Archive of Our Own

the chilly november air is cold on his face when he steps out the backdoor to take a breather. he’d been so tired all morning after barely having slept the night before—namjoon wasn’t really a partygoer, but his friends had asked him to come with to itaewon to look at all the foreigners in their halloween costumes, and who was he to deny his friends?—that it’d been an uphill battle to stay awake while at work. it didn’t really help that he’d been sat at his desk for administration work. on a normal day, this was already deadly, but while tired?

namjoon considers it a miracle that he hasn’t yet fallen asleep behind the computer.

normally, after a sleepless night, he’d just fill up on coffee and hope that the caffeine would do its work and help him stay awake, but he’d recently made the decision to cut back a little. he’s been consuming a little too much caffeine lately, to the point where it no longer hits him the way it used to.

what do you do, though, when you’re at risk of falling asleep and you’ve already gone over your allotted morning caffeine? he’d tried some cold water to the face, and pinching his arm and hitting his cheeks and doing some exercises to get his blood pumping, but it’d all been useless.

“go outside for a little,” taehyung, one of his coworkers, had suggested with a sympathetic smile. “maybe the cold air will wake you up?”

if the cold water hadn’t helped, namjoon doubted cold air would be any different, but it’s not like he had any other option, so he’d nodded sleepily and thanked taehyung for holding down the fort for him and slipped out the backdoor to stand outside for a little.

namjoon had hoped for some quiet, just some cold air that’d hopefully wake him up.

he does find cold air, but he doesn’t find quiet. not exactly. he hears groaning not even a minute after he steps out, and it takes some looking around for him to find the source just off the to side, on the ground.

there’s a figure lying in a pile of leaves. namjoon can’t see who it is—all he sees is a rapidly rising and falling chest and a bloodied face. he rushes over and sinks to his knees.

“are you okay?” he asks, feeling stupid as soon as the words are out of his mouth. obviously, the person isn’t okay. they’re covered in blood and they sound like they’re in a lot of pain.

namjoon’s first thought is that the person’s a drunk partygoer from last night who hadn’t made it home and had decided to make a bed out of a pile of leaves on the lot just behind the library—it wouldn’t be the first time—but that doesn’t explain the blood.

well, maybe it does. drunk people do stupid things. it could even have been facepaint, had the stranger not looked to be in pain. unfortunately, the blood seems to be the real deal.

“i’ll call an ambulance,” namjoon tells the person, reaching for his phone in his back pocket. before he can pull it out, a bloody hand shoots out to grasp onto his wrist. the stranger works himself up onto his elbow in the blink of an eye.

“no ambulance,” the stranger says, through gritted teeth. “please, don’t let them find me. please…”

“i—” namjoon blinks down at him. not a hungover halloween-goer, then? he doesn’t really know what to do. while the scare of finding a bloody person on the ground has woken him right up, his brain can’t really work out what to do. his thoughts are a little sluggish and the only thing he can think is: there’s a hurt person, i must help this hurt person, how do i help this hurt person? and but shouldn’t i call an ambulance? like, can i get away with not calling for help? wouldn’t that fall under negligence? i can’t just let this person bleed out.

“i’m fine,” the stranger pants. “just—please, help me hide. i can’t let them find me.”

namjoon’s nodding without really knowing what he’s agreeing to. “can you stand?” he asks. he chances a look down the stranger’s body, but he doesn’t see any blood other than what’s on his face and neck and hands.

the stranger moves his legs a little. he holds his hands out and namjoon takes them in his and pulls him up slowly. “yeah, it’s… okay. my legs are okay. i just… just got hit in the head and…” he sighs. “i’m dizzy.”

“i’ll get you inside,” namjoon tells him. he grips the stranger’s hand a little tighter and wraps an arm around his middle to keep him upright.

it’s slow-going, but namjoon maneuvers them inside. they’re both panting by the time the heavy door falls shut behind them.

“the library isn’t a safe place for me,” the stranger tells namjoon with a sad shake of his head. “i started here, before they came and found me. they caught up to me again, but i managed to flee, until i became too lightheaded and collapsed outside.”

“who are they?” namjoon asks.

the stranger either doesn’t hear him or decides to ignore the question. “they’ll return to the library when they can’t find me. they’ll realise i’m back here again, since it’s only natural i come back here. if they see me here… i can’t fight back. i don’t know whether i’ll be able to outrun them again.”

namjoon’s thoroughly confused by now, but any question he asks is ignored. the stranger is close to freaking out and doesn’t hear namjoon at all.

“it’s okay,” namjoon tries soothing him. he hopes he won’t run into any clients, or his supervisor, because he’s not sure how he’s going to explain the bleeding and panicking guy. he’s never been a great liar to begin with. “i’ll take you to the break room. we’re hidden from the public there. would you like that?” he pats the guy’s back in hopes of coming across as comforting as possible.

after taking a few deep breaths to try to calm his nerves, the stranger nods slowly. “please.”

namjoon sits him down gently and tells him in his most gentle voice, the one he employs when he talks to his youngest clients, that he’s going to get some stuff to clean the wound and to please stay seated and rest a little.

“what’s your name?” namjoon asks, as soon as he’s pulled up a chair to sit as close as possible. he dabs his damp cloth right along the side of his face, easily cleaning up all the caked blood on his jaw in only a few gentle swipes.

“jungkook.”

“jungkook-ssi, do you want to tell me what happened?” namjoon moves up jungkook’s face, to his cheek, where there’s even more dried up blood. the origin of it all looks to be the cut on his forehead. it doesn’t look great, and namjoon’s starting to wonder once more whether he shouldn’t be taking jungkook to the hospital.

jungkook winces when namjoon dabs at the wound as gently as possible. he pulls a face when it starts prickling, like namjoon’s put something on it. “what’s that?”

