A lot of information in here lmao! I hope you enjoy 🥺

His POV

I sit by the bed where Y/N currently rests in the young doctor's guest bedroom after the thorough examination done on her, his unexpected discovery along with what Jin learned thanks to his earlier phone calls all weighing on my mind.

Our trajectory quickly went from his clinic to his vacation house after he got Jin's urgent call about us needing his services without any acceptable delay, and he most definitely was expecting something much worse than what he got when we came knocking at the door, because when he brought us to his infirmary to have a look at her, it was to find surgical instruments on standby with a lot of clean towels.

As expected, her passing out was mainly due to exhaustion, her body showing signs of many nights spent awake, but the doctor also said that her insomnia was without a doubt caused by her high level of stress, something that her kind is not meant to go through to such an extent.

Her kind.

The discovery that Y/N is not human but in fact a fairy was a shock, because her working at the coffee shop could only mean that she was already someone's, something that made my blood boil, but then it went cold just as fast when Jin's words were spoken next.

"Y/N is not registered anywhere, not as a human and not as a fairy. The phone number she used for her job isn't even under her own name, it's registered under a shady dealer who offers all sorts of services for thugs and fairies on the run, illegal immigrants, you get the idea, and for a hefty price too. I tried to get the team to dig deeper into where she could be from but they didn't get anything. You know what that means".

His explanation made me punch a hole through the wall and the house cleared of any souls pretty fast after that, my person and Y/N the only ones left inside, which could only be a result of Jin's wise thinking.

I would be fucking stupid to not know what that means.

Y/N was probably part of a breeding system, either to be used for pregnancy or in the process of getting sold to the auction that would then send her off to the highest bidder.

It's a big illegal market that the authorities are working very hard to bring to an end, but they might as well wish for world peace, that kind of thing doesn't die, not when there's so much money to be made.

That was a guess anyway, but when Namjoon called after hearing the news and suggested that I have a look at her armpits to see if there's a code tattooed on her skin, the armpit an ideal placement because it doesn't ruin the rest of the body's 'aesthetic', when that revealed a series of numbers that could only mean that she was part of a gigantic organization, the golden letters a symbol of richness, I fucking lost it.

Will I have to hire people to repair the mess I caused? Yes, yes I will, but that's not the issue, that's the last of my fucking concerns right now.

If it's true that Y/N was kept in such an organization, how did she make it out in the first place? One would think that they'd have found her by now, she would be back within their grip within a day or two at most, that's how much resources their money can buy, but I've been visiting her coffee shop for weeks now, months.

Is it that they already know where she is? Could they have been keeping an eye on her all this time? And if so, why didn't they do anything? Or did they struggle finding the right time to act because they are aware that she caught my attention?

If that's true, then my being in her life is a good thing, but I still have so many questions, the first one concerning how addictive her existence is to my own.

I did not miss the widening eyes Jin made when the doctor told us that she was in fact a fairy, a fairy with a very poor health, and I can make links, I know enough to make links and yet, it sounds unreal no matter which angle I use to try to analyze this, it makes no fucking sense to me.

She's a fairy, I am human, two races that don't mix together. Mates can only be fairies, never humans so that should close the matter, there is no way I could be her mate, and yet...

She made me fall for her without even trying, her soul one that calls to me, one that pulls me into her universe with a simple smile. Her eyes landed on me once and I was already eternally doomed to worship her, so what does that say about us?

If we're not mates, then what is this? Because there's no way I could love someone the same way ever again.

It's her or it's no one at all, I'm not even willing to entertain the thought of a plan B. She is my only plan, my ground, my air, my gravity and my sanity, there is no losing her when she is so quickly becoming vital to my well-being.

So mates? That would explain everything, and something tells me that Jin is thinking the same, because he strictly refused touching her in front of me when he came back earlier, as if doing so would bring forth his doom.

And that brings me to now, alone once more and in need of answers with an overthinking brain about to overheat.

"Yoongi, is there not even a tiny little chance that a human can be a fairy's mate?" I ask as soon as the man picks up the phone, no time for pleasantries such as-

'Yes, hello to you too, Taehyung'.

Yeah, that.

"So? Is it possible?" I ask again, and Yoongi sighs before humming deeply from the other side of the line.

'In theory? No, it's not possible, but if I'm being honest, information found online is shit and that's pretty much all we've got to answer this question. I wouldn't put it above stupid laws to try and hide such a thing, because what if humans begin going through every fairies they can find to see if they're mated to one? That sounds like a huge mess to keep under control, so they simply go with this whole thing being impossible and everyone just rolls along with it'.

