➼ taehyung x jungkook
➼ BTS
➼ P/M

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The sun was not out on the horizon yet, alluring wandering stars illuminated the sky with their majestic glint. Underneath it all, a boy admired one of many morbid flowers as he caressed it while crouching down before it; weak glimmers of the glow encircled his hand.

But to his dismay, the glow began to flicker and soon waned; fading away into thin air and once again hailing the dark all around him. With dull eyes, he watched the flower wither before his eyes as he could do nothing.

He sighed softly, feeling disappointed in himself, feeling disheartened about not being able to recoup the esprit of the flower.

A sudden gust of wind blew away the withered petals of the flower and the boy watched them getting dispersed alongside the healthy ones, the ones who stood a chance in this brutal world.

He got up, walked over to a grassy area and laid back down, looking over at the night sky with a despaired gaze; wishing for a change to occur in his entire nineteen years of barren life.

» » »

"M-Mommy?" a five-year-old boy hesitantly called out, hiding himself behind a wall as he peeked into the kitchen where his mother continued washing the dishes. But she ignored him.

"Mommy?" the boy tried again with a slight frown on his face.

"What!" she snapped, side glancing at him as she momentarily ceased her chore. The little boy saw the look on his mother's face and began to reconsider the purpose of why he came down to meet her. "What is it? I haven't got all day for your mindless chatter! Say it already!" she urged, scowling at him.

"H-Hyung stole my toy and is not g-giving it back," he answered, mindlessly tracing the cracks in the wall as he kept his gaze fixed on the woman who looked back at him but with contempt.

"Junghyun!" she shouted, calling for Jungkook's older brother. Within seconds, he came down the stairs with a puzzled look.

"Did you take it? His toy?" the woman asked nonchalantly, motioning to the youngest who cautiously glanced at his brother.

"I didn't take it! I mean, I was... eventually going to give it back..." he mumbled as he glared at the boy, already scheming revenge in his notorious mind.

"Give it back and don't bother him because he keeps disturbing me. And you're not allowed to play outdoors for the rest of the day," she stated, irked and returned to doing the dishes.

That day, the boy got his toy back but it came at an expense. He got a scar on his cheek as a reminder of it. The way his family behaved with a five-year-old was downright crazy, but they were his family so they knew the limit.

Others didn't.

"Kick him!" a boy shouted orders to his friends as they all surrounded him. One boy didn't hesitate to do so as he kicked Jungkook right on his side, making the boy fall to the ground, hard.

"You're a creep! My mother says that when you'll grow up, you'll curse the whole village!" one shouted and then proceeded to kick the poor boy who was curled up on the ground, protecting himself from all the hits he received but to no avail.

The group of youngsters, who were all old enough to discern good from the bad —after being satisfied with the beating that Jungkook got— rushed back to their respective houses, leaving him all bruised and hurt at the edge of the village.

The boy hiccuped, tears streaming down his troubled face as he, with much effort, got to his feet and hobbled all the way to his house; people not minding his injuries as they all busied themselves in their work, only glancing up to seize the condition of him.

But at home too, with a little bit of mending to his wounds, he was sent back to his room which was about the size of a hutch, but for humans. For him.

« « «

The boy was roused by the blinding light that poured down on his face mercilessly. He slowly opened his eyes and lazily glanced around, befuddled and found himself lying on the turf somewhere in the woods, probably where he passed out from weariness the day before.

He realised the day coming about as the sun rose in the distance, making the darkness perish. The birds began to chirp, welcoming the day and whisking around while fluttering their coloured wings.

But instead of arising, he simply watched the leaves of the trees up above him being rustled by the soft breeze. He wanted to just stay there and spend his day watching how the squirrels chased each other around, how the birds relaxed on the narrow branches to sing their harmonious tunes in a choir.

But he had to go back, for he was hungry or rather, starving as he hadn't had a single grain of food passed down to his stomach since yesterday.

