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jaehyunssi · 8 months

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neighbor - l.mk

synopsis: after breaking up with your boyfriend, you spent hours crying in the middle of the night. your loud and nonstop cries made mark knocks your door to find out what’s going on

neighbor!mark x reader - fluff - oneshot please read slowly for full experience + listen to any fluff playlist u have!

“Mark?”

When you heard someone knocking at your door at one in the morning, you didn’t expect that it would be your neighbor, Mark. Well, living in a cheap apartment won’t give you any guarantee that the walls would be soundproof too, you guessed. But one thing that surprise you more is how the man you almost know nothing about is standing in front of your door, looking worried.

You take a breath from your mouth, since your nose is clogged from the excessive crying. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” If he has got to be honest, he doesn’t know either. One thing that led him to find himself standing in front of you is how long and loud you cried that whole night. Probably two or three hours, which made him somehow wants to run to see you, maybe making sure you’re okay, or, well, he doesn’t really have the clearest idea too.

You tilt your head. “Yes…?”

“I really want to answer you, but your face looks-“

“Hideous?” You cut his words. “I know. Well, isn’t that clear enough for someone who just got dumped.”

Mark swallows his saliva. He doesn’t even know anything about you yet other than a girl who lives one door on his right yet the first thing he knows about something personal from you is the fact that you broke up with your boyfriend, who he also didn’t know the existence of.

“You don’t look okay, you know.” He looks at you, still. From your puffy eyes to your red nose, maybe the tears that has dried up on your cheeks, or even your lips that looks more blushed than it always be. “You could use a friend.”

The man with the white t-shirt covering his upper body somewhat surprised you with his sentence. When you first saw Mark, knowing that he would be your new neighbor after replacing the previous one who got married, you never thought he would be someone who cares so much about a stranger crying. You can’t lie that you were afraid that he’ll ask you to shut up, but this is not in any scenario of what thought you wanted to happen.

“Only if you want to see kleenex all over the couch..”

He smiles after letting out a quick chuckle. “I can get used to that quickly.”

You opened the door voluntarily after confirming his willingness to see a stranger at her worst. The man took off his sandals before finally entering the living room. Finally witnessing the scene where you spent almost three hours crying over someone who cheated on you with your own enemy. He turns his head, looking at you that by now is closing the door.

“Told you.” You raised your eyebrows.

But he shakes his head. “This is not bad at all.”

“Not even The Notebook playing on the TV?”

“Well…” He squints his eyes. “Not really a great movie to be a companion for heartbroken person.”

You laughed. “Okay, Mr. Rotten Tomatoes, let me clean up this place for you.”

Everyone needs a friend, and a friend needs someone to be the friend for. For as long as Mark knows, he loves the feeling to be needed. He loves when someone asks him to hangout with them or just to help them do something, but this is the first time Mark ever asks for someone to need him. As someone who’s actually really friendly, he never thought he would find himself asking for someone to make him their friend, until he knocked on a girl’s apartment door today.

As Mark put the hot cocoa powder on a mug he found on your kitchen, he began to think of why he had never talked to you before. He felt stupid, but at the same time, it was such a great choice for him to see your face clearly now. Somewhat a great timing, somehow grateful that you got dumped, somewhat relieved that he can finally talk to someone that he can only look at since he moved to this apartment you both lived at.

He doesn’t even know what made him scared to talk to you before. You’re not even a scary person.

“Oh my… what?” You grab the warm mug Mark hands you to. “Did you make this while I was cleaning the living room? How did you even…”

He lifts his shoulder. “Well, I have to do something.”

“Oh, come sit here.” You pat on the couch you’re sitting on. It’s a long couch you’re proud of. You remember the first time you bought it and you brag it to everyone who has ever been to your apartment. It was somewhat your best purchase. “You’re my guest, you know. A new one, even.”

“I know but I wouldn’t want your tears on this drink.”

“You’re pretty annoying to someone you just know ten minutes ago.”

He smiles. Now that you realized, he never let go of his smile. “Do you want to tell me about that break up then?”

You shook your head before sipping the hot cocoa Mark made. “This is nice.” You look at him watching you drinking the masterpiece he made. If only you knew, Mark had to look at the instructions on the can before he made it for you. “Can I know about you instead?”

“Me?” He points at himself, which you nod to. “There’s nothing much to tell about me.”

“There must be something.”

“I think it’s safe to say I’m not that exciting to know about.” He wraps his arms on the head rest on top of the couch, almost erasing the distance between the two of you. You keep your position still, as you still looking at those brown eyes of his.

“I hope no one told you that.”

The man chuckles. “Just me.”

You sighed, then you stand up, wanting to put the already finished mug of hot cocoa on the kitchen sink. But the sudden movement made you stumble, almost falling down right to the floor, before you land your other feet on the right positiont as Mark instinctively holds your back.

“God, are you really okay?” He looks at you as he helps you stand correctly. His arms are holding yours as you try to gain your full vision. “Can I..” He lifts his hand, stopping right in front of your forehead until you give him a nod to touch it. His furrowed eyebrows gave you a hint of something wrong.

