The sky is a pretty shade of light blue as Jungkook roams the beach with his metal detector in hands, scanning through patches of sand and gravel for anything of importance.
The sea breeze meets his skin and gently ruffles his hair. The strands are getting longer these days, almost reaching his chin, so occasionally he has to pull them back behind his ears, keep them from getting in the way while he looks down trying to discern if what he found is worth taking home or not.
He walks around, moving the metal detector from side to side and shuffling the grains of sand with his feet. The bright sun is shining above him, reflecting on the vast ocean in a white shimmer that forces him to look away if he stares at it for too long.
It's warm and Jungkook's dressed accordingly and comfortably in an oversized tank top and cargo shorts. He has a backpack on his back too, to keep a water bottle and hold his findings, when they do occur.
So far, he's only found some small change in the form of rusted coins and a handful of crooked wires, but that doesn't discourage him. It's been a childhood dream of his to treasure hunt like this, he enjoys the challenge and adventure aspects of it.
He's always been fascinated by the old beach treasure hunting videos he used to watch on cable TV when he was a kid.
The intro to them would start playing, some intense song that was disproportionate to the contents of the show, but worked well enough to give the viewers that excitement for what was to come. After an awkward pause in a blank screen, a muscular tanned man with blond hair would appear on the screen.
The voiceover for the episode would come with a few seconds of delay, which gave Jungkook the opportunity to rack his brain trying to make sense of the foreign words. When the Korean voice would finally catch up to what was being said, it'd present the beach that was being explored and what was supposed to be find buried in there.
The episodes never differed much from one another, but that didn't stop Jungkook from being hooked for next hour and a half, eyes completely transfixed on the old television screen and barely blinking.
Fast forward some years and now here he is, traveling through the beaches of Korea, mostly of Busan, where he currently lives, with an old metal detector he got from a thrift shop, hoping that he can find some old coins or trinkets that can earn him some good money. He even has some muscles of his own and a beautiful tanned skin too to complete the packet. The blond hair, on the other hand, was an easy pass; he's always preferred his natural dark brown color instead.
As he mindlessly continues to pace around the beach, his metal detector unexpectedly starts beeping. Not in the way it usually does, barely audible and with huge intervals between each beep—which truthfully only signals it's on and working properly—, this time it's so loud and constant he's afraid people will start looking at him as if he's grown another head.
Luckily, he's in a more isolated part of the beach, where people only pass by to get to the rock formations by the sea—and take trendy pictures to post on their feeds while there—, or to go to a couple of farther food stalls and get some drinks and fried seafood. What matters, though, is that no one's intently staring at him yet, too busy with their own activities to spare him more than a quick glance.
That is, until the beeping starts getting louder once more.
He's sure the whole beach has their eyes on him now. He's approaching a small sand mound, following the increasing sound of his device, and it leads him to an old pier, with some rotted planks fallen to the sides of it and gravel scattered around. He can definitely sense that the people around him are annoyed by the ruckus, judging him for thinking he's gone out of his way just to disturb their pleasing day off at the beach.
Jungkook makes a displeased sound at the unwanted attention and wills himself to focus back on the metal detector. He's somewhat successful until the noise increases astronomically when he hovers the object over the top of the mound.
Now he is undoubtedly feeling self-conscious, more than he already does every time he steps out of his house carrying his huge metal detector. The only thing he knows is that he's not about to pack everything up and go home as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
He takes a deep breath and tries his best to tune out the pointed stares and whispers that don't stop coming his way, and to everyone's relief—his included—, he turns the metal detector off.
Jungkook starts digging on the spot. It doesn't take a lot of effort, he does it with his hands, brushing the sand out of the way and forming a small pit to the side, and soon he finds an old oil lamp, with intricate patterns carved on its bronze exterior. The outside part is clouded and rusted, he also notes, a sign of how long it's been covered by the damp sand, withstanding time. Its beauty, however, is undeniable and impossible to miss.
The object reminds him of those magical lamps from kid's cartoons that have genies living inside of them, ready to come out and grant three wishes to a lucky adventurer.
Amidst nostalgic thoughts, the realization that he found something that isn't straight up trash hits him and his eyes and mouth open wide in disbelief. He feels like screaming and jumping around, running along the beach and showing his discovery to everyone. He wants to shove it in their faces that all that beeping was worth it in the end. It'd be completely out of character for him, but that's how proud of himself he is in this moment.
He obviously doesn't act on any of that, opting to secure the lamp in his arms instead and appreciate the weight of it against him. His whole body is vibrating in excitement and he frantically looks around, making sure there are no curious eyes lurking behind his back ready to steal his newfound treasure.
He walks closer to the pier, to a place he deems more secluded, and finds cover below some rotting wood planks that are yet to fall off. He raises both arms in front of his chest, eyes glinting in expectation, and rubs the lamp, a sort of silly homage to all the cartoons he's ever watched. Again, it's a silly thought, but maybe there'll actually be a genie inside that'll grant him three wishes. He laughs to himself regardless, as if. But at least there's no one watching him making a fool of himself for a second time that day.
He doesn't wait for anything to happen, he knows it won't, and turns to look inside his backpack for some room to fit the lamp after placing it carefully on the sand by his side. He arranges his spare clothes at the very bottom, folded neatly, and meticulously moves around a water bottle, his wallet and a small box with spare batteries for the metal detector. He's about to reach for the lamp when, from the corners of his eyes, he notices a blue fog slowly surrounding him.
He barely has time to turn back around and check what's going on when, to his utmost surprise, something abruptly comes flying out of the lamp.
Jungkook falls back on his butt and rubs at his eyes to make sure he isn't hallucinating from either dehydration or from a heat stroke.
Floating in front of him is not a genie, like one would expect, instead it looks incredibly like a fairy, small and sparkly.
The creature has beautiful black hair that is almost long enough to cover its eyes, and is wearing a light blue outfit covered in shiny specs that reflect the sunlight everywhere.
The pair of short shorts and the long sleeved crop top it's wearing expose most of its skin, that is as pale as the sand below their feet and seems to glow under the sun. On its feet, thin light blue socks that go up its legs until they fade into white stardust right below its knees.
Jungkook thinks he's also briefly seen a pair of translucent wings, but they flickered out and disappeared so fast it's possible he might be only imagining things, as bewildered as he is.
