Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

[mood board by Sana!]

Jeongguk absentmindedly lifted the huge mug of coffee while his fingers flew above the keyboard. He took a sip and promptly spat the liquid out. Thankfully he had the split second consciousness to pick up the small trash can to his left and dump the contents into it.

“ What the fuck !” He exclaimed, staring inside the mug where the remnants of the disgusting stale, cold coffee stared up at him.

“ When did I pour it?” He asked rhetorically, trying to get the bad taste off his tongue. He doesn’t remember when he had poured the coffee from the kitchen in his office. It’s no wonder that he doesn’t remember seeing how time was slowly becoming an abstract construct to Jeongguk. Something that blends and merges minutes and hours together. He doesn’t even remember how many mugs of coffee he had downed till now. He had been holed up in his office for nearly 12 hours now, working without a pause. Well, except for the washroom breaks a few times and twice when his back insisted that he get up and stretch and he had to listen.

He checked the time- 1.15AM. He groaned, stretching his hands out in front, joining the knuckles together and giving them the much deserved cracking. He then leaned back letting his hands fall limply on both sides of his revolving chair and stared up at the ceiling blankly. It wasn’t unusual for Jeongguk to stay back late at his office, working. Usually finishing up research, or writing his papers. But today and the past few days have been different and special. Revolutionary even. And the difference was that unlike on regular days when Jeongguk heads home around this hour, today Jeongguk has to stay back for heaven knows how long.

He stared at the document on his computer screen. The cursor blinked innocently. 16 pages down and probably another 16 or 166 to go. Jeongguk didn’t know anymore. He wanted to write a lot, yet at the same time he had been at it for so long that his brain was refusing to cooperate. However the paper needed to be done by day break. This was the only opportunity for Jeongguk to prove to his superior that he didn’t just get where he was by sheer luck. Jeongguk was 28 and already the youngest archeologist to be working under the Resurrection Wing of the Prehistoric Museum in Seoul. He was also one of the youngest to be called on a regular basis to guest lecture at the Seoul National University on Medieval History. So the youngest to lead an excavation team whose paper he was currently writing. He still couldn’t believe the title on the screen— 

“The demystification of the myth of the Silver Dragon.” 

Because yes. That happened. Jeongguk and his team had unearthed and brought back to Seoul the frozen form of a freaking dragon!

The dragon was found in a littoral cave near the northern coastline of the East Sea in Busan. The rumours had first begun in the forms of whispers. Mostly whispers of horror stories from a few locals. The caves were usually not entered by tourists. They perpetually had waves crashing in and during full moon nights it was dangerous to even venture near the area, the cave getting completely flooded. However there always are those pesky tourists who trespass in places they have no business being, looking for misadventures. 

After one such full moon night the first talks of the caves being haunted began doing the rounds. It was limited to the nearby smaller towns, as it always is at the beginning. But the stories began multiplying and spreading, still not gathering enough momentum to alert anyone of any anomaly. However things spun out of control when a few fisherman kids went inside the cave and witnessed something so terrifying that they compelled their fishermen fathers, mothers, uncles and everybody else in their village to believe their tales of a “6-feet long tailed monster with silver scales that looked like an alligator but was so much more huge!”

Once the adults set foot inside that cave, there was no looking back. It didn’t simply remain horror stories stemming out of creative minds. The local authorities were informed who were equally freaked out as everyone else not being able to understand what it was they were witnessing. Naturally they were all terribly scared, horrified even, wondering if the creature which seemed to be asleep would wake up or something. Busan talked to Seoul on this and soon the Prehistoric Museum was brought into it and a team was sent to gauge the situation. Pretty soon Jeongguk was contacted with a specialised team and it was not up for speculation anymore that what they were looking at was, as stupendously astonishing as it sounds, a dragon. 

Jeongguk and the others had been speechless when they had witnessed the sight before them inside the cave. A completely frozen form of a silver dragon. It indeed had a long tail, though not 6 feet. But about 4 feet. The body was near about 6 feet. Not that Jeongguk or anyone had seen a dragon in real life but the overall size of the dragon seemed pretty small by dragon standards of folk lore. The beast was curled into itself, almost in a fetal position. Even though the natural light inside the cave was sparse owing to the location, quite deep within, it was clear to Jeongguk that the dragon was silver in colour. There had been myths and fairytales regarding dragons and in particular the Great Silver Dragon of the East when Jeongguk was growing up, but he and every other kid who had heard it had quite obviously dismissed it as the tales of childhood. So Jeongguk couldn’t believe that this was real and not some elaborate prank. 

The excavation was a tedious process and the whole deal of moving the beast out of the cave and then finally bringing it to the Prehistoric Museum in Seoul took nearly 3 months. The whole thing was supervised and led by Jeongguk. He worked tirelessly at this groundbreaking project, fuelled by a passion he hadn’t felt in a long time. Probably because of the sheer uniqueness of the whole thing, sort of like venturing into the unknown. Dealing with something that people only thought existed in fantasy. The dragon was now kept in a huge glass cage right beside Jeongguk’s office. The whole operation was under Jeongguk’s jurisdiction. His colleagues and superiors had congratulated him on seamlessly being able to move the specimen between the cities without disrupting its hibernative state. 

Now Jeongguk needed to get his paper done so it could go into publication to let the archeology community and the general public know the results of the findings so far. Needless to say it had created a buzz worldwide so Jeongguk was under a lot of pressure to get everything right since his name was attached to the whole mission. That’s why he was mulling over his write up. Going over his notes that he had taken during the excavation and wondering how to put the whole thing down with proper coherence. They were also speculating on whether this dragon would ever wake up. Tests were still being run and even though the medical community was probably too advanced for a creature that was probably a few hundred years old, the inference was that the beast was still alive, albeit in some deep trance like state. And from what they could calculate, it has been so for several hundred years.

For now they’ve been keeping it safe and protected and monitored. The dragon probably isn’t even aware of the storm it created by getting discovered. And as Jeongguk stared at his endless work waiting to get finished, it probably wasn’t aware of the workload that it caused Jeongguk either. But, he doesn’t mind. Jeongguk loves his work and it goes without saying that this was probably the work of his lifetime. 

He sighed, snapping out of his momentary reverie. He looked down to see the computer screen had gone to sleep. Yawning he stood up, stretching his arms above his head and feeling the satisfaction of a few bones cracking and realigning. He lifted the mug from the desk and dumped the rest of the murky liquid inside the trash can.

“Let’s get you filled up with fresh coffee this time.” He said to the mug and putting on his work sandals that he had discarded under his chair, he began walking out of his office in the direction of the kitchen. Jeongguk’s office, like the others who were part of the excavation team, was in the administration wing of the Prehistoric Museum. It was connected to the main building of the museum, by a long corridor. At nights, especially ones as late as these, it was usually pretty creepy to be in this huge architecture with only the security who were stationed at strategic points with only a few on patrol. But Jeongguk was used to it by now. He was usually one of the only few people who worked late and as such he had developed an immunity to anything that would be eerie to other people. After all, the museum was filled with skeletons of all sorts.

