Doom, Death, and Destruction (A Tale of Superpowered BTS)

Ch 24

ANNOUNCEMENT: No fish were harmed in the making of this chapter.

  Seokjin sighed and stared into the lake. Of course he had been stuck with the hard job of trying to find food. His lips twisted in frustration as he watched some fish snap their tails, working their way through the water. It wasn't fair to him that they could live such a life. They could swim to their hearts content without any worries. They didn't have the capacity to worry about the possible predators, they could part the water with their scales and swim in the depths, finding every hidden treasure in the lake. Seeing things he would never be able to, maybe if he were normal he could try, but with his abilities he would never be able to. He could handle water sure, but it was overwhelming, it scared him. Sometimes he felt like he could feel it suffocating him, the fire in his body was threatening to give out when he encountered water.

  His fingers curled into a fist before he looked up at the sky. There no trace of the plane they were in, no trace of a single cloud, or even a bird. Other than the water rushing onto the shore, lapping its way over sand and rocks there was no noise. There was no wind to rustle the leaves, and no creatures scurrying along the underbrush. The area gave him the creeps.

  "Seokjin!" Yunghee called out his name as she looked at him. Her nose was wrinkled in and her face was red with exertion as she dug holes in the dirt with a rock. "Are you okay? Or," her voice trailed off quietly as he looked at her.

"I'm fine." Seokjin's lips twisted into a weary smile before he looked at the fish beside them. "We need to gut all of these and clean them up so we can cook them." Slowly she dug her rock into the dirt again, making a deep hole for the guts so they wouldn't attract wild animals. "Are you okay? This must be troubling for you." His eyes darkened in concern. He didn't want to consider his own problems, not when  there were other people around him. He felt better when he didn't think of himself or his own problems.

  "I'm fine." Yunghee parroted his words before she dropped the rock to the side finally digging a hole deep enough. The two fell into silence as they used Taehyungs and Jimins knives to scrape the scales off of the fish.

  Seokjin dipped his knife in the water to get the scales off before he flipped the fish and continued descaling it. His eyes trailed to the shivering girl and he frowned at her before looking down at his fish. His mind kept travelling to thoughts of his home. Maybe one day he could see his family again, maybe with their actions, they could actually make a difference in the world. "Yunghee," he caught her attention with a weak smile. "Do you need to come close? I can keep you warm."

  "I can't." Yunghee said, before flushing and looking down at her fish. "I mean, I want to learn to control it. I can't keep relying on you, I need to grow strong for myself." Her nose wrinkled as she cut into the fish, the scent of oil and guts filling her nose. She tried to hold back a gag, reminding herself she had seen her grandfather gut a fish numerous times, she couldn't be so bothered by it.

  "Yunghee." Seokjin stopped descaling his fish and tried to stop an amused chuckle from bursting past his lips. "You're maturing into your abilities right now, there is nothing you can do right now but try to survive. We don't know how much harder it will be on you three because it's not, natural." He said the last word hesitantly. It was the truth, but it felt almost superficial to him, as though they were discriminating, trying to make themselves a level above the trio. He pressed his thumb against the ridge of the knife, guiding it into the fish. It took pressure to break through the skin, but once he did it was like popping a boil. Juice spread across his hands as he tore the knife through the belly, leaving jagged cuts as he exposed the organs.

  "I know, but I want to try." Yunghee looked at the fish, her fingers dug into the body and she scooped out the innards. Her lips twitched when she saw Seokjin gag, his skin paling as he watched her. "Do you have a problem with this?" She mocked as she threw the guts into the hole, they hit the bottom audibly, splatting against the dirt.

  "Yes, I do." He did the same as her, covering his mouth with his sleeve after. Seokjin shuddered looking at the pile of guts. He put the fish onto a cloth they had laid out then started cleaning the next off. "They better be grateful we are doing this for them."

  "They will be." Yunghee nibbled on her lip as she followed after him, cleaning out another fish. "What would happen if I went home?" She looked up at him nervously, watching him with a calculating grimace.

  "Honestly?" Seokjin tore his knife though the belly of the new fish. "You wouldn't be there long. By now they will have found the plane and the cameras. They know Taehyung has abilities, which means the serum works. You came with him, you're a potential danger now." He shuddered as he imagined what they could do to her. "The others know the same, they are just resisting the truth. They are just as scared of it as you. You lost the chance to go home when you followed Jimin."

  "What if I regret it?"

  "It's too late to." Seokjin said honestly staring her in the eyes as he tossed the guts into the hole. "You have no choice now. All we can do is make a fake identity for you, but you couldn't go home. They would be monitoring your family, like they are mine." His dreams of seeing his family was useless. Just like her, they would be watching his home now that he was free. He could put them in danger if he tried to see even a glimpse of them.

  "I don't regret it." Yunghee spoke up as she picked up her last fish.

  "I know," Seokjin smiled at her weakly, "at least not yet."

  "Not yet," she parroted.

  "They won't hurt your family, and I'll keep you safe. I promise." Seokjin finished his last fish and pushed the sand over their hole, covering the guts.

  "I'll work hard to help you guys. I promise." Yunghee stood up with him as they brought their fish to the ratty house.

  "Thank you." Seokjin watched her walk ahead of him with a wistful look in his eyes. They were lucky they had picked up a girl like her, someone that was willing to help. She didn't have much choice but to join them, but she still took it with grace, deciding on her own to assist them and be positive. "If they boys ever bother you, let me know, okay?" He called out to her. She stopped before she crossed the threshold and flashed him a smile. He felt his heart race at the look of trust on her face.

  "Of course." Yunghee spoke softly, but full of confidence. Her lips curled as a teasing look etched itself across her features. "Thank you." She didn't speak what ha crossed her mind, and he found he didn't care. It was enough to see the look, to witness her peace. Seokjin looked down at the fish in his hands, trying not to grip them too tightly. His fingers tensed around them and he breathed deeply, calming himself when he started to hear the sizzle of his fingers burning away the oil left on the flesh of the fish.

  It was dangerous for him to feel so easily for her, but somehow, he didn't mind.