The fairy is definitely the prettiest creature, or person, that he's ever seen, no doubts about it. And it's tiny too. So tiny he's sure he can fit it in his palm or carry it around in his pocket. He feels like crying at how precious it looks.
To add to it, it's staring right back at him, with big, curious eyes, and Jungkook feels a pang in his chest. He isn't strong enough to deal with small and soft creatures, and all of his friends and family can testify to it, judging by how he turns into a pile of goo in the presence of cute puppies and kitties.
"Wha- who are you?" Jungkook manages to ask, stumbling over his words.
The fairy blinks slowly, seemingly amused by his mix of confusion and astonishment, and the sound of its laugh, like little tinkling bells, fills Jungkook's ears, "I'm Yoongi. A male fairy."
The voice that comes out of such a tiny mouth isn't what Jungkook's expecting. It's deeper than his own and slightly raspy, maybe from disuse, or maybe it's just naturally like that and Jungkook's foolishly having a hard time wrapping his head around it.
Jungkook is speechless and can only breathe out a little "oh" in response, amazed at the marvelous creature in front of him.
He stares at the fairy for several minutes trying to gather his thoughts, until his expression morphs into one of confusion once again when he finally realizes the oddity of the situation.
"Wait. A fairy? But fairies don't live inside of magic lamps, genies do." He points out and realizes two seconds later how nonsensical he sounds. Why is he mentioning genies, they aren't real—and technically neither are fairies, he mentally adds. He squints his eyes and shakes his head, feeling like banging it against the old pier at how ridiculous everything suddenly is.
"Genies?" The fairy asks back with a tilt of his head. "What are those?"
Jungkook grunts. He doesn't need to go down this road trying to explain what a genie is to a fairy, there's too many levels to this absurdity and he doesn't feel like diving into any of them.
"Don't worry about it, they're fictional creatures from children's books." He stops and wonders if Yoongi even knows what fictional characters and children's books are, but he doesn't dwell too much on it, he doesn't need to fill his mind with even more senseless questions. "What happened to you, though? I don't think a lamp is the most suitable place for a fairy…" He quickly changes the subject, opting to accept, at least for now, that there's a real fairy floating right in front of him.
"I was captured by a servant of one of the generals of the Joseon dynasty. He trapped me inside this lamp, took away most of my powers and removed my wings." Yoongi responds in a heartbeat, voice completely monotone.
Jungkook is taken aback by how naturally the fairy tells him all of that at once. He doesn't sound upset or angry or anything at all, it's like he accepted his fate, like he'd always lived with the possibility of something like that happening and was only waiting for the time to come.
"I need to find the man that did this to me, make him reverse the curse." Yoongi utters at last, brows furrowed in determination, and Jungkook quickly realizes that he isn't as indifferent and accepting of his fate as he initially thought.
Jungkook takes in Yoongi's words and it downs on him that, even if the fairy seems to understand that they aren't in the same era from when he was captured, he most likely doesn't know what year they're actually in either, doesn't know how long he's been inside that lamp for.
On top of that, it's been centuries since Yoongi's been imprisoned and it's impossible that any of the people responsible for it are still alive.
If magic is involved, however, Jungkook's assumption can be wrong, and he hopes it is. Maybe whoever did it can live for a long time too, like Yoongi, or, if anything, it's possible to look for their descendants as a last resort, anyone that can help the fairy with clues on how to break the curse.
Yoongi looks like he's not finished and wants to say something else, so Jungkook decides not to ask him about any of it just yet and makes a mental note to do it afterwards. However, before any words can leave the fairy's mouth, the expression on his face changes to one of dread and he instantly falls from where he's floating in the air right onto the sand below him.
Jungkook lets out a gasp and rushes to his aid, "What happened? Are you ok?"
Yoongi huffs and stands up on tiny legs, sweeping the sand from his outfit with equally tiny hands.
"It's ok, I'm fine." A pout is obvious on his lips as he explains, "As I was about to tell you, that was the last bit of my powers and it just finished fading out. There wasn't much left to begin with and I used almost all of it to float away when I left the lamp. I was afraid that that servant would release me on top of a cliff or somewhere else similarly as dangerous, so I had to be prepared to save myself from the possibility of falling to my death."
Jungkook nods, understanding. He feels bad for Yoongi. Centuries trapped inside a lamp and he's still fighting, holding onto the last bits of his strength for a last attempt at saving himself from whoever had captured him.
Their conversation goes on for a while and neither of them notice time going by. Jungkook doesn't search for any more treasures and the sun is close to setting, the last rays a fiery orange in the horizon above the sea, slowly dimming as stars start to shine and the moon rises up to the sky.
Jungkook rubs at the back of his neck, unsure of what to do now. Should he leave the fairy alone at the beach and go home like their encounter never happened? He doesn't know what dangers the small creature can stumble across if left alone and he's worried for him, but at the same time he's also warry for himself, what if Yoongi's secretly an evil fay ready to exterminate all humans? Is it safe to take him home?
He discreetly glances at Yoongi and hums, pensive. The fairy seems so harmless, sitting on a piece of wood with eyes cast low and with the same pout from before gracing his lips…
At least for now, while Yoongi doesn't have his powers back, it should be fine to offer him a roof to stay under, Jungkook ponders. Leaving him by himself in an unknown place like this seems rather cruel.
Jungkook only hopes his decision won't come back to bite him in the ass later.
"Yoongi," he calls, voice showing his uncertainty on whether or not the fairy will react positively to his suggestion, "It's getting late and I need to go home. You can come with me if you want, since you aren't familiar with anything around here."
Yoongi considers the offer, raising a hand to his chin. He finally shrugs, "Alright, that sounds good. Thank you."
x
x
As they're walking towards Jungkook's apartment, with Yoongi perched on Jungkook's shoulder, Jungkook finally asks what's been in his mind since Yoongi explained how he got trapped. "Why did they capture and lock you up in the first place? Why did they take away your powers?"
Yoongi holds in a breath, an indication that he wasn't expecting the questions to be asked so suddenly.
"It's ok if you don't want to tell me! I'm just… Curious…" Jungkook reiterates, slightly panicked and embarrassed for being so straightforward.
