What dances when falls, counts to three then turns and hums with triplets?

Can you guess the answer?                  

It was a riddle that Minseok’s father often spoke of as a child. The man was full of tongue twisters and riddles; most of which he would come up with before breakfast was served. Usually, Minseok could guess the answer to the riddle or master the tongue twister within a week’s time. But for some reason this riddle was the most difficult one of them all—and at the ripe age of thirty, Kim Minseok still did not know the answer. That stubborn father of his took the riddle to his grave, not even leaving a trace of it behind in a notepad or scrap paper strewn about.

Instead, what he left behind was a plethora of unfinished research and too large of a house for one man to handle. ‘House’ was putting it politely; it was more of a mansion than anything.

Located off the beaten path, just a few miles from the nearest town, buried deep in the outskirts of the town forest. There was a garden gone old without care, siding dirtied with mud and age and layer upon layer of dust in rooms that had no use anymore. Despite all its unkemptness, it still held fond memories in Minseok’s mind. This was the home he spent much of his childhood in, pretending to be a knight in shining armor or a villain clad in black to take the prize at the end (which was often a plate of freshly made cookies).

For the last few weeks Minseok had been living with his cat in the house (after inheriting it and the rest of his father’s fortune). He spent most of his time budgeting finances and continuing the research his father left.

Ah, the research. Now you see, Minseok’s father was a brilliant man who loved animals. He studied them for a living, wrote essays and papers for prestigious groups and universities, went on trips to do public speeches and so on and so forth. Even though Minseok always preferred to study plants over little creatures, he still found himself quite knowledgeable in the field. It was easy for him to pick up where his father left off and start his own pace of research for the more botanical side of things. With papers to write, field studies to go on and all the regular things being an adult comes with, Minseok found it difficult to stay. Not to mention, it was quite the large and lonely place for one person. He needed steadier income since his father’s inheritance would only go for so long, and his friends and previous job were all hours away in the heart of the city. It was the kindness of his heart that brought him back, but now, it didn’t seem like there was anything left for him here.

Minseok was resolved to finish up his father’s research, sell it off and then sell the house after fixing it up. It would take a few months, but he thought he was sure this was what he wanted.

That is, of course, until he started noticing his father’s research wasn’t sellable anymore.

The further he read through journals and loose-leaf papers, the more he found bizarre annotations and drawings. It started off small, with toad stool that had the shape of wiggling bases—Minseok assumed it was just a windy day that day. Then there were drawings of butterflies and dragonflies flying in formation even thought they were mostly solitary creatures. Shapes of faces in the bark of trees and eventually it grew to hidden people amongst the foliage. “ They are small, no larger than the smallest leaf on the three-flowered maple leaf. ” There were never any full sketches, just wisps of hair, gazing eyes or hidden limbs.

Minseok wondered if he should never have left home to keep his father company. Afterall, the only other person in the house was the gardener who often acted as the chef and maid. Minseok remembered him as a child, he was quiet yet bore a lively and youthful face. Even as he grew older and his father started to gather gray hair, this funny character did not. The strangest of this all was when he received a letter from the gardener explaining his father’s passing. He immediately recognized the handwriting as the gardener’s, but the man was nowhere to be seen at the funeral.

Ever since that day, Minseok never thought much of things. Afterall, grief is something that must be taken slowly to comprehend everything. So, he did little thinking of anything after that and did the job of a child dutiful to his father. Meaning, he scrapped the scribbles of nonsense and ‘fairytale’ creatures and hid them away in the attic, only keeping the salvageable work to finish and hopefully sell for a pretty penny.

It seemed as simple as that, but why was it that Minseok’s heart felt uneasy about storing away his father’s work? Why did it take him more than a few hours to fall asleep, lay in bed wide awake thinking about those notes for so many days?

To clear those heathen thoughts, Minseok often went into the study of the library and stayed up until the high hours of the night writing, calculating and drawing scaled sketches. Because he was so fixated on his work he was often head against the desk, drool slipping down his lips, back aching, and papers ruined.

Even nights like these were unexempt from his inability to fall asleep in his own bed.

The wind was ravenous and coursed against the siding like battering rams. Rain spattered away on the roof and windows like hailstorms and the thunder only grew stronger with each passing minute. It would have been white noise to Minseok’s dream land (as the summer storms in the area were quite villainous since childhood) had it not been for the thud that echoed right above his head.

With an ungraceful snort, Minseok’s head shot up full of freshly ink drawn flowers of the wisteria grove just a mile form his house. He looked around with groggy eyes, wondering if the cat jumped on top of the bookshelves again, only to knock over the precious jars of materials his father collected.

He took the paper off his face and tried to adjust his eyes to the dim light of the lamp on his desk. With a frown, he put the paper down knowing he would have to redo the drawing, again.

As he went to get up from his seat and stretch, he took note of the hand dials pointing to 3:24 AM. It was unfortunate, but it was best he woke up now to sleep in his bed, hopefully. Suddenly, another loud bang and what sounded like marbles spilling over sounded from the floor above him. Minseok stood there for a second thinking about it and if the bang from earlier wasn’t just a dream. He deemed it as the cat having snuck into the attic for the umpteenth time that week. So, he trudged his way up the curling stairs to the attic and flicked on the lights for each room he passed.

The handheld flashlight was a fairly new invention, but he was grateful his father invested in a few for the house—the attic was one of the few places without electricity. Not thinking much about the attic door being closed shut and the overly drawn draft furling around his toes, Minseok opened the door without a care and shined the light in.

“Tan—” He went to call out for her but before he could step any further into the room, he froze in fear.

At the other end of the long and darkly lit attic was a human figure hunched over a pile of boxes, staring back at him once the lightning flashed. Wind raged through the open window at the end of the room, the smell of wet wood and rain mixing in with his gut feeling of fear. Lightning flashed one more time and Minseok could have sworn the sight of transparent wings fluttered in the milliseconds of light he was offered. But the scene was too frightful, he dropped the flashlight, kicking about the various buttons and rocks that had fallen out of the box upturned by the intruder.

Not bothering to pick up the flashlight, Minseok looked for the old coat rack he remembered being off to the right. He yanked off the old coat and readied himself for an attack, but it was hardly necessary. The stranger was already one foot out of the window staring back at him.

Minseok charged over yelling, “Wait!” before the person could jump down.

