Yoon Jeonghan stared at the mirror in front of him, studying his reflection. His long blonde hair was tied in a neat low ponytail, contrasting greatly with the fancy black suit he was wearing. The red tie around his neck and the carnation in his pocket completed the look but Jeonghan couldn’t help but feel like he was out of place. Of course, if you asked anyone else in the waiting room, they would have all said that Jeonghan looked amazing. Almost like he stepped out of a painting, but it wasn’t his appearance that Jeonghan was worried about.

          He fit right in with all the other elves, their curved ears ending in a point and their slightly slanted eyes being obvious signs that they definitely weren’t human. In fact, Jeonghan would have been even more out of place if he hadn’t been an elf. The location of the city they were currently in was deep in elf territory, so much, in fact, that not many humans or other races even knew about its existence; which made it the perfect place for today’s ceremony.

          “Jeonghan, you ready?” Jung Jinyoung, one of Jeonghan’s relatives asked. Jinyoung wasn’t exactly a blood relative, anyone could tell that from their last names, but he had married into Jeonghan’s family (rather, Jeonghan’s cousin had married him) and they had become fast friends.

          “You shouldn’t be asking me now should you?” Jeonghan replied easily, laughing to cover up the uneasiness he was feeling. He was still out of it, and he couldn’t figure out the reason why. It bothered him immensely, elves were self-reflective beings, considering the fact that most of their cities lay so far in the depths of the forest, and it was considered normal for one to spend several days alone in order to meditate or reflect.

          “True, how about you Mr. Man of the Hour?” Jinyoung grinned, turning to look at the other people in the room. Gong Chansik, the centre of attention for today, smiled back at Jinyoung, slightly nervous, while Shin Dongwoo – another one of his groomsmen – patted his back reassuringly.

          “Nervous, but that’s obvious isn’t it?” Chansik said voice a little shaky with nerves.

          “What are you nervous about? It’s not like she’s going to run away from you now, she had plenty of chances before,” Lee Junghwan, the fourth groomsman, joked, poking the youngest one in the room affectionately.

          “Stop teasing Junghwan, he’s obviously anxious – which is completely normal,” Cha Sunwoo, the final member of their group, retorted. “Don’t mind him Chansik; he’s just slightly mad that you’re getting married before he is even though he’s older.”

          “Alright,” Jeonghan stepped in before Sunwoo and Junghwan could get into another childish fight. “Time is moving quickly, is everyone ready?”

          “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Chansik replied, standing up.

          “That’s a very cliché thing to say,” Jinyoung noted before pushing the youngest boy forward playfully. “Smile, you’re getting married to the love of your life.”

          “Yeah, you look like you’re about to be sacrificed or something,” Junghwan pointed out as the six elves exit the waiting room and step into the main hall. They were all members of the noble family, distant relatives of the King and Queen, so the wedding planners had gone all out. The entire hall was decorated with a variety of flowers from every continent and colour – most of them had probably been magically grown, seeing as they exhibited unnatural scents. There was a lush carpet running from the door of the hall (where the bride would enter) all the way up to the altar, with woodland creatures laying between the chairs placed for the guests. There was even a baby doe perched beside the bride’s chair, which made sense, seeing as Kim Mirae – Chansik’s soon to be wife – had an affinity for the animal.

          “We’ll be waiting for you inside, good luck, and don’t trip!” Sunwoo wished Chansik good luck and the rest of them walked inside and took their seats near the front of the altar. As they waited for the piano music to play, Jeonghan fidgeted with his shirt sleeve. He should be happy, well, not to say that he wasn’t happy, Chansik and Mirae made a good match and he was proud of the younger couple, but Jeonghan’s mind was not completely on the occasion. All he could think about was the argument he had with the head of his family last night. Before Jeonghan could delve deeper into that thought however, the music started and he stood up – along with the rest of the elves in the hall – and turned to watch the procession.

