Shadows In The Ashes

Jungkook couldn’t breathe.

Taehyung lay motionless on the floor, his skin turning ashen, his veins darkening as the shadows wrapped around him like chains.

The Hollow Man stood over him, faceless, yet somehow staring straight at Jungkook.

“One must take his place,” it whispered.

Jungkook’s heart pounded. His mind screamed at him to move, to grab Taehyung, to run—

But his body wouldn’t obey.

The air was too thick. The weight of the Hollow Man’s presence pressed down on him like an invisible force, rooting him to the ground.

And then, the thing wearing Minjun’s face laughed softly.

“Ah,” it murmured. “You still don’t understand, do you?”

Jungkook forced himself to speak. “Understand what?”

Minjun’s grin widened—too wide. “You were never supposed to leave.”

---

Jungkook swallowed hard, his hands curling into fists. “What do you mean?”

The Hollow Man tilted its head.

“Balance.”

The word echoed through the room, vibrating in the air like a physical thing.

Jungkook’s pulse spiked.

Balance.

Minjun got out.

But that meant something—or someone—had to stay.

Jungkook’s blood turned cold. That’s why Taehyung collapsed.

The Hollow Man was taking him instead.

Jungkook’s voice shook. “Take me instead.”

The Hollow Man stilled.

Taehyung let out a weak gasp, his body trembling as the darkness sank deeper into his skin.

Minjun’s doppelgänger clicked his tongue. “That’s touching, really.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a murmur. “But do you really think you’re enough?”

Jungkook’s stomach dropped.

Enough?

Minjun had been trapped for years.

Would the Hollow Man really settle for just one replacement?

Or did he want more?

The shadows quivered.

The Hollow Man spoke.

“One must stay. One must return. One must belong.”

Jungkook’s breath hitched. “What—what does that mean?”

The Hollow Man’s grin stretched.

“Choose.”

---

The room seemed to darken.

The walls closed in.

Taehyung shuddered, his face twisted in pain, his breaths shallow.

Jungkook’s mind raced. He needed to buy time—needed to understand the rules.

“One must stay.” That meant someone had to be trapped.

“One must return.” That meant someone had to leave.

But—“One must belong?”

Jungkook swallowed, his voice barely above a whisper. “Who belongs?”

The Hollow Man leaned closer.

“You know.”

Jungkook’s body went rigid.

Minjun.

He was the original. He was the one who had always belonged to the painting.

But—was Minjun even still… Minjun?

Jungkook’s gaze darted to the man wearing Minjun’s face. He still stood there, smiling—but his eyes weren’t human.

Could he really risk sending him back?

Could he really trust him?

Jungkook’s fingers tightened.

He had no choice.

“I’ll take his place,” he said. “Let Taehyung go.”

The Hollow Man’s laughter echoed through the room.

“Foolish.”

The shadows surged.

And suddenly—

Taehyung screamed.

---

Jungkook lunged forward, grabbing Taehyung’s arm.

His skin was freezing.

“Stay with me,” Jungkook gasped. “Taehyung—look at me.”

Taehyung’s eyes flickered open.

And for a moment—

They weren’t his.

Jungkook’s heart stopped.

Something dark moved behind Taehyung’s gaze.

The Hollow Man’s voice coiled around him. “You waited too long.”

Jungkook’s grip tightened. “No.”

The Hollow Man laughed. “He is already mine.”

Jungkook felt like he was drowning.

No. No, no, no.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

He had tried to make the trade.

He had tried to save him.

But now—Taehyung wasn’t just trapped.

Something else had taken his place.

Jungkook’s vision blurred. His pulse pounded.

And the thing wearing Taehyung’s skin smiled.

---

Jungkook’s entire world tilted.

Taehyung’s lips parted—but the voice that spoke wasn’t his.

“You should’ve chosen faster.”

The Hollow Man had taken him.

Or worse—

He had become him.

Jungkook’s knees nearly buckled.

He had fought to get Minjun out.

But in doing so, he had lost Taehyung.

And now, standing before him—was something else entirely.

Something pretending to be the man he loved.