thirty-one || a merciless everwinter

✧˖*°࿐

Beomgyu was a morning person.

He didn't mind waking up early; in the real world, he often had to rise before dawn to get things done. It was embedded in his mind at this point, and his body had learned to wake him up automatically at five in the morning.

He was a morning person! Always will be, never will change.

So... why the hell was he so damn tired?

"Are you fucking serious?" He grumbled angrily, staring at the vendor who was staring back at him smugly. "You're charging fifteen gold coins for- for five eggs?!"

"Listen, pretty boy," the vendor said smoothly, as if Beomgyu's anger was his morning fuel. "Resources are getting scarce these days! We all have to do what we can to make a living. You of all people should understand that."

Beomgyu's jaw tightened as he stared at the vendor, disbelief washing over him. He knew the vendor was referring to Yeonjun's ridiculous hobby of building strange birdhouses, but for some reason, it irritated him more than it should have.

Speaking of Yeonjun, that damn brat was the sole reason for his current misery! While Yeonjun was at home, soundly asleep in their stiff ass bed, he had woken Beomgyu up a few hours prior — the sudden crash of the door opening up and the elders loud ass voice yelling at him to get up.

It was five in the morning, he was strangely exhausted and more tired than usual, maybe it's because this fairytale life had fucked up his sleep schedule... but apparently, radishes weren't a good enough breakfast for him, he needed eggs, and Beomgyu was unfortunately the one sent to fetch them!

"This price is ridiculous!" Beomgyu scoffed, he only had a limited supply of coins, there's no way eggs should be this expensive. "Cant you lower it down by a few coins... or maybe a ton?"

"Sorry, sweetheart," The vendor smirked, leaning back against the wall. "It's just business, now are you going to pay or not?"

Beomgyu felt his eye twitch, so with a calm breath, he forced himself to smile kindly. "Yeah, I'll pay," he paused, his fist tightening. "I'll pay with my goddamn fist to your face!"

"Beomgyu!"

Right before Beomgyu could land a perfect punch on the old vendors face, he suddenly paused mid-action and turned around to see who had suddenly called out his name.

"Oh," The male said, watching the familiar boy walk up to him with a kind smile. "Hanjin, perfect! You're here, now let's beat this fucker up together! Seriously, who would pay fifteen gold coins for five eggs?!"

Hanjin glanced back at the vendor who was slightly trembling at the interaction from earlier, his eyebrow raising slightly as he turned towards the old vendor. "Seriously, Mr. Hwan? You're overpricing your eggs again?"

"How many times do I have to explain to you damn brats," Mr. Hwan grumbled angrily, rubbing his forehead to soothe the headache forming. "I gotta make a living out here! Resources are scarce these days—"

"You're just charging Beomgyu more gold coins because of your disliking towards him."

Beomgyu paused for a second when he heard those words from Hanjin, his eyebrows furrowing just for a split second — wondering if he had heard him wrong.

When he glanced back at the old vendor, he couldn't help but notice how he was now drenched in a cold sweat and how his face twisted into one full of guilt, making him feel a pang of frustration and sadness. This entire time, he'd been overcharged for some dumb eggs simply because this old man didn't like him?

"I—well— that's—" The vendor stammered, fumbling for an excuse. "That's not true, I just think his obsession with books isn't fitting for someone like him!"

A sick feeling tightened in Beomgyu's chest at the words. Again? This "book obsession" nonsense? What was it with this town and its hate for literature? Was it really a crime to have an interest in books?

"I agree," Hanjin said softly, casting a glance at Beomgyu. "He's beautiful, yes, but your personal disliking towards him and his interests shouldn't affect the price of your goods. If you keep raising prices like that, you'll end up with nothing."

Beomgyu ignored the slight pain in his heart when he heard Hanjin's words, for some reason, this was really affecting him. Was it because of the role he's playing right now in this fairytale? He still needs to figure out what fairytale he's in by the way.

After a long pause, the vendor grumbled in frustration, then grabbed Beomgyu's basket. He carefully added a generous amount of eggs and, surprisingly, asked for far less than the original price—much to Beomgyu's relief. He handed over the coins with a smile and began walking away with Hanjin.

"You really didn't have to do that," Beomgyu spoke up after a beat of silence. "I mean- I'm grateful! It's just, I had it all under control!"

"You were literally about to punch a fifty year old man."

