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Being a human draws enough attention.
Being the new human in the village means that Taehyung can’t cough without someone breaking their necks to gawk at him.
With his neck flushing from the attention that he can see coming from the corner of his eye, Taehyung continues to load up his basket with groceries.
He’s used to the stares from the adults. He’s used to little werechildren running up to him with the air of bravery and curiosity as they ask him if he can smell them, and when he shakes his head, they run back to their cluster of friends to whisper about it.
He’s used to feeling a presence follow him as a fairy trails him, their small forms too hard for him to see, but he’s long learnt of the feeling of being watched by the mystical species.
Taehyung is used to the curiosity of being a human in a world where his species are an elusive one.
Humans reside in the deep southern region in towns and cities built and maintained by their hands only. They live away from magic, away from the vastness of mystical beings and magical creatures that are capable of using it.
The stereotype of humans being delicate creatures prone to sickness, to injuries, often can result in instances now.
“I can manage the bags, thank you,” Taehyung rushes out, flustered, as he tries to reclaim his bags of groceries from the possible weremale that Taehyung had been ignoring in his peripheral as he packed and paid for his groceries.
“I insist – you’re new to the village, aren’t you?” The weremale smiles at him, evading Taehyung’s attempts to grab the bags from him.
Taehyung is used to attention that the human stereotype brings, but he has also been travelling by himself for a while now, he is used to situations like this one.
“I am,” Taehyung confirms pointlessly, because he is the only human in this village since he has yet to see another, as he succeeds in grabbing one of the bags. “I appreciate the help, but I can manage.”
The weremale only allows Taehyung to reclaim just the lone bag as he says, “allow me to accompany you home…..?”
“Taehyung,” Taehyung introduces himself with a little resigned sigh, knowing how far to push a werewolf when they’re only wanting to help.
Werewolves are known for their kindness, but can take rejection of it personally.
Taehyung wants to avoid snubbing anyone during his stay here, even if it is but a temporary one.
“Jimin,” the were introduces himself, his smile friendly, as he escorts Taehyung from the grocery store.
Now that he’s forced to pay attention to the werewolf, Taehyung notes their height difference, but their builds are similar in slenderness, and while Taehyung’s slender frame is impossible to bulk up because of his endless travelling, Jimin’s slenderness is born from whatever position he holds in his pack, possibly a hunter since the werewolf moves gracefully.
“So, Taehyung, what brings you so far west?” Jimin asks him politely, but interested, as his dark eyes briefly meet Taehyung’s as they walk down the cobbled street, gaining more stares Taehyung’s way now that he has a werewolf carrying his groceries.
“I’m avoiding marriage,” Taehyung answers with his usual response to questions like this, making the werewolf laugh so loudly that he startles a little from the male.
“I cannot tell if you are serious, or jesting,” Jimin says, amused, as Taehyung gestures that they need to cross the street, heading away from the merchant street, and into the residential area of the quaint village. “But, either way, I hope this village won’t scare you with its diverse mix.”
“I’ve lived in the east, my fear of certain species has long faded,” Taehyung assures Jimin, still feeling awkward to have the werewolf carry his things whilst he only carries a bag.
“Just how long have you been avoiding marriage?” Jimin questions teasingly as he keeps pace with Taehyung’s directions as they walk past more residential streets, almost nearing the bottom of the village, close to the isolated, eerie, ruins of what could’ve been a demolished castle.
“Long enough to know that you assisting me goes beyond polite curiosity,” Taehyung bravely states, trusting in the friendliness radiating from the werewolf to address the hidden motive.
Jimin shakes his head slightly to remove the curtain of dark hair framing his temples from his eyes that fill with more curiosity as he says, “you caught me.”
Taehyung turns down onto one of the last few streets in this area, walking past the few houses that line either side of the street.
“I’ve had many welcomes, warnings, threats, which will yours be?”
“A simple warning – but not towards you,” Jimin rushes the latter out as Taehyung stops walking.
“That is new,” Taehyung comments, crossing his arms. “What is there to warn me? I know how to treat weres like yourself, and I know not to call a fairy a fae.”
Jimin moves the bags so that he can point with his left arm down to the bottom of the street.
Taehyung’s gaze follows as the werewolf says, “the ruins.”
“What of them?” Taehyung asks, meeting the male’s gaze once more. “They’re just rubble now.”
“Spoken like a true human,” Jimin corrects him softly, gesturing for Taehyung to resume walking, and he does. “It’s what they represent, that you need to be cautious of.”
“The lady I met yesterday told me nothing to fear from the ruins,” Taehyung tells the other, reading Jimin’s body language the closer they get to the small house that sits at the bottom of the street, closest to the ruins than any other house in this area.
“Demons are fickle, they find enjoyment in deceit.”
Taehyung shakes his head in disagreement. The demon was friendly, and she didn’t try to trap Taehyung into a contract when he stated that his stay was only temporary.
“So, tell me, what do I need to be cautious of,” Taehyung says as he opens the gate of the front yard of the little house that has seen better days, but again, Taehyung isn’t picky about comforts, only that a roof is over his head.
“Not ‘what’, but ‘who’,” Jimin corrects, not following Taehyung, causing him to return to the werewolf that is eyeing up the house behind him.
Taehyung almost laughs as it clicks in his mind what the other is warning him of.
“Let me guess, the house is haunted?” Taehyung guesses as he holds his hands out for his bags.
“The house, no. The land it is built on? Yes,” Jimin explains as he hands over Taehyung’s groceries. “The land is connected to the ruins, you see.”
“And why should that matter? The ruins are so desolate that any spirit tied to its place will surely have faded away,” Taehyung questions with a grunt as he adjusts the weight in his arms.
“I said ‘who’, not ‘what’,” Jimin reminds him, and something in his demeanour shifts, causing Taehyung to straighten at the seriousness that bleeds into the werewolf.
“Who, then?” Taehyung demands.
“You don’t speak of its name unless you wish for it to come,” Jimin recites quietly, and Taehyung has to remind himself that he is in a village, and not a town, so magical superstition is even higher here.
“I appreciate the concern, but I am only here for a fortnight,” Taehyung thanks the other, stepping from the werewolf that still refuses to step a toe over the gate’s threshold.
“If I were you, you’ll find a new place to stay. There are rooms available within my pack grounds-”
Taehyung bluntly laughs at the other’s offer with heat burning up his neck as he says, “wow, and here I thought you were trying to caution me, instead of luring me.”
Jimin’s dark eyes harden. “I’m not luring you. I have seen what it does to those that walks through those doors behind you. You’re a human, you-”
“Yes, I know very well the limits of being a human, as do I know the lure of owning one,” Taehyung cuts the werewolf off, and turns his back to Jimin as the were begins to growl. “Thank you for your help, Jimin.”
And with that being said, Taehyung unlocks the door of his temporary home and shuts the door on the frustrated call of his name.
Taehyung is a human, he’s heard of the stories, the rumours, of his species being owned like trophies, toys.
“As if I would willingly stay on were grounds,” he huffs to himself as he places his groceries onto the kitchen counters.
It’s why Taehyung stays in places such as this house. He’s learnt to avoid areas of a village, or town, that is part of a species territory.
Werewolves tend to own properties near woodlands, and depending on the demon type, they can own most of the village or town due to their nature of obtaining such territories.
Taehyung got lucky with this house, the demon didn’t seem to care about owning him, and only cared for the coins he offered.
His stolen fortune is running low, though, signalling the end of Taehyung’s rebellion, and for those that have been tailing him to drag him back home.
Slamming the cupboard doors helps release some of that frustration of knowing his freedom is about to come to an end soon.
He’s been avoiding responsibilities back home for close to a year now, he could almost forget that his parents had arranged for him to marry for fortune, rather than love like he had always desired.
He’s hoping that upon his return home that he will be treated like a stain to his family name, which will finally allow him true freedom to live life as he sees fit, wherever in the world.
Taehyung flinches himself as he slams the last cupboard door shut, the silence heavy in its wake.
“Well, time to chop some wood,” he says to the silence, and unlocks the backdoor, stepping out onto the full view of the desolate ruins of rubble in the close distance.
“'Who’, not ‘what’,” Taehyung murmurs to himself, Jimin’s words still stuck in his head.
Shrugging, Taehyung puts it aside to focus on trying to chop the wood he needs for the fireplace so he can cook dinner later.
It’s slow-going, causing him to sweat heavily, but he manages it, and the reward of a hearty meal and the warmth of heat is heavenly.
Taehyung has no use for the two bedrooms the little house offers him, he’s become so used to sleeping on the floor during his rebellious travelling that he makes the living room his bedroom, allowing him to soak in the heat from lying in front of the fire, and the comfort of a quick escape if someone in the village does decide to capture him.
Watching the glow coming from the fire as it dances over the wooden ceiling, Taehyung feels no sense of danger coming from the house itself.
He doesn’t feel on edge, which is how he usually feels when he is in, or around, places that contain a haunting past.
He feels calm, sleepy.
“‘Warning’ my ass,” Taehyung scoffs to himself as he closes his eyes. “The were was probably trying to lure me after all.”
And so, just like his first night, his second night is the same as Taehyung falls into a dreamless sleep.
The glow of the fire crackles to life as he adds the extra wood it needs to keep alight during the night, allowing him to continue to study the sleeping male in front of him, so close that he could brush his fingers over the tousled brown locks that are spread out on the pillow that has seen better days.
Tilting his head more, taking in the delicate features of the slumbering human, he finds it odd that the human remained when the werewolf tried to lure him to safety.
“You should’ve listened, beautiful,” he murmurs with a small, entranced, smile as he brushes his fingertips over the nearest lock of brown hair.
His smile grows at releasing just how soft it is.
It takes a while for Taehyung to notice something isn’t as it seems.
It takes a while for him to realise that he seems to have extra firewood than what he chopped for that day.
It takes him a while to realise that is why the fire never goes out during the night.
“Five, six, seven.” Taehyung finishes counting the logs piled near the hearth and pulls up the scratchy blanket to his chin.
Taehyung doesn’t want to overreact because he is in a magical region, so maybe this could be easily explained by that alone.
But, the werewolf’s caution won’t quieten from where it whispers at the back of his mind.
So, Taehyung will test it.
He’s either going mad, magic is playing tricks on him, or he has a little visitor during the night.
Closing his eyes on the logs, Taehyung tries to calm his nervous heart.
And waits for morning to beckon.
“Five, six, seven, eight.”
Taehyung swallows at the number of logs he’s counted.
And counts them again, slowly this time, in case he miscounted in his half-awake state.
“Five, six, seven, eight.”
Inhaling deeply, Taehyung slowly looks away from the logs, away from the warmth of the fire, and scans the room, searching for anything else that could be amiss.
Taehyung has travelled long enough in these magical regions to know a few things.
He learnt how to handle a were’s kindness that can breach comfort levels.
He learnt how to tell apart fairies and fae.
He also learnt to never address a spirit.
If you address a spirt, you’re inviting it in, in every sense of the word.
So, Taehyung gets up, gets himself ready for the day, and leaves the matter alone.
If this spirit wants his attention, then too bad.
He’s leaving in a few days.
Taehyung is used to the stares in the village.
He’s used to people coming up to him to ask how his day is, if he would like to join them for a picnic, a game, or an evening drink.
What he isn’t used to is the sudden avoidance that he starts receiving.
No longer do inquisitive werechildren come and ask him questions about the human region down in the south.
No longer does Jimin try to make conversation with him when they bump into each in a store, the friendliness vacant as avoidance replaces it.
No longer does Taehyung receive curiosity.
“What the fuck?” Taehyung murmurs, staring after the demon that had jumped from Taehyung’s path to avoid him.
This is new.
Usually, Taehyung leaves when he feels like his window of freedom has shut as his parents’ hired goons draw close, revealing their presence in the town or village he’s in.
Now, Taehyung is packing because of a feeling that he hasn’t experienced since the early weeks in his travels.
Fear.
Fear is making him rush.
Fear is making him abandon his freedom early.
Fear of remaining in the house that Jimin warned him from staying in.
Scanning each room that he’s frequented during his stay for any misplaced belongings, Taehyung tightens the straps of his satchel around his back, and heads for the front door.
The handle won’t turn.
The door doesn’t open.
Taehyung masks his panic as he calmly turns and heads for the backdoor instead.
The handle won’t turn.
The door doesn’t open.
Taehyung has the perfect view of the close, but distant, desolate ruins through the backdoor window.
“‘Who’, not ‘what’,” Taehyung murmurs the words, feeling it more than ever before.
The feeling of not being alone.
Taehyung slowly turns, his gaze bouncing everywhere, as he moves towards the front door, once again.
The fire is still burning in the fireplace, the only sense of calmness in the house, it seems.
Taehyung tries the front door again, just to be certain, and hastily let’s go when the handle refuses to move, once more.
He’ll not speak to it.
He’ll not address it.
He’ll not invite it in.
Taehyung looks for something heavy that he can lift, and moves towards the dining table and chairs that he never used.
Taehyung ran from his home because his parents tried to trap him.
Moving fast to not give the spirit a chance to intervene, Taehyung swings the wooden chair towards the dining room window as hard as he can.
The glass shatters, a scream almost, as Taehyung races for his freedom.
He shallowly cuts his hands from the glass as he climbs through the broken window frame.
But his satchel gets caught, locking him in a precarious position.
Twisting his arms back as much as he can, Taehyung tries to remove the wood digging down into his satchel, hissing in pain as more glass digs into his skin.
The wood snaps.
But his satchel is still caught.
Taehyung glances over his shoulder to see why, feeling like a caged animal the longer he’s stuck.
And screams in the face of a male staring back at him.
“Sorry, you can’t leave,” the male softly murmurs, his hands appearing to be covered in black, glossy, paint, as they hold Taehyung’s satchel captive.
Taehyung’s scream echoes around his skull and the street as he’s violently yanked back inside the house.
And everything goes black in an instant.
Kicking the gate open, listening to it squeak in protest to the rough treatment, Jimin’s hands curl into tight fists as he stares at the broken dining room window, feeling others in the street gaze upon the scene that alerted them all.
“Damn you,” Jimin seethes to the silent house that smells of fear.
Taehyung’s fear.
“Damn you both.”
In hindsight, kidnapping an already spooked human was not Jungkook’s smartest move that he’s ever made.
Ducking easily to avoid another book trying to smash the insides of his head across the stone wall behind him, Jungkook tries again to calm the rightfully panicking human male that is pressed against a bookcase of many.
“You’re not a ghost, or a demon, so what the fuck are you?!” the human barks at him, his brown eyes ignited with such fierce aggression and mounting fear that Jungkook can’t help but stare in awe at such a beautiful creature.
