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Yoongi was alive.
Yeah, that was a good way to phrase it.
He had just accepted another job to slay a molduga. And although Yoongi had not wanted to listen to the Gerudo woman sob about her husband dying from a rare disease, he endured all 28 minutes of it, because he needed that money. Molduga guts on their own were extremely valuable, but with their unique medicinal properties and this woman’s desperation, the reward would be massive. Probably enough to sustain Yoongi for two weeks without needing to take on any additional work, as long as he didn’t squander it, of course.
That was his life as a wandering mercenary in the Gerudo Wastelands.
It was a lonely life, but Yoongi liked the solitude, and it was certainly better than being surrounded by people who would only bring him down.
But as he hijacked a sand seal to speedily travel across the desert, he wondered if there was anything more to life. If he was the one bringing himself down. Not that he ever made the effort to change. These thoughts only materialized every other month anyway.
When he reached the Southern Oasis, Yoongi abandoned the sand seal, which joyfully swam away to who knows where. He climbed up the mesa, intending to indulge in a nap before hunting down the molduga. But some things were off.
- There was only one palm tree standing.
All the other trees were reduced to stumps. This was highly inconvenient, as the trees provided juicy palm fruits for sustenance and shade from the blistering sun. Who would be this stupid to make living in the desert more unbearable?!
- There were three brown knapsacks that weren’t here before.
Yoongi shiftily looked around to ensure that no one was watching, before digging through the bags’ contents. Looks like someone just went on a Gerudo shopping spree. The first knapsack contained hearty durians, palm fruits, and wildberries (a few of which Yoongi swiped in his mouth). Several weapons were sticking out of the second bag: a golden bow, a gerudo spear, and an iron sledgehammer. But the third bag held a set of dainty, feminine clothes from Gerudo Town, which sparked Yoongi’s curiosity. Women typically did not venture this far south in the desert. What was this one doing here?
- In the horizon, the molduga was already engaged in battle.
Now this was very unusual. There was a reason molduga fins and guts fetched such a high price. Yoongi was the only person he knew who could defeat it and live to tell the tale.
He had to get closer. This was his molduga and he needed to survive, dammit.
As he climbed down the oasis into the desert sands, Yoongi saw three boys circling the huge monster. A brunette archer armed with shock arrows, which were a solid choice given that moldugas were weak to electricity. A black-haired muscular boy who swung an enormous stone smasher as if it were a toy club.
And then Yoongi’s eyes laid upon the most beautiful man in existence, wielding an equally beautiful trident. Holy shit. Vibrant pink hair shone on his head like petals adorning a flower. The desert voe spaulder did absolutely nothing to conceal his toned chest or his slender waist. Despite chugging some oasis water a few minutes ago, Yoongi’s mouth felt parched as he stared at the boy’s exposed nipples. His eyes traveled lower.
Yoongi swallowed.
I want that ass.
I mean…
Praise Hylia for providing the greatest blessing in the entire universe.
Yoongi continued observing the trio making decent headway on the molduga, slowly weakening it with well-timed hits, though Yoongi’s focus was almost entirely on the pink-haired beauty.
Well, there’s nothing wrong with looking. He was simply appreciating the view that happened to graciously fall into his lap.
And there’s nothing wrong with moving closer, you know, because opportunities are meant to be taken.
And he felt no qualms about joining the fight when the molduga sent all three boys flying with a whip of its giant tail.
With incredible speed, Yoongi dashed towards the monster, hacking at its thick, scaly skin with his lizal tri-boomerang until he cut a gash deep enough to spew blood. He jumped back as the molduga whined in pain and buried itself under the sand, waiting for it to reappear so that Yoongi could strike again.
A blue ball was thrown fifty feet away from him. Initially, Yoongi paid it no heed, but then the monster quickly swam over with its sensitive hearing and burst out of the sand, enveloping the glowing orb with its fangs.
“Kookie, now!”
