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[gold3nfics]

Anachronism {Chapter 3}

Author's Note: Hey...Heeey...how y'all doing? So I know it's been a while, but I am back after getting settled with moving and finding a job. So, I can now write! I made this chapter slightly longer, so enjoy!

Word Count: 6,657

“Thank you again Maria, I don’t know what came over me I just all of sudden felt really nauseous.” Y/N smiles while getting her bag and coat from behind the counter.

“Oh, don’t even worry about it!” Maria, the elderly woman who owns the shop, says reassuringly, “You have been working plenty, so don’t rush to get back in here.”

Y/N goes to object, but Maria holds up her hand and stops her, “Go on get out of here! Besides,” Maria leans over the counter and lowers her voice, “Danny needs to step up with how much he’s been calling out.”

“I told you I was sick!” A voice calls out from a nearby storage room. Maria rolls her eyes, “A hangover is not a sickness Danny!”

Y/N laughs and says her goodbyes to her boss and coworker then makes her way out of the shop.

Once she is outside, she looks around for the boys she had just met.

“Hey guys,” Namjoon clears his throat and moves away from Y/N awkwardly, “this is Y/N.” He looks at her, “Meet Yoongi, Jin, and Hoseok. Guys, say hello.”

The boys were still silent and in intense thought. Namjoon shakes his head and looks at Y/N, “Look, I know this is very confusing and frightening, but we can explain everything; preferably someplace a little more private.” Y/N steps away from him and glances over at the three men standing in the doorway, she notices that they all had the same mark as her and Namjoon.

She takes a moment and looks at Namjoon, “Fine, just let me tell my boss I have to leave and I’ll meet you guys outside.” Namjoon sighs in relief and goes to speak but Y/N cuts him off, “But I swear if you guys try anything to harm me, I have defense weapons that I will use on you.”

She moves towards the door and past the four boys, who were now inside the small storage room.

She stops and turns to them before leaving, “Even if I think you’re cute.” The boys smile in amusement as they watch Y/N leave.

“Y/N! Over here!” She turns and notices Namjoon waving at her with a bright smile, as well as six other men standing with him; who all were either staring or smiling at her. Y/N gently furrows her brows and makes her way towards them, “I thought there were only four of you?”

Namjoon shakes his head, “Oh no, there are seven of us.” he moves aside and turns to the others, “Guys?” the guys look at him, “Want to introduce yourselves?” They nod in response and turn towards the girl in front of them.

The first one is Jimin who smiles charmingly, “I’m Jimin. You know, you are not what I was expecting, don’t be mistaken though! I’m not complaining.” Y/N tilts her head in confusion and soon Jimin is pushed out of the way by a very attractive man with broad shoulders.

“Please excuse him, he can be quite, bold, sometimes. I am Seokjin or Jin, whichever you prefer to call me.” Jin smiles and Y/N felt her cheeks grow warm in response.

“I’m Hoseok and this is Yoongi.” Hoseok's warm energy was almost infectious due to Y/N’s mood lifting the moment she met eyes with him. She notices Yoongi make a small wave towards her, which he copies. “It's nice to meet you!” Hoseok exclaims with a gentle smile to make Y/N feel more comfortable.

The grin only causes Y/N to become redder in the cheeks, which makes the men in front of her fanboy internally.

Namjoon clears his throat and looks towards Jungkook expectantly, it was as if he was telling him to introduce himself instead of staring at her intensely. Jungkook snaps out of his gaze and steps forward, “Hi, my name is Jungkook.” he says softly which causes Y/N to smile nicely,

“Hello! I like your eyebrow piercing, I think it’s pretty cool.” Jungkook smiles and reaches for his ears because he could feel them turn red at the compliment. “Oh, thank you. I just got it done actually, I did it myself.” he looks away, suddenly growing bashful.

Taehyung decided to take the opportunity to move up and gently nudge Jungkook to the side; leaving him standing face to face with Y/N.

“Hello there, I’m Taehyung!” Y/N doesn’t have time to respond due to Taehyung grabbing her hand to shake it.

As their hands came into contact, both of their bodies grew warm and fuzzy. Y/N recognized this feeling due to having experienced it with Namjoon, but this was an entirely new feeling to Taehyung; one that he felt himself wanting more of.

Taehyung stared at the woman in front of him in wonder, her eyes had caught his gaze and he found himself wanting to take an even deeper look into them.

Y/N then felt Taehyung pull her gently towards him. To anyone else, this man was creepy and they most likely would have wanted to run away; but not to Y/N. She found herself not wanting to move because she too wanted to get a closer look at his features.

The others were watching with expressions that ranged from uncomfortable to confusion. Namjoon steps forward to grab Taehyung and pull him away from Y/N. He gives his friend a stern look as Y/N snaps out of her trance and coughs awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

Taehyung smiles apologetically and pulls out of Namjoon's grip to look at her, “It’s alright, I could say the same thing. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Y/N grins slightly, “That’s okay.” she moves her gaze to the others before continuing, “Now, can you guys please explain to me why we all have these marks and why they are glowing.” She lifts her marked hand to show them, but Namjoon rushes forward to grasp her hand and move it to her side.

“Yes! But not here, do you know someplace where people won’t hear or see us?” Y/N looks at him with furrowed brows, “You understand how bad that sounds, right?” Namjoon blushes at the comment.

Y/N steps back and looks at the men in front of her before turning around and walking away. The boys look at each other in confusion, “Where are you going?” Jungkook yells, which causes Y/N to stop and turn her head towards them.

“Where do you think? Somewhere more private, are you coming or not?” she begins to walk off again. This time with the boys jogging and following after her.

***

“Why are we here?” Jimin asks, noticing Y/N had led them to the field they appeared on when they first went through the portal.

Y/N sends Jimin a questioning look, “What do you mean? You guys said you wanted a quiet place.” she states while moving her shoulder bag onto the ground and sitting beside it.

Namjoon sits across from her, “I think what Jimin meant to say was why did you choose this place? Why not your home or somewhere else?”

Y/N only laughs at his question, “Even though I find you all very attractive and you have not given me a reason to hate you, I still do not know you. Therefore, I do not want to show you where I live until I know you guys aren’t crazy.”

“So you bring us to a charred field?” Yoongi asks dryly, the boys look at him with judgmental looks, meanwhile, Y/N looks at him with a sad smile.

“This place wasn’t always a charred field, it used to be quite beautiful. I came here a lot as a kid, I liked seeing the Iris flowers that would be in full bloom throughout this field. There weren't a whole lot of things to do around here while growing up, except go to the shops or work on the nearby farms. So I enjoyed coming here just to think because not many people knew about this place until I got older.'' At this point, the boys had all sat down and watched as Y/N spoke.

“What happened to it?” Y/N’s gaze moves towards Jungkook.

“A fire happened, the fire department wasn’t sure about what started it. But I suspect it was just someone who put out a cigarette in the wrong place.”

The boys grew shocked by this, more specifically Hoseok, “Wait, you’re saying one of your people did this?”

Y/N looks at him and nods confused, “Yeah, it happens quite a lot here. It’s horrible, but it's a rather common occurrence. The forest fires here are more often than not caused by people, but with our climate changing, it only increases the chances of the fires happening and spreading. Wait,” she looks at Namjoon, “you guys have never heard of forest fires?”

“No, there have been minor fires where we are from, but they never do as much damage as yours seems to do, and we hardly ever have them. You see, our people care deeply about our environment and would never dream of destroying it, so they are very careful to preserve it and keep it healthy.” Hoseok explains.