"Uhh," Beomgyu smiled cheekily, scratching the back of his neck. "Small mishap!"

Hanjin glanced over towards the elder and sighed. "Look, Beomgyu hyung, a lot of the older folks around here don't exactly appreciate your taste in books... They don't think it's, well, very... good."

"I don't get that though," Beomgyu replied without even missing a beat, his cheeky expression faltering a little. "There's nothing wrong with books, there's nothing wrong with literature, so what's the big deal?"

"They think that you're wasting your time," Hanjin said, his voice edged with guilt. It was clear he hated having to deliver this message. "Dazed and distracted, your head stuck on some cloud, nose stuck in a book — they all find that nonsense!"

Beomgyu bit on the bottom of his lip, glancing away as he took in the sight of the town around him as the words dug into his brain like a sick joke, this fairytale was seriously so mean! Why the hell was he thrown into it? He's stuck in a town that doesn't like literature at all and the townsfolk's were lowkey bitches.

He just couldn't wait to leave, find Taehyun, and go home with him.

"So... they're just mad I'm nothing like the rest of them?" Beomgyu said slowly, glancing around and noticing how some people were admiring yet glaring at him.

"I think so."

That's so stupid.

Beomgyu sighed tiredly, he shouldn't ponder over such foolish things like that, not when the strange message of that golden letter was looming over his head like some sort of piano ready to drop on him at any moment — it was just so confusing and eerie, so ambiguous that it was leaving him nervous.

"Well," Beomgyu spoke up, smiling brightly as he pushed aside his anger. "That's their issue! I love what I do and nothing's going to change! It's just me and my books against the world!"

When he saw a small smile grow on Hanjin's lips, it was enough for Beomgyu to feel better about himself, like seriously! Screw all of these weird fairytale townspeople who disliked him purely because of his interest in books!

"I'm glad you're not letting them get to you," Hanjin said, smiling towards the elder. "I have to go now, but i'll see you around! Tell Yeonjun hyung I said hello!"

Beomgyu hummed softly and nodded his head, watching as the younger quickly scurried off to a group of people who seemed ready to go and work, leaving him alone with just him and his thoughts along with the eyes of multiple people watching his every move... talk about creepy.

Now that Hanjin was gone, it made him feel more alone than usual. Maybe it was because he had grown so accustomed to finding Taehyun shortly after entering the fairytales, exploring the world with him by his side. But now, he felt so alone in this small provincial town.

That golden letter was strange. He began to fall into heavy thoughts, walking down the stone path towards his "home". "if the last petal falls, he'll be gone forevermore."? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It just doesn't make sense.

This seriously sucked! Maybe he was just a bit clueless after all, but in The Little Mermaid, he has figured out what fairytale they were in almost immediately — well, after he was done nearly vomiting his head off from seasickness. So why couldn't he figure out this one?

A small little town, he's considered a 'beauty' and in love with books, and has a relative who isn't really his relative who has a weird obsession over building strange mechanics. Not to mention, half of the town hates him!

All of those little discoveries didn't add up to anything at all!

Is he even in a fairytale at this point? The golden letter did say five... but this one doesn't feel like a fairytale at all.

"Such a beautiful boy, it's a shame he's so strange."

"I agree, nothing like us, he's an odd one. That Choi Yeonjun did a strange job raising him."

"Poor child, this is what we get for allowing this nonsense to go around, we have to do something."

Beomgyu froze, his steps faltering as he heard three voices whispering meant. His eyes widened at the words he just heard, snapping him out of his little daze.

He glanced over towards the sources of the voices, and as soon as he turned his head, his gaze landed on a small group huddling against a little shop — two women and a man — all muttering to each other as he walked past, doing a poor job of keeping their conversation quiet.

"What a strange boy, far too pretty to be doing this nonsense."

"He's an odd one, so odd."

Beomgyu felt his mouth go dry hearing those words, they didn't seem that mean at all, he's heard worse — kudos to Taehyun, but right now hearing those words felt a bit upsetting more than ever, was it because of his damn role in this fairytale?

Without missing a beat, the male scoffed and quickly sped up his pace down the road, heading back to that misery of a house with that mini farm in the front — the words of what those townsfolk said about him made him feel a bit... icky.

The moment he approached the house, the words from earlier were already sinking down on him like heavy weight, but he needed to breathe, it wasn't like he was going to stay here for long anyway.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, reminding himself that this was all temporary before pushing — well, struggling to push the wooden door open and nearly falling down when it did move.

