Chapter 26 : Jongdae's busy day

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There was a knock on his door, and Jonghyun straightened up on his seat, tearing his eyes away from his notebook to stare blankly at his office for a second. Then he shook his head, and frowned.

"Yes?"

The door creaked open and Taemin's smiling face appeared.

"Hi there, are you busy?"

Jonghyun stiffened at that, with a small bothered pout, and cleared his throat.

"I'm supposed to be, yes..."

Taemin's eyes shone with mischief as the prince entered Jonghyun's office, closing the door behind him with a little smirk.

"What does that mean?"

"I should be preparing for the Equinox," Jonghyun mumbled, "but I uh-... well, I'm doing something else instead."

He closed the notebook lying in front of him, and put down his quill, and Taemin decided not to ask further questions, despite the curiosity gnawing at him. It seemed, by the way he was protecting his notes with both of his hands, like Jonghyun wasn't keen to share any detail about his mysterious writing.

"Why do you ask?" Jonghyun coughed.

Taemin straightened up and blinked a few times, before the reason for his sudden visit suddenly came back to his mind, and he grinned.

"My faerish lesson with Jongdae just finished, and I persuaded him into telling me more about nymphs. So I came to fetch you... I thought you'd like to participate to our little discussion."

Jonghyun perked up instantly.

"Really?" he asked, bewildered. "He agreed?"

"I can be very convincing," Taemin simpered with a tilt of his head as he batted his eyelashes.

It took a snort out of Jonghyun, before the forest prince got up and quickly cleaned up his desk, putting away a few rolls of paper so it wouldn't look like a hurricane went through his office if anyone were to enter while he was away.

"Let's go immediately before he changes his mind," Jonghyun huffed.

Taemin chuckled, but kept quiet as they left Jonghyun's office to go back to the little room he used with Minseok every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon.

"How are your lessons going, by the way?" Jonghyun asked, as he playfully bumped into Taemin's shoulder.

He didn't need to give details, Taemin perfectly knew that he wasn't interested in his progress in centaurs' history. And the faerish lessons were still a secret, happening under the cover of some gardening instructions. Officially, Minseok was making Taemin aware of the multitude of different plants and flowers growing in the forest, and Jongdae happened to be there most of the time for no particular reason.

"Well," Taemin sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Jongdae whines a lot at me, congratulates Minseok every time he breathes, and there's not a lot of faerish happening, to be honest. But I'm not losing hope."

Jonghyun grinned.

"That fairy really got something for Minseok, doesn't he?"

"If you mention it, he will deny it with his last breath, but nobody's buying it. Also, you should know that he spilled our secret to Minseok..."

Jonghyun suddenly stopped walking and frowned, looking around them for a moment before he stared back at Taemin.

"Which one?" he hurriedly whispered.

Taemin made a face, rubbing at one of his eyebrow as he couldn't meet Jonghyun's eyes.

"Well... I was trying all I could to never mention Jongin when Minseok was around, but Jongdae just blurted out carelessly that I knew a nymph and it all went so quickly. I mean, I was caught off guard, and Minseok figured out the kind of relationship I have with Jongin. I had to answer a few questions so he wouldn't start thinking that I was cheating on his prince. It was messy, and Jongdae apologized a lot, but it happened. I had to admit the whole situation, and Minseok promised to keep quiet."

Jonghyun winced and let out a long, tired, pained sigh.

"Are you kidding me?"

"I actually kind of used that to coax him into telling us more about nymphs... Since he's all about spilling secrets," Taemin said with a coy smirk.

Jonghyun puffed, but resumed walking, a frown still adorning his forehead.

"It could have been worse than Minseok... but Jongdae really needs to keep his mouth shut. We could get in so much trouble."

"You can tell him that once I've asked all I want to ask him about spirits."

Jonghyun grumbled inaudibly and Taemin patted his shoulder gently, as they reached a large door. Taemin could hear faerish cries coming from the other side, and it made him giggle, while Jonghyun looked at him, confused.

"I don't know what's happening," Taemin confessed, "but Jongdae's crying out again."

They entered, and found Jongdae, sitting on Minseok's thigh, making large gestures towards Minho who was gently nodding at him.

"I'm trying really hard, but I don't know how to make faerish words enter their brains. Whatever I say, they still don't get anything. They can't even hear the difference between two simple sentences. Minseok keeps telling me that 'give me nettles' and 'pet my head a bit' sound the exact same to him. So what am I supposed to do?"

Minho smiled sympathetically, and waved at the two princes coming their way.

"Oh, you're here too," Jonghyun said, surprised.

"I actually came to see how the lessons were going... and thought that I could benefit from the class about nymphs as well," Minho chuckled.

"Ah," Jongdae snorted, switching back to his still wobbly elvish. "It is always all about the nymphs, yes?"

He straightened up as Minseok tapped his head with the tip of his finger.

"Don't be like that. Fairies are very appreciated too."

Jongdae grinned, raising his nose in the air with pride. Then Minseok turned to Jonghyun, bowing his head a bit.

"Hi there, my prince."

Jonghyun rolled his eyes and lightly squeezed Minseok's shoulder with one strong hand, before he took the seat next to him.

"I've heard you've been made aware of some secrets of mine, lately," Jonghyun sighed dramatically.