Yoongi looked up, wondering where the deep voice came from, and found the brunette archer in the sky, hanging onto a paraglider of sorts. Yoongi’s head whipped in the other direction as a blue explosion blasted in the molduga’s mouth, stunning the monster as it crashed on the sand.
Clever.
Yoongi and the other two boys rushed in to wallop at the monster while the archer shot shock arrows from above. They continued attacking until it eventually perished, fading into black smoke, but leaving behind valuable body parts and shiny new weapons.
Before Yoongi could make a grab at the loot and run, the muscly guy blocked his path.
“What are you doing here?” he confronted bluntly.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Yoongi answered dryly. “What were you thinking, taking on a fucking molduga?! No one does that!”
“You seem pretty comfortable with it.”
“It’s my job,” Yoongi retorted. “What’s your reason?”
The archer just laughed as he gracefully landed on the sand. “We have no reason. We wanted to do it for funsies!”
Yoongi’s eye twitched. For funsies?! Who the hell is this guy, and why does he look like the type to enjoy throwing himself into danger? “Well, if that’s all you have to say, I’m going to sell these guts so I can survive.”
“Hey!” The archer grabbed onto his arm. “You can’t just do that! We fought the molduga, too! We deserve some of the loot.”
“Get off me. What could you kids possibly need from killing a molduga for funsies?”
“Tae, let him go!” a soft voice commanded. Yoongi turned around and felt his mouth go dry again. Up close, the pink-haired boy looked even more beautiful. Ethereal. Like an angel. Yoongi could get lost in those bright gray eyes. He could kiss those plump lips, sweet like nectar. Sexy. Like a demon. His body was tempting Yoongi to touch, to explore, to ravish, to—
Yoongi swallowed.
I want to tie him up in pink silk ropes.
The pretty boy forcibly removed his friend’s vice grip, touching Yoongi’s arm in the process, which caused a shiver to run up his spine.
Holy fuck, his hands were tiny.
“I’m sorry about Tae,” he apologized sweetly. “I think we all got off on the wrong foot.”
“No, we didn’t,” the black-haired boy muttered under his breath. “Ow!” he yelped, glaring at the angel who had stomped on his shoe.
“Stop. Let’s start over.” He extended his arm towards Yoongi. “Hi. My name is Jimin, and these are my friends, Taehyung and Jungkook.”
The mercenary took Jimin’s hand (so soft, so cute) into his own. “Yoongi.”
A dazzling smile blinded him. “Nice to meet you, Yoongi!”
Mother of Hylia. Yoongi never thought his name was anything special, but the way Jimin said it so warmly, so delightfully was making his heart burst with a happiness he’d never felt before. His mind then started to go in a very different direction. What would he sound like in the bedsheets, crying out his name, keening underneath him, begging for Yoongi to send him to heaven and back? Could he get that angelic voice to moan the filthiest words in the heat of pleasure?
“Yoongi?”
“Ah, sorry, could you repeat that?” He didn’t like the cheeky smirk Jungkook gave him.
“I said that we’re travelers from Hateno Village. What about you?” Jimin asked earnestly, completely oblivious to his lewd thoughts.
“I’ve lived in the Gerudo Wastelands all my life. I’m just a mercenary, doing odd jobs for money, which is why I need the molduga guts.” Yoongi prayed that Jimin would give him mercy. He really didn’t want to have to find another molduga to slaughter.
“I understand. Tae, Jungkook, let’s give him the molduga guts. We can take the weapons if that’s alright with you?”
Yoongi nodded; it was a fair compromise. He preferred his own weapons anyway.
“Whaaaat? Jimin, come on!” Taehyung whined. “You said yourself that you were interested in the monster parts!”
“I told myself that as justification for you wanting to hunt down moldugas, which, by the way, we weren’t supposed to be doing in the first place! But Yoongi actually needs them.”
“Fine,” Taehyung pouted as he kicked open a treasure chest dropped by the molduga. His expression completely transformed into one of glee as he snatched up a royal bow.
