autumn 2/3

“So what is it like, being courted by the infamous Lord of the Underworld?” Youngjae teased, resting his head on his palm. He watched as Junhong paused his work, blushing, and smiled in amusement.

“It has only been a few days,” the nymph said shyly, his deft fingers weaving flower stalks together. In his lap laid a half-finished flower crown that he intended to gift to Youngjae.

“It may have been a few days, but he has already presented you with so many gifts,” the human commented, his eyes on the sparkling jewels decorating Junhong’s fingers. They shined in the sunlight, glittering a rainbow of colours.

“Yongguk treats me well,” Junhong admitted, a soft smile on his lips, remembering how the lord would fuss over his injury and insist on supporting him when he walked. To him, that affection spoke volumes, even more than the jewellery which Yongguk had gifted him with, although he appreciated the gifts as well. The Lord of the Underworld was apparently extremely wealthy, and generous as well.

Youngjae grinned, returning to work on the flower crown in his own lap. “I’m glad. It is what you deserve.”

 “I admit I am still shocked he chose me, though,” Junhong confessed, after a moment of silence. He looked down, his lips shaped in a light frown, as he smoothed a flower’s bent petal. “He is a god, and I am a mere nymph under his feet.”

Youngjae released a quiet hum of disagreement. “Do not think so lowly of yourself. If there is anyone out there who deserves to have you, it would be a god.”

The nymph laughed, “Only you would say that, Youngjae.”

“That does not mean I do not speak the truth,” the human’s eyes softened in admiration. “You are beautiful, yet kind... I am surprised this is your first courtship in your nine hundred years.”

“Are you perhaps jealous that Lord Yongguk claimed me first?” Junhong teased, and Youngjae rolled his eyes in response. “Or are you still infatuated with the villager’s prince, like you were when you were a child?”

“Junhong!” the human’s mouth opened, shocked, but his ears were quickly turning warm. The nymph dissolved into laughter, guessing he was correct, as Youngjae scowled in embarrassment. He began threading the flowers in his lap with newly-found vigour, “He is not a prince. He’s the village leader’s son.”

“They are similar,” Junhong shrugged. He completed his flower crown with a flourish and placed it on top of Youngjae’s hair. He smiled and moved back, looking satisfied with his work – the autumn colours complemented Youngjae’s dark hair perfectly. “Now you can be the prince, also.”

“You are ridiculous, Junhong,” Youngjae said, but he was grinning. Junhong began working on another flower crown, creating the flowers he needed as he used them, beaming at his human friend, whose blush had still not faded.

“Why did you stop talking about him, though? I always assumed your interest faded away, but you seem just as infatuated as ever,” the nymph said, looking concerned.

“I grew up,” Youngjae replied, avoiding the nymph’s gaze. “An orphan like me could never be with someone like Daehyun.”

Junhong found himself frowning at his friend’s dejected tone, “Youngjae, being an orphan should not stop him from returning your feelings, if he is a decent man.”

The human shrugged, casting his eyes downwards.

He was young, only twenty years, but he was alone. His mother had passed during his birth, and his father killed himself weeks after, leaving the baby to be raised by his grandmother. Whilst Youngjae was raised with just as much love as the other children of the village, his grandmother had delayed telling him the truth behind his parents’ passing, leading him to wander into the forest one day, barely five years old, looking for them. Junhong had found him wailing for his grandmother, and immediately saw himself in the boy, entertaining him with his flowers and feeding him fruit before sending him home with the brightest grin.

They had been close ever since, with Youngjae regularly sneaking out to visit him in the forest. It had gotten much easier in the recent years, after Youngjae’s grandmother passed, but he had been left without a guardian at seventeen.

Junhong knew everything about him, from his backstory, to his everlasting infatuation with the ‘prince’ of the village. When Youngjae was ten, he’d announced loudly to Junhong that he wanted to court a boy in his village, much to the nymph’s amusement. Junhong had thought his interest would fade in mere weeks, but Youngjae had talked to Junhong about the ‘prince’ for years, stopping only when he was sixteen.

Junhong could see how upset Youngjae looked, and he strived to change the topic, wondering what the true reason was behind his silence about Daehyun.

“Would you like to view my newest creation?” he questioned, smiling when Youngjae brightened and nodded eagerly. He added, “I honestly think it’s my best yet.”

Youngjae watched in fascination as a small tree grew from the ground, sprouting large fruit, at least the size of a fist. Junhong’s gaze was concentrated on his work, although a small smile lifted his lips when he saw its success. The tree spiralled above their seating forms, towards the sun.

