Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Taehyung was impulsive. A few nights before his impulsivity truly struck, he read a romance novel about two lovers who met by the sea and before he knew it, he was renting an air bnb for a random island off the coast.

The book itself came to him randomly. He was cleaning out his bookshelf and found a book he swore he never purchased before, but it looked interesting anyway, so he decided to read it.

Taehyung was impulsive, but he was also a hopeless romantic eager to find a love that would fill the missing piece in his heart.

He was always convinced, and his best friend Jimin had to hear about this way too many times, that soulmates were real. 

Taehyung believed that he would one day find his fated one, and he was maybe just a bit too optimistic about it. 

For years, he felt like something in his life was missing. Perhaps a person, or a memory. He wasn’t too sure, but there had always been that feeling that he needed to find something.

To him, he thought it was his soulmate.

Park Jimin, once again, had to hear about it every single day, and was also the best friend that was being dragged to this random island with Taehyung.

“I’ll just think of it as a vacation, I guess.” Jimin gave in with all the pleading Taehyung had done. “I just do not understand why you chose some island that literally nobody has ever heard of.”

Though, as they sat on the ferry on the way over to the island, they both realized that vacation may not have been the best word choice.

Jimin expressed some worry to Taehyung after the two of them sat down on the ferry. As it turned out, they were the only two people on it, but that aspect only seemed to excite Taehyung more. Jimin heavily disagreed with that enthusiasm.

Taehyung was ecstatic, he claimed that this had to be the right place and that he could feel it. 

His friend, on the other hand, was not too sure. 

The spray from the waves splashed over them occasionally after the ferryman started driving the boat, the taste of salt nipping at the roof of their mouths.

The ferry itself was a tiny rubber boat that one may just call a raft instead. The coloring looked as though it had once been a vivid yellow but was now so dull that it looked like a white that had been stained. The engine of the boat was old and a bit rusted over yet worked nonetheless.  The sides of the boat were low to the water and did not do much to separate the boys from the frigid waves that the ferry cut through at an alarmingly fast pace.

The bottom and edges of the boat were wet, and the two of them clutched each other’s hands in hope that they would not accidentally slip and slide off of the boat.

Their luggage must have been soaked by that point, everything on the boat dripping with the salty ocean water.

The ride was extremely bumpy and the ferryman did not do much to stop the boat from rushing at the waves and lurching upwards upon impact.

It almost seemed as though it was a game to him.

Their hands were icy cold and every time a wave splashed over the side, Jimin leaned closer into Taehyung, desperate for even a little warmth.

Taehyung thought the ‘ferry’ may have been a bit of false advertisement, but it was getting them to their destination anyway.

Their boat was finally approaching the port after a couple hours and the two of them looked curiously at the tiny island that was becoming clearer in front of them.

The boat slowed until it came to a halt at an unused looking dock, wooden planks thrown together carelessly as though nobody thought the dock would be in use.

“Alright boys, we arrived.” The ferryman spoke as he went to fish in his pockets for a cigarette, his voice deep and raspy. “Get off now.”

Taehyung shakily stood up, his entire body soaked in stinging cold salt water. He grabbed his luggage and pulled Jimin up with the hand that was still being held, knuckles white as bone.

Taehyung hopped off and then turned to help Jimin get on land as well. “The host sent me a map in the air bnb chat…” 

Jimin was dramatic, gasping for breath as if he had died and come back to life. He gripped at Taehyung’s arms, pulling his clothes fervently. “Never again, never again.” 

Taehyung ignored him and took out his phone to open up the air bnb app as he and Jimin walked up the wooden dock that creaked under each of their steps, water dripping off of their clothes and pooling beneath them.

The island itself was quiet. There was a sandy shore that wrapped around the entire perimeter and there was a brisk breeze that bit at their cheeks and skin, causing their already cold bodies to shake and turn red.

Taehyung supposed this is what he deserved for making a trip like this in November.

“W-where are we supposed to go?” Jimin attempted to say as he shook, teeth clashing against one another. “Fuck, I’m freezing.”

“It’s uh…” Taehyung zoomed in on the map with his two fingers, eyes squinted in focus. “It’s about a five minute walk from here, come on.”

Taehyung gripped onto Jimin’s hand as tight as possible, trying to get some warmth between their two bodies.

The shivering boys walked along a sandy path, one that was barely maintained. Sticks and rocks were strewn all over as roots jutted out as if to tease them when they tripped. The sand collected on the bottom of their wet shoes as they went along, flying upwards and sticking to their clothes. Their feet became more and more numb from the water that was lodged within the outsoles and the toe of their shoes - an unrelenting attack on their bodies.

Their luggage was soaked with water from the boat ride, and Taehyung tried not to think about his poor camera that he had brought along.

Taehyung and Jimin had a blog where Taehyung would post pictures and Jimin would upload written journal style posts. It was half of the reason Jimin had been dragged to the island.

“We could write a fun post about our trip!” Taehyung argued, back when he tried to convince Jimin.

The main reason Jimin decided to come along was that he did not want Taehyung going by himself since God only knew what that boy would get up to on his own.

“It will just be a vacation, a nice island vacation.” Jimin kept trying to convince himself.

The pair finally arrived at their air bnb, a small home that had been surprisingly well kept, most likely by the air bnb host. 

Taehyung noticed it to be the only house on the island available for rent yet, and never had any previous vacationers.

Perhaps it only just became prepared for rent, and the island itself was getting ready to welcome tourists.

Either way, it did not matter to Taehyung. He was very adamant about staying on the island no matter what.

The house was in a small village surrounded by the other homes on the island and a few shops. Taehyung could see a small store where they could get groceries a bit further down the path.

The village was nestled right on the beachfront where he could see some locals digging up clams, crabs, shrimp, and other sea creatures from under the dark sand as the tide washed up around them every so often, the frothy water covering their legs up to their knees before it washed back down.

Overall, Taehyung was happy to see that people actually lived on this island and that they were not about to be deserted there alone.

“Thank God.” Jimin let out a breath when the two boys walked inside the house, taking off their wet shoes and socks and leaving them outside to dry overnight. “I almost died.”

Taehyung chuckled. “See, it’s not too bad here.” 

Jimin glared before rolling his eyes playfully. “I could kill you right now, Kim Taehyung. I need a hot shower before I do anything else. Don’t even speak to me.”

As it turned out, there was only one shower, but Taehyung let Jimin go first since he had been the one to suggest this trip.

They were afraid of using up all of the hot water so they limited their showers to five minutes each. 

The air bnb came with two bathrobes that they decided they would just put on after since all of their clothes and luggage were sopping wet.

Once they showered, they opened up their luggage to assess the damage.

“Well on the brightside, your camera is alright.” Jimin decided to say after looking at all the drenched clothes.

The camera had been tucked away in its own bag within the luggage and the water hadn’t managed to get to it.

“On the downside…” Jimin continued, eyebrows pinched together. “There’s no dryer in this house so everything needs to go on a clothes hanger outside.”

It was true. The house came without a washer or dryer, which in the summer would be fine. However, it was mid November and if they left their clothes to dry in the cold, everything would just come back stiff as a board.

Taehyung sighed. “Okay, let me contact the host and see if there’s a laundromat in town.”

The host was named Kim Seokjin and his air bnb icon was a picture of what Taehyung assumed to be him holding a fish. The man looked a bit stunned in the picture as he held up a huge reddish fish with one hand, and a wire cutter with the other. He had on a black puffer jacket and seemed to be on a fishing boat with moody grey clouds filling up the background.

The host claimed to live on the island and that he worked as a librarian. He said that if they ever needed him, to just send a message on the app.

It was only mid afternoon, so Taehyung thought the host would still be at work, but sent a text anyway.

The host replied in under a minute explaining that there was a laundromat a few houses down and right next to an antique shop that he highly suggested they check out.

“Should we just carry all the clothes in our bags or…?” Jimin looked down at the mess of wet clothes and sighed. “Seriously, this is something else.”

Taehyung shrugged as they shoved everything back in their luggage bags and stared at each other.

The two boys had on nothing but bathrobes, their hair was still wet from the shower as the air bnb did not have blow dryers, and they had to put back on the wet shoes that they left outside.

To put it simply, they were a mess. 

“I cannot believe we are about to go to a laundromat looking like this.” Jimin groaned as they carried the wet bags down a small dirt hill to where the shops were.

They entered the laundromat, the doorbell rang as they walked in. An older woman was reading a magazine behind a counter and didn’t even look up to greet them. The inside was painted with dull tan colors and a crackly trot song was playing over the old speaker that could barely be heard.

There was only one other person besides her inside and it was a man who was a bit shorter than Taehyung with pitch black hair. He was wearing an oversized black t-shirt over ripped blue denim skinny jeans. 

Taehyung would think he looked completely normal if it weren’t for the rabbit sitting on his shoulder. 

Well, sitting would not be the right term exactly. The tawny colored rabbit was laying flopped completely over with its front paws hanging over the front of this guy’s shoulder and its belly where his shoulder blade was. The rabbit seemed to be sleeping soundly despite how odd its positioning was.

The man did not look over to see who had walked in either, he just continued staring at the washing machine.

Taehyung and Jimin exchanged looks of confusion before going to put their own clothes in the wash. 

Taehyung’s heart fluttered against his will at the sight of the man, compelling him to go over and say hello.

He looked a bit familiar, Taehyung wondered if he had a celebrity look-a-like that he knew of.

Taehyung went and stood directly next to him, the man who still had yet to look at him. He just stared blankly at the washing machine that was clanking around as it swirled the clothes in the wash.

“You know,” Taehyung started to say as he loaded the wash with his own clothes. “It’s not going to go faster if you stare at it.”

The man clenched his fists at his side and whipped around to stare at Taehyung, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock. The rabbit almost fell off but fixed itself, giving the man a little nip.

Taehyung cursed inwardly, he must have offended the stranger. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

The man continued to stare at Taehyung before he reached out a hand and touched Taehyung’s forearm. 

Taehyung felt as though he had been shocked, wincing slightly at the odd feeling.

“Um?” Taehyung moved back a bit, not sure where this was going. “I’m sorry. I really did not mean to offend you.”

The rabbit bit the man’s neck again and he flinched. He paused, retracting his hand after a moment. He stepped a bit back and rubbed his temple. “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

Taehyung let out a sigh of relief and pressed a few buttons to start the wash. “It’s okay, I’m sorry for surprising you. I’m Taehyung, by the way. Me and my friend, the guy over there, are staying at an air bnb in town.”

The man licked his bottom lip, fidgeting weirdly, as he continued to stare at Taehyung with an almost haunted look.

“Taehyung…” He paused, seeming to need a second. “Nice to meet you, Taehyung. I’m Min Yoongi. I own the antique shop next door.”

Min Yoongi, the name gave Taehyung a warm feeling in his chest. He smiled, glad to finally have a name for this strange person. “Oh, really? We’ll stop by then at some point. What is the rabbit’s name?”

Yoongi looked at his shoulder where the rabbit was now looking up, directly at Taehyung, its beady eyes unmoving. 

“His name is Jungkook, he's a palomino rabbit.”

Taehyung stared back at the rabbit, its dark eyes unmoving which unnerved Taehyung. “Hi, Jungkook.”

It was a very weird name for a rabbit, Taehyung thought. Of course he did not say that out loud, he had already done enough to scar this poor man.

“You said you’re staying at an air bnb?” Min Yoongi cleared his throat, he looked a bit puzzled and Taehyung wouldn’t blame him for it. 

This town did not seem like the type that had tourists.

Taehyung nodded, taking his eyes off the rabbit to look back at Yoongi. “Yes, me and my best friend rented it out for a few weeks.”

Min Yoongi looked even more bewildered, his eyebrows furrowing together in thought as he leaned up against the washing machine. “Who did you rent the house from? I’ve never heard of this village doing air bnbs before, I’m sorry for prying. We just don’t even have a hotel here. We don’t exactly get tourists.”

“Ah, no problem. The house has not had any other guests prior which is normally a red flag, but we booked it anyway. Our host is named Kim Seokjin. I think he said he works for the library in town.” Taehyung replied, a bit nervously.

“Kim Seokjin?” Yoongi paused to think. “I don’t actually think I’ve met that person before? I’ve only been to the library in town maybe once or twice. There was an older man who worked there, but I don’t recall his name.”

