Chapter Text
As a member of many diplomatic missions, Jinwoo was given quite a few perks. Most of those perks actually seemed like punishments in disguise, and so Jinwoo did not know how he felt about it all. For example, he was kept away from the other human soldiers, so he would not be sullied by their humanity; the fairies who kept him captive considered it to be a reward, but Jinwoo saw it differently. That meant he spent all of his time in the company of those same fairies, who did not have humanity nor humility, nor empathy, nor sympathy. Jinwoo, then, struggled to retain his personhood, though oftentimes he felt it slipping away the more he stayed with such depraved beings.
He wondered if he had not been stolen from the basket where his mother had placed him, how his life would be different. He would have grown up in the human realm, surrounded solely by humans. He would have had someone hold him and comfort him when he cried. He would have had someone scold him when he threw a tantrum. He would have fallen in love with someone who could love him back. He would have his own children, all uniquely human, and then he would have been content.
Instead, he was trained to protect and fight for his fairy overlords, who treated him with either indifference or contempt. He was useful solely for his ability to make and wield iron weapons. Fairies could not touch the precious metal without losing some of their powers, and so Jinwoo fought their battles for them. If he stabbed a fairy with metal, he would be rest assured that the fairy would either die or become maimed to the point they wished they were dead.
And a maimed fairy was a useless fairy, and so the others would kill them, anyway.
Jinwoo patted the sword at his hip, as if ensuring it remained by his side. While he could use it to turn on his superiors in a second, he knew they would kill him. He was outnumbered and could only fight at close contact. As horrible as his life was, he did not wish to die. He wanted to see himself out of the fairy realm at some point or another, and then he could meet his family and live happily once more.
“Will you relax?” Jinwoo’s superior requested of him.
Jinwoo cleared his throat and straightened up, though he knew that being tense was the opposite of what was demanded. “Sorry.”
His superior sighed. Jinwoo did not like him much; then again, he didn’t like any fairy very much. They were crafty and sneaky, sorely lacking in emotions that made them feel anything other than contempt for others. They were prideful and boastful and overly extravagant. They paraded around their dominion over other beings in the fairy realm and were smug and arrogant. Jinwoo felt alien in their world.
His superior, while horrible like all of the rest, had a few redeeming qualities. He allowed Jinwoo far more downtime than any other fairy had before, and sometimes he treated Jinwoo almost as an equal.
“You needn’t worry so much,” the fairy informed him, staring at himself in a mirror. “We’re in the Summer Court. There is not nearly as much here that can kill you.” He scoffed at his reflection, then parted his snowy white hair out of his face. “Which might be boring.”
“I’ll manage somehow.”
“I suppose you will.” The fairy turned around to face Jinwoo, and Jinwoo stared up at him. Like most fae, he was taller than Jinwoo, and far more elegant. Every bit of him was sharp, and his cold eyes looked back at Jinwoo without a show of humanity. Jinwoo always felt alone and out of place when the fairies looked at him.
He compared himself often to the fairies. From a young age, the differences were clear, in physical looks as well as personality. Jinwoo’s skin was pale, whereas the fae had blue skin, or green skin, or pink skin, or anything else that resembled the nature in which they resided. They had flowers growing from their bodies, leaves sprouting out in their hair, and shimmering, glowing eyes like sparkling stars. They were truly ethereal beings, and Jinwoo wondered sometimes if they thought him to be ugly.
He was certain they did, but at least they never said anything to his face.
“The Summer Court is far more lively than the Winter Court,” the fairy reminded Jinwoo, as he had many times prior. Jinwoo was certain that he was seen as stupid in the eyes of the fairies, if not ugly. “They will be dancing for days, and I am expected to be there to mingle. You are human, and humans like to dance, so you will have fun. But your main task is to monitor my well-being. If I am to depart, then you shall do as you like.” And then the fairy laughed and wagged a finger in Jinwoo’s face. “But do not leave. You will not get far, as you are human, and then you will be killed and I will have to find a new human to take with me on diplomatic missions. It will be tedious.”
Fairies cared little for any loss of life, be it their own kind or humankind. Jinwoo was not surprised by their flippant attitudes.
“Of course,” he confirmed, bowing his head.
The fairy looked him over, then smiled. “You look quite unseemly today.”
And there it was. He was ugly. Fairy never lied. Jinwoo forced himself to smile and take the comment, trying his best to pretend it did not bother him. The fairies liked it when he got upset. They found him amusing, and he felt as if he was nothing but entertainment for them.
“Unfortunately, we can do nothing about your cursed looks. You are human and must dress differently.” The fairy sighed again. “What a pity, though, for you have desirable cheekbones, for a human. I could dress you fantastically.”
