After good four days, Taehyung was finally allowed to step out of the house, he took a walk in the gardens all by himself feeling a cold breeze against his skin.
He noticed Areum sitting under a tree emerged in her thoughts, she didn't pay attention to Taehyung who had walked up to her and stood right in front of her. He cleared his throat to gain her attention."I thought night hunters are alert all the time but look at you lost in your own world"
She sighed loudly, "Who else would be here except for you all....not that anyone else can enter here."
Taehyung noticed that she was sad for being trapped here, of course, it wasn't really a pleasant thing but this was the first time she was expressing it like this or maybe this was the first time he was able to see her like this. Before he could say anything he saw Jin coming towards them with a huge smile and followed by Saeyon. They were carrying a basket and a mat.
"Look we brought picnic," Saeyon said with much enthusiasm. She was slowly opening up to everyone except for Yoongi. For one, he looked very intimidating to her. For two, they hardly ever talked to each other for there was no need.
Taehyung loved picnics as it is associated with the sweet memories of his mother. He doesn't have many memories of his mother since he was too young when she went to a better place away from this world. Going to picnics with Jin and his mother was one of the few memories he was left with. After their mother, Jin took the responsibility of doing whatever their mother used to do for them, the responsibility of being his younger's mother, father and brother at the same time. When other children used to play and go on family outings, he was busy keeping both of them alive and fed. No one can compare him in Taehyung's life.
Jin and Saeyon set up their picnic and opened their basket filled with snacks, fruits and his mother's special yellow candies.
"I think you will be free soon" Taehyung tried to assure Areum who was still lost in her thoughts and didn't pay attention to Jin and Saeyon or their picnic.
'Free of life?' she thought.
"Who told you I'm worried about it, I'm just nervous about the ball because I can't dance," She said sheepishly trying to hide her true thoughts. When Areum expressed her worries the same thought crossed Saeyon's mind. She can't dance as well.
Taehyung started laughing at Areum's comment.
"Well that's not a big problem then," Jin said leaning his body on the tree trunk. Saeyon and Areum gazed at him for an explanation as to what he meant by that.
"Well the person standing in front of us is one of the best dancers in the whole community." Jin pointed at Taehyung. Saeyon and Areum both were surprised.
"You can dance?" Saeyon asked. She was at ease that one of them can dance so it won't be awkward during the actual dance for they won't look like chickens jumping around.
"Of course he can! He is even been awarded as the most popular male to dance with every girl in the ball even including the daughter of the King..." The elder brother was praising his younger brother but as he realized what he was saying; he came to a halt and looked at all three of them. Saeyon looked unimpressed and Taehyung face palmed himself at the talkative behavior of his brother.
"Well that was a long time ago like 4 years, he didn't even go to that kind of event now haha..." Jin tried to explain the situation laughing nervously.
"I highly doubt that, "Areum said making a face.
"Well that was dare given by my friend that I needed to dance with the Princess but I couldn't just run upto her so I had to do all this planning to make her dance with me!" Taehyung explained scratching the back of his head. Both the girls exchanged an unimpressed look.
"Well but I'm a good dancer I can teach you both!" He popped a candy in his mouth and shoved some in his pocket before extending his hand to Areum asking for a dance.
"Let me teach you," he said with a smile.
Areum took his hand happily. Taehyung instructed her, "So follow my feet and do the opposite of what I do; if I take my foot back, you take it forward, okay?"
"Alright" Areum started to follow his feet but every time she ended up stepping on his foot.
"You aren't following me; you are crushing my feet. You are taking revenge!" He yelped as she stomped on his foot again.
"You are not moving your feet on time."
"No, you are moving too quickly."
"Stop crushing my feet" Taehyung was trying to slow down according to her or fasten his speed according to her but their coordination was too bad. Jin and Saeyon couldn't stop laughing at their weird dancing.
"Take a bit short step... No no no this is too short, longer than that..... Try taking your leg forward as long as I take back.... Yeah like that.... Now try to match with my peace .......Just follow me..... Aaaaaaaaaaaaa" Areum stomped on his foot again but this time making him fall on his butt hardly.
"Yooooooooooooooou!" He rubbed his butt.
"It was not on purpose, believe me!" She said running away.
He ran after her, "Come here, I will kill you today."
"First you need to catch me" She ran faster as he was closing in. After a lot of running around the trees, he finally caught her and pulled on her ear.
"AAIIII----IT HURTS!"
"LEAVE MY EAR---DON'T BREAK IT----WHERE AM I GONNA WEAR MY EARRINGS ON THE DAY OF THE BALL" she yelled.
Jin's stomach was hurting laughing at them but suddenly his smile disappeared as the familiarity of this moment brought a memory long lost in the past before his eyes.
