Snowy Night | a BTS Horror Story

Book 3: Dawn | Chapter 10: Delusion

3:15 AM (3 ¾ Hours Till Sunrise)

"Jin hyung? Is that you?" It's too dark to see a thing.

"Ne, it's me," Jin says. "Tae, are you alright?"

"I got a few scratches earlier," Taehyung says. "They've mostly closed up now, although I think I may be bruising."

"Oh good."

"Good that I'm bruising?"

"Aigoo! Not that you're bruising. That you're okay."

"But, Jin hyung," Tae starts. "Where are we? Why are you up here?"

"This is the attic," Jin says. "I hid up here after the cat attacked me."

"So it is, for sure, a cat?"

"Ne. It reminds me of the Cheshire cat, the way it keeps turning invisible."

"Hmm? Oh, ne. That makes sense."

Screams erupt from downstairs.

"Hyung! Stop it! Please! Hoseok hyung! Please!"

"What? Chanyeol hyung? What are you doing? No! No!"

"Taehyung where are you!"

"V hyung! Help!"

Taehyung turns to Jin. "We have to do something!"

"We can't do anything, not right now."

"What?"

"It will all be over when the sun rises anyway."

"Jin... what are you talking about?"

Jin pauses for a while, then says "Taehyung, you really should read more. Let me tell you a story. It goes like this:

"Long ago, in ancient China, there once lived a woman who was married to a moderately wealthy man- a nobleman, and they lived happily together in their estate. The woman was childless, barren, and bored, which made her quite lonely.

"She tried very hard to be beautiful, kind of like Jimin, you know? She wore powders and dyes and applied floral designs with glue, (oh, and did you know? They used to make glue out of fish paste? Isn't that disgusting? Anyway-) and she wore only the most beautiful silken, embroidered robes in many, many layers and colors. She practiced musical instruments, like flutes, until her proficiency was exemplary.

"One day, her husband took note, and asked why she went to such lengths. She confessed it was a way to pass her lonesome hours. Moved deeply, the husband tried to think of something to get her so that she would not be so lonely while he managed their affairs all day. As he walked, he came upon a starved, near-dead cat on the side of the road. Seeing no traces of any owner, the man took the cat home and suggested that his wife nurse the creature back to health.

"The woman delighted in her little companion, pampering it to wellness again. She lavished all her husband's wealth on the cat, feeding it the best food in the house, having the finest silk garments made for it, and giving it the fairest and fullest of everything. The cat became accustomed to this lifestyle, and grew demanding and fat and cranky, like Suga in the mornings. Hehe, but not fat.

"But as I was saying, the husband came home to his wife one day, and told her that the expense of the cat had grown too much. They would have to get rid of it. She begged her husband not to banish her only companion, and once again moved by her grief, he promised to take a walk and think about it.