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“Dragon! Northwest, fifty feet!” he hears a loud roar from outside followed by simultaneous battle cries from the rest of the villagers. Whining in annoyance, Taehyung rolls over his bed, lifting his head only to slide his pillow from underneath him and burying his head underneath it.

The sounds from outside become muffled and he feels like he can actually take in a few more hours to sleep today.

But no. The Gods hate him.

“Taehyung, get up!” a clapping sound comes from above him slightly muffled by the pillow he is buried underneath. “You mother wants to prepare early for the feast.”

“But it’s barely even noon time,” Taehyung whines. Outside looks dark and the cold travels past his door, but that might just be the normal climate you see in the cliffs of Busan, miles away from the place Taehyung grew up to call home.

He opens his eyes and even against the bright light travelling from the door behind him, Taehyung could recognize their village’s blacksmith, Dohyuk, standing before him holding his strange tool made of two sticks tied together which he uses as an alarm of some sorts. Taehyung is convinced it’s made by the devil due to it being the sole reason he wakes up everyday even back in Daegu.

“Come on,” Dohyuk pulls him up by the arm and Taehyung begrudgingly follows, but not without a sound of complaint. He scratches the back of his head, hair a bird’s nest as the blacksmith drapes a coat over his frame to keep him warm from the cold.

Though it’s been three days of staying in the Na Village in Busan, Taehyung is still unused to the activities that go about all around. As Dohyuk leads them down the village to head to the building where he has to get prepared, he watches as men carry nets of fish, how women fleece sheep and while some parents show their children sharp weapons like axes and swords.

It’s nothing like the quiet plains of Daegu he grew up in, where people sang songs in the streets, in the fields while they farmed. People were carefree, safe, and the only weapons you could find were scythes for plowing and grazing.

Here, everyday since Taehyung arrived, a screech of an animal echoes past the cliffs and towards the sea, reaching the furthest boat that had sailed to catch fish.

The roar of a dragon.

Taehyung’s home village isn’t nescient on dragons, however they have never openly attacked the creatures who simply flew by. He’s proud that they’re a peaceful village, so to see such violence upon them surprises him.

He’s sure it surprises his mother, too, but otherwise she doesn’t show it. His father, too, for that matter, as he is close friends with the chief of the Na Village.

“Taehyung-ah,” his mother waves from the patio of the building which Taehyung knows is where clothes for formal events are made. She’s already prepared with a beautiful apple green robe yet her hair remains loose, strands resting over one shoulder delicately.

“Eomma,” Taehyung greets with a sleepy smile.

“Gods dear, your hair,” she says with a click of her tongue as she takes his shoulder. She spins him lightly and shakes her head. “How long were you up last night?”

“Just took a walk around the forest last night,” Taehyung yawns. “Didn’t know what time I returned to the hut.”

“ Your hut,” she corrects. “Your betrothed made that place especially for you as a gift.”

Taehyung wants to ask what use it would be after they wed since he will be living with Jinsoo anyway but he keeps the words in his mouth. He knows what his mother will say; there’s not much he can do anyway. This union was promised long ago by the two chiefs to strengthen ties and officially begin trade in between villages.

So he nods and allows his mother to lead him inside to prepare. Many women, who his mother had easily befriended unsurprisingly, gather to him and shower him with compliments. It’s not everyday he lingers within the crowds of the village, choosing the quiet forest over the bustling streets, which explains such treatment.

In the span of time he is there, his whole body is washed with fine soaps and his hair decorated with flowers and other accessories. The first time he catches his reflection in the mirror, he is truly surprised. Nobody back in Daegu had ever dressed him as such, not even for weddings. They were a simple folk yet treated each day specially. Clothes like these are grand, but are they worth happiness and content?

He wonders what his older brother would have thought if he saw Taehyung now. A deep part of him thinks Seokjin is lucky he didn’t have to come. Of course he couldn't; somebody had to watch over the village in their father’s absence.

He winces as the belt around his waist is fastened tightly from behind. Thankfully he could still breathe but his posture is permanently set up straight, unpleasantly so since it is uncomfortable for him to remain in one position for so long. They apply light powder on his face and make him press his lips on a light shaded paper.

Finally when he’s finished, he’s taken to look at the mirror again and what he sees is…

Someone else.

He sighs. Though it is not who he is used to, it is who he was always meant to be. The chief’s partner, a symbol of the union between the Kim and Na village.

“Beautiful,” his mother says as she stands behind him. “Like a burning flame so gentle in the hearth. You will make a great partner for the chief.”

“I wonder what hyungnim would have said if he was here,” Taehyung raises his brows with a chuckle, looking at his mother through the mirror.

“Don’t be silly. You know you brother would have complimented you.”

“I know,” Taehyung sighs. “I just wish our last farewell didn’t have to be in Daegu.”

His mother smiles in understanding, caressing the side of his face so gently before leaning forward to press a kiss on his forehead. “Don’t worry my dear. You will still be able to visit him. Now come. We have a feast to attend.”

As they walk past the village, children all follow him with looks of awe and he leans down to pat each and every one of their heads. He hears a few whistles from around and some openly calling for attention. Not knowing how to respond with all this attention, Taehyung sends them a smile which comes out more as a grimace.

He is led to the open pavilion where the village has their meals, gathering, and sometimes meetings. It’s a large space overlooking the high cliffs and the wide seemingly endless sea. When he arrives, people are already on tables, merrily singing songs and passing ale in pints and jars.

It only goes silent when the loud sound of a drum hit three times vibrates all throughout the room.

Everyone watches in silent awe as Taehyung walks past the middle aisle in his beautiful silk robes. His mother walks beside him while his father waits at the head table with a proud smile and head held high. Beside him is the chief of the Na Village, Na Hyungseok, and his son, Na Jinsoo, who Taehyung had the pleasure of meeting for the past few days.

He reaches the top of the steps leading up to the high table at the same time his father, the Na Village’s chief, and his betrothed round the table to approach him. He and his mother approach his father standing to Hyunseok’s right. 

“Brethren of the Na Village,” Hyungseok speaks as soon as the drum’s last strike echoes through the pavillon. Everybody inside fall into an anticipating silence. “We welcome our friends from the distant lands of Daegu for an arrangement, a union, to better our ties in the south east and for prosperity in trade and goods. Welcome, Kim Youngho, chief of the Kim Village.”

His father nods with a smile directed to his fellow chief.

Hyungseok offers his hand to Taehyung, and he takes it at the same time Jinsoo does opposite to him.

“Kim Taehyung of Daegu’s Kim Village, I formally present you to my son.”

His hand is gently offered to the taller male who glances down at it then back up to Taehyung meeting his eyes again.

Somehow there’s a strange feeling there that Taehyung couldn’t name. But it’s not something he welcomes.

Jinsoo’s hand is rough compared to his softer palm with an equally strong grip as he encloses his own on Taehyung’s.

And the future chief raises their joined hands to show to the crowd and cheers echo into the night, as high as the embers of the flames from the torches surrounding them go.

The next thing Taehyung knows is music.

He’s sat high up the steps at the chief’s table with his betrothed beside him. He finds his parents in deep conversation with Hyungseok and he’d like to catch his mother’s attention for himself but he knows she would end up scolding him lightly for being impolite at a public event.

She would also encourage him to speak more with his betrothed.

“Would you like a drink?” Jinsoo suddenly asks from beside him and Taehyung shakes his head. “Alright. I’m not much of a drinking fan myself. I believe it comes from my dad’s negative influence. How about you?”

Taehyung didn’t really ask, but he didn’t want to be rude either. “I’ve never had a single drop of alcohol in my system. My brother though loved to drink. If he were here, he would be walking around merrily with a pint of ale.”

Jinsoo snorts, and it has Taehyung easing out of the awkward atmosphere that had previously surrounded them. He’s able to sit easily now without having to worry about… he’s not exactly sure what, but in a dining hall full of strangers there are many unexplainable things to worry about.

“I hope you have been comfortable in your stay,” Jinsoo says, leaning closer to Taehyung as the chatter of the hall has gone louder. I had sent for extra furs and coats in the hut I built for you. I hope they’ll be to your liking.”

“Thank you for your hospitality Jinsoo-ssi.”

“Please, you can just ca-”

His sentence is cut off by the loud roar of a dragon. Everyone freezes on their spot, except for Jinsoo who stands up from his seat so suddenly it surprises Taehyung more than the dragon’s roar.

Taehyung glances to his brother who now attempts to climb over the table knowing over a few plates and dishes off. His fellow chief tries to hold him back, just as drunkenly. It is his partner who has to keep them balanced in the end.

“That was abnormally close,” Jinsoo notes, his tone sharper than it had been.

“Dragons don’t normally attack our land,” Taehyung speaks meekly. “Do you always kill one when they are close?”

“Would you not?”

“Dragons attack when they feel they are threatened,” Taehyung answers. “We don’t always encounter dragons back in Daegu, but when we do we leave them be. Even the older flock of sheep are left for them to feast on once in a while to keep them away from the village.”

Jinsoo doesn’t answer, but Taehyung’s words must have been enough to keep Jinsoo put and not find the dragon. It relieves Taehyung that no blood had to be shed on a night that was supposed to be merry.

It’s supposed to be, yet Taehyung doesn’t feel so.

It’s another sleepless night within the Na Village- his fourth night to be specific.

The feast from just hours ago should have tired him out, but he does not feel the familiar yet now distant pull of sleep.

He realizes this is going to be another one of those nights, so he gets up, throws on his coat and shoes, and leaves the hut.

He ventures into the dark forest.

There are no dark forests in Daegu. He’s only known the plains and the meadows. You find trees but not in large amounts enough to surround you such as this. 

The moon is his bright in the dark night, so he finds little to no trouble walking across the root and stone ridden forest floor. It’s as if he has walked these lands and that his muscles are simply relying on memory, which he believes he has at this point after four nights of venturing deeper and deeper.

Not long into his walk, a small light hovers before him and he realizes it’s a firefly. They’re not uncommon in Daegu; he actually enjoyed them on nights he lay alone in the meadow. He looks around and finds more fluttering up from where they had hidden and he starts to spin around trying to catch each and every one of them in sight, in awe.

But the moment is disturbed when a loud roar echoes through the trees. Compared to when he was in the dining hall, this one sounds like it’s closer. He thinks about hurrying back because while he stands by his beliefs that dragons do not attack unless provoked, he’s not sure he can fend himself against a wild one who might believe he’s a threat.

Just as he’s about to head back, he hears a loud rustle from above him before the sound of a loud snapping of a branch. It falls not too far from him, and as the moon is momentarily shadowed. He looks up and finds a gigantic creature falling from the sky. Taehyung runs towards it to get a closer look and finds the silhouette of webbed wings behind it’s back.

A dragon.

Ahead of him it crashes sending a flurry of leaves to Taehyung’s way. He lifts his arms to block his face from the things flying towards him. Only when the dust settles does he lower his forearms covering his face before slowly moving forward to try and find the dragon that had fallen.

He could hear it’s wails and thinks that maybe it is in pain. For a moment he hesitates, stopping on his tracks. Because what is he thinking? He’s seen how dragons act when they are attacked. Would he really risk his life for a mere curiosity?

But he is not about to attack the creature. He’s just… Maybe he should simply hide and observe from far away before he runs off again.

Yes. Stupid, but safer.

Just as he takes a step forward, the earth seems to have suddenly disappeared, and before he can draw back and regain balance his other foot betrays him and slips down as well.

He rolls down on what feels like dirt and mud sticking to his face. As he hurriedly sits up, he finds a slope sitting behind him.

Dammit.

He suddenly flinches when he hears a low growl behind him. He slowly moves his head and under the moonlight finds sharp emerald green eyes peeking at him from the shadows. It’s glaring and predatory that one move could mean the end of all things Taehyung.

He sits incredibly still, not daring to move even a finger, despite his labored breathing and sweat trickling down his face.

He doesn’t even bother to reach for the small knife his father had strictly instructed him to have at all times while they were in Busan, for reasons still unclear. It’s always inside his coat and he’s never found a reason to use it. Regardless, Taehyung couldn’t bring himself to draw it and harm anyone, not even a dragon.

He is a healer. He does not harm.

The dragon does not move from the shadows, stays still with its growl continuously rumbling. The moon shines around the rest of the area so Taehyung takes his time to assess that.

It’s a pit, a deep pit with vines sticking to the stone walls, thick enough that he can use for climbing. The dragon growls louder again and he sharply turns back to where it hides in the shadows.

A few tense seconds pass, and when it’s rumble goes lower, Taehyung breaks for it.

He hears the dragon let out a sound of surprise but he has no time to see if it is chasing behind him. He focuses on the vine that reaches to the top edge of the pit and hurriedly runs for it.

When he’s close enough he jumps and reaches a hand to grab it and continues to climb hurriedly up the thick vine until he reaches the top. He doesn’t stop the pumping of his feet and continues to run past the trees. It’s only then that he starts tripping on roots and stones.

