I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at the sky. A plethora of stars stretched across the dark expanse before me, leaving me feeling slightly peaceful yet confused as to why I was currently laying on the ground. 

    The humid summer air warmed my lungs with each cautious breath I drew in. I slowly and carefully sat up and began removing bits of twigs and leaves from my now tangled hair. 

I looked around in bewilderment, noticing that moving caused my whole body to ache a fair amount. 

'Exactly where am I? What happened?' I thought to myself. 

Then, I remembered. I remembered a man with hair that seemed to illuminate like the moon. I had saved him from drowning in the pond. I recalled running aimlessly with only the thought of saving him at all costs running through my mind. 

Then, the cliff. I tossed him off of me before I fell. I hoped that he woke up and made it to safety alright... 

Lastly, I remembered the pain. The snapping of my bones as they seemingly hit every branch on my rapid decent down the steep cliffside. There is no way that I survived that fall... 

I must be a ghost. There is no other explanation for this otherwise. But then why was I in pain? I mean, yeah I felt sore as hell, but isn't it said that ghosts are unable to feel pain? Then again, how the heck should I know. It's not like I've experienced it for myself before. I could not help but to reach up and pinch my own cheek, and winced immediately from the sharp feeling that ensued. 

"Am I dead... Or alive?" I asked myself aloud. 

I heard a sudden rustle from a patch of nearby shrubbery, and immediately braced myself for an attack. Whatever ghoul that was there, I wasn't about to let it get me without a fight. 

"Advance towards me, foul demon!" I shakily announced, attempting to hide the fear in my voice as I continued to sit on the ground like a small child who scraped their knee. Wow... So intimidating. Not. 

From the nearby shrubbery of this night-engulfed forest, a figure approached me, holding out his pale hand for me to grasp. I am not sure why, but I accepted his help, and he pulled me steadily to my feet. 

As I looked up at him, our eyes met, and I immediately recognized him as the man that I had saved earlier. Although now that I was able to get a decent look at his face, I realized that he was so handsome that I could slap myself. 

His eyes were dark, triangular and mysterious, and reminded me of those of a fox. They sparkled beautifully and shone with feeling of wiseness that was unknown to me. His lips were small, pink and inviting. It was as if his whole face was complete perfection. His hair was a very light blue color that reminded me of the icy blue moonbeams of winter, and his complexion was milky and fair. 

You think that you would see femininity in his appearance, but that was not the case. Although his features were delicate and small, he emitted a demeanor that was unmistakeably manly. 

I found myself staring at him in complete silence until I noticed how strange it must be for him, and cleared my voice as I forceably averted my gaze. 

"Oh... I'm sorry... Did you die too? I tried my best to save you, but it appears as if I have failed us both. I'm sorry." I said in a small apologetic voice as I tried my best not to stare at him any longer. 

The man simply chuckled and grabbed ahold of my hand, leading me through a gap in the trees to an area that was brighter due to the light of the moon. 

The once shy moonlight began to shine through the canopy of the trees, causing the man to become illuminated. As the moonbeams kissed the man's delicate skin, nine white, glowing tails sprouted from behind him like magic. 

The sight of him was enchanting, and caused me to give an expression of both shock and awe. I definitely must be dead. There is no other explanation for this strange series of occurrences. 

The man, still holding on to my wrist, pulled me close to himself and whispered softly into my ear in a voice that emitted both gentleness and firmness... 

"Buy me lamb-skewers." 

Wait... What? 

I pulled away from the embrace and looked up at him in complete puzzlement. 

"I'm sorry... But how can I buy you lamb-skewers? I am dead..." I started to say, but then a strange thought occurred to me. 

"Oh, you must not understand. Listen... We have both died this night it seems. I, from falling off of a cliff, and you from drowning. I really don't like that I have to be the one to tell you, considering I am a stranger to you. But everything will be ok. Just wait for the light, and go to it. At least, that's what the books say. We can go together if you are afraid. I will wait with you." I said in the most comforting voice I could muster while patting his hand gently. 

The man simply looked at me for a brief few seconds before breaking down laughing. The poor guy... He must not know how to process all of this, but I suppose that everyone has their own special way of dealing with their own deaths. I was simply calm and rational about mine. Possibly because I have expected this day for a long time coming. 

"I know it's hard to believe, but everything is going to be okay. I promise." I said kindly with a smile while patting his back. 

    I was still a bit taken aback from his nine, glowing tails. I looked behind my back to see if I too had sprouted tails, but there was nothing. I felt kind of sad that I didn't get any. They looked so pretty. 

There man finally finished laughing, and wiped a tear from his eye before looking straight at me with a slight smirk on his face. That smirk could have killed me, he was so handsome. Too bad I was already dead. 

"We aren't dead, silly human girl." he said to me. His voice was lovely and deep, and I was instantly calmed by the alluring sound of it. 

Oh dear, he must be in denial. Wait, did he just call me human? Does that mean that he isn't? Or is he just crazy? Well, that is understandable. Traumatic deaths will do that to a spirit, or so I've been told. 

"What are you talking about? Of course we are. There is no way in hell that I lived through that fall. And how else would you have tails?" I responded in a sure voice as I realized that he was still holding on to my wrist. My face then immediately burned from the embarrassment. Why hasn't he let go yet? 

"You aren't dead. Although technically, you are mostly dead. You won't be that way for too long though, don't worry." he said with a smirk once more before pulling me even closer to him. With his free hand, he then placed his palm softly on my stomach, as his smirk transformed into a soft smile before he continued his statement. 

"You will stay alive... Because of what I put in here." 

My face burned red hot with embarrassment once more. What was he talking about?! 

"Are you saying... I'm pregnant?" I asked shakily with tears in my eyes, causing the man to immediately remove his hand from my wrist and stomach as he face-palmed himself. 

"No! Of course not! How would impregnating you save your life? That makes completely no sense!" He retorted, obviously embarrassed himself that I would even ask such a question. 

"Listen carefully, human. I am what you would call a Gumiho. A sort of nine-tailed fox creature. I have the ability to place my fox bead, my energy source, into another being to keep them from dying. No matter how injured they are. I placed mine within you since you helped me out of the water. Think of it as repayment. A life for a life." He explained as I sat there in awe with my mouth agape. 

    Being dead would honestly make more sense that his explanation. There is no way that any of this could possibly be real! A Gumiho? I always heard about mythical creatures such as those from storybooks, but here he is, with nine, glowing tails, telling me that it is all true. 

    "I guess that explains the tails and why I am achy all over." I said in a calm voice, however I was internally freaking out. So many questions ping-ponged through my head that I became dizzy, causing me to become weak at the knees. 

    I wobbled a bit, but the Gumiho gently put his arms around me and picked me up, interrupting my imminent collapse. 

    "Don't worry human. I will keep you safe and close to my side until it is time to extract my bead. Since you are carrying it, you have become a prescious and important person to me." he whispered softly into my ear, causing butterflies to errupt within my stomach. 

    I looked at his face as he held me. This time however, I could not look away. My mind became blank apart from one thought. My name. I should tell him my name. 

"My name... is (Y/N)." I whispered back to him, causing his gentle smile to grace his face once more. 

"My name is Yoongi."