Key kept pressing Jonghyun against his chest. The next thing the male noticed was the absolute darkness; no light, no sound and no Key. Everything seemed senseless, nothing could hurt, but nothing could bring happiness either. It was suffocating. Usually darkness couldn’t really bother him all that much, but there was something about this darkness that was beyond peculiar.

Suddenly everything was bright again. Jonghyun felt as if he could breathe again. A breath of fresh air was well needed. Even though it was already bright outside, it was still cold when he finally opened his eyes. His chest felt heavy. When Jonghyun’s eyes had adjusted to the light, he was finally able to actually see Key fast asleep on his chest. It was the first time he saw the other’s sleeping form and he had to admit that it was quite beautiful to witness. He hadn’t noticed Key’s true beauty before. How his lashes were very full, his lips bow shaped and even his nose was perfect.

The sad thing was that the fact still remained that Key was a man. So no matter how much Jonghyun would like or love Key, he couldn’t marry him. If the maiden had been female, there wouldn’t have been even a second thought. He would have made Key his in a heartbeat , but that wasn’t the reality he lived in.

Key started to stir in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened and he started to rub the sleep out of his eyes right away. A slight yawn followed before the maiden realized he had lain on Jonghyun’s chest the whole time. The younger male sat up and adjusted his clothing. Jonghyun was the first to actually attempt to start a conversation.
                “Good morning” he greeted softly.
The maiden glared at the hunter. It was then that Jonghyun  noticed a small scar under the other’s eye. It could only be seen in certain light. It was another small thing that he had learned about Key that day. He liked learning little things about the other.
Key just huffed and shook his head before standing up. He was actually wearing a bright blush on his cheeks. It was very likely that Key had noticed that the hunter was staring at him.

                The maiden walked into the kitchen and stood steady enough to take in Jonghyun’s next few words.
              “What was that strange happening yesterday?” he was very straight forward. Keu was taken aback by the question, he didn’t want Jonghyun to know anything yet, so he gave the other the cold shoulder. The only thing he hadn’t taken into account, was that the hunter was very persistent. When he wanted to know something, he had to get it.
                “Please Key, pretty please? Explain it to me” the older plead, using his big eyes to persuade the other to spill what it was they had encountered.

The maiden hugged, he had to consider the right choice of words for a moment. “I might tell you, but we haven’t even eaten yet and you start asking me complicated questions!” Jonghyun’s blanket was pulled off him, folded and then put away by Key.
                “Get off your bum and help me get some food ready!” the hunter hadn’t expected the other to be that dominant. He decided that he liked that side of Key as well, it wasn’t wife-like but very peculiar, it suited him. There was nothing left for him to do but help the maiden.
 

He got to his feet and walked after Key to, what he assumed was, the kitchen. The male had to admit that the tree house was  very nice. There were no decorations, but in his opinion it wasn’t needed either. He did wonder who had built it though.
Key entered the small kitchen, which was nothing more than a few small cabinets. On one of the cabinets stood a basket with fruits collected by Key.
Jonghyun carefully inspected the fresh fruit collection and came to the conclusion that there were some poisonous berries in there as well. He gave Key a playful glare as the other grabbed two plates.
                “Are you trying to poison me?” The hunter questioned, Key just huffed in response.

                “Well excuse me for not being human then” He responded right away. Jonghyun just chuckled, but was quite intrigued by the other’s statement. He hadn’t really paid attention to the fact that Key wasn’t human that day yet.
                “So they aren’t poisonous to you? You can eat them?” he questioned. The maiden just nodded in an affirmative manner.
                “Of course I can, why else would  they be in that basket?!”Of course Jonghyun had to keep quiet after that. It was quite clear that Key wasn’t in the mood for discussions at all. He served the hunter a plate with basic fruit on it. The ones that were safe to eat for humans that he knew off. Key didn’t know all that much about humans to begin with so he had to make a rough guess based on the berries Jonghyun had identified as poisonous.
               
                “Thank you Key.” Jonghyun thanked the other as he gratefully took the plate with a big smile plastered on his face. His smile caught Key by surprise, making him look away with yet another small huff. The hunter knew he got Key right where he wanted him to be. After that they ate in silence until most of the food was gone.