Jeongguk quietly whistled as he padded down the short hallway leading to the small kitchenette. The hall where the dragon was kept was a little beyond that corridor. Even thinking about the fact that a creature only known in mythology was inside the building that Jeongguk had worked at for over 8 years filled him with disbelief. But the golden glow coming from the little square window on the door was proof that the room was occupied. And occupied by something rather extraordinary. He made his way in, yawning a couple more times, till he reached the coffee machine, this time pouring a steaming hot mug. He rifled through the cupboard to pull out a jar of cookies that was actually baked and provided very generously by one of his colleagues. Picking out one large chocolate chip cookie and taking an equally large bite Jeongguk made his way out of the kitchenette. He closed the door behind him and took a sip, ah-ing in delight as the warmth of the caffeine fired up his slumbering nerves. He was about to make his way to his office when he paused, looking at the direction of the dragon chamber. It was no wonder that Jeongguk found himself walking to his left instead of his right. It’s not always that you have a dragon sleeping next to your kitchen.

Jeongguk pulled out his keycard and swiped on the little display monitor, the door beeping open. He pushed through the door about to turn his attention to the right where the glass cage was kept at the end of the huge room, when he noticed some odd piece of string right at the threshold. Instead of immediately turning to look at the beast, Jeongguk entered the room, closed the door and crouched down to pick the string up, the cookie dangling from his mouth and the coffee mug in the other hand.

“Hello.” 

Jeongguk was so engrossed in inspecting the object that he absentmindedly mumbled a “Hi,” through the half eaten cookie still between his teeth. After realising the string was some object probably having torn off someone’s fabric, the rest of Jeongguk’s realisation returned in full force in approximately 10 seconds. He looked ahead, eyes wide. This was a secure room, only workers that had the authorised keycard could access the room. It was way past after hours. And above all, despite having a keycard, nobody could enter the room without Jeongguk’s express permission since he was the one in charge of the whole operation.

And Jeongguk doesn’t recall giving anybody access at 2 in the morning. 

His head whipped so fast towards the right that he could hear the bones cracking. What he saw had the cookie fall out of his slack mouth and the coffee mug nearly falling down and shattering on the ground as well. He somehow tightened his grip at the last instant, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

A small man with long silver hair was sitting inside the glass cage where his beloved dragon was slumbering the last time Jeongguk had visited the room. The man was naked. Absolutely so. He was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms hugging his knees, swaying back and forth a little. The position somehow hid his obvious nudity but the fact remained— a stark naked man had somehow entered a formidable fortress of a cage where earlier a mythical creature was in. Now there was no sign of said creature and Jeongguk was very near to a cardiac arrest and consequently an untimely death.

The cage was still a few feet away but Jeongguk took to his heels, running the wide expanse of the room to go near the cage, the hot coffee sloshing left and right, some even spilling over his thumb, but he couldn’t care less. He was wondering if he was sleepwalking? It could be, since he hasn’t slept in over 12 hours. Because there’s no way an entire fucking dragon had disappeared from that enormous cage. Who the fuck was this random imposter? 

He finally skidded to a stop in front of the cage, panting, the coffee mug somehow holding onto Jeongguk’s hand for dear life. His jaw was nearly still reaching for the floor because now he could see the man that had apparently hocus-pocused his dragon out of existence. The man was indeed rather small, with the smoothest and palest skin Jeongguk had ever seen. His skin seemed almost silver. His hair reached a little beyond his waist, touching the wooden surface of the cage like a shimmery curtain, one side of his falling sideways framing his face. If Jeongguk wasn’t in absolute and complete shock he would’ve totally acknowledged the fact that the man had a strikingly beautiful face. Round cheeks, small nose, deliciously full lips and big eyes with irises sparkling like drops of rain reflecting sunshine. But Jeongguk had no capability to appreciate beauty. His dragon was missing and some unknown naked man was inside a freaking glass cage. If he, being the director of the whole thing, doesn’t figure this whole absurd shit out fast, he would have the entire world to answer to and then eventually lose his job. 

“What the fuck!” Jeongguk, having finally found his voice, exclaimed.

The man smiled and Jeongguk frowned deeply at how innocent it looked. It was unsettling.

“Y-You’re a human. You’re a…a human. A human in my cage. My fucking glass cage. What the fuck ?!” 

“I’m not entirely human.” The man responded, Jeongguk realized the man had a weird accent going on. 

“What do you mean you’re not entirely—you have a head, two h-hands, a pair of feet. Oh god am I seeing this right?” He wailed, beginning to get more and more panicked. He lifted the coffee mug to stare at it, sniffing at the harmless smelling content inside. Was he drugged and he wasn’t aware of it and now he was hallucinating?

“I’m a dragon.” 

Jeongguk nearly jumped in the air at the words. 

Right, the dragon.

“What the fuck did you do to my dragon? How—How did you get inside that cage? Where is my dragon?” Jeongguk shrieked, having completely lost it now and taking a couple of steps forward. The man seemed unperturbed, maintaining that demure position.

“I just told you. I am the dragon.”

“YOU’RE THE DRAG—STOP MAKING SHIT UP! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU WHERE IS MY DRAGON YOU START SPEAKING NOW OR I’LL CALL SECURITY!” Jeongguk screamed, flailing his arms around, the coffee mug nearly empty of its contents with the movements. 

“You speak too loud. Is that an acceptable decibel among your species?”

Jeongguk blinked a million times, trying to keep himself calm while also trying not to eat his hair and swallow his tongue because what the actual fuck was happening?!

The man made himself smaller by pulling his knees closer to his chest, smiling brightly.

Jeongguk blinked four times in rapid succession.

“This is just another form of mine.” He said casually, shrugging.

Jeongguk took a deep breath through his nose, trying to calm his palpitating heart and gather his thoughts. 

“Look here mister, I don’t give a fuck about you. I can let you go without handing you over to the cops. Just stop fucking around and come clean. How the hell did you get inside this room and that cage? Do you have an accomplice somewhere around here?” He asked, looking around the huge room and then looking back at the man. “And where…is…my…dragon…?” Jeongguk asked the last question through gritted teeth, enunciating each word, his patience having gone dangerously thin.

The man shook his head mildly, as if bothered that Jeongguk wasn’t understanding him. 

“I am your dragon.” 

“You better—“ Jeongguk started forward, wagging a finger, having flown off the handle, unable to take anymore of this bullshit.

“Think about it Dr Jeon,” the man began, startling Jeongguk to a stop.

“How the… How did you know my name? Did you research me before coming to rob me of my dragon?” Jeongguk demanded.

