"This is getting out of hand!" Yoongi bellowed at the boys before him, having brought them by the river to talk to them separately. Diana was working through her books in her cabin, remaining clueless about their little meeting.

"She- She's forgetting more and more, everyday!" He continued, disgruntled. "We need to find a way out," he urged.

"Hyung we've been searching everyday in the forest to do that. Jungkook and Diana go in there and search for hours on end." Namjoon sighed, trying to reason with Yoongi, who was beginning to grow more aggravated.

Yoongi however, still grew more distressed, "Joon-ah, we need to speed things up, now. We need to get out sooner, before it gets to the point where she begins to forget us!" He exclaimed.

"Wait- us? Why would she forget us?!" Jungkook interjected, eyes growing wide anxiously. Yoongi's eyes grew glossy at that.

Hoseok tensed at that, brows furrowing in utter concern, "Hyung, what do you mean by that? Why would Diana forget about us? We've never met in the real world for that to happen. Didn't we conclude that all she's forgetting is from the real world?" He asked hesitantly.

Yoongi hissed in a breath, nibbling at his lips while shifting his weight from one leg to another, feeling restless, "She's..- She's forgotten that I write music. She's forgetting things about me." He revealed and looked at the ground with deep frown, hearing the others soft, sharp gasps.

Silence fell over for a moment before Jimin broke it, "Jin hyung! Where are you going?" He questioned out loud, reaching over for the said man that began rushing back towards the camp.

Yoongi snapped his head up, gaze fixating on the eldest male who pushed past their figures with hard eyes. "Hyung!" Jungkook called out, though the male didn't let up, eyes glaring at the maknae who blocked his path, "What will you do? Diana has already forgotten about what happened just yesterday! She might cry again if we remind her about her memory loss." He frowned, eyes growing sad at the thought.

"Move! This can't be true, she won't- she can't forget!" Jin insisted, shifting to move past the bulkier male.

~ Jin POV ~

I didn't bother to reply to their calls as I rushed to her cabin. She can't forget! We've been together the longest! She can't forget about me! I won't allow it!!

As I reached her door, I swiftly pushed it open. "Gee willickers! Oh my god, Jinnie you scared me!" I paused as I noticed her flinch on her seat, eyes blown wide in surprise at my sudden entrance. Without wasting another second, I took large steps in, closing the distance between us and pulled her out of her seat; bringing her into a hug I so desperately wanted to engulf her in.

"What..—"

I shushed her, not wanting to explain the reason behind this sudden gesture I pulled her in. I felt grateful when she simply let out a breath against my chest, returning my embrace, unconsciously rubbing my back in silent comfort despite not knowing for what.

I exhaled softly and buried my face into the gap between her shoulder and neck, keeping a close hold of her. "Are you alright?" She mumbled gently against my neck and I simply hummed, not willing to voice this out just yet. I don't want to frighten her with what I know and what she has become clueless of.

I took in a shaky breath, feeling a lump at the back of my throat with the thought of her potentially forgetting about me. It was a devastating thought and it pained me to even begin to imagine what would happen then.

Will I have to reintroduce myself to her? Will I lose the first nickname she gave me? Will she forget the bond we've built together? After so long? Will I even be able to regain the same bond we built if she forgets?

"I don't know what's gotten you so troubled, but if it helps - I'll be right here, sweets. No matter what, you don't have to worry about losing me." She resounded softly, squeezing my mid-riff with the arms she has wrapped around it. "You're unfortunately stuck with me." She humoured.

I felt my eyes sting with building tears, wishing nothing more than to remain like this forever. To will the time to freeze this moment into memory forever, because if she forgets, I won't be able to pull her back into a hug knowing she'd perceive me as a stranger only.

Being stuck with you is anything but unfortunate.

~ Diana POV ~

When I first got a glimpse of his face, it hurt me physically to see the pain held within his orbs. I wanted to ask what happened, what was hurting him so much that he couldn't even be bothered to conceal and hide it. It was openly expressed and I have a feeling he showed it unknowingly.

I don't really know for how long I was engrossed within my notebook to really pin-point anything that could've happened while I was occupied.

But the way he pulled me into his arms so desperately and with such a hurry, I had a hunch that it was related to something he held dearly to him. Whether I reminded him of it or he simply chose to get comfort at the thought from me is a mystery, but I hope that whatever it is, I was doing at least a decent job in settling him and calming him down.

He had my shirt fisted so tightly, I was almost sure he would pierce, tear through it with his nails. I continued to rub his back in a soothing motion as he tried to control his turmoil. It's like he's hoping I don't disappear with how fiercely he held me.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jinnie."

His tight fist loosened slightly after my words. I felt how his chest rose and fell from intaking shaky breaths, assuming he was doing his best to not crumble. I didn't question him for this sudden urge he had to acquire comfort from me. I concluded that he approached me for it since he's known me the longest out of the rest.

After a few more moments, his hold loosened around my frame, indicating that he is, at the very least, feeling a bit better after the hug. Pulling away, I peered over at his face that looked back at me. I noticed his pupils shake within his eyes as he returned my gaze, almost as if sealing this moment into memory.

I provided him a warm smile, watching as his own made its way into his face. "Diana..." he started and I nodded, urging him to continue.

"I know that... the real world may not seem to appeal to you. Not much from what you know about it," he continued and my brows furrowed, wondering where he was going with this topic.

How did he know about my personal life in the real world?

"The real world is pretty hectic. So many people, your studies at university.., your relations..." he listed and my lips twitched into a frown. How does he know all this?

