Set Aflame

13

HIS HAIR. HIS HAIR. HIS HAIR.

IM SO PROUD OF HIM

D I R E C T O R  J U N G K O O K

Sorry it's been forever!! I had writers block for a hot minute. I'll start working on the next chapter of this and for Precious today though, so you don't have to wait again.

"Y/n! Look there's a crab!"

"Cool let me see let me see!"

You, age seven, toddled over to Namjoon on the beach rocks. He sat on a boulder beside the little pool with a pair of goggles clutched in his fingers so he could see into the water. You dropped to your knees next to him.

"Over there," Namjoon said. He pointed to the edge of the pool farther away from you. There, on the rock, was a large, brown-ish crab crouched low, staring at both you and Namjoon.

"Whoa," you let out in a quiet breath. "It's so cool." You leaned forward precariously to get a better look, but Namjoon placed a hand on your shoulder and pulled you back. "Don't touch it," he said. "It'll run away. I need a picture first."

You sat back down on your spot next to Namjoon and watched impatiently, hands in your lap, as he pulled out a cheap dollar store camera and leaned juuust a little closer to the crab.

"What kind of crab is it?" You whispered loudly. Namjoon snapped a picture of the creature and pulled back away from the tide pool. "He's a common shore crab," he said, pushing buttons on his camera to get a look at the picture he just took. "And he's a big one."

"Much bigger than Herald the Hermit," you said. "What's this one's name?"

"Uuummmm." Namjoon stuffed his camera into the pocket of his shorts and looked up in thought. "Let's call him... Carl. Since it starts with a C."

"Carl's lame. What about... Carter. Or Cameron. Caleb. No wait! Charles! It still rhymes with Carl!" You waved your hands excitedly and Namjoon nodded, matching your excitement. "Okay, Charles. It is decided. Charles the Common Shore Crab."

Namjoon stood up and brushed all the dirt off of his knees. "Let's go back so we can show mom and dad!" He said. You nodded and stood up, then hand in hand, followed your big brother away from the small beach and into the woods to go back home.

•••

"Hey, Y/n, we're here. Wake up."

You open your eyes and lift your head off of your shoulder. A pinprick of pain shoots through your neck when you move it- sore from being bent at an awkward angle for so long.

"Come on, let's go in now. My mom says she's up and she's already preparing a guest room for you."

You're cold. Freezing, actually. Jungkook isn't in his seat. The car is off, and he's standing by your open door, leaning over you to wake you up.

You look around. You're still buckled in. You can see a bright crescent moon through the windshield, shining light on the earth along with its star friends. Below the moon, the only thing you see is a forest. Tall pines grow out of the ground and reach for the sky, standing guard around the car and blocking the view from... well, anywhere.

"Where are we?" You mutter, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You unbuckle your seatbelt and reach into your pockets. "What... oh no." You feel around all your pockets to look for- "I don't have my phone," you say, eyes wide. "Fuck. Shit. I left it in your apartment."

"We can get it tomorrow," Jungkook says. "If... if it's okay to do that. Until then, just use mine. As for where we are... we're at my house. Where I grew up."