Fantasia

"With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?" Oscar Wilde.

Does it happen to you sometimes that you just sit and keep staring at some random object without actually seeing it and without thinking about anything in particular?

Well, it happens to Jimin. A lot.

This morning, he prepared his coffee with two spoonfuls of sugar as usual and sat on the couch which must be a hundred years old with all the chocolate stains, tomato sauce and dog pee that covered the natural beige color. He never had the chance to clean it, or never had time.

He turned on the television not to watch it but rather because people's voices and music made him feel less lonely.

He put some butter and strawberry jam on his toast and ate a bite before drinking his coffee. He was not going to finish either his food or his drink but he took the trouble to prepare his breakfast with delicacy every morning before leaving the small apartment.

He was a very busy guy but when we say busy we're not talking about having a lot of friends, dates or parties everyday. No, his life only consists of attending classes at university in the mornings and cleaning an old lady's house at night.

He started living alone after the death of his father three years ago in a car accident. He was his only family because he has never seen his mother before. Mr.Park would tell him that she left them after she gave birth to him. When he was a child he could not understand why the woman who bared him for nine months would abandon him after he was born, when he started growing up he doubted his father, he thought that maybe he was lying to him, maybe he hide the fact that they divorced or worse, that she's dead. But after years, he finally realized why the woman would leave them, leave him.

The obvious reason why everyone was escaping from him was his unnatural hair.

While the majority of people had dark or light hair, blond, red, or grey when they get old , his hair has a very strange tone that nobody has in our world.

The closest color that could be suggested would be white pearl but it was very different because his hair shone with a thousand fires. It was visible even in the extreme darkness, that's why he was never afraid to sleep alone in the night.

After many comparisons, he and his father had concluded that his color was what is called diamond. It was a sparkling, magnificent crystal color.

It looked very beautiful and pure.

His father thought it was a blessing because he just had to take a glimpse of it and all the fatigue, stress and bad mood disappeared.

But he was wrong, he was unfortunately the only person to feel so because on the other side, people were fleeing his son thinking he was some kind of dangerous creature.

They could not both go out without receiving strange looks and listening to whisperings and insults.

Journalists had even invaded their home to ask if they were wizards, if they used black magic, if his mother was cursed just in order to fill the front page of their newspapers with Jimin's photos and false articles.

He had been rejected by several schools because he attracted a lot of attention and didn't let other students concentrate. He couldn't have a normal school life because of his hair and that's why his father had the kindness to be his teacher during all these years despite his tiring work.

After his death, Jimin worked hard for the college's entrance exam. He wanted to face his fears and insecurities and choose a career like everyone does.

He never really had a dream but if he had to choose something to do for the rest of his life, it would certainly be writing books. But not any books, he had a huge weakness for fantastic stories because reading them made him happy, for some reason he felt closer to the characters than he has ever been with any human being. He loves how they are different like him and how it wasn't bad to had a different eye color or have long dark wings on your back. They were like him and he wished he could live in a better world like the ones on the books.

????

After finishing his breakfast, he packed his bag and ran to the catch the bus.

As usual, everyone was staring at him but he decided not to care so he sat on the back and put on loud music on his headphones.

Camera flashes hurt his eyes so he was obligated to cover his face and his hair. He put on a black beanie on his head and a mask over his face. The inside of the vehicle was hot because of the heater and he was suffocating with all the clothes he had to wear to cover himself.

He arrived at the literature faculty and headed to the auditorium.

The professor was talking about one of the most popular works of England. Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen was one of his favorite authors because she wasn't afraid to write and describe the things as she saw them is real life.

He smiled because he knew everything the professor was saying because he had already read all her books, maybe twice or more.

In order not to waste time, he opened his book; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

He was once again transferred to the world of Narnia, where his dreams were laying.

He took a look at the windows and I saw the snow majestically falling on the ground. He smiled and mumbled to himself, "It's snowing like in Narnia."

Some students glanced at him from time to time because they were still not used to seeing such a hair color.

Sometimes Jimin gets angry and takes a chisel, ready to cut it but something strange happens. The chisel breaks into tiny pieces as it comes into contact with his hair. For that, he was condemned to always live like this.

After class, he hid in a corner of the garden that nobody knew to eat his lunch quietly.

He laid his backpack on the wooden bench and sighed heavily, "How long am I going to live this way?" he mumbled.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on the bench, while the snowflakes wet his face.

Suddenly, a violent air flow emerged. The trees moved dangerously until several leaves fell on the ground and soil dust flew around him, blocking his view. "What is going on?" he quickly put on the hood of his sweater.

Then, a voice came up. "Your home is Fantasia."

He widened his eyes and jumped on the bench. "Who is this?!" he shouted.

He turned around to see where the voice came from, but he couldn't see anything because of the fog around the garden.

