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The stars have always fasciated him. He’s mapped them in his room, sprawled endlessly across his ceiling and trailing down the walls. On most days he can admire them, both out his window and within in his room, but other days he resents them; wants to throw paint at the delicately painted scenes and scream into his pillow. They were outside and he was in. They had freedom, he did not.Kim Seokjin doesn’t know the meaning behind freedom, can only watch it with glistening eyes as it streaks across the skies.— — — — — — —So in reality Jeon Jungkook’s track record sucks. It’s really awful, to be honest. In fact, it might be the worst. He was probably on par with serial murderers, he just doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. Well, he doesn’t like to get blood on them, let’s put it that way. In terms of the symbolic meaning of dirty Jungkook’s hands should probably be black with filth. He’s humming this to himself as he sits in a prison cell, again. In his defense he was sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time, so it wasn’t entirely on him, just mostly. So yes he orchestrated the whole thing, but he didn’t actually do anything but stand watch and utterly fail at that. It’s not his fault Jimin and Taehyung bailed out on him, and it’s also not his fault that his previous record eliminated any chance of the guards hearing him out.Okay, so maybe not so much the last bit but still.“Here’s your food, scum,” comes the straggled voice of one of the castle guards. He kicks in a tray of what Jungkook probably thinks is stale bread and moldy cheese, and it bumps unceremoniously into his scuffed brown leather boot.Jungkook flashes a toothy smile. “Cheers, mate,” he sings happily, but makes no move to get the food. He’s starving, but he won’t give them the satisfaction of giving himself food poisoning because that was the only option. It wasn’t like he was going to be in here much longer anyway.The guard stiffly laughs at him and trudges away, flashy armour clinking with him as he walks. Jungkook straightens himself from where he was leaning against the wall and tilts his head side to side to try and crack his neck. He’s still humming under his breath and starts to rap his fingers against his knee to match the nameless song he has going. When he hears the first sound, a sly smirk splays across his face and he has to suppress his outright laughter.There’s confused yelling and a string of obscenities before a loud clunk of what was no doubt the self same guard from earlier crashing to the ground. He hears a distinctive cackle followed by a stern scolding, although he can’t make out the words. He already knows who it is anyway, and stands to walk over the bars of his cell to drape himself dramatically against them.“Oh woe is me,” he laments to the approaching footsteps, “How I have wasted away in this cell, my only thoughts being of my beloved who waits with bated breath to see me safely returned!”“You’re an idiot,” Jimin says as he rounds the corner. He blows up a puff his ridiculous orange hair in something that was probably defiance but the effect is lost under his grin he’s unable to hide. Terrible actor.“A beautiful idiot,” Taehyung supplies as he stumbles and skids to stand in front of the cell. He triumphantly jingles a ring of keys with his rectangle grin, waggling his eyebrows. “One who does not belong in the confines of a filthy castle dungeon,” he says, pouting at the end. “Just open the damn cell before I leave both of you here,” Jimin sighs, running a hand through his hair, “The palace is bound to notice something is amiss if we don’t hurry the hells up.”Jungkook shrugs, he can’t argue with that logic. “Then let this damsel in distress out,” he returns a pout, like a child who doesn’t get what they want.“Jesus Christ,” Jimin says while Taehyung laughs and opens the cell.— — — — — — — If Jungkook was going to be a crybaby, he hasn’t had the best life. He lost his parents before he can even really remember them, and was stuck in an orphanage that was, if he was being nice, not that great. A fucking hell if he isn’t. It was there he grew up with the grand wish of becoming a swash buckling adventurer, always envying the stories that were read to him. It was when he was struggling to reach one of them as a small child that he had met Taehyung and Jimin, also orphans like him. That was the start of their friendship, and the beginnings of an entourage of misfits that probably belonged in a dungeon.The misfits in question would be those the Terrible Trio (as he called them, and it just stuck) came across when they kept getting in trouble with the law in the beginning. One of them always ended up in some dungeon, jail, thing that was probably supposed to keep them there for a very long time. The thing was, that during their time at the orphanage Jimin discovered he had a strange talent for picking locks so it never lasted long. It was either the times changing or the region getting sick of their acts of debauchery, but dungeons etcetera had started to use more sophisticated locks, ones Jimin had more of an issue with if his relentless cursing was anything to go by.Enter Kim Namjoon, some poor sod they had met when “accidentally” robbing a shop in a local town. He stared them down from behind the counter, only having been noticed when he cleared his throat. Jimin had bowed and pled for forgiveness, Taehyung had wondered out loud if a blacksmith really needed so many tools, and Jungkook had just offered a weak shrug. It was a wonder they weren’t thrown out, but Namjoon had felt bad for them (or something) and even though he didn’t let them walk of scot free, he did agree to help them not be criminals.Only that lasted for about five seconds when he realised the Terrible Trio were very cemented in their ways so he gave up a life of peace to drag himself along with them. Jungkook finds him rather relaxing to be around, always a voice of reason and comfort when he doubts himself. Namjoon was also rather genius, and stopped having issues being a criminal when he would design heists and the Terrible Trio would return with enough riches to probably last them until their graves.Their graves almost came too soon one night that Taehyung had gotten himself stuck in a dungeon. He was whining endlessly at Jimin who was insisting he was going as fast as he could to get the damn lock to give way, and Jungkook had to keep slapping Taehyung’s hands away. Namjoon had been standing behind them, not wanting to wait outside in the cold, and somehow between the four of them they didn’t notice when a guard came up.The bastard had been watching for a while, and only became known when he laughed particularly hard at Taehyung physically gnawing on Jimin’s knuckles as he tried to work the lock open. When they all turned in unison the guard had lifted his hands in mock defense and swore he wasn’t trying to start anything, just honestly wanted to see if Jimin could get it. And he did, about twenty minutes later and with enough curses to condemn the worst witch to hell. The worst part was the guard had produced the ring of keys that went to the cell right after, laughing brightly with his mouth in the shape of a heart, wiping at his eyes at the look on Jimin’s face.Jung Hoseok he had introduced himself as, and actually begged to join them because guard duty was, as he put it, “worse than watching after a dying pig—one that was dying from a serious case of cholera.” Namjoon had piped in cholera wasn’t commonly present in animals other than humans, which earned him a whack on the head from Hoseok and a threat that he still could technically throw them all in jail. That had shut Namjoon up and cemented Hoseok’s place in their grand band of horrible mistakes. The five of them had stayed like that, knit together and never straying too far from one and other, only when one or two of them fucked up and ended up in jail, but that was normal. Jungkook was probably the worst at that, but they still followed the small boy from the orphanage proudly, never shying away from anything he proposed to do. Jimin and Taehyung were practically tied at the waist so they followed Jungkook blindly, Namjoon always wanted money and took a sick pleasure in devising heists, and Hoseok was just content in screwing over the justice system. They made it work.Only one night it hadn’t worked, one night they messed up badly, and Hoseok ended up wounded beyond what was thought repair and the whole royal city after them. They had no choice but to bail, not even having a way to stay hidden in time to get Hoseok to something akin to a doctor. Taehyung had been sobbing while Jimin cursed, Namjoon being the one to carry him bridal style through the woods, nearly tripping over the trembling Jungkook that was leading them. By some act of God, the five of them had come across a somewhat unimpressive pub in the middle of the woods. It was far away enough that the likelihood of the proprietor knowing who the hell they were was low enough, so Jungkook had jumped on the opportunity and blasted through the door, ready to come up with some excuse for the break in, or at least hold the person down until they could tend to Hoseok’s wounds.And Jungkook had certainly blown the door wide open, off its hinges, and it slammed down in front of a man looking at them not with fear, but perhaps annoyance more than anything. “That was mahogany,” he had said, and thus they had met Min Yoongi, Hoseok’s saviour and the final member of their gang.— — — — — — — Yoongi’s pub had quickly become a safe haven for the less than endowed in society, and that’s exactly where Jungkook is sitting at present, grinning wildly at a not grinning Yoongi behind the counter.“One of these days you’ll rot in a cell forever,” Yoongi tells him, entirely fake intent behind the words.Jungkook smiles against the rim of his mug and drinks down. “Hasn’t happened yet,” he counters.“I wait with bated breath for when it does,” Yoongi retorts, swiftly turning on his heel.Swirling around on his stool, Jungkook watches the pub with a strong familiarity and comfort of home. In one corner someone is playing an aggressive game of chess, in another group people (including Taehyung, of course) are playing a game of poker. Taehyung cheats, everyone knows, but everyone is also too afraid to say anything about it lest they invoke the wrath of Jimin, who when Jungkook looks is sprawled across a chair, no doubt trying to sleep. A wasted effort to be sure.The only two who were missing was Namjoon and Hoseok, who had been out running errands since their faces weren’t as hated as the Terrible Trio. The two of them had made a silent agreement to wear masks whenever they did business with the Trio, and it would have been a good idea all around if it wasn’t already miserably too late for the other three to even try. Besides, Hoseok took more enjoyment enacting acts of violence against the castle guard and having them not have any clue who was doing it.Jungkook sits back, resting an elbow on the edge of the bar. He’s smiling, Yoongi makes some rude remark about keeping his bar clean thank you, but Jungkook just laughs under his breath.This was his home.— — — — — — — Kim Seokjin doesn’t know what home means.He reads books on it every day, the same ones he has read hundreds of times, and can only conclude where he is trapped is the closest thing to “home”. And that was the reality, Seokjin was trapped in this tower and doesn’t even know what it is to feel the grass between his toes. He has no idea what a breath of fresh air is truly like, and can only imagine it through dreams and hopes of one day being free.His keeper is Yi Jihu, a younger man but still older than him who had found him as an infant, helpless and alone. Jihu is a nice man, Seokjin thinks, but has told him the horrors of the word below and although he doesn’t want to believe them, he has no point of reference to counter otherwise. It was his hair, he’s always told, people want his hair for intentions laced with malice. Seokjin tugs at his golden shoulder length hair, playing with it in between his fingers, and finds he resents it. One night he had tried to cut it, but Jihu had found him and ripped the scissors from his hair and bursting into an anger Seokjin had never seen before. His face turned red and the veins in his eyes popped as he shrieked and screamed at Seokjin, saying he would let him starve if he dared to cut his hair. He hasn’t questioned it since, hasn’t even bothered to try, knowing Jihu watches him constantly under the guise of concern, but Seokjin knows there’s something more sinister hidden underneath. It’s magic, Jihu had told him the first night he experienced it. Seokjin had been singing mindlessly, letting tunes flow off his tongue and not even knowing the words he sang. It was in the midst of this his brilliant golden hair had started to glow wildly, emitting flecks of what looked like stardust to him in abundance. Jihu had walked in then, holding it in his hands with the look of what Seokjin thought was like how mother looks at her child. He had brushed his cheek against it and sighed deeply, thanking Seokjin for finally giving him what he was hoping for all these years. Seokjin didn’t get it at the time, still doesn’t as much, but it made Jihu happy so it made Seokjin happy.Seokjin isn’t happy though. At first he was, always happy to be around his books and his small sugar glider (who he named Cane as a pun to himself), and thought he never needed anything else. Anyone else. He had Jihu, he had food and a home, and there was nothing else he was missing. It was only when he first noticed the stars that he had seen the error in his ways. Up in the sky where Seokjin can’t reach, where he can’t even begin to understand the complexity of, sat balls of super heated light that looked down on him. He watches them every night until he falls asleep at the window, watches them while he sings tunes to no one, and watches them like they’re his salvation.Kim Seokjin doesn’t know what home is, but when he looks at the stars he thinks he’s getting somewhat closer.— — — — — — — “This is the most idiotic thing you’ve ever proposed,” Namjoon says, “And that’s including robbing the brothel that was, if I need to remind you, full of palace soldiers.” Jungkook shrugs and grins. “It was funny seeing them realise we had the blackmail power to use against them.”“That’s true,” Taehyung pipes from the chair.Sighing, Namjoon runs a hand down his face. The pub had recently closed, and it was just the six of them sitting around trying to figure out how to make some quick cash. Boring breaking and entering had lost its luster, and it never made much money. You always had to do multiple robberies, and that made it easier to be caught and it just wasn’t fun anymore. Jungkook liked to raid, and come back with more than a leather cap and a few gold coins. He wanted bigger, badder, and harder to get. Enter his master plan to steal the crown that belonged to the “long lost” prince, if you believed the stories.“We have Hoseok to lead us around and find the best way in,” Jungkook reasons when Namjoon continues to stare at him.Hoseok squeaks, “That’s not a lot of pressure though.”Jungkook shrugs again. “I’m just saying, imagine how rich we would be if we had that thing.” He smirks, showing a toothy smile, “We’d have the kingdom wrapped around our fingers.”“You seem to be forgetting the part where you could get executed,” Namjoon grits out, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m not, I swear,” Jungkook pouts, “Besides it wouldn’t even be on you if I died, it would totally be on Taehyung,” he finishes just as Taehying yells an indignant, “Hey!” And Jungkook is being hit in the shoulder by a blunt butter knife. The thing is, Jungkook harbours more than a little animosity towards the king and queen. Ever since he could wrap his head around thoughts beyond he was hungry and pillows were comfy, he had seen his fair share of turmoil surrounding the monarchy. It didn’t care about its citizens really, it only cared about the rich ones. They would try to guilt the citizens by saying the king and queen still mourn their lost son, but if Jungkook can get over his dead parents he thinks the goddamn leaders of a nation can get over their son.It’s because of this that he wants to steal the crown. He wants to covet it and dangle it above the kingdom’s head, taunting and bribing for them to get it back. He wants to see them suffer like the poor and ill, wants them to know what it’s like to not be born into royalty or the aristocracy. Perhaps it’s a bit childish, perhaps he was just being petty, but it doesn’t change how he feels.It turns out the best way to get into the castle is through the roof. Jungkook doesn’t pretend to understand, just scales the sides of the castle with a foolish grin and adrenaline pumping through his veins. He’s always loved climbing, always climbed trees and hills when he was younger, much to his caretaker’s dismay. Jungkook reaches the place where they will quite literally drop in before everyone else, because of course he does. He’s bouncing from foot to foot, squeezing his hands into fists only to let them go in rapid succession. The whole gang decided to come this time, even Yoongi. He mentioned something about being bored out of his ever loving mind in the pub and was keen to see them all fuck up. It was an empty insult, because everyone knows he came because he was worried about Hoseok getting hurt again. Jungkook wishes they would just fuck already and get rid of the sexual tension he can practically smell every time they’re near each other. It literally makes him nauseated, and even more so when he sees them eye fucking each other from across the pub pretty much everyday. Absolutely ridiculous.“I don’t like heights,” Taehyung idly comments, staring down into the throne room. It’s where the king and queen keep the crown, moping about it every time they held council. “I’ll go in then,” Jungkook says, already reaching for the rope Jimin is holding. Only Jimin keeps it taut against his hip, resisting Jungkook’s grip. “Shouldn’t I be the one to go? I’m the smallest,” he says, gnawing at the bottom of his lip.The thing is, everyone else is always slightly wary about doing big heists. They’re always quiet as they prepare, quiet as they start, always hesitant. Jungkook, by contrast, welcomes the chaos that no doubt descends upon them. He relishes the fact that he’s in danger, that he could be thrown in prison forever, or even worse he could die. It was exhilarating, knowing he had control over what he could do. And that was the thing, it was all about control. All about the thrill.So Jungkook forcefully yanks the rope from Jimin saying, “We can’t have anyone be scared or unsure about this, or we’re all fucked.” To that, everyone slowly nods. He’s right, he knows, and he knows everyone else sees it as well. It’s why, despite being the youngest, Jungkook is the leader. “Ah, bravery,” Yoongi muses with a chuckle, “A far better term for stupidity, is it not?”Jungkook shoots him a look, lips thinning. “No one needs your poetry bullshit right now,” he retorts, but there’s no venom in it, not when he grins wildly right after. Yoongi grins right back, raising his hands in mock defeat.“Don’t die,” is what he says next, and it’s the best evidence of concern Jungkook is going to get out of him.Jungkook is let down slowly, needing both Namjoon and Taehyung to hold him steady. “You’re all muscle what the fuck,” is what Taehyung had muttered as they first dropped him through the glass ceiling. He dangles more or less stably as he’s brought closer to the crown perfectly sitting on a silk pillow, atop a pedestal adorned with so many jewels it makes Jungkook’s mouth water. If he could, he’d rip the damn thing out and keep it for himself it was so pretty. It’d be like a trophy, since he really has no plan on what to actually do with the crown once he gets it. He’ll figure it out.A sweat has built up on the nape of his neck when he first grabs the rim of the crown in front of him. He holds it close to his chest, looking up at where Jimin is peering down at him and grins. He motions to be let up when one of the guards sneezes, turning his attention back down.“Hay fever?” He casually asks, and can feel the grip on the rope stiffening. “Like a bitch,” the guard says, and Jungkook can tell he’s wiping his nose from where he stares at his back. It takes a moment for the guard to realise where the comment came from, and turns to Jungkook with eyes blown wide. “What the fu—”“Sorry, got to go,” Jungkook interrupts with the most shit eating grin. He can feel himself be pulled up only slightly, and he’s pretty sure the assholes are considering letting him go altogether. As he’s being hoisted up there is nothing short of chaos that erupts. He can’t tell if he’s hearing his friends curse or the plethora of guards below him, but it doesn’t matter when he feels an arrows slice his cheek. Still clutching the crown with one arm, he instinctively jolts a hand to where he’s no doubt bleeding, sending an incredulous glare at the trembling guard who no doubt tried to kill him. So rude.“You’re a fucking idiot,” is what Jungkook is greeted with when he finally clambers onto the roof. “Can you not be a cocky bastard for one minute of your life?” It’s Yoongi snarling at him, but it’s clear he’s afraid. Poor bugger shouldn’t have come along.“I have to agree,” Taehyung adds, dropping the rope right as Jungkook stands. He points an accusatory finger at him, “If we all die I am so haunting you in the afterlife.”Wriggling out of the rope tied around his waist, Jungkook grins. “Fair enough.”— — — — — — — He finishes singing for Jihu as the sun starts to set. “Beautiful, as always,” Jihu says to Seokjin, sliding an affectionate thumb across his cheek.Seokjin smiles, though it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. Cane wriggles in his lap, and he softly pets his head. “Thank you,” he says quietly. Jihu kisses the top of his head as he stands, brushing off his knees. He had been kneeling in front of Seokjin as he sang atop of a terribly worn down wooden stool. It had been like this ever since Seokjin can remember, singing for Jihu before bed. He’s always thought the dynamic was supposed to be the other way around, but it always made Jihu happy so he never questioned it. It got old after maybe twenty years when Seokjin realised he doesn’t get much in return. Sometimes a nice muffin, but he hardly considers it compensation.It started to get old when Seokjin’s back hurt from sitting too long, his hair sometimes not wanting to glow how Jihu wanted it to. It started to get old when Jihu would strike him for not wanting to do it, and then immediately cradle him and telling him he was sorry.It started to get old when Seokjin realised he was alone.He always has Cane, who scurries up his arm to rest in the crook of his neck, but sometimes he wasn’t enough. It wasn’t Cane’s fault of course, and he usually was enough to keep Seokjin sane. But the thing was, Jihu would be gone sometimes for weeks at a time, and instead of welcoming Seokjin into his arms when he returned, he would always drag him to the wooden stool and practically beg Seokjin to sing for him, bags latent and obvious under his eyes.Seokjin has never denied him in those times either. The pain on Jihu’s face made his heart hurt, and he would stop whatever he was doing to help. Perhaps he was chasing a feeling that maybe Jihu would show him true love, and not just something he has to covet; Seokjin frowns at the familiar sentiment that crawls upon behind him. It’s been getting harder to ignore as of late, and when he tries to be more affectionate with Jihu, he’s pushed away. Seokjin only matters when he sings.Sometimes he wishes he would fall ill and lose his voice forever. What was the point of being able to sing if he could never share it with the world? He’s always told how cold and unforgiving the outside world is, but when he looks out his window into the endless woods with its singing birds and beautiful elk, he thinks maybe Jihu is wrong. He thinks maybe if he was just given the chance he would be able to think for his own.He thinks many things, but never voices them.He belatedly realises Jihu is trying to talk to him when he blinks up to an impatient face. “Sorry?” He asks.“I said,” Jihu says, “It’s time for you to sleep now. I have to leave early tomorrow and I need to know you’re safe in your bed before I sleep.”Seokjin rubs his lips together. He has grown accustomed to Jihu treating him like a child despite his age, but there are moments where it infuriates him. Surely they should be equals now. Surely Seokjin isn’t the stumbling infant he once was. In any case, he nods. “Of course,” he replies, standing delicately. Jihu watches him, a shadowed figure as Seokjin crawls into bed and holds his blankets close to his face. He hides it enough to know when Jihu leaves, obviously convinced he’s asleep already. The sigh that Jihu always lets out as he leaves has not made Seokjin find comfort since he was a small child, and so when he hears Jihu’s bedroom door close, he promptly sits up. Cane comes over to sit atop his head as he does what he’s done as a ritual for years now. He props himself up, crawls into the expansive window sill he has, and stares at the stars. He stares at the stars and definitely doesn’t cry.— — — — — — —The good news is no one died. It’s the only news as far as Jungkook is concerned, but the myriad of angry faces staring at him begs otherwise. He supposes they only barely made it out, but that was still something, right? He thinks so, and it’s been his argument the whole way back to the pub. They were forced to flee down the river, now having to trudge through mud and stones to get back to safety. The guards were too cowardly to bring their horses that far into the forest, probably thinking the lot of them would die before they found any salvation. Of course they also didn’t know they had Namjoon, who was ever successful at navigating anything and everything.So now Jungkook is sitting atop the bar in Yoongi’s pub, with the latter staring so hard he could probably set Jungkook aflame. Jungkook, being the cocky asshole his is, is wearing the crown, beautiful jewels no doubt glistening in the ray of sunlight that falls onto them. He feels like a proper prince, and it’s probably why he lets the pub squabble while he just relishes in success.“He could have brought the whole damn city guard with him!” One of the patrons shouts.“Forget that, he could have gotten Yoongi killed!” Yells another, and Jungkook chuckles. Everyone depended on the man that looks more like an angry cat to him, and it was endearing, mostly because Yoongi never acknowledges the praise.“Shut it, all of you,” Yoongi barks. “The only one they really saw was Jungkook anyway, you have nothing to worry about. The bastard made his presence rather known.” He shoots another glare at Jungkook. “And could you please take that thing off?" He adds exasperatedly.
Jungkook pouts. “Why should I?”“Because,” Yoongi insists, trying and failing to snatch it off of Jungkook, “The damn thing will be useless if you fuck it up.” He really looks like a pissed off cat the way he growls when Jungkook flawlessly dodges his jabs.He’s right though. If the crown gets torn to shit, there was no point in getting it anyway. Jungkook keeps telling them he has a plan to use it to the fullest potential, but he’s full of shit. In any case, he does take it off, changing to just stare at it in his hands. “It’s not as shiny as they make it out to be,” he somewhat mumbles to himself.Yoongi growls (there really isn’t another word for it) beside him, but Hoseok is the one who speaks. “Shiny or not the whole kingdom worships that thing like a god,” he reasons. “I bet even if it got shredded the kingdom would still squabble to get the pieces.”“Don’t give him any ideas, please,” Namjoon sighs, shoving past the crowd in the pub to reach where Jungkook is still cockily sitting atop the bar. “We still need to devise a way to use it to get what we want, anyway.” Namjoon raises his eyebrows at Jungkook. “Whatever it is we really want, that is.”Jungkook frowns at the crown, not willing to meet what is no doubt all Yoongi’s, Namjoon’s, and Hoseok’s gaze. “Payback,” is what he decides on. He looks up then. “Just think of how infamous we’ll be, the people who finally took down the monarchy.”“You’re delusional,” Yoongi says as Hoseok laughs next to him.“The kid’s got heart,” Hoseok pipes, jabbing Yoongi with his elbow. “Besides, maybe he has a point. Maybe this can be used to show the people how flawed the rule is.”Yoongi and Hoseok start to mindlessly argue like an old married couple, with Namjoon butting in like a marriage counselor. Jungkook takes this moment to flee, jumping off the bar and weaving himself as best he can through the crowded pub to find where it leads upstairs. Thankfully everyone is too busy bickering among themselves (no doubt about Jungkook) and so he makes it to his room with little to no trouble. He sets the crown atop his armoire and sits on his bed, staring at it as if he was going to begin an interrogation. “You better have been worth it,” he mumbles.He stares at it far too long for it to be sane before he tucks it away in a leather satchel wrapped in a spare bar towel he managed to find. He slips the bag under his bed, crawling on top of it and curling into the fetal position. Despite his demeanor, Jungkook is exhausted. He should be bothered by the fact that he’s the youngest and yet he is in charge of everything, but knows deep down this is what his kid self wanted. To be a part of something bigger, to have a real family. He falls asleep smiling, thinking about just how wonderful his family really is.— — — — — — —>When he wakes up, it’s not exactly what he calls pleasant. Jungkook sits up wearily, rubbing away the tired in his eyes and yawning. There’s commotion coming from downstairs, and he just brushes it off as normal night behaviour. Indeed, when he looks outside the moon is high in the sky and he curses himself for sleeping so long. He swings his legs over the side of his bed and wipes his hands down his face, figuring he should probably eat something even if he plans on going back to bed right after. Turns out heists take a lot of you.He never gets the chance to even stand, though, when Jimin comes crashing through his door.“Jungkook,” he breathes, “Oh thank God.” When Jungkook meets his gaze, he sees all the colour has practically vanished from his face. He sees sweat beads forming at Jimin’s hairline, and he really just looks worse for weather.“Get a little too frisky with Taehyung?” Jungkook laughs, “About time.” “This is not the time,” Jimin whines, looking behind him quickly before shutting the door so he leans against it, facing Jungkook. Only now does he hear what sounds like swords clashing and a lot of cursing, and he holds his breath. Jimin must notice for he says, “Turns out the guard was able to find us.” Jungkook’s heart drops but Jimin just scurries forward, “You need to get out of here with the crown before they find you.”His immediate reaction is to get especially pissed off. He stands, crowding Jimin’s space whose only response is a small yelp. Jungkook easily stands over Jimin, and he grasps his shoulders to hold him in place. “And leave you here?” He whisper yells; he doesn’t want to be too loud. “You’re the smallest, you should be the one to leave.”Under his what is probably too stiff of a grip, Jimin vehemently shakes his head. “No, it has to be you. The rest of us can get ourselves out of trouble well enough, but not you. For fuck’s sake they wanted you dead before you got a hold of the crown, how friendly do you think they’ll be now?”He hates that Jimin is right. Of course he was right, he has a habit of doing that. Jungkook drops his hands in favour of pulling Jimin into a tight hug. The fact that Jimin hugs him back possibly tighter hurts him even more. “I can’t put you all in danger like that,” he whispers into Jimin’s hair. Jimin laughs, but it’s muffled where he’s pressed taut against Jungkook’s chest. “We’re not kids anymore, Kookie. You don’t need to worry yourself over us.” His words betray him, Jungkook thinks, if his endless shaking was anything to go by. He also knows this, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying. He was the leader, regardless of any other aspect about him.“As your brave leader I can’t leave you behind,” he says, trying to sound strong. He refuses to admit he’s scared too. Pulling away Jimin gives him a crooked smile, showing off the clearly bent to the side front tooth Jungkook has always teased him about. “What kind of friends would we be if we let our ‘brave leader’ go off and get himself killed?”Once more Jungkook hates that he’s right. His lips disappear into a thin line ebbed with consideration. Despite Jungkook being larger on all accounts, Jimin was more nimble and flexible. There was no way he could win this argument, but given those facts Jimin is the more likely one to get away. Even though he’ll never outwardly admit it, Jungkook is a bit of an idiot. He doesn’t have his wits together like Jimin, who’s always able to weasel his way out of situation through sheer charm and cleverness. A particularly loud crash resounds from downstairs, breaking Jungkook’s thoughts. On any other day the what can no doubt be Yoongi’s voice spouting angry obscenities at whoever did such a thing would be hilarious to the point of wiping tears away; this was not such a time. “Okay,” he finally whispers, staring at the floor. “I’ll take the crown and go,” he says, screwing his eyes shut and trying desperately to get rid of his hesitation. Another crash, one a little more close, makes both Jimin and him jump. Jimin instinctively presses against Jungkook, hugging him at his waist, like he did when they were both young and Jimin was afraid of bunnies. Jungkook had laughed, had befriended the family of bunnies near the orphanage just so Jimin wouldn’t be afraid anymore. Jungkook would do anything to make his friends not afraid anymore, even if it meant leaving them possibly to their deaths.By sure internal force, Jungkook pulls away from Jimin and goes to grab the satchel from under his bed. There’s a thundering noise going off in his head, and he’s not sure if it’s his heartbeat or the sound of footsteps rapidly ascending stairs. He gives one last look at Jimin, who has pulled a knife from his boot, and swallows hard. Jimin just cocks his head to side and smiles, his eyes turning to crescents. As the footsteps get closer, Jungkook doesn’t wait around to see who it is. He flings the window open, the cracking sound of wood hitting wood doing little to comfort him. Before he’s fully crawling out, while he still has on knee bent on the edge of the window sill and the other firmly on his bed, he turns back to Jimin. “Don’t do anything I would do,” he laughs.“I value my life too much for that,” counters Jimin, who uses his head to point out the window, “Now go before you get me killed along with your sorry ass.”— — — — — — —So now Jungkook is on the ground, landing more so on his ass than he intended. He barely made it into the bush, and thank God it was his head that made it in. It would be just his luck to have valiantly escaped only to be lying dead ten feet below, his brains splattered on the green grass. He lifts himself up slowly, pushing the aching he already has away in favour of telling himself if he doesn’t move now all this will have been for naught.He starts to creep away, wincing when he hears a shrill scream ring from the pub. It doesn’t sound like any of his friends, and that’s the only thing that makes him move in earnest, briskly walking towards the woods, having absolutely no clue where he is going. He takes careful steps over long fallen trees and upturned roots, recoiling only slightly when he gets pricked by a thorny plant. Foolishly, he thinks he’s in the clear when he comes face to face with a trembling lancer, wearing the unmistakeable shrewd leathers of a novice castle guard.In a moment of rather prolonged idiocy, Jungkook just stares. The guard stares back. They both stare, unsure of what the hell they’re actually doing when the guard jolts upright just as Jungkook takes a step backwards.