          First came a young elf, throwing flowers that immediately scattered into a dozen more petals, changing colours based on the young girl’s emotion. As the flowers fell to the ground, the changed colours again when the next person stepped on them, causing a brilliant mixture of hues that contrasted greatly against the white carpet. After the flower girl was the ring bearer, Mirae’s youngest brother came skipping happily down the aisle. The pillow in his hands showcased the fabulous metal rings that were to be given to the bride and groom. They were made out of a special mineral found only from asteroids, with moonstones and a large diamond scattered across the top. Next were the groom’s family, starting with his mom, dad, brothers, sisters, and then Chansik. Afterwards was the bride’s family until, finally, Mirae herself appeared, walking beside her dad.

          There was a brilliant smile on her face, and her dress was beyond perfection. It seemed simple at first, a satin white mermaid styled dress. It shimmered and hugged her curves but as she stepped over the rose petals, the colours drained out of them and seemed to be into her dress. Soon enough, as she stood at the altar, her dress was a multitude of colours, the flowers having turned white, and the fabric of her dress caused the hues to fade in and out of each other. Smiling as Mirae linked arms with Chansik; Jeonghan let out the nervous breath he didn’t even know he was holding and relaxed.

          “That was a really nice ceremony,” Jeonghan commented as Jinyoung leans on the railing beside him. “Mirae’s dress maker really outdid herself.”

          “Her sister made her dress,” Jinyoung replied.

          “Did she now? I didn’t know,” Jeonghan stated, and the two friends drifted off into a comfortable silence, staring at the tree line. The after party celebrations were taking place in Mirae’s household. Usually, after marriages, celebrations would last for weeks (especially because Mirae and Chansik were nobles) considering the fact that marriage between elves was not common (elves lived a long time so marrying someone was also devoting your entire life to them) but in this case, the party would only last until the morning. Mirae had to attend to some business in the capitol and Chansik was due to report to the King next week. The couple had wanted to marry today though, since it was the anniversary of the day they had met, so the wedding had gone on.

          “Jeonghan,” Jinyoung said suddenly, voice taking on a darker tone. “Your father approached me while we were eating today.”

          “Oh, did he know?” Jeonghan bit his cheek, already knowing where this conversation was going. His father had been serious about the argument they had, but Jeonghan didn’t think he’d go so far as to tell Jinyoung.

          “Are you really going to leave?” Jinyoung asked. Unlike other elves, Jinyoung was quick to the point, extremely blunt, yet overly caring. It was impossible for elves to lie, something that had been in their blood for years, so most elves spoke in riddles. They beat around the bush, using large words and fancy expressions to hide the fact that they were telling half-truths. Jinyoung, however, was having none of that. He was always straight to the point and it was almost impossible to fool him with words.

          “I don’t know,” Jeonghan answered honestly, not like he could lie anyways. “I don’t feel right here, I feel like I should be out there, doing something.”

          “You’re doing something here Jeonghan,” Jinyoung said quietly.

          “But not enough, I’m acting as an instructor to a bunch of snobby rich kids. I want to do other things, research, learn more about magic, maybe even have some adventure,” Jeonghan replied, mentally groaning at the class of kids his father had forced him to teach. Jeonghan had always been exceptional at magic, so much, that he had captured the attention of the King’s son. Now the Prince wanted him to teach his nephews how to properly use magic – which wouldn’t be a bad thing since Jeonghan liked teaching and children in general – but his students were all bratty snobs who thought that money solved everything.

          “That’s what Yojoon wanted too,” Jinyoung muttered under his breath, but Jeonghan heard it anyways.

          “It’s not her fault she died,” Jeonghan said angrily. “She died trying to save someone, why is everyone blaming her? It’s not the outside that killed her, her death was accidental, something that couldn’t have been prevented!”

          “Who’s to say that won’t happen to you either Jeonghan?!” Jinyoung shouted. “I already lost my sister; I’m not losing my best friend as well!”