“(Y/n), should we go see a doctor? You’re having a fever.”

You shake your head while you close your eyes. “No, please. I want to stay.”

“This can get worse, you know?”

“I know, I know. But, please.”

Mark let out a heavy breath. He helps you sit on your couch, putting his hand once more on you, but this time, on your neck. Knowing that it’s really a fever, his face is now not giving any friendly expression.

“Wait, okay?” He told you before leaving you alone.

You nodded.

Mark quickly run to the kitchen, looking for any clean napkin as fast as he can before he runs it through water. He grabbed a bowl of water, trying to give you a compress, at least for you to get better than your now temperature. “(Y/n)? Hang on, okay?”

You nod, again.

Mark haven’t really done this before, so he doesn’t know if he needs a hot water or a warm one, a cold water or a lukewarm one. So he made 4 bowls of water, each one with its own temperature. He found your bedroom quickly, running from here and there to put the bowls right beside your bed.

“Hey.” You can hear his voice, the way he pants, trying to catch a breath after running around your apartment. “I’m gonna carry you, okay?” He asked.

“What? No… no…” You shake your head.

He crouched down, grab your cheek for him to get a better look at you. Probably now, probably just now, he just realized how beautiful the stranger in front of him is. He doesn’t know what’s hypnotizing, your eyes, or your nose, or your lips, or, is it just you.

“Let me help you.” He told you as his eyes go back from your eyes to your lips, then back to your eyes again. “Please.”

You can’t really think much of what’s happening, but hearing him pleading made you say okay.

Now, the only thing that you know is that you’re no longer at the couch now. You can see your arms wrapping on Mark’s shoulder and neck, you can’t even believe how close your face is to his. You began to wonder if any man has ever worried about you this much. You began to think if Mark knows how nice this feels to you.

“Hey…” You called him, not really know why you forgot his name. But you’re clearly not fully conscious.

Your call made Mark stopped in the middle of his way on carrying you to your bed, just right before your bedroom door. “Hey.” He smiles. “Are you okay?”

You smile at him back. “Yeah.”

“Okay, one more step.”

You probably passed out because you don’t know what happens after that, but Mark managed to carry you safely to your bed, gently put down your body and he didn’t wake you up. He keeps compressing you, with the cool water after looking up about it on the internet. Placing the compress, sinking it on the bowl, placing it again, repeating the step for probably an hour.

The man watches you. Hearing you snore on your sleep made him relieve. At least you didn’t have any trouble on sleeping, and that’s good enough for him to know that you’re going to have a good rest tonight. He smiles, he thinks he never smiled this much on a day throughout his life. Maybe he did, but maybe, he has been giving a different smile to you today.

Mark tucks your hair behind your ear, not wanting any strand of it to get wet from the water excess from the compress cloth. He can’t find something else more appealing to look at other than your sleeping face. It’s crazy to him, that taking care of you, who’s still a stranger that turns out to be sick after crying for three hours, would be something that feels somewhat like heaven.

Maybe you’re the heaven he’s been wondering about after all these times.

“(Y/n)?”

Even though he didn’t expect it, you woke up. “Hm?” You responded, not really sure what Mark just said.

“Ask me to stay.” He pleaded.

“… What?” You try to open your eyes, only to see him sitting down on the floor as his hands holding the compress on your forehead. “Mark… what are you… why are you there?”

Mark stays quiet, his other hand is on top of your blanket, making sure that you stayed warm. “Ask me to stay with you, (y/n).”

You look at him in his eyes. “But… why?”

“I’ll stay, if you want me to.”

Mark doesn’t have the slightest clue of how or why he would ask you to ask him to stay, but he wants to. He wants to stay, even if it means he’s going to stay up all night changing the compress, checking your temperature, making sure that the heat goes down, he wants to do all that.

“I can’t say no to that face.” You laughed.

And Mark think he just fell in love.

a/n - hey! im back and i bring something fluffy (again) since mark has been on my mind whenever i play niki or lauv lol. and yeah please talk to me about how u feel abt this!!! slid thru the askbox or make some notes<3 ily all thank u so much

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jaehyunssi · 1 year

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Magnolia - j.jh

enemies/strangers to lovers - old fantasy - hunter!jaehyun x female reader - content warning: blood and gun.

summary: You have to escape from Jaehyun’s palace knowing that you’re going to be the next creature he’s going to sell. But, why doesn’t he act like you thought he would be?

1. An Iris, and her Savior.

Shermer, 1933.

The mystical beings that appeared in Shermer during the winter had no special apologies at the time. Everybody that tries to touch the snow will be pierced by the cold air, which will eventually fall into a pile of snow on the streets, causing reporters to compete with one another to capture the shapes of the creatures that turn out to be real.

A creature that used to only be seen and imagined through patterned papers in libraries around the world, now lay helpless on a pile of snow in December. Shermer, being the first town to witness this incident, wasn't quite ready for what they would do for the next step in this discovery.

