Taehyung felt like a stranger in his own house.

Everyone who knew about this were there and the brunet just tightened his grip on his best friend's hand who was sitting right beside him.

"How do we bring out her body?" Yoongi's dad asked and the others gave this a thought.

"We can't really go and start breaking the floor to get it. Can't even involve Belfort authority because for that we need the headmaster's permission and who is the headmaster? Jeon Jonhan." Yoongi let out a bitter chuckle and all of them agreed.

To get the dead body, they have to come up with some other plan than just to go and break the floor.

"Isn't there any other way? Like isn't there any alternative to prove that Jonhan is gonna kill people for the next seven days?" Hansung asked and Taehyung knitted his brows.

"Yoongi said it's eight days—"

"Seven days he has to kill people and on the eighth he has to give his own blood," they corrected and Taehyung raised his brows, "With that you mean?"

"Simple, he has to offer his blood," Yoongi made it clear and the other nodded, Jimin just stared at the pale boy who gave him a small smile, that didn't look adulterated or anything, it seemed so genuine.

"How about we just try catch him tomorrow when he will be doing the first kill?" Jimin asked, skeptical about what he was saying but it was a good idea if it turned out to be possible which had so less chances in all honesty.

"How do you plan to do that, Mr. Park?" Taehyung's father asked, sipping on some cold water and getting the glass back on the table in front, "He will surely not be clumsy about this, he will be super careful, we can't catch him. Moreover we don't even know where and who he will pick for the sacrifice."

"We can't let innocents die, can we?" Taehyung asked, eyes fixed on his father who shook his head no, "No, but we can't do anything either, if gets the hint we are all aware of this, he will first try to finish us. That will be the end game."

"Do you know where he will be doing all these? Like, what's the location?"

"No, he will never let anyone know with the invisible fabrica, he will do it without any traces. He probably already chose the people for the ritual. The three days he goes to God knows where without having any contact, what do you think he does and where do you think he goes?"

"What?"

"He goes to find people be can sacrifice. He can't most possibly pick people from the school, that will ruin the image which isn't good for him," Yoongi's dad explained and Taehyung now got the whole game.

He leaves without contacts to find victims, he doesn't let anyone have any lead on him, nor has any disturbance.

"This game is bigger than I thought," Jimin mumbled throwing himself on his back on the sofa he was sitting on, "Of course it is."

"Listen, kiddo, I know you want to save all these people but doing anything now is stupid. If we do something, he will know and he will end us. We can't stop him after that so we have to let things be how it is going. All we have to wait for his getting Susan's body out. Before that no one should do anything, am I clear?" the man said and Yoongi and Jimin nodded, along with the Kim couple.

"But—"

"No buts and ifs!"

"We can't let innocents die, Mr. Min, think about it." Taehyung argued worrying the other's on the issue about what if Taehyung does something stupid getting trapped in emotions and feelings, "You can't let this happen, what's the point in doing anything if you're letting people die."

"It's like a thousands or people against seven. Who would you save? If this stupid act of yours backfires, we all will be dead in some hours and then thousands of people will die in different realms because Jeon Jonhan will start showing how powerful he is, the dark will show what it can do— say it collateral damage or whatever, just get this shit inside your head. You stay calm and follow our orders." the man now was on his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs at the brunet who was now enraged.

"Fuck you're heartless! Each and every one of you!" Taehyung threw a punch in the air and walked out of the scene and ran upstairs to his room.

Nothing seems right and nothing was making sense to him, this was absurd. He can't possibly stay quiet when he knows that for the next week, seven people will die just because someone is greedy for some power? That's inhuman.

But it was the only way.

This was collateral damage and he can't do anything, absolutely nothing.

He threw his pillows on the floor grabbing them one by one from the bed and groaned at this feeling, the feeling of not able to do anything. This was killing him.

"Taehyung," someone called and the boy stopped pulling his own hair in frustration. Turning around he saw his father standing with his head hanging low, "What do you want? If you think hearing all the crap about how you wanted to protect me I will just love you just the same like I used to, you're so wrong."

