In the heart of a dense forest, a man admired the surrounding flora. He walked down the forest lane, his one hand carrying a shotgun, as his small inclined eyes explored the fauna for a suitable target.

Another male tailed behind him, with his alert mind to safeguard the man walking in front of him, at any cost. He then spoke with his doe eyes and melodious voice, "Hyung, look there! You've got your perfect target for practice."

The older male wasted no seconds, and looked in the direction of his pointing fingers; his eyes landed on an enchanting pixie bird resting peacefully on the shrub's branch, chirping a melody. Its yellow feathers had a hint of glitter in them making them glisten as the morning sunlight reached the ground, tearing the canopy created by the leaves and branches of the heightened trees.

The Hyung in question pulled his shotgun upwards, holding it towards the little enchanting creature. He couldn't deny the hint of guilt he felt in his heart, but it was soon buried by the satisfaction of hitting such a trifling target perfectly.

His fingers hugged the trigger guard, as he slid his index finger, he glanced at his younger brother standing beside him, whose orbs were filled with anticipation. But before the bullet was fired, a voice interrupted them.

"Your Majesty! I apologise for interrupting your session, but I have bought what you've ordered me to," a royal guard said.

"Show me," the man with the shotgun, said while dropping his gun.

The sentry moved ahead while lowering his neck, to hand the envelope in the King's hands, but a strong hand with tattoos stopped him from doing so.

The younger male, whose features once carried a soft look enhanced by his doe eyes, was now totally gone, turning them into a look of anger and agitation.

"How dare you directly offer the envelope with your filthy hands to His Majesty!" The younger male retorted while snatching away the envelope in his command.

"I am sorry, sir! This won't happen ever again. Please, Your Majesty! Spare me this time!" The royal guard bowed as he pleaded in front of the King.

"I chose you for this task because of your excellent skills at a young age, and you even completed it successfully.... so maybe I can spare you for your first mistake, but," the King paused.

.

.

"Didn't Bulter Ahn announced referring to both of my brothers with honorifics!" the King growled in a thick voice.

Ever since Father left us behind these peasants are losing their discipline. The King thought before he pointed his shotgun at the pleading royal guard.

"Maybe I found my final prey," the King spoke with venom wrapped around his tongue and smiled lewdly.

"Your Majesty! Please spare me! Your Majesty... PLEASE!" The guard's cries echoed in the forest as he went on his knees and pleaded.

"I can spare you," the King whispered in his low husky voice, which made the guard's head rise in hope, "Only if I'm satisfied by the content written in here," with that being said, the King took the letter in one hand while the other was still pointing the gun towards the guard.

King's eyes traced every letter written on the piece of paper, and slowly a smirk made its place on his lips. He handed the paper to his brother and straightened his arm, pointing the shotgun in the guard's direction.

*BANG*

The chirping birds that sat across the branches of the trees abruptly flew away, from the roaring voice of a gunshot. A  traumatized howl was heard along with some whimpers.

"Go ahead you're spared," the king announced.

Upon realising he is still alive and fine, the royal guard ran in the direction he came from, after thanking the King.

"So, how was the screenplay?"

"You've got some acting skills, Hyung! Why don't you join the theatres? You sure scared the fucking shit out of him!" The younger male snickered.

The King glared at the younger male, and he quickly realized his mistake and apologised.

"Sorry hyung, no curse words outside the palace."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

In the library

A man held Y/n's hand harshly and dragged her towards a room, her mind was anxious as droplets of sweat adorned her forehead. She tried to escape from his grip but it all went in vain.

The room's door opened and her gaze landed on the centric table, which had various kinds of dishes. The chicken legs, spaghetti and meatballs, and pizzas with loaded toppings and cheese made Y/n's mouth welled from her drool. She took her steps forward but stopped in her tracks on hearing some muffled voice from behind.

Turning around, she faced the same man, but this time his head was visibly replaced by a chicken's leg.  Squinting her eyes in confusion Y/n rubbed them before glancing at him again.

The chicken-headed man vigorously started shaking her, "Wake up Y/n! You're sleeping in the library while snoring very loudly!"

"WAKE UP!"

Y/n opened her eyes with a gasp only to gasp further when her sleepy gaze met the owner of the voice.

Jung Hoseok. The college's heartthrob. Y/n's current infatuation.

Her bewildered self wiped off the excess drool escaping from her mouth while his eyes followed her actions, and a chuckle escaped from his mouth.

Just how bad my chance with my crush can go wrong. Y/n thought, and looked away from his charming gaze, lowering her head in embarrassment.

"I guess you were researching on your preponed project?" He asked while looking at the sheets spread on the table.

Y/n nodded, and by collecting the remaining ounce of will inside her she spoke, "But the research is going in vain; all the internet has is click-baiting articles claiming about the rumours of a hidden civilisation and the researchers that went missing, but no full proof shreds of evidence, as to how and where they went," Y/n said in a monotonous tone, the wave of embarrassment slowly dissipating away from her body.

"I think I'll just have to visit the sites being assigned to us one by one," she continued.

"All alone?"

"Hum, I don't know where Jihoon is right now and he'll probably decline my request."

"I'll accompany you, if not a civilisation but there are still wild animals in the forest," with a sudden change in the air, Hoseok said in a rather dominant tone, his sharp eyes pierced into hers and made her flustered all around.

Y/n hesitated at the change in his aura and the protectiveness his eyes held, as if he already knew what goes around the woods.

"Let me borrow the tools from Professor Baek, and let's meet at 3 pm," he said while standing up from his seat, "Until then, bye, cutie!"