“Ah, the host seems about our age, I suppose he is the owner’s son then.” Taehyung replied conversationally. “He actually recommended your shop to me before, maybe he’s a customer of yours.”

Yoongi shrugged. “Maybe.”

As they spoke, Jimin walked over and stood next to Taehyung before reaching down to squeeze his hand. “Tae.”

Taehyung turned to face Jimin and Yoongi looked between them curiously.

“My feet are fucking freezing.”

Taehyung squeezed Jimin’s hand back. “We have about an hour before we can even put the clothes in the dryer.”

Yoongi cleared his throat, looking slightly bothered, staring at their held hands. “Oh, well, like I said before… My store is right next door if you want to go in and have a cup of tea or coffee? Also, I have some clothes you both can borrow… The robes are.. Well you look cold."

Jimin’s eyes brightened up immediately. “Yes!”

Taehyung nudged his side a bit and Jimin coughed.

“Thank you.”

Yoongi gave the two a small smile and then led them out of the laundromat, the older lady who worked there still not looking up to see them out.

The breeze met them once again like an old friend and both Taehyung and Jimin felt goosebumps line up on their arms.

“My store is literally right next door, it’s convenient to be honest.” Yoongi said, leading the two boys to the building on the left side of the laundromat to a building called ‘Moonlight Antiques’. It happened to be right on the beachfront.

It was a timid yellow color with sheen white curtains lining the windows up front. The door was wooden and had a shell over the front like a knocker. A sign hung down that said, ‘Out for a few minutes, will return shortly.’ Min Yoongi kept the sign up and led them inside, Jungkook still nestled on his shoulder.

The inside of the store was bright, the walls a cream color and enough windows to let in the natural light of the sun. Dark oak beams lined the ceiling horizontally, and small brown stains from water leaks dotted the painted white parts of the ceiling in certain areas.

Antique items were all around the store, none in any particular order. Up front was a desk with an old looking cash register and jewelry that you could buy before you left. Across from the desk was a medium sized bookshelf with an assortment of aged novels, their spines frayed and the pages yellowed.

“I live upstairs…” Yoongi muttered, leading them to a door behind the desk that led up into his small home.

The staircase was quaint and unlit but twisted around, clearly having been built a couple hundred years before. The wood was a dark oak, similar to the beams, that had some wear and tear done to it from being used for so long.

The stairs led directly into a kitchen with a butcher block table in the center and a few stools around. A furnace was across from it and was already burning wood to keep the room warm. The walls were a rust color that complimented the mahogany cabinets, some with a glass door so you could see the plates and cups inside.

“I need to put more wood in the furnace very quickly and then I will grab you both some extra clothes of mine… My friend leaves his around here sometimes so I’ll have some that will fit you, Taehyung.” Yoongi said before placing Jungkook on the table they were sitting at and then put on a fire resistant glove, picking up a few logs to throw in the furnace.

The flames wrapped around, engulfing them in the heat as smoke billowed up into his chimney.

As Yoongi walked into another room, Jimin took a chance to lean in and whisper to Taehyung. “He’s cute, right? He is totally your type.”

The rabbit on the table squeaked and Jimin laughed. “See, the rabbit even agrees.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes at Jimin, but smiled before leaning in to whisper. “Okay, maybe this guy is my type, but someone like him is definitely not single.”

The rabbit kicked at the table, its nose scrunched up and ears back.

“What is wrong with this little guy?” Jimin asked, looking curiously at the rabbit that seemed to be having a tantrum.

“Sorry about Jungkook, he is not used to guests.” Yoongi replied, appearing with a bundle of clothes in his arms.

Taehyung told Jimin to go change first since the other had been complaining so much about how cold he was. Jimin took the clothes from Yoongi and went into his bathroom to change.

“How long have you had Jungkook?” Taehyung asked as he watched the rabbit leap back onto Yoongi’s shoulder and nuzzle himself in the man’s neck.

Yoongi scratched the top of Jungkook’s head and then stood up to go make them all tea. “Ah, I got him after I lost someone dear to me… It was… I guess you could say a few years back. The two of us have become inseparable since.”

The rabbit huffed at Yoongi’s words, letting the small pats on his head lull him.

Yoongi filled the kettle with water and put it on one of the burners of his gas stove which clicked a few times before a flame ignited. He came back and sat down next to Taehyung as they waited for the water to boil.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Taehyung replied, unsure of what to say. “I’m glad you found Jungkook then.”

“Well, he’s quite a handful, to be honest. He likes to wreak havoc on my store.” Yoongi’s eyes were far away even though he continued to stare at Taehyung. It somehow did not feel as though he was completely there, the thought of a lost loved one hung heavily in the air between them.

Jimin appeared a moment later, dressed in Yoongi’s clothes that fit him quite well. “Thank God that we seem to be the same size.”

He brought over the bathrobe and Yoongi told him to hang it on a coat rack near the door.

“I hope these clothes fit you.” Yoongi said as he handed off some to Taehyung. “They’re from my best friend Namjoon. He is a bit taller than you, but I would rather the clothes be bigger than smaller, you know?”

“Thank you.” Taehyung took the clothes from Yoongi and entered the hallway where the bathroom was.

The clothes were a tad too big, but Taehyung was thankful that Yoongi had given them anything at all.

When he entered back in the kitchen, Jungkook was sitting on the table again and Jimin was running a finger down his back with Yoongi’s guidance.

The rabbit seemed a bit peeved, but continued to let Jimin pet him.

“I don’t think he likes you.” Taehyung said as he sat back down with the other two.

Jimin scoffed. “He likes me just fine, see he’s letting me pet him. Animals love me.”

The rabbit let out a low guttural noise that sounded like a growl before stepping back and then turned around as if to ignore them.

Yoongi sighed. “You offended him a bit, but he absolutely loves all the attention he is receiving. He’s just temperamental sometimes.”

“How can he be offended? He’s a rabbit.” Jimin pouted and Jungkook leaped back onto Yoongi.

“Well clearly he doesn’t like whatever you're doing.” Taehyung replied as the rabbit hid himself from view.

The kettle started to scream and Yoongi walked over to turn off the burner and get their tea ready. Taehyung could see him preparing the three cups.

Yoongi put down the mugs in front of them all and Taehyung blew over the top of his drink to cool it down a bit.

“Ah, you and Taehyung must have similar taste.” Jimin noted after taking a few sips of the steaming beverage. “Earl Grey is his favorite.”

Yoongi chuckled. “Really? It’s the only type of tea I own… Did either of you want milk or honey with your drinks?”

Yoongi’s gaze landed on Taehyung after he asked, as if he knew that Taehyung did in fact prefer both in his drink.

“If you don’t mind.”

Yoongi brought some over for Taehyung. “You look like you enjoy sweet things.”

Jimin sipped his tea and wiggled his eyebrows at Taehyung before smirking at Yoongi. “You’ve got him completely figured out.”

Taehyung could have smacked Jimin for being so weird, but he ignored him and poured the honey and milk in his tea and mixed it together before taking a sip.

“Thank you, it’s perfect.” He told Yoongi who grinned back at him.

“I’m glad.”

The three of them drank their tea in a comfortable silence as Jungkook continued to sulk from Yoongi’s shoulder.

“Our clothes should be ready now.” Yoongi eventually said as they took their final sips of tea, now warmed up from the furnace and the hot drinks. “You both can borrow some of my slippers so that you don’t need to put on those wet shoes again.”

“Thank you.” Jimin replied gratefully as he put on Yoongi’s shoes which were much too big for his feet.

The walk back to the laundromat was more comfortable than the walk from it had been, all three boys happy to have sat down and relaxed.

They each put their clothes into the dryer and Yoongi offered them to come back to his shop again if they wanted.

“I want to see some of the antique items you have.” Taehyung said, always having had a bit of interest in history.

Yoongi nodded. “Sure.”

Taehyung enjoyed looking around Yoongi’s store. Every single item had been dusted and taken care of before put on display, Taehyung could tell how much the store meant to Yoongi.

“We don’t get many customers.” Taehyung could hear Yoongi telling Jimin as he continued to walk around the store and look at everything. “But I started up this store because of my love of the outdated and wanted to be able to share that with others. Also I had a lot of extra things that I needed to get rid of, and I thought selling them would be better than trashing.”

Taehyung stopped to stare at a painting that Yoongi had on display but clearly wasn’t selling. It seemed to be quite old, but was well preserved in the frame. The painting showed a beach front, familiar to the one just outside the store. Taehyung couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

“What’s this?” Taehyung called over to Yoongi who walked over to look at the painting.

“Oh. It was painted about two hundred years ago on this same beach. It’s not for sale because I personally love it too much, but I like to show it off to the customers.”

Taehyung hummed looking over the work. Careful strokes had brought a picture to life, Taehyung could practically hear the waves rolling in and crashing on the sand. The warm breeze whipping through his hair as he dug his feet into the sand, the ocean coming closer.

It was all his imagination, something this painting let him envision.

“Who painted this? I quite like it a lot, looking at it I almost feel like I was there.” Taehyung’s voice low, eyes unwavering from the colors that danced across the parchment.

“The artist went by V.” Yoongi replied, eyes now glued to Taehyung.

Taehyung could see at the bottom right corner, a small black signature, one that just said ‘V’. “Did he live here or was he on vacation?”

If Taehyung had been to look at Yoongi at that moment, he would have seen the sad look that glinted in his eyes and the far away expression that haunted his face. “He lived here.”

“Do you have any more of his paintings?” Taehyung asked, now turning to look at Yoongi who must have stood closer to Taehyung without either of them realizing, their faces only inches apart.

Yoongi stepped back, and looked towards the art. “Yes, but they are in my room upstairs. As much as I would love to display them all, I am a bit selfish and want to keep them for myself.”

“If you ever find it within yourself to share, I would love to see some of the paintings one day.” Taehyung replied.

Before Yoongi could say anything else, they heard Jimin yell and then curse.

The two ran over to where Jimin had been with Jungkook and saw Jimin glowering at the spot Jungkook sat on the desk. “He fucking bit me!”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes at Jungkook. “What is wrong with you? Is this how you treat guests?”

Jungkook turned around to have his back facing them and Yoongi tsked.

“This rabbit is so misbehaved today, I’m sorry.” Yoongi apologized to Jimin who shrugged.

“He has a personal vendetta out for me and I didn’t even do anything.”

Yoongi laughed and Taehyung liked how his gums showed, he thought that Yoongi looked very cute when he let himself become more carefree.

“Well, our clothes should be done anyway by now, why don’t we go collect them? I’m going to leave Jungkook here because he is in a bad mood.”

They collected their clothes from the dryer and said goodbye to Yoongi before heading back to their air bnb. The sun was starting to set and they needed to put the clothes away so they could buy food for dinner from the grocery store.

Taehyung decided to go on his own to buy food because Jimin had said he needed to nap desperately, falling over on a sage green couch in the living room.

He walked back down the small dirt hill by himself, still wearing the clothes Yoongi had let him borrow. He particularly liked how everything on the island was so close together, getting things you need with ease.

The store was tiny but had just the right amount of food that someone would need and it all seemed to be farm fresh produce.

Taehyung noted from the description Seokjin posted that a few of the people living in the village worked together to run a farm up on one of the hills, a bit below the peak of the mountain that towered over the entirety of the island. 

Taehyung quite liked looking through the food they had, never having bought any produce so fresh in his own city before.

In fact, he was enjoying the vibe in the store a lot until a fox ran into him, jumping up and catapulting into his chest at an alarming speed. The fox upon impact, fell back down to the ground and darted under Taehyung’s feet, running behind him.

It shocked Taehyung so much that he screamed before dropping the bag he was holding in shock, unsure what to do. He looked around for a worker desperately, but then saw a tall man running into the store and coming up to Taehyung, with a worried expression on his face.

“Have you by any chance seen a fox around here? He’s small, annoying, and super fast. I heard you scream, and thought… Well, unless something horrible happened to you? If that’s the case and it wasn’t a super annoying fox, I hope I can help?”

“Uh…” Taehyung wasn’t sure what to say. The man himself was slightly intimidating. His dark brown hair was cut short and he was taller than Taehyung. He had on an all black outfit that was tight around his upper arms to the point where Taehyung had to force himself not to stare at the muscle and to focus on the crisis at hand. “The fox… It went over there… It jumped on me...”