Jongdae shrunk a bit on himself with a wince, but his eyes still stared pointedly at Jonghyun's hand, which brushed over Minseok's arm all the way to his elbow. Minseok smirked, one of his hand going to rub at his neck.

"I apologize, my Lord. I never meant to pry. But I promise to be more discreet than my informer."

Jongdae coughed loudly, squirming and turning around on Minseok as he huffed and puffed.

"I said sorry a lot already. Minseok don't tell the secrets so it's alright. Nobody is mad with Jongdae so stop teasing. Let's talk about Jongin and Kibum instead! But I won't tell a lot."

Taemin's face lightened up at the mention of his nymph and he leaned closer to the fairy with a grin.

"Yes, yes, I have so many questions."

"Hold on," Jonghyun breathed out, and all heads turned to him. "You know Kibum?"

Jongdae looked at him with one raised eyebrow and pouted.

"Of course I know Kibum!" he exclaimed, tapping his chest with one tiny fist. "I am best friends with Jongin and Kibum! Everybody here know Kibum."

Jonghyun froze, his body going still and cold as his eyebrows twitched with discomfort.

"Well, I don't," Minseok said lightly, with a smirk.

"I don't either," Taemin chirped. "Jongin told me about him though... He wanted me to meet him. Is he the nymph you met?"

He turned to Jonghyun with a joyful expression, and bit his lips when he noticed the prince's sour face. As if he had just eaten something extremely bitter and quite disgusting but he was trying his best not to show his nausea to everyone around.

It felt uncomfortable for him to hear people talk about Kibum so casually.

"Yes, actually. I met him again, twice, a few days ago," Jonghyun whispered.

"You did?" Minho called out, a large grin eating all of his face. "That's fantastic!"

Jonghyun felt his cheeks redden at the sudden attention, and cleared his throat.

"Well, yes... I'm-... I wanted to tell you, actually. I thought about doing it in private, though. I'm feeling awkward right now," he confessed. But then, something just dawned on him. Something bothering. Very unpleasant. Minho had kept quiet. And Jonghyun perked up. "Do you know Kibum, too?"

His voice was tiny, as if scared, and Minho opened his mouth, but didn't dare to talk. He had no idea why Jonghyun looked so crestfallen, but he felt like admitting his friendship with Kibum would somehow break the prince's heart. Still, he couldn't lie.

"I do," Minho admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Is he the nymph you're friends with?" Jonghyun asked, his voice sounding so distant and lonely that he didn't even recognize it.

"Yes, he is."

And Minho saw it, the hurt, laced with a tiny bit of jealousy, so clear in Jonghyun's eyes. And the prince realized it was that familiar feeling, gnawing at his heart and insides, vicious and bothering. He knew, deep, deep down, that he had no right to be upset. Minho could befriend anyone he wanted. Kibum too. It wasn't Jonghyun's place to feel bothered about it. It shouldn't. But it did. It bothered him a lot. It bothered him to be sitting here and feel that slight jealousy he had always felt towards Minho, suddenly soar in his chest to take all the space.

It was something he was constantly fighting, because he didn't want to be that kind of person. He didn't want to feel jealous over someone as kind and selfless as Minho, but it had been so hard. Ever since they were kids. At that time, it was because Minho was taller than him, and gifted with incredible magical powers, and maybe, Jonghyun had always admired him a little bit too much. Maybe, Jonghyun had always wished he wasn't so lacking in such silly, idiotic ways. Maybe it was hurting, and frustrating, some days, to see Minho being the embodiment of warmth and success while he had to work three times harder to get twice less results.

And right at that moment, the uncontrollable jealousy always lingering in the bottom of his stomach, swelled. He hadn't thought for even one second that Kibum could have been the nymph Minho was already friend with. He had thought to be special. He really wanted to be special to Kibum. Maybe he had wanted Kibum to be his little secret, because even just seeing the nymph was such a blessing and he wanted him all for himself.

As such thoughts invaded his mind, Jonghyun closed his eyes. He hated those thoughts. He hated feeling this way.

He felt a hand, gently his arm, and turned to look at Minseok, who was smiling softly at him.

"You must feel honored, that a nymph would seek your company."

His voice was calm, collected, with that gentle, comforting tone that let Jonghyun focus on what he had been blessed with. Jonghyun felt his body relax, and a small smile graced his lips.

"Yes, I do."

"Ah!"

Jongdae's sudden outburst made everyone turn back on him, as he sat with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You should also feel honored that you are here with Jongdae!"

Taemin and Minho stole glances at Jonghyun, worried over his displeased, stressed face, to see the prince suddenly laugh. And the tension in the room vanished.

"We do, my dear," Jonghyun assured, coming closer to grin at the fairy. "We are so lucky to have you here with us."

"Right? Indeed," Jongdae chirped. "Now I will answer your questions about the nymphs. Go on. After that, Minseok and Jongdae have things to do."

Minseok rolled his eyes at that, but kept quiet. Taemin peeked at Jonghyun with a tilt of his head, silently asking if he wanted to go first, and the forest prince shrugged.

"Well," Jonghyun breathed out. "I do have an important question. Is there anything... forbidden? I mean, I would like to know the limits as to what I'm allowed to do."

"I don't understand your question," Jongdae said, wiggling on his to catch Minseok's hand next to him and hold on to one of his finger.

