Hana jumped and spun around when she heard movement behind her, but sighed in relief when she saw Hoseok come in through the back of the stall.
"It's me," He whispered, "You'll have to stay here a bit longer; until I can get you out without you being seen,"
Jimin said nothing. All he could do was stare at the blonde girl on the carousel, and glare at the owner whenever he came into view. If looks could kill, Jungkook would be long dead.
"What the hell is going on, Hoseok?" Taehyung hissed, "We just saw a bunch of unicorns turn into girls!"
"I told you," Hoseok sighed. He turned his head to Jimin, who still had his back to him, "I want to ask someone to help," He said, "We need another person. I trust him, he can help us,"
"Fine," Jimin snapped, "Do whatever,"
Hoseok paused and nodded, "I'll be back soon," He said, before heading back out of the stall.
Hana turned her attention back to the carousel. The girls were all sat on the floor, hunched over as the pole through their back didn't allow much movement. They all looked miserable, but there didn't seem to be any pain, despite the thick wooden stick that went through their shoulder bones and out their breastplates.
The blonde girl, Beau - or Bee - didn't look as defeated as the others, as she glared defiantly up at Jungkook whenever he neared her, but it was clear that she wasn't as strong as she pretended to be. She looked exhausted, both physically and mentally, and Jimin was terrified that she was close to cracking. The moment she gave in, was the moment it all ended for her.
***
"Hyung," Hoseok called out quietly as his friend walked past him towards the exit. Jin never really had anywhere to go during the night, but he would rather be on the streets than in this fair. Besides, they never needed sleep; something about being tied into a contract with Jungkook made their need for sleep vanish, so he tended to just go to a club and drink all night.
"Hoseok," Jin grunted, turning towards him, "Aren't you going to go and hang out with that guy you're into? We're leaving in a few days, you should spend as much time with him as you can,"
Hoseok's eyes darted around the dark area, looking for anyone else that could possibly be there. He gestured to his friend, indicating that he should come closer. When he did, Hoseok pulled him further into the darkness.
"The girl Jungkook wants is here,"
"What?!" Jin exclaimed, "Hoseok, I thought you told him that she wasn't coming!"
"They saw," Hoseok responded, "Beau's boyfriend from before, the girl and the guy I've been with. They saw the whole thing," He sighed, rubbing at his face, "I'm sick of it, Jin. I don't want to see the suffering anymore. Please, can you help us?"
"Shit," Jin sighed, "Alright, get them out of here first, and we can talk. I'll meet you across the road. Wait for half an hour or so; we don't want anyone else to see her,"
Hoseok nodded and Jin headed back out towards the exit, while he moved back through the darkness and empty stalls until he reached the one where he had left the trio.
***
Bee thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, diagonally across from her on the right. When she slowly looked up, she couldn't see anything but the darkness, as the areas outside the light of the carousel was just pure, pitch black.
"Did you see anything?" She asked the girl next to her quietly, "I thought I saw movement,"
The girl shook her head, her dark hair covering her face as she kept her head down. She was the latest addition to the carousel, picked up only last year, but she was already breaking. She was a gentle girl; soft and pretty and Jungkook had liked her the moment he saw her. But she was terrified of him, to the point of trembling if he was close. Despite how hard Bee fought to keep her spirit alive, she was slipping away more and more each day.
"Jungkook... He said that he's still looking for me," Bee whispered quietly, with hope, "Maybe it's him. Maybe he's coming for me-"
"Nobody is coming for you," The dark haired girl said, "Nobody is coming for any of us. Who's going to look at a carousel filled with wooden unicorns and think oh, that's where the missing girls are,"
"Jimin will find me," Bee said firmly, "I know he will,"
"It's been ten years, Beau," The girl snapped, "He's not coming for you. No one will be looking for that long. Especially a boy. He's different to how he was back then. He's grown up. He's moved on, he has his own family now,"
"You can't give up hope, Daisy," Bee sighed, trying to keep her patience, "When you give up hope, he wins,"
"He's already won," Daisy replied angrily, "Can't you see that?! You're trapped on a goddamn carousel with a pole through your back, being paraded around for everyone to see. This ride has been going for hundreds of years and not a single person has been rescued," She lifted her head, jerking it at the figure of the unicorn in front of her, "Kim has been here for fifty years. She held on, hoping for rescue for forty-five years, and look where it got her. She doesn't even turn human anymore. She's gone. That's what's going to happen to you," She sighed, "It's what's going to happen to all of us,"
Daisy was right about Kim. She had held on hoping for forty-five years, and had always been nice to Bee; encouraging her not to give up and telling her she was still loved and missed. She told her that one day they would be found and rescued and that this would all just turn into a bad dream. The day she didn't turn human was the day Bee knew that she had given up a long time ago, and was just hiding it until she couldn't anymore. She had told her story to Daisy, also trying to keep her positive, but it wasn't working.
However, Bee was not going to be like them. As Jungkook rounded the carousel again, his sparkling red, joy-filled eyes meeting hers, she grit her teeth angrily.
"He will come for me," She told both Daisy and Jungkook, "I will never give up hope, even if I am here for one hundred years,"
Jungkook grinned and crouched down, grabbing her cheeks roughly with his long fingers, "The longer you have hope my pretty," He hissed at her, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "The more fun I have. If you keep hoping for one hundred years, I will get to keep you for those one hundred years," He leaned in so close that their lips were almost touching. She wanted to recoil back from the foul demon, but she didn't want to give in to him, "I sincerely hope you don't give up. It is no fun to break a girl so quickly,"
He looked over at Daisy and released his hold on Bee, standing up, "Your two hours as human are almost up, my lovelies," He called to the women on the carousel, "It's almost time for a new day,"
