Y/N
I was in the Fairy Garden for a week, and I wanted to turn in into an eternity. Everything felt like I was on the best path I could walk through life on. Eating breakfasts with Fairies, walking around the Garden with Jungkook, telling them stories and listening to the ones they had to tell.
Even the healing journey, despite a lot of unavoidable pain and discomfort, was perfect. I was constantly in the right place, at the right time, and everything was happening for me, not to me.
Ever since I woke up, I didn't see Jungkook. I even rang the bell outside of his room, but he wasn't there. I strolled around, hoping I would bump into him on my way. The day felt like early summer, and all the dresses I received allowed my skin to drink the Sun to the fullest.
I was on the path among pink roses, and the smell was dazzling. The amount of deep breaths I took made me dizzy, but I couldn't stop myself. The ethereal, redolent scent of the roses felt like eating sweets as a child.
Thinking about childhood was so easy now that I didn't associate it with pain. I healed it all on the night me and Jungkook laid under the night sky. He healed it. I couldn't take the credit for the things he was doing for me. Despite my efforts, nothing would be possible without him.
I could reminisce on the times I painted with my father with a light heart now, and I would never say 'thank you' enough to Jungkook. I missed the thought of my father being my father, but I didn't allow it into my mind before. I forgave him. Whatever reasons he had, I forgave him, and let go.
Something I remembered the best from my childhood, besides painting with my dad, was a playground. A bunch of colorful, plastic and wooden toys that were so massive when I was just a little girl. Sand that always found a way into my shoes. And swings.
With an idea on my mind, I left the path, and approached the weeping willows. If I couldn't find Jungkook, I had other Fairies to ask for help.
"Hey," I said, as soon as I passed through the heavy branches.
"Oh my! We have a guest! Clean up, fast!" Pebbles exclaimed, flying around the bell instead of ringing it. Not a day went by when she wasn't fascinated by me in one way or another, and it was a refreshing experience. She flew to me, and kissed my cheek as a new habit she developed a few days ago. "Good morning, Y/N. What brings you here?"
"I wanted to ask you for help."
"Help? Us? Oh my, of course! Everything for you, Y/N," she said, throwing her beloved sprinkles of magic in the air, and whistling for a bunch of Fairies to join us. "What is it that you need help with, Y/N?"
"Do you have a swing in the Garden?"
"A swing? What is it?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Oh my God, Pebbles!" Ruby smacked her forehead. "How can you not know?!"
"We know what's a swing, Y/N," said Val, laughing at her little friends. "Pebbles is just in another world. But... umm... it's for Fairies. You know, small."
"Oh." I nodded, but kept a smile on my face. It was hard not to smile in the Garden. "Would your King have something against us building a bigger swing?"
"Our King? Never!" Pebbles clapped her hands. "He will love a swing! Let's go! Dove, Poly and Poppy will be of help! They are good at this!"
They chose a space away from the path. A patch of grass surrounded with flowerbeds. I was never good with handmade things, but with three pairs of Fairy arms to help, and a little bit of their magic, we finished a human-sized swing. Made of wood, strong ivy branches, flowers, and, obviously, magic, to make the swing alive.
"It's amazing!" I said, unable to hold back a giggle.
"Try it," Dove said, grinning at her work of art. She did the most to put our swing together.
I sat on the green seat, a bit hesitant, worried I would break it, but the swing was stronger than any metal swing I'd ever seen. Pushing myself back, I lifted my legs, letting the swing take me forward. Back and forth, I laughed, swinging like I was a little Y/N again. The Fairies cheered, happy with the results.
"What is happening here?"
I opened my eyes to see Jungkook walking towards us, with the brightest smile on his face.
"King, we made a swing!" Poppy exclaimed, but his eyes stayed glued to me. Something about the way his eyes wrinkled when he smiled at me so widely made me feel like I was the only person in the world.
Only when Poppy flew towards him, he looked at her, patting her head with the tip of his finger. "Good job. We should've done this a long time ago."
The Fairies were quick to leave, complaining how making the swing made them ravenous. I thanked them once again before it was just me and Jungkook.
"It was your idea, right?" he asked, sitting by the swing.
