Chapter Text
They say when you’re deep in a forest, you should not follow the enchanting sounds of, perhaps who you think would be a beautiful and helpless creature. Countless men have died, after all, chasing the mirages of magical beings, sirens and nymphs, and mermaids with razor-sharp teeth.
Chances are, these mythical creatures don’t need your help. What they do need is another meal, to devour foolish men who trespass on their lands and wear their lusts on their sleeve.
Jeon Jungkook was no such man.
Or so he thought.
Because most unfortunately, the hunter had wound up deep in one of the enchanted forests of Busan in search of a healing flower that he personally did not give two shits about.
It would definitely save that rich bastard who was stupid enough to cheat on a witch and get cursed to endure the painful ordeal of blue balls forever and ever. Jungkook had never been assigned a job so grotesquely embarrassing before, but there was a first time for everything.
Apparently, there was no counter-curse for the vulgar spell that had elderly Mr. Kim clutching his balls like they were precious pearls and not sagging and hideous monstrosities. That’s right. Jungkook’s eyes had had the pleasure of being molested by the truly horrific sight of Mr. Kim butt naked in Seokjin’s office.
And that very sight had landed Jungkook in the bowels of a heavily bewitched forest, searching for the cure to Mr. Kim’s swollen, blue balls.
Now, Jungkook was good with rules. He was non-magic, but he had a military career, so he knew the significance of orders. He’d seen his fair share of sunken corpses, men and women who were unfortunate enough to end up in Seelie and Unseelie territories, soldiers who had bled out from chopped ears because they heard a siren sing and slipped into madness.
There were far too many instances in Jungkook’s life where he’d thought, oh, what a bunch of fucking idiots! I just wouldn’t go.
But now, as he heard a sweet, titillating hum bouncing off the lush greenery of the woods, he realised why anyone would follow the sound, even if it meant death. It was ethereal, soft and far-off. It was the opposite of noise, not silence, no, but something that quietened the thrumming nerves of your mind and body, loosened your taut limbs and enticed you, ensnared your senses by its call.
Still, Jungkook had his wits about him. He could so easily turn away; his mind was his own, so were his limbs, and his consciousness to evade the danger of the woods.
And yet, he didn’t.
Like every foolish man he’d ridiculed, perhaps, it was his curse to follow in their steps.
And follow he did.
Hacking through the tall grass, Jungkook reached a narrow clearing where a hot spring gleamed like it wasn’t filled with water but some substance that gave life and beauty. And it was within the fog and the steam that the hunter finally found the source of that eerie, haunting sound.
Someone was soaking in the glittering water with their back to Jungkook. A…girl? He thought, tilting his head like a charmed snake whose heart pulsed in the blacks of its eyes. There was a delicate sensuality in the way this creature poured water onto its body. No. A boy. His brain supplied as the fog cleared, and his eyes raked down the lines of his sculpted back and shoulders.
Jungkook blinked, feeling his heart pound in his chest to the sweet tune this boy crooned. Could it be called a boy? He couldn’t help but wonder. Fine. A boy creature. He settled on dumbly, guard all but reduced to nothing as his very human eyes adjusted in the fog.
The boy creature turned in the water with a playful giggle on his lips, only for the walls of the forest to come alive with his sweet laughter, replacing the gentle timbre of his bewitching song.
Jungkook found his laughter was far more luring than any siren’s song. The boy creature glided to the edge of the hot spring with an ethereal grace, incredibly bare and…dare Jungkook say…beautiful.
Phenomenally breathtaking.
He had short pink hair, fluffy like a cloud, yet neat as if styled. His skin was rosy and damp from steam, ample apple cheeks, and the thickest set of lips Jungkook had ever seen. His face was sharp, jaw like it could cut through glass, and yet he had very delicate features, femininely so.
As if the fact that this boy creature was prettier than half the population of the whole world wasn’t enough, he could also talk to animals. Not to mention, he wore one butterfly each as an adornment at the top of his ear. Their wings flapped at his helix, like some enchanted hair accessory Seokjin would definitely be into. It gave him an otherworldly beauty, and Jungkook could already not believe his goddamn eyes.
What were the odds that a forest known for its deathly allure would house a beauty such as this?
But then again, perhaps, this was it. Perhaps, this was how they felt in their last moments, the countless who had died at the hands of divinity. It wasn’t for nothing, after all, that they said, to come close to divinity was to tread near death.
It did not feel like death, though. A choppy beginning, perhaps.
Because lo and behold, the hunter had been spotted by the pink-haired boy creature, and though he should retreat and fall back lest he end up like those lost souls, Jungkook stood frozen in the moment their eyes met.