"Fuck!" He gasped out, startled by the action before recollecting himself. "Yeonjun!! I'm home, and this time I think I got eggs!"

He stepped further into the house and kicked the door shut with his foot, his loud announcement echoing off of the walls as he walked over towards the wooden table where he saw the familiar sight of his... uhm... older brother... fixing a few things again.

"Wow!" Beomgyu gasped, dramatically flicking Yeonjun's head, causing him to flinch. "You look better! Did those extra hours of sleep finally make you look... somewhat decent?"

Yeonjun glanced up at him, squinting as if he were about to drop dead on the spot. But Beomgyu wasn't wrong. The dark circles under his eyes had faded slightly, and his eye bags weren't as monstrous. Maybe, if he could just convince the elder to take a nap every now and then, he'd look less like he'd just crawled out of a horror movie.

"Thanks, I guess," Yeonjun replied briefly, man, this Yeonjun was so boring! Beomgyu is really starting to miss lizard Yeonjun... maybe even fairy Yeonjun. "Did you get what I asked for? Please don't tell me you got something crazy like artichokes."

"That actually doesn't sound so bad!" Beomgyu snickered, feeling a wave of pride wash over him when he saw a flicker of fear on the elders face. "But nope! Fortunately for you, after you rudely woke me up with your loud yelling this morning, I got the eggs you wanted!"

With a swift but slightly dramatic motion, Beomgyu dropped the basket onto the table, but the sound of a small crack echoed through the air. Both of them froze, staring at the basket in shock and horror.

"...Did you just—"

"No! No!" Beomgyu was quick to interrupt the elder, quickly pulling the basket back. "That was — just the basket, okay? The basket's a little... fragile!"

Before Beomgyu could even dig himself out of the rising mess, Yeonjun had snatched the basket out of his hands with terrifying speed. He let out a startled squeak as Yeonjun glanced inside the basket, his heart dropping down to his stomach when he saw his face twisting from confusion to disappointment.

"Beomgyu," Yeonjun's voice was dangerously calm, but there was an undertone of anger creeping in. "Are you serious...? The one time- the one time you get my request right you-"

Yeonjun suddenly cut himself off with a sharp inhale, eyes closing in a dramatic attempt to summon some sort of inner peace and love, calming himself down before he slaps Beomgyu and launching him through the nearest window.

"Okay, okay," Beomgyu said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, his voice growing more strained by the second as he glanced at the basket. "It's not that bad—"

"You broke literally all of the eggs!"

Ohhh, yikes. There it was, the answer that Beomgyu wanted to avoid.

It was, in fact, that bad. The bottom of the basket was filled with shattered eggshells, yolk leaking out like some sort of crime scene! Only two eggs were left inside — as if they were the sole survivors of some crazy massacre that had just happened.

Okay so maybe it was just a little bit bad.

"You know what," Yeonjun stood up, carefully picking up the two eggs that didn't break. "How does eggs and toast sound? Good? Yeah now shut up."

"I didn't even say anything!"

"Shut up."

Beomgyu stood there shocked, watching as Yeonjun went into the kitchen and started to heat up the weird makeshift oven that they had before he huffed out an annoyed breath. He seriously was like an annoying older brother who was just mean for no reason! He didn't even... drop the eggs that hard...

After a few minutes of silence, only the faint sounds of the fire crackling and Yeonjun's soft humming, Beomgyu hesitantly glanced over towards the elder — the words of what the townsfolk had said earlier about him, about them, still lingered in his mind.

He still doesn't know why it's affecting him so much.

"Hey, Yeonjun..." Beomgyu spoke up softly, making sure his tone was careful. "Do you... do you think I'm... odd? Maybe even strange?"

"You are definitely strange."

Okay. Never mind then.

Beomgyu's face fell into a blank stare, staring at the elder in disbelief at what he heard before brushing it off. "Okay, whatever, but at least answer my question!"

Yeonjun paused what he was doing, hearing the seriousness in his tone, so after a split second he gently placed the knife he was using to cut up the bread down (thank god he didn't use it to stab Beomgyu) and turned around so he was facing him.

"I don't think you're strange or odd at all," Yeonjun spoke honestly, staring at him with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Why are you even asking that? I mean like- you're a bit dumb... maybe more than a bit but that's just it."