Y/N laughs, “Where in the world are you guys from?”

“Qluelia” Jungkook says seriously which causes Y/N to stop laughing and look at him, “Qluelia? Where’s that? Is it in Europe?”

“No, what's Europe?” he asks.

Y/N stills and tries to process Jungkook’s words while being completely baffled. Namjoon decides to break the silence, “Y/N, we are not from your realm, world, home, whatever this place is. I know that what I am about to explain to you is absurd, but please just try to understand and keep an open mind, okay?” Y/N takes a moment to think before nodding and signaling for him to continue.

“We are all from a place called Qluelia. We came from various backgrounds, some of us being richer than others, and not all of us had much in common except for these marks,” Namjoon raises his hand to show his mark, “Haneul, a healer, had noticed all of our marks when we were born and felt that there was a great purpose behind it that involved all of us. As we grew up, he continuously attempted to find answers, but it wasn’t until recently that he reached a revelation.”

He reaches into his satchel and pulls out Haneul’s book and carefully gives it to Y/N, who takes it gently and begins to look through it. “Recently, he had learned that with these marks, comes the seven who were born under the protection of the circle. The seven who possess these marks are chosen to be the protectors of their realm, have special abilities, and keep balance among their people. But there was a slight problem,” Y/N looks up, “it turns out that there were eight marks instead of seven. Because there were only supposed to be seven, and the eighth mark was not of our realm, our people had fallen into a frozen sleep.”

Y/N sets the book down and looks at the guys concerned, “Wait, so you're saying this is my fault?” Jin shakes his head, “No! You didn’t ask to be born with the mark Y/N. It was just a mistake, all we have to do is take you back with us so our mark’s bond with yours can be broken and then-”

Y/N holds up her hand to stop Jin from rambling, “Hold up, how do you know that there were only supposed to be seven marks? What if it wasn’t a mistake?”

Yoongi looks at her, “Because there have been seven protectors before us; a long time ago there were seven men who had the same marks and were the guardians of our realm. So what happened with you, was clearly just a mistake,” Y/N looks down in embarrassment while the boys all turn and give disapproving looks towards Yoongi, causing him to sigh, “don’t take it personally.” Y/N is silent for a few moments as she tries to reflect on what was just told to her.

“So I go back with you guys, break the bond, and then your realm will go back to how it was?” the boys nod in response, “You’re aware of how crazy this all sounds, right?”

Hoseok chuckles, “You sound like Yoongi. But yes, we understand that this is hard to believe. Some of us also had a hard time believing it ourselves, but with our people being in the state they are in, we really don’t have any other choice.”

Y/N moves her gaze to look at each of the men, trying to read their expressions and body language to see if there is any hint of them lying. However, she concludes that they were in fact telling the truth.

“Fine.” Namjoon looks at her questionably, “Fine?”

“As in fine I believe you and am willing to help,” the feeling of relief falls among the boys at Y/N’s comment. Y/N stands up and gathers her bag before turning to face all of them, “but I can’t just leave right now.”

Yoongi’s face grows annoyed and stands up facing her while scoffing, “What do you mean you can’t just leave right now? From what I’ve seen this place isn’t anything too special, I mean look around.” Yoongi gestures towards the burnt field they are standing on, “We are offering you a chance to do something that might put meaning in your life, and you want to postpone it?”

The boys notice the raised tone and frustration in his voice, but so does Y/N.

Instead of becoming shy and embarrassed, she only crosses her arms and stares into his dark eyes, “I could just say no and leave you boys to fend for yourselves?” She moves closer to him with her eyes still on his, which causes Yoongi to feel his body grow warm. Although, he doesn’t know if it is due to anger or something else within him.

“Let’s make one thing clear; if I am going to help you, you are not going to speak to me like that.” She moves to gently hand Namjoon the book back and shifts her gaze back to all of them.

“My life here isn’t anything special. I work at a struggling flower shop, I live in an overpriced apartment, I have no family and barely any friends, and this town is small and generic; so would I love to do something that puts “meaning” into my life?” she pauses and gives Yoongi a cold look, “Yes. But I can’t just leave, I need time to give the people close to me excuses as to why I am leaving. The last thing I need is to come back home to a search party, and deal with the police regarding where I was.”

The boys nod in understanding and Taehyung moves to nudge Yoongi telling him to apologize, but Yoongi chooses to ignore him.

Jin gives Y/N a gentle smile before speaking, “So how much time will you need?”

“Not very long, only a day or two,” Y/N reassures him, “Where are you guys staying?”

She is met with silence.

Y/N sighs tiredly while running a hand through her hair, “You guys didn’t book a room or rental?”

Namjoon rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment, “To be fair, this whole situation got sprung on us randomly as well, and we didn’t think that we were going to be here long.”

“Okay, do you guys have enough money to rent a hotel room or something?”

Jungkook decides to speak up, “I think we are just going to do what we did to get our clothes, right Joon?” Before Namjoon could speak, Y/N interrupted him, “What did you do to get your clothes? Wait, did you guys steal?”

Taehyung looks at Y/N’s worried expression and laughs, “No, well kind of. But not in the way you’re thinking! Yoongi just has this special way of convincing people into doing what he wa-”

Y/N shakes her head and holds up her hand to stop him, “Nope! No, I-I don’t wanna know.” she pauses and looks over each of the boys in deep thought, “I have some room over at my place?”

“What? Not that I’m objecting or anything, but I thought you didn’t trust us.” Y/N looks towards Jimin and nods her head, “True. I may not entirely trust all of you,” she makes eye contact with Yoongi who rolls his eyes and looks away, “But the last thing I need is for you guys to go around and cause problems here. Also, being how important I am to you, I really doubt you guys will try to kill me.”

“I mean, technically if you die the bond would be broken.” Namjoon elbows Yoongi's side due to his comment, but Y/N only rolls her eyes.

Namjoon steps forward, “Don’t mind him, thank you Y/N. We promise that we won’t be too much trouble for you.”

The girl in front of him looks up at him with eyes full of amusement and a smile, “Well even if you are too much trouble, there’s not exactly a whole lot we can do, can we?”

She turns to the rest of the boys and motions for them to follow her, “Follow me!”

She begins to walk towards the path leading into the field with the guys following behind her, “Ya know, I think Freddie’s gonna love you guys.” The boys all felt themselves grow confused and tense at Y/N’s statement, especially Jimin.

“Wait, who’s Freddie?”

Silence.

“Y/N, who’s Freddie?”

***

“I thought we were going to your house?” Taehyung expresses

“We are, but we have to catch a bus first. Mostly because I don’t feel like walking all the way there in the dark with Yoongi complaining every five minutes about how the walk is too much.” Yoongi rolls his eyes at Y/N’s comment and was about to make a snide comment, but had been cut off by the bus approaching.

Once Y/N handled the bus fare, the boys and her all made their way towards the back of the bus, being that there seemed to be more room for the group. However, it was still quite busy and crowded on the bus that night due to it being a weekday and many people had just got off work.

The group had all found open seats, well, except for one.

“You don't have to stand Y/N, you can have my place.” Jin shifts forward to stand, but Y/N stops him.

“Oh don’t worry about me, I prefer standing anyways. Besides, once I sit down, I won’t want to get back up.” she smiles tiredly.

Namjoon shakes his head, “Oh nonsense, you’ve been working all day. A few minutes of sitting wouldn’t hurt-”

The girl rolls her eyes while grasping the pole on the bus, “But then you won’t have a seat dummy.”

