'Freedom is never free.'
- Anonymous
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Jimin's POV:
Uh. Am I a soldier? I'm a soldier. Yes, these clothes literally scream soldier. But, I must've survived the war because well, I'm holding a weapon and I feel disgusting.
You know what's funny though, I'm awake? And I'm standing, I appeared here standing. On my two feet. Weird.
"Park Jimin, hello?"
"Park, are you day dreaming of your future girlfriend? Come on, don't worry. Sweet Y/N will propose soon."
"Jung Hoseok! What's the matter with you?"
"Nothing."
"Everything."
"Huh, what?" I say, barely noticing what they said beforehand.
"Come on, I know where we are. It's an old tale, one of the first ones to be specific," Hoseok informs, lightly flicking my forehead as if he's a strict parent. I really dislike this version of him, please bring back sunny with a chance of clouds, not rainy with a chance of lightning.
"Okay so Park, we're going to have to await a witch and she should be coming pretty soon," He explains further, looking out around the trees. I think I've found my new appreciation for forest scenery.
"A witch you say? Well then, how about that woman that's walking right to us-"
"Hello dear. Oh my, you three are soldiers?" The old, not my type witch asks, her bottom lip hanging down low.
"Ah yes! These two are soldiers and," She looks down at her attire, as she looks quite average. Dirty white clothing with plain black shoes.
"I'm this man's sister," She says, holding my hand. She thinks quite fast, I'm impressed. She really did do well without me.
"Really? What a fine sword and knapsack you have there," She says, looking at the side of my waste wear the weapon sits.
"Thanks?"
She looks us up and down, evaluating us. Creepy much?
"What a beautiful young lady you are," She states, and well, that's not a lie. This gives me Little Red Riding Hood vibes though.
"And now, you're going to have as much money as you want!"
Ma'am. Excuse me?
"What do you mean? You going to tell us lottery numbers or something?" I ask, pretty intrigued.
"Jimin, she's a witch, remember that," Hoseok quickly whispers while she's busy with Y/N.
Right. Witch. And probably not a good one. Is she going to trick us? Oh wait, hold on, notes. Let's see if we can find one.
Y/N stalls a bit, as I look in my pocket to find a small slip once again. Is it the correct one? Okay it is. I open it up to reveal the glossy black ink on the matte bright white paper.
'Three doors, three keys, three dogs you shall see. But after you get what the character wants, her head must be cut to be free'
Wait slow down. Slow down one moment. Wait. Wait. I'm going to kill, a witch? Alright. Alright. She's not human and she's probably evil. Okay.
"Jimin, do you know the tale of The Tinderbox?" Hoseok asks, as I recall an old story with the same title.
"I think..."
"Well, that's the story we're in. And one of us, will have to kill her." He says, glancing back at me as the witch returns to speak to the rest of us.
"Do you see the big tree there behind you?" She says, pointing towards us. I look behind me and surprisingly, she's right. A large tree stands before me, big trunk, big leaves and big branches.
"Well wow. That's a uh, really large tree," Y/N says, stating the obvious as usual. It's her new found hobby. Actually, she was always like that, wasn't she
"It really is... So lady, what's up with the tree?" Hoseok asks, a little bit disrespectfully. We could've been a little nicer before we killed her. Or I killed her. May death do us part I guess.
"That tree over there? It's hollow and if you go in and drow down, there will be three doors...
Filled with money, a whole bunch for you three!"
Well then, we should prepare for a drop underground...
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Y/N's POV:
For a witch, she seems okay. A little bit, you could say, unattractive but if you cover her bottom half, she's alright. No, she could be insecure Y/N. You're not the most beautiful either, jokes. I'm stunning and I know it. Confidence is key.
"Wait so there's money down there?" Hoseok asks, still a bit unsure if she's telling the truth.
"Yes there is young man," She confirms, her back hunched over like a hook.
"Since it's completely hollow, you are to clamber to the top of it and find a hole which you can let yourself down on," She informs, pointing to the top of the tree. Luckily I nailed down my fear of heights a bit.
"I'll wrap rope around your waist for a harness so then I can haul you up when you shout," She continues, grinning widely. We should be careful of her. Call me paranoid but this would be wrong. I guess I'll have to follow Hoseok on this.
