Archive of Our Own ^beta

Namjoon keeps telling him he's fine and that he needs to stop worrying; that this is nothing but a cold. He always gets a cold when the season changes, when spring comes—it's normal.

But Yoongi isn't a fool and can see immediately that this is not a simple cold. He keeps quiet for the first few days because he knows Namjoon doesn't like it when people fuss over him, but Jin shares his same concerns.

“He looks weak,” Seokjin whispers in his ear one day, as they tend to his shop.

Yoongi castes a glance towards Namjoon, the man is currently moving to the right shelf at the other side of the shop to place new herbs and spices on top of it.

“I know,” Yoongi replies.

Namjoon's skin is paler than normal. Namjoon is never pale, his skin has always been sunkissed.

But still, they keep quiet.

That is until one day, as they are about to close the shop, Namjoon just falls on the ground in front of their eyes and doesn't get up.

Both Yoongi and Seokjin stare at his body for a few seconds before their brains progress what has just happened. Seokjin is the first one who rushes to Namjoon, getting on his knees and shaking him, calling his name with a voice that Yoongi has never heard before, something tense and on edge to his usual calm tone. Yoongi can only stare, terrified, because his friend isn't waking up.

The village's doctor visits him but he doesn't know what it is.

“He has trouble breathing,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking at Namjoon's unconscious body. “But I don't know what it is. I'm afraid not many would.”

"What does that mean?" Yoongi asks, eyes wide. "You're a medic. You should know."

"He's healthy," the man replies. "His body is healthy, but his lungs aren't. When it comes to the lungs—I'm afraid I can't do much. I'm sorry."

Seokjin keeps making decoctions and brews with herbs he knows are good for the lungs, that should help Namjoon breathe better.

They don't work.

He keeps wheezing in his unconscious state, coughing in his sleep.

Namjoon sometimes wakes up and he always laughs at them.

“What are those worried faces of yours?” He whispers, voice hoarse and eyes red- “This is nothing but a cold.”

Three days go by and Namjoon's breathing gets worse, he barely manages to stay awake long enough to eat something or to take his medications.

There's a fever that wrecks his body day and night.

Yoongi can barely sleep at night because of the horrible noises Namjoon makes as he tries to breathe, bloodcurdling fits of cough.

It's on the fifth day that Yoongi understands that his friend, his brother, will die.

Yoongi and Seokjin are sitting outside the shop, both smoking their pipes, looking at the smoke that gets carried away by the evening breeze.

The sun has already set and it only left a faint orange glow to the already darkening sky.

It's quiet; the kids that were playing outside already went back to their houses, and the neighboring stores are closing for the day.

“If it were a spell,” Yoongi mutters. “Maybe I could help. I feel useless.”

It's insane. The fact that Yoongi is actually wishing for Namjoon's illness to be a spell or a curse is insane.

“We both are, in this case,” Seokjin replies. “I'm a healer. Do you see me healing him?” A pause, then the man breathes in deeply. “Yoongi, what if he dies?”

“Shit, Seokjin.” Yoongi sighs “Don't say that.”

“What if he does, Yoongi?”

He doesn't want to answer that. He doesn't even have an answer.

They grew up together, all three of them, Yoongi doesn't know what they'd do if Namjoon were to die. He doesn't want to know.

A strong breeze suddenly breaks on Yoongi's face, his hair ending in front of his eyes and on his mouth. Yoongi sighs and turns to Seokjin, frowning once he sees the man's eyes narrowed on the smoke of his pipe, brows furrowed and lips slightly parted.

"Seokjin?"

“I've heard of someone who could help,” Jin murmurs, Yoongi's eyes widen in surprise. “But I don't know if-”

“What did you hear?” His voice shakes at the end.

Jin brings the pipe to his lips, inhaling, then, “I've heard one of the customers say there is a Gumiho in the village.”

Yoongi holds his breath, his heart jumps in his chest and then hammers against his ribcage.

A Gumiho? How could a Gumiho end in their village, a small place with barely a thousand residents and nothing luxurious to offer?

Yoongi remains silent, waiting for Seokjin to elaborate.

“He told me that the Gumiho is in the red lights district, in one of the whore houses. That he offers his knowledge to humans.”

“Knowledge.”

Seokjin hums, he takes another drag of smoke from his wooden pipe.

“He will give you the answer you're looking for if you give him a fair payment.” Jin shakes his head. “But I don't know, Yoongi. A Gumiho? Here? In a whore house? Heavens, how can it be true? What if it's nothing but a scam? It wouldn't be the first time. They once said a man had found and killed a Goblin .”

“But what if it is true?” Yoongi clenches his jaw.

Seokjin looks at him with tired eyes.

"What would you do if it were true?"

“I'd go. Even if it's just to see, we need to try.”

Slowly, Jin nods, pressing his lips in a firm line. “Yeah, we do.”

Jin tells him to go to the red district close to midnight since, apparently, the owner of the whore house shows the Gumiho for only an hour, starting from the middle of the night.

He's here just to see if it's true. He won't go inside the brothel, not tonight. But if a Gumiho is really in the village, then he needs to see it with his own eyes.

Yoongi stands in the street beside one of the wooden carts that sell steamed mandus to pedestrians, right at the corner of the road, the brothel in front of him.

The building that Jin told him is the one where Yoongi should find the Gumiho looks old but well kept, with at least three floors; Yoongi can see that there is a balcony on the third one, with lanterns hanging from the roof and from wooden poles. There seems to be a red curtain that, perhaps, will be moved to show the Gumiho. So Yoongi waits.

For all he knows, it could be an actor.

It isn't uncommon for men to pretend they are hiding a divine creature in their stores to attract more customers and attention. Just a few years ago, a fabric merchant lied about being blessed by an Imugi . Yoongi wouldn't be surprised to find out that all of this is nothing but a sham.

To kill time, Yoongi buys a mandu from the street vendor and eats it slowly, hissing when he takes his first bite and his tongue stings because of the scorching heat of the filling. But it tastes delicious, the meat is flavorful and the pastry of the dumpling isn't too soggy.

As Yoongi smokes from his long wooden pipe, the hours go by and, finally, the wait is over.

As midnight strikes, the curtains, just like Yoongi thought, open and they reveal the Gumiho.

Yoongi wasn't expecting this.

He heard stories of Gumihos, of horrible and cruel demons that craved blood, who looked half human and half foxes, bloody creatures who appeared as cunning as they were. But from where Yoongi is standing, all he can see is a young man.

He can't be much younger than him and—and there's nothing cruel to him. The third floor is high and Yoongi can't really see him well, but he knows that there is nothing horrible about his features, nothing that could have him thinking that the young man is a fox. All Yoongi knows, at this point, is that the Gumiho looks beautiful.

There are more men standing beneath the balcony now, looking in awe at the Gumiho, some shouting for him, others yelling out indecencies. The Gumiho doesn't seem to mind, maybe he doesn't even hear them. Yoongi sees him curling what appears to be a tail around his waist and that's all the Gumiho does for the next hour, his eyes probably set on the wall of the building on the opposite side of the road. He simply sits there, on the threshold of the balcony, staring.

From what Yoongi can see, the Gumiho looks either really bored or just tired, but he's too far to be actually sure.

Yoongi squints his eyes then, trying to catch more details that could help him understand if that is a true Gumiho and not a simple actor. Ah, he really can't see much from this distance, the tail curled on his legs could be anything, even just a banal fur pellet. And those on top of the head of the young man could be real fox ears just as they could be fake.

Yoongi waits for an entire hour.

What should he do? He knows that the initial plan was to simply come and see if this Gumiho even existed, should he leave? Or should he stay and see some more?

Should he enter the whore house?

Ah, Seokjin wouldn't like it, he's sure of it. They had agreed on simply looking for tonight and then come up with some sort of plan for the following days but—they don't have time to waste, do they?

Namjoon could be already dead for all Yoongi knows.

Finally, after an hour or so, the curtains are drawn closed and the Gumiho disappears from his sight.

The little crowd in front of the building starts walking away at this point, except for a man who walks inside.

They don't have time to waste.

Time is a luxury Yoongi might never have again.

Yoongi breathes in deeply, preparing himself mentally, then follows the man and heads towards the whore house. He crosses the road, head downcast so that his long black hair covers most of his face, and then steps inside.

There's a long corridor in front of him, with candles attached to the walls on iron candle holders, barely giving light, just flimsy shadows on the walls. Yoongi keeps walking, sparing a few glances to his back as he ventures further inside until the sound of his boots against the creaking wooden floor is louder than the noises of the street outside.

He reaches the end of the corridor and finds himself in the middle of a narrow room, dark walls with no decorations whatsoever. To his right, there's a man dressed in silk robes so sheer that Yoongi has to tear his eyes away from the exposed skin.

"What are you here for?" The man asks him with a wide smile, the shape of his lips reminds Yoongi of an arched bow. "Women? Men?"

Yoongi blinks, suddenly at a loss for words. He's never been one for whore houses, but to hear a man speaking so bluntly to him is something even more unnerving.

Suddenly, the wide smile disappears, the man's eyes narrow.

"Children?"

"No!" Yoongi swallows heavily. "No, I—That is not why I'm here."

The man hums and leans against the wall, with a hand he moves his long hair off his shoulder. He's attractive, Yoongi notes, with strong features and a straight nose. His thin wrists are covered with silver bracelets, pearl earrings dangling from his ears and, even if his hair is styled in a simple minsangtu like any other lower class man, the top knot is fastened with a beautiful hairpin, possibly made of jade.

"Then what brings you here?"

Yoongi licks his lips and throws a glance towards the sliding wooden door to his left that, no doubts, must take him even deeper in the whore house.

"The Gumiho."

The man's eyes widen slightly, his eyebrows raising.

"Ah," he breathes. "I see. Well, if you wish to meet him then go through that door—" the man points to Yoongi's right. "Follow the main corridor, up the stairs to the third floor. If there are shoes in front of the room then it means you have to wait for your turn. Take your boots off once you're there."

Yoongi blinks a few times, earning an amused look from the man.

"I—that is all?"

"Indeed it is," the man replies, his grin wide once again. "Ah, but be careful. Be respectful, even. He has claws and they're awfully sharp."

Well, then.

Yoongi heaves a sigh, suddenly regretting ever stepping in this place. Perhaps he should leave, he can still turn around and call it a night.

Ah, but he doesn't have time.

Namjoon doesn't have time.

Yoongi nods at the man. "Thank you."

The young man simply waves at him with a relaxed smile, eyes lidded.

Yoongi turns around and goes to the door, sliding it open and then he walks deeper into the house.

The floor level looks like any other whore house, closed wooden doors and a straight corridor that leads to a round of stairs at the end of it. There are laughter and loud voices booming behind each door. Yoongi guesses, as he walks down the corridor, that these are the rooms where the prostitutes serve cheap soju to the customers, Yoongi can even hear music being played with a gayageum .

Quickly, Yoongi climbs up the stairs.

The second floor is different. The stairs that will bring him to the third floor are right in front of him, but Yoongi's body freezes for a moment as muffled moans and cries reach his ears.

He grimaces and shakes his head before he starts going up the stairs again, this time faster, almost two steps at a time. This last round of stairs is longer than the other, Yoongi imagined that the third floor would be higher up compared to the others. He still ends up being short of breath once he finally reaches it.

Yoongi is surprised to find a very short corridor and a sliding door in front of him. This one isn't made of wood like the others; it has panels of rice paper, with delicate cherry blossoms painted on it. He frowns, surprised at the sudden change of style, now so similar to the Japanese houses.

In front of the door, there's a pair of rubber shoes. That means someone must be in the room already.

Yoongi sighs and walks to it, then he kneels down on the floor and waits. He can kind of hear voices coming from the room, but they're quiet and Yoongi can't quite make out what they're speaking about. He also realizes he doesn't really care, so he decides to focus on the rice paper panel in front of him.

Seokjin will be worried. Yoongi told him he'd be back to the store in just a couple of hours to tell him about the Gumiho, but now that he's here he imagines he'll be quite late.

But this is good. He truly can't waste any more days stalling, not when Namjoon is barely breathing. Not when he barely opens his eyes.

Yoongi takes off his boots, putting them next to the rubber gloves, and then he waits.

After maybe half an hour, the doors slide open.

Yoongi looks up and his eyes meet with another man's, maybe in his forties. The stranger quickly tears his gaze away and puts his shoes on before he hurriedly walks away. Yoongi follows him with his eyes until the man disappears down the stairs.

This means it's his turn.

Yoongi breathes in deeply and then stands up. He walks into the room and his entire body locks.

The room is large, decorated with expensive furniture, beautiful paintings on the walls, soft cushions scattered around the floor. He can see the balcony, too, the curtains aren't drawn closed anymore so that the fresh air of the spring night can fill the room.

And then, in the middle of it, there's the Gumiho.

If Yoongi thought the creature was beautiful from a distance, now that he sees him up close he's simply awestruck.

The Gumiho is wearing nothing but the upper lining of a Kimono, held loosely together by a silk belt, displaying shamelessly a great portion of his collarbones and chest. He's smoking from a pipe that might be made of real gold, and a fine silver chains hang from his neck.

The Gumiho tilts his head to the side, long silver hair brushing along his shoulder, a beautiful golden hairpin fastens the bun on top of his head.

He sits comfortably on a pile of cushions, legs folded to the side and they're—they're covered by a beautiful grey tail, long and large in size. It might as well be as long as Yoongi’s entire body and the fur is so thick...

Yoongi has seen beautiful furs in his life being sold in shops and even by the street. Pellets of the most luxurious fur, of animals Yoongi has never even seen.

That tail isn't fake.

As soon as Yoongi thinks that, the tail twitches faintly, but it's enough to make Yoongi flinch in surprise.

"The door."

Yoongi blinks and then brings his eyes back to the Gumiho's face.

"I—" Yoongi clears his voice. "Pardon?"

"The door," the Gumiho repeats. "Close it."

Yoongi quickly does as he's told, sliding the door closed behind his back.

The Gumiho points at one of the many pillows in front of him with his pipe before he brings it back to his lips.

"Sit comfortably."

Yoongi manages to bring himself to the pillow, although he knows that the way he's walking must look extremely awkward.

He sits down on the pillow, cross-legged and he looks at the Gumiho.

He has such—delicate features. His nose is straight and his lips plump, a beautiful tanned complexion and full cheeks, long hair of the same color of the moon framing his face.

But his gaze might be the most intense thing Yoongi ever felt on himself.

The Gumiho seems to be regarding him as well, maybe even with just as much interest. His eyes move swiftly over Yoongi's face and then down to his body.

"Mh. Young," he says. He takes a drag of smoke from the pipe and breathes it out slowly. "Not many young men come to me."

Yoongi remains quiet.

The ears are real, too. They twitch on top of the Gumiho's head each time a loud noise from the street reaches the room.

Oh, this is just insane.

The Gumiho is real.

It wasn't a scam, it's actually there. Sitting on cushions and dressed in a way that is even more lewd than any of the prostitutes of this whore house.

"Why are you here?" The Gumiho asks. He sounds quite bored. "What do you need?"

This is it.

Yoongi closes his eyes for a moment, he takes a long breath and holds it in his lungs before he looks at the Gumiho again.

"A friend of mine is sick," he says. "He's like a brother to me, closer than my actual family. The doctor doesn't know how to help him and—even a healer I know, an incredibly capable one, is at loss."

The Gumiho doesn't say anything, he simply stares at Yoongi without showing much interest.

"He has trouble breathing and a fever has been devouring his body for days. He's going to die soon, he can barely open his eyes anymore. With each passing second, he grows weaker."

The fox hums, bringing the pipe to his lips.

"I need to find a way to cure him." Yoongi's hands curl in fists above his thighs. "I don't care about the price, you can have anything. You can even eat my heart if that's what you wish for."

The Gumiho arches an eyebrow, but he still remains quiet.

"So if there's a way—if you know of one—"

"What is it that you do for a living?"

Yoongi remains silent for a moment, his mouth open. He frowns then, a breeze comes into the room from the window and Yoongi can smell a waft of what must be incense, the scent pungent and floral.

"My job?"

"Yes." The Gumiho nods. "What is your job? Surely, it can't be a normal one. Not with all that power you carry inside you."

Oh.

Yoongi squints his eyes, suddenly wary.

The Gumiho seems to notice this as he gives him a small smile, although it looks more like a smirk.

"I'm a spirit, I can sense power when there is enough of it. And you—" The fox gestures at him with the pipe. "You're full of it. Almost like a shaman."

"I'm not a shaman."

"Clearly, you aren't." The Gumiho blinks. "Tell me, then. What are you?"

The creature will know if he lies. Yoongi knows of how cunning and clever they are, there's no way he could lie to him.

"I am a curse-breaker."

The Gumiho's eyes widen and Yoongi's breath gets stuck in his throat when he sees their color. He hasn't noticed before, but the Gumiho's eyes have the same color of those expensive, beautiful pearls that his mother used to treasure immensely, a light grey that almost seems white when the light hits it at the right angle.

"Oh," the Gumiho murmurs. "That is indeed a job that requires power."

Yoongi doesn't say anything. The Gumiho regards him for a while, his index finger tapping mindlessly on the pipe. The man from downstairs wasn't lying when he said that he had long claws.

"If your friend has an illness that people can't cure then you don't have many choices," the fox suddenly says. "You must give him something that doctors can't give him."

"And what would that be?"

"Do you know the lake behind the village?"

Yoongi nods.

He's been there before, especially during summer. Namjoon always liked it and went there fishing whilst Yoongi and Seokjin gathered herbs and berries that they could sell in the store.

"It is heavily populated by spirits," the Gumiho adds. "Lake spirits. Tiny little things they are, almost invisible to the human eye. Almost ."

"How can a lake spirit help me?"

"Well, they can't do anything. Their blood can do plenty."

Blood?

The Gumiho smiles. "Find one of those lake spirits. They're more active during the early hours of dawn, more visible when the sun isn't out yet. You must capture one." He takes a long drag of smoke and the silver bands on his wrist cling together at the motion. "Kill one, slit its throat open and have your friend drink its blood."

He has to kill a spirit.

Yoongi feels something acid rising from his stomach and his hands are uncomfortably clammy.

Lake spirits are nothing but peaceful creatures, protectors of their waters. They simply live there, carefree and loved by children and adults alike.

And he has to kill one.

"I've heard their blood tastes very sweet," the Gumiho sighs. "Ah, I'd love to drink some."

Yoongi grimaces, but he quickly forces his expression to become neutral again.

"Is that all I need to do?" He asks.

The Gumiho shrugs. "The blood of a lake spirit is quite powerful. They're pure creatures with ancient magic, therefore their blood is miraculous."

Yoongi nods. "Very well."

The Gumiho nods and then looks towards the balcony, his eyes unfocused as he smokes.

Yoongi waits silently but, when it's clear that the fox won't speak again, he clears his throat.

"What about the price?"

"Mh? Oh, that." The Gumiho purses his lips together, in a childlike fashion. "I don't know yet."

What?

Yoongi frowns. "You don't know?"

"Not yet. Ah, that's not good. I should know." The Gumiho shrugs. "It doesn't matter. I will know at some point. Come again when your friend will be healed and I shall tell you what price I demand from you."

Well, this is—quite unexpected.

Yoongi licks his lips and nods. "I will return then."

"Yes, do that." The fox smiles again. "I'll wait—what is your name?"

Is it smart to give his name to a Gumiho?

Damn it, does he even have a choice? Those claws look like they could rip his throat open without much pressure.

"Min Yoongi."

"What a pretty name. Yoongi." The Gumiho chuckles. "I'll wait for you, Yoongi."

"Thank you," Yoongi says as he stands up. He bows to the Gumiho. " Thank you ."

The Gumiho simply nods before he looks back to the open window of the balcony, smoking from his pipe.

Yoongi turns around and leaves the room, closing the sliding door once he's out.

He knows what he must do.

"What are you doing?"

Yoongi ignores Seokjin as he grabs a leather satchel, he shrugs it on his shoulder and then walks across the store to take anything he might need.

"Yoongi!" Seokjin calls again. "What are you doing? And where have you been?! I've been waiting for hours, you said you'd be back early!"

"He's real," Yoongi says. He spots a clean glass jar and grabs it. "The Gumiho is real."

"What? You've seen it?"

"I saw him. I spoke with him."

"You—" Seokjin blinks fast. "You said you would've only checked! Instead, you spoke with it?!"

"We can't waste any more time, so yes. I spoke with him." Yoongi walks around the counter and finds the pocket knife they often use to mince their herbs. He takes that as well and puts it in his satchel. "I have to go to the lake, find a lake spirit."

"A spirit?"

"It's going to heal Namjoon."

"I don't understand, what—"

"Seokjin!" Yoongi turns to the man. "I don't have time! I must go now!"

"What about the price?!" Seokjin hisses back. "What did you give that creature?!"

"Nothing. He still doesn't know what he wants as a price." Yoongi shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll go now, I'll do what I have to do."

"Wait." Seokjin looks at him for a moment and sighs. He walks towards one of the shelves and grabs another jar, this one full with a golden substance. He goes to Yoongi and hands the jar to him. "Lake spirits like honey."

Yoongi grabs the jar and throws it in the bag as well, then he looks at Seokjin.

Yoongi puts a hand on the man's shoulder and squeezes it tightly.

"Just a few more hours," he murmurs. "Keep Namjoon alive just for a few more hours."

The lake is quiet if not for the rustling of leaves and the creaking of the branches of the many trees that surround it.

Yoongi is hiding behind a tall bush, staring at the still water. He put the jar with the honey on the shore, close to the water, without the lid on.

