#ugh i want this semester to end….almost out of the forest but right now sucks so much

[weirdgrrlgerard]

a time loop already exists and it’s called college

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [15]

masterlist

Words: 13.3k 😅

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut (?)

Warnings: some brief smexi and violent blurbs (death)

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: I would like to thank the song Different by Woodz for helping me power through this long ass update. Thank you everyone for waiting so patiently!!! Engoy! 💙

“You need to raise your elbow.”

Arms straining against the draw-weight, you struggled a bit to comply, but you managed to lift your elbow just an inch higher.

“Okay, better, but now you’re leaning forward.” Jungkook critiqued as he peered at you.

Sighing, you relaxed your draw and allowed your arms to drop. Holding your bow in one hand and the arrow in the other, you began to shake your limbs out and roll your shoulders; trying to loosen up and get rid of the tension in your body. Though it was a little difficult to accomplish when a certain someone was right there.

Does he have to stand so close?

“Try again.”

Think about the target, not him.

Nodding, you nocked the arrow before inhaling and raising your bow. Breathing slowly and steadily, you took aim and waited for Jungkook’s assessment. Though as you waited, you did your best to ignore his distracting presence. You focused your eyes on the target carved in to the tree. Not the simultaneously cute, hot, and concentrated look on his handsome face. You listened to the chatter of birds and the whoosh of wind through the leaves. Not the song he hummed in an alluring voice as he inspected your form and circled around to your back. You breathed in the fragrance of damp earth and soggy wood caused by last night’s rain. Not the intoxicating and comforting scent of steel and florets that followed his body like candle smoke

Nope, definitely not focusing on any of those.

A warm touch under your elbow made you flinch.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He murmured as he adjusted your arm to his liking. “There. Much better.”

You swallowed hard and let him manipulate you as he pleased. You weren’t even paying attention to the way he maneuvered your form. All you could think of was that he was right behind you.

Right.

Behind.

You.

Oh my-fuck-okay. This is fine. Everything’s fine.

He moved his other hand down to your tummy, stepping closer to you to balance himself as he did so. Pressing against your belly slightly, he forced your spine to straighten. The action caused your back to brush against his chest and your lungs to harshly suck in air.

“Keep your posture or your back will hate you.”

This is not fine. This is not fine. Holy fuck. Everything is most definitely not fine!

The early morning chill in your bones began evaporating as his body heat enveloped you, but despite the warmth now flowing into you, goosebumps started to develop along your skin. Originating at the source of his contact, you felt them follow the tingles surging through you and you shivered at their sensations. Overwhelmed by his proximity, you didn’t know what to do. Your entire body was frozen. Your entire self was burning.

“You good? You just stiffened all of the sudden.” Jungkook noted as he felt your body tense beneath his hands.

Your eyes widened and you thanked the gods of Illain that he couldn’t see them expand in panic. Hastily, you released the bowstring and the arrow thumped into the tree just shy of the center of the target. As soon as the arrow hit, you stepped forward and away from Jungkook. Immediately, you missed his warmth. At the same time, you felt like you could breathe again.

Pivoting to face the male, you saw him smiling proudly at your shot.

“I’m good. Totally good. Fantastic you could say, as you can see.” You gestured to the arrow before bringing your hand to rub up and down the arm that held the bow.

Jungkook’s smile morphed int a smirk as he turned his eyes to you and crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t say fantastic… but it’s pretty great, I’ll give you that.”

You felt the corner of your mouth upturn slightly at his praise and you looked down to hide the delicate grin.

You heard him chuckle lightly. “Let’s do it again.”

Only if you help agai-wait no. NO. No closeness. No touchy. Get some distance.

Lifting your head to look at him, you didn’t make any moves to step forward as you raked your brain for alternative things to do. Your obvious hesitation made him raise an eyebrow at you. Pursing your lips, you shifted your gaze to the tress beside him as you pleaded with your chickpea brain to come up with something. Anything. But when you still didn’t move or say a word, his eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward you.

As he advanced, you lurched backward; desperate to keep space between you as you suddenly exclaimed, “Meditation!”

Jungkook stopped and looked at you in both a curious and confused manner. “Medi…tation…?”

“Oh, uh… yes! Meditation!” You rapidly nodded and went ahead and sat on the ground. “I feel a little disorganized today mentally, so I think it would be more beneficial.”

Not to mention it’ll keep you away because you’re the reason my mind is a fucking mess.

“O-Okay?” He blinked at your strange behavior.

“Great!” You laid back and rested your hands on your stomach while closing your eyes. “Now sit your ass down and don’t move and don’t say anything.”

You heard him huff and move before plopping down. Of course, right next to you.

Can he not!? Ugh, okay, whatever. Just focus on your breathing and ignore him.

It seemed like several minutes went by of trying to imagine a lotus flower expanding and collapsing in your mind to time your breaths to. Those minutes, which in actuality were probably only mere seconds, were constantly interrupted by the feeling of being watched. It started weighing down on you, making it damn near impossible to conjure that imaginary lotus flower.

A few more minutes seconds went by, and that feeling grew heavier and heavier. Finally, you opened your lids ever so slightly and peeked a Jungkook.

Who was staring straight at you with soft, peridot eyes.

Spasming internally, you sat up and smacked his arm, which startled him. “Meditating doesn’t mean watching me like a creeper!”

He just laughed and shrugged as he made a remark about how he couldn’t help himself. Apparently, you had just looked too adorable all relaxed and breathing slowly while your body occasionally twitched.

All the air in your lungs magically vanished as your jaw dropped.

A-Adorable? Why does he have to say stuff like that!?

His smile doubled at your dumbfounded and shocked appearance. “You going to continue…?”

Cute smile. Cute face. I wanna smoosh in my hands. I wanna-okay, nope nope nope. This isn’t working. Time to abort.

“You know what? I feel way better already. I feel so organized. Like I got shelves in my head type of organized and-” You gasped, though it was a little too aggressive to possibly sound legit and scrambled to your feet. “Oh my goodness, I just remembered I promised Tae I’d help him catch a… a duck! I promised him I’d help catch a duck this morning. So, um, I gotta leave… to go catch a… duck…”

Bending down, you quickly snatched up your bow as a baffled, yet intrigued, Jungkook probed, “Why does Tae want a duck?”

“Uh… he, uh, said he wanted it for dinner and Jin said he’d cook it fi he got one?”

You jogged over to where your quiver was resting against the base of a tree and picked it up by the strap. You stilled briefly as you realized almost a third of your arrows were implanted in various trees, but you ultimately decided you didn’t necessarily need them.

“Duck is pretty tasty…” Jungkook muttered to himself before snapping back to attention. “Hey, wait, we aren’t done with training yet!”

That was true. You probably still had a good twenty-five minutes left in the session, but you didn’t think twice about ditching early as you sped-walked out of there. All you could think of was getting away from Jungkook’s cute, stupid face and his cute, stupid remarks that didn’t mean what you wanted them to mean. Said male, taken aback by your rapid departure, simply stared at your retreating back.

As you finally put some distance between you and Jungkook you head him shout after you. “Where the Illai’s name are you going to find a duck in the middle of the forest!?”

As the sun reached its highest point later that same day, you found yourself firmly slapping a hand over Tae’s mouth. You had just told him about your possible feelings toward his brother that may or may not be developing into a full-blown crush. At first, he pouted, thinking you were teasing him and dangling his “ship” in front of his face. As weird as that sounded, you didn’t crack a smile or even giggle. This was some serious shit, dammit. Once he realized you weren’t joking around, the Saeni gradually started hyperventilating and buzzing in excitement. Which led you to your current position: hand smacked over his mouth to conceal any squeal that threatened to escape. His blue eyes locked with yours and you sighed at the utter elation swimming in them.

He pushed your arm away, freeing his mouth, and whisper-yelled, “You’re serious!? Oh my goddess, yes yes yes!”

Although he wasn’t being very loud, your eyes still darted around to check if anyone was listening. “Can you keep it down?”

