The Silence of the Sea || Taekook

Chapter 5: His Looks and His Charm

Welcome to the next chapter, dear readers! I'll be adding a section to the beginning of this story right after the "Summary/Trailer" section called "Siren Language and Beliefs" so that you can check it whenever you need to, but for now, here is some of what you'll need to know to understand some of what is said in this chapter:

Bulan: the goddess of the moon

Voda: the goddess of the sea

Ilanga: the goddess of the sun

Darat Sol: the god of dry land

Vodanizingane: sirens (plural)

Vodanizinga: siren (singular)

_ _ _ _ _

Jungkook meets a mysterious stranger.

But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,

- Emily Dickinson, 'By the Sea'

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Any sharp object in the house had found itself trapped under lock and key per Jin's orders. He was a ruthless king, unbending and unrelenting in his quest to make sure his brother was dehumanized, going so far as to refuse access to writing utensils unless someone could sit beside him as he worked. And ever the faithful subjects, Namjoon and Jimin made sure to take part in the ritual of keeping Jungkook as far away from anything that could hurt him as possible, even though he had never considered using a pen as a weapon against anyone, especially not himself. And yet, funnily enough, Jungkook found that it was relatively easy to grow accustomed to an ever present figure looming just over his shoulder, his only reprieve that of his bedroom (where a lock had been placed on the window even though there was no way he could die throwing himself from the second floor). Was all of this unnecessary? Of course. Was it borderline ridiculous? Most definitely. But Jin had never been one to do things halfway, so if he was going to make sure his brother never hurt himself again, he was going to do it as dramatically as possible.

Now, make no mistake: Jungkook was allowed outside. He was allowed to do anything he wanted, really, except touch the ocean. He could even collect seashells from the rocky shore, which he found was quite a time-consuming activity and therefore one to make a near daily habit, but not unlike a child, he could never do these things alone. Jimin was always there, holding the bucket or pointing out conkles that Jungkook had missed, a poorly hidden lacing of boredom present in his bright eyes. Their jaunts outside never lasted long, though, for soon enough, other people made their way to the coast to find their own fun, and Jungkook tapped Jimin's shoulder and they trekked back home. Sometimes, Jimin resisted, signing about how they could stay, that just because they weren't alone didn't mean they couldn't have fun, but Jungkook always won that argument because he never stayed put long enough for Jimin to finish what he was saying. During high tide, they'd sit together on the porch swing and watch the sea breach against his home, trying its hardest to destroy the house like it destroyed the shore. For weeks, Jungkook lived under constant surveillance and Jimin lived under constant boredom whenever Jin and Namjoon were at work. Jungkook made the mistake of asking if he was paid to do this - to babysit his friend - but Jimin had given him the most hurt expression he'd ever seen and shook his head like Jungkook had insulted him. Which maybe he had - couldn't a guy just want to spend time with his broken best friend without expecting monetary benefit?