Ping

Similar to the time we first travelled to the Fair Woods, Wonho shifts himself into a giant eagle to fly us there. At that time, I met my father alive and dead. Not only that, I also lost Beomgyu because of the Queen.

Mixed feelings begin to ghost around me before Jimin hugs me from behind. In a meantime, he rests his chin on the right side of my shoulder to remind me that I'm not alone. Turning to look at him, I can see the 'X' marked on the right side of his neck glows unlike before. And ironically, Jimin brought me to see my father because he wanted to break the curse between us, which was cast by my father himself.

"Don't entertain your foolish thoughts, Ping," pleads Jimin with a sigh. "I wasn't what I am." Apparently, he can see what I'm thinking. His voice shows regret. We both surrender upon the silence that waft around the atmosphere. Occasionally, we may look down at the trees to see some of them decorated by tiny glowing fairies. "Ping."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know that the hunters will travel past our hiding place in order to reach the Fair Woods?" His words cue me to look down again. Unlike the beautiful natural illustration that entered our views a while ago, I can see headlights of several jeeps moving on the forest path. "Don't worry, they can't surpass us."

"I know," I say while fishing out my mobile phone from the pocket of my jeans to check the time. As it has been a long time since I used my phone for anything, the wallpapers are still the same. The photos seal the past happy moments between my family members and I. Heaving out a sigh, I avert my gaze towards the bottom left before the screen blacks out again. "Four thirty." I mutter. By the time we reach there, it's going to be five something. "Jiminie-oppa, I wanna sleep."

"Sure," he says while pulling me into his lap. "Just sleep in my lap."

In case I fall asleep too, we both can die together.

***

Third Person POV

Not long after, the three of them have arrived. Standing by the cliff where they left the spider, their expressions are eerie while preparing to face the creature. After about five minutes, the unusual sound of the rustling tree leaves alerts them as it means something is moving swiftly.

Jimin's ears lengthen while Ping lets out her butterfly wings that glow beautifully in blue. As for Wonho, he plans to shift into a giant bird again if things are out of control. His action can bring the couple away from danger.

Using their respective night vision, they can see the creature approaches with a few loud screeches. Trees timber when it passes them. "Here it comes," whispers Wonho to himself. "Ping, get ready to invade its systems."

"Aites, Wonho-oppa." Ping assures when they can feel the ground shakes. The spider is sprinting towards them. Its eyes focus sharply on Ping. "It's looking at me."

"Shall we just kill it now?" asks Jimin as he feels regret for agreeing with Ping's idea and even supporting her. The urge in him wants her to be safe.

"I suggest we stick to the plan," says Wonho firmly. "I will bring you guys up when the creature is 5 metres away from us. Then, you try to connect with its mind." Ping nods while Jimin furrows his eyebrows. His eyes turn lime green as he is extremely concerned about her safety.

Another sonorous screech.

"On my mark," shouts Jimin when he tries to let the others hear him. "Seid (Three)..." Closer. "Dul (Two)..." Closer. "Jigem (Now)!!" In just a few seconds, Wonho turns himself into eagle form while his claws snatch the couple away from land. The spider tries to wave its palp at Ping but fails.

Despite how terrified she is to see how desperate the spider wants to kill her, Ping doesn't shout but focuses. She closes her eyes while trying to imagine herself controlling the creature. Her head burns just like the time when Beomgyu rejects their bond back in her house.

Just as hypothesised, the spider is also fighting against Ping from reaching its mind. During this process, Ping can see blurry visions from many angles, which means a part of its mind is dominated. Meanwhile, the spider scrunches up while it brushes its neck violently with its palp.

"That's it, the spider brain is located at the neck!" Jimin shouts while pointing at the struggling creature. "Keep going, jagi (honey)." As if the Korean word carries power, the spider falls silent when Ping leads out a dry screech in agony. "Omonia, she sounds like a spider."

It takes a few minutes for Ping to shimmer down and open her eyes. When she does so, Jimin can see the creature's eyes glowing in pink. "Stand up." Ping comments as the creature obeys. "Bow." The creature does as she says.

Upon seeing this, Wonho puts the couple back on land while he turns into human form. On the other hand, Jimin's jaw drops when he sees how Ping does her job. Amazement rushes over him as he knows so well how Ping has changed from living as an ordinary human being to accepting her fate as an efret to using her own Faerie abilities to save the Queen.

"Hop on, guys," Ping welcomes with her delightful tone, unlike how she commands the spider. "Wonho, you must be tired. Now, we have another new vehicle to ride on." As if being triggered by the word 'vehicle', the pink on the spider's eyes flickers while a small growl gurgles from its fangs. "Hold on." Ping says while Jimin decides to stick a knife on the spider's butt to prevent himself from falling.

"Don't," dissuades Wonho while resting his larger hand on Jimin's, which is holding a knife. "You may hurt her." The spider jerks again when they try their very best to maintain their balance. It is like playing a cowboy game called "bareback bronc" in which the cowboys would ride on a bucking horse and try to remain seated on the saddle.

When will this end?

Closing her eyes again, Ping touches on the spider's neck while pale pink glows underneath her palm. "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again." Ping never knows her voice can be as clean and calm as the flowing river on the mountain foot.

She wonders what if she sings in front of her colleagues before her life changes. Yet, the past is the past. No one can change it.

Heaving in and out, Ping commands, "Bring us to the entrance of the Queen's den." The spider follows the order like a puppet. Throughout the journey towards the destination, all of them do not say anything as they now know the consequences if Ping is interrupted. 

ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋs ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪs  ᴀs ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴊᴏɪɴᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴄʟᴏsᴇ-ᴜᴘ ʙᴛs ᴅʀᴀᴡɪɴɢ ᴄᴏʟʟᴀʙᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍʏ ᴅʀᴀᴡᴍᴀᴛᴇs ᴏɴ ɪɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ. ᴡɪsʜ ᴍᴇ ʟᴜᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴛʀɪᴘʟᴇ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ 10ᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴀᴜɢᴜsᴛ 😊😊

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ғᴏʀ sᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ💕