It's almost dawn and Yoongi has been hiding for hours; his entire body aches from standing still in the same crouched position for so long but he doesn't give up.

As the sky starts to lighten up, darkness giving space to the early morning, they appear.

Yoongi's breath gets stuck in his lungs as his eyes take in the lake spirits.

The Gumiho was right, they are tiny. They must be smaller than Yoongi's hand and he can barely make out their silhouettes. They seem to have a body of sorts but it almost doesn't even look solid. They run over the body of water without sinking, tiny feet brushing along the lake.

They're beautiful.

Pure.

One of them suddenly stops moving. It stands on the water and its attention seems to be on the jar of honey. Suddenly, the spirit starts walking towards the shore and Yoongi's hand tightens around the handle of the knife.

The little thing steps out of the water and onto the muddy soil, its movements turn immediately less graceful and slower. It walks to the jar of honey and starts climbing on top of it.

That's when Yoongi runs out of his hiding spot. He sprints towards the shore, the spirit too busy dipping its hand in the sweet honey to notice him.

Yoongi reaches forward and grabs the spirit in his hand.

Immediately, the little thing starts writhing in his palm, trying to break free from his grip and then it starts screaming a shrill, terrible sound. Yoongi winces when the other spirits start screaming as well, but they don't move. They don't even try to stop him.

The Gumiho said it, they are harmless.

Yoongi swallows and kneels on the ground. He reaches with his free hand in his satchel and takes the empty jar, he places it in front of him.

The spirit is still squirming and yelling. Yoongi looks at it and his heart clenches at the sight of something so beautiful. It doesn't have a face, its body is almost transparent if not for a very light turquoise color. It doesn't have a striking shape, it's—it's like holding water.

"I'm sorry," Yoongi murmurs, he grips the knife tight as he holds the spirit above the jar. "I'm so sorry. I have no choice, I—my friend is dying. I'm selfish, I'm suh-sorry."

The spirit suddenly stops fighting. It stills completely, it even stops screaming.

Yoongi is glad the spirit doesn't have a face. He wouldn't be able to stand looking at it.

He takes a deep breath and then raises his knife.

"I am so sorry."

The spirit's throat opens easily under the blade. It doesn't feel like cutting skin, it's like slicing air.

Blood immediately starts gushing out the wound, a crimson and thick liquid that pours into the glass jar. And there's so much of it, so much more than what a tiny body like that should be able to hold. Yoongi gags but he closes his eyes and breathes deeply, ignoring the way his stomach keeps on churning and aching.

When he looks down to the jar again, he finds it half filled and decides that this is enough.

He carefully places the spirit on the ground and the looks at the lake. The shrill screams of the spirits have ceased, they stand on the water unmoving.

They're staring at him, aren't they?

"I'm sorry," Yoongi whispers. "I'll accept any punishment. I swear it."

The spirits slowly start sinking in the water until they disappear.

Yoongi knows he'll carry this guilt for the rest of his life.

He puts the fabric lid onto the jar filled with blood and then puts it back in the satchel, along with the knife.

Gently, Yoongi scoops the dead spirit in his hands and then walks to the lake until his boots sink in the water.

He kneels down and then drops the spirit's body in the water. It sinks immediately.

Yoongi would pray, but he knows it wouldn't be enough. If there will be a punishment for his greed, then he'll accept it.

As Yoongi starts pouring the blood of the lake spirit's in Namjoon's mouth, forced open by Seokjin as the man is still unconscious, there are a series of thoughts that take over Yoongi's mind.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"What if the Gumiho lied to me? What if this kills him?"

"If this doesn't work then I killed a spirit for nothing."

"He'll die if this doesn't work. Namjoon will die ."

Yoongi ignores all of them by tightening his grip around the jar. He tips it over more, lets the last drops of blood end in Namjoon's mouth. Seokjin takes a deep breath and then forces Namjoon's mouth closed. Authomatically, Namjoon's throat works a swallow.

Both Yoongi and Seokjin remain as still as rocks, staring at their friend, waiting for a reaction.

Several seconds go by and Namjoon's breathing doesn't even out, it remains ragged and loud, he remains asleep.

Yoongi thinks, then, that the Gumiho lied. For a moment, hatred heats his body like a fever, making him shudder. He killed a spirit already, he's ready to kill another one. He'll kill that wretched fox.

Then Namjoon coughs once, twice. He gasps, inhales a large amount of air and then he opens his eyes. Namjoon shuts them closed again, squinting them, he opens them one more time and looks around.

"What—" He murmurs in a hoarse voice. He looks up and finds Seokjin's face as the older man leans forward. "What happened?"

Seokjin is the first one to burst into tears. His face scrunches up and then he's pressing his forehead on Namjoon's chest, wailing and shaking, his hand curls around the fabric of Namjoon's robe.

Yoongi can feel his own eyes stinging and relief washes over him hard enough to leave him dizzy.

"I—why are you crying?" Namjoon asks with concern. "Why is he crying, what happened?"

Yoongi swallows heavily and then he feels a smile curling his lips.

"You're alive," he replies. "That's what happened."

As the days go by, Namjoon's strength slowly comes back to him. The man still can't quite walk, not after the fever weakened him so much, but he can sit up on his own and he can breathe without difficulty. He sleeps soundly at night and stays awake for most of the day, he even ate solid food for the first time yesterday.

They're fine. The three of them are fine again, together.

Yoongi enjoys the days that come as best as he can. He works in the store with Seokjin, looks at Namjoon as his health improves every day, and now he can actually sleep at night without fearing for Namjoon's life.

And yet, he knows he isn't done yet.

He still has to pay the Gumiho for his service.

And Yoongi wants to pay him. He wants to show the Gumiho just how grateful he is. He's ready to give the spirit anything he asks for, even his own damn heart.

He even dreams of him one night.

He dreams of the Gumiho, lounging on those soft pillows, his skin covered with those expensive silks; silver, and gold resting above his chest and tingling with every subtle movement. He dreams of the Gumiho's voice calling his name, of how nice it sounded when that voice spoke it. He dreams of those full lips curving into a smile, grey eyes focusing on him only.

He wakes up with his skin feeling too warm and a short breath.

Seokjin looks concerned when Yoongi tells him that he'll go to the red light district that night, to meet with the fox again.

"Namjoon doesn't know," Seokjin says as he minces some herbs on the wooden counter. "He doesn't know that you have to pay a price for his life."

"It's good that he doesn't know." Yoongi nods to himself. "Don't tell him."

Seokjin arches an eyebrow and he brings the knife down on the wood hard. "What if that thing asks for your heart?"

"Then I'll give it to him."

"You—"

"He won't ask me something like that," Yoongi says. "He didn't look cruel."

Nothing like that, no.

The Gumiho looked— there's a word for it, Yoongi knows it, but he can't quite remember it now.

"Be careful," Seokjin sighs in the end. "Please. I almost lost Namjoon, don't make me lose you too."

This time, when Yoongi reaches the whore house again, he doesn't hesitate.

He's wearing a long cape with a hood that covers his face so that his identity won't be discovered in case a passerby could be one of his and Seokjin's clients, and he quickly walks inside the tall building without looking behind.

He walks across the long corridor in large steps and only when he's back in the narrow main hall he lowers the hood.

The same man as last time is there, looking at him with raised eyebrows and wearing, yet again, a piece of clothing that doesn't leave much to the imagination.

"Oh," he says. "You're back. You were here last week too, were you not?"

Yoongi swallows. For some reason, being recognized doesn't sit right with him, not in a place like this.

"I'm not complaining," the man says then after noticing his silence. "New clients are always appreciated."

"I'm not—"

"My name is Hoseok." He tilts his head to the side, a long pendant earring makes a metallic sound at the motion. "You are?"

Yoongi presses his lips tightly together and Hoseok, upon seeing this, snorts.

"Ah, don't worry. I won't reveal your name. It goes against the rules." He shrugs. "But if you don't want to tell me it's quite alright. Are you here for the Gumiho again?"

Yoongi nods. "Yes, if I may."

"You may. Do you remember the way?"

"I do."

"Well, then—" Hoseok gestures at the door to his left with a flick of his wrist. "As usual, beware of the claws."

Yoongi almost ( almost ) snorts at this, but he hides it well by faking a cough in his fist. He nods at Hoseok in farewell before he starts making his way to the Gumiho's room.

This time he works his way up to the third floor quickly, the curiosity he had last time isn't here anymore, so he climbs up the rounds of stairs as fast as he can.

He wants to be done with this whole ordeal as soon as he can. He wants to pay the Gumiho and then leave this place and never step inside again so that he can also forget that he almost lost his best friend.

As soon as he reaches the third floor, though, Yoongi freezes.

There are two-two children in front of the door that leads to the Gumiho's room and Yoongi has never been more confused.

They're incredibly young and so small, they probably barely reach the middle of Yoongi's thigh, but they're in the whore house?

Suddenly, Yoongi remembers that the first time he was here Hoseok asked him if he was looking for children and he swears his heart stops beating for a moment.

"I'm telling you I can't!" One of the two children says, lips pouted. "It's too heavy!"

"But I have to carry the soju!" The other replies. He's holding a wooden tray with a long, ceramic bottle and porcelain glasses balanced on top of it. "I can't help you carry that!"

Yoongi frowns and takes a step forward. There's a big wooden basin on the floor between them, filled with water.

The child who should be carrying the basin whines. "Why would Minjae simply leave it here? How can I carry this inside?"

"You know he's scared of Jimin," the other one mutters. "Maybe you can drag it inside, Taetae."

"But the water will spill!"

Oh.

Oh, those are not simple children.

Now that Yoongi is closer and is looking at them with more attention, it is impossible to miss the fluffy ears on top of their heads. The one on the left has bright blond hair and the fur of his ears is the same exact color, there's even a short and puffy tail sticking out of a hole that was cut in the blue pants he's wearing. The same goes for the other kid, dark brown ears, and tail twitching nervously.

These are pups.

"Excuse me?"

At the sound of Yoongi's voice, the two foxes jump startled and turn to him, staring at him with wide eyes.

They're both so pure looking... The blond pup has such lovely features, whilst the other one has incredibly big doe eyes.

"Do you want me to help you carry the basin inside?" Yoongi asks.

The blond pup beams at him, lips shaped in a peculiar way as he does so.

"Oh, would you? You're so kind, sir!"

Yoongi smiles at him. "Ah, it's fine. I have to go inside anyway, so."

"Thank you so much!" The pup bows and then steps aside. "I'll open the door for you, sir!"

Yoongi remembers to take his boots off before he leans down to grab the handles of the basin. He lifts it up from the floor with a grunt, as it is indeed heavy, but he manages.

The young fox slides the door open for him and then runs inside, followed by his friend.

"Jimin! This sir is so kind!"

Yoongi steps inside the room and decides to keep his attention on the water inside the basin.

"Oh," The Gumiho says. "You're back."

"He's very kind! He helped me carry that!"

"I can see that." There's a pause. "You can put it wherever, it doesn't matter."

Yoongi hums and then he decides to leave the basin by the wall next to the door. He puts it down and then turns around, only to lose his breath.

The Gumiho isn't sitting like last time; instead, the fox is laying down on his side, the pile of cushions beneath him and around him is even larger than how Yoongi remembered it. He has his pipe between his fingers and he's lounging in clothes that are even more revealing than the kimono he was wearing last week. What he's wearing is nothing but a robe of an incredibly fine white silk and it's barely held closed by a string of the same material. It hangs loosely on his frame, displaying his chest entirely, but covering his legs completely, his tail curled over his stomach.

He's—

Yoongi truly can't find the right word.

"So, you helped Taehyung?"

Yoongi blinks and then looks at the blond fox. "Oh. Yes, I did."

"Mmh. Tae, did you thank him?"

"I did!" Taehyung replies, puffing his cheeks. "I am polite!"

"Indeed you are." The fox smiles a little and then he turns to the other pup. "Fill me a glass, Jungkook, and then you can both leave for tonight. And you can sit, Yoongi."

Oh.

The dreams he had didn't really give justice to that voice.

Yoongi swallows and then he goes to sit on one of the pillows that are thrown on the floor. Once he has sat down, he realizes that this time he sat a bit closer to the Gumiho.

The pup with brown hair, Jungkook, is filling the glass with the Soju he brought inside and, once he's done, he hands the alcohol to the Gumiho and then he puts the bottle down on the floor. It's close enough that the spirit can easily reach it without even standing up.

"Do you need something else, Jimin?" Jungkook asks.

Yoongi's eyebrows raise.

Jimin.

That's the Gumiho's name?

That is such a—such a plain name for someone like him.

"I don't need anything, no." Jimin smiles warmly at Jungkook. "You two go in your room and rest, mh? I'll see you tomorrow morning, my sweets."

Jungkook nods happily whilst Taehyung goes as far as to climb on top of the pillows to leave a loud kiss on the Gumiho's cheek. Jungkook then takes hold of Taehyung's hand and drags him away, pulling him towards the door. Once they're out, it's Taehyung who slides the door closed, but not before he waves at Yoongi with a large smile.

Yoongi waves back, smiling a little despite himself.

"Aren't they adorable?"

Yoongi turns to Jimin. The Gumiho takes a long drag of smoke, fingers holding the stem of the pipe loosely.

"They are, yes," Yoongi replies.

"Mh. Those two babes are so young but really mature. They always work hard."

"Foxes, right?"

"Pups of fox spirits, yes." Jimin exhales a cloud of smoke. "They are my helpers."

How did they end up in this whore house? As far as Yoongi knows, the fox spirits live in packs up in the mountains, as far away as possible from humans, hidden safely in their woods.

"If you're here," Jimin begins saying. "It means that your friend is cured."

Yoongi nods at this, leaning forward a bit.

"I— yes, he's healthy again."

"The blood worked?"

With a grimace, Yoongi looks down. "It did."

"Don't feel bad for what you have done, you had no choice. Or, well, the choice was for your friend to die. You did what was right for him and yourself." Jimin shrugs, the fabric of the robe slips further down his shoulder. "There are thousands of lake spirits but only one of the man you saved."

Yoongi hums but, at the end of the day, what Jimin says doesn't matter. The Gumiho might be right but Yoongi still killed a spirit. He slit a spirit's throat open and used its blood for selfish needs, he knows he will be punished sooner or later.

But it's fine. He'll accept it.

"Thank you for helping me," Yoongi says. He looks at Jimin and meets grey eyes. "I am not good with words, so I might not be able to truly express just how grateful I am. All I can do is thank you."

Jimin nods slowly. There's a beautiful hairpin in the shape of a lotus flower on the right side of his head that keeps his hair away from his face and Yoongi mindlessly wonders just how expensive it is.

"You might not be good with words, but you do not need them," the Gumiho responds. "I can see it in your eyes, you are grateful. He must mean a lot to you. Closer than family, you said."

Yoongi arches an eyebrow. "You remember?"

Jimin grins. "I remember everything."

"Well, I remember you said you'd think of a price," Yoongi says. "I'm ready to give it to you."

Yoongi hopes the Gumiho can't see just how nervous he is. He might be ready to pay Jimin, that does not mean he isn't scared of what the creature might ask for. After all, there's a reason if Gumihos are feared and respected. Yoongi heard of horrifying tales from the villagers: of Gumihos who tore open the chests of the men who tried to trick them, of others who ate entire organs after being disrespected.

Jimin is looking at him with an intense gaze, those grey eyes moving over Yoongi's face quickly. Jimin brings the button of the pipe to his lips and bites around it for a moment before he takes another drag of smoke.

"Would you light up the incense?"

Yoongi frowns. "Pardon me?"

"The incense." Jimin nods towards the left. "I really like its smell, but I forgot to ask Taehyung to burn it for me."

Yoongi looks to the left of the room and he spots a short table by the wall. He stands up and walks to it, on top of the dark wooden table there are a candle and beautiful ceramic bowl of the lightest blue, with a pierced lid by its side. There's incense inside of the bowl, it's fresh and, clearly, it has never been used before. Yoongi grabs the lit candle and tips the flame towards the incense. After a few seconds, the yellow powder starts burning, a faint smoke comes up from it. Yoongi puts the candle back on the table and then he takes the pierced lid and puts it on top of the bowl.

As he walks back to the spot he picked before, the aromatic scent of the incense starts filling the room.

Jimin hums and then he takes a deep breath.

"I really like this scent. Would you like to drink?"

Yoongi looks at the bottle of Soju, considering it for a moment, but then he shakes his head and sits down.

Gumihos are clever and this one is about to ask him for a price. He has to be in his right mind unless he wants to be tricked.

Jimin shrugs and then brings then glass to his lips. He downs its content in one swift motion, he swallows the alcohol and hisses when it travels down his stomach.

"Ah, a price. A price, you say." Jimin's lips jut in a pout and he squints his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't have one yet."

He—

Wait, what?

Yoongi clears his voice and then he smacks his lips together. "You don't have a price yet?"

Jimin hums. "I'm afraid so."

"You said the same thing last week."

"So I did."

"You said you would've had a price by next week."

"I did."

"Next week is now."

"I am aware."

Don't anger the powerful Gumiho , Yoongi thinks, Have you seen those claws? He probably has fangs, too. Don't risk it.

"Ah, it's not good that I don't have a price yet," Jimin mutters. He taps his finger against the stem of the pipe, a claw hits it and the sound of it sends chills down Yoongi's spine. "What a terrible spirit I am. Shouldn't I be wise? Ah, you're probably so disappointed."

This little—

He's grinning. The damn ancient fox spirit is grinning at Yoongi like he's the most cunning person that has ever existed and, well, that might be true.

Yoongi can't even get mad. Not when Jimin is making quite a show of his claws, brushing them along the golden stummel of the pipe.

What's worse is that Yoongi isn't even that upset. He's actually kind of amused.

"Well—" Yoongi licks his lips. "Would you like me to come back next week, or—"

"Oh, yes, please do that. But!" Jimin's grin only widens. "Why don't you stay for tonight?"

This is when Yoongi should say no.

"You want me to do what?" Yoongi asks instead.

Jimin sighs and he throws his head back against the soft pillows, long grey hair sliding off his shoulder. He arches his back a little, a movement that might look natural but Yoongi is no fool. These are all incredibly blatant actions.

"I get bored so easily," Jimin purrs.

Yoongi feels his mouth run dry and Jimin rubs his cheek against a pillow for a moment, lips parted slightly. His tail moves from his stomach to his legs, covering them completely.

"It's Tuesday, there are never clients on Tuesday." Jimin starts stroking the stem of the pipe. "And it's so boring. So why don't you stay, mh?"

Yoongi should really leave.

"I—"

"Stay, Yoongi." Jimin bares his neck more.

Yoongi is only human. He's weak to everything that is beautiful and Jimin is—he's that and more. Something else, a word that he truly can't remember but that dances on the tip of his tongue in an annoying manner.

"I just want you to keep me company," Jimin says then. "We can just chat for a bit."

He speaks with a gentle voice, nothing rushed to his words. But the intensity of his gaze is so stunning that Yoongi feels that, if he were to leave, Jimin would simply stand up, run after him and rip his throat open with his damn teeth.

There's something scarily alluring about danger.

"Yes," Yoongi replies thickly. "I'll—I'll keep you company."

Jimin's smirk immediately morphs into a wide and genuine smile. His lips press a little together and his eyes quint in pretty crescents, the grey of his irises can barely be seen.

It's endearing, Yoongi thinks. The kind of smile that makes people's chests fill with warmth. It is also incredibly interesting to see such a pure expression on Jimin's face; it doesn't feel foreign on the Gumiho, but Yoongi has a feeling that this is not something that happens often.

"Good!" Jimin's tail gives a twitch. "What do you want to talk about?"

Yoongi has a moment to think that this entire situation is quite—unusual. Meeting a Gumiho was already a lot to take in by itself, but the fact that now he's comfortably lounging in a whore house with said Gumiho is insane.

Seokjin will definitely not be happy about this.

Yoongi snaps out of his train of thoughts when he sees the Gumiho raising an eyebrow after the silence stretched for too long.

"I—whatever you want to talk about is fine for me," Yoongi replies. "I don't really have a topic of conversation in my mind."

Jimin hums and then he reaches for the bottle of Soju. He fills his glass again and, this time, he sips on the alcohol instead of swallowing it down in one gulp.

"Tell me about your friends," he says. "The one who was sick. And others, if you have any."

Yoongi arches an eyebrow. "You sound like you think I don't have many friends."

Jimin chuckles, a quiet sound that still manages to overpower the noises of the busy street outside.

"You don't look like someone who enjoys the company of many people."

"I enjoy the company of those who are worthy of my time."

Jimin's lips curl in a grin. "Am I not worthy of your time, Yoongi?"

It's the way he says it.

Yoongi has heard his name being spoken many times and it never sounds like this. It's just a name.

Jimin, though, seems to lower his voice on purpose when he says it. He says his name like it holds some sort of power.

"I have only two people I can truly think of as friends," Yoongi says in the end. "Namjoon and Seokjin."

"Who's the one who was ill?"

"Namjoon. We grew up together, all three of us. Seokjin is the oldest." Yoongi rests his hands on top of his knees. "We run a store together."

"Oh. What do you sell?"

"Well, Seokjin is a healer," Yoongi explains. "So we sell herbs, potions, concoctions. We brew particular teas that are either good for your body or for your psyche. Seokjin is skilled."

Jimin nods, seemingly interested in what Yoongi has to say.

"What about your curses?" He asks.

