Chapter Text

Welcome to Pinan Village

피난 - Pinan Village, 40 miles off the coast of the mainland, somewhere north of the equator, but still lush and balmy.

Inhabitants 1000 plus one private school with 350 students and staff.

Notable for the deciduous forest that covers 80% of the land mass.

Loosely monitored by the authorities on the mainland, but governed locally by the village council.

Once upon a time, there was a woman called Kim Juno. Juno lived in a big house on the edge of the forest. Her parents had passed away in a great storm that had hit the island many years ago, leaving her orphaned at the age of 17. 

The local village council women had been kind, taking her under their wing and training her up to be a great leader in the community. Juno was the latest in a great dynasty of matriarchs who had been born on the island and grew up to guide the local population through trials of life and pressure from the mainland. Theirs was a simple community. They didn't eschew modernity, but neither did they throw out all their sacred traditions for the sake of a shiny new gadget. 

At 18, Juno took her mother's seat on the council and over the years became well respected for her wisdom, kindness and fairness.

She never married. She never met a man who she liked enough, or respected enough, to give up her independence. She certainly had suitors, after all, she was young, beautiful and wealthy. Her house was the biggest on the island and she owned a lot of land. There wasn't anything she needed other than mutual respect and love, but all the men who came to visit were fixated on her possessions, and so they were sent away.

It was a time in history where, on the mainland at least, women were expected to marry and have babies, or be regarded as spinsters. The Island traditions gave women more power and equal rights amongst their male counterparts. Juno never felt sad about not having her own children, it wasn't a burning urge, but the older she got, the more she wondered what it would be like to fill her house with the sound of children playing and laughing. 

Her friend on the council had just given birth to a little girl and Juno had sniffed the baby's head appreciatively. The little warm bundle sleeping in her arms had felt solid and comfortable and handing her back to her mother, Juno had made sure to offer her babysitting service if her friend ever needed time to rest.

Years later, Juno was now 54 and her friend's daughter was a teenager. The council women were attending the weekly meeting when one of the fishermen ran in the door in a panic. He was holding a bundled up coat in his arms, close to his chest.

"We were out 15 miles off the mainland and saw a storm coming. As we were turning back, we came across a wreck. Bits of the boat floating with scraps of dead fish all tangled up in the ropes. We checked for any survivors but couldn't see anyone, except this."

He stepped forward and placed the bundle into Juno's arms.

It was a baby girl.

There had been much urgent discussion and the local fishermen had taken their boats back out as far as they dared to check for any survivors. The baby seemed to be no more than a few days old. 

"It's a case of jurisdiction." Juno had said sadly, after getting off the phone with the mainland. "She was found in their waters. They say they have a better chance of finding her family than we do.  I mean, we know she doesn't belong to anyone from our village." 

The council women had taken it in turns to hold the baby and feed her until the authorities arrived from the mainland. They took statements from the fishermen and then a social worker had gathered the tiny little thing into her arms and taken her away.

That night, Juno had wept. She wept for the lost mother, for the orphaned child and for herself. She prayed to the goddess of the forest to help her conquer her loneliness and fell into a restless sleep. 

Another storm came that night and battered the windows, the trees of the forest creaking in protest at the assault.  By morning however, the sky was blue and the sun warmed the earth.

Juno decided that it was too pretty a day to be sad, so she went to say hello to her horses and her chickens and found a clutch of perfect eggs waiting for her. She thanked her hens and carried them back to the kitchen.

"Omelette." she decided. 

Juno put on her straw hat, picked up her basket and went through the back perimeter of her garden into the trees. There was a spot where she could pick fresh mushrooms and right now, she was craving mushroom omelette.  She stepped through the trees to a small clearing where the sunlight hit the floor and gasped.

There, in front of her, a small child lay curled around a tiny baby in the centre of a fairy ring.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

“So let me see if I understand correctly.” Jungkook flipped back a page in his notebook and reviewed his notes with a frown,

“There was a loud hissing, something like a firework going off, and then all the power went out.”

“Yes.” The little girl sat up straight on her stool and nodded seriously.

“And while you were trying to find your wind-up torch, you heard nothing.”

“Exactly.” She looked at him as if he was failing to grasp a simple concept.

“And this is significant because usually you hear everything?” Jungkook was still confused. He looked the young girl in the eye and sighed.

“Can you explain that to me?”

Leela, the little girl in question, was 11 years old and the daughter of Jungkook’s landlords Jimin and Yoongi, Yoongi being his older cousin who he hadn’t seen much of growing up, but who had offered him the room in his attic 1 month ago, when he’d heard through their mothers that Jungkook was looking for a place to live.

It all started when Jimin had knocked on his door that morning to apologize about the power cut and ask if anything of his had gone missing during the outage. Puzzled, he had looked around his tiny studio apartment at the top of their three story house and then told Jimin, no, not that he was aware of. 

Jimin told him that they seem to have lost their cat Leonard and for a short time, their son Beomgyu, but he’d reappeared after a frantic 45 minutes.

“Sauntered in from the back garden like nothing had happened.” Jimin clinched his chest dramatically, “I could have brained him.” 

Jungkook nodded politely. He was a lot younger than his cousin and was beginning to get closer to him, but he didn’t know Jimin so well yet. They didn’t often idly chatter, more like saying hello and smiling if they crossed paths. He certainly didn’t feel he knew Jimin well enough to talk about chastising his children. 

If anything, they seemed like good kids, Jungkook rarely saw or heard them. Occasionally if he looked out of his window, he’d see them emerging from or disappearing into the trees that lined the garden. He often wondered what they got up to in the woods and thought about how different his own childhood had been, in a highrise flat in the city.

“Did you find the cat yet?” He asked. Jimin shook his head. 

“No, we are a bit worried, because he’s a real scaredy cat and rarely goes outside. The twins have got it into their heads that he was catnapped.”

“Does that happen often?” Jungkook had found Leonard sleeping on his bed a few times. He was a black moggy, certainly not a purebred Persian Blue or anything worth stealing.

“Not really. Keep a lookout for him when you go out would you?”

Jungkook had agreed, of course, and carried on getting ready for his job in the local council office. 

It wasn’t his ideal career choice, but it paid decently and he was able to save quite a bit after his rent and food. He kept applying for newspapers and online journals, hoping that one day he’d get his big break. Meantime, here he was, doing admin and general office work for the council officers. One of the people he assisted regularly looked after the registration and care of working animals in the island's farms and small holdings. The lady, called Mina,  would monitor the wellbeing and health certificates of livestock and sometimes dealt with disappearances and unexplained deaths.

When he arrived at his desk there was a pile of paperwork and a sticky note on top from Mina saying that she urgently needed his help today.

“The phone has been ringing non stop since 8am, and there were people waiting for me when I arrived.” she told him, in between sips of her much needed coffee.

“What has happened?” Jungkook asked, intrigued. This was promising to be the most exciting thing that had ever happened in the job so far.

“8 Cows, 16 sheep, 2 pigs, a flock of geese, and a sheepdog. All gone missing, from 4 different farms and two small holdings.”

“When?”

“Last night, during the blackout.”  Jungkook gaped.

“And Leonard.” he blurted out

“Who is Leonard?” Mina asked, confused.

“My cousin’s cat. They told me this morning that he’d gone missing. Their son did too for 45 minutes but then he came back in. He’d been in their garden.”

“In the blackout? In the middle of the night? How old is he?”

“Eleven I think.”

“They must have been frantic.”

Jungkook chuckled, 

“Yes I think Jimin is going to lock him in his room until he’s 25.”

Mina went through all the reports with him and they divided them. Jungkook had a list of places to visit and people to talk to, and he thought he may as well add Leonard to the list.

So here he was, later that evening, after having visited every home on his list, sitting in Yoongi’s kitchen talking to Leela.

“I hear everything, all of the time.” the girl said as if this was perfectly normal information. “I can hear the trees whispering and the house creaking. I can hear when dad whispers to Appa in their bedroom and they think we are asleep.”

“Leela..” groaned Yoongi,

“What? I can! It’s ok dad, I block you out when you start kissing.”  Yoongi choked from his perch on the counter in the corner of the kitchen. 

“When the lights all went out, then all the sound went out as well. I’m so used to the noise. My teacher says it’s called white noise, like noise you can’t hear because it’s always there, you know?”

Jungkook nodded,

“Yes I know.”

“Well when it stopped it was like it was deafening, the silence was so sudden, it made me jump the same as a loud bang had just before.”

Leela looked at her dad who nodded in encouragement.

“And then I heard the voice call and Leonard and Beommi followed it.”

“Why didn’t you follow it?” Jungkook asked.

“Because they didn’t want me.” Leela said, almost sadly. 

“Who didn’t want you?”

“The voice. I heard them, but they weren’t calling me.”

Jungkook looked up at Yoongi who shrugged. He didn't quite understand it either. 

“Can I speak to Beommi?”

“Yeah, I'll get him.”

Beomgyu trudged into the kitchen a few minutes later following Jimin. He looked slightly sulky and Jungkook suspected he’d been getting some stern fatherly words about disappearing in the middle of the night.

“Hi Beommi” Jungkook said in what he hoped was an approachable friendly way. Beomgyu looked warily at him, no doubt confused as to why this person who usually kept out of their way was being nice to him.

“Can you tell me why you left the house last night?”

“Are you going to yell at me as well?” he mumbled and hissed as his dad pinched his earlobe for being cheeky.

“They called.”

“Who?”

“The collector.”

Jungkook saw his cousin wipe a tired hand over his eyes and whisper ‘what the fuck..’

“The collector?” Jungkook managed to refrain from repeating what Yoongi had said.

“Why did they call you and not your sister?

“They called for those who couldn’t hear, but she always hears too much, so she could still hear the way to say no.”

Jungkook was confused and slightly terrified at that. He looked at the twins’ parents who were both frowning in concern. 

“I saw Soobin there. I don’t know if he got away.”

They all turned to look at Beomgyu, his sister sitting as close to him as she could without actually being on his lap. 

“Who is Soobin?” Jungkook asked.

“One of the foundlings.” 

Ten minutes and one phone call later, Jungkook found himself in the passenger seat of Yoongi’s Land Rover, his cousin driving them along the sort of barely beaten track that shakes your bones and often leads to being horribly murdered in woods.

“Where are we going?” he asked, grabbing on to the ceiling grab handle to stop his head meeting the window as the car navigated a particularly deep hole in the road.

“To Seokjin’s, to see if Soobin came home.”

“They live all the way out here?” Jungkook looked around, everywhere was dense with trees. Some parts of the track were so narrow, the branches scraped the vehicle as they squeezed through. He guessed Yoongi was beyond caring about his paintwork at this point. 

“The house is hundreds of years old, their family has had it for generations.”

“You’d think the road would have been better paved by now then.” Jungkook snorted as another bump jolted him forward.

“Technically, this is a bridle path. They aren’t huge car enthusiasts.” Yoongi mused, “They have a battered old Jeep that they only bought because they couldn’t bring the boys to school on horseback in the winter.

“Horseback?”

“Yep. They have horses. I think Tae could ride before he could walk.”

“Who is Tae?”

“Seokjin’s younger brother. They inherited the house from their grandmother, Kim Juno. She was legendary around here. Died years before we moved here, but Jimin’s Grandmother knew her and he remembers stories. She was like the local wise woman, made herbal remedies for peoples animals and kids. Most of the village would rather go to her than the doctor in the next town.”

“And Soobin is Seokjin’s son?”

“I think legally, now,  yes.” Jungkook looked at his cousin curiously. 

“Seokjin and Taehyung found the boys abandoned on their land. Soobin was a toddler, Yeonjun, still an infant in swaddling. They took them in and raised them.”

“The authorities let them keep them?” Jungkook was surprised. He couldn’t imagine such a thing happening so easily in the city.

“They were willing to adopt them and there was no trace of the babies’ parents. The Kim boys are well respected, no one had any objections.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. It was just after we came to the village. Our twins were born about six months after their boys were found, so we got to know them as we were the only other men raising babies nearby.”

“Ha. The village seems ok though? With you and Jimin being together?”

Yoongi smiled.

“Yes, we have found a safe haven here. The more I find out about this place and its history, the more I realise we are amongst friends. The village tends to collect the lost and give them a home.”

“Like me as well?”

Yoongi didn’t answer, he took a tight left turn and there as the trees parted, stood a huge ramshackle house. 

It was about 8pm now and although it was summer, the trees made it feel much darker and later. There were a couple of lights on in the house and as they got out of the car, the front door opened.

“Yoongi hyung!”  A tall handsome man stepped out in his bare feet and opened his arms for a hug. Jungkook looked on in astonishment as his usually taciturn cousin allowed himself to be engulfed in the other man’s hug. 

“Good to see you little Hyung.” he grinned as he released Yoongi. “And who is this?” 

Jungkook felt himself blushing as he was appraised from top to toe and back again.

“This is my cousin Jungkook. He moved in with us about a month ago.” Yoongi nodded towards him. “Jungkook, this is Taehyung.”

Taehyung shoved Yoongi aside playfully and held out a hand.

“Hi, I can’t believe they kept you hidden from me this long, I’m Taehyung. Jimin’s soulmate, Yoongi’s favourite and Jungkookie’s to be decided.” 

Yoongi snorted, Jungkook choked. 

“Hello. Nice to meet you.” Taehyung’s hand was warm and soft. Jungkook forgot to let go. Taehyung grinned widely and kept hold of it, turning and pulling him into the house. 

“Come and meet the family.”

They were led into a cosy sitting room, filled with sofas and chairs and bookcases. Two boys were on the sofa, facing each other playing a game. 

There was a little boy of about 2 sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace playing with a fluffy puppy. When Taehyung walked in, the toddler scrambled to his feet and waddled over to him as fast as he could, arms reaching up for a carry. 

“Tete! Up, Tete up!”  

Taehyung finally let go of Jungkook’s hand so he could pick up the baby.

“Jungkook, this is most of my family.”  Taehyung smiled softly at the little boy and pressed a gentle kiss on his hair as he snuggled into Tae’s neck.

“Those two are my nephews, Soobin at the far end and Yeonjun who is currently cheating at Battleships.” 

There was a yell of protest, and the boys’ game board was cast aside in place of a playful scuffle.

“I knew you were cheating!”

“I was not!!” 

Taehyung grinned as he turned his back on the chaos. 

“And this adorable duckling is my baby Kai.” he tickled Kai’s tummy and his giggle was so joyful, Jungkook couldn’t help but smile.

“Boys, BOYS” another voice called. Jungkook looked around Taehyung's shoulder and saw another tall handsome man walking in through a door on the far side of the room, carrying a tray of cups.

“Seokjin, hi.” Yoongi stepped across the scrapping boys and took the tray so that the taller man could disentangle his sons. 

“And this is my brother Seokjin.”

Once he had settled the boys into playing quietly again, he stepped forward and shook Jungkook’s hand. 

“And you are?”

“My cousin, Jungkook. He lives in our attic. ” Yoongi introduced them. “Thanks for letting us come over Jin. Kookie works with Mina at the council, and he’s looking into the livestock disappearances last night. We wanted to ask the boys about the blackout.”

10 minutes later, they were sitting around the room with mugs of chamomile tea - “to help them calm down for bedtime” - and listening to Soobin tell his story.

“Something woke me up in the night. At first I didn’t know why, Yeonjunnie was snoring, but no louder than usual.”

Yeonjun raised his arm to hurl his cushion at his brother, but Seokjin cast a steely glance at him and he froze, retreated and took a sip of his tea, head down.

“Everything was quiet, I closed my eyes again but then I felt the air shift. I knew it couldn’t be Kai as he sleeps with Tete,”

(Jungkook didn’t quite understand this statement but he didn’t want to interrupt the boy’s flow of thought) 

“so I went to the window to check and I saw Midnight and Flossie going into the woods, so I went to catch them.”

“Who?” Jungkook murmured quietly.

“Two of our horses.” explained Taehyung next to him. On his lap Kai clapped his hands together and giggled,

“Horsie!”

“That’s right baby! Clever boy.” Taehyung blew a raspberry on the toddler’s belly and he squealed with delight. Jungkook thought he heard the windows rattle, but everyone else ignored it.

“AS I WAS SAYING” Soobin rolled his eyes, “I ran after Midnight and Flossie and the further I went, the more animals I saw. I managed to grab Flossie by the mane and get on her back, then I cantered up alongside Midnight, grabbed her mane as well and managed to persuade them both to come home. I couldn’t stop the other animals though, sorry.” He looked really sad. Seokjin rubbed his back encouragingly. 

“You did well son, don’t worry.”

“Did you see Beomgyu while you were there?” Yoongi asked.

“Hello Mr Min, Yes Mr Min, I saw Beommy out there. Did he get home ok?”

Yoongi nodded, 

“Yes he came home, but he couldn't find Leonard.”

“Oh they collected Leonard? Oh no, that’s sad.” Soobin looked at his brother and they shared some unspoken communication. 

“What do you mean collected?” Jungkook asked. 

“It was the collectors. They collect things.” 

Once again Jungkook felt like he was being spoken to like an idiot by a preteen and once again, he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Seokjin invited them to stay while he went to put the two older boys to bed. Taehyung got up to put the kettle on again, hoiking Kai up on his left hip and reaching to carry the tray with his right hand.

Jungkook got up immediately and went to take the baby from him. 

“Shall I hold him for you?”

Before either Taehyung or Yoongi could warn him, Kai took one look at the stranger approaching him with open arms and screamed. 

This time Jungkook knew that the windows rattled. So did the cups and spoons on the tray. Taehyung shoved the tray at him and pulled Kai into his chest, holding him tight with both arms.

“It’s ok baby, it’s ok. It’s Tete, see?” he looked down at the wide teary eyes and red face and kissed him on the forehead. “It’s me, I’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry!” Jungkook stepped back, mortified.

“It’s ok, he’ll be fine. Can you bring the tray for me?” Taehyung walked away out of the far door and Jungkook, rooted to the spot in shock, looked to his cousin for guidance. Yoongi removed his hands from his ears and gave a pained smile. 

“Follow him, he’ll explain better than I can.” 

Jungkook headed cautiously through the door and followed a long dark hallway to the end, where bright light shone through an open door.

He saw Taehyung crooning to the baby, who had his face buried in his appa’s neck. The kettle was the old fashioned type, sitting on an ancient range, puttering away as it slowly came to the boil.  Their eyes met and Taehyung beckoned him in, nodding to a chair at the table.

“How are your ears?” he whispered with a good natured grin on his face. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare him.” 

“I should have warned you. He’s not good with other people.” Taehyung sat down slowly, so as to not disturb the little one, who was now snoring gently on his shoulder.

“I found him when he’d just hatched, we think he imprinted on me.”  

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You found him? He hatched??” 

Taehyung looked at Jungkook carefully, as if he were judging his intentions.

“How much do you know about the village?”

“Not much. Yoongi and Jimin came here because Jimin inherited his grandmother’s house. Yoongi told me that she used to know your grandmother.”

Taehyung nodded and smiled at the memory.

“What else?”

“Nothing much, I came here a month ago. I couldn’t get a job in the city and my aunt told my mum that Yoongi had the attic room available. They basically got me the job at the council. My interview was not much more than Mina asking how the twins were and telling me when to start.”

Taehyung laughed at this.

“Well, you must have come highly recommended, Jungkook. Yoongi and Jimin are well respected. Their school was a godsend for the village. People apply for places from all over the country you know, but they guarantee a place for every village child.”

“That’s nice. Your boys go there?”

“Seokjin’s boys do. Mine is too little to leave me just yet.” he pressed his nose into the baby’s hair and inhaled. “I love the smell of a freshly hatched baby, don’t you?” 

“I.. I don’t know. I haven’t really had many babies to smell. I didn’t meet the twins until a month ago. What do you mean hatched? Don’t you mean born?”

“Ahaha," Taehyung's eyes twinkled in the low light,  "It’s just my little joke for my duckling. He was left in a swaddling cloth behind the stable last spring. I found him quacking to himself when I went to muck out the horses. That’s why it was me, the horses are my responsibility.”

Jungkook was trying to follow, he really was, but he was a city boy, raised in a high rise and had no idea about horses or mucking out or…

“Someone left him at your stables? Why do people keep leaving babies at your house? Isn’t it concerning?”

“Yes of course it’s not ideal. Legend has it that this house was a safe house for foundlings -  unwanted babies. My family would take in anyone who needed help and find them a home to go to. Nothing like that had happened for generations until Grandmother found us.”

“You were foundlings?” Jungkook gasped. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t pry.”

Taehyung waved off his protestation,

“Don’t be silly, it was me that mentioned it. I don’t mind telling you, it’s no secret.” He got up to take the kettle off the heat and Jungkook watched on, impressed, as he poured the hot water into the teapot with one hand, the other holding the sleeping boy close.

“Our Grandmother told us that she was gathering mushrooms for breakfast and saw us fast asleep in a fairy ring. Jin was about 2 and she thinks I was just a few days old, just hatched.” he chuckled quietly, remembering how his grandmother had told him the story when he was still small enough to sit on her lap.

“She was 54, unmarried and childless and had this big old house, so she offered to adopt us and the local authorities agreed. The council was made up of the older women of the oldest families, my grandmother was one of them. They all contributed clothes and baby things. We were raised by the village really, Jimins’ grandmother included.”

“Do you know where you came from?”

“We came from the forest.” Taehyung smiled. “Like this little one and the two upstairs. The forest collects and the forest delivers.”

“I don’t understand.”

“This forest is huge and there are a great many things in it that we don’t fully understand. My grandmother’s ancestors never wrote down why children would appear here, or why things sometimes went missing, just that they did and they and the village took care of it. 

Jin and I are biological brothers, that much we know. We had a DNA test done after Juno passed away. But there is no trace of any relative in any registers in the country. When the mitochondrial DNA was studied, they said they couldn’t guarantee the test was accurate as they’d never had a result like ours before.

“What was it?”

“Jin and I are biologically twins, even though he is definitely older than me. And our ancestry is specifically this region, nowhere else. It's as if we were born of the forest.”

“That’s… I have never heard anything like it. What about the boys?”

“We haven’t had their results back yet. I have my theories, but I don’t want to freak you out any more than I already have this evening."

Jungkook tried to let it all percolate through his mind so he could make sense of it. He looked at his notebook and realised he hadn’t asked what he’d come for.

“Do you have any idea why your horses were taken?”

“The collectors.”

Jin and Yoongi appeared then, Jin went to pour them all a fresh cup of tea and they all four sat around the table.

“Take Kai to bed.” Jin told his younger brother, “I’ll tell Jungkook about the animals.”

Taehyung got up, smiled at Jungkook warmly and left with the baby.

“I hope he hasn’t overwhelmed you with family history.” Jin asked, trying to gauge how freaked out their new friend was.

“Honestly? It’s a lot to process. But if you could help me understand why the animals were taken, that would be a good start. I have to report back to Mina tomorrow. Who or what are the collectors?”

Jin got up and went to the Welsh dresser at the far end of the kitchen. There were old serving dishes and jugs on the uppermost shelves, but all along the widest lower shelf were what looked like cookery books. Jin pulled one out and brought it to the table.

“This is one of Juno’s grandmother’s recipe books.” He set it on the table and flicked through the handwritten pages, yellowed and brittle with age.

He found the entry he was looking for and turned the book so Jungkook could read it.

There was a page of notes and a line drawing. 

“Collectors” he read. “Rarely seen, keepers of the lost things. Only call for what they need, give back what they cannot keep.”

The picture showed a sketch of shadowy hooded figures leading animals into the trees.

Jungkook jumped in fright as Jin tapped the picture with his finger.

“Those are collectors.”

Interlude

Excerpt from Kim Family records

Once upon a time there was an Island and on that island was a huge forest. It covered most of the land from shore to mountain. One small village lay clustered around the edge, but only one dwelling reached beyond the treeline. 

The family that lived there had been there for generations, never expanding their holding, always staying in the parcel of land the forest had allowed them. No one knew when they had arrived, even the family themselves said that they had always been there. The origins of the first island settlers were lost in time.

The matriarch of the family always led the village council, along with the older women from the six other bloodlines.  They made and upheld the local laws and managed the regulations required by the government on the mainland.

Occasionally people would come from the mainland and try to explore the forest, but most gave up after a few hours and an unrecorded number never made it back out. 

The villagers on the island would warn the visitors to stick to the pathways and not venture too far. When they asked them why, the answer was always, “we must respect the forest.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

“What the fuck.” Yoongi had said when Jin showed them the book. 

“What the actual fuck.” He’d said again as Jin retold the story, passed down by generations of the Kim family, of unseen creatures who called for things they needed in the dark, but would always leave payment in return. Sometimes a good crop, sometimes a discovery of hidden treasure, and once in a blue moon, a child. 

“Or two.” 

“Or two.” Jin conceded. 

“Why did my son say they called him?” Yoongi had gritted out, fear for his children freezing his blood. “Will they come back for him?” He had risen to leave and Jin had rested a gentle hand on his friend’s arm.

“They have never taken a child who was well cared for. Soobin has a sight more insightful than most. I suspect he sensed the call and curiosity captured both him and the cat. He wouldn’t have been able to come home if they truly wanted him.”

“Jin, I know you are trying, but none of that is making me feel better. Kookie come on. I want to go home and check the kids and the locks on the doors and windows.”

The both stood to leave and Jin led them back out to the front door. Taehyung appeared from the stairs as they were putting on their shoes. 

“Leaving so soon?” He sidled up to Jungkook, offering his hand as the latter wobbled, standing on one foot, trying to shove the other back in his boot. Jungkook rested heavily on him with a quiet thanks.

“Yoongi is keen to get home and make sure the children are safe.” Jin said. Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

“Why wouldn’t they be? Jimin experimenting in the kitchen again?” Jungkook snorted but Yoongi’s face remained deadpan.

“Your brother told me about how faceless creatures from the forest came in the dark to steal everything they wanted from the village, including my son and my cat.”

“I didn’t say they were faceless, we just haven’t ever seen their face….” Jin petered off as his friend glared at him with the face that is commonly interpreted as ‘Just try me’.

Jungkook, finally booted on both feet, stood and let go of his host.

“I still don’t understand about the missing animals. What should I tell Mina? Can we get them back?”

Taehyung looked at his brother and back at Jungkook. 

“The stories say that they would only take what they needed or what was lost. They would leave payment or an exchange of goods. Have you spoken to the people who lost livestock? Did the missing animals have anything in common?”

Jungkook reached in his backpack to get his notebook out again. Taehyung put a hand on his arm and looked at Yoongi, standing impatient to leave by the door.

“You go ahead, I can bring him home later.” he looked at Jungkook’s surprised face,

“If you don’t mind?”

“Uh, No! I would really appreciate it, thank you.”

Yoongi nodded.

“Ok. You have your key? Make sure you set the bolt after you come in then.”

“I will. See you later hyung.”

They left Jin to wave off Yoongi and went back to the kitchen. Taehyung steered Jungkook back to the table and then disappeared into a walk-in pantry next to the dresser.

“We are going to need snacks!” he called and came back with arms full of treats.

The next couple of hours were spent in a companionable communion of snacking.

Jungkook went through his notes, reading out loud and answering Taehyung’s questions every so often.

“Did any of them say which of their animals were taken?” He asked, tapping his lip in thought. “Mr Kang has six pigs, but you said he only lost two, and Mrs Lee lost one of her three dogs.”

Jungkook looked back for the information and Taehyung made a list.

Mr Kang - 2 pigs - Mabel and Dot

Mrs Lee - one dog - Dal

Choi Farm - 10 sheep - unknown

Park Farm - 5 geese and one milking cow- Belle

Blossom Farm - 6 sheep 

Dell Farm - 9 cows. 

Mins - 1 cat - Leonard

Kims - almost 2 horses - Midnight and Flossie

“Dal is as ancient as Mrs Lee,” Taehyung ran his finger down the list, and Mabel and Dot were the original two sows, the other four are their piglets. Hmm, I wonder. Belle, is she the oldest of the two milk cows at Park farm?”

“I can’t believe you know the names of all the village animals.” Jungkook snorted.

“Of course I do! They are much nicer than a lot of the people.” Taehyung grinned at him and pointed to the bottom of the list. 

“How old is Yoongi’s cat?”

“As far as I know Leonard is as old as the twins, so 11.” Jungkook added, Taehyung wrote 11 next to Leonard’s name on the list.

“How about your two horses?”

“Midnight is mine, I've had her since I was 9, so that makes her 16. Not ancient, but not a foal anymore either. Flossie was Juno’s horse. She must be older than me, I don’t remember her not being here.”

“So quite old for a horse then?”

“Yes, she’s definitely retired now, we don’t ride her or make her work.”

“So do you think all of these animals were really old then? I didn’t think the Choi’s sheep were? They seemed pretty fed up as they were supposed to be going for slaughter. I am sure they were mostly lambs.”

The door opened and Seokjin walked in dressed in pyjamas. 

“It’s late and there’s a storm coming.”  The two seated men looked out of the window and saw that it had started to rain, the trees behind the house swaying in the wind. 

“Jungkook, you are welcome to stay over, but if you have to go home, Tae you should take him now.”

There was a flash of lightning and after a count of three, the thunder followed, rattling the windows in their frames.

“Looks like it’s here already.” Taehyung stood to lean his head out of the window and pulled it back in, drenched. “It would be better if you stayed please Jungkookie, I wouldn’t fancy negotiating the bridle path in this weather.”

Seokjin rushed to call Yoongi and let him know “Before the phone lines drop out.” Taehyung laughed at Jungkook’s stricken face.

“Don't worry, we’ll be fine in the house. It’s just the old telephone lines often go down in storms. Let me show you where you can sleep. The spare room is next to me and Kai.”

“The baby sleeps with you?”

“We originally tried him in his own room, but he’s very attached to me and the screaming every night was too disturbing for the rest of them.” 

“He has a powerful scream.” Jungkook agreed. “He sleeps through when he’s with you?”

“Yes, the little pickle, just wants to be cuddled all night and then sleeps like a starfish, Such a tiny thing taking up all the bed.”

They went up the stairs and Jungkook followed Taehyung down a corridor until he stopped at a door. He touched it lightly.

“This is my room. Just come if you need anything in the night.” he moved to the next door and opened it, beckoning his guest inside. 

“You’ll be here.”  The room was painted yellow and parchment white with details of little ducks and daisies dotted about. It was a very happy room. There was a single bed in one corner and a cot in the other. 

“The nursery, as you have probably guessed. Or as Kai likes to think, his spare room where he keeps his stuff.”  He opened the wardrobe and pointed to the folded blankets on the top shelf.

“Spare blankets and pillows up there. Make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, I’m just next door.”

“Thank you.”

The wind and rain battered the windows long into the night. Jungkook lay in bed staring at the shadows that danced across the ceiling in time to the storm. Around 2am, according to his wristwatch, the wind suddenly stopped howling and the air stilled. It was enough to make him stir out of his restless sleep and sit up in alarm. 

How could silence make his heart thump so much? He remembered what Leella had told him the day before, 

“when it stopped it was like it was deafening, the silence was so sudden, it made me jump”  

Jungkook reached for the bottle of water by the bed and took a sip. And almost spat it across the room when the first scream came out of nowhere.

He was out of his room and pulling open the door next to his before he’d registered his own movements.

He stopped suddenly as if he’d walked into a glass wall. The sound was so powerful, it felt like he’d been punched in the brain.

Taehyung was sitting up in his bed, Kai in his arms, trying to calm him. Kai was standing up on his fathers lap, legs and back rigidly straight as he pointed at the window and screamed. Jungkook rushed to the window and looked out. There was no light pollution out here and the darkness was immense. The trees blocked any star light that may have lit the ground, he wasn’t sure where the trees ended and the backyard began. 

When looking at the night sky for far off constellations, sometimes the stars disappear if you look at them directly, and reappear in your peripheral vision as you look away. Jungkook had this sensation now as he scanned again out across the trees. There was intense blackness but then in the edge of his vision he saw a flicker of something. It was gone as he flicked his gaze back but then there, again.