The hunter could feel his heart pounding in his ears. The boy’s eyes were piercing when they met his, deep like a bottomless pit, and yet they glinted like a sparkling ocean. Time slowed, and so did Jungkook's pulse with it, but the insects buzzed and the birds chattered all the same.
The boy tilted his head, his big, puppy eyes turned into narrowed slits of suspicion and oh..wait…was he..was he screaming? Fuck, Jungkook should probably snap out of this self-induced trance, but why the fuck could he not move his fucking limbs?
The moment broke, and an ear-splitting shriek boomed across the forest grounds. Jungkook blinked and saw it was coming from the boy creature’s throat. For fucks sake, was he a fucking banshee?
“Who are you, you stupid pervert?!” He screamed himself red, covering his naked front with his arms and backing away in the sloshing hot spring with a deep frown. “Turn around, now! I’m not wearing any clothes, you absolute bad, bad rapist!” He picked up a rounded rock and threw it point-blank at Jungkook.
Jungkook could not believe his ears. He was offended, truly offended. Did he look like a rapist? In his daze, the hunter did not register the rock that came hurling towards him at the speed of fucking light. It hit him over the head and man did it fucking hurt. He clamped a hand over his forehead and doubled over with a groan before the demonic boy creature could fling a bigger rock at him.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Jungkook gritted out, obviously in a lot of pain.
“What the fuck is my problem?” The boy creature gasped, pressing a hand to his chest and…sparkling…like a lot. It was hurting Jungkook’s eyes even from a distance. “What the fuck is your problem, mister? Spying on a defenceless fairy like that!” He yelled, crossing his arms and turning away with a dramatic huff.
Tinkerbell. Holy shit. This boy creature was actually just Tinkerbell.
“Defenceless fairy?” Jungkook groaned, incredulously amused, all things considered. But he was also feeling a little lightheaded….all things considered.
The pain of getting hit by a heavy rock point-blank was taking its toll. He was losing his vision little by little, and his body was going limp. The boy creature was saying/screaming something again, but Jungkook did not have the brain capacity to grasp his heated gibberish.
“Fuck.” Was the last thing he said before losing consciousness, because fuck, indeed.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Jungkook roused from his slumber to the serene, lulling sounds of the forest. The thick, lush greenery swayed above him, and the bright light from the sun cooled when it seeped in. The hunter touched his head, but there was no searing pain. He felt healed, not only from that head-splitting rock, but from his exhaustion as well.
Jungkook had expected to wake up in some dark, dingy dungeon of death with his life flashing in front of his eyes. For all its allure and beauty, the forest housed terrible creatures hidden in plain sight, waiting to eat your heart out should you step into their territory.
Or maybe the hunter was just an ill-informed, no-magic, military man leaning into the stereotypes. Granted that he had never been given an assignment that didn't require him to beat the shit out of some pestering ghoul. One would think that an extraction job would be simpler than killing creatures of the dark and making sure they stayed dead, but Jungkook would take a pack of werewolves any day over venturing into a forest that made men lose themselves to madness.
Damn Jackson for taking an extended sabbatical and leaving Jungkook to deal with his piss poor choice in assignments. Look where it had gotten him; into the territory of fucking tinkerbell from hell.
He blinked out of his daze and looked around. At a distance of a few paces, the boy creature sat hunched over the forest ground, somewhat clothed this time, and glowing plenty still. However, it was no longer a blinding, hostile glow, Jungkook noted. It was softer, like he was illuminated by an ethereal light from the sky, only the light came from within him.
Jungkook sat up quietly, heart throbbing in his ears and a little bit in his eyes. The boy hummed to himself sweetly, a tune Jungkook didn't recognize, but if it were the only thing he heard for the rest of his life, he wouldn't mind.
“Do you think he's dangerous?” He asked no one in particular, because no one was there. Except the small bird sitting on his shoulder began chirping like crazy. “What if he's a bad rapist?” Jungkook rolled his eyes. Not this again. “He does look a bit like a bunny,” The boy giggled, and the forest seemed to answer him in like, “But bunnies are so soft and small. No, let's not sting him to death yet.” Yet. This tinkerbell was positively murderous! Jungkook needed to stop getting sidetracked by his mind-melting beauty. “Oh, he's awake,” The fairy gasped, gliding back with the grace of a startled cat.
“Just so you know, I'm not a bad rapist.” Jungkook clarified, blinking rather placatingly.
The boy creature puffed his cheeks, his thick lips rounded into a skeptical pout and Jungkook needed to fucking stand up, because what kind of charming tactic was this?
“I doubt there are any good rapists in the world.” He said carefully, cutting eyes narrowed as he slowly rose to his feet.