With a grunt, he got up; yawning the sleep out of his eyes as he stretched, now fully awake.

He brushed his hands and clothes, shaking off the dirt on them and ambled in the direction of his village while humming a gentle tune. But he certainly was not so fond of the vicious glares that he would receive from the locals or his family once he would stride back into the village.

All around, the blossoms bloomed in colours of all kinds, the trees towering overhead cast a shadow down below. Jungkook breathed in the fresh air mixed with the whiff of sweetly scented flowers for the last time before he made his way out of the woods.

𓆩♡𓆪

"Look at him, the audacity to leave his house is outrageous!" a woman jeered, eyeing the young man who walked past her with his eyes downcast. He was used to this kind of treatment by the people, the never-ceasing hatred towards him for daring to breathe the same air as them.

"They should have killed him when they had the chance," another woman, who stood beside her husband scorned with a grimace as she proceeded to dump the filthy water out of a bucket and right into the boy's path. Her husband only glared at him as he continued splitting the logs of trees with his axe, grunting with every move.

The young man felt miserable, what was so wrong with him that made him the centre of all this abhorrence? The answer was that he was different, different from the people who hate him for possessing miraculous powers that could heal the broken or give a second chance to the ones who have lost the fight.

But what aggrieved him the most was the knowledge that his powers were dwindling, dying out but he was clueless about the reason why it was happening, maybe because he deserved it? Maybe his powers too, choose to abandon him like every other person in his life.

Silently, he walked inside his house and up the stairs to his room, which hasn't changed since his childhood. There was only so much space to fit in a bed and a small mirror hanging behind the door and that was it. No photos, no extra furniture, no nothing.

In a matter of time, he took a quick shower and got changed into some fresh clothes that he took out from his crate that was kept under his bed. He fixed his hair with the help of the mirror only to ruffle them afterwards; his eyes sparkled by the sun rays that dripped in through the window that was on the adjacent wall to his sleeping spot.

One eye was the colour of chocolate brown, while the other one was dark violet. How much he tried to hide the truth about his power, his eyes always gave him away. That's why he loathed them with every bit of his heart. "Why me?" he scoffed, agitated and stormed out of his room and down the stairs.

He was well aware that nobody was home, his brother had gone with his father to deliver some goods to a nearby village and won't be back until after a couple of days. And his mother, well, she must be hanging around in some bar, drinking her life away while babbling with her friends about how much she hates the boy, or how she must've done a bad omen in her previous life.

"So much for a good life," Jungkook sighed heavily and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a few loafs of bread sprinkled with nuts and gobbling them down since he was eager to go back to his remote place; the woods, where no one could confront him. Away from all the toxic buzz and chatter of the locals.

𓆩♡𓆪

It was a pleasant day to be out with the clouds gliding above, harbouring the sun behind them from time to time. Jungkook hadn't had a particular destination in his mind, he just loved to roam around, finding new places to spend his tedious days or to take a nap or two under the shade.

Suddenly, while adoring a butterfly that glid past him, he noticed that the sun was no longer out. Curious, he looked above and saw the clouds getting darker and darker as the wind picked up its pace. It was not natural, he thought. At least not for the summertime, to say the least.

"Bloody hell, that does not look good," he blurted in panic. His doe eyes widened at the abrupt change in the weather. He needed to get back home before it gets worse. And so, he hastily turned on his heels to run but comprehended that he was quite far away from his village, almost too far to reach back in time before the catastrophe struck.

The aura surrounding him became dusky as he made an effort to adjust his eyes to the upheaval, but the boy suddenly saw a series of flashes going on in the sky before there was a loud clap of thunder which made him recoil back in fear.

The boy swore loudly, both of his hands pressed against his ears as he took a few hurried steps back to lurk behind the clump of trees for the rumble to subside. His heart was beating loudly, louder than the rumble because he was scared. He despised this feeling but it was, unfortunately, inevitable for him.

