Unbound XVIII - (BTS x Reader)
Genre: Fantasy | Dark Academia | (Slow-burn) Romance | Mystery | Action | Magic |
Pairing: Reader x Taehyung, Reader x Jungkook (and a tiny bit of ot7)
A/N: (Gods, everytime I think I'm finished writing a chapter, I keep adding new stuff.) Hope everyone still enjoys it though. <3
** Credits for line divider by strangergraphics-archive
Previous ∘•···•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•···• Next
Chapter XVIII - Beneath the Academy
There had once been a creature in the Iron Quarters that did not belong to any known bestiary.
It had crawled out from beneath a collapsed foundry during one of the colder winters, years after Yuri's blood had soaked into the cobbled stone of the Old Market and the smoke from the purge had long since become just another layer in the sky. At first, people thought it to be a malformed hound. Then, perhaps, a wraith forced into the streets by steam pressure. It ended up being neither.
Its spine bent at an unnatural angle to be a wraith, its limbs too long to be a hound and its hide resembled iron left too long in acid, scarred and smoking faintly in the night air. Whenever it let out a breath, the air around its mouth shimmered with heat, even though its skin remained cold to the touch.
By then, you had been old enough to know how to use your Evocation magic. You had also been old enough to understand that you were on your own and that screaming would not bring help.
The creature had cornered you in a narrow alleyway, its claws carving through stone as if it were no more than wet clay. The first thing you remember was its horrid scent. A mixture of rust and sulfur and something rotten underneath it. Even though your hands had shaken, you had stepped forward and when it had lunged at you, you had not hesitated. Flames had surged from your hands, engulfing its limbs and forcing it back, and when the smoke cleared the beast lay broken across the cobbles, twitching once before going still.
Adrenaline had rushed through your veins. Afterward, your knees had given out and you had laughed breathlessly into your palms because you had survived, the final remnants of the fear you had suppressed to stay alive.
That fear had been simple. Understandable. That fear had been accompanied by claws and fangs, but it was something you could burn to ashes.
Headmistress Choi's office smells faintly of sandalwood and old parchment, a far cry from sulfur and rust. Shelves of ancient tomes curve along the circular walls, each spine decorated in golds or silvers that gleam under the soft ambient glow of the few lit candles around the chamber.Behind the grand desk, the tall arched windows stand partially hidden behind deep purple velvet curtains, though they have been drawn shut almost completely Through the narrow opening, moonlight seeps into the room. In here, the air is warm, unlike the icy cold of the abyss barely seconds ago, and even if it is meant to soothe anxious students summoned for disciplinary conversations it does not ease your nerves in the slightest.
You are more afraid now than you were facing that beast.
Your hands are in your lap, though you have not consciously placed them there. There is a faint tremor in your fingertips that you try to suppress by curling them slightly, whilst the nails of your other hand press into your forearm. In the seat next to yours, Jungkook sits straighter than necessary in one of the velvet chairs. His jaw is tight, a muscle feathering near his ear each time he swallows, but the tremble in his hands, braced on his knees, betray his nerves.
Choi stands behind the grand desk in the center of the room. She is clad in deep indigo fabric and has not removed the gloves wrapped around her hands. Her gaze shifts between the two of you in patience, cataloguing invisible cracks in the space that separates you. “What,” she asks at last, voice filled with a sort of tension that chills the air. “did you do?” Her eyes narrow slightly, and she adjusts the fall of one sleeve before continuing in a tone that is calmer, yet therefore far more dangerous. “More specifically,” she continues, “who opened the gate?”
Jungkook takes in a deep breath. The small movement of his weight tells you that he intends to provide an answer to that question, but before he can form the first word and before hesitation can restrain you, you rise from your seat.
“I did.” you state firmly, in a voice that sounds more confident than you truly feel. From your peripheral vision, you can see Jungkook turn toward you sharply, disbelief etched onto his face.
You cannot allow him to take blame for a choice that had been yours from the very beginning. It had been your idea to go to the Restricted Section and your voice that urged you further into the dark even when your instinct whispered caution. You were the one who insisted on pushing forward, who chose to seek answers over safety.. So, if there is consequence to be faced, it belongs to you, not to the boy who simply refused to let you walk into it alone. Even if that had choice had been entirely his own.
Of course, you cannot tell him that. Ever.
