Nightmares Come True: A BU Story Rewritten

Part 0: Irrationality

Jimin wipes his face with his sleeve. He's dripping in sweat.

"You ready?" Hoseok asks, shifting into his beginning stance.

"Don't go easy on me. Not one bit." Jimin replies. He furiously exhales, growing tired, but that won't slow him down. His smile is stretched from ear to ear.

Hoseok's been training Jimin for the past couple months, and he's on track to become the prince's new bodyguard. He was among the twenty-five voluntary trainees brought into the castle two years ago. Despite his young age, he's excelled in his training and has outlasted much older guards in his area of work. However, it wasn't only his talent that won him the new position, but also his growing relationship with the prince.

Jimin's bond with the prince is a curious one. As a matter of fact, the first several months he knew him, he didn't realize he was the prince at all. At the time of their first encounter, Jimin had only lived at the castle for a few weeks, working hard to become a common guard. He was doing well in his work and was trusted enough by the other guards that he would run through the halls of the lower levels on solo errands. Never once did he ever run into anyone who wasn't clearly a guard, except for one week, when the king had a substantial number of priorities go over and complete, and over a period of ten days, only his closest guards would see him.

During that time, Jimin had been sent to relay a message to a higher guard—something in relation to one of the king's decisions, which could have affect over the entire kingdom, so coming back from his most important request yet, he was second-guessing himself, filled with anxiety and worrying about if he'd done and said everything correctly. He made his way through the dimly lit halls, not focusing on whether or not any of his surroundings were out of the ordinary. Looking back, perhaps an item or two had been fiddled with, but those thoughts rarely run through anyone's minds now. Jimin was so hung up with his thoughts that he didn't even know what to think or do when he suddenly ran into the obvious abnormality.

He had turned a corner and immediately stuttered his steps. He sharply gasped, but not loud enough to make a noticeable sound. His fingers twitched, and he felt goosebumps form on his arms, giving him a chill. A few feet away from him stood a boy with his back pressed up against the wall, almost as if he were hiding from something. His head was turned in the opposite direction, so he hadn't noticed Jimin yet. He slowly turned his body and took a few steps, still focused on what was behind. He whipped his head forward. His eyes met Jimin's, and his body shook in surprise. They both panicked and stood frozen still for what felt like minutes.

Jimin's eyes were immediately drawn to the silk sleeves of the boy's tunic. He had a second, slightly heavier layer made of thin wool, with accents of velvet and shimmering embroidery. It was so clean that it practically shone when the light hit it. His boots had buckles of pure gold, and he wore bracelets and rings embedded with jewels. Clearly, he was someone in a position of importance.

Jimin rushed to bend over and bow, feeling tense and flustered, waiting to be scolded and yelled at, but instead, the boy said nothing. He didn't even move. As it turned out, he was just as nervous as Jimin was, and he was also ready to get in trouble. He warily looked around to see if he could spot any other guards; ones who might actually reprimand him and tell his brother. He took one careful step back, waiting for Jimin to stand up, but the longer he stood still, the less scared he got, and the more it seemed like the newbie guard would stay in that position. The boy's thought process of "Hopefully I can slip away without him telling anyone." quickly turned to "How long can I make him stay like that?".

"Park Jimin!" It was only a few moments before the silence was broken. They both turned their heads toward the call. Jimin glanced up before starting to shuffle away, still bowing.