Beomgyu pouted his lips slightly, those word the exact words he was hoping to hear, maybe he just wanted to hear Taehyun reassure him or even praise him at least once but oh how fate hates him, he doesn't even know where the younger was.

"It's just..." He took a slice of bread, taking a bite out of it, earning a scowl from the elder. "I overheard some townsfolk's talking about how they... they don't like my interest in books and your... tomfoolery of mechanics."

Yeonjun's expression softened upon hearing this, a quiet acceptance in his eyes as if he had long grown accustomed to the harsh judgments of the town. "So they're still talking about us? Seriously, it's been like that ever since... I don't know, forever ago."

After a few minutes of silence, Yeonjun soon sighed. "You're not strange, Gyu," his voice began to soften. "You're just... unique. People hate it when someone stands out, when they're different. But you, my little brother, are so unique that I wouldn't want you any other way."

Hearing those words brought a small smile to Beomgyu's face. He glanced over at Yeonjun and gave his shoulder a light punch, a quiet gesture of thanks for the comforting words.

"Alright," Yeonjun spoke up once everything felt better. "If you have no more worries, then I'll be going now."

"Wait, where are you going?"

Yeonjun hummed as he walked over towards the table, gathering up all of the little mechanists and inventions he had made or that have been piling up over time — sparing the small music box near the corner of the table, it made Beomgyu a bit confused on what he was even doing.

"I'm heading to the next town over," Yeonjun explained as he gathered his things. "It's just an overnight trip, but I'll be gone for two days. Didn't I tell you about this?"

Well, clearly I wouldn't know anything about that, seeing as I just fell into this fairytale a whole day ago. Beomgyu bit his tongue, barely holding back the urge to throw in a snarky comment.

"Uhm, I just needed a little reminder, that's all."

Yeonjun gave him a strange look but didn't press the issue, much to Beomgyu's relief. He was pretty sure that if Yeonjun had asked him another question, he'd come up with some other half baked excuse or say something equally dumb, god curse his motor mouth.

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Yeonjun moved around the house, gathering everything he needed for the trip: his coat, a few of his inventions, a basket filled with a comforting amount of food, and a couple of jugs of water.

"Hey, Gyu," The elder spoke up, glancing over towards Beomgyu who seemed a bit out of it. "While I'm out, do you want anything?"

Beomgyu furrowed his brow, still distracted by the golden letter and a certain boy, barely processing Yeonjun's question. After a few seconds of silence, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "A rose."

"A rose?" He heard Yeonjun repeat, with confusion. "I mean, no issue there, you and your love for roses is admirable, Gyu. I'll get you a rose, I promise."

Beomgyu honestly doesn't know why he chose a rose as a little gift from the elder, it was just the first word that came to his unconscious little mine, but it also wasn't necessarily a bad choice either — for some reason, something about a rose meant a lot to him.

"By the way," Yeonjun continued, snapping Beomgyu out of his thoughts. "Can you help me get Philippe ready? I'm about to leave, but I need you to put his saddle and reins on."

Philippe? Beomgyu tilted his head at the name, why did that seem so familiar...? Where has he heard that name before?

That was something for him to figure out later, but for right now, he needs to help out Yeonjun with whatever the hell he's doing.

Beomgyu nodded his head and walked away from the elder, heading outside and down the stairs where he still felt the awful stares from the annoying townsfolk's all around, ignoring it all as he walked over to the side of the house where there was an open space and a large white horse — nearly giving him damn whiplash.

"Holy shit," He gasped out, taking a step back from the horse. "W-Wait, Soobin, is that you?!"

God, he's already starting to get flashbacks and literal nightmares from how insane Soobin was in the last fairytale! If his best friend turns into a damn horse again, Beomgyu might just lose his mind and cry on the spot. He couldn't deal with another horse situation

But after a few seconds, the horse didn't say anything — it didn't even look like it understood Beomgyu, which made a wave of instant relief wash over him when he realized it was just a regular ugly horse.

Well, that's one worry out of the way!

But if Soobin wasn't the horse... then where was he? Along with Huening Kai, he hasn't seen them at all, are they human or not? God can this fairytale just give him another golden letter with the answers? He's so done with this shit!

I can't stay in this village any longer. Beomgyu bit his lip, awkwardly trying to put the saddle on the horse — something he'd never done before. I have to find Taehyun, I keep telling myself that, so why am I staying in this damn village?

