Jungkook whipped the sweat on his brow as he stepped onto the train station, dragging heavy luggage behind him. It was a sunny day, and all the traveling was now catching up with him.
"Woof."
A sound came beside him.
"I know Bam. Let's hope we will be able to get some rest soon.
Jungkook replied to the dobermann beside him, covering his eyes with a hand so he could escape from the harsh rays of the sun. He wanted to pick up his sunglasses from wherever he had put them, but on the other hand, it would be work to go over his packed luggage. And he wasn't in the mood for that. A six-hour ride would do that to you. But on the other hand, it would be better than an eight- or nine-hour ride from the car.
"Let's see where our ride is."
Jungkook looked around, taking his luggage in one hand. But there was no one on the empty platform except him and his little dog. Well, not little. Bam was nothing, except little. He was two feet tall, a red-tan large dobermann. But anyway, he was sure someone was going to come to pick him up from the station.
"Is he late, or are we late, Bam?"
Jungkook asked once again, scanning the area. He really didn't want to wait here under the harsh sunrays, dressed in a full suit. He cursed everyone who thought it would be good to dress officially. But on the other hand, this was an official duty, not a vacation. So, shouldn't he be dressed officially?
"I think we are going to walk."
After waiting for another few minutes under the harsh sunlight, Jungkook decided.
"Woof!!"
Dobermann jumped excitedly, hearing a magic word: walk. He had been bored for the whole train ride.
"Of course, you are excited."
Jungkook commented under his breath, removing his suit jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt revealing muscular tattooed arms. Then, throwing a jacket on his upper arm he dragged his luggage on the uneven path that led out of the train station. As he expected, there wasn't a single soul in the area. No busy passengers, loudspeaker announcements, or screaming taxi drivers.
It was like the train station was actually not expecting any kind of visitor. Well, the small little village in the corner of the country really seemed to be far away from the real world. And Jeon Jungkook, the city boy who drove the latest model of the car in the city, wore branded clothing and items, and ate at seven-star hotels, was here now. What a joy!
But all his complaints and depressing thoughts died when a salty breeze hit him with full force rustling through his hair and caressing his skin. Seagulls' cries mingled with the soft rustle of leaves in the nearby trees and the distant sounds of waves crashing.
"Wow."
Jungkook's eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him. In front of him was the bright cerulean sea, glistening like a sheet of polished glass beneath the sun's tender embrace. The azure waters extended endlessly, meeting the boundless horizon, where sky and ocean melded into a seamless tapestry of blues.
The sun, a radiant ball of golden fire, bathed the scene in its gentle, caressing warmth. Its rays danced on the surface of the water, creating a path of shimmering diamonds that led to the distant, mysterious lands beyond.
As Jungkook took in this breathtaking view, he noticed something peculiar in the distance. A mysterious island emerged from the middle of the sea, shrouded in a delicate veil of mist. The island seemed to emerge from the sea like a specter from the depths of legend. It was as if nature itself had woven a veil of secrecy around this remote isle, hiding its mysteries from the world.
The mist enveloping the island added an aura of enchantment and secrecy to the scene. It swirled and danced, creating an ethereal boundary between the island and the rest of the world. The island itself remained barely visible, its contours and features concealed by the mist's gentle embrace. It was as if nature itself was guarding the island's secrets.
And then, Jungkook continued to gaze as the mist danced and swirled, revealing tantalizing glimpses of the island's features. Verdant forests clung to the island's slopes, their emerald hues contrasting sharply with the ghostly fog that enveloped them. As he strained his eyes, he could make out the faint silhouette of a manor nestled among the trees, atop a rolling hill, barely visible through the mist cloak.
He didn't know how long he had been lost in the scenery in front of him. It was like he was trapped in some sort of enchantment woven with a calling of the mysterious island. Then he was suddenly startled by the sudden sound of a honk. Stumbling to his feet, he turned to meet a bright red car he hadn't even noticed had been approaching.
The glass of the front rolled down, and messy brown hair poked out from it.
"Are you Jeon Jungkook? The inspector of the Authority of Magical Beings?"
The man with a sunglass asked, flashing a smile brighter than the dazzling sun.
"Yes, I am."
Jungkook answered, looking at the man with wariness still dazzled by the sign in front of him. But in the next second, the man was next to him, pulling his luggage from his hand.
