- Nightmares and Destiny -

- Author's POV -

The lost eyes of bewildered girl who roamed around the feary forest, desperate to find her way out as uneasiness of the highness of the trees are making her nauseous.

Her legs were like a loose paper, barely able to make straight steps.

Areum felt her chest trickle in fear as she shakily croaked out.

"Is anybody here?"

Suddenly the forest burst glowing with lanterns sending a slight relief through Areum whose heart was nearly in her mouth, that's how trapped and terrified she felt, left all alone in this forest.

Her eyes discovered the light lit pathway so without hesitating, Areum followed the path in small steps, confused as to why she feels so constrained to move. As though something didn't want her to escape the darkness of the forest...

However, when passing a lantern, Areum's eyes grew as she realised they were made out of human faces, skinned away from their body as the blood dripped on to her feet.

The faces were pulled crudely stitched together to make up a lantern. The shocked and pained faces were displayed upon the lanterns that enlightened the eerily calm forest.

Areum's breathing increased as she wanted to erupt a panicked scream but her vocal chords were as though sewed up tightly, trapping her in her own internal nightmare.

She collapsed on to the ground painted in crimson rivers of blood, gripping her chest, wanting to rip out the scream that was trapped inside of her.

So...

Areum shrieked, screamed and screeched within herself wanting to disappear and close her eyes.

But even that was impossible as her eye lids were as though glued to not blink like an owl in the presence of the mysterious moon.

The leeching laughs echoed throughout the forest, deafening her ears until she felt them bleed. The laughs were fulfilled with agony and anger, ironically finding fun in her misery.

Areum grabbed her head breathing heavily, not being able to scream or shout for help.

"Please stop!!! Enough!!!", she cried in her head.

In amidst all the roaring of laughs, Areum was pulled up and shaken by a voice that haunted her down for hundreds of nights.

The man who died and cursed her to be the redemption goat for someone else's crimes.

"Why didn't you save me?! You're a killer!", the man screamed but his face was ripped off, leaving a red flesh as Areum's tears finally bursted like the stars from her eyes.

She was desperately shaking her head in denial while chanting continuously, "I didn't kill anyone!! I didn't. I didn't. Please don't do this to me!!!"

The man laughed and smashed her against one of the trees backing into the darkness all while repeating, "Hyun Areum is the stabber. Hyun Areum is the killer. Killer. She's my... Murderer.", he disappeared with the last word.

The laughs of lanterns never stopped, cursing her into the endless delusion, tying her on the spot.

Areum latched her hands on to her head before dragging them down and violently scratching her face until it bled uncontrollably in agonising inaudibility of her own silent scream.

Through the blood gushed eyes, Areum caught a glimpse of Jungkook standing near the end of the forest. Where the light was. The escape from the drowning hell.

She was about to run to him but millions of hands have begun pulling her back as the lanterns slowly have begun fading away, absorbing back the black colour into the forest.

Areum struggled to get away so she pleaded Jungkook with her eyes to save her from being swallowed.

Her heart crumbled when she heard Jungkook heartbrokenly saying.

"You broke my trust, Areum."

Jungkook abruptly turned his back and walked away, abandoning her who finally let out a scream...

"NO!!!!!!", Areum jolted up with a deafening scream ripping her vocal chords as the sweat ran down her forehead.

She started choking on her own breath, struggling to inhale even a sip of air while shaking inevitably.

Areum felt her ribs heaving as if bound by ropes, straining to inflate lungs before hot tears flooded her eyes and the liquid started burn her cheeks as the tear drops ran.

She immediately hugged her knees, rocking back and forth while her head was a carousel of fears spinning out of control, each one of them kicking her mind into the blackness.

But just at that moment before she could fall any further into her own trap, a gentle grip on her shoulders caught her from crashing into shatters.

It was Jungkook. Looking seriously concerned.

"Look at me, Areum", Jungkook ordered but Areum couldn't comprehend, her panic got the best of her.

Areum backed away violently, her voice ragged and lost, "Don't come near me!"

More tears escaped her dark eyes as she'll couldn't shut the sobs out of her mouth.

Jungkook didn't give up, trying one more time to bring her back to reality. So he cupped her cheeks to allow her shaking pupils stare straight at his.