Your eyes continued to frantically sweep over the other Saeni, but when you realized none of them had heard, you released some of the tension in your body. As you let out your relieved exhale, your gaze fell on the burgundy head that was walking alongside your best friend. Smiling, you raised a hand and let your fingertips brush against the quiver strap crossing your chest.

You were all gearing up to leave, just double-checking to make sure you had all your things. It had been about forty minutes since you dipped from training, and Namjoon wanted to roll out within the next five. Satisfied all your belongings were safely tucked away, you zipped up your backpack and rose from your crouch while continuing to explain to Tae how frustrating it was when books change their covers halfway through a series.

“Like you have the first two books with the original cover and out of nowhere they just change to a new edition for the third book! So, you either have to deal with mismatched covers or spend the money to replace the first two books! Ugh! It gives me a headache.”

“Is it really that big of a deal?” Tae inquired as he adjusted his headband. “I mean, you’re still reading the same story, right?”

“Yes, it’s a big deal! A huge deal! And don’t even get me started on when they change the cover to the movie poster.” You fake gagged at the thought, causing Tae to giggle.

“What’s a movi-”

He was interrupted by someone clearing their throat and you looked over your shoulder to see Jungkook standing there with one of his hands behind his back.

“Hey, Kookie! What’s up?” Tae asked while you just smiled at the green-eyed male and tried to ignore your quickening heartbeat.

Bringing his visible hand up to rub the back of his neck, he said, “H-Here,” while removing his other hand from behind his back and thrusting it toward you.

In his grasp was a bundle of arrows.

All the ones you had left behind this morning.

You moved your eyes from the arrows to his face and saw that he was still rubbing his neck while avoiding looking at you. Smiling to yourself, you thanked him before gently grabbing the arrows and tucking them into their rightful home.

“Hey!”

You beamed yourself out of the memory and back to reality at the sound of Tae excitedly addressing someone. Focusing your eyes back on your surroundings, you registered that both Yoongi and Hobi were now walking with you. He must have called them over while you were lost in your thoughts.

“Guess what, hyungs!?”

Hold up. Guess what!? Oh hell no. He better not be talking about what I think he’s talking about. I swear if he is…

“Tae…” You warned the Saeni as you carefully walked down an incline.

Dismissing you, he joyously leaned in close to the two older Saeni and whispered, “She has a crush on Kookie!”

“Tae!”

As Hobi gasped at the news, Yoongi glanced between you and his practically vibrating brother. “Am I supposed to act surprised or…?”

“Excuse me?” You scoffed at the magic user’s dry tone.

“Please, it’s quite obvious, Y/N.” He rolled his petal pink eyes and squatted underneath a fallen tree before smirking. “Looks like you got over Chim pretty fast though.”

“Whoa, you liked Chim?” Hobi covered his mouth in astonishment as he braced one hand on the same tree and leapt over it.

While you and Tae ducked and shuffled below it, his question made you groan.

For fuck’s sake, is it Expose Y/N Day?

“Does Chim even know?” Tae poked you.

“Know what?” You asked in an exasperated tone and almost releasing a hysterical chuckle. “That I thought I was in love with him or that I possibly like his brother now?”

“Oh my goddess, you were in love with Chim!?”

“Girl, you like him. Stop dancing around it. And no Hobi, she thought she was.”

You gave the magic user a pointed glare while angrily waving your arm around your head to ward off a pesky bug that kept bothering you. “I don’t think you have any room to talk, Mr. Sparkle Hands.”

His eyes briefly glanced at Hobi before narrowing at you menacingly. You gulped when you saw his hand twitch and a couple of mint-blue sparks fell the forest floor. Laughing nervously, you tiptoed your way to Hobi’s other side, effectively putting him between you and Yoongi like a shield.

The white-haired Saeni sighed contently and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, murmuring wistfully about young love as Tae elaborated on whether your best friend knew of your current crush.

You mumbled back that he didn’t.

“Well, why not?” Tae asked with an innocent tilt of his head. “I’m not complaining, but isn’t it sort of odd you told me before him?”

Yoongi rapped his knuckles on an adolescent tree he was passing while he snickered. “She’s probably too embarrassed to.”

“I am not!” You protested as Hobi frowned and told the magic user not to be mean.

The mint-haired Saeni just looked you up and down. “Mhmm. Sure.”

You released an offended noise and stepped out from underneath Hobi’s arm to glare at Yoongi.

“I’ll do it right now.” You raised a confident brow at him before yelling, “Slim Jim! Get your ass over here!”

Your smug expression steadily fell, though, as your best friend said a quick goodbye to Jungkook and jogged back to meet you.

Am I really about to tell my old crush about my new crush? I mean, he didn’t know he was my crush and maybe he wasn’t even an actual crush when I think about it now, but he is my best friend. He should know. But it’s still a bit weird an-

You jumped as Jimin tackled you into a big hug.

“What’s up, squirt?”

“Squirt?” You laughed a little too loud and a little too long. “That’s new! Ha ha! When did you come up with that one? It’s kinda too ‘Finding Nemo’ if you ask me, but I mean, you do you, you know? New nicknames… man, aren’t they jus…”

To the side, you saw Yoongi giving you an “I told you so” look, so you let your words trail off into silence. Jimin gave you a majorly confused face as you laughed to distract both him and you from your nerves, but you took a deep breath and managed to look him straight in the eye.

“Okay, so, um… I knda sort of maybe, uh… like somone?”

Jimin grinned at you, his eyes squishing closed. “Kookie, right? You guys would be cute together.”

Your jaw dropped and you tripped over a tree root.

“Why are you so shocked?” He asked with a laugh as he nudged you. “I’m your best friend, doofus. I’ve known you for so long and you’ve never looked at someone the way you look at him.”

You looked down at your hands and began toying with your fingers.

“I probably looked at you like that, you just never noticed…” You muttered under your breath, forgetting that his hearing now matched his brothers.

“Wait, what?”

You immediately stopped walking and stiffened. Oh, fuck.

You shot your head up and your wide eyes met his, but no sound came out of your mouth. You just parted and closed your lips repeatedly, not knowing what to do or say. As you desperately tried to figure out what you should do, you saw the others step back slightly and look away.

“You… you liked me?”

“Wow, I think I dropped my, uh, dignity back there so I’m just gonna go spend the rest of my life looking for it a-”

“Y/N…”

“-nd never show my face to anyone ever again. See ya!” With a panicked salute, you swiveled around and went to go find a ditch to lay down in for the remainder of eternity.

He stopped you by gently grabbing your wrist and saying your name desperately. “Y/N…”

Letting out a defeated sigh, you turned back to him. “Fine… yes, I liked you. Er, I thought I did. I’m honestly not quite sure what I really felt for you anymore.”

“Shit, Y/N, I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know, and fuck, I would go out with all those girls right in front of you and…” He released your wrist to run a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I’m such a-I didn’t-holy shit.”

You sent him a soft grin and pushed his shoulder playfully. “Of course you didn’t know. I know you didn’t because I made sure you didn’t. And you don’t need to apologize. Besides, like I said, I’ve moved on from your sorry ass.”

“Yeah, for my own brother.” Jimin teased you but his smile quickly fell, and he continued with a strained voice. “I just… fuck, I feel like the biggest asshole. I literally just talked about knowing you for so long and I didn’t even… I didn’t even realize I was hurting you.”

Both his hands went to his hair and he tugged on it stressfully.

“Hey hey hey.” You detangled his fingers from his apricot locks and held his hands. “It’s okay. I’m good. You’re good. We’re good. I swear.”

You dropped his hands and then held your arms out with a hesitant smile, hoping that he still felt comfortable around you. To your relief, he immediately entered your embrace and held you tightly. You clung to each other for several seconds until, with one last squeeze, you stepped back. You saw he was lightly beaming at you and he reached out to ruffle your hair.

Seeing that your “private” moment was over, the others joined once more and began teasing you for how awkward that whole conversation was. You mildly shoved a laughing Yoongi away, but you were giggling as well because they weren’t wrong.

Awkward? Absolutely. But I feel… better?

“What are you guys talking about?” A new voice popped up. “You’re making me feel left out.”