The man looked to where Taehyung was pointing at one of the refrigerated sections. The fox jumped out from where it had been hiding and ran towards Taehyung and the other man again, letting its feet skid across the floor.

Taehyung shrieked and the other man reached down and grabbed at the fox before it could continue running anywhere else.

He lifted the fox up triumphantly and huffed. “I’m done with the games, Hoseok. Stop scaring innocent people in the grocery store.”

Taehyung stared at the two of them as the fox seemed to laugh at the other man who seemed very irritated. He turned back to face Taehyung.

“I’m sorry about Hoseok, he is a menace to society. I’m Namjoon.” The man held out a hand to shake and Taehyung took it.

The fox whined in the man’s arms, trying to get to Taehyung.

So this was Namjoon.

Which meant….

“Oh my God, this is a bit embarrassing, and I’m sure you already noticed, but I met Yoongi earlier and all my clothes were all wet and I had nothing to wear, so Yoongi offered to give me clothes because, well, I was only in a bathrobe… Anyways he gave me yours because he didn’t think his would fit me? Anyways, so I’m sure you can still see that I am wearing your clothes… Wow, this is embarrassing. I'm so sorry.” Taehyung spoke so fast, he felt like he would collapse.

Of course he would run into the person he was borrowing clothes from.

Namjoon laughed and the fox wiggled around in his arms, still trying to free itself. “Oh, I didn’t even notice. I leave my stuff at Yoongi’s constantly so I can’t blame him for giving it away. I seriously don’t mind at all. Plus, it sounds like you needed the clothes anyway.”

Taehyung managed to smile, but was still unnerved from both his embarrassment, and from the fox that was staring at him in desperation. “Do you mind if I ask why you have a fox?”

Namjoon patted the fox’s back. “It wasn’t my choice. Hoseok has always stayed around my family. We live on the peak of the mountain and this guy just makes himself right at home. He’s always been around since I was young, but he’s such a brat sometimes.”

“Ah…” Taehyung was not exactly sure what to make of that response. The fox seemed to be young, but by Namjoon’s description it would be about 20 years old which was strange, Taehyung thought. “He seems like a handful.”

The fox continued wiggling in Namjoon’s arms. “Yeah, he likes to cause trouble. You should see how he acts when Jungkook is around… Those two are chaos embodied.”

Taeyung laughed at his words.

“Jungkook is a very cute rabbit, he has a lot of personality.” Taehyung smiled and Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows just slightly. 

“What did you say your name was again?”

Ah. Taehyung had totally forgotten to introduce himself in the embarrassment from earlier. “Kim Taehyung, pleasure to meet you.”

Namjoon stared, eyes wide, as if Taehyung had said something truly insane.

“Uh..” Taehyung fidgeted, nervous. 

Hoseok wiggled even more in his arms, panting hysterically.

“I was wondering why your energy felt weird.” Namjoon said, voice low. “I should have known something was off when the tide changed so suddenly…”

Taehyung grimaced, not sure what the man was talking about. “Is everything okay?”

Namjoon flinched, looking in Taehyung’s eyes. “Yes. I need to leave now, but I am sure we will run into each other again at some point, Kim Taehyung.”

Taehyung went back to the air bnb a bit shaken, unsure of what to say to Jimin. He was not entirely sure why the situation bothered him as much as it had, either.

Why had Namjoon been so welcoming and then a moment later so strange?

The day went on for far too long. As Taehyung walked inside their air bnb and saw Jimin knocked out on the couch unmoved from when he had left before, he knew he just needed to sleep it off. 

Tomorrow would be a new day.

****

“Taehyung!”

“Taehyung…”

“Please wake up.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Taehyung, please wake up.”

****

Light filtered into the room as the sun rose, shining too brightly in Taehyung’s eyes as it slowly encompassed the rest of the room. He was wrapped around Jimin in the bed they were sharing, the other boy still sound asleep despite the attack from the sun. 

He could hear a rooster crowing in this distance, probably up at one of the farms signifying that a new day had come and that it was time to wake up and start working.

Taehyung groaned, his head felt foggy. He was not an early riser, yet could not find it within himself to fall back asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt like he was somewhere else and it was making his head hurt.

He got up nonetheless and decided to cook himself some breakfast with the food he had purchased from the grocery store the previous night. He had only purchased some pork belly, a can of kimchi, ramen, eggs, and some vegetables. It was enough to get them through a day or two without stopping back at the grocery store.

Taehyung was not the best cook and only knew a few recipes off the top of his head. He decided to make just a simple breakfast; kimchi mixed with eggs over some rice he made in the rice cooker that the host left for them. 

He made enough food for Jimin as well, knowing that he would probably wake up within the hour or so due to how early he had gone to sleep the previous night.

The food was immaculate, kimchi tasted vibrant and the flavor mixed well with the fried eggs and rice. Taehyung wasn’t much of a fan of breakfast, but eating food he knew was fresh made it all that much better.

After Jimin woke up and ate, the two boys decided to head down to Moonlight to give Yoongi his clothes back since they had their own dry ones again.

Their wet shoes (including the other pairs from the luggage) had been left out overnight, but Taehyung could see that they were still a tad bit damp from the dewy wind that came up from the shore. The boys slipped on some walking shoes anyway, knowing that they would probably dry throughout the day.

The two of them only walked along the small dirt path a couple times by that point, but it started to feel familiar, something Taehyung found comfort in. It almost felt as though Taehyung knew where each pebble was as he walked down the hill, shoes kicking up dirt as he went.

The path to Yoongi’s home.

Upon walking into the antique store, Taehyung noticed someone new sitting at the cashier desk. It was a man who looked to be about the same age as him, but was covered in tattoos. He had a bunch of piercings on both ears, an eyebrow piercing, and a lip piercing. He had dirty blond hair parted at the top to expose his forehead and wore a tight white shirt that did nothing to hide the outline of a nipple piercing on the left side of his chest.

The man stared at them with dark eyes that seemed almost familiar, glaring when he made eye contact with Jimin and turning his head away, mouth formed into a pout.

“Uh, hi?” Taehyung said, unsure of how to talk to the new person. “I’m Taehyung and this is Jimin. We are here to see Yoongi…”

The man stared at him, a small smirk forming on his face, almost as if he was making fun of Taehyung. His eyes had a mischievous glint to them as he leaned back in his chair. 

“I know. My name is Jungkook.” The man said, dark eyes scanning Taehyung’s face as if to judge what he would say next.

“You named the rabbit after yourself?” Jimin blurted out, seeming peeved that the man wasn’t paying attention to him. Taehyung knew that someone like Jungkook was exactly Jimin’s type and to have that person ignoring him must be torture.

Jungkook looked over at Jimin once more, his face unamused and a little bit irritated. “No.” 

He turned back to look at Taehyung, crossing his arms over his chest, clearly not wanting to elaborate. “Yoongi will be down shortly, Namjoon is upstairs with him right now.”

Taehyung held the clothes tight to his chest. “We have these to give to him…”

Jungkook sighed. “Just put them here and I’ll keep them on the desk for when he comes down. You can leave if you want.”

Taehyung and Jimin put the clothes down, both of the boys unnerved from the harsh gaze of Jungkook. Neither knew what to make of him, nor was it clear why he shared a name with the rabbit- perhaps it was a coincidence. They only really knew that he didn’t like either of them too much.

“Do you work for Yoongi?” Taehyung asked, trying to make conversation, not wanting to leave quite yet as he wanted a chance to talk to Yoongi.

Jungkook leaned forward over the desk, resting his elbows on the table and leaning his face against his hand. His gaze was intense as ever as he spoke. “I suppose you would call it that, though it is much more than you think. Yoongi is everything to me.”

Taehyung really was not sure what Jungkook meant. He fidgeted his fingers at his side nervously. “Oh, are you two dating?” 

Jungkook laughed, and Taehyung would say that the other actually looked a bit like a rabbit if he was not so nervous around him. “Yoongi and I? We are definitely not dating. I suppose to me he is like a father figure in a way. Or perhaps an older brother. We are family, not by blood, but by bond. ”

Taehyung nodded, he thought that Jungkook was a bit excessive, but seemed loyal to Yoongi anyhow. “I see.”

It was silent for a moment, Jungkook still stared at them, eyes unmoving, until they heard people coming down the stairs behind where Jungkook was sitting. The wooden staircase creaked with every step.

The door opened and Taehyung’s nerves left his body at the sight of Yoongi. Namjoon and someone else were walking behind him. 

“Taehyung.” Yoongi said, grinning at him. “I see you both met Jungkook…” 

Yoongi came to stand behind Jungkook, placing a hand on his shoulder. Jungkook relaxed at the touch, as if he felt like he could calm down just from Yoongi’s presence alone. Namjoon and the other man smiled at Taehyung and Jimin.

“Hello again, Taehyung! Sorry if I freaked you out yesterday.” Namjoon apologized sheepishly, looking shy.

“It’s okay.” Taehyung replied. He had been bothered by what the other said the previous day, and he appreciated the apology.

Namjoon nodded and turned to face Jimin. “Hello, I am Kim Namjoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Jimin.”

The other man stood behind Namjoon, he had flaming red hair with white edges that was a bit messy. He smirked at Taehyung, a playful look gleaming in his fiery dark eyes. “I’m Hoseok.”

Taehyung stared at him, a dull look adorning his face. “Hoseok.” 

The other man gave him a huge smile, lips forming a heart. “As in the same name as the fox you met yesterday, yes!”

Taehyung wasn’t sure what to say. The more that he looked at human Hoseok, the more he thought that he looked like fox Hoseok. The hair dye was not helping at all, either. Nor was the way that Hoseok seemed unable to remain still, practically vibrating with energy.

Namjoon seemed a bit awkward watching Taehyung and Hoseok interact, he kept fidgeting around in his spot. He turned to face Yoongi and the two exchanged looks that Taehyung could not quite place. 

Jimin did not seem to observe the tension in the room, his gaze focused on Jungkook only. Jungkook himself looked as though he was fighting all instinct to look over at Jimin, purposely looking anywhere else. 

The air in the room felt strained, the only person not acting weird being Hoseok who Taehyung could still not figure out at all.

“Uhm so, Namjoon, do you run the shop I was in yesterday?” Taehyung finally asked, almost out of desperation, the room having been dead silent for all of what felt like eternity. 

Namjoon scowled, his eyebrows furrowing as if he didn’t want to speak to Taehyung. Taehyung was unsure why the other man became so stiff, the more he spoke the worse Namjoon became.

“Ah, well.” Namjoon cleared his throat, eyes flicking around. “I’m actually a shaman.”

“A shaman.” Taehyung deadpanned, unsure if Namjoon was making fun of him. Though to be honest, Taehyung thought the man looked way too serious about what he was saying, not how someone telling a joke would act.

Yoongi looked like he was holding back a laugh and Taehyung did not know if there was something he was missing out on.

Namjoon rubbed at his temple. 

“Yes. The role as a shaman has been passed down in my family for hundreds of years, always to the eldest born son. My father reached his mid 60s and had me take over the position about five years ago when I turned 21.” Namjoon spoke so seriously, eyes daring Taehyung to claim him a liar. 

But Taehyung felt something else, something so nostalgic about what Namjoon spoke of. He spaced out a bit, taking in Namjoon’s words. 

He missed the way Yoongi watched him, the melancholy look on his face.

“So what, you’re a ghost hunter?” Jimin asked, eyes wide, shaking Taehyung from his thoughts. 

The tension broke with Jimin words, Yoongi’s once forlorn face now bursting out in laughter. “Ghost Hunter?”

Hoseok was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, deciding to joke around. “You should join us some time.”

Jimin looked over at Hoseok, finally tearing away from the angsty man sitting at the desk. “You really go ghost hunting?”

“Hoseok, stop.” Namjoon scolded the other who let out a high pitch cackle. “No, we are not ghost hunters. We take care of a shrine on the mountain, you should visit sometime. I am very attuned to the spiritual world, however, and do help lingering spirits move on when needed, but our main focus is the shrine and praying to the god of the island.”

Taehyung’s stomach flipped, he felt almost sick as Namjoon spoke. Something felt so familiar, but he could not place what it was at all. His mind reached to try and come up with a solution for what he was feeling, so close yet so far.

“That’s cool.” Jimin’s eyes glowed, probably still thinking about a possible ghost hunt and not reading the room at all.