"Areum, you had a nightmare. It's me. Jungkook."

He tried to reach out for her hand but she immediately flinched but didn't move away from his touch this time.

Areum slowly regained her breath as reality struck like a thunder and that she just woke up.

Areum stuttered in realisation,"J-jungkook?"

Jungkook dismissed the fact that she just called him by his name, aware that it was his fault leading her into saying it.

Jungkook nodded at her once before embracing her in his arms.

"Calm down. None of it was real.", He caressed her head gently while Areum leaned against Jungkook's broad chest.

Tears were still running down her cheeks as a tiny sob caused her to crumple in her place...

It was the first time Jungkook ever saw such terror and helplessness in Areum's eyes.

With a free hand, Jungkook pulled a blanket and covered Areum who was safe in his hold, her breathing becoming steady as the tension within her body slowly subsided.

He didn't know where his soft side even came from when she awakened from her nightmare absorbed in panic.

Was it because he felt bad for the words that he said earlier?

Jungkook was lost in his own actions, angered by even daring to feel such responsibility to protect Areum.

Soon Areum drifted off into a peaceful sleep while still in Jungkook's arms. Jungkook tilted his head slightly to inspect her sleeping face.

"What's scaring you so much, Hyun Areum?", he asked in a whisper manner, staring at Areum in wonder.

It was not his first time witnessing Areum having nightmares. He would always see Areum silently jolting from her slumbers because of the nightmares.

He would see her leaving the caravan immediately after she'd wake up, probably because she could not fall asleep again.

Just like Jungkook.

But this time, he believed that it was something traumatising to inflate such emotions into her.

He gently laid her down back to bed, covering her with a blanket as she turned to the side, curling up slightly.

Jungkook decided to go back to sleep on the chair which was incredibly uncomfortable. He was beyond tired from sleeping on it.

However, he didn't want Areum to sleep outside.

The mere thought of it was beyond wrong in his head.

1:02am

Areum woke up again due to pain in her back. She sat up, trying to process whether she was dreaming that Jungkook comforted her after the nightmare or whether it was only the lanterns in her nightmare.

While rubbing her eyes, Areum concluded that both events must have been a bittersweet nightmare.

Just then she remembered that her mock exam was today. Areum was immediately flooded with nervousness clouding her already clouded mind.

She looked around semi-dark room, heaving a heavy breath before nodding to herself in assurance.

She'll do what all other typical comedians do. Tell jokes. That's the safest way to go about it.

"Everything will be alright.", Areum whispered to herself before silently climbing out of the bed, wishing to get some fresh air into her system.

She sneakily tip toed towards the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. Just before opening the wooden door of caravan, Areum glanced at Jungkook's direction.

Even though Jungkook was sleeping, Areum couldn't help but notice that his expression was as serious as it would be when he's awake.

Shaking her head, she gripped on the door handle bending it down and pushing the door as she stepped out, closing it with a slight creaking sound.

At that moment, Jungkook fluttered his eyes open at the sound of door closing.

A sigh escaped his dry lips when through the window he spotted Areum wondering off devils know where.

"What is she up to at this time?", he asked himself monotonically.

But then he shrugged, thinking it's not his business and leaned back to the chair that was a hazard for his sleep.

Jungkook was getting ready to force himself to sleep but then he remembered that he forgot to fix the lights on the tent.

He groaned in annoyance but then reluctantly got up, "Screw it, I'll sleep later."

Deep in his mind, Jungkook knew that this was just an excuse because he was a bit concerned that Areum left.

At the end of the day, denial was Jungkook's best friend.

- Areum's POV -

I was roaming around circus that was surrounded by nothing but the quelling quietness.

I didn't know how long was I here already but I had no intentions of of returning to the caravan. That's for sure.

An unbothered warm breeze blew past me while my own mindset was a hurricane of worries and worst case scenarios.

What if I fail?

No, that shouldn't be the case. I'll just do what every other comedian does. Although these thoughts didn't reduce my worry any further but rather boosted it even more.

Pulling my shirt sleeves down, I sauntered quietly around the circus tent, allowing the breeze to blow away my concerns just a bit.

But then I spotted Jungkook near the entrance of the tent, struggling to untangle the lights.

