Take Me to the Sky | BTS+

Monsters and Men

Shae, Ava, Chimin and Jin: no one said much during the flight back home.

Upon their arrival, Tae, Joon and Jungkook all stood in the shuttle bay to 'greet' them.

Tae and Joon stood like hardened shells with dark eyes, both of them clearly troubled. Joon's jaw was clenched, and Tae's fists.

Jungkook stood between them inside the flight hangar, his eyes shifting and flighty, as if severely distracted from what was happening in front of his face. The sight of Shae coming out of the transport shuttle made his heart beat a little bit faster than normal... but it had nothing to do with attraction. He swallowed. Is now a good time to tell someone? Because this is getting ridiculous....

"What happened?" Tae was the first to find a voice. He noticed Ava's arm laced through Chimin's. Her knees were shaking and her face was pale. Silence. This wasn't play acting. He knew what real fear looked like. He also knew he'd never seen Ava wear it before.

Chimin responded in a calm, careful voice, "Perhaps we should let the ladies retire. They've had quite the day."

Joon said sharply, "I'd like to speak to Shae."

No one knew what to say or do.

Tae came up alongside Ava's other side and he and Chimin began walking with her out of the flight hangar and down the halls of Noon Mool. Tae and Chimin kept speaking in soothing tones to the uncharacteristically quiet Ava as they walked away.

Some instinct in Jungkook said that he couldn't leave yet. He looked from Joon to Jin to Shae.

"Let's at least talk inside," Jin said, a twinge of nervousness in his voice. The four of them exited the hangar and entered a side lounge just down the hallway.

Joon had been pondering the hundreds of different ways that he was going to tear Jin apart as soon as he got back to base. He'd even rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, as if prepared to strike Jin or whoever tested him, the first chance he got.

At the sight of Shae's averted, terrified eyes and quiet but clear turmoil, Joon's vengeance was curbed. He wanted answers first.

Jungkook closed the side study door behind them. They four of them could then speak freely.

"What happened?"Joon wanted to know, and he wanted to know now.

Jin started, "Shae's Departed symbol reared its head at Lilith's."

"WHAT."

"I need you to stay calm, Joon."Jin lifted his hands up defensively. "You losing your cool doesn't help anything."

Joon's hands, meanwhile, were tightening into fists. "Tell me exactly. What. Happened."

Shae was so exhausted. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts and emotions, but that didn't seem to be possible just yet. She settled for taking a seat in the small sofa that was in the room.

Jin explained what he'd seen upon arrival back at Lilith's.

"First of all—you LEFT THEM THERE ALONE. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Well there was this restaurant deal...."

"Don't finish that sentence, or so help me...."

Jin gave a nervous laugh.

"And then...wait, who were these guys?" He looked sharply down at where Shae, and the prickle in his voice made her realize that her skin was trembling. She clasped her hands tight around her knees as if that could stop them from knocking together, but it wasn't just in her knees. This terror. It was crawling through her skin.