Spirits and Sidewalks 2/7
TITLE Spirits and Sidewalks 2/7
SUMMARY Jonghyun's just an unfortunate kid. Kibum's just a lost spirit.
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS [SHINee] Jonghyun/Key.
RATING/WARNING PG-13.
GENRE Fantasy/Romance
( 1)
AN: Correction from previous chapter. Fey = faery. And there is/will be a lot of JongYu closeness in this jsyk. Longer chapter this time. I have gotten lazy with fic, forgive any super lame errors. xD
spirits and sidewalks;
Jonghyun didn't know how he ended up at Jinki's house after school. Maybe because the class president had insisted-maybe because Jinki was just nice. Almost too nice, and Jonghyun did not know, once again, why that drew him to the brunette. Jonghyun had never been "nice", never been friends with nice, honest people. It was new to him.
Jinki's room was bizarre-his whole house was, actually. Among school accessories and other somewhat normal-ish things were opened texts detailing botany, geodes, weird, Celtic looking circles-was it alchemy? Jonghyun couldn't be sure before Jinki gathered them up, placing the books among a pile of other strange items-a weird scope, a box that sounded full of beads, a peacock feather.
"Sorry it's in a mess. My parents have been out, so I sort of stop being organized."
"It's fine." Jonghyun said, only half-lying. He placed his book-bag down at the edge of the bed, waiting for the awkwardness to settle, but it was rampant in a not-there sort of way. Why had he agreed to come over again? Oh right, there was no reason. Jinki had just insisted. The real question was, what the hell had Jonghyun been thinking?
He took to exploring Jinki's home, deeply intrigued by all the eccentric things within it. He mostly ignored Jinki hovering uneasily beside him, which he found amusing, since he knew Jinki was far more clumsy than he would ever be.
"What's this?" Jonghyun asked, eyes drawn towards a oblong ball made of fluorescent glass. There was a long, spindly straw attached at the top; it looked almost like a very distorted teapot. He reached out, ignoring Jinki's "I wouldn't-" and touched the tip of the straw, wincing when his finger was pricked. It hadn't looked sharp at all, but the pad of his finger quickly beaded with blood. Some of the crimson liquid slid down the straw into the blown glass.
"Ow." He said in slight delay. "The fuck is that thing for?"
"Uhm. That's odd." went Jinki. "It's an Heirloom." He said, eyeing the item which now had several drops of Jonghyun's blood within it. "I don't think you should have touched it."
"It doesn't look sharp at all." Jonghyun protested guiltily, though Jinki's voice was void of any resentment. He tried to turn Jonghyun around, but Jonghyun caught motion out of the corner of his eye and shrugged Jinki off. "Heirloom?" He echoed suspiciously, watching as his blood turned to a garnet powder. "How did it do that?"
"Sorry." Jinki said, once again attempting to usher Jonghyun over to the bathroom so he could see to the cut. "I should have warned you earlier. My parents like to travel, and they collect strange things." Jonghyun wasn't buying it. Jinki looked just as freaked out as Jonghyun felt. "A very, very old Heirloom." The brunette stressed.
"Why did you invite me here?" Jonghyun asked with a frown, wincing when the cold water rushed over his injury. He followed Jinki's pacing feet back into his bedroom, pressing a paper towel onto the pad of his finger. It didn't want to stop bleeding.
"There was something I needed to give you." Jinki replied, rummaging around in his desk drawer. Eventually he produced a very sad-looking leather booklet, which he handed to Jonghyun.
"It smells." was Jonghyun's first comment.
"Uhm-just!" Jinki closed it as soon Jonghyun tried to open it. "Look at it later. Like, when you're home."
Jonghyun made to obey; he moved to pocket the book, but he faked out instead, spinning from Jinki's reach and thumbing it open to skim through the pages. "Don't think I don't already know. It's obvious." Jonghyun addressed Jinki's dismayed face with a straightforward stare. "I just never thought I'd really see one. I mean, I've seen them, around, but it's not something you really believe." Jonghyun paused. "You're a shaman, aren't you?"
Jinki sighed, dropping his uselessly poised hands. "I didn't know how else to tell you."
"Giving me a spellbook?" Jonghyun said, point in case. "What would I do with this, anyway? Especially at home."
"It's got quite a few simple instructions for protecting yourself and your house." Jinki replied, voice low with embarrassment. "It's yours."
Jonghyun winced when his pricked finger caught the edge of the booklet. "Mine? You know then, don't you."