“Y-You!” The guard shouts, “It’s you!”Because Jungkook has the tact of a twelve year old, because Jungkook has no sense of intelligence that he’s vaguely aware of, he smiles and says, “I gotta say, that's usually met with a little more oomph." He does a mock thrust to emphasise his point.Completely ignoring his brilliant remark and flawless execution thereof, the guard just points a shaking finger (and really?) and shouts, “Over h-here! I found h-him!” Well shit.The lancer would have been fine, Jungkook could have literally just stepped on the man to get him out of his way, but now a whole damn platoon comes into view, a very not happy captain glaring at him. What was making this all worse was that the very angry man was on a very angry horse, holding a very angry sword. Jungkook goes to his side to grab his not as angry pistol, but finds stale air instead. So he forget to get his gun. So he forget to be an actual intelligent being and run from the lancer in the first place. This was going well.If anything was Jungkook’s saving grace, is that with grand acts of stupidity comes a grand rush of adrenaline. He swiftly ignores all the hesitance and fears he had just minutes ago, and it’s replaced with part anger (at himself or the guards in front of him he doesn’t know) and part pure maniacal deviancy. He gives a swift salute to the guards all now bringing out their weapons, including the trembling lancer, and whistles, “I’d love to chat lads, but I’ve really got somewhere to be.”He runs right after, runs like he’s being chased by a rabid dog. In all honesty, a pack of rabid dogs was preferable to his current pursuers. Dogs couldn’t climb trees, dogs couldn’t shoot guns or swing swords, and dogs certainly wouldn’t have given a shit about all of Jungkook’s crimes against the crown. Because he’s definitely rightfully insane, Jungkook is laughing as he hurdles over trees and weaves around various species of scared to shit forest animals. He chooses to ignore how much louder he’s being advanced on, how much closer the guards are getting to him, and instead focuses on his route as if it’s a race. He supposes it is, only he has no idea where the finish line is. In his mind he’s doing pretty well, that is until he hits his foot on a rock and goes flying forward, rolling over even more stones and landing unceremoniously with his neck bent to the side in a small pile of mud. He has no time to wonder if it’s broken when he sees the upside down image of the captain’s horse’s hooves planted a solid six feet in front of him. “To think we’ve all waited so long for this, and I get to have the pleasure of taking you out,” the captain says as Jungkook orients himself to actually sit like normal people do. He tries movement in his neck and finds that it pops in probably too many places but isn’t actually broken. The captain hops off his horse, taking slow steps towards Jungkook as he continues in his self serving speech, “They would have preferred you alive, but considering you resisted arrest”—Jungkook can’t help but laugh—“I think it’s fit for me to kill you here and take your head as a prize.”Jungkook frowns, forcing himself to stand. “That’s kind of gross, don’t you think?” He somewhat rhetorically asks. The captain bellows out a hollow laugh, devoid of any actual joy, and points the end of his blade at Jungkook. Jungkook supposes he should be scared, and maybe he is, but for some reason the whole interaction happening right now is more amusing than anything. “Have you even a weapon, or shall I just make this quick?” He barks and Jungkook’s frown deepens.He considers his options, even though he really doesn’t have any. He could try to fight the captain with his hands, he’s pretty sure he could dodge enough to perhaps disarm the guy, but it was a slim chance. He’s never fought a captain before, and he supposes it’s probably slightly more difficult than, say, the lancer he should have just gotten rid of before. Peering slightly behind him, he sees his route of escape is slim at best as well. He can’t really see past the vines, which he thinks might actually be a good thing, because the captain won’t be able to either. They look a little prickly, but he supposes that a few small cuts is far preferable than a nice deep sword to the chest. He voices this fairly exactly: “I gotta say I think I’d like to avoid fatal wounds to my body, generally speaking.” He sees the captain’s eyebrows furrow, making the wrinkle between them more obvious. Jungkook thinks that’s probably his everyday expression, which makes him laugh despite himself as he says chipper as he can be, “Ta-ta for now then, see you around.”And he takes a deep breath and quite literally dives into the sea of vines. Thankfully they’re not as pointy as he thought, though he’s pretty sure they reopen the gash on his cheek. He knows the captain is following him from the grunting and cursing as he tries to keep up with Jungkook. Being tall had its fair share of advantages, but being able to outrun a pissed off castle guard after his blood is probably the best he’s come up with in a while. He finds himself laughing as he bounds forward, eventually breaking free from the vines and stops to catch his breath.As he looks back he thinks he’s lost the captain and grins wildly. He opens the satchel he sort of forgot he was wearing to make sure the crown is okay, and its response is to glisten in the sunlight. It really was a beautiful piece, and it makes Jungkook smile even more when he imagines what it might look like in his trophy room, because of course he was going to get one. Once he finds Jimin and the others again, once he gets them back together and uses the crown to make the monarchy bow to him, he was so going to get a trophy room.“Bastard.” The comment makes him look up to see the captain, panting and sweating in front of him, knees slightly bent. “Thought I lost you until I saw the crown glowing in the light. Our crown.”For the second time today Jungkook thinks, well shit.“Awfully bold of you to say that like you’re just peachy with the king and queen,” Jungkook quips, taking slow steps backwards.The captain, apparently having caught his breath enough, stands up straight as he shakes his head. “More so than you, boy,” he retorts and dammit that’s pretty good. Jungkook keeps walking back as the captain walks forward, moving his neck side to side in an effort to crack it. He makes circle motions with his shoulders too, no doubt trying to look more threatening. All things considered he was pretty threatening right now, but the gestures have the opposite effect on Jungkook. Still, when his right foot slips slightly from underneath him and he feels dirt giving way, he looks behind him. Only now does he realise he’s backed himself to an edge of a cliff, and it’s a pretty nice way down. He swallows hard.“All out of options, eh?” The captain taunts.If Jungkook was smart, no, there wasn’t any other option. If Jungkook had the sense of a mentally challenged cow, there was in fact no other course of action other than to try and best the captain in combat. Thankfully for him, he was none of these things. He was none of these and then some, and so it comes as no challenge to him to decide he’s going to fling himself off the cliff and probably down to his death.This isn’t quite how he imagined he’d go, if he’s being honest.“On the contrary, dear sir,” Jungkook starts condescendingly, “There are always options.” He doesn’t give the captain time to think over his brilliant declaration, though, as he gives one more stiff salute and takes in a breath. He turns and ignores the only small, infinfestimably small part of him that has common sense, and takes a leap of faith. Faith in what, he has no idea, but if the last thing he has to hear is the captain shrieking in despair, it was a pretty good way to go after all.— — — — — — —Seokjin sits uncomfortably on the couch in their small living room, watching Jihu gather his things. The sun has barely risen, but Seokjin hasn’t even slept, so he figures it would be nice to see Jihu off. He never really knows where he goes, but he always gets an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach at times like these. It was always nice to have the tower to himself, but it also always felt too empty without Jihu’s prescene, as suffocating as it could get at times. “Will you have enough food?” Jihu asks, walking over to where Seokjin is sitting.He shakes his head, “Yes, I’ll be okay, Jihu.” He wants to recoil from the soft touch that Jihu places on his cheek, but it also has a strange comfort to it, so he leans in anyway. That’s how everything was with Jihu, simultaneously soul shattering and lovely at the same time. “Sing for me,” Jihu whispers low, “Just once before I leave.”Seokjin bites his lip as he moves to stand, but Jihu pushing him back down, a smile reaching his lips. It’s probably supposed to be one of love, one of assurance, but it makes Seokjin’s skin crawl instead. “The stool…?” He gestures vaguely with his hand.Jihu shakes his head. “No,” he says, “Right here this time.” Seokjin hates the way his heart flutters.It only flutters because this is the first time in Seokjin’s rather pathetic existence that he actually gets to sing anywhere other than the horrid stool he’s come to resent. It’s unprecedented, it throws him off completely, and he hates the smile that creeps on his lips. It’s probably the most sincere one he’s had since he was a child. “Alright then,” he whispers.So he sings. He sings as Jihu holds his hair, having untied it from Seokjin’s messy ponytail. It’s gotten slightly longer, now reaching right to his nipples. Jihu holds it like a newborn baby, twirling it between his thumb and index finger as he smiles down at Seokjin. His hair starts to glow, more brilliant this time, and he almost falters in his song when he sees Jihu bring in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide. He finishes his song shortly after, not liking the strange predatory gaze Jihu has started to give him. When his hair starts to lose its glow, Jihu lets it drop to delicately fall against Seokjin again. Jihu stares down at him, a fond smile on his face as he shakes his head slowly back and forth.“Beautiful,” he rasps, as if he’s overworked himself. Seokjin wishes the comment brought him joy.— — — — — — —The first thing Jungkook realises is that he is in fact not dead. The second is that if his ass hurt when he jumped from the window, it might be dead from the piercing ache that shoots through him. He blinks up towards the sky groaning, figuring he probably is safe for now but it wasn’t wise to lay so vulnerable at the foot of a cliff. This is precisely what wills him to actually sit up, now realising that everywhere hurts, not just his precious ass. Everything hurts, but nothing is broken, he feels, being able to stand with some ease all things considered. He cracks his neck and reaches down to make sure the crown hasn’t suffered a worse fate, and notices that he is very much devoid of a leather satchel. Panic settling in at record speeds, and he swings his head back and forth, desperately trying to find it. How long was he out? Did the captain find him and decide he was probably dead anyway? Did he laugh and take the satchel with him? Everything and anything comes to Jungkook’s mind besides his satchel being nice and safe, and in his desperation he tries to spring forward, only to find he is promptly well acquainted with the ground.Admist a groan he lifts his head, only to find an elk blissfully munching on a leaf hanging low from a tree. It would be just fine, kind of cute even, if it weren’t for the fact that delicately hanging from one of its antlers was none other than Jungkook’s precious satchel. He’s vaguely considering shooting the damn thing to get it back, but then remembers he definitely didn’t bring his pistol and he sort of wants to cry. Who would have thought stealing the monarch’s most precious asset would turn out to be so difficult. In any case he stands slowly, his legs wobbling underneath him. He watches the elk carefully as it leisurely chews on leaves intermittently, and the peacefulness bothers Jungkook. He decides to start slowly approaching it, not really sure what his game plan is but he’s figuring it out well enough.“Hey there,” he says, which prompts the elk to shift suddenly and look at him, eyes wide. Jungkook smiles, “You sort of… Have something of mine? On your antler? So if you could…” He gestures vaguely with his hands like the damn thing can understand him. As it watches him with grand interest he’s sort of starting to think it does, which makes him reach out delicately to try and snatch his bag off the elk, but misevaluates completely. Just before his fingertips graze the worn out leather strap, the elk runs. Jungkook isn’t sure what he was expecting if he’s honest, and as he darts after the elk he’s thinking he’s probably setting the record for how much he’s been running today. He’s able to keep up slightly, if only for the fact that it seems like having four legs instead of two makes it harder to dodge debris. Even still Jungkook almost loses it as he galavants through the forest, trying to ignore the thought that he has absolutely no idea where in the hell he is going.When the elk makes a sharp left out if no where, Jungkook curses under his breath. He skids to a halt, nearly falling over again, and curses again when he sees the elk has passed through some low hanging strands of what was probably a willow tree. He may or may not be mumbling an eloquent string of “fuck”s as he realises he has no choice but to pray to something—anything—that luck will finally be on his side for fucking once today.Jungkook doesn’t consider himself religious, but when he sees the elk fall over itself, the bag flying off its antlers, he’s starting to consider worshipping every Sunday. He hoots and hollers as he practically skips over to it, his noises dissolving into cackles when he finally picks the satchel up. Without thinking he kisses the thing, only to get a mouthful of dirt that he readily spits out. Only when he spits on the ground does he remember he has no idea where he is.He looks up, finding himself standing in an expansive meadow. He can see the tail of the elk he probably scared to death as it scurries back into the forest, and he blinks once. Twice. Thrice. He starts to panic a little, taking in a sharp breath as he whips his head to and fro, the sudden onset of tunnel vision making it hard to focus, when he eyes land on a tower.It’s right in the middle of the meadow, and it sits so perfectly still and unbothered by Jungkook’s panic that he thinks he might be hallucinating. It’s fairly simple but also sophisticated, the stone walls complemented by a slanted rosewood roof. It has nice windows Jungkook notices, along with well kept flower pots hanging off of them. There really didn’t seem to be a good way to get up the thing, Jungkook realises as he starts to circle it. It looks like there’s something akin to a staircase, but the top of it has been crumbled down to rubble like it was hit with a cannon. He puffs out a breath, shooting his hair up and tries to think.The sun was getting low in the sky, he has no where to stay, no where to rendezvous and figure out what the shit he was going to do. He’s pretty sure there aren’t any man eating wolves hiding around, but then again he doesn’t really want to find out either. He’s exhausted beyond what he thought was possible, and even if the tower didn’t have a bed it at least had a floor that could keep man eating wolves at bay. This is all the debating Jungkook needs before he tries to figure out a way to get up the damn thing.He decides on just climbing, noticing that for at least most of the way up he can probably grab onto the stones. Probably. He decides not to think too much on it as he ascends, careful to choose where he places his hands and feet. It goes surprisingly well until he’s almost to a window when one of the stones gives out under his foot. He lets out the least dignified yelp and silently thanks the fact no one can hear that and begins to scramble like a panicked squirrel to get to the top.The only reason he actually makes it to the window sill he attributes to him finally deciding to be religious. As he sits perched on it he fumbles behind him to get the window open, yelping once more as he goes crashing to the floor, hitting his back hard on the as he falls. He groans, sitting up carefully and wondering how much more his body can take before he just falls apart. He has no time to consider such things, as he feels the sensation of being thwacked on the back of his head with something inconsiderably hard, and blacks out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Jesus Christ,” Seokjin breathes.He’s staring at some stranger, face down on his floor, he himself shakily holding an iron pan he had found in haste. He’s shaking as he holds the handle, and he’s not sure if it’s from the fact that it’s incredibly heavy or the fact that there is a stranger in his tower. Cane chirps unhelpfully on his shoulder, batting a small paw on his cheek. “You are more than welcome to inspect him,” Seokjin says to Cane, “But I’m content in staying back here.”Cane, both much to his surprise and not at all, glides off his shoulder to land on the stranger’s butt of all places. It was a nice butt if Seokjin was being honest, but that’s the farthest thought in his mind right now. The only thing he can think is that he desperately wishes Jihu was still here, and whines to himself at the irony that he had left this morning. He sets the frying pan down on the floor quietly, and as Cane bounces along the stranger’s back Seokjin walks forward.The stranger’s chest rises and falls at a somewhat steady pace, so at least Seokjin didn’t kill him. He hovers over him, cocking his head to the side as Cane burrows himself in the stranger’s hair. Seokjin hasn’t had any experience with the outside world, has only ever known Jihu and Cane (and the sugar glider probably doesn’t count), but he thinks the man laying face down on his floor is beautiful. His head is turned to the side, exposing his prominent jaw and round nose. Suddenly Seokjin wants to touch, but he remembers the stories Jihu would tell him. The stories that people wanted Seokjin’s hair, wanted to take him away and make him their prisoner. Seokjin’s adoration suddenly turns to anger. He grimaces down at the stranger, a new fury rising in his blood. This person must have come to take him away, must have known Jihu left him all alone in the tower, and this was their opportunity to strike. Seokjin isn’t sure what feeling is the one pulsating in his temples, anger or fear. Whichever it is, he uses the energy it gives him to swiftly stand and turn on his heel, heading to find some rope.— — — — — — —Jungkook has woken up in strange scenarios. He’s found himself laying on the back of a disgruntled horse, found himself naked in a stranger’s bed, and he can’t forget the time he found himself hanging from the ceiling, legs tangled in a mess of bed sheets—just to name a few. He was so sure he’s fully ticked off every box in Weird Scenario bingo, but his life just continues to surprise him.Such a surprise that he’s not even sure if it really registers that one, his head fucking hurts, and two, that he’s tied impeccably tightly on a chair. So maybe Jungkook should stop tempting fate, sue him.He groans, staring at his lap disdainfully as he tries to figure out what the shit. The last thing he remembers is clambering inside a tower, right after he found his satchel and wait—where was his satchel? Where was he? Was he even still in the tower? He springs his head back up and looks desperately around the room, trying to find some evidence of his precious satchel. Why was his plan backfiring so damn much?A noise from the corner of his eye breaks him from internally moping, and he sees a small rodent looking thing staring at him. Its huge eyes are practically staring into his soul so he says, “You’re really creepy.” Somewhere along the line he has started to talk to animals. Great.The weird rodent thing just cocks its head to the side, scampering over to where Jungkook is firmly planted. Jungkook squeaks as it rapidly ascends his legs, sitting on his lap expectantly, like Jungkook is supposed to pull some magic trick for the damn thing. He frowns at it. “If you’re not going to help me out of this damn chair, then I really don’t need your insistent staring.” The thing doesn’t move, not like Jungkook really expected it to anyway, but another noise jostles his attention away. He turns his head, silently praying a demonic eagle wasn’t about to swoop down on him because his luck with animals lately has been outstanding, but instead a figure, a person, comes out from the shadows. Jungkook can’t help but widen his gaze at the sight in front of him.A man stands mere feet away from him, clad in a silk shirt and tight leather pants. He has the strangest colour gold hair that falls over his shoulders, and the most brilliant brown eyes Jungkook has ever seen. His lips are absolutely perfect too, but considering this is the person who probably tied him up, thinking such lewd things is not the best idea. Still, he clears his throat and raises one brow, trying his best to smirk because he’s still a cocky bastard who doesn’t know when to quit.“Hey there—" “I’m not afraid of you,” the beautiful man says, cutting off Jungkook. Jungkook cocks his brow farther, thinking the man is lying out his ass if his shaking is anything to go by. He suppresses a laugh when the man stands up straighter, but all joy falls away when he sees that the man is holding a rather intimidating frying pan. “I h-have you tied down, so there’s no getting away now.”Jungkook frowns. “You have a weird way of greeting people,” he says as casually as possible. The man really isn’t threatening in the slightest, but he has impressive tying skills so Jungkook probably shouldn’t piss him off too much. Then again, see also: cocky bastard.“I know what you want,” the man spits, and Jungkook’s frown deepens, “But you’ll never get it.”“I gotta say I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jungkook replies, but then remembers his satchel. The crown. Shit, play it cool. He does his best to keep his tone even when he adds, “I only came here to lay low for a while.”The man’s grip on the frying pan tightens, and he raises it, but makes no attempt to move forward. It’s a bit endearing. “You can’t lie to me,” the man says, “I was told about people like you.”There’s no way this random beautiful stranger could know about Jungkook, about the crown, so he says, “If you let me talk I’m sure we could come to a better understanding.”“Give me one good reason I should even bother.”Jungkook grins, though it’s more of a smirk, and supplies, “Because I’m gorgeous.”The fact that the man blushes just boosts Jungkook’s ego, as if it needed to be any higher than it already was. The man shakes his head, a little too fast, and shakily says, “I know you’re just here for my hair, there’s no way you can get out of this.”Now that’s interesting, Jungkook thinks, glancing at the man’s hair. Sure, it was pretty and a bit too long for Jungkook’s liking, but it was hair. The man must be insane, Jungkook’s brain supplies. Insane and gorgeous. What a combo. “I can assure you I’m not some sassy hairdresser that breaks into people’s houses to just give them a makeover.”The man’s lips—beautiful, plump lips—turn down in a muted frown. The weird rodent on Jungkook’s lap bats at his leg. “You don’t know about my hair?”Insane, Jungkook thinks, but shakes his head, getting rid of the thought and answering the man at the same time. “I really don’t,” he replies, trying his best to put as much sincerity in his voice. By some miracle, the man lowers the frying pan. “Then…” He says, and Jungkook thinks it’s more to himself than directed at him. The man looks down at the floor, furrowing his brows. “Then…” He says again, and Jungkook huffs quietly. When the man looks up, there’s a strange glow in his eyes as he says, “Then you’re a prince here to rescue me?”How in the fuck the man went from thinking Jungkook was some mass murderer that had a kink for hair to now a prince, he has no idea, but he barks out an echoing laugh. “Me? A prince?” He laughs, but it does little to deter the hopeful look in the man’s eyes. “I don’t know else you found me,” the man says, almost a whisper. Only now does he start to walk forward and closer to Jungkook, the latter of which takes another moment to take in the man’s beauty. Insane and beautiful, but maybe he could work with it.“Pure dumb luck, if you could call it that,” Jungkook replies, watching as the weird rodent dashes off him and scurries up the man. “Now listen…”“Seokjin,” the mans says.“Right, Seokjin,” Jungkook nods, “This little affair has been nice, but I really have some places to be, things to do, so if you could let me go I’ll prance away and find some other house, tower, thing, to occupy until I can get my shit together.”The man stops about a foot away from him. “Does that ‘shit’ have to do with the frayed bag you brought in?”Trying his best to remain collected, Jungkook nods, but it’s probably too fast. “Yep,” he replies, popping the p, “That would be the one.”The man—Seokjin, he supposes—cocks his hip to one side and places a hand there. He smiles coyly and Jungkook doesn’t like where this is headed, especially when the man says, “I’ll give it back if you can do something for me in return.”Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Listen, I’m not really into casual fucks so I don’t think I could do anything for you.”The look on Seokjin’s face is amusing enough that Jungkook can actually laugh. Seokjin’s cheeks flush bright red and he’s lost any composure he once had, now stuttering on words before he quickly shakes his head. “N-Not that, Christ,” he mutters and Jungkook laughs again. It gets him a slightly threatening glare, but it was like a flower was glaring at him rather than some weird tall dude. “It’s rather simple, and I can promise you I will return your battered bag once the agreement is set.”Seeing as he doesn’t have any better way out of this, Jungkook sighs and asks, “Fine. What is it?”Seokjin smiles and Jungkook refuses to call it cute. He’s annoyed at this man, dammit. Oblivious to Jungkook’s inner struggle, Seokjin says, “I’d like to go outside.”Well, that was unexpected. “Sorry, what?”He just gets a curt nod. “Outside,” Seokjin repeats, “I want to see what it’s like outside.”This can’t be that easy so Jungkook says, “So just walk outside…?” He’s apparently hit a nerve, for Seokjin visibly stiffens. His gaze wanders slowly to the floor as he worries on his lower lip, and his eyes look sad. The empathic part of Jungkook wants to reach out and comfort, but it quickly fades when he reminds himself he’s definitely still tied to a chair. “I can’t,” Seokjin whispers to the floor.Jungkook scoffs. “And why not?”Seokjin fidgets where he stands, gaze not leaving the floor. The weird rodent snuggles into his cheek as he says slightly louder, “Because the outside world is malicious. They… They would take me and use me… For my… Hair.”He really shouldn’t, it’s probably rude, but Jungkook sputters out a laugh. Seokjin looks up then, eyes still not having been relieved of the ever present sadness. “Your hair?” Jungkook asks once he’s done laughing.“My hair,” Seokjin echoes with slightly more confidence.Jungkook looks at Seokjin’s hair and tries to find what in the hell would make him susceptible to malicious intent. When he can’t find any he says, “I mean, it’s a nice blonde?” He tries, not even bothering to hide his smirk.Apparently Seokjin has had enough, for he puffs out a dramatic huff and crosses his arms, still not dropping that damn pan. It’s probably getting heavy. “I don’t need to explain myself to an intruder,” he says and okay he has a point, “I just want to see the outside, and you look like someone who could protect me from anyone who tries to take me away.”Ignoring the hilarious concept that Jungkook would protect the man like a damn prince Jungkook asks, “For how long?”“Excuse me?”Jungkook sighs. “How long do you want to be outside?”A glitter encompasses Seokjin’s eyes and Jungkook refuses to call it cute. “You mean you’ll take me?”“You know, it’s kind of rude to answer a question with a question,” Jungkook replies.Seokjin visibly fidgets and worries on his bottom lip lightly. “S-Sorry,” he says, “I… I don’t know, maybe just three days? Jihu will be back before then…” He trails off and Jungkook doesn’t bother to ask who the hell “Jihu” is.He raises his eyebrow instead and asks, “That’s it? Just that, and I get my satchel back?”“Yes,” Seokjin says immediately after, not missing a beat.Jungkook weighs his options. On the one hand, this Seokjin is completely mad in the head. On the other, he’s very nice to look at. On the other, other hand, Jungkook doesn’t have much in the way of options anyhow. He’s completely tied to a chair in some stranger’s bungalow and he has no idea where his bag is. It was really probably his worst move today—which says a lot—to not bring a weapon with him. He sighs out his nose. “Fine, okay, deal,” he says finally.Seokjin squeaks, there really isn’t another word, and trots over to stand directly in front of Jungkook. His smile is breathtaking, so much that he doesn’t notice the hand that gets extended to him. “Deal,” Seokjin says. Jungkook figures the hand is there so he can shake it, and lightly laughs. “Uh,” he says through his laugh, “I’d love to shake on it but I’m a bit…” He wriggles to show emphasis. Snapping his hand back like something bit him, Seokjin visibly flushes. “Oh,” he mumbles, “Right.” As he goes to untie Jungkook, he wonders what in the hell he just got himself into.— — — — — — —Seokjin watches the stranger crack his neck, his knuckles, and then dust off his pants with a strange admiration. He clutches the rope tight to his chest, knuckles probably turning white from the intense grip he has on it. He feels like he’s dreaming, like this can’t really be happening, and doesn’t notice the stranger looking at him with a quirked eyebrow at first. Has he been staring too long?“What is your name?” Seokjin suddenly bursts out. The stranger runs a hand through his hair, smirking. It was a rather attractive smirk, if Seokjin was going to think about such things. But he isn’t. “So I take it you tie people up and ask for their name only after you’ve had a bit of fun, eh?” Seokjin wants to retort with something, anything that says that’s not it at all, but the man shakes his head and says before Seokjin can get a word out, “Jungkook.” “That’s a lovely name,” Seokjin says before he can stop himself. He can almost feel Cane sigh in secondhand embarrassment. Jungkook grins wildly, exposing his rather unthreatening teeth. “You know, when you’re not trying to interrogate someone, you’re rather nice.”“I wasn’t…” He starts but shakes his head, only now loosening his grip on the rope, “That’s besides the point anyway.”“A thank you works as well, you know,” Jungkook says, grin not faltering in the slightest. “Man, who did you learn socialisation from? You sort of suck at it.”Only when Jungkook says this does Seokjin become overtly aware of his inexperience with people. His whole life he’s only ever known Jihu and Cane, and the sugar glider probably doesn’t count in this case (he doesn’t in most, Seokjin is realising). He lowers his gaze to the floor, suddenly too aware of his naivety. Jungkook makes a distressed noise of sorts which makes Seokjin look back up, and his intruder is rubbing the back if his neck sheepishly. He attempts a grin but it just oozes awkwardness. “Awh jeeze,” he says, “Didn’t realise I hit a mark there.” When Seokjin doesn’t immediately respond Jungkook raises his brows to ask, “How long have you been in here anyway?”Seokjin tenses, lips forming a tight line. His heart begins to beat faster and a panic prods at his temples, but he shakes them away. “I don’t trust you enough to tell you all that,” he finally replies.A brisk laugh emits from Jungkook and Seokjin does his best to shoot a glare. “Yet you trust me enough to take you galavanting about the kingdom?” Seokjin breathes through his nose harshly which just makes Jungkook erupt in a chorus of giggles. It’s not cute, his bunny teeth aren’t cute, Seokjin thinks, he’s supposed to be annoyed. “I jest,” Jungkook finally says, this time softer. A dense silence follows thereafter, with the two of them just staring each other down like hawks fighting over prey. Only when Jungkook yawns does Seokjin remember it’s definitely night, and it’s probably not a smart idea to start his journey in the pitch black of the forest. He clears his throat as confidently as he can and motions his head towards the slightly run down couch. “You can sleep there,” Seokjin replies to Jungkook’s slightly confused face. “There’s no point trying to go out now.” He gnaws on his bottom lip as he waits for Jungkook to respond.He just shrugs. “Fair enough. I’ve slept worse places.” He saunters over to the couch and plops himself down rather dramatically, arching his back in a stretch that exposes his hip bones. Seokjin doesn’t stare.He doesn’t stare to the extent that he stares at the ceiling and hopes his face hasn’t betrayed him with a blush again. “R-Right,” he says, “I’ll… See you tomorrow.”Jungkook hums from the couch, breathing pattern already close to a deep sleep. Seokjin scurries off to his room, throwing himself under the blankets in an intense feeling of both excitement and fear. He’s about to risk his life, his whole existence just to see the outdoors; the stars. As he falls asleep, he refuses to dream about this stranger and refuses even more to acknowledge any admiration he holds.— — — — — — —When he wakes up, Jungkook thinks about leaving. He’s staring at the bland wooden ceiling, listening for any traces of Seokjin being awake. He doesn’t hear any, and starts running through his head the possibilities of his actions. True, he could leave and dash in any direction but here, but he doesn’t have his satchel or the crown. He had tried looking for it when he first woke up in the middle of the night, but after making a disastrous loud noise he decided it was better to just sleep peacefully while he could.Honestly, he thought the guy was going to murder him in his sleep. He seems a bit less insane now, but Jungkook gathers he’s a hermit that was determined to win the world record of never leaving his house. As he stares at the ceiling he curses himself for being willing to stay, and tries to attribute it to curiosity. Time isn’t really on his side, he has no idea what happened to his friends, and here he is about to lead some attractive stranger and his weird pet on an exhibition to who knows the fuck where. Curiosity, he tells himself. Curiosity he repeats as he finally heaves himself off the couch.Judging by how the light filters in through the windows, it must be early morning. Jungkook yawns and decides to wander a bit while Seokjin still sleeps, not keen enough to drag the guy out into the world yet. This is probably the first time he’s ever left the damn place, and that contemplation makes Jungkook frown. There is no way someone would be kept locked away, essentially a prisoner, and never get to feel the sun radiate off their skin. As he wanders more, he finds himself in a small bedroom. It’s cramped, the bed pushed to the edge of the room, but the expansive window makes up for it, Jungkook thinks. There’s a rather open space on the window sill to sit, which is what first catches Jungkook’s eyes. As his gaze wanders more, something else encompasses his mind entirely.Constellations. They cover the entire walls, Jungkook isn’t sure how he didn’t notice them before. They’re painted to perfection, like Jungkook is looking at the night sky itself. It’s captivating, Jungkook can’t help but stare wide eyed with his mouth slightly hanging open. The colours and shading bring them to life, like if Jungkook were to reach out he’d grab the galaxies themselves. He’s not sure how long he’s been staring when he hears soft footsteps behind him.“They’re the stars,” Seokjin says equally as soft as his steps. Jungkook licks his lips and just says, “Yeah.” He doesn’t turn around, just searches for his favourite constellation. When he finds it, Seokjin has slid up to him with his weird rodent thing (he should really ask about it at some point) and extends a finger to point it out. “The little dipper,” he says somewhat triumphantly.“The constellation?” Seokjin asks as the rodent thing scurries around his neck. It’s weird, but Jungkook ignores it.He lets his hand fall and smiles. “Yeah, that’s the one.”Seokjin hums next to him. “What about it?”“It’s my favourite,” Jungkook explains like it was obvious.Crossing his arms, Seokjin cocks his head to side and replies, “Why is that? The big dipper has more implications than it.”Unable to contain his smile, Jungkook finally turns his head to look at Seokjin, the latter of which is staring at him with a raised eyebrow. “That’s just it,” Jungkook says, “Everyone forgets about the little dipper, like it’s an afterthought. People follow the big dipper for its night star, but no one recognises the little one, desperately wanting to be the one that’s noticed.” He turns back to it and continues, “I guess it reminds me of myself, always falling back and being overshadowed by everyone. Sometimes I think that if the little dipper can shine brightly despite everything, then so can I.”A small silence follows Jungkook’s scattered explanation, and he belatedly realises he hasn’t told anyone that since he was a small child. He has said it to Jimin, who laughed at him but it was more of an affectionate laugh than a mocking one. Jimin had ruffled Jungkook’s hair and brightly told him that he’d follow the little dipper to the ends of the earth. The memory is one of Jungkook’s fondest, and without Jimin’s constant reassurance in the beginning, he doesn’t know if he would have made it this far.Thinking about not knowing where or how Jimin is makes his heart hurt, and is thankful when he hears Seokjin say, “When you’re not breaking and entering people’s homes, you’re rather nice yourself,” a smile tugging at his lips that’s definitely not captivating. Not wanting to acknowledge the compliment like he probably should, Jungkook asks instead, “Who painted these anyway?” He’s trying to run through anyone that would have gotten the chance, but doesn’t have time to think long enough on it when Seokjin responds.“Me,” he quietly admits, and Jungkook almost doesn’t even hear him.He turns to Seokjin, who is still staring at what is apparently his own creation with wide eyes. “What?” A light laugh escapes Seokjin’s lips and his eyes flutter. “I’ve always been fascinated with the stars. I’ve seen them through my window my whole life, and yet I’ve never been able to experience them how I feel they should be: in the open, completely free, where their light can shine down on the grass.” He falls silent but quickly adds, “It’s always been a dream of mine to experience that.” He turns fully to face Jungkook, an impossible smile on his face with his erratic pet sitting comfortably on his head. “But now I have you, and I can finally fulfill that dream.”Jungkook swallows hard. “Y-Yeah,” he says, but it comes out more like a mumble than anything else.He is so screwed.— — — — — — —“I’m just saying,” Jungkook chimes unhelpfully, “Most houses have stairs.”Seokjin shoots him his best incredulous glare. “It’s not like I built this place,” Seokjin retorts, “I don’t have any clue why there aren’t stairs.” Only he does know—Jihu wanted to keep him “safe”. Seokjin thinks it’s more Jihu wanted to prevent him from escaping.Jungkook frowns slightly, but it’s still smug. “Then how does your daddy dude get out?”Even though he has a point, Seokjin winces. He doesn’t actually know if he’s Jihu’s true son; judging by their vast differences in appearance he thinks probably not. Jihu never told him otherwise, so Seokjin has never asked. From the short time Seokjin has known Jungkook, he realises Jihu has a lot to answer for. “I… Don’t know,” Seokjin mumbles in reply. Cane scurries to his other shoulder. Sometimes Seokjin thinks the sugar glider can sense his emotions.Brining his index finger to rest right under his nose, Jungkook breathes in. He stares at the ceiling in intense contemplation before he drops his hand to rest it on his hip. He cocks the latter and drums his fingers on the line of his pants. Seokjin isn’t staring. “I mean I climbed up here, I suppose I could climb down.”It’s not even remotely a good suggestion, but Seokjin literally has zero ideas so he says, “Well that’s you. What about me?”Jungkook thinks again, his brows furrowing in concentration. It’s endearing, it really is, and so Seokjin does his best to push that bothersome sentiment away. When Jungkook finally looks at Seokjin, he has a mischievous grin on his face that Seokjin has already learned means trouble, and such is confirmed when he declares, “I’ll carry you.”