Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
— how do we save him?
OCTOBER 17: JUNG HOSEOK
==
hoseok wakes up with a startled inhale.
he lies in the starchy motel sheets for moments after, feeling the rush of his heart and the heave of his chest. there's a pounding sensation in his head, like waking up from a hangover, and hoseok curses silently to the slightly spinning ceiling.
when he finally manages to sit up, he finds a fully-dressed jeongguk looking at him quizzically.
there's an awkward silence until jeongguk clears his throat in nervous finality and scratches his neck.
"nightmare, or something?"
hoseok frowns. "i think so...was it noticeable?"
"you thrashed so hard in the bed i fell off the mattress at three a.m. so—um, yeah. i guess."
the older laughs, shaking the morning rasp from his voice. "ah, shit—i'm sorry, jeongguk, i usually don't have nightmares, i don't know why—"
"don't apologize, it's okay. really," jeongguk adds with a smile when hoseok's expression of uncertainty doesn't change. he gingerly sits in one of the room's callously placed chairs. "it was about taehyung, i'm guessing?"
"i—i don't remember it well, actually..." hoseok runs shaking fingers through his hair, lip tucked between his teeth, "it was weird, christ, i don't understand it well. i was like...in this dark place, and..." he pauses. "ah, well. i've woken up, so it doesn't matter anyway."
"oh—well yeah, i...i guess, yeah."
there's another span of tense silence as hoseok stands up with a quick stretch and walks to the bathroom. before he can reach the door, jeongguk's voice cuts through from behind him.
"hyung?"
hoseok turns around. "hm?"
a look of uncertainty passes through jeongguk's face—but it isn't like the guy isn't usually nervous. the expression is quite common between the six of them. "do you...do you think taehyung is evil?"
hoseok stares. "evil?"
"just...he's been blowing up shit, and killing people, and just—and just creating chaos everywhere he goes—"
"that isn't taehyung," hoseok interrupts. "that's the monster. the monster is the one doing all of this shit. taehyung is...taehyung is just caught up in it and we don't know how—christ, the guy could be possessed, for all we know. but the one doing shit like this isn't taehyung, alright?"
"how do we know?"
hoseok pauses.
"we...we don't. we just have to trust that it isn't him."