“I don’t know any research. I simply observed the abundance of knowledge in this room. There are many books here you see.” The man said, pointing his head towards the huge book case kept on one corner of the room. “However,” the man continued his silver eyes back on Jeongguk, “Finding your name wasn’t very difficult seeing as it is written across your chest.” 

Jeongguk dumbly stared down at the beige and black checked shirt that was tucked inside his beige trousers. His name tag clipped onto his breast pocket.

What on earth was going on?!

“As I was saying,” the man continued, seemingly satisfied at rendering Jeongguk speechless as he flicked his hair out of his right eye with a tiny hand. “Think about it. This is a secure facility and I don’t have a stitch of clothing on me to hide any type of key that could’ve let me in. And if you allow me to stand Dr Jeon, you’ll see that I’m not tall enough to reach the air vents that are there on the roof of this glass. And neither has the biometric lock been accessed that would open this cage. Now I don’t know how any of this works, as I only have the capability of absorbing their names, but I can assure you that I didn’t break and enter this cage. I was in hibernation inside it, until my sleep broke.”

Jeongguk’s mouth had predictably opened again. Unable to believe yet unable to deny completely whatever came out of the man’s mouth. It was true that the biometric wasn’t accessed and how could it? It has Jeongguk’s fingerprint and retina scan and he hadn’t been in this room to unlock the cage. The ceiling of the cage was indeed too high and not just this man but nobody is tall enough to reach it without a ladder of some sort, and why would they even need to? It was designed to keep huge creatures or their skeletons. Yet, being a sane individual he had to remember that human beings simply cannot claim to have transformed into a body of flesh and warm blood from that of scales and cold blood.

“I’m asking this one last time,” Jeongguk took a deep breath, staring straight into the silver eyes of this odd looking man, “who the fuck are you?”

The man mimicked him, taking a deep breath himself, “My name is Jimin. The third silver dragon of my clan and the fifth of our dynasty. I can absorb knowledge from my surroundings but I don’t really know how to apply them. I was in hibernation for 1300 years because my soulmate, who is a witch, made some errors in his spells. I wasn’t supposed to wake up anytime soon but I don’t know how I managed to do so. From what I can gather, it is probably because of my change in location that cut short the duration of my slumber. So now I’m here, inside this fascinating luminous cage.”

Jeongguk was now not even capable of blinking. He could feel the pull of muscles in his face from the expression of pure unadulterated disbelief that he was sporting. He nodded his head once, snapping out of it, resolute.

“That’s it. I’m calling security.” He said with finality and was about to stomp out of the room about to get this crazy naked little man off the premises of the museum and in probable jail when the soft voice spoke from inside the cage,

“Dr Jeon.”

Jeongguk turned around thoroughly exasperated and in absolutely no mood for any more wishy washy tales of silver dragons and witches from some deranged man with no clothes. 

“ What ?!” Jeongguk snapped.

“Is this glass fireproof?” 

“Wha—what the fuck does that have anything to do with you? You wanna smoke or something?!” Jeongguk asked, incredulity rising in his voice.

“Is this glass fireproof, Dr Jeon?” The man insisted, perfectly stable and calm.

Jeongguk ran a trembling finger through his hair wanting to scream or cry. He didn’t know what.

“Yes. All equipment here is immune to fire,” he gritted out and then with a mean little smile added, “especially since we had been keeping a dragon in there.” 

The man, Jimin, nodded, looking pleased. 

“I should hope so.” 

And without another word and not giving Jeongguk another chance to gather his bearings the little man stood up. Jeongguk nearly yelled at him for flashing his nudity in his face when he did something that at first made Jeongguk cease all speech, his brain shutting down along with his body. And this time his precious mug slid out of his fingers and crashed quietly on the ground.

The tiny naked man had opened his little mouth and one would hope that he was perhaps trying to scream. But instead in front of Jeongguk's own human eyes, he saw Jimin breathe plumes of fire.

Jeongguk had no qualms in admitting that he let out an almost inhuman shriek, jumping nearly 3 feet in the air and almost falling flat on his ass. Jimin, or whatever the hell this man was, blew out the fire like he was casually exhaling after smoking a cigarette. The flames licked the glass and for a brief second Jeongguk wondered whether the fireproof claim would actually hold true. After all, they never tested it with a supposed human blowing fire directly out of his mouth. 

“Stop! Oh my god stop it! ” Jeongguk yelled, flailing his arms. 

The man politely closed his mouth gulping down the residual fire. He opened it once more in a little ‘O’ and blew out a small puff of smoke. He then smiled triumphantly and sat back down, resuming his earlier position of his knees up to his chest. 

“ Jesus fucking Christ ! Are you—do you work for the circus or something?” Jeongguk demanded, voice pitched high. A hand over his heart, the other on his hips, unbothered about the shattered coffee mug on the floor. 

Jimin didn’t respond, simply raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth once again, sucking in a deep breath when Jeongguk screamed.

“Okay okay okay! I believe you! I believe you! Y-You don’t work for the circus. You, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Jeongguk took a deep breath, staring at the naked man inside his glass cage who was staring back patiently, “ you’re the fucking dragon.” 

Jimin beamed and Jeongguk felt momentarily blinded at the exuberance in his expression. He was still processing the fact that a man, looking perfectly normal besides all the silver, was actually a mythical beast. Who also happened to be a shapeshifter. 

“If you’d like more proof, Dr Jeon, I can show you my scales. They’re usually retracted when I’m in my human form. But I can display them as I please.” Jimin said pleasantly, as if perfectly happy to help clear Jeongguk’s mind.

“S-Scales?” Jeongguk asked, taking a careful step towards the cage.

“Mm-hm. I have them along my shoulders, a few on my forearms, on my knuckles, on my knees. Oh and also on my cheekbones.” He informed Jeongguk cheerfully.

Jeongguk was once again rendered slack jawed. He was an archeologist and had seen skeletons and other specimens of beings that regular people hadn’t seen. He used to take pride in the fact that he had seen and dealt with things that weren’t even of this century. But all that seemed to come crumbling down at the face of this dreadfully polite dragon-man, who was showing himself off like a live specimen from some amateur sci-fi movie. 

When Jeongguk took another tentative step closer to the cage, Jimin seemed to take the hint and he lifted his arms and bent his knees a bit, closing his eyes very briefly. To Jeongguk’s horror, or excitement, he saw shimmering silver scales appear over the smooth pale skin, like a domino getting flicked. Jeongguk moved the remaining few steps towards the cage and stood with his palms flat on the glass, eyes glued to the unforeseen phenomenon taking place right before his eyes. The scales, even though a little terrifying to look at, were absolutely beautiful in a strange way. It glittered underneath the LED lights of the room. And when Jimin turned his forearm around, they seemed to reflect the light to a million directions around the cage.

“Holy fuck.” Jeongguk whispered, allowing himself to process that what he was seeing was genuine even though it felt so surreal.

