#too bad that wide shot of miles was fuck-ugly lol oh well i did my best

[lilalbatross]

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [11]

masterlist

Words: 10.1k (😅)

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

Warnings: dom!jk says hi again; some sexy times (nothing explicit)

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: 😅 😅😅 over 10k... eye- lol its a wild ride of a chapter... pls engoy!

“Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain!

“Secret!

“Secret!

“Secret!

“Secret tunnel! Yeah!”

“If you sing that song… One. More. Fucking. Time. I’m going to feed you to the next quigta we come across.”

You could just picture the annoyed expression gracing his face and you snickered to yourself. If he wasn’t holding you up by your legs, you have no doubt that he would have rubbed a hand down his face and shot you a nice glare.

“Oh, well I’m sorry that since we still haven’t found a way out from this lovely cave, I need to distract myself from our impending death where our friends never find our rotting corpses.”

Jungkook sighed in a way that could only be described as aggressive as he readjusted your position on his back. “Ugh, you’re so dramatic. Why does it have to be that song?”

“Because it’s a classic? And it fits our situation?” You leaned forward to rest your chin against your arm that was loosely wrapped around his neck. “Also, I better not hear you disrespect Avatar again or I will unleash hell.”

“Alright little human, let’s settle down and not say things we aren’t capable of.”

“Hey! I’m being serious!” You tried saying it as hard as you could, but a hint of pout managed to creep its way into your voice.

“Mhmm. Sure you are.” Jungkook laughed. “And going off whatever you’ve been singing, I’m going to say that ‘Ablatar’ thing is horrible.”

You slowly lifted your head off your arm to regard the male you couldn’t see.

Welcome to hell, buddy.

You unwound your arms, lightly gliding your fingers against his neck as you did so. The slight touch of your fingertips ghosting across his skin caused a shiver to run down his body that you couldn’t see but definitely felt. You smiled to yourself as you moved your hands lower to hover above his torso. To keep your balance, though, you had to tighten your legs around his waist and lean your front further into his back.

“Wh-what are you doing?” His voice came out breathy.

“I told you what would happen if you disrespected Avatar again…”

With that, you attacked.

Digging your fingers into his sides, you began to viciously tickle the male. Immediately, his entire body tensed up for a heartbeat before wiggling and squirming violently. All the while, you cackled manically.

“Ahh! St-stop! Y/N! Fuck-ahh-ing stop!” In an attempt to dislodge your hands, Jungkook threw his elbows out wide.

His efforts were futile, though, because you were determined, dammit. Nobody gets away with insulting the great Avatar the Last Airbender. Not in this house cave. Not on your watch.

“This… is… what… you… get!” You half-screeched, half-laughed.

With his elbows lifted, you changed course to attack the delicate flesh just below his armpits. The sensitive area made Jungkook yell even louder. Abruptly, he let go of your thighs, letting your body drop. With a yelp, you stopped tickling him and tried to blindly grab at his arms so that you wouldn’t fall on your ass.

Also, you had no idea what was beneath you and being penetrated by a stalagmite was really not on your bucket list.

Unfortunately, you didn’t manage to grasp the male’s arms in time, so you fell to the cold, damp ground in a heap of splayed limbs. Groaning, you rolled to your side and began massaging your poor bottom.

As you rubbed the tender meat that was your bruised peach, you heard Jungkook breathing heavily above you.

“That… that was mean!” He whined, still gasping for breath.

You rolled your eyes while snorting. “So is disregarding Avatar and doubting me.”

You heard him shift closer and you stilled, praying that he wouldn’t retaliate and tickle you back. You would be at a severe disadvantage in fighting him off since you were below him and you couldn’t see.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and hit him in the balls if I flail enough…

As you were mentally planning your defensive maneuvers, you suddenly felt arms snake underneath you. Then, you were easily heaved up. The action made you yelp again, which in turn caused Jungkook to chuckle as he placed you over his shoulder.

“Let me down, you heathen!” You gave his body a smack.

Your eyes widened when your hand, instead of his back as you anticipated, met the firm plumpness of what had to have been Jungkook’s booty.

“Oh, so you would rather walk around… in the dark… on your own?” You could hear the teasing smirk seeping into his voice.

You huffed before placing your elbows on his back and resting your face in your hands. “No.”

“Good girl.” He gave your own butt two gentle pats and set out walking again.

“Hmmpf. This is so not as comfortable as before, I just want that to be known.”

“Too bad, sweetheart,” he said lightly. “This is your punishment for playing around. Deal with it.”

“Ugh, whatever. Just find an exit, would you? I don’t want to look at your nasty butt for long.”

“First, my butt is not nasty. It’s spectacular. Second, you can’t even see my ass right now so be quiet.”

“Its ugliness penetrates the dark.” You began to tap your hands against his butt as if the cheeks were drums.

You had to do something to keep yourself entertained.

Jungkook just laughed and shook his head, continuing his march through the cave as he muttered about how it was at least better than that atrocious (amazing) song.

“It’s been four hours!” Tae gripped his hair and pulled it in frustration. “They should be back by now!”

Jin walked over and placed a gentle hand on Tae’s shoulder to get him to stop stressfully pacing. The younger Saeni turned and clung to his brother’s frame, who began to rub Tae’s back soothingly.

“Maybe they got lost on the way back?” Jiae spoke up softly.

Hobi scoffed and crossed his arms, the metal from all his blades clinking. “Kookie? Lost? That would never happen.”

“Hey, you don’t have to dismiss her like that. She’s just trying to help.” Jimin frowned and stepped up behind the lilac-haired girl in a protective manner.

The kiela’s spy raised a single brow. “I didn’t dismiss her. I just stated a fact we all know.”

Namjoon was quick to step between his brothers, his yellow eyes flashing with warning. “Calm down. Your bickering isn’t helping.”

Jiae turned and placed a hand on Jimin’s bicep, murmuring that Hobi wasn’t being rude and that he should listen to Namjoon.

Jimin met Hobi’s eyes over their leader’s shoulder and sighed before lowering his head. “Sorry, hyung.”