Yoongi licks his lips. "I don't get many clients who require that kind of service. But those who know me and need me also know they can find me in the store. I mostly get customers who aren't villagers, they come from bigger cities."

Jimin drinks more of his Soju before he puts the glass down on the floor.

"You must have seen some weird things. Curses are always weird."

Yoongi has definitely seen—well, he's seen things. Some were weird, some were downright hilarious in their own way. Others, though, were terrible.

"Let's play a game!" Jimin suddenly says, eyes bright. "You tell me about the curses you broke and you get to ask me a question!"

Yoongi thinks about it for a moment. Jimin seems stubborn about keeping Yoongi in the whore house for as much as he can, but Yoongi wonders if it's wise to reveal so much about him. Jimin might look like a pretty and expensive thing, but he's still a Gumiho.

"If I ask questions, will you reply truthfully?" Yoongi asks.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You're still a fox."

Jimin snorts, he hides a smile behind his hand. "Oh. Oh, I am. You're right. But I promise, really. I'll reply with nothing but the truth."

He doesn't have many choices either way, he might as well humor the Gumiho who could still very much kill him.

"Very well, let's play."

Jimin makes a sound very similar to a squeal and he claps his hands together a few times.

"Let's see." Jimin bites his bottom lip, looking at Yoongi with concentration. "Tell me about the weirdest curse you had to break."

A smile breaks on Yoongi's face at the question. Memories flood his mind quickly and, soon, he knows which one to pick.

"Four years ago, a man came to the store." Yoongi presses his lips together so that he doesn't laugh. "At first he looked quite normal. He was a noble, though, he was wearing a brand new Gat and his clothes were made of expensive fabrics."

Jimin's eyes are wide with interest as Yoongi speaks, his fingers move mindlessly along the stem of his pipe.

"I thought he was going to be a simple client, so Seokjin went to him and asked him what was it that he needed." Yoongi's lips tremble with the effort of keeping a smile to himself. "The moment he opened his mouth to reply a frog jumped out of his mouth."

Jimin's eyes grow comically wide, his mouth hangs open for a few seconds.

"He—a frog?"

Yoongi nods. "The muh-more he tried to speak the more frogs would jump out of his mouth. You know those small tree frogs? There were so many of those just covering the floor of the store and-and Seokjin was just yelling and kicking them away whilst this man desperately kept trying to speak." Yoongi snorts in his fist. "Oh, and Namjoon kept trying to save the frogs 'cause he likes them quite a lot."

Jimin hums, then he brings the pipe to his mouth.

"Why did frogs jump out of his mouth?"

"He explained why only when I managed to break the curse. It took me a week, it was a tricky one. Apparently, his lover asked a spirit to curse him. She knew that her soon to be husband kept speaking with other women, courting them and promising them a house and jewels." Yoongi grins. "So she asked the spirit to make it impossible for him to ever open his mouth in front of a woman again."

Jimin dissolves in a fit of giggles. His entire face flushes as he laughs, the long silver hair swipes over his legs and his ears keep twitching. Yoongi tries really hard not to smile but he fails miserably.

"Oh! Oh, this is amazing!" Jimin's laugh starts dissolving, but he's still beaming. "I love that woman. I love her mind."

Yoongi chuckles. "Yeah, well, I have to say she was quite creative."

Jimin rolls on his stomach. He presses his cheek against the pillow and sighs.

"It was a while since I laughed like that. You earned your question."

Oh, that's right. He gets to ask something.

What should a human even ask a Gumiho? Yoongi feels like he has to be careful. He already disrespected a spirit once by doing something unspeakable, he can't risk angering another one.

"What do you like?"

Jimin's smile disappears. He looks at Yoongi with wide eyes, his tail stills just above his thighs.

"That's it?" He asks. "You just want to know what I like?"

It does sound stupid now that Jimin repeats the question.

Yoongi feels his ears burning, he knows he's probably flushing. He squirms a little on the pillow where he's sat on and clears his throat.

"Just—well, yes, I want to know."

Jimin remains quiet for a few more seconds before a small smile stretches his lips.

"That's cute," he murmurs. "Mmh, what do I like? I like humans a lot."

Yoongi frowns. "You do?"

"They taste good."

That's—Yoongi knows Jimin is probably referring to actual organs. To blood and hearts. That's what Gumihos eat, after all.

And yet, with the way his voice lowered in pitch, with the way he drawled the words, Yoongi feels his skin prickling with heat.

"What else?" Jimin continues then. "I like pretty things. Pretty clothes, pretty jewels. Things that shine. And things that smell good!" He scrunches his nose. "I have a very sensitive sense of smell and the street outside doesn't smell good. So I always have incense and flowers here."

Yoongi hums. "Things that shine—you almost sound like a crow more than a fox."

Jimin scoffs at this, he brings the button of the pipe between his lips and takes a long drag of smoke.

"I used to eat crows when I was a simple fox. They taste disgusting."

"Is that so?"

"Like rats."

"Well, that is what they eat." Yoongi pauses. "Besides, foxes eat rats as well."

Jimin gasps, mouth agape. "Take that back!"

"They do!"

"Yes, normal foxes do! Spirits have a better palate, rats are gross and chewy."

Yoongi grimaces. "I didn't need to know that."

Jimin points the pipe towards him. "That's what you get for asking silly things, Yoongi. Now, tell me more."

"About the rats?"

Jimin rolls his eyes, but his lips are slightly tugged upwards.

"Tell me more about the curses and funny things you saw," he says. "Keep me company."

And Yoongi does.

Speaking with Jimin, he discovers, is easy.

The Gumiho seems to be so fascinated with whatever Yoongi has to tell him, whether it's about that curse that turned a man's skin into grass or if it's about that time Seokjin sold a sleeping tea by mistake to a fisherman, causing him to fall asleep on his boat and end up being carried to a completely different village by the stream of the river.

Jimin listens to everything and laughs a lot. He easily falls into fits of giggles, making squeaky sounds and covering his mouth with his small hands, claws so dangerously close to his cheeks. He doesn't move from his position on the pile of pillows, he simply lays there drinking and smoking, listening.

Yoongi keeps asking him about silly things. If he ever ate human food (he has. but the smell makes him a little nauseous), if there's a particular scent of incense that he likes (he likes lavender and sandalwood scents the most).

It's natural to speak with Jimin. Words flow easily out of Yoongi's mouth even when he's not one who's so fond of conversating with people he doesn't know.

Yoongi remains seated on the same spot on the floor even when his legs start hurting and cramping, too lost in the way Jimin's lips look when he smiles, catching on every little movement of the Gumiho's tail, staring at grey eyes for too long.

The distance between them doesn't shorten, they're still at least four feet away from each other, but Yoongi doesn't mind. It's good like this.

The noises that come from the street downstairs are drowned by Jimin's light voice. The room smells nice, unlike the alleys of the village.

Yoongi feels oddly safe.

Then, in the middle of yet another tale of a crazy curse Yoongi had to deal with, Jimin looks towards the balcony and sighs.

"You have to go."

"Oh." Yoongi looks to the balcony as well. To his surprise, the sky isn't dark anymore. It's already being painted with the colors of dawn, the sun will rise in a couple of hours or so. "You're right, I should go."

Jimin hums and then he lays on his back, stirring his body with a pleased sound.

"I'm quite tired," he says.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice it was so late. Or, well, early?"

Jimin smiles and looks at him. "I had fun, Yoongi. I really did."

Yoongi nods. "I'm glad." He breathes in deeply. "What about the price?"

A grimace crosses Jimin's features, but soon he's grinning again. "I don't know yet."

"I see."

"Come next week," Jimin murmurs, his eyes flutter closed. "Maybe I'll know then."

It feels like an excuse.

"Next week," Yoongi repeats as he stands up. "I'll be back next week, then."

Jimin chuckles quietly before he rolls on his side and grabs a pillow from the pile. He holds it to his chest and then waves at Yoongi.

"I'll see you next week, Yoongi."

The streets are empty and quiet as Yoongi walks back to the store. The sky is starting to tinge with a light blue, the earliest hours of the morning are always so silent. His legs feel heavy after sitting still in the same position for so many hours but he's barely aware of them.

He swears he can still smell that incense.

His chest feels so warm that Yoongi wonders if he's on fire.

Yoongi knows he's distracted.

He's been distracted for a good three days now, always spacing out and staring at the walls of the store until a noise or Seokjin's voice snap him out of it.

He doesn't know why.

Or, well, he knows why but he doesn't understand .

Whenever he ends up spacing out, it's always Jimin's face that comes to his mind. Or the way his name sounds when Jimin says it.

He doesn't understand why it happens.

Attraction? Sure, he's attracted. Anyone would be.

But this is more than that.

Yoongi wants to go back to the whore house.

To Jimin.

"Yoongi!"

Yoongi blinks several times before he lifts his gaze from the basket full of aloe leaves perched on his lap. Seokjin is looking at him with an arched eyebrow, the sleeves of his jeogori rolled up to his elbows.

"Yes?"

"Care to explain what has you so distracted?" Seokjin asks. "You've been peeling the same leaf for almost thirty minutes."

Yoongi frowns and looks down to the basket. The leaf of Aloe he's holding in his left hand is completely ruined, its gelatinous juice all over the wicker basket and even the knife is drenched with it, all slippery and soiled in Yoongi's grip.

"Ah, shit," Yoongi hisses, dropping the ruined leaf on the ground. "Sorry."

Seokjin sighs and then he sits down on the threshold of the store next to him. Yoongi pretends to be busy picking a new leaf to peel but he can feel Seokjin's curious gaze on him and it's heavy on his shoulders. The older man has always been intuitive, he can read people easily.

"What's wrong, Yoongi?"

Yoongi shrugs, he starts peeling the skin off another leaf. "Nothing."

"Mh. So the fact that you've been daydreaming for the last three days is, as you say, nothing?"

A faint breeze rises from the ground, Seokjin huffs once his hair end in his mouth. He swipes it behind his shoulders and mutters something about needing to tie them.

"You're just worrying over nothing, I'm fine."

"I'm not saying you aren't." Seokjin pauses. "Is it because of the Gumiho?"

Yoongi digs the knife too deeply and he almost cuts in half the entire thick leaf. He looks at the new mess he just made and groans. Well, this one can  still be used at least.

"Is it because of the price?" Seokjin's voice suddenly sounds concerned. "What did it ask of you?"

"Nothing yet," Yoongi replies. He finishes peeling the skin off the plant and then puts the clean leaf on top of the little pile of Aloe that he accumulated by his side. "I'll have to go back again."

Seokjin scoffs. "Damn fox, I'm sure it's trying to trick you or something."

"I don't think he is." Yoongi grabs a new leaf. "I think he genuinely doesn't know what payment he wants to receive."

Seokjin remains quiet for a handful of minutes after this, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Yoongi focuses on his task, cutting the Aloe a little faster now that he's not distracted by chatter.

He'll have to squeeze the gelatinous juice out of them later, put it all in some clean jars and store them safely in their little storage. Yoongi wonders what Seokjin will do with it, if he'll use the juice to make creams to soothe burned skin or if he'll make some new concoctions.

"What was it that you gave to Namjoon to heal him?"

Yoongi's hand stills, the knife just above the leaf of Aloe. He looks at Seokjin and he finds the man staring back with a hard gaze.

"You said you had to find a lake spirit," Seokjin says. "What did you make Namjoon drink that night?"

"It doesn't matter," Yoongi replies. He swallows and gets back to work. "It saved him. So it doesn't matter."

"You killed a spirit, didn't you?"

Yoongi sighs. There's a wave of guilt that weighs down his chest, making him want to almost curl on himself.

Seokjin shakes his head. "I'm not mad. You saved him and that is what matters."

"But?" Yoongi pressures him. He's known Seokjin for his entire life, he knows there's more.

"You say the fox is not trying to trick you and that it isn't cruel." Seokjin pauses. "But that Gumiho made you kill a spirit."

"No, he—"

"Your soul will be judged when you die, Yoongi," Seokjin whispers, he looks at him with wide eyes. "Do you think the spirits will forgive you for killing a sacred being?"

"Ji—The Gumiho didn't make me kill!" Yoongi groans and he throws the leaf back in the basket. "The Gumiho told me what I was supposed to do to save Namjoon! Had I not killed that spirit, Namjoon would be dead !"

"And you think that Namjoon would be happy to know that he owes his life to the death of a spirit?!"

"That's why we won't tell him." Yoongi looks down to the knife in his hand. "You know how much he respects the spirits, especially spirits of nature. He doesn't have to know."

Seokjin heaves a deep sigh, deflating as the air leaves his lungs.

"I hope you're right," he says. "But I can't trust that fox."

"That fox is one of the reasons as to why Namjoon is still breathing," Yoongi counters. "I don't care about trust. I'll pay the price I have to pay, whatever it is."

Seokjin looks at him, eyes narrowed and doubt swimming in them. He doesn't trust Jimin, that much is clear. Yoongi can't blame him, really.

He shouldn't trust the Gumiho either.

Seokjin abruptly stands up with a sigh.

"Just be careful, Yoongi," he says. "I almost lost Namjoon. Don't make me lose you too."

Yoongi stands in front of the door that leads to Jimin's room and he thinks that tonight, he won't simply let the fox play with him. He won't sit just because Jimin asks him, he won't keep him company, no. He's going to demand that Jimin asks him for a price and he will pay it, no matter what it is.

Seokjin is right, he can't keep doing this. As much as he doesn't think Jimin is trying to trick him, he can also understand his friend's concerns.

Yoongi takes a deep breath before he slides the door open.

Jimin smiles once his grey eyes set on him. He smiles wide and genuinely, with a light flush on his cheeks.

"Hi, Yoongi!" He exclaims. "Come in!"

Yoongi does and he closes the door behind him.

He's going to pay the price tonight.

He will.

"I was so bored!" Jimin pouts a little from where he's sitting on the pillows. His legs are folded by his side, thighs covered by an incredibly thin layer of a blue fabric that looks particularly smooth and that glistens under the lights of the many candles lit in the room. "You came at the perfect time."

The blue robe fits snugly around his hips but it's loose on the chest and Yoongi can feel some sort of burning itch beneath his skin.

Jimin frowns at him. "Aren't you going to sit?"

Say no , Yoongi thinks, Tell him. Ask for the price.

But—

Jimin looks so happy . He can't quite keep a grin to himself and his tail keeps twitching where it's folded over his lap, eyes bright with excitement.

The Gumiho spends his days locked in this room, doesn't he? Sitting on his pillows, gazing out the balcony, waiting for the night to come just so that he can be exposed for everyone to see like some sort of precious toy.

Why would he crave Yoongi's attention and company if not to get rid of solitude just for a few hours?

And how could Yoongi not give him something so simple?

He should ask for the price.

Yoongi manages a smile and he nods. "I'll sit. Maybe I'll even drink something with you."

Jimin's ears perk up at this, and another wide smile stretches his lips.

"I have really good Soju!" He says, already grabbing one of the porcelain small glasses that are set in front of him on the floor by the bottle of alcohol.

Yoongi sits down on the floor, this time closer to Jimin than usual. If the Gumiho notices it, he doesn't say anything about it. He simply fills Yoongi a glass and leans forward, handing it to him.

He waits for Yoongi to drink the Soju before he worries his bottom lip for a moment.

"Yoongi," he breathes out, looking at him with wide eyes. "Tell me more about your curses."

There's a pull in Yoongi's chest at Jimin's voice, so quiet in the room, merely a whisper, an almost childlike wonder that swims in his eyes.

Yoongi stays the night again, talking until his jaw hurts and his throat burns.

It becomes a routine.

Something that Yoongi actually feels excited for.

At least once a week, Yoongi spends the night in that room of the whore house.

Hoseok even stopped asking him questions at the entrance. He simply smiles at him, takes a long drag of smoke from his pipe, and then he nods towards the door.

"I believe you're expected," he says sometimes. He looks smug in those moments, like he knows something that Yoongi is unaware of.

Each time, Jimin welcomes him with the same wide smile and excitement.

"I was so bored! You always come at the right time!"

He says that every time.

Yoongi wonders if there ever is a bad time for Jimin. If next time he'll come later in the night, would it be a problem for Jimin? Or earlier?

Or maybe—

Maybe any time is perfect for Jimin. As long as there's someone he can speak to.

He starts sitting closer and closer to Jimin as the nights go by. Jimin doesn't seem to mind. If anything, he might even like it, judging from the small smile on his face when he sees that Yoongi places the pillow a bit closer than the last time.

When there are clients, Yoongi waits for them to be done sitting in a corner of the room without disturbing them. Jimin was the one who told him he could wait there, that there was no need for him to leave.

It's in those moments that Yoongi is reminded of just how different Jimin is when he's working and that, once, he acted this way with him as well.

Cold, disinterested, distant.

A blessed spirit who, for some reason, was there for humans to use.

It doesn't matter what problem or request a person has, Jimin will always provide them with an answer.

Whether it's a young woman who wants to find a husband soon or it's a man who wants an enemy of his to die, Jimin always knows what they need. The difference, though, is that Jimin asks for a price.

"I want you to bring me the skin of a white snake," Jimin says once to one of the clients. "It has to be clean, no traces of blood. If you ruin it, find another snake."

The customer, a man who had asked for a way to increase his wealth so that he wouldn't have to sell his shop, had thanked him profusely before leaving.

"Why the skin of a snake?" Yoongi asks.

Jimin turns to him and grins, mirth gleaming in his eyes.

"I want to put it in a bottle of Sake that I received last week," Jimin replies. "Snake's skin gives an incredible flavor to Sake!"

It doesn't take long for Yoongi to understand that the prices Jimin demands are somewhat incredibly harmless. He only asks for expensive liquors, or jewels, sometimes for new silks or for particular brews of tobacco for his pipe. No organs, no blood. Nothing that could harm a human.

He just wants things that make him feel a little spoiled.

That only fuels confusion in Yoongi as to why Jimin still hasn't asked him to pay him back for his help.

Yoongi can't help but feel like a debt is still hanging around them, keeping some sort of barrier between them that doesn't allow him to get closer to the Gumiho.

But maybe, that is a good thing.

Yoongi knows he's already gotten far too attached to Jimin.

But how could he not?

Jimin is lovely. He's lazy and absolutely unapologetic about it, he asks Yoongi to pick things for him even if they're not that far from him. Yoongi swears he has never seen Jimin get up from that mountain of pillows he always likes to lounge on.

He likes to wear pretty robes and yukatas that customer gifted him or paid him with because they're nice to touch. He always smoothens his hands down on the fabric just to feel the texture of it, smiling as he does so.

He enjoys toying with his many jewels, especially the long chains because they make funny noises that make his ears twitch.

He has a huge box of incense powders to burn during the night because he likes the tingling sensation of his nose itching a little and because nice scents put him at ease.

When he drinks too much his giggles are a lot louder than usual and his skin flushes prettily under the light of the candles.

He loves hearing about Yoongi's different experiences with curses. He likes to listen to him talking about them even if they were scary, he even has some favorites that he sometimes asks Yoongi to tell him again even if by now he knows them by memory.

Sometimes he stares too long at Yoongi and, when he realizes that, he grows shy, looking down to his hands or fidgeting with the sleeves of his robe, lips pursed forward in a pout.

And the way Jimin says his name— his voice lowers both in tone and volume, his eyes grow darker, lips tilted in something akin to a smirk.

"Yoongi," he breathes out, the word drawn out, like it's something nice to speak, like it tastes good on his tongue.

Like Yoongi's name is something that matters.

How could Yoongi not grow attached?

Yoongi starts spending at least three nights a week in that room of the whore house.

Jimin seems happy.

Namjoon has started walking again.

His body has fully recovered, no traces of the illness left in him. He goes around the village buying ingredients for Seokjin and Yoongi without a problem, he even started fishing at the lake again.

On one of the evenings that Yoongi decided to spend home, Namjoon goes to him. They're sitting outside the house, looking at the empty road as the night becomes darker and darker, smoking their pipes with two glasses of rice wine set between them on the outer hall.

"This spring is a lot colder than the one of last year," Namjoon says. "Even the fish don't want to come out when I go to the lake."

Yoongi takes a drag of smoke, ignoring the horrible sensation that sits heavy in his chest. This is probably the spirits doing. They don't feel safe anymore in the lake after what Yoongi did, so the fish disappeared as well.

"Seokjin told me about the Gumiho."

Yoongi turns to look at his friend. Namjoon seems serene, his face free of creases of frowns. He simply looks in front of him, his foot tapping on the ground slowly, a habit of his.

"What did he say?" Yoongi asks.

"He told me that you went to the Gumiho to save me. And that now you keep visiting it." Namjoon sends him a quick look. "He's really worried."

Yoongi forces a shrug. "Seokjin is always worried."

Namjoon snorts. "He is. But, well, this time I can't blame him."

Yoongi grimaces. "You always liked him more than me."

"Oh, please," Namjoon groans. "That's nonsense."

"You always gave him your last rice pastry."

"That's—"

"Always left a bit of your shaved ice so that he could finish it."

"I did not—"

"But when I would ask for a bite of your food you'd tell me to buy my own."

"Can we change the subject?" Namjoon takes a quick drag of smoke.

Yoongi takes his glass of wine and he takes a sip of it. "You both need to stop worrying over nothing. I'm fine."

Namjoon heaves a deep sigh and he remains quiet for a few moments. The wind rises suddenly, making the leaves of the trees nearby creak and ruffle against each other loudly. It settles down again until only a few crickets can be heard from the bushes.

"Yoongi, why do you keep spending your nights with a Gumiho?" Namjoon asks.

His voice is laced with concern and it makes Yoongi's heart ache for a second.

