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singguks · 2 years

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horus academy, 04 | bts

© horus academy | all rights reserved. do not repost, translate or claim as your own. if you find this work elsewhere besides the three blogs stated, please report it to any of the writers. @singguks × @socksjinie × @bluenpjm

summary: in a school where greek methods rules, not everything is as clear as it appears to be. heart, mind, soul, and body. those are the teams of the horus academy and boarding school. but deep within the long corridors, lies dark secrets. the so-called loving families formed in the shape of teams begin to tear up when an anonymous source unravels their deepest secrets.

genre: high school au | mystery au | smut | angst | fluff

pairing: OT7 × OC's

rating: PG13

word count: 11,829

warnings: foul language, bullying, pyromania (impulse control disorder regarding fire), exposing secret relationships, femicide.

a/n: if you want to be part of the tag list so you won't miss the secret that'll be revealed next, comment down below and we'll add you :)

chapters. 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 ✩ masterlist

PREVIOUSLY ON HORUS ACADEMY

“Good morning Horus, and get ready for the Ascension,” The speakers throughout the entire school turned on as Kihyun’s voice, the school’s announcer, caught everyone’s attention. “The schedule of this week’s round will be the following—please take notes or regret not doing so—first stop, a game for intellectuals only. The second phase is for those who dare to be brave… and physical! The third and final round must be for the jacks of all trades. Best of luck to all teams- and may the greatest God or Goddess win!”

The Griffins were starting their day very uneasy… A little before the announcement of the game, the leader of the team, Archie Miller, opened the doors of their common room just to find it completely out of place.

The yellow sofas that normally stood on the four edges of the walls, against them, were placed in a circle and in the middle of the room. As he came closer to have a look at what was going on, he found a blue envelope on the floor, right at the center of the circle. It was as if it was inviting the whole team to gather around and take a seat to know what it contained. And some even managed to arrive on time to see their leader reading it alone because Archie was anything but patient or very loving.

To say the Sarx meeting didn’t go so well was more than an understatement. Archie was completely out of his mind; fuming in anger. All he could think about was how they managed to enter their common room. And he knew who had been the culprit, that was the sole reason he was so furious.

“Those damn wolves.”

[ ... ]

“And it’s… Correct!” One of the judges announced giving one more point to the Dianoia team. Jin and Kaya, the ones that were chosen to be representing their house in this first round, hi-fived each other while celebrating.

Dianoia kept leading with two points ahead while Kardia and Psykhe were disputing second place, both tied with four points each. The audience was anxious. After all, this was a game of intellect but also speed. The fastest team to reach a total of nine correct answers would be given a clue to the location of the next round, and that meant the next duo would have to reach the secret location to be given an advantage quickly. No one could leave without the so-wanted nine, and the groups were waiting right there, completely powerless; the wait was slowly killing them.

“The seventeenth question is the following…” A girl from the judges' panel announced, “Which monarch officially made Valentine’s Day a holiday in 1537?”

There was a moment of silence, some glances from the teammates being exchanged, but then Vernon from Psykhe cut through it and slammed the button in front of him and his partner. “I think I know it, but I’m not so sure,” He chuckled in a boyish manner. The Psykhe team, all sitting behind them, started to shout words of encouragement.

“We trust you, go on!” Dahyun, his partner, cheered alongside their team.

“Would it maybe be Henry, The Eighth?” He tried, “No! Wait! Ok, no, Henry, The Eighth is my answer- Ah! I don’t know, man,” He laughed again confused, starting to feel the pressure.

“Are you locking in that answer?”

He took a glance back at the Psykhe team and everyone seemed cool with his reasoning, giving thumbs up and screaming Lock it! which made him feel more confident about it. Vernon was often not sure about the information he thought he knew, but the team did not doubt him. That was why they appointed him to the spot. The boy even had a nickname in the family. Tidbits, because he often shared tiny pieces of information no one ever heard about… Actually, a lot of the Psykhe students were like that, Dahyun included. He was just the ace of it.

“Yeah, I’m locking it!”

“And the answer is… Correct! Another point for the Psykhe team!”

They all cheered in unison. Mark, from the Sarx team, slightly punched their stand, murmuring a Fuck, I knew that! At this point, the Griffins were falling way behind… And the thing was, you were not allowed to receive the clue to the next location unless you had nine correct answers. The Sarx team, having only three questions on their belt, was feeling more than uneasy.

“Okay folks, next question!” The judge called for their attention, “What is the rarest M&M color?”

Not even a second after, Nayeon from Kardia, smashed the button overly excited. “It’s the brown one! Lock it, I’m sure.” And then she turned to her partner to say, “I googled it not even a month before this.”

“And Kardia, your answer is… Correct! Congratulations!” The judge cheered, laughing, “I guess someone is an M&M enthusiast.” And to that, she received a truthful answer, shouted from Kardia’s stand.

“WHO ISN’T THOUGH?!”

“You got me there!” The judge chuckled, “Let’s carry on. Dianoia still leading with six points, close behind them with five points, we have Kardia and Psykhe now tied- again! And Sarx, you better pick it up, you only have three…”

Archie Miller, Sarx’s leader, was pacing back and forth a few meters forward, where the second phase teams were awaiting. He would have to give his very best if he wanted Sarx to secure its place as the current champions. And the way Freya was stretching overly joyful by his side made him feel even more furious, after all, he was still brooding about the Wolves’ attack on their common room.

“Nineteenth question! What is the loudest animal on Earth?”

Jin pressed the button without hesitation and Kaya looked at him alarmed. He often said things without much reasoning and she was afraid they would lose their one-point advantage if he answered something stupid.

“Sperm Whale,” He said and she looked at him incredulously, almost certain her track of thoughts was coming true and the other teams would catch up in a second. “Lock it.”

“And the answer, Dianoia, is… Correct!”

“I don’t know how I know but I know, ok? You can trust me.” He said simply when he looked at the face she was making.

“Dianoia, two more questions, and you guys are ready to go!” The judge announced and the team got loud once more, cheering and chanting Go Stags!

After that, Sarx managed to get a point, and Archie screamed more than his teammates competing in that round. Dianoia once more snatched a point, this time through Kaya, and they could already feel the taste of victory—at least for this round. Shortly, Psykhe snatched one more point and Kardia followed.

“So, participants, what is the biggest-selling music single of all time?”

You could see Kaya furrowing her brows, trying very hard to make sense of some song. The audience went silent again, some trying to think of the answer themselves, some just searching for the team who would ring the button.

Dong!

Vernon had pressed it. “Candle in the Wind from 1997.” He stated very sure of himself this time, “Lock it.”

“Psykhe… Correct!”

Their crowd cheered and the boy put a hand on top of his chest, almost fainting, making them all laugh.

“Ok, a little bit of science now… Shall we?” The judge wasted no time in introducing the next question, “What is the hottest planet in the solar system, and what is its temperature?”

“I know this!” Kaya shouted, making Jin jolt beside her with the jumpscare. She pressed the button, “It’s Venus! With um… I’d say with, umm about 460 degrees Celsius. Lock it!”

“And Dianoia, your answer is…” The expectation was in the air. Kaya held her breath, she knew she was right but at the same time, there was a chance she wasn’t. Jin held her hand tight, waiting anxiously for their final and winning point.