Humans are so full of natural life, no magic to taint them, just a rawness of mortality that is very rare nowadays.
Holding his solid, human-like, palms up that are no longer slick and dark from his veiled form, Jungkook answers politely, “I’m a nightmare?”
Another book – a thicker volume this time – hits the wall and drops heavily onto the wooden floor as it misses its target again.
“What are you?” The human growls out, both hands armed with a book each this time.
Jungkook is even more enamoured with the human.
All beings and creatures fear Jungkook, but here is a human pushing through that instinctual fear towards him as he continues to try and harm Jungkook to get the answers he seeks.
Even though Jungkook has given the pretty human the answer he’s been demanding.
“I’m a nightmare,” Jungkook repeats, insistently this time, and lets this solid form of his slip partially to reveal slick, inky, hands once more.
Both books are launched his way, and this time Jungkook remains still, watching the horror flood over the irate aggression in those brown eyes as Jungkook’s body automatically responds to the impact as parts of his body revert to his veiled form.
The human shakes against the bookcase, watching as Jungkook’s body pushes out the books it had caught, the heavy thumps of each book hitting the floor a loud, uncomfortable, sound.
Jungkook really should’ve read more about how to care for a human, he knew they were easily spooked by magic but maybe he’s broken the pretty human before him?
“I-”
“‘Who, not ‘what’,” the human cuts him off before Jungkook can even get another sound out, and the phrase rankles through Jungkook, knowing just who is behind sharing the morbid phrase with the human.
Even now, decades later, the werewolf pack still holds a grudge.
“So my question should be who are you, and not what, right?” the male continues snippily, and instead of feeling the usual burn of annoyance from prolonged social interaction with any volatile creature, Jungkook’s curious infatuation towards the human just continues to grow.
“I go by many names,” Jungkook replies with a soft shrug. “Nightmare is one of them.”
The human scrunches his eyes shut, denying Jungkook from watching those brown, expressive, orbs which makes him pout.
“Give me the most normal name you own,” the human grinds out, and Jungkook finds himself straightening with delight as those brown eyes return to staring at him.
The request makes Jungkook pause, though.
What does the human mean by ‘normal’?
Nightmare sounds pretty normal, considering what he does.
Night Terror is a bit much, even for Jungkook’s standards, so maybe not that one.
And Shadow Demon is a ridiculous name that doesn’t even fit his organic nature.
He’s not a demon, thank you very much.
The human lets out a long, tired-sounding, sigh at the prolonged silence between them as Jungkook debates what name to share with the male.
“Do you have a name that a human would have? Something simple, mundane, and not at all tied to whatever your species is?” The human questions, and it appears that this topic seems to be calming the male because the frightened shaking his body has been shuddering from has lessened.
A simple name?
“‘Jungkook’ used to be a name attached to me?” Jungkook offers, hoping that this is what the human needs from him as the human nods, relaxing a little more, and Jungkook eagerly takes the male’s body language cue and runs with it as he offers more. “It used to be the name of the body that was sacrificed to me, so I do retain some of the body’s memor- are you okay? You have lost all of the colour in your skin and you’re shaking harder than before.”
The human – despite the sickly complexion that has abruptly appeared over his skin – runs from Jungkook and hides behind the bookcase he had been resting against.
Confused by the odd behaviour, Jungkook steps to trail after the human. “You shouldn’t be running if you feel unwell.”
His point is valid, he knows humans are a sickly species if not cared for correctly – the seasons being the biggest culprit for that.
A grunt echoes through the library, and before Jungkook can hasten to follow, the bookcase is falling towards him.
Letting go of his human-like skin and returning to his veiled skin, Jungkook feels the pressured weight of the bookcase and its contents collapse down through his body until the books are buried from splintered wood.
Standing with his palms up, breathing hard, is the human responsible for trying to crush Jungkook to the stone floor.
Jungkook returns to his human-like skin before the human can get a good solid look at his veiled form, stepping over the wooden spine of the bookcase, his boots hard and loud on the wood as he approaches the rigid human that is once again staring at him with panicky fear.
“You cannot harm me, Taehyung,” Jungkook states simply, his own palms raised to help calm the spooked male. “I-”
“Don’t say my name, I have not given you permission to say it,” the humans snaps, his voice cracking as he steps backwards from Jungkook’s approach.
Jungkook tilts his head slightly, confused. “It’ll be rude of me to call you ‘human’ all the time.”
“Says the creepy asshole that has kidnapped me and is now holding me hostage,” Taehyung hisses, moving around the bookcases to keep space and objects between them as Jungkook follows.
Jungkook holds back the guilty wince. He…okay he did mean to capture the human, however, it was not supposed to happen in the way that it did.
Jungkook had panicked at seeing the pretty human packing his belongings, and just….acted.
“I will admit that I had intentions to capture you - but I really must insist that I will not cause you harm!” Jungkook rushes the rest out at the strangled sound that leaves the human, and side-steps the books that predictably come his way.
“You and I have very fucking different definitions of ‘causing harm’ because kidnapping and traumatising a person counts towards causing harm!” Taehyung shouts at him, distress in his voice and body language now.
“Physical harm, then!” Jungkook clarifies, desperate to be understood, as he hurries after the human that is trying to find a way out of the maze of bookcases.
Another bookcase is shoved down, causing a ripple effect, and Jungkook doesn’t even try to control the damage as he keeps the distance between them respectful but also not long enough for Jungkook to lose sight of the panicking human.
The castle will reset itself come the following morning, erasing today’s mess effortlessly.
“I truly have no intentions to hurt you!” Jungkook calls after Taehyung – who has finally found the door to the library and has frozen in the doorway.
Taehyung slams the door shut in answer, and Jungkook lets out a quiet sigh as he uses the manual way of moving from room to room and opens the door to see the human running down the corridor from him.
Should…If Jungkook tells Taehyung that he cannot escape the grounds…will that only make the human fear him more?
Antsy and unsure, Jungkook quickens his pace to keep up with Taehyung’s desperate escape.
He really should’ve read more books about humans. He doesn’t know how far is too far of causing Taehyung distress that it could kill him.
Fairies can die very quickly when distressed, whereas werewolves and demons only become more aggressive through distress.
It’s when they reach the stairs that lead to the grand entrance of the castle that Taehyung struggles with the hefty doors, doors that have not been physically opened in…well, Jungkook can’t really recall the last time he opened them.
Standing on the stairs, Jungkook tries to calm the male from this distance.
“I understand that I have frightened you, but I will not hurt you. My goal was never to frighten you, but you-” Jungkook trails off in surprise as the human succeeds in shoving open the door enough for him to squeeze through, vanishing from Jungkook’s view in an instant.
Then again, if the human has the strength to push down those sturdy bookcases, a door isn’t going to stop him, is it?
Jungkook materialises himself on the cobbled courtyard outside the entrance, watching as Taehyung struggles to get his bearings as he gawps up at the castle behind Jungkook.
Taehyung backs away from him, noticing his sudden appearance in front of the doors. “Listen here, Creep, owning a human isn’t entertaining, okay? I will be the biggest pain in your ass, I will starve myself, trash this place until it’s unrecognisable. I will make you regret kidnapping me.”
Jungkook frowns at the starvation comment, but shares, “the castle resets its appearance at dawn, so your effort of vandalism will be for nothing.”
Taehyung turns and walks from him, heading away from the cobbled driveway and onto the grass that surrounds the castle.
Jungkook trails after the human, already preparing himself for what Taehyung will discover if he continues in this direction.
“I didn’t capture you because you’re a human.”
“Says every magical creature that sets their greedy eyes on a human!” Taehyung snipes back, not looking at Jungkook as he storms onwards.
“I planned to offer you a way out of your predicament,” Jungkook corrects, his gaze anxiously flicking from the human’s back and to the not-so-distant cluster of houses.
Taehyung rounds so suddenly that Jungkook jerks back.
“My predicament?” Taehyung repeats tightly, and Jungkook nods, wondering why this is making the human so unreadable. “Explain, Creep.”
Jungkook really dislikes this new nickname that the human seems to insist on using with him despite learning of Jungkook’s name.
“The humans that have been chasing you,” Jungkook says simply, frowning at the way Taehyung’s body is becoming tenser. “You stole from your family and abandoned a marital arrangement, correct?”
“I have only spoken of that once, outside of the house you haunt,” Taehyung states thickly, breathing hard.
“I’m not a spirit, I don’t haunt,” Jungkook petulantly corrects, a little bit insulted to be lumped with that kind of creature.
“I couldn’t give a fuck what you do when you’re not busy kidnapping humans, the fact remains that there is no way you should know of my business, or even my name for that matter, since I never spoke either in the house!” Taehyung snaps out, his brown eyes are livid with so many volatile emotions that Jungkook’s regret of acting so spontaneously in the first place continues to grow.
And Jungkook knows that what he’s about to say could be the trigger that could overwhelm the human completely.
But, Jungkook has been honest, he’s not going to break that now.
“Your dreams,” Jungkook mutters, looking from those brown eyes that are too mesmerising even in heated moments like this. “I learnt about you from your dreams.”
Silence answers him, and Jungkook looks up and isn’t surprised to see the human sprinting to the not-so-distant cluster of houses.
Wringing his hands together, Jungkook follows the human, worried that he really is about to break Taehyung once the male discovers the inevitable.
Jungkook keeps the distance moderate, nervous, as he watches Taehyung approach the backyard of the lone house that is built on the edges of his castle grounds.
He keeps the distance as he follows Taehyung through the house, wincing at the broken remains of the window, as Taehyung yanks open the door with continued ease because Jungkook is allowing the human to discover the truth for himself.
And when the human is repelled backwards by an unseeing force as soon as his hands touch the metal garden gate, landing on his back with a pained sound, Jungkook shuffles closer with growing worry and nerves.
“You cannot leave this realm,” Jungkook awkwardly explains as Taehyung recovers with pained coughs and grunts. “You’re…not in the realm you were born in, anymore.”
When Taehyung looks back at him as he stands up, Jungkook flinches at the tears in those brown eyes.
And they’re not tears of pain, either.
Jungkook bows his head, shoulders curving forwards, as he says, “I hope that you’ll forgive me, one day.”
Jungkook is expecting the words, so it comes to no surprise when Taehyung wetly snaps them at him as he pushes past Jungkook and slams the house door shut.
But they still ring around him, the regret pulsating them faster and faster in a dizzying spin.
“I’ll never forgive you.”
To think that he was trying to escape this house earlier in the day.
The crackling of the fire is the only soundscape throughout the house, the carnage of desperate chaos from Taehyung’s attempts to draw attention to the house, to see if someone will come to investigate the smashing of windows, the furniture he throws outside onto the front yard.
But, no one ever looks this way from the few houses on the street.
No one comes to investigate his anguished screams.
No one comes to rescue him from the creep that shadows him.
Taehyung is aware of the fucker, no matter the purposeful distance between them, and Taehyung refuses to give the creep anymore of his attention.
He meant what he said back in the castle courtyard. He’ll be a menace. He’ll prove that owning a human is waste of time and energy.
Taehyung will force the creep to return him to where he belongs.
Taehyung ran from his home to escape one trap; he just needs to wait for this trap to come undone from his behaviour.
Taehyung won’t call it by the name it gave him, still horrified to learn of the sacrifice it was fed and wears.
It claims that it has no intentions to harm him, but Taehyung doubts the thing has infinite patience.
Either it will get tired of Taehyung’s tantrums and attitude and will release him, or kill him.
Taehyung doesn’t fear death if it means it came as a result of him annoying the fuck out of the creep, it would be a bitter win, in his opinion.
It might teach the fucker to never kidnap another human.
Taehyung closes his eyes, ignoring the crunch of boots walking across the shards of glass that blankets throughout the house.
“I…if you wish to reside here instead of a room in the castle, then I’ll have food brought here to you until you feel ready to dine in the castle,” the creep softly speaks, his tone polite.
Taehyung doesn’t respond. He has no intentions to eat the fucker’s food, he’d rather starve.
He can still sense the male lingering, but Taehyung’s stubbornness is vast.
The boots shuffle again. “The house resets itself in the same manner as the castle, so…please be mindful of the glass until dawn.”
Taehyung’s nails bite into his palms as he clenches his hands that still smart from the cuts he attained earlier when he tried to escape into fists that he doesn’t attempt to hide from the creep’s view.
A soft sigh flutters from the opposite corner where Taehyung is sitting on his butt, knees drawn up.
“If you need anything, just…call my name, I’ll hear you.”
Taehyung bites his tongue, repressing the urge to snarl at that.
He’ll never say the other’s name.
Taehyung doesn’t move from his spot, nor does he open his eyes.
He keeps himself curled in the corner of the largest cage to exist and plots various scenarios to frustrate and annoy the creep into setting him free.
And when the scent of cooked food snakes through the house from the kitchen, Taehyung ignores it.
He also ignores the fresher scent of food that arrives hours later.
Taehyung curls up onto the floor, his back to the rest of the room, and listens to the fire that crackles throughout the night.
He almost expects the creep to appear in his dreams, to relive the horror of today.
Instead, he dreams of the mundane shit that he’s been yanked from.
And when he looks over his shoulder at the bright call of sunlight, seeing the floors clear of glass, the windows whole again, furniture back where it belongs, Taehyung’s temper flares.
The plates of food get thrown out into the backyard, and he smashes the porcelain against the door frame, uses his boots to grind the smaller shards into dust.
Taehyung fills his stomach with water and sets about making a new daily routine.
Windows smashed, the fire burning wildly from the furniture he feeds it, Taehyung hums to himself as he uses the sharpest knife available to carve one word over and over again throughout the house.
The house can erase it, but Taehyung will only mark it once more.
And so, his new routine becomes cemented.
Taehyung ignores the unknow presence that delivers food to the kitchen, throws said food outside without it being sampled, fills his stomach with water, smashes porcelain and glass throughout the house, assists the fireplace to burn continuously, and marks ‘creep’ into the walls and doors.
He loses track of time fast, dusk and dawn blurring together.
Or maybe it’s because of the water diet he’s stubbornly sticking to.
Either way, the creep never comes to witness his daily tantrums.
But Taehyung isn’t naïve to believe that the fucker is unaware of what he’s doing.
If he was able to ‘learn’ about Taehyung from his dreams then the creep is more than aware of what he’s doing.
It appears they both have the stubbornness to rival each other.
Taehyung has made peace with how his stubbornness may end, but has the creep?
Jungkook is about to tear his hair out.