"There's no reason," he replies. "He enjoys my company and I'm grateful to him since he basically saved your life."

"He."

"What?"

"It's a spirit. You keep referring to it as he ."

"A spirit isn't a thing, Namjoon. He's alive. And he has a name."

"Gumihos seduce humans to eat their hearts."

Yoongi swallows thickly. He downs the rest of his wine in one long gulp, hissing at the burning feeling of the alcohol as it travels down his stomach.

"I'd be careful," Namjoon continues saying. "It might not look like a predator, but its nature doesn't change, Yoongi. It still hasn't asked you for a price, but it will at some point. It might not even ask. It will just take."

Yoongi doesn't reply and Namjoon seems to understand that this is the end of the conversation. The man breathes in deeply and then he rolls his shoulders.

"I was thinking of buying some meat for tomorrow," he says with a smile. "What do you think?"

Yoongi can't help a smile. "Yes. Yes, buy some."

Yoongi can feel Jimin's hands on his body.

He feels weightless, almost as if he's floating, and Jimin's hands roam over his chest, his stomach, his hips.

Something soft grazes his leg, rising goosebumps over his skin, maybe it's a tail.

Jimin is staring at him, pupils blown wide, the grey of his irises almost swallowed whole by darkness. His lips are red and swollen, shiny as if someone has been kissing them, biting them and tasting them.

"Yoongi," Jimin breathes out. " Yoongi ."

Yoongi feels himself shivering, his skin is too hot and he can't think, he can't even speak. Jimin is solid against him as the Gumiho climbs on top of his lap. The pretty robe he's wearing slides off his shoulders, revealing his bare chest. There's a long silver chain hanging from his neck, ending just above his stomach.

"Wouldn't you like to touch me?" Jimin murmurs against his ears, his breath is hot on his skin. "Don't you want to take me?"

When Yoongi opens his eyes again, Jimin is beneath him. He's completely naked, his robe lays open under his back and his chest is heaving. Yoongi can feel the warmth of Jimin's skin under his fingers as he moves his hands along his hips, down to his thighs.

Jimin is making soft breathy sounds, staring at Yoongi with half-lidded eyes, lips parted.

"Make me feel good," he says as he tugs at Yoongi's hair. "I want you to make me feel good."

Jimin gasps when Yoongi slides his hand between his thighs, he parts his legs more and his back arches when Yoongi presses his tongue flat on the side of his neck.

"Yoongi," Jimin moans. " Yoongi ."

Yoongi wakes up with a startle and he immediately sits up. He can't seem to catch his breath and he feels lost in the darkness of his own room, the sheets stick uncomfortably to his sweaty skin.

He feels hot, dizzy and—and dirty.

Yoongi swallows thickly, almost choking on his own spit.

He—this is the first time he dreams of Jimin like this. As much as the Gumiho has populated even the nights when they were apart it was never in this manner, never.

Never.

There's guilt and shame washing over Yoongi, making his skin flush and burn.

At the same time, Yoongi can't help but wonder—is that how his name would sound if Jimin called it under Yoongi's hands?

It's a warm night. The street outside the whore house is unusually quiet, no loud voices, there's almost no one out.

The night itself has been quite slow. No clients of any kind, even the whore house didn't have many "normal" clients, judging by the lack of cries and lewd sounds that would sometimes reach even Jimin's room.

Yoongi sits a bit further away tonight, smoking from his pipe as he looks out the balcony at the night sky. There is a new moon and almost no clouds, a gentle breeze comes into the room from the opened window.

Jimin is lounging on the pillows, laying on his side. Taehyung and Jungkook are sleeping in front of him after they played for hours in the room, chasing each other and throwing a ball made with cheap fabrics at one another. They collapsed out of exhaustion in the deepest hours of the night, crawling to Jimin's pillows and laying there, curled around each other and clasping their hands together.

Jimin is stroking Jungkook's hair with a small smile, looking at the two pups as they sleep.

"You've been really quiet tonight," Jimin says. "Is everything alright? Or did you run out of silly curses to tell me?"

Yoongi grins around the button of the pipe. He takes a drag of smoke and breathes it out slowly.

"I actually did run out. But I have more, stories that my mother told me."

"Oh." Jimin looks at him with raised eyebrows. "Your mother, too, broke curses?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "She was a mudang , but sometimes she helped people in need and she was good at breaking curses."

Jimin hums. "I see. You got your spiritual powers from her."

Yoongi nods. "She was stronger than me. But yes." He pauses and then he takes another lungful of smoke. "I dreamed of you."

Jimin blinks and then, slowly, a pleased smile curls his lips and heat rises to his cheeks.

"Did you?"

Yoongi swallows. "I did."

"Was it a nice dream?"

"It was." Yoongi then points with his pipe towards Jungkook and Taehyung. "Tell me, how did they end up in here?"

Jimin's smile fades away in a moment at the question. He looks down to the two younglings and swipes his thumb over Jungkook's cheek. The little one squirms a bit in his sleep and cuddles closer to Taehyung and he sighs once he settles down.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Yoongi says. "It's just that—well, fox spirits usually live in packs. Far away from the villages, in the woods. How did those two end up in a whore house?"

Jimin takes a long breath before he turns to Yoongi.

"They're orphans," he replies with a quiet voice. "They were born in a beautiful pack. Shifters."

Yoongi's eyes widen. He's heard tales of fox spirits who were also able to shift in full foxes. They're incredibly rare, some think that they're mostly extinct.

"But the pack has been killed by hunters," Jimin mutters. "Fox spirits like them are powerful, but they're not violent or aggressive. They simply live in the woods in peace. Their furs, though, are quite beautiful and some humans don't have qualms in murdering spirits to sell those." Jimin's mouth curves in a sneer. "They skin them alive."

Yoongi feels something acid burn in his stomach and he swallows heavily, his hand shaking around the stem of the pipe.

"How did they get away?"

"Oh, they got captured too, but they were both too young so they couldn't shift yet. The hunters had no use for them so they tried to sell them as slaves." Jimin scoffs. "Imagine how arrogant a mere human can be, thinking they can sell a spirit as a slave. Hoseok told me about the auction, it was happening just behind this house, so I told him to buy them for me. Then I begged the owner of the whore house to let me keep them as my helpers, I have a certain influence on the man so he couldn't refuse. I keep them safe. And together." Jimin pauses. "They can't be separated."

Yoongi frowns. "Why?"

Jimin looks up from the two babes with a bright smile and something intense in his gaze. His ears flick on top of his head. "They're mates."

"They—" Yoongi blinks. "They're children."

Jimin shrugs. "They're spirits. And they were promised to each other before they were even born. Their families united just so that these two could be together in the future, they're fated. Bound together." Jimin chuckles lightly. "Jungkook never stops talking about it, he brags about how he'll start his own pack with Taehyung once he'll be big and strong. And Taehyung is so protective of him, you know? They're meant to be. Just because they're too young to know what love is it doesn't mean they won't learn about it."

Yoongi smiles, warmth spreading in his chest.

It does explain why those two are in this house and the fact that Jimin keeps them safe reassures Yoongi who, even if he doesn't want to admit it, feels oddly protective of the two pups.

But this doesn't explain something else.

"Jimin."

"Mh?"

"Why are you here?"

Jimin's hand stills on top of Jungkook's head for a moment, the Gumiho's body grows stiff. He resumes his attention on the young spirit but he doesn't relax.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"You should go."

Oh.

Yoongi ignores the sharp twist of pain in his chest. It doesn't last long, but his lungs feel tight all the same.

"I'm sorry," Yoongi murmurs as he starts standing up. "I'll go."

"I'm not mad," Jimin hurriedly says then. He presses his lips together tightly and looks at Yoongi. "It's just—the sun will rise soon."

"Oh."

"It's almost dawn, so you should leave." Jimin tilts his head to the side. "But you'll be back, right? I'm really not mad."

Yoongi forces a smile and nods. He's not offended, not at all. But that reaction tells Yoongi more than he expected.

Jimin doesn't want to be here.

"I'll be back. Soon."

Jimin smiles back, genuine as always. "Bye, then."

Yoongi opens the sliding doors and steps out of the room, then he turns around to close them.

"Yoongi."

He looks at Jimin and the Gumiho breathes in deeply.

"I hope I dream of you as well," he murmurs before he looks down at Jungkook.

Yoongi remains still for a few seconds, he lets the words echo in his head, hopes he won't forget them nor the soft flush on Jimin's cheeks.

"I'll see you soon, Jimin," he whispers before he closes the doors.

It's always before dawn.

Jimin never allows him to stay after the earliest hours of the morning. The Gumiho always makes him leave when it’s still dark and Yoongi gets to see the first light of the sun only when he's already close to home.

He wonders why. Maybe it's simply because Jimin is tired, maybe it's because he's bored and doesn't need Yoongi's company anymore.

Maybe it's a limit that Jimin forced on himself.

Something to keep each other apart. A firm line in the soil between them, traced with a wooden stick. It's easy to erase but none of them is going to. And even if they did they'd still remember that there was a limit there, once.

But the question still stands.

Why is a Gumiho locked in a whore house?

Namjoon is organizing the shelves, taking the old jars of unsold concoctions and powders and putting them away in a wooden box. As he does so, he also adds the new teas and potions Seokjin brewed during the night and the day before, putting them neatly over the various shelves.

Yoongi looks down to the herbs he's supposed to be mincing. His arms, for some reason, feel quite heavy and he doesn't really want to grasp the knife and start doing his job. He knows Seokjin won't be happy when he'll come back from the market and will find him doing nothing, but he's feeling lazy. It doesn't happen often, Yoongi likes to keep himself occupied as he grows bored easily. But today he's distracted, which seems to be an often occurrence these days.

Yoongi looks at Namjoon and he clears his throat. "Namjoon?"

"Mh?" The man grabs a new jar from the other box. He puts it on the shelf and Yoongi sees that it's a new tea, one that Yoongi never saw being sold.

"Ginger and mint?" He grimaces. "How can that taste good?"

"Seokjin says it's good for the throat and lungs," Namjoon replies. "What did you need?"

Yoongi looks down to the herbs again and he shifts uncomfortably on his wooden stool. "Gumihos are supposed to live in the wild, aren’t they?"

Namjoon, who was about to put a small box of incense away, stops mid-action. He turns to Yoongi with a raised eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I mean," he begins saying. "Most of them do, yes. They're spirits after all."

Yoongi makes a non-committal hum. He licks his lips and sends a quick glance towards Namjoon, who seems to know already what is going on.

"You're wondering about that Gumiho of yours."

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "He's not mine."

"You know what I mean."

"It's just—" Yoongi shakes his head. "What the hell is a spirit doing locked in a whore house?"

Namjoon nods. He looks down to the floor for a few seconds before he replies in a quiet voice.

"There are numerous tales of Gumihos who are captured by humans," Namjoon replies. "Some of them are stolen from their woods, others are tricked by humans. They say that if you eat a Gumiho's heart you'll become immortal."

Yoongi scoffs. He's heard of these tales but they're simply myths.

"Maybe the Gumiho was captured," Namjoon continues saying. "Maybe it has nowhere else to go."

Yoongi remains quiet after this. Namjoon seems to sense the shift in his mood and he resumes his work, turning back to the shelves and filling them with products.

Jimin likes expensive things and being spoiled, that much is clear, so maybe he never liked living in the woods. Maybe this life of his in that room is enough for him.

But if it truly is, then why would Jimin need the company of someone like Yoongi?

Why would he need to keep the solitude away?

It's later than usual when Yoongi arrives at the whore house. The street is busy but, once he's inside the building, it's unusually quiet.

Hoseok is leaning against the wall, his pipe held loosely in his hand, the man stares in front of him with a dull look in his eyes. He blinks when he hears Yoongi's footsteps and he puts on a smile, straightening up.

"It's a very slow night," he says. "Which is wonderful for me but not so good for business."

Yoongi nods. "Is he—"

"Upstairs?" Hoseok huffs a breath. "Where else could he be?"

Yoongi frowns at the bitter tone of Hoseok's voice but he doesn't ask questions. The man is friendly enough, sure, but Yoongi has a feeling that Hoseok is also quite reserved, that he keeps his secret close to his heart.

Yoongi manages a grin.

"Next time I'll bring you some wine that a client of my store gifted me," he says. "You stay up almost all night, some alcohol might make these hours more bearable."

Hoseok snorts and he smiles wide. "Ah, you're an angel. Please, do bring me some."

Yoongi nods and he then starts making his way towards the third floor.

As he climbs up the stairs, Yoongi can't help but notice that his heart is beating loudly in his chest, vibrating with an excitement he hadn't felt in a while. Maybe it's because of the many dreams he had during these last nights. They weren't as—as dirty and lewd as the first one. No, in these new dreams Jimin simply smiles. Sometimes he talks a little, tells him about things that Yoongi can't quite remember when he wakes up, all he recalls is that Jimin's voice is light and airy, with a laughter hidden between the words.

They're good dreams.

Yoongi reaches the third floor and he takes off his boots once he's in front of the door. He feels self-conscious suddenly and he smoothens his hands down the front of his trousers, grimacing at the feeling of the many creases in the fabric. Maybe he should've worn something a newer, something that fits his legs more than these loose pants.

"Whatever," he mutters.

He straightens his shoulders and then he slides the door open.

Yoongi frowns when his eyes spot the usual pile of pillows but doesn't find Jimin lounging there. The room seems empty at first glance, awfully quiet if not for the sounds of the street. But there's incense burning on the table at the corner of the room and Yoongi can smell the pungent scent of Soju.

He steps inside and he looks at the balcony.

Jimin is sitting there, his upper body half-twisted so that he can look at Yoongi. He's holding a glass of liquor in his left hand, his pipe is on the floor by his side.

They both remain silent for a few moments, a gentle breeze moves Jimin's long hair off his shoulder. Finally, the Gumiho grants him a small smile.

"Hi," he murmurs. "Come sit with me."

Yoongi closes the doors behind him and he walks to Jimin. He sits down on the bare floor, his legs on the outer side of the balcony. From here, the view of the street is quite overwhelming. It's really high up and the people seem smaller than they should.

"Can they see us?" Yoongi asks.

"No. No, you have to sit further to be seen. If we stay on the threshold they can't even see our feet." Jimin takes a sip of his soju.

He looks tired, Yoongi notices.

Jimin, who usually likes draping his body with precious fabrics and shiny jewels, tonight is wearing nothing but a very plain robe, white and thick. There's also a blanket of soft wool over his legs and tail, his hair isn't adorned with pins as it usually is, but simply let loose on his back.

"Are you alright?" Yoongi asks.

Jimin blinks and he heaves a deep sigh. He downs the rest of his soju and then he sets the cup aside.

"I don't know," he replies. He puts his hands over his lap, fingers fidgeting with the blanket. "I really don't know, Yoongi."

He's paler than usual. Yoongi got used to the rich color of Jimin's skin and to see him this white under the moonlight feels foreign and scary. His ears, too, are low on top of his head, not standing straight as they usually do.

Yoongi scoots a bit closer to Jimin but he still leaves some space between them.

"Did something happen?" Jimin clenches his jaw and Yoongi feels a hot wave of concern wash over him. "Are Taehyung and Jungkook okay?"

"Oh, they are." Jimin nods, sparing him a quick look. "They're fine. I think they're sleeping."

Yoongi nods. "But something did happen."

Jimin's lips part as if he's about to speak, but no sounds come out. For a moment, Jimin seems lost in his own mind, grey eyes narrowed on a spot of the building opposite to them. Yoongi remains quiet and waits, not wanting to pressure the Gumiho and cause him even more distress. He's clearly upset about something, that much is obvious.

"Something happened," Jimin finally says. He shrugs. "But it's nothing I'm not used to."

Yoongi arches an eyebrow. "That doesn't really put me at ease."

That steals a smile from Jimin, who turns to look at him. "You don't need to worry about me, Yoongi. I'm fine."

"Can't I help?"

Jimin frowns. "Help?"

"You said that something happened." Yoongi rubs a hand over the nape of his neck. "Can I help?"

"No," Jimin replies. He gently shakes his head. "I'm afraid you can't."

Another silence follows and Yoongi can't seem to find the right words to break it. There's a part of him that is drowning in a concern so intense that it sends shivers up his spine, but the other one—stronger—simply wants to offer some comfort. Any kind of it.

Yoongi looks down to Jimin's lap and his eyes widen.

"Your claws."

Jimin looks at him. "What?"

"Your claws are gone."

Jimin's hands look absolutely human. His nails are short and smooth, of a pink color, when usually there are long white claws protruding from them.

"Oh," Jimin breathes out. "They—it's alright, they retract naturally when I feel comfortable."

His hands look even smaller without those claws. Yoongi wonders how they would fit between his. He has much larger hands, his fingers are longer and thicker, too.

They'd feel nice to hold, Yoongi is sure of it.

"You feel comfortable?" he asks, still unable to tear his eyes off those hands.

"I feel safe."

Yoongi looks up and he finds Jimin staring at him.

Yoongi never knew that a color like grey could look so warm.

"With you," Jimin offers in a murmur. "I feel safe with you."

Yoongi smiles. "I'm glad."

Jimin looks back at the street and the warmth in his eyes disappears, replaced with something ugly and laced with disgust.

"I hate this balcony," he says. "I hate it. I hate sitting here, dressed up like a doll, out here in the open for everyone to see. I hate the way they look at me." Jimin's hands are clenched in fists. "Like I'm some sort of attraction. A source of entertainment. I hate that they look at me and see a— something . Something for them to enjoy. Something at their disposal." Jimin swallows thickly. "I fucking hate it."

"Jimin."

"I'm a spirit. A blessed being. And instead I—I have to sit here and let them stare . Let them think that they can get anywhere near me. My pride gets shattered each time these curtains open and I have to let those humans look at me, that I have to ignore the disgusting things they yell. I hate it."

"Just look at me from now on."

Jimin turns to him with a sharp movement, eyes wide.

"What?"

Yoongi, whose heart is beating too fast and hard against his chest, leans forward.

"I'll stand down on that street every night from now on. And you can just look at me. You can ignore them all. If-if it helps you in any way then you can just look at me."

Please , Yoongi thinks, Just look at me.

At Jimin's silence, Yoongi clears his voice.

"If you don’t want me to then I won't look at you," he says. "I'll simply stand there and stare at the floor, but you can look at me. You can focus on me and-and pretend that there's no one else. If it can help you, then—"

Yoongi's words die in his mouth as Jimin's hand finds his. His fingers close around Yoongi's palm, squeezing it hard.

Jimin looks at him for long seconds, eyes red and lips trembling. He looks like he's going to break.

"Jimin," Yoongi murmurs thickly. "If I can help you in any way."

"I want you to look," Jimin leans closer, slowly. "I want you to look at me. Always."

Yoongi can feel Jimin's breath breaking on his lips, so close to him that Yoongi can see faint freckles and the darker specks of black scattered in grey eyes.

"Jimin." Yoongi tightens his grip on Jimin's hand. "There's no price, is there?"

Slowly, Jimin shakes his head, his gaze flickering down to Yoongi's lips.

"You're paying it already," he breathes out before he presses his mouth on Yoongi's.

The touch is soft and hesitant, as if Jimin isn't quite sure of what he's doing or if he should do it. But for Yoongi, this is enough. He was willing to let Jimin tore his heart out of his damn chest if it meant Yoongi could pay his debt. This doesn't feel like paying a price.

This feels like a miracle.

Yoongi closes his eyes and his hand travels to the back of Jimin's neck. The Gumiho tips his head to the side, allowing Yoongi to move his lips on his more freely, harder. Yoongi wonders if his chest will explode with how warm it feels, like a sun is burning in his ribcage.

Jimin breaks the kiss for a second, just enough so that he can whisper against his lips, "More."

Yoongi sighs before kissing him again, his hand closes around locks of soft silver hair, tugging softly and tilting Jimin's head back. The fox makes a soft sound from deep in his chest and he parts his lips, his tongue darts out to lick Yoongi's bottom lip, his other hand fists at the fabric of Yoongi's vest.

When Yoongi pulls back for a second to breathe, Jimin chases his mouth.

"More," he murmurs, the sound close to a whine. " Yoongi , more."

Maybe it's the sound of his name that breaks his heart, a plead for something that Yoongi can't understand just yet, but he's quick to kiss Jimin again. And again. And again.

And again, with all the care and love he can give.

If this is his price to pay then Yoongi will gladly remain in debt for the rest of his life. If he gets to have this, to touch something as wild and beautiful as Jimin, if he gets to hear his name breathed so gently on his lips, then Yoongi will keep paying.

The sounds of the street are drowned by Jimin's much quieter voice and the breeze is replaced by the warm feeling of Jimin's hand in his own.

"Until dawn," Jimin murmurs in between frantic kisses, breathless and flushed. "Keep looking at-at me until dawn comes."

Yoongi bites Jimin's bottom lip gently, he feels the fox shuddering.

"You can luh-leave before dawn, just— until then." Jimin licks into Yoongi's mouth and draws him closer as he wraps an arm around his neck. "Yoongi, please, until then."

Yoongi nods, he presses his mouth on Jimin's neck, relishes in the gasp that follows.

"Until then," Yoongi murmurs. "I'm yours until then."

"Yes." Jimin finds his lips again. There's a faint smile in the kiss this time. "Mine until then."

With the way Jimin keeps appearing in his dreams, Yoongi feels like he belongs to the other even when the sun is high in the sky.

Yoongi doesn't tell Seokjin and Namjoon about the kiss. But he knows they must have noticed that something has changed when he starts going to the whore house every night. They don't ask questions, though.