Then, they heard the unmistakable sounds of someone approaching. With a jolt, they all swiveled their heads in the direction of the footsteps, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was their missing friends.

But it was only Suho, Mingi, and Chungha returning from their search. As the trio slowed their jogging to a walk, the kiela and Jiae still looked to them with held breaths and hopeful eyes… but the court guards shook their heads. No sign of you or Jungkook.

With a tiny yell of frustration, Jimin then looked toward Yoongi, who was lounging on the ground with his back against a tree. “Hyung, can’t you find them?”

His pink eyes slowly rose to meet the half-Saeni’s brown ones. “No… I’ve tried but I can’t feel Kook’s energy. It’s like nothing’s there.”

“The draikensu…” Tae looked up to Jin’s face, his blue eyes wide and glossy with sudden fear. “What if they-”

The eldest was quick to shush him, not wanting the worried Saeni to consider such things.

“Kook wouldn’t let any of those bastards do shit,” Hobi said with conviction. “Honestly, neither would Y/N.”

Most of the kiela nodded their heads in agreement, but Jimin ran a hand through his apricot locks. “But then, where are they!?”

“He said he wanted to take Y/N  to the cave we passed by yesterday.” The mint-haired magic user stood up and brushed off his pants.

Tae whipped his head toward Yoongi, hope dancing in his eyes, while Namjoon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before replying. “And you decided to wait until now to mention that.”

Yoongi only shrugged in response.

Namjoon mumbled a curse under his breath directed at the male before trotting over to where his mace rested on the earthy ground next to his sleeping mat. Once the heavy weapon was securely strapped behind his back, he addressed the other Saeni and ordered them to quickly gather their things.

“So, you’re telling me that there’s this creature… with red eyes and large wings… and your people call it Mothman?”

After approximately twenty or so minutes of you non-stop drumming on Jungkook’s butt cheeks and the male complaining that his rear was going numb, he finally let you return to his back. You eagerly climbed up, glad to not have to hold your head up to keep from passing out anymore.

“Mhmm!” You rapidly nodded your head in excitement and leaned your face forward, so it was closer to his. The metal of his earrings touched your neck and you briefly recoiled from how cold they were before leaning back in. “And it’s supposed to be able to fly faster than a hundred miles an hour!”

“Is that… fast?”

Oof, right. He probably has no idea what that measurement equates to.

“Yes, it’s very fast. Super fast. Like ZOOM fast!” You emphasized your words by making a weird upward slashing gesture with your hand.

“Zoom… fast…?” He whispered in a confused, yet amused, tone. “I just don’t understand why you call it Mothman.”

You shrugged and started to swing your legs, praying you wouldn’t accidentally ram your foot into a rock formation. “It’s big, grey-brown, and has massive wings. Allegedly, it’s like an abnormally large, humanoid moth. Hence, Mothman.”

Jungkook made a noise of slight disgust. “Sounds like something that should be squished.”

“Hey!” You slapped your hand against his chest. “Let Mothman live in peace! It just wants to fly around and be a happy, lil moth!”

“You said it’s supposed to be taller than Namjoon…”

“And your point?”

“That’s not ‘lil,’” he said pointedly.

You hummed, thinking, before replying. “Eh, it can be.”

“How in Illai’s name can that ever be considered little?”

“Compared to Godzilla, he’s a very smol bean,” you responded matter-of-factly.

“Who?”

“Godzilla! He’s this big, spiky, powerful lizard thing! And I mean really big. Like seventy Namjoons stacked on top of each other big.”

“Seventy Namjoons… whoa…”

You giggled at his wonderous tone. “Yup. He’s a big boy.”

“You know who else is a big boy?”

You rolled your eyes.

This guy…

You decided to mess with him a bit.

“Namjoon? I mean we are using him as a measurement tool.”

“What? No. Try again.”

“Hmmm… Jin? He’s got those wide shoulders.”

You felt him release a deep breath. “Try again.”

“Tae? He’s a sweetie pie but can probably get down to business, if you know what I mean.” You wiggled your brows, disregarding that he was not facing you.

“No.” You heard a sliver of annoyance begin to creep into his voice, making you snicker internally.

“Well, Hobi dresses like an NSFW enthusiast, so-”

“Not him.” He paused for a second before adding, “And what does that even mean?”

“Not Safe for Work.”

“What the-”

“If I need to explain what that means, then you’re probably too young to need to know my dear child,” you informed with a grin.

Laughing at his blubbering, frustrated attempts at protesting your statement, you suddenly gasped and tightened your hold on him in fake realization.

“Oh, I know who you’re talking about! It’s Yoongi! He radiates big dick energy.”

With a long, sharp inhale that signaled he was at the end of his patience with you, he slowly let the air out of his lungs. “I’ll give you one last try.”

You hummed, pretending to think hard before lifting your shoulders and dropping them. “There’s nobody else that comes to mind.”

“You really love being difficult, don’t you?” Jungkook huffed, which made you laugh, the sound echoing off the cavern walls.

“What can I say?” You teased, sending a puff of air to the back of his head to ruffle his hair. “You’re just not ‘big boy’ material Coco.”

“That’s not what you said before your first sparing match.” The males voice was laced with knowing.

It was your turn to protest; whining that for the last time, those were Tae’s words, not yours.

He only made a skeptical noise in response.

You opened your mouth to defend your honor more, but instead squealed in happiness when you saw a small dot of white appear far in front of you.

“You really think they’re okay?” Tae asked his mint-haired brother while brushing his damp locks out of his face.

Luckily, the rain had let up to the point where it was only drizzling now. It wasn’t enough to make Yoongi bother to convert the magic shield he had placed over the camp into individual ones for each party member as they made their way to the cave, though it was still enough to get their clothes and hair a little wet.

