Taehyung waited for their reactions. It was silent for far too long and it made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure if he should say anything else. Before he could decide on something to say, though, Jimin finally spoke.

“Are you seriously joking in a situation like this?” Jimin said in a tone of disbelief. He shook his head. “Minna was tortured. Tortured! Do you understand? They put her through hell to find you, and you’re saying this is why?” Jimin let out a breath and looked at Taehyung, waiting for a response.

Taehyung nod his head once, understanding Jimin’s view point. It wouldn’t be something you could easily believe. Minna looked between Jimin and Taehyung for a moment. It sounded unbelievable to her ears, but she had seen so many weird things lately. This day alone she had seen glowing symbols all around, she had felt pain without being touched and had been trapped without walls.  She had never expected anything like this to exist, nor for Taehyung to be so involved in it all, but it didn’t entirely seem like madness to her.

“I think we should listen more to what Taehyung has to say.” Minna said slowly, carefully choosing her words.

Jimin snapped his head towards her. “Don’t tell me you believe this nonsense he’s spouting?” Jimin asked, pointing a finger at Taehyung.

“Well I can’t quite fully accept it all yet but, if you saw what I saw maybe you might think differently.”

“What you saw? You can’t know for sure what it was, plus your mind was under stress. You’re smarter than this Minna, there’s a rational explanation for all this and ‘immortality’ isn’t one of them.” Jimin stood up, too agitated to stay seated. “Taehyung, Minna had a tough day and she’s clearly not with it. You shouldn’t be messing with her and feeding her these crazy messages. Either tell it straight or don’t say anything.”

Minna flinched at Jimin’s harsh words.

“I had a tough day?” Minna mimicked angrily, “I’m not suddenly out of my mind! Yes, it was difficult but I’m strong and I endured it until the end. This doesn’t in anyway mean I’m unable to make decisions for myself. If you think I’m that weak then you clearly don’t know me as well as I thought, Park Jimin!” Minna said, beginning to raise her voice.

Regret flickered in Jimin’s eyes as he looked at Minna, but he was too worked up and confused to admit to any mistakes. Instead he picked up his school bag and turned away from the pair. “If no one is going to offer a sane answer I’m leaving. Are you coming or not, Minna?” Jimin asked, listening over his shoulder for her response.

“I’m staying here.” She answered defiantly. “I’m staying here and going to hear out Taehyung’s side of this.”

Jimin slowly closed his eyes, gripping his bag tighter. “Fine.” He said curtly, his eyes flashing back open. “Let’s see how far that gets you.”

Without turning back, Jimin left the house and disappeared from view. For a moment, the house was silent. The stress of the argument made Minna’s heart beat hard from adrenaline. She felt angry and upset. Her and Jimin had never argued before, not seriously anyway. When they were younger they fought over toys, but they always made up within minutes. As they got older they bickered now and then like siblings, but it was never serious.

Taehyung had managed to keep his face emotionless the whole time, but now he turned to Minna.

“You believe me?” He asked quietly. “Even though what I’m saying seems impossible?”

Minna drew in a shaky breath and carefully eyed Taehyung. “I’m not saying I believe you yet. Even so, I want to hear your side and see if it makes sense. Maybe it will explain everything I saw today and before at school.”

Taehyung nodded slowly. “Thank you.” He said simply.

“Can you explain to me in more detail what you mean when you say you’re immortal?” Minna asked.

Taehyung slowly stood from where he had been sitting on the floor in front of her. He pulled a chair over from the corner and sat in front of her, this time at her eye level. He seemed to pause for a moment as if pondering something. Minna felt herself growing impatient as Taehyung didn’t look like he was going to speak any time soon.

“You are going to explain, right?” Minna asked, making Taehyung crack a small grin. Minna realised it was the first time she had seen him smile in a long while, and somehow it warmed her heart. She tried to ignore the feeling.

“I haven’t explained this to anyone before.” Taehyung confessed. “I’m not sure really where to start.”