Yoongi, most of the nights, doesn't go upstairs to Jimin.

He's there to keep faith to a promise.

He waits for the curtains of the balcony to open, standing in the road, and he waits for Jimin to find him in the crowd. When he does, Jimin's eyes widen and Yoongi can see him holding his breath, as if he can't believe that Yoongi would truly appear there every night.

But then Jimin smiles and he looks at him. For the entire hour that he spends out there, Jimin keeps his eyes on Yoongi and no one else but him.

It feels overwhelming.

There's an entire world that Jimin could be looking at and, instead, he somehow chose Yoongi.

"I want you to always look at me."

And Yoongi does. He leans against the wall of the opposite building and stares at Jimin openly, smiling at the spirit and hoping (praying) that this brings him any kind of comfort.

When the curtains close again, Yoongi leaves.

But when he goes upstairs to spend the night in that large room, Jimin glows of a happiness that Yoongi didn't think could exist.

Yoongi didn't even know he could feel this same happiness, filling him to the brim, so much so that it leaves him dizzy and greedy for more.

If there are clients, Yoongi simply waits by the balcony, smoking or drinking, quietly listening to the many different and bizarre requests.

But when they're alone the world is nothing but a buzz in the distance.

Jimin kisses him like there will never be something as precious as Yoongi, softly and hungry at the same time, hands roaming over his chest and neck, smiling and giggling in between chaste kisses, breathing out his name when heat spreads over his chest and face.

All Yoongi can do is try not to lose himself.

As summer comes closer, rainy nights become more often.

The air is warm and moist, the soil on the street turns to mud, making it more difficult to walk, but Yoongi still hurries in his way over to the whore house.

He's wearing a straw hat, covered with a cape in an attempt of sheltering himself from the heavy rain, but it's quite useless. He already feels wet to the bone, but it doesn't matter.

He reaches the house and he presses himself against the usual wall, waiting for the curtains to open.

They don't.

Yoongi waits some more minutes, wondering as to how Jimin isn't on the balcony tonight. As he looks around, he can see that the few people who went out despite the rain are as confused as he is, staring at the empty balcony with deep frowns.

Maybe they don't open the curtains when it rains. Jimin would only get drenched with water and people wouldn't be able to see him that well anyway with the heavy downpour.

Yoongi decides to go inside then. Since the curtains will clearly remain closed he can steal some extra moments with the spirit. Hoseok won't complain, he's sure of it, the man seems to have taken a liking to Yoongi, especially after he gifted Hoseok an expensive liquor.

Strangely, though, when Yoongi reaches the entrance Hoseok isn't there. Yoongi frowns at the empty space, he can't even smell the lingering smell of the tobacco the man smokes.

Maybe it's because it's earlier than usual and Hoseok's shift hasn't begun yet. Whatever the reason may be, Yoongi decides to go upstairs.

There are some clients already in the rooms of the first and second floor, but it's obvious that there are fewer people than usual, not many would want to venture in this part of the city with such a bad weather.

Yoongi takes his shoes off once he's in front of the door to Jimin's room, he grimaces at the sight of mud and dirt on the boots. It will be a pain to clean them once the mud will dry on them, but it doesn't matter now.

Yoongi opens the door, expecting to find Jimin on his pillows, smoking or drinking. Expecting that usual wide smile and the flick of a long tail.

Instead, Jimin is on the floor.

Yoongi's vision blurs for a few moments as he looks at the spirit as he drags his naked body on the floor, tail shaking over his legs, a series of broken pants filling the room.

"Jimin!" Yoongi says, his voice too loud in the room. "Shit, what happened?!"

Jimin stills at the sound of Yoongi's voice and he seems to try to curl on himself. Yoongi closes the doors and rushes to the spirit, kneeling by his side.

He tries to grab Jimin's arm, but the spirit immediately yanks his hand away.

"Go away," Jimin says with a sharp voice, his eyes set on the floor..

"Jimin, what happened to you?" Yoongi murmurs, his heart beating harshly in a frenzy of panic.

"Go away, Yoongi." The Gumiho doesn't look at him as he tries to get up on his elbows. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine! Let me help you, are you hurt anywhere?!"

Again, Yoongi tries to touch him but his body locks the moment Jimin turns his face to him, glaring fiercely with grey eyes as a growl vibrates through the spirit's chest.

" Go away !" He snarls. His claws are digging holes in the wooden floor and his ears are pressed down to his head.

Yoongi wants to leave.

For the first time since he met Jimin, he's scared. Truthfully, horribly scared.

He fights against it.

Yoongi stands up on shaky legs and looks around, looking for something to cover Jimin's body with. He sees one of his robes discarded on the floor not so far from them so he hurriedly goes to grab it.

Quickly, Yoongi turns back to Jimin and drapes it over his back. At the feeling of the fabric on his skin, Jimin seems to relax. The low grumble that comes from deep in his chest fades away, his ears twitch and his claws slowly retract until they're completely gone.

"I'm sorry," Jimin whispers, pressing his forehead on the floor. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't want to growl, I'm suh-sorry."

"It's alright." Yoongi carefully places his hand on the small of Jimin's back. "You were upset, I shouldn't have touched you."

Jimin whines at this, shaking his head. He's shaking, Yoongi can feel it, and as much as concern and terror swim freely in his system, Yoongi's even more scared of pushing too much and upsetting the spirit again.

"Jimin," Yoongi whispers. "I'll help you get up, come on."

"No."

"You can't stay here and fucking crawl on the floor. Let me help you, I'll just help you get to the pillows and—"

"I can't!" Jimin screams, the sound shrieking and terrible. "I can't fucking walk !"

Yoongi freezes.

He's never seen Jimin walking. He's never seen him up on his feet.

Always lounging around, always asking Yoongi to grab things for him.

Yoongi always thought Jimin was lazy.

The Gumiho whimpers and he presses his face harder against the hard flooring.

"I can't wuh-walk."

"It's alright, don't—I'll help you, just stop doing that." Yoongi swallows and he grabs Jimin's arms. "I'll help you sit up and I'll carry you there, it's alright."

Jimin sighs heavily but he lets Yoongi pull him up from the floor until he's sitting up straight. He keeps himself up with one hand pressed on the floor and Yoongi pulls the robe around his shoulders and tugs it forward so that it covers a bit of his chest.

Jimin looks at him with red and teary eyes, his skin to white and his hair is a mess of knots. Yoongi swallows and cups his cheeks, trying to keep at bay his worry.

"You're going to be alright," he murmurs. "I'll help you, yes?"

Jimin breathes in slowly and he leans into Yoongi's hand.

"Please," he breathes.

Yoongi nods and then he moves Jimin's arms so that he can wrap them around his shoulders. Carefully, Yoongi slides his hands under Jimin's thighs and he lifts him up, grunting as he does so. Jimin is a dead weight, unable to wrap his legs around him, so Yoongi has to force a strength he doesn't own to not simply drop the spirit on the floor. He manages to get to the pillows and, slowly, he puts Jimin down.

The Gumiho is quick to cover his legs with his tail as he usually does, then he grabs the hems of the robe and wraps himself in it, he lays down on the pillows and stares at Yoongi.

"Jimin." Yoongi puts a hand over Jimin's knee. "Jimin, it's alright. You can show me."

The Gumiho shakes his head. "Don't want to."

"How can I help you if you don't show me?"

"I'm-I'm fine."

"No, love," Yoongi sighs. "You aren't."

"It's ugly," Jimin then says. He bites his bottom lip and tightens his grip on the fabric of the robe. "They're so ugly."

"I don't care."

"I do."

Yoongi flinches at this.

Of course Jimin does. He tried so hard to hide it this whole time, always covering his legs with his tail, or with his clothes.

"I know," Yoongi whispers. "But I feel like I'm about to die out of concern and I just—if you're hurt then I need to know, love."

Jimin seems hesitant, looking at Yoongi as if he's trying to make sure that this isn't a trick. Then the expression on his face softens and, with a sigh, Jimin moves his tail away.

Yoongi looks down to Jimin's bare legs and the breath gets stuck in his throat, something cold and awful washes over him, it spreads in his veins.

He was expecting scars, maybe even fresh wounds. Instead, what he sees are black marks, similar to ink.

At first sight, they almost make no sense. Just black symbols that cover Jimin's legs on almost every inch of skin available, from his calves up to his thighs, disappearing under the robe and Yoongi wonders just how far up they reach.

And he doesn't understand at first, too overwhelmed with what he's presented with, but then it makes sense.

Those aren't simple symbols, they're not even words.

They're spells.

Yoongi's heart feels tight in his chest, choked with pity and sorrow as he stares at the curse that has been cast upon the Gumiho.

"Oh, Jimin," Yoongi breathes. "I'm so sorry."

Jimin doesn't say anything. He remains still and quiet, eyeing Yoongi as the man lets his eyes wander over the expanse of Jimin's legs, taking in each spell. There's too many and they're all ancient, Yoongi knows he's seen some of them already in the past, in his mother's manuscripts.

"Can I touch?"

Wordlessly, Jimin nods.

Yoongi faintly lets his fingertips trace the outline of one of the spells and he can feel its power vibrating against his skin, ferocious and greedy in remaining on Jimin's skin.

"These spells are alive," Yoongi says. "Whoever cast them bound them to their soul. To make them stronger."

"Yes," Jimin murmurs. "That's what he did."

There's too many. Yoongi knows that most of them are there to bound Jimin's legs so that he can't move them, but there are more that are far more complicated, intricate designs that Yoongi never even saw before.

Jimin's hand suddenly grips his wrist and Yoongi turns to him.

"Stop looking at them," Jimin says. "Just lay down with me. I'm really tired."

Yoongi hesitates for a moment, torn between wanting to find out more about those spells and giving in to Jimin's requests. When the Gumiho squeezes his wrist harder and sends him a plead through his gaze, Yoongi heaves a sigh and he climbs on top of the many pillows. He lays down on his side in front of Jimin and the spirit is quick to press his face in the crook of Yoongi's neck, his arm slides past his back and Jimin's hand settles between his shoulder blades, gripping the fabric of his vest.

Yoongi hears him sigh and he rests his chin on top of the Gumiho's head, pointy silver ears flatted down.

"Why were you on the floor?" Yoongi asks in a murmur, he feels Jimin's body stiffening. "Why were you naked? What happened?"

Jimin remains silent for long seconds, breathing in slowly.

"It's a long story," he replies.

Yoongi hums. "I have until dawn, haven't I?"

Jimin pulls back his head so that he can look at Yoongi, eyes tired but still as bright as pearls.

"I'm afraid you will hate me," he says. "Or judge me."

"I'm in no place to judge anyone," Yoongi retorts, gently. "But I think hating you is an impossible feat."

An almost imperceptible smile breaks on his face for a second. It disappears as quickly as it appeared and Jimin wets his lips nervously, his hand still firmly placed in between Yoongi's shoulders.

"A fox becomes a Gumiho if it lives long enough," Jimin murmurs. "I lived in the mountains. It snowed most of the year and there wasn't much food, but I was safe there. I had a den and the people of the village liked me. They used to say I was their blessing. That it was because of the small silver fox that the war never reached their village and that no avalanche ever destroyed their homes." The spirit looks down to Yoongi's lips for a moment, eyes flickering over his face. "I think they believed I was a spirit already, so they started praying to me. They even built a small shrine in my honor, they left offerings and food. I think that that is the reason as to how I lived that long. Their prayers and their love kept me alive for a thousand years." Jimin blinks. "Foxes become spirits if they live for a thousand years."

Yoongi knows he must be wide-eyed but he can't help it. He heard about this, about the thousand years a fox must pray to survive if they wish to become spirits, but he always thought it was a tale or an exaggeration of the real deal.

"You lived for that long?" Yoongi asks, stunned.

Jimin nods. "I saw that village being born. Saw the people who built it grow old and die, witnessed their children becoming men and women. Saw them die as well. The same cycle, over and over again. But I was happy, I really was. They loved me and I loved that village. But then I became what I am now and they—" Jimin's voice breaks. "They were scared of me. They were scared of the Gumiho."

Yoongi's hand moves to Jimin's hip, his thumb pressing down in the soft dent between his ribs and waist. "Why?"

"Because Gumihos eat humans, Yoongi," Jimin replies. "And they knew it. You have no idea of how—how horrible it feels. We don't truly need to feed on organs, we are spirits, we don't need food but—but it's a craving." Jimin clenches his jaw, his gaze hardens. "It pulls at your chest, makes you shake with need. Especially at first, when you have just turned you're just so-so hungry even when you really aren't. It's disgusting. Disgusting ."

Jimin pauses and Yoongi can see him lost in his thought, his bottom lip trapped under his teeth.

"I really didn't want to hurt them," he murmurs. "And I tried not to. I tried to reassure them, I fought against everything I am for them. But—I can't blame them if they were scared, I can't."

"What did they do?" Yoongi asks. He's scared of knowing the answer, if he has to be honest with himself, but even more than that he's scared of knowing the consequences of their actions.

Jimin wouldn't look so tense otherwise.

"They threw rocks at me," Jimin replies. "They threw mud and rocks and everything they could come across. They kicked me out of the village I spent a thousand years in. And I got mad." Jimin takes in a long, shaking breath. "I was so mad. And-and hungry , upset, scared. I felt like-like they betrayed me. I was so alone and scared and I-I couldn't control myself, I tried, I swear that I tried but—"

"It's alright." Yoongi swallows thickly. "It's alright, Jimin."

"It's not ."

"You were scared."

"I ate the heart of the village's chief," Jimin suddenly hisses, ears standing up straight. "That isn't alright. That's disgusting. I was disgusting ."

"Jimin—"

"I didn't stop there. I kept going. I traveled off the mountains and killed again." Jimin tears his eyes away from Yoongi's gaze. "I tricked humans, seduced them and fooled them just so I could feed on them. Out of some sort of petty vendetta of mine. Just to show them that if they believed I was a monster than I should've acted as one."

Yoongi is rendered speechless.

He can see shame in Jimin's features, usually so delicate but now hard and stiff.

"Jimin, I knew this."

The spirit looks up at Yoongi with a slight frown. Yoongi sighs and he applies a firmer pressure on Jimin's waist.

"I didn't know that this is how it happened, but I always knew what you were. I knew what Gumihos feed on." He pauses. "That didn't stop me from wanting you, why do you think it would change a thing now?"

Jimin scoffs. "It's disgusting."

"And?"

"And?! And you should be disgusted!"

"I know," Yoongi says. "But I'm not."

It's Jimin's turn to stay mute. He looks at Yoongi as if he can't believe that this foolish human could ever say something like this and, maybe he's right.

Yoongi himself is stunned. He's been from the very first moment he started wanting Jimin. The fear and danger that everything Jimin is represents was, somehow, a thing that fueled Yoongi's interest and need.

It's twisted, but it's how it is.

"You're unbelievable," Jimin mutters but there's fondness too in his voice.

"What happened then?" Yoongi asks.

"Oh," Jimin breathes. "I saw pups."

"Pups?"

"They were so small. Newborns. Three tiny foxes hidden in a den, the mother was guarding them. She hissed at me the moment she saw me, growled and put herself in front of the pups and it was horrible. I was like her once but she was terrified of me. And then I realized that I couldn't go back." Jimin runs his cheek against the soft pillow under his head. "I couldn't go back to being a fox even if it was the thing I wanted the most. But there was something I could've become."

Yoongi's lips part in realization. "A human. You can become a human."

"If a Gumiho doesn't feed on humans or kill for one hundred years than they'll go from being a spirit to being a simple human," Jimin says, almost in awe. "Suddenly it was all I wanted. I didn't want to kill anymore, I was tired of tasting blood in my mouth and feeling nothing but disgust for myself. But it was impossible to resist the craving without an objective. A mission. And then I suddenly had one." Jimin shrugs a little. "I just wanted to stop being a spirit. I never wanted to be one."

Outside, the rain is still pouring. Yoongi can hear it hitting the roof and the balcony hard, filling the silence of the room.

"But I don't understand how this is connected to the state I found you in," Yoongi says.

"It will soon." Jimin's free hand starts playing with the hems of Yoongi's vest. "I spent sixty-five years without eating human organs. It was hell. It still is. The craving doesn't go away, no matter how much time goes by. And then I met a man." Jimin clicks his tongue. "He wasn't scared of me. He told me that his name was Baram and that he was a shaman. He was young and good looking. Kind. He told me that if there was anything I wished for then he would've given it to me, for he was a servant of the spirits. And so I told him that I wanted to become human. He smiled and said that he could do that." Jimin's lips tremble, twisting into an ugly scowl. "He tricked me. I was impatient and tired and a human was showing me kindness for the first time in almost seventy years and so I fell for his game. He was no shaman, he was no server of the spirits. He-he practiced some sort of dark witchcraft, an evil power that he masked with a charm so I wouldn't notice."

"He's the one who cursed you," Yoongi states.

"He bound me to him," Jimin spits out like the words are venomous. "Drugged me and chained me like an animal . Cast those damn things on my legs so that I couldn't walk, so that I couldn't get away from him. Those-those marks bound me to him and whatever place he steps foot in. Now it's this whore house, before this it was an opium den. I can't walk and even if I tried to crawl, the curse would kill me the moment I try to get out of this house." Jimin takes a deep breath. "He keeps feeding me human organs."

Yoongi's stomach churns and he feels lightheaded for a moment. He fears he might feel sick soon.

"He buys them from doctors who lose their patients, from healers who are in dire need of money," Jimin whispers before he sends Yoongi a look. "I never ate them."

"Oh," Yoongi sighs in relief. "Does he-does he know?"

Jimin shakes his head. "No, I managed to hide this from him. He's scared of me, I never ate in front of him and when he tried to force me to feed I almost ripped his arm off of him. And then, when I got Taehyung and Jungkook, they started to get rid of the organs for me." The spirit leans forward a bit, his nose brushing against Yoongi's. "I just need five more years."

"Five?"

"In five years I will turn human. Just-just five years and the curse will break, won't it? Because he cast these spells on a spirit. He bound a spirit to him, so once I'll be changed—"

"Then the curse will also be changed because you are not what it used to stuck to," Yoongi says, struck by realization. "Five more years."

"I can be with you in five years, can't I?" Jimin wets his lips, eyes roaming over Yoongi's features. "If-if I'm human then I can be with you. If you want me, then—"

"You're already with me."

"Yeah." Jimin smiles a little. "Only until dawn, though."

"Why dawn?" Yoongi asks. "You always make me leave at dawn."

"He's never here at night," Jimin replies. "Baram, I mean. He comes to check on me in the early morning and he leaves right before dusk."

Before dusk.

"Jimin." Yoongi's hand tightens around the spirit's hip. "Why were you on the floor?"

The spirit grimaces and he bumps his nose into Yoongi's. "I wasn't in a good mood when he got here. I started insulting him and-and provoking him so he got mad."

No.

No, Jimin was on the floor and he was-he was shaking and terrified and stripped of his clothes and-

"No, Yoongi, no." Jimin's hands immediately move to cup Yoongi's face, grey eyes filling with concern. "Don't make that face, he doesn't touch me, I swear. He never did, he's too scared of me. I swear it, he knows I'd kill him the moment he would try to lay a hand on me."

"Then why haven't you?" Yoongi snarls, anger and disgust getting a hold of him. "Why haven't you killed him yet?"

"I'm bound to his heart, Yoongi. If I kill him the curse might even break, but what about me?" Jimin sighs. "I'd have to wait one hundred years again. I-I can't do that, there's no way I could do it again. It's painful ."

Yoongi forces himself to calm down under Jimin's upset gaze. The spirit looks already wrecked as it is, he doesn't need even more concern to weight on him.

"Why the hell does he keep you here?"

Jimin scoffs and he starts playing with the hems of Yoongi's vest again. "I attract clients. I give him notoriety."

"Selfish bastard."

"Being bound to a spirit like me gives him strength, too," Jimin then reveals. "I—He really doesn't touch me, Yoongi. But he has Taehyung and Jungkook against me, even if he can't have me it doesn't mean he wouldn't try to hurt them."

Yoongi heaves a sigh, feeling utterly powerless. "I know."

"I have to do what he says. If-if he asks me to do something then I can't say no, they're just pups."

"Is that what he asked you?" Yoongi tries to keep his voice even and gentle. "To crawl on the floor naked?"

"It's just for five years," Jimin murmurs, again he leans closer to Yoongi. "Can you wait for me for five years?"

The way Jimin says it, it almost sounds as if Yoongi will be the one suffering during these five years. What's worse is that Jimin probably believes this. Selfless as he is, Jimin probably believes that Yoongi is the one who is in pain.

"I won't make you wait for five years," Yoongi says in the end. "I'll get those spells off of you."

Jimin blinks before he chuckles weakly, the sound airy and light. "My little curse breaker."

"Little?"

"You're tiny." Jimin traces the line of Yoongi's jaw with his finger. "And pretty, too."

Yoongi rolls his eyes and he hopes that the heat he's feeling on his face doesn't show on his skin.

"I wanted to ask you to break the curse as a payment at first."

Yoongi frowns. "Why didn't you?"

"I'm not sure," Jimin replies, he takes a deep breath. "Every time I tried to open my mouth to ask you for the price the words died in my mouth. Don't get him involved, he's a good person . This kind of thoughts would cross my mind each time. And-and then I started enjoying your company so I began thinking, what if it'll scare him away? What if he'll be disgusted? What if Baram finds out, what if you put him in danger ?" Jimin gives a light shrug of his shoulders. "So I kept quiet. I was satisfied with having you until dawn."