"Yes. But I didn't know if you did, that's why I couldn't ask directly." Jinki nodded.
Jonghyun regarded him carefully. He knew it. Even Jinki's niceness was for himself. Jonghyun was in familiar territory after all. "What do you want from me?"
"Want?" Jinki echoed. "I want to help you." He said. "The kumiho didn't affect you, but did you manage to see it?"
"Kumiho?" Jonghyun's mind went back to history class, back to ancient mythology. Kibum was a fox spirit? It did make sense, though people's misconceptions for such creatures stretched far and wide. Jonghyun wasn't sure whose side he was currently on-or whose side Jinki was on for that matter-so he wasn't sure, either, if he wanted to tell Jinki the full truth.
"A person, maybe? A clever one would be disguised as a human." Jinki sighed. "Legends are speculative. Most kumiho eat people's souls, not their livers-they quickly found those more appetizing. They will take whatever form is most pleasing to themselves, and they lure people by befriending them, promising whatever it is that person is looking for. They're masters at trickery and illusion."
Jonghyun was slow to respond, but as he opened his mouth to speak, a sudden heavy gust of wind hit the window, rattling it violently. When the two of them peered out the glass they saw that the evening light was shafted by heavy thunderheads.
"I should get home." Jonghyun was already backing towards the door, blindly reaching behind him for his bookbag.
Jinki grabbed Jonghyun's wrist before the boy could dart out of the room, and once again that heavy silence encompassed them. Jonghyun recognized it as Jinki willing him to stay, not using magic, but he could feel it tentative in the air.
"Don't try to set any spells on me." Jonghyun warned.
"No, uhm, it doesn't work like that." Jinki replied. "You'll want an umbrella?" He held out a clear umbrella which Jonghyun took: snatched, rather.
"Be careful." Jinki added. "If you remember anything-"
"Protecting me, huh?" Jonghyun huffed out a bitter laugh. "Why are you doing this?"
Jinki's gaze lowered to the floor and Jonghyun hovered between the door entrance, insecure. "It's my job." He finally replied.
Jonghyun bit his lip, stepping out and opening the umbrella. "If you want to be my friend, don't keep secrets from me." He sent Jinki a small, unsure smile. It was confident, but wary. Another gust of wind pushed against him, as if urging him to leave.
Jinki held out his hand. "Same to you." He said. They shook and Jonghyun knew that right then a strange but solid friendship had been formed.
Jonghyun headed down the stairs quickly, mindful of the heavy rain falling just past the awning. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Kibum down at the bottom of the steps, form blurring with the shadows. The fey raised his head when he noticed Jonghyun, pushing away from the wall.
"What are you doing here?" Jonghyun asked, having to speak loudly over the pounding rain.
"I said I'd come to you, didn't I?" Kibum's aberrant grin made Jonghyun's stomach twist with unease. He sent the fey a fake half-smile in return, hardly amused. "I'll walk you home."
"Is that safe?" Jonghyun chortled. He wanted to appear unfazed. Calm. He was far from it. "Letting you into my house."
"If you're scared then why don't you go back upstairs and tell him?" Taunted Kibum.
"I'm not scared." Jonghyun snapped at him, walking brusquely past Kibum and out into the storm. Kibum met his pace, splashing water precariously onto their school uniforms. They walked with nothing but the heavy rain to serenade them, the shadows of the night to cage them, flickering lights fighting entrapment of the streetlight's vigilant cage.
"What did he tell you?" Kibum asked curiously, voice sounding much too light, too harmless.
"You're kumiho." Jonghyun replied without pause. "I thought you were a troll."
"A troll?" Kibum sputtered, bursting out into loud, unrestrained laughter. "I'm not ugly."
"No, but you could be."
Here, Kibum's expression darkened with displeasure. "Jinki doesn't know everything." He said, then with a bit of thought, added, "I can only wonder what he was told."
"I trust him more than I trust you." Jonghyun let his eyes flick over to Kibum's profile.
"You would." Kibum pulled his soaked hoodie back and ran fingers through raven tresses already damp from the rain. He had forgone walking under Jonghyun's umbrella.
Jonghyun's frown was nearing a scowl. "Tell me one thing I don't know, then."
Kibum turned his face to meet Jonghyun's narrowed gaze. "You don't know a lot of things."
"What would Jinki know, then? That I don't. What is he to you?" Jonghyun sounded out impatiently, coming to an abrupt halt. It was completely dark out now, but the rain had let up considerably.
