For the past one day, Hoseok has been walking through the mystical land of the fox spirits. He's been traveling across the limited and seemingly more busy region of the land, discovered by him, in circles, hence reaching the place where his journey began, the lush fields.

The Gumiho land was shrouded in mystery, with towering ancient trees and misty valleys. It was a land that was thoroughly masked by their wizardry, far from the predatory humans.

To Hoseok it was a land that he never thought he would trespass someday, yet here he was, about to pass out on the land of this magical world. He licked his dried lips, to cope with his dehydration after he placed his tired trance on the green carpet beneath him. An exhausted sigh escaped from his mouth, indicating his unsuccessful ventures of finding Y/n.

The sun was gradually slipping below the horizon. The flickering lights decorating various shops in the cobblestone street, made it appear more colourful in the slowly approaching night.

They have progressed, just like humans.

He thought, as his eyes traced the sight in front of him. A few moments later, his stomach growled in hunger, his hamstrings stretched from the constant walking and his mind stirred in a jumble of anxiousness and fear.

Only if things hadn't gone downhill between humans and Gumihos, Y/n would've been safe, I just hope she's fine until I track her.

A long sigh escaped from his mouth while he thought about the shattered past shared by humans and Gumihos. Briefly after, a wave of adrenaline suddenly coursed through his veins, when Y/n's smiling features vividly flashed in front of his dropping lids.

I cannot waste time! What if she's in danger already?

The hybrid once again collected his left might and stood up stepping forward, again towards the bustling crowd.

While collecting his exhausted steps slowly, his hands unconsciously shifted inside his trouser's pockets, making his steps halted, and he stopped upon felting an unfamiliar presence inside it. He then proceeded to quickly unfold the shredded piece of paper as curiosity slowly started taking over his senses.

KIM'S MANSION, it read.

Hoseok's eyes widened in realisation. Hope and anticipation filled every inch of his body when he fathomed the meaning of the writing, written on that small slip of paper, in a rushed manner. Its irregular edges made it look as if it was ripped off in a hurry.

His mind started diving in to form various assumptions of the said owner of the handwriting, but soon he excused his thoughts and focused them on the note, that could turn out to be a potential cue to locate Y/n.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

At the Kim's Mansion

"Who are you all?" Y/n asked, in the hope that this time her questions would not be left unanswered, and she'll finally be able to gain knowledge about these magical beings.

Namjoon had a different opinion in his preoccupied mind. These past few months, he failed to realise that his decisions were nothing but some ways to cope with his reality and to provide an escape from his past that he once thought, never existed.

"Who are you all, Namjoon?!" Y/n again asked eagerly, her orbs got curiously fixated on Namjoon's fierce orbs normalizing to their darker shade. Only this little transformation felt majestic in her eyes as she continued to stare deep into their depths.

Seconds passed and her patience reduced as a grim silence resided between them until the impatient human spoke again.

"Tell me!" Y/n blurted and awaited a response from the humanlike gumiho whose features gave a look of rue and confusion as if he was rethinking his impulsive decisions.

"You don't need to know!" Namjoon exclaimed as furiously and quickly to calm his irritated nerves before he averted his gaze away from Y/n.

Y/n lightly scratched her forehead in disappointment and arched her brows before giving Namjoon a side glare, as if this kind of response was known to her.

Namjoon's eyes lingered on different corners of the backyard until Y/n once again opened her lips to speak, pushing her building frustration to an unoccupied corner of her mind.

"But I want to know," she spoke, as light as a feather, to calm his agitated mind, but it only backfired Namjoon to sent a glare at her stubbornness, and he retorted.

"You'll be scared!" His dark stare failed to shake Y/n's vigour to unfold various aspects of history. The art, only people with archeological backgrounds can relate. She shook her head vigorously before she again stated, "If that was the case then I wouldn't have shared this brief moment with you."

Namjoon's dark gaze softened for a brief moment before they changed back to their normal cold stare. He haltingly took his steps back and shrugged, turning his body around, he started walking out of the backyard.

"Namjoon!" Y/n yelled in irritation, her frustrations now layering to the upper levels. The gumiho's back faced her as he stopped on his steps when another question ranged in his ears.

"Fine then! Just tell me why you treat me like this!? And why you're running away as if nothing just happened between us!?" Y/n furiously questioned, as anger started fuelling and it made her insides rage.