“hm? oh, to make sure it’s clean… you don’t want that getting infected.”

“ah.” jungkook nods slowly. he sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and winces repeatedly at the little stabs on his forehead. eventually, the prickling sensation seems to subside and he’s able to relax slightly. “i came out of my world into the library like usual, but… things got messed up and my people attacked me. it’s… a very long story.”

“i’m…” namjoon frowns. his hand lowers very slowly to squint at jungkook in confusion. “your world? i don’t understand.”

“i came out of my world. out of the book i live in. it led me to your... library.” jungkook frowns, very clearly confused by namjoon’s confusion. after all, what’s not to understand?

“out of the book you live in,” namjoon repeats mechanically, not understanding the words he’s saying. his hand lowers all the way and the damp cloth leaves an uncomfortable dampness on his knee.

as it comes to rest on his leg, he starts going through his options: call an ambulance, after all? drive jungkook to the hospital himself? the only explanation for jungkook’s words is that he’s hit his head, which namjoon knows isn’t a good sign.

there’s the small possibility jungkook’s just still drunk from the night before, but that explanation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to namjoon after he’s just helped him inside; jungkook didn’t smell of alcohol at all. for someone to be that drunk, they’d have to smell like a liquor store.

that leaves only the first explanation.

how is he going to coax jungkook to the hospital?

“jungkook-ssi, i think you may have hit your head when you were attacked. i think we should seek medical he—”

“i’m not crazy,” jungkook interrupts him calmly. “i haven’t hit my head. well, i did hit my head, but it wasn’t that bad. i can show you my book. i can prove that i’m not confused or making things up.”

namjoon blinks slowly. on the one hand, he feels like an utter dick for questioning jungkook, essentially, but he can’t ignore the obvious. jungkook needs help, and yet namjoon’s sitting in front of him, not doing a damn thing. “i’ll—” he attempts again, but jungkook sighs and talks right over him once more.

“i’ll show you after you’re done. if you don’t believe me, you can take me wherever you think i should go.”

namjoon hesitates. he knows he shouldn’t be wasting time, that he shouldn’t entertain whatever story jungkook’s made up, but what he’s suggesting is sort of reasonable. it probably wouldn’t take much extra time, and namjoon would feel less rude about shipping him off to the hospital right after.

“okay…”

jungkook smiles slowly, tiredly. his eyes fall shut a little and it makes him look a tiny bit dopey. underneath the layer of blood on his face, namjoon can still see the pretty face. jungkook is very cute, which namjoon shouldn’t be focusing on at all; he should be focused on cleaning the nasty wound on his forehead. it’s hard, though. it’s so hard.

after a heavy sigh, namjoon peels his eyes off jungkook’s pretty features and concentrates on the task at hand: unbloodying jungkook’s face and bandaging up the wound.

he works quietly and efficiently, but that doesn’t at all stop him from noticing jungkook’s curious doe-eyes on him. he’s very interested in namjoon’s deft hands, and in his face, and every other part of him he can see. it makes namjoon feel a bit shy, wishing he’d put more effort into looking good this morning, rather than putting on the first drab outfit he could find.

today, namjoon looks exceptionally like a librarian, but jungkook doesn’t seem to hate it. it makes namjoon feel a little bit shy.

strangely, all his exhaustion has gone.

as soon as jungkook’s pretty face is all cleaned up—namjoon was right, underneath the blood there’s even more beauty to behold. despite expecting this, it still kind of blindsides namjoon to the point that he can only stammer when he takes in jungkook’s clean face as he goes to tell him that he’s done—jungkook immediately gets to his feet. he doesn’t look like he’s just had his face covered in blood. namjoon doesn’t understand where he’s getting this energy from, or why he looks so chipper.

“let’s go,” jungkook says. his voice sounds light and happy, too, and namjoon realises, absolutely horrified, that he loves the sound of jungkook’s voice.

“where are we going?” namjoon asks, voice barely above a whisper because it’s gone so raspy. it must be the shock of it all—it’s not every day that a beautiful person ends up in his library break room and has namjoon clean the blood of their face. namjoon’s so unequipped to deal with this that his voice has decided to take a sick day.

jungkook tilts his face cutely. confusion looks cute on jungkook, apparently. “to my book.”

“to your book,” namjoon repeats under his breath, as though that will help him understand. “ah... yes. we were doing that, weren’t we? okay. lead the way.”

which jungkook does. namjoon trails a little behind, so he has a good view of how jungkook walks with a spring in his step.

it’s only now that he’s looking at jungkook from behind that he notices his odd clothing. jungkook isn’t dressed like a soulite—not even a lame one. his attire reminds namjoon of someone dwelling in the countryside, except from a vastly different time period. jungkook’s clothes are closer to being rags than they are considered clothing.

maybe the rags shouldn’t really surprise him, considering the absurd thing jungkook’s trying to prove to him now, but still. it’s strange. there’s something very strange about jungkook.

jungkook weaves through the shelves effortlessly, the way namjoon’s only seen his coworkers and his most avid readers do. he walks through the library as though he spends a lot of time there, despite the fact that namjoon’s never seen him before.

it’s not like namjoon would have forgotten if he’d ever seen jungkook. he’d know. namjoon would remember seeing him, even in passing.

so what is it, then? why is jungkook so familiar in namjoon’s library?

because namjoon’s too busy going over the mystery at hand, he doesn’t notice that jungkook’s stopped walking until he bumps right into him. jungkook’s back is very sturdy, which is a detail that definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by namjoon.

