molten silver ─ hyunjeong ✓

ten

the forest beyond the portal-thing-disguised-as-a-lake was nothing more than a sparse scattering of trees, and past that lay a small cluster of pretty cottages, the walk to the village being shorter than jeongin had anticipated.

from further away, the village seemed to be illuminated by speckles of floating lights, but as the pair drew closer, jeongin realized they were intricately designed lanterns, glowing softly.

"are you sure you want to do this?" jeongin's voice was sudden in the comfortable hush that had settled over them, and even he seemed surprised at hearing it. it was rather raspy, possibly from swallowing half the lake, but at least it sounded steady.

"i would have had to come back anyway, but with you here..." hyunjin glanced at him for a beat longer than necessary, "yes, i am sure."

jeongin didn't say anything, only squeezed hyunjin's hand. jeongin wouldn't admit it, but the feeling of their entwined hands brought warmth to his chest. a warmth that eased the roiling emotions, calmed the agitation in his mind.

as the nature slowly started to trickle into small cottages and and lanterns lit here and there for visibility, hyunjin turned to him and whispered in his ear, "everyone should be asleep at this time, but if anyone asks, you're also a nymph, and you're here for a visit."

jeongin raised a brow at him and gestured to his ears, "they're going to believe that?"

hyunjin grinned and ruffled his drying hair, causing it to fall over his ears and well... everywhere. "there! your ears are hidden," hyunjin said as jeongin tried to blow his hair out of his eyes and glared at him.

"well now they're going to think i'm a nymph that got dragged through a bush."

"good, they won't realize how attractive you are. so they won't try to steal you from me."

jeongin let out a snort at the absurdity of that statement, glancing at hyunjin, who looked more than serious. he didn't reply, not trusting his traitorous mouth to speak and blurt out something that would most likely end in his own mortification.

he looked around at the streets as he meandered beside hyunjin, occasionally drifting off to look in interest at cottages snuggled in beside one another, ivy creeping up the walls, adorned with wildflowers jeongin had never seen before.

the wooden doors glinted dully under the warm light cast by the hanging lanterns, and jeongin drifted as close as he dared, he realized that there were lines of bronze spiking across delicately carved wood, weaving and connecting into... drawings. into stories. he refrained from reaching out and touching the beautiful artworks carved into all the doors they passed, storing the questions into the back of his mind to ask hyunjin later.

true to hyunjin's word, the village remained silent, but not in a way that made jeongin uneasy. it was the hushed silent of a world at rest, the gentle lull of the moon as it watched over with the fondness of a guardian. hyunjin let him explore, wearing a fond smile of his own as he watched the younger walk around.

it was something out of a storybook, jeongin thought, this was the very place that he'd always try to escape through using his stories. when he finally bounced back to hyunjin, he could barely stop the smile threatening to spread across his face, and hyunjin watched him with barely concealed wonder.

"where are you taking me?" jeongin asked, finally.

"my house," hyunjin smiled, his eyes glinting, but jeongin plowed ahead,

"what then?"

hyunjin attempted to give a shrug, and the movement was stiff and awkward enough that jeongin realized hyunjin had something on his mind. he didn't comment on it, instead waited patiently for hyunjin to reply.

"we go where the universe guides us, i suppose," hyunjin answered wistfully, "why bother planning when we don't know what the future holds for us."

perhaps there was fault in the statement, but jeongin only smiled, because for now, he was done with always worrying, always thinking about how suffocating the world was when thinking about what could or couldn't happen.

they approached the further end of the slumbering village. a picturesque cottage lay nestled amongst others, small flowers and ivy creeping up the walls and framing the walls like the trailing brush of an artist; and jeongin balked as hyunjin reached for the quaint and prettily crafted handle adorning the carved wooden door. yet another door decorated with those drawings jeongin so desperately wanted to know about. "what about your family?"

"travelling, they won't be back for a week, maybe two." his smile was subdued, and jeongin realized why.

eventually hyunjin's family would return... and to find a human in their house... that wouldn't do. reading his mind, hyunjin reached forward to take his hands in his own softly, "we don't know what the future holds..."

jeongin swallowed with difficulty. even if the future was fickle, they both knew that this... whatever this was... the world wouldn't stop turning for them. they were borrowing time. because this would have to come to an end, and jeongin... jeongin would have to return to the other side of the lake, and both of them back to a painful reality.

pushing his thoughts into a small box and placing it at the back of his mind, where he could ignore their existence... for as long as possible.

"let's go where the universe guides us," jeongin said softly, more to himself than the other, as hyunjin pushed open the door, and they stepped into the cottage. 

─ author's note 🌌

hello i love m.i.a. and mixtape #4 changbin so much goodbye

─ mel out of the building :D