Satisfied with Jeongguk’s reaction, Jimin closed his eyes once again and in the blink of an eye the scales merged and disappeared into his skin. 

“You’re… you’re really the d-dragon?” Jeongguk asked, awestruck.

“I am!” Came the happy reply.

“How did—“ before Jeongguk could finish asking the question a loud sound pierced through the still, quiet of the room. 

The fire alarm. 

Jeongguk had forgotten about the fire alarm like a fool. 

His panicked eyes shot towards the ceiling right above the cage where the smoke from Jimin’s little show had finally exited the breathing holes on the roof and was now touching the smoke detector. Before he could decide on switching it off, Jeongguk was startled at the strange shrill sound that the dragon let out. 

He looked towards Jimin to find him sitting like a little ball, shivering and swaying a bit. He had his ears covered with his palms and his eyes were wide and terrified.

Right. He was an ancient dragon. He wasn’t supposed to be accustomed to the sounds of fire alarms.

Jeongguk hastily tried to calm him down while Jimin kept making those shrill little noises.

“Hey, hey it’s okay. It’s a fire alarm. You know a fire alarm?”

“F-Fire alarm?” Jimin repeated, clueless.

“Didn’t you say you could absorb knowled—you know what? Never mind. A fire alarm alerts people when there is a fire. When you breathed fire, the smoke from it escaped the cage and hit the detector up there. See?” Jeongguk pointed a finger towards the ceiling. 

Jimin looked up fearfully, blinking. 

“So all we have to do is turn it off. Okay?” Jeongguk said.

“Turn it off. T-Turn it off! Turn i-it off!” Jimin demanded, extremely agitated at the noise.

Jeongguk understood by the way Jimin’s ears seemed to twitch that the sound was hurting him in some way.

“It’s okay. Hey, it's okay. It doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s okay.” 

Amidst all the cacophony, Jeongguk’s phone began beeping. Cursing, he took it out to see that someone was asking for access inside the room. Janitor Bert.

“Alright, so it’s not okay!” He said aloud, looking at the man in the cage who was still trembling. 

“How did my night come to this?!” He exclaimed to himself as he ran to the wall on the right and shut down the alarm. His phone, however, kept beeping. 

He walked back towards the dragon, who was still curled into himself.

“I have to get the door. You stay here and don’t make a noise, okay?” 

Jimin lifted his head, eyes big and watery, the silver in the irises shining. And for a second, Jeongguk felt hopelessly endeared. Then he reminded himself that this was a dragon and as far as dragons went, there isn’t much to get endeared by.

“W-Won’t make a noise.” The dragon whispered.

In spite of the situation Jeongguk cracked a smile at the small scared voice. 

Jeongguk turned on his heel and jogged towards the door, accessing the biometric to find Janitor Bert standing on the other end with a grin. 

“Evenin’ Dr Jeon! Forever the night owl I see!” He barged right in with a huge mop before Jeongguk could stop him. Jeongguk’s eyes went straight towards the cage where Jimin was sitting, panic rising rapidly. Bert, ever the unperturbed chap, breezed right in far too sprightly for the time of the night. 

“Gotta tell ya Dr Jeon, I didn’t need to clean this huge ass room tonight. But I gotta see this dragon of yours, Dr Jeon. You gotta let me see.”

“Bert, now isn’t a very good—“

Bert had already turned his mop around and was directly facing the cage. Even from this distance, Jimin’s small form was as plain as day and it was no secret that there was no beast inside the cage. 

“Say Dr Jeon,” Bert began, his voice raised in pitch eyes wide and confused. Jeongguk’s brain was running a mile a dozen thinking of a way to get out of this shitshow. Bert may not be an authoritative figure but he was a huge gossip. And it won’t take long for word to do the rounds that something was terribly wrong in the dragon room.

“Yes, Bert?” Jeongguk asked, voice stable.

“Is that a naked man I see inside that damn cage?” 

“Perhaps you do, Bert.”

Bert cleared his eyes with his fingers, the mop loosely held in his right hand.

“Where’s that beast y’all caught?” 

“He’s right there.” Jeongguk replied calmly.

“Dr Jeon, I see a tiny naked man in the cage. Are you fuckin’ with me Dr Jeon?”

Jeongguk placed a hand on Bert’s shoulder and tactfully manoeuvred the man around so now his back was facing the cage.

“Bertie.”

“Yeah, Dr Jeon?” 

“Have you been smoking pot again?” 

Bert’s shoulders stiffened, head hanging low just a smidge as he shuffled on his feet. 

“A man has needs, Dr Jeon.” Bert mumbled under his breath, gripping the handle of the mop tightly.

“Ah, indeed, that’s true. So you see Bertie, your vision may have been compromised. The dragon is right there in the cage. But your marijuana infested brain has conjured up the image of a naked man.” Jeongguk explained sympathetically.

“Dr Jeon!” Bert exclaimed, feigning faux offence.

“It’s a pity. The dragon truly is magnificent. If only you learnt to be sober, Bertie.” Jeongguk tsked.

Bert sighed wistfully, trying to turn his head to take a look at the cage again but Jeongguk held his shoulders firmly and refrained him from doing so. 

“It ain’t my fault, Dr Jeon. Old Rick always gets me in trouble, he tricked me into it!” 

“That’s a shame. Why don’t you go home, Bert? This room anyways needs isolation because of various reasons. So maybe next time when your mind is clear you can see the dragon. Hm?” Jeongguk said, quickly and discreetly shoving Bert towards the exit. 

It was probably for the first time that he felt thankful for the Janitor’s bad habits. When Jeongguk led a clueless and highly confused Bert out and locked the door, he still couldn’t believe that the poor chap was so easy to fool. He didn’t have time to feel guilty because the dragon was now standing inside the cage, his palms flat against the glass, following Jeongguk’s every move. 

And the man was still naked. Obviously.

Clothes. Jeongguk needed to find the dragon some clothes. Never in his life would he have imagined thinking such a thing. But here he was running across the room, steadfastly avoiding looking in the direction of the cage. He reached the supply closet to fish out a spare shirt and some trousers stacked for the overnight staff.

“So these, uh…” Jeongguk trailed off, staring at the clothes in his hands wondering how to go about explaining to a dragon man what clothes are. Did they wear clothes from where he’s from? Did he always stay in his dragon form? Does their species reject the concept of clothing like human beings should’ve done as well? Jeongguk looked up briefly standing in front of the cage, to find Jimin still standing with his palms and nose glued to the glass, staring wide eyed at Jeongguk. Jeongguk, however, kept his eyes resolutely away from regions that he had no business looking at. 

It wasn’t an easy task.

“Yeah. So,” he cleared his throat shaking his hands with the clothes, “these are clothes. You know clothes?” He asked.

“Clothes are for covering your body. Like you’re wearing, Dr Jeon.” Jimin said, placing the rosy top of his right pointer finger to the glass in Jeongguk’s direction. 