The audience was silent apart from the thumping of the feet of the Stags, everyone was up in their seats.

“CORRECT!”

A lot of shouting could be heard, mixed with some boos from the Sarx team.

“Congratulations Dianoia! Here is the clue!” The judge passed a black envelope to Kaya’s hands, “Solve it first and then give the location to your teammates over there!” She pointed toward Joy and Yeonjun, the participants of the second phase who were waiting a few meters away.

While the rest of the trivia game was being resumed, Jin and Kaya started discussing the words written on the envelope.

“It meanders this way and that, but prove you’re no fool. You’ll be both west and north of it, relaxing or should I say, feeling cool…?” Jin mused. “This doesn’t make much sense… Why would I feel cool?”

But Kaya didn’t mind much of his question, her brain was working to full capacity. “What do we have inside the school both north and west?” She asked him expectantly, still thinking about the answer herself.

“Um… Not much. I know North is that way for sure,” He turned to face the trail of the woods behind them. “But west-”

“So it’s inside the woods!” She stated in a hushed whisper, “What do we have there? It meanders… Meanders.”

“We better hurry, Psykhe and Kardia are one point away, I think.”

“Um, I think… Cool! It’s not the cool we’re thinking about, Jin!” She shook him lightly by the shoulders, “Think about it, it meanders and it’s cool… It’s water!”

“Water?” His nose scrunched.

“Yes! The abandoned pool!” She whispered excitedly, “That’s the only old building still standing in the woods, which is both north and I’m guessing west from here.”

“Oh, fuck.”

In a split second, both of them hurriedly went to the second team of Dianoia waiting. They briefed them about the location and how it would make sense since they were all warned through the speakers this morning the second team was the only one allowed to take an empty backpack to the challenge with them.

“For the wet clothes or any object you might find at the pool.” Kaya clarified with a brilliant smile on her face.

Once Psykhe passed their intel, Freya, and Jooheon ran as fast as they could through the dense woods. The sun was shining bright, as rays passed the little breaches between the leaves. Every little sound made the duo turn their heads, afraid they could be leading the team that had stayed behind to the next game. There was no explicit answer to the riddle so, despite being confident in Vernon and Dahyun, there was no way to know if the pool was the right place to head to.

“Should we go in?” Jooheon asked Freya. A look at him would never reveal how much of a scaredy-cat he was.

“What?” Freya asked as she kept on moving towards the old building.

The pool was in ruins. There was no certainty about how long it had been abandoned. But the long ivy branches on the walls made it clear that it had been years since anyone had taken care of it. The rumors regarding it were many. No one could understand why the school had decided to leave an entire building and simply relocate all its services.

“Didn’t someone die here?” Jooheon whispered.

“Those are just stories.” Freya chuckled. “C’mon. Dianoia is probably already inside and Kardia was just ahead of us. We don’t have any time to waste.”

The girl rushed inside, the glass doors creaking as the movement presented new to them. “Don’t leave me here!”

Jooheon rushed after the girl who was fiercely striding into the building. Freya didn’t believe the stories. About the pool. Or the boy. She had heard so many versions of it in the last two years she had been in Horus that the more she knew, the more absurd they sounded.

“There’s no way I would’ve come here after five,” Jooheon whispers, but his voice echoes anyway. The sound makes him nervous, as he tightens the grip on the strap of the black backpack he had been carrying for the game.

“Shush-” Freya stops in her tracks. “Did you hear this?”

“Is it- is it the boy?” He stutters.

Freya moves after the sound and as she does, she is perplexed by the sight. The duo from Dianoia was putting on swimming suits, hurriedly. But the creative kids with blue uniforms can’t focus on their actions. Instead, their eyes fall on the pool. It was the size of an Olympic one, but it was far from it. What once might have been crystal clear water, now was dark green, with moss floating around.

“Oh, gross!” Joy squealed as her bare feet hit the water. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Oh God-” Freya let out, her hands instinctively covering her mouth as the other rested on top of her stomach.

“Freya-” Jooheon called out, tapping the girl's shoulder.

Isn’t the weather perfect for a swim? We are not that cruel—suit up! You should dive and find the consoling sight of home. Find the board with your crest and you shall move one house ahead. And don’t think you can fool us. We might not be present, but we are always watching your every step.

The duo couldn’t believe they had to dive into the filthy water. By now, Yeonjun had helped Joy into it and the girl’s squeals were echoing loudly through the abandoned halls. Freya was quick to rush to the suits, grabbing one for herself and another for her partner.

“There,” Jooheon said softly, trying his best to not alarm the girl.

Freya followed the tilt of the head he had given her only for her eyes to lay on one of the corners of the room, by the ceiling, with what seemed to be a camera with a red light flashing. The game had become increasingly serious and there was no policy for cheating.

“Let’s get ready.” She shrugged. “There are snorkeling masks there, too.”

The boy simply nodded as he began to get ready. But he was soon paralyzed, the sudden sound of screams coming from outside alarming him. Jooheon's eyes widened and he felt like he had stopped breathing. He was certain he would see a disfigured man, running towards him and pushing him into the mossy pool, as he took his last breath of air.

“Spider!” A scream was heard and the boys fell straight on their asses.

Everyone is silent for a second until Freya bursts out laughing, the sight of Jackson Wang and Kim Mingyu both screaming over a spider being too funny for her to hold it in.

“How are you two here already?” Jackson points an accusing finger at the duo.

“How aren’t you?” Freya remarks sarcastically.

“It’s not like arrows were pointing Abandoned pool that way!” The boy from Kardia spoke again, his exaggerated personality being enhanced in moments of stress.

“I’m not going in there,” Mingyu says, a disgusted look on the boy’s face as he reaches the edge of the pool.

But as soon as he speaks, Jackson is already shoving his swimming suit up his legs, a sudden moment of courage filling his body. “For Kardia!”

“We’re being watched?” Mingyu asked as he looked around, aiming to find the lurkers.

“Top corner, to your left,” Freya commented as she put her hair in a bun.

She watched as the Kardia boy looked around, eyes finally laying on the camera. And in that same moment, a mischievous smile appears on his lips. Freya tries to focus on the task ahead of her, the thought of having to dive into those waters grossing her out more and more as time passes. Still, she couldn’t keep herself from hearing Mingyu whisper to his teammate.

“Let’s hide these.”

From the corner of her eye, she sees Jackson smirk, grabbing the last two pairs of swimsuits and running toward the old balneary with them. She thought about playing some tricks herself, but she wanted to win this year’s games. Not even for the prize, but for the satisfaction of stealing yet something more from Sarx, and getting back at them for what they did to Jungkook.

“How are we doing this?” Jooheon asks by the girl’s side. They are both standing so close to the edge, that their toes are curled in the air.

Freya sighs, considering her options. For a moment, she watched the water, waiting for Dianoia to come back to the top. As time went on and on, she was quick to notice how much more frequent their visits to the surface were.

“Do you think there might be flashlights or something lying around?” She whispered.

Jooheon was quick on his toes, the sudden mention of the item rushing through his mind. “On the backpacks.”

“Damn it!” Yeonjun let out a frustrated sigh as he came out for air. He climbed the edge of the pool, sitting down as he tried to catch his breath.

Joy followed a couple of seconds later. “I can’t anymore.”

