Chapter Text
Jeongguk was more than aware of his elemental magic. Using it, for him, is akin to indulging in a guilty pleasure. The relaxation that he got from using the magic was incredible, like being able to scratch that one impossible itch under his skin that he couldn’t reach in any other way. If Jeongguk was to be perfectly honest, he loved his magic but the guilt he got from thinking that was excruciating.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that his guilt for his enjoyment and magic came from his parents. It was taught to him from a very early age that some beings were simply just less than others. Shifters, vampires and fae were obviously high in status due to the fact that they possessed physical differences and they could make significant contributions to society with their abilities. Elementals, on the other hand, were the scraps at the bottom of the barrel when it came to beings, barely worth more than humans. With no overt physical features to set them apart from humans at a glance, his parents had informed him that they were considered to be some of the lowest ranked individuals in society. Many, many times Jeongguk had been instructed to never discuss what he was. By the time he was twelve, he was well-practised in the art of dancing around questions about his nature, and it only continued to grow and evolve until he became skilled at weaving so many loops in conversation that the other person left knowing less than when they started.
Jeongguk knows that his parents are bigoted beyond belief, but after having something hammered into your brain for years upon years it was hard not to internalise it. He was aware of the painful irony since Jeongguk actively strived to be welcoming and inclusive to everyone he met regardless of their background. But hey, Jeongguk could do as he wanted - when he was away from his parents and their informants.
The tailor his parents had forced him to use was a werewolf, almost definitely an alpha with the way he was pumping out his obnoxious bitter potpourri scent and smirking at Jeongguk as if it was meant to make him attracted.
Frankly, it was actually making him want to hurl.
Jeongguk’s skin itched in the places the tailor’s hands had been as he adjusted the final version of the suit. Objectively, Jeongguk knew that he wasn’t bad on the eyes (many strangers and friends alike had told him so) but he was aware that having a well-fitted suit was definitely helping him right now. It was a three-piece suit, tailored expertly to flatter his frame. The black silk lapels were chosen to reflect the lights in the room and highlight his figure underneath, whilst also displaying that he came from money.
Jeongguk hated it.
Well, he didn’t hate it. The suit itself was exquisite, made very well and comfortable to wear. He hated that he had to wear it.
The ball was later tonight and Jeongguk was absolutely dreading his whole participation in the event. As his mother had told him to, he had already carefully planned out his whole exit strategy through illness - complete with some setting powder that was several shades too light for him that he would apply in the toilets to really sell it. As soon as his watch told him it was the sixtieth minute after his arrival, he would be putting the whole plan into action. Jeongguk enjoyed social gatherings as much as the next introverted soul forced to attend them, but he simply despised being in the aristocratic snobby social circles that would be there tonight.
“Jeon-ssi, I have been informed that this suit is to be on your parents’ account.” The werewolf stepped too far into his personal space to be comfortable.
Jeongguk managed a tight smile. “Indeed.”
“You know, it would be such a shame if-”
“You’ll have to forgive me.” Jeongguk took a large step backwards. “I have other commitments to attend to before the ball this evening and I would hate to be late.”
The tailor’s scent flared aggressively, and Jeongguk couldn’t stop his reflexive throat movement.
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“It is terribly ironic, do you not think?”
“What is, dear?”
“Well, after the massacre that took place all those years ago for their son to be one of them.”
“Indeed, I suppose the irony is there. Then again, I would argue that the fact the son is alive proves that their word can not be trusted. ‘Without exception or hesitation’, I believe was the phrase they used.”
“I believe it was, as well.” A pause. “I highly doubt he knows.”
There was a high-pitched laugh. “Of course, he does not know. They most certainly could not have told him. It would mean admitting that they are not as supreme as they raised him to think they were.”
“That would be unsurprising if it were true. Do you think that he should know?”
“That, my dear, I can not answer. In the times that we currently are in, the only thing that we can trust to tell us is their own actions.”
“Whose actions are you referring to?”