Another crack of the heavens made lightning shine and the thunder drowned out anyone’s thoughts. In those two gleaming eyes looking over an arm bore something close to fear and panic. But the person jumped out the window before Minseok could get near.

He knew that the drop wasn’t smooth, there was still roofing to avoid and sharp decorations that would be impossible to miss in the dark. Minseok nearly threw himself at the window, looking out to make sure they wouldn’t hurt themselves. Unfortunately, his mind was too frazzled to comprehend what he was seeing. Four stories high, this person had jumped and looked to be just floating its way easily down, the size shrinking at an alarming rate. Minseok figured it was a trick of the eye and that he would land on the ground at any moment, but that was not the case.

The fierce lightning struck down at one of the metal rods on the roof, sending sparks flying and small flames to ignite. The person, whom Minseok hoped would have already landed, was caught in that line of fire. The body shot backwards, hitting against the side of the roof and tumbling all the way down into the overgrown bushes of the front garden.

It took Minseok a second. He rubbed his eyes trying to comprehend if he was sleepwalking or not, because he could swear that the person who hit the roof was the same size as him. But as they tumbled down, their body glistened in the lightning and looked like it was the size of a large bug!

Mouth agape, opening and closing trying to find something to say or do, Minseok just stared down into the bushes. A light glow faded in and out in the area that the thing fell, so without a second’s more hesitation, Minseok dashed from the attic and down the one-too-many flights of stairs in the house.

He left the front door wide open, clad in his striped pajamas and without a single thing to cover his feet from the rocks and mud. Thankfully, it wasn’t a far trek and Minseok was by the bushes in just a few steps. The glow was faint now, not nearly as bright as from upstairs.

He carefully parted the leaves, looking with a keen eye for the character that should have been there. The lightning struck boldly again, blinding him for a moment before he reached deep within the bush to find a slightly tangled body in the branches. The body had a light glow to it, letting Minseok see the chest heave up and down at a terribly fast pace. It looked to be a very small, teeny tiny human.  

The thunder was loud and deafening to his ears, so if any noises were coming from the small thing it would be impossible to hear. His clothes were soaked through now and his hair clinging to his forehead like a fresh shower. The longer he dawdled the worse it seemed to be for both, so with delicate, practiced hands, he scooped up the creature into his palms and covered it as he trotted back into the house.

Tan sat patiently at the door, her tail softly swishing back and forth when her human came in and shut the door from the dreadful weather called rain.

“Tan, I think I might be crazy,” he said in a low voice as he raced through the house and to the study on the third floor. He could feel the creature in his hands moving around slightly as he went, so he knew he wasn’t completely crazy and imagining the whole thing.

Tan followed hurriedly behind Minseok. She seemed just as excited as he was.

On one of the messier tables, Minseok used his elbow to push everything aside leaving it more of a helpless mess.

Gently releasing the small body in his hands, he placed it against the wooden table. He switched on the lamp over the table and the dim light of the Edison bulbs were far better to get a clearer look at this creature.

Tan perched herself on the table right beside Minseok, her eyes fixated on the body as well. That was another clear sign to Minseok that this wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

There, a very small human just the size of his palm, laid unconscious. It wore a green necklace of tiny flowers and leaves around its chest and a skirt of a dark green color around its waist. The chest was bare and flat with no signs of s. Behind it were glistening wings, transparent, but looked as if flecks of glitter shimmered about them. Both wings were badly broken, snapped in half and completely unusable. Bruises lined arms and legs and an angry red spot was swollen just under the ribcage (or at least what Minseok assumed to be a ribcage).

Despite the lack of s, everything else about this little creature was mirror to a human, male to take a wild guess. Two legs, two feet, two arms, two hands, ten toes and fingers, two eyes, nose, a mouth etc. As Minseok gave it an even closer inspection with the magnifying glass to his side, he noticed how the ears weren’t quite rounded at the tip like his own. These ears were pointed! Like two little knives jutting out. The hair was pitch black, much like his own, he could tell it was curly with the way the water made it cling to the face.

If it weren’t for these two very distinct differences, Minseok would simply think this was an extremely small person! He even had half a mind to undress the little thing to see what lay underneath, but Minseok held his curiosity back a great deal. It would hardly be polite to do such a thing to anyone, let alone something that was clearly rying to cover up.

The small creature’s eyes were shut tight, breathing fast and shallow and cheeks burning red with what seemed like a fever. So Minseok did the next best thing he could possibly think of and started treating it for feverish symptoms and cleaning up the scrapes and bruises. Thanks to so many hours of intricate drawings, Minseok had a very steady hand and was able to delicately assist the small thing.

With tweezers and small strips of cloth he was able to wrap the broken arm in a toothpick splint. He was even able to fashion larger splints in the shape of the wings. The only problem with putting them on was that he spent well past daybreak creating the perfect contraption—sketching plans, scaling, searching for supplies and implementing them. It was near seven in the morning when Minseok finally finished. The storm outside had long since passed, but the devastation in its wake was quite apparent.

After cleaning up his mess, he sat in the study chair staring at the humanoid that was carefully bandaged and splinted on top of a comfy throw-pillow. He even dipped a cloth in warm water to place under a blanket on top of the pillow to help the fever go down.

A wave of heavy sleep finally washed over Minseok’s body as he sat there staring at the creature. He was finally ready to get some well-earned shut eye, but he couldn’t just leave the creature out in the open. Tan watched the small thing like a hawk, and although she was usually a docile cat, it was unclear what kinds of mischievous things she would do while he was asleep. A thought then imbued itself in Minseok’s head: he should enclose the small thing in one of the many empty terrariums in the conservatory on the first floor.

It was another hour before Minseok finally changed his stale pajamas and climbed into his own bed. A large copper caged terrarium sat on his dresser, cleaned and filled with necessary items of living—like a teacup of water, a biscuit to nibble and a thimble for other…necessary things. The terrarium had plenty of breathable air, so that wasn’t a worry, and the entrance wouldn’t be difficult to push open if desired to leave. It was all simply to protect him from the lurking cat.

Minseok laid in his queen-sized bed, staring at the ceiling that crawled with leafy shadows of the morning sun. He turned to look at the cage on his dresser, hoping to see movement on top of the pillow he placed in the cage. He stared for a long time, so long that sleep eventually got the best of him and his eyes shut heavy with slumber.

