"Eden. Eden. E— I swear if you don't wake up I'm eating your breakfast."
Jungkook's agitated voice infiltrated her consciousness. She pried her tired eyes open to see him squatted down in front of her with his hair gathered at the top of his head. His eyebrows were downturned and his uneven lips curled into the smallest pout.
"Finally," he groaned. He huffed and stood up to his full height. "Come on, Jeffrey just finished cooking and I'm starving but Yoongi won't let us eat without you. He keeps slapping my hands when I reach for my fork."
She almost asked who Jeffrey was until the memories of yesterday flooded her brain. She blinked, trying to let the morning confusion fizzle out and adjust to being awake so she could understand what Jungkook was yelling at her about.
Food. Hungry. Yoongi. Jeffrey. Slaps?
"Mm," She hummed, wiggling to sit up. Before she could even get up fully, a toothbrush was thrust into her face. It was a kid's toothbrush, colored a pale green with a bear on the handle. At her confused face, Jungkook bit back a grin before shaking his head.
"Apparently Yoongi broke his toothbrushes a lot as a kid, so these are the only extras they have."
"I couldn't get a pink one?"
"This is what you're worried about?" Jungkook scoffed in mock anger. His teeth poked through his smile as he handed over the toothbrush, ignoring the obvious confusion in Eden's eyes.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"We have a busy day. Well, at least you and I do. So hurry up." He cracked his shoulder and shook his head again, before turning to walk out the room. "Go brush your teeth," he called over his shoulder. "Then come out past the overlook, down the stairs and make a left at the Mona Lisa, then down the hallway and the last door on your right."
"Wait, repeat—"
The door clicked closed behind him, cutting off Eden's pleas for clearer instructions.
Now alone in the room, Eden was fully awake and aware of her surroundings. Sunlight shined into the room and glittered every surface, lighting up the gold accents and reminding her just how expensive everything was. She sighed and pushed herself up and off the bed, squinting when the light hit her eyes.
Despite it's dark past, Iphorus sure was bright.
She stretched her arms high above her head, reveling in how well she managed to sleep despite the awful start to her night. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, or even how late it was at this point, but she definitely felt well rested thanks to Hoseok.
Speaking of Hoseok...
A quick glance back at the bed showed he was long gone— his half was made up to perfection and his pajamas were folded neatly on his pillow which meant he must've gotten a change of clothes. Eden looked down at her own clothes and wrinkled her nose, wondering if she'd get a chance to wear something better suited for her body any time soon. She'd been wearing sweats and oversized long sleeved shirts for nearly two weeks. With a dismissive shrug, she trudged into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
As she brushed, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, surveying her appearance. She stretched her neck out and turned it from side to side, glancing at the now fading bruises around her throat. They weren't really noticeable unless you stared hard enough, which was good, but they were still there; as a constant reminder of the day her life flipped on its head.
Finishing with her teeth and sticking the toothbrush in it's holder, she tried to do something with her hair. It was frizzy from days of sleeping without taking care of it, and her curls were starting to droop, meaning she definitely was due for a wash. It was hard enough to find good shampoo for coily hair in the human realm, she couldn't imagine trying to find some here. With a sigh, she used the scrunchie she kept on her wrist to gather her hair into a bun on her head, her hair now the mirror image of a certain hungry 19 year old.
Speaking of Jungkook, she realized she'd better get downstairs quickly before he really did eat her food.
Once she was sure she looked presentable, she stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway outside Hoseok and Jin's room. The door separating the right wing from the overlook was open, with Jeffrey nowhere to be seen, and so were the other bedroom doors. Giving into her curiosity, Eden peeked her head in each room— half of her wanted to see if anyone was around, and the other half was just curious to see what everyone's room looked like. Somehow, even without knowing for sure, she could already guess which room was who's.
Phone placed on one pillow with a book on the other? Namjoon and Jungkook.
Pillows thrown around and a lumpy bedspread? Jimin and Taehyung.
Chair pulled up to one side of the bed?
She paused for a moment, idling outside the room she originally shared with Yoongi. The rich royal blue hues illuminated by the sunlight almost made the room look like the picture perfect definition of serenity, but the mounds of wet and crumpled tissues in the garbage can told the story of the truth.
From the looks of things, Jin had to have slept in that chair the night before. The side of the bed closest to the window was just how she left it, with the blanket partially peeled away in her attempt to find entertainment. The only noticeable difference was that her pillow was now on Yoongi's side
The blonde must have been in a worse mental state than Eden thought if Jin sacrificed his comfort to watch him all night. It bothered her to imagine what images could've been going through his head, and what raw emotions those images dug up from the burrows of his mind he swore had frozen over.
