'I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.'

- Edgar Allan Poe

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Y/N's POV:

For once, I actually wake up before anyone disturbs me first. "Hoseok. Jung Hoseok. Wake up. Park Jimin, hello?" I wake, shaking their bodies as their eyes open to look at me as if I was a monster. To be frank, I'm quite insulted as they greeted me with their terrified glances.

"Huh?! Y/N wakes up before us for once? How is that... Ah, ouch," Hoseok groans, probably recollecting more memories. "Jimin, I know you're awake. So get up," I say, mimicking an old ladies voice.

"Alright alright Grandma," He glares, hugging me from the back. He rests his chin on my shoulder, as I feel his warm breath on my neck. It reminds me of the heat from a bowl of ramen noodles, the steam rising up to my face. Odd comparison.

"If you guys are going to do anything suspicious, at least don't do it in front of me," Hoseok winks, patting my other vacant shoulder. "What? Can't friends hug?" Jimin huffs, his eye colours deepening as if the brown colour had tint added to it. Welcome to some form of colour theory 101.

"I think I've found my new appreciation for forest's. They're so pretty," Hoseok says, analysing all the greenery around us. All the trees, I never realised how many different kinds there were. But I realised in one story alone, in one part of a forest, there's multiples wildlife and nature everywhere, surrounding us.

We take it all for granted back at home, or at least most people do. That's why sometimes I envy those who are more 'down to Earth' than me. As someone who wasn't exactly raised in some remote jungle or something, I never noticed. But I'm glad, that out of all the downs of being here, I found another positive.

"Wait! There's three bears," Jimin hisses, letting go of me as he signals for us to follow him behind a bush. Ah, one of my favourite hiding spots.

I hear someone do a 'Shh', as we sneak around and peek above the bush. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears?"

"Probably is," I respond, laughing at how the bears walking. They look like humans. "AHAHAHA THE WAY THE BEARS WALKED!" Hoseok yelled, as if it was the most amusing thing he's seen in quite a while. I clasp my hands over his mouth, his bubbly energy toning down. "We'd be dead meat if those bears were any closer, you know." He quietens, sitting back at the ground.

"You remembered more right? Like more memories?" Jimin asks, as we decide to hide for a few more moments incase they decide to return.

"Yeah, I remember my childhood now. All of it..." He tells us. He gazes longingly, a smile appearing on his face again.

"I remember my mother's smile. It was so beautiful. And my sister, she was quite the cheeky one. She used to sneak out sometimes, causing trouble once in a while. But she only wanted to have fun, and she always came back by eight in the night," He tells us, his eyes coruscating a lot more than usual.

I love that look on him, not the forced smiles I see once in a while. He thinks we don't notice that he's hurting too, but truth is, I think me and Jimin can tell.

"I only have a few gaps in my memory now. Not a lot more until I remember everything... Just small details of who I am are lost," He explains, his smile genuine and contemptuous. Like how I was on my first day of University, it's such a prestigious school and the girl I'm closest to was now going with me.

I wonder how she is. Does she realise I'm gone? Did people find me, is there anyone worrying for me like Mrs. Park?

"I'm happy for you, Hoseok." Jimin wraps him in a hug, like the rice paper and lettuce of those food rolls.

Soon enough, we walk to the door and enter. It seemed to be empty and those bears have been put onto their long walk. "Ready for some cold, hot and just right porridge?"

We close the door and look for a seat. "I dibs on the extra soft one!" Jimin says playfully, running to the large pink plushy chair. Even poking the chair lightly, you can feel yourself already sinking in. "Do you like it?" I ask, as he nods quite harshly. I swear, his necks going to snap like a twig soon.

I sit on the 'just right' chair, since Hoseok over here insisted on me doing so. He's way too sweet for me, I wonder how he is at home. I hope he hasn't been taken advantage of, but then again he isn't dumb or stupid. He's probably fine.

We dig in, as the porridge burns my tongue. It was like a piece of the sun was in that bowl, tearing my tongue apart. "Yeah, I'm not eating this," I say, pushing the bowl away from me. On the other hand, Jimin seems to be enjoying his perfectly icy cold porridge just fine. Which means Hoseok has the perfect bowl of porridge instead.

"Oh you know Jimin, your aunt is the one who taken care of me and my brother," I tell him, I've been meaning to say that for a while. But it's been slipping my mind like skates on a frozen lake in the middle of Winter, when everything is at its peak.

"Really? Mrs. Park, the one who lived near me?" He asks, quite full of shock.

"Yeah! She was the kindest, taking us in. She didn't formerly adopt us, since my brother was already sort of old and she thought adoption was too much work. But we lived under her roof. It was amazing. Got to love her dalgona candy," I say, remembering how she perfectly shaped it with a beautiful golden colour. The umbrella shape was really annoying though, but tasty nonetheless.

"Wow. Who knew out of everyone, my aunt took you in..." He pauses. "And for the record, I'm still so sorry," He apologises, finishing the last spoonful of the porridge. "It's okay Park, I know it's not your fault. Although some of the details are unrealistic, come on, what boss makes someone move countries and pack in a day? How'd you pull it off?"

