Chapter 5 : Wise friends for worried minds

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Kibum's eyes hadn't left the prince for a single second. During the entirety of the ball, when he was talking, when he was greeting guests, when he was laughing or smiling, when he was dancing with his fiancé, when he was eating, the nymph would cover him with a tender gaze, his heart getting softer as he saw that Jonghyun seemed joyful.

"It's creepy."

Kibum turned around in a jump, his eyelids blinking rapidly as it took him a few seconds to notice Jinki, sat over a flower nearby.

"What is?" Kibum asked, concerned, his stare immediately going back on the prince.

"How you've been looking at him since the beginning. Even the nymph's Lord barely got you to blink."

Kibum felt warmth spreading over his cheeks and he looked at his friend, frowning.

"I'm not creepy! Just... worried."

Jinki rolled his eyes with a small snort. He finally stopped to pay attention to the nymph, focusing on the whole nut he had in his hands, his feet were following the music and beating on the leaf under him, making him wiggle on his flower.

Kibum pouted at his attitude, his eyes going from the prince to Jinki and embarrassment bloomed in his belly.

"I'm not creepy," he repeated.

Jinki smirked and shrugged.

"If you say so."

"I just... don't know if he's really happy or if-... you know...," Kibum stuttered as an explanation. "I've heard the animals... and-... His fiancé is new to the forest. You didn't tell me that. Did they know each other before? He wouldn't be forced into this, would he? I just want to make sure he's okay. I didn't mean to be creepy."

His voice had become quieter at the end of his sentence and his face turned to the ground. Jinki immediately felt bad for his teasing. From where he stood, he could see the forming tears in his friend's eyes and his mouth opened wide.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Kibum sniffed and shook his head, trying to pretend he was alright.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that the prince Lee was a foreigner. I had no idea it was important for you. As for your question I cannot answer. Would you like me to ask Junmyeon? He would know that. Would it help you?"

The nymph seemed to hesitate for a moment before he sighed, coming closer to Jinki and sitting on the ground.

"Not really," he finally answered. "If-... if he wasn't forced then it doesn't change a lot for me. And if he was... there still nothing I can do but cry so... I'd rather hope for the best for him."

Jinki stayed silent, not knowing what to respond to that. He fluttered away from his flower, laying on the nymph's thigh and stretched a piece of his nut to his friend. This took a smile out of Kibum. The small bite of nut was tiny to him, but sharing his precious food was Jinki's way of showing his love and concern.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He finally brought his attention back on the ball, his eyes finding the prince before he even searched for him. Jinki, on his side, was finishing his snack and observing around. The royal family wasn't of any particular interest to him. On the other hand, watching dwarves dance around and stumble upon their own feet was much more distracting. He could see two pixies bouncing around at the end of the centaur's tail, trying to braid it while staying unseen, disappearing every time the creature was turning around after feeling a pull over his hairs. That made Jinki snicker.

The fairy hopped away from his seat on Kibum, landing on the short grass and greeting a snail nearby with a move of his head before heading to the small bush of wild berries he had seen not so far away from their spot. There were no berries anymore at the buffet. He had seen Jongdae making sure of that earlier by taking them all, along with the sesame crackers; while Jinki was fighting Junmyeon over the most mature plum on the table. This fairy couldn't be trusted. Jinki suddenly stopped on his merry way, seeing a package right at his feet. It was quite small, but gigantic compared to him.

"What is that?" He asked, loud enough for Kibum to turn over.

The nymph leaned towards him, frowning while looking at the strangely crooked leaves.

"I have no idea. Maybe someone lost it?"

Jinki scratched his head, turning over the flat wrapped thing. Then he saw the gold writing on it.

"It's for you," Jinki cried out with wide eyes.

Kibum seemed lost, blinking rapidly and taking the present in his hands, looking at it with confusion.

"What do you mean for me? How do you know?"

Jinki flew to him.

"The yellow stuff. It's written "nymph" in elvish. I know that."

Kibum stared at the strange rounds that were supposed to be letters.

"Someone... left that for me?" He said with awe. "You mean-... someone saw me?"

"Probably when you were too focused on the prince," Jinki said with a smile. "A good person, for sure. Seeing you and leaving a gift instead of bothering you. I like them. Maybe it's food. Open it!"

The fairy was excitedly flying around his head, waiting with so many expectations that his was wiggling. But Kibum didn't make any move to open it and just gazed at it with a smile. He had received a gift, out of nowhere and it filled him with so much joy and pleasure that he could barely contain it.

