Chapter 12 : When you wish upon the moon

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It was the third day of snow. The weather wasn't cold enough yet for the forest to be covered in white, but snowflakes still lingered on the ground, around some trunks, and on wooden roofs. It was the quietest time of the year, with most animals having surrendered to sleep and the magical folks curling up inside their homes to stay warm.

Jonghyun let out a long and heavy sigh, as his feet walked him through a path he hadn't come to in a long while. As he crossed a small meadow, he stopped. His shoulders dropped a bit, his head going backward as he closed his eyes, letting the soft light of the end of the day brighten his face. He was cosily bundled up in layers of soft fabrics, having put his favorite dark red coat, and took a few minutes to enjoy the deep silence and calm surrounding him.

All the meetings he had to take care of in the castle lately had finally come to an end and he had been able to return to a somehow slower schedule. He had been tending to Taemin a lot the last few days, trying to stay with the other Prince, learning from him, taking him places between their own trainings. But that morning, Taemin had looked at him with worried eyes, and Jonghyun finally admitted that he wished for some time alone. Away from the ever noisy castle, away from responsibilities and concerns, away from crowded market places and questions. He had been so relieved to see Taemin understanding him immediately.

"We have all the time in the world. I am here to stay. Please, take today for yourself."

Jonghyun resumed his walking, relishing in the feeling of his worries staying behind from every new step he took.

There was a place in the forest, that was his. Somewhere he didn't take Taemin to. Somewhere he was used to shelter himself in since he was eight years old. He hadn't been able to come for months now, and somehow, he could feel his heart longing for the serenity of this small corner of peace.

He had stumbled upon it by accident, more than a hundred years ago, as he was playing hide and seek with Minho. Since then, he couldn't go too long without coming back.

He made his way through a maze of dense trees, sliding between large trunks before he took in the sight before him. His breath got caught up in his lungs for a second, and a relieved smile bloomed on his lips. Few meters away from him, stood a wooden arched dome, covered in climbers. The white and purple flowers adorning it bloomed only in winter and shone in the late afternoon light, sparkling away. The trees around had gone , the ground was dried and slightly frozen, making his sanctuary look even brighter and unreal.

Jonghyun had no idea who carved those arcades into leafy forms, or when, but he had never seen anyone in there, all the times he had come by.

As he came closer, setting one foot on the stoned stalls, he could feel the magic radiating from the place fill him up to his bones. It was such a soft, delicate magic, anchored to the earth, making him feel centered. Jonghyun sat up slowly, relaxing his whole body as he looked up to the sky. Hues of pink, orange and blue were mixing between clouds as night was coming. Sunset was his most favorite time of the day.

"What should I do, now?" he whispered, as his breath was getting deeper.

His mind was traveling back to Taemin, as it did far too often lately, and he couldn't hold back the bitter smile adorning his lips.

Taemin had been there for a few months already. Their wedding was slowly but surely coming closer, and Jonghyun felt a strange heartache everytime he was thinking about it. He had imagined so many different scenarios, from Taemin and him hating each other deeply, to them falling hopelessly in love and everything ending well... but still, he hadn't thought that he would end up in such a ridiculous position.

Jonghyun liked Taemin a lot. He could still remember the tingling in his heart when he had first seen him, and to this day, he still thought Taemin was probably one of the most beautiful being he ever laid his eyes on. Taemin was charming. Taemin was funny, and cute. He was a great listener, he was always soft and giggly. Taemin was full of life, he was curious, and sometimes shy, always adorably awkward.

Why couldn't Jonghyun fall in love with him?

He had wanted to give himself some time, because love wasn't supposed to fall on people heavily and suddenly. Not in Jonghyun's mind. But the more he tried, the more he learned to know Taemin, the more he had that warm, protective feeling towards him. He wanted to protect the younger prince, he wanted to teach him all he knew, he wanted to take care of that poor lost thing the way Minho had been watching over him all this time. The way an older brother would.

Jonghyun pouted.