The man in the black trench coat remained silent, his mind searched for a suitable answer, which he wasn't aware of, whether it existed inside his brain or not. The air became tenser as he sensed Y/n's stinging glare on his back, and to escape this moment, he answered, an answer that a part of him denied as well.

"Because you're no one to me!" The gumiho murmured while tightly closing his fists to deny the denials lingering in his thoughts. Silence halted from the other side and he took it as a chance to escape towards his room.

Y/n's tongue froze as her mind swayed with uncertainty. Upon realising and comprehending the meaning of Namjoon's words, it felt like a dagger through her heart.

A storm of mixed emotions ensued inside her heart as she felt a wave of sadness and disappointment wash over her with a glimmer of rage and now lowered self-esteem. The weight of his words bore down on her, and she struggled to catch her breath as tears welled up in her eyes.

She stood there unfazed. A scary silence trapped her in its trance, as she nibbled on her lower lip to stop the falling tears.

It's true! You're no one to him. After all, it was just a shared kiss... my first kiss.

The human thought and tried consoling herself, but deep down, she knew how helpless and vulnerable she felt, and she hated it.

Y/n slowly wiped off the unhurried tears on her stained cheeks, her palms slightly trembling with raw and overwhelming emotions. She slowly started walking away, carrying a new feeling of being lost and emptied on the inside. Unknowing of the physical threat that awaited her.

An excruciating pain arose inside her body, making her grasp in confusion. Her eyes widened when she realised that it was the same kind of pain that she had once experienced. But this time it wasn't just a throbbing pain centred around an area, but a sharp stabbing sensation in her whole abdomen, making her nauseous and exhausted at the same time.

The world around her started fading as her vision blurred, but she managed to step towards the bathroom while enduring the impact that reverberated through her legs. Both hands were tightly held onto her stomach as she struggled to catch her breath.

Her legs trembled as she entered the bathroom. She positioned herself to heave, the veins on her neck popped from the pressure caused by rushing blood, producing retching noises in between. Her face heated up from the constant coughing, and dizziness started clouding her mind as she felt thumping veins on her face.

These aching noises reached the attached room and made Namjoon's ears twitch in surprise when he was busy stomping inside Jin's room, introspecting and questioning his promises to his past self. He statued himself in his current position, making the small flower pot which he was about to thrash on the floor, float in the middle of the air.

A look of concern washed over his features as he slowly lowered his hand, loosening the grip on the small plant. His confused mind became clouded with reasons for her sudden condition.

Is it probably due to our kiss?!... No! That can't be, right? Or is it?

Thoughts lingered in his mind as his shoulders suddenly became heavier than ever, the rising amount of guilt was slowly becoming unbearable to him. He took his steps towards the window attaching Jin's room and the bathroom, and waited for the coughing and aching voices to gradually slow down to normal.

On the other side of the closed wooden window, Y/n was struggling and whimpering with her growing pain and aching limbs. Tear drops fell from her reddened eyes as she tried pushing herself but not even an ounce of digested fluid came out.

"J-just c-come o-out already! You stupid bead or.... stone or w-whatever you are! I know that..... that you're still there!" Y/n half yelled from the tiring frustrations and pain that was not leaving her body alone.

"Bead!?" A loud whisper came out of Namjoon's shocked trance when he realized something.

"What kind of a bead is she talking about!? Is it probably-- " he spoke, but a sudden loud thud from the bathroom crashed his thoughts, and without wasting another second his legs thoughtlessly moved towards the bathroom. But before he could reach out and do something, somebody else did, with more care and compassion.

Jin carefully held Y/n's upper body on his lap, his eyes were filled with worry and perplexion as he repeatedly called her name out. Y/n lay peacefully on Jin's shoulder while he tried reaching out for the pail nearby from his free arm. He quickly sprinkled the water drops over Y/n's washed-out features and gently tapped her cheeks.

Finally, after some moments, Y/n's eyebrows twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes. Relief washed over her upon seeing the man in front of her. She slowly started pulling herself up from Jin's lap but he stopped her from doing so. His fingers went in to tuck a strand of wet hair behind her ear before his worried gaze stared directly into Y/n's soul.

"What was happening Y/n? Tell me everything," he softly asked, his melodic voice ringing like a lullaby in her ears, managing to make her fall... into slumber.

