A girl stands in front of the window in room 49 and waits. Moonlight glistens in the air, inviting her to become a part of it. She has waited long enough. Being part of the serenity the moon casts over the world every night sounds good, the girl thinks and slowly dissolves into the pale seductive energy surrounding her.

A voice echoing through the room has her change her mind instantly. "I finally found you."

The girl turns to see a young man standing near the door. The moment she recognizes him, both hands flew to her face. "Hobi? Brother? Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me." As Hoseok walks over to the window, his pure white clothes start to glow in the moon's gentle light. He took the girl's hands in his, and whispers: "I've looked for you everywhere! Why did you stay behind?"

The girl's head drops. "I couldn't leave yet. I had to find someone to bring my beloved Jimin back onto the path of light."

"The light…" Hoseok squints his eyes, staring at the moon. A few seconds later, he takes a deep breath and relaxes. "I remember now. The moment my heart stopped beating I wanted nothing more than to see you on the other side of the light. But you weren't there. So I returned to look for you. Once I was back in the world of the living, I couldn't remember anything. I didn't know who I was or what had happened to me. I only knew I was looking for something precious—and that something bad was going on."

Hoseok is silent for a moment, then mutters: "How can it be that I lost my memories and you didn't?"

"Maybe the afterlife plays by its own rules.," the girl giggles. "How did you find me?"

"One of the boys gave me a hint. He wanted me to look around here."

"Without those boys we would have never found peace of mind," the girl says with fondness.

Hoseok nods. "True. All the people ignored us, but those three were willing to listen to what we had to say. We should put in a good word at the place where we are going."

The girl smiles at him. "Now let's go and rest in peace together."

Hoseok nods again and puts a hand on his sister's shoulder. Ready to make their transition, they face the moon that has patiently waited for their return.

A gentle breeze swirls up dust. Moonlight fills the entire room, infusing the two spirits with bliss, slowly dissolving them into eternity. When the light goes out, all that is left in the empty room is the rustling of the curtains.

Then, everything is quiet.

At an unearthly hour, Namjoon, Yoongi and Seokjin stride through the lobby. The police and the press have found out what happened the night before, and the building complex has to be vacated for further investigation.

"C'mon! Hurry!" Seokjin presses his friends. "I'll only be able to breathe freely once we're outta here!"

"I think we should say our goodbyes to the manager." Namjoon nods in the direction of the reception desk, where manager Taehyung sorts and discards piles of paper and miscellaneous stationery.

The manager jolts as he senses the boys approaching. "Oh, it's you. You're still here?"

"We wanted to say goodbye to you," Yoongi yawns and stretches his body.

"After all that you found out about me you still talk to me?" The manager places an oversized coffee mug with the slogan 'Don't disturb me, I'm busy drinking coffee!' on the desk.

"Why not?" Yoongi replies, sounding a bit more awake. "Everyone makes mistakes. That's not a valid reason to hate people."

"The most important thing is that we learn from our mistakes," Namjoon adds.

When Seokjin remarks, "I learned that lost keys will lure you into traps!", Yoongi and Namjoon smack their foreheads.

Someone clears their throat. "Manager?"

"Mr. Jeon? Why did you come back?" Confused, the manager turns to the source of the voice. "I told you I don't need your services anymore."

"I know, but… I wanted to give you this." Sheepishly, the man in the leather jacket pulls an envelope from his pocket. "I couldn't stand the thought of you scraping together your entire savings just to pay me. Please, have it back."

Manager Taehyung brushes the envelope away. "Keep it. Where I am going I won't be needing any money."

"Are you going to a monastery?" Namjoon jokes.

"No. but I will report myself for abduction and attempted murder. Thanks to you I've learned what it means to take responsibility. From now on I will be accountable for my deeds."

"But what about the resort?", Seokjin wonders, mentally adding, 'not that I care what happens to this place...'

Manager Taehyung sighs. "Well… I guess I will sell it. That way, I'd be able to pay a large chunk of my debt. No one besides my father clung to this old building anyway." Putting a hand on his heart, manager Taehyung takes a step toward the boys. "I'm so sorry for ruining your weekend getaway. I promise I'll make up for it one day."

"No big deal," Namjoon affirms. He would have never imagined the getaway would end with guns pointing at his friends' heads, but he does not want to leave the manager with more regrets than he already has. "We're just glad no one got hurt."

The boys are about to leave, when Yoongi stops and addresses the man in the leather jacket. "Sorry, but I got one last question. Who exactly are you? It is pretty obvious that you are not an electrician, and you are way too badass to be a private investigator."

"My name is Jeon Jungkook," the man hands him a business card with nothing but his name and a phone number printed on it. "Electrician, private investigator, mercenary... You can call me whatever you want, as long as you pay for it."

"How much do you earn in… let's say… a month? And do you train apprentices?" Yoongi asks with a Cheshire Cat grin, at the opportunity weasel himself into a job he would really enjoy doing.

"You ask way too many questions," Jungkook crosses his arms and smiles, "but if we ever meet again, I might share some of my secrets with you. Now shoo before your friends leave without you."

After taking one last bow, Yoongi grabs his suitcase and rushes out of the building.