Taehyung hasn’t eaten in days – refuses, more like – and all of the frantic reading Jungkook has been doing is only making him more fretful for the delicate human the longer he goes without food.
He’s aware that he has royally fucked up with how he apprehended the human, he knows, and it’s very unlike him to be so chaotically spontaneous, but that alone proves how invested he had become in trying to figure out how to make contact with the human.
But then Taehyung got spooked and packed up all too fast that if it wasn’t for his innate awareness of both realms that Jungkook would’ve missed the human’s departure.
And the rest is… a shameful act of panicky regret.
Which is very unlike him, he assumed he lost the ability to feel shame and regret decades ago, too desensitised to his very nature of surviving.
Curses like himself function on misery, anguish, disgust, so it’s a little bit of startling relief to feel these emotions towards himself.
You are what you eat, isn’t that the expression demons’ favour?
Jungkook has never come across a human before, which is why he had kept himself hidden, helping care over the unaware male, because he didn’t want to accidently kill the delicate creature.
He never once stepped into Taehyung’s dreams or thoughts. He didn’t invade and coerce the human into latching on his lures, and nor did he feed on Taehyung when his dreams twisted into dark scenes of betrayal and fear.
Jungkook stayed distant…until he fucked up everything.
In his defence – a very low one – Jungkook doesn’t get many chances to socialise with living creatures outside of killing them.
He feeds when he needs to, he responds when his names are called, but he doesn’t have conversations or even arguments with living creatures anymore.
Taehyung is the first living creature that has spoken to Jungkook in so long.
Feeling the presence of the spirit entering his study, Jungkook looks up from his mountain of books, sees the floating bowl of stew, and lets out a heavy sigh as he nods in approval.
“You should release him, he’s a pest,” the spirit’s voice is rough even in his see-through form.
Jungkook hunches down into his mountain of books. “He’s not a pest.”
“An infant then, considering the tantrums he’s insisting on displaying day-in day-out.”
Jungkook glares at where the spirit’s head would be if he was in his corporeal form. “He’s in a transitioning process. Humans are extremely delicate to sudden changes, and I have uprooted him from a realm that is a struggle for humans to live in, so of course he’s going to struggle within this one.”
“He’s rejecting you, call it as it is,” the spirit scoffs, and Jungkook flinches at the blunt accuracy as a hot wave of regret sinks through him. “You’d think you would’ve known better than to believe in those books of yours of befriending a creature that would be natural prey to you.”
Jungkook hunkers further behind his mountain of books. “You’re supposed to be supportive of me ignoring my prey drive.”
The spirit sighs, and Jungkook peeks to see a very tired, but concerned, gaze pinning him in place.
“You’re a curse, you can’t escape nature, no matter how valiant your effort. By having a human in this realm, you’re more likely to feed on him than if he were outside it, blindly calling you to him as humans tend to do when they dip their fingers into the unknown.”
Jungkook shakes his head sharply in disagreement. “Human dreams and calls are weak, the misery in either is easy to ignore.”
White, pupilless eyes, stare at him blandly. “If you kill him in this realm, you won’t be able to escape his haunting. He will make poltergeists look like mere dainty spirits such as myself, his vengeful energy will rot the castle.”
“I’m not going to kill him,” Jungkook growls, irritated now. “I just want to help him.”
“So let him go,” the spirit states. “You’re a cursed entity, you were not summoned to help others in extending their lives, but to end them until your time is up.”
“I know what I am, that doesn’t mean that is all I am,” Jungkook grinds out, closing the open books in front of him with loud, sharp, snaps. “You have no room to lecture me about the human that I am keeping alive and unharmed, when it was you who sacrificed innocents to summon me for reasons of greed.”
“And this is the price I reap, long after my name has become a whisper that joins the halls of tales from the past,” the spirit retorts, meaning their conversation. “I am the only spirit in this entire realm that engages with you-”
“The others don’t engage with you either,” Jungkook cuts in with shortly, which the spirit ignores as it continues.
“And I am assisting you with the care of the human whilst trying to make you see that you cannot change who you are just because you pity or want the human. Learn from my mistake of summoning you for greed, and let yours go. Let the human go.”
Jungkook looks away as he stands to put the books back onto the shelves himself.
The spirit sighs at his answer, and Jungkook only turns to look at the door once he senses the other’s departure.
His greed to help the human is far different than that of the spirit’s, Jungkook is not slaughtering innocents to summon a curse into existence that will bind said curse to the land it was summoned on or the realm it is connected to.
Jungkook may exist to feed on others pain and misery until his expiration date ends his reign, but he’s still a living thing.
He is curious about other creatures, about the changes of the moving realm beyond the edges of this frozen mirror realm that resets daily, maintaining a monotonous echo of its former glory before the summoning of Jungkook vaporised it.
Jungkook’s existence is unnatural, but that doesn’t mean he has to be unnatural.
The residents in this town will forever fear him, warn off visitors to not lure him in, but special cases like Taehyung are a rarity for Jungkook to just be more than a curse, a nightmare, a terror.
In a way, he can empathise with humans. They’re considered unnatural to most magical creatures, most will avoid them, and those that don’t only view them as trophies to flaunt.
Jungkook is avoided, and when he isn’t, he’s summoned by those that need his presence into existing for large stretches of time to continue a cycle of feeding on those that are natural prey to a cursed entity.
Humans are trapped by their fragility, of being preyed on by creatures.
Jungkook is trapped by the design of his existence, of being used by other creatures that require him to fulfil a selfish need that comes with the heavy price of a prolonged curse on the land, bloodlines, that were used to summon him.
But, of course, Taehyung will never see their similarities, and that is Jungkook’s fault.
Looking out of the window, his eyes drawn to the house that is silent but radiating an energy of anguish and rage, Jungkook chews on his lip as worry claws through him.
Oh how the tables have turned on him. He’s the one that kills and feeds on fears and cruel desires, and yet here he is trying to help save a creature that feared to be found and taken home.
Jungkook wonders, not for the first time over the past few days, if he actually can save a creature.
He’s a curse, an entity born into existence through despicable, sinister, means, a predator that feasts on misery, pain, and fear.
Predators aren’t saviours.
Curses aren’t wishes.
Maybe the spirit is right. Maybe he should let-
“Jungkook.”
Jungkook wonders if it is possible for him to even hallucinate because that can be the only explanation as to why he’s manifested Taehyung’s voice in his head.
Turning from the window, Jungkook lets out a forlorn sigh as he stares at the pile of books he has yet to examine.
Maybe these will help him bridge an understanding with the human, though fictional books aren’t the most accurate form to learn-
“Jungkook!”
The library falls from his view and the roaring fireplace of the living room in the small house on the edges of the castle’s land greets him.
The heat from the fire goes unfelt because the burning fury in those exhausted brown eyes beats it easily.
The effects of the human’s rebellion are already evident in the noticeable loss of weight in Taehyung’s face, the heaviness under his eyes from being uncomfortable in a situation that Jungkook recklessly thrusted him into.
“Please do not take this out of turn, but I truly didn’t expect you to call for me,” Jungkook blurts out, still reeling from the summoning call, as he stands on the other side of the room from where Taehyung stands in front of the fireplace.
“Call it delirium, but the fact you keep trying to feed me, giving me space to trash every day, without a peep from you, is fucking with my head,” Taehyung growls out, the human’s body tight with tension, “so what the fuck do you want from me?”
Jungkook has already told Taehyung such, but he can understand that the human was resistant to his honesty.
“I want to help-” Jungkook’s words stick in his throat in alarm as Taehyung takes a step back, drawing too close to the roaring fire behind him, “be careful, the fire-”
“I either burn myself to a crisp, or you start being honest,” Taehyung threatens, and Jungkook knows the human truly means to cause himself severe harm because there is no scent of fear coming from him, only bitterness. “You clearly want me alive and well, but I have no issues with killing myself just to spite you.”
“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of you requesting honesty?” Jungkook questions, confused. “Being dead without gaining an answer that will satisfy you will only spite yourself, yes?”
“I’d be dead, I’d feel nothing but that, but you?” Taehyung trails off, a vindictive glaze to those exhausted brown orbs making Jungkook torn with whether or not to admire or hunger the human’s strong nature. “You brought me here for a reason, and if I snatch my life from you before you can have a taste of that reason, then I win, you lose.”
“Not necessarily, I feed on death and misery, but your death would be a sad one that could’ve been prevented but it wouldn’t mean either of us would win or lose,” Jungkook carefully tries to explain the circumstances of his being to the human without spooking him into actually taking his life.
That vindictive look in Taehyung’s eyes dims, anger creeping in again. “My ‘sad’ death can be easily avoided if you just release me!”
“You’re in my realm now, it is not that easy just to simply release you back into the moving world,” Jungkook answers, his mind spinning with how to easily explain such a thing to the human.
Magical creatures have an awareness of how other realms function, but humans – from what Jungkook has been able to learn from the books – only have a vague understanding of how magic manifests and the creatures born from it and not how different layers of realms intertwine with one another.
“So make it simple if it is your realm!”
Jungkook really can’t. Everything comes at a price when magic and entities such as himself are involved.
“The only simple route would be you accepting my offer of assisting you with escaping the burden you have been running from,” Jungkook reminds Taehyung of the reason why he was drawn to the human (besides his beauty, Jungkook doesn’t dare admit that).
Taehyung scoffs harshly at that, stepping from the fire and to the window that faces the street.
Jungkook doesn’t move, just watches as the human begins to pace with hard, violent, thuds of his boots.
“All you magical folk are the same, no matter the titles you use to dress yourselves as,” Taehyung spits at him, and if Jungkook weren’t so helplessly curious and infatuated about the human, Taehyung would’ve been long dead by now for how he keeps triggering the prey drive in Jungkook.
Ignoring the tingly urge to devour the misery coming from Taehyung, Jungkook says, “would it make you feel at ease if I were to wear my true skin and not the skin given to me?”
Taehyung stops pacing, his stare a solid weight on Jungkook.
“I can’t tell if some of the things you say are purposeful to manipulate my thoughts into believing you mean kindness, or you truly are trying to be kind in your very twisted way.”
Jungkook frowns at the blunt comment. “I have no need to manipulate you, I have no desire to feed on you.”
“But you have the desire to keep me tied to you in some way, whether that is by being held captive in this realm of yours, or giving my soul to you in return for your generous help with my family matters,” Taehyung retorts sarcastically. “You still want a hold on me in some way, just like every other creature that takes a fancy to owning a human.”
“I am not a demon, owning your soul isn’t the price beings such as myself require,” Jungkook neutrally corrects.
“But you aren’t denying that I will be tied to you in some form for wanting to be free, yes?” Taehyung fires back, inching towards him with thundering steps of bravery that very few creatures can hold within Jungkook’s presence.
It just makes Jungkook’s infatuation and prey drive soar.
Tightening his restraint on both, Jungkook keeps his voice clear and honest. “Yes.”
“Which would be what?” Taehyung snaps, frustration and thinly veiled fear lashing through his words.
Jungkook doesn’t answer immediately, for he has only contemplated this very price in the barest of passings of his thoughts as he tried to find a way to salvage his spontaneous mistake of capturing Taehyung the way he had done.
He knows it is possible, it is how entities such as himself live long spans, but he has never done it, but has the innate knowledge of how to do it if he ever so desired.
Jungkook’s price would change more than Taehyung’s life, after all.
“If you were to accept my offer of giving you freedom from this realm, as well as the freedom to live your life as you see fit, the price would be for you to sacrifice your body to me.”
Silence hangs between them as Jungkook’s words echo in both of the ears.
“You’re a pervert-”
“Not in that way!” Jungkook cuts the hissing male off, aware of his cheeks burning as he clarifies, “I mean in the way that your body would anchor me, instead of this land that I am tied to.”
“You mean to possess me,” Taehyung states blandly.
Jungkook sucks in a deep inhale through his teeth as he once again reaffirms, “I am not a demon or a spirit.”
“But that is what you’re asking, yes?”
“In theory, yes.”
“How do you mean ‘in theory’?!” Taehyung snaps, his patience snapping.
“I mean that my anchor and access into the moving realm would come from you, and not a landmark, like this castle and its land is currently for me,” Jungkook awkwardly explains because…well…because he’s never had to explain how his being functions. The ones that summon him already know the ins and outs of his required existence and presence, after all.
“In simple language, Silver Tongue,” Taehyung remarks tightly, and Jungkook flounders as he tries to reword what he had just said.
“When I am summoned into the moving realm – your realm,” Jungkook hastily adds before Taehyung can interrupt him, “my presence requires a physical attachment – the one that summoned me into existence tied me to the foundations of the land the castle resides on, it is why I have such a vast reign within this area because the land – over time – has been built on and occupied as the village changes.”
“This house?” Taehyung questions, having kept up with Jungkook’s attempt of explaining.
“And others,” Jungkook admits with a short nod. “I need a physical root, a door if you will, into accessing the moving realm when I am called for, or when I need to feed.”
“And without an anchor and a door, you don’t exist?”
“My existence is summoned, not born,” Jungkook clarifies stiffly. “I cannot be vanquished or locked away. Time, naturally, will end my lifespan if I am not summoned or tied to another.”
Taehyung narrows his eyes on him, a long, but delicate-looking, finger pointed straight at Jungkook’s chest without touching him. “You want me to extend your life, that’s it, isn’t it?”
“I desire a change of scenery,” Jungkook admits sheepishly, “I have been tied to this area for many many years, and you know of the attitude towards my prolonged presence here by the residents. Those that summon me without a ceremony cannot tie me to a new door into the moving realm, but if someone were to accept my offer of joint freedom, then-”
“Free you from a village that is becoming harder for you to feed off, and in return you will free me from an arranged marriage whilst being your link into a realm where you can have a broader spectrum of individuals to feed off, that is what your offer and price are, correct?”
Jungkook studies the way the human holds himself, searching for the rage, the bitterness that still carries a strong scent throughout the house.
But, Taehyung is poised in a manner that is hard to read.
So, Jungkook slowly nods his head. “Correct.”
“Which also means that you cannot feed on or harm me, right?” Taehyung continues to question the finer details that went unsaid during Jungkook’s very rough explanation.
Again, Jungkook nods his head. “You would be a vessel for my presence to slip between the two different realms, so no harm would come to you.”
“My body would be a host for you to live within,” Taehyung reiterates in a simpler version. “You sure you’re not a fucked-up spirit?”
Jungkook twitches irritably at the comparison. “I am a cursed entity.”
“So that is about to make me a cursed human, huh?”
It takes a few seconds for that to sink into Jungkook, but when Taehyung’s words do, he is the one to stare at the human in shock.
