ELVEN | K.TH

44

RINEI

"Jungkook?"

My brother's quiet voice echoes in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." I sniffle, still clinging on tightly to him. I hadn't even thought to let him go while we'd been arguing. "Sorry I said those things."

I hear him breathe shakily.

"Me too. I'm sorry."

"I didn't mean any of that."

"Same here."

There's a brief silence, before I break it.

"So, um, what do you think we do now? Find the stairs and start going up?"

"The stairs..." He whispers uncertainly. "I'm just worried that we might fall while we're going up. There was no railing at all. And we have no light."

"Maybe if we stick to the wall?"

"...okay." I hear him say. "Do you want to try and search for it?"

I nod shakily. Jungkook slowly puts me down on the ground, and I inch forward in the darkness, wanting to burst into tears. I really wanted to turn back time, if I could.

Our hands are clasped tightly together.

But even after what seems like hours pass, I don't find anything that seems like the base of the stairs. I just keep running into the walls instead.

Then my feet touch something like the stone steps of the staircase.

An excited yelp escapes my lips.

"I think I found it!"

I step upwards. But the moment I do, I shout and fall back as I slam my nose straight into the stone walls. I tumble backwards, landing in a mess of something sticky and dusty.

"Ow!"

"Rinei!"

Jungkook instantly pulls me off the floor. But the damage has already been done, and I can't stop the hopeless tears from flooding my eyes as I struggle blindly with the cobwebs that had gotten all over my hands, clothes, and skin.

My nose also hurts so badly.

"Rinei..." I hear Jungkook murmur when I start to cry. And I can't even wipe the tears dripping down my cheeks, because my fingers are sticky with cobwebs.

I was terrified of any spiders that might be on it, too.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this."

He wraps his arms around my sobbing figure. And I sniffle helplessly as I wrap my arms back around him, my mind running wild.

I was never going to see light again.

I wouldn't ever see Taehyung again.