“I'm not a rapist…at all.” Jungkook tried again.
The boy crossed his arms across his chest, the butterflies flapped at his helix softly and observantly. But Jungkook could only gape at what the fairy was wearing, or rather, what he wasn't wearing.
His eyes raked down the beige corset that looked a lot like it was made from some type of enchanted flower, and sewn directly onto the boy's lithe body. The bottom was a delicate, flowing layer of big lavender petals that touched a little over his knees, kind of like a skirt.
“Then why were you watching me bathe?”
The hunter’s head snapped up to the boy's face from giving him a very shameless once-over. He would have the good grace to appear at least a bit sheepish if his brain wasn't absolutely fried.
Skin. Skin. Skin. There was…a lot of skin. Pale and honeyed and very rosy. And legs. Long legs and bare feet. A delicate, long neck and sculpted collarbones. The smallest button nose, the thickest pair of lips, and the sharpest, most siren eyes.
Jungkook clearly needed to get his shit together but why the fuck was this boy creature so insanely beautiful? What type of satanic deception was this?
“I followed your song. And then you threw a rock at me and knocked me out cold.” Jungkook huffed, lifting himself off the ground. He was not going to lose to this cherub-faced fairy. “Not to mention, you were plotting to kill me with your bird.”
“You're right. He's very large and stupid.” He scrunched his face into a high-nosed scowl, and the small, fat bird on his shoulder chirped heatedly in agreement.
“I'm right here.”
“Well, for your information, the bees wanted to sting you to death, and I am the one who stopped them. I also healed your head, by the way, you thankless toad!”
Jungkook snorted, utterly surprised. He could not believe the cheek of this demonic tinkerbell from the eighth circle of hell.
“Well, you're the one who hurt it so,”
The boy gasped with a dramatic flair and crossed his arms tighter. “Well, you kinda deserved it so,” He said, making a very expressive face.
Jungkook had never seen fairies before, but he just knew this one was the brattiest, most disrespectful (and maybe the prettiest) out of his whole species.
“Are all fairies this hostile towards humans?” Jungkook grimaced, and the boy's expression shifted suddenly, from frustration to that of wonder.
“He's human!” He exclaimed, pressing his palms together with a beaming smile. “Oh, I knew it, his audacity was very telling, wasn't it?” The bird warbled in answer, and Jungkook could only gape, yet again.
“I'm right here….again.”
The boy creature tilted his head and took a cautious step forward, eyes narrowed and assessing. Jungkook suddenly felt naked under the fairy’s scrutiny. He probably looked like an idiot in his all black tactical and combat-ready gear.
“So, you're a….boy man.” He said slowly, watching Jungkook’s reactions closely as if he were not human but a monkey. “I've never seen a boy man up close before.” Jungkook almost snorted, amused, until the pink-haired fairy turned to his vicious bird. “What do you think?”
The tiny bird let out a series of profane squawks and screeches. Jungkook had never seen a bird that was so expressive. “Well, what does it think?” He raised his brows in question.
“She thinks you're a worthy specimen, and I should manipulate you into doing my bidding.” The fairy declared, arms tightly crossed and chin lifted haughtily. “I can be very evil when I want to be.”
“Right,” Jungkook nodded, feeling like he was being menaced by a bite-sized pastry.
“Do you think he believed me?” He checked with his bird again, as if Jungkook wasn't right there. Again!
The boy didn't seem to have any concept of stealth and self-preservation, God forbid. Any other hunter from a more traditional guild would have done the world a favour by riding it with another magical creature, so this absolutely non-serious behaviour was alarming to Jungkook.
“I can hear you, you know.” The hunter repeated, hoping it would register.
The boy creature puffed his cheeks even more, and the glimmer around him ignited for a split second. “Don't eavesdrop when I'm talking to my friends. It's rude!” He hmphed, turning around on his heels with a glare and slamming the door of his tree house behind him.
What in the name of good lord Jesus H. Christ and Buddha was that?
An absolute catastrophe of logic and reason!
“Right,” Jungkook nodded solemnly as if it were truly his fault, “My bad, sorry.”
The hostile demonic tinkerbell's beauty only heightened when he was angry. Jungkook didn't want to think why he was focusing on that , because that was just another can of worms he did NOT want to open. This forest was making him crazy with a capital C.
Also he lived in a tree? Like there was a small door embedded in the bark and all? Jungkook had half a mind to knock; he was curious how the interior looked, but he was sure that little spawn of the devil would blind him with his stupid, shiny glimmer.
The hunter sighed so deeply, it could have powered a windmill. That encounter was certainly... something. And some ‘somethings’ were best kept brief.