Six-year-old Jin sat under a maple tree surrounded by a stretch of pink and white flower fields till the horizon and the setting sun felt like a pearl on the ocean of flowers.
Three-year-old Taehyung and a little girl just about his age were playing at a distance. She has long brown hair tied in half-pony, some loose hair tucked behind her right ear, charcoal black eyes, and a mole right under her ear.
Jin was just keeping a watch over them sitting under that tree as he was too old to play with three-year-olds.
Taehyung patted the roof of the mud house with his little hands that both of them were making, "We will build this house ve-very beautiful and big for real and we will live in this"
"It's so bwetiful" the little girl clapped her hand happily. She stuck two rocks at the supposed main door of their mud house. "They will guard our house"
"Once it will be ready I will call everyone to stay with us here," Taehyung said happily shaping his house.
"Will they come and live with us Taetae?"
"Of course they will stupid. They will never leave us." He said flicking her head. Mud from his hand was now on her forehead. He looked at her face momentarily before laughing hysterically. She tried to wipe it but it resulted in spreading more.
"Don't laugh TaeTae!" She pouted. And so he stopped after much difficulty.
"We can make a garden in the house" Taehyung suggested and she immediately ran to pluck some flowers to make the garden. After walking between rows of flowers she plucked out some daisies.
She looked at Jin sitting near the tree. With flowers in her hands, she ran to him and put one white flower behind his ear. "For you Oppa! We will invite you to our home when it's done."
Jin smiled at her and nodded. She ran back with the flowers and both the kids diligently started sticking the stems on the wet ground.
"Put one on the dome" Taehyung pointed his finger to the biggest dome.
Her eyes lit up, "Ye it will look like a crown of our house". She shortened a stem of a flower and inserted it onto the dome but it collapsed as the flower was too heavy for it. Their faces fell upon seeing the horror. Taehyung grabbed her ear and pulled it tight.
"TAEHYUNG-AH LEAVE MY EAR.....IT HURTS!" She kicked him in the leg and he fell down landing right on his butt.
"Yooooooooooooooooooou!" Taehyung rubbed his butt after getting up and run after her to catch the girl who has caused him pain.
"You pulled my ear first!" She yelled running away from him. She looked behind to see how far she came from Taehyung but she fall down hurting her knee.
"JIN OPPAAA SAVE ME! SAVE ME!"
Upon hearing Areum's cry he ran towards them to separate them. "Taetae leave hear ear" Taehyung had again pulled her ear.
"She broke the house" saying this tears rolled down his cheeks and Areum also started crying. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand she said in between her sobs, "It fell down."
Jin crouched down to their level and hugged both of them. He patted their back to stop them from crying, "It's alright, make it again"
"Do you want candies? Mum made it today" he asked the crying children.
A woman came out running from inside the cottage, "What's happening here?" she asked, "Why are they crying?".
The woman has soft delicate features and long raven hair that reached up to her waist, she looked like a diety as her pale blue gown swayed with the breeze in the sunset.
"Ah, mum it's nothing. They fought because their house collapsed" Jin told his mother.
"I didn't mean to break it" little girl cried harder and hugged her. "Taetae hurt my ear".
On the other hand, Taehyung also started crying harder as if it was a competition who can cry harder. She patted Taehyung's head, "That's not a good thing to do Taetae, apologize to her"
"I'm sorry," Taehyung said to the little girl following his mother's order. She wiped their tear-stained faces.
"Ruru why do your hands have rashes all over them?" She looked at her small hands which were blood red. She just pouted not knowing what it was looking over their mud house which was now a mess of flowers and mud.
She chanted a spell to know the cause, "It's daisy! Stay away from these flowers from now on, okay?"
Ruru just scratched her hands in irritation, "Okay"
"You little bad boy, you should protect your little sister instead you are pulling her ear." She pinched Taehyung's nose lightly.
"But you just called me a little boy how can I protect her when I'm little in the first place!" He whined. He was little but still, his argument wasn't that of a three-year-old.
"Still you are her big brother. So what should a big brother do?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Protect little sister!" He said and hugged Ruru.
"So what did you learned from this?" His mother asked.
"Don't let Ruru pluck daisy or let her stick flowers on the dome." He said giving boxy smile to his mother still hugging Ruru.
She just pulled his cheeks at his silliness and picked up Ruru in her arms and rubbed her hands, "It will be alright I'll put some paste on it and it will heal in no time---now be a good girl and don't cry"
"Dinner is ready, both of you will take a bath then we will eat" she ruffled Taehyung's hair and held his hand with the other free hand and Jin followed them all back to the cottage.
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