"Oh, then I think I'm on time. Come come. We have to catch a ferry, and we don't have the whole time in the world. I've got a lot to do."
Jungkook didn't know what to do in the presence of a very talkative, smiling man. But he figured out this was his ride that had been late. So, he guided Bam into the backseat of the car before taking the passenger seat.
"Oh, you have a dog." The man said with another sunny smile, entering the driver's seat, as he noticed the dog on the back. "I'm sure Haneul is going to love him."
Jungkook didn't ask who Haneul was. But instead, he asked the most important question for now.
"Who are you?"
"Oh? Didn't I introduce myself?" The man behind the wheel asked, igniting the engine. "I'm Jung Hoseok. The caretaker of the Ivy Hill manor."
That was right. Ivy Hill Manor. The home for Jungkook the next month. The mysterious manor he saw through the mist in the middle of the island.
"You're late."
Jungkook went as the man, no Hoseok pulled the car through the bumpy road, bouncing a few times.
"Oh, was I?" Hoseok smiled brightly, not caring that he had made not only Jungkook wait under the harsh sunlight but also walk down the road sweating harshly. "There was a fire. I had to help put it out."
"Fire?" Jungkook's eyes widened upon hearing that. "What happened? Is someone hurt? Are children, okay?"
Look how easily he could swift into his official worker mood, forgetting all the shit he had gone through this week.
"It was nothing." Hoseok brushed off, not taking eyes off the road. "Ayeon got excited and lit some furniture accidentally on fire. Nothing danger. No one hurt."
Hoseok mentioned that it was a daily occurrence for him. But Jungkook stared at him with narrow and suspicious eyes. How could a lit fire be a casual incident? It would be harmful to the child himself as well as others. But when he noticed, Hoseok wasn't going to say any more about the topic, he tried to shake his brain to remember who this Ayeon was. But when nothing came up, he cursed at his foolishness and the thick files sack he threw into the bottom of his luggage, only after reading the first page.
As he stared outside the window, letting soft sea breath pass through his already messy hair, he started to recall how this all started.
***
Jungkook wasn't in a good mood when he entered the office on the nineteenth floor of the Authority of Magical Beings. Even his favorite coffee from Starbucks wasn't able to fix his mood. Well, he could pinpoint several reasons for that. One, he didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Two, he was in a bad hangover after drinking so much alcohol. Three, he looked like a walking zombie. Four... Yeah, you got it anyway. So yesterday was the shittest day of his life. Actually, this whole week.
"Good morning, Mr. Jeon." Shin Hee, the only female on his team, was greeted as he entered the room. "Mr. Kim asked you to come to his office as soon as you come."
"What the..." He swallowed down the curse that lay on top of his tongue.
"Don't get angry, boss." Bogmyu, another member of his team, commented. "Maybe it might be a new case."
With the mention of a new case, the eyes of the other two members also shone brightly. But Jungkook groaned in frustration. He didn't know if he just needed a new case yet or not. They just settled a big case a week ago. But maybe at least a case would be able to help him pull his head away from all the chaos that was storming in his life. Yeah, that would be good.
"You finish the reports." Jungkook said Min Ho, the youngest of the team who also opened his mouth to say something. "I will go and find out what our boss needs."
With that, he spun on his heels and went back to the elevator, where he came back. After pushing the button on the twenty-first floor, he leaned back to the cold metal wall, thinking about why his boss wanted him. The reports of the past case weren't ready yet, but was it possible that he needed them now? Was it really the new case? But the part of him that screamed that his boss no his hyung knew what he had been doing the whole last night and now wanted to scream his ear off. Whatever the reason, he really hoped it wasn't the last one because he wasn't really in the mood to hear screams or boring advice, adding a new headache to an already ongoing one.
Fortunately, before his thoughts got messier, the door of the elevator opened with a ding, revealing a super clean, wide corridor in front of him.
With a deep breath, we stepped out, walking to the secretary's counter located at the front of the corridor.
"Good morning, Jungkook-ssi." The girl at the counter greeted him, recognizing who had come in. "You look really bad."
"Morning Gi Rang-ssi." Jungkook greeted back with a sigh, leaning on the counter, looking at the beautiful girl. "Do you know why he wants me?"
