Chapter Text
Jungkook shouldered his backpack and continued his journey. His backpack was heavier than it had been moments before. He looked down at his map, at the red circle at the summit of the mountain that a villager had drawn hastily, with muttered breaths and averted eyes, not keen to be seen speaking with the outsider. His eyes had caught on Jungkook’s necklace, at the ugly redness underneath it. The villager had stopped talking and had hurried away back into his house, locking the door behind him. Jungkook had stood, hurt, for a long few moments before leaving for the mountain trail.
Don’t look back, Jungkook reminded himself. He wasn’t sure what that warning meant. Was he not supposed to look back on his way up the mountain or on the way down? She had ordered him not to yet had not told him why. She never explained Herself. Everyone he’d tried to ask about it had all refused to answer. To be safe, he decided to never look back. Not on his way up, and the way down was not a concern to him. He didn’t think he’d live long enough to make it back down.
The map wasn’t very useful. There weren’t any localised maps of the area so Jungkook had to rip part of a bigger map and just hope for the best. The only compass he had was on his phone and he was trying to use it sparingly so as not to run out of battery too quickly. His portable battery was old and could only charge his phone once.
Jungkook thought (or rather hoped) that he was a quarter of the way there. It was nearing midday and he needed to get to a camping area about half-way up the mountain to spend the night. His brief internet searching had informed him that other than that halfway point, the mountain was too steep or the trees too dense for a tent to be put up. And for once, the internet hadn’t lied. Jungkook kicked at the rocky ground, vaguely stressed. Truthfully, he was a little scared of the mountain and all its potential, all that She was expecting from Jungkook and whatever the trees’ dense foliage were hiding from him. He didn’t think whatever was here would appreciate his presence much, not with what She wanted from the mountain.
As he kept going, branches snapped and rocks skittered down the slope autonomously and Jungkook couldn’t shake the growing suspicion that something was watching and following from the undergrowth.
It was a difficult hike for Jungkook. He’d been physically active at university but had never been one for hiking.
Too much hassle, he’d always thought. Not as rewarding as dance or the gym.
His lower back and calves ached now though and Jungkook wished that he had gone on the hikes that his gym group had invited him on, instead of holing up in his apartment with his drawing tablet and two hours of sleep. Maybe then he wouldn’t be taking such frequent pauses. And maybe whatever that was following him would be further away.
There was no point regretting anything now, although Jungkook continued to regret as he picked his way up the mountain. It looked like no one had made their way up here in a long while for the path was barely visible and the undergrowth was creeping back across the vaguely worn-down ground. Every so often, he’d have to crawl and wiggle up a particularly steep section where, in more maintained hiking paths, there would usually be a weather-beaten rope hanging down. It was in those parts of the path that Jungkook found it most difficult to not look back. He wanted to see his progress, see the rest of the world shrink away, far and unattainable. But the weight of the necklace reminded him of Her.
Jungkook checked his phone. Still going north, elevation 875 metres. The phone signal was weakening and soon it would cut out completely. He looked back down at his map again. The path he was following was faintly indicated, as though someone had drawn it in pencil and then erased it, and he could see that the switchbacks he was doing were only going to get longer and with sharper turns. The sun winked in between green leaves, dappling the ground and occasionally blinded him. The urge to look back grew as the skittering following him got ever closer.
Don’t look back, echoed in Jungkook’s mind as a mantra. The trees seemed to beckon to him, whispering leaves shaking far above his head. He was getting tired, shoes-with-no-grip slipping and sliding as he trudged up and up and up. The final two hours that he hiked up, he went at a snail’s pace. He fancied he could feel the breath of something on the back of his neck and now and then he raised a hand to feel if there was anything there. Maybe a spider. He hoped for a spider, even a venomous type. A spider would be better than the limitless bounds of his imagination.
He reached the half-way campsite when the sun was beginning to slip down the sky. It was small, barely a clearing, and appeared completely abandoned at first glance. The trees rounding the clearing stretched out their branches to each other so that only slivers of sky were available and an old looking wooden fence strained to keep the forest away.