“Shit!” he trips again and with wobbly feet pushes himself up but falls again.

Then in a state of terror, he turns and finds…

Nothing.

The forest is just as it had been before that… freak incident. Quiet with fireflies hovering around.

Taheyung’s chest rises and falls heavily with his breathing. He clutches his chest to see if he really is alive. It turns out he is, if anything is to go by how his heart is beating so fast. It might as well jump out any minute now. There’s also the icky feel of drying mud on his face. He might need to wash up in the river early in the morning

Adrenaline suddenly drains out of him and suddenly his arms feel like noodles. He falls to his back on the forest floor and looks up at the dark sky and the moon partially covered by the branches and leaves of the pine trees. He thinks maybe he could just sleep there, despite the needles poking through his clothes and on the back of his hands.

He really shouldn’t sleep there. He realizes much when the dragon’s roar sounds again from the pit and for a second he thinks that maybe it has decided to come for him. He sits up and is about ready to make another run for it.

But then the roar weakens into a wail, then a cry, and then stone cold silence like it had just been.

Is the dragon… hurt?

He has no time to think about it. Dawn might break soon and he’s been gone longer than usual. He still has to bathe and he doesn't really want to hear Dohyuk overly exaggerating the news of his absence to his parents like the last time he ventured to the river.

The next morning he joins his mother by the docks to send off his father with the rest of the Na Village in their hunt for dragons.

He wishes it were for fishing, and he wishes they didn’t have to tell them their true purpose.

Taehyung can also see the visible disappointment in his mother’s face, but Hyungseok promised they would also go fishing on the way, so violence wasn’t the only thing the Kim Village’s chief would be taking away on their day trip.

“I still don’t like the idea of you killing dragons,” his mother whispers low enough so only Taehyung and his father could hear. “We never needed it.”

“But sooner we might,” Youngho says firmly. “True, we have found ways to be less violent in our village, but there might come a time a rogue attack comes. I’m just taking precautions, my love.”

His mother nods before pressing her forehead against his father’s in an act of affection. Youngho then turns to his son and caresses a finger down the side of his face making Taehyung smile.

“Are you not joining them?” a different voice enters. He turns and finds Jinsoo walking towards them with an armful of fishing nets.

Or maybe a trapping net. Taehyung would rather not know.

“I’m… gonna have to pass,” Taehyung smiles with pursed lips. “Gonna go explore the forest more.”

“The forest?” Jinsoo’s brows furrow in question. “Don’t you think that’s a little too dangerous?”

“I can fend for myself,” he pats the side of his hip where a knife rests in its sheath. Jinsoo nods, but Taehyung doesn’t miss the doubt in his eyes. 

Jinsoo looks like he wants to argue but one of their agreements to the union was to allow one absolute autonomy in their decisions.

“Alright. Just be careful out there. I think I heard the roar of the dragon while I was asleep.”

“It was probably just your dreams,” Taehyung waves off, hoping his face doesn’t come out as a grimace. “And you’re the one who should be careful out there. Like you said, it’s dangerous”

Jinsoo laughs lightly with a nod. He’s just about to walk past Taehyung before he moves to press their foreheads together, surprising Taehyung and making him pull away abruptly.

Jinsoo is surprised, too, but he apologizes first. “Sorry. That was too soon.”

Taehyung just shakes his head, not knowing what to say. Jinsoo sends him one last apologising smile and wave before getting on board the ship. The wooden plank is pulled back and the boat sails away from the harbor growing smaller and smaller in the distance.

“Were you uncomfortable?” his mother asks when the boat has sailed far away.

“I’m going to the forest now,” Taehyung answers with his head down, turning away from her as he starts to walk down the wooden bridge.

“You don’t want to take a tour to the infirmary?”

Taehyung just shakes his head without stopping. He doesn’t get to see his mother’s expression. He doesn’t need to see to know what it is.

As soon as he walks past the first row of trees, he immediately thinks about how the area was much prettier at night. But that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate the light travelling past the trees creating a mellow and calming view all around him.

The chirping of birds are evident all around him, but somehow their singing is not what his heart is looking for.

“This is stupid,” he whispers to himself as he continues walking. “What could you possibly need from this place? Why are you even here in the first place?”

He pauses on his tracks and briskly turns around walking back to the direction of the village.

“No, you’re going to stay put and avoid trouble. Maybe Jinsoo is right. It’s dangerous out here.”

“No!” he turns around again walking deeper into the woods. “Remember what halmeoni always told you. Do not be afraid of them. They’re gentle creatures and besides, you’re not going to approach it. You’re just going to see if it’s still there.”

“Which is exactly the stupidest idea you’ve ever had,” he exasperatingly throws his head and arms up to the sky, frustrated. “You’re going back to the village and maybe....”

He trails off and stops. When he gets back to the village, what is he going to do?

While he thinks, a weak wail can be heard past the trees. It’s not loud enough to reach the village, but with how clear it sounds he must be close to the pit he fell on last night.

Maybe the dragon really is hurt.

He bites his bottom lip somehow having a feeling that if he continues, there’s no going back.

He then takes his first steps forward to what he would never know would be the greatest adventure of his life.

As expected, the pit isn’t too far from where he is. It doesn’t take long to walk there and he’s extra careful when walking around it as he tries to find the dragon.

He goes around unable to find the dragon. Maybe he was wrong that it was still stuck there. Or maybe it’s even flown out already. Frantically he looks around him, the notion of this being a terrible idea.

But then he slips down another slope, but not as steep as last night. He doesn’t land too far from the edge, atop a stone that connects to more leading downwards like a sort of staircase with vines all around as if they were meant to assist anybody who planned to climb up or down.

He takes a hesitant step forward but suddenly something blocks the way, swiftly flying upward and scratching the rocks. But it fails and falls, tumbling down in a heap of all black.

Emerald eyes peek up and wail before the dragon circles himself and lies down helplessly.

It’s been trying to climb out. Is that why it was wailing?

Taehyung crawls closer, careful to stay hidden from sight, as he watches the pure black dragon whine and lick at a…

“Wound,” he whispers to himself. There’s a big ugly gash on the side of the dragon's torso and it doesn’t look like it’s healing any time soon.

Biting his lower lip, he slides down the smooth stone down to the next, and further down holding onto the vines to keep himself from completely sliding down and possibly startling the dragon.

While the dragon is occupied with keeping his wound from bleeding more, he looks around for anything that might help, but the realization that this is a dragon and not a human being hits him in the skull like a wet stone. His brother was right to tell him that he should always use his brain.

He’s about to see what the dragon is up to again when he hears a low rumble. He turns and finds the dragon has already found him, looking his way with sharp emerald eyes.

In fear he slowly steps back and tries to climb, but his limbs are shaking too much he ends up falling back down his bottom, back pressed against the stone.

Closer, with the same predatory gaze, the dragon comes. It growls threateningly, and Taehyung’s heart is just about to jump out of his chest as it does.

But then the dragon winces, rather looks like it, before collapsing on the ground and curling on itself, whimpering in pain. Taehyung guesses the wound isn’t doing well and is causing this creature pain.

It’s his chance to escape but before he can reach up and climb back up, he finds a bunch of apiaceae lying not too far from him and the dragon. He purses his lips and tries to use his head, but dammit his heart is screaming at him to do something else.

Something so risky. Would he dare take it?

The dragon’s weak wail of pain makes Taehyung move before he could think about the consequences. He lets go of the stone and slowly walks around the dragon before sprinting to the bed where the flowering plant lies. He takes a handful, having to forcefully pull them out of the ground. He then searches frantically for something he can grind them on and notices a small pond right behind him. He runs for that direction, dips his hand into the water and takes a large flat stone twice the size of his palm.

He returns to the dragon, but stays a safe distance away. He glances up once and for a moment sees its curious eyes gazing at him. But he has no time to ponder. The wound looks worse than he had believed, with dried blood caked around the area.

He lays the flat stone on the ground and puts the flowers atop it. Then without thinking he takes his small knife to which the dragon reacts to dangerously, writhing around and roaring.

Taehyung jumps back in surprise as well, but when it’s evident that the dragon is more defensive than offensive, he moves slowly back to his place holding one hand out to show that he means no harm.

“C-Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says in a low soothing voice. The dragon no longer flits around, but its eyes do remain sharp and glaring on Taehyung.

Slowly he picks up his knife, turns the handle over so that he’s holding the blade while still being careful not to cut himself and with the handle crushes the flowers on the flat stone.

The dragon’s eyes widen and from a defensive glare its gaze turns wondering. Taehyung’s eyes move from the dragon then back to the plant he’s crushed to see if he’s done a good job with it.

To keep the dragon from panicking like earlier he tosses his knife behind him and keeps it away from sight or reach. He then stands with the stone of ground herbs and slowly approaches the dragon.

It makes no move to attack, but it does remain guarded. Taehyung holds a hand out again until the dragon stays in place unmoving.

Until Taehyung can feel its rough scales on the palm of his hand.

He was always told by his brother that a dragon’s skin is like knives, scales sharper than any reptile alive. It is why they are hard to break, why they are immune to fire. His brother even said their skin is constantly as hot as a boiling kettle.

But what Taehyung feels is smoothness like a river stone and the warmth you normally feel on a cloudy day. The dragon’s skin doesn’t cut like knives as his brother had described it. It’s also not as hot as a kettle.

In fact it feels normal, like he’s simply touching someone else.

His eyes move to meet the dragon’s and their expressions appear to mirror each other; surprise. Swallowing nervously, Taehyung moves to the wound site and places the flat stone down beside it.

While he’s not used to healing dragons, has barely even approached one, this wound is definitely going to get worse if he doesn’t do something about it.

He has nothing to wipe the wound with, to remove the dried blood around it. Then he looks down at his clothes. While the sun shines the breeze is pretty cold. But he thinks he can handle it if he sheds one layer off.

He decides on the scarf around his neck made and gifted from Jinsoo. He does feel bad about soiling it but he’s also not much of a saint to put sentimental value into everything.

He whispers for the dragon to wait, hoping it can at least understand but if it does not he still hopes it doesn’t move on the spot while he goes to soak the piece of clothing.

It doesn’t and he breathes out a sigh of relief as he settles back beside the dragon.

Glancing back and forth from the wound and the dragon, he slowly brings the cloth to one end of the gash. The dragon flinches but does not make an indication of going rampant. Slowly he brings the cloth back to the gash and gently wipes off the blood caked around the area.

“Who did this to you?” Taehyung whispers more to himself in wonder. When he glances sideways, the dragon is looking at him with wide, surprisingly innocent looking eyes.

Of course the dragon does not answer. It simply continues to stare at Taehyung.

When his scarf is filled with too much blood, he walks back to the pond, always checking behind him to see if the dragon is actually just getting ready to pounce on him. But its eyes remain the same, wide and curious and Taehyung has to forcefully shake off his worry that it’s going to tear him to shreds any minute soon.

He’s unsure if the herbs he had crushed will work on dragons, but he could at least try, With gentle and experienced fingers he applies the crushed flowers and stems onto the dragons cut. Thankfully it no longer shows signs of bleeding and Taehyung finishes with a small smile.

The dragon is already looking at him as he turns to face it. He jumps in surprise, dropping the flat stone and his own bum on the ground. It looks at him with large curious eyes, but with the way it slowly approaches him he instead shakes in fear.

Then the dragon pokes its tongue out and licks a fat stripe up Taehyung’s face.

Oh god, it’s tasting me to see if I’m good enough to eat, he thinks dreadfully with his eyes shut but when he hears the unmistakable sound of a purr, he peeks an eye open to finally see the dragon’s innocent look for what it is.

Huh. Taehyung tilts his head sideways and the dragon follows. He does it again the other way and once again the dragon follows.

“You’re… not going to eat me?” he asks for good measure, but with a small wince.

When the dragon doesn’t move, eyes remaining wide and curious, Taehyung takes it as a sign that the dragon does not plan to eat him.

Slowly Taehyung gets up from his position and dusts off his pants. The dragon seems to be observing his every move but not in a predatory way. Taehyung could even say its eyes are almost filled with wonder.

With slow steps and arms stretched out in front of him, he approaches the dragon. It seems hesitant, and its gaze is now questioning, but it does not move from the spot. Taehyung thinks maybe it will allow him to touch and feel the warmth of it’s scales again.

And just as Taehyung’s hand is a mere inch away from the dragon’s face, feeling it’s warmth radiating towards him, he hears a call of his name echo past the woods.

The dragon growls, but it’s gaze is directed up the edge of the cliff. In a swift move it runs away from where it once stood. Taehyung tries to call for it, to tell it to be careful and that the wound might get affected. But the dragon continues to run to the shadows where it cannot be seen aside from its glaring emerald eyes, the same eyes that greeted Taehyung on their first meeting.

And the dragon might not even understand him. It might even be guarded again, ready to attack.