Iris, that’s what the books called this creature.

The Government of Shermer decided to lock up the Iris in the Shermer Concentration Camp which was located in the middle of a dense forest far from the city. With several trucks and guards accompanying the journey, the Iris they captured arrived safely even though the creature’s body was in a dying condition. The extreme temperature of the snow that covered the creature’s body before it was transported made its skin blister and its eyes unable to open enough. Despite looking like an ordinary human, the guards working under Shermer's government treated the Iris with no sense of humanity, as they locked the creature in a dungeon that had not been cleaned for a long time. Moss covered the walls of the confinement and water dripped from a pipe onto the cement floor in the room, slowly wearing away the hard surface.

Jaehyun, a hunter of mystical creatures who has entered his tenth year in his dream job, rushes to the concentration camp to see one of the forms of the creatures he has studied so far. His steps quickened when he realized that he had reached the dungeon. He began to look to his right and left, realizing how badly the Shermer government had done in protecting a creature that could potentially become Shermer's eternal treasure.

After a few steps, he noticed the presence of two guards standing next to a room bounded by iron bars rusted by water. “Let me observe it.” Jaehyun ordered the two guards as he pants.

ㅡ

Even though it's hard, you start to notice someone new, someone who isn't from this place taking a step closer to you. Little by little, you try to open your eyes. A man with blond hair and eyes that are almost green, watching you while he squats. At that moment, you begin to notice how fast your heart is beating. You don't know what else they will do to torture you through this man.

You just want to go home.

The warmth of the male human hand feels on your skin. He raises your left hand slowly, examining the wound caused by the tightening of the handcuffs made of ropes that the guard tied to your hand on your way to this place.

You saw the man's eyes once more. For someone who works for the guards here, he's not like the others, you think.

However, without warning, the human looks you right in the eye again. It feels like your breath is about to stop. You can only hope that this human doesn't torment you like the others.

“Can you understand me well?”

His voice was very low, very careful, as if he didn't want anyone but you to hear him. Your lips tremble, your eyes begin to feel heavy because the water makes your vision blurry for a long time. You nod, you've been breathing long enough for you to understand human language.

“Stay with me.” The human took off the thick clothes that previously tightly hugged his body. He put the warm dark brown coat over your body, covering your upper half. Then he stood up, leaving you alone in that uncomfortable room.

“Take the Iris to Ephemeral Palace. Don't let me see the guard from before escorting her to the Palace or your family will be suffocating tomorrow.” Jaehyun left the dungeon after he ordered the two guards standing in front of the detention room. The two men stared at each other, before finally one of them ran to give the information to his superiors.

Your hands are linked. Your breath blows, knowing maybe this is the moment where you have to face your last time in your world before finally being made a display by these cruel humans. You should’ve known and prepared yourself the time winter is coming.

Along the way, you can think of nothing but ways to end your own life before your body is exposed by humans like animals. You start planning all kinds of ways in your brain, about how you can escape from the Palace that the blonde-haired human is referring to, about how you can use your powers to make it easier for yourself to find a way out of a place that might not be that different from this hell, but everything it's impossible to know how weak your body is right now. Even though you are no longer tied up with any ropes by the guards in this vehicle, you can do nothing but fall silent and cry. You can just push them to the ground, giving you wide access to throw yourself off this car. However, what's the next step? Leaving your body lying on the street, knowing that you yourself are not able to carry yourself far away?

Your gaze is fixed on the window, seeing how many trees you have passed as the wheels of the vehicle rotate. The journey to the Palace is not as close as you think. The early morning breeze that blows on the sidelines of the window makes you say yes to your sleepiness. Your eyes are closed, dissolved in your dreams that are no longer as bad as reality.

2. Ephemeral Palace

Without any warning, your eyes open as you notice that the chair you're sitting on is no longer shaking from the rough surface of the road. Right after your consciousness had gathered, a guard in a different uniform opened the car door, allowing yourself to get out without a single word leaving his mouth. Apart from that blond man earlier, all the humans you meet think of you as a being who doesn't understand anything, even though your body is no different from a human's.

With your slow steps accompanied by those three Palace guards, you noticed how tall and majestic the Ephemeral Palace was. A mix of abstract paintings and artifacts adorns the Palace beautifully. The gold walls were unobtrusive and embellished everything etched on them.

For a moment, you catch yourself getting lost in things created by humans. You shook your head, realizing and also reminding yourself that humans are heartless cruel creatures.

After standing waiting in front of a door that is probably twice your height, a female human invites you to enter the room inside the door. You catch the woman talking to the guards who previously accompanied you to this place, but your eyes are back on the beautifully arranged room. Once again, dissolved in the works created by humans.

Carefully, your still cold skin touches the warm blanket that lies on the bed. The layout of this room is not much different from the former human house that you live in far away in the city of Winona, before you rashly immigrated to Shermer without any preparation. But this time around, the furniture feels a thousand times better than where you live. Everything in this room is beautiful, it's like the creator took a long time to arrange this room.