“Right, yes. Very clever of you.” Jeongguk commented feebly.

“We wear clothes too, you know.” The dragon giggled.

Jeongguk gulped, dialing down a wave of inexplicable fuzzy feelings. If someone would’ve told him just the previous day that he would get to hear a dragon man giggle he would’ve booked that person an appointment to the psychiatrist.

“Well, that certainly makes things easier,” Jeongguk said, shuffling around the clothes between his hands. “Jim—uh, Mr Dr-Dragon, can I call you that? What-what can I call you?” He asked.

“I’m Jimin, the third silver dragon of the—“

“Yes yes I know all that,” Jeongguk hastily intervened before the dragon could ramble off his namecase again. “Is it okay if I call you Jimin?”

“I’m Jimin.” Jimin said with finality and Jeongguk realised that he was just going to have to take that as an answer.

“Alright then, Jimin, you need to put on these clothes and then I need to take you the hell out of here. It’s nearly morning and I don’t know how long I can keep you concealed.”

Jimin pressed his little nose into the glass, “Concealed?” He asked, blinking.

“Keep you hidden.” Jeongguk explained.

“I’ve to wear clothes?”

“You have to.”

“Does that include pants? Those are pants, right?”

“Well that’s kind of a given, Jimin. You can’t not wear pants.”

“But we don’t wear pants!” 

Jeongguk was taken aback at the vehement denial. If a dragon refused to wear pants then that would pose a problem for a mere human like Jeongguk no matter how small the dragon was in his human state. He took a deep breath and flashed a small smile at him.

“Jimin, look, you want to get out of this cage, right?”

A vehement agreement this time.

“It’s fascinating. But I don’t like it too much.” The dragon admitted honestly.

“See now for us to change that, you’re gonna have to get into this full set of clothes so I can get you out of there and take you to my place, where you’ll be safe. Okay?”

“Am I not safe here?” The dragon asked in a small voice.

Something melted in some deep dust infested corner of Jeongguk’s heart. Which, by the way, he chose to not acknowledge because he wasn’t about to let himself forget that he was conversing with a dragon here.

“Not entirely, Jimin.”

Jimin’s body shivered slightly and he crawled forward to the edge of the cage as much as he could and Jeongguk realised he was trying to be closer to Jeongguk who was standing outside.

“Okay, I’ll wear pants. I want to be safe.” The easy acceptance was refreshing.

It took quicker than Jeongguk would’ve anticipated to make a dragon wear clothes but soon enough he had Jimin in his car, strapped in with his feet up on the seat and tucked under his butt. He adamantly refused to sit normally and Jeongguk had run out of patience. Jimin, as usual, had his nose glued to the windowpane as if the murky darkness of the underground garage was the most captivating thing he’d ever seen. Jeongguk, on the other hand, was racking his brains to deal with the situation. A few hours ago he was writing his paper on his findings. Now he had said finding in a different form wearing a pair of shoes that was too big for his feet. 

He decided to think things one at a time. However, when he started the engine up and was about to pull away, that’s when the dragon began freaking out. Jimin’s head snapped towards him, eyes wide and expression agitated. He began making that same noise that he had when the fire alarm had sounded. His hands came up, flailing, as if trying to grasp something. 

“Hey, hey, Jimin, it's okay. It’s a car. It’s going to take us out of here. It’s going to take you to someplace safe. You’re safe here. You’re safe with me.” Jeongguk tried to calm him down.

“S-Safe?” 

“Yes, safe.” And then he doesn’t know what led him to do it but he took one hand off the wheel and took one of Jimin’s hands in his, holding in a gentle grasp. And after a few seconds, the dragon quieted down. 

“You’re safe here, Jimin. This—this car is not dangerous. I know you’re probably getting on something like this for the first time in your life but this car will take us to my house, where you’ll be safe. Okay?” He repeated.

“Car.” Jimin uttered softly, blinking. Jeongguk suppressed a smile. It seemed the dragon was successfully placated.

“Yes, car. Now can we go?” 

Jimin nodded.

Jeongguk finally pulled out of the garage, driving up and emerging on the spacious driveway of the museum. As the main iron gates drew nearer, he began getting a little nervous. He glanced at Jimin whose face was predictably plastered on the glass hand still held in Jeongguk’s. The problems weren’t over yet. There was still security at the main gate. Mina and Minji. He hoped to God that Minji had gone away for a brief smoke break so he could escape because that woman still didn’t trust anybody despite Jeongguk having worked here for years. He didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with any interrogation right now.

It seemed that Jeongguk’s luck was assisting him so far because Minji was nowhere to be seen. Mina was standing to give the go for the vehicles to exit the museum. Usually at this time of the night it was always employees or workers of some sort returning from the museum. But even then, they always cross checked.

“Leaving so soon Dr Je—“ Mina began good-naturedly, having been witness to many all-nighters pulled by Jeongguk. However she stopped short when she noticed the silvery presence in the passenger’s seat.

“Uh…” she trailed off, eyeing Jimin who had a bright smile on his face and seemed like he wanted to open the door and shake hands with the woman if that was something dragons did. Jeongguk was surprised at the sudden change in Jimin’s mood when just a while ago he had been so freaked out.

Jeongguk’s grip on the wheel increased, thinking of a way out of it before Minji descended on them. 

“Dr Jeon, I don’t think I’ve ever—“

“Intern!”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s an intern. My intern. Yes internship, he, um, is doing an internship. Under me.” Jeongguk strung words together somehow as his brain supplied him.

Mina looked befuddled. Eyes moving from Jeongguk to Jimin who was still smiling charmingly. Jeongguk knew that despite wearing normal clothes, Jimin’s appearance was anything but normal. He was glad for the dim lighting at the gate because otherwise Jeongguk was sure that Mina would’ve noticed the ethereal silvery sheen of Jimin’s skin. What didn’t go unnoticed was the long silver hair. He could excuse the hair colour as being done under the influence of youth. But he was wondering how to excuse the length of it. It was unnaturally long and would be a hassle to manage for anybody. 

Just as these thoughts were passing through his head he saw that Mina was staring, as expected, at Jimin’s hair.

“He’s fashionable!” Jeongguk nearly yelled, making Jimin grab his hand a little more, obviously startled and for Mina to draw in a sharp breath.

“I—I mean you know how today’s kids are, don’t you Mina?” Jeongguk chuckled weakly, cringing at himself.

“Well, yeah I guess, Dr Jeon,” Mina responded carefully, probably not knowing what the best way to answer was. “I just had no idea that you could keep interns, Dr Jeon.” She added.

“Well, Mina, one can’t know everything. Can they?” Jeongguk sighed as if imparting some deep wisdom.

Mina stared.

“Well, nice chat! Gotta go then, Mina. Say hello to Minji!” Jeongguk said cheerfully, about to drive the fuck out of there.

