namjoon is gone, Jin!” You say, your voice breaking.

You’ve kept it together as long as you could but it’s overwhelming you… Namjoon disappeared in your arms! How can you possibly go on? He was there and then he wasn’t.

Your heart is something passed broken. It’s shattered, eviscerated, destroyed. He disappeared in your arms! How can you go on?

“I know he’s gone,” Seokjin says grabbing your face and staring into your eyes. “I will help bring him back. I will tether my soul to his. It’s the least I can do after using his body for years.”

“Absolutely f*cking not,” says Damian.

“Stay out of it, Shaman,” snaps Jin.

“I’m your father,” Damian reminds him with a sigh.

“Then figure out a way to help get Namjoon back that does not involve me losing the woman I love,” Seokjin says.

“I’m a magic practitioner not a god!” Snaps Damian. “Tethered soul, shared body or no Namjoon. Those are the options.”

You look at Jimin for help. He snaps his fingers and suddenly Namjoon’s bedroom is cleared out, except for you and Jimin.

“I thought you could use a moment,” he says.

“I could,” you say.

“I knew you’d face a trial but I never imagined this,” Jimin tells you. “Please understand what you’re getting into, it’s not just we say a few words and then your soul is shared with Namjoon.”

“What do you mean?”

“The trial is proving to Magic that Namjoon should be given back,” says Jimin. “That’s why I’m not sure his alters would work. They never bothered to learn about each other.”

“I know everything about him,” you say.

“I know,” says Jimin. “I saw the way you worked together on the riddles. You and Namjoon are a team. But you’re young, could you really give him your entire life? Seal your souls together forever?”

“What exactly does that mean?” Asks Taehyung from the open doorway.

Jimin sighs, “I sent them downstairs, but clearly I should have sent them farther… like Alaska.”

You giggle. The surreality of this moment making you have a psychotic break.

“Can I speak with you? Alone?” Taehyung asks.

Your heart pounds, but you nod. He deserves the chance to say whatever he’s about to say. Jimin shoots you a sad look before exiting and closing the door behind him.

“That’s the first door I’ve seen him use like a normal person,” Taehyung observes.

“Same,” you realize.

“I overheard what Jimin said,” says Taehyung. “If I can’t be the tether… I’m not going to fight you on doing it because we have to get Namjoon back. Clearly we don’t have the connection that Jungkook, Hoseok and Yoongi have, but Jin and Namjoon are my brothers. I have to have Namjoon back, too, sweetheart.”

You break, the tears come to your eyes and you sob. You didn’t have it in you to fight Taehyung over Namjoon and you’re so relieved he’s not making you, he’s not fighting you.

“We have to get him back,” you say as Taehyung pulls you into his arms.

“You have to get him back and we will,” says Taehyung. “Whatever it takes.”

You’re so relieved. Thank God. Taehyung is going to help you!

“And when this crises is over and Namjoon is back… the fight for you intensifies,” he says. “This is an insane situation, but I don’t give a f*ck about prices made to magic, because I love you and you love me and I am not losing you to insane circ*mstance that’s really the fault of our father’s.”

Oh God.

“Do you understand?” Asks Taehyung.

You nod, “I understand.”

“Good,” he says, kissing you on the lips and then going to open the door to call Jimin back.

Oh God.

Instead of coming up to you, Jimin transports you and Taehyung down to the livingroom where everyone waits.

“Have you decided?” Jimin asks.

You nod, “I’m going to tether my soul to Namjoon’s.”

Seokjin curses, but says nothing else.

“And I’m going to tether to Jungkook,” says Yoongi.

“Are you sure?” Asks Hoseok. “Because I can do it.”

Yoongi squeezes Hoseok’s hand, reassuringly. “I’ll do it.”

They stare into each other’s eyes, a quiet communication happening between them.
Hoseok nods and they both turn their attention back to the conversation at large.

“Holy sh*t,” says Jin. “Then let me do it. Let me tether to Namjoon. I volunteer.”

“No,” says you, Damian and Taehyung at the same time.

It’s not even an option. You’re doing it.

“What do we have to do?” Yoongi asks.