It felt weird to see Taemin as a romantic interest. It was kind of wrong. The idea to marry him didn't make him angry anymore, but it gave him a wave of sadness, thinking that neither he or Taemin would then know the greatness of being fully and unconditionally loved for all that they were. Would his parents still try to cancel their wedding, when they were going along so well? He wondered if everything would have been simpler, if they had hated each other. Would they still enjoy each other's presence the way they did now, if they were forced to be romantically affectionate? Maybe the beautiful relationship they had for now would wither with time, as regrets and bitterness would grow stronger.

Jonghyun rubbed his temples as he got up, deciding to leave those worries behind for a little longer, bury them in denial. Maybe he should talk to Taemin, maybe they'll come to a solution together, maybe things would just unfold themselves.

He leaned on the carved balcony to his left. The sky was darker already, having lost all his beautiful colors, and Jonghyun eyes shone in the night. Trying to stop thinking, his face fell and his gaze dived in the tiny pond down below. He smiled at his reflection.

"You’re a flower that grows more transparent the wetter you become,"

His voice came out as a whisper, slowly growing stronger and steadier.

"The white petal between us,"

Why did that particular song came to his mind right now?

"Become moist with regret,"

The words he sang softly were sad, yet he liked the comforting melancholy of the melody.

"Transparent but it doesn't disappear,"

Would he ever tell Taemin about all those lyrics he wrote? Would he ever feel comfortable enough, loved enough, for this to happen? For him to share the most secret parts of him.

"When obscured from view,"

The magic around him twinkled, or so it seemed. There was something different about the air he was breathing, about the darkness surrounding him and the silence only broken by his deep voice.

"At least it doesn't hurt..."

For a moment, he looked at the sky, searching for the moon, in vain. It was hiding from him.

"But being unable to grasp it despite knowing this"

His eyes fell back to the water gently dancing to the wind.

"Hurt as if I'm being torn apart, as if I'm dying,"

His voice abruptly stopped as he hiccuped, his mouth falling open. He stared at his own eyes, reflecting on the water, wondering why they seemed so blue. It took him a second to realize that he wasn't looking at himself, but before he could fully understand what had happened, his own features were back. His wide dark grey eyes were staring into the void.

Jonghyun's heart was beating like crazy and he frowned, leaning closer to the pond, trying to catch something. A shadow, maybe. But there was only darkness left.

Gently, almost tenderly, clouds moved forward in the black sky, and the moon rose, mirrored in that small pond Jonghyun was still looking over. Jonghyun straightened up, and smiled, looking at the trees extending away before him.

"Thank you," he voiced to the forest.

Kibum bit his lips, his face hidden under his hands and tried to suppress his nervous giggle. He knew those two words.

"You is welcome," he whispered in a stutter, before his shyness made him disappear into droplets.

"Jonginnie! Jonginnie! Wake up!"

Jongin rolled over on his flowery mattress, his body curling up tighter into a ball as he tried all he could to escape the little pokes trying to get him to open his eyes. But it only brought him closer to the mean fingers.

"Jonginnie, please..."

He moaned in his sleep, and as his lips unconsciously formed a pout, Kibum chuckled.

"Please...," he tried again.

Jongin's mouth opened, and then closed, few times. He breathed heavily and made a little sound, but his eyes remained closed. Kibum caught his ear, gently wiggling it to see if it would work. To no avail. Finally, the water nymph gave up and leaned against his friend, settling down on his side.

"I saw Prince Jonghyun tonight," Kibum confessed suddenly.

Jongin was as still as a rock.

"I went on a stroll, to enjoy the forest a bit before I will... freeze," he explained softly. "And I saw him. It was just him and me, Jongin. It was the very first time that I saw him alone."

Kibum waddled closer to Jongin, as the wood nymph made yet another small noise. Kibum still wasn't sure if the other listened, but in the end, it didn't matter that much.

His eyes fell on his own hands as he sighed happily.

"At first, he seemed a bit sad," he admitted. "But then-... then, Jongin... he started to sing. He can sing! He sings so very well. I had never heard him sing and he has the most beautiful voice to have ever existed, I am sure of it."