"I know and I don't expect you to do that either, I was a bad father until I met Min Haechul. He is an excellent father, he loves Yoongi and all of these, him knowing this plan has risks of death, knowing that he won't get anything out of this, that his wife won't come back, he is still doing this, he is doing this because his son wants that. He even sacrificed his life for this, once his motive is completed, he will burn to ashes,"

"What?"

"with blood and gold

& a promise in hold

be what you need to be

but beware, your soul

will not be yours to keep."

"Speak some language I can understand," Taehyung said and his father sucked in a sharp breath.

"With blood and gold and a promise in hold means he offered his blood and a piece of gold for the ritual. He made the promise to give up his soul once he got what he wanted, be what you need to be, that means the power of a shapeshifter. But beware, your soul will not be yours to keep, the moment he accomplished what he wants that is free his wife's spirit that's stuck in the secret chambers, he will die, the soul will not be his to keep anymore." the older one explained and his son just sat on the edge of the bed.

"So her spirit is still there, just like Susan's?" his voice croaked out and watching the standing male nod, he just felt so bad, he wanted to puke literally, all these things was making him feel disgusted. How low can someone get to and he believed this man, this mage was better than his father, Oh God.

"Y'know here every soul who has something left to say stays until they can say it? Susan is staying to tell what she knows and Yoongi's mother too has things to say. Through the ritual they did, they saw her glimpses and they must free her from this pain." he said all he knew and sat by the younger's side, patting his back.

"How doesn't the mage know that Yoongi is her son? Didn't he know about him?"

"Haechul and Yoongi left the city when the kid's mother disappeared. Yoongi's name wasn't this before, it was Min Jihoon. When he slowly grew up and wanted to know about his mother, they did that ritual and once they got to know what happened, the boy wanted his revenge and wanted to free his mother. Haechul didn't want this because this will not bring anything, moreover will endanger their lives but he did it for Yoongi."

"I know I have always forced you to be the mage and that was selfish of me, I know it all but Taehyung, I just wanted you to have it all that was once given to me." he continued, "It's been roughly an year since I met Haechul and knew about all these. Since then I stopped caring about you being the mage, all I wanted was to be a good father I never have been but any change of behaviour might have been suspicious to you and to anyone so had to keep up how things were."

"You knew about all these just a year ago then why have you been hating the mage for all these years?" the brunet suddenly thought about this and hearing his father let out a bitter chuckle at this and look away, he knew this had a mystery too.

"You both were best friends right?"

"He was my best friend yes but he never considered me as his."

"He was my best buddy, my everything. I knew he would become the mage, even he expected that too but when I became the one by only two point variation, he couldn't stand it. I never knew he was so fucking jealous of this that he would play such a dirty game with me."

Taehyung stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.

"One night, he came to me with Moreon. We three were the inseparable trio that time, he proposed me to go to the Teng forest with him with my wand which I earned being the mage and I did too because why not? I believed him. Once we were there, he asked me to use my wand to do some ritual and when I saw it was something forbidden, something offered to the dark, I said no but he pulled out that best friend card and persuaded me to do that. The moment I was going to hand it over to him we heard those footsteps approaching. Unfortunately that day, the previous head master came to the forest to check the veil and we got caught. It was just me and Moreon caught because that motherfucker just used his invisible fabrica to hide himself."

"I don't know how more can I hate someone," Taehyung mumbled and looked over his shoulder at his father who still had more to say.

"He played the game, he persuaded Moreon to testify against me with a promise that he will save him by going against me. They both teamed up and got me out, he became the mage by deceit and that's why I wanted you to be the mage, overrunning that Jeon boy, but I was too harsh, I am sorry." he said, guilt eating his insides, he himself knows how bad he was with his own son.

"I can't really say that I am not mad at you or mom, but yeah will try to get over all the past years. Can't guarantee though," Taehyung with all the honesty spoke, his eyes now on his father who nodded, "I understand."

"I told Haechul to do shapeshift as Jeongguk because I am afraid Jonhan might just kill you in the process because I know he hates you. I just wanted you to get away from Jeongguk and that son of a bitch, I know you like him son but you can't rule out the fact that staying close to him might just be dangerous."

"I did a mistake not believing him but—" Taehyung paused for a moment.

"I like him way too much to leave him, dad."

-

updated after 78262829

years but ok at least i did

also the new cover

is my fav, so keeping

it for a long time ig :)