'West was the Dream.' Geonhak x Reader

Chapter 5 - Wings and Wealth

It took only a few days for dad to begin getting better. The men took charge in the daily chores in his stead, sometimes allowing Geonhak to help them if he was finished with his portion of the land, the crops. My days filled with fetching extra buckets of water and checking on my parents for any news. They stayed in the home for so long at times and rarely came out of the cabin, a slow restful recovery for my dad and my moms careful watch of him left the place feeling lonely and quiet.

'Hey chicken feeder.' Geonhak stands at the door of the coop, a hand on its frame and head ducking into the small ragged structure, his tone cheerful as he calls me the odd new title.

'Chicken feeder? Is that supposed to be a nickname?' I turn around to ask him, one brown egg in my hand now that my job is interrupted.

'It could be your nickname, it's what you do everyday after all.' He smiles, his lips turn upward and become thinner.

'I should find something to call you then.'
I think and place the egg in my basket before tapping my chin playfully.
'Ah, scarecrow. That can be it.'

'Funny.' He chides back with a raised brow and lips still quirked up.

'You're always disappearing behind the corn stalks lately so the name is perfect, should have planted those at the other end of the field so we can watch the whole area for any thieves though.'

'You get thieves around here? No worries, the scarecrow is always in the field, there won't be any trouble.' He jokes and points to himself.

'Yeah well if you really want to avoid trouble you might need to take up a gun soon.'

'A gun? For crops?'

'For animals, I've been hearing coyotes coming around, they get closer every night and when winter is here they will get desperate.'

'Oh, yeah that makes sense.' He laughs it off and holds out his hand, saying nothing more. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do but he remained still.

'What? You... want the eggs or something?' I raise the basket, confused.

'No, put that aways and come with me.' He spoke gently to me, his lips pressing together suspiciously.

I take his hand and he holds onto mine with such strength, guiding me through the doorway and into the field.

(If anyone sees him holding my hand there might be a problem. Touching a girls hand so early in any relationship is inappropriate.)

He crouched down in front of a row of corn and I followed his lead. There was an old wooden box hidden between the stalks. A small box with holes in the sides as handles, it was one of our old crates from the barn, rarely used anymore.

(What is in the crate?)

chirp

(Did I really hear that?)

He lifts the lid and reveals to me something small, curiously wandering around the container. 

*chirp*

'A bird?!'

GH: 'I nearly stepped on him when I walked through here but when he hopped away I realized it couldn't fly.'

'Okay, why do you have it here though? Shouldn't it be in a tree?'

'What do you mean? Can't we keep it in here for a while? It seems safer to me.'

Then suddenly everything made sense.

Y/n: 'THIS is why you disappear so much now? Wait. Have you been taking some of my chicken feed from the coop too?'