Now, Choi's full attention turns to you. Studying you in silence, her eyes trace the tension in your shoulders, the stubborn lift of your chin and the faint exhaustion in your body that you cannot entirely conceal. “You placed your hand upon the seal?” Strangely enough, her voice isn't raised nor is it followed by an immediate explosion of anger.
Swallowing the lump in your throat, you force yourself not to glance at Jungkook. “Yes.” You manage to say it steadily, yet beneath your exterior your pulse is anything but calm.
“And you did so knowingly?” Something within her voice feels colder than it was before. She steps away from the desk, the soft brush of her robes whispering against polished stone as she circles in front of you. The warmth of the room feels suffocating under her scrutiny. “Did you know it was not meant to be touched?”
You hesitate briefly, before offering an answer. “I knew it was sealed,” you answer as you attempt to hold her gaze. “I didn’t know what it truly was.”
Her reply follows quickly. “That is not an answer to my question. Did you believe it was harmless?”
“I.. did not,” you admit quietly.
She lets out a deep breath. “Recklessness is dangerous in any student,” Choi says at last, her tone no longer neutral but filled with disappointment, “But in you, it is catastrophic.”
Jungkook shifts abruptly in his seat. His fingers curl against the armrest before he pushes himself to his feet and the chair legs scrape faintly against the floor. “Headmistress, if I may..”
Without turning toward him, she raises a single hand. “You will remain silent,” she says calmly, though the authority in her voice leaves no room for defiance. Jungkook freezes at that, his lips parting before he closes them again and a pink flush colors his cheekbones at being dismissed so easily.
The silence following your partial confession does not turn into a scolding. Headmistress Choi remains still where she stands and her eyes dart from you to Jungkook, as though she is reassessing more than the mere recklessness that had led the two of you into this situation. The dim glow from the candles cast pale reflections along the edges of her face, and for a moment the only sound in the office is the ticking noise of an arcane device near the window. This silence unsettles you more than anger would have, so naturally you are the first one to break it.
“Headmistress,” you start carefully. She turns to you a second later with a cocked brow and you force your body to calm down under her stern gaze. The words sit on your tongue for a moment, because mentioning Taehyung feels dangerously close to snitching on him and that doesn't sit well with you. He isn't here to defend himself and the last thing you wish to do is to drag his name further into a disciplinary hearing that already feels like a trial.. But the situation is no longer small enough for pride or misplaced loyalty and swallowing the truth now would only make you look guiltier than you already are.
“Taehyung.. he was with us when we went in,” As you speak, the memory resurfaces; the small tome that had caught your attention, followed by a shockwave that caused the room to split down the center. The way his hand had found yours through the barrier for a fleeting second, until a second shockwave tore him from view. And the last thing he said before he disappeared — that something else was there. At the time, you hadn't known what he meant... Now, you have a faint idea of what that something might have been. “Something forced us apart and a ward displaced him...” You gather yourself with a breath and lift your chin slightly, refusing to drop your gaze. “We believed he had been pulled deeper into the Restricted Section.”
You leave out the tome entirely. You do not mention the blood that had caused the shadows to claw at you, or how the pages had reacted by depicting a map.. The satchel at your side feels heavier than it should, its strap pressing against your shoulder as to remind you of its presence. Choi cannot know about that part. Not yet, at least. If she was going to keep secrets, so were you.
She watches you without interruption, the soft crease of her eyebrows deepening as she takes in each detail of your explanation.
“A map showed us a path deeper into the section and we followed it because we thought he might have been trapped or sealed behind something,” Your throat tightens for a moment. “Before we knew it, we were standing in front of that gate and...” You remember how Jungkook had thought Taehyung was behind it, most likely an idea planted in his head by the entity. “I just had this feeling that Taehyung may have been there.”
For a brief moment, you stay silent.
Choi exhales softly and the severity that had been in her posture mere seconds ago, loosens. She steps back toward her desk as one hand comes to rest against its surface. At last, she speaks. “Kim Taehyung was found,” Her words are no longer filled with criticism. “He was not drawn beyond the lower wards. The displacement spell rebounded upon itself and rendered him unconscious near the western archive corridor.”
At that revelation, relief courses through your body.
“A faculty member located him shortly after,” Choi continues. “Had he not triggered the rebound effect when he did, the ward network would not have alerted us to the disturbance in time. It is likely that without that interruption…” She pauses, not dramatizing the implication, but merely stating it as fact. “You both would still be down there.”
