You just knew that someone was watching you, your whole body was on high alert with the fine hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. Someone was watching you and that scared the shit out of you. 

You hadn’t realised just how long of a drive it was from your new home in the woods to the little town in the valley at the bottom of the mountain. It had taken you over an hour. 

You hoped that once you were used to the locally made rustic roads that cut through the masses of trees and wildlife surrounding your comfy little cabin, that you could cut down travel time massively. 

The sun had still been up, when you climbed into your new -though very secondhand- pick up truck and made your journey down to the town to stock up on all the supplies you knew you required.

Locating the stores you needed was easy enough and the staff were all welcoming and friendly to your new face, helping you find everything on your list- plus a few extra items they suggested may be helpful that far up the mountain away from civilisation.

But of course, the sun soon set and before you knew it, you were walking through an unfamiliar town in the dark, the streets barely lit up and eerily empty. 

You had wanted to visit the local clothing establishments, keen on stocking up on heavy winter boots and a reliable thick coat ahead of time hoping that with the winter having just passed, you could grab a bargain in a sale for winter stock. Yet you quickly realised that once the sun went down, the stores all closed and the townsfolk returned to their homes.

And yet still, someone was watching you. 

You didn’t want to look around for the culprit, worried that if you met their gaze they would be set off and jump you for whatever sinister reason their heart deemed appropriate but you didn’t know the directions to your truck well enough so had no choice but to slow a little in your steps to glance around in every direction for the correct one. That’s when you halted on the path and double-checked your surroundings. 

You were the only person around. There wasn’t even a shadow big enough to conceal another human.

Thoroughly puzzled, you lifted your hands to rub your eyes, figuring you must have been missing something.

That time when you turned in search, you found the culprit but they were not at all what you expected.

“Oh,” The single syllable left your parted lips in a soft breath.

A cat covered in long white hair that looked utterly soft to touch sat upon one of the small circular two-person tables outside of the local coffee shop.

Now, you had never known the copious amount of cat breeds so you couldn’t name this one but you knew it was nothing short of beautiful, ethereal almost.

It stared at you for a moment, almost curiously, before letting out a soft meow. 

When you remained still, it repeated the sound only louder and much firmer. 

“Do you want pets?” You questioned as you cautiously approached the feline not wanting to scare it off. It just watched and when you were close enough, it lowered its head slightly and closed its eyes in wait. Of course, you immediately petted the animal; how could you not when it asked you so politely?

“Huh, you’re even softer than you look, how do you keep that up being an outdoor cat?” You mused. It purred and slowly, you pulled away. 

“I think we both better get home, little one.” It meowed at you and you couldn’t help but laugh at how frustrated the sound came out.

“I’m sure your human must want you back.” It made an odd little sound before gracefully hopping off of the table and started to trot confidently away. Only a few metres away though, it stopped and turned its head to look at you. A loud meow left its little mouth.

“What?” It repeated the sound. “Am I supposed to follow you?” You joked but it emitted an almost pleased purr like sound before turning and continuing on its path.

For some reason you really didn’t know, you followed it. 

A few minutes later, you found yourself standing beside the feline at the closed glass door of an odd store. Literally, it was called “Kim’s Oddities” and you couldn’t even begin to understand how true it was, not at that point in time at least. The understanding comes much later. 

“Now what?” You questioned looking down at the cat. It moved right up to the door and pawed at it gently. 

“Do you live here or something?” A meow and more pawing. “It’s closed, the lights are off, no-one’s in.” The look it gave you made you feel oddly scolded. “What? I can’t magically open the door for you, kitty cat.”

With a sound that suspiciously resembled a huff, it turned and stalked to the alley to your right, directly beside the building. You rushed after the beautiful, mysterious creature curiously.

As you watched intently, it hopped up on top of the car parked there then onto the dumpster behind it before finally managing to be at sufficient height to pounce onto the metal platform for the emergency stairs attached to the side of the building leading up the three floors.

The cat climbed up to the next platform that met the open window of the second floor before jumping inside and disappearing. 

“If you could do that, why even lead me here?” You gawped in disbelief. A furry little head popped up at the window followed by a loud meow. 