…

Minseok woke up almost five hours later, hungry and anxious to see if there were any changes in the cage. Unfortunately, little had occurred. The small thing was in the exact position he left him in.

He sat on the side of his bed, racking his brain around all the possibilities that could be an outcome of this. But the one word that rammed against the better of his scientific thoughts were “fairy, fairy, fairy, fairy, fairy, fairy.” It was like a wall of bricks, preventing him from going anywhere else and sticking to this one thought.

“Fairytales are just what they are… Fairytales...” Minseok muttered under his breath before casting his gaze back at the terrarium. He craned his neck just to make sure there really was a winged humanoid thing in there, and sure enough he was still there.

Suddenly, his father’s notes didn’t seem so crazy.

Minseok cast away his bed sheets and ran for the attic again, stumbling all over the place before finally reaching his destination.

He picked up the fallen rocks, small sticks and buttons, and a chain with three leaves from the mess on the ground—placing them all in the small old lunchbox from his primary school days, locks rusted and breaking down. With a fond smile on his face he went back to the pile of what was once thought as ‘rubbish’ and the ‘madness of an old man’ and began hoarding it all back to the study little by little.

He had taken the terrarium into the study with him and carefully began reading his father’s research all over again. Many of the passages were about plants and animals that seemed strange, but only one messy journal was dedicated to the elusive ‘fairy’. The entries were vague and contained quick sketches that only captured wisps of images.

One of the passages read, “ There is an ecosystem within the ecosystem. An entire civilization lives under our noses and we wouldn’t even know it if it knocked us in the face ” before it rambled on about the trees and to watch your step in the forest. It seemed his father never had the opportunity to meet one of these ‘fairies’ and could only observe them afar. They had a like for tea sandwiches and sweets, as they would often go missing from his lunches. They preferred to dance in flowers of pink and light purple colors. And it could be guessed that they liked to ride the falling leaves of trees as a playful game amongst each other.

A month ago, all these notes and annotations seemed like nothing. Now, Minseok held them with such intrigue that he spent the rest of that day reading the journal and taking notes of his own. If it weren’t for Tan rubbing herself on his feet and her cries of hunger, he would have forgotten to even feed himself for the day.

But there was another problem. The icebox didn’t exactly contain any food of nutritional support. After feeding Tan, Minseok threw on a blouse, flat cap, vest and pants and headed into town in hopes to bring home a few things for supper.

What he ended up with was a little more than intended: two pots of blooming petunias, one pink and the other light purple. His fairy friend had not moved again, but it looked as if the fever went down slightly. The fairy’s body didn’t look so overheated nor was he breathing so erratically. Minseok took that as a good sign and hoped that placing the two pots of flowers beside the terrarium would somehow help.

He stared at the setup on the desk and blinked a few times before shaking his head.

“I must be out of my mind.” He mumbled as he traipsed away to finish unloading his groceries in the kitchen.

He grabbed a snack of fresh bread and a few pieces of cheese with a hot steaming cup of black tea to stimulate his mind. After fixing up the fairy’s dressing and carefully switching sides for him to lay on, Minseok crammed the next few hours reading over his father’s once believed nonsense—completely ignoring the research he was working on before.

He stayed like that until night fell and the early hours of the morning rose—he yawned once the sleepiness hit. Minseok organized the desk into something more suitable for tomorrow and brought the terrarium down to his room for another night on his dresser. He set the flowers up beside it and gave it a good long stare before changing into pajamas and crawling into the quilt.

With each passing minute he laid there, he stared at the terrarium, his eyes waning as if he’d miss the very moment the fairy would wake up. But there was something gnawing at the back of his mind—a note that his father left in his research.

The little fairies seem happiest around the color green. Anything that is a plant has an immediate connection with them.

His mind racked around this more and more until he thought about how the fairy had an even better complexion within the time frame he placed the flowers. Not to mention, the slight golden glow around the fairy stopped waning and became rather steady, dim, but steady.

But sleep was not easy to ignore, eventually he lost track of his thoughts and sleep took over like a silent fog. But his dreams were filled with ideas and small ways to help the fairy.

Even as he dreamt away, the riddle his father had told as a child echoed in his thoughts.

What dances when it falls, counts to three then turns, and hums with triplets?

And like always, Minseok did not have the answer.

…

“Ma, isn’t that Kim’s son across the street?”

“Where?!”

A very excited and burly woman appeared in the window next to her son. The two of them stood at their main window, staring across the street as Minseok exited the florist. Two of the workers inside jumped up and down in excitement, looking over the receipt. 

“It is!! Go grab the basket, the basket!” She was a beautiful woman in her middle ages, the creases at the edges of her eyes curling happily as she waited for her son to return from the kitchen.

They were the owners of the local bakery, Three Buns Bakery. It was a relatively small town considering everyone lived within a five-mile radius of it. But despite its size, the bakery was popular amongst locals and out-of-town guests.

“Ma, he probably doesn’t even like tea sandwiches. Just because you always gave his father some doesn’t mean he wants to eat them, either.” Her son mumbled in annoyance as he handed the basket over.

She smacked his hand and a small cloud of flour flew about. “Quiet, you, it was rare enough to see his father as it was. But he’s been coming into town almost every day for the last few days. The least you can do is greet him. You two used to be peas in a pod.”

“When we were in primary school, ma!” Her son implored as she finished packing a few crumpets in. They were made that morning and cooked with fresh fruit.

“Hush, Junmyeon! Now hurry and run this to him.” She handed the basket back with a smug smile.

“You’re really gonna do that?” Junmyeon raised an incredulous brow.

“Do what?”

“Make me fetch the basket and then run it to him?”

“Mmm,” she thought for a moment. “Yes. Now go say helo to him!” She shoved her son by the back and out the front door.

It took a moment before he gathered a breath of air and puffed up his chest for courage. Minseok was greeted by the fellow just as he was crossing the street to the next block.

A gentle voice called out to him, “E-Excuse me sir.”

Minseok turned with his hands chock full of little plants, flowers and succulents—head to toe he was covered in some kind of plant.

“Yes?” His cat-like eyes managed to somehow look over the leaves of his small dracaena plant.

“Uhhhh…” Junmyeon’s voice droned on as he stared the man over, he hadn’t really thought through that Minseok probably couldn’t carry everything home. “Y-You’re Kim Mal Chin’s son, correct?”