Suddenly, your eyes began to wander around the room. Two large windows located beside the bed, just the right size for your body to get out of this room without going through the big wooden door. The mirror that is attached to the dressing table in the corner of the room, looks easy enough for you to break and divide it to become an emergency weapon, in case you need to hurt someone who wants to hinder your plan to get out of that place. You swallowed hard, biting the inside of your mouth, trying to think of every way to make your plan perfect.

“I’m sorry for making you wait this long.” The woman spoke after closing the door of the room. Leaving you alone with her in this room. She smiled; unlike all the humans you meet today. “And look at you.”

The woman began to approach you. Somehow, you don't try to stay away. For some reason, you let that woman touch the dirty surface of your skin along with your wet white dress. You looked at her, looking really worried. “Miss, you need to clean yourself up.” But you were silent, holding your breath. For obvious reasons, you still feel afraid of all the humans you meet.

“My master told me that you can understand our language. You can trust me, Miss.”

That one sentence said by that woman makes your legs weak, unable to support your body that is trying to stand up. In an instant, you find yourself sitting on the bed of that room. “I’m sorry.” You whispered, not having enough strength to say anything clearly and loudly.

Experiencing first-hand the cruelty that a human being can commit to you leaves you powerless. By the time you arrived at this Palace, you thought you would have to face your own death straight away, no matter how cruel. You’re scared.

Your trembling hands were tightly held by the old woman. You saw her giving you a warm smile. She took the clothes folded on the bed table right next to the bed you were sitting on. “I'll wait for you to be ready, after that, let's meet Mr. Jung.”

Not long after cleansing your whole body, you choose to rest to speed up the recovery process. Unlike humans, Irises recovered quickly when they rested. If humans needed more than a week to heal a small wound on their skin, it only took an hour of rest for Iris to return their skin to its original clean state, without any scars. Then, that's what you choose. Instead of washing away all signs of human cruelty, you choose to store your energy so that your powers can work. You know somehow you will use your power, at the very least, it is better for you to strengthen yourself before carrying out your plan to leave this place and return to Winona.

Remembering the words of the woman you guessed as the maid of this palace, the owner of this palace is the blonde man who saved you from the worst place you ever stepped on the face of the earth. You don't understand why that man wants to meet you or even save you, however, you don't have any good prejudice against him.

Unlike Iris, humans had learned how to lie a long time ago. Any human being would trick anything to get what they want, and that's exactly what the blonde guy is probably doing right now: treating you like something of value before finally destroying your common sense in ways you can't even imagine. The bad thoughts that fill your brain penetrate your dreams, making you gasp in between your sleep.

“AAAAHH!”

Waking up from your nightmare, your back is no longer resting on your bed mattress. You closed your eyes, slowly leaning your back against the bed, exhaling heavily. Even if you don't want to wake up this early, at least you won't spend any longer in your nightmares.

After a few times rubbing your eyes, you start to realize that you have to get ready to meet the blonde-haired man this morning. Looking around the room, you can't find a woman who helped you in the early hours of the morning.

Slowly, you lowered your feet from the high bed. There isn't a single bruise or scratch from the middle of the night, a sign that your rest is enough to recover physically even though you can feel your body has not fully recovered.

After taking a coat that was hanging in the wardrobe of the room, you chose to leave the room to find the maid. If you're not mistaken, her name is Linda. With your hands already starting to warm up, you opened the doorknob of the room which was made of iron. The door that starts to open wider makes you face something you didn't expect.

The man you should have met after you got ready was standing at the door. Just like you, he’s silent even though your eyes have a contact his. Your feet take one step back, still feeling uneasy with anyone but Linda. The blonde-haired man had changed his clothes. A thin white shirt wrapped around his upper body, brown pants covered his legs. His hands which he kept in his trouser pockets moved slowly when he saw you walking backwards.

The man was very handsome. Indeed, even though the entire room in this palace is decorated with various kinds of paintings that may take longer to create than ordinary paintings, that man is able to beat all the beauty of the paintings you have seen. His stern face still looks at you blankly. He didn't smile or frown.

To be honest, you don't know what you should be doing right now.

“I won't enter your room, no need to worry.” The man said suddenly. His voice wasn't as small then, but it was very low. “My room?” “From now on, the room is yours.”

You swallowed your saliva. Do you have to thank him? Logically speaking, this man locked you in a place where you don't know where it is. Logically speaking, he acts like a master who cages his pet. Logically speaking, didn't this man kidnap you?

By taking a breath long enough to fill the empty space in both of your lungs, you are trying to be brave. “I’m looking for Linda.”

The man was silent for a moment. His brows furrowed after your request. “The person who wanted to see you was me, not Linda.” he said firmly. He sounded cold, just like how he looked. Like someone without emotion.

“I know, but I need Linda.”

He shuts his mouth after your request. Then, he raised his right arm, like giving a code to the guard who has been standing beside the door, you didn't realize the guard’s presence because he wasn't facing you the whole time. You then see the guard himself starts running away from your bedroom door.