Gi Rang gave him an understanding look. Her pointed ears peeked behind her blond curls cutely.
"Why do you go out and figure it out by yourself? He is waiting."
"Yeah, you're right." What was the point of dwelling on it? It would be better to get over this. Yeah, that was right. "Wish me good luck, Gi Rang-ssi."
"Good luck, Jungkook-ssi." Elf's chuckles followed as Jungkook stepped toward the office at the end of the corridor. There were blinds slide down blocking the view of the glass room, much to Jungkook's disappointment. (He guessed his devil, ahh, ahh, boss had done it purposely.) So, with a deep breath, he knocked three times on the door before all of his courage washed away.
"Come in."
The deep voice came in before Jungkook pushed open the door. The man sat behind the large desk and looked at him, raising his head from the computer. His handsome face was illuminated by the morning rays that came out of the large glass wall behind him. A pair of black eyes filled with intelligence glinted under the spectacle. And he knew that look. I knew everything you had done last night.
Shit! Jungkook cursed in his mind, readying for the rain of advice after advice, but for his wonder, that never came.
"Jungkook." The man let out a sigh. "I have a new case for you."
"Oh!"
It was the only thing the younger was able to say as Namjoon dug the pile of flies on his table before picking up a yellow-colored folder. Jungkook was still suspicious when he took a file and opened it.
"Doldang island?" That was the first thing Jungkook noticed when he opened the file. "Where is the earth on that?"
Jungkook reeked up his brain to find out where that place was, but nothing had come to his mind. Namjoon raised an eyebrow in amusement at the young inspector's reaction. But he answered the question.
"It was a remote island located near the southern sea. I don't know even if it was marked on any map because, well, it is a top secret."
"What?" Younger once again exclaimed. This time his eyes moved to the red letters at the top of the file. Why the hell didn't he notice before? Blame his hangover brain. "Classified top secret case?"
Now he felt like his headache had clearly doubled. He was hoping for a case to get his mind out of his mess. But he wasn't hoping for this level of case. They were usually giving him more headaches than he usually has.
"Why on earth there is a center in that remote? How are you supervising it? What the hell?"
The younger fired question after question, flipping through the pages carelessly, not bothering to read much. Even though he could see, there wasn't much information. Only a few.
Wildflowers Magical Youth Center
Type: Self-established
Location: Ivy Hill Manor, Doldang Island, Doldang Village, South Sea, South Korea.
Established date: Unknown
Center Master: Park Jimin
Current number of children hosting: 7
Level of the magical beings: All are extremely dangerous
"Self-established?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow as he scanned through the information. "Who wants to live in that kind of remote place?"
"There are lots of things behind this case, Jungkook." Namjoon said, observing the young man. "The place is remote, which is why we put all the extremely dangerous kids there."
"So, did something happen?" Jungkook's attention picked up. Working with extremely dangerous cases was really trouble. Most of these kids couldn't control their powers.
"Not yet." Namjoon answered. "They won't interact with other people much since there is no one except a few staff on the island. They are also homeschooled."
"So do you want me to send someone and find out what is happening there?" Jungkook understood what his boss wanted.
The Authority of Magical Beings was in charge of all the magical beings in South Korea. They were mainly responsible for their rights and protection because there were still some humans who held prejudice against what they couldn't understand. The centers were the places that were established for the magical youths who couldn't control their abilities or who didn't have families. Most of these centers were established by the Authority of Magical Beings. They provide education, protection, and care for them until they are ready to join society as adults.
But in addition to the government-established centers, there were also self-established ones. They were started by a fund of private individuals who care about the well-being of these youths. They mostly take the family less children with the ambition of giving them a home. But they should get approval from AMB and need to report monthly about the condition of children and their wellbeing. AMB also often sent inspectors for the evaluation of these centers to make sure they were doing their job properly and ensuring the children's well-being.
"No." Namjoon shook his head, looking directly at him. "I want you to go and find out."
"Me?" Jungkook crooked an eyebrow. It was not like he had visited centers personally before. But they were all within reach of Seoul. If he had got a remote case, he usually sent his team members. But now why did his brother want him to go personally?
"This is a classified-level case, Jungkook-ah," Namjoon explained patiently. "Well, there are lots of things about this place as well as its residents. I want someone who can be trusted to look at this place personally."