"Bye," Y/n said while waving her hand at his fading silhouette, "Wait what? Did he just call me cutie!?!"

There was a time when he used to call me a weirdo and never tried complimenting me, but now hearing this. Unbelievable!

Y/n thought it was something quite hard for her to take in, but it didn't fail to increase her hopes to higher levels.

LATER THAT DAY

At the campus exist

Y/n waited near the huge iron gates of their temporary campus. The rusted iron rods signified how old the structure was.

Every year a group of graduating students from different colleges are sent to various locations across the country that are labeled as historical, but not with enough proofs.

It helps the graduating students to get a practical experience about what they'll be doing in future and how they have to work on fields without harming the precious artefacts and evidence of history embedded underneath the ground, through the course of a million years.

Y/n's mind was still in bliss by the previous interaction with her love interest, and the mere thought of being alone with him made her internally squeal in excitement.

Without even Y/n's realising, Hosoek appeared in front of her. He proceeded to lower his head to match Y/n's height, making her startled.

"Who's making you grin from ear to ear?"

"You," she murmured.

"What?"

"I meant, ready for our research trip?"

"Yes, and very excited," Hoseok said with his iconic heart smile which made Y/n's heart skip a beat.

"Then let's go!" Y/n said and started walking forward, leaving him behind to catch up.

As soon as she kept her foot in the forest, a heavy feeling took over her. A shiver ran down her spine. She felt a mix of excitement and trepidation, the towering trees loomed before them, their branches reaching towards the heavens as if guarding the unknown.

The sun was still beaming and the air was filled with the earthy scent of damp liverworts. It mingled with the sweet fragrance of wildflowers that peeked out of the bushes and grass underneath her steps.

Y/n turned around to see Hoseok and saw a concerned facade masking his features.

A soft breeze brushed on her features, making her locks dance along with it in a symphony. Leaves rustled and birds chirped, creating a pleasant melody that echoed inside the forest.

Anxious from the uncanny yet pleasant feeling, she stepped carefully on the mossy path, but just like her tongue her legs slipped in the worst scenario possible.

A strong pair of arms from behind held her by her waist, turning her around, and pulling her towards them.

Y/n gasped at the sudden action and wondered when he came this much closer and got a chance to hold her in his grip within seconds.

Soon, these thoughts were subdued when his intense gaze met her and they found themselves stuck in each other's gazes until Hoseok pulled her closer by pressing her waist into his. Y/n blushed at the closeness between their bodies.

Their faces were just inches away, his dark brown irises dilated and travelled from her eyes to her thin pink tinted lips and again met her gaze as if desiring something. Tilting his head, Hoseok started minimizing the distance between their faces. Y/n gradually closed her eyes, granting him the permission he wanted.

His lips gently brushed on her but the moment was soon over when a howling voice interrupted them.

A deer.

They both flinched themselves apart. Y/n frantically watched every other tree or plant present around them in awkwardness before the deer's voice echoed again.

That son of a hoe!

Y/n cussed in her thoughts, turned around, and scowled before releasing a long breath to calm her irking form.

The deer kept yelling incessantly from afar making her scoff, "Shut up! You son of a crocodile! I'll twist your neck and chop off your tes--"

Before she could complete her grudges against the deer, a hand covered her mouth from behind, stopping her to speak further.

"Calm down Y/n! Why are you so pissed? Let's do what we are here for," Hoseok paused for a moment and turned her back around by holding her shoulders. Their gazes met again.

"Other things can be saved for later," he whispered and a smirk made its place on his lips, "You look adorable while cursing," he further commented with a half smile.

"I-I will take a look at the s-site number three and four, and you can go towards site number one and two, and let's meet here after thirty minutes," Y/n stammered while abruptly changing the topic and waiting for his response.

Hoseok on the other hand, looked like he was having an inner conflict about whether to accept or decline her request. After a few seconds, he hummed and nodded before smiling softly in her direction.

Without speaking anything further, Y/n turned around once again and took her steps forward towards the destination that had been waiting for her for years.

She kept on walking and felt an immediate shift in the atmosphere. The world outside seemed to fade away as her steps moved on their own, trying to locate the destination she wanted to reach.

"Why couldn't I just reach there? I chose three and four because it looked not too far on GPS," she said while zooming the satellite image on her phone's screen.

"Ugh! I should have offered Hoseok to join me instead," she groaned and delved further inside the heart of the forest. The trees grew denser and a hostile feeling settled across her mind as if the very creatures living here didn't anticipate her presence.

She glanced at her phone's screen again, and soon a momentary shiver ran down her whole body. Upon realizing that she walked down in the opposite direction, Y/n panicked.

"What?! What the heck? When did I end up following this path? I am sure I stepped on the left lane when I stopped by at the sign board, but when did I start walking on the right lane?"

She started looking around to better analyse the location and found herself standing on a path paved by withered dry leaves on both sides as if it was frequently used, and yet still left unused.

Her head pierced in a direction when she heard some rustling of bushes. A wave of nervousness washed over her body. Her mind quickly decided to head back, but the mere thought soon got replaced by another one.

"What if I discovered something unusual because this part of the forest looks like it's untouched for research purposes, " she said as her eyes searched for any kind of signboard embedded on the ground or on the tree.

I'll be famous! With some money around my hands and then Kyla Slytherin will be put in her place when my name will be marked down in history.

Y/n remarked in her mind, and a smirk lined her thin lips. She then stomped forward towards the voices, only to be met with a--

✧

PS: Hehe cliffhanger y'all
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Till then,

Your jobless AutHOr !!