"So it's not completely impossible that I could be Y/N's mate" I mumble more to myself, but Yoongi hears me anyway and his only reaction is to make a soft sound, like he is not shocked at all by my words.

'Jin seems to believe this to be 100% accurate so I'll be honest with you once more, Taehyung, I think that's the only explanation to your current behaviour. The Taehyung I know does not fall in love, he does not care about a stranger and he most certainly does not keep drinking cheap coffee once a week just to gaze at a young girl he doesn't know. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just saying that you being her mate would explain a lot of things. How is she? Has she woken up yet?'.

I relax on my seat and shake my head, eyes falling on her form to find her chest rising up and down slowly, she probably won't wake up until her body has recovered enough from those sleepless nights.

"She's still sleeping and I don't expect her to wake up before tomorrow morning, it's already getting late and she's finally sleeping soundly so there's no way her body is allowing her to wake up this soon. Did you manage to find out where she was staying?".

'That's actually what I wanted to tell you about when you suddenly called. After searching through the city's cameras, we managed to find out where she lives, but that's where things get concerning. For the past week, the videos show her continually looking over her shoulder and taking different paths from the previous day, as if she's trying to confuse someone by avoiding a routine to take place. We tried to find out who could be following her, but they're no newbies at this, they blend in with the crowd so there's no way to know if it's just her being paranoid or not'.

There's a moment of silence where I can hear Yoongi looking through some documents, and he sighs.

'I have to say, Taehyung, her home was no home at all. What she was renting was a one tiny room from a rundown dorm settled downtown. They accept just about anyone there and they couldn't care any less about their residents' security, her neighbours almost all went to prison at least four times for different crimes but two of them make me believe in luck, because there's no way they didn't know about her being alone in that room'.

I tense up and sit up straight at his words. What the fuck does that mean?

'They went to prison for raping young women, Taehyung, multiple times. Them living there was only because they couldn't find a home anywhere else. She was sleeping on her own while surrounded by such people'.

I hold my head with both hands, the headache that's been teasing my temples since earlier now taking off like an asshole, as if it was waiting for that exact revelation to cause the most damage to my skull.

Fucking hell.

"Do you think- they didn't touch her, did they?".

'Not that we know of. There are no cameras inside the building so we couldn't get anything, but she seemed to relax whenever she reached the front door so my belief is that she never had any bad experiences in there, but who knows how much longer this would've lasted for'.

In other words, she's not going back there, there's no fucking way I'm allowing this.

"Yoongi?".

'Hm?'.

"Prepare the needed documents to adopt a fairy and please furnish my unused room at home to make it into a bedroom for her. Ask Jin to help you, he's been talking to her for weeks now, I'm sure he can manage something to make her feel comfortable".

Yoongi chuckles and hums gently, a sound that soothes my overwhelmed mind.

'Jin's already on it, he left earlier with Namjoon to take the room's measurements so they're probably shopping as we speak. Learning that her past might be similar to his own is putting him in a weird headspace, I think doing this for her is helping him process everything in a way but I'll empty the schedule for the next few days so take it easy for a while, Taehyung. Stay with her and make sure she recovers well, waking up in an unknown space will bring its load of shock for her and you're going to be the only familiarity she knows'.

I nod my head slowly, that does sound like it's for the best...

"Alright, thank you, Yoongi. Take care of Jin for me, and do keep the smart brain away from the company matters if you can, I don't want any of you working at least for tomorrow" I state and Yoongi huffs before agreeing with my decision.

'Sure, tomorrow works for me but I'm not taking more than that, there's a lot to take care of and getting behind in my tasks would be a nightmare. Namjoon won't accept more than a day either but Jin... well I'm expecting him to stick around with you and Y/N during your time off so just go easy on him. He did mention a few times a while ago that she felt like a little sister so allow him to stay near, he won't get in the way'.

"You speak as if I don't know the fairy by heart already. I have an idea of the memories he's getting back with all this, he might be a pain in the ass sometimes but you know how much I care about him, of course I'll go easy on him. I'm sure Y/N will feel better about having Jin near too. Just- tell him to take it easy tomorrow, he should spend some quality time with Namjoon and do something fun together" I mumble and Yoongi makes a soft noise.