                 “well now Key, would you like to explain what happened?” Jonghyun tried again. The ither male just sighed and gave in.
                “Fine Jjong. Fine!” Key didn’t even notice that he was using a nickname for the other, but Jonghyun did notice and felt his heart rate speed up a bit. The hunter sat down on the wooden floor so he would have a better focus on Key. The maiden just rolled his eyes and sat down as well before he started to explain.
                “Well…” he started. “That strange deformation in sound and the sudden darkness was caused by something dangerous. “ that sparked Jonghyun’s interest right away, he was quite curious by nature so this sparked that.  
                “To be honest, even I don’t know exactly what it is or what it is called for that matter…” Key looked away for a brief moment. “All I know is that it is some kind of beast that dwells within the woods, if the stories about it are true that is. It’s also said that it’s strongly attracted by humans….but…since it well…distorts this world in almost every way, it can’t be very healthy to get up close to it. Yesterday  it was near but not close by far and we passed out from it’s presence already…imagine what would happen if either of us actually faced it”
                Key shivered at the thought, but Jonghyun appeared to be quite fascinated by it.

“Key according to the stories…what does it look like? How big is it? Where does it usually appear?”Jonghyun couldn’t  help but to ask out of his curious nature. His interest was  sparked by this unknown creature, but before he knew it he was hit on the head by Key.
 “Didn’t your mother teach you to stay away from things that can kill you?” he sounded slightly pissed.

“Aish! You didn’t have to hit me over it!”the male whined and rubbed the slight bump on his head.

“As for your questions…” Key started. “All I know is that it only appears at night and at random.” The maiden continued to finis eating his food. Jonghyun figured that he should keep his mouth shut regarding the creature subject.

The hunter finished his own food. It had tasted normal enough so there was nothing to complain about. He noticed that key was very absorbed in his eating activity. To Jonghyun it was cute, but that thought startled him as well. He knew he shouldn’t think this way about Key. It made the man wonder multiple things.
                Why did Key live alone? What were the shackles for? Why was he a maiden while being a male, Jonghyun had always assumed there were only female ones and why did he always seem to be so sad? The strange thing was that Jonghyun wanted to take all of that sadness away, he wanted to see the other’s smile more. He was brought back to reality when he noticed Key waving at him.
                “Where the hell were you with your thoughts?” the maiden questioned.

“Thinking”

They had both finished their food, so Key took away the plate and prepared to go down to the late to clean them. Jonghyun didn’t quite catch on until Key went down the ladder of the tree house.  The hunter quickly got up and followed the other down.
                “Key wait up!”
He caught up with the other. Key just raised an eyebrow. Jonghyun held up his hands, he needed a moment to calm down from the sudden rush. As he caught his breath he noticed that the shackle became more visible than it had been inside the tree house. It made him wonder whether there was a connection between the tree house and the appearance of the shackle.
 
Key lowered the plates in the water and just ignored the hunter completely. He scrubbed them off so they were clean again. Jonghyun slowly sat down next to the maiden and waited. Key got startled when he noticed the other next to him. He had been thinking and hadn’t paid enough attention to his surroundings.

Jonghyun found it to be very odd that Key got that startled. He had clearly made his presence known before.  
                “Is something wrong?” he questioned softly.
The maiden shook his head, but the hunter wasn’t buying it at all. “Can you please tell me? I’m worried you know, you’re really out of it.” He insisted and to continued to pry out an answer. Key put the plates down and looked Jonghyun straight in the eyes.
                “You’re going to hunt that creature, aren’t you? I saw it in your eyes, you shouldn’t meddle with things you don’t know of”
               
Jonghyun was flabbergasted. The maiden huffed and stood up with the plates in hand. “But you should do as you please. You’re just a stupid human.” With that he walked back to his willow, ignoring Jonghyun again.  The hunter chased after the maiden, he didn’t agree at all, just from a look Key could supposedly see what he was thinking, that was uncalled for and untrue.
                “Key! Wait!” he ran as fast as his feet could carry him in his chase, but key was faster. It made it painfully obvious that Key wasn’t human.  Still Jonghyun kept going, chasing the other male. He didn’t know why he was so concerned for Key’s well being, but he just was and he had to do something.

