The Seven Wonders | BTS

39. Assistance

"Please don't kneel. It's alright, you were only protecting yourself," Namjoon stood up and brushed the dust off his knees, the man staring at him hesitantly before joining him. The earth gem bearer leaned on the wall, peaking through the entrance and spotting the Helian soldiers still at guard. "What's your name?"

"Jackson," The man – Jackson spoke with a cough, shuffling his feet awkwardly at Namjoon's presence. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just– You're one of the seven wonders, a myth, part of a legend, you don't exist to some people! Yet... you're standing in front of me! I can't believe it... I can't believe you're real."

Namjoon turned around upon hearing Jackson's words, releasing a low chuckle under his throat. A legend, huh? The thought itself amused him, how he was someone considered as a criminal in his home planet yet thought of as a hero in another. Known yet unknown. It was ironic, really. "Jackson, could you help me out? Oh and you can call me Namjoon."

"O-Of course I will, uh, Namjoon," Jackson scratched the back of his nape awkwardly, dragging his feet until he was standing right behind the bearer.

Namjoon stared at the wandering guards with pursed lips, the purple armor glistening under the sunlight, the gears of his mind running as he tried to come up with a good strategy. "Can you tell me why everyone here is wearing Helian armor? And why are there only men present in the city? Why were you expecting me, who you tagged as a standard Aardeain, to be wearing Helian armor too?"

Since Jackson went silent, Namjoon knew that he had asked the right questions. He turned around to see the Aardeian's eyes droop, his fingers digging into the dirt of the wall and teeth gritting. Fury? Pity? Nostalgia? He couldn't tell. "When Hel took over Aarde, they gathered all the women and threw to the outskirts of the kingdom, deep into the forest. They took all the children, slaughtering some if they didn't agree to train under Hel as soldiers. The men, we were in the same situation as the children, except refusing to become a soldier meant turning into a slave instead. My friends... there were seven of us, seven just like you and the wonders. One of them went against the King of Hel and was killed, another passed due to disease, the rest chose their fate as slaves. I– I was left here in our house as a Helian soldier because I swore that I'd live for them but... but I never stepped outside clad with purple armor. I'll never wear the brand of a kingdom that took all my friends away from me."

"That explains the women rebel group...," Namjoon whispered after he listened to every word, watching as Jackson's eyes turned glassy but he wiped the tears away before they could fall. He felt sad for what the Aardeian went through but at the same time, he was mad at himself for not arriving earlier, for not being able to help. "I'm sorry that I didn't come earlier."

"Don't blame yourself. You probably didn't even know about your identity, just like the legend says. Am I right?," Namjoon nodded to Jackson's questions, his chin stuck out as his plan started to piece together. After hearing Jackson's story and Aarde's situation, he knew exactly what to do.

"Hey, Jackson," Humming as a reply, Jackson raised an eyebrow at Namjoon's scrunched nose and stern expression. "Could you lend me your armor?"

"Uh, sure," Jackson replied hesitantly. "Why, though?"

The plan was simple, really, in Namjoon's point of view at least. He was going to use his Aardeian features as an advantage by disguising himself as a soldier, blending in so he could sneak into the castle unharmed. Then, he'll confront whoever was in charge of ruling Aarde, taking him out and fully regaining the kingdom. It took a crisp ten minutes for him to explain it to Jackson, all the while he changed into the armor, which was difficult to move in, metal hard and cold against his skin. It made him feel like a robot forced to move against his will. In return, Jackson explained his educational background and how he studied English and Korean out of curiosity, making him fluent in both.