“You agree to my offer and price?” Jungkook blurts out.
Taehyung crosses his arms, his gaze hard, his body tense, as he says, “on the condition that by playing host to your cursed existence that I don’t have to physically be present for when you slaughter your victims.”
Unable to keep the amused smile from his lips, Jungkook can’t help but state again, “I’m not a spirit or a demon.”
“Don’t smile, you just come across as even a bigger creep than you are.”
Jungkook fails in biting back his smile at the brutal retort from the human.
“If I agree, how soon can I be free to leave this mirrored hell?” Taehyung questions tightly.
“Once the vow has been sworn and I accept, you will be immediately returned to the moving realm where you are free to leave as soon as you desire,” Jungkook answers honestly, feeling just as out of his depth like the human because he’s never been the one to offer such an offer before.
“And then what will you do?” Taehyung asks, distrust clear in his voice and body language. “You will slaughter the village that has been out of your clutches?”
“I’m not hungry, so I would merely shadow you,” Jungkook says as honest as he can, because there will come a point where he is hungry or drawn in by the calls of his prey.
“This feels awfully like I am releasing a demon into the world that will be its undoing,” Taehyung states as he moves back to the fire, his back to Jungkook, hiding himself, shielding himself from Jungkook’s gaze.
Because, as soon as Jungkook is tied to Taehyung, the human will no longer have such a luxury, and even without Jungkook stating such a thing, the human seems to have become aware of the reality.
“Again, I am not a demon.”
“Whatever, ‘Who, Not What’,” Taehyung retorts before a heavy, exhausted, sound rattles from his chest, his shoulders sagging with a weight that Jungkook cannot see but is the one responsible for it being there.
The guilt of his recklessness burns ever more in the back of Jungkook’s mind as he waits for Taehyung to truly come to terms with how his life will unfold from now, onwards.
A moment of silence passes, and then Taehyung turns to face Jungkook, once more, his gaze resolute. “Tell me the vow that I have to swear.”
“Since you aren’t conducting a ceremony, any vow will work,” Jungkook tells the human, watching those brown, expressive, eyes glint with a mix of lingering fear and hatred as they stare upon Jungkook.
Taehyung takes a slow, deep, inhale through his gritted teeth, before saying in a calm, meaningful voice, “in return of my freedom, I swear that my body will be yours to use as a door between realms with the condition that you honour your own vow to never bear me witness your cursed actions.”
Once Jungkook agrees to this new vow, no longer will he be tied to this village, the castle that has been his home for many decades.
Once he agrees, he will be free to see more, learn without burying his nose in books.
Once he agrees, Jungkook will be free to roam wherever Taehyung shall roam.
“I accept your vow and I will honour the promise of shielding you, protecting you from cursed actions.”
Nothing changes physically around them.
But everything has changed.
Jungkook can feel a new anchor, no longer able to feel the wide spread of what used to be his realm.
He’s already attuned to Taehyung’s emotions in a way that they may as well be another layer over his given skin, but he keeps his mind away from linking with Taehyung’s.
He never invaded the human’s thoughts before this, and he will not do it now.
“Nothing has changed,” Taehyung hisses, his confusion and rising anger a tingly rush over Jungkook’s skin that it takes him by surprise.
“It has, you can leave freely now,” Jungkook says as he gestures to the front door. “You will not be thrown back this time.”
Taehyung doesn’t move instantly to test Jungkook’s words, the lingering unease of what he’s just done still simmering deep within the human that it makes him hesitant to move.
So, Jungkook tries to regain trust that he didn’t get the chance to form in the first place due to his own spontaneous, reckless, actions.
He feels Taehyung shadow him from a short distance as Jungkook opens the front door, walks down the garden path, and opens the metal gate as he steps out onto the street.
Jungkook will admit, it is far different to be moving around in this skin within the moving realm, he’s so used to wearing his veiled skin whenever he is called for or when he ventures out to feed.
It’s almost like he’s learning to be in this given skin again, trying to find a new gait to his legs, his posture.
The sharp inhale of air and the blast of surprise from Taehyung as he walks onto the street is also another awareness that Jungkook is going to be learning to become familiar with.
Maybe it is because Taehyung is a human, a singular, raw, anchor, for Jungkook to be attached to that is making every response from the male to be jarring and distracting.
“I will take my leave from this realm, allow you to travel alone without drawing further attention than you naturally draw,” Jungkook announces, feeling the eagerness, the desperation to flee, build from the human.
“Which means you’re going to be…in me?” Taehyung asks shortly, still very uncomfortable with their new dynamic but a hint of curiousness betrays what he is outwardly showing to Jungkook.
Jungkook doesn’t need his books anymore to learn how to read and care for a human.
Taehyung’s emotions are his guide now.
“You won’t feel me, I am not possessing you,” Jungkook explains gingerly. “You are a door, the realm I reside in is a mirror of everything you will interact with, but I can only interact with it if you do, or if I make myself present in the moving realm like I am now where I can freely move without you.”
“So you’re basically moving as a poltergeist, with the dark intentions of a demon. Got it,” Taehyung mumbles as he moves back to the house, and Jungkook resists the urge to correct the human again, and does as he stated he would do to give Taehyung some semblance of space, and lets his true skin swallow over his given skin as he fades from the moving realm and into his newer, mobile, realm.
It really isn’t any different, currently, to what he has been living with for decades, but that will soon change once Taehyung departs from the village and makes his journey home to where Jungkook will ensure the human keeps his freedom there too.
Trailing after Taehyung, Jungkook leaves the human’s side and moves to the back kitchen window that overlooks the desolate ruins of a castle that Jungkook no longer has a tie to.
It’s odd, to see the true image of the castle as it stands now, fallen to time, when he is so accustomed to its former glory.
At least the land is no longer cursed, its spirits now faded into nothingness, a rest that is long overdue, in the wake of his departure.
Feeling a pull that is familiar but new due to the freshness of a new attachment, Jungkook easily fades from the back window to fall into step with Taehyung who is now rushing down the street, his meagre bag of belongings tightly clasped to his chest.
This is his new life now.
A new curse has begun.
Taehyung has no idea how many days have passed since Jungkook captured him, but Taehyung needs to get back home as fast as he can, where magic has no reach, no influence, where he hopes that he will lose Jungkook as a result.
Magical beings, creatures, cannot exist in a place barren of it, right?
His eagerness to leave the village as fast as possible is derailed when he almost runs into a very rightfully startled Jimin as he was exiting a store, falling in the way of Taehyung’s hasty pace as he hurried down the main street that would take him out of the village.
Both of them yelp, Jimin’s reflexes kicking in to both catch Taehyung’s balance as well as his own, saving them from the embarrassment of falling onto their asses on the cobbled pavement.
Habit kicks in for Taehyung to soothe and submit to a werewolf as he tilts his head slightly, his words rushed, but heavy with apologies, as he says, “excuse me, Jimin, I’m in a rush-”
Hands latch onto his arms, their grip tightening, making Taehyung wince and look at the werewolf he had bumped into instead of his goal – the village’s exit and entrance.
The raw disbelief pouring from Jimin’s eyes, the slackness in his mouth that is slightly gaping open with shock, spins Taehyung confused.
“You’re alive,” Jimin states, winded, as if he were the one that had been hurrying to escape.
Considering the last they spoke the werewolf had taken a distant approach to Taehyung after the pushy closeness he greeted Taehyung with on his first day in the village, having the were’s hands on him, his concern obvious, makes irritation and relief swirl in his chest.
Attempting to shrug the hands from his arms, Taehyung says, “what do you care? You shunned me, remember.”
The grip on his arms tightens slightly for a split second as guilt makes the were’s eyes avoid his before they determinedly settle back on his face.
“I saw the broken window, your fear saturated the house, but you weren’t in it,” Jimin carefully whispers, nudging them away from the door to the store to stand beside the brick exterior wall of the adjacent store.
“Oh, I was very much in it. I have been for the last however long-”
“A week.”
Taehyung’s mouth snaps shut at that.
Jimin’s grip eases him until his back touches the cool brick wall, the were’s expression pinching hard with concern as his eyes rake over Taehyung’s face and body.
“You’ve lost weight, exhaustion is rolling off you, just what did it do to you?” Jimin whispers so quietly that if it wasn’t for their close proximity, Taehyung wouldn’t have heard him.
It’s the first time – if Taehyung’s foggy brain remembers correctly – that the were has mentioned Jungkook semi-personally, rather than vaguely.
“It kidnapped me, isn’t that obvious?” Taehyung answers tersely, the sun, the dwindling eagerness to escape, starting to make him overly aware of his fatigue, the hunger knitting his gut tightly, the persistent headache he’s had ever since he began starving himself to get at Jungkook.
Jimin’s gaze searches Taehyung’s, and the annoyance of being still gripped, of being asked questions he’d rather not answer when he needs to get the fuck out of these magical regions, builds the snappy irritation bubbling under his skin as he attempts to shrug off the were’s hands, again.
And again, Jimin ignores his attempt and continues to hold him.
Fucking werewolves and their overbearing instincts.
“Let me go, I have had enough of creatures thinking they have a right to fucking touch me as they please,” Taehyung attempts for anger, but his words come out exhausted and petulant, and not enforceable.
Jimin’s hands loosen, but still hover near, as he says, “you’re not going to be safe if you travel in this condition.”
Taehyung pushes for space between them, to stop the werewolf from being so close. “I told you once before, I am not stepping a toe onto pack grounds. I’ve just escaped one cage, I’m not going into another.”
“Which is why you should be on pack grounds if you have escaped it,” Jimin urges quietly, completely unaware that Jungkook is probably watching this whole scene considering he is shadowing Taehyung now.
Taehyung declined Jimin’s offer the first time due to the natural distrust he has towards certain magical creatures that would capture him for being a human, but now his reason is very different.
He doesn’t want to lead Jungkook to innocents that are just trying to help Taehyung.
Jungkook kidnapped him for a reason, and Taehyung isn’t a fool to solely believe that the fucked-up creature had pitied him for his family drama.
Pushing Jimin further away, ignoring the immediate tensing that rigids the werewolf for the forward, slightly aggressive, contact, Taehyung pulls back his shoulders, and stares down at the were.
“I don’t want your help,” Taehyung states firmly, begging with his gaze for Jimin to back off, to just let him pass. “I’m not a member of your pack, I’m not of your concern, so move aside and let me be on my way.”
“Taehyung, it isn’t a creature you have escaped, it’s a-”
“Curse, a nightmare, a terror of its own kind,” Taehyung speaks over the werewolf, ignoring the frantic way Jimin’s gaze darts around them, his body tense, ready for Jungkook to emerge so simply.
Taehyung uses the distraction to his advantage and slips past the werewolf, ignoring the call of his name as he hurries down the street.
Jimin keeps pace with him as he urges, “it has loopholes, we can shield you from it, assist you with making it back to the human region without dying on the road.”
Taehyung ignores him, hoping that once he reaches the end of the village, Jimin will back off.
But, Taehyung should’ve known better.
Werewolves are stubborn and headstrong.
“Taehyung, you will die out there!” Jimin snaps at him, not touching him again as he hurries ahead and plants himself in Taehyung’s way.
Impatience and fear of Jungkook appearing to remove Jimin himself prompts Taehyung to abruptly shove the were aside the best he can in his weakened state.
“You will die if you don’t fuck off and leave me alone!” Taehyung shouts at the werewolf, shaking from running, the rush of frantic fear, and helplessness of pushing away someone that – for once – truly has helpful intentions towards him.
“I’m cursed, how the fuck do you think I was able to get back into this realm?!” Taehyung continues to shout at the stunned werewolf. “You can’t shelter me, Jimin. I’m cursed.”
He was expecting it, based on Jimin’s whole attitude, the village’s attitude towards Taehyung once he’d been in the house a certain amount of time, but it still hurts to watch the werewolf retreat physically from him like he holds the plague instead of a magical curse.
Taehyung lets out a strained exhale, so tired, and his journey home hasn’t even truly begun. “The village is free; you don’t have to fear him anymore.”
“But fear you instead,” Jimin murmurs thinly, his gaze sorrowful. “Taehyung…do you truly have any idea what have you done?”
His throat is tight, his eyes stinging with held back tears, as Taehyung utters, “no, but I’m sure I’m going to find out the hard way.”
With nothing left remaining between them now but fearful wariness stemming from a creature that has long feared the creature now tied to Taehyung’s body, Taehyung walks past Jimin’s still form, his feet heavy, as he adjusts his bag’s weight against his back, and stares resolutely ahead of the long, barren, dirt road that takes him back into the wildness of a region he is weak in.
This is familiar, the endless walking, the silence, of being a lone traveller escaping his problems.
Only, this time, he’s not alone on his endless walk.
He’s not escaping, but returning to the problem that caused him to run into these dangerous regions.
Taehyung walks, locked in an anticipated state, for Jungkook to manifest suddenly alongside him.
But, the creep never does.
When Taehyung beds down for the night, shovelling wild berries down his starved gullet, he remains alone.
But, Taehyung’s isn’t a fool.
He’s nowhere near to being alone.
The fire that he makes whenever he beds down for the night never extinguishes despite the lack of fuel he gathers for it, and the fresh kill of a small prey animal always sits on glossy green leaves for him, perfectly skinned, ready to be cooked for breakfast.
Jungkook’s presence is silent, but ever remindful.
Taehyung is not alone, and Jungkook is exhaustively watchful to make sure that Taehyung stays alive.
The creep is keeping his promise of shielding Taehyung from any cursed actions of his, and he is keeping Taehyung fed and warm during the dark cover of the nights.
Taehyung’s guard is still firmly up, though.
And he thinks Jungkook knows it too.
Jungkook can understand the appeal now of why travellers drift to-and-fro places, the landscape of endless forests and mountains are soothing.
As a cursed entity, it also means there are interesting pockets of prey that call out to him unknowingly, allowing him to feed in interesting surroundings that are completely ignorant to dangers of beings such as himself because the only creatures that these prey fears are bandits, roaming packs of rogue werewolves, or a hungry vampire.
Secluded communities fear physical threats, rather than how their emotions, their misery, pain, anger, lure in entities like himself so easily once he is within that calling radius.
Jungkook only leaves Taehyung’s side to feed, and only does so once he has ensured the human’s source of warmth will not diminish in his absence, that the carefully lain twigs Jungkook circles on the border of Taehyung’s resting area are close enough for the human to hear them break if an animal or another creature were to be drawn to him, and he returns with a fresh prey kill for the human to cook come sunrise.
He has become almost fluent with reading Taehyung’s moods now; he can predict the human’s day-to-day emotions with ease.
