Hyungie plaything {Jikook} 🔞

15

Late that night, Taehyung lay sprawled across the bed in a starfish position, his limbs clinging to every edge of the mattress as if grounding himself would somehow stave off the ominous thoughts that had followed him to bed. He'd managed, after a lengthy self-pep talk, to convince himself that the towering trees outside his window weren't crawling with ghosts, and the hotel's "haunted" reputation was just a kitschy marketing gimmick. *No big deal,* he thought, finally letting his eyelids drift shut.

But peace was short-lived.

Soft, indecipherable whispers began to weave their way into his dreams-faint voices that seemed to call his name from the depths of some distant, shadowy forest. They were barely louder than a breath, yet the sound wrapped around him with chilling clarity, lingering long enough to wrench him from his doze.

He bolted upright, heart hammering in his chest like a drum. Every sound in the room seemed amplified-the creak of the floorboards, the rustle of the curtains. And then he saw it. His pulse stuttered as he noticed a figure outside his room, a shadow slipping down the dim hallway with slow, deliberate steps. Tall and slender, the figure moved like an apparition, its dark form gliding past his door with an eerie stillness.

*The ghost.* His brain could barely compute the thought before panic set in. Logic went right out the window as he stumbled back against the headboard, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find his voice. It started as a hoarse whisper but quickly escalated. "J-Hope! H-help!" His voice cracked, somewhere between a shout and a strangled squeak. "There's-there's something in the hall!"

In a matter of seconds, thunderous footsteps echoed down the hallway. J-Hope, his hair sticking up like he'd been dragged out of a deep sleep, appeared, looking more exasperated than terrified. Behind him trailed a few groggy staff members, their eyes barely open as they clutched their robes against the chill. J-Hope squinted down the hall, his face scrunched with annoyance rather than fear. "Taehyung, are you okay? What in the world is going on?"

Taehyung, still clinging to the doorframe as if it were his last lifeline, extended a trembling finger down the corridor. "Th-there's a ghost!" he whispered, eyes wide, his voice pitched with mock seriousness. "Tall, pale, walking all... creepily!" He waved his hand dramatically, as though that would somehow convey the terror of the figure he'd seen.

J-Hope sighed heavily, rolling his eyes before gesturing toward the end of the hall, where the shadowy figure had paused under a flickering light. "Hey, Jin! You're scaring our friend here."

The figure straightened, stepping into the light to reveal-much to Taehyung's horror-a tall, handsome man with an amused smirk and a basket of cleaning supplies in hand. Jin, his eyebrow arching in bemusement, raised a hand in greeting. "A ghost? Really?" he chuckled, clearly enjoying the attention. "I've been called a lot of things, but that's a new one."

Taehyung's face turned every shade of red imaginable. "Y-you're... you're not a ghost?" he stammered, mentally cursing himself for jumping to the wildest conclusion possible.

"Nope." Jin's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Just your friendly, very-much-alive night staff, doing my rounds. Thought I'd restock the supplies before the morning shift." He grinned, thoroughly entertained. "But thanks for the introduction. It's not every day I get mistaken for a spirit."

Beside him, J-Hope was doing his best to stifle a laugh, patting Taehyung's shoulder in mock consolation. "Taehyung, meet Jin-the guy actually responsible for our trip's smooth sailing. He knows everything about this place, including all those spooky trails you keep nagging me to check out."

Taehyung scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish grin breaking through his embarrassment. "Uh... sorry, Jin. Guess I got a bit carried away. But, I mean, if you're going to haunt the hallways with cleaning supplies, maybe don't look so... ghostly?"