Work Text
"Kim Taehyung", she seethes, in a language that has been long forgotten, "Born December 30, 1995. A 21 year old sophomore college student from Daegu, majoring in Art and minoring in Music Production. Popular among the female and male students at Seoul National University. Nice to everyone he meets and works hard for everything he has. He's always ready to defend or fight for someone in need, having got into eight fights his freshman year in college, all which he won thanks to his parents' lessons in self-defense and offense. Parents are accepting of all of his accomplishments and don't mind that he's into his own gender.
"Best friend is Park Jimin, who majors in Dance and minors in Vocal Music. They're roommates and have known each other since primary school.
"Taehyung also has a crush on the well-known jock in their college: Jeon Jungkook. They both have the same friends group, consisting of Kims Namjoon, Seokjin, and Taehyung, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, and himself.
"They don't talk often, but are "cool" with each other. Taehyung seems to fear rejection since Jungkook seems to have people falling to his feet all the time. Jungkook is known as a heartbreaker when he, in fact, just does not like people and relationships.
"Taehyung's pure, a saint with a big heart and has his heart on his sleeve. He even works at the puppy cafe on campus. His mother collects dolls and other figurines.
"Since his mother seems to like dolls so much, I just figured out what to turn him into," she says with a gleeful, evil smile. "Maybe then, they'll know not to cross me again."
______________________
Taehyung sat cross legged on the couch, bowl of popcorn in his lap as Jimin got their snacks and drinks. "Taehyung, sweetie, we're out of drinks," Jimin called from the kitchen. Taehyung heaves a big sigh as he goes to investigate. They've been planning this binge watching ever since their winter exams began. Their exams ended two days ago, and they both decided to stay at the dorms for a few days before going home. They thought they had everything ready. "How did we forget the drinks, Chim?" Taehyung said with a pout. "I don't know, but can you go buy some?" Jimin has his head in the fridge, thinking he'd find something eventually in their nearly empty fridge. "Why can't you go?" Taehyung said with a bigger pout. "It's freezing out there! It's in the single digits, Chim!" "You managed to during exams; why can't you now?" Jimin says as he, finally, closes the fridge. "And I can't go because my legs are still sore from my competition. We've discussed this, Tae." Taehyung gives his best friend a bewildered look. That competition was two days ago! “Please TaeTae? The love of my life? My best friend? My ride or die? My other chopstick? The heaven to my hell?”Jimin even tacks a pout at the end of his pleading, doing everything he can to not have to brave the cold, no matter how short the trip to and back it is. Taehyung just stares at his best friend, not even remembering how and why he’s friends with this demon in angel’s clothing. They hold each other’s gaze until Jimin blinks. Taehyung lets out a long suffering sigh before getting up, relenting. “Fine, you overbearing mochi, but you’re paying for them and for whatever else I'm buying.” Jimin gives him a blinding smile, his eyes disappearing from the force of it. "Go to the one right around the corner," he tells him, "They have those sparkling waters and juices you like to drink. Get me some soju and some chips." Jimin gives Taehyung 32,000 won from his wallet. "I'm keeping anything that's not spent," Taehyung says spitefully. Jimin just laughs at him, "Buy some more snacks if you can but only after you’ve bought my soju babe!" The younger goes to his room to get ready for his walk through the fresh snow that blanketed over Seoul in just a matter of hours. He puts on winter-ready orange pants over his basketball shorts and throws on a yellow, long-sleeved shirt and a small red jacket under a long, blue winter coat along with tan Uggs over white, fuzzy socks. He wraps a green scarf around his neck after putting on purple gloves. A pink, wooly hat sits on his head. "Why do you look like a rainbow threw up on you, babe? Plan on going to a Pride march in the middle of the night?" Jimin questions when Taehyung emerges from his room, the colors of his best friend’s outfit giving him a headache. "In case I'm kidnapped or something else happens: you can tell them to look for the man who looks like a rainbow," he says simply before grabbing his phone and walking out of their dorm. He goes slow, walking at a snail's pace to the elevator at the end of the hallway. A couple of people give him affectionate looks as he passes, but he doesn't pay them any mind. The people here know about the way he dresses and are used to it if he shows up to class looking like he walked through an art museum. The elevator ride is short, not even lasting long enough for Taehyung to go through his phone. When he walks out of the dormitory, he's hit with a blast of cold air. He shivers, the layers he has on not being enough for a snowy Seoul in January. He treks through the snow, his feet luckily having enough insulation to not freeze. The amount of time it takes him to get to his destination feels like an eternity, but, in reality, is only ten minutes. He goes in, and stands there at the entrance, soaking in all the warmth the cheap heater beside him has to offer. He makes his way towards the aisles with a basket in his arms, his mental checklist of everything he needs to buy at ready. He spends way longer than he needed to in the store, his basket getting filled more than intended. It's mainly full of things he wants, not spending Jimin's money on the things that he asked for just yet. He gets the soju last out of spite. He pays for everything, having a good bit of won left over. He buys ramen for him and his best friend and leaves the store. The bags in his hands are lighter than he anticipated, making the walk back to his dorm easier than expected. He's about to pass and alley when he hears the sound of someone in distress. He glances inside, on edge. He sees a lady, maybe in her 30's, being harassed by big, burly men with tattoos and barely any clothes on. One was bald while the other one had an orange Mohawk. "Give us