“Like hell I’m following you up there. Think again, kit cat. I don’t want to get arrested for breaking and entering...or just entering I suppose considering its already open.” Your words got quieter as you started to mumble to yourself. 

Another call from the fluff ball dragged your attention back to the window. 

“I’m going home now. Goodnight, little one.” Even hearing the relentless meowing from two floors above you, you kept walking away until you eventually found your truck and made the long dark drive back to your cabin.

*

For some reason, all night and morning all you could think of was that damn walking cloud that tried to potentially lure you to your death. Even as you made your way around the clothes store to stock up your winter closet - which yes you did get at reduced prices due to it being spring - and then into the neighbouring stores curiously, your mind kept returning to the cat.

After placing your purchases in your truck and sitting in the driver’s seat having an internal battle, you climbed back out, locked your vehicle and started to walk down the paths.

You had no idea where you were really, it was too dark the night before for anything to look familiar enough to be helpful in the midday sunlight.

As soon as you spotted the coffee shop though, you knew you were headed in the right direction.

It didn’t take long to reach “Kim’s Oddities” after that.

In the daylight, the building was a lot more inviting than the night before, especially with the door propped open allowing the gentle breeze to freshen up the inside air.

Slowly, you entered the little store to find that it wasn’t quite as little as you previously assumed with stacks of shelving units placed seemingly haphazardly within the spaces either side, all full to the brim with various strange looking objects that honestly, you did not want to mess with. Your parents ...You were raised to not mess with anything that claimed a link to the supernatural even if you were also raised to not believe in anything supernatural; a contradiction you still didn’t understand as an adult.

To the left side also stood a few small circular tables each only big enough for two chairs each.

In the centre of the store was a large counter that stretched around into an elongated U shape with both ends connecting to the back wall and a walkway between them into the back room which was hidden by a beaded curtain.

As you approached the desk you could make out what looked to be small cauldrons bubbling away on two hobs, one on either inner side of the U.

“Hello!” You jolted at the sudden friendly greeting, having been too occupied staring into the swirling, glistening blue of the left cauldron to notice as a tall man with deep dimples stepped out from behind the curtain and into the U. You looked up to meet his bright eyes. He was smiling down at you from the cauldron on the right, the one that looked to be boiling tar if the thickness and colour of its contents was anything to go by.

“You must be our new resident! Y/N, right?” You raised your eyebrows, completely taken by surprise that he knew you by name despite the fact you had only moved in 24 hours ago. 

“Small town, news travels very fast around here.” He chuckled. 

“Right, yeah, I’m Y/N.” You confirmed.

“I’m Namjoon, owner of Kim’s Oddities! I have to be honest, I didn’t expect to see you here so soon. I knew that sooner or later your curiosity would get the better of you and you’d be in to check out my stock but not today.” 

“Uh, honestly, I’m here for the cat.” You spoke a little awkwardly. His smile dropped as confusion took over his features.

“The cat?” 

“Yeah, last night a little fluff ball pretty much yelled at me to follow it here and I’m pretty sure it wanted me to let it in the front door but it was dark and closed so it went up the fire escape in the alley.” Still, Namjoon just stared at you as if he was trying to decipher your words. “That was your cat, right? Soft, white, long-haired thing with attitude?” A slow nod moved his head. 

“Is my accent too strong? Can you understand me?” 

“Oh! Yes! Sorry, I can understand you perfectly fine, your accent is barely noticeable on most words. I was just surprised that he approached you, especially let you touch him. He uh...he’s a bit of ****, to put it bluntly. He doesn’t like being touched and even hisses at me when I try half of the time.” Namjoon laughed loudly. “I’m glad he has finally found someone that he likes. I’ll go get him!” Before he could fully turn, you let out a noise that had Namjoon turning back to you with wide eyes, as if you had scolded him.

“Don’t bother. I just wanted to make sure he’s actually yours and that he got home safe.” 

“Yep! He’s sleeping the day away as usual in his room.” 

“His room?” You mumbled but quickly shook your head with a sigh when he opened his mouth to reply. “You know what? You can do what you want with your pet. If you have space, why not give him a whole room? Anyway, I should get going.” 