“I’m Jimin.” Jimin suddenly announced.

“Oh, hello Jimin.” Mina replied, not expecting him to speak.

“I’m Jimin, the third silver—“

“GOODNIGHT MINA! THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!” Jeongguk yelled, pressing down on the accelerator like his life depended on it and practically catapulting out the gate and onto Main Street. He swerved dangerously and finally regained control to once again fly out of there. 

“Jimin!” He exclaimed. The dragon looked at him, blinking. Jeongguk’s hands were shivering a little bit, beads of perspiration gathered at his temples.

“Jimin, you can’t just parade around the fact that you’re a dragon to anybody! It’s not safe!” He scolded.

“Why?” Jimin asked innocently.

“ Why ? I just told you why! It’s not safe. They’ll either not believe you and would think you’ve lost your mind which has its own dangers. Or they will believe you since you just exited a museum that was housing a dragon and then it’s a whole other shitshow that I still have no fucking idea how to deal with! So just, God just stay quiet when you’re in public, okay?” Jeongguk screeched, all in one breath.

There was a pause for about ten seconds and then Jimin spoke.

“What is ‘fucking’, Dr Jeon? I don’t think I found that word in the surroundings I was in so far.”

“Oh my God.” Jeongguk groaned, nearly wanting to hit his head on the wheel. 

Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

—

“Alright so, this is my house. You’ll probably have to stay here till I figure something out regarding what to do with your uh…situation.” Jeongguk said, standing in the living room, placing his bag down. Jimin stood beside him, taking everything in. His head moved in all directions, as if trying to memorise the room. Jeongguk guessed he was probably doing that shit where he absorbed the knowledge from his surroundings. 

“Jimin?”

“Yes, Dr Jeon?” 

“Is it okay if you let go of my hand now?” Jeongguk lifted their linked hands that Jimin hadn’t let go for the entirety of the journey.

Jimin wordlessly lets go, shuffling towards the living room. Jeongguk could tell that he was definitely intrigued by all that the room displayed. Perhaps noticing how different it was from the Museum.

“Is this—it’s different from where you come from, isn’t it?” Jeongguk asked, walking further into the room as well.

Jimin was zigzagging around the coffee table and then plopped down on the couch. He bounced twice. 

“Yes. Very. This is a new world for me.”

Jeongguk chuckled, casually tossing the keys on the table.

“This is a couch,” Jimin said in his usual declarative manner.

“It is indeed. Do you like it?” Jeongguk asked indulgently, standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jimin’s answer was three bounces and a beaming smile. 

“That’s a TV.” Jimin pointed towards the flat screen TV kept across the couch. 

“It is.”

“That’s the window.”

“Mm-hm.”

“This is the table for food and coffee and games.”

“Right again.”

“And that’s the—“

“Okay, Jimin. Very clever of you,” Jeongguk intervened before the dragon could go ahead and list every single item present in his house. “But you know what? I think you would love a bath. Would you love a bath? Have you—have you ever taken a bath?” Jimin, who was bouncing on the couch again, stopped. Eyes sparkling.

“In a river?” He nearly screeched, springing up from the couch.

“Uh—river?” 

Jimin nodded fervently. “Yes we take baths in a river! You have a river in your house?”

Jeongguk stared at Jimin’s excited face for a second or two and then burst into laughter, staggering back a few steps at the suddenness of it. 

“No, Jimin, I don’t have a river in my house. I’m not sure if anybody could have a river in their house.”

Jimin cocked his head on one side.

“Then how do you take a bath?”

“Okay, c’mon. Let me show you. And then perhaps you can wash off all the ice that you were frozen in for all these years.” Jeongguk said grinning as he took Jimin’s hand once again and began making his way towards his bathroom. 

“So it’s like a small river.” Jimin whispered, wide eyed.

“You know what? You’re right, it is like a very teeny tiny river,” Jeongguk said contemplatively.

Both of them were standing inside his bathroom in front of the bathtub. And Jimin seemed in awe of the whole arrangement. Jeongguk had quickly drawn Jimin a simple bubble bath. He wasn’t sure if the dragon would be able to manage on his own inside a modern bathroom. But going by the look of eagerness in the dragon’s face and his ability to absorb knowledge, Jeongguk wanted to believe he would be just fine. 

“So I’ll be just outside okay? If you need anything at all, just call me,” Jeongguk said.

Jimin nodded, already beginning to discard the ill fitting clothes from his body and walking towards the tub. And before he could strip himself naked once again Jeongguk quickly exited the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind him.

He walked towards his kitchen realising how hungry he was. He should also make something for Jimin. He must be hungry too. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Jeongguk stopped short in the middle of his kitchen, one hand bracing the counter.

He had just brought a freaking dragon to his house. An ancient dragon, who just a while ago, was frozen in ice and was now soaking in his bathtub. Jeongguk was aware that his whole action was highly illegal and possibly breached the territory of losing his job. He didn’t even stop and think before deciding to bring the man here. What was he supposed to do now? How on earth would he explain to his superiors or anybody for that matter where their precious dragon disappeared?

 He knew for a fact that not a single soul would take his word for it if he told Jimin was the dragon. Well, not unless Jimin showed them what he showed him. But what did that mean for Jimin? Would he really become an experiment? The fact that a dragon had taken a human form is something that cannot be hidden from the world for long. Would the people at the museum treat Jimin the way Jeongguk was treating him? Or would he be gilded in gold and paraded around as the greatest treasure of mankind— a myth come alive.

 Jeongguk leaned back, resting his palms on the counter, feeling an odd sort of helplessness. He recalled Jimin’s innocent demeanor and wide-eyed wonder. His need to feel safe. The easy way that he trusted Jeongguk. Enough to come all the way to his house, despite this being a whole new world for him. 

And here Jeongguk was thinking of making Jimin food ? When he had the dilemma of a lifetime? What are you thinking, you moron?! He yelled in his head. What food could he possibly make a dragon ? What does a dragon even eat? Whole cows? Vulture carcasses? Snakes? Jeongguk was about to pull his hair out, his brains nearly imploding at the onslaught of worrying thoughts, when there came a quivering voice from the bathroom.

“D—Dr Jeon?”

“Yes, Jimin, yes?” Jeongguk stood up straight and answered, trying to calm himself down enough to look after Jimin for the time being.

“C-Could you come in here, please?”

Jeongguk frowned, not liking the fearful strain in the dragon’s voice. 

“Could you hurry, Dr Jeon?” Jimin called out once again, more desperate this time.

Jeongguk nearly tripped on his feet in his rush to get to the bathroom. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god! What the fuck!” Jeongguk shrieked at the scene inside the bathroom.

The shower curtain was on fire. 

Jimin was crouched in one corner of the bathtub, a big foamy asymmetric soap bubble on top of his head. His long silver hair curled and swimming idly around his waist and half submerged in the water. His hands clasped together and clutched at his chest.