Luckily, no one can see their awkward little interaction. Earlier, the fairy explained that until he regains his powers the only person able to see him is the one that released him from the lamp. It's quite convenient, and the only downside to that, in Jungkook's eyes, is having to explain why he's talking to himself if someone were to approach him, but he figures that at least that's not the weirdest thing one can do while out in public.
Yoongi takes his time to answer him and hums, "It's ok, I just didn't think you'd want to know, it doesn't really concern you." And he doesn't say that to sound ungrateful, rather says it like he never even considered that someone would show any interest in his predicament since it had nothing to do with them. To him it simply didn't make sense that Jungkook would want to know more about his story.
"I was known for helping the less fortunate. I'd go from village to village in the kingdom, assisting those that didn't have much or had their small farms and business standing on unsteady legs." Yoongi tells him. "I'd often use my powers to bring them water, make their crops grow and turn the dry river banks into clay for their pottery. I'd also spread the word around, tell merchants that there were fresh goods and decent quality pots for them to buy and sell to people on far away lands."
Yoongi stops his tale as they reach Jungkook's door and Jungkook apologetically smiles for interrupting him. The human digs around his pocket for the keys, shaking Yoongi a little with his movement. Yoongi accepts the apology with a wave of his hand and hangs tightly onto Jungkook's shirt, trying to keep himself steady to avoid falling off.
They walk past the entrance and Jungkook places the metal detector below the small coat hanger he has by the door and then the keys on the coffee table in the middle of the living room.
Jungkook's apartment is small, cozy and matches well with the atmosphere of Busan's coast, all with being decorated with rustic wooden furniture and wooden panels, with potted plants in various sizes and colors scattered around.
As more of the place comes into view, Jungkook feels Yoongi turning on his shoulder to observe the pictures he has hung on the walls and the ones framed on the half wall separating the living room from the dining room. Yoongi voices that they remind him of paintings, except more realistic, and the commentary causes the human to chuckle.
"These are photos I take sometimes when I walk around with one of my cameras. They're good, right?" Yoongi wonders what technique Jungkook uses to achieve such a faithful result. He doesn't really understand what photos are, or cameras, but he still hums in agreement; these so called photos look nice, whatever they are.
Jungkook grins, happy that the fairy seems to take a liking to his work. He graduated in photography a few months prior and that's how he gets most of his income nowadays, taking pictures of the local scenery and selling it to magazines or as prints on his website. On the rare occasion, he also ventures in taking portraits of tourists that come to visit the city, which doesn't earn him much considering it mostly happens during holiday season, when people have the time and the money to travel.
He usually takes his camera with him during his scavenger hunts on the beach in case he might find something worth capturing, but he didn't do it today and sort of regrets the fact.
Jungkook walks past the half wall towards a door on the left, where the kitchen is located. "What do you say about me getting something for us to eat?" He asks as they enter the room. It's almost time for dinner and he can feel his stomach starting to grumble.
Yoongi's ears perk up at the mention of food. "Oh, I'd love that. It's been a while since I ate something…" He sounds crestfallen, but immediately changes his tone when he sees the sad frown on Jungkook's forehead and the downturn of his lips. "But it's ok, I'm a fairy, I don't need food as often as humans do."
"Ah, I see…" Jungkook considers the clarification. He's sure that when Yoongi said "often" he was referencing weeks, not literal centuries, but decides not to comment on it and risk accidentally making the fairy more uncomfortable. "I'll make us one of my favorite dishes to celebrate you being back, then."
Yoongi's eyes widen slightly, surprised by the kind act, and a blush appears on his cheeks.
Being surprised by Jungkook is something he's been doing a lot since they met and they haven't even known each other for a whole day yet.
Yoongi clears his throat. "Thank you." He says in a small and soft voice, still flustered.
"It's one of the few things I can prepare with the ingredients I have at the moment since we didn't make a stop at the grocery store," Jungkook mentions, offhandedly. It's easy to talk to Yoongi, he seems like a good listener and like he's interested in learning little things about the modern world. "But I'm not a bad cook, so it should be ok. I hope you'll enjoy it."
"Oh." And there it is again, Jungkook being attentive and caring without asking for anything in return. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll be great." Yoongi isn't a picky eater, and besides, he's sure that anything Jungkook prepares for them will be delicious. Additionally, as he mentioned, he hasn't eaten in a very long time, it isn't like he's going to complain for finally having something to fill his belly.
Jungkook grabs a pot from one of the cupboards and fills it with water. He sets it on the stove and waits for it to boil, using the spare time to separate all of the ingredients on top of the counter. When the bubbles start to pop up on the surface he adds three packets of ramyeon and sets the timer on his phone for a minute less than what is instructed on the packet; it's his secret trick not to get mushy noodles and he prides himself on it.
Yoongi makes a small noise at that, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly parted, and Jungkook smiles at him. So that's how you make the perfect ramyeon! Yoongi should try making it himself in a later date. Back on his day, they couldn't measure time so precisely, so it wasn't rare to get noodles more on the mushy side than on the firmer side, which is Yoongi's preference, much like Jungkook's.
At that thought, he realizes he's considering being around Jungkook for a while, since he doesn't have anywhere else to go and doesn't know anyone else that can offer him an opportunity to cook. Being completely honest with himself, the idea doesn't offend him in the slightest, quite the opposite.
For now, though, he's still too shy to admit he's taking a liking to the human and decides not to voice his wishes to him.
When the noodles are almost done Jungkook adds a couple of boiled eggs, a few thin strips of pork belly and chopped green onions to them. From the spot on his shoulders, Yoongi helps by sprinkling some sesame seeds on top.
"It's done!" Jungkook signals, opening some cupboards and taking a couple of dishes of different sizes out. The meal might not be anything fancy, but it's warm and it smells delicious.
After everything is ready, they sit at the dining table. Jungkook places a steamy bowl of ramyeon in front of himself and a saucer, also filled to the brim with ramyeon, in front of Yoongi. The small porcelain dish still looks huge next to the fairy's tiny frame and Jungkook can't hold back his laugher as Yoongi stares at it, eyes twitching while wondering if he should ignore the food part of it and take a bath in the soup instead.
Yoongi walks around the saucer, trying to find a comfortable angle so he can slurp some of the liquid. His arms are flailing around in bewilderment and Jungkook's laugh becomes louder in reaction to it.
Yoongi looks at him and pouts, "This is no way to treat your poor guest, Jungkook-ah! How do you expect me to eat this?"