As he finally slid his fingers under the clip, he felt Jinki fell on his lap. The fairy was suddenly very quiet, his eyes blurry.

"Jinki, are you alright?" Kibum asked slowly.

His friend blinked few times before looking at him with concern.

"Kyungsoo reached out to me. He's at your place apparently, because Jongdae called him."

"What's happening?" Kibum's voice was quiet and cautious.

"Jongin had a problem and went back home. Jongdae said that he was in a panic state and he's not sure what to do."

Kibum barely waited for the fairy to finish his sentence before he jumped on his feet, his present hold tightly in his hand, but almost forgotten. Without another word, Kibum ran. He rushed so fast he knew nobody would see him, and Jinki tried to fly close to him, almost getting knocked on the side by the sudden gust of wind that Kibum's race created.

The nymph had a pained face as he bounced and fell from a tree, melting to the air which would bring him close to Jongin faster. It had been his fault. Whatever happened to his friend was on him. He had begged him to come, only to leave him alone the moment they were in the place Jongin feared the most. The ball, the prince, the fiancé, the present, they all seemed so little and unimportant as guilt was crashing over his lungs for abandoning the one person he held the most dearly in his heart.

After he had returned to the ball, Taemin had tried his best to leave that strange encounter in the back on his mind and focus on the task at hands. When they had finally put an end to the official celebration, Jonghyun had congratulated him, much to Taemin's surprise, for handling everything so well.

The mountain prince had been far too exhausted over his whole day to even try to talk with his fiancé about what had happened, and they parted without much more discussions. Taemin had carefully put his magnolia flower on his nightstand and went to sleep thinking back on glowing, sun kissed skin.

The next days were supposed to be quiet. Jonghyun had ensured that Taemin's education over their land's history wouldn't start before the next week, arguing with his parents that their guest needed a real rest and a break after his long trip followed by the ball. Taemin had thanked him endlessly for his concern over his well-being.

So they met, the forest prince guided him through the castle, helping him visit and discover the parts he still didn't know. Taemin had new questions every minute passing by and a lot of them were answered shortly with a smile and a "but you'll learn more about that starting next week", which was both pleasant and bothersome to him. Pleasant because it seemed his lessons would teach him a lot of things he was actually interested in; bothersome because Taemin wasn't the most patient elf around and he was far too eager to learn.

Jonghyun had taken him to his training area, a bit further to the East of the city, where he showed him the equipments they had, assuring Taemin that he could come and use all of it whenever he wanted to. The elder had been quite proud to show off the collection of bows he had, and especially his most favorite one which had been made by centaurs in ebony wood. They sat in the grass over the archery field, the late afternoon sun still warming them. Jonghyun had softly asked how Taemin was feeling, if he was alright in their forest for now.

"I couldn't have hoped for a more charming place to end up in. You're incredibly considerate and understanding and I'm very grateful for that. Truly."

Jonghyun had taken the compliment with a bright smile. Then the mountain prince recalled the curious and peculiar encounter he had made a few evenings ago and decided to talk about that chance meeting with his fiancé. He had been careful with his words and had tried his best to describe everything he could still remember. He was able to give much more details than what he had told Minho, as he wasn't in that state of incredulity and awe anymore. The stranger's face was imprinted in his mind. But no matter how much he tried to portray him with words, Jonghyun's frown wasn't disappearing from his face. And Taemin was left feeling much sadder than he would have thought.

"So what is it exactly...? This person... turned into a tree?"

Taemin sighed, his eyes falling on his hands pitifully.

"I'm not sure... I can't exactly know, because I didn't see him shift or anything. It was just very strange. I still have the magnolia flower. It didn't fade, it's exactly as it was when I picked it up."

Jonghyun was thoughtful for a moment and Taemin smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry to bother you with that," he added, "For some reason, it seems I can't shake this moment out of my thoughts. I should just let it go I guess."

The elder dismissed his apologies with a move of his hand, his eyes ever so gently resting on him.

"It's alright, I'm quite curious about what you could have seen too. I just have one question actually... Do you only want to know what kind of creature it was, or do you want to find him again?"

His question got Taemin speechless for a few seconds. Jonghyun's tone had been steady, and he was closely looking at the other, waiting for an answer. But Taemin hadn't given that much thoughts to it, to be fairly honest. He couldn't quite be sure about why Jonghyun asked it this way, and he wondered if the other was waiting for a specific answer from him. Then he realized it probably was quite impolite to be talking about an unknown man, saying he couldn't get him off of his mind, to the elf whom he was supposed to marry in a few months.

