The Choosing

Jungkook was hiding in the forest.

The air was cold. His shirt was thin. His skin was hot,too hot.

He could feel something wrong deep inside him.

His heat was starting.

And the village would smell it soon.

If they did, they would take him.

They always took the Omega when the sea called.

This time, the sea wanted him.

He pressed his hands against a tree. He breathed in. Out. In again.

But the scent came anyway.

Salt. Blood. Smoke.

He heard a sound,a bell.

His heart dropped.

It was time.

He ran deeper into the trees, bare feet hitting cold ground. His body felt too light, like he wasn’t real anymore.

He didn’t want to be chosen.

But he already knew…

He was.

They found him quickly.

Jungkook was too weak to keep running. His body felt heavy. Heat was crawling under his skin like fire.

He had no strength to fight.

Four villagers came. Two men, one woman, and the elder, Haneul. She wore red beads made of sea-glass and smiled like it meant nothing.

They didn’t ask. They just grabbed him.

“Hold him,” someone said. “He’s burning.”

He kicked. Bit. Cursed. It didn’t help.

They tied his hands with rough rope. His ankles too. They wrapped red cloth around his chest, soaked in salt. His skin stung. His lips cracked.

The village was quiet.

No one came to help.

Doors shut. Windows closed. People turned away.

He was paraded down the path like a gift.

Children peeked out, then hid.

The old butcher’s son, the one who once held Jungkook’s hand, lowered his eyes and said nothing.

They took him to the cliff.

The sky was grey. The sea below looked black.

They placed him on the stone. Cold. Hard. Waiting.

Elder Haneul knelt in front of him.

“You’ll make a beautiful bride,” she said softly. “Try not to scream too much. He likes them quiet.”

She kissed his forehead.

He shook.

And then, they pushed him off.

Falling felt like flying, but only for a second.

Then,

CRASH.

The sea hit him like a wall.

Cold. Sharp. Endless.

He sank fast. Chains pulled him down. Water filled his ears. His mouth. His eyes.

He didn’t know which way was up.

His body burned from the heat inside and the cold outside. His chest screamed for air.

And then,

everything changed.

The water wasn’t water anymore.

It was soft.

Warm.

It felt like silk.

Jungkook opened his eyes.

He wasn’t drowning.

He wasn’t cold.

He was floating… in a place that glowed green and gold.

A cathedral. Huge. Beautiful. Made of bone and coral.

Chains slipped off him.

He was free.

He looked around, slowly, scared.

And then he saw it.

A shadow. A man.

He stood tall in the middle of the glowing hall.

Eyes like gold fire. Hair floating like smoke.

Not moving.

Watching.

Waiting.

A deep voice spoke, not loud, but it filled everything.

“You are early. And you are burning.”

Jungkook couldn’t speak.

The heat inside him was too strong.

He shook.

His skin was too hot. His thighs ached. His heart thumped like a drum.

The man stepped closer.

Still not touching. Still calm.

His scent hit Jungkook hard, warm, dark, sweet. Alpha.

Jungkook gasped and stepped back.

“Stay away,” he said.

The man tilted his head.

“I will not touch you,” he said. “Not unless you ask me to.”

Jungkook flinched.

He didn’t know this man.

But something inside him did.

The bond was there. Waiting.

He fell to his knees.

“I hate you,” he whispered.

The man didn’t look hurt.

“That’s allowed,” he said.

Jungkook woke in a bed made of seaweed and silk.

He was warm. Dry. Clean.

The air wasn’t air. The room wasn’t normal.

Nothing here was normal.

He stood. The robe he wore shimmered blue and green.

A silver ring was on his ankle.

He hadn’t seen it before.

He looked around, and found him again.

The man.

Still quiet. Still watching.

Taehyung.

He didn’t speak until Jungkook did.

“You said you wouldn’t touch me,” Jungkook said.

“I haven’t,” Taehyung replied.

“Then what is this?” He pointed to the ring.

“A seal. To hold the bond back.”

Jungkook stared.

“And if I ask you to remove it?”

“I will touch you.”

Silence.

Then Taehyung spoke again, soft, steady.

“You will stop shaking when I say your name.”

Jungkook froze.

“You don’t remember it, do you?” Taehyung whispered.

“Let me remind you.”

“Jungkook.”

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