“How about the beginning? Were you born this way or?” Minna trailed off.

Taehyung shook his head. “No, I was born a human. A normal human. Many, many, many years ago, when I was younger my parents were part of a… religious group. In this group, they worship a deity. They believed this deity would heal the sick and wounded, offer protection, ward off evil. You know, the usual kind of things you would pray for. Miracles of sorts. Anyway, my parents and other worshippers gathered together one day. They thought they had found one prayer that encompassed all their problems, and if this one prayer came true, they wouldn’t have to worry anymore. They prayed for immortality.” Taehyung paused, looking for Minna’s reaction. She seemed to be intrigued, and was leaning forward slightly, waiting to hear more.

“It just so happened that their prayers were answered. They wished for immortality, and they got it. But it wasn’t just that easy. They had to pay for such an expensive gift.”

Minna gave Taehyung a questioning look. “How did they pay? Money? Blood? Please don’t tell me it was blood.”

“By blood I assume you mean a sacrifice? It seems fitting, doesn’t it? In that sense, you’re not too far off. But it wasn’t blood that was sacrificed. It was their memory.”

“Their memory?”

“Every now and then, when the deity chooses, my family and the other worshippers granted immortality would lose all memories of their life, apart from the agreement with the deity and their own family. Outside of those two things, everything becomes lost.” Taehyung paused, and he had a far-off look. He looked troubled.

Minna watched him sadly. She couldn’t imagine someone going through that.

“Naturally, my parents had wanted immortal life not just for themselves but for their children too. When they were granted immortality, it wasn’t gifted just to them, but me and my sister too became immortal overnight. However, unlike the adults, we continued to age for a few years. Around the age of 18 I stopped aging, I haven’t aged since.”

“When did you parents make that agreement?” Minna asked, curious at his true age.

“Hmm... was it 7 or 8? No, no, I think now it must have been 9…” Taehyung stopped for a moment, counting something off in his head. “Perhaps 900 years.” He answered casually.

“900?!” Minna asked in surprise.

“Maybe…” Taehyung said. “I can’t quite remember the finer details.” He added, tapping his head for effect.

Minna shook her head, trying to process this news. “I just can’t believe this.”

“Are you going to walk out too?” Taehyung asked, hearing her remark.

Despite herself Minna cracked a smile. “I doubt I could if I wanted to. Plus, I’m still covered in this weird stuff.” Minna gestured to the purple paste on her arms.

“You won’t have to keep that on too much longer, it’s drawing out the pain and weakness in your arms. Any rope burns or injuries on your skin and muscles will be healed too, so just wait a little bit more.”

“Daeebak…” Minna breathed.

“I’m afraid I’m not sure what to use for you to recover strength in your legs and other muscles. If you wait a bit longer I can find out for you.”

Minna looked at the paste on her arms, then at the bottles, jars and ornaments all over the shelves.

“So, these medicines, are they a part of your gift too?”

“Yes, exactly. The main reason behind the religion my parents followed was healing, healthiness and longevity. With the gift of immortality came extra gifts. We can heal others and have been practising these medicines for centuries. It seems to be something we never forget, perhaps as it’s part of the deal with our deity, but we know how to heal and create herbal medicines, protective sigils and tokens that bring fortune.”

“Then… are those guys from earlier immortal too? I saw them using symbols that look like the ones here.”

“They are... but they’re going against the deity, it seems. We aren’t supposed to use our gifts for evil, but they appear to have developed a way to harm and incapacitate others.” Taehyung looked agitated as he said this, Minna noticed his knuckles turn white as his hands clenched.

“Won’t they get punished for that? The deity isn’t stopping them?” Minna asked.  Taehyung shrugged.

A moment later the front door clicked open. Minna looked up in surprise, Taehyung simply turned his head towards the sound.

A middle-aged woman came into view. She had a long beige skirt on and a flowery shirt. She had strange bangles, necklaces and beaded strings around her wrist and neck.  She turned into the room in which Minna and Taehyung were sat and suddenly jumped.