“why have we stopped?” namjoon asks quietly, when jungkook doesn’t look up.

jungkook doesn’t even need to answer. he juts his chin out to gesture at the scene right in front of him; namjoon looks over jungkook shoulder to peer down at the floor and notices two things: an open book, and a dead body.

“why would someone leave open a book on the floor? that’s so fucking rude...” namjoon mutters under his breath, before he reluctantly looks back over at the corpse and wonders what the fuck it’s doing in his library and how he’s going to dispose of it.

jungkook throws a frown over his shoulder, which namjoon sees out of the corner of his eye, but chooses to ignore.

“the book is—” he tries to say, only to freeze when he hears a few sets of footsteps and, not long after, deep and angry voices. he doesn’t hesitate at all; jungkook grasps onto namjoon’s wrist and hastily pulls him out of aisle they’re in, right into the one next to it. he sinks lower for cover and walks in a crouch until they’re at about the same height as the book and the body on the other side of the shelves.

namjoon opens his mouth to ask what’s going on, but he changes his mind when he sees movement through the books they’re seeking cover behind.

a few men walk up to the body, and two of them each grab an arm. they begin dragging the corpse, while a third straightens the book and goes to stand behind it. a fourth and a fifth stand a little behind, talking in gruff whispers.

the three in the front are dressed similarly to jungkook, in rags that remind namjoon of the historical series he watches sometimes. they look like they came straight off a set from a drama set in the joseon era. the other two look a little more like high-ranking soldiers; they’re carrying swords, and their outfits look neater and cleaner.

namjoon looks to jungkook for an explanation, who simply points back toward the spectacle happening right in front of them and puts a finger to his lips. he’s asking namjoon to stay quiet. for now, at least. namjoon doesn’t need to be asked; the five strangers look slightly murderous and namjoon really doesn’t feel like dying today.

as namjoon looks back over, he sees it: one of the two dragging the corpse lifts his foot and sets it on top of the book. he gasps, jaw dropping at the sheer disrespect, only to swallow any cursing when he realises the man’s foot isn’t on top of the book—it’s inside of it. his ankle has already disappeared, and more of him is sinking in as he steps in with his other foot as well.

right in front of his very eyes, the man sinks in further, until only his hand is sticking out.

the men drag in the corpse, and then the third, fourth and fifth step in, but not before talking quietly and angrily. they agree on one thing, loudly enough that namjoon and jungkook are privy to their conversation:

“we’ll come back for jeon jungkook. we’ll drag his corpse back in, if we have to.”

they leave, and namjoon drops out of his crouch, right onto his ass. “what in the fuck was that?”

jungkook smiles sympathetically, while he gently pats namjoon’s shoulder. poor namjoon looks as though he’s just gotten the wind knocked out of him, and jungkook looks guilty, knowing he’s the cause of that shock.

“i’ll explain everything,” jungkook says in a quiet voice.

namjoon’s voice sounds shaky when he speaks: “please.”

as they round the shelves and walk toward the book, they both freeze right away as a hand shoots out again. they’re getting ready to sprint back and hide, but the hand only takes the edge of the book and lifts it to place it on the bottom shelf. once it lies out of the way, the hand neatly closes the book.

they wait for about a minute, but the book doesn’t move. they’re clearly done for now.

“it’s okay,” jungkook says reassuringly. he approaches the book with some leftover caution. “they won’t be back for a while. they probably need to regroup first. we have a few hours before they come back for me.”

jungkook picks the book off the shelf and looks down at the cover with pursed lips. “this is where i come from.” he holds it up for namjoon, before opening it up to the title page. “do you see that drawing here?”

namjoon inches forward and cranes his neck to have a look. there, just above jungkook’s finger, is a small drawing namjoon’s never seen before. he frowns down at it and looks back up at jungkook with visible confusion.

jungkook pulls down his shirt to bare his collar bones. namjoon’s confused at first, although pleased. this small piece of bared skin feels so scandalous to him that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. he knows he should look away to preserve jungkook’s dignity and his own, but he can’t stop looking.

it’s only after some fixed staring that namjoon realises jungkook isn’t showing off his collar bone, so much as he’s showing namjoon the tattoo right beneath it. it’s the same mark that’s in the book, although it’s slightly bigger on jungkook’s skin.

“why do you have that? and why is it in the book? and… what does it mean?”

“this is how we can come in and out of books,” jungkook explains. “the books that have this mark are doors. to open up the door, you need to have this drawn on your body. when you activate it, it lets you go through.”

namjoon just nods very slowly. he still doesn’t understand, but he remains quiet for now, hoping jungkook will continue explaining.

“i’m part of an organisation that travels between these books. the goal is to keep all worlds at peace with one another, but we’re also just… travelers and explorers. we haven’t found all the books we can travel to yet, but we’ve mapped out a lot already. sometimes, new books appear, too.”

“and to go in and out… you go through my library.”

jungkook nods slowly. “and others. but my faction mostly uses yours.”

“how come i’ve never ran into any of you? i would’ve remembered seeing you, or strange figures, but this library is as ordinary as they come.”

“we travel at night. and if we have to travel during the day, we’re stealthy.”

“but…” namjoon just shakes his head as he repeatedly opens and closes his mouth. despite having seen it with his own eyes, he still doesn’t believe it. he wants to question jungkook’s explanation, but he doesn’t know where to start. he can’t deny what he saw, but he also can’t make any sense of it.

jungkook waits with a patient and polite smile for namjoon to finish gaping at him, before he continues. “lately, things have been going awry. people are dying and turning up dead in the wrong books and the peace is being disrupted. we tried to fix things, but when things didn’t improve, i decided to do my own investigation and realised our faction leader was doing something sketchy. i tried to call him out and they chased me. that’s… how i got here and why i got hurt.”