Jonghyun joined his hands on his lap and looked at his feet as he tried his best to formulate his inquiry better. But the public in front of him, waiting for his explanations, made it difficult for him.

"I mean... For example, I don't know if it's alright for me to touch him. Is there a line I shouldn't cross?"

He didn't see the slight smirk that appeared on the three other elves' mouths, as Jongdae snorted.

"You wanna touch Kibum?"

"As in, put my hand on his arm," Jonghyun hurried to add. "You know. Friendly, comforting touches."

Jongdae stared at him, and tried his best not to comment that Kibum would probably explode in fireworks if he were to learn that Jonghyun wanted to touch him in absolutely any way possible.

"I had the same struggle with Jongin, at first," Taemin helpfully said, hoping to ease Jonghyun's trouble.

It would have probably worked better if he wasn't currently in a relationship with said nymph, and Jonghyun winced.

"I really mean in a friendly way," he pleaded.

"It's okay," Jongdae finally answered, as to put the poor prince out of his misery. "Nymphs are very touchy. They don't mind. If they mind, they will say."

"Thanks," Jonghyun breathed out, before he cowered on his seat, hoping Taemin would have something to ask next.

"What else?" Jongdae asked, looking around at his little audience.

Taemin straightened up on his seat and smiled brightly.

"I have a question!" he excitedly said. "About what nymphs can see..."

Jongdae frowned at that and scrunched his nose.

"Please ask better questions."

"Sorry," Taemin pouted. "The other day, I was talking with Jongin, and he told me that uh-... I was beautiful. But then he said something about how I was shining, and that my colors were beautiful too."

He suddenly felt shy about explaining everything Jongin had told him. As much as he wanted some explanations about what Jongin really saw in him, he felt exposed to rant about such an intimate moment in front of so many people. Jongin's words had been meant for him only.

"So hum-...," he continued, shyly. "It honestly felt as if he could-... I don't know, see something else... like... around me, or so? Does it make sense? I wondered if he sees things differently than I do."

He finished his explanations, and was met with silence. Minho was looking at him a bit strangely, as if he was trying to decipher something hidden in those words, while Jonghyun and Minseok looked a bit confused, and lost. Jongdae, on the other hand, was frowning.

"I am not sure," the fairy finally whispered, before he turned to Minho. "I don't know how elf see."

Minho squinted his eyes a bit, before he looked up at Taemin.

"Spirits do see the world differently," he explained, "I don't know about nymphs, I can't help you with that. But I know that fairies and elves don't see things the same way. So it seems logical to me, that spirits would also see things imperceptible for elves, and even fairies. Fairies can see magic floating around, they're more sensitive to emotions and feelings. Their eyes can catch more details, more shades of colors, tinier moves. They're basically more precise. I can't tell you what Jongin meant by your 'colors' though, I'm sorry."

Taemin blushed a bit and firmly shook his head, his eyes wide and surprised.

"Oh please, don't apologize. It's alright. I was just-... maybe I'll ask him again."

"You should ask other fairy," Jongdae admitted. "Ask Junmyeon when he comes back. He knows more than Jongdae."

Taemin nodded softly with a little smile.

"Okay, I will. Thank you."

"When will he come back?" Minho suddenly asked, turning to Jongdae with hopeful eyes. "Did he tell you anything?"

"I don't know, sorry."

Silence fell down again between them. Heavy and a bit uncomfortable. Jongdae suddenly felt quite helpless and useless, and his shoulders slouched. He felt two large fingers playing with his feet and turned his head to look back at Minseok, who was smiling ever so gently at him.

"I have another question... if it's alright," Taemin tried.

"Yes, tell me," the fairy nodded.

"It's about something Junmyeon once told me, actually. I just thought back on it a few days ago, because spring is coming closer. We were talking about how shy Jongin is, and how unusual it had been that he came to me, and uh-... I think Junmyeon's actual words were like 'nymphs usually go cuckoo in spring'... Do you know what he meant? Is there something I should be aware of?"

Jongdae's eyes widened until they were as round as little plates. He stayed immobile for a couple of seconds, before he suddenly fell backwards and burst out laughing, high and acute, making the four elves jump on their seats.

"What did I say?" Taemin asked, suddenly feeling like an idiot as the tiny fairy couldn't stop laughing and rolled all over Minseok's thighs.

He turned to Minho for help, but only saw him shrug.

"I have no idea."

Jongdae keep cackling, tapping his little fists on Minseok before he managed to sit back and wiped his eyes.

"I had forgot about this! It is right! You're in so much trouble!"

"What?" Taemin whined. "Why? Please explain me!"

Jongdae's hilarity came back, even stronger and he swung his legs around, kicking the air as he laughed.

"Did you kiss?" Jongdae asked. "The other day, he was talking about kissing with you!"

Taemin felt his cheeks heat up. He saw Jonghyun and Minho start laughing along with Jongdae, albeit a lot more quietly, and it made him pout.

"Yes, we did, what's with it?"

Jongdae took a long breath before he managed to sit straight again and smirked at him.

"Nymphs, they are like the forest, and the animals. They are like the nature. In summer, Jongin has lot of energy, like the sun. And in autumn, he make a nest for winter. In winter, he's always sleepy, always make naps and all. What do you think happen in spring?"

