Free // BTS AU //

Chapter Eight.

Hye watched as the boys expectantly sat around the remnants of the fire that they had started the night before, and she realised they were all waiting for her to sit. She sat cross legged in the dirt.

"So who exactly are you?" One of them asked right away and before she could open her mouth to speak she was cut off by the man that had the bow.

"We should introduce ourselves first. Don't be so rude." He smiled kindly at the girl. "I'm Seokjin. In the tales you've probably heard about us, I'm a pacifist however I did fight and I would happily fight my life away for these boys. But I've seen and took part in too many wars, disagreements, to actively go out and search for someone to injure."

"I'm Namjoon. It's a pleasure to actually be able to speak to you this time. I keep this rowdy lot in some sort of order, it may seem like an easy task but I'm telling you now that isn't as easy as you'd assume."

"I'm Jimin." The purple haired boy spoke before anyone else could. Hye watched as he spoke, looking at each of the mannerisms of each of the boys as they spoke, a force of habit. "I was a merchant, I got into some trouble in a village and these guys helped me out, so I've stuck with them since. I still sell and trade, just not in the specific village. One of us has to get silver to eat and buy things."

"I'm Jungkook." It was the man with the scarred wrists. "I was a prisoner in a few Kingdoms over, specifically down south. I was caught for petty theft from a noble family and they bound me with thorns and locked me away."

"I'm Yoongi." The lighter haired man spoke, something radiated off him and Hye couldn't quite determine what that something was. She just knew it was there. It was similar to Hoseok's presence. "I'm an elder witch, I'm technically older than all of these boys combined. I just have dashing good looks." He gave a gummy smile. Everyone, including Hye, turned their heads to look at the only other boy who hadn't introduced himself. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

The last boy sighed softly and got up and walked away into the forest. Hye furrowed her brows, both her and Yoongi looking in the direction he went and the rest of the boys looking at one another. "He's never like that." Namjoon spoke quietly as he stood up. "I'll go check on him-"

"I'll do it." Hye stood up. "It's clearly something to do with me, he's spoken to me before to warn me about the wolves. Maybe he got shy?" Before any of the other boys could get a word in she had followed the boy into the woods and soon realised that she had no idea on how to track him down.

She walked around, keeping her ears tuned to hear any rustling that might be the sounds of this boy moving. Hye looked to her left and to her right as she walked, her foot tripping on a root and she let out a yelp of shock before she tumbled down the small hill on the other side.

Hye winced as she sat up, covered in scrapes from twigs and rocks. "Inconveniently placed root or hill." She muttered to herself. It took her a second to realise she had landed in the middle of a circular clearing in the trees. No longer than a couple of meters in diameter.

"Are you hurt?" The deep voice echoed around the circle. Hye jumped, suddenly the pain had vanished and adrenaline coursed through her from head to toe. Someone broke into the clearing, and she relaxed slightly seeing it as the boy.

"I should be fine." She spoke quietly.

"Sorry about running off." He mumbled. Hye pushed herself to her feet. "I just... I don't make friends that easily."

"It-"

"I was cursed." He gestured time the black veins by his neck. "If I don't fill out some sort of thing, task, by a certain age. I'll be buried six foot under."

"What is it that you have to do?"

"I don't know. I was ten when I was cursed. That was over ten years ago." He sighed softly. Hye gingerly reached her hand out and rested it on his shoulder.

"I know it's probably scary." She spoke softly. "But trust me. We'll find out whatever it is you need to do to survive."

The boy in front of her hesitated, looking at her messy choppy hair covered in dirt, twigs, and leaves, and how scrawny she was. But in her eyes there was some sort of determination, a fire, that he had only seen once before.

He nodded. "I'm Taehyung."

"I'm Hye." She smiled softly.