TᕼE GOᒪᗪ Iᑎ TᕼE ᗪᗩᖇK | ᑎᗩᗰᒍIᑎ (ON GOING)

TEᑎ

NAMJOON

Honestly, I was a bit nervous without Jin. A few of those fairies up at the shooting range didn't look too happy, and I didn't want them to take it out on me while Jin left.

I was feeling pretty confident with myself having scored a few red's and blues, and decided to try again. I knocked my arrow and pivoted. Yoongi's words from earlier kept me motivated.

Releasing the string, I watched with anticipation as my arrow glided through the air, punching the sky in celebration when it landed in a perfect bullseye.

"That was pretty good!"

I turned to the source of the noise, smiling shyly when I saw it was one of the boys at the archery range who grinned rather than commented about Jin and I. He was at least a foot shorter than me, as everyone here was, but I think he was older.

"Thanks," I grinned, watching as he stumbled down to the creek. He left his own bow up at the range, but he had his arrow pouch slung around his shoulders.

"Kim Namjoon, right?" He asked, holding out a hand for me to shake. I nodded, accepting his hand. "I'm Kim Jongdae."

"Nice to meet you, Jongdae hyung," I smiled.

"Vise versa. Would it be okay if I practiced down here with you? There's a couple of girls fighting over Prince Seokjin," he rolled his eyes.

"That'd be great," I smiled. He thanked me and left to grab his bow. My face fell.

Girls fighting over Jin? I suppose everyone does, the guy is super handsome and cute. Still, anger boiled in my chest. I sighed and hit myself in the head, punishing myself for being jealous. You don't like him, Namjoon, he's a prince that probably treats everyone as good as you, you're not special. Plus, Jin would want literally anyone but you.

I smiled again as Jongdae came back down, making room for him to practice alongside me. I allowed him to go first as my fingers needed a break anyways.

I watched in awe as he squinted one eye, perfectly positioning his shot. He released the string gracefully, landing an effortless bullseye, except his arrow burst into flame. My mouth fell open.

"Cool, right?" Jongdae grinned with a hint of superiority, flicking his bow string. "Made with dragon fire. We use these in battle, along with other arrows, but I like these ones the best. Wanna try?"

"I'll probably blow up the whole tree if I try one of those," I admitted sheepishly. "It looks cool, though."

"Right? It's fine if you don't wanna try, though," Jongdae grinned, knocking another arrow and pivoting. "It took me years to try one. I started when I was around 670."

"670?" I gaped. "How old are you?"

"3140."

"What?!" I exclaimed, my jaw dropping. "How old is Prince Seokjin?"

"Like, 2580," Jongdae hummed, firing another arrow. A loud crack! echoed through the woods when it split right through the first arrow.

"Nice," Jongdae hissed, punching the air. "Hey, is it alright if I grab my sister real quick? She's great at archery."

"Yeah, that's fine," I replied, my eyes on the target rather than Jongdae. I listened to the rustling of leaves as he left to grab his sister.

I shot arrow after arrow as I waited for Jongdae to return, and he did after the sixth arrow.

He was accompanied by a girl who was a little taller than him with long, black hair that reached her hips. She wore a purple cloak with bronze embroidery and she was beautiful, like everyone else here.

"Hello, Namjoon," she greeted, holding out a hand. "I'm Jihyo."

"It's very nice to meet you, Jihyo," I smiled, shaking her hand. She seemed nice enough.

We all practiced for a few minutes together, Jihyo using the same arrows that Jongdae did, occasionally chatting and laughing when we needed a break. They both had very pointy ears, which I found interesting.

"Namjoon, can you help me?" Jihyo asked. I nodded and walked over to her.

"I can't quite get the hang of these arrows, I ran out of the flame ones so I figured I could use one of yours," she admitted. "Could you help me position it?"

Without waiting for an answer, she yanked me behind her and grabbed my hands so they were on either side of her. I turned red out of embarrassment.

"Or we could stay like this," she giggled. "You're very handsome." I tensed up uncomfortably, hoping Jongdae would help me. Jihyo leaned back into my chest, humming contently.

I looked around frantically, unable to move my arms, but Jongdae was too busy focusing on his archery. As I looked around, I saw the very person I hoped wouldn't show up; Jin.

I caught him at the top of the hill by the archery range, peeking around the supply shed. He was smiling sadly at me, making my chest fill with guilt.

He turned around and I tore away from Jihyo as politely as possible. I grabbed my bow and scrambled up the hill, not even saying goodbye to the siblings.