“Let’s rest for a second.” The younger boy helped her climb out.

“We should search separate areas. I comb one side, you do the other.” Freya suggested after overhearing the other team interaction.

“Deep side first?” Jooheon asks and Freya nods in response.

“It might be best. We probably won’t have the strength to comb that part later.”

“And if we find someone else’s board?” Jooheon whispers, eyes falling on the Kardia boys that were struggling with their suits.

“We keep our mouths shut.” Jooheon nodded in agreement.

There was still no sight from Sarx and everyone in the room was glad for that. Archie was close to losing his cool during the first game, and the lack of his presence made everyone sure he was destroying everything that stood in the way of his victory. Sooner, he would be storming over those rusty doors, getting a little too close to breaking them and diving into the sludge-filled pool with no second thought.

But for the time being, the room was filled with Jackson’s squeals. Anyone that passed outside could think someone was being murdered. The mischievous boy had quickly faded into a soft one, too afraid—or better yet, grossed out—to enter the pool. Mingyu tried to give the example, but he too was petrified.

As soon as the Psykhe team was about to dive, hands securing their masks as they adjusted them perfectly on their face, Archie came rushing into the room.

“What’s the game?” He brutally asked, shoulder-shoving Mingyu out of the way as he stopped in front of the board. “Momo!”

The girl came running into the forgotten building, a little out of breath. Everyone could tell she had been forced to run after him towards the abandoned pool.

“Look for the suits.”

“Suits?” She asked confused, considering she had no time to read the pieces of information about the game on the wall.

“Swimsuits!” He screamed impatiently.

The girl looked but the longer she took, the longer Archie pressured. He cursed the game makers for not ensuring there were enough suits for everyone.

“Loser’s crops.” Jackson shrugged, knowing he would get a reaction from the Sarx leader.

“What did you say?!”

“You should work your brains as well.” An innocent smile was plastered on the Kardia boy’s face, but he was far from that.

“Whatever dude.” Archie laughed dryly as he noticed the camera. “Momo, let’s go into the water. We don’t need suits.”

“Wha-” The girl stuttered. It wasn’t enough that she wasn’t comfortable around water—or her partner—but she also had never tried to swim in these conditions. Just the smell that arose from the water made her stomach turn. “I can’t.”

“What?”

“I- I’m not a good swimmer.”

“Bro, what?! And you’re telling me this now!?” The leader lost his cool, yet again. The Griffins were motivated with micro-aggressions better than with words of affirmation. No one could understand that house around Horus.

“Relax dude.” Mingyu gets between the leader and the girl.

“Fuck off, bro.” Archie makes sure to hit Mingyu with his shoulder as he passes him one more time daringly. “You’re not going in, Momo?”

“I-I really can’t.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have brought a fucking girl to this. Pathetic.” He spits as he turns around to face the pool.

“You’re such an asshole…” Freya can’t keep quiet.

“You’re out of your mind, dude. It’s a game.” Mingyu shakes his head.

“Again, fuck off.” Archie gives everyone in the room a dirty glance before diving just as he was.

Freya dived right after. She wanted to keep the advantage her house had so far from the Griffins but at the moment, they were standing equal. Even Dianoia, who had a good head-start, was now seemingly falling behind. Joy hadn’t entered the water ever since she last sat down on the edge of the pool. Even with the snorkeling masks, it had proven too difficult to stay down for too long.

Joy watched all the other participants give their best. Her mind kept on rushing. The big windows let very little light in, most of them being covered by the tall trees of the woods that surrounded Horus. The wind made the leaves dance swiftly; the sight was almost peaceful.

Yeonjun came up again for air. He was already exhausted. The pool was more than 6 feet deep. He had a hard time reaching the bottom, much like everyone else, and even harder staying there. More often than not, his flashlight would shut out and he would be lost in the darkness, his only sense being the faint touches of his pruney fingers.

Mingyu, having the body of an athlete and the brain of a strategist, had already found a board, Psykhe’s. He stayed a little, analyzing the piece glued down, hoping that it would make it easier once he laid eyes on his. He wasn’t sure if it was from the small deprivation of air in his brain, but the more he thought about what would be the use for it, the less sense it made for him.

He came back up for air.

“You okay?” The boy from Kardia asked once he saw Freya leaning against the pool edge, her body still inside the water.

She turned to see who was speaking to her. “Yeah.” But it didn’t sound as hip as she wanted, her lungs gasping for all the air they could get. “Not as easy as I thought.”

Mingyu laughed, agreeing. “You should look elsewhere. You’ve been there for some time.”

Despite her tiredness, Freya was quick to notice the look on the boy’s face. That wasn’t a simple comment out of care or worry. The thought of him passing by her team’s board was as if a bundle of fresh air.

“I will.”

Grabbing the ledge of the pool, she moved to where Jooheon was diving and waited for her teammate to come back up. She was quick to explain the interaction she just had and justify their new search area. Her partner agreed in a heartbeat.

Not far from them, Archie had been making his best times so far. Sarx would have been proud if they were there watching. Instead, he only had Momo. It was the last time he was going against his gut, he had thought. She was quick to collect herself, giving him tips on where to look next, but the sound of her voice only made him more impatient.

Fifteen minutes passed, with each player doing their best underwater—apart from Momo, who kept crouched by the pool shining light wherever Archie would choose to dive next—and from time to time someone would emerge gasping for air, or even scream. It was difficult to know which was worse: to stay by the edge of the pool gasping for air while hearing weary sounds that came from the trees or to stay underwater wrapped in shades of dark green and floating shadows that sometimes looked like creatures watching you. Both gave everyone the chills. Even Archie, that seemed way too stoic, would look behind his shoulders or flinch when plants would appear in his way.

Freya emerged gasping, right in the middle of the pool. Jackson and Mingyu snapped their heads to look at the noise, they seemed to be strategizing while taking a light rest. “Joo!” The girl called. “You’ve seen him?”

“I think he dived there,” Mingyu pointed out since Momo was too busy—and perhaps too afraid—to diverge her concentration from Archie.

“Thank you!” Freya said excitedly while swimming her way towards the place he had pointed, just in time to catch her partner coming up for air. “Joo!”

The guy screamed, scared to see a hand grabbing him out of nowhere. “It’s me! It’s Freya” She laughed it out.

“Thank God, I thought I was done for good!”

“In a certain way you are,” She said, attracting looks from the ones still resting by the ledges, “I found it.” She whispered last.

Jooheon’s eyes got adorably rounded, “You- Really? Like— You’re sure, sure?”

“Super sure.” She winked. “C’mon!” And as they swam their way out of the pool, the players remaining went under it again, too afraid to stay behind, too eager to win, and to get done and over with this game.

The Psykhe pair was quick to get out of their swimming suits and grab the walkie-talkie with a blue string near the Rules board. Freya looked around, her hair soaking the tee she was wearing, and she thought it was best if they talked about it elsewhere. They couldn’t, in any way, share information or clues with the other teams. Jooheon was quick to catch up on her thoughts, so they both ran outside.

The radio screeched once she turned it on, and Jooheon kept fidgeting by the girl's side. Every breeze that hit his wet neck would make him jump, leaving him on edge. They were still deep into the woods, after all.

“Tae, can you hear me?” Freya called for her brother through the device.