Mornings are a struggle for Taehyung, the human is much more of a night soul, which is why Jungkook skins and lays out the meat so that Taehyung can just shove it onto a stick and cook over the fire without risking burning himself, or forgetting to eat entirely.
Throughout the day, Taehyung takes care of his needs easily without having Jungkook to step in once to keep the human safe, but when the sun sets and Taehyung is forced to rest for the night due to his limited senses, Jungkook subtly steps in to make sure that no dangerous hazards lie in wait.
It’s quite tranquil, to watch over a human, to study Taehyung’s mannerisms, the little habits he may be oblivious to because they are almost subconsciously performed – for instance, Taehyung’s fingers will press against each other with enough gentle force to release a cracking sound from the joints, the same with his neck which he will gently move in a way that releases the same sounds that come from his fingers, all the while, Taehyung’s gaze will be unflinching, unfocused from the monotony of walking for large stretches of time with nothing to hold his attention.
Too many times has Jungkook considering breaking up the other’s boredom, to offer some form of companionship on this journey to the region where magic is fickle enough to appear barren, allowing humans to cultivate the land in ways they need.
But Taehyung is so rigid with distrust, so open about it too, that Jungkook remains hidden, acting out of sight.
Jungkook wants to make amends, not mistakes. He can’t keep acting recklessly with Taehyung, so Jungkook’s newfound spontaneous drive is being heavily shackled until Taehyung lowers his guard, and begins to trust Jungkook.
Jungkook has no desire to have Taehyung as a trophy like most magical creatures will render a human into being, it would ruin the beauty and intellectual rawness that comes naturally to Taehyung.
No, creatures like Taehyung are rare, the tenacity, the fire, he has consistently shown towards Jungkook makes him too precious to encase in a trophy case.
It is why Jungkook will ensure that the human’s marital entrapment will be void.
Humans have traps to ensnare their own kind, and then outside of their region, they are then faced with the deadlier traps from magical folk.
But, Taehyung is resilient, determined to be free, even if it means to be forever cursed.
So Jungkook will honour the human’s hunger to be free.
He will undo any trap that stands in the human’s way.
It’s disarming, how silent Jungkook has been throughout Taehyung’s journey home.
Taehyung keeps bouncing from lowering his guard to maintaining his suspicions about the prolonged silence that has stretched on for so many weeks.
The routine hasn’t changed, for himself or Jungkook, but as he approaches the land marker of the start of the region that is barren of magic, Taehyung can’t help but hope that when he beds down tonight that the fire will die out and he will awaken to no skinned breakfast waiting for him to cook.
There has to be limits to curses, and in a land that is barren of it, Taehyung is hoping that Jungkook will cease to exist, like a candle being snuffed.
Sure, it will mean that Taehyung has to face the consequences of his theft and avoidance of being betrothed to a stranger on his own, but Taehyung has no qualms with that.
If he can avoid bringing Jungkook to a human buffet, he will.
So, as he beds down for what he hopes to be the last night of being cursed, Taehyung maintains the dry routine in case Jungkook is perishing slowly in his mirrored realm.
And when he wakes, the fire is dead, and no skinned prey lies on glossy green leaves for him.
Taehyung doesn’t react, his time living in the magical regions have long taught him to be wary, to not believe so easily.
So, upon his second morning of waking up to a dead fire and no skinned breakfast, the wariness shatters into shock.
The shock of freedom lingers for longer than he’d expect it to do as he begins to bypass farmers, distant villages, his disbelief over such a thing hard to shake off even as familiar landmarks of his home begin to greet him.
Stepping over the threshold of his family home, Taehyung is rigid with tension not caused from the shouting that greets his return from his parents, but from the lingering fear of expecting Jungkook to manifest and kill those responsible for the arranged marriage.
Through the tears, the sharp words laced with anger and embarrassment, and the tight embraces of pure relief of having their son make it back home, Jungkook’s presence never once hints to, or appears.
“You look as if a ghost will appear through the walls and snatch you away,” his mother softly sighs, jerking Taehyung from his mindless staring out of the kitchen window that overlooks the bustling street of workers coming from the factories on this side of town, some of them work for his family whom own their own textile factory that trades across multiple towns and cities.
“I half keep expecting to see some creature pass by, it’s strange to see so many mundane-looking features now,” Taehyung half-lies, taking the small cup of tea from his parent as his mother joins him at the kitchen table.
“You best get used to mundane-looking, your father has managed to salvage the arrangement he made before you decided to dishonour your family’s name and reputation,” his mother’s straightforward nature is brutal, but Taehyung appreciates it because it means he knows exactly what he’s facing instead of being left in a land of vagueness.
Putting the teacup onto the wooden surface of the table, he levels his mother a tired look. “I can marry someone reputable of my own making, ma.”
“You aren’t marrying solely on furthering our family name, but you are marrying an heiress that has access across the oceans, it would result in financial security for all of our future generations to come.”
“You’re selling me off for a few large vessels, your only son?” Taehyung tightly retorts, his fingers gripping his teacup firmer.
“You are marrying into a shipping empire,” his mother tersely corrects with a tut at the end of her words. “And she will be marrying into an empire that will boost her own. It is a win-win arrangement. You two marry, and both empires flourish, continuing a legacy of hard graft and determination to better one’s life.”
“We own a textile factory, textiles are not gold, they’re bronze at the most.”
His mother’s teacup clashes loudly on the little pedantic saucer she uses, and Taehyung is reminded that his parents still have not fully forgiven him, their anger too great to be let go so simply over his safe return home.
“You will do as you are told, Taehyung. You need to grow up and accept that life isn’t free to live as you would like.” Her words are as sharp and cold as any icicle could be.
Taehyung scoffs at that, bringing the teacup back up to his lips, his gaze as cold and hard as his mother’s staring back at him, as he murmurs, “you don’t even know the costs of gaining freedom, ma.”
“Nor do you,” is what he gets back as his mother leaves the kitchen table with the grace of a woman that has long forgotten her roots of where she came from and what she had, in comparison to what she has gained.
Taehyung looks back out of the window, sipping the bland tea, watching people pass, as he wonders if the risk of running away for a final time will be worth whatever may happen to him the very moment he steps back onto magical soil.
He can’t run away within the human region, his parents would never allow him a moment’s peace, if not with trying to herd him back into their clutches, but by rendering him useless by smearing his name, his attempts of making a life for himself of his own will.
It was his parents mistake to only have the one child, they should’ve done what the royals do and birth a spare, a contingency plan.
Taehyung was the dutiful son, he learned how to manage the inner workings of his parents’ business, how to run and maintain a factory and the demand that comes from such a successful textile brand, and all he ever asked for in return was to find love his way.
And they can’t even give him that.
His parents, magical creatures, all they do is take, take, and take.
Taehyung is fed-up of it all.
He just wants to take control of who he marries, and desires it to be of his own making, rather than it being a transactional agreement of forcing two strangers into a loveless marriage, one that will bore children that will see no authentic examples of love to learn from and carry into their lives.
His parents fell in love of their own choice, but deny their son a choice of his own.
Taehyung swallows his last mouthful of bland tea, and shoves his chair across the tiled floor, making it screech shrilly.
Without looking from the window, he lets go of the delicate teacup, listening to it shatter onto the wooden surface, not blinking an eye as he ruins one of his mother’s expensive teacup sets forever.
And without cleaning it up, or looking down at it, Taehyung leaves the porcelain mess for his mother, or the housekeeper, to find.
He’s made up his mind.
He will be free.
The restaurant is blinding, the air saturated with overpowering perfumes and colognes to mask the true undertones of what these walls and its workers oversee daily.
From dry business meetings, to sordid affairs, these walls see the full scope of humanity.
The heiress, his future intended, is as bland as the soup they’re eating for their starter.
Taehyung can’t quite pinpoint if it is because she shares his resentment to the arrangement that removes their freedom to chose their own love, or if being groomed into being the future owner of a shipping brand has resulted in losing a tongue of knowing how to discuss mundane topics such as hobbies and interests.
He’s very guilty of not actively driving the conversation, but he’s been honest with his interests, hoping that a miracle will befall on them and they will connect and possibly fall onto the path of growing to love each other, but the responses he’s been getting have been drier than the bread roll that accompanies the soup.
This dinner, a first introduction unsupervised, only seals Taehyung’s decision to leave tonight whilst his parents gossip with the heiress’s parents, beginning their plans for a wedding that will never see the light of day.
Taehyung has an education, knowledge, that he can sell to his parents’ competition.
His parents cannot smear his name if he sells it.
The love he has – had – for his parents, is too soiled now for him to remain the dutiful son he used to be.
Resentment goes both ways, after all.
“Oh!”
Blinking back into the stale dinner date, Taehyung wordlessly stares as the heiress stands, her lap drenched in water from the glass she’s spilt on herself, her embarrassment clear as she and a passing server cover the damp path of her dress with napkins.
“Accidents happen,” Taehyung offers sympathetically, offering his own from his side of the table, as the heiress moves to leave.
“I-” the female glances at the fallen glass, her dark brows furrowed, despite the redness in her cheeks. “My hand was not close to knocking it.”
Taehyung’s grip on his untaken napkin tightens at her words, at the confusion in her tone and gaze.
“Sorry for the sudden ending to dinner, but continue eating if you’d like, just make sure you don’t return home sooner than anticipated, and I will do the same,” the heiress breaks the tension from Taehyung’s body as he gawps at her in surprise by the sudden switch in her demeanour than the one that she’s had throughout dinner.
“You intend to lie about the success of a first meeting?” Taehyung asks, surprised and hopeful that maybe they do have something in common after all.
The heiress’s lips briefly lift in a smirk, and Taehyung’s evening plans of running away look to be fading. “I intend to do a lot of it, considering we both resent the arrangement, but we will discuss this topic further at our next unsupervised meeting. Maybe then you will bring more than hobbies and interest to the table.”
Taehyung can’t help but let out the booming laugh as he turns in his chair to watch the heiress leave, his entire opinion of her changing in an instant.
Maybe…maybe there is hope after all in this arrangement.
“Would you like to resume dinner, or pay for just the starter?” the lingering server draws Taehyung’s attention from the departure of the heiress.
His sudden light mood diminishes as his gaze falls back onto the fallen glass.
A tightness slowly grips the back of his throat, curls low in his gut too.
It could’ve been a mere accident and the heiress just wasn’t aware of her own space, most of the humans in this restaurant would label it as such.
But, Taehyung has spent time amongst magical creatures that can act sly, misleading, to gain the intention they desire.
And his gut response is screaming that this wasn’t an accident.
“I’ll pay for the meal now,” he tells the server, moving to leave himself.
It’s a warning that a curse hasn’t died.
Taehyung doesn’t call, or make it aware that he’s noticed Jungkook’s warning.
Instead of spending the evening packing his departure to become a permanent outcast to his family, Taehyung spends it planning on how he can protect the heiress from the promise Jungkook had vowed to him.
In the end, his planning is for nothing.
“You are certain that dinner was a success?” his father demands, pacing frantically before him, as Taehyung stands numbly in his father’s office.
“It was awkward, which is natural for a first meeting, but the conversation wasn’t dire,” Taehyung answers, wondering if this real, if this morning was truly fucking real, as he watches his father age right before his very eyes as the stress pours off the male.
“Her father never disclosed to us that she had a weak mind, her actions of modelling him perfectly to take over his role one day completely contradict such a thing!” his father vents, still pacing, still trying to make sense of the news brought to them during breakfast.
Taehyung narrows his gaze at the crudeness. “Actually, it’s not so contradictory if you apply the theory that the stress and pressure to be just like her father was the thing that caused her to…do what she did. That level of pressure is not healthy, no matter how weak or strong minded you are.”
His father shoots him a look at that. “If we all hung ourselves when life got a bit too hard, the human race would become extinct. You persevere, you better your circumstances.”
“You’re speaking from a place that you now benefit from, but not everyone has the happy ever after that you and mother got. Don’t be ignorant to those that do suffer from hardships,” Taehyung berates sharply, disgusted that his father, someone he used to idolise for his work ethic, his strength to not give up, has become someone that judges so easily now that he is no longer struggling to keep a roof over his head.
“And you’re trying to speak from a place as if you understand true hardship,” his father mocks scathingly as he roughly seats himself behind his desk. “The only hardship you have ever faced is this marital arrangement that is now void, so congratulations.”
“Congratulations to you too, for now you face a hardship of the future demise of your company, your legacy, because your only son and heir has a record for either running away, or being cursed due to his first intended killing herself to escape being tied to this family.”
Silence reigns in the room as the twisted toxicity of a once loving relationship burns and chars between them.
“If you think that this was the only marital arrangement that we had on the books for you, then you are not as smart as we have assumed you to be,” his father coldly states, a lone hand waving for Taehyung to leave.
Taehyung grinds his back teeth, and doesn’t move. “Maybe take this as a warning, father, and stop pushing.”
His father doesn’t respond, but waves his hand in a curt dismissal, and so Taehyung slams the door on his way out to get the final word in.
Then, he calmly heads for his room, the silence in the house heavy as his father stews in anger and frustration in his office, and his mother and the housekeeper away at the heiress’s grieving home.
On the outside, Taehyung is collected.
On the inside, he’s seething.
Looking around his room as he sits on the edge of his bed, Taehyung makes another choice.
Staring at the unlit fireplace across from his bed, he calls a name.
Nothing changes around his room, no presence, no sounds.
Nothing happens.
Taehyung refuses to let doubt creep into the gut feeling he’s had ever since yesterday’s dinner.
If Jungkook thinks he is angry, he won’t appear. Taehyung can easily recall how eager the creep had been to help him, to assist with his adjustment to his realm, to calm him.
So, Taehyung keeps his boiling anger in check, and calls again, this time softer than before, coaxing almost, like one would with a scared infant hiding from a scolding.
“You’re upset.”
The slow, cold, crawl of shattering hope and setting finality trails down the length of his rigid spine.
Turning to look at his left, where his bedroom window stands, Taehyung says, “suicide is upsetting, Jungkook.”
The cursed creature hasn’t changed since the last time Taehyung saw him, the eerie elegant posture, the stolen beauty of a body he wears to hide the inky monstrosity natural to him, and the same doe-eyed gaze of a being enamoured by what Taehyung is, and not for himself.
“I vowed to help you with your freedom,” Jungkook reminds gently, not looking remotely guilty, but hesitant with how to possibly interact with Taehyung now that the deed has been done.
“You could’ve killed her in her sleep, made it look natural,” Taehyung begins tightly, his hands curling into fists on his knees. “You made her suffer unnecessarily.”