“Yes, I am.” Minseok nodded and turned to present himself.

Junmyeon could see the resemblance in their noses and a bit of their lips. The rest must have been from his mother. “Uhh—haha,” He laughed uncomfortably. “You see, my mom always made your dad these tea sandwiches. And she thought since you’ve been coming into the town so often lately that you might like them.. Err.. But it might not have been a good time to catch you.”

Minseok stared for a long moment at the basket in Junmyeon’s hands.

“Normally I would have politely declined, but your mother must have been a friend of my fathers?” Minseok smiled sweetly and somehow managed to accept the basket of food.

“Y-Yeah, sorta. It was more of, she was the only one not afraid to talk to him since he seemed like a quack and all..”

“Oh..” Minseok nodded.

“Oh!” Junmyeon’s face blew up in a glorious red. “No no no! I-I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just, you know! Your father went on and on about things that didn’t make sense.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“It’s okay, I lived with him for a time. Anyways, I have to get going. Thank you.” Minseok went to nod his goodbye and get back to the secret fairy he had been caring for when Junmyeon started up again.

“Uhh!”

Minseok paused, eyes lingering on Junmyeon.

“Y-You don’t remember me, do you?” Junmyeon looked away, his cheeks bright pink.

Minseok stood there for a moment, eventually narrowing his eyes to get a better look at Junmyeon.

“Kim Junmyeon?”

The male’s face perked up, eyes sparkling.

“I remember you. You always hated crust on your sandwiches.” Minseok smiled at the fond memories from when he was younger. Junmyeon would often cry whenever his mother didn’t cut the crust off his lunch sandwiches.

Junmyeon’s face darkened, “Well.. I’m glad you at least remember me. It’s been a while… Do you have time right now? You should stop by my family’s bakery.” Junmyeon beamed.

Minseok offered an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry, but I really must get back.”

“Oh, alright.” Junmyeon’s body shrank with his visible disappointment.

“..But.. Um.. I’ll be back tomorrow, I’ve been picking up my plant orders from the flower shop every day. I don’t see why I can’t stop by tomorrow.”

Junmyeon’s lips curled into a hopeful smile. “That explains all the commotion lately over there.. But that sounds great. Hey, do you need help carrying anything?”

“No!” Minseok rushed.

Junmyeon was taken aback.

“I-I mean, no thank you.” Minseok laughed awkwardly.

“Alright…” Junmyeon annunciated while he went to turn on his heels,  “Well, have a safe trip home. Don’t want the bush fairies to get riled up.” He waved before heading back to the bakery.

“W-wait. What did you say?” Minseok stopped him.

“I said have a safe trip.”

“No, about the bush fairies..”

“Oh! It’s just a silly saying around here. You know, like little pixies and fairies that mischievously play in the forest? It’s an old saying from hundreds of years ago, it’s basically a second goodbye.”

“D-Do..” Minseok’s voice got low and he lowered his gaze. “Do you believe it?”

Junmyeon raised a brow, “Huh? I mean, it’s just a saying, isn’t it?”

“R-Right.. Right. Just a saying.” Minseok nodded before speedily turning on his heels and making a beeline down the sidewalk.

Junmyeon blew out a breath of air he didn’t even realize he was holding. “...He’s gonna be just as weird as his father.” With a sigh, he went back to the bakery.

…

After almost a week and a half, the entirety of the mansion was practically a different house. Slowly, but surely, Minseok filled the rooms he spent the most time in full of plants.

The main terrarium that the fairy was kept in was completely refurbished. It was like a beautiful forest scape with a small pillow in the center for the exotic and beautiful creature within. Flowers bloomed all around (even the ones out of season) and ivy that was only a few inches long grew to feet in only a matter of days—it lined the walls and ceilings of the glass compartment. Minseok assumed all the foliage and blooming flowers were due to the fairy. Which meant there was a connection happening and that was a good thing.

But what wasn’t a good thing was Minseok’s impulse to keep buying plants. He’d walk into town thinking he needed something to liven up the bathroom or kitchen, but end up with more handfuls of plants thinking that they would suit the fairy best. It was a mess, really, the way Minseok would stay up all night rearranging the plants in the terrarium or arranging the pots around it. He was constantly switching them out. But soon, there were too many plants to keep around the fairy. He found new places to settle them, like windowsills or desktops. Some were so large they needed full corners, while others were small enough to dangle from the ceiling. This all meant the library/study, his bedroom and the conservatory were filled to the brim with planets he’d been purchasing and ordering from the town florist. Even the bathroom (the one he used of many), kitchen and hallways were kindly given a few plants and flowers. It was practically like a second forest from the one outside.

In all that time he carefully and meticulously placed the plants, the fairy in his terrarium did not wake. The only difference was that the fairy seemed completely fever free. He was no longer flushed nor panting madly while unconscious. Minseok must have been doing something correct, right?

Part of him wondered if it had to do with constantly surrounding of greenery. He hoped that filling his halls and room with plants would also help. That way, everywhere he would go he could place the fairy down by green foliage. He even took a liking to bringing the terrarium outside with him to read a book or two about fairytales.

As the two-week time stamp was coming up, something had finally stirred in the terrarium. Minseok was dressed in creamy white cotton pajamas for the night, settling himself under the covers at a decent hour when he noticed something move in the corner of his eye.

He sat there for a solid moment, waiting, watching, hoping for another sign of movement.

His eyes were peeled for nearly ten minutes, afraid to blink even for a millisecond.

Minseok’s patience wore thin and he launched himself from the covers and sped to his dresser. To his great surprise, it looked as if the fairy had shifted himself onto his stomach. It looked terribly uncomfortable with the way he rocked back and forth, as if he were trying to get up. The lighting was dim and left an awful glare on the glass, so Minseok quietly opened the door to the glass terrarium. A small squeak of the glass door made the fairy freeze. Minseok’s eyes widened in fear, hoping that it wouldn’t be too startled.

The fairy whipped his head to look at Minseok, his eyes knit with worry and arms struggling to get up with the heavy weight on his back.

“I-It’s okay..” Minseok whispered, afraid that his voice would be too loud for the small thing. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He breathed out, still in awe at the two beautiful glimmering green eyes staring back at him. The fairy’s cheeks were flushed in frustration and Minseok just wanted to squeeze them. “You fell, so I patched you up. You might feel weird with everything on… I can help you up, if you’d like.” Minseok offered his hand with a sweet smile, he was trying his best to seem approachable.