Y/n's unwill to speak made SeokJin realise her recurring exhaustion as well as their surroundings. He wasted no further moments to lift Y/n in his arms, carrying her towards their room. Y/n's arms were wrapped around his neck, her head rested against his strong chest as she felt his heart beating.

He gazed down at her with adoration in his eyes. She was like a delicate and ethereal petal perfectly fitting in the descriptions of the human he used to hear about.

"Take me to Ajumma's room," Y/n faintly whispered, which made him stop in his tracks. She tightened her hold across his neck and shifted her head closer to his chest as if he provided her with just what she needed at this fragile moment. It made Jin's heart pull a delicate string as he held her close, feeling the warmth of her body against his own. But he still managed to question her, while dealing with some newly arising feelings in his gut.

"Why? Is it again due to-- " He glanced at her closed eyes and sighed internally before he proceeded to move towards Ajumma's room.

Namjoon silently witnessed Y/n being carried away by his brother. His heart was more of a pained than jealous while his mind was more of a relieved than a complete mess of underlying emotions.

I'm now on a verge where I'm unable to differentiate whether I'm abandoning others or they are abandoning me. Maybe the problem lies in my prospects and not in them when there's still a part of me that secretly doesn't want them to let go of me so easily.

While dwelling in his deep thoughts, he took his heavy steps back towards his room, knowing how well his elder brother was at handling any situation, unlike him.

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In Ajumma's room

The middle-aged lady was already back when she noticed a shadow approaching nearer towards the paper-thin door of her room. She stood from her sitting position and curiously waited for the person to speak. Jin cleared his throat from the other side of the door and proceeded to ask for her permission to enter.

"Ajumma?"

"Oh! SeokJin it's you," Ajumma spoke as she instantly recognized the voice of the elder son of the house. She then quickly proceeded to slide the door for him, but it took not even a mere second when her expression dropped on witnessing a frail-looking Y/n in his arms.

"Ajumma please do me a favour. "

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Inside Namjoon's room

The warmth from the mattress felt suffocating to Namjoon as if holding him down from going to Ajumma's room. He irkingly shifted to his left side, his eyes now lingering on the wall in front of him. His thoughts again drifted towards Y/n and the last words that came out of her mouth.

I'm still not sure what she was talking about. I'll have to talk to her as soon as possible.

He thought, as he restlessly lay on his mattress.

Namjoon heaved a long sigh, but shortly after, his eyes widened as he jerked up and sat on his mattress. A sudden realisation hitched him out of his thoughts, making him grimace for some seconds.

The reason she was able to witness the portal with her un-spelled eyes and the reason my tracks changed on their own, when we first met can be due to a bead. Or should I say my bead?

Namjoon thought and figured it out by connecting the links as he rubbed his chin with his fingers; lifting his one eyebrow in between.

"Now I'm sure it's not a normal stone it's a gumiho's bead. But I am still not sure if it belongs to me or not. "

"Did I just hear bead?" A voice as calm and peaceful as the air inside the room, ranged in Namjoon's ears, making him quickly glance over.

SeokJin stood at the room's entrance, inclined to the door frame. His one hand carried the jacket of his grey tuxedo while the other was in the pocket of his pants. His features gave a hint of nothing but seriousness as if he already sensed the shift in atmosphere of the house.

"H-hyung?! When did you a-arrive?"

"Didn't you see me carrying Y/n to Ajumma's room?" SeokJin calmly responded which instantly caught the younger brother off guard.

"I meant for how long were you standing here?" The elder brother remained silent, and just eyed his brother from the distance before he started walking closer in his direction.

Namjoon stood up in response, while precautiously trying to mask his anxious features with a facade of calmness. Jin finally stopped right in front of Namjoon's face, his stern eyes trying to catch every little detail written on Namjoon's features.

For a moment, Namjoon felt internally attacked by his strong gaze as the two brothers stood there facing each other.

The air between them became thicker as Jin continuously glared in Namjoon's direction, making him gulp unconsciously; which unfortunately didn't go out of SeokJin's notice, "You know something that I don't. So speak!"

✧

Ps: Hush finally! Another one here.
Thanks! You all for waiting. I'm forever grateful >3
Its the Jin day everyone! Happy birthday SeokJin!
We miss you >>>3
Borahae ♡