Kibum stopped alongside him. "Is this your home?"
Jonghyun begrudgingly pointed up. "Towards the top floor."
"Invite me in and I'll tell you."
A million warning bells went off in Jonghyun's head, but he led Kibum up the steps. At the door he hesitated purposefully. He could play this game. "-something else," he murmured vaguely.
"What?" Kibum replied, blinking wide eyes at him.
"You can't come in. I'll give you something else in return." Jonghyun explained. If what Jinki said was true and Kibum really was a fox spirit, then that should be an offer too curious for Kibum to decline.
The fey made a show of examining him, said, "Fine." He leaned closer to Jonghyun. "What do you have in mind?"
Jonghyun let his back rest against the door. He could feel the strange tension created by their close proximity and by the prurient slant to Kibum's smile; he couldn't put a finger to why his fear dissipated but his heart continued to flutter.
"Advice." Jonghyun said out of nowhere, mind scrambling for any idea it could find. Kibum's eyebrows furrowed, offset, and Jonghyun used that as his chance. "You don't act very human."
A flicker of apprehension crossed Kibum's face. "Don't I?"
Bingo, thought Jonghyun. Kibum was not all he seemed. He was just an overconfident, clever fey. Fox spirit. Kumiho.
"Nope." Jonghyun said-but now he had to find a way to sell this.
Kibum looked away slowly, contemplating. His shadow was cast on the cemented floor and Jonghyun wasn't sure if it was a trick of the dim hall light, but it was foxen in shape. Nine tails flicked impatiently to and fro.
"All right." Kibum finally said, drawing Jonghyun's attention back to his face. "I consent."
Jonghyun let out a sigh, sinking to the floor and sitting against the door to his flat. Kibum seated himself across from him, leaning on the railing.
"What am I doing wrong?" He asked.
Jonghyun contemplated Kibum seriously before cracking up. The fey stared at him, head tilted to the side in confusion.
"Don't use your trickery to get people to like you." Jonghyun said through his laughter. "They'll start to think something's up."
"No they won't." Kibum replied with a frown.
"We're not as stupid as you think." Jonghyun said, "Or, more like, you're not that much smarter than us." Jonghyun kept talking before Kibum could protest. "Like I said, if I had told the truth, even if you say no one had believed me, some of them would, and I'm sure you'd be in danger."
"What's one more hound to the chase." Kibum muttered darkly.
"Why do you have to go to school pretending to be a human anyway?" Jonghyun asked, interest piqued.
Kibum made a face, something between amused, angered, and belittled. "I've been tricked." He said. Jonghyun blinked at him; his own game played against him? "Something very important to me has been taken. In order to get it back, I have to play by their rules. Rather, I have to be careful as to how I go about finding it."
Jonghyun's first thought was Jinki, but Kibum was ahead of him. "It's not that witch." He said. "He's just meddlesome."
"I think he wants you dead."
Kibum's almond eyes met his with a dispassionate smile. "I've said before, a fox hunter hunts foxes."
"What did they steal?" Asked Jonghyun, Kibum's redundancy whirring around in his head. Everything was finally sinking in. This was really real.
"My most treasured possession." Kibum's answered vaguely. "I'll do anything to get it back."
A ponderous quiet came upon them both. "You know," Jonghyun piped up. He wasn't sure why he was about to say it, but he had already begun, so he might as well finish. "You're pretty gullible. That's probably why you lost it so easily."
Kibum's eyes snapped to his, body tensing in the likeness of a feral cat. "What would you know?" He hissed. "You don't even know what it is."
Jonghyun tipped a shoulder, pulling himself up off the floor and digging his key out of his pocket. "I don't know; I probably don't want to know." He said. "But I can't understand its importance if you're willing to do anything to get it back, yet you lost it to trickery."
Kibum's pride was clearly hurt and he was a riled creature. Contrarily, Jonghyun could only wonder why the fey was being more or less benevolent towards him. It made no sense.
"Don't belittle me." Kibum snapped.
Jonghyun just grinned at him. Benevolent. Right. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said.
Kibum reached out to touch Jonghyun's wrist, but didn't quite-it was almost as if he couldn't. "Tomorrow." he nodded. "After school."
What after school? Jonghyun wanted to ask, but Kibum's eyes were downcast, demure, and he found he didn't have the nerve to say anything. Jinki's words, they'll do anything to get what they want echoed in his head.