“Die,” says Jimin. “To bring back Namjoon and Jungkook…. You both have to die.”

Chapter 34: Tested

Chapter Text

Your daughter jumping on the bed wakes you from a deep sleep.

“Mommy, mommy get up Papa is making bacon,” your daughter cajoles you into getting out of bed.

“Bacon?!” You ask with faux excitement.

“Yes bacon!” Says your five year old. “Get up! You too daddy.”

“I’m getting up,” Taehyung promises from his place beside you.

“You better!” Warns your daughter as she runs out of the room. “Bacon!”

“That’s your child,” Taehyung whispers in your ear.

“She so is,” you say, happily claiming her with a smile.

But then it hits you like it does every morning… Something is missing.

You’re hit with your daily flood of depression and grief. Suddenly, you’re overwhelmed
by the memory of last night’s dream. “I had the craziest dream last night.”

“I know,” says Taehyung. “You were tossing and turning. What did you dream?”

“That you, Jin and… some hot guy were all one person and you shape-shifted into each other,” you say.

“What?!” Tae asks in confusion and you’re not surprised, because the dream was confusing. “So we were all one guy?”

You nod, “with three different faces.”

“That’s a bit boring,” Taehyung says.

“How you figure that?” You ask.

“Well, imagine never being in-between me and Seokjin. Not in bed or anywhere else…”

“You’re right,” you say to one of your two husbands. “Thrupples rock.”

“Sounds like you want a foursome,” Taehyung observes. “Who was the third guy?“

You think, hard. “I don’t know…” you admit. “I can’t place him. Probably some hot waiter or someone I saw on TV.”

“Naughty girl.” Taehyung leans forward to kiss you. You pull back, using an arm to keep him at bay.

“Ill wash your face,” you demand.

“Kiss first,” he demands right back.

You give in like you always do and kiss Kim Taehyung.

#

Over breakfast your daughter regales you with tales from kindergarten. Boys seem to already be noticing her, but she can’t be bothered.

“They’re all so… annoying,” complains your daughter as she happily consumes her Papa’s bacon and eggs with kimchi.

“Who are all annoying?” Asks Seokjin, kissing your daughter on the head and slipping her another couple strips of bacon.

Taehyung shoots him a sharp look but Jin just shrugs. He’s never guilty about spoiling his kid no matter how hard you and Taehyung try to curb his enabling qualities.

“Boys,” she declares with finality. “But not you Daddy or you, Papa.”

Her two fathers agree with her, whole heartedly. Boys suck, her dads are the only two she can trust.

You just laugh at their antics and think about what led you here; married to two men. It was filled with drama and angst, because you met Seokjin first. Falling for Jin was easy, like breathing but it almost went to hell with the discovery that he was already in a committed relationship with a man. Taehyung was a force of nature, too beautiful to be believed and too intense to be denied.

They were in love with each other, you were In love with both of them and they were both in love with you. The three of you are all in, threw convention to the wind and committed to a thrupple. Only the three of you always.

Your stops short at that phrase. Only the three of you always… It reminds you of something… the memory feels important and scratches at the back of your mind but you can’t pull it up, so you shrug it off. Can’t be that important if you don’t remember it.

“Can I have more bacon?” Asks your daughter.

“Yes,” says Jin. “No,” says Taehyung.

Your daughter looks to you for the tie breaking vote, like always. You inwardly cringe knowing once again you become the bad guy while her dads are both the hero.

“Why don’t you eat the rest of the food on your plate and drink your coco, then see if you have space for more.”

“Ok!” Says your daughter with an easy smile and she finishes the rest of her breakfast.

You shoot her fathers annoyed looks. They’re so different. Their love languages are different. Their parenting styles are different and it’s often up to you to referee.

But you love it. You wouldn’t change them for anything. You love your life. You love your family… so why does something feel missing?

You ignore the nagging in the back of your head. Nothing is missing, not really, you don’t think… but something has always felt a little off. It occurred to you lately it’s not that something is missing, but someone.

Someone is missing, but that makes no sense. With two husbands you always have more than enough love and attention, but…

Someone is missing.

So, now that your daughter is in school, you’ve been considering the subject of another child.