“the body? you did that?”

jungkook shakes his head. “there was a scuffle. the person who died got stabbed instead of me. it was an accident.” he doesn’t seem too sad, despite the fact that they’re from the same organisation. it makes sense. jungkook probably feels betrayed.

“oh. i’m sorry to hear that they chased you.”

jungkook shrugs.

“i still don’t understand… the books have worlds within them? but if you’re sentient, wouldn’t that change the story of the book?”

“keeping the peace also means keeping the stories intact. the people in my organisation, we’re not even background characters—we’re part of the scaffolding that keeps the story afloat.”

“okay, but—” namjoon falls silent as he thinks back on the strange complaint they’d gotten a few days ago. it’d been taehyung who had to deal with an angry mother. something about a dead body in the background of a children’s book. when taehyung and namjoon had checked the book later, there’d been nothing of the sort and they’d simply shaken their heads and moved on. “oh…”

jungkook cocks his head.

“you mentioned bodies showing up in the wrong books?”

“uh-huh.”

“yeah, we received a complaint about that.”

jungkook pulls a face. “i’m sorry. we’ve been working hard to clean everything up, but, you know… it’s difficult when you’re actively being sabotaged.”

namjoon nods sagely, even though he’s still not entirely sure of what’s going on and whether he hasn’t just fallen asleep behind his computer this morning and is having an awfully realistic dream.

he’d hate for this to be a dream, if only because that means jungkook isn’t real.

“and…” namjoon begins again, but he doesn’t know what else to ask or bring up. he just shakes his head. “never mind. my brain is… too much information.”

“i can show you some of the books we travel between? so that you can catch up on everything i’ve just told you?” jungkook looks hopeful and cute and apologetic all in the same second and namjoon is kind of into it. he’s a lot into it, despite the fact that jungkook is, apparently, not even a character in a book. is he even real?

“are you real?” namjoon asks. he feels stupid as soon as he asks the question. “do you stop existing when your book is destroyed? can you exist on your own? or are you an extension of that book? you said you were part of the scaffolding of the book, so why are you even allowed outside of it? do the people who are actually characters and show up on a page know? how did your organisation even find out they could travel? are people from different books part of the same organisation?”

after the barrage of questions, jungkook blinks slowly. he already doesn’t remember the first question namjoon had asked him, nor does he remember the second. “could you… repeat your questions? except slowly and one by one?”

namjoon bursts into laughter. it sounds faintly panicked and hysterical. he doesn’t know how else to respond—all of this feels very outside of his job-description. “give me a tour of the books and… and i’ll… fuck, i don’t know.”

while jungkook takes namjoon on a tour through the library—namjoon absolutely does not have the energy to be peeved about that at that time, although he thinks back on it in annoyance later—namjoon gathers his thoughts as calmly as possible. he follows jungkook in silence at first, being shown a few books he’s had in his hands a few hundred times without knowing they led to whole other worlds, before he finally starts asking questions again.

“so… are you a person?”

“well, i’m not an animal, if that’s what you’re asking.” jungkook doesn’t seem insulted by namjoon’s question; he just looks thoroughly confused and doesn’t really seem to know what to do with it other than smile politely.

jungkook points at an inconspicuous children’s book while namjoon decides what his next question is going to be. “that’s another one of ours.”

“is your organisation centralised? is it spread out over books? or is it an organisation per book?”

“spread out. here’s another book. since this one isn’t translated to korean, everyone talks in english in this one. a lot of us aren’t fluent in english and the damn americans refuse to learn korean, so communication is very strained.”

namjoon hums noncommittally, already having his next question lined up, when he backtracks a little. jungkook’s words only make sense to him a few seconds later, as though there’s a bit of a delay. “huh? so the language of the book influences the world?”

“hm? oh, yes. sometimes we have a translated and an original copy that both have marks. the worlds are identical, except they speak a different language.”

namjoon nods. he moves on from the new piece of information for now, although he does file it away for later. “and when your book ceases to exist? what happens to you?”

jungkook cocks his head. “i don’t… know. we’ve never been able to check.”

“and the main characters of these books? do they know what’s going on?”

“no. we keep them oblivious so that they don’t change their storylines.”

jungkook takes him to another book that namjoon knows for certain he’s borrowed at some point. it’d been on his bedside table for a few days back then. had strange people come in and out when he wasn’t around? namjoon has two questions at this point, but they’ll both lead in very different directions and probably to follow-up questions that’ll only lead him further away from the other question. he’s at a bit of a crossroads.

overwhelmed, he ends up sighing very deeply.

“i’m sorry,” jungkook says softly. “it must be very overwhelming.”

“a little.”

“why don’t you hold off on the questions for now? i’ll show you some more books and you can just… observe. no need to tire out your brain all at once.”

despite the doe eyes, despite the surprising air of innocence about jungkook, he seems a lot wiser than namjoon pegged him as. it’s nice, although he doesn’t understand why he so readily trusts jungkook; they don’t know each other. jungkook’s admitted to namjoon that he sneaks around in his library at night, so every voice in his head should be screaming at him not to trust him in the slightest.

yet he does. there’s just… something about jungkook that makes namjoon relax.

they finish the tour in mostly silence. when it’s just jungkook talking or explaining, he’s a quiet guy. he says the right amount of things he has to say to get his point across, but he doesn’t elaborate beyond that.

namjoon’s not sure if that’s just because that’s what he’s like, or whether he’s doing it for namjoon’s sake—is he trying his best not to overwhelm namjoon? maybe he’s just a shy guy.

they end up back where they started, sat with their backs against the shelf that jungkook’s book is still lying in, when namjoon is finally ready to ask another question: “can… anyone travel between books?”

jungkook nods enthusiastically. at namjoon’s question, he pipes up a little. “yes! they just need the appropriate mark. like the one i showed you.”

