The Gifted (Txt x Itzy)

七十二

Yeji fretted whether or not she should follow Yeonjun, but Chaeryeong held her down, insisting that he'd be fine, after all, he was with Taehyun. They decided that they would spend the time trying to get to know Heesung better, and the boys practically swallowed him as they surrounded him to chatter.

So the girls were excluded from all the talk. "Let's walk around," Yeji suggested, "Might as well, right?"

They could see Jimin along with Jeongguk and Yoongi arranging things, setting up a new tent, much to the excitement of the other gifteds, who also turned to watch. Jimin sat down and was connected to a wire that stuck out from the needle in his arm. He closed his eyes and let out a breathy sigh, preparing for the lack of energy that was to come.

And they watched as his blood drained out of him.

Bag after bag of dark blood, and Jisu whispered, horrified, "Isn't that already too much?"

But they kept going, the leader's face growing paler and paler, his chapped lips white and his breathing shallow.

Once they had collected quite a number of bags, Yoogi detached the needle, and the bags of blood were brought off. Jimin was carried off, practically unconscious, and an immediate frenzy of noise was heard as the gifteds began discussing frantically.

"Wow," Was Ryujin's only comment.

"That was...scary. Well, I really hope it works," Yuna remarked, wrinkling her nose at the idea of all that blood.

"He looks so...dead. Do you think he'll be okay?" Jisu murmured.

"Sure he will. I've lost more blood than that and I'm still here," Chaeryeong said.

-

It was quiet for a while, then there was a lot of motion as Yoongi cradled a...tiny vial.

"What?" Yeji said, "All that blood and all they got is that bottle the size of our hand?"

"Maybe there's more?" Jisu said, but even she didn't believe that.

Yoongi could be seen approaching a girl, giving her instructions before she nodded and swiftly fled the cave. The leader then turned to address the crowd of gifteds that had gathered.

"Miyeon will be creating a storm that will cover the entire country, and Jimin's blood infused into the storm would wipe out the memories of us, the gifteds."

Everyone broke out in hushed whispers.

"That's it?" Ryujin said in disbelief, "Kinda...anticlimactic, if you ask me."

"So they really are going to douse everyone in Jimin's blood," Chaeryeong chuckled.

"So...they won't remember us at all. That means we're free to like, go back into the human world?"
"But all the damage we caused...won't they figure it out, or at least suspect it?"

"Maybe they'll blame it on the storm," Ryujin said hopefully.

The girls held each other's hands tightly, not knowing what was in for them.

Thunder rumbled outside, slightly muffled, and Yuna pulled away, thinking about going out to see the rain. "Wait," Jisu stopped her, "What happens if we go out into the rain?" Her lead boots seemed to be heavy.

"What happens if we forget everything?"

"Do...do you want to?" Yeji asked carefully.

"Well, no offence, but your shoes are a pretty obvious giveaway."

Yeji's eyes were a little sad, "We don't have to go into the rain, just look at it. We haven't had rain in so long."

So they did, and as they emerged from the warm shelter of the cave, brilliant white lightning leapt across the sky, painting spiderwebs of electricity across the dark grey mass.

"Pretty," Jisu mused softly.

"It is," Yeji replied, clenching the other's hand, as if trying to see if she could hold her back.

As the rain poured down, Ryujin suddenly asked, "Where do you think the two guys are?"

"Hope they didn't get caught in the rain," Chaeryeong pursed her lips, "And what about the other gifteds?"

The five froze, then Yuna sighed, "Well, what can we do, right? It's not like we can fly out there and find them all."

"It'll be fine," Jisu said softly, "It's going to be okay."

-

When they returned in, the rain still gushing down, Namjoon was now talking to the remaining gifteds who were seated before him. "If you wish, for those who have less noticeable gifts, you may return to the human world, and live among them in peace. Of course, you would have to live just like them, which means no use of gifts and such."

All the gifteds had different expressions, some uneasy, some excited, some not even the slightest bit affected.

Yuna shook her head, "But honestly, how are we going to live like that? I mean, we do have...like...birth certificates and such things back with our..parents."

The mood immediately dropped. Yeji seemed a little uncomfortable, "Yeah...we really left our entire life back there..."

Ryujin bit her lip, "So...should we take it? We can...reset our lives. Be normal. Somehow. And we can keep in touch too!"

"But...is that what we want?" Jisu said carefully.

"Well, it's not like our parents want us," Chaeryeong spat out, "They were so willing to give us away the moment they hear we're gifted."

Yeji twisted her pale fingers, "Maybe we should...talk to them once more. Get to hear their side of the story. Understand why they did that."

"So we're just going to waltz home?" Yuna asked, "Act as if everything's fine and talk to Mom and Dad like we're on the best of terms?"

Ryujin shifted her weight, "How would it work, anyway? Would it wipe out memories of gifteds only, or...us too? Like, will our parents just forget they ever had a child?"

"Well, IDs, photographs, school work, it's all still there, so they'll never truly forget, I guess. But...maybe they'll remember that we ran away, or at least put two and two together," Jisu guessed.

"But I...kinda want to stay," Ryujin murmured, "I mean, I need to learn how to master my power, preferably where humans won't freak out."

"Me too,"Jisu said wistfully, "I can interact with friends, eat with other people, walk around, or float around, without my shoes. It would be...like a dream."

Ryujin sighed, "Well, you guys are the closest I have to family. Real family."

Letting out a laugh, Chaeryeong said, "It would be like I had four sisters."

Yuna gave a tender smile, and added simply "I'd love that."

"Gifteds, please make your choice in a day, the storm is expected to pass over the city soon, so if you want to go, it will be best if you try and slip in while it is still pouring," Namjoon said with a warm smile.

All five girls had different looks of determination in their eyes.

AN: Hey guys, I've changed the story a little bit because me and val decided we wanted to make this book ending a little more bittersweet