The screaming halted momentarily as Kai took a breath. Jungkook looked at the boy and followed his gaze and hand to where he was pointing.

There, between the trees, looking impossibly high off the ground, was a pair of pale glowing eyes. 

“They’ve come back.” Taehyung whispered.

The baby started screaming again and the eyes disappeared.

Jin walked in the room and handed Taehyung a sippy cup which was gratefully received and thrust into the child’s mouth. Kai blinked, grabbed it with both hands and started sucking thirstily. 

“All the screaming gives him a sore throat.” Jin remarked drily as the baby gulped like a desert nomad at an oasis.  He walked over to the window.

“What did he see?”

“Eyes.” Jungkook said shakily and both men stared at him.

“I saw eyes, there in the trees.” He pointed impossibly high, “They were looking right into the room.”

Taehyung got up, put on his shoes and rushed out of the room, still holding on to the baby. Jin followed and Jungkook, not really knowing what else to do, went after the pair of them.

Taehyung ran down the stairs, out the back door and across the garden to where the stables stood at the side of the house. They found him clinging onto the back of a huge black horse, tears streaming down his face, whispering frantically into its ears. The horse was distressed, scraping at the ground with its hooves, and head shaking as Taehyung desperately tried to calm it down. Jin moved to the stall beyond and saw it was empty. 

“Flossie.” he said sadly. The other four horses were in their stalls, unnerved by the chaos, but not trying to escape. 

Jin walked out of the stables and towards the trees. Yeonjun and Soobin were already there staring into the darkness.

“Leave!” he shouted, “You will not take any more!” Either side of him, his sons took his hands and held out their free hands in front of them, palms facing the trees. Jungkook watched on in horrified fascinations, half scared out of his mind, but unable to take his eyes off them. If it hadn’t been so very dark, he would have missed the slight glow that came off them.  He would swear that they were floating a few inches off the ground, but when he blinked and looked again, they were turning and running back to the stables. Must have been his brain tricking him in the lack of light, he thought. 

Suddenly he realised in all of this, someone was missing.

“Where is the baby??” he cried, turning back to look at Taehyung, now standing back on the ground, stroking the now much calmer horse. Taehyung turned and pointed to a spot behind the door. Jungkook walked further in and looked behind it. 

Kai was sitting on a bale of hay, chewing on his cup thoughtfully. When he saw Jungkook looking at him, he opened his mouth for a second and Jungkook braced for another assault on the ears. But then the baby blinked slowly, put his cup back in his mouth and started to suck.

“I think he’s beginning to like you.”  

Taehyung gave a wet laugh, still sniffing back tears. Jungkook walked back over to him and tentatively placed a hand on the horse’s neck. 

“Is this Midnight?” he asked, patting gently. The horse was sweating and still tense under his touch.

“Yes. This is my Midnight.” he pushed his face into the horse’s neck and sighed shakily,

“I wasn’t ready to let her go.”

“Do you think they will come back again?” 

“Not tonight, but maybe. They obviously really want to collect her.”

Soobin ran in then and flung his arms around Midnight’s neck, kissing her. 

“Please stay with us Midnight, don’t leave us.” 

“You should go back to bed.” Taehyung told Jin and the boys, “I will keep watch.”

“You can’t stay out here all night with the baby, Tae” Jin said, not unkindly. “And you know he won’t come with any of us.”

“Bring us blankets, it’s not that cold and the storm has passed. We can sleep up in the hay loft”

I want to stay as well.” Soobin said, climbing up onto the hay bale. Kai looked at him flatly, clambered up onto his little legs and toddled across to the next bale. He sat down, smacked both hands down in front of him and said,

“Tete, come. Stay horsie.” 

Taehyung smiled at his son and climbed up on the bale next to him, gathering him up onto his lap and kissing his soft hair.

“Shall I bring the blankets from your bed?” Jungkook offered, wanting to be useful.

“Thank you, yes.” 

Jungkook headed back to the house and met Yeojun at the back door, coming out with an armful of duvets. He grinned at the house guest and stood aside to let him in.

“Are you going to stay out with us?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, I was just getting the blanket for the baby.”

“You should bring the fleece one with ducks on. He likes that.” Yeonjun suggested and then jogged off with his awkward load.

Jungkook made his way back upstairs and gathered up the duvet from Taehyung’s bed. He saw a soft little yellow blanket between the pillows and reached for that as well.  Stepping out of the room he turned to go back down the stairs, stopped for a second and then turned about, walking into the nursery and grabbing the cover off his own bed.

He wasn’t sure what made him choose to stay outside with them. It may have been that he wanted to show support and help protect the remaining animals. It may have been that he was afraid to stay the rest of the night alone in the house, or that he couldn’t get the tear stained face of his host out of his mind. Maybe it was a mix of all three. 

He made it down the stairs and across the garden without dropping any of his blankets, but not really being able to see where he was going. He stopped with a jolt on walking into an immovable force. He assumed it was the doorframe of the stable, but the yelp revealed it to be Seokjin.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” he stammered, feeling the blush rising. Fortunately, the sky was still black and there was only a low light coming from the lantern that had been lit.

“Don’t worry about it, I get run into about ten times a day.” he sighed dramatically. “I’m just going to lock the back door. Are you going back in or staying out here with us?”

“Erm, with you if it’s ok?”

“Of course, I don’t blame you. Safety in numbers eh?” And with that reassuring phrase he disappeared round the corner and left Jungkook suddenly more nervous than he had been before. If that was even possible.

“Jungkookie, come up here, we made a space for you.” Taehyung was leaning over the edge of the hay loft, a mezzanine level in the stable, where they stored the dry feed.  There was a ladder nailed to the ledge and he made his way up slowly, trying hard not to drop the blankets. Taehyung reached down and grabbed the topmost, making it easier for him to get over the top.  He crawled after Taehyung, to the furthermost corner, where Kai was sitting watching Soobin and Yeonjun throw hay at each other.

“It’s safe here, you won’t roll over the edge.” Taehyung said without a hint of irony and together they lay the blankets down. 

“Oh look Kai, Jungkookie brought your ‘ducky blanky’. Isn't that kind?” 

The toddler took the blanket from his father and rubbed his face on it.

“Ducky. Banky. Kookie.” he said solemnly. Tae smiled so brightly, Jungkook thought that dawn had come already.

“He said Kookie! He likes you!” Jungkook couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Does he pick up new words well?” He asked. Taehyung shook his head.

“I mean, I have no doubt that one day he’s going to recite whole sonnets, but for now, he’s mostly silent, aren't you bub?” 

“Except when he screams.”

Taehyung choked down a laugh,

“Yes, except then.”

They settled down, Jin got his boys to be quiet and they lay in a row along the hayloft, listening to the soft nickering of the horses below. The rain didn’t return, but there was a constant breeze, moving the trees back and forth. Jungkook tucked himself into his blanket tightly, and closed his eyes.

Jungkook realised he must have fallen asleep when he was woken by a solid weight on his chest. Opening his eyes with a start, he was faced with a close up view of Kai’s sippy cup as the baby held it for him to see. He was sitting on Jungkook and with a slight turn, Kookie realised that Taehyung was curled up against his side with an arm slung over his middle.

“Kookie. Cup.” the cup was gently but firmly bonked on his nose.

A thin watery light was coming in through the window, he guessed it must be about 5am. He sat up carefully, trying not to wake up Taehyung. He must be exhausted, having to sleep with a baby siren and then worrying about faceless creatures stealing his beloved horse.

He took the cup from Kai.

“Water?” he asked. Kai scowled.

“Cup.” he waggled his tiny angry eyebrows.

“Milk?” The eyebrows lifted.

“OK bud. But I don’t have any milk here, that's in the house. Shall I wake up your papa?”

The eyebrows frowned again and a tiny finger was pushed into Jungkook’s nose.

“Kookie. Cup. Cup.”

Resigned to his fate as chosen cup bearer, he got Kai to stand next to him while he gently lifted Taehyung’s arm so he could scoot out. Then he crawled over to where Jin had left the house keys next to the ladder.

He climbed onto the ladder, gave the cup back to the baby and then held his arms out.

“If it’s ok with you, you need to let me carry you, so we can get down the ladder and get your milk.” Jungkook waited patiently, not wanting to break whatever spell they were under and have the screaming begin again. He watched as Kai regarded him, his cup, looked behind at his sleeping father and then back at his cup.

“Kay” he said and stepped into Jungkook’s arms.

They were standing in front of the stove watching the milk warm gently in the pan when the back door opened and Taehyung walked in looking exhausted and frantic. As soon as he spotted the pair, surprise took over his face and he just stopped, holding onto the door in shock.

“Tete, Kookie, Cup.” Kai said in explanation. 

Interlude

Excerpt from Kim Family Records.

Foundlings: Foundlings are mostly thought to be human babies or children abandoned by their parents when they no longer want to or are able to care for them. Sometimes, however, they are not entirely human. Records tell us of fae, sirens and goblins becoming cuckoos in a human nest. Growing fat on the food and love of the people who find them, only to disappear without a trace, leaving death and devastation behind them.

Fae are the hardest to detect. They can look and behave exactly as a human child would, not giving an inkling of their seductive powers until too late.

Goblins rely on the natural desperate love of childless couples to overlook their ugly facade. They tend to overstay their welcomes and live well on into adulthood in the attics and cellars of their adoptive families.

Sirens entrance their finders. They form a bond that the adoptive family cannot escape and would die for. The only caregivers who can successfully raise sirens are other sirens.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

The Min School of Arts was an exclusive private school for children aged 3 to 18,  having no more than 200 enrolled students at any one time. While the parents of the most talented and gifted young people had begged, competed, and paid through the nose, to have their little darlings enrolled, the school guaranteed complete free schooling for any child born and residing in the village boundary.

The school specialised in the arts, namely music, drama, fine art and photography as well as natural sciences, humanities and philosophy while covering the national curriculum. In the 15 years it had been open, it had established a world renowned reputation school and the most ambitious parents put their children on the waiting list before they were even born.

On Tuesday morning, Adora sat in her classroom waiting for her tutor group to arrive for morning registration. Adora had been with the school since its inception and early days when the only students were the local village kids and the two daughters of Yoongi’s old piano teacher. 

Adora and Yoongi had met in the middle of the spring term on a Thursday. They were both eight years old.  Adora had just been sent to her fourth orphanage in her short lifetime and was starting yet another new school. She was scared, cold and wishing that one of the parents at the gate would pick her up one day and say that she could join their family.

She was led to her form room and shown to the only empty seat in the class. It was the right hand chair of a double desk, next to what she assumed was somebody’s abandoned overcoat. As she plopped down and scraped the chair closer to the table, the coat moved and she found herself being regarded quietly by two shiny black eyes. She was reminded momentarily of the cat that had belonged to her previous orphanage, the cat had been her only friend at that cold place. She gave an involuntary shiver and pulled her cardigan closer around her body. 

“Yoongi, this is Adora. She is new and you are her assigned buddy.” Their teacher said resting a hand gently on Adora’s shoulder. 

“Adora, this is Yoongi. He’s going to look after you until you find your way around, ok?” 

At first, Yoongi was silent and just let Adora follow him from classroom to cloakroom to hall to canteen. But at lunchtime, when he saw her pull out the meagre lunch that the orphanage had packed for her, he suddenly felt compelled to show this new person a smidgen of kindness. 

She had finished her small sandwich and apple and was holding onto a bottle of water that had the label peeled off and had obviously been reused many times. 

Yoongi looked at his lunch box filled with mini meatballs, baby tomatoes, cheese cubes, grapes, pitta fingers, a tub of hummus, homemade chocolate cookies and banana milk and decided he could sacrifice one of his cookies, 

He unfolded the paper napkin his mum had put in the box, placed the cookie on it and slid it across the table. Adora looked at him in surprise and down at the cookie.

“For you.” He said. And stuffed a whole meatball in his mouth so that he couldn’t possibly be forced to say anything else.

There was no decisive conversation or agreement of friendship, but from that day on, these two little souls became entwined. Yoongi’s parents became very fond of Adora and became approved by the Orphanage for visits and playdates. They always made sure she was well fed, and would include her in family outings and treats. They didn’t have the space or situation to formally adopt her as they were also caring for very sick elderly grandparents, but from that time on, Adora felt as if she had a family.

One time, when they were 11,  Adora had found herself cornered by a bully, pulling her second hand coat and taunting her for having no parents as she tried desperately not to cry.  Yoongi wasn’t there that day because he had chicken pox and it had been two weeks since she’d been allowed to see him. They had been the loneliest two weeks of her life so far. It wasn’t until Yoongi was missing, that she noticed how much he had filled all the empty spaces that she had lived with up until they’d met. 

The bully had got closer to her face and she could feel the spittle hit her face as he spat cruel truths at her. She’d closed her eyes, screwed up her fists and wished with everything inside her that Yoongi was there, that she was strong enough to push this idiot away, that she could make him SHUT UP! 

And then…

He had...

She’d opened one eye cautiously and saw the bully frozen in front of her, mouth open and eyes frantically darting about, scared. Adora opened her other eye, stood up straight and pushed the seemingly catatonic boy out of her way so she could walk away. 

That night, the care worker had knocked on her door to say there was a phone call for her.  She was terrified that the boy had told on her and that she was in trouble. She made her way down the stairs nervously to the telephone table in the front hallway and lifted up the receiver. 

“Hello?”

“I’m coming back tomorrow.”

“Yoomfi?” The relief surged through her and he heard an exhalation as the breath she’d been holding rushed out.

“Did something happen today?”

“What? What do you know?”

“Today after lunch, while I was napping, I dreamed that you called for me. Did you get hurt?”

“No, just that idiot Yari  tried to corner me.  I think I wished you were there, just before I wished I could shut up his stupid face and then he just stopped so I ran away.”

“He stopped?”

“Yeah. I thought he was gonna hit me, but then I closed my eyes and wished and then he just stopped,”

“Weird.”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, See you tomorrow at the gate.”

“Kay. See you.”

Oh to be an eleven year old, accepting the strangeness in the world with a shrug and a ‘see you tomorrow’.

Adora almost forgot about that strange day in the coming years, as school and homework and arguing with Yoongi over which of them was the sidekick filled her early teens.

When they were 16, they met Jimin. Or rather, Jimin entered the classroom, Adora had smiled politely and then watched on in horrified amusement as her best friend /sidekick /  brother from another mother of eight years, appeared to dissolve into a blushing mess with stars for eyes. 

At 16, she had been released from the care system,  given a small government funded studio flat with an allowance until she left full time education and set free into the adult world. Yoongi had already established his mark on her territory, not in the traditional Tom Cat way thank goodness, but by basically hanging out there every day after college, spending many nights there and helping Adora decorate it with his vinyls, posters and random things he’d brought from his house. It was therefore not a huge surprise when he invited Jimin over to watch a movie.

“You know I don’t have a separate room to escape into, right? I’m not going to stand in my shower cubicle all night so you can kiss your boyfriend.”

“Adora. We come as a pair. If Jimin likes me, then he needs to like you too.”

“That’s really sweet, and I love you too Yoomfi, but I really don’t want to watch you two making out.”

A deal was made. Yoongi’s mum, being very on board for a girls’ night out, took Adora out for a shopping, spa, dinner and movie combo leaving Yoongi to his nefarious plans with her apartment. 

Absolutely overjoyed with her new found love of sitting in a comfy chair while skilled hands make her feet, hands and face sparkle like new born fairies, Adora was very tolerant of the appropriation of her home and would give the boys space often. 

By the time they were ready to start university, Yoongi and Jimin were a committed pair and both fiercely protective of Adora. They moved together to their university campus, sharing an apartment and basically living happily ever after.

When Yoongi started to solidify his dream of founding a school for the arts, there was no question that Jimin and Adora would follow.

So here she was, some time later, sipping a decent coffee (Yoongi didn’t allow substandard coffee in his establishment) waiting for her mixed year group of students. Her class had at least four students from each year group, the older ones encouraged to mentor and buddy up with the younger ones. 

The first to arrive were usually the paying boarders, aged 11 to 18 as they lived on site. The village children could enrol from age 4, but the paid spaces didn’t start until the high school grades.

The only village children who arrived early were Seokjin’s boys. Seokjin was the drama teacher. Flamboyant, hilarious and supernaturally handsome.

Adora waved her fingers at Yeonjun and Soobin as they piled into the room. They yelled “Good Morning Miss!” at her and were soon engrossed in whatever game they had running, ignoring her. 

Next to arrive were the twins. Unusually for students in general, but not unusually for these students in particular, they both ran up to her and gave her a hug and cheek kisses in greeting. They were as much her children as they were Yoongi’s and Jimin’s. 

Literally. 

The decision had not been taken lightly. Adora adored Yoongi and Jimin both. They were her found family. She had been with them over the years as they’d made their plans and talked about the things they dreamed of. Children was one of those dreams that they didn’t know how to achieve or imagine could come true. So one evening she’d suggested that she carry babies for them. She explained that her abandonment and life in children’s homes had made her terrified to ever have her own kids or risk being a bad parent. (Yoongi had argued this loudly, but she told him to shut up so she could finish.)

She told them that they were the best humans she knew and no child could ask for better parents and that she would be honoured to be the greenhouse to their seedling babies.

There had inevitably been much discussion and logistical planning, but ultimately it resulted in twins. A boy and a girl. 

She’d not held them at the birth, allowing Yoongi and Jimin to be the first to hold them. She’d expressed her milk for a few days, frozen it for them and then bound her breasts to stop the milk. She went to stay with Yoongi’s mother for three months. It was so very hard at first, her hormones and heart longed for the babies, but she allowed herself to be mothered, cared for and loved by the only mother figure she had ever known, until she was healed in body and mind.

One very difficult night, she’d clenched her fists and wished harder than she had for years. She visualised her contentment and asked for the longing to be replaced with peace and for her to be able to return to her family. There had been a hush as the wind had dropped suddenly, causing the gauzy curtains to float gently down to the floor. Adora had got out of bed to look out of the window, when after some interminably slow seconds, her phone had rung and Yoongi had said,

“Did you need me? I heard you call.”

He’d come to collect her the next day, she’d met her ‘niece and nephew’ properly and it had been ok. 

Sure they smelled like heaven and she could sit cuddling them when they were asleep for hours, but she found that it was ok to hand them back and feel smug when she went home to her clean quiet apartment. She didn’t regard them as her children, but as part of her family. Yoongi and Jimin were undoubtedly their parents and it was ok.

“Where is your dad?” She asked Leela, stroking a stray lock of hair from her face. 

“He’s talking to Mr Kim. They came again last night. Uncle Kookie saw them.”

“Is he ok?”

“Yes, I think so.” Leela went to join her brother in a pre registration perusal of their snack boxes and Adora slipped out of the classroom.

She found Yoongi and Seokjin in the office, let herself in and closed the door out of habit. Little ears heard everything. Especially their twins. 

“Is Jungkook ok?” she asked. “Leela told me he saw them.”

“He was shaken, but seemed to recover quickly. We are more in awe of his unexpected taming of the creature.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The baby, The screamer, the beast who wakes all who dare disturb him.”

“It’s good to know that you aren't bothered at all by it Jin.”  Adora grinned

“Not in the slightest. The little bugger keeps me on my toes. But the salient point is, my dear Adora, he has taken a shine to Jungkookie after a single meeting. The child let him touch him. He asked him to carry him. HE ASKED HIM FOR MILK.”

Adora laughed out loud and looked at Yoongi who was snorting into his coffee.

“Taehyung finally has a babysitter?” she laughed. Jin looked at Yoongi and back at her with a grin. 

“I fear it’s not only the baby that has been conquered.”

“No?”

“Let's put it like this. If he offers to babysit, Taehyung wouldn’t be leaving them to go anywhere.”

“Maybe between them, Tae could begin art classes again?” 

“Kookie still has to go to work at the council.” Yoongi grumbled.

“Employ him here! He’s a journalism graduate no? He could teach creative writing and between them they can tame the tiny beast and we can all go a whole day without having our eardrums blasted.”

“It feels like you have this all planned out already.” Yoongi gave her the same look he had when he'd met her aged 8.

“How can I have, Jinnie only just told us. It’s just serendipity Yoomfi. We’d be fools to look a gift Kookie in the mouth.” She replied innocently. Yoongi narrowed his eyes at her use of his childhood nickname in front of Jin, but said nothing.

The bell rang, signifying 15 minutes until the start of registration. The three refilled their respective coffees and went to round up their students.

When he was little, Jungkook hadn’t really got to know his cousins very well. Both his parents were the youngest siblings in their families, and hadn’t had Jungkook until they were both in their forties. As a result he was a good 10 years younger than his nearest aged cousin Yoongi,  and almost 25 years younger than the oldest. He hadn’t been lonely per se, but once he said goodbye to the other students at the school gates, he was content to play in his room alone or make dens in the corner of his mother’s study as she worked. She was a columnist at a national paper and had nurtured his love for words and language from his babyhood.

He didn’t want to get a job at the biggest newspaper in the country just because of who his mother was, so he had applied for smaller publications all over the place after graduation. Not wanting to have to move back home or be bankrolled by his parents, he’d refused their offer to buy him an apartment and asked simply if they could help him find somewhere decent to rent.  His mother had had her monthly phone call with her older sister and mentioned ‘Kookie’s adorable quest for independence’ and an hour later they’d arranged for him to rent the attic studio flat in Yoongi and Jimin’s house.

He’d arrived, bright eyed and innocent, with two suitcases and a couple of boxes. His introduction to living with noise was the twins thundering up and down the stairs at 6 am on his first morning and being greeted by a large ancient cat sitting on top of his freshly dry cleaned interview suit. 

“That’s Leonard. He’s as old as us.” Beomgyu had told him, shooing the cat out of the room after clocking the distressed look on his new cousin’s face.

“Don’t worry about the fluff, I’ll find you a sticky roller!” he had yelled and clomped back down the stairs without regard for the stability of the house or his own sleeping parents.

After that however, Jungkook had managed to keep his space mostly private and preferred a quiet first hour every morning, drinking coffee from his own little machine and leaving his cousin’s family to breakfast downstairs without him.

It was no surprise then, that breakfast with the Kims was a whole new experience.  Seokjin seemed to be able to cook a banquet in a flash and Jungkook had barely registered the good morning greeting from the chef before a large mug of coffee and plate of toast, bacon and eggs had been placed in front of him.

Soobin and Yeonjun were wolfing down a pile of toast and eggs, while talking animatedly about their night visitors. Taehyung appeared as the kettle began to whistle, Kai on his hip and a handful of mail in the other hand. He tried to turn off the flame under the kettle with his elbow but it wouldn’t turn. Kai was waving his cup violently and almost out of Taehyung’s grip.  Without much thought, Jungkook stood up and held his hands out to the baby who leaped into his arms saying ‘CUP CUP KOOKIE’ happily.

Jungkook was getting the milk from the fridge when he registered that the room had gone quiet. Turning round he was greeted by the smiling face of Taehyung and the astonished faces of the other three.

Soobin pointed.

“He. He’s. Not screaming.” he said in shock. His brother nodded, mouth open. Jin put his utensil down and leaned against the worktop. 

“Well…” he said calmly. “This is a new development.”

An hour or so later, Jungkook had found Mina pacing around her office, phone pressed to her ear. He sat down at the other side of her desk and got out his notes. 

Waiting for her to finish, he spread out his papers and got his thoughts together ready to update her.

“Sorry, that was the mainland office. I called to see if they’d had any sightings of the livestock, but they’ve had nothing come through undocumented. And they sent a warning. There is a massive storm coming and all the ferries will be grounded for at least three days. We are on our own.”

“Oh another storm?!” Jungkook didn’t know whether to be alarmed or not. It wasn't like their island was tiny, they must surely have enough food and water to last until the deliveries resumed. But he couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy about sharing the isolation with the faceless animal stealing, baby delivering, monsters from the forest… He shuddered and Mina patted his shoulder consolingly. 

“Don’t worry City Boy. We’ll survive. Now tell me what you found out yesterday.”

Half an hour later, he set off back out with an updated mission. To revisit the farms and ask some more questions about the missing animals, namely, what linked the animals that were taken and what was different about the ones remaining. 

Hoseok was enjoying island life. He’d seen the advertisement for a dance teacher at the Min School of Arts in the industry magazine that was a must for all the best jobs. He’d had odd jobs in gyms and dance studios since he graduated, but no ‘Proper Career Jobs’ as his mother called them. 

This job had been an answer to a prayer. He’d applied, had a preliminary interview over Zoom and booked his train and ferry to the island the week after. He arrived in the last week of the summer holidays meaning he had a few days to settle and find his feet before the new term started. 

Yoongi and Jimin had been very welcoming when he’d arrived. He had accommodation provided in the school building, his own suite of rooms with a small kitchen and bathroom, but meals were also provided if required. 

He quickly made friends with the Mins, Jimin in particular who drove him around the island sightseeing, insisted on feeding him at several family dinners and helped him decorate his rooms so he felt at home. 

By the time the new term started, Hoseok felt well settled and was excited to meet his new students. 

He loved the children. He loved their enthusiasm and the way they shed their inhibitions when they danced. The children who intrigued him the most were those from the village. Notably Mr Min’s twins and Mr Kim's two boys. 

Hoseok led a dance club after school, twice a week, that all four attended. What at first he assumed were tricks of the light or childish feats of exuberance soon became a firm suspicion that these children could actually fly.

The night that Jungkook found himself stranded in the Kim stables, Hoseok was sharing dinner and a bottle or two of Soju with Adora in the school kitchen, The cooks had finished for the day, leaving the teaching staff to fend for themselves if they wanted anything other than the school dinner provided at 6pm. 

“I saw Beomgyu fly today.”  Hoseok leaned back in his chair and looked into the distance just beyond Adora’s left shoulder. She laughed out loud.

“You’ve only had two shots, are you drunk already?” He waved his hands in protest,

“No, not at all! Both the twins, I thought they were just really agile and light, but I swear to you, I swear.” he banged the table with his hand, “Beomgyu leapt from the bench and flew further across the room than I have even seen the greatest long jumper achieve.”

Adora poured him another shot and changed the subject. Not many people knew that she had carried the twins, only Jin, Taehyung and of course Yoongi’s parents. They didn’t want people to make assumptions and assign her the role of their mother or conversely, judge her for not raising them herself. She was amused by Hobi’s frequent rants about how the children seemed to defy the laws of science, but she wasn’t quite ready to reveal all their secrets yet.

The next day, when the whole school was gathered in the hall for lunch, Hoseok sat in his usual place at the teacher’s table, next to Adora and gave her a look.

“Everything ok Mr Jung?” she asked, innocently nibbling a slice of apple. He scowled at her.

“You let me drink on a school night.” he groaned, “I can’t even remember how I got in bed.”

Adora grinned. 

“You very obediently let me lead you back to your room and got in bed without complaint. I don’t know what you’d do without me!” she teased and bit into a tasty dumpling. 

There was a small commotion at the other end of the hall and they looked up to see Soobin and Beomgyu streak across from one side of the room to the other, their feet barely touching the ground… Oh.

“YOU SEE!” Hoseok gasped and pointed.  Adora patted him gently on the shoulder and shoved the plate of dumplings at him as Seokjin stood up and shouted at the boys to

“SETTLE DOWN!”

Jungkook walked out of the third farm and up the dusty lane to where he could catch the bus back to the village. The atmosphere had become really heavy and humid and he pulled at his shirt collar in discomfort.

“Kookie!” came a squeal. He looked up and saw Taehyung leaning against his car, holding a very wiggly and excited baby Kai.

“Hey!” he said surprised and waved. “What are you doing here?”

“Mina said you’d got the bus out here and we thought you’d like a lift back before the storm hits.” Taehyung said, handing the baby over in return for Jungkook’s backpack. Jungkook blew a raspberry on Kai’s cheek and he shrieked in delight, causing both men to flinch.

“And I also want to hear if you found out anything more.” Taehyung winked. 

“I come bearing chilled cider and homemade cookies, if that will sway your decision?”

It totally swayed his decision.

On the way back to the village he told Taehyung about his findings in between gulps of cider and bites of cookie. 

“Like we thought, most of the individual animals were really old. The two flocks of sheep and the 9 cows, that turned out to be bullocks actually,  were due for the slaughter house in the next week. The geese had stopped laying, Mrs Park was going to call the vet, she thought they had become infected with something.”

“Oh interesting” Taehyung tapped his fingers against his lips as he thought.

“Old, due for slaughter or sick. That forms a pattern of sorts.” Suddenly he flicked on his indicator and did a u-turn, away from Jungkook’s house and towards the woods. 

“I think I need to call the vet to look at Midnight.”

Interlude

From the Kim Family Records

Collectors rarely take more than the donor can afford. Records show that when healthy animals or children have been taken, it has been discovered that the home life was unstable or dangerous shortly after.

I suspect that foundling children are left after their mothers have died in childbirth. If the collectors take those who are in danger, sick or dying, then they cannot have use for a new life. 

Kim Dalnim 1922

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

The same morning that Jungkook woke up in a stable and Hoseok woke up with a hangover, Namjoon was woken up by the clatter of feet across the floor and then a hefty weight of a child landing on his chest.

“Papa wake up, it’s moooorning!” sang the little boy. He couldn’t help but open his eyes and pull him close for a hug. Whenever Taehyun sang he was unable to ignore it. He was such a happy little thing and his singing face was when he looked the most like his mother. 

He let the little boy imagine that he was pulling him out of bed and hand in hand they padded across the wooden floors to the other side of their cabin where the kitchen and therefore, coffee, lay.

Taehyun climbed up into his highchair because he was four, and quite capable of climbing furniture, small trees and fences when his Papa wasn’t looking thank you very much. 

Namjoon placed a cup of warm milk and a slice of buttered toast in front of him before pouring himself a very large black coffee and sitting at the table next to his son. He had the whole day free from his paid employment and was looking forward to some bonding time with his little boy.

“What shall we do today little Tae?”

Little Tae considered this while chewing his toast. 

“I fink, go see Big Tae an baby Kai.” he decided. Namjoon smiled and rubbed his soft fluffy hair.

“Well I do have that sapling they wanted. Will you help me dig a hole today?”

“Yeah!” little Tae agreed and held his hands out wide, “A massive hole Papa.”

Namjoon was the groundskeeper at the school and also a general lover of trees and plants. He lived with his son on the school grounds in a purpose built wood cabin, set back from the main building so they could enjoy some privacy and separation from the hubbub of school life. 

He hadn’t planned this life. He imagined that 18 year old him would have freaked out at the idea of being a father and having a full time, live-in job. He had planned to save the planet and do great things back then, but one phone call had changed everything.

His older sister Yeseul, had estranged herself from their family when he was just 16. She had fallen out with their parents and leaving them meant she’d had to leave him too. 

Over the years he had text messages on birthdays and holidays, and she always let him know if she changed her number, but never let on where she was or what she was doing.

By the time he was in university, he had reconciled himself to not knowing, and was trying his best to keep peace with his very conservative parents while pursuing his personal dreams of environmental politics. 

He remembered the day his phone had rung. He was in the library, studying for his final exam and the sudden vibration against the table had made him jump. He picked it up and rushed out of the main room into a side corridor immediately. She never called, only ever text, so this must be important.

“Hello? Yeseul?”

“Joonie? Can you come quickly? I need you. I’m so sorry.” there was a sob and some background noise and then another voice came over the phone.

“Is this Kim Namjoon?” 

“Yes, I am. Who are you”

“I am Dr Choi. Emergency clinician at City Hospital. Your sister listed you as her next of kin.”

“What is happening? Is she ok?”

“Mr Kim, how quickly can you get here? Your sister has been in an accident and her condition is critical. We are about to take her into emergency surgery to deliver the baby. It's a few weeks before her due date, but it should be ok, the heartbeat is strong.”

Namjoon nearly dropped the phone.

“Baby?”

“Your sister is 8 months pregnant. She was in a road traffic accident and by the time we got her into the emergency ward, she was showing early signs of labour as well as losing blood.”

“I didn’t know.” he whispered, voice breaking.