“Just sit on his lap then, my god.” a voice states quietly behind Y/N, who they find belonging to an elderly woman playing a game on her phone.

Y/N turns back to Namjoon and is amused to find his cheeks slightly red with his head down.

“Well, being that Joonie here is too embarrassed about it, my lap is open.” Jimin says with a flirty smile.

“So is mine!” Taehyung and Hoseok chime in with eager eyes.

Y/N sighs and narrows her eyes, “Guys I am really flattered, but I am going to stick with standing.” She decides to turn her gaze over her shoulder to glance towards the elderly woman who was eavesdropping before, “I am going to stick with standing.”

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet with Y/N keeping her eyes out for her stop, and the boys each taking the time to glance over her.

Their opinions all varied regarding her, but one thing they had in common was how they all felt a strong pull towards her. Even from those who had conflicting feelings about her such as Yoongi.

While the boys had all found Y/N to be very attractive, Yoongi had only felt that this was purely due to their bonds. Therefore, the butterflies he felt whenever she made eye contact with him were, in his mind, ingenuine and forced.

You see, Yoongi is a complex individual. He doesn’t open up, nor voice his emotions unless he feels it is needed. Meaning, no one truly knows or understands the reasons he acts the way he does, or says the things he says.

As for Y/N, she finds that her mind is full of thoughts about the guys in front of her. Throughout the bus ride, she can feel the boy's eyes on her; which in any other scenario would have been creepy and had her reaching for her pepper spray while staring the person down. But for some reason, she found herself growing shy and nervous.

Y/N had never been one to feel this way about any random guys before.

She usually wasn’t too fond of men in general, except for Danny of course. Men would often attempt to flirt with her at work, on the bus, or cat-call her whenever she went for runs or walks; and it has only led her to be irritated with any man she did not know very well.

Yet, with the guys who were sitting and admiring her so obviously; Y/N couldn’t help but feel happy about it. She knew it had to do with their marks of course but it felt different, stronger.

She was so deep in thought, that she almost failed to realize that the bus was approaching her stop.

“Okay! We’re here, make sure you guys have your things.” She smiles and moves past them to be closer to the door with the seven men following behind her.

After they step off the bus, Y/N leads them across the road towards a tall brick building. They watch as Y/N types in the code for the lock, and then follow her inside where she brings them into an elevator.

Y/N places herself in front of the button panel and presses her floor number to begin their journey up to her apartment. The elevator itself is not too big and with all eight of them crowded in there, it felt like pure chaos.

“Joon, can you move forward?”

“I’m as far forward as I can be-”

“Ow! Jungkook, watch my shoes, what are you trying to do? Scuff them?”

“Oh quit your whining Jimin, he’s not doing anything.”

“Please stop moving so much, you guys are gonna make me drop the plants.”

Y/N turns her head towards Hoseok and notices the three little plants he is holding in his arms. She lets out a light chuckle upon seeing his worried expression, “You still have those plants Maria gave you?”

Hoseok looks at her with furrowed eyebrows, “Yes? Of course I do, they are in perfect health and were also given to us for free.”

“She gave them to you for free? Did she say why?” Y/N asks with confusion in her tone, she knew that Maria was a very kind woman, but she hardly ever gave products away just for the fun of it.

Jin turns his gaze to Y/N and gives her a smirk, “Isn’t it obvious? Because we are devastatingly handsome of course.”

“But mostly because Hoseok made her laugh and reminded her of her grandson.” Yoongi adds to the conversation.

Y/N ignores Yoongi’s comment and was about to respond to Jin, but the elevator doors cut her off by opening. She leaves the elevator and makes her way down the hall, approaching her apartment with seven men slowly filtering out after her.

After Y/N opens her apartment door, she switches on the light and tosses her coat and purse onto the couch after taking off her shoes. The boys all take a few moments to take in her apartment.

The living room and eating area were the first things they saw when they entered through the doorway. The living room was decorated with a few house plants and furniture that did not follow any specific style, and the eating area was about the same. It was quite eclectic, there were mismatched paintings that covered the walls, shelves that obtained various books and decor, and many different throw pillows spread across the two pastel couches.

Taehyung moves towards the wall with the collage of different paintings, “It’s so-”

“All over the place?” Y/N asks with a nervous smile, but Taehyung only smiles brightly.

“Yes, but in a good way. It isn't plain and I respect that.”

Y/N thanks him and turns back to the other six men who were watching her, “Alright! So as you can see this is the living room and my dining area and over here,” she moves past them to an archway, “is my kitchen. You guys can drink and eat anything that you would like, all I ask is that you just clean up after yourselves.”

The kitchen had the same theme as the living room, but not as colorful. Instead, there was a large window taking up the main wall that showed a nice view of the small town. There were also some more houseplants, which were slightly larger and added some comfort and color to the predominately white kitchen.

Y/N then showed the boys the main bathroom down the hallway before bringing them to a plain and mostly empty bedroom, “This was my former roommate’s room, but she moved out a little bit ago so some of you can sleep in here. However, only four can fit in this room so three of you will have to crash in the living room.”

Upon hearing this Jimin and Jin shared a look before speaking, “Well, Jin and I are going to take the bed, so the rest of you can figure out your own sleeping arrangements.”

Jungkook lets out a scoff and goes to make a snide comment but Namjoon stops him, “Fine, you guys, Yoongi and Hoseok can have this room. Jungkook, Taehyung, and I will take the living room. Does that work for everyone?” The guys nod in agreement and he turns to Y/N, “Thank you again for this Y/N, we really appreciate it.”

“Of course! Honestly, this is probably better than some of the motels around here anyway. You guys can get settled in and do what you need to do, I’m gonna get you guys some pillows and blankets.” She almost made her way out of the room before Jimin called out to her.

“Wait! Where’s that Freddie you were talking about?” Y/N shows a look of realization,

“Oh! He must be asleep, I’ll go wake him and introduce you guys. Just wait right here!” and with that, she disappears out the doorway and down the hall.

Once she is out of sight, Jimin turns to the others with worry displayed across his face, “What do we do?” Jin looks at him confused, “What are you talking about?”

“Well what if this so-called ‘Freddie’ wants us gone and tries to keep us away from Y/N?” Hoseok only laughs and takes off his jacket and throws it on the bed, “And why would he do that? This is Y/N’s home, I think it’s up to her whether she feels comfortable with us here or not.”

Jin shakes his head, “No I think Jimin is right, I mean what if he’s her lover? If your lover came home with seven random men and said they were going to stay there, you wouldn't want to object to it?” The boys grew silent knowing they would indeed feel discomfort if Y/N was theirs and she brought seven strangers into the home.

“Object to what?” a voice calls out from the doorway.

The boys turn their heads towards the person, only to find it was Y/N standing with a warm smile and holding,

“An animal?” Jungook asks, “Freddie is an animal?”

Y/N laughs and sets her dog down and begins to run her fingers through his fur calmly, “Yes, why do you say that like you're confused?”

“Because we thought Freddie was your lover and were prepared to leave.” Taehyung states.

The boys watch as Y/N’s smile drops and she turns her gaze towards them, “Well you don’t need to worry about a controlling boyfriend here. Besides,” she gives an amused grin, “this is my house so I can kick you out whenever I see fit.”

She stands up and lets Freddie go around and sniff everyone out, “This is my dog Freddie, he is completely harmless! So don’t worry about him biting you, unless you give him a reason to. In that case, that’s your own fault.”

