Hong Jisoo was a good person. He went to church on Sundays, helped his parents out at the store whenever he could, and did exceptionally well at school. Girls fell head over heels in love with him at first glance and boys were fighting over his friendship. But Jisoo wasn’t content. He was fed up with having to be perfect. Having to be a role model for his younger siblings. Having to be the heir to his parent’s stupid general store. Having to be the perfect boyfriend to his girlfriend of two years. He was sick of it all.

          If you had told Jisoo that he’d be sick of his life three months ago, he would have never believed you. He was a healthy seventeen year old, getting good marks at school, and even had one of the most sought out girls in the school as his lover. But that was before he found out about him. He was the sole reason Jisoo found his life now so irritatingly boring. The thing was, Jisoo wasn’t even sure who he was. He hadn’t gotten a name or any information at that. All he knew was the man’s face, and even that wasn’t reliable considering what he was.

          “Jisoo honey,” a sweet, girlish voice said, interrupting Jisoo’s thoughts. Jisoo looked up at the smiling girl above him. He had been lying in her lap while she read a book but apparently she wasn’t satisfied with the amount of attention he was giving her. “Sweetheart sit up, I want to tell you something.”

          “What is it Haeri?” Jisoo replied calmly. He turned around so he was sitting beside Haeri, his girlfriend. Their shoulders were touching and the breeze blew Haeri’s hair around, causing the light scent of her flowery shampoo to surround the couple. “Something wrong?” Jisoo learned forward, studying the grim expression on Haeri’s face.

          “It’s just,” Haeri seemed to consider something in her head, before strengthening her resolve. “There are rumours flying around, that, you know, you might,” Haeri’s voice weakened, and she looked down at her lap. “Not like I believe them! It’s just, our families are really close so I always thought we’d get married and we could work together at your parent’s store once you took it over and stuff. You know how hard it is to be a girl, if you’re family isn’t rich then you have to marry rich or risk having an evil husband and I thought I was lucky enough to be paired with you but now... People are saying you’re cheating on me.”

          “What?” Jisoo looked at Haeri sharply. “Who said that? And why?” To be totally honest Jisoo was quite confused. It’s not like he hadn’t looked at any other girls. He was a young man for goodness sakes, but he prided himself for being a gentleman and he would never hurt Haeri that way. Even if he was starting to get sick of her. But that wasn’t even her fault; he was getting sick of his entire life, not just Haeri.

          “People have been saying that you spend a lot of time in the forest, alone. But others are saying that they’ve seen you with a long haired person with feminine features? Uncle said he even spotted you holding the other girl, but no one can recognize who she is,” Haeri sniffled, close to tears. “Please be truthful with me Jisoo, are you cheating on me? Am I not good enough for you?”

          “I’m not Haeri, I wouldn’t do that,” Jisoo started, picking his hand up to caress Haeri’s hair. “I’m not seeing another girl, trust me.”

          “Then who is the person everyone is seeing you with?” Haeri demanded, pulling away from Jisoo’s touch. “From what I hear she’s perfect! Luscious blonde hair, tall, long legs, she’s practically a goddess!”

          “I, she’s not who you think she is,” Jisoo replied, understanding who Haeri was confusing his mistress with. “She’s not even a girl,” Jisoo added under his breath but Haeri was too hysterical to notice.

          “Then who is she? I want to see her, right now Jisoo! These rumours have been driving me insane and people are talking about me too! About how I’m a because I’m allowing you to go see other girls! Jisoo don’t you understand? If you marry her... Then, then, I’m going to be stuck here forever! In this stupid little town where nothing happens! I thought maybe if we married we could get enough money from your general store and move to the big city where there are more luxuries and I wouldn’t have to wake up before the sun rose every morning to shovel horse !” Haeri exclaimed, standing up abruptly. She continued to rant, pointing an accusatory finger at Jisoo while the boy merely sat there in silence. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

          “Unbelievable,” Jisoo said at last. He stood up and grabbed Haeri’s hands. “He was right, I didn’t want to believe him but he knew this was going to happen. You don’t trust me, do you?” Jisoo leaned in and stared Haeri in the eyes. “You’re just using me, you’re using everyone. You want us to move to the city so you can catch the eye of some lord or baron. Then you’ll leave me, right?”