The man climbed up to the tree house in the willow, only to find the maiden quietly working in the kitchen. For some reason he wanted to hug Key and before he even considered it, his body had done so already, it was a completely natural sensation to him. Thrilling of course, but very natural, as if it had to be that way. He was hugging Key from behind, to let him know he cared.

                “Let go Jonghyun” Key stated and tried to get away, but the man refused to do so. He wanted the other to know that he was serious, though he didn’t quite knew how to express it. To Jonghyun everything just felt right, he had to hold the maiden, it was just that simple.
                Key sighed and didn’t quite respond, he kept struggling. Jonghyun was persistent though, he kept holding Key in his embrace.
 
                “I won’t let go until you stop being mad at me because you assumed I would do something.” He said firmly.

                “But you’re still a stupid human who’s to curious for his own good.” The maiden just stared at the ground.
“But I won’t hunt that thing…” Jonghyun tried to convince the maiden. “I promise I won’t get into trouble with the thing, I won’t hunt it…”

Key sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not just the creature, there are many more things and your curiosity is won’t die down…How can I trust your word when I don’t know you that well?” Key was being quite reasonable, but he had made a valid point. He hadn’t know Jonghyun for long and didn’t know whether he was that trustworthy as he claimed to be. Jonghyun didn’t have an answer ready for Key to that at all, but suddenly he just spoke his mind.

                “Because, me dying would separate us.” He whispered sadly, taking the other by surprise. Key quickly turned around and looked Jonghyun in the eyes.
 
                “But we aren’t together and we never will be.”
Jonghyun’s heart shattered in a million pieces right there. “But…” he tried, but Key interrupted him right away.
                “We will never be together, not near, nor far, nor soon Jonghyun.”Key was very clear about it. It couldn’t exist, even if there would have been feelings, they were from different backgrounds and with different convictions that clashed every now and then. It couldn’t be, not for Key that was. It took the hunter by surprise that the maiden was that frank.

                “Jonghyun, you belong with the humans, in a village, not with me in a forest.” The differences were large, but Jonghyun never viewed that as something bad. He refused to believe they couldn’t be together in a way, he got a little pissed over it.

                “What is it that I don’t know then?! Tell me why we can’t be together, I don’t see how I don’t belong in this world like you do. It’s true I don’t know much of your culture, but I do know about you, you’re nice to be around, even if you nag and have a bad temper at times” the man argued and he was wondering what his true feelings were since he felt his heart clench.

“I am not obliged to answer you” Key said firmly. 

“If we’re in different worlds…teach me about yours, I will leave mine if I have to” Jonghyun was very persistent. The maiden rolled his eyes but still shook his head. He was mostly scared, for himself and for the hunter.

“Please Key, please!” the man plead. The other just sighed and gave in. “Fine, I will teach you things, but not today, you wear me out with your human-ness, pleading and whining” Key waved the other off. Jonghyun somewhat got the hint, but not well enough.
                “So you don’t hate me as a person, right?”
The maiden huffed and went into his supposed bedroom, which was nothing more than a curtain separating the bedroom and the rest of the house. The hunter did get this hint and didn’t follow the other. A little while later Key returned. He had changed into a different outfit. The clothes he had now had a looser fit. Than the ones he had worn prior.
 
                “Do you only have those kind of clothes?” Key wore almost feminine like clothes, wide fitting and light coloured. It looked great on him, but it didn’t seem to fit his personality at all. Jonghyun earned himself a glare for that question.
                “Well excuse me, at least I change my clothes. You have been wearing that outfit for the last two days and by the smell of you, probably even longer than that.” Key nagged.
 Jonghyun didn’t seem to be as offended as the other had expected him to be. “I’ll go wash myself then” he whined like a scolded dog.

Key got up and just smirked triumphantly, his nagging had been successful .

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A (belated) Merry Christmas to all of you~! Again I am sorry for not updating due to finals and losing my notes TT-TT but I will write a lot in the upcoming two weeks since it’s the holidays and all, plus I will be using this story for a project so it will speed up my writing and the updates! As for the gift I promised, you guys will have to wait for the belated Christmas present from my side so for now, please have some JongKey~!

(Yes this comes from my tumblr, which I don't update often)

And thank you all for your kind words and support. It warms my heart every time!

 

<3 Siv