Sempiternal: •D.E.A(live).D• || BOOK 4#

3. Dead

He blinks repeatedly and dazedly, feeling the soft and continuous caresses to his hair. Jin in front of him, fixing his hair and humming softly. He sighs, still sleepy and wanting Jin not to stop what he is doing.

"You have a lot of gray hair," Jin comments quietly, barely moving his reddened lips. "They're not needed. You don't have to look older than me." he jokes simply and Namjoon laughs, closing his eyes and closing his body more under the sheet.

"You don't need to have gray hair for that. You never change. You're a vampire." He continues playfully and Jin chuckles, dropping his hand on the bed, holding in a little more laughter. Namjoon looks to link his hand with him.

"I'm thinking of turning you to become eternally beautiful like me."

"Why didn't you do it before?"

"Because I knew you would look more beautiful at twenty-six."

Namjoon laughs through his nose and Jin strokes the back of his hand with his thumb. He missed these quiet, simple awakenings, full of playful exchanges of words. Nothing important to say, nothing important on his mind. Just him and Namjoon loving each other before getting on with the day's responsibilities.

~ * * * ~

"Tae, I found this kid on my way here."

Taehyung gets up from where he's sitting, taking the dog Jungkook hands him. He's shivering so much that he looks like he's about to die of hypothermia or a heart attack. It's a poodle with a disgusting excess of hair. Imagine he can't even see by this point and it's a miracle he's still alive with how thin he feels. Jungkook brought him in because he felt sorry to see him walking down the street.

"Help me cut his hair and see what else he has. Wooyoung is bathing and checking on other dogs with the rest, so I'm a little understaffed." ironizes Taehyung and Jungkook nods.

Jungkook kept the dog restrained as Taehyung sheds the dense coat of fur. White, but tinged with gray and brown from the grime. The animal sticks out its tongue and its bulging eyes are looking around. Becoming aware of the world again in a long time. When they remove the excess in scissors, Jungkook turns on the generator and the dog's squeals from the shaver can well be heard all over Chuncheon.

"Huh? What about this?"

Taehyung notices that, aside from having a collar, it had something tied to it sloppily. A piece of dirty cloth. Jungkook picks it up for Taehyung and he takes care of the dog who is still whining. He leaves it in an isolation area so that it calms down, doesn't run and can both eat, drink water and sleep.

"Hey, Taehyung." Jungkook's gesture is one of distress, showing the stretched piece of cloth. It has something written on it and Taehyung is left cold:

"West Avenue, amusement park. Wounded leg. Help. Seojoon."

. . .

"We have to investigate at least Why can't it be Seojoon!?" replies Taehyung shocked. "The dog was also on our route, wasn't it!?

"It would be attracted by the sound. It's feasible to have left a message on an animal in hopes that someone will find it" Hoseok agrees and turns up his lip. "What's strange to me is that he says it's him."

"Why!"

"What are the chances that it's you who will find him?" asks Jin. "There's no way of knowing. Yeou hasn't vented our identities to anyone and was ordered not to. So far, he has complied."

"It's exaggeratedly convenient," mutters Yoongi, uneasily. "We also don't know how long it's been since he left that message. He may be dead by now." announces regretfully in giving that possibility. Taehyung gives little shudders in his seat.