Your giggles faded as you noticed Jungkook standing on the outskirts of your little gossip group, a pout evident on his face.

Your eyes bugged out. “N-Nothing! Nothing at all!”

Tae’s eyes, on the other hand, brightened and he began saying, “Actually, we were talking about-”

“Oh, just stupid stuff like, uh… if we prefer waffles or pancakes and our favorite sex positions!” You hastily spoke over the grey-haired Saeni, but as soon as your words left your mouth you wanted to mentally smack yourself to oblivion.

Favorite sex positions? Really, Y/N? REALLY!?

Jungkook coughed while the other three males did their best to contain their snorts and snickers.

Jimin’s face suddenly turned a little evil and you swallowed hard, just dreading his next statement and praying it wouldn’t be too detrimental to your soul.

“You came just in time, Kook. Y/N was just about to share hers.”

WHAT!?

You forced out a threatening laugh before saying through your gritted teeth, “But I already went, remember?”

You glared daggers at your so-called best friend.

He better not…

“I forget what you said,” Yoongi spoke up.

You blinked several times and raised your brows in incredulity.

Tae joined in. “Me too. I mean, there were just so many.”

You choked on your own spit and began hacking up a lung to try to clear your airway.

“Plus, I’m sure Kookie’s curious,” Hobi concluded.

You stumbled over your feet as your eyes expanded to comical proportions. After regaining your balance, you looked at the Saeni in absolute betrayal.

Sputtering, you began to deny their words. As you firmly protested how you only had one favorite position, thank you very much, you realized you were not helping your situation. At all. The three boys were wheezing and barely containing their outbursts. With a fed-up huff, you stomped over to Jungkook and as you passed his stiff form and strangely blank face, you grabbed his hand and dragged him after you. You were abandoning these disloyal hooligans right now and you sure as heck were not leaving Jungkook with them. Who knows what they would tell him!?

Probably that I basically have a big, fat crush on him and that it freaking hurts how I know he’ll never feel the same way about me.

Fuck, that’s so pathetic.

Tae, wanting to make his stupid ship a reality, would probably be the one to blurt it out. Curse his damn blabber mouth and his inability to keep a fucking secret. You undoubtedly trusted the blue-eyed male with your life… but you didn’t trust him with this. Not after he went ahead and spilled to Yoongi and Hobi not even five minutes later.

As a result, you were taking Jungkook with you.

They’re all traitors. Every single one of them. They can roast like marshmallows in the bonfires of hell for all I care now.

“Goodbye, everyone.” You called over your shoulder as you gave them a crisp middle finger without looking back. “I’ll remember you all in therapy!”

They all finally let out their rambunctious laughter as you marched away and towed the burgundy-haired Saeni behind you. Though, in your complete mortification and desire to get away, you didn’t register the fact that Jungkook hadn’t made a single peep during the entire exchange.

A little while later you were hopping from rock to rock as you crossed a shallow, but wide creek. Sure, your shoes were waterproof, so you could have just trudged through the tinkling water like everyone else, but it was more enjoyable this way. Plus, ten minutes ago, Jimin yelled out that he thought his father’s draeva was really close. The energy he was receiving from it had started palpitating and growing even stronger. Because of that, you were going to have as much fun as possible before shit got real again.

You peeked to your left to where Jungkook was making his way through the water beside you. You jolted as you realized he was already looking at you and right as you met his peridot gaze, you instantly returned your sight to the rocks in front of you. You did your best to keep your focus on the stones, but all you could feel were his eyes lingering on you now that you were aware of it. Huffing a bit, you tiptoed to the next available footing and wobbled slightly as the slab tilted under your weight. After steadying yourself, you leapt to the next rock, and the next, and the next. But as you landed on the last one, holding your breath for a second as you edged around the algae sludge covering it, you frowned as you saw a giant gap between you and the nearest rock. You narrowed your eyes at the distance, mentally trying to calculate if you would be able to jump that far when you heard a low chuckle next to you.

“I don’t think you can make that, little human.”

His voice held a tremendous teasing lilt; something that made you even more determined to successfully cross the distance. You wanted to prove him wrong. You could definitely make it. One hundred percent. Ten feet had nothing on you.

“Pffft. Of course I can, just watch me.” You shifted your feet and bent your knees a bit, readying your muscles as you zeroed in on your destination.

Your resolve strengthened as you saw Jungkook cross his arms with an expectant look gracing his face, as if he was waiting for you to fail. With a deep breath, you brought your weight back as you swung your arms behind you. Then, with a tiny, defiant grunt, you threw your weight forward and propelled your body through the air.

Well, you would have.

If your shoe hadn’t slipped on the slimy algae.

Your grunt quickly changed into a surprised screech as you felt yourself go down and not forward. You fell straight into the water with one leg splayed out, a knee tucked underneath you, a hand palming the sandy and pebble-ridden creek bottom, and a forearm somewhat bracing yourself. Of course, since you caught yourself partially on your forearm, half your face was also dunked below the surface.

You shoved yourself up, sputtering as you spat water out of your mouth and pushed your half-wet hair out of your face. As your eyes and ears were cleared of creek water, the first that and sound that met you was Jungkook doubled over from laughter. He kept alternating between pointing at you and clapping his hands as he tried his damned hardest to form words but would lose himself to hysterics every time he took in your now soggy state. His nose was scrunching up, his head thrown back, and the tips of his pointy ears were turning red from the sheer force of his laughter.

Sulking, you raised yourself to both knees and inspected your palm as Jungkook’s boisterous sounds continued to fill the atmosphere. Glad to see that you hadn’t cut your hand, you glared up at the Saeni before looking back down at the water.

“You can stop laughing now, geez,” you mumbled in pout.

But the boy just kept at it. Between his cackles, he made sure to point out how he had “told you” you wouldn’t be able to make it. As if your embarrassment and water-logged self didn’t make that clear enough for you.

He’s such a little shit.

You splashed your hand through the creek, catapulting water at the green-eyed male. It hit him at his upper legs and lower torso, slightly dampening the fabric. Instantly, Jungkook stopped laughing and stared at you with a blank face. You lifted an eyebrow and stared back, your stubbornness and pettiness rising to the surface. A few seconds of your impromptu staring match went by, then Jungkook’s eyes grew devious while he stepped closer to you. Before you could even blink, he placed his hands on your shoulders and shoved.

With a curse, you immediately lost your balance and fell backwards until you landed on your ass. You whimpered as the water seeped into your clothes and completely drenched the rest of your body. Glowering up at the male, you wanted to throw a tantrum at the smirk plastered to his face.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, sweetheart.” He winked, and with one last chuckle, began making his way across the creek once more.

You smacked the water with your fists before bringing your dripping self to your feet. “GET BACK HERE, YOU INSUFFERABLE COCONUT!”

He just laughed at your outburst and kept walking, so you took off after him. When he heard your feet stomping through the water, he started running away with a grin on his face. You chased after him, screaming obscenities, but you couldn’t help but start laughing too. You probably looked like an idiotic fool to all the other Saeni who were watching your antics unfold.

Jungkook reached the opposite side of the creek and sprinted away into the trees. He must have been “jogging,” though, because you were right on his heels. You both crashed through the forest, yelling and taunting each other. Momentarily, you lost sight of the Saeni through the thick greenery but continued running after him in the direction you believed he went.   When you broke through a cluster of leaves, you saw him standing still with his back to you. Snickering, you snuck up to him as quietly as you could and was about to jump on his back… but you stopped. You had finally looked beyond his shoulders, albeit just for a moment, but the scene made your steps falter.

“Whoa.”

In front of you was a slightly crumpled, but mostly intact, stone construction tucked between the trees. The parts that were still solid were innately carved, so it looked like it must have been something important back in the day. Random trees were growing up and out of the sections of the collapsed stonework, their roots stretching over the structure like lacework. Vines crept over the entire thing as well, and little white flowers were bursting along the climbing plants. Their scent drifted over to you, and you inhaled their floral sweetness. The familiarity of the smell made you think it might be wild honeysuckle. At the center of the building, a detailed spire rose toward the sky. It wasn’t a skinny, needle-esque tower, but rather it was a fat and almost cone-shaped thing that extended to a round point at the top. The carvings were delicate and intricate, and icicles of stonework spiraled around it, creating an interesting contrast to the upward direction of the spire.