Taehyung doesn’t want to leave it, but the call of his name gets louder. The people are getting close.

“I’ll come back. Please don’t make a single noise.” he tells the dragon. It only continues to glare though, even until Taehyung turns around to run to the large stones he used as steps coming down.

He only slips his foot once as he climbs up and quickly runs far from the pit, hopefully to catch the villagers before they can reach further.

They’re dangerously close though, but he’s lucky he reached them on time.

“Donghyuk,” he calls for the elderly male who just took a deep breath in to call his name.

“Where were you, eh? Ships are coming back to the port.”

“I’m sorry. I was just wandering around,” Taehyung brushes his hair back. “But… Isn’t it a bit too early?”

“It should be, but they didn’t really spot many dragons. Their ship is loaded with fish though. Any more of those and they might end up sinkin’.” Dohyuk laughs roughly as he turns to lead Taehyung back into the village.

Taehyung looks down the forest floor with a hum. He hesitates going back to greet them. He really would prefer to stay here, maybe even return to the pit, but he knows his mother would give him a mouthful about having to be there as the future chief’s partner.

With a heavy sigh, he follows Donghyuk out of the forest, only looking back once in worry for the still wounded creature in the pit.

Another sleepless night. 

Maybe he has slept for even just a little while but didn’t notice since he doesn’t even feel a single bit of exhaustion. He gets up from the furs of the bed made for him, in the hut made for him, and on instinct looks around. He mentally reminds himself that he is no longer in Daegu and no longer shares a home with his parents and brother.

He gets off the bed and walks for the window. The sun has barely risen, stars still visible in the sky, but the way a peek of lighter blue is visible from the edge of the sea, Taehyung knows the dawn is just around the corner.

He doesn’t even need to think twice anymore. After the encounter with the dragon yesterday, he’s only grown more curious. He slips into warmer clothes and for a while tries to find the scarf. Not seeing a trace of it, he forgoes something warm for his neck. He grabs his bag of herbs, untouched from the trip then leaves his hut to march into the woods.

It’s only his third time coming here, but it feels like he’s known the path for a very long time now. Not long he reaches the edge of the pit and tries to look around for the dragon.

He finds something misplaced in a bed of grass. A dark and sharp tail that goes to a darker part hidden by the few trees there. He climbs down and takes slow steps toward the dragon so as to not startle it. But due to the darkness he misses a stick lying on the ground and accidentally steps on it.

Immediately the dragon jumps from the shadows and lunges at Taehyung. He falls to his back, two paws pinning him down by the chest.

“Please don’t eat me,” he squeaks looking up at the dragon in fear.

It continues to snarl at him but while afraid, Taehyung keeps very still.

That is until the dragon sniffs him and his eyes turn into those familiar curious orbs, a purr rumbling out as it appears to smile at him.

“Hey,” a smile slowly makes its way to Taehyung’s face, relief washing over him that the dragon recognizes him. “Could you uh… get off me?”

The dragon looks down at where it’s paws lie and hurriedly jumps off Taehyung. With a grunt he sits up and looks at the dragon, impressed that it was able to understand him.

Wait…

“Do you understand me?” he asks with wide eyes.

And he must think he’s crazy when the dragon makes an up and down movement of its head like a nod. He exclaims in shock, feet kicking back until he’s standing up again. “Y-You can actually understand?”

The dragon nods again.

“W-Wow!” Taehyung runs a hand over his hair pushing it back as he gapes at the dragon. What he was taught all of his life, of dragons being vicious killers was all a lie.

“Can you sit?” he says and the dragon follows. Taehyung’s smile grows wider. “Stand. Sit, lie down.”

The dragon follows all of these until it grunts with a distasteful look. Okay, maybe he didn’t enjoy being treated like a dog.

“Sorry,” Taehyung chuckles to himself. “Halmeoni was right about you guys. You aren’t scary at all.”

The dragon sits back down and if Taehyung wasn’t crazy enough, he would think it’s actually frowning.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not real though. I always thought you were beautiful.”

The dragon yips in place before running a circle around Taehyung. He laughs before it nuzzles his side.

“Okay, okay, enough playing around. You’re still wounded. Now stay put so I can see how your wound is doing.” he does not touch the dragon’s skin directly, simply hovering his hand as he travels to the dragon’s side where he remembers the wound was. It's still there, however it doesn’t look as bad as it did yesterday.

“I’m gonna touch it, okay,” he shortly glances to the dragon who looks cluelessly.

As his hand makes contact with the edge of the wound, the dragon flinches and jumps away slightly.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Taehyung says with a small wince, feeling as if the dragon’s pain were his own. “But we should get that cleaned again. I have better herbs here, too. Although I’m not sure they work on dragons. The apiaceae seemed to work just fine on you, though.”

He takes a cloth from his bag and runs to the pond to wet it. Just as he’s about to dip it, he finds something swaying gently from the corner of his eye. He turns and sees the familiar scarf he thought would no longer be useful since it was soiled by the dragon’s own blood just earlier.

He wonders how it got there but the thought escapes him when he catches the dragon sniffing it’s wound.

He cleans off the dried medicine stuck on the dragon's scales and wound before sitting on the ground with his grinder mixing several herbs.

“You’re a curious one, aren’t you,” Taehyung says, spotting the dragon settling closer and resting its head not far from where Taehyung sits. “Maybe you could be the healer of your pack. Or what do you call your family? I’m pretty sure it’s not a village.”

He hears a grunt from the dragon but doesn’t think much of it as he continues to crush the mixture of leaves and flowers until it looks well enough to apply to the wound.

“This would normally need stitching up,” he says as he applies the sticky substance on the dragon’s wound, the same way he did yesterday. It releases small whimpers and whines as Taehyung works, but remains steady throughout it until he finishes.

“There, better.” Taehyuyng smiles triumphantly and he thinks the dragon does, too.

But then it’s head moves to sniff on its side and Taehyung jumps to keep it back, accidentally pushing its head away too forcefully. The dragon scowls and growls at him. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry. But you shouldn’t touch the wound, okay. Don’t even sniff it. I would have put a bandage over it but you’re too big.”

The dragon’s eyes light up and it gets up to pad it’s feet and move in a circle. Taehyung watches confusingly as the dragon slowly stretches its wings, which Taehyung discovered are actually quite wide up close.

But then the sound of a horn echoing past the trees catches his attention. The village is waking up and Donghyuk is likely to check on his hut any minute now.

“I have to go,” he tells the dragon. He hurriedly packs his things, closing jars and putting them back into his bag.

Just as he’s about to climb up the rocks to the top edge of the pit, something pulls his shirt back. When he turns, there the dragon is biting on the hem and pulling him back with wide pleading eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’ll come back, okay? I promise.”

The mention of a promise has the dragon letting go, albeit hesitantly. Taehyung thinks it whines a little as he continues to climb. He doesn’t have time to stay back and wonder more because he’s running past the forest and back to the village.

He gets back to the door of his hut just as the sun completely rises. As he’s about to go back inside, his mother’s voice calls to him. 

For a moment he wonders if she caught him running back up the hill but it all goes down to relief when instead she asks where he is going.

“I was just going to… Walk around,” he says. “It would be a shame to waste a nice morning.”

His mother raises a brow at him. “You are going to head into the forest, weren’t you?”

Taehyung sputters out an answer before he gives up with a sigh. His mother simply shakes her head with a fond smile. He knows she can’t stay disappointed in him for too long.

“Taehyung-ah,” she presses a hand to his cheek. “I understand you’re wondrous and adventurous but right now, I need you to know your place. You haven’t even taken a proper tour of the village yet.”

“You don’t know that,” Taehyung mumbles.

“Have you ever gotten to know Jinsoo yet? Do you even know what color he likes? What his favorite food is?”

Taehyung doesn’t answer, looking down at the ground. It reminds him of when he was a child and his mother would scold him for wandering too far into the meadow. But in those times he’d be pulled away by his halmeoni who always encouraged him to continue finding and searching for the many wonders of this world.

Now he doesn’t have her. Ever since she passed, Taehyung’s world was shortened to just that, the meadow, and now it’s extended to the cold cliffs of Busan. 

But it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.

“Try to spend some time with Jinsoo today,” his mother says. “Just get to know him. You will be married in a fortnight.”

Taehyung nods, although his heart tells him something else. The action satisfies his mother and she takes him in for a hug, one he does not return.

“Come. You father had guided the kitchen to make an all Daegu delicacy breakfast. It will feel as if we never left home.”

Taehyung smiles, tight lipped, as he follows her back down the hill and to the open pavilion.

The friendly greetings and smiles given to him are all returned half heartedly, even more so when Jinsoo does it.

He tries to spend the next two days with Jinsoo.

Emphasis on tries.

It’s not that Jinsoo is bad company. While Taehyung hates to compare, he’s had better. Or maybe he’s not really fond of exploring weaponries and boats. He would like to get on one, but not for fishing; especially not for hunting.

He hates that his head is telling him to ditch Jinsoo. He knows the other male is serious and passionate about what goes on in his village but…

That’s just not Taehyung.

While Jinsoo’s back is to him, conversing with a blacksmith and examining some axe, Taehyung takes the moment of distraction to stealthily sneak away, and he successfully does. He glances back to see Jinsoo had turned with the intention to say something, but is then confused at the empty spot left behind. Taehyung sends a silent apology as he sprints his way towards the now familiar trees of the forest.

He reaches the pit in record time and hurriedly slides down the stone steps leading down. As he manages to catch a breath, he hears footsteps padding towards him and the next thing he knows is that he’s tacked down the ground and is being nuzzled all over.

Knowing who it is, he laughs and starts running his hands over the dragon’s smooth and warm scales.

In those two days he spent with Jinsoo, whenever their little tour finished, Taehyung would immediately dash into the forest and down to the pit to spend his time with the dragon. Not that much would happen, the dragon frankly is better company. With it’s yipping and trotting around, Taehyung finds himself in a merrier mood than he had when he first arrived in Busan.

He’s also been tending to the dragon’s wound on the side. Day by day it slowly heals, but Taehyung failed to notice something else while continuously dabbing herbs and ointment into the skin.

“You’re glad to see me, aren’t you buddy?” Taehyung says with a laugh looking up at the dragon’s big adorable eyes. It makes a yipping sound, nodding its head before moving away from Taehyung.

Taehyung stands with a bit of a struggle; the fall made his back ache a little, and he dusts off his clothes before coming closer to the dragon.

“Let me see your wound, okay bud?” His hands smooth over the dragon’s scales and it sits steadily as Taehyung moves around to check the gash on it’s side.

But when he gets there, there’s nothing but smooth skin.

If dragons could have scars, then the lighter layer of scales with a hue of dark blue that it would almost appear as black would be it. He gently traces his hand over it, notes how it’s slightly warmer than the rest of the dragon’s skin.

“You heal easily,” Taehyung whispers. “But… Jinsoo told me something else.”

It was one of the conversations he had with Jinsoo while they were taking a stroll around the cliffs. While utterly bored, he did listen and pick up what information Jinsoo shared about his studies in dragon hunting.

But Taehyung also wonders if his medicine had something to do with that.

He isn’t able to ponder on it further as the dragon stands and jumps away from him. Taehyung reaches a hand out to stop it, but freezes when he realizes it’s leading him somewhere else.

He follows the dragon confusingly but before he could walk further ahead of it to face it, its tail stops him, blocking his way and making him grunt out after bumping into it.

“What is it?” he asks and the dragon answers by looking down.

He does the same and gasps when he finds an intricately drawn map right below him.

He looks up at the dragon, passing the question if it did this, and it nods.

The map is nothing familiar to Taehyung. Frankly he’s never seen one of so many islands. He only knows the map of Daegu and caught one glimpse at the map his father used on their trip to Busan.

He hears a movement from the side and finds the dragon had picked up a broken branch with its teeth. With what appeared like practiced skill it starts to draw a circle on two different spots of the map before connecting them with a line.

The circle closest to them is right at the edge of the large island. The next is way across, a single island at sea.

“This is your home?” he points at it and the dragon nods. “And this is where we are?” the dragon nods again.

Taehyung sighs in amazement, hand running through his hair to push them back as he processes this new information.

The world is wider than he thought it would be.

“You’re all healed now,” when he says it, he feels hurt lace in his own voice. “Why haven’t you gone yet?”

The dragon answers by kneeling on all it’s legs and bowing down it’s head.

An act of trust.

“When a dragon bows to you, it shows that their soul mirrors your own.”

A certain calm washes over him, a feeling he hasn’t felt ever since his grandmother died. He takes a step closer to the dragon and slowly lifts his hand reaching out for the gentle and warm creature.

As his hands hover above the dragon’s skin, it opens its eyes gazing softly at him before allowing its head to come forward closing the space in between them completely and sealing a lifelong bond that Taehyung feels deep inside his chest.

But that wouldn’t be the only magical experience in that moment.