The act of conceiving her way so much fun. You did it the old fashioned way and your relationship with your husbands is so strong, there was never a DNA test. You don’t know if Seokjin or Taehyung are her biological father. Because it doesn’t matter. Both men were at your side at her birth. They got up with her in the middle of the night. They changed pampers, taught her to potty train and held her when she had nightmares. They are both her fathers and biology doesn’t matter.

Everything is perfect. Your life is perfect. It’s a life where you loved two men and didn’t have to choose. You’re in love. You are loved. Everything you’ve ever wanted for your life has come true.

So, why does it feel like someone is missing?

#

You and your husbands are shopping for suits. You’re sitting in this boutique tailor shop, waiting for them to give you your own fashion show.

“Ma’am, can I interest you in a glass of champagne?” an employee of the boutique offers.

You look up with a smile, ready to accept his offer when you see his face. Your heart rate speeds up… you know this face, but from where?

Your eyes scan down to his name tag, but for some reason it’s blank.

“Who are you?” You suddenly ask him, suspicious as hell.

You know him… but how?

“I’m sorry to startle you,” says the man and he smiles at you, flashing his dimples. “I thought I’d offer you complimentary champagne while you waited.”

“But what’s your name?” you ask.

And he answers, but for the life of you… tyou didn’t hear it or understand. He suddenly sounded like an adult character in Charlie Brown.

“What?” You ask again, but a dressing room door opens and Taehyung appears in his first fabulous suit, distracting you.

You forget the hot employee, completely as you compliment Taehyung, and sip your champagne, but wait… where did the champagne come from?

You look around in confusion, but there’s no one else around but the champagne is still cold.

“Did I bring my own champagne?” you ask Taehyung.

He frowns, “of course not. You got it from him.”

Suddenly, that hot employee is back, holding a fabric tape measure to Taehyung’s shoulders.

“Where did you come from?” You demand of the employee just as another door opens and Seokjin enters the room, flawless in a pressed suit. Distracting you, again.

“I don’t know about this one,” Seokjin says to you holding up his arms so that you can examine him and once again the Hot employee escapes your mind. You forget all about him like you always do when Tae and Jin are in the room with you, no one else exists.

You’re checking out your men in the shop mirrors believing that they’ve found their signature looks when they shop door opens.

“Welcome,” calls the hot, but nameless shop employee, who seems to be the only person who works here.

You glance over at the door and instantly recognize the Shaman Damian. Your heart races. He’s threatened to kill you many times and now he’s just here? In your perfect world? In this perfect afternoon with your three men?! He ruins everything.

Wait. What nonsense are you thinking? Shaman? You’ve never seen this man in all black before, but your flight or fight instincts are all the way up. You’ve never met this stranger before but you’re confident he’s a magic practitioner and a threat.

And what was with that specific thought? Your three men? There are two of them, your two men and two is more than enough.

“I think I’m losing my mind,” you whisper to your husbands. “But I know that man and we are in danger.”

Before either husband can respond, Damian locks the front door and reveals a gun.

“Everybody on the ground!” He yells shooting out the security cameras.

You scream and duck low as bullets begin firing over your head.

“Sir,” begins the hot employee. “We don’t have any cash on the premises—“

Damian spins around, points his gun directly at the employee’s chest and instantly you remember.

None of this is real… this store, this life and even the little adorable kid. It’s not real. Nothing here is real, except Namjoon.

Namjoon! You remember everything. That this all started because your boyfriend was a shapeshifter and you just had to save him. But you ended up killing him, Magic took Namjoon to pay the price of giving Taehyung and Seokjin their bodies.

But the Seokjin and Taehyung standing beside you right now aren’t your Tae or your Jin. They’re fake, a trick. A test of magic… they’re asking if you really need Namjoon or would you be happy enough with just the other two.

But you know the truth. You could be happy but without Namjoon you will never be complete.

And now he’s in danger. Damian is pointing a gun directly at Namjoon.

You don’t think, you just move, running toward your boyfriend as Damian pulls the trigger. You slam into Namjoon, moments before the bullet slams into you.