“You guys okay?” She heard, but it wasn’t her twin’s voice, it was Jungkook’s.

“Hey! Yeah, we're alright!” She answered with a satisfied smile, and with Jooheon’s protest by her side ‘Define alright’, as he pouted, making her nudge him playfully. “And we got the clue. Write it down, ok?”

“Ok, tell me.”

“Letter H and number 7,” She started, waiting for their response.

“Ok, H and 7,” Jungkook repeated, and right after she heard Taehyung’s voice.

“Any idea of what it could be, Frey?”

Jooheon kept looking towards the crusty doors from the old pool entrance, trying to make himself useful and busy. He was on the verge of freaking out, the tales from the boy of the woods too impactful on his mind.

“It was a chessboard!” Freya described, “The pawn was in the H7 position… But I don’t know if you should relate it to chess or if it’s just a coordinate, like the letter H and number 7?”

“Ok, we’ll see what we can do with that… I mean, we’re in the woods too, but in the south part, by the Stags greenhouse.”

“Watch out for markings in the woods— or signs!” Freya spoke fast, her body getting filled with adrenaline as her mind began to formulate a million different theories of what the solution to winning the game could be.

“Alright.”

“Good luck,” She said as soon as she felt Jooheon poking at her side, notifying her a team was about to come out, “And you two better bring that trophy home, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am!” They laughed together, and that put a smile on the, most often than not, blasé girl. Something about them together felt awfully familiar, as if Jungkook had always belonged to her group of friends, or been close to her brother.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scaredy-cat Jooheon who was tugging on her arm for them to go to the finish line and wait for the outcome of the games. Or in reality, just to escape the nightmare people made these woods to be.

While she was leaving, she offered one last glance to Mingyu, who was holding a red walkie waiting for the response of his team.

He caught her glance, their eyes meeting for brief seconds.

“See you guys at the finish line!” She said loudly, and to her surprise, it wasn’t to tease as she often would in the games.

The smile on his face grew, and the radio screeched. “What took you guys so long?!” Elena’s voice sounded through.

The sun was still up in the sky when the third game officially started, but the ones who had even the smallest of knowledge about anything sky-related knew for a fact they had to hurry up if they didn’t want to still be venturing into those woods late at night.

Taehyung and Jungkook were well aware of that. They had barely succeeded in finding their way back hours before this. But here they were, running once more between the long trees that surrounded the school, this time with another goal in mind: find an H and a 7.

“Do you think Jimin and Elena left already?” Jungkook asked his partner, his voice a little shaken due to running.

“Maybe,” He heard Taehyung answer and pant a little behind him. “We were a bit far from each other and I don’t see very well from afar” He laughed it out making Jungkook chuckle and relate a bit to his roommate.

“Oh- Look!”

They came to a halt, slowing their pace. In front of them, some of the trees could be seen with markings, some with letters, some with numbers. They glanced at each other knowingly.

They would have to search for two trees apparently, one with their number and the other with their letter.

“They’re painted with four colors…” Taehyung thought aloud making the other boy start looking at the trees once again, “You see there?” He pointed to his left. “That one has a B painted in blue but this one is painted in yellow.”

“So we have to find the blue ones with H and 7,” Jungkook concluded making Taehyung nod. “We could split up to cover more ground?” He suggested with his hands on his hips.

“That’s what they want,” Taehyung said convicted while looking around once more.

“What do you mean? Who?”

The trees were dancing with a light wind right above them. Some melodic whistles floated in the air, little birds that were probably nestling around. Despite what he had been through, Jungkook still thought the woods were almost magical. It would be nice to venture around them in a lighter situation…

“YOU’RE FALLING BEHIND!” Both of them heard Jimin’s voice echo and they snap their heads to follow the sound of it. Jimin and Elena were close by, towards their left, running further into the trees. And as they left into the distance, they could still hear the girl’s excited laugh.

“WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT!” Jungkook shouted back with a smile on his face. He kept on looking at their backs distancing further and further from where he was standing, a million thoughts spiraling in his mind. Maybe this is where I belong, he thought. And looking back at Taehyung, he found the boy already smiling at him, amused and with a complicit look plastered on his face.

For a moment Jungkook feared having to open up to his roommate for being caught in a moment like that. He didn’t think he was ready to say anything about his past yet, or if he would ever be ready for that. But thankfully Taehyung didn’t press him. Nor made fun of it, like he was sure any other guy would.

“We’re not searching anymore,” Taehyung said simply, and Jungkook wasn’t able to follow his track of thoughts, getting confused.

“What?”

“Follow me!”

The two of them trailed together between the tricky spaces around the tall trees. Jungkook had to remove the flannel shirt he was wearing on top of a tee due to the sun's rays hitting his face and torso. All the walking and running wasn’t helping either.

Taehyung’s eyes were sharp, looking for their clues. He suddenly stopped before a pine tree with a red seven painted on it and a small paper note attached. They had noticed before that each of the trees had this kind of paper glued to it, some contained the same text, and others had something entirely different.

“What are you doing? That’s not our seven! Ours is blue,” Jungkook started but Taehyung turned around swiftly putting a hand on his shoulder as if explaining some big event to a child.

“You can’t think like everyone else in this challenge, JK.” He said in a funny intonation. The more he spent time with Taehyung, the more he could see the guy was quirky and did things his way. “We only need a seven and an H. No one told us it needed to be in our official colors. Think about it. This is a challenge to make you waste time. It’s a tricky one.”

And Jungkook reflected upon his words. He was… Right. Freya never told them it had to be blue. She only gave them a letter and a number. Taehyung was brilliant. And looking at him, a growing smile forming on his face, he knew exactly why the boy had been appointed to this challenge specifically.

“Now, start digging!”

“Digging?” Jungkook asked getting confused once again.

“Look at the text on the paper.”

Look up, players! That’s right, two flags you must find… One here, and one at the other coordinate. Will you climb? Hmm, that’s dangerous. A practical solution we will share: Go to the heart of it and your tool will be there.

Jungkook read it two times, but the only thing he could take out of this was: one, climbing the tree to take out the flag swinging on the tallest tree branch, or two, go to the heart of the woods—its center—in hopes to find some tool to facilitate the process. So why the hell was Taehyung asking him to dig, he thought.

He heard him sigh, “Pine tree roots are called heart roots.” Taehyung explained already kneeling on the earthy floor to start digging the soil with a stick he found laying around, “It might be a long shot, but I don’t think so because look at this,” He fumbled with a dirty spot near the tree, “The soil is darker here, meaning someone already dug it.”

“And you know all this stuff… How exactly?” Jungkook asked surprised but found himself a larger stick to start helping.

“My grandparents have a farm… We used to spend a lot of time there when we were kids… Freya and I.”

“Huh, I see… That’s- That’s nice.”

“Look!” Taehyung poked a part of the ground enthusiastically, discarding the stick he was previously using to shift some dirt around with his own hands. When he managed to pull at a rope, a whole flag came following. “I told you!”

“Woah… You’re a genius,” Jungkook marveled.

With yet another knowing look, both of them got up quickly and started running after any tree with a big H painted on it. On their search, they passed by the Dianoia team trying to throw rocks at the flag on top of their targeted pine tree, they too seemed to be trying to think out of the box… But with no immediate success.