The next day, Jonghyun had the feeling he was being watched as soon as he stepped out his door. After descending the stairs and starting down the road, he also had a feeling he knew who it was. Jonghyun walked a little farther before stopping all together, irritatedly calling out, "Jinki, I know you're there. Can't you just walk to school with me normally?"
Jinki didn't appear like Jonghyun expected, he just sort of came out of Jonghyun's peripheral vision, like he hadn't been trying to hide at all. It was eerily convenient. Jonghyun was beginning to think magic was a very subtle, casual thing.
"What gave me away?" Jinki asked, chuckling sheepishly.
"I don't think your kumiho or whatever is dumb enough to fall for tricks even I can see through." Jonghyun mumbled, eyeing the long bow Jinki had slung over his shoulder.
"Hey," protested Jinki, pouting. "It's not easy, okay?"
"Right." Jonghyun said, unimpressed.
"How's your finger?" Jinki queried as they continued along.
"It's painful to write." Jonghyun replied, if only to see the guilty look that flickered across Jinki's face. "Kidding?" He added, though the injury had been much deeper than he expected.
"That's a relief." Jinki admitted. "I was worried."
"Why worried?" Jonghyun asked, pace matching up with Jinki's.
Jinki didn't respond, and Jonghyun opened his mouth to press for an answer, but he closed it when he saw Kibum up ahead. Both Jinki and Kibum were regarding each other, the fox spirit with a sloe-eyed glare and the shaman with a measuring look. Jinki drew his bow from its slip very quickly, and though he had no arrow, when he aimed it Jonghyun could see the shimmer and feel the pressure of something just as solid, just as sharp. Kibum laughed at him.
"As if that could harm me."
"Jinki," Jonghyun exclaimed at the same time, "What are you doing?"
"Don't you see it?" Jinki replied. "He's the fox!"
When Jonghyun looked back over, he did see a fox in place of Kibum, large and thin and beautiful, its paintbrush of a tail swaying back and forth with regale. Jonghyun was mystified by the creature's simple beauty. Its slanted eyes were indefinitely similar to those which Kibum possessed-both an ethereal and physical beauty. Jonghyun might have already known, but he hadn't seen Kibum's true form until now.
"Don't be tricked by it." Jinki warned, Kibum's laugh still chiming like bells around them. He released his arrow and Jonghyun saw the magic hit solid ground; Kibum had vanished, but his voice remained.
"Shooting at me with magic is useless."
"Then next time it will be a real arrow." Jinki said to the air. "What do you want? You're not just putting yourself in danger, don't you understand?"
"I want what was taken from me and nothing more." Another laugh; it reminded Jonghyun too much of the Cheshire cat. "See you in class."
School! thought Jonghyun. "We're going to be late!"
They rushed the rest of the short distance, though they were still late-according to Jonghyun's watch at least, but when they reached the gates, students were still filing in, casual and in no hurry. Jonghyun turned a suspiciously delighted look to Jinki. "What did you do?"
Jinki blinked at him. "Uhm-"
"You can control time?" Jonghyun went on over him. "So? Can you?"
"Not exactly." Jinki replied. "I told you before, it doesn't work like that. I can sort of... nudge it in one direction or the other."
"So you're saying, for instance," Jonghyun was too consumed by the idea, talking animatedly. "You could sleep in over and over in the mornings? Like an eternal snooze?"
"I guess-"
"Unfair." Jonghyun lamented. He quite liked his sleep.
Jinki blinked at him again before his shoulders relaxed and he laughed. "You sleep too much."
"How would you know?" Jonghyun just shrugged at him. "By the way, are you part of the archery club?"
"Yes." Jinki said, readjusting his bow on his shoulder. "And we are looking for members. Will you join?"
Jonghyun contemplated Jinki's weapon. "If you teach me how to do what you did back there."
"You'll need to learn normally first." Jinki replied just as they slipped into class. They became a part of two separate cliques then. Jinki took the podium, running through the morning duties and announcements. Jonghyun felt the wind rustle through his hair, the window beside him having been left open for some reason.
As the classes rolled on, he folded a paper plane out of his work, and when the teacher wasn't looking, set it loose out the window. The breeze was a nice change from the usual stuffiness of the room. He wondered who had opened it; it was against the rules, and usually the teacher would have noticed by now. Jonghyun had a sneaking feeling it was Kibum. It would make sense. A fox spirit was not a creature of industrialization, after all.
previous | next
AN: No, foxen is not a word. I made it up. It should be a word ~
Seven days left of high school. FOR EV ER.