The world blinks out of existence. You wake, again, but this time there’s no warm Taehyung beside you, no adorable bacon loving child, it’s just you, alone, in the dark.

You can’t tell if you’re inside or outside. It’s just… dark with no definition or detail. It’s pitch black. You can’t see or hear anything. You feel nothing.

Am I dead?

Did Damian’s bullet kill you? Or was it something before? Was any of that life real or were you already dead?

If this is the Afterlife, you feel lied to by every religion on earth. Because there is nothing here. Just endless black. Impossible to describe, but you seem to be in vast nothingness. Nothing is up or down. Above or below you. There’s nothing next to you and there’s nothing around you. Just black, black and more black.

Since you can’t study the world around you, you study yourself. You’re conscious which is a plus, but you’re not breathing. Which is crazy to wrap your mind around. This is just not how the world works, but you’re not in the world anymore.

Just like you’re not in the land of the living, not anymore. Your heart does not beat, because you are not alive here. You’re just a soul, a spirit, a ghost in the Afterlife.

You crouch, waiting, listening. But there’s nothing. A vacuum. It’s empty. You’re alone.

NOT ALONE. says a voice that is impossible to describe. It screams and whispers. It’s in your head and yet the voice is everywhere. It’s power through sound that speaks to you in the dark.

“Who are you?“ you ask.

WE ARE BEYOND REASON. WE ARE BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINING. WE ARE THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

Magic. You’re talking to magic!

IF THAT IS HOW YOUR MIND PROCESSES THAN YES, WE ARE MAGIC.

Now that it’s cleared up who you’re talking to… where are you?

THE TESTING GROUNDS.

That news does nothing to shock or surprise you. Probably because you’re not alive. You have no heart to pound and no breath to catch… Jimin warned you… Jimin! You remember him now. The Shaman who owns the Magic Shop, your friend.

He warned you! Jimin warned you of a trial since the very beginning and here you are on the universes testing grounds with only one goal in mind — Namjoon.

“Your heart will be tested, broken and rebuilt.” said Jimin.

He said it more than once, but you don’t understand how it hasn’t happened already. Is being the love of three perfect men not a test? Watching your boyfriend literally disappear from existence is not broken? This has to be your rebuild stage.

ITS NOT. declares Magic. THIS IS THE TEST. IT IS UP TO FATE WHETHER OR NOT IT WILL BREAK YOU.

And just like that Namjoon appears in the overwhelming darkness. He’s sitting on a bench in a locked cage!

“I remembered,” you tell magic, the universe and Namjoon. “I took a bullet for you, because in every life it’s always only you.”

That’s the phrase that the fantasy life taunted and teased you with. It’s not Only the three of you always. it’s Always only you.

Namjoon says that to you all the time and now it’s your turn to say it back. To fight for him. To get him back.

IS THAT WHAT YOU TRULY WANT? ONLY HIM? FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

“Yes,” you answer magic, calmly, truthfully and with all the love in your heart.

You look at Namjoon. He looks back at you with wide shocked eyes. You feel a sense of relief. He disappeared, vanished from your arms but now you can see him, all in one piece and you have to convince Magic to give him back.

“Shamans Jimin and Damian killed me,” you tell Magic. “I am a sacrifice. I am here to pay the price for the soul of Kim Namjoon.”

YOU WANT TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE UNIVERSE FOR THE RETURN OF THIS HUMAN? asks magic.

“Yes,” you say in a calm voice, sure.

You lived in a universe where Namjoon didn’t exist. Then you lived a full life, a complete life, where you didn’t know him. But something was always missing. And it was him, Kim Namjoon. And you will not leave here without him. You can’t.

SO BE IT. declares Magic.

It’s like they flipped a switch. Because suddenly the cage holding Namjoon, illuminates red as it’s flooded with electricity and Namjoon starts to scream.

Chapter 35: Always Only You

Chapter Text

Tested

The cage holding Namjoon lights up the color red as its filled with electricity. You watch as your boyfriend’s body shakes as electric current races through his body.

You scream and run toward him when suddenly you’re thrown back by a strong wind as two other cages fall from the sky, landing on either side of you.