With the doorknob still being held by your hand to keep the door from opening wider, you realize that the man still can't take his eyes off your face.

Honestly, what does this man want from you? If he wants to make you one of his collections, he doesn't have to do anything like give you a room or give you one of his maids to serve you. His face that doesn't show any expression makes you curious.

“After that, come see me.”

3. Jung Jaehyun

Somehow, Linda managed to persuade you to dress you up as a form of preparation for meeting the blonde-haired man. Her slightly wrinkled hands were busy combing your white hair.

“Do all Iris have beautiful hair like yours, Miss?” You see the woman smiling gently in the reflection of the mirror on the dresser.

“Yes.” You answered her shortly. Almost all of Iris has white hair, as a sign that Iris still has power within them. Several other Irises that were over a hundred years old had dark hair, indicating that their strength was not as strong as the other Irises with bright white hair.

“The master likes the color white.” Linda continued suddenly.

You looked at the woman one more time. This woman had probably worked long enough in this Palace for her to know such things about her Master. “Linda, I don’t know his name.”

“Jung Jaehyun. He’s a good master, Miss.”

Your eyes returned to your reflection in the mirror. Of course the maid would speak good things about her Master. After that, maybe Linda can betray your trust even though in the end she knows that this Master she exalts has bad intentions towards you. After all, he still works for his Master, and not for you.

“Finished.” Linda looks at you by the mirror. “Miss, I don’t think you have any idea of how beautiful you are.”

“Thank You.”

ㅡ

After walking for quite a while from your room to the palace’s dining room, the first thing that comes to your eyes is a room with high walls covered by bookshelves made of wood. The sheer number of books lined up on each row of shelves made you think that the man was actually reading them, because they weren't exactly small in number.

Even though the room is almost three times the size of your room, the table used for serving food is the size of a normal dining table. Maybe it was because no one would be eating the food in this room other than the Master himself, Jung Jaehyun.

Speaking of Jung Jaehyun, the man makes your body freeze because he’s now sitting right in front of you. Some of the food that was served in front of you didn't increase your appetite one bit, knowing that you complied with Jung Jaehyun's request to meet him. You thought, the meeting in question is a brief meeting regarding your agreement to become a living treasure for Jung Jaehyun, not a single thought has appeared in your head that the meeting in question is to eat breakfast with the man you are afraid of.

“What dish do you prefer?”

After several attempts to stay facing anything other than the blonde-haired man, the question Jaehyun just threw made you stare at him. “Me?” you ask in surprise.

Realizing that you had heard his question clearly, Jaehyun didn't waste time repeating what he had just said. The man still stares at you silently, not allowing himself to take his eyes off you for even a second.

“I can eat this, Sir.”

Hearing your answer made the man turn his eyes to the food in front of him. He didn't even touch the food, and turned to the glass of drink that sat beside the plate. Knowing that the guy is no longer paying attention to you makes you breathe a sigh of relief.

It's a little easier for you to put this food in your mouth without a pair of eyes watching you constantly. Maybe there is poison in this food, maybe not. Either way, you have to find a way to prevent this man from using you in any part of his plans, whatever that may be.

After spending some time in silence without a single word coming out of the mouths of the two people in the room, you decided not to finish your meal. Right now, the last thing you need is food. You placed both cutlery beside the plate, trying to make as loud a sound as possible so Jaehyun would notice that you had finished your breakfast, and maybe, let you go.

He looked at you when he heard the sound of metal from the cutlery you were using against the table. “Thank you, sir.” you said to him with your eyes looking at the table, still, it’s hard to keep an eye contact with someone who looks at you for so long.

Jaehyun's finger started tapping the table a few times, before he finally stood up. You can see that not a spoonful of food on Jaehyun's plate has entered the man's mouth. Jaehyun started walking, leaving the room with two guards watching from outside the room.

“Sir!” you shouted involuntarily. Jaehyun turned around, saw you had stood up like you wanted to chase him. “You… didn't eat your breakfast.”

Jaehyun's sharp gaze never took the fear out of your body. You see it still, even though your hands are shaking a little. Every time Jaehyun looks at you, you feel like you're being explored by that guy.

“I already had my breakfast.” He answers.

4. Ephemeral Park

It is a bad choice for you to waste the free time that you have. After some conversations with Linda as well as permission from Jung Jaehyun, you have the opportunity to take a tour of the man's garden. It's not that hard to convince them, you only need to lie that you are captivated by the beautiful flowers in the garden. Linda nods in agreement and told you that being in the park calms her too. Honestly, you don't care about the damn flowers. This opportunity is the right moment for you to observe the floor plan of this palace from the outside to make your escape plan easier.

Walking alone in a very wide park makes you feel free. Linda offered to accompany you at first, but she understands that you want to be alone. After walking quite far from the Palace door, you find yourself standing in a field of blooming flowers with grasses that are not too tall. This park looks very well maintained; you don't feel a single itch from to the grass. The flowers they planted were even more beautiful when looked at up closeㅡit looks like they planted flowers that are not usually found in the Shermer area, since you've never seen these flowers before.

