Author's Note: Happy FESTA, everyone! Thank you for your comments. I truly appreciate each and every one.
Jungkook woke with a start, sucking in a sharp breath as he bolted upright in bed. His hands immediately flew up to touch the side of his face, then his shoulder, then the rest of him as though making sure every part was still intact. And when he found that he was, Jungkook sighed in relief, shaking his head weakly as he drew in a couple of deep breaths. That was by far the weirdest dream he had ever had and definitely the last time he drank any espresso before bed.
He dropped his head back against the pillow, closing his eyes and basking in the rare moment of solitude that was usually short-lived anyway before his mom busted into his room to get him up for class or his shift at the bakery. What day was it anyway? Jungkook dug his palms into his eyes, rubbing the sleep from them as he made a grab for his phone, only to look up in confusion when his hand met empty space where his nightstand usually stood.
What the-Jungkook froze, his entire body tensing as his eyes slowly drifted to look around his room. Except it wasn't his room at all. It wasn't any place that he recognized. He felt his blood run cold then, immediately throwing himself out of the bed to distance himself from it. Where the hell was he? How did he get here? He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, his eyes darting all around as he fought back the whimper that threatened to escape from his mouth. As much as Jungkook wanted to cry, he also didn't want to risk making a sound. He wasn't sure what or who might've been waiting on the other side of the door.
Okay, think Jungkook, think.
He tried to steady his breathing, ignoring the threat of tears that were building at the back his eyes as he tried to think of a plan. How much time did he have before whoever had brought him here came back? Would he find the same boys that had taken him yesterday or would they have handed him off by now to an even greater threat? He stifled a tiny groan in frustration. Jungkook had no idea what he was doing. He had nothing to compare this to. He'd never been kidnapped.
Suddenly, there was a sound from behind the bedroom door and Jungkook stiffened, scrubbing his face of any tears as he braced himself. He glanced around quickly, trying to find something to defend himself with and finding nothing, settled for holding his hands up in front of him, despite how ridiculous he felt.
To his relief (if one could call it that) a tuft of silver hair popped into view, followed by the familiar features of a boy...that Jungkook recognized? "Oh. You're awake." Namjoon said. "How are you feeling?"
Jungkook blinked, finding himself unable to reply, his hands still balled into fists in front of him, as Namjoon stood by the door. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to be getting any sort of response, the older boy cleared his throat. "...Well, Jin's made breakfast. Why don't you come and have some? You must be hungry."
As if on cue, his stomach released a ferocious growl and Jungkook wanted to kick himself from embarrassment. The betrayal. Namjoon smiled, taking in the younger boy's red eyes and the tension in his stance. "...I know that this all doesn't make a lot of sense right now. But I promise I'll explain everything soon."
Jungkook hesitated. Despite the fact that he had known the other boy for less than a day and that he had nothing else to go off of, he couldn't help but feel as though Namjoon didn't actually want to harm him. He could hardly believe he was even thinking such a thing, considering the fact that the older boy had been one of three to abduct him. But even still, Jungkook couldn't seem to bring himself to harbor any ill feelings towards Namjoon. There was no stranger danger, no red flags going off in his head like there should have been...It was almost as if he wanted to trust him.
"...Okay." Jungkook said after a moment as he nodded weakly.
"Great. Why don't you go ahead and get ready then? There's some fresh clothes for you to choose from in the closet and toiletries for you in the bathroom." The older boy explained upon seeing the questioning look on Jungkook's face, not saying much else as he gave the younger boy one last smile and let the door shut behind him.
Once he had finished getting ready, he opened the door gingerly and peeked outside and found Namjoon waiting there for him. They walked in silence, with Jungkook stealing the occasional glance at Namjoon every couple of paces and Namjoon staring straight ahead with the same pleasant smile on his face the entire time. He felt a little strange to say the least, walking with someone he didn't know to someplace he didn't know. Not to mention why anyone would have a need for a spare lavish bedroom equipped with a closet that held more clothes and shoes than Jungkook had probably ever owned in his entire life. Some of them didn't even have tags or the brand names on them, but Jungkook could just tell by the way they felt against his skin that they were expensive.
"I wanted to introduce you to some people," Namjoon said after a moment. He seemed to sense Jungkook's hesitation and quickly added, "I don't want you to be afraid, okay? They won't hurt you or lay a hand on you, and neither will I." He assured though Jungkook wasn't quite sure how true that could be. He gulped, feeling much like his feet had suddenly turned to lead the further they walked. Namjoon seemed nice enough, but what was to say that these people would be anywhere near as welcoming as he was?
The rest of the walk was quiet and Namjoon didn't try to force a conversation between them, which Jungkook appreciated. When they finally came to a stop in front of a set of gargantuan wooden doors, Jungkook made a noise, barely above a whisper. He suddenly felt as though he should say something, just in case they happened to be the last words that he ever spoke.
Namjoon turned to look at him. "Pardon?"
He sighed, drawing in a shaky breath as he tried again.
"...M'name's Jungkook."
The older boy's mouth spread into a soft smile, dimple digging into the side of his cheek as he did so. "It's nice to finally meet you, Jungkook-ssi." And with that, Namjoon pushed the doors open.