Jungkook is wheezing at this point, tears flowing down his cheeks as he doubles over holding his stomach. He wipes at his eyes and gets up to go into the kitchen again. "Wait a second, I have an idea!" He shouts on his way there.
He comes back holding a coffee spoon, the smallest he has in his drawers, and presents it to Yoongi.
The fairy raises a judging eyebrow. "This thing is almost my size, I can't hold it."
Jungkook gives him a mischievous smile, "I know. That's why I'm going to feed you myself."
Yoongi lets out a disgruntled noise and his pout becomes bigger. But as he sits on top of the table, arms and legs crossed, and Jungkook takes the spoon filled with soup to his lips, his expression softens and in no time he finishes half his meal.
"This isn't so bad…" He grumbles, a light pink dusting his cheeks.
Jungkook giggles, satisfied. "Thank you! I can see you're eating well."
Yoongi's blush deepens with Jungkook's remark and he ducks his head. "You're a decent cook, I guess…"
x
x
After they're both satisfied and all the dishes are on the sink, they move to the couch in the living room. Yoongi sits on the armrest with his hands trapped in between his thighs, ready to continue his story.
"When the general got word of what I'd been doing he obviously wasn't happy. Much like most nobles, he didn't like seeing other people prospering, so he assigned one of his servants, a mage, to capture and imprison me."
Jungkook runs a finger across the fairy's back in comfort. Yoongi isn't crying, nor does he seem angry, but there's a melancholic tone to his voice. The events happened so long ago that he had time to come to terms with his fate, to understand he didn't do anything to deserve this punishment. It'd simply been a matter of people being selfish and cruel, like they almost always are.
"The mage pretended to be a poor medicine seller. I didn't see past his ruse and decided to teach him how to brew some potions with the herbs he had. He waited for me to get distracted while writing all the steps in a small book for him and casted the spell. He trapped me in one of his herb jars until he could take me to the palace and transfer me to a more appropriate vessel.
The general requested him to transfer me to a lamp, claimed he'd put it on display somewhere in the palace, like some kind of rare souvenir, and he didn't need to be told twice. That's exactly what he did and I stayed there, day after day, hearing people coming and going, seeing their blurred forms through the magical surface of the lamp.
I don't know how I got to that beach, after a while I stopped paying attention to my surroundings, I didn't think anything was going to change. Certainly some wars happened that got the palace's belongings scattered throughout the whole country, and since I have an affinity for water magic I assume the sea called to me and I ended up near it.
I remember the mage left some information about the spell he used written on a book, in case someone accidently freed me or in case the general had to take me out to use my powers for his own personal gains."
Jungkook listens to everything intently. He can't believe how much Yoongi went through. At least there's a book that they can try to find, except, "If it's a book, and a book this old, it's possible that the pages got torn or washed out by time…" He can't help pointing out.
"Oh, don't worry, it's a magical book!" Yoongi exclaims, sounding way more excited than Jungkook feels at the moment. "The pages can't get damaged by time or the weather and they're secured within the covers by a magical lock."
"Do you know where this book is?" Jungkook asks, uncertain. He's feeling a bit more reassured about the situation, but that's a question that can put an end to his growing confidence in a split second.
Yoongi sounds hopeful, "It's a very special book, very valuable. It never left the mage's side aside from when he slept. In those occasions, he placed it on his private chamber in the palace, inside a locked drawer in his desk. The mage was loyal to the general, so I assume the book was taken to the same place as the general's most important belongings."
Jungkook stares at him, eager, waiting for Yoongi to reveal where said place is, but
Yoongi only stares back at him with a sheepish smile.
"I don't know where it is, though. When I finally took notice that I was at the beach, and not in the palace anymore, I couldn't see any other royal artifacts near me."
Jungkook slumps against the couch and sighs. This is going to be complicated, and of course it is. He found a fairy inside of a lamp, there's nothing usual or simple about it.
For now, though, there's no use racking their brains about it. It's getting late and they need to rest.
He pats Yoongi on the head in an awkward attempt at comfort and leaves the living room to fetch something that can be used as a makeshift bed for the fairy.
Being left alone for a second time, Yoongi looks through the apartment again. There's plants everywhere, as he observed earlier, and he appreciates the touch of nature, it gives the place a refreshing and homey atmosphere. The lamp placed on the side table by the couch casts the room in a warm, yellow light, which contributes in making Yoongi feel welcomed and at ease.
He takes another look at the photos Jungkook placed on the walls. They're truly beautiful, the angles and colors done in such a way that made everything look heartfelt and comforting, like an early spring evening spent in front of a fireplace with the people you love.
Just like he mentioned to Jungkook when they arrived at the apartment, they remind Yoongi of the paintings nobles would commission back in his days. The color and lighting techniques a painter used were specially selected to make their clients look their best and Yoongi can tell the photos were taken with a similar thought in mind. A small proud smile forms on his lips, Jungkook is undeniably talented.
Fueled by a huge wave of curiosity, keen on finding out what other wonders are there for him to discover in this new place, he follows after Jungkook, stopping in the hallway near the door the man walked into.
On the wall facing him there's another set of pictures, more candid ones, that look very different from the ones he saw in the living and dining rooms. They have a white border framing them and look slightly grainy and unfocused. Jungkook is having fun in them, surrounded by people his age in some of the shots, while in others he's smiling softly, standing near a middle aged couple and an older lady that's hugging him with affection clear in her eyes.
Jungkook seems to be loved by all of those around him and it makes Yoongi's heart full. From what he's learned about the human so far he can affirm that he doesn't deserve anything less.
While lost in thoughts, Yoongi hears shuffling coming from inside the room and quickly runs back to the couch, heart racing. Even though he's sure Jungkook wouldn't get mad at him for being there, he still doesn't want to get caught. He feels like he's just seen a more private part of the human's life and, although he's fond of seeing him surrounded by so many wonderful people, he doesn't really want to pry.
When Jungkook comes back, he's holding a fluffy looking pillow and a handkerchief, that if Yoongi were to guess, would serve as a blanket for him.
"Tomorrow we should go to Busan's museum," Jungkook suggests while he prepares the small bed on top of the couch cushions. "See if we can find something about the Joseon dynasty that can help us, or at least shed a light on what happened to you and point us in the right direction, because I really don't know what else we can do."