The magic user turned to look at the grey-haired Saeni, who was usually so aloof and exploding with joy, but now filled to the brim with worry for you and their youngest brother. Dark eyebrows drawn close together, sharp blue eyes downcast, hands fiddling with each other. Yoongi knew that both you and Jungkook were extremely close to Tae, so he could understand why the male was worried sick. The older Saeni took in Tae’s wilted appearance and sighed before subtly waving his fingers. They briefly glowed a light, mint blue as his magic placed an invisible barrier over Tae’s head that kept the lazy rain off and sent a gentle warmth down.

To other magic users, it wasn’t the most “responsible” or “proper” use of his magic. They would have thought it was below them to do such a thing, but Yoongi didn’t give a shit. He just wanted his little brother to feel better. Even if it was only by a little bit.

“Like Hobi said, they wouldn’t let anything happen. To themselves or each other.”

Tae looked at is brother and gave him a small smile and nod, really hoping those words were proven true.

Yoongi then saw a blur of orange walk up beside him and waited for Jimin to ask yet again.

“Can you try just one more time hyung?”

Yoongi knew it was useless. He had already tried to locate Jungkook through their kiela bond numerous times and each attempt came back empty. But he nodded and did it again anyway. Hands glowing once more, Yoongi closed his eyes and concentrated. Trying to focus in on his brother’s energy and location… but got nothing. Not even a whisper or a trace. Releasing the air from his lungs, he opened his eyes and looked into Jimin’s brown orbs, not saying anything. Just shook his head slightly. The apricot male groaned  in response and ran a hand through his hair, averting his eyes from Yoongi’s sorry ones.

Jimin’s chest began to heave in panic as he began to spout out how he had told Y/N to stay behind because he was worried something like this would happen.

“Hyung!”

Yoongi’s head snapped up toward Namjoon, who was gesturing at him to come to the front of the pack. Leaving a panicking Jimin to be consoled by the others, the mint-haired Saeni jogged forward to meet his leader. As he approached, his eyes widened as he took in the mass of fallen rocks.

“That’s why you can’t feel him, right? Your magic can’t reach that far underground.” Namjoon said tentatively.

Yoongi nodded. “Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do now? Dig those idiots out?”

Namjoon shook his head as the others finally arrived at the collapsed entrance, gaping at the massive pile of rock.

Crossing his arms and walking up to the crumpled entrance, Jin asked the group whether anyone saw another opening that might lead into the system.

When no one spoke up, the eldest released a deep breath and fixated his dark eyes on one Saeni. “What do we do Joon?”

You were practically vibrating as you neared closer and closer to that patch of light.

Please, please, PLEASE be a way out.

Jungkook’s back was comfy and all, but you wanted light for fuck’s sake.

As you got even closer, you were able to make out that it was an opening in the ceiling of the cave, letting in a beam of soft sunlight as well as a tiny waterfall of rainwater.

With a gasp, you pushed at Jungkook’s back and wiggled out from his hold until you were on your feet.

“Y/N!” The male called after you as you went to rush forward.

He shot an arm out and grabbed your wrist, stopping you before you could run ahead and possibly hurt yourself. You still couldn’t see directly in front of you, after all. You could only see that beam of freedom.

“Jungkooooooook!” You whined as you tried to yank your wrist away.

When that didn’t work, you began trying to simply drag the Saeni with you.

The male planted his feet firmly on the cavern floor and tugged you back to him. “Y/N, stop! You still can’t see properly, am I right?”

Throwing your head back with a groan akin to a temper tantrum, you replied, “Yes, you’re right, but what does that matter? It’s right there. Let’s go already!” You reached out and grabbed his hand holding your wrist with your free hand and tried to pull him along again.

“It matters because there’s a bunch of fucking holes in the floor between us and the exit. So, unless you want to enjoy a natural, underground slide, I suggest you wait patiently while I lead you.”

At his words, your body stilled as you pictured yourself taking a plunge down into the rocky bowels of the earth.

“Mhmmm, that’s what I thought. Now, hold my hand and waist and follow me. Slowly.”

You let Jungkook move in front of you then did as he instructed; slipping one hand into his and interlocking your fingers while the other fumbled against his torso until it settled on the tiny curve of his waist. Without a sound, Jungkook reached down with his free hand until it rested over yours lightly touching his side. He gently curled his fingers so that you were forced to grip onto the fabric and straps underneath your palm. Satisfied that you had a firm hold on him, he reminded you to stay close before taking a step forward.

He weaved around all the holes and protruding rock formations, though to you, it just felt like mindless wandering. But, minute by minute, that beam of light came closer and closer. It was basically taunting you.

Come here, baby. I’m ready for you!

Within the next thirty seconds, you were finally ten feet from the light. Squinting, you reckoned that the opening was about eight feet above you. Not very far, but way higher than you could jump up to. Then, you were plunged into brightness.

With a yelp, you quickly squished your eyes closed and threw a hand over them for good measure. “Ah, fuck. MY EYES!”

“Stop being so dramatic and come here so I can hoist you up.”

You peeled your hand away from your face, keeping your eyes tightly closed. Then ever so slowly you opened your lids, still squinting a bit. You were going to mouth off to Jungkook for his comment. He didn’t know what it was like to be in complete darkness then thrown into a ray of fucking sunshine suddenly, but when you saw his good-natured smile you just had to smile back. Crouching down a bit, he let you put one foot into his cupped hands while your arms went to his shoulders for balance as he easily lifted you up.

“Don’t drop me Coco.” You warned the male.

“For Exia’s sake, I’m not going to drop your ass.” He huffed and rolled his green eyes before his expression morphed into a pout. “And why aren’t you calling me Kookie?”

You looked down at him in confusion, tilting your head to the side but being careful not to knock into the rock beside your head. “You… told me not to call you that?”

A blush took over his face as he stammered out, “Y-you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” You breathed out as you slowly eased your head up and out of the opening.

Hissing at having a full barrage of light attacking your eye balls, you squeezed your eyes shut again until you felt like you could peek out without dying. With your eyelids half-closed, you settled your hands on the ground by your head and told Jungkook to give you a boost up as you pushed with your arms. With an awkward squirm from your lower body, you heaved yourself all the way out of the cave and on to the forest floor. Rolling over to your back, you took in a deep breath and let your limbs splay out. Seconds later, you heard a grunt and you looked back to the opening in time to see Jungkook pulling himself out of the cave. Taking after you, he flopped down on the earth beside you, though unlike you, he wasn’t breathing heavily from exertion.