what you all got, lady before things get ugly," the bald one said, holding a knife up to her throat. The lady shrieks in terror, the knife close to her carotid artery. "I don't have anything to give you!" she yells out pathetically. Taehyung puts the bags in his hand on the ground and pulls his phone out. He texts Jimin his location with a "come here its urgent and call the police" before putting his phone away on silent. By the looks of the situation in front of him, it's unfairly two against one. Nothing he couldn't handle on his own, but he let Jimin know just in case. He doesn't bother trying to sneak into the alley or rush into things. His choice of outfit wasn't ideal for the situation, boots crunching loudly on the snow, alerting the assaulters of his presence. They give him wicked smiles before turning back to the lady. The lady smiles, but not in gratitude. "I knew you'd come, Kim Taehyung," she says in an overly high pitched, ear grating tone. This makes him stop in his tracks, a look of something akin to confusion crossing over his face. "How do you know my name?" "A dumb question, really, I know all about you, your friends, your family..." She trails off, a look of pure hatred on her face. "I hate your family and lineage the most." The men around her disappear into black smoke, which wraps around her, coiling like a snake. Taehyung backs away in horror, goosebumps not from the cold forming on his body. "Just to prove my point of how much I hate your lineage, I'll take away their most precious, most valuable person and make him into a disposable, unwanted object." Before Taehyung can even think about running, the smoke around her shoots out towards him. It blankets him, prevents him from screaming, stills all his movements. He feels as if he's dying, his breathing stopping, his heart rate slowing. His skin feels cold, and he can feel as all the blood in his body stops flowing. His body starts to shrink, becoming the size of a newborn puppy. The clothes on his body shrink with him, accommodating to his new size. His phone breaks from the force of his transformation. His skin hardens, becoming smooth porcelain. His body hair becomes strings of silk. His eyes become glass beads. He blacks out as his body completely changes. The smoke clears, the lady watching the scene with cold eyes. She walks over to Taehyung, who is now a porcelain doll, and holds herself back from stomping him into pieces. She hears sirens in the distance, quickly realizing that they're coming to their current location. She picks him up carefully, despite her hatred and the want to throw him into the brick walls of the buildings around them. "I'll pity you and your lineage just this once, Kim Taehyung." She casts spells that will give him back his consciousness, the ability to read the minds of anyone around him, and one more ability. "You'll be able to break this curse...maybe...I haven't thought about it yet," she contemplates smugly. "You can't talk or move unless the person you love is holding you. That person has to also reciprocate those feelings, but you won't know about the conditions. After all, you're just a doll."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jimin was pissed.
Not only did he miss his movie, but he didn't have his damn soju.
Jimin was also worried.
Not only has it been nearly 45 minutes since Taehyung left, but then he gets a location sent to him saying that he needs to be there and that it's urgent. He also has to call the police, in which he just called his cousin, who's a police officer since he has no idea what shit Kim Taehyung has gotten himself into this time.
Jimin walks, wrapped up in his warmest clothes, to the said location. When he got near, he noticed some shopping bags on the ground near where he was supposed to be. He looks inside the bags and sees that everything that he and Taehyung would buy for their movie night inside.
That makes Jimin even more worried. He plants himself on the wall beside the alley, his breath a little faster than what he'd admit, especially to one Jung Jungkook.
"Okay, Jimin," he says quietly to himself, "you can do this. If TaeTae can walk into a dark alleyway in the middle of a cold night, then you can too."
He finally hears the sound of a police siren, seeing the cruiser down the street from him. When he finally finds the courage to look inside the alley, he sees nothing. Not even his best friend. He's confused before he decides to walk inside the alley. He notices nothing at first, but then he sees an onslaught of colors deeper into the alley.
When he walks towards it, he sees that it's a doll. A doll wearing exactly the same clothes his best friend left the dorm in. He gasps, noticing his broken phone beside him. He kneels down beside his doll friend, carefully cradling him against his chest.
"I know the fuck she did not," Jimin says under his breath, seething to the core. "That damn witch!" Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he noticed how dire the situation really was, flashes of blood and dead eyes appearing unprompted behind his closed eyes.
"Is everything okay?"
Jimin looks over his shoulder to see his cousin, Park Chanyeol, standing at the edge of the alleyway with his gun and taser in his hands, looking ready for a fight he knows he's going to win even without the weapons.
"It's okay!" he rushed to say, not wanting to be on the other end of his cousin’s protective streak like the taller’s, boyfriends: Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin. "It was just...Taehyung getting into something he had no control over and will be shocked when he finally learns about it."
Jimin shows Chanyeol the doll, getting a shocked gasp in response. "Was it her?" he asked.
"It had to be," Jimin said and stood up, his legs threatening to give out on him, “Channie hyung, what am I gonna do? I can’t throw all of this on him when it’s already too late to do anything about his state right now.”
Chanyeol gives him a reassuring smile. “You know better than anyone that it’s not too late. You studied the curse more than anyone when you found out about which Kim it was gonna be next. Do you want me to do anything? I can go back to the cove and see if there's anymore ways to help," Chanyeol said carefully, knowing how much Jimin hated the cove he had to swear on his life to forever serve.