Yoongi nods, appreciative of Jungkook's offer. "I think that's a good idea. It's way more than what I'd be able to do on my own."
Jungkook smiles at him softly and pats the pillow to signal it's all ready. He turns the lamp on the side table off after the fairy makes himself comfortable and heads to his own room for the night.
x
x
They accidentally sleep in the following morning and Jungkook decides it's better to have breakfast in a cafe a block away from his apartment instead of cooking something to avoid wasting more time.
The place isn't crowed when they get there, given rush hour already passed, and Jungkook is thankful for that. Yoongi is perched on his shoulder again and he doesn't feel like dealing with people thinking he's talking to himself this early in the morning.
Yoongi is amazed at the variety of pastries and coffee flavors they have available, looking everywhere with impressed eyes, and Jungkook's tempted to buy him one of each only to see his pleased face as he tries them one by one—if only his wallet had the same wishes as him.
"Back in my day we didn't have all of this." Yoongi comments, looking around. "There was hot tea brewed in the early morning by the generous families that lent me a room for the night, and we'd get fresh eggs and a steamy bowl of rice too, sometimes kimchi if the cabbage harvest went well that year. The times really changed…"
They stand in the small line in front of the register, waiting for their turn. "What do you want to eat, Yoongi?" Jungkook asks, already fetching for his wallet.
The fairy takes a moment to consider his options, holding a finger to his chin while intently staring at the food displayed behind glass panes. "What is that red velvet thing over there?" He asks, squinting at something that looks like a cake, but is as red as blood, and at its name written on a plaque below it. "Is it a fabric decoration for cakes? I don't know why they'd put fabric in the middle of food, seems a little weird if you ask me."
Jungkook holds back a fit of laugher, finding Yoongi's questions adorable.
"It's actually a very popular cake flavor, no fabrics involved. But don't ask me, I don't know why they picked that name either. We can try a slice of it if you want?"
Yoongi scrunches his nose, still unconvinced about trying a cake with that name—it just can't be good, whoever created it can't be from this world—, and shakes his head no.
"Ok, then." Jungkook chuckles and moves to place their order, "Two americanos and two blueberry muffins to go, please!"
They leave the shop with Yoongi happily munching on muffing crumbs Jungkook keeps passing on to him and walk a few more blocks until they get to the city's museum.
They enter through a fancy archway and stop near the information desk, where Jungkook requests a guide with the guise that he's a tourist wanting to know more about the local culture.
A middle-aged woman greets him shortly and as soon as they enter one of the exposition rooms that have no other visitors inside, Jungkook goes straight to the point.
"The museum is really cool, you guys are doing a good job keeping it, but I actually need help with a… Research I'm doing?" The woman seems startled for a brief second but quickly recovers and smiles politely at Jungkook, encouraging him to tell her what he needs.
Jungkook takes that as his cue to spill the excuse he rehearsed on the way to the museum; he mentions his family has this old relic from the Joseon era and he wants to know more about its origin, who it belonged to originally and if there are other pieces that make a set with it.
The guide nods, believing his story. She explains that, unfortunately, they don't have much space in the museum, so they constantly need to rotate the collections that are being displayed. A while ago, they had to leave some artifacts and manuscripts from the Joseon dynasty in the care of an old employee, Jeon Eunji, that specialized in studying that period.
"Jeon Eun- that's my grandma!" Jungkook exclaims and Yoongi's ears immediately perk up as a memory of a photo on Jungkook's room flashes in his mind. He wonders if that's the older lady he saw.
"Oh, what a coincidence!" The guide grins at Jungkook, clearly as amazed as him at the realization.
"She moved to the mountains a couple of years ago, said she wanted some peace during her retirement days." Jungkook comments. "I can't believe I forgot she used to work in a museum. She'll definitely be able to help me, I should talk to her. Thank you so much!" Jungkook bows to the guide and goes towards the exit with hushed steps, eager to go back home.
x
x
They arrive back at the apartment and Jungkook decides to change his clothes and make some tea before calling his grandmother. He goes to his room first, taking the time to decide which flavor of tea he wants.
As he's rummaging through his closet, he catches sight of a wooden box hidden at the bottom of it behind some old bed sheets. He tilts his head, trying to remember what that is and what it's doing there, and suddenly he yells, enthusiastically, and Yoongi comes flying through the door, startled.
Ever since the previous day Yoongi has regained a small portion of his powers back, the meals and rest he had helped a lot with it. It isn't enough to perform any incantations yet, but he can fly for a few minutes at a time, and given his circumstances, that's better than nothing.
"Before my grandma moved," Jungkook starts in a rush, words tumbling out of his mouth in excitement, "She gave me some family relics, all carefully arranged in this chest. She asked me to take care of them well, they have great sentimental value to her." He recalls with a fond smile. "I've never really looked through the contents, though, didn't want to risk damaging anything, so I just placed the chest at the bottom of my closet and kind of forgot about it."
Yoongi hums and silently wonders if, by a streak of luck, the book written by the mage could be in there too.
Jungkook drags the chest out of his closet. It was heavier than expected, made of solid, high quality walnut wood, with a beautiful chocolate color and metal details all around it. He places it in front of his bed and sits on the fluffy carpet, ready to open the container.
He dusts off the top and lifts the lid, all while Yoongi floats around him in expectation. After realizing there isn't anything of too much importance in the first layer, at least not for himself, Yoongi takes his spot on top of Jungkook's shoulder again.
Jungkook playfully rolls his eyes at him and starts pulling out old photographs and handwritten journals. Under those, there's a set of small crystal sculptures of wild animals and trees, and a few rag dolls with button eyes. It all brings some old memories back to Jungkook, he remembers briefly seeing all of these things in his grandmother's house in the past.
Jungkook puts everything aside and continues to reach further down the chest until he pulls out a hefty book. Its cover is worn out by the years, the leather starting to peel and discolor, but other than that, it seems to be in good shape.
"I think I found it!" He shouts and Yoongi jumps on his shoulder with his tiny fists up in the air. The fairy can't be more satisfied with the discovery and he wonders if Jungkook's grandmother sensed that the lamp was close and figured it was best to leave the book in Jungkook's care because of it. "Ok, ok," Jungkook breathes, "Let's stay calm and open it up."
He flips the book on its side and tries to do just that. His fingertips hold onto the cover, trying to pry it open, but he's met with resistance and the book doesn't budge.