“i see…” namjoon muses, nodding slowly. that means namjoon could do it. namjoon could hop in and out of books. he could see jungkook’s world; he could explore any of the other books jungkook showed him. if he wanted to. if he were brave enough.

if he had jungkook by his side, he thinks he’d find enough courage to explore whatever book jungkook throws at him.

it’s silent for a beat, before jungkook looks over slowly. “i could… draw a mark on you? and we could… we could go into a book together? if you want.”

namjoon turns to look at him, too. they both smile. “i’d like that.”

“okay,” jungkook says. he has a marker in his hand and his eyes are fixated on the spot where namjoon’s stuck his finger in the collar of his shirt to pull it down. there’s a lot of skin on display, and jungkook can just see the beginning swell of namjoon’s peck.

in all his years of sneaking away from librarians, he’s never seen one so hot, so nicely built. it’s hard not to stare, hard not to admire so very openly.

namjoon smiles. it’s a kind, tired smile. he still looks thoroughly overwhelmed, but he seems a little more accepting of everything now. sitting back down in the break room—after finding taehyung and telling him with an apologetic frown that he’s going to need some more time and that he’ll fill him in on the pretty guy behind him later and to please don’t ask right now i don’t know what’s going on, either—helps significantly. being away from all the books that could be potential doors makes him feel at ease, safe.

“it’s okay,” namjoon encourages, when he sees jungkook’s hand tremble. “you can draw on me. do you need more space to work with? wait, i can—” and he pulls off his shirt without a second thought.

of course, namjoon doesn’t need to pull his shirt off. of course, jungkook could have easily drawn it on him with the collar stretched out. but namjoon’s brain isn’t on, and jungkook doesn’t think to tell him that he doesn’t have to take it off. instead of telling namjoon it’s not necessary, he just gawks.

namjoon notices the wide eyes on his chest, crosses his arms in front of them slowly and looks down at where his nipples are slightly pebbled. it’s kind of chilly in the break room, even though it’s fall and they normally have at least a heater going.

the library is normally such a warm place, but today of all days, when namjoon’s nips are out, it has to be cold. of course, it has to be cold.

“uh…” jungkook blinks. namjoon covers his nipples a little more.

“you can draw on me,” he repeats awkwardly.

a small nod. the click of a cap as jungkook pulls it off the marker and then drops it in his haste to get this over with as soon as possible. they both blush, extremely aware of all the time that’s passing with namjoon’s chest out.

eventually, jungkook fumbles through a shaky drawing and quickly ducks to find the cap. even when he’s found it and put it on the marker again, he stays bent over, waiting for namjoon to put his shirt back on.

“okay!” he says brightly, as he whips up out of nowhere and startles namjoon half to death. he knows he sounds too chipper, too casual given the situation they’re in, but it’s the only way he knows how to cope with the naked chest he’s just seen. “let’s go.”

namjoon follows jungkook at a distance. he’s once again in a position where he can study jungkook’s back safely, but this time he doesn’t take notice of his clothing or his sturdy back; namjoon looks at jungkook’s hair, tied up in a bun with strands of hair falling out.

there are scars in his neck, and a constellation of moles that namjoon would like to trace. the short baby hairs right at the base of his skull look soft, and namjoon thinks he’d like to run his fingers through them.

what would jungkook look like with his hair down?

while namjoon studies jungkook, jungkook leads them to the kids’ section. he hadn’t shown namjoon any books in this particular part, so namjoon doesn’t really know what to expect. still, a children’s book can’t be too bad. it probably won’t be too dangerous. there won’t be any soldiers with swords waiting for them.

… would there?

jungkook presents namjoon with a book, grinning widely and proudly, bunny teeth on full display. “how about this one? it’s very calm, it’s just nature and some animals.”

namjoon takes his eyes off jungkook’s face to look at the book. it’s popular one; to teach the little ones about the seasons. namjoon’s always liked the illustrations. he nods slowly.

“which season would you like to go to?” jungkook leafs through the book, inspects the pages with pursed lips while he tries to find the best page.

“we can choose?”

jungkook laughs. “yeah. you can pick a page to step into. how about fall?” he holds up the book to show a page full of beautiful leaves in different shades of red and orange and yellow. there’s the main character of the book sitting underneath a tree with his mother and a bunch of food.

namjoon nods. “fall sounds good. are you sure we can go in there when the characters of the book are right there?”

another laugh. a pretty sound. when jungkook throws his head back, namjoon can see the smooth underside of his chin. “yeah, don’t worry about it. they’re off in a corner, far away from where we’ll come into the world.”

“okay… how do we do this?”

jungkook takes out a small little jar—namjoon has absolutely no clue where he’d hid it, but that’s a question for another time. when he opens it up, it kind of looks like mud. he scoops some up on his finger and beckons namjoon with it. “show me your mark.”

namjoon shivers when jungkook’s finger presses into his skin. he can pretend that the goosebumps are due to the cool mud being painted on him, but he knows that’s not the real reason. “what’s this going to do?”

“it activates it. you have to interrupt the flow of energy by drawing a line through it.”