"You're so stupid," Yoongi mutters, earning a glare from the spirit. "I would've done it anyway. Danger or no danger at all, I would've paid my price." He leans closer until their lips brush. "I'm still going to pay it."

Jimin's eyes are filled with warmth before they flutter closed and the spirit presses his mouth on Yoongi's.

Yoongi breathes in deeply through his nose at the tentative touch of Jimin's tongue on the seam of his lips, he parts them and wraps his arm around the spirit's waist, pulling him closer.

Soon enough, Yoongi can feel a certain desperation morphing into the kiss. The gentle movement of Jimin's lips shifts to a firmer pressure, the spirit's hand behind his back moves to rest on his hip, fingers curling around the fabric of the blouse and trousers.

Yoongi is the same. There's a craving swimming in his body and settling low in his stomach, making him lick into Jimin's mouth as if he's been starving off the taste.

"More." Jimin's hand move to Yoongi's chest. "Yoongi, more ."

So Yoongi gives in. He doesn't know if it's because he's too weak to resist his own craving or if he's simply too weak to resist Jimin, but he decides he doesn't care.

Sliding his hand beneath the light and silky fabric of the robe is easy, pushing it off Jimin's shoulders is an even simpler task. He spreads his hand over Jimin's stomach, feels the muscles clenching under his touch and a gasp that breaks on his lips.

Before seeing , Yoongi wants to feel. He doesn't stop kissing Jimin even when he moves to stand on top of the spirit; he draws a map of Jimin's body with his hands. He applies a slight pressure to the side of Jimin's neck and then he moves his fingers along narrow shoulders, down to sharp collarbones. When his fingertips brush gently over Jimin's nipples, the Gumiho breaks the kiss to let out a soft sound, something overwhelmed and stunned.

"I-I haven't been touched for a long time," Jimin says, he swallows thickly before he tries to chase Yoongi's mouth. "It's been so long, touch me more."

When he moves his hands to Jimin's ribs, the spirit holds his breath for a moment before he licks into Yoongi's mouth again. Yoongi's breathless by the time his palms travel along a slim waist, gripping harder the soft curves of the Gumiho's hips.

He's too lost in every detail of the smooth skin beneath his hands and in the gasps and small sounds that break into his mouth to notice Jimin's fingers undoing the laces of his vest.

"You're so beautiful." Yoongi's hands move to Jimin's legs. He kneads the soft flesh, squeezing it tight with his fingers.

Jimin shudders but Yoongi can feel a smile against his lips when Jimin stops kissing him.

"You haven't even looked at me."

"I don't need to."

"I want you to," Jimin offers in a murmur. "I want you to look."

And, slowly, Yoongi does. He pulls away from Jimin, sits on his knees and he looks .

Jimin's legs are only slightly parted because of Yoongi being between them and beneath those black spells, there's tanned, unblemished skin. Jimin is flushed, grey eyes dark and lidded as he looks Yoongi gaze at him. His chest is rising and falling faster than normal, small hands by each side of his face. His back is slightly arched over the pillows and it almost looks as if Jimin is presenting himself for Yoongi to take.

"Beautiful."

Jimin's lips twitch in a small smile. "I want to look at you, too."

"I'm hardly something nice to look at."

"And you're a fool too, apparently." Jimin reaches for his blouse now, hooking one finger beneath the fabric. "Let me look, Yoongi."

It's an awkward affair, getting rid of his own clothing. He doesn't look at Jimin as he does so, instead, he prefers staring at a particular spot of the spirit's neck, thinking that he wants to put his mouth there, taste that skin under his tongue.  

By the time he's completely nude, his clothes thrown without a care on the floor, Yoongi manages to bring his eyes back to Jimin. The spirit's gaze is roaming over Yoongi's body, lips parted and eyes filled with a hunger Yoongi has never seen before on the man.

"You're so pretty," Jimin murmurs. "You look frail."

Yoongi feels himself shivering slightly at the touch of Jimin's fingers over his stomach. They move up to his chest and a faint smirk stretches the spirit's legs.

"But you're broad here," he says. "I like it."

Yoongi huffs out a slightly flustered laughter. He looks down to Jimin's body and his breath gets stuck in his throat; Jimin's already hard, his length curved over his stomach.

"I dreamed of this," Yoongi admits in a low voice. He brushes his knuckles along Jimin's erection and feels it twitching.

"Yuh-you did?"

Yoongi nods. "I dreamed of having you. Like this."

Jimin gasps and closes his eyes once Yoongi wraps his fingers around his cock, stroking it slowly.

"I dreamed of you being in this exact same position," Yoongi murmurs and it is hard to formulate words when arousal swims in his veins like that. "Even then, you were asking for more."

Jimin lets out a breathless laughter. "That does sound like-like me. What else?"

"Mh?"

"What else did you dream of? Ah , you're-you're going maddeningly slow."

Yoongi grows a little bolder then, tightening his grip on Jimin's length, swiping his thumb over the wet tip.

"You were on top of me," Yoongi admits. "You felt warm, but in reality, your skin is a lot colder than I thought."

Jimin opens his mouth to say something but all that comes out is a quiet moan, the words lost in the wave of pleasure that must've hit him.

"You were a lot more brazen, too."

Jimin opens his eyes at this. "Do you wuh-want me to be?"

"I want you ."

"You have me."

"I dreamed of taking you."

Jimin shudders, his tail twitches from where it's resting on the pillows.

"Do it," Jimin says, his voice shaking. "Until-until dawn you're mine, aren't you?"

"Yours."

"Then do it. Take me."

Yoongi knows his hands are shaking when he pushes Jimin's thighs apart. He lets instinct and his want get a hold of him when he presses his body flush against Jimin's, rutting against him and shuddering at the quiet sounds that escape Jimin's lips. He wraps an arm around Jimin's waist, hand firm on the small of his back as he opens his mouth on the spirit's neck, tongue flat against the skin.

Suddenly, he wants to taste everything.

Jimin's fingers curl around his hair, tugging harshly when Yoongi hovers between his legs, pushing them open as much as he can and then buries his face there, tongue lapping at Jimin's hole.

" Yoongi ," Jimin moans, shaking. "'s good. Make me feel good."

Jimin smells of that jasmine oil that Yoongi saw him using many times. He always smells of it, sometimes of roses. Yoongi has spent hours gazing at Jimin as he applied that oil all over his arms and neck, he wonders if he bathes in it too, maybe he applies it to the water.

All he knows is that he can't stop. There's something pulling and squeezing Yoongi's insides, making him want more, making him greedy of the sounds that spill from Jimin. Carefully, Yoongi starts pressing the pad of his finger into Jimin's hole as he keeps his mouth on him.

"Oh!" Jimin shudders, his hand pulls Yoongi's hair. "More."

"Already?" Yoongi rasps.

"I want you inside, hurry."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm a spirit, Yoongi. If-if you think I'll break then I have news for you."

Yoongi looks up at him with an arched eyebrow and he crooks his finger. Jimin chokes on a moan, his body taut.

"You're so mouthy."

"Muh-much more brazen than I appear?"

"I love it."

"Good," Jimin murmurs and Yoongi can hear his smile. "Then hurry."

Yoongi doesn't hurry, much to Jimin's disdain. He knows he has until dawn, that he's Jimin's until dawn. So he'll have him for as much as he can. He thrusts his fingers and tongue inside of him until his jaw aches, until he can feel Jimin whimpering and moaning loudly, writhing on the pillows.

When he finally stops Jimin is shaking, flushed bright and covered in a thin layer of sweat, almost glowing under the lights of the candles as rain pours outside heavier than ever.

He wipes his mouth and then hovers over Jimin, a hand cupped on the spirit's cheek.

"Yours?"

Jimin nods almost frantically, a hand on Yoongi's nape, pulling him closer to his lips. "Mine. Mine, so— please , just take me."

Yoongi keeps his gaze focused on Jimin as he pushes inside of him. He takes note of every single twist of his features, from the pinched, pained expression to the look of awe once Yoongi bottoms out. There's a slight tremor that runs through his body as Yoongi stays still, breathing heavily as warm tightness envelopes him.

"Yoongi," Jimin breathes out and he bares his neck more when Yoongi's lips press on his throat, teeth grazing skin.

"You feel so good." Overwhelmed as he is, Yoongi's voice isn't as stable as he'd like it to be.

When Yoongi starts to move, Jimin's arms wrap around his back and the spirit buries his face in the crook of his neck, moaning on his skin.

Yoongi fucks into him slowly, hitting deeply and feeling himself burn. Jimin holds him so tightly he can't even move his head to kiss the Gumiho but he doesn't mind. If this is how Jimin wants it then he'll let him have it. He keeps his lips pressed against Jimin's temple, murmuring praises and words that don't really make sense.

He dreamed of this.

It's overwhelming to truly live a dream, even if it's only until dawn.

Jimin whimpers something in his ear, maybe his name, and he moans high when Yoongi angles his thrusts differently, tightening around him and digging his fingers in the skin between his shoulders.

"'s good, I—" Jimin whines and he arches his back, his cock rubbing against Yoongi's stomach. "'m going to come."

Yoongi bites off a moan and thrusts into him harder, faster until Jimin is gasping and begging for more and more. His body locks for a second when he comes, then he shudders violently, crying out, Yoongi's name hidden between moans and whimpers.

"Duh-don't stop," Jimin whines when he feels Yoongi trying to pull back. "I want to feel it, don't suh-stop."

"Shit," Yoongi hisses. He keeps fucking into him, faster, chasing his release. His insides are churning, skin on fire and Jimin is so tight around him, his moans and pleads are louder than the rain outside.

He buries his hands in Jimin's silver hair when he comes, fisting the long locks and shaking above the Gumiho, spilling inside of him. He thinks that tainting a blessed spirit shouldn't feel this good.

Yoongi remains still, catching his breath and trying to dissipate the fog around his brain. His limbs are shaking, the shock of his pleasure still running through his body. Jimin, too, is breathing hard and his arms are loose around him now, like the strength abandoned him entirely.

Yoongi swallows thickly and he tries to pull out but, suddenly, Jimin is holding him tightly again.

"No."

"I-I have to get something to clean us."

"No." Jimin nuzzles into his neck. "Don't leave. Please."

Yoongi remains quiet for a moment and he traces the line of Jimin's jaw with his mouth. "I'm not leaving."

"I get to have you only until dawn and-and then I have to wait to touch you again." Jimin takes a deep breath. "Don't leave me just yet."

Yoongi's chest tightens and he manages a nod. "Let me look at you at least."

Only slightly, Jimin loosens his grip on him and Yoongi can move his head so that his eyes are linked to Jimin's.

The spirit looks wrecked, features relaxed and eyes a little droopy, his lips parted and bitten red. Yoongi swipes his thumb over Jimin's cheekbone and leans down.

"I'll get those spells off of you," he says. "I'll get you out of here, I swear it."

Jimin swallows and he smiles, eyes welling up. He looks hopeful.

"Yes," he whispers. "Can you stay a bit more?"

"Until dawn, right?"

"Leave just before dawn, not one second before," Jimin chuckles. "I'm yours until then, too."

Yoongi knows it won't be easy.

Curses are already tricky and dangerous as it is, but those spells on Jimin's legs? Those are deadly.

He spends the next day researching on them, buried by books in his room, reading over his mother's manuscripts and notes for hours on hours.

Bound curses are horrifying to break.

But Yoongi has no choice and he has a feeling that Jimin is ready to face whatever consequence this will bring just to be free again.

There's no way Yoongi will make him wait five years in that damn room.

When he tells everything to Namjoon and Seokjin, he's surprised by the lack of reactions.

Seokjin stares at him blankly, tapping his finger over his bent knee as they sit outside, the glasses of soju remain untouched between the three of them.

Namjoon sighs.

"Of course you fell in love with him," he says. "Only you would be foolish enough to fall for a spirit."

Yoongi scoffs. "That's all you took from this entire story?"

"You're going to break a curse." Namjoon shrugs. "What's new about that?"

"I'm going to free a spirit , Namjoon."

"You're so damn stupid," Seokjin hisses all of a sudden, glaring at Yoongi. "I knew you could be reckless, but this might be the stupidest thing you've ever done!"

Yoongi keeps a sigh to himself. He knew Seokjin would react like this and, as much as he isn't surprised, he can't hide a slight disappointment.

"Me falling for a spirit or me trying to help him?"

"Both!" The healer rubs a hand over his face. "I just—ah, I knew from the moment you started spending entire nights there that something like this was going to happen. And as stupid as that was already by itself I kept quiet but now you're getting involved into something too big."

"It's a curse," Yoongi retorts. "I break curses."

"It's a curse that has been cast on a spirit," Namjoon corrects him with an arched eyebrow. "It won't be the same and you know it."

"I won't let that stop me."

"Of course you aren't," Seokjin groans. "You damn stubborn fool."

Yoongi leans against the wall and he breathes in deeply through his nose. "What am I supposed to do then? Leave him there?"

"You're the one who said it will—"

"Enough with the it," Yoongi says, cutting Seokjin off. "You both keep saying that, referring to Jimin as an it."

"It's a spirit."

"He's someone." Yoongi pauses. "Someone dear to me. He's flesh and bones just like you."

Seokjin's gaze softens after this. The man sends Namjoon a look before he turns to Yoongi one more time.

"What happens if you manage to break the curse?"

Yoongi shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe he'll leave, maybe he'll stay. He says he wants to stay with me and, if that is what he wishes for, then I'll have him."

Seokjin grabs his glass and downs its content in one sharp gulp. He hisses as he slams it back down on the wooden flooring.

"Fine," he mutters. "Be reckless, then."

Namjoon smiles a little, fondness too clear in his gaze as he looks at Seokjin.

Yoongi sighs. He knows this will be as much of a blessing as he'll get out of Seokjin and, at this point, he'll take what he can get.

"I won't lie," Yoongi says as he helps Jimin to lay his legs down straight on the pillows. "It will hurt."

Jimin hums around the button of his pipe, he inhales smoke and breathes it out in a grey cloud.

"I'm a spirit, Yoongi," he says. "I believe I'll be able to stand it."

Yoongi rolls his eyes and then he starts laying his utensils on the floor.

He's not worried about people suddenly coming.

Bribing Hoseok was easier than expected and he can't complain. Although, it didn't really feel like a bribe at all.

"I know what Jimin is going through," Hoseok said when Yoongi came to him just half an hour ago. "Who do you think keeps Tae and Jungkook out of this place when Baram is here? I help Jimin as much as I can."

"So you'll keep the clients out?" Yoongi asked again, wanting to make sure. "No one will come in?"

"No one." Hoseok grinned. "You just bring me that nice wine of yours tomorrow and no soul will wander up to the third floor."

Yoongi takes from his satchel the sage's leaves and he starts ripping them in many pieces, dropping them all inside a wooden bowl. Then, he adds to it petals of lavender that he has kept in an open jar for many months; the color has faded and the petals are dry, but the scent is still quite pleasant.

"The air needs to be pure when breaking a curse," Yoongi explains once he notices Jimin's curious gaze.

Yoongi then grabs the lit candle by his side and lowers it into the bowl until the sage's leaves catch fire. They don't burn into flames, rather they start turning of a grey color, creaking, and smoke lifts up from the bowl. Yoongi fans it with his hand for a few moments and then he sets the bowl aside.

"I'll start with the marks on your thighs," Yoongi says, rolling up his sleeves.

He then grabs from the satchel a small bottle of oil that he made himself, infused with aloe, ash, and cowslip. He pours a few drops on the palm of his hand and then he sets the bottle aside.

"I won't start immediately." Yoongi starts rubbing his hands together, coating them with the oil. "I'll make you feel it first."

Jimin frowns. "Make me feel what?"

"The pain of it," Yoongi replies with a sigh. He looks at Jimin and swallows. "Spells that are bound to someone can't be simply wiped off, they must be burned. It will hurt ."

"Oh." Jimin blinks and then he puts his pipe on the floor, away from the pillows. "Well then, I guess we should get started. Let me feel it."

Yoongi lets his eyes wander on Jimin's thighs for a few moments. He pushes aside the hems of the robe to expose more skin and he reckons he should start with one of the weakest spells and then move to the more powerful ones. He spots a smaller mark, one of the many that are there to simply keep Jimin from moving his legs.

Yoongi hesitates as his hand hovers just above the mark and he sends Jimin a look.

"This is just to make you feel for a moment. So that you're ready."

Jimin nods stiffly and Yoongi can see him holding his breath.

Gently, Yoongi places his hand on the mark, pressing down firmly and he closes his eyes. If he focuses he can feel it.

The spell is alive, very much so. It might be quiet, but it's there, pulsing with power. Yoongi knows that the moment he will try to burn it off Jimin than the spell will try to stick to the spirit even harder.

It must be done either way.

Yoongi frowns slightly and his lips part in a soundless breath as he envisions the mark in his head, the harsh black of it and the smooth curves. Just a little, he just needs to touch it a little, just so that Jimin can feel—

A flame, as small as the one of a candle, appears next to the mark. Yoongi lets the fire graze the spell.

Jimin gasps and Yoongi feels a shudder run through the spirit's body.

"Wait!"

Immediately, Yoongi retracts his hand and opens his eyes. Jimin is staring with huge eyes at his own legs, a faint tremor making his shoulders shake.

"Jimin?"

"It—" The spirit swallows and his eyes flicker to Yoongi. "It hurt ."

"I know," Yoongi sighs.

"It fuh-felt like my entire leg was on-on fire." Jimin blinks. "Will it always hurt like that?"

Yoongi wets his lips and then he squeezes Jimin's ankle. "This one spell wasn't as powerful as the others. The bigger ones, the ones who hold more of the curse, those will hurt much more than that."

A flash of panic crosses Jimin's face for a fraction of moment and Yoongi feels his chest tightening.

"Jimin, you can't move your legs," Yoongi murmurs. "That means you won't be able to-to yank them away if it hurts too much or to kick me away. You won't be in control of your pain, do you understand?"

"Yes," Jimin breathes out. He shakes his head, as if to get a hold of himself. "I do."

"I'll go slow," Yoongi says. "I'll try to get rid of maybe three spells, no more than four tonight. And-and we'll take breaks, yes? The moment it gets too much for you, you tell me and I stop. I'll ease you into it until you'll be able to handle more."

"It's alright," Jimin replies. He manages a smile and then he lays down on the pillows behind his back, taking a deep breath. "Do what you have to do, little curse breaker."

Yoongi scoffs and he rests his hand on top of the mark again. "You do know you're tinier than me?"

"Nonsense."

Yoongi pauses. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Yes, I know." Jimin heaves a deep sigh. "Get those things off of me, Yoongi."

Yoongi's hand is shaking when he presses it against the spell. He closes his eyes, envisions the black mark and, this time, the fire that envelopes it is far brighter and hotter.

Jimin screams.

By the time Yoongi manages to burn off Jimin's skin the second mark he picked, the spirit is whimpering and choking on sobs, his body covered in sweat and his claws are out, digging into the soft pillows by his side, ripping them apart.

Yoongi decides Jimin needs a break so he starts stroking circles in the soft flesh with his thumb. Jimin remains silent, panting from where he's laying down, eyes closed and ears twitching, his tail curled around his stomach almost protectively.

"Why duh-did you stop?" Jimin asks.

"You need a break," Yoongi replies. "So do I."

At this, Jimin opens his eyes. He slowly pushes himself up on his elbows and he licks his lips.

"Are you tired?"

Truthfully, he is. Breaking curses is taxing on the body even when they're simple spells and these? These are no simple spells. Burning something that is alive is /hard/.

Yoongi knows he'll feel the effects of his actions tomorrow and in the days to follow, but it doesn't matter now.

"Don't worry about me, love." Yoongi forces a smile. "I'm fine."

Jimin grins a little. "I like it when you call me that. Love."

"Yeah?"

"Mmh. Makes it seem as if I truly hold all of the love in the world."

Yoongi hums. "I don't know about the world, but you do hold mine."

Jimin presses his lips together and there's a light flush that creeps on his cheeks. "Oh, shut up."

"I was trying some romanticism, I'm not very good at it."

"You're awful."

Yoongi chuckles and Jimin grins wide. Then he sighs and drops down on the pillows again.

"One more?" Yoongi asks.

"Yes, one more."

Yoongi leans down and presses a kiss on Jimin's knee, earning a playful scoff. "You're doing really good. Just one more. Maybe two if you feel like it."

"Just get them off of me," Jimin murmurs. "I want to see the beginning of summer with you."

That's enough to convince Yoongi to burn him again. Enough to make him ignore the screams that follow.

Spring is slow.

Yoongi watches it truly begin and then unfold mostly during the night when Jimin and he manage to cut some hours for themselves. The air gets warmer and warmer as each night goes by, the sky clearer, the warmth grows more humid.

Yoongi always liked spring.

Jimin is tired. Yoongi can see it even if Jimin tries to hide it, especially if Taehyung and Jungkook are around.

The two pups were confused as to why Jimin wouldn't let them in his room anymore and, to avoid them growing even more upset, Yoongi lets them in sometimes and he doesn't perform the burning of the spells.

Jimin needs breaks anyways. So does Yoongi.

Taehyung fell asleep an hour ago or so, his head resting against Jimin's lap, his short tail wrapped tightly around himself.

Jungkook, too, quickly succumbed to sleep after ten rounds of hide and seek. He climbed on top of Yoongi's lap, pressed his face against his chest and simply fell asleep.

Jimin stares at the almost deserted road down the balcony with a blank look, his hand strokes Taehyung's hair and ears absentmindedly. A few passerby stop for a moment in front of the whore house, maybe to see if the Gumiho is outside, but from where they're both sitting none of them can spot them.

