UNIVERSE / BTS.

58: flower blossoms / taejin

a magnolia flower in full bloom, purple and white and pink, absolutely beautiful. seokjin was a whole garden; taehyung feels like just the dirt.

the model smiled abashedly, which made taehyung want to say "you're perfect, don't look so shy", but he only met seokjin yesterday. instead, he passed seokjin the huge trans flag, and the model smiled in return.

"your tattoos are lovely," taehyung commented, as he found a good playlist to listen to while they worked and seokjin wrapped the flag around his shoulders. "who designed them?" he asked suddenly, picking a calm playlist– kehlani, his favourite– and beginning to set up his camera.

"um, a friend," seokjin said, the self doubt swallowing him whole, confidence gone. he tried his best to ignore it. "min yoongi– well, suga, i suppose. he's the guy– the guy who designed them."

taehyung raised an impressed eyebrow, whistling. "wow. i knew he could rap, but the flowers– they're gorgeous."

seokjin chuckled shyly.

"okay, pose for me," taehyung's low voice was somewhat of a comfort to seokjin, who quickly found his pose; hand on his hip, the flag resting loosely on his shoulders, turned so the camera could catch his side profile. "ah, gorgeous."

seokjin knew he was talking about the pose, the lighting, the photo– but for a split second, it could've been him. it could've been him who was gorgeous, but he knew photographers. they thought photos were beautiful because of how they took them; not because of what they displayed. taehyung, in his mind, couldn't be any different.

poses changed and changed, seokjin becoming more comfortable with each camera click and each assuring 'it looks great; trust me' from kim taehyung. the flower boy perched delicately on the chaise lounge, flag now gone, his head tipped back and one of his hands cupping his face. taehyung thought he looked like a greek statue, but he didn't know how to express his adoration for the boy with pretty flowers inked into his skin. the model was made of moonlight and scented perfumes, while taehyung was merely skin and bone.

seokjin crossed his legs and looked into the camera, adjusting his hand so that it rested on top of his magnolia tattoo and the other on his thigh. "gimme a smile, seokjin," taehyung said gently, and seokjin complied, eyes crinkling up at the corners. "looking good. just a few more shots in this outfit, then the last one."

seokjin nodded, changing into a new pose and brushing a hand through his hair. taehyung couldn't help but feel stupidly infatuated with this gorgeous man, but he was pretty sure that seokjin wouldn't care for him; if you were an ethereal thing such as him, why would you care for a mortal such as taehyung?

x

when kim seokjin arrived at his house, he let out a sigh, discarding his jacket and t-shirt. "flora," he whispered, letting his true self be revealed under afternoon sunlight filtered in through dusty windows, cobwebs collecting in the corners.

flowers, real flowers, sprung up from his skin, unfurling from their ink confines, petals opening and releasing scent into the air. the faerie in his natural state was a true beauty, surrounded by the smell of pollen, truly quite an enchanting sight. seokjin hid this ethereal beauty for one reason; he stood out enough already. a gay transgender boy bought enough attention; he didn't need people knowing he was of the fair folk.

everyone knew that faeries existed, of course; humans were taught about the gentry and the fair folk in school, told the legends and the tales that had been passed down from generation to generation. seokjin was different from others in the gentry; his friend jeongguk worked in the city as a helping witch, jimin let his flowers bloom and ran the city's most successful florist shop. seokjin just wanted to model for queer times and act as if he wasn't a child of mother nature. so yoongi and jeongguk found him a spell that cast a glamour over his flowers, turning them to tattoos when he was in the company of mortals.