“The eldest born son?” Taehyung managed to say, his voice almost strained. He was still stuck on what Namjoon had said, not at all playful like his friend. 

Namjoon’s eyes felt like they bore holes in Taehyung’s soul, as if they were also looking for the same feeling that Taehyung was trying to find.

“Yes.” Namjoon’s voice was stern. “For as long as my family has lived on this island, we have had the eldest born son take on the position. We start training from a young age, though even if there are multiple children, they have been known to still have a spiritual connection to some degree. It is just necessary to have the experience and then it is indeed possible to have that connection.”

Taehyung’s heart beat fast in his chest as he furrowed his eyebrows, heart palpitating against his will. “I see.”

Jimin continued to not notice Taehyung’s internal turmoil. “How does Hoseok fit in?” 

Namjoon was about to speak, but Yoongi interrupted. “Let’s save that for another day. Taehyung, are you alright?”

Jimin turned around in confusion and immediately was at Taehyung’s side when he saw the way that Taehyung was almost hunched over in what looked to be pain. “Tae?”

Taehyung's head was so foggy at that moment, he could hardly think. Seeing and hearing Namjoon speak about the shamanism felt so off to him and he could not for the life of him understand why. He felt like he was trying to remember something so desperately, he had never felt this strongly about something before.

He shook his head as if to get rid of those feelings and realized that everyone in the room was looking at him with a worried expression, Jungkook included.

“Huh?” He asked lethargically, his voice uneasy and caught in his throat.

Jimin wrapped an arm around him in comfort, holding him close to his chest. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, sorry. I just keep feeling like I’m forgetting something.” Taehyung replied, reaching up to scratch at his temple mindlessly. “I’m fine. I get this feeling often, though not normally as strong.”

“Why don’t we go upstairs and sit down? I can make some lunch.” Yoongi said, his face still distraught and words careful.

Jimin nodded, eyes darting over to look at Jungkook for only a moment before looking back at Yoongi. “I would like to see Jungkook, the rabbit version, again.” 

Jungkook opened his mouth to speak but Yoongi sent a glare in his direction and the man snapped his mouth shut, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, let’s talk about the rabbit upstairs. Okay everyone, go on up.” Yoongi said and gestured for everyone to go up the stairs, staying behind to talk to Taehyung who still looked lost.

Jimin seemed to understand that Yoongi wanted to talk to Taehyung alone and followed Hoseok up the stairs, looking back to smile at Taehyung.

Once Jimin closed the door behind him, Yoongi turned to face Taehyung. “Are you alright, seriously?”

Taehyung looked right in Yoongi’s eyes, he looked far too worried for someone he had only just met. Sometimes Yoongi looked at Taehyung as though he was someone important, as though Taehyung was someone that he cared about a lot. 

They had only just met the day prior, though. None of what Taehyung felt made any sense. The way he felt like he had known Yoongi for much longer.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m seriously fine.” Taehyung said, not wanting to make eye contact out of fear that Yoongi would know he was lying. 

Yoongi seemed to be able to read Taehyung well, and that also scared him.

“Okay.” Yoongi looked like he wanted to say much more, like he was stopping himself from  expressing his true emotions. “You can tell me if there’s something going on.”

Taehyung nodded, he knew Yoongi was telling the truth. His gut was telling him that he could trust Yoongi. “I know.”

Yoongi smiled at him and reached his hand out, as if he had been about to take hold of Taehyung’s, but he stopped himself and retracted his hand. A pained expression crossed Yoongi’s face for all of a second, but Taehyung noticed this time. He noticed the way Yoongi looked at him. 

Taehyung decided against bringing it up, because he didn’t want to bring up any bad emotions Yoongi might be holding back. “I was also wondering if it would be possible to take a look at some of the other paintings you have from that artist.”

“The ones from V?” Yoongi clarified.

“Yes, I keep thinking about the one you showed me yesterday.” Taehyung said, his mind back to thinking of the landscape painting he had come across the day before. “I think I dreamt about it last night.”

“I can show you the other paintings.” Yoongi’s words came out quiet, almost like a whisper.

Taehyung smiled before walking over to the door leading up to the kitchen, Yoongi close behind him.

Taehyung paused before opening the door, hand hovering over the knob, thinking of something else to say to Yoongi. “Thank you, it means a lot.”

Taehyung walked up the stairs, not entirely sure what exactly meant a lot.

Yoongi didn’t respond, but Taehyung thought that he knew what he meant.

Yoongi always knew what he meant.

Taehyung shook that thought away, not sure where it came from.

Everyone else was already sitting around the table and Jimin seemed to be bickering with Jungkook already. 

“I just don’t understand why you don’t like me?” 

Jungkook huffed and looked relieved when Yoongi and Taehyung entered. “Can we please just tell them? I don't know why they haven’t gotten it yet.”

Yoongi laughed at Jungkook’s whining. “In a little bit, Kookie.”

“Kookie?” Jimin scoffed. “He does not deserve a nickname that cute.”

Jungkook stuck his tongue out at Jimin like a child would tease someone else on the playground.

Taehyung pulled up a seat right next to Jimin and laughed at the incredulous look on his friend’s face.

“Okay, that’s enough. Let me start making lunch and we can talk about this.” Yoongi said, raising an eyebrow at Jungkook’s childish behavior.

“Can I say something now?” Jungkook asked, looking at Yoongi for permission. 

Yoongi sighed as he grabbed a pan to grill some meat. “Yes, Jungkook. Go ahead.”

Namjoon and Hoseok sat close together, watching Jungkook with amusement written all over their faces.

Taehyung and Jimin had no idea where any of this was headed, but looked to Jungkook with anticipation.

“You called me an animal!” Jungkook blurted out, his face turning a bit red. “It.. It kind of made me upset.”

Jimin stared at Jungkook in disbelief. “No I did not! You’re making things up. We met each other literally an hour ago and I have said maybe three words to you.”

“You did!” Jungkook’s voice was soft, not at all like the person they had met previously that day. “You did. Yesterday, when we met. You didn’t realize what you were saying, but it still hurt me.”

Jimin stared at Jungkook whose face was now beet red. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m the rabbit.” Jungkook finally said and Jimin went silent.

“Stop messing with me, do you think this is funny?” Jimin looked mad now, understandably.

Taehyung for some reason, automatically believed Jungkook. He had no reason to, in fact, everything about it sounded weird. Any normal person would react the same way that Jimin had, but Taehyung found himself placing a calming hand on Jimin’s shoulder.

“He’s not lying.”

Jimin turned to face Taehyung. “What do you mean? He’s clearly doing this to make fun of me.”

“I just think we should hear him out.” Taehyung decided, causing Jimin to pout. 

“Whatever.”

Jimin slumped down in his chair, face tight and irritated.

Taehyung noticed out of the corner of his eye the way Yoongi stopped what he had been doing to look over at Taehyung and Jimin, listening to every single word that was spoken.

“I’m not messing with you.” Jungkook looked determined. “I’m seriously a rabbit, and Hoseok is a fox. We are spirits that have taken the form of an animal. Hoseok is a much stronger spirit than me, but I’m bound to Yoongi.”

Jimin leaned forward over the table, sitting up. “So then why were you mad about me calling you an animal? Is that not what you are?” 

Taehyung could tell that Jimin still did not believe what Jungkook had been saying, and he really could not blame him for that.

Hoseok tsked from where he had been watching everything happen. “It’s offensive to call us that, Jimin. We are spirits, not animals or humans. We prefer to be called that, but Jungkook is still a young one and didn’t think to correct you instead of getting mad.”

Jungkook looked down at his hands. “I’m not even that young anymore. I’m 150 years old.” 

“What?” Jimin nearly screamed from next to Taehyung. “150 years old? What the hell are you even talking about?” 

Hoseok ignored Jimin, a fond expression on his face as he looked at Jungkook. “You will always be my baby bunny spirit.”

Jungkook groaned. “Whatever.”

Jimin looked between the two of them in disbelief, but the wheels in Taehyung’s mind had already started turning.

“Yoongi, you told me you got Jungkook after you lost someone… If that is the case, how old are you?” 

Yoongi looked back at Taehyung, eyes shining. “I’m 228 years old, exactly.” 

Taehyung felt like his breath had been sucked right out of him. Perhaps it was the intimate way Yoongi was watching him, or maybe it was the age that Yoongi had just said he was.

“What the Fuck.” Jimin said, looking at everyone in the room with an accusatory stare. “Are all of you just a bunch of old men? Where the hell am I right now? Why did I come on this trip...”

Namjoon looked offended. “I literally said earlier that I am 26.”

Jimin squinted his eyes at Namjoon, pointing a finger. “How am I supposed to believe you?”

“Why would I lie? I’m just a human. Shamans are attuned to the spiritual world but we aren’t anything supernatural.”

Yoongi interrupted the brewing argument to place a few plates on the table filled with grilled meat and vegetables. “Stop arguing and eat.”

Jungkook took a bite of his food, but Taehyung could see the despondent way he was looking at Jimin.

His friend, on the other hand, still seemed a bit mad at everything. A portion of it was most likely his incredulity as well. Taehyung was not sure why he had believed everyone so quickly, but he doubted it would be the same for Jimin. 

Jimin hadn’t believed in the idea of soulmates even after Taehyung had talked about it so often. Jimin was a romantic, but he was also a realist. 

Taehyung knew Jimin was joking around about ghost hunting before because he truly did not think Jimin believed in any of that. But when it came to the idea of animal spirits and powerful creatures, there was only so much Jimin could handle. He knew Jimin was on his breaking point with all the new information being thrown at him.

Taehyung knew it would probably take him a long time to come to terms with what had been talked about at the table. 

He wasn’t sure why he, himself, just believed everything being said automatically. It made sense.

It shouldn’t make sense.

Taehyung ate the food under Yoongi’s gaze. The man hadn’t eaten his own food yet, taking the chance to make sure Taehyung was helping himself. 

“After we are done eating, I’ll show you the paintings.” Yoongi said to Taehyung, finally taking a bite of the food. 

Taehyung smiled. “Yes, thank you.” 

“What paintings?” Jimin asked, looking between the two, thankful for a change in subject. 

“Yesterday I saw a lovely painting that Yoongi kept in the shop and he said he had more in his room he could show me. I can’t stop thinking about the one I had seen and really want to see more by the same artist.” Taehyung told Jimin and Namjoon made a choking noise.

“Paintings? V’s paintings?” Namjoon clarified.

“Yes.” Taehyung responded, a bit confused at Namjoon’s reaction.

Namjoon looked over at Yoongi with a raised eyebrow. Hoseok had that playful smirk on his face again, leaning back in his seat, chuckling to himself.

Yoongi glared at Namjoon, daring him to speak.

“I see.” Namjoon finally said after a moment. “I’m sure you will love them. Yoongi never lets anyone see those paintings because they mean a lot to him.”

Taehyung looked over at Yoongi who seemed like he just wanted Namjoon to stop talking. Taehyung grinned at the other who managed to smile back despite the embarrassment. 

“Why don’t we go take a look at them now?” Yoongi managed to ask and Taehyung nodded following Yoongi as he stood up to walk to his room.

Taehyung definitely did not miss the way Jimin wiggled his eyebrows at the two of them. 

Jimin was a lot of things, and being nosey was definitely one of them.

Yoongi’s bedroom was down at the end of a wooden hallway. It had a soft cream colored paint lining the walls with a white trim around the doors and windows. White shrill curtains hung around the windows and the room felt bright with the sunlight that shined in. Taehyung could see the waterfront from the window, a view that Yoongi probably woke up to every morning.

What stood out to Taehyung the most, however, were the paintings. 

Among the walls of the room were a bunch of them. Some were landscapes that seemed to be of the island, and some were portraits or pictures of a fox. The artist seemed to like to paint a wide variety of things, but what stood out the most was a picture of a silhouette with two people standing together on the beach. Taehyung hadn’t realized that he walked closer to it, looking at the small details and strokes that lined the paper. The silhouettes seemed to be holding hands. 

Taehyung barely felt the tears that had begun to stream down his face.

He barely noticed the way he reached out to touch the painting, the silhouette on the right.

His heart was heavy, it hurt so bad. 

He could almost feel the sand beneath his feet despite not even being on the beach. He could feel the chilly breeze brushing along his arms and rustling his hair. He could feel a calloused hand on his own, and the way the waves came up onto the sand and wrapped around his ankles, sending shivers through his body before retreating back to where it came.