Taemin furrowed in eyebrows, trying to catch the logic in what Jongdae was trying to explain. He did witness Jongin being quite sleepy in the past few months, but having known him just during that time, it hadn't been so surprising to the elf prince. He had genuinely thought that Jongin was a sleepy spirit. If Jongin was following the nature, it would make sense for him to be more lively in summer, when there was more light. Still he couldn't understand what Jongdae was trying to make him realize. Would Jongin bloom more in spring? If so, what was so hilarious about it?

"I don't understand," Taemin complained. "What's with spring? What will happen? Please stop laughing!"

"Isn't it the season of love, or something?" Minseok calmly asked.

Taemin froze as he saw Jongdae devious smirk aimed at him.

"Spring is when the nature reproduce. It is breeding season. That's when nymphs go all cuckoo."

Taemin felt the redness on his cheeks spread all over his face and neck as he heard Minho and Jonghyun suddenly scoff and cackle next to him.

"W-what...?" Taemin whispered, despite himself.

"Now that he love you, and you kissed him, it's gonna be more than usual!" Jongdae cheered. "Good luck with him."

"What on earth are you saying?" Taemin almost shrieked, his hands raising up to his face as he tried to hide himself from Minho and Jonghyun's sneaky looks.

Jongdae cackled loudly once again.

"Your nymph will want to mate, is what Jongdae says."

Taemin completely disappeared behind his fingers and cowered on his armchair with a small groan, cursing himself for having asked such a question in the first place. He could feel his face burn with embarrassment and his mind exploded with a thousand thoughts that flustered him even more. He had no idea what to exactly expect from Jongin, and how much his behavior would change, but he couldn't ask any more details about all of this without dying of shame. The prospect of seeing Jongin again made his heart beat even louder than usual.

Taemin heard Minho ask questions about how nymphs developed and how they were born, apparently trying to change the subject and let the mountain prince breathe a bit. And as the discussion went on, Taemin slowly relaxed and sat down properly, still too bashful to look at anything other than his feet. He tried to pay attention to the conversation, but his thoughts kept going back to Jongin kissing him, and the high probability of anything more serious happening between them at some point during spring, resulting in his cheeks flaming red all over again.

Then, Jonghyun asked why Kibum's eyes brightened to the point of looking almost translucent, sometimes. It made Taemin perk up with curiosity, while Minho looked taken aback.

"Oh," Jongdae said, visibly cheerful. "It's when Kibum is very happy. You made him very happy, this is good. It is like Jongin make flowers bloom."

Jongdae nodded gently towards Taemin, as to reassure him that this was something specific about the water nymph and he shouldn't suddenly get worried about not making Jongin's eyes translucent.

A soft, pleased and joyous smile bloomed on Jonghyun's lips, and stayed there until the end of the day. The idea to have made his nymph so content, filled him with pride.

At some point, Jongdae said that it was enough. He was tired of explaining things in elvish, and when Minho offered to translate his explanations, the fairy simply pouted and told him that if they had that many questions, they should just ask the concerned nymphs, as they all knew one by now.

"You don't need Jongdae anymore, let me go with Minseok now. We going to eat nettles. And you can't come with us. It is only me alone with Minseok."

Taemin snorted, looking at Jonghyun with a smirk.

"But he's not in love or anything like that," he whispered, loud enough for the fairy to hear.

Jongdae suddenly took off flying, his ears red and his eyes wide.

"Aah!," he screamed, "Go mate your nymph and don't tease me!"

Taemin froze on his spot, coughing loudly and hurrying out of the room as Jonghyun cackled.

"You brought this one on yourself, Taeminnie," Jonghyun simpered, trotting behind him.

"Please refrain from talking," Taemin answered in a mumble.

As the two princes left the room, Minho turned to the fairy, and bowed deeply to him. Jongdae jumped and fell down, forgetting to flap his wings; and Minseok caught him in his descent.

"Thank you a lot for your time, Jongdae. It was really appreciated."

"Aah, it's okay, it's okay," said the flustered fairy as he blinked in shock.

He wasn't that used to be bowed at. Things like that happened to fairies like Junmyeon or Kyungsoo, not little young him.

"You've been of a great help those last few weeks, and of extreme kindness today. I'll leave you with Minseok now, as you've been waiting for it for so long. I hope you'll both have a very nice afternoon."

Jongdae kept quiet, his mouth slightly open, too astonished to find anything to answer.

"Thank you, Minho," Minseok replied for him.

Minho waved kindly at them before leaving the room in turn, and Jongdae slowly turned to look up at Minseok.

"I feel very important," he said, with a little smile.

"Oh but you are."

Jongdae got up on his feet and took off, flying around for a couple of seconds before he landed on Minseok's shoulder.

"Should we go have tea and nettles then?" Minseok asked.

"Yes, please."

Minseok went back to tidy up behind them, putting the armchairs back where they should be before they went away. But just as they were about to leave, they heard a small, curious sound that got them both to frown. It had been a little thump, heavy against the window. It happened again. And again.

"Aaah what is it?" Jongdae wondered, getting up on Minseok's shoulder.

The elf went back, approaching the large windows as the little noise continued to resonate.

"Here!" Jongdae exclaimed, pointing one small finger to the left, as he noticed a small bug hitting itself repeatedly against the window.

"Oh dear," Minseok hiccuped, "it's going to hurt itself."