"You can do whatever you want, Channie hyung. I'm going back to the dorm to see if I can do anything on my own, but if you do find anything about it then please please please let me know. It would mean a lot to me if you did." Jimin walks out of the alley slowly, carefully handling Taehyung in his arms. He eyes the bags on the ground, having another problem to deal with already.
"Let me give you a ride back to the dorm," Chanyeol offered, "I'll even bring those bags up for you."
Jimin gives him a grateful smile, one less strained around the edges than he thought he was capable of, following his older cousin to his cruiser. The bags are placed in the back seat while Jimin sits in the front, cradling Taehyung in his arms like a mother would her own child.
The ride back is short and silent, neither knowing how to handle this situation.
When Jimin, Taehyung, and the bags are all in the dorm and Chanyeol takes his leave, the older all but collapses on the couch. He's debating whether or not to call his friends when there's a knock on the door, sounding urgent. He's confused, not knowing who could be knocking at his door at-he looks at the time on his phone, seeing it close to midnight-before placing Taehyung on the couch carefully and going to open the door.
His friends all but rush inside, worry, anger confusion, and, most of all, hurt on all of their faces.
"What are guys doing here?" Jimin asked, not really knowing their situation.
"You know why, Jimin,” Yoongi seethes "Where is he?"
"He-?" Jimin is cut off when a scream sounds out.
"I found him!" Hoseok shouts.
The other rush to see Hoseok's finding: the Taehyung doll.
"How did you know?!" Jimin screeches.
"We all got a text from an unknown number saying that Taehyung was in trouble," Namjoon explains, calm despite the situation.
Jimin was in shock, knowing that the witch that made his best friend into a doll sent them that message.
"You got some explaining to do, Hyung," Jungkook says as he takes the doll from Hoseok.
Jimin heaves a big sigh at the same time Doll Taehyung takes a big breath of air. Jungkook would've dropped him from the shock if it weren't for the tight grip Doll Taehyung had on him.
"What the hell just happened?" Doll Taehyung asked, grip loosening a bit when he realized that all his friends were around him, looking like giants. "Why are all of you so big? And why is Kookie holding me?"
Even in his current situation, Taehyung still manages to blush.
Hoseok screamed again, clutching his chest tightly with his hands. He was about three seconds from fainting, but Yoongi wrapped a hand around his waist to steady him. Namjoon and Jin were in too much shock to even react any further than to just stand still.
"I'll explain, but sit down first," Jimin said with a deep sigh.
Everyone sat down as Jimin began to explain all he knew.
"You're a witch?!" everyone exclaimed once Jimin explained.
"I'm a warlock, not a witch, I'm male," Jimin said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Okay that's believable, but what's not believable is that I'M A FUCKING DOLL, JIMIN!" Doll Taehyung exclaimed.
His eyes were no longer beads, but instead, looked like human eyes. His hair was no longer strands but was actual hair. He could move his limbs, but he couldn't stand on his feet and walk. Other than that, he was still a doll, sitting on Jungkook's lap as he was seated on the couch, legs crossed at the ankles and everything.
"I’m sorry, Taehyung, for not being there to help you, for not even telling you about yourself so that this could’ve been avoided," Jimin sighed, putting his head in his hands. "There's an old story the older witches used to tell us younger ones back before I came to Seoul.”
Jimin took a deep breath before letting it out, which caused all the lights to flicker on and off before dimming to near darkness. Hoseok managed to hold his scream of terror by cutting off Yoongi’s arm circulation.
Smoke started to billow in front of Jimin before taking the form of a shadowy figure. Everyone watched with rapt attention as the figure took on a more humanoid shape before a person was revealed, who emerged from the smoke with the grace of a cat.
The person smiled at Jimin before turning to embrace him. “Oh, Jiminie, it’s been too long since you’ve summoned me.” Chen took a seat on Jimin’s lap, facing the group with a mischievous, Cheshire grin. “Oh what an audience we have today.”
“Everyone, meet my familiar, Chen. He’s here to tell you the story because he insists that whenever there’s a big reveal to people other than witches he be there to see it,” Jimin sighs out before wrapping his arms around Chen’s waist, tugging him closer to him.
“Damn right,” the figure, Chen, agreed before exclaiming, “Okay! Here’s what happened and why everything’s so messed up for people who have the surname Kim:
"About 2000 years ago, there was a royal bloodline that ruled over the Korean peninsula that literally no one teaches about in school because of how messed up it is. They were kind hearted, loyal to the people, and the kingdom flourished for many centuries. That was until the first born of the fourth generation king and queen became ruthless. He became king when he was 16, his parents dying from a sickness now known today as a common cold. He terrorized the people of the kingdom and their neighboring countries. He killed, raped, stole from, and kidnapped many people from the neighboring countries all because he thought he was tough shit and that commoners and peasants were below him, like any power hungry bastard at the time. But anyways, one of those people just so happened to be a fourth generation witch who was only, like, 13 at the time.
"She was treated like shit the entire time she was held captive despite her age. And also, despite her age, she was powerful as fuck. But despite this, she couldn't hurt the king ‘cause her coven are sworn from hurting humans of any kind.
