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05
Th-thanks!

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JISOO

January 5th

"I work alone. I always have and always will. I have someone that I really love and I really need to save. In any other case, I'd love to work with you to get rid of all this evil, but I'm selfish. I'm sorry."

I open my eyes after squeezing them shut, only to be met with my own reflection in the bathroom mirror. That little speech is what I wish I had said to V yesterday night.

I cringe at what happened instead of that.

__

"We can still be partners even if you want to get that wish or whatever." He looks off for a moment as if considering something. "Do you?"

I gulp before answering.

He's right--we're anonymous. I can tell him anything.

Something in the way he sincerely wants to give me a second chance even though I've been nothing but unpleasant to him makes my heart clench. Unlike others who I had to prove that I'm not completely awful to, he simply gives me the benefit of the doubt.

"I used to think that you were like, straight up evil, but after seeing you help the kitten I feel like you're actually kind of a good person, so why do you  act so rude?"

For example, Taehyung had to see me do something nice before he could even consider that I wasn't completely evil.

V, on the other hand, is staring at me hopefully. He wants to believe that I'm good.  No one has ever had this much faith in me--especially after I tell them I don't like them.

But as always, my mouth doesn't properly form the words and I'm left saying things I don't mean.

Again, human interaction isn't my favorite.

"A wish? Yeah right," I scoff, "Don't ever talk to me again."

WHAT AM I SAYING?

Too confused at my own words to face him further, I roughly shake his hands off my shoulders.

Without another glance, I leap away from him, dashing as fast as I can through the cold streets.

Although I'm burning in embarrassment, I can't help but still feel oddly happy at the fact that he tried to understand me.

I'm sure if he knew about the emotional and physical abuse I had endured from my parents as a child, he would know why I was so angry at the mother.

My cheeks are reddening quite a bit.

Must be the cold.

______

I woke up early today since I slept as soon as I got home. After last night's adventure, I texted Jungkook that I was too tired to visit him, and went home to practically flop on my bed. Saving the day really does drain energy.

It's about 6am, and school doesn't start till 7am.

I'm cutting some strawberries when someone whispers into my ear.

"Boo."

Yelping back in shock, I almost cut my finger off with the knife. I turn to find the broad shouldered man I forgot to summon last night before I went to sleep.

"Oh it's just you, Jin."

"Just me? Excuse you! I'm the most beautiful being to bless this planet." He places a hand on his chest in mock hurt, and I roll my eyes.

"What is it?" I return to chopping my strawberries.

"Cleansing the leaves, duh. I can't believe you fell asleep transformed. I had to do some weird shenanigans to get out of that bracelet. Then, I had to store the leaves somewhere safe. Do you know how tiring that is?"

I sigh apologetically, "Sorry, I was really tired." And confused about the weird feelings I felt when I was with V, but I wouldn't say that aloud.

"It's whatever, but you should go ahead and cleanse it now. You might get a little tired but I don't want to put it off any longer--that could be dangerous."

I nod, popping a strawberry in my mouth as the two of us make our way to the living room couch to sit down.

Jin grabs my wrist and places his hand over the bracelet.

With a flicker of light, two black leaves suddenly appear in the palm of his hand.

"How did you do that?" I gasp.

"It's something only I can do. Just guardian things." He makes a peace sign and duck face. "Anyways, ideally you'd cleanse the leaf right after extracting it, but you might have to wait until you're stronger to be able to do that. For now, I'll help you out," he continues.

Jin hands me the leaves and I take them tenderly.

Although they looked frail like the dead leaves in the fall, they don't break even if you shoot them with a bullet, hence the name Bangtan Leaves.

"I just... kiss it?" I ask awkwardly after staring at the leaves.

Jin sighs, "Yes, and remember to wish for it to be cleansed--genuinely!" I start doubting myself and Jin notices, "Don't worry, you are a chosen holder for a reason."

With a shaky nod, I lower my lips to one of the leaves, and press them onto the dry surface.

Please become untainted.

I feel energy being zapped from my body into the leaf. From the corner of my eyes, my bracelet glows a light purple.

Like food coloring being diffused into water, orange and red colors start tinting the previously black leaf. Eventually, the leaf is full of bright colors.

"Wow," I whisper, surprisingly breathless. I'm panting because of how drained I feel.

"Yeah, it's pretty isn't it?" Jin admires the leaf with me for a moment, "Alright, next one!"