Wind blows all around them and Taehyung’s eyes are forced to close from the strength of it. Hand still resting on the dragon’s skin, a flurry of grass, dust, and maybe even scales, Taehyung isn’t sure, surrounds them. Suddenly the smooth scales are gone, but he refuses to pull his hand back in curiosity of what’s standing before him now.

It’s still warm, but he no longer feels the dip of scales and instead feels something else rest atop his own hand.

Smooth and warm, and encasing his own gently and delicately.

He then feels something press gently on his forehead and a tickly feeling over his lashes.

As he opens his eyes, he no longer sees a dragon.

But those eyes never changed. There’s no mistaking those wide innocent emerald eyes full of wonder.

Taehyung gasps at the man now standing in front of him. He doesn’t have to second guess that this is the dragon from moments earlier.

Does he scream? Does he laugh? He doesn’t know how to react, but he stays in place frozen in shock.

Taheyung’s hand stays on the dragon… no, the man’s face, with his hands pressed ever so gently to the other’s cheek. The other leans into the touch, like it’s his source of fire, comforting and warm in the best of ways.

“Y-You…” Taehyung breaths out, jaw dropped open.

“Thank you,” the man whispers. His eyes open, emerald meeting hazel in a pleasant spark and heartbeat. “Thank you for saving me.”

“H-How,” Taehyung leans away, confusing the man before him. His hand slides away from the other man’s face as well as a shaky hand comes up to point at him.

Shock finally settles over Taehyung, his legs giving up on him.

But before he can meet the ground, strong arms are there to catch him. Shaking like a leaf, he looks up at the man who gazes at him in worry.

“Y-You… How c-can you d-d-do that?” Taehyung weakly points.

“Oh, I’m a shifter,” he answers as if it’s the most obvious answer there is. “My name is Jungkook. I was flying over the sea when hunters caught me and pierced my side. Luckily I was able to escape but not without giving me a few more injuries.”

“I-Injuries?” Taehyung stutters. “B-But… I only saw the gash on your side.”

“And it healed easily thanks to the medicine you gave me,” Jungkook says. “Shifters do heal rapidly, but your medicine seemed to have hastened it, especially when I was in my human form.”

“H-Human form?” Taehyung glances down and flinches when he sees the state of undress, or half-dress, the man is in. He still has his trousers on but the very visible sight of his toned torso- Gods it’s the last straw for Taehyung.

He passes out right then and there, Jungkook’s concerned calls being the last of what he hears.

He doesn’t know how long he’s passed out, but as he opens his eyes, the blue sky still greets him which gives him a sort of relief.

But remembering what caused it makes him get up sharply. He turns around wondering if the dragon… no, Jungkook is still there.

He sighs in relief when he finds the familiar black dragon with wings covering himself as if he’s hiding. Jungkook peeks from behind his wings and when his eyes catch Taehyung he cowers behind them again.

Taehyung’s eyes remain wide, because, gods , he wasn’t dreaming after all. Not that he wished he was; quite the opposite actually.

I guess that explains how the scarf got washed clean , he thinks.

He pushes himself up from the ground and dusts himself before approaching Jungkook where he’s cowered himself to a corner. Slowly, Taehyung’s hand comes up to smooth over the surface of Jungkook’s wings making the dragon slowly draw them back.

“Hi,” Taehyung says with a smile. “I’m sorry I fainted. I was really surprised that you could…” he moves his hands around Jungkook in a gesture. “You could turn into a human.”

Jungkook makes a purring noise lowering his head. It makes Taehyung giggles and he strokes Jungkook’s head affectionately, pressing his forehead on the other’s.

“It’s okay,” Taehyung says as if he understood what Jungkook just meant. “I don’t hate it. Strange as it is, I want to learn more about it, about you.”

Jungkook lifts his head with excitement dancing in his eyes. It makes Taehyung giggle with a nod and again, he’s tackled down the grassy floor and nuzzled all over. 

After a moment, Jungkook steps back and Taehyung remains seated on the bed of grass as a flurry of wind and scales surround Jungkook like magic until his very handsome human form stands before Taehyung.

He smiles when he looks down at Taehyung and when he does, he looks more like a bunny with pretty doe eyes. Taehyung finds himself gaping at the other until Jungkook approaches to help him up from the ground.

“I… I’m still surprised,” Taehyung chuckles trying not to look down to Jungkook’s bare torso.

“I had a cloak before I came here,” Jungkook says as if noticing how Taehyung avoids looking at some places. “But I lost it when those hunters found me. I had barely escaped.”

Taehyung nods before his eyes light up in alarm. “You mentioned you sustained a few more injuries.”

“Ah, yeah,” Jungkook scratches his cheek. “You couldn’t see them since you’re too small compared to my dragon form.”

“May I ask where they are? Maybe my herbs and slaves could help.”

Jungkook nods before turning around. Taehyung gasps when instead of a smooth toned back side he’s greeted with deep cuts and scratches, all red and chipping at the sides.

“It doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” Jungkook says. “But it is a pain to fly in.”

“I should have brought my bag,” Taehyung whispers to himself as his hands hover over Jungkook’s back. “Is that why you haven’t flown out of here yet.”

Jungkook nods. “I know your village hunts dragons, after what they had done to me and I didn’t want to risk flying while still injured. I could get killed by them.”

Taehyung wants to correct Jungkook, that he wasn’t from that village but the reminder of his betrothal with Jinsoo makes him realize that he will be a part of it in just a few more weeks.

“I also wanted to make sure I could thank you properly,” Jungkook says, pulling Taehyung out of his reverie. “I always wanted to shift before you, but during the first day it hurt too much, and the second you were in a hurry to return to your village. The next few visits I was just scared. I’m glad I was brave enough to do it now, but I am sorry for surprising you so much.”

“It’s alright, Jungkook,” Taehyung waves his hands in front of him. “You didn’t do me any harm.”

Jungkook smiles. “I… I would also like to know the name of my savior.”

Taehyung feels his face flush at the mention of savior because even when he still worked in the infirmary back in Daegu, nobody has ever called him their savior.

“K-Kim Taehyung,” he answers.

“Taehyung. That’s a very pretty name.”

Taehyung’s face feels even warmer than it had. He’s pretty sure his face is as red as a tomato, too.

He clears his throat hoping it's enough to dissipate the fluster in his cheeks. “S-So… You’re still… You’re still unable to fly. I’ll make sure to bring you some spare clothes to keep warm in the night.”

“I have warm blood, Taehyung-ssi,” Jungkook smiles innocently. “And I can always sleep in my dragon form. I would barely feel the cold.”

“Y-Yeah, but you can’t have your wounds exposed to direct air. I might cause infections s-so,” Taehyung clears his throat again. “I’m just trying to look out after you, as a healer that is.”

Jungkook’s smile is warm, and Taehyung thinks the world had just gotten a tad bit brighter. “Thank you, Taehyung-ssi. That means a lot to me.”

Taehyung nods dumbly, Jungkook’s smile making his heart leap inside his chest.

Taehyung realizes he has to leave. He doesn't know how long he's been gone from the village. But he wants to stay and know more about Jungkook; where he came from, if all dragons are shifters, if magic is real.

There's always tomorrow, he reminds himself. 

"I have to go, Jungkook," Taehyjng lowers his head, more disappointed in what the day has to pull him away from. "But I promise I'll come back."

"You always promise," Jungkook's smile is gentle. “And with every promise, you return.”

He takes a step closer mildly surprising Taehyung but doesn’t move as he allows the other to press their foreheads together.

It’s strangely comforting.

“I’ll be here,” Jungkook whispers.

Taehyung hums, a sense of calm washing over him. He forcefully holds back a protesting whine as Jungkook pulls away. Instead, he raises his hand in a wave before turning to the rocks where he climbs back up to the edge of the pit.

He looks back one more time where Jungkook stands still looking at him. They send one last wave to each other before he runs off into the forest in the direction of the village.

Who would have known that the strangest most heartstopping event of his life would also be the start of a greater adventure for him.

He sneaks out during dinner of the same day.

Jinsoo had greeted him with a small smile but before Taehyung could feel bad for ditching his betrothed, the men of the village are called for a dragon attack.

Jinsoo nods to Taehyung before running off to join the others in collecting their weapons from the armory. It would have worried Taehyung but they go for the direction of the open fields instead of the forest. Taehyung sighs in relief knowing that Jungkook is safe.

The men don’t come back until dinner is served. As they all march up the dining pavilion, Taehyung’s eyes widen in horror at the way they all look. Something dry and dark, possibly dragon’s blood, stick to their skin and they proudly show it off like war trophies.

Taehyung’s food seems to rise up his throat again.

“Dear, are you alright?” his mother asks in concern. He turns to his parents who both look at him worriedly.

Taehyung nods forcefully swallowing the bile back down his system. But he admits he no longer has the appetite to eat.

His mother must understand; in fact she looks like she had been uncomfortable since the bloodied and haggard men walked in. “You should go back to your hut. Get some early sleep.”

Taehyung nods, but at the back of his head he knows he isn’t going to do it.

He sees Jinsoo marching up the steps to the chief’s table with a proud look on his face. Taehyung doesn't stay for too long to see what has the man so proud (though he already has an idea) before he's dashing out of the table and running past Jinsoo.

As soon as he’s far enough away from the merry banter of the pavillon, he rests one hand at the side of a wall and allows bile to rise up his throat.

It feels like all contents of his dinner were completely emptied from his stomach. He’s thankful that at least his mouth doesn’t taste acidic. It means this reflex was purely out of disgust.

He sighs heavily, stands up straight again and glances up the hill where lights flare as bright as the proud chatter of the men who just came back from a battle.

He thinks about the dragons they must have slaughtered and his heart sinks immediately. Fear and dread creeping up at him like vines keeping him from moving.

What if they deviated from their path and went into the forest when Taehyung wasn’t looking? What if they caught Jungkook?

With no time to think, he runs up to his hut, gathers all the supplies he needs for deep wound treatment, resuscitation, a blanket, and spare clothes. He stuffs them all into his satchel bag before bolting out of the door not caring to close it as he runs straight through the forest trees.

In his head he cries and prays to the gods for Jungkook to be okay. He trips for a few times, feels needles pressing into the skin of his palm, but he forcefully pushes himself up past the sting and continues running for the familiar direction of the pit.

He slides down the rocks he uses to climb and frantically looks around. When he sees no sign of the dragon from where he last stood, Taehyung desperately calls for his name.

“Jungkook? Jungkook, where are you?”

Taehyung brushes his hair back with both hands when no immediate answer comes. He starts breathing heavily until a small voice speaks from behind him.

“Taehyung?”

He turns and lets out a relieved breath. He doesn’t get to see how happy Jungkook is to see him before running straight to Jungkook and enveloping him in a tight hug.

He doesn’t care for Jungkook’s bare skin under his hands. He’s just so relieved to see that Jungkook is okay.

“Thank gods you’re okay,” Taehyung whispers as he buries his face in the crook of Jungkook’s neck, allowing hot tears to fall from how scared he was just moments earlier.

Jungkook’s arms eventually wrap around him slowly and they stand there under the moonlight bathed in each other’s warmth.

“Were you scared?” Jungkook asks lowly.

Taehyung nods. “The villagers announced an attack. I didn’t know where and I…” he hugs Jungkook tighter. “I was so scared it was you.”

Jungkook’s hand moves up and down his back gently sending pleasant shivers up Taehyung’s spine to the nape of his neck.

“You promised me you would return,” he feels Jungkook’s breath at the top of his head. “And I promise to wait here for you, unharmed and safe.”

With a smile, Taehyung slowly pulls away from the hug, but keeps his hands rested on the bare skin of Jungkook’s waist. Jungkook mirrors the expression, soft emerald eyes gazing into hazel only visible by the moon.

“Well, you aren’t completely unharmed. Come, I brought the medicine to help you heal faster.”

Jungkook nods allowing their arms to slide away from each other, but before they could get too far, Jungkook takes Taehyung’s hand and leads him close to the pond.

There Taehyung first notices the blaze of a fire. In his frightened state he hadn’t noticed it from afar.

“Did you make this with your breath?” Taehyung asks in awe.

Jungkook nods. “But I’m only allowed to breathe out fire in dragon form.”

Taehyung mouth drops open as he nods. He and Jungkook then sit cross legged on the grass.

“Uh, could you turn around so I can examine the wound?” Taehyung asks, suddenly feeling nervous at their close proximity.

It’s one Jungkook doesn’t appear to mind as he nods and turns his wounded back to Taehyung. It still looks the same as earlier, despite Jungkook’s claim that shifters heal easily, but he also said the medicine helped hasten the recovery.

Taehyung takes out a jar from his bag, as well as a towel he wets using the pond’s water.

“Will you tell me more about yourself?” Taehyung asks as he slowly wipes Jungkook’s back from the caked blood and dirt stuck there.

“What would you like to know?” Jungkook says slightly turning his head.

