The first thing Jungkook woke up to was a minor headache throbbing in the corner of his head, his throat parched and sandy. The morning light beamed down at him in layered stripes. Coughing, he sluggishly threw the covers off his body and sagged off his bed. He scuffed his feet across the carpet to the bathroom and grimaced at his disheveled appearance, strands of chestnut protruding from his head in every direction possible and cheeks puffy from excess sleep.
The sound of Yoongi and Hoseok yelling at each other from downstairs in the living room rang faintly through the walls of the house. He rolled his eyes. Probably playing Mario Kart again, he thought with a light chuckle. Fragments of his memories swam in his head as he washed up mindlessly.
By the time he trudged down the stairs, Hoseok shot to his feet and threw his controller to the floor with fists pumped in the air, shrieking, "YES, TAKE THAT, MIN YOONGI!"
The TV screen flashed with the bright 'WINNER' banner on Hoseok's side and a drooping 'LOSER' on Yoongi's. The elder groaned and tossed his head back in agony.
"You guys are so lame," Jungkook called out dully as he shuffled to the kitchen.
Yoongi raised an eyebrow at him. "You look appalling."
"Yeah, you didn't even get that drunk last night. How'd you end up looking like that?" Hoseok circled his index finger at Jungkook's form.
The younger glared at him, feeling somewhat offended. "Thanks to a certain somebody. You know I have low tolerance," he says dryly.
"Hey," Hoseok throws his hands up, "You took my side on the 'let's have a party and get wasted' idea. Don't come at me."
Jungkook rolled his eyes and poured himself a glass of water.
"By the way..." Hoseok started with a sudden sly grin on his face. "I saw you and Jimin getting at it in your room. I didn't know you two were in that stage of your relationship already. So..."
Jungkook stared back at him owlishly. "So what."
"Did you do it?" Hoseok rushed to him with eyes literally sparkling with excitement.
It took a second for his words to click in Jungkook's mind, and immediately, he blanched. "What?! No way! We didn't do anything, stop being so presumptuous."
Hoseok pouted, shoulders sagging with disappointment. "But how come your room was all dark and stuff when I went up? And your door was locked!"
"We didn't do shit." Jungkook snapped. When he turned away, the fragments lying in the pool in his head suddenly collided and presented a specific memory. He stilled, heart lurching against his rib cage.
"I'm serious, Jungkook. You don't want this. You don't want...me."
"That's for me to decide, not you."
Jimin was beneath him, beautiful silver eyes blown wide from dismay. Every detail of his face was carved in the depths of Jungkook's brain. His skin was cold but soft where Jungkook held his wrists against the bed sheets. The starlight slid over his obsidian hair, past his moon-powdered eyes and down his pasty skin over his frosty lips.
He looked like someone straight out of a storybook.
And Jungkook fell straight into his trap. The moment he peered in curiosity over the endless hole in the ground, he was caught in Park Jimin's lair, stumbling and plummeting into the dangerous void where Death awaited. His desire to unravel Death pulled him deeper in a tangle of dark ribbons wrapped around his arms into the inescapable hole, but his feet moved on their own - voluntarily.