They watch as Freddie makes his way through all of the boys and decides to sit against Jin’s legs, which causes Jin to laugh and bend over to pet Freddie’s head and scratch his ears.

Taehyung was one who always loved animals, so he immediately sat on the floor and started calling out the dog's name while gently clapping his hands to get his attention. After a few tries to get Freddie to approach him, the others got confused when the dog didn’t make any acknowledgment or reaction to Taehyung’s actions.

“Why isn’t he coming over to me? Usually animals adore me, they always surround me when I call them.” Taehyung says with a slight pout.

“He’s deaf in both-” Jin and Y/N state at the same time and look at each other, “How did you know he’s deaf?” Y/N asks slightly concerned, which causes Jin to grow nervous.

“Um, well he kind of told me. Like he thought about it and then I heard it so that’s how I-”

“You can talk to my dog?” Y/N excitedly asks in the midst of Jin’s rambling.

“I think so?”

Y/N rushes forward and picks up Freddie to hug him excitedly, “Oh my goodness! I’ve always wanted to know what was in that little head of yours! What’s he thinking right now?”

With the way that Y/N got so excited and her eyes sparkled, it affected all of the boys.

Some felt amusement and others found a sense of comfort in her happy energy, they found themselves just silently watching and admiring her in their own ways, some more obvious than others.

“Jungkook, what are you staring at? Is there something wrong?”

Y/N looks into the youngest’s eye as if she is searching for anything in them, but he simply just looks down and blushes, “Oh no, I’m sorry I was just spacing out. It’s uh, been a long day.”

Y/N’s face grows guilty, “Oh, I’m sorry guys. You all should go ahead and get some sleep,” she turns towards Yoongi and Hoseok, “If you guys wanna get settled down in here, I'll bring my air mattress, some blankets and pillows for you guys in a minute.”

They make sounds in agreement and move to set their bags by the closet while Y/N, Namjoon, Jungkook, and Taehyung make their way out of the room.

Jimin lies back on the bed and lazily looks at Jin with an amused grin, “So you're an animal whisper huh?” This causes Jin to roll his eyes and throw his jacket at Jimin, “Oh shut up, I’m sure your ability is probably way worse than mine.”

Jimin only scoffs, “Please, I’m a knight. A damn good one at that, I doubt my ability is going to be uninteresting. In fact,” he sits up and looks at the closed bedroom door with a smirk, “I’m sure it will be so fascinating that Y/N will be begging me to show her.”

Yoongi lets out an annoyed sigh and rubs his temples, “Jimin, I would appreciate it if you didn’t picture Y/N naked while I’m in the same room.”

Jimin only laughs in response, “Well maybe you shouldn’t be in my mind in general, if you look a little deeper you’re gonna find far more explicit thoughts involving her.”

Yoongi makes a disgusted face, “You’re repulsive.”

Jimin lifts an eyebrow and goes to get his bag full of clothes that he got from the store, “Oh please, don’t act like you didn’t like that image. We ALL saw the sexual tension between you two earlier in the field.”

Jin only shook his head at Jimin’s comment, meanwhile, Hoseok fought back a grin and a chuckle at the look on Yoongi’s face.

Yoongi just frowned and looked away in shame because he had indeed thought about her in that way, and he was annoyed that he did like that image, but of course he would never admit that.

***

“Namjoon I couldn’t find the-” Y/N stops walking, “Are they already asleep?”

Namjoon rubs the back of his neck and looks at the two boys on the couches, both fast asleep and sprawled out, “Oh yeah, they were out once their heads hit the pillows.”

Y/N nods in understanding and lowers her voice, “Oh okay, so I tried to find my other air mattress, but my roommate must have taken it when she left because I am not finding it anywhere.”

Namjoon moves forward to assure her, “Oh it’s okay, I don’t need anything special Y/N. You've already opened up your home to me and the others, you have done plenty.”

Y/N shakes her head, “Well I am not going to make you sleep on the floor Namjoon that’s-”

“I can assure you that I have slept in worse conditions, it’s-”

“You could just sleep with me?”

Namjoon stills and gives a blank expression which causes Y/N to hurriedly explain,

“Not in the like, “Oh come and ‘sleep’ with me” type way, but the like ''Come and sleep in a bed, and not the floor” type way.”

“Oh, um I-”

“I’m sorry, I don’t wanna pressure you. You don’t have to, I just don’t want you to wake up with a bad back is all. I wouldn’t try to, ya know. Not that I don’t find you-”

“Y/N”

“Yes?”

He gives a charming smile, “I will sleep with you, as long as you're okay with it.”

Y/N lets out a sigh of relief, “Okay, cool. Follow me.”

She leads him down the hall quietly and into her quaint room, and shuts the door once he is inside. As Y/N moves towards her bed to sit and clear off clutter that was scattered on top of it, as well as to scoot Freddie over towards the wall, Namjoon takes in her room.

Her bed was nestled in the corner, with pillows and blankets that were neutral colors and looked like the epitome of comfort. There was also a nightstand next to her bed with various books stacked on it, and a small desk on the other side of the room.

The walls were the same shade of white that was painted in the spare bedroom. Unlike the walls in the rest of the apartment, her bedroom walls were quite plain with only a few random flower drawings taped on the wall behind her bed.

However, there was a rather large window that took up most of the wall next to her bed.

Namjoon moves towards it to see the view, “Could you turn off the light for a moment?”

Y/N makes a confused face and nods before flipping off the light switch.

He makes a small hum of satisfaction and Y/N moves to stand next to him, “What are you looking at?” she asks curiously.

“The stars, you don’t seem to have too many here.” he states without taking his eyes off of the night sky.

“Yeah, it’s because of the pollution here. But the further into the country you go, the more stars you can see because it’s away from the city and pollution.” Y/N explains with a sad smile, “I bet your night sky back home is way more interesting to look at.”

Namjoon nods with a small smile, “It is certainly something. There are stars everywhere, colors everywhere. When Jungkook and I were small, we would go out and climb trees at night trying to get as close to stars as possible.”

Y/N laughs, “You both probably scared your parents half to death.”

Namjoon grows tense, “Oh no, we both don’t have any parents. All of our mothers died during childbirth, and I can’t speak for everyone about their fathers, but both my father and Jungkook’s left us with a widow who lived out in the croplands.”

Y/N watched as Namjoon spoke with seriousness in his voice, but his eyes were full of emotion.

She smiled sadly and turned her head to also look out the window at the stars, “I don’t have a mom either, or a dad. She also died when I was born, and my dad passed away when I was 16. I was taken in by my grandma after that, but she died when I was nineteen.”

Namjoon turns his head to look down at her, “It’s awful isn’t it?”

Y/N moves her head and meets Namjoon’s gaze and sighs “The worst.”

The two didn’t know if it was the eye contact or the moonlight that shone through the window and surrounded them, but they found themselves both having the urge to feel each other.

Not entirely in a sexual manner, although they were both tremendously attracted towards each other. But more so in a comforting way, they just wanted to hold and be held by one another; to feel understood.

Namjoon and Y/N were both internally confused on whether or not they should, or who would make the first move.

Instead, Y/N reaches out her marked hand and grasps his own marked hand.

There was a wave of energy that ran through them once Y/N did this, not powerful enough to be life-changing, but big enough to make them both gasp upon contact.

Both of them simply stared back at one another with bright smiles and curiosity in their eyes, their hearts full of warmth due to the childlike excitement they were feeling.