That realization comes to you slowly. Beside you, Jungkook releases a slow breath through his nose and satisfaction lingers within the sound. His hand, which had been resting loosely against his thigh only moments ago, curls once into a fist before relaxing again.
Taehyung had been saved. Alive.
And if anything, he had been the reason you were standing here at all.
How he managed to leave the Restricted Section, was a question you'd have to ask him later. Assuming Choi proved merciful and not currently drafting your academic obituary.
At the moment, however, more pressing matters were at hand and one, particular thought that hadn't quite left your mind, resurfaces. Since the moment you stood in front of the gate and ever since its mere presence stripped the surrounding world of gravity... The one thing you wanted to know, even if it causes the hair on your neck to stand up.
“So... what was it?” you ask softly. The question sounds uncertain leaving your lips. “What was behind the gate?”
The expression on Choi's features barely changes, though a certain stiffness settles in her posture. She turns slightly toward her desk, her fingertips brushing across its polished surface. “I believe that is not knowledge two students require.” She states firmly.
Jungkook's shoulders stiffen, the line of his jaw tightening as he carefully selects each word before allowing them to leave his mouth — clearly building an argument to coax the truth from Choi. “For something that was meant to be sealed, it did not feel dormant,” He says slowly. His voice no longer sounds detached as it usually does. His eyes are fixated on the Headmistress and even when his fingers twitch once at his side, he does not allow the tension to break his composure. “We saw what it was capable of. It suppressed spellwork entirely, manipulated perception inside that corridor and even..” The brief pause that follows is just long enough for your stomach to twist. Your eyes meet his instinctively and for a horrifying moment you wonder if this is the moment he decides to grow a conscience and confess everything.
You wonder if this is where he will slip and admit that he was the one who opened the gate.
The cursed tome flashes through your mind immediately. You can practically feel it sitting there as if an incriminating witness waiting to be called to the stand. Maybe even summon another suspicious amount of shadows trying to swallow you whole.
Surely, Jungkook wouldn't mention that. Surely, he wouldn't choose now of all moments to volunteer the detail that you fainted dramatically, or as he liked to call it “break into an exorcism”. You attempt to keep your expression neutral, but inside you are already preparing several creative ways to strangle him with the strap of your bag if he so much as says the word 'book' or 'tome'.
“.. it exuded such an overwhelming pressure from beyond the gate.. All I could feel was despair.” His gaze remains fixed on her. “If something like that can reach beyond the gate, enchant our thoughts, then pretending it cannot be understood does not make it safer.”
A small breath slips from your lungs when the word never comes, nor does any dramatic retelling of your brief collapse into unconsciousness.. Which, in this moment, feels like a miracle worthy of documentation in Lunareth's archives.
Perhaps Jungkook is not entirely detestable after all...
You mentally slap yourself for having that thought, immediately followed by the equally urgent need to correct it. Admiring him for basic discretion would be ridiculous and absolutely not the direction your thoughts should be taking right now. And yet, the faint warmth that creeps into your chest as he continues speaking makes that denial feel slightly less convincing than you would like.
Jungkook draws in a breath through his nose, before continuing once more. “Ignoring what this entity is capable of will only guarantee that the next person who stumbles into it will do so blindly.. and may not be as lucky as we were..”
Headmistress Choi raises an eyebrow at him, folding her hands behind her back. She lifts her hand slightly and the warm light of a nearby candle touches the edge of her jaw. “No other student will stumble upon it.” she states in absolute confidence. “It is restricted for a reason. Students are not permitted anywhere near those corridors and the pathways leading to that seal are concealed beyond layers of enchantment that have remained intact for decades.”
“Yet we broke through those without meaning to.” Jungkook retorts.
“Yes, and the only reason you reached it is because you bypassed protections you were never meant to encounter in the first place.. Protections that I am still trying to understand how you managed to cross.”
You keep your expression neutral. If she ever learned the truth about that, the consequences would be, without a doubt, far worse than a single lecture. Jungkook, too, does not shrink. If anything, he seems more determined to convey the truth.
