Smoke Song

No Escape

He was on the bed, gasping for air, completely blind in the dark, aware only of the two hands on his throat. As he gripped the wrists above them, his voice stuttered into being and then disappeared again, followed by a burst of intense pain. Jungkook choked and gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. He could feel the same pain beginning to throb in his hands. He was going to lose it. He was going to lose it all again--

"Jungkook!"

Jungkook lunged upward, scrambling to throw the blankets off, and found himself in Soomin's arms. Soomin hugged him tightly, whispering comforting words and rubbing his back.

"It was just a nightmare. You're alright now. Take a deep breath."

Jungkook gasped, still breathing heavily, and Soomin slowly let him down, still rubbing his side. "Breathe," Soomin repeated. "You're safe here. No one will hurt you."

Jungkook obeyed, stiffening as Soomin's hand moved to his stomach. The anti began to sing, and slowly the panic drained away. Jungkook's breathing slowed to a normal rhythm and he sighed, grabbing the blankets and pulling them around himself.

"You're safe here," Soomin said again, "I promise."

Jungkook nodded quickly, letting out another quiet breath.

Then he was asleep.

Jungkook decided to wander out the next day, though it took him hours of standing by the door to convince himself. Soomin wasn't with him; he had a meeting. Jungkook closed the door behind him, took a deep breath, and struck off in a random direction, swallowing his nerves as he came out of the hallway into an open courtyard filled with plants. A few antis wandered over the paved pathways, talking in low voices. One young woman sat in a tree, leaning up against the trunk as she turned the pages of a book in her hands. A gun hung from a strap looped around her waist. When Jungkook looked, he could see that all the antis had some kind of weapon. He shivered but shoved his hands in his pockets, forging forward.

Once he entered the plants, he felt something inside him relax, and he let his shoulders drop, tipping his head back to look at the leaves above him. The light shone through them, highlighting their bright greens and creating an ethereal, otherworldly feeling. For once, he understood how someone could love silence, love the simplicity of only hearing the sounds others create, or not hearing anything at all.

He wandered down the path, stopping beneath an empty tree, and sat down, letting his head rest against the trunk. A breeze played with his hair, whipping up under his shirt and making him shiver. He couldn't help smiling. It felt nice to be outside, even if being around so many antis made him nervous.

He relaxed, looking around at the other antis walking back and forth. Among them, suddenly, he saw a shock of blonde hair, an angular face-- slim eyes.

Jungkook sat up, leaning forward and shading his eyes against the light. The man looked up, and as their eyes met, his mouth dropped open.

Jimin.

Jimin looked him up and down, mouth open; then something in his face seemed to shut down, and he turned, walking away. Jungkook bit his lip, hard, and stood, unsure if he should follow.

No, Jimin was making himself clear. Whatever he was here for, he hadn't anticipated running into Jungkook. He didn't want Jungkook to interfere. He hadn't even smiled at him.

Jungkook's stomach writhed. He stumbled, sitting down hard again, and fell back, reaching out to steady himself. The world bled in and out of focus for a moment, and Jungkook heard a tune, soft but steady. Was Jimin attacking him? He opened his mouth to call out, but the words wouldn't come. His arms shook, and his head lolled back. He knew he was falling, but it didn't matter. His heart hurt. If Jimin treated him this way, how would Taehyung behave when he saw him?

He would be killed before either of them so much as said a word.

The tune changed, and a thrill went through Jungkook's body. He gritted his teeth, trying to move, but he couldn't. What was Jimin doing to him?

"Jungkook."

Jungkook's eyes fluttered open, and he saw Soomin crouched over him, brow creased in worry.

"Did you fall asleep out here? Someone said you'd collapsed."

Jungkook bit his lip, shaking his head.

"Well, someone from your band is here," Soomin said, helping him to his feet. "See? I told you you'd have an effect."

Jungkook took a deep breath and looked up, expecting to meet Soomin's eyes. But the man had already stepped away, gesturing to Jimin, who stood awkwardly behind him, running a hand through his hair.

Jungkook mouthed his name, and watched as Jimin's mouth opened partially, eyes filling with tears.

"Yeah, it's Jimin," Soomin said, grinning at him and wrapping his arms around his waist without warning. Jungkook flinched, startled, and saw the expression on Jimin's face change to one of confusion and hurt.

"How long have you been here?" Jimin asked, voice wobbling.

"We found him sleeping in his old studio," Soomin said. "His hands were a wreck-- took half a dozen songs and operations to fix." He tapped Jungkook's throat proudly. "His voice is fine, though. His mutism is all mental."

"What?" Jimin breathed. "All this time--?"

"Yeah," Soomin said, laughing and swaying back and forth. "He's a real sweetie. We've been trying to work back up to writing so he can talk to everyone again."

Jimin looked ready to cry. "I'm sorry, Jungkook," he said, laughing sadly. "Looks like we were all idiots, huh?"

Jungkook shrugged, looking down at Soomin in confusion. Why was the man still holding him like this? He'd been getting so clingy lately, it was confusing. Did he always have to wrap himself around Jungkook like a blanket?

Soomin looked up at him, and Jungkook saw him smile-- a calculating, cold expression that made his blood freeze. Then he pushed himself up on his tiptoes and kissed the corner of Jungkook's mouth, lingering for a little while before letting go.

Jungkook's hand went straight to his mouth, and he stared at Soomin. What was Soomin trying to do?

"He's so sweet," Soomin repeated, smiling again.

Jimin's face was cold as stone.