'I will. You rest too, Taehyung, don't stay up all night and sleep while you can. We had security take place around the building so no one's stepping foot in there without your permission and someone will drive you back when you're ready to head home, other than that, stay there for as long as you need, Christopher gave you permission and free access to everything inside the house' he informs me and I nod, I guess the man finally learned his lesson.

He's lucky enough as it is to still have his head on his shoulders, the betrayal he performed years ago nearly costing me a dear friend had he not reacted promptly upon realizing what it is that he was doing.

In that sense, it was only fair when I made him swear loyalty to me only from then on, and I especially enjoyed the part where he gave me full control of his life in exchange for my protection.

It's only because his skills are indisputable and terribly needed that I offered him the protection he longed for in exchange for this ownership, and our last conversation was simply me reminding him of the deal we made when he started having doubts about this whole thing, which did the trick plenty enough.

Him stepping out of line is him asking for his entire family to be wiped out of existence and he's well aware of that so he won't make such a ridiculous mistake a second time. I like to believe that he's learned from the past by now and I'm sure he's realized that he actually gains a lot from staying on my good side.

Christopher Bang, head of the little Stray Kids family.

He certainly did not know what he was getting into when he started trading drugs for some extra money four years ago, entering the dark world of illegal nonsense was definitely not his goal and his family in turn got more than they bargained for, so in a way, I understand why he did what he did.

He was just trying to protect his family from danger, but poisoning Jin after being promised a stupid deal by a worthless mob was not the way to go at it.

As they say, you learn through your mistakes. I felt generous with him, so long as he respects his part of the deal.

After ending the call with Yoongi, I settle my phone on the table by my seat before bringing my gaze back to her, and I sigh for many long seconds. How am I going to explain this whole thing to her?

First of all, is she even aware of the possibility that I might be her mate? Does she feel anything when I'm near her? Am I on her mind the same way she's on mine? Will this all sound crazy to her?

Not only that, but how much does she know about her own kind?

Because I remember when I first brought Jin home with me from the auction house all those years ago, the little fairy that he was absolutely trembling in fear because he had no idea what kind of life was awaiting him after being promised hell ever since his birth.

Any questions I would ask him to help him settle were met with blank stares, he knew nothing and I still remember the shock on his face when I told him that he could shift to his human form anytime he wanted if that was his desire. He didn't even know that was possible.

But clearly, Y/N knows more than Jin did as it so happens that she made use of her human form much more than she did her fairy form, which is what affected her health so much.

She knew that if she was caught being a fairy on her own, she would be taken against her wish, her survival depended on her ability to play pretend and she did it so well that she managed to fool everyone around her, including Jin and I.

So how much does she know? Is her knowledge entirely focused on ways to survive? Was she taught those things by someone when she ran away from the organization that kept her prisoner or are they actually taught things in there before being sold to whoever has the most money?

I shake my head at the lack of answers that once more threatens my patience and lean back in my seat to rest my head against the backrest, eyes closing when the pounding of my brain doubles in strength.

"Fucking headache... a nap wouldn't be too much right now, I'll just... this chair will have to do".

Your POV

What wakes me up is the smell of coffee, the scent one so strong that it fills my lungs with one single inhale and instantly, I sit up with a gasp, my shift!

I'm expecting a sight of the kitchen upon sitting up, which is where I woke up when I lost consciousness yesterday, but instead, I'm met with a warm blue wall in front of which Taehyung is sat in silence, a coffee cup to his lips and his eyes trained on me.

The both of us pause in awkwardness as I try to assess what the heck is going on, this situation not one that freaks me out, it's more... disconcerting.

I was at the coffee shop, but this is obviously not the coffee shop and if I take one good look at the window to my right, I can clearly see that the sun is higher than the lowering one that accompanied me before Jin and Taehyung's visit, so did I actually sleep through an entire night before waking up?

I do feel pretty rested for once, I was starting to forget what it feels like to wake up without feeling like death's scythe is resting against my shoulder before I even open my eyes.

"... good morning, Y/N" Taehyung speaks up first, his voice deep and calm, its texture a little on the rough side, though the coffee under his lips appears to be working hard to fix that.

"Good morning... Taehyung" I reply quietly, the feeling of his name on my tongue causing me to turn a little bashful before I let my gaze wander around me once more to try and figure out where I am, is this his home?

It's... not quite what I had imagined, it doesn't really fit the image I had made myself of him. This looks too... simple? Too bright. Maybe it's just me being judgemental right now, am I being judgemental? I hope not.