“ah…” namjoon has no idea what that means. he watches quietly as jungkook shows him his own collarbone again and draws the same line on his own skin.

once jungkook’s done, he puts away the pot again and looks up with a smile. after putting down the book in a tucked away corner on the correct page, he holds out his hand—the clean one. namjoon looks at it curiously, only to end up slipping his hand in when jungkook wiggles his fingers in an invitation.

jungkook squeezes his hand. on the page, the fiery leaves stare up at namjoon. he lets himself get pulled closer to it, watching in a trancelike state as jungkook’s foot sinks into the page, and then the rest of his body. it all goes smoothly, as though he’s lowering himself into a pool of water; there’s no resistance at all.

the strange pull the book has on his chest beckons namjoon closer and closer and he stumbles forward without thinking, feet first, holding tightly onto jungkook’s warm hand.

deafening silence and blinding white light. namjoon squints. it softens, and then it becomes orange and yellow and red. everything’s on fire. it looks surprisingly calm.

the silence is drowned out by the wind sweeping right over the trees on fire. the leaves are blown side to side and rustle happily. namjoon watches them dance.

“everything’s on fire,” namjoon mumbles.

jungkook looks up slowly. “hm?”

“the trees. as a kid, i used to say that to my parents. the leaves have such vibrant colours that the trees look like they’re on fire when the wind blows through them.”

namjoon looks down from the blaze and spots their hands. they’re still joined, fingers tangled comfortably. rather than let go, he holds on tighter. “i’ve never seen naejangsan mountain without people. even when you go early—” he shakes his head. “this travelling thing definitely has some perks, hm?”

jungkook smiles at him and shrugs. “it has some. you’ve gone here in your world?”

“a few times. i’d go when i was younger. not so much now. it’s too busy, or i’m working.”

“i like coming here. or to the summer page; the kid goes to a beach, and the day that page takes you to is the perfect beach day. nice weather, only a handful of people...”

“how come there aren’t other people here, but there are on the beach?”

“the summer page has other people drawn on it.”

“but…” namjoon frowns. he flexes his fingers and feels jungkook’s hand under them. still, he doesn’t let go. “but you said you were part of the scaffolding of your world. that implies that characters that don’t show up on the page still exist in these worlds. wouldn’t that mean that there should be people here that weren’t pictured in the drawing of this page?”

“not necessarily…” jungkook purses his lips while he thinks of the easiest way to explain. “this isn’t a very complex world. they go to naejangsan mountain and look at the leaves. they go to the beach. they play in the snow… there isn’t a real story—it’s just snapshots of this kid’s life. none of these actions require other things to happen behind the scenes. my book is about a princess. for the story to go smoothly, the whole royal court needs to function. for the royal court to function, the society around it needs to exist. commoners, like myself, need to exist for the princess to reach her happy ending.”

“but…” namjoon goes again. he falls silent to sigh and to think. eventually, he stops thinking for a bit and lets jungkook pull him ever forward, until they reach the pavilion and sit along the ledge, feet dangling just over the water.

“but?” jungkook asks, after a while.

they’re still holding hands. jungkook knows. namjoon knows. they’re not doing anything about it, because they don’t want to.

“but a story isn’t just read once. it’d be really sad if it were. what happens when the happy ending is reached? what happens after? what happens when someone stops reading? do the main characters live their life normally until it’s picked back up? do they live out their story without it being read? are they put on pause?”

“it’s paused. the entire world is. not just the main characters. only people like me, those who know, can continue. it’s something to do with the mark. we’re not sure why or how. it’s just how it is. it’s one of the reasons we travel in and out so much. there’s only so much you can do in a paused world.”

“but that’s so sad,” namjoon mumbles. “what if a book isn’t read at all? there are books here that haven’t been borrowed in a while. are they just forever put on pause? and—” he shakes his head, already feeling himself beginning to veer off track, down the slippery slope of too many questions, too much info, too much knowledge. “does this only happen to books with marks? the ones without it don’t have worlds inside of them?”

“they do. they’re just not accessible. not yet, at least. and it’s not as sad as it sounds, i promise. we believe that the reason the books in the library have marks on them is because they’re in a library. if a person puts it down and never finishes it, they have to return it eventually. someone will pick it back up, or it’s left alone and the world can flow undisturbed.”

“so… when it’s not read, as in… no one has put it down while reading, the story isn’t being actively read… the world isn’t paused?”

jungkook nods.

“but what happens if someone borrows the book, then? do you loop back to the beginning of the story?”

jungkook nods again, a little more enthusiastically now. he seems impressed at namjoon’s quick grasp of the inner-workings of everything.

“and why is it only library books? and how do those marks appear? is someone putting them there? or do they appear at random?”

“we don’t know. we’re suspecting it’s someone in your world. perhaps one of your coworkers, or a person who frequents your library. it’s been… about five years? we were the first book to be activated as far as we’re aware. when we were activated, it was my leader who got the first mark. he gathered the others and made them aware of what was going on.”

“i see…”

since namjoon doesn’t really know what else to ask, he stays silent after that and overlooks the small lake. some of the leaves in the water haven’t been floating for too long, since their colours are as vibrant as when they were hanging from their branches. the floating splashes of colour create a pretty picture.

namjoon stares at the floating leaves and contemplates everything he’s learned so far. he doesn’t really know what to do with the information, other than stow it away in his mind and leave it for some other day.

maybe a different, stronger namjoon will know what to do with it all. current namjoon is content to just sit and hold jungkook’s hand and marvel at how well their fingers lace together.

jungkook squeezes his hand as though he agrees.