Jongin winced, before his eyelids fluttered, finally settling for a half-open compromise. His mind was still fogged with sleepiness, but Kibum was here next to him, chatting about something that seemed important. When he managed to put everything together and understood that Kibum woke him up to talk about his prince, he frowned.

"I think he saw me...," Kibum murmured. "I didn't-... I didn't mean to be seen... But he was singing. It was so magnificent I came closer, and I was in the pond-... And he just-... he looked at me. So I went away. Of course I went away. I wish I could have had the courage-... I wish I could talk to him. Ah. Jongin, he looked at me and it was already too much."

Jongin stayed silent. He was awake by now, but he didn't dare to say anything. Something in his heart was hurting. He knew too well how Kibum must have felt, and it made him sad, for he never wanted for anyone to feel so terrible.

Kibum still wasn't looking at him, as he continued to pour out his feelings.

"Do you think I'm in love with him? I keep wondering what love is. I think I love him. I can't imagine feeling even better and brighter emotions than when I look at him, so I think I love him. Because that's what love is, right? I hope I love him. I want to love him so much. Even if it's scary and sad, sometimes. Even if he can never love me back."

It was silent again. Jongin closed his eyes. He couldn't look at Kibum anymore.

He felt a small and watery hand his hair for a while.

"Sleep well, my Jonginnie. Please, let me talk about my prince again tomorrow, patiently as you always do."

Two pouty lips left a kiss on his forehead, and the gentle presence of Kibum left his home. The water nymph went away to his pond, humming a melody Jongin had never heard.

The wood nymph sighed as he rolled on his back, his eyes opening again to look at the tiny lights sparkling on his ceiling.

He felt guilt invade his tummy, at the thought of Kibum rushing home to tell him all about his encounter with his dear prince. While he had hidden for weeks already, everything that had happened to him with Taemin. Yet, as he realized what Kibum confessed tonight, he knew that he couldn't talk about Taemin. He couldn't do that to Kibum. He couldn't admit that for some reason, he had managed to talk to his prince, he was learning elvish for him, he even succeeded in exchanging a few words with him, he stayed closed to him, touched him. Not when Kibum was struggling and couldn't bring himself to let Jonghyun see him, after years of longing after the prince.

It was such an awful thing to do.

I can't imagine feeling even better and brighter emotions than when I look at him, so I think I love him.

A blush crept on Jongin's cheeks at the thought of Kibum's words. His mind kept going back to Taemin's smile, how it made his eyes close in little half moons.

But he couldn't possibly love Taemin. He had seen him three times only, in all his life. He barely talked to him yet.

Could he ever feel something more powerful, more wonderful, more fascinating than what he had experienced when he had held Taemin so close?

Taemin counted slowly up to five, before he finally took the courage to raise his hand and knock on the door he had been standing in front of for the last ten minutes. He felt restless as he kept wondering if what he was about to do was a good thing, or a terrible idea. He hadn't been able to make up his mind in the past two days, and now was the time to dive in and hope for the best.

"Yes ? Come in."

Taemin creaked the door open, a little bit relieved to hear the calm and joyful voice of Junmyeon inviting him in. He had never been to Junmyeon's office, and at first, he had thought that the fairy would simply have a small place for himself in Minho's workplace. But the fairy had his very own room, which was indeed much smaller than any other office in the castle, and was positively overflown with clutter and jumble. How such a simple, tiny area could contain that much chaos was a mystery to Taemin.

A very large table took most of the space, drown under a million sheets, altogether with food and leaves. The shelves on the walls were connected all together by little bridges, everything dripping with the most unusual odds and ends possible.

Junmyeon was sitting on a chair fitted for his height, reading through a document three times bigger than himself.

Taemin blinked a few times before he tried to make his way to the armchair in front of the desk, without stepping on anything fragile or dangerous laying on the ground. Never in a million years would he have imagined Junmyeon working in such a mess; the fairy always seemed so neat and organized.

