Eden's ears were ringing.
As her consciousness slipped back into her body, everything felt entirely wrong. Her body felt heavy, like a force was pressing her down into whatever she was laying on. Her stomach churned like she was on a boat, each wave of the sea rocking her organs this way and that. If she had even the slightest bit more energy in her body she knew she would throw up.
She groaned miserably, trying to open her eyes to make sense of her surroundings. She was on her back, tucked under the covers securely. She could see the dim evening glow on her left, and the room was thick with the smell of sea salt. That must've meant she was in her bed.
That's odd, she thought. Last I remember I was at the table with Jimin.
Said redhead seemed to be posed at her bedside. Her vision was too blurry to see clearly, but from what she could see his muscled shoulders were hunched over with exhaustion. He had on a tank top and basketball shorts, an odd combination for the tail end of fall. She cracked open her dry lips, but before she could alert him she was awake, the door behind him opened.
The hallway light was harsh against the pitch darkness of the room. A shadowed figure slipped in the open door. Eden blinked, trying to orient herself in everything that was going on. The figure from the door walked up next to Jimin, sighing and putting their hands in their pants pockets.
"Is she up yet?"
"No, Kook. I told you I'd come get you when she woke up."
"Are you sure?"
Jimin let out a dry laugh. "Is she your soultie or Yoongi's?"
Her memory came back to her, and Eden began to panic. Had they found Yoongi yet? Did Jin chew him out for being dumb?
She paused in her thinking, realizing she would've felt better if Yoongi were back, but she didn't. In fact, she felt worse. Her head and sinuses throbbed like crazy and there were black and white spots dotting her vision. The more she tried to focus on Jimin and Jungkook, the more the dots would appear.
Jungkook looked down at her, watching curiously as she blinked repeatedly.
"Those eyes look pretty awake to me."
The two figures in front of her shifted, and as her eyes finally adjusted in the darkness, Eden knew something was definitely wrong with her. Jimin and Jungkook's shadows shook like sound waves as they moved through the room. The taller, black-haired man bent down, his crooked upper lip curling in sadness as he peered at her. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Jimin's hand reached over and pressed against Eden's forehead. Her body started with a jolt, sound rushing through her ears and overstimulating all of her senses. She closed her eyes again, hoping that the lack of sight would calm everything down. Jimin's hand pulled away just as quickly as it was placed. Eden could hear the panic in his voice as he barked for Jungkook to go get Jin immediately.
The redhead leaned over with a sigh, his dark brown eyes peering into Eden's with nothing but sadness.
"Don't tell Yoongi," he whispered. Before she could think about what he meant, he leaned down and kissed her flat on her forehead.
The kiss sent a wave of calmness through Eden's entire body, and for a few seconds, she felt okay. Her tired eyes trailed over to Jimin, who leaned back in his seat. His full lips curled up into a shy smile as they made eye contact.
"It's not going to last very long, but I wanted to make Jin's job a little easier."
"What did you—" Eden's throat was still dry, despite the pain being subdued. She coughed a bit, trying to warm up her throat so she could speak. "What did you do?"
"I used my powers. Even though the basis of the clan powers are the same, everyone uses them in their own way. Mine deals with, and this is gonna sound gross, but it deals with body fluids."
At Eden's grimace, Jimin chuckled. "The kiss was more direct than me just secreting my powers out of my sweat glands. You should feel better for a little bit. When Jin comes, our combined powers should keep you from being as sick as you were."
She noticed his eyes looked tired and sunken in. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright." He sighed. "I'm just.. worried."
"About Yoongi?"
He nodded. "And you."
Eden was surprised. "Me?"
"Yeah. What if we don't find Yoongi in time and he— and something happens? Then you'd have the same fate, and that's not fair to you. It would hurt so much to lose both of you back to back like that."
Eden blinked. She knew Jin said that as Yoongi's soultie she was now family, but to hear that they were genuinely worried for her life was different. She licked her dry lips as she thought of what words could comfort Jimin, but she came up short. The redhead in front of her ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath, kissing his teeth in the process.
"If we weren't here," he mumbled. "We'd be so much more powerful.
"But we're safe."
The two turned to see Jin in the doorway, clad in a similar outfit to Jimin's with sweats replacing basketball shorts. He held a tray in his hands that rattled with teacups.
Jimin scratched his neck. "Yeah. We're safe, but..."
Jin tsk'd and put the tray down on the bed, and Eden noticed his hands were trembling slightly.
"There's no buts," The oldest said sharply. "We're safe here. That's why we need to find Yoongi. He's absolutely stupid for running, who knows what's out there waiting for him?"
"How are we so sure he ran?" Jimin's voice raised slightly in volume. It was obvious the tension of everything was weighing on everyone's shoulders heavily, and if Eden had been asleep for most of the day then that was another source of stress.
Jimin's small hands curled into fists. "I know Yoongi's a piece of work but he wouldn't do... this. He wouldn't let Eden get this sick. That's sadistic. There's only one person who's that insane."
Jin slammed his hand against the wall next to his head, causing Jimin and Eden to jump in their seats.
"Don't you fucking—"
"Everything okay here?"
Hoseok's head of fluffy brown hair poked into the room. His eyes were intense, a complete contrast to the softness in his voice. They bounced between Jimin and Jin before settling on Eden's, the fear in her eyes reflecting brightly even in the dimness of the room.
"You're up," he smiled softly. "You okay?"
"Physically or emotionally?"
"Both?"
"I feel like shit."