Oh, there's a lock on his way, he quickly notes and makes a disapproving sound with his tongue. Of course. Not even this part can be easy for them, he should've expected it.
He rolls his eyes, huffs and peeks over the edge of the chest, squinting to look for the key he missed while taking out everything else. Not even a full ten seconds pass, however, and his brows furrow in concern. There's nothing else there. The chest is completely empty, no sign of a key inside.
"There's no ke-" He tries to point it out to Yoongi, but as he inspects the lock closely, to possibly have an idea of what the key might look like, he realizes there's not even a keyhole on it. "There's no… Keyhole? How can that be, how do we open this?!" He asks to no one in particular, the tone of his voice increasing along with his frustration.
Yoongi senses Jungkook is distraught and his stomach drops. He doesn't like seeing the younger man upset and, despite doing his best to be as positive as possible, he doesn't like being imprisoned either. He knows that if they don't find a way to open that lock there's no way for him to regain his powers and be freed.
In a last attempt at finding the key, Jungkook picks up the chest and turns it upside down, shaking it frantically in hopes that something, maybe even a tiny piece of paper with a hint, will materialize and fall to the ground.
And indeed, something falls.
A plank hits the carpet with a dull thud, making both Jungkook and Yoongi startle. Their eyes widen and, upon closer inspection, Jungkook realizes it was the wooden piece that he thought was the bottom of the chest; it apparently came out of place with all the shaking he did.
Jungkook checks the inside of the chest for anything that might have been uncovered and is surprised to see an envelope taped to the actual bottom of it.
The envelope has some smudges on its edges and the words written on the front are slightly faded, but he can still make out what they say, "To my dear grandson, Jungkook".
He opens the envelope in a hurry, struggling with the glued flap due to his trembling hands, and finds a letter from his grandmother inside. He makes himself comfortable on the carpet again and starts reading after taking a deep breath.
"Dear Jungkook,
I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before, but I didn't think it was necessary to involve you in this matter unless there was a moment that called for it.
Since you're reading this, I assume that moment has come.
Our family is made of an old lineage of mages, every other generation is gifted with the ability to use magic, cast spells and perform rituals. Your mother generation was skipped, but I have it, and so do you.
Inside the same wooden chest this letter was in you must've found a book with a lock, and must've also noticed there's no place for a key in it. Don't worry, a key isn't necessary, that's not how that book is opened.
That book belonged to a mage from the Joseon era. Rumor has it that he worked for one of the emperor's generals and wasn't a good person, which led me to do some research on him. Unfortunately, the rumors were true and our distant relative was indeed a black sheep in our family. He was hired by the general to deceive other powerful people and get rid of enemies without compromising the general's name.
I compiled what I found about him in one of my diaries, which I left in the chest as well, and you can read them if you want. I also included some magic tips for you, in case you're interested in learning a bit of the art for yourself.
If you have any questions, you know how to find me.
Don't forget to pay me a visit sometime too, or at least call me, I miss your smile and the sound of your laugh!
Lots of love,
Grandma Eunji."
Jungkook gets to the end of the letter and sits there in silence for what feels like hours. It's a lot to take in and he doesn't know how to react.
Yoongi stays by his side the whole time, waiting for him to recover from the onslaught of information so they can discuss what their next step is going to be.
Jungkook shakes his head at last, trying to clear his mind, and turns to Yoongi, "I'll worry about my magical family later, let's take care of your situation first." He smiles faintly, still processing what he just read, and reaches for the pile of notebooks he set aside earlier.
He grabs the first journal and it's labeled "Family history". There's a family tree drawn on the first couple of pages, going back almost a thousand years, followed by a small description for each person listed, with a special marking for those that had affinity for magic.
Just like that, within those first few pages, Jungkook confirms what his grandmother said it the letter, he's a descendant of the mage that imprisoned Yoongi. The description for the man says it all, "worked for a general of the Joseon era and died in combat", and it's complete with a magic marking on the side.
Guilt weights down on Jungkook. Even though he's aware he isn't responsible for what happened he's still afraid that maybe there's something running in his blood, something that might keep him from helping Yoongi in the end. The pages of the diary crinkle as his hands close around them and it takes Yoongi gently holding onto his arm to make him let go of them.
Jungkook takes a hold of himself, keeping his resentment down, and looks further into the diary.
He finds out that the last pages are entirely dedicated to that mage and the impression it gives him is that they had been written way after the other entries, almost like his grandmother had trouble finding any information on him and was unable to write about him at the family tree section along with their other relatives. Jungkook appreciates her effort in completing their family history, but decides it's best to skip that part for now. He can read it later, and even let Yoongi do it too, if the fairy so wishes.
He moves on to the next diary, but puts it aside without even opening it after realizing it's labeled "Advanced spells"; he's definitely nowhere near the level necessary to understand those.
He reaches for the last of the diaries and it's glad to see it's a basic spells one, "Perfect! This will probably do." He cheers and looks through it. It lists a variety of simple spells that can be casted using the instructions written under each name.
He flips through the pages until he lands on what they need, a spell dedicated to magical locks. He rushes to show it to Yoongi, but before the fairy can take a proper look at it, Jungkook catches sight of something at the very bottom of the page. There's an observation there, written in small letters, "Any magic inclined person can open a magic sealed lock as long it hasn't been bound by blood to the original spell caster. Otherwise, it's possible that the lock can be permanently damaged in the process of unlocking it."
"Oh, no…" Jungkook visibly deflates. They have no idea if the mage bound the lock to himself and it's impossible for them to get his blood in case they want to be completely safe, the man has been dead for years! If they try to open the lock without this precaution there's a chance it'll get damaged, and then what would they do, they'd have nothing else to work with.
"You can still go for it. You're related to that mage, maybe your blood will be enough." Yoongi flies in front of Jungkook's face and places both hands on the human's cheeks to get his attention. He attempts to encourage him with a soothing smile. "If everything ends up breaking we can look at it as a valiant effort, it's our only option anyways."
"Hm…" Jungkook murmurs and returns a small smile to Yoongi, "I guess it doesn't hurt to try it, then…" He isn't sure if being related to the mage will be of any help yet, but if Yoongi wants to give it a shot, he's not going to be the one to deny him his wishes.
Therefore, he waits for the night to fall and does as instructed on the book.