“Jimin what the fuck?! ” Jeongguk yelled, unable to get his feet moving and put out the merry little fire. 

“I’m—I’m sorry, Dr Jeon, I’m sorry! I g-got too excited and happy. I’ve never bathed in a miniature river before with soap and bubbles. It’s so nice that I c-couldn’t control it! I’m sorry!” Jimin wailed.

“Couldn’t control what ?” Jeongguk snapped, finally rushing forward before things went south. He picked up the small bucket kept under his sink to fill it with water and splash it at the curtain. 

“M-my fire. I breathe fire s-sometimes when I get too excited.” Jimin replied in a small voice. He was looking down at his feet under the water, not meeting Jeongguk’s eyes.

Jeongguk had already splashed two buckets of water onto the curtain and thankfully it was dealt with. Although, now his curtain had a charred black wound at the edge on one side.

“Jimin! You can’t do that. You have to—I don’t know—you have to control your fire breathing or whatever. You can’t go around breathing fire inside the place that I live! I don’t live out in a forest or a field or a fucking cave, okay? This is the only place I have. This is my home and you cannot burn it down!” 

Jeongguk felt breathless after his outburst. He shifted on his feet and deposited himself on the toilet seat, drained of energy. His hands were shaking a bit thinking of the implications of the accident a while ago if it wasn’t contained. His head was swimming with a hundred thoughts and unanswered questions and he hadn’t slept in almost 24 hours. He didn’t know what to do. A dragon had nearly burned his bathroom down. So nobody could really blame him for taking out his frustration and fear on said dragon. 

Wait, he did just yell at the dragon? Jimin had never been in a place like this. His world was different. His era was different. Jeongguk perhaps couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it must be for Jimin to be suddenly thrust into a totally unfamiliar universe. Yet, the dragon had displayed patience and politeness more than any human ever could, given the circumstances.

He suddenly felt very guilty for his behaviour. After all, it was only a dragon’s natural instinct.

He took a deep breath and turned his face to look at Jimin. The dragon was completely quiet, head still bowed, arms hugging his knees to his chest looking terribly small and vulnerable and Jeongguk felt extremely sorry for him. 

“I’m sorry, Jimin. I just— I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just that, I’m—well, I’m terrified. I don’t know what to do. How to handle your situation. How to make sure that you remain safe. I’m trying to take care of you, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. It’s just—it’s a lot for me too, Jimin. I’m sorry I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve it.” 

Jimin was quiet for a few seconds and then he looked up. His eyes looked sad, his mouth twisted in a small frown.

“I won’t burn down your house, Dr Jeon. I once had my house too. And I took good care of it. I would be very upset if something happened to my house and so I won’t let anything happen to your house either. I will control myself, I promise.”

The sincerity in Jimin’s voice melted Jeongguk’s heart. It was so completely genuine. Often when humans make promises there is always some semblance of untruth in them. But with Jimin, Jeongguk could tell that the dragon meant every word without any pretence.

Jeongguk smiled warmly at him, offering him a hand. Jimin blinked, unsure, before extending his own wet hand and gingerly placing it over Jeongguk’s.

“Come. Let’s get you dressed.” 

Jeongguk hadn’t prepared himself to see a small dragon man dressed in his clothes. Jimin was waddling towards the kitchen, wearing a pair of sweatpants that was pooling around his ankles, and one of the multiple oversized white tee shirts that Jeongguk owned. Somehow he made it till the kitchen island without tripping on his feet and stood facing the counter. Jeongguk had ended up making some instant ramen and was in the process of pouring it into two bowls. He had no idea whether it’ll be to the dragon’s liking but he hoped Jimin wouldn’t completely reject his efforts.

“Hello, Dr Jeon.” Jimin greeted politely.

Jeongguk, who had stopped his ministrations to watch Jimin’s little entrance, nearly laughed at how the dragon’s hair was sticking up in all directions, the long strands unruly. Wet. His cheeks were red probably from the warmth of the bath and the silver sheen of his skin seemed to be all the more evident now. 

“Come sit, Jimin. Are you hungry?” 

Jimin stared at the two little stools kept in front of him, frowning slightly until he nodded once and perched himself on it. He even wiggled around a couple times for good measure, placing his hands on his lap.

Jeongguk had never seen a dragon as polite as Jimin. 

“I don’t think you can provide the food that we usually eat, Dr Jeon.” 

Jeongguk panicked slightly, nearly spilling a bit of the soup on his fingers.

“I know, I’m sorry. You’re right, I’ve no idea what you eat. But I just figured that—“ he stopped mid ramble to look up and find Jimin grinning mischievously.

“Don’t worry, Dr Jeon. I wouldn’t expect you to get me those either. I can eat whatever you give me. I’m very adaptable!” Jimin said with his usual enthusiasm. 

Jeongguk hoped he would as he passed the bowl towards Jimin. 

“It’s called ramen. Might not be up to your ancient taste, but perhaps you’ll like it.” Jeongguk said with a smile. 

Jimin’s silver eyes sparkled. The sight was becoming familiar to Jeongguk and one which filled him with a sense of instant gratification. By the way the dragon was so eager about everything. 

But Jeongguk soon realised that Jimin obviously had no idea how to go about consuming a bowl of instant ramen. The little dragon kept sitting with his hands folded on his lap, staring at the steaming bowl with an almost helpless look in his eyes. 

“Dr Jeon, I can’t absorb the knowledge of eating ramen. There seem to be too many ways!” He cried, looking up at Jeongguk with eyes so wide and imploring, his plush bottom lip sticking out ever so little that Jeongguk nearly choked on his own food. He nearly abandoned everything and rushed to help this terribly adorable pleading dragon.

“Here, these are called chopsticks. You pick them up, just so— and then, wait! Blow on it, it’s hot. Blow—no! Not like hit it or anything but blow air on it okay? You do this with liquid-y stuff that’s warm so it doesn’t burn your tongue and—“

“Nothing burns my tongue, Dr Jeon.”

Jeongguk stopped short in his demonstrations of ramen eating and blinked. Right! Jimin was a dragon. He literally harboured fire in his stomach and was probably made of it too. If only he knew a little better about dragon anatomy! But of course, how on earth could a dragon burn his own tongue!?

“That’s excellent, Jimin. Then just, uh, go for it I guess. Slurp slurp!” 

“Slurp slurp?” Jimin asked, uncomprehending.

“The sound of the ramen through your lips—just try, Jimin-ah.” Jeongguk sighed, the affectionate little touch getting added to the dragon’s name without him even realising it. 

“Jimin-ah?” 