"You look really tired," Jimin suddenly says. He turns his head to the side a little and smiles. "Like the strength was pulled out of you by force."

Yoongi doesn't say anything for a while. He readjusts Jungkook's head on his chest as it lolled back and he doesn't look at Jimin.

He knew that getting rid of the spells would tire him out but he wasn't expecting his body to take such a hard blow. He feels weak for most of the day and he tries to sleep when the sun is out to gather some energies, but he simply ends up tossing in his beddings.

"I'm alright," Yoongi says in the end. "You're the one who's constantly in pain, not me."

Jimin mutters something under his breath and then he rests his head on top of Yoongi's shoulders.

"You took many of the spells off already," he murmurs. "We'll be done soon."

More and more skin of Jimin's legs can be seen by now. The spells are slowly disappearing, leaving no trace of their existence behind. It won't be long before Jimin will be able to at least bend his legs.

"We should travel once we're out of here," Jimin says. "Wouldn't you like it?"

"Mh. I'd like it, yes."

"Where would you like to live? In a big city?"

"No. No, I like the quiet."

"In the woods?"

"That wouldn't be bad."

"Can you hunt?"

"Not at all."

"We'll starve in the woods, then."

"Then we'll live in a village."

Jimin chuckles. "Somewhere safe. Somewhere close to the woods, so that when Taehyung and Jungkook are old enough they can go back to their home." He pauses. "Start their own pack."

Yoongi smiles. "It sounds like we're adopting them."

"I mean, we kind of are."

"Is that so?"

"Jungkook fell asleep on you, he trusts you. There, you're his father now."

"Didn't know parenthood could be so sudden."

There's a short silence that goes by, a warm breeze rises from the street, carrying the smell of blooming flowers.

"We'll be happy soon," Jimin breathes. "We'll be together even when there's sunlight outside."

Honestly, it's one of the few things that keep Yoongi going.

He's sure Jimin would look beautiful in the sun.

Yoongi's covered in sweat and his head hurts.

Some candles have already burned out and he knows it's late in the night, it's a night that is too warm and the air is moist, sticking to his skin uncomfortably.

And yet he can't stop.

The spell he's burning is horrible. The mark is large, it circles all around Jimin's left thigh and Yoongi knows this one is the main spell that keeps Jimin's legs still. And in his mind, where the spell is floating, there's a violent fire happening.

Jimin keeps writing on the pillows, screams muffled by the fabric as he's pressing his face into them, crying and ripping them apart with his claws, his tail twitching and swinging violently from side to side.

Yoongi can't stop now. He's almost done, he knows he's almost destroyed this one. The spell is stubborn, though, its power evident as it clings to Jimin, greedy and nasty in the way it keeps fighting for its life.

" Please! " Jimin shouts, his voice hoarse and broken by sobs. "I-I can't!"

Yoongi squeezes his eyes shut, his grip on Jimin's leg tightens and he adds more fire to the spell.

"Stop!" Jimin screams, shuddering hard. "Yoongi, stop! It buh-burns, stop!"

But it's just a little more.

Yoongi can feel the spell as it weakens, he feels its life fading away. Fire burns its way in the very core of the spell, the mark shrieks and tries to grip to Jimin one last time before it becomes nothing but ash and—

" Stop! "

Yoongi snaps his eyes open and he yanks his hand away as if the shock of a thunder struck him.

He licks his lips and they feel like paper, his chest hurts as he tries to breathe evenly, sweat clinging to his lashes.

"Juh-Jimin."

The spirit doesn't reply to him. Jimin lays on his side, shivering and sobbing like a child. His palms are bleeding where he dug his claws in, probably to try and focus the pain somewhere else, anywhere else but his legs.

Yoongi crawls to him and Jimin almost curls on himself.

"Wuh-why didn't you stop?"

"I'm so sorry, I—"

"You said you would've stopped If I-I asked you to buh-but you didn't." Jimin hiccups on a sob. "You didn't stop."

Yoongi takes a deep breath and he lays down next to the spirit. Slowly, he wraps an arm around Jimin's stomach and he presses his lips against the Gumiho's nape.

"It hurt! It hurt and you didn't stop! I thought I was going insane!"

"Try to move your legs."

Jimin freezes. He twists his head around a bit, looking down at his legs with tearful eyes. Jimin frowns, maybe in concentration or in pain and Yoongi waits, holding his breath.

Slowly, Jimin manages to bring his right calf up, pressing it against the back of his thigh.

The spirit gasps, his body relaxes between Yoongi's arms. Jimin does the same with his left leg, then he straightens them again.

"I can move them," Jimin whispers.

"I don't think you can walk just yet, that might take some time. But yes, you can move them again." Yoongi sighs. "I'm sorry I didn't stop, but I was so close. Now I only have to get rid of the spells that keep you bound to that man and then you're free. We're so close, Jimin, I couldn't just stop."

"I can move them," the spirit repeats and, this time, his voice is awed. "You made them move again."

Yoongi smiles, he nuzzles a little in Jimin's hair. "We're almost done now."

"Oh." Jimin swallows and then he turns around, laying so that he can face Yoongi.

"Shit, look at you," Yoongi groans at the sight of Jimin's pale face. "I'm so sorry, I should've stopped."

"I love you."

For some reason, Yoongi still finds himself stunned to see that eyes of the same color of ice can hold so much warmth.

Jimin smiles. He leans forward and, against Yoongi's mouth, he says, "I lived for more than a thousand years and this is the first time I say those words."

Yoongi remains frozen even when Jimin's lips press against his and the spirit seems to notice it as he snorts a little under his breath.

"Did I shock you that much?"

"Yes," Yoongi croaks out. "You did."

"Mmh." Jimin moves his hand to the side of Yoongi's neck. "And you won't say it back?"

Yoongi's lips twitch in a smile. "Do I need to? You already know."

"I'm a greedy being, Yoongi. I'd like to hear you say it."

Yoongi grazes with his knuckles the line of Jimin's cheekbone and, even if Jimin is pale and tired, there's a glow on his skin that makes Yoongi's insides twist and burn.

"All the love that I could give," Yoongi says. "It's all yours."

Jimin smiles wide and then he kisses Yoongi. Slowly and deeply, fingers curling on the sides of the man's neck.

"No more for tonight," Yoongi murmurs on the spirit's lips.

"No more?"

"You're too tired."

"'m not tired," Jimin licks into his mouth, drawing a pleased hum from Yoongi's chest. "Will you make me feel good?"

"Yes." Yoongi for a moment feels like a moth, mindlessly following a flickering light as if that's his only purpose in life. "I'll make you feel good."

Jimin smiles lightly before he presses his face in the crook of Yoongi's neck, lips opening on the skin. Yoongi shudders at the feeling of the spirit's tongue pressed flat on him, lapping at his neck. He undoes with fumbling hands the belt that keeps Jimin's robe closed and then he lets his hands roam over the Gumiho's body.

Yoongi has long learned that Jimin can be quite impatient but he doesn't seem to care. There's a particular satisfaction that comes from slowly riling Jimin up. So Yoongi takes his time; he presses his hand against Jimin's stomach, feeling the toned muscles clenching under his touch, and he lowers it to the spirit's abdomen, stopping just above the place where Jimin wants to be touched.

Jimin gasps softly, his breath breaks on Yoongi's neck before he starts sucking and licking his skin again. Yoongi grazes with his fingertips the side of Jimin's hip, then the small of his back until he finds soft fur. Mindlessly, Yoongi strokes Jimin's tail with the palm of his hands and the spirit suddenly whines high, kicking his legs.

"You're sensitive," Yoongi muses.

"Not there." Jimin pushes his thigh between Yoongi's legs. "You're hard."

"You're putting those to good use already." Yoongi swallows thickly, fighting away the urge to rub against Jimin's leg. "Where should I touch you, then?"

"You know where," Jimin mumbles. "You're being mean."

"You like it."

"I like it more when you give me what I want." Jimin presses his leg against Yoongi's groin firmer.

Yoongi hums before a breathless chuckle escapes him. "You weren't this brazen at first."

"You did say you liked it. I'm a quick learner, so—" Jimin's words get lost in a quiet moan when Yoongi's hand slides between his legs. "Yes, there. Touch me there."

Yoongi looks at the spirit as he touches him. With their faces close enough  for Yoongi to be able to almost taste Jimin's breath on his lips, Yoongi looks at the way Jimin's face gains color, grey eyes staring at him.

"Go faster," Jimin murmurs. "Always suh-so slow."

Yoongi tightens his fist around Jimin's breath, shuddering at the way Jimin's lips part in a moan, but his movements remain slow.

"I like watching you," he reveals. "I like taking my time watching you."

Jimin nibbles on his bottom lip for a moment before he tentatively thrusts his hips forward, fucking into Yoongi's hand. The spirit's eyes flutter closed as he gets lost in the chase of his own pleasure, his body shaking lightly at each thrust, breathy moans and gasps growing louder.

Yoongi's hands are still slick with the oil he uses when performing his spells so the slide of his fingers along Jimin's cock is quick and smooth, he imagines it must feel amazing for the other.  He swipes his thumb over the head of Jimin's erection and he receives a high whimper in response.

"Yoongi," Jimin keens, his hand grabs harshly Yoongi's blouse. "Good, 's good."

"Are you close already?" Yoongi asks. "You're so sensitive tonight."

"It's because I-I like it." Jimin suddenly rubs his leg against Yoongi's clothed cock. "You like it too."

"Shit," Yoongi hisses at the feeling. The friction is good but nowhere enough, although he doesn't mind.

Jimin starts thrusting into his fist faster and his movements are sloppier as he presses his face against Yoongi's chest, breathing heavily and moaning high. Yoongi buries his nose in Jimin's hair, breathing in and smelling again that lovely scent of jasmine. He starts kneading the head of Jimin's length with slick fingers and, immediately, Jimin's body shudders hard, his hips faltering.

"Do you like it?" Yoongi asks.

"Yes, I—" Jimin moans, his leg presses against Yoongi's cock. "I'm close, I want to come."

Yoongi moves his fingers faster at this, almost moans at the broken sound that leaves the Gumiho's lips.

"Yoongi—"

"Mmh?"

"Inside, I want you inside."

But Yoongi feels too greedy, he wants to see Jimin coming from only this. With his free hand he grips Jimin's chin. making the spirit look up at him.

"Want me to take you?"

" Yes ," Jimin gasps. "Wuh-want it."

"I'd make you feel so good," Yoongi rasps then and he wraps his hand around Jimin's cock again, stroking it fast. "I'd make you call my name, I'd take you so slowly and-and deep."

Jimin's body tautens and his eyes shut closed before he comes with a moan, spilling in Yoongi's fist and on his stomach. Yoongi keeps touching him until Jimin starts shaking and whimpering, almost flinching away from him.

"I got you," Yoongi murmurs before he presses his lips on the spirit's forehead. "Good?"

Jimin remains silent for a few seconds, trying to regain his breathing and for the shocks of his pleasure to fade away.

"Always," he whispers in the end. "You always make it good."

Yoongi smiles and Jimin cuddles closer, wrapping his arms around Yoongi's waist and sighing heavily.

"Do you want me to take something to clean you?"

"No, I want you to stay here," Jimin replies. "And I want you to do me properly this time."

Yoongi shivers at the prospect of what is going to come, a new wave of want rushing through him and making his hard cock twitch in his pants.

"In a moment?" he asks then. "Do you want to rest?"

Jimin looks at him for a second and then he surges forwards. The press of his lips is hard, demanding, and Yoongi immediately parts them to allow Jimin to lick into his mouth. Jimin hums into the kiss and his hand moves to Yoongi's hair, fisting the long black locks and tugging for a second.

"I want you now," Jimin says, his voice is low enough to make Yoongi shiver. "Want to call your name."

"Good," Yoongi breathes out. He dips his head down and he leaves a trail of open mouthed kisses along the curve of Jimin's throat. "I'll have you until dawn, then."

Jimin chuckles at this, even if the sound is breathless and maybe a bit overwhelmed at the idea.

"Yes," he says, rolling on his back and pulling Yoongi on top of him. "Make me feel good, Yoongi."

Yoongi feels too warm. He groans something but he's still too asleep to really form a coherent sentence. All he knows is that it's weirdly warm in the room and that he sees red behind his eyelids, as if someone is waving the flame of a lit candle right in front of his eyes.

But he's comfortable so he doesn't give it too much thought, he simply focuses on falling back asleep.

Then his body is being pushed and shaken.

"Yoongi, wake up!"

"Wuh-" Yoongi presses his face in the pillow under his head. "What?"

"It's past dawn!" Jimin almost yells. "It's morning, I don't know how late but—Yoongi, you need to leave !"

Yoongi opens his eyes at last and he's taken aback by how different the room looks when there's bright sunlight pouring in and lighting up the walls. That is also when the realization of what happened dawns on him and he immediately sits upright.

"Shit." Yoongi stands up and he looks around himself. His clothes are scattered around the pillows so he starts dressing himself. "Shit, we fell asleep."

Jimin leans forward and grabs his own robe, quickly putting it on and securing it with the silk belt. "It's my fault, I-I should've told you to go back home after the bath, I—it's so late, Yoongi."

Yoongi manages to shrug on his clothes and then he goes to grab all the utensils he left out last night. He puts the oil and the sage in the leather satchel and starts fastening it around his hips.

"What if-if Baram is already here, what do we do?"

"Jimin, look at me." Yoongi kneels in front of him. "Is there a secondary exit? Somewhere I can sneak out of?"

Jimin blinks and then he nods. "Yuh-yes, on the second floor there's another stair at the end of the corridor, the workers use it."

"Alright." Yoongi stands up. "I'll come back tonight, yes? It's going to be—"

Yoongi stops speaking the moment Jimin's ears perk up, twitching. The Gumiho narrows his eyes towards the door, tail held high behind him.

"You need to hide," Jimin hisses then. He starts pulling the robe over his legs, covering the bare skin. "He's here, I hear his steps."

"Shit."

"There." Jimin nods towards the wall behind Yoongi. "Third panel is a door to the storage, hide there."

Yoongi remains still for a second, his heart beating frantically in his chest as panic takes over.

"Yoongi!" Jimin snaps his fingers. "It will be alright. Hide in there, nothing bad will happen to you."

That's not why Yoongi is scared, but there's no time to retort. He gives the room one last look to make sure he took everything of his and then he hurries over to the wall. He pushes the third panel and it opens easily, so Yoongi crouches down and gets inside. There's not much in the small storage, just a few more pillows and more boxes of incense. He settles in the narrow space and he starts pulling the panel closed.

"Yoongi," Jimin calls. The spirit looks at Yoongi with something heavy in his eyes. "Whatever happens, do not come out."

Yoongi swallows thickly and, against everything that is mind is telling him, he closes the panel.

It's almost pitch black inside if not for a very muffled light that filtrates through the rice paper of the panel, an orange glow that fills the small space.

He remains frozen, holding his breath and he can't help but shudder the moment he hears the footsteps getting closer.

There are a few moments of silence, then the sound of the door sliding open makes Yoongi bite on his bottom lip.

"You look like you've just woke up," a voice says. It must be Baram's, no one else would simply walk in this room as if they own it.

"I have," Jimin replies. His voice is nothing like Yoongi knows it, none of the warmth and mirth hidden in it. It sounds imposing, cold. Like the voice of a real spirit. "Is it late?"

"Mmh." More steps, Baram must be walking deeper into the room. His shadow obscures the light that filters through Yoongi's panel for a second. "Not that late."

"Then you're early."

"I felt like coming. I haven't visited you in a few weeks."

"You could've stayed home."

Yoongi frowns as the silence then stretches on. He can hear a thumping sound, Baram must've sat down on the floor, but they both remain completely silent for several seconds.

"You were in a better mood last time I came," Baram then says. "Today, not so much."

"I'm not trying to hide my displeasure."

A chuckle. "Of course you aren't."

Baram has a weirdly high voice even if it's a little gruff, most likely because of his age.

Jimin sighs. "Do you have anything you might need or did you come just to pester me?"

Baram hums. "You know, there are voices."

"Voices?"

"Some of my whores say that they've seen a man spend many nights here."

Yoongi's blood turns to ice and he swears he feels his own face losing all its color.

Jimin, on the other hand, is quick to reply.

"And?"

"I wondered why."

"Men come here every night, Baram," he says. "You made it that way."

A pause.

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Jimin?"

Silence.

"Do you think I didn't notice that in the last weeks almost no clients came? Do you think people haven't told me?"

"Slow nights."

"You barely go out on the balcony anymore."

"I don't have to do shit."

"You're hiding something. I don't like that."

Jimin scoffs then and Yoongi can feel the very distinct sound of Jimin's claws hitting the wooden floor repeatedly.

"There are lots of things I don't like either, but you don't hear me complain, do you? I don't like being locked here. I don't like being displayed to humans as if I'm a hunting price. And I most certainly don't like having you in front of me."

Yoongi holds a groan to himself when he hears Baram heave a deep sigh.

"Why do you always test me?" Baram asks. "Always challenging me. We know who's the one who will win this, Jimin." Another pause. "Take your clothes off."

Yoongi's body locks and his head spins.

"No," Jimin replies. "I won't."

"Excuse me?"

"I won't take my clothes off."

"You know, sometimes I think you like being punished."

"You—"

"Taehyung and Jungkook are just downstairs."

Shit.

"Should I go take them? Mh?"

"You filthy fucking—"

"I should punish those two pups instead of you." A series of rustling sounds and then more of Baram's steps towards the door. "I should cut Jungkook's ear and feed it to you. Or maybe I should throw Taehyung in one of the rooms with the clients tonight, so that—"

"Stop!" Jimin screams. "Stop that!"

"Behave and I'll stop."

Yoongi feels sick and the room is too small, the air quickly turning uncomfortably warm. The way Baram speaks of him reminds him of the one a man would have when speaking of an animal they just tamed.

"Jimin," Baram repeats but this time there's an edge to his voice. "Take your clothes off."

Yoongi knows he's breathing too loudly but he can't help it. Fear is rising fast and he can't control the beating of his heart.

Yoongi hears Jimin sighing, then there's a soft sound of silk rustling and falling off the Gumiho's body.

"Jimin," Baram begins saying. "What happened to your legs?"

"I won't tell you."

"Who did it?"

"Baram," Jimin hisses. "If you think I will utter a single fucking word, then you're out of your mind."

"You little—"

"Lay one finger on me and I'll skin you alive!" Jimin suddenly shouts. Yoongi flinches in the narrow space and he imagines that Baram must've tried to step closer to the spirit. "You arrogant freak! You think you can chain a Gumiho to the wall?! That you can tame it?! I'd tore your chest open before you could even blink!"

"Then maybe I should really get those two pups," Baram hisses. "I should fucking hang their corpses by the entrance!"

"Don't you dare!"

"You think you can really run away from me?! I'll just chain you again and put those spells on you once more but this time you won't have those two foxes alive to take care of you!"

Yoongi carefully opens his satchel and he starts looking for the small blade he carries with him, a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead.

Suddenly, Yoongi can hear Baram's steps, fast and loud.

"Wait!" Jimin yells and his voice breaks with a panicked shrill. "Baram, please, wait!"

Yoongi grabs the knife, pulls it out of the satchel and then he pushes the panel open. As soon as he steps out of his hide-out and he's up on his feet, Baram turns to look at him.

Yoongi swallows heavily past the lump in his throat and he hopes he doesn't look as scared as he feels. Baram looks to be around sixty years, maybe a little younger but he's a big man, his body well built despite his age. He's dressed expensively and his face must've been handsome in his youth, but Yoongi can almost taste the darkness of his powers and spirituality even just by looking at him.

"A shaman," Baram scoffs. "That's who you seduced to help you, Jimin?"

Yoongi holds up the knife in front of him. "Leave the pups alone."

The man shakes his head and he's smiling, clearly utterly amused by Yoongi's actions. Yoongi would feel offended if only his hand wasn't shaking so much.

"Yoongi, go away," Jimin hisses. "Get out of here!"

Baram suddenly steps forward, quickly closing the distance between them and Yoongi acts on instinct; he swings the blade to the right and he can feel in his hand the moment the blade cuts Baram's skin. The man grunts and steps back as he presses a hand to his cheek, blood already pouring out of the deep gush.

Yoongi sees Jimin trying to get up for a second, only for his legs to give up on the spirit, then Baram is running to him.

Before Yoongi can even try to do anything, the man slams his body against Yoongi's, pushing him down on the floor. Yoongi tries to wriggle away but Baram is bigger and heavier and he squeezes his legs around Yoongi's hips, keeping him in place. Yoongi snarls when, again, he tries to cut the man's face but this time Baram grabs his wrist before the blade reaches him. Yoongi lets go of the knife with a pained groan when Baram squeezes his wrist so hard he feels like it'll break, then there are two strong hands closing around his throat.

Yoongi gasps and panic seize his body when there's no air that fills his lungs. Frantically, Yoongi starts kicking his legs and he tries to yank Baram's hands off his throat but to no avail. The man is pushing his knee in Yoongi's stomach, his hands tightening even more around his neck and Baram's face is covered in sweat, flushed of an angry red, eyes blown wide. Yoongi can only open his mouth hoping to get a breath of air as his chest feels like it's burning, a pain he never felt before spreading through his body and mixing with a fear so terrible that he can't make coherent thoughts.

In a last desperate attempt, just when his vision starts blurring, Yoongi begins scratching viciously Baram's hands, then his face, feeling the skin tearing under his nails but the older man barely budges.