You chose to squat down, looking at one of the flowers that caught your eye. The white flower seemed to have a single flower growing inside of it. How beautiful, you think, to see two flowers on one stalk.

“Miss? Why are you here?”

One of the palace guards stands beside you, finding you alone in the middle of the vast palace grounds. You saw the badge on his uniform, Mark, that's his name.

“This flower is very beautiful.” You told him. You see this guard often beside Jaehyun, not knowing what his job is. Maybe he’s the head guard because he often orders other guards. In other words, you can't trust him. Well, fuck it, can you even trust anyone?

The guard smiled, he also squatted beside you while looking at the flower you touched. “That is a flower that Master likes very much, Miss.”

“Mr. Jaehyun likes flowers?” You ask, although you don’t really care of what that man likes.

“Not really. He just likes pretty things.”

You nod. It doesn't make sense, you think. Don't all creatures in this world like beautiful things? Who was Jung Jaehyun that his guard had to talk about him like that.

For some reason, after that, you are reminded of one question that keeps spinning in your brain.

“This palace is very big, Mark. What did Mr. Jaehyun do so that he could have all of this?”

Mark fell silent. He looked at you, then saw the magnificent palace building. “Master is a hunter of mystical creatures like you, miss.”

Damn it. Your guess is right that he is a man who will sell you to rich people to make an ornament of their lives. You can imagine yourself locked in a cage, tormented being shown like an entertainment for these humans. You averted your eyes from Mark, staying silent while you hold the petal of the flower that you called beautiful earlier. Soon, you will not have a different fate with this flower.

To be honest, you could have grabbed the gun that was near Mark's pocket at this point and shot the guard in the head and run out of the palace. However, you don't really understand this place yet, you don't want your efforts to end fatally.

“Actually, I was looking for you earlier, Miss.” Mark interrupted your thoughts with his words.

“What is it?”

“Mr. Jaehyun wants you to be his date later for tonight’s dinner with some people from the Shermer government.”

The Government. It won't take you long to remember those people. Your guess, is that they are humans who are interested in buying you later. The dinner might just be a cover for the original event, namely the purchase agreement between Jaehyun and the Shermer government. You smile, maybe there really is no way out for you.

ㅡ

“Miss, I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life, and I am almost 50 years old. However, this dress makes you more than just the word ‘beautiful’.”

Your eyeballs moved to see Linda's smile. That woman was a very good maid, too bad she worked for someone as ruthless as Jung Jaehyun. “It's because of the dress you chose Linda.” You said, smiling slightly while looking at yourself in the mirror.

Actually, you don't understand why Jung Jaehyun has such a luxurious dress in his palace. Does he have a partner? However, you don't see anyone there apart from maids and palace guards. Does he lock up his partner too like what he did to you?

Your smile disappeared from your face. Your finger is busy touching your other finger. It's hard to feel comfortable in this place.

“White really suits you miss. Is it because of your hair?” Linda never runs out of words to compliment you. This human is the only human who treats you properly, it will be difficult to betray him.

However, just as you were about to answer Linda, there was a knock on your bedroom door. Suddenly, she turned her gaze towards the door, disturbed.

Is that Jung Jaehyun? You couldn't take your head off of Linda who was walking towards the door. However, isn't it too early for Jaehyun to ask you to accompany him now? The event will still last an hour, isn't there still plenty of time left? What's more, why are you nervous?

"Mark? Is there a problem? You sighed when you heard Linda, knowing Jaehyun wasn't at the door.

Through the dressing table, you attempt to look at Mark who stands between the door. The man was dressed obviously better than the guard uniform he was wearing this afternoon. “Ah, it appears that our Miss has a visitor.”

5. Dinner

“Isn't it hard to walk in those high heels, Miss?” Mark asked in the middle of your way to the main dining room. You might not be aware that this palace has multiple dining rooms without Mark’s knowledge. Clearly, this palace isn't simply a home that Jung Jaehyun has.

"You’re right. It is new to me."

Adjusting to the things that humans do is extremely challenging. You have no idea why they would want to torture themselves in high heels like the ones you are currently sporting. In spite of the fact that, indeed, it does, it makes your feet look delightful. However, your dress is sufficiently long to cover your legs. So, what are these shoes for?

You turned to Mark, making the guard a little surprised. “Mark, who will be my guest?”

“Someone from the Shermer government. Mr. Jung has some things he needs to take care of, so maybe I'll be the only one who comes with you later."

For a brief moment, you are silent. “This the Master's event, isn't it?”

“Yes, of course. He will be back if he already took care of his private business, Miss.”

You decide to be quiet. That man does so many things that make you think about a lot of questions. Why did he act as like that? Or, what exactly is his real purpose? It makes you really want to leave this place right away.