          “I, no! I would never do that!” Haeri denied, trying to pull her hands out of Jisoo’s grasp. Narrowing his eyes, Jisoo looked down at Haeri’s fingers before concentrating slightly. He had only been taught this spell briefly but if the man was right... Jisoo held his breath as a green smoke began to emit for his palms. It travelled to Haeri’s hands and worked its way up to her forearms before turning a bright red.

          “You’re lying,” Jisoo breathed out, a little unsteady from the amount of power that had just flowed out of him. He let go of Haeri’s hands, the smoke dissipating, and rubbed his hands on his pants. “I thought maybe he was wrong, I held on to the small hope that you really did love me, but I was the one that was wrong.”

          “What are you talking about? Jisoo what was that? Smoke just flowed from your hands!” Haeri screamed hysterically, still staring at Jisoo’s hands in shock. Suddenly, a look of realization passed through her face and she folded her arms across her chest. “You, that was magic! Where did you learn that? People are going to kill you now!”

          “No they won’t,” Jisoo replied calmly, watching Haeri move backwards out of fear. “To be honest, I packed my things hoping that it wouldn’t have to come to this but it turns out he was right, again. You see Haeri; I was getting bored of my life here. I guess you could say we’re more alike than you would think. I wanted to escape this place too, go to a large city and explore the wonders of the world. But I never had an excuse. If I just left my family would be sad and troubled. If I stayed here I would die from boredom. Now though, now I have a reason. You saw me, I have magic. If I stay here then people will kill me because they don’t understand that magic is a good thing. So I’m leaving, going to a bigger city where I can train. Tell my family that I love them for me.”

          “You, who said I’d do something, like that? They’ll hate you for this!” Haeri screamed, attracting the attention of a couple shopkeepers standing in the town square. “No one will ever accept you for having magic! You’re a witch!”

          “He said this would happen too,” Jisoo stated. “So I already left a note for them explaining my absence. If they don’t understand then that’s not my problem, I tried. See you later Haeri, maybe next time I meet you your mannerisms will have improved,” with a wave of his hand, Jisoo walked away, taking advantage of Haeri’s confusion. She wouldn’t be shocked for long though. Their town was small and secluded, settled near the top of a mountain range. It wasn’t a surprise that everyone would be superstitious and afraid of magic. But if he was to be believed, and from the looks of it, things were progressing exactly as he said they would, there would be other cities where magicians were praised and adored.

          Jisoo quickly made his way to the back alleys of the town, hiding from any spectators. The shopkeepers had already heard their exchange and he didn’t want anyone else to notice him. The less people that knew he was leaving, the better. Then there would be more people to inform meaning more time for him to get away as they had to organize everyone. Slipping behind his parent’s general store, he grabbed the bag of essentials that he had packed the day before and slipped it over his shoulder. Looking inside the window, he spotted his parents near the cash register while his youngest siblings were playing on the floor beside them. Smiling, Jisoo placed his hand on the window and concentrated once again. The smoke emerged from his hand again and wafted through the screen. Soon, the entire room would smell like pine needles, one of his favourite scents. As Jisoo turned to leave, his mother turned around, surprised at the sudden scent. Looking at the now empty window, she smiled slightly, remembering that her oldest son was fond of this aroma, before turning back around to watch her other children.

          Leaning back against the tree trunk, Jisoo took deep breaths, trying to maintain his composure. He had been running away from his town for a week now yet the mob of townspeople still wouldn’t leave him alone. He didn’t think they would be this persistent, he was already halfway down the mountainside yet they continued to hunt for him. Adjusting his bag, he felt its lack of weight clearly and sighed. He’d have to find some kind of food soon or else he’d collapse from starvation. He had left town with enough food to last him all the way down the mountain but a couple days into the chase, he had fallen into the river accidentally and had lost most of his supplies.

          “This is impossible,” Jisoo grunted under his breath as he stood upright. “How can they be this persistent?”