“The corrupt king wanted her to make a potion that would make him immortal, beautiful, so much so that he tortured her until she finally did what she asked. She said it'd come with the price of his life until he finally died. He agreed without knowing the implications of his agreement. She said that it'd take five years until she could complete the potion and immediately set to work. Little did the king know, five years was enough time for her to grow stronger in order to hurt the king without going against the rules of the coven.
“Coven leaders don’t allow young witches below the age of 18 to hurt humans but the older they get and the more they learn about the world, the more coven leaders allow witches to defend themselves from those who hurt them in any means that does not include killing them directly.
"So, after exactly five years of working, she was finally 18 and finally had the potion done. She gave the king the potion in a glass chalice and told him to only drink a little bit or he'd never be able to have the life he wanted, but the king didn't listen. He drank the whole thing as if it were water, changing his, along with the rest of his bloodline's, fates for eternity.
"The potion was originally supposed to stop the king from aging and from being affected from all known sickness and illnesses, but since he was a selfish bastard that drunk the whole thing, it turned the king into a glass doll. The witch was not aware of the side effects of drinking the potion because, despite well known opinion, the king was smart as hell and followed directions down to a T. But he had turned 21 and thought he was able to do what he wanted without the warnings of others so of course he didn’t listen.
“He was found by his third wife, who was pregnant at the time. She wept for her husband and sentenced the witch for public execution. Before the hanging, she cursed his bloodline. She yelled out before the crowd of people watching, 'The Kim's shall not prevail! They should be all turned into immobile dolls before they die! In 21 year's time! I curse them! I curse them! I curse their whole family! Their children! Their children's children! They shall never be able to break this curse! This curse will last until the entire bloodline is turned into dolls! I curse them!' This, that, and the third, yada yada yada, witch curses are so dramatic.
"She was hanged, and afterwards, her body was burnt on a crucifix. When she was nothing but ashes, black smoke flowed out of her remains. It wrapped around the remaining Kim's and turned them into dolls except the members who were all younger than 21 years old. The witch cursed the entire Kim bloodline, which caused anyone who was a descendant of the corrupt king to be turned into dolls around the time they turn 21 years old by descendants of the witch. Her descendants had no choice in the matter, for if they didn't curse a descendant from the corrupt king, then they should suffer the same fate as their ancestor by the coven they belonged in. It was tradition for those who share the same blood as the original witch, and some witches actually did have to suffer because they didn’t want to have the lives of someone else on their hands. Dead witches come back as cats, as familiars, like me, and have to help another witch from a different coven.
"Some witches never know why they're meant to turn a Kim into a doll. That reason might be because they left their coven without ever knowing about the fate of their ancestor. Even if that happens, they will feel a strong hatred towards the Kim's without ever knowing why. The Kim’s and the witches were always close by to each other, so it’s easy for a witch to find a Kim and turn them. And if by some chance that a Kim is not near them, they'll wander the earth for years until they find a Kim from the corrupt king's bloodline.
“I know all of this because I was once looking for a Kim to turn, a long time ago and was killed in front of the whole coven I used to be a part of.” Chen lets out a long sigh before laughing, not a single hint of humour in his voice. “It’s funny, how my coven all also shared the last name Kim and one of our members just so happened to be a descendent of the Cursed Kim’s bloodline. I was tasked to kill him, but I loved him too much, my little Xiumin. I died for him just to come back and be Jimin’s familiar and see his cousin being friends with my Xiumin.”
Chen’s eyes glazed over before he straightened himself up, black tail swishing slowly behind as everyone watched him in unconcealed sadness and empathy.
Jimin, ever quick to know Chen’s mood, quickly added on to the story. “Taehyung's birthday was only six days ago, and the witches who are supposed to turn them only have ten days to turn a Kim into a doll before their coven executes them. It's a cruel fate for both the witches and the Kim's."
The room went silent. The tension in the air was so thick that you could choke on it. Doll Taehyung was in shock: he never knew that his bloodline was cursed. He didn't think that things of the past could come back and bite him in the ass now.
"How did she know that Taehyung would be out tonight, anyway?" Hoseok asked after a few minutes of silence.
"She has her ways," Jimin answered simply, gaze staying on the floor, "she could always figure things out without any help at all."
"So how do we reverse this? How do we get Tae-hyung back to normal?" Jungkook asked, looking like a kicked puppy as he looked at the doll in his lap.
Jimin sighed deeply, his stress levels rising, which caused the temperature in the room to increase. Chen turned around to once again embrace his master. Jimin hugged him back before saying, "I think I might have to go back to my coven."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Go back?" Taehyung asked from his perch, not at all liking the sound of that.
"Yeah...I might have to with my cousin, Chanyeol, and my younger brothers," Jimin said sullenly, so not looking forward to seeing his parents.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait," Hoseok said confusedly, "Why'd you leave in the first place?"