 When Junhong had deemed its growth as satisfactory, he reached up to pluck the fruit, and it fell apart easily in his hands, revealing the insides.

Youngjae peered at the fruit and tilted his head. It seemed to gleam mouth-watering red, but it was filled with only seeds.

“At first, the fruit may seem impractical, but its taste is delicious,” Junhong assured, taking a seed and placing it in his mouth. He offered the fruit to Youngjae, who did the same.

The human’s eyes widened.

“I think you have outdone yourself this time,” he complimented, reaching for more. Junhong gave him half of the fruit, and kept the other half for himself, feeling hungry now that he had just begun eating.

“You really think so?”

“Definitely. Your talents never cease to amaze me.”

Junhong preened at the compliments, looking delighted. At that moment, Youngjae placed his finished flower crown on the other’s head, sitting back to observe how ethereal the other looked.

Whilst Junhong had made Youngjae’s crown with warm colours, Youngjae had made his with pink flowers and sprigs of leaves. Youngjae knew his best friend was alluring, but now he seemed impossibly so; the pink flowers in his light blond hair made him seem adorable. The nymph seemed unaware of his own beauty, but Youngjae was not sure how – he swore if the people of the village saw him, they would be so stunned that they would forget their hatred of nymphs.

Still, it was not a chance Youngjae was willing to take.

“Now the Lord of the Underworld will be swept away,” the human said. He took seeds from the fruit and ate them, releasing a pleased hum. Ever since he could remember, Junhong had been showing him new fruit, but this was easily his favourite.

“Lord Yongguk...” Junhong mumbled, unknowingly reaching up to fix his hair.

Youngjae’s mouth curved into a smile – his best friend had fallen for the lord so quickly. “Will he be arriving today?”

“He is. Would you like to meet him?”

“I would,” Youngjae hesitated. “I do have to return home, though. There is a festival in my village tonight, and I must be present…” His lips formed a pout, and his eyebrows creased. To go to a mundane festival, or to see the Lord of the Underworld… his choice was obvious. But he knew he would only be viewed as more of an outcast if he did not attend, and he did not wish to raise any suspicions of what he was doing in these forests.

“A festival?” The nymph exclaimed, looking bright. Talks of celebrations never ceased to excite him, as he hadn’t attended any in centuries. “Whatever for?”

“It is a new event, this year,” Youngjae explained, looking exhausted at the mention of it. He muttered bitterly, “The village leader thought a festival was needed to celebrate the hordes of admirers his eldest son has.”

“That seems conceited,” Junhong commented. “But perhaps it may be a useful way to introduce yourself to the prince, if everyone is occupied with his older brother.”

“No,” Youngjae refused immediately.

“But it would! It would be romantic as well,” the nymph smiled to himself and held out his hand, where a bouquet of flowers formed immediately. “You could gift this to him.”

“Absolutely not,” Youngjae refused again, but he took the flowers from the nymph anyway. He always loved seeing Junhong’s creations – they were like magic. “I may have exaggerated a little, though. The festival is for the entire village to meet new people, but everyone tends to flock to the leader’s sons anyway.”

“I hope you meet someone who appreciates you, Youngjae,” Junhong reached over to smooth his hair, like he used to when the human was a child. “You better go and get ready. Perhaps you’ll meet your intended tonight?”

“I doubt it,” Youngjae said bluntly, but stood up anyway. He had spent a few hours with Junhong already, and he didn’t want anyone to come looking for him. Junhong winced as he stood up, and Youngjae frowned at his still injured leg. The nymph had not told him what had happened, and hid his injury behind a bandage of leaves, so he could not view the wound. He hoped it was not serious, but Junhong was determined not to let him worry.

Not caring about his injured leg, Junhong reached up to take more fruit, ing them into his friend’s hands. Even more fruit grew from the empty branches.

“I hope you celebrate well,” the nymph said, helping Youngjae gather them without dropping any. Youngjae also tried to hold onto the bouquet of flowers from earlier, and struggled to keep them together. Junhong often poked fun at Youngjae’s smaller hands, much to the human’s annoyance.

Youngjae gave him a soft smile, “I hope you stay safe, Junhong. I’ll see you soon.” He eventually gave in and used his arms to hold everything together, only holding the bouquet in his hands. Hopefully he wouldn’t look too strange. Junhong embraced him quickly before sending him off.

He left the meadow, remembering the direction he had arrived. The two never met up at the same place, in case a villager would come across them, but Youngjae had developed a clear image of the forest in the past fifteen years he had been sneaking out to see Junhong.