"I'm sure you have many questions but I'll start by saying that this is my doctor's vacation house, which is where I brought you yesterday after you suddenly passed out at work. He had a look at your state and prescribed a lot of rest, which goes without saying, and he also said that you should spend more time in your fairy form to replenish your magic. You're free to do so right now if you want, the clothes you're wearing are made for fairies" he speaks up again to inform me of the current situation and I nod my head without thinking much of it, until it finally sinks in, and then I freeze.

My body tenses up and I gulp thickly before meeting his gaze with hesitation, my heart racing nervously in my chest because... can I really allow this man to know about my true identity? When I barely know him?

"F-fairy? You must have been mistaken, Taehyung, I'm not... I'm a very normal human" I try to counter his statement without sounding weird about it but Taehyung simply sighs and swirls the content of his cup with a spoon before drinking some of the liquid, after which he sets it down on the table by his side.

"You don't have to be afraid, Y/N, you don't risk anything with me. You wouldn't be here right now if my goal was to sell you out so you can relax" he assures me while crossing one leg over the other, his detached behaviour easing me into a calmer state, he doesn't seem like he's lying, I don't feel that Taehyung is the kind to lie, not to me.

Allowing myself to trust him is a big thing, and yet it comes more easily than one would expect when I allow myself to shift back to my true form in front of his eyes, the clothes indeed shrinking along with me so it still fits my smaller body.

Taehyung blinks for a few seconds as he takes in the way I need to climb the thick and fluffy comforter just to get to see him again, using my wings not something that even crosses my mind at the moment, and when I look up at him with a flushed face because it's really harder than I thought it would be with how soft the material is, it's to find him biting on the inside of his cheek to fight a grin that I still see anyway.

"Don't laugh- this blanket is- working against me" I huff out as I finally make it to the top of the mountain, body then plopping down without a sound to take a moment and breathe, I'm really not used to this body anymore and the strength difference astonishes me every single time.

Taehyung clears his throat to recover his poker face and hums. "I could see that. It's a big blanket, that looked... difficult".

Oh he's mocking me.

"You wouldn't look smug about it if you were in my place, Taehyung, fairy bodies are useless when it comes to physical work" I mumble and he hums again with a nod of the head.

"Yeah, figured so, that's why you have wings though".

I look over my shoulder to find mine fluttering softly in greeting, long time no see! they would say if they could. I blush when I realize that he's right, I could have used them instead of humiliating myself with this climb, this is a terrible first fairy impression I'm making here!

"I-I'm not stupid, I knew that" I utter softly and the man closes his eyes with a deep inhale before glancing at me again, and then he giggles before covering his mouth with a hand while I gape at him, he did not-

"The disrespect I am suffering right now" I mumble unhappily before crossing my arms over my chest, eyes turning the other way because I can't believe he's laughing in my face.

He didn't talk to me for months, instead leaving all the chatting to Jin while he'd stay in his corner, then suddenly, he comes to the kitchen to tell me his name before leaving just as fast and now he dares laugh at me? Why do I feel like there are a few missing steps in there?

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I'm just- I thought of something funny, that's all" Taehyung is quick to reassure me but I huff and decide to keep my gaze fixated on the window, that's much better and less humiliating.

Grass and trees are meant to be comforting, they are safe to look at.

"Are you hungry?" the man suddenly asks after a few seconds of silence, voice edging into a coo as he stares at me expectantly, and when I don't answer, he tries to up his game. "I found croissants in the kitchen earlier, the buttery kind, they looked freshly made too".

I swallow a sudden flow of saliva at the revelation, and when my wings begin flapping behind me to take me off the bed without my permission, I frown and purse my lips at his creased eyes before heading for the door first, croissants seem like a good way to apologize for this time.

Opening the door is sadly no fair game when I reach it, body struggling as I try to turn the round doorknob with my arms - the kind of doorknob that shouldn't exist anymore as they are practically anti-fairies - and when I manage to twist it open before Taehyung can take over, I gasp in surprise.

I glance at him proudly when the door opens with a wince, but when all he shows me is an endeared smile and a coo on the tip of his tongue, my pride melts into embarrassment and I hurry down the hall to get away from him, powdery glitters following behind me and disappearing into thin air as I take in the large space with curious eyes.

So this placed is owned by his doctor, uh? The man must be rich, this place is gigantic and it looks fancy in its simpleness, a cozy look that indeed would make it great for vacations.

But one thing catches my attention in particular.