“If only we knew...” That lie comes easily to him. After, the defensive tone in his voice falters, replaced with insistence. “But that is precisely why we should understand what happened. Because the wards did fail tonight. The seal reacted and something beyond it attempted to influence us,” His gaze flickers briefly toward you before returning to the Headmistress. “If a prison door moves, the correct response is not to pretend the prisoner is still asleep. That much, I know.”
For a moment longer, Choi regards him and her brows furrow as she considers if his persistence warrants further explanation. “There is much you still do not know, Jeon,” she states at last. She takes a glimpse at the two of you, her eyes narrowing slightly as if testing a theory before speaking again. “Very well,” she continues slowly. “I will oblige you this much, but tell me something first. Did it speak directly to either of you?”
Her question lingers in the quiet office and a hint of confusion passes in the brief glance you exchange with Jungkook. It almost feels like a trick question meant to catch you in yet another lie.
Jungkook is the first to answer it. “It did,” he says, truthfully this time, staring blankly ahead as he replays the moment in his mind before committing it to words. “It spoke… but not in the way people do.” The crease between his brows deepens somewhat as he searches for the right way to describe it. “The entity was aware of us. There was a voice… or, well, something close to it.”
The Headmistress' eyes sharpen at his phrasing and you are unsure whether it holds irritation or understanding. Without quite meaning to, you take a step forward, closing the distance between yourself and the desk. “It addressed me directly,” you add, the memory of the voice causing your chest to tighten. “It mentioned Taehyung first, but when I didn't listen it used knowledge about my parents to persuade me,” You hesitate briefly. Sure, the entity hadn't exactly mentioned Taehyung directly to you, but you could not tell her that now. You're just hopeful she won't probe any further.
At that, Choi turns her back to you both, any change in her expression hidden from view. She steps toward the curved shelf behind her desk and her hand trails briefly along the spines of several tomes. What turns over in her mind is impossible to know, but in the end she decides the truth will serve better than silence.
A deep sigh escapes her lips as she begins to explain slowly. “What is concealed beneath this institution is not a creature in the conventional sense,” She turns back around and her eyes trail from Jungkook to you to ensure neither of you misses anything she says. “What you encountered is not a wraith, nor a demon, nor is it a beast that wandered too close to a ritual it did not belong in. Those things can be catalogued and studied within the frameworks of modern-day magic. This... presence existed long before any of those systems were even formed.” She pauses, drawing the chair back before lowering into the velvet seat. Jungkook and you mirror the movement. “It is a remnant of a primordial being, one that existed before the First Pact divided magic into schools. It does not possess a body in the way you would expect. Though it requires blood to exert influence,” she continues.
When your blood touched the pages of the tome, it had reacted.
At the time, you had been too focused on not getting lost to fully process what it might mean. Now, you wonder if something connects your blood to the primordial entity beyond the gate. A small, treacherous part of your mind even wonders whether you should casually slide the satchel off your shoulder and pretend the book had never existed in the first place.
Unfortunately, you suspect the universe would not be so easily fooled.
Headmistress Choi's voice pulls you back to reality. “Centuries ago, the entity was sealed once it was discovered it could use inherited magic to connect itself to this world and act through it. Inheritance allowed it to reach beyond its prison, to whisper into minds and awaken abilities in those who carried the right resonance,” Her fingers tighten against the desk before relaxing again. “Somehow, it discovered how to extend itself through those born generations even after its imprisonment.”
You try to grasp her meaning, with no luck.
“What does it mean?” Jungkook asks before you can. “What does it want?”
“What it seeks is release. And it is patient enough to wait generations for the right vessel,” Your pulse quickens at her final words, despite your effort to remain calm. “So, when something like that addresses you directly, it is not coincidence.”
It is quite clear to you what she's implying now. “Does that mean it wants one of us as a vessel?” You ask curiously.
She lets out a soft breath. “That's what I would like to know.”
Jungkook's following question slips into the silence. His brow furrows as he glances toward the floor for a moment, before he raises his gaze to meet the Headmistress'. “Then why is something like that beneath the Academy in the first place?” he asks, confusion laced in his voice. “If it’s as dangerous as you say… why build a school on top of it?”
The warmth of the office no longer lingers as it did before, and the Headmistress inhales slowly before she straightens in her chair. “The structure beneath Astrelia existed long before the academy was built. At the time, it was constructed as a prison,” she explains. The brief hesitation that had lingered in her demeanor before has vanished. “The gate that you touched was sealed by a collective of extremely powerful mages and took many sacrifices. When it became clear that the seal could not be moved, nor the entity destroyed, the only viable option was to contain it through oversight.”
