Work Text:
Taehyung shifted the strap of his bag, huffing a little as he did so. He didn’t know if he was crazy or just devoted, maybe a little bit of both. But probably leaning more towards the crazy side because who in their right mind would be walking through a forest in the dead of winter with only your phone and art supplies?
Well, then again, Taehyung wasn’t always viewed as the most “normal” person. But in all honesty, one’s definition of normal was different than that of another person, so he didn’t care. And he also viewed the idea of being “normal” as boring, so Taehyung was pretty much unaffected by those types of comments. But even he had to agree that this might be one of the most bizarre things he’s ever decided to do.
Okay, he had his reasons behind all of this. It was December, but Taehyung had to get ready for his upcoming graduation in June. He wanted to go to an art school, it had always been his dream to do something in the arts. But of course, he needed to put together a portfolio. He had some of his older works set aside, the ones he deemed as being the best. They were nice, but Taehyung wanted something more, he wanted something fresh to make the portfolio from. That, unfortunately, was easier said than done.
When he had gone to come up with some ideas in one of his various sketchbooks, he kept coming up blank. Nothing seemed to work out. Landscapes? Nope. People? Not a chance. Non-objective? Nothing. Abstract? Torn up and thrown away. Still life? Forget about it. Literally nothing was working out, and Taehyung was losing sleep sitting in his studio, staring blankly at sketchbook pages that seemed to be taunting him.
Eventually, he determined that he needed a new form of inspiration. Hence why Taehyung was currently trekking through the forest behind his home, pretty much cut off from society. He had snuck out of his house, not wanting to wake his parents or dongsaengs or else he’d face death. Taehyung knew the forest well, having spent many years exploring the maze of trees with friends or his siblings or by himself. Navigating through it was as natural as going through his own home. And it helped, because he knew exactly where he was going.
Taehyung heard the snow crunch beneath his feet, felt the cold bite at his nose and cheeks, and snowflakes kept falling on his eyelashes and hair. But it didn’t matter to him, his destination was pretty close. He kept walking, occasionally shaking his head to rid his hair of snow when there was too much. Finally, he reached the entrance to a small clearing, and Taehyung entered.
Of all the things he thought he’d see, this wasn’t one of them. The clearing has a lake which was frozen over, that was obviously expected. But the unexpected came when he saw a young man dancing on the ice. Most people would assume it was a figure skater practicing, but as Taehyung looked at the other, he realized that that wasn’t the case.
The mysterious person was gliding and twirling as if he were hovering above the frozen lake, every move seeming to leave trails of tiny ice crystals behind. Taehyung took in the other’s clothes, and it came to his attention that logically, the mysterious person should be freezing. He was wearing what looked like a very thin tunic, it didn’t look like it would provide any protection from the winter chill. He was also wearing white pants that stopped just above his ankles, and he was barefoot. But the thing that really caught Taehyung’s attention was the colour of the young man’s hair and skin. His hair was white with an icy blue tint to it and his skin was incredibly pale, too pale for a human.
Taehyung was completely mesmerized by the one dancing on the lake who still had yet to acknowledge his presence. Taehuyng immediately knew that he had to capture the other, that he needed to put the grace and elegance of the unknown man onto paper. Fishing his sketchbook and a random pencil from his bag, Taehyung sat down in the snow, grateful that he had decided to put on snow pants. Soon, he brought the mysterious man onto paper, looking up occasionally in order to capture certain details that made the man so distinctive and memorable. Taehyung eventually became so absorbed in his drawing that he didn’t notice any of his surroundings.
“I don’t see a lot of people come here at this hour or in this weather,” a voice suddenly said, causing Taehuyng to jump and drop his pencil.
Whipping his head around, Taehyung came face to face with the stranger who had a heart-shaped smile on his lips.
The other ended up laughing, it was a bright laugh that made Taehyung’s heart flutter, “My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you quite that badly.”
Looking up at the other, Taehyung took in the other’s sunshine smile and the way his light hair fell just above his eyes. He really was handsome, and Taehyung found himself stuttering a reply, “I-it’s fine.”
Bending down, the other looked at Taehyung’s sketchbook, “Ooh, this is really nice!”
Feeling his cheeks heat up even more, Taehuyng shyly looked down, “Thanks.”
“Hey, what’s your name?” the stranger suddenly asked, causing Taehyung to look up and have his breath catch in his throat.