“I, uh, said you could call me that, but you were really sleepy at the time. It was right before the first quigta… I guess you were more out of it than I realized, but um, yeah, you can call me Kookie… if you want…”

“Wow. I don’t remember that conversation at all, I must have been totally out of it.” You laughed and lolled your head to the side to meet his eyes, but he was staring straight at the sky. “Honestly, I’m kinda partial to Coco at this point, but I guess I can pepper Kookie into my vocab from now on…”

“Okay.” He tried to say it nonchalantly, like he didn’t care one way or the other, but you didn’t miss the tiny smile that teased at the corners of his lips.

Cute.

Your eyes widened at the thought and you quickly rolled your head to look up at the sky and leaves too.

You are not going there, Y/N. You are not going to think he’s cute.

It was one thing to think he was hot and attractive, but cute? That shit was borderline crush territory and you most definitely did not want to go there. You already received verbal confirmation that he wasn’t attracted to you, so you did not need yet another useless pining situation on your hands. You sat up suddenly, which caused Jungkook to turn his head toward you questioningly. You just pretended to crack your back before standing up and looking at the scenery around you. All you could see was an endless green forest that was collecting and dripping rivulets of rainwater.

“Where are we?”

Jungkook sat up and rested his forearms against his knees, taking a look around as well. “No idea.”

Fantastic.

Yoongi froze when he felt a slight nudge of Jungkook’s energy on the edge of his magic. He had been randomly turning the magical radar on and off since they left the collapsed entrance, but he swore he felt something right before he turned it off again. Though he didn’t want to say anything until he was sure because he didn’t want to give the others false hope. As the rest continued walking ahead to try to find another opening into the underground system, Yoongi slowed his steps with a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he let his magic flare up yet again. Fingers glowing, he reached out with his mind to search where that nudge came from.

Then, all at once, it was as if Jungkook appeared like a marker on a map. There was no mistaking it now. He must have resurfaced.

Yoongi found his brother.

He sucked in a breath, mint hair rustling as he whipped his head up, petal pink eyes shining. “Wait, guys! I got him! I feel Kook!”

You hummed your favorite song as you walked through the dense forest, brushing branches out of your face and tilting your head to follow the occasional bird that flew by.

You heard a series of laughter erupting to your right. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Tae, Hobi, and Kookie still running around the group and weaving between trees as they played their version of tag. You say their version because instead of a gentle shoulder tap to switch who was “it,” those boys were straight up tackling each other into trees or on to the ground.

Boys will be boys, I guess.

Yesterday, after popping out of the ground like a flower and Jungkook replying that he had no idea where the two of you were, you started to wonder if you would ever find your way back to the others. Fortunately, they found you.

Illai knew how far you traveled while underground, so you could be anywhere at this point. You started to picture your Tarzan-esque future with Jungkook and shuddered at the thought of the male doing the Tarzan yell while swinging through the trees. It was such a disturbing thought that you broke out into a somewhat deranged laughter. The image of Jungkook yelling as he swooped through the trees in a loincloth being too much for your chickpea brain to handle at the moment.

“You good?” You heard the subject of your thoughts ask you curiously.

You deeply inhaled through your nose and let out a few hyperventilated breaths as you tried to calm yourself down and rid your brain of those mental pictures. “Hooooo. Okay, yeah. Just thought of something I never want to think of ever again.” With one last big exhale, you looked toward the male. “How are you not worried about finding the kiela?”

He maintained his lazy posture, just shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands briefly. “Eh, by now Yoongi should be able to find our location through the kiela bond. Might as well just wait for them here.”

“Just… wait… for them?”

He hummed his confirmation, which made you plop back down on the ground. No point in standing if you’re just going to be waiting around. A cool breeze rushed past your face as you did so, causing some of your hair to tease your cheekbones. You brushed it back in place before laying down on your back. You squirmed slightly as the cold, damp ground seeped into your clothes, but with the sun shining down on you, you couldn’t find the shits to give.

“How long do you reckon until they get here?”

“Meh, I’m not going to worry about it. They’ll get here when they get here. Let’s just enjoy the quiet while we still can.”

It took them about three and a half hours, at least you think. You really had no clue no long you and Jungkook had been laying down, motionless and soundless. If anyone had been watching from afar, they probably would’ve thought you two were dead as hell.

All you know was that after a phat minute of waiting, you suddenly heard an elated yell consisting of you and Jungkook’s names. You raised your head with a groan but was suddenly squashed back down by a tall boy with grey hair.

“T-Tae?” The male looked up from where he was smushed against your chest and you saw his big, boxy smile that you loved dearly. “TaeTae!”

You threw your arms around the male and smothered him with cheek kisses.

“For Exia’s sake, you’d think you were long lost lovers or some shit.” You heard Jungkook grumble.

His voice made Tae wiggle out of your arms and run to latch himself on his brother. “Kookie!”

You smiled fondly at the two Saeni hugging each other when you yanked upright without warning and pulled into another bone-crushing hug.

“I was so worried!” You felt Jimin bury his head into the crook of your neck.

You rubbed his back soothingly, trying not to giggle. “I’m alright, Slim Jim. Kookie took good care of me.”

You looked up and locked eyes with the green-eyed male and smiled, though it was quickly knocked off your face when another body slammed into you and Jimin with a cry.

Stumbling back a bit, you grunted but didn’t even bother looking to see who it was because there was only one other person in the kiela who would have jumped on you like that.

“Hi there, Hobi.” You gasped out while laughing and trying to keep your balance.

“Hey, kids. Glad you’re safe and all that nice shit.” You heard somewhere over your left shoulder.

You snorted. “Thanks, Mr. Sparkle Hands. Glad you found us and all that nice shit.”

Finally, Jimin and Hobi released you and went over to greet Jungkook. You saw them grasp each other’s forearms before pulling into a bro-hug.