And it still bothered her that she couldn't help.
"If you're looking for him, he's downstairs."
Eden whipped around to see Jin leaning against the door frame separating the right wing from the rest of the overpass. His hair was pulled off his forehead, tattoos and piercings on full display under his short sleeve t-shirt. Surprisingly, his eyes were bright, like he slept for days in the plushest bed money could afford rather than a creaky chair.
He reached an inked hand out to her, his familiar and soft smile adorning his features. "Jungkook told me to come check on you since you were taking a bit," he explained. "Did you get lost?"
"Kind of," she mumbled. She placed her palm in his and stepped over to where he was standing. Unsurprisingly, her racing thoughts stilled and she felt a wave of peace wash over her. A tiny smile found its way to her face as she looked up at him. "How are you?"
Jin shook his head, holding Eden's hand tight as he led her through the overpass. "Don't worry about me," he smiled. "I'm alright. How are you?"
"Well rested," she answered. "But concerned, and a little anxious?"
"I'm assuming the concern is for Yoongi," he mumbled. "Why the anxiety?"
"Partially because I'm scared Jungkook really ate my food, but honestly I think it's just the atmosphere."
Jin nodded, minding their steps as they started their descent down the stairs. "Fair enough," he said, after a moment. He sighed, stretching his free arm up and over his head. "Well, I think Jungkook said something about taking you exploring today. Yoongi was going to do it, but he has... business to attend to."
Eden blinked. "Business?"
The taller man nodded, a glint of agitation in his eyes. "Apparently there are some... 'family matters' to be discussed, things that we aren't allowed to hear. So the rest of us have been given the okay to do leisurely activities today."
She hummed in response, opting to keep her comments to herself. After all, she was the newbie in all of this. What did she know?
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they walked down a long hallway off to the side of the foyer. The two rounded a corner, passing a framed picture of the Mona Lisa. Bit by bit, Jungkook's instructions started to make sense.
The smell of breakfast drifted its way into her nose from a nearby room, and Eden's stomach grumbled with the force of 10 fully grown men.
Jin chuckled, releasing her hand as he gestured toward the open kitchen door. "Ladies first."
The kitchen was bright and alive with the rest of the boys seated at the island in the center of the room. Jeffery and a few other members of Yohan's staff moved around quickly, refilling glasses and piling more and more meats into the already full foil pans in front of them all.
"Finally."
Jungkook grinned as he watched her walk in, leaning back in his seat. "Took you long enough!"
"Good morning Eden!" Jimin beamed. He patted the empty seat next to him happily. "Come sit down!"
As she made her way over to him, she noticed his hair was brushed down over his eyes, rather than parted like usual. With his long sleeved shirt covering his tattoos and his hair covering his eyebrow piercing, he looked absolutely sweet and adorable, and almost out of place among everyone else.
Especially Yoongi.
The two met eyes and it took everything in Eden's power not to double over in shock.
She was very used to seeing Yoongi in oversized long sleeved clothes, but now he was wearing a plain black tank, fitted to his body. His arms were covered in different tattoos, some of them even colored. The contrast of the ink against his pale skin made everything pop more, a nearly dizzying combination.
The abrupt change in her image of him slapped her in the face like a truck, and she couldn't help but continue staring. Of course, Yoongi noticed.
The blonde quipped his eyebrow upward, tongue dancing dangerously in his mouth as he scanned Eden's face to figure out her emotion. She gulped, finding her voice in the far reaches of her chest to break the awkwardness.
"Hi Yoongi," she croaked.
"Morning Eden."
Before things could get any more awkward, Jeffery placed a steaming hot plate of eggs down, blocking them from each other's vision. Eden pulled herself from her trance and cleared her throat, turning to look at the heaping piles of food all over the table.
"I see Ms.Eden has finally joined you all," Jeffery announced. "I hope you enjoy the food we prepared, and please don't hesitate to ask for more."
The group made varying noises of acknowledgement, everyone far too hungry to wait another second to eat. Across the table, Jungkook picked up his fork and dug into his food like it was the last meal he'd ever receive, pancake syrup dripping from his fork and onto his hands. Jin tsk'd.
"You still eat like you're 12," he chastised, reaching for a napkin to tuck into the younger's shirt collar. Jungkook looked unphased as Jin doted over him, probably used to the older's parental instincts.
"How are you Eden?"
She looked up to see Namjoon smiling at her, his soft brown eyes peering through his equally brown hair and making him look like the poster child of kindness. She smiled back at him, swallowing a particularly large piece of pancake before speaking.