Before, the stranger’s eye-smile had hid his eyes, but now that Taehyung could see the stranger’s irises, he was spellbound. The other’s eyes were a beautiful shade of icy blue, they looked like ice crystals had been captured and placed into his irises, shimmering and beautifully unnatural. And they were unnaturally warm too, despite their icy colour to them, they held a wonderful warmth to them that made Taehyung feel safe. Realizing he was staring, Taehyung awkwardly cleared his throat, by now 100% sure that his cheeks resembled cherries, “Taehyung, my name is Taehyung.”
“Well, nice to meet you Taehyung, you can call me Hoseok,” the stranger, now identified as Hoseok, stuck out his hand, smiling widely.
Hoseok sat down next to Taehyung, looking at the other in curiosity as Taehyung took the offered hand, “But tell me, what brings a human out this late in this type of weather?”
“Uhm, a need for inspiration,” Taehyung answered honestly as he released the other’s pale hand, “but what about you? What exactly are you? Wait wait that sounded rude…”
As Taehyung became more and more flustered, Hoseok ended up laughing, shaking his head fondly at the other, “It’s fine Taehyung, it’s natural to be curious. I’m what most of you would call a faerie, but most of the time we call ourselves nature spirits, maybe even elemental spirits. But to make things easier, I’m an ice faerie.”
“I see,” was the only statement Taehyung gave, looking at the other in a look of awe, the strange hair and skin colour, the immunity to the cold, the other’s (now visible) pointed ears, it all suddenly made sense, “well, makes me sound boring.”
Hoseok frowned, looking at the other, “Nobody is boring, everyone is amazing in their own way.”
Touched by the other’s words, Taehyung smiled his boxy smile for the first time since he had begun talking to the faerie, “Thank you hyung.”
“Assuming my age already?” Hoseok teased, quirking a (surprisingly) dark eyebrow.
“Well, you seem older than me, and I really don’t know what the aging of a faerie is so...yeah,” Taehyung finished, smiling a half smile and shrugging.
“It’s fine Taehyung, you hit the nail on the head about me being older than you,” Hoseok smiled, tapping the other on the nose, “but tell me about yourself, I don’t get to talk to humans very much.”
Watching as the other shifted so that they were face to face, Taehyung saw Hoseok’s eyes shine with anticipation. Placing his sketchbook and the pencil that had fallen back into his bag, Taehyung made himself a little more comfortable before speaking, “Well, I’m in my final year of high school and I want to go to an art school. But…”
Taehyung began telling Hoseok about himself, with the other listening with the type of attention a child gives to someone reading a fairytale. Hoseok would also share his own stories, he had a lot because of his incredibly long lifespan. They both ended up smiling and laughing, and neither of them realized that hours were just flying by. It didn’t matter, they were both enjoying each other’s company. As the night went on, they both had a feeling that they would be seeing each other a lot in the future.
❄~~❄~~❄
“What happens in the summer for you Hobi hyung?” Taehyung asked one evening, snow gently falling from the sky.
The two of them had been meeting late a night for about three weeks, and over the course of time they had become comfortable enough to give each other nicknames. Hoseok had also appeared one night with a white fox walking by his side, saying that the fox was his familiar and that as long as he was alive, then the fox would also be alive. He introduced her to Taehyung as Byeolbit, explaining that he had given her the name because the fox’s bright blue eyes shined like stars and that he wanted to use a Korean word. Byeolbit had taken a liking to Taehyung, and she would always be with Hoseok. The duo became a trio, and said trio found themselves once again by the lake, a comfortable atmosphere around them Taehyung having closed his sketchbook and Hoseok petting the white fox.
“I’m still here in this forest, it’s just that I’m usually not out and about,” Hoseok answered, scratching behind Byeolbit’s left ear, “I stay inside my home more often, which is most likely why you’ve never seen me. Same goes for Byeolbit.”
”But you don’t like, leave or anything?” Taehuyng asked, not really sure how to phrase his question.
“Oh, you mean like go to a different realm?” Hoseok inquired, able to pick up on the unasked question.
Taehyung nodded, and Hoseok grinned, “There is a realm that all faeries are from and Byeolbit and I go there quite a bit, but we both like to stay in my home here in the Human Realm as well. The Faerie Realm is extremely different than the Human Realm, but we like coming here. You humans always do something interesting.”
“Oh,” was all Taehyung said, a little disheartened about how he most likely won’t see Hoseok around in the summer, but also happy that Hoseok didn’t completely leave.
“So how’s your portfolio going?” Hoseok inquired, looking at Taehyung’s closed sketchbook that sitting in the other’s lap.
“A lot better than before,” Taehyung informed, smiling his boxy smile, “I like how it’s turning out so far, so I’m actually pretty excited to finish it.”