“E-Excuse me?” Seokjin sputters.“I said,” Jungkook says, “I’ll carry you.” He raises his hands in mock defense when Seokjin fidgets and laughs as he slowly shakes his head. “Please, I’ve cascaded castle walls with no trouble, you’ll be safe.” For some reason when Jungkook says that, Seokjin believes him.— — — — — — —So Seokjin will admit, Jungkook is strong and as they descend the tower, Seokjin finds himself holding his breath. Cane has been death gripping his hair, situated on the top of his head, and even Seokjin can hear him breathing hard. He supposes that Cane hasn’t ever really been out of the tower either, save when Seokjin first found him half dead on his window sill. He had figured a hawk dropped him, and judging by the wounds he had at the time it wasn’t a far off hypothesis. Seokjin sort of feels like a discarded prey as Jungkook shakily moves from stone to stone. He’s at his most vulnerable, he’s clinging to a stranger who is climbing down what is probably a fifty foot wall and this man could probably kill him if he wanted to. Seokjin shivers at the thought, and doesn’t even register when Jungkook has stopped moving.“I gotta say carrying you through the forest wasn’t really part of the agreement,” Jungkook laughs heartily. “You’re also sort of choking me.”Not even realising he had his eyes screwed shut, Seokjin flashes them open, his heart threatening to beat right of his chest. He’s staring at grass—simple, green grass and it feels like when he first discovered to read. A whole new world was opened to him, and he finally has the tools to access it. He finally has a way to be free. As he lets go of Jungkook—slowly—Seokjn starts to laugh. When his feet meet the still dewy blades of grass, he actually starts to cry. They’re the big, gloppy tears, ones where they blur your vision before crashing down like waterfalls. Seokjin usually gets these when Jihu yells at him, when he can’t stand the life he’s had so far, but now they have a different edge to them. These are happy tears, and Seokjin realises he’s laughing and crying at the same time, probably making Jungkook question this whole situation, but he can’t find it in himself to care.Seokjin clumsily falls to the ground on all fours, gripping the grass in his fists like if he doesn’t he’ll fall off the earth. He spurts out a laugh that’s more of a whimper, shaking his head to either get rid of the tears or to somehow convince him this isn’t real, he really isn’t sure. He lays down and is overcome with the compulsion to roll, and he does so gleefully. He doesn’t even know if Cane is still on him, just blindly rolls down the hill despite the fact that he can’t see anything. When he reaches the end, he discovers a small pond at his feet. He’s never been able to see this far out before, had no idea there was water down here, and springs back up to tentatively poke his toe into it. It’s cold, it has a different viscosity than the water he’s used to, and a simple liquid shouldn’t be this exciting, but it is. It really is and Seokjin is filled with so much joy that he doesn’t even realise he’s starting to sing.He belts it out as loud as he can, stretching out his arms and turning in circles, not even caring that he’ll probably get dizzy. He splashes into the small pond, kicks up the water like he’s a child, and he supposes in a sense he is. Children are supposed to grow up outside, get dirty, get scraped knees. Seokjin had read books on it with burning jealousy, always having to stop when he started to get the pages wet with silent tears. Jihu used to take those books away, said they were filled with lies, but with the sun beaming down on Seokjin he’s starting to think Jihu was the one lying.When he does in fact start to get dizzy, he lets his arms fall down to his sides and stops singing. His voice is slightly hoarse, it’s a bit hard to breathe, but God Seokjin hasn’t ever known joy like this. There’s a fear lodged in the back of his throat, one that is trying to yell at him to go back in the tower, and while it’s getting louder and louder now that reality is settling in, it fades just as fast when he sees Jungkook walking slowly to him.Cane has clung himself to the loose fabric of Jungkook’s shirt, looks simply terrified, and Seokjin feels slightly bad for abandoning him like that. Jungkook’s smile is soft, impossibly soft, and Seokjin thinks the stars are in his eyes when he finally comes to stand about a foot away. “Didn’t know you could sing, Blondie.” He cocks his head thoughtfully to the side, smile not fading in the slightest. Seokjin returns a soft smile, finding it easier to quell his fears when Jungkook looks at him like that.— — — — — — —It was just his imagination, Jungkook reasons. There was no way Seokjin’s hair glowed, sparkling and radiating as he sang. No, it was just the sun, it was just the reflection on his impossibly already golden hair that made it glimmer. He doesn’t bother to listen to the part of him that says all that gleaming faded as soon as Seokjin stopped singing, because that would mean that his hair was some magic anomaly, and Jungkook isn’t ready to deal with that.He’s equally not ready to deal with anything as he runs a hand down his face. “You don’t know the way out?” He asks, voice as monotone as he can manage.Seokjin briskly shakes his head. The weird rodent thing glided (yes, glided, Jungkook is having enough already) over to him as soon he was close enough. He keeps meaning to ask about it. “I’ve been in that tower my whole life, I’ve never even seen past these trees.” He gestures to the forest circling his home.That was a fair point, Jungkook will give him that. “Well,” he tries, “I bet that’s awfully dangerous, are you sure you want to risk that? I can still plop you back in your little cubby and I could be on my way with my satchel.”“Absolutely not,” Seokjin retorts immediately. “I’m not giving this up. Besides, you got here just fine, that means you know this area better than me.”“I was forced upon your little sanctuary,” Jungkook deadpans, “This wasn’t planned.”Apparently Seokjin gives zero fucks about Jungkook’s inner turmoil, and claps his hands together triumphantly, grinning wildly. “Then we’re on the same page,” he says, annoyingly chipper, “So we can be a team.”Jungkook sighs. Once again, it dawns on him that he’s screwed.He leads Seokjin out with a growing dread rising to his throat, but Seokjin humming behind him isn’t the worst sound he’s heard. He’s too afraid to turn around and see if humming makes his hair glow, unwilling to face the reality that the guy’s insanity is rubbing off on him. Once they start to get into the forest in earnest, Seokjin’s steps start to falter slightly, sounding unsure and clumsy. There was no way they were going to make it out of the woods by sundown if blonde-and-insane was going to move like such, so Jungkook turns abruptly.Seokjin has his hands folded under his armpits, trembling. He’s walking and gazing around at the same time, and Jungkook is literally zero surprised when Seokjin eventually trips over an upturned root, yelping pathetically. Weird Rodent is clinging to his shoulder and digs his little feet into it, and Jungkook laughs at the thought that it’s possibly more scared than Blondie.“Wh-What?” Seokjin asks when he registers Jungkook is laughing at him.Jungkook shrugs. “Nothing, really,” he answers, “Just it’s rather hilarious watching you traverse this place. It’s slightly endearing.”A red flushes Seokjin cheeks, and Jungkook tries to tell himself it’s just from embarrassment. A harsh breeze blows through the trees and low hanging vines, getting caught in Seokjin’s hair and emitting a squeal from the golden boy. He falls down right after, ass thumping on the ground and probably on a pebble and Jungkook just simply bursts out laughing. He bursts out laughing like when he’s with the Trio and they do some stupid shit, laughing like when Namjoon tried to cook bulgogi once and nearly set the kitchen fire, laughing like when he saw Yoongi’s incredulous face after. He laughs like Seokjin is part of the whole dynamic, and he tells himself Seokjin’s hurt look is what makes him stop laughing.“S-Sorry,” Jungkook mumbles, wiping at the corner of his eyes.From the ground Seokjin just groans. Weird Rodent scurries in circles around his neck, which makes Jungkook giggle once more. “I guess I’m just… Nervous,” Seokjin quietly replies, bringing his knees close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.Jungkook pushes the thought away that he wants to reach out and touch, so he just idly suggests, “Well, we could do a few things to make this easier.”The way Seokjin’s eyes light up is not cute. “Really?” “Really,” Jungkook echoes. As Seokjin squirms with anticipation Jungkook forces himself to speak lest Seokjin says something cute again: “First off, that ridiculous hair needs to be tied back. It keeps blowing in your face like seriously, how do you see?”Seokjin’s grin turns into a pouted frown. “My hair—““Is ridiculous,” Jungkook interrupts, ruffling his hands through his pant’s pockets in search of anything to make a hair tie out of. “Secondly,” he continues as Seokjin opens his mouth, “Your feet. You’re barefoot.”He holds out a bit of string for Seokjin to take. He doesn’t take it, just furthers his frown. It was sort of impossible for the guy to look threatening. “So?”“So,” Jungkook emphasises, wiggling the string indignantly, “That’s like, a really good way to get tetanus. Or your foot sliced in half. Or shit, both.”Seokjin clumsily stands and snatches the string from Jungkook. His frown has turned back into a pout, and it honestly just makes Jungkook want to laugh. “Well I don’t see any shoe makers around, do you?” He goes to lift his hair to tie it back, and the way a few strands refuse to agree with him makes the whole thing captivating. It really shouldn’t, this was a grown man tying back his hair but Jungkook has been a sucker for princely looking men. Sue him.He also has a point, so Jungkook sighs heavily. “Okay, I’ll give you that one.”With a flick of his wrist, Seokjin has finished putting his hair up. It’s in a small bun, some strands still refusing to cooperate and thus hang loosely. It’s beautiful, Seokjin is beautiful, and Jungkook thinks momentarily he should probably just knock the guy out and go get his satchel before he does something insanely stupid. Rather, something even more insanely stupid. He’s busy trying to think of what could top this when Seokjin impatiently asks, “Is that all?”Because he feels like being childish Jungkook straightens his back suddenly and points to Weird Rodent. “No,” he says too loudly, “You need to explain to me that thing.”Seokjin gasps and cups his hand around Weird Rodent. “This is my sugar glider,” he starts to explain. When Jungkook just blankly stares, Seokjin huffs and rolls his eyes. “It’s a type of squirrel, you don’t see them around much.” Then he just grins, wildly and mischievous as he says, “His name is Cane.”Fucking, really?“A sugar glider,” Jungkook says slowly.“Yes.”“Named… Cane…”Seokjin bursts out laughing, loud and squeaking. It’s the first sincere laugh he has shown Jungkook, and it’s over a fucking pun. It’s not even a decent pun, because there is literally no one that would recognise the thing as a sugar glider. It was obviously a self indulgent pun, which almost makes it worse.Regardless, Seokjin’s laughter is infectious and so Jungkook can’t help but return a fit of giggles, watching as Seokjin crumples to the ground in uncontrollable laugher, crumpling much like Jungkook’s resolve. — — — — — — —It goes like this: they make it out of the woods relatively unscathed, with Seokjin obviously hiding the fact that his feet were probably torn raw and riddled with blood blisters.It goes like this: they come across an expansive canyon with an aqueduct sprawling across its diameter. Seokjin stares with childlike wonder, a smile taut on his lips and hardly faltering.It goes like this: the only place to sleep is in a dilapidated shack whose walls were sort of just hanging there at this point. Jungkook tries his best to convince Seokjin it definitely will not crumple on top of them, but he still refuses to come in until it gets pitch black and he can’t see anything, the most spectacle of yelps escaping him as he practically flings himself into the shack.It goes like this: Jungkook is sitting on the far end of the room, watching Seokjin closely as he just holds Cane delicately.It ends like this: Jungkook falling asleep to Seokjin’s soft humming.— — — — — — —Seokjin wakes up first, because of course he does. His back hurts and his shoulders crack as he props himself up on his elbows. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t get out of his head that all of this is really happening. It was also probably because the only thing to sleep on was a giant ball of hay, which Jungkook had insisted Seokjin lay on and he’d take the floor. The hay was itchy, the shack they were in creaked shrilly every time the wind blew, and Seokjin was alone. He glances over to Jungkook and thinks maybe the last bit isn’t true anymore, but he can’t help the crushing sadness that overwhelms him that this is only temporary.Seokjin only has seventy-two hours with Jungkook, and he isn’t sure why it makes him feel so sad.— — — — — — —When Jungkook wakes up, he sees Seokjin leaning over him, golden hair brushing on the tip of his nose. Blondie is staring at him with wide eyes, and Cane is essentially doing the same, clinging to his shoulder. The sun shining through the gaps in the roof makes Seokjin’s hair glow ever so slightly and Jungkook immediately thinks of the meadow, of the what he swears magic radiating off of him. It makes Jungkook embarrassed for some reason, like he was watching something far too intimate to be privy to him, and it’s even worse when he can feel Seokjin’s breath ghosting on his face.He doesn’t know how to get out of this situation without doing some incredibly dumb, so instead he tries his best to deadpan, “Your breath smells.”Immediately Seokjin backs off, clambering over no doubt his own limbs. He stares at Jungkook like he’s on fire, and quickly adverts his gaze to the floor. “S-Sorry,” he mumbles and Jungkook feels sort of bad for the comment. There was no way he was going to let him know just how captivating he was, though, so he tries his best to very much not feel bad at all. “S’fine,” he mumbles back despite himself. “Did you sleep well?”Seokjin shrugs so Jungkook knows he’s lying when he replies, “Yeah.”There’s what could be perceived as an awkward silence from an outside view, so Jungkook is slightly thankful when his stomach rumbles with intensity. That was right, they haven’t eaten since this whole debacle started. Once again he feels bad, like this whole thing was him babysitting a completely oblivious toddler and he was definitely going to have it taken away by family services. Jungkook never wanted to be a parent anyways, so this was a good way to test the waters.“Are you hungry?” Asks Jungkook when the silence starts to get unbearable.Seokjin looks at him with silent pleading eyes, so he’s definitely lying again when he says, “No, not really.”This was going to be stressful. Jungkook slowly lifts himself up and runs a slightly impatient hand down his face. He sighs heavily. “You know, you can tell people things like that,” he says, “There’s no point in lying about basic human functions.” When Seokjin shamefully looks down at the floor Jungkook adds, “And you don’t need to feel ashamed or guilty either.”He suddenly remembers when he was twelve, when he had hurt his leg badly from falling from a tree and tried to hide it. Taehyung and Jimin were trying to get him to play, to practice sparring for when they made their daring escape from the orphanage, but Jungkook tried to say he couldn’t. It was bullshit, pretty much the whole orphanage knew that Jungkook had this distinct talent in not staying still ever, and he definitely couldn’t hide it from his two best friends.“Kookie,” Jimin had said, voice filled with concern, “What are you not telling us?”Jungkook had feverently shaken his head, hiding tears of pain from trying to stand so long. “N-Nothing,” he had hiccuped, “B-But, I need to sit down.”He never made it to a chair, however, collapsing with his next step, not being able to suppress the wallowing cry that emitted from him. Taehyung had rushed over, always being taller and more imposing than Jimin, cradling Jungkook in his arms, eyes darting everywhere to try and desperately find out what was wrong. When his wound was discovered, black and blue bruises surrounding a deep red, he swears Jimin almost cried right there. He had knelt down, wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s neck as Taehyung held him steady, shaking his head. “Kookie,” he practically sobbed, “Oh Kookie, what happened?”“I… Fell,” he had replied quietly.It was then that Jimin cupped both of Jungkook’s cheeks, rubbing an affectionate thumb under his eyes. He had smiled, exposing that silly crooked tooth, and told him, “Never hide things like that, Kookie. Never be ashamed of yourself, don’t be afraid to tell us anything.” He wiped away a betraying tear from Jungkook’s eye. “We’re here for you.”As Jungkook stares at Seokjin, he wonders if he can say the same thing with mirrored sincerity Jimin had had when they were young. He wonders if they would have the same effect.“I… I’m not used to it,” Seokjin finally says and Jungkook is reminded so much his younger self it hurts.Jungkook remembers that he found Seokjin alone in that massive tower, so he asks, “How long have you been alone?”He tenses. Seokjin looks anywhere but Jungkook, curling in on himself like a flower at nightfall. He remembers that Seokjin didn’t want to talk to him about it before, but considering that he’s literally dragged him out of his house and into the world makes him think he deserves something of an answer. Anything, really.Then he remembers the “Jihu” person, so he changes his question. “I guess how long have you been in there with ‘Jihu’.” He waits for Seokjin’s tension to release, but it looks like he almost made it worse.“Jihu,” Seokjin says slowly, tone as if he’s remembering someone who has been long gone. His usually full lips tighten themselves into a straight line. Jungkook is about to tell him to forget about it, but then Seokjin says, “My whole life, I guess.” Jungkook has concerns.“You mean…” Jungkook starts, his own lips forming a tight line now. He wants to choose his words carefully, wants to get the whole story out of Seokjin before he puts the happy mask back on. “Where was your mum?” He asks and he swears Seokjin winces. So he was sort of shit at asking personal things, it was a charm of his. Definitely a charm.Seokjin looks small, so small, when he whispers, “I… Don’t know who my mum is.”So for Jungkook, he’s in the same boat because his parents definitely died when he was young, probably no older than one or two. But he knows they’re dead, knows that there is no chance that he just got alienated from them, knows that they are definitely as gone as a person can get. He somehow thinks this is different. From the way Seokjin’s lip is quivering, like he’s unsure of his words, makes Jungkook think this is very, very different. “I don’t even know if Jihu is my birth father,” Seokjin continues, and without being prompted by Jungkook. It makes him unconsciously scoot slightly closer. “He tells me he found me, all alone and helpless. He took me in, gave me a name and a home. I just… Never bothered to ask anything else.”His first thought is that this Jihu person made a personal sacrifice to raise Seokjin, but then Jungkook definitely remembers the whole Seokjin-has-never-left-the-tower thing and the way he talks about him like he’s hiding in a nearby bush listening in makes him think Jihu is definitely not a good guy. “Why not?” Jungkook asks, sitting to where his knee is brushed against Seokjin’s.When Seokjin turns his head Jungkook knows this conversation isn’t going to go any farther. His suspicions are confirmed when Seokjin mumbles, “Maybe… Some other time, I’ll tell you.”Jungkook decides not to tell him they only have two more days together.— — — — — — —“If we follow the aqueduct down, we should make it to town,” Jungkook explains to an apprehensive Seokjin. The latter is shivering as he stares up at the wooden structure, so Jungkook laughs and says, “Don’t worry, we’re not actually going to climb it.”Seokjin jumps like he’s been pinched. “I—I didn’t think we would!” He squeaks, Cane burrowing himself into his loose bun.“Uh huh,” Jungkook replies as he rolls his eyes. Seokjin’s stomach very audibly grumbles so Jungkook adds cheerfully, “We better get moving.”Before Seokjin even makes an attempt to follow, he manages to stumble out a, “How do you know which way to go?”It was a fair point, Jungkook doesn’t really know if they’re going the right way, so he doesn’t bother lying when he admits, “I don’t. You just have to trust me, I suppose.” He adds what he thinks is his best convincing grin to a very much unconvinced Seokjin, who doesn’t budge whatsoever. Still, stubborn and unwilling to try and think of some other excuse, Jungkook maintains his grin until Seokjin sighs, crossing his arms and trudging forward.He briskly walks by Jungkook, uneven steps pummeling ahead and down the rocky ravine so Jungkook asks, “I guess you know your way from here?”Without looking back, Seokjin scoffs. “You’re the one that said all we need to do is follow this thing.” He vaguely gestures to the aqueduct. Even though he can’t see him, Jungkook grins, this time just out of a slight admiration. “Alright then,” he laughs, taking long strides to get back into a rhythm with Seokjin.— — — — — — —They continue mostly in silence, save for Seokjin gasping or stopping to be basked in awe at something as menial as a bent tree. Jungkook tries to have patience, leaning against boulders and the legs of the aqueduct, digging his toes into the dirt while Seokjin prances—it’s what it looks like, really—around mediocre meadows and creeks. Jungkook wills himself to remember that this is the first time Seokjin has even been outside, and as he watches him he wonders if his skin will resemble a lobster after this whole field trip is done with.As they trek down, Jungkook also starts to wince every time he thinks he sees Seokjin step on something sharp. The stubborn bastard refuses to wear Jungkook’s boots, saying he’s perfectly fine with his current set up. He’s pretty sure that’s bullshit, and just itching to tell Seokjin I-told-you-so when the guy’s feet are riddled with blood blisters and a nice hefty dose of tetanus. They end up at another clearing when Seokjin declares he’s tired. It’s a bit smaller than the previous one, and there are clearly more tended to structures so Jungkook supposes they’re closer to town. Judging by the sun it’s later in the afternoon, which means Jungkook only has a day and half before he can make his way back to his satchel and the crown. He wonders if Seokjin had looked at it, but considering he didn’t mention anything it was probably safe to say he didn’t. At least he better have not, gorgeous or not Jungkook won’t hesitate to deck the guy in the face to get the crown back.The sun is warm and welcoming on Jungkook, and he belatedly realises he’s fucking exhausted too. Exhausted and hungry. This has never been a good combination for him, and he scrunches his nose up as he watches Seokjin splayed across a bench. Cane sits on top of his head, staring daggers at Jungkook like the thing can read his mind. Exotic pet be damned, the thing still gives Jungkook the creeps.Apparently Jungkook had fallen asleep, for he wakes up to Seokjin jostling him. He has a panic in his eyes and without thinking Jungkook grabs his arm and pulls him down close so his breath ghosts Seokjin’s lips. He feels worry instinctively bubble inside him when asks, “What’s wrong?”Seokjin makes no move to reject Jungkook’s touch when he replies, “There are strange men with weapons headed this way. They don’t look very friendly.” He worries on his bottom lip as if to emphasise his apprehension. Shit is the first thing that comes to Jungkook’s mind. A big fat shit that festers on the ground. A shit that you step in and can’t get the smell off for weeks, no matter what you do. Without looking up Jungkook already knows who it is, can practically feel his skin burning under their gaze. He wishes he was wrong, he so wishes he was wrong, but when he looks up the unmistakeable uniforms of the castle guard are fast approaching. There is a whole platoon of them, and when Jungkook squints he sees the same cocky captain and trembling lancer from before. This was great. This was perfect, just what Jungkook needs. He chances a glance at Seokjin, who is shaking so madly he could probably scoot across the clearing, Cane tucked on his neck tightly. The sugar glider doesn’t look much better, and Jungkook finally feels some empathy for the sky rat.“Well look at this,” the captain starts once he’s in earshot. “And here I thought you died after that little stunt you pulled.”It takes all of Jungkook’s self control to not reply with he wish he had. “Bold of you to assume I’m capable of dying,” is what he responds with, and it’s probably not much better. He swiftly stands, gently moving Seokjin so he’s standing behind him. He holds his hand steady on Seokjin’s arm.The captain laughs because of course he does. It’s rather cliche and it’s really starting to piss Jungkook off. “I see you’ve made a little friend here. Is that because you know the rest of your buddies are rotting in the dungeon?” Jungkook tenses, grabbing Seokjin’s arm probably too tightly and the captain definitely senses it. He smirks at Jungkook. “It’s rather sad, they get worse treatment than mass murderers. They’re so loyal to you it’s sickening as well. Bastards wouldn’t talk no matter what we did to them.”If Jungkook was some magical wizard he’d be on fire right now. He’d be a big ball of inferno, but since he’s not he practically death grips Seokjin’s arm. The latter winces and bats at Jungkook’s hand to probably get him to loosen his grip, but he won’t. Can’t. It’s taking all of his self control to not fucking charge at the sly bastard captain, not giving a shit if he gets immediately killed. Maybe if he was dead they’d let his friends go, let them live out in peace. He’s too busy thinking of creative ways to kill the captain when the man himself stands sternly in front of him and Seokjin. He has his sword pointed right at them, the tip almost touching Jungkook’s nose. The rest of the platoon is standing a bit farther back, but all have their weapons ready still. Jungkook is fucked, he’s really fucked, and scans the clearing for any way out, as desperate as it might turn out to be.Turns out it’s super desperate, and he can’t decide if he’s relieved or just completely done when he sees a part of the aqueduct that pours over a cliff like a waterfall. Cliffs seem to be his best friend recently, and he watches it with a fierce intensity. It’ll be risky trying to get over there, it’s really entirely possible that he’s likely to get seriously fucked up if he tries, but there really isn’t any other solution. Jungkook thanks himself again that he has the common sense of a rotten potato, and finally loosens his grip ever so slightly on Seokjin’s arm.“You hearing me, boy?” The captain barks, and it definitely brings Jungkook’s attention back. The captain looks entirely incredulous, and it seems that Jungkook has missed another valiant speech.“Not really,” Jungkook says honestly, and tugs Seokjin closer to him so he’s pressed taut against his back. “Do you trust me?” He asks next.The captain furrows his brow, “Excuse me?”Jungkook squeezes and rapidly lets go of Seokjin’s arm. “Do you trust me?” He repeats, raising his brow at the captain.“Don’t be ridiculous,” the captain laughs, “Are you as stupid as you really look?”Jungkook tenses, really hoping Seokjin gets the memo, and breathes out sharply when he hears the man whisper a quiet, completely devoid of any confidence, “Yes.”So Jungkook does what he’s best at, which is being a flaming idiot. He swings his leg up as high as it can go, bashing right into the captain’s sword, ignoring the searing pain the blooms in his ankle as he does so. It catches the captain off guard, so much that Jungkook is able to dart away, yanking Seokjin with him. He can feel his leg bleeding, but thanks fuck he is wearing leather boots. They at least dampened the wound somewhat. At least he hopes.He can’t hear the words flying out of the captain’s mouth over the thundering in his head, but he highly doubts they’re very nice. He just focuses on the cliff, on how close he’s getting to his only shot at salvation when he feels an arrow cement itself very nicely into his shoulder. Seokjin yelps behind him, and the thought that they hurt him makes Jungkook rip the damn arrow out, running still as he scoops Seokjin up so he carries him bridal style. When he chances a look down, he sees that Seokjin is unscathed, and thanks anything and everything that at least the lackeys have something akin to sympathy. He’s pretty sure the captain probably told them to kill the two of them, and makes a mental note to at least silently thank them for that humility. It feels like it’s taken him years when he finally gets three or four strides from the cliff. He hoists Seokjin slightly tighter and says, “Hold onto my neck.”“Wh-What?” Seokjin sputters.Jungkook does his best to smirk without looking down. “I told you to trust me, so trust me again and hold onto my neck.” Only he doesn’t even trust himself, isn’t even sure if when he jumps down there will be water deep enough to save them. He probably should have checked somehow first.Seokjin obeys, and once Jungkook feels tight arms wrapped around his neck he breathes in sharply. “Hold your breath,” he commands next, “And try not to piss your pants.”He gives Seokjin no time to retaliate when he flings himself over the cliff. Seokjin’s helpless shriek reverberates off of Jungkook’s entire skull, but he just focuses on looking down. He needs to stop challenging lady luck, but she spares him once more when he sees a deep enough looking small lake beneath them. It’s probably a reservoir, Jungkook idly thinks, and laughs at himself for having such a ridiculous thought at a time like this.He glances up to see Cane gliding down with them, and the hilarity of the sight of a goddamn flying sky rat is the last coherent thought Jungkook has before the cold shock of hitting water engulfs him.— — — — — — —Jihu curses to himself. Of course he would forget to grab the rest of the money he needed. He already has quite the amount, but the rest he was going to use to buy Seokjin more books. Books that would perhaps keep him away from the insistent thoughts of leaving the tower, ones that would scare him back into Jihu’s arms. The thought of losing his precious gem makes him shiver and so he picks up his pace back to the tower.It’s only midday, and he supposes Seokjin will probably be painting when he arrives. His body doesn’t feel weak yet, but the thought of being able to get his gem to sing fills him with euphoria. It’s his only thought when he gets to the tower, opening up the hidden cellar door he uses to climb into it every time he returns. It’s rather surprising Seokjin hasn’t noticed it yet, but then again Jihu has become a master of keeping secrets, of spinning a web of lies and deceit to make sure he keeps Seokjin all to himself.“Seokjin,” he sing song calls when he emerges into the kitchen, “I’ve forgotten something, but can you sing for me before I leave?” Nothing, no one, answers him for several moments. “Seokjin?” He calls again. Perhaps he miscalculated, maybe Seokjin is asleep; he always tires himself when Jihu leaves.With a smile, Jihu waltzes over to Seokjin’s room, whistling a tune under his breath. The thing about Seokjin’s singing is that it always seems to be a different melody each time. He sometimes repeats the ones Jihu enjoys the most, but the anticipation of relief and Seokjin’s beautiful voice makes Jihu appreciate the new ones each time. He doesn’t bother knocking on the door, just triumphantly swings it open, singing another “Seokjin!” When he’s met with silence, anger starts to boil within him. He looks down with an incredulous glare, ready to discipline Seokjin for ignoring him, only to find the bed empty, blanket thrown carelessly to the side. Jihu’s heart plummets far into his chest. “S-Seokjin?” He calls as loud as he can muster. His gem was known to wander the tower, climbing the rafts and hanging from the ceiling from time to time. He could be spontaneous, and so this isn’t the first time Jihu hasn’t found him right away. The panic that settles in never goes away, and even now he can already feel a nervous sweat wrapping around his neck.He somewhat exasperatedly stumbles out of Seokjin’s room and into his own, hoping that his gem has decided to crawl into Jihu’s bed. He hasn’t done that since he was a young child, scared and crying every time Jihu left to go into the town. It made Jihu’s heart swell, knowing that the crying was not as much from sadness but from fear; fear that he was going to get taken away, fear that kept him tied tightly around Jihu’s finger. When he enters his room, the emptiness seems to mock him. He breathes out harshly through his nose and lets the panic overtake him. With swinging arms and clumsy swipes he starts to tear his room apart. He takes every blanket off, rips his closet open, and does the same with Seokjin’s room. It doesn’t stop there, however, and he proceeds to tear the whole house apart. Maybe he knocks over ceramic statues Seokjin had made in the past, maybe he even rips paintings and tears books out of pure panic. He lets out shrill shrieks and hysterical sobs when he can’t find any trace of his gem, and just about collapses when he seems something glow out of the corner of his eye.It’s unfamiliar and tucked tightly underneath a floorboard Jihu must have no doubt ripped up slightly in his whirlwind of panic. Breathing hard, he shakily reaches down and pulls from the subfloor a rather unappealing satchel. The leather is well worn, and the strap has started to unthread at the seams. It’s not the satchel that makes Jihu’s mouth open, it’s not the bag itself that makes him scurry behind him like frightened prey. No, it’s what is inside.He barely touched it, felt like if he held it any longer his grip would meld into it. It was the crown, it was the monarch’s only effigy of their prince, and it was sitting right in his home. More than that, it was Seokjin’s crown. There was no way Seokjin could know, there was no way he possibly could have gotten a hold of this. A million thoughts pass through Jihu’s head, none very helpful and all erratic and full of fear.Fear that Seokjin was finding out who he really was; fear that the threads Jihu has wrapped with much trepidation around his fingers are breaking.His hands form tight fists, he pierces his bottom lip with intensity, and comes to the realisation—someone has his gem, someone stole his gem, and he’s going to do everything to get him back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Cold is the first sensation that Seokjin can register. He’s gone plummeting into what he really hopes is water deep enough to break their fall, wrapped impossibly tight around Jungkook. He didn’t expect this to be the plan, and definitely didn’t expect the water to immediately push them down through a strong current, forcing them stay submerged. Seokjin doesn’t want to let go, he really doesn’t, but when he accidentally draws in a breath he faces the fact he has to. With much apprehension he lets go of Jungkook and surges upward, trying to remember all the books he read where they said how to swim.He’s so focused on his mission to breathe that he forgets entirely about Jungkook. For some reason he assumed that the man would follow suit, that he was perfectly fine, but when Seokjin looks down, he sees that couldn’t possibly be farther from the truth. Jungkook hasn’t emerged, has barely moved, and Seokjin is too late to stop him from careening into a rock.Seokjin lets out a shriek, a panic riddled shout, when he sees blood quickly defusing into the water. It’s hard, nearly impossible, but he goes against better sense and dives back down, tirelessly fighting the current as he reaches desperately for his saviour. If he was above water he’s pretty sure he’d be crying, but under the intense pressure of the river he can barely even see. He almost doesn’t believe himself when he finally hooks his arms under Jungkook’s armpits, thanking that he’s slightly less heavy in the water.With much struggling, Seokjin is able to bring them both above water. The river’s current is still going strong, but Seokjin sees a small embankment that if he could just swim he could get to it. He takes a look down at the no doubt unconscious (and Jesus, maybe even dead) Jungkook and swallows hard. He’s already overcome so much, how hard can it be to swim a few feet?Incredibly hard, as it turns out. Despite being soaking wet he can feel a sweat slicking over his skin as he fights everything and anything to get across. His legs are giving out, not being able to resist the hydraulic push that’s insistently forcing itself on them. Breathing is becoming more difficult, his vision is blurring both from constantly being hit by water and exhaustion, and can’t believe himself when he feels sand between his toes.With a last desperate heave he’s able to flatten them both on the sand, legs still submerged in the water but at least they’re still. Seokjin stands to let out a bellowing yell of triumph, but when he hears the struggled breath of Jungkook he has little want to celebrate anymore. He whips his head down, hair slapping his cheek as he does, and his eyes widen at the sight before him.Jungkook’s shirt is torn, he has multiple cuts on his cheeks and arms, and his chest… His chest is coloured a deep red. A deep red that was most definitely blood. Jungkook is bleeding out, Seokjin realises. He collapses where he stands, shuffles through the sand to lean over Jungkook, and can’t decide if it’s a good or bad thing that he’s unevenly breathing. He must be in so much pain, Seokjin thinks, and cups his cheeks while he decides what to do.In reality, he has no choice. His grip on Jungkook’s cheeks tighten and is jaw clenches when he comes to the revelation. If he was going to be the one to save his saviour, the only way was to sing for him. It was his only option, and he’s so lost in thought he doesn’t register when a very wet Cane comes to rest on his shoulder.Turning his head to seek comfort in the sugar glider he whispers, “I have to save him.” Cane peeks out under flattened fur at him, nose twitching from the sensation. Seokjin swallows hard.