"So I fetch money and when we shout, you will bring us back up?" Jimin follows, making sure the information he retained is correct.
"Yes!"
"Don't you want anything? You wouldn't just do something and tell someone about such a place, and then get nothing out of it," Jimin says, looking at her confusedly, as if he was a detective and she's the suspect.
"I don't want a penny! All I need is the tinderbox, something my grandmother forgot the last time she was down there," She tells us, her creepy smile not faltering one bit.
"A tinderbox you say? Can I ask what's in it?" Jimin questions, his gaze not faltering either.
"That's not necessary to know. Now, let's hurry along now. I already got the rope," She pushes, waddling like a little duck slowly to the tree.
"Hoseok, can we trust her?" I ask, unsure if this is the right thing to do.
"We can. It'll be okay. She's the one that should be afraid of us," He mutters, glancing back at Jimin. They better explain in that tree.
"Another thing though," She pauses, turning back at us. "There's going to be three doors with three keys on the knobs. You'll first find yourself in a hallway that's lit with lanterns," She says, looking side to side.
"When you go to the first room, you'll see a large chest with a dog on top; it's got eyes the size of saucers, but don't worry! Pick them up and put them on the apron that I'll give you. Then stuff your pockets with as much money as you can carry. In the first door it's copper," She tells us, handing me the checkered apron.
"If you fancy silver more, go to the next door. The dog there has a pair of eyes as big as mill-wheels. But not to worry, just put him on the apron and grab your coins."
Okay I think I get the point. They have big eyes, there's chests of money and you lay the dog on the apron and take what you want. Simple and easy. Nice and fast.
"But if you like gold more-"
"Not to be rude ma'am, but I think we understand. They have large eyes and we lay the dogs on an apron, bring back your box and we can go on our way," I say, trying to hurry up. There must be a catch to this story? There must be.
"Ah, you're a really smart woman! Well then, off we go!"
Isn't she excited? What's so special about this box of hers, is it magic? It has to be right? Or a family heirloom? But if it's just something simple, wouldn't she want some money too.
She ties the rope on our wastes individually as I put my life in her hands, literally. She fastens the rope, as we prepare to climb. Honestly, after this I will be pretty fit. Immensely tired? Yeah that too.
"Come on. Ladies first?" I glare, as Hoseok raises his hands and climbs. We wait for him to get up, but halfway...
He falls down as he lands on us.
"Hoseok!" I shout, immediately placing my fingers at his pulse. He's not bleeding but a concussion is possible. What happened up there? Isn't he a dancer? I know dancers don't really climb but he seems energetic and healthy.
"What happened?" The witch asks, crouching down to possibly aid him.
"He has a little cut from the branches on his arm. Here's a cloth to wrap around his arm," She offers, handing a thin long cream coloured rag.
His eyes flutter open like a cabinet door, slowly creaking open. "Jung Hoseok, what happened there?" I ask, full of worry. We haven't really had an injury of the sort yet, I'm worried.
"I... I blacked out but I think it's because I remembered some memories," He explains, as he's saying it quietly so the witch doesn't really notice.
"You should stay down here, don't climb with us," Jimin tells him, but Hoseok seems quite reluctant to do so.
"No, I'll go with you-"
"You're injured. How about this, you stay here and I won't call you a pervert! My dark humour doesn't suit you anyways. Plus, I normally insult people and say weird things when I first meet them, because I need to know they can survive me as a friend. Another reason why I don't have a whole lot of them these days," I laugh, fixing his hair. Is that a worm?
"Hoseok, you have a worm in your hair. Jimin, please get it out as I'm... Allergic?" I lie, not wanting to touch a worm.
"Alright then Ma'am. Please give me an out-of-class permission slip after, as I'm currently unable to attend and have to stay in the sick-bay," He jokes, continuing to rest as he lays down on the grass.
"We'll be back soon, okay? No misbehaving," I wink, preparing to climb up first.
"I'll go, okay?"
"Alright, be safe," Jimin says, as he crouches down so it's easier for me to get up.
Well won't this be fun, sliding down a tree.
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"Park, it's dark, please leave your mark, because the lanterns will now spark-"
"Y/N, are you claustrophobic or scared of the dark? Oh wait, mini minute has returned," He says, teasing me about my childhood nickname. It doesn't bother me that much anymore, well, maybe that's because I haven't heard the name since I was ten.
