The first thing that Jungkook observed was the difference between the well lit library in Idris and the dark hallway of the Seoul Institute. The walls were lined with old candlesticks which made the young shadowhunter grimace. He hoped there was electricity at least because his smart phone was capable of lot of things but it didn’t work with solar panel.
He dragged his luggage after himself as he moved towards the centre of the building then he heard a noise from right. He turned around at lightning speed and spotted a grey mouse at the corner of the wall. Jungkook looked at the rodent with unmasked disgust before it disappeared in one of the many holes.
“Well, well! Look who’s here!” An old man stepped closer from the shadows.
Jungkook assumed he was the leader of this institute so he bowed with respect. The man was looking at him intensely for a while which made the boy uncomfortable.
“Good afternoon! I’m-” Jungkook began but the old man interrupted him.
“Ah I know! My grandson must have ordered pizza again! I’ll show you the way young man!”
“N-no, I’m Jeon Jungkook from the Idris Institute,” The boy stuttered out which made the elder glance at him again.
“Jun Junggyu? I don’t know any shadowhunter with this name,” The man hummed.
“Jeon Jungkook,” The other repeated irritated.
“Ah, the Jeon family! You should have began with this!” The elder smiled. “My name is Kim Hojun. I was the leader of this institute some time ago but now it’s my grandson who has this title. Back in the day this place was buzzing with life. There were a lot of shadowhunters who had been living here permanently. Those were the busy days! Once we gave accommodation to the Japanese legation! There was so much to do back then! We have a huge dining hall but still couldn’t fit every person at once so we had to eat in two groups. You can imagine how many dirty dishes were left behind! Of course nobody wanted to do the dishes that night...”
“It’s all really interesting and all but could you please lead the way to the leader of this institute?” Jungkook asked impatiently.
“We are already on the way!”
The younger shadowhunter wanted to point out that they were still standing in the middle of the hallway but before he could do that Hojun started to walk at a brisk pace. Jungkook had very little time to get his luggage and follow the man through the narrow hallways. On their way the boy tried to examine the institute while listening to the old man’s anecdotes.
By the time they rounded the corner and reached the library the boy knew everything that happened forty years ago in the institute including the dripping sink on the second floor which caused many sleepless nights to Hojun twenty years ago. The young shadowhunter didn’t understand why was it so damn important but at least the stories averted his mind from his own problems.
“Namjoon-ah!” The old man opened the big doors without any kind of hesitation. The empty hallways intensified Hojun’s voice on the way but the library’s tall shelves seemed to absorb it.
Jungkook looked around from where he stood next to the old man. The room was lit by two huge windows on the opposite wall behind an enormous desk. In front of the desk were two velvet armchair, a matching sofa and a small coffee table scattered with various documents. The place was full of bookshelves with ancient looking books and parchments.
In front of one of these shelves stood a man on a ladder who almost fell off from the sudden intrusion. When he stood on solid ground again he glanced the two newcomers. His eyes stuck on Jungkook who was just standing there awkwardly.
“Who’s your guest grandpa?” The leader asked with his eyebrows raised.
“He’s the youngest member of the Jeon family. You two have surely met before at the Academy.”
“Yeah I’ve seen him in the past. Your name is Jungkook right?” The blond shadowhunter extended his hand.
“Kim Namjoon, the pride of the Academy. You had never gotten anything worse than a perfect score if I remember correctly,” The younger glared at him and although he was talking about the other’s outstanding grades his voice was full of irony.
Namjoon gave him a harsh look but otherwise he didn’t respond to the boy. He walked towards his desk instead to search through the scattered files. When he had found what he was looking for he turned back to the newcomers. Or rather to Jungkook because Kim Hojun managed to get out of the room without anyone noticing. Looking at the clock Namjoon knew he would find his grandpa at the lounge watching one of his favourite tv shows.
“The notice of your transfer came rather abruptly so I didn’t have time to do the paperwork,” The elder said when he spotted Jungkook looking at the mess on the table.
“I don’t think these are all connected to my case,” He pointed at the papers with disdain.
“True. But after your stunt on the Academy your file is thick enough,” Namjoon pointed out which deflated the youngster's ego. The leader almost took pity on him then he told himself it was necessary for the boy to learn his place here.
“Come! First of all I’m gonna show you around the institute. It will be useful if you know where to find things.”
“I won’t be here long enough to need that kind of knowledge,” He answered but followed the elder nonetheless.
Unlike his grandfather Namjoon haven’t talked much on the way so Jungkook could take a look at the paintings on the wall. Hanging them was a futile attempt to make the cold stone walls look less creepy. Not to mention that the people’s eyes on the painting seemed to follow the younger boy’s movement.