“I have to save him.”— — — — — — — When Jungkook thinks of death—and he does more than he’d like to admit—he always thinks of finding his parents. He remembers the confusion and bubbling panic when they wouldn’t move, when they were far too cold to be okay. And they weren’t, they definitely weren’t, and so Jungkook always remembers finding his lifeless parents, under the covers he once used to call home.When Jungkook thinks of death, he doesn’t really think how much it would hurt. He’s not even sure he’s alive anymore; the only sensation he’s able to feel is something like a wave carelessly cupping his cheek and falling away, like a nervous lover. So when he opens his eyes, finally finds the strength to face the fact that he might actually have died this time (he’s tempted the sensation probably way too many times to count so far), he doesn’t expect Seokjin to be leaning over him, impossibly wet hair gripping his flushed cheeks. As he wonders whether or not Seokjin is crying or just very wet, he finally can hear, and finally hears Seokjin’s raspy voice begging him to wake up.“What the fuck,” is all Jungkook can manage.Seokjin whimpers, faltering his stance he has over Jungkook. “Oh my God,” he breathes, “Oh Jesus Christ, you’re alive.” Jungkook groans, and goes to push himself up, but the combo of searing pain and Seokjin’s wordless pleading makes him fall back down. “N-No,” Seokjin breathlessly says, “No, you’re too hurt to move.”Great, Jungkook thinks. Perfect, his brain adds. So maybe he wasn’t dead, but judging by how frantic Seokjin is, he’s probably really fucking close. He tries to wiggle his toes, and can find relief in the fact that one, he doesn’t seem to be paralysed, and two, with a little more shimmying finds nothing is broken. “Well shit,” he verbally ponders, “That’s probably not very good.”He turns his head ever so slightly to see Seokjin standing briskly as he says, “I… I can help, if you let me.” Well that’s bullshit, Jungkook thinks. He wants to tell Seokjin just that, but can see how swelled and puffy his eyes are from crying so instead sighs a, “I don’t have many other options, do I?”Without saying much, Seokjin reaches down to hook his arms under Jungkook’s armpits and starts to gingerly lift him up. It’s fucking painful, Jungkook groans the entire time, but for some reason Seokjin’s quiet assurances make him feel a lot better than he should. When he’s fully standing, Seokjin swiftly rearranges them so he’s practically carrying Jungkook, slowly but steadily shuffling over to the flattest boulder they can find.Belatedly Jungkook realises that the two of them (and Cane, he notices when he looks up at Seokjin’s shoulder) actually survived the gloriously stupid jump Jungkook had taken. He tries his best to look around them to check where in the fuck they even ended up, but Seokjin just keeps lightly turning Jungkook’s head back so he’s looking forward. When they finally make it to the makeshift bed (it seems to take eons), Seokjin lays Jungkook down. Pretty much every movement hurts, and Jungkook lets out a particularly shrill wail of sorts when he finally is laying flat. Seokjin is back with the quiet pleads of comfort, and it reminds Jungkook of the very few memories of his mother. He feels a betraying tear form in the corner of his eyes, and tries to tell himself it’s from the nonstop piercing pain he keeps feeling every time he breathes.“Stay with me,” Seokjin pleads as Jungkook feels himself falling away, “If you sleep now, I won’t be able to bring you back. I just… I just need a little more time, please don’t leave now.” He softly wipes Jungkook’s tears away, and the look on his face is too painful to witness, so Jungkook nods impossibly slowly.“How…” He tries to say, “How do you… Know what to do?”Seokjin lets out a humourless laugh under his breath. “I’ve done this plenty of times with Jihu,” he replies. Jungkook silently wonders what kind of man Jihu must be if he comes back consistently with death trailing behind him, but when Seokjin cups his cheeks and starts to sing, all coherent thoughts fall away like leaves from a tree in anticipation of the approaching winter. It’s a lovely melody, Seokjin has the voice of an angel if Jungkook was going to believe in such ridiculous things, and he barely sees Seokjin’s hair start to sparkle. He’s convinced it’s the sun, or maybe he’s so close to death he’s hallucinating, but the sparkle persists and blooms into a bright glow. Seokjin’s hair falls delicately over his shoulder, messy bun long abandoned it seems, and flecks of what Jungkook swears is stardust fall onto him like snowflakes. As he continues to sing, the glow gets brighter, so bright it starts to wrap itself around Jungkook, trails of what look like extensions of Seokjin’s hair pooling on Jungkook’s stomach and trailing down his legs. It’s mesmorising to look at, but what’s even more intense is Jungkook is actually starting to feel better. His breathing is becoming easier, he doesn’t feel as much pain in his gut, and feels like his skin is being stitched back together where it has been no doubt cut.When Seokjin has finished singing, all the glow flutters into nothing, and Jungkook is left staring into Seokjin’s expansive eyes. He’s left with the uncontrollable movement of taking one of Seokjin’s cheeks into his still shaking hand, and left with the ever consuming thought of how strange and yet wonderful this man he found in the tower is, feeling like he’s falling into a rabbit hole he won’t be able to crawl out of.— — — — — — — Calling Seokjin nervous would be the understatement of the century. He’s terrified, can’t stop shaking, and watches Jungkook’s steady breathing with heightened caution. His saviour had fallen back asleep after Seokjin healed him, had said a breathy thank you before commenting on how gorgeous Seokjin was, and passed out. Seokjin was afraid it hadn’t worked, that he had messed up the healing (he’s done it with Jihu) and all this was for naught. In amongst his blurred vision resulting from panic, he had seen Jungkook breathing evenly, heard him grunt in what was probably uncomfortable sleep, and finally found he could breathe a little easier himself.Still, he keeps gnawing at the bottom of his lip and holding his legs impossibly close to his chest while he violently shakes. He hadn’t ever planned on showing Jungkook his hair, was still terrified he would change his mind and take him instead of the worn down bag still tucked under the floorboard in his tower. He wants to believe Jungkook is a pure soul, a kind person, but then again he used to think those things about Jihu, and he couldn’t have been more wrong then.“Please don’t leave me,” Seokjin whispers, “Please don’t be like Jihu.”— — — — — — — Jungkook’s shirt is drenched in blood. Well, it was mostly dried blood that had gotten rewetted from their little swim, but he was still very much covered in blood. The shoulders of his shirt are ripped through, also decorated in a nice dose of blood, and even his lovely boots have a suspiciously looking blood like stain on them. All in all, Jungkook looks like a failed edgy painting, and can’t stop staring at his hands while he’s riddled in thought.“I’m alive,” he says to no one in particular. He slowly flips his hands back and forth, runs them down his stomach to where he was sure there was a giant hole, and over to his arm where he remembers pulling out the arrow. All of it was gone, all of it was healed, and even his legs feel less sore from all the running. Then he remembers why this all happened. He definitely remembers Seokjin’s hair glowing and engulfing him, and takes probably too long to come to the conclusion that Seokjin’s hair healed him. He whips his head to the side where he sees Seokjin sitting like he hadn’t just performed some voodoo shit, and opens his mouth to shriek in disbelief but—“Please don’t freak out!” Seokjin yelps, showing both his palms so they face Jungkook. They curl into nervous fists when he repeats, albeit quieter, “Please don’t freak out.”There is literally no way for Jungkook to not freak out, but he tries his best to not crack his voice when he says, “Your hair.” When Seokjin just looks at him with lips pressed into a line he continues, “Your hair.” He points an accusatory finger, but it shakes mercilessly. “Your hair glows, it… It heals what the fuck that can’t be real Jesus—““I can explain,” Seokjin interjects. When Jungkook looks up farther he sees Cane curled on top of Seokjin’s head, so he points a more confident finger at it.“How long have you known?” He squeaks to the sugar glider, “Does your fur glow? Does it give off psychedelic drugs like are you kid—““Can you shush and let me explain?” Seokjin practically shouts, and it’s so unexpected Jungkook does actually shut his trap. “I… I didn’t mean to show you this,” he continues, “But now that you’ve seen it, yes. My hair it… Has special abilities.” He finally lowers his hands and curls them onto his lap, lowering his head. Jungkook feels slightly bad for definitely freaking out when Seokjin’s quiet voice goes on: “I don’t know how… Or why… It’s like this. I discovered it when I was very young, when I had been mindlessly singing and it just started out of no where. Jihu… Jihu had seemed to expect it to happen, and I just went with it ever since. I went with it and that’s the reason…” He trails off.“That’s the reason you never left the tower?” Jungkook finishes for him. Seokjin curtly nods and Jungkook sighs. He didn’t sign up for this shit. “So it happens every time you sing, eh?”Seokjin slowly shakes his head, still not lifting his head. “No… I seem to have to be almost wanting it to happen. It started when I would sing while I was elated, and then I could do it when I was filled with worry whenever Jihu came back barely alive.”Well that makes the whole meadow scene make sense. “So you think I’m gunna do some crazy shit now, right?” He asks, and when Seokjin practically curls into himself he knows he’s right. Before Seokjin can give an answer, Jungkook laughs under his breath and says, “It’s super freaky that your hair does all that, but trust me I really don’t need all that mess. Traditional medicine has worked fine for me, and to be honest I’m fairly good at avoiding dying.” He smirks at the end, glad to see Seokjin lift his head.“Wh-What?” Seokjin asks, clearly baffled.Jungkook nods, smirk not fading. “So yeah, I totally screwed up this time and almost died, but that’s a rare thing. Besides, your hair is a little too blonde for me.”Seokjin momentarily scrunches his nose at no doubt the colour of his hair comment, but his face immediately softens. “Jihu always told me…”Because Jungkook is frankly sick of hearing about the grimy asshole, he somewhat angrily says, “Well Jihu was wrong.”For a brief moment Seokjin looks personally offended by the remark, but once more his face calms into something like content. “Really?”“Really,” Jungkook responds honestly.— — — — — — — As it turns out, where Jungkook and Seokjin landed is impossibly close to the city. Jungkook can see the castle protruding from the horizon, and he watches it with heavy unease. By contrast, Seokjin watches it with giddy smiles and bounces, that infectious smile never falling away. At some point Jungkook will have to explain everything, but since Seokjin hasn’t asked Jungkook hasn’t answered. It was refreshing being around someone who had no preconceived notions about him, so he’ll keep it like that as long as possible. For the whole time, he hopes.When Seokjin just about glides like his damn sky rat, Jungkook grabs a hold of his collar, yanking him back like a disobedient dog. “Absolutely not,” Jungkooks commands while Seokjin whips his head to glare. “Just in case you haven’t noticed, our clothes are filthy and mine are a nice colour red.”Seokjin blinks. “Isn’t it more of a brown now?”Jungkook puffs out a breath, lifting his bangs slightly. “Fine, brown, whatever. Point is, if I walk into the city like this they’ll immediately assume I’m some sort of serial killer.” It’s not really a lie technically, the guard would definitely throw him in prison, so there’s some truth to his request. He keeps that bit from Seokjin, though. “We also smell like disgusting river water,” he adds when Seokjin just sort of blankly stares.“I guess that’s true,” he mumbles as Jungkook releases his grip. “Then what are we going to do?”Jungkook swallows, tries his best to put on a confident smirk as he replies, “Bathe.”He tells Seokjin to follow him down the river, that at some point they’ll probably reach a small town where they can use the baths. After not too much traversing, Jungkook does actually spot one just as such, and the place only has two houses and a mill. It seems secluded enough that they probably have no idea who Jungkook is, and so he carefully walks up to a young woman feeding some roaming chickens.“Excuse me?” Jungkook tries sweetly.“Yes—Oh holy God!” The woman shrieks, dropping her basket of bread crumbs. The chickens go mad, pecking at every last scrap their greedy little beaks can pick up. Jungkook is momentarily confused until he follows the woman’s gaze, which has cemented itself right on the giant hole in Jungkook’s shirt. Oh, right. The woman is frozen solid, trembling where she stands, so Jungkook rubs the back of his neck and tries to say again sweetly, “Oh, it’s fine. I just…”“Fell from a tree,” Seokjin squeaks from behind him. “It looks a lot worse than it really is.”The woman says nothing, but when her eyes meet Seokjin, Jungkook can see the deep blush reach her cheeks even behind her slightly parted fingers. “I—I don’t…” She stammers.Seokjin steps forward, a soft smile on his face, eyes turned up into crescent moons. From this angle Jungkook can see small dimples, isn’t sure how he never noticed before, and quickly turns his head away, hiding the own betraying blush he feels heating up his skin. “We’re sorry for scaring you,” Seokjin says, untidy hair gracefully falling over his shoulders. “But we have been traveling for days now, and only just happened upon your little village.” He looks up and the smile widens, which just means Jungkook turns away harder. “It’s very cute, I never imagined places like this existed, always thought they were part of fairytales.” Dropping her hands, the woman seems visibly calmer. Jungkook can relate, being around Seokjin has made him eerily calm despite the deep shit he’s currently in. “Oh—Oh, okay,” she softly replies. She gnaws at the bottom of her lip, gaze falling to the ground that is now devoid of both ravenous chickens and bread crumbs before it springs back up. She’s smiling now, claps her hands together as she cheerfully says, “You two must be hungry! My momma makes the best venison stew, oh she’d love to have you over!”Her enthusiasm is endearing, so Jungkook finally turns to her, returning a relieved smile. “That would be lovely,” he says. He offers a small bow as he adds, “Thank you.” When Seokjin just stands there, Jungkook grabs his back and forces him to bow as well. “Bow politely,” he coos, and laughs to himself when he sees Seokjin blush slightly.— — — — — — — The girl really wasn’t lying, the stew is amazing. Seokjin scarfs it down with unabashed haste, and with each spoonful takes a bite of bread to accompany it. The bread is a bit stale, but it’s almost unnoticeable when mixed with the stew, so Seokjin doesn’t really mind. Jihu brought back stale food on a regular basis, so it wasn’t like this was a new concept to him. If he was going to admit it, the stew was much better than anything Jihu could cook. It was that reason that Seokjin took up cooking himself, although he’s pretty sure nothing he’s made could rival this.“You have beautiful eyes,” the mother comments when Seokjin decides to finally look up.He chokes slightly but manages to say, “Th-Thank you.” He takes a moment to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand before he adds. “Thank you for your hospitality, really. It means a lot.”The woman smiles, and it’s impossibly warm. “Anytime,” she answers, “It’s nice to see there are still decent young men around.”Seokjin cocks his head to the side as Cane scurries down his shoulder to grab stray crumbs. “What do you mean?”The daughter interjects quickly: “There’s so many ruffians nowadays. Robbers, thieves—all sorts of things.”Her mother nods, “Yes. And recently, some fools stole the prince’s crown”—Jungkook audibly chokes—“And they still haven’t found the one who actually snagged it, just his accomplices.” “That’s… Terrible,” Seokjin replies. “How is the prince coping? I can’t imagine he was very happy about it…” “There is no prince,” Jungkook suddenly says after being silent almost the whole meal. Seokjin swears he says it almost bitterly, but has little time to think about it when the ladies are eager to go on.“Yes, he’s right,” the daughter says, “There is supposed to be, but he disappeared when he was hardly a month old. They say he was stolen.”“Stolen?” Seokjin squeaks, causing Cane to scurry back up him and snuggle into his neck.The mother nods. “Snatched right from his crib they say. It’s been twenty-four years and people speculate he’s dead by now, but the queen still prays he’s alive out there somewhere.”“I can’t imagine how hard that must be, not knowing whether your own son is even alive…” Seokjin says, voice falling into a low whisper near the end. He absentmindedly stirs the small bit of stew that’s left, thinking perhaps he and this queen share the same sentiment of sorts. From his even short journey with Jungkook so far, he’s come to realise that Jihu has perhaps lied to him his whole life. The more he thinks about it, he’s not sure if his parents are alive either. “I’d like to meet this queen,” he says, this time a bit louder. “I imagine we have that in common with each other.”The girl giggles. “No one ever even sees the queen anymore, she’s always hiding in her room unless they hold council.”“She’s right,” the woman adds, “The poor woman has lost all her luster. Sometimes I wonder if she’s even alive, but then she comes out, and I swear the bags under her eyes get deeper each time.”Before Seokjin can respond, the girl is eager to yelp out as she stretches herself across the table, “Say, you could pass for a prince! You’re certainly gorgeous enough!”Her mother grabs the back of her shirt and pulls her back, no doubt scolding her for such brash words, but Seokjin can barely hear them behind the intense heat that floods his cheeks. He shifts in his seat slightly, gives a fake cough, and turns to Jungkook with eyes silently pleading for help. When he looks over, though, Jungkook is just staring at him, face even yet soft, lips pursed in mute concentration.— — — — — — — Luckily the mother doesn’t ask Jungkook precisely why he’s covered in blood, just shrugs it off and offers him a definitely not murdered looking blouse. It’s a little too frilly for Jungkook’s taste, but he really doesn’t have any other options so he takes it with a thankful bow nonetheless. The daughter, by contrast, follows Jungkook around like a stray cat begging for food, staring at him like he doesn’t notice it, but he definitely does. She doesn’t say anything really, which Jungkook is a little surprised by, but she stands outside their house much longer than her mother when Seokjin and him leave.And of course of they have to leave, because the mother distinctly said she was not going to have two naked men bathe in her house. Jungkook is fairly sure it’s because of the daughter, but they promise the two of them that there’s a lovely hot spring just a bit farther in the woods. Jungkook doesn’t ask how the hell it got there, just sort of stares at it like it’s the fountain of youth.It’s tucked into an alcove that can’t be seen from the main trail, which is probably why it looks so pure and untouched. Jungkook can’t remember the last time he had a proper bath like this, just usually stole water from Yoongi’s reservoir when he wasn’t looking. The thought of Yoongi and the pub makes Jungkook’s throat tighten and he swallows harshly to try and rid of the thought that Yoongi and everyone might be dead. “It’s amazing,” Seokjin muses beside him, “I’ve never bathed in anything but the small tub in the tower.”Not trusting his voice not to crack, Jungkook just slowly nods. He barely registers Seokjin clapping his hands in what was no doubt excitement, and only comes back when he sees him start to untuck his shirt. Right. They were bathing, and you don’t bathe in clothes. You bathe naked. Naked Seokjin… Jungkook breathes in sharply and manages to grab Seokjin’s shoulder before he relieves himself of his shirt entirely. “We should do this in turns,” he manages to say to Seokjin’s quirked eyebrow. “Someone can wash the clothes while the other takes the first bath,” he adds, hoping he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels, which is ridiculous. He’s seen all his friends in various stages of undress, Seokjin is no different. Only he is, and that’s a thought Jungkook doesn’t feel like entertaining right now.“Oh,” Seokjin replies too softly, “Well… Would you like to go first? I always did the wash for Jihu and I, so I don’t mind taking care of that.”Jungkook just wants to be rid of Seokjin and the impure thoughts that are flooding his head, so he nods probably too fast. “Alright, that seems fair.”And then they just stand there, staring at each other. Jungkook hasn’t removed his hand, Seokjin’s eyebrow hasn’t eased back into its original place. It goes like for what feels like ten minutes but probably only is one before Seokjin says, “Erm, I need your clothes to, you know, wash them.”Shit, that’s right. Well, Jungkook can do this, right? He’s some big-shot criminal who fears nothing, so getting undressed in front of a beautiful man who has saved your life is next to nothing, isn’t it? Of course it is, he tells himself as he goes to take his murder shirt off, of course it is. He has a new shirt, so all Seokjin has to wash are his pants, so in reality Jungkook doesn’t have to take off this one, right? He goes with that, ignores that it’s ridiculous he’s reading too much into this and ignores his shirt in favour of clumsily taking off his belt.While he’s doing this, Seokjin is just mindlessly whistling and playing with Cane. He seems completely unperturbed by the whole situation, which makes Jungkook feel worse somehow. He was supposed to be a cocky bastard, not a shy school girl. Still, once he frees himself of his boots and pants, he flings himself down the small hill that leads to the spring, and cannonballs right in. Because he’s an idiot it’s not quite deep enough for a cannonball, and curses himself when he lands flat on his ass on the not exactly smooth ground. “Ah,” Seokjin calls down, “I guess I’ll go find somewhere to wash these then?”Jungkook gives a wordless thumbs up, deliberately facing away from Seokjin as he sinks back down into the spring.— — — — — — — Jihu tries to think calmly, rationally, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult in his constant state of panic. He hasn’t left the tower yet, some shred of hope clinging to him that Seokjin will show up unscathed. His chest tightens at the thought of losing his gem, at the thought of losing his lifeline. A sweat builds up once more on his skin despite him not being hot at all, and it’s just impossible for him to think. He ruffles his hair with frustrated hands and tries to think of somewhere—anywhere—that someone would take his precious jewel to. When he comes up blank, he almost loses hope. Almost.A brilliant idea springs into his mind and as he grabs at the satchel, a snide smile forming on his lips. Of course, he’ll ask council with the king and queen, bringing the crown with him and uses it as leverage. He’ll make the whole kingdom search for his gem, will tell pretty lies like he has the prince tucked away (which technically isn’t a lie necessarily) and once he gets his gem back, they’ll run.They’ll run and not look back and as long as Jihu can string Seokjin along, they’ll never stop running. He briskly exits the tower with a new burning conviction swelling in his veins.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You’re going to get prunes,” Seokjin says to the back of Jungkook, who is still fully submerged in the hot spring. Cane is snuggled into his neck, blissfully unaware that Seokjin is being denied a very much needed bath. Jungkook mumbles something intelligible and Seokjin furrows his brows. He’s been acting strange ever since they left the nice women’s house and it’s bothering Seokjin probably a little too much. “I’m just going to get in then,” he threatens, “And you can mope in peace in the corner.”He doesn’t bother to hear if Jungkook agrees or not, just slides himself in, warmth immediately swallowing him whole. The splash of water surprises Cane, who squeaks indignently as he scurries off to curl back up on the edge of the spring, glaring at a smiling Seokjin. The warmth of the spring seems to wash away any lingering thoughts that all this was wrong, that he should turn back and just helplessly wait for Jihu to return. He’s seen the stars, technically anyway, so why was he still out? After he lifts his head back from the water, he wonders these thoughts directly into the back of Jungkook.He’s whistling slightly obnoxiously, but as if he can feel Seokjin staring, he slowly turns as if he’s facing a predator. They sit in silence, staring at each other as if they’ve seen each other for the first time, strangers in a bath house just living their lives. Come to think of it, Seokjin doesn’t know anything about Jungkook. All he knows is that he’s a flaming idiot, but a brave and caring idiot all the same. For some reason he has an armada of guards after him, but under the rough exterior he puts on as a defense, he’s sweet on the inside. It reminds him of the somewhat stale pastries Jihu would bring him, often hurting his teeth when he bit into them, but the jelly on the inside made him not care.Seokjin wants to know what kind of jelly Jungkook is.“Has anyone told you that your eyes practically bulge out your head?” Jungkook asks, tone playful and a smirk on his face.Seokjin pouts. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”Jungkook shrugs as he replies, “I mean I think so.”Jelly, Seokjin thinks so he asks before he changes his mind, “Tell me about yourself.”A laugh, though it’s more of a sharp exhale, comes from Jungkook. “Listen, I agreed to this but I never said this was going to be a therapy session where we have a heart-to-heart talk.”Silence follows, Seokjin having lost all his confidence in trying to get to know his saviour. He’s trying to find something to follow that up with, but as he stares at the water he sees ripples curling around the silhouette of his torso. When he looks up, he sees Jungkook standing in front of him, and for the first time Seokjin realises they’re both very much naked and only about a foot from one and other. So maybe Seokjin starts to panic a little, but freezes instantly when Jungkook reaches out to wipe something off his cheek.“You’re covered in dirt,” Jungkook says, but his voice is almost a whisper. “I—I…” Seokjin stutters, but can’t find anything to say when Jungkook smiles softly at him. He’s not sure how the sarcastic bastard from just moments ago turned into this, but the touch is soft, impossibly soft, nothing like the caresses Jihu gives him. He finds himself leaning into it all the same.— — — — — — —Jungkook is screwed. Scratch that, Jungkook is entirely and rawly fucked. He keeps falling more and more for Seokjin, which is ridiculous on enough fronts that Jungkook doesn’t even want to bother counting. He tries to tell himself it’s because he’s knee deep in the most rotten shit he’s probably ever been in, but the other dutifully reminds him of all the things about Seokjin that are endearing. They used to annoy the piss out of him, but the more he watches Seokjin interact with the real world, the more empathy and adoration he feels.So maybe that’s why he practically has Seokjin’s face buried in his hand. He’s not sure what compelled him, but something overwhelmingly strong told him he should be allowed to touch. That maybe it wasn’t so bad to be stranded with a stranger like this, that maybe if he hadn’t found Seokjin in that tower he would be dead himself. In this moment he briefly forgets about the crown, thinks Seokjin shines brighter than any jewel on the damn thing, and finds himself taking a stand of Seokjin’s hair in his other hand.Seokjin tenses at the touch, no doubt thinking that Jungkook has changed his mind and is going to—how did he put it?—steal him and use his hair. In reality he was impossibly curious how this anomaly came about, but he thinks Seokjin is more than his hair. “You mean more than just your silly hair,” Jungkook says aloud, but it’s quiet. “I get the feeling no one has ever reminded you of that.”When Seokjin just opens and closes his mouth slowly, something dangerous compels Jungkook to lean forward, closer to this strange man he found in a tower, blissfully ignoring the fact that they’re both rather naked under the disguise of the water. He’s bathed plenty of times in communal baths, seen a glorious amount of men (and women really) bare naked, so that’s not really on his mind. No, what’s on his mind is this soft and caring man, one who has been no doubt emotionally abused and has never lived life the way Jungkook has. Okay, so maybe he doesn’t need the rioting and the crime aspect, but here was Jungkook—a free person to wander and pursue his life the way he wants, and then there was Seokjin; a shining star in his own right that has been hidden from the sky.Jungkook can feel Seokjin’s breath ghost his lips as he says, “J-Jungkook.” All Jungkook does as a response is hum, low in his throat, but Seokjin says next, with more conviction: “Jungkook, there are guards.”Sure enough, when Jungkook pulls away slightly and follows Seokjin’s terrified gaze, he sees part of the platoon from before, digging through the undergrowth. It has to be the cock-block of the century. His first thought is that they probably stole his clothes, the second is that the pissing annoying captain isn’t there, and the third that he should probably do something about all three. He swiftly turns back to Seokjin, who is trembling like he’s been hit with a wave of cold, and something stirs in Jungkook, something he hasn’t felt since his caretaker struck Jimin on the face deep enough it left a scar for years.“Go hide,” Jungkook tells Seokjin, brushing his hair behind his ear, “Go hide and don’t come out until I say it’s okay.”“But what about you?” Seokjin asks as he grabs the arm of a turning Jungkook. “There’s at least five of them, they outnumber you.”He sounds more scared for Jungkook than for himself, so Jungkook does his best cocky laugh as he replies with a, “Well they’re probably not as infinitely stupid as I am, so I think it’s pretty even.” He turns back only briefly to grasp Seokjin’s shoulder tightly as he repeats, “Go hide.”He doesn’t bother to wait for a response before he goes trudging through the water, eyes set on the five men up the hill.— — — — — — —Seokjin hides, Cane cupped in his trembling hands. The only place he could find in such sort notice and in such panic was some overhanging vines from the rocky embankment that surround the once peaceful hot spring. He can’t stop trembling, but he keeps telling himself he has to, or the ripples he makes will let the men find him. As he watches Jungkook climb out of the water, he adverts his gaze down to Cane, somehow still being able to feel embarrassed in the situation he’s found himself in.In all honesty, he thought this was going to be a lot simpler. From what he read, going outside just meant a nice walk and maybe some good—and not stale—food. As he watches Jungkook literally pounce one of the guards, he starts to think this man that rescued him is not normal at all. The more he’s around him the more he sincerely doubts he was some magical prince sent to rescue him, especially with the comment from the women about the kingdom’s missing prince. When the movement becomes too much for Seokjin to tell who’s Jungkook and who’s a guard, he lets himself watch it a little more.Jungkook is strong, he thinks, of that he has no doubt. From descending his tower, carrying him over a cliff, and now this Seokjin thinks he’s very strong. Jihu was strong too, from when he would hit Seokjin. He was strong even when he would carry Seokjin to bed when he fell ill, but that was Jihu, and Seokjin was afraid of Jihu. So why isn’t he afraid of Jungkook? What was it about this brown haired hero that made Seokjin trust him so deeply? He has little time to think of such things when he feels a sharp tug on his hair.— — — — — — —It’s been a long time since Jungkook has fought naked. He can’t really remember it, but considering his life so far at some point he has had to have fought naked. He certainly has fought dressed in drag, when he volunteered to stake out the brothel the Terrible Trio so valiantly raided. At this moment he’s able to put thoughts of the status of his friends out of his mind in favour of trying not to get bludgeoned to death. Thank the Gods whatever patrol that was sent out here seems to be inexperienced enough that Jungkook isn’t really breaking too much of a sweat as he knocks them all to the ground. It becomes some sort of macabre dance for him, and he finds he’s smiling smugly to himself at the ease in which he dispatches the myriad of guards that try and best him. He was feeling increasingly not himself in the time he’s been with Seokjin, a warmth kindling inside him that he doesn’t want to recognise. Sure, he’s had flings before with multiple people of varying gender and sexuality, but they were usually just one time things. Hell, sometimes he even did so he could rob them in the morning while they slept but he was never too proud of those moments. In fact, he stopped doing it when he started to come back to the same house over and over. The Trio had raided it clean, Jungkook had slept with the son of the man that owned it, but he had played dumb.He played dumb when the son had approached him, drowning in his own tears, sobbing about his family heirloom that was stolen. Jungkook remembered it exactly, planned on selling it in the town over for more money than he could probably carry, but a twisting feeling rested in his gut on the sight of the son being so distraught. So he went against everything he knew up until that point, fought with Jimin and Taehyung before he brought it back one night. He had crawled through the window, jostled the son awake, and he remembers the purest of smiles he gave him, like it lit up the otherwise dark room.Seokjin reminds him of that son. Of the last person he felt a connection with, only to be thrown away when the son found out who Jungkook really was. And that was just it, Seokjin definitely isn’t letting Jungkook know all about him, he knows he’s keeping secrets, but is Jungkook no different? He doesn’t want to reveal who he is, Seokjin doesn’t ask, and the myriad thoughts that flood Jungkook’s head makes him think of the family heirloom. That it wasn’t worth it, that the son’s smile and happiness was worth more. A swift undercut to a guard’s jaw clears his mind of useless thoughts somewhat. What makes it blank out, though, is a scream that definitely isn’t from one of the guards, that’s definitely a scream filled with unbridled terror. When Jungkook looks, he sees a guard dragging Seokjin out of the water. Panic drowns Jungkook in this moment, so much he doesn’t even bother checking if all the guards near him are knocked out, just hurdles over rocks and tree roots to get to Seokjin. He starts to see everything through a tunnel with Seokjin right in the center, the only thing Jungkook cares to reach. He’s not sure why he’s feeling such an overwhelming need to protect, to save, especially since he’s not entirely convinced the guy won’t murder him at some point. Jungkook has never been sensible.Cane dutifully bites at the fist of the guard that holds Seokjin’s hair taut, and for the first time Jungkook could actually kiss the glorified rodent. He finds himself laughing under his breath as he launches himself off a boulder, the bottom of his heel flying down and right onto the guard’s face. Because gravity is definitely a thing, the guard goes head first directly to the ground. Jungkook wastes no time to revel in his perfectly executed kick, just flies a fist down into the center of the man’s chest with all the force he can muster. The guard lets Seokjin go, the latter of which stumbles and falls face first himself on the ground. Jungkook momentarily ceases his assault on the guard to swiftly turn and lift Seokjin up by his shoulder. Besides a little smudge of dirt on his cheek, Seokjin looks relatively unscathed. “Oh thank God,” Jungkook finds himself whispering, drawing Seokjin in close. He can feel Seokjin blink slowly against his bare chest. He really couldn’t care less that they’re still naked, dignity be damned.From behind them Jungkook is too slow to hear the groan of the guard lifting himself off the ground again, too slow to feel him tug on Jungkook’s lower arm, and definitely too late to retaliate. He’s yanked away from Seokjin, practically ripped from his embrace, and everything starts to move in slow motion. He feels like he’s falling forever, feels like he’s watching Seokjin drown into a black hole he can’t hope to reach, and doesn’t register when Seokjin lurches forward. He grabs Jungkook’s free arm, tugs on it harshly which only slightly registers as pain to him, and in one smooth motion rather enthusiastically unites the guard’s face with his fist. Jungkook thinks he hears the guy’s nose break.Jungkook stumbles but manages not to fall, looking back at him to the definitely knocked out cold guard. “Whoa,” he whispers mostly to himself, slowly turning his gaze to Seokjin, whose face is entirely tinted red. He’s not sure what from, there are honestly too many options to choose from, but he just says once more, “Whoa.”