          “Who’s to say I won’t die here? The risk factors are the same anywhere Jinyoung! Accidents happen! Death can’t be prevented!” Jeonghan resisted the urge to shake his friend. Yojoon was Jinyoung’s twin sister. She had left elf territory a year before, to go on an adventure. At first, everything was fine. She sent multiple letters back, along with gifts from the different places she visited, but after half a year there was no sign of her. No letters, no gifts, not a trace. It wasn’t until recently that a messenger from the Capital told Jinyoung’s family that Yojoon had been caught in crossfire between two rival gangs because she was trying to help a family. Ever since then, Jinyoung and the rest of the noble families had been reluctant to send anyone outside. They blamed Yojoon’s death on the other races, they thought that every race other than elves were evil and would kill at first sight.

          And Jeonghan was tired of it. He had been out of elf territory multiple times in his long life. He had seen the good in the world, how humanity came together in times of need, how werecats took care of their elderly, how werewolves had the strongest sense of loyalty he had ever seen, even demons had their own families and values. Yet no one in his family or Jinyoung’s believed him. They were all side blinded by Yojoon’s death and wouldn’t listen to him. Meanwhile, Jeonghan had always lived in between borders. He had houses in almost every territory (his family wealth allowed him to do so) and he would often switch homes in his journeys. Jeonghan didn’t want to be a teacher, he wanted to learn. He had been working on learning, recording, and perfecting new kinds of magic. He had already discovered three spells that year and had been excited to travel to the capitol in order to learn more about them. However, this was before Yojoon’s death. Before the Prince told him to instruct his kids in the forms of magic. Now he was stuck here, having to mindlessly go through lessons and listen to his family spread rumours about how ‘evil’ and ‘bad’ it was outside of the borders. Now everyone believed them, the paranoia was really only contained between a couple families, but it was enough to keep Jeonghan from leaving and going as he pleased.

          “Jeonghan, please, what if you did die? What would our families do... Losing Yojoon and you in such a short period of time...” Jinyoung trailed off, voice weak. He blinked quickly and looked up at his friends, searching the other’s eyes for some kind of understanding.

          “Life happens, I’ll take care of myself. I’ve been doing this for years what’s the difference now?” Jeonghan said softly, placing a hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder in order to comfort him. “You know that.”

          “I do,” Jinyoung replied after a while. “Yojoon said that I wouldn’t be able to stop her either.” Jinyoung looked up at the sky and traced the constellations with his eyes. “You know they say that when a person dies – no matter what race – they disappear into the stars and watch the world from above.”

          “I believe that,” Jeonghan nodded. “After all, we have no idea what happens after death, who’s to say that’s false?” Jinyoung nodded, and the two friends lapsed into silence. They stood, leaning on the balcony, staring up at the stars. Jeonghan traced all of the constellations he knew. He moved from the human ones, to those recognized by werewolves, and finally made his way back to the Elven ones.

          “Yojoon would want you to go,” Jinyoung whispered, practically too softly to hear – but Jeonghan was waiting for him to speak. “She’s probably watching us, right now. And I think she’d kill me if I stopped you from going.” Jinyoung laughs, a small amount of pain lifting from his heart. He still hurt, his sister had meant the world to him, but he was beginning to accept her death. “She’ll watch over you, I know it. And if, if you go up there with her... I’m counting on you to take care of her okay?”

          “Definitely,” Jeonghan promised, reaching to grab Jinyoung’s hand. He links his pinky with his, an Elven sign of family, and smiles when Jinyoung turns around. “She’s watching you too Jinyoung, don’t worry about me. I got this.”

          “Overconfidence is bad, didn’t you learn that when you were young?” Jinyoung slowly smiled back.

          “I had that drilled into me before I could walk,” Jeonghan responded. “I’ll come back soon, take care of the Prince’s brats for me.”

          Jeonghan walked through the forest, hand trailing the many tree trunks as he listened to the forest chatter. He had never been to this territory before, seeing as Elven territory was across the West Sea. It was interesting to see how even though the distance between the two territories far, the fauna and florae remained similar. It was proof, Jeonghan thought, to how every race was so different yet still so alike.

          “I want out,” Jeonghan heard a feminine voice say angrily. He stopped in his tracks, turning in a small circle to figure out where the voice came from. “This town is so stupid.” Walking forwards, he cast a quick spell, a soft green fog shrouding his figure, and looked around the trunk of the tree to see a young girl. She wouldn’t be able to see him, his spell made sure of that, but Jeonghan could see and hear her every word.