Jinwoo knew he looked out of place. He wore the traditional uniform for a human bodyguard, and he was told by other fairies that it was what humans wore. He wondered how much of that was true. He stared down at his hanbok and thought it looked fine, if not a bit bland for court. He wore only black, from the hat on his head to the boots on his feet. It was far different from his superior’s beautifully ornate formal-wear, which didn’t cover much skin. Then again, fairies often went naked, and so Jinwoo was not surprised to see all of the blue skin peeking through his superior’s clothes.
Before Jinwoo could respond or defend himself, the fairy gestured. “Alright, then, follow me. Please do try to not be too much of an eyesore. Mingle with the other human guards, if you must.”
“There are other humans?” Jinwoo asked, trailing after the fairy, who did not shoot him even a second glance.
“Of course. Attendants, servants, slaves and prostitutes – the Summer Court utilizes humans far more often than the Winter Court. They have more portals to the human realms, I believe, and humans fair better in their mild climates.”
Jinwoo wished he had been stolen from a fairy in the Summer Court. Living in the Winter Court was dreadful. He was always cold, always shivering, and he longed to see the sun sometimes. Already the Summer Court had proven to be better in many ways. Their fae smiled far more often, the sun shone brightly, the greenery was beautiful, and the creatures seemed friendlier. Jinwoo wondered if he would be able to stay.
But he had tried once before to deflect, and was caught in seconds. He was lucky he had been spared an execution. He had been on the giving-end of many executions before and had beheaded many good men, good humans .
He decided to ignore the more sadistic part of his job and focus instead on the task at hand: guarding and monitoring his superior. He had to make sure the Summer Court did not pull him astray.
The Great Hall was decorated beautifully. When they entered, Jinwoo felt as if he had been transported to another dimension. Flowers were in bloom, vines and ivy crawled up all of the stone walls, and birds flitted about from trees that were somehow growing inside the castle. There was music being played by several fairies, cheerful, bright music that had everyone dancing in time. Jinwoo peered over the heads of some guests and wondered if he would be able to spot the King and Queen of the Summer Court. He knew they were in attendance at this ball, and would be for the many days the ball would continue. He would have a chance to see them at some point.
“I must go mingle,” Jinwoo’s superior told him over the loud music and conversation happening all around. “Keep yourself busy and do as you were told.”
Then, he left and Jinwoo remained in the midst of the crowd, wondering what his next step would be. He thought about dancing, as he had given permission to do so, but the thought of dancing with any of the fae was off-putting. They considered him to be ugly, apparently. He couldn’t get involved knowing that they found him ugly.
He glanced over at the food next. All of it looked magnificent, but fae food was too rich for his palate. He would always cook for himself, or survive off of boiled meats and grains. He knew that there was probably food in the human realm that he would be able to stomach, but he was not sure what it could be. Probably meats and grains, as well, but how would they combine these foods to make something delicious? And what types of meats did they have? What types of vegetables and fruits did they have? Was it all similar, or completely different? Most of the other humans were also unaware and had their own questions about what the human realm was like. They had all been kidnapped as babies and thus had very little memories of their previous lives.
Jinwoo decided to forgo the food for the time being. Later, he thought, he could pick through some of it and find a couple of bland dishes to munch on.
Instead, he moved over to a far wall, where he noticed a few other humans standing nearby. They were all of the Summer Court, with clothing far more bright and ornate than Jinwoo’s own hanbok. He felt inadequate, especially when a few of the humans glanced at him with disgust in their gaze, and so he stood by himself and kept an eye on his superior.
But then someone else caught his eye. One of the fairies of the Summer Court, with skin as green as the vines on the wall and piercing, brown eyes, glanced over at him and smiled. Jinwoo blinked, staring unabashedly. The fairy was beautiful . All fairies were beautiful, but this one outshone them all. Leaves grew from his scalp, with flowers nestled amongst them. He wore more clothes than most of the others did, but even his clothes seemed as if they had been woven straight from the fields and embellished with all the beauty that surrounded the Summer Court. His ears were long and pointed, his eyebrows arched, and his lips delightful and pink.
Jinwoo probably would have continued to stare if not for a jostle at his shoulder and a loud, “Hello!” in his ear.
He looked away from the Summer fae and into the eyes of another human.
“Oh, hello,” he greeted, bowing his head politely. The human was of the Summer Court, with a nice hanbok and messy hair. He looked rather childish, and Jinwoo wondered about his age.
“I’m Sanha. Are you from the Winter Court?”
“Yes. Did my clothes give it away?”
Sanha laughed and nodded his head. “Definitely. You look so boring. No offense.”
“None taken.” Jinwoo gestured over to his superior and said, “He told me today I’m ugly.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re ugly . Just not dressed well.”