          “Because that Haeri woman told them you got her pregnant,” a soothing voice came from behind the tree, causing Jisoo to turn around sharply, resulting in his legs collapsing. “Woah, you okay?” a slender, blonde haired man appeared from behind the trunk and looked at Jisoo curiously. He had almond shaped eyes and delicate ears that ended in a point. His long hair was tied back and he was wearing clothes that seemed to be made out of the forest itself.

          “You again! Don’t you think you’ve given me enough trouble?” Jisoo said in surprise, observing the other person.

          “I like to think that I helped you; after all, you would’ve married Haeri wouldn’t you? And gone to the city and then you would be dumped like a sack of potatoes,” the man replied, picking Jisoo up from the floor easily.

          “Don’t talk about potatoes, I’m starving,” Jisoo mumbled as he found his footing, causing the blonde haired man to laugh. “In any case, how did you even know she was going to do that?”

          “I told you this before Jisoo,” the man grinned, “I’m an elf. Haeri often goes into the forest and talks about her ambitions so the trees told me.”

          “You’re telling me that you can talk to trees,” Jisoo raised an eyebrow skeptically.

          “You could too, why do you think you’re magic is pine scented?” the elf answered.

          “Because I was born in the forest surrounded by pine trees since my mother didn’t make it to the healer’s house in time?” Jisoo responded. “How do you know my name anyways?”

          “True enough,” the elf shrugged. “And weren’t you listening? The flowers told me. They think you’re very pretty by the way.”

          “Wow, thanks flowers, I guess I should be honoured?” Jisoo said only half sarcastically. He didn’t know if it was because his magic had been growing stronger ever since he left the town but he saw that the plants around him seemed to be glowing brighter ever since the elf had arrived.

          “You should, flowers can be very self-centered,” the elf nodded, before laughing. “Sorry, most flowers.”

          “So what’s your name?” Jisoo continued, trying to ignore the fact that the elf was having a separate conversation with the florae in the surrounding area.

          “Why don’t you ask the plants?” the elf smirked. “Seriously,” he continued when Jisoo gave him an exasperated look. “You’re hungry right? If you learn how to communicate with plants they’ll be able to tell you where animals are so you can hunt and trap. Plus, you’ll be able to figure out which plants are poisonous or not. If you make friends with them they’ll even tell you where the mob is.”

          “You sound like an advertisement,” Jisoo rolled his eyes. However, at that moment, his stomach chose to growl, causing his sarcasm to go unnoticed. “Fine,” Jisoo scowled as the elf howled in laughter. “How do I start?”

          “Choose a plant that has meaning to you, and start there. I started with a strawberry plant,” the elf explained. “Think about what the plant means to you and connect that with your thoughts. You’ll be able to project them towards said florae; it’s easier if you speak out loud as well. If you connect with the plant successfully, you’ll be able to hear the plant talk in your mind.”

          “That honestly doesn’t help whatsoever,” Jisoo sighed, brain hurting from the weird explanation the elf had just given him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to follow the elf’s instructions anyways. The elf was the one who taught him his first spells, why should this time be any different? Extending his consciousness into the forest, he searched for a plant that held the brightest spark. The elf said that everyone experienced magic differently, so to Jisoo, magic was light. He could feel certain sparks from the life forms around him. Some of them were brighter, while others had almost no light at all. The brightest life form in the surrounding area right now was the elf of course; Jisoo had read that elves had the one of the greatest affinities for magic. Right behind faeries and above flugels.

          Narrowing his field of view even more, Jisoo tried to ignore the elf’s massive emission of magic. The elf had told him to find a plant that held meaning to him. The only plant he could think of would be a pine tree. He had been born underneath one because his parents had been travelling during his birth and his grandmother had once said that he had been blessed by the nymph that lived in the tree. Locating a pine tree a couple steps away, Jisoo broke off a little bit of his own magical spark and offered it to the tree. He watched, in his mind’s eye, as the tree examined his own spark and offered its own spark. The two pieces of light molded together and formed another, brighter, form of magic. This light stretched until it connected Jisoo to every pine tree in the forest.

          “Woah,” Jisoo took a step back as a thousand voices began to fill his mind. They chattered about things ranging from the lack of rain to how the trees had watched him grow up. Overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge – and drained of the energy it took to connect to the trees – Jisoo grabbed his head and ended up falling on the ground again.

