The Forbidden Bond✅

14. The dagger

In utter shock, jungkook stares at Hoseok in the dim corridor of V's labyrinth lair. 

"You, you're the man from my dream." 

"Yes and I can help you, but only if you keep quiet." Quickly, he looks around the hall, then he takes jungkook's hand who yanks himself from hoseok's grasp. 

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't even know if you're real. Am I in another dream? Are you stalking me in my sleep?"

"No. This is real. I am real. Real enough to be scared of how loud you're being."

Hoseok shoves jungkook towards a torch on the wall. When he pulls on it, a secret passageway open. "Come on, before they find us and kill us both."

Reluctantly, jungkook follows hoseok into the dark. Safely behind the stone door, jungkook looks down an eerie tunnel that disappears into the darkness. "good. Out of the line of fire for now. Let's go."

"No. Not until you tell me who you really are. I'm not blindly trusting you."

Hoseok sighs, turning back to Jungkook and forcing his eyes to meet his own. "You're right. You deserve the truth. I'm V's slave, all right? That's why I couldn't meet you in person before." He looks away, as though ashamed of his truth. That's when Jungkook notices his clothes. He's filthy and covered in wounds. Nothing like the clean, powerful man he met in his dreams.

"So...this is the real you."

"Yes. Unfortunately." Hoseok grits his teeth and his fists shake at his sides. "Being a slave of V is no different from being his prisoner. Or I guess I should say...his lab rat."

"His lab rat? That's cruel."

"Cruel, yes." Hoseok bows his head, an unseen weight bearing down on him. "That's a good word for it. This half-life I'm forced to live."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hoseok hesitates, but then he holds out his arm, revealing deep gouges and repulsive burn marks. "He uses us to experiment on. To perfect his dark magic."

Guilt grips Jungkook as he turns away, but he can't help it.

"It's a symbol of an ugly past and an uglier future. Where V is king and kills every single human being."

A horrible chill travels down Jungkook's spine. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he wants to eradicate our kind from the earth. He wants to live in a world without humans."

Jungkook wants to back up, he wants to run away, but he's rooted to the spot. "No.. that can't be true. The dragon's need us, they—they use us!"

"V views us as no more than pests. Like roaches under the floorboards." Hoseok clasps his hand over his gnarled flesh. Over the destruction and the lingering pain of his past wounds."This is how much V values human life, Jungkook. Do you finally get it? What we're up against? Do you understand why we need you?"

"I am beginning to understand."

Hoseok sigh and his hold on Jungkook's hand loosens " thank you."

He motions for Jungkook to follow him down the dark tunnel."Come on. There are some people I want you to meet."

Jungkook hesitates, but slowly advance deeper into the hidden passage, finally reaching a large back room.

"This is where we live."

"We? As in?"

"As in all of V's slaves" Several people emerge from the darkness. When Jungkook sees them, his heart sinks.