"Don't you trust my team member?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow even though he knew it wasn't what Namjoon had meant.
"I trust them." Namjoon tried to figure out the correct words. "But I don't want someone to be in the middle of getting to know about this. As I said, no inspector had ever investigated that center recently. And the kids, too."
"What? What are they?" Now Jungkook's curiosity was starting to pick up.
"Unusual?" Namjoon answered but it came out more likely a question. "There is a reason why they are called extremely dangerous. I want you to go by yourself and find it."
"What do I have to find out?" Jungkook leaned back on the chair. "Is there any complaint or anything?"
"No." Namjoon shook his head. "They sent a monthly report and it only had trivial things. But that is. That is why we need to send someone to observe personally."
"So, the problem is that there isn't a problem?" Jungkook asked amusingly at the way Namjoon had put this whole scenario.
"You could say something like that." Namjoon agreed. "As I say, all these children are extremely dangerous. That was the reason we put everyone there because it is a remote place. But you cannot expect there won't be any problems. So, I need you to evaluate this center."
Jungkook let out a sigh. This wasn't the first time he had done that. He had evaluated the centers before he started the job. But it was a primary-level inspector's work. He had long past that level and was at the top, handling the criminal cases related to the centers. So, why did Namjoon want to send him there?
"I think it would be good for you to get some fresh air too, Jungkook."
Jungkook eyes snapped at the older man with those words.
"What?"
"How much did you drink last night, Jungkook?" Namjoon let out a sigh, removing his glasses. "Do you think drinking will solve everything? You need to let that go and start everything from new."
"So, is that why you want me to go there?" Here comes the real reason why the top-star young inspector was assigned to this shabby case. "The nowhere on earth to clean my mind. Really, Namjoon."
"It isn't." Namjoon said, firmly holding his ground. After all, this wasn't his first time handling the toddler-like behavior of the younger. "This case is handed to us personally by the minister himself. So, this is more important than you're thinking. And yes. Nowhere on earth will be able to help you sometime."
Jungkook huffed. He really doesn't know what to say. He was both angry and amused. Why did the minister personally hand the case over? What was in that place? He was curious. On the other hand, he was annoyed. How do they expect him to survive in a remote place like that? He was really a city boy.
"So, are you going to take it or not?"
Namjoon asked, looking at the silence youth.
"Whatever!"
Finally, Jungkook gave up.
"Okay, then, tell others you're going on vacation and not to investigate because this is classified." Namjoon said, typing something on his computer. "I will send you more information. Don't miss your train. You're leaving tomorrow at nine o'clock."
"What? Train?"
Jungkook asked like it was a foreign word.
"Well," Namjoon looked up at him from the computer with a hint of a playful smile. "If you don't want to drive straight, an eight- to nine-hour train is the best option. What do you want, Jungkook-ah?"
"Fuck you!" Jungkook muttered, standing up.
"Watch your words, Kookie." Namjoon was openly, smiling now. "Call your hyung if you need anything."
"My ass!" Jungkook cursed once again, not caring about office etiquette.
"Lovely words, Kookie." Namjoon shouted as he exited the office. "Tell Auntie I said hi and have a nice vacation."
Jungkook came out from the office, muttering under his breath about annoying Hyungs, cousins, and bosses. Yes, his dear boss, the head of the authority of magical beings, was none other than his lovely cousin as well as his hyung. See. How lovely.
"It seems you two had a lovely conversation." Gi Rang handed him a hangover drink as he passed her desk.
"Thanks." Jungkook accepted the drink, thanking at least one person for caring about him. "I'm going on vacation."
"It seems lovely, Jungkook-ssi." Gi Rang flashed a sunny smile as the corners of her eyes crinkled. Her pointed ears twitched with amusement. "I heard most vacation spots are topical and sunny. You need to pack clothes for sunny weather."
Jungkook raised his eyebrow. Of course, she knew where Jungkook was going and why. After all, she was the one who handled his boss's affairs, and Namjoon also trusted her.
"Thank you for the advice, Gi Rang-ssi," Jungkook answered with a smile this time. "Please take care of my grumpy brother."
"I will. Have a nice vacation. Don't overwork and try to have some fun. Who knows what will happen? You might find something most unexpected."
Jungkook pressed the elevator button as her voice faded from the background. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad idea.