He hurriedly opened the window, to make sure the insect was doing alright, and immediately saw the honeybee charge inside.

"Thank you very much," it said.

"You're welcome," Jongdae answered, unknowingly to Minseok. "What are you doing knocking yourself on the window like this?"

Minseok followed the insect going around the room with a frown, and turned his head to look over at the fairy still sitting on him.

"Please tell it to be careful and go back to the forest."

"Yes, yes," Jongdae answered. "I was going to."

"Aha," the bee said, as it landed on the windowsill, "I was trying to get your attention, of course, my lovely Jongdae."

The fairy scrunched his nose, flying to approach that little bee with one raised eyebrow.

"Do we know each other? I can't remember being so friendly with a bee. Did I eat some of your honey, perhaps?"

"I'm not a bee," the bee sing-songed, flapping its wings around.

Jongdae stood quiet for a couple of seconds, before he sighed.

"You must have hit yourself quite hard against that window, haven't you?"

The honeybee started laughing. So loud that Minseok heard it too, and jumped in fright. In a twirl of magic, far too fast for Minseok's eyes to follow, the bee disappeared. Instead, the elf found himself looking right at the Lord of nymphs himself, and sitting against the window as if it was perfectly normal for him to be exactly here.

"Snickerdoodle!" Minseok blurt out, his face going white as recognition hit him.

He immediately bowed as deeply as he could while Jongdae stood there, frozen on his spot, his mouth hanging open, a blush creeping on his cheeks and forehead.

"L-Lord Baekhyun!" the fairy cried out. "I didn't know! I didn't know it was you!"

Baekhyun glanced at him with a mischievous little smirk.

"I figured," he said, in elvish, before he turned to Minseok. "Good afternoon, Kim Minseok."

Minseok hiccuped, straightening up and blinking a little bit too fast.

"You know me?" he asked, with trembling lips.

"I know so many things about you, my dear," Baekhyun whispered as he rose his eyebrows slyly.

Minseok cowered a bit, awkwardly scratching his red cheek with one hand as he wondered if he should even try to know what the nymph meant by that.

"What are you doing here?" Jongdae asked, pinching his lips. "Are you here to scold Jongdae? Because I talked about Jongin and Kibum? I'm sorry! Oh no, I should not have done it. No, no, no."

Baekhyun leaped off the windowsill and leaned towards the fairy with a grin.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "I'm not here about that. I just wanted to have a little chat with you. Will you come with me?"

Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows, looking shyly towards Minseok as he twisted his fingers. For some unknown reason, Lord Baekhyun wanted to talk to him, and it wasn't like he could say no to the Lord of nymphs. But he had also planned his cozy afternoon with Minseok and it was very unfair to have to cancel their plans.

Baekhyun peeked at Minseok with shining eyes and a little pout.

"I would have invited you too, but we're going to talk about some important matters. You already know a tiny bit too much, for an elf. So you'll have to stay here."

Minseok swallowed with some difficulty and nodded.

"Of course, my Lord. I didn't think about joining you for even a second. I'm sorry I got to know secrets I shouldn't have been aware of."

"Well, it wasn't exactly your fault, was it?" Baekhyun teased, his eyes going back to the fairy who slouched his shoulders in shame. "So, Jongdae, is it alright for you to eat nettles with your precious Minseok tomorrow, instead? I can guarantee you'll have a good time both with me today, and tomorrow with him."

Jongdae nibbled his lips, his eyes going from Minseok, to the ground, and back, before he sighed. Then, he shrugged.

"Yes, of course. I'll come if you need me," he said quietly. "Sorry, Minseok."

Baekhyun straightened up with a clap of his hands and enthusiastically climbed over the window. He turned around to see Minseok approach Jongdae and tousle his hair with one finger.

"I'll wait for you tonight, alright? Stay safe, little one. Don't go eat mint and things like that."

Jongdae smiled, tapping the tip of Minseok's fingers gently as he nodded.

"Promise. And you, don't eat too much sugar. Don't wash too much things too."

Minseok turned around as Jongdae took off flying, and bowed respectfully to the Lord of nymphs as he saw the two spirits jump off the window. Before he could even realize what happened, the nymph and the fairy had disappeared, and he gasped, before reluctantly closing the pane.

Baekhyun had took a hold of Jongdae before he bounced and spun around, settling on the ground, deep inside the forest and away from Melalhil. The fairy shook his head, not quite used of leaping through the forest that way, and looked around himself as Baekhyun released him to put him on his shoulder.

"Where are we going, my Lord?" Jongdae asked shyly. "Are we fetching someone else?"

"Mhm? No, it's going to be just you and me."

At that, Jongdae suddenly felt nervous. He hadn't actually thought about it, but it had seemed quite logical to him that if Baekhyun hadn't come to scold him about his foolery, then they would be joined by Junmyeon, or Kyungsoo, or literally anyone else. The Lord of nymphs had said that they had important matters to discuss, it couldn't be that he had serious things to talk about with him only.

"And I thought we should go to Nowhere, actually," Baekhyun added, with a grin. "Jongin and Taemin aren't over today. We'll be quite comfortable there, don't you think?"

Still a bit fazed by everything happening, Jongdae only nodded.

"Yes... yes, that's fine with me."

"Perfect, then."