You fall to the ground, hard. Your knees burn, your hands are cut up. You look up at Namjoon. He sits slumped over in his cage, the electricity no longer running through him or the cage.

You hear a familiar voice say your name. No. you think before lifting your head and turning to look at your right. Seokjin is locked in a cage identical to the one holding Namjoon. You look to your left and there is Taehyung, also locked in a cage.

No.

YOU WILL BE TESTED.

Suddenly, Taehyung screams as his cage is flooded with electricity.

YOU WILL BE MEASURED.

Seokjin’s cage is flooded with electricity and he screams.

YOU WILL BE WEIGHTED.

Finally, Namjoon screams as his cage is once again flooded.

YOU HAVE TOLD ALL THREE MEN THAT YOU LOVE THEM. BUT WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE?

“Choose?” you ask.

THREE MEN. ONE BODY. WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE?

How can magic ask you to choose? Choose what? Who gets tortured the longest?

WHO WILL LIVE?

Live? All three of them. They will all live. Namjoon is the one in the magic realm, the afterlife. Seokjin and Taehyung are in the real world, the land of the living.

NO. WE BROUGHT THEM HERE. THAT IS THE REAL KIM SEOKJIN AND THE REAL KIM TAEHYUNG.

“Why? Why would you do this to them? You’re hurting them!” You scream.

YES. YOU BETTER HURRY AND CHOOSE. WHO DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?

Memories flash through your mind; Taehyung helping you off the fence, Namjoon walking you home in the rain, Seokjin feeding you dinner and watching dramas with you. All three are a scar on your heart you can never shake. You love them. All three of them.

And they’re being tortured. They’re screams falling to dull moans of agony as the electrify zaps them of their energy.

“Stop,” you beg Magic. “Please stop. Stop hurting them. Take me. Hurt me instead.”

WE ARE HURTING YOU. CHOOSE. WHO DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?

You thought about this a million times. Especially in the days and hours leading up to the ritual to separate them. A day may come that you’d have to choose. WHO would it be? You don’t know. You’ve never known, but one thing you do know is that this is bullsh*t and completely unfair.

Broken

“No!” You scream into the ether, your voice rising even above the buzz of the electric cages.

NO?

“No!” You yell a second time. “You can ask me to choose who to love and who to be in a relationship with. But not for me to choose their lives! I fought and worked hard to separate them! I am not here to choose between life and death, I am here to offer life!“

There’s a silence in the wake of your declarations. Your refusal to be tried in this way. You’re just a girl. You’re normal. You shouldn’t be given the choice of who lives and who dies. That’s up to god, or fate or the universe or hell it’s up to magic, but not you.

YOU SPEAK TRUTH. IT IS UP TO US. WE FIND YOU FASCINATING. YOU SAID NO TO THE TESTING GROUNDS. YOU ARE A RARE AND UNIQUE CREATURE. YOU LOVE COMPLETELY WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART

“Yes,” says the Shaman Jimin appearing from thin air, which is his way. “She is rare. Which is why I’ve decided to help her.”

SEOKGA! YOU ARE NEVER TO COME INTO THE AFTERLIFE. YOU HAVE BROKEN A SACRED TREATY. DO YOU MEAN FOR WAR?

“Seokga,” says Jimin slowly. “I have not been called that for centuries. For the past quatercentennial I’ve gone by Jimin. But still I am Seokga am I not?”

TRICKSTER GOD! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

“And yet you snatched my beloved,” Jimin says nodding toward you. “Did you not see my mark on her? Or… do you mean war?”

You swallow because you’re not completely sure what’s happening. But it sounds like being the Shaman owner of the Magic Shop is Jimin’s new… er… newer identity and in actuality he’s a trickster god named Seokga?

MARK?

“Raise your hand, darling,” Jimin says to you, raising his own arm out to show you how he means.

You follow his example and hold your arm out, raising your hand out as if to say stop. Suddenly a beam of light falls from the black sky and illuminates your hand. You gasp when you see it. Engraved into your palm are two pairs of trapezoids, one atop the other to look like mirror images of each other.

“Did you not see my symbol?” Jimin asks now that his symbol is revealed.