“I—" Seokjin starts, but stops immediately. Jungkook isn’t sure what he has to be so ashamed of.“We should probably get out of here,” Jungkook says to fill the silence.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Miraculously their clothes stayed hanging on a low branch near the hot spring. Their careless blowing in the breeze bothers Jungkook for some reason as he and Seokjin get dressed in silence. For Jungkook, being rather void of clothes around people was nothing new, but he figures Seokjin has probably only seen this “Jihu” naked. Jungkook shivers at the thought, imagining the man to be some hair covered troll of some sort. Still, he wants the Seokjin back that was full of smiles and rather precise punches, so he says as casual as possible, “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate it?”Seokjin looks up from adjusting his sleeves. “Rate what?” Jungkook just as casually gestures to his crotch area and absolutely adores the way Seokjin stiffens and stutters. “I—How?”“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” he chides with a wink.Seokjin glares at him. “I swear I’m going to knock you out like I did that guard.”When Jungkook laughs Seokjin’s glare deepens. “I gotta say, I didn’t expect that of you. It was…” Amazing? Glorious? Makes him want to smother Seokjin in the most sensual way possible? “Impressive,” he manages to say. He elects to ignore the fact that watching Seokjin filled with passion could have possibly turned him on. It’s probably not healthy. Seokjin softly smiles back and it really doesn’t help Jungkook at all. “Thank you,” he says just as softly, tugging at the loose threads of his shirt sleeves. Before Jungkook can say something probably stupid he asks, “Is it safe to move on?”And shit, Jungkook actually feels bad, which is saying a lot for the level his conscience usually operates at. He’s taken Seokjin from his safety net and dragged him across the kingdom, only to put him in even more danger. He’d like to think that he’s “saved” him from the elusive Jihu, but he really doesn’t know what their dynamic was even like. Seokjin never looks particularly happy when he speaks of him, but there’s also a glimmer in his eye that says he still feels for him. After all, this mysterious man was basically his father. Jungkook never knew his father, has limited memories of him, and realises maybe it’s harder for other people to leave such sentiments behind.He briskly nods after what’s probably too long of a silence. “Of course,” he assures with Seokjin with a somewhat forced smile.— — — — — — —“Where are we going?” Seokjin asks Jungkook as they traipse through more and more woods. He doesn’t turn around, just nonchalantly shrugs at the inquiry. Seokjin wrinkles his nose. “Jungkook,” he says somewhat indignantly. The name sounds strange coming out of his mouth, but also not strange at all. It’s been a very confusing two days.That’s also on Seokjin’s mind, frankly. He had said three days, Jungkook had agreed to three days when he was still tied in Seokjin’s chair, and the crown he had brought is still hiding under the floorboards. It’s taken them two days to get just this far, and so realistically it would take another two to get back. Would Jungkook abandon him halfway through? Is he actually not as benevolent as Seokjin has been thinking; has he been blinded this whole time?His thoughts are abruptly interrupted when he practically slams into Jungkook’s back. Cane hisses slightly, burrowing into the nape of Seokjin’s neck, and honestly Seokjin might have hissed himself. He rubs his forehead as he tries to ask, “What in the holy—?”“Look,” Jungkook interrupts suddenly. He lightly directs Seokjin so he’s positioned in front of him, the touch soft but assertive at the same time. It gives Seokjin goosebumps, but he’s not sure why. In any case, Seokjin looks out and can’t help the soft gasp that escapes him. Just across a small river rests a city—no, the city. The one Seokjin has sparsely read about, Jihu always ripping the books about it away from him, the city of the queen and king—the city of stars. The north star always shines the brightest over the horizon where Seokjin was able to figure out the rough direction of the city, and it’s a place he’s put out of his mind for so long, never thinking he’d ever see it. Always thinking it was something that was easier to forget.Yet here it is. It’s here, Seokjin can listen to the sounds of a bustling city, of a place he’s never been, a feeling he’s never experienced. It’s here, and all he has to do is cross this river, this minuscule series of currents compared to what he’s already had to go through so far. Without even thinking his legs have started to move forward, he can feel the breeze combing its delicate fingers through his hair as his pace hastens, his pulse quickens, and his feet splash into the shallow bed of the river. He can’t help the small laughs that are escaping him, though they don’t carry as much humour as they do pure disbelief. Jihu would have never let Seokjin get this far, would never have let him feel the water under his feet, the smells of the woods, and when Seokjin turns around to a scrambling Jungkook, he thinks Jihu has also never given him this type of feeling Seokjin is still unable to place.“You can’t just walk across the river,” Jungkook points out somewhat annoyingly. He’s also pouting too, which diminishes any substance to his bold claim.Seokjin ignores it when he says, “Thank you.” Jungkook’s nose wrinkles, which isn’t what Seokjin wasn’t expecting as a reaction. There’s clouding in the back of his eyes, something akin to uncertainty, and Seokjin wonders if it’s because he too has realised the days are up. Seokjin swallows hard and forces a smile, one he had before that was genuine and unafraid. “Your hair needs to be put back up,” Jungkook says, and it’s obvious he’s going to completely ignore Seokjin’s declaration of thanks. He produces something akin to a hair tie from his pant pocket and starts to reach out, but Seokjin flinches. He can’t help it, knows it’s silly to do by now, but does it all the same. Jungkook sighs impatiently. “You wanna do it then?” He isn’t sure where this sudden coldness has come from, but Seokjin nods and takes the tie with a shaking hand. He wills it (and him) to calm down as he fights with his hair to get it into the bun he had before. Despite his efforts, a stray hair doesn’t quite make it into the bun and falls softly behind his ear. At first he doesn’t even notice, pays it no mind at all besides clicking his tongue in annoyance that his hair never fits into such constrains, but when he looks over to Jungkook, the latter’s eyes are wide in curiosity. “Jungkook…?” Seokjin asks warily.Jungkook’s gaze floats slowly up to meet Seokjin’s eyes, clearing his throat and straightening his back when they make contact. “I guess Jihu was bad at hiding hair dye?”Seokjin’s brows furrow in minute confusion. “Excuse me?”“You hair right there,” Jungkook nods in what Seokjin assumes is the direction of this ever important bit of his hair, “It’s brown.”Cane, apparently having grown the sense to start listening to Jungkook, tugs on the aforementioned bit of hair. Seokjin, however, freezes. “Ah….” He starts slowly. “Yes, well…” He heaves in a sigh and closes his eyes, telling himself it’s fine to tell Jungkook more about himself, this stranger (hero?) can be trusted, and so with his best conviction he continues: “Remember when I told you about how Jihu was so adamant about protecting my hair?” Jungkook nods. “It’s because… When you cut it—it…” He’s not sure why he’s overcome with such grief at the thought; maybe it’s because without his hair he has no use to Jihu. It’s a fact he’s tried to bury throughout his adolescent and adult life, that all Seokjin is is an asset and that if all of his hair was gone, he’d be left alone. “It loses all its power, and turns brown.” He finally finishes.Jungkook is abnormally silent before Seokjin barely catches him asking, “And that’s why you were never allowed to leave that tower? Because someone could cut your hair…?”Seokjin ignores the slight mockery at the end and just nods. “Or use it for their own good,” he adds.“And yet you’re still going back?”That was the question, the bargain, the unknown puzzle piece in all of this. Seokjin doesn’t answer, only looks away and simply stares at the city and wills away the tears that tug at his eyes.— — — — — — —On the top ten list of people who have terrible ideas (because this list exists in Jungkook’s mind), Jungkook would probably rank at two or three. Probably not one, he’s sure there is someone out there who is far less sensible than him, but a solid two nonetheless. He probably should have listened to Namjoon when he said that stealing that damn crown wasn’t going to go well, but Jungkook can’t help if he acts like a child in a candy store at the best of times—or maybe the worst. The case remains, stealing that crown could possibly boot Jungkook’s rank on the list of etcetera to one, if only because of where he’s standing, and even more so who he’s standing with.To recap, Jungkook’s genius led him to what was supposed to be an empty tower, what was supposed to be his base of operations to get his friends back, but of course was occupied by some sociopath that thought tying up visitors was a completely normal thing to do. Even worse, Jungkook’s brilliant mind agreed to help his captor, and maybe it was because the man was stunning and almost glows in the sun, but then again Jungkook used to think cow shit was the neatest thing in the world so he really doesn’t know.What’s possibly the worst thing is that not only is the man stunning physically, but his mind is full of purity and wonders that Jungkook has a distinct weakness for. It’s because of this that Jungkook stands quite possibly at the stupidest place he could have possibly come up with, sober or otherwise.“It’s beautiful,” Seokjin—a.k.a. the bane of Jungkook’s existence—softly says, peering around the city gate. Jungkook grumbles under his breath. “Stunning,” he quips, burrowing his face in his hands. “Quick question though,” Seokjin hums, turning back around to Jungkook, who is most definitely hiding. “Why are we hiding behind this wall?”“We’re not hiding,” Jungkook replies, who refuses to admit that yes, they are most definitely hiding. “I’m just… Thinking.” It isn’t entirely wrong, he actually is thinking, just not coming up with anything very helpful. “Well,” Seokjin says, taking a seat next to Jungkook, “Anything I can do to help?”Jungkook honestly almost asks for the guy to build a time machine and drag his sorry ass back to when he first even thought about trying to take the crown so he can kick his own ass to and from town. He doesn’t though, just sighs out an honest, “No, not really.”“Okay,” Seokjin replies, drawing out the “a”. A small silence falls before he actually claps his hands together and confidently pipes out, “What about a song? Jihu always says songs make him feel better.”Okay so maybe saying Jungkook was falling for this glowing idiot was going a bit far. He turns to look at Seokjin, giving his best unimpressed glare to Seokjin’s stupidly bright smile. It makes crinkles form in the corners of his eyes, showing off the pureness of his heart that Jungkook can’t tell if he’s in love with or vehemently hates. “You can be impossibly naive,” Jungkook says.Seokjin’s smile barely fades when he retorts with, “And you incredibly stubborn.”Jungkook can’t help the what probably is the stupidest looking grin bloom on his face. It was the kind Taehyung was always able to give him, the one that spurred him to keep going, to stay optimistic. And then a thought suddenly punches Jungkook in the gut.He’s at the city… He’s at the city where more than likely his friends are being kept. Of course they would keep them here, where else could be better? It was likely meant to scare them, to make it seem like there was truly no way out and no way to escape. Perhaps they are right, but they never accounted for the fact that Jungkook is a flaming idiot. A well intended, precise, and caring idiot, but an idiot all the same. And perhaps they were also kept here as a bait, to get Jungkook to come find them, but with the swelling feeling threatening to burst from Jungkook’s chest, he doesn’t really give a shit.He refuses to look away from Seokjin, from this man who glows like the sun. The man who’s saved his life already, and with the healing power of his hair and Jungkook being on the brink of death, would do so again. So maybe he was going to use him, maybe he wasn’t as good-hearted as he thought, but he can’t give up this opportunity. Not when he’s so close. But first, there is something Jungkook somehow has to say.“So listen,” he starts apprehensively, hating the way Seokjin cocks his head to the side as he hums. Shit. How was he supposed to do this? He presses his lips into a thin line, gnawing at them with his bottom teeth. “There’s something about me you should know.”Seokjin’s smile falters suddenly. “Oh?” He asks, and Jungkook knows he’s trying to be nonchalant about it but he also knows that it’s failing miserably. Cane comes to scurry on top of Seokjin’s head, little black eyes pinning him down. He’s almost more afraid of the sky rodent than of Seokjin, which he thinks is fair all things considered. He breathes in deeply. “The kingdom… It uh, it doesn’t like me very much.” “I gathered,” Seokjin replies, a small smile forming. It gives Jungkook a modicum more of confidence. “Right,” he breathes, “So the guards they, er—““Will be just as friendly as before?”Jungkook finds it easy to let out a breathy laugh. “Yeah, basically.”“So we’ll have to hide, like right now?”Jungkook shoots Seokjin a glare as he defends, “We’re not hiding.”Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Of course we are, it’s as plain as day.”This is why Jungkook keeps falling, his brain not so helpfully reminds him. Because Seokjin, under the veil he’s been forced to wear all his life, has a brilliant mind and a glowing personality, that he’s someone Jungkook would die for—live for. Seokjin is someone that Jungkook would spend the rest of his life with.Wait—what?“Okay fine,” he forces himself to say, throwing his hands up in the air. “We’re hiding, yeah. And we’re gunna have to keep doing it unless you feel like experiencing a dungeon on this brilliant journey.”The giggle Seokjin lets out sounds not unlike a squeak toy. “Sounds like a bit of fun.”Goddamit, Jungkook thinks. He’s going to need to invest in some rope if he keeps plummeting down like this.— — — — — — —Not much to his surprise, there are more guards patrolling about than usual. Jungkook feels slightly bad that he keeps ducking and weaving and yanking on Seokjin’s collar to keep them hidden, but every time he does it Seokjin just laughs that squeaking laugh and bounces from foot to foot like he’s ready to fight. It’s truly like watching a child at play, and it does little to quell the surging feeling to protect from deep inside Jungkook. They’re squeezed in alleyway when Jungkook catches Seokjin staring at something, a look of almost longing latent in his gaze. “What are you looking at?” Jungkook whispers, afraid some stealth-perfected guard is going to swoop down on them. After his little escapade, he doesn’t really doubt it.Seokjin cocks his head slightly in the direction he’s staring and replies, “That.”When Jungkook looks, this “that” in question is a couple, a man and a woman sharing an embrace. The man is no doubt saying sweet nothings into the woman’s ear, caressing her cheek and leaning in. They share a deep kiss, the woman standing on her toes and wrapping her arms around the man’s neck as they sway, pulling apart to rest their foreheads together amidst smiles and probably laughs from the shaking of their shoulders. Jungkook’s heart sinks slightly while his pace simultaneously quickens.“Oh,” is all he says, unsure now of what sort of look was hidden in Seokjin’s eyes.“Is it nice?” Seokjin asks, voice barely audible. He swallows nervously, not entirely sure why he’s nervous in the first place. “Kissing?” He asks. With a nod Seokjin confirms, “Yes. That sort of intimacy… Is it as pleasurable as books make it seem to be?”Jungkook squeezes his eyes shut, turning his face to point to the sky. When he started this whole thing, he wasn’t sure what to expect but in all his imagination he never really thought about having to explain to a hermit the birds and the bees. Why do they even call it the birds and the bees? What do those things even have to do with each other? Bees and flowers makes more sense. Maybe birds and seed. Or how about not sugar coat it? Why not just say it’s about fu—“Jungkook?” And Jungkook snaps his gaze back at Seokjin. He’s definitely already seen the man naked, definitely has practically held him naked, and yet here he is getting flustered over trying to explain what kissing someone is like. He’s been silent for too long when he finally answers, “Yeah. Yeah, it’s nice.”Seokjin hums low in his throat and even though Jungkook knows realistically all he’s doing is shifting his weight from one foot to the other, it still sparks a warmth inside him he really doesn’t want to share clustered in an alley. His cockiness (what a poor choice of words) tells him to be suave and suggest that he show Seokjin just how nice it is, whisk him away like a goddamn prince and show him just how much prowess he has in romance but something—and he’s honestly not sure what—tells him no. He’s had a plethora of bad ideas lately, but most have been at the expense of his own sanity, and the last thing he needs is some stranger-perhaps-still-psychopath pining after him. “I think the coast is clear,” Jungkook says over the thundering in his head. “Shall we move on?”— — — — — — —His thighs hurt from such vigorous riding, but Jihu presses on. He’s built up a healthy sweat that clings to his skin and even makes his grip falter, the only time his palms get any release from the relentlessness of his nails. Already he can feel himself slipping, breathing becoming more and more of a chore and his legs wobbling with every step he has to take. It doesn’t help that he’s been in a constant state of sure panic, adrenaline running more through his veins than blood cells at this point. His horse begs to stop for water once every half hour or so, and Jihu lets him but does so with impatience and rage creeping up his spine. He can’t risk losing his chance at getting his gem back, and clutches the satchel with enough force to snap a tree in two.He makes it to the city gates in record time, practically falling off his horse once it’s comfortable in the stables. Numerous traders and farmers come to help him up, each boasting about a doctor they know can help. Jihu knows he’s growing paler with every minute, weaker with every second, and grits his teeth knowing there is only one person who can make him whole again. With waning patience he shoos the people away, lying his way through the crowds who choose to stare at him with unfiltered awe. He must look terrible, and tries to find a well or mirror to find his reflection in when he spots it.A shaking soldier is posting a wanted poster on a nearby wall. It isn’t even the ridiculousness that the man shakes that catches his attention, nor the sketch of the person on the poster; no, it’s the no doubt higher ranking solider next to him, the angry mumbles he’s spitting but can still be heard by an attentive Jihu.“The damn bastard,” the higher ranking solider (who Jihu notices must be a captain) spits, “Who knew he’d recruit some other heathen spawn to help him.”The shaking guard flattens out the poster when he responds with a, “But you have to admit, the other man didn’t look like his usual type.”The captain hisses and spits at the ground. Jihu slowly approaches when he continues: “I don’t care who he is, anyone with that criminal is a criminal on their own as far as I’m concerned.”“But sir, he didn’t even have the crown.”Jihu freezes where he stands, a mere feet from the completely two oblivious guards. The captain groans somewhat indignantly. “The king was sure to mention that, yes thank you. In any case, he needs to join his friends regardless of whether he still has the crown. That blonde man won’t save him anymore than a blessing from the gods would.”Jihu can’t help himself when he spurts out, “A blonde man you say?” The shaking guard yelps and nearly trips over his own feet, but the captain slowly turns to Jihu, hand steadily hovering over the hilt of his sword. Jihu laughs easily. “Please, there’s no need for that. I’m merely an interested civilian.”The captain narrows his eyes. “We don’t need any help from someone li—““Jesus Christ!” The shaking soldier yells out when he finally looks at Jihu, “Are you alright?”“I’m fine,” Jihu spits impatiently, ignoring the ringing in his ear. He must be even worse than he thought.“Good,” the captain interjects, “Then we can leave without worrying about your ever important interests.” He gives a stiff nod to the other solider saying, “Come, Rhee. We’re done here.” He swiftly marches off, mumbling something intelligible under his breath, but this “Rhee” stays.“He’s unwilling to ask for help,” Rhee quietly says, “But we’re at an impasse. We keep losing track of him, he keeps slipping away and we thought… The captain thought… That if he was alone, he’d be easier to track, but he somehow has found someone else.”“Someone else?” Jihu asks, trying to hide the screams that threaten to force their way out of his mouth. Rhee nods, sniffing and wiping his nose. “In my opinion, he doesn’t belong with the man. He’s too… Pretty. Soft.”Jihu wants to break his neck for even talking about his gem like that, but reels himself back to press on for more information. “And pray tell, who is this ‘other’ man with him?”With a shrug Rhee says, “Not sure. We never got a name but he—“ Rhee nods in the direction of the poster—“we know his name. Everyone in the city does at this point, I’m surprised you don’t.”“Consider me passing through,” Jihu remarks through gritted teeth, but looks at the poster. The drawing is of a man, a very young man—younger than Seokjin for sure—and he’s smugly smiling. It mocks Jihu already. “Pray tell, what is this young man’s name?”Jihu doesn’t bother to look at Rhee when he says, “Jeon Jungkook.” Still not looking, Jihu hears the captain yell some command with impatience laden in his voice, and he can hear Rhee’s feet shuffle. “Well, I have to go,” he says, “I hope you feel better sir.”He does already. Jihu continues staring a the poster as Rhee scurries off, a malicious grin tugging at his lips. He wants to laugh, to cry, to scream. Here he is, the man who know doubt holds his gem. Who no doubt stole the crown that suddenly feels too heavy in the satchel still draped around Jihu’s shoulder. He knows now, knows who and what he looks like, knows exactly who dared to rip away Jihu’s lifeline. This “Jeon Jungkook”, this criminal, this thief.Jihu will kill him.— — — — — — —Seokjin finds it easy to push away the thoughts of his impending continued imprisonment with how the city is captivating him. All the lights, all the sounds, all the people. Jungkook continues to pester him about having no shoes on, but the insistent comments just make Seokjin smile. To an outside party it sounds like Jungkook is annoyed and angry, but to Seokjin he’s just putting that mask on to hide that he’s actually genuinely concerned. Somehow Seokjin knows him like this, already knows him in ways he doesn’t even know Jihu, and he doesn’t know how. Whenever he chances a glance at the still mysterious man, a swelling blooms in his chest he still doesn’t know the name of. It feels like a glowing flower trying to break free, and Seokjin wishes it would.Ever since he witnessed the two people sharing the intimate kiss just an hour or so ago, he wants to know what it feels like. Jungkook says it feels nice, Seokjin has no doubt the truth in that statement, and a fault of his is that he’s always been overly curious. The problem is, Seokjin only wants to experience it with one person; feels like for it to be anyone else would be pointless. And the problem is, that person is standing right next to him as they wait for a patrol to pass, and he doesn’t even know it.“This is extremely annoying,” Jungkook scoffs when the patrol finally disappears from his line of vision. Seokjin has been dying to ask just why in the hells the whole city is after him, but keeps silent. He knows Jungkook won’t tell him anyhow. “I don’t mind,” Seokjin partially lies. He only doesn’t mind for two reasons: because he’s out of that damned tower and finally experiencing the world, and Jungkook is the one with him through all of it. Looking once, twice, into the street as he laughs, Jungkook replies, “At least that makes one of us.”Their target currently is a book store Seokjin saw briefly when they were fleeing from a guard who almost discovered them. It was right before they squeezed into the alleyway, and the thought makes Seokjin’s skin hot. He’s always been aware of all thing sexual, but hasn’t ever truly explored it. Jihu (understandably) never brought him books on the subject, and so Seokjin only really figured out it was a thing when he woke up with a strange bulge protruding at the line of his pants. It was rather embarrassing really, but then again Seokjin uses the excuse that he’s been trapped in seclusion so he figures he can catch a break this time.In any case—as Seokjin tries to pull his mind from such racy thoughts—the store is locked when they approach, but Jungkook is quick to pick the lock. At this point Seokjin has figured out that Jungkook is something of a delinquent but thinks that picking locks doesn’t substantiate having a whole city out for your blood. He’s not in the place to be picky, though, when they step through and it’s floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed with knowledge, things no doubt Seokjin has yet to indulge in. The thought makes him burst into excited giggles and smiles, probably looking somewhat ridiculous as he jumps around the room.Lost in himself, he starts to sing with Cane death gripping on his head. He forgets even where he is, simply pulling books off the shelves and flipping through them, finding more subjects he hasn’t read on than not. He’s only brought back to reality when he catches a glimpse of his hair in the corner of his eye, gold and sparkling as it is want to do. In a moment of what will always be slight panic, Seokjin grips his books close to his chest and turns on his heel towards Jungkook.This mysterious man, this saviour, this wonderful person on all counts, is staring right back at Seokjin, a small but no less genuine smile on his face. His hands are deep in his pockets, he leans casually on a bookshelf, and Seokjin finds himself lost once more.— — — — — — —It’s the stars, Jungkook finally realises. Whenever Seokjin sings, it’s the stars that wrap themselves in the tangles of his hair. It’s pure stardust, the sun even, washing over him and pooling down at his feet. He remembers the walls of Seokjin’s room, remembers the constellations splayed across them drawn by Seokjin’s careful hand. Seokjin, this man from a tower—of whom Jungkook barely knows—that Jungkook keeps falling harder for, is the sun that has been lighting his mind since losing his friends. The conviction he has to get them back festers in the back of his throat as he fights with whether he wants to let Seokjin be a part of that or not. Looking at him more and more just makes him less and less sure, and far more conflicted. “Tell me about the stars,” Jungkook says as he slowly walks to over where Seokjin has frozen in place, glow slowly dimming in his hair. “The stars?” Seokjin repeats, not even flinching when Jungkook gets close. He tries his best not to read into it too much. “What would you like to know?”Jungkook thinks for a moment, lips pursed in a small pout before he says, “Everything.”And Seokjin does. With a wide smile he gathers all the books he can find about the stars and space, splaying them all over the floor in muted excitement. Cane scurries across all the books, as if he’s just as excited to show Jungkook all he knows, bouncing on a page that explains the different zodiac constellations and chirping happily. It’s all so innocent, all so pure, and Jungkook finds himself almost jealous Seokjin can take such circumstances with ease. His heart sinks at the thought, though, that for his whole life he’s been in seclusion, and Jungkook is probably the first person Seokjin has talked to besides Jihu (and he supposed the sky rodent, though he hardly counts in Jungkook’s book).Seokjin motions for Jungkook to sit, he himself perched on his heels as he wiggles his fingers in anticipation. Jungkook takes his seat carefully, afraid that he might shatter the scene in front of him if he’s not careful. He sits, both legs stretched out in front of him with his hands folded in his lap. He watches as Seokjin suddenly bursts into speaking, energy radiating off of him as if his hair was still shining as brightly as it does when he sings. Jungkook can barely keep up with his lecture, eyes darting all over as Seokjin’s slender fingers point and trace lines across the sky. And isn’t this how it all started, isn’t it? All about the stars, about Seokjin basking under them like he never has.In this moment, Jungkook forgets about how this all started. He forgets about the crown, about his deal of only being out for three days (he’s almost sure it’s been three already), and even forgets about the weight crushing him about his friends. In the time he’s been with Seokjin, he can see things he probably has never before. He sees all the qualities he wishes he had in Seokjin, all the patience and soft words Jungkook has lost his grip on. And maybe it was all his fault that his friends are rotting in prison, maybe his arrogance has finally gotten the best of him and Seokjin is the wake up call Jungkook never knew he needed; never even knew he was asleep in the first place.As Seokjin continues, Jungkook finally sees Seokjin for who he really is to him. If Jungkook was the little dipper, Seokjin was the big. If Jungkook’s star falters, Seokjin is the brightest one that leads him home.— — — — — — —“Your foot is touching mine.”Jimin glares at Taehhyung, who is pouting at him as he lightly nudges Jimin’s foot. “I think you have it backwards,” he retorts, “Your foot is touching mine, blithering moron.”Taehyung shoots up to straighten his back but makes no attempt to move his foot. In fact, his shoves it farther on Jimin. He glares right back as he says, “I wouldn’t have to touch your foot at all if you’d just move over.”With a scoff Jimin kicks Taehyung slightly harder, the latter who dramatically whimpers. Jimin is about to completely lose his mind and blow up on Taehyung, but Namjoon’s voice interjects. “Can you two stop mindlessly bickering?” He sighs from his cell next to Jimin and Taehyung’s. “I don’t know, it’s rather entertaining,” Yoongi pipes in, a snoring Hoseok leaning on his shoulder. Those two don’t mind being squished together, Jimin notices. They’re across from the other three, though it’s hardly far to be sure. There’s about maybe two or three feet in the narrow hallway, and no windows or any doors that Jimin can see. The only light is the scattered torches that go out at the worst of times and the guards don’t bother to relight.Somehow Namjoon got a cell to himself, and he leans on the bars with heavy bags under his eyes. None of them have hardly slept since being thrown in here, too consumed with worry about whether Jungkook was okay. Jimin assures them he sent Jungkook far away, told him to run and not look back. Part of him resents that Jungkook did just that—didn’t even bother to come back for them. As Jimin curls into himself he finds himself starting to resent his little bunny, but whenever he remembers Jungkook’s laugh or his infectious smile, all he gets consumed with is a deep sadness and grief he can’t express.Taehyung, noticing Jimin’s sudden change in mood, scoots closer (yes, it was still possible) and rests his head on Jimin’s shoulder. He begins to pet Jimin’s hair, a soothing feeling Taehyung discovered when they were young. “It’ll be okay,” Taehyung assures Jimin in a hushed whisper, “We’ll get out of here. Your genius hands will find a way to break us out, I just know it.”When Taehyung says it, Jimin believes it. He and Jungkook always were Jimin’s burst of confidence, Jungkook being the fuel and Taehyung being the spark. “Yeah,” Jimin whispers back, “Yeah, I’ll find us a way out.”A brief silence follows, yet is broken by the sound of the heavy wooden door to their little cell city opening. “This is where we keep them,” an unfamiliar voice says. It draw Jimin’s attention and he breaks free from Taehyung’s soft touch to press himself against the cell’s bars.“And you’re sure they know where he is?” A different voice echos as it gets closer. Jimin only hears two sets of footsteps which he is thankful for, but his heart drops when he sees the owner of the voice come forward, an all too familiar satchel around his shoulder.Everyone else notices too, even Yoongi who delicately shifts Hoseok to his lap. “Ah,” the satchel carrying man starts, “I see you recognise my bag, hmm?” He’s talking directly to Jimin, who is trying to suppress his shaking. Whether or not it’s from fear or rage doesn’t matter, his knuckles turn white with his grip on the cell bars all the same. “And who are you?” Jimin manages to say evenly through gritted teeth.The man has the audacity to laugh, and it makes Jimin’s blood freeze. At this point Taehyung has scooted to Jimin, an assuring hand pressed firmly on Jimin’s lower back. “Clearly someone in need of a bath,” Taehyung quips and Jimin just wishes he knew when to stop talking.“Cute,” the man snarls as he leans down to be face to face with Jimin. Up close Jimin can see what Taehyung must have been alluding at: the man’s skin looks like it’s sloughing off and all the colour has faded from it, leaving a yellow hue. His eyes are bloodshot, and despite his insistence to look threatening (and he actually does, as loathe as Jimin is to admit) his breathing is uneven and harsh. “A little bird told me all about your little… Gang. Such a shame, to have your brave leader abandon you so willingly.”“He didn’t abandon us,” Jimin spits back immediately.“Oh?” The man asks, cocking his head to the side. “I beg to differ, since you’re rotting in this dungeon and he’s out galavanting about freely.” Jimin practically growls when the man chuckles to himself, but isn’t able to say anything when he continues, voice a whisper now. He leans in to speak, and reeks of death. “I haven’t told the royals about our little present in this bag, because I’m willing to give it back if you help me find this elusive ‘Jungkook’. You see, he has something of mine. And I need it back, I need it back. Back.” His voice starts to dissolve into a shutter, a desperate tone like a man who needs water in the middle of a desert. It should scare Jimin but it doesn’t, so he finds it easy to laugh in the man’s face. “You’re insane.”The man lifts a shaking finger. “Desperate,” he replies, “And you will help me find this...” “Saint?” Taehyung interrupts with a coy smile, and this time Jimin is thankful for it.The man cackles, losing all sense of sanity apparently, dramatically wiping at his eye as if he was crying from it. It honestly looks like if he does it too hard he’s going to drag his skin right off his bone, and Jimin finds himself wishing that would happen exactly. “You all are so devoted to such an abomination of a person,” the man continues. Jimin is surprised to hear Yoongi growl, coming to the front of his cell, ignoring the sleepy Hoseok who is starting to awaken.“That’s ballsy, coming from someone who looks like they just crawled out of the dirt,” Yoongi snarls. Hoseok, who just now sees the man, yelps shrilly. “Y-You!” He calls out, voice ragged with sleep. “I’ve seen you!”The man turns to Hoseok, his grin having fallen and eyebrow now raised. “Oh?”“You’re always in town, buying too much food for one person. It’s… Weird.” Hoseok’s voice falls quieter and quieter as he goes on at the sight of the man slowly standing with a harrowing laugh.“Ah, of course,” he says through his laugh, “Of course one of you was bound to recognise me. That makes this a bit easier then.”Jimin scoffs. “If you think we’ll help you, you’re vastly mistaken. We’ve already told the whole damn city force we know nothing, and once they figure out you have the crown instead you’ll be hanged in a heartbeat.”He’s apparently hit a nerve, for the man flinches. Still, the man just grins as he shakes his head. “Such naivety, it’s almost endearing. No, you see, you’ll tell me anything you know, I can assure you.”“And what makes you so sure?” Jimin scoffs once more.The man looks down at Jimin, eyes narrowing but mostly hidden by the darkness that is filling the room. “Because,” he starts, “I have the whole city on my side. With them, they’ll find your little friend. They’ve found him twice already, bu the bastard has gotten away. And do you know what happens if they find him first?”Jimin thinks he knows, but he won’t give this insane man the pleasure of admitting it. “And what is that?” Yoongi’s voice comes in instead.With a wide smile that exposes still sharp canines the man finds too much pleasure when he says, “They’ll kill him. They’ll kill him, unless you let me find him first.”“How do we know you won’t kill him instead?” Taehyung asks.The man shrugs. “You don’t, but would you rather accept the reality of the city guard finding him, or will you take the chance to help a stranger out?”He’s right, Jimin knows this. Everyone does, Jimin can feel it in the air. No one wants to speak, leadership has always fallen to Jimin when Jungkook is around and shit. Jimin doesn’t want to lose Jungkook, doesn’t want to rot in a dungeon forever, so he thinks of a bargain. “Only if you let us out,” he says, “Only then will we help you.”