“Her neck broke instantly; she wouldn’t have felt-”
“You’re not a spirit, you cannot possess people, nor are you a demon, so you can’t enchant a lure, all you are capable of doing is violent brutality, and that is what you did to her,” Taehyung snaps over Jungkook’s irritating factual tone, rising to his feet as he glares at the creature.
Jungkook straightens, his own gaze hardening, as he responds with, “you did not love or adore her, why are you so upset by this?”
“Unlike you, I have a thing called ‘humanity’, it means I have empathy and sympathy for creatures besides myself!”
“I saved you, that implies empathy!” Jungkook shouts back, his features distorting quickly as the entirety of his eyes turn black.
“That wasn’t empathy, it was selfishness, you fucker!” Taehyung snarls, wishing the creep was human so he could punch the fucker. “You kidnapped me, then bartered for a change of scenery and freedom from the chains you had been stuck in!”
“I’ve apologised for recklessly taking you without your consent, and I warned you about the cost of returning back to this realm,” Jungkook argues, his eyes clearing of the eery darkness, seemingly getting a hold over himself. “I-”
“You have never apologised for kidnapping me,” Taehyung derails the fucker’s argument, breathing fast, his limbs shaking with temper. “The only time the word ‘sorry’ passed through those cursed lips of yours was when you told me that I can’t leave.”
Jungkook frowns. “No, I’ve apologised for my behaviour.”
Taehyung wonders if Jungkook severely underestimates his intellect to see blatant manipulation or if the creep truly believes he did apologise to Taehyung.
“You have never apologised for your creepy behaviour, because why would you? You did exactly what you intended to do, only it happened in the way you didn’t plan.”
Jungkook, for all of his creepiness and assholery, is completely floored by this revelation that Taehyung is planting at his feet.
“I..I am sorry for kid-”
“No, you’re not,” Taehyung cuts off the lie. “You wanted freedom, and you took it because I was desperate for mine.”
“I am sorry for the manner I approached you, I truly am, Taehyung,” Jungkook hurries out, stepping towards Taehyung, making his entire body turn cold and rigid, “but, you are correct that I did intend to use your desire for freedom to get mine, it’s just that I intended it to happen on even, trustful, grounds.”
“I told you then, and I’m telling you again - I won’t forgive you, ever,” Taehyung reminds the cursed being of his promise the day he was brought into Jungkook’s realm.
“But, I have kept my vow, I have shielded you, protected you,” Jungkook says softly, confusion in those borrowed eyes of his. “I haven’t killed around you, either. I can be trustful.”
“You brutally killed a woman and forever stained her name for being ‘weak’. Names are everything for us humans,” Taehyung bluntly explains. “You’ve been watching for months now, and you still haven’t learnt a thing about humans, have you?”
“I’m sorry, I just…I have seen other humans perform the action and assumed it to be the most common, easiest, to explain,” Jungkook apologises quietly, his gaze dropping from Taehyung’s, and the submissive action takes Taehyung aback, not having expected such a thing to come from such a creature.
“You’re telling me that you’ve never seen or forced other creatures to kill themselves in such a way?” Taehyung can’t help but ask, morbidly curious despite the lingering anger he has towards Jungkook.
Jungkook gaze remains lowered as he says, “I rather not answer or go into details about the manner I feed.”
Taehyung folds his arms against his chest. “Answer the question. My opinion of you can’t get any lower, so go for it.”
Jungkook’s hesitant gaze flicks up to look at him. “You are correct, I am violent, because my strength, power, is accentuated by negative emotions and thoughts. The greater the fear, pain, misery, the….the more violent my feeds can be.”
Taehyung is quietly amazed with himself that he does not feel the urge to gag or vomit at the admittance.
But, then again, he’s always presumed that Jungkook operated in this way from the way he approached Taehyung when he captured him.
“Does that mean she wasn’t fearful when you approached her for you to be able to kill her so….cleanly?” Taehyung really cannot believe he is voicing such morbidity, but this is his life now, being attached to a curse and being cursed.
Jungkook nods. “My skin – not this skin – can blend into shadows easily, so it was only a matter of timing the moment of easing the hanging loop above her head when she woke to use the bathroom. You humans have very weak bladders, so you often wake during the night to relieve yourselves.”
“You…that is actually alarmingly considerate of you to kill her whilst she’s half-asleep,” Taehyung admits begrudgingly.
Jungkook shrugs, dropping eye contact again. “Like I said, her neck broke instantly due to the force and quickness of me yanking her up to the-”
“Okay, I don’t need to know all of the gory details,” Taehyung cuts the other off, shuddering at the mental image of shadows and the heiress being yanked up by her neck to the bedroom ceiling.
Jungkook briefly meets his gaze again. “I vowed to free you of the marital agreement, I assumed you’d rather to have that freedom sooner rather than the night before the wedding.”
Taehyung scoffs at that, moving to sit back on the edge of his bed as he says, “I have no true freedom in this place, you should’ve learnt that by now by creeping around.”
Taehyung notices as Jungkook moves closer hesitantly at that. “Your father is very determined.”
“And is off the cards of being killed, got it?” Taehyung hisses, glaring at the still creature. “Do not put the death of my parents on my shoulders, Jungkook.”
Jungkook tilts his head slightly, his expression soft with confusion. “But, it would mean you’d be free to love, live, as you’d like?”
Taehyung doesn’t stop with a step this time, he gets within Jungkook’s personal space and harshly shoves the surprisingly warm body back against his window’s curtains, ignoring the panicky urge to flee from being so close to Jungkook.
“You swore to not harm me, and being responsible for their deaths brought by your hands for me would cripple my sanity,” Taehyung enunciates each word clearly and aggressively under Jungkook’s surprised gaze.
Jungkook swallows, the sound loud between them, further surprising Taehyung that this borrowed skin of Jungkook’s functions like a normal body.
“I will not kill your parents,” Jungkook softly promises.
“You will not kill or harm my parents, do not play word games with me, Silver Tongue,” Taehyung corrects the promise, not a fool to miss the giant loophole within it.
Jungkook’s lips lift into a small smile. “You’re very fond of giving me these nicknames of yours.”
Taehyung jerks back from the creature with a sneer. “Don’t take them as names of endearment.”
“But isn’t that why nicknames exist? To express fondness?”
Taehyung’s eye twitches. “Believe me, I am not capable for even forming such a thing towards you.”
Jungkook hums lowly at that, his smile still in place, as he says, “possibly, one day, you might. I am not entirely despicable, the spirits in the castle would woe that I was boring most of the time.”
Taehyung refuses to continue that road of conversation, the very fact that they had started on one is terrifying for Taehyung’s guard that still refuses to lower, unable to trust, to believe, a word that comes from Jungkook’s lips.
If Jungkook is capable of compassionate murder (for the creature’s standards, anyway), then Taehyung needs to be vigilant to how other ways the cursed being can twist things in his way.
So, distance is vital between them.
“Go back to creeping, that is all you are good at,” Taehyung says, moving to leave his bedroom, removing himself physically to make himself feel better about the fact that he is never truly alone now.
“Just call whenever you need me, I’ll always hear you!” Jungkook calls from behind him, and Taehyung slams the door in answer.
Distance.
If he can’t have it physically, he’ll have it conversationally.
He’ll not call the other’s name.
From now on, he will pretend the other does not exist.
And if Taehyung works fast enough, the heiress will be the only intended of his to perish at the hands of Jungkook.
The slam of the bedroom door echoes within the room and the upper floor of the house.
Jungkook’s smile never falters despite the harsh, rude, dismissal.
Taehyung truly is one of a kind. He knows exactly what Jungkook is, and yet he fights through his human instinct to avoid danger and shove Jungkook against a window to threaten Jungkook with the demise of his sanity and life, which would rob Jungkook of life too.
Respecting Taehyung’s need to be alone right now, Jungkook sinks back into his realm, and looks out of the bedroom window that overlooks down onto an alleyway.
Considering the wealth Taehyung seemingly comes from, the family resides in tight quarters with other humans.
It also means that Jungkook has already witnessed a large amount of cruelty that humans inflict on each other without the presence of magic influencing such behaviour.
And Taehyung calls him cruel…Jungkook has had his eyes opened to such depravity that humankind functions within.
Everything that Taehyung shouted at him, Jungkook had already learnt for himself.
Humans rely heavily on social titles as much as magical creatures rely on theirs.
It is why he’s been researching so thoroughly the various ways humans kill each other.
Different methods carry different messages into the human community, and the one that Jungkook has been practising is a delicate one.
Suicide, depending on the human and its circumstances, carries an image, a message, of helplessness, despair, a weapon to forever traumatise ex-loved ones.
But, most of all, suicide is never investigated, from what Jungkook has witnessed.
Humans called ‘detectives’ or ‘officers’ will arrive at the scene and the pity that radiates off them is telling enough that Jungkook doesn’t need to look over their shoulders to watch as they label the death as ‘not suspicious’ when in fact, on one occasion, Jungkook had watched two humans drug the deceased to silence them before they enacted the manner of ‘suicide’ that they chose for the drugged human.
Taehyung’s reaction to the female that Jungkook had killed was surprising, but informing.
Taehyung is sheltered when it comes to how humans kill each other.
The human knows so much about which magical creatures to avoid, knows how to smooth talk around the ones he can’t, Taehyung is very aware of how magical creatures kill, but not how cruel his own kind can.
Taehyung is aware of the consequences that comes from a manner in which how a human dies, the message that ‘stains’ the deceased forever, but the actual act itself, the purpose behind it, Taehyung is completely unaware of it.
Does Taehyung know how many humans die a week in this city he lives within?
Does he hear the stories, the descriptions, of how?
Probably not.
But, Jungkook can confidently state that if the human were still within the magical regions, he’d be well-informed about the deaths going on within the community he’s in at that time.
It just shows that Taehyung fears the unknown, instead of what lives in plain sight in the streets around him.
And it is why Taehyung still refuses to trust Jungkook.
Jungkook is the unknown, despite all of his attempts to be open, candid, about his cursed nature.
And because of Jungkook’s recklessness last night, he’s made no further progress with Taehyung trusting him.
Scowling at the window pane, Jungkook’s lingering frustration from not controlling himself better curdles from under both layers of skins he wears.
He’d been bored despite the restaurant being the perfect balance of blinding lights and clusters of shadows in between tables.
Jungkook had – initially – made the same assumption that Taehyung had about the female he was forced to dine with.
A bore, an unfit match to Taehyung’s liveliness.
So, he needed to distract himself in some way to pass the time as the barely begun meal droned on.
Jungkook had no intentions of alerting Taehyung to his continued presence when the human had begun to lower his guard under the assumption that Jungkook was no longer with him now that he’s in the human region, a region that all humans believe to be barren of magic.
Jungkook had it all planned, he would reveal himself after he had ensured Taehyung’s freedom.
And then he accidently knocked over the glass and Jungkook didn’t even have to look in Taehyung’s direction to know his initial plan was ruined.
The calmness, the re-emergence of Taehyung’s guard, was loud enough to burn his senses.
Jungkook thought that would be all – a spooked female, a suspicious Taehyung – he could salvage this to his favour, somehow.
And then the female removed the false mask she had been wearing and revealed one that made Jungkook rigid.
She was supposed to be an unfit match to his Taehyung.
She was not supposed to enthral his human.
In such a short space of time, the female human won Taehyung’s trust, something that Jungkook has been yearning for.
Until that moment, Jungkook never truly understood the emotion ‘jealousy’ that would often plague his prey.
But, in that moment, he understood it clearly.
How dare she achieve and gain something so valuable as Taehyung’s trust and not even appreciate it!
Jungkook couldn’t stand it, and he’s still proud of himself for not revealing himself to a restaurant full of prey because he swore to Taehyung that he wouldn’t kill around him, that he wouldn’t show the human his cursed actions.
Out of Taehyung’s sight, however, Jungkook could do as he pleased.
Jungkook was being honest when he told Taehyung that she was half-asleep when he killed her.
What he didn’t share was that he was in her head, her dreams, making her witness her death in multiple ways, as he lay in wait, basking in her growing fear and unrest, until the moment she woke fully to calm down.
Jungkook needed her to feel just a fraction of the pain, the discomfort, that he had felt when she stole Taehyung’s trust from him so easily.
So, last night was not planned, but the end result is pleasing.
Taehyung is free from the marital agreement, he called Jungkook’s name again, and even began to converse with him before retreating predictably in its wake.
Jungkook just needs to…not kill so spontaneously again.
He needs Taehyung to trust him.
Jungkook needs to stop making reckless errors, he was lucky this time that Taehyung’s anger dissipated in the wake of his curiosity.
He’s made two mistakes so far, and he fears a third may ruin all hope of gaining Taehyung’s trust.
Taehyung is precious to Jungkook now.
He wants the human to be free, but also happy too.
Trusting Jungkook will gateway that path to freedom and happiness.
And Jungkook is determined to achieve both.
Taehyung knew it would happen, because that is how gossip works, but to his mounting frustration, the wagging tongues within his parents’ social circles still deem him fit enough to be marital material.
“Announcing a new engagement agreement so soon after my previous one failing in the way it did is not only poor taste in respect but just flat out disgusting,” Taehyung states calmly to the room, under the ever-thinning patience his parents regard him nowadays when this topic comes up.
“Her weak-minded actions reflect badly on her, not you,” his father predictably speaks ill of the heiress that was far from weak-minded, causing Taehyung to grind his back teeth. “Her family have already apologised to us and are-”
“They never should’ve apologised, and you both are detestable for accepting it,” Taehyung grinds out, his guilt, his anger towards a certain curse, leaking out as he moves to leave the office where he was summoned for this bullshit announcement.
“Considering that you have yet to utter an apology for your disgraceful flighty actions that have brought shame to our family, you should be on your knees that we still regard you as our son, that we are trying valiantly to repair the damage you caused,” his father snaps as Taehyung’s hand touches the cold door handle.
Without letting go of the handle, Taehyung turns and gives both of his parents pitying looks.
“You’re clinging to me because you put all of your eggs into one basket that is about to tip over, so don’t paint this as you doing me a favour when we know the reality of this family’s fragile legacy.”
“A reality you could easily fix by trusting your parents in finding the right match for you,” his mother retorts as she pats her husband’s arm to soothe the clear seething he’s doing in his chair.
“One you could fix too by trusting me to find my own match,” Taehyung fires back as his hand twists, opening the door a crack.
“You can’t survive out there on your own - you used our money to run away, you will either sell or use our name here, just what can you do achieve on your own, Taehyung?”
Taehyung tenses not because of his father’s cold words, but because of the male that materialises in the hallway in front of him, easily hidden out of view because of the small opening Taehyung made with the door.