“The reason the Academy was built around it, was to ensure it is constantly monitored by those capable of maintaining the wards,” she adds. “It has allowed generations of mages to reinforce what was already established, rather than abandoning it in isolation — and wait for it to find the right vessel and destroy the world as we already know.” Her voice trails just enough to suggest there is more she could say, yet she chooses not to. As if what she just mentioned doesn't sound ominous at all. “But that is where this discussion ends, I have already told you more than I am allowed to and it is more than you need to know.”
She cuts you off with a faint shake of her head. “There are matters in this world that neither of you are equipped to understand, let alone interfere with. This is one of them. Do you understand?”
Reluctantly, you nod. There is more you want to know, but as usual, it’s clear she has no intention of answering any of your questions. Still, you remember how the pressure had left your body in an instant once the gate sealed shut. “But you sealed it again, right? I heard that incantation, though I couldn't quite understand it, the intention was clear.”
Her gaze lowers briefly, before they return to you. “It will hold. For now.. But my magic alone is not sufficient to contain it for long.” There is a faint tension in her posture, quickly hidden once she straightens. “I will attempt to seal it with the other professors, but if we fail to do so, this will be brought before the Grand Magic Council and we will have to request reinforcement of the seal.”
Now that the room is silent once more, it takes a moment for realization to settle in. You find yourself staring at the surface of Choi's desk, watching the reflection of the arcane lights within the lacquered wood while your mind attempts to catch up with what you have just heard.
The path you followed led directly to the threshold of something older than the Academy itself, to something that had been sealed away long before anyone in this room had ever been born. And somehow, your wounded arm had bled all over the pages of an ancient tome, one that may very well have been connected to the seal you nearly broke. The urge to drag both hands down your face in disbelief is painfully strong. Somewhere deep within your thoughts, a voice that sounds suspiciously like your grandmother's is already sighing in disappointment.
Of course, the one who accidentally loosens the seal on a primordial entity had to be you. Some people trip over loose cobblestones, but you, it seems, wake up ancient forces from eternal slumber. And, as if that realization alone isn’t disastrous enough, the Headmistress is now considering bringing this before the Grand Magic Council. The Grand Mage. The same body that governs magical law across Lunareth and only intervenes when something has gone terribly, irreversibly wrong.
Jungkook has gone unnaturally silent. The earlier tension in his posture hasn't disappeared, but it has changed into something more contemplative. Eyes lowering briefly toward the floor as though he is replaying the memory of that gate in his mind, the flicker of crimson runes and the pressure that had taken the air from both your lungs.
Headmistress Choi watches the two of you in silence with a carefully composed expression painted on her face. “However, on to other matters.. Because what concerns me now is something far more immediate.”
Her attention has moved to you fully now. You can feel your heart pick up its pace.
Here it comes. Expulsion. Or perhaps execution.
“This is not the first time your judgment has failed you since arriving at this Academy,” she continues. “The incident in the Coliseum was already noted as a warning. I permitted you to remain because the circumstances suggested inexperience rather than instability.” She furrows her brows. “Tonight, however, you chose to ignore restrictions placed upon the most dangerous section of this institution and proceeded directly toward a seal and even beyond it..” Her eyes narrow slightly as the words dawn in on you. “And that,” she concludes quietly, “is a mistake the Academy cannot afford to overlook.”
The implication is unmistakable.
This... is the end of your time at Astrelia.
You should have expected it.
Even if it had been difficult to fit in, with the students throwing hatred your way or making up gossip anytime they found an opportunity, you had enjoyed your time. Your friends, Yuqi, Shuhua and Soyeon had made the time at Astrelia slightly more bearable.
And, of course, you couldn't fully despise Taehyung, Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon and even..
Your eyes turn toward the one student who had despised you on sight. Yet saved your life today.
Your mind barely keeps pace when Jungkook moves, cutting in before Choi can deliver her final verdict. He stands up from his chair, and the scrape of it against stone as he takes a small step forward, feels eardeafening in the silence. He straightens his posture and when he speaks, it is clear that he is choosing his words carefully.
“Headmistress,” He starts in a respectful manner, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgment of her position. “With all due respect, I do not think that removing her from the Academy will solve the problem.”
