Run

27. The Cave

3rd person's pov

Hyunjin led the group to a large cave, one that hadn't been bothered for a while. The rest of the group was surprised at how spacious and warm, not much snow had gotten in and it seemed perfect place for the group to stay. Jae had still been asleep on Hoseok's back when they reached the cave, the best part about the cave was that there was large tree which hung over the entrance and surprisingly, there were still leaves and large vines growing on the trees. This provided the cave entrance cover, though Namjoon thought it would be a good idea to hang up a sheet so it could help keep the wind from blowing out the fire that Jimin and Taehyung made. Hyunjin helped Jungkook hang up the sheet, makimg sure that the strong winter wind couldn't blow it away while Hoseok and Yoongi made a small nest for Seo-Jae to sleep on. They thought it would be the best way to keep Jae warm enough until they would arrive at Suho's camp. Namjoon didn't think they would stay for long in that cave, they needed to keep moving in order to stay ahead of the men looking for Seo-Jae but they needed to wait out the storm since it was only getting worse. After they finished setting up, Jin started on making lunch for the group from what they had packed. Hoseok laid Jae on the nest with Yoongi's help as she still was sleeping, covering her with a heavy blanket which was covered in his and Yoongi's scent. "This cave isn't too bad. How'd you find this place, Hyunjin?" Jimin looked over at Hyunjin, he had set up his own little corner away from the rest of the group. "One of the times I escaped those two idiots before, I found this cave and holed up here for a few days before I ran out of food. When I left to find food, they tracked me in an open field." Hyunjin explained, he slipped into a jacket and sat down on his blanket.

"Thanks for pointing this place out, Hyunjin. We may have been in this area for four years now but there's still some places we don't know about. Having your expertise will be helpful in keeping Jae out of harms' way." Hoseok gave him a small smile, "It was no problem. It's the least I could do when Jin hyung and Jimin have taken such great care of me. And I still owe Seo-Jae for saving me when she didn't need too." Hyunjin stated, leaning back against the cave wall. Namjoon watched the interaction as Jungkook and Jimin decided to go sit with Hyunjin, the three striking up a conversation. Hoseok joined in the conversation, the four of them seeming to get along just fine. Even though he was grateful for Hyunjin's knowledge of the area and the fact that he has been doing a great job with protecting Jae, Namjoon still couldn't easily just shake off the feeling that he might have been hiding something. Yoongi noticed the apprehensive feeling in the mate bond, but nobody else did as they were more wrapped up in what they were doing. He looked over at Namjoon, deciding to go talk to him rather than let him drown himself in his mind all day.

"Joon, what's on your mind? You're all tense and I can tell you're feeling apprehensive." Yoongi spoke softly.

"I.. don't know, honestly. I just have this feeling that he could be hiding something from us." Namjoon answered.

"Are you sure that he's actually hiding something or is that just your dislike for him getting the better of your judgment?" Yoongi asked. Namjoon looked at Yoongi with shock, he quickly wiped it off his face and shook his head.

"No, I know better than to let my emotions get in the way of making judgments about other hybrids. I may not like him but he's proven that he won't harm Seo-Jae, I just don't think he's telling us everything." Namjoon crossed his arms. Yoongi had usually always been the one to be cautious when they came across new people, especially other hybrids. Namjoon also was a cautious person around new people but he wasn't distrustful of them right off the bat, this whole thing struck Yoongi as odd. He couldn't figure out why Namjoon was so distrustful of Hyunjin, he thought that it could be that he wasn't too happy about how much sway he had on Jimin and Jungkook. After all, Namjoon may not have been the oldest in the pack but he was the pack leader. Yoongi sighed, placing a hand on Namjoon's shoulder and looked the wolf in the eyes. "Namjoon-ah, you've got to let this go. I know you want to believe that Hyunjin is hiding something but I doubt that it's going to be a threat to any of us. He's not easily going to just tell us his past and be read like an open book. None of us are like that. You can't expect him to tell us anything else other than what he feels comfortable. Besides, Jungkook and Jimin both trust him and that should be enough for you to be able to trust him just a little. I'm not saying you have to wholeheartedly trust him but give him the benefit of the doubt, he did save Jae from those men before you guys could get to her." Yoongi suggested, Namjoon thought for a moment about what he was saying and realized that he was right.

"Alright, I'll try my best to be less apprehensive around him and try be a little more understanding towards him. That doesn't mean that I'll like it but I'll try." Namjoon said, Yoongi chuckled lightly and patted Namjoon on the shoulder.

"Good," Yoongi smiled, stepping back.

"Food's ready!" Jin called.

"Come on, let's go eat." Everyone gathered around the fire, Jin handing out food portions to the youngest members first which included Jae. At the moment, she was still half asleep and could barely form a sentence. She was still pretty much wrapped up in the blanket Hoseok had given her, leaning on Taehyung who was more than happy to feed her if he needed too.

"Jae, take a bite." Taehyung suggested, putting the sandwich in front of her. She grimaced, not really wanting to eat it. "I know you might not feel like eating but you got to. We gotta get your strength up and your body is still fighting off that cold. Please, eat. Even if its a little bit." Taehyung pleaded, he looked to Jin with concern when she still didn't take a bite. "Here, give her this." Jin took the sandwich from Taehyung, handing him a thermos of chicken soup. Taehyung took the thermos from Jin, leaning back a bit as Jimin handed him a spoon. "What is this?" He asked, sniffing the thermos. "I figured she might not want any solid foods for now, especially now that her fever has broken so I prepped some soup before we left the cabin. I have some more soup tucked away that would just need to be heated if she won't eat anything else." Jin explained, taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Jae, will you eat this?" Jimin looked concerned as Taehyung dipped the spoon into the soup and pulled out a spoonful of food. Seo-jae let out a soft hum and ate the spoonful of soup, letting out another soft hum which made Hoseok smile softly. Taehyung continued feeding her small spoonfuls of soup, Jimin making sure that Taehyung also ate while he fed Seo-Jae. Hyunjin watched in silence, he felt saddened watching how Seo-Jae's soulmates were taking care of her. It made him miss his own mates, he could only hope that one day he would be reunited with them.