Peace.
SUMMARY Jonghyun's just an unfortunate kid. Kibum's just a lost spirit.
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS [SHINee] Jonghyun/Key.
RATING/WARNING PG-13.
GENRE Fantasy/Romance
( 1)
AN: Correction from previous chapter. Fey = faery. And there is/will be a lot of JongYu closeness in this jsyk. Longer chapter this time. I have gotten lazy with fic, forgive any super lame errors. xD
spirits and sidewalks;
Jonghyun didn't know how he ended up at Jinki's house after school. Maybe because the class president had insisted-maybe because Jinki was just nice. Almost too nice, and Jonghyun did not know, once again, why that drew him to the brunette. Jonghyun had never been "nice", never been friends with nice, honest people. It was new to him.
Jinki's room was bizarre-his whole house was, actually. Among school accessories and other somewhat normal-ish things were opened texts detailing botany, geodes, weird, Celtic looking circles-was it alchemy? Jonghyun couldn't be sure before Jinki gathered them up, placing the books among a pile of other strange items-a weird scope, a box that sounded full of beads, a peacock feather.
"Sorry it's in a mess. My parents have been out, so I sort of stop being organized."
"It's fine." Jonghyun said, only half-lying. He placed his book-bag down at the edge of the bed, waiting for the awkwardness to settle, but it was rampant in a not-there sort of way. Why had he agreed to come over again? Oh right, there was no reason. Jinki had just insisted. The real question was, what the hell had Jonghyun been thinking?
He took to exploring Jinki's home, deeply intrigued by all the eccentric things within it. He mostly ignored Jinki hovering uneasily beside him, which he found amusing, since he knew Jinki was far more clumsy than he would ever be.
"What's this?" Jonghyun asked, eyes drawn towards a oblong ball made of fluorescent glass. There was a long, spindly straw attached at the top; it looked almost like a very distorted teapot. He reached out, ignoring Jinki's "I wouldn't-" and touched the tip of the straw, wincing when his finger was pricked. It hadn't looked sharp at all, but the pad of his finger quickly beaded with blood. Some of the crimson liquid slid down the straw into the blown glass.
"Ow." He said in slight delay. "The fuck is that thing for?"
"Uhm. That's odd." went Jinki. "It's an Heirloom." He said, eyeing the item which now had several drops of Jonghyun's blood within it. "I don't think you should have touched it."
"It doesn't look sharp at all." Jonghyun protested guiltily, though Jinki's voice was void of any resentment. He tried to turn Jonghyun around, but Jonghyun caught motion out of the corner of his eye and shrugged Jinki off. "Heirloom?" He echoed suspiciously, watching as his blood turned to a garnet powder. "How did it do that?"
"Sorry." Jinki said, once again attempting to usher Jonghyun over to the bathroom so he could see to the cut. "I should have warned you earlier. My parents like to travel, and they collect strange things." Jonghyun wasn't buying it. Jinki looked just as freaked out as Jonghyun felt. "A very, very old Heirloom." The brunette stressed.
"Why did you invite me here?" Jonghyun asked with a frown, wincing when the cold water rushed over his injury. He followed Jinki's pacing feet back into his bedroom, pressing a paper towel onto the pad of his finger. It didn't want to stop bleeding.
"There was something I needed to give you." Jinki replied, rummaging around in his desk drawer. Eventually he produced a very sad-looking leather booklet, which he handed to Jonghyun.
"It smells." was Jonghyun's first comment.
"Uhm-just!" Jinki closed it as soon Jonghyun tried to open it. "Look at it later. Like, when you're home."
Jonghyun made to obey; he moved to pocket the book, but he faked out instead, spinning from Jinki's reach and thumbing it open to skim through the pages. "Don't think I don't already know. It's obvious." Jonghyun addressed Jinki's dismayed face with a straightforward stare. "I just never thought I'd really see one. I mean, I've seen them, around, but it's not something you really believe." Jonghyun paused. "You're a shaman, aren't you?"
Jinki sighed, dropping his uselessly poised hands. "I didn't know how else to tell you."
"Giving me a spellbook?" Jonghyun said, point in case. "What would I do with this, anyway? Especially at home."
"It's got quite a few simple instructions for protecting yourself and your house." Jinki replied, voice low with embarrassment. "It's yours."
Jonghyun winced when his pricked finger caught the edge of the booklet. "Mine? You know then, don't you."