After a few minutes of struggling to put everything on the horse, he soon managed to finish it all up, just in time too since Yeonjun had walked out with everything, prepared to head out of town soon.

"Alright, I made you a list of everything you need to do while I'm gone," Yeonjun said, handing Beomgyu a sheet of paper and adjusting the wooden cart hitched to the horse. "I really do expect you to do all of that, don't go dying on me while I'm gone."

"You're leaving me here with- with chores?!" Beomgyu blurted out, eyes wide with disbelief as he glanced at the list. It seemed to stretch on forever. "What the hell?! It's just two days!"

"And a lot can happen in two days," Yeonjun shot back, not missing a beat. "Now, stop complaining!"

Beomgyu gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to voice every complaint bubbling inside him. He watched Yeonjun effortlessly mount the horse, his expression twisting slightly at how bad the reins were — having to readjust them while throwing a quick side eye towards Beomgyu, making him flash an awkward yet guilty smile.

Oops, maybe he wasn't so successful at putting on the reins after all!

"Alright, I'll be heading out now, you'll be okay?"

"I'll be more than okay with you gone!"

Yeonjun scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully, unable to contain the amused smile twitching on his lips. "Whatever, damn brat, try not to light the house on fire, alright?"

"What the hell, do you think I'm that clumsy??" Beomgyu shot back, his irritation growing by the second.

Yeonjun just gave him a fond smile and with a swift flick of his wrist, he spurred the horse into motion, heading toward the town gate and the open road. Just as he was about to ride off, he turned back and waved, his smile wide and playful.

"Take care of yourself, mon belle!"

Beomgyu stood there in the middle of the road, waving back with a gentle smile, but for some reason his stomach began to stir watching the elder ride away off into the sunset — maybe it was because he was a bit afraid of being alone, or maybe he was just happy he was gone.

But wait — what had Yeonjun just called him? "Mon belle?" What did that even mean? Did he just call Beomgyu a bell? Like, a doorbell?

He scoffed, shaking his head as he turned and headed back inside, eager to avoid any more weird encounters or, worse, running into... ugh... Heeseung.

He brushed off Yeonjun's strange comment, trying to focus on the familiar comfort of his own space as he stepped inside the house —

whoosh!

Just before he could fully close the door, his eyes widened at the sound of a faint wind flying past him caught his attention, his head snapping up as he saw a golden letter in the middle of the room — glowing ever so enchantingly.

Great. Another one.

"I hope this golden letter has the answer to my damn questions," He grumbled, irritated by all the mysteriousness happening in this fairytale. "I'm sick of this damn world already."

He quickly walked over towards the golden letter and carefully picked it up, unfolding it as a thousand curse words swirled in his mind as he read what was written onto the paper.

Could you still love him, if he were a beast?

What?

Beomgyu stood there absolutely confused, rereading the sentence over and over again while trying to form some sort of thought. The question hung in the air like heavy weight as he tried so hard to understand what the hell it was trying to tell him.

The phrasing, it felt so... so strange, so personal yet so distant. Was it a warning? A message? A hint? He just couldn't understand.

With a frustrated breath, he folded the letter up and tossed it away, the question still echoing in his head, unanswered.

Whatever, he's just going to ignore that.

He should get some work done around the house, maybe even finish at least one chore and mark it off of Yeonjun's bizarre long to do list.

Then tomorrow, he's going to find Taehyun.

✧˖*°࿐

He takes back every nice thing he has ever said about Yeonjun.

Best older brother ever? More like the WORST one ever.

That list that Yeonjun had given him the day before, the one filled with a bunch of wack ass chores? Yeah, that had to be some sort of sick joke — because why the hell was he pulling damn carrots from the Earth at nine in the morning?!

Beomgyu grunted out an strained breath, feeling a bead of sweat drip down his chin as he yanked a stubborn carrot out of the ground, his hands aching from the effort it took to even pull it out!

"Why does he think I have all of this damn time?!" He muttered to himself angrily, tugging harder on another carrot that seemed to want to stay in the ground. "I'm not a goddamn farmer! I'm supposed to find Taehyun!"

Yeonjun's damn list of chores had to been a cruel joke or something — a full page of tasks that seemed to multiply the longer he stared at them! The damn mini garden was just one of the many chores on the list, and he absolutely hated it!

Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he struggled to yank carrots from the soil, his hands fighting the weeds that clung stubbornly to the earth. Under his breath, he cursed the devil himself: Choi Yeonjun.

