Black Swan (Kim Namjoon x reader)

Chapter 4

Namjoon woke up with a headache. He was back in his room in the human world. A glass of water along with a note resided on his bedside table. You're getting too heavy for me to do this every night, it read. He made a mental note to buy Hoseok something nice the next time he sees him. Outside in the kitchen, the frying pan was sizzling with something. Namjoon grabbed a seat at the table as his roommate dropped a plate of food in front of him. Seokjin would consider himself more of a nanny than a roommate, considering the amount of time he has had to clean up Namjoon's mess.

"I'm starving," Namjoon yawned. "How did you know I needed food? Did you see a vision of me fainting at school or something?"

Seokjin scoffed. He wouldn't use his sight to see such useless things. That's why he's in the stock business. But the law of Etherio applied to all magical creatures, even if they're in other worlds. He can't use his magic for selfish gains like becoming a billionaire without paying a high tax to the Royals. Not wanting to get involved in too much politics, Seokjin decided it would be better if he only used his talent in emergencies. Still, he liked to test his luck. "I just have common sense, you pabo. Everyone needs food after a night of drinking. By the way, why do you keep going back there to drink? Don't you hate it there?"

"I hate most things," Namjoon corrected. All places have their own miseries. Etherio had his parents who will never approve of him after he abandoned his destiny, or so they claimed. It had responsibilities that he never wanted but the clubs are wicked so it's tolerable. "I do have a job there after all. And besides, I can't go to a bar here. I'm too young."

"Which baffles me every time. Why would you deliberately choose to live as a high schooler?"

"Haven't you watched Twilight? High school is the best way to blend in."

"Not if you're a weirdo."

Namjoon made a face, "Who says I'm a weirdo?"

"I can see, Namjoon. I saw that you would get bullied even before you stepped into that school. And I warned you about it too but you didn't listen. Why would you continue to wear that hideous wig and fake glasses when all people do is mock you?"

"I would be too handsome otherwise, and that would just make me gain attention that I don't need."

Seokjin scoffed again. Being too handsome was something he knew all too well but he enjoyed the attention given to him by colleagues or random ajummas at the market. They would always give him discounts or straight-up free stuff. It's how he could afford groceries when he first came to this world. "I'm serious."

"Humans are dumb," Namjoon answered. The food before him was getting cold and he wished Hoseok was here to reheat it with his fire. "If we're forced to live in the human world to protect them, I want to do it my way. By ignoring them as much as I can."

"Yes, it is our job to protect them, but this is your life as well. What do you want to do with it?

Namjoon sighed. It was too early for him to dive into one of Seokjin's philosophical conversations. He only ever enjoys them when he's a bit tipsy. "By the way, in your vision," he called out, "have you ever seen a girl?"

"I see a lot of girls in a lot of different places, you have to be more specific than that."

"A girl from my school. Have you ever seen anyone being nice to me?"

Seokjin shook his head, "No, I don't think so. I've only ever seen people teasing you at school. But my magic is limited in the human world. I wouldn't be able to see someone whose power is to deflect magic, for instance."

"Deflecting magic? Aren't they all dead?"

"Well, assuming that the Queen fulfilled her quest to eliminate them all, then yes, they are all dead.

Deflecting magic, Namjoon thought, it's an intriguing notion.

***

You felt him staring at you as you made your way to the lunch table. The hair on your neck raised. After he disappeared yesterday, you still haven't been able to make sense of what happened. The alleyway also disappeared when you checked this morning. Your best guess was that he's an alien and it would serve your interest to not get involved.

Haneul watched as you weirdly positioned yourself closely against a wall. She followed your gaze back to the boy who occupied the diagonal corner. "Did you wrong him?" she asked. "He's been staring at you all day."

Her voice made you jump. In your attempt to make yourself small, you hadn't noticed her placing her food tray in front of you. You sighed out of relief when you saw that it was just her. "No," you answered. "At least I don't think so." You did follow him around yesterday and asked him really strange questions. Still, you didn't think it would warrant such a weird treatment today. "You haven't heard anything about mutated humans, right?"

Haneul narrowed her eyes. "No..."

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Namjoon standing up and approached your table. You pressed further into a wall, hoping it would suck you in as it did to him that day. "We need to talk," he said. Then he turned around and headed for the exit. Haneul gave you a shrug and urged you to follow him before things escalated. You pulled your bag closer to your body, specifically the pepper spray your mother got you for Christmas last year. Whatever Namjoon wanted would not be good.

Once on the rooftop, you thought about how he might push you over the railings. You planted your feet by the door just in case. "So what did you want to talk about?"

He didn't say much. He dug into his pocket just like he did yesterday and held up a card. The Ace of Clubs. You tilted your head as he mumbled a chant. Once again, a spark of light appeared from the card and blasted into the sky above. The color was a vibrant purple instead of warm yellow like yesterday. A gust of wind pushed you back a bit. When everything was over, Namjoon held his breath. He had used most of his magic on this spell, so surely, the spell must have worked. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?" he asked.

"You mean I followed you and you disappeared into thin air?"

"Dammit," he yelled. He failed again. With no other option, he was desperate. "Look, you need to stay away from me."

"You called me out to the school's rooftop just to tell me to stay away from you? Isn't that a little redundant?"

"Shut up," he grumbled. "You have no idea the things you're getting yourself involved in. It's best for you to stay away from me like everyone else at this school." He didn't wait for you to answer. This time, you saw him leaving.