Beauty and the Beast • Namjin AU

Chapter Nine

Seokjin's eyes read the words in the book with interest and curiosity when he noticed the beast staring at him from the other side of the table. Seokjin kept his eyes on the book, but smiled. ''He glanced this way. I thought I saw. And when we touched. He didn't shutter at my paw. No, it can't be. I'll just ignore. But then, he's never looked at me that way before.'' The beast sung, making Seokjin smile wider. He picked up the soup bowl and slurped down the soup. This time, the beast noticed Seokjin was staring at him. Seokjin also picked up the soup bowl and drank his soup the same way the beast did. When he was done, they both laughed about it. When they became a bit quieter, the beast sat right up and cleared his throat. ''I haven't told you my name yet, did I?'' The beast asked Seokjin who shook his head. ''No, not really.'' The black-haired male answered. ''My name is Namjoon, it's possibly the one and only thing that makes me feel kind of human.'' The beast said and Seokjin's eyes focused on his empty soup bowl, feeling sorry for the beast who was once human like him. ''Namjoon.'' Seokjin said out loud, the letters rolling over his lips like the soft melody of the wind blowing through a forest in spring bloom. ''Beautiful.'' The beast said back, causing Seokjin to furrow his eyebrows while looking at him. ''The way you say my name. It's like I'm hearing it for the first time in forever. You treat me like I'm human.'' Namjoon explained and Seokjin got a light blush on his cheeks. ''You are human, deep inside. You're just like me. I promise.'' The black-haired male admitted and Namjoon smiled. ''Thankyou, Seokjin.'' He nodded once with his head. ''Ofcourse.'' The human boy smiled. They both went back to reading their book in peace, knowing that something was right between them.

...

Standing on the balcony and with his sleeves rolled up was Seokjin, scrubbing the windows of the ballroom in the castle. He was busy cleaning the ballroom the whole morning already with help from the servants. Jimin was flying around, cleaning the dust off the golden chandeliers while the coat rack, which Seokjin learned was named Mark, was mopping the dirty floor. ''New and a bit alarming. Who'd have ever thought that this could be?'' Seokjin softly sang. He looked down from the balcony on the castle grounds, seeing Namjoon walking with Odeng and talking to him. Seokjin grinned. ''True that he's no Prince Charming. But there's something in him that I simply didn't see." The black-haired male continued singing.

...

The two ended up in the libary again, it was both their favorite spot in the castle. Seokjin stood on a ladder, pulling down book after book, and handing them to Namjoon. The servants were watching from a corner in the libary. "Well, who'd have thought?" Jimin asked cheerfully. "Well, bless my soul!" Taehyung agreed. "Well, who'd have known?" Yoongi added. "Well, who indeed?" Hoseok joined in. The towering stack of books in Namjoon's arms became so high that he had to set the stack down on the libary table. "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?" Hoseok sang happily. "It's so peculiar, wait and see." Taehyung sang too. "We'll wait and see! A few days more. There may be something there that wasn't there before." All of the servants sang as one. "You know, perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before." Yoongi sung while he lifted his eyebrows in disbelief. "What, Tae-Tae?" Jungkook asked his big brother, not quite understanding what Yoongi meant. "There may be something there that wasn't there before." Taehyung sang and turned to Jungkook right after. "What is it, what's there?" Jungkook asked curiously. "I'll tell you when you're older." Taehyung answered. Jungkook waited a few seconds while thinking about a response. "Okay, I'm older!" He said loudly. Taehyung laughed over the wisdom of his little brother. "Oh, Jungkook, you are a little genius." Taehyung said with a wide grin. Seokjin and Namjoon left the libary and went outside, both with a book in their hands. They stood by the door and put on their cloaks which Mark handed to them. Then they both went to the rose garden, Namjoon sat down reading his book while Seokjin stood still while staring at him. "What book did you grab in the libary when I wasn't looking?" Seokjin asked Namjoon who shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." He answered and tried to hide the book behind his back, but Seokjin could see the title. "Guinevere and Lancelot." He stated. "Well, actually, King Arthur and the Round Table. Knights, and men, and swords and things" Namjoon corrected Seokjin who chuckled. "But still, it's a romance." Seokjin said and Namjoon nodded a bit shyly. "All right. I felt like a change." Namjoon admitted. "I never thanked you for saving my life." Seokjin suddenly said. "Well, I never thanked you for not leaving me to be eaten by wolves." Namjoon answered and Seokjin laughed. It was a peaceful sound, full of joy in the silence of the castle grounds. They both heard shouts and laughter of the servants coming from the castle. Seokjin and Namjoon smiled when they heard the joyful sounds. "They know how to have a good time." Seokjin noticed. "Yes. But when I enter the room, laughter dies." Namjoon said, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Me too. The villagers say that I'm a 'funny boy' but I don't think they mean it as a compliment." Seokjin answered truthfully. "I'm sorry. Your village sounds terrible." Namjoon shook his head. "Almost as lonely as your castle." Seokjin said, strands of his black hair softly waving along the wind. The cold and icy air made Seokjin shiver, even though he was wearing his red cloak over his clothes. He looked at the beast next to him and noticed that the brown fur of Namjoon looked incredibely soft and warm for Seokjin to just cuddle into. But he couldn't and wouldn't do that. He would make a fool of himself and he thought that Namjoon wouldn't really like someone cuddling into his fur. "What if we ran away?" Namjoon smiled lightly and Seokjin immediatly got curious to Namjoon's idea.