The fairy just glared at the hand and tried to crawl away from the entrance of the terrarium. He successfully cornered himself against a large purple anemone.  

“I-I’m really not trying to hurt you! Nor do I want to hold you captive.” Minseok opened the door all the way and took a step back. “I was just trying to keep you safe from my cat while you rested.”

With great struggle, the fairy managed to sit on his rear. He took in his surrounding with a careful eye before landing back on Minseok.

“I um.. I don’t know how to fix your wings, so I put them in splints—what am I even doing, can you even understand me?”

The fairy slowly nodded.

“You can understand me?”

The fairy nodded surer this time.

A smile crept on Minseok’s lips. “Okay! That’s great.. That’s great! Um… Are you hungry or in any pain that I can take care of?”

The fairy rested a hand on his belly and thought for a moment before looking back up and nodding.

“You’re hungry?”

The fairy nodded again.

“Hmm.. I really only have tea sandwiches leftover, can you eat that?” The fairy’s face seemed to light up at the mention of tea sandwiches and henodded furiously.

“Okay, then I’ll be right back.” Minseok smiled and went to fetch an assortment of the left-over sandwiches. He figured he’d have a bite, too.

He sat on the bed as he nibbled, not sure if he gave too much space or not enough for the fairy to take a few bites himself. It was awfully quiet, especially since Minseok locked Tan out the room. Not once could he take his eyes off the fairy, watching its every little move.

As the fairy finished eating, his eyes grew tired again. A full stomach left him content and more tired than before. It was a small thing after all, it probably still needed lots of rest.

“You’re free to go whenever you please. Here’s a handkerchief in case you feel a draft. I’ll leave food and water over here for you—” Minseok went on, mothering the small thing until he felt all was cared for and addressed.

Oddly enough, the fairy fell asleep after nodding away at Minseok’s help. Once the small thing was fast asleep, Minseok felt a sudden wave of responsibility wash over him, this fairy trusted him enough to sleep in the same room consciously. He felt it was his duty to not betray that level of trust.

And so, Minseok fell asleep with those giddy thoughts.

…

The next few days were as simple as one could imagine. Minseok would fix up the fairy’s splints, air out his bandages and feed him to his heart’s content. Of course, the fairy didn’t just stay in the terrarium all day and night after that. Instead, Minseok would offer to have him perched on his shoulder while he went about the house, watering or clipping the plants, reading or writing down research notes and even preparing meals throughout the day.

It was tough work tending to all the plants, considering the house was practically a utopia for them by the fourth week. When the fairy started to walk more on his own, he spent most of his time in the conservatory, hiding amongst the flowers and helping Minseok tend to them.

One of the more fascinating things about the fairy to Minseok was watching his skin meld with the plants in the background. It would only happen with a plant, where the fairy would stand in front of it and a camouflage reaction would happen: the plant became visible through his skin. Minseok never remembered reading about any of that in his father’s research so he spent a great deal of time writing down his observations in a journal and drawing what his memory recalled.

In fact, Minseok ended up drawing more of the fairy as time passed on rather than tend to the plants. The fairy seemed perfectly content sprinkling a little bit of his glitter over the soil or letting his hands delicately glide along the leaves and stems of bushes and flowers.

The whole house smelt like a forest, refreshing and green because of it.

Even the town florist who would stop by to drop off more shipments of plants couldn’t help but be in awe at the massive size of the house and how cages and terrariums of little ecosystems thrived. Of course, the fairy was always hidden when a visitor came, but Minseok made sure to stay as secluded from the towns people as possible. Even the kind bakers whom he often greeted and had a cup of tea with if he ever ventured into town.

There came a day sometime after the month period had passed when Minseok noticed the fairy longingly staring out the window and touching the splints on his back. His wings were far from healed, as they had checked only a few days before. His limbs and abrasions were well healed now, it was only the most crucial part of being a fairy that needed more time to mend.

Minseok made sure to leave his friend alone and quietly escaped to the study on the top floor. There, he began comprising a few sets of rope bridges. It was well into the evening when the fairy finally struggled his way up the stairs (after fending off Tan’s playful advances) to see where Minseok was. The tiny thing was curious as to what Minseok could possibly be making again. The house was made fairy-friendly for those without wings to easily get around. Which consisted of easy fairy accessible items in well placed areas; lengths of rope that could be easily climbed at the start and finish of each stair baluster, one for each table that the fairy frequented, and several other cabinets or chairs he might need.

Minseok smiled at the fairy who had been adorned with a freshly made headband of thyme and the lilac colored flowers that grow with it. He smelt lovely.

“You look very nice.”

The fairy curtsied and his cheeks turned bright pink.

It should be mentioned that Minseok never knew the name of his little friend, it never occurred to ask and by the time it did, he thought it too late in the friendship. He settled on calling the fairy “my friend” instead, names might not have been a cultural thing for fairies, so he thought it best to leave it as it were.

Minseok’s little friend walked over with ginger steps to his hand and tapped to ask to be lifted. Minseok gladly obliged and lifted him to his shoulder. There, the fairy sat comfortably and leaned against Minseok’s neck, holding onto a tuft of hair to keep him in place. But watching Minseok’s simple handiwork became dull, even fairies lose their patience. So he occupied himself with braiding the side of Minseok’s hair as big as he could.

It was past supper time when the fairy felt hunger ripple throughout his belly. He tapped Minseok once on the cheek and Minseok turned to greet him. The fairy rubbed his belly then brought his hands to his mouth and then stretched them up and out like an explosion was taking place.

Minseok lightly chuckled, “Oh, stop being so dramatic. I’ve finished anyway, so we can go downstairs and make something to eat.”

The fairy stared with ogling eyes at Minseok’s pretty face, a smile creeping its way onto his petite little lips. He really liked the way Minseok reacted to his antics, it made him feel sweet inside (subconsciously causing him to glow slightly brighter).

Minseok held up the contraption he had been weaving for the day and presented it. “They’re bridges. Now you can go between each of the hanging plants and terrariums on the ceiling. I’ll probably have to make more, I wasn’t sure how long to make any, so I made one long bridge, I’ll cut as I go.”

The fairy slid down his arm and landed perfectly on the desk. He inspected what was made and jumped up and down in excitement when he figured it would work out just perfectly.