“tell me about yourself,” namjoon says, after a while. their eyes meet as namjoon pulls his gaze away from the water. he smiles.

when jungkook pulls him out of the book, namjoon feels that something’s wrong before he even sees the disarray of books strewn about.

it’s not as bad in the kids’ section, but the closer they get to the shelf that jungkook’s book is on, the worse it gets. they exchange a cautious look and decide to investigate.

“do you think they’re back?” namjoon asks. he’s right behind jungkook, fingers twisted in the back of his shirt. even though he’s taller and there’s just more of him, it’s jungkook who is protecting him; jungkook looks like he could fight off a bear. they advance slowly and cautiously, careful not to make a noise.

the soldiers standing over jungkook’s book notice them at the same time that namjoon and jungkook notice them. “we’ve been looking for you,” one of them says.

“it’s time to go home, boy,” the other one says.

“should we run away?” namjoon asks at the same time.

after a few tense seconds, jungkook reaches behind his back to find namjoon’s hand. he squeezes it softly and peels his fingers off. “stay here,” he says.

namjoon’s not a hero, certainly not when there are swords involved, so he listens to jungkook, but not before pleading with him not to go near them. wouldn’t it be so much better to run? they could go into another book, if jungkook wants. they could go anywhere!

“it’s okay,” jungkook says. his voice sounds warm and reassuring. his smile is comforting and bright.

there’s a scuffle when jungkook gets close enough to the soldiers. one of them grabs him by the front of his shirt in an attempt to drag him straight into the book, while another one tries to grab his arm to stop him from moving.

jungkook fights back. while he’s good at it—nimble and quick-witted and with a practiced ease that namjoon admires—there’s only so much he can do when he’s outnumbered. before namjoon catches up with what’s happening in front of his eyes, jungkook’s being pinned to the ground a little ways away from the book, the tip of a sword pressed to the back of his neck.

even when jungkook’s pinned to the ground, there’s still a lot of yelling going on.

the only thing namjoon can do at that point is shush them with the librarian powers that have been granted to him.

they all freeze and watch as namjoon picks up their book.

“if you harm him, i’ll rip the mark out of the book.”

he has no idea whether that’ll work. maybe it doesn’t do anything, and he’ll have to resort to burning the book altogether, but it’s worth a shot.

“i’ll white out every single mark i find if you harm him, how’s that sound? huh?”

while his threats don’t free jungkook from their clutches immediately, there is a definite pause that tells namjoon he’s on the right track. whatever he’s said, they don’t like it one bit.

“... you wouldn’t…” the one with the sword says. he doesn’t seem too convinced of himself.

namjoon just raises his brows, jaw set. while he’s a bit of a wuss, he’s been told he can look kind of threatening when he does that. or hot, whichever—it doesn’t matter right now. the point is that he looks vaguely threatening.

“but—” another one goes, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

emboldened, namjoon shushes him, too. the sound makes them all flinch. the sword clatters to the ground. they walk back while namjoon advances on them, chest puffed out and hands balled into fists.

namjoon’s in his librarian outfit. there’s no way this should work, no way he should be able to force them back with sheer adrenaline, and yet it seems to work splendidly.

he pushes them back until he can step carefully over jungkook, glancing down to see if he’s okay and then bending down to pick up the sword. he walks them back a bit more, and then lays the book down slowly.

after taking a step back, he casually points his sword toward the book. “get in.”

the soldiers look at each other, unsure of what to do. librarians without swords are bad enough, but one with a sword? one with the shocking audacity to threaten to white-out something in a book? they’re not sure they can go up against namjoon just yet; they’re simply not prepared for a battle of that magnitude.

step for step, they inch toward their book.

“if you hurt him, i hurt your book,” namjoon warns. to look extra cool, he says that while wildly gesturing with his new sword once more. it seems to do the trick again.

“how would you know?” one of them questions. “it’s not like you could check.”

“i’ll have him come out of his book every day for a status update. if he misses a day without letting me know, or he shows up with bruises or a misplaced strand of hair? if you so much as look at him wrong? i begin whiting out.”

there’s a long, uncertain silence, before one of them speaks again: “but you’re a librarian… you wouldn’t tamper with your books.”

namjoon’s brow rises again, as slowly and as controlled as possible for maximum effect. “come on. challenge me, then. see if i’m willing to tamper with them. i’ll wait.”

they look at each other, before they look back at namjoon. “okay,” they all say meekly.

“apologise to him.”

“we’re really sorry.” despite their rough voices, they sound like children beings schooled by their stern teacher.

jungkook climbs to his feet while grumbling softly. he looks a bit crumpled after being thrown to the ground, and namjoon has to push down the urge to smooth out his clothing. “go,” he tells them. “i’ll be back later. we’ll talk it out when i’m back.”

when namjoon takes another threatening step forward, they scramble to disappear into their book.

“why would you defend me?” jungkook asks in a soft voice, once they’re left alone again. “you met me only today.”

namjoon shrugs. he doesn’t have an answer to that, but he also doesn’t really feel the need to question it. “you’re kind. you took me to see fall, when i’m trapped inside most days.” and you’re hot and cute and i may like you a tiny bit.

“oh.”

