Yoongi hadn't told Jin and Taehyung about what happened. He was convinced that he hadn't imagined everything, but he was sure he couldn't convince them to believe that. They'd found that not-so-realistic mask the last time Yoongi had seen...well, what had he seen exactly? Yellow eyes and a terrifying grin. And well, that mask had closed the case for the other members; Yoongi had been pranked.
But Yoongi knew that it hadn't been a prank and he knew that this time wasn't a prank either. This was real and he wasn't imagining it.
How would he tell them, though?
That day, Yoongi made sure to never be alone. He usually treasured his alone time, but he was too scared of being trapped all by himself...too scared of hearing that voice again...even feeling a hand on his shoulder...
During their dance practice – which indeed lasted for hours – Yoongi could only think about those eyes. He was cautious, nervous, anxious even and looked for those eyes wherever he went. Not because he wanted to see them, but because he wanted to prove that he wasn't crazy. To both the members and himself.
"Hyung, you've been acting weird all day," Jimin said with a pout. "Are you alright? Jin-hyung told us you had a nightmare."
Yoongi glared at Jin. "Why would you just tell them something like that?"
Jin held his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't blame me. You wouldn't tell us what was wrong when you were screaming in your studio, so I had to guess. I figured you were shaken up by that dream you had."
Yoongi huffed and went back to his cooling-down stretches. His muscles were aching from all the practicing, so he had to take some time to cool down.
"Well, at least he's not the only one acting weird today." Hoseok laughed.
"What, why? Who...?" Jimin asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Hoseok motioned at the silent maknae, who was doing stretches by himself in the corner of the room. "Jungkookie hasn't said a word since we left the house. I guess today is just a weird day, huh?"
Yoongi watched as Jimin walked up to Jungkook. Jimin asked the maknae something in a hushed voice and Yoongi was surprised to see Jungkook give him a tense stare and mumble something at Jimin as he kept his eyes on Yoongi.
"Yah, Jungkook-ah, what's that?" Yoongi called out.
"N-Nothing, hyung." Jungkook almost squeaked. That was way too much out of character for the happy, confident maknae.
Yoongi squinted his eyes and got up from where he had been stretching on the floor, walking to the corner where Jimin and Jungkook were talking.
"You were talking about me," Yoongi said, looking up at Jungkook – he was quite a bit taller of course – and frowning.
"I asked Jungkookie what was wrong. He said he's been feeling weird since this morning," Jimin butted in, probably knowing Jungkook wasn't going to say it himself. Indeed, Jungkook gave him a betrayed look, but then his face turned defeated and he nodded.
"And what do I have to do with that?" Yoongi asked.
"I just...feel this off vibe coming from you, hyung. It's probably nothing...but you're acting weird today and it just...makes me uncomfortable," Jungkook said, not looking Yoongi in the eyes.
Yoongi knew that his anxious behaviour wasn't exactly the best mood maker, and any other day he would've apologized to Jungkook for creating a bad vibe in the practice room, but today...no. He felt wronged.
"I'm the one feeling bad and that's making you uncomfortable?" he said in disbelief. He let out a huff and shook his head. "I can't believe you, Jungkook-ah. Very nice and mature way to think."
"It's not a thought, it's a feeling." Jungkook protested, but Yoongi held up his hand and shook his head, so Jungkook closed his mouth again.
"Hyung..." Jimin spoke up, frowning at Yoongi. There was a look of disappointment on his face, but Yoongi completely ignored it, didn't even feel the pang of realization when he looked at Jimin's face. Usually, he would've felt bad if any of the members looked at him like that.
"I'm going home," Yoongi said, loud enough for all six members to hear him. "The rest of the schedule is producing for me and I started early today anyway. If you need me, just call. I'll leave my phone on."
There was no time for the members to protest or call out for him, because he quickly left the dance practice room and stomped his way to the elevator. Yoongi wasn't only stomping off because he felt wronged, he also did because of the look on Jungkook's face. He was somehow really making the maknae uncomfortable...
Better keep his distance then, right?
He walked home, not bothering to call for a taxi. He had to hide his face behind a mask, though, otherwise he would be spotted by fans. And if he already gave Jungkook off vibes, he didn't want to come across as strange to his fans as well.
Luckily no one recognized him and he actually had a great walk through the neighbourhood. The weather wasn't sunny, which was probably the reason why the outside schedule had been canceled, but it wasn't cold either and there was no rain. The perfect weather for a walk! Yoongi could almost hear Namjoon say it. Though he remembered that Namjoon actually liked walking through the rain.
When Yoongi arrived at their house, he let out a relieved sigh. The other members would probably be practicing for a few more hours, so he could just relax and do his own work that he didn't necessarily have to do at the genius lab but could also be done from home. The thought didn't even cross his mind that he was all by himself again...alone...
In his room, he took out his laptop and hesitated for a moment to start working. There was something he'd wanted to look up since this morning, but he was scared of what he'd find. He did it anyway, typing the words 'schizophrenia signs' and looking at the millions of results that came up. Did he really think this could be a possibility? Him having schizophrenia? He did see and hear things that the other members hadn't...that seemed to disappear the moment other people came nearby...but how could he all of a sudden develop something like that? Out of nowhere?
One of the first symptoms that popped up was 'delusions'. Was that different from hallucinations? Yoongi read the information and frowned. Delusions were false beliefs, thinking you're being harmed, that someone is in love with you, that something awful is about to happen. Yoongi didn't have that, did he?
Yoongi read the other signs of having schizophrenia, but no. He really couldn't place them, except for the hallucinations. Then what...what could cause hallucinations – if they were, truly, not real – and why was he having them now?
