[FANTASY AU]
My breath hitches as a twig snaps somewhere in front of me, finally bringing me back to my senses.
Where am I?
I wonder looking around, noticing that the sky is now pitch black illuminated by a few stars.
When my gaze returns back to...
"Come with me dear," the woman says offering her hand, "there is much to learn and the more you know, the more you'll be able to help him."
Taking her hand, EunAe follows the woman to a small room full of boxes and books.
"Everything that you might need is in here." She says. "Feel free to explore and ask any questions."
"Thank you."
Hours later, Namjoon comes back, covered from head to toe as he enters the house, his foot slightly dragging behind him as he walks.
Without a word, he slightly bows before heading to his temporary room, the sight worrying the girl.
Taking in a deep breath, she puts her book on the side and slowly makes her way to his room, hesitating for a second before she knocks.
"Namjoon?" EunAe softly calls out as she knocks on the door, the boy letting out a sigh on the other side.
"Just a minute." He says, the door slightly opening to reveal his hooded figure.
"Hey," EunAe greets offering a small smile, "I just wanted to make sure you're alright."
"It's really bad EunAe." He answers in a low voice, his eyes not meeting hers.
"It's okay." She says reaching out, but he moves away.
"I'm sorry EunAe," he says, "I'll be okay. I just, I need some time."
"Okay," she finally says after a while. "I'll be outside if you need anything."
▼△▼△▼△▼
A week has already gone by and EunAe has barely seen the boy at all, with the exception of a few glances she caught of him every now and then.
But between his training and her studies, they have barely been able to spend any time together.
Namjoon has noticed this too, which is why he is currently rushing back to the house after his training to hopefully be able to make it in time before EunAe gets busy helping around the house.
"I'm back." He greets as soon as he enters the house, smiling when EunAe's voice answers back.
"Welcome back." She says with a smile, the boy stopping in his tracks when he looks at her, taking a deep breath in before he makes his way towards her and grabs her hand, dragging her along with him without saying a word.
Once they are in the privacy of his room, Namjoon lets out a sigh before he slowly lets his hood fall of, revealing the side effects he hopes to manage soon.
"The more you practice, the less the side effects will be." The old man's voice echoes in his head.
He is right. The first step in his journey is to be more comfortable in his own skin, which is why he decides to let the girl in, even if it's quite a sight to see. No more hiding anything from her.
As he turns around, his eyes carefully watch the girl for any sort of reaction. When he doesn't find any, he lets himself relax, patting the spot next to him as he sits on the bed.
"I'm sorry I haven't been around much." He says, giving the girl an apologetic look as she sits in front of him.
"I understand." She says, offering a small smile as she looks at him. "How's training going?"
"It's going." He says, letting out a small sigh. "As you can see, it's a work in progress." He adds, motioning to the dragon features still visible in his body.
"He says that the more I practice, the less the side effects will be."
"I see." She says with a nod, reaching out for his hand, smiling when he doesn't pull away, instead intertwining his fingers with hers.
"Tell you what," Namjoon says, "Doryu-ssi handed me a journal with his notes. Why don't we read it together tomorrow?"
"That sounds lovely."
"Good." He says, his eyelids slowly dropping with sleepiness. "We'll do that tomorrow then."
"Goodnight Namjoon." She says, smiling to herself as she covers him with a blanket.
The next day, after his training, Namjoon makes sure to organize everything he needs in order to be able to spend some time with the girl, nodding to himself when everything is set. Then, with a small smile, he makes himself comfortable. All he has to do now is wait for her.
"Hey," she softly calls out as she knocks on the door frame, her lips curving into a smile when his eyes meets hers, his eyes slightly crinkling at the corners as he smiles and scoots to the side to make some space for her.
"How are you feeling?" She asks sitting next to him.
"A lot better." He says averting his gaze to his legs, wincing as he tries to move his left arm.
"Let me help." She says, carefully reaching her arm over his stomach, gently placing his arm on top so it comfortably rests there.
"Thank you." He says, pulling her closer to him with his free arm. In response, the girl snuggles closer to him and places her hand on top of his, gently tracing the golden scales on his arm.
Now that she is closer to him, Namjoon can't help but notice the slight dark circles under her eyes. "How about you?" He asks looking down at her. "How are you doing?"
"I'm a little tired." She admits looking up at him. "But I feel better now that I'm here with you."
"Thank you." Namjoon says after a small pause. "For not running away." He adds kissing the top of her head.
"Hey," she says in a soft tone, her hand coming up to cup his cheek, "it doesn't matter what you look like, you will always be my Joonie."
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Sorry for the long wait lovelies and thank you so much for your patience. Here is this month's update for Heart of Gold. Another update will be coming soon. I would love to hear what you lovelies think~ ~Van (2022.07.23)
