After another ten minutes or so of struggling against her captors, Wheein eventually finds herself falling asleep despite her rather uncomfortable position slung over Jungkook's shoulder, too exhausted from staying up the past few nights to put up more of a fight.
"She's quite pretty when she isn't giving us death threats," Jimin hums, peering at the human girl's sleeping face curiously as they make their way back to the fox spirit realm. "Very cute. I can see why Taehyung is so taken with her. She probably doesn't even give that spoiled prince the time of day most of the time given her attitude."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one whose hair almost got ripped out," Jungkook winces, reaching up to gently massage at his scalp with the hand that wasn't keeping Wheein balanced on top of his shoulder. "She may look like an angel now, but she's one hell of a scrappy fighter. I think I'm going to bruise where she bit me earlier."
"Don't let Taehyung see that, knowing him, he'll be jealous out of his mind," Jimin snorts, shaking his head in amusement. "She's such a small petite thing, I wonder if she's even tall enough to reach Tae's shoulders."
"You're one to talk, I wouldn't be surprised if she was taller than you- ow!" Jungkook stumbles as Jimin angrily slugs him hard in the arm. "Watch it! I'm carrying priceless cargo for the prince!"
"You ass, you know damn well I'm taller than her," Jimin hisses, quickly reaching over to stroke Wheein's hair and lull the stirring girl back to sleep. Wheein mumbles something incoherent and wrinkles her nose before going silent once more. "Oh my god, that was so fucking adorable. She's like a little kitten, reminds me of Yoongi hyung when he gets all sleepy. Except a lot less savage and grumpy."
"Careful not to get too attached to her, hyung," Jungkook chuckles softly, his sleek brown tail flicking around behind him in amusement. "Tae hyung has had this one in his sight for years now. Back when we took the same sword fighting lessons all he would talk about was this human girl that took care of him and how he couldn't wait to return to her side and be with her again."
"Maybe I should find a cute little human to court as well," Jimin sighs. "The fox spirits in the kingdom are all so lovely, but no one has yet to catch my eye in particular. Perhaps meeting Wheein is a sign telling me to search for someone in the human world."
"You better fucking not," comes Wheein's disgruntled murmur as she is slowly roused from her sleep by the conversation at hand. "It's bad enough one of you is wreaking havoc around in my neighborhood. Not all humans are going to take kindly to random men pounding on their doors in the middle of the night like I did."
Jimin crosses his arms and huffs. "First of all, Taehyung only found you because he left you his bell. Second of all, I'm not about to go around beating on people's doors like a creep until I find someone that captures my interest, I have more tact than that. Third of all, you didn't even take that kindly to Tae his first visit! I heard you slammed the door in his face and he returned to the palace all mopey that evening."
Wheein's face colors as she sputters, "He asked me to marry him out of nowhere! What else was I supposed to do?!"
"If you had just said yes, I wouldn't be transporting you to the fox spirit realm this way," Jungkook grumbles, shifting Wheein around slightly to ease the weight off his shoulder for a moment.
"I don't know how you all conduct courting rituals in your kingdom, but in the human world, you don't agree to marry strangers you just met!"
"But you two have-"
"Yes, I know, Tae told me." Wheein rolls her eyes. "At the time, I thought he was just a weird looking stray puppy, and eventually he just disappeared out of the blue and left that little bell in my room. What would he have done if I accidentally threw it away?"
"It would have found its way back to you regardless," Jimin helpfully informs her, wiggling his fingers in her face. "Fox spirit magic and all that. You should have seen the royal council members' faces when they found out he had left a priceless heirloom of our species in the hands of some human girl."
"Priceless heirloom?!" Wheein shrieks, startling Jungkook and nearly making them both topple over. "That imbecile! Why couldn't he have left me with a pencil or something?!"
"Tae Tae is an artistic and passionately romantic soul as I'm sure you already know. There's no way on earth he would leave you with anything less," Jimin giggles. "Your all's wedding will probably be the biggest and most extravagant of the millennium if he gets his way, which he almost always does."