"Yes. But I didn't know if you did, that's why I couldn't ask directly." Jinki nodded.
Jonghyun regarded him carefully. He knew it. Even Jinki's niceness was for himself. Jonghyun was in familiar territory after all. "What do you want from me?"
"Want?" Jinki echoed. "I want to help you." He said. "The kumiho didn't affect you, but did you manage to see it?"
"Kumiho?" Jonghyun's mind went back to history class, back to ancient mythology. Kibum was a fox spirit? It did make sense, though people's misconceptions for such creatures stretched far and wide. Jonghyun wasn't sure whose side he was currently on-or whose side Jinki was on for that matter-so he wasn't sure, either, if he wanted to tell Jinki the full truth.
"A person, maybe? A clever one would be disguised as a human." Jinki sighed. "Legends are speculative. Most kumiho eat people's souls, not their livers-they quickly found those more appetizing. They will take whatever form is most pleasing to themselves, and they lure people by befriending them, promising whatever it is that person is looking for. They're masters at trickery and illusion."
Jonghyun was slow to respond, but as he opened his mouth to speak, a sudden heavy gust of wind hit the window, rattling it violently. When the two of them peered out the glass they saw that the evening light was shafted by heavy thunderheads.
"I should get home." Jonghyun was already backing towards the door, blindly reaching behind him for his bookbag.
Jinki grabbed Jonghyun's wrist before the boy could dart out of the room, and once again that heavy silence encompassed them. Jonghyun recognized it as Jinki willing him to stay, not using magic, but he could feel it tentative in the air.
"Don't try to set any spells on me." Jonghyun warned.
"No, uhm, it doesn't work like that." Jinki replied. "You'll want an umbrella?" He held out a clear umbrella which Jonghyun took: snatched, rather.
"Be careful." Jinki added. "If you remember anything-"
"Protecting me, huh?" Jonghyun huffed out a bitter laugh. "Why are you doing this?"
Jinki's gaze lowered to the floor and Jonghyun hovered between the door entrance, insecure. "It's my job." He finally replied.
Jonghyun bit his lip, stepping out and opening the umbrella. "If you want to be my friend, don't keep secrets from me." He sent Jinki a small, unsure smile. It was confident, but wary. Another gust of wind pushed against him, as if urging him to leave.
Jinki held out his hand. "Same to you." He said. They shook and Jonghyun knew that right then a strange but solid friendship had been formed.
Jonghyun headed down the stairs quickly, mindful of the heavy rain falling just past the awning. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Kibum down at the bottom of the steps, form blurring with the shadows. The fey raised his head when he noticed Jonghyun, pushing away from the wall.
"What are you doing here?" Jonghyun asked, having to speak loudly over the pounding rain.
"I said I'd come to you, didn't I?" Kibum's aberrant grin made Jonghyun's stomach twist with unease. He sent the fey a fake half-smile in return, hardly amused. "I'll walk you home."
"Is that safe?" Jonghyun chortled. He wanted to appear unfazed. Calm. He was far from it. "Letting you into my house."
"If you're scared then why don't you go back upstairs and tell him?" Taunted Kibum.
"I'm not scared." Jonghyun snapped at him, walking brusquely past Kibum and out into the storm. Kibum met his pace, splashing water precariously onto their school uniforms. They walked with nothing but the heavy rain to serenade them, the shadows of the night to cage them, flickering lights fighting entrapment of the streetlight's vigilant cage.
"What did he tell you?" Kibum asked curiously, voice sounding much too light, too harmless.
"You're kumiho." Jonghyun replied without pause. "I thought you were a troll."
"A troll?" Kibum sputtered, bursting out into loud, unrestrained laughter. "I'm not ugly."
"No, but you could be."
Here, Kibum's expression darkened with displeasure. "Jinki doesn't know everything." He said, then with a bit of thought, added, "I can only wonder what he was told."
"I trust him more than I trust you." Jonghyun let his eyes flick over to Kibum's profile.
"You would." Kibum pulled his soaked hoodie back and ran fingers through raven tresses already damp from the rain. He had forgone walking under Jonghyun's umbrella.
Jonghyun's frown was nearing a scowl. "Tell me one thing I don't know, then."
Kibum turned his face to meet Jonghyun's narrowed gaze. "You don't know a lot of things."
"What would Jinki know, then? That I don't. What is he to you?" Jonghyun sounded out impatiently, coming to an abrupt halt. It was completely dark out now, but the rain had let up considerably.