“Everything. Is it magic that makes you shift? Are you cursed? Are all dragons shifters? Where did you come from?”

Jungkook chuckles at the onslaught of questions. “I don’t know if I myself am cursed, but my eomeoni used to tell me tales about the first dragon shifter.”

Taehyung waits for Jungkook to continue as he soaks the towel in the water again, removing the contaminants.

“They said his name was Jiyong and he was a hunter, just like your villagers. One day, he stumbled upon the mother of dragons and wounded her. As punishment, she cursed him to be able to shift into a dragon so he will know how it feels to be like one.”

It would have sounded like a sad story if anyone else told it, but from Jungkook’s mouth it sounds like an epic tale of discovery and adventure.

“After that, he continued to fly high in the skies and rarely turned back into human again. Not only did he feel free as he spread his wings, it also felt like his atonement for everything he has done to the gentle creatures.”

“Do you feel that way, too? Free when you fly?” Taehyung asks looking down sadly at the large wounds on Jungkook’s back.

“Yes,” Jungkook answers with a smile in his voice. “Flying is the most liberating feeling. Maybe one day I can take you up there so you will see how it feels.”

Taehyung smiles, giddy at the thought of touching the clouds which the tales say feel like the softest of pillows. “I would like that, Jungkook.”

Taehyung continues to work in a moment of silence before he speaks up. “What about your home?”

“It’s on an island called Jeju. It’s the most beautiful place in the world,” Jungkook sighs longingly. “It’s only been a week since I was last there. I wonder how my hyungs are doing.”

“Are they shifters, too?”

Jungkook nods with a hum. “I’ve only met a few dragons who couldn’t shift, but even they’re the rarest. We call them ancient these days, blood of the very first mother. They’re why I came here. I… I wanted to meet them myself, see if my favorite childhood story was true.” Jungkook sighs heavily. “I guess that was foolish of me, though. Look where that landed me.”

“It wasn’t foolish,” Taehyung says rather loudly, surprising Jungkook. “You seeked for adventure, you’ve flown through so much land, and you found what you were looking for. If anything Jungkook, that’s something amazing you have accomplished. Something only I could wish for.”

Though the fire is dim, Taehyung deems Jungkook’s back clean enough for him to apply healing ointment and herbs over his wounds. With gentle hands, he slowly dabs the crushed and damp leaves over the shifter’s wounds.

“Do you like adventure, Taehyung?”

Taehyung pauses his ministrations to think, but there really isn’t much to think about. “My adventure only ever reached the meadow and the forest.”

“The meadow?” Jungkook tilts his head sideways. “I didn’t know there were meadows here in Busan.”

Taehyung giggles. “No, I mean the meadows of my home village in Daegu.”

Taehyung draws his hand back as Jungkook dully turns to him, confused features visible from the orange and red blaze of his fire.

“Why are you here, then?”

Taehyung doesn’t want to answer, because while thinking about it felt like a distant reality, speaking it would make that reality closer.

“I am set to be wed to the future chief of the village,” he looks down sadly, hands falling to his lap as well.

He looks up from behind his lashes and finds an unreadable expression on Jungkook’s face.

It doesn’t belong.

“But I wish not to,” he adds in haste surprising Jungkook. “I… never wanted to marry anyone, especially not at this age.”

They sit there in silence, the crackling of the fire and the singing of the crickets being the only sounds surrounding them. Taehyung closes the lid of herbs and puts it back inside his bag, fishing out another bottle which is pure sticky ointment.

 It isn’t until Taehyung gently nudges Jungkook to turn around again that he speaks again.

“My halmeoni had books about adventures in distant lands. She always read them to me when I went to bed. I was always fascinated with the land of dragons.”

“Land of dragons?”

Taehyung hums in affirmation. “It’s said to be a beautiful hidden world where dragons came from, where they started. Sort of like your ancestral dragons. Halmeoni also loved them as much as I did, speaking of how dragons are gentle souls that reflect our own.”

“What did the other villagers of your home say about that?”

“Oh, my folk didn’t have much to say. We didn’t really mind them, much more hurt or hunt them. We had no reason to and we would sometimes leave the elderly cattle for them to feast on. But…” Taehyung sighs. “I’m afraid my father would soon catch the influence of Chief Hyungseok’s ways. Trapping and killing dragons even when they are far off the coast.”

Taehyung’s hand stops at a deeper wound on Jungkook’s back. He wonders what the wound looks like in his dragon form, how severe his wings were affected.

“They’re monsters,” Taehyung whispers.

The absence of an answer from Jungkook is enough to tell Taehyung that he agrees.

“Should I put a bandage around your torso?” Taehyung asks going through his bag for the roll of gauze he always kept. “Would it not tear off when you shift?”

“Shifting is sort of magical,” Jungkook says. “I don’t completely understand it, but I do remain in the same state of dress before and after.”

Taehyung blushes when he remembers how he fainted after seeing the defined lines of Jungkook’s torso very closely after discovering his true nature. He lowers his head, thankful that Jungkook’s back is turned to him so he cannot see how flustered Taehyung is.

He hopes his hands aren’t shaky as he wraps his arms around Jungkook to put the bandage in place. It’s mostly to press the medication firmer onto his skin and at the same time in hopes the wounds won't open and bleed further.

“I also brought you a shirt,” Taehyung takes a tunic he had hastily picked up on his way out of the hut. With his and Jungkook’s close build, he hopes it fits him well since most of Taehyung’s clothes are slightly larger than what is intended for him.

Carefully, Jungkook slips the shirt over his head so as to not undo the bandages. 

“Thank you,” Jungkook says as he finishes, turning to Taehyung again and sitting crossed legged in front of him.

Taehyung looks down at his lap where light and shadows dance around from the fire casted. He thinks of what he told Jungkook, about being an adventurer, but how far has he even ventured in his life? He’s never been past the meadows, never sailed the seas. He doesn’t even know what lies beyond this forest.

Unlike Jungkook who has soared over most of the land just to find his ancient ancestors. It’s an adventure Taehyung would give anything to have.

“Taehyung?”

He looks up from his lap with a hum.

“I asked you a question.”

“O-Oh… I’m sorry I spaced out for a moment there,” Taehyung’s lip curls up awkwardly.

“It’s alright. I just wanted to ask about how you truly feel about your betrothal.”

Taehyung sighs. He knew he was going to have to dive into that topic after mentioning it, but he didn’t expect it to be so soon. Still, bottling up his feelings has done more bad than good to him. He couldn’t tell his mother because she was adamant on making this union work as much as Jinsoo. The same would go for his father.

He would have told his halmeoni, but she’s no longer in this world.

“Father and Chief Hyungseok are good friends who thought the union of their two children would strengthen trade between the two villages,” Taehyung explains as he continues to dab herbs over the shifter’s wounds. “I only met Jinsoo three days before I found you. I have yet to exchange proper words with him. Maybe it’s because I avoid him like the plague, which I think is also unfair because I know he wants to make this union work. Mother is also pushing me to try harder but… I want to tell her that’s not me.”

“What are you then?”

Taehyung looks up at Jungkook whose face morphs in an expression of genuine interest and curiosity.

Within a heartbeat, he answers without hesitation, “An adventurer.”

His expression drops a second later and Jungkook looks at him with concern.

“But am I really?” he chuckles sadly. “I’ve only ever known the meadow and the forest. I feel even more caged now that I’m promised to marry Jinsoo in a few weeks time. Mother always called me hearth , said I was the warmth people searched for when they needed it, but I can only compare myself to it like the fire trapped and enclosed, only ever there and never moving.”

Taehyung draws his knees up to rest his forehead on. He never felt this frustration until he said it verbally. He’s always thought that maybe if he just went along with everything, he would be fine.

His tears fall as reality rains down on him. He’s trapped and his flame is slowly dying.

“You create your own hearth.”

Taehyung slowly looks up, unsure if he heard Jungkook’s words correctly. The shifter has a serious expression on his face, determined to let his heart out just like Taehyung.

“You can even bring it around with you,” Jungkook says with a playful glint in his eyes.

Taehyung gives Jungkook a ridiculed look. “Huh?”

“Listen, hearths come in all shapes in sizes. If you ask me, I know a hearth can be anything. I can be bowl-like, or made out of sticks tied together. What makes the hearth is the flame. You’re the flame Taehyung, thus you create your own hearth.”

“I…”

“Your adventure doesn’t have to end. You determine when it ends, Don’t let other people’s choices block your way of taking what you want for yourself.”

Taehyung looks down at his lap with a sad smile. “That’s easy for you to say. You have wings to make you fly. As soon as you heal, leaving this place will be easy for you.”

“Then I’ll take you with me,” Jungkook declares with a finality in his voice it surprises Taehyung. “If marriage is not you, don’t be afraid to go against it. You might not be a shifter like me, but you can still spread your wings.”

Jungkook’s breathing is heavy, expression one of conviction.

“Taehyung,” Jungkook says gently this time. “You saved me. Allow me to do the same.”

Taehyung’s tears fall heavier this time. With gratefulness and hope in his heart, he surges forward and envelopes Jungkook in a hug.

“Thank you,” he whispers, tears dampening the material of Jungkook’s tunic. “Thank you.”

“What do you have me to thank for?” Jungkook says with a smile in his voice resting a hand on Taehyung’s back. The shifter allows the human to cry, let out his frustrations and replace them with hope.

Legs entangled and bodies pressed together, Taehyung feels warmer. Is it because of the fire? Maybe Jungkook’s natural warm bloodedness? He’s not sure. But in this place hidden far from where he knows feels like opening those books and anticipating what next adventure is to come.

Taehyung sometimes wonders if crickets are day or night creatures.

Either way, they definitely know how to wake him up.

He’s not in his cot under the roof of the hut provided for him, he’s sure about that. Sunlight streams directly above him, hitting his eyes and blinding him momentarily. His hands move so he can push himself away but feels something hard yet smooth under his hand instead.

He looks down, eyes widening in surprise when he’s met with Jungkook’s sleeping face.

Just like his dragon form, there’s an innocence present on Jungkook’s face. Taehyung saw it too last night when Jungkook had passionately told him to shape his own hearth; to fly freely.

He also invited Taehyung to come with him.

Should he?

Underneath him Jungkook stirs. His eyes slowly blink open, emerald eyes meeting hazel. Jungkook smiles and brings one hand up to rest on the side of Taehyung’s face.

It’s affectionate, just like how Jungkook pressed their foreheads together.

And like then, Taehyung doesn’t mind. He leans into the touch, like a moth to a flame.

“You’re beautiful,” Jungkook says in his deep and husky morning voice.

Taehyung’s eyes widen in surprise and his heart starts to race in his chest. He’s heard many people say that, drawn to his beauty so easily like finding a lone rose in a bush of thorns. But hearing it from someone he has yet to know well, from a shapeshifter whose nature he doesn’t completely understand yet, makes it… special.

He smiles, the most genuine he has in days. “Really?”

Jungkook hums. “The most beautiful I have ever seen. No… There ever is.”

Taehyung falls into a fit of giggles as he leans his head down to rest on Jungkook’s chest. He feels the other vibrate in laughter, too, with a familiar hand pressed gently down his back.

“Good morning,” he says looking up.

“Good morning,” Jungkook returns with a vibrant smile.

It would be difficult to define this very moment, where they gaze at each other in silent awe. There’s no specific word, no justifying definition.

It’s just… Right.

“Jungkook…”

But before he could continue, an echo of his name calls from above.

The villagers.

He sits up all of a sudden. He’s been gone for too long.

“I have to go,” Taehyung scrambles up and hurriedly gathers his things. “If they don’t find me soon then they’ll find you.”

Identifying the caution in Taehyung’s voice, Jungkook helps Taehyung gather the things they had taken out last night. Granted it isn’t much, but they are able to move faster because of it.

“Here,” Jungkook says as he takes the hem of the tunic Taehyung lent him.

“No,” Taehyung stops. “Keep it. I’ll return later to check on your wounds.”

Jungkook nods, strengthening the promise by pressing their foreheads together.

“Be safe.”

“That’s my line.”

Taehyung smiles before reluctantly pulling away and running for the stones to climb back up the pit. He turns back one more time to Jungkook, like he had for the past days, and waves before running off to the direction of the village.

The calls for his name continues and he’s lucky enough that the person he runs into is his own father.

“Appa!”

“Taehyung!” his father says in relief opening his arms for Taehyung to run into. “You had us worried. It’s been half a day since Donghyuk found your hut empty.”

“O-Oh, I uh… I just came here for a walk and fell asleep while listing the herbs all around,” he says, hoping his father will look over the alibi.

His father sighs before loudly shouting that he has found Taehyung. For a moment he wonders if Jinsoo had come with the search party, but if this it was his father who called for it, likely Donghyuk and a few others are the only ones he brought with him.