The thought made Taemin blush with how incredibly clumsy he had been. Even if they had both been forced, even if Jonghyun had admitted that he didn't want that marriage either, it still was disrespectful to him, who had done all he could to make sure Taemin was as happy as he possibly could in his new home. Then again, now that he had put himself in this embarrassing situation, the mountain prince found himself with no wish to lie. Jonghyun deserved better than him brushing off the subject now because of his guilty feelings.

He blinked nervously, his mind going back to the actual question.

"I'm not sure," he said slowly, carefully.

Whoever it was that he saw, he had seemed scared of him. He had only wanted to get away and escape. The realization was a bit painful to Taemin's ego.

"I think if he was fine with talking to me, he wouldn't have ran away. So I don't see the point in searching for someone who was uncomfortable around me. No matter how much I would like to see him again, out of curiosity, I won't obtrude myself on him. Please excuse all those questions. I think I have troubles containing myself with all the discoveries I make here, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just-... I'm quite stubborn and a bit too nosy sometimes."

He sighed, closing his eyes to try to collect himself again.

"Taemin?"

He forced himself to look back at Jonghyun, who was smiling at him.

"Don't apologize all the time like that. I'm not offended. You're doing great, I assure you, so stop putting so much pressure on yourself. I was asking that of you, because this encounter you had, it seems too unusual to be only coincidences... I'm actually thinking that you might have met a spirit. And I'm really glad that you decided not to pursue him if you felt like he wasn't ready to let you approach him more, despite how curious you can be. You're already protecting our forest."

Taemin's eyes grew wider, as he bit his lips in a blend of shyness and nervousness.

"A spirit?" He repeated, a smile blossoming at the corner of his mouth.

"It seems very likely. I don't know which kind though."

Taemin had thanked him for his help and his endless patience with him, as he was finally in peace with his own mind. When he entered back to his room that evening, his gaze fell upon the delicate flower resting next to his bed, proof that his dream had truly happened, and he felt glee fill his body. Jonghyun had indeed said, on that fateful night, that Lord Baekhyun coming to greet him was evidence that the forest welcomed him.

The next days went by incredibly quickly. Jonghyun had taken him into the forest, as he had promised the first time they talked, to show him some of his favorite places. Of course they couldn't travel through the entirety of the land in few days, but they did roam through a lot of different areas and corners. Jonghyun had talked about visiting some villages of creatures living here, but Taemin had felt a bit too shy yet and had wished to wait until he would get further education upon those people, so he would be sure not to be inappropriate in any way. Jonghyun had seemed extremely touched by his reason.

Then Taemin’s lessons debuted. He had to be taught about the rites and traditions of the forest elves, to learn all the different races of animals and people inhabiting the land, as well as getting familiar with the map of the whole woodland. He found the latest quite troublesome and time-wasting when his teacher added that the forest was constantly changing and creating paths and shortcuts between places.
He began special classes to learn the different languages spoken in his new home; the first one he started was the kentaur. During his history lessons, Taemin learned that the packs living here had been rebellious towards elves, whom they held responsible for all the disasters that happened in the forest in times of the endless wars. The king had been able to regain their trust and loyalty and since then, the centaurs had a special rank in the realm’s political decisions. It had been essential, as a sign of good faith and respect, that every elf learned to converse in kentaur, as every centaur also mastered elvish.

Taemin had his classes on mornings; after breakfast. Every day he ate his first meal with Jonghyun; they had decided to meet on one of the terrace facing north, on the fourth floor where both their apartments were, to get their tea. It had been a bit unsettling for Taemin to realize he didn't have to go into the vast dining room. He didn't have to always eat with his future parents-in-law. He didn't have to eat with manners and carefulness. Jonghyun always came still wearing his night clothes, his hair tousled in every ways, and after four days of shyness, Taemin finally did the same.

Weeks went by in a lovely routine and the mountain prince had barely noticed that the guards from his homeland had gone back and that he was left alone with Chinua in a place that didn't feel that foreign anymore. Jonghyun was doing all he could to spend as much time as possible with his fiancé without neglecting his duties, and when he was unable to free himself for an afternoon, Taemin usually found company within Minho or Junmyeon.

"What is this?"

