❝O̵̮̒ȗ̶̺͎ͅṯ̸̢̻̔̕ ̸̞̦̈́̉̾ͅȟ̶̯̗̣͂͑e̵̞̩̚͜r̸͈̟̃̕̚e̶̢̅̄,̴̜͍͎̚ ̵̰̬͍̇̃̌n̴̛̺͖̗̽̊ó̷̰̆ ̷̺̫͉̾õ̵̳͝n̵̨̟̣̓̕e̴̫͙̔ͅ ̴͔͚̑͊͒w̷̦̔ö̸̠̥̽̚u̶̝̺͝l̴̦͕̲̂́͠d̶͈͉̐ ̵̘̋̆͘h̴͕͖͐͂͝ȅ̵̜̠a̴̬̖̹̅͌r̷̳̈̍̆ ̷̼̼͊͝ŷ̵̺̺̑ỏ̷͔ü̴̜ ̸̠̐͑s̵̠͉̩͋̕c̷̘̠̏̊͝r̵̼̖̓͋͜e̶͈̘̒͛ḁ̸͓̒̐m̵̢̟̤̈́́͝.̶̣̻̇̃̊❞
——

Park Soomi

Surrounded. I was surrounded by towering trees in every direction, spanning as far as the eye could see. I had no idea where I was, and the gloomy mist enveloping the landscape did nothing to help.

I started running. I didn't know where to, but this feeling inside of me was telling me I needed to escape from something.

My breathing became painful and labored with each additional step I took. But with the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I would've kept powering through this endless abyss of foliage. That was, if it weren't for a tree falling right before my eyes, maybe only centimetres from my face.

The impact didn't produce a single noise, not even a hiss of wind, yet the event triggered a tornado of whispers. The voices coming in and out, I was only able to make out a few phrases.

"...tree falling in a forest..."

"...no one around..."

"...no one will hear..."

They hissed like snakes, repeating these words over and over again, overlapping each other. It was as if they were circling me, surrounding me.

Engulfing me.

"Out here, no one would hear you scream." That voice spoke with clarity through the chaos of other whispers.

And then, they were interrupted by a scream, but there was something so peculiar about the sound. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The screech continued ringing in my ear.

Then it hit me.

That scream: it was my scream.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up, relief rushing over me from seeing that I was back in my bedroom. I was safe.

Or at least, I thought.

Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure from the corner of my eye. I froze, fear quickly settling back in.

The figure didn't move at first, though he appeared to reach towards his back pocket, taking out or putting something away.

What if it's a weapon?

I snapped out of my frozen state, ready to let out a scream when the figure rushed towards me. Only a short yelp escaped before the person slapped his palm over my lips, muffling my cries for help. I struggled to be released from the person's grip, giving everything I got, but it was useless.

"Soomi, would you be quiet," the man shushed. I was caught off guard by the unknown figure speaking, but I was even more surprised by how I recognized the voice.

A dim light illuminated his face when he used his free hand to flip the switch on my bedside lamp.

Hoseok.

I managed to remove his hand from my face, as he had finally loosened his hold on me.

"What the hell was that for Hoseok!" I whisper shouted at the man, who was now leaning against the mattress slightly.

"I was trying to stop you from screaming! You're gonna wake up the whole damn house!"

"Okay, no shit, but why were you just standing there in the first place!" I questioned. There was just the briefest moment of silence before he answered.

"I heard you scream. I came in to check on you when I realized everything was alright."

"I—" I was about to argue back until I remembered the nightmare that had woken me up.

A scream.

I guess the scream I heard might've actually just been me, and I didn't even realize. "Oh. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already up. Someone has to be on night duty. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare."

"You sure it was just a nightmare?" I knitted my eyebrows together from the question. "You sure it was just the nightmare that made you scream, I mean," he quickly clarified.

"Yeah...yeah, of course," I responded uncertainly. But the way he worded the question the first time still resonated inside me.

Was it just a nightmare?

It was so similar to the last one, from the voices to the atmosphere to the fear it instilled within me. And I was still able to picture both dreams so vividly in my mind, despite my typical inability to recall dreams the moment I left them. It seemed impossible that they could be just dreams.

But that was too ridiculous to think about, right? What else could they be?

I realized that it got strangely quiet as I had sunken deep into my thoughts. My eyes had been unfocused, gazing down at my lap.

As I refocused all my senses, I felt Hoseok's presence still by my side. I was confused about why he was still here.

When I looked back to him, I found myself flustered by his provocative stare. I cursed at myself internally for jumping slightly. To make things worse, he seemed to notice as his lips curled up into a smirk.

"You know, even with bed hair, you look absolutely gorgeous." I started to realize just how close he was to me.

"Could you stop? I have a boyfriend." He suddenly started to laugh. I was confused by his response.

"Come on. I'm just complimenting you. It's not like I would actually do anything with you." I squinted my eyes at him.

"So what you're saying is you're a tease."

"Aww, are you upset, babe? I didn't know you wanted me."

"What? No! You're literally delusional." I groaned, "You really frustrate me sometimes."

"Sexually?" I gasped at his statement, smacking him with one of my pillows before pushing him off the bed. I quickly jumped up as well, paying no more attention to him as I rummaged through my closet for something to wear.

"You can go now. I'm gonna be working in the studio if you need me."

"This early?"

"Well, I can't fall back asleep anymore. My heart's still racing, and I'm wide awake now."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when you're alone in a room with a good looking guy like me." I turned towards him, completely fed up.

"No, you idiot, from the nightmare! Now get out!" He continued to laugh with amusement even as I was pushing him out of the room. I caught one last glimpse at his grin before slamming the door shut in his face.

* * *

Min Yoongi

The slam of a door echoed through the house, abruptly waking me up. It was dark in the living room, but I was able to spot a figure that appeared to be Hoseok standing outside Soomi's bedroom. A bit confused, I continued observing his movements.

I couldn't quite make out any facial expressions until he pulled out his phone from his back pocket. The dim light emanating from the screen emphasized parts of his face and made his facial expression visible.

I noticed how serious he looked. It was probably the most serious I had ever seen him.

He maintained this expression as he dialed a number and brought the phone to his ear. As he advanced towards the couch that I was sleeping on, I snapped my eyes shut and pretended to sleep.

"Hey, Mr. Kim. It's me," Hoseok whispered while passing by me, "What? Oh, of course, she's fine..." I strained to hear more of the conversation, but he was already too far off in the distance.

Mr. Kim? Why was he calling Boss so early in the morning?

My curiosity was killing me as I wondered what was going on with Hoseok. I was about to follow him until I heard a softer click of the door. By reflex, I plopped back down onto the couch, remaining in a sleeping position.

I tilted my head just enough to look towards the direction of the sound. Soomi was leaving the room, tiptoeing as she made her way across the room and down the stairs in the same direction as Hoseok.

When the coast was clear, I sat upright on the couch.

That's weird.

Glancing towards the staircase, I pondered just one question.

Is something going on with Hoseok and Soomi?

——
{a/n}
Since there was some confusion on chapter 2, I made some slight modifications that hopefully made things clearer without giving everything away!

If there is ever a point you are confused, please let me know! I won't be offended or anything! I just really wanna fix it and make the story more enjoyable 😊

Thanks and I purple you all! 💜