The Flower of the Dark | k.th

.Seven.

"You're back where you belong.." Jin's soft voice says in a cold tone, echoing strangely in my mind.

I scrunch my face and push my head deeper into the almost-squishy wall that appeared in front of me.

His voice gets quieter, "You must go on your own path...but he's in the way...no one asked him to come here.."

Coldness wraps around my body, devouring me as a whole unexpectedly. I begin to tremble uncontrollably.

"Time is running out, Jieun. Don't procrastinate..go see your father-"

My heart stops.

"He's waiting for you."

Dad.

My body jerks awake when I see the image of a man, who looks badly beaten, inside a metal cage. Darkness surrounded him, torturing him with word 'SINNER'. He grips one of the rusty bars, tears falling from his bruised eyes.

"I'm sorry.." he whispers.

Dad? My eyes begin to water, thinking the man couldn't possibly be my father since I can't recognize any of the man's features. The cuts and bruises hinder me from identifying the person at any extent.

The man's timid words continue running through my mind, even as I make eye contact with Taehyung who now hovers above me. He easily expresses the concern in his handsome features and – for a split second – I feel like I'm staring at an angel of some kind.

My thoughts race back to the moment I wish to forget:
Black wings shooting from his back.

Black wings shooting from his back....

The thought causes me to feel nauseous and my head to ache.

Not even close to an angel...

"Are you okay?"

I'm focusing on our surroundings too much to answer his question.

The grass guarding us is waist height, and grazes the bottom of my feet with their tips. I notice that my feet aren't on the ground. Taehyung holds me up in a bridal style position, slightly clutching me close to his body like he's afraid to drop me.

"Hey..Jieun.." Taehyung calls, his brown eyes filled with worry.

I lift my gaze up to the sky holding every thing I saw last time.

Oh, how I wish this is all a dream since all of this is too unbelievable.

I sigh.

But it's real because that would explain why I'm back 'here' wherever 'here' is.

Then I remember, Jin told me that he'll take me back to Taehyung somewhere...

My eyes glance everything over slowly.

Where did Jin put me?

"Did you have a nightmare?" Taehyung's deep voice finds its way back into my ears.

"-Huh?" I'm caught off guard, still baffling over everything around me and what has already happened to me.

"What were you dreaming about?.."

I shake my head and attempt to put my feet on the floor. "N-Nothing."

Taehyung helps me down, still staring me down as if I spoke in gibberish. My eyes shoot down to my feet immediately. The wet soil my bare feet press against oozes in between my toes. I cringe as I bring my feet up slightly, and the soil follows them like the dirt is now connected to me.