Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the feeling of cold under him, which was immediately followed by the loud scraping that surrounded him. He jolted upright, blinking several times before allowing the panic to flood his senses. It was a metal box, it seemed, and it was moving. Fast. 

Its movement stuttered, and the boy fell to the floor. He looked through the holes and down below him, his heart racing. It was like he was in an elevator, but with no safety precautions put in place. 

Memories began to fly in, filling his head with images of when he was younger. He was playing with six other boys, although he couldn't see their faces. He was holding hands with one of those boys. He was watching a movie. He was playing in the leaves. He was shopping with his mother. He was...

Suddenly overwhelmed, the boy placed his hands on the side of his head and screamed, screamed until his throat felt raw and he knew the entire world had heard him. He crawled back into the corner of the box, feeling tears fall freely down his cheeks as he covered his ears, trying to block out the horrid scraping sound of the metal box. 

As he hid there, shaking, the box came to a sudden stop, knocking the boy forward. A light erupted above him, and he yelped and scrambled back to the safety of his corner like a bug afraid of light. 

As he hid, he heard laughter above him, and talking. He took a chance and opened his eyes, peering up at the sounds. 

"You alright there, Greenie?" 

The boy just frowned before covering his ears and trying to make himself smaller once more, not wanting to accept the fact that he was most likely about to meet Death, and that it would not be friendly. 

Suddenly, the boy heard a loud crash and the box began shaking. His breath quickened as someone stood over him, a cocky smile on his face. "You scared?" 

The boy didn't respond, just stared. Without any warning, the other boy reached down and grabbed the boy's arm, dragging him up and then pulling him out of the box. The boy screamed and kicked, but his protests were ignored as the crowd of people all stared at him like vultures looking at their next feast. The boy attempted to climb to his feet, but someone kicked him down, and began laughing. He wiped the tears away before being kicked over once more. He curled into a trembling ball in a desperate attempt to block out the crowd.

"Stop! Everybody stop! Get away, it's the kid's first day. You wouldn't like us to be this horrible to you on your first day, would you, Jungkook?" 

The bully, Jungkook, it seemed, just shook his head before sighing and backing off. The boy looked at the person walking toward him, then started shaking even harder.

His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell into a trance, pictures flying past him, memories of holding hands, of kissing, of cuddling with, of - 

"Hey, kid, you okay?" 

The boy jerked away from the other's grasp in response, but the older boy just knelt down beside him. 

"I'm sorry for Jungkook," he said. "He just wants to feel like he's important. What's your name?" 

A new feeling of panic flooded over the boy as he searched for a response, but came up empty. He started to shake his head, tears falling down his face as he tried to get away from the older boy, from the crowd of teenagers staring at him, from Jungkook who just stood with his arms crossed, glaring at him. "I - I don't know," the boy said, his voice wavering. "Why don't I know? Why don't - I'm being overwhelmed with memories and images and pictures and I'm not even sure if they're mine or not, I remember so many things but not faces or names or my name why don't I know my own name?"  He was screaming now, and the older boy put his hand forward to comfort him, but he jerked away. 

"That's normal," the older boy said. "It will come to you soon. There's a lot we need to tell you, but for now, you need to calm down, okay? It will be okay, and we'll tell you everything you need to know. But first, let me introduce everyone. Is that okay?" 

After a few moments of simply trying to calm himself down, the boy nodded and the older boy smiled and turned to the crowd, who instantly spread themselves out without being told. 

"I'm Namjoon," the older boy said. He began pointing down the line of boys. "That's Yoongi, that's Jiyong, that's Baekhyun. Then Jongup, Himchan, Daehyun, Junhong, Yongguk, Youngjae. Jungkook, obviously, and then Dowoon, Jae, Younghyun, Wonpil, Sungjin, uh, Seungcheol, Mingyu, Soonyoung, and Wonwoo. And, you guys, get back here! Okay, um, that's Seokjin, that's Minhyuk, that's Jooheon, and that's Kihyun." Namjoon turned and pointed to the last three boys, who were huddled together. "Their names are Felix, Hyunjin, and Minho, but don't talk to them unless they talk to you, okay?"

"Why not?" the boy asked timidly, frowning at the younger boys. 

"Don't ask questions, kid," Namjoon replied. "It's for your own safety." 

"Sure," the boy replied, taking a shaky breath before going over the line of boys in front of him. He realized he remembered more than half of them already, and felt a slight feeling of pride. 

"Seokjin!" 

A taller boy came forward; he wore an apron and his hair was pushed back out of his face. He smiled at the boy, who just looked back. "What do you need?" Seokjin asked Namjoon.