“Oh, right,” He gave you a soft, almost sad kind of smile. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Y/N. Don’t be a stranger, come along any day, even if it’s just to pet Yoongi.” 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” You gave him the first smile of the encounter that had his dimples proudly on show once again, even if your smile was just a pathetic little thing. 

“Bye.” You waved a little awkwardly and left the building unaware of the extra pair of eyes peering at you from behind the beaded curtain.

Within the first month of living all alone up in the woods, you came to quickly realise that you would not survive the winter if you had to drive back and forth down the mountain weekly to replenish your stocks. You had a feeling that even if the drive didn’t suck, you wouldn’t be able to survive simply because you wouldn’t be able to make the drive in the first place. The roads would surely be thick with snow and ice in the colder months.

So, you realised that you had to learn to be self-sufficient and fast.

Your cabin stood in a large clearing which you owned meaning you had plenty of space to grow your own crops, once you learned how to, of course.

You decided to dedicate a large portion of the ground in front of your home to your endeavours which still left you with ample parking space.

Around the back of the cabin stood proud a small shed, one you had entered only once out of curiosity on your first day and then immediately vacated realising it was empty and nothing of interest lived within.

On this day though, you unlocked the door and stepped inside where you found a bunch of old, rusted gardening equipment hanging on the wall. 

“Well, that’s no good.” You pouted taking down an axe to pick at the rust on the blade. “This won’t cut shit.” With a huff, you tossed the item down to the floor carelessly knowing you had to replace it. You had intended to move onto the next item to inspect it but the axe had made a hollow sound as it landed against the floorboards.

Kneeling down, you moved the axe to roam your eyes over the boards. Only when you were looking closely could you spot the little latch hidden in the natural grooves on a particular board. It was a trap door. 

Once it was open, you saw a ladder leading down under the shed. 

Luckily, you had already taken a torch with you into the small building so you grabbed it from the workbench and turned it on, shining your beam down into the hole.

With the help of the torch, you could see that the ladder didn’t go far at all, barely taller than yourself and led to more wooden flooring so, you climbed down carefully and dragged your beam across the moderately sized space. 

A surprised inhale inflated your chest when you realised that the small room you were standing in was a homemade chiller. The air was much much colder than in the shed which surprised you considering that you weren’t far down at all but you couldn’t focus on the temperature but instead the stacks of jars and small, handmade wooden crates.

It didn’t take more than a second to understand that every container was full of food, prepared by the previous owners; people that had been dead almost all of your life.

Your face turned up and you weren’t sure if it was caused by a dull pain for the lost lives or disgust due to how long the food had actually been down there.

In the end, you decided it was a task for another day and left the chiller how you found it to continue with your previous task of checking your gardening supplies to see exactly what you needed to buy in town.

*

Thankfully, there was a gardening supply store in town that you had spotted recently so you at least didn’t have to venture further afield to stock up.

When you entered, a few other townsfolk were already inside picking up their own supplies and gave you polite smiles of greeting as you passed. You nodded in greeting back before heading to the cash desk in search of a staff member. 

“Hello!” A bright voice chirped coming up behind you. You jumped and a giggle moved around you until a man with red hair and a heart-shaped, wide smile appeared at your side.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

“It’s fine. You’re light on your feet.” 

“That I am,” He giggled. “So, what can I help you with today, miss?” 

“I was wondering if I could get a hand picking out everything I need to start growing my own crops. I live up the mountain so I figure it’s a good idea to be as self-sustaining as possible.” 

“Ahh, you must be Y/N.” You tilted your head curiously. “Small town, news spread very fast.” 

“I’ve heard that before.” You mused, a smile tugging your lips. “Is this your store? Could you help me?” 

“I’m afraid it’s not, I’m just covering for the owner while he runs to pick up a few things from our friend across town. He won’t be long though, assuming he doesn’t get distracted.” He chuckled lightly. 

“Ah, okay, I guess I’ll look around. I know a few things I need to replace but mostly I’m lost.” 

“It’s not easy work but, you look like you can handle it.” His eyes twinkled a little as he looked at you, something meaningful on his features that you couldn’t decipher. 