“Taehyung?” Yoongi’s voice broke him out of his imagination, brought him back to the reality that he had just been standing in Yoongi’s room, nowhere near the ocean.

Tears streaked down Taehyung’s face, making it shine in the light that came through the windows. “Yoongi.” 

Yoongi was right next to him, Taehyung could feel his hot breath on his neck. “Yes?”

Taehyung gulped down, fighting more tears from coming. “You said these paintings were done about 200 years ago… Was the person who painted these… Was it the person you lost?” 

Yoongi took a sharp intake of breath almost in surprise at the question. “The person who painted these… He was the love of my life.”

Taehyung stared ahead, back at the painting. Yoongi was so close to him, he was so close. “What happened?”

Yoongi sniffled a bit, holding back his own tears. Normally Taehyung would feel bad for asking such a personal question, but he needed to know.

“I messed up. I was a witch back then, and I was new at it. I was young when I met him, I was only 25. I first came to this island from the mainland, it is part of a witch’s coming of age to travel to a new place to start our craft. I came here, and I met him.” Yoongi paused a bit as one of his tears hit Taehyung’s neck. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Taehyung breathed.

“So we met and we fell in love. He was a Kim, one of the shaman kids on the island. His older brother was the official one to take over, Namjoon’s ancestor. My love, he was something else. He loved art a lot as you can see, and he loved the ocean. He would spend hours every single day watching the tides come and go. We used to live up on the mountain in the main Kim residence together, but he and I ended up moving down here to build our home on the beach. Our home together.” Yoongi’s voice cracked as he continued to speak. Taehyung knew that talking about this must be so hard. 

“I practiced witchcraft here in this house. I hadn’t accepted a familiar at that point because I kept saying I didn’t need one, that it was a stupid tradition. Ta- My love, he, kept telling me I should just get a familiar. I should have listened to him, I should have listened.” 

Yoongi reached down and took Taehyung’s hand, squeezing it tight. 

Taehyung let him.

“Something happened one day when I was working. I was trying out a new potion with some of the herbs that he used to grow here. He loved plants and gardening. Something went so wrong. The potion started emitting this gas, and apparently it was poisonous to humans. T- He, he had been in the room with me as I worked because he didn’t want me working by myself in case something happened, we had just argued about it. The gas wasn’t anything harmful to me, and I was used to gas sometimes coming out of my potions, so I didn’t think anything of it.” 

Yoongi paused to take deep breaths, letting Taehyung massage his hand.

“He started out by coughing. I thought maybe he was just having a small allergic reaction to it so I brought him outside. He continued to cough but it kept getting worse. He told me not to worry, that he would be okay. I gave him water to drink, but he couldn’t get it down. I had no idea what to do. I had no remedy for it because I had no clue what I did wrong with the potion. I held him close to me, and he kept saying he would be okay and that he loved me. I think he knew he was going to leave me by that point, but I still thought he would be fine.”

Yoongi leaned his head down and rested it on Taehyung’s shoulder.

“He died in my arms on the beach that he loved so much. He died because of me, because I was too stubborn to get a familiar. It was my fault, it was all my fault.”

Yoongi’s body shook on Taehyung’s shoulder, sobs racking through his body.

“It wasn’t your fault, Yoongi. We just should have been more careful. I-, sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I meant that you both should have been a bit more careful, but I don’t think he would have blamed you. No. I know he doesn’t blame you. Yoongi, he loved you so much. He loved you so much.” 

Taehyung finally turned around to face Yoongi, both of them crying. Taehyung let Yoongi take him in his arms, he let Yoongi hold him close.

He didn’t know why he was feeling the way he was.

****

“Taehyung!”

“Taehyung…”

“Please wake up.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Taehyung, please wake up.”

Those were the last words Taehyung ever heard, the last words before he was face to face with someone he didn’t recognize. 

He was no longer on the beach, but in what seemed like a library.

****

The following day, Taehyung woke up and went to sit down at the beach. He hadn’t even made himself breakfast, but he wanted to look at the waves.

Taehyung hadn’t spent a lot of time near an ocean before in his life. The first time he ever saw the ocean was on a school trip when he was younger. 

He remembered it clearly, and that had been the catalyst of his search. It was the first time he realized that he was missing something.

He remembered standing next to one of his classmates, the boy had been joking around. 

Taehyung hadn’t been listening.

He watched the ocean sneak up on the beach and grasp its reach out to their bare feet, cold water shocking them at the touch.

His classmates would let the water come close and then run back before it could get to them, screaming in glee as they chased each other around.

Taehyung let the water grab hold of him. He let it wrap its arms around his ankles and pull him closer as it would slide back.

He felt the way as the waves would retreat, the sand where his feet were planted would sink down, pulling him closer and closer into the ocean. 

It was almost as if the ocean called for him, telling him to just come close and let himself sink down under and into her embrace.

Someone had placed a hand on Taehyung’s shoulder, breaking him from his daze by telling him to come back for lunch. Taehyung had turned around and saw his classmate, but disappointment flooded quickly through his body. 

He expected to see someone else. 

Someone with a deep voice and large calloused hands. Someone with dark hair and a soft smile.

Who had he expected to see?

Present day Taehyung thought back on those memories as he stood at the waterfront once more for the second time in his life. The feelings of longing for someone came back to him as he stood there with the story that Yoongi had told him the day previous fresh on his mind.

The story felt like one he had heard before. He almost was able to imagine it in his head as Yoongi spoke, but he felt like he had already seen it.

Taehyung sank his feet into the dark and wet sand. He was forgetting something, he knew he was forgetting something.

It could not just be a conspiracy at that point, the longer that Taehyung spent on the island the stronger the feeling got.

It was becoming something desperate, he had to find out what he didn’t remember. It was something on the island, it had to be.

Taehyung for the life of him could not understand the feelings he had around Yoongi.

He could not understand why he felt so strongly about someone he had only just met. There was a pull, almost like a gravitational force, that made Taehyung want to be near Yoongi at all times.

The voice inside of him wanted to comfort and reassure Yoongi, it wanted to reach out and hold him close and tell him everything would be okay.

There was a sick feeling in his gut, but he tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore the voice telling him that he knew what he was missing. 

He didn’t want that to be the reason.

He had always thought that the red string of fate was real, that one day he might find his soulmate somewhere random and know that they were his soulmate. He had always believed in it so fully, he even consumed so much media surrounding soulmates and the red string of fate.

The waves crashed down on the shore, foam frothing up around his feet. The waves lulled him, he could hear nothing but the sound of water swirling around, washing up the shore and encompassing everything in its path. 

Taehyung felt so sick, he felt so sick looking at the sand. 

He gasped for breath, nausea washing over his body like the waves that came up on the shore.

He held his head, his mind was in so much pain.

It was a sharp pain, wrapping around him, pounding and dizzying him.

His heart palpitated in his chest, he could feel the way it drummed through his entire body with intense vibrations. 

The waves kept washing up, tripping him where he stood and sending him falling down to his knees.

His jeans were soaked with ocean water as he planted his hands down in front of him in the sand to stop himself from falling completely over.

He started coughing, his breath caught in his throat. 

He felt like he was unable to breathe, and it would not be the first time.

He had experienced this once before.

“Taehyung!”

He could vaguely hear a deep voice calling his name. Yes, that had been there last time, begging him to wake up.

“Taehyung!”

He could hear it, but it sounded so close unlike the memory that surfaced every so often. A memory he had tried to repress for so long.

“Taehyung, can you hear me?”

That wasn’t right. That wasn’t what the voice usually said. 

Taehyung’s eyes started to focus and he coughed some more but it sounded almost like a wheeze.

Someone wrapped their arms around Taehyung’s body, he could feel tears landing on his neck.

He was pulled back, away from the water. Strong arms helping him up and out of the freezing ocean waves.

“I’m so sorry, this is my fault.”

Taehyung shook his head in the person’s chest as his soul sang out, knowing exactly whose heartbeat he was listening to.

“No…” His voice rasped out. “No…”

Yoongi sobbed as he continued to drag Taehyung out of the water, finally out of reach of the waves. “I’m s-sorry.”

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s waist, breath heavy, but he was no longer coughing. He allowed himself to listen, the fast beating of Yoongi’s heart. 

His head rested against Yoongi’s chest.

Taehyung only realized just then what had happened, his body shaking in Yoongi’s tight hold. “Yoongi?” 

Yoongi released a nervous breath as the two made eye contact. Yoongi let himself run a hand through Taehyung’s damp hair, fingers gently maneuvering through the strands.

“You’re okay, you’re okay.”

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than Taehyung.

“I’m okay.” Taehyung replied.

He understood.

He knew what he was missing deep down, but he was unable to understand it himself. 

“Can you take me home?”

Yoongi knew that Taehyung meant his house and not the air bnb. He wanted to take Taehyung home.

“Okay, sweetheart. Can you stand up?” Yoongi’s tone was soft and Taehyung let it calm his still trembling body. 

“Mm…” Taehyung held onto Yoongi’s shoulders as he stood, his legs still a bit weak. 

The sand had been washed away from his hands by the waves, but they then felt so dry. 

Yoongi grabbed onto his waist and supported him, helping him walk back to his house. 

Their house.

When they got inside, Yoongi led him up the stairs into the kitchen where Taehyung noticed rabbit Jungkook curled up next to the furnace, sound asleep.

The warmth from the fire spread through his body causing his face to redden at the sudden change in temperature. 

Yoongi gave him a change of clothes and started a hot shower for Taehyung.

He stood under the water, steam floating around him as he mindlessly rinsed his hair. 

After he got out he changed into the clothes and let Yoongi wrap him in a tan fluffy blanket and sat him on a couch in his living room.

“You’re okay.” Yoongi said again, cupping Taehyung’s face with his hand. 

A hand that Taehyung recognized far too well.

A hand that Taehyung had been looking for ever since that day on his class trip. 

Taehyung allowed himself to lean against Yoongi who had his arms around Taehyung still, holding him like it would be the last time he would ever get a chance to.

Their breaths were the only sound in the room for a few minutes as they tried to get a grasp over what was happening to them.

Taehyung was the first to break the silence.

“I’ve been looking for someone for so long.”

Yoongi’s breath stuttered a bit as Taehyung spoke, unsure of what he would say next.

“I always felt like something in my life was missing, like I needed to find something so badly. In my head I assumed it was my soulmate, and maybe that’s not too far from the truth. I’m trying to understand everything, but I still… There’s so much I’m missing out on that I can’t grasp. I’ve been so desperate to find this person.”

Yoongi let Taehyung speak, listening carefully as he rubbed Taehyung’s back in a comforting motion. 

“Something compelled me to come to this island, and I don’t particularly understand what. Ever since I laid eyes on you at the laundromat, it felt like my life had completely shifted. I’m trying to understand what happened, and I’m almost afraid to ask you about it. I’m so scared to confirm what I’m thinking.”

Tears dripped from Taehyung’s eyes once more, but Yoongi stayed quiet, letting Taehyung speak.

“Sometimes, and even before I met you, I would feel like I could hear someone speaking to me that wasn’t there. I could feel someone’s hand holding my own, but it wasn’t real. I think it was you this entire time.”

Yoongi gasped, holding Taehyung tighter. “It was me, it was me.”

Taehyung buried his face in Yoongi’s neck, breathing him in. “It was you. I just don’t understand… I don’t understand… I don’t remember anything, Yoongi.”

Yoongi kissed Taehyung’s forehead, ever so softly, losing himself in the touch of someone he had lost so long ago.

“We met 203 years ago.” Yoongi began, feeling the way Taehyung’s heart pounded in his chest. 

Taehyung listened intently as Yoongi began his story.

Min Yoongi had only been on the island for all of an hour when a red fox ran into him, almost knocking him over. 

“What the fuck?” Yoongi looked down at the creature, noticing the way energy radiated off of its body.

A spirit. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” Yoongi corrected himself, not knowing how the spirit would react to him. Fox spirits in particular were known to be quite powerful, though this one looked to be only a couple hundred years old.

The spirit tilted its head at Yoongi before barking. 

Yoongi continued to stare at it, trying to understand what it wanted. 

Yoongi was sent to this island by his family in hopes that he would settle down and find himself a familiar. He had always been a bit troublesome when it came to following the rules, so they hoped that traveling to the middle of nowhere would straighten him out.

