Chapter 07

 

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“Wah~ you’ve brought us so many books, noona!”

 

“Please read us a story, Jieun-unnie!”

 

“No! I don’t want any boring girly fairytales though noona! You always read what the girls want!” The young boy, no older than ten whined, showing his displeasure even further by folding his arms over his chest.

 

“Yah! Show her more respect Dongmin-ah, be more grateful that she is freely choosing to spend her time reading to you.” The elderly nurse pursed her lips into a firm line crossly whilst scolding the boy. In an instant, the child jolted up to attention as he averted his gaze downward to his shoes with shame written across his face.

 

Jieun had to conceal her grin by holding up her palm to . Aigo, this boy. He’s always been this stubborn since the day I met him.

 

“Well, I will now leave them in your capable hands Jieun-ssi. Please do not hesitant to contact me if any of the children misbehave.” She inclined her head in the brunette’s direction with a gentle smile before exiting the play area.

 

“Pssst, maiden~” Chanyeol whispered loudly, his wide eyes flickering back and forth between her and the curious children who were currently crowding around the cardboard box, already fighting over which books they wanted her to read.

 

The girl in question hummed in response, her hazel eyes fondly watching over the children she had gotten to know over the course of the summer holidays. The caramel haired male blinked, slightly overwhelmed by feeling the abundance of warmth emitting from her person.

 

“Why are those people so small? Do they happen to have grown problems?” He frowned in thought, his forehead creased in concentration.

 

The brunette had to control the strong urge to burst out in laughter as she bit her lip in an attempt to stay composed. Aish, is he being serious? How is it possible that he has never seen children before?

 

“Firstly, I believe that the correct term to use is children, Chanyeol. That’s the typical height for them at that age and they will gradually grow taller as they get older.” She explained, carefully trying to suppress the temptation to grin uncontrollably. The male in question simply bobbed his head in understanding, a smile stretching across his face.

 

“Secondly, I’ve already told you that it is okay for you to call me Jieun. It’s not exactly normal to be called maiden here.” With that, she whispered to an audible level she knew that only the ears of him and Baekhyun could hear, as she shot him a meaningful glance.

 

“Okay, Jieun-ah.” He grinned cutely at her, rolling on the balls of his heels as he did so. “Could you read me one of those books when we get home?” With that, he tilted his head to the side, unconsciously imitating the puppy dog look.

 

For a moment, her thoughts turned blank as she stared at him in surprise. The innocence of this boy astounds me, not to mention the fact that his appearance is completely deceiving once you’ve heard his baritone voice.

 

“Now, now Chanyeol. I’m sure that she’ll consider it once we’re back at the apartment.” Luckily, the light controller cut in smoothly, causing the male in question to pout. Jieun let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as she quickly returned her main focus on the children to try and forget what had just happened to her.

 

The chestnut haired girl clapped her hands together, a bright smile adoring her face as the children glanced up towards her in wonder. “I’m glad to see that you all like the books that I’ve brought you all. Now, if you would like to get comfortable and behave like the good children I know you all are, I will read you one of my favourites in the box.”

 

Immediately, the cluster of children quickly dropped everything that they were doing at that very second to gather around her in a semi circle, sitting cross legged Indian style on the colourful rug. Jieun noted with amusement that they were holding their index finger firmly to their mouths, showing that they weren’t going to talk.

 

Aigo, it makes me laugh how I used to act like these children.

 

The fire controller shot his brother a questioning look. “What kind of spell has she casted on them for those dwarf people to act so willingly?”

 

Baekhyun merely nudged him none-too-kindly in response, causing him to stumble slightly to the side. The children turned around to direct nasty glares over their shoulder at the disturbance.

 

“Just be patient, brother. Watch and see for yourself,”

 

The male in question turned to voice out his complains, but ceased instantly once the children whipped around to shot laser glares in his direction with an added “Shush!” for emphasis.

 

The fair skinned male covered his mouth from releasing the peals of laughter that threatened to burst out at the ridiculousness of the situation.

 

Jieun inwardly rolled her eyes as she settled herself on the yellow coloured beanbag seat that was situated in front of the eagerly awaiting children, the book ready in hand.

 

“As specifically requested off Dongmin, I will be reading you a personal favourite of mine which is not a typical girly fairy tail.” In response, the girls pouted in disappointment at the notion of not hearing the heroine was not a female like in most stories she read. Whilst the boys were practically whooping with joy, some were even going to the extent of punching the air in triumph.