He could honestly just get up and go, leave all the chores behind and adventure off into the sunset to look for his sweetheart, but nope! The kinder side of him wanted to stay behind and at least get a few chores done for the day before he goes and abandons Yeonjun, but he seriously was just close to dropping everything and walking away.

After a few more long, long, minutes of morbid farming, he finally dropped the last bundle of carrots into a basket, swiping the sweat off of his forehead before he glanced down towards his clothes — a frown growing on his lips at the sight of dirt stains all over his pants and sleeves!

Great, now it fucking looks like he got ran over by a truck driven by a damn cow!

Conjuring up all of his inner peace and remembering the happy thoughts (50% of it being Taehyun), Beomgyu shakily took out the paper in his pocket and glanced at what was next on the damn list — finding everything written on it absolutely bizarre.

"Scrub the walls, polish the windows with lemon slices, organize the damn clouds — what the fuck, Yeonjun?!" Beomgyu exclaimed angrily, crumbling up the paper and shoving it back into his pocket.

Alright, maybe it was time for him to—

"Beomgyu! Beomgyu!"

Shit.

Beomgyu's stomach began to tighten in irritation, he didn't even have to turn around to know who's annoying voice that was that just called out for him — but nonetheless, he slowly turned around with a blank expression.

"Beomgyu, my dearest!" Heeseung's voice rang out, a bit too loud for such an early morning and a bit too bright for his already irritated mood. "There you are, I heard your brother was out of town, thought you needed a bit of company!"

"You know, I was really enjoying my peace and quiet." He muttered, casually looking away and sinking to his knees in the dirt to pick at some weeds that were suddenly much more interesting than whatever Heeseung was going on about. "What do you want? Another marriage proposal?"

Heeseung chuckled, as if the joke were amusing. "A marriage proposal, exactly! Beomgyu, you know how much I care for you. You can't possibly be happy doing all... of this —" He gestured to the garden. " — by yourself. I want to make you happy!"

Beomgyu let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh at the words he was hearing right now, even after a harsh rejection like yesterday, this dude is still pressing on? Talk about desperate.

"Listen," He stood up and spun around to face him, crossing his arms, not even trying to hide his irritation. "Didn't I tell you that I'm already married? Screw off!"

Before Heeseung could even reply to what he said, Beomgyu was already walking away past the male and up the stairs, hearing him call out his name as he opened the wooden door—

SLAM!

"What the?—" Beomgyu gasped out, instantly turning around to see Heeseung slamming the door open. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Listen, hear me out!" Heeseung said, ignoring the way Beomgyu literally snapped in anger since he allowed himself inside the house. "You say you're married, but I asked around the village and none of the townsfolk had ever heard of a 'Kang Taehyun' So don't lie to me, beautiful! No need to make me jealous, you've already won my heart!"

"I'm not lying?!"

"Come on, just marry me, nobody is as beautiful as you in the entire town, Beom!" Heeseung gently grabbed his hand, smiling brightly which made him nearly gag. "I'll make you the happiest alive!"

Beomgyu huffed out an annoyed breath, grabbing onto Heeseung's hand which made him light up just for a split second before he harshly pushed him out of the house, making him stutter in confusion as he grunted with a final huff, pushing him outside.

"It's never going to happen, Heeseung," Beomgyu said, irritated that this idiot would dare try come between him and his precious Taehyun. "Now get lost!"

"Wait!—"

SLAM!

Beomgyu exhaled a deep breath, ignoring Heeseung's calls and knocks on the door as he locked it, walking further into the house before throwing his arms up in frustration, stomping to the center of the room.

Why won't he just leave me alone! I've made it clear that I am a loyal man to Taehyun! He thought, staring at the floor.

Just as he tried to calm the chaos brewing in his mind, his brain decided to push his irritation further when he started to think about the golden letter and the words written on it: could you still love him, if he was a beast?

It made no sense, but at the same time, there was a weird gut feeling forming in his stomach from what he had just heard, he knew there was something more to it, but he just couldn't fucking pinpoint what it was.

As Beomgyu tried to call his breathing, a loud, almost frantic cry from outside had cut through the silence. His head snapped up, wondering if it was Heeseung crying after being rejected again, but when he looked out the window, his heart skipped when he saw a horse running back; Yeonjun's horse — Philippe.