“omoya!” She gasped, her hand over her heart. “You made me jump! What are you doing back home from school already?” She asked Taehyung. She glanced at Minna curiously. “And with a guest?”

“Uh…Eomma this is my classmate Minna.”

Forgetting the weakness in her legs, Minna attempted to stand to bow. “It’s nice to meet youuwhoaa.” Minna gasped as her legs gave out and she stumbled, Taehyung quickly rushed forward to help her back down.

“What happened?” Taehyung’s mother asked, rushing forwards in worry. She saw the purple cream that coated Minna’s arms and how Minna was struggling to stand on her own and frowned in worry.

“The man that followed us before. He interrogated Minna to try to find us again. He didn’t use particularly pleasant measures.” Taehyung replied, gritting his teeth in anger.

“Oh my word.” Taehyung’s mother said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry you went through that because of us. Truly.”

“Please don’t apologise, you had nothing to do with what happened.”

Taehyung’s mother smiled kindly at Minna. “I assume you know all about my family’s condition by now?” His mother asked. Minna nodded in response. She was worried his mother would be angry but she just nodded with a small smile on her face.

“Right then let’s see about getting you fixed up. Taehyung fetch me a clean cloth and some water please.”

Taehyung was also wary, wondering how his Mother would take the news that for the first time, an outsider knew of their abilities. For now, she seemed fine and the priority was helping Minna. He made a note to talk with his mother later. He went off to find what his mother asked, meanwhile his mother gathered more herbs and mixtures from the shelf. Pouring them into a bowl she ground began to grind them with a pestle. Taehyung returned shortly with a cloth and water and his mother used them to clean Minna’s arms.  She worked in silence until the last of the purple mixture was removed.

“How do they feel? Can you move them okay, without pain?” His mother asked.

Minna stretched her arms out before setting them down again.

“Good as new.” Minna smiled.

Taking a fine brush, Taehyung’s mother began to paint the newly ground mixture onto Minna’s ankle, then she did the same on the other foot, then Minna’s wrists and lastly, she asked Minna to move her hair aside, and carefully painted a symbol onto Minna’s neck using the mixture.

“I’ve put the mixture above all the major pulse points, the symbol will transfer the healing properties to your blood and from there it should spread. You should start feeling better soon, although it might feel a little strange at first.”

“Thank you Mrs.” Minna replied, the painted areas started to tingle and the sensation of magic moving through her blood was making her light headed.

“My name is Kyeongja, but please feel free to call me Eomeoni. You know, Taehyung has never once brought a friend home. I always wanted to tell someone that can call me Eomeoni.” She smiled fondly at Taehyung who looked awkward. “Keep an eye on Minna now, I’ll be in the next room if you need me.” Kyeongja went into another room, and Taehyung and Minna were alone again.

“Your mother is so nice.” Minna said, smiling.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky.” Taehyung nodded. A silence fell over the two as they sat there. The magic was working on Minna, and the effects were calming but also disorientating. She smiled to herself, feeling almost drunk.

“What are you smiling at?” Taehyung asked.

“I’m just glad you told me all of this. That I get to be a part of it.” Minna replied.

Taehyung shook his head. “I shouldn’t really have told you, and you certainly shouldn’t be wishing to become a part of this.” Taehyung frowned. Minna couldn’t work out why it was so bad that she knew.

“Will your deity be angry that I know?”

“I don’t know, the rules of secrecy were always unclear. As a rule, immortals have never told others, it would put us all in danger. People would be jealous or scared of us.”

“Can immortals be in danger?” Minna asked, confused.

“We can get hurt too. We don’t age but that doesn’t make us immune to damage.” Taehyung paused a moment, his voice turning sad. “We can still die. Just not from natural causes or disease. We have our healing powers, and compared to normal humans we can withstand damage much more easily. We are stronger but not completely immune.”

“Those bad guys…” Minna said, making a realisation. “I told them you attend our school. Now they can find you, and they’ll try to hurt you too.”