As they collected their respective loot, Yoongi racked his brain for excuses to see Jimin again. There was no way he would let today be the first and last time encountering this sexy angel. But Hateno Village sounded far away, and he wasn’t sure how he could justify making his way across the world, just to tap someone’s ass?
He watched the three boys climb up the rocks to the oasis when he felt a sudden stroke of irritation.
“Yah, wait a minute!” Yoongi called as he too reached the oasis. “Were you the ones who cut down all the trees?”
“Technically, Jimin blew them up with bombs,” Jungkook stated casually as he picked up one of the bulkier knapsacks.
“That’s stu—I mean, but why? Trees provide shade, and it’s so hot here.”
“We wanted to get the palm fruits, but they’re too high up for us to climb,” Jimin answered bashfully.
Yoongi wanted to yell at Jimin for his senseless actions, but he shouldn’t, not if he wanted a chance with him. Instead, he silently grabbed the royal bow out of Taehyung’s hands, shot an arrow towards the top of the last remaining tree, and caught the round, green fruit that fell into his hand. “That’s how you do it.”
He was unnerved by the way all three boys dropped their jaws in amazement.
“Oh my gosh! I didn’t know you were an archer, too!” Taehyung exclaimed, bouncing on his feet.
“Yoongi, you’re so smart!” Jimin praised, which sounded really nice to Yoongi’s ears.
“Please teach us some more cool shit!” Jungkook eagerly requested.
“I… uh…” Wait a minute. Why was he hesitating? This was the perfect opportunity to get closer to Jimin. “Sure. What do you want to know?”
Jungkook’s stomach answered with a loud growl. “Uhh, I guess I’m pretty hungry. We’ve been living off fruits and vegetables for a while, so do you know where we can get good meat?”
Yoongi’s lips turned upwards in a small smile. “Tell you what. Meet me at the Gerudo Canyon Stable. I need to give these molduga guts to my client, but afterwards, I’ll teach you how to hunt wild coyotes.”
“Oh thank Hylia,” Taehyung gasped dramatically. “I haven’t had meat in so long! I could kiss you right now.”
“Get the hell away from me.”
If only it was Jimin…
“Hey, I thought I should let you know, I just saw Taehyung getting high off rushrooms outside.”
Jimin and Jungkook’s eyes widened as they frantically looked around the Gerudo Canyon Stable, but Yoongi was right; their energetic friend was nowhere to be seen.
“Please tell me you’re joking,” Jimin implored.
“I’m not.”
“Oh sweet Hylia.”
“I’m going to find him,” Jungkook declared, running out of the stable and yelling for Taehyung to come the fuck back right now.
Yoongi turned towards Jimin, who resumed cooking the newly acquired coyote meat. “Should I have stopped Taehyung?” he asked innocently. Never mind that it was Yoongi who surreptitiously tipped him off about the nearest rushroom locations.
“Yes,” he sighed. “But Tae would’ve ignored you anyway. He is a free spirit.”
“I see.” Yoongi casually sat down beside Jimin, mentally high-fiving himself for taking advantage of the fact that they were alone. “So… you said you’re from Hateno, but why are you all the way out here?”
“Mm. We came to Gerudo Town to trade our gemstones for exotic fruits. Oh, but that reminds me. Can I ask you something, Yoongi?”
Yoongi stared into Jimin’s gray eyes as he breathed out a yes.
“What’s your story?”
He blinked, snapping out of his trance. “What?”
“Tell me about your background. I really like hearing about different walks of life! So what’s your story?”
“Well, like I said, I’m a mercenary. I mainly stick to the Gerudo Wastelands, though I am familiar with the Gerudo Highlands. Sorry if it’s boring; I don’t think my life is especially interesting.”
“No, no!” Jimin reassured. “I don’t think you’re boring! But like, do you have family?”
“No, I don’t.”
Tears began forming in Jimin’s eyes. “I also don’t have family. Well, I consider Taehyung and Jungkook to be my brothers. But my parents were murdered by the Yiga clan when I was young. And then I was adopted by Zoras, but they died, too.”