 

“That’s a good decision, noona~” The ebony haired boy chimed happily.

 

The brunette smiled as she flipped the first few pages over to reveal the first chapter. “The story that I am going to read to you all is called ‘The Sword in the Stone’.”

 

“Aniyo! That sounds boring unnie!” One of the little girls cried out, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

 

“Just because it’s not about some stupid princess waiting for her prince charming doesn’t make it stupid!” Dongmin argued back with a scowl as he shot her a mehrong, which caused her to squeak in outrage.

 

“Now children, there is no need to fight.” Jieun wagged her finger in disapproval; both children averted their eyes to their shoes in evident shame.

 

“I’ll give you all some background information before I start, this story is set in the medieval era which is all about a young boy that was only a few years older than you lot are, and he is a servant boy for one of the knights in Camelot.

 

“And then, one day when he is out with the other knights hunting, he is ordered to go fend an arrow in the forest. And in this forest lives a magical being.” She revealed, carefully schooling her features to be calm and collected.

 

Children are said to have wider imaginations than adults, so I presume that they must like the idea of ‘magic’ and all that sort of stuff. She mused to herself, taking in the curious looks from all the children sitting before her.

 

“That sounds cool noona~”

 

“Yeah! Can you read it to us?”

 

Jieun merely smiled in response as she nodded her head, inwardly preparing herself for the storyteller role she taking on. The children all cheered as they gave each other high fives before the some of the older children shot them stern looks to be quiet.

 

“Once upon a time,” She began the usual opening that every fairy tail started with, making sure to switch to different tones when reading out the descriptions and dialogue.

 

The children remained enraptured throughout the entire process, surprisingly including the girls—who all complained at the start. Jieun paused in her reading for a moment, like she normally did after covering a few pages and lifted her gaze from the book upwards to see the expectant looks from not only the children, but also from Chanyeol.

 

His eyes were widened as he leaned forward in anticipation of what she was about to read next, his reaction was slightly similar, if not exaggerated more than the children’s were. Baekhyun seemed to be visibly ashamed of being next to him as he covered his face in embarrassment.  

 

“Now, can any of you like to tell me what has happened so far in this book?” She inquired, shifting her gaze across from all the different faces until she reached the end of the line, raising her eyebrow as she did so.

 

Not even a few seconds had passed by as a number of hands shot up hastily, waving their arms around frantically to show their deniable enthusiasm, causing a few to nearly hit each other in the process.

 

Jieun placed her finger on her chin in a thoughtful manner as she hummed quietly to herself, though she tried to hold in laughter at the amusing sight of Chanyeol waving his hands over his head in a ‘pick me’ manner to the point where he nearly fell off the children’s chair, had Baekhyun not pulled him back by the scruff of his shirt.

 

“Dongmin, would you like to share your own thoughts with the rest of us?” She focused her attention solely onto the fidgeting boy, which remained silent throughout the entire time she was reading. The little child had earned a reputation for being a loud mouthed troublemaker, but he wasn’t known for being malicious—just for his harmless pranks that caused havoc amongst the ‘Children of Eden’ ward, in particular—the girls.

 

He lifted his head towards her in surprise, as he cleared his throat uncomfortably with the weight of the stares from all around the room.

 

“I-I’m sorry noona, I wasn’t paying attention.” He murmured quietly under his breath, forcing her to strain her ears to try and catch what he had said, not sounding anything like the ten year old prankster she had gotten to know.

 

This isn’t the first time he’s been daydreaming when I’m reading. She thought with worry etched on her face, as her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.

 

“Okay, that’s fine Dongmin.” She smiled gently, as she reached out to pat his arm comfortingly. “I’ll just come back to you later on, so try to listen to the story as I read it, alright?”

 

He simply inclined his head in understanding, but his eyes glazed over as he returned back to his daydreaming as he leaned his fist against his cheek.

 

“Oh, oh! Pick me, Jieun-ah! Can I answer your question?”

 

She smiled tightly she hesitantly gestured for him to continue. “Go on then, Chanyeol-ssi.”

 

It’s not like he’s gonna say something stupid, right?

 

He grinned from ear to ear in contentment, before a serious look quickly took over his facial expression. “Well, I think that that quite obvious that servant guy has been treated badly by everyone in the castle, even though if it were me in his shoes, I wouldn’t hesitate to set them on fir—

 

“And that’s very good Chanyeol.” She hastily cut him off with a nervous laugh, shooting a subtle warning look in his direction before returning her attention back onto the children. “Is there any of you who would like to add to what Chanyeol had said?”