"Chop, Chop! Why does it take you so long, Yoongi?" Seokjin spins an 180 degree and claps his hands to coerce his friend to speed up.

"Didn't you notice?" Yoongi smirks. "One person suddenly turned transparent!"

"AAAH!" Seokjin shouts, and the two women walking ahead of them start giggling at his sudden outburst.

Yoongi pats Seokjin's back and raises the other hand in defense. "Just kidding! Relax, buddy!"

"Well, it's hard to relax after a ghost woke me out of my sleep, and a psycho gagged me and tied me up!"

Yoongi smiles and looks at the beautiful morning sky. "Hm. Despite the fact that our lives were in serious danger, we had a blast, didn't we?"

"We'll never let you book accommodations ever again, that's for sure," Namjoon laughs.

"Let's not talk about the past few days anymore, 'kay?" Seokjin huffs as he drags his suitcase across the tarmac, "I've had enough of this place!"

Luckily, the resort's main gate is already in Seokjin's line of vision.

"That means our time out together is over, right?" Yoongi asks as they approach the gate, and he could not hold back a sigh.

"Hey, don't fret. We still got a whole day ahead of us. We should…" Namjoon pauses for a beat, then continues with a smile, "...drive to the closest bookstore and look what's on display."

Yoongi snorts. "A bookstore? Seriously? I would rather drive to the beach and just chill all day long."

"How about we go to the cinema?" Seokjin suggests. "We haven't been in so long."

"Great idea." Namjoon takes out his phone and checks a website. "Let's see. Currently, a ghost movie and a hostage drama are playing. Which of them do you want to watch?"

"NONE OF THEM!" Yoongi and Seokjin shout in unison.

Namjoon rubs the back of his neck. "I guess we chould decide on what to do on the road."

"I'll google some fun activities." Seokjin slows down to take his phone out of his pocket, and immediately picks up again.

"Speaking of which." Yoongi points at Seokjin's phone. "Who took that picture of you?"

"Picture? What picture?"

"This one." Namjoon shows his friend the picture of him being tied up and gagged. "Somebody must've taken your phone and sent us a message. Was it that Park Jimin guy?"

"I didn't have my phone with me yesterday, because it needed to charge. It was in our room all day." Checking his messenger apps, he jolts in confusion. "There were no outgoing messages from my phone either."

"What? But who sent us the message and that picture?" Turning to Namjoon in an attempt for a logical explanation, Yoongi adds: "How is that even possible?"

After a short silence, Namjoon shakes his head and replies: "I guess some things are meant to remain a mystery."

"I'm sick and tired of mysteries!" Seokjin feels an enormous amount of relief washing over his body, as he is the first of the friends passing through the resort's main gate."Now let's leave and have a great day!"

A police officer waves them over and guides them past the yellow tape keeping over-curious spectators away from the site. Across the barrier, a renowned TV brodcaster's camera team is arguing with a young, sassy-looking reporter from the local rag about who interviews the resort's manager first.

As they keep walking toward their car, Yoongi takes a look around. He spots the same two giggling women from before, a father and his teenage son standing in front of an old Mitsubishi, and a curmudgeon in a midnight blue business suit. But the man in white is nowhere to be found.

Namjoon notices his friend staring at the departing guests, and asks, "What's up, Yoongi? Did you see something suspicious?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "No, it's just… I wonder whether the man in white managed to find whatever he was looking for."

Upon hearing these words Seokjin slowly drops his head. Somehow he feels sad about not having seen Hoseok once more. He would have liked to give him a proper goodbye.

That moment, a glaring light causes him to turn his head away and look directly into the sky. He cannot believe what he is seeing there.

Hoseok and a girl are standing on a puffy cloud, a warm, glowing light surrounding their figures. Both wave at him, and Hoseok bows with a look of gratitude on his face.

In another blink of an eye, both figures have disappeared, and there is not a single cloud covering the bright morning sky.

With teary eyes and a bright smile, Seokjin mumbles: "Yes. I think he has found it."

Namjoon's distant voice takes him back to the present. "Come on, Seokjin! We don't want to lose you again!"

"Coming!" Wiping his eyes and grabbing his suitcase with the other hand, Seokjin rushes over to his friends, ready to have an amazing day ahead.

Watching the boys leave, the man in the midnight blue suit turns toward the crime scene unfolding at the resort. He pulls a face at the hustle and bustle caused by the investigators and press, both too noisy and nosy.

'What has Taehyung done?' The man shakes his head and climbs over the barrier of yellow tape.

"Sir?" Hands folded in concern, a police officer approaches the man. "I'm sorry, but if you have no business here, I must ask you to leave."

"The hell I will!" the man spits and pushes past her.

"Sir? Sir! You mustn't enter!" The police officer briskly runs after the intruder. However, as her hand grabs the man's arm, it passes right through him, as if he had no corporal body at all. Pulling her hand back in shock, she stares at the being who is striding toward the resort's main building.

"My son wants to ruin my precious resort?" The man snorts. Fueled by undying anger and grief, with every step he takes he transforms more and more into a dark shadow. "Not if I can help it!"

(The End)

(Thank You For Reading Dark Paradise)

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