Jongin crouched to the ground, his hand reaching to a small bundle of leaves, carelessly abandoned there. Kibum had turned around in his pond at his voice, swimming closer to get a proper look at whatever Jongin was holding. He hurriedly got out of water with a surprised hiccup, taking his property back with a saddened expression.

He had forgotten about his present. How could he had forgotten about his present? Someone left this especially for him and he threw it on the side without a care.

When he had come back from the ball, his fingers had dropped it in flowers and grass as his eyes had fallen on Jongin's sobbing form, curled up against his tree while Kyungsoo was trying to appease him. Everything that wasn't his friend's tears had vanished from Kibum's mind and he had spent hours easing Jongin's mind with soft whispers, cuddles and promises that everything would be okay. Jongdae had finally gone away, not without biding the nymphs goodbye and apologizing for what had happened. This had taken Jongin out of his fear for a few seconds, as he couldn't let the fairy think it was his fault.

Eventually, Jongin was calm enough to stop crying and explain to Kibum what exactly happened. More or less. He didn't want to go too much into details and risk another crisis, and his friend knew him well enough to not ask more questions. He had also tried, during the following days, to stay close and take care of Jongin so the younger nymph would be completely reassured, while trying not to be too overwhelming and make the other feel smothered.

In the end, he had forgotten his present.

"It's mine," Kibum squealed with shining eyes.

The initial delight he had felt when Jinki had discovered this present for him hit him back full force under Jongin's curious stare.

"I don't know what it is... but Jinki found it at the ball. See this yellow thing? He said it's elvish and it means “nymph”, so he said it was for me."

He was so excited that his voice had gone acute. Then he looked at Jongin, still pointing the elven letters to him, and noticed his friend's frowning face. Kibum calmed down a bit, biting his lips, hoping the situation wouldn't bring back Jongin's anxiety. But the wood nymph was far more inquisitive than scared.

"Can I watch you open it? I wonder what it could be."

Kibum chuckled before finally tearing the leaves open. They both stared down in complete silence at the small object in Kibum's palm. The oldest touched it slowly, making it turn around. It was glowing lightly, reflecting the soft light of the sun.

"What is it?" Jongin finally murmured, looking at Kibum who was completely lost in thoughts.

His friend glared back at him and pouted.

"I have no idea."

They blinked a few times, eyes falling back on the odd little object and Kibum tried to understand how it worked and what it could possibly do or be used for. It formed some kind of leaves, linked with intriguing patterns in shades of gold and green. Kibum jumped a bit when, while touching it curiously, a part fell open.

"Oh! I broke it? Did it break? Oh no! Jongin, I broke it," he whined immediately.

Jongin took the object in his hand, attempting to put it back together promptly. Then he smiled at Kibum.

"No, look. It's okay. If you pinch here it gets back up."

"Oh," Kibum breathed out with a large smile. "Thank you."

He took his present back and looked at it again, beaming.

"I have no clue what it is, but it's pretty and I like it."

Jongin couldn't suppress a laugh from escaping his lips, and Kibum was happy because he hadn't heard this sound for three days. That moment seemed to have alleviated the dull tension in their clearing and things went back to normal slowly.

One afternoon, Kibum went to Jongin timidly, saying that he missed his prince and that he would have loved to go see him again, as he was used to. When he saw the confusion and uneasiness painted on his friend's face, he quickly added that he wouldn't ask him to come if Jongin's wasn't alright with it. They had a few stubborn whines, because Kibum, as much as he wanted to see Jonghyun, was concerned about leaving Jongin behind and making him feel unwanted. Jongin on the other side didn't want Kibum to feel forced to stay with him and tried to push him to actually do what he wanted.

For a few weeks, they parted almost each afternoons because Kibum just couldn't hold back from going to see his elf prince and Jongin couldn't bring himself to leave their home. The loneliness they both felt at each parting wasn't easier even after a couple of days, but it was less terrible every time one of their fairy friends would either come with one, or stay with the other.

"Jongin, why are you still scared?"

The nymph closed his eyes, knowing what Kyungsoo was referring too. They had been looking at the sky together, because finding forms in the cloud was one of Jongin's favorite game. And Kyungsoo would always do whatever Jongin wished to play.

The fairy sat on the grass, tilting his head to the side while keeping his round eyes on the nymph.

"It's been weeks now. Don't you want to go back to your oak tree?"

At the mention of one of his favorite spot in the entire forest, Jongin's eyes opened again, a small pout forming on his face. He missed his oak tree. Climbing on it was his most favorite thing to do.