 

“I would also like to share my thoughts, if that is okay with you Jieun-ah?” Baekhyun smiled gently at her, causing the little girls to swoon at the prince worthy sight.

 

“From what I can gather from the first few pages of the book, the author tells us that during this era the people did not act well to change as their beliefs were largely based on tradition.”

 

Jieun nodded in mute satisfaction, inwardly grateful that he said something sensible. “Thank you for that Baekhyun. Yes, you are correct in saying that. Tradition was a major influence in those days as it was said to determine your position in society.” She leaned her hand against her cheek as she shot the children a meaningful glance.

 

“Now, as we have already learnt from the beginning, Arthur is merely a servant in the castle and he isn’t treated very nicely by anyone…apart from?”

 

“Merlin!” It took only a few seconds for the children to chime in union, happy grins adoring their faces as they did so.

 

“And what is he?” She folded her arms over her chest with an inquiring look. Some of the children huddled together as they exchanged hushed whispers amongst each other whilst others discussed openly.

 

Dongmin blinked owlishly for a moment, as if breaking away from the trance he was in just in time to catch what she had said before he hesitantly raised his hand. Jieun nodded in his direction to speak with a smile.

 

“I-Is he a wizard, noona?” He bit his lip in anticipation, the feeling of dread beginning to build up in his chest at the notion of not knowing whether he was right or not.

 

The brunette looked at him blankly for a moment, causing his heartbeat to quicken in its pace—the thoughts of being wrong daunted him further. He gulped quietly as the prospect of making a fool out of himself in front of Jieun-noona.

 

“Well done Dongmin! That is correct!” In an instant, her default poker face melting into her rare eye smiles as she clapped her hands together in praise. The boy in question immediately flushed at her words as he merely smiled back in response.

 

 “Very good! It’s good to see that you’re all using your ears today.” Jieun smiled brightly as she praised each and every one of them, as a few stray strands of chestnut brown fell forward obscuring her line of vision for a moment, which distracted her for a couple of seconds from noticing the dazed look from Chanyeol.

 

I want her to praise me like that!

 

“Now, where was I? “ She began to speak as she averted her attention towards the book, flicking through the pages until she reached when she had stopped earlier. Clearing , she raised her eyes upwards to meet the expectant looks from the children.

 

“Are you all sitting comfortably?” She addressed the children teasingly, to which they nodded their heads fervently as the noise emitting from them dialled down enough to hear a pin drop.

 

Even Chanyeol comically turned towards the silent light controller to send him a stern look that meant Do-Not-Talk-To-Me-Or-Be-Prepared-To-Face-My-Wrath as he planned to listen carefully to the brown haired beauty in case she were to ask any more questions. The red haired male leaned forward as he anticipated what was going to happen next in the story; his boyishly handsome face was full of child-like curiosity and wonder.

 

Baekhyun suppressed the urge to slap his forehead at his brother’s antics. Aish this guy, the things I put up with for him…

 

The elderly nurse returned back into the room with a smile as she called out. “I’m sorry to disturb you Jieun-ah, but it’s nearly the children’s bed time now.” Immediately, a chorus of disappointed groans were heard all across the room from the children, especially from Chanyeol’s corner of the room.

 

“It’s no problem at all, I’ll just have to come back soon to finish off the story.” Jieun responded with a respectful bow.

 

The nurse motioned for the children to clear all the mess, causing all sorts of reactions—starting from the polite quiet children who dutifully followed the instructions given towards the other end of the spectrum where the louder children openly shown their dissatisfaction by complaining.

 

“If you will continue with this ill-mannered behaviour, I will not hesitate to put you all in the naughty corner for the entire duration of when Jieun-ah will come next to read you the story!” She raised her voice slightly, not enough to be classed as a shout, but loud enough to ensure that all of the children were able to hear her.

 

“We understand noona.” All of them replied together in a somewhat disjointed union as they all hurried to clear up the scattered piles of books in silence, in fear of angering the woman further.

 

“Aigo, Baekhyun hyung! I wanna know what happens next!!”

 

“You can just find out another time, Chanyeol. It’s not the end of the world.”

 

“Why are you talking about the end of the world? I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, IS THAT SO WRONG?” With that being said, he threw a small tantrum as he turned away from his hyung with an angry pout on his face.