Yoongi felt a sudden urge to hug him but forced himself to stay still. “I’m really sorry, Jimin. I… I hate the Yiga clan,” he spat. “They are monsters for killing your parents.”
“You understand me,” Jimin looked at him with newfound respect. “Everyone thinks I’m overreacting, or that I haven’t overcome my grief. But…” He clenched his fists. “I get so angry thinking that there are people who kill people. It’s wrong! And I could never kill them in revenge, because…”
“Then you’d feel like you’re a monster?”
“Yes, exactly! Oh Yoongi, I’m so glad you understand me. Taehyung and Jungkook don’t get it. They wouldn’t feel any remorse if they had to kill a Yiga.”
“Your feelings are justified. For what it’s worth, I think it’s nice that there are people who think like you do.”
“Thank you.” The conversation paused as Jimin continued preparing dinner. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he spoke again, “Do… do you wish things were different? That you still had your parents?”
“I…” Yoongi hesitated. He didn’t really like thinking about this type of stuff. “I sometimes wish my familial situation were different, yes. But all my past experiences have made me the person I am today, so at the same time, I don’t particularly want a different background.”
“That’s true. I guess I wouldn’t have met Tae if I didn’t grow up in Zora’s Domain, if my guardians didn’t pass away when they did. I love Taehyung so much,” Jimin expressed fondly. “He really helped me during a dark period of my life, so I always thank Hylia for bringing us together.”
Yoongi frowned a little at his confession. It made complete sense that Jimin would like Taehyung, who was so affectionate and happy-go-lucky (even if he was flighty and wild). He deserved someone pure, to match his own angelic personality, not someone like Yoongi, who had only looked at Jimin with selfish desires.
Yoongi still wished to tie him up in pink silk ropes, but he would be content sitting on the sidelines, as long as Jimin could still be in his life somehow.
That opportunity arose during dinner as the four boys devoured the seared coyote meat. Jungkook had successfully reined Taehyung in, stopping him from running in circles around the stable, though he couldn’t stop Taehyung’s mouth from rattling a mile a minute.
“Mmmmm! This tastes sooooo delicious! I love meat!” Taehyung marveled in between ravenous bites. “Thanks for cooking, Jimin! And thanks for teaching us how to hunt, Yoongi!”
“You’re welcome,” they both responded.
“But oh my gosh, the rushrooms were sooooo good. I felt like I was in a fever dream. There were so many colors and shapes and I had a vision about a talking cookie and a pink bunny with abs and a cute puppy wearing a yellow jumpsuit!”
“You were hallucinating,” Jungkook facepalmed. “Good grief. If Jin were here, he’d whoop your ass so fast.”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!”
“Who’s Jin?” Yoongi wondered.
“Ah, I don’t think I told you yet,” Jimin said. “We’re part of the Bangtan Research Group in Hateno. Namjoon is the leader and founder, and Jin is his boyfriend. Well, his real name is Seokjin, but he goes by Jin. Then there’s Hoseok and the three of us.”
“I see. So what do you guys research?”
“Uh… that’s a good question. We just do whatever we want, I guess,” Jungkook shrugged. “And kill monsters because that’s fun and it helps others!”
“Kookie’s our big ball of muscle!” Taehyung cuddled right up against him, kissing him on the cheek (which perplexed Yoongi). “He’s not that big into research.”
“Not true! I just prefer to help Namjoon and Jin instead of having my own area of focus.”
Seemed reasonable to Yoongi. “Then, what do you do, Taehyung?”
“I do what I want!”
“Clearly,” he dryly remarked.
“Tae actually collects critters and ingredients so that he and Namjoon can invent new elixirs,” Jimin provided. “Though it’s usually not a good idea to leave either of them alone at the cooking pot.”
“Hey!”
“You know it’s true! Anyway, my personal project is to translate Zora history books into the Hylian language. Their culture is largely unknown outside Zora’s Domain, so I want to use my experience to help others understand them better.”