After standing there a moment, Jungkook pushed open the gate, wincing at the loud screeching of the rusted hinges. He closed the gate carefully behind him and stared at the campsite once more.
Compared to other parts of the mountain he’d just been climbing, the campsite was almost completely flat, with only a slight slope indicating its high altitude. To his right was an ancient-looking vending machine placed on a concrete slab with a yellowed plastic awning protecting it from the elements. Somehow it was being supplied electricity as the lights were on and he could hear a vague burr of the refrigeration from where he was standing. Beside the vending machine was a notice board with faded posters tacked up with rusted drawing pins. There were only two signs that Jungkook could read. One was a handwritten sign written on battered cardboard in permanent marker: ‘One Night = 5,000 won’. Below the sign was a wooden collection box that, like everything else, had seen better days. The other sign—concerningly—showed a cartoon bear with menacing long claws that said ‘Beware of Bears’ in spikey handwriting. Written smaller underneath the drawing of the bear was advice for hikers to make as much noise as possible when moving. Jungkook eyed the wooden fence doubtfully. Even he could knock the fence over if he so felt like. He bore no delusions that he was safe here from anything least of all a bear. In the opposite side of the clearing to the vending machine was a rusted barbecue and a shiny, new-looking faucet beside a moss-covered picnic table that looked moments away from collapsing.
A branch snapped behind Jungkook, close, and without thinking he looked back. A squeak and a blur of movement into a bush so quickly his eyes couldn’t see what was following him. Jungkook let out a shaken breath, brushed away the tears, and pretended he hadn’t noticed. Maybe someone braver would have investigated the bush. Instead, Jungkook told himself, it’s all in your head and put his rucksack down in the middle of the clearing still trembling.
His wallet was right at the bottom of his bag, underneath his small collapsible tent, and he took a moment to dump everything out, cursing his lack of foresight when packing. He didn’t want to turn around again but had to to pay for the night of camping. There was nothing there this time and he could almost pretend he didn’t feel eyes tracking his every move.
When he opened his worn wallet, there was only a 10,000 won note in there nestled amongst his cards and he stuck it into the donation box without thinking much about it. He then investigated the vending machine and to his surprise and 350 won spent, a bottle of chilled Pocari Sweat was distributed. Jungkook tried to look for where the electricity was coming from for the vending machine but gave up after poking a bit at the overgrown grass. He’d never understood how vending machines in Seoul got their electricity without short-circuiting in the rain.
He moved back to his bag and sat on the floor for a while drinking his drink. Exhaustion pressed at his eyelids and a quick look at his phone showed that he only had an hour or so before sunset.
He turned and saw a figure in his peripheral vision that wasn’t there when he turned his head fully to look towards it. His hands shook as he picked up his little tent.
“Um, hello forest people,” he said in a wavering voice, “or person? I don’t know how many of you there are. But I mean no harm, I’m just passing through so please don’t eat me in my sleep. Thank you very much.”
Nothing answered which Jungkook was endlessly thankful for. He didn’t quite know exactly what he would do should something (or even worse, someone) answer him.
It didn’t take him long to put up the tent, less than five minutes. He wished it took longer though, he hadn’t brought anything to entertain himself with and he wasn’t about to explore the surrounding forest when the light was escaping rapidly.
Sighing to himself, he resigned himself to sitting in his tent with his phone torch on. The gloom was starting to press into him and breathing slowly became difficult. Now that he wasn’t actively doing anything, all the thoughts that he’d managed to hold at bay for most of the day came tumbling back down onto him. He pushed at his wet cheeks, frustrated, before he curled up into himself and hoped for sleep.
Sleep didn’t come. Jungkook lay there in the dark, ears straining for any movement outside, listening for any branches cracking. There was nothing. The mountain was as silent as it could be. But Jungkook still felt like he was waiting for something to inevitably happen.
A few hours into his reluctant vigil, his stomach gurgled loudly, startling Jungkook a little out of the vague meditative state he’d sucken into. He pressed at his tummy and realised with a hot shock of molten panic that he’d forgotten his dinner back in his apartment.
