𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋. ☐

TWENTY NINE.

It'd been around an hour, Jisung was sure. An hour of the eight sitting and talking. Discussing, planning. It was nostalgic for him, and it was a nice feeling, but it was sadly reminiscent of before any of them entered the forest. Minho led the conversation, Jisung at his side, for the most part. That was familiar, but a part of him hated that.

Felix had done the most research on the forest. He took control when the topic was of the forest itself. It was Jisung who'd been in contact with the clones the most, so he was the leader when it came to them. Stories were shared of individual experiences within the forest, although nothing seemed different for any of them.

Each one was left alone, whether suddenly and accidentally, or purposeful, and as they tried to make their way through the forest, it warped around them. Strange sounds traveled through the trees. Jisung mentioned how it felt like whispers, Jeongin agreed. Maybe they felt like they were just going in a loop, over and over, like Chan.

There were very few things that stuck out within everyone's experiences, making it different from the others.

Of course, Jeongin was the main victim of such oddities - he faced an unrelenting attack, no words spoken. Unlike the other clones seen, Jeongin explained that he was met with silence, even though he begged for them to speak. Begged for all seven of the different faces, one by one, to say something to him, before he went unconscious.

Jeongin also had dreams. Lots of them.

"It felt like waking up a million times," he had said. "It still feels like I'm dreaming, a bit."

"You're not." Seungmin had said immediately. "You're here. We're here."

Jeongin had given him a short smile, before his expression turned dark again.

"It- I felt the pain, in every single one of them. But I was in a different place each time."

Jisung had furrowed his brows, thinking back to when he held onto Jeongin's hands. Back then, it felt like such an unfamiliar place. But he'd seen it more and more since then, and he was beginning to grow accustomed to it, with the dark sky and silent forest.

"Different parts of the forest, where they all looked the same," Jeongin continued to say, "Or ones that it was nighttime, or there was this... fog,"

He'd shivered when he mentioned the fog, at the same moment that the others stiffened. There was an unspoken layer of fear within his words, and it didn't go unnoticed. Their reactions seemed to be clear to Jeongin, and concern quickly laced his features.

Minho had been the first to say something, "Could you control it at all?"

"No," Jeongin drawled, "It... suffocated me, then I was on to another dream."

Minho's expression had grown dark. "Ah. Okay."

"One, I was by a lake," he'd closed his eyes when saying that, grimacing as if the memory was just out of reach for him, as though he struggled to hold onto it, "The water felt too cold, it knocked me out of that dream. There were a lot of things different with them. But I felt all of the pain."

He'd sighed, slowly, and it had taken a while for him to speak again. Everyone waited patiently, not daring to interrupt the valuable story they were finally able to hear.

"I think... gradually, as I got closer to waking up, the pain started easing. I'm not sure why."

"Was it from us finding you?" Hyunjin asked, cautiously. "And cleaning your wounds?"

"Probably." Jeongin had replied, simple. "I can't think of any other reason it would've been."

There was no explanation for the dreams, just ideas. Felix mentioned it could have been visions, like how he had. Hyunjin suggested it might've been fever dreams, although they seemed too vivid for it to be such. Jeongin shrugged off their theories with tired shoulders, and eventually said his throat hurt to talk anymore. So Seungmin shooed them all, and when Jisung turned back later, they were both asleep.