𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 || 𝐉𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐨 ✓

12: Seek

Jin took a step forward, reaching out to touch the fence. It wasn't a mirror. He turned left and walked straight, bumping into glass and falling on his backside. 

Wrong.

He bit his lip, tears slowly welling in his eyes. If he wasn't able to get out of here, how in the world would he be able to save her? "Argh, this is so annoying," he managed to mutter, standing up and dusting himself off. Stop being a baby, Jin, he reprimanded himself. He turned right and continued on his way. 

***

Jisoo marched out of the room and began to find her way around. She retraced the steps back to where the men caught her and began to walk in the direction she saw Jin run towards.

Into the mirror maze. 

She saw her reflection. 

She needed to calm down. 

Taking deep breaths, she took out her water bottle in her backpack, which was thankfully still with her, and allowed the cool water to slide down her throat. 

Jisoo, you just failed yourself as one of your kind. All five year olds like you can manage themselves, why can't you?

Soon, her heartbeat slowed, and her tears stopped flowing. Fixing her hair, she picked up her backpack and began walking.

***

Jin took another step forward, making sure it wasn't a mirror, and turned right. 

No, there wasn't a reflection.

No, there was no mirror.

It was a sight that made his blood run cold. Goosebumps pricked up all over his skin. 

"We meet again, boy."

***

Her ears pricked up when she heard whimpering.

"Please don't hurt me," came the voice. 

A familiar one.

Jin.

She stopped walking, crouching down, barely breathing. Using a mirror, she saw exactly what was happening behind the bend.

Jin, cowering behind his hands, and the man, a gleaming knife in hand, pointed straight at  trembling Jin. 

Her blood ran cold.

The feeling was coming back.

Raging, hot impulse. Blood pulsed through her body. 

She heard the man speak again, but didn't catch what he said, except the last sentence. 

"Alive... or dead." 

***

"Got you, boy."

The man smiled a sickly grin, and Jin felt like throwing up. Of all people, him. Now he was practically helpless, against a full grown man and a sharp knife.

"Please don't hurt me," he whimpered, gulping, tears forming fast yet again.  

"My boss told me he wanted you and the girl. As long as it isn't with Jaewon anymore. We want the money. We want you. Alive... or dead."

The last few words made him shiver. He was a goner. Jisoo was captured. He was alone. Helpless. He was going to die. 

Wasn't it simple? His life, taken away like that. He hadn't done anything nice in his life, anyway. He hadn't helped anyone. He only sneered at people on the outside, but on the inside he secretly regretted it. Always wrong. Sneering at people was wrong, yet he did it. What was wrong with him? What about Jisoo? She made him laugh, she misunderstood him, but it was okay. He needed to save her. He was useless, with no friends. She wasn't, and had friends to care for. She needed to live. 

Please make sure Jisoo is okay, he thought, before he closed his eyes at the sight of a knife coming down on him. 

***

The man didn't have much time to land a blow on Jin, because Jisoo pounced. She might have seemed small and slim. Just a five year old. But she had strength. 

She tackled the man to the floor from behind, pinning him face down. The man struggled and was about to stand up, but she sank her teeth into his neck. 

A fatal move.

He stopped moving, and was now limp as a starfish. 

His chest didn't move up and down. 

He was asleep.

Eternally. 

Jisoo stood up, wiping the blood away from her mouth, taking a swig of water from her water bottle in her somehow-still-with her backpack. Disgusting, but necessary, she thought. Jin could have died.

"Jin..." she whispered, squatting down level with the terrified boy. He was squeezing his eyes shut, trebling like a leaf. His hands were icy cold. They partially hid his face, but she could make out the tears streaming down his face.

"Jin, I'm here." Jisoo pleaded, "please open your eyes."

Jin finally opened them. At the sight of Jisoo, he immediately lunged into her embrace. 

"I... I was so scared I would die and I won't be able to save you because I'm just a useless person with no friends but you need to live because you have friends and they need you and you have to live and be happy-" Jin sobbed, salty tears running down his cheeks and wetting Jisoo's shirt slightly. He didn't really care about the fool he made out of himself. The wrongs he had done. He was just thanking Namjesus that Jisoo was safe. 

"Jin, calm down, you didn't die. I saved you. It's alright." She patted his back, returning his hug. 

He took a few deep breaths and finally released himself from her, face blushing ever so slightly. 

"I'm okay now." He breathed, and Jisoo laughed. How differently he acted when he was scared. "But the man...?" He saw the the man lying on the ground, still. Luckily, the wound on his neck faced away from Jin and he hadn't seen the blood coming out of it.

"He... fainted... don't look. Let's get out of here." Jisoo lied, pulling the boy to his feet and quickly leading him out of the maze, remembering all the steps she had used to get in. 

She's so brave, Jin thought, and smart. 

And pretty...