His POV

Jin bursts into laughter when he hears about my short trip to the coffee shop that I did behind his back and hits the bar table loudly as he bends over out of breath, the glass of vodka in his other hand taken by Yoongi to avoid a mess on my kitchen's marble floor.

I stare at him with a blank face as he continues pissing himself at my expense, the fact that I left right after telling her my name apparently the most amusing thing I have ever done in all of my existence so far.

"You just- you told her your name and just fucking left? Oh lord, I can't breathe" he exclaims before hitting the table again, unable to stop himself as he mocks me like only him knows how to do in my face.

Yeah, he really doesn't deserve that bonus.

I stare at Namjoon and Yoongi from across the table, hoping to find in them an ally but when they immediately look away with a hand covering their mouth, I shake my head and decide to gulp down the last of my drink before pouring myself more vodka, because that is so far the most efficient way to avoid murdering the fairy on the spot.

I lean back into my seat with a sigh and then stare at the tall and large window by my side to enjoy the burn that tingles down my throat, her face once more reflecting on the glass to gaze at me with her doe eyes as I twirl the crystal glass in my hand.

"I don't believe she's anyone of great importance if she works in such a run-down coffee shop so why did you do that, Taehyung?" Namjoon asks me once Jin starts to calm down, and his question makes me frown before I turn my head to find the fairy absolutely serious when he meets my gaze without wavering.

He might be in his human form right now but it's stronger than me, when he stares at me with those curious eyes of his, bright and innocent, I always see the small little fairy that I met the first time when Yoongi brought him to me all those years ago, something about how he could be a trusted ally to have by my side, and maybe even a good friend, if I could allow him into my life that way.

So far, Namjoon has done absolutely nothing to make me regret it and he has always shown me a heart filled with good intentions, so I know that he does not mean his question in a bad way.

"Does she need to be important to have my attention?" I ask back calmly, and to that, Yoongi shrugs as he stretches an arm so it lands on the tall fairy's shoulders while Jin observes in silence, his head cocked to the side with the same curiosity that his mate has shown me.

"I don't know, you tell us, Taehyung. You're the one who constantly feels the need to remind everyone in your life that you don't care about them and that you don't want to see them unless absolutely necessary".

I lower my gaze to the glass resting on my lap and sigh before taking another sip.

"I guess you're right".

I glance once more at the window that reveals the illuminated sea of lights that Seoul becomes at night, but this time, the only reflection staring back at me is my own and my gaze feels empty without her smile shining down at me.

"She's special. I don't know why but... she's not like everyone else" I start with a quiet tone, a hushed murmur that captivates the air, every sparkles of dust that catch in the light coming to a standstill the same way that the burning stars pause their blinking to hope for a sound of my voice to reach them through the distance.

"No matter what I do, she's always on my mind. Her face is the first thing I see when I greet the raising sun and also the first to welcome me when I fall within the land of Morpheus, I see her reflection in my soup, on this window, I see her when I look up at the clouds and when I stop to admire flowers, I just can't keep her out of my mind and I'm honestly not even trying" I reveal softly before gulping down every last drops of my glass to fill it again.

The three men remain silent as they stare at me with round, shocked eyes, but I keep staring at the window in the hopes that her face could come back to me again, is it the alcohol that's getting in the way?

"Okay. Someone pinch me please?".

"With pleasure".

"Ouch".

I sigh at their childish reaction to my declaration, is it really that hard to believe that someone might have finally won my heart?

"It's more like... impossible to believe, but from everything you said... you're clearly in love with her" Namjoon answers my blurted out thought and I hum before nodding my head slowly, I guess that's what this is. Love.

"Wait... wait a damn minute. If that's true- Taehyung! You should've told me sooner! I understand now why you were so insufferable today, that was fucking payback for what I told her during our break!" Jin exclaims with an angry huff before downing the content of his glass right after grabbing it from Yoongi.

He slams the empty glass on the table and then glares at me, his lips forming a heavy pout before he's suddenly opening his arms for a hug that I reject wholeheartedly by keeping him at a distance with my foot, much to his dismay.

"Awww come on! My little Taehyung-ah is in love! We've got to celebrate that! Let hyung give you a hug! Should we go back tomorrow? I can stay in the car while you talk with her! You two would be soooo cute together!".

I pause midway from raising my glass to my lips and consider it for a moment before nodding my head, yes, that sounds like a plan I could allow-

"Nope, sorry but that can't happen tomorrow" Yoongi steps in before I can give my approval and my heart breaks into thousands of pieces before shaking with defiance, because why not? Why could I not go tomorrow?

The man sighs and shakes his head as if he can read through me like an open book, which I do not enjoy right now.

