𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭

" 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 " - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

doyoung sat near the large, dirty window of the small cabin in which he called home.

he looked out of it, just barely able to see the blades of grass outside under the bright moon.

he let out a small sigh, rocking in the old and creaky rocking chair that belonged to his grandmother.

he patted the back of the boy in his lap, a small smile coming to his face seeing his comfort.

the other boy simply scoffed, rolling his eyes where he sat on the floor crossed-legged.

doyoung pursed his lips, looking at the innocent boy that sat on his thigh.

"go sit, jaemin."

the boy pouted a little, but did what he was told. he sat beside his older brother, glancing at him briefly before looking away.

his excitement came back all at once as he looked up at his eldest brother with a bright smile.

"tell a story, doie!" doyoung chuckled softly, but the other boy only groaned.

"can we please just go to bed?" doyoung let out a sigh, scowling at the boy.

"renjun, he wants to hear a story. do you want to talk to him all night? you know this is the only way to get him to bed." jaemin nodded in agreement.

renjun gave the two an annoyed look, letting out a groan.

"fine, whatever." doyoung smiled to himself, reaching down to pat renjun's head lightly.

renjun let out a huff, but leaned into the light touch.

doyoung pulled his hand away after a while, smiling at the mess of light curls on renjun's usually tidy looking head.

"what story would you like me to tell, little one?" jaemin wiggled his toes in his fuzzy, wool socks.

"tell one of grandma's stories, doie. i like her stories." he smiled up at him unevenly and nearly melted doyoung's heart.

"hm, let's see.." he looked back at his grandmother's bed, her frail body lying snug under the blankets.

he turned back quickly - he didn't like looking at her for too long.

"well, there was a story she used to tell me when i was very young, a little after junnie was born. it was... odd."

jaemin scooted close to renjun, glancing up at him with a small smile before looking back at doyoung.

"she would tell me about when she was a little girl, living in the middle of the woods. she would walk barefoot in the grass at night, while everyone had fallen asleep. she would stare up at the moon and pick pretty flowers to make bracelets and crowns with."

renjun began to chew on his lip lightly, a habit of his.

"one night, while she was walking through the forest, she found a lady lying in the grass. the lady wore a big and beautiful dress that was white in color. it was so bright that it shined like the moon."

jaemin smiled brightly. the moon was one of his favorite things to look at.

"she leaned down carefully, patting the dress lightly and feeling along the patterns of the fabric. suddenly, the lady spoke to her in a quiet voice. she said 'my oh my, you pretty thing. such beautiful hair grows from that pretty head~"

doyoung reached over to gently tug at the lightly curled strands of jaemin's hair, making the boy giggle softly.

"my oh my, you pretty thing. what a beautiful face you have, so delicate and lovely~"

doyoung gently squished jaemin's soft and chubby cheeks, making the boy giggle again.

"grandma says that she talked with the lady for so long that the sun had come up, revealing the dew on the nearby flowers. she was enamored with her voice, that she'd stayed in the woods for hours and hours, just listening to her."

renjun stared out of the dirty window and looked toward the moon.

"one night, when she walked out in the woods, the woman wasn't there. grandma was very sad, she wanted to hear the woman's voice again. as she searched for the woman, she heard sounds from the trees and from the bushes. she was frightened... at first."

jaemin leaned forward in anticipation.

"she began to hear a sweet voice calling out to her, singing a soft song in the sky. she followed the voice through the woods, and it led her all the way back home. her parents were very happy to see her, and she'd never forgotten the sound of the woman's voice. it sang to her every night since. the end."

jaemin clapped enthusiastically as doyoung ended the story, renjun simply rolling his eyes.

"that was great, doie!" doyoung gave a small bow, chuckling quietly.

"that story was shit." jaemin gasped a little.

"junnie, you can't use bad words!" renjun scoffed.

"renjun, what did i tell you about using that type of language with your brother?" renjun rolled his eyes, another habit of his.

"whatever, i'm going to sleep. come, jaemin." jaemin pouted, letting out a small huff.

doyoung reached down to pat the boy's head, scratching at his scalp a bit. jaemin leaned into the touch, letting out a soft yawn.

"go to bed, min. i'll tell you another story tomorrow, okay?" jaemin nodded softly as doyoung took his hand away.

jaemin stood up from the floor, scurrying off to his and renjun's shared bed. he slid under the woven blankets, snuggling into renjun's open arms. renjun hugged him tightly, making jaemin feel warm and safe.

doyoung walked over to the bed to tuck in their blankets, even though he knew that they'd be messy by morning.

he watched the boys with a smile as he tucked them in. their chubby cheeks were puffy from them being sleepy and their eyes were drifting closed.

he gently patted their heads, kissing them both softly on the forhead.

"doie?" jaemin asked softly. renjun had already fallen asleep.

"yes?"

"do you think that the lady in the woods is still there?" doyoung was quiet.

"who knows?" doyoung smiled at the boy softly, ruffling his hair a bit.

"go to sleep, jaemin. i'll make an apple pie tomorrow morning." jaemin smiled up at doyoung.

"good night, doie."

"good night, jaemin."

doyoung walked over to his own small bed, climbing inside and covering himself up.

jaemin stared up at the old, wooden ceiling with sleepy eyes.

"i'll find that lady, grandma. i wanna hear her voice, too."

he drifted off in the warm, protective arms of his brother, fantastical dreams filling his head.