As you absorbed the old, yet exceptionally beautiful structure before you in awe, Jungkook let out a breath and whispered, “Juufa.”

It turned out the building was an ancient temple dedicated to Juufa, the god of harmony. Jungkook was in the process of explaining that when the rest of the Saeni caught up with you. All their eyes went wide and they each fell into silent awe as they saw it.

Jungkook continued murmuring to you, “It’s rare to see a temple for the harmony.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It’s said that he doesn’t like to be worshipped because it’s distracting. He prefers to keep to himself and just focus on his duties.” He gestured to the slightly dilapidated structure. “Because of that, most who had temples for Juufa ended up heading his desire and allowing nature to retake them.”

That… is very unconventional of a god. I like him already.

As you continued gawking at the impressive sight before you, you saw Jimin run a hand through his apricot locks and inspect the area in your peripherals. He shuddered suddenly and locked his eyes on one spot to the right of the temple. Following his gaze, it led you to a gathering of trees displayed in a bright beam of sunlight.

“That’s it…” he whispered, making you gasp.

Oh my gosh, is his father’s draeva over there!? Talk about nice real estate.

As if in a trance, Jimin began walking over and you all trailed after him. Along the way, Yoongi silently waved his sparkling hands at you to magically dry you and your clothes off. You sent him a small nod in thanks, pleased to no longer be cold and dripping. As you neared the trees, you could see that Jimin was moving toward the one with the thickest trunk. You didn’t know what type of tree it was, but it was tall and sturdy with a vast network of limbs stretching up and out.

“That’s it,” he whispered again while stepping into sun patch.

You and the other Saeni stopped about ten feet away and spread out in a sloppy semi-circle as Jimin kept advancing.

You held your breath as your best friend hesitantly approached the tree. Slowly, he lifted his hand and placed it against the trunk. But nothing happened.

“Find his handprint,” Jiae suggested with a smile as her lilac hair fluttered in the wind.

Jimin nodded and began stalking around the tree, looking around the trunk and up into the limbs.

“I think I see it,” he said as he began climbing.

As he ascended, you tilted your head toward Tae and asked, “What’s gonna happen when he unlocks the secret?”

He shook his head, causing his feather earring to jingle against his other piercings, and replied that he had no idea.

Blowing out a raspberry, you returned your eyes to Jimin, who exclaimed that he found his father’s mark.

One again, you held your breath and leaned forward in anticipation. Jungkook, though, went to stand underneath his brother. Probably in case the half-Saeni fell from whatever was about to occur.

A crisp breeze ruffled the leaves and Jimin’s hair, and you saw the branch he was leaning against sway in the air. And after taking a deep breath to steel himself, Jimin gently allowed his hand to rest against the bark, in the place you assumed his father’s handprint was located.

And yet, nothing happened.

Jimin’s brows furrowed and he removed his hand before placing it back.

Still, nothing happened.

All of you on the ground pursed your lips and looked at each other in befuddlement before returning your eyes to the apricot head who was now repeatedly slamming his hand into the tree. You blinked at him while he began huffing and puffing in frustration.

Geez, Slim Jim. It’s a tree, not a frozen computer.

“Why-” Slam. “-won’t-” Slam. “-you-” Slam. “-work!?” Slam.

He really emphasized the last one by grinding and smooshing his hand into the bark.

“Uh, maybe give it a moment Chim.” Namjoon called up to him.

You snorted to yourself before adding, “Yeah, maybe it’s just thinking!”

Jimin took his hand off and let out an aggravated noise while pushing his hair back. “It’s not working!”

Tae then proposed that maybe he had the wrong draeva. Yoongi, Jin, and Mingi voiced their agreement and Hobi even started inspecting other trees nearby. As both Jimin and Jiae argued that it was definitely the right one, you sat down with a sigh and rested your chin on your palm. Jungkook saw you and gave you a lopsided smile while rolling his eyes playfully at everyone else.

You grinned back at him but hoped he couldn’t see the heat rising to your cheeks due to how handsome he looked standing in the sunlight. Looking away from him, you leaned back on your hands as you let the Saeni figure out the issue at hand. This wasn’t your area of expertise, so you were just going to sit back and offer occasional moral support.

And that’s exactly what you did and have been doing for the past thirty minutes or so.

“You can do it Jimin! Anything is possible is you just believe,” you shouted at your best friend in a sweet voice while sending him two encouraging thumbs up.

He just groaned and tugged on his hair for the umpteenth time.

Shrugging, you went back to drawing in the dirt with a stick. You would throw out another great, motivational quote in maybe… two minutes?

I feel like that kid in a group project who shows up to meetings and offers their opinion but doesn’t actually do anything.

Another fifteen minutes and numerous uplifting sayings went by and it was safe to say that you were bored out of your mind. Throwing your stick aside, you stood up and wiped your bum off before clearing your throat to gain the attention of the Saeni.

“Welp, as invigorating as this is, I’m gonna go explore the temple.” You went to pivot on your feet but paused and sheepishly looked at Namjoon. “Oh, um, is that allowed? Like am I not supposed to go in there since I’m not Saeni?”

The leader of the kiela contemplated for a moment before showing off his dimpled smile and waving you on. “Ah, no, it should be fine.”

You clapped your hands together in satisfaction. “Fantastic… well, scream if you figure it out or need me!”

You fully swiveled around and began strutting off toward the entrance of the semi-collapsed structure, eager to see it up close and what it looked like on the inside.

“Y/N!”

You stopped your leg in midair and pursed your lips as you looked over your shoulder. “Damn, ya’ll need me already?”

Jungkook jogged over to you, the top of his burgundy hair bouncing slightly. The corner of your lip quirked up at the sight, but you quickly forced your mouth back to a neutral position.

“No, I just, um, I-I’ll come with you. You know, since it’ll be dark, and you might not be able to see.”

You placed your foot down, teetering a bit since it landed partially in a hole in the ground, and rolled your eyes. “There you go yet again with that superior senses bullshit. But sure, fine, whatever, come on. At least I can push you in front of me if there’s booby traps.”

His steps slowed down, and he furrowed his brows. “Why would there be something to trap your boobs?”

You heard Jimin snort while he continued scrutinizing the draeva.

“Ya! Refer to them respectfully as breasts, you sprout!” Jin hollored.

“Personally, that’s worse because it makes me feel like a chicken,” Jiae replied to the eldest before meeting your pained eyes. “What about you, Y/N?”

I can never win, can I?

You closed your eyes and sighed in defeat as you pressed your fingers onto your lids. “Just… forget it. Let’s go, Coco.”

I’m totally sacrificing him if I have to.

By the time you and Jungkook emerged from the temple, the sun was starting to descend in the horizon. You breathed in the sweet air of Illain and the honeysuckle, happy to no longer be inhaling the dusty stuffiness from the depths of the temple.

The innards of the structure had been just as beautifully broken as the outside. Ornate sculptures and detailed artwork filled the passageways and rooms, and you had eagerly explored the many corridors with Jungkook by your side. Luckily, you had been able to see a majority of it due to the numerous tiny windows carved into the walls and ceilings. It hadn’t provided the best light, but it had been enough to make do.

In some parts of the temple, the halls were completely collapsed in, or tree roots and thick honeysuckle vines blocked the way like a filigree wall. But there had been no booby traps, much to your dismay. As terrifying as they would have been, it was would have been a little exciting. And with Jungkook with you, you knew nothing bad would have happened.

Your favorite part was probably the room on the highest floor that was filled with hundreds of tiny bells strung on chains hanging from the ceiling. Sure, there had been the slightly creepy, but very detailed painting on the back wall depicting a female clawing out a male’s heart with her hand. The female had a sun hovering above her head and a sad look to her face while the male had a crescent moon floating above his painfully contorted face. But as gruesome as the picture was, it was strangely beautiful and alluring. Maybe the underlying concept of female empowerment made you cheer internally. You didn’t really know for sure.

