Shamans Kim

Chapter 13 : Overflow of emotions

     Red, black, and white. These portals rose up in succession, majestic and protective. The white one was what protected the sanctuary from a dark spirit invasion the night before. Were they at risk of being attacked again if they passed through the three portals to return down the mountain?

     Memories of last night came flooding back to Jungkook and made him flinch. The shadows were so many, they wanted to devour him, he had been so scared although he was not familiar with this feeling before arriving on the path of souls.

     "It's daylight in Seoul right now, so the shadows won't attack you, don't worry," Seokjin explained, seeing his apprehension about stepping out.

     "I wasn't worried," Jungkook lied as he followed Jimin and Seokjin down the long stone stairs.

     Soekjin smirked noticeably under his mask:

     "Your soul says otherwise."

     "Why do you always talk about my soul?" Jungkook asked being careful not to trip on the uneven stairs much too steep for the descent, while next to him, Jimin was as comfortable as a fish in water, skipping happily on the steps. "Yesterday you already said my soul smelled of loneliness and then you said it smelled of arrogance and confidence. Do emotions really smell to shaman's nose?"

     "Yours particularly stink if you want to know everything," Seokjin said as an answer. "It's the smell of souls who complain all the time and are never happy, do you want me to describe this nauseating smell?"

     "I hate you!" Jungkook shouted at the masked boy, as Jimin laughed next to him.

     "I told you you complained too much!" Jimin scoffed.

     Jungkook glared at him, unhappy to see him take Seokjin's side instead of defending him.

      "On the contrary, Jimin's soul smells good today," Seokjin noticed focusing on his little brother's soul.

     Jimin blushed at what was obviously the greatest compliment his older brother had given him. This annoyed Jungkook who said:

     "Maybe it's because today, Jimin is not sad but very happy to just be able to walk with his brother, can you imagine how sad his life must be for him to feel happy for such a small thing? You could do the minimum for him and walk with him since it makes him so happy."

     "Jungkook, stop it!" Jimin protested.

     "I'm just telling the truth," Jungkook persisted, waiting for a reaction from Seokjin.

     Yet, Seokjin didn't answer and didn't even turn around. Was he probing their souls again? What could he be thinking behind his mask? He was always so expressive when he was talking, and his presence so strong, that when he was silent, his silences too were powerful.

      They gave Jungkook a feeling of emptiness that he wanted to fill, he wanted to know how he felt. Why Seokjin could perceive the emotions of others but the others could not access his, the real ones, the ones he hid behind his mask? That was unfair.

    And why did I care? Jungkook suddenly thought, angry with himself. He tried to push Seokjin out of his thoughts and that's when he suddenly had a terrible fear and asked anxiously:

     "Does that mean that you can know what I think?"

     "Is it panic I feel growing inside you Jeon Jungkook?" Seokjin scoffed as he turned and without warning, after approaching at prodigious speed, he clapped his tatooed hand to Jungkook's chest. "Wow, this heart is beating fast, does it upset you that much that I could know what scares you?"