 

Oh Lord, give me strength. Jieun sighed dejectedly, as she shook her head at the taller male’s behaviour. What on Earth did I do to deserve such a punishment for looking after him?!

 

“My, my, I have to say that those boys seem awfully smitten with you Jieun-ah.” The nurse shot her a cheeky grin at her, to which she snapped her neck so quickly to face her that it gave her whiplash.

 

WHAT? First my grandma was under that assumption with Suho and Lay, and now her? I’m pretty sure that we can’t possibly be seeing the same things. 

 

“A-Ah, you’ve got it all wrong! They are just my new neighbours and they insisted on accompanying me to become more familiar with the area.” Aish, this is why I shouldn’t say the first thing that comes into my head! She would never believe such a lousy lie!

 

It was true; the elderly woman was known to have a steel gaze that could easily see through any lies that both children and adults say. Having said this, Jieun inwardly braced herself for the stern lecture she was about to receive.

 

“Oh! That was very kind of you to let them come with you, Jieun-ah! Most people would not have bothered to help their neighbours these days,” She tsked in annoyance for a moment, before she patted the younger girl’s shoulder in approval.

 

“Keep up the good work, Jieun-ah! We all look forward to your next visit with us, right children?” She glanced behind her, to see the children all standing in a line after finishing clearing up, sleepiness was evident in their little face as they tried to hold in the urge to yawn.

 

“Yes, please come back soon noona/unnie~” However, that alone did not stop their enthusiasm as they all beamed at her as they bowed together in her direction. Dongmin held out both his thumbs out with his eye smile.

 

Aigo, these kids are so sweet and thoughtful. She softened considerably, as her grip on the fairy tail book tightened at the thought of having to leave them so quickly. Each session she had spent with them this summer had flown by so fast, she could already see the improvements each individual child has made ever since the start of the summer.

 

“Now that’s much better behaviour children, the nurses have kindly placed all of your sleeping clothes on your beds so please do not waste any time fooling around preparing for bed time. I expect that by the time I arrive there, you are all in bed ready to sleep, alright?” She ushered them out of the play room, shooting a thankful look at Jieun as she departed, eventually the chatter of children disappeared until complete silenced eluded into the room where everything seemed life-less without the happy presence of the children.

 

“Jieun-ah, now that all the children have gone, can you finish that book for me please?” She nearly jumped out of her own skin at the unexpected sound; he was so close that she could practically feel his breath hovering over her neck.

 

“Yah! Don’t sneak up on me like that, Chanyeol-pabo! And no, we’re going home now.” She scolded him with a scowl as she went to leave the room with the caramel haired male quickly on her heels and Baekhyun keeping up with his own pace.

 

“But—“

 

“No buts! If another word comes out of your mouth Chanyeol, I swear that I will not read the rest of the book to you at all!” She spun on her heel to face the male, her face was contorted into such a rage that it caused him to halt in mid-step in surprise.

 

Even Baekhyun, being the composed person he was, widened his eyes in shock at the sudden outrage from the petite girl.

 

It didn’t take long for the fire breather to crumple under her intense gaze as he fell to his knees as he bowed his head so low that it nearly touched the ground.

 

Jieun blinked, taking that moment to calm down her anger as she furrowed her brows together in confusion. “Chanyeol, what on earth are you doing—“

 

“Please know that I am deeply sorry if I have offended you in any way, maiden. I will do my very best not to act so childishly and immaturely in the future.” He spoke clearly, his deep voice flowing into the eerily quiet room. He remained in his position, unmoving.

 

Aish, I should have gone easy on this guy. I mean he’s only been in this world for less than a day; he’s not going to be able to understand basic principles like manners as quickly as Suho and Lay do. She inwardly sighed as she shook her head in disbelief.

 

The brunette blew air through her bangs, as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips in amusement, reaching out to lightly poke the curly mop of hair on his head.

 

Slowly, he raised his head to reveal his wide puppy dog eyes at her. Surprisingly, there was not one single trace of tears tracing the outline of his eyes. Instead, there was an evident abundance of determination shining in his brown orbs.

 

“Get up Chanyeol-pabo,” She held out her palm with an expectant look. He blinked owlishly for a moment, as if not being to comprehend what that simple gesture meant.

 

“If you’re not going to take my hand, I will leave you here by yourself, arraso?” She deadpanned with a dry look. After hearing that, he didn’t hesitate to grab her hand as he easily heaved himself up to his full height causing him to tower over her petite body.

 

“Okay Jieun-ah~ I promise to be on my best behaviour from now on!” He pumped his fist upwards with an unwavering grin.