When they reached the closest door on the end of the hallway Jungkook heard the clicking of pans. He didn’t have to be a genius to guess which room was at the other side of the door. When he opened the door he indeed found himself in the kitchen. In front of the stove stood a tall man with broad shoulders and a pink apron tied on his waist. A pink apron. Pink.
The boy needed some time to process everything he saw and by the time he was done the stranger also sensed their presence.
“What can I do for you?” He asked with his perfectly shaped eyebrow raised and it reminded Jungkook of the celebrities on the cover of Jungran’s magazines.
“Is he the cook?” Jungkook asked Namjoon who looked back at him with wide eyes.
“What? Cook? Me?” The man gasped for air and his face became as red as the lobster on the stove.
“Jin hyung is one of the shadowhunters who live in the institute,” Namjoon said hurriedly before Jin could do the same albeit in a lot harsher way. The leader didn’t want to report the Clave what happened the young shadowhunter on his first day that made him mentally and emotionally broken.
“I’m Kim Seokjin. You must have heard about me if you are part of the elite shadowhunter families. But looking at your ripped jeans I bet you grew up in a mundane family,” Seokjin grimaced.
“Me? In a mundane family? Even someone like you should recognize a member of one of the oldest shadowhunter families if he meets one.”
“What do you mean ‘someone like me’?” Jin snapped which made Namjoon push Jungkook out of the door.
“What’s wrong with everyone in this institute?” The younger grumbled.
“You know if you were just a tad bit nicer to others they would do the same to you,” Namjoon tried but as he looked at the younger the leader knew that the word ‘nice’ wasn’t in the boy’s vocabulary.
They made their way to the next destination in complete silence. Namjoon had a positive feeling about the next room. One thing was common in most of the shadowhunters namely the love for fighting and exercising to be stronger. The other parts of the institute couldn’t be compared to Idris but the gym went through a serious transformation through the years. Besides the up to date equipment the showers were renovated too so the Jeon boy didn’t have a reason to complain.
Jungkook was indeed pleased with the sight as he looked at the different bows, knifes and daggers.
Namjoon started to feel at ease for having a peaceful destination in the institute-tour when he heard screaming from the shower followed by loud laugh. The leader recognized the voices immediately and in the next moment the troublemakers ran out of the lockers. Namjoon felt the first signs of the coming headache so he started to massage his temple.
Meanwhile Jungkook was watching with his eyebrows raised as a boy with a towel on his hips were running after another boy who had clothes in his hands. He didn’t need a Nobel-prize to figure out what was going on.
“Jung Hoseok! Kim Taehyung!” Namjoon snapped when he had enough. His voice was loud and full of authority. It was nothing like his soft tone that he used in the library. This was a voice of a true leader.
The two troublemaker stopped immediately and they had enough self-discipline to at least look regretful. However Jungkook saw the clothed boy was fighting with his laughter.
“Care to tell me what the hell are you two doing?” The leader asked.
“I just took a shower after practice but someone stole my clothes by the time I was done,” The half boy answered and sent a glare to the other boy.
“Jung Hoseok,” Namjoon sighed tiredly. “Why can’t you finally act your age? You are twenty three years old just like me.”
“I’m rather childish than precocious” The other answered cheekily.
“Just give back Taehyung his clothes and don’t be under our legs while I’m showing Jungkook around,” The blond asked which made the boys finally realize the new face next to the leader.
“Oh, a new boy!” Hoseok said with sparkling eyes as he threw down Taehyung’s clothes (making the owner of said clothes complain) to extend his hand towards Jungkook. “Hello I’m your hope J-Hope but you can also call me Hoseok!”
“Do I look like someone who needs hope?” The younger glanced at him uninterested. Hoseok’s smile turned into a pout in an instant which earned a malevolent chuckle from Taehyung before he disappeared to put on his clothes.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. They are not like that on a daily basis,” Namjoon scratched his nape embarrassed.
“I find it hard to believe,” The raven haired boy grimaced.
The leader couldn’t come up with an answer so he continued his way around the institute instead pretending nothing had happened.
There were two ways to reach the upper floors. They either took the spiral staircase or the old elevator. Jungkook didn’t like any of them but he followed the elder into the elevator. As Namjoon pulled the door closed and pushed the first floor’s button the old machine came to life. The younger shadowhunter wasn’t claustrophobic but he felt uncomfortable in the small space. Not to mention the bumpy ride upstairs. Still the highlight was the moment when the lift suddenly stopped moving between the two floors.