The Psykhe duo kept running, eagle eyes trying to do the job of finding their so-desired H. Both of them hoped the tree they found wouldn’t be next to any of the other teams, so they didn’t have to accidentally share their technique. Once they found it, a crooked H painted in yellow, they breathed relief for not being able to see a single person around, although they could hear slightly annoyed screams from the Sarx team. Something along the lines of ‘You have to push me harder, Minhyuk! I can’t climb a whole tree by myself!’ So they were the ones attempting the climbing scenario… Sarx was no joke.

With their second and final flag in their hands, Taehyung grabbed Jungkook by the arm and just advised quickly, “Now we run, as fast as you can- Just don’t leave me behind. Please?” He begged, making his roommate laugh.

With a certain nod of Jungkook’s head, they both sprinted towards the finishing line. If someone was winning the games this year, it would be them. Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh like a maniac already thinking about how good it would feel to see the Griffins’ faces, and his laughter echoed through the whole grove.

Elena and Jimin had just found their first tree when the two of them passed by running, their clothing all stained with dirt and two flags in hand. Jungkook looked like he was filming an action movie, sprinting and jumping with great agility through his obstacles, while Taehyung followed him, the difference was that he was just wagging the flags above his head like a crazy person.

“Those bastards…” Elena let out, hands on her hips as she tilted her head. “How the hell did they do it already?”

“Why are they so… Dirty?” Jimin asked a bit baffled by the situation.

Elena didn’t answer it right away, her eyes going from them to the tree marked by a big four painted in red. She analyzed it with half-closed eyes.

“Were they rolling around in the ground? Climbing a tree doesn’t make you that dirty…” She pondered. “They had to be digging. Right?” Her eyes shoot up at Jimin as if something could start to formulate in her brain.

“What, like actual ground?” Jimin had his hands on his hips, and instinctively he kicked the tree trunk in front of him.

“No, like a tree.” Elena looked seriously at him, “Of course, it’s the actual ground, Jimin!” She added and he started laughing at his dumb remark. “You’re too much!” She laughed alongside him.

“Ok, so where do we dig? Here?” He pointed towards the base of the pine tree and Elena nodded, so he crouched down and started poking the soil.

Not even ten minutes had passed by when they found the tip of the flag and started pulling it out. A little bit of hauling and more digging around the edge of it and the flag was loose and on their hands. Jimin was about to celebrate when Elena shushed him out, fearing the other teams would find out.

“Let’s cover and smooth it as much as we can.” The girl said, looking around as her hands were quick to find the piles of dirt and put them back in their place. They only needed their F now, and as they searched for it, the situation wasn’t looking so good. The Kardia duo needed to hurry up if they wanted to have at least a shot at winning first place; with any luck, Jungkook and Taehyung had got lost, with no clue on how to arrive at the finishing line. Taehyung would certainly get lost, Elena thought to herself. Not only that but the Stags passed by them, one flag on Johnny’s shoulders as they moved through the vegetation.

Rumour had it that a long time ago, Horus Academy used to be much chipper. Only the richest would be allowed to pass by the front gates and marvel at the benefits of having the crest of the prestigious school right by their hearts.

The halls were roamed by troublemakers. Grades weren’t important. Even the teachers wouldn’t try too hard with the students. An F could swiftly be transformed into an A by the end of the semester, a juicy donation made to the Horus Academy Foundation from the family acting as the factor of competence and credibility of the kids' performance.

Despite all this, nothing could be perceived more than mischief. Kids were ruthless. They would speak their minds, not a care in the world if they could be shattering you into a million pieces. Some bullying… Some hazing… But never one step further than that. It was fitting, and not even slightly strange, after all, they had been raised by parents that thought money could fix anything.

Even so, a look at the now long-lost records of the students of the Horus Academy could show that the most serious case that had turned up on school grounds had been a miscarriage—in consequence of a conceived in school-grounds pregnancy.

That was, of course, until that day. The day when all changed.

Chadwin Sinclair. Everyone knew him by his self-entitled nickname, Dragon.

The story was that he had been sent to Horus Academy after almost burning his entire mansion down, with his family sleeping and all the staff still inside. He hadn’t meant it, of course. He was only nine. But his mother—had anyone cared to ask—always found it quite disturbing how his favorite toys were a box of matches. Still, she was too depressed to care or do something about his behavior. With another child on the way, Chadwin’s parents saw no other option than to send him away to a boarding school, as he represented a great danger to what could be the perfect frontman of the Sinclair family.

And in no time, they had forgotten all about him.

During the Christmas break, his mailbox was filled with gifts. He was thrilled. There were no visitations nor, like the other students, did he get the chance to go home. But he was still happy his family bought him everything he had asked for. After all, in the eyes of a child, a Christmas morning is fulfilled by presents under the tree. To Chadwin, sitting by the fireplace with his family was, most of the time, a burden.

Sooner than expected, summer break was just around the corner and he had begun to pack. Some students had already gone home, despite there still being two more weeks left of classes.

After all, it didn’t matter if they were there or not, if their attendance was perfect and their brains matched the level of the prestige school known to the outside world. As long as the deposit came through at the beginning of each month, all was well.

Chadwin didn’t get the reception he was expecting. People teased him. Especially the older kids.

Much like his mother, everyone found it a bit odd how enchanted he was with fire. He used to take refuge in the girls’ bathroom, escaping in between bells, just him and his matches.

Chadwin completed one year with Horus Academy, then another, and another, never leaving the somewhat prison he had been sent to. He had quickly been forgotten by his family and his Christmas mornings were less and less crowded with the disguised wrapped love. So much so that he had stopped writing home. It was of no use. The far apart he grew from his family, the more the fire grew in him.

Rumors intensified once he got admitted to the infirmary. And even more when he got released from it. For most of Autumn and Winter, he had been able to hide it with the long sleeves, but as Spring came around the corner and the sun began to fill the days at Horus, everyone spoke about his arm.

It could fall off at any time.

He was probably trying to kill us all. Failed once… I guess he will forever be a failure.

What a freak.

Don’t go near him. Imagine ending up like that.

Again, children were ruthless. And if Chadwin thought he was alone before, now he was certain that he was nothing but a waste of space and air. He thought of himself as not being worthy of a kind word. They made him believe he was a freak. And despite his best attempts to leave his comfort, putting behind the warmth of the fire in his soul, he couldn’t.

So he kept on playing with it.

One afternoon, he was hiding in the Academy’s cafeteria.

Some boys had decided that he should mix his elements. The freak should be in the water—a change of pace from his good ol’ matches. They had tried to dunk his head in the toilets. And they had succeeded. Not as much as they wanted, of course. What were a couple of minutes to dear Chadwin when he got to spend so much time with fire…

As it did before, the fire inside him grew. And Horus Academy was changed forever. No one cared to look for Chadwin Sinclair as the ghastly sound of flames was blended with the screams of frightened children, running for their lives.

Horus struggled to get back on its feet. And truth be told, it almost didn’t. But as the corridors of the new buildings are roamed by a new kind of troublemakers, the Academy keeps on attempting to keep the dark secret of that day from ever being found.

“I can’t believe they’re not here already.” Freya frowned, arms crossing over her chest.

The sun was close to setting and had it been any other day, the focus of the students would be on capturing the beautiful tones that adorned the sky, with soft shades of blue, pink, and purple welcoming the moon.