I confirmed, still swinging, but suddenly it felt million times better. I was sure it was Jungkook's presence, and the way he held the magic of the Garden within. He knew it inside out, and I figured he must have had what the Garden had, but it was more vivid as he had this whole magic stuffed into his body.
"You're a genius, Y/N."
"I wanted to feel like a child again. I used to love swings."
"I would stay you still do. You look really happy."
"Fine, I am," I said, making Jungkook give a warm laugh.
"Happiness looks beautiful on you, Y/N," he said, and I was sure it wasn't the Sun that made my skin burn.
I played a little longer, talking with Jungkook about the other things he would want in the Garden. It was heartwarming to listen to him tell stories about his home, things I didn't know yet, and plans he had for it. The Garden really was a big part of his life, and he poured a lot of love and passion into it. And it made him beyond beautiful.
I asked him if he could take me to the spot where he first changed from fairy-sized to human-sized in front of me. I wasn't sure why, I just really wanted to see it. It was a kind of an restricted area, where only Jungkook could go, so I didn't wander there by myself.
He was glad to take me there, and soon we left the swing. I tried to glance around the Garden as we walked. For as long as I was there, I knew I would have to leave one day and it made me feel like I needed to take in as much of it as possible, every day. But I couldn't focus this time, Jungkook's voice when he talked to me pulled my eyes to him again and again.
He paused when the spot was visible, but still a two minute walk away. A playful smile tugged his cheeks. "Do you wanna race?"
"Race?" I laughed. I was in my 20s, and the last time someone asked me to raise must have been over 10 years earlier.
"Yeah. Let's have some fun. My Fairies can never outrun me, and winning every time is boring." He sighed, getting ready for a run.
"So you're saying I will outrun you?"
"I hope so."
It was such a pleasant comeback to my childhood, but Jungkook by my side made it brighter, like I thought it could never be. And it was all that mattered to me in that moment. We were hardly focused on running as our laughter filled the Garden. We pushed each other, trying to be winners.
The golden gate overgrown with flowers opened for us, and we still ran, but neither of us realized we were running straight into the small pond in the middle of the area. I guessed the flowers must have reminded him as he suddenly gasped, held my hand, and paused. We were running fast so as soon as he stopped, I bumped into him and we ended up on the ground, laughing again.
"Why did you want to come here?" he asked when we calmed down.
"Just because," I said, smiling as I glanced around and settled my eyes on him. He still laid on the grass, his chest quickly rising and falling. "It's a tie."
"Next time you better win with me," he said.
I nodded, back to lying next to him. The clouds passed by, reminding me of yet another beautiful thing I did when I was younger.
"Do you see it?" I asked, pointing at the sky.
"See what?"
"That cloud shaped like a butterfly?"
He clicked his tongue. "No way. It's a ribbon."
I was healing. My real self, the one clouded for years, was shining through. More and more every day. My joyful, lighthearted, and carefree self that loved life for all its small miracles.
And it all seemed a little bit more rewarding, and I was a little bit prouder of myself, when I knew that Jungkook was by my side, watching me rejuvenate my life.
Flipping onto my stomach, I rested my eyes on him. He was always the one to tell me compliments, and I felt like I never gave back enough. And there was so much I wanted to tell him.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
I gave it a second, filling my chest with air. "I don't think I've ever seen someone as beautiful as you. Inside and outside."
His cheeks were like the roses within seconds, and he giggled, looking away from me. I never knew it would feel so good to make him feel like that. "I don't- I don't hear things like that... ever."
"Well, you should." I chuckled. "Your eyes are really beautiful. And your smile. And your wings."
"Do you know they can change colors?"
"Really?!"
"No, I'm kidding." He laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. His laugh, and his voice, made me feel grateful I was able to hear. "But they are alive, too. Sometimes I even forget I have them, and, for example, lie down without thinking. They move away, then. Not to get hurt."
"Being a Fairy must be a great thing."
"Do you want me to tell you about it?" he asked. I would want him to tell me about anything, and everything, just to listen to him. So I agreed, opening the door to the vast world of Fairies. It was like hearing a fairy tale as a kid, filling me with excitement, but as I knew all of it was real, told to me by the Fairy King himself, it felt even better.