You had admired the image underneath the singing bells for a couple minutes until Jungkook came to stand next to you. You remembered him frowning as he stared at it. When you asked him what that look was for, he had explained that the sun was the symbol for Illai. He didn’t understand why the artwork showed her killing someone. She was a kind and benevolent goddess. Someone who brought life, not death. You had pondered his words, before shrugging and suggesting that maybe it was just a metaphor for the morning sun “killing” nighttime.

Whatever it was, you still liked it.

Skipping over a bundle of roots in front of the temple entryway, you saw that everyone except for Jimin, Jiae, and Chungha were sitting in a small circle around a fire. Hobi was picking at the dirt under his nails with one of his blades and Yoongi was curled up next to him with his eyes closed. Tae and Mingi were throwing a rock back and forth through the flames, and Jin and Namjoon were speaking quietly to each other as the former nudged the fire with a stick. You and Jungkook made your way over to them, and as you approached, they ceased their respective activities (minus Yoongi) and greeted you both.

After sending everyone a tiny wave, you sat down beside Tae. Jungkook followed suit, sitting down beside you and resting his forearms on his knees.

“Seeing as Jimin isn’t here, I’m guessing he still hasn’t had any luck?”

Namjoon sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Nope. Nothing’s working.”

“Well… that’s not good.”

“You could say that again.” Jin snorted as he poked the edge of the fire.

Doing so made a plume of smoke rise from the embers and a sudden draft of wind sent it directly into Mingi, who began coughing and waving hand in front of his face.

While the guard combatted the smoke, Tae flopped to his back and whined about how bored he was.

Hearing the archer’s complaint, Hobi sheathed his blade and offered playing a game of keumbak, making Tae perk up in interest.

“What’s that?” You asked Jungkook in a whisper while Namjoon began protesting Hobi’s suggestion.

“Basically, you spin a knife and whoever it lands on has to stand against a tree and let everyone else throw a knife at him.” Your eyes widened in fear but Jungkook kept going. “Whoever’s knife gets closest without hitting the person wins and they don’t partake in sequential rounds. You keep going until someone either loses or gets hit. Oh, and you get bonus points of style and throw difficulty.”

What kind of fatal, wack- ass game is this?

You gulped and wondered how you could get yourself out of playing. You weren’t too keen on having knives thrown at you today. Or throwing them at your friends and possibly hurting them. Seeing your freaked-out expression, Jungkook chuckled but voiced that he didn’t think keumbak was a good idea.

Hobi huffed and inquired what Jungkook would deem a better game to play. The burgundy head nudged you, silently telling you to say something.

“Uh… what about Truth or Dare?”

Tae gasped excitedly. “Oh, Chim’s had us play that before! It was fun!”

“Wait, what’s Truth or Dare?” Mingi questioned with curious hazel eyes.

As you explained the basic rules to the guard, you saw Hobi gently shake Yoongi awake. The magic user cursed and went to shout at who woke him up but stopped when he saw it was the white-haired Saeni. Smiling softly because of them, you asked if everyone was okay with playing.

Almost everyone nodded, but Mingi quickly asked one more question. “What if someone doesn’t want to answer or do the dare?”

“Uhhh…”

“If they want to be a little bitch, they have to take something off. Shirt first, though,” Yoongi groggily said as he sat up with Hobi’s help.

Oh, that’s a good one. I’ll get a nice, free show of all these attractive guys and it’s pretty harmless too since-WAIT. No, that means Jungkook might take stuff off. Oh fuck, I don’t think I can handle that. Though I kinda really want him to… but it won’t help my situation… but he has such a good body… fuck what am I going to do!?

You bit your lip as everyone murmured their agreement to his rule. After contemplating and telling yourself not to be a weenie, you agreed as well, which caused Yoongi to smirk in your direction.

Hobi, you better get your guy under control before I sit on him!

Tae began bouncing up and down, asking who was going to go first. You all looked at each other, wondering the same thing until you made a decision.

“Papa Jin! Why don’t you go since you’re the oldest?”

The raven-haired Saeni placed a hand over his heart. “It would truly be my honor, little scorja.”

Everyone fell quiet as you waited for Jin to pick out his victim.

“Mingi!” He suddenly shouted, causing Namjoon to jump in surprise next to him. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Mingi responded without pause.

“What do you think of my cooking?”

Oh my fucking god, he’s fucking dead if he doesn’t answer this to Jin’s liking.

The hazel-eyed male shrugged. “Eh, it’s pretty good. Could honestly use some more heat in my opinion, but I can understand that ingredients are a bit… limited right now.”

You gaped at Mingi’s bold words then peeked at Jin to see his reaction. The eldest just laughed loudly but briefly before humming in response.

Frick. That’s sort of terrifying.

“Alright, um… Hoseok, truth or dare?”

The kiela’s spy danced his hand over his tucked away blades and after a few seconds of thinking he replied, “Dare.”

Mingi looked into the fire as if searching for inspiration, then suddenly snapped his fingers and announced, “Choose someone in the group to spank you.”

You brought a hand up to cover your mouth as you saw Hobi’s eyes flicker to Yoongi for a split-second before blurting out, “Kookie!”

You couldn’t conceal your laughter anymore, though, when a look of pure regret overtook his features afterwards.

Jungkook stood up with an evil glint in his eyes while cracking his knuckles, and you heard Namjoon whisper his sorrows for Hobi’s ass. You watched Jungkook rub his hands together as Hobi reluctantly got to his feet, turned around, and braced his hands on his knees. You could literally see the apprehension, fear, and tension coursing through him, making you laugh again.

But your laughter died when a powerful, loud smack reverberated into the air.

Ho-Holy shit. He just flat-out destroyed Hobi’s ass.

Said Saeni collapsed to the ground, clutching his butt cheeks as Jungkook breathed out easily and returned to his seat. The green-eyed male caught your look of horror and assured you that he didn’t actually hit him that hard.

“Hyung is just being dramatic.”

“I don’t know Coco. That looked fucking rough to me.”

His eyes darkened and he leaned in closer to murmur, “If that’s your version of rough, you don’t want to see mine.”

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.

His intense gaze bore into you for a couple more moments before he pulled back and reset his expression, leaving you gawking at him. Not to mention, a little turned on too.

What the hell is he doing to me?

You did your best to ignore Jungkook and the dirty thoughts he caused you to have as Hobi finally settled down and let his light brown eyes pass over the group. He paused on Tae, who straightened at the possibility of it being his turn.

“Tae, truth or-”

“Truth!”

You grinned and shook your head fondly at his eagerness. Looking back at Hobi, you saw him exchange a silent conversation with Yoongi and nod subtly. The spy’s eyes flashed with mischief and you pursed your lips together as you wondered what that was all about.

Hobi cleared his throat before folding his hands together and addressing Tae. “You and Y/N are really close… would you ever consider dating her?”

You let out a confused hum as your eyebrows shot up. On the opposite side of the fire, Namjoon and Jin mentioned their agreement that the two of us did get along very well at his question.

What the? Why would he ask that? He knows Tae and I are just friends.

Beside you, you heard Jungkook’s breathing slow down and you glanced at him. He looked entirely normal, well, except for how he was sending a piercing glare at his blue-eyed brother.

Tae, giving a relaxed shake of his head, denied he would date you and then blew a kiss your way.

You stuck our tongue out at him but sent him a kiss back while giggling.

“Okay, now I get to pick!” Tae proclaimed while showcasing his boxy grin. “Joon hyung!”

“Dare,” the yellow-eyed Saeni said with a sigh.

Tae thought long and hard, then began searching the ground before picking something up and holding it proudly above his head. “You must wear this as a mustache until your next turn!”

It was a twig.

You all silently shook with laughter as Namjoon trudged over to grab the twig and position it above his top lip. He had to pucker a bit to make sure it didn’t fall, and you had to admit that he looked but insanely cute and extremely funny.

As he sat down slowly to make sure the twig didn’t become dislodged, he caught Jungkook’s eye.

