vox diabolus. » bts

VIGINTI TRES

JIMIN : how the hell do you know latin? that's so random.

SEOKJIN : i studied it independently for a while in high school. it's the root of all things english. i was aspiring to be a medical student, but... things took a different turn. [ bites the inside of his cheek and avoids eye contact with JIMIN ]

JIMIN : oh... i won't dig too deep on that matter. but... wow. it's everywhere. it's written—no, scribbled—in such a frenzy. did—did he cover this up? nothing adds up.

SEOKJIN : i—i don't remember. i... it's in my mind somewhere, but after—after yoongi left, some pieces just—disappeared. [ starts shivering, clenching his clammy hands into fists over and over ] i—i can't find them.

JIMIN : hey, it's okay. nobody is blaming you—it's all good. but as soon as you figure something out—nothing can ever be insignificant—just contact me.

SEOKJIN : o-okay. [ inhales deeply ] i will. i promise.

JIMIN : mind if i take pictures of this?

SEOKJIN : not at all. um, i'm gonna go, uh, use the restroom.

JIMIN : alright. that's fine. [ takes his phone out, begins to take pictures of the wall ]

[ SEOKJIN walks to the bathroom that is near his room and rummages through the cabinet next to his mirror. he finds his pill bottle, hurriedly pulling out an antidepressant, taking it with a glass of water. he sighs, looking at his disheveled self in the mirror. he bites the inside of his cheek, splashing some water on his face to clear his mind. SEOKJIN frowns, dabbing the water from his face with a towel. he blinks a couple of times, putting his fingers on the mirrors. ]

SEOKJIN : huh...

[ his fingers make their way to the sides of his mirror; SEOKJIN can't really tell what's propelling him to do this. the mirror suddenly swings open, like a door. SEOKJIN frowns when he finds a safe hidden in the wall behind his mirror. ]

SEOKJIN : i... i don't know the code. [ touches the black, sleek safe with his palm ] what is this? how—how did i know this was here?

JIMIN : [ calling from JEONGGUK'S room ] seokjin! it's about an hour before jeongguk is expected home. help me cover the wallpaper up again! we can look for more things after we've gotten that out of the way.

SEOKJIN : [ slightly startled ] o-okay! i'm coming!

[ SEOKJIN closes the mirror, which latches into its original position. he puts his pill bottle back in the cabinet, turning off the light before heading back into JEONGGUK'S room. JIMIN struggles to plaster the wallpaper back into place, and so SEOKJIN rushes to his aid. they decide to use double-sided tape, as paint would take too long to dry and would leave a prominent smell, and replacing the wallpaper on an entire wall seemed unnecessary. ]

JIMIN : okay. [ wipes the sweat off of his forehead with his forearm ] we're done here, i believe. my access is limited, but you can come in here anytime. [ glances at watch ] i should go back home, fix myself some dinner, and look over what we uncovered today. you should rest up before jeongguk arrives. [ pats SEOKJIN'S shoulder ] remember, act natural. pretend like nothing happened today. that corpse? you don't know about it. the blood and the writings on the walls? they don't exist. okay? i just need to make sure you're safe.

SEOKJIN : yeah, i got it. don't worry.

JIMIN : also, don't be brazen. don't make sudden, impulsive decisions. just... be yourself. [ nods to SEOKJIN'S gloved hands ] be sure to dispose of those somewhere he won't see. alright, i'm gonna leave. if there's an emergency, call me. otherwise, a text would suffice. see you.

SEOKJIN : [ smiles, weariness evident ] bye.

[ JIMIN waves and closes the front door behind him, the door automatically locking. SEOKJIN sighs, feeling drained of energy. he sits down on the couch, peeling the latex gloves off his hands. his eyelids feel heavy, but the vibrations from his back pocket jolt him awake. sighing, he pulls out his phone, turning it on and looking at the screen. ]

SEOKJIN : ...jeongguk.