“They would have found me sooner or later anyway. In fact, they already had me that night… You helped me get away.”

“What do they want?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but they’ve been trying to recruit me for the best part of the past 100 years. At first, it was just the old man. He spoke about power and memories and beating the curse the deity gave us. I told him I wasn’t interested but he would often come to me and ask me to join him. My family and I went on the run for a while so that they couldn’t find our house. And for many years I never saw him again. Then he turned up with a boy, probably my age. Suddenly it wasn’t the man pursuing me anymore but the younger one in his place. And then several years later another boy joined. I haven’t seen the man as much these days, it’s always his two minions.”

“Seokjin and Yoongi.” Minna said. “That’s their names. They were the ones there when they captured me. Everything they do is the old man’s command.”

“I don’t understand why any of the immortals would join him, he gives off bad vibes and certainly doesn’t seem to use his magic to heal others.” They both went into silence again, thinking over the situation. The magic was still making Minna light headed but it seemed to be easing off now.

“Before” Minna started, hesitating for only a moment “You said you went on the run to stop them from finding your house. Why didn’t you just move?”

Taehyung smiled and it left Minna confused.

“Do you want to hear even more crazy news today?” Taehyung asked.

“There’s more?” Minna asked, half joking.

“Of course, it’s never simple.” Taehyung adjusted the chair he was sitting in again. “When the deity granted us immortality, we had to have an object through which to vent the deity’s power. Most people had items like jewellery or, in that old man’s case, his cane. For us though it’s a rare case even among immortals. Our item was our house.”

Minna processed this for a moment. “So you’re telling me you have a magic house?” Minna asked.

Taehyung let out a chuckle. “You could say that.”

“How is it magic?” She looked around at the walls. It just looked like a building.

“As my Father was the head of this household, mostly it was his power that coursed through this house. What really makes it even stranger is that my parents shared an object. My mother’s gifts are also channelled through the house. It is here where we can perform our healing most proficiently, but it is also here where our memories are taken. This is our link to the deity.” Taehyung paused, checking that Minna was still following.

“You said your father was the head of the house, did that change?” Minna asked.

Taehyung cleared his throat awkwardly. “My father passed away some time ago now.”

“Oh... I’m really sorry to hear that.” Minna said sadly. Taehyung just nodded slowly.

“Something weird happened with the house though, after his death. Normally a magical item would fade or become useless after the death of an immortal. But my parents shared this house. I think somehow, my father’s link to the deity became trapped in the house. The house absorbed his power instead, and it became… sentient.”

Minna’s mouth hung open in shock, and she looked around at the walls again. “What do you mean sentient?”

“It became devoted to my father. It protects us when needed, it reforms to suit the situation, it seems like just as my Father’s goal in life was to protect his family, that same mentality carried through and the house is trying to continue that legacy.”

Minna slowly shook her head. Was Taehyung going to keep revealing one incredible situation after another. “That is... impossible.”

“More impossible than me being immortal?” Taehyung asked, grinning.

“Yes.” She confessed. “I’m still going to try and keep believing you for now but, I swear to god if this is all a joke…” She chuckled despite herself.

“It would be easier if it was, wouldn’t it?” Taehyung said quietly.

Minna was amazed at everything she had learnt. Suddenly there was a whole new world nobody knew about. It was Taehyung’s crazy, magical, unbelievable world. It seemed like it could be scary, but it was also amazing. Minna felt like she was dreaming, but what impressed her the most was that Taehyung was talking with her. Since they had first met he had been so quiet and withdrawn, after every moment they interacted there was tension and secrets, and finally she was getting a glimpse at his true side. The thought that there would be no secrets between Taehyung and herself now made her heart pound and she couldn’t understand why.

The excitement? The possibility of the new? Whatever it was, she didn’t want it to end anytime soon. Not now that she was getting answers.

A bit of a long chapter and a lot to take in, I know! If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments! I'd also love to know what you think so far :) THANK YOU!