"I'm saying this because I have a feeling that..." he paused, bottom lip sucked in as he thought through his words, "That you might possibly favour your time here more than there." He voiced and my brows jumped up. I felt a bit exposed; how did he...-?

Jin caught onto my surprise and jutted his jaw slightly.

"But despite that, let's work to get out of here, hm? Many of us miss our own homes. We could even do all sorts of things in the real world! We could meet up and hang out as a group, relish in the fact that we all made it out together and who knows? Maybe even do sleepovers and eat foods that we couldn't do while spending it in this game." He rambled on and as he went on and on about his plans and possibilities.

The thought of returning back in the real world seemed to excite me more than it did before as I began to envision hanging out with all of them in the real world. I could invite them into my house and we could eat all sorts of fast foods.

Yeah... that doesn't seem bad... not at all.

~ Namjoon POV ~

From what I've read regarding Diana's memory - from what she has realised as she slowly began to forget, I can easily conclude that the extra sleep she took last night was enough to erase her memories regarding what she found out.

She's back to being clueless about the good times she had experienced in the real world. My thoughts trailed to the work she's focused on and I realised that it's somewhat irrelevant towards our way out.

We don't know if we'll ever come across anything more beast-like than the Olfstin. Two out of the eight of us have yet to see the Olfstin itself.

My eyes trailed down to the bottle in my hands, a hard look directed at this object. When I reached for the paper inside, I already felt the heat radiating off of it.

The game was purposely making it hard for everyone to gain the final two words for their puzzle. This only solidified the fact that it was what we needed to attain in order to carve a path to our exit. A puzzle that could potentially get us out of this game. Not to mention, it could save Diana from losing herself completely.

It's already hard enough knowing that it's begun to effect her memories in this world as well. I cannot let that go further.

"Hey,"

I looked up and gave a tight-lipped smile to Hoseok, who took a seat beside me by the fire-pit. He hissed in a breath as his eyes landed on the bottle in my hands. The paper inside was crumpled up from being shoved inside in a haste.

"You were going to ask me to read something from that." He brought up and I nodded mutely, bringing my eyes back down to the bottle. "Your fingers," he pointed, eyes holding great worry at my bandaged hand from the burns it got.

I sighed. Right. I'd actually taken it back out..but not without burning my fingers in the process. Since this paper had been rolled up, without being held open, it rolls back into itself, hiding away the answers we want.

I even tried to use the tweezers kept inside the first-aid kit, hoping to hold it open. But surprise, surprise, the metal utensil began to melt.

It's a wonder how the paper hasn't turned to ashes yet. It's still the same despite the heat it now radiates. The extremes it manages to pull-off when a material capable of handling higher temperatures was an example enough to prove how it varies when certain materials comes into contact with it.

The only exception was the bottle. Trying to cool it using water is an option none of us tried, not wanting to risk losing the paper in case that's what the game hopes we end up doing.

"I've tried everything to open the paper without destroying anything, but it was all a failed attempt." I mumbled, watching how the paper shifted inside the bottle as I twisted it around. "Is there nothing else we can do? This is the first ever thing you've all found that holds some sort of lead, right?" Hoseok asked and I hummed a 'yes' in response.

tap Tap TAP TAP

my gaze turned towards the sound of running footsteps and I jumped in surprise when Taehyung plopped himself in front of me. "Hyung!" He exclaimed, eyes bright with what was going through his head, making me perk up.

"What?" I asked tentatively, wondering what's got him so pumped. "The- the bottle!" He pointed and I nodded, frowning in confusion, "Uh, what about it?" I asked.

"It's the only thing that remains unaffected to the paper!" He exclaimed.

I paused, diverting my eyes towards the bottle I held, "Yeah..." I trailed. My eyes widened as it clicked.

Hoseok remained dumbfounded, "Yeah. What's to it?" He questioned, frowning in wonder.

Taehyung hopped on his heals as his index finger pointed at the bottle in my hands, "We can use the bottle to hold open the paper!" He smiled widely. I nodded back, "Right. Right! Of course!" I agreed, jumping to my feet. "B-but how?" Hoseok asked, standing up as well.

"Yoongi hyung!" I called out as I ushered the two to follow me as I climbed up the ladder. I made my way over towards his cabin, knocking briefly before entering his room.

"Aish..." he grumbled, sitting up from his laying position on the bed, giving us a half-hearted glare. "We have one more thing we can try." I stated confidently.

His eyes glimmered hopefully, making me smile, "What do you have in mind?" He asked.

"I'm confident with this one. Taehyung just revealed a great idea; we can use the bottle itself to hold open the paper." I gestured towards the bottle in my hand and he perked up, pursing his lips as he processed the idea.

"Okay. How do we do that?" He frowned, "We have no place to keep the paper on where it doesn't burn the wood. The bottle is just one. We've tried everything else to hold it open but they've all failed." He listed.

My smile still remained on my face, it grew wider because I had a solution, "How do we make use of the one bottle that's immune to it?" Yoongi hyung questioned.

"We break the bottle. Duh."

_____________________________

Let's get outta hereeeee!!! *\(><)/*

I've seen the reading lists that some of you have added my book in and 🥹🥹 they're so sWEETTT🤧🤧💕💕 it makes me really happy 🥰🥰🥰

I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! 🥰✨ I love writing for this book, so I hope it's the same for you when reading it!

See you next week!! 😘😘❤️💕
(Maybe cuz my exams are about to start, I have the chaps ready, just updating on time is the only concern!! xx)

~ Ada