“Namjoon. I realise this is a lot to take in suddenly.” the doctor said kindly. “But you need to know that time is of the essence. Please come as quickly as you can, before it's too late.”

He’d got a taxi and made it to the hospital in 45 minutes. A nurse had led him to the waiting area and told him she would find the doctor. He didn’t understand at the time, they’d said to hurry and now he had to wait?

Yeseul was having a baby? Yeseul was hurt. It was all too much. He’d dropped his face into his hands and sobbed as the fear overwhelmed him.

Minutes or maybe hours later, Namjoon didn’t know, a hand gripped his shoulder gently and he looked up to see a young man in a white coat looking down at him with a serious face.

“Kim Namjoon?”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry to tell you, but your sister passed away 15 minutes ago.”

He waited for a moment, taking a seat next to the stunned man, squeezing his shoulder gently and letting the dreadful news sink in. After a couple of minutes, letting the desolated man in front of him steady his breathing before hitting him with more surprises, he said, 

“She named you as her next of kin and guardian to her baby. He’s healthy and strong, just a little small because he was early. Would you like to come and meet him?”

Looking back, those moments and following days were all a blur. He remembers the baby being put into his arms and not much else. He must have signed release forms and accepted the guardianship, because the next thing he remembers clearly was taking his new son home. 

There was no question of going back to his parents. They made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with their daughter’s illegitimate child and if Namjoon wasn’t going to hand it over to the social services, then he was on his own. 

He rubbed his hand over little Tae’s head, leant down and kissed him.

“It.” he growled under his breath. How dare they.  

So he’d muddled through the last month of university, managed to sit his exam while his baby slept in the carrier strapped to his chest, and then walked into the job centre and asked them what was available.

There had been this odd little advert for a school groundskeeper that came with accommodation. It was far away from this city and all the sad memories that he saw on every corner. He had applied, done a very unconventional interview over a video call and held the sleeping baby up to the camera when requested by the husband of the interviewer, who had popped up behind him and waved hello.

That was four years ago. He’d been lost in the very place he grew up and then was found on this little island that seemed to be populated by wise old women and handsome young men. He couldn't deny that having Little Tae and bringing him here, was the best thing that ever happened to him. 

“Come on fella, let’s go dig a hole.”

“A massive one!” came the cry as Little Tae ran out to find his wellies.

Namjoon was loading the sapling of the plum tree into the back of the school truck when the drama teacher sauntered across the field to say hello.

“Did you pass your test and not tell me Namjoonie?”

Namjoon grinned and shook his head.

“Never fear Mr Kim, even if I had the inkling to take my test, no examiner in the country would give me my license.”

“I find it very peculiar that after four years, you still insist on calling me Mr Kim.” Jin said with a raised eyebrow. Namjoon gestured to the school building behind Jin with a smile.

“When around students, you are always Mr Kim.”

“Then I should see more of you outside of the school grounds.” Jin winked at him, delighting in the blush that rose on the groundskeeper's face.

“Is that my plum tree?”

“Yes, Jimin offered to drive us as he wanted to see Taehyung anyway.”

“That’s a shame.” Jin gave a small sigh, almost undetectable. “I could have driven.”

“Don’t you have classes?”

“I do. Responsibility is so inconvenient to my social life.” He looked at his watch, balked at the time and made the sort of rash decision that can affect your life forever.

“Stay at the house, wait for me to come home and I will drive you both home after dinner.”

He practically sprinted away back to the school building before hearing Namjoon’s reply, so he didn’t see the stammering blushing mess he left behind him.

They were well into the autumn term and Seokjin had the Winter Production on his mind. Well at least the part of his mind that wasn’t preoccupied with the hunk of a groundskeeper. He really was living his own D.H. Lawrence novel. He’d contemplated doing a musical version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, but Yoongi had given him a hard NO. Such a heathen.

As he sprinted back to his classroom, he heard singing coming from one of the music rooms and skidded to a halt. No matter how many times he heard Adora sing, he could never get over it. Her tone and pitch were perfect. Her voice gave him goosebumps and he had seen her move people to tears when she sang at the concert for parents and trustees last year.

Whatever production he chose, he was determined to get Adora on stage this year. She always tried to refuse, saying that the students should be the stars, and as a teacher, Seokjin agreed, but as a lover of music and art and the human experience, he needed Adora to sing.

By mid afternoon, the rain had started and Jin’s class read through of Midsummer Night’s Dream was rudely interrupted by a branch flying into the window and shattering the glass across the floor. 

Yeonjun had been reading as Puck and flew out of his seat, taking his desk mate, Tia, with him, just before their table and seats were covered in shards of glass. Tia got up and rushed to the far wall in tears. 

“Are you hurt?” Jin called as he herded the panicked children away from the windows and out into the hallway which was lit by tough perspex skylights, so safe for now. She shook her head, so he left her in the arms of her friends and ran back to his son who was still on the floor surrounded by glass. 

“Are you ok?” he asked worriedly, trying to brush the stray shards off Yeonjun’s trouser legs and back. “You knew it was going to happen didn't you? If you hadn’t gone when you did, both of you would have been seriously hurt.” 

Jin pulled him close and kissed his head gently, hissing in pain as a tiny shard cut his lip. 

“I felt the air change. It was like when Kai screams but different.” 

Jin laughed a half choked sob. 

“Well that clears it up. Well done my hero barometer. Let's get you cleaned up.”

They headed out to the hall and at Jin’s command the whole class made their way to the main school hall. Jin sent one of his trustworthy students to go to find the school nurse and another to find Mr Min.

Yoongi made an announcement over the school tannoy telling everyone to calmly make their way to the main hall. As he walked through the school checking all the rooms for stray students, the power went out.

He could hear the dramatic shrieks from a corridor away from the hall. He rolled his eyes and changed direction to go to the caretaker’s cupboard to retrieve some storm lanterns. 

He realised with a muffled curse that today was Namjoon’’s day off. Never mind, the man worked hard enough and the emergency supplies were well stocked and accessible. Yoongi just hoped he was safe. 

“Damnit!” he realised. Jimin had said he was driving him to the Kim house. He hoped rather than trusted that Jimin would stay put at his friend’s house and not try to drive back to them in this weather. 

Heaven help anyone who tried to keep Jimin from his babies. Looping three lanterns on each arm and stuffing his back pocket with a box of matches, Yoongi hurried back to his office, hoping that the phones were still working.

Adora was in his office rummaging through the cupboard under the window. She emerged as he walked in, holding a torch in each hand. 

“I stashed these after the last power cut.” she gave in explanation, although Yoongi would never have asked for one. 

“Where are the twins?” he asked. 

“They were in maths class, I saw Miss Kang leading them to the hall on my way here.

“I bet they are overjoyed then.” he grinned, knowing how little their children took after Jimin in mathematical appreciation.

He picked up the phone and hit the speed dial for Jimin’s mobile. It picked up after two rings. 

“Babe?” came the crackled greeting. Yoongi could hear the switch of rapid windscreen wipers as they battled the pelting rain.

“Why are you driving in this weather you maniac?” he growled. 

“Hi Yoongi, I’m fine thanks, I love you too, Yeah my day is going great thanks.”

“Jimin..”

“I am nearly home I promise!” Jimin yelled, over the noise of the storm, “I’ll be f….”  The line went dead. Yoongi hit redial, he just silence.

“Phones are down.” he told Adora, “Jimin is driving in this. If he doesn’t get back safe I’ll.”

She placed a soothing hand on his arm. 

“He’s sensible, you know he drives more like a grandma than the rest of us. Trust him to be careful. Come on, you have 300 children to keep calm in the dark.”

“Fantastic.” he said more dryly than he felt. The last three days had been testing his nerves and the last thing he needed was looking after hundreds of hysterical children who were perfectly fine and safe when his husband was driving through muddy lanes in zero visibility.

“Yoomfi.” Adora almost sang his pet name as she pressed her fingers into the back of his neck. “Come, all will be well.” He felt a calm wash over him, as it often did when she was with him and he followed her back out to the main hall.

Jimin had passed his driving test when the twins were about to start school. Before then, they’d managed with Yoongi or Adora driving them places, or walking with the double pushchair if he was alone with them. He was a competent driver, passing his theory test with full marks and always making sure to set his mirrors and adjust his seat before he set off. Generally, Jimin avoided driving in the rain as a rule. It wasn’t fun and he would much rather be in his house, cosy and wrapped up in a blanket with one or all three of his babies. (Yes Yoongi was one of those babies.) 

He drove Namjoon and Little Tae in the school truck just after 8.30 am and spent a couple of hours with Taehyung as he told him all about the previous night’s adventure in the stables. 

He couldn’t believe that Kai had decided to latch onto Yoongi’s doe eyed cousin, of all people. 

“He was terrified when he met the twins!” Jimin said in indignation, not a little jealous that his best friend’s son had chosen the newcomer over him, an experienced father and all round fun uncle.

“He hadn’t even held a child before he came here.”

Taehyung had pondered this.

“Maybe that’s why. Maybe Kai is wary of people who think they know better than him, but Jungkookie is perfectly pliable to his every whim.”

Kai smacked his highchair tray with his spoon and screeched in agreement.

“Kookie Cup!”

“I can’t believe it. Can you say Mini? Uncle Mini?” 

Kai smiled a toothy smile at his father’s pouting friend.

“Kookie.” he said once and then started banging the tray.

Taehyung laughed his head off, even when Jimin smacked him on the shoulder whining about how unfair it was.

He’d left them after a quick lunch as Namjoon had told them he might take a whole day to do the garden, and Jin had offered to drive him later.

Jimin and Tae had waggled their eyebrows at each other, but took enough pity on the blushing man to not tease him openly.

Taehyung on the other hand had no shyness about announcing he was going to drive and find Jungkook with a picnic, ostensibly to find out more about the missing livestock, but they both knew it was really just so Taehyung could pash over him for the rest of the afternoon.

“Just don’t break him, Yoongi would kill us both.” Jimin had kissed his friend on the cheek and attempted to kiss Kai, but had been glared at.

“Your baby is terrifying.” he grumbled and got back into the truck. His plan was to take it back to the school, walk home and then spend the rest of the afternoon reading his new book in peace before the hoards arrived. 

He was on the lane that led from the Kim land to the main road when he remembered they had no mushrooms and Yoongi had promised to make doenjangguk for dinner. He turned right, instead of left at the junction and headed to Mrs Choi’s farm shop.

Mrs Choi had urged him to hurry home as he bagged up his mushrooms and all the other produce that had caught his eye. 

He had thanked the tiny old lady for her concern, promised to bring the children at the weekend and headed out finally 45 minutes after he’d entered.

The thing with living on this island was that the roads were terrible. They were basically dirt tracks that had never had the benefit of a Roman Invasion to make them straight or sturdy. He was sure their ancestors were happy about the lack of colonisation, but right now, as the rain began to fall steadily, he could have really done with a wide, straight road.

“Bloody hell.” he muttered to himself as he turned the wipers to full speed and slowed to a crawl. There was a part of the road where it was crossed by a stream. Usually it was no deeper than a puddle, but as he approached, he could see the water was much higher than usual and flowing fast. He remembered the instructions from his test; drive slowly and then test your brakes after.

He was about to drive across when his phone rang. It was hooked up to the bluetooth, so he answered straight away.

“Babe?” he said, seeing Yoongi’s name flash up on the display.

“Why are you driving in this weather you maniac?” his husband growled. It was a really bad connection.

“Hi Yoongi, I’m fine thanks, I love you too, Yeah my day is going great thanks.”

“Jimin..”

“I am nearly home I promise!” Jimin yelled, over the noise of the storm, “I’ll be fine! I’m just crossing the weir. He realised that the line had gone dead. He pushed the button to redial but the display just blinked at him.

“Oh bloody hell,” he sighed and drove slower than a tortoise in a race with a hare.

Namjoon gave up trying to dig the hole for the tree about 20 minutes after the storm started. Little Tae had already retreated to the kitchen and was watching from his perch at the window with the juice that Big Tae had left for him.

Taehyung had told Namjoon to make himself at home, so he put the kettle on and grabbed a towel from the airing cupboard to dry his hair.

Taehyung had said he was going to meet Yoongi’s cousin. He hoped they were ok. Namjoon made himself some tea and then settled with Little Tae in the living room and a story book from the shelf. 

When the power went out, Little Tae had whimpered a little in fear. Namjoon didn’t want to go rummaging in his friend’s cupboards for candles, so he gathered his son up into his arms, covered them in a blanket and urged him to close his eyes while he told him a story. He couldn’t see well enough to read the book anymore, so instead, he told the little boy about his mama and adventures Namjoon could remember from his short time with his sister.

He told him of the time Yeseul had built them a den in the park behind their street. They’d hidden out there one afternoon after Namjoon had accidentally broken a vase. His mother had shouted until he cried and promised to tell his father to punish him when he got home from work.

Yeseul had sneaked him out of the house and they’d run all the way, Namjoon panting through his tears.  Yeseul had stayed with him until it got dark and then when they’d finally gone home, she had stood in front of him and taken the beating that had been meant for her little brother. 

Namjoon didn’t tell Little Tae about the punishments, but he told him about how brave and strong and clever his mother had been. He painted a picture of a brave warrior princess, who slayed dragons and saved sad lonely boys from their cold prisons.

He couldn’t bring Yeseul back, but he was determined never to let her memory die for her son.

Little Tae had fallen asleep and Namjoon was dozing when he heard the front door open and Taehyung called to sound his arrival. He ran into the room holding a soggy toddler, closely followed by a man that Namjoon hadn’t met before, but he assumed to be Yoongi’s cousin.

“Did you make yourself at home? Are you ok?” Taehyung panted out, while dripping on the floor.  Namjoon laughed gently, so as not to wake his armful of sleeping boy.

“I should be asking you that. We are fine, thank you. Can I help you?”

Taehyung said no and insisted he stay where he was and led Jungkook through to where they could change into dry clothes.  Namjoon decided he could definitely fit in another 15 minutes nap.

After showing Jungkook where he could find some dry clothes, Taehyung carried Kai into their bathroom, stripped them and had a quick warm shower to warm them both up. Babies are particularly slippery when wet, so there was much giggling and squeaking as he tried to wash them both and not drop anything.

They emerged pink and warm, Kai in a duckie onesie and Taehyung just in a towel around his waist. He fortuitously met Jungkook in the hallway outside their rooms and asked if he could hand over the little one while he himself got dressed. He tactfully chose not to comment on the extreme blushing displayed when Jungkook had clapped eyes on him, but couldn’t help the broad smile that lit up his face.

Taehyung tried to call the school once he was sensibly clad in warm clothes, but the lines, as feared, were dead. It was almost the end of the school day, but he guessed that Jin wouldn’t be venturing home with the boys in the storm.

“Well!” he announced cheerfully as he walked into the living room holding a lantern. “Looks like we are a party of five until this storm passes.”

The beauty of having an oil powered range cooker is that powercuts don’t affect you. They had heating, hot water and were able to cook, even if they were doing it by candle light.

Kai fell asleep in Jungkook’s arms much to Namjoon’s astonishment. The child’s reputation was well known across the island. Taehyung made them all hot chocolate and they sat huddled on the sofa listening to the rain beat against the windows.

“Are your horses ok in this?” Jungkook asked. He had no idea really, but he thought if he were a horse, he wouldn’t want to be out in the storm.

“They should be fine in the stable.” Taehyung answered. “But I should just go check on them. Are you ok here with Kai?” 

Jungkook looked at the little boy conked out in his arms. He was drooling a bit.

“I think I’ll manage.” he grinned.

Taehyung pulled on his waterproof coat and wellies and made his way out to the stables. He wasn’t going to be able to call the vet to look at Midnight until the phone lines came back. She wasn’t old enough to pass away from age like Flossie had been. So he could only guess that she was unwell and that was why the collectors had come for her. If they came again tonight, he wasn’t sure if he could stop them without Jin and the boys.

The horses were all a little jittery, not liking the way the wind and rain was battering their stable. Taehyung ran his hands up the black mare’s neck and pressed his face into her cheek.  

“What’s up girl, are you sick?” he whispered in soothing tones, stroking her and leading her from her stall. “I’m not ready to lose you yet.”

Being the compassionate man he was, his next decision should have been no surprise and if and when Jin found out, well, then he would deal with it later.

“Come on girl, you are spending the night in the kitchen.”

Interlude

Excerpt from Kim Family Records

Collectors have only been recorded to come out at night. They are not known to be able to get past locked doors or windows. On occasions where children have gone missing, evidence shows that they let themselves out. Missing babies are an anomaly. I suspect they bewitch older ones to bring the children out.

Kim Dalnim 1923

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

As a child, Adora had often dreamed of who her parents might be. A captured princess, or a wild explorer who she’d been stolen from in the dead of night. But the older she got, the closer she got to Yoongi and his family and the less she wanted to find out. Instead came the fear that a stranger would come and take her away from this new version of family that she’d found when she was 8.

When she turned 18, she was given her file. It was sealed in a large manila envelope with her name printed on the front. She’d carried it home under her coat to protect it from the rain and then, when she’d let herself and Yoongi into her little studio apartment, she’d slid it onto the highest shelf of the built-in closet and shut the door.

She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to find out that her parents had abandoned her like an unwanted sandwich any more than she thought she could deal with finding out if she had been the reason for her mother’s death in childbirth.  For now, she had Yoongi and his parents and it was more family than she ever thought she would have.

When they had been attending the prenatal appointments, the doctor had asked if she had any family history of a whole list of diseases. She had told them she didn’t know. It had made Yoongi think of the file though, and on their way back home, he’d ask her if they should check it, just to be safe for the babies. 

He said it very kindly, asking her in such a way that she didn’t feel pressured, but for the first time she contemplated opening the file. Not for herself, but for the babies.  In the end she decided that being newly pregnant with her best friend’s babies was not the time to find out her tragic origins story, so she gave the file to Jimin and asked him to look for any information that would be relevant for the obstetrician. She had decided, however, that he should not let her or Yoongi know what he discovered.

It was difficult. Jimin and Yoongi were married and didn’t keep secrets from each other, but they agreed.  It wasn’t Jimin’s secret that he was keeping, it was Adora’s, and their priority now and for the next twenty years at least, was the family they were having together.

Jimin still had the file, in a locked suitcase in the back of his wardrobe. Yoongi knew where it was, but he had never asked to see it. His loyalty to Adora was unwavering. 

In the early days of their relationship, Jimin had been jealous of the closeness they had. He couldn’t understand how they could be practically inseparable and have no inkling of attraction between them. 

It had come to a head after a couple of months dating, when he’d arrived at Adora’s apartment to find her asleep on her bed with Yoongi curled around her reading a book. Jimin had burst into tears and stormed out, closely followed by a very confused and barefooted Yoongi.

Jimin had accused him of cheating, through his snot and tears and Yoongi had laughed in disbelief, at which Jimin had smacked him on the shoulder and Yoongi had pulled him into a hug. It was all very dramatic for the front porch of a residential building.

Back inside the apartment with the door closed, a now awake Adora had looked in dismay at the crying Jimin and then in ever increasing horror as Yoongi explained.

“I think I’m gonna throw up in my mouth a little bit.” she’d said. Yoongi thanked her dryly and turned back to Jimin.

“She’s my sister in all but genetics. Being with her romantically (insert gagging noises from behind) would be like asking if you want to kiss your brother.` He pulled Jimin into another firm hug and kissed his head. “Do you want to kiss your brother?”

The whine and wriggle had confirmed that no, Jimin did not in fact want to have romantic relations with any of his siblings, thank you. They all sat down, ordered some chicken and spent the rest of the night in a cuddle pile, Jimin firmly in the middle.

Adora had let him have a spare key after that and made sure that if she ever made plans with either of the boys it was in their three way chat so everyone knew where everyone was and who with.  She didn’t mind, she’d never had this many people care about her before. And so Jimin had become her family.

As he drove in the pouring rain back home, Jimin thought back to the file in the back of his wardrobe. At the time he’d read it first, he was just looking for any of the medical information that the doctor had asked for. He had tried really hard not to take too much else in, as the less he remembered, the less he would have to keep from Adora and Yoongi. 

But occasionally, flashes of memory would come and now as the rain sheeted across the windows he recalled a passage from the file.

“The infant was recovered from the wreckage of a boat by fishermen.  A storm had forced them to come outside of their usual route, where they discovered the wreck. No other people were found and the crew was presumed drowned. The infant was found floating in a life ring, still attached to a piece of the boat sidings.  Incredibly, the infant showed no signs of hypothermia or distress. 

Attempts to discover the owners of the lost vessel and possible parentage of the infant were abandoned after six months.” 

“What kind of storm could rip a boat to pieces but leave a tiny baby safe?” he mused to himself. “It’s a miracle she’s alive.” then as he maneuvered the truck through a deep puddle that was almost a pond, “I’ve never seen her swim. I wonder if she’s subconsciously traumatised?”

Finally, after two hours of driving more slowly than a snail on a leisurely stroll, he arrived home. The storm showed no signs of letting up and by the time he staggered with his bags from the truck to his front door, he was soaked through.

The power was out, so Jimin made his way to the kitchen and found the stash of candles and matches they kept in the pantry. He set the lighted candles into the storm lanterns and made his way upstairs.

There was a little hot water left in the tank from the morning, so he had a quick shower and dressed in his soft warm onesie. 

He guessed at this point, no one else was coming home any time soon, so he gathered some snacks, got the suitcase out of his wardrobe and sat in bed.

By candle light, he opened Adora’s file and searched through for the oldest papers. Something was niggling at his brain and he needed to find out what it was.

He found the statement by the fisherman and read it through. 

“ We had been forced closer to the mainland by the storm. We had to abandon our nets and head out to sea before we could turn back. I spotted some flotsam and called out to my mate to avoid it, in case it got caught in our propeller.  When we realised it was a wreck, we searched for survivors. We would have missed the baby if she hadn’t cried. We brought her back to the Island first, but the council said we had to call you because the boat had been in your waters.”

Jimin gasped. He leaped out of bed and ran in the dark to their study. Then cursing at himself as he couldn’t see anything, ran back to the bedroom, carefully carried a lantern back and jumped on a stool to reach an old book from the top shelf.

It had belonged to his grandmother and contained her notes from all the council meetings she had attended. Jimin’s mother had left for university on the mainland when she was 18 and never moved back to the Island. She had met Jimin’s father, married and stayed in the city where he and his brother were born. 

As both their parents were working full time, Jimin and his brother would spend every school holiday on the Island with their grandmother. He loved her tall ramshackle house that seemed to go back for miles and as high as the sky. He was aware that she was one of the Village council women, but didn’t really have any concept of what that meant. He just knew that he and his brother had spent countless happy days playing inside and out, without a care in the world. 

When she had passed away, Jimin was devastated. The whole family as well as Yoongi and Adora had come over to the island for the funeral and he was astonished to find out that she had left him her house in her will.

It seemed like fate. The house that he had been so happy in as a child. His own twins were due to be born in five months. Their Academy of Arts had grown so successful, they needed to relocate to a bigger building and the village itself had lost their only school teacher and were trying to avoid sending their burgeoning village population over to the mainland for their education if they could avoid it. The village council knew Jimin and had heard much of his little growing family from their dearly departed fellow councilwoman. They came up with a plan. They agreed to donate the schoolhouse to the Mins and help them expand it to accommodate all the village children as well as the paying boarders who were enrolled. 

And so over the summer, the Min family including Adora had moved to the island and the school had been opened.

While Adora was recovering on the mainland with Yoongi’s parents, they had built her a self-contained flat in the main school building. It had more accommodation than that provided for the other live in teachers, but she was special. It meant that she could have a place of her own, but be near enough.

This flashback rushed through Jimin’s head in seconds as he climbed back upstairs carefully with the ancient book under his arm and holding the lantern steady.

Back on the bed and under the covers, he spread the book out on his lap and turned the pages to where a folded map bookmarked an entry from 33 years ago.

“The fishing boats all returned safely. They had to go into different waters to stay safe. They found a baby. We couldn’t believe it! The boat was wrecked, the lines tangled and somehow the little one managed to float safely in a ring until they found her. She is very small, I think no more than a few days old. It is a miracle she is alive. I thought Juno should keep her, but she has an agreement  with the mainland. We will respect their borders and they respect ours. The baby has to go back. Juno is devastated. She hid it well, but I can see the sadness in her eyes.”

Jimin spread out the map on his lap. It was of the Island and surrounding waters and the western coast of the mainland. There was the usual grid and faint lines marking out the borders of the village, the dozen or so farms and the island waters.

There on the bottom right hand corner of the map was a pencil drawn cross in the middle of the sea.

His grandmother had written in tiny letters on the edge of the map. “The wreck”

Between the next page of the book was a letter. It was from the city Child Services Department and addressed to the village council.

“Dear Councilwoman

We thank you for your kind interest in Baby A. We can confirm that she has been placed in a suitable facility and is healthy. 

We appreciate your kind offer to adopt her into the village, but we feel that this is a mainland issue and do not wish to cause more disruption for the child.

We shall of course place copies of your correspondence in her file so, when she reaches adulthood, she can return to the Island if she chooses.”

“Oh my god!” Jimin croaked and grabbed Adora’s file again. He sifted through all the medical check ups, school reports and welfare letters until he found a sheet of headed notepaper written in a familiar hand.

“Dear sir or Madam,

I am writing on behalf of the Pinan Village council to inquire about the welfare of a child who was found by our fishermen on the 30th September this year.”

Jimin’s grandmother had written to try and adopt the baby.

The baby was Adora. BABY A WAS ADORA

“OH. MY. GOD.” Jimin said to the ceiling. “Of course the bloody phones are out and there’s a bloody storm and a bloody powercut so I can’t tell anyone my AMAZING DISCOVERY.”

He skipped back down the stairs in an adrenaline hyped excitement and opened one of Yoongi’s bottles of good red wine. He deserved it.

Taehyung showed Namjoon and Little Tae to Seokjin’s room. 

“He would rather you had his room than anyone else,” Taehyung had said cryptically and left them to get towels and a change of clothes for them both.

Namjoon wasn’t sure what to make of that statement, but as he ran his fingers over Seokjin's soft pillows and took a secret sniff of that familiar vanilla scent, he decided he didn’t mind one bit.

Jungkook was playing with Kai on the rug while Taehyung went to check all the doors and windows and lay copious amounts of hay on the floor in the little side utility where Midnight would be spending the night. 

“This is a bit smaller than your stable, but I need you to be safe and warm, ok girl?” He kissed her on the neck and made sure her reins were firmly attached to the hook on the wall.

“I’m sleeping down here to keep watch tonight,” he said as he walked back into the living room. Kai was now sitting on Jungkook's lap leafing through a picture book.

“I am worried that there’s something wrong with her and there’s no way to get the vet out here until tomorrow. If our theory is right, then until we can get her fit and well, they will keep coming for her.”

Jungkook looked up at him and frowned. 

“Does she seem ill? I mean, she looks great to me, but I never saw a horse in real life before I came here.”

“I haven’t seen anything obvious, but I’m going to ask the Vet to do blood tests and a complete physical.” Taehyung breathed in deeply, holding back the distress that was threatening to break out.

“I haven’t been riding her so much since I found Kai. I’ve neglected her.” he put his face in his hands.

Jungkook got up, sat the baby down on the sofa and walked over, putting his arms around Taehyung and pulling him into a hug. 

“I can tell by the way you care for her, that you haven’t. She knows you love her. We will sort this out, I promise.”

“We?”

Jungkook pulled back and looked Taehyung in the eye.

“Yeah. I’m not leaving you in the lurch. Besides, your kid is my new best friend.” 

Seokjin lay in the bed that had been made up for him in one of the spare teacher rooms. Yeonjun and Soobin had elected to sleep with Beomgyu and their other friends in the dormitories, so he had no one to talk to and nothing to do. He stared at the shadows of the lantern flickering on the ceiling in time to the rain drumming a relentless beat on the windows.

He wondered if they would come again tonight. He didn’t recall the collectors coming night after night in succession, but then most people didn’t stand up to them until they left. 

He hoped that Taehyung and Namjoon were safe inside the house. Then he hoped that if they did come again, the collectors wouldn't freak Namjoon or his cute little son out too much. 

And then just before he drifted into sleep, Seokjin very much hoped that the next time the groundskeeper and his son visited his house, he’d actually be able to be there with them.

To nobody’s enormous surprise, the student dormitories were a buzz of whispers and activity until the early hours of the morning. The addition of about ten day students who hadn’t been able to go home, had transformed the usually orderly bedroom routine into a sleepover atmosphere. 

Yoongi had told the dormitory prefects to let the children off the strict bedtime routine for the night as they hoped the excitement would offset the nervousness that some of the children were feeling since the storm had started. 

Leela went to stay with Adora in her room and Yoongi ended up squeezing in as well. 

“This bed's not big enough for three people.” Adora had huffed as she tried to get some of her quilt while removing Leela’s elbow from her ribs. Yoongi, however, was already asleep.

At about 2am, everything stopped.  Adora and Leela both sat up with a start. 

“They have come.” Leela whispered, reaching out for Adora’s hand.  Yoongi was fast asleep and they silently agreed to leave him that way.

They met Seokjin and the three boys on the stairs down to the main hall. Leela rushed to Beomgyu and they put their heads together for a moment, eyes shut, as if communicating silently.

Seokjin's boys were rigid with their alertness, Adora could almost see the crackle of agitation coming off their skin, as it cast a pulsing glow into the darkness.

“We need to go home.” Yeonjun hissed. “Uncle cannot defeat them alone.”

It was at 2am that Kai stood up on Jungkook’s stomach and screamed. 

It was a few seconds after 2am that Jungkook realised that he had fallen asleep on the sofa with Taehyung curled into his side and the baby on his lap. 

He sat up with a start and grabbed the baby just before he toppled off his lap. Taehyung was clambering up to get to the kitchen before his eyes had even opened. Jungkook could hear Midnight whinnying in distress, her hooves rattling against the stone floor. 

Jungkook picked up Kai and followed Taehyung into the kitchen. He grabbed the sippy cup of water that they’d left on the side and offered it to the little boy. He grabbed it and sucked greedily, whimpering into the rubber lip.

Jungkook held him close, crooning a nursery rhyme that he remembered his grandmother singing to him, and rubbed soothing circles into his back.

He was weighing up whether to follow Taehyung into the small utility room where he was trying to calm the horse, or take Kai somewhere quiet, when Namjoon clattered into the kitchen behind him. 

“What’s happening?” He looked alarmed. Jungkook spied little Tae hiding behind him, sleepy and scared in his borrowed pyjamas.

“Taehyung is trying to keep the horse calm.” Jungkook told him, stifling a yawn.  Namjoon shook his head and pointed out of the window.

“I mean outside. Why has the storm stopped?”

“We are in the eye of the storm.” a voice came from behind them. They both jumped in fright and whirled round to see Jin and Adora and the four children standing in the passage.

“They manipulate the weather to suit them. They force everyone inside with the storm and then place the eye over the location where they will be collecting.”

“What are you talking about?” Namjoon picked up Little Tae and held him close. Jin took a step closer and reached out, feeling sad when Namjoon flinched a little.

“Take Little Tae upstairs and lock the door. We will take care of everything, don’t worry.”

Namjoon nodded once and started towards the stairs. He looked at the other children.

“Shall I take them too?” 

Jin shook his head,

“No, we need them.” 

“Shall I take Kai upstairs?” Jungkook asked. Jin thought about it and nodded.

“Yes please, it will mean one less thing for Taehyung to worry about.”

Jungkook followed Namjoon up the stairs and showed him into Taehyung’s bedroom, locking the door behind them. It was the biggest room and they could all sit on the bed with the little ones between them.

“Will you tell me what's going on please?” Namjoon sounded really tired and scared. He held his son close to his chest, rubbing his back as much for his own comfort as the child’s.

“I can only tell you what I know, which isn’t much.” Jungkook settled Kai into a sleeping position in his arms, the baby still sucking on his sippy cup furiously.

“There are these people or things called Collectors. They are responsible for all the animals that go missing. They want Taehyung’s horse and they’ve come every night for the last three nights. The only reason they haven’t taken Midnight yet is because of the children.”