“Dare,” Jungkook said immediately.

“Of course. Um…” Namjoon’s yellow eyes darted around, looking for inspiration. “Aish, I’m bad at this stuff. Um… jump over the fire? While holding my mace over your head?”

Jungkook once again rose to his feet while scoffing. “This will be too easy, hyung.”

“Easy!? That thing weighs a ton!” You said bewildered at his unconcerned tone.

“Nah, it’s basically nothing for him, just watch,” Tae told you as he cradled his face between his palms.

You knew how strong Jungkook was, but you were still a little skeptical it would be nothing. But your doubts were quickly proven wrong as Namjoon held his heavy weapon out to Jungkook, who grabbed it with one hand without so much as a grunt. The green-eyed male shifted so the mace was in both his hands then easily hefted it over his head and leapt over the fire. Landing softly, he rolled his eyes and returned the weapon to its owner as you gawked at how nonchalant he was acting.

“See?” Tae addressed you while your shocked gaze followed Jungkook. “Nothing.”

You inhaled deeply through your nose, still trying to wrap your head around how Jungkook just did that without even a gasp as the male sat back down and smirked at you.

“Sweetheart, it’s your turn.”

To what? Get lugged over your head like sack of rice?

Oh, no… the game.

“Um…”

What will bring the least amount of damage? Probably a dare, so I shouldn’t pick truth.

Without meaning to, you said “truth” out loud and you blanched at your mistake. “Wait, no! I mean-”

His smirk transformed into a grin, but not one that settled your nerves. “Nope. Sorry, but you already said it, it’s locked it.”

Shit. Stupid stupid stupid.

Jungkook shifted closer to you, making your breath hitch.

“You never did say what your favorite sex position was, so now’s the time.”

All the air in your lungs disappeared as you stared at him, wondering if he was being serious as Yoongi, Hobi, and Tae erupted into rowdy laughter. The remaining Saeni had looked at you two in complete confusion, obviously not understanding where the question came from.

I am not telling him that!

“Come on, sweetheart, I’m waiting.” He teased as his cocky expression expanded. “It’s either tell me or take the shirt off.”

You usually didn’t give a shit about being shirtless in front of anyone. Like, if you still had a bra on, then what did it matter? But for some reason, you found yourself not wanting to remove your shirt.

Fucking hell, I guess I have to then…

You closed your eyes and hid yourself behind your hadns before mumbling, “Doggystyle.”

You didn’t bother speaking up because you knew all of them would be able to hear you clear as day. The three laughing Saeni grew even more unruly at your answer, so you buried your head in your arms to hide your flushing face. You stayed that way, refusing to lift your head, until they calmed down. Then, you raised your head, and against your better judgement, allowed yourself to glance at Jungkook. You stilled as you realized he was staring at you. Not doing anything. Not saying anything. Just staring. With a clenched jaw and hazy green eyes.

It made you uneasy… in a good way.

Stop it! He’s probably staring because he thinks that was a vanilla answer, not because he’s imagining fucking you like you want him to. Ah, shit… don’t think of him fucking into you from behind.

But, of course, your mind didn’t want to listen to reason. Thoughts of the strong male wrecking you, no, ruining you from behind began invading your head. You imagined the symphony of grunts, whimpers, and slapping of skin on skin. The way he would command your body to his pleasure. Hoe utterly rough he would handle you.

Stop it! Um… wrinkly, old balls! Smudging your nail polish! Eating bad Mexican food! Bad things! Yucky things!

With a shaky breath, you squeezed your hands into fists and averted your eyes. Taking another deep breath, you collected yourself and continued the game as you tried not to focus on the weight of Jungkook’s eyes still boring into your profile.

The sun had almost gone to sleep for the day, just a small sliver of light was still visible in the distance. You trained your eyes on the colorful sunset, observing as the pastels slowly darkened into the night sky. You smiled at its beauty while listening to the crackling of the fire. You were so transfixed, you didn’t even realize Yoongi had been calling your name until Tae waved a hand in front of your eyes. Jumping a bit, you brought your attention back to the game that was still going strong.

Not a whole lot has happened, besides Namjoon attempting a full split (he did not succeed and was still complaining about a pulled groin), Tae admitting that he was the person who lost Hobi’s favorite dagger a year ago (the spy once again lived up to his NSFW outfit with the bloodcurdling glower he sent Tae’s way), Jin being dared to let you cook one meal entirely by yourself (the male took one look at you before yanking his shirt over his head), and other dumb, reckless, and funny things.

Blinking rapidly, you met Yoongi’s eyes and sighed internally when you saw the playfulness lurking behind them.

Not wanting to even consider the type of shit he would have you reveal if you picked truth, you ultimately decided to go with dare for this round.

He glanced at Tae and Hobi, which made your palms sweat, before looking straight into your eyes. “Mingi’s lap seems a little lonely over there, so you have to sit on it until your next turn.”

Oh… that’s not that bad. I thought it would be giving Jungkook a lap dance or something. Whew.

Meeting Mingi’s hazel gaze, you shrugged at each other, then heaved yourself to your feet and walked over to the guard, who stretched his legs out in front of him.

“Hello, my good sir.” You greeted him verbally with a laugh before gently easing yourself down onto his lap.

“Hell there, Y/N.” Mingi laughed too while leaning back on his hands to balance himself.

Once you were positioned successfully and somewhat comfortably on the male’s lap, you looked over to give Yoongi a “so what?” face, but found his gaze focused somewhere else. He snickered to Hobi and had a knowing smile teasing his lips. Furrowing your brows, you turned to see what he was looking at.

Jungkook.

The burgundy head was glaring into the fire. His entire body was stiff, his hand edging down toward his dagger, and you could see his chest rising and falling heavily with his breaths. After looking at him in concern for a few seconds, he lifted his head to look directly at you with heated eyes. You were taken back by how aggravated he appeared, but before you could say anything, he brought his eyes back to the fire.

The heck is his problem?

“You good, Kook?” You heard Yoongi ask in a not-so-innocent tone.

The youngest member of the kiela didn’t respond, but you saw his jaw shift in annoyance.

Well, he obviously doesn’t want to disclose what his problem is, so looks like I’ll ask when his panties aren’t in a twist.

And so, the game continued, though you kept sneaking glances at Jungkook as others answered their truths or completed their dares. Not once did he meet your eyes. And he only really moved or spoke when he had to.

You had to admit it was bothering you.

Then, it was your turn once more and Jin asked you if you regret coming to Illain. When Jin concluded his question, Jungkook finally brought his eyes back to you. As if he actually wanted to hear your answer. You flinched a bit when you thought you saw a flash of worry appear on his face, but it was gone so quickly you weren’t sure if it had even been there to begin with. By now, the sunlight was completely gone and only the fire and moon provided light so it could have just been the flickering orange flames playing tricks on you.

Tearing your gaze away from Jungkook’s face, you addressed Jin and truthfully told him that you were really happy to be in the new world. That you were glad to have met everyone and now call them your friends.

All the Saeni smiled at your answer, even Jungkook’s mouth tilted up slightly, and they were grateful you felt that way even though the journey had been quite crazy and violent.

You beamed back at everyone and with a pat to Mingi’s knee, rose from his lap and trudged back to your original spot. Through, as you left the guard behind and walked past the fire, you shivered at how chilly it had gotten. Without realizing it, Mingi had been keeping you toasty and your backside was already missing it.

As you squatted then let your butt fall to the cool ground, you wiggled your fingers at Tae. But when the breeze picked up, you shivered and wrapped your arms around your middle.

Noting your state, Jungkook sighed and shifted a it before leaning over to poke your thigh. “C’mere.”

Peeking over at him, you saw he was inviting you to sit between his legs.

Well, looks like someone is finally over his random temper tantrum.

As confused as you were regarding his attitude, you couldn’t help but be tempted by his offer. It would be so warm and cozy. Not to mention, you would be close to him. Like really close.