Why do so many guys hug like that? Is it instinctual?

You chuckled as you observed their reunion. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught sight of two males standing on the outskirts, watching everything unfold with relieved faces. You turned and walked over, smiling and nodding at Jiae and her guards as you passed them on the way.

When you were a few feet from Namjoon and Jin, the latter surprised you by reaching out and tugging you into a short hug, voicing how he was happy that you and Jungkook were okay.

You pulled back and grinned at him. “Thanks, Papa.”

The raven-haired Saeni sent you a smile back and nodded once before leaving to go see his youngest brother. After Jin stepped around you, you turned to Namjoon and did your best to mimic the forearm grasping hand shake thing with confidence. The Saeni just lightly laughed and pulled you into a brief hug as well.

“Hopefully you didn’t run into too much trouble,” he said with warm yellow eyes.

You just shrugged and looked over your shoulder, eyes landing on the male with light green eyes and burgundy hair before murmuring, “It wasn’t too bad.”

Nobody had wanted to walk anymore after that, so you had decided to just set up camp where they found you and Jungkook. You had settled down on your mat (Jimin had grabbed and carried your things while Tae had taken Jungkook’s), feeling exhaustion take over your body and mind. It had been a long and eventful day, to say the least. With Tae on one side of you and Jungkook on the other, you had been ready and eager to get a good night’s sleep. That plan had been thrown out the window maybe two hours later, when Jimin woke and began freaking out about how he felt something strange. His outburst effectively roused everyone up in an instant. After speaking with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Jiae, they all concluded that he was feeling a pull toward a draeva, something he had obviously never experienced before. Once informed of that news, you had too much excitement flooding through you to go back to sleep. There would be no more mindless wandering!  And maybe you’d be able to find his father’s draeva fast, since Jimin had a vague idea as to which direction to go in.

And that’s how the group was travelling now. After completing your morning training with sluggish movements, everyone had packed their things and set out with Jimin acting as the compass.

Your eyes darted over to where Jimin was walking with Jiae, her three guards trailing directly behind them like hawks circling overhead.

Geez, they really need to relax. Let loose with some drinks or get laid or something.

Although Jimin was trying to pay attention to Jiae and be involved in their conversation, you could tell that he wanted to play with his brothers. The way he glanced over every time one of them screamed in joy or frustration with a longing look on his face was a dead giveaway if you’d ever seen one.

With an amused shake of your head, you walked past the guards and began strolling next to them, giving them both a small wave when they saw you approach.

“Why don’t you go hang out with them, Slim Jim? I can tell you want to.”

His face flushed, and he ran a hand through his hair as he stammered, “N-no, it’s fine. I really don’t want to.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, you do.”

“But I don’t want to leave Jiae alone…”

The lilac-haired girl began to defiantly say, “I’ll be fine! You don’t hav-”

“She won’t be alone, dummy. I’ll stay with her.” You tilted your chin in the direction the boys were running. “Now hurry up and go.”

He sent you a grateful look and ran off to join his brothers, who screamed in elation at his arrival.

Those boys… You thought as you watched them act like fools.

Adorable fools, but still fools nonetheless.

Jiae giggled at them then turned her eyes on you, her pale blue eyes bright and wisps of her lilac hair flying in the breeze. “Thank you, Y/N. I kept trying to tell him I would be fine by myself, but he wouldn’t listen!”

“Yeah, he can be a stubborn pain in the ass like that sometimes.” You laughed before giving her a serious look. “But if you do want to be alone, just say the word and I’ll yeet myself outta here.”

She was quick to hook her arm through yours, tethering you to her. “No! I’ve been wanting to talk to you actually…”

You sent her a half smile and nodded, already knowing why. “About Jimin.”

Because why else would you want to talk to me?

Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head with a tiny grin. “Nah, not about that tangerine head. We really haven’t gotten the chance to know each other yet, so I was hoping we could, you know… get to know each other finally.

You stared at her, looking to see if she was telling the truth. When you saw that her face was genuine, you blinked at her a couple times.

Huh… really wasn’t expecting that.

“Sure, I’d like that,” you said.

So, you talked. Everything from describing your childhoods and the first time you both met Jimin, to how annoying it was to always be “prim and proper” around court officials at the palace. Eventually, the conversation morphed into what your favorites were. Fruits, words, plants, hobbies, and other things. She was easy to talk to, funny and sweet. You don’t think you could become super close with her, like you were with Jimin and Tae, but you could see yourself being friends with the girl. You could see why Jimin liked her.

All of the sudden, she smirked at you, a wicked glint erupting behind her eyes. “Who’s your favorite member in the keila?”

Because the gods of Illain apparently liked to make your life difficult, she asked at the exact fucking time Tae, Jimin, Hobi, and Jungkook ran past you, shrieking like people who werejust told they could stop by McDonald’s on the way home. Having their dumb heightened senses, they heard her question through their screams and came to screeching halt, their game temporarily forgotten as they looked at you expectantly.

“Go run along children.” You tried to shoo them away.

Jimin laughed and looked at his brothers, raising his chin as he met their gazes. “It’s obviously me, guys. I’ve known her the longest and I am her best friend after all.”

You locked eyes with his soft brown ones.

Try me, bitch.

“It’s TaeTae.”

“Yaaaaaas!” The grey-haired Saeni yanked his headband off and began swinging it around in victory with a boxy smile overtaking his face.

Jimin’s face, on the other hand, dropped in exaggerated shock and disappointment as he clutched at his heart. “Betrayed by my own best friend. How could you!? You wound me!”

Hobi merely shrugged, not very surprised by your answer nor the other’s reactions.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes and looked between you and Tae a couple times before huffing and stalking away.

From your left, you heard Jin’s voice shout out, “Yah! How could you, Y/N!? No more food for you!”

You froze as his words reached your ears. “WAIT! Papa, I’m sorry! You’re the best, I swear!”

“It’s too late now, little scorja!”

“Fuck,” you murmured under your breath.

You knew Jin was joking, but you wouldn’t put it past the male to not whack you with one of his spoons later that night.