"I-... I do. I'm just-...," he sighed.

"You can't stay there forever."

"I know."

Jongin rolled on his side, staring back at the fairy with rosy cheeks.

"It was terrible," he murmured. "I don't want to feel that way again. Ever."

"I understand. But you're bored and lonely here."

"I'm not. I've got you."

Kyungsoo sighed at the joyful smile that he was given.

"You're sweet, Jongin. But I really think you should overcome your fear. You know the forest will still protect you. As long as you don't go back in Melalhil, you'll be perfectly safe."

Jongin hid his face behind his hands and nodded slowly. He missed the forest, he missed jumping in lakes with Kibum, he missed greeting his favorite trees and playing games with pixies. He gave out a sigh and sat down, his long legs folded before him.

"Can I ask you something about that night?" Kyungsoo murmured carefully.

Jongin had a nervous pout but motioned for him to go on.

"Jongdae explained to me what happened. Why did you stay? When you could have gone away... why did you ask him to wait?"

The nymph blushed a bit, his eyes falling on his lap as he was twisting his fingers with discomfort. He could still remember the moment so vividly. And he still wasn't exactly sure why he didn't run for his life. He felt so stupid thinking back on it. He really did brought this on himself.

"I don't really know..."

"Were you curious, about the elves?" Kyungsoo inquired.

"Yes, I guess I was." Jongin voice was quiet and shy, as if he didn't want to admit it completely. "I knew one of them. It was Choi Minho, the one who's often with Kibum's prince..."

"So you felt a bit more safe because you already saw him before?"

Jongin shook his head, his cheeks becoming even redder.

"N-no. I didn't-... It wasn't about him. The other elf, I don't know who he was. But it was him... I wanted to look at him."

Kyungsoo smiled gently at him. Jongin was finally opening a bit and maybe, the nymph would realize that nothing terrible happened and that there was nothing to be terrified of.

"Why is that?"

Jongin stayed silent for a moment, pondering over the thought. He frowned, trying to remember what he had felt exactly when he had seen that elf. He just couldn't blink away.

"It felt-... He was-... He's like my flowers," he stuttered.

His answer took Kyungsoo by surprise and the fairy pinched his lips.

"What do you mean by that? Is he... hum... pretty, maybe?" He demanded warily.

Jongin withdrew into himself a bit, with bashfulness.

"He's mine."

A long silence followed his murmur and the nymph hid behind his hands again as Kyungsoo just stared at him, dumbfounded. He couldn't understand what Jongin meant by that.

"Oh," Jongin continued with a whine. "That's not-... I don't know how to say it in faerish. I'm sorry."

The fairy had a small sigh, but couldn't understand what Jongin wanted to express. He had no idea how Jongin felt about flowers. And the whole thing with that elf seemed to confuse Jongin so much.

"Was it a nice feeling?" He still asked.

"Yes," Jongin confessed after a while.

"So you were looking at him. And then he saw you, and you got scared?" At Kyungsoo's question, Jongin looked away. "Why did you run? Would it have been so terrible to let him look at you, if you feel like he's yours?"

The nymph could feel his heart starting to beat louder and his breathing got a bit uneven. Thinking about that elf and all that had happened made him uncomfortable and Kyungsoo kept asking details he wasn't sure he wanted to think about. Jongin felt his friend's tiny hand on his knee and breathed out shakily.

"Jongin, you're here and you're safe. You don't have to answer me if you're feeling nervous. I just wanted to help you."

Kyungsoo was always attentive, just like Kibum, even though he showed it in other ways. That's why Jongin always felt protected with the tiny creature around. For a moment, he thought of asking the fairy to stop talking about that and go back to the clouds. But now that the question was out, it bothered him. It bothered him because he had no real answer to give.

"I didn't think about it this way," he tried to articulate the messy thoughts in his mind. "I mean, I didn't think about him, specifically, seeing me. Suddenly it was just someone seeing me. It was an elf seeing me and-..." he stopped for a second, thinking back on it. "It's mean, because I was staring at him and then I didn't want him to do the same. I did to him what makes me feel so bad... I'm awful."

A sob broke out from his lips and Kyungsoo instantly flew to his face, putting his small hands on Jongin's nose and the nymph squinted on him.

"No you're not," he simply stated.

"I feel so bad when people stare. Kibum likes it... Someone saw him too and they gave him a gift and he was so happy. I would have-... I don't know. They-... they look at me and they whisper. And they don't come to me. They just... murmur things from afar. Always."

