Treasure tales

Jaehyuk #9: Certain thoughts

Much later as lights began to darken(presumably Bigbang's way of helping us maintain our circadian rhythm seeing as how there was no windows in this place) it suddenly occurred to me that Yedam and Junkyu had told me that Jeongwoo's older brother had disappeared. I had been so preoccupied with my worries about Jaehyuk that I completely missed it.

But now, as I lay on the rock hard bed, staring quietly at the grey ceiling(we convinced Yoshi not to do anything to it for fear of Yoshi's safety), it came back to me. Jeongwoo's brother had gone missing? It wasn't everyday a person simply disappeared. That was odd.

Yedam and Junkyu back then had given no indication of elaborating on their points, and I don't think Jeongwoo was currently very open to sharing what happened either. I reckoned it would be best if I left this matter alone for now, at least until we get out of this place back into safety. No point investigating a missing's person case when all thirteen of us could be the missing persons next.

I sat on the bed, feeling infinitely bored. No matter how much I loved their company things to talk about simply run out after a while. Especially after you've been confined together for an extended period of time. I wonder when they'd let us out. I was beginning to get serious cabin fever.

I heard heavy breathing sounds, and a small snoring sound. I felt as awake as ever. I could not sleep, while the rest slept on. I was, ironically, so bored that I could not sleep. So restless it kept me infinitely awake, and infinitely more bored.

I had so many questions. Firstly, what was the otherworld? What was in this mysterious world in which magic actually exist? Who were Bigbang? Why did they take Jaehyuk everyday, and what did they do? Why did they not let Jaehyuk tell us anything,  considering how we'd wouldn't have been able to do anything against them anyway?

It's not as if we haven't tried. They haven't tried, to be exact, since I am really the only useless one. On the day they captured us Doyoung had actually tried to mind control them. He can mind control up to ten people at the same time, after all,  according to him. Four people wouldn't have been a problem.

But Doyoung had later reported to feeling repressed, as if his power was being shoved inside him. On us it still works, he tested it. But he was totally powerless against them.

It was the same for the rest. The water and fire Junghwan conjured disappeared within seconds before it could hit any Bigbang member. Yoshi's attempts to teleport had been to no avail. Asahi, who could wipe a person's very existence anytime he desired couldn't do anything. Haruto reported feeling as if his ivy was lodged inside him, refusing to go out.

Well, if Yedam's power was a reduced amount of everybody's power, if everybody couldn't succeed, what could he do? He also tried to copy whatever Bigbang was doing to their powers, but he said that whatever they did was too high level for him and he couldn't detect anything to copy, even though there was obviously magic at work.

Only Jeongwoo succeeded, but I wonder if they intentionally let him succeed. Jeongwoo did successfully summon a gun, and fired a bullet with perfect aim at our captors, a bullet which they easily caught between their fingers suffering little to no harm. There was a smirk on their faces betraying a certain sense of superiority, on all the faces except for the one guy with his face covered(I couldn't see his expression, maybe he smirked too). And I knew then that no matter what anybody did, we would fail.

Mashiho also tried to create a safe haven for us, a place with lots of land and comfortable beds for us to sleep in. But I think Bigbang employed a type of space magic much stronger than his such that it masked every effect of his power.

There was, however, one power that would work in all scenarios. No matter what they did to the powers, time was a sort of concept one simply couldn't go against. I don't really understand the specifics, but it seemed to be a universally accepted concept in their world. Bigbang even acknowledged it that day.

"If Hyunsuk decided to turn back time, it would happen," G Dragon(the name of one of the captors, he introduced himself that way) admitted. "But we'll come back anyway in the future. And you have no idea how to stop us, so this will eventually happen and you'll still have to face it anyway, otherwise you would never really see the future. Do you still want to turn back time, Hyunsuk? Especially when you don't know anything needed to change anything?"

Hyunsuk back then had kept his mouth clamped shut, adamant not to speak. He did talk to us a little after that, but avoided this topic at all costs. And as the conversations between the group began to die out over ennui and boredom, he begun restricting himself to one corner, tapping the corner of the bed of which he sat firmly on. Only very occasionally he did get up to go to the only other room in this otherwise windowless and doorless place, the toilet.

I groaned. I still remember the day he had cried, and it genuinely bothered me just what kind of mess we had gotten ourselves involved in to distress him like that. And worst of all, I thought to myself as my eyes moved over to stare at Jaehyuk, well, he just seemed genuinely worn out and exhausted. Maybe even a little beaten up. He probably suffered the most at this moment in time.

The future was uncertain, and everything could be falling apart. I wonder if there was a way to get out of this. I thought hard, but while logic for me usually worked, in this case I couldn't think of any solution at all.

I soon fell asleep. The next thing I knew, I had awoken, and Jaehyuk was standing right next to my bed, softly calling my name. I immediately sat up.

"They don't need me in today,"he said cheerfully in his usual soft and creamy voice. "They'll let me off for a few days, actually."

"Jaehyuk..." I said wearily. My voice cracked.

Jaehyuk lifted his eyebrows and sat down beside me. He ruffled my hair. "What's the matter?" He asked kindly. My heart ached.

I am someone who hates being vulnerable or showing weakness to anybody. That's why I didn't want to admit to him just how much I missed his voice and that smile on his face. Ever since that day he got captured, it was as if all of these, all of these that had made me appreciate his company so much, had been snatched away from me. And that had only just registered within my head. I hadn't realised just how much I had missed him.

All this time, I had tried so hard to be tough that I had forgotten how to be weak.