They were both so deep in the moment and focused on one another, that everything around them seemed to fall away like nothing else mattered or no one else was there.

However, that’s the problem; they failed to realize that there was someone else there.

Outside the window, under a street lamp across the street stood a figure who was watching the wholesome moment between them.

The figure did not speak nor move, they only stared.

As they watched Y/N and Namjoon bond and interact further, a sense of sadness and anger surrounded them.

They took a moment to take one final look at the pair with a slight smirk forming, and a low chuckle escaping their lips from the dark thoughts that crossed their mind.

However, no words were spoken from this person, and the oblivious pair behind the window never caught sight of the figure.

If they did, they would have been aware of how this person exuded darkness, and how they were about to bring utter chaos among Y/N and the boys' minds and lives.

[gold3nfics]

Anachronism {Chapter Two}

Author's note: I feel like this chapter is kind of short but, as promised Y/N has made an appearance.

[Also, can we talk about Jungkook's live??? Are y'all still recovering from it? Because I am and will be for a while lol]

Word Count: 2,532

They all made direct contact with the ground underneath them, drawing out groans and grunts of pain among them.

“Did the book say anything about the portal giving us a concussion?” Yoongi asks while slowly getting up from the hard ground.

Namjoon sighs at his dry comment and slowly moves to help Jungkook stand up. Once the other’s vision becomes clearer and less blurry, they take in what is around them.

“Where are we?” Jungkook asks, noticing the open area around them.

It appeared that they were standing in what could have been an open field if it wasn't for a large part of it that lacked grass and was black. Hoseok stepped forward and kneeled in front of the dark spot and touched it.

“It seems that there had been a fire,” he said, rubbing the dried and burnt remains of the field between his fingers, “that’s unfortunate. This looks like it could have been a wonderful place to see.”

Yoongi furrows his brows, “Which way do we even go? The portal was supposed to bring us to who we are looking for, but all I am seeing is nature. Or, well, what is left of it.” The boys glance around trying to see if they can find anything similar to a path, but once they do they all notice a light coming from the inside of their left hands.

Jimin looks down at his hand, “Please tell me your marks are also glowing, or else I am going to freak out.”

The boys say nod in response; Namjoon decides to walk forward, but then the light ceases. Furrowing his brows, he steps back and turns his body to the left, causing the mark to glow slightly again.

“It’s like a compass,” he states with amazement evident in his tone and looks up at the others, “we will just walk in a certain direction and if it keeps glowing, then we are on the right path to finding them.”

The boys nod in understanding and all begin to walk together down the field. Their marks eventually lead them to a road that goes in the direction of a small town up ahead of them. The boys abandon looking at their marks to take a good look at the town in front of them. It is still pretty early in the morning so really, the only people out and about are older individuals.

Once they are walking on the sidewalks of the town, they notice the people there looking at them weirdly, “Why are they looking at us like that?” Jungkook asks.

Jin chuckles, “Look down, our clothing doesn’t exactly fit in. So of course they would be looking at us weirdly.”

“Well, we will just need to find new clothes then, won’t we?” Taehyung smirks and sprints off into a small shop he had been eyeing with the boys following behind him.

“Wait! Taehyung! Don’t run so fast!” Hoseok yells after him.

Once they arrive at the store, they find Taehyung speaking with an older man at the counter.

“Sir, we just need some clothes because in case you haven’t noticed,” Taehyung gestures towards his body, “ours are not suitable.”

The man sighs in frustration, “I told you before and I will tell you again.” he crosses his arms, “If you have no money, you may not have anything from here.”

“But we-” Yoongi steps in and cuts Taehyung off

“We are very sorry sir. Please excuse my friend’s behavior,” The man moves his gaze to meet Yoongi whose pupils narrow in on him, “we are new to town and would really just like to keep a low profile.”

The man stills, “I am sure you understand, right?”

“I do. You know what? It is fine. I suppose you boys getting what you need won’t be any trouble. We get plenty of business on the weekends so we will not be hurting much.” The man smiles warmly and turns to walk to the back of the store.

The boys all look at Yoongi confused, “How did you do that? I tried explaining the same thing, but he looked like he was close to smacking me.” Taehyung says.

“Yeah, you’re usually not good with people; let alone convincing them.” Hoseok states. Yoongi shakes his head, “I don’t know, something just came over me. It was like I was speaking to him, but I was also in his mind controlling the conversation.”

“Are you serious?!” Jungkook exclaims, “Yoongi, that's your power.”

The boys look at the youngest, “Mind control. Remember? Ara said that we all have certain abilities and that we would have to find them on our own; mind control is yours Yoongi.”

“Okay well we can discuss powers later,” Namjoon speaks up and moves towards one of the full racks of clothing, “for now just get the things you need so we can get a move on.”

***

“You know,” Jin says before taking a sip of his water and grabbing a fry, “this place may not have the nicest people or the prettiest views, but their food is pretty alright.” the others make sounds and nod in agreement.

After they had changed their clothing and also gathered a few other minor things from the store, Namjoon decided that they should find a place to eat, mostly because he was hungry, but also to sit down and put together a plan.

Namjoon cleared his throat before speaking, “So once we find who it is we are looking for; how should we approach the situation? Does anyone have any ideas?” Jungkook looks at him, “What do you mean?”

Namjoon sighs tiredly, “Well we can’t just go up to them and say ‘Hi, we are from a different realm, and you are bonded to each of us, but that’s a mistake so now you need to come with us so we can save our people.’ ”

Jungkook smiles, “I mean, I'd be down if someone said that to me.”

Namjoon rolls his eyes and sips his drink, “Wasn’t that the same attitude that got you mugged after that girl told you to follow her?”

The others laughed loudly as Jungkook’s cheeks blushed slightly due to embarrassment,

“It wasn’t my fault!” he defended, “She was really cute and I hadn’t even kissed anyone yet at that age.”

Jimin smirked, “At that age? Wasn’t that a few months ago?” Jungkook sent a hard glare Jimin’s way as the others' laughter only increased.

After they had calmed down, Jin looked at Namjoon and shrugs, “If you want my opinion, I think we should just try to sit down with them and explain the situation. I mean we all have the marks and Hanuel’s book as proof, so I don’t think they would have a hard time believing us.”

“Yeah, and if our marks glow when we are near them; I would think that theirs would too. If I didn’t know anything about the circle and saw my hand glowing, I would want answers.” Hoseok adds while observing the people around him.

Namjoon nods in agreement and understanding, “Alright then we will do that, I just hope everything works.”

“It will,” Jungkook smiles and says while reaching for his water, “don’t worry.”

***

After the boys had finished eating, they resumed their search. Their marks had led them in front of what appeared to be a flower shop in a quieter part of town.

As they entered the shop, they couldn’t help but recognize a warm feeling come over their bodies. They all passed it off as being due to the indoor heating, but they knew individually that it was because of something else.

A petite and kind-looking elderly woman had noticed them from behind the counter, “Hello!” she announced with a sweet smile on her face while making her way towards them, “Can I help you boys with anything?”

Jin looks at her and smiles, “Oh no, we are just-”

“Let me guess, you boys are looking for flowers to give to your girlfriends, right?”

Yoongi looks at her shocked and attempts to correct her, “Oh no! You see we are just here looking for-”

“Follow me fellas,” the woman laughs while grabbing Yoongi, Jin, and Hoseok’s arms and leads them away from the others, “in my experience, no men ever come into my shop unless they need flowers as an apology or gift. We actually have some really nice bouquets over here, and they are on sale too!”

Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin all stand there trying to process what just happened,

“Okay, I guess it is just us for right now.” Namjoon looks at the young trio, “You guys try to look on this level of the shop to find them, I’ll look on the second level. Oh! And try not to allow people to see your marks, okay?” The three nod and break off into different directions.

Namjoon makes his way towards the stairs on his left to begin his search. As he is walking up the stairs he looks down at his satchel, that he got from the store, and reaches inside of it to make sure Hanuel’s book is still there. Just as he realizes the book is safe and looks up, he comes face to face with a rather large bouquet of daisies and sunflowers; as well as crashing into the person holding the bouquet. Namjoon is quick to grasp his hands around the person's waist to steady them as well as himself.

“I am so sorry! Are you alright? I was looking at the flowers in this bouquet and I wasn’t watching where I was going.” the person says very fast and worriedly.

However, Namjoon wasn’t making any effort to say anything, mostly because he felt as if he couldn’t form any words. It was as if everything around the both of them had blurred and become silent, and everything that had previously stressed his mind had diminished.

The only thing that was on his mind now, was her.

The slight warmth that he had experienced upon entering the shop was nothing compared to what he felt now. His body had indeed grown warmer, but his heartbeat had increased and everything felt fuzzy. It also didn’t help with how close they were with his hands on her waist, and her left hand holding his shoulder to keep her stable.

The girl in front of him had grown shy and blushed in embarrassment once she realized where her hand was. She went to move away and step back, but was stopped due to the attractive man in front of her not releasing his gentle hold on her waist. Namjoon snapped out his daze once he noticed her moving to step back,

“Oh no! It’s alright, sorry about that. I am pretty clumsy myself and just hope I didn’t hurt you.” Namjoon laughs nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. The young woman looks at him with bright and endearing eyes, and lets out a light laugh; one that causes Namjoon to perk up and smile fondly at.

“Don’t you worry, I’m just glad I had you catch me.” she takes a step down to stand on the same stair as Namjoon, “Usually, I just end up falling and hoping for the best, and that no one saw me.” Namjoon chuckles at that statement.

“Well, I am glad that I could be of help…” he pauses waiting for her to inform him of her name,

“Oh!” she lowers the bouquet she is holding, revealing a small name tag, “Y/N, my name is Y/N. And you are?”

“Namjoon, nice to meet you.” Namjoon smiles, which Y/N returns back.

“Well, I’ll see you around Namjoon.” she begins to descend down the stairs but Namjoon stops her,

“Wait!” Y/N stops and turns around, cute confusion evident on her face, “Do you need any help? My friends are looking around the store, and I am not looking to buy anything, so it is really no bother for me to help you.”

Y/N shakes her head, “Oh, no I couldn’t ask a customer to do that. It’s okay really-”

“You’re not the one asking, I am.” Namjoon cuts her off and walks down to stand next to her.

Y/N looks up at him with eyes that appear as if she is analyzing his own, Namjoon finds that he just can’t help staring into them, “Okay, I suppose I could use the help since my coworker is on his break; follow me!” and that is exactly what Namjoon does.

As he is walking behind her silently, he takes the time to look over her. He takes in the overalls and oversized shirt she is wearing, her hair that is half up and out of her face, and also her attractive physique from the back; but Namjoon would never admit that part.

He also notices the little specks and smudges of dirt scattered on her clothing and arms. This made him smile at the thought of her clumsily repotting plants.

How cute. Namjoon smiles; his admiring is stopped however as they approach a small room and the woman in front of him turns around and places the bouquet on a table beside her. He looks at her with slight confusion, and she smiles, “You strong?” she asks with a slight smirk while putting her hands on her hips.

Namjoon quirks an eyebrow at her question, “Maybe, it depends on the job.”

“Think you can help me move those bags of soil out of that room, to right here?” Namjoon smiles,

“Sure, think you can keep up?” he asks while rolling up his sleeves and moving into the storage type room,

“I don’t know, I am quite the skilled dirt mover.” Y/N responds and laughs as she goes to remove her gloves.

Namjoon stills once he sees Y/N reaching for her gloves, suddenly reminded of why he was here. He takes a quick glance at his mark and notices it is glowing brightly.

Wait a second, shit hold on wait- Namjoon’s thoughts were interrupted by a sharp gasp from Y/N,

“What the hell is this?!” She exclaims loudly while staring at her hand trying to rub it, thinking that it is some hallucination.

Namjoon quickly moves towards her and gently grabs her hand to comfort her, “Hey, it’s okay! You don’t need to freak out, I have it too, see.” he raises his hand showing Y/N the same glowing mark that she had.

Y/N’s eyes widen and Namjoon can see the fear and confusion in her eyes, so he goes to tell her that it’s okay and that she should take a seat; however, his actions were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Both Y/N and Namjoon look towards the doorway and see three other men, all of which are holding little succulents and have dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

If they had something important to say, they had definitely forgotten what it was once their gaze had set on Y/N.

“Hey guys,” Namjoon clears his throat and moves away from Y/N awkwardly, “this is Y/N.”

[gold3nfics]

Anachronism {Chapter One}

Author's Note: So this is my first written work on here, and I am really excited about this story! This chapter was really just to allow you guys to gain insight into what the story is about and who the boys are. I promise you that Y/N will make an appearance in the next chapter :)

Word Count: 3,814

Our story begins with one man, a man who went by the name Haneul.

Haneul was admired and sought out by many for not only his sharp attributes, but also his magical abilities. He came from a long line of sorcerers before him who had served and protected the realm he resided in.

While he was the one to keep everyone safe, many wondered why he refused to assume leadership, or even live in the nicer part of the land. Instead of living in luxury and riches, he chose to live in the forest away from the bustle of the town solely because he preferred the quiet lifestyle compared to one where many would invade his space and distract him.

One early morning, he woke to frantic knocking at the door of his small cottage.

“Hello?” he opened the door to find that it was one of the royal guards.

“Your presence is requested at the castle immediately.” the young guard says with urgency evident in his voice.

“What happened?” Haneul says now concerned,

“The queen, we believe it is time.”

He grabs his medical supplies and jumps into the carriage heading towards the castle. Once they arrive, Haneul is immediately taken to the royal chambers to begin his work.

Upon entering, his eyes immediately caught sight of the queen writhing in pain surrounded by many servants trying to relieve the pain she was feeling. He approaches the queen with a reassuring smile on his face,

“And how is this young beauty doing?”

“She is not at her best right now.” the queen responds with a weak smile. Haneul releases a sigh of amusement then asks her for permission to check her dilation, after she nods he checks and realizes it is time.

“You, my queen, are about to be a mother in a matter of minutes,” he looks to the servants “bring me warm towels and water.” The servants leave and he focuses on the queen, “I am going to need you to push, but not too hard alright?” She nods and begins to push.

After only seven pushes, the baby is out and the sorcerer carefully wraps the child in a blanket, “Would you like to hold your son my queen?” he says without looking away from the child. When there was no answer, he glances up only to see her going in and out of consciousness.

He immediately hands the baby off to one of the servants and examines her only to find that she has lost too much blood. He does everything he could to revive her, yet she has already passed. He bows his head in shame while holding her cold hand and apologizes, part of him hoping her soul is still lingering around to hear.

Now, there was indeed a ritual he could have done to revive her; however, it is forbidden being that it is far too dangerous to bring a soul back from the underworld.