Baekhyun hold out his arm before himself, summoning a path to Nowhere and headed right inside confidently. They stumbled out to face a place Jongdae wasn't really familiar with, and he frowned, looking at the immense waterfall in front of them in awe. But just as he was about to comment on the beauty of the area, he heard Baekhyun scoff.

"What on-...?"

The nymph trampled on, twisting himself right, and left, and sighed.

"What's happening, my Lord?"

"I must have made a mistake," Baekhyun bitterly admitted. "Hold on, I'm very sorry."

He held out his arm once more, under Jongdae's curious stare, and summoned a path all over again. They dived through it, and this time, Jongdae recognized the place they ended in. But to his knowledge, it wasn't exactly Nowhere. They were facing the misty lake.

He felt Baekhyun freeze under his , the nymph went still, his hands as he groaned through gritted teeth. And Jongdae didn't dare to open his mouth.

"Golly gee!" Baekhyun spat pettishly. "What are we doing here?!"

He stubbornly threw his arm once more, and Jongdae was starting to feel a bit dizzy from going through all those paths. They arrived before the valley of stones, and Baekhyun cried out some terrible word once more. He stumped his foot on the floor and next, brought them to the small village of one of the packs of centaurs.

"I can't believe-...!" Baekhyun shrieked. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

Jongdae clung to the nymph's hair as he felt a nausea starting to sway in his stomach. They went through yet another path conjured by the nymph, that made them land before a large oak tree. Jongdae knew it, because it was Jongin's favorite tree. The sight of it made him wince, though, as he got scared Baekhyun would drive them through another passage and he was certain he would throw up by then.

But the Lord of Nymph stopped, and breathed out heavily as he groaned loudly.

"My Lord, I'm sorry I don't feel so well," Jongdae breathed out quietly.

And the nymph turned to him, delicately picking him up in one hand as he looked over him with worried eyes.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you would get sick."

Jongdae swallowed slowly and waved his hand weakly towards the nymph.

"What is... happening... though?" he tried to ask, furrowing his eyebrows in worry.

Baekhyun pinched his lips and scrunched his nose. He gritted his teeth in annoyance and puffed.

"I don't know! For some reason, Nowhere won't let me come, that's completely ridiculous!"

Jongdae lazily blinked as he took a few deep breaths to calm his capricious tummy.

"Why would it do something like this?"

"I have no idea, I-..."

But Baekhyun didn't finish his sentence. He stood there, his eyes widening as if a terrible realization finally dawned on him, and his face fell.

"It can't be," he whispered, before he started pouting. "Let me-..."

Once again, he interrupted himself and closed his eyelids. Jongdae could still see his eyes going rapidly right and left behind them, as if the nymph was searching for a specific memory. A specific vision.

"I can't believe this," Baekhyun snorted, throwing the hand that wasn't holding Jongdae high in the air before he suddenly sat on his .

Jongdae kept quiet for a moment, waiting for the nymph to explain himself, but Baekhyun just pouted, staring angrily at the ground as he tapped it with his heels.

"What is happening?" Jongdae finally dared to ask, very quietly.

"It's that damn house! It decided I wasn't its legitimate owner anymore, can you believe this? It only lets its owner come to it through shortcuts, and I'm the owner! It's my house! Almost! Something like that... I've been its owner for the past three centuries or something, it's mine. It's ours! And then Jonginnie comes a couple of times in the past few months and suddenly he's the new owner? Would you believe that? What about the thousands time I was there and all the memories I created, uh? Does they not count anymore? Did it forget it's rightful creator? He gave this house to me! I was supposed to wait for him in there. I can't believe it! I can't believe the nerves of this damn house!"

Jongdae stood in shock, listening to Baekhyun's long rant with his mouth slightly open, trying to follow everything that was going on. In the end, the nymph sighed longly, and Jongdae was sure to see hurt, more than anger, in his dark, shiny eyes.

The fairy flew up to the nymph's thigh, sitting there and looking up to him with a small, sheepish smile.

"Are you talking about the wizard? You said the house belonged to a wizard..."

Baekhyun's head dropped, and Jongdae felt really awkward, all of a sudden. It was quite something, to witness the Lord of nymphs in such a state.

"Yes, I'm talking about the wizard," Baekhyun sighed. "Oh, what am I doing... I'm sorry. I'm overreacting, aren't I? I'm always overreacting when it's about him..."

"It's okay," Jongdae whispered.

Baekhyun glanced at him and pinched his lips.

"We could go the usual way, if you want," Jongdae offered. "We only need to get lost, right?"

"I don't want to," Baekhyun confessed. "I can't get lost with all those thoughts about the house invading my mind. I feel too upset."

Jongdae nodded, and looked around them.

"Well, we could stay here, what do you think? We can just stay here to chat."

"I can't believe I didn't see this coming," Baekhyun murmured. "I saw us both talking, we seemed quite happy. I didn't even realize we weren't in Nowhere."

Jongdae lowered his head. It was very odd, to see Lord Baekhyun looking so gloomy and unsettled, and the fairy didn't know him that well. He had no idea what to do, or what to say, to make him feel a bit better. He wished Kyungsoo was here.

"If you're really attached to the house," he tried to articulate, "maybe you'll find your way back there. And talk some sense into it. Maybe it will be reasonable, once you tell it that you'll come more often."

