As Jung Hoseok jogged through the darkness, his loose green t-shirt and slinky yellow gym shorts shifted and bounced around his solid frame. He could feel the weight of the Geji blade sheath bouncing against his back, and the tautness of the black sheath strap that crossed his torso. His clenched fists were covered in black fingerless gloves.
It was only a matter of time before someone tried it. Tried to kill Shae or abduct her. Petra's goons are still out there, Umber and his too. And this camp may be a sanctuary for the burned and the outcast, but it's also the perfect hiding place. We knew this. We knew this was inevitable. That it will probably happen again... inevitable.
Somehow, acknowledging these unwanted truths in his head as he jogged and breathed in the night air that was moist against his skin... it calmed Hoseok. It kept him steady.
He slowed his jog and then stepped beneath a small tent that covered his living quarters. He placed his palm into the security panel on the hard building frame that was hidden underneath the tent. He ran a hand nervously through his red hair laced with sweat from his nerves and from the heat of the tropical jungle night. The metal door slid open and he stepped inside.
There was a soft orange glow in that cramped single-room, like it was coming from a space heater in the corner of the room that didn't give off any extra heat. The orange glow illuminated the messy bedclothes that were curled up on the mattress tucked against the far wall. A square wooden box rested next to the bed and on top of it rested a handful of books and papers were stacked haphazardly with a small pile of pens next to them. The floor was littered with dirty clothes, and the trunk at the foot of the bed lay open with yet-to-be-worn clothes bubbling up out of it in a colorful whirlwind.
The smell of cinnamon and citrus lingered inside of Hoseok's bunk. His scent hit him fresh as he stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him.
Shae was sitting on the edge of his bed, her grey sweatpants crumpled up in her knobby legs, which were folded beneath her. She had been holding one of Hoseok's books in her hands, her eyes skimmin, but when he entered the room her wide blue eyes looked up and she snapped the book shut and tucked it into her chest.
Jungkook had been pacing the room with his arms folded to his chest, but he stopped in his tracks when Hoseok entered. The fierce young man was suited up in his tight red-and-black light armor, with a long Geji blade strapped to his hip and two short swords taught against his back.
That's right. He'd been training and sparring with Tae out in the jungle.
The sight of Jungkook dressed to kill reminded Hoseok for a moment of fighting against him in the arena. He felt a wave of gratitude that that horror had passed. He blinked hard to focus his thoughts on the fear in front of him now.
"What's the news? What do we know?" Jungkook looked and sounded older than he ever had before.
Jung Hoseok cleared his throat. "Nothing just yet, but I think I recognize the culprit as one of the mess hall kids. The ones who do food prep and serve meals."
Jungkook nodded curtly.
"But that can't be the full picture. There's some digging left to do. Kookie. Shae. These quarters are top-notch security... like the storage unit facility was supposed to be. Bulletproof, DNA lock-secured. No one can get in, or anything. For now, I'd like you both to stay here."
Hoseok saw relief sink into Shae's features, and it made the knot in the pit of his stomach turn.
Jungkook spoke up, "But Hobi, I can help you."
Hoseok consented, "And I could use you. I'll send Tae this way if and when Vernon is in the clear, and he's welcome to take your place guarding Shae. But don't leave her alone."
Shae felt her skin grow warm, the way that the boys were talking about her so seriously as if she weren't in the room.
Jungkook nodded. "I won't. Thanks Hobi."
"Don't mention it."
Hoseok turned like he was about to leave, but Shae piped up and the sound of her small voice made him freeze in his tracks.
"Where's Ava? Can you tell her what's happened?"
Hoseok spoke over his shoulder at her, his eyes avoiding her, "She's safe. She's with Yoongi. I'll make sure she finds out what happened, but she'll probably be with him for the rest of the night."
The meaning in Hoseok's words took a moment to sink in.
And like that, Jung Hoseok was off again.
Shae watched Hoseok go, feeling this grateful, somehow forlorn feeling in her chest at the sight of his comforting presence coming in and then leaving again so soon.
Shae was grateful for Jungkook's comforting presence, but she wanted Hoseok to stay there with her... even more. And she also felt a pang of guilt about realizing that self-same feeling.
But there it was.
I wish Joon was here.
Shae covered her face in her hands and took a deep breath.
Meanwhile, Hoseok ran across the campgrounds through the moist, humid darkness. Tropical night sounds chirped and flickered around him from within the tent rows and the trees. Forms that seemed so friendly and vibrant in the light of day turned to shadows like teeth in the darkness.
Despite the fact that he had a dozen other people to worry about, a dozen other problems to sort through as quickly as possible, his mind kept traveling back to Shae as he ran.
He wanted her. He couldn't stop himself from wanting her--to hold her and protect her. And he could see that she sensed it. He thought he had sensed moments when she wanted him, too.
But.
I should just let it go. She and Joon...