“That’s amazing, Jimin,” Yoongi said genuinely. “And you’re right. I don’t really see Zoras out in the desert, so they’re even more of a mystery to me.”
Jimin beamed, delighted that someone else saw the value in his work. “There’s got to be something you’re knowledgeable in, Yoongi. I mean, none of us are from the Gerudo Desert.”
“Uhh… I’m not sure what I can tell you. I just know how to kill. Monsters, I mean.”
“What about Gerudo Town?” the archer inquired. “Surely you must know a lot about it.”
“Taehyung, I am a man. I can’t enter Gerudo Town.”
“So? Just dress up like a girl. That’s what Jimin does.”
Yoongi’s head whipped towards the pink-haired boy, who was blushing cutely.
The image of Jimin cross-dressing was definitely going into his spank bank.
“I—just no! I’m not doing that!”
Fortunately, Jimin saved him from the topic. “But you must have frequented Kara Kara Bazaar often, right? It’s open to all genders.”
“Yeah, it’s a sleepy little place. Full of lecherous men though.”
“Yourself included?” Jungkook needled.
Yoongi glared, standing up so that he can strangle Jungkook. “Now listen here, you little shit…”
“Guys, stop it!” Jimin pleaded.
“Ooh, I have an idea!” The three boys turned towards Taehyung.
“What is it?”
“Let’s bring Yoongi to Bangtan! Who cares if he knows nothing about Gerudo Town? He knows the lay of the land, and he’s really good at fighting. Probably good at handling money, too, if he’s survived this long by himself. Jin has been complaining about us squandering our rupees lately.”
“True,” Jungkook considered. “I mean, we literally spent all our money on this trip.”
“That would be nice, but I don’t want to uproot his life,” Jimin said with wide, soft eyes.
“You’re not really uprooting anything, believe me.” Yoongi pondered for a few moments. Besides the obvious benefit of seeing Jimin every day, Yoongi honestly thought it was a good idea. It would be nice to break out of his monotonous, never-ending routine. It would be nice to not aimlessly wander around the wastelands.
It would be nice to see what’s out there.
“I’m in.”
After they finished dinner, Yoongi was deep in thought, churning numbers in his head as he calculated how much money he would need to comfortably travel across the land (especially with three broke boys in tow). He should kill another molduga first so that he’ll have a good starting amount, but how long would that last? And what other monster parts could he sell for decent prices?
“What are you thinking about, Yoongi?” Jimin gently interrupted his deliberations.
“Money. I’ll need to take on a few more jobs before traveling to Hateno. How long would it take to get there anyway?”
“Ten seconds!” Jungkook chirped.
“Excuse me?”
Jimin pulled out an intricately patterned device the size of a book. “This is a Sheikah Slate. It’s an ancient technology with many capabilities. You must have seen us use remote bombs when we were fighting the molduga; that power came from the Sheikah Slate. There are many functionalities, but the one Jungkook was referring to is teleportation.” He tapped the slate in a specific order, revealing a map of Hyrule. “With this, we can instantly go to any of these marked locations.”
Yoongi nodded. He tried his best to listen to Jimin’s explanation on the history of shrines and Sheikah towers, but he kept getting distracted by the way his pretty lips were moving.
“So if I’m understanding correctly, you can go to Hateno whenever you want, right?” All the calculations he did were unnecessary!
“Exactly! Although…” Jimin looked away, a faint blush appearing on his face. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning.”
“Why?”
“Right now, it’s just Namjoon and Jin at home, so… umm…”
Taehyung finished Jimin’s sentence. “They’re probably fucking on the dining table.”
“Ah,” Yoongi responded, not sure what else he should say.
“If there’s anything you should know about them, it’s that they’re disgustingly in love, but they get so embarrassed if you mention it,” Taehyung added. “But Namjoon’s really smart, and Jin’s really good at fighting, so you definitely want to be on their good side if you want them to accept you.”
Yoongi made a mental note to remember that. “Are you sure you’re on their good side?” he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Yep! How could they not love me?”