Only a smile was given in return.
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Fate and stars be damned, Yoongi was not having a good time.
Yoongi was infamously protective about his coven, down to their happiness and doing whatever was in his power to maintain it. He had gotten better about it over the time that they had spent together, but these days it didn’t seem so easy for him.
He knows that he messed up that night at the cafe when Seokjin and Hoseok had been with the person he now knew to be Jeongguk. He knows that it was wrong to lash out at him when he trusts his coven to never do anything different that what they should do. He knows that his coven mates were right to pull him on his bullshit that night and that he does need to address it with the kid as well.
Yoongi knows these things.
Truth be told, Yoongi doesn’t even know why he became so irate at the time.
He remembers the day well enough - it had been rough. His work at the studio had been painful, none of the beats had been sounding right on the track he could have sworn he would have been submitting before he left that night. Yoongi’s work as a music producer was something that he treasured and took great pride in. His work often was used by famous artists both in South Korea and globally so he knew he wasn’t bad at his profession.
Alas, for some reason that day hadn’t been a good one.
Yoongi’s instincts had also been warring under his skin, like an impossible itch, telling him something was wrong. He used to feel it more before he met the coven, and had always attributed the bond to be the reason why it had settled. He had five incredible mates that loved him as unconditionally as he loved them, why wouldn’t his instincts be happy with that? Occasionally, he could feel restless when he hadn’t shifted for a while but that couldn’t be the issue when he had literally been a cat the night before. In the past, when he had spoken to his mother about it, she had suggested that it could be phantom feelings from his coven’s seventh although it was a tenuous suggestion.
As a shapeshifter, Yoongi had remarkable instincts about people. He often could pick up on emotions and subtle cues that others couldn’t. He also tended to be able to notice pheromone changes if they were strong enough - but this was a skill that had seemed to mostly fade over time. When something happened in the coven, he was often put on damage control as he could get to the bottom of things a lot quicker than his mates could. Yoongi had tried to say that it was just because of their bond and how well he knew them, but the coven has insisted that there is something more to it.
He felt utterly like a wrung out cloth by the time he had made it to Serendipity to go back home with Seokjin. Before he entered the cafe, he had heard his oldest dongsaeng’s laugh and it had alleviated some of the tension brewed in his chest. The wave of sheer power, though, that had slammed into him from an unknown aura upon opening the door had Yoongi’s hackles raised. His coven mates seemed entirely content with the stranger sitting next to them, even going as far to be unguarded.
Yoongi had to forcefully push down his instincts.
"Hoseokie, Jin-hyung, who's that?" He had said. He had done an excellent job at being ambivalent, if he does say so himself.
The stranger, that he would come to know as Jeongguk, started rambling about something or other and standing up. The action had caused Jeongguk’s aura to become more known to Yoongi, and there was something so achingly familiar about it.
Yoongi’s pulse had thrummed in his chest, his fingers, his head. It burned at him that the aura was so damn familiar.
He had felt one before, one that was almost the same. Where had he felt it before? Yoongi’s mind was blazing in an effort to find it, tearing through memories from centuries of life. His body went from feeling incredibly hot, to incredibly cold in an instant.
The massacre.
So many emotions slammed through his system at once. Why was this person here? What did he want with his coven? The coven had fought against it. What could his angle be? Did he want to hurt the coven? It can’t be that. His mates would have picked up on it. Why was he there?
Seokjin had started to say something to the younger man. "Guk-ah, you don't have to-"
"Oh, so Guk-ah, is it?" The words had been out of his mouth before his brain had even thought them. Even if Yoongi’s instincts were screaming at him to do something about Jeongguk’s presence, he was aware that it had been a dick move. Well, maybe it was in hindsight he knew that.
Yoongi’s normally logical thought pattern still resembled something closer to Jjajangmyeon. It was only when Jeongguk rushed past him did he realise his mistake.
