With 4 days remaining in the recording studio, Namjoon was adding some beats to the computer when, unexpectedly, Jungkook entered.
"Oh, sorry, I thought the recording studio was unoccupied and no one was here," Jungkook said, stepping back until Namjoon stopped him. "Actually, I'm using the recording studio, and it's not empty. You can wait outside until I'm finished if you'd like. I shouldn't be long," Namjoon replied calmly.
Jungkook, with a slight motion, returned to the door and waited outside, as Namjoon had requested.
"That was a close call; I thought I was going to be caught. I'm relieved he didn't come closer, or he would have seen a picture of y/n on my phone screen. Alright, let's wrap up this beat I made so Jungkook can use the recording studio," Namjoon mumbled while concentrating on the computer.
He finished the file in a few minutes, saved it on the USB that was linked to it, and successfully logged out.
Namjoon opens the door and spots Jungkook nodding his head while softly singing. Namjoon taps Jungkook on the shoulder to inform him that the recording studio is now free for him to use.
Jungkook gets up from the floor and walks inside as Namjoon heads to one of the lounges on the 6th floor.
Namjoon enters at one of the available lounges since the others are occupied by employees. He settles into a comfortable chair, puts on some headphones, and falls into a deep sleep.
[Namjoon's dream]
It was the summer of 20XX, Namjoon strolled through the streets of California, casually creating beats in his head until he reached a gaming café. Once there, he reunited with his former high schools friends while observing them play games. He wasn't really into video games; even if he attempted to play, he didn't put much effort into it.
As he watched his friends arguing and playfully fighting, Namjoon noticed a mysterious girl. His friend saw him staring and nudged him, warning that he shouldn't approach her. Namjoon inquired, "Why not?" to which his friend replied, "She's out of your league." Namjoon laughed at his friend's comment and made his way over to the mysterious girl.
"Hello! I'm RM, but you can call me Namjoon. What's your name?" Namjoon said with a charming tone. The mysterious girl turned, took off her sunglasses, and Namjoon was left speechless by her beauty. "Aren't you the leader of BTS?" she asked. "It's nice that you recognize me. Yes, I'm the leader. We're not super famous yet, but we will be soon," Namjoon replied, still looking charming. "Whatever you're up to, I'm not interested. I have a boyfriend, so if you're looking for someone single, talk to her. She's been focused on that game for hours," the mysterious girl said, putting her sunglasses back on and turning away.
Namjoon's flirting effort failed; started to walk towards her but suddenly froze, as if someone had knocked the wind out of him.
He awoke in a dark, empty place with only a single light shining at the end of the corner. Namjoon got up and rushed towards the light, finding himself in an unfamiliar place.
Once he arrived, something magical flew past by him before he noticed a silhouette. The silhouette approached Namjoon, speaking in a sweet voice.
"Welcome to the garden. You seem to be new here; would you like to take a tour?" asked the silhouette. "I'm not dead, am I? Because this looks like heaven," Namjoon replied, alarmed. "No, silly, this is a magical place. Come, follow me, and I'll show you what this garden has to offer," the silhouette said, gesturing for Namjoon to join her.
Namjoon and the silhouette strolled through the beautiful, serene garden, seeing a large mansion draped in green leaves, a big pond, and many other sights. They paused at the entrance of a maze.
"I will be at the end of the maze. You have less than an hour to reach the finish line. If you can do it in under an hour, you will receive a wish of your choice," said the silhouette before vanishing.
A large timer was suspended in the sky; as soon as it started, Namjoon, with his high IQ, entered the maze.
Inside, he faced several riddles; some were simple, while others were tough, but for Namjoon, they were easy. With just a minute left on the timer, a faint whisper reached his ears. He tried to ignore it until he noticed the bush next to him began to glitch. He paused for a moment and rubbed his eyes to check if it was real.
The glitch continued without stopping until Namjoon crossed the finish line in less than 30 minutes.
As the silhouette promised a wish he desired, Namjoon wished to become the king of the deserted mansion. His wish was fulfilled, and Namjoon found himself on a throne. Everything was fine until the hollow whisper persisted. The hollow whisper trailed him wherever he went; he was the only one who could hear it.
"Okay, whoever you are, reveal yourself. I'm serious; this isn't funny," Namjoon demanded of the hollow whisper. In response to Namjoon's command, the hollow whisper revealed itself, shocking Namjoon.
"No, this can't be; are you not the same silhouette from the garden?" Namjoon asked, his voice shaking. "Yes, I am the same silhouette from the garden, but I am also the hollow whisper that kept calling to you in the maze. It seems that you were ignoring me. Why did you ignore me?" the silhouette said with a pleading tone as it approached Namjoon.
The silhouette gradually revealed more of its concealed identity to Namjoon until it was fully revealed. From shaking to feeling relieved, Namjoon embraced the silhouette and murmured, "You're even more stunning than before. Your identity was hiding this from me. I will never ignore what you tell me again." Namjoon, still clutching the silhouette, felt uncomfortable.