Choi's brow lifts slowly at the sudden interruption.
Jungkook continues before the silence can close over the moment again. “What happened tonight wasn't mindless recklessness,” he says. “We should not have entered the Restricted Section, I agree with that,” he admits without hesitation, “but the only reason we went in deeper was because we believed another student had been taken beyond the wards.”
“And what, exactly, possessed the two of you to enter the Restricted Section in the first place?”
“I went there intentionally,” Jungkook replies calmly, before you can even think of an answer. “I am aware there are protocols that allow entry to the Restricted Section and I intended to request formal access, but..” A brief pause follows. “It was my choice to proceed without waiting.” His eyes flick toward you for the shortest moment, then he turns to look at Choi. “She found out and followed,” he adds in a quieter voice. “To make sure I did not do something reckless.”
The irony of that statement lingers in the air.
“If there is fault to be assigned,” he finishes, “it lies with me.”
You are certain you must have misheard him.
Your head turns toward Jungkook, and you half-expect a different angle to reveal why he is doing this. This is Jeon Jungkook, rule abiding, report-you-without-hesitation Jeon Jungkook who is somehow standing in front of the Headmistress of the Academy, delivering a perfectly constructed lie in your defense without so much as a flicker of hesitation.
You stare at him for a second longer than is socially acceptable.
Either he lost his mind somewhere between the abyss and the office or this is some thought out long-term strategy designed to ruin you later in a far more devastating manner. That would be more in character. Narrowing your eyes ever so slightly, you study him and attempt to find any sign that this is anything other than what it appears to be.
Which leaves you with the deeply inconvenient realization that Jungkook is, for reasons entirely unclear to you, choosing to take the blame. And part of you almost feels… grateful.
“- it spoke to me too, but to her.. She just said it addressed her parents..” He swallows the lump in his throat. “If anything should concern us now, it is that the entity responded to her presence specifically, which suggests the situation is more complicated than simple misconduct.” He pauses briefly, “If anything,” he adds, his voice lowering slightly as he carefully thinks of his final words, “expelling her now would remove the one person that entity has already shown interest in.”
After his statement, the silence returns. The glow of the moon stretches across the floor, and for several seconds, the only movement comes from the slow rise and fall of Jungkook's shoulders as he breathes.
Headmistress Choi studies him longer as she seems to weigh the argument he has just made. “Are you suggesting her presence here is not a problem?”
“I am merely stating that sending her away will not make the problem disappear.” His voice sounds resolute.
Surprise tightens somewhere within your chest, alongside the feeling of.. gratitude.
It is one thing for Jungkook to present an argument. It is another for him to do so on your behalf. And you are way too stunned by his sudden change of heart to deny what he says.
“If the entity can reach through inheritance, and she is somehow connected to it,” he continues and, though the tone in his voice is quieter this time, it sounds no less certain. “then understanding her magic may be the only way to prevent it from doing so again.”
Choi's gaze drifts back to you. She remains quiet for several seconds, and the silence takes long enough for the ticking of the arcane device to become noticeable again. You can almost see the calculations passing through her mind as she considers the risks of allowing you to remain against the risks of sending you away.
“And if she is sent away, there is no guarantee the entity will lose interest. If anything, it might continue to reach for her beyond the Academy wards,” He takes in a deep breath. “You would have to trust that she will resist its offer to answer the questions she has regarding her parents in exchange of power.” he continues, without so much as looking at you. “Given what we just experienced, that seems... optimistic.”
For one confusing moment, you had almost forgotten who you were standing next to, too distracted by the entire 'lying on your behalf' situation. But no, of course his kindness does not last. This.. bite beneath his polished words and the barely concealed arrogance wrapped in logic is the Jungkook you know. The one person who can turn concern into critique within a single sentence.
And somehow, incredibly, he manages to insult you while defending you at the same time.
You stare at the side of his face for a second, equally offended as well as impressed, before deciding you are absolutely not going to unpack why that combination works as well as it does. Besides, it seems to be helpful, because when you glimpse at the Headmistress, she seems almost thoughtful and when she finally speaks, her voice is filled with neither anger nor approval.
The faintest sigh passes through her. “Very well,” she says at last. “I will take what you’ve said into consideration.” Something in your chest loosens. Her eyes move between the two of you. “But I would advise against feeling relieved just yet. If we fail to close this gate, the Grand Mage will be notified. And, as you are aware Jeon, he will be far less forgiving.”