“What?”

“They aren’t normal kids. They have.. Abilities. I don’t even know what, but I swear last night, in the dark, I saw them glowing and facing down whatever was in that forest until it went away.”

Namjoon was just digesting this information when Kai sat upright again and pointed at the window and screeched

“Tete!”

 Jungkook took him to look out and they saw light spilling out of the open door into the backyard. The power hadn’t come back on. It was coming from the group of people holding hands in a circle and humming.

“What on earth are they doing?” Jungkook heard Namjoon whisper from just behind him. 

“I have no idea.”  Jungkook replied. Whatever it was they were doing, both their small charges were enraptured. Kai was leaning as far out of Jungkook’s arms as he could, fixated on his family below. Little Tae had half climbed up Namjoon’s leg and started to hum along with whatever song they were singing.

As they watched, the light intensified and the humming grew louder. Jungkook couldn't tell if it was coming from outside or from within his head, but he couldn’t stop listening, he wanted to get more. He opened the window, and gripping the frame leaned further and further out until he barely had his balance.

It was Kai who saved him from falling. While a participant, he was not under to influence of the sound and so was able to smack Jungkook smartly on the nose just before he toppled over, taking the boy with him.

“Kookie, no.” he said, placing his hands on Jungkook’s cheeks, “Kookie, stay.”

Jungkook slid to the floor, shivering. He had been ready to throw himself out, fly to the beautiful sound, until Kai had snapped him out of it.  There was a thud as Namjoon sat down heavily next to him. Little Tae was standing on his tiptoes still humming along even though Namjoon couldn’t fathom how he would know the song.

They sat for what could have been hours or seconds, neither fully knowing what was happening, but the care of their small charges keeping them grounded enough to stay put in the room.

Both men registered that the rain had started falling again when the wind blew a spray in through the open window and onto their heads and shoulders.  It seemed to snap them out of whatever semi reverie they were in and realised that someone was knocking on the bedroom door.

“Jungkookie? Can I come in?”  It was Taehyung. He sounded like he did when he was trying to coax a nervous horse out of the stable.

Kai picked himself up off Jungkook’s lap and toddled over to the door, smacking it with both his hands. 

“Tete!” he called. 

“Hey baby, can you get Kookie for me?” his daddy replied gently. Kai turned and was toddling back to undoubtedly smack Jungkook on the nose again, when he was cut off in his stride as Jungkook got to his feet and lifted the baby up into his arms, so he could open the door.

“Hey.” Taehyung said once the door was open. “Are you all ok in here?” He spoke so cautiously as if he was afraid they would bolt.

Jungkook sensed that he needed to reassure him so he reached out and squeezed his arm.

“We are fine. I promise. I mean, we have no idea what happened, but we felt safe here.”

“You aren’t freaked out by us?” Taehyung’s eyes opened wide in uncertainty.

“No more than I was yesterday or the day before that.” Jungkook laughed. “This little one kept us grounded didn’t you Kai?” He booped Kai on the nose and Kai bashed him on the nose in return, showing all his 8 teeth as he cackled in delight.

Taehyung scooped him out of Jungkook’s arms and tapped him on the nose with his finger to get his attention.

“Don’t hurt Kookie. Kookie is our friend!”

“Kookie Mine.” Kai told him with no room for argument.

“Well, we will see about that.” Taehyung huffed and turned his attention to the two others in the room. Namjoon had got up and was holding Little Tae in his arms. The little boy had conked out after all the commotion.

“I’m so sorry that you had to see all of that.” Taehyung rushed out, horrified that they had dragged yet another unaware person into their island drama. 

Namjoon still looked a little stunned, but he placed a gentle hand on his son’s hair and frowned.

“I don’t know what you were doing, but when you all were humming, Taehyun was humming with you.”

“That’s right!” Jungkook added, “He wasn’t afraid at all, in fact it looked like he wanted to get out of the window so he could join you. He knew the tune, the words or whatever. I couldn’t make them out, but he definitely sang along as if it came naturally to him.”

Taehyung hitched a breath at that. “As if it came naturally” Could it be that yet another child who had come to the island, shared their bloodline? It was all too much to talk about tonight, it was almost dawn and everyone was exhausted.

“Namjoon, please go back to Seokjin’s room with your son and rest. The storm is here for at least another day, so Jin says there’s no rush for you to get back to the school.”

“Where will he sleep?” Namjoon asked, worried.

“On the sofa. He’s already decided so you mustn’t worry.” Namjoon looked like he was actually going to carry on worrying, so Taehyung herded him along the hallway to the room at the other end.

On his return he found his own room empty so he poked his head around the nursery door and found Jungkook sitting on the bed staring at the wall. 

“Hey,” he said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

“What’s up?”

“So Adora and Leela need somewhere to sleep, so if you don’t mind, I said they could have this room and you can bunk up with me and Kai?”  He said this very quickly and blushing wildly.

It made a nice change from himself being the blushing mess, Jungkook thought as he stood up.

“Sure, no problem.”

Jimin was alerted to the fact that the phones had come back online at 6am when he answered the phone to a very frantic Yoongi.

“The kids have gone!”

The school was in chaos. They still didn’t have power, but the landline had a dialling tone. Yoongi had woken up with a start at about 5.45am when a branch whipped against Adora’s bedroom window. He reached out and couldn’t feel anything. The bed was cold. He sat up and looked around for any sign of his daughter and friend bit there was none. 

He spent at least 2 minutes speed walking around Adora’s rooms before he ran back into the main school building and to the boys’ dorms. Not only was Beomgyu not squeezed into Soobin’s bed where he’d left him, neither of Seokjin’s boys were there either. 

He looked out of a window onto the area where the staff parked their cars and saw that Adora’s car was missing from it’s spot next to his own. Next stop was his office where he picked up the phone before he remembered the lines were out and heard the blessed sound that was the dialling tone.

It rang and rang and just when Yoongi was about to hang up he heard the gravelly tones of his husband’s morning voice.

“Hello.”

“The kids have gone!”

“Are they with Adora?”

“I don’t know, she’s gone too.”

Jimin yawned loudly, cracked his neck and hummed in thought. 

“Have you tried calling her yet?”

Yoongi shook his head,

“No, you were my first thought.”

“Oh darling, I love you so much. You are my first thought every single day too. But I’m fine, why don’t you give Adora a call, I’ll try Taehyung and then call you back after, ok?” He sat up in bed and saw the remains of his notes and books scattered across the bed.

“I have so much to tell you, I was doing some research last night and I think I’ve found out something really important, but let's find out where the kids are first.”

Adora’s phone went straight to voicemail. Yoongi guessed it had run out of battery some time in the night. He sat impatiently waiting for Jimin to call him back, and soon thought that he could function better on caffeine, so wandered down to the school kitchen to make some cold coffee by scooping two teaspoons of  instant granules into a bottle of water and shaking it vigorously. There was no ice and no heating, so this was the best he could come up with. He sipped it as he walked back, telling himself that the caffeine would make up for the taste. He had just returned to his office when the phone rang.

“They are all at Seokjin’s house.” Jimin said calmly. “He didn’t say how they got there or why they went, but that they are all safe and will wait out the storm out there. They have the Aga, so there is heat and they can cook.”

Yoongi sank into his chair in relief and sighed into the receiver.

“What about you baby? Are you ok?” he said, his voice suddenly dropping back to the low gravelly drawl that Jimin loved.

“I’m very cold and lonely. But I have found your stash of tangerines and seaweed snacks, so I won’t go hungry.” 

Yoongi could hear the grin on his husband’s face. 

“Don’t eat all of them!” he whined, “I have to order them from the mainland.”

He waited for Jimin’s cackles to subside and then asked,

“What is the news you have for me?”

“Oh It’s so amazing! You won’t believe it!” Jimin sounded very excited. “But I need to show you, it’s all in my grandma’s old books. Shall I drive over? Then I can wait out the rest of the storm with you at the school.”

Yoongi looked out of the window. The rain was still pouring steadily, but the wind seemed to have dropped for now.

“Only come if you are confident driving in this rain.” He warned, “Don’t risk your safety.”

“I’ll be fine love. Leave the back door open, I’ll head over soon.”

Jungkook woke up to the unfamiliar sensation of being cocooned from both sides. Taehyung was curled around his back, with one arm over his waist and Kai was starfished at his front, with one leg hooked over Jungkook’s bent leg. 

He smiled to himself, recalling his old uni friend’s obsession with romance novels, “they were roommates!” “there’s only one bed!!”  There was no doubt that Yugeom would be delighted with the predicament that Jungkook now found himself in.

He uncurled an arm and brushed the soft strands of hair from the sleeping baby’s face. Kai was very cute when he was asleep. The slight movement caused Taehyung to stir behind him, and he tightened his arm, pulling Jungkook closer into his chest. 

Jungkook closed his eyes again, deciding that waking up in the arms of the most handsome, funny, charming man he’d ever met, was the least strange thing about his week so far. There were so many unanswered questions, but for now, he would enjoy the peace and warmth of the embrace he was laying in.

Interlude

From the Kim family records

While Sirens use their song primarily to lure prey, they also can use it defensively. Legends tell of groups circling their young and joining hands to ward off predators.  A siren only has two known true predators, sharks in the water and on dry land, humans.

Kim Jeom Dong 1893

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Jimin gathered up the books and papers he’d been looking at and put them all in a satchel, along with a change of clothes for Yoongi and some personal items that Yoongi wouldn’t have been able to get from the school storecupboard. They carried spare sundries for the students and live-in staff, but Yoongi would want his own razor and skincare.

He locked up the old house securely, sloshed across the garden in his wellies and climbed up into the car. He sent up a silent prayer, thanking his mother for persuading them to buy a 4X4 for getting around the Island rather than the cute low level Mini he’d had his eye on.

“But Eomma, listen, Min and Mini with the mini Mins in a Mini!!” he’d tried to convince her. She had laughed her head off.

“While undoubtedly alliteratively pleasing, you won’t be happy trying to get two huge baby car seats in the back or driving down muddy lanes with your bum basically scraping on the floor.”

She was right. Of course she was. She’d grown up on this island and seen her fair share of tropical storms. 

He drove carefully out of their property and headed towards the village. He passed flooded fields and saw a group of deer sheltering under a tree at the top of a small hill. They must have been flooded out of the forest. 

The school grounds were on slightly higher ground than the rest of the village, so once he was past the gates, the driveway wasn’t too bad. He pulled into Adora’s usual spot and made the dash from the car to the doorway where Yoongi was waiting.

“Hello baby, I missed you.” Jimin hummed with happiness into his husband’s shoulder. In all the years they’d been married, they could count on one hand the number of nights they had spent apart. Jimin didn’t consider them a clingy couple, but he and Yoongi had become like twin planets, orbiting around each other, their movements so in tune with the other that the absence of either tipped the other off kilter.

“Come into the kitchen, we found some camping stoves and there is coffee.” Yoongi took one of his bags and they walked hand in hand through the gloomy halls. With no electricity and the skies black with rain clouds, there was very little visibility. When they opened the door to the kitchen, warmth and gentle light flooded out.

Hoseok was holding a huge tray as another teacher loaded it up with cups of hot chocolate for the students. His face lit up with a smile as they walked in.

“Hey Jimin! I’m glad you made it here safely.  I’ve been worried about you!” 

Jimin gave him a pat on the shoulder as he went past, holding the door open for him.

“I was fine, Grandma’s house has been on this island for about 200 years. It was built to weather these storms.”

“Maybe we should all go over to your house then!” Hoseok laughed as Yoongi spluttered in horror at the thought.

The door swung shut behind him and they heard his chuckle fade away as he made his way to the dining hall where all the students were gathered for breakfast.

Yoongi poured two mugs of coffee and sat at the table.

“Show me what you found out.” he pulled out a chair and Jimin sat down.

Taehyung woke up to something new. The unfamiliar sensation of holding not one but two sleeping bodies. Usually Kai woke him up, with a pat on the nose or a foot in the groin, but as Taehyung’s eyes adjusted to the morning light, he saw his son fast asleep, curled up, face smushed into Jungkook’s chest, both snoring gently.

He would have stayed there if he could, but he couldn’t relax until he knew Midnight was ok. That meant getting her into the horse box and driving in the rain to the other side of the village to see the vet.

He pulled his arm away gently, rolled off the bed, and crept out of the bedroom without waking up the sleeping boys.

He met Seokjin and Adora in the kitchen. Jin was leaning against the wall watching the kettle as it heated up on the Aga. Adora was speaking on the phone attached to the wall and hung up just as Taehyung reached past her to grab the cereal from the shelf.

“That was Jimin. Yoongi freaked out when he woke up and we were gone. Jimin’s going to go to the school and keep them all there. He wants us to go there later so he can show us something he found in his grandma’s papers.”

“I have to take Midnight to the vet first. I can’t go through another night like that again.”  Taehyung grabbed a handful of cereal from the box and shoved it straight in his mouth. Jin rolled his eyes and took the box from him.

“I can’t believe you. How can we expect the kids to show any table manners with you around?”

“They aren’t here are they? No one can see me.” he pouted. He may be a grown adult man but he was still the little brother.

“I can see you.” Jin scolded, “And I wish that I could unsee.”

“Do you need help taking the horse?” Adora asked, changing the subject before the brothers started chucking cornflakes at each other.

“If you can help me get her into the box, I can drive there fine. Thank you.”  He looked back at his brother who was gently pouring the hot water onto ground coffee in a filter funnel. 

“Have you checked on her since you woke up?” 

Jin nodded. 

“I took her back to the stable and fed all the animals. By the way, she left you a present in the utility room. I didn’t want to deprive you.”

Taehyung poked his head around the door and saw the pile of manure on the stone floor. He sighed.

“Well, at least It’s good for the roses.” he shrugged and went out the backdoor to find a shovel.

He returned after twenty minutes of shovelling and mopping to find Jungkook sitting at the table with Kai on his lap. Both of them grasping their cups and looking half asleep still.

“Morning sunshines!” he grinned as he pulled his gloves and wellies off at the door. “Look who woke up!” Kai blinked slowly and squawked when he saw his dad. 

“Tete!” he waved his cup, spraying some milk onto Jungkook’s face. Taehyung rushed forward and swiped the milk off his cheek with his thumb.

“Careful baby, you splashed Kookie.” he admonished gently and then licked the milk off his thumb. Jungkook had started blushing from the moment Taehyung walked in from the backyard, hair wet and swept back and t-shirt clinging to his toned torso. The shame was compounded when he’d flinched at the milk landing near his eyes and he opened them at the sensation of a cool finger rasping gently at his cheek, to find that his face was very close to Taehyung’s. The final lick of the thumb was what tipped him over the edge and he suddenly started coughing on his own spit after a spectacularly uncoordinated inhalation.

Kai was lifted from his arms in an instant and he felt strong hands thumping him on the back. Jungkook contemplated sinking under the table, but knowing the Kims, they’d probably crawl under there with him. He raised a hand in surrender and wiped the tears from his cheeks. 

“I’m ok, just choking on my own drool.” he croaked.

“Classy.” came the snort from across the table. Adora was watching the whole scene with a delighted twinkle in her eyes. She couldn’t wait to tell Yoongi that his baby cousin had a crush.

“That thing you did last night.” Jungkook asked timidly. “Have you done that before?”

Adora suggested he ask Taehyung that sort of question in the privacy of his bedroom and Jin sprayed his coffee back into his cup. Taehyung glared at him.

“He means what we all did in the garden, you heathens.” he hissed. “Sorry Jungkookie, ignore them, they are just jealous.”

“Of what?!” Jin protested.

“How was the sofa?” Taehyung sassed back. “My bed was really comfy.” 

“Oh my god.” Jungkook groaned into his hands. 

“You boys are worse than my first year class. Hush your beaks and let me explain to Kookie.” Adora threw a balled up napkin vaguely in their direction and turned to Jungkook.

“Last night was the first time we all did that together. The twins are only just getting to grips with their gifts. The collectors forced our hand by choosing to come now.”

“What exactly is your gift? Did you know they would inherit it from you? Does Yoongi know?”

“One question at a time please.” Adora laughed wearily. “The gift? I don’t really have a name for it, it’s something Yoongi and I discovered I could do when I was about 10. I was being attacked by a bully and wished so hard that he would stop and let me go, that time seemed to freeze. It was like I pressed pause and everyone stopped around me. I was able to run away before he started to move again. 

“Then later, Yoongi and I figured out that he could hear me if I called to him in my mind. We have always been in tune, and he was the only person I knew growing up who could hear me but who wasn’t affected when I wished or sang. Then when we moved here and I met these two.” she flicked a glance at the Kim brothers, “You know that Jin and Taehyung and I are all orphans? We don’t know where we are from or what we are, but we realised that maybe we shared some talents.”

“I heard her sing in one of the school assemblies and it was like everyone was put under a spell.” Jin said. “Everyone except me and Yoongi and our four kids.”

“The twins obviously inherited something from Adora, but we have no idea how they related to us. We can only assume that our boys came from the same place Taehyung and I did, but in reality the only proof we have is that we were all found in the grounds of this property. Adora was adopted, but we don’t know where she came from.”

“You told me you had done a DNA test a while ago.” Jungkook asked Taehyung, “Have you considered comparing it to Adora and the twins?”

They all nodded.

“Yes, we’d toyed with the idea before now, but after the last three nights, I think we need to know exactly what we are dealing with.” Jin said. He looked at Taehyung

“When did the agency say the boys’ results should come back?”

“We sent them three weeks ago, so in the next week I hope, although the weather will delay any post arriving.” Taehyung stood up and hoisted Kai onto his hip.

“I think we need to talk to Namjoon about Little Tae as well.” Taehyung said.

“Why?” Seokjin asked. He was still in his pyjamas as neither Namjoon nor his son had surfaced from his room yet. He was itching to see the groundskeeper’s early morning bed head. 

“It seems that the child responded to the calling last night. He was singing along with us. I think he may have a similar gift.”

“What? How can that be? They came from the other side of the mainland.” 

“I don’t know Jin. Why don’t you ask him. I need to go.” Taehyung turned away from his brother and stopped by Jungkook’s chair.

“Jungkookie, I have to take Midnight to the vet. Could you please hold this little monster while I get her in the horsebox?” He handed over the baby, who was happily chewing on a chunk of apple. 

“Would you like me to help you?” Jungkook asked, standing up to follow.

“Believe me, by being able to hold Kai, you are doing me more favours than anyone else could. Come outside and watch me and Adora play a tug of war with a horse.”

Jungkook and Kai watched from the back door and giggled as Taehyung struggled to first lead, then persuade and finally beg Midnight to come out of the warm dry stable and up into the horse box. Adora ended up standing behind and laughing her head off bent over double. 

“Thank you all for your help, I couldn’t have done it without you.” Taehyung had said drily as he finally closed the back door. “Kookie, do you want to ride with me and Kai or stay here?”

Kai grabbed Jungkook’s face with both hands and leaned so close he could feel the little puffs of air on his face. 

“Kookie. Stay.”

“Stay here?” he asked. The little boy shook his head furiously.

“No no no. Kookie. Stay. Me!” he screamed the last bit and they all flinched. Jungkook rubbed his back gently and pulled him in for a hug.

“Ok baby, Kookie will stay with Kai. Kookie will stay.” Kai sniffled and buried his face in Jungkook's neck.

Adora sidled up to Taehyung and nodded at them.

“Looks like you have a rival.” she observed. Taehyung chuckled.

“I don’t mind, it’s a relief that Kai will go to someone else.”

Adora snorted.

“I didn’t mean a rival for the baby’s affections, I meant a rival for Jungkook’s.”

The drive to the vet was slow. The rain was still coming down steadily and the roads were really muddy. They trundled slowly along the lane that led out of their property and Jungkook was struck by how much land they had. 

“Is this all yours?” he asked, staring into the huge ancient trees that grew as far as he could see in every direction.

“Yes, actually we own a lot of the island. I don’t know how my Grandmother’s family came by it, but the deeds we inherited when she died include long term leases to most of the village and farms. 

“Wow. That’s… a lot.” 

“Yes. it’s a big responsibility. Our family are the caretakers of this island. I don’t think we own it. In a way, I think it owns us.”

They drove in silence for a little way, listening to the rain beat on the car roof. Then as they finally turned onto a public road and headed south, Jungkook remembered what he had been meaning to ask.

“What is your gift? Like, what can you actually do?”

Taehyung checked his mirror and saw Kai was happily whacking his sippy cup against the window. 

“I can influence people with my voice, make them do things.” He looked worried as he spoke, 

“I’ve never used it on you. I mean, I try not to ever use it unless it’s necessary.”

“Like to ward off faceless creatures stealing your horse?” Jungkook suggested.

Taehyung laughed in relief

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“Do you use it on the baby? Is that why he will only come to you?” Taehyung looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Does that mean you have the gift as well? You being the only other person I know who can handle him.”

Jungkook considered this, looked back at the little boy and back at Taehyung.

“He’s your son. I think he's the one handling me.” he gave a shy smile and blushed again. 

Hoseok did not like storms or power cuts or the dark or the cold. He didn't know where Adora was and his phone battery had died in the night, so he couldn't call his mum on the mainland to cheer himself up. All in all, he wasn’t having a great day.

He sat at the teacher’s table cradling his empty mug, watching the children as they variously shrieked in excitement or huddled with nerves depending on their levels of storm tolerance.  The power still hadn’t been restored and they were gathered in the dining hall, the big windows giving the most natural light, albeit dulled by the storm clouds.

The village children who had stayed overnight were mostly fine and excited, this was a little adventure in the middle of a school week. 

Hoseok spotted a couple of the youngest boarders who jumped every time the lightning crackled against the sky and the thunder rattled the windows. They didn’t have so many storms like this on the mainland. He got up and gathered the nervous ones into a little group and led them to one of the studios that had soundproofing. There was a little light coming in from the opaque fanlights that lined the ceiling, but he grabbed some of the storm lanterns as well and soon they were sitting in a circle on the mats. 

He took them through a simple yoga routine, one designed to calm and ground them. If he was honest, it was as beneficial for Hoseok himself as it was the children. They were about 15 minutes into his memorised routine when the lights came back on.

“Yayyy!” the children all cheered. They all jumped up in relief and Hoseok led them in an impromptu dance of joy. 

“Do you want to keep dancing or shall we go and see if we can find some warm food?!” he asked the four eleven year olds, who were exponentially happier than they had been an hour before.

“Food!” they jumped up and clapped.  He led them down the now brightly lit halls like ducklings following their mother, all the way to the noisy dining hall.

Jimin was holding court, refereeing a noisy game of bench ball. The tables had all been pushed back, Yoongi was in one ‘goal’ and their science teacher, Miss Ho, in the other.

Hoseok waved at her as they walked in and she waved back, a huge smile on her face. 

“Jessi, look out!” Hoseok called, just as a handball came flying straight for her face. She dodged it just at the last second, only for it to go in the goal. 

“I’m sorry!” Hoseok yelped as he ran towards his fallen colleague. She lay sprawled on the floor, not hurt, but in defeat. Jimin came over and laughed down at her.

“Are you ok?” Hoseok asked

“We lost.” Jessi groaned and held up a hand so he could haul her up to her feet.

“He’ll never let me live it down.” she sulked and pointed a finger at the laughing referee. “Your husband is a competitive menace.” 

Jimin just laughed louder and blew his whistle.

“Game over, victory to team Min!”

Yoongi whooped loudly, high fiving with his team from the other end of the hall, while Jessi’s team all collapsed to the floor in dramatic defeat. (It was a drama school after all)

Jessi pouted and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“It would have been better if I’d saved the ball with my face.”

The doors opened then and Jin, Adora and the four AWOL students walked in. Yoongi rushed over to the twins and pulled them both into his embrace, kissing them each on the head.

“I was so worried.” he croaked and then looking up, pulled Adora into a hug as well. She patted him on the back and grinned at Jimin who was approaching from the other end of the room.

“We were fine Yoomfi. You should have seen them, they were so incredible.” Adora reassured her friend.

“Daddy says you shouldn’t call him Yoomfi in school.” came a muffled voice and a giggle as Leela wriggled out of their embrace. She skipped over to Jimin and leaped into his outstretched arms. 

“Me and Beomi sang with them!” she told him happily as he spun her round. “It worked so well, Uncle Kookie nearly fell out the window and then Little Tae can sing as well and Mr Namjoon said he has no idea what is happening.” 

Jimin laughed with her as she told him all about the night’s events.

“Where are Namjoon and Little Tae now? Didn't they come back with you?”

“Oh yes, he wanted to take Little Tae back to bed, and then Uncle Jin said he would take them some food over later.” Ah, the unfiltered honesty of children. Jimin’s grin spread wickedly as he looked over at Jin who was talking to some of the students. 

“Oh did he? How interesting. Well what if we babysit Little Tae tonight, so that Uncle Jin can make sure Namjoon is well fed, hmm?”

“Oh daddy, you are clever.” Leela whispered and they giggled at each other with matching grins.

The electricity was restored to the Veterinary Surgery just as Taehyung parked up outside the building. He ran inside to check in, leaving Jungkook with Kai. 

“Kookie.” Kai said curiously. “Tete gone?”

Jungkook swivelled round in his seat to face the little boy.

“He’s coming back soon. Don’t worry. He is taking Midnight to see the horse doctor.”

“Horsie poorly?” Kai cocked his head, face screwing up in concern. Jungkook reached out to take his little hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

“Shh, it’s ok baby. Midnight will be fine.” he said more confidently than he felt. He’d only known this family for three days and he already knew how devastated they would be if anything happened to the horse. 

Taehyung jogged back out of the building, followed by a 40 something lady in a white coat. Jungkook guessed she must be the vet and wound down the window, flinching as the rain hit his face.

“Do you want to sit inside with Kai? Dr Park is going to help me get Midnight out of the box.”

Taehyung leaned in further and looked at his son, still in his carseat in the back.

“Kai, go sit with Kookie ok? Tete has to look after Midnight.”

“Kay Tete, kay tete.” he sang and waved his cup vigorously in the air. Nothing sloshed out this time and Kai looked at it and then back at them.

“Kookie cup!” 

Jungkook waited for Taehyung to move back and then, opening the car door, he stepped out.

“I have been summoned.” he said with a wry smile and Taehyung gave him an unexpected hug with one arm.

“I… erm. Thank you. I’m so glad Yoongi brought you over that day.”

Jungkook booped their heads together gently.

“Me too. Now let me get the kid his cup before we get drenched and deafened in one fell swoop.”

Taehyung watched him go, pressing his hand to his heart. He'd never felt the need to to thank the collectors for anything other than abandoning him and Jin in their grandmother’s garden, but he would forever be grateful to them for bringing Jungkookie to him. The vet called to him, interrupting his daydream to help her with the horsebox.

“Taehyung! You can moon at mystery handsome man once we are out of the rain. I’m getting soaked over here.”

He jumped up into the box, whispered soothing words to the animal and gently led her down the ramp. They went into the large side doors of the clinic where Doctor Park was able to examine Midnight while Taehyung held her head steady.

He stood nervously, constantly stroking Midnight and telling her he loved her as the vet ran her experienced hand all over the horse. Taehyung was terrified that she would find something wrong. 

He’d managed to avoid thinking about it too much all the time he’d been distracted with his new friendship with Yoongi’s handsome young cousin, but now the reality of why the collectors had come night after night to target them hit him hard. 

Tears fell down his face as he held the horse still, trying to keep her calm as the vet got out a needle to take a blood sample.

“I want to check her blood.” she explained, “She has a little bite in her groin that is a couple of days old. I’m going to check for infection and give her some medicine to get rid of any ticks or worms.”

She got a choked sob in reply and looked over fondly at the young man holding her patient steady.

“I am confident that she will be fine Taehyung. The bite was easy to miss and could have developed into a dangerous infection, but we caught it. How did you know to bring her in?”

Taehyung wiped his eyes and gave a shaky exhale at the Vet’s reassurance.

“The collectors have come for her three nights in a row.” he said. Dr Park was a local who had gone to the mainland for veterinary college, but returned to the island to set up her practice. She had known Taehyung since he was a little boy and like most native islanders, she knew of the collectors.

“Why did that make you bring her to me? Wait a minute, how is she still even still here?”

“It’s a bit of a long story and I should let Jungkookie tell you.”

“Jungkookie?” she asked, inserting the needle and drawing several vials of blood from Midnight’s foreleg.

“Mystery handsome man.” he grinned. “Also known as Kai Whisperer and hopefully the future Mr Taehyung.”

Doctor Park snorted in amusement.

“And you met him??”

“Three days ago.” 

“Of course you did.” she laughed, “As impulsive as ever I see.”

“Hey, he’s the first other person Kai has ever willingly gone to. He loves him. I’d be a fool to pass up the chance!”

“Well that’s ok then then. There I was thinking you were superficially falling for his face, but as long as it’s for his baby handling skills, go for it.”

“Why are you being so mean to me Aunty?” he whined. She finished labelling the vials and pulled off her gloves to pat Taehyung on the cheek affectionately.

“I would never. I just care about you boys. Your grandmother was a mentor to me growing up, and you are like my family.”

Taehyung started to well up again, so she pinched his cheek and told him to go sit in the office while she settled Midnight in a stall.

Taehyung found Jungkook standing at the window looking out at the rain with Kai fast asleep on his shoulder. He joined them and stroked the sleeping boy’s hair gently.

“How is she?” Jungkook whispered. He saw Taehyung's red rimmed eyes and feared the worst.

“Doctor Park found a bite and some infection. She says she can treat it, it should be ok.” Taehyung gave a watery smile and Jungkook exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

“That’s good news. I’m so relieved.” He gave a warm smile and Taehyung couldn’t help but put his arms around him and bury his face in the other side of his neck.

Interlude From the Kim Family Records

I saved a Siren yesterday. He had been caught up in nets in the harbour and was injured. I held up both hands to show him I wasn’t going to harm him and he let me untangle the ropes. I tried to speak with him but he wouldn’t or couldn’t answer. As soon as his tail was free of the nets he swam away. I thought that was the last I’d see of him, but this morning when I woke up, I found a pearl on my windowsill.

I hope we meet again.

Kim Seon Yeong 1852

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Doctor Park walked into the waiting room and coughed politely.

“I would shake your hand but I can see you have an armful of Kims there.” she teased. “I’m Doctor Park. You can call me Aunty, like these boys do.”

Jungkook blushed, again, for the third time that day, and introduced himself shyly. Taehyung stood up straight and offered to take Kai. 

“No, he's fine. Shall I put him back in the car?”

“Do you mind if we sit for a minute? I want to tell Aunty our theory about the collectors.”

They sat down and Doctor Park brought them each a warm drink and then settled at her desk.

“Jungkookie works with Mina at the council.” Taehyung introduced the subject and then let Jungkook continue. 

“How come you know about the collectors, but Mina and all the farmers don’t?” Jungkook asked, thinking of the obvious plot hole in his story.

“Mina came over from the mainland. She may not have encountered collectors since she arrived.” The vet said. “As for the farmers, I am certain most of them would know, but they would need to report the disappearances as thefts to the council so they can claim for the loss with their insurance.”

“Oh, that makes sense I suppose.” he reasoned. “But then why didn’t any of the farmers tell me?”

“You are a newcomer to the Island, they probably didn’t think you’d believe them or validate their claim to the council.” 

“I have to report back to Mina today. What should I tell her?” Jungkook shifted the baby to his other shoulder and rolled his aching neck. Taehyung dug his fingers into the shoulder joint and massaged, eliciting a grunt of gratitude from the younger man.

“I think you should tell her what you definitely know and can prove.” The Vet said.

“Which is nothing.” Jungkook was 

“Almost nothing. You can list the animals and confirm they went missing on that night and that the culprit and means are unknown. That will be enough for Mina to file her report and the families to claim. Meanwhile, we can make sure Midnight is cured of the infection and that the collectors don’t come back for her.”

“Do you think you can cure her before tonight?” Taehyung asked anxiously. “They will come again, I know it.”

