A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 41; Help

"Where are we going?" Taehyun asked the older as he peered out of the car's window. The older glanced sideways at him and slid his hand down the steering wheel of the vehicle. "You'll see. Just be patient." He replied.

After the boy had told him about the other world and the basket, Namjoon felt like he had to help him. It hadn't sound that crazy to him at all. He had heard stories and read countless of books regarding this matter, and in a way he had always known that it was real. Now he had proof, for how far the brunette's words could be seen as the sort. But he trusted him, knew the boy wouldn't lie to him.

"But Hyung," He continued, turning his head to look at the man next to him. "This is taking forever!"

"We've been on our way for just a small 15 minutes, Tae. You should really work on your patience levels." Namjoon chuckled. He set his hand further up the steering wheel and changed gears with the other. "We're almost there anyway." He said as he turned the car to drive up some sort of sandy path. Taehyun pouted and set his eyes back on the world outside the car.

They were now in a more forestry part of the city. Trees and bushes were growing without any limits, making it look kind of wild. The grass here was higher than the standard trimmed grass next to the houses in Taehyun's neighbourhood. Flowers filled the empty parts of the forest and the brunette thought it looked like something from a fairytale movie.

"We're here."

Namjoon's words dragged him out of his thoughts and he looked back at the man. All he did was smile at him and opening the door, so Taehyun unbuckled his seatbelt and did the same. When he got out of the car he saw a building, and it immediately made him think of the wizard's den in the other world.

It was small shed, right at the foot of a tree hanging over it. Some branches stuck through the roof and the plants next to it had grown alongside the building, reaching up to the windows. It looked like it was old but it seemed magical.

"I found it when I was chasing butterflies as a kid."  Namjoon explained, standing next to the boy.  "I don't remember exactly why but I was running after some and then I suddenly saw a really big blue one. I ran after it in the hopes to catch it and it led me away from the open space closer by the city. Once I saw this building I didn't look at the butterfly anymore, but I think it's still here somewhere."

"Maybe it led your here for a reason?"  Taehyun asked, glancing up at the man. Namjoon shrugged and starting walking towards it.  "Maybe so, but whatever that reason was, I'm just glad I found it. It's full of books and I think there might be one telling us what to do now."  He said over his shoulder and Taehyun smiled softly, running after the older.

Namjoon reached out to the handle of the door, trying to open it and luckily it did, swinging open with a squeak of the metals pins holding it up. He never actually went inside back in his youth, too scared to do so. As a child, he thought there might be a witch living here or something, and he didn't want to end up in his soup like the kids in the stories his mother always told him. But now, now that he was grown and mature, he wasn't scared anymore. And besides, he had a mission to fulfil.

He stepped inside, Taehyun following closely behind him and he would look for a light switch, but there wasn't one. He didn't even need to look for one, because the inside of the shed was well lit, even as the shadows of the forest looked over it. As a man of logic, he wanted to know how that was possible, so he looked around the room while the younger boy excitedly stepped past him to look at the interior more. When he looked up to the roof, he saw that in the middle of the ceiling some sort of glass panel was placed. The sunlight catching onto it illuminated the insides of the building and Namjoon smiled, finding it rather suiting for the concept of the shed.

"So we're supposed to find answers or options here, right?"  Taehyun asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. The older nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah. I don't know for sure, but these books look like they contain some interesting things. And right now, it's really the best shot we got."

Taehyun sighed. "Let's get to it then."  He said and walked to the bookcase closest to him, lifting his arm up and reaching for a book. It was green and looked old, the sides faltering a bit and dust covering the surface. He inhaled and blew the dust off of it, watching and couching a bit as the dust flew around. Behind him, Namjoon walked to another bookcase and reached for a bright red on, also covered in dust,

"This better not take us too long.."  Taehyun muttered to himself as he opened the book. Once he saw the words written on the papers, he immediately frowned. He didn't understand anything, he had never seen the weird language before in his life and he was certain that he wouldn't be able to translate it. A deep sigh left his lips. "Great.."

He turned around and saw the older flipping through the pages of the book in his hands, his brows furrowed as well and his lips pursed together in a small pout of concentration. Even so, something like a hint of recognition washed over his features when he got to a certain page. Taehyun approached him and tapped his shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Hyung, I can't read this."  He whined while looking up at the man.  "It's not gonna do any good if we can't read anything."

"That's where you're wrong."  Namjoon said, a soft smile on his lips and he looked up from the book then, holding the thing up so the boy could see it more clearly.  "The half of the book is basically useless to us, yes. But the other half is what I think the translation of the other half. We just have to skip to the middle of the books and read from there."  He said, pointing at the English words written down on the paper, still somewhat in a difficult order, but at least readable for them.

Taehyun smiled and quickly flipped to the second half of the green book he still held. The older was right, in his book too the words were now all in English. He lifted his hand and patted Namjoon's shoulder, muttering a quick 'great thanks' before he was walking back to the bookcase he came from. Namjoon chuckled and shook his head, turning his book around and continuing reading himself.

"Let's get started then."  He sighed to himself.