“Oh!” He suddenly straightened up a little as his face lit up with signs of a good idea. “I know there are some gardening books around here, I can at least show you which ones I’ve heard are the most useful.” 

So, the kind man with flaming hair led you through the aisles to the stand of books and started to inform you of everything he knew of each one, reviews from friends and some of the store’s customers.

When the bell at the front desk dinged, he excused himself with a smile and a hand on your shoulder to serve a customer leaving you alone with the books.

You were flicking through a book about how to preserve vegetables when a shadow loomed over your shoulder and darkened the pages. Lifting your head, you spotted a tall male with tanned skin and kind eyes behind you. 

“Hi, I’m Taehyung, you can call me Tae, this is my store!” 

“Oh,” You closed the book and slotted it back onto the shelf to turn to face him fully. “I’m Y/N.” 

“I know,” He grinned. “Hoseok tells me you’re looking to grow your own food at your cabin up the mountain?” 

“Yeah, only problem being I have neither the supplies or knowledge to do so.” 

“Not a problem,” A light chuckle shook his shoulders gently. “I was raised with my knees in soil digging around, I’m certain I can help you out, Y/N.” He motioned for you to follow him so you did. 

As the pair of you walked around the store, Taehyung pointed out different objects and told you their uses and what they’re best and least suited for. 

Taehyung was so enthusiastic and helpful, especially when you asked him questions, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the fact that he could pass on his knowledge to another. It was pretty endearing honestly. 

You had no idea how long you trailed along beside him with eyes and ears wide open in hopes of absorbing as much information as humanly possible but you found that you didn’t mind, Taehyung had a way of sucking you in and keeping your attention on him and him only. It was nice to not have wandering thoughts. 

“So, I think that’s everything.” He announced when you were both back at the cash desk where Hoseok, the red-haired man, was nibbling on an apple as he sat on the single rickety wooden stool on the opposite side of the desk to you. 

“I hope so, you’ve been talking poor Y/N’s ear off for an hour, Tae,” Hoseok commented with a giggle.

“Oh? I have?” A blush crept up Taehyung’s golden skin and tinted his cheeks the cutest shade of pink. “You should’ve told me to shut up, I’m sorry, Y/N. I just really love gardening and helping people learn the joys and benefits of it.” 

“No, no, it’s alright, I really didn’t mind at all. I didn’t realise it had been so long myself.” You admitted with a warm smile that made him relax immediately upon hearing the honesty in your tone.

“It’s always nice to hear someone talk about something with such passion and love like that.” 

“There’s nothing Tae here loves more than gardening,” Hoseok informed. 

“It’s true,” Taehyung chuckled almost shyly. “It’s my one true love.” 

“I’m glad you have it, most people never find something they care for that much.” 

“Like you?” You tilted your head. “Uh! I didn’t mean that like you have nothing! I just! You said it like you don’t have passion for something.” 

“It’s fine,” You laughed. “You’re right, I don’t have passion for anything, not anymore. Maybe I’ll grow to share your enthusiasm for gardening, that would be nice.” 

“It would, no-one here shares it,” He pouted looking directly at Hoseok who made an offended sound.

“Excuse you, Kim Taehyung! I always join you on your excursions into the woods to collect wildflowers and berries and check on your crops!” 

“But you have no love for it,” Taehyung whined. You couldn’t help but giggle as they continued to bicker childishly. 

“Anyway!” Hoseok cut Taehyung off with a stern look to turn his attention back to you. 

“Was Tae helpful?” 

“Immensely, more than I could’ve hoped for.” You confirmed with a nod. Taehyung beamed proudly. 

“Oh actually, I have a question about preserved food.” Taehyung looked at you curiously, silently encouraging you to continue. “I found food storage under my shed full of jars and crates of preserved food but I’m aware that no-one has lived there in two decades-”

“Two decades?” Hoseok mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows together. “Where exactly is your cabin, Y/N?” 

“It’s in this like big clearing. Just after the lake.” 

“Wait, do you live in the Kang cabin?” Hoseok and Taehyung shared a look that you didn’t understand but it didn’t sit well with you.

“Yeah, why?” 

“Just… didn’t know it went up for sale.” Hoseok looked back at you, a smile on his face that you could tell just wasn’t genuine. 

