Black Swan (Kim Namjoon x reader)

Chapter 17

Time passed slowly in Etherio in your mind. A month dragged on for a year. The stretch felt longer with nothing for you to do except care for the garden and do housework. Namjoon went back to the human world often to avoid suspicions from the Queen. His prediction was correct.  Once your neighbors filed a missing person report for your family and the police couldn't find anything, life went on as it has before. You were nothing more than a regular schoolgirl who had died. You thought about Haneul and hoped that she at least thought about you once in a while. And while it was a bitter thought, at least you were alive.

For most of the days, it was just you at the cottage. No one from the city ventures this far outside of the walls. Namjoon warned against using your magic for fear that it would attract the wrong crowd so most days, you spend your time learning more about Etherio and magic from the books that Namjoon had in his small library in the basement. The more you read, the more unreal it became. History was the stuff of make-believe and fairy tales. It was a world where monsters and heroes exist. And you never know who the good guys are. In his basement, he also had a small dojo in which he encouraged you to continue practicing defense and offense.

Despite the ongoing circumstances, it was a nice setup. You had food and a place to sleep. It was all you could ask for. You haven't called it home yet, you needed his permission first. At nights when Namjoon didn't have a show, he would portal himself in for dinner and sleep. Rarely any words were exchanged between the two of you. But it was a common understanding that you could rely on him for anything. But tonight, he didn't come back alone or empty-handed.

You sighed out of relief when you saw the familiar faces of the boys. They refrained from visiting because too much collective magic would surely alert the guards. But tonight, Namjoon made an exception. He noticed that your spirit had gone down as the days passed and it was nagging him for some unknown reason. He wanted to see your smile.

"It's been a while Noona," Jungkook exclaimed. He barged into the door and immediately went to the dining table where dinner had been set up.

Seokjin followed after him and slapped his head. "Show some manners, you brat." The young boy kept eating without a care in the world. Hoseok and Namjoon were still outside. They were talking to two other men. One with midnight black hair and the other as pale as the moon. The conversation grew as they headed closer to the house.

"This is Yoongi and Jimin," Namjoon said. "They're friends of ours from the academy."

On cue, the pair nodded a greeting. The black hair one kept his face still while his companion mustered up a small smile. You wondered if they knew about your power and if that's the case, would they be afraid of being near you. Even you sometimes feared the magnitude of your magic.

"We're not afraid of you," the silver-haired boy said. His cheeks puffed as his eyes smiled shut. It knocked you back to reality.

"How did you.."

"Jimin, it's not polite to read people's thoughts," the man beside him said quietly.

Jimin ran a hand through his hair. He looked like a completely different person with his hair falling into a side part. "Sorry," he chuckled. "But she asked a question."

Namjoon cleared his throat, "As you can see, Jimin is a mind reader. And Yoongi here is a mind controller. It's a convenient pairing."

You nodded and allowed the men to enter the cottage. With all six of them, the space suddenly felt like a tight closet. But it was already the most fun you'd had in weeks and you hoped it never ends. "I'm sorry. I wish I had known earlier, I would have cooked more food." In the kitchen, Jungkook had already devoured half of the dinner you prepared while Hoseok and Seokjin tried to stop him with no success.

"No, I should have told you earlier," Namjoon deflected.

"He wanted it to be a surprise for you noona," Jungkook added with a stuffed mouth. Hoseok and Seokjin were begging him at this point.

"Surprise me?"

Namjoon shrugged, pretending he didn't hear the young boy's comment. With a snap of his finger, a banquet appeared on the table ranging from a hotpot, tteokbokki, jjajangmyeon, and everything you've missed about the human world. Seokjin and Hoseok gave up and grabbed the seat on either side of Jungkook. Jimin and Yoongi naturally sat next to each other. Namjoon unconsciously moved a chair for you to sit in, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the other guests. Namjoon glared at them, forbidding them from making any unnecessary comments or teasing.

As dinner went on, conversations bloomed. "Can I ask what's happening in the city?"

They glanced around at each other to see what can be said and what should be kept hidden. "The good news is that the Queen somehow doesn't know what you look like," Jimin answered.

"How is that possible? She kept the Knights around me my whole life."

"The Pawn's powers come directly from the Queen," Yoongi explained. "In the human world, while they're away from the Queen, their magic is limited. My guess is that they weren't able to send her all of the information about you. And she never needed to check in on you because they were there."

"She probably underestimated you," Hoseok suggested. "She doesn't like her subjects knowing there's a more powerful magic user out there than her own."

"What exactly is her power?" The books you've read said nothing about the Queen herself, only that she's considered to be the most powerful being there is.

"She's a top-tier mind controller," Yoongi answered. The conversation made his frown deepen.

"Like yourself?"

He shook his head. In his eyes, you saw hints of something tragic. "My magic is minute compared to my sister.

"Your sister?" You wondered why he would be bringing her up at a time like this, but the puzzle pieces matched up. "Your sister is the Queen."

Yoongi put his chopsticks down. "She wasn't always like this. She used to care about the people of Etherio and wanted to make their lives better. But something about the throne poisoned her mind. And when my mother made her a successor, she turned into someone I no longer recognize."

"I'm sorry," you offered. And while what you said wouldn't heal anything, Yoongi still gave you a small smile in return.