With a frustrated sigh, he closed his laptop and walked out of his room, into the kitchen. He grabbed something to drink and sat down on the couch, looking at his phone. He had multiple messages from Jimin, a few in their group chat, and one from Jungkook. He opened Jimin's messages first.
Jiminie
15:33 Hyung, we're not angry with you, you can come back if you want
15:33 I know there is something you want to talk about
15:33 If you want, we can talk about it privately, without the other members
15:34 Just tell me if you need to talk
16:55 Jungkook wants to talk to you
16:56 You should answer his message
Yoongi sighed. Of course, they knew he had something to talk about. Jin and Taehyung had seen him all freaked out this morning, he'd had a nightmare for the first time in forever, and he wasn't acting like his usual self.
Yoongi opened Jungkook's message first before he would reply to Jimin.
Muscle pig
16:50 Hi hyung, I want to talk about...you know...today. The weird vibes I felt from you, it's strange...I almost can't explain it. I know you don't mean to give that vibe, though. I'm sure you're already home by now, so can we talk when we get home?
Yoongi felt weird looking at that message. Was he really acting that weird today? He'd had grumpy days before...days where he wasn't his usual self...was today really that different?
17:10 Alright, let's talk when you get home
I'm sorry
I'm sorr
I'm so
I'm
...
Yoongi couldn't get himself to apologize. He let out a sigh and answered Jimin that he would talk to Jungkook when they got home. Jimin almost immediately replied with a 'great!' and a few emojis, making Yoongi chuckle softly. Jimin wasn't happy when there was tension between the members and he was always one of the first to try and get things back to normal. It was nice having someone like that in the group.
A few minutes later, Jin texted him saying they would be home in about an hour. That gave Yoongi enough time to claim the shower before all of them got home and dashed for the bathroom, being all sweaty after the dance practice. He took some fresh clothes from his and Jin's shared bedroom and walked into the bathroom, ready to take a long shower.
Even though he hadn't actually talked to Jimin or Jungkook yet, Yoongi already felt better. They were great guys and even if what he was going to tell them was off-the-records crazy, they would listen. He was sure of it. Maybe they wouldn't believe it right away, but at least they would hear him out.
Yoongi soon stepped into the shower, letting out a sigh when the hot water hit his skin. He felt his muscles finally relax – they had been tense for a while now, and not only because of the dance practice. He felt calm and didn't worry about talking to the guys. It was going to do him good to talk to them; he shouldn't be struggling with these hallucinations on his own. Not when he had such a supportive group of friends.
However, for the third time, Yoongi was met with the realization that these couldn't be hallucinations.
Why? He had been looking up information about hallucinations, hadn't he? Why would he think they are real, you ask?
Well, because for the third time, Yoongi heard the chuckle ringing through his ears. His eyes widened and he turned around, his back now facing the showerhead. This time, it hadn't disappeared in thin air. Of course, because there was no one home, no one would be home for another forty-five minutes. It had no reason to disappear.
It stood right there. Yoongi could see the yellow eyes, the wide grin with the sharp teeth, but now he could see the entire creature instead of just the eyes and the grin. It had an ugly, monstrous body, with arms too long for its legs and sharp claws on both hands and feet. It was slumped over, standing a bit like a man with a hump, but it definitely didn't resemble a human being.
"Y-You're not real." Yoongi breathed out, staring wide-eyed at the...the monster.
"Oh, I'm real, Yoongi. Veeeery real." It said with its awful voice, followed by a chuckle. "Didn't you enjoy our encounter this morning? That was real too, dear Yoongi."
Yoongi closed his eyes firmly. This isn't real, this isn't real, this can't be real, it can't be!!
He kept saying those words to himself, but he could feel that the creature was still there and it wouldn't go away. How long could hallucinations last? If this was a hallucination, how would he know?
"I'm not a hallucination, Yoongi~."
"Then what are you!?!" Yoongi yelled, starting to lose it. He opened his eyes again and tried to glare at the creature, but his eyes were filled with fear.
In a split second, a monstrous claw shot forward and grabbed Yoongi by the throat, holding him in place even as he struggled to get himself free.
"L-Let...g...go!"
"I am a bodysnatcher, Yoongi." The creature said, its grin widening even further. How was that even possible? Yoongi was sure its face was going to split.
"A w-w...what?!" Yoongi squeaked. He could hardly speak with the claw so firmly clasped around his throat, pressing just hard enough to keep him conscious but unable to breathe or talk freely.
"A bodysnatcher...a demon...and I have chosen you, my dear Yoongi...to be my next..."
Yoongi struggled and struggled, but he was growing tired and there was only so much he could do in a freaking shower. He almost didn't want to ask, but spoke up anyway.
"N-Ne...next...what...?!"
He gasped for air when the claw around his throat tightened its grip.
"S-Stop! S- stop...I-...can't—"
"My next body, Yoongi." The creature- the demon said.
Yoongi was almost losing it with how scared he was. He wasn't thinking straight anymore, he believed he was going to die. He thrashed around and cried out, but nothing was working.
"If only you would give in, Yoongi. Sadly enough it will take more effort for me to take you...you are still too strong...but you can't hide from me...you can't get rid of me..."
Strong? Yoongi thought. He was the one gasping for air, facing a literal demon. How was he the strong one?
"When the time is right, I will come for you." The demon grinned.
Yoongi was seeing black spots in his vision and he was sure he was going to die. This creature was going to kill him in his own bathroom and there wouldn't be anyone home for...for how long? How long had it been since Jin had texted him? They wouldn't be here in time...the demon would always disappear when one of his friends came nearby, but it was still here...choking Yoongi...staring at him with that horrifying face...
"See you soon, Yoongi~."
That voice was the last thing Yoongi heard before he couldn't handle the lack of oxygen any longer and lost consciousness.