“Do you like it?” Minseok smiled.

The fairy looked up at him and beamed with all the little teeth he had in his mouth.

“Good, let’s bring this downstairs and I’ll start making dinner, because you’re a fiend when it comes to food.”

Minseok spoke soft words of sweet things while he took the two of them downstairs. As soon as he hit the last set of stairs, the doorbell rung, and series of chimes rang throughout the foyer.

Through the door Minseok could hear the muffled sounds of two voices; “See, Ma? He’s probably not even home. Let’s go… Ow! What was that for?!”

“Hush you stupid boy! You waited three seconds before you decided anything. It’s a big house, it’s going to take a minute—”

In all that time span, Minseok rushed down the stairs and shoved his fairy friend in a plant pot nearby. He whispered for him to hide and then quickly ran over to the front door to open.

“—oh! Mr. Kim! What a delight to see you!” Junmyeon and his mother had both arrived in the early hours of the evening. The woman smiled with uncertainty, afraid that her son and his unwillingness was heard earlier.

“Evening.. What can I do for you two?”

“Errr..” Mrs. Kim stuttered as she blanked out why they were even there.

“Oh for goodness sake.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes and snatched the basket that was in her arm. “My mother was worried that you weren’t eating properly. So she made your dad’s favorite tea sandwiches and hot pea soup. It rained this morning, so she wanted to make sure ‘you were warm in this big house’ all alone.”

Junmyeon’s brash actions of shoving the basket into Minseok’s hands took him aback but he accepted it anyways.

“Anyways, sorry for disturbing ya so late in the evening. We’ll be off now.”

With that, Junmyeon his heel and started to leave.

Mrs. Kim just stood there and blinked before she could comprehend what just happened (and also making a mental note to slap her son upside the head later).

“What you’re doing for the Oh family across the street. That’s real kind of you. I know it’s been years since you’ve been here, but you’re just like your father. A sweetheart… My son would never admit to it but he’s thankful as well. Their flower shop was doing so poorly in the last few years they were packing up to move away. My son’s always been sweet on their youngest and he’s been heartbroken ever since he found out they were going to move. So, don’t take his harshness too much to heart, this is his way of saying thank you.” Mrs. Kim offered Minseok a sweet smile before lifting her dress and headed back down the stairs.

“Minseok is fine.” He called out to her. Both Junmyeon and his mother turned around. “Mr. Kim was my father. You can just call me Minseok. Thank you and have a wonderful stroll home. Though, do be careful, I hear the bush fairies are hungry at this time of night.”

Junmyeon and his mother both smiled before heading back down the driveway and to the main road.

Minseok’s mouth slowly curled to a smile, one of mirth for the compliments and the sweet gesture of the food. By his feet, the fairy had already joined him, wondering quite nosily what was in the basket.

“I guess we’ll be having this for dinner.” He smiled at his friend.

…

Minseok also began to regularly take the fairy outside. If he needed field research, he would never miss an opportunity to invite his small friend. Of course, these excursions always ended up with the fairy leading him around. They started off small and tended to the gardens on the premises. They tended the front bushes and shrubs and then eventually made their way to the back patio and helped the garden back there. The drab plants growing out of control would soon be beautiful spots to gaze, but not for at least another month of caring and a little fairy magic.

Eventually, the fairy led Minseok further into the forest around the mansion. He took him to secret groves and showed him the small unique critters belonging to his world.

There was a particular grove that Minseok was awestruck with. There was a massive three-flowered maple tree off center. Around it were beautiful heaps of low crawling flowers, like violet and clover. The grass was quite short in this area, most likely due to the woodchucks and bunnies all munching away at it. A small group of does and their fawn offspring grazed not too far off in the distance. Bugs and their shimmering wings all flittered by in the sunlight, making the scene before him look even more magical

Toadstools budding out from the ground looked to be dancing with one another. Acorns that fell from trees rolled and rolled and never stopped rolling because of the small pill bugs that ran atop them. Small critters like red foxes, chipmunks and weasels all glinted about—their fur glistening like gold in the wisps of sunlight that escaped through the treetops. There were no signs of other fairies and Minseok’s little friend seemed saddened by this. But he went on, showing him all the wonderful things in the place.

Moths and butterflies in color arrangements he’d never seen before were not uncommon. They were more likely to fly up to him and be curious than any normal species he’d encountered.

The same for the hummingbirds and other avian creatures. Hummingbirds were fearless enough to float around Minseok’s ears, even whispering with the fairy on his shoulder before giggling over something and flying off. The other birds were not as graceful as the hummingbird and could only watch, perched from the safety of their trees.

After it seemed like the fairy showed Minseok all he could, a tiredness grew over him from all the excitement. Minseok trotted over to the massive maple tree to sit under when the small fairy seemed to freak out and try to pull him away by tugging his hair.

“What on earth? Is there more to show? Can it wait? I’m awfully tired and could use a good rest.” Minseok kept his walk over to the tree, it was really such an inviting tree to sit under.  “We can read the last bit of this chapter and then you can show me.” Minseok said with a sigh as he sat down at the base of the tree.

The fairy gave up with an exasperated sigh and sat himself in the crook of Minseok’s neck. He, too, was exhausted from trying to keep him from sitting. Minseok took note of how relaxed he felt there, like there was a calming hum ringing in his ears—the ambiance was truly spectacular here.

A gust of wind picked up and blew a few leaves of the tree over Minseok’s lap and hair. He brushed them off with a gentle hand and thought nothing of it. However, the fairy seated on his shoulder was starstruck. He stared at the leaves, then to the tree, then back to Minseok. It seemed that something extraordinary had just happened.

…

It wasn’t until the second month mark hit that the forlorn look on the fairy’s face was permanently erased.

It was time to remove the wing splints.

Minseok’s little friend had grown accustomed to the extra weight and walking for the last two months. That meant his wings were just a little too weak to lift him up again. He needed to build up his muscles and mental strength once more. All of which Minseok was more than supportive to help him through.

“Two times a day, you’ll set times to flap your wings. And at the end of the week, I think we should suspend you from a string and see if we can get some movement—” Minseok spoke aimlessly as he thought of the best regimen to follow, gathering the splints and putting them away neatly in a box for safe keeping.

All that time, the fairy just stared up at Minseok with big green glistening eyes, nearly misty with happiness and all the gratefulness he had ever felt in a lifetime.