Although, technically, he hadn’t made a mistake. At least, not about the fact that the aura had been so familiar to him because of the massacre. Yoongi did know the aura from the massacre, yet he recognised it so strongly because he had witnessed so many of them fading, not because he had seen their owners committing the atrocities.
Unfortunately, Yoongi had then gotten himself into a horrible position: his mates were mad at him, and he also possessed the knowledge of a living elemental in Seoul.
Yoongi had thought he could have been in the clear (he did take the argument that followed as a harsh blow to his heart) until his sweet, sweet Taehyung had come home talking about the cutest doe-eyed dongsaeng that he had acquired on campus.
He thanks the gods to this day that he was a cat for that conversation.
In retrospect, Yoongi can’t work out why no one in his coven has brought up Jeongguk’s species as an important discussion. He didn’t know if they were going for the whole ‘if we don’t speak about it, it’s not an issue’ plan but if he was honest, he thought that was a terrible idea. For crying out loud, there had been a number of massacres of Jeongguk’s species and he wasn’t registered under the Seoul Creatures Registry by the council otherwise Seokjin would know. Yoongi knows his hyung well enough to think that he would have mentioned something as big as what this was. There’s no doubt in Yoongi’s mind that Seokjin has to know. He is steadfast in his approach though, because if no one else is going to address the elephant in the room then he wouldn’t either.
When Taehyung had brought Jeongguk to the cafe that day when he had been spending time with Seokjin, Yoongi had been delighted to see the kid looking significantly better than the time before. He had padded his feline body over to the elemental, happy to be scooped up into his arms despite his usual displeasure. Jeongguk’s aura was just so cosy now he knew what it was. Yoongi decided that he would try and apologise the next time that they met when he was human.
A couple weeks later, his beloved basilisk dongsaeng had bustled into the living room and insisted that they all go out for the night at the end of the week since everyone had been so busy. Jimin had gone on to say how important it was to spend time with as a pack and he listed off reason after reason but Yoongi had slowly tuned him out. When their youngest mates requested something, it was a given that it was going to happen regardless of anyone’s actual desires about it.
Listen, Yoongi wasn’t trying to be a dickhead to Jeongguk, but this night did make it seem so. He hadn’t recognised him at first, Yoongi just saw him looking like he was about to walk into Taehyung and acted. In hindsight, he should have seen that there was a small gap next to him that Jeongguk must have been aiming for and he acted prematurely.
Fate and stars be damned, indeed.
Yoongi truly felt awful when he heard about the panic the kid had spiralled into when told about it. He was endlessly glad that his mates had made the decision to bring him home for the night. His need to assuage guilt had driven him to curl up with Jeongguk for the night and to keep an eye on him. He had to admit he didn’t think it would be possible to be jealous of one of his animal forms, but he did envy how comfortable Jeongguk was with him as a cat. And yes, Yoongi knew it was all entirely his fault for the mess he was now in with the elemental but he would like to propose the situation with his mates is not.
Because, really, how is no one else having at least a slight meltdown over this?
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“Straighten your fucking back!” The hiss was followed by a sharp stab of fake nails to his spine between his shoulder blades.
Jeongguk barely suppressed a wince.
Dutifully, he did as he was told as his mother moved past him to elegantly link arms with his father. They appeared to the crowds gathered as the perfect prim and proper couple as they began to ascend the steps to the mansion the ball was being held at. Jeongguk thought that the estate was lovely; he had seen meticulously kept flowers on the way in, the mansion itself seemed homely with the warm lights and laughter spilling out and he could make out the grounds extending out beyond the main building. He supposed that he would have been honoured to witness it, had it been any other situation that he was in. Shame that it had to be the location of his current hell on earth.
With a haste that would appear causal to any onlooker, he followed his parents up the curved steps and through the grand open doors. A waitress passed him a flute of champagne, and he accepted it gracefully and with a sincere comment of gratitude.
He hated the look of shock on her face.