"Weddi- there's not going to be a wedding!" Wheein chokes, "why is everyone convinced that I'm going to eventually give in and marry that doofus?"
Jimin and Jungkook both fixate the same you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me expression at her.
"You... you've seen the way he looks at you, right?"
"I- what?"
"I haven't even seen you two interact before and I still know what Jimin hyung is talking about," Jungkook groans at just the thought. "Every time he starts talking about you he just gets this derpy ass smile on his face like he's won the freaking lottery or something. I'm not even joking when I say his eyes sparkle in happiness."
As much as she wants to deny it, Wheein knows exactly what they're talking about. She started noticing it more recently, how every time Taehyung thinks she isn't looking when they're doing something together, he'll just stare at her with the softest gaze imaginable, as though he's the luckiest person on earth all because he's doing something as simple as standing next to Wheein as she shops for groceries. Like she's his everything.
And perhaps that's what she's truly scared of.
What if she just isn't good enough to be his everything? He's a prince, for god's sake. An absolute child most of the time, but a prince nonetheless. And one of a species that Wheein hadn't even known existed until said fox spirit had come banging on her door for her hand in marriage that fateful night. Sure, the rest of his family seems fine with the idea of him being with a human girl, but what about the rest of the kingdom? She has no sort of etiquette training of any kind, no idea what to expect and what's to be expected of her.
Just the thought of arriving at the fox spirit realm, only to find herself rejected by the general population of Taehyung's kind makes her heart twist uncomfortably in a way that she doesn't understand, doesn't want to understand. Because the implications of such a feeling would mean that somehow, amongst all the chaos and the handholding and the childish whining and the snuggling and the whirlwind of emotions that have come with the appearance of Kim Taehyung, she was foolish enough to fall for him.
The realization makes her pale in shock, and Jimin is all too quick to notice, eyes narrowing. "You- you're scared, aren't you? Your face looks white as a sheet. You're afraid that somehow all of this isn't real, or that Taehyung is just joking when he talks about a future with you."
"I- I am not!" Wheein replies far too quickly, flustered by the other's keen observation. "I'm probably just pale from all the blood rushing to my head after being carried like this for who knows how long!"
Jimin opens his mouth to protest her blatant lie, but is cut off by Wheein's squeak of surprise as Jungkook pauses to readjust and carry the girl bridal style. Wheein's eyes are wide as they look up at the fox spirit knight who is purposely looking anywhere but at the girl in his arms, a red flush creeping up his neck at their proximity as he mumbles embarrassedly. "This- this is just so you won't get lightheaded for the meantime. We'll be at the palace soon."
Wheein blinks. "Wait, we're already in the fox spirit realm? I- I'm sure you're tired, Jungkook-ssi, I can walk on my own."
"Oh no, I'm not about to risk you running off and getting lost somewhere in this kingdom because you're too scared to face your feelings." Jimin chimes in, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Besides, I'm sure seeing Taehyung seethe in jealousy is more than enough payment for taking the time out of my day to bring you here."
"Hyung, are you kidding me? There's no way I'm carrying her like this when we get to Tae's room, he'd actually kill me." Jungkook's eyes are blown wide in panic.
"Do I get any say in this?!" Wheein crosses her arms and glares at the two conversing.
"No, you're the one with the highest chance of survival if Taehyung gets mad," Jimin shushes her before looking at Jungkook with puppy eyes. "Come on, Jungkook! Don't you want to see what Taehyung's like when he's jealous? That spoiled kid probably has never felt envy a day in his entire life!"
"I do, but not when I'm the one in danger!" Jungkook protests. "He's going to put me in the hospital with how strongly tied his powers are to his emotions!"
"It'll build character!" Jimin insists, clearly determined to sacrifice the younger for the sake of his social experiment. Before Jungkook can refuse once again, the older of the two points in front of them. "Look, we're already here!"