“I can’t believe our advantage didn’t mean anything.” Kaya laughed drily. The girl was usually a good sport, not caring much if she lost or won, only if everyone around her was having a good time. But this— this was different. It meant too much.

“Honestly, I can’t believe you guys aren’t eating!” Jin spoke after swallowing hard on the big chunk he had taken from his hot dog.

“I’m confident.” Namjoon’s dimple made itself known as he took a step closer to the finish line. “I can already sense Jungkook and Tae turning the corner, flags in hand, a victorious smile on their faces…”

“They better not screw it. I didn’t dive in that gross water for nothing.” Freya lifted her eyebrow.

“The second we knew what the other trial was, I was certain that we weren’t going to finish.” Hoseok laughed.

“Hey man, don’t even mention it. I will have nightmares, forever.” Jackson cried, gaining a laugh from the ones around him.

The crowd is silenced by the sound of screams.

“What the—” Freya squints her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on.

“What’s happening?” Kaya spoke fast, eyes widening in comparison to the tall girl beside her. The brunette started to move, impulsed by curiosity, hand grabbing Freya’s wrist as she pushed past the group of students that stood by the finish line. “Are those…?”

“Oh my God-” Freya gasped. “Let’s fucking go!”

Jungkook passed by the two girls at full speed as Psykhe had been quick to notice what had been happening and everyone shouted his name, as well as that of the boy right after him. Taehyung was out of breath. It was obvious to anyone watching that he had a hard time keeping up with the new guy in school but the compliments weren’t any less.

Stopping by the judges' tables, Jungkook handed them the flags.

“Only the team can finish this trial.” One of the judges said eyeing him up, stating Taehyung’s absence. Jungkook puffed irritated, hands falling to his knees so he could finally catch his breath while waiting for his partner to catch up to him. His eyes fell on the time watch on one of the judges' hands.

“Very well, boys. The flags, please.” Yeri, a girl from the Psykhe house winked at them.

“We already finished. Won’t you stop the clock?” With a hand on his hip, Jungkook pressed, head nudging towards the ticking-bomb-like device.

“We need to check the flags first.” Tzuyu barked back, eyebrows narrowed as she was not pleased that the boy in front of her wasn’t someone from her house. His eyes pierced hers defiantly, as he clenched his jaw and handed her the flags he had discarded on the judges' table.

“What’s going on?” Taehyung who was lying down on the floor finally managed to ask.

“And— stop!” Wheein, from Dianoia, lifted her hands in the sky. “Everyone!” Grabbing the megaphone from the table, she stands up on her chair, expecting eyes to fall on her immediately. “Guess we have our first place! Give it up for Psykhe!”

The crowd roars, filled with wolves, and they rush toward the boys. Suddenly, they are being lifted in the air. Some boos are heard from the other houses, playfully but honestly sore from the defeat. All except the ones coming from the Sarx house. They don’t boo but a simple look at their expressions makes it clear that they would need their time to soak in the stomp on their winning streak.

Jungkook gets put down on the floor again while Taehyung still fights for his safety; his teammates are too excited about the event to even care.

Freya rushes to the new guy—that didn’t seem that new anymore as he fits the group as a glove—without even thinking, her arms swinging around his neck with excitement. He is quick to wrap her in his embrace, squeezing her tight and lifting her in the air.

“Dream team, baby!” Jungkook says into Freya’s neck making her smile widely.

“Hell yeah!” Freya can’t help but scream excitedly. Before she can even notice she is being surrounded by her housemates, a pack of Wolves, as loud as they can be, she catches herself feeling secure in this stranger's embrace. It was weird how she felt so comfortable in Jungkook’s presence yet knew so little about him. “Help!” Taehyung yelps cutting short her trace of thoughts, while almost falling to the floor as he is finally released from the sea of people he was in.

Jungkook lets Freya out of his hold to go and help her brother stabilize himself. A rushed way out of the blood flushing to his years with the sudden proximity with the deep-eyed girl.

“Everyone’s been trying to kill me today.” The twin lets out, as if out of breath.

“Drama queen…” Freya laughs, arm leaning on her brother’s shoulder.

“Do you know how hard it is to keep up with him?” He side-eyes Jungkook, who breaks out in a fit of laughter.

“You’re just simply very much out of shape.” Freya chuckles.

“Nah, I’m just that fast.” Jungkook shrugs, nonchalant, and Freya scoffs amused. Hadn’t she been interrupted, she would be quick to fight him back on his statement. Perhaps that would be a theme of conversation for another time, much like her incessant curiosity to know more about him.

“My man!” Namjoon appears, engulfing Jungkook in a hug.

“Hey, I was part of the team too!” Taehyung pouts.

“Tae, we all know you’re the brains behind the whole operation but he was definitely the one doing the hard work.” Yoongi appears with a smug smile on his lips, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Good job, guys.”

“C’mon, show a little more enthusiasm, I know you’re backflipping inside that head of yours.” Freya pokes the boy’s side, gaining attention from Jungkook.

“Uh, Psykhe.” The dripping dullness in his voice completes the blank expression on his face as his balled fist is thrown unamusedly in the air.

Freya crosses her arms, one eyebrow raised. “That’s the best you can do?”

“C’mon, louder! The sore losers need to know who’s the boss.” Taehyung joins in.

“On three…” Jungkook smiles deviously. “1…”

“2…”

“3!”

“PSYKHE!” The wolves shout in unison.

“...ATE YOUR… Asses…?” Everyone hears at the end and looks at the culprit in question—Freya. “No…? Alright. No need to look at me like that, gee.”

“You have no respect for the mourning of others, do you?” Kaya pushes Namjoon away from the circle they had formed while eyeing the electric twins, making room for herself.

“Don’t be a sore loser yourself.” Freya sticks her tongue out, teasing her friend.

“Shush it.” The younger girl demands in feigning authority for pure spite.

The group dismisses the circle-like shape and is quick to stand by the finish line, eager to see which team would occupy second place. In a matter of seconds, the crowd that had become quieter over time was reminded that there was a competition still going on and a second place to earn.

“JIMIN-AH! RUN!” Elena's strident scream can be heard even before she comes into sight. “THEY'RE CATCHING UP TO US!”

“Elena really wasn't made for this kind of situation.” Hoseok laughs, knowing that if it were him, he would also scream as loud as his teammate.

“I'm surprised we didn't hear her any sooner.” Taehyung snorts, an amused look on his face.

“YOU RUN!” Jimin giggled, grip tightening around the girl's wrist. Elena wasn't as fast as him—maybe it was the adrenaline or his insistent pulling on her arm—but she was running right by his side.

“Those two together are absolute chaos.” Kaya shakes her head. The big smile she had on her lips is quick to fade though.

Following right suit, Johnny and Changkyun turn the corner, and the screams that left the blonde's lips get more intense. The boys from Dianoia are fast and close to catching up to them.

“GO JOHNNY! GO KYUNIE! RUN!” Kaya suddenly jumps up giving in to the frenzy of the crowd, hands tightening around the fence placed between her and the running track. “JIN, LOOK AT THEM!” But the oldest of the group was nowhere to be seen.

“Go Jimin!” Taehyung swings his arms up in the air.

“Let's go, guys!” Hoseok also cheers.