WE DID NOT SEOKGA. WE ARE IN THE WRONG. WE WILL GIVE YOU YOUR THREE HUMANS BACK

You gasp, “no! Four. His four humans back.”

THE FOURTH IS PAYMENT FOR THE OTHER TWO.

“So, I give my soul in payment,” you say, because that was always the plan, why you came here in the first place.

YOU CANNOT.

“Why?” You demand, because you’ve had enough. Magic calls Seokga the trickster but Magic has been playing games with you from the beginning and now you’re done. You just want all three members of what you’ve lovingly started thinking of as The Kim Line back. You want all three back. You fought hard to give all three lives and this is the final thing you can give. Your soul.

THE SOUL AND THE HEART ARE CONNECTED. TO SHARE A SOUL YOUR HEARTS MUST BE LINKED. NAMJOON WILL STAY HERE WITH US.

“No! He will not,” you tell them. “He’s mine! And he’s coming back with me. Jimin tell them!”

“What they say is true,” he says in a sad voice. “You can not be Namjoon’s tether if you’re love is split between three. He needs an anchor that is holding on to him and focused on him if he is going to live again in the human world. Your attention is scattered between three. Your love is not strong enough to hold his form on the human realm. Your soul would always be bouncing along his seams, wanting to get back to its other loves.”

“Don’t question my love,” you say fiercely. Knowing that you could keep Namjoon on the human realm. Your love is strong enough to keep him alive.

“I question your love,” says Namjoon suddenly behind you.

Rebuilt

“How can you?“ you ask and you know that if you had a heart in the afterlife it would be breaking.

“You did not care that the two of them were using my body until you realized you could have Taehyung full time,” says Namjoon.

You look over at Taehyung who watches silently from his cage, his eyes locked intensely on you. You’re so so sorry, but if that’s what they all through this whole time… well, they’re wrong.

“No,” you say shaking your head. “When you shifted into Seokjin, I was shocked. He said you were the same person and I believed him. I admit I wanted to believe him because I was attracted to him and part of me always wondered what it would be like. I love you and have always loved you, but I’m not blind.”

Jimin laughs, knowing that I’ve stolen his line to me. But I don’t glance at him, I can’t. I have to look into Namjoon’s eyes so that he can see my sincerity.

“I was overwhelmed. But then you came back and I had a month to wrap my mind around you having three bodies and three faces. But when I was with Taehyung I realized he’s not you. And I don’t just mean sexually or your body types, in every way you are different. And I knew that Namjoon not because of how well I knew him but how well I knew you.”

Namjoon stares at you. His heart in his eyes. “I want to believe you,” he says and you know that he means it. That he wants to believe you, forgive you and be with you always. “When you found out about the other two and didn’t leave me… I have never felt so loved. But it was for Taehyung that you worked so hard to separate us.”

“Yes, for Taehyung, for Seokjin and for you. All three of you deserve to live. When it comes to life and death, Namjoon, there is no choice.”

“How about when it comes to love?” Taehyung suddenly asks you. “From the moment you let Jimin kill you for just a chance at getting Namjoon back… I realized … it’s not me.”

Your heart breaks. There is apart of you that wishes it was. Or that you could have all three and that the dream of multiple husbands and a beautiful baby whose dna could be either of them was beautiful.

But that’s not your path. This all started because you have a boyfriend, a boyfriend who you love and who you will do anything for, even die. Those hours following Namjoon’s disappearance was the worst of your life because you realized what you risked, what you lost and you would do anything to get him back and to get back what you had before.

“I’m so sorry, Taehyung,” you say to him before turning to your right and saying, “I’m so sorry Seokjin.”

Jin smiles at you, it’s a sad smile but he promised not to pressure you and not to make it hard on you and he is keeping his promise. Your heart is full. You love him so much because it confused you. You love Jin. You love Taehyung. But you’re IN love with Namjoon.

“Kim Namjoon,” you say. “It’s always only you. I want to share my soul with you. I want to bring you back to life to be with me, specifically. I love you. I wanted you to be free and to have a full life. And I want you to have it with me, Namjoon. I want to be with you forever. Please come with me. We’ll be tied together forever and that’s ok because that’s the way it was meant to be.