“It didn’t.” You admitted. “I inherited it.” 

“Seriously?” Taehyung gawped. You simply nodded. “But...the Kang’s died a long time ago, I remember it. No-one survived.” 

“What happened to them?” 

“We’re not supposed to talk about it. It was a dark day for the town.” Hoseok announced solemnly. “Sorry, Y/N but, you probably shouldn’t ask about it.” 

“Can I at least know if they were murdered, is it dangerous to be associated with them?” 

“You’ll have no problems living in their cabin, even if it’s a bit strange that you do,” Hoseok was staring at you as if he suddenly didn’t quite trust you, as if you had come to own the comfy home immorally. 

“Not what I meant but I have a feeling this conversation has reached its end and you won’t indulge me any further.” You replied before turning your attention to Taehyung, almost giving Hoseok the cold shoulder. You did not like the vibe he was suddenly giving off.

“How much for everything I need?” Taehyung looked confused for a moment before rattling off a number that was not at all what you expected. “That’s it, for all of that?” 

“I’m not in this for the money, Y/N,” Taeheyung chuckled. 

“You need to earn a living, you should charge more.” He simply shrugged so you pulled out your wallet and counted out more than the amount he asked for. 

“Keep whatever change is left,” He opened his mouth to argue so you took the money back and handed it to Hoseok. 

“I have a feeling you will agree to take it all for Taehyung’s sake.” 

“Good instincts,” Hoseok muttered taking the cash and placing it straight into the cash register. 

“I feel bad,” Taehyung whined. “Why don’t you leave your key with me and I’ll pick out and load up for you while you go treat yourself to some lunch or something?” 

“No, it’s fine, Taehyung, I didn’t do that for extra help. You already gave me a free gardening lesson, took time out of your work to teach me all that. I don’t want you to load my truck for me.” 

“How about this then, I’ll come up to your cabin one day soon and help you figure out what to do with the food in your storage? I’m guessing that’s what you wanted advice on earlier?” 

“I did but you don’t have to do that, it’s a long drive.” 

“Just make something nice for lunch and we’ll be even.” He grinned, smiling wide and bright. You couldn’t help but give in with a small chuckle.

“Alright, fine, that sounds reasonable to me.” 

Even though you had argued his help, Taehyung still helped you pick out everything you needed and load it into the bed of your truck, chattering to you happily the whole time. The pair of you even agreed that he would visit your home the following Tuesday on his next day off.

As you drove away out of town towards your home, you couldn’t help but remember the way Hoseok’s attitude changed towards you once he learned you lived in the Kang cabin. There was a big secret there you hadn’t been aware of until that moment but you wanted nothing more than to find out what it was.

***

When Taehyung arrived on Tuesday morning, you were already elbow-deep in soil, knees and boots caked in the stuff.

Upon hearing a vehicle getting closer, you sat back on your heels to look over at the entrance to your little personal world. A minute later, a truck pulled into sight with Taehyung already smiling widely at you from behind the wheel. You waved in greeting, offering a smile back before turning back to your job to finish turning the soil.

Honestly, you didn’t quite know why you were doing it but something in you made your body start the work the day before after creating a crude barrier for your planned plot with bamboo sticks and thin rope.

“Started the fun without me, huh?” Taehyung whistled as he stood beside you and eyed over the freshly turned soil with raised eyebrows. 

“You know, for someone that didn’t know what a trowel was actually called before we met, you seem to know what you’re doing here.” You laughed lightly as he dropped beside you and stuck his fingers into the earth. 

“I didn’t expect you to turn your ground like this, you dug deep.” 

“Something in me wouldn’t settle until I did. Had a weird feeling about the top layers.” 

“Really?” You hummed in confirmation, glancing at him just long enough to catch his grin. 

“What? What’re you smiling about?” 

“You have good instincts, Y/N. I can tell just by looking that the first couple of feet of soil are tainted so you definitely did the right thing by digging this deep. Your crops will thrive in this, especially with the love I know you will give them.”

“Not like I’ll have an awful lot else to do up here,” You mused.

“I guess not,” He chuckled. “You’re always welcome at my shop! Even if you just want to hang around for company, I’ll be more than happy to welcome you.” 