"Oh, Prince Taemin... You in my office! What can I help you with ?" Junmyeon smiled at him, putting his paper on the side.

He didn't seem that bothered by the absolute discord reigning in here, which was all the more troubling to the elf.

"Well, hello Junmyeon. I hum-... I'd like to have a word with you, if you have some spare time to give me."

"But of course, of course... There's nothing that urgent in here. Please, have a seat and tell me what's bothering you."

Taemin smiled at him, putting away the quill and fishing core left on the armchair, before he took a seat. Junmyeon was politely looking at him, waiting for the prince to speak and give a reason to his coming, and suddenly, Taemin thought that all of this was a terrible idea. His mouth wouldn't open again, as his mind decided that it was a good time to imagine the worst possible scenarios that could result from him speaking to Junmyeon.

The fairy was still silent in front of him, not bothered in the slightest by the fact that they stared at each other without any word being spoken. As if he could sense that Taemin needed time to order his thoughts. The elf wondered exactly how much Junmyeon could intuitively guess from him.

He breathed deeply, and tried to get his thoughts back to the reason why he had decided to come talk to Junmyeon in the first place. His face softened without his notice, as it always did when his mind was going back to Jongin.

"Junmyeon, can you teach me faerish?"

Junmyeon's eyebrows twitched as he sighed, pinching his lips together. He wasn't expecting this, but he couldn't say that he was surprised either. He looked cautiously at Taemin, choosing his words with a great care.

"Why are you asking me this?"

Seeing the fairy so serious made the elf nervous. He had hoped that it wouldn't be such a big deal and that Junmyeon would simply answer, may it be an agreement or not. But a serious Junmyeon meant his slight fear of doing something inappropriate might be very real.

"Well," he started, unable to look directly at Junmyeon anymore. "Minho had offered to teach me months ago, but Jonghyun disapproved. It seemed to be a sensitive subject between the two of them... At first I didn't really mind, but now-... I... really want to learn faerish and-... I don't want to make it awkward by asking Minho. I thought maybe you-..."

His voice trailed off as he was trying all he could to find the correct words to say.

"You want me to go against the prince's request and teach you something he disapproves of?"

Taemin froze on his seat. He hadn't realized that his words sounded so bad. Yet, Junmyeon's voice wasn't harsh, or offended. The elf dared to look up, only to see the fairy staring back, as calmly as before.

"It's not-... Yes, that's what I'm asking," Taemin sighed, scratching his neck.

It wasn't like there could be a better way to put it anyway.

Junmyeon was waiting. He stayed immobile, his hands crossed on his lap, and Taemin could tell that he was expecting some explanation at that odd request.

"I met a nymph," Taemin finally admitted, his heart squeezing in his chest.

He hadn't realized that his whole body had tensed, but Junmyeon did. His little eyes had caught on how the elf was cowering before him. It wasn't something that happened a lot to Junmyeon, people fearing him. It was kind of strange.

The fairy thought back on the council that had taken place some days ago. How he and his friends, minus Jinki, had been so wary of the prince and had wanted to take action. He felt ridiculous for ever thinking so poorly of Taemin, when the elf was so scared to confess what had happened. Junmyeon wondered exactly what caused Taemin to be so prudent.

"I don't know if I should have told you earlier," Taemin continued, his eyes falling on his hands. "I met him a few weeks ago... I swear I didn't chase him, I didn't-... I didn't even plan anything. He finds his way to me, to be honest. I had no idea if it was alright for me to meet him or not, I don't know the protocol, nobody told me what to do in case I encountered a spirit. I just... know how much they're worshipped. So I was scared that-..."

Taemin left out a nervous laugh as he closed his eyes.

"I'm scared you'll ask me not to see him again."

The elf fell silent.

"I won't do that," Junmyeon simply said in a whisper.

Taemin straightened his head, his eyes going wide with surprise. His heart raced in his chest with hope.

"You won't?"