The ground rumbled again just as the sky did, making the boy tremble all over. He gulped, looking in all directions to determine the best approach but found none, everything looked the same, there was no way for him to discern the path to his home. Which further concludes that he was lost.

The realization hits him hard as he began to breathe in short quick breaths, resulting in lightheadedness that furthermore induced nausea. He crouched down, on the brink of collapse as the leaves rustled violently all around.

"Do you require some help?" the voice inquired, shouting above the noise of the gale as he approached the boy. Jungkook was having a hard time controlling his emotions, his head was a mess so he dismissed the unknown presence who seemed worried about him.

"I think it'll rain hard so must hurry to find some cover," he yelled. "Or I could have you stay at my house, for the time being. It's not far away," the stranger offered. Still, on edge, Jungkook opened his eyes but kept them downcast, the storm ruffling his raven hair.

"Can I?" Jungkook implored with a yell and the stranger gave him a nod, smiling politely as he offered his hand to the boy who was crouched down on the ground.

Jungkook gladly took it and rose to his feet, his legs shaking terribly as the stranger walked him towards his cabriolet which was driven by a single horse. The stranger helped the boy climb the cabriolet and then jumped beside him as he then took control of the rein, snapping it in a way that conveyed his proficiency in steering this carriage.

The horse neighed gracefully, kicking his front legs and then took off at a surprising speed. Jungkook had his eyes squeezed shut all the time as the horse trotted, seeming to know where to turn as if it had the paths memorized.

In between, the rain began to cascade down heavily, leaving the boys wholly drenched. Sometime after, Jungkook felt the carriage slackening which then came to a full impasse right beside a beautiful looking cottage. The horse walked over to and under a shade made up of timber.

"We've arrived," the stranger told and hopped down, helping the frightened boy to descend too as he then helped him inside the house.

𓆩♡𓆪

The stranger made Jungkook sit on an armchair with bright floral patterns on it, right beside the hearth which crackled with a warm blaze that dimly lit the room and then made himself comfortable as he sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor right in front of the blaze, "The weather was rather alarming. Glad I saw you when I did. I'm Taehyung, Kim Taehyung."

Jungkook had relatively calmed down, his hands now clasped together tightly on his thighs, for he was still slightly shaken up. He averted his gaze as he spoke, "T-Thank you, really. I'm Jeon Jungkook. I, um, lost my way in the woods somehow..."

Taehyung nodded, scrutinizing the male who squirmed ever so slightly under his gaze, "You're a mender," he announced and Jungkook widened his eyes. "I could tell by the colour of your eye, dark violet, is it?" Taehyung asked in a casual tone, no snide detectable in his soft voice.

Still surprised by this pleasantly surprising treatment, Jungkook nodded slowly.

Suddenly, light footsteps descended the stairs from across the room, "Oppa!" a little girl exclaimed, beaming as she rushed over to hug the male. Taehyung, who returned the smile got to his feet, droplets of water dripping down from his clothes, damping the carpet down below.

The little girl halted just before concealing the boy in a hug, "Oh no, you're clothes are all soaked! You need to change first," she referred with a pout.

Taehyung chuckled, "Will do, madame. But first, I'd like you to introduce yourself to this gentleman," he told, gesturing towards the boy who awkwardly glanced around. It took her a few seconds to interpret what her older brother meant as she suddenly gasped.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, mister. I'm Heeyoung! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she bowed politely. But when she saw the boy's eyes, her own eyes widened in recognition. She whisked her head to stare at her older brother who nodded silently.

"Now, Heeyoung, would you mind if I could talk with our beloved guest? In solitary?" Taehyung entreated and the girl immediately okayed as she ran off upstairs, leaving the two boys alone.

"Now that was my younger sister," the male said, smiling affectionately. "We've got quite a huge age rift, she's only eight and I'm twenty-three. But I adore her more than anything in this world," Taehyung enlighten the boy as he made himself a drink and settled on the other armchair —opposite Jungkook's— not heeding to the fabric of it getting damp.