I kiss the next one less hesitantly, and feel a zapping sensation happen again. This time, I feel even more drained. It's hard to keep my eyes open.

Still, I left them open just enough to see the array of colors fill the leaf again.

"Did I do it?"

"Yes yes, you did. Good job! You got it on your first try! Some people take a lot of tries until they get it. You're a really genuine wisher, Jisoo."

I beam at his praise, although I felt my eyelids getting heavier while trying to catch my breath.

"You might want to take a day off of school, actually. You could faint at this point. People don't always cleanse the entire leaf in one kiss." Jin takes the leaves from my hand.

"What?" My head almost falls back out of sleepiness.

"Nevermind, you should definitely stay home today."

"No! I can't do that." Mustering what's left of my strength, I stand up with a wobble, and make my way to my bedroom to get ready for school.

Jin is sighing in the back, since he knows that he can't convince me to stay home.

But there's no reason to be concerned; I'm sure I'll shake off the fatigue later today. And even if I can't, what could possibly go wrong?

___

Everyone is a blur.

We're in the last class of the day, and I've been holding up pretty well. I hope I can make it to visit Jungkook, since I feel bad for cancelling last night.

I don't know how well I can do that because when the teacher dismisses the class, the world seems to be spinning around me.

Somehow, I manage to get up, but the world spins even faster.

I don't know how long I'm standing there trying to balance myself when a deep voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Jisoo, you okay? You looked off in class today."

It's Taehyung. What does that annoying guy want?

I turn to face him, wobbling in the process. "Yeah, I'm good."

I grab my backpack and try to push past him, but halt when a cold hand is felt against my forehead.

"You're hot."

I eye him skeptically.

"Wait--I mean, you're feeling warm, like temperature wise." He darts his eyes around everywhere other than me, "Not that you aren't hot in the other way either! Well, it's not like I think you're hot, but like, you're not unattractive! Anyways, what I meant was that you're hot as in your body... is hot."

His face pales while I try to fight laughter by flaring my nostrils.

"NO! Your body isn't hot! Well it is, just not in my opinion, but what I was trying to say is that your body temperature is hot. Not your body." Taehyung looks as red as a tomato now. "Yeah." He ends it with that.

Finally, he makes eye contact with me again and I can't hold it back anymore.

I burst into a fit of light laughter.  At first he seems alarmed, but ends up joining in with his own giggles.

The world is still spinning, so I hold on to the desk for support.

Geez, laughing took a lot of breath. When I'm done laughing, I'm hovered over the desk and trying to catch my breath.

Taehyung looks concerned.

"Okay, you're definitely sick."

I almost forgot who I'm talking to—Kim Taehyung. Maybe my fatigue is making my decisions irrational.  I have to keep my distance.

"I'm fine."

Shrugging his hand off, I push past him successfully this time.

I don't make it very far.

If my world was spinning before, I'm now in astral projection because the floor becomes the sky and the sky becomes the floor.

I fall onto the floor with a thud and a sharp sensation is felt on my head.

"Jisoo!"

The last thing I see is Taehyung hovering over me with a worried expression. Then, everything starts fading into black.

TAEHYUNG

What does one do when someone faints?

I'm staring at Jisoo in worry when the teacher comes into the classroom along with Jimin, my best friend.

"Heyo! Are you coming over tonight—" Jimin notices the body lying on the floor, "Woah, what happened?"

The teacher makes her way over and gasps, crouching down to examine Jisoo. "What happened?" she echoes.

"Uh, I don't know, she wasn't leaving class so I came to check on her and she looked really nauseous. Next thing I know she's on the ground," I explain.

"This is one of the days that it would be good to have her real address." The teacher sighs, while Jimin and I perk our heads up in curiosity.

"You don't have her real address?" Jimin asks.

"We have her old address, one from ten years ago. Since her legal guardian lives overseas, they haven't gotten a chance to fill out the form yet. I would take her home, but I have no idea where she lives."

So her parents live overseas? That's similar to the situation I'm in. I practically live alone like she does.

Never thought it'd be for the same reason.

"I can take her home!" I chirp without thinking.

Both of them give me a questioning look.

"Project. I went to her apartment for a project."

"Ah, that's right, you two are partners. That's great Taehyung! I would help you guys out but I have a meeting anyways. Take care and get home safely!" The teacher waves as she leaves class.

"Dude, why would you voluntarily hang out with her? She's gonna kill you for touching her."