          “Jisoo is nice,” the girl was saying, leaning against a tree. “But he’s kind of, I don’t know, easy? He does everything I want him to, obeys his parents like a mindless fool, and practically has no selfishness. Which I guess is a good thing, but he’s way too pure. How am I going to become rich and famous married to someone like that?”

          What is she talking about? Jeonghan asked the tree he was hiding behind. He was puzzled by the girl’s behaviour, and how she could talk so rudely about this ‘Jisoo’ character. From her description, Jeonghan thought the other boy was practically perfect. He obviously put other’s needs before his own, and that was so difficult to find nowadays, in such a cruel, self-centered world.

          She comes here every so often, the tree replied, and rants about her troubles. The Jisoo boy she’s talking about is her boyfriend and soon to be fiancé. He’s a very nice kid, has the potential for magic actually, but the villagers in this town are scared of magic, so he doesn’t even know of his own spark. The girl, Haeri, she wants to marry him. They’re then going to go to a big city – this is all her own thinking – where she’ll dump him and marry some older baron whose rich and wait for him to die so she can inherit his fortune.

          That’s terrible! Jeonghan narrowed his eyes angrily. These were the humans that Jinyoung was so afraid of. Jeonghan knew not all of them were like that, this Jisoo character for one seemed almost too nice, but people like Haeri gave humans a bad reputation. Does Jisoo know?

          No, unfortunately the boy is unaware, the tree sighed, and Jeonghan got a feeling that Jisoo was constantly watched over by the forest, even if the other boy couldn’t feel it or communicate with them.

          “Haeri?” a soft yet strong voice called out, causing Haeri to immediately shut up and stand. “Haeri where are you?” Jeonghan watched as a boy (he was probably a teenager but Jeonghan had lived hundreds of years so every human was a boy or girl to him) stepped into the clearing. The trees were right, the boy practically burst with magic. It flowed out of him like a river, and Jeonghan caught his breath at the soft smile upon the other male’s face.

          “Here Jisoo,” Haeri immediately smiled, something Jeonghan found sickening. She ran up to Jisoo and hugged him tightly, acting as if she wasn’t just cursing him out minutes before. Jeonghan shook his head slightly, how someone so pure and beautiful could end up with a disgusting creature like Haeri he could never understand.

          “We should go, dinner’s soon,” Jisoo reminded, arm around Haeri’s shoulders. They started to walk back to the town when Jisoo’s eyes scanned the clearing. His almond gaze settled on Jeonghan for a minute and Jeonghan held his breath, he knew the other man couldn’t see him – even if Jisoo had a talent for magic, he wasn’t even trained in it – but Jisoo acted as if there was something there. He looked away soon enough, as Haeri had nudged him and asked him what was wrong, and the couple walked back to the path.

          “I’m going to tell him,” Jeonghan decided, releasing his spell. “Maybe he won’t appreciate it, but he deserves to know. Yojoon would do the same thing.”

~ ♦ ~

That was an awkward way to end but I wasn’t feeling the ending so that’ll have to do. I might edit the ending if I get a better idea later on. So that was Jeonghan! I was going to actually end it with the Jinyoung part but I felt bad because then Jeonghan’s chapter would be super short so I was like, “Why not add my ship?” xD

This is actually completely different from what I had in mind but then my fingers had their own motivation so it came out like this. It was partly influenced by my recent obsession with B1A4 which is why I included them as elves and Gongchan is my favourite member but he’s featured in my VIXX fic so I made Jinyoung the main one here. No, I did not just mention that for advertising it just kinda happened so leave me alone.

Also do you like the amazingness of my title. It's "something new" because Jeonghan meets Jisoo but you know the old bridal thing where you have to find "something old, something new, something blue..."? And there's a marriage scene! Wow. I actually just realized that lol. Whatever. Accidental genius.

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

PS: Thanks to Aryetty, Red_Kpop_, back_to_default, orangepumpkins, Nightsstar, and arandano66 for upvoting!!