Bell Buddies: Taehyung & Jungkook’S Palace Trouble
Chapter: 2
The flyer wouldn’t leave Jungkook alone.
It sat in his jacket pocket like it had glued itself there. Even after he changed out of the hanbok and into a hoodie and joggers, his hand kept reaching for it.
The paper was wrinkled now, the ink a little smudged, but it still felt… alive somehow. Not just curiosity. Something deeper. Something old.
The message was short. Only few words:
"YOU ARE NOT WHERE YOU CAME FROM."
Jeon Jungkook
What does that even mean?
Of course, he looked it up. Jungkook wasn’t reckless.
(Okay, maybe a little reckless. But smart reckless.)
A quick search threw him into a rabbit hole of weird folklore blogs and dusty forum threads. Most were written by bored history majors with too much time.
But one post stopped him cold:
A blurry photo of a moss-covered altar in the woods of Gangwon-do. The exact same star-knot symbol as the flyer.
The caption said only:
“The Star Shrine. Not on maps. Not on GPS. You find it when it finds you.”
Jungkook stared at the screen, heartbeat quickening.
Jeon Jungkook
…Well, that’s not creepy at all.
But the decision was already made.
Jeon Jungkook
Guess I’m packing a bag.
He drove east for two hours.
By the time he hit Yangyang, drizzle had turned into heavy rain. His phone signal cut out halfway up the mountain. The wipers squeaked across the windshield like nails on glass.
Still, he followed the sketchy directions a Reddit user named historian-420 had posted:
'Turn past the deer statue. Count five telephone poles. Stop where the road ends.'
Just a muddy trail into the woods, half-blocked by a fallen log. Perched on the log, a raven stared at him like it was judging his life choices.
Jeon Jungkook
Perfect. If I get murdered, I’m haunting Dispatch for eternity.
He tightened his raincoat, slipped on waterproof boots, and left his phone in airplane mode.
Jeon Jungkook
No GPS. No distractions. Just… pure bad decisions.
The path grew narrower, climbing uphill under tall pines. The air smelled like wet bark. His hoodie clung to his skin within minutes. Raindrops stung his eyelashes.
He slipped not once but twice.
He cursed, then quickly added.
Jeon Jungkook
Sorry, sorry!
When a squirrel darted past him.
Just when he was about to turn back, the forest opened.
Ancient stone, cracked but still standing. Four pillars, one broken, the others leaning like tired guardians. Ivy tangled along the walls. Moss softened the platform in the center.
The rain seemed to hesitate at the clearing, falling softer, almost reverent.
At the heart of the shrine: a stone slab carved with two interlocking stars. One pointing outward. One curving inward.
Jungkook’s chest tightened, like an invisible string had pulled him closer.
Jeon Jungkook
...Seriously? Why do I always touch the mysterious thing?
Still, he stepped up and pressed his palms against the stone.
No rain touched it. Instead, the slab vibrated faintly, like it was humming under his skin.
The air around him blurred. A whisper tickled his ear...wind, maybe. Or not.
Jungkook spun around. No one. Just the silent trees. The shrine. The stillness that made his skin prickle.
He looked back at the altar. Hesitated.
Then, bracing himself, he pressed both palms firmly against the stars.
A shock hit him...not outside, but through him. His teeth rattled. His bones sang.
Lightning split the sky, blinding him. Thunder roared so loud the forest shook.
Lines of light spread from the star, running like veins across the altar, crawling into the ground, threading through tree roots. The forest pulsed. The rain froze midair.
Jungkook couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
The earth beneath him seemed to sigh.
His chest heaved. He opened his mouth...maybe to scream, maybe to laugh, maybe to beg...but no sound came.
The world tilted. Not forward. Not backward. Inward.
Colors melted. Sounds twisted. His vision collapsed to a single white thread, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Not down. Not through.
Elsewhere.
His last thought before everything turned to starlight was:
Jeon Jungkook
This isn’t the first time.
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