 

Yeah right, and I’m the Queen of England. She inwardly rolled her eyes, but nevertheless returned the gesture with a smile of her own before she glanced towards Baekhyun.

 

Aish, I’ve been focusing so much on Chanyeol that I keep forgetting about poor prince Baekhyun. He’s far too quiet, even more than Lay!

 

“Byun Baekhyun, you’re far too quiet for my liking. Come over here, I won’t bite promise~” She let out a laugh at the corniness of that sentence. He was by her side in an instant, as he glanced shyly towards her other hand that wasn’t occupied by Chanyeol, only to find that the story book was nestled there.

 

Jieun, having noticed this, simply placed the book in her side bag before extending her hand out towards the light wielder with a smile.

 

His face softened as he gratefully accepted her gesture, and before he knew it they were all leaving the hospital and walking towards the main road. He subtly stole a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye to look at the girl that had given him freedom from the dark place.

 

I may not know you fully yet maiden, but I promise that I will make more of an effect to make you notice me in the future.

 

“Hey Jieun-ah, there’s a question that’s been bugging me when we were at the hospital.” Chanyeol began to swing his arm that was holding the brunette’s hand back and forth.

 

She shot an apologetic look in Baekhyun’s direction before turning towards the tall male in amusement. “I’m sure you are going to ask me anyway, Chanyeol-pabo.”

 

He placed his forefinger on his chin in a thoughtful manner. “Where do children come from?”

 

Even if the world had stopped for a second, she would not have noticed as she immediately halted in her footsteps, causing the two males to glance back at her with both confusion and concern etched on their faces at the paleness of her face.

 

“I refuse to talk about such things!” She hastily said as she sped up her pace towards the direction of her apartment, her face beginning to turn into an interesting shade of red from embarrassment.

                                                                        

AISH. Just when I was starting to get used to him, he goes and says THAT. ARG, I don’t know whether to believe that he is truly innocent or really a closet ert!

 

“Perhaps, we should leave that question for another time Chanyeol.” Baekhyun patted his brother’s shoulder in sympathy. The male in question didn’t waste time as he quickly dashed off after the speed walking girl as he cupped both of hands around his mouth. “JIEUN-AH! I’M SORRY! PLEASE DON’T ME MAD AT ME~”

 

The light controller shook his head as he was reduced to jogging to keep up with the pair of them. He’ll never learn.

 

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Author's Corner                                                                                                                                              

 

Hello everyone! *waves* It's been a while, eh? I'VE MISSED YOU ALL~

So um, the purpose of this chapter was for Jieun to get to know Chanyeol and Baekhyun a bit better... But I suppose that it eventually became more of a Chanyeol chapter than anything else But just look at him! *fangirls*

But don't worry! I'll be sure to put more Baekhyun moments in the next few chapters~

 

Also, there will be another two appearances in the next chapter~ :D I'm thinking either Sehun/Luhan or Kris/Tao, what do you guys think? :)

 

For those who didn't really understand the story 'The Sword in the Stone', I've just based most of it on the Disney film with the same name. It's basically about an ordinary boy, who is described as someone who isn't particurally important. But, on one of the many hunting events that he has to attend (because he's a servant of one of the knights) he has to retrieve one of his knight's arrows from the forest. So, he goes into the forest and falls into one of the houses (because he was climbing on of the tallest trees in the forest to get the arrow) which turns out to be Merlin's house. 

 

Merlin is an old wizard (at least, that's how he's protrayed in the Disney film) who helps Arthur on his path to realise that he is someone special. Now, going back to the 'Sword in the Stone' which is a famous sword in the story, which entails that whoever can pull the sword out of the stone is King.

 

And I bet you can already guess what will happen next. Near the ending of the film, there is a part where the knight has to fight someone in a publicised event, but Arthur had forgotten to bring his sword, so he is send away to find any sword he can find. Which leads him to find the Sword in the Stone, but he thinks nothing of it as he brings it back to the knight, who instantly recognises it.

 

Now to cut a long story short, Arthur then is pronounced King. And then lives happily ever after *and blah, blah, blah.*

 

THE END

So yeah, that hopefully explains it to you ^__^

 

Well that's it from me! I hope that you liked this update, though it was kind of eventful to say the least *apart from the ending, huhuhu*

Sine you all seemed to like the Kris gifs from before, here's a few more~

I don't own any of these gifs, copyright goes to their rightful owners.