"I've seen him, mom. I think he's looking for me and I didn't-I didn't know what to do and I-I had to l-lie. I-I didn't know what to do."

Jungkook was only mildly aware of his mother hugging him to her chest, tracing little circles on his back and whispering to him that everything would be fine. The boy doubted it was true, but at that moment, in his mother's arms, he felt safe.

After ten minutes of desperate crying, his mother led him to the couch, where he stayed by her side until only a couple of sobs were heard. The day had been complete emotional stress, leaving him totally drained and without the strength to resist the sleep that closed his eyes.

When he woke up, at first he didn't know where he was or what time it was. A glance around him showed that he was on the couch, with a thin blanket over his body. The light that filtered through the curtains dyed the room in orange and reddish colours, so it was not yet night.

He slowly got up, rubbing his eyes to brush off the remains of his impromptu nap. He heard someone speaking, although he did not understand what was being said. It seemed to come from the kitchen, so he went there with no rush. When he got there, his mother was at the counter, picking up a couple of mugs were on the wall hook and then pouring the chocolate she had been making. Just as the boy was about to enter, Hana's voice stopped him short, even though it wasn't directed at him.

"Eunji." It was only his mother's name, but the tone was laden with uncertainty and a certain severity. His mother had put the pot back on the stove but made no move to turn around. With a sigh, Hana continued. "I have to train Jungkook. I know it's not what you want, damn, he probably doesn't want to go through this either, but I have to teach him how to protect himself ..."

"You said you would hide his identity." His mother said in an accusatory tone that made him take a few steps back, even if it wasn't with him.

"I know what I said, Eunji," Hana replied in a restrained tone. "And because I want to keep my promise is that I want to teach him to protect himself when he's alone. Let's face it, Lee and his allies have the winning hand I think they've had it for a long time without our knowledge. That they are trying to find Jungkook means they can somehow access the pond."

At that moment, Eunji turned to Hana with an incredulous face. "That's impossible. Only those who will have the connection to your gem can enter."

Hana made a face. "Well, technically, yes, you can enter when you already have your gem synchronized with your soul, but it is for an original process. Look, Jungkook is still safe, relatively. They know that the tree has contacted a child, but they don't know who it is or what they talked about. Most likely they didn't expect the tree to have enough energy to do it. That's why they're doing that shitty quiz to find it. "

Jungkook's mother leaned against the counter while sighing and massaging her temples. 

"Whose idea was it to do that questionnaire? And how have they damaged the tree to this extent?"

"The idea was none other than Kim Yuseok, the guide from District 45."

"District 45? Wait, that's ..."

"Yes. It is the same one Haneul mentioned. Most ironic of all, he intends to do a 'follow-up' to ensure that all the guides are doing his job. And since it was his idea, they will let him take care of it. Collect the data and compare it with that of the other districts. "

"Which means I could ask you for your client files." Eunji completed as she brought the two cups to the table and sat across from Hana.

"You don't have to worry about the file. I'll change the stone Jungkook put on the questionnaire for. No one other than us knows about this, so there's no risk of anyone finding out if they look in the files."

"What about the tree?"

Hana took her time to answer, which meant that the answer was not pleasant at all. Eunji let her taste the chocolate until she felt able to respond. She knew that deep down she blamed herself for not having realized it earlier, even though she had nothing to do with it.

"We have finally found out why the tree has weakened, but really, we should have realized it before. It is so simple. I don't know how they do it, but the result is that people end up losing faith on gems, they end up ... hating gems and what they represent." Hana set the mug on the table, then leaned her elbows on it and clutched her head as she let out a breath of air.

"How can it be possible? People ... People are more and more eager to find their soul mate, no ... It makes little sense."

Hana just raised her face and ran a hand over it before answering. "I make little sense of it either, but I have seen it Eunji. With Mark's help, we look at the roots of the tree inside and, although on the outside its condition is totally normal, inside it is contaminated, it is as if it had tar instead of sap. It is repulsive and vomiting."

"How can he still stand?" Eunji made a pout to show her displeasure at what Hana had said, though her question was more one of disbelief than anything else.

"To tell you the truth, I have no fucking approach to this, but it's a good thing, I mean, it's not good that he has that black thing inside, but as long as he holds on, we can save him. The boys are investigating ways to counteract the pollution of the roots, and others are looking in ancient records to see if they find something related to the vital source of the tree. Hopefully, we can get in contact with the fairies so they can better explain what we have to do. But it is difficult to do so without raising suspicions, and we can't accuse Yuseok, because then they would go after Jungkook. That's why I want to train him, Eunji. "

Eunji just closed her eyes and blew out her nose. She knew it was necessary, almost imperative, for Jungkook to learn these things, but she wanted him to learn them for himself, that he could live his life and learn from his mistakes in due time, but time was what they didn't have.

"I know it is important for my son to learn what you have to teach him, but I can't help worrying about his well-being, just as I can't make such an important decision for him. I know I'm going to sound selfish, but I don't care, he's my son, and I don't want him to have to go through these things yet, it's too early. But I promise I'll talk to him. I'll explain everything we know to him, because he deserves to know, and if after explaining all the consequences he still wants to, then I'll respect your decision."

"I appreciate it, Eunji. I promise I'll take care of him."

"You better, because if something happens to him, I assure you I will not let you live in peace." Hana swallowed. Eunji was a very calm person, but if you touched one of her children, you would have a three-headed dog waiting to devour you.

After this, the two women continued talking about other unimportant topics. Jungkook had long gone to her room when he realized that neither of them was going to continue talking about the subject. After he had blown it off, he felt empty, but in the sense that his mind was clear to think. After gathering and sorting all the information in his mind, he concluded that he felt useless, unable to do anything on his own, frustrated. He did not know why he had been chosen to convey that message, but what he understood is that he was marking it with a target on his back. Although he was not old enough or knowledgeable to do something, he wanted to feel useful. He wanted to change things, but he did not know in which direction. He was afraid of making the wrong decision, but he was even more afraid of getting stuck.

Without realizing it, his hand had grabbed the gem that hung on his chest and was moving it between his fingers. Although the cool night air came through his window and cooled his surroundings, strangely he did not feel cold. In fact, it was warm, like his gem, which emitted a small, almost imperceptible vibration. For a moment, Jungkook thought the gem was trying to comfort him. He gripped her even tighter and rolled onto his side, curling himself into a fetal position, the gem emitting a dim, almost invisible light.

Perhaps he had already decided, even before he was aware of it. Maybe he had already taken it two years ago when he jumped into the pond.

This story belongs to @nometoloko on AO3. I'm just her translator.

Double update. I'm in a great mood, cause one of my other books got 1K reads. Thanks for reading and have a great day.