“Well that’s good,” Hoseok chuckled, “I’d like to see your artwork one day, from what I saw when we first met you’re extremely talented..”
Taehyung suddenly became shy, looking down at his gloved hands, “T-thanks hyung. Maybe I’ll show you when the portfolio’s finished…”
Hearing the younger’s words, Hoseok beamed, “Thank you Tae.”
“No problem hyung,” Taehyung answered, once again taking in the ice faerie’s inhuman features as he was cooing at Byeolbit who affectionately licked the faerie’s nose.
Hoseok really was a handsome individual. His face was long with a strong jaw which went well with his tall nose. Hoseok’s eyes slightly turned up at the end, making his icy eyes even more beautiful. His white-blue hair always looked soft and silky, gently sweeping over his eyes and making the blue orbs stand out. But what Taehyung really, truly loved about Hoseok (at least appearance-wise) was the ice faerie’s smile. Whenever Hoseok smiled, it was like the sun had come out from behind the clouds. It was warm and friendly, Hoseok’s pearly teeth would show and his mouth would form an adorable heart-shape. People said that Taehyung was handsome, but in Taehyung’s eyes, he paled in comparison to Hoseok.
“What’s it like to go to ‘school’?” Hoseok suddenly asked, snapping Taehyung from his thoughts.
”Huh?” Taehyung replied, blinking as he watched Hoseok laugh.
“Human schools, what’re they like?” Hoseok repeated, looking at the human boy with curiosity in his eyes and Byeolbit was mirroring the faerie’s expression.
Taehyung was surprised by the question, “You don’t got to school? Or any form of learning done by other people telling you information?”
“Nope,” Hoseok replied, popping the ‘p’ as he once again ran his hand through the fox’s fur, “Faeries are created knowing everything we need to know, there’s no purpose in us going to something like ‘school’. But I’ve always been curious about what it’s like.”
Taehyung looked at the faerie, there was always something new being revealed about the Fantasy World that Taehyung never knew was actually real. Not going to school just sounded...honestly flat out strange. Nevertheless, despite the minor shock, Taehyung began to give Hoseok some sort of answer, “Well, schools have obviously changed over the years, but I’ll just tell you about modern day schools.”
Hoseok nodded eagerly, bringing his knees closer to himself and hugging Byeolbit like a teddy bear. Byeolbit, actually being on the smaller side, snuggled up against the faerie. He truly looked like a small child, eagerly waiting for a parent or grandparent to read them a story before bed. Chuckling, Taehyung continued on with his explanation, mentally capturing the moment so he could draw it later.
“Humans go to school for roughly 16 years. We first learn the basics of reading and writing and simple math. Think of it like the bottom of something, you need to bottom to be strong to support the rest. The basics we learn make up the bottom needed for us to learn. Understand?” Taehyung explained, looking at Hoseok who nodded, “We build on the basics as school goes on, and after some time we finish school and go to live our lives as adults. No more school it’s time for you to put the learning to use in the real world.”
Hoseok slightly tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy, “Sixteen years seems like a long time for a human to be in school.”
“I know a lot of people who’d agree with you,” Taehyung said with a sigh, “but it’s how we live, and it’s how we’re going to keep living for probably a long time.”
“But what about art?” Hoseok asked, shifting Byeolbit slightly so both he and the familiar were more comfortable, “Things like music and dancing and drawing.”
“That’s something humans learn, but it’s not focused on,” Taehyung replied, eyes sad as he explained it, “wanting to do art isn’t something that’s...looked nicely upon by society. People expect you to get a good education so you can get a high paying job, even if you’re miserable. Sometimes, it seems like society doesn’t care about your happiness or your dreams.”
Taehyung stopped talking, looking down at his sketchbook, “There was a time when I began to doubt my dreams. I began to think that it was pointless, I guess the words of others had been slowly affecting me, I just didn’t notice. It was terrible, I kept doubting that dream and just feeling more and more lost.”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Taehyung responded, even he himself didn’t know how he got through that time, “I just kept going. It sounds a little naive, like the mindset of ‘if you try hard enough then your dreams can come true’, but it’s kinda what I thought. And here I am now, one of the top art students in my school and getting ready to go to university to pursue that dream.”
“This university thing,” Hoseok began, running his hand absentmindedly through Byeolbit’s thick fur, “are you going away for it?”
“Well, that depends on the university,” Taehyung began, “the one I want to go to is a little far from here…”
“I see,” was all Hoseok said, looking down as his usual smile fading and his expression becoming solemn, something Taehyung had never seen on the other’s face.