More tears overflowed and Jungkook felt so useless. How was he supposed to do what he came for if he didn’t even have enough food to make it to the top of the mountain? He rummaged through his bag once more and took stock of his supplies: two energy bars, mints, and a half packet of spicy shrimp crackers. He finished off the shrimp crackers before lying back down again and hugging at his stomach.
He fell into an uneasy sleep, starting awake with jolts whenever the wind picked up or an owl hooted nearby. He tossed and turned and dreamt that the creature following him was there, with sharp claws and long fangs, mouth open and ready to bite. And then it was morning.
For all the anxieties of the night, it took Jungkook longer than it should have to orient himself. He stared up at the orange fabric of his tent for a long moment before he was able to understand what he was looking at. Jungkook let out a groan, his whole body ached and his stomach felt dangerously empty. He looked at the time on his phone and realised he had forgotten to set an alarm.
Panic seized Jungkook and he packed up the tent quicker than he thought possible. How had he managed to oversleep? He’d barely even slept! The clearing was quiet and warm in the morning sun, peeking through the bright green leaves and there was no glimpse of the dread Jungkook had been feeling the night before.
The strangely new faucet sputtered out brown water for a while before eventually running clear. Jungkook didn’t trust it but filled up his water bottles anyway and then bought some more Pocari Sweat with the last of his coins. Everything else in the vending machine was sold out.
He took out his map again, stared at the long switch backs that would make up the rest of his day until he reached the summit. Everyone he had asked as well as the internet had told him that there was no possibility of camping at the top. He didn’t mind. This was a one-way trip for him, after all. He wasn’t planning on returning so he didn’t need to sleep up there.
Jungkook was concerned about whether he’d have the energy to make it all the way to the top, though. His stomach felt hollow and just packing up his tent had left him dizzy. He took a sip of water and a bite of an energy bar, trying to kid himself that was all he needed, that he would be fine, and steeled himself to continue his journey.
His phone no longer had any signal and it made Jungkook feel uneasy. The likelihood of help coming in an emergency even if he was able to call was already slim to none. Without a signal, no one would come. And if they did, it would be way too late. That was what he had wanted, but Jungkook couldn’t shake the feeling that he was making a terrible mistake.
Like everything else, he pushed it aside to instead make his way slowly up the mountain. The path was even fainter, a suggestion almost. No one had come up here in a long while. As Jungkook walked, the presence following him returned.
Don’t look back, the mantra looped and looped and looped constantly.
Jungkook kept walking. The trees were thinning out a little as he kept ascending, the ground getting rockier, the air thinner. It was getting harder for him to breathe and he felt more and more dizzy. He took as many breaks as he dared to, looking at the time slipping away. It was a battle against the sun, against the march of time. He was sure to lose.
He was nearing the summit, maybe an hour or two away at a normal walking speed, when his knees buckled bringing him down sharply. Jungkook hissed out in pain but didn’t manage to get back up. It would be so easy to not move, to just give up here.
The heavy necklace around Jungkook’s neck burnt then. Weighed him down even more. Not even She could give him a break, even when he was doing exactly what She wanted of him. He refused to cry. Not for Her. He cried anyway.
He shifted so he was sat cross-legged and buried his face in his hands. For the first time he fully clocked that he was more than halfway up a mountain, dressed in decidedly not hiking equipment, with no food and no knowledge of foraging. Regardless of who made him come here, it was a completely ridiculous situation.
After a good amount of time spent commiserating his existence, Jungkook decided to stop being pitiful and raised his head up once more. Only to stare open mouthed at the sight before him.
Right there, on the rocky path, was a plastic Tupperware box with a folded yellow note secured around it with an elastic band. Jungkook looked at it for a long time, refusing to move a muscle. A breeze started up and played with his hair until, little by little, he found himself able to reach out and take the box placed within arm’s length.
The contents were still warm, condensation beading around the lid. Jungkook carefully unfolded the note, beneath it were wooden chopsticks. He was numb.
Printed on the note was: ‘Thank You for Your Stay at The Campsite’. Then written below that, in beautifully flowing cursive hangul, was ‘sorry we don’t have any change! Please enjoy this meal instead!’.
