The Flower of the Dark | k.th

.Twenty-Eight.

Now I'm even more troubled than before. I am here at another apartment complex where things I wish to be unreal happened. Taehyung is looking for me and Jimin is out of the picture, somewhere hopefully safe. I stand outside, staring at the now yellow sky.The yellow makes everything seem like gold.

Why does the sky change colors? Maybe it's just another confusing thing about this place.

Nowhere does anything look familiar. I can't even tell if this is where I live. Actually observing the place around me, the complex is gone and instead has an old retirement home.

Maybe I can ask one of the elders for directions!

I decide to go over to the retirement home. As I walk, I notice other peculiar things about this place. A small tattoo shop and across from it a pizza parlor. They appear to be made in an old-fashioned style.

None of these places are located where I live, so why are they here?

Soon, I come face to face with an oak wood door. Someone is definitely inside, their chattering makes it obvious.

Ok, Jieun, all you have to do is just go in and ask for directions to Jin's place.

I lean towards the door and reach out for its silver knob.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice from behind me says, and I'm pulled back from the door. The same voice swings me around to face them.

No! It can't be Taehyung!

"Taehyung, go away!" I yell, my eyes closed shut and fists out, ready to fight back. But nothing happens; no rough grips or anything. Gradually, I open my eyes to see a tall man with twinkling eyes and green hair.

"Taehyung? Oh no, that's not me." The man smiles softly, then scrunches his face up. "You're... not one of us, are you?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm pretty sure I am."

He glances at my neck. "He put some sort of spell on you. It won't work on me of course."

A spell? But how? And why?

Feeling smart, I blurt out, "But how did you know it was a he?"

His eyes go wide, taken aback from my question. "W-Well, it's Taehyung! I've heard about him while visiting the elderly! And speaking of elderly," The tall man pushes in front of me and stands by the door. "Would you like to come with me?"

If it's somewhere without Taehyung, then yes!

"Yes," I nod. Now that I'm taking a better look at him, his twinkling eyes seem to be tired and red. His hair is messy, despite the fact that he might have used many versions of hair products to keep it down, and his clothes are dirty and worn. The tall man turns the knob and I stop him. "Wait." I inquire, "Why couldn't I open the door on my own?"

"Because." The man states, "A human can't open doors or do hardly anything on their own down here unless you really want to become one of us. You're a silly girl, you know that?" He chuckles twisting the knob and opening it, then walks me into a room filled with elders.

The room is warm and welcoming, but the many creatures there look horrifying. Their skin is an inhumanly grey with pitch black, hollow eyes. They are different than Taehyung and Jin and this man here. They are like lifeless beings.

Are these the demons they were talking about?

"Whoops, I forgot," the man says in a friendly voice to the other demons there. Then he says lowly, in my direction, "may I kiss you?"