“Hobi hyung, are you okay?” Taehyung tentatively asked, watching as the other remained uncharacteristically silent while Byeolbit looked up at the faerie, concern in her bright blue eyes.
Hoseok blinked, shaking his head before looking back at Taehyung, sunny smile back on his face, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Just remembered something that I have to do later.”
Taehyung looks at the other in suspicion, there was something under the faerie’s expression that seemed darker. But the other was centuries older, and had much more practice in hiding what he wished to be hidden. No matter how much Taehuyng observed the other’s features (something he was quite good at, perks to being an artist) Taehyung was unable to figure out Hoseok’s emotions. Eventually, Taehyung gave up, allowing Hoseok to redirect their conversation. But throughout the rest of their meeting, Taehyung kept a close eye on the faerie.
❄~~❄~~❄
For the next three weeks, it had been harder for Taehyung to visit Hoseok. The snowfall had been extremely heavy that year, making it harder for him to trek through the forest. Their meetings became further spread apart, meeting at random rather than what was their set meeting schedule. Whenever Taehuyng did meet with Hoseok, he would always apologize but the faeries would always wave a dismissive hand, telling him that it was fine. But Taehuyng saw that it hurt Hoseok, that he really missed meeting the artist. Taehyung really, really tried to make sure they could meet more often, but sometimes the weather just won and made it impossible for him to sneak out to the forest.
The other issue that arose was that Hoseok had become more distant. He wasn’t as...cheerful as he had been when their meetings had first began. His smile wasn’t as bright, and his icy blue eyes didn’t sparkle quite as much. And it made Taehyung concerned. He didn’t want the faerie to be sad, he wanted to be able to see Hoseok’s sunshine smile all the time, to be able to hear the other’s bright laughter. But those two things had become rarer and rarer as time went on. It took Taehyung some time, but eventually the reason why Hoseok wasn’t as happy hit Taehyung like a truck.
The statement he had said about university was what was crushing Hoseok. The faerie didn’t want Taehyung to leave. And as soon as he came to that realization, Taehyung felt incredibly stupid. He had outright asked Hoseok id the faerie left during the summer because of his own fear of the faerie leaving, then to only pretty much forget that whole bit of the conversation and give Hoseok the fear of him leaving for university. Taehuyng knew he had screwed up, he knew that he had made a mistake. So, for the same three weeks where it was harder to meet Hoseok, Taehyung worked extremely hard to make a solution to the problem he had caused.
It’s how he found himself walking through the forest, not caring about how the snow was a little heavier or how the already fallen snow came up to his ankles. All that mattered was meeting Hoseok. He went to the lake, not caring about how there was a ridiculous amount of snow on him or how tired he was. When he finally reached the clearing, he saw a sight that was so familiar.
A dancer was on the lake, gliding and twirling. But this time, a white fox with blue eyes accompanied the dancer. And this time, the dancer’s dance was melancholic. It held a sadness to it, making Hoseok’s movements more subdued. Taehyung was enthralled for only a brief moment of time, before he pulled down his scarf.
“Hyung,” he called, causing Hoseok to stop.
“Tae,” Hoseok began, coming over to the side of the lake and walking up to the boy, Byeolbit following close behind, “why’re you out here in this weather? It’s not the best for a human.”
Instead of answering, Taehyung just gave a small smile and handed Hoseok a folder, “Here, you said you wanted to see my portfolio. I had the papers laminated so they wouldn’t be damaged by the snow, so look all you want.”
Hesitantly, Hoseok took the folder. He looked conflicted, but it was apparent that the faerie’s curiosity had won. Leaning down to Byeolbit, he whispered something to the fox which caused her to walk over to Taehyung and look up, “Pick her up Tae.”
Although confused, Taehyung complied. He bent down and scooped the fox up, and when he was standing again, Byeolbit snuggled into his arms and against his chest. Almost immediately, Taehyung felt warmth spread throughout his entire being. It made him smile, knowing that Hoseok was making sure that he was okay.
Said faerie looked at Taehyung, and once making sure that the human was fine, he nodded. Looking back down at the folder, Hoseok carefully opened it and with the same amount of caution also took out the artwork. And what he saw made him gasp.
The first picture was of himself, looking directly at the viewer. Taehyung had been able to perfectly capture the faerie’s ethereal yet masculine features, from his icy blue eyes to the way his white-blue hair fell above said eyes. Looking at the others, Hoseok saw that he was the central figure of everything. There was the picture of him filled with childlike curiosity, wonder, and excitement as Taehyung explained human schools, another of him laughing, another of him learning how to use a smartphone, another of him playing with Byeolbit, and quite a few of just him being himself. But the piece that was truly stunning, the centerpiece of everything, was the one Taehuyng had been working on when the two of them had first met.