Amidst the many questions popping up in your head, you begin to realize that the reason why this Palace has so many guards and maids is not solely to protect Jaehyun or take care of the vastness of this place, but because of the many activities within this Palace. You are aware that Shermer is a city with many buildings and they could hold this dinner anywhere, but this palace is very private and away from the city. Its hilltop location and the long journey required to reach this place was the perfect place for these people to have a secret meeting; like selling mystical creatures for money.

Through the large window to your left, you begin to observe guests entering the palace gates in their opulent automobiles, despite the fact that the event has not yet begun. The men wear suits and the ladies wear dresses that are no less lovely than what you wear. The fact that they all wear masks that cover half of their faces is hilarious. They acted as if this place could still be reached by journalists while the palace guards alone consisted of dozens of people. You find humans are indeed very strange.

Mark jolted you out of your daydream. "Miss, you better put on a mask as well." Out of nowhere, Mark gave you a mask to cover your face besides your mouth.

You took the diamond-and-feather-adorned mask. You think it's too much. "What am I wearing this for?"

"Mr. Jung figured it would be better on the off chance that you were not the center of attention."

Ha, very thoughtful.

―

Entering the extremely spacious dinner hall makes you slightly stunned. You have been awestruck by human works several times today. Such architectural beauty cannot be separated from being the hallmark of the Ephemeral Palace. Diamond lamps hung on each side of the room with a blazing yellow glow. As if that wasn't enough, paintings of deities adorned the ceiling of the hall, giving off a beautiful impression that is a feast for your eyes.

At the main dining table, you can see several groups of people chatting. They were laughing while holding wine glasses in their hands, those cunning humans who were probably part of your capture as Iris. However, the orchestra at the far end of the room distracts you from your sight. The beautiful melody given to the guests of this occasion is an exceptionally smart touch. You start to see that the human world isn't so bad after a while.

"You may sit, Miss." Mark pulled a seat from the long eating table. You are aware that he chose a very bad spot; right in the middle. Quickly, your head shook. It is better to be completely invisible than to voluntarily let yourself be the attention of the crowd.

“Ah, are you the Iris?”

The question of a man who sits right next to the chair that Mark offers you surprises you. "I have been waiting for you. Please, sit beside me." The man in the dark tuxedo tapped the pad of the seat you will sit on. He has black hair, unlike Jaehyun. He doesn't wear a mask like the others, maybe he wasn't too afraid of being caught.

Mark bowed when you pulled the chair he pulled out. "Wait, where are you going?" you ask the man.

"I wasn't assigned to accompany you to the dinner table, Miss. I was simply requested to look after you." He smiled, then quickly, he left you alone with this man you don't know the name of at the dinner table.

To be honest, you're extremely scared. This is the first time you've been left alone to interact with someone you don't know. Even if you don't like Mark, you would rather be by his side now than this man who keeps smiling beside you.

"Sit down." Asked the man once again.

With a heavy heart, you sat beside the man. He positioned his body too close to you.

"Where did Jaehyun find such a stunning Iris as yours? To be honest, I was just curious about the shape of an iris at first, but you are really beautiful." He put his hands on the back of the chair you were sitting on and smiled. You feel like you can slit his throat right now. Didn't he realize that Iris had an exceptionally strong power?

"Ah, thank you, sir," You replied, "Johnny." He talks back.

It really doesn't matter what his name is to you. "Certainly, Mr. Johnny."

After talking not too long, you begin to feel that he is somebody who might place a very high price on you. He continued to discuss himself and how incredible it would be assuming that you lived with him. Disgusting, you think. Not to mention his eyes that look at you with disrespect. You are now extremely uncomfortable; he should be aware that Iris has feelings as well.

Suddenly, you realized that the orchestral melody stopped. A few heads moved in the direction of the entrance door of the dinner hall. All of the people at the dining table stopped talking, and the room became silent. Your gaze meets the cause of the silence in this room, Jung Jaehyun. His figure rendered everyone in this room unworthy of praise, and he was wearing a black coat.

As Jaehyun got closer to where you were sitting, your heart is pounding wildly. The attendees of the event began to whisper to one another, praising and denigrating the man who owned the palace. On the other hand, you can only pay attention to Jaehyun, the person who pulled the chair in front of you.

“Greetings!” After Jaehyun sat down, the orchestra resumed playing and people started talking again. Johnny raised his wine glass at Jung Jaehyun, who only returned a faint smile.

A second later, Jaehyun looked back at you. You went back to acting as though you cared about Johnny's nonsense because you couldn't look at Jaehyun back..

"Don't you want to take off your mask? Me and Jaehyun don't want to show our faces ourselves." Johnny offers you a proposition you truly don't have any desire to make.

You gave the man a bitter smile. "I believe I'm comfortable with this mask, sir." You use your right hand to hold the mask on your face. Many second thoughts that show up in your mind. You should have refused the invitation to come to this event and lie that you still feel sick. Nonetheless, it was all too late.