"You're busy, Taehyung, remember? You have to show up on the new hotel's construction site to meet up with the supervisor and the project's architect, you've pushed that one back for long enough so you really need to go tomorrow before you disrupt the whole schedule".

"After, then" I retort but he shakes his head again.

"Sorry, no can do. After that appointment, you have lunch with a business partner to talk details about an event that he wants to have happen on one of our cruise ships, then you have an appointment with a lawyer to finalize the procedures to sue the company that's been slandering you falsely, and then-" I raise a hand to stop him, I've heard enough.

I finish my glass of vodka before setting it down on the table, then push the expensive bottle of alcohol away, which Yoongi brings to the shelves behind him to keep me from pouring myself more of it, I've had enough of that for tonight as well.

"Never mind then" I mumble simply before standing from my seat to head to my bedroom upstairs, trusting that they'll clean up the space by themselves before going back home whenever it suits them.

Aware of the eyes sadly following my form as I reach the upper floor, I close the door behind me before entering my bathroom to wash up before going to bed with a forlorn heart.

Your POV

Taehyung and Jin have not shown up for more than a week now and while I know that they can't always come spend their break at the shop on the same day all the time, locking the building's door behind me with the knowledge that I could not see either of them yet leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

It's my fault for getting my hopes up after the handsome man went as far as showing up in the kitchen just to tell me his name when it could have waited until his next visit, but at the same time, how could I not?

I guess it hasn't helped that Mitzi has been teasing me whenever my gaze glanced towards the door only to fall in disappointment when the customer would end up being a complete stranger, but again, that too was entirely out of my control.

Taehyung.

His name has been on a loop in my mind ever since, it's been on a loop to the point of bringing me on the edge of insanity and I'm not sure how much longer I can tolerate it without seeing him at least once.

Why did he have to show up at my workplace like that just for a stupid name? Did he put a curse on it? Am I now cursed with his name?

I sigh and glance at the window from where I can see his usual table. Has he grown tired of this shop? Did he find a better one? It's possible, he did stand out quite a lot from the other customers.

The foretelling of an uncomfortable itch begins to tickle at my back and I roll my shoulders softly before making my way down the street to start heading back home, the walk leading to my district longer than I would want right now.

When did I shift back into my true form for the last time? I've gotten so used to hiding my identity from others that I don't think I've even allowed myself this relief when at home, which is not good.

That's not good, because if I suddenly shrink to my real size without warning in the middle of the sidewalk, not only will carrying my belongings be a real pain in the ass, I actually risk not making it home at all.

I will either be stopped by a law officer who will bring me to a shelter when I do not show any proof that I am already adopted, or someone will kidnap me before throwing me into the black market industry, which will then lead me right back to where my story first began.

I hurry up my pace when the itch increases, my wings longing for a good stretch, my magic left dormant for long enough, it wants out and I want that release, I want it so much, but not to the point of losing my freedom.

My work uniform is not made of magical threads, so if I do end up shifting, I will be left entirely in underwear and that is very undesirable on my end, I could maybe grab my neck scarf to make a sort of weird dress with it but then bringing the rest of my things would be impossible and I can't afford losing my phone and wallet, those were really expensive and I cannot start over again.

Getting the phone to work with a functional number was complicated enough as it is.

I make a turn into another street when the hair on my nape suddenly raises and I look over my shoulder with a cold sweat.

We're not even in my district yet, so why do I feel like I'm being followed all of a sudden? They can't have found me already, can they? Anything but that, please.

Not seeing anyone suspicious when I scan the sea of people behind me, I decide to try and behave normally as I resume a regular pace. Just look normal, don't stand out anymore than necessary, that's how you show them that they've got the right prey.

When possible, I take a different path that hides me from sight from the main street and into a smaller but still busy one, and it takes exactly five seconds before the chilling feeling resumes.

Not too close, but not too far either, they're playing it safe as well.

The whole walk back to my district happens like this, a game of mouse and cat as I change my paths whenever I can to lose whoever this is, and when I make it to within three minutes of my apartment complex, I break into one last sprint and push the front door open with my whole body before crashing on the floor out of breath and with my skin feeling incredibly uncomfortable, I don't have a lot of time left.

I pick myself up under the sneaking eyes of a few weirded out neighbours and then rush to my own room to finally get the safety that I need, but when I reach my door, I freeze, blood immediately running out of my face when I find it opened to a wrecked space.

No.

No, no. No!

I drop my things on the floor and hurry inside to have a look at my things, every drawers opened and emptied on the floor, my bed is trashed, my closet a huge mess and my savings are gone, every single dollars I could set aside for emergencies, gone.

And right at that time, as if that could make anything better, I shift without warning into my fairy form.

My clothes fall to the ground to leave me only in my underwear and I begin tearing up, because how humiliating is this? Why did this have to happen now? Why when I was beginning to enjoy my life?