“You should spend more time with Jinsoo rather than wandering around. Who knows you might run into a dragon,” his father sighs as he turns to lead him back to the village. “It won't be long until you are wed. You have to start acting like his partner and stop your impulsive tendencies.”

Taehyung’s heart drops heavily at the mention of his approaching marriage. He looks up at his father’s broad back, remembers how he convinced Taehyung to enter this union by telling him the story of his own arranged union with his wife now. You will find love along the way, his father told him. 

But love isn’t what Taehyung is looking for.

“Does it really have to be marriage?” Taehyung asks.

He and his father stop walking as he asks it. He hears the leaves crack under his father’s feet but his head remains down to avoid the look of surprise on his father’s face.

“Taehyung, what do you…”

“I mean does trade have to be strengthened with marriage? Can’t you have a diplomatic meeting instead. Aren’t you and Chief Hyungseok friends?”

“Trade is a broad discussion,Taehyung. It goes beyond being friends-”

“But at the expense of my freedom?”

“Freedom? Taehyung, you never mentioned this before.”

“I did, Appa. I mentioned it several hundred times, even before you arranged me with Jinsoo. But did you ever listen?”

“What are you talking about?” Youngho’s brows furrow in irritation. “You have someone else you love? Is this person back in Daegu? If so, why didn’t you tell me? This would risk the arrangement between-”

“No… Gods, no,” insulted, Taehyung shakes his head disappointingly at his father. “There are many reasons you should have known, and it starts with the books halmeoni gave me.”

“Books? You’re going to sacrifice this beneficial union with fantasy books your grandmother read to you as a child?”

“Adventure, appa,” Taehyung corrects. “I’ve always wanted to roam the world. I had the opportunities in the past, but did you ever say yes? You always said no.”

“Because I had better plans for you.”

“Better plans for me?” Taehyung scoffs. “Or better plans for the village.”

“It’s your village, too, Taehyung. You must-”

“But we were fine even before,” Taehyung interrupts. “We don’t need fish. We have our own cattle. If anything, only the Na Village is getting something out of this union. What’s in it for us? Weapons to kill dragons?”

“Taehyung,” his father warns.

“We never even needed to use violence against them. Didn’t halmeoni always say they were gentle creatures? What do we have to gain from them? Or maybe there’s something else-”

“TAEHYUNG!” his father yells raising his hand in a threatening manner.

Taehyung freezes, staring at his father with fearful eyes. His father had never struck him before.

Realizing his actions, his father draws his hand back but otherwise does not apologize. He sighs heavily. “You won’t be able to understand until you are wed with Jinsoo.”

Shaking out of his fear, Taehyung glares at his father. “No.”

“What?”

“NO!” Taehyung yells, sounding like a child spoiled from what he wants, but it’s his conviction. He doesn’t wait for his father to say more and dashes past him on the way back to the village. He ignores his father’s call and continues running. He ignores the eyes turned to him as he runs. He hears his mother’s familiar calm voice but ignores it, too.

All the way up to the hut made for him, a gift he should have been thankful for, he ignores everyone. He slams the door and leans back on it.

Not tears come, but there is a flame in his heart ready to explode is anyone else dares brings up that damned marriage with-

Three knocks come to the door.

“Taehyung?”

Taehyung clicks his tongue in irritation. “Go away Jinsoo.”

“I… I just came to check on you. I was worried when your father said you were missing. I wanted to join them, too, you know.”

“Thank gods you didn't,” Taehyung mumbles.

“May I please come in? I want to see you.”

Taehyung gets up from the floor and opens the door. But Jinsoo’s relieved expression suddenly falls when he’s greeted with a visibly displeased and irritated Taehyung.

“Jinsoo, do you even want to marry me?”

The question takes Jinsoo by surprise, but after a moment he answers, “Yes, of course I do. I have to.”

“You have to, you don’t want to.”

“Taehyung, what is this-”

“Gods you’re just like them,” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Complacent. Well, I’m finished with having to bend to the needs of others because that is just not me.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to marry you, Jinsoo,” Taehyung cuts straight to the point. “I never did. I only came here due to my parent’s wishes, and gods the past six days have been torture for me. I’ve never lost myself so fast just by being here.”

“Taehyung I… I’m so sorry,” there’s a genuine tone in Jinsoo’s voice that makes Taehyung feel bad for lashing out at him.

“I’m sorry, too,” Taehyung lowers his head in apology. “I shouldn’t have lashed out on you. I just… I don’t know what to do.”

“You… really don’t want to be married to me?” Jinsoo asks slowly, scratching the nape of his neck.

“I’m sorry Jinsoo.”

He chuckles in irony. “The funny thing is I was so ready with the idea of marrying you,” Jinsoo says. “Can’t you try?”

“I can’t imagine myself doing that. It’s not me.”

A heavy silence pases between them.

“Fine,” Jinsoo looks away, hurt visible in his features. “But it should be you who tells my father. If you can’t, then there isn’t much I could do.”

Jinsoo speaks with finality and turns to walk back down the hill.

“Jinsoo,” Taehyung tries to stop him but the other male makes it far enough away with heavy steps.

Taehyung grits his teeth. Jinsoo truly is no different from the rest of them.

He slams the door again, some of his things from the inside jumping on impact. He gently drops his bag on the floor, being careful of the jars of herbs still inside before throwing himself down the cot.

It’s nearing lunch, he guesses from how high up the sky the sun is, but he doesn’t feel like meeting anybody at this particular hour. He also guesses his parents wouldn’t brother him; despite recent events, he knows his parents still love and care about him enough that they respect when he needs to be alone.

Still, being in this village makes the feeling all the more suffocating, even if he has told Jinsoo the truth about how he feels. He pushes himself up from his bed to look out the window overlooking the main road leading up to the dining pavilion. It’s not one he’s used but he’s now thankful it’s there.

Everyone appears to be on their way to lunch, even the blacksmiths of the forgery where Taehyung passes by on his way to the forest. He closes the window and runs to his things, taking another shirt, a pair of trousers, and an extra scarf and stuffing it into his already full bag. He looks around to see if there is anything else he can bring and spots a basket of fruit left for him on the table. Everyday he receives one from his request. It’s a way for him to avoid conversation with others during breakfast.

 He makes sure to peek outside again, holding the basket securely, before sliding out of his door and making his way down to the forest without being seen.

“Jungkook,” Taehyung calls as soon as he reaches the bottom of the pit. He’s replied with a growl, one that no longer fazes him.

He looks to the side where the pond is and finds Jungkook in his dragon form swimming around happily. With a small laugh Taehyung approaches, but not without noticing the strewn clothes thrown on the grassy bed, along with some bandages tinted light pink from his wounds.

“Well, it’s good that you’re taking a proper bath,” Taehyung says with a fond look. 

Jungkook happily yips, flapping his wings around before he emerges out of the water. Taehyung jumps out of the way to keep himself from getting wet. Jungkook shakes off the water from his body, and only a little reaches Taehyung who laughs fondly at the action.

Jungkook looks at him then and makes a movement with his hands, as if telling him to look away. Taehyung then remembers the clothes on the ground and he nods turning around.

He hears wind rush all around and waits until it ends. “Don’t put on your shirt yet. I want to see the state of your wounds.”

“Okay,” Jungkook replies and he hears a few more shuffles before Jungkook tells him he can turn around again.

Seeing Jungkook in the daylight is no less or more beautiful than seeing him at night, but now Jungkook’s beauty is as clear as ever Taehyung couldn’t help himself from reaching a hand up to touch the side of Jungkook’s face.

The shifter smiles as he nuzzles his face into the touch. On familiar instinct, the two of them meet forward to press their foreheads gently with each other basking under the warmth of the sun.

“I’m back,” Taehyung whispers.

“Welcome back,” Jungkook whispers in return.

Taehyung smiles as they lean away from each other and moves Jungkook to turn around. “Here, let me see your wounds. I also bought fruits with me. We can have them for lunch.”

Jungkook’s face lights up as he spots the basket and picks one up before turning around. The healer lets out a pleasant hum before running his hand over the almost healed flesh. Red lines are still present but now look like shallow cuts compared to the deep wounds they once were.

“I’ll just apply a little more ointment,” Taehyung says pushing Jungkook’s shoulders down so they’re sitting on the ground. “Shifters truly are amazing. Were you able to move your wings easily while bathing?”

“Yes, it wasn’t too painful,” Jungkook says. “I wonder if I could fly now, though I have to see how far I can endure.”

Taehyung pauses, hand hovering over Jungkook’s back. “You’re… leaving?”

Jungkook hums turning his head slightly to see Taehyung expression, eyes widening when he sees the sadness in those hazel eyes.

“Gods, no,” he turns to properly face Taehyung. “I wouldn’t leave without at least a five day notice.”

Taehyung snorts. “Really?”

Jungkook nods with a smile and it’s enough for Taehyung to know he’s telling the truth. He lets Jungkook turn around again so he could apply the ointment over the small cuts.

“So, I’m guessing you’ll just be flying around here,” Taehyung says.

“Yes. Maybe I’ll see how high up I can reach, fly over a bit of the sea. I have to be careful though.”

“Most villagers are out for lunch as we speak,” Taehyung says as he finishes applying the ointment over Jungkook’s skin. “Maybe you should try it out now.”

“Would you come with me?”

The question makes Taehyung freeze from putting his jar of ointment back into his bag. He slowly looks up at Jungkook who now has light pink dusted over his cheeks.

“Y-You… Want me to join you?”

“If you want,” Jungkook scratches the back of his head. “Yesterday I told you about spreading your wings and… I offered you my help to find a new adventure in return for saving me.”

Taehyung jaw drops open. He doesn’t know how to respond.

“B-But if you don’t want to that’s completely-”

Jungkook’s words are cut off when Taehyung jumps forward to wrap his arms around Jungkook. Delightfully, he repeats “Yes” over and over again, excited at the prospect of flying.

“I would love to go flying with you, Jungkookie,” the nickname rolls off naturally and together they press their foreheads.

After slipping on his tunic, Taehyung steps away from Jungkook, allowing him to shift. After a flurry of wind gushes around him, the large familiar form of Jungkook’s dragon appears before Taehyung. Jungkook bends his legs and extends his wings, allowing Taehyung to climb up to his back.

As he makes himself comfortable, the looks around one the expanse of Jungkook’s back, on the juncture of his wings, to see if there are any noticeable wounds, but like Jungkook’s back, there are only faint lines left, barely noticeable with the new layer of blue scales that have yet to blend with the dark color of the rest of Jungkook’s skin.

The dragon slowly flaps his wings, ascending from the ground. Taehyung looks down at the ground that is slowly getting further and further from his reach. His hold on Jungkook tightens as they slowly rise past the branches of the trees until Taehyung sees the tip that he never thought he could reach unless he climbed.

Jungkook grunts below him and Taehyung takes it as a sign to hold on. He circles his arms around Jungkook’s neck tightly before the dragon takes off with a mighty roar. The wind blows heavily against him at first, Taehyung has to keep his head down and eyes closed. But after Jungkook comes to a steady glide, Taehyung slowly lifts his head from where he has it pressed to Jungkook’s back.

And as his eyes take in the whole scenery of skies and seas before him, his heart soars and his lips part before he actively shouts in pure joy, throwing his hands up in the air to feel the wind gliding against his palms like the gentle stream of water.

“Jungkook, this is amazing!” he yells in glee, giggling as he spreads his arms sideways mimicking the movement of Jungkook’s wings.

Jungkook makes another grunting sound, this time with an upward movement of his head. Taehyung then leans down to wrap his arms around Jungkook’s neck again and his guess is proven correct when Jungkook starts soaring higher for the clouds.

Taehyung looks up as Jungkook does, reaching one hand out to touch what the stories claim to feel like soft pillowy cotton, but as his palm meets the white cloud, it simply disappears, momentarily coating his hand in a soft ribbon of white. But he is far from disappointed; he giggles in amazement, reaching out for more and feeling the same ticklish feeling.

But suddenly Jungkook halts his wings, flipping around so that his back faces the way down the earth. Unexpectedly, Taehyung’s hand slides away from where he held Jungkook and he yells in surprise as he falls off the dragon.

He closes his eyes, wind all around him but instead of feeling like he’s falling, the opposite takes place instead. He cracks one eye open and finds himself in a steady state up in the air, clouds still all around him and the sea expanding so wide he doubts if there even is any land.

He looks up and finds Jungkook diving after him with a playful glint in his eyes. The dragon slowly reaches Taehyung and when he finally does, a flurry of wind and scales surround them. Taehyung reaches up at the same time Jungkook’s hand peeks out and meets his own, entwining their fingers together.

Jungkook pulls him closer, reaching out for Taehyung’s other hand and doing the same until their foreheads are pressed together as they float in the sky.

“This is amazing!” Taehyung yells in the space between them feeling his eyes water up, not from the wind brushing all around him but the feeling of euphoria at this very moment; falling steadily while close to the only person who had ever made him feel normal again in these past few days.

