Fated Fairytale (Jikook)

4

"I have something to ask," Jimin says when silence fills the table, only the sounds of forks scraping and picking food off their plates are heard.

His mother perks up at that, slight hope in her face and Jimin feels guilty because he knows what she wants him to ask. Knows she wants him to stay, to come back and live with them again. But he can't.

"It's-" not what you think.

"It's just- I was wondering if there's anything that hunts fairies." Now his father perks up at that, he stops chewing the food he just put in his mouth and looks at Jimin with slight surprise, eyebrows raised at the unexpected question.

"Or if there's any predators that live here with us.." Jimin finishes and he has to hold back the pain he feels in his heart when his mom goes back to eating, crushed hope on her face even if she tries to hide it by continuing to eat the food she and the love of her life made.

"Well," his father starts off by clearing his throat and fixing the napkin on his lap.

"If there's creatures that haunt us, it's only out of curiosity or severe starvation," he says, Jimin's ears all on him, food forgotten in front of him the moment he opened his mouth.

"We shouldn't really have anything to be afraid of. We're not known to be haunted, but if you're wondering if there are any predators roaming around us, there are." Jimin is listening with such strong focus that he gasps when his father says the last two words.

Jimin's mother even glances up before she continues to eat, seeming to also listen to what he has to say.

"The main one that the older fairies have seen are wolves, the ones that howl at the moon at night," he pauses for a second.

"Ones that are the hardest to escape from when caught,"

Jimin feels his gut tighten uneasily.

His father puts down his fork, wiping his hands on his napkin. Jimin and his mother watch in silence and she even paused her eating to fully listen.

"The elders used to say that they would hide in the trees, watch their prey all day until they decided it was time to hunt," his father's tone lowers almost as if he's whispering to keep others from listening.

As if the wolves could hear.

And Jimin feels the fear prickle inside of him, heart dropping, because he hasn't told his father anything about what he's been through so hearing him describe being watched through the trees has him horrified.

Enough to let him know that the creature following him around might just be a wolf that has an eye on him.

And he's the fated prey.

"Jimin? Are you okay?"

He feels sick, blood running cold, and he thinks he's going to throw up. He covers his mouth before dashing out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, the food he just ate coming up and out of his throat.

His mother and father are beside him in an instant.

He apologizes but is cut of by another wave. The food they just cooked is now in the toilet and he feels horrible for letting it go to waste. He still has some on his plate, but still.

"I'm sorry," he says, throat sore. His mother rubs his back comfortingly as he shoots dagers as his dad.

"You shouldn't have told him that."

But Jimin shakes his head, denying it was because of that even if he knows it was.

"It's okay. I've been feeling off all day so I'm sure it wasn't because of that," he says before he flushes the toilet and gets up with the help of his mother. He washes his hands and mouth before they all head back for the table.