“You know,” Jiae leaned over to whisper in your ear. “I really thought you would’ve said Jungkook. You two seem really close.”

As she pulled back, she wiggled her light purple brows at you.

The insinuation of her words made you cough as you felt heat rush to your cheeks. “Ah, uh, no. Nothing there. I mean, yes, we are friends… good friends, surprisingly. But nothing more!”

She gave you a look that implied that she didn’t believe you one bit but didn’t press it further.

CAN THESE PEOPLE STOP THINKING THAT SOMETHING IS GOING ON BETWEEN US!!??

It’s kinda making it harder to ignore-

You were snapped out of your thoughts as Tae cried out behind you. “Ow! What the fuck, Kookie!? You didn’t have to hit me that hard!”

You rolled your eyes and chuckled to yourself.

Boys will be boys.

Two days later, you found yourself staring at a skinny, yet super tall tree gently swaying in the wind as sunlight filtered through its green leaves. You wouldn’t call yourself a tree expert by any means, but it looked like a birch tree. The white, paper-like bark had the same flashes of brownish-black running up the trunk that you’d seen on white birch trees on Earth.

This was the tree that Jimin was drawn to, his father’s draeva. You watched as your best friend slowly approached the tree with bated breath. It all seemed too easy.

You hadn’t run into any draikensu along the way. You had been wary when you passed through a village at the base of the mountain you were currently on, thinking that there might be a spy or draikensu follower lurking in the shadows. It didn’t help that it felt like someone had been watching you all afternoon, so you voiced your concern to the Saeni. The kiela had assured you that those people were peaceful and of no trouble. You still weren’t able to shake the feeling but did your best to ignore it since the boys said it was all okay.

Jimin’s inner compass had proven to be reliable. He felt a steady pull in the same direction over the past couple of days as your traveled. Occasionally, you had run into problems when there had been a body of water or other obstruction in the way, but for the most part, it had been a pretty standard GPS situation.

I wonder if he got a “you have arrived at your destination” message when they reached the draeva because he had stopped really abruptly.

Overall, though, there had been absolutely no trouble. It just felt like there had to be some catch. It shouldn’t have been this easy. It was never this easy in the books or movies.

Jimin paused, looking up at the limbs rocking back and forth high up in the air before looking back at you and the others. “What, uh… what am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe find your father’s handprint?” Jiae suggested.

He nodded and turned back to the draeva, inspecting the branches and walking around the trunk with a concentrated face.

After a couple trips around the tree while murmuring to himself, he stopped and said, “I can’t find it. I’m gonna have to climb.”

You opened your mouth to tell him to be careful as he placed one hand on the trunk to steady himself. Your words trailed off as he just stood there… not moving.

You heard Namjoon whisper, “Ah, so that’s what it is…”

You were going to ask what he meant, when suddenly, Jimin gasped and his back straightened like a rod. You called out his name and went to move toward him, but Jungkook was quick to stop you by wrapping an arm around your waist and tugging you back.

You glared at him over your shoulder. “Why di-”

“Shhh, just wait.” He had a soft smile playing at his lips as he kept his eyes pinned on his orange-haired brother.

Your eyes moved sideways to look at the other Saeni. They all had similar, knowing expressions on their faces. You turned back to look at your friend, who’s shoulder blades were now shifting below his clothes as black smoke drifted out from underneath his hand to curl and dance in the light breeze.

What the…

You could see Jimin begin to breath heavily as more smoke poured out between his fingers.

What the fuck is going on!?

“Oh…” You heard Jiae delicately say beside you as a shudder ran through her body.

You thought you saw her eyes glow slightly.

Your eyes bugged out when Jimin slowly removed his hand from the white bark. Left behind was a mark in the exact shape of his hand, like it had been burned into the wood. Chest rising and falling rapidly, Jimin kept his gaze on his hand as he turned back to the group. When he finally lifted his head, he was smiling so hard his eyes were squished closed. Small tracks of tears ran down his cheeks and dripped off his jaw.

“It’s not my father’s… it… it’s mine. My draeva.”

You were sitting next to the fire in the middle of village, watching from the sidelines as Jimin still celebrated with the others.

“My draeva.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his brothers rushed forward and tackled him in giant group hug. Even Yoongi joined in. They all tugged at his shirt, and he laughed joyously as he yanked it off over his head and turned around. Right between his shoulder blades were three concentric circles. His draeva mark.

You felt a tear slip down your cheek.

Jimin looked over to where you, Jiae, and the guards were still standing in awe, and he ran over and scooped Jiae up in his arms.

“Can you feel it? The connection?” He asked in a hopeful voice as he buried his head in her lilac hair.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I can feel it.”

He sobbed into her hair, but it was a cry of pure happiness. He let go of her slowly and turned to you, his grin almost splitting his face in two.

“Y-you found your draeva… Jimin, I’m… I’m so fucking happy for you!” You launched yourself into his open arms, squeezing him with everything you had in you.

A loud cheer roused you from the recent memory. It was dark out, but the moonlight was bright enough for you to see that even the locals were in on the celebration now. You wondered if they questioned why Jimin was receiving his mark so much later than usual. If they did, you were sure one of the boys would conjure a quick lie to explain why.

Besides the three rings now imprinted on his back, Jimin didn’t appear to be any different physically, but there was definitely a change in him. Maybe it was the way his eyes seemed more alive, the amber flecks in his irises vibrant. Maybe it was the way his skin seemed to be perfectly clear and glowing. Maybe it was the way his breathing seemed to come easier. Or the way he seemed more sensitive to sounds and touch. The way he seemed to be finally and entirely be who he was meant to be. Like he was previously missing a part of him and he hadn’t realized it.

In a way, it was true.

You tried to smile as you watched him excitedly converse with Jiae, there heads close together as their eyes drank each other in. You felt a pang in your heart, but not because of them being together. If you were being honest with yourself, you hadn’t felt any negative emotions when you saw them side by side for the past couple of days. You only felt happiness… for both of them. Maybe getting to know Jiae was the final hurdle you had needed to let go of your feelings for your best friend.