There it was. Kyungsoo had a pained expression at the obvious hurt in his friend's broken voice. He knew who Jongin was referring to. Basically anyone that he ever tried to meet. Jongin was so shy, it took him all the efforts in the world to go to others and the nymph was always scared that people wouldn't like him, for reasons that were beyond Kyungsoo's understanding.

How could he possibly explain to his timid friend that it wasn't rejection he was facing, but awe. Fairies would whisper while looking at him because he was breathtaking. Nymphs would even be hesitant and modest in front of him because he was the first child of the sun since Lord Baekhyun himself. He wasn't as pure as Baekhyun, he was molded in earth too, but they were the only beings left in the forest made with light and that inspired respect and adoration from their companions.

Kyungsoo had tried, once or twice, to hint on that. But it always made Jongin even more embarrassed, so he stopped.

"I hope that I didn't hurt him."

Jongin's sough took the fairy out of his reflexions.

"Hurt him?" He repeated, puzzled.

"I mean... by looking at him and disappearing. I hope I didn't make him feel nervous. Maybe he's sad because of me."

Kyungsoo decided there had been enough anguish and sorrow for one day. He absolutely hated to see Jongin so lost and melancholic, so he took a deep breath and gave him a reassuring smile.

"If he did feel sad, which we cannot know, his friends probably helped him. Just like Kibum took care of you. Now, it's time for you to take care of yourself too."

They went back to watching clouds and Jongin quietly promised to get out of his home on the next day.

When Kibum came back, swirling around in happiness after a whole afternoon of looking fondly over his prince, Jongin asked him how his day went. Kibum froze, blinking a few times before a huge smile broke his lips. Jongin never asked before, because it made him uneasy. And Kibum took great pleasure in telling him all the details of what happened that day. How Jonghyun had apparently made a joke very funny because all his friends laughed, but Kibum couldn't know what it was and it was such a shame. He told him how Jonghyun was so careful with his fiancé that it made the nymph's heart both melt with adoration and combust with jealousy. Kibum's voice was bitter every time he had to mention the elf Jonghyun was supposed to marry. He had refused to pick up on his name and deliberately avoided looking at him as much as possible.

But another very important thing about that day, was that Kibum had received yet another gift. He was a bit overwhelmed because he had no idea who left it for him. Sadly, he had to admit that it couldn't be his prince, as he couldn't take his eyes off of him so if indeed Jonghyun had noticed him, he would know it. But the prince had taken his fiancé to a special place today; they had walked through narrow paths, crossed the valley of stones and climbed up the small hill decorated with sculptures made by the dwarves. Autumn was the best moment of the year to come there, Kibum knew that and he had been so envious of the prince's fiancé. They had stayed there for a while, talking about many things that the nymph couldn't understand, until Jonghyun got up, holding the other's hand to show him the view downhill. The sunset was bathing the valley with an apricot color and seemed to light a flaming fire on the dozens of maple trees below them. It was beyond magnificent. It was a view Kibum never grew tired of. The flickers and twinkles of light bouncing on the red leaves and brownish branches were enchanting.

Jonghyun and his fiancé hadn't been the only ones to come. The maple trees hollow was quite something, and was indeed famous in the forest. There had been a few others elves and creatures around, but the nymph didn't pay attention to them at all. Until he got down from his tree, when Jonghyun was far away already, and saw a bundle of leaves at the roots, with this golden letters he remembered so well. It was packed in exactly the same way, and so Kibum assumed it had been the same elf who already graced him with a present.

He waited to reunite with Jongin to open it, and was met with yet another shiny and pretty object that he didn't know of. Kibum had put it with his first present, in a small gap in the rocks of his waterfall. The spot was dry and protected as the nymph was too scared to ruin his elvish precious treasures if he took them to his nest, in the bottom of his pond.

On the next day, Jongin had admitted to Kibum that he wanted to go back wandering in the forest. His friend had been overjoyed by his decision and he even restrained from going to his prince once again, so that they could play around together.

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Hi my dears,

I hope you liked this chapter... I had have such a nice time writing it. I'd like to thank again all the people who leave comments, you truly have no idea how happy it makes me.

Also, it may take me a little bit more than two weeks to post next chapter because I swear, life is going on pretty hard on me lately but I'll do my best. I can promise it will be there in maximum three weeks.

All of you, take care and I hope to see you next chapter again ♥