He stands back with his head hung in sadness, “Alert the king at once.” Just as the servants were gathering to cover the queen's body and filtering out, he approached the servant holding the tiny prince, “May I take him? I need to examine him.” the servant nods and leaves the room.

As he seats himself in a chair behind a divider on the other side of the chambers, he gently looks over the child for any issues. Just as he was almost finished, the child stirs in his slumber raising his small hand to rub his eyes. As the child does this, Haneul catches sight of a white circle on the inside of the child’s hand, at first glance, it appeared as if it was glowing.

Haneul furrows his brows, gently tracing his fingers over the mark. “What is this little guy?”

As he moves to look closer, the servant comes back to collect the young prince to give to the king. He slowly gives away the child and he is soon left to himself to think about what that mark meant. He decides to shake the thought out of his head, and just travel home to rest.

As he rides home on the carriage, he mourns the passing of the young queen. He was quite fond of her, just as everyone else in the realm was. She was not only beautiful, but was also very caring. She would always make jokes and tease others just to have them feel entertained.

Her husband is bound to be heartbroken, he thought in his head. It was no secret the king had worshiped the ground she walked on; not that she didn’t deserve it. The number of times Haneul had overheard the young couple whispering childish jokes to each other, and them arguing over tedious matters were more than he could count. It will be hard to find a woman as kind and unique as she was. I hope her son takes after her. Haneul smiled sadly at this thought.

* * *

As the years passed, Haneul noticed that there have been more and more children who were born with the same white mark that the young prince had. There had been seven boys born throughout the past few years, all of which were born with the same mark and had lost their mothers during childbirth.

“Godammit!” Haneul yells in frustration as he slams his fist onto the table. The table was cluttered with scrolls, books, odd writings, and drawings that even Haneul didn’t even remember taking out. The stressed sorcerer moves over to his bed and faceplants directly onto his pillow.

Not only was he tasked with acting as a teacher to the young prince, keeping the people safe, and being one of the main healers; but he also took it upon himself to figure out what was going on with the seven boys who shared the same mark.

He may have been tired, stressed, and confused; but most importantly, he was worried.

Haneul was a man who believed that there was a reason for everything; death, births, happiness, sadness, there were reasons for all of it. Therefore, he knew that there was a great purpose that followed the seven young boys with the peculiar markings.

* * *

“He follows him as if he was a stray and he threw him a bone. I am surprised Namjoon hasn’t grown irritated.” the young woman says with a tired smile.

“Well Namjoon is quite patient, and I feel that he's the one to keep Jungkook out of trouble,” Haneul responds while packing up his things, “and Yuna, do not forget they both need to meet at my home before dawn.”

“The others will be there, right?” Yuna asks with a glimmer of concern in her eyes,

Haneul grabs her hand as a way to comfort her and stares into her eyes, “They will be there Yuna, they have no choice.” he turns his head to look at the two young men joking around and skipping stones across the foggy pond, “For now, just spend time with the two of them. Okay?”

Yuna’s eyes filled with tears, “Okay, thank you Haneul.”

“Of course” Haneul smiles and bows respectively before departing and starting his journey home.

Haneul has aged considerably throughout the last 20 years, his hair had become greyer and his eyes duller; but his mind and heart were still drawn towards helping people, and to the seven boys with the odd mark, and after many years, he found the answer.

A few months before now, Haneul had stumbled across an old poem.

The world is calm and crops are ripe

Yet underneath its surface lays a darkness waiting to strike

When the circles of seven come to light, so will come a long and frozen fight

A being will propose an idea that the seven circles will see as an answer to end the fight

It is up to the seven circles to decide what path they take, and which is for light and dark

The answer lays at the heart of the one who descends from pure light, for their heart and the seven circles must all reunite

After reading the poem he realized the importance of the young men The poem itself acknowledges a traumatic event that will happen in the time that they are alive, yet it had been months since he found the writing and nothing has happened. However, Haneul knew that something was coming and he came to realize what that was.

You see, two nights prior Haneul had a vision. The vision was not clear, yet it showed a figure whose presence exuded sadness and wisdom. All the figure did was deliver a message that was the following,

“In two days, a frozen death will fall upon your realm. Those seven under the protection of the circle will survive; while all the others will temporarily perish. They will be presented with information that involves seeking another being of pure light to end the frozen death. However, there are two paths they could take with this, but only one being the right one. Do not let them fall into trickery, for that will be their downfall and everything will cease to exist if the wrong path is taken.” and with that, the vision was no more.

Waking from his vision, Haneul knew that he must gather the boys and prepare them for what was to come.

* * *

As Haneul waited for the boys to arrive he put together all of his writings, they were not much but they gave small insight on what was to come. Just as he finished up sorting everything, he caught sight of lanterns and heard the sound of multiple footsteps outside his home.

“Jungkook, if you do not stop stepping on the back of my boots I swear I’m gon-” the voice was cut off by a loud laugh, “What are you going to do Jin? Send your one of the so-called guards after him?” a lazy voice replies.

“Oh that’s rich, coming from a farmer.” a cocky-toned voice chimed in.

“What is that supposed to mean Jimin?” a new deep voice says back, “Guys! Stop it, Haneul is probably hearing everything and I am pretty sure the last thing we want is to embarrass ourselves in front of him.”

Haneul had heard everything; and the last voice was right, they were embarrassing themselves. But the older sorcerer had been rather entertained by their interactions. Putting a sly smile on his face, he opened the front door coming face to face with seven men whose faces varied from shock, embarrassment, to dumbfounded.

“You boys have not changed much, have you?” he crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe. Namjoon forms a tight-lipped smile, “I am afraid not sir.”

Haneul gestures for them to come in, “Well, let’s not waste any more time.”

Once the boys were led in and settled into Haneul’s study, they began to ask questions. “So why are we here?” Jin asks while the others looked at Haneul.

Haneul looked at them and sighed before speaking,

“Have you ever wondered why you all have those marks on your hands?” Silence.

“Why all of your mothers passed away during your births?” Silence again.

Haneul notices the confused expressions and continues, “Well I did. I knew that there was a reason for those markings and,” he stands and gets a small book, “I found the reason why.”

Haneul gives the book to Namjoon and takes a seat in front of them.

“I spent years gathering, reading, and learning everything about what is just so special about you boys, and all of the knowledge that I have gained can be found in that journal. You boys are a part of what is known as the circle.” The boys look at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain more.

“There was a tale that spoke of seven men being born with the same markings that you boys have. They all possessed special abilities that varied with each one of them. These men used their powers to protect those of their realm and were the ones to keep balance within their realm. However, as time had passed tensions had risen between the seven and because of it, a big fight had happened. Their fight had destroyed not only their bonds, but also ended many people's lives. No one knew the true reason why the fight had happened, but many did not wish to know. Because many innocent people had died as a result of the fight, the people, who were the ones that the seven had sworn to protect, had seen the seven protectors as dangerous and a threat. So they decided to kill them.”

Jimin perks up and scoffs, “I doubt their attempts would have worked, you said they had powers right?”

“Jimin,” Namjoon said, “be quiet and let him continue.”

“Anyways, one of the seven had been informed about the people’s plan to assassinate them and told the other six. That night they had decided to willingly sacrifice themselves, and their lives, to no longer cause suffering and sadness among their people. Now, it seems that the gods have decided to pass on the tale by blessing you seven with the marks.”

