@sireom
jie always loved when the kingdom held huge festivals, especially since it felt like these moments were when the kingdom was the most unified. the most peaceful, at least. it gave jie a moment to take a breather from the whole guardian fate, and it gave him even more time to bond with his favorite person, min.
she was truly something different, though if you asked him, he couldn’t really tell you what exactly made her so special. as cheesy as it was, everything about her made him feel like he had more of a purpose in life. from her laughter when jie did something foolish to the way she looked at him when he teased her, his heart fluttered each and every time min gave him even the slightest bit of attention. and it absolutely sucked that there was nothing he could do about the feeling. just because of some made up rules about living out his intended purpose instead of actually living.
sure, it hurt a little to know he got to experience the gift each human got to have— the freedom to live— yet he couldn’t even live it the way he wanted. sure, jie! you can have feelings, just not feelings for her. yeah, it seemed like his father and the rest of the gods really loved him. and if he didn’t have a reputation or family honor to uphold, he’d definitely show them how much he loved them too, for sticking him with the worst job ever. all of his other siblings got to have peaceful tasks, so why was jie stuck with fighting for a country he didn’t even belong in? only to return to an empty room, waiting for the next time hanshou needed him ( though don’t get him wrong, he loves hanshou ).
though, just because the stupid rule was set in place didn’t mean he couldn’t ask min to remain by his side, especially on a day like this. the night of sevens, or the day where young couples celebrated love, and the single men and women...well... they prayed for an eternal love. to jie, this was all nonsense, but hey, he didn’t really understand the minds of common folk anyways!
the two walked side by side throughout the nearby village that was decorated with brightly colored lanterns. it seemed as though the entire village came out to celebrate the event, as couples swarmed the streets to celebrate their love. young girls and boys also took advantage of this festival, glancing at each other from afar, gossiping about how handsome or beautiful the other looked ( though it never became more than a few glances ). all of it made jie grab a hold of min, making sure the girl was safe by his side at all costs. surely nothing would happen to the girl during a festival of romance, but jie wasn’t willing to take chances. that was his thing, always remaining vigilant and protective no matter what, especially when it came to people like her. besides, jie needed a reason to hold her hand other than the fact that his heart skipped a beat whenever she was around.
“don’t leave my side.” he mumbled, it was partially an order, but also a request. his hands intertwined with her’s, as he continued to walk and observe the festival. loosen up! jie tried to relax his nerves, as he usually wasn’t this serious around min, but he couldn’t help but to feel a little jealous of everyone around him. and considering he could already sense some of the eyes of the village bachelors staring at the girl, it was even harder for him to remain at ease. so he took a deep breath and turned his head to face min, playfully swinging their arms.
alright, jie could do this, all he needed to do was focus on her. “i heard the pastries in this village were the best of the best.” the guardian nudged min, “why don’t we check them out? you know i’m a sucker for good food.”