I don't even take the time to stretch my wings that I make it to my destroyed dresser to find something to wear, my choice very limited because fairy clothes are expensive, a luxury because fairies are usually adopted by people who have a lot of money, people who want a golden pet to call their own.

After a touch to the fabric to make it shrink to my size, I put it on quickly before flying to the opened front door to grab my belongings from the floor so I can close the door and figure out what to do next.

Once everything settled on my bed, though not without some difficulty because everything is so heavy in this form, I sit down on top of my bag and run a hand through my hair as my wings slowly begin to wave behind me, content to finally get some fresh air.

There's no way to know who exactly did this, whether it was my ex owner or someone randomly breaking in to find precious items to sell for some easy money, but seeing how only my money was taken, I don't think it was him, not yet.

But then... who was it that followed me earlier?

Did the person who came here see that some of my clothes were made for fairies and decided to start planning their next visit to kidnap me while I'm home? Is it dangerous for me to stay here now? If that's true, what am I supposed to do? I can't afford going anywhere else.

There's nowhere I can go, no one I can go to, no one I can call. The girls at work can be nice sometimes, but we're not nearly close enough that I could get their phone numbers, I'm not a man, no toy of theirs, I don't have worth in their eyes.

My boss is unreachable most of the time and if he were to hear about this, he would probably fire me without thinking twice about it, so that's absolutely not an option either.

I curl up on top of my bag, this room now feeling so terribly big and cold.

It's just me here, me alone against a terrifying world and I have no idea how to keep myself safe anymore.

His POV

When Jin and I finally find enough time to go to the coffee shop again, the sight that greets us as we step inside makes us both freeze in the doorway.

Has she always looked like this? This... exhausted?

"Y/N" I speak up instantly, and when she startles before looking up in my direction, her eyes widen as she takes me in, relief flashing through her orbs before she looks down, shoulders slumped as if she's having to carry the whole world on her shoulders.

I walk towards the counter, Jin staying behind me this time, his eyes analyzing her state because he can too see that something is wrong, and when I stand in front of her, I look down to find many bandages covering her fingers, fingers that she hides behind her when she notices my gaze lingering.

"Did you get hurt?" I ask her with a frown, and when she doesn't answer me right away, one of the girls she works with comes walking by to wrap an arm around her shoulders with a gentle pat that doesn't seem to reassure her in the slightest.

"She's clumsy these days, she keeps getting burns from making coffee or taking the pastries out of the oven, at this pace, there won't be any skin to burn anymore, she'll be fully wrapped in bandages".

Y/N bites on her bottom lip in shame and rolls her shoulders to get the arm off them, to which the girl shrugs before leaving, but not without adding "She's been anxiously staring at the door for two weeks now, maybe don't take that long to come back the next time, eh? We need her to work well".

Not able to meet our gaze anymore, Y/N keeps her head down and sighs deeply, the energy that she normally has completely gone, it makes me worry, it makes me want to get mad at something, who put her in this state? Who do I need to remove permanently from her life?

"The same as usual today? You can have a seat, I'll work on your orders" she starts, and before I can say anything, she turns around and towards the coffee machine to get working on mine, but every single movements of hers look slow, shaky and it's concerning to say the least.

"When did you sleep for the last time, Y/N?" Jin finally speaks up, and his question has her pausing momentarily to think about his question before she's shrugging lightly. "I'm not sure. Can't really sleep that well these days".

"Why not?" I continue with the questions, and again, she pauses what she's doing to think, like she can't manage two things at the same time anymore, and that says a lot, that says a whole lot all by itself.

"I... it's just insomnia, it'll pass eventually" she replies quietly and I clench my teeth.

That was a lie.

No... not quite a lie. It wasn't the whole truth.

Something happened to her and she can't talk about it, which makes me that much more intent on finding out. What happened to make her go from being cheerful all the time to this ghost version of herself?

The coffee pours out into the cup with a loud steam noise and Y/N winces with a step back, her hand held to her chest before she sighs, and my entire soul screams when my feet don't move, my eyes instead staring like hawks on the reddened skin that she quickly hides from sight.

"Damn it, not again" she murmurs to herself before walking to the sink to rinse the skin with gentle cold water, her lips pursed downwards, this day is clearly too much for her already.

I can sense her exhaustion as if my own, like it's begging for me to do something about it, to take her out of here so she can rest and it's taking me everything to not act on it right now.

I close my hands into fists when the urge to take her out of here grows stronger and stronger, my eyes following her every move when she turns off the water to dry her hands before continuing the complicated steps to make a coffee that I don't want anymore.

What I want right now is to take her back to my home where nothing could ever hurt her again, where she could have everything she needs without even needing to lift a single finger, she looks like she'll shut down at any moments and I really don't like that.