Yoongi despised that.

“I’m sorry!” A voice called out as Yoongi looked up to see a new person running over before stopping in front of Yoongi.

It was a man with fluffy brown hair that curled on the ends. It needed to be trimmed a bit since it was falling down over his chestnut colored eyes. He was tan, as if he spent all his time working outside. The way he smiled made Yoongi’s heart do somersaults in his chest.

“I’m sorry.” The man said again before picking up the fox spirit. “He never listens.” 

The spirit seemed to laugh in the man’s arms, squirming around restlessly. 

“He was a bit curious because you’re new here. My name is Taehyung, by the way.” 

Taehyung.

Yoongi had never seen someone quite so beautiful before. He had never seen someone like Taehyung.

“My name is Yoongi. I arrived by ship about an hour ago from the mainland.” Yoongi spoke carefully, a practiced sentence that he had rehearsed on the way over.

Taehyung hummed, eyeing him. The spirit in his arms licked Taehyung’s face. 

“Stop, I’ll settle him in.” Taehyung scolded and then turned back to Yoongi. “My father is in charge of the island affairs, so I can take you to him. We live at the shrine up on the mountain if you would follow me?”

Yoongi nodded as Taehyung placed the fox spirit back on the ground. “You are a shaman?”

Taehyung smiled. “Not me, my father and older brother are.”

“I see.” Yoongi noted as the two began to walk up a small dirt path that led to the main path up to the mountain. “What god do you worship?”

The fox spirit ran ahead of the two at full speed, jumping around and twirling in the air as if to show off. Taehyung laughed as he watched before responding to Yoongi.

“It’s said that there is a powerful god that inhabits this island. Nobody has ever seen them before but they bless us with good fortune and healthy crops. We are lucky to have a god such as them. They communicate with the shaman in power on the island and currently that would be my father. As soon as my father has my brother take over the position, our god will only communicate with him then. ”

“I see.” 

Yoongi considered this before responding.

“I’m a witch so I am unfamiliar with these types of practices, but I am willing to learn as I hope to live here for a little bit.” 

Taehyung continued walking ahead but would look behind to make sure that Yoongi was keeping up. The path was rocky and steep, but Taehyung and the fox spirit climbed it with such ease almost making Yoongi look like a fool as he tripped over rocks and roots and nearly smacked into trees every so often. 

“A witch. I’ve never met a witch before. Our main population is humans, but there are a few animal spirits that live in the nearby forests. Hoseok, our fox spirit, just likes to include himself in our business for some reason.” Taehyung laughed to himself as Hoseok yipped from ahead on the trail at the mention of his name. 

“He started out by sleeping in the shrine about two years ago and eventually warmed up to me last year. Now I think he and I have become best friends, he even showed me his human form recently.”

Yoongi considered what Taehyung had said. Fox spirits in particular do not like showing their human form off to people they don’t trust, and it takes them a lot to build that with someone else. They are very private creatures and prefer wrecking havoc rather than forming bonds with other people.

“You both seem very close.” Yoongi decided to say, his breath falling short as the hike was making him exhausted.

Taehyung nodded his head in affirmation. “There aren’t many other people around to talk to. You might find island life boring to be honest, you know, coming from the mainland and all that.” 

Taehyung and Yoongi finally reached the top of the mountain and Yoongi was ready to fall over out of exhaustion. 

Taehyung and Hoseok just kept on walking, leading Yoongi to a small shrine and two small houses that came into view at the peak of the mountain. 

The air was peaceful, only the sounds of nature were heard. 

Taehyung walked to the shrine with Yoongi close behind him. “Father!”

A middle aged man came out from the shrine looking concerned that Taehyung was yelling out to him, but realization crossed his eyes when he saw Yoongi.

“Ah, yes. I felt that you would be arriving.” The man said, his face neutral. “Welcome, welcome.”

“I am Min Yoongi, I have just taken a ship from the mainland. I am a witch and was wondering if you would be so kind as to welcome me to live on this island for the time being.” Yoongi said nervously, unsure of what to make of the man.

Taehyung and Hoseok stood behind Yoongi, eagerly waiting to see what the shaman would say. 

“Our god welcomes you to the island with open arms, they have been awaiting your arrival patiently.”

Yoongi blinked in confusion. The god had been waiting for him? 

Even Taehyung looked confused at that. “What do you mean, father?” 

The shaman eyed Yoongi with an expression nobody could read. “The god told me that they had been waiting eagerly for you and that I should welcome you to the island.” 

A breeze blew past as they stood there taking that in, goosebumps rising on Yoongi’s arms. The god had been waiting for his arrival. 

The shaman cleared his throat. “My eldest son and his wife recently moved into the house next to ours and we have a vacant room. I would be honored to house you while you prepare to build your own.” 

Taehyung had a suspicious look on his face, as if he couldn’t understand what his father was talking about. “You want him to stay at our house?”

The shaman turned towards his son. “The god requested that I welcome this man to our island and grant him as many comforts as he requires.” 

Taehyung nodded, lost in his thoughts. Even the fox spirit seemed confused, just sitting next to Taehyung still as a statue, not even a twitch of his ears.

“As you wish, father.” Taehyung finally spoke, looking over to Yoongi to size him up with his eyes.

Yoongi’s heart soared at the attention.

Over the next few weeks, Yoongi and Taehyung became almost inseparable. It was to be expected as they lived together, but the bond they shared deepened each and every day. 

“Have you ever wanted to leave here before?” Yoongi asked one afternoon. 

The two boys were cuddled together on the beachfront in the middle of summer, letting the leaves wash up and cover their lower halves before drifting back down.

Taehyung was leaning up against Yoongi, their hands intertwined. “No. This is my home. If I were to go anywhere else, I suppose the ocean might feel betrayed. Maybe it wouldn’t welcome me back if I were to visit it again. Or perhaps it would try to lure me home, make me remember what I have left behind.”

Yoongi let Taehyung’s words sink in. “You love it here a lot.”

Taehyung hummed as he watched the waves coming and going. “Yes. I’ve always loved it here, but now that I have you I cannot imagine living any other life.”

Yoongi pressed a kiss to Taehyung’s mouth. The two had been dancing around each other for some time, neither making the first move. 

Yoongi finally had caved in, and Taehyung let him.

Taehyung held him close, using the hand that wasn’t holding Yoongi’s to take the other man’s waist and pull him in closer, deepening the kiss as much as he could.

Yoongi savored the taste of Taehyung, cherished the feeling of being so close to him. 

Their bodies pressed up close together as they kissed for the very first time, their hearts beating in sync and their lips molded together.

It was that moment where they became one.

Yoongi for the first time in his life, truly understood what love felt like.

“Stay still.” Taehyung instructed. 

The two of them were back on the beach. They had moved out of Taehyung’s father’s house and built their own home together right on the water.

Yoongi stayed still as Taehyung carefully placed strokes of paint on the fabric he was using. 

Taehyung loved painting almost as much as he loved the ocean. 

“I just have a few spots I need to finish and then you can move.” Taehyung bit at his lip in concentration. 

He was painting a picture of Yoongi sitting by the water as most of his paintings included the ocean, a recurring theme in Taehyung’s life.

His first painting was just that, a landscape painting of the beach. It was painted about a year before Yoongi moved to the island and to Taehyung it symbolized a life soon to be.

Ever since Yoongi came to him, most of his paintings had involved him in some form or way. Taehyung just could not imagine painting anything else, the witch taking up nearly all of his thoughts.

Sometimes he thought back to what his father had said. The god wanted Yoongi to live on the island.

Taehyung wondered if the god knew that he was meant to meet Yoongi.

If soulmates were real, and Taehyung believed they were, he thought he and Yoongi were meant to be.

Taehyung painted the last bit, coating the final white bit of fabric that had been left uncovered and looked over the painting.

He sighed out in satisfaction. “It’s perfect.”

Yoongi stood up and came to sit next to where Taehyung had painted, viewing the painting. “It’s beautiful, all your work is beautiful.”

Taehyung leaned in to kiss Yoongi, his heart on fire with all the love he felt. 

He didn’t think he belonged anywhere else except with Yoongi living on the island together.

“I don’t understand why you won’t take a familiar.” Taehyung said, an argument that the two of them had often. “I don’t like leaving you alone to make the potions.”

Taehyung knew that Yoongi understood his worries, but accepting a familiar meant adding someone else to their home. Yoongi would always tell Taehyung that he liked it being just the two of them. 

Hoseok came by constantly, always wanting to play with Taehyung. The fox spirit and Taehyung were best friends and Taehyung knew that Yoongi was happy that they had each other.

Yoongi would always say that Hoseok and Taehyung’s family coming around was enough for him. 

“If it bothers you that much when I make potions, you can just stay with me. You will see that it isn’t dangerous and that it is something I can do on my own.” Yoongi countered, causing Taehyung to huff in irritation.

His boyfriend was so stubborn. 

“Fine, I’ll sit right here while you make that potion. Go ahead.” Taehyung sat down on a stool near where Yoongi was working. 

The witch sighed and muttered a ‘fine’ before mindlessly grabbing some herbs and throwing them in his cauldron. 

Taehyung wasn’t quite sure what Yoongi was making this time. He usually made potions for the humans in the village. Luck, Sleep, Dream, etc. The downstairs part of their home was dedicated to selling those potions.

“What are you making, anyway?” Taehyung asked after a moment of bitter silence between the two. He hated when they argued. 

Yoongi let the tension in his shoulders subside and took a breath. “I’m trying something new this time. One of the kids in town asked about medicine. His mother has been sick for a while and asked if there was anything I could do. I’m trying to make something for him.”

Taehyung’s eyes softened at Yoongi’s words. The witch cared a lot about the people that lived on the island. It was a small community, but everyone got along well and cared for each other.

“That’s kind of you.” Taehyung said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “I’m sorry for arguing with you again. I know we disagree about you getting a familiar, but I’ll stop bringing it up if it makes you uncomfortable.” 

Yoongi smiled at his boyfriend, anger dissipating from his body. “I’m sorry as well, Tae. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Taehyung replied, continuing to watch as Yoongi started mixing the potion. 

It was a dark purple liquid that bubbled up every so often, the bubbles popping and releasing a small amount of gas.

The smell of the gas made Taehyung’s nose itch, which was a little bit annoying.

Yoongi stopped stirring and examined the potion. “It’s almost done, I just need to say the incantation. We can go to the beach after.”

Taehyung agreed excitedly, loving when they went to the ocean together. 

Yoongi muttered the incantation over the potion slowly and Taehyung watched as the potion bubbled up even more, as if it were boiling.

Steam started emitting off the top of the liquid, filling the room with its suffocating presence.

“Ah, that’s not right.” Yoongi said absentmindedly. 

Taehyung would agree as he started coughing. Something definitely had gone wrong with the potion.  

He continued to cough, his lungs filling up with the gas from the potion so much so that tears started falling out of his reddening eyes.

“Oh, baby. Let’s get you outside. I don’t think this gas is sitting right with humans.” Yoongi said, eyes worried as he helped Taehyung stand up to lead him outside. 

Taehyung continued to cough, though it came out more like wheezes. He could hardly breath, his throat hurt so bad.

Yoongi brought him down to the beach where he hoped the fresh air and smell of the ocean would help Taehyung. He had gotten some water out of the house as well.

“Here, drink this.” Yoongi said as Taehyung started retching. 

Taehyung took the water with shaky hands, taking small sips.

He coughed into the water before gagging, unable to swallow. 

Taehyung choked, his breath failing him, his mind hazy.

“I’m okay.” He wheezed out. “I love you.”

“You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. Take a deep breath for me.” Yoongi held Taehyung tightly in his arms.

Taehyung tried to breathe in as much air as he could, but he coughed so hard he thought that his throat was bleeding.

He was going to die.

“I’m okay, Yoongi.” Taehyung spoke again, realizing that it would be soon before he couldn’t at all. “I love you so much.” 

Taehyung choked, his breath caught. 

“Breathe, baby.” Yoongi spoke, his words shaking much like the hands that held onto Taehyung.

Taehyung looked up at Yoongi, unable to breathe any longer.

He was dying.

Taehyung closed his eyes.

He felt himself drifting.

“Taehyung!” Yoongi yelled, his body trembling.