"Give him a bed and a good meal. After he rests and recovers from the shock, we'll all begin the introduction to the Glade." 

As Seokjin nodded and motioned for the younger boy to follow him, his mind began to race once more. The Glade? 

Before the boy had a chance to take in his surroundings, Seokjin smiled and ducked the boy into a shack, leading him over to a bed in the back of the room. 

"I know Namjoon is going to go over rules and everything, but just to give you a heads up, don't ever ask questions. I mean, there are exceptions to that, of course, but to be safe, don't ask questions. It'll keep you safe."

"Does that mean there's a danger?"

Seokjin just frowned. "What did I just say, kid?" 

"Don't ask questions."

"Right. Now, get some sleep. You'll eat when you wake up, and then Namjoon will take you around and introduce you to everything." 

As the younger boy lay on the cot, staring at the room around him, his thoughts wandered to the...flashback? Was what he had earlier a flashback? What else could it be?

Namjoon's smile remained on the boy's mind as he lay still, it managing to calm him down to the point of falling into deep slumber. 

Chapter Text

When the boy woke up, it took a few minutes to remember everything that had happened. He sat up with a start, his heart racing, before recognizing the wood walls of the hut and calming down a bit. He looked around for Seokjin, the man he remembered had led him to the hut and laid him down. He felt strangely safe, even though Seokjin had made it clear that there was a threat of danger - the boy just didn't know what yet.

"Look who's awake."

The boy looked up and just looked at Seokjin, who held out a tin full of what seemed like food. After a moment of hesitation, the boy took it, and began eating, only then realizing how hungry he really was.

Seokjin sat down on the bed next to him and watched him eat; the boy just ignored him and focused his attention on the task at hand. Once he was finished, he simply handed the tin back to the cook and stood up. He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, attempting to steady the way he was shaking. Seokjin remained seated on the bed, and the boy frowned.
"A-aren't you supposed to tell me where to go? To see Namjoon again?"

"He's outside."

The boy nodded and took a deep breath before walking over to the door of the hut and peering out of it, scared that the crowd from earlier that day were waiting for him. When he didn't see anyone, the boy took another step and squinted against the sun. He looked around for Namjoon, but couldn't locate him; his heart began to race and he frowned before deciding to give up and return to the safety in the hut.

"Hey, Greenie!"

After all the name-calling from earlier, the boy had associated the nickname with himself - no one was calling anyone else that name. He looked around for who had spoken, and upon seeing Jungkook, anxiety started coursing through his veins and he tried to turn around and continue his journey into safety.

Jungkook ran up behind the boy and grabbed the back of his shirt, though, yanking the boy around to where he was facing him. The boy looked into Jungkook's eyes before realizing that if he didn't want to be challenged, he needed to challenge the other boy himself.

"Back off," he said, shoving Jungkook away from him. Jungkook fell back a few steps, a look of surprise on his face that quickly turned to a smirk.

"Damn, Greenie, you have more strength than I thought."

"Don't call me that," the boy said, struggling to keep his voice steady.

Jungkook took a step closer, raising an eyebrow. "Well, what do you want me to call you then, Greenie?”

The boy took a step forward and attempted to shove Jungkook again, but this time, Jungkook was ready. He grabbed the boy and yanked him closer to where their noses were nearly touching. "You need to understand the fact that us Gladers, we get along. Some may not like each other, but there is no fighting here. No physical challenging. Got that, Greenie?"

"That's a little hypocritical, because you certainly seem to be physically challenging me right now," the boy retorted, and Jungkook snickered.

"So you've got a mouth on you too," he replied, then let the boy go. "Namjoon is waiting for you by the woods. Don't keep him too long."

The boy watched as Jungkook turned around and sprinted off to a group of boys who were sitting and apparently watching them. The boy just sighed before looking around for the woods, which were easy to locate. He saw Namjoon leaning against a tree, his arms crossed. He started walking, but broke into a run when "don't keep him waiting too long" replayed in his mind.
"Hey, kid," Namjoon said, looking down at the smaller boy once he arrived. "I see you've now officially met Jungkook."

"Can we begin the tour? I need to have a vague idea on what the hell is going on before I have a panic attack because of not knowing."

Namjoon chuckled and nodded. He started walking, signaling the boy to follow. When he caught up, Namjoon looked at the boy, who stared back. "Have you remembered your name yet?"
The boy shook his head, then turned to focus on what was around him.