Jimin's lips pressed together as he looked away, feeling guilty for starting (or attempting to) an argument with Jin while Eden still wasn't 100%. Jin's eyes casted downward too, blinking back what Eden could only imagine were hot tears.
Look at what you did Yoongi, she muttered in her head. She could feel heat rise in her chest thinking about him. You better come back soon.
Hoseok noticed the heavy tension in the room and let out a dramatic breath. "Well. I don't think any of us are gonna sleep tonight. How about a movie?"
"I'd like that," Eden mumbled.
The brunette smiled for a second, dropping it immediately as he shifted his attention back to Jimin and Jin. "You two better swallow whatever it is that was about to happen. We're one team, no matter what. Besides, you two are on Eden duty all night. You have to use all of your power that you can, you can't fuck it up with an argument."
The two men nodded solemnly, peering at each other from the corners of their eyes. Jimin offered Jin a watery smile first, reaching over and touching his hand lightly. "I'm sorry," he muttered. The oldest of the group took his hand and squeezed it, nodding through the tears pooling in his eyes.
Eden glanced back at Hoseok. He was a man of very few words, but the words he did say were powerful. It was a great idea for everyone to stick together with some form of a distraction. At least then they could keep tabs on all 7 heads at once.
She threw the comforter off of her body and prepared to stand up, but a hand stopped her in her place.
"We're not risking you walking," Jin said calmly. "You're weak, Jimin had to carry you here earlier. He and I are both drained from overusing our powers, so we'll get Jungkook."
At the sound of his name, the youngest popped his head in the door. "Get Jungkook for what?"
"You're carrying me to the living room, apparently."
The tall boy grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He made his way to the edge of the bed and turned around, exposing his back for Eden. "Climb on."
Once she was situated on his back properly, he adjusted his grip and walked out of the bedroom first. The light in the hallway was bright, stunning her into dizziness for a second. She gripped his shirt tightly in her hands, trying not to sway too hard and fall. Namjoon might've been the tallest, but Jungkook definitely had some height on him. A fall from his back would definitely not be something to just shake off.
"I got you," the black haired boy purred. "We're almost there."
In the kitchen, Eden caught sight of Taehyung popping a bag of popcorn in the microwave. His ash colored hair was pushed back off of his forehead by a headband with the Gucci logo printed across it. She did a double take, gaping at the accessory.
A Gucci headband?!
Jungkook finally made his way into the living room. This was the one room in the house that Eden was least familiar with. She was always either in the kitchen, her room, or the backyard. The living room was just as lowkey as the rest of the house, with two pale blue couches and espresso wooden furniture lining every wall. The TV stood brightly on a small entertainment center in the center of the room, paused on an Iron Man movie.
He plopped her down in the corner of the couch adjacent to the TV, tossing a throw blanket and pillow over to her. He took a seat next to her and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, reaching for the remote as he got comfy.
"Hows that popcorn coming, Tae?"
Eden blinked up at him, almost in awe of how normal he was acting. Feeling her gaze he looked over, his eyebrow quirked up in question.
"You feeling okay kid?"
"Well, one, I'm only 15 months younger than you," She grumbled. "Two, I'm just surprised you're so... calm."
"What do you mean?"
"Jimin and Jin are so on edge. Jin actually punched my wall earlier in anger. Hoseok had to come in and calm them down. Everyone looks so tired and defeated, but you're not. You're acting like everything's fine."
"Because everything is fine."
Eden pushed her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"
Jungkook shifted in his seat, his jaw suddenly tight as he scrolled through Netflix. "We're going to get Yoongi back. Whether he ran away on his own or he was taken, he has to come back. He's our leader, the glue that keeps us together. If he was taken, then I know why, and it won't work if he's as sick as you are."
A hidden emotion flashed through Jungkook's eyes. "They'll come back for us, and when they do we'll take care of everything. I'm worried, but everything is going to be just fine."
He tilted his head towards Eden and smiled, his uneven lips curling up with mischief. "We're Sirids, but more importantly, we're 7. Nothing is getting in our way of that."
The others entered the living room at that moment, each carrying various snacks and drinks for their night of no sleep. Jimin and Jin seemed to be back to themselves, playfully shoving each other to grab the recliner in the corner. They settled on sitting in it together, melting into each other as they relaxed.
"Hey Eden."
Namjoon's dimpled smile was back, his brown hair parted and pushed out of his face like when she first met him. Eden was glad to see that he was alright after searching all day. She gave him a smile back as he settled into the couch on the other side of Jungkook.
Taehyung placed two bowls of popcorn on the coffee table, sliding onto the floor between Jungkook and Namjoon's legs. "What're we watching?" he piped, his boxy grin on full display.
"I can't handle another Iron Man movie, Kook," Hoseok groaned.
"Let's watch a nature documentary."
"I thought the goal was to stay awake?"
The boys bickered over their choice of entertainment until Jimin turned on the first thing he saw on the home page. Soon they fell into a silence, everyone enjoying a temporary moment of mindless entertainment. Eden leaned into Jungkook's hold, appreciating the air of comfort his broad chest provided.
As nice as it was, she couldn't relax. It felt as though Yoongi, wherever he was, was calling for her. Nobody mentioned telepathy as a soultie thing, but she knew in her heart that he was in trouble.
As she turned to say something to Jungkook, the electricity in the house shut off. The group was bathed in darkness, and before anyone could say anything, the glass panel in the back door shattered.
******
Today's update is a couple hours early because i've royally messed up my sleeping schedule and probably won't be up when I usually update 😅 whoops.
Feel free to leave me comments! I've sincerely enjoyed every single one I've received!!
xoxo
layerjoon