The Seven Wonders | BTS

78. Truth

The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was the dark and empty sky of Hel. You blinked and took a moment to remember exactly what happened. Clutching your throbbing head, you slowly stood up and glanced around the area.

You saw thick rows of trees lined up a few feet behind, their leaves swaying even with the absence of wind. When the air continued to whistle a melody that played at the back of your mind, you remembered what happened within the engagement of the forest.

Jimin had succumbed to the trees' music first. And then Namjoon was gone. At that moment, you knew that everyone's hopes of escaping had been crushed. After all, the earth gem bearer was their leader, the foundation that kept them all standing. Seeing him give in was the breaking point — the trees had taken everyone soon-after.

Your hand clutched something soft underneath. For a moment, you were filled with panic due to the thought of another rotting corpse but relaxed when you saw a rolled up jacket instead. It must have been your pillow.

Picking up the jacket, you looked ahead and saw Yoongi crouching in front of a pile of wood. He was releasing pillars of flames from his palms. Holly was next to him and was also helping light the bonfire.

Logs were placed around the fire in a squared formation. Jin was sitting on the log across you and was healing Hoseok, who had painful looking cuts on his arms and cheeks. Sitting next to him was Jimin, who was silently petting Yeontan on his lap.

"Evening, sunshine," You turned around and saw Emily standing behind you with a bunch of twigs in her hands. "Don't worry, we got these from the outermost layer of the trees. No lullabies there."

You stared at Emily for a few seconds before your head throbbed again. "How long was I out?"

"Strangely enough, both you and Taehyung fell unconscious the moment we teleported," Emily shrugged and rolled a shoulder to adjust the position of the quiver strapped to her back. "He woke up right before we left."

Blinking, you glanced behind you once more. About a foot away from the bonfire stood Taehyung. He was standing next to Sangdol and was feeding his horse with more green apples. Where he kept those things was a mystery.

You squinted your eyes when you noticed something else about Taehyung. He wasn't wearing his jacket, instead he wore a plain black top with long sleeves that cut to his wrists.

Looking down at the jacket on your lap, you flipped it over and stared at the embroidery of Hel's logo. You stared back up at Taehyung's broad back and swore that he had been staring at you for a split second before looking away.

Emily stared at Taehyung's jacket in a moment of silence. "Rest up, Sky. Namjoon says we're leaving first thing tomorrow."

You watched as Emily walked passed you and tossed the twigs into Yoongi's bonfire. Soon-after, Namjoon's deep voice rumbled from behind you.