Amentia - K.NJ.

Nineteen

Namjoon, Yoongi, and I were gathered around a sit-in nook in me and Namjoon's trailer. I tapped my fingertips against the tabletop anxiously, slightly biting at the inside of my cheek. Even though it was a little bit cold in the trailer, I could feel a little sweat lining along my forehead.

Namjoon was beside me, looking just as anxious. His hand was mindlessly rested on my thigh, his eyes staring straight at the paper Yoongi had on the table. Yoongi looked a little more calm than me or Namjoon, his eyes scanning over the words on the piece of paper. He looked a bit stumped.

"Just tell me what we're going to do with the reporter," I croaked out, my voice sounding forced. My fingers stopped their tapping as my eyes snapped up to Yoongi, waiting for his word on what was going to happen.

Yoongi looked up at me, leaning back against the bench. He looked exhausted with the bags under his eyes. "I did some research on the kid. He seems to be pretty innocent from everything. Hardworking with journalism, had good grades in college, a good family, good friends, everything normal for a guy in society. The friends part, though, is lacking some personnel."

"So, the kid has no friends. It's easier to work with him if that's the case," Namjoon piped up, his hand tightening against my thigh. I could see his anxiety fade away and turn into a hard expression. "I talked to him earlier one on one and no one apparently knew he was coming here. He was just looking for a cool story to report."

"Good," Yoongi gave a nod. "We don't have to kill anyone to complete what we need."

"Just cut to the chase," I snapped. I wasn't sure if it was from anxiety or frustration. "What are we doing with him?"

"I talked with the other guys," Yoongi started, taking another look at the piece of paper on the table, "and they said to do what was best for the situation. I informed them about the reporter's past, and they thought he was innocent and shouldn't deserve death."

"So we just break him?"

Yoongi gave a small shrug, a sigh escaping him. I could see how he felt about what I said in his eyes, but his words said the opposite thing. "We're going to do it. It's either kill him or break him. I . . . don't think we should kill anyone right now. Too risky here, especially for him. We don't want his remains on this ground. Plus, if we break him and he joins our circus, we don't have to come back to this town ever again."

I felt my shoulders slightly fall, my hand slipping under the table to grab onto Namjoon's hand on my thigh. Tears welled up in my eyes as I curled my fingers around his tightly. I didn't know why I was so emotional over this. It was just another person that I barely knew. I've killed plenty of people in my time, sucked up my fear and sorrow, but now I wanted to cry over this. 

"I'm sorry, Y/N, but this is just how it has to be," Yoongi said gently. His voice was quiet but it seemed to boom in my eardrums. "The decision has already been made."

A tear slipped down my cheek. I reached up and wiped it away. I gave a small sniff, a sigh soon following after. "I-It's okay. I'm fine. You guys can do whatever you want to with him. Just continue."

Yoongi gave me a hesitant look for a second. Namjoon never said anything. Yoongi cleared his throat a little. "Namjoon, I'm thinking we have to make some . . . altercations to his looks to drive away any suspicion to who he is. For quick appearance, I'm thinking of going down the freak show trail and cut his mouth a little bit wider at the corners and make it look like a permanent smile with some stitches in for effect."

"That could work," Namjoon said in a whisper. I had a feeling he was sensing how tense and against the plan I was. "We need more, though."

"I was just getting there. Since Taehyung wears a lot of loose and worn clothing, I'm thinking Jungkook to be more appealing with no shirts. We could possibly do a branding with our circus name on his chest. Maybe some piercings and a change of hair color. I also want to alter his vocal chords for good measures. It would make his act distinctive but his real identity covered. I may have a method to change that up, but I'll have to do more research on it."