They seemed to be in a large clearing, all surrounded by large stone walls. It was impossible to determine how far they went up, and the boy suddenly felt like he was trapped, and that this was a new idea of prison. He stopped walking and doubled over, trying to control his breathing. Namjoon stopped as well and bent down, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hey," Namjoon said, his voice low. "It's okay. You're okay. You're safe, as long as you follow our rules, okay?"

The boy just rolled his eyes before standing up straight once more. "What are those, exactly?" he asked, his voice steadier than he had expected.

"That," Namjoon said, "is the maze."

It took a few seconds to comprehend what the elder had said. "The...the maze?"

"Yeah. We'll talk about that later, okay? First, we need to talk about the different jobs we have around here, and what and what not to do. Okay?"

"Yes, Namjoon," the boy responded. "It is okay. Well, no, none of this is okay, but you can stop asking me if it's okay or not, got it?"

Namjoon just smiled. "Here, we have nine different...jobs, you could say. Each job has a keeper, the person who is in charge and who determines who does what. We'll decide what job you're best for tomorrow. Now, keep in mind that with the few people that we have, every job has very few people. Every month, and we'll expound on this later, a new person comes up and we add them to the jobs. This month, that's you."

The boy nodded, still overwhelmed. "And...what are the jobs, exactly?"

"Here," Namjoon said, pointing to the various groups of boys scattered throughout the clearing. “I’d introduce you to everyone right now, but for the sake of time, we’ll do that later. For now, I’ll just tell you the list of jobs and the basic gist of what they do, as well as the Keepers. You slept pretty long, so tomorrow we’ll get you properly introduced to everyone and we’ll settle you with a job. Sound good?”

“Not like I can say no,” the boy replied.

“That’s the spirit,” Namjoon said, a small smile on his face. He began to walk, and the boy had no choice but to follow. “As I said before, we have nine jobs. The Builders, Bricknicks, Sloppers, Baggers, Medjacks, Track-hoes, Cooks, Slicers, and Runners. The Builders do exactly what their name says - they build things. They’re good with their hands, and are who are responsible for building all these huts and such.” Namjoon waved his hand around and the boy nodded. “The Keeper is Himchan. You’ll meet him and the other Keepers later. Next, we have the Bricknicks. They’re responsible for making sure the Builders have the proper supplies when they need them. They don’t have a Keeper, as there’s only three, and they manage themselves fairly well.”

“Are they…,” the boy struggled to remember the names, “um. Hyunjin, Felix, and uh...Minho? They’re the youngest, I think. It’d make sense.”

“You’re right,” Namjoon replied, a proud smile on his face. “And then we have the Sloppers. They have the job no one really wants. They take care of the animals and making sure the stable is clean, as well as gathering manure as fertilizer for the gardens.”

The boy wrinkled his nose. “Who’s the Keeper?”

“Jiyong. There’s only two Sloppers, him and Jooheon, but they’re different than the Bricknicks. I think it’s best that Jiyong’s in charge, for now, at least.”

“Why?”

Namjoon frowned at the boy, all sense of pride absent. The boy bit his lip awkwardly and nodded. Namjoon smiled again and continued on. “Okay, who do we have left, um...oh, right. The Baggers are in charge of making sure that if any animal dies, that it is buried. They also do the same if any human dies, but that’s only happened once.”

Before the boy could interject, Namjoon said, “The Keeper is Sungjin. Remember to save any specific questions about the jobs for the Keepers tomorrow, alright? I know this is a lot to take in but we still have a lot more to cover. Okay, next we have the Medjacks. Dowoon and Yongguk. Again, no Keeper, as they take care of themselves well. They’re in charge of keeping everyone healthy, basically. Our doctors. Next, we have the Track-hoes.”

The boy tripped and nearly fell, stumbling forward a few feet. Namjoon raised his eyebrow at the younger, who just held his hands up. “Sorry, continue.”

“The Track-hoes are in charge of gardening and giving the Cooks the resources from that department. The Keeper is Minhyuk. He’s super nice, I think you two would get along well. And the Cooks, those are obviously in charge of feeding everyone. There’s two, but we do have a Keeper. Kihyun and Seokjin; Seokjin’s the Keeper.” Namjoon paused; someone, the boy recognized him as Felix, ran up to the elder and whispered something in his ear.

“Oh, right,” Namjoon said. “We only have two more jobs to cover. We’ll be right there, Felix.”

Felix nodded and ran off, leaving the boy with a confused expression and a dozen more questions for Namjoon, who just continued where he left off. “The Slicers are who are in charge of killing the meat for the Cooks. They help manage the livestock. And, finally, we have the Runners. They’re the most elite out of all of us. They go into the Maze, to find a way out. They’re fast, very fast, and have very good memories.”

