Never Alone • a BTS fantasy ff

Chapter 22 • The Soul-center

A shiver ran down Eunha's spine as her wide eyes scanned her surroundings.
It had taken the group of now eight the rest of the day to arrive at the soul-center, or actually their last point of transport to the soul-center. Apparently the important building could be found in a cave surrounded by an enormous lake. They had to take a boat to get to the center and when saying boat, it was more of a big canoe really.

The small yet long thing was made of an old looking wood that curled up in a slightly higher point at the front. The outside was painted a pine green, though the original material could be seen in some places where the paint had come off,  while the sturdy benches were made an inky black colour.

They had to sit in that unstable looking thing with eight people and go out on the water. Water that looked so dark and ominous that Eunha feared even dipping the tip of one finger in would end up in her being dragged to the bottom of the lake; that was if there even was a bottom. For all she knew the cold darkness went on forever.

The fear that rushed through Eunha's small form, like chaotic bees zooming around in alarm, must have shown on her face because before she could even let out a breath to ease her nerves, Jungkook had stopped in front of her with a stupid smirk on his face.

"Scared now, are we kitten?" The nickname left his mouth in amusement, playful eyes observing her features. Her startled expression turned into an annoyed glare as she looked up at the boy; in her mind she might have shown him a death-stare, but to him she looked like a cute little prey trying to appear like an intimidating predator.
Absolutely adorable.

"What is it with you guys and those stupid nicknames? Can you just stop it?! I'm not a kitten, not a bunny, not a princess, not a lamb, not your baby girl, not a fruit, not any of that!" Eunha's breath was heavy as she had spit out the entire sentence without a pause. For some reason she was really fed up with his teasing. Maybe it was a build up from all the comments she had received throughout the weeks of walking, but she couldn't keep in her frustration any longer.

Her outburst seemed to surprise the others as all creatures looked at her in silence. A sense of pride filled Eunha as she took in their dumbfounded expressions, mistaking their silence for agreement to stop calling her all those names.

With a satisfied smile on her face the girl passed through the group of men who stood scattered in front of her, and made her way to the wobbly looking boat.
She despised the ocean, not knowing what kind of evil would be lurking in the deeps of the water, but if this was their only way in then she had to get over that childhood fear.

As she stood by the edge of the water, trying to figure out how to get all eight of them on the wooden thing, the pleasant silence was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Eunha turned back around with an eyebrow raised, noticing how all of the men had replaced their surprised look with either a smirk or a playful grin.
They seemed to have come to a wordless agreement.

"So shorty it is then?"

Eunha pulled a face that showed how done she was with every single one of them. They knew she'd rather be called things as princess and baby than shorty, because that was just low.
"If you're referring to elf-boy, then yes, shorty it is."

A look of offense crossed Jimin's face as he inched closer to the girl, purposely trying to broaden his shoulders and straighten his spine to appear taller. His eyes glistened dangerously as he peered down at the human. "You want to say that again, bunny?"

He had somehow managed to deepen his voice, the tone making Eunha's heart flutter nervously in her chest.

"You're short." Eunha remained eye-contact as she spoke, not wanting to show Jimin that he actually succeeded in being intimidating. He could be the softest cinnamon roll in the world, but damn was he scary when angry.