Chen lets out a sigh before turning into a cat, because he’s experienced this story and has heard it enough to know that Jimin needs his cat right now
Jimin sighed for the nth time that night, cradling Chen against his chest like a child with their favorite toy. "My parents have very...unique rules and regulations. I put up with the majority of them, but there was one I didn't like...it being that I had to marry someone from the neighboring coven. When I tell you that those witches over there were cruel, they were fucking cruel. They'd curse anyone for the fun of it, cause disasters all around the world just because they had the power to, cause turmoil between the families and covens that they didn't like...I couldn't spend the rest of my life with someone like that. There was gonna be an arranged marriage because, as cruel as they were, they were very powerful, but I left the day before the wedding. I jumped on my broom stick and left, making sure that no one could track me. I've did a great job of that since I was 17."
The room gets quiet again until Jimin adds, "My parents might've been assholes, but they raised one powerful ass warlock. If I do go back, I think I'll be fine-"
"No! No! No!" Doll Taehyung shouts from his spot on Jungkook's lap, interrupting his best friend, "If you go back, then they might force you to stay!" He sounded distressed.
His movie night with his best friend turned to shit because of his dumbass ancestors. Being turned into a doll, all this talk about witches and curses, the fact that it was nearly three in the morning...Doll Taehyung has had enough shit for the night, and hearing Jimin saying how he had to go back was not making his emotional state any better. He loved all his friends, but Jimin and he have been through a lot over the years. Him suddenly saying that he wants to leave, and the situation being as it is, makes his emotional state even more distorted.
"You can't leave me here like this, hyung!" If he could cry, Doll Taehyung was sure that he would be bawling his eyes out right now. "Who would protect me if that witch came back?"
"Taehyung," Jimin starts, "She won't be coming back. As I said earlier, she only knows to turn you into a doll-” Jimin suddenly cuts himself off, staring at Doll Taehyung in surprise and disbelief “...wait...how are you not immobile?" Chen hops out of Jimin’s arms as Jimin quickly rushed to his best friend's side. "The curse should've just turned you into a doll, and you were immobile when I found you..."
The others in the room were quiet while Jimin had a mini mental breakdown. Taehyung was confused: as he was a doll, he could faintly hear and feel everything that was happening to him, but he felt as if he was floating in a lake of freezing water and was on the verge of going under.
Jimin, very abruptly, took Doll Taehyung off of Jungkook's lap. Instantly, he went limp, his eyes went back to a doll's eyes, and his hair turned into thread. He went immobile.
Panic crossed over his friends' faces before he sat Doll Taehyung back on Jungkook's lap. Instantly, he went back to the way he was when Jungkook first picked him up.
"What the hell?!" Doll Taehyung exclaimed, "give a doll a warning before you do something like that!"
Jimin then took him back off his lap and sat him in Jin's lap, since he was closer. Nothing happened.
He repeated this process with everyone, but Doll Taehyung would only become mobile when seated in Jungkook's lap.
Everyone was quiet while Jimin worked, not wanting to ruin his thought process until he finally made a noise of reasoning. Chen, ever the sly cat, quickly caught on to what was happening and let out the cat equivalent to a cackle.
"Why in the hell did you keep doing that?!" Doll Taehyung exclaimed after being seated back in Jungkook's lap a sixth time, porcelain cheeks stained red.
"I was trying to figure something out, and it seems like I came to a conclusion: Jungkook is the only one who Taehyungie will become mobile with. Not any other illegitimate Kim’s, no closer friends, not even a powerful magical being, like myself. It's only Jungkook," Jimin explained.
"What's so special about the maknae?" Hoseok asked.
"When I find out, I'll tell you, but until then..." Jimin gave Jungkook a look of mirth, "...Jungkook would have to have constant physical contact with Taehyung until I find a way to break his curse."
Jungkook was about to speak up but-
"Wait! Wait! Earlier, you said something 'bout 'other illegitimate Kim’s'?" Namjoon cut in before he could even get any words out, "Me and Jin-hyung are 'illegitimate'?"
Jimin turned to the couple on the couch. “What I meant was that just because you have the blood of Kim in you and the same last name, you're not a direct relative to the first Kim that was cursed. Even though the curse was to turn all Kim's into dolls, it was only directed to those born from those with the blood of the first cursed Kim. It's confusing, but, from what I can tell, you two do have the blood of a Kim inside you, hence why you have that last name.
"To make it easier, think of it like a big ass family tree. I remember hearing that Cruel Kim had lots of whores and wives bearing his kids, but not all of them were cursed. Any whore who had to name their child after their father instead of them weren't cursed. The blood was filthy like they were. Only those from the royal bloodline, like Taehyung, or anyone born from a wife Cruel Kim has, were pure-blooded. They were his actual kids, and, I forgot to say, that he usually got rid of his whores after he was done with them, kicked them right out the castle. Those whores were considered dirty, hence why the curse never affected them. So, technically, you two are in fact related, it just dates back all the way back to the point where it’s null now. No one came after you two and being in a relationship with only one common ancestor is also null. You two are fine as you are since your blood lines are so distant apart."
The room goes silent again as the words of powerful beings sink in for the nth time tonight. There was one thought going through all of their minds: What in the actual fuck?
"There are two things that I am 100% certain of tonight: one: that I’m so done with being a witch after all this over, and two: Jungkook is the only one who can hold Taehyung and make him mobile."