"I'm alright," she said. "A bit tired still, but I probably slept too long."
"I was going to wake you up when I woke up," Hoseok piped. "But I figured you needed the rest more than any of us. It's not even that late right now anyway."
"What time is it?"
"11 in the morning," Jimin answered.
"We've got a long day ahead of us," Jungkook added. "I'm taking you exploring."
Eden chewed her egg in thought. "Aren't we not allowed to leave the house?"
"We're not allowed to leave the property," he corrected. "But I heard there's a pretty big field behind the house with a view of the town, so I figured it's only right to bring you out there with me."
"The rest of us will be watching movies in Jimin and Taehyung's room," Namjoon jumped in. "So if you get tired or too hot you know where to find us."
"Not me."
The group turned to Yoongi, who was sipping his orange juice with an agitated look in his eyes. "I'll be with my father in his study," he continued. "Family business, apparently."
Jin hummed. "Sounds fun."
The blonde scowled. "I'd gladly let you go in my place. I'd rather catch up on sleep anyway."
Sleep. Eden wondered if Yoongi remembered what happened the night before, since the whole thing went down while he was technically still asleep. She glanced over at Jin and Hoseok, who were already looking at her with pleading eyes. Though neither of them spoke, she heard their message loud and clear.
Please don't say anything.
She wordlessly obliged, reaching for her own cup of juice to keep herself quiet. The last thing Yoongi needed at this moment was to be told that his true feelings were showing against his will. If he prided himself on remaining stoic, then Eden would let him have that.
Across the table, Jungkook guzzled down the last bit of his apple juice, tugging his makeshift handkerchief from his collar. "I'm going to go put my shoes on," he announced. His eyes landed on Eden's. "When you're finished meet me upstairs. I'm in the room across from Jimin and Taehyung."
"Alright," she responded.
She watched as he walked out of the kitchen, stopping momentarily to ruffle Taehyung's hair. Eden's eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of the grey haired boy with his head bowed and eyes glued to his plate.
She almost didn't realize he was there to begin with. Taehyung was usually a bundle of energy, especially early in the morning before the exhaustion of the day's activities really had time to settle in. Now, he pushed his eggs around on his plate with little interest in eating them. It almost looked unnatural how upset he looked.
Jimin noticed her lingering gaze and sighed gently. "Tae's having a day," he murmured. "He woke up in a sad mood and he won't tell us what's wrong, which is why we're watching movies. Hopefully it cheers him up."
"It's this damn house," Yoongi mumbled. The two glanced at him, watching as his tongue flicked his lip ring in annoyance. He tsk'd and shook his head, standing up from his place at the table. "Well. I'll see you all later. It's time for me to go."
He stood up, finishing his orange juice and wiping the traces from his lips. His eyes landed on Eden's, and he softened his expression to give her the tiniest smile.
"See you later, okay?"
She smiled back. "Okay."
The remaining six said their 'see you later's and watched as Yoongi left the kitchen, not missing how he lingered by Taehyung for a moment before patting him gently on the back.
Eden sighed and stared at her own plate. She wasn't exactly hungry anymore, for some reason. It was hard to imagine the conflicting feelings circulating in everyone at the moment. Free time meant time to think and process exactly what was going on at the moment. After nearly 7 years of running they were here, back in the place that chewed them up and spit them out. Their individual pasts, that were forgotten in the human realm, now came back full force to their brains.
She didn't doubt that there was a lot more than the whole wanted criminal thing on everyone's mind.
With a gentle shake of her head, she finished her last sip of juice and pushed back her chair. Jin looked up from his plate, plump lips pursed as he chewed his food.
"Leaving already?" he asked once he swallowed.
Eden nodded and stood up. "I'm not really hungry anymore. Besides, I don't wanna keep Jungkook waiting again."
Jin nodded, curling his lips into a smile. "Alright. Have fun out there, okay?"
Namjoon beamed from his seat next to Jin. "See you later!"
She waved to the remaining boys as she left the kitchen, pausing momentarily to watch as Taehyung used his napkin to dab his eyes. They met eyes, and Taehyung quickly turned away so he could no longer be seen.
These boys definitely held some secrets.
To Eden's surprise, Jungkook was waiting right outside the kitchen door for her. She yelped in surprise as she bumped into him, only to be silenced by his hand over her mouth as he pulled her into a nearby closet.
The tall male shut the door quickly behind them, flicking on the light switch in one fluid motion. He released his hand from Eden's mouth and she doubled over, pulling back all the air that left her chest when she tried to yell.
"Jungkook," she panted. "What the fuck is wrong with you—"
"We're in Iphorus," he blurted.