But was it even love if I got over it so easily?

You shook your head at yourself. You truly did not know the answer to that question. It had felt like love. At least, it felt how you thought love was supposed to feel. The way your heart would pound, and your breathing would quicken.

Or was I just in love with the idea of being in love with my best friend?

Maybe Jimin had been right. You needed to stop reading smut online, specifically best friends to lovers smut. There was no chance you were going to stop with the tentacle fics. That shit was just too nice.

You peeked at the unofficial couple again and saw Jiae tuck some of her hair behind her ear, giving you full view of her extended elf-like ears. Then, you felt another twang of hurt course through you. The discovery of Jimin’s draeva made you realize just how different you were. How entirely human and normal you were. You would never have elf-like ears or heightened senses and abilities, you were just… you. Human and normal and different from them. Looking at his squished eyes, you couldn’t help but think how he looked like he belonged here. With a sharp inhale, you realized that was the reason for your hurt.

You felt like you were losing your best friend.

You didn’t blame him in the slightest, though. He found a girl, his connection to Illain, and his brothers were all here. There was no reason for him to come back to Earth with you at the end of all this. Maybe now you would be the one to see him only a few months out of the year. He wouldn’t be with you all the time anymore. You felt your throat choke up and tears begin to form in your eyes. You blinked rapidly to keep them at bay, but the urge to cry just kept building and building and building. You fisted your hands and dug them into your thighs as you continued to think of a life without a constant Park Jimin. Switching tactics, you glared straight into the fire beside you, hoping the light and heat would simply burn away your tears.

It didn’t.

You dropped your head into your hands, trying your damn best to will away your sadness. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, for fuck’s sake.

Be happy, you dumb bitch! You scolded yourself, but it only made you feel worse since it wasn’t working.

You didn’t think he would, since he was too wrapped up in the festivities, but you didn’t want Jimin to see you like this. You didn’t want him to look over and see you wallowing in your tears. With one last look in his direction, you inhaled deeply before standing and walking off into the darkness of the tree line.

You fisted your hands as you stalked further into the dark. All you wanted to do was shut your eyes and walk in a silent oblivion, but you didn’t think you could safely navigate the forest that way, so you instead let the soft moonlight guide you through the trees.

You walked and walked and walked, every once in a while, stumbling in the dark. You kept going, just needing to get away and be alone. You kept going until your felt like you could finally breath. You stepped through a pattern of branches and entered a meadow-like clearing. The moon supplying just enough light that you could make admire the tall grass and wildflowers dotting the landscape.

“You had to walk fucking far, huh?”

You whipped your head to the side to look over your shoulder at the sudden voice, body tense as you loudly gasped. You relaxed when you saw it was just Jungkook standing there with an annoyed yet concerned face.

“What are you doing here?”

He took slow steps toward you, like he was worried you would run off if he moved too quickly. “I followed you.”

You gave him an “are you serious?” face because no shit he followed you.

When he didn’t say anything else, you groaned and crossed your arms. “Then why did you follow me?”

By now he was directly in front of you, his mouth slightly downturned. “You looked upset. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

You sighed and looked away from his eyes, focusing on the open clearing instead. “I’ll be fine, I just needed to clear my head.”

He studied you for a few moments, observing the heaviness of your breaths and your clenched jaw.

“Hit me.”

You turned back to gawk at him. “What?”

“You obviously have something on your mind, and you need to work off some steam, so hit me.”

You opened and closed your mouth a few times, completely thrown off by his words. “N-no! I’m not going to just hit y-ahhh! What the hell!?” You had to jump backwards to avoid his fist aimed at your gut.

Immediately and automatically, you fell into your fighting stance. Feet planted on the ground but still light on the balls of your feet, legs shoulder width apart, and arms raised with fisted hands.

An exact mirror image of how Jungkook was now standing.

“Like I said, you need to work off some steam. What better way to do that than sparing?”

Does he ever think of anything besides fighting?

You were silent and still for several heartbeats as you debated his offer.

To hell with it. Just go punch him.

You inhaled and narrowed your eyes, readying your limbs. He noticed the slight change in your demeanor and smirked before initiating the fight with a kick.

You don’t know how long the two of you went at it, exchanging hits and blocking attacks. It was a pleasant surprise to you that you managed to land a hit on Jungkook numerous times. Either he was going easy on you, or you had just gotten that much better.

I hope it’s that I’ve gotten better.

And you thought it surely had to be that because with every hit you landed, brief shock and awe would flash across Jungkook’s face.

You were sweating, hair sticking to your skin. You didn’t have the best vision, either. It being nighttime and all. But you applied every note Jungkook had given you about fighting with obscured vision. You listened, paid attention to the shifts in the air, and relied on your instincts.

You were somehow holding your own against the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

That made pride bubble up inside of you.

But that was your mistake.

You got confident and forgot, just for a moment, how good Jungkook was.

How he was the best.

You reached a little too far with your attack.

Your balance shifted a little too much to one side.

He took advantage of that slip up.

Dropping below your arm, he sent a leg out and knocked you down.

In an instant, he was above you.

You were going to be pinned.

Making a split-second decision, you lifted your arm and rammed your elbow into the side of his jaw.

He reared back ever so slightly, and that flinch let you grab him by his straps and roll the two of you over.

Now it was you hovering above him.

You were straddling his waist, breathing heavily as you leaned down over him. One hand wrapped around his throat while the other held down his shoulder. Your eyes traced over his pinned figure, taking in his straining muscles that, for some reason, were allowing you to hold him to the ground. Your eyes went up past his heaving chest, beyond his large, rough hand wrapped around your wrist at his throat, past the smooth expanse of his neck, and further than the sweat plastering his burgundy hair to the sides of his face. Up until you locked gazes with his peridot-green eyes. If it were possible, the intensity of his stare made you breath even harder. He was looking at you in both shock and surprise, but it was the pride burning in his eyes that quickened your breaths. The pride… and something else. Something dark and angry and lustful. It danced at the edge of Jungkook’s expression. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, as if he was trying to calm himself down or control himself.