The human walked home at a slow pace – if he dropped any of the fruit, he didn’t think he’d be able to pick it up. In the distance, he could see the entrance of his village, and the people already preparing for the festival later at night. It wasn’t even dark yet, but he supposed it would be an elaborate celebration.

It didn’t matter to him, anyway. He already knew he would come back home tonight as alone as ever. His shoulders hunched at the thought.

When he was younger, he always entertained the thought of running into the forests with Junhong, but now he realised that it was safer for both of them if he remained in the village. He could tell the nymph when and where the hunting groups would go searching for animals, and Junhong could avoid those areas, and avoid getting caught by the villagers.

Still, he often wondered what it would be like. Perhaps he would meet a man from another village, on the other side of the forests, who would care for him like no one had before, except Junhong.

He knew it was unlikely, almost impossible, but entertaining himself with such thoughts was more enjoyable than facing the loneliness of reality.

Youngjae walked into the village and towards his house, not wanting to stop and talk to anybody, lest he get roped into doing some task for the village elders. Last festival, he had to stand in the sun all day and help someone with decorations for hours – it was not fun, at all. His eyes felt heavy just recalling the memory.

“Youngjae, are you in a rush?”

The human almost cursed – he was so close to home – but when he turned around, he was surprised by the village leader’s youngest son, gazing at him seriously. It was a face that Youngjae knew well, although it hardly ever looked at him from this angle.

“No,” Youngjae murmured shyly as soon as he could speak, his grip on the fruit and flowers tightening as Daehyun neared. “I was going home, to prepare for the festival.”

The frown on the other man’s face disappeared into a look of confusion.

“You... are attending?” Daehyun said in surprise.

Youngjae blinked, and hid a sigh. “Not of my own free will. Your father did command that every bachelor in the village was to be in attendance.”

Daehyun’s mouth fell open, and Youngjae frowned. Was the man mocking him? There was no reason to act surprised; Youngjae was hardly attractive, and everyone in the village knew he was always alone.

He wasn’t expecting the man to reach out and straighten the flower crown on top of his head, eyes still locked on his. Youngjae had forgotten it was even there, but he had not expected anyone to point it out, let alone Daehyun.

They had not even interacted since they were children, and now the prince was acting like they were close.

Daehyun was still staring at him as he fixed the crown, and his hand lingered even after he had finished. There was a faraway look in his eyes, and Youngjae wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the situation to take in all of the man’s details, from his warm, almond eyes, to his perfectly shaped nose to his deep cupid’s bow – but he looked down, avoiding the other’s gaze.

He swallowed, hoping that the other would not be offended.

“I must go,” Daehyun said suddenly, his hand dropping to his side. He looked embarrassed. “I look forward to seeing you tonight.”

“Um. As do I,” Youngjae said, at a loss for words, and the other male nodded.

“Make sure you eat before attending the festival. It will run late,” Daehyun said, before walking away. Youngjae stared after him, wondering if the male had always been so strange, or if he was up to something.

Junhong stayed in the meadow as the sun set below the trees, and the sky darkened. He rested on the fruit tree that he had created earlier, wondering when the god would come.

Yongguk must be busy if he had not arrived yet. Junhong hoped he hadn’t forgotten about his promise, but the nymph would not be angry if he did. Nor would he be surprised – it was strange enough that the Lord would be interested in him to begin with.

The second flower crown he made lay in his lap and he smoothed each leaf carefully. It was his favourite creation so far, with a variety of sprigs and white flowers that seemed to glow in the moonlight. He wished to present it to Yongguk, as a courting gift.

The nymph couldn’t give Yongguk jewels, or anything extravagant, but he hoped that it would suffice.

 He tried to focus his hearing, wondering if he could hear the god before he could see him. His hearing was definitely sharper than his eyesight, especially in the night.

To his surprise, he could even hear the village’s celebrations when he focused, and he wondered if Youngjae was enjoying himself. The festival seemed like so much fun – gatherings with food and loud music... It reminded him of the celebrations his nymphai used to hold, centuries ago.

For a second, he allowed himself to think of attending one of the village’s celebrations, dancing with the humans until the dawn, but he snapped himself out of his daydream quickly.

Even imagining the humans could be dangerous; if he trusted them, they would betray him.

Just like they betrayed Junseo.

His fingernails bit into his palms as he tried to think of something else, but he couldn’t stop the flashes of memories. Junseo bleeding out in front of him, telling him to stay safe, and to never trust humans again.

As the night turned black and the birds stopped chirping, Junhong felt his eyes drift shut, and he fell asleep.

Alone.