To your left, Taehyung inhales a hurt breath. And you know that you broke his heart, but he will live, he can live without you, but Namjoon can’t and that’s fine, because you can’t live without him.

SO YOU WILL TETHER YOUR SOULS?

Yes.

YOUR SOULS WILL BE KNOTTED INTO AN UNBREAKABLE KNOT AND IF YOU BREAK IT NAMJOON SHALL SURELY DIE.

“I understand. I will never break the knot, I will never break Namjoon’s heart again.”

DO YOU SWEAR ON HIS LIFE AND YOUR SOUL?

“I swear it,” you say.

And suddenly, Namjooon’s cage door opens and he walks out of it, hale and whole and hot as f*ck.

He’s so sexy. He’s all you need.

GOOD! BECAUSE HES ALL YOU’RE GONNA GET.

“Good,” you repeat and there’s another snap, and suddenly you’re alone not in the darkness, but in Namjoon’s bedroom at the Hot Boy House. Just you and Namjoon. You know that everything is back that Seokjin and Taehyung are all here on the human plane. All alive and healthy. And they will love again. The other two Kims. Your other loves.

You place your hand over Namjoon’s heart, it beats steadily against your palm. He’s alive! You’re alive.

“It worked,” you breathe happily.

You’re breathing. He’s breathing. And you’re together.

“Are you sure?” He asks. “You want to stay with me forever?”

“I’m sure,” you tell him. “You and me forever.”

And you mean it. It will be painful if Taehyung and Seokjin don’t want to be friends with you after what happened in the afterlife, but you will understand. They have to mend their hearts and they deserve to find someone who loves them and can give them everything you couldn’t. Because you’re taken. There’s only one for you and you understand that now. You will never ever risk your relationship with Namjoon again. Not for anything. Not for any one.

You love Kim Namjoon the most. You were confused because men as beautiful as Seokjin and Taehyung would confuse anyone. But that was infatuation. This thing between you and Namjoon? It’s love. True love. You knew it from the beginning when you decided to get to the bottom of his secrets. Back when you trapped Namjoon.

Wow that seemed so long ago. And maybe it was. Back before you faced down shamans, found a magic shop and stood up to Magic itself. It was all worth it. The confusion, the hurt, the guilt and the amazement. You’ve been through so much. Seen so much.

Namjoon pulls you into his arms and you kiss him with everything you’ve got and he kisses you with everything he’s got.

Because it’s always only Namjoon.

THE END

…

Yoongi stands up in… nothing. It’s pitch black. There’s nothing above, below or in front of him.

“Where am I?”

THE TESTING GROUNDS

Yoongi barely has a moment to think and understand what the hell the impossible voice means. The voice is inside his head, but also he can hear it in his ear, echoing through out the entire room.

“The what?” He asks when suddenly a cage falls from the sky and sitting inside the cage is Jeon Jungkook.

Yoongi runs toward Jungkook, because he’s why he’s here. Yoongi wants to give his soul to being Jungkook back to life. He will give anything to bring back the one who kept him alive all these years. He didn’t just share Jungkook’s body, he survived in it and Yoongi will do anything to return the favor. To save Jungkook the way he saved Yoongi.

Suddenly, a second cage falls in-between Yoongi and Jungkook. Yoongi stumbles back to see the man caged inside.

“Hoseok?” He asks, moving toward the other member of his trifecta. The three of them have a bond that no one can break, but why is Hoseok here?

Suddenly, a third cage falls, and this one doesn’t hold a man, but a girl. You’re in this cage and Yoongi finds himself as at a lost. In three cages holds the three people in the world who owns his heart, the ones he loves.

“What is this?” Asks Yoongi.

YOU WILL BE TESTED. MEASURED AND WEIGHTED . YOU HAVE TOLD ALL THREE OF THESE PEOPLE THAT YOU LOVE THEM… BUT MIN YOONGI WHO DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?

And with that there is a loud snap and all three cages are filled with electricity and Hoseok, Jungkook and you scream.

MIN YOONGI WHO WILL LIVE AND WHO WILL DIE? CHOOSE.