Jungkook took his hand and squeezed.

“If they come again, we will save her again.” he said confidently. “I saw you, you were all so magnificent. I know that Yoongi won’t keep the twins away when you need them.”

Doctor Park got up and patted Taehyung on the shoulder. 

“Leave Midnight with me. I’m going to put her on antibiotics and give her medication for the bite. I’ll call you at 4 pm and let you know if you can take her home or if we are all sleeping here.”

Taehyung gave her a hug and said thank you about 20 times before she pushed him towards the door with a laugh.

Taehyung detached the horse box and they left it at the side of the clinic, before he drove them into the village centre to the council building.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be.” Jungkook said. “You go ahead, I can walk to the school when I’m done.”

Taehyung peered out of the car window at the building.

“What if she’s not there. Doesn't look like anyone made it today. There are hardly any lights on.”

Jungkook didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to get fired for not showing up at work, but he wasn’t sure what Mina expected of him during the storm.

“Kookie, go and see if there’s anyone there. I’ll wait here for you. If Mina’s there, come and tell me and I will leave. If she’s not, then come with me to the school. I’m sure that Yoongi will let you use his computer to write your report.”

Jungkook ran from the car to the building and tried the main door. It was locked. He peered in through the glass, but saw no one. He tried the intercom, but got no answer, which effectively made his decision for him. 

He ran back to the car, got in, shook the rain out of his hair and grinned at his companion.

“Take me with you please.” 

Taehyung’s face broke into a beautiful smile.

“It will be my pleasure.”

Yoongi had magnanimously decided to give the students the rest of the day off lessons, so they were dotted about the school, in various activities.  The headteacher was now in his office with Jimin, Jin and Adora.  Hoseok and Jessi were leading a large group of students in a rowdy game of Hide and Seek. 

“Should we wait for Taehyung?” Yoongi asked the room. Jin and Adora both looked at Jimin and shrugged in unison.

“Does Jimin’s new information pertain to Taehyung?” Jin asked.  Jimin shook his head.

“Not specifically, but I think all three of you will be interested in what I have to tell you.”

“I have no idea how long he’ll be with the Vet, so tell us now and we can fill him in later.” Jin decided. “Is that ok with you Dorz?”

Adora nodded, rolling her eyes at the nickname.

“Sure thing. Put an end to this interminable suspense Jiminie, we braved the bridle path with 4 kids squashed in the back of my Kia for this news.”

Yoongi opened his mouth to question the wisdom of transporting his children packed like sardines in the car, but Jimin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Later love. Let me tell them first.” Jimin tapped on the map on the desk. 

“This is a map of the island. Let me show you what I found.”

An hour later, Adora was sitting in stunned silence, staring at the letter that Jimin’s Grandmother had written all those years ago. She was holding Yoongi’s hand tightly and had Jimin’s arm around her shoulders. 

“I was the baby that fishermen found in a shipwreck after a storm? And your grandmother wanted to adopt me?” She whispered.

“Both our grandmothers did by the sounds of it.” Jin said. “This could explain why we share the same gift. Maybe you are even more closely related to Taehyung and I than we imagined.”

Adora lifted a trembling hand and wiped a stray tear from her eye. 

“I thought I was completely alone.” Yoongi made a pained noise at that and she leaned her head on his shoulder,

“Not you Yoomfi, never you. I mean, alone without any blood relatives. No history or family traditions. Until you both and the twins, I wasn’t related to anyone in the world and I thought I had been born out of the storm.”

“What did you say?” The door had opened and Taehyung and Jungkook walked in, catching the end of Adora’s shaky words.

“It’s a long story.” Jimin smiled. “Come sit, I’ll tell you what you missed. But first, how is the horse?”

After finding out that Midnight was going to be ok, Jin excused himself and slipped out of the office to go to the kitchen.  The school meals were usually prepared by a cook who came daily from the village, but due to the storm, they’d been fending for themselves for the last two days.  He went to the pantry and pulled out the ingredients to make some rice cake soup.  

It didn’t take long, he was well experienced in making tasty filling food quickly for a house full of hungry boys.

It wasn’t long before he was walking across the school grounds, cradling a pot of hot soup in his arms, headed straight for the groundskeeper’s cottage.

Namjoon opened the door in shorts and a basketball vest that seemed to be more cutout than actual fabric. Jin congratulated himself on not dropping the soup.

“Hey! I made you some food.” he held the pot out in front and smiled awkwardly. This was not like him. He was usually Mr Smooth, oozing with confidence and charm, but right now, Jin felt very vulnerable. Like one hesitation from the man in front of him would crumble his confidence and send him scurrying back to the school building.

Fortunately for Jin and the soup, Namjoon’s face broke into a wide smile and he reached for the pot.

“Wow, thanks! I’m starving.” 

Things happened too fast to register until much later the next night, when Jin woke up with a cold sweat as he recalled.

Namjoon took the pot, Jin began to let go of his firm hold. Namjoon, flinched at the heat of the still warm soup and let go abruptly.  Jin’s grip, now relaxed, began to slip and in order to stop his delicious Tteokguk spilling all over the floor and their legs, he rushed forward, pinning it between their torsos. The rim of the pot winded him right in the solar plexus and he lurched forwards, the pot clangled to the floor, miraculously still upright, and Jin found himself on his knees, with a face full of very toned stomach.

“Oh my goodness! Mr Kim, are you ok?” Namjoon reached down and helped Jin to his feet. “Your face is all red, are you hurt?”

Somehow, they made it into the cottage with his last shreds of dignity intact.  Little Tae was sitting up at the table colouring in with a very concentrated look on his face.

“What are you drawing little one?” Jin asked him. Taehyun looked up at the newcomer and grinned, showing all his tiny teeth. 

“It’s the c'lekta.” he said and proudly lifted up his paper to show Jin.  There was a lot of dark green in the background surrounding two glowing yellow eyes floating in the middle of the page.

“Hmm, delightful.” Jin said, smiling sweetly.  “They look a bit scary.”

“No, not scary.” hummed Taehyun happily. “They are scared of me!”

Namjoon appeared from the kitchen holding bowls, spoons and chopsticks and got Little Tae to move his crayons so that they could sit and eat. 

Seokjin, being used to a house full of boys who either turned their noses up at his food or wolfed it down, rather enjoyed this lunch. Namjoon and Little Tae both yummed and ahhed their way through every bite and slurp. Jin’s ears were quite pink with pleasure by the end of the meal.

“Mr Kim this is so yummy!” Little Tae said with his mouthful. “Fank you!”

“You are very welcome Little one. And please, when we aren’t at school, you can call me Jinnie, ok?” Jin ruffled his soft mop of hair. The little boy looked at his dad in question and when Namjoon nodded, he turned back and said very politely.

“Oh fank you Jinnie. Please can I have some more?”

When the big old station clock on the wall of Yoongi’s office struck 4pm, his desk phone started ringing.

“Hello?” Yoongi picked it up after one ring.

“Mr Min, it’s Dr Park. I was told I could reach Taehyung at the school. Is he there please?”  Yoongi asked her to wait and called out to Taehyung who was reading through the papers that Jimin had brought. As soon as Yoongi said Dr Park, Taehyung leapt to his feet and rushed to the phone.

“Dr Park? How is she? Is everything ok?”

“She’s doing well, took all the medicine like a champ. The only thing is I won’t get all the blood test results before tomorrow, so there is a possibility that the infection won’t have completely cleared, meaning…”

“Meaning, they may come back again for her tonight.”

“Yes.”

“Can I come take her home now?” He asked, already patting his pockets for his car keys.

“Taehyung, she’s still on a drip. I think it would be better if she stayed here.”

“Will you have room for all of us there?”

“How many of you?” The vet sounded like she was walking around while speaking into the phone.

“Well, not to be dramatic, but the first night it took Yeonjun following them into the forest and wrestling the horses back, the second night, Jin and the boys held them off while I basically fought with Midnight to stop her leaving the stable. Last night, seven of us together managed to hold them completely back, they didn’t cross into our land.”

“So what you are saying is seven of you.”

“Well 9 if you count Jungkookie and Kai. I haven’t left them together alone in a different place yet, I don’t know if we are at that stage of our relationship yet.”

“Your relationship of four days.” The vet said dryly, although he could hear her grinning. 

“Precisely, which is why there will be nine of us.”

“I’m coming too.” Jimin piped up from behind Taehyung. “No way I’m letting my babies out of my sight again.”

“Ten of us.” Taehyung corrected himself. “We will bring snacks.”

Seokjin arrived back soon after, with Namjoon and Little Tae in tow. He had invited them to stay in the school with Yoongi and the rest of the staff and students in case the power went out again.

Yoongi insisted that the ones about to go over to the Veterinary clinic, all ate and had warm clothing and that they took pillows and blankets.

“At least for the kids,” he said after Adora protested. “I know you can pull an all-nighter with ease, but we’ve all seen Leela turn into the grinch on two hours of sleep.”

“Indeed.” Adora grinned, “She takes after you.” 

Dr Park opened the side gate so they could park behind the clinic. It was still raining heavily, but the power hadn’t cut out before they arrived.

“Hopefully it won’t at all.” Jin said looking at the sky, “The storm seems to be reading off finally.”

Jungkook pulled a face at this.

“Easing off?” he grumbled as the rain dripped down his face and almost blinded him between the car and the back door of the building.  He was holding Kai tightly in his arms as Taehyung followed, carrying a plastic bin bag full of pillows and blankets, trying to keep them dry.

Dr Park had cleared a space in the waiting room area. It had a few comfy chairs and the most room if they wanted to make up beds on the floor. 

“Unless you fancied sleeping on my operating table?” She quipped and then hastily retracted the offer as both the twins and Yeonjun and Soobin seemed ready to take her up on it.

Jimin steered his two children away from the consulting rooms and towards a three seat sofa. He pulled out some books and a pencil case. The twins groaned.

“Oh? Did you imagine that this got you out of doing your homework?” he grinned at them. “Even superheroes have to learn basic maths.”

Yeonjun and Soobin looked on at their fallen comrades with pity and then tried to sneak off before Seokjin grabbed them each by the shoulder. He advised them that now was the perfect time for them to catch up on the reading they had been assigned for their drama and literature class. Needless to say, there was much grumbling.

It was now a little after 8pm. Jimin was helping solve algebra equations. Seokjin and Adora were casing the building to see where any intruders might come in and Taehyung was with Dr Park, administering a fresh antibiotic drip into Midnight’s foreleg.

Jungkook was hovering a little way behind, watching with interest, while rocking side to side as Kai snored on his shoulder, drooling a little. Dr Park couldn’t help her snort of amusement after watching Taehyung zone out while holding Midnight’s head still so much that the horse flicked her ear in his face in irritation.

Taehyung jumped out of whatever daydream he’d been in and blushed as he caught the Vet’s eye.

“Four Days.” she whispered at him and winked. He stole another look at the man holding his son and saw that he too was blushing. Taehyung wasn’t sure why but the colour on his cheeks suited him.

They all reconvened in the makeshift camp at 9. Jimin insisted that the twins try to sleep at least a little while, assuring them that they wouldn’t miss out on any of the fun.

“You’ll hear them arrive before the rest of us.” he assured Leela, cupping her cheek affectionately. “But you need to rest so you can have enough energy later.”

Jimin settled himself at the end of one of the sofas, Beomgyu laying flat with his head on his father’s lap. Leela used Adora’s lap as her pillow, stretching out on the sofa adjacent. 

Seokjin and his boys made sleeping mats up on the floor. Dr Park wheeled her office chair in and settled with her feet up on one of the low tables. 

Jungkook was still cradling the sleeping baby in his arms, so Taehyung helped him sink down to the floor, into the blanket nest he’d made them that was in one of the corners of the room. He propped Kookie’s back and elbows up with pillows and then  slipped down on the floor next to him. 

“I only have one blanket left for cover.” he held it up. “Do you mind sharing?” 

Jungkook shook his head and shifted a little closer so they could cover all their legs.

The adults all settled quietly, most closing their eyes, Jimin texting Yoongi on his mobile with the screen light turned low.

Yooni 😾

“I miss you baby”

Diminie 🐥

“I miss you too”

Yooni 😾

“Are the kids ok?”

Diminie 🐥

“They are fine, I made them do their algebra.”

Yooni 😾

“You are winning at parenting.”

Diminie 🐥

“Was there ever a doubt?”

Yooni 😾

“Never a single doubt. I love you.”

Diminie 🐥

“I love you too. 

Do you think Dora will be ok? 

Will she forgive me for digging up her past?”

Yooni 😾

“She’ll be ok. She just needs time to process. 

She knows we love her.

You left the notebooks here..

I was thinking

How many generations of your family were on this Island, love?”

Diminie 🐥

“Hmm, I think at least 3? 

Grandma was born here,

I think maybe her mother was too?

Why?”

Yooni 😾

“Just thinking. None of you are here, so I have nothing else to do.”

Diminie 🐥

“Don’t think too hard my love

Try to get some rest.”

Leela sat bolt upright,  just a second before Kai started screaming.

They had a plan.

• Seokjin and Adora were to take the four older children to wherever the Collectors were approaching the clinic. 

• Taehyung and Dr Park would stay with Midnight and try to keep her calm.

• Jungkook would keep hold of Kai and Jimin would keep time and notes.

Everything went pretty well for about 10 minutes.  Kai insisted on being close to Taehyung while clinging desperately to Jungkook’s neck, so they ended up hovering about a metre behind him. They were just out of kicking reach, but close enough so Taehyung could occasionally stroke the little boy’s cheek and try to comfort him.

Jimin hovered a few metres behind the six who were outside the back door now, staring across the yard at the tree line beyond. The Clinic backed onto trees, a thinner copse than the woods surrounding the Kim house, but accessible from the forest if you walked all around the village perimeter.

They stood now, Seokjin holding his boys’ hands and Adora holding onto the twins. They could sense the movement out there. Leela pointed up high to the left of the yard.

“There are two there.” Then she swept her arm to the right and pointed lower.

“And I think there are three there. They are waiting for us.”

“Waiting for us to do what?” Adora asked her. She could sense the movement too, but none of them had Leela’s keen hearing.

“Waiting for us to let them take Midnight.” Leela said, concentrating hard as she peered into the darkness. She flinched back suddenly, gripping Adora’s hand.

“They are angry.” 

Adora pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

“Well they aren’t getting past us tonight, so they can stay angry.” She stepped forward and shouted at the trees

“STAY AWAY FROM US. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!”  Then, forming a circle with the others,  they all closed their eyes and started to sing.

So far Jimin had noted down the times when the children woke up and the collectors arrived.

Then the time when the rain stopped and the eerie stillness fell over them. He could see the rain was still falling on the other side of the street from the clinic, but it was like there was a massive umbrella being held over the building and the backyard. 

He wrote down the time stamp when he saw his daughter flinch and Adora hold her close so she could shout into the darkness. 

He couldn’t hear much, Adora had insisted that he, Jungkook and Dr Park wear ear plugs to lessen the effect of their song. 

“We need you upright.” she’d explained, getting a nod of understanding from Jungkook and one of disbelief from her friend.

“I’m serious Jimin, this isn’t like me humming you and Yoongi to sleep in the old days, this is unadulterated, full on concentrated siren song.”

“Siren song?” 

“I don’t know, it reminds me of the folk tales Yoongi’s mum used to read to us.” Adora had shrugged. She was still making sense of what she had read in her file, she couldn’t explain everything quite yet.

Jimin had agreed, because in the end Adora was as stubborn as he was and she threatened to drive him back to Yoongi if he didn’t wear them.

Adora had been right. Of course she had.  If Jimin hadn’t have been wearing the earplugs, the impact of the soundwave that came in from the front of the building, smashing the windows, would have incapacitated him. As it was, he was knocked to his feet, but able to sense when the force passed over him and headed straight for the room where they were holding Midnight.

Jimin got to his hands and knees, flinching at the shards of broken glass that needled at his skin.  

He looked out of the back window. They were still singing, and he could see shimmers of the creatures they were holding back if he focused into the darkness beyond them. It had been a trap. A decoy. 

They had planted enough of them in the back to draw all of Adora’s, Jin’s and the children’s attention so that another collector could break in through the front.

Not on Jimin’s watch. He felt the rage swell through him as the adrenaline coursed through his veins and tissue. Getting to his feet, he ditched his notepad and ran down the corridor after the creature.

Even with the earplugs, Kai’s screaming was powerful. Jungkook flinched physically as the screaming punched through his head and the air a fraction of a second before the door to the room opened and a thing… like he’d never seen before in his life, rushed in, heading straight for the horse.

It was at least seven feet tall, shrouded in blackness, as if sucking in all the light around it. There was no face, but at the same time, the void where the face should be filled him with terror. He couldn’t see, but Jungkook heard, he felt the jaws cracking as they opened wide, baring rows and rows of teeth. 

Can you hear metal? Can you see sounds? This was like all his senses were colliding. He smelled salt and tasted blood on his tongue.  Kai had gripped him so hard by the neck that his tiny nails were biting into the flesh, as he stood rigid on Jungkook’s arm, screaming louder than should have been possible at the collector.

Taehyung had his back to the horse, holding on to her bridle with one hand and holding the other out to try to halt the oncoming threat.  Dr Park was on the other side of Midnight, trying to sedate her, but finding it impossible to get the needle into the catheter. In fact she thought she had it when the horse reared up on her hind legs and ripped the tube out, blood spraying from the wound onto the Vet. 

Jungkook needed to get away from the creature but Kai was leaning forward, reaching out to it. He wasn’t screaming with fear, he was screaming with rage. 

Jimin skidded into the room behind the creature and leaped at it, jumping on its back. The creature turned his head and flicked Jimin off like he was a piece of dust. He was thrown off immediately, crashing into the wall.  Jungkook rushed forward to help him and in doing so gave Kai enough leverage to lurch forward and place his tiny hand on the invader. 

As soon as he touched him, the collector flinched as if he’d been burned, but he couldn’t pull away. Kai looked at him squarely in the space where his face should be and screamed.

There was something of a glimmer of light, eyes and mouth flickering in and out of visibility. Whatever it was Kai had done, halted the creature for long enough for Taehyung and Jimin to regroup, coming at it from either side. 

While he had been on the floor, Jimin had spotted a big bucket type container and picked it up as he got back up. As Taehyung ran straight at it, punching it hard in the gut, Jimin leaped up and rammed the bucket over its head and shoulders. 

It sank to its knees and Kai wriggled out of Jungkook’s hold, stepped closer and placed both hands on the creature’s arm. 

Taehyung placed his hand on the little boy’s head and together they sang. The creature started to shake, curling up in on itself until it was in a foetal position, making a moaning sound as if it were in pain.

Dr Park suddenly tossed something from where she stood the other side of a now slightly quieter Midnight, after she’d managed to stick the needle straight into her leg.

Leather straps landed by Jungkook’s feet. He looked up in surprise. 

“Reins!” she mouthed, she may have shouted but nothing could be heard above the singing.

He picked them up and untangled them, then looking up and catching Jimin’s eye suddenly realised what they were for.

He tossed one end of the reins to Jimin, who was still perched on top of the bucket weighing down the creature. Jimin caught them and together they looped them round and round the shoulders, arms and feet, trussing it up like a bird ready for the oven. 

All the while, Taehyung and Kai sang. No longer screaming, the little boy followed his father’s lead, emitting a sound that, despite the earplugs, eventually brought the three humans in the room to their knees.

Because there was no denying it anymore. Jungkook had come to this island thinking the world was as simple as everything he’d ever seen on the mainland, but now he knew. 

There were the Collectors, more terrifying than his nightmares could have ever cooked up, but as nature must have balance, there were also these beautiful creatures, these sirens, more captivating than he could even dream.

Interlude

Something happened to me. I thought I must be about to die. 

I fell while out collecting firewood, I think my leg is broken.

I lay unable to move until it grew dark and cold. There were many noises, I heard something like a scream and the cracking of bones. My leg hurt so much I fainted.

A great pain made me wake up and there was a face with no features, just teeth. I screamed, I think. I was sure it was going to kill me, but it looked away suddenly. There came another sound. It overtook everything, all my senses. The creature recoiled from me. I fainted again.

I woke up again a little while ago. I am back in my house, in my bed. There is medicine in a cup beside me. My leg is bound up and there is a pearl on my table. 

Kim Seon Yeong 1852

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

So, what does one do when faced with an unconscious, trussed up, faceless monster, three of your human friends incapacitated on the floor, and your 2 year old non-human bored with singing and wanting milk and a cookie? Not to mention the 5, still very angry and very much conscious faceless monster friends keeping your fellow singing non-humans at an impasse just outside the back door. 

This was the predicament that Taehyung now faced. As ever, he remained cheerful. He pulled out his phone and called Yoongi.

“Taehyung? Is everything ok?”

“Well, to be honest, not entirely? The kids are all fine, but I could really do with some extra hands. Jimin and Jungkook are kind of….”

“Kind of what? What happened to them?”

“Well, they passed out. But they will be absolutely fine! They just got a bit too close to the singing.”

Yoongi muttered that he was on his way and hung up. Taehyung took off his jacket, folded it up into a pillow and put it gently under Jungkook’s head. He was completely knocked out and looked so peaceful, Taehyung couldn’t resist running careful fingers through his hair. 

Jimin had fallen to the floor but his head was on one of his arms. Taehyung walked around the now docile Midnight, and found Dr Park on her back quite close to the horse’s hooves, so he rolled her away from Midnight into the recovery position. He came back and found Kai squatting next to Jungkook, patting his head.

“Kookie sleep?” Kai looked up to his father who crouched down next to him.

“Yes baby. Let Kookie sleep. Let’s go see how the others are getting on.”  Taehyung checked that the fallen assailant was securely bound and then grabbing the long end of the lead, dragged it behind him out of the door, away from his friends, towards where his brother and Adora were.

They had stopped singing. Taehyung realised that now as he made his way up the corridor towards the large glass doors that lined the back of the main building. Kai toddled behind him, patting the creature on the shoulder every so often. 

They came to a stop by the edge of the glass and Taehyung peered out cautiously. He could see his brother and the others in a close huddle, all looking down at something on the floor. 

Taehyung knocked gently on the window, but they couldn’t hear him, so he scooped Kai up into his arms and opened the door wide enough to step one foot out and called.

“Jin!”

His brother looked round and rushed over. 

“Are you ok? Where’re the others?”

Taehyung pointed to the trussed up creature on the floor.

“Kai and I knocked them out while we were singing to this one.” He grimaced. 

“They are all ok, just sleeping it off still.”

“Midnight?”

“She’s fine. The doc managed to sedate her before she reared. Unfortunately the doc is also passed out.   I guess we know they aren;t like us now! What's going on out there?”

Jin looked behind and pointed to the floor.

“One of them collapsed. The rest disappeared. It’s awake but still on the floor.”

“What are we going to do with them?”

“I don’t know. We never planned on taking hostages.” Taehyung turned to the creature that was still immobilized and glowering at Kai who was patting it on the elbow at regular intervals.

He crouched down and got at eye level.

“We don’t want to hurt you. We just want you to leave us alone.”

It was almost dawn. The first rays of light creeping diluting the inky sky. There was a bang at the other side of the building and then Yoongi Hoseok and Namjoon ran in, panting as if they’d run the whole way.

“Where’s Jimin.” Yoongi almost growled, starting in shock as they caught sight of the thing on the floor.

“Where are my children? Dora? What the fuck is that?!”

The next half hour went as follows:

Yoongi and Hobi were sent to check up on the horse, vet, husband and future baby daddy.  Kai toddled after them, taking possession of Kookie’s sleeping body with such a menacing expression that the two men left him to it and saw to the others first. Jungkook finally came round to the familiar sight of Kai sitting on his chest, staring into his face and patting him on the nose. 

“Kookie!” he’d cried in delight with a toothy screech that made everyone flinch. 

Taehyung helped Jin move the trussed up collector outside the building, next to the one that Adora and the children were still watching over. 

The sun had crept above the shadow of the trees now and tendrils of light made their way across the ground to where they all stood. 

None of them were really paying attention to it until one of the collectors flinched and then cried out in pain.  Yeonjun was the first to spot it.

“The sun, it’s burning them!” They whipped round and saw both creatures trying to pull their bodies away from the encroaching sun.  Before Jin could say anything, both his boys had grabbed the collectors feet and were dragging it into the shade of the building. Jin rushed to get the shoulders,

“Stop, you will hurt it dragging across the ground, one, two three, lift.”  they staggered back, carrying it so that it lay snug against the wall, cowering into a ball.

Adora, Taehyung and the twins moved the other collector so that it too lay in the deep cool shadow of the wall. 

Again, Taehyung knelt down by the head of the collector he had subdued and tried to communicate with it.

“We don’t want to hurt you. If I untie you, will you attack me?” The creature’s face was easier to see now in the early light. Taehyung could make out the nose and mouth, but the eyes were light black holes. Empty pools of darkness. 

“Can you understand me?”

The collector blinked, once, twice and then made a low sound. 

Adora knelt next to Taehyung and opened a big umbrella over them. 

“We will take you to the trees.” she said while signing as best she could to communicate what they were trying to say. She pointed to the umbrella,

“This will cover you from the sun.” The creature blinked twice again.

“Are you blinking twice for yes?” Taehyung asked. Showing a thumbs up and blinking twice. The creature blinked twice.

“And once for no?” Taehyung turned his thumb down and blinked once. The creature blinked twice again.

Taehyung looked at Adora.

“I can’t tell if it’s saying two blinks for yes, because it agrees with me or if it can only blink in increments of two.”

“Let’s ask it something we know it would say no to then.” Adora suggested. She turned back to the collector who was watching the pair of them with silent intensity.

“Do you like the sunshine?” She asked. The collector blinked once.

“Do you want us to take you over to the trees?” Taehyung asked. The collector blinked twice.

“Ok, ok! We can do this.” Taehyung stood up and went to untie the leather strap securing the creature but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

“Wait!” It was Yoongi. He had emerged from the building followed by Jimin who was being hugged by his twins. 

Yoongi crouched down and Taehyung could swear that he heard him growl. 

“You tell your people to leave us alone. Leave my family alone, leave my friends alone, leave our animals alone. If you come back, I’ll be waiting for you and I won’t be as nice as my friend here.”

The creature blinked twice slowly and turning back to Taehyung held his wrists up to be freed.

Yoongi helped lift the creature, so that he and Taehyung could hold it while Namjoon helped Jin bring the other to its feet. Adora held the umbrella over them, so one at a time they were able to walk them back to the tree line without getting burned any more.

Before he let go, Taehyung looked deep into the eyes of the Collector he had fought earlier.

“Midnight is getting treatment and she will be well. Please don’t take her.” His face was stricken. 

“In fact, I must thank you for trying, because I didn’t know she was sick until you came. You helped me save her.”

Yoongi snorted at that. 

“I don’t think that was their intention.”

“Whatever the intention, that was the outcome hyung. Midnight will live now, so please, don’t come back for her.”

The collector looked at him for a long time, and then, just as the second creature arrived at the tree line, he blinked twice and dipped his head.

“Thank you.” Taehyung whispered. “Get home safe.” 

In a moment they were gone.

They walked back across the yard, Taehyung breaking into a jog when he saw Jungkook emerge from the building with Kai on his hip. He reached them and gathered both into a hug, Kai squeaking in protest but soon relenting and snuggling into the embrace. 

“How are you?” Taehyung asked eventually, tracing his hands over Jungkook’s face and arms, checking for bumps and bruises.

“I feel like I drank a whole barrel of beer last night, but other than that I’m fine.” he smiled wearily, 

“I promise!” He protested as Taehyung whined in distress, finding the bump on the back of his head. 

“I’m so sorry, I never meant to.. We would never have..”

“Tae, Tae! It’s ok. We saved Midnight. You did what you had to do. I never doubted you for a second. Jimin and I are fine, it’s not the first hangover we’ve had, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. The vet is fine too. She told me to bring you so she can show you the test results.”

Jungkook took his hand and led him back into the clinic, along the passageway to the large surgery at the end. Dr Park was sitting at a desk at the side of the room. Midnight was in a stall, quietly munching on whatever was in her nosebag. 

“Aunty! I’m so sorry, are you ok?” Taehyung felt so guilty, he was almost in tears. Dr Park stood up and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m fine. You put me into the recovery position and made sure we were all safe. You did good. Stop beating yourself up.”

Taehyung sniffed.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. And you have to trust me because I’m a doctor.”

“Technically a vet, but…”

“Tch!” she tutted and flicked him on the chin. “Come, let me show you the latest blood results.”

The lab had rushed through the results and she had just received the email.

“Her infection is all clear. Her cell count is fine and bar a vitamin injection that I can give her now, she’s as fit as a fiddle.”

That was the last straw. The stress of the past week all rushed up and Taehyung burst into tears.  He was pulled into a strong arm and then patted on the head by a smaller one. Jungkook tucked his face into his shoulder, not caring about the tears drenching his shirt and Kai babbled as he shuffled his dad’s hair back and forth with his tiny hand.

“Papa Taetae no sad, Taetae happy, Papa no sad.”

“Listen to your son.” A soft voice murmured and he felt Jungkook hold both him and his son close and honestly Taehyung couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry or whoop for joy.

Interlude

I have enough pearls to make a necklace now. 

I have started to leave my window open and try to stay awake to catch sight of my saviour. For many months I have always fallen asleep too quickly, until one night when I had earache, so went to bed with rag soaked in clove oil for the pain. For some reason, I was able to stay awake and saw him when he arrived. 

He has eyes as dark as the stormy sea, but I was not afraid. He saw me awake and was going to leave, but I held out my hand and he took it, leaving the pearl in my palm instead of on the table.

I held his hand tightly and tried to speak to him, but we do not share a language. 

He held my face so gently, and kissed me. It was my first kiss. 

As our lips touched I heard the rush of the waves and a song more beautiful than I could have imagined.

He stayed until dawn I think. I finally fell asleep and when I woke up he was gone.

Kim Seon Yeong 1853

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Jungkook didn’t really register it, until he was sitting in the passenger seat of Taehyung’s 4x4 pulling down the visor to shade his eyes from the sun.

“Oh!” he said out loud, making Taehyung look at him in alarm. “The rain has stopped!”

Taehyung’s relief came out in a bark of laughter.

“You just noticed?”

“It’s rained so much since I moved here, my brain started to block it out like white noise.” Jungkook grinned at the driver and then turned around in his seat to check on the little one in the back. Kai was fast asleep in his baby seat, gripping tightly onto his sippy cup. 

“He’s probably going to sleep all morning.” Jungkook reckoned yawning, “I wish I could.”

“Why can’t you?” Taehyung asked, “Come back and nap with us. We would love to have you. Stay, please?”

“I should go to work.” Jungkook replied, not knowing whether to respond to the subtly desperate plea or not. Taehyung didn’t seem to be the least bit embarrassed so Jungkook took his cue from that.

“I really would love to stay though. Maybe after I've checked in with Mina, I can come see you and Kai later?”

“You can come anytime you like. My home is your home.”

Something warm fluttered in Jungkook’s chest. He checked his watch, looked in his bag for his notes and made a decision.

“Can I use the telephone at your house?”

Mina listened carefully as Jungkook told her all the information he’d gathered over the last few days, just as Dr Park had advised.

“All the animals are definitely missing, there are no signs of break ins, but most of the animals were either in paddocks or outbuildings so it wouldn’t have been impossible to remove them without detection. People don’t seem to have much in the way of security on this island.”

“Yeah,” Mina said, “Everyone knows everyone, they rely on trust and honesty.  Did you find anything else for the report?”

There was a small pause, she heard papers rustling as the man on the other end of the phone flicked through his notebook.

“No.” he said after a few moments.

“No?”

“Nothing else to put in the report.”  Jungkook confirmed. “Is it enough? Do I need to do anything else?”

Mina told him that it was enough and to rest up.

“Dr Park told me you were assisting her all night and requested that you have a long weekend. I’ll see you on Monday, ok?”