“Deal,” the man is quick to reply, “You have my word.”He extends a hand for Jimin to no doubt shake, and as he wriggles his hand between the bars, he hates himself for linking with the man’s hand.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The breeze comes through the book shop’s window and blows the stray strands falling from Seokjin’s bun, illuminating the natural glow it shows even without him singing. The man himself is humming an unknown tune, bobbing his feet side to side as he is apparently engrossed in whatever book he’s chosen. Jungkook has been content to watch in muted silence, simply enjoying the calm aura that oozes from Seokjin in gratuitous amounts. He finds he can breathe easier, see easier, simply live easier with Seokjin around and he can’t exactly figure out why. The first thought is one he doesn’t want to entertain very particularly, so he chooses to ignore it. The problem, however, is the longer he’s around Seokjin the more intense it grows and he isn’t sure how he’ll fill the void when Seokjin inevitably leaves.Because of course Seokjin has to leave, this was the deal—Jungkook gets his crown back, and Seokjin gets to live the rest of his life in that tower. With Jihu. Alone. “Is something wrong?” Seokjin suddenly asks, looking up from his book. “You’re grimacing.” Jungkook dumbly blinks at Seokjin before he asks, “Was I?”Seokjin grins madly and does his giggle that sounds somewhat like squishing a squeak toy. “You definitely were, you looked like an angry bunny.” The apparent frown Jungkook has deepens but all it does is make Seokjin’s giggle turn into a light laugh. “On the serious note, is something the matter? You’ve been quiet for a while now.”“I just like watching you,” Jungkook says before he can really think about it. A blush suddenly blooms across Seokjin’s cheeks when Jungkook realises what exactly he’s just said. He really needs to install a filter one of these days.“O-Oh,” Seokjin replies, voice suddenly small and quiet. His eyes slowly turn to look at the sleeping Cane, curled up on a pile of books Seokjin skimmed through. An equally small smile curls onto his face as a silence falls between them.Clearing his throat suddenly sounds like a bomb going off, but Jungkook doesn’t really know what else to do. He stands, stumbling slightly, trying his best to grin down at Seokjin (who’s still looking at Cane) as he asks, “Have you ever been dancing?”— — — — — — —If Jungkook was going to be honest, he doubts himself a lot. Constantly. He hides it with snark comments and cocky behaviour, but more often than not he finds his thoughts clouded by doubts. They range from rather benign thoughts involving what he’s chosen to eat to grander things like his situation with Seokjin. In this case he’s following the stranger from the tower as they weave through crowds in the direction of music. He looks so carefree, looks free in general, and so Jungkook is doubting himself over his grand plan to take this man galavanting about the kingdom to get his crown back.And that was the thing, his biggest doubt has been the legitimacy of the whole scheme to take the crown in the first place. Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time and even in the beginning of its execution, but now Jungkook has lost his friends. His jaw tightens at the weight of the word “lost”, and he tries to tell himself there’d be no use if the royal guards and their mindless soldiers were to kill them. After all, they have intelligence on Jungkook and who he is as a person, why would they be so willing to get rid of that? It almost sickens him, the hold he has over his friends, over the people who have saved his life more than he can count.They revere him as their leader (except maybe Yoongi, or maybe he’s just good at pretending) and go to the depths of hell for him, with him, but now that bond has been severed. So Jungkook is left in unsurmountable doubt with no rope to hold onto, no soft voice to guide him back to the here and now. He has Seokjin, who is the flower Jungkook has never known he needed, the shining soul that reflects the sun. And yet even still, he can’t help but wonder if this is all wrong. When they pass by an unattended cart of various cloaks Jungkook is fast to snag one, ignoring the disapproving pout Seokjin shoots his way. “What?” Jungkook defends, swinging it around his neck and propping up the hood. “I can’t be seen out in the public square without being hanged, don’t judge me so much.”Seokjin rolls his eyes. “I thought you didn’t dance anyway.”Jungkook smirks. “That’s right, I don’t. But doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch you do it.”A blush returns to Seokjin’s cheeks, and Jungkook just tries to tell himself that it’s his cockiness that lead him to say that. Definitely his cockiness, and not this swelling in his chest he has whenever he sees Seokjin. It’s probably not healthy, and he should probably get it checked out. In the meantime, though, he’s willing to follow Seokjin again, not even listening to whatever the man is rambling on about. They reach the town square where music is blaring, and Jungkook sees a sea of happy faces. Carefree faces twirling and bopping to the music, not knowing the turmoil that weighs heavy on Jungkook’s shoulders. For he has to bring Seokjin back, he has to knowingly trap him back inside that tower, has to go back to his reality. And Jungkook has to go back to his own reality, back to using the crown as leverage for whatever it was he foolishly wanted to do. And what if he succeeds? What if he gets the monarchy to step down? What will he do then? He clenches his jaw in quiet frustration, more than content to lean against a building’s wall as Seokjin bounces from foot to foot, gazing out into the crowd. “What are you waiting for?” Jungkook honestly inquires.Seokjin shakes his head and says without turning around, “I’m nervous.”A laugh bubbles out from Jungkook, though it probably sounds more like a scoff if Seokjin turning around to glare at him is anything to go by. “About what?” Jungkook asks. Suddenly the bouncing stops and Seokjin shoots his glare down to the brick ground. “I just… Never thought I’d be here.”Jungkook can actually feel his heart sinking, can pinpoint where in his stomach it plummeted to. “But you are,” he replies, willing his voice not to shake. “So get out there and enjoy it.” He smiles to Seokjin when he lifts his head and hopes it’s genuine enough to instill some confidence back into that glowing face.It does, apparently, for Seokjin beams right back at him. He doesn’t say anything, just quickly nods and hands Jungkook Cane. “Here, he’d probably get scared if I brought him out with me.” The glorified rodent scurries up Jungkook’s arm and curls into the dip of his shoulders. Jungkook smiles, a genuine one this time, and slowly nods. Seokjin claps his hands together and probably says something akin to “Thank you” but there’s a ringing in Jungkook’s ears he can’t pinpoint the cause of just yet.He watches Seokjin dart out, immediately losing himself in the tune. He watches as Seokjin smiles, as happiness pours off of him, how it infects those around him, Jungkook included. It’s amazing really, looking out at Seokjin as he links arms with complete strangers and flawlessly dances, like this was something he was meant to do his whole life. Perhaps Jungkook is jealous, maybe he sees Seokjin and wishes just for a moment they could trade places, that Jungkook could go back to being that carefree. That caring for others he doesn’t even know. For so long it’s been just Jungkook, The Trio, and then the other three. For so long Jungkook has only known them, has only cared about them, but now here is Seokjin. Here is a shining sun, a sunrise Jungkook never opened the blinds to see. A sunrise he thought would never come.As Jungkook loses himself in pointless thoughts, he neglects to realise the music changing and a shadow coming into his line of vision. Well, shadow was a bit dramatic as he’s actually staring down at a familiar pair of bare feet. He looks up and sees Seokjin, part of his golden hair fallen out of his bun, stray strands clinging to his now somewhat damp forehead. He has his arm extended, his hand wide open and silently beckoning. “Dance with me,” he says, voice soft and quiet.“I told you already I don’t dance,” Jungkook says, trying his best to smirk. His voice feels hollow, not himself, but not necessarily bad either.Seokjin defiantly pouts. “You said you don’t do a lot of things, but all I see is that you’re scared to try.” Jungkook flinches but Seokjin just continues: “You needn’t be afraid, it’s just me. It can just be the two of us, these other people don’t have to matter.”When Jungkook meets Seokjin’s gaze, he finds he believes him. When he sees the sparkle amongst the deep brown curling around his pupils, he doesn’t need anything else. Anyone else. His hand still quivers as it links with Seokjin’s, but he’s forced to maintain a stable grip when Seokjin immediately giggles and yanks him into the crowd, bursting with confidence Jungkook didn’t even know he had. The music is unfamiliar to Jungkook, he doesn’t really know the rhythm, but none of this seems to bother Seokjin. He just as easily guides Jungkook with an assuring hand at his waist, spinning and twirling them like water flowing over rocks in a river. In time Jungkook understands and links his fingers together with Seokjin’s free hand, raising his arm and pulling him close. There’s that warmth that blooms again, the one Jungkook has forgotten (or forced him not to feel) for so long, and it really does just become the two of them.Still, it becomes a trade off of who is leading the dance and who is following, but not even that bothers Jungkook. In these moments he doesn’t have to be a leader, he doesn’t have to put up a wall—a façade—he can truly just let go. The Trio doesn’t even bring him this level of peace, this unadulterated and weightless bliss that makes Jungkook unable to stop smiling. Tears might form at the corner of his eyes, ones he doesn’t know the origin of, but they get whisked away by the breeze he and Seokjin are creating with their dancing.Jungkook becomes so lost in the feeling of Seokjin just being there, he never notices the man staring at him from amongst the crowd. — — — — — — —“Where are we going?” Seokjin happily inquires as he skips behind Jungkook. Jungkook hasn’t let go of his wrist, a steady and assuring weight that’s guiding him through the city. Seokjin doesn’t mind, he doesn’t even want Jungkook to let go, happy to follow him wherever they happen to go. Jungkook looks over his shoulder with a crooked smile, the one that shows his extremely not threatening bunny teeth. “I’ve never properly shown you the stars yet,” he explains.Despite himself, Seokjin’s heart flutters. He hopes the no doubt red that spreads across his cheeks has the decency to bloom after Jungkook has turned around. He doesn’t dare mention the fact that their time together is running out, might have already, too consumed with a new warmth from being around Jungkook. He smiles to the ground, Cane squeaking into his ear as if he’s trying to console him. Cane is always strange this way, being ever aware of Seokjin’s emotions. “A-Ah,” Seokjin mumbles after probably too much time passing, unsure if Jungkook has even heard him. He hadn’t even noticed that evening has befallen the city, the sounds of crickets beginning to play their songs amongst the ever happening noise of the crowds. There really isn’t anywhere in the city that people aren’t, Seokjin has never seen such people gathered in this way, has only ever read about them in books. The realness of it all still hasn’t quite set in, Seokjin doesn’t think it ever will. The only time it will dawn on him of this experience, he thinks, is when it’s over. “We’re here,” Jungkook’s soft voice interjects. Seokjin snaps his head back up, having gotten too consumed in his racing thoughts to realise they’re standing at a sandy embankment on the outskirts of the city. His gaze wanders farther to a quaint boat bobbing almost cheerfully from the subtle ripples wrapping around it. Jungkook stands tall, grin wider than Seokjin has seen it yet, and he can’t help but return what is probably a ridiculous smile. “We’re going boating?” Jungkook nods as if it’s obvious (Seokjin supposes it is, considering the boat). “It’s the best way to see the stars,” Jungkook explains like it’s common knowledge, “Thought I’d get you the best seat after all.” While the realness of Seokjin finally getting to experience what he’s dreamed about his whole life is bubbling up his throat, the same feeling that this will be the only time he’s going to is fast behind. It’s the only time he’ll be standing with Jungkook, his firm yet soft hand outstretched for Seokjin to take it; that this will be only moment in the rest of Seokjin’s life that he’ll ever feel this blooming inside him. He wants to frame it, wants to keep it in a lockbox just for him. Just for him.He voices none of this, just nods, letting Jungkook delicately guide him into the boat. It shakes more than Seokjin had thought it was going to, resulting in both him clutching the sides of the boat for dear life, and Cane grabbing onto Seokjin’s skull in much the same way. Jungkook, of course, laughs breezily as he nonchalantly dips in himself, taking both oars into his hands before he asks, “Ready?”And for some reason, Seokjin is nervous. “Yeah,” he almost whispers, but Jungkook seems to hear for he starts to steer them into a small moat that surrounds the city. The evening sky is glowing off the ripples the boat is making, giving everything in this moment a surreal glow. Seokjin looks up at the sky, watching as night becomes closer and closer, and as Jungkook feels farther and farther away. He tries to think about the here, about the now, but the looming thoughts of how this is almost over weigh heavily on him. When the setting sun becomes too bright for Seokjin to bear, he looks back down when the boat stops moving, and sees Jungkook with a look he hasn’t seen before.It’s soft, impossibly so, and it’s almost like he seems to glow himself—brighter than Seokjin’s hair ever can. His lips are pursed ever so slightly in what seems to be like concentration, but also the look of trying to solve a puzzle. Is Seokjin the puzzle? Is Jungkook starting to see through him—and—does Seokjin even care? Looking at the small crinkles at the corners of Jungkook’s eyes when he smiles, watching as he brings one hand forward, even the way he twirls a piece of Seokjin’s hair between his thumb and index finger, Seokjin doesn’t care. He feels so free, in a way he’s never even read in books, and finds that tears brim his lower eyes. Jungkook’s expression changes to concern, “What’s wrong?” He asks, and it just sounds so sincere. There’s no personal gain behind the question like Jihu often had, like Seokjin can just be anything right now.He shakes his head slowly, Jungkook’s hand falling slightly. “I just never thought I’d be here,” he says, low, “It feels like a dream.” Jungkook’s hand comes back up, this time to cup Seokjin’s cheek, and it feels so sure this time. It doesn’t feel like the springs, doesn’t feel like when Seokjin saved his life, it just feels like it’s meant to be there. Jungkook leans forward until their foreheads are pressed lightly on each other, and Seokjin can feel the breathy laugh that Jungkook lets out. “Well it’s not,” he assures, “So get rid of those tears, or else you won’t be able to see the stars properly.” It makes Seokjin laugh, a real laugh like he’s had so many since meeting Jungkook, and indeed wipes away his tears with one hand, breathes in deeply, and meets Jungkook’s gaze. He hasn’t moved their foreheads, hasn’t even moved his hand besides letting Seokjin wipe his eyes. This moment feels delicate, feels like the slightest breeze could tumble them over and shatter it to bits, but Seokjin takes the chance. He lifts his own hand, cups it around Jungkook’s, and glances up. His breath hitches at the sight.They’re beautiful. Night has fallen completely now, and the stars shine uninterrupted down upon them. Seokjin can’t help but drop both their hands, can’t help but clamber over the boat, ignoring the curses Jungkook lets out trying to keep it stable. Cane climbs to the top of Seokjin’s head, gasps himself, and wiggles so he’s basically nesting in Seokjin’s hair. He can see them all—all the stars he’s read about. All the constellations he’s painted, almost loathed, and all the trails of cosmos he taught Jungkook just hours ago. He never would have imagined how colourful the galaxy is, his paintings not even capturing the purple hue that envelops the milky way. He can spot Mars, Venus. He sees the big dipper, the north star beaming down on him, and then he sees the one he’s never thought to pay attention to.He sees the little dipper—the struggling constellation just behind the big, shining its brightest despite being overshadowed. The longer Seokjin looks, the more he sees what Jungkook means. And suddenly, this is the most important to him. The north star may shine the brightest, he thinks as he turns around, but it’s the little dipper that’s guided him home. The stars have always fascinated him, yet he’s never been so close. Seokjin has never known what home means, but looking at Jungkook, he’s finally figured out. And Seokjin doesn’t want to go back to the tower. He doesn’t want to break this brightness he feels, never wants this warmth to dissipate back into a lonely cold. He’s not even realising his own actions, not registering how close he’s delicately crawled to Jungkook, how he sits on his knees but Jungkook sits with his legs crossed. Doesn’t realise he’s set his hands on both of Jungkook’s thighs. He suddenly remembers the people he saw from the alleyway, remembers how happy they looked in each other’s embrace, and so he reaches out. He lifts one hand to cradle Jungkook’s cheek, and his heart flutters when Jungkook leans into it.“I want to know,” Seokjin whispers, sliding his thumb side to side.“Hmm?” Jungkook hums, looking more peaceful than Seokjin has ever seen.“Those people from before,” Seokjin explains, feeling so sure of himself, “How they… Embraced each other. I want to know. And I… I want it to be you.”— — — — — — —I want it to be you. The words reverberate off Jungkook’s skull. I want it to be you. He looks at Seokjin, how this clueless buffoon from a tower in the middle of the woods has turned into a blossomed flower, a sun that shines brighter than Jungkook could have ever imagined. Perhaps the big dipper isn’t too bad after all, if Seokjin is the north star. Perhaps this all could last forever, Jungkook could take Seokjin and free his friends and they could start anew. They could start over, and while the thought terrifies him, just looking at Seokjin quells it all.“Okay,” he answers finally. “Okay,” he says again, leaning forward to meet Seokjin’s intensity, setting one of his hand’s on his thigh and the other capturing Seokjin’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. Seokjin flinches slightly when Jungkook brings him closer, when he tilts his head. The innocence of it all makes Jungkook laugh lightly. “Don’t be scared,” he whispers into Seokjin’s ear. He shivers at the sensation so Jungkook presses a light kiss on his cheekbone and whispers into it, “Relax.”To his surprise, Seokjin does. It’s preceded by a deep sigh, but he relaxes all the same. Jungkook goes back to first look Seokjin in his stunning deep brown eyes, and then down at his full lips that stay somewhat parted. It’s like Jungkook is seeing them for the first time, seeing Seokjin in a new light, and laughs to himself that he supposes he is; under the stars, under the brightness of their reflection on the water. Jungkook moves one hand to cup the nape of Seokjin’s neck pulling them even closer, close enough that he can feel Seokjin’s nervous breaths on his own lips, and decides the tension is enough.“Close your eyes,” Jungkook whispers. Seokjin obeys, eyes fluttering closed as he takes in a sharp breath. Jungkook supposes this is the first time he’s ever kissed anyone, probably the first time he’s ever been intimate with someone else overall. It swells Jungkook’s pride (and ego if he’s being honest), but not in a selfish way; it makes him feel blessed that he gets to share this with Seokjin. I want it to be you, Jungkook remembers as he softly presses his lips against Seokjin’s.His own eyes flutter closed, he can’t help but sigh into the sensation, and he’s pretty sure it’s not just because it’s been far too long since he’s shared someone’s space like this. Seokjin follows Jungkook’s lead with an impressive assurance, flowing effortlessly when Jungkook parts their lips slightly to then close them again. It’s all too real, all too Seokjin, that Jungkook finds himself leaning farther into it, can feel Seokjin pressing up into it as the kiss lingers, as Jungkook hooks his fingers in Seokjin’s hair, as the latter grabs both of Jungkook’s cheeks with a passionate ferocity. Jungkook ends up inadvertently pushing Seokjin down so he’s almost straddling the man, only now breaking the kiss to stare at the now faintly more plump lips beneath him. His gaze is quick to rise up to meet Seokjin’s eyes once more, to see the flush that’s covering most of cheeks. He supposes he must look somewhat similar if Seokjin’s lopsided smile is anything to go by, and finds he’s probably also displaying a crooked grin. He leans down again, pressing more of his weight against Seokjin’s chest and so can feel his heartbeat drumming against his own chest. They remain silent, the almost tangible air around them enough to overcome the silence. Seokjin breaks it first. “So that’s what kissing is like,” he says as if almost to himself. Jungkook nods against the dip in Seokjin’s shoulders. “Yeah,” he replies. “Yeah,” he says again, because frankly it’s all he can come up with in the moment. There’s too much threatening to burst from inside him to voice anything else lest it all come pouring out with the intensity of a tsunami.“Jungkook?” Seokjin asks quietly.“Yeah?”And even quieter does Seokjin say, “Thank you.”— — — — — — —They sit, leaning against each other with Jungkook’s head resting on Seokjin’s shoulder. His cheek is squished against it, taking on the form of a deformed marshmallow and the ridiculous thought makes Jungkook smile. It feels like being with the Trio, feels like home again, in a way he hasn’t felt since his stray memories of his parents. Cane has decided he finally likes Jungkook enough to curl on top of his head instead of Seokjin’s, and the honour of the sky rodent finally trusting him enough to do this swells deep in Jungkook’s chest. Everything in this moment is perfect—Seokjin breathing evenly, his assuring hand curled in with Jungkook’s, and the way the stars shine just for them.Only he knows it has to end, and suddenly his smile falters. Yes, he knows he has to face reality, face the fact that he has had to tear down far too many wanted posters with his face on it than he can even recall the number of. And at the same time, he knows he’ll have to come clean with Seokjin. He’ll have to tell him who he really is, what he does, and what he still has to do. That he has to get his friends, get the crown, and keep with the plan he doesn’t even really remember at this point. It started to fade and shred the more time he’s spent with Seokjin to the point he doesn’t even recall enough why he wanted to do it in the first place. He knows he wanted to boast about freedom, about the inequality rampant in the city and how it bleeds out into the surrounding towns and villages. How even if he’s condemned himself to a life of stealing, pillaging, and secrecy, there’s no reason everyone has to do the same. He’s seen small children steal from carts of food, and when they make eye contact he can’t help but see his younger self within them. The rebel, the one who ran away, who gave the world a middle finger and hasn’t turned back since. In these thoughts he glances up at Seokjin, who knows none of this. He doesn’t know what Jungkook is all about, what his past explains and his patterns he will not—cannot—break. Would it make a difference if he voiced any of this? Would Seokjin welcome him with open arms like he has so far, forgive him for his misdoings and shake his head, saying he’s seen the good side? Does it go that far anymore? He doesn’t know anymore, doesn’t think it does anyway, and knows it’s time. It’s time to get his crown back, his friends—even if it means leaving Seokjin behind.“Seokjin?” He says, the name feeling nice as it rolls off his tongue. If only it could last (maybe it can?).“Yes?” Seokjin asks back, shifting his weight but not letting go of his hand.Jungkook thinks for a moment, lips pursed into a small pout. His mind is wandering too fast to comprehend, so he does what he always does: talk without thinking. “We should… Go back to shore,” he starts, “And settle somewhere for the night. Then we can…”“Take me back?” Seokjin finishes, and Jungkook can practically feel the weight that drops mercilessly onto Seokjin’s shoulders.Again, Jungkook doesn’t think too much when he replies, “Maybe. I still need my crown.” It’s not a lie, he really does need it back, especially after all this shit he’s been going through. “But,” he continues, “You don’t have to stay there, you know.”He’s surprised to feel Seokjin flinch, grip tightening on Jungkook’s hand. He also can’t tell if it’s a good flinch, but with the way Seokjin speaks it becomes obvious it’s a conflicted one. “I—I don’t know if I can,” he says, voice uneven and unsure. “Jihu… He—he needs me.”Horseshit, Jungkook wants to say. But he also doesn’t want to shatter this perfect scene, one he wishes Seokjin could paint for him, so he sighs light enough to not come across as frustrated. “I can’t pretend to understand,” he says, “But why don’t we sleep for now? We can face reality tomorrow.”Seokjin easily laughs, which is a good sign Jungkook thinks. “Alright,” he says, voice a bit happier this time. “That’s fair—but, I want a chance to row the boat.”And who is Jungkook to deny him?— — — — — — —Surprisingly, Seokjin is fairly good at rowing. He’s certainly enthusiastic if his giggles and Cane definitely staying on Jungkook is to be considered. Jungkook himself is desperately trying to push away the thoughts threatening to smack him down, trying to believe his own words about avoiding reality again. He could avoid it forever, to be honest, but when the boat bumps against the shore he throws that thought away as well. Useless, is what it is.“So where are we staying?” Seokjin happily inquires as he watches Jungkook clamber out of the boat. It’s not his most graceful display all evening. And Jungkook was honestly about to answer, he really was, until something catches his eye. When he looks at it, this far too bright glistening, he has to squint his eyes to fully make it out. As he looks harder, everything seems to slow down to a sudden stop. Seokjin’s voice seems far away, he doesn’t even register how he’s standing, all he can focus on is the object resting so nonchalantly on the corner of a stone fence—the crown. His heart starts thundering in his head, his vision blurs, but it’s not gone enough to not notice a man dressed in a dark cloak hovering just mere feet from the crown. That must be him, Jungkook thinks, that must be the man who found it. But how? Where? Jungkook’s mouth feels dry, he lets out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding, and jolts his gaze back to Seokjin, who just stands with his hands on his hips and his head cocked to the side. “I—“ Jungkook starts, swallowing hard. “I have to go take care of something, wait here.” He starts to walk away with purpose, but Seokjin lunges forward to grab his arm. Jungkook breathes through his nose, screws his eyes shut, but manages to turn and look Seokjin in his eyes. They’re brimming with concern and no doubt confusion. “Is everything okay?” Seokjin asks, Cane fluttering off of Jungkook to curl onto his shoulder. It feels like an omen somehow.Jungkook smiles sweetly. “Of course,” he assures Seokjin, but he’s not really sure himself. Still, he turns fully and leans into Seokjin, cupping the sides of his head gently. “I’ll be right back,” he says, pressing a firm kiss on Seokjin’s forehead. Seokjin gnaws on his lower lip but nods. “Alright,” he says. “Come back quickly, though.” He smiles, though it looks forced and insincere. “Of course I will,” Jungkook says, sliding a thumb under Seokjin’s worried eyes. He turns away, clenches his fists, and walks forward with burning conviction. — — — — — — —“He said he’ll be back soon,” Seokjin tells Cane, who is pacing wildly on the edge of the boat. Seokjin decided to sit himself on it, elbows resting on his knees and hands holding his head. Cane stops pacing only to glare at Seokjin momentarily before going back to trying to break the record of the fastest sugar glider in the nation. It’s quite endearing, feeling the breeze on his neck and watching his excited best friend for the past two decades or so. He gets so lost in it, in fact, he barely hears the clanging of metal coming from the hill where Jungkook had been walking to.Seokjin snaps his head up, clumsily stands, toes gripping the sand as best he can. He can’t see much of anything in the darkness, but sees the silhouette of a man approaching and instantly feels relief. “Thanks the Gods,” he says, voice coming out in a desperate gasp, “I was beginning to think something terrible had happened.”And perhaps it has, Seokjin is too late to notice, when the figure finally becomes apparent under the moonlight. Seokjin’s heart falls and also jumps into his throat, a sweat building, threatening to drown him, and he can barely hear himself say, “J-Jihu.”Jihu smiles down at him, skin scaly and wrinkled like he’s never seen. “Ah, my precious gem. You are unharmed.” He places a hand over his heart and lets out a sigh. “Thank goodness.”Seokjin shivers despite not being cold at all. “Wh-What are you going here? I—““Left the tower?” Jihu growls now, and Seokjins steps back far enough to feel the cold water of the moat splash against his ankles. “Without my permission? Knowing I had told you nothing good would come out of it? You disobeyed me—betrayed me—oh naive gem of mine.” By the time he’s finished, Seokjin is standing in the water so it curls fully around his ankles. Jihu’s expression fades from one that looks like he’s ready to kill to a soft smile but there’s still something malicious behind it. A look Seokjin has always known, but never could see just how bad it was while still being held captive. “Let’s go home,” Jihu says much sweeter now, holding out his hand, “Let us put this all behind us.”An anger boils in the back of Seokjin’s throat. “What are you talking about?” He spits, trying his best to show off the confidence he’s built just over the past few days. He looks behind Jihu the best he can, and clearly sees the fact that Jungkook is nowhere to be seen. He tries to quell his panic but still his voice shakes when he demands, “Where is Jungkook? What did you do to him?”Jihu mouths an “Ah” before shaking his head and lowering his hand. “You mean the notorious criminal?”“Wh—?”“Oh?” Jihu perks back up, a disgusting smile on his face. “Did he not ever tell you?” When Seokjin doesn’t—can’t—answer Jihu just goes on: “Oh how cruel. How can you trust a man who doesn’t even share himself with you? Tch.” Jihu steps forward but at this point Seokjin is firmly frozen, like the water has turned into an immobilising ice. “He’s a bandit, my dear gem. He pillages, steals, causes unrest everywhere his feet take him. And he doesn’t work alone, no, but he certainly is the leader. How could you not know? How could you not realise that you were the endgame?”“I don’t understand,” Seokjin barely is able to say.Jihu shakes his head. “Of course you don’t,” he replies, “It’s a fault of yours. So naive, so uninformed. It’s why I kept you safe, safe from people like him.”“I—“ Seokjin shakes his head, both in part due to his cemented confusion and to will the tears brimming to fall away. “I still don’t understand what you mean.”“Your hair,” Jihu sighs, “It’s always your hair, remember?” Seokjin flinches but Jihu continues, “And I know you saw the crown. The heirloom that your beloved ‘Jungkook’ stole, that he was going to use to destroy the monarchy. And you were the key, you were to make sure he didn’t fail. And then what? You think someone would keep a freak like you around? No—““How do you know this?” Seokjin interjects, starting to be unable to calm himself. He hates that Jihu laughs, and hates how believable it is when Jihu replies, “His lovely friends told me. The ones in the dungeon, who just miss him so dearly.”Seokjin bites down harsh enough on his lower lip to draw blood. “You—You’re lying.”Jihu cocks his head to the side. “Am I?” And Seokjin’s sure all the colour washes away from his face when Jihu procures a poster from his bag. It’s Jungkook, there’s no mistaking it, Seokjin knows that smirk too well now. And sure enough, right below it displays all the wrongdoings he has done. It shows the crown—and more-so it shows what Seokjin doesn’t want to believe.“You’re telling the truth,” Seokjin breathes. He breathes, and despite himself tears start to fall. “He… He…” He can’t finish the sentence, only looks up at Jihu who has a soft smile and offers an even softer nod.“Yes,” Jihu says, lowering the poster, “Yes, I am. I’m so sorry, my beautiful gem. I’m so, so sorry.”The ice melts around Seokjin’s ankles, a grief engulfs him, and he flies into Jihu’s arms. He wraps his arms tightly around Jihu’s waist and lets his sobs consume him. He lets himself almost shout into Jihu’s chest, unable to pinpoint where it hurts the most. Everything hurts, nothing makes sense, and Seokjin just lets himself cry. He lets Jihu wrap his own arms around Seokjin, lets him sway them both. “I’m so sorry,” Jihu says again, a whisper against Seokjin’s hair. Seokjin doesn’t answer, he doesn’t know if he even can.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