"No. I already knew of your encounter, to be honest with you. I know that nymph... I can't exactly agree with you seeing other men without the prince knowing it, but it isn't my place to judge anything going on. And I couldn't agree either on you telling the prince all about a nymph he never saw."

The elf's cheeks reddened at the hints in Junmyeon's eyes and he suddenly felt totally out of place. It just dawned on him how it might look like to anyone's else eyes. Then again, if Junmyeon were to ask him bluntly if he found the nymph attractive, could he even lie? Even if their intentions weren't as horrible as it might seem, the truth was that he was undeniably charmed by Jongin and it was oh so inappropriate.

"The only thing that matters to me," Junmyeon continued, a knot forming in his throat, "is that I know he wants to see you again. From there, it isn't my business anymore."

Taemin stood there, unable to move an inch, his lips parted, and he felt a cosy warmth invade his belly. His mind wouldn't stop imagining Jongin talking about him to Junmyeon. He felt stupidly hysterical. He knew that Jongin wanted to see him again, the nymph had gone out of his way last time to explain to him how to contact him. But it was something else to hear it from a fairy, who was apparently Jongin's friend. Jongin had been talking about him, Jongin had been telling his friends that he wanted to see Taemin again.

While the elf had a mental breakdown of his own, Junmyeon was trying his hardest to stay at his place and do as Baekhyun had told him to. He wasn't supposed to get involved. He shouldn't analyze what was going on. He shouldn't worry about all the elves and all the nymphs caught in this mess. It wasn't his burden. But it was pretty hard.

"So, you wanted to learn faerish... for him, I suppose?" Junmyeon coughed.

It took Taemin a few seconds to get back into the primary subject.

"Oh... well, yes. Last time we saw each other, he told me that he was learning elvish," the elf started, before stopping abruptly. "Are you the one teaching him?"

Junmyeon shook his hands in the air, as if the thought itself was terrifying.

"I'm not, I'm not! I'm not that close to him. It's not me. I know him only a bit. We have common friends, more or less."

"Oh, okay."

"He's so shy," Junmyeon went on, frowning, "it's nearly impossible to get to befriend that boy. I'm still-... How could you-... I don't even understand how you managed to get close to him. He evaporates in shyness every time someone takes a step to him. Getting him to talk is an achievement in itself, and here you are, making him learn elvish."

Taemin couldn't help the little chuckle that left his mouth.

"I don't know either. He was very wary at first..."

"Nymphs, really. They usually go all cuckoo in spring. But well."

Junmyeon sighed, before he got up from his seat, approaching Taemin.

"So. Faerish, uh?"

"Minho told me it's incredibly difficult for spirits to speak elvish. He said it's even more complicated for elves to learn faerish but... I thought I could at least give it a try. I feel terrible to let him struggle on his own."

Junmyeon crossed his hands behind himself, going back and forth on his desk, in front of Taemin. He kept giving him suspicious side glances.

"You already have a lot on your plate. Lessons, I mean. Jongin basically sleeps and dances all day, so it's easier for him to get time to learn elvish."

"I don't mind working hard," Taemin said with a smile. "I'd like for him to just sleep and dance. That's very sweet to think about."

Junmyeon snorted.

"It's not only about working hard... I don't even know where to start, to be honest with you. I don't even know what to think about teaching faerish to elves."

Taemin shifted on his seat, giving a serious glance at the fairy.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I would understand."

Junmyeon dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"No, no. It's not like that. I know Minho dreams big about it, I know the prince thinks it's unreachable. I'm in between. I don't really know. I think your reason is honorable, and I would gladly help. But I have no idea how to do it, every attempt Minho thought about failed one way or the other..."

The fairy turned completely to Taemin, scrunching his face in thoughts in that way that the elf always found quite adorable.

"I mean, I know it's not completely impossible. I know there was a time, a very, very long time ago, where some elves could speak faerish. I wasn't even there, and nobody, willing to talk, remembers why some could, and others never did. There must be a way, but even if we find it, maybe you'll never manage anything. The closest Minho came to was for a friend of his to hear us. Maybe you're gonna spend endless hours of days and nights trying, and still fail. So you should think about it before deciding anything. It could become very frustrating and sad for you, while on the other end, even if it's gonna be a challenge for him, Jongin will manage with time to speak coherently to you. Nymphs are naturally gifted to understand."