Jungkook felt panic rising in his body and started to look for his stele to get themselves out. However Namjoon didn’t even move as he was looking ahead with an unreadable expression.
“What if you weren’t just standing there and actually do something useful?” Jungkook asked voice laced with slight hysteria.
“There’s no need for that,” The elder answered when the elevator jerked and continued its way up.
The young shadowhunter stepped out of the lift ashamed looking everywhere except at Namjoon’s direction. The incident broke the boy’s enormous pride and the leader hoped it will help him finish this tour in relative peace. He wanted to go back his silent library already.
“The bedrooms are all here in this floor,” Namjoon motioned towards the large hallway with doors at both of its sides and tiny windows which let in the sunlight. “Your room is at the end of the corridor, next to the shower.”
“Shower? Like shared shower?” The younger blinked in horror.
“Yes,” The elder nodded.
“You must be kidding me,” The raven haired shook his head.
“You better get used to it. You are living here from now on so the sooner you find your place the easier it will be to everyone here,” The leader shrugged then started walking forward.
As they neared the end of the corridor they found an open door. In the room sat a black haired boy in front of the computer his fingers were flying on the keyboard.
“Yoongi, the new shadowhunter is here!” Namjoon announced to the boy who didn’t even looked up just raised on of his hands for a small wave.
“The inhabitants are either hyperactive or nerds?” Jungkook grimaced.
“Yoongi must be working on something. Usually he is the one who gives us informations and details about the new mission,” Namjoon explained.
“It seems like he is playing Overwatch,” Jungkook remarked and Namjoon wanted to cry. He couldn’t believe that s can’t even leave a positive first impression on the newcomer.
“You must be hallucinating!” The older pushed the other towards his room so he could get rid of him sooner.
Jungkook didn’t have big expectations when it came to his room but the place managed to defy his imagination.
The space itself was half the size of his room in Idris and it was full of old furnitures. The walls were the same grey then the hallway and the floorboards creaked under his steps. There was dirt everywhere, especially on the top of his canopy bed. The lamp on the night stand was cracked just like on the window. Jungkook didn’t know how homesickness felt like but maybe the constricting pain in his chest was something like that.
After spending an hour in this institute he suddenly didn’t find it so annoying when his sister bursts into his room without knocking. He could even tolerate his brother’s arrogant face at the dinner table as he speaks about a new, difficult mission he had just completed.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour. You have time to unpack by then,” Namjoon said from the doorway.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just go to sleep,” The boy answered.
“Okay. If you need me my room is on the left side of the elevator,” The older smiled as he closed the door.
Jungkook had to fight back his tears as he looked for his phone. He wanted to scream and cry when the screen showed no signal.
“This is the twenty first century there can’t be a place without signal!” He raged as he was walking up and down in his room.
Soon enough he found a weak signal in the corner of the room when he raised his phone in the air. Without any further hesitation he called his sister who picked up almost immediately.
“What’s up in Seoul?” She asked in her tinkling voice.
“This is the worst place on the planet!” He answered without missing a beat.
“Aww Kookie, don’t be so dramatic! It can’t be that bad!”
“We are sharing the shower” The younger answered and there was a shocked gasp at the other side of the line.
“Still it’s not that bad,” She tried again but her voice wasn’t so sure.
“I met some of the guys who live here and believe me it will be worse than anything. They are seriously not normal!”
“Then you will get on just fine because you’re a weirdo too” The girl chuckled.
“It’s not funny! There isn’t even signal in this damned room!” Jungkook complained.
“Stop acting like a whiny baby! Think of it as a new mission which you have to complete successfully for the Clave to see and bring you back!”
“But how am I supposed to clear this mission?” The boy sighed anguished.
“It’s for you to find out Jungkook-ah. Good luck!” Jungran said.
“I… Ran, wait…!” Jungkook tried but the call has already ended.
He threw his phone on the bed with helpless anger before he joined it on the top of the old mattress. He hoped lying down will calm his nerves but as the old springs poked his back painfully he just got even more irritated. He knew it would be futile to look for a more comfortable position so he didn’t even try.
“I hate this place,” He murmured with his eyes closed.
That night he dreamed about their house in Idris. He was playing in the garden with Jungran like he used to do when the shadowhunter duty haven’t been sitting on their shoulders. Jungkook watched with a fond smile as Jungran giggled on the swing but in the next moment the sky turned dark and a portal appeared out of nowhere. It in their house and his sister until nothing remained but the emptiness that surrounded the boy then it disappeared. Jungkook was left alone with the dead nature and deafening silence which swallowed his cries.
After he woke up his pillow was wet with tears but he pretended it never happened.