"I don't even know. All I remember is, I was responsible for packing mine and most of my dads things while he was booking flights and making phone calls," Jimin explains, as he wipes his mouth with a small cobalt blue napkin.

"Hey, Y/N, eat this," Hoseok says, sharing some of his perfectly made porridge with me. "Huh? What? No, you don't need to share with me. And Jimin, let's let go of what happened to us. Let's think of the present and future okay?" I say, finally completely forgiving Jimin of everything.

No matter how much it hurt me, it made me stronger. I closed off for a little while, but I got out of it and became a better person.

"But... Don't you blame me for your-"

"Don't say it Park. I don't blame you. I blame myself, so shut up, it's okay," I assure, rubbing his small soft hands. Sometimes it feels like his hands are hands of a baby to be completely honest.

I eat the porridge, as Hobi over here looks around the house. "Hey look at this, it's a painting of the bears," He says, pointing at a bear portrait which is handing up on top of the fireplace.

"The short one looks like Jimin," I state, as I clean up the bowls. I may as well do something nice since we did eat their food. "Why does everyone pick on me because of my height..."

"Because you're short Jimin. You're what, 5'8"?" Hoseok laughs, falling onto a different seat. "Yeah..."

"Exactly! You're short so suck it up. Actually, I have some tips," Hoseok says. I actually have a pretty good idea on what he's about to say. "Really?" Jimin asks naively. He really does fall for everything.

"Yes! Get a pillow okay? Lay down flat on your back, close your eyes and...

Keep dreaming."

Jimin starts to fake cry, falling to the ground like the drama queen he is and starts threatening Hoseok. Soon though, he becomes a dog and starts laughing on the ground. Rolling around on the wooden floors playfully. Please mind this all happened in a minute.

We started going up stairs, each step calculated since the stairs aren't  exactly all that sturdy. I enter the first room on the right, immediately going to the hardest bed. It feels like the Cinderella bed all over again.

Jimin sinks into the other softer bed. The bed looked like the equivalent of quick sand, the bed having invisible hands which is pulling him in, trying to swallow his entire existence with a few tugs.

Hoseok doesn't lay down yet, as he looks out the window. He seems to already be calculating how to get out of here, as he opens the window and peeks his head out. "The bears will come through the door, and I think it's a safe drop down. The woods texture and the vines going down from here should be enough to support us."

I swear, these men go from being three year old toddlers to mature knowledgeable people in minutes. He soon takes a break, sitting on the other bed placed in the middle.

I spot a vase filled with fresh roses, my grandmother's favourite flower, especially red. I remember someone telling me which rose to give to which sort of person.

Red is for true love, so it's better to give it to someone you're involved with romantically.

Yellow is for friendship. I used to call it the friend zone flower to be honest.

White is for marriage, so you'd use it at weddings or when proposing.

While pink is for when you admires someone's beauty, especially their outer beauty. But it works for those who are pretty in the inside too.

"Are you guys going to sleep?" I ask, because if they're not, I'm definitely going to make them. They ran away from an ogre, I think they deserve a rest. "Yeah, I might take a nap. Fifteen minutes maybe?" Jimin answers, as he gets tucked in.

"Actually, I'm okay. The bed isn't exactly the best place to sleep, and in case anyone else here dozes off, we'll be sure at least someone can warn us," He says, changing his mind as he attempts to sit back up properly. Wasn't that a quick change?

"So uh... What do you kids want to do?" Hoseok asks, as if he's not only a year older. "I'm not sure really, we've talked quite a lot. And at this point we might get sick of eachother so, I don't know. Hm, Truth or Dare?" I suggest, trying to make it not be awkward. I remember me and Jimin playing it before and it helped us get to know eachother and have fun. Who knew stupid middle school games could be so entertaining?

I love the game, I always played it with Jimin as a kid. It was especially fun when he dared me to pick up the spider.

"Sure! I'll go first, okay? Y/N, truth or dare?" He laughs, but under all that, a sneaky grin, one similar to the Cheshire Cat. "Truth?" I reply, playing it safe for the first round.

"I knew it! Do you like Jimin?"

"No. Don't push it, Hobi."

"I'm not pushing anything."

"Hm, you kind of are," I reply, turning to Jimin's direction. "Alright, Park, truth or dare?"

He looks at me, and answers, "Dare."
He normally did truths, odd. I'm unprepared for this, so I should quickly make up an easy one. Or a hard one.

I scan the room, seeing if there's any potentially items to inspire me. And there I see it, a music box with a small baby pink coloured ballerina. "This should be easy, I'd like to see you dance ballet Park. You studied it before haven't you?"

I always loved seeing him dance, as I've mentioned at least a million times before. "That simple? Min Y/N, making a simple and easy dare? No catch?" He asks, as he's extremely surprised. "Mhm."

So he falls off the bed, literally, as he stretches his arms and legs. He closes his eyes, wriggling his little toes.