"Come on." Johnny held your hand that was still holding your mask, he pulled the mask by force, making you unable to move. It feels like your body is freezing, you really don't like this guy. You would rather die rotting in the holding chamber of the Shermer concentration camp than being in this room.

"Johnny, don't you still want to have hands?"

The loud question from Jaehyun made the visitors quiet for once again. On the other side, Johnny did not expect what he had just heard. Jaehyun's gaze which now moves to Johnny makes you tremble; he truly can kill someone with his eyes.

"Pardon me?" Johnny smiled, belittling the man who was threatening him.

"Keep your hands off my woman."

You were taken aback by Jaehyun's sentence this time. Did he really just say that? You’re his what? And why does he looks even scarier?

As you turn your view back to the man beside you, you see Johnny's hand is ready to take the wine glass that he had just put on the dining table. He drank the remaining wine down to the very last drop, then he stood up, arms outstretched, as if ready to throw the glass at the man sitting across from you.

Quickly, you stood up and held Johnny's hand. Jaehyun has brought enough attention to this dinner table, you don't want more people to find out about Iris' presence in this room. Johnny, however, was stubborn and tried to let go of your firm hold. The wine glass he's holding scratches your mask, leaving the sharp edge cutting your cheek. Painful, you let go of your hand from Johnny's arm to hold the wound on your cheek. With your own eyes, bloodstains can be seen on your palms.

However, you weren't the only one who saw that.

Seeing your blood on your hand, Jaehyun took the pistol hanging on his pants. He pulled the trigger of his pistol and the hot bullet flew from the gun, piercing Johnny's shoulder. The loud gunshots made the visitors scream, running here and there. Your eyes were shaking, you didn't know what to do, let alone seeing Johnny screaming in pain and lying on the floor. The chaotic atmosphere of the hall made you freeze silent. You can feel your body being pushed by several bodies of visitors trying to leave this room as fast as possible. Jaehyun himself is silent watching Johnny's blood pouring out a lot. He looked at Mark, trying to get past the visitors.

You saw Mark rushing towards you, holding your back to guide you out of the hall. One of the guards announces that the event is cancelled. “Miss, we have to hurry.”

In no time, Mark escorted you back to your room.

6. Company

Linda was very worried when she heard the news that Mark had to say. As if it’s a usual for her, the woman didn't spend long treating your wound. With the alcohol liquid she used to clean your wound, she covered the scratch on your cheek with gauze. You thanked her, then Linda let you rest in your own room. This is a really bad night for you.

Even in bed, you just lean on the back of the mattress. That incident still shakes you enough, making you unable to sleep. You put your hands right on top of the blanket covering your feet. If you weren't stubborn enough to get through the town of Shermer, none of this would have happened.

You see the ceiling of your bedroom wall, filled with flower paintings that are familiar to you. For someone who doesn't like flowers, Jaehyun decorated many parts of his palace with flowers. Speaking of Jaehyun, you think back on of what just happened. Was he protecting you? Didn't he want to sell you to those disgusting humans in the hall earlier? Your head is full of questions about Jung Jaehyun once more.

You need a new atmosphere to calm your mind.

It doesn’t take long for you to find yourself walking the corridors of the palace. Even though it was night, this palace was still so beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful to look at. The light that is not so bright makes you realize how beautiful this palace is even without the paintings in sight. Every sculpt feels so carefully crafted, you really want to live in a place like this when you make it out of here.

But your steps stopped when you heard another step coming in front of you. The sound of heavy heels left you speechless, are the palace guards still roaming around in the middle of the night? You try to take a step closer because the light isn't bright enough to make you unable to see clearly the person approaching you.

"Sir?" You know the figure in front of you now. Jaehyun had changed into a black satin shirt. His distinctive body makes you recognize the man even though his face is not very clear. “Why are you here?”

Jaehyun was silent. He lowered his body for a moment, his face he brought closer to yours. You closed your eyes, not daring to see the man this close to you. However, he only wants to see the wound on your face.

You open your eyes, dare yourself to look back at the man who made you feel so messed up today. He looked back at you as usual, without taking his face away from you. This guy has really such beautiful features, you have to admit it.

He finally pulled his face away from you after staring at you for quite a while. His eyes turned toward your room which is not far from behind your body. "Is your room not comfortable enough?"

"What? No, no. I just... couldn't sleep." You shake your head. The room provided by Jaehyun is far from uncomfortable. So is this palace, only, you didn't want to be in this place in the first place.

Jaehyun was silent for a moment. "It's not safe for you to wander around alone in this place." he said. His voice is as low as the abyss that you often cross every season.

Not knowing what to say, you lowered your head downwards. Looking at your bare feet with Jaehyun's shoes facing each other. This man never seems to catch a break.

"Keep me company tonight." He adds.

author’s note: aaahhh what do we feel about this? sorry to disturb you in the middle of this hot tension... if this gains attention i PROMISEEE i will continue this series. what do we feel about mr. richy rich mysterious jung jaehyun? tell me your thoughts about this one <3 i love youuuuuuu alllllll and sorry for the long wait!

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