I halted my relaxed steps and took my sweet time to observe Jungkook progressively becoming annoyed because of the struggle.

Jungkook tends to become triggered very easily and it pure amused me every time.

A muffled chuckle left my lips when this hot head threw the lights on the ground as he poked his cheek with tongue. Jungkook ran one of his hands through his hair while the other one rested on his hip.

Jungkook still didn't notice me and turned his back towards me so it was a perfect timing for me sneakily to approach the annoyed duck.

Just when I was a few steps away from Jungkook, I bent down and gently picked up the lights from the ground.

As I held them in my embrace, I cleared my throat which immediately caused Jungkook to sharply face me.

"What are you doing here?", Jungkook questioned in his usual icy tone.

"Did I scare you?", I smiled at him cheekily cheekily, certain that I did scare him.

"I asked you a question, Hyun Areum.", Jungkook dismissed my question, stubborn to receive answers to his questions.

However, I was not obliged to answer therefore I said, "And so did I, but we can't always get the answers we desire to get, now can we?", I persuasively asked in a teasing manner.

Jungkook scoffed at me as he pointed his finger at me before spitting out in almost unamused tone, "That attitude must go, Hyun Areum."

"Maybe someday, Boss.", I replied nonchalantly while shrugging and then added remarkably, "But did you know that it's not polite to point fingers at other people?"

At my words, Jungkook slowly lowered his finger and the satisfaction ran over me because he actually listens to what I say.

Jungkook sighed as yet again he bored his dark orbs at my ones while I lifted the lights that I still held securely in my arms.

"Need help?", I asked suggestively, genuinely wishing to help out Jungkook.

But to my fortune, Jungkook muttered out angrily, probability not accepting the fact that someone offers to help him, "I don't want anything from you, Hyun Areum."

What a prideful bastard, I thought. Although his attitude bothered me, I responded in a unbothered manner, "Well then, good luck in finishing this until dawn. They're tangled up pretty badly."

I dropped the lights back to where they've been originally disposed and smiled at at the boss, "Good night, Boss."

I turned away and with short steps made my way towards the caravan, having pathetic expectations of Jungkook calling me back.

And concluding pathetically, as I was growing further from Jungkook, I was losing hope.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, muttering angry insults at him who won't hear me anyways, "Such a prideful, imbecilic bastard--"

"Wait!", my ears caught Jungkook's voice shouting behind me as my eyes lit up excitedly when I turned around to face his direction.

"Come here and help me.", Jungkook now asked calmly. No. He ordered calmly.

A cocky smile couldn't stay hidden from my face as I became greedy for more of Jungkook's unexpected actions, "Say 'please' ~", I mused sweetly.

Jungkook clenched his jaw, beading his eyes at me, "Hyun Areum, come here and help me or else I will rid of you myself before your mock exam.", he threatened gruffly but I couldn't take him seriously because I found his threat silly.

I was excited but I decided to fake annoyance when receiving no 'please'," Fine, I'm coming."

I walked back to him and said, "I do expect a 'thank you' though."

I suggest you don't let your hopes fly high.", Jungkook rolled his eyes and picked up the tangled lights.

We've begun untangling them in a comfortable silence. I wasn't shy to glance at his figure from time to time and I couldn't help but worry just how exhausted Jungkook looked.

Guilt and sympathy were the common emotions lingering every time I see him being hard on himself and sleeping on that torturous chair.

At the moment I remembered all his previous threats every time I pointed out that fact, and this time it was no different so I announced confidently while still untangling the lights, "Boss, I'd like to propose a solution for your tiredness."

To my surprise, Jungkook calmly begun, "We already go through this everyday - -", but I cut him off knowing what his answer will be.

"Look, I can sleep anywhere.", I told him and I wasn't lying, "I'm actually more comfortable outside. On the floor. Anywhere. You know why?", I attempted to sound persuasive and engaging.

Jungkook sighed and went along with it, "And why is that, Hyun Areum?"

"Because I'm a savage.", I stated with the most serious tone in the world as though it was the most obvious fact to everyone.

Jungkook blinked once before bursting laughing out loud, soundfully and genuinely.

The sight of Jungkook laughing caused me to feel some sort of twists and turns in my stomach. I reciprocated and smiled too.