“Taehyung…”

Yoongi sobbed as he yelled, tears streaming down his face.

“Please wake up.”

Yoongi’s voice broke, he could barely speak. He choked on his own tears.

Taehyung wasn’t waking up.

“I’m so sorry.”

Yoongi held his boyfriend who was in his arms, he held him close to his heart.

“Taehyung, please wake up.”

Yoongi felt as Taehyung went still, the life leaving him. The man he loved was now gone.

And it was all Yoongi’s fault.

After Taehyung died, Yoongi did not know what to do with himself. 

Taehyung’s father claimed that the god would take care of him, but Yoongi did not care about some god.

He just wanted Taehyung back.

Yoongi often found Hoseok curled up in his bedroom, the fox spirit mourning just as much as Yoongi was. 

Yoongi couldn’t find it in himself to send Hoseok away, instead he welcomed the spirit. The two found comfort in each other, reminiscing on their favorite moments with Taehyung.

“What are you going to do?” Hoseok asked about a month after Taehyung had died. The two were sitting at Yoongi’s kitchen table sipping on Taehyung’s favorite tea.

“What do you mean?” Yoongi asked. He just felt empty, his life felt so empty. 

Hoseok looked over his mug at Yoongi, the once fiery and mischievous eyes of a fox spirit now dark and lonely. “Are you going to stay here?”

Yoongi paused, thinking. “I can’t leave. I can’t ever leave. This island is the last place I will ever have any connection to Taehyung. He lived and he loved here. I can’t ever let myself forget that, I can’t even let myself forget the person who made me so happy.” 

Yoongi probably would have cried if he had any tears left, but he had already gone through them all weeks ago.

“So what, you’re just going to wallow in your depression alone here?” Hoseok gripped at the mug, voice bitter.

“I made a decision.” Yoongi finally admitted and Hoseok settled down. “I… I placed a curse on myself. The day after the funeral.”

Hoseok gasped, almost dropping the tea. “Yoongi… A curse? I was wondering why your energy seemed so much darker, I thought it was just because of Taehyung.”

“I cursed myself so that I will never be able to leave this island, that I will never be able to use magic again. I cursed myself to live the long life a witch would but as a human that can never leave the place where his loved one passed.” Yoongi finally said, his words haunting.

Hoseok shook his head. “Taehyung wouldn’t have wanted that.”

“It doesn’t matter what Taehyung would have wanted because he fucking died, Hoseok. He died because of me so it’s only fitting that I punish myself for it.” Yoongi yelled, finally hitting his breaking point. 

“You’re out of your damn mind, Min Yoongi. The god had a purpose for you.” Hoseok narrowed his eyes at his friend.

“I don’t give a fuck about the god! Why do people keep mentioning that stupid god? Was his purpose to break my fucking heart and take away the only thing that mattered to me? I don’t care, I don’t care anymore.” Yoongi shouted again, making Hoseok flinch. “Nothing matters.”

“You can’t do this to yourself. I can’t even bear to see it.” Hoseok’s voice shook as he stood up, placing the tea on the table and leaving Yoongi’s house. Leaving Yoongi alone.

Fifty torturous years went by and each second was agony to Yoongi’s very soul. Hoseok still stopped by to see Yoongi and talk to him, but Yoongi was just an empty shell of the man he once was.

It was a morning like any other when Yoongi had gone to take the trash out of his house and saw a tiny rabbit laying on his doorstep. 

It was barely breathing and seemed to be all but a baby. 

Yoongi didn’t even think twice before picking it up and taking it into his home, placing it in a fluffy blanket near the furnace that had a pleasant fire roaring inside. 

Yoongi held his breath as he watched the rabbit carefully as it twitched.

He prepared warm milk in a bowl to feel it when it woke up. He just hoped that it wouldn’t be too scared.

The bunny blinked its small eyes open and its nose fluttered at the smell of the milk that Yoongi had placed nearby. 

Yoongi stood back and watched as the rabbit stood up on tiny trembling legs and limped over to the bowl of milk and started taking meager sips.

It was only then that Yoongi felt the energy coming off of the rabbit. The energy was that of a spirit, and a baby spirit at that.

“Oh sweetheart…” Yoongi breathed out as the rabbit guzzled down the milk. “You’ll never be alone again.”

Hoseok came by later that day for his normal check in on Yoongi and was shocked to see the house cleaned and things organized. A pile of random objects were strewn around where the store used to be.

“Yoongi?” Hoseok called out, unable to find his friend. 

“Be quiet!” Yoongi yelled back. “You’re going to wake up the baby.”

Hoseok thought Yoongi must have lost his damn mind. He sauntered into the room Yoongi had yelled from and his eyes widened in shock when he saw the baby spirit that Yoongi was cradling in his arms. 

“Why do you have a newborn rabbit spirit?” Hoseok asked, sneaking over to get a look at it. “He smells like he is about a week old. The mother must have abandoned him because her scent is nearly gone.”

Yoongi sighed, looking fondly down at the spirit in his arms. “I found him on my doorstep this morning, I’m going to take care of him.”

Hoseok tsked. “What do you know about raising a spirit?” 

Yoongi shrugged. “Nothing, but I want to do it. I think I’m going to name him Jungkook.”

Hoseok was about to make fun of Yoongi but paused in realization. It had been so long since he saw anything other than sadness in his friend. It had been so long since he had seen Yoongi care about something and look at someone with affection. 

Hoseok smiled to himself. 

“I think you’ll be a wonderful spirit parent.”

Yoongi found love again by raising Jungkook. The spirit made his first transition into human form when he turned five and immediately demanded that Yoongi make him a warm milk. 

Yoongi finally found someone he wanted to devote his time to.

He decided to transform the store into an antique shop because he had a ton of old items that he could sell if people wanted them or not.

None of those things mattered to Yoongi.

The only things from that time he kept close were the paintings. Yoongi decided to display Taehyung’s first art piece in the main store. It wasn’t for sale, but he thought that everyone should at least be able to see it, that a part of Taehyung would always be there.

He kept all of the other paintings hung up in his room.

Yoongi wasn’t surprised when teenage Jungkook asked about the paintings. He had always been curious, but Yoongi had wanted to wait until he was a bit older to tell him the story.

Jungkook cried.

Jungkook cried a lot when Yoongi told him everything that had happened.

“I’ll always protect you. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you again.” Jungkook declared, all but a 16 year old rabbit spirit.

Spirits become fully grown when they reach the age of 20. Hoseok and Yoongi threw him a birthday party celebrating his coming of age. Yoongi even accepted him as a familiar.

Yoongi thought that Taehyung would have loved Jungkook a lot. 

In fact, there was never a time where Yoongi wasn’t thinking about Taehyung. 

However, he was moving on. 

He was happy again.

Then 200 years after Taehyung died, Yoongi heard a voice he never thought he would hear again in his entire life. In a laundromat of all places.

“You know, it’s not going to go faster if you stare at it.”

****

“Taehyung!”

“Taehyung…”

“Please wake up.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Taehyung, please wake up.”

Those were the last words Taehyung ever heard, the last words before he was face to face with someone he didn’t recognize. 

He was no longer on the beach, but in what seemed like a library.

“Hello.” A voice said and Taehyung looked up to see a man sitting at a desk. He had neat black hair and a very beautiful face. He wore a large blue sweater.

Taehyung stared at him. “Who are you…?”

The man smirked, his plush lips looking sly and his dark eyes shining. “My name is Kim Seokjin, but you know me as the god of the island you lived on.”

****

Taehyung’s face was wet with tears after Yoongi finished the story. “I’m sorry that I can’t remember any of it. I wish I could, my heart hurt so bad listening to you. My soul feels your pain, but I just can’t remember.”

Yoongi rubbed Taehyung’s back to comfort him, letting him cry into his neck. “It’s okay. I just don’t quite understand what’s going on. Sometimes you look at me, and it feels like the person I once knew. I think that it could be possible for you to remember if you really wanted to.”

Taehyung was about to respond when his phone started ringing in his pocket. Jungkook leapt up in surprise from where he had been sleeping the entire time.

“Oh shit, it’s Jimin.” Taehyung said, realizing that he never told Jimin where he was going and that he had been gone for a few hours. 

He picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello?!” Jimin screamed in his ear. Yoongi winced beside him. “What the fuck do you mean, ‘hello’? Bitch I’ll kill you!”

Taehyung choked back a laugh. “I’m sorry, I forgot to text.”

“Forgot to text? Did you also forget where we are? We are on a fucking island in the middle of nowhere you could be dead in the ocean for all I know! Forgot to text! I could literally kill you right now.” Jimin continued shouting over the phone as Taehyung lost it and burst out laughing, a stark difference from the tears of a few moments before.

“Kim Taehyung! Do not laugh at me! Where the fuck are you? I’m gonna beat you the fuck up.” Jimin sounded like he was putting on his shoes. 

“I’m at Yoongi’s house.” Taehyung replied, casually.

“You’re at- oh.” Jimin’s voice turned sly and Taehyung was ready to smash his phone into a wall. “Well why didn’t you just say that? You sneaky boy.”

“It’s… We’re not… Oh my God. Just come meet me here, there’s something I want to do.” Taehyung stuttered, trying not to let Jimin get to him. 

“Mhm, mhm. Okay, I am very slowly walking to his house as we speak. Veeeery slowly making my way there. See you in a few minutes!” Jimin chirped before hanging up the phone.

Taehyung looked at Yoongi incredulously as he laughed. 

Jungkook stretched from next to the fire, yawning and crawling over to where they sat, laying down on Yoongi’s lap.

“What are we doing when Jimin gets here?” Yoongi asked. Taehyung noticed the way Jungkook stiffened at the mention of his friend.

“I want to go visit the shrine. Ah, but first let me check my air bnb really quickly. I want to message the host and ask if we can stay for a bit longer.” Taehyung opened up the airbnb app to message Seokjin, but paused when he realized there was nothing listed. “What the fuck?”

Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Taehyung’s phone. “What’s going on?” 

Taehyung scrolled back to where the listing of the rental would have been. There was nothing there. “The air bnb rental was deleted? There’s nothing listed here and it’s as if we never booked anything! Even the messages I sent the host previously are gone!” 

“Okay, shit.” Yoongi said, biting his lip. “Where did you say this guy worked again? And what was his name?”

Taehyung rubbed at his temple in irritation. “Kim Seokjin. He said he’s a librarian.”

“Right. Let’s start by going to the library first, and then we can head up to the shrine. It’s still afternoon so we have time.” Yoongi reasoned and Taehyung nodded his head, letting Yoongi’s voice calm him down.

Yoongi pressed a kiss to Taehyung’s forehead before pulling back suddenly. “I’m sorry. It was instinct and we were close earlier, I didn’t mean to do that.”

Taehyung took Yoongi’s hand. “I know we don’t have much time to talk about it right now, but I really like it when you kiss me.”

Yoongi smiled shyly, but didn’t have time to respond before Jimin burst into the room. 

“Hello old men and Taehyung, what are we up to today?” 

Jungkook growled from on top of Yoongi’s lap and Jimin rolled his eyes. “I see you’re back to being a rabbit. Don’t give me attitude.”

Jungkook huffed before jumping down and transforming into a human, causing Jimin to flinch in shock. 

“Fuck, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Jungkook placed his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes at Jimin. “I’m not an old man. I am only 150 years old, that is quite young for a spirit, I will have you know.”

“This again.” Jimin looked at Taehyung with a raised eyebrow, before turning back to Jungkook. “You’re old.”

“Okay, enough. Jimin, there's a problem.” Taehyung interrupted before the two could start arguing again. 

“What’s up?” Jimin asked, suddenly concerned. 

“Uhm, so. The host deleted all evidence of ever renting us the airbnb and his entire account doesn’t even exist anymore so we need to go to the library and find him.” Taehyung grimaced at just retelling everything to Jimin. 

“What?” Jimin yelled. “Are you serious?”

Taehyung nodded. “We need to go right now.”

The four of them exited the house and Yoongi led them along the dirt path that led past the antique store and in the opposite direction of the air bnb. 

Taehyung and Jimin hadn’t traveled that far yet despite the town being tiny and them already staying there for a few days.

They had really only gone to see Yoongi in that time.

“I wonder why we never went down this way?” Jimin asked as if he was reading Taehyung’s mind.

“I just never felt like I needed to?” Taehyung replied but it almost felt like a question.