"Why is no one else here?" I ask after quickly flying through the kitchen and dining room to try and find another living soul, a short mission that concludes with a negative result.

"The doc left with his family after making sure that you'd be fine, he's letting us stay here for as long as needed before we head back home. As for Jin, he's at home right now, taking a day off for once" Taehyung informs me as he follows behind slowly, his gaze following me around as I head to some of the pictures on the walls to see handsome men smiling together.

"That was nice of him. They look like good people" I let out softly and he shrugs, disinterest flashing over his face when I look behind me to stare at him. "I'll make you a glass of water, he should have some fairy dishes around here".

His reaction reminds me of Jin's warning on that particular day and I hum to myself, so that's what he meant. Not really friendly in general, I guess he chooses his people well before opening up to them.

But then... what about me? Why does he care?

I join him in the kitchen and then slowly land on the counter, the cold surface under my naked feet a bit uncomfortable, which I fix by sitting on the clean towel folded nearby.

I pull my knees to my chest before wrapping my arms around them and then stare at Taehyung as he searches around the cupboards and drawers to find things made for my size, which he seems sure to be able to find until he realizes that there's none.

"What the fuck? Doesn't he have fairies? He should have fairy dishes around somewhere" he mumbles under his breath as he resumes searching into the places he already had a look at.

"Maybe they all eat in their human form?" I offer when he once more comes out of his hunt empty-handed, and while he's forced to agree that I might be right, it still doesn't please him.

"You can't go around shifting uselessly in your state, you need to recover first. We'll just... use the shot glasses" Taehyung decides before taking a transparent one and I let out a small huffed laugh in amusement.

Water in a shot glass, that's going to be a first but he's right, the size should work well even if it'll still be a bit too big for me.

I observe as the tall man flits around the kitchen to get me cold water, and when he settles the glass in front of me, we're both quiet as we take in the size difference, which isn't really going in my favor.

"... you're small for a fairy. Jin would've been fine with it but you... hell, it's half your size" he comments after a while, his voice in disbelief and I frown lightly as I sit back down on the towel, arms hugging myself tightly because... I know.

I tend to forget about that particularity when I'm human because I'm not the smallest among them, but when I'm a fairy, put me around other fairies and it's all you can see. I stopped growing one year sooner than everyone else and needless to say it has become a complex for me.

I sigh and begin playing with the towel's loose thread in front of me to keep myself busy with something, my mind registering that Jin's a fairy too, that's... reassuring, somehow.

"Yeah... I'm smaller than your average fairy. Apparently, that made me perfect for their exotic fairy auction, could've gotten them quite the amount of money if I hadn't run away first".

Taehyung stops moving, he stops breathing, his heart pauses and his blood slows down in his veins.

He knew that, he expected such an outcome really, but to hear it from my mouth, to hear me say those words with such detachment, Taehyung would burn the world down at this very instant if he had the means to.

"Exotic fairy auction?" he repeats with a cold voice, and I shrug before resting my chin on my knees.

"You're rich, aren't you? The girls said that you're at the head of Gold Label, you must have received offers to go to such auctions in the past, ones that only important people can attend. That was one of those auctions, but I skipped it, I hid in the trash when I could and then fled when they threw the bag outside".

"I am familiar with the concept, that's how I adopted Jin when I was young, though mine was a regular auction, the kind that rich kids attend to choose their first fairy. Such a sick concept now that I can actually think with all my head" he spits out the end with disdain and I look up at him through my lashes to find him already staring at me.

"Which organization had you, Y/N? Where did you grow up before being taken for the auction?".

His question makes me tilt my head a little in confusion. "They didn't take me anywhere, Taehyung. I was born and raised for the auction, they had planned my entire existence from my first breath into this world. I grew up in the cage that would have ended up in someone's living room".

Taehyung's eyes widen in shock, lips parting like he cannot believe what I just said, and then he's a swearing machine with a fire fueling his engine as he darts past me with a "Those motherfucking bastards" leaving his mouth until he disappears behind a closed door.

Now alone in the large kitchen, I stare at the door for a minute longer before turning my gaze to the glass of water where I can see my distorted reflection, his reaction leaving me feeling... weird.

Was that not the norm?

The sound of something crashing loudly against a wall makes me startle and I try to make myself smaller on the counter as Taehyung very audibly releases his anger on the house, reality hitting him much harder than anything else ever could.

Because the truth of my revelation is much, much darker than the vision of it I currently have and Taehyung isn't sure if he should ever share it with me.