Perilous

Chapter 46 - I Bite at The Hand that Feeds

The story begun with no one having known the truth. And now, Chaeah and Jungkook both know the full truth of it all. A simple palm to a forearm and the entire story can be unfolded. The three were back in the privacy of Yonghwan's hotel room.

"Everything Jackson had been searching for is with you? I'm so surprised...but this makes sense," Jungkook whispers, collecting himself gradually. "That ring...the incident at the A-Rank Games..."

"Please be careful with what you now know. Only I know the full truth other than you, and Hoseok knows some of it," Chaeah warned, rubbing his back. "But even then, this is a lot to handle at once, right? Do you need to sit down?"

"No, I'm fine," he responded with a sniffle. "We need to figure out what to do."

The youth turned toward the mentor who sat by the window on the sill, staring out at the sky scrapers all around while fiddling with the ring on his finger. He gulped, "if you got any ideas kid, be my guest."

"Mr.Sk—" Jungkook stopped himself. "Yonghwan...."

"Not everyone is as strong as you are, Kook. Even since you were a kid you'd stay positive..." the mentor sighs. "Do you know how hard it is to stay positive right now?"

"I-I think so. I thought Tae was my best friend but...now we aren't even friends at all. My head is in a total whiplash because of everything happening, but I don't want to join a dying fight! Everyone who knows Tae knows something is wrong, and we all want to save him," Jungkook explained. "I know I'm just...a kid...but I really do think we can find a solution!"

Chaeah's head cocked to the side, "in the vision, you saw glimpses of the fortunate teller Hitomi...correct?"

"The woman with the mask? Yes."

"The night we went to her temple, she told us that whatever is growing inside of Taehyung is what's causing him to act irrationally," Chaeah explained. "And what happened at the A-Rank Games heightened it's strength."

"That would mean that everything that may effect him psychologically could fuel it's power right?" Jungkook asked. Chaeah nodded.

"Does he know that? I mean...outside of what we told him in the bunker during the attack the other day?"

Chaeah paused for a moment, "....we haven't spoken to him about it precisely, but he is fully aware there is something wrong with him. He chooses to ignore it in fear."

Jungkook begun to walk in circles, "okay okay....so what if the answer is more simple than we thought?"

Yonghwan turned his head from the window, "go on."

The two watched Jungkook calculate, his eyebrows and eyes moving while thinking of the right words to say. "It's rare that Taehyung gives himself a break, and he doesn't enjoy anything because he's so desperate for the answers of his destiny. So, what if, we fight fire with fire?"

"That doesn't usually end well....what are you trying to say?" Chaeah asked.

"If negative psychological impact will strengthen the power inside of him, then maybe we should try to influence a positive impact to weaken the core," Jungkook told. "The same way as cheering someone up on a bad day?"

As childish as it sounded, it caused the other two to perk up almost instantly. Could the answer be as simple as just making him happy?

"It could be worth a try," Chaeah turned to Yonghwan. "Clearly talking to him up front about it won't solve the issue....so..."

"How could we do that?" Jungkook asked Yonghwan. "You know Taehyung more than the two of us do. What makes him the most happy?"

Yonghwan felt caught off guard, his eyes widening. It had been a while since he talked about Taehyung aloud in such an openly affectionate way. In the past he was rather shameless, but now, his voice was filled with remorse. "He loves to dance."