Jimin's words sent shivers down everyone's spines, mainly Jungkook and Taehyung. Jungkook’s because he literally had the life of Taehyung in his hands; Taehyung’s because he had to stay close to his crush from much too long just so that he could interact with anyone around him.
The night couldn’t have gotten any worse than what it was.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
January 13, 2018
It's been about a week since I've been turned into a doll. Jimin-hyung has been trying to find other ways to turn me back to my human body without having to go back to his coven. All week, he's been holding himself in his room, but I know exactly what he's doing: being a good warlock, a good best friend, a good second chopstick. He's been bringing mysterious things into the apartment since the 6th, and I can literally feel all the magic in the air. I've also realized something: I can read minds. It's weird, like I can only hear things that concern me. It took me a minute to realize that, but that's how it is. The only thing that concerns me is that I can only hear them while immobile. Jimin's thoughts are the loudest, and he's the only one who knows about this. I don't have the guts to tell anyone else about this.
Classes started three days after I was turned, and the hyungs and Jungkook have been getting notes and assignments from the professors for me. They had to tell them that I'm currently unable to attend classes due to health issues. It's not even technically a lie!
I am concerned though. Being a doll is hard. I'm immobile throughout most of the day, where I sit on Jimin's bookshelf and overlook everything he does. Funny thing about this whole thing is that I can still see and feel everything around me, but hearing is a no go. The world is basically silent unless Jimin starts chanting something in a strange language that I can't understand. When I asked Jimin about it, he said that it's the language of the Otherworld, a forgotten language only magical beings are able to speak.
When he said magical beings and not just witches or warlocks, I asked him to elaborate. He explained that everything that people believed as children were real: fairies, werewolves, mythical beings such as dragons that dwell in the darkest caves and corners of the earth and spirits that rule over the land and sea, people able to shapeshift into animals, mermaids, sirens...it's all real.
Things like Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny were based on true stories, but the said creatures have stopped their work after humans started copying them, saying that they're no longer needed since they have no job to do.
I didn't believe him at first, but when he called up one of his mythical being friends, a fucking dragon shape shifter named Kris, I believed everything he said in an instant.
It's still hard to believe everything that's happened. But I think the hardest thing to believe is that Jungkookie is the only one whose thoughts I can't hear. I can hear anyone's if my name is said while thinking it, but even if I'm mobile or not, I can't hear them. It's like someone but a block between us. No matter how hard I try to only hear his thoughts, I can't seem to get past that block.
He's currently asleep on the couch in the living room. He fell asleep after I asked him if he could bring me a notebook and a small pencil that could fit my tiny doll hands. I'm writting these as...something like a letter to myself. Letters that I'll read when I finally turn back into a human. Life like this is nearly torture!
This doll body doesn't have all the functions as a human body: I can't walk, for one. My legs feel basically useless for the most part because this doll body can't keep its balance long enough for me to even stand up completely. I don't have any of the internal body functions as a human, for two. No heart, no brain, hell, I'm not even breathing! I can't eat, can't drink anything. The closest thing I get to sleep is when Jungkookie isn't around, and Jimin puts a sleeping mask on my face, one that he made for me, and lays me down beside him when he finally sleeps.
I think the only thing that hasn't changed was my learning. All my friends bring me my work and notes, and I can easily finish all of that while Jungkookie is around...it's like I can only do things when he's around. The hyungs come around a lot more, and I'm glad that they don't treat me any different than before. We talk and joke around like we always do, Jin-hyung still makes meals for everyone, Jungkookie still argues with Jiminie...
I'm glad that things didn't change.
Oh! I have to go for now; Jungkookie is waking up, and he promised me that he'd take me out today for the first time since I've been turned into a doll.
Bye bye until next time!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was hard for Jungkook to understand a lot of things at this time of his life.
Hard for him to understand the current situation he's in. He'd never think something like this could happen, not him or to the one he loves. It was just too absurd to happen and yet it did, even more so to his Taehyung.
A doll?
It was hard for him to understand why the only person he's ever loved was turned into a doll.
Out of all the things, why a doll?
Jungkook's mental state steadily weakens everytime he first sees the lifeless doll and when he has to leave him, not being able to handle that why he lays lifelessly in front of him. He wishes he could have Doll Taehyung around him at all times, but Jimin said that he can't. Doll Taehyung has to be around the warlock while immobile because the magic radiating off of him keeps the doll from deteriorating, something that the witch forgot to include when she turned him. That witch must've also forgotten that the Parks were powerful, because there was no way in hell that she didn't know about Jimin being Taehyung's best friend.
No matter how hard his hyungs tried to reassure him, he couldn't understand why this had to happen.
Jungkook always thought of himself as strong-minded, but this situation was beating him over and over again. The way that Taehyung looks like a freshly fed starved man after being touched by Jungkook stabs his heart: Taehyung shouldn't have to go through all this. Hell, no one should’ve had to go through this if this is what they had to experience when they were turned.
Taehyung still acts the same, but Jungkook can tell that he hates the situation as much as anyone, even Jimin. He can tell by the way his smiles never reach his eyes, how his laugh would be forced sometimes, and how Taehyung complains and plays it off as nothing.
He complains how he can't eat the food Jin cooks but says he's losing weight in the process.
He complains about how he can't attend his classes but says that all his professors were boring anyways.