"Oh come on! You know I like avoiding narrow places underground. It's okay if I'm in a familiar place, but small and underground? Best formula for disappearances," I rant, walking deeper and deeper into the lantern lit hall.
"It was a field trip Y/N! With the whole class! It was a museum, it was completely safe," He convinces, but fails. And fails badly.
"Jimin, if this is your way of trying to make things seem and sound better, you failed. Just like how you failed that math test in fourth grade," I say, as we reminisce on the past.
"Hey! I was sick so I missed out on lessons, not fair," He jokes around, holding my hand. But somehow, with that small gesture I realised there's nothing to be scared of. Well, maybe a few things, like that witch up there. But it shouldn't let me give up. If anything, I should push forward.
"Alright we're already about two thousand words into this chapter, we should hurry up a little, shouldn't we?"
"You're right! Everyone's probably getting bored of your really dumb bickering Park-"
"I hate you sometimes."
"Same except, I hate you all the times," I say back, flashing him a wide smile. He grimaces as he speeds up towards the doors, which are now in our sight.
"Wait, which ones the first door?"
"How am I supposed to know? I'm guessing uhm, left to right?" I guess, since that's normally how you write in order. But I'm also unsure, we should've asked before going in.
"Are you familiar with the story?" He asks.
"Obviously not. I read, a lot. But fairytales? If they don't have a Disney version, the probability of me knowing it is low," I say, walking towards to what I assume is the first door.
After, we followed what she said, as we then got prepared for the next door.
"Ah! Their eye sizes are so large. Creepy," I mutter quietly under my breath.
Since we stuffed out pockets with all the copper coins, there's no space.
"Since theres still gold, let's just empty our pockets and refill it with the silver. If we make it safely to the next door, then we empty it again and refill," He says, chucking out the copper coins and tossing them into a corner. I do the same, as I grab the silver coloured coins, throwing them in any opening that will hold it.
The third door. Same thing right? Nothing to be afraid of, it's a dog. Nothing else, just a dog. Don't be scared of it Y/N, we have the apron.
Ah, but wouldn't the last and most well, high value room have a more dangerous creature around? No time to think too much, just move.
The knob is twisted open like how my intestines are right now, as the room is roughly the same as the rest. Okay, no tricks here right?
I take a step in, looking side to side.
"What is it Y/N? You sense something?"
"No, I think I'm just being a little paranoid," I tell him, laying down the apron once again. This story really said repetition didn't it.
"Alright, now wheres the tinderbox we're meant to fetch for the woman?" Jimin asks, looking at me since I'm closer to the chest.
"I don't know, I'll check," I say, peering into the large chest again. There's not just gold though, as I thought. Towards the bottom were other precious things, such as rubies and even rose quartz. But no tinderbox.
"Is it not there?" He asks, as I reply with a shake of my head.
"Weird. Maybe we need to re-check the other rooms?" He suggests, returning the dog on top of the chest.
"Yeah, probably..."
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Jimin's POV:
We return to door two, the silver room. We enter the room, feet striding across the floor. It's quiet, a very quiet place. Even the dog is quiet too, weird. I really thought they'd bark their heads off.
Surprisingly, they were all as silent as Taehyung in the middle of our last exam. Except for the part when he sneezed, pretty funny. I mean, I felt very sad for him. Extremely, mhm.
"Jimin! I found it!" Y/N tells me, her feet shifting towards me as she tosses the tinderbox into my hands. "Great! We can leave then!" She boasted, as if finding the box wasn't just by her luck.
We exited the room, eager to return back to the land. Well, technically speaking, we are on the land. More of in it, but yeah. What I mean is, going from the basement level to level one kind of thing.
"So Park, really random question to ask under all the dirt and stone, but when you went away, did you have a girlfriend?" She asks, as I give her a quizzical look. "Or boyfriend! Or partner!" She adds quickly, assuming that I gave her a weird look because of another reason.
"Oh no no, I'm quite straight. But I never dated anyone, unless you count mannequins in cloth stores," I joke, making sure there's no confusion in this.
"Ah, really?"
"Yeah, haven't found the right one. Yet," I say, my so called eye smile coming out again.
"You're cute, you know that?" She compliments, as if we weren't in a fight a couple stories ago. As if the misunderstanding never happened, and never affected us like it really did.