Your decision was ultimately made by another cold gust of air attacking your body. With a nod, you crawled over to Jungkook and positioned yourself between his legs. You hummed as his body immediately protected you from the wind and his warmth fought off the chill. Settling into your new spot, you gasped when his hands found purchase at your waist and he dragged you backwards into his chest. Then, he hugged you close and placed his chin on the junction of your shoulder and neck. Flinching a bit as his hot breath hit your bare skin, you forced yourself to relax and ease against him although you were screaming on the inside. His intoxicating scent began floating around you as you rested your hands on his arms and leaned into him.

“Better?” He murmured against your neck.

You nodded and whispered a thanks while your heart threatened to leap out of your chest.

Satisfied you were warm, he then reminded you that you needed to ask someone truth or dare.

“Oh, r-right…” You caught Yoongi and Hobi smiling slyly at you and you narrowed your eyes at them. “Hobi.”

The white-haired male clapped his hands together and said, “I choose dare, little scorja.”

Careful not to bump into Jungkook, you tilted your head to the side and gauged the distance between him and Yoongi versus him and Namjoon and chortled when you saw what you were hoping for. “I dare you to hold hands with the person closest to you for the remainder of the game. You can only let go if you or the other person need to do so for a dare.”

Both his and Yoongi’s eyes widened comically as they looked between them and realized they would have to hold hands. There was no fighting it either because their hips were basically touching from how close they sat to each other. It was your turn to snicker at their expressions and how they started fidgeting. Slowly and without looking at each other, they intertwined their hands as a faint blush dusted both their cheeks. Cooing internally, you smirked and basked in their cuteness.

The game went on after that. Mingi took his shirt off because he refused to steal a piece of rubble from the temple (you had to admit that he had a very nice body, but it was nothing compared to the one holding you), Tae ate a weird looking bug (he gagged and you thought he was going to lose it, but he made you proud by holding on and swallowing the creature), and Namjoon confessed he broke their instructor’s prized sword during their trainee days (apparently, the instructor had loved the weapon dearly and cried for weeks when he found the blade shattered one day).

Then, Jin asked Jungkook who he would have sex with if he could choose anyone in the world. Your heart spasmed at the questioned and you held your breath while waiting for Jungkook’s answer.

Fuck, you wanted him to say it was you. But you knew he wouldn’t. It would probably be some girl he’s trained with or someone he’s seen in passing that caught his eye. Your ears were filled with the snapping of burning wood as the male stayed silent and debated his answer. Sadness cascaded into you as you realized he was most likely thinking of all the beautiful Saeni he’s encountered in his lifetime; filtering them out until one gorgeous, sexy female remained.

As your chest tightened and you fought to keep your face impassive, Jungkook suddenly removed his arms from around you. Preparing yourself to hear some other girl’s name, you inhaled sharply when his arms snuck around you and pulled you against him once more. With a jolt, you realized…

He.

Took.

Off.

His.

Shirt.

And was no holding you against his bare chest. You felt heat flood to your face, and you tried to control your breathing as he dropped his chin onto your shoulder again. Peeking to the sides, you saw Tae squeezing his lips together while looking at you with wide blue eyes and waggling brows. On the other side, Hobi and Yoongi, hands still waffled, were chuckling at you quietly. Namjoon and Jin, bless their oblivious hearts, didn’t seem to notice your internal screeching. The final Saeni just raised a single eyebrow amusedly at you.

Humming contently and adjusting his grip on you so that you were tucked even further against him, Jungkook called out Yoongi’s name to proceed with the game.

And yet again, you all continued playing. You were surprised everyone was still participating, but you figured it was because there really wasn’t anything better to do while waiting for Jimin to unlock the draeva.

You had your turn again, which included Mingi asking how you met Jimin and why you tagged along to Illain. You fondly retold the story of a little Jimin trying to scare you with a spider and you consequently punching him with your tiny fist. Then, you shrugged and explained how he was your best friend and there was no way you were going to let him go on an adventure like this alone.

Jungkook laughed in your ear as you spoke and when you finished, he whispered, “Such a feisty little human.”

You shivered at his breath dancing along your skin but managed to retort in a teasing tone, “Such an annoying little shit.”

Then, you asked Tae about what eye color he wished he could change to (he firmly said he wouldn’t change it because he likes his blue), and he won’t on to challenge Namjoon to a dare. You sort of zoned out after that, leaning your head back onto Jungkook’s shoulder and looking up at the twinkling stars. The smoke from the fire swirled up and partially obstructed your view, but the white-grey wisps just added to the enchanting sight above you.

You inhaled the sweet air and scene of flowers and metal, listened to the sound of rustling leaves and crackling fire, absorbed the soft vibrations of Jungkook’s heartbeat, and sighed up at the sky. “It’s so pretty.”

You felt Jungkook’s head shift and he softly agreed, “Yeah… really pretty.”

The abrupt shout of Jungkook’s name by Hobi brought your eyes back to the Saeni and you saw him draw a knife out to play with.

The male behind you let out a groan and he mumbled,” For Exia’s sake, this game never ends.”

“Truth or dare?” Hobi asked his youngest brother as he twirled his knife in his hand.

Jungkook chose dare, making Hobi smile at his blade.

“I dare you to kiss one of the females here.”

You felt Jungkook stiffen just as you did at Hobi’s words. The older Saeni winked at you subtly and your mind began losing it.

All the various possibilities ran through your head, but you knew all of them would suck. Sure, you wanted Jungkook to kiss you, but… not if it was because he had to. Not if it didn’t mean anything to him. And if he didn’t kiss you then he would kiss Jiae or Chungha. You swallowed as you thought of his lips against someone else’s. Biting your bottom lip, you looked down.

And if he refuses the dare and takes something off, then he’s still rejecting me. Fuck, Hobi… what were you thinking?

“Hurry up, Kook!” Namjoon joked. “We don’t have all night.”

Jungkook grumbled while removing his arms from your middle and standing up, allowing the heat that cocooned you to slowly evaporate. With a smirk directed at nobody in particular, he began walking off into the trees toward the three people not a part of your game. Leaving you cold and alone.

Tucking in your knees, you nodded to yourself and wrapped your own arms around your body as Tae, Yoongi, and Hobi all looked at you in concern. Even Mingi frowned in your direction.

Of course, he’s gonna kiss one of the other girls. Probably Chungha since Jiae is with Jimin. And I’m not surprised he didn’t take off something. His competitive ego had already been wounded when he took his shirt off earlier.

You sniffled and blinked a few times as you scolded yourself for getting upset.

“Y-Y/N…” Hobi quietly said in a pained voice. “I… I didn’t think he-”

You sighed pitifully and looked over to the Saeni and forced a smile. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“Little scorja…?” Tae reached out and gently placed a hand on your shoulder.

“What?” You asked and laughed in a weak manner. “He can do whatever he wants.”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Jin inquired, not understanding what was happening.

Not understanding that disappointment was crashing you over and filling your heart.

Before you could answer, Jungkook came strutting back to the group with a smug expression on his face. You averted your eyes while the three Saeni who knew of your crush glared at him.

The burgundy-haired male stopped, questioning why they were looking at him like that when he completed the dare. But they said nothing to explain, not wanting you to feel any worse.

“Who?” asked Namjoon.

Jungkook cleared his throat before walking around the fire. “Ch-Chungha.”

You sucked in a breath as he sat down behind you and caged you in with his legs again.

The audacity of this fucker!

But you couldn’t bring yourself to stay mad. You were just… sad and hurt and wondering why you always had to like the guys that never showed a speck on interest in you. Maybe you were cursed. Or maybe you were subconsciously addicted to the ache it caused in your heart.

Jungkook didn’t wrap his arms around you again, thankfully. Instead, he leaned back on his hands. Fuck, all you wanted to do was get away from him and let Tae hold you. But you couldn’t. It would look weird and suspicious if you got up and left his leggy embrace now, so you just sat there in discomfort. Shrinking yourself as much as possible, you tried to allow only the barest amounts of your body to touch him.

Unaware of the heaviness inside your chest and the small feeling crowding in your mind, Jungkook smack his lips together once before calling Tae’s name to continue the shitty game.