“Wait, ‘to find a way out?’ What the hell? Does that mean that we’re trapped in here? What do you mean? Are the Runners the only ones allowed in the Maze? What is the Maze? What’s in there? Why are we in here? Does -”

Namjoon sighed. “No more questions,” he said, cutting the boy off. “They will all be answered in time.”

“But I want them answered now,” the boy said, beginning to get frustrated with everything that was going on. “This is ridiculous.”

“I know, and I apologize. But you need to be patient. If you want a good job, you need to show that you’re worthy of one. So I suggest fixing your act, right now.”

The boy sighed, but complied. He looked up at the large stone walls, then closed his eyes and shook his head, following Namjoon, who had begun to head to the middle of the clearing.

“What is this placed called, by the way?”

Namjoon turned. “What did I just say?”

“You said no more questions, but this is one that can be answered now. It’s simple.”
Namjoon sighed, then licked his lips and began to walk again. “Sorry, you’re right. We call it the Glade. You’ve heard me use this term before. We call ourselves the Gladers, which I’m also sure you’ve heard before.”

The boy nodded. “Okay.”

Namjoon continued walking, then turned to the boy again. “I forgot to mention earlier, but the Keeper of the Runners is Jungkook, who you met earlier.”

The boy frowned in disgust. Jungkook was the Keeper of the elite force of Runners? Somehow, that both made sense and seemed absolutely stupid.

The two continued walking, and eventually met up with the rest of the Gladers, who all were gathered together in the middle of Glade in a circle that was outlined by rocks. Some were sitting, some standing, and the boy stood awkwardly on the edge as Namjoon left his side to address all of the boys at once. Some snickered, some just looked at the boy solemnly. He didn’t return their gazes, just focused on Namjoon, who called for silence.

Once he had everyone’s attention, he began to speak. “As you all know, this morning we were introduced to a new Glader. He still doesn’t know his name, which isn’t a big deal - some of us took a week to remember. It’ll come in time.”

The last sentence seemed to be more directed to the boy, who sighed in relief. He didn’t  want to burden anyone by not knowing his name immediately.

Namjoon continued on, and the boy found his mind drifting off. Was this real? Was he just dreaming? He pinched his hand, and flinched at the pain. Nope, not dreaming. What was this then? He looked around the group of boys and put names to faces once more, and was proud of himself at what he was able to remember. When he got to Jungkook, he noticed the boy was staring at him, and the boy quickly looked away and down to the ground, his cheeks glowing red. Was it him he had dreamt of?

“Taehyung, come here.”

“Who said that?” the boy demanded.

The crowd of boys all frowned and turned their attention to the boy. Namjoon froze mid sentence and jumped off of the rock he was standing upon.

“Said what?” he asked, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, who in turn jerked away.

“‘Taehyung, come here.’ Who said that?” the boy screamed, backing a few feet away from everybody.

“Kid, no one said that,” a voice from the crowd replied.

The boy put his hands on the sides of his head, then involuntarily jerked forward, falling to his knees, his elbows digging into the ground. His body shook as he scratched at the sides of his head. Namjoon fell down to the ground and grabbed the boy’s arms; the boy looked up at Namjoon, his face red with self inflicted scratches. “What’s happening t-to me?”

Namjoon’s only response was sullen eyes staring into the boy’s. The boy made an attempt to sit up, and Namjoon let go of his arms. After a few moments of tense silence, the boy looked up at Namjoon, then the crowd of boys who all had their eyes glued to the scene in front of them.

“Taehyung,” he said. “My name’s Taehyung. I d-don’t know… I don’t know how I know that or who the hell said it or what is going on but I know it’s T-Taehyung.” He stead up, still shaking, and Namjoon jumped up to help.

Namjoon took Taehyung’s hand in his, and held it up with a pump of victory. “Say welcome to Taehyung!”

The crowd began to cheer and holler, and several boys jumped up the boys and gave him celebratory claps on the bag and scruffs in his hair. Taehyung just stood there, overwhelmed, both happy and confused. He looked up at Jungkook, who just smiled back before turning around and leaving; Taehyung frowned and tilted his head before turning to Namjoon, who was also grinning at him. A feeling of warmth overtook him, and he smiled back.

“We’ll introduce you properly to everyone tomorrow,” Namjoon reminded him. Turning to the group of boys, he shouted, “Alright, it’s late! Everyone start heading to bed. We’ll get Taehyung here a proper bed tonight.” He smiled at Taehyung.

“Welcome to the Glade, Tae.”