“Thank you, Jungkook,” he whispers, pressing closer to Jungkook. He feels tears leave his eyes, but from the fall they fly upwards, like a reverse rain that must look pretty.

Jungkook smiles leaning forward to press his lips to Taehyung’s forehead. Taehyung closes his eyes, basking in the softness of the touch and the warmth that spreads all throughout his body.

“Hold on tight,” Jungkook says letting go of Taehyung’s one hand with an assuring smile.

Taehyung nods, one hand tightening around Jungkook’s own. They share one last smile before Jungkook shifts, soft hands turning into scales Taehyung makes sure he doesn’t let go. Eventually the juncture of Jungkook’s wings is visible to him and he grabs on tight at the same time Jungkook straightens. As Taehyung secures himself over Jungkook’s back, the dragon spreads his wings again and zooms past the clouds.

In an unexpected movement, he throws Taehyung upwards but it only makes him giggle in delight before he falls gently onto Jungkook’s back again. They do it a few more times until Taehyung notices they’re flying so close to the water. He looks down at their reflection, see’s Jungkook’s eyes meeting his own. Teasingly, Taehyug reaches down to splash some water onto Jungkook’s face. With a grunt, the dragon flaps his wings getting some water onto Taehyung’s whole body.

He laughs again, doesn’t know how many times he’s laughed and also feels like he’d forgotten how to as Jungkook steadily glides through the sea.

Free.

“You soiled my clothes,” Taehyung giggles as he jumps off Jungkook’s back. They had found a small island not too far from the mainland. From where he stands Taehyung could see a silhouette of the Na Village’s cliffs.

Jungkook shifts back to his human form, skin a little soaked from the flight. He walks towards Taehyung and stands close beside him. Like a natural pull, Taehyung leans his head down on Jungkook’s shoulder and the latter pulls him closer by wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“Thank you for that, Jungkook,” Taehyung says with a sigh of content.

“I’m happy you enjoyed it,” Jungkook says.

“And your wings?”

“A little sore,” Jungkook rolls his empty shoulder. “But we could still make the flight back to Busan. Without all those silly tricks of course.”

Taehyung giggles, pulling away from his spot on Jungkook’s shoulder. “I’ve never been to other islands out of the mainland. This one is particularly small.”

“Still, it’s your first adventure. Let’s make the most of it.”

Jungkook rolls his trousers up and waddles towards the water, to Taehyung’s confusion. The shifter looks around for something until his features light up and he bends down sinking his hands into the water. As he comes back up, a flopping fish is held tightly in his fists and he hurriedly runs back to the surface before the fish could slide off his grasp.

Taehyung claps his hands, amazed by how easy Jungkook made it look. The fishermen back in the Na Village always vocalized how fish didn’t seem to be fooled by their nets anymore.

“Dinner, or whatever,” Jungkook says with a wide bunny-like smile.

“I don’t know how to cook fish,” Taehyung tilts his head sideways. “And we don’t have any seasoning.”

“Worry not, my dearest. There are plants we can use to make this fish the best you have ever tasted, even better than the meat of your home village.”

Taehyung raises a brow smirking. “Are you sure about that? Oh well, I’ll be the judge of that, then.”

After scaling and removing it’s organs, Jungkook picks up a few sticks to set up a small hearth and with a light breath blows a fire into the middle of it. Taehyung’s jaw drops in awe.

“I thought you said you can only breathe out fire in your dragon form.”

“Yes, but we can still do it while we’re human, but only in small amounts.”

Jungkook then runs to the bushes and plants he pointed to as spices. It must have been his experience in travelling far lands that helped him identify these. He picks up a few, just enough to be able to stuff the fish's insides with it and washes them for a while with the sea water.

They let it roast over the fire for a while until Jungkook deems it cooked enough. He holds the impaled fish out to Taehyung first, and the human blows on it before taking a large bite out of it.

His eyes widen at the flavor that bursts in his tongue. He wonders if it’s the flavoring Jungkook had chosen.

“This is really good,” he says taking another bite out of the fish. “Not even the village cooked fish this good.”

Jungkook giggles fondly watching as Taehyung scarfs down the medium sized fish. The human must then realize he’s eaten too much, smiling sheepishly as he hands the meal over to Jungkook.

“It’s alright,” he smiles. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. You should finish it.”

“But what about you?”

“I eat a lot as a dragon,” he answers. “Funny how greatly it affects my appetite as a human.”

“I’m still curious about shifters,” Taehyung tilts his head sideways. “There’s a lot I want to know more about you.”

Jungkook chuckles lightly. “And there’s a lot I have yet to understand.”

Taehyung feels like there’s an underlying meaning to those words, so he waits for Jungkook to speak; whether he’s open about it or not.

“My father is human,” Jungkook says, expression soft as if reminiscing good memories. “My mother left the pack to be with him and has barely shifted while living amongst humans. My grandparents supported her, which still allowed me to visit the clan every once in a while. Maybe the lack of full knowledge about my own kind prompted me to go on these spontaneous adventures.”

“But that’s not really a bad thing, is it?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No, it isn’t. In the long run, I was able to find a small band of shifters out on an adventure, too, and we created our own tiny pack.”

“Oh? What are they like?”

“Noisy,” Jungkook chuckles fondly. “But they’re fun.”

“Aren’t you sad that you had to leave so soon?”

“You don’t truly leave your clan,” Jungkook says. “Family always finds their way back to each other you know. Even now, my hyungs are out on their own journeys, and they told me before I left that in every adventure you’ll find something amazing.”

The shifter then glances to Taehyung with a gentle smile. “In my case, I found someone. ”

Taehyung feels warmth coat his cheeks and he looks away from Jungkook’s fond gaze shyly, returning to his unfinished meal before it gets too cold.

The fire in between them continues to crackle, leaving a nice kind of warmth as the sun slowly sets.

They return to the mainland long after sunset. They had stayed longer in that small island, walking around and finding small trinkets such as seashells and oddly shaped stones Taehyung now keeps inside his bag; things connected to his very first adventure.

But night has come, and Taehyung has been gone too long from the village. He’s already worried his parents by declaring his withdrawal of the marriage, and while he still stands by his decision he still doesn’t want to worry them even more.

He slides down Jungkook’s back through his wing. As Taehyung’s feet meet the ground, he hears the telltale sound of Jungkook shifting behind him.

When he turns, the other has a serene smile on his face, one dimly lit by the moonlight but no less beautiful than it is during the day.

Taehyung steps forward and in a bout of courage leans forward to plant a kiss on the corner of Jungkook’s lips.

“Thank you,” Taehyung whispers in between them. “For this adventure.”

Jungkook’s look of shock morphs to something softer. He moves his arms to wrap around Taehyung’s waist pulling him closer. The human allows it, giggling lightly as he rests his hands on Jungkook’s chest while their foreheads meet in that familiar gesture.

“Is this okay?”

Taehyung hums with a shy smile.

“It isn’t too fast for you?”

“Not fast enough,” Taehyung hands slide up to wrap around Jungkook’s shoulders.

“Am I not restricting you from anything?”

Taehyung draws back a little to properly see how Jungkook’s expression slightly dropped. The shifter now looks down in doubt.

With a sigh, Taehyung moves his head forward to press their foreheads together again, and so that Jungkook meets his eyes.

“You helped me spread my wings, Jungkook-ah. If anything, you showed me what freedom was. And I will always adore you for that.”

Jungkook’s lips slowly spread into a smile. Taehyung finds himself doing the same.

And like a natural pull, like a string weaving two incomplete pieces together, they move forward with every intention to close the gap and just feel.

But it doesn’t happen.

Jungkook’s eyes catch something from his peripheral vision. His eyes move away from Taehyung and in alarm, he hurriedly shifts, pushing the human away to shield him from the incoming arrow aimed at them.

The arrow grazes Jungkook’s wing, making him cry in pain. He hears Taehyung yell below him, joined by more voices all around.

“Jungkook!” Taehyung cries as the dragon writhes in pain. He looks around and finds torches lighting up the edge of the pit they are in, various men shouting. He turns to where the arrow came from and finds a man being scolded by none other than his father.

They all climb down the pit with ropes. Lit with torches, Taehyung sees the killing intent in their eyes upon seeing the dragon. Spears and axes are all readied to harm the defenseless dragon.

“Stop!” Taehyung yells, putting himself in between Jungkook and the Na villagers. “Please, stop!”

They all halt in surprise as they realize who it is keeping them from attacking. Confusion paints their faces as whispers start to spread around.

“Taehyung!” his father walks through the crowd but draws back when he sees the dragon behind him. “Good gods, don’t move son! That thing might kill you.”

“N-No, Jungkook would never do that,” Taehyung holds his hands out in a gesture for the villagers to not step forward. “Please, you have to believe me. He’s harmless.”

“Harmless?” one of the villagers question in rage. “That’s a dragon yer talkin about, boy. ‘S a killer if anythin’.”

The rest of the group roar out in approval. Behind him he hears Jungkook panting in pain. He gently shushes the shifter, running a gentle hand over his head. As Taehyung turns back to the villagers, he sees the looks of surprise when they see his actions.

“Listen to me. Dragons are not killers. Shifters aren’t killers.”

“Shifters? You mean those demons?” Donghyuk asks, who Taehyung notices is holding a bow with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

“No, they aren’t demons!” Taehyung yells. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Donghyuk followed you,” his father explains. “He said you were meeting with a… a demon. Now I understand.”

“That’s bullshit! Jungkook is not a demon. He’s gentle and he’s kind.”

“He can hurt you!” Donghyuk points followed by yells of agreement.

“You don’t know that! You’ve never been with him! You’ve never even had a bloodthirst for dragons until we came here.”

Donghyuk falls silent, but a different voice from one of the villagers comes in. “You’re too soft for this world boy. It’s no wonder your father chose to marry you off.”

Jungkook then growls behind him, surprising the villagers and making them draw back. Taehyung gently shushes Jungkook, caressing the top of his head for comfort. 

“Whatever reasons are there, I don’t care. The marriage is not happening.”

A collective gasp is heard throughout the crowd. “Taehyung-”

“No, appa! I already made up my mind. I’m not marrying Jinsoo.”

“You’re going to give up a secure future for this… beast!?” his father gestures his hand wildly.

“I lose more if I marry Jinsoo. I lose my freedom and my happiness. And I have to watch as these people continue to slaughter innocent creatures for their own pleasure!” before his father could speak, Taehyung stops him. “If you dare say it is for protection, then you would have to be the biggest hypocrite, appa. What happened to halmeoni’s lessons?”

“She’s gone.”

“She lives in us. She’s supposed to live in us, in our hearts. How would she react if she discovered that her only son was putting his youngest child’s happiness on the line?”

Youngho doesn’t answer. He looks down in shame.

“All of you, go home,” Taehyung sighs. “I have to treat Jungkook. Staying here with those weapons will be useless while I’m here, as I am not going anywhere.”

Silence falls over the crowd, the only sound being the cackling of the fire from their torches.

Then his father speaks with a look that Taehyung could only describe as horror. “You love him, don’t you?”

Taehyung doesn’t know himself, but as he glances at Jungkook to meet his emerald eyes, it feels like he’s slowly learning to.

“I adore him, more than anything.”

“You’re making a grave mistake, son.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “The one who has made it is you, appa. For arranging me to marry a man who is barely interested in what I have to say.”

“You will listen to me ! I am your father!”

“You learned that from Cheif Hyungseok, too? Raising your voice?”

Before his father could say more, Jungkook growls and Taehyung quickly turns to soothe him. But while he does, another inevitable event happens.

From above, a spear flies down piercing Jungkook’s shoulder. The shifter thrashes in pain and as Taehyung is trying to reach for Jungkook, to have him calm down, in an unexpected movement his tail swings hitting Taehyung right in his middle and sending him flying off.

His head hits something on the ground and everything is suddenly static. He thinks he hears someone calling his name, but is more concerned for Jungkook who continues to roar.

And in a split second, Jungkook smells it. He’s already familiarized himself with Taehyung’s scent that when something is off, he knows it right away. He turns to where Taehyung once stood, only to find him lying steadily on the ground. Ignoring the pain on his shoulder and the angry yells of the villagers, he shifts, the process hurting more due to his fresh wound.

The spear that pierced him is no longer there as it flies with the flurry of his magic but the wound on his shoulder is still present, bleeding uncontrollably and causing waves of pain from the area all throughout his body. But he ignores it in favor of running to Taehyung.

“Tae!” he cries as he picks the human up, eyes open yet distant, as if unsure of where to look. Then he sees it, the blood trickling down the side of his face from the impact of the throw. Jungkook whimpers his name but before he could do anything more, he’s ripped away from Taehyung and shoved to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, various weapons are pointed to him but all he thinks of at that moment is needing to be with Taehyung.

“Leave him!” a man says, the man now close to Taehyung.

“What? But he-”

“I said,” the man turns to glare pointedly at them. “Leave him.”