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, is it okay? I mean, it’s just the way we call each other. I mean not everyone. But—well, people who are close to us? Not that you are close to me or anything! I mean you are, but you are not—“

Jimin laughed then and for a second Jeongguk feared if he would start breathing fire at the sheer force of it. The dragon nearly fell off the stool, chopsticks clutched between his fingers. The fear soon ebbed to give way to fascination. Fascination at the sheer beauty of the dragon laughing. He seemed to sparkle silver, his long hair swaying side to side and falling over one eye in his movements. Jeongguk didn’t realise when he had extended one hand and tucked the offending lock behind Jimin’s right ear.

Jimin’s skin was ice cold.

Jeongguk nearly shrank back, taking his hand away from him. Jimin was a dragon. And here Jeongguk was having ramen with him and fixing his hair. The realisation was sobering which brought along with it the absolute fix that Jeongguk was currently in.

Jimin seemed absolutely oblivious to the sudden mental turmoil that Jeongguk just had.

“You can call me Jimin-ah, Dr Jeon. I would like to be your Jimin-ah.” 

Jeongguk did choke on the ramen this time. Your Jimin-ah ?!! Did the dragon have any idea of the things that came out of his mouth? Well, of course he doesn't, he wasn’t from this world! 

“Finish your food, Jimin.” Jeongguk mumbled, briefly looking at Jimin. And he definitely didn’t imagine the little look of disappointment when he heard his name. Jeongguk looked away. He shouldn’t try treading uncharted territories. They never end in anything good. 

—

Jeongguk felt a cold weight pressed up against his back as he emerged from the arms of sleep. He groaned trying to shift and turn over but somehow he seemed to be held in place. His back felt uncomfortable and cramped and just very cold. He felt around blindly and yes, the comforter was very much wrapped snugly around his body. Then what was it that was making him feel so cold? Did he leave a window open? No, that didn’t seem right either. 

He opened his eyes groggily. And sure enough the window right next to the bed was shut, the curtains parted slightly and the sun tiptoeing into the room in a thin dainty ray. He blinked his eyes sleepily a couple times, moving his right hand underneath the comfort when it brushed against something very cold. Jeongguk’s movements halted, the sleep suddenly dissipated from his eyes because what the hell did his hand just brush against?! He threw the comforter further down to find another hand thrown over his waist. His frantic eyes followed the hand up to his owner and—

Jimin . Jimin, the silver dragon. Jimin the silver dragon was in his bed . Despite Jeongguk having made his sleeping arrangement out in the living room, he was in Jeongguk’s bed cuddled onto his back with an arm around his waist. Jeongguk shifted away and shot up in bed so fast that he nearly pulled a muscle. Jimin’s sleep seemed undisturbed by the sudden movement. But the hand that was draped around Jeongguk’s waist got dislodged and slowly fell on the bed, where Jeongguk had just been.

Jeongguk stared at Jimin. What was he doing here? Why did he walk all the way from the living room into Jeongguk’s bedroom? When did he walk in here? Did Jimin sleepwalk? Did dragons sleepwalk or did Jimin deliberately walk in here? If so, what could be the reason? Was he scared? He could be scared. Jeongguk's eyes trailed to the sleeping features of the dragon. He could not for the life of him imagine that dragons, on whom stories of glory and battles and terror had been written, could also be like this—like Jimin. Soft and sweet. Polite and smiling. Was Jimin really a dragon? Jeongguk wondered as he eyed the swell of his lips, puffiness of Jimin’s cheeks, the silvery skin seeming to glow in the muted sunlight. The eyelashes that fluttered ever so slightly as if in a dream. Did dragons dream? What did they dream of?

The fact that Jimin may have walked into Jeongguk’s bedroom at night seeking comfort, because why else would he wrap himself around him like that, filled Jeongguk with an odd sense of warmth. He never would have thought that a creature, mythical or not, as majestic as a dragon might also need comfort. Granted that it was an invasion of privacy. But Jimin wasn’t supposed to be privy to the decorum that human beings observed. He was innocent. So innocent. 

The phone rang on the nightstand to break his reverie. Jeongguk startled, quickly stretching his hand to get the device and silence it, so Jimin’s sleep remained undisturbed. He didn’t stop to register why one earth he cared so much about that. However, the caller ID made all the earlier worries regarding his current predicament that he had so carelessly tossed aside to be dealt with later come crashing down all at once. Because it was his superior calling. From the museum.

Jeongguk realised that he was panicking again. He knew if he picked the call now there would be a million and one questions thrown his way. And so far he had been too busy ensuring the little dragon was safe and didn’t burn his house down. He had no story to provide to his chief. He had no plans on how to explain the disappearance of the dragon. Jeongguk knew his superior was probably asking for access to the room where the glass cage was. But Jeongguk couldn’t give that to him just yet. Not until he figured out what to do with Jimin’s situation. 

Jeongguk’s contemplation went for far too long and the phone eventually stopped ringing. He saw the other 13 missed calls from various people at work. He groaned quietly as he switched his phone off and tossed it onto the nightstand once again where it slid precariously towards the edge.

He threw his arms over his head sending out a silent prayer to whoever was listening to give him some ideas as to how to save his ass now. Because the situation currently does not look good for Jeongguk.

And neither for Jimin.

At the thought of Jimin, who he realised was still in his bed and sound asleep, Jeongguk removed the arms from around his eyes and looked at the dragon. Jimin seemed to be mumbling something in his sleep. His fingers that were laying on the bed twitched and then to Jeongguk’s absolute surprise, Jimin’s mouth parted slightly as if to take in a deep breath but instead what came out was a small puff of smoke. Jeongguk stared wide eyed as Jimin frowned a little in his sleep and coughed and there it was—another small puff of smoke erupting out of his mouth and some from his nose as well.

And then Jimin patted the empty space where Jeongguk was with his palm, as if searching for him and finding emptiness he retracted his hand to his chest and curled into a little ball. Jeongguk couldn’t take it anymore. It was all too much. It was too much to see this harmless innocent dragon seek him out even in his sleep. Jimin was thrust into this world against his wishes. There had to be a reason why he was frozen in the first place. He had so far displayed no signs of any aggression and Jeongguk could absolutely not let him face any kind of danger. He didn’t know where such deep rooted protectiveness was coming from, but it was there. And he couldn’t deny it. Jimin may be an ancient artifact, but he was also a living, breathing creature. And as an archeologist, Jeongguk needed to protect him.

He carefully resumed his earlier position beside the dragon, who was still curled up in a ball. Jeongguk extended his arms and gingerly pulled Jimin towards him, feeling his cold skin brush against his. It was uncanny, surreal. That someone who looked so much like a regular human had skin with no ounce of warmth. Yet, as Jeongguk wrapped both his arms around Jimin, pulling him completely to his chest, he realised that he had probably never met a person who exudes so much warmth as Jimin did. 

He didn’t care what time of the day it was as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. The gentle rise and fall of Jimin’s chest against his slowly lulling his senses. When he felt another warm puff of smoke against his chest and a small whine coming from the dragon, Jeongguk decided that he was going to take care of Jimin. Whatever it took.