He complains about how he can't go out like he used to but says that it's too cold to be out anyways.
He complains about not being able to hug his friends like he used to but says that they must’ve been tired of hugging him all the time anyways.
Jungkook can't take it.
Currently, the two of them are alone in the older's dorm room. Jimin left a while ago to meet with his cousin, Chanyeol. Taehyung was asleep, saying that this is the only time we could really sleep. The older is laying directly across Jungkook's lap, chest rising and falling even though he doesn't have to breath.
Jungkook was watching him, a small part of disbelief still in the back of his mind.
My first love is a doll.
The younger's so confused.
Confused as to why he was turned into a doll.
Confused as to why he's the only one who can let Taehyung be mobile and experience life a little better.
Confused as to why no one seems to be in more in a bigger panic than him.
I'm confused as to why I can't understand anything like I used to.
Thoughts like this plague his mind as if he was in the Dark Ages. Darker, more sinister thoughts fill his head when he can’t sleep at night. Scary, more disturbing thoughts cloud over him when he's in class. He’s so close to dropping everything just to be near Taehyung that it’s making his sunken cheeks more pronounced from the lack of eating he’s doing.
He doesn't understand why his head is filled with such negativity.
Is anyone else having these thoughts or is it just me?
There are bags under his eyes he doesn't even try hiding. His grades are slipping under his finger tips...
He doesn't know what to do about himself. He can barely eat anything without feeling sick. He only gets about three hours of sleep at night. He only wants to be alone or with Taehyung whenever he can. He feels so much better around the older: he eats what he can, sleeps when he can, and hangs with his hyungs and has fun with them when Taehyung's with him.
Jungkook doesn't know how to handle all of this.
More importantly, he doesn’t know how to handle his feelings over the older, and it’s terrifying him to the point that he almost collapses in dance class, his instructor having to send him home early for the day.
He hates everything right now, everything except his Taehyung.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It's been another two weeks since Taehyung was turned into a doll. Jimin has been doing everything in his power to find a way to break the curse, even going as far as to visit the witches' coven to seek help. He wasn't turned away, seeing as how he barely had any ties to his own coven. The witches there didn't bring up the past or the tensions between their covens, only helping Jimin in his quest to break the curse.
His friends have decided to help in ways that they could:
Namjoon would analyze and study the history of the Kim's trying to see if there was anything anyone missed.
Seokjin took the roll of caring for anyone who needed him in this time of tragedy. He'd cook, feed, and serve his friends whenever they’d all gather at Jimin and Taehyung dorm room and saw that they weren't eating properly.
Yoongi would help out with Seokjin, but he'd also make sure that everyone, especially Jungkook, had all their shit together and wouldn't let this son of a bitch curse get the best of all of them, even going so far to knock Jimin across his head to get him to sleep.
Hoseok would make sure everyone was still attending their classes and seeing if they were passing. Taehyung might've been turned into a doll, but they were still college students. After this whole thing was settled, they were going to be glad that Hoseok was persistent with their education.
Jungkook did what he was assigned to do: keep in physical contact with Taehyung so that he'd be mobile. The others were grateful for this pardon, being able to still talk with their friend as long as Jungkook was with him.
Jimin and Jungkook were currently eating out in a diner on their campus, sitting in the far back so that no one would hear them as they discussed Taehyung.
"You're in love with Taehyung, aren't you?" Jimin asked as soon as Jungkook started to sip his drink.
The question is so sudden that Jungkook accidentally choked on it. He splutters, trying to cough up all the liquid that got stuck in his throat by Jimin's sudden attack to his heart.
"Why would you say that?" Jungkook asks, surprising himself by not stuttering.
"I've been doing some research in the Kim bloodline's archives in the old Witch's Library, and this certain topic came up: Long Live the Kim's. It got me thinking: how are the Kim's still alive after all this time if they kept being turned into dolls?"
Jungkook thought about it and said, "maybe they had kids at young ages? It's not uncommon, Jimin-hyung."
"I thought the same, but the Kim's were very traditional. They believed in sex after marriage for years, and most of them got married after the age of 21. Breaking this rule meant forgetting about your own family, your bloodline, no matter said family was fucked up. Even after all that shit, the Kim's were loyal to each other. So, after knowing this, I came to the conclusion that there was a way to break the curse."
"Really!?" Jungkook was ecstatic! He'd get to have his favorite hyung and crush back to normal!
”Keep quiet and eat," Jimin scolded in a hushed whisper as Jungkook's sudden outburst attracted the attention of the other customers in the diner.
They fell silent for a bit until Jimin paid for their meals and they left the building, making their way to the older's apartment.
Jimin resumed their earlier conversation by answering the younger's question, Chen making another reappearance as a cat and resting on Jimin’s shoulders to hear this new bit of information.
"Of course all curses can be broken, cause not everything is permanent, but some are harder to break than others. And I just realized that this one might be the easiest to break!" Jimin said with a slight jump in his step as the two reached the older's apartment building, only to hear, rather than feel, the sound of broken glass being stepped on.
Jimin felt a cold sweat break across his neck and shivers went down his spine when he looked up to see their window broken, glass littering the ground beneath his feet.