Wheein turns and gasps at the size of the real estate before her. While most of the actual building itself is obscured by a white brick wall perimeter, what little she can see of the marble palace is enough to make her head spin. Taehyung lives in a place like this and still actively chooses to spend almost all of his time in her tiny shared house?! What the hell is wrong with him?
Their small party is currently walking along a bluestone pathway up to a set of twin gold colored gates, and as they get closer, she can't help but notice and squint at an all too familiar silhouette standing on the other side of the gates. "Is that...?"
She feels Jungkook freeze in complete terror, his arms stiffening under her lower back and legs as the other two realize just who it is watching them from several meters away from behind the gates.
"Oh my god, we're so dead."
Taehyung senses her presence the instant she enters the fox spirit realm. He feels it resonate deep within his soul, the restlessness rushing through his veins ebbing away as he lets out a deep breath, closing his eyes and smiling at the warmth flooding his chest.
She's home.
He's quick to finish up the last of the documents his father assigned him, foot tapping in excitement as he thinks about all the places he's going to show her, all the foods he wants her to try while she's here. They won't have much time, as he knows she'll insist on returning to the human world for her work the next day. Despite knowing that he's of royalty and could give her just about anything she desired at the snap of his fingers, she still chooses to dedicate herself to her work and studies. It's something Taehyung loves most about Wheein, even if it prevents her from seeing him at times. He knows that she has other passions and ambitions, and even if he demands quite a bit of her time and attention, no matter how often she rolls her eyes at him or complains about his whining, he knows that she'll fit him into her life, whether consciously or not.
Once finally done with all his work, he calls for a servant to deliver the documents to his father at once to lift his ban from the human world as soon as possible. If the servant is fast enough, he'll be able to be the one to bring Wheein back to her home and find a new place to propose to her. Part of him is worried that she has simply become used to rejecting his proposals at certain locations since his options are limited. He has change things up, perhaps she'll say yes once out of the comforts of her own routine and upon seeing how handsome he looks in his royal robes.
"I wanna see her!" He whines out loud alone in his room to no one in particular, kicking his feet as he rolls around his bed in implatience. He suddenly stills, an incredible idea forming in his head.
Why doesn't he welcome her at the front gates?
It's a win-win situation, really. Not only will he be able to see her sooner, but he will also be able to maximize their time together here as well.
"I'm a genius!" he cheers, before barreling through his own bedroom doors and past a handful of confused and concerned maids. "Wheeinie, I'm coming!"
He makes it to the palace gates in record time, nearly bowling down several garden workers in the process as he rushes past them in a flurry of robes and pure chaotic energy. He presses his face excitedly between two bars of one of the gates, grasping at the thin metal poles and all but wagging his tail behind him. The knights standing guard by the entrance pay him no mind, already used to the second prince's eccentric behavior after their years of service to the king.
He's arrived a bit too early, as she hasn't come into view just yet, but he knows they're almost here, can sense her getting closer and closer by the second. He wonders how exactly Jimin managed to convince her to come visit him. He's begged her to return to the fox spirit realm for almost weeks on end yet she's always told him no. He fidgets around impatiently for a few more minutes, before his ears perk up at the sound of what he knows are Jungkook and Jimin's voices in the distance. They finally come into view, Wheein's adorable face settled in a soft pout as she... is carried in Jungkook's arms bridal style?
Taehyung sees red.
author's note;
djvhxdbskfeb this ended up longer than planned but it be like that lol
thank you all for being so patient! this definitely was supposed to be updated earlier but i got sidetracked and distracted #classic but now we back on that writing grind 😤👏
listen to mamamoo's new ost wow for the kdrama www: search! i don't watch kdramas but i heard it's about some independent boss ass women and we LOVE women empowerment 😩 listen to chungha's new comeback while you're at it if you haven't, that album slaps 🤧
thank you again for all the love and support and thank you all for reading! i'll try to get thick as thieves updated as soon as possible next haha
happy monday!
Less than three,
PalmerPie
p.s. i watch this video religiously and it literally gets better every time like how is that even possible