Colored With a Kiss (Jikook)

Part 3

Jungkook's POV:

I moved to this city last fall and still haven't managed to make any friends. I only moved here to be close to my Dad. Though he has a new family now and doesn't seem that interested in hanging out with me. When I do go over there, my step brother takes up all the attention by throwing fits. He's 8 ... shouldn't he be over that phase already?! My "step" mother hates me. I'm really questioning my life choices.

The only thing that brings me peace is going to the garden, taking photos, and working on art projects. I first went to the garden last October. It was sprawling and there was this fantastic wooded section where I could wander for hours. Sometimes I never saw another person, though I frequently got the sense of being watched. It wasn't a creepy feeling, just put me on alert.

It was beautiful during the fall with the leaves changing. A few times I thought I could see them change in front of my eyes. But I'm sure it was just because I went there every few days. Then the winter came and it was too cold to spend much time outdoors. It wasn't the nice, snowy kind of cold. It rained a lot with temperatures just above freezing. By the time mid-March rolled around and the weather started to break, I was desperate to go back outside.

I started learning to paint over the winter and wanted to try doing that outdoors with the garden as my inspiration. I'll bet the wildflowers will be amazing. So the first good day, I packed up my paints, a few canvases, and some lunch. I hiked deep into the woods and settled in my usual spot. Not many flowers were blooming yet, but I could see the buds indicating that they would start blooming soon.

I put in my earbuds and listened to some relaxing tunes while sketching out what to paint. After I started painting I got that feeling of being watched again. But when I looked around, I couldn't see anyone. I hope I don't have some crazy stalker.

Jimin's POV:

I was working with my friend, Tae. We didn't have a ton of painting to do yet, so we were taking our time. That's when I saw him.  "Tae! It's him!!!"

Tae had a puzzled look on his face and said, "Him who?"

"That cute human I was telling you about. Over there, look."

He turned in the direction I was looking.

Tae looked the human up and down, "He looks alright, I guess."

I thought, "Is he blind?!"  "Just alright?! Come on Tae, he's gorgeous."

"If you like that muscled type. You know I like my men smaller."

"That's just because you're in love."

Tae scowled at me. "Shhh....I haven't told him yet. You know the woods have "ears"."

"Sorry. Hopefully the fungus network didn't pick that up."

The fungus network was very extensive in the forest. I always forget that any elemental can tap into it if they want. There really are no secrets among us. At least, not for long.

Tae packed up his colors and said, "We're done here. Let's get going."

"I think I'm going to stay a little longer."

"Is that a good idea?"

Hugging my bestie, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Ok, see you back home."

Tae and I shared a burrow. We gnomes have extensive dwellings underground. Our home was modest, but comfortable.

(Their homes look something like Hobbit homes)