Kibum stopped alongside him. "Is this your home?"
Jonghyun begrudgingly pointed up. "Towards the top floor."
"Invite me in and I'll tell you."
A million warning bells went off in Jonghyun's head, but he led Kibum up the steps. At the door he hesitated purposefully. He could play this game. "-something else," he murmured vaguely.
"What?" Kibum replied, blinking wide eyes at him.
"You can't come in. I'll give you something else in return." Jonghyun explained. If what Jinki said was true and Kibum really was a fox spirit, then that should be an offer too curious for Kibum to decline.
The fey made a show of examining him, said, "Fine." He leaned closer to Jonghyun. "What do you have in mind?"
Jonghyun let his back rest against the door. He could feel the strange tension created by their close proximity and by the prurient slant to Kibum's smile; he couldn't put a finger to why his fear dissipated but his heart continued to flutter.
"Advice." Jonghyun said out of nowhere, mind scrambling for any idea it could find. Kibum's eyebrows furrowed, offset, and Jonghyun used that as his chance. "You don't act very human."
A flicker of apprehension crossed Kibum's face. "Don't I?"
Bingo, thought Jonghyun. Kibum was not all he seemed. He was just an overconfident, clever fey. Fox spirit. Kumiho.
"Nope." Jonghyun said-but now he had to find a way to sell this.
Kibum looked away slowly, contemplating. His shadow was cast on the cemented floor and Jonghyun wasn't sure if it was a trick of the dim hall light, but it was foxen in shape. Nine tails flicked impatiently to and fro.
"All right." Kibum finally said, drawing Jonghyun's attention back to his face. "I consent."
Jonghyun let out a sigh, sinking to the floor and sitting against the door to his flat. Kibum seated himself across from him, leaning on the railing.
"What am I doing wrong?" He asked.
Jonghyun contemplated Kibum seriously before cracking up. The fey stared at him, head tilted to the side in confusion.
"Don't use your trickery to get people to like you." Jonghyun said through his laughter. "They'll start to think something's up."
"No they won't." Kibum replied with a frown.
"We're not as stupid as you think." Jonghyun said, "Or, more like, you're not that much smarter than us." Jonghyun kept talking before Kibum could protest. "Like I said, if I had told the truth, even if you say no one had believed me, some of them would, and I'm sure you'd be in danger."
"What's one more hound to the chase." Kibum muttered darkly.
"Why do you have to go to school pretending to be a human anyway?" Jonghyun asked, interest piqued.
Kibum made a face, something between amused, angered, and belittled. "I've been tricked." He said. Jonghyun blinked at him; his own game played against him? "Something very important to me has been taken. In order to get it back, I have to play by their rules. Rather, I have to be careful as to how I go about finding it."
Jonghyun's first thought was Jinki, but Kibum was ahead of him. "It's not that witch." He said. "He's just meddlesome."
"I think he wants you dead."
Kibum's almond eyes met his with a dispassionate smile. "I've said before, a fox hunter hunts foxes."
"What did they steal?" Asked Jonghyun, Kibum's redundancy whirring around in his head. Everything was finally sinking in. This was really real.
"My most treasured possession." Kibum's answered vaguely. "I'll do anything to get it back."
A ponderous quiet came upon them both. "You know," Jonghyun piped up. He wasn't sure why he was about to say it, but he had already begun, so he might as well finish. "You're pretty gullible. That's probably why you lost it so easily."
Kibum's eyes snapped to his, body tensing in the likeness of a feral cat. "What would you know?" He hissed. "You don't even know what it is."
Jonghyun tipped a shoulder, pulling himself up off the floor and digging his key out of his pocket. "I don't know; I probably don't want to know." He said. "But I can't understand its importance if you're willing to do anything to get it back, yet you lost it to trickery."
Kibum's pride was clearly hurt and he was a riled creature. Contrarily, Jonghyun could only wonder why the fey was being more or less benevolent towards him. It made no sense.
"Don't belittle me." Kibum snapped.
Jonghyun just grinned at him. Benevolent. Right. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said.
Kibum reached out to touch Jonghyun's wrist, but didn't quite-it was almost as if he couldn't. "Tomorrow." he nodded. "After school."
What after school? Jonghyun wanted to ask, but Kibum's eyes were downcast, demure, and he found he didn't have the nerve to say anything. Jinki's words, they'll do anything to get what they want echoed in his head.
