fiendish heart [1]

15 。midnight sky

„He's gone."

„What?"

„I said he's gone, Kook is gone." Silence washed over the lost boy's all gathered by the centre camp in hopes that their leader would perhaps join them for a game of blackjack.  Instead, all four sat and gawked as Yoongi shared the news of Kook's disappearance. No wind picked up the leaves to create a calm resonance, no wild animals were around to disrupt the dead air.

„Don't mess around," Seokjin sneered, already on his feet and ready to search every treetop for the boy he was so incredibly worried about. „Have you checked his hut?" Yoongi nodded earnestly, „his cave?" He gave a small yes as he stepped forward, placing a hand to Seokjin's shoulder before he could press on.

„I have searched every crevice in every place Kook has ever been in this forest, he is not here. Seokjin- " The silence echoed and Yoongi swallowed, „Taehyung's gone too." Immediately Hoseok and Namjoon were on their feet, frowns of deep concern etched into their cheeks.

„He wouldn't, not now." Seokjin said earnestly, noticing the grim expressions everyone held. „Kook is changing! He has confessed his wrongs and he is trying to fix them. He wouldn't hurt -"

„It's his nature, no influence or force can change that." Jimin uttered, head hung low in defeat. He didn't know what to do. He'd tried to warn Taehyung, tried to get him away before this happened. But he hadn't listened, he never had.

„No." Seokjin said firmly, turning on his heels and storming off in search of the missing boy whom had never left his hut in broad daylight.

-

His eyes roamed the silent, empty hut from outside the entrance, admiring every piece of decor that created the sense of home. Kook's bed was adorned with floral pink and green covers that splayed across the dark spruce of the rustic bed held by tightly wrapped vines that connected the legs to the main structure. Up the dark spruce wood were constellations painted in white acrylic by the boy who spent hours studying the midnight sky. The drawings spread to the walls where each star was carefully painted with thin paintbrushes and precise fingers. It was all so beautiful, just like the real thing.

Beside his bed was a small shelf that extended from the pine walls. On that shelf was all he had left of his past and what he had created for his present. There was a tiny red and blue woollen jumper folded but dirty, a child's shoes that were muddy and torn from years of use. Beside those was his set of cheap acrylic paints, stolen from a dollar store he'd passed. Lastly, a book of poems that Kook could not read but held onto in hopes that one day he may be able to. These were the things that helped Kook to grow, develop and learn. They were his proof to himself that he was still human, that he was still alive.

Seokjin knelt down beside the messy bedding thrown on the floor carelessly, bringing Kook's stuffed bunny up from the mess. He held it to his chest, pressing his nose to it to inhale the scent that reminded him of Kook. It wasn't the most pleasant smell, the rabbit old and hardly washed, but the dominant smell was a strong smell of pine mixed with sweet peaches. A warm tear slipped down Seokjin's cheek as he sat on the floor, hugging the rabbit to his chest. „I'm so sorry..." he whispered, scrunching up his face to try and rid his emotions. But he couldn't, seeing all of this brought back memories of the times he and Kook were still young. When Kook was just seven years old and alone, just searching for someone like him.