3. Stardust
✧✧✧
The forest at night was a frightening place. The thick black darkness of the woods swallowed Jungkook the moment he stepped into the treeline, his way lit only by faint moonlight and his acute knowledge of these trees. Reality seemed wild and distorted, somehow - brought to life by his imagination.
Spindly branches reached out to snag on his hair and clothes as he ambled forward, hands reached out slightly in front of him. An owl hooted in the distance, solemn and cold.
Jungkook didn't have any idea where he was going in the slightest, only that this was the direction the light had fallen and he needed to figure out what it was.
The ground was uneven and precarious under Jungkook's feet, and idly he wondered why in the hell hadn't he at least grabbed a lantern before he'd left?
No use now, he thought. His mind was filled with a baffling sense of urgency, though he couldn't quite explain why.
The race forward continued. Eventually, Jungkook realized that he'd overshot the distance by quite a ways. When the light had landed it had looked to be only about a mile away, but he'd definitely come a mile by now and there was absolutely nothing to suggest the presence of any unworldly occurrences. Maybe he'd already passed it? But no; he knew he hadn't, he would have felt something.... right?
Jungkook slowed to a cautious walk, and swallowed. The cool air brought goosebumps to his skin, and he rubbed his bare arms. All around, night creatures screamed at each other, their calls ricocheting off the trees and ground. Jungkook's eyes darted around nervously, scanning the area for signs of anything unusual.
Suddenly, he realized that he could see. His eyes widened.
In his haste, he'd failed to register that the air had become infused with a very faint, pulsing light. How he hadn't noticed it before seemed absurd, now he recalled how black the forest had been when he first entered it.
The light, his mind supplied him, probing him forwards. This sudden illumination must have been part of that glow he'd seen above the trees after it had landed, which meant he was close.
The world didn't seem so cruel anymore; not with the steadily-increasing glow lighting Jungkook's way. It softened hard corners and seemed to repel shadow, creating a new path of luminescent beauty. Jungkook found his nervousness slipping away little by little, replaced with a disquieting sense of calm. His anxious gaze stopped jumping around and instead looked straight forward, intent on discovering the source of this serene light.
The air turned subtly blue as Jungkook neared his destination. It still pulsed softly, and seemed to be spilling from a large dip in the ground a few paces ahead of him. The hole must have been created when the light landed, because it certainly hadn't been there beforehand. He was pretty certain he would remember a hole the size of a small pond in the forest floor.
The night air was quiet as Jungkook crept forward with soft steps. He reached out to grab hold of a tree trunk, and guardedly peeked down into the crater.
His breathing stopped.
In the bottom, exact center of the wide hole lay not a stone or an animal or a meteorite, but a boy; seemingly asleep. A human being.
Jungkook's mouth gaped open, his mind grasping for an explanation.
Glowing people don't just casually fall from the stars.
It was clear now, too, that the glow was also coming from this boy. He was lying on his side, and his form was outlined with the same pale shade of blue as Jungkook had earlier witnessed in the sky.
He stood still for a few more moments, shocked into silence.
Although he was extremely baffled, he couldn't exactly just leave him there - wolves and coyotes, although rare, did roam these woods.
No, Jungkook would have to bring him back; and if he didn't wake up, that would mean carrying him back all the way he'd come.
He stood even more, still thinking.
Eventually, with his thoughts weighing heavily in his head, Jungkook began climbing his way down.
The crater wasn't steep at all, but very wide and well-lit, and when Jungkook looked up he immediately saw why. A hole the exact size of the crater in the ground was cut out of the tree canopy, allowing the moonlight to shine through freely.
Jungkook's mind was already far too full to allow for him to dwell upon this, however, and he cast his wide-eyed gaze back down to see he was approaching where the boy lay.
His eyes roamed over the back of the sleeping figure, trying to gain any sort of information possible. He looked to be about the same size as Jungkook, and was wearing some sort of odd knitted vest over a long-sleeve white shirt. Jungkook walked around him in a slow circle, then leaned over.
When he saw the boy's face, his breath caught in his throat.
He was impossibly pretty.
Silver hair framed a thin-boned face with delicate features. His skin was flawless and pale, like the ebony trinkets traders sometimes sold in the marketplace. His mouth was slightly open as he breathed in and out, chest rising and falling with identical movements. He had a type of ethereal beauty the likes of which Jungkook had never seen before, and it made his chest jump strangely.
Jungkook swallowed. He reached out a hand to place it tentatively on the boy's shoulder, a meek attempt at waking him up.
"Um... hello?" he said, and his voice sounded foreign to his own ears.
The silver boy didn't stir.
Jungkook moved his touch down to the boy's chest, where a sparkle had caught his eye.
A short silver chain was strung round his neck, and on it hung a tiny glass bottle. It was decorated with dainty silver stars, and when Jungkook picked it up to bring it closer to his face, he saw what seemed to be a glowing silvery dust inside.
He frowned, then tucked the necklace back inside the boy's vest.
Jungkook stood up, considering his options. It seemed the boy wasn't going to wake up, so he'd have to carry him. Although he looked very light, it was still a long ways to carry an entire person.
He looked around once, then squatted down and slid his arms under the boy's legs and back, straining to stand back up once he'd gotten a good hold. The boy's soft silver hair tickled his neck as Jungkook shifted him carefully in his arms, and suddenly Jungkook was hit with the realization of what was happening.
Here he was, standing in the heart of the woods in the middle of the night, carrying around a stunningly beautiful, unconscious boy. Oh, and also - said boy had plummeted from the sky in a streak of blue light, and was now glowing.
Great.
For a second, Jungkook's vision darkened worryingly, but he was quickly brought back to the present when the boy moved against his chest. Jungkook looked down.
The boy's long silver eyelashes brushed against his cheeks as his eyes scrunched up, jaw clenching simultaneously in some unknown dream struggle.
Already, Jungkook could feel his muscles beginning to protest against the strain of holding an entire person, and it was this that made him tear his gaze away from the silver boy and focus once more on the task at hand: getting home.
For a final time, Jungkook glanced around. He took in the crater, the hole in the tree canopy, the glow still illuminating the area. Then, he cradled his discovery to his chest protectively before turning around and laboriously beginning the walk back.
-------------------------
Kook carried Tae for like two miles in a dark forest ya'll we love a dedicated boyfriend.
- Kiki <3
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top