Baekhyun stayed silent for a while. He was looking over Jongdae with a soft melancholy, that made the fairy squirm awkwardly on his thigh. Then, the nymph smiled, a little bit painfully, and Jongdae was sure that he had no idea what was really going on.

"Maybe," Baekhyun said, but he didn't sound convinced at all.

He rose his hand enough to caress Jongdae's neck and jaw. And the fairy let him. He had come to realize that a lot of tall creatures found comfort in petting him.

"Was this wizard your best friend?" Jongdae wondered, his voice timid and careful.

He thought that maybe, Baekhyun didn't really care about the house. Maybe that ownership wasn't the real problem that made the nymph so bothered.

"Yes, he was."

"And he's been gone for long?"

Baekhyun's eyes were still on him, but he felt like the nymph wasn't looking at him anymore. He looked so distant, as if lost in a different world.

"I can't remember how long. I know that he's been gone longer than the time we've been together. How truly sad is that..."

Jongdae pinched his lips and brushed his tiny hands tenderly on Baekhyun's palm.

"When will he come back? He will, right?"

"There are things that even I don't know," Baekhyun admitted, in a murmur. "There's a limit to my abilities."

"Oh."

Jongdae felt guilty for even bringing this up. Maybe he should have stayed quiet. He had thought that remembering Baekhyun that his friend would come back, one day, even if in a very long time, could bring him comfort.

"Nothing's written in stone," Baekhyun continued. "Sometimes, the things I foresee don't happen. Some events will happen anyway, because they're bound to come to life. No matter the small choices made along the way, some things will come true despite everything. Others... they may depend on a tiny decision, made by someone seemingly unimportant to the big outcome."

Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to the nymph, nodding quietly as he wondered if a choice he ever made had a bigger impact than he had ever thought.

"I've seen my future with him countless times, when I was younger. But then, he decided to leave, and everything disappeared. You see, that's the limit. I cannot see the future of someone while they're out of our forest. I belong here. I'm still a nymph, even if I am able to go away. So he left, and I never saw him again. All I have is his promise that he would come back to me. But I've waited so long already."

Jongdae felt a coldness claw at his heart, that had nothing to do with the chilly wind blowing around. It felt as if Baekhyun had let down a veil to show him his most vulnerable, forlorn self. And the fairy realized how difficult it must be, to live so long and see so many things.

"You must feel lonely," Jongdae whispered.

He thought back on that day, when Baekhyun had come to the clearing to see Kibum come back to life after the ice period. When Junmyeon had pointed out that Baekhyun knew everyone far better than anyone knew him in return, because of all those things he constantly saw. It suddenly felt like a curse, to Jongdae. He really wouldn't want to endure that.

"I do," Baekhyun admitted.

Then, Jongdae remembered something else. It made him perk up, with round eyes, as he smiled at the nymph.

"What about your fairy?" he asked. "Once, you told me that not every fairy had a nymph, but every nymph had a fairy! Where's your fairy? You must have one, don't-...?"

But he stopped himself mid-sentence, as he realized how inconsiderate he had just been. He had learned, long ago, that Baekhyun was the oldest creature living in the forest. How awful of him. How absolutely gruesome he was, to remind Baekhyun of a friend he had obviously lost, while he was already in such sorrow. Jongdae clasped his hands on his mouth, and blushed a deep red, ashamed.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my Lord!"

But Baekhyun suddenly started laughing. A light, bright laugh, that got Jongdae to blink stupidly.

"Why are you apologizing? I do have a fairy, that's right. Aah, that snail has been sleeping for the past few decades, actually... How insensitive of him to leave me all alone like this."

"Sleeping?" Jongdae repeated, a bit lost.

Baekhyun nodded.

"As in, he's taking a nap. Quite a long nap, really. He did ask me to wake him up if anything interesting were to happen. Tell me, Jongdae... would you describe the last adventures that happened to us, as interesting?"

Jongdae blinked a couple of times, lost in the conversation, before he shook his head.

"So, you do have a fairy...?"

"Yes, of course I do. I'm a nymph!"

"But then! You're not the oldest creature in the forest!" Jongdae yelled in shock.

Baekhyun smirked, that mischievous smile that made his eyes shine in malice.

"Oh, I am."

And Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows.

"How is that possible? Fairies are chosen before nymphs are born. So, you mean... he's not your guardian?"

"He is. He's my guardian. But he's younger than me. You see, when I came to life, I may have taken the forest by surprise. I'm a little bit special, if you hadn't noticed. I'm one of a kind, truly!"

Jongdae scratched his head with both of his hands as he grumbled. He was learning too many things at once and nothing made sense anymore.

"I know you're peculiar, but how did that happen?"

"Aah Jongdae, there's so much that you don't know about me," Baekhyun sing-songed as he tilted his head left and right.

The fairy pouted but tried to remember who he was facing. No matter how friendly Baekhyun was with him, Jongdae still needed to know his place.

"Do I know your fairy? Or was he already asleep when I was born?"

"How old are you?" Baekhyun asked.

"I'm 53 years old," Jongdae beamed, proudly, swaggering.

Baekhyun's eyes widened as he put one hand over his mouth.

"You're so young. Oh, my dear, you're so absolutely tiny."

Jongdae immediately deflated and lowered his head, sadly.