He’d only ever felt compelled to go to see Yoongi.

They arrived at the library and it was a tiny building. Upon entering, Taehyung could smell dust to the point where it felt as though it was filling up his lungs.

He looked around at the singular room that encompassed the entire library and got a weird feeling.

He reached out and grabbed Yoongi’s hand. “I don’t think this is the right place.”

Yoongi gave him a questioning look as they continued to look through the library.

Flashes went through Taehyung’s mind, images of a different library, one that he felt as though he had seen before but looked nothing like the one he was in now.

“This isn’t the right place.” He spoke again.

“Let’s just talk to the front desk.” Jimin said and Taehyung shrugged, the voice in his head telling him that Kim Seokjin would not be there.

“Hello!” Jimin greeted an elderly man who was sitting at the desk, a book open in front of him. The man gave Jimin a dull look.

Jimin cleared his throat. “We are looking for someone who might work here, his name is Kim Seokjin? He’s very attractive and I think he likes to go fishing.”

The man shut the book that was on the desk. “I am the only person that works here and my name is not Kim Seokjin. In fact, I have never heard of that person in my entire life.”

Jimin turned around to face everyone and gave Taehyung a strange look. “You were right.”

Taehyung had a weird feeling in his gut. “Let’s just get out of here. We should head up to the shrine.”

They left the library in silence, nobody knew quite what to make of Taehyung. 

“How did you know?” Yoongi was the first to ask, still holding Taehyung’s hand, as he led them to the start of the mountain path. A path he had taken for the first time 203 years ago. 

“I remembered a weird memory, but I have no idea what it means. I kept seeing images of a library that didn’t look like the one we were just in.” Taehyung replied as they started the trek up the mountain.

“They only added the library here about maybe forty years ago so you wouldn’t remember it.” Yoongi said slowly.

“Obviously he wouldn’t remember it, what are you on about?” Jimin interjected, slightly out of breath even at the start of the climb.

Taehyung and Yoongi exchanged looks and Taehyung sighed. “Jimin, there’s a lot I need to tell you.” 

Taehyung and Yoongi recounted everything they could while on the walk up. They talked about how Taehyung thought he was a reincarnated version of Yoongi’s boyfriend that had died, to how he had always felt about forgetting something, and ended it with the story of how Yoongi had met Jungkook. The spirit went red in the cheeks as Yoongi explained it.

They were nearly halfway up the mountain path by the time they finished speaking, all of them except Jungkook feeling tired from the hike.

“Okay, so. This whole time when you had been talking to me about having a soulmate somewhere, it turned out to be real?” Jimin finally spoke.

“Yes.” Taehyung replied.

Jimin let out a breathy laugh. “Oh the things I have learned while on this trip. The things I have seen… Sure why not? Why not.” 

“I know it’s hard to believe.” Taehyung said.

“To be honest,” Jimin started. “If anyone were to have a soulmate, it would be you. It fits your character.” 

Taehyung smiled to himself before looking over at Yoongi who had such a fond expression in his eyes as he looked at Taehyung. 

“God, I am going to die if we don’t get up there in a second.” Jimin whined.

“It’s a few more steps.” Taehyung answered, as if he already knew.

Things like that had become more normal for Taehyung, he noticed. He would know things that only Taehyung of the past would, and yet he didn’t have the memory of any of it.

Nobody mentioned that Taehyung knew, because by that point they had all accepted the strangeness of it all.

They just weren't sure how past Taehyung and present Taehyung overlapped, and they were hoping that the god would have the answers.

“Oh, fuck, finally.” Jimin said as he stepped his feet on flap ground, finally at the top of the mountain. “That was ridiculous, I am never doing that ever again.”

Taehyung looked over to Yoongi, who gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go.”

The shrine was exactly what Taehyung thought it was going to look like. Everything about where he was felt so familiar and it was a comforting feeling at that point.

Based on the story that Yoongi told, Taehyung used to live here all that time ago. 

Also based on the story Yoongi told, it would mean he was Namjoon’s ancestor, or ‘great’ a million times uncle.

Namjoon and Hoseok appeared from the house that was next to the shrine with confused expressions riddling their faces.

“What’s going on?” Namjoon asked, looking at everyone who was now standing around the shrine.

“Taehyung knows.” Yoongi stated. “He only remembers tiny bits and pieces every so often, but he knew enough to figure out who he was. I explained the rest.”

Hoseok had a sheepish expression as he looked at Taehyung. “I’ve been so happy to see you again. You were the reason I started living with the Kims and I never left because it was the only connection I had to you. From that I ended up meeting Namjoon, and I am very thankful.”

Taehyung walked over and took Hoseok into a hug. He wasn’t sure if it was something spirits did, but he felt like he needed to hug Hoseok at that moment.

Yoongi had said they were best friends. 

Hoseok held Taehyung tightly, sighing deeply into the hug as if it were something he had longed for for so long.

He probably had.

They broke apart and Taehyung turned to Namjoon. 

“Is it because I am technically your uncle that you’ve been treating me so strangely?” 

Namjoon stuttered. “No! I just didn’t know what to make of the situation. Yoongi and I became best friends these past few years and he told me all about you, so when you introduced yourself to me it was quite a shock.”

Taehyung grinned. “Well, I do admit the situation is weird.”

Namjoon chuckled. “Yeah, that’s for sure.”

Hoseok perked up from next to Namjoon. “I saw you walk into the grocery store that first day, that was the reason I ran into you. I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me.”

“I’m glad to be back and see you all again, even if I don’t remember my past life right now.” Taehyung admitted. “That brings me to the reason why we are here. I believe that the god of this island might have something to do with what happened. I was wondering if it was in any way possible to summon them?”

“Ahh..” Namjoon muttered. “I too believe that the god is the reason for this. None of my ancestors have had much luck getting in direct contact with him. The last one to do so would have been your father, Taehyung. I can try my best, it might work since both you and Yoongi are here right now.”

“I would like to try.” Taehyung said and Yoongi nodded in agreement. 

“Okay, let’s get started.” Namjoon said, rubbing his hands together. 

He went to stand in front of the shrine and kneeled into a bow, signalling everyone else to do the same. Everyone followed Namjoon’s lead as he started muttering a prayer to himself at the front.

Taehyung tried to listen, but he couldn’t quite make out the words he was saying.

There was a buzzing sound and it felt as though Taehyung’s ears had blown out. His mind was suddenly foggy and he felt as if he would pass out.

He looked to his side and noticed that everyone else seemed just as affected as he did.

The god was coming.

The area in front of them blurred similarly to how gas looks in the air while you cook. It felt like the air was breaking into parts as the form of a man showed in front of them.

A man who looked exactly like Kim Seokjin.

“You!” Taehyung said, his mind clearing as he stood up. 

Namjoon looked back from the front, trying to get Taehyung to kneel back down, but Taehyung refused.

“It’s you! You’re from the library.” Flashes of that library went through Taehyung’s mind again. 

Flashes of this man named Kim Seokjin explaining that he was the god of the island and that Taehyung had died.

“Hello, darling.” Seokjin said at Taehyung’s outburst. He then looked down to Namjoon. “You all can stand up, it’s fine. I don't need a big show or anything.” 

The god laughed as if he had just told a joke.

Everyone slowly stood up, almost reluctantly, as though the god would punish them for doing so.

Yoongi, however, looked angry as he made eye contact with Seokjin. “You said you were waiting for me to come here and then you went and ruined my life!”

Seokjin sighed, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “Ah, that silly thing. There were two different paths you could have taken. You chose the wrong one and you punished yourself for it. I did you a favor.”

“What? Is this a game to you?” Yoongi yelled, trying to get forward but Jungkook held him back. “This is my life!”

Seokjin glared at him, powerful eyes threatening him to continue. “I know that. I told you that you were the one who made the wrong decision. It is because of me that you and Taehyung have met each other again. I led him back here.”

“Why?” Taehyung asked. “Why did you bring me back?”

Seokjin turned away from Yoongi to look at Taehyung again. “I wanted my love story to be completed. The witch has punished himself long enough, it was time to bring you back to him.”

“What are you talking about?” Taehyung pleaded, not understanding. 

“Ah, Taehyung. You know how much I love stories. You were with me in my library that time and the two of us had a good chat. Silly me, of course you don’t remember.” The god laughed again, a high pitched cackle. “I could have let you stay dead, but where is the fun in that?”

“You’re just a god of some miniscule island, how could you possibly do all of this?” Yoongi yelled, angry again.

Seokjin’s eyes glinted in the sunlight, uncaring that everyone was upset with him. “Did you really think I was only a small god of just this tiny spot? Dear me, that would be embarrassing. I was intrigued by the life here all those years ago and decided to help out a little bit as everything was dying. It was all just for fun but then you Kim lot started praying to me.”

“I-” Taehyung started to say but paused. “Is there any chance I could get my memories back?” 

Seokjin hummed, tapping a finger to his lips. “There is. Did you want them?”

“Yes.” Taehyung replied immediately and Seokjin grinned. 

“It’s just a tiny little cost, just a small thing.” Seokjin said and Taehyung wanted nothing more than to smack him.

“What else could you possibly want from me?” Taehyung was begging now, he didn’t understand why a god was toying with him.

“This one,” Seokjin pointed at Yoongi. “Needs to get over himself. Yes, you messed up. You paid your dues and it’s time to move on. Start doing your little magic tricks again, and for fucks sake, please take a vacation off of this damn island.” 

“That-That’s it?” Taehyung was in disbelief, as well as everyone else.

Seokjin groaned, annoyed with all of the questions. “I told you that I wanted to bring you back out of the goodness of my heart. I am literally a good person. I’ve been taking care of this island for centuries now just because you little people are so intriguing. So yes, that is all.” 

Seokjin narrowed his eyes at Yoongi. “If you mess up again, there’s no third chance.”

“I know.” Yoongi whispered. 

“Okay, great. I’ll transfer the memories over and we can all be on our way, does that sound good?” Seokjin spoke out, eyeing everyone closely. 

Everyone muttered out a ‘yes’ and Seokjin smirked. 

“It’s farewell then. Just remember, I’ll always be watching. Always. You can find me in all forms of nature, I am not just any simple god.” The god disappeared as quickly as he had shown up, gone so suddenly without a trace.

“That was…” Namjoon started to speak.

“Yeah.” Jimin finished, unsure what to make of all this. 

“Taehyung, are you alright?” Yoongi asked, walking up to Taehyung who was just staring into space.

There was so much happening to Taehyung at that moment. Memories flashed through his mind so fast it was hard to breathe.

He fell to the ground and clutched at his head as the memories came in one after another. 

“It hurts…” He groaned out and Yoongi wrapped his arms around him.

“It will be over soon, you’ll be okay.”

Yes, Taehyung would be okay this time. 

The pain subsided, becoming all but a dull ache in his head as the memories settled into place. The past and present all came together like little puzzle pieces. 

“Yoongi.” Taehyung breathed out. “Yoongi, I’m okay. I’m okay, I'm okay.”

Taehyung sobbed as Yoongi cradled him, he sobbed as Yoongi pressed kisses to his hair and his face.

He sobbed because he was okay.

It was decided shortly after that Jimin and Taehyung would move to the island. It was pretty much a no brainer after everything that had happened.

Taehyung told Jimin that he didn’t need to stay, he could go back home and continue to live his life as if none of this happened.

“What am I going to do if I don’t have you around?” Jimin had replied simply, and the conversation ended.

Jimin moved into their air bnb, a place that Kim Seokjin clearly created just as a decoy to get Taehyung to the island.

The god was all but a mystery to them.

Namjoon decided to stop the worshipping and to just leave the shrine as it was. He was not going to care for it any longer.

He and Hoseok still wanted to live on the mountain together, a relationship that Taehyung was still trying to figure out.

According to Yoongi, the two of them had been dancing around the idea of dating for years. 

All in due time, he supposed.

Jimin and Jungkook were another story altogether. It was clear to literally everyone that they both had feelings for each other, but neither of them would admit it.

Both of them insisted that they hated each other, but Taehyung never missed the affectionate glances that the two would share when they thought nobody was looking.

Taehyung moved in with Yoongi, or if you will, Taehyung came back home to Yoongi.

Once he had his memories back, he found it hard to stay away. They had two hundred years worth of time to make up for.

Two hundred years that they missed out on each other’s lives.