“Thank you, Taehyung but-” 

“Tae.” 

“Huh?” 

“I told you to call me Tae. Taehyung is too formal.” 

“Oh right.” You nodded softly as you remembered him saying as much on the day you met. “Thank you, Tae , but I don’t think Hoseok would be too happy if I did start hanging around. I’m not sure he trusts me.” He grimaced a little, not even able to deny your suspicion. “Just because I live here, he doesn’t trust me?” 

“The Kang’s were a very well respected and loved family in this town. Their family have lived here for generations and it was well known that this cabin would be passed through the family. I think hyung just doesn’t like that you’re the owner, that it’s no longer owned by such a big part of our town history.” 

“Oh, I see.” You hummed in understanding. “I know the couple that lived here died but didn’t they have any children, any family to pass it on to?” 

“No. The Kang family was small, from the beginning there was only ever a couple and their child and the cabin was always passed onto the child when they married. The last Kang’s never had children and then they died and well, it’s been empty ever since.” 

“It hadn’t been sold on by an agency?” 

“The deed to the land went missing, no-one knows where it went but I guess you have it now, huh?” 

“Yeah...my uh...my...I was given it recently.” Taehyung tilted his head curiously, unable to ignore the way you couldn’t seem to find the correct words you wanted to use. You wouldn’t even look at him then, too focused on the soil that you were picking up just to let fall through your fingers in small clumps. Clearly, something had happened in your life and Taehyung would bet his secret crop spots that it was why you were there living alone in the mountains. 

“I don’t know where it came from, but I hope to come to understand some things while here. Maybe I can discover how I came to own the deed, the land and settle the townsfolk’s minds.” 

“You seem like a good person, Y/N,” You lifted your head to meet Taehyung’s eye. He looked to believe his words so genuinely and thoroughly that you found yourself relaxing under his gaze, if only a little but you would still take it.

“I’ll do what I can to help you uncover whatever it is you’re looking for.” 

“Thank you, Tae.” You smiled at one another for a long few seconds before the moment broke and he got to his feet. 

“Let’s see that food storage, I bet whatever food is down there would make for some good fertiliser.”

Very quickly, Taehyung became part of your life but mostly your garden. He said there was something in the air around your cabin that made him feel at ease and that he wished he had ventured up to the old Kang place years ago to experience the easy level of relaxation that he always felt tending to your rapidly improving garden.

“Do you think there would be anything about the Kang’s at the town library? Local news articles and stuff?” You questioned one late morning as you drove through town with Taehyung in your passenger seat.

The evening before, Taehyung had wound up at your cabin after wandering through the woods and mountain, foraging and picking herbs a friend had asked him to supply. You thought he was crazy for walking all that way and refused to let him leave until you fed him a good meal which led to the pair of you falling asleep on your couch in front of the fire after giggling away the night together.

So, you were taking him home, or at least to his store as he had to open up for the half-day of business.

“Hmm maybe, my friend will know, his family owns the library.” He patted the satchel on his lap signalling that he was talking about the same friend that he walked for hours to pick herbs for. 

“I thought I shouldn’t ask around about the Kang’s?” You made an uncertain expression. “Hoseok said as much.” 

“Yeah but, Joon is cool, he’s interested about it all too so he’d be willing to help.” 

“Okay, I trust you on that.” You soon pulled up in front of Taehyung’s store where a few local farmers were already waiting impatiently. 

“Oops,” Taehyung smiled sheepishly at them through the windscreen while they glared harmlessly at him. 

“Will you deliver this for me?” He asked holding out his satchel. “And ask about the Kang’s.” 

“Sure, where to?” 

“The owner of Kim’s Oddities.” 

“Oh! Really?” He nodded, smiling widely.

“He told me you met, said Yoongi made you follow him.” You nodded with a heavy exhale making him giggle. “You really are special, Y/N. Yoongi does not like people.” 

“So I’ve heard.” You took the satchel from his hands allowing him to get out of the truck. 

“Get some sleep tonight, Tae. No wandering around the woods again.” 