 Yongguk cursed as he appeared on the Surface, his eyes adjusting to the darkness before he started running. It was already night – how long had he kept Junhong waiting? While he hoped the nymph had given up and gone somewhere safe for the night, he also didn’t want him to feel disappointed.

He feared the nymph would not forgive him, for abandoning him.

He bristled to himself. Junhong would surely not accept his ridiculous excuse, but he could say nothing but the truth: his brother had yet again caused havoc and ruined his plans by insisting he return to Olympus, to meet his siblings and the rest of the gods.

For all the times before, Yongnam had at least turned up for the meal, but this time, the Lord of the Seas was nowhere in sight. When Yongguk had asked Natasha where Yongnam had gone, she replied that he had never planned on coming.

“Bastard,” Yongguk swore, thinking about how he had been roped into sharing a twelve-course meal with the other gods, whilst Yongnam had managed to escape.

It was much worse, because Natasha had somehow found out about his courtship to Junhong, and had been bothering him about it for the entire time. Yongguk was not surprised – as the Goddess of all Gods, she knew everything that happened in the Skies, on the Surface, in the Seas and in the Underworld.

He could admit he often was envious of her power. She often took it for granted.

He stumbled into the meadow, and was immediately relieved at the sight of Junhong resting under a tree. His heartrate picked up when he realised the nymph was asleep, and his pace quickened.

The tree stood out in the middle of the field, but Yongguk supposed that it was useful for supplying shade. In the dark, he could see its leaves were protecting Junhong, but it looked bare, without any fruit or flowers.

He settled down beside Junhong’s slumbering figure, and brushed the hair away from his eyes. For some reason, he was wearing a flower crown, but Yongguk could not deny that it enhanced his features, as the moonlight illuminated his face.

He was alarmed to see his lover’s eyelashes damp with tears, but his eyes fluttered open seconds later, staring at Yongguk.

For a second, Yongguk froze, but then his hand caressed the nymph’s cheek, and he wiped away a stray tear.

“Why were you crying, sweetling?” he asked quietly, watching as Junhong swallowed nervously, his eyes darting away.

“It sometimes happens,” he answered, lifting his hands to brush away his tears roughly. “I am sorry I fell asleep waiting.”

“You have nothing to apologise for,” Yongguk murmured, wondering why the nymph didn’t want to answer his question directly. Perhaps he dreamt of his family.

The god knew he could find out what happened to Junhong’s nymphai, and what exactly had caused the humans to murder them; there were records kept in the Underworld, after all. But he did not want to, unless Junhong was willing to share it himself – it seemed far too personal. Until then, he would not pry.

“You must be tired,” Yongguk said, noticing Junhong was blinking rapidly to keep himself awake. He was still leaning against the tree, all energy seeming to have left his body.

“I do not want to sleep when I can spend time with you,” the nymph responded, even though his eyelids were heavy. The god couldn’t help his smile when Junhong stifled a yawn moments later. The nymph may have been adamant that his nine hundred years meant he was no longer young, but his childish stubbornness seemed to disagree.

“I will be here when you awaken, I promise,” Yongguk assured him, and he could see the boy’s will weakening.

Junhong released a soft sigh, and stared at Yongguk, before his eyes flickered to the god’s lap momentarily and he tilted his head. He was wearing an adorable pout, blinking pleadingly – Yongguk agreed immediately to his wordless question.

Junhong moved gracefully to rest his head on the god’s lap. Yongguk’s hand began playing with the other’s hair, and asked, “Is this comfortable for you, my little nymph?”

“Am I little?” the nymph mumbled sleepily, his eyes opening to stare at the god. Yongguk softened at the sight of him, and couldn’t help but lean over to press a soft kiss to his forehead. Junhong’s mouth opened slightly, and Yongguk wondered – not for the first time – if he had ever been courted before.

“If you sleep well, I may wake you up with another,” he teased, and was surprised by Junhong rolling over immediately on his side and curling up for comfort. Yongguk almost laughed at how eager the younger was – something told him that later, when they were closer, exchanging kisses for hours would become a favourite pastime.

“Falling asleep will be easy, when you are here to keep me safe,” the nymph said quietly. Yongguk felt a fierce wave of overprotection wash over him – this boy was so vulnerable, so pure, he could never let anything happen to him.

As Junhong slept, and Yongguk watched his figure rise and fall with every breath, he wondered if Yongnam was wrong; that it was possible for someone to love the God of Death.

He hoped so.

my twitter: @sproutjun 
annnnd my tumblr: @junhng

the difference between my twitter and my tumblr;;;  is that my blog isnt total trash lol

all i really have to say about this chapter is that youngjae is a smol human boi and i rly adore him tbh

I also really adore reading comments!