He glanced up and noticed the silhouette's face transform into something sinister. "What is the matter, Namjoon? Did you see a ghost?" the silhouette asked in a deeper tone. Namjoon stepped back and dashed to the door, but it wouldn't open. He rushed to the windows; they wouldn't open either. He leaped onto the bed with a sword, warning the silhouette not to come any closer. "Stay back, I don't want to kill you. Just step back," Namjoon urged the silhouette in a shaky voice.
"Wow, you're showing a lot of courage, Namjoon, but you never acted this way when we were together. Why are you behaving like this now and not back then?" said the silhouette in front of Namjoon with a sinister grin. "What do you mean? I was always courageous; I just didn't have the strength to express it. As for dating you? I don't even recognize you," replied Namjoon, still shaking with fear.
The silhouette raised her veil, exposing her face, which looked empty like a black hole; only her wicked smile was visible. His room began to glitch like it did in the maze, and he fell deep until he hit something hard.
Namjoon woke up in a familiar environment. The scent of the ocean breeze reminded him of Jeju Island. He got up and looked around to see if the silhouette was still with him. All he noticed were many vacationers, but none of his members could be found.
He continued to ask those nearby if they had spotted his members, but most answered no. With his head lowered, Namjoon sat on the sand in front of the waves while a mysterious figure sat beside him.
"Are you feeling lonely?" inquired the mysterious figure. "Yes, I am lonely. I can't find the members, and I ended up in this place where everything changed," Namjoon replied sadly, lowering his head. The mysterious figure placed a hand on Namjoon's shoulder and reassured him that he was not alone.
Namjoon sensed a familiar presence; without needing to ask, he looked up and turned to see y/n's face. "Y/n? Is that really you?" Namjoon asked, reaching out to touch her face. "Yes, it's me, and please stop touching my face," y/n responded, urging Namjoon to refrain from doing so.
Namjoon then recounted to y/n how he returned to California, then to a magical garden, and how he found himself here now, on the same Jeju Island where everything changed.
Y/n suggested that he might be experiencing hallucinations again and that everything he was going through was just a figment of his imagination. Y/n got up from the sand, took Namjoon's right hand, and led him on a little tour.
Namjoon enjoyed the view just like he did that day, but he focused more on y/n. He continued to admire her until something in the distance caught his attention.
"Um, y/n, shouldn't we stop here? Why are we going further over there?" Namjoon asked, pointing to the location. Y/n kept walking, didn't look back, and didn't respond to him.
Namjoon continued to shout to get y/n's attention until he felt someone push him towards her. "Y/n, this isn't like you. I've been calling your name to get your attention, but why aren't you hearing me?" Namjoon said, feeling frustrated.
"You still haven't figured it out, have you? You believe you possess me. You see me as just an object to control. I'm a person who wanted a typical high school experience, but YOU took everything away from me. You left me feeling powerless and weak in front of everyone while you stood by and did nothing to protect me," y/n said, avoiding Namjoon's gaze.
"But I did all this for your own good. Isn't the man meant to lead in a relationship? I don't want a girl to take charge. I acted the way I did," Namjoon replied, moving closer to y/n. "And your actions turned you into a controlling, abusive, and obsessive freak, but that's over now. I'm the one in control," y/n declared, her voice dropping to a deeper tone.
Y/n turned around, but this wasn't the y/n Namjoon remembered; it was the same silhouette he had seen before arriving here. Y/n's silhouette charged at Namjoon. He ran, but the figure managed to grab both of his legs and pull him toward the cliff. Namjoon pleaded with y/n's silhouette not to throw him off; he begged repeatedly until his plea was rejected.
Y/n's silhouette, irritated by Namjoon's presence, hurled him off the cliff, watching as he fell slowly toward the rocks. As Namjoon was falling into slow motion, he stared at the spot where he was about to land until—
Namjoon woke up, feeling very shaken. He grabbed his headphones and tossed them beside him.
"What just happened? I've never experienced a déjà vu dream like this. It felt so real, but not too real. Y/n was there, transforming into a demonic figure I had never seen before. That cliff, that's where it all took place, and I was by myself; no one was there to see me while y/n looked down from the top of the cliff, happy to get rid of me," Namjoon mumbled as he put his headphones back around his neck.
He left the lounge, took the elevator, and went to the roof. Namjoon arrived on the roof, and let out a terrible scream, cursing at y/n. He couldn't handle it anymore; y/n was making him frustrated. He started blaming y/n for everything that had happened in his life so far, but he refused to tell what secret he was keeping.
He left the roof, went to the elevator, and arrived at the main entrance where he had parked his bike. He unlocked the safety lock and began to ride home.
When he arrived to his apartment, he entered the secret room where the fake mannequin head and body were still on the floor, torn apart from the fiasco.
In a rage, Namjoon took his staff and hit the bulletin board, causing the pins to drop and the pictures to scatter around him. He ended up staying in that room until morning.