“I won’t, at least not tonight.” He giggled and waved, blowing you a dramatic kiss as he unlocked the door to his shop. A giggle of your own let your lips before you reversed from your spot and drove the few minutes to Kim’s Oddities.

Namjoon was serving someone very familiar when you entered the store, satchel hanging limply from your left shoulder. 

“Y/N!” Namjoon greeted with a bright smile. Hoseok turned and watched as you approached the counter and stood beside him with a reasonable distance between you both but he did little more than nod politely in greeting.

“Haven’t seen you in a long time!” 

“We met once,” You pointed out with an amused smile. 

“True but Tae talks of you so much that I feel like we know each other better.” 

“That’s why I’m here, got some herbs for you,” You patted the satchel. Namjoon’s eyes dropped to take in the movement before lighting up at the sight of the bulging bag. 

“Come through, Yoongi’s outback, I’ll join you in a sec.” 

You just nodded and gave Hoseok a parting glance before walking to the back wall where a door stood beside the counter. 

You opened it and walked into what looked like a miniature apartment. 

There was a little kitchen area to the left with counters covered in herbs in various states of drying and bowls of mysterious concoctions. 

In the centre was a dining table with four mismatched chairs. 

Directly in front of you- the right-hand section of the room- stood stacks of wooden shelves and racks with more hanging herbs and bottles of more mysterious liquids and concoctions. But right at the back of the room stood proud, a large semi-circular fire pit fit snug against the wall, its smoke heading up a grand chimney. On the fire, nestled directly in amongst the flames laid what you could honestly only describe as a dragon egg much like you had seen in fantasy movies and tv shows. It was certainly an interesting decoration.

You didn’t spot the fluffy white feline until you got close to the fire that you could peer over the padded bench facing it to find the cat curled up on the cushions. He was already peering up at you. 

“So, Yoongi, huh?” You spoke, holding your hand out to him.

 After a short moment of nothing happening, he got up and stretched before lifting up onto his back legs to rest his front paws on the back of the seating and headbutted your palm.

“Good to see you too, little one.” You happily stroked his head, smiling to yourself as his purr slowly met your ears. 

“Huh, never seen him like that,” Namjoon mused appearing out of nowhere beside you. You prided yourself on the fact that you didn’t flinch, well barely at least. 

“So, these herbs?” You pulled off the satchel to hand them over, watching as he wandered off with it over to the table. 

“You’re not even going to ask what I want them for?” 

“Do you want me to?” 

“I don’t mind,” He chuckled. “Just that most city folk that come to my shop ask what it is exactly I sell and seeing as you are close with Tae, close enough to be his delivery girl today, I figured you’d have a few questions about the goods you handed over.”

“I honestly don’t care.” You admitted with a shrug, fingers scratching at Yoongi’s head when he nudged you seeing as you had stopped your petting.

“You could’ve just handed me poisonous plants and you don’t care?” 

“Never occurred to me. I don’t see either Taehyung or yourself being into such sinister hobbies.” Namjoon observed you for a second before turning his attention back to pulling herbs from the bag. 

“Trust your instincts a lot then?” 

“I’ve been told they’re pretty good.” 

“Well, you’re right about us at least, can’t vouch for much else.” He laughed.

Yoongi took all of your attention for almost ten minutes before you left him to join Namjoon at the table, standing with your hands on the back of a dark stained wooden chair while he perched on a stool and started to sort and tie little bunches of herbs.

“So you must know that I live in the Kang cabin by now, right?” He stopped what he was doing for half a second before continuing to tie with a nod and hum of confirmation. “I hear it’s a mixed bag, Hoseok doesn’t trust me because of it but Tae is willing to help me out with it all.” 

“With what, exactly? You’re obviously not referring to the fact he’s helping you grow your own vegetables.”

“Why exactly I own the deed to the land.” Namjoon stopped entirely then and put down the tinted purple stems in his hand to look up at you, giving you his full attention. He was definitely intrigued, that much was clear. 

“How exactly did you come to own it?” 

“It was given to me.” 

“By?” You only stared at him and he sighed heavily. “Y/N, if you don’t answer these things, how do you expect people to trust you?” 

“I’m not interested in people’s trust, Namjoon. Trust doesn’t mean an awful lot to me these days. I just want to know what happened and how the deed wound up in China.” 