Both Jungkook and you nod, taking this opportunity as a win.
“And if there is anything else you are not sharing with me, I will have you tell me.”
You consider speaking the truth about the tome.
But Jungkook cuts in before you can mention it. “Nothing else, Headmistress.”
The door to the Headmistress's office closes behind you with a loud thud and the sound echoes through the corridor beyond it, before dissolving into the quiet. The tension still clings to your shoulders, though the moonlight seeping through the tall arched windows manages to ease your nerves if only slightly.
Taking a few steps forward, you halt your step near one of them, simply staring at the distorted reflection against the dark glass and half-expecting something unnatural to stare back at you. When nothing does, you release a deep, relieved breath as you drop your hands to your sides.
“You didn't have to do that.” The words come out more quietly than you had intended and, behind you, Jungkook slows to a stop. The sound of his footsteps fades as he lingers a few steps further.
“What?” He asks with a raised brow.
When you turn just enough to catch him in your peripheral vision, you find a faint furrow in his brow along with genuine bewilderment across his features.
“You didn't have to interfere. And you especially didn't have to lie for me.”
He briefly remains silent. His gaze wanders through the corridor, settling where the moonlight lights the floor. Jungkook's jaw clenches just before he exhales through his nose, a sound that feels more like he is hesitating whether to respond than simply dismiss your comment. “Neither did you, yet here we are,” He shifts his weight onto one leg as his eyes turn back to you. “Don't read too much into it. You took the blame for something you didn't do, and I didn't want to owe you anything for doing that.”
“Owe me anything?” You ask confusedly. “Is that what you thought I was expecting?”
Jungkook scoffs at your response, your confusion clearly the part that doesn't make sense to him. “What else would it be?” He replies. “You took responsibility for something you didn't do, stepped in before I could even say anything. And you expect me to believe it wasn't for a favor?”
You roll your eyes at him. “Right,” you mutter, tilting your head slightly. “I forgot that in your world everything has to be thought out and nobody does anything out of the kindness of their hearts.” You glance toward the crest stitched into his robes, before looking into his eyes. “Gods, it must be exhausting to grow up like that. Always waiting for a hidden motive, or the part where someone asks for something in return.”
Jungkook's eyes narrow slightly at that, and his reaction follows slower than it usually does. “Better exhausting than naive,” He replies softly, though his voice doesn't sound as cutting as it usually does. “At least I know when I’m being played,” He adds, whilst crossing his arms over his chest. “Or is that not how things work where you’re from? Because last I checked, people don’t survive the slums by doing things out of the kindness of their hearts.”
“Ah, ofcourse,” You let out a dry, humorless laugh. “That's the only part that matters to you, isn't it? It doesn't matter what I say, or what I do, since I come from the slums. That's reason enough for you not to trust me or my intentions.”
Jungkook's features change almost instantly. “You’re the one who brought it up first. Besides, don't act like you're any different — You don’t trust Elites any more than I trust you.”
Well, he isn't entirely wrong there.
Your gaze drifts away from him, fixing on the corridor behind him. An almost irritated exhale leaves your lips.
You went ahead and made a point about his trust issues, only to immediately prove his by doing exactly what you accused him of —dragging his background into it first. Truly, outstanding work. If there were awards for losing your own argument in under ten seconds, you’d be holding a trophy right about now.
The tension doesn't quite leave your shoulders as you resist the urge to say something else just to regain the upper hand. Yet, unfortunately, there isn't much to argue with when he isn't wrong. Which is, frankly, the most annoying part of all.
“You're right. I'm sorry,” you say and your attention turns to Jungkook once more. “I don't have any good experiences with nobles. Not that I expect you to care,” The softening in his eyes must be your brain playing tricks on you. Anyway, you decide to pay it no mind. “But, if you must know, I did it because it was my decision to keep going. I told you Taehyung may have been deeper in the Restricted Section, even though I just wanted answers for myself. You never forced me into that corridor, yet you decided to come along.”
Jungkook's gaze remains still as he listens to you speak.
You clear your throat and glance at the floor. “Then, when there was no way back, all you could think of was saving my life and you were even ready to fight that entity with me. So when the Headmistress asked us who opened it, I couldn't just stay silent. I already felt like I owed you something.”
