EDEN | JAEYONG

Eden

Water rippled and sloshed around Taeyong's feet as he tread through the river. He murmured a prayer into the open air, reciting words that had stuck under the palate of his tongue and melted into his body. Quietly, he let the river sway him, listening to the rustling of trees and rush of the stream. His brows pinched together as he focused, praying that the Divine could hear him - that, maybe, she'd see his heart and let him find what he'd been wishing for.

Taeyong's eyes shot open at the distinct sound of a horn piercing his ears, disrupting the silence. Heart rate quickening in alarm, he twisted his body back around to the woody path he'd come down, as if searching for the source. But the answer couldn't be found near him. The noise was so distant that it could only have come from the heart of the Ranch, and that could only ever mean one thing. Holding the bottom half of his garment in scrunched hands, Taeyong dragged his feet to the river's shore, slipping them into his shoes, soaked and hard, and wetting them. Discomfort ceased to exist as he ran down the woodsy trail, not when it was replaced by branches snapping in his ears and blood thrumming in his veins.

A sinking feeling grew in his stomach, like a log had been tied to his chest and was pulling him down. He'd been caught, he'd been found out, and now he was going to be crucified in front of his Brothers and Sisters by the Father because he'd abandoned his duties and gone to the riverside again. He'd never thought such actions would warrant the blow of the horn, but evidently he'd been foolish to think the Father would overlook his actions another time. A knot wound in his throat as he breached the line of trees at the entrance of the forest and crept back into the Ranch, only to see that the outskirts were deserted. But it wasn't long before he spotted where everyone had gone.

Crowded together, a swarm of people slowly gathering after the horn's calling, were his fellow Brothers and Sisters standing at the centre of the yard around the Father's wooden stage.

Taeyong's feet slowed as he approached upon the sight of not just the Father and his four guards, but Uncle Changmin standing along with him, side by side with their book of scriptures tucked carefully underneath his arm. For a moment, Taeyong's breathing stopped with the thought that he'd damned himself, that they were going to cast him away and let him fend for himself amongst the wicked demons that lived beyond the Hedge. But he was pulled back into reality by a tug of he cloth on his legs, and he looked down to see Jisung peering up at him with a frown. Careful of his own expression, he thinned his lips and scooped him up into his arms, letting Jisung grasp at his shirt, small hands shaking in silent terror.

"Taeyong... I'm scared."

Taeyong took time to allow his words to settle in, heart beginning to pound louder in his ears. He sought for lost words, cautious not to set Jisung off further. But the look on Jisung's face paralysed him. He'd never seen such an expression on Jisung's face; his skin a ghastly white and bright eyes now dulled, wide, and blinking. There was a tremble to his lips as if he wanted to cry and Taeyong's presence was barely enough to hold him back.

"What's wrong?" Taeyong asked in a hushed whisper, acutely aware of the growing congregation and taking tentative steps towards his own impending doom.

"A-An..." Jisung's voice shook. "An Outsider."

Taeyong stilled in his tracks.

"...An Outsider?"

Without a word, Jisung pointed a figure to the centre of the Ranch, and Taeyong's head took a sharp turn. Forgoing an answer, Taeyong walked towards the crowd, pace picking up speed until he was pushing through the crowd, uncaring of the sin of mistreating his Brothers and Sisters as he headed towards the top of the line. Jisung's grip on his clothes tightened, but Taeyong paid it no mind. And then, front and centre of the crowd, his feet came to a halt. Beyond him was the Father, his four guards behind him, and uncle Changmin quiet by his side. But Taeyong was looking at none of the people he'd come to know over the years. Instead, his stare was pinned on the stranger standing right behind the Father, tufts of brown hair peeking above but face hidden behind both their leaders.