The ballroom itself had been exquisitely decorated with hues of burgundy and warm creams coating the walls and furniture. Warm white lighting gave the large space an enchanting feel and made it feel simultaneously more intimate and regal. Jeongguk wished for his camera to capture the moments in front of him, the swirling of gowns that he could see, the reflections from jewellery that adorned the necks of many and the smiles of the guests. Hell, his hand twitched as he restrained himself from pulling his phone from his pocket to keep the image. Alas, Jeongguk did know better than to ever do something as foolish as his passion in front of his parents. He hated that he had been forced to know better.
Just fifty-nine more minutes.
Jeongguk fell back into a detested rhythm of small talk and aristocracy like oil into water: easily, and obviously. Admittedly, he found it marginally less painful when he knew the family that his parents were forcing him to talk to, especially if they were some of the ones he recognised as the ones his parents didn’t actually like. The ones that they spoke to just to maintain the facade - merely a coincidence that Jeongguk took more time and effort in those conversations. He wasn’t an idiot because he knew that his mother had noticed what he was doing at least once but he was protected by the social setting furthered by the fact that he was to leave alone tonight.
“My eyes must be deceiving me since it couldn’t possibly be Jeon Jeongguk before me.” The mentioned man spun around in surprise, as did his parents. “Oh, it is! How delightful to see you!”
Jeongguk smiled warmly. “How good it is to see you as well.”
Who the fuck was this?
The woman smiled, eyes creasing at the corners. “Indeed. You’re looking rather well.”
Don’t misunderstand, Jeongguk still didn’t have a clue who this woman was yet he continued the charade regardless. “I’m flattered, but I have no doubt that I pale in comparison to your radiance tonight.”
A delighted laugh followed his sentence. “Ever the charmer. Tell me, what have you been occupying your time with these days?”
“Jeongguk-ah, son, perhaps we could go and collect these fine ladies drinks?” His father’s deep voice appeared at his shoulder and he felt his mother’s hand positioned on his elbow.
It was at that moment, a man appeared at the woman’s side. “Ah there will be no need for that. Why don’t we discuss the recent business in our Busan’s ports whilst my wife talks with him? I’d love to hear about the recent prospects.”
Jeongguk noted the slight Satoori lilt to the man’s voice and smiled internally.
“Oh, that would be fantastic, darling! Jeongguk-ah can escort me to the canapé table as we discuss things.” The cheery tone she used did nothing to belie the sarcasm on the diminutive of his name that his father used.
That was both a comfort and alarming because the confidence it took to be so brazen in the presence of his parents at this ball.
“It would be my honour to escort you.” Jeongguk offered an arm, in line with the etiquette currently expected of him.
The woman took it with practised grace, and signaled for him to lead her away. Even with his back to his parents, he could feel the strangling looks of his parents. They warned him to not do anything so imprudent as to humiliate them at this event.
Nothing could be so embarrassing, he mused, as not knowing who he was with.
“I do hope you will forgive me for being so familiar with you earlier and I have to apologise since I simply can not stand your parents.”
Nothing could have helped the startled laugh that burst out Jeongguk’s mouth, and the one that came from the woman next to him. Eyes from across the room became focused on them, most with a shocked face to match while others betrayed curious thoughts.
“I think you will agree that my parents are rather unique people.” Jeongguk’s smile felt less false than it had before.
A gloved hand covered her lips as the woman laughed behind her hand. “I suppose the word ‘unique’ is not a misused one when describing them.”
The stares didn’t lessen, if anything they increased, which Jeongguk noticed. He knew that meant whoever this woman was, she was someone of significant importance and he would do well not to cause offence in any way. Then again, she did seem fairly relaxed as far as people at these events go. Stars know she has to be considering what she’s said to Jeongguk so far.
The canapés came into view and Jeongguk made sure to guide her through the people carefully to avoid incidents. He collected a plate and gestured to the vast array in front of them.
“May I plate you the ones that you would like?”
“Oh Jeongguk-ssi,” She chuckled. “I have no intention of having any at the moment. I just wanted to talk to you without the oppression of your parents.”