“i’m sorry for forcing you into coming here every day. i probably should’ve asked first, but i wasn’t thinking. i was kind of freaking out the entire time. i’m not great with confrontation; not when there are swords involved...”

jungkook laughs softly. he shakes his head and reaches out to gently take the sword from namjoon. “it’s okay. i already came here most days, anyway, and i wouldn’t mind seeing you every day. i wouldn’t mind that at all.”

they turn their blushing cheeks toward each other as they look away to smile shyly.

after standing around and scuffing their feet on the ground for a little, jungkook finally finds the courage to face namjoon again and sighs softly. “i should probably be getting back… i need to have a word with a few people. i’ll help you tidy up before i go, thou—”

“no, that’s fine,” namjoon says, quickly shaking his head and taking jungkook by the shoulders to steer him toward the book. “i know it sounds impolite, but you shouldn’t try to help librarians put away books. it’s okay. i have it covered, i promise.”

jungkook pulls a face, but lets himself get pushed toward his book. “i’m so sorry you have to clean this mess, though. it’s all my fault. if i hadn’t—”

“truly,” namjoon interrupts him gently. he offers another smile. “it’s okay. i don’t mind. it beats sitting behind my desk. go on. it’s okay. i’m more worried about you facing whatever’s waiting for you on the other side than that i’m dreading cleaning up.”

“i’m a big boy.”

he sure is.

while jungkook speaks, he unknowingly puffs his chest out a little. it’s obviously meant to make him look bigger and more imposing, but namjoon has to try his hardest not to coo over him. “i can handle it. don’t worry about me.”

“okay.”

“hm.”

they smile at each other and hesitate. it’s not so hard to say goodbye after their strange meeting, since this won’t be the last time they’ll run into each other. but still. namjoon wouldn’t mind seeing jungkook’s face for a while longer.

“thank you for defending me,” jungkook says. “it felt good to have someone defend me. thank you.”

“i’d do it again in a heartbeat.” namjoon really would.

after a few silent seconds of staring at each other, they finally say goodbye. namjoon watches jungkook step into his book and disappear. he puts the book back on the shelf and sighs softly.

what a strange, wonderful world.

and what a beautiful person jungkook is.

namjoon heads toward taehyung once he’s done cleaning up. he smiles apologetically when he sees him, only for the smile to waver in intensity when he spots something black on taehyung’s collarbone. a tattoo of sorts.

it’s always been there, but namjoon’s never asked after it. tattoos can be private things. as long as taehyung covers it up and doesn’t go out of his way to show namjoon, namjoon won’t pry.

he blinks slowly.

“so who is the pretty guy?” taehyung asks, smiling secretively. he doesn’t ask after jungkook’s odd clothing at all. he doesn’t seem confused about namjoon’s disappearance, either.

now that namjoon’s on the topic… how come taehyung hasn’t noticed the mess? they had to have made a commotion; taehyung should’ve noticed.

“taehyung-ah, how long have you been working here again?”

taehyung cocks his head. he smiles and frowns at the same time. “about five years. why do you ask?”

… one of your coworkers… about five years…

“taehyung-ah.”

“hm? is something wrong, hyung?”

“are you a… a witch?”

taehyung’s face doesn’t give anything away. he’s immobile. he doesn’t speak, either.

“did you put the marks in the books?” namjoon goes on.

“yes. i’m not a witch, though.”

namjoon nods slowly. he watches as taehyung pulls down the collar of his shirt enough to uncover his tattoo. it’s identical to the one jungkook has. “oh.”

before taehyung can say anything else, before namjoon can ask anything else, jungkook appears beside namjoon again. he’s out of breath, and he looks like he’s ran through the library to get to him.

“is something wrong?” namjoon asks.

jungkook shakes his head. he pants. “no. just… just wanted to thank you again. thank you for saving my life. i never said that, but i should’ve. i should’ve thanked you for saving my life. thank you.”

without hesitation, jungkook leans in to press his lips to namjoon’s cheek.

the moment they touch, the world freezes. namjoon thinks it’s figurative at first, but then he looks over his shoulder and sees one of their regulars just walking into the room they’re in. she’s midstep, leg lifted, foot hanging motionless.

everyone else is motionless, too, except for taehyung, jungkook and namjoon.

“... taehyung-ah?” namjoon says faintly. “i don’t understand…”

taehyung smiles sympathetically. he pulls out the chair next to him and walks around the desk. together with jungkook, they coax namjoon into his seat, where he sits with a pale face, eyes wide, breathing as shallowly as possible.

“hyung…” taehyung begins. he presses his lips together, looking as apologetic as ever.

“this is a book?” namjoon questions. it’s hard to keep breathing normally, to keep it together, to not pass the fuck out.

“yes.”

“but… wh—i…”

jungkook stands behind him and rests his hands on namjoon’s shoulders. he squeezes softly. “it’s okay. you’re still real. you’re alive. your life is not a lie. your world is real.”

somehow, jungkook’s words are exactly the ones namjoon’s been freaking out about. he must be very familiar with what namjoon’s feeling right now. jungkook’s probably gone through this, too, at some point.

“you’ve been waking up the books in this library,” jungkook says calmly. he frowns at taehyung. “in other libraries, too?”

“that wasn’t me. i know the people who did it, but i’m only in charge of this library.”

“why?”

“because we want to escape. i want to escape.”

“can’t you just use the portal?”

taehyung just shakes his head. “it’s locked.”

“why are you waking up books?”

“we’re looking for the key, but it’s not in this world.”

jungkook’s thumbs push down on namjoon’s shoulders, he squeezes. namjoon lifts his hand to lay it on top of jungkook’s. “what’s out there? outside of this world?”

taehyung shakes his head. “we don’t know. will you help us find out?”

namjoon slowly looks up. first, at taehyung, whom he wants to be angry at, even though all that’s inside of him is panic. then, he looks at jungkook, who looks down at him with his reassuring and warm eyes.

“it’ll be okay,” jungkook says softly. “i’ll help you get used to it, i promise.”

“will you?”

jungkook nods.

“okay,” namjoon says shakily. “i’ll help.”