And the crossing of the finish line and delivery of the flags at the judges' table is only separated by a couple of seconds from one duo to another.

Despite the thrilling emotions both teams were feeling, trying to understand their places in the games, the focus of the crowd wasn't on the judges' table. Instead, everyone started staring at Archie Miller, the captain of the Sarx house. The look on his face, as he realized that his team would finish last, was nothing compared to the cussing words that left his mouth. He was enraged. He wanted to take the path and find the team he had sent out for the third game and finish it himself.

“Can’t believe they didn’t tell us if we made it second.” Elena scoffs as she reaches her group, still trying to even her breathing from all the running.

“You never know.” Kaya teases.

“I will smother you tonight. Don’t think I didn’t hear you scream for those two.” A mean expression adorned her face as she tilted her head towards the Dianoia team.

“What?! Oh, now I’m hurt.” Jimin’s hands flew to his heart.

“Don’t mix business with pleasure, isn’t that what they say?” The smart girl laughs.

“Wouldn’t you know…” Elena sticks her tongue out to her friend as she sits down on the grassy ground next to Taehyung. “I still can’t believe you guys got first place.”

“Who else could've?” Taehyung replied with a smug smile on his face, getting shoved right after.

“You only won because you had him.” The girl scoffs and points to Jungkook, who was standing proudly next to his team captain. “You should know that you got sorted into the wrong house,” Elena states to the new boy gaining his attention.

“Look, another sore loser.” Freya jokes at the mercy of her friend teasingly. “But really, this was a collective win, guys. Look at Miller.”

The conversation is quick to die down as the Griffins finally pass the finish line. The judges don’t bother to look at their flags like they had done with the other teams. Regardless of being successful or not, they came in last and their fate was very much decided at that point. As so, they don’t go to the podium. Sarx goes home without a prize, their player's hair all messy and clothes torn from their lack of imagination completing the third game, as they were the most likely team to present it as yet another physical trial.

The third place is occupied by Dianoia. An upgrade from last year’s games. The judges make sure to assert the almost nonexistent difference between them and the second place: Kardia. Only seconds separated the two teams. The teasing between the group of friends is immense as if they had been disputing the first place, to begin with. Kaya, a naturally good sport quickly loses her composure as her roommate, alongside the other two Dragons of the group, Jimin and Hoseok, celebrates with a much-exaggerated dance for a clear win.

Screams of excitement were heard as soon as the judges mentioned the real first place once again. Wolves—and even the Stags and the Dragons—made their contentment knowing Psykhe are this year’s crowned winners.

However, quicker than expected the mood shifts.

A loud and guttural scream is heard across the open field. A human shape dashing desperately through the tall trees that marked the woods' territory—Joy.

The girl seemed out of her mind, scared, and looking like a mess. She was still wearing her swimsuit, or at least half of it since the piece was hanging from her upper body but still covering her from the waist down as if she had run in the middle of completing the task.

Her hair was disheveled and full of dry leaves entangled in it. The closer she got to the paralyzed crowd the more it was visible how she was injured as well. A cut could be seen above her eyebrow along with some ugly scratches adorning the extension of her arm and her bare feet.

“Help!” She managed to exclaim.

Yeonjun, her partner from the abandoned pool game, was by her side in a heartbeat giving her the support she needed so she could finally know she was safe. His expression was mixed with confusion and worriedness, and he wouldn’t stop saying incoherent things, as if he was certain she had been inside the school perimeters this whole time and not in the woods.

Even though she had not arrived with him at the finish line.

And when questioned about what had happened, while being wrapped with a warm blanket, Joy, still crouched on the ground and shaking, had said she had been surprised at the abandoned balneary when she went to take her swimsuit out of her body by a strange figure.

“I just got so scared, so I- I ran! And I knew it wasn’t one of the boys. I- I swear it wasn’t one of the boys that were on the pool with me.” She had said between stutters. The more Jungkook heard her piece, the more his jaw tensed, being reminded of his own episode not so far ago.

Yeonjun promptly clarified that he had waited for her, and once he called for the girl by the girls’ balneary and she didn’t answer, he even entered to check. She was simply gone. So he didn’t make much of it, just assumed she went ahead and back to the finish line.

He returned alone.

A commotion began to form among the crowd. Everyone was nit-picking on their stories. Some pointed out that Yeonjun should have said something once he arrived, others defended the boy. After all, Joy could have perfectly arrived at the safety of her dorm to take a shower and clean the stench left by the gruesome pool, just like everyone else did. Well, everyone minus Archie who kept staring at the woods by the finish line too proud and anxious to lose his precious title.

And then the gossip followed. In a question of seconds, the rumor of the boy of the woods was being spread, Jungkook’s tragic yet mysterious kidnapping as well, and looks of terror started to appear. That was until the first beep was heard.

Suddenly the sound of notifications filled the air, and even the Stags who were all over Joy stopped their interrogations to pay attention to what was going on. Something like this… Could it be…?

“What’s going on?” Kaya asks, looking around quickly and approaching her friends again. “I don’t have my phone. What’s going on?” She insists, looking between them.

“Namjoon?” Jungkook asks, big doe eyes as he can’t help but panic after taking a glance at his own screen.

“Oh, great,” Yoongi laughs drily. It was impossible to ignore all the whispers and stares directed at him.

The captain of the Wolves scratches the back of his neck, a big puff of air leaving his lips. “We have a situation here…”

“So it’s me this time.” Yoongi sighed, the weight of prying eyes still on him. “Let me see.”

“You.” Freya spat. It was like her body was on fire, rage overcoming all the positive emotions she had been feeling. “This is such bullshit.”

“Yeah, don’t think they agree.” Yoongi chuckles, glancing at the hostile faces staring back at him.

“Fuck them.” Freya gets closer to Yoongi, protectively wrapping her arms around his own, but the judging stares don’t stop. They only increase. Like a fire going out of control.

Jungkook can’t help but look at the two of them together. His eyes keep falling on the way the girl strokes the back of Yoongi’s hand with her thumb, ever so gently, and so distant from the harsh expression shown on her face.

The way Yoongi starts fidgeting in Freya’s embrace, even though he appears to be calm and collected, and the way he tightens the grip on her hand tells her all she needs to know—he’s overly uncomfortable. And she can’t stand it.

“I’ll be right back.” She says decisively to him and to her friends, who were still close to each other, each with a look of uneasiness of their own.

Freya marches straight to the mini stage, taking the megaphone Wheein was previously using to announce the results to the crowd off of her hand.

“Hey!” She shouted and a screech echoed making some of the people standing close to the speakers cover their ears. Everyone winced but started paying attention to the girl instead of looking toward Yoongi.

“This is bad,” Kaya stated anxiously.

“Good. Now that I have your attention let’s clarify some stupid and nonsense rumors.” Freya scoffed, too mad that people deliberately chose to just believe some unfound and ridiculous tweet than actually think.

“Someone take her out of there,” Kaya added, gripping Hoseok’s arm but unable to take her eyes off her friend, expectant and afraid You would drag her again to the mud.

“I’m really sorry that Joy had gone through some sort of attack and all but are you really blaming it on Yoongi?” Freya questioned baffled. “That Yoongi? ‘Cause like- Unless he has actual superpowers I can’t see how he left my side to sprint towards the woods and go scare her.”