“So, we are now the protectors of our realm?” Seokjin asks in a tone that gives the impression he is not thoroughly convinced.

The older man sighs, “Yes, and I know this sounds odd but-”

Yoongi cuts him off laughing, “Haneul, please. We are not people of importance, except for Jin and Jimin. Most of us have grown up struggling and some despising one another. Now you say that just because we have similar marks, and our mothers are dead, it makes us special?”

“Yoongi hear him out, you-”

“Oh Jungkook please, we are nothing and have been nothing for most of our lives.”

“Yoongi,” Haneul starts, “you do not have to believe me right now. None of you do, but something is about to happen and you need to understand what to do.” He gives Namjoon the poem that he had found, which related to the prophecy of the seven who all sat before him.

“After finding that poem, I had a vision where a figure appeared to me and spoke of a ‘frozen death’ that will fall upon our people.” the boys' faces grow concerned, “To end it and bring back the balance of our realm, you boys are to venture outside our realm, find a certain being, and bring them back here.” the boys erupt with multiple questions in response.

“Wait, how do you travel outside our realm?”

“How do we know it's them?”

“What do we do once we find them?”

“What about our families?”

It seems that after that last question, everyone grew silent. Taehyung’s eyes had begun to grow watery, “What about my dad? Will he be okay?”

Haneul grew somber, “Your families, as well as everyone here, will be okay with whatever happens while you are searching for the being. However, their lives depend on what path you take once you are all back here together. In the book that I gave you, it tells you how to get to and from the realm in which the being lives.”

Haneul gets up and notices that the sun is almost up. “I do not have much time, but there is one last thing.” he turns towards the boys, “My vision also said that you would be approached with an idea and to be awar-” Haneul’s breathing had grown rapid as he fell to the ground while clutching his heart.

“Haneul!” Junkook had yelled before getting up and running towards him along with the rest of the boys. “Can you hear me? Haneul?” Namjoon asks while kneeling beside him, feeling for a pulse.

His breathing starts to slow down and he reaches out to grasp Namjoon’s hand; the boys are shocked to see a layer of frost had begun to form around his hand slowly moving up his arm.

“B-be caref-ful, d-do not allow yourselves t-to be fooled. Trust your h-hearts and e-each other. Rememb-ber,” Haneul moves his gaze towards the book he had given now in the grasp of Jungkook, “everything is i-in that b-book.” and with that, the frost overcomes his body and his breathing stops.

The boys stood in shock as the man, who had been a role model for all of them and helped so many people, become absorbed by ice and had fallen into a death-like sleep.

Namjoon stands up and takes the book that was in Jungkook's hands, and he began to head out of the house. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Jin exclaims following after him.

“To do what we’re supposed to do. I am going to find a way out of this realm, find who I need to find, and do whatever I need to do to get everyone back.” Namjoon states without stopping.

Yoongi scoffs, “You? In case you don’t remember, Haneul said ALL of us have to work together to resolve this, not just you.” Namjoon stops and turns and furrows his brows, “Weren’t you just going on about how you don’t believe in any of this and how we couldn’t do anything?”

“Yes, but that was before I saw Haneul become a block of ice. I still don’t believe we have powers, that seems rather far-fetched.” Yoongi crosses his arms, “Are you saying that Haneul is a liar?” Jin challenges.

“Not entirely.” Yoongi replies in a cold tone, “I am more confused than anything, I mean how the hell are we supposed to know who this being is once we enter their realm?” Everyone is silent, and Namjoon sighs in defeat, “Does anyone have any idea?” Yoongi asks with frustration evident in his tone.

“I have an idea.”

The boys all turn towards the front of Haneul’s house and see a young woman leaning against the doorway. Jimin steps in front of all of them with a hand on his sword, “Who the hell are you?” the woman raises her hands in defense and smiles calmly,

“My name is Ara, I am a friend of Haneul. It would be best not to harm someone who is here to help you.” The boys grow suspicious and Hoesok speaks up, “Haneul didn’t mention you.”

Ara lowers her hands “He didn’t need to,” she tilts her head glancing at all of the boys, “did you really think that he was the only magical being?”

She snaps her fingers and Jimin’s sword appears in her hands making the boy move forward to retrieve it, “Look, I am not here to harm you, and you having a weapon against me will not solve anything.” She moves her wrist to make an invisible force push Jimin onto the ground. Some of the boys stifle a laugh upon seeing the young guard get huffy and brush off his clothes.

“Your marks.” Ara states, the boys look at her in confusion.

Namjoon looks at her, “What? What do you mean by our marks?”

“Your marks, they will help you find who you are looking for.” Ara leans back and looks at him lazily, “Your marks are similar to magnets, they will lead to one another due to their bonds. As for what you need to do with the being once you get them back here; you must bring you eight and your marks to me to restore the balance.”

Jungkook grows confused, “Why would we do that?”

Taehyung steps forward “Yeah, and what about the story?” Ara furrows her brows, “What story?”

“The one about the seven men who were marked and the protectors of their realm.” Taehyung pauses, “There were seven men in the story and now you're telling us that there are eight?”

Ara stills and sighs while her expression grows serious, “Do you know why your people have frozen into a deep sleep?” The boys shake their heads, “Because there were only supposed to be seven of you, seven protectors. But it appears that an eighth being has been born with the mark as well; however, they are not of this realm meaning that your bonds are not entirely connected. It was a mistake, so you boys and them must come back here and break the bond from them, and then peace and life will be restored.” Ara finishes.

The boys are silent for a moment as if to fully grasp the information they had just been given. “So we travel, find, and bring back the being, then you will break the bond?” Jin asks, “Yes.” Ara responds with a comforting smile.

“And everyone will come back perfectly fine?” Taehyung asks in a hopeful tone. “Yes, everything will go back to how things were before. Except for you now being the protectors of this realm.”

“Wait, what about our powers?” Ara turns her head towards Jungkook, “Aren’t we supposed to have powers?”

Ara grins mischievously, “You will need to figure that out on your own, your guy’s powers will come to you naturally.” She stands, “For now, you boys must travel and find the being.” Ara gives Jimin his sword back and begins to walk away towards the path that leads to their town.

“Where are you going?” Namjoon asks and Ara stops and turns. “Someone has to make sure things here remain okay until you get back.”

“Wait a second!” Hoseok yells out, “Why aren’t you frozen? I thought everyone in this realm would fall into a frozen sleep?” Upon hearing this the boys got curious and all stared at her. Ara’s face grew serious, “Because I am not of this realm.” and with that, she vanished into thin air.

The boys all stand there in silence. Namjoon turns his gaze to the book and opens it trying to find out how to transfer them out of their realm.

“I found it,” the boys look towards him, “the book says that we must join hands and visualize the portal into existence.”

“Yeah right, I’m not holding any of your hands.”

“Oh shut up and take my hand Jimin.” Jin says annoyed while grabbing both Jimin and Taehyung’s hands.

“Alright, everyone close your eyes,” Namjoon states and closes his own, “okay now focus on visualizing the portal.”

“How do you even visualize?”

“It’s like imagining, but more detailed.”

“That's confusing, and it also sounds hard”

“Shut up Jimin!” Everyone says while Jimin sighs dramatically.

After a few moments, the seven men felt their marks stinging slightly and a large gust of wind had blown in front of them. Once they all opened their eyes, they saw a large circle of light in the middle of all of them.

Namjoon steps forwards and looks to the rest of the boys, “Here goes nothing.” and with that, they all walk through the portal.