"Go to a dark room illuminated only by the moonlight"; his room will probably be enough; he just has to turn off the lights and let his window open. In most days, it has a perfect view of the moon.
"Place your crystals in a small circle with the lock in the center of it"; so that's what those sculptures are for! His grandmother really prepared everything for him in advance and he can't be more grateful for it. If he were to look for crystals himself he wouldn't even know where to begin, he'd probably have to order some online and wait months for them to arrive, only to find out they're the wrong kind.
He continues following the book, "Recite the spell and let a drop of your blood fall onto the metal of the lock"; it seems simple enough and Jungkook does everything precisely, placing the book in the middle of the crystals and pricking his index finger with a small knife he carries in his pocket.
He watches the blood fall and coat the metal of the lock, the moonlight shining on the crystals and reflecting over it. In an instant, the blood disappears and the lock opens effortlessly in a puff of smoke as a breeze filters through the window.
Jungkook gasps, jaw dropped. He really didn't think it'd work, but it actually worked flawlessly!
On his side, Yoongi has the same reaction, if his equally stunned expression and fast clapping hands were anything to go by.
Jungkook opens the book with shaking hands and flips through the pages. His heart rate increases as he does it, he's rapidly reaching the end of it and he can't find the information they need anywhere.
In fact, he can't find a single thing, the pages are completely blank.
He goes back to the beginning of the book, wondering if his eyes are deceiving him, and starts all over again, scanning each page slowly.
Unfortunately, it's no use. There's nothing there and the only thing he can see are tea stains.
Jungkook almost cries as frustration takes a hold of him again. He feels completely powerless, "It doesn't look like any pages have been ripped… Has this book been empty all along? Did that stupid mage create a decoy book just to trick people?"
Yoongi is speechless, staring into nothingness in silence as the cogs in his brain turn. How is this possible, he had seen the mage with the book in hands plenty of times before, making annotations and consulting it constantly. Not only were there pages on pages of written text, he can clearly remember seeing illustrations and detailed diagrams as well.
He can't even begin to guess what happened, it seems impossible that everything had simply vanished…
"Wait!" Yoongi suddenly yells. "It's a spell! That tricky, slimy bastard. He used a vanishing spell on the book as a last defense mechanism to keep people from discovering his secrets!"
"A spell…" Jungkook repeats and his eyes wander the room until they focus on one of the diaries he read earlier. He takes a hold of it again and frantically searches for something to counteract a vanishing spell.
At this point, Yoongi is sitting atop his head and the fairy rapidly tugs at his hair strands when his little trained eyes catch sight of it.
Jungkook takes a deep breath and reads the instructions listed on the page.
As he processes the words, he realizes that this time he isn't as unsure and as worried as before. The terms used in the diary aren't unfamiliar to him anymore and the prospect of reciting another incantation doesn't scare him. He's confident he'll be able to do it.
Luckily for them, it's still night and Jungkook already has everything needed for the ritual in his house. To be fair, though, it's all pretty simple, most people certainly have these ingredients as well, but Jungkook still feels thankful for his love for plants and scented candles.
He runs around the apartment grabbing everything, Yoongi expectantly trailing behind him and nodding in encouragement every time Jungkook comes from a room holding a different item.
Eventually, they settle on Jungkook's bedroom carpet again and start preparing the ritual.
Jungkook makes a small arrangement of freshly harvested white chrysanthemums and sage, and sets it aflame with a citrus candle he fetched from a cupboard in the bathroom. While the candle burns by his side, he hovers the plant arrangement over the empty pages of the book and recites the incantation.
Just like that, right before their eyes, the words start to take form, slowly appearing on pristine black ink against the old paper.
Truth be told, Jungkook doesn't know what he's expecting when he finally opens the book—a straightforward and easy way to free Yoongi would be great, thank you—, but detailed information and secrets on nobles and the general's family is definitely not it. It doesn't surprise him considering what kind of person the old mage seemed to be, it's probably all blackmail material that he intended to use to gain more power within the kingdom.
A few more pages in and he comes across a dedicated entry on why and how the mage captured Yoongi.
Immediately he realizes it's the same story Yoongi told him before, except it's told from the enemy's point of view, making it seem like Yoongi was in the wrong for having morals.
It's a whole accounting of how the fairy showed the people that they were (allegedly) being robbed and explored, being forced to locally sell everything they produced on low prices. According to the general, no merchant from other villages was interested in making the trip to acquire goods that weren't of the highest of qualities, so if the population didn't want to lose their houses and starve it was recommended that they solely did business with the local nobles.
It was a vicious cycle that Yoongi was quick to catch on, where the general didn't give enough resources to the population, so they couldn't produce high quality goods, and, because they didn't produce high quality goods, the general argued that they weren't worth investing in.
Yoongi was a thorn on the general's side, a nuisance that needed to be silenced as soon as possible without causing any ruckus.
Conveniently, since the mage already worked for the man, that didn't take long to happen.
Yoongi vanished into thin air in a cold autumn morning, led to an alleyway by the mage with the promise of getting a tip on the general's plans to control and manipulate the people in the village.
The villagers didn't make a huge deal out of his disappearance, simply thinking he had moved on to his next destination after giving them some quick advice.
With the fairy out of the way, the changes he wanted to make in the village were quickly dismissed as well, with the general sending his guards to the streets with the message "keep doing your jobs like you've always have, it's been working wonderfully so far, there's no need to change anything."
Jungkook finishes reading everything and has a hard time processing that Yoongi got such a cruel punishment only for trying to improve people's lives and make the world a fairer place. At the same time, he can't say he's surprised by the greed and immorality of those in a position of power, centuries have passed and nothing has really changed.
He chances a sympathetic glance at the fairy and realizes Yoongi's lost in thoughts, undoubtedly remembering those past times.
He turns his attention back to the book, flipping through more diagrams of the palace's blueprints and information on all of the goods that entered and left its cellars, armory and other storage facilities on a weekly basis, which furthers his suspicion that the mage wasn't that loyal after all. Then finally, on the last few pages, he finds the ritual on how to free Yoongi.
From what Jungkook gathers from a first glimpse, the ritual has to be done in a place surrounded by nature on a new moon night, with clear view of the stars. It's a very specific description and he realizes they can't just go the small forest by the exist of the city on the following day. For one, the branches and leaves of all the trees there would definitely get in the way and they'd have no clear view of the sky, but also, they're halfway through the full moon, so they have to wait for almost two entire weeks regardless.