In retrospect, Jungkook should have known better. He should have known better about a myriad of things, to be honest, but especially now he should have realised. Should have taken a step back and cleared his mind, should have stopped being so damn naive. Of course it wouldn’t work, of course it was flawed and broken and now Jungkook has lost. When a slew of guards descended upon him, when the sicken mistake of a man—Jihu—had smiled at him, he knew he had lost. It wasn’t even a battle or some game he lost necessarily; no, it was worse. Jungkook had lost Seokjin, his beacon of light, his one burning truth that he never realised how much he had fallen. And how ironic it is, to be fallen to the ground now. To feel the heavy weight of iron shackles tighten around his wrists, to look up at the man who had won.— — — — — — —Seokjin rides in silence, arms firmly holding Jihu’s waist as they bop up and to the side along with the enthusiastic horse carrying them. Cane sits on Seokjin’s shoulder, making comforting noises when Seokjin starts to shiver and tears tug at his eyes once more. He can’t get the thought out of his head that Jungkook would do something as cruel as lie. Jungkook, who was full of coy smirks and strong arms, the one saved him, saved him dammit; so Seokjin can’t believe it was all a lie. But here he is, feeling the wind blow through his hair, though it feels less like freedom and more like a chain dragging him down and down, until he can’t see the light anymore.The light of the meadow that surrounds his tower blinds him when they enter the clearing. He both feels and hears Jihu sigh in what Seokjin assumes is overwhelming relief. Jihu gets off first, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground as he does so. Clearly he is sick, clearly he needs Seokjin to sing for him, but his throat feels dry. Not only does it feel dry, it feels like someone has a hand around his throat. So much, in fact, he just offers Jihu nods and pathetic smiles as he too finally gets off the horse, arms firmly crossed taut to his chest and he just can’t stop shivering.The feeling of Jihu’s rough finger tucking hair behind Seokjin’s ear makes him tense. It feels nothing like the way Jungkook did it, how careful and soft it was; not only in pure touch but in intent. It wasn’t possessive like Jihu, it wasn’t laden with secret purpose, just a pure and unfiltered and everything Seokjin doesn’t want to believe was a lie. “Seokjin,” Jihu says, obvious that he means it to be comforting but it only comes out as a shrill command to look up. And yet Seokjin looks up all the same, forcing himself to meet the tired gaze of his… Parent? Guardian? Friend? “How about I make your favourite soup tonight? It will calm you down, I’m sure of it. Then we can just put this all behind us, I promise.” Jihu presses a kiss atop Seokjin’s head, and it feels like it burns a hole there.— — — — — — —Not that Jungkook really expected it to be otherwise, but the guards freely throw him about forcefully into the dungeon, Jungkook himself almost going tumbling down the stairs. He grimaces at his feet. “Is that really necessary?” He quips as he tries to regain some form of balance. “You already got me, no use trying to crack my skull open.”“Speak for yourself,” the guard captain (because of course he’s here, the bastard), “I’d love to paint your brain all over these damn stairs.”“That’s disgusting,” Jungkook finds himself retorting easily enough, which gets him a hard shove into the wall and this time he does in fact fall face first into the stone floor, unable to catch himself while bound. He’s sure his nose is bleeding, but can’t really even see in the dimly lit hallway. The pain that shoots through him only solidifies what he’s trying so desperately to tame. That Seokjin is gone, that he’s back into the arms of that Jihu, that man who only had evil in his eyes so much that it leaked out of all his pores. But nothing comes from moping, Jungkook is trying his damndest to remember, it does nothing to pity yourself when someone is waiting for you. Only Jungkook doesn’t know if Seokjin is waiting. If he even feels how he’s sure he did before, not after no doubt learning about Jungkook.“We saved the best cell for you,” the captain laughs as he picks Jungkook up by the upper arm. Jungkook suddenly feels weak, but he does his best to stand tall regardless, lest he show any vulnerability in front of such scum. And it really is a shit cell, even by cell standards (if they exist, which they do in Jungkook’s mind). Even in the aforementioned dim light Jungkook can see various stains littered across the chipping stone floor. It reeks of a mix of bodily secretions, rotten food, and something that just sort of reminds Jungkook of the colour brown. In no way does Jungkook want to even be in proximity to such filth, but he has little choice in the matter when he’s thrown in, back hitting the wall particularly hard. The creaking iron door is slammed shut with too much a joyous force, and when Jungkook can finally see again the captain just remains smirking.“Paint the picture, it’ll last longer,” Jungkook growls, starting to get sick of this little cat-and-mouse game they’re playing. At some point, though, Jungkook became the mouse. He’s definitely not enjoying it.The captain fakes a pout. “Awh, is the poor criminal finally realising there’s no way out of this?” He kneels down so he’s at eye level with Jungkook, the latter of which refuses to move. His back hurts too much anyway. “I can’t wait to see what they do with you,” the captain laughs, standing easily and turning to leave.A panic settles in the back of Jungkook’s throat. “W-Wait!” He calls out. Surprisingly the captain turns, so Jungkook swallows his pride and asks rather desperately, “Aren’t you going to take these damn cuffs off me?”A hallow laugh escapes the captain, and Jungkook already knows the answer before he replies, “No, of course not. Why would I let disgusting scum like you have any freedom after all you’ve done?” And just like that he leaves, his little posse smiling and laughing amongst themselves as they leave along with him. Jungkook does his best to shoot glares and crinkle his nose, but he’s losing his resolve.Only one guard stays, one Jungkook immediately recognises as the lancer from what feels like ages ago now. “What the hell do you want?” Jungkook spits and the lancer visibly flinches. Pathetic, he wants to say, but just thinks it instead.The lancer quickly shakes his head. “N-Nothing,” he mumbles, before turning and leaving as well.It leaves Jungkook in the dark, unable to even itch his face let alone clutch the bars of the cell in agony. Jungkook is left alone, and in his solace, in this cell that weighs down on him, he lets himself cry.— — — — — — —The first night Seokjin is without Jungkook, it feels like his soul has been ripped straight out of his flesh. He still can’t stop this insistent shivering, even with Cane curled into his lap and sleeping soundly. Even Cane seems to miss Jungkook, wildly pacing around and perking his ears up anytime he hears footfalls. Only it’s only Jihu—always Jihu—and Cane’s reaction is to snarl and hide somewhere in or on Seokjin. When he came back home, Jihu had torn out his bun, made vaguely threatening growls under his breath, and then demanded Seokjin to sing.This time he was back on the stool. This time Jihu had looked closer to death than Seokjin had ever seen him, and something in the back of his mind wished he was just a bit closer. Jihu keeps reminding him of Jungkook’s betrayal, keeps pointing out aspects of their journey that support his claims. Seokjin doesn’t even know how he knows all of this, doesn’t know how long he must have followed him, and remembers the kiss. A cold washes over him when he thinks if Jihu saw, what Jihu would do if he knew. If he really knew how Seokjin feels.But how does he feel? He knows he was falling for Jungkook, knows it was foolish and tries to think if it’s just because Jungkook was the first person beyond Jihu that he’s ever known. He watches Cane sleep peacefully on his lap when he thinks no, that’s not it. Jungkook was someone special. He had shown Seokjin wonders beyond what he could have even hoped to imagine, how could someone like that lie to him? He curls more into himself, getting lost in meaningless thoughts and even worse emotions. After all, it was over. Seokjin is back in his tower, Jungkook is off in a dungeon, and Jihu has been healed. Everything is at it should be.Still, Seokjin can’t help but look at the stars out his window once more, can’t help but remember the look in Jungkook’s eyes, the softness of his touch; the careful pressure of his lips pressed against Seokjin’s. His heart simultaneously flutters and plummets, and it doesn’t make it any better when he sees the little dipper. He wills himself to look just farther up, just enough to see the big dipper and find the north star, but finds a cloud covering it instead. In this moment Seokjin wonders if it’s an omen, if it’s a sign all of this is wrong. A sign from the heavens that Seokjin doesn’t belong here, doesn’t belong with Jihu at all. He sighs into himself, knowing all this was pointless. He reminds himself once again—everything is as it should be.He doesn’t sleep the whole night.— — — — — — —Jimin tries not to, but he still listens to the gossip the castle guards and soldiers are all too keen to discuss in close enough proximity for him to hear. It’s become a habit from the various espionage missions Jungkook would send him on, and now if someone is talking near him Jimin listens. Old habits, he supposes. Taehyung is sleeping soundly on Jimin’s lap, the latter having twirled his fingers through the former’s hair until his breathing got deeper and soft mumbles turned into quiet snores. He doesn’t know how the other members are doing—the guards moved them around for no reason other than to fuck with them Jimin thinks. Still, he was able to convince them to let Taehyung stay with him, and hopes the others are still together. His fist he’s had tightened gets even tighter still when he imagines what they could do to Hoseok if he were alone. Yoongi keeps him grounded, and if he’s not there Jimin wonders how far Hoseok will float away.“I hope they catch him soon,” a guard says, bringing Jimin back. “He’s a real twit for thinking he could get away with this.”Another guard scoffs, but it’s more of a laugh. “He’s brought this upon himself,” the other guard says, their voices coming closer to Jimin. He closes his eyes to pretend as well as he can to be asleep, even against his heart rate picking up significantly. He knows they’re talking about Jungkook, especially when the guards continues with, “Besides, that one man is already going to lead us to him. He promised.”“You really believe that?” The first guard says, the sounds of their armour approaching still.“Of course,” the second laughs, “To the point that I know they’ve already got him. I heard other soldiers talking about it this morning, though for some reason they’re trying to keep it secret for now.”And Jimin can’t just sit anymore. He does his best to spring forward without cracking Taehyung’s skull completely, but he still can hear his head thwacking hard on the concrete, enough to surely wake him. Jimin’s hands curl insistently around the bars of the cell, the sound rattling the composure of the guards. He practically growls at them (who frankly look like they’ve pissed their pants) when he snarls, “What?”The first guard says, “Wh-What?” back at the same time the second laughs out, “Oh, that’s right.”“I forgot you guys are buddy-buddy with that swine,” he laughs again, but still cowers against the wall the cell across from Jimin. “Or perhaps I should say were,” he adds, a smirk rising.Jimin’s heart sinks as he can’t help but ask once more, albeit less full of confidence: “What…?”The first guard looks just as confused when he looks to the second with wide eyes, the latter who just sighs. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to say,” he starts, smirk not fading, “I mean, you’ll all probably suffer the same fate after all. You see, you can’t really just do so many heinous things and get away with it. So, like all traitorous scum, he’s going to be hanged. He’ll be the first, to teach you all a lesson, but I’m sure they’ll hang you next.” “You… You’re lying,” Jimin says, only he knows the guard isn’t. It makes sense, but what doesn’t is the man who said he’d help them. Help Jungkook. “You’re lying,” Jimin repeats, grip loosening on the bars as he slides down. The guards, having apparently gotten bored of it all, leave with laughs and jokes, and Jimin has never felt so utterly defeated. He was foolish, he realises. He was so desperate for a way out that he blindly trusted anyone, and now he feels responsible for Jungkook’s death. And that word stings, more than Jimin’s ever felt before. He was supposed to protect Jungkook, him and Taehyung were, and now he’s led Jungkook right to his death. It’s all his fault, it has to be, and he barely feels Taehyung’s touch on his shoulder. He turns to his friend—his lover, if he was going to admit it one day—and simply cries. He sobs, letting them ripple through him, holding Taehyung tightly as if he’s falling. And he is, that’s what this feeling is. He’s falling and not even Taehyung can catch him—no one can. It’s all his fault, and he’s now killed them all.He doesn’t know how long he’s cried. The tears never stopped, the wracking of his soul wouldn’t give up, and he still hasn’t reached peak numbness. At some point Taehyung took them back to the end of the cell where they sit curled into each other against the wall. Jimin isn’t sure if Taehyung is awake or not, but he knows he cried too. How could he not? More so, how could he not hate Jimin now, after all he’s done? He feels the sobs returning, his vision blurring, but has no time to let them burst when he hears someone clear their throat at the edge of the cell.When he looks up, he sees another guard standing there, having the audacity to twirl his thumbs. Jimin looks closer to see him worrying on the bottom of his lip, and it feels mocking somehow. “Come here to gloat some more?” Jimin snarls. The guard jumps, yelps even. He looks like prey who has realised they are very much about to die, eyes blown wide and mouth hanging slightly open. Apparently having been able to remember he’s not actually frozen, he shakes his head. “I—"“We’ve heard enough,” Taehyung interjects now, bringing Jimin closer to him. “You have your trophy, you have your other prizes, just leave us alone.” The guard shakes his head more vigorously, waving his hands in front of him for emphasis. “N-No! That’s not why I’m here, I promise.”Jimin laughs, but there’s no humour behind it. “We’ve had our fill of stranger’s promises, thank you very much.”A frustrated exhale of air shoots out the guard’s nose as he stomps his foot down. It’d be endearing if Jimin didn’t want to tear him—and any guard for that matter—apart from toes to last hair on his head. “Can you just—let me finish?” Jimin looks up to Taehyung, who has looked right back at him. There’s a look of helpless hope still sitting in them, and so Jimin gives a small nod, Taehyung returns it, and they both look back at the flustered guard in unison. “Fine,” they say at the same time.The guard sighs, one of no doubt relief, putting a hand over his heart. He’s unlike any guard Jimin has come across, and this further is emphasised when the guard procures a set of keys from his pocket. “I’ve seen what they’ve been doing to you,” he starts, “And I… I just can’t stand by anymore. I was there… I was there when they took your friend.” Jimin tenses, feeling Taehyung doing the same. “I saw the man who helped us find him, the one who said he came down here. I don’t know why, but… But that man, he’s not normal. And your friend… He doesn’t seem to be the criminal we’ve all painted him to be. The more I thought about it, the more I understood. The more I sympathised.” He sighs once more. “I was never cut out for this soldier business,” he admits, “I was forced into it by way of my family. It’s hypocritical, really. I used to always hate the monarchy, and yet… I joined them. I tell myself it was out of necessity, but I’m not sure anymore.” He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Ah, but you don’t need to know my life story. What matters is… I don’t want to see your friend die. I don’t want to see you all die. So…” He tosses the keys into the cell, and they skid to where the hit the bottom of Jimin’s boot. “Your friend had someone with him, someone who is special. I don’t know who he was, all I know is he left with the strange man. I can’t pretend to know what has happened to you all, but the least I can do is give you a chance.” He smiles, and Jimin is sure it’s a genuine one, a soft and friendly one. “I know it’s not much, I know I’m only giving you a shred of a chance to escape but… Good luck anyhow.”Jimin’s gaze is too transfixed on the keys to realise the guard has finished talking and moves to leave. His focus immediately shoots up, and he clambers away from Taehyung as he calls out, “Wait!” The guard flinches, but turns around, that soft smile still sitting there. “What is your name?”He looks surprised, the guard. He shifts his eyes uncertainly before sighing and meeting Jimin’s eyes. “Rhee,” he says softly, “You can call me Rhee.”Jimin feels like he’s about to cry, and he probably is when he chokes out, “Thank you, Rhee.”— — — — — — —Jihu doesn’t let Seokjin out of his sight for more than the time he sleeps or possibly uses the bathroom. Even then Seokjin isn’t convinced he isn’t peering through the cracks, like Seokjin even has the option to escape at this point. The weight of the last two days threatens to consume him whole, and it gets to the point he almost lets it. It’s easier to be numb, not not feel the burn of fire against his fingertips, then have to wake up every day in a panic, tears dried on his cheeks, thinking of what’s happened to Jungkook.On the third day, Seokjin gets the courage. He’s been sulking, no—worse than that, he’s been miserable. He’s been afraid to bring the whole thing up with Jihu, not sure of what sort of unstable state of mind he could be in. It was like this, Seokjin can never speak his mind or what he’s truly feeling with Jihu, for it seems just with passing with minutes his reaction could be different. He decides to avidly ignore the thought that tells him Jungkook was never like that. That he would always listen, even if Seokjin said nothing at all.“Yes, my beautiful gem?” Jihu whispers to Seokjin after he’s sung for him. He tucks his hair behind his air once more, that same calloused finger bringing Seokjin neither peace nor comfort.He feels Cane nuzzle into his neck as he takes in a sharp breath. He decides not to play around, not to miss the chance that Jihu will brush aside his mumbling when he blurts out, “What happened to Jungkook?”And Jihu tenses. It almost feels like he grips Seokjin’s earlobe, and perhaps he does because of the sharp pain Seokjin suddenly feels shooting through it. “Wh-What do you mean?” Jihu asks back through gritted teeth.But Seokjin has come too far to give up now. He’s been mulling over Jungkook for days, weighing what he thought he knew and what Jihu has told him. He remembers the scoffs and the assurances that Jungkook would give him when trying to say he was safe now. And he certainly was, wasn’t he? If Jihu was the poison, Jungkook was the antidote. If there was a door that Jihu had trapped Seokjin behind, Jungkook was the key. This is what they had become—the small and big dipper, intertwined with each other. “I want to know what happened to the man I was with.”Jihu continues to tense at Seokjin’s choice of words. Where before Seokjin would cower at the gesture, plead for forgiveness and perhaps an extra serenade, he just bites the inside of his cheek. Watching the way panic flushes Jihu’s face, the way his eyes turn dark, Seokjin is able to see who was the real liar. “He was a criminal, dear gem,” he starts, voice shaking, “And will be treated as such.” Confusion no doubt flashes across Seokjin’s gaze, especially when Jihu softly laughs as he stands. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he continues, “All you need to know is that the traitor will soon meet the fate he could never avoid.”The words pinch Seokjin. The fate he could never avoid. Isn’t that where Seokjin is stuck right now? Isn’t this a fate he tried to run from? And yet, Jungkook desperately tried to fight his way through it. Maybe he was a liar. Maybe Jihu is right, maybe all Seokjin was was a means to an end. But did it matter? Jungkook was the one that saved Seokjin countless time. The one that held Seokjin, looked at Seokjin, kissed Seokjin like he wasn’t just a gem. Like he wasn’t something to be gazed at and wish it was theirs. No—Jungkook made him feel like a star, like a brilliant burning light that was eternal. “Stop talking in metaphors,” Seokjin spits as he stands, fists clenched at his sides. “Tell me what happened to him.”Jihu sighs, turning to face the incredulous Seokjin. “It hardly matters, darling.”“Not to you maybe. But to me, to me it does,” Seokjin replies, and he can feel his voice getting louder with each word. “Stop avoiding the question, Jihu”—the use of his name makes Jihu flinch—“and tell me what happened to him.”Jihu slides a hand down his face with another sigh. “He stole the monarchy’s crown, gem. He kidnapped you. Not to mention all the other heinous crimes he’s committed. There’s only one fate that fits someone of such despicable caliber.” Seokjin decides to stay silent, but Jihu continues all the same. “He will be hanged, like the wretched scum that he is.”Seokjin’s heart sinks. No, it crumbles. It’s like it’s been shot, the only thing left being bits of shrapnel that flutter down to the pit of his stomach. He’s not sure what triggers him first, what sets off the fuse first, it could be the fact that the person who… Who Seokjin possibly loves, is going to die. Or maybe it’s the fact that Jihu has referred to his lover as wretched scum. Whatever the reason, Seokjin suddenly loses any calm he’s tried so desperately to don these past few days. Maybe even years. Maybe even his whole life.“You can’t be serious,” he breathes out, despite knowing Jihu very much is. “Why… Why would you even suggest such a thing?”Jihu reaches out, whispering, “Oh my dear gem.” But Seokjin swats away his hand. “What is it about me anyway?” Seokjin spits, aware he is definitely yelling now. “Why would you come after us? Why would you keep me here, like some caged animal? Maybe Jungkook lied to me, I can’t refute that, but he gave me more life in those three days than you have in my entire life.”“What—? Seokjin, you’re being ridiculous,” Jihu says, and it’s laced with that condescending tone that makes it sound like Jihu is speaking to a petulant child. “No!” Seokjin shrieks. “No, I can see now. You act like Jungkook using me is worse than the way you do. You use me like some shrewd medicine, don’t even see me as human do you? My whole life you’ve been like this, and Jungkook finally showed me how to see.”“He made you see why this world can’t be trusted!” Jihu shrieks back, storming into Seokjin’s space. “You really think he had feelings for such a freak like you? That he would carry you like some forlorn prince into the sunset?”Despite himself, Seokjin begins to shrink, but perhaps only in size. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. But I know not to believe in you. Tell me why you have kept me here, tell me why you feel the need to put such thoughts in my head, take away my books that tell me of life beyond this place, why you’re so against me living!”“You really want to know?” Jihu snarls. “Yes!” Seokjin yells back, stumbling onto the couch. He wasn’t even aware they were moving backwards—well, that Seokjin that was moving backwards. He’s glad he did, however, when Jihu finally declares, “Because you’re this Godforsaken kingdom’s prince. Because if they knew, if you knew, they would take you away from me! And I… I need you, Seokjin I—"“What?” Seokjin suddenly whispers. “I’m…” And it all hits him at once. He remembers the young ladies in their village, the way they spoke of the story of the prince. He remembers the way Jungkook spoke so illy of the monarch, of the prince himself. And he remembers the crown. “You’re… You’re worse than Jungkook. You kept me here, you stole…” He can feel tears filling his eyes. “But why? Why tell me now?”Jihu smiles, but there is naught behind but perhaps all the collective malice he’s smiled at Seokjin thus far in his life. “Because my dear gem,” he begins, “You’re never leaving my sight again. We’re going to run, run far from this place, somewhere that you’ll be safe. Safe from all these horrible people.”He tries to reach out to Seokjin, but the latter scurries away, tripping over his feet and directly into a standing mirror. It shatters, the sound not unlike what Seokjin is feeling in the moment. He glances down at the shards, one surely piercing his bare foot when he whispers, “No…”“No?” Jihu asks quietly, but Seokjin he knows it’s because he’s about to snap.And Seokjin wants him to. With burning conviction strong enough to melt metal, Seokijn reaches down and picks up one of the shards, tears definitely slowly running down his cheeks when he repeats, “No. You can take me away, but you’ll never use my hair again.” He raises his hand, takes his hair in a fist, hand trembling as he holds it steady.— — — — — — —There only have been a handful of times Jungkook has been hopeless. He can probably count them on one hand, but the problem with them being so infrequent is that when they do happen to roll around, they come at him like a bomb. The worst of these times, he thinks, is probably when he first got to the orphanage when he no older than three. At the time he hadn’t processed what it meant to lose his parents, all he knew is they weren’t there and they hadn’t been for days, weeks… Months. He started to feel hopeless when he tried to escape, tried to find them, only to be dragged back and beaten into submission. To be told this was all he had, it was all he was ever going to know, and there was no point in thinking any different. He laughs to himself at the parallel he sits in now as he shifts his arms best he can against the chains still holding him back. It hurts, breaks him really, to think that the only thing that brought him back, that made his sun shine behind the clouds, was Taehyung and Jimin. How they had saved him, how they had cleaned his wounds both inside and out, and how that wasn’t ever going to be again. How this was the end, how he was going to die not even just with his own weight choking him to suffocation, but the weight that this couldn’t have been different. That looking back, Jungkook’s mistake started and ends with him. It was him, and now he didn’t have anyone. There was no pub, no Taehyung and Jimin, none of the rest of his friends to keep him standing, and certainly no more Seokjin. Perhaps that was what hurts the most, the realisation that he gave Seokjin only a taste of what it was like, and now he has also been responsible for him never seeing it again.Time has become meaningless to him, and he has no idea how many days could have passed before he finally hears someone descend the steps to his secluded cell. He tenses, thinking this is finally when they drag him to his death, and can he even fight back? Was there any point anymore? He does his best to curl into himself without falling over, without bruising his wrists than they no doubt already are, and wills himself to stop shaking. Wills his conscious to anchor himself down, and a myriad of thoughts flood his mind. He thinks of anything and everything, spanning from the first time he had honey bread to when he kissed Seokjin. It also goes to Taehyung and Jimin, to the rest of his friends, and to how much he loves them too—how much he loves Seokjin. It gets to the point to where he can swear he hears voices in his head, like he hears Jimin softly saying, “Hey, Kookie.”“Do you think he can hear us?” Comes another voice far away, and he’s sure it’s Taehyung. He snorts to himself, never thinking he would become so desperate for salvation to actually hallucinate his best friends as some macabre attempt to prolong the impending thoughts of his death.“I’m not sure,” Jimin’s voice echoes again, “He seems to be pretty catatonic at the moment.”A sniff. “Open the door, then. He looks like…”“When he was young?” Jimin’s voice sighs.Jungkook can almost see Taehyhung nod as he whispers back, “Yeah. Just like that.”His untimely hallucination in fact does not help him calm down, and he chokes down a sob when he finally hears the cell door open. He swallows the tears that try so desperately to break out, the tears gushing like a broken dam, but dammit he won’t let the scum of guards see him so vulnerable. So afraid. When he finally opens his eyes, finally meets the gaze of whomever stands before him now, if there was a dam hiding behind Jungkook’s eyes, it certainly breaks now.“T-Tae? J-J-Jiminie?” Jungkook sobs out, voice hoarse from disuse. His best friends kneel before him, Jimin propped on his knees and Taehyung knelt with his feet shoulder width apart. They both smile at him, though Jungkook can barely see it behind his tears. “Y-You—" He hiccups. It’s ridiculous how much he has been holding back, and even more ridiculous in how it all spills out now like a deluge. “Oh Kookie,” Jimin says, but it’s evident he’s crying too. “Our brave Kookie,” Taehyung adds, finally leaning forward as well. They both embrace him at once, pulling him into a tight hug and Jungkook can feel their heartbeats insistently beating against him. They’re real. It’s real, they’re both here, it’s not a dream. His best friends are alive, he’s going to get out, and once more his sun crawls out from behind the clouds. He’s not sure how long they hold him, how long they all cry together. He’s also not even sure the last time they embraced him like this, and he suddenly feels like the same scared young boy he was so many years ago. And maybe he’s still scared, maybe he’ll never stop being scared, but with Jimin and Taehyung both holding him like this, it doesn’t matter. He has his bridge back, knows how to get to the other side, and knows what lies beyond. What he needs to cross it for, and can see Seokjin’s smile behind his closed eyes.When the sobs quiet, when all that can be heard is a stray rodent scurrying around the floors, Jungkook sniffs. “Hey, Jimin?” He asks quietly.“Yeah?” Jimin answer just as quiet. He pulls back to cradle Jungkook’s cheeks, Taehyung going to run his fingers through Jungkook’s hair. “Can you get these handcuffs off? I really have to take a piss.”— — — — — — —“The dungeons don’t extend as far as we think,” Jimin pants out as they run through the halls.Jungkook absentmindedly rubs at his wrists that are bruised and red from those damn cuffs and chains. He frowns at them, but perhaps also at Jimin’s declaration. “Would they really keep it all in one hallway though? That seems like really lazy building.”Taehyung laughs from beside him. “No one ever said these people were smart, Kookie. I would take it as a blessing instead of choosing this of all times to criticise something as benign as the floorpan to a castle.”Jungkook lets out a huff, rolling his eyes. He had wasted no time demanding where the other of their ragtag group of friends were, and panicked when Taehyung and Jimin had told him they had no idea. The only silver lining he can see is that his friends seem to be fairly unharmed, no obvious bruises, cuts, or broken bones. He supposes that breaking the psyche could prove to be worse, but that is something he will address once he’s held all of their gang in his arms one by one. They skid around a corner, almost all falling into each other and certainly catching the attention of a guard about halfway down the hall. He yelps, but it’s drowned out by the Trio being caught in a mix of yelps of their own and hurried curses under their breath. In any case, Jungkook has come too far now to be intimidated by one measly guard with a sword, and he dashes at full speed down the hall, ignoring the way Jimin curses at him. It all starts to feel so familiar, Jungkook blindly going to take down anyone in his way, Jimin yelling for him like a fed up mother, and then Taehyung cheering him on like an irreresponsible father. True to his past victories, Jungkook swings out a punch before the guard can even lift his sword, knocking him onto the ground and honestly probably giving him a concussion. Normally Jungkook would check to see if the man was dead or not (he really didn’t like killing people), but it almost fills him with satisfaction if he did anyway. He takes one, two glances around before he bellows out, “Yoongi! Hoseok!” He hurriedly shuffles down the hall as he cups his hands around his mouth, shouting out, “Namjoon!” When no one answers him he panics. “Hoseok!” He tries again, voice trembling. He can hear Jimin and Taehyung call their names too. “Yoo—!”But he’s cut off by a, “Took you long enough.”Immediately Jungkook swings his neck to the sound of the voice, harsh enough his neck gets cracked in the process. Sitting at his feet, gummy smile turned more into a smirk sits Yoongi, arms folded across his chest and the deepest bags under his eyes. Once again Jungkook feels tears begging to fall, yet it’s from both relief and intense, intense guilt. “Yoongi,” he breathes, collapsing to the ground, gripping the bars lest he falls over.“Jungkook,” Yoongi breathes back. It’s rare for Yoongi to bare such emotion unhinged, mostly keeping them to himself except when he’s angry, or when Hoseok is around. “You’re alive,” he says next, and it looks like he’s going to cry.“N-No,” Jungkook trembles out. “If you cry, I’m gunna cry,” he quickly adds, realising he effectively answered Yoongi’s question, albeit not truthfully. He hears Jimin halting beside him, and hears as well the jingling of keys. “Let’s get you out of here,” Jimin playfully says, and it really feels like before.Yoongi thankfully knows exactly where Hoseok was being kept, and in turn Hoseok had a better idea of where Namjoon was, at it turns out, napping. He had flailed awake when Jungkook poked him, but immediately wrapped his arms around him, eyes blown wide with disbelief. Hoseok had done something similar, hug strong enough to slam Jungkook in the cell on the other side. Tears turned into laughs, laughs turned back into sobs, and Jungkook had forgotten how good it felt to be surrounded by people who loved him.Though there was something—someone—missing, and once the six of them are huddled by a nearby sewer opening used to escape, Jungkook clears his throat. They all look up in unison, gazes heavy with anticipation and vindication. It makes Jungkook smile, and makes his declaration all the more easier. “There is something you all should know,” he begins. “I… I can’t explain, can’t convey how… How guilty I am, how sorry I am that this has happened.”“There’s no need to be,” Namjoon interjects with a soft smile. “No one could have predicted this.”Jungkook shakes his head fervently. “No, you misunderstand. It’s okay to blame me, to even hate me for all—"“Jungkook,” comes Yoongi’s stern voice, “You could literally kill an entire army of men and we would never hate you.”“He’s right,” Hoseok adds, himself all smiles as well. “I personally would congratulate you on such a feat anyway, honestly. That would be impressive.” Yoongi rolls his eyes but it still makes the six of them erupt in childish giggles. Of all the times, Jungkook thinks to himself. “Then perhaps I can be sorry for what I’m about to ask of you all again,” Jungkook says to them all, “But there is someone who needs to come home.”— — — — — — —There are certain things to which Jungkook has discovered are inevitable: having to take a shit, sleeping, and being hungry. Sometimes in that order. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that he had never thought that love would end up being one of those things, and it wasn’t his fault that it took him so long to discover what sort of “love” he even means. He loves his friends, loves them in a way that he can never hope to put into words, but it’s different. He loves them in a familial way, in a way that a mother wolf loves her cubs. No, he’s talking about something different. He’s talking about the raw, visceral loves that only comes from when your mind is no longer in charge. The kind of love where fire doesn’t burn anymore and rain no longer gets you wet—the kind of love you would cut your tongue out to preserve.He’s talking about his love for Seokjin. “The guard mentioned you were with someone,” Jimin mumbles beside him, the six of them huddled together as they traverse the sewers. Jimin has held a grimace the entire time, constantly loathing anything that smells or possessed an otherworldly amount of filth. Too bad the sewers were both. “I never imagined it would be like that, though.”Jungkook makes an offended noise in the back of is throat. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks, careful to not trip over another rat that scurries between his strides. “I think what he means,” Namjoon says, hanging onto Jungkook’s arm like a hook caught in a fish’s mouth, “Is that you always seem so… Stoic, that none of us thought you would finally find someone to share that vulnerable part of yourself with.”Jungkook doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he presses his lips into a thin line and tries to focus more on not falling into the filthy water than reply. He hates how right Namjoon is, about it being his vulnerable part. He can’t remember the last time he ever really has bared himself like this in front of anyone, doesn’t know if he ever has at all. In times of brief silence like this, Jungkook continues to doubt himself. He wonders if he’s wasting his time, if he’s once again risking his friend’s lives again for no reason. Yet with each harder trudge, with each lift of his friend’s and each breath he can breathe easier, he knows he is doing the right thing. He has to be.“Oh Jesus Christ, yes,” Taehyung sings when they finally reach the other side of the sewer. He flops immediately down on the grass and rolls, moaning in what Jungkook’s just assumes has to be overjoyed relief. He refuses to entertain any other possible reason. It’s so easy for things to fall back into place, though, Jungkook has realised. Even from gathering the rest of the members to snaking through the sewers, everything seems as it should be. It was so easy for Jungkook to tell them about Seokjin, easy to let himself cry in Jimin’s arms when the narrative got too much to bear, and breathlessly easy to divulge his plans to get Seokjin back. Namjoon was there in an instant to give directions, Hoseok was more than willing to try and remember the map of the whole kingdom as best as he can, and Yoongi was always just content to offer constant support from the sidelines. Jungkook can’t wait for Seokjin to meet them all; can’t wait for Seokjin to feel the warmth he feels with their constant presence. They have no choice to go on foot, and it’s not something Jungkook is very excited about but there aren’t a lot of other choices, either. Hoseok is confident enough that he can trace Jungkook’s first steps to the clearing that holds Seokjin’s tower, but there is doubt still in his words, doubt Jungkook doesn’t know how to process. Still, he marches on, now conviction turning into a billowing wildfire; he marches on with his own militia, and marches on to get Seokjin back.— — — — — — —It comes to Seokjin too late to know he’s made a mistake. It rushes to him the moment Jihu lunges forward, possibly cutting himself on the piece of glass, comes when he’s knocked to the floor, the wind blown out of his lungs. He realises it’s a mistake when Jihu grabs him by the hair, lifting him up and spitting in his face that Seokjin belongs to him and only him. “I was the one who raised you!” He yells, tossing Seokjin back into the couch. He feels weak, immobilised with fear, watching a hatred boil in Jihu’s eyes he’s never seen before. Still, he’s able to find his voice. He tries to remember how blindly confident Jungkook always was when he spits, “You’re nothing more than a thief! I already had a family… I had… I had my real parents and you took that away from me! Don’t act like you did me a favour by sealing me away here, you… You scum—!”When Jihu strikes him, it hurts more than any time he’s done it before. There is so much more force behind it that Seokjin is left stunned, hand trembling when it goes to touch his cheek. “You think they would love you? What would have happened when they discovered your little secret, hm? I’m your saviour, you ungrateful child.”Saviour. The word hits Seokjin perhaps harder than the slap. That’s what he called Jungkook, that’s what Jungkook really was. And now he’ll never see him again, that he led his saviour straight to his death. His hand trembles insistently when he realises what he has to do now. He glares at Jihu, glares down at the shattered mirror, and clenches his fist. In the last moment of Seokjin realising his mistake, he thinks of Jungkook. Thinks of his soft touch, his kind words. When Jihu grabs him by his hair once more, when Jihu drags him, kicking and screaming, Seokjin thinks of Jungkook. When a chain is wrapped around his wrists, Seokjin vows to never stop thinking of Jungkook. He vows to never stop fighting.— — — — — — —Because old habits die hard, the Trio is able to convienenty “borrow” three horses from an unattended stable a short ways outside of the city. A new wave of relief washes over him when they start out in earnest, horses running at full speed, his heartbeat not far behind. He can’t hear much else but the sharp breeze cutting his cheeks, can’t feel much else besides the sweat that has started to build up at the nape of his neck as they get closer and closer to where the clearing as to be. Hoseok leads them, sometimes jerking his horse sharply to the side, Yoongi yelping and gripping him harder which just makes the group of them all laugh, and it feels good. Jungkook feels like he can win this, feels like for the first time in years that he’s doing the right thing.If his heart was racing before, it stops completely when they enter the clearing. There, just a few hundred feet away, stands Seokjin’s tower, so unassuming with how the sunlight reflects off of it. He swallows hard, let’s out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, and rushes in front of Hoseok. His horse skids to a halt directly in front of the wearing away stone base, and Jungkook hyper focuses on the way the vines curl up the sides. “Looks cozy,” Jimin says behind him. It still manages to startle Jungkook, who slowly turns to see Jimin with his lopsided smile. “I…” Jungkook starts, but Jimin slowly shakes his head.