“—oh, we should try to get resistance in there.. How about wind? I can look for high powered fans in town—” the fairy suddenly poked Minseok’s hand and asked to be lifted onto his shoulder.

Minseok was taken aback but thought nothing more than to oblige. Once the fairy was firmly on his shoulder, he leaned over and grabbed a tuft of Minseok’s hair to pull down. Minseok was thoroughly confused but tilted his head towards the fairy and felt what was like a light feather dusting press against his cheek.

When the fairy let go Minseok gave him an incredulous look, his big brown eyes blinking nonstop.

That incredulous look slowly changed into a crescent eyed and a toothy smile, Minseok said softly, “You’re welcome.”

…

Not a week after did something even more extraordinary happen in their everyday routine of research, tending to plants and making food.

The little fairy friend noticed the blueberry bushes growing outside were finally starting to bear fruit. The birds were devilish fiends and quite persistent about stealing them. This irked the little fairy, knowing that all Minseok’s hard work in caring for the bushes were being thrown away. There was only so much he could do being so small and flightless that his angry little head just started picking the berries!

He managed to pick the ones lowest to the ground (which was only about six berries) but the rest were far too high. He jumped and he stretched, using his translucent wings as hard as he could just to reach for the unripe little berries.

“Friend, I’ve picked up some jams from the florist. They made fresh jars for us—” Minseok called out as he rounded the corner of the mansion. He knew the little fairy would have been in the garden so he called out in hopes that he would greet him.

However, as he rounded the corner he watched as an irritated little fairy jumped up and grew two sizes bigger to grab the berries.

The jars of jam in his arms all fell into the grass, this alarmed the fairy and he turned to eventually smile at Minseok. He seemed totally unphased by growing so he was thoroughly confused as to why Minseok was staring at him like he had three heads.

With rushing feet, the fairy trotted through the grass in about the same size as a garden gnome. In his arms were all the blueberries gathered and he presented them with great vigor to Minseok.

But Minseok could hardly formulate proper words.

“Y-You.. You can grow,” he muttered.

The fairy raised a brow before looking down at himself and then compared his new eyeline. He seemed just as shocked, but more ecstatic than Minseok himself.  He jumped up and down knowing that he was getting better and better by the day.

Minseok smiled at the enthusiastic little thing and picked him up and the jars of jam. The fairy held a blueberry out for Minseok to try, to which he gladly ate. But his mouth puckered, and eyes narrowed at the sour taste.

“Oh dear, these aren’t quite ready yet. I think they need to ripen for a little while longer.”

The fairy took a bite of one as well and quickly spit it back out. Minseok was right, these were not blueberries worthy of consumption just yet. He pointed out at the birds flying about and made an angry face, pounding one of his hands into the other.

Minseok let out a breathy laugh at the small thing on his shoulder.

“You’re upset about them taking the berries?”

The fairy nodded furiously, his face red with anger again.

“But they must eat, too, you know? I’m surprised they’ll eat them still so early on, but they do have to find ways of survival, too.”

The fairy listened to Minseok’s works intently but seemed to grow forlorn by the second. Of course, he knew the birds had to survive, he only wished the birds wouldn’t eat all of Minseok’s hard work!

“Don’t worry. I know you’ve used a lot of your magic to help them grow. That must upset you that they don’t even ask or say thank you. I’ll put some nets around them tomorrow after going into town. How does that sound?”

The fairy felt his heart go soft at Minseok’s kind words. His cheeks turned pink so naturally he looked away and nodded bashfully.

“Good, now come on. Let’s have a snack.”

The days passed by peacefully like that. The fairy growing each day in size, and his wings were able to hold more and more of his weight thanks to Minseok’s thoughtful ingenuity.

The fairy only grew upset when he was too big for Minseok to pick up or place on his shoulder anymore. So, when he was the size of a child, he would settle for sitting on or in between Minseok’s legs. This waws often when they sat down to read a book in the forest or if Minseok needed to sit at the desk and write down research. A lot of the times the fairy would just watch him do his work and eventually curl up against his chest and fall right asleep. Other times, he would rest his head in Minseok’s lap, eating a snack or simply listening to the soothing voice that read aloud the stories in his books.

Of course, with this growing size difference, that meant a new place to sleep or take naps. Minseok offered many times for the fairy to use one of the many spare rooms in the house, but the nights never lasted long before the fairy found his way back to Minseok’s room. He was a clingy creature. So, they settled for a time with the chaise couch at the foot of Minseok’s bed and set up into a comfy spot for sleep. It was decorated often with ivy vines and petals of freshly picked flowers, and almost always had a pillow and blanket to keep him cozy.

Tan was more supportive now that he was bigger. She never had the instinct to chase him down and play a deadly game of tag and kill. Instead, the fairy could pet her and enjoy a relaxing moment with her.

After another week, the fairy had successfully and finally managed the use of his wings. He could hover, speed and stop in all directions. It was for short bursts of time, but it was still better than anything he could ever imagine. Not to mention, he could control his growth more; he could shrink on command but never grow more than the biggest size unless he went through a growth spurt randomly in the week.

The fairy was at about hip height on Minseok when one day he wasn’t.

Minseok had walked into the conservatory-turned-greenhouse after whipping up some tea sandwiches for lunch when a man about his height was incredulously staring at his hands. A sort of half excited half unsure smile danced on the man’s lips.

The fairy had finally grown, all the way to the first size Minseok distinctly remembered from their first meeting.

“I guess I should stop calling you my little friend from now on?” Minseok said playfully.

The fairy shot his head up with an overly excited smile on his face. He pranced over to Minseok and held the man’s arms and stared directly into those large golden-brown eyes. Their faces just inches apart.

“Minseok! Kim Minseok!” were the first words to slip out from those two beautiful lips.

Minseok’s heart stopped at the sound coming from his lips. It was both delightful and otherworldly as well as successful in making Minseok’s mouth drop—he had no idea the fairy could even talk. 

The fairy laughed a breathy laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down and green eyes nearly glittering with golden light.

“Y-You can talk..” was all Minseok managed to unintelligently say.

The fairy nodded. “Only in this form to interact with humans. But more importantly, I’ve been dying to tell you my name all this time.”

Minseok gave him a questioning look and waited for him to go on.

The fairy simply pressed their foreheads together gently.

“My name is Jongdae. Your father named me that many years ago.”

