The Scent of Miracles [ Jikook ]

Chapter 3

The moment they started to hum a song, Jimin's body began to move. He's been practicing for so long, it had become muscle memory, an instinct almost.
The midnight blue and pastel pink silk bands which playfully swayed in the wind before, now floated prettily on the water, like swimming roses, while the rest of the heavier fabrics stuck to his skin, perfectly outlining every single one of his muscles and curves.
Dancing like this was a challenge but Jimin mastered it beautifully, every move trained to perfection, every turn spraying pearls of water which reflected the orange light of the sun, making them glow just like the flickering fireflies that started to gather around him, dancing with him.

At the very end of his performance, the sun was long gone, the moon had risen. The world was covered in the ever so calm dark of the night.
During his last spin, Jimin lifted his arms, reached for the sky, just like he had done so many times as a child. He still couldn't reach it, the ceiling of the world, even after all those years.
However, he had learned something new at least.
After bringing his hands together and letting them form a small ball, Jimin quickly scanned the audience until he found the children from earlier who stared at him with moon sized eyes when Jimin pushed through the water, towards them.

"I caught your grandpa's soul. Quick, say goodbye before he moves on to his next life!" He whispered, crouching down until he kneeled in the water.
The children very quickly put their tiny paws on his hands before closing their eyes, whispering those last words they haven't been able to say while he was still alive.
Once they were done, Jimin lifted his arms one more time. He opened his hands, releasing a whirlwind of light into the air, watching it be swallowed by the dark of the night.

Foxes are masters of deceit and illusions, Jimin once read in a book. Don't fall for their charms, their pretty smiles or sweet words. Don't let them tempt you.
When the dream starts to fade, they already hold your heart in their hands, and they will never give it back.

This one paragraph had engraved itself into Jimin's mind for the rest of his life. He remembered being confused, being shocked by the bad reputation that, apparently, followed them around outside of their packs.
In reality, foxes aren't some magical creatures or master manipulators at all.
They have quick fingers and a sharp mind, yes, but they don't usually use those qualities to corrupt or hurt others. More than anything, they like to draw smiles on everyone's faces, love to make them feel better, just like Jimin had done right now.

Of course, it wasn't a soul he had released into the air seconds earlier but just a bunch of fireflies. It's fine, though, isn't it? It's okay to play a small trick if it means the little ones got to say "I love you" for one last time.
It doesn't make him a bad person, right?

When they finally went home, Jimin was already half asleep. The nervous excitement had knocked all energy out of his slender body, leaving him holding onto his father's arm to the point where he was dragged along more than he walked by himself. His mother and siblings chuckled behind them.
That was, until his father suddenly stopped in his tracks and Jimin's pink, fluffy fox ears perked up before he lifted his head in confused, eyebrows pulled into a questioning frown.
There was a certain Alpha who was busy picking up a bunch of flowers that were scattered all over the ground.

"Haru…?"

Jumping up in surprise, the latter stumbled backwards, scrambling nervously as if he had been caught red-handed.
Still, Jimin walked closer, crouched down to take those poor flowers Haru had so carelessly thrown back on the ground.

"Did you…pick those for me?" he said quietly while rubbing some of the beautiful pink petals between the tips of his fingers, sniffing them right after to enjoy the sweet scent.
Looking confused, the Alpha looked back and forth between the pink fox and the blossoms that so perfectly matched the fox's hair before nodding slowly.
"I did! I mean, of course I did... because of your performance! You deserve them!"