“It’s okay to be scared, Kookie,” Jimin assures him, dismounting his horse. Jungkook follows, staring at the grass even when Jimin sets a firm hand on his shoulder. “You can’t blast through everything without fear, it’s not human. I won’t pretend to know how you feel about Seokjin, but I can tell he means the world to you.”Jungkook slowly lifts his head to see the now five of them standing in front of him, all assuring smiles and Taehyung giving him waggling thumbs up. He takes a deep breath in and nods, though he’s not sure what he’s nodding to. “Right,” he says, sounding confident enough. “As discussed, I’ll go up first, and once I give the signal Jimin and Taehyung will come up next, helping me take Jihu down and getting Seokjin out.” He gives a curt nod in the direction of Hoseok and Namjoon. “You two will wait down here until Seokjin is out, and immediately take him as far away as this place as possible. The rest of us will be able to find you.”“What about me?” Yoongi asks, only one eyebrow raised. “Just stand there and look pretty,” Taehyung coos, Yoongi just rolling his eyes.Jungkook ignores it. “You’ll stay here and… Attend to any wounds Seokjin might have when we get him free. I pray there aren’t any, but I… I can’t be sure.”“Roger that, Kooks,” Yoongi smiles. “I’ll do everything I can for him.”He’s aware he’s biting back tears when Jungkook croaks, “Everyone. Thank you… I can’t explain how much this all means to me. How much you all mea—"“Bah, enough of that,” Jimin playfully interjects, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. He grins wildly when he says, “Now go save your prince charming.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sometimes Jungkook still thinks of when he was young. Of the first times he stole, the first heists he ever went on. He likes to think about those times with a certain fondness, much like how he thinks a mother reminisces about her children when they’ve become adults. If someone were to ask him his favourite part about those times, he’d easily answer the uncertainty. The nervous adrenaline he could almost taste when he clumsily barreled into buildings ripe for the taking; the way his heart never stop beating and he never stopped sweating.This time, though, the feeling is a bit different. Yes, his heartbeat reverberates off his eardrums, he can taste something metallic that could be either his blood or some metaphor for his doubt, because that was precisely what is different. In all those times before, Jungkook had little to think about other than that there was some valuable object on a loosely guarded shelf, and he just needed to curl his grubby hands around it and that was it. The object couldn’t talk back, it couldn’t fight for itself, and it certainly didn’t love Jungkook. Now all those things cloud his mind endlessly, weigh down on him that it’s almost hard to run up this steps, hard to convince him each bound is going to bring him closer to his goal.At least he was lucky enough to find stairs this time so he didn’t have to rock climb back up, he thinks as he skids into the main level. It’s his last normal thought before he sees what lays out in front of him.It looks like as if a violent storm has ripped through the quaint house. From the narrow hallway that Jungkook runs through all he can see is overturned furniture, thrown objects of every category. There is no sign of anyone even being here anymore, and it makes Jungkook stop breathing. Was he wrong? Did Seokjin believe everything Jihu has no doubt told him, and can he really blame him? He stops in the living room where he was tied to a chair in what he can’t even remember when was, his heart speeding exponentially until his eyes lay on shattered glass.It’s as if something had exploded, and when he sees the fallen over mirror he thinks perhaps that’s not too far off. But how could he be so foolish? Thrown around objects weren’t indicative of someone who was happy and content, and as if he needed any more convincing a shattered mirror doesn’t scream hospitality. He feels himself panic. “Seokjin?” He calls out, voice mocking him as it echos off the walls. He wipes his sweating palms against his thighs when no one answers. “Seok—?” He starts, but stops when he hears shuffling from behind him. He swings around hard enough to lose his balance, ready to lunge forward and gather Seokjin in his arms, but instead stumbles down to the ground.It’s Seokjin, but he’s chained at the wrists, crumpled form slumped on the ground and cloth tied around his mouth. His eyes are blown wide as he tries to scream something to Jungkook, the latter who tries his best to calmly smile as he crawls forward. “H-Hey,” he says as stably as possible, “It’s me, don’t… Don’t look so scared.” But Seokjin wildly shakes his head and struggles to move, only being able to lurch a foot forward before he’s brought down by the chain pulling him back, tightly. He looks like a rabid animal chained for slaughter, and Jungkook can feel his panic start to rise into his esophagus. “Don’t—Don’t struggle, it’ll just make it worse, trust me,” he laughs as lightly as possible, “I’ll find something to break these chains, and we’ll… We’ll get you out of here, okay?”“Don’t be so sure,” a chilling voice says from behind him. He moves to turn to face it, but something comes crashing into the back of his skull first, and in his recoil he’s kicked hard enough in the gut he goes skidding across the floor.“F-Fuck,” he seethes as the voice laughs. Jungkook coughs, wiping his mouth as he moves to stand, barely dodging the next swing of what he sees now is a metal bar, being held by a delirious Jihu. “I should have known someone of your kind would be able to cheat death,” Jihu spits, swinging down again, Jungkook being able to dodge it once more. He loses his footing, though, and trips over a fallen stool.Ignoring the poor attempt at Jungkook’s conscience he replies, “And I should have known someone selfish enough to keep their own son locked away in a tower all their life would turn out to be insane.”Jihu cackles, and it really just proves Jungkook’s point. “At least little Seokjinnie here didn’t suspect a thing, that’s good to know. Told you I was his father, hmm?”Jungkook hastily stands, but it appears Jihu is favouring a small monologue for the time being. “I’m guessing then you’re not, which makes this whole dynamic a lot more worse,” Jungkook replies, just barely dodging another swing. If this keeps up, he won’t be able to dodge them for very much longer. “It doesn’t matter though, I’m not letting you take Seokjin,” he spits, finally getting enough balance back to round kick the bar out of Jihu’s hands. He tries his best not to revel in the look of pure astonishment Jihu has.“How sweet,” Jihu coos instead, not spending too much time mourning his weapon, “The notorious criminal has come to steal away the helpless little prince. How very picture book.”Jungkook’s eyes narrow. “Yes, I’m sure you’ve fed him all sorts of stories about me,” he replies, moving as fast and as coordinated as he can over to where Seokjin is still desperately trying to free himself. “And you deny them?” Jihu asks, making no real attempt to stop Jungkook.He takes it as a grace. “No, there would be no point. I don’t pretend to hide from my past, but I also highly doubt you’ve told Seokjin anything good about me either.”“As if such a thing exists,” Jihu laughs, but it comes out as a straggled bark. Even though he probably shouldn’t, Jungkook turns his back on Jihu to kneel beside the still panicking Seokjin, who he sees now is crying. He wipes a tear away, smiling at Seokjin. He opens his mouth to insist things were going to be okay, but doesn’t dodge what gets certainly lodged into the side of his arm. He yanks the hand on Seokjin’s cheek back, can even hear the shriek of his name behind the cloth, and when he looks sees a piece of the mirror pierced into his skin. To throw something with such force and precision, Jihu must be something else. He can’t do this alone. Jungkook yanks the shard out of his arm, cutting his hand slightly in the process, but will himself to ignore it as he brings his fingers to his mouth to let out the whistle that will bring Jimin and Taehyung to him. He never gets the chance, though, when he’s once again too slow to avoid another piece of glass flying into his upper thigh. This one knocks him down, his head cracking against the hardwood floor. He can’t see anything behind the daze he’s been sent in, can only hear Jihu’s empty laughter. “This is just another heist to you, isn’t it? Come to take away my precious gem?” Jihu spits, and when Jungkook looks up he sees him holding a fistful of glass, seemingly unaware it’s cutting into his palms. Thankfully Jungkook is able to roll to one side to avoid the next shard that was definitely aimed for his face, propelling himself backwards on his feet. “Is that all you see him for?” He spits right back. “Some objective piece of jewelry that is yours for the taking?”“Idiot,” Jihu growls, “Of course that’s what he is. He can’t even survive out on his own for a pathetic few days, what makes you think he has some other purpose other than to obey me?”It… The words. They snap something deep down within Jungkook. Perhaps it reminds him of when he first came to the orphanage, beaten into submission and fed lies that he’d never amount to anything. And maybe he hasn’t, maybe Jihu is right to defame his life of crime, but he has no right to speak of Seokjin in that way. Seokjin, whose heart dripped gold. Seokjin, who smiled despite everything. “Bullshit,” Jungkook barely manages to say. “Bullshit,” he says again, but it comes out louder. In amongst his fury, Jungkook finds the strength to stand. In amongst his need to protect, he finds the strength to pick up a piece of glass that missed him, and hurl it right back at Jihu.“You can’t even dream to know him,” Jungkook yells now, kicking aside the stool. It crashes into the wall and crumples apart, though it sounds more like an explosion. He forgoes the whistle. Forgoes much of his logic, if he wasn’t going to be honest about it. “How blind do you have to be to not notice all the ways Seokjin glows?” He’s glad to see fear bloom in Jihu’s expression, and again when his fist collides with Jihu’s face. The crunch feels good under his knuckles. “You call him a gem,” Jungkook continues, voice not quieting. When Jihu has stumbled Jungkook kicks him directly in the stomach, sending him flying back but not knocking him over. “You think of him to be some naive and helpless little doe,” he yells, fist coming back down. Jihu once again doesn’t dodge it, but also once again doesn’t falter. “But clearly you and I speak of different people. Clearly you’ve been looking through a dirtied lens and I have seen Seokjin for who he truly is.” He’s started to blindly throw punches and thrust up kicks, most of which hit Jihu but none knock him down. “And then what is that?” Jihu yells back between hits, “What could Seokjin possibly be?”“You think he glows like a gem, but he’s not a reflective surface. He shines on his own, uninterrupted, unfiltered, and without trying to impress some freak like you,” Jungkook easily says, “He has more soul in his pinky than you do in your whole body, is able to talk to people like he’s known them his whole life, is able to smile like you’ve never hurt him, and sings like Gods themselves have seen fit to give him such a voice.”Jihu finally sneaks in a hard punch to Jungkook’s gut as he seethes, “He sung for you?”Jungkook doesn’t dare let the punch double him over, though it’s hard to. “Jealous?” He spits down onto the floor. “And look, I didn’t immediately lock him away. I didn’t even think to use him for my own good, like you have. You keep thinking he’s bound to you, that he’s some minuscule rock only fit for you, but he’s not. He’s a shining star, a burning free soul who deserves to be free, he’s kind, pure, and. And I… I love him.”It’s the last thing he is able to say before he feels what can’t be anything other than glass being lodged into his gut.— — — — — — —“Jungkook!” Seokjin finally shrieks, cloth falling away. Jihu holds Jungkook’s shoulder, the latter slumped around Jihu’s other hand. When Jihu pulls back Jungkook stumbles and falls, and even from back where Seokjin is chained the wall he can see the blood trickling down the floor. “That was more than enough of that,” Jihu says to the heaving Jungkook, kicking him so he rolls onto his back. There is more blood than Seokjin had thought, and it seeps between Jungkook’s fingers. Jihu drops the shard he used to stab—to kill—Jungkook, and wipes his face with the back of his hand as he struts over to where Seokjin sits helplessly. “Come now, gem, we have places to be.”Not bothering to even blink away the tears that pour out of Seokjin’s eyes, he quietly replies, “No.” Before Jihu can answer Seokjin says again, “No. I will not go.”Jihu laughs down at him, unhooking his chains from the wall and pulling to drag Seokjin away. He lets himself fall over, using all his strength to lift himself back up and dig is heels into the wood. “I really must insist,” Jihu growls, tugging on Seokjin’s chain farther, Seokjin responding by pulling his best in the opposite direction. “Seokjin, there is no point in struggling—““But there is!” Seokjin yells. “I won’t ever stop, I won’t ever stop fighting, unless you let me save him,” Seokjin pleads, tears having not stopped falling. “You’ll never know peace unless I can heal him. And then… And then I’ll be yours. I’ll go quietly. I… I will be yours forever.”“S-Seokjin,” he can hear Jungkook whisper, but he tries to ignore it. Tries to for maybe his own sake more than anything. He can see Jihu consider his options. Finally, after what seems like too long, he lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine,” he replies with a click of his tongue. “Fine, save your little pathetic criminal.”Seokjin doesn’t dare try and say thank you as Jihu releases him from his chains, especially when he goes and drags Jungkook’s partially lifeless body to the wall and chains him there. When he turns to see Seokjin’s incredulous look he just sighs again. “Just in case he tries to follow us, darling. We can’t have that. Now… Be done with it,” he casually says, slowly walking towards Seokjin who darts to Jungkook’s side.His gaze wanders all over him, but stops still when he sees the blood still oozing from the stab wound. “Oh, Jungkook,” he sobs, touching a trembling hand to Jungkook’s own. “I’m so sorry, I… I…”“Shh,” Jungkook whispers, bringing a hand to cup Seokjin’s cheek. When their gazes meet, Jungkook is still managing a smile. It forces more sobs from Seokjin. “It’s okay,” he assures, “I’ll be okay.”“S-Stop trying to act all macho when you’re so close to death,” Seokjin sobs out. “It’s not heroic.”Jungkook still laughs, but winces right after, hand on Seokjin’s cheek instinctively clenching. “Ah, I can’t help it. Ol—Old habits and all.”Seokjin fights back even more pathetic sobs that threaten to ripple through him. “You can go back to that when I save you, okay? You can go back to your friends, to your l-life, and I—I will… G-Go back to mine, okay?” He tries to say sternly, but loses his composure by the end. His tears keep falling, one side running down Jungkook’s soft fingers and the other dropping down to defuse into Jungkook’s blood. “No,” Jungkook breathes out hard, “I can’t let you go with that man.”Somewhere, somehow, Seokjin finds it in him to smile. “And I can’t let you die.”He sees the doubt behind Jungkook’s gaze, wants to scream that he doesn’t want to go with Jihu, but knows he wants more to save Jungkook’s life. Wants more to leave him with a fighting chance rather than let him bleed out, last memory of Seokjin being that he abandoned him. He lets his hair fall down and off his shoulder as he presses his forehead to Jungkook’s, closing his eyes and breathing in his scent. Even through the sharp stench of blood, Seokjin can smell Jungkook’s natural aroma. The calming smell of spices and coconut that he must commit to memory before this is all over. “Seokjin?” Jungkook whispers.“Yeah?” He whispers right back, opening his eyes too late to realise what Jungkook is doing.In the hand that hadn’t been cupping Seokjin’s cheek, Jungkook was able to grab a hold of a shard of mirror, no doubt from when Jihu was throwing them around like knives. Even in his state so close to death, Jungkook is quick enough to raise his chest up, strong enough to swiftly move his other hand now to grab a handful of Seokjin’s hair as he slashes the shard forward, it acting indeed as a knife as it easily slices through the golden strands. It’s almost like it happens in slow motion, the way that the strands immediately turn to chocolate brown as they fall away.“No!” Jihu shrilly screams.Seokjin is too caught in watching his life saving hair fall into a useless pile on the ground to hear Jihu start running forward. He looks up to see his eyes have already gone bloodshot, the whites of his filling with blood. It starts pouring out of his nose, ears, mouth as his skin starts to shrivel. The sight stuns Seokjin into previously unknown fear, not lessened in the slightest when Jihu shrieks, “What have you done?” But it’s followed by a rippling wail of agony as he goes to grip his hair that has started to fall out. He stumbles back, to the side, and finally to the edge of the open window. He hasn’t stopped letting out shrieks and cries as his skin looks as if it’s sloughing off, his skeleton almost visible when he takes one final look at Seokjin, going to scream something at him, but Cane scurries quickly to bite at his ankle, and in one movement he goes plummeting out the window, and Seokjin hates himself for reaching out all the same. He barely hears the soft thump of what has to be Jihu’s body on the ground, but what follows after is a pained silence. It’s only broken by a shuttering heave from Jungkook, who Seokjin wildly turns back to, and can see the pain written all over his face. The realisation of what his last deed has done hits him hard enough he feels bile rushing towards the surface of his mouth.“J-Jungkook,” he barely makes out, lifting Jungkook so his head rests in lap. “What have you done,” he manages.Jungkook creaks one eye shakily open, still finding it in him to smile. “I s-saved…” He breathes out, but in an instant his eye flutters closed, and the last thing Seokjin hears from him is a sharp slice of a breath before he goes limp and heavy in his lap.It’s over, then. Seokjin begins to shake relentlessly. It’s over. He lifts Jungkook’s head so he can wrap both arms around him, and wails. It comes out deep and guttural, from the most inner part of him, and it echoes off the walls. The sun has hidden itself behind clouds, but he can still make out Jungkook’s limp hand falling onto the floor, the stains of dried blood still evident. Seokjin’s cries don’t stop, he’s vaguely aware he’s screaming, but he’s not sure what to. Who he’s shouting at. Perhaps himself, perhaps Jihu, or maybe just perhaps the world in general. How unfair it has to be, how cruel it has to be, and Jungkook’s smile is the only thing he can picture as his sobs wretch out of him, forcing out air that hurts to breathe. His loneliness creeps up onto him, his fear bubbles to where it threatens to overthrow him, but nothing hits him harder than his grief. He knows he should let go of Jungkook, knows he should at the very least bury him, and at the very most try his best to live his life without him. Jungkook, who gave him this blessed chance. Jungkook, who showed him the world unveiled from any pretense. Jungkook, who had saved him in every way a person can be saved.And now he holds his lifeless body, holds on like he’s still alive, like his soul is still there, and all he’s doing is having a deep sleep from exhaustion. It’s futile, it’s useless, he knows, but he feels himself curling more into his own embrace, and can’t seem to find it in him to move. All his strength is being expended in his continuing screaming, and he’s not even sure if he’s crying. This is a pain he hasn’t felt before, this is a new realm of hurt he wishes for no one to visit, and he’s not sure if it has surpassed the capacity for him to cry. He’s not even sure how much deeper it can go.The only respite he gets from such agony is when he hears steps bounding towards him. Despite seeing Jihu’s flesh broil off him, even though he saw all the blood empty out of his pores, he still clutches Jungkook closer and swings his neck to where the sound is coming from, expecting to see his captor all well and fine. It wouldn’t be the first time, his brain unhelpfully reminds him. But instead he sees two new people, one man with fiery red hair and the other with bronze skin, staring at him.“Kookie,” the fire haired one breathes as the bronze skinned one collapses to the ground. “We… We saw that man fall, heard screaming but we….”“Is he…?” The bronze skinned man interjects. His gaze darts wildly between the stab wound on Jungkook and Seokjin’s no doubt wrecked expression. “He can’t be…” He whispers next, but it seems more to himself than anyone in the room.These must be Jungkook’s friends, Seokjin thinks behind the thundering in his temples. The ones he spoke of so fondly, the ones he missed dearly. They, too, now how have to face the undeniable truth that Seokjin has been desperately trying to scream away. His grip doesn’t lessen on Jungkook when he slowly nods. It’s the most pain he’s ever experienced, like fighting against a billowing gust of fire. “I… I couldn’t stop i-it,” Seokjin says to them. He’s surprised he has so much composure left. “H-He… H-He’s…”“Dead?” The fiery haired man finishes for him. Seokjin hates—loathes—that he nods in affirmation. In immediate succession, the two men burst into crumples tears just as more men dash into the room. Seokjin meets all their gazes one by one, sees expressions like he’s looking in the mirror, but says nothing. They must already know, they have to, and he sees no reason to further their wounds. One buries his face into another’s chest and cries loudly, the other holding him tightly as his tears fall silently. The remaining man slowly sits, his expression not faltering from that of suspended disbelief, and he equally as slowly goes to rest his face in his hands as he begins to shake.At this point, Seokjin has lost all hope. Any ounce of naive wonder that Jungkook would suddenly spring back to life has escaped him, and so he sets Jungkook back down lovingly in his lap, relaxes his back, closes his eyes, and even though he knows it will do nothing, he begins to sing. It comes out straggled, his voice is hoarse from all the screaming, but he sings all the same. He sings a song he doesn’t even know himself, tucking loose strands of Jungkook’s hair behind his ear, vaguely aware he’s started to cry. His signing gets interrupted by hiccups, his vision blurs as he caresses Jungkook’s face, not realising he’s started to sway them both. He gets so engrossed in his melancholy lullaby, he doesn’t notice the smalls bits of gold appearing where his tears fall. By the time he cuts off his singing and looks down, a pool of gold has begun to diffuse on Jungkook’s chest. Not only that, but they glow wildly, as they sink in, illuminating Jungkook’s wound in a blinding light. Like sparks from a fire, gold shoot up from it, Seokjin’s gaze following, until they start to paint a picture on the ceiling. A strange wind has started to billow between the two of them, sending unfamiliar brown strands of hair in Seokjin’s line of vision, but not enough that he can’t see the sparks beginning to form the night sky. They paint brilliant constellations like that which cover Seokjin’s room, like those he saw with Jungkook at his side, and they paint it with such ease. Bewildered, Seokjin looks back down and sees the gold traveling up Jungkook’s body, tracing the lines of his veins, glowing brighter with inch they climb. He can’t decide what to focus on more, but when he shoots his gaze back up he sees that the sparks have highlighted the two dippers among the other stars, and even more once they pinpoint the north star they explode all at once, making Seokjin flinch and sending glowing snow-like particles sprinkling to the ground. Everything goes dark, everything goes silent as Seokjin is sure Jungkook’s friends watched the same display in awe, and the trance is only broken for Seokjin when he feels movement from his lap.He looks down and sees Jungkook scrunching his nose, folding himself up as he goes to move his previously lifeless hand to rest on his forehead. He lets out uneven breaths, but all it tells Seokjin is that Jungkook is alive. By some grace of luck, blessing, something, Jungkook has returned to life. Seokjin begins to shake anew, but he can’t pinpoint the foremost emotion anymore. “J-Jungkook…?” He asks, voice laden with uncertainty. Yet sure enough, Jungkook moves his hand away and slowly, so slowly, opens one, then two eyes. His relaxed mouth wastes no time to curl into a smile, one so pure and unaware of the joy it fuels in Seokjin. “Hey,” Jungkook so very casually croaks out, his voice also hoarse from… Being dead, Seokjin assumes. Because he’s unable to stabilise his own voice, Seokjin squeaks back a, “H-Hey.”Jungkook moves his hand this time to run his fingers through Seokjin’s newly changed hair colour, his smile not only not fading but perhaps growing. He meets Seokjin’s eyes, bursting with affection when he declares, “Did I ever tell you I had a thing for brunettes?”Acutely aware Jungkook’s friends are a mere feet away from them (not to mention they also just witnessed him come back to life as well), Seokjin decides he doesn’t care even in the slightest and grabs the sides of Jungkook’s face. He grabs them, brings Jungkook’s face up, and chokes back tears when he firmly plants his lips against Jungkook’s. He tries to put everything he can’t even begin to try to articulate into words into the kiss—all the fear, agony, all the love. He kisses him hard and deep, a new wave of relief coursing through him when Jungkook leans up into it, wrapping his arms around Seokjin and crashing them down onto the floor so Jungkook lays on top of him.Jungkook is the one to break the kiss, pressing one last soft one to the corner of Seokjin’s mouth before he rests their foreheads together. Seokjin is aware he’s both crying and laughing together when he says, “N-No, you neglected to mention that part.”— — — — — — —It’s surreal, really. Just days ago Jungkook had been cascading the castle walls in search of what he was sure was going to change his life, and it nearly cost him it instead. Yet it lead him to Seokjin, who holds Jungkook tightly still, so he supposes in an obtuse way it did change it, just never how Jungkook thought it would. There’s still a phantom pulsating pain from where Jungkook presumes is (was?) his stab wound, but the fact he’s breathing is enough for him. It comes slowly and in waves when he hears Jimin and Taehyung sobbing, and he turns his head to see not just them, but everyone, all in various states of disarray and what looks like disbelief. Jungkook supposes he has a lot of explaining to do.“I’m sorry,” he blurts instead, though he’s not sure what he’s sorry for.Yoongi is the first to respond with a heavy, shaking, sigh. “Well, at least I didn’t have to do any stiching of wounds.” He crinkles his nose. “I’m not a fan of the smell of blood.”“It’d be weird if you were,” Hoseok says, barely audible from where he’s still tightly tucked into Yoongi’s arms. Still, he breaks free to rush over to Jungkook and Seokjin, the both of them flushing profusely when they seem to remember the position they’re in at the same time. “You must be Seokjin,” Hoseok says sweetly as the two of them clamber to get free. From the corner of Jungkook’s eye, he sees Seokjin curtly nod. “Yes, that… That would be me.”Hoseok claps his hands together, smile forming into its characteristic heart. “Wonderful!” He starts, but a scurrying catches his eye. A terrified Cane creeps up not to curl next to Seokjin, but rather Hoseok instead. The latter smile sweetly down at him. “Who’s this little guy?”“Cane,” Jungkook and Seokjin say in unison, though Jungkook’s tone is much lower than the excited one of Seokjin’s. Cane crawls up Hoseok’s arm and immediately snuggles into his neck, and Jungkook thinks he might be purring. Do sky squirrels purr? He’ll have to ask Seokjin.He doesn’t get a chance to before Taehyung comes crashing into him, cheeks still persistently damp from where he’s been crying. When he looks up at Jungkook his eyes are completely bloodshot, both looking like they can’t heave any more tears despite them still falling. “You—You—““Asshole,” Jimin finishes, lightly kicking Jungkook’s knee. “You scared the shit out of us.”“I said I was sorry,” Jungkook mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck as he lowers his head.Namjoon, ever practical, walks over and doesn’t turn his attention to the newly alive Jungkook (who pretends not to be offended by) but rather to Seokjin when he says, “Seokjin.” Seokjin flinches and instinctively curls next to Jungkook. Namjoon laughs lightly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He kneels down. “You must be someone special for Jungkook to go through all this for you.”“I assure you I’m not,” Seokjin blurts in a mumble.Namjoon just laughs again. “I mean you did just bring our best friend back to life by singing, so I’d gather that’s pretty impressive. There’s no need to be modest, or afraid. All of us have been loyal to Jungkook for years, we’d follow him into the fires of hell, you know.” He sits down with his legs crossed and extends a hand. Seokjin just stares at it. “My name’s Namjoon. The sobbing idiot on Jungkook is Taehyung, and the one pretending to be tough is Jimin. The one your furry friend is enamored with is Hoseok, and the other one acting tough is Yoongi.” He wiggles his fingers. With an apprehensive hand Seokjin slowly extends his own to curl with Namjoon’s. The latter smiles, accentuating his dimples in earnest, and enthusiastically shakes up and down. “Welcome to the gang,” Namjoon says.— — — — — — —The six friends of Jungkook’s leave slowly, and Seokjin watches Jungkook whisper to… Jimin, he thinks. He turns back to Seokjin with a soft smile, walking over in two huge steps to gather him in his arms. They start to sway ever so gently, and Seokjin breathes in deeply. He’s not sure if he should be counting seconds down until everything shatters again like he’s so used to doing, not sure if there’s a time limit on how much longer he can enjoy this. He remembers the revelation of him being the lost prince in bits, and when Jungkook pulls away it finally settles in the pit of his stomach.He watches Jungkook’s careful gaze as he tucks what’s left of Seokjin’s hair behind his ear and decides it’s good of a time as any, so he blurts out, “I have something to tell you.”Jungkook hums contently. “Hmm?”Seokjin worries on his bottom lip. “It—It might… I don’t know how—how you’ll take it. I don’t know how I really take it but… I just—““What is it?” Jungkook laughs through his nose. With a hard swallow and eyes screwed shut Seokjin rushes out in almost one syllable, “I’m the lost prince.”Jungkook’s hand freezes, albeit only momentarily. Seokjin dares to creak one eye open to see Jungkook’s lips pressed into a thin line, eyes darting all over Seokjin’s form. At last he sighs, pressing a kiss to the top of Seokjin’s head. “Did Jihu tell you that?” Seokjin stiffly nods. “And you believe him?”He nods again. “He had no reason to lie about that.”“Touché,” Jungkook whispers. He’s quiet for just a second too long before he sighs, long and deep. Seokjin doesn’t know how to interpret it. “You’ve changed my world view completely in just a few days, I’ve seen the light just by being around you… You radiate it. Everything about you is new to me, unknown, but I’m not afraid about it.” He thinks for a moment, lips pursed in a pout. “Well scratch that, I’m definitely terrified, but if you’re here… It’s not so bad.” Another silent moment of contemplation. “Do you think you could clean my record if I bring you back?”Seokjin lets out a laugh, loud and free as he bats a hand playfully against Jungkook’s chest. Jungkook laughs in return, grabbing at the hand that raps against him and kisses the top of it, kneeling down on one knee. Seokjin blushes, though he’s not really sure why. “I’d do anything for you, your majesty,” he breathes against the now inside of Seokjin’s palm. In an instant, Seokjin asks, “Those things you said when you were… Defending me against Jihu. Did you mean them?” His heart is thundering against his chest when Jungkook cocks his head to the side. “That I love you?”The way he says it so easily makes Seokjin’s heart burst. He nods quickly, “Yes. Yes, that.”“Do I get to be a prince too if I say yes?” He asks, and Seokjin just laughs out loud and hits him again. “Ah, I kid, jeeze.” He stands tantalisingly slow when he leans down into Seokjin’s ear as he whispers, “Of course I meant it.”Seokjin’s heart threatens to burst from his ribcage when he grabs the sides of Jungkook’s face and firmly kisses him, tears threatening to fall from his eyes in the best way possible.— — — — — — —Jungkook, despite himself, has to think about it. He didn’t want to say it—feel it—in front of Seokjin, but he can’t help the swirling in the pit of his stomach about the prospect. If Jihu was telling the truth, if Seokjin was really the lost prince, Jungkook doesn’t know how to feel. In a way if he loved the Seokjin he now slowly trails behind, he’ll love the prince Seokjin as well. After all, how could they be different? Seokjin has lived his whole life never knowing that fact, and so everything he is now was never influenced by the picture of royalty. They stand now in the disheveled mess of his room, staring at the wall of the stars, and Jungkook’s mind is swirling.“They’re still beautiful,” Jungkook forces himself to say, “the stars, I mean. You captured them beautifully, regardless of what they meant to you this whole time.”Seokjin sighs. “I don’t know how to feel about them anymore. The painting. This…”—he motions to his room—“whole home, if it counts as such. It’s all I ever have known, and yet I feel like a stranger standing in it now.”Jungkook pulls Seokjin close to him and rubs circles in the small of his back when he says, “That’s sort of the fun, I guess. You get to decide now where your home is, what home is. You’re not hidden behind some façade painted for you that tells you how to think and feel. It’s the charm of a life like this.” He softly smiles after, recalling how life was for the Trio for so long. He wishes someone would have told him those words when he doubted himself, and so he adds quietly, “So what is home to you?”They fall silent, as if the quiet is an answered prayer. Seokjin bounces his leg from where they’re standing, looking around his room with a deep look in his eyes. Jungkook doesn’t know what sort of feeling is embedded there, but figures if it’s anything like he was as a kid, it was fear. An anxious anticipation, a jump you know has an end but you don’t know where it goes. In a way, Jungkook is afraid too. He’s opened the floor for Seokjin to choose—him or his life as a prince. It’s fucked up, it’s not how he’s supposed to think about someone he loves as deeply as Seokjin, but he’s always been a selfish. It comes with the profession.After a lengthy silence, Seokjin heaves out a puffed sigh, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Everything has changed so suddenly I’m not even sure if the clouds are up anymore.” He laughs into Jungkook’s shoulder. “I just know I want to be with you.”It takes some effort, but Jungkook wills himself to not take that confession and run with it, literally. He squeezes Seokjin tightly and thinks of the orphanage. Of his parents. All the unknowns. And so with much trepidation he asks, “Do you want to see your parents?”“Yes,” Seokjin softly answers, and Jungkook internally hits himself to stop his heart from sinking.The two of them descend from the tower after Seokjin says he wants nothing from it. All it would do, he had reasoned, is further remind him of a life he wants to leave behind. Despite Jungkook’s playful whining, the sky rat comes with them, and he even now has to deal with Hoseok and Seokjin yelling him about it. It’s all in good fun, though, and so Jungkook keeps doing it, lest he dwell on their destination for too long.As Seokjin clambers onto one of the horses, Namjoon scurries over to Jungkook, all whispers and secrecy. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asks, referring to Jungkook having announced they were going back to the city. He’s neglected to leave out the whole prince thing.“Nope,” Jungkook responds, popping the “p”. “In fact, I’m sure it’s awful, but I owe it to him.”Namjoon nods as if he understand, and Jungkook supposes he does, but he also knows Jungkook isn’t telling him the whole thing. His inquisitive eyebrows hide nothing. “Still, aren’t we walking into a death trap? If the city didn’t want your head before, they definitely do now, ours too. We’ll follow you, Jungkook, but I gotta know….”“Why?” Jungkook finishes for him, a hushed whisper. A curt nod. “This time, yeah, I have to know. We all do, but I understand if it’s something you don’t necessarily want everyone to know.”And so Jungkook sighs, though it comes out as rippling breaths. This is why he both hates and loves Namjoon, for his concerned assurances. It’s hard—impossible, really—to deny him such things, and so Jungkook blurts a quick whisper of, “He’s the lost prince.”When Namjoon doesn’t dramatically gasp like Jungkook had somewhat anticipated, he looks up to his older friend. Namjoon is watching Seokjin as he playfully fights with Hoseok and Jimin, as he laughs bright and loud like he belongs there. Jungkook’s heart might twist, but he ignores it. “And so you’re bringing him back, so to speak?”Jungkook quickly nods. “Yeah, yeah I am. He deserves a good life, after all he’s been through.”Namjoon looks down at Jungkook with careful eyes, “And what makes you think you don’t?”