Secrets | BTS ✓

16

Present Day

Hoseok takes a deep breath and sends a reassuring smile to Namjoon, Jungkook and Jin, who are the only ones conscious at this point.

Jin moves to sit down next to Yoongi, holding the pressure steady against his stomach as Yoongi's pale figure lays motionless against the wall, the pool of blood underneath him slowly growing larger.

Namjoon wishes he could be unconscious; the physical pain he is feeling mixed with the emotional pain of seeing his friends so broken is nearly too much for him to bear.

Taehyung's body is lost to the drugs again, his mind a jumbled chaos of incoherent thoughts and pleas.

Jimin is leaning against Taehyung's shoulder, his body too overwhelmed with the sudden electric shock it received, leaving him in a state of unconsciousness, his body and mind screaming in agony.

Jungkook watches all of his best friends, his brothers, helplessly, keeping his hands in his pockets as he bites his lip.

"Jung Hoseok," the voice continues. "After that girl was drugged, tied up and stabbed, you, along with the others, watched in glee as the life left that girl's eyes. Jimin called his family and made the cover story, and then it came to your job: your job of destroying the crime scene. So you burned the entire house down with her body in it. You did an incredible job of burning away any hint that something horrid happened in that house. They didn't suspect a thing. How did you do such a flawless job at erasing such an unforgivable sin, Hoseok? Did that erase it from your mind as well? Did you get a good night's rest afterwards?"

Hoseok stays silent.

"Your punishment is simple: burn this house down. Burn it to the ground. The tools you need are in the pantry in the kitchen. After that, you will all be free."

Hoseok furrows his eyebrows. "I have to burn this house down... with us in it?"

"You may not leave this house," the voice says. "You will perish in this house, just as that girl did. And then, you will finally be free of sin as you bathe in the flames."

"Fuck that. No," Hoseok says. "I'm not killing all of us."

"You have five minutes to set this place on fire, or I will only prolong your suffering."

With that last statement, the voice cuts out.

"I knew it," Jungkook says quietly, sitting down on the floor next to Jimin. "We're gonna die in here."

"No," Hoseok says determinedly. "We're fucking not."

He leaves the room for a few minutes and comes back carrying two large containers of gasoline. "I'll set this house on fire just like I've been told. After that, we'll find a way out. The fire will eat away at the walls and the doors; we can find a weakness in the foundation somewhere and slip through. Do you all trust me?"

"Of course we do," Jimin whispers weakly and Jungkook fights the urge to hug him as he slowly sits up and groans in pain.

"Then I'll be right back," Hoseok says after dumping gasoline over everything in the dining room.

A few tense minutes of silence go by, Jin keeping a steady grip on Jimin's jacket, pressing it against Yoongi's wound as Namjoon's gaze switches between Yoongi and Taehyung, a worried expression etched on his features.

"Tae's still alive," Jimin announces, feeling his slow pulse in his neck. "He even just opened his eyes for a second. But we need to be fast and get everyone who's injured to a hospital."

Everyone begins to smell smoke, and a moment later, Hoseok comes in, coughing slightly.

"Every room except this one and the hallway is now on fire," he says, panting. He takes the final matches out of the box and ignites the flames on the ends by using the matchbox, letting the matches fall into the spilled gasoline, and the heated flames burst into life as the entire room quickly engulfs in the fire.

"Let's find a way out of here," Hoseok says, smirking.

Jin picks up Yoongi and puts him over his shoulder, positioning him so that steady pressure is being kept on Yoongi's abdomen through Jin's left shoulder.

Hoseok helps Jimin up, and they both quickly untie Namjoon, who rips the gag out of his mouth and sighs in relief as he tries to stand up, only to fall to the floor on his knees.

"Fuck, I can't feel my feet," he says in a defeated tone.

Jimin helps him stand and places Namjoon's arm around his shoulder. "You don't have to walk alone. I'm here."

"You just got electrocuted," Namjoon says, managing a small smile.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tingly," Jimin jokes and Namjoon pulls Jimin into a quick hug before turning his attention to Taehyung.

Taehyung's eyes are open, but they are unfocused and glassy.

"I got it," Hoseok says, kneeling down and throwing Taehyung over his shoulder, groaning slightly due to the sudden weight.

"Do you think I'm allowed to help now?" Jungkook asks carefully, looking at the other six. "I can help Namjoon too."

"We can't risk it, Kookie," Jimin shakes his head, blinking a few times as he feels light-headedness hit him suddenly from moving his head too fast. "Just follow behind us and stay safe."

Jungkook sighs in defeat, nodding sadly as the seven of them slowly make their way into the hallway.

"What now?" Jin asks, Yoongi's blood slowly seeping down his shirt.

"Let's have a picnic," Yoongi mutters sarcastically.

"Remind me to kick your ass when we get out of here," Jin snaps.

"If we get out," Jungkook says sadly, keeping his hands in his pockets to stop himself from helping a clearly-struggling Jimin hold up Namjoon.

"What is this?" Jin asks suddenly, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway that they hadn't bothered to notice before in their frenzied state.

"A door," Yoongi says weakly.

"Fuck off!" Jin yells. "I mean where does it lead, do you think? It's locked from the inside."

"Not for long," Hoseok says, coughing slightly from the quickly accumulating smoke as he sets Taehyung down in the hallway away from the flames dancing towards them and he uses all of his strength to kick the door. It splinters away from the door frame and Hoseok grins triumphantly.

"There are stairs leading downwards. I think it's a basement," Hoseok says. "I bet there's a door that leads outside down there."

He jogs back to grab Taehyung and after securing the half-conscious man over his shoulder, the seven of them slowly descend towards the basement.