“Really? Thank you, I really appreciate it.”  He hung up the phone and turned to see Taehyung sitting at the kitchen table, head leaning in his hand, looking at him with a beatific smile on his face.  Jungkook was struck momentarily by the image before him. He could see the composition as if it were set up for a painting and his fingers itched to sketch or take a picture. Then the moment passed and he realised he was staring at the man who was staring back at him and he blushed. Then he grinned and stepped forward.

“I don’t have to go back until Monday. Got room for me for three more nights?”

Yoongi drove his brood home, ushered them all into the house and somehow managed to gather them all into his arms on the sofa. Jimin was tucked into his left side, Beomgyu on his right and Leela on his lap.

“Dad I can’t breathe.” Beomgyu grumbled from somewhere under Yoongi’s armpit.

“I just need you to keep still for 5 minutes so I can hold you and remind my brain that you are all safe and home. Now shush.”

Beomgyu shushed and snuggled in deeper, Leela closed her eyes and leaned her head on both her father’s shoulders as they leaned together.

“I know you have some mysterious superpower and can fight monsters, but I just found your papa unconscious on the floor, and my two tiny defenceless babies standing over a couple of faceless boogie men.”

“You just said we had superpowers.” Leela said dryly. She got that from Yoongi, Jimin thought to himself. 

“And I’m almost 12, so clearly not defenceless babies.”

“Maybe he was talking about me.” Jimin murmured. 

“Papa was defenceless against an actual baby.” snorted Leela. Jimin tickled her in protest.

“I helped take out a collector, thank you very much. Tae wouldn’t have been able to tie it up if I hadn’t whacked that bucket over its head.”

“Shortly before the singing of a 2 year old knocked you out.” Beomgyu added and then suddenly both twins were squealing as they were tickled into submission by their Papa. Yoongi gave a heavy sigh, laid his head back against the sofa and tried not to get kneed in the balls.

Adora drove Hoseok and Namjoon back to the school. Little Tae was wide awake, waiting at the door with Jessie when they arrived at the school. He tugged his hand away from her and ran over to Namjoon as soon as he got out of Adora’s little car.

“Papa, where did you go?” He looked up with huge sad eyes. “I woke up all alone.”  Namjoon picked up the little boy and hugged him close to his chest.

“I’m sorry little one, I had to help the uncles.”  Little Tae was not impressed with this answer and continued to grumble into Namjoon’s neck.

“Thank you for watching him Miss Ho, I think I’d better take him home.” Saying goodbye to Hobi and Adora, he carried his son around the side of the building and headed back to their cottage.

Jessi ushered the other two into the school and over to the staff room where there was plenty of coffee brewing.

“I just single handedly got the entire student body up, fed and entertained in the main hall, while holding the groundskeeper’s son on my hip the whole time.” Jessi glared at her two fellow teachers. “Will somebody please tell me why I woke up and discovered not only that I was the only adult on campus, but also found a very scared four year old huddled up on the sofa in my sitting room?”

“Errrr.” Hobi started and then flinched as Adora thumped him on the arm.

“You left Little Tae on Jessi’s sofa without waking her up to tell her?”

“It was an emergency! Taehyung told Yoongi that Jimin was unconscious and he was panicking. Namjoon didn’t want to leave Little Tae in the cabin alone or bring him with us, so I thought he’d be safest with Jessi.”

Adora dropped her head into her hands and groaned

“Why are men so stupid.”

“You should have woken me up, Hobi! In fact, where is Yoongi, because I need to give him a piece of my mind.”

Jessi stood up and pointed at Hobi and Adora,

“You two are in charge of the students, I’m going to call our leader and yell at him.”

Seokjin drove himself and his two boys home first to get showered and changed and then back to the school because he was conscious that the remaining teachers were completely outnumbered.

They arrived in the staff car park just in time to see Jessi walk out of the building shouting into her mobile phone. 

“We should wait until she’s not looking and then sneak around the back.” Jin told his sons in a responsible fatherly manner,

“I suspect she’s yelling at Yoongi and I don’t want to be next.”

Taehyung had offered to make lunch for himself, Jungkook and Kai, but after opening the larder and staring into it for a while, he realised that in the absence of instant noodles and tins of soup, he couldn’t make anything more complicated than jam sandwiches. He must have been standing there for longer than he realised, because he felt a chin rest on his shoulder and a soft voice whisper against his ear. 

“Need help?” Jungkook asked quietly. Taehyung turned and saw that Kai was fast asleep on Jungkook's shoulder.  He felt his heart melt just a little bit more. Soon he would be an entire puddle.

“Usually Jin does all the cooking. I can manage noodles but we’ve run out. Do you mind toast?”

Jungkook pushed past him gently, handing over the sleeping baby and started poking around in the larder. 

Taehyung watched in adoring fascination as Jungkook pulled together random ingredients and whipped up a rolled cheese omelette loaded with chopped vegetables. Sliced up it was enough for both men and even a newly woken Kai, who took a cautious bite and then shovelled as much in his face as he could grab with his hands. 

Jungkook blinked at the little boy for a second and then decided that a 2 year old eating happily was way more important than a two year old holding his spork correctly.  Taehyung was eating his serving with as much enthusiasm, but with chopsticks and fewer flying chunks of egg.

The sun was shining brightly outside, the rays reaching through the large kitchen windows and across the room. 

“I don’t think it’s been this sunny since I arrived on the island.” Jungkook mused. I was beginning to think the seasons were just measured in precipitation levels.”

Taehyung snorted.

“We do get more than our fair share of tropical storms, but there are hot days too. Days when all we want to do is lay flat in a rock pool and commune with the fishes.”

Jungkook looked at him thoughtfully.

“That makes sense.”

“What does?”

“You communing with the fishes. Because of your mermaid blood or whatever.”

Taehyung barked out a laugh of surprise.

“My what?”

“I was thinking about it and it makes sense. You can sing people to their knees. Reminded me of the old legends of the mermaids who cause shipwrecks. I mean, Adora was found in a shipwreck wasn’t she?”

“She was only a few days old! Are you suggesting she caused the wreck?” Taehyung looked at him in disbelief.

“No! I mean, I don’t know, she must have had parents. Maybe they were trying to protect her from whoever was on the boat and everyone was lost except her. But how else would she have survived? A human baby would have perished in the water, surely.”

“Perished?”

“It’s what they say when people die at sea.” Jungkook pouted. Taehyung leaned forward and flicked him on the chin affectionately.

“Don’t pout, baby, I’m listening. You sound like you’ve been thinking about this.”

“I have. I mean, before I just thought you all had some mad choir skills, but last night, when you started to sing, even if I’d wanted to escape, I couldn’t have. You enchanted me completely.”  seeing that Taehyung was showing some distress at his words, Jungkook shuffled his chair closer and took his hands between his own. 

“Yeah?” Taehyung looked at him with big sad eyes. “You know I would never try to hurt you or anyone else for that matter.”

“I wasn’t in pain. You didn’t hurt me. It’s like you were creeping into my head and chest. I just wanted more.”

“I remembered everything you’ve told me about your family and what we found out about Adora and I thought, you must be mermaids or what's the other name,” He scrunched up his face in thought and looked so adorable, Taehyung couldn’t help but boop his nose. Jungkook gave him a brilliant smile.

“Sirens! I think you must be sirens. And maybe your mother was dying, so the collectors took her, but they left you and Seokjin because as you said, they never take healthy lives. So they knew to leave you with your grandmother. And maybe the same happened with Kai, Yeonjun and Soobin. And like, Adora was found by the fishermen because she was in the ocean, not on the island. But somehow found her way back here, not once but twice.”

Taehyung looked at him in wonder and amazement. 

“How did you even piece that all together?”

“I am an investigative reporter. I mean I will be when someone hires me, but I love making pictures out of the clues around me. You fascinate me so much, I couldn’t help but find an explanation to all of this.” 

He waved his hands around, gesturing at Taehyung and Kai, who was making pictures on his highchair tray with some egg and ketchup. 

“The more I learn, the more I want to immerse myself completely in you.”

Taehyung was a good boy, he really was. He had been patient and a gracious host and polite but this was his limit. He pulled Jungkook the last few inches and kissed him squarely on the lips.

Jungkook pulled away for just a second to clarify something that was niggling at the back of his brain.

“I need you to know that right now, I am 100% sober and not under the influence of your siren call. This.” He gestured between them. “Is completely all conscious and voluntary.” Then he drew Taehyung in and kissed him back.

Kai looked over at his two favourite/most tolerable humans and smacked his hand in the ketchup with a satisfied smile on his little face. 

“Tete. Kookie. Mine, yes.”

Some time later, Kai had reached his own personal limit of high chair tolerance and the kissing had had to be postponed. It was getting really hot and Taehyung had the idea of taking them to the beach. Jin had arrived home around 3, announcing that the school was in a state of anarchy and he’d returned with his boys as his contribution to reduce the student mess.

“I’m sure Yoongi will be so appreciative.” Taehyung had drawled, in a good impression of the headmaster.

The boys had been excited to go to the beach, so by 4pm, they all piled into the jeep and to Jungkook’s surprise, took the track that went deeper into the forest, rather than back out towards the village. They came to a weir that crossed a shallow part of a river and Taehyung slowed down as they splashed through the water, testing his brakes as they emerged on the opposite bank.

“I’ve never been this way before.” Jungkook held onto his seatbelt as they bounced over the uneven track. It was full of bumps and dips, entirely dirt. 

“Technically this is a bridle way. We usually ride the horses, but it takes about an hour. We can do that next time. It’s our own private beach, no one else comes out here.”

“Wow!” Jungkook gaped as they passed through what felt like miles and miles of dense forest. “Is this all your land?”

“Not this part. We left our main plot when we crossed the river, but there's about 3 acres of coast with a natural bay that is ours as well. My grandmother told me that it was gifted to her great great grandmother sometime in the 1860s.”

“That’s so cool.” Jungkook’s eyes gleamed and Taehyung couldn’t help but reach across and squeeze his thigh. Jungkook put his hand over Taehyungs and they drove on holding hands without speaking. 

Jin, in the seat behind the driver, gave a small snort and then a dramatic yelp as Kai whacked him on the back of the head with a flying purple missile.

“Cup!”

Having got accustomed to the cool green shade of the forest, Jungkook blinked in surprise at the bright light shining off the sea as they emerged from the trees and the dirt track turned into sand. 

Taehyung parked the car just before the firm ground gave way to soft dunes and they all piled out. Jungkook carried Kai and the others carried towels, bags of snacks and swimming clothes.

At the top of the last dune, Yeonjun and Soobin dropped their bags and flung themselves down the slope, rolling over and over, whooping and giggling. Jin watched them with a broad smile and then threw himself down the dune and piled on top of them.   Taehyung was next, dumping a pile of towels on the sand and whooping as he bounded down the dune in giant strides and leaped onto his nephews and brother, catching Jin right in a tender spot if the yell was anything to go by.

Standing at the pinnacle, Kai clapping and giggling in delight in his arms, Jungkook looked down at them with a huge smile on his face and suddenly welled up. He had a lovely childhood, but as an only child with no cousins near his age, he never had this kind of rough and tumble camaraderie. His summers were spent following his mother around as she chased leads and wrote her articles. He would write up his own little pieces and she would give him gentle critique and lots of encouragement. She even got a couple of his articles published in the kids section of her paper. He hero-worshipped her and didn't regret or resent a single moment of his youth, but suddenly his heart longed for this big noisy family.

Jungkook kissed Kai on the head and whispered, 

“Shall we jump on them?”  Kai clapped and squealed in assent, so putting the baby down and holding his little hand, they jogged very carefully down the Dune and jumped into the cuddle pile. Jungkopk was immediately pulled into a tangle by Tae’s grabby hands, while the baby climbed his way to the top, standing on arms, bellies and faces to finally sit proudly, on his cousin’s shoulders. 

“KAI!” he yelled in triumph, and surveyed his kingdom.

They spent a good hour splashing in the sea and playing a very raucous game of Chicken where each adult had a child on their shoulders who tried their best to knock the other down.   Of course, Kai had chosen to sit on Jungkook and because he was the baby, got away with splashing his family but not getting completely drenched in retaliation, unlike Yeonjun, Soobin and their completely sodden steeds who showed no mercy to each other.

Then they’d eaten all the snacks and now Kai was building a sprawling construction of sandcastles with his cousins while the three older men lay on the towels getting the last of the evening sun. 

Jin was scrolling through his phone and texting. Taehyung was lying on his side, playing with Jungkook’s hair as the younger one lay on his back, next to him.

 “Why did your family get gifted this bay?” Jungkook mused, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of fingers scratching at his scalp. The fingers halted for a second and he opened an eye.

Taehyung had his thinking face on. 

“I don’t actually know the exact reason. But I believe the ancestress did a great favour to whoever lived here, so they gave it to her to protect it.”

“That’s so intriguing. I wonder if… Would it be ok if I looked in your Grandmother's book when we get home? Maybe I can find out more? If that’s ok with you.” He hesitated, “Tell me if I’m being too nosy.”

“Home.” Taehyung repeated softly with a gentle smile. Jungkook raised an eyebrow in question and Taehyung snapped out of his domestic daydreaming and grinned.

“Of course it’s ok. I can’t wait to watch your investigative brain in action.” he flicked his chin and then, casting an eye to see the boys were facing the other way, leaned in and kissed him him.

“Can’t get enough of your brains.”

“You sound like you want to eat me.” Jungkook giggled between kisses.

“What makes you think I won’t?” his response was swallowed up in a gasp as a ball of wet sand hit Taehyung on the back of the head.

“Yah! Stop it you animals!” Jin yelled, “You’ll corrupt the kids!”

They looked over to where Yeonjun had buried Soobin in the sand and made him a mermaid tail with fabulous boobs and everything. Kai was happily flinging sand everywhere and seemed to be drenched from head to toe.

“I think that ship has sailed luv.” Taehyung quipped and got another sand-ball to the head.

When the car finally pulled into the yard, the sun had set and all three boys were completely knocked out. Jin and Taehyung half carried, half dragged the older two in. Jungkook, of course, carried Kai, cradled in his arms, up to the bathroom. He was still a little sandy and sweaty, he knew if he went straight to bed, he’d wake up even more grumpy than usual, so he ran some warm water in the sink and gently stripped and bathed the toddler without him fully rousing from his sleep.

It was still hot outside, so he just made sure his nappy was clean and then put him in a little vest so he could sleep comfortably. As he successfully laid him down in the bed, he spotted Taehyung leaning against the door frame watching.

“Ok?” he whispered and then pushed him out the door, closing it behind him. Taehyung slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. 

“I’m very ok, extremely ok.” He murmured into his hair, lips brushing the shell of his ear, making Jungkook shudder. 

“Seeing you with my baby does things to me. Makes me think about things.” fingers tightened around his waist and Jungkook wrapped his own arms around Taehyung’s back, scratching gently at his muscles with inquisitive fingers.

“What kind of things?” he asks, barely keeping the giddiness out of his voice.

“Things that would wake up the baby.” Taehyung spun him round into the nursery that Kai never slept in and onto the single bed that Jungkook had slept in once for half a night.

“Things that I shouldn’t do after only knowing you for five days.”

“Feels longer.” Jungkook said and realised that he honestly meant it. “Feels like I’ve known you for months.”

They were laying on the bed, limbs tangled and faces close. There was a simmering passion, but it wasn't out of control yet. Jungkook would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to go further. 

He wanted to know this man inside and out, biblically, as his mother would say.

Oh god, why was he thinking about his mother?

He pulled Taehyung closer, if that was possible, and kissed him with all the silent enthusiasm he couldn’t hold back. 

“We should go down.” Taehyung panted. “Jin will kill me if I defile you in the nursery while he's in the kitchen below us.”

“Why would you be the one doing the defiling?”

“Have you seen you? You’re an angel, an innocent baby bunny.”

Jungkook flexed his muscles and Taehyung let out a small whimper.

“Ok, a muscle bunny, man baby.”

Jungkook’s stomach growled.

“Worked up an appetite there muscle bunny?” 

Jungkook pouted, which was almost enough to break Taehyung’s resolve of chastity. But then the tummy rumbled again and they both fell back onto the bed laughing.

“OK, a rain check for sustenance. But this.” he pecked him on the lips and drew back, “Is far from over.” He got up and walked to the door leaving a very stunned and turned on Siren on the bed. 

“Where did my shy bunny go?” Taehyung mumbled to himself as his fingers traced his still tingling lips.

Some several moments later, following a hasty cold shower and fresh cool cotton pyjamas, Taehyung walked into the kitchen to find his brother sitting at the table with Jungkook, poring over a pile of very old books.

“Thought you’d passed out in the shower.” Jim remarked as he spotted his younger brother. “Food is ready, I was just showing Jungkookie the journals.”

Jungkook was sifting through the pages of an older book than they had looked at a few days ago. The browned pages were brittle, and he turned them with care, reading through the entries, trying to find any information about the bay, or sirens or foundlings. 

They ate at the table, scarfing down the meal quickly as the seaside had made them ravenous. As soon as the plates were cleared, Jin bid them goodnight and the remaining two spread out the books looking for clues.

Interlude

He led me through the trees tonight. Way deeper into the forest than I have ever been or dared to go. We left the horses at the edge of the trees and walked over dunes until we reached the sea. No one on the island had seen this bay except the fishermen from the boats maybe. This end of the Island has treacherous waters, no one would approach from the sea.

We waded until the water came up to my waist and then he made me wait as he dipped beneath the waves. I heard a sound, no, I felt the sound rise up through my belly and up into my heart and chest. It was euphoric and made me tremble. I started to walk deeper and deeper into the water.

Just as I reached the limit of my depth, he returned, swimming round me, holding me close and keeping my head above water.

I would have let him take me down, I wanted him to. 

Others came then. I counted four of them, three males and a female. They came closer and closer until he snarled and they backed off. He held on to me so tightly, but I wasn’t afraid.

One of the men came closer again, more slowly and reached out his hands, palms up in supplication. They spoke in their language and then he turned us around and swam back to the shore.

When I looked back, the others had gone.

Kim Seon Yeong 1853

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

Around 1am, Kai had still not woken up and Jungkook’s eyes were starting to burn from tiredness. Taehyung had gone outside around midnight to check up on the horses, he still wasn’t totally convinced that the collectors wouldn’t come back, but the lack of the baby siren going off had been a comfort. 

 Jungkook had filled half of his notebook with notes from the journals. He’d gone through pages and pages of notes about the land and the families on the island. Many of whom were recognisable as still living in the village today. He saw a reference to a Park Songie and wondered if she was an ancestress of Jimin.

Then just as his figurative candle was about to burn out, he spotted an entry dated August 22nd 1854.

We are learning to communicate with signs and some new words. The first Korean word he said was my name. I have learned his name, and phonetically I would spell it as Afuru. 

I found some books with illustrations. We have been looking through the pictures and pointing out things so we can teach each other the words in our own tongue. 

We taught each other the words for trees, mountain, sea and house. There was a picture of a King and Queen and he pointed to the king and them himself.

Mōʻī, me. I said that this was a King. He took the book and found a picture of the sea. 

“Me, King, Sea.”

Then he took my hand and touched the picture of the Queen. 

“You. Seon Young. Queen.”

Taehyung walked back in the kitchen to see Jungkook scribbling furiously into his notebook with one hand, while stifling an enormous yawn with the other.

He placed a hand on his shoulder, making Jungkook jump in fright. 

“I’m sorry! It’s just me.”

“Is she ok?” Jungkook asked, referring to the horse. Taehyung nodded and then yawned so widely his jaw made a loud crack.

“Come on, you carry on reading tomorrow, let's go to bed.” They stumbled wearily up the stairs and while Taehyung carefully transferred Kai from his starfish position in the middle of the bed, to his cot at the side, Jungkook brushed his teeth and put on borrowed pyjamas. 

Then, quiet as mice, they fell into bed. Just before he drifted off completely, Jungkook felt a hand link fingers with his own. He squeezed back once and was gone.

Saturdays at the school were usually laid back. Some children went home for the weekend, leaving around 30 students who stayed all term.  Yoongi had arrangements with various families on the island, so that the live-in teachers weren’t responsible for watching the students 7 days a week. Instead they would go out in groups for sailing or watersports lessons, horse riding and other Island activities. They even had a chef come over every Saturday from the mainland to give cooking lessons and help prepare the weekend meals. 

This meant that Yoongi and his teaching staff could take every other weekend off for personal time. 

This weekend was not one of those weekends. After getting an earful from both Jessi and Adora the day before about being irresponsible and possibly traumatising Namjoon’s son for life, he had agreed that he would remain on the school grounds all weekend and be the designated adult.

Jessi had agreed eagerly and managed to catch the last ferry to the mainland that night, happy for a chance to see her mother in the coastal town just a few miles from the ferry terminal.

Adora still stayed in her rooms in the school building, but left early on Saturday to take Hoseok on a hike through part of the forest that belonged to the Parks. Jimin had inherited it with the house, it was a strip of woodland that led from the back of their house to the western side of the island, with a small private beach. It wasn’t as big as the Kims’ bay, but it was still very pretty and a wonderful place for a picnic and swim. 

They had a picnic packed into their backpacks, along with towels and plenty of water. 

Hobi was a little nervous when they entered the forest, there were loads of birds calling raucously to each other and every so often something would rush past in the undergrowth, unseen, but noisy enough to make him jump. 

After the third unexpected crack of a branch and cacaw of a predatory bird, caused Hobi to yelp in terror and practically leap on Adora’s back, she silently took his hand and held firmly as they walked. 

“What was that?” He screeched as a crow flew very close past their heads, squawking loudly.

“Just a crow, it’s harmless. Come on, we are nearly there now.” Adora grabbed his hand more tightly and pulled him along the well worn track. She began to hum a nameless tune under her breath and Hoseok found himself undeniably calmer, not even noticing the boisterous crow that passed over them several more times. He could only focus on the cool peace spreading through his body from the hand that held his own.

As she had promised, after 15 minutes more walking, the trees thinned out and the leaf strewn undergrowth gave way to sand.

Walking boots and socks were removed as quickly as possible. Outer clothes were left in a pile with the bags as the pair raced to the sea.

After some good natured splashing and a short swim, Hoseok lay back and flat, sculling gently with his fingers to stay afloat. Adora was practicing holding her breath and would dive a little further each time, touching the ocean floor gently, finding pretty shells that caught the dappled sunlight.  

She sat on the bottom, cross legged and looked up, seeing Hoseok floating above her. Knowing how nervous he got, she thought scaring him right now would be mean, so instead, she released the air she was holding, humming the siren’s song through her nose. 

Two things happened then.

Hoseok stilled, his body relaxing so completely, he started to sink. He showed no sign of trying to help himself. As Adora pushed herself up from the ocean floor to grab him, she spotted a flash of bright green in her peripheral vision.

Heading straight for them was something she had never seen before. It was massive, bigger than any fish she had seen, muscles rippling through the huge tail as it glided through the water.  She didn’t have time to process anymore than that. 

Grabbing Hoseok’s wrist, she swam for the shore, dragging him out of the water and shaking his shoulders.

“Hobi, wake up, wake up!” She smacked his chest but he was unresponsive. With an anxious look to the sea, she tipped his chin up, opened his mouth and gave him two rescue breaths and then started chest compressions. After a few pumps of his chest, he gasped and then coughed up a lungful of water.

She helped him sit up and rubbed his back, shifting them further up the beach, away from the creeping reach of the waves.

She grabbed their bags and got out a bottle of water, helping him sip from it and wrapping a towel around his shoulders. 

As they sat, getting back their breath and wiping away tears, they didn’t see the dark eyes watching them, where the sea met the sky.

Namjoon hadn’t grown up around water or spent much time considering it before they moved to the island. When he had taken the job as groundskeeper, Yoongi had introduced him to all the staff, including the ones who took the students on the water at the weekends. He was told he had free access to any of the activities, for both him and little Taehyun, even suggesting a couple of the villagers who offered childcare before Taehyun was old enough to start at the nursery school.

Taehyun had taken to the water like a… well, like a fish to water. After spending most of Friday reassuring and comforting the little boy, Namjoon had promised that they could go to the beach and paddle board the next day. 

So, on Saturday, they got up bright and early and joined the students on the minibus that was going to the marina. They both had their wetsuits on under shorts and tshirt, so they quickly stripped off and stashed their clothes in one of the school's beach huts.

Namjoon waded out until the water was up to his chest, holding onto the paddle board safety cord while Little Tae stood on sturdy legs, paddling himself out with all his strength. Namjoon looked up at him with intense love and pride. The little boy had wobbled a few times, but insisted on practicing as often as Namjoon would bring him to the water.  Now after a handful of sessions, Taehyun could stand unaided as long as the water didn’t get too choppy.

“Papa look!” he yelled in happiness as he managed to stay uptight when a small wave went through them. Namjoon cheered him and clapped, almost dropping the safety cord. The motion of the waves were bouncing him along, drifting slowly from the beach into deeper waters.

Taehyun started to wiggle his little bum on the board, singing a little tune with joy and dancing. 

Namjoon had heard him sing countless times, he’d sung with him since he was able to garble along to the tunes his papa hummed at bedtime, trying to get the beautiful baby to sleep. Singing nursery rhymes together on the bus and as they walked around the school grounds together on shaky little legs.

This time, however, was the first time Namjoon had heard his son sing while they were in the sea. Ever the fond parent, he concentrated more on his son than his own footing, starting to bounce on toes and tread water as the ocean floor fell away. 

When the next wave came, Taehyun was dancing too happily and singing too loudly to pay attention and fell off the board into the water. He had his life jacket on and a second safety cord strapped to his ankle, there was no danger of him getting swept away.

For a count of 3 seconds however, they were both submerged. It had happened too fast for the little boy to stop singing and as the water closed over them, the last few notes of his song flowed out into the sea.

Seokjin was on watersports chaperone duty that weekend. He had driven the school bus that morning and was now relaxing on a deck chair pretending to read while he watched the groundskeeper in his wetsuit. Namjoon was a beautifully built man. He had been tall and lanky when he’d arrived at the school with Taehyun, a babe in arms, but after four years of physical work, he had become a sculpted work of art. 

Magazine left forgotten, Seokjin watched as the tall man led his son’s paddleboard out into the sea. He smiled to himself as they bounced over the swell and the little boy remained standing. He let out a snort of amusement when Little Tae started to wiggle his bum and dance. And then he let out a gasp of concern as he watched the wave that toppled them both over before they disappeared from sight.

He waited for what felt like hours, but in reality was no more than a minute before the panic set in and he raced to the water.

The first thing Namjoon saw when he opened his eyes was a very beautiful mouth looming over him. He heard someone sobbing and thought that he was probably flat on his back on the beach as he could feel the waves lapping around his legs. Seokjin was moving closer, apparently trying to kiss him and darn, Namjoon didn’t really have the wherewithal to stop him right then. 

As their lips touched, his lungs inflated with sweet warm air and then….

He jerked up, coughing and spluttering as water flew out of his mouth. He was helped to sit up and then suddenly a weight almost knocked him back down.

“Papa.” Little Tae wailed, clinging tight to his neck. Seokjin coaxed the little boy to loosen his grip, explaining that his Papa needed to breathe. Reluctantly, he let go and settled for sitting on his lap, sobbing against Namjoon’s chest.

After a few minutes of getting his breath back, Namjoon blinked up at Soekjin who was kneeling next to them on the sand.

“What happened?” he croaked.

“Don’t you remember?” Seokjin looked so concerned, Namjoon thought he probably needed a hug as much as the little one in his lap. He shook his head.

“We were in the sea and then I woke up here, with you kissing me.”  He got a short smack on the shoulder.

“Ouch, what was that for?”

“I was not kissing you.” Seokjin said, blushing furiously, “I was resuscitating you!”

“Are you a lifeguard?” Namjoon was very confused. There was a snort behind them. He looked up to see an actual lifeguard, buff chest, red shorts and everything, standing arms crossed behind Jin.

“I tried to help but he wouldn’t let me near you.” he scoffed.

“I have an advanced first aid certificate, actually.” Seokjin exclaimed indignantly. “I can resuscitate him just as well as you can, thank you.”

“Didn’t get a look in.” the lifeguard mumbled and then shifted on his feet. “If you are all right, I’ll get back to my post.”

“Yes thank you, we are fine.” Seokjin snapped. Namjoon looked at him half scared, half amused.

“I think he was asking me.” Namjoon gave a little nervous giggle, but instead of joining him with laughter, Seokjin’s face crumpled as he broke down in tears.

He found himself with one armful of small sniffling boy and the other arm overflowing with a very broad sobbing man.

After a few minutes of self composure, Seokjin tried to explain.

“I was watching you both on the water.  You fell in and then you..  You didn’t come back up.” He put his hand over his mouth to suppress a sob. Tears tumbled out of his eyes, unrestrained. 

“Little Tae was screaming…  I only managed to find you because. Because your wrist was still attached to the safety cord. If you hadn’t, I. Oh god, you nearly died.”   He buried his face into Namjoon’s shoulder. 

The groundskeeper became slowly aware that the other pupils were beginning to gather, further up the beach, nervously waiting for them.

He beckoned over one of the older students that he was familiar with and asked them to help carry all of his and Mr Kim’s stuff back to the bus. He knew there was no point trying to hand over Taehyun, as the little boy showed no sign of releasing his death grip on him anytime soon. 

“Baby, can you let me go just a second so I can stand up?” he asked the little boy. Taehyung held on even tighter.

“Seokjin, we should go back to the bus and get home. Do you think you will be ok to drive?”

Jin took a big gulp of air and scrubbed his face with his hands. 

“Yeah, give me just a minute. I need some water.”  He got up to his feet and called over to the student holding his bag to bring it back. Gulping down most of a litre bottle, he handed it back to the boy and then turned back to Namjoon. 

“Let me help you up.” He held out both hands and hauled him up, cradling the child between them. Namjoon swayed dangerously.

The older student, Ben, ran forward and offered a shoulder. Whimpering, little Tae was persuaded to let go of his dad and be carried by Soobin who had appeared fresh from a surfing lesson. He insisted on still holding his hand though, so together in a huddle, they staggered back up to the bus.

Jungkook woke up to an empty bed and a quiet house.  There was no sign of any of the Kims as he made his way from bedroom, to bathroom and down to the kitchen. He did however, find a half eaten plate of toast and empty tea mug next to the highchair that was covered in milky cheerios and the back door wide open.

Taehyung and baby Kai were in the stables. Taehyung was brushing down Midnight’s coat while Kai sat on a bale of hay overseeing the proceedings.

He stood and watched from the door for a few minutes, seeing how skillfully Taehyung wielded the curry comb, keeping the horse calm and making her coat gleam.

“Kookie” Kai spotted him and toddled over, putting his hands up for a carry.

“Hello baby.” Jungkook hoisted him up onto his hip and blew a raspberry on his tummy.

“Hi Honey.” came a voice and he looked up to see Taehyung looking at him with heart eyes. He laughed and winked.

“Hey Sugar. I came in search of sustenance. There is no coffee.”

“Oh, I never drink it. Should I go to the farm shop?” Taehyung looked momentarily worried.

“No! I was going to suggest that you let me take you and Kai to the cafe for breakfast.”

‘The Cafe’ was the only place on the island that did breakfast, unless you gatecrashed the school cafeteria. It was situated near the marina and popular with both visitors and Islanders alike. It opened at 4 am for the fishermen and was closed by 4pm. It opened again with different staff at 6pm for the dinner shift. Then it was referred to by locals as ‘The Restaurant’. It was a good arrangement, each team cleaned up at the end of their own shift so that the next team could come straight in and get cooking. The location was gorgeous, overlooking the marina and giving a view of the whole bay.

It was here that Jungkook, Taehyung and Kai now sat, eating a hearty full breakfast as they watched people out on the water. They were trying to see who they knew, Taehyung pointing out Soobin on a surfboard just as he crested a wave.

“Oh he’s really good at that!” Jungkook exclaimed as they watched the boy. “Though, I guess that’s natural, you must all be water babies.”

“Can you swim?” Taehyung asked him. “I know we splashed about yesterday, but we didn’t really go out too deep.”