I frown, "When did I ever touch her?"

Jimin laughs while rolling his eyes, "How else are you going to get her home? With telekinesis?"

I have to physically clench my butt to prevent myself from laughing at that. Technically I could, but I haven't practiced my powers much so I don't want to risk hurting her.

"I'm sure it'll be alright."

"Yeah yeah, I hope you don't get killed. Jisoo avoids people like how I avoided my parents when I failed chemistry."

I laugh at his analogy, "She's just shy."

Jimin chuckles, "Are you gonna like... piggy back her or something?"

I stare at Jisoo's sprawled out body. "I'm gonna try."

I grab her arms and try to pull her into a sitting position so I can turn around and get her on my back, but when I let go momentarily, she ends up flopping back to the ground.

Jimin senses my struggle and helps me maneuver her so her arms fall beside my neck. I stand up, reaching for her thighs and making sure she doesn't fall.  Her weight shifts before comfortably settling in on my back.

The three of us make our way out of the classroom.

"You two look like a couple," Jimin comments as we're walking.

My face heats up at the thought, "No we don't."

"Well, it certainly doesn't seem that way to the girls over there at the tree."

I look over and sure enough, a group of girls are pointing and whispering at me. I recognize one of them as a girl who confessed to me a year ago, though I rejected her.

"I hope they don't spread rumors," I say.

___

Jimin left me halfway through the walk, so the rest of my journey to her house was only filled with my light panting as I carried her through the streets.

Luckily, her apartment is on the first floor, so I didn't have to climb any stairs.

It's astonishing and slightly scary how knocked out she is.

A few times during the walk, I'd hear her mumble stuff like, "Where'd you go, lil' Dude?" or "Jungkook stop playing video games."

I found myself smiling at her raspy voice since it was kinda cute.

Wait... in what world did I ever find her cute?

Shaking my head to rid of those previous thoughts, I now arrive at her door, and realize that I have to wake her up. I wiggle around a bit, making her hum softly.

"Jisoo, wake up. You're home."

"Eh?"

She flutters her eyes open, and since my head is turned around we lock eyes for a moment.

I've never seen her so up close before. She just woke up; her eyes are glossy and her face is a bit puffy. She looks innocent and confused.

It's adorable

--until she screams and tries to punch me.

"You! What are you doing?" After jumping out of my grasp, she points an accusing finger at me.

"Nothing! Calm down--"

"Are you trying to kidnap me?"

I laugh incredulously, "You think I would've brought you to your own apartment if I was trying to do that?"

She scans her surroundings and relaxes, letting out a soft, "Oh."

I chuckle at her weirdness. "You passed out. The school doesn't know where you live so I offered to bring you here."

"Oh... okay."

"Are you good now? You looked sick."

"Yeah I'm okay," she says, and I hum in acknowledgement.

I sense she doesn't know what to do next as she awkwardly makes her way to the door and creaks it open.

"Well... bye then."

She hurries to close the door. I stop the door with my hand and give her a teasing look.

"Seriously? 'Bye then'? I carried you all the way from school to here and that's it?" I say mockingly.

Her eyes widen and she looks at the ground, hesitating on what to say next.

"Well, you didn't have to do that..."

Jisoo looks so shy. It's intriguing to see a normally stoic girl so bashful.

"I know, but I'm just that nice. I even had to cancel hanging out with Jimin to help you." That's partially the truth.

She tenses up, "Really?"

"Mhm." I'm enjoying this way too much. "How about I get a simple 'thank you'?"

Jisoo bites her lips and finally gathers the courage to look at me. I wiggle my eyebrows in anticipation.

"I guess I... uh..."

"You...?"

She averts her gaze from me again, and maybe it's because of her fever but I swear her cheeks get redder.

"Th-thanks!"

With that, she slams her door closed before I can even get the chance to say you're welcome.

I'm left staring at the door while trying to fight laughter.

Is this how she felt when I was rambling about how hot she was earlier?

Remembering that moment made me grin. I like her laugh.

I want to make her laugh.

Author's Note:

This has been my FAVORITE chapter to write so far! I hope you enjoyed.  Next up we have... some Jungkook scenes!  It's been a while, hehehe.

What do you guys think of the characters/development? It's a slowburn but I don't want it to be toooo slow. I'd LOVE your opinions!

Thank you for reading as always and do leave a vote/comment if you enjoy! :)

<3 lalalalala7fire