Jungkook’s expression is surprisingly sympathetic as he gestures for Taehyung to leave the room when all that Taehyung wants to do is spin around and engage in this spitting match of vicious words with his parents.
“You can’t survive either, you need an heir from me to continue this shitty family name,” Taehyung states, not looking from Jungkook, not trusting in the offer of sympathy, of distraction, in case it is a ploy of some sort to harm his parents.
“If push comes to shove, you don’t need to be willing to aid in providing an heir.”
It’s hard to know if Jungkook’s horrified face is genuine, or if Taehyung is just projecting his own sickening rush as he looks over his shoulder at his mother’s frank words.
Both parents look at peace with what hangs in the air between them and their only son.
Both of his parents look at peace with obtaining, through any means necessary, to get the future they desire.
“Do consider this marital proposal, the family are very sympathetic and are eager to get the ball rolling,” his mother continues, and Taehyung feels Jungkook come closer to him from the way his entire body ignites with a cold shudder of warning, forcing him to look from his parents and back into those brown eyes that are urging him to step from the confrontation.
Taehyung keeps eye contact with Jungkook as he says, “greedy hands end up with empty palms.”
Jungkook doesn’t respond, but he does step back to make room for Taehyung, to keep out of sight as Taehyung slams the office door shut behind him.
Taehyung stares at the curse, trying to read the other’s intentions, the reason for his out of the blue appearance when he’s been out of sight for that past week now since their last interaction.
Walking from the office, Taehyung grabs his coat hanging by the front door, and exits alone.
Shoving his arms through the stiff, thick, material that keeps the cold at bay, Taehyung cuts around those going about their day, aiming for the nearest alleyway entrance to take him from the bustling main street.
His boots step into puddles caught in the crevices of the cobbled pavements, the faint stench of this morning’s trash collection still hanging in the air, Taehyung looks around for others before breaking his own promise of calling the other’s name.
Jungkook blends in as he materialises on the spot in front of Taehyung, dressed in a similar fashion to Taehyung now, compared to the casual attire he had donned earlier.
Now that Taehyung is noticing the differences, he’s realising that the clothing that Jungkook used to wear has changed too.
He looks distressingly too much like a human in such simple clothing compared to the garments he had worn that spoke of magical craftsmanship and labelling.
“Am I wearing something incorrectly?” Jungkook questions, breaking Taehyung’s studious trance as he meets the other’s curious gaze.
“Yeah, that borrowed skin of yours,” Taehyung retorts harshly, and immediately hates the way he feels guilty for taking out his anger on the other who – for once – isn’t the cause of it.
Jungkook smiles at the comment, not even insulted. “Would it be too gruesome of me to admit that wearing a skin that isn’t your own is a learning curve?”
Taehyung lets silence hang between them for one full minute before he deadpans with, “yes, that is too gruesome for you to disclose.”
Jungkook frowns at him. “When you speak like that it is hard for me to determine if you mean it or not.”
“You can’t fool me with that, you’ve been watching me for months now, you know exactly how to read me,” Taehyung huffs as he starts walking at a snail’s pace down the alleyway with Jungkook keeping in step with him.
“Assuming how to read your tones is different than having it confirmed,” Jungkook responds as Taehyung looks ahead instead of looking to see if the frown is still present on the other’s face.
“You assume a lot, isn’t that part of your design?” Taehyung retorts, shoving his hands into his coat’s pockets.
“If you mean in regards to how I find prey, then no. Creatures give off emotional scents. There is no assuming needed.” Jungkook answers in his usual factual way, without a hint of condescending, but honesty.
Taehyung hums quietly, still staring ahead at the empty alleyway before them as he says, “so, what were you smelling from me to appear like a knight in shining armour?”
Unsurprisingly, silence answers him, making Taehyung scoff as he stops walking to stare at the curse who stops walking too. “You weren’t subtle in just using ‘creatures’, Silver Tongue.”
Jungkook sighs as he says, “your nicknames for me are very strange.”
“And you’re evading answering,” Taehyung hisses, irritated, as he steps into Jungkook’s space that places them more in the shadows of the buildings around them.
Jungkook backs up easily into the shadow walls, a sheepish look to his features as he says, “I evade answers because I know they will anger or upset you. I’m trying to stop doing both.”
“Give up on that, we’re never going to be friends,” Taehyung scathingly whispers, watching the other carefully, needing to know, to learn, how far he can get with.
He knows Jungkook is eager for something amicable between them, but Taehyung refuses to truly give it.
That doesn’t mean he can’t pretend to sway that way if it means he can manipulate the curse into not killing his parents or his newest marital match.
Jungkook’s shoulders slump slightly, but he doesn’t look away from Taehyung. “You were becoming upset, and if I’ve personally learnt anything, reckless behaviour results in devasting mistakes when volatile emotions are involved. I didn’t appear to threaten your parents’ lives, I appeared because…because I didn’t want you to make a mistake.”
“This thing between us doesn’t make us each other’s allies, you haven’t earned the right to step in and try and calm me down.”
“But it worked, didn’t it?”
Taehyung hands pulsate hotly with aggression as he harshly shoves the other against the stone wall, crowding close, ignoring the uptick in Jungkook’s breathing, as he says, “does this look like I am calm?”
Jungkook’s eyes are blown wide, his cheeks flushed, as he shakes his head.
“No, but if it helps you redirect those volatile emotions onto me, then that will be better than you making a fatal mistake.”
“I refuse to use you, just as you used me,” Taehyung hisses, his heart galloping, as he realises something he’s been stupidly overlooking.
Jungkook doesn’t touch him, or try to push Taehyung from his space.
“You’re not using me, I vowed to help you, didn’t I?” Jungkook utters softly, and it’s only for a split second, but Taehyung sees it, hears it.
Jungkook isn’t just invested in this stupid vow between them, he’s…he’s invested in Taehyung.
Not Taehyung the human.
But him, Taehyung.
Taehyung’s heart ricochets madly against his ribs.
He notices the minute way Jungkook’s nose reacts to what is currently sprinting through Taehyung’s body, the downward pull of his lips, as he says, “you’re upset again.”
Taehyung shoves space between them fast, needing air, a new reality, as he turns his back to the curse and retraces their steps back to his home.
“Taehyung?” Jungkook worriedly calls after him, his approach silent but ever felt.
Taehyung doesn’t respond, his head too full of fast sprinting thoughts, fears, as he hurries back onto the street, uncaring for those that he bumps into in his rush.
He’s always been aware the other had a fascination for him, but merely put it down to it him being a human. Jungkook should’ve had that fascination fed plenty by being around so many humans, but the looks, the wording Jungkook uses with Taehyung…no longer points to just mere fascination of owning or playing with a human.
Taehyung doesn’t flinch as the front door hits off the wall as he rushes from the entranceway and towards the kitchen, trailing in watery boot prints across the once clean floor.
He startles the housekeeper from the counters as she kneads dough, her lips parted to either question his rush or to vocalise her surprise.
Taehyung turns his back to her, yanks open the kitchen drawer he needs, and withdraws what he wants.
He shoves up the coat sleeve of his left arm against his side before slicing the blade of the carving knife across the exposed flesh of his arm.
Blood sprays across the counter and the housekeeper’s scream echoes through the adrenaline rushing through him as Taehyung yanks the blade through his skin, unable to feel the pain, the burning rush of what feels like raw strength punching him hard as he sees the fatty layer of tissue through the pouring blood running down his arm and pooling on his boots.
The housekeeper’s scream cuts off, and then he feels hands roughly grab his shoulders, spinning him around.
The male he expected to see is not the one yanking the knife from his hand whilst the other yanks Taehyung’s arm up high in the air, now causing blood to drip down onto his face and coat.
Black, inky, eyes stare at him, but Jungkook’s features are entirely human-like as he snarls expletives just as the close sound of hurried feet rushes their way.
Taehyung grins through the unnatural rapid way his heart his hammering in his chest, the warmth hitting his cheek, and the second female scream to echo through the kitchen, as Jungkook keeps him within his tight hold as his second hand presses against the deep cut to stem the bleeding.
“Call for help,” Jungkook orders calmly, addressing whoever is present, in such a voice that Taehyung is unused to hearing from him.
Taehyung attempts to look beyond Jungkook, to see if it is his mother he’s just traumatised, but a wet, warm, grip to his chin keeps him in place, as does the inky black eyes fixed on him.
Taehyung feels the pain creep in his arm, the dizziness sinking in, as it feels like his pulse has become a siren in his ears.
“Arteries are hard to fix,” Taehyung declares as he continues to grin at Jungkook’s impassive face. “Pretty sure I hit one.”
Jungkook merely lets go of his chin, his hand coming away red with Taehyung’s blood, before he steps against Taehyung, an arm wrapping around him whilst the other maintains its hold with keeping Taehyung’s arm above his head.
The dizziness hits harder, making Taehyung sway into Jungkook’s firm hold, black spots flickering in front of him as his head hits the front of Jungkook’s collar.
He can’t hear clearly through the siren call of his pulse in his ears, but even as he fades into the black spots that grow larger and larger, engulfing him within them, Jungkook’s solidness never relents until the moment Taehyung loses grasp of consciousness.
But a lone, vindictive, thought joins Taehyung into the darkness.
‘I win.’
Staring up at the white ceiling, Taehyung’s body may be numbed from pain relief to mask the tightness and aches in his left arm, but his mind is racing clearly.
He didn’t win.
Well, he won in the manner that now his parents are dealing with the fallout of having a suicidal son (which they’re probably spinning to link with the trauma of feeling somewhat responsible for the heiress’s death), and the stain that it leaves on his status now of being ‘delicate’.
But, he lost greatly to the one outcome he needed most.
Turning his head to stare at the male sitting, watching him, from the chair that belongs from the kitchen, Jungkook’s inky black eyes remain unblinking the longer the silence continues.
Throat dry, but words determined, Taehyung breaks the standoff between them.
“Why aren’t we dead?”
Jungkook doesn’t flinch at the question, but his voice is no longer soft like it used to be whenever they spoke, but rough and disconcertingly articulate.
“You’re my anchor, you share the benefits of my realm.”
“In plain words, Silver Tongue,” Taehyung hisses, aggravated.
Jungkook points to Taehyung’s bandaged arm. “You indeed sliced through an artery, and if you were a regular human, you would’ve bled out before other humans would’ve arrived, but you’re no longer a regular human.”
Taehyung glances at the slight gap in his bedroom door, straining to hear for sounds of snooping ears, before he looks back into those black eyes as he says, “if you’re trying to allude that this connection we have saved me, then you are deranged.”
“Unlike the castle grounds, you are living, so the natural reset that happens will affect your mortality,” Jungkook states, losing some of that roughness in his voice, as his gaze flicks over Taehyung’s bedded form.
Taehyungs body may be numb, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to launch himself out of his bed to claw at the curse.
Jungkook effortlessly catches his slumped approach and eases him onto his pillows, once more, his touch gentle, just like his voice as he softly says, “you will no longer be vulnerable to diseases and sickness. Any injuries you sustain will heal come sunrise, just how the house, the castle, would reset itself.”
“You lied to me!” Taehyung snarls heatedly, staring up at the curse hovering over him.
“You never asked, so how did I lie?” Jungkook questions quietly, his brown eyes returning, as he moves to retake his seat. “You only ever asked how the change would affect me.”
Taehyung lets out a strained exhale, so tired, and his journey home hasn’t even truly begun. “The village is free; you don’t have to fear him anymore.”
“But fear you instead,” Jimin murmurs thinly, his gaze sorrowful. “Taehyung…do you truly have any idea what have you done?”
His throat is tight, his eyes stinging with held back tears, as Taehyung utters, “no, but I’m sure I’m going to find out the hard way.”
Jimin knew and never said a thing, just like the vulture sitting next to him.
Taehyung looks away from the creep, burning tears stinging his eyes, as he declares, “you swore to give me freedom from marital agreements, but you have taken it all for yourself.”
“I have not forced you into a marital agreement, you still have your freedom.”
Taehyung scoffs loudly at that, turning to glare at the male that has the fucking audacity to declare such a lie.
“‘Until death do us part’, it is a marital vow humans make to each other, one you have forced on me by being connected to you, and one that you will adhere to keeping because you control my freedom now.”
Jungkook shakes his head. “I don’t own you.”
“You have nothing left to hide, I know that you’re obsessed with me, you could’ve found another human to lure into being your new anchor but you haven’t because it is me you want, not the title ownership of owning a human,” Taehyung snaps quietly, too aware of how voices carry in silent hallways.
Jungkook leans forward, his voice quiet too as he declares, “I am fond of you, yes, but I am not obsessive. I give you space to live, Taehyung. I can’t control my design, I am a curse, I need to be connected to something to exist, but I still give you space despite that.”
Straining up onto his elbows as he leans too, Taehyung declares back, “prove it.”
Confusion blankets Jungkook’s features. “I don’t understand.”
“Prove that you’re not obsessed with me, Creep. Find another human to be connected to and leave me the fuck alone to live freely without you breathing down my neck.”
“I swore a vow, and until that vow has been-”
“I am good as disowned for my behaviour now, you don’t have to fucking abide by that vow of keeping me free from marital agreements!”
“You’re not free!” Jungkook hisses heatedly, crowding Taehyung until he drops back onto his pillows, gawping up at the curse as Jungkook continues. “Your parents have begun preparing you to be wedded this month. You won’t meet the female this time, they’re keeping you both separated, the arrangement is only known by yours and her parents.”
Taehyung’s heart thumps heavily against his ribs at that, at seeing, hearing the honesty. “T-they can’t, I’m damaged goods now.”
Jungkook eases back, sympathy overtaking his gaze, as he says, “you’re not damaged, Taehyung.”
Taehyung shakes his head. “No, you don’t understand the expression. They can’t wed me off, I have too many negatives against my name now, no self-respecting family will want to be tied to such.”
“Your parents have hidden your self-inflicted actions, it is why you are here, and not where most humans go to when they’re injured.”
Taehyung’s stomach drops from him at that, helplessly staring up at Jungkook, unable to hide the fragile vulnerability ripping open through him.
Jungkook hesitantly pats his shoulder, attempting to comfort him, but the action is so foreign between them that Taehyung can’t even process it.
“I don’t like the manner your parents insist on wedding you off, or the lack of care towards why you would harm yourself so, it makes it hard for me to fend off from feeding on their negative emotions that are directed to you,” Jungkook rushes out in a whisper, such raw honesty taking Taehyung aback because this is the first time Jungkook is being so open about his nature.
