Chapter Nine
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NAMJOON’S look summarised every possible description of disappointment as he watched me sheepishly clean up the mess that I made. Meanwhile, Namjoon scooped an unconscious Seokjin and heaved him on his shoulder. He spared me one dirty look before he turned away and walked out of the alley, Seokjin behind him, swaying like a pendulum.
“Wait!” I exclaimed, hot on his heels.
Determined not to give me any of his attention, he obstinately looked ahead, taking quick strides. This incensed me but I refused to give in and instead intensified my efforts to catch his attention, adding annoying, persistent questions to the mix.
“Say, what are you?”
He marched on; his walk would make any soldier green with envy.
“Hey, how is it fair that you know what I am but I don’t? C’mon Namjoon, I thought you were better than that!”
The frail attempt to guilt-trip him still didn’t manage to fetch his notice. Hilariously, Seokjin lay draped on his shoulder, not unlike a curtain. One might have thought that the intensity of his movements might’ve awakened the man. It also went without saying that Seokjin was almost as tall as Namjoon, if not as tall. We turned a corner and it was impressive that the broad man hadn’t hit a stray postbox by accident. Or whatever rested on footpaths these days.
“This silent treatment is really uncalled for, you know? I’m not that bad.”
And with what I would call sheer luck, Namjoon halted right then.
“Finally. With that kind of speed, even in disguise, I would’ve easily mistaken you for a Fire Dog or something.”
And only then did I notice just how tall Namjoon was. The man towered menacingly, his eyes narrowed into slits. Despite most of his body mass being covered because of Seokjin’s limp form, he managed to exude enough odour to make me back off.
“Geez,” I coughed, whipping out a lilac kerchief. “Calm down, I’m not interested in his liver - that’s so old-fashioned.”
Namjoon didn’t relent, his atrocious stank so strong that a passing mother-child pair waved their hands before their noses. In earshot, I caught the child saying:
“Mum, why does it smell like a dumpster there?”
“Dansoo, shush!”
I crossed my arms. “See? Even the humans are noticing. Think about the Law of Secrecy, hm?”
Namjoon let out a derisive laugh. “A Gumiho, preaching about the Law? You foxes are always on the news for ‘accidentally’ outing our existence!”
I opened my mouth but closed it as quickly. He had a fair point - we did get into a tight spot a little too often. I still had to defend myself if I had to prove that I wasn’t as much of a dumb beast as Namjoon was making my kind sound.
“Granted, most of us aren’t the brightest but trust me, I have nothing against Seokjin. I’m definitely not trying to eat his liver or whatever you think it is we do.”
“Save it,” he said curtly, turning away.
Only then did I notice that he had stopped next to a modest grey Suzuki. He fished for its keys on Seokjin’s person - which wasn't exactly an elegant task - but he finally succeeded and unlocked the car. I made a half-decent attempt at not looking famished as he carefully placed Seokjin in the backseat and shut the door. It sort of stinged that that was the reason for him to stop and not my constant badgering.
“Are you going to base your entire impression of me just on the basis of my species?” I asked, crossing my arms.
My question only drew a blank stare from the man, leaned back against the car. He considered me, wondering if he should confide any more information to me. It wasn’t atypical of guardian spirits to act the way he did; after all, I was a predator. And Seokjin - he was my prey.
I didn’t want Namjoon to know that he was a special kind of prey. That would only complicate matters and when that happened, it would take an excruciating amount of time. Time wasn’t on my side, in this case.
“Is this your first time hunting?” He casually asked.
My mouth fell open. The audacity. “Of course not.”
“Ah, that helps speed things up. That means you know the exact effects your hunting has on your, ah, prey.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes, they suffer a temporary heartache. Nothing a few months of distance can’t cure.”
Namjoon’s smile was a wry one. “‘Nothing a few months of distance can’t cure’,” he repeated. “Interesting. Tell me, have you ever - I don't know - considered the long lasting effects of such actions?"
I tilted my head, wondering where he was getting into. Since he elicited no response, he continued.
“Two years ago, Seokjin was the target of another Gumiho. She was a fully equipped one too, nine tails and all. I thought that those types didn't really need to hunt; I assumed that he was, well, safe. It didn’t help that it was my first year, naive as I was. I ignored all the red flags - Seokjin coming home tired after every date, his deteriorating happiness, his passion, everything. She sucked the life out of him, in classic style. And in four months’ time, she broke his heart in the worst possible way. She “accidentally” got herself caught. Do you want to know how she did it?”