Disappointed, the villagers all draw back. The man, Taehyung’s father, looks down again at his unconscious son. “Be thankful to the gods that I spared you. Now get out of here.”

Unable to do much, Jungkook nods. He feels his chest tighten at the image of Taehyung but he is no longer allowed to see more as the father keeps him away from Jungkook’s sight.

“I SAID GO!”

Jungkook hurriedly scrambled up and in a flurry of pain shifts into his dragon form. The villagers simply watch as he flies further and further from their bloodthirsty grasps, especially the one man standing at the edge of the pit who he knows is the one who pierced him without warning.

He can’t point out where it hurts.

It just does.

His eyes slowly flutter open at the knowing feeling of sleeping for too long. He’s greeted with the familiar straw ceiling of the hut he’s slept in for the past week.

Wait…

Taehyung immediately shoots up from his lying position, ignoring the dull throb of his head. Almost immediately, someone is by his side and he’s greeted by his mother’s worried features.

“Taehyung, don’t startle yourself. You’re still hurt.”

He ignores her in favor of clutching her shoulders. His breaths increase at the memories of last night flooding back to him. “J-Jungkook… What did they do to him?”

His mother looks confused and is unable to answer until the door opens to his father coming inside.

Angered, Taehyung stumbles out of the bed and weakly hits his father in the chest. “What did you do to him!?” he demands, voice cracking. His father just stands there passively accepting each hit his son gives to him. 

His mother comes to him from behind, gently taking his shoulders to stop him. “Taehyung, enough. That beast is no longer here to hurt you.”

Taehyung freezes for a moment. He turns to his mother with an angered expression. “Don’t call him that.”

His mother draws back in shock, looking up to her husband hoping for an explanation for their son’s actions.

“Taehyung, you’re being immature about this. Jinsoo did right by striking him. We told you he would end up hurting you.”

“Jinsoo struck him?” Taehyung’s eyes widen. He remembers there was a figure standing at the top of the pit, shadowed by the night and barely illuminated by the moon. Anger boils up in him. “Why did he strike Jungkook? He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He hurt you.”

“Because Jinsoo struck him! It was an accident!” Taehyung pushes himself away from his parents. “You… What happened to you guys? We’ve only been here for a week and they’re already getting into your head.”

“You learn things as you go, Taehyung. You’ll understand when you marry Jinsoo.”

“I’m not marrying him! Why is that so hard for you to understand?”

“Taehyung, it’s for the best.”

“It would have been better if I stayed in Daegu.”

“Son, calm down. You’re obviously still dazed.”

Taehyung screams in frustration, surprising his parents. The side of his head throbs, but only one thought pushes through his mind at the very moment.

What happened to Jungkook.

“What did you do to him?” he asks in a low voice.

“He flew away, which was good for everyone now you don’t have to-”

Taehyung doesn’t let his father finish. In a split second he’s running past them, not caring for his bare feet. He hears them call his name from behind, but he ignores them and pumps his feet down the hill and straight to the forest.

He hears voices attempting to catch up but he knows the forest like the back of his hand, and they probably think he’s headed for the pit.

But he doesn’t. After last night’s events he knows Jungkook would no longer be there, so he makes a sharp turn to the direction where Jungkook flew them to yesterday, pine needles forest floor being replaced by the sandy grains of the shore meeting the vast sea beyond.

He’s tired and his body aches, but Taehyung continues to run until his feet meet the shallow depth of the water before calling out his lover’s name.

“Jungkook!”

He continues to call for the shifter, for the man who took his heart willingly and made it soar past the clouds, until his throat feels hoarse and his tears fall to mix with the salty sea water.

He falls to his knees, waves soaking his trousers and the hem of his tuni as he cries.

“You promised me,” he whimpers. “You promised me you wouldn’t leave without telling me.”

It’s silent, the waves and breeze being the only sounds filling Taehyung’s ears, being the only ones to accompany him in his crying as his heart slowly shatters inside of his chest.

But then he hears it; the familiar sound of a flurry of magic. He turns to the side where the source came from and breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees Jungkook standing by the waves not too far.

The shifter looks hesitant, afraid that if he approaches he would hurt Taehyung again but the human thinks otherwise. He gets up from his position and sprints for Jungkook. The shifter’s arms open willingly as Taehyung falls into him, wrapping his arms around the shifter’s strong body tightly.

“I thought you left,” Taehyung nuzzles his face into Jungkook’s chest. “I thought you left me.”

“I thought I would, too,” Jungkook confesses with hurt in his voice. “B-But… I couldn’t. Not without knowing you’re okay.”

“Don’t go,” Taehyung clutches the tunic of Jungkook’s shirt. “Stay.”

“I can’t, Tae. I hurt you.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “You didn’t. It wasn’t your fault. It was Jinsoo’s. He struck you and you were in pain. It was an accident, Jungkook. Don’t listen to what they say about you.”

“Taehyung-”

“Please,” Taehyung whimpers. “It hurts enough. Don’t make it worse by leaving.”

Silence follows with the two of them holding onto each other like they’re the last hope they have before falling off a cliff. Suddenly, Taehyung falls limp in Jungkook’s arms and the shifter lowers them to the sand so neither of them fall. He checks for anything wrong with Taehyung and notices he’s fainted, with the bandage slightly slipping off his head showing the small wound from the accident.

He runs a hand down the human’s beautiful face before hooking his arms under Taehyung’s back and knees, lifting him up from the ground to return him back to the village.

He fainted again, and judging for how comfortable his back feels, he knows he’s back in the Na Village.

He moves his arm to push himself up from the bed, but he feels something else resting there, something warm and just a little bit calloused.

He looks sideways and finds a messy black mop of hair face down and resting at the side of Taehyung’s bed. He gasps in surprise when he recognizes the tunic worn by the person there.

“Jungkook?” he whispers as he gently tangles his fingers with Jungkook’s hair. He shifts slightly before lifting his face from the mattress and meeting Taehyung’s eyes.

“Tae,” Jungkook shoots up leaning forward to keep Taehyung steady as he tries to sit up. “Don’t get up. You’re still hurt.”

Taehyung doesn’t listen. He continues to try until he’s able to wrap his arms around Jungkook’s neck, burying his face on the crook of the shifter’s neck.

But then Jungkook flinches and Taehyung pushes away as he noticed a hint of the bandage wrapped around his shoulder.

“S-Sorry,” he hovers his hand over Jungkook’s wounded shoulder. “Does it still hurt?”

“A little,” Jungkook smiles but with a grimace. “Your mother put the same herbs and ointment you used on me.”

“M-My mother? How-”

“She let me in,” he says. “She’s outside right now, trying to reason with your father and fiance.”

“Jinsoo.”

“Huh?”

“He’s not my fiance. His name is Jinsoo.”

Slowly, Jungkook nods. Taehyung wraps his arms around Jungkook’s neck again, slowly and carefully this time, to pull him down. Hesitantly, the shifter returns it, pressing his lips to the side of Taehyung’s neck.

Taehyung gasps at the contact and hums when more are trailed up to his jaw. He slightly pushes himself away to be able to meet Jungkook’s emerald eyes. Unconsciously his eyes glance down to Jungkook’s lips, and the other does the same.

And like the flurry of magic Jungkook emanates when he’s shifting, magic pulls them towards each other as their lips finally meet in a kiss. As their lips touch, Taehyung feels the feeling of flying, of trying to touch the clouds, of falling from the sky yet still knowing someone is still there to catch him.

Jungkook is always there to catch him.

Their lips move against each other in a heated manner until Taehyung slowly leans back down on the bed. Jungkook follows him without breaking the movement, caging the human in between his strong arms he uses to keep his full weight off of Taehyung.

Taehyung’s hands reach up to tangle in Jungkook’s hair as their kiss goes deeper, lips parting with the barest hint of tongues touching. They part with a gasp, breathing in the space between each other.

“I love you,” Taehyung whispers. 

Jungkook looks down at his lover softly. He leans his head down to press their foreheads together. “I love you, too.”

Tears fall down the side of Taehyung’s face, for someone had finally allowed him to feel for himself. He pulls Jungkook down by the nape for another deep kiss, one returned so eagerly and heatedly.

But then the door opens and suddenly Jungkook is rolling off the bed and falling to the floor. He awkwardly sits up and sighs when he finds it’s only Taehyung’s mother who had entered. At the same time Jungkook rises from the floor with a wince.

“Eomma,” Taehyung sits up and Jungkook is quickly by his side to help. “I-”

“Hush, my dear. It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re safe,” she runs her hand down the side of Taehyung face before leaning forward to press a kiss on his forehead. “I also have Jungkook-ah here to thank. He carried you all the way here even when he knew people wouldn’t welcome him.”

“But you-”

“Accepted him, yes,” she nods. “Your father is easily swayed by the beliefs of others, but I am not. And I want to apologize for not being a good parent, Taehyung.”

Taehyung falls silent, because no matter how he looks at it, he couldn’t point all the fault to his mother.

But he’s glad she gave an apology for simply standing by.

“I don’t think I ever told you, but your father and I were an arranged union, too,” she confesses to Taehyung’s surprise. “When he proposed for you to have the same arrangement as us, deep inside me I hoped you would find love with Jinsoo along the way but,” she looks down sadly. “Everyday you woke up in a hut made just for you, in clothes made especially for you, in a place so secure no dragon could ever dream of approaching, and still you looked so sad. It looked like you were searching for more even when everything is already here. And I’m sorry I took that glint in your eyes away for being so complacent. I really am sorry, my hearth.”

Taehyung reaches for his mother’s hand, holding it with both of his. “I always thought a hearth was where a flame was trapped, but you know what I learned from Jungkook, eomma? It’s not the structure that creates it. It is the flame Wherever we may stay, wherever we go, a hearth can still burn so strong, it can spread warmth as far as nobody could even imagine.”

He knows his mother, being the woman who has stayed by his side for the longest time, understands the meaning behind those words. Her expression reflects it; hesitant, sad, afraid. Yet she slowly nods her head in understanding.

In blessing.

She presses another kiss to Taehyung’s forehead and turns to Jungkook with a nod. She gently lays her palm over Jungkook’s hand to his surprise. She says nothing, but her gaze is enough to tell Jungkook the emotions that course through her.

“I’m gonna go talk to your father,” she says standing up from the bed and caressing the side of her son’s face one last time. “I love you, my dearest.”

“I love you, too, eomma,” Taehyung whispers feeling a tear run down the side of his face.

She presses one last kiss to his forehead before slowly walking towards the door. She sighs and smiles at them as the door closes with her.

Taehyung looks at the closed door for a while longer. They didn’t say it outright, but that was enough for an indefinite goodbye.

“So,” he sighs, turning to Jungkook. “Will you uphold your promise and take me on an adventure?”

Jungkook blinks in surprise but Taehyung’s calm expression is contagious and he finds himself smiling at the idea of getting away to simply be free.

“I don’t have that many places I can take you,” Jungkook says pressing their foreheads together. “But we can figure that out along the way.”

“I would like nothing more,” Taehyung smiles before he closes the space in between them, capturing Jungkook’s lips in a long kiss.

Seokjin stretches his arms upward as he steps out the door of his home. The morning air is a little chilly, but it’s expected as the colder months come closer. But something else remains in his mind, specifically the condition of his family that has taken a trip to Busan just a few weeks prior.

He wonders how they are doing.

Just as he’s about to walk towards his usual work as stand-in chief, he spots something strange tied to one of the poles of his porch. It’s a piece of paper tied to string. As he gets a closer look at it, he notices something is written there.

He unties it from it’s post and unfolds it to read what he realizes is a letter.

Dear Seokjin-hyung,

By the time you are reading this, eomma and appa are probably on their way back. I apologize if they will no longer be bringing with them the promised scarves and coats that were supposed to serve as dowry from my wedding, as one will no longer be taking place.

I am flying up the clouds right now, free and searching for an adventure akin to those books halmeoni used to read to us as children. If you call it foolish, then so be it but you can no longer stop me as I am already here. Unlike you who had his whole future set and has been readied for it, mine never was and to be shoved into this arrangement against my better will has done me more bad than good. I’m out here to search for whatever I want with the person I love the most.

As for where I will be going, I don’t know and I don’t know if I will ever return either. I apologize if this is all the goodbye I can give, though technically I already gave it to you the moment we left for Busan. I just didn’t expect the possibility of never seeing you again.

And before you call this a mistake, I know you are one of the few who leave me to decide for myself, and I am greatly proud to call you my hyung. I love you, and until we see each other again.

~Hearth

It confuses him at first, but then he sighs because it’s a typical Taehyung thing to do. He makes decisions on a whim, and Seokjin is always afraid he will regret it.

But he knows his brother, and Taehyung believes that everything happens for a reason.

He looks up to the sky, thinking of what adventure his brother might be in right now. He doesn’t know, but he’s sure that his younger brother is happy wherever he may be right now.