“You swore not to harm or kill them,” Taehyung reminds stiffly as Jungkook nods.
“I did, it’s why they’re still alive,” Jungkook mutters, looking at the door as his brown eyes sink back under the cover of inky blackness before those dark eyes look back at him, the brown reappearing again as he adds, “you can trust me, Taehyung.”
“I don’t want to pay the price of accepting your trust,” Taehyung utters, heart hiccupping in his chest as he considers it, the consequences of giving into Jungkook and letting him get what he’s been eager for. “I’ve paid enough, don’t you think?”
“You have so much fight in you, your parents are smothering you,” Jungkook whispers, and Taehyung’s throat tightens at the affection in the other’s voice as he continues to speak. “You could lead your life in the correct way without them dousing your fire.”
“You’re….You’re asking me to let you kill them, aren’t you?” Taehyung heaves out, watching every minute change of Jungkook’s expression.
Jungkook is watching him just as equally carefully. “You told me before that you would lose your sanity with their deaths on your shoulders, but you will lose your sanity by being forced into a life, a role, that you’ve been fighting so hard to escape from.”
“You’re asking me to let you murder my parents, Jungkook.”
“They’re murdering you, aren’t they?” Jungkook questions back softly. “They don’t see you as a son, anymore, just an extension of their name and business.”
“They’re still my parents!” Taehyung insists on this whispered, too close, too intimate, discussion. “I may not love them like I used to, but they’re still my parents, they-”
“Don’t love you anymore, Taehyung,” Jungkook gently speaks over him, quieting him. “If they did, they would be where I am, waiting for you to wake up, talking you through why you harmed yourself, but instead, they’ve left you here with me, a ‘friend’ they weren’t aware of you knowing. They’re not even home as they plan your wedding, a wedding you have no say in.”
“You’re just trying to worm your way into my head again now that I’m aware of your manipulative ways,” Taehyung declares, looking away from the other to stare at his bedroom door. “You refuse to prove to me that you’re not obsessed with me, and now you’re trying to convince me to let you break a vow.”
“What is the expression you humans favour saying…‘actions speak louder than words’, yes? In that case, your parents and mine speak clearly for each of us.”
Taehyung’s skin reacts to the other’s silent departure but he still looks to confirm it.
Chewing the inside of his dry lips, Taehyung returns to staring back at the white ceiling, his body still numb from pain relief that is obsolete now, and his mind still racing clearly.
No matter which direction he looks in, Taehyung is trapped.
Trapped in an enforced marriage to continue the family line.
Trapped in an immortal connection with a cursed entity.
Death cannot reprieve him from either, so what the fuck should he do?
Either way, he’s lost his freedom.
Now….now he has to choose which form of freedom he can live with.
The suit he is wearing is as constrictive as the air around him.
Looking down at the cuffs of his suit jacket sleeves, the crispness of the pressed material is so clear, he envies it.
If only his mind was crisply clean and straight.
“Posture,” his mother’s voice hisses reprimandingly from where she sits, causing his body to straighten automatically, as Taehyung looks from his sleeves to fall back onto the vacant space in front of him where the bride will soon be stood.
Taehyung has long past the point of wanting to vomit, he’s just in a state of overwhelming numbness as he awaits his fate.
True to Jungkook’s words, here Taehyung is, a few weeks later of trying to end his life to be unchained from a curse and controlling parents, waiting to swap more vows that will rid him of his freedom of choice who he loves.
He doesn’t even know his wife-to-be’s name. His parents had kept the entire thing from him until a few days ago, but Taehyung had made his choice long before they forced him to make one.
Jungkook hasn’t visited him since that morning, but Taehyung is too aware of the other now to know they’re still connected.
Taehyung dreads what the other will do today.
Because Taehyung knows, by the end of the day, he will be free of one vow, but still chained to another.
Once the music cues to alert the room of guests that are more business connections than actual friends, Taehyung’s stomach knots itself in building misery as he keeps his gaze affixed to the space in front of him.
He listens to the murmurs of his approaching wife and feels a tight grip wrap around from the back of his neck to his adam’s apple, choking him on the spot, as his body begins to respond to the approaching fate.
Even as his soon-to-be wife stands before him, he still can’t see her features, her veil heavily layered to prevent a peek from occurring.
His hands are shaking as he holds them out, waiting for her to lightly place hers within his shaky hold.
And once she does, her hands equally as shaky, Taehyung looks away from the veiled woman in front of him, meets the expectant gazes of his parents sitting in the front row as everyone settles in their seats as the music trails off.
Just before the last note of the music falls silent, Taehyung gently squeezes the woman’s hands.
And utters one name under his breath.
His mother gestures for him to look ahead, her and his father tensing more and more the longer Taehyung stares at them.
But, he isn’t looking at them.
He’s looking at the darkening shadows at the back of the room, going unnoticed by all, since their attention is on the bride and groom.
Taehyung looks away and lets go of the bride, igniting gasps and murmurs, as he announces, “I’m cursed.”
The murmurs quieten as he turns to face the room. “I’m cursed. You have until the shadows behind you reach the ceiling to leave the room before the entity comes collecting.”
A few scoffs, embarrassed coughs, and titters sound even as a few turn to look behind them.
His parents are red in the face with mortification and rage.
Taehyung looks to his veiled bride. “You are safe. It promised not to kill you after he killed my previous wife-to-be.”
Silence reigns at Taehyung’s blunt admittance.
But no one moves.
Looking back at the darkening walls that grow close to the high ceiling, Taehyung unearths the letter opener he had concealed in his inner suit jacket pocket, ignores the startled shouts, and goes to plunge the knife straight into his open palm.
The blade never reaches his skin as black ink coats his hand, absorbing the knife, taking it from his hand and sight.
Taehyung looks up as he brings his hand up to showcase to the room. “Cursed.”
Nothing happens.
Until the glistening blackness coating his hand shoots to the floor in front of Taehyung and begins to rise into a human-like form.
Chaos ignites in an instant as bodies ram into chairs and each other as everyone attempts to escape.
Taehyung sidesteps Jungkook’s veiled form, grabs the frozen woman he was supposed to marry and directs her quickly away from Jungkook and through the chaos until they reach the doors.
The train of her wedding dress gets swallowed up by a wall of shadows, trapping Taehyung in the room with screaming guests behind him.
Taehyung steels his spine for what is to come next, but gasps in shock as the same sensation that covered his hand covers across his eyes, blocking his vision.
“I vowed you’d never witness my cursed actions,” Jungkook’s voice whispers directly into his ear, before the screams are silenced as the same sensation blanketing over his eyes covers his ears.
Trapped, Taehyung feels for the wall behind him, feels the same slight wet, but not truly wet, sensation of Jungkook’s curse magic, and wills for time to hurry by.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
Jungkook never mentioned that he’d shield Taehyung from the massacre of his own creation.
Because, it is.
Taehyung made his choice.
He chose Jungkook’s form of freedom over his parents.
The only condition Taehyung vowed from the curse was to let the bride live – he clearly worded it, and ensured the curse didn’t use his silver tongue ways to find a way around it.
Taehyung used to be a filial son.
Now, he’s a son that assisted in the murder of his parents, and his family name.
He’s a curse now.
True to Jungkook’s promise, it’s fast. Taehyung isn’t allowed to see the devastation coating a once sacred place as Jungkook keeps his vision secured, but Taehyung can hear the dying chest rattles of those that failed to escape in time as they slip away.
Taehyung refuses to move though, despite Jungkook’s hands leading him.
“I need to see them,” he says thickly, hands shaking, once more.
Jungkook’s hold on his arms never falters. “You don’t.”
Taehyung shoves at the hands on him, but is unable to break the curse’s hold on him. “I already have the weight of their deaths on my shoulders, seeing it won’t be any different.”
Taehyung gasps as he loses feeling in his legs, the sensation of Jungkook’s magic rendering him helpless as he thrashes the best he can in the male’s grip.
But, Jungkook never once relents as he takes Taehyung from the scene of both of their crimes.
Jungkook doesn’t let him go, or return his vision, until Taehyung has exhausted himself through regret, grief, and shame.
Months, he learns, has passed in that time.
Months…of being encased in Jungkook’s darkness, never once feeling any deterioration over his health because of the immortality they both share.
Brown eyes stare back at him from where they stand surrounded by giant trees that only grow to be this height outside of the region that used to be Taehyung’s home.
A region he can never return to until enough time has passed, for his family name to become an echo of the past, of a story of a cursed son bringing onto his parents and those that got too close to him.
“So, you got what you wanted, got anything to say for yourself?” Taehyung snipes at the other, feeling out of touch with interacting with someone other than the dark voidness of his shouts and cries echoing back at him.
Jungkook shakes his head, but gestures for Taehyung to follow him on the journey the curse began for them.
And because this is the freedom he chose, Taehyung follows.
It’s a form of freedom he chose, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgiven the curse.
He still has one more thing up his sleeve, something that couldn’t be attempted in the home he’s abandoned.
Taehyung’s fieriness, his beauty, his sheer fucking stubbornness, are the human’s best and worst traits.
Snarling as the bitter sweep of nauseating jealously rushes through him, Jungkook manifests his veiled body in time to protect the human from the pure vampire that has him cornered outside the tavern inn they’re staying in.
Though, the scene isn’t as it seems, because Jungkook has been through this a number of times now to know Taehyung’s games well enough.
The pure vampire’s rage stampers off into fear once it catches sight of Jungkook, his fear luring Jungkook’s prey drive so easily that he just snaps the vampire’s neck clean off, shedding ash over his inky skin and Taehyung’s clothes as the rest of the vampire’s body disintegrates.
Instead of fear gripping the human, smugness does.
“If you were a second late, you’d have lost me for good,” Taehyung mocks cruelly, pushing away from the wall he had been ‘cornered’ against.
“Enough of these tiresome games, Taehyung. You cannot be free of me,” Jungkook snarls, shoving the human back against the wall.
Still, no fear manifests from the human.
It hasn’t for a number of years now.
It’s both a blessing and a curse.
A blessing to no longer have his instincts determined to devour the human he adores, a curse to have the human push and push Jungkook’s buttons until he gets the reaction he desires - Jungkook losing control and killing mindlessly, where Jungkook knows the humans prays that, one day, he’ll be caught up in it.
Taehyung is all too aware of Jungkook’s feelings, his need to keep Taehyung to himself.
And the human plays well with both now.
“I gave you the option of finding a new human to obsess over years ago, it’s your fault you failed to take it,” Taehyung snarls back, shoving against him, but Jungkook continues to pin him to the wall.
“And you should’ve listened to the warnings that were told you,” Jungkook retorts, grinning as he gets a rare glimpse of hatred he hasn’t seen in so long, as he mimics his actions from that night, so many years ago, as he touches the soft brown locks that had first entranced him.
“You should’ve listened, beautiful.”
Taehyung’s face contorts into a look so sinister that he gives all of the magical and mythical creatures Jungkook has encountered to shame.
“I’ll never be truly yours, Creep.”
Jungkook knows.
But he still won’t let the human go.
“And you’ll never be truly free, either.”
Taehyung sinister gaze never falters as he smiles at Jungkook, his hand raised to harshly slap against the side of Jungkook’s cheek.
“Until death do us part. I’ll find a way to kill us both.”
Jungkook smiles at the continued vow the human keeps making to him. “You’re a curse, Taehyung. You’re fast running out of options for which creature will come slay us.”
Taehyung scoffs at that, not phased.
The human no longer is about anything now.
“There is always something bigger and nastier than you, Silver Tongue. I just have to draw it out first,” Taehyung declares.
Jungkook looks down at the pile of ashes at their feet and raises an eyebrow at the human when he looks back up.
The aggravated hiss he gets as Taehyung slaps him across the face makes Jungkook laugh, letting the human have his space, watching as Taehyung heads for the tavern’s door and slams it shut behind him with a bang.
Jungkook follows him from within his mirrored realm, watching his human interact snappily with creatures that most would avoid as he takes a seat at the bar.
Taehyung still hasn’t forgiven him, but, they have decades to live together.
Jungkook has managed to become this close with the human, so anything is truly possible.
Brushing his fingers over locks of soft, brown, hair, smirking at himself at the way Taehyung’s body stiffens up despite not being able to physically feel such contact but has become so aware of Jungkook’s presence to notice the proximity anyway.
“Hands to yourself, Creep!” Jungkook sighs fondly as Taehyung snaps to empty space in the moving realm, but really he is snapping directly where Jungkook stands beside him.
His human truly is magnificent.
Even if his best traits drive Jungkook’s instincts insane and draw out a jealousy Jungkook has long become used to harbouring whenever someone, or thing, draws all of Taehyung’s attention.
Jungkook still regrets his initial behaviour of capturing Taehyung, but he doesn’t regret how it has allowed them to be together.
Jungkook has kept his vow for years now.
He has undone every trap that stands in his human’s way of keeping his freedom.
Including undoing Taehyung’s traps of trying to lure creatures into killing either himself, or Jungkook.
Taehyung no longer hungers for freedom now.
His human only hungers one thing, and one thing only.
Jungkook no longer existing.
Revenge is the only emotion that Taehyung seeps now.
And his human is crafty with obtaining it.
Watching Taehyung drink the alcohol that no longer affects him the way it used to, since the title ‘human’ is mostly that now considering their joint immortality, Jungkook can’t help but soften at how mesmerizing Taehyung is when he’s trying to cause an argument with strangers.
His softening mood is quick to shift as the troll hybrid dares to aggressively stand from his stool to tower over his still sitting human.
Ignoring the frustrated shout of his name as Jungkook removes said aggressor from his human’s space, watching as the hybrid oozes a puddle of guts and gore from where he now lies on the floor, he ignores the rising emotions of fear of his appearance, their reputation sinking into the other patrons’ skulls, as he turns to regard Taehyung’s glare.
“I wasn’t hunting, you’re not allowed to hold that and the vampire’s death against me when you are the one that caused my cursed actions from appearing.”
Taehyung ignores him, turns his back fully to Jungkook, and continues drinking his pint of beer.
Jungkook feels the weight of everyone’s gazes on him, and smiles wickedly at them.
“Touch or speak to the human, and I’ll trap you in a never-ending nightmare that will kill you before the dream can end.”
“I’m still waiting for this nightmare to kill me, so he isn’t as strong as he makes himself to be,” Taehyung, predictably, scoffs, and Jungkook has long gotten used to being mocked in front of an audience.
The reputation of a curse slaughtering all that encroaches on its property has been spread far and wide now.
Taehyung’s games, revenge, strengthens it.
Sitting beside his human, Jungkook grins at the frightened barkeep.
“A water, please.”