The next day, Jonghyun had the feeling he was being watched as soon as he stepped out his door. After descending the stairs and starting down the road, he also had a feeling he knew who it was. Jonghyun walked a little farther before stopping all together, irritatedly calling out, "Jinki, I know you're there. Can't you just walk to school with me normally?"
Jinki didn't appear like Jonghyun expected, he just sort of came out of Jonghyun's peripheral vision, like he hadn't been trying to hide at all. It was eerily convenient. Jonghyun was beginning to think magic was a very subtle, casual thing.
"What gave me away?" Jinki asked, chuckling sheepishly.
"I don't think your kumiho or whatever is dumb enough to fall for tricks even I can see through." Jonghyun mumbled, eyeing the long bow Jinki had slung over his shoulder.
"Hey," protested Jinki, pouting. "It's not easy, okay?"
"Right." Jonghyun said, unimpressed.
"How's your finger?" Jinki queried as they continued along.
"It's painful to write." Jonghyun replied, if only to see the guilty look that flickered across Jinki's face. "Kidding?" He added, though the injury had been much deeper than he expected.
"That's a relief." Jinki admitted. "I was worried."
"Why worried?" Jonghyun asked, pace matching up with Jinki's.
Jinki didn't respond, and Jonghyun opened his mouth to press for an answer, but he closed it when he saw Kibum up ahead. Both Jinki and Kibum were regarding each other, the fox spirit with a sloe-eyed glare and the shaman with a measuring look. Jinki drew his bow from its slip very quickly, and though he had no arrow, when he aimed it Jonghyun could see the shimmer and feel the pressure of something just as solid, just as sharp. Kibum laughed at him.
"As if that could harm me."
"Jinki," Jonghyun exclaimed at the same time, "What are you doing?"
"Don't you see it?" Jinki replied. "He's the fox!"
When Jonghyun looked back over, he did see a fox in place of Kibum, large and thin and beautiful, its paintbrush of a tail swaying back and forth with regale. Jonghyun was mystified by the creature's simple beauty. Its slanted eyes were indefinitely similar to those which Kibum possessed-both an ethereal and physical beauty. Jonghyun might have already known, but he hadn't seen Kibum's true form until now.
"Don't be tricked by it." Jinki warned, Kibum's laugh still chiming like bells around them. He released his arrow and Jonghyun saw the magic hit solid ground; Kibum had vanished, but his voice remained.
"Shooting at me with magic is useless."
"Then next time it will be a real arrow." Jinki said to the air. "What do you want? You're not just putting yourself in danger, don't you understand?"
"I want what was taken from me and nothing more." Another laugh; it reminded Jonghyun too much of the Cheshire cat. "See you in class."
School! thought Jonghyun. "We're going to be late!"
They rushed the rest of the short distance, though they were still late-according to Jonghyun's watch at least, but when they reached the gates, students were still filing in, casual and in no hurry. Jonghyun turned a suspiciously delighted look to Jinki. "What did you do?"
Jinki blinked at him. "Uhm-"
"You can control time?" Jonghyun went on over him. "So? Can you?"
"Not exactly." Jinki replied. "I told you before, it doesn't work like that. I can sort of... nudge it in one direction or the other."
"So you're saying, for instance," Jonghyun was too consumed by the idea, talking animatedly. "You could sleep in over and over in the mornings? Like an eternal snooze?"
"I guess-"
"Unfair." Jonghyun lamented. He quite liked his sleep.
Jinki blinked at him again before his shoulders relaxed and he laughed. "You sleep too much."
"How would you know?" Jonghyun just shrugged at him. "By the way, are you part of the archery club?"
"Yes." Jinki said, readjusting his bow on his shoulder. "And we are looking for members. Will you join?"
Jonghyun contemplated Jinki's weapon. "If you teach me how to do what you did back there."
"You'll need to learn normally first." Jinki replied just as they slipped into class. They became a part of two separate cliques then. Jinki took the podium, running through the morning duties and announcements. Jonghyun felt the wind rustle through his hair, the window beside him having been left open for some reason.
As the classes rolled on, he folded a paper plane out of his work, and when the teacher wasn't looking, set it loose out the window. The breeze was a nice change from the usual stuffiness of the room. He wondered who had opened it; it was against the rules, and usually the teacher would have noticed by now. Jonghyun had a sneaking feeling it was Kibum. It would make sense. A fox spirit was not a creature of industrialization, after all.
previous | next
AN: No, foxen is not a word. I made it up. It should be a word ~
Seven days left of high school. FOR EV ER.
Peace.