Hoseok growled into the night, pounding his closed fists into the sides of his legs as he ran.
--
Woozi pushed open the medical tent and growled at the first wide-eyed face he saw, "WHERE IS HE?"
The poor nurse pointed vaguely behind him with the pen in his hand, and Woozi shouldered past and forced his way through the cramped space. The small young man was panting from running so hard, his chest heaving beneath his pink sweatshirt, until he almost walked right past the foot of a cot that a shirtless Vernon lay stretched out on top of.
Woozi froze. He saw the blood caked across Vernon's skin.
"No."
The room started to spin. Black splotches colored his vision, and explosive sounds echoed in the young man's ears. He started to see red. And then... his mind was engulfed by the sound of screams.
"WOOZI."
Someone was in his space. Like a reflex, Woozi snapped his palm upward at the nose pointed in his face, and he felt a light crack beneath his palm. Then he kicked, and his boot hit hard shinbone. He took the faceless person by the ears and was about to ram their doubled-over face into his knee when he heard a familiar sound.
"Woozi, it's me. It's Vernon. Hey!"
Woozi's hands slackened off of those ears in front of him. He took a step back, steadied his breaths, and after a few the room started to splotch back into focus. The explosive sounds weren't ringing in his ears anymore.
He blinked hard, and then his vision cleared.
"Well, I guess that's why you're one of the big wigs around here."
The nasaly voice was Kim Taehyung's. And in front of Woozi, he saw the willowy young man with his silvery hair pulled back in a tight bun on top of his head. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning back his perfectly angular chin.
Woozi looked Taeyung up and down and realized the young man was wearing a black and grey suit of light armor that was tight to his slim frame, with two shortswords braced against his back and a long Geji blade hoisted against his hip.
The dazed young man with the pink hair also realized that he was armed with nothing more than a small dagger near his ankle. But no matter.
"Woozi! Hey, lil' Wooz!" It was Vernon. He was sitting up in the hospital cot now, while a nurse was eyeing his torso and cleaning at the caked blood on his bare skin with a sterilized cloth. Despite all of the blood, Vernon looked positively radiant.
"A-are you alright, V?" Woozi didn't bother with apologies. He just pushed Taehyung aside and rushed up to the side of Vernon's bed, clawing at the sheets.
The jolly blonde young man gave a suave wave of his hand, his face scrunched up in playful gallantry. "This is nothing." Woozi leaned in to get a better look, while Vernon went on, "Really. It actually is nothing because Shae completely healed me. I mean, it WAS a gunshot wound. The old school kind, not a blaster. But it was wicked cool, in like a millisecond she did some weird freaky fire magic and then the bullet just popped outta me LIKE A PIMPLE. It was wild, man. And then--"
Taehyung realized his nose wasn't broken or bleeding down the back of his throat, so he stopped pinching the bridge and looked down at Woozi and Vernon. His energetic unit-mate was enjoying all the dramatic pauses and overdone hand gestures of a good storytelling opportunity, and Woozi was hanging on every word.
Well. They're gonna be fine.
Just outside the medical tent, one of Hoseok's unit members ran up to meet him and deliver the message. Head to Hoseok's quarters. So off Tae ran.
When Jungkook opened the door for him, the young operative had a finger to his lips to signal for silence. Tae stepped quietly inside and looked over to see that Shae had curled up in a pile of pillows on Hoseok's bed. She'd fallen asleep with a checkered blanket draped over her.
Jungkook whispered, "How are you?"
Tae shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't the one who got shot at today. How's Shae?"
Jungkook sighed with his hands on his hips, looking down at where she slept. "She's anxious. A little skittish. And something else I can't put my finger on."
Tae scoffed, "What do you mean?"
Jungkook wasn't sure how to put it into words. "I know that we 'did our time' as Gwangju Ai or whatever. And I know you and I had totally different experiences. But I think... I can sense things about Shae sometimes. Like an intuition but different. Like, right now, I can sense that she feels really conflicted about something."
Tae looked at Jungkook for a moment like he was crazy... and then laughed.
"SHHH she's gonna wake up!"
Tae didn't bother quieting down. "I never thought you'd be so invested in the internal workings of a girl before." His laughter bubbled onward.
Jungkook grumbled, "Yeah, well, I never thought you and I would end up dead and coming back to life either. But here we are."
Tae leaned his laughing head forward into Jungkook's shoulder. Jungkook mock-punched him in the arm in response. Soon the two young men were pushing and shoving and pinching each other, in this delicate dance of mock-battling while trying not to make any noise.
Except Tae's laugh spilled over, and Jungkook soon couldn't seem to hold back.
Eventually, the sound of a soft groan from where Shae slept made the two young men scrunch their shoulders together and fall into a hush.
Then Jungkook whispered, "I'm gonna go help Hobi out. You stand guard here for the night, ok?"
"You got it. Good luck out there."
"Thanks, Tae."