The following morning, shortly after awakening to the sound of his hunger, Jungkook took to the kitchen. Taehyung was always saying how hungry he was and with little to no time to cook during his busiest times, Jungkook thought to make him a soup as recompense for his hard work. But not before he could learn another chunk of Ciclanish.

One day soon he would be able to communicate with Taehyung in complete sentences. One day the feelings in his heart would swelter into rhythms pounded along by the rolls of his tongue. He smiled at the thought.

As the sun pressed itself against the horizon, worry began to seep into Jungkook's stomach. Taehyung had yet to arrive. Normally, he would be home several hours before dusk could dip his toes over the sky.

As Jungkook continued stirring the soup inside of the earthenware pot, his mind flitted to thoughts of Hoseok. Jungkook glanced at the dishes piled high into the sink. What was the palace kitchen like?

The image of an elongated room with black and white tiled floors and huge bay windows seeped into his mind. The room was bright and inviting. Everything was white and clean and clear. Strewn over the glass cupboards were throngs of vines and potted plants whose thick, luscious leaves would grapple with the windows for comfort. The sun, in all of its untarnished beauty, would filter in through the open space like glitter caught in the pause just before a breeze. And at the center of it all would be Hoseok with his dazzling smile.

Taehyung would be holding onto the marbled kitchen island as a bout of laughter consumed his entire sense of belonging. He would be happy. Like all great relationships, he would belong—fitting comfortably into Hoseok's immaculate life as if the two were meant to be together since the ushering of humanity.

Something outside ruffled the tree's leaves. Jungkook dragged his attention away from the vivid visualization hampering his energy. He let go of the wooden spoon before ambling towards the entrance. But before he could step outside, a tiny prick poked the side of his torso. He lifted his shirt up just high enough to see another tiny white feather had sprung up from the circular cluster.

Time was not on his side. But all he needed was love.

Nothing was for sure.

The minutes before 8 PM inched along until it became apparent that Taehyung wouldn't be home in time to see the night swaddle the remaining inklings of light from the comfort of his kitchen table.

A familiar sensation jabbed at Jungkook's heart. He didn't need a string of sounds to dictate what he was experiencing. The tears that rolled down his face were explanation enough.

Jungkook crawled into bed without doing any of his nightly rituals. He couldn't even recall to shut the front door.

#

Jungkook peeled his heavy-lidded eyes open to find himself surrounded by wisps of dark matter. They circled around him countless times before molding themselves, slowly, one by one, into swans with blood red beaks and translucent white bodies. As they moved to and from the moonlight shooting in through the window, he could see thin, ghost-like streaks of spider silk fastened around their beaks as if they had been meticulously drilled into place. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the red in their beaks was being trickled in from the blood in their beating hearts.

Something fell to the floor up ahead. Jungkook drew his attention to the door. From the bevy's center appeared the woman from before. Her hair was now a delicate honey blonde that brushed against her shoulders like leaves falling against a body of water at the first flight of warmth.

Jungkook struggled to loosen himself from the ground. The woman drew closer. She wore an emerald green dress with silver embroidery that matched the silver cufflink cinched around her left wrist. Jungkook continued thrashing about. The blood in his ears pulsed. Had it been established that he would die today? But he had yet to become a swan. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Not yet.

A muffled voice trickled into the room and just like that, the woman's presence was replaced by someone so concerned with his wellbeing, Jungkook couldn't stop the tears fro