The next morning you were finishing up your training session with fatigued energy. You had barely slept a wink last night. Not with Jungkook sleeping peacefully next to you as if he hadn’t just stomped your heart into a pulpy mess. After tossing and turning for several hours and resisting the urge to look at the snoozing burgundy head beside you, you had given up and just stared at the stars and moon blankly.

You had remained that way, basically motionless and letting your feelings eat away at you, until you somehow fell asleep. When Tae woke you up a couple hours later, he informed you that Jungkook asked Yoongi to train you today since he wanted to get some of his own training in with the kiela. You had breathed out a relieved sigh and nodded since that meant you didn’t have to look at or deal with Jungkook until later.

But that didn’t mean you were entirely focused or particularly spritely during training.

Fortunately, Yoongi seemed to understand and didn’t berate you for your poor performance. You were also grateful he didn’t ask how you were doing since you weren’t in the mood to talk about it. Instead, he just did his best to distract you with training and keep your mind preoccupied for a short while.

He even ended the session a bit early, telling you to go wash up in the creek and try to get some rest before Jimin began tackling the draeva again. With a tiny, tired smile, you thanked him and dropped your bow and quiver off with the rest of your stuff before grabbing the towel you had stuffed in your backpack. Throwing it over your shoulder, you made your way through the foliage toward the creek.

Muttering to yourself about dumb boys and dumb feelings, you brushed past the small, leafy limbs and shuffled through the shrubs. The sound of soft rapids began to reach your ears and you groaned in pleasure at the thought of cleaning the dirt off your skin.

The calming sound of flowing water grew louder and louder, and you smiled to yourself as you ducked under and around the last set of branches before the creek beach. Though it turned into a frown as you saw a shirtless Jungkook bending down to retrieve his shirt from a rock.

One morning… is one morning without him too much to ask?

You stilled as he straightened, showcasing the hard ridges of his muscular back as well as the rings of his draeva mark. Water dripped off the wet strands of his hair, beaded on his skin, and trailed down the curve of his spine. Your eyes followed the drops’ descent to his slim waist until they reached the waistband of his pants, but then your eyes went even further and snuck a look at his round, firm booty. Continuing down, you took in the bulging outline of his thighs and the-

Oh shit, he’s turning around! Act casual!

You went to move your hands behind your back, then brought them to your front, then clasped them together, then tried crossing them all in a span of a second. None of them felt normal so you just awkwardly hung them at your sides as your eyes went wide with panic and he fully turned around.

Your plan had been to gruff out a simple hello and walk past him.

Unsurprisingly, that all flew out the goddamn window as soon as you were presented with the snack that was Jeon Jungkook’s abdominal muscles. You swallowed hard as you tried to peel your eyes away from his lean torso and his drool-worthy v line.

You finally managed to bring your gaze up to his face and mentally cursed when you saw him smirking at you.

“Like what you see, sweetheart?”

The nickname made you blood boil and you made your eyes harden while anchoring your arms across your chest.

“For Exia’s sake, are you mad at me or something?” He rolled his green eyes and went to tug his shirt n over his head but paused and suddenly looked at you seriously. “Did hyung do something to you at training?”

“Mr. Sparkle Hands?” You scoffed and began marching forward. “No. He didn’t do anything.”

He pulled his shirt on all the way. “Okay, well why are you so grouchy?”

Now just a couple of feet away from the male, you raised your hand and poked him forcefully. “I am not grouchy. Or mad. Why would I be mad? There’s nothing to be mad about.”

He frowned at you jabbing your finger into him. “Alright, so you’re definitely mad, and I presume at me, but wha-” He stopped as he realized something, then chuckled and smirked again. “Oh my goddess, don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

I want to punch him so fucking badly in his perfect fucking face.

“Why the hell would I be jealous?” You lifted your chin and did your best to not give away your actual feelings.

Yes. I’m fucking jealous. And hurt. And embarrassed. And a whole lot of other shit.

He stepped closer to you and lowly said, “Because I said I kissed Chungha last night.”

You unwillingly winced slightly, and you moved away from him as your eyes began to sting.

Inhaling, you looked past him at the flowing creek. “So?”

Maybe if you just ignored him, he would leave and let you mask your tears with creek water in peace.

“Sweetheart.”

Just ignore him and he’ll leave.

“Look at me.”

Ignore him and he’ll leave. Ignore him and he’ll leave. Ignore him and he’ll leave.

“Please.”

You still didn’t, so he took matters into his own hands. Literally.

Reaching out, he grabbed your chin and forced you to face him. He no longer had that cocky grin on his face, but was looking at you with soft, worried eyes.

You stared at him, tired and borderline limp. You didn’t have the energy to fight him anymore.

Gently, he tucked some of your hair behind your ear with his free hand before holding the side of your face. His thumb caressed your cheek and you let him. You shouldn’t have, but you did.

“I didn’t kiss her.” He gazed at you with sincerity.

Huh?

Seeing your confusion, he continued. “I only said I did. I didn’t want hyungs thinking I bitched out again, so I took off my sock, put my shoe back on, and walked back. That’s it.”

I’m sorry, WHAT!?

You shoved him away, yelling and cursing his ridiculous, unbelievable ego. He looked at you in shock as you put your palms against his firm chest and pushed him again. And again. And again.

This motherfucker hurts me and now tells me that pain was because his fucking ego was too sensitive to not do a dare!?

“You’re the biggest, most annoying, frustrating, immature… jackass I’ve ever met in my life! AND I’VE MET A LOT OF JACKASSES!”

As you barely controlled yourself not to wring the living daylights out of him, you noticed his head jerk to the side suddenly. His silver earrings flashed in the morning light. Then, he had the nerve to shush you.

Maybe, a nice, early morning strangulation won’t be a bad way to start the day.

Fuming, you clenched your hands and was about to start going off again, but he whipped his head back to you in alarm and quickly smacked a hand over your mouth while gripping your upper arm in his other. You struggled against him and proceeded to scream vulgarities at him through his palm.

“Y/N. Shut. Up,” he whispered in a dark, serious tone.

And shut up you did. You glared at him with mad, yet perplexed eyes as you breathed heavily into his hand.

He held your gaze as his head tilted to the side once more. As if he was listening for something.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw something shine brightly and briefly and you yelped as Jungkook forcefully yanked you down to the ground. You hit the rocky beach with a harsh grunt and above your heads, you glimpsed a decently sized dagger fly though the air where your bodies had just been. You strained your neck to follow its path and watched as it clattered against a lone rock and ricocheted out of sight.

What the fuck!?

Next, came a small party of three unknown Saeni charging through the trees at you from the opposite side of the creek. Cursing, Jungkook rolled into a crouch while throwing a rock at one of them. The projectile hit the male dead in the face, causing him to fall to the side. Instinctively, you also rose to a crouch and reached over your shoulder for an arrow but froze when you remembered you left your bow and quiver at camp.

Shit.

You picked up a rock too, and readied to throw it, but realized it was completely unnecessary. Jungkook had already snapped the neck of the first Saeni who reached him, his teeth gritted in anger as he did so. As the now dead female collapsed, he snatched up the knife at her waist and spun once before throwing it at the final opponent. The blade rotated once in the air and embedded itself into the skull of its target.

Whistling at his display of abilities, you tossed the rock aside and fully stood. “Are they-”

He nodded. “Draikensu.”

Double shit.

He leaned down to wrench out the blade from the Saeni’s face, blood erupting out and drenching the draikensu’s head once it was removed. With a clenched jaw, he made his way over to the male he had hit with a rock, but before Jungkook was able to reach him, more draikensu began pouring out from the tree line across from you.

“Oh, fuck. Run!” He swiveled and began coming back to you as he yelled. “Go! Go! Go!”

With a curse, you turned and began sprinting.

The two of you crashed through the forest. Branches whipping against your face, thorns scratching against your skin and clothes, and frenzied energy thrumming through your veins. Jungkook was behind you, urging you to move faster as arrows began thumping into trees and whistling past your heads. Sucking in air, you did just that. You ran and ran and ran. Away from the draikensu. Toward camp and your weapons. Into the rising sun and what you were sure would be a bloody, death-bringing day.

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