I want her to use me for her own convenience, I want her to tell me how I can make her feel better, I would move mountains for her, she only needs to ask, but how do I tell her that when we barely know each other?

Hell, it sounds foolish even to me, yet I can't help this feeling that feeds on her presence like she's water in a wasteland, a tree's leaves have never been this colourful before, but this is her impact on me, this is what she does to my soul - she fills it with colours that I can't find on my own.

I discreetly glance at Jin and he nods his head before grabbing his phone, one last look at her back before he steps outside to make some calls.

There's a very bad feeling nesting in the pit of my stomach and I have learned to never ignore these instinctual reactions, ones that always act up when something dangerous is about to happen.

I don't know what kind of life Y/N lives outside of this shop, I don't know what kind of past crawls behind her like shackles at her feet, moaning shadows of pain that can't ever let go of her, I don't know what fills her thoughts in the middle of the night, but I intend to find out, because she might not be mine yet, but my heart already belongs to her and so I must keep her safe, no matter the cost.

"Here's your coffee... I hope it's good en..." I bring my gaze back to her when she doesn't finish her sentence, and what I see has panic blossoming like flowers in a garden all over my skin, through every nerves and blood cells that make me who I am, my feet moving me around the counter before my voice can even make a sound, the sight of her body falling in slow motion a spear to my heart.

I catch her in my arms before she meets the floor and the cup of coffee she was holding crashes at her feet loudly before the content spills all over her shoes.

I have never felt such dread in face of such a scene, yet the very fact that it's happening to her is making me fear the worst, fingers trembling when I make her sit on the counter with her body leaning over my shoulder so I can remove her shoes to make sure that the burning liquid did not reach her skin there as well.

White socks, dry, I sigh in relief when sure that her feet are safe just as people come running over, her three coworkers gasping when they find Y/N unconscious as I take her back in my arms, her face safely cradled in my neck, where she should always belong, how am I meant to let go of her after this?

"Oh my gosh, not again? She fainted like this yesterday too, she's breaking so many dishes this week, our boss will make an appearance soon if this keeps happening" one of the three girls utters shamelessly, and in mere seconds, an overwhelming heat rises within my whole being before I turn sharply to glare at her pathetic face.

"Say another word of the kind and I'm making sure you can never walk on your feet ever again. You have no idea how close to dangerous territory you are right now" I state lowly before heading for the front door just as Jin opens it, his eyes wide on her when he takes in fragments of what happened with a quick glance around the room.

"Call my doctor and tell him we're coming immediately. I want him and no one else to have a look at her" I demand as soon as we reach the limousine, and to that, Jin nods quickly before opening the door for me so I can get in with her still within my hold.

"What if he's too busy to see us?" Jin asks once behind the wheel, the darkening orbs no surprise to him when he holds my gaze.

"He won't be too busy, not after our last conversation".

Jin's lips hint at a small smirk before he nods, a button pressed to start up the car as his face turns back to its passive seriousness that is needed in such a situation. "Of course. I'll remind him that his options are very limited if he refuses, though he should be smart enough to know to avoid this path".

I stare at the shop where I can see the girls panicking over what I said and I huff with disgust.

"Once we're there, I want you to work with Yoongi and Namjoon to tear down this building. Buy it from the current owner with a good offer and then tear it down. She's not going back there for work ever again".

"Oh sweet, Y/N will be thrilled to know that her workplace disappeared just because she fainted in front of you" Jin replies but I ignore him to instead hug her closer to me, the way she fits into my hold like a puzzle piece finally finding its rightful place, it's... addictive.

"It's not my fault if the building burns down by accident. I'm only building something new there because there is potential to the space. That's all she needs to know".

"Right, right. I'm glad I'm not your enemy Taehyung, you're really scary sometimes".

"Says the man who makes my every desires happen, your hands are redder than my own, Jin".

His chuckling voice resounds in the moving vehicle before he speaks up with a gentle voice. "My hands may be red, Taehyung, but your soul is black like tar, right on par with Yoongi's. You're like two peas in the same pod, it's no wonder that you've been best friends for so long".

I rest my cheek on Y/N's head, a deep inhale of her scent before I hum.

"People who are similar stick together, I didn't make that rule, the world did. You and Namjoon had plenty of opportunities to leave us behind, you decided to stay".

"And we don't regret it, Taehyung. We've found family, why would we get rid of it? We owe you and Yoongi our lives".

I close my eyes at this reminder. From my first meeting with Jin to Yoongi's first meeting with Namjoon years later, our lives were always meant to be intertwined like roots of a same tree.

And so it does make me wonder what part Y/N plays in all this.

Is she a root, an additional piece of a bigger puzzle than life, or is she the tree itself?

---

What do you guys think so far? *excitedly stares at you with grand, grand expectations*