Jungkook awoke to find a note taped to the bedroom door. Upon making sense of the drawing, he smiled to himself. Taehyung was doing much more than just offering him a loaf of bread.

■

Jungkook stood up from his bent over position. He wiped a hand over his brow. The feeling of hatred wasn't in direct attribute to his excessive labor but to the sweat that dripped down his face as a result of having meticulously picked berry after berry from the bushes before him.

Uncle had said the difference between a man and a boy was the amount of work they put in. Jungkook looked down at his hands. A strange sadness flit over his being. Did it hold true? Would Taehyung only ever see him as a brother if his work ethic disappeared? A dark shadow caught in Jungkook's periphery. He looked up in time to see an owl gliding over the canopy. He sighed. As of now, what he wanted was to open the doors to Taehyung's heart and see if there was even the slightest attraction.

Jungkook hadn't yet finished walking by a scattered patch of Gobles—tiny, jelly like plants that resemble the underside of a woman's ruffled petticoat—when a disgruntled complaint cut through the air. Jungkook's ears perked up. The hollers sounded off from somewhere beyond his line of vision. He skirted around an overgrown patch of ferns to find himself confronted by a peculiar situation. He blinked twice to correct his vision but the sight had yet to alter its appearance.

A white ball of fluff jutted out from within a burrow. The fluff twitched and bounced but no bottom was attached to it.

Jungkook cocked his head to the side as he stooped to face the fluff. Upon closer inspection, he realized the checkerboard pattern belonged to the pair of trousers cinched to the mysterious figure's bottom. So there was a rump.

"Hey! Is someone there!?"

Could this be one of the elusive Aniing Taehyung had mentioned working with?

Jungkook stretched his hand out—"You hooligans! Don't you dare do anything you'll regret"—and laid to rest the tip of his index finger on the center of the round tail. A loud yelp snapped Jungkook to attention. He fell back onto his bottom, one side of his hand scraping against a chip of glass on the ground.

Jungkook scrambled forward. After the blood dry from his palm, he forced his hands into either side of the tight space. His knuckles scraped against the burrow's rough interior.

Without warning, Jungkook began to pull back. Not wanting to stain the Aniing's trousers, he tried not to press into the creature with his left hand. But the blood continued to persist.

He looked to the handkerchief draped across his thigh. With a stream of mental apologies directed at Taehyung, Jungkook slipped the fabric from his pant pocket and looped it around his palm. After securing the garment, he returned to the task at hand.

He would have sought another way to free the rabbit from his predicament, if not for the intimidating voice that skipped into his ears. "Well? Are you going to help or not?"

With one firm affirmation, Jungkook tugged once more. The rabbit yelped.

"Fair warning! Fair warning. My fairies, you're not doing anyone any favors by pulling so abruptly."

Jungkook meant to apologize but the relief of feeling the rabbit slipping free from the burrow's tight confines yanked him from his original intentions. In his haste to make room for the Aniing to stand, he stumbled back into the ground.

He looked over at the rabbit in time to see him wiggling his nose. Jungkook's heart fluttered. On top of being small and soft, the rabbit's mannerisms were sugar-inducing. He came to stand over Jungkook with both gloved hands wrapped around his back.

Jungkook's enthusiasm faded when he noticed the rabbit eyeing him with murderous intent.

"Now why would you touch my tail without permission? I could care less if you're Prince Hoseok himself." The rabbit approached Jungkook. Jungkook noticed that the Aniing was dressed. A beige vest wrapped around a long-sleeved dress shirt with gold intricacies marked around the cuffs. Attached to the top of his ears were two round spectacles that looked to be magnifiers of sorts. At the bottom of his torso hung a bell whose golden chain disappeared into the lower half of his vest.

The rabbit was very well dressed. Even more so than the visitors who liked to come into town and preach about the dangers of forming a society far removed from the seven entities teachings.

"There's no greater evil than to touch someone without their permission. I'm no wild animal, you know."

Jungkook raised his hands up in defeat. Even though now was the time to voice his thoughts, he couldn't do so. His mind was stuck in a perpetual loop; in horror that he may say the wrong thing and cause even more of an uproar.

Jungkook dipped the tip of his tongue against his bottom teeth but not even the taste of saliva greeted his buds. His mouth had gone completely dry.

"So, nothing to say?" Before Jungkook could begin to write out his thoughts, the Aniing spoke up. His voice came out softer and quieter. "You did save me." He hopped back. The dust caught on Jungkook's shoes. "You don't speak."

Just as Jungkook opened his mouth to say something, the realization hit him. The Aniing wasn't asking a question. He was making a statement.

Jungkook nodded.

Almost as a sigh, the rabbit sat back on his legs. His gray fringe fell flat against his face, nearly obscuring the patches of brown that embraced either corner of his forehead.

But I can understand what you're saying. Please, I can do this. For myself... For Taehyung. "I-"

"Well, whatever. Nevermind that. Since you helped me out of that predicament, you're entitled to my services for a day. You have me until sunset. Whatever you'd like.