I didn't answer. That didn't stop him from answering.
"Seokjin saw her dining with her spouse and children. So, that was the last straw."
I clucked my tongue. “Stupid lady, she should’ve resorted to ghosting.”
Namjoon turned sharply. “And that’s better, you’d say? Do you now see how selfish and horrible you all are? Emotional manipulation - that’s how you work."
I held my hand up. "You're exaggerating now, Namjoon. And do you really think that all humans are saints that ought to be protected? In their miniscule lifetime, they do far more horrible, hideous deeds. We never raise a finger at our partners and yet, they routinely treat their better halves like knife sharpeners."
"Look at you, such a well-oiled-and-conditioned fox," he sneered. I narrowed my eyes.
"Not only did you fail to understand my point, you made two extreme opinions, both of which were irrelevant to this conversation. You are so, so blind to the pain you inflict those around you, you've progressed past labelling it a "lesser evil" to thinking that it's actually something that makes you better than humans?"
The accusatory tone felt like a jab. Why was I feeling so hurt over what he basically just described as my job? It wasn't my fault that I couldn't help the way I was born - the way I was raised.
"Jiya," he continued, failing to register my darkening expression. "Abuse isn't just limited to the physical self. There are plenty of ways you can hurt the people around you, whether you're aware of it or not. Doesn't your conscience prick you in the slightes int when you use these humans like they're your playthings?"
"Conscience?" A mirthless laugh followed that word. "Namjoon, you fail to understand that that term belongs only in your world, in Seokjin's world."
His eyes narrowed. I tilted my head into a mocking stance and while a smile crept back into my face, it never reached my eyes.
"In my world, it's goes by a different name. It's called weakness. Not every story ends with the lion falling in love with the sheep, does it? Think about it with your oh-so-compassionate mind, Namjoon - just how ridiculous it would be for that to happen - one wrong move and the poor sheep's head might get snapped off. Is it the lion's fault for being blessed with such strength? No, it isn't. But it is the lion's fault for being foolish enough to assume that it could love the sheep enough to protect it, to assume that their relationship could be any more than that of prey and predator."
"There you go again, you're making yourself out to be the victim-"
"This isn't about victimizing myself, Namjoon! This is about how you're asking me to stop behaving like everyone in my species would. These laws of human behaviour do not apply to us. You'd rather have us perish instead of surviving on the one way we know how to!"
Namjoon school his head. "That's not what I meant, Jiya. You're twisting my words and this is exactly the kind of behaviour I was talking about."
"Was it really? Then let's take a look at how you're also following with your role as a Protector. Don't make that face, you know perfectly well that you're acting on your instincts as Seokjin's guardian spirit. Our worlds are meant to clash and denying that reality is not going to get us anywhere. I exist to hunt, you exist to protect. It's as simple as that. Our methods may differ greatly and so will our understanding of the world around us. That makes neither of us right or wrong."
"Fine, I accept that you cannot help yourself from preying on humans," Namjoon said, even though it sounded like anything but acceptance. "However, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you Gumihos have substitutes for the periods between hunts? Don't you also partake of human food which, if not satiate, sustains you? In that case, why can't you continue surviving on those substitutes for human liver instead of resorting to this other form of killing a human being?"
"We do not kill humans, Namjoon-"
"Certainly not the physical self, of course. But there are other ways to kill someone. My duty isn't just to physically protect Seokjin, Jiya. It goes beyond that - we too have evolved to understand physical trauma and abuse isn't the only kind to send a person to their death. Did you know that as Guardians, we can sense when our ward is at its lowest point? It's a reminder that we failed to protect them. And we cannot let that happen. I cannot let that happen to Seokjin. Not on my watch."
After that passionate burst of anger, Namjoon took a deep breath. I kept my arms folded, refusing to break eye contact and yield defeat to the pompous Guardian before me.
"I think I'm done with this conversation," he said, with a translucent attempt at civility.
I narrowed my eyes as I watched him scurry over to the driver's seat. The conversation was far from over. Banging the door shut, he started the car. Without so much as a curt nod, he drove off and left me in the dust.
As I watched the car get smaller the farther it got, the reality of the whole situation begun to sink in.
Fuck.
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BONUS:
picrews of the supporting cast
| kim namjoon
yes, he's pansexual in this fic
link for the picrew here →
so sorry for the rather short update, please do shower this chapter with love instead of the tomatoes (that I very well deserved).
did you like the new banner?
~ maits.
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