“Hmm… I wonder…”
Jimin giggled, his voice tinkling like chimes. “Don’t worry about it, Yoongi. Our friends will like you, I’m sure of it.”
He sounded so certain, that Yoongi couldn’t help but trust him completely.
Yoongi had never seen a house like this before. He was more accustomed to walls carved out of rock, like in Gerudo Town, or structures held up by cloth tarps, like the stables. Or even the stone ruins that he passed by in Central Hyrule. But this… was downright weird. Even compared to the other buildings in Hateno, this house looked so modular, like wooden blocks mishmashed together to form one oddly shaped structure. And the colors… Who in their right mind would paint one side red, another green, and then a random section blue? Why not just use one single color for cohesiveness? Still, the house looked like it had plenty of space, hopefully enough to add one more person to the Bangtan group.
Taehyung knocked on the front door to a happy tune but received no response. “Huh, I wonder if they’re still sleeping.” He started banging on the door incessantly with a repetitive rhythm, chanting, “Namjin! Namjin! Namjin!” When the door finally opened, Taehyung hid behind Yoongi, not that it did much, given that Yoongi was slightly shorter.
“Shhh, Taehyung! Jin is sleeping!” the tall boy who opened the door whisper-yelled. He looked like he just rolled out of bed, with clothes haphazardly thrown on and short, blonde hair sticking out in all directions. He also looked incredibly done with Taehyung. “Why can’t you just come inside quietly? We left the door unlocked for you.”
“We brought something for you!”
Yoongi snorted. Something, my ass. I’m a fucking person.
He quickly sobered up, taking the cue to bow as best as he could with Taehyung clinging onto him. “Hello. My name is Min Yoongi. I spent my whole life wandering the Gerudo Wastelands, but after hearing about Bangtan from Jimin, I would like to humbly ask to join. Um…” Yoongi trailed off. He had a whole speech prepared, but now that he was actually here, the carefully crafted words fled from his brain. “I can fight!” he started again. “Whatever help you need to defeat more monsters, I can provide it. I’m also good at handling finances. As for research… that’s something I don’t know much about, but I would be grateful to learn more.”
The boy politely returned the bow. “Nice to meet you, Yoongi. My name is Kim Namjoon. I’m the leader of Bangtan. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet these three?”
Taehyung answered in his stead, poking his head out from behind Yoongi. “He saved us from getting our asses handed to us by a molduga!”
Namjoon gave Taehyung a stern look. “Molduga?! This was supposed to be a supply trip!”
“We did get supplies, just a little more than originally intended,” Jungkook chimed in brightly. “At least we didn’t lose the Sheikah Slate this time!”
Namjoon facepalmed, tension rising in his brain. “Not losing the Sheikah Slate should be a given, Jungkook!”
“But if we didn’t fight the molduga, we would have never found Yoongi!” Jimin noted, placing himself between Jungkook and Namjoon. “We’re sorry for getting distracted, but everything’s okay now!”
Yoongi gawked as Namjoon immediately relented at the sight of Jimin’s pleading eyes and wavering lips. Holy fuck, the sheer power this boy wielded. Not that Yoongi was immune himself.
Namjoon let out a slow exhale. “Sorry for raising my voice, Yoongi. You probably already know that these three are a handful. Well, I would be happy to accept you into Bangtan, but I must first wake up my boyfriend, Jin, and ask him about it.”
“Wow,” Jungkook whistled. “You must have really given it to him good.”
A hot blush rose up in Namjoon’s cheeks as his glare intensified. “You should count yourself very lucky that Jin did not hear that.”
“Oh my god, they totally fucked on the table,” Taehyung whispered.
“We did no such thing. Bye!” He quickly shut the door in their faces.
After a few moments of silence, Yoongi asked skeptically, “You sure you’re on their good side?”
“Of course! He’ll be back soon enough.”
As Taehyung predicted, five minutes later, Namjoon reopened the door, noticeably calmer with a genuine, dimpled smile on his face.
“Welcome to Bangtan, Yoongi.”