Welcome To Camp Bangtan

Part 19

"Who's there?" Jungkook cracked, his voice obviously shaking. "I know karate."

"Kook?"

"Tae?"

"So were you lying to me the other night at the Pit about never taking martial arts or are you lying to me now?"

Relief flooded Jungkook's chest at his friend's voice and he reached his arms out, pawing at the darkness, taking small steps forward. "I'm lying now," he said. Then his hands touched the fabric of his friend's hoodie and he let out a cry as he pulled Taehyung in, crushing him to his chest in a tight hug.

"Really, Kook?" Taehyung wheezed.

Jungkook didn't let go even as the boy tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "I'm so sorry, Tae," he said. "I'm sorry for getting mad and for hooking up with your sister even though I knew you didn't want me to and—"

"Dude," Taehyung cut him off. "I'm all for showing affection but the fact that it's pitch black in here and I can feel you breathing in my ear is making me a bit uncomfortable."

"Sorry," Jungkook said quickly letting go of the boy. "Seriously though."

"I know," Taehyung said. "I'm sorry too."

Jungkook stepped back until he hit the wall. "Also, Rosé is a frikin' psycho."

He heard Taehyung let out a throaty laugh beside him. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out when she trapped me down here. Apparently, I'm being punished."

"Same."

The two were silent for a while and at one point Jungkook had the panicking thought that maybe he was delusional and had only imagined that he'd been talking to his friend.

"Tae?"

"Yeah, Kook?"

"Just making sure you're still there."

Taehyung chuckled and shifted beside him, their shoulders now touching. Jungkook let out a grateful sigh at his friend's effort to let him know he was beside him. Suddenly, a cold, white light shattered the darkness and Jungkook let out a surprised yelp, shutting his eyes against the brightness. After a few seconds, he squinted down at the viewfinder Tae had opened. The image was washed in green, the camera in night vision mode.

"I turned off the light a while ago so it wouldn't drain my battery but it's so flipping dark down here. It feels like..."

"Like it's trying to swallow you up?" Jungkook asked quietly, looking at Taehyung's wide eyes.

Taehyung just nodded. "This isn't as cool as I thought it would be, Kook."

"Well, I don't think either of us expected Rosé to be so insane."

"Yeah," Taehyung said with a sigh. "I guess it's kind of hard to know someone when you're only with them for a week at a time."

Jungkook felt a smile tug at his lips. "Oh, I don't know," he said.

More silence.

With a heavy sigh, Jungkook let his head fall back against the wall. Down here in this cold, dark tunnel, there seemed to be no concept of time but he felt like it had been at least an hour since Rosé had locked him in. His body ached from the cold. His chest hurt and his head hurt and, sure, he'd found Taehyung and he was no longer alone down here but he needed to figure out how to get them out. Without a word, he took Taehyung's camera and stood up, wincing at the stiffness in his limbs. With his eyes focused on the green-tinted image in the viewfinder, he made his way quickly down the passageway. When he reached a turn, he peeked around the corner. Imagine his lack of surprise when more tunnel stretched out before him.