The Seven Wonders | BTS

78. Truth

"You okay?," Namjoon was holding small squirrel like and very dead creatures by its tails. There were wooden arrows skewered through their tiny bodies.

"Yeah," You peeled your eyes away from the creatures. "Have a headache but I'm fine."

Another silence fell. You continued to stare at Taehyung's back and watched Sangdol neigh, its snout rubbing into the darkness gem bearer's palm. Namjoon stepped forward from behind, his heavy footsteps crunching against the rough soil.

"You know," Namjoon started and swung the creatures over his shoulder, some of its blood splattered across his hand. "I'm grateful for Taehyung."

You turned towards Namjoon with scrunched eyebrows, expression contorting into a mixture of shock and confusion.

"For the record, I still don't trust him," Namjoon smiled, his deep dimples showing. It was the first time the earth gem bearer actually looked happy since that day. "But... he did try and help me save Jimin, one way or another. We wouldn't have been able to escape the forest without him either so... It doesn't matter if he was doing it for show. I'm still grateful."

You stared at Namjoon for a few solid seconds and wondered what illusion the tree had given him, since it obviously brought him out of his quiet and depressed state. The thought of your own illusion entered your mind and a shiver ran down your spine.

"You should talk to him," Namjoon glanced at Taehyung. You didn't follow his gaze this time. "It will good for you both."

Namjoon stepped over one of the logs and walked over to Emily, who was sharpening some sticks with the pointed edge of her arrow. Yoongi was creating some kind of barbecue rack with more wood. You looked away right before you heard a skewering sound.

You rolled the jacket in your hands and slowly walked towards Taehyung. As you got closer and closer, you felt you throat run dry as you swallowed loudly. You didn't know why you felt so nervous.

Taehyung didn't look at you even when you stood right next to him but you knew that he was aware of your presence. Glancing at the darkness gem bearer through the corner of your eyes, you gathered your thoughts.

"Sangdol," You whispered and felt the heat of Sangdol's flaming mane brush against your face. "What kind of horse is he?"

Taehyung turned towards you, his single dark eye boring right into your soul. He just stared in a moment of silence and you wondered what exactly was going on his head. You put on a stern expression, not wanting the darkness gem bearer think that you were okay with all of this.

"There's a folklore about Hel's horses," Taehyung finally replied. He took out another green apple and fed it to Sangdol. You noticed that sack hanging from one of his belt loops. "It is said that the Flame Horses are ancient creatures that existed in my kingdom during the dawn of time."

My kingdom. You couldn't help but grit your teeth as you recalled the sight of Taehyung being crowned as prince during the ball. At the same time, his expressions during the royal dance were branded into your mind.

You exhaled loudly through your nose at the frustration. Somehow, Taehyung took this as a sign to continue. "Legend says that some of Vlam's flames fell into Hel while Macht was creating Vrede. It formed two kinds of fire; hot red and cool blue."

Taehyung stroked Sangdol's head, a small smile growing on his face. Your eyes widened when he passed a hand through the horse's flaming mane. His lack of reaction made you assume that he wasn't burned by it.