Jinwoo cursed the Winter Court and the hanboks they stuffed humans into. He wanted to blend in a bit better, not stand out like a sore thumb. No wonder the other fairy had been staring at him; with his entirely black outfit, he really didn’t fit in. Everyone else had such bright, vibrant colors of skin and clothes, and he stood around looking like some sort of grim reaper.
“But that’s fine!” Sanha said, as if trying to ensure he did not hurt Jinwoo’s feelings. It was such a welcome gesture that Jinwoo could not fault him much. Fairies didn’t care if they hurt his feelings. Jinwoo had missed this humanity. “If you stay here long enough, you will likely start wearing a few outfits curated by the Summer Court. They like individuality, unlike the Winter Court, but only if you dress as nicely as they do.”
Jinwoo knew that much. He pulled at his arm bands and wondered, “Do they care what humans look like, though?”
Sanha thought the question through, then shrugged. “A bit. Maybe. Probably not for you, though. Sorry.”
“That’s fine,” Jinwoo lied, even if he wished he looked nicer. “I’m not here to play dress-up, anyway. I’m here to…” He trailed off. He was here to defend his superior and to uphold the intentions of the Winter Court, but he didn’t care about any of that. He was a human stuck in the world of the fae, through no desire of his own.
Sanha understood what he meant and smiled softly. “Wouldn’t it be nice to one day return?”
“That’s something you should not say aloud,” Jinwoo warned him.
“Oops.” Sanha giggled a bit, but he otherwise did not seem to care. “But no one is around to listen. The other humans, even, are not listening.”
That was true, but Jinwoo still felt uncomfortable discussing such a thing. He still remembered how it felt to behead those of his own kind for even lesser crimes. He remembered the blood that ran down their bodies, the way they twitched violently before succumbing to death, and the lack of remorse in the fae’s eyes as they watched humans die.
Still, he tried his best to push all of this out of his mind. He cleared his throat and looked back out at the crowd of fairies.
The beautiful one caught his eye again, still smiling.
Jinwoo blinked, stared a bit more, and then asked, “Who is that?”
Sanha looked over. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Honestly, I don’t know that many here. But he must be high up in the court if he was invited.”
“That means nothing when there are hundreds of fairies.”
“The Summer Court is filled with a grand number of Lords and Ladies,” Sanha confirmed with another small giggle.
The beautiful fairy beckoned. Jinwoo pointed at himself and the fairy nodded.
How strange. He was mostly ignored by the other fae; if not, he was berated or laughed at. But this fairy seemed to wish to be near to him, and Jinwoo marveled at the situation he found himself in.
“I’ll go talk to him for a few minutes,” he told Sanha. “He seems to want me there.”
Sanha pursed his lips. “The fae never want to speak to us for good reason,” he warned.
“I know that, of course. But I’m the one with an iron sword.”
“He’s the one with magic.”
Jinwoo laughed. “If I’m taken down with magic in the Summer Court, at least I will die warm,” he said, and then he left Sanha’s side, pushing his way back through the crowd in order to make it to the beautiful fairy.
While he would usually ignore a summons from one of the fae, he didn’t want to ignore this one. This one seemed different; he was shorter, for one, and he had a friendly disposition. He was nothing like the fae from the Winter Court, and even for the bright cheeriness of the Summer Court, this fairy still stood out. His happiness seemed a bit subdued, and yet his smile was still genuine when he looked upon Jinwoo.
He would be interesting to converse with, at least.
Jinwoo made it to his side. He bowed his head in respect and asked, “May I help you?”
“Maybe,” the fairy said. “You’re from the Winter Court?”
His voice was light, cheery, and musical. Jinwoo could listen to him speak all day long.
“I am,” he confirmed. “Do I look it?”
“Boring, ugly clothes,” the fairy murmured. “Definitely Winter Court.”
Ah, so he was like every other fairy, after all. Jinwoo didn’t care for his company, and so he pointed back to the wall. “I should leave. I thought you had something important to–”
The fairy cut him off with a short laugh. “No need to run. I meant no harm with my words. I just don’t often see humans from the Winter Court. Their lives are short and mostly meaningless.” He took a sip of whatever drink was in his hands, then added, “The Winter Court is full of brutal fae. The few times I’ve visited, I have been subjected to witnessing terrible executions.”
Jinwoo had wanted to forget the executions. He sought to change the subject.
“Is there a point to this conversation?”
With a wide grin, the fairy shook his head. “No! I just wanted to talk to you. You’re, quite frankly, the most handsome person in this room right now, and I knew I would regret it forever if I let you get away from me.” The fairy put his drink aside and took a short, flourished bow. When he rose again, his eyes sparkled with unbridled joy, taking Jinwoo aback a little bit.
“You may call me Jun!” the fairy announced.
And, just like that, Jinwoo was a bit enchanted.