What the hell? Beomgyu thought, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw the horse gallop its way over towards the house. Why is he here?

He was confused and unsettled, wasting no time as he rushed towards the door and threw it open, rushing outside as his eyes widened, seeing the horse without Yeonjun on it.

He's so confused, Yeonjun wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow.

A sick feeling twisted in his gut, he knew something was wrong. Without even thinking, he ran over towards the horse, his heart pounding against his chest as he grabbed onto the horses face, trying to calm it down.

"Philippe," He muttered under his breath, panicked as his eyes scanned for any injuries. "Where is he? What happened? Where is Yeonjun?!"

The horse seemed to be waiting, its mane tangled and wet from sweat, as if it were urging Beomgyu to follow. Without another second's thought, he swung himself onto Philippe's back.

"Take me to Yeonjun," he commanded, his voice firm with panic. The horse snorted, then broke into a gallop, running down the path, away from the house.

The world began to blur as the horse thundered down the winding road, the sounds of hooves echoing out in his ear while he felt suffocated from the sharp wind flying by, but all he could feel was the sickening gut feeling building up within him along with his panicked thoughts swirling around.

Why did he come back alone? Something had to happen, something wasn't right.

The further away they went from town, the further down the path they went, it began to grow darker as they entered a large forest — the woods closing in around them as the air turned colder, sending a shiver down his spine.

The sudden change in weather made Beomgyu so confused, the air only becoming more colder and sharper the further they went in the forest, his thoughts running wild until he froze when he saw a snowflake drifting down past him.

"Snow...?" He gasped out, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he looked around and saw a bunch of snowflakes beginning to fall. "But... it's the middle of summer...?"

He barely had any time to process this strange shift in weather before the path ahead had opened into a clearing — his breath getting caught in his throat when he saw the sight before him, his body throbbing as if he had stepped through an invisible force field.

Beomgyu stared in horror at the sight in front of him, a large palace that stood high both majestically and intimidatingly. Towering spires piercing the skies as the stone walls, weathered and cracked by centuries overtime, it had moss and ivy covering majority of it while vines clung to the walls, their roots tangled around the columns and arches.

Underneath the dim winter light, the palace was a horrifying yet beautiful sight to witness, but it made Beomgyu's stomach twist in horror — had Yeonjun really been here?

He held onto the reins harder as he passed by a huge garden, his eyes widening seeing bits of life within the garden — roses.

It wasn't until Philippe had made a full stop towards the grand darkened entrance, his heart dropping down to his stomach when he realized that this was indeed where Yeonjun was last was.

Slowly getting off of the horse, his feet crunched against the fresh snow, he was shaking — whether from the cold or the dread, he couldn't tell at all, but the painstaking gut feeling was unbearable to ignore, like a knife or arrow twisting in his stomach, wait a minute, he knows how that feels haha!

He hesitated for a moment, glancing back at Philippe before he walked up the staircase, heading towards the large wooden doors, feeling his anxiety kicking in as the doors began to creak open by itself, he didn't even touch it at all!

The minute the doors were wide open, revealing an interior that was as dark and cold as outside, he felt a chill in his bones as he stepped into the building — his eyes lighting up in admiration at how beautiful yet eerie the palace was from the inside, only the sounds of his footsteps echoed out in the air, his head turning all over.

"Oh my god- he's so beautiful!"

"Dude, shut the hell up!"

"He can break the curse!"

Beomgyu's head immediately snapped towards behind him, his eyes widening when he heard voices. "Who the hell is there?!"

There was a beat of silence, no reply, only his voice echoing throughout the entire room as he nervously turned away, oh god... he was hearing voices — he's officially going insane.

Just before he could question further, he suddenly heard it — a weak cough from upstairs.

"Yeonjun!" He called out, his voice worried as he looked around and grabbed the nearest light source — a golden candle which was still burning. "Yeonjun hyung!"

He didn't have time to question why the candle was still flickering, its flame steady despite the otherwise cold, still air. Panic surged through him as his feet pounded against the stone floors, his breath coming in quick bursts. He turned a corner, and just as he did, another cough rang out, closer now.

Beomgyu sprinted up the spiral staircase, the heavy wooden door creaking as he pushed it open and entered a dark, narrow tower. The stone walls seemed to close in on him, but he didn't care. He glanced up at the spiral staircase, his eyes darting desperately for any sign of Yeonjun.

Another cough, this time unmistakably from above.