You don't notice how Jungkook has moved forward, until you look up and he is standing mere inches away from you. Something moves beneath his calm exterior and he doesn't respond for a brief moment. The sharpness that usually sits so easily in his posture doesn’t return either, leaving behind a feeling that is… unfamiliar. Warm.
“I couldn't just let you die.”
Then, almost without thinking, his hand lifts.
The movement is subtle, as if he means to brush a stray strand of hair near your face or there is some imagined imperfection he can't quite ignore. His fingers hover just beside your face, close enough that you feel the warmth of them before it falters entirely.
When the realization of what he's doing hits him all at once, Jungkook freezes. His hand lingers for half a second too long before he abruptly pulls it back, clearing his throat as he looks away and tries to pretend the movement never happened.
And, so are you. It's not like your heart feels like it's going to burst out of your chest. You’re completely unbothered, obviously. Absolutely no reason to think about it. Ever again.
“I...” He lets out a deep exhale, then turns to look at you. The faint pink coloring his cheek still hasn't vanished entirely. “I took the blame because I thought it would be unfair to have you kicked out, when we both know who truly opened the gate.”
You cross your arms loosely, tilting your head as you study him. “Wow,” you say slowly, unable to stop the smile tugging at your lips. “Jungkook being… nice for once?”
“Shut up,” He rolls his eyes, though a reluctant hint of a grin touches his mouth. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends.”
“I wouldn't dream of it.”
His expression suddenly turns serious. “Look, Choi knows we're hiding something and there are still a lot of things that we need an answer to,” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “The missing student, Taehyung, your powers and...” His voice suddenly sounds thoughtful. “... who tampered with the trials.”
It had almost slipped your mind.
Inbetween classes, training, your friends' teasing and the endless gossip... and the Headmistress still hadn't mentioned anything about the culprit. But how did Jungkook...
Your eyes, now laced with worry, turn to Jungkook. “I'm not stupid. There's no way a first year student has to face three dangerous creatures at once,” He mumbles. “And I have this hunch... that all of it is connected.”
There's a faint shift in him now. “I'm not sure, but I intend to figure it out.” He states confidently.
Exhaling softly, you gather your thoughts before lifting your gaze to him. “Well, I'm not letting you figure it out alone.”
Jungkook's brow furrows at your unexpected determination, yet he doesn't interrupt.
“If it’s connected to the trials, the gate, whatever that thing was… then it’s already dragged both of us into it,” you continue in a more certain tone. “And I’m not exactly interested in waiting around for it to get worse.”
“So if you’re planning to dig into this,” you add, “then I’m helping. Whether you like it or not.” There's a hint of something stubborn in the way those words leave your lips. And, for once, neither of you look away.
“Fine.” He nods. “Just don't get in my way.”
“I need to sort out my thoughts. When I find out more I... will let you know.”
The softness that had slipped through earlier, has disappeared. Hidden behind his usual, composed exterior. Jungkook gives a small, absent nod as he straightens and, without another word, turns to leave.
You watch him go, the moonlight catching along his figure for a second until he disappears further down the hallway and turns around the corner. When his footsteps fade into the quiet, the space he leaves behind feels… noticeable...
You are unable to stop yourself from staring at the empty hallway for a moment longer. Some part of you expects him to turn back and say something else... But, of course he doesn't.
A slow breath escapes your lips, and you lift your hand to your face as your fingers press against your temple. Now that you’re, finally, alone, everything starts catching up all at once. The gate, the entity, the way your heart had nearly stopped when it spoke, the fact that you somehow walked out of Choi’s office without being expelled or executed on the spot.
And then another thought cuts through it.
Because there is absolutely no way you are walking back into the dorms without explaining why you disappeared into the Restricted Section, why Jungkook was with you, and why you both ended up in the Headmistress’s office...
Slowly, you lower your hand and the realization settles in properly.
A frustrated groan leaves your mouth as you push yourself away from the wall, already bracing for the questions, the suspicion, and —knowing her — the complete lack of subtlety when she demands answers about any, romantic scenarios. Between the teasing, the concern, and whatever wild conclusions she has already come up with, you’re not entirely sure which part you’re dreading more.
Truthfully, facing the thing behind that gate might have been easier than whatever conversation is waiting for you next.