Eden looked up at him, her eyebrows downturned as she tried to process what he was saying to her. "I know that," she breathed. "I knew that yesterday when we got here."
"No," he pressed. "We're in Iphorus. In the magic realm. Where you're from."
Hearing the urgency in his voice, her expression softened. "I.. I don't get it?"
The black haired boy cracked his knuckles as he paced in the small room, shaking his hands with each step. He paused and bit his knuckle as he bounced on his toes, trying to find the words to explain his train of thought.
"Kook, you look insane," she said flatly. She pushed herself to stand at her full height, finally managing to calm down from the near heart attack he gave her. "Is the air here doing somethin—"
"Your parents," he managed out. "Your clan, your family, your past. We're here. We can get the answers."
Eden paused, her lips parted as she stared at Jungkook in complete silence.
"Don't you want to know? Don't you want answers?"
She licked her lips as she tried to formulate a coherent thought. Of course she wanted to know, it was the biggest mystery of her entire life. Yeah, there were times she assumed her parents were dead or wanted nothing to do with her, and now that she knew magic ran through her bloodline, there was the tiniest air of hope. But, even through all of that there was so much worry, so many questions. Goosebumps pricked at her skin as she stood there, begging words to come to her brain so she could get something out.
"I'm almost certain you're an Achitia," Jungkook continued. "I mean, you have to be. You get along with Hoseok and I so well, and you love being in the dark. When we were back in the human realm, you didn't even notice that I gave you some of my pastel colored crewnecks. You only wore Yoongi's dark ones."
He ran his hands through his hair, pausing for a moment to tug on his roots. "You left here before you got marked, so I doubt there's any records we could use to find your family. It won't be easy. We're going to have to get you to use your powers so we see just how powerful you are, and we can work from there."
"But..." Eden stammered. "But they abandoned me. They didn't want me."
"You said they said they'd come back for you as soon as they could, right? But what if they couldn't."
"So you mean what if they're dead?"
He huffed. "They don't have to be dead. What if they got caught up in the mess with the Einar period? What if they couldn't afford to open a portal?"
"Or what if they put me in the human realm cause I'm defective and don't even have any fucking powers?"
Jungkook paused, his doe eyes softening as his mouth dropped into an O. "Eden..."
"Don't you think I should've presented already? I went my whole life not knowing I was magic because I was literally normal— just adopted. That's all. I never faded into shadows, never sensed them— I was literally a normal child."
Eden sighed and pressed her back against the wall. "The only reason I'm even sure I'm a Sirid is because I get sick when I'm away from Yoongi for too long. We're soul tied for sure, but I don't have powers. I couldn't defend myself or you when Yohan broke in. My parents put me in the human realm because that's where I belong."
Jungkook let out a breath and reached over, pulling Eden into a tight hug. "You're not defective," he whispered.
"It feels like it."
"Every Sirid has powers. Unless you're some kind of miracle, you have powers too. Being outside of Iphorus dulls our powers anyways, and if you never knew about them or practiced with them you'd think you have none at all."
He patted Eden's head gently, wincing as his ring got caught in her curls. "We'll figure something out," he mumbled.
"Why did you have to kidnap me to tell me this?"
He tensed. "I brought it up to Yoongi and he said it was a terrible idea. I asked Namjoon but there wasn't much information for him to use his powers to tell us what would happen."
Eden pulled back from the hug, raising an eyebrow. "So you're disobeying your leader's orders?"
Sheepishly, Jungkook scratched his neck. "Sort of? He never said not to, just that it was a bad idea. But I can make a lot of arguments that his decisions were bad ideas too."
The two chuckled, the intensity in the air disappearing as they did. Jungkook was definitely right in saying that Eden got along with him and Hoseok very well. In order of closeness, she'd probably rank Jungkook number one and Hoseok number four. Jimin and Jin were tied for third, and the number two spot belonged to a certain grumpy blonde. But was that really enough to determine what clan she was from?
"Do you want to do this?" Jungkook asked, his face suddenly serious. "Do you really want to find your family?"
There were so many uncertainties. So many ways this could go wrong, so many ways this could leave her more hurt than she started. Eden glanced up, meeting Jungkook's eyes. The normally dark almonds suddenly ablaze with passion. He was serious about this— he wanted to help.
"Yeah," she muttered. "I do."
A grin lit up Jungkook's face, his eyes lulling back into their low-lidded state. "Good. Then we have some work to do."
******
I know it's been forever since I updated, but I've been feeling super discouraged about this story lately. To make up for my absence, enjoy this nearly double length chapter :)
xoxo,
layerjoon