“China?” His eyebrows raised in surprise. “It was in China?” 

“That is where I’m from, yeah.” He hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds before getting up and walking over to the kettle. 

“Sit, let’s talk.” He spoke, back to you as he filled the kettle and put it on to boil. 

“Don’t you have work to do?” 

“I do but this is much more interesting. I’ve been wondering what happened to the deed since my family moved here. I love mysteries and to have one so local, I’ve been chasing answers for a decade, Y/N.” 

For only a second, you thought it over before sitting down on the chair and waiting, picking up different herbs to smell them curiously.

“Do you have any allergies or strong dislikes to tastes?” Namjoon questioned as he moved around jars in a cupboard directly eye level with himself.

“Not that I’m aware of.” 

“Sweet,” You watched his back as he moved around but you couldn’t see what he was doing until he turned with a mug in each hand. He placed one in front of you so you leant forward to sniff at it. 

“Smells really nice, kind of like…” You looked around the table until you found a sprig and sniffed it gently. “This.” 

“Lavender.” He pointed out, a smile on his lips, happy that you could differentiate between new scents enough to match one from his table to your tea. 

“Isn’t that a flower? You can consume it?” He hummed, nodding to both questions. “Well, okay.” You picked up your drink and sniffed once more before cautiously sipping at it as to not burn yourself. 

“This is really good, even if I’m drinking it too hot.” You mused putting your mug down. Namjoon laughed and you smiled lightly. 

“Thanks, it’s my own blend. I make all my own teas. Different flavours have different purposes after all.” 

“Isn’t lavender good for relaxation purposes? And headaches?” 

“Yes,” Another light chuckle. “I figure we could both be relaxed for this potentially intense conversation.” 

“Good idea.” 

“So, can I ask again who exactly gave you the deed?” You hesitated, fingers fiddling with different herbs and flowers, picking them up mindlessly into a little bundle. Namjoon watched intently, wondering which sprigs and stems you’d pick. 

“My parents, or at least who raised me that way only to decide a few months ago they no longer want me in their lives and told me they were forced into adopting me when I was young.” Your grip tightened a little before relaxing and placing down the little bundle. Namjoon immediately leant forward to pick it up and place it in a little mesh baggie before tying it closed. 

“Why’d you do that?” 

“The bundle you just made has many uses but I think your subconscious picked these herbs as together they can work to connect to missing things.” 

“That sounds a lot more hoodoo than I accept, Namjoon.” 

“Well then it just smells nice, hang it on your bedpost.” He suggested, handing the baggie to you. You didn’t believe in the “meaning” the bundle held but it did smell nice so you slipped it into your jacket pocket without argument. 

“Did something happen, for them to kick you aside like that?” 

“I don’t see how this relates to the Kang’s.” 

“Never know unless we try it.” But you read past his careless shrug and saw that he was digging for information. The purpose behind his interest wasn’t clear though unfortunately.

“That’s bullshit. Let’s stay on track.” 

With a sigh, he gave in realising it would not be easy to pull one over on you.

“Any idea of how your parents got the deed?” 

“None.” 

“How about why they gave it to you?”

“They said this is where I should be, where I should’ve always been.” 

“At the cabin?” You only shrugged, unaware of the details yourself. 

You had been too heartbroken to question the couple that raised you for details at the time.

“It’s strange because I know they didn’t have any family, I’ve read all the documents and articles on the Kang’s over and over in hopes of figuring out what happened to the deed.” 

“So you know how they died, right?” He nodded. “Tell me.” 

“They were murdered and everything about it screamed that it was a personal attack. They knew whoever killed them.”

*

Your chat with Namjoon gave you a lot but also near to nothing to think about. The Kang’s had been brutally murdered by someone they knew, someone that held a personal and very severe grudge against them. You knew that even within official government documents, they had no relatives as Taehyung had stated. 

You did not question how exactly Namjoon had come to read such documents but honestly, you didn’t much care, you just wanted all the information possible.

But in the end, Namjoon hadn’t led you any closer to discovering how or why the deed found its way across countries to wind up in your hands twenty years after it went missing.