molten silver ─ hyunjeong ✓

eleven

the inside of the cottage was pitch black, and jeongin — for all his obvious grace and agility — shouldn't have been surprised that almost immediately upon entering, he ended up banging his knee into what seemed to be the corner of a low standing coffee table.

he barely reigned in a yelp as he glared angrily at where the evil coffee table presumably stood in the dark, hearing hyunjin snicker nearby.

the nymph threw open the curtains, letting the moonlight slip into the room and gently wash over the room with it's silvery glow. moving into the part of the room where the moonlight could not reach, a match hissed as it was struck and thrown into the unlit fireplace.

standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, jeongin watched as hyunjin plopped himself on the small couch seated in front of the hearth. the latter gave him a bemused look as he patted the empty spot next to him.

jeongin shuffled forward, this time avoiding the wretchedly placed coffee table, and sat on the opposite end of the too-small couch. glancing around, he realized the wooden walls were bare, spare for a bookshelf filled with a variety of old leather bound novels. they looked similar to his own storybook he had dragged with him. he glanced back to where he'd thrown his backpack by the side of the couch.

jeongin was content sitting here in silence, basking in the comforting warmth of the fire, the comforting warmth of hyunjin's gaze on him. the growing flames from the fireplace danced, the hazy glow splattering radiant gold and shadows that shifted over the nymph's face.

jeongin blinked lazily, and he realized that the exhaustion of the entire day was suddenly weighing down on him like a heavy blanket. he thought of how the day started, how he never would have imagined that just that night a stupid and rash decision to run away would lead him... to this. to a nymph dancing by a lake dusted in silver. to hyunjin. the events caught up to him like waves crashing on a stormy night, roaring in his ears.

"you think loudly, jeongin," hyunjin said softly, moving closer to tuck an escaped strand of hair back behind jeongin's ear, "what's the matter?"

"everything... nothing?" jeongin hummed, "i don't know."

he leaned away from hyunjin's hand and turned to his bag next to him. unzipping it, he pulled out a heavy volume. running his fingers over the leather cover, worn from years of reading and rereading it, he breathed in the earthy smell of the pages that brought him so much comfort.

"i always used to read these stories to pretend i was somewhere else. to escape. my particular favourite was always this really basic one about this little boy who was abandoned as a child, but ended up being adopted by a fairy. it wasn't all that suspenseful or... eventful at all really, but part of me enjoyed that their was no complications. it was simple, and it ended happily. i could always know what was happening when reading it, and i knew i wouldn't end up being disappointed."

tilting his head curiously, hyunjin watched as jeongin flicked to a certain page in the book, finding the chapter either through muscle memory or luck— presumably the latter. he handed the book to hyunjin, who took it carefully and looked down at the page, smiling at the lively illustration of a delicate fairy holding a small child.

"will you stay?" jeongin asked suddenly, interrupting hyunjin. blood rushed to his cheeks as the nymph stopped reading and looked up to him.

"stay? stay here, you mean?"

"yeah... just... for the night," jeongin's voice quietened, "i don't feel like being alone..."

"of course, jeongin." hyunjin nodded and settled back on the couch, "once upon a time..." he began reading, and jeongin nearly laughed. he was a bit old for someone to be reading him fairy tales, but he found he didn't mind. 

although he had read this story hundreds and hundreds of times before by himself, it felt different hearing it narrated by hyunjin. he loved listening to the nymphs' voice, sweet and melodious as he spoke.

settling his head on the armrest, he forced back a smile at the way hyunjin tried to imitate different voices by lowering or raising the tone of his voice.

"you are made of stardust, young one, and never stop aiming for the sky, no matter how many people try to convince you you're just dirt."

he didn't know when he started drifting to sleep, but he must've at some point, because that was the last thing he remembered hyunjin reading.

it was his favourite line from the story, and hyunjin reading it made it all the more memorable.

─ author's note 🌌

hello all !! i am BACK. 

i'm so so sorry for the sudden disappearance (if you're still reading this after the sudden hiatus DHJSDH). i know this isn't the best chapter + it's quite short, but i've been trying to get back into the groove of writing, and i hope you can bear with me :D

on that note, thank you so much for your patience. i'm not sure how often, or regularly, i will be able to update this story. as it is summer break i will aim to complete all the chapters in advance and i hope you enjoy !!

in case you don't read my announcements (which is fine, i just talked about the same thing as i did here), i also made an ao3 acc for my drabbles or extra fics. if you want to check it out, my ao3 is @ dreamins

that was the end to this long authors note, and i hope you have a wonderful day/night <3

─ mel out of the building :D