Briar Rose - Taekook

Chapter 42

Dynamite is hitting me in the FEELS💖💖

im sorry!! I had to take this chapter down and post it again bc something was wrong with wattpad

XLI: Jungkook

Jin has a complete meltdown when he sees us coming into the house.

We are covered in soot, ash, and burns, with pine stuck in our clothes. Jin rushes to get the first-aid kit, while Lisa openly gapes, sticky dough still on her fingers.

"What happened?" She asks. I just shake my head, too numb for words.

We all retire to the living room, where a large oak desk spread with maps stands in the center. Yoongi and Namjoon are leaning over it, muttering, but they look up when we enter. Yoongi lets out a gasp, dropping his compass and running to Jimin to envelop him in a hug.

"What in the hells did you three do?" He asks, not letting go of Jimin. "I thought you were going back to Armad for a quick visit! Instead you're covered with scratches and burns―"

"Let's all sit down," Hoseok interrupts. "Please." Yoongi grudgingly seats himself on one of the couches encircling the table, pulling Jimin onto his lap. I sit next to him, and Hoseok takes a seat on a chair. Everyone sits down on the opposite couch, waiting to know what had happened.

Pausing bit by bit, Hoseok relays how we found Armad Castle deserted, and the fire which had broken out. How we had found Taehyung in the woods, the monster, and everything in between. I can't help but feel tears pricking at the corner of my eyes as Hoseok tells them about how Taehyung tried to fight off the monster. All that remains in my mind is his warm touch and even gentler kiss, which I don't know how long I must wait to get again.

When he's finished, everyone is silent, slowly taking in the information. Lisa looks confused, like she still can't believe what's happening, and Baekhyun draws a shuddering breath.

"So that's it then." Namjoon says, breaking the silence. "Armad Castle is... gone. The place where all the Sirius clan rulers lived; burned, just like that." Even Yoongi seemed shocked at the news, holding Jimin tight in his arms.

"And you three almost died," Jin whispers. "I can't believe it. As it is, Taehyung has turned into this... monster, which he has no way of controlling." He shakes his head. "I thought it was weird that he sent us away without any explanation. Why didn't he tell us this sooner? We could have tried to help him."

"Exactly. He didn't want to put you all in danger," Lisa says. "He knew that if he told all of you, none of you would ever agree to leaving. And you heard just how easily the monster destroyed Armad. If you all had been in there, what would have happened? The monster would have killed you all without a thought. He saved us all, by hiding the truth."

"And got himself taken over in the process," Jimin murmurs. "The monster... Great Above, his eyes. We're no match for something like that. Hell knows how Taehyung managed to keep it dormant for so long."

"There has to be some way, any way to help Taehyung!" I burst out, unable to bear it anymore. "I can't just sit here and wait until the monster somehow calms down. The monster must have some kind of weakness. Something we can exploit. We have to do everything in our power to try and save him!"

"Then we need someone who specializes in darkness," Hoseok says. "Someone who has spent their whole life studying it. That's how we'll learn any weaknesses the monster may have."

"What do you mean?" Jin says, looking at Hoseok with an eyebrow raised.

"We should seek advice from the person that the monster resents the most. A person he'll never see coming. And quite conveniently, this same person also has unlimited knowledge on darkness."