The separation from her tormented me for a long time, and for a while, I didn't go to school. What was meant to be my first day got delayed by a couple weeks, my parents letting me off the hook for a while. I'm glad they knew how I felt, and that I could be open about it. But even if I tried to hide if, my great Oscar winning acting wouldn't take me far.
Affected? I was, we both were. I know it hurts her too because of the soft whimpers I heard behind me that day, on that rainy painful day when we left.
Before that, we were both two perfect pieces of paper. Beautiful, simple and happy. But that day ruined everything, tearing the paper apart as all was left was crinkles and rips in our hearts, unable to be fixed.
And yes, I tried thinking straight and flattening it out. Putting my life together, although I was young which made it a little easier.
Or not. But no matter how much I tried fixing that paper, those emotions, that experience could never leave my heart or mind. It's like a knife engraved the thought in me, all left is healed scars, but it's visible still.
Like embossed writing on a book cover, my story filled with heartbreak, a marking left there to remind me of all of it.
But now I know I was meant to find her again. Out of all cities and towns in Korea, she chose the one I was in. Even though it is the capital city, there's so many schools and apartments. Yet for both, we were at the same one.
Fate? That's something I didn't really believe, but now, maybe I do.
I'm glad to fix our friendship, to fix us.
"Jimin, we're at the opening. Let's shout."
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Hoseok's POV:
"Oh dear, are you okay? You're more tattered than my ten year old shoes," She says, bringing out bread out of her satchel. "You want some, food gives you energy and you need lots of it to return back to town," She offers, but I kindly decline.
"I'm not hungry, ma'am, I'll be okay," I assure, as yelling comes from the tree.
"They're back! I'll reel them up, stay here dear," She says. But it's not like I can really move or anything, not really that is. I lift my head as I feel a bit better, taking off my shoes to let air pass through it. Gross, these shoes are pungent. My feet definitely needs a break from it.
But again, I notice the little tattoo at the bottom. Wasn't the number seven a couple weeks ago? Why did the number change?
Ah, maybe I'm seeing things. I am slightly light headed, I should put the shoe back on. This place really plays tricks on your head.
"Hoseok! How are you, are you okay?" Y/N yells, coming to my side, clinking coming from her clothes. Ah, it must be the gold. This is going to be one of the parts of the story that I really really dislike.
"I'm fine. Jimin! Come here," I order, wanting to make this quick.
"What?"
"You know the thing you have to do," I mumble, keeping an eye on the smiling witch.
I technically could do it, but it isn't my part. I don't have the sword which you're meant to use to well...
Behead the witch.
"Just do this, okay? She's a witch, nothing more nothing less. And she's probably a bad one. So slice and dice my man," I tell him, as he's hesitant but nods. He has to do it. It's just a story, it's fine. Nothing can or will happen, we are not committing a crime nor sinning, right?
No, it's for pure survival.
But you know what wait, what if I...
"Actually Jimin. I can do it, just give me your sword," I say, as he hands it over straight away.
"Oh! Here's your tinderbox," Y/N says, passing it to her. The witch holds on to it, thanking us for bringing it to her.
"It's fine! You gave us the money, so it's a win-win," Y/N assures, patting the witch on the back. She's quite out-going isn't she?
"Why do you need that tinderbox?" Jimin questions, his posture stiff and his gaze stern.
"It doesn't matter young man," She says, her sort of, gleeful personality still intact.
"Tell us, or else we'll uh, kindly behead you ma'am," I stutter, not seeming to convincing. Alright, fix up your use of words.
"I mean it, tell us or I'll slice your head open," I tell her, Y/N gripping onto Jimin's hands, acting a little threatened as well. I wonder if she's studying drama.
"I won't!" The witch says, attempting to leave. But I grab her wrist hastily, pulling her back hard enough to not hurt her.
"I'm sorry." I apologize.
As the sharp blade pierces her skin, leaving her headless...
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Word Count
➪ 3508 Words ☕︎
A/N: I remember saying in the Bluebeard chapter, that there won't be any more dark tales.
Too bad, I brought another one! This was pretty fun to write, so I hope you liked it as much as I did. Prior to the writing of this book, I didn't know this story. I'm glad to have found it.
Thanks for reading everyone and vote if you liked it!! <33
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