"But well, you might have seen him already, then. Or heard of him," Baekhyun went on. "His name's Heechul."

Jongdae squinted his eyes, searching in his memory if the name sounded even remotely familiar, but he shook his head.

"It doesn't ring any bell."

"Maybe I should wake him up," Baekhyun offered. "I suppose he slept long enough."

Jongdae nodded quickly.

"I know I haven't lived that long compared to you...," Jongdae started, and Baekhyun chuckled at that.

"Indeed."

"But, to my little experience, all the things happening lately are quite interesting. Sehun's birth, and then Minseok, and then all those side stories with Jongin and Kibum and their princes. All of that is quite something, don't you think? Maybe that Heechul fella would be excited to see them too."

Baekhyun hummed softly, and it seemed to Jongdae's eyes, that his skin brightened a bit. It was comforting to witness.

"Anyway," the Lord of nymphs abruptly said, waving his hand in the air as if to chase something invisible to Jongdae. "Enough about me. I didn't make you come here for you to hear me whine."

"Oh, I don't mind hearing about you," Jongdae chirped. "I can always listen to you if you need someone."

Baekhyun stopped his grand gestures to look at him, a bit bewildered, as the fairy smiled gently at him.

"You're adorable."

"I know."

The nymph chortled, and let out a little sigh.

"Still. I think you investigated quite well in the past few weeks, haven't you? I wanted to know about your deductions."

"Oh?" Jongdae hiccuped. "About what?"

"I think you tried to understand why and how Minseok could hear faerish, haven't you? Or did you only follow him around because he's pretty?"

The nymph gave Jongdae a sneaky smile as the fairy suddenly blushed, opening his mouth in outrage.

"I was investigating! Indeed!"

Baekhyun snorted, tapping his finger on top of Jongdae's head.

"And so? Your deductions?"

Jongdae crossed his arms on his chest and pouted, turning his face to the right as he reluctantly admitted the results of his researches.

"Well. I've come to realize that the only common point between Minseok and Taemin, was Jongin. Minseok has a tree filled with Jongin's magic in his garden, which has been there for a couple of years already, and Taemin is trying to spend as much of his free time with him too. So I think, nymphs, or more... spirits in general, are the key to get elves to understand faerish. It's like-... being near Jongin's magic, unknowingly helped them to open themselves. Does it make sense?"

"Yes. Yes, it does. Please, go on," Baekhyun nodded.

"Elves are really bad at understanding their own magic, like, you wouldn't believe it. They're so stiff! They don't get anything, don't feel anything, don't see anything... it's so boring! But being under the influence of Jongin's magic, which is so raw and powerful, it's like forcing them to get themselves together. They're finally getting sensitive enough to pay attention to everything around. For now, Minseok and Taemin can only hear faerish... I mean, I try to get them to open up more but they're so stubborn, I'm getting crazy. And I think, at some point, Taemin will get better before Minseok. Minseok has only been subjected to Jongin's magic vicariously, while Taemin is just... absorbing Jongin constantly. So at some point, I bet he will be able to understand faerish, while Minseok will still be stuck. Being around fairies isn't enough to get through their thick bodies. They need stronger, purest magic. They need nymphs or fawns. But once they'll be able to synchronize themselves, I have no idea how far they could go."

Jongdae ended his little rant with a nod, an adorably serious expression on his face. Baekhyun was looking curiously at him, with twinkles shining in his eyes, the shadow of a smirk playing on his lips.

"You truly are brilliant," he conceded.

And Jongdae scrunched his nose.

"You already knew all of that, didn't you?"

Baekhyun laughed, loudly.

"Not really. I had some ideas and theories... but I'm not close enough to elves anymore. I lost my connection to them, it's difficult for me to sense them correctly. I think your thoughts are exceptionally smart. Please, let me know if your hypothesis about Taemin learning faster than Minseok do come true."

Jongdae gasped in disbelief, and then grinned.

"Oh yes, absolutely! I will let you know!"

"You'll have to stay in the castle, around Minseok, then, are you okay with that?" Baekhyun taunted, and Jongdae puffed his cheeks out with a cough.

"Well, if I have to! Of course I'll do it!"

Baekhyun burst out laughing, and despite his slight shame and red cheeks, Jongdae couldn't help himself but smile in turn. His heart and mind felt lighter, hearing that soft sound bounce around the clearing. He didn't want to ever witness the beautiful nymph sound as miserable as he had previously, while he had shared his sad secrets with the fairy.

If Baekhyun needed a friend to share jokes and adventures, then, Jongdae decided that he would be his fairy. On top of his duties at the castle. He didn't mind. He would have to make sure that the lazy Heechul was decent enough, because truly, abandoning Baekhyun behind wasn't that great of an idea to Jongdae's eyes. The little traitor would have to prove himself worthy enough, if he didn't want Jongdae to pull his hair and draw mustaches on his face while he slept. After all, Jinki had raised Jongdae well, and the young fairy wouldn't hesitate to take drastic actions and punish the impostor, for the sake of Baekhyun's happiness.

Not to even mention that wizard who left him waiting for centuries. If he ever came back, that pal would face some serious troubles. Jongdae would be all over him, like green on beans!

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 ( ˊᵕˋ )♡

I hope this chapter brought you some comfort, & warmness, & a smile... perhaps.

Please take care of yourself & stay safe.

I love you all.