Jungkook nodded. 

“Mhm, my parents made me take lessons when I was little. I don’t go very often and it’s mostly been in pools. I don’t think I can remember ever actually swimming in the sea.”

“We should go.” Taehyung looked at him with a glint in his eye that Jungkook couldn’t quite identify. It could have been excitement, lust or hunger. The thought made a shiver run down his spine.

“Do Sirens eat humans?” He asked and Taehyung’s face flashed with definite lust that time. He grinned with all his teeth and leaned forward.

“Only if the humans are very tasty.”

Kai was contemplating which item of tableware to throw at them, to dispel this embarrassing public display of affection, when they were interrupted by the arrival of a visibly upset teenager into the cafe. It was one of the students from the school and they overheard him almost hysterically ask the staff if they could use the phone.

“It’s Mr Kim. He nearly drowned!”  he screeched, “I need to call Mr Min.”

Taehyung stood up so fast, his chair fell over. Jungkook looked out of the window and down at the water's edge, they could see a crowd of people around some figures laying on the ground.

“You go, I’ve got this.” Jungkook said, picking Kai up from his chair and reaching for his wallet. Taehyung gave him a grateful look and ran out of the door.

Taehyung reached the water's edge in a few seconds. His mind was running through all the reasons why it should be impossible for his brother to drown, they’d both been swimming since they were tiny and Seokjin was a strong swimmer, Jungkook thought they were bloody mermaids!

He skidded to a halt as he spotted his brother staggering to his feet, leaning against Namjoon and one of the students. For some reason Soobin was also crowding in on them and he was holding Namjoons kid as well. What on earth was going on?

He reached them as they reached the edge of the paved area where the school minibus was parked.

“Jin! Are you ok? Binnie, what happened?” Tae grabbed his nephew by the shoulder and tugged. He didn’t move. Leaning forward, Taehyung found that his brother, nephew, Namjoon, Little Tae and Ben, one of the year 13 students, were all tangled up in some kind of Gordian knot of a huddle. 

Jin looked up and Taehyung saw his eyes were red rimmed. Taehyung could count on one hand the times he remembered his brother crying. 

“Jin?”

“Tae, can you help Joonie?” Seokjin wiped his face with one hand, “I need to check all the kids are on the bus.”

“Why? What happened to Joonie?” He was still mentally running an eye over his brother, looking for injuries and outward sides of harm.

“He went under and stopped breathing.” 

“Both of you?” Taehyung exclaimed as he took Namjoon’s arm from Seokjin and put it round his shoulders. “What were you doing?”

“He was helping Little Tae on the board. A wave knocked them down.” Jin started to walk up the steps of the bus.

“But what about you?”

“Me? I was watching. I’m the one who pulled him out.” Jin replied wearily. 

“But the kid in the cafe said it was you!” 

“Which kid? For heaven's sake, I don’t have the energy to round them all up. Soobin! Go up to the cafe and find the stragglers.” 

“No need.” They turned and found Jungkook walking towards them, Kai on one arm and the flustered student a step behind.

“Jimin is dropping Yoongi off here, so he can drive the bus back..” he patted the young student on the shoulder, “Leo here explained over the phone, that by Mr Kim he meant Namjoon, not Jin because Yoongi thought exactly the same thing as you.”

Taehyung felt immediately horribly guilty and pulled Namjoon into a firmer hold. 

“What happened? Are you ok?” He wrapped the groundskeeper into a hug that he was not able to resist.  

There was a muffled ‘I’m ok.’ as he nodded into Taehyung’s shoulder.

“That’s not all..” Jungkook continued. He pushed Leo gently towards the bus, 

“Jimin has to go and collect Adora and Hobi from the beach at the back of their property. Apparently Hobi almost drowned as well.”

Interlude

Afuru visits me almost every day now. He made me a crown from shells and continues to call me Queen. We went back to the beach and he placed the crown on my head and led me until I was knee deep in the water. 

“Stay.” 

He swam then and returned after some time with more of his kind. I was not afraid. He spoke to them in their tongue, they all bowed their heads to me and brought me gifts.

He came out of the water on two legs and stood behind me then. He held my left hand with his own and placed his right hand flat on my belly. The word he said was one I had not heard before.

I asked him later. He took the book and turned the pages until he found a picture.

“Prince.”

Kim Seon Yeong 1853

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Being that they had a bus full of students and were the designated responsible adults for the weekend, they all reconvened at the school.

There was a full time school clinician who lived on site and was summoned as soon as Yoongi had put the phone down on Leo.

There was no hospital on the island, and just one family doctor, so Yoongi had employed the  emergency care nurse to ensure that the students and staff would have urgent care if required. Miss Lee helped out the island doctor with anything that required an extra pair of hands, but not serious enough to necessitate a trip to the mainland. Since the school had opened, she had helped deliver 5 babies on the island  and set countless broken bones in addition to the more usual school age childhood injuries that the students presented with. Unfortunately, this was not her first ‘almost’ drowning.

Miss Lee  stood waiting in the driveway with two of the final year students who had been drafted to help fetch and carry as necessary and sent everyone to work as soon as the bus parked in front of the school.

Namjoon felt like he was in a whirlwind, clinging onto his son as careful but firm hands moved him through the door and along the corridor to the well equipped school sickbay.

Pushed gently onto a hospital bed, his son still clinging to him with the strength of a thousand limpets, he allowed himself to slump backwards until his back hit the pillows. It was still painful to lay back flat, so the nurse helped him manoeuvre onto his side, still cradling Little Tae. He coughed a few times, mouth still tasting flecks of residual salty sea water.  

On the bed to his left, Hobi was being helped up by Jimin, Adora behind pale and looking like she wanted to throw up.

The nurse shooed everyone unnecessary out of the room, insisting that the patients be left to rest. Jimin was allowed to stay so he could assist. She set up oxygen for both men and showed Jimin how to monitor the flow and what to record.

Little Tae had been allowed to stay and the nurse took time to check him over too. He was physically fine except for a little friction burn from the safety cord around his ankle. The most concerning thing was his emotional state. He clung to his papa, wide eyed and silent as tears occasionally escaped down his cheeks. 

Hobi was pale and very quiet. When he had come round from his daze, he was filled with a sense of dread greater than any he had felt before. He was naturally a person who jumped at loud noises and avoided scary movies, but this was different. This was a cold grip of fear, deep in his chest.

 He looked around, eyes finally focusing on the other people in the room.

“Jiminie?” he croaked from behind his oxygen mask and Jimin jumped up and rushed over.

He took the outstretched hand and gathered the teacher into a gentle hug.

“Dora?” Hobi croaked and Jimin nodded, his chin scrunching Hobi’s hair. 

“She’s fine. I mean, she’s really worried about you, but she’s physically fine. Do you want me to get her?”

Hobi nodded and Jimin gave him one more squeeze and jumped off the bed. He jogged over to Namjoon and stroked gentle fingers through Taehyun’s hair.

“Would you like me to bring anything for you or  Little Tae?”

“He hasn’t eaten, could you bring a sandwich or some fruit?” Namjoon asked. He tried to sit up , but Jimin pushed him back down.

“Stay!” he said in a surprisingly scary voice for such a tiny person and ran out of the ward.

Yoongi had herded the rest of them into the school dining room which was the closest large enough room next to the sick bay. 

He’d briefly spoken to the students and got them to go change and come back for lunch. Taehyung, Jungkook, the twins and Jin’s boys were sitting at one of the long trestle tables. Kai was sitting on top of the table playing some kind of whack a mole game with a spoon and his cousin’s heads.  

Aside from the much amused two year old, everyone else was pretty subdued. Some students had burst into tears as they watched Mr Kim and Mr Jung be whisked away to the school hospital. Taehyung stood up as Jimin strode into the room. 

“How are they?”

“Recovering.” Jimin said quietly. He placed a hand on Adora’s shoulder.

“Hobi asked for you. He’s more alert now.” Adora got up quickly and rushed out of the room. Jimin turned back to Taehyung. 

“Where is your brother?” 

“He went with Yoongi to the kitchen.” Taehyung pointed over to the far end of the dining hall. “Why do you need him…”

Jimin had already left and the question hung in the air unanswered. 

He found Yoongi and Jin working at the huge central island. They were assembling a large pile of sandwiches while the cook stirred a huge pot of soup on the stove.

Yoongi put his knife down and reached to touch Jimin on the cheek as he came close.

“Is everything ok love?”

Jimin leaned into his hand, closing his eyes for a second. 

“They are coming round and talking. Hobi asked for Adora.”

“What about Namjoon?”

“He asked me to get some food for the little one. Taehyun... he’s almost catatonic…  I think he’s in shock. Namjoon says he hasn’t eaten for hours and..” Jimin broke off in a sob and Yoongi pulled him into his arms.

“I’ll go.” Seokjin said, “Let me go.”  Yoongi nodded over Jimin’s shoulder and Jin walked back into the pantry to gather ingredients.

Whatever magic Seokjin used when making his food, this time he added it in plentiful measure. Little Tae was still clinging to his papa when Jin arrived at the ward with a covered plate and a flask of hot chocolate. Jin pulled a chair close to the bed and lifted the foil to reveal a plate of freshly made cheese toasties and some apple slices in a little ramekin on the side.

“Taehyun baby. It’s me, Uncle Jinnie. I brought you some tasty lunch. Do you think you can take a bite for me?”

Little Tae buried his face deeper into Namjoon’s chest. Seokjin picked up one of the apple slices and bit into it, making it crunch loudly.

“Mmmm, this apple is so sweet!” he chomped. Then he took one triangle of the toasted sandwich and broke it in half, so the warm cheesy smell wafted over to the bed.

Little Tae opened one eye and looked at the plate and then at Jin.

“Just one teeny tiny bite?” Jin pleaded with a pout and huge eyes. The little boy turned his head fully towards Jin and focused back on the sandwich. He opened his mouth a little and let Jin feed him a morsel.

“It’s so yummy isn’t it?” Jin whispered, as if sharing a secret with the 4 year old. Taehyun didn’t reply, but he did open his mouth again for more, which was as good an answer as any.

Namjoon lay back quietly, watching the man who he couldn’t stop thinking about, feed the child who had consumed his heart and soul for the last four years. There was something both peaceful and terrifying about it, yet he couldn’t make any sense of his thoughts just yet. He felt as if he were watching a grand musical production in a language so foreign, that he could only try to make sense of the meaning by the images and sounds and colours around him. 

He watched as Seokjin reached and brushed a crumb from Little Tae’s  chin with an oh so careful finger and something inside Namjoon’s heart clenched. The tears flooded out of his eyes before he knew he was crying. 

Suddenly the morning’s event’s caught up with him and the terrible realisation that he might have drowned and left his son all alone punched him in the throat. He inhaled a strangled sob and Seokjin looked up in alarm. His own sight blurring with tears, he and Little Tae sat up close and pulled the weeping groundskeeper into their arms and held him as he let it all out.

“Jungkookie has a theory,” Taehyung announced as they sat around the long table eating their soup and sandwiches. “You should listen to him.”

Jungkook paused chewing, his cheeks full of toasted cheese sandwich and looked at Taehyung with wide eyes.

“The siren call, tell ‘em baby, I think you’re a genius.”

Yoongi had never seen his cousin look more like a bunny caught in the headlights as he did now. A very pink bunny at that.

“Baby?” Jimin asked with a raised eyebrow. He turned to his husband,

“Didn’t they only meet a week ago?”

“We saw them kissing yesterday.” Yeonjun announced with his mouth full. “Kookie basically lives with us now.”

“Kookie!” screeched Kai in agreement.

“Okaaayyyyy.” Jimin stared at his best friend. “So what, are we cousins in law now?”

Taehyung grinned at him. 

“Give me a couple more days Jiminie.”

Jungkook choked and looked at his older, wiser cousin for assistance. Yoongi just shrugged.

“Resistance is futile Jungkook-ah, how long do you think I managed to resist Jimin?”

Jimin snorted,

“Resisted, my ass.  As if! You were mine after day 1.”

“I seem to remember Adora telling me you were madly jealous of her and convinced Yoongi would never love you.” Taehyung waggled his eyebrows and then dodged a swiftly aimed thump.

“We do not speak of that.” Jimin hissed and then rolled his eyes dramatically as his twins' ears perked up and insisted on asking Uncle Taehyung all about the real story of how their parents met.

“ANYWAY!” Jimin spoke over them, “Jungkookie, what is your genius theory?”

“So I was reading the old Kim journals and found a diary that was kept in the 1850’s by one of Tae’s grandmother’s ancestors. She was called Kim Seon Young and is the one who inherited the bay on the north side of the Island.

This one entry described her walking into the sea under the spell of the siren’s call and how she would have gladly drowned if he hadn’t saved her.

“I think that maybe because Namjoon was in the water with Little Tae and Hobi was in the water with Adora, maybe… what if they were singing when they sank?”

“Absolutely NOT!” Jin and Jimin were both outraged at Jungkook’s suggestion that he and Taehyung test out the theory.

It was evening now. Namjoon and Hobi had been allowed out of bed and were wrapped up in blankets on the sofa in the staff living room. The twins and older Kim boys were playing pool in the corner of the room. Kai was curled up unsurprisingly in Jungkook’s lap and Little Tae, somewhat more surprisingly, was clinging to Seokjin. Yoongi filed that nugget of observation away in his mind for contemplation later. Right now, he had to stop his husband and colleague from killing his cousin out of concern.

“It will be a controlled experiment. I’m not suggesting I let Taehyung sing while I drown. You can all be there with me, just let him sing a little and see what happens. You can rescue me as soon as I’m affected, if I am affected.”  

“I don’t think Jimin or Yoongi should come anywhere near the water actually.” Taehyung added.  Jin, Adora and maybe Soobin and Yeonjun as back up. But it’s not like it will take 4 people to lift him up out of the water.”

“Yeah, to be honest the twins could probably catch me…” Jungkook trailed off as he caught the glare that Jimin was directing at him.

Yoongi clapped his hands, gently enough, so as not to wake the little ones.

“It is a viable theory. Let’s do it in full daylight, with optimal safety conditions. Jin, you and I both know CPR,” he raised his hands as Jin squawked in protest, 

“Not that I am suggesting we will need to use it. If Kookie aims to keep alert and afloat, then we will spot it as soon as he loses control. He won’t even be under the water for more than 10 seconds.”

‘Sundays are for sleeping in late and picnics and reading romance novels under the old tree in the garden’, thought Jimin the next day as he drove his twins and Adora through dense trees. Not driving at the crack of dawn to a beach on the other side of the forest of nightmares, to watch your best friend try to drown your husband’s cousin.

At least his twins seemed excited. Adora was busy texting furiously, from what Jimin had seen, it was an ongoing conversation with Hobi. 

“Hoba ok?” Jimin asked nonchalantly. Adora hummed. 

“He’s freaking out. Thinks Kookie is going to drown but also wants to take complete blame for the whole thing and says it was nothing to do with me.”

Jimin sighed heavily and gripped the steering wheel tight. 

“This whole thing is insane.”

They arrived at the bay and parked behind Taehyung’s 4x4. They looked down the dunes and saw all the Kims and Jungkook standing next to a pile of bags. Jin was laying out beach towels next to a large green cooler.

“At least they seem to be making a day of it.” Adora joked and grabbed Leela’s hand to run down the dune.

Jimin checked his bag for the ear plugs and heavy duty sound cancelling headphones that he had found in the back of Namjoon’s shed. He used them when he was doing dangerous things around the school with power tools.  

Beomgyu appeared from the back of the car already clad in his wetsuit.

“Come on appa. It will be fine.” 

He slipped his hand into Jimin's and pulled him to the beach. Jimin felt a lump grow in his throat. His babies were growing so fast, but they still held his hand sometimes. He was dreading the day they didn’t want to any more. He thought of Yoongi who tried to hold hands with everyone he was more than a passing acquaintance with. If they stopped wanting to hold his hand, he’d be heartbroken.

Jimin squeezed his son’s hand and pulled him to a stop.

“I need you to be safe, ok?” He hugged him tight and swallowed back the tears when his 11 year old hugged him back tight. 

Jungkook absolutely refused to wear the water wings that Jimin had brought with him. Not because they were sparkly blue with dolphins on them, but because,

“I need to try to keep myself afloat until I can’t. You won’t see me get knocked out if I’m still floating.”

Jimin was now sitting well back from the shoreline, next to the first aid kit and cooler. He had his ears plugged and all he could hear was the beating of his own frantic heart.  He watched as Jungkook waded into the water up to his chest and then floated on his back, swishing his hands and feet gently to stay afloat.  Taehyung was standing next to him, Kai sitting on his shoulders, having flat out refused to stay on the sand.

They were surrounded by Jin, Adora, the twins and Jin’s boys. 

Jimin squinted into the sunlight as he watched Taehyung open his mouth. Nothing seemed to be happening. Jungkook raised one thumb up and then it looked like Jin and Adora were talking across the water to Taehyung.

Taehyung nodded once and then dunked his head under the sea, Kai remaining just above the surface.

All of sudden, Jungkook’s hand dropped and both Jin and Adora dove forward to haul him up.

Taehyung popped back up like a jack in the box and moved forward so he had hands on Jungkook as well. It looked like Kai leaped from his dad’s shoulders straight onto the man, who was still coughing and spluttering into Jin’s shoulder.

After that, Jimin couldn’t tell you what happened first. 

He saw them all turn away from him. He saw Adora grab the twins and push them back to the beach. 

Taehyung ripped Kai from Jungkook’s back and almost threw him at Soobin, who clutched the baby to his chest and waded as fast as the water allowed.

Yeonjun pulled Jungkook’s arm over his shoulder and basically dragged him to the shore. 

Jimin saw the three remaining sirens dive into the sea and disappear, just as the sound of Kai screaming penetrated his earplugs.

It was Adora who had remembered that she was submerged when Hobi had lost control.  Jin recalled that Little Tae had fallen off his board just before Namjoon disappeared.  With that in mind, Taehyung decided to try again and had dunked his head under the surface. He hummed into the water and the effect was almost instant. Jungkook’s raised thumb had dropped, his whole body gone still and slack and he’d sunk. He couldn't have been under for more than 7 seconds before Jin had hauled him back up and smacked him on the back until he came round.

Taehyung had been trying to get closer to Jungkook than Kai would permit when suddenly all 8 sirens jerked their heads up and looked out to sea. There in the distance, they saw a row of heads, emerging from the waves, eyes hard and staring straight at them. 

In a split second, they all detected an oncoming threat. Whether it was a sound or a smell or just the sight of those strange cold faces, they couldn’t say, but deep buried instinct rose up and called them to action.

There wasn’t a point where they agreed between the three of them to attack, defend or parlay, they just moved in unison, pushing their vulnerable young and human friend to the land and swimming the opposite way, straight into the unknown.

There were three of them. They raised up to breast height, out of the water, remaining steady, the faint shadow of powerful tails swishing back and forth beneath the surface.

Their hair was dark and their skin was cool, almost green in hue. All three stared  unflinchingly as the two groups came almost close enough to touch with outstretched hands.

Seokjin spoke first. 

“Why are you here?” He was in the middle, Adora and Taehyung flanking him, all three treading water comfortably, but not as steadily as their fishtailed visitors.

Their language sounded like a song, the speaker moved forwards slightly. He was huge, muscles rippling in his neck and shoulders. Jin stayed where he was and looked him firmly in the eye.

“This is our property. You are in my bay. What do you want?”

The siren looked back at his companions and exchanged some more words. One at the back shrugged and the other kept repeating a word. He turned back, raised his hand and pointed at Jin.

“Mōʻī, King.”

“King? No!” Seokjin protested, I am Kim Seokjin. Grandson of Kim Juno. Descendant of Kim Seon Young who was given this land.” he swept his hand around to indicate the bay and the forest beyond. 

“This is my brother Taehyung and my kin Adora.” He indicated the others either side of him.

“We live on the land beyond the trees.”

The middle siren nodded once. He patted his chest.

“Prince.”

Then he pointed to Jin again

“King.”

The siren to the left of the three held forward a closed fist. Jin held his breath, muscles tensed in anticipation of what he was going to do. The fingers unfurled to reveal a huge pink pearl. He came forward slowly, obviously trying not to spook the bipedal islanders any more than they already were. Jin held out a hand cautiously and the siren placed the pearl in his palm.

It was beautiful and heavy. He looked up and smiled at them with his most devastatingly handsome smile. Their eyes widened slightly at the sight of it, and then nodded politely.

The middle Siren pointed behind them at where the children and humans were waiting on the sand. Kai was clinging to Jungkook now, sending up an occasional scream.

“Princes?” The siren asked. As if in answer, another distant wail came across the water to them.

Taehyung spoke now.

“My son. Kai. He is worried for us.”

The siren cocked his head to compute Taehyung’s meaning. 

“Afraid?”

“Yes. You are strangers to us.”

The siren patted his chest,

“Family.”

While Seokjin was as willing to make new acquaintances as the next person, he felt suddenly wary about accepting these self proclaimed princes into his family with open arms. He couldn’t shake the feeling of threat that he and every single other of his family had felt when they appeared.

Without turning his back, he started to move back a fraction, Taehyung and Adora moving with him.

“We should get back to the others. Thank you for visiting.” Jin smiled warmly, being sure to look each of the three sirens in the eye. He saw as soon as they realised he was backing away. Their relaxed stances tensed up and the middle one called out something in his own language.  

Jin raised his free hand palm facing them. 

“We would like to speak with you another day. Can you come tomorrow to the beach? Eat with us.”

He gestured putting food into his mouth and swallowing. The one to the left of centre said something, it seemed he understood more than the others. 

“Tomorrow!” Jin pointed to the sun. As their gazes followed his arm, Jin turned 180 degrees in the water and started to swim back to shore. He heard a yell behind him but in a second, his feet found the sea bed and he waded as fast as he could out of the water.

Taehyung and Adora already stood facing the water, panting at the sudden exertion. The three sirens came closer, but stopped as the water became too shallow for them to swim.

“Tomorrow!” Jin shouted again. “When the sun is high.”  They stared back at him for a few more seconds and then disappeared beneath the waves.

“Why are we making Lunch plans with terrifying, hench fish men?” Jimin asked from behind them.

“Because they will keep coming back. At least if we invite them on land, we can welcome them with Yoongi and Joonie here. We can make sure the kids are safe at the house with you, Hobi and Jungkook. I didn’t fancy receiving a royal delegation while treading water out of my depth.”

“Why do I have to stay at the house?” Jimin asked with indignation at the same time Jungkook asked,

“Royal delegation? What do you mean?”

To Jimin he said,

“Because you are one of the most terrifying tiny humans I know and can be trusted to protect my sons.” Jimin choked back some expletives as he was in the company of minors. Jin ignored him and turned to Jungkook.

He opened his clenched fist and showed him the pearl,

“And Royal, because they introduced themselves as princes, but said I am the King.”

Interlude

My child is active at night. It is hard to sleep when my belly is being kicked from the inside. Afuru says that he is practicing swimming.

I am afraid. Now that my belly is showing, I do not go into the village. One of the Park boys delivers rice and vegetables once a week  and collects the tenants’ rent for me. He has sworn never to tell my secret.

What if my child is born with a tail? What if I cannot birth him safely and we both die? Afuru says we will be well, he will protect me.

He goes every day to the sea for hours. He comes back with fresh fish for me to eat, but I think he cannot spend all day fishing. He has a bruise on his shoulder that he cannot see, so he did not know to hide from me.

He said that some of his people don’t agree with his choice of queen. He says they have no authority and that I am his queen. Our child is his heir. 

But what if they revolt? What will happen to us? How can I protect my child?

Kim Seon Young 1853

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Kim Namjoon had always been an exemplary student. He excelled in most subjects, but had a particular knack for languages. He had been studying etymology at university when he got the call to say he was now the guardian of his sister’s newborn son.

Obviously his career path hadn’t panned out as he’d imagined so far, but right now, he was listening to a very enthusiastic Seokjin outline a plan that he seemed to be a key part of.

“So you want Namjoon to try and communicate with them?” Yoongi was asking. Jin was explaining how he just happened to know about Namjoon’s penchant for languages and if anyone had a chance at establishing a dialogue with these alleged cousins, it was him.

“How did you know I did etymology?” Namjoon was still a few paces behind Jin’s train of thought,

“You must have told me about it.” Seokjin smiled at him.

“I don’t remember that, in fact I’m certain I haven’t talked about it to anyone but Yoongi.”

“Well it’s true isn’t it? So you must have told me.” Seokjin didn’t mean to snap, but he had this great plan to organise and people were getting stuck in irrelevant details.

Jimin snorted into his cup of tea, knowing full well that it was he who had told Jin all about the huge brains that Namjoon had to go with the huge muscles. He returned Jin's narrow eyed glare with one of babylike innocence.

The plan was this: Jimin and Jungkook would take the children to the school and stay there with Hoseok and Jessi and make sure they all stayed indoors and safe.

Namjoon and Yoongi would travel with Jin, Adora and Taehyung to the beach with a picnic of fresh bread, fresh fish, fruit, juice and water and wait for the Sirens. 

They hoped that by breaking bread with their visitors, they would start off on a friendly footing.

“Do mermaids even eat bread?” Jungkook had asked as Taehyung flicked his chin affectionately.

“I definitely do, but I guess we won't know until we offer it to them.”

“It’s just I know we aren’t supposed to feed breadcrumbs to ducks in the park, so maybe it’s not good for their digestion?”

“Are you comparing me to a mallard Kookie?”

“More of a swan actually.”

Somewhere in the background, Jimin gagged.

Later on in the planning, Jimin had squared up to Seokjin and given him his most threatening glare.

“If they touch a single hair on Yoongi or Tae’s head, i’m coming to that beach with Kai and we are both going to scream until the cliffs fall down.”

“Oooookaaayyyyy.” Jin patted him on the head and turned to his sons. Jimin stuck his tongue out behind Jin's back. Beomgyu and Leela definitely saw him. Yoongi just sighed heavily.

Jin pointed at his angelic teenagers.

“You two, no leaving the school building, no heroics and no trying to sing your teachers to sleep so you can escape, ok?”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes and got an affectionate pinch on the ear from his dad. 

“Don’t even think about it. You need to set a good example for the rest of them.”

Jin wasn't sure if he found Yeojun's eye rolling or Soobin's toothy grin more worrying.

🧜

The next day, Jimin led the morning activities in the main hall, leaving Jungkook and Kai to go round the whole school building and make sure that all the doors and windows were securely locked.

Jungkook had been given leave to work from the school after Yoongi had called the council and asked if he could book in his cousin to do the annual school  building inspection. The council secretary was so pleased that they didn’t have to arrange it, they agreed immediately.

Jungkook hadn’t explored the whole school before. During his first month on the island, Yoongi and Jimin had been busy teaching, using their spare moments to show Jungkook around the island and get settled into the house.  He’d started his job at the council immediately, so this last week was the most time he’d had not either in the office or the house.

As he made his way along a long corridor on the second floor, Kai toddling next to him, Jungkook couldn’t help smiling as he realised he hadn’t slept in his own bed for a week now. There was something so easy and natural about curling up with Taehyung and the baby. If someone had said to him 2 weeks ago, that he would be playing happy families with someone he hadn’t met yet and a 2 year old, he would have laughed as he ran away.

But here he was, holding hands with the toddler, smiling down at his phone as a string of messages lit up the screen.

Tete 🥰

“I’m bored”

“Wish you’d come with us.”

“Jin is so bossy.”

“Except with Namjoonie. One flash of his dimples and Jin crumbles.”

Jungkook gave a giggle and Kai looked up and giggled as well, his screech of joy making the windows rattle.

Jungkook picked him up and turned the camera on his phone to selfie mode.

“Smile for Tete!” he said and snapped a cute picture of them both. He sent it to Taehyung who replied immediately with an explosion of heart emojis.

Baby Daddy😍

“Are they there yet?”

Tete 🥰

“No sign of them so far.”

Baby Daddy😍

“Maybe you should sing in the water to let them know you are waiting.”

Tete 🥰

“That’s a good idea.”

“Not just a pretty face Jungkookie 💕”

Jungkook blushed so hard, it was enough for Kai to touch his face with his palm and look puzzled.

“Kookie hot?”

Jungkook nodded and kissed the baby on the forehead. Kai blew a spray of baby breath and spit bubbles on him to cool him down.

“Thanks.” Jungkook paid him back in kind, blowing a raspberry on the little boy’s cheek, making him squeal with joy.

After checking that all the windows and doors in the building hadn’t shattered with Kai’s explosion of joy, but were intact and locked, they returned to the school hall where the teachers were hosting a talent show for the whole school. Jimin and Hoseok had figured it was the easiest way to keep all the children together in one place for the reduced staff to keep an eye on them. 

They had told them at breakfast that each tutor group had to plan a performance of their choice. They had the morning to plan and rehearse, then after lunch, they would take it in turns to perform for the rest of the school.

Jungkook and Kai arrived just as Yeonjun and Soobin were hoisting Leela onto their shoulders in a pyramid. He looked round the room and watched as Jimin spotted them and opened his mouth to yell.

“No Acrobatics! Get down right now!”

Leela obeyed her dad by leaping from the boys’ shoulders, doing a somersault in the air and landing on both feet in front of her twin. Jungkook stood open mouthed in astonishment. Jimin rolled his eyes and turned back to the group of students he was helping at the other end of the hall.

Kai let go of Jungkook’s hand and ran over to his cousins, lifting his arms up to Yeonjun for a carry.

“Up Junnie, up!”

Yeonjun had just swooped him up into his arms when the lightning flashed at the window, followed swiftly by the thunder.

🧜

Namjoon held the basket as Seokjin arranged the picnic to his satisfaction. He spent a good 30 minutes arranging the various dishes while Namjoon patiently smiled and nodded every time Seokjin asked his opinion.  Yoongi quickly realised he wasn’t required for this particular activity and strolled across the sand to where Taehyung had taken off his shoes and was paddling ankle deep in the sea.

Adora was about 100 yards along the beach, knee deep in the water, looking out to the horizon.

“Everything ok?” Yoongi asked as he reached the very edge of the dry sand, the waves brushing barely an inch from his toes.

“I really don’t know.” Taehyung replied, shrugging.

“I know that Jin doesn’t really trust them completely yet. We were reading some of the old diary entries from when our family inherited this land. My grandmother’s grandmother indicated that the local sirens definitely weren’t playing happy families with her and her mate back then. This is the first time they’ve made any contact with us in our lifetime, so we have no other evidence to show they still don't feel the same animosity now as they did back then.”

“Animosity?”

“They weren’t happy about their king’s choice of queen.” Taehyung smiled wryly.

“Your grandmother’s grandmother?”

“Yes. A human.”

Yoongi wandered off and soon he and Adora were walking along the shoreline in some kind of patrol, leaving Taehyung to his own thoughts. He got his phone out and started to text a barrage of messages to his two boys, who were currently on the other side of the island together, without him. He pouted. This was very unfair.

When the selfie of Jungkook and Kai came through, he squeaked in delight and immediately made it his home screen wallpaper. 

They exchanged a couple more messages before he heard Jin calling him back to where they had spread the picnic blanket.

He walked back slowly, enjoying the feeling of the sand between his toes. He was about to take a sneaky picture of Jin making heart eyes at Namjoon to send to Jungkook when a flash of lightning split the blue sky.

Everyone paused to look up at the sky. It was blue, not even a hint of cloud. When the thunder came a few seconds later, it was so loud that Jin jumped in fright.

Namjoon steadied him, laughing in surprise at suddenly having an armful of the handsome teacher.

He was about to tease him when he saw his face.

“Jin?” Jin had frozen, stock still. He was looking out to the sea. Namjoon turned his head to follow his gaze and saw both Taehyung and Adora both alert and staring out as well. Yoongi was looking between them, with a concerned look on his face.

“What’s happening?” Namjoon called, ostensibly to Yoongi, but it was Jin who replied.

“They are coming.”

Namjoon helped Jin to his feet and they walked forward, joining the others a few metres back from where the sea met the sand. 