“You.. you knew my father?” Minseok asked with great surprise.

Jongdae nodded. “Do you remember the caretaker that used to live here?”

Minseok thought for a moment before nodding.

“He was my father. Your father rescued him from a fox attack before you were born. So, he dedicated his life to repay him back.”

Minseok’s brows furrowed, “He was the one who sent me the letter.. Where is your father now?”

“He’s back in the colony with my mother and siblings.”

“They must be worried sick about you!” Minseok exclaimed and he pulled away from their connected heads.

Jongdae laughed so beautifully that Minseok felt his heart skip a beat again. It was always so fantastical to see the little fairy laugh, but now that it was vocal it was as ethereal as he dreamed it would be. “It’s okay. My family knows I’m here. They’ve visited in secret many times before.”

Minseok was taken aback. “Oh.”

“Come! I have so much to tell you now that I can finally speak to you!” Jongdae grabbed Minseok’s hand in his and began to pull him towards the doors that led outside. “Why the flowers grow so vibrantly, why the toadstool dance with each other—it’s because they have to spend so much time with each other, they have to keep things lively—”

Minseok stood his ground, “Wait..” He looked to the ground with furrowed and complicated face. “You could have been with your family all this time.. You could have healed faster with them, why have you stayed here so long?” There was a lot of sensory overload right now, Minseok just needed a second.

Jongdae closed the space between them, still holding onto his hand. “Because I trusted you.” He gently took Minseok away and slowly walked in the opposite direction through the house and up the several flights of stairs. “When a fairy’s life is saved, they owe a debt to the one who helped them. I stayed because I owe you this debt. I would not have survived that fall if not for you… We all knew who you were the moment you stepped foot in this part of the forest. Your father was a kind soul to us and the life here, and we sensed no kind of danger from you. So, we were excited to play tricks on you and introduce you slowly to who we were… But then, you put all your father’s work away; all the work he had left out for you to better assimilate yourself with this world. I took it upon myself to help open you up a little more to us. My father was completely against it since you seemed set on not wanting anything to do with us. He said I should have respected your wishes. But I knew the son of Kim Mal Chin had to be a good person, too.”

He paused outside of the attic room at the very top of the stairs. He stood there looking at Minseok with a beaming smile, gazing into those big, warm, and soft brown eyes.

“It may not have gone as planned, my father was angry at me, but I was right. I was more than right about you.” Jongdae turned the knob and slowly brought them into the musty attic air.

It was the same as Minseok had left it just two months ago, a few boxes messily strewn about and the old junk still collecting an unruly amount of dust. Jongdae let go of Minseok and hurried to open the window at the end of the room. A very steady stream of sunlight trickled in and each ray passing through his wings was like sparkling glass reflecting against Minseok’s pale skin.

Jongdae rummaged around for a box, Minseok naturally gravitated over.

“The night you found me in here, I accidentally dropped this box trying to look for something.” He held up the old rusty lunch box. “Your father collected many trinkets of the forest and placed them safely in here.”

“What were you looking for?” Minseok asked in a gentle tone. He felt content just watching Jongdae look so gracefully between the items inside.

“This… Close your eyes.” Jongdae beamed a cheeky grin.

Minseok grimaced. “You have that mischievous look in your eyes again.”

“Trust me. I think you’ll like this.”

Minseok eventually closed his eyes and hardly felt the ground near him shift. Jongdae was as light on his feet in the size of a human as if he were a tiny little fairy again. A cold chain s around his neck but the warmth of Jongdae so close to his back made his skin turn to pleasant gooseflesh.

“What dances when it falls, counts to three then turns and hums with triplets?” Jongdae sings in a playful voice.

Once Jongdae attached the necklace he stepped in front. Minseok opened his eyes and grabbed onto the item now hanging just on his collar bone.

“Leaves…” He muttered as he turned the leaves attached to the necklace over. There were three leaves attached to a silver chain. They were sturdy leaves; nothing was going to break them anytime soon. But they also glistened, like a sheen layer of gloss coated them.

“Of the three-flowered maple in the grove. It is a sacred tree to us here. It gives us the touch of life that you cannot see in your towns and cities. It hums with magic and life, so we protect it with our lives. And we present the fallen leavens to those we find trustworthy of its existence.”

Minseok looked up with misty eyes, “I… I can’t accept this. What of everyone else’s thoughts?”

“I’m giving it to you because I trust you. Even if there are those who do not agree, they will soon see that I am correct.”

“Was this my father’s before me?”

Jongdae nodded. “Yes. Now, I give it to you willingly. And I hope that you stay here with us, with me,” Jongdae’s cheeks turned pink. “For as long as you possibly can.”

A smile wanted to creep on Minseok’s face.

“I’ll follow you anywhere, after all, I owe you my life. But I do hope you consider staying.”

Minseok frowned. “Jongdae, you should stay here, with your family. Do you have a loved one and little ones to care for, as well?”

Jongdae shook his head. “It’s only my parents and siblings here for me. But, there is a loved one I have. One I’d like to spend the rest of my life with.”

Minseok sighed and gave Jongdae a weary smile. “Then you shouldn’t vow a lifetime to owe me a debt. Especially if you wish to spend the rest of yours with this person.” He put a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder. “Go to them. I don’t intend on leaving any time soon.” Minseok would never admit to the small pit in his stomach he felt after hearing that there was someone Jongdae wished to spend his life with. Part of it was jealousy, and part of it was guilt—he could never take Jongdae away from the one he loves.

“Okay.” Jongdae beamed the toothiest smile Minseok had ever seen. The fairy even grabbed Minseok’s hand and pressed the palm onto his lips.

Minseok’s brows furrowed, “What are you doing?”

“I’m accepting your wishes.”

Minseok stood there confused as Jongdae continued to leave gingered kisses all over his hand.

“I’ve become very fond of you, Kim Minseok. I hope that we can spend a very long time together.”

Minseok blinked a few times before it finally settled in.

Oh.

Oh.

“I think.. I’d quite like that.” He smiled widely for Jongdae and the two embraced. Jongdae bare chest beating against Minseok’s through his thin blouse.

Minseok took in a deep satisfying breath. The smell of flowers and leaves from Jongdae’s being was more potent than before, but just as familiar. It was a unique scent, but it was something he knew he would love to smell from now on. This was a life he was ready to stick to.

a/n: hope you enjoy!