Yoongi's eyes roll back, his arms falling limp by his head and then Baram's weight suddenly disappears.

Yoongi gasps loud and hoarsely when the grip around his neck is gone and he rolls onto his stomach, coughing harshly. His head is spinning but there's oxygen flooding his lungs and even if his body feels like it's made of stones he manages to spot his attacker when a bloodcurdling growl resonates in the room.

Jimin is on top of Baram, long claws digging in the man's chest and he looks nothing like what Yoongi is used to. As Baram screams in pain, Jimin growls and keeps digging his claws in the man's body, as if he's trying to tear his chest open. Blood splatters against Jimin's face, his features twisted into something that reminds Yoongi of a feral beast. Jimin's tail is held up high behind him when the Gumiho leans down and closes his fangs around Baram's jugular.

Baram screams but the sound soon turns into a wet gurgle, his body resting limply on the floor, twitching weakly. When Jimin pulls back his face is covered in red, blood falling from his open mouth.

Yoongi manages to sit up on his knees and he can't help but shiver at the sight. Jimin remains seated on top of the man, bare skin stained with blood and shaking faintly.

The Gumiho's chest is heaving and his eyes are almost glazed over but Yoongi can see that Jimin is slowly coming back to his senses. He lowers his tail until it's brushing over the floor and then he lightly presses his hand on Baram's horribly wounded chest.

"Wake up," he murmurs. "You cuh-can't die, wake up."

Yoongi swallows and winces as soon as he does, his throat feels so sore and oversensitive that even breathing hurts. Still, he stands up on shaky legs and he carefully walks over to Jimin.

"Love," Yoongi calls. "He's dead, just—"

"No, no he can't die." Jimin starts shaking Baram's shoulders. "He can't do this to me, he needs to stay alive. He can't fucking die now, he can't!"

Yoongi sighs and then he wraps his arms around Jimin's torso, pressing the spirit against his chest and pulling him away from the corpse. Jimin starts thrashing in his arms, his fangs fending the air as he frantically tries to touch Baram again.

"He can't die!" He screams. "I cuh-can't wait one hundred more years! He can't fucking die!"

Yoongi sits down and he holds the spirit tighter, pressing his nose in Jimin's hair.

"I know, I'm sorry," Yoongi murmurs. "I'm so sorry, love, it's-it's my fault, I'm sorry."

"No! No, I won't wait again!"

"Jimin, he's dead."

The Gumiho stops fighting against Yoongi's hold then; he swallows thickly and then his crips Yoongi's wrist, squeezing it lightly and careful of his claws.

"Yoongi," he murmurs. "What have I done? I—I think I ruined it all."

Before Yoongi can reply, the door opens in one quick slide. Yoongi startles and then turns to the entrance, finding a shell-shocked Hoseok standing on the threshold. The man stares at Yoongi and Jimin for a moment, taking in their disheveled appearances, then he looks at Baram's corpse.

"Oh," he breathes out. "I—the growls, I heard the growls. They suddenly stopped so I-I thought that maybe Baram had left." Hoseok blinks. "In a way, he has."

Yoongi feels Jimin shuddering.

"Hoseok, what do we do?" Yoongi asks.

The man takes a deep breath and, even if he's quite pale, Yoongi can see him focusing on the situation, thinking deeply.

"Alright," Hoseok murmurs. "You need to clean him up, he's fucking covered in blood. Take-take Jimin to the bath, it's behind that panel and—"

"I know where it is."

"Good. Yes, good then-then I'll take care of the body." Hoseok pauses. "Yes, if I get rid of it at-at dawn or even earlier it should be fine."

"How are you going to—"

"I know people," Hoseok replies quickly. "You'll have to hide here for the rest of the day and-and you'll leave when night comes, from the secondary exit."

Yoongi doesn't move until Hoseok looks at him and arches an eyebrow as if to tell him to snap out of it.

"Up," Yoongi murmurs and then he's getting on his feet, bringing Jimin up with him.

The spirit isn't really doing much to help Yoongi in the task, but he does try to take a few stumbling and weak steps when Yoongi begins making his way towards the bath. He pushes the panel open with his shoulder and drags Jimin inside.

The bathroom isn't big, it is actually quite a narrow space and most of it is taken by the sunken bathtub and the many vials of flavored oils that Jimin likes bathing with. Yesterday night, after they took a bath together, Yoongi had re-filled the tub with clean water and he hopes that it has warmed up by now.

With some quiet encouragement and careful movements, Yoongi manages to help Jimin in the water. The spirit heaves a sigh when the water reaches his thighs and he quickly lets himself sink in the tub, sitting so that he can dip his chin in it. Yoongi sees Jimin's tail curling around the spirit's waist as Jimin hugs his legs close to his chest and the water turns of a pale pink color for a second as the blood comes off Jimin's hands and arms, clearing again after moments.

Yoongi looks around himself and he finds a rag of soft fabric that Jimin can use to wash his face. He grabs it and holds it out to the spirit, who takes it after a moment of staring.

As Jimin dips the rag in the water, Yoongi grabs one of the vials and opens it, then he pours the content in the water. A faint scent of lilies fills the room and it's pleasant enough for Jimin to breathe in deeply.

"They're gone," Jimin then whispers before he starts dabbing the rag over his face, cleaning himself of Baram's blood.

Yoongi frowns. "Gone?"

Jimin sighs and he rubs the fabric under his chin. "The spells."

Oh.

Yoongi sends a quick look at Jimin's legs and, true to the spirit's words, the black marks are completely gone. Jimin is free.

"Good," Yoongi says. He sits at the edge of the tub with his legs crossed and he puts his hand on the nape of Jimin's neck, thumb pressing in softly as he tries to ease the tension of the spirit's muscles. "That means we'll be able to leave tonight."

Jimin remains silent for several minutes and focuses on getting clean. He rubs the rag a little too strongly on his face and mouth, but in the end there's no more red on his skin.

"I ruined everything," Jimin says. "I ruined all we worked for."

Yoongi heaves a sigh and he applies a gentler pressure on Jimin's neck. "No. No, you didn't."

"I killed him. I had his blood in my mouth." Jimin shivers. "One hundred more years, Yoongi. I just-just blew all this time I waited and suffered. I'll have to do it all again."

"Jimin—"

"I couldn't stop myself." Jimin rests his head against Yoongi's bent knee. "I saw you there and-and I knew he was going to kill you. I moved before I could even think. I just wanted him dead."

"Yeah, I know," Yoongi breathes out. His chest feels heavy with a feeling he can't quite understand. Maybe it's pain or maybe it's simple concern, but Yoongi doesn't think that those are correct.

"I ruined everything."

"We'll fix it."

"One hundred more years, that means that you and I—"

"No." Yoongi shakes his head, more to convince himself than Jimin. "No, we'll fix it."

Jimin doesn't say anything after that. He just sits in the water until it turns cold.

It's deep into the night, maybe the earliest hours of morning, when Hoseok tells them it's safe to leave.

He closed the brothel for the day and the building is eerily quiet without the sound of music being played in the rooms of the first floor and with no prostitutes on the second level.

"You'll have to be very quiet," Hoseok murmurs as he secures a shawl over Taehyung's head so that he can hide his ears. "If you meet someone along the way, ignore them. There are only some drunkards out at this hour so they won't even remember seeing you."

Taehyung blinks and then he fixes the shawl over his head a little. "This isn't really comfortable."

"Yeah," Jungkook whines. "My tail hurts in the trousers, they're tight."

"You'll be able to take those off once we're home," Yoongi says. "Just endure it a little."

Hoseok smiles at the two pups and then turns to Yoongi. "Baram doesn't have any family, so I doubt anyone will come to look for him. I'll close the whore house and start the voice that he left, people know he was prone to travel quite a lot."

Yoongi nods. "Thank you, Hoseok."

"I might have to disappear as well," the man adds with a shrug. "But I'll come to visit you before I leave the village. Or not, well. We’ll see."

"I'm sorry," Jimin suddenly says. He's seating on the floor, wearing normal clothes and a long cape that covers both his head and his body, he curled his tail around his waist to hide it better. "This is all my fault."

"Jimin," Hoseok begins saying. "The bastard is dead because he tried to tame a spirit. The world is commanded by beings like you, do you really think he wasn't going to meet his punishment at some point?"

Jimin nibbles on his bottom lip. "But now you don't have a job anymore and-and this place was the only source of income for so many people who worked here."

"Don't worry about them. Don't worry about other people, Jimin." Hoseok smiles. "Just worry about getting out of here, at last."

Yoongi leans down and he grabs Jimin's arm. "Ready?"

Jimin nods before he slowly gets up, swaying a little on the spot as he tries to gain his balance. Yoongi quickly puts Jimin's arm around his own shoulders and then he wraps his arm around the spirit's waist, helping him stand up.

Hoseok opens the door to the back exit and he peaks outside, looking both to the left and right before he nods.

"Alright." Hoseok steps aside and keeps the door open. "Go, quick."

Taehyung and Jungkook immediately run out, giggling quietly to themselves, obviously excited to be able of leaving the whore house.

Yoongi gives Hoseok one last look before he and Jimin step outside as well.

"Oh," Jimin gasps once the door closes behind them. "I'm actually out."

"No curse keeping you there anymore," Yoongi says. "Taehyung, Jungkook, stay close to each other and walk in front of us, yes? I'll tell you where to go."

The two foxes are quick to clasp their hands together and to start walking once Yoongi directs them to the left.

"Come on," Yoongi murmurs, squeezing Jimin's hip. "Let's get you home."

Granted, it takes them far longer than normal to get to Yoongi's house. Jimin still can't walk as easily as he'd like and he gets tired quickly and Yoongi, in turn, has to make sure the spirit doesn't trip or lose his balance. Not to mention that, even if they're being quiet, Taehyung and Jungkook easily get distracted by right about anything. More than once Yoongi had to call them back when Taehyung saw a pretty dragonfly and tried to chase it, or when Jungkook smelled dry meat from a house and instinctively turned in that direction.

Still, they manage to reach the outskirts of the village where the house is. Yoongi groans as soon as Seokjin comes into view and, really, he shouldn't be surprised that the man stayed up waiting for him.

"You!" Seokjin exclaims as soon as he spots them. He stands up from where he was sitting on the porch and points a finger towards them. "You've been missing for an entire day! Do you have any idea of how worried we were?! I thought that the damn fox ate your heart."

Yoongi hears Jimin scoffing by his side but they keep making their way towards the house.

"You might want to calm down with the accusations when the fox is right here with me."

At this, Seokjin frowns. As they get closer to him, the man's eyes widen and he looks at Jimin for a second and then at the two pups.

"Oh." Seokjin blinks. "Oh, this isn't good."

"Can we go in?" Yoongi asks, a little out of breath. "Or do you have to give me a lecture now?"

Seokjin rubs a hand over his face. "Tell me you didn't just steal a Gumiho, Yoongi."

"No one stole me," Jimin replies, a little affronted. "We escaped."

"This is insane."

"Hello!" Taehyung suddenly exclaims. He takes the shawl off his head and Yoongi swears that Seokjin almost faints immediately. "Your house looks so nice! Isn't it nice, Jungkookie?"

Jungkook is kind of trying to hide behind Taehyung's back, only taking small peaks at the building in front of him and at Seokjin.

"'s nice," he murmurs in the end.

"These are children," Seokjin murmurs. He looks stunned and, well, quite panicked. "You kidnapped children."

Yoongi groans. "They're pups and no, we haven't kidnapped them. Seokjin, will you just let us in? Jimin can barely stand up by himself, be a decent host. This is still my house."

Seokjin heaves a deep sigh but, in the end, he nods. "Fine. Fine, let me help you."

As soon as the man steps forward, Jimin hisses loudly, proudly showing his fangs. Seokjin freezes, he blinks and then he rolls his eyes.

"Or not," he mutters before turning around. "Namjoon will freak out."

Turns out, Namjoon does not freak out.

They're all sitting in the main hall, Taehyung and Jungkook are busy eating some grapes that Seokjin gave them, and Namjoon is staring at Jimin with nothing but awe and fascination.

Yoongi sips his wine, ignoring the daggers Seokjin is throwing at him in favor of enjoying the scene.

"I'm sorry if I'm staring," Namjoon says. "But it doesn't happen often to see a real Gumiho."

Jimin nods. He seems more at ease now, less wary and cautious.

"You are so," Namjoon squints his eyes. "So beautiful."

"Thank you," Jimin replies. "It's because I'm a predator."

"I—" Namjoon blinks. "What?"

"The more beautiful a predator is, the easier it is to lure a prey."

Yoongi chokes on his wine and Seokjin groans loudly something along the lines of "I don't deserve this."

Namjoon, on the other hand, seems absolutely amused.

"Ah, I see," he breathes out. "You spirits are truly something else."

The conversation is cut short when Jungkook yawns, his tail twitching as he does so, and Seokjin's features soften at the sight.

"Maybe we should let them rest," he says as he stands up. "You can sleep in this room, I'll go get some blankets. We'll talk when you wake up."

"Thank you," Yoongi says.

Seokjin just waves a hand at him before he walks out of the room. Namjoon, too, stands up.

"I'll help him. And don't worry, I'll talk to him and make him calm down. He's just panicking and being dramatic as usual."

Yoongi has to agree on that. Once they're alone in the room, Jimin turns to him and gives Yoongi a small smile.

"They seem like good people," he says. "I can see why you hold them so dearly."

Yoongi hums. "Even Seokjin?"

"I don't blame him for not trusting me," Jimin replies. "It's alright."

A short silence follows, then Jimin scoots closer to Yoongi and puts a hand over the man's thigh.

"I was thinking," he murmurs. "Now we can watch the sunrise together."

Yoongi grins and he puts his hand over Jimin's. "We can."

Taehyung and Jungkook are sleeping peacefully under the blankets Seokjin gave them, snoring lightly.

Yoongi and Jimin are sitting on the porch in silence, looking at the sky as its dark blue slowly fades into a softer color, hues of purple and orange blending together at the horizon.

When the sun rises and its rays touch Jimin's face, Yoongi can't help but gaze at him.

He knew he'd look beautiful under the sun.

Yoongi remembers thinking, when he first met Jimin, that there was a particular word that could describe the spirit but, for some reason, he couldn't find it.

But now, as he looks at the way jimin's skin glows under the sun, grey eyes bright and silver hair turning almost white when the light hits it, Yoongi remembers it.

Ethereal.

"I have to say something." Jimin takes a deep breath. "I hope you won't hate me."

Yoongi feels like he knows what's coming.

"What is it?"

Jimin swallows and he looks down to his lap. "I think I'll leave soon."

Yes. Yes, Yoongi knew this was coming.

"I want to stay for a bit," Jimin says. "Maybe a month or so."

A month.

"Because finally, I can be with you so—so I want to stay for a bit. So that we don't forget in the future." The spirit pauses. "So that we can get a taste of what it could be like."

Yoongi doesn't speak. He looks at the sun even if it's too bright and it hurts his eyes.

"I'm a very selfish creature," Jimin says. "I wanted you and so I took you. And now that I can't have you I'm leaving."

"You can have me," Yoongi croaks out.

"One hundred years." Jimin takes a deep breath. "I can't do that. I can't watch you die, I can't do that to myself." The spirit swallows thickly. "I can't do that to you ."

Yoongi understands.

He does, really.

It still hurts, but he understands.

Jimin grabs Yoongi's hand and squeezes it tight. "You'll always be the only one who had me even when the sun was out."

Yes. That honor remains solely Yoongi's.

As the days go by, Jimin starts to walk by himself and he's so happy and vibrant that Yoongi feels like crying.

As he always imagined, happiness suits Jimin far more than solitude does.

Seokjin grows fond of Taehyung and Jungkook and, even if he won't admit it, he spoils them rotten; he keeps giving them treats and filling their plates with the best cuts of the meat they can afford to buy.

The two pups seem comfortable in the house but, of course, now that they're out of the whore house they're restless. The house is close to the woods and Yoongi knows that the two spirits are instinctually driven towards it.

One night, Jimin tells him that he'll take them with him.

"I'll train them," he had murmured against Yoongi's chest. "Make sure they grow strong so that they can start their own pack."

"Yes, it's the right thing to do."

"They'll miss you."

"I'll miss them too."

" I'll miss you."

And Yoongi couldn’t say anything.

As the month grows close to its end, Yoongi can't sleep.

He's not ready to let Jimin go and he's surely not ready to live the rest of his life without him.

He thinks it's unfair that there can't be a solution until it hits him: there is one.

Slowly and quietly, Yoongi gets out of the nest of blankets that Jimin covers them with at night and he steps out of the hall, looking behind him one last time to make sure Jimin is still asleep.

He makes his way upstairs to Seokjin's room and steps inside, walking to the sleeping man and kneeling beside him.

"Jin," Yoongi murmurs as he shakes the man lightly. "Jin, wake up."

"Mmh." Seokjin rolls on his back and opens his eyes, blinking fast. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

"I need to do something."

"What?"

"You won't agree with this but I don't care." Yoongi takes a deep breath. "I need your help."

Yoongi is drinking tea on the porch when Jimin storms out of the house and runs to him.

It's still early and the air is a bit cold, but Jimin looks flushed and furious, his tail held high and his fangs showing a little.

"What have you done?!" Jimin screams once he's in front of Yoongi.

"Well, good morning to you too."

"Yoongi, what have you done?!" Jimin snarls. "I can sense it on you that you did something! Your aura and your power, it's all twisted and shaky and— what have you done?!"

Yoongi sighs. "Sit down with me, mh?"

"You smell like you're dead!" Jimin yells. "What have you done?!"

Yoongi puts the cup of tea aside and then he looks at Jimin with a small smile.

"I'm selfish too, Jimin," he says. Yoongi grips the edge of his shirt and pulls it aside.

The spirit's eyes widen at the sight of Yoongi's black mark. It's right above his heart, large and throbbing with life and power.

"Yoongi," Jimin murmurs. "What is that?"

"It's a curse," Yoongi responds evenly. "I cursed myself."

Jimin remains silent for entire minutes and Yoongi gives him the time he needs. The spirit doesn't look angry anymore but, Yoongi knows it, he's deeply saddened.

Slowly, Jimin kneels down between Yoongi's legs and he puts his hand over the spell on the human's chest.

"It's—" Jimin swallows. "It feels cold. Your skin is cold."

"It's a tricky curse, but useful," Yoongi begins saying. "It freezes my time."

Jimin frowns and looks at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"With this curse I blocked my time. It's tied to my heart, to my lungs, to my very soul. It froze everything." Yoongi nods to himself. "I froze my time so that I can have more of it."

"Oh, Yoongi," Jimin breathes out with a crestfallen expression. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Because now I can wait with you," Yoongi replies. "I can wait one hundred years without dying and then I can break the curse once you're human." Yoongi forces a smile. "I won't lie, it's going to be a mess. Since the curse is tied to me it'll drain me of my strength but-but we'll work through it, yes? There will be days when I won't even be able to stand up, I think. Or walk. But it's alright, it's all about being patient. You've been patient for your entire life, I can do the same for you, for us."

"You fool, fool man," Jimin whispers. "Who curses themselves for someone else? You're such a fool, I can't believe you."

Yoongi arches an eyebrow. "Should I break the curse now and let you go?"

"No." Jimin looks at him with a fierce gaze. "No, if you're foolish enough to do something like this then you're doing it until the end."

Yoongi grins. "That's what I thought."

"I'm so mad at you."

"I know you are."

"I'm so mad." Jimin leans forward and presses his lips against Yoongi's. He does it again, and again until Yoongi wraps his arms around the spirit's body and Jimin sighs. "But I'm so happy, Yoongi."

As Yoongi hugs Namjoon and Seokjin, he realizes that he'll watch them die.

He told them he'd come back as many times as he can to see how they're doing, to help if there is a curse to break. But when Seokjin hugs him harder and Namjoon shakes with a quiet sob, Yoongi realizes that he'll see them grow old and then die.

Maybe this is another sin that he'll bring with himself until the end.

When they finally let go, they don't say goodbye. They know they'll meet again and so they simply remain quiet.

Yoongi smiles at them, at his brothers and then he turns to Jimin and takes his hand.

He doesn't look back when they pass the borders of the village.

"We'll have to buy a house."

Jimin arches an eyebrow. "Or, I could simply ask the spirits of the woods to build one for us."

"Isn't that cheating?"

"They owe me some favors. Ah!" Jimin exclaims. "Tae, Jungkook, just because we're in the woods it doesn't mean you can take the shawls off!"

Taehyung groans at this and Jungkook starts whining.

"But they're uncomfortable!" He exclaims.

"You'll take them off once we're deeper inside," Yoongi tells him then. "Now go chase a squirrel or something."

Taehyung seems delighted at the idea, so he grabs Jungkook's hand and they start running over the fresh grass, looking up at the trees to see if there are small rodents hiding on the branches.

"So, the spirits will build us a house?"

"It's full of abandoned cabins in the woods," Jimin replies. "I'll simply ask them to help us make one look a bit more habitable."

Yoongi clicks his tongue. "Lazy."

"Stop."

"Cheater and lazy."

"You're insufferable," Jimin says. "To think I have to endure one hundred years of this."

And yet there he is, smiling so wide that Yoongi imagines it must hurt his cheeks.

The woods are loud with the sounds of twigs breaking under their feet and the chirping of birds, the leaves of the trees creak at every blow of wind.

Yoongi thinks that, from now on, it won't be just at night.

He won't be Jimin's only when the sun is down. He'll be his always.

Before dawn, after dusk and always.