Deception || BTS AU

Prologue

"Where are we?" Asked Jimin, although he could take a guess by the older man beside him. They had made it into another city, after countless hours of driving worn him out. He laid back on the seat, allowing Jungkook to have a peak for himself.

"Daegu...," Yoongi whispered, yet loud enough for everyone to hear. His voice was soft, lowered to tell others that he felt happy to finally see his hometown but also sad to see it in a disastrous state. The familiar emptiness he tried to avoid over the months came back, engulfing his heart into bitterness. He hated this feeling, knowing very well it was the sole reason of his hatred to himself.

The city looked broken, with cars and other vehicles crashed and torn. Almost every building had their glass shattered and some even stained with blood. Nothing in the area gave out a sign of life, the smell of rotting flesh lingered in the air like flies. Even with a city famous for growing quality apples, it was left for dead.

Skidding past Yoongi, Hoseok looked in awe as he wandered over to a nearby building. It was broken just like all the structures they saw. With its stained walls and decrepit furniture, it was hard to imagine it was just finished being built less than a year ago. This was the impact of the virus outbreak. This was all done by a simple tiny virus, and it led humanity to almost perish.

"Man, this place looks pretty empty," Jungkook whispered, trotting himself between Jin and Namjoon. Although he struggled a bit due to his still healing wound, he refused to show any sign, afraid he was going to slow everyone down.

"I mean, this is an apocalypse. I doubt anyone would be calm and civilized when everyone around you were getting infected," Jimin replied. He trailed behind, letting his eyes wander about. He took in the surroundings, inspecting every detail of the abandoned city of Daegu. He found it somehow beautiful in a way; how something so lost and hopeless turned into a peaceful place.

The group turned to the corner, soon finding themselves frozen on spot. In the corner of Yoongi's mind he knew where they were. He remembered the street so vividly, remembered the rows of houses and buildings. But this time, no person walked, no person laughed and chattered, no living person was there. Instead, it was replaced by the melancholy air.

His solemn eyes wandered to a familiar house, its wooden exterior almost unrecognizable. The paint had almost fully chipped off, the exposed wood no longer pleasing to the eye. Windows were shattered like all the others, some shards hanged at the end of the window-sil, barely on. If the outside view was horrible, then inside would be worse. His home, the place where he lived, where he grew up, was no longer a home.

He didn't hesitate to run towards the building, hoping that maybe, just maybe something-someone he loved was still alive. Although hope seemed to rise in his chest, he knew deep down that everything in his head was an illusion, a sorrow taunting to bloom. At this point, what's the point of hoping when you know that it will never come true?

Yoongi ignored the other's shouts, his thoughts muffling the concerned yells of his comrades. Opening the front door of his old home, his tears threatened to fall, eyes blurry as water made it's way to his eyes. This maybe the last he'll ever see his home, forever a loving memory.

"Hyung-" Jimin breathed out, trying to catch his breath. He stopped speaking, seeing the inside of the house. The others eventually caught up, their eyes trailing towards the inside.

"Try to see if there's anything inside that's useful," Yoongi blurted through the silence, his voice almost cracking from holding back sobs. He refused to show any discomfort, knowing that crying wouldn't help. This was life now. People come and go, just some earlier than others.

The members didn't say anything else, instead followed his commands. One by one entered the house, their footsteps stepping on the creaking wood.

Furnitures were broken, vases were shattered, the dead flowers lay beside it-dead. The picture frames hung from the walls had fallen, some with bloodstains, and all had their glass frames shattered into pieces. It was only the living room in view at the moment, however it gave a hint of what the other rooms had looked like. The house itself was abandoned of life, all signs of the living was covered and splotched in blood and fragrance of flesh. The hope that had risen had died down like everything else.