Taemin nodded slowly, his gaze getting lost in the little creaks and scratches of Junmyeon's desk. He knew there was little to no hope, but it felt too wrong to let Jongin work so hard on his own, and not even try to give anything back.

"I arrived in this forest only a few months ago, I know close to nothing about spirits, and nymphs especially. It's still hard for me to grasp the concept of another way of expression so different from mine... but still, if you're willing to put up with me, I want to try. I don't have great expectations. Maybe it could at least help me get a little more aware of that overflowing magic all around me. I really want to give it a try, do my best and be able to look at him decently if I have to apologize for failing."

Slowly, a smile cracked up on Junmyeon's face.

"You're very humble, for a prince," he simply said.

Taemin rubbed his nose clumsily as he thanked him.

"We can't take any time in the day for this. We'll have to do it in secret, actually. I'm not that happy about it, but we can't explain all of that to the prince, and Minho might get a bit overboard. So, it's gonna be you and me. Is it okay if I come to your room for practice ? It would be better than my office... it can get a bit messy sometimes."

"You're welcome into my room," Taemin chuckled.

A bit messy was probably the understatement of the century.

"We should practice a bit every day, otherwise there's absolutely no chance to ever get any result. At what time do you usually go to bed? I could come just a bit before that."

"I usually part with Jonghyun maximum at 10 in the evening, unless he has plans for us. In those case, I'll let you know beforehand so we can reschedule, is that alright?"

Junmyeon puffed at that answer but nodded, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"10? Well that-... I'll make it work. I'll be in your room at 10 tonight."

A gentle, delighted smile brightened Taemin's face.

"Thank you a lot, Junmyeon. Thank you for everything. I'm so eager for tonight!"

"I haven't done anything yet," Junmyeon mumbled, blinking in confusion.

Taemin couldn't help but reach out to pat the fairy's head with a finger.

"You did a lot."

Junmyeon wiggled away, flying back to his seat, his ears red with embarrassment.

"Also, should I keep it a secret from Jongin?"

Taemin immediately shook his head.

"I'll appreciate if you don't tell him, but if it slips away or if the subject is brought up in any way while you're with him or your friends, it's okay. I won't ask any more secrets from you."

Junmyeon relaxed after that. He really appreciated Taemin's consideration in that matter, as keeping secrets for everyone and from everyone was exactly the worst burden on his poor tiny shoulders.

"Yeah... we wouldn't want Jongin to think there's something elfishy here."

Taemin blinked at that, before he frowned, wondering what Junmyeon meant. His eyes widened, his eyebrows going up on his forehead as he witnessed the fairy suddenly cracking up, bending in half on his chair as he started to laugh hysterically.

"What the-...?"

"Something fishy!" Junmyeon breathed out between two chuckles, wiping his eyes. "Something elfishy! … You elves... always doing... shady stuff..."

He rolled out of his chair, ending up on his back, his legs kicking out the air as he couldn't stop laughing. Taemin stared at him, bewildered. Never had he seen the fairy in such hilarity.

"Junmyeon, did you eat mint by any chance?"

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Hey there my dearest,

That was the 12th chapter of Magnolia Boy... Did you like it? .:｡(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ Ah, it was a bit shorter than usual, but as a compensation, next chapter, in two weeks, is gonna be a bit longer.

You can share your theories, wishes, remarks, opinions, cries (?) in the comments down below. Please please. ♥ And my eternal gratitude to all the people who keep leaving upvotes & notes &/or subscribe to this story.

I wish you all a good week-end. Take care of yourselves until next time. Chapter 13 is titled "The art of getting lost".

P.S. : the song Jonghyun is singing in the beginning of this chapter is Diphylleia grayi/Skeleton Flower. ♥♥