Jungkook finally lifted his gaze, for the first time having the chance to grasp his saviour's appearance. The person was wearing a vest coat, russet in colour beneath which he wore a white buttoned-up shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up, flexing his toned arms. And some slacks; the complete opposite to what Jungkook wore, which was a simple white tee shirt and a pair of reach-me-downs.

Jungkoom gulped, "Oh, I see."

The room was quiet again, except for the crackling of the fire and the heavy raindrops pounding on the roof. Taehyung took a sip out of the tumbler and placed it on the side table; pushing back his drenched honey-blond hair out of his enchanting face.

"I hope you don't mind spending the night here because that storm out there is not going to subside anytime soon," the male told, walking over to look out the casement. The sky rumbled loudly, making Jungkook recoil away from his armchair as the casement was right behind it.

"Don't worry, you're quite alright in here."

The male then sauntered across the floor, "Follow me if you may, I'll grab some clothing for you or you'll catch a fever. The same goes for me," he muttered under his breath and motioned Jungkook to follow him up the stairs.

The entire house was beautifully decorated with vintage portraits of unknown nobles nailed on the walls, scones illuminating the dark corridor as Taehyung went further down and past her sister's bedroom to the end of the corridor, Jungkook following closely.

"Being a mender must be quite wonderful," Taehyung mumbled, "having the power to bring back the dead to life; I find it rather fascinating," he adored the boy's ability as the door to his room creaked open and he led the boy inside.

Needless to say, the room happened to be comparable just to the rest of the house; a full-sized bed in the middle whose mattress looked downier than Jungkook had ever seen. A door to their right opened onto a balcony, the view would have been much more delightful if not for the storm.

"Any preferences?" Taehyung asked, waiting for the boy to reply as he rummaged through his enormous wardrobe. Jungkook told him that anything would be fine because the boy had never even had a prospect to look at something fancier than the bottle of liquor his mother once bought.

"So tell me, how many lives have you recouped from the dead? 4? 20? Oh, 50?" the male prayed, grabbing a black shirt and a pair of pants out of the wardrobe to lay them on the bed.

The boy stood silent, not knowing the correct way to answer his question. Taehyung raised one eyebrow, walking up to him as the boy miserably stared at the wooden floor. "My apologies if I was being rude, I'm just honoured to meet someone like you, a mender. It's rare to meet one," the male said lowly.

Jungkook shook his head, "No need to apologise, sir, you weren't being rude," he said and looked up, "to answer your question, none."

Taehyung eyed the boy with narrow eyes as he went over and sat at the edge of his bed, the mattress sinking in, "So, you weren't fortunate enough to stumble upon the hurt, I reckon?" he inquired.

The boy shook his head, "No, I did. Many times, but... my powers don't act. It's like they're fading out," he explained with a remorseful look. Taehyung scratched his chin thoughtfully before he elegantly rose to his feet and walked over to him, the boy looked up to see Taehyung staring at him blank-faced.

"Or maybe you don't have enough knowledge to know how to wield them."

Jungkook furrowed his brows, now intrigued to know what the male was going at with his statement. "What do you mean, wield them? I've strived to achieve that numerous times but always—"

"But you still lack the basic knowledge of it," Taehyung cut him off, "a mender or a wizard, it's not the question here. Everyone needs to comprehend the basics or you can't even mend a fly," he spat nonchalantly, staring down at the boy.

"I-I think that might be true but the issue still stands, I don't know what to do about my powers," Jungkook said, unnerved.

Taehyung looked thoughtfully at the boy before saying, "I'll help you," he smiled.

They both stared at each other, one with a fascination for the other who knew too much; the other with a passion to enlighten the visitor who was presumed to possess miraculous powers.

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To be continued, my friends. But like, there's a huge-ass 'stranger danger alert' in this oneshot so be careful and don't try this, lmao (ik you won't, I have faith in y'all)

Votes and comments are very much appreciated! Thank you for reading<333