Is he mad that I clipped him in the jaw?

Adrenaline was rushing through your veins as you gasped out, “I… told you… I would… beat… you… someday.”

Jungkook didn’t bother to open his eyes. “You only won because I let you.”

Probably, most definitely true.

With a pout, you let go of his throat and shoulder and moved your torso upright, yet doing so inadvertently caused your hips to roll against his lap. Before you could register what you just did, Jungkook’s hands shot out and gripped your waist. Hard.

You gasped as he forced your hips down, making your core press directly against him. You looked back up to his face to see his eyes open once again, but with a sinful glint overtaking his expression. The veins in his neck were prominent as he lustfully glared up at you. You might have been the one on top, but his appearance signaled that he was about to be the one in charge. Ever so slightly, you felt him thrust up into you, the action eliciting a tiny whimper to escape past your lips. Jungkook groaned at the sound, eyelids briefly fluttering closed before he locked his gaze on you again. Digging his fingers into your sides, he did the motion again and again and again. Each time just a little more forceful than the last. 

With each second that passed by you could feel his bulge growing underneath you. 

And with each upward rock of his hips, he made sure to hit the very center of you perfectly. 

The sensations left you lightheaded and gasping for air, though you were doing your best to quiet your moans. Much to his displeasure.

“I want to hear you, sweetheart.” He forced your hips down as he sent a wrecking thrust upward.

You mewled, sucking in more air harshly. Whether it was his words, his commanding aura, or his actions, you had no idea. Maybe it was all of it, but whatever it was, you liked it.

Loved it.

“More,” he demanded.

Your mewls finally changed into breathy moans as you began to meet every one of his thrusts with a roll of your hips.

“More.” He growled.

There was no way you were going to deny him. Not when he was making you feel like this.

“J-jung… ngh… Jungkook-ahhh.”

“That’s it, sweetheart.” His voice was deep and raspy and utterly addictive. “Be loud for me.”

“Mmm. I want… ngh… more!”

“So needy,” he remarked roughly.

He used his tight hold on your waist to quickly flip the two of you over so that you now laid underneath him on the soft grass. Completely at his mercy. With rattling breaths, he let go of your waist to slip his hands to your legs and wrap them around his torso. The angle allowing your core to once again be pressed directly to his front.

The sweet sensation was too much, but at the same time, not enough. You moaned his name and arched your back, wanting more, more, more. You felt drunk off him. Off his weight on top of you. His hands sliding against your body. His intoxicating scent. His dominating presence. Off his everything.

After securing your legs around his waist, his hands drifted up your thighs and past your hips and chest until they settled gently against your neck. He lightly stroked your skin, making you inhale sharply as waves of pleasure wracked your body.

“J-jungkook. Please.” You desperately tried to pull him down to you fully, but he resisted with a tsk.

His green eyes were completely blown out and they bore into yours as he peeled our hands off him and pinned them to the ground beside your head. “You need to be patient, sweetheart.”

He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose from the base of your throat all the way up to your ear, lightly sucking at the delicate skin up there. You moaned and writhed beneath him as he continued nipping just below your jawline. The cold silver of his earrings dragging against your skin made you shiver. The scorching trail of his hot tongue made you pant.

You were about to release another sweet moan as he ground against you, but the sound of a twig snapping made you cease all actions.

“Is that… oh, shit! Run, hyung! Abort! Abort! Abort!”

IS THAT FUCKING TAE!?

Jungkook, who had also frozen at the sound, slowly turned his head in the direction of the panicking voice.

“You idiot! I think they heard you!”

HOBI!?

With wide eyes, you shoved Jungkook off you and quickly stood up while tugging at your clothes and running your fingers through your hair. When you rose to your feet, you saw Tae and Hobi trying to backtrack out of the clearing.

Jungkook, stood up as well, an absolutely pissed off expression consuming his face. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

The two Saeni yelped and sheepishly turned around to face you. As subtly as you could, you inched away from Jungkook so that you weren’t so close together.

Tae had the audacity to act surprised. “H-hey, Kook. Little scorja. Crazy seeing you guys out here!”

“Again, what the fuck are you doing?”

Hobi just let Tae take the heat, and you could see him start to slowly take a step back toward the tree line.

Tae just pouted at Jungkook’s question. “I was just looking out for my little scorja-”

“She’s not yours.”

Tae ignored Jungkook’s interruption, just smirked slightly. “-because the last time you followed her alone, you yelled at her.”

Okay, maybe we all should just calm down and then give ourselves concussions, so we can forget what was just happening.

Also… WHAT THE FUCK WAS JUST HAPPENING!?

You laughed nervously. “I’m, uh, just gonna let you two duke this out. I’m gonna leave with Hobi!”

You went to take a step forward, but Jungkook grabbed your shirt and pulled you back. “I’m not letting you leave this time.”

That made Hobi stop his quiet exit. “This time?”

Tae gasped. “Wait… has this happened before!? Are you two together!?”

Realizing what he said, Jungkook let go of you and even gave you a tiny push away from him, his green eyes wide with sudden panic. “Hyung, come on now. As if.”

Excuse me?

“Oh, Kookie, you come on now. You can’t lie and say that Y/N isn’t a beautiful girl.”

“Guys…” you tried to get their attention.

I appreciate the sentiment Tae, but I really don’t want to hear his answer.

“I-you-she-she’s human and it was nothing. We were just sparing.” He avoided looking your way.

Annnnd that’s why.

You stared at him, unable to comprehend anything that just happened. Why did he do that? Why did you go along with it? Why would he do that if he didn’t find you attractive? Why would you go along with it when you knew how felt toward you? Why did he say it was nothing? Why did that suck to hear? What in the everlasting fuck is going on inside of his stupid head!?

Hobi and Tae didn’t say anything else, just blinked and looked back and forth between you and the burgundy-haired Saeni next to you.

It was painfully quiet for the next several seconds until Jungkook mumbled to you. “Don’t be late for training in the morning.”

Then, he left in a hurry; walking into the trees without a single glance back.

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