If Jungkook were to be honest with himself, if they weren't so close to reaching their objective, he doesn't know where he'd get the strength to keep going. There have been so many steps, so many details, how were they even able to follow them and get this far… But as he looks around his room, trying to come up with a new plan of action, he sees the image of Yoongi's hopeful eyes and sweet smile, and they're enough to push him forward once more.
Jungkook clutches the book in his hands. He hopes that the two weeks will be enough time to find an adequate place.
x
x
To Jungkook's relief, the nature part of the ritual is resolved relatively easy, when the following day, midafternoon, he finds the fairy flying through his window and falling on his couch, exhausted from the trip he just made.
"A few blocks from here-" Yoongi pants and takes a huge intake of air, "there's a park. It seems decent in size. I saw a lot of trees there and a pond too, with an empty area near it with some rocks scattered around it. I think we can perform the ritual there."
Jungkook blinks, impressed by how determined Yoongi is. It brings a smile to his face and he sits on the couch by Yoongi's side, staring down at him, "Ok, you can take me there tomorrow so I can take a look at it too."
x
x
Turns out the park isn't just a few blocks away from Jungkook's apartment, it's on the other side of the city, which explains why he's never heard of it before. Although truthfully, for the past few years, Jungkook's life revolved around going to college then back to his apartment, then changing the college part to treasure hunting on Busan's remote beaches; he can't really say he's ever had an interest in exploring other parts of the city.
But with that out of the way, they wait for the next two weeks to pass.
In the meantime, Yoongi becomes more acquainted with the modern human world, realizing he's very fond of Jungkook's cooking. He's also always ready to help him and chip in with some seasoning suggestions.
He was quite the cook back in his days, if he can say so himself. The only difference now is that things are more… Plentiful. And unlike anything he's ever seen. And the appliances too, what are they all even for… Secretly, he admits to himself he might need some more time to get used to everything. But he's working on it!
x
x
When the day finally comes, the leave Jungkook's apartment and walk to the park right at sunset. By the time they can see the fenced off place in the horizon it's already completely dark outside, only the street lamps illuminating their path.
The park in empty and engulfed in darkness as they enter through the gates, only the sound of crickets in the grass and of an owl on a nearby tree can be heard. Yoongi is looking around, as if he can see all of those creatures and then some. He seems at ease, confident that the ritual will work, but also ready to accept his fate if things don't go as planned in the end.
They slowly approach the small pond it the center of the park and the frogs chirping by the water join the cacophony of nocturnal sounds. The stars in the sky reflect faintly on the pond's surface and, in the distance, Jungkook can see the glow of lampposts on the streets around them. They remind Jungkook that they're still in the middle of the city and not in an alternate dimension conjured by that bastard mage.
Jungkook sets everything up and makes sure to place the crystals in a perfect circle around Yoongi and the magic lamp to collect and magnify the starlight, as a tip recommended by one of his grandmother's diaries. When the mage created this ritual, he obviously didn't have to worry about pollution, the sky was as clear as it could be. But the world changed and developed and Jungkook worries that the clouds of dust will get in the way, so he needs to try everything he can to make it work without any problems.
Yoongi closes his eyes and the words for the ritual start to leave Jungkook's mouth; the effect they have is almost immediate.
There's a weird sensation traveling through Yoongi's body. All of his limbs start tingling, head to toe, and it's like his skin is being lightly pulled on all directions. A bright light engulfs him and the fairy's vision blurs as soon as Jungkook finishes reading.
When Yoongi takes a hold of his senses again, he feels like he's seeing everything from above and his mood deflates.
Did it not work? Was he just floating around in the air like before?
He's looking straight at Jungkook, but the human is completely still and speechless, and Yoongi can't decipher if the expression on his face means surprise or disappointment.
The fairy looks down expecting to see the ground a good distance below him and nothing else, but instead he is met with a pair of human sized feet, and a pair of human sized legs. His feet, he realizes, eyes widening, and his legs, too!
The shriek Yoongi lets out can probably be heard in the whole neighborhood, but he just can't contain his excitement. He's so overtaken by joy that he lets his body move on his own and run towards Jungkook, surprising the human with a full on kiss on the lips.
As soon as their lips crash against one another, Yoongi seems to realize what he's doing and he pulls away with incredible speed, jumping back and staring at Jungkook with a horrified expression.
"Jungkook! I'm so, so sorry, I don't know what's taken over me. I guess I'm just so happy and I'm not used to having my human sized body back so I don't really know what it's doing and I'm-"
As Yoongi fumbles to find some sort of excuse, Jungkook is laughing and smiling at how endearing and adorable he looks.
He walks towards the fairy and pulls him into his arms, "It's ok, you have nothing to apologize for." And to make his point clear, he kisses the fairy back, their lips meeting with a soft touch and melding together as Yoongi finally relaxes against him.
Jungkook picks Yoongi up mid kiss, the fairy's feet just hovering above ground, and does a twirl. The two of them separate momentarily, giggling at the little action with their eyes still closed.
From where Jungkook has his arms wrapped around Yoongi's back, he feels something poking his wrists, and when he looks past Yoongi's shoulders, there they are, a pair of translucent wings, reflecting the light of the stars above them and shining with every color of the rainbow.
Jungkook gasps at the beautiful sight and that's when Yoongi realizes, the curse is finally fully broken.
Yoongi giggles again, a choked and wet sound this time. He throws his head back when small tears start to gather at his eyes and takes a moment to recover from the plethora of emotions that just washed over him.
Jungkook patiently waits for him, waits for the sniffs to fade and for the content sigh to come.
It doesn't take long for it to happen and Yoongi looks at Jungkook again, winds his arms around his neck. He's is gratefully surprised to see that the human is staring right back at him with eyes shining with unshed tears that reflect his own.
After so many years, Yoongi finally feels his body lighten up, he feels safer, freer and happier than ever. He's so overwhelmed that the words to express his gratitude towards Jungkook completely miss him.
Jungkook places him back on the ground and that's when Yoongi uses his wings to float up in the air and bump their foreheads together. He whispers a soft "thank you" against Jungkook's skin and leans down until their lips meet again in another soft kiss.