It was a watercolour and ink piece, and it was absolutely beautiful. Hoseok was dancing on the paper, looking graceful and at peace. Taehyung had added Byeolbit, something that wasn’t originally there, but the way that the white fox danced and followed Hoseok on the page made her enhance the picture. Taehyung had managed to capture everything perfectly as well as embellish it to make it even more amazing. Hoseok’s white-blue locks moving as he danced, the tiny ice crystals that seemed to follow every one of his and Byeolbit’s movements, gently falling snow, everything was perfect. Hoseok stood there for a moment, amazed by the masterpiece he held in his hands.
Looking back in the folder, Hoseok noticed that there was one more piece of paper. Curious, he pulled it out and saw that it was a letter. He looked at Taehyung’s handwriting and smiled, beginning to read the letter.
Hey hyung. Wow, okay, that’s a lame way to start a letter, sorry about that (^^”). To be completely honest, I’m not entirely sure how to make this sound eloquent. But I had to write this, so here we go. Hyung, I’m just going to outright say it. You’re handsome, extremely handsome. Everytime I see you, my heart flutters. By your looks yourself, you’re someone who has such amazing features. But it’s not just your looks that make you amazing, it’s who you are. You’re such a kind and cheerful individual, you’re even able to be childish and happy. But you’re also incredibly wise and patient, listening to me vent my problems to me and then giving me amazing advice. You’re such a great and stunning individual, inside and out, and it’s because of this that I’m so, so sorry that I’ve hurt you.
I didn’t mean to make you hurt over the idea of me leaving to go to university. I was being dumb and didn’t properly think of the effect it’d have on you. And I am so incredibly sorry. I made this portfolio as a form of apology. Throughout its entire creation, you have been its muse. You always gave me the inspiration to create art, and in the end you became the subject of it all.
I hope that this portfolio can at least show you a small amount of how much remorse I fell. I’m truly sorry hyung, I hope you can forgive me. Oh, and there’s one more thing:
There was a small arrow pointing down, and Hoseok saw another piece of paper attached to the letter. Carefully taking it off without ripping the letter, Hoseok unfolded it. It was a university acceptance letter. Not really sure what to do, he began to read the letter. His eyes became wider and wider as he went down, and at the bottom there was a small map showing where the forest was and where the university was. Looking up at Taehyung, he saw the younger giving him a small smile.
“Taehuyng, is this true?” he asked, still holding the portfolio containing all of the artwork as he lifted the acceptance letter for emphasis, “Are you really going to this university?”
The other nodded with a grin, “Yep, it’s only about 20 minutes from the forest, rather close don’t you think?”
Hoseok looked at the other, before going closer to him. Byeolbit jumped out of Taehyung’s arms as Hoseok approached and Taehyung’s grip loosened slightly. Taehyung soon found himself being wrapping a hug, Hoseok resting his chin on Taehyung’s shoulder, “Why?”
It was a simple question, but it held a lot of emotion to it. Taehuyng brought a hand up to rest in the faerie’s silky locks, before answering, “Because I realized that the muse, that the friend, known as Hoseok had become something more to me. He had become someone who was the apple of my eye, someone who I would do anything for and who I would stick by his side no matter what.”
Pulling back from the hug so that they were close but not having each other’s arms around one another, Taehyung brought up a gloved hand and cupped Hoseok’s cheek, “He became someone who I love.”
Hoseok’s eyes widened, his lips parting slightly, “Really? Do you really mean that Taehuyng?”
Taehuyng gave a firm nod and a bright, boxy smile, “With all my heart and soul. I, Kim Taehyung, love the ice faerie Hoseok.”
“Then, is it okay to…?” Hoseok began, never finishing the question. But Taehyung understood, giving a nod to the other.
When Hoseok brought their lips together, everything just felt right. They kissed each other, slow and sweet and gentle as snow fell around, much slower and more gentle than before. It was a nice kiss, one with a warmth spreading through their bodies along with something else, something that they couldn’t describe but was wonderful all the same. The kiss lasted for a while, and when they parted, Hoseok gave Taehuyng a heart-shaped smile while Taehyung gave the faerie a boxy one.
They hugged again, and they both knew that this was only the beginning, they still had the rest of their story. And that story, as any story, would have the good and the bad. But it didn’t matter what was given to them, because as long as Taehyung and Hoseok were at each other’s side, they felt like they could get through anything. And lucky for them, they both knew that they’d be together forever.