Moonfairy

Symbol

That night Beol dreamt again of the wooden room with the cot, where men would come to fuck her. Again and again, she would offer her body to them, allowing them to use her however they wished. But this night, something about the dream was different. Things were clearer and she wasn't as groggy.

A man walked into the room and ran to her, panting.

"I need you, now" he said, hoisting her up into his arms, cradling the back of her neck. He kissed her, passionately. She knew him. She had slept with him many times before. He laid her down and she looked into his eyes, and recognized him.

"Jimin?"

"Jimin?" Beol said, staring up at the boy who was hovering over her, smiling.

"Good morning" he said, sing-songy.

It took a moment for her to reorient herself. Beol was back in the bed at the rental house. It was Spring Break.

In a sort of fog, Beol got dressed into shorts and a t-shirt and made her way downstairs with Jimin.

"You two must've had a fun night" Sooni smiled at them as they descended the stairs.

"We sure did." Jimin responded, causing Beol to wack him in the arm, still groggy.

They had stayed up late talking about their lives now. Jimin's classes, his job, Beol's newfound hobby in set design and the first play she was actually directing. Jimin began to tell her about ancient Rome and all the interesting things he was learning in his classes, when she fell fast asleep.

Beol rubbed her eyes and drank her coffee at the kitchen counter.

"So what's the plan for today?" she asked. Jimin came around her and looked her in the eyes, curious.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah I'm just still sleepy. Coffee should help" she smiled into her mug, thoughts of thick incense and heavy jewelry clouding her senses.

What a strange dream.

Jimin still looked concerned and took her hand in his.

"Let's go somewhere today, just us," he said.

Beol looked around for Seokjin.

"Don't worry about Jin, he and Namjoon already left for the Boardwalk. Eat. There's a place nearby I want to check out..." he trailed off, letting go of Beol's hand and looking down at his phone.

~~~Jimin~~~

Jimin looked down at his phone again, at the symbol. He had drawn it hundreds of times over the past six months. His notebooks were filled with little doodles, always incorporating that symbol. It was one of the things that helped him to remember his past.

A classmate of his had seen it on a message board next to the word "Consortio" and sent it to him, asking if he was the poster. He wasn't.

After doing some more digging, Jimin figured out the image's metadata had a geotag -- a location.

No one should be using that symbol. No one should even know about it except for him.

It was the symbol he had branded his slaves with.

~~~Beol~~~

A couple of hours passed which included some bickering about who would drive and Jimin being the worst back seat driver Beol had ever dealt with. Eventually, they reached the spot that peaked Jimin's interest.

They had reached the end of the dirt road, trees and thick vines all around them.

"There's nothing here. Are you sure the GPS wasn't acting up on your phone?"

Beol looked at Jimin, who was focused on something ahead. When she followed his gaze, she saw it. Just beyond the trees, there was a cave.

"Jimin. Is that it?"

Jimin nodded his head and slowly got out of the car. Beol turned the car off and stepped out, the sounds of frogs and cicadas surprisingly loud. Jimin was walking towards the cave, and for a moment she thought he was in some sort of trance.

Just when he was about to step through the trees, he turned around and reached out his hand.

"Come on," he said, a reassuring smile on his face.

Beol shivered and took his hand, following him into the trees. This place felt ominous, but she followed Jimin nonetheless, love and curiosity willing her to place one foot in front of the other.

When they reached the cave's entrance, she could hear music. But it wasn't the kind that came from speakers. Live music. String instruments. It was a strange tune that sounded almost ancient.

Jimin continued into the cave and they both descended down the slope.

"Jimin, what is this place?" she whispered.

"I don't know," he answered, gripping her hand tighter, "but I think someone wanted me to find it."

Beol clung to Jimin as a blue light began to fill the cave. Soon they came into a room that looked to be a sort of bar and lounge, but it was all carved out of the rock. Blue glass sconces spotted the walls, and Beol noticed what appeared to be bones, human bones, which were hung as pieces of art on the walls. They were arranged in different patterns and they looked both beautiful and horrifying.

Beol spotted two musicians lazily playing on a small stage, someone tending the bar, and two young men chatting in the corner booth. Otherwise, the place was rather empty and still. Beol shivered. Something felt wrong here.

"Okay Jimin, we've seen it, now let's go," she whispered, tugging his arm back to the slope.

~~~Jimin~~~

Jimin saw it. The symbol prominently displayed on the wall, with human bones.

"Excuse me," Jimin said, starting to walk towards the men in the corner booth. He let go of Beol's hand, desperate to know what this was all about.

As he got closer to the two, basically shadows in the low light, he began to feel a pain in his chest. Something wasn't right. Just then, one of the them  turned to look at him and he saw a face, recognizing it instantly.

He froze.

"You're not supposed to be here" the boy said, and with a snap of his fingers, Jimin's world went dark.