"Yeonjun hyung!" Beomgyu gasped, his legs burning with adrenaline as he raced up the stairs, nearly tripping in his haste. His hand gripped the candle tighter, its golden glow flickering as he reached the top.

He rounded the final corner, and his heart stopped.

A dark, imposing jail cell stood before him, its thick iron bars casting long, menacing shadows across the floor. Behind the bars sat Yeonjun, unmoving at first. Then, as if sensing his presence, Yeonjun's head tilted up, and their eyes locked. The shock in his expression was palpable.

"B-Beom?" Yeonjun's voice was barely a whisper, filled with disbelief. "No... no, what are you doing here? You need to—"

"Hyung!" Beomgyu cried, rushing to the cell and dropping to his knees. He set the candle down hastily, his hands trembling as he slid them through the bars, grasping onto Yeonjun's cold, trembling hands. "You're- you're freezing! It's okay, I'm here to get you out!"

"No! No no no," Yeonjun protested, his voice strained with fear. His hands shook as he gripped Beomgyu's. "No, Gyu, you need to get out— leave me here. You need to leave!"

"Why the hell would I leave you?!"

Beomgyu felt tears brimming in his eyes, his emotions swirling around when he felt how unnaturally cold Yeonjun was, his skin pale and clammy, and the shivers wracking his body made his heart ache so bad. How had he ended up in this place, how did he get trapped in this cruel freezing prison?

"Don't worry, hyung, I'll get you out just— AGH!"

Before Beomgyu could finish his sentence, a powerful force yanked him violently away from the cell, throwing him to the ground with a harsh impact. He gasped, the breath knocked out of him, and his body ached as he lay there, stunned.

"Beomgyu!"

Beomgyu managed to choke out a pained breath, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain, until a low, menacing growl shattered the silence. His eyes snapped open, panic flooding his chest as his gaze shot up just in time to see a massive, terrifying creature looming over him. His heart plummeted with every passing second as he took in the horrifying sight.

The beast towered above him, its dark, matted fur rippling as it moved. Its fangs gleamed like jagged daggers, so sharp Beomgyu was certain they could slice through stone. Its eyes glowed with an eerie, unnatural hue, locking onto him with a predatory hunger. Massive claws, each the size of a human limb, scraped against the stone floor beside his head, the nails digging into the ground with an ominous scrape. The creature leaned down, its hot breath filling the air, and Beomgyu could do nothing but stare up in terror.

Holy fucking shit.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit.

When he said he likes being pinned down, he did NOT mean it like this!

"Beomgyu, oh my god- please don't hurt him!"

He laid there stunned, there was a fucking BEAST ON TOP OF HIM WHAT THE HELL???

A wave of fear washed through him, every instinct screamed at him to run, but he was frozen, paralyzed by fear. The beast staring down at him — as if it was ready to rip his throat open at any given second if he were to make a sudden movement.

It wasn't until something caught his eye.

His heart stuttered in his chest, his breath faltering as he locked eyes with the beast. There was something undeniably familiar about those eyes — beneath the cold, a warmth stirred, a warmth he knew all too well.

That's when a memory flashed through, a memory had struck him in that moment, the words from the golden letter echoed out in his mind as his eyes began to grow in realization.

To save your life a sacrifice has been made.

"Please, just let my brother go!" Yeonjun cried desperately, his voice echoing throughout the room.

The one who gave up all must be saved.

"You're related to this cruel criminal?" The beast snarled, its claws scraping harshly against the stone floor.

Regain what's lost before the final tick of the clock. Start anew, for if love is true, he'll be restored.

No... No it can't be... it can't be.

But if the last petal falls and you fail, he'll be gone forevermore.

"Please, just spare him- I'll stay here forever just- let him go!" Yeonjun's voice cracked, desperate and broken.

"Silence!" The beast bellowed, its voice like thunder, causing Yeonjun to flinch. Then, the creature turned its gaze back to Beomgyu, its eyes burning with intensity. "Now answer me now! You're related to this criminal?"

Beomgyu let out a shaky breath, his eyes shaking as his hands began to feel sweaty, his heart pounding against his chests as the lines began to connect — as everything started to make sense.

"Answer me now!"

Could you still love him, if he were a beast?

His heart shattered with the realization, and with a choked breath, he whispered the name he never thought he'd have to say in this way.

"...T-Taehyun...?"

✧˖*°࿐