Jeongguk put the plate back down. “Well, I highly doubt that they can hear us now.”
“Indeed. I’m Park Mijeong. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The woman bowed her head.
Jeongguk replied in kind. “Jeon Jeongguk, although you seem to have known that.”
Mijeong smiled and Jeongguk could tell she found amusement in the situation. “I must admit I did, but if I were you, I would not worry yourself about it. I do insist, however, that I was being sincere earlier when I asked about what occupies your time.”
He can’t say that he entirely threw caution to the wind, but Jeongguk did relax slightly. He may know next to nothing about the woman, but he did know that her and her husband didn’t seem to be fans of his parents and that was enough for him at the moment. Diligently, he began to explain about his degree and his passion that brought him there. Throughout his explanation, Mijeong made her interest known through the way she paid rapt attention and asked questions that Jeongguk was all too willing to answer. There was something about her that made her genuinely interesting to talk to, despite her being in league with his parents in apparent age and status.
“Oh Jeonggukie, it is so delightful to see someone with such passion for the thing they do.”
“I am lucky.” Jeongguk agreed easily.
Mijeong hummed. “I do suppose I ought to let you get back to your parents. It is rather surprising they have let you be out of sight for as long as it has been.”
A glance at his watch tells him he has overstayed his given hour.
He does his best to swallow down his panic. “Quite surprising, yes.”
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“Hyung, I am actually about to lose it if one more person asks if we’re a closed coven or not.” Namjoon took a seat next to Yoongi, who had been quietly sipping on his whiskey on the sidelines.
Yoongi hummed back. “It’s been fucking annoying for decades now. You’d have thought they’d have gotten the hint after Taehyung being the most recent addition about a century ago.”
“You’re both telling me.” Hoseok sat down on Yoongi’s other side.
He supposed he could say that his ‘peace’ had left for now.
Hoseok crossed his legs and leant back. “I can’t imagine how Jin-hyung feels tonight. It’s always so much worse for him.”
“He’s got Taehyung-ah with him now.” Namjoon gestured with his glass. “I think he’ll survive at least ten minutes without the question.”
Yoongi smirked with mirth into his glass as he took a sip.
Jubilant laughter spilled into the air, quickly followed by a lighter, more feminine laugh. The trio turned their heads to the sound, but they couldn’t see the cause of it.
“At least some people are enjoying their night.” Hoseok rolled his neck. “Gods, I hate these things.”
“Hyungs!” Taehyung suddenly appeared, followed promptly by Seokjin, both of whom were looking a little shell-shocked. “Jeonggukie is here!”
Yoongi’s stomach fell onto the floor.
What is he playing at? Is he not aware of how dangerous it is for him to be here tonight?
Yoongi’s eyes quickly swept through the crowd in front of them as he felt his heart beat in his throat.
Where the fuck is that kid?
He caught sight of Jimin’s mother, smiling at a young man with their back to the coven as he offered his arm. As the man turned to lead Mijeong through the crowd, Yoongi noted the clearly practised elegance and manner in which he moved. Mijeong laughed at something at the same time as the man tipped his head back with a chuckle.
Yoongi felt his heart now stop. He was genuinely starting to think Jeongguk was put on the planet purely to give him heart problems because there was no other logical reason as to why he was now at a ball and winning over Jimin’s mother - something regarded as a prestigious honour in the coven.
Damned Yoongi would be if he now let Jeongguk out of his sight. There still hadn’t been conversation over Jeongguk’s heritage between the members of his coven, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen regardless.
He could always explain later.
Mijeong was a force to be reckoned with, and Yoongi knew she had been vehemently against the events that had happened in the past. Whilst Jeongguk was with her, Yoongi could at least let himself breathe. Unfortunately for everyone here tonight, if anything was to go down there would be no hiding from the consequences. Everyone on the registry was in attendance, and those that had been formally excused would be in the know before the first person left the room.
Yoongi took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “I’m getting a drink.”