"Something's not right," he whispered before he rushed to the stairs, not wanting to take the slow elevator up, Chen rushing behind his master to help.
Jungkook was confused but rushed after the older, allowing him to take the lead all the way to their door. His heart was pounding loud in his ears as he finally caught up with his Jimin hyung.
Unlocking the door, they see the whole place a mess. Tables were overturned, pictures were broken, glass scattered all over the floors, walls holey as if someone had punched right through them. Turning around, he sees that Jungkook's face went pale.
"What in the hell happened here?!" Jimin exclaimed, Chen whimpering from behind his legs as he saw the leading cause of his master’s scream.
"Oh my God, Taehyung!" Jungkook screamed as he saw the doll version of his hyung.
He was broken.
The doll was in pieces, the porcelain scattered along with the glass, covering the floor. The only piece that could be seen still intact was his head, which hung from a string tied to the ceiling. On the wall behind him, there was what seemed to be black paint on the walls. It was a message.
Long. Live. The. Kims.
Jimin let out a loud whine in despair, falling back against the door as he sunk to the floor, Chen quickly going to try and comfort his master by jumping in his lap. Jimin snatched his familiar to his chest and let out heart breaking sobs into his fur.
But Jungkook. Poor, confused Jungkook was worse. He was shocked still, eyes not lingering from the ceiling. Unbeknownst to him, tears were streaming down his face as a sob got caught in his throat.
He falls to the floor, uncaring that the glass stabbed through his knees. He held his head in his hands as he folded into hisself, and, without any remorse, let out a blood curling scream that seemed to shake the entire foundation of the building.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jungkook sat limply on the couch with Chen in his lap trying to provide a little bit of comfort to the traumatized boy as Jimin used his magic to gather all the pieces of Doll Taehyung off the floor and around the apartment. He also used his witchcraft to clear the paint off the walls, hating the words being blasted in his face. The younger was still in shock at what he saw, so much so that he didn't realize Jimin had put Doll Taehyung back together until the doll was carefully sitting in his lap. Jungkook sat still on the couch, afraid to touch his Hyung after everything he's seen and been through. Chen jumped off his lap to monopolize Jimin’s instead.
"He's okay, Jungkook-ah," Jimin said calmly and quietly, not wanting to set the boy off again.
Jungkook didn't do anything but offer a small nod and let out a shaky exhale. Chen snuggled closer to the boy, who actually reached over to pet the cat with shaky hands.
Jimin let out a big sigh, grabbing Doll Taehyung from his lap and instead putting him against Jungkook's chest. Jungkook made a noise of confusion before small, white lights started expelling from the doll. Jimin let go of Doll Taehyung, who stayed still against Jungkook's chest with no support.
"All he needed was to know that you're alright, Jungkook," Jimin said as the doll starting moving slightly, a small, porcelain hand clutching tightly to Jungkook's jacket, "he hasn't been able to feel your comforting presence as you shut your mind out in fear and anguish."
Doll Taehyung's eyes started glossing over as he underwent his usual transformation from idle to mobile. Jungkook released a big sigh as he grabbed tightly to the doll on his chest, tears he didn't know he was holding falling freely down his face.
"Jungkook, you big ass idiot!" Doll Taehyung cried.
"I'm sorry Hyung!"
He didn't know why he was apologizing, but he did anyway, not wanting to upset his hyung anymore.
"I won't be dying anytime soon, Jungkook, so don't be so depressed over me," Doll Taehyung said as he leaned back to gaze up at the younger boy.
Jungkook's face was wet with tears, eyes red and shining as new tears threatened to fall, face bloated from all the emotional trauma he's just been through.
"You look like you've just been through hell," Doll Taehyung jokes.
"You haven't seen the worst of it," Jimin joked back.
"Shut it, shorty! I just saw someone I really cared about in pieces across the floor! You don’t get to give me shit about it."
Jimin was immediately filled with remorse before Chen gazed at Jungkook with a heated gaze.
"I can literally turn you shorter than me if i wanted to, so don't press your luck, brat," Chen said before getting off the couch and leaving the room, Jimin following after him.
A serene silence fell over them, neither one wanting to say anything and ruin the atmosphere that's settled around them. Jungkook hummed softly as Doll Taehyung sat curled up on his lap, face in Jungkook's stomach as his eyes were slightly closed before they shot open as he remembered something.
"Jimin said he found out how to break the curse!"
Jungkook was so startled by the sudden outburst that he jostled Doll Taehyung a little bit too much.
"Are you serious!?" Jungkook exclaimed.
"Yeah..." Doll Taehyung was all of a sudden nervous.
"What is it? Why are you acting so nervous?" Jungkook just wanted to know how to break this curse so he could have his hyung back.
"It's simple, really, but Jimin said that it might not work..."
Jungkook huffed, clearly annoyed that he wasn't getting a clear answer.
"Okay, okay, all I have to do is kiss the person, besides family, who loves me the most," Doll Taehyung said, his cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.
Jungkook nodded in understanding. "Do you know who this person is? Is it Jimin? Hoseok?"
Doll Taehyung didn't answer, just stood up on shaking legs, gripping the shoulders of Jungkook’s jacket tightly, and lightly pecked Jungkook square on the lips.