          “Calm down, focus on one voice, they’ll learn to shut up if you do that. The trees are just excited because they can finally talk to someone,” the elf was behind Jisoo in an instant, offering support and placing the neck of a bottle to Jisoo’s mouth. Drinking the liquid gratefully, whatever it was, Jisoo felt his strength return and he did what the elf told him. Soon enough, the other voices died down until he could hear the voice of a singular pine tree. His connection told him that this one was situated near his old home, the tree outside his window that he’d often sit underneath.

          Hello Jisoo, the tree whispered into his mind. I’m glad you finally decided to make use of your magic. It was quite frustrating I’ll admit, to see you have so much potential. Yet you couldn’t do anything with it because of your upbringing.

          “It’s nice to meet you too,” Jisoo said, both in his mind and out loud. The tree hummed in happiness. “Now, would you mind telling me this elf’s name?”

          He’s quite the tricky one, isn’t he? The tree giggled. His name is Yoon Jeonghan. He has only just recently came into this area. He says that he’s leaving soon though.

          “Jeonghan?” Jisoo asked, carefully pronouncing the name. He looked up at the elf and saw him smiling happily.

          “Yup, nice to meet you,” Jeonghan removed the bottle and placed it back under the folds of his clothing. “You’ve learned that I have to leave as well. Unfortunately, I’m going the opposite direction from you so this will be the last time we meet.”

          “Already?” Jisoo sat up. He had only just begun to learn about Jeonghan and yet they already had to separate.

          “Don’t worry,” Jeonghan laughed at the shock in Jisoo’s eyes. “You have the trees for company, they’ll take care of you. If you have time, try to interact with other plants too.”

          “Alright,” Jisoo sighed, trying to accept the fact that he wouldn’t see the smiling, blonde haired elf again.

          You’re wrong, the tree whispered in his mind. You’ll see him again, trust me.

          “She’s right,” Jeonghan smiled softly. “We’ll meet again, I feel it. For now, use my gift carefully alright? Not a lot of people can actually interact with nature the way you can.”

          “Fine,” Jisoo stood up, holding his hand out for Jeonghan to shake. The elf gave him a strange look before placing his hand in Jisoo’s. With a smirk, Jisoo quickly released a burst of power, causing the green smoke to appear and wrap around Jeonghan’s body. Within moments the smoke disappeared, leaving behind the scent of pine. “Here’s my gift then,” Jisoo grinned devilishly.

          “Interesting,” Jeonghan said, slightly shocked. All he could smell was the scent of pine yet, even though he had a plethora of memories associated with pine needles, the first thing that came to mind was the smiling face of the human in front of him. “I’ll be waiting for you then, Hong Jisoo.”

~ ♦ ~

And there’s Jisoo! Wow, I don’t know how to write him I’m sorry this was my first time. I don’t think he ended up right but this was when he was young? His character will become more realistic later on, after he learns more magic I guess? I’m not sure. I think I’m just making excuses because I might’ve butchered his character...

Have you realized that I am JiHan trash yet? Jeonghan could have easily been replaced by anyone other Seventeen member that has magic but my JiHan mind wouldn’t let it be anyone other than him. I was debating on whether Jeonghan should be an angel or an elf but then he dyed his hair blonde and people compared him to Legolas so an elf it is.

The next person I’m going to write is... *drumroll* Soonyoung! If you’re curious to what his race is here’s a hint. I mentioned it in this chapter. ^_^ At first I was going to go by age order but I couldn’t figure out how to write Jeonghan’s back story so I skipped over to Jisoo. But I didn’t want the next chapter to be Jeonghan’s since he was in this chapter so you’ll see him later on. I have an idea how I want to write his back story now so do anticipate!

Okay real talks though, Seventeen’s comeback? ing perfection. Holy I am so tired because I stayed up late to watch it and then I stayed up another hour to spam gifs and posts on Tumblr and I. I do not regret. My heart, they slayed so hard omfg if anyone wants to fangirl/fanboy hit me up.

Once again, thanks for reading and I do not own anything in this story other than the idea and plot, any similarities to other works of fiction are purely coincidental or have been used as sources of inspiration. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission; plagiarism isn’t nice!

Hope you’re smiling!

~ alateni