There were no words to describe what laid before Jungkook's eyes as the doors swung open to reveal a hall so gorgeous, it looked as though he had stepped into a palace that belonged to royalty. It reminded him of the museums he used to visit as a kid that featured statues of the Greek and Roman gods, except those paled in comparison to the sculptures before him now that adorned every corner of the room.
He found it hard to believe that anyone could create something of such breathtaking beauty. Pillars taller than the eye could see, made of black marble with ripples of white, each pattern on the floor so intricate that he wouldn't have been surprised if someone had delicately painted it by hand.
The sound of their footsteps echoed throughout the enormous hall as they walked and Jungkook wondered just how inconceivably vast this place really was, when finally the outline of other people came into sight, outlines that became a group of boys, some who were chatting excitedly amongst themselves and others who seemed to be just waking up.
As soon as they saw Jungkook however, the boys immediately stopped talking, their eyes all turning to observe the new arrivals as the sounds of their shoes clicked against the marble. It was intimidating, to say the least, to have so many sets of eyes on him and it felt like an eternity had passed before they finally reached the dining table.
Nobody said anything and Jungkook swallowed nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he suddenly found himself quite interested in memorizing the pattern of the marble tiles on the floor.
"Brothers," Namjoon said after far too long. "I'd like you all to meet our newest member, Jungkook-ssi." He announced as he placed a firm hand on the younger boy's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
Member…? Jungkook thought to himself as he looked up to see them all gesturing in acknowledgment in some way or another.
"Ah, so this is our Golden Maknae." A boy with blonde hair quipped, looking at him with interest. "You're looking a lot better than you were yesterday when you were unconscious on my floor."
When Jungkook gave him a confused look in return, he looked almost offended. "What, you don't remember me? Thanks to me and these hands, you no longer look like you came straight out of a zombie apocalypse."
"Jin is the one who helped patch you up yesterday. It's why you don't have any injuries anymore." Namjoon explained, throwing an accusatory look over at Jimin, who returned the look with a smirk.
"I said I was sorry." The boy with the pink hair replied. (Jungkook didn't think he looked sorry at all.)
"You've met Suga and Jimin." Namjoon continued with an exasperated sigh. "That over there is Hoseok." He turned to where an orange-haired boy sat and gave him an enthusiastic wave. His hair reminded Jungkook of the sunset and he found himself smiling a bit and giving the other boy a tiny wave in return, though he wasn't sure when he had allowed himself to do so.
He had a passing thought that they all look like they had been thrown up by some kind of rainbow, all of their heads ranging from a spectrum of colors, from the buoyant hue of Jimin's bubblegum pink to the muted but striking sliver of Namjoon's.
"I can't tell you how great it is to finally meet you after all of this time. Suga-hyung won't tell us anything, but is it true that you're good at everything...like everything?" The boy named Hoseok piped, his brown eyes sparkling expectantly.
"Um…" It was a weird question and Jungkook wasn't really sure how to answer it, especially when they were all staring at him as if Namjoon had just told them he could walk on water, which he most certainly could not.
"Let's save the interrogation until after breakfast. There will be plenty of time for questions later. We have a long day ahead of us. So everyone, eat while you can." Namjoon interjected and Jungkook was grateful for the distraction. "Here Jungkook, you can sit next to me until you decide where it is you'd rather sit." He offered as he gestured to the empty seat next to him. Jungkook nodded sheepishly as he sunk into the chair beside the leader. He didn't miss the fact that there were 7 chairs, but only 6 of them. He wondered vaguely who the 7th chair could have belonged to, but didn't have time to give it too much thought before he finally noticed (or rather smelled) all the food that was in front of him.
On the table was all kinds of dishes, banchans of all sorts: galbi, spicy seafood salad, kongnamul bab, spicy stewed fish, oi naengguk, seasoned kelp, and musaengchae. He felt himself drooling from the sight of it all, not realizing just how hungry he was until he heard his stomach grumble loud enough to puncture the silence in the dining hall.
They all laughed and Jungkook's eyes grew wide, mortified at how his body had been betraying him as of late.
"Cute." Namjoon chuckled.
"Well, don't be shy. I didn't cook all this food just for nothing, you know." Jin remarked as he picked up some cold noodles and shoveled them into his mouth.
Jungkook nibbled on his bottom lip nervously as he took the set of chopsticks in front of him between his fingers, watching for a moment as the rest of them began to eat.
Once he was certain that he had seen a portion of each dish consumed by someone or another and that they hadn't specifically set aside any particular dish to poison him with, Jungkook followed suit, picking at various foods and nibbling on them gingerly. He hummed to himself. Jin was a good cook.
Whatever the day had in store for him, Jungkook figured that he would allow himself the pleasure of enjoying what could be his last meal. Even though he knew it was a lie, Jungkook could still pretend that these group of boys wanted to be his friends, that he was this "Golden Maknae" they were searching for, and that they weren't going to kill him as soon as they found out that he wasn't.
Author's Note: Come talk to me on twitter at KookiesInTae ^_^