People started looking at each other. By the incessant whispers, it was notorious that they started doubting You’s statement but also clear that some of them were still not buying Freya’s lead. And all because of a tiny detail… One that could light a fire and burn everything down. She had a motive to defend him.

Horus was filled with troublemakers, yes, but its walls also contained brilliant minds; Some bright, the brightest ever, and some ruthless—like said before. And one of them decided to speak, right at that moment, to ignite a flame.

“I’m sorry but aren’t you his girlfriend?” Bambam shouted from the back of the crowd, a scoff leaving his lips. He had his arms crossed carefreely and an annoying smug smile on his lips that made Freya clench her jaw involuntarily. The way he looked around at people made it clear that he was after sympathy. Some even started to nod alongside him. “The one that was caught climbing his window two weeks ago or so…?”

Her instinct was telling her to jump off that stage and fly up on his neck, but Freya knew better. He just wanted her to act up and lose all her credibility before the confused crowd. So she took a deep breath before smiling sarcastically, ready to give him an answer.

Jungkook however, who was the least rational person in the precinct, was so ready to act that he managed to take his first step toward Bambam, tongue poking the inside of his cheek, anger in his eyes. He remembered the boy’s face from that day in the woods when he had been cruelly tied to a tree.

But Namjoon stopped him right in his tracks. “We got this.” The team leader assured with a last confident smile before walking to the stage Freya was on.

“And what is it to you?” She questioned smartly. “Does that have anything to do with the fact Joy was attacked by someone or are you just trying to start false rumors? Perhaps you know who’s behind that stupid account, no? They seem to follow your track of logic.”

A group from the crowd let a wave of ‘uohows’ mocking Bambam who by now had his smile fading into a defeated frown. Jungkook couldn’t help but show his radiant bunny smile, victorious. Elena shouted a “Damn right” backing up her friend, and Taehyung went along proud of his twin sister.

Before anyone else could point out Freya had just been defending Yoongi because she had something going on with him, Namjoon stepped up onto the small stage.

Asking silently for the megaphone, that was handed to him after a brief exchange of complicit looks, the team leader continued. “I feel ridiculous having to even try and explain something regarding that rumor, but if it puts your minds at ease, Yoongi was with me the whole time waiting for our team to arrive at the finishing line. As soon as Freya ended her trial, she took a shower and met us here where, not only a lot of you had seen us, but also the judges.”

In a matter of seconds, the crowd was silenced and some even quietly apologized to Yoongi while passing by him.

Freya and Namjoon were about to step off the center stage toward their friends when another voice was heard. The fanfare was far from over. Among the crowd, there was a person who was still not over the events of the day. Archie Miller.

With unmistakable annoyance in his tone of voice, he exclaimed. “You know what?! This is bull!”

Suddenly all eyes were on him.

“So these damn Wolves will just get off with anything?!” He continued enraged. “First our room, our stuff, now Joy… The poor girl can’t even say a coherent sentence.” He took a glance at the girl in question, who was being escorted towards the infirmary, with a feign of worriedness that didn’t belong to his normal behavior, gaining some raised brows in return. “I say we punish them.” The Griffins' leader stated finally what he wanted all along.

“Punish them?” Freya questioned once again outraged. “Where are we? In Hunger Games or something?”

“C’mon Miller… Acting so coy. We can barely recognize you.” Elena couldn’t help but join.

Taehyung who was right behind her had to be quick, however. The last thing they needed right now was to add more fuel to the fire. Afraid Archie would unleash his anger on her, Taehyung covered Elena’s mouth with his hand, and in a swift move lifted the girl up, left arm holding her tight on her center, exchanging places with her. “Now’s not the time” He shushed her quietly.

“Taehyung what the fu-” She was about to say when he circled her yet again in his arms, leaving her face glued to his back. All Elena could do due to the height difference was slap poorly his shoulder.

The boy could almost breathe relieved knowing he had stopped chaos from happening, but the thought of peace went out as briskly as the breath he took.

“Archie… Dude. If you want your trophy that bad why don’t you go fetch it?” Jimin retorted impatiently and his best friend was almost heard swearing a couple of feet away. “There are more important things at the moment. Joy’s incident had nothing to do with anyone here… Clearly.”

There was a moment of pause; Some were expectant to what Archie could possibly answer back as everyone knew he was a walking ticking bomb. Some, the gossiping eyes of this school, were curious to know what was this “trophy” talk all about.

Archie himself took a moment just to look at Jimin. You could see his brain was working like a fuming train just by the way he walked toward the other boy with furrowed brows and a questioning glance.

“I never said anything about a trophy, Park.” He barked out, now only a meter away from Jimin.

Instinctively, Jungkook balled his fists standing side by side with Jimin. If looks could kill, Jungkook would have opened a hole in Archie’s forehead. And he wasn’t the only one, as Jackson was furiously opening a path among the crowd to reach his Kardia teammate. Freya too was about to reach Jimin to give him a deserving slap in the back of his head for being such a damn taleteller when someone grabbed her by the wrist.

As she looked up, all she could see was Mingyu’s profile, shielding her from Archie in case something unfolded. Knowing the latter’s temper, a fight was about to start.

Jimin scoffed with a smile. “Joy was attacked on school grounds and that’s where you’re stuck?”

Tension was palpable and shortly it was present everywhere.

“Hey hey, what’s going on?” Jin appeared by Yoongi’s side confused by the sudden ruckus.

“Where were you?” Taehyung asked his cousin under Namjoon’s attentive gaze, but the answer never came as Jin’s focus was purely on the fight about to happen right before him.

Much like the oldest's reaction to the scene unfolding right in the center of a mass of students present, the crowd grew closer, engulfing the two boys in a circle. Whispers were heard from every side and some were even tempted to find the right words that would finally ignite the fight. Tzuyu had left the judges table and was now quick on her feet, right next to Mandy, a close friend of Jimin’s, who had been taping the entire scene from the moment she had heard Joy screaming. No one wanted to miss a second of the spectacle.

“Are you going to let him talk to you like that?” Bambam had a devious smile on his lips as he spoke right at the ear of his team’s captain.

And that was all the incentive the impulsive red-haired boy needed. His eyes fell on Jimin and the other guys backing him up but he was sure he could take them all. Hell, he had his eyes set on the prize. Launching forward, the captain of Sarx pulls his arm back, his fist ready to clash with the now so clearly thief of his precious trophy.

“May I ask what is happening here?!” Miss Bellum’s voice froze them in their places before a fight could actually unfold. She worriedly passed by students trying to reach Archie and Jimin.

Belle, the Dianoia student who worked as a secretary for the school during her vacant hours, came right after the teacher, as it was later found out she was the one reaching out to a professor to prevent something worst to happen. She also made sure to update her biology teacher about Joy’s episode on the way, as Miss Bellum questioned her why the brunette had been admitted to the infirmary with cuts and restless behavior.

“I won’t repeat myself, boys.” The teacher scolded. “If I catch any of you fighting we’ll have serious consequences. Archie put that fist down!”

Jimin backed away, quickly apologizing to the teacher but his eyes were still on the boy before him. Archie didn’t say a word, he was far too angry for that, and in his head, this wasn’t over. Far from it.

Before he could turn back from fighting Kardia’s golden boy, the incessant notification noise traveled through the crowd like a tidal wave yet again.

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