"No way! I just made my boss laugh. I must truly be special.", I beamed, feeling happy that I could make the most grumpy person laugh on this early morning.

Jungkook's eyes found mine and as they did, his contagious and cute smile slowly faded becoming replaced with the usual cold countenance.

He cleared his throat, "We have a lot of work, stop daydreaming and be useful for once."

Although his usual strict self was back, that didn't disappoint me. I'll always cherish this moment in my memories therefore with that mere appreciation, I strolled back to work all smiley and jubilant.

It felt so heart warming to be the cause of someone's laugh.

Perhaps the comedian role will not be so bad?

-Author's POV-

Half an hour later, Areum and Jungkook finally finished untangling the lights and also managed to place them on the tent.

Areum sat down tiredly, feeling sleepiness kicking in her senses. Her back leaned against one of the gates and Jungkook did the same because like Areum, he was also tired.

The two lost souls were accompanied by the silence and the almost inaudible sound of their own breathing, creating a calm atmosphere.

Jungkook slowly turned his head towards Areum who was peering at the star lit sky with a content smile over her face.

He saw how peaceful she was compared to earlier when she woke up from a nightmare.

Her delicate features were highlighted by the lights on the tent as she looked like the most pure being exposed to the filth of the troublesome world.

A girl with no problems.

Although Jungkook wanted to believe in that, he had to remind himself of how she looked like when she just stepped into Circus Mistique.

Jungkook found himself saying, "You never listen."

Areum frowned slightly and turned her head to face Jungkook as she felt a bit wronged and confused by his sudden words, "Huh? I was just sitting here, Boss."

Jungkook sighed as he shook his head slightly, "I'm not talking about now."

Areun immediately started wondering what he was on about but then her question were cleared when Jungkook continued to express, "That day when I showed you the art of trapeze, I told you to first work on your strength and flexibility, but you..."

Jungkook paused and let out a frustrated breath, "You did it anyway. You could've broken a bone, you do realise that, Hyun Areum?", a clear worry was displayed in his tone.

The concern that Areum doesn't get to hear from Jungkook at all.

"Are you worried about me?", Areum asked even though she knew that he'll deny any of her assumptions.

And as she expected, Jungkook scoffed turning his head away looking somewhere else before making an excuse, "No, it's more like I'm trying to avoid scandals that I overwork my crew."

Areum nodded to herself disappointingly, "As always, Boss. You're so cold just like an ice."

Areum looked away from Jungkook but then smiled as a thought crossed her dulled mind, "But I believe that somewhere, there is a fire to melt it."

She looked back at the stars while Jungkook once again diverted his head to be able to watch her.

Soon enough, Areum's voice was audible once again when she asked, "Do you believe in destiny?"

"Not particularly.", Jungkook answered.

"Well I do.", Areum admitted before explaining, "I believe that everything happens for a reason and that we have to accept both the good and the bad in life with courage."

Areum thought deeply as she delivered each and every of them to express why she believed in destiny while still gazing at the stars, "For there's no happiness without pain and suffering. I believe that we all have a star that guides us through life and my star..."

Jungkook was allured by the softness of her voice as her description of destiny provided the calmness he once wished to have around.

"My star has led me here. I was probably sent here to make you laugh, ain't that right--", Areum's words got caught in her throat when she felt Jungkook lean his head against her shoulder.

She froze like a spooked cat for a moment, but then turned to glance at Jungkook.

He was sleeping.

Jungkook didn't fall asleep because Areum bored him. No...

Areum speaking in this way to Jungkook made him remember that his mom would speak in this manner when telling him a good night story when he was a child.

Areum took her time to observe his defined features while smiling softly. She slowly extended her hand and soothingly traced her fingers across Jungkook's cheek, caressing it.

Unlike last time, Jungkook seemed at peace in his sleep because a small pout was now visible on his lips. Areum was glad.

Areum decided to not wake Jungkook up nor she did mind sleeping on the floor in this position.

She was quite comfortable here with Jungkook leaning against her, providing all the warmth she needed.

Soon her eyelids became heavy as well so she shut her eyes close slowly, allowing her head to rest against Jungkook's.

And so, they both slept under the moon and stars.