Darkside

18

Hoseok, you and Namjoon were heading towards the garage of the house, walking swiftly at a pace you found a bit hard to keep up with. "Hoseok," You panted, "Why are we walking so fast?"

"I'll tell you in the car." He replies simply, not slowing down one bit. Namjoon follows his strides with ease, and you curse them both for being so tall. Though the curiosity of where you were going was eating you up inside, you decided it would be better to listen and ask in the car.

Who knows? Maybe they were bringing you to a stripping bar. That would be something better said in private.

Finally, you reach the garage, and Hoseok presses his remote, making a sleek red car beep momentarily. You take a quick look at the car and sigh in relief. Unlike Jimin's, though Hoseok's car was still pretty and probably expensive, it wasn't a race car.

"Jaguar?" You ask. Hoseok turns to you in surprise. "You know cars?" He questions, seeming impressed.

Nodding you follow him into the car, choosing to sit at the backseat while they both sat at the front. "Yeah, my dad used to always teach me about them," You chuckle, recalling memories and feeling a slight pang in your chest when you realized that you hadn't talked to your parents in a while.

"Ah, I see," He murmurs, buckling in his seatbelt and preparing to drive.

There was a brief moment of silence before you could no longer hold in your curiosity. "Where are we going?" You inquire.

"Namjoon and I are going to give you a tour around here," Hoseok replies simply. "We don't want some people to know, because we know they'd be against it. But as you're considering joining us, we want to give you a glimpse of what you're really stepping into before making your decision."

You blink in surprise. From Hoseok's bright smiles and excitement about the trip, you were expecting something more... fun. But Hoseok's radiant grin from earlier was no longer plastered across his face but replaced with a more solemn and grim look.

How he pulled that off so smoothly, you had no idea.

Namjoon, however, looked sort of indifferent. He didn't look grim and worried like Hoseok but seemed almost... relaxed.

"There's no need to scare her like that, Hoseok," Namjoon chides lightly, before turning in his seat to get a better look at you. Making direct eye contact with you, he continues. "The Darkside isn't the best place to live in, I admit. But it's not as bad as you might think it is. Dangerous? yes. Dark? yes. But as you live here, you'll find that it's also got a special feeling of its own..." He trails off in a murmur.

"Of course, it's up to you if you want to stay with us, or if you'd rather stay out of all this." He ends with a grin that contrasts sharply with Hoseok's expression.

Hoseok sighs. "Hyung..." He whines, but Namjoon silences him with a look. "It's up to her; don't try to drive her away." He reminds Hoseok.

Hoseok looks at Namjoon thoughtfully for a couple of seconds, and the grim look on his face dissipates quickly. He, too, then turns to you with a light grin. 

"Well, I hope you enjoyed breakfast because you're in for a long day."

-

Hoseok's light warning that you brushed off earlier proves to become true, as you were exhausted. He had driven to the city center of the Darkside and taken you around for a long stroll, both him and Namjoon pointing at places occasionally, and telling you their functions. 

You didn't remember the last time you had walked for this long.

The streets of the Darkside during the day was much different from the night. Unlike the previous times you had... slipped in here, it wasn't dark, gloomy and scary, but surprisingly full of life and joy, pretty much just like any other place in Korea. Families walked past you, pushing their baby-strollers and chatting, couples shopped together, and overall the vibe was cheerful and light.