As they watched, the swell of a wave grew and grew until the water gave way to what looked like a chariot made from an enormous shell, carried by several sirens and flanked by more. Atop the chariot, a female siren sat, bedecked with pearls and coral, her long black hair cascading down her sides to coil in the circle of her deep blue tail. The bearers brought the shell close enough so that it rested on the sand and then they swam backwards, waiting in attendance with their heads and shoulders above the water.

The sirens that seemed like guards, raised their hands to their mouths and drank something in one fluid motion. Then after a moment, they suddenly stepped up and out of the sea on legs.

“Holy shit.” Yoongi whispered. He and Namjoon stepped back a pace, but Jin, Adora and Taehyung stayed where they were, chins high, expressions neutral and feet firm on the ground.

They waited as the Siren in the chariot, then took a pearlescent vessel and appeared to drink the contents. They watched in amazement as her tail transformed into two long beautiful legs.

“This would be much more impressive if you weren’t all as gay as the day is long.” Adora said dryly. 

“I don’t know,” her best friend piped up from just behind her right ear, “Good legs are good legs.”

“I’m sure Jimin would be delighted to hear you say that.” she snorted. Yoongi grinned. 

“Jimin knows my heart belongs to him, doesn’t mean I’m blind.”

Adora elbowed him in the belly and told him to shut up.

“Get behind me.” she gritted, still with the neutral smile plastered on her face. The siren had got to her feet and was stepping onto the sand, hand supported by the guard who Adora now recognised as the one they had met yesterday. He was the one who had called Jin the King and himself a Prince.

“My hero.” Yoongi whispered and squeezed her shoulder once before stepping back as he’d been told. 

The entourage approached, stopping mere feet away from them on the sand. 

Namjoon stayed close behind Jin, ready to pounce, but Jin’s hand reached back and took his wrist in a gentle but firm grip. The message was clear - ‘ stay calm ’.

“Greetings.” Jin finally said, his face pleasant and his manner calm. “We are happy that you accepted our invitation.”

The sirens facing them dipped their heads in acknowledgement and respect. All of them except the woman in the centre. She stayed upright and proud.

Jin looked at the siren they had met the day before, gesturing to the woman.

“Princess?”

“Queen, Moiwahine.” The siren replied. He gestured between Jin and the woman. “ʻAnakē.” he frowned a little, searching for the translation. “Father, sister.”

“Father, sister?” Taehyung repeated, puzzled. The siren looked at him then. She spoke in their language and the one next to her nodded and looked over to Taehyung.

“Your mate and child. Queen…” he tapped his eyelid and pointed behind them. “To see.”

“My mate?!” Taehyung lost his neutral facade for a second and looked at Jin, who was manfully holding back a smirk.

“Mate and child.” The siren repeated, “Not here?”

“No, they are at home today.” Taehyung replied. “ Safe. ” he added mentally.

The siren translated this back to the woman and her eyes flashed briefly in anger. She took a step forward and faced up to Jin, hissing into his face.

“ʻAʻole ʻoe e lawe i koʻu noho aliʻi”  

Jin didn’t flinch. He looked briefly at the male siren and cocked an eyebrow in question.

The man looked at his queen and then back at his king, exhaled with a determined look and summoned all the human words he had been learning to translate the message.

“Queen, throne. No give you.”

Jin looked back at the Queen and looked her straight in the eye.

“I don’t want your throne. Why have you come here?”

“You are King. You are queen, brother, son. I am Prince. King, sister, son. She is Queen, King, Sister.”

“I come in peace. Mother Queen come see King and Prince and children.”

Jin turned to Namjoon and pulled him forward.

“Do you understand what he’s trying to say?”

Namjoon nodded,

“I think so. May I?”

Jin nodded and gestured in front of him,

“All yours.”

“My name is Namjoon. I am a friend of your King.” he bowed briefly at both the Queen and the man.

“The Queen is your mother?” He asked the siren, who nodded. Namjoon smiled, flashing his dimples.

“And the Queen has a brother who was King. That king is Jin and Taehyung’s father?”

The siren nodded again.

“So If you call Jin the King, then that must mean their father, the previous king, is dead.” Namjoon looked back to Jin with sudden concern as the reality of what he was saying hit him.

“I’m so sorry.” 

Jin smiled sadly and shrugged, 

“I think Tae and I both assumed our parents were dead by the way we were abandoned in our grandmother’s garden.” He turned back to the sirens,

“How do you know that I am your King? My brother and I don’t know our parents or where we came from.”

The male siren, his supposed cousin, took a minute to respond, obviously deciphering the question. He turned back to the chariot and lifted something from inside. It was rectangular and boxy,  the size of a large book, and was wrapped in what looked like fabric woven from seagrass.

As he carried it back, the Queen grew agitated, hissing at her son and trying to grab at the object. He stepped away from her, saying something in their own language that sounded like he was trying to persuade her. She huffed and crossed her arms angrily, stamping on the sand.

“Tantrum.” Adora whispered and she heard Yoongi chuckle behind her.

The object was unwrapped and handed to Jin.

"Father, King." The siren said and gently pushed it further into Jin's hands.

Jin turned it so he could look at it properly and then gasped. He pulled Taehyung close and they both stared at the carved mother of pearl portrait that was the spitting image of Jin.

They looked up at the young man in front of them.

"Our father?"

"Yes."

“What is your name?” Jin asked him. 

“Me, Ailani.” The siren patted his chest. Then he pointed to his mother.

“Queen Leilani.”

Jin bowed politely.

“Queen Leilani. Cousin Ailani, please will you join us for lunch?” He gestured to where the picnic was still laid out. The queen shook her head and turned to her son.

She gritted out instructions to him and then pushed him towards them, gesticulating wildly at Taehyung and then splashing back to the chariot. 

Ailani looked at her and back at Taehyung.

“Queen must see mate and child.” 

“Why?”

“Child is great warrior. True prize.”

“What?” Taehyung did not like where this was going.

“Queen give me. Queen take child.”

There was another clap of thunder then. Adora looked back and saw the black cloud gathering, seemingly from nowhere, approaching swiftly from the trees to where they stood by the sea.

She swung Yoongi round by the shoulder and pointed. 

Squinting up, Yoongi caught sight of movement in the tree line. 

“I think someone is hiding in the trees,” he said quietly. She followed his gaze and locked onto the shadowy shapes that flitted in and out of visibility. Yoongi pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Jimin’s number.

“Hello?” came his husband’s voice, sounding a little out of breath.

“Are you all still in the school?” 

“I’m fine dear husband, thank you for asking. How are you?”

“Jimin. Are you all still in the school building?.”

Jimin’s perky tone dropped immediately.

“Yes, we are. Why, what happened? Are you all ok?”

“It’s getting really weird out here. Just stay inside. Don’t come out until we get back.”

“We weren’t going to. Yoongi, what’s going on? Yoongi?...” Jimin heard nothing but the dialling tone. Yoongi had ended the call.

Taehyung was trying his hardest not to freak out completely as his alleged cousin explained in broken words that his alleged aunt Queen, pretender to his King brother’s throne, wanted to take his son Kai away and leave her son in his place.

“Absolutely the fuck not.” he managed, very calmly, hardly even shouting at all. He felt Jin’s hand squeeze him gently on the arm and he looked panicked at his brother.

“Are you hearing this?”

“No one is taking Kai from you. Please try to stay calm.” Jin was equally concerned by the way the non-picnic was turning out, but he couldn’t afford to let the visitors catch them at a disadvantage. 

Namjoon was still trying to communicate with Ailani at the edge of the water. The queen was sitting back on her chariot, glaring at them with a scowl on her face. Jin suddenly noticed that more than half of the entourage that had arrived with her had disappeared. He could only see three heads bobbing in the water around the chariot.

Scanning the beach he saw someone disappear into the trees at the far end.

“Where are they going?” he strode forward, interrupting Namjoon mid question and grabbing his cousin by the shoulder. He pointed to where the man had disappeared.

“Why are your people running into my land?” 

His cousin looked at him blankly. 

“Jin!” Adora yelled, “they are heading south.” she pointed and Jin focused just in time to see another two people disappearing into the woods, back in the direction of the village.

“Where are they going?” he roared at Ailani. 

His cousin lifted his hands, palm up and shrugged.

“They collect child.”

🧜

Taehyung didn’t even glance back as he raced across the sand to where they had parked the cars. He knew the rest of them could fit in Adora’s, so he jumped in his jeep and started the engine, pulling onto the track before he’d even shut the door properly.

He vaguely heard a yell behind him but didn’t stop to check who they were shouting at.

Jin, who had shouted for Taehyung to fasten his seatbelt, sighed, knowing full well his brother hadn’t heard him. He turned back to their newly discovered relatives and took Ailani by the shoulder. 

“You need to come with us.” The siren nodded, not seeming perturbed in the least. Jin looked across to the queen who was now back in her tail, coiled up in the shell and drifting back as it was pulled into deeper waters by the remaining guards.

“I am sorry our meeting ended so abruptly. I can assure you I don’t want your throne, and neither will I surrender my nephew to you. You may rule your waters, I will rule my land.”

He put a friendly arm around his cousin and smiled tightly.

“Ailani is free to stay as our guest, but if I see any uninvited tresspassers, we will protect our land and family.”

The queen sniffed, turning her face away in disdain and flicked a hand, at which the chariot began to get slowly pulled under the waves.

Namjoon and Jin, flanking the silent siren, watched until there was no trace left but the shimmer of the light on the surface.

Jin looked back up the beach to where he could see Adora and Yoongi waiting in the front seats of her tiny car.

“Namjoon, I have another challenge for your massive brain.” Jin sighed. Namjoon looked at him quizzically.

“I need you to work out how you, me and this hunk of a man are going to fit in the back of a Kia.” 

Namjoon made a sound that Jin took as his acceptance of their immediate fate. They collected up the uneaten picnic food and blankets and walked the last few metres to where their only mode of transport sat parked, with two very tiny people in the front seats.

Jin grinned at his siren cousin who was looking at the car curiously.

“Do you want to go in the middle?” 

Taehyung braked to a skidding halt in front of the school building and practically threw himself out of the car, in his haste to get to the front door.

The rain had started as he drove through the forest and was now coming down in sheets. It took a good hour in fine weather to make the journey, but the muddy track and torrential rain had forced him to slow down so he didn’t crash into a tree en route. Terrified that the sirens would be quicker on foot, he sobbed back a shuddering breath as he reached the porchway that framed the main entrance into the building.

“It’s me! Let me in!!” Taehyung yelled as he banged on the door with both fists. Eventually, he heard the sound of the heavy bolt being drawn back and the door opened, revealing a very scared looking Hobi.

“Where are they?” Taehyung asked him, rushing past the teacher into the eerily quiet hallway.

“They took them.” Hobi replied, voice cracking in distress. “The noise, it took us by surprise and by the time I could move, they’d gone.”

“Who has gone?” Taehyung gripped his friend by both shoulders now, desperately needing to know.

“The children. They took your children.” Hobi sobbed and crumpled onto the floor.

🧜

Interlude

Our child was born. Afuru had expected a prince, but we have, instead, a princess. She is perfect with ten fingers and ten tiny toes. I was not sure if she would have two legs but Afuru seemed to expect it. He says that she was conceived on the land, and so she is of the land. 

The first time she cried, I fainted and woke up to find my mirror cracked from side to side.

Afuru says she has the power of his song. He has named her Kala.

He stayed with me for three days without leaving even for a moment. He patrolled the house many times, checking all of the doors were secure and urging me to stay in the upper rooms away from the windows.

On the fourth night he left. We were running out of fresh food and I could see he was suffering from being away from the sea. 

For three nights now I have been alone with my daughter. I am living on small meals of rice and one fresh egg a day. I seem to be making enough milk for her. We must stay healthy so the collectors don’t come for us. We must stay inside, so the sirens don’t take my baby. 

Afuru said that they would want to take child. They would take her so they could control the throne and his people. 

Before he left, he gave me documents that hold the deeds to all the land from the northernmost point of the bay to the middle of the forest. 

He said that I must protect it now. To keep the peace, there cannot be sirens on land or the collectors will have more souls to harvest.

He said that if they ever come back, I must protect the heir and the balance and the land. 

I will register her with my family name and she will be the legal sole heir to all the Kim land, this island, this house, my belongings, my heart.

Kim Kala, Princess of the Island, Queen of the sea.

Kim Seon Young -  November 1853

It is too much. I am so tired. I don’t think he is coming back.

Kim Seon Young - January 1854

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Taehyung ran past Hobi and into the main school hall. The sight that greeted him made him grip the door frame so he wouldn’t collapse.

Everywhere he looked, students and a handful of adults were laying on the floor or sitting up holding their heads in their hands. Some were crying and hugging each other. At the far end of the hall, one of the huge floor to ceiling windows was gaping open, glass shattered all over the floor. Taehyung made his way through the room, checking each face as he passed by, but he couldn’t see the ones he was searching for. 

As he reached the window, he found Jimin struggling to his feet, wobbling dangerously. Taehyung grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him upright. There was a drip of blood streaking down Jimin’s cheek from a small cut under his eye. 

“Are you ok?” Taehyung gasped, “What happened?” Although, deep down, he knew too well.

Jimin put a hand up to his cheek and winced as his fingers brushed a fleck of glass still sticking out of his skin.  Taehyung pulled a chair upright, brushed it with the sleeve of his hoodie and sat Jimin down carefully. 

“We were about to start the year 9 performance. Fortunately most of the kids were sitting way back, but Jungkook and the baby were standing at the side of the stage with me here. There was a massive sound, like Kai screaming but a hundred times more intensely, and then the glass shattered. 

The younger children started screaming and it was chaotic, but then this noise started that drowned out everything else.. and my head…. My head went black. Next thing I know I wake up covered in glass and they're gone.”  He sobbed out the last words, dropping his head onto Taehyung’s hip.

“I can’t find my babies.” He wept now. In the distance a door slammed open and then footsteps grew louder until Taehyung was moved aside so Yoongi could pull Jimin into his arms.

Taehyung could barely focus as he looked around the room desperately, the tears blurring his vision.

“Where’s Kookie?” He turned back to Jimin and fell at his feet. “Why would they take Kookie as well? What will they do to him?” Yoongi gripped Taehyung with his other arm and pulled him close. 

“We will find them. No one takes our family and gets away with it.”

It could have been 5 minutes later, it could have been hours, but all Jungkook knew was that it was very dark, he was very cold, and he had one hell of a headache. He felt like he was trapped in a small space, but as he managed to move a fraction, the walls around him all moved, gasped and started talking at once.

“Kookie! Kookie!”

“Uncle Kookie, are you ok?” 

“Leela, get off my leg!”

“Shut up Beomgyu, I’m trying to see if Kookie is alive!”

Jungkook gave a small groan at the cacophony of voices that were amplifying his thumping skull.

“I’m alive.”  He felt tiny hands cup his face and Kai started to babble.

“Kookie, MY KOOKIE, BAD MAN. Kookie Ouch. Tete gone. Kookie sleep. Kai sad. Kookie.” 

“Shh, shhhh.” He somehow managed to raise his arms and gather the baby close to his chest to soothe him.

“It’s ok, Kookie’s here. It’s ok and it’s alright. Shhh.”

After blinking a few times, Jungkook’s eyes gradually adapted to the darkness and he was able to make out the twins sitting close to him on the floor to his right and Jin’s boys opposite. The two brothers were sitting up against the wall, heads together and fast asleep. Just next to Jungkook’s left side , curled up like a puppy, was Little Tae. The four year old's eyes were closed and he had Jungkook’s trouser leg tightly grasped in his fist.

“Are they ok?” Jungkook croaked, nodding towards Soobin and Yeonjun. Both twins looked at him with scared wide eyes.

“They knocked them out because they were fighting too hard. We made sure they were breathing, but they’ve been asleep for ages.” 

Jungkook felt cold rage spread through him, how dare they harm his family, they were just children. 

“How long have we been here? Do you know where we are?” Jungkook shifted up, holding onto Kai, so he could sit upright with the baby in his lap. There was a cold stone wall behind him, it felt damp through his shirt, so he sat away from it.

Leela and Beomgyu were shivering, even though they were huddled together holding hands. Jungkook held out his arm and they shuffled forward into his hold.  Leela perched on the leg that Kai wasn’t on and Beomgyu pressed close along their side.

Beomgyu was wearing a digital watch, so he was able to tell that they had been taken about 3 hours previously. 

“You fell as soon as they came in the window, I don’t think they wanted to bring you, but Kai screamed so hard and held onto you so tight, the only way they could get him was to carry you too.” 

The twins explained everything that had happened, from the moment the glass shattered to just now.

“There were 8 of them. I couldn’t tell at first, but we counted them after.” Leela told him. “They sang really low as they came in and everyone fell, except us and Little Tae.” she looked puzzled then,

“We didn’t know Little Tae was one of us too.”

Jungkook nodded.

“Well his dad and I thought he might be, but we didn’t know for sure yet. I guess, now we do.”

The twins both nodded sagely and then carried on with their tale.

“They were really tall and strong. We tried to help Papa, but they just lifted us straight off him.” Beomgyu’s lower lip wobbled, “Do you think Papa is ok?” he whispered, leaning into his sister’s arm.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Your dad and Adora will look after him, I’m positive. I’m ok aren’t I? So he probably woke up just now like me.”

Jungkook hadn't spent much time with young children before moving to the island.  He’d obviously lived alongside the twins, seeing them around the house, but they hadn’t been left in his care. In fact he’d got to know Kai more in the last week than he had his cousin’s kids in the 6 weeks he’d been here.

Still, now he was the only adult in a room (cave?) full of his friends and family’s children and he had to be one they could rely on. No big deal. He just needed to stay calm and use his anger for good, to get them out of here.

The twins’ faces didn’t reveal how convinced they were of his assurances, but at least Beomgyu looked able to carry on.

“Soobin was trying to fight them while Yeonjunnie ran with Little Tae, but they grabbed them and hit them on the head like this so they could carry them out.”

Beomgyu mimicked, placing the flat of his hand on Leela’s forehead and pushing.

“Kai was screaming the whole time, they seemed more careful of him than us.” Leela observed, “I think that's why they brought you too. They didn’t want to hurt him while getting him away from you.”

The very thought made a shudder of horror pass through Jungkook and he held the baby closer, tucking his head under his chin.

“Did you see where they brought us?” he asked, trying to peer up and see if there was room to stand. It was too dark to see any surface, but he didn’t want to knock himself out as soon as he’d woken up.

“I can hear the sea nearby.” Leela said. Jungkook remembered the conversation he’d had with her so long ago, was it only last week? So much had happened since the night the cat went missing.

“What else can you hear?” he urged her to carry on.

“Footsteps and people talking above us, but I don’t understand what they are saying. It’s not a language I know. But they sound annoyed.” Leela closed her eyes to concentrate more.

“I can hear other heartbeats. Not from up there, but nearby. Maybe in another room next to this one. And I can hear running water. Like a stream splashing.”

Jungkook put Kai down next to Little Tae and stood up cautiously. Kai clung to his trouser leg, not letting him walk away without him.

Jungkook could stand full height and feel the ceiling above his head if he reached up, but didn’t have to stretch.

“Maybe we are in a cellar under a building.” he wondered out loud. He felt in his back pocket and was relieved to find his phone still there. The screen was cracked, but it still turned on. It had 10% battery left and no signal. He set it to battery saver mode and used the dim screen light to scan the room. 

Three of the walls were cold and damp, hewn from rock rather than earth. The fourth was rough red brick. There was a wooden door set into it. Jungkook tried the handle, not expecting anything other than the obvious. It was locked. 

He felt a tugging on his leg and looked down to see Kai trying to climb up his leg. 

“Kookie Up.” The little one said. Jungkook smiled and hoisted him up onto his hip, kissing his head affectionately. 

“Tete.” Kai said sadly, leaning his head on Jungkook’s shoulder. 

“I know, baby. I miss him too. But I know he’s coming to find us, so you need to help me get us all out of this room, ok?”

“Love Tete.” Kai said. “Love Kookie.”

“Me too baby, me too.”

Behind him, Leela filed away this little exchange to tell her papa later. Right now, they had boys to wake up and a room to escape. 

Of all of the captives, Leela had been the most alert throughout. The sirens were big, strong and powerful. Their song had subdued all the children, the power of it hitting them with a force they had not encountered before. Kai had protested by screaming and holding onto his Kookie with all his might, but as he was a tiny toddler and his Kookie was unconscious, the attackers had no trouble carrying him away.   

Leela had watched Soobin and Yeonjun get put to sleep with no more than an irritated flick against their foreheads. Her twin, Beomgyu,  had been lulled into a daze and compliantly let himself be led out. Leela, observing all this and being afraid to get knocked out like she had seen them do to Soobin, decided to pretend to be as dozy as her brother and kept her eyes low and ears alert.

Through half closed eyes, she watched as they ran out of the school grounds and into the forest that lined the campus. They didn’t keep to any beaten track, but as the sound of the waves became clearer, Leela started to recognise some of the rock formations and ancient trees that they had played underneath growing up. 

“I think we are close to Papa’s beach.” She told Jungkook. “They carried us past the place where we make a den in the winter and the cave that daddy stores the blankets and firewood in.”

Jungkook hadn’t been there himself, but he’d seen photos of the camping trip that the family had taken last winter and been told that he would join them next time because it was compulsory. He’d laughed at the time, slightly unnerved by his tiny cousin in law and his straight faced twins, but now he wished they’d been able to go sooner.

“Do you know of any buildings out here?” he asked her. She pursed her little lips in thought. Beomgyu, who had been poking at his friends trying to wake them up, suddenly piped up.

“There is an old fisherman’s cottage just by the cliffs. It’s all ruined now. Leela, remember, Dad told us not to play in it in case the walls fell down.”

“Ok.” Jungkook looked around taking stock of their situation. His priority was getting the kids out and away. Also letting Taehyung and the others where they were. 

“Beomgyu, can you try and wake up the boys. Kai, baby, can you look after Little Tae? Help him be brave for me?” Kai nodded and toddled over to Tae, squatted next to him and patted his face carefully.

“Leela, I need your ears. You listen out for any sound of them coming closer whole I try to get this door open, Ok?”

Leela nodded. 

“Ok Uncle Kookie.” She walked to the corner where a stone wall met the brick wall and facing the wall, placed her hands flat against it and closed her eyes.

Jungkook put his phone back in his back pocket and felt all around the door edges. There was a small gap, maybe 5mm wide most of the way round. He could feel a draught coming through.  Getting a little purchase with 8 finger tips, he was able to tug the door a little and feel that the resistance was only in one place at the handle, meaning there was only one lock and no extra sliding bolts to tackle.

The handle was quite loose, so tugging too hard on that would only make the situation more difficult. He felt around the edges of the floor looking for anything that would help prise the door open. There was nothing except an old sack and some wooden crates. The wood was too damp to use as a jimmy, it snapped in Jungkook’s hands like balsa wood.

“I wish we had a knife.” he mumbled out loud and was surprised when Beomgyu answered him.

“I have a knife.”

Jungkook had been a small boy once and he knew the fascination with pen knives and tools. Right now he was more worried about getting them all out of this place than wondering why his 11 year old nephew was carrying a blade. After a couple of seconds' consideration, he decided to leave the parenting to Yoongi.

“Can I borrow it please?” He was handed a smallish survival knife with a folding 4 inch blade, corkscrew and flathead screwdriver. The blade was quite sturdy, so Jungkook fed it into the gap between the door and the jamb, wiggling it as close as he could to the bolt. 

It was flat, so he couldn’t force it like he’d seen people do with credit cards on TV. The handle casing itself was screwed into the wooden door. So feeling with his fingers in the darkness, he fitted the screwdriver into the slots and as quietly as he could, started to unscrew them. 

Once the handle and plate were off, he should be able to reach into the cavity and slide out the bolt. Or at least he thought so. 

The last screw came out with a clatter, slipping out of Jungkook’s fingers and hitting the bare floor. He froze, Leela spun round to stare at him wide eyed and then rushed forward putting her hand over the screw that was still spinning.

“Shhh” she whispered and pointed up. “Someone is directly above us.”

Since establishing the school, Yoongi and Jimin had made themselves a very good reputation on the island. They had made contacts and working relationships with all the local businesses and those relationships had turned into friendships. 

After getting to know them and seeing how well they ran the school, the ladies of the council had not only given them their full blessing, but treated them as much as family as they did the Kim boys who they had known all their lives. The Island children belonged

 to everyone and so when Yoongi called the council leader, she alerted the whole Island network to help recover them.

They gathered at the school over the next two hours. 30 people came, including Mina from the council and Dr Park from the Veterinary clinic.

Yoongi explained as best he could about the visitors from off the island, the distraction they had caused on the beach and the attack on the school.

He was aware that not everyone was aware of there being anyone other than humans in the vicinity, but the ladies of the council were well aware and helped assign tasks according to how likely the person was to faint from shock when faced with a supernatural creature.

Surprisingly, Mina was sent to follow Yoongi into the woods.

“I know all about the collectors.” she said after Yoongi raised an eyebrow at her. “I just can’t write them down in my official reports for the mainland.”

“These aren’t collectors.” Yoongi told her, carefully observing her reaction, “These are Sirens.”

“You will all need ear protection.” Adora reminded Yoongi.  “You’ll have no chance getting anywhere close to them if you can hear them.”

Miss Lee, the school nurse, came forward with a box and started to hand out little foam ear plugs to everyone.

The plan was this:

Leaving from the school grounds, they would track the route that the sirens had taken.

Ailani would walk ahead in between Jin and Adora, showing them the way to where the children were being held, or not, depending on his cooperation. Either way, they couldn’t leave him behind as he could easily overpower the humans in the village. 

Taehyung would ride on Midnight, just behind them with Yoongi and Jimin. The other volunteers would follow, some on horseback, ears well protected and armed with whatever they’d brought with them. Guns were not allowed on Pinan Island, but almost every island born resident had learned how to use a bow and arrows, and most of the students at the school had as well.

Not that any students were coming. They were all in the council building, with the elderly residents, Namjoon, Hoseok and 5 of the volunteers to guard the building. The council building was made of stone and stood in the middle of the village. No large windows on the ground floor and not close to the tree line on any side. 

The older students, under the direction of Dr Park and Hoseok, were taping up the windows in case any of them shattered.

“I don’t think they will come here.” Jin had told the council women, “They came for Kai and they have him, but just in case, please stay inside and safe.”

The chairwoman, a lady of 75 years, had patted his hand softly and given him a smile.

“Your grandmother would be so proud of you boys. Bring our children back, Seokjin. Don’t worry about us.”

Jin had smiled brightly, fighting back the lump in his throat and the tears welling in his eyes.

“Thank you Aunty. We will.”  Then after bowing, he turned to Namjoon, who was pale and still in shock.

Jin took his hands and pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m going to bring him back to you, I promise.” 

Namjoon wasn’t a loud crier. Since the moment they had run into the school hall and found their children missing, he had withdrawn into a silent self loathing. His brain had spent the last 3 hours telling him how terrible a father he was, that he didn’t deserve to have Little Tae and that his dead sister would be ashamed of him.

It had taken a sharp slap on the back of his hand to make him come out of the fog enough to see he had been crushing Jin’s hand in his fists. 

Jin was so worried about him, he had insisted he stay with Hobi in the town hall. 

“I can’t rescue the kids if I’m worried sick about you as well.” he’d said, not unkindly. Namjoon had crumpled then, sobbing on Jin’s shoulder. 

So here he was, waiting in the hall and tasked with protecting the other students, while Jin rescued his son. His inner voice was screaming at him, but Jin had told him categorically that his inner voice was a dick and Namjoon should only listen to Kim Seokjin from this point forward.

He buried his face in Jin’s neck for a brief moment, brushing his lips against his neck and breathing in his smell.

“Come back to me.” Namjoon whispered. Jin’s arms tightened around him for a moment, but he didn’t say a word,

Taehyung was finding it hard to settle on an emotion. He was so worried about Kai and Jungkook, his chest ached with fear. But underneath that burned the fire of blistering rage. His hands shook as he hung his bow across his back and fastened the strap of his quiver. 

Jimin came close, looking equally sick and pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m so scared Taetae.” He whispered, sniffing back tears. Taehyung wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him close and breathing in his sweet smell. 

“We will get them back.” Taehyung gruffed, his throat thick with tears. “We have to.”  Behind them, Midnight stamped her feet, impatient and unsettled with all the anxiety that was heavy in the air.

Taehyung kissed Jimin on the temple and in return, Jimin kissed Taehyung on the cheek.

“Stay safe Angel.”

“You too Baby Bear.”  

Yoongi came then, slipping his arm around his husband’s shoulders. 

“Time to head out.” He said. Reaching out, he patted Taehyung on the shoulder. 

“Be careful Tae, don’t let your emotions get the better of you. We will need your height advantage and skills to scout for us.”

Taehyung squeezed Yoongi’s hand once and then turned to mount Midnight.

“Come on then, let's get our babies back.”

“And Jungkook.” Yoongi reminded him. Taehyung stared at him flatly.

“Exactly. My babies.” 

Now was not the time, but Yoongi would be having a chat with him soon. (The “what are your intentions with my cousin” chat.)

The footsteps above them were slow and heavy, pacing back and forth. Leela tracked them from one end of the space to beyond the brick divide and down steps, right up to the other side of the door that she and Jungkook were crouching behind. 

Jungkook held his breath and watched his niece’s face for her direction. She held one finger up as she listened, eyes closed.

She turned her face to the door and silently placed her hand flat against the wood as she heard the guard stop outside. If they decided to try the handle now, they would discover that it had been tampered with. Jungkook raised his hand and ever so gently, placed his weight against the plate around the handle, hoping that it wouldn’t jostle if they tried it.

The person outside the door breathed in and out three times, sounding slightly out of breath. Then they moved away again and went back up the stairs.

This repeated twice until finally after an agonising 15 or 20 minutes, the steps left the floor above their heads, climbing up to another storey.

Leela dropped her hand and opened her eyes.

“They have gone for now.” She whispered, “But I don’t know how long for.”

Behind them, Beomgyu shuffled up to his knees.

“Uncle Kook, I think Soobin is waking up.”

Sure enough, Soobin was starting to stir, his eyes moving around behind the lids. Beside him, Yeonjun groaned and raised his hand to his head.

“Hurts..” he whispered. “Worse than that time we tried dad’s soju.”

Jungkook snorted,

“Glad to hear you are back with us Junnie. Can you sit up?”

Both boys came round and listened as Jungkook and the twins filled them in on what had happened while they were unconscious. 

“We need to get out of here.” Jungkook told the children. “When I open the door, we need to make sure the coast is clear and then pick up the little ones and run.”

Jungkook turned to Little Tae.

“We might need to run really fast, so you need to hold someone’s hand, ok?”

Little Tae nodded, eyes wide.

“Junnie’s hand.” he whispered and shuffled over to where Yeonjun had got up onto his feet, taking his hand.

“Kai baby, come here.” Jungkook held out his hand and Kai ran to him.

“Stay right behind me, ok?” The little boy nodded, gripping Jungkook’s trouser leg in his fist.

“Leela, listen out. Tell me when it’s all quiet.”

Leela and Beomgyu, holding hands, nodded and both closed their eyes. Leela may have been the one with the supernatural hearing, but her twin helped her focus and magnify the power.

Soobin, not having a hand to hold, broke up one of the wooden crates and took a piece of wood, about the length of a baseball bat. Jungkook looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t be a hero Soobin. Your dad will kill me if you get hurt trying to fight a merman.”

Soobin grinned and waved the baton.

“He can’t kill you if I protect you from him.”

“Soobin, be quiet!” Leela hissed and they all froze as she pointed to the ceiling and traced the steps of whoever was approaching from above.  They waited in silence, the footsteps once again pacing across the length of the room, down the stairs and to the other side of the door. This time they heard the key turn in the lock and then a creak as the handle started to move.

Jungkook picked up Kai and herded all the children to the opposite end of the dark room. Then picking up a piece of the wood,  he and Soobin stood in front of them and waited for the door to open.