Give it to Me

38. Black Swan

✯YOU✯

Opening your eyes, you found yourself in a space you didn’t recognize in the slightest. It was a small apartment; beige curtains were covering up the sun coming in from the windows. It wasn’t messy per say, or at least it didn’t seem like a space that was usually so clustered by papers, notebooks, and random documents – which were currently spread along every available surface. Scrutinizing the room, in which only Seokjin, Namjoon and yourself seemed to be, you wondered what the heck brought you all there.

“How did you even find out where I lived?” you asked Namjoon, wondering exactly how he found you.
“I asked Taehyung to ask Jimin, who gave an address and a very specific description of your parental household.”

Another man finally entered the small living room, arriving from the adjacent room, interrupting the present conversation.
You recognized Taehyung’s dark curls and immediately understood part of what was happening: this must have been his place.

“Glad you’re all here,” Taehyung spoke,
“have a seat.”

You all obeyed, seating yourselves along the few available spots on the leather couches, pushing aside some papers and books. Taehyung suddenly seemed to notice the mess, and, with a quick gesture of the wrist, snapped his wand into a spell that cleaned up the place in seconds.
As documents and books flew back into their appropriate spaces, he sat across from you all and began explaining why he had asked for Seokjin’s presence.

“We’ve got Hoseok.” The mere statement was enough for Seokjin’s breaths to slowly increase. You grasped his hand, holding it along your thigh as you attentively listened to the auror.
“The memory Jungkook extracted from the eye witness confirms Hoseok used occlumency to get out of the tournament, ten years ago, and fool us all into believing him there. From there, he found himself at the cemetery where your family rests. Everything else I have gathered confirms Hoseok was the one who attacked you in Seoul, months ago, using toxic smoke and poisoning your drinks in an attempt to question you about a magical relic kept in Seokjin’s family.”

You eyed Namjoon, surprised by Taehyung’s mention of the object. Namjoon nodded, confirming Taehyung was now aware of the bow, and hinting for your silence. Taehyung continued:
“Something else caught our attention. According to Namjoon, who witnessed the memory through a pensieve, Hoseok wasn’t entirely himself. A few weeks ago, he walked into this very apartment, handing himself over to me, begging for my help.”

“… help with what?” you wondered, tightening your grip around your friend’s hand.

“It’s no news that Hoseok and I were victims of Seok-jun’s experiments for years. He used us to test all kinds of prohibited magic, spells, practices too inhumane to be allowed in school. What he did to Hoseok is unprecedented in the magical world, to our knowledge at least. Jungkook, Namjoon, Yoongi and I have been researching and surveilling Hoseok for weeks now, trying to understand the enchantment. It seems Seok-jun created a bond between their souls through a spell which involved transferring pain from one body to the other.”

Seokjin’s hand trembled within your own as Taehyung detailed the nature of Seok-jun’s experiment on Hoseok. In essence, the pain he inflicted upon himself would leave him woundless, leaving no marks and pain on his own skin and bones. Instead, Hoseok’s body suffered as if it were the one martyred by chastisement. Hoseok’s own mind couldn’t remember the details nor the extent of Seok-jun’s spell, but its traces were still lingering on his soul.

“It’s horrible,” you gasped,
“But what does it have to do with Hoseok’s involvement in Seoul? Why did he attack us? He can’t possibly blame Seokjin for—”