He plays the music from the music box, a classical piano song starting to play. It's the only thing I hear, Jimin the only one in my sight, as he starts off with a double pirouette. He adjusts his arms and legs to be placed in first position, as he dances around the room, just like the ballerina in the music box.

It was so precise.

So perfect.

I smile, as I watch him dance the rest of the white swan variation for Swan Lake.

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Hoseok's POV:

"Hey, Min Y/N, you don't want to do this."

"It's a dare Hoseok, one by my best friend. Come on, it's only using a bears bow and arrow, to shoot an apple on top of your head!" She so happily exclaims.

We've been playing for about almost half an hour, and with each truth and dare it just became worse. We're doing some sort of extreme sport right now.

What, are we partners in some talent show? Oh yeah, and that her talent is, I totally know how to NOT kill my acquaintance. No, not even. We're friends now.

"Oh come on Hobi, I'm good at this. I took archery lessons," She boasts, trying to convince me. And she's very much failing.

"Jimin. I might kill you if I get out of this alive. Actually, no. I'll haunt you either way," I threaten, not eager on dying like this. I have some faith in her, but I also don't know her much. For all I know, back at home she became a psycho serial killer.

And from the sight I'm seeing right now, the probability of that is very high.

"You want a bet, Hobi?" Jimin asks. Is this a game to them now? I could die at her hands and—

"It'll be fine. I never miss," She winks. She really is confident, ah fine, I'll do it. You only live once, right? Unless you believe in the reincarnation and multiple lives thing, but it's not like you remember that stuff.

"When was the last time you had a lesson on this?" I question one last time, purely out of curiosity. Or not.

"Hm, maybe three or four years ago? I honestly might be a little rough on the edges but don't worry! It'll do no harm."

She better be sarcastic, or I might actually die. Oh god, oh god, she's bringing up the bow.

She squints at me, as if she was trying to look at something in the middle of the night, where all the lights have been turned off. She positions the bow and puts through the arrow.

I restrain myself from screaming like a little kid, my hands so sweaty that the water from it could fill an entire glass.

Swoosh

I open my eyes to find that I'm still alive, looking behind me to see the arrow in the centre of the apple. "Bullseye." She laughs, blowing the tip of her nails. She's going to brag about that until I die, isn't she?

"See Hoseok! She made it!" Jimin exclaimed, as they fist eachother in success. "I was messing with you, you know? I went archery a couple months ago, it's fine," She laughs, as if she didn't almost kill me.

She really is talented, no wonder Jimin likes her. Or well, he will like her soon enough. Whether I witness the moment of their realisation or not.

"You guys are crazy..." I mutter, as I lay down back in the comfy bed. "You know for bears, they have such good beds," I state, as Y/N laughs. "Speak for yourself, it feels like I'm on a boulder."

"I feel like my beds out to kill me..." Jimin agrees to Y/N, as he sinks so much that it's almost like the bed consumed him, like how flames can.

Sitting on the bed, I hear sounds from downstairs, the steps so heavy it's like the steps of someone who weighs at least a ton. Except these steps, there isn't just one, but multiple, like the sounds of raindrops in a storm. So many at once, deafening you.

"They're back already?" Y/N goes to prepare to get out of the bed, putting her shoes back on. "It seems so. We have been here for about an hour so, no wonder they're back," I reply, pulling Jimin out of his overly soft bed.

"Are we meant to face the bears or can we just run now?" Y/N asks, wanting to jump out the window as soon as possible. Just like the flash, she wants to leave and leave in the twinkle of an eye. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure we have to be seen by them first and then run," Jimin replies as I was about to, the footsteps getting even louder and louder.

"I think we should sit on the bed, just to follow the story, then run as soon as they see us with their dagger like eyes," Jimin plans, kicking out any dumb thoughts that might've been lingering. "Alright."

Soon those footsteps get louder and louder, as the three furious bears enter the room, making eye contact with us. It wasn't so scary as they were standing just like humans would, on two feet.

Stifling back a laugh, I pull Y/N with me as she frantically climbs down like some sort of female Tarzan. I swear I looked away for a moment and she was already on the floor. Jimin went down second, as I went last, sprinting to a different part of the forest.

Y/N pants. I found it humorous since she almost sounded like a dog. She should've done voice acting for animals in life, what is she doing here wasting her talent? "I think... We are... Safe..." She gasps, her head hanging down like an anchor for a large ship.

"I swear if we don't get paid after all this." Jimin licks his lips, water the only thing on his mind.

"I don't know who's doing this but, I got a feeling there's a pretty decent reason for it..."

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Word Count

➪ 3154 Words ☕︎

A/N: Ahhh last chapters are here. I'd just like to quickly tell anyone who may be reading this, that I'm so sorry for all the typos in this story. I'm a middle schooler with little to no writing experience, and may I remind you, this was initially written as a joke! The writing of this book was completed last year, so I have grown a lot from this.

Thought this story would be good to give them a little more bonding time before Y/N goes on a little adventure in the following chapters.

Don't forget to vote and comment, ily all!

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