hold me 𐦍 yeonbin

040 ᯓᡣ𐭩

Yeonjun is still cold when Siyeon pulls into the driveway. He’s asleep, or close to sleep, when Soobin opens his hands to find him curled into a ball. Yeonjun turns over, his colorless eyes glazed over and blinking slowly.

Soobin hasn’t cried since they got in the van. He doesn’t want to make Yeonjun feel worse, even though Yeonjun’s expression displaying the void in his miniaturized heart brings Soobin close to tears.

“Yeonjun, are you awake? We’re ho—” Soobin catches himself. This is not home for either of them. If he starts thinking like that, he might not be able to leave. “Here,” Soobin finishes.

Yeonjun pushes himself into a sitting position and presses his hand to his temple, wincing.

“Where is here?” he asks.

“Siyeon’s house.”

Yeonjun looks worried, then relieved. “The well is loud.”

Yeonjun mentioned a well when they pulled up to her front door the first time. Soobin never found the well. He looks to Siyeon for explanation.

“On the other side of the bridge,” she says.

The bridge that is going to take Yeonjun back home. He thought Siyeon hadn’t started on the bridge until Yeonjun explained his situation. Of course, as a fortune teller, she would have known already. 

Unlike their original plan, Yeonjun does not have to go through the bridge and return with a warlord or another pixie or any kind of creature strong enough to raze a building to find his wings again. He has his wings. He can go home. Despite Soobin’s feelings, Yeonjun’s home is not on this earth.

Bora hops out first and rounds to van, opening Soobin’s door for him and unbuckling his seatbelt to let him hold Yeonjun in both hands as he slides out.

The house is already warmed from the crackling fireplace when they step inside. Yeonjun pushes Soobin’s fingers apart and peers over his hand as Soobin sits in front of the fireplace.

“Are you warm enough?” Soobin asks.

Yeonjun nods.

“Do you want me to put you down?”

“Yes.”

Disappointed, Soobin lowers Yeonjun to the floor. As expected, he struggles to stand on the carpet. Soobin positions his hand behind Yeonjun right as he falls and pushes him back up.

“Will you be okay if I go downstairs to finish the bridge?” Siyeon asks. “It’ll be done soon. I want to make sure it’s stable.”

“You can go,” Yeonjun says. Despite his size, his voice projects across the room effortlessly. It’s softer, but it’s still Yeonjun.

“We don’t need a warlock around all the time. Don’t get too confident,” Bora says as she sits beside Soobin.

“Actually, Bora, will you come with me? I need some help.”

Siyeon looks worried. She has the same expression Soobin’s mother had when she told him his first dog had died. Bora looks to Soobin, just as clueless as he is, then she pats Soobin’s knee and stands up.

“I thought humans couldn’t go down there,” Soobin says.

“You better still be small when I come back,” Bora says, ignoring him. “I have to get a picture of you next to the fish.” It’s a playful threat, but Soobin can hear her voice waver. She’s trying hard to hold herself together. A sad pixie is contagious.

“Don’t listen to her,” Siyeon says. “You don’t have to stay like this.” She pulls Bora to the stairs. “But I do want to see that picture at some point.”