Jungkook looked back and ahead of him. No one was there. There weren’t any footprints or broken branches or trampled grass from what he could see. Nothing at all. He looked back down at the Tupperware. To eat or not to eat…
Surely a little taste wouldn’t hurt, even if it was poisoned. The necklace around his neck burned a little more intensely. Jungkook batted at it, frustrated.
Inside the Tupperware was japchae, fried rice, and even some samgyeopsal. Jungkook’s mouth watered and before he knew it, he had completely finished the meal. And then he realised that it had maybe not been the brightest idea to eat random food found almost at the summit of a mountain. He shook his head at himself, annoyed at his impulsivity.
“Thank you for the meal,” he said, to no one, “please don’t hurt me.”
Jungkook knew the power that he held by being polite. His mother used to tell him that it was his most disarming weapon against those that might want to hurt him. She was incorrect, of course, but the lesson had stuck and Jungkook remained dutifully polite and respectful of others.
The necklace burnt a bit more. Jungkook huffed. She was so impatient. If She had wanted to get there quickly she should have targeted a hiker rather than a freelancer like him. She couldn’t read his thoughts, he didn’t think, but the increasing heat of the necklace made him get to his feet and start back up the mountain.
The food helped a lot, he felt less dizzy and even had a little more energy. He was relieved. It would have been a little embarrassing to die on the side of a mountain. It seemed like a particularly silly death.
”Oh, how did Jungkook die?”
“You know… from not being prepared to climb up a huge mountain.”
“What an idiot.”
Jungkook reached for his map and saw that, if he’d been following it correctly, he was nearing the red circle the villager had drawn for him. It was only now that he was beginning to feel a little nervous. Not even the presence following him had returned. Jungkook didn’t know what that said about his sanity that he missed it. At least he hadn’t been alone, even if whatever was following him potentially wanted to eat him.
Ahead of Jungkook was a dense grove of trees, so dense that he couldn’t see a way through them. They blocked his way forward utterly, stretching around what Jungkook assumed was the summit like a sort of crown.
It was an impasse. Once more the back of his neck prickled like he was being intently watched. He felt like he was being tested somehow. Or that She was being tested. He hoped it was Her being tested because he knew that he’d fail whatever tests the mountain would throw at him. He’d never been good at standardised exams.
The chime of a ringing bell rang through late afternoon stillness. It chimed with each footstep of the creature behind him approaching. Maybe it was the same creature as before. Maybe it was another.
Don’t look back.
The necklace warmed.
Jungkook looked back. He knew then that he shouldn’t have. The mountain had him.
A spirit stood before him. A figure dressed in draping black robes with long stretching antlers that seemed to shift ever further out from their head and pure white eyes. Their clothes seemed to suck in all the surrounding light and their eyes emanated brilliant light.
They were the night.
Jungkook backed up until he collided with the trunk of a tree. No one had told him the correct etiquette when coming across a spirit. He didn’t want to be rude. He’d grown up with stories of what happened to those who disrespected a spirit. Regardless of what She could do, he knew that the spirit could and would do infinitely worse things.
The spirit took a step closer, bells chiming out with each movement. Jungkook found he couldn’t look away. He ached to be consumed utterly by the spirit, to cease to exist, to just be a part of the mountain, like all things here were.
The necklace burned, searing his flesh and Jungkook flinched in pain. He didn’t break eye contact with the spirit. He couldn’t. He had to show them the truth.
“She cannot come in,” the spirit’s voice was meteorites, radiant in intensity, “She must not come in.”
The necklace was scalding.
Who are you to tell me what to do?
The voice that haunted Jungkook’s dreams appeared out of nowhere. The necklace was gone and in front of Jungkook floated a blazing flame. He collapsed to the ground clutching at his burnt neck.
“I am One of Guardians Six.” The spirit seemed to suck in more light, inky darkness, the tip of the flame leaning into the nothingness. “You will not come in.”
The flame shook. She pushed back towards Jungkook who scrambled back with a cry.
“You will leave the child alone.”
The flame turned blue. He is mine.
The spirit smiled, emotionless.
“He is the mountain’s now.”
The trees behind Jungkook swallowed him up and there was nothing.