"Your home is Fantasia." the woman's voice was silvery; clear, light and pleasant. It has been caressing his ears slowly slightly to the point where he no longer feels his body. "W-who are you?" he mumbled, his heart beating very fast.

He thought he saw a figure walking gracefully through the fog. His vision was not so perfect, but he could see the body of a woman with long black hair who wore a white dress that went down to the bottom, hiding every part of her body.

"Hey! Who are you?!" he screamed, hoping he would get an answer but the woman suddenly disappeared and everything went back to its normal peace.

Jimin sat, breathing slowly. He tried to close and open his eyes again and again to make sure he wasn't just dreaming.

What happened? Who was this woman? What is Fantasia?

He stayed stuck in the middle of his thoughts for a long time until he realized that there were only ten minutes before the next and last class of the day. He took the sushi he prepared earlier in the morning and quickly swallowed them to save time.

He rested a bit and then headed to the faculty.

????

He walked in the corridors, the book in his hands. He knew people were looking at him, but when he was reading, nothing mattered to him.

"Hey! You!" someone shouted.

Jimin frowned because he knew exactly who it was but he pretended not to listen. "Stop right there!"

His steps became faster, he wanted at all costs to escape from the guy who bullied him since he entered the university.

He tried to run but he was faster than him, he took him by the arm and slammed him against the wall. "Want to escape from me huh?" Junhoe smirked.

Jimin was afraid of him every time he saw him, only his face proved enough that one should never look for trouble with him. He had huge scars on his face and his neck was covered with tattoos. "How many times should I tell you to leave this faculty." he mumbled. "We don't need monster like you." he added, pressing Jimin's thin arms, making him groan with pain.

"I'm not a monster." the boy whispered.

"What?" the black haired furrowed. "What did you just say? I think I misheard it."

"I said that I am not a monster." Jimin answered, louder this time.

Junhoe widened his eyes and burst out laughing. "Did you hear it guys?" he turned to his group of friends. "He's saying that he's not a monster! That this ugly weird hair is so human! Right?"

The other guys started laughing.

"I'm not going to repeat myself, get-out-of-this-faculty." he said, his deep stare dangerously piercing the young boy's eyes.

Jimin gulped. "T-this faculty is not yours." he mumbled, mentally cursing himself for responding to him.

The taller clenched his fists. "You dare responding back?" he said, venom in his voice. "Do you know what happens to monsters like you?"

Jimin shook his head.

"They die." Junhoe mumbled before slapping the younger's cheek so hard that he fell on the floor.

"This is not enough for you." he approached him, ready to kick him with his feet.

"N-no please d-don't." Jimin cried, feeling his cheek hurting.

"Don't talk to me!" Junhoe shouted and punched his stomach, making him scream with pain. "N-no!"

"You need more!"

"H-hey Junhoe I think you hurt him enough.." one of his friend stopped him.

"Wanna die with him?" the black haired mumbled.

Jimin took advantage of their conversation to get up and try to run away but once again, Junhoe grabbed him. "Where do you think you're going?"

The younger got scared and the only thing he thought about was kicking his balls.

"Ahh you s-son of a bitch!" Junhoe groaned, his hands between his legs.

Jimin wanted to run but the older pulled his hair and that's when the loudest groan could be heard.

Junhoe was screaming while looking at his hand bleeding because of a deep cut.

Jimin smirked because only him and his father could touch his hair. For some reason, every person who tries to touch even a small hair could be burn or deeply hurt.

"You're a monster!"

He frowned and ran even though his stomach was killing him, he reached the bathroom and closed himself there.

He heard footsteps approaching and he panicked. He found a chair and blocked the door with it.

"Ya! Open the door!"

"L-leave me alone!" the younger shouted and stared at the scratch he had on his cheek. After a few seconds it completely disappeared. This was another strange thing about him, he never gets sick and his wounds always healed at the moment.

"OPEN!!"

The boy was was trembling with fear, he could not escape from him anymore.

He was walking in the middle of the bathroom, his body shaking while the guys were banging hard on the door.

"Leave me alone!" he squatted on the ground and started crying.

There were those moments when he hated himself, or he didn't to be the person he is. Moments where he wanted to be like the others, be friends with them and live normally.

But it was only a dream.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same fog of earlier.

"Your home is Fantasia."

This woman again ..

He could not see anything, he just smelled a pretty smell of roses. "Please tell me who you are." he mumbled.

"Your home is Fantasia." the voice kept on repeating on his mind.

"OPEN THE DOOR!"

He covered his ears and started screaming.

"Your home is Fantasia."

"Please leave me alone.." the boy was sobbing.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him.

He didn't know what it was, but he was certain that he felt attracted by it. It is as if a part of him had to cross this light.

"I'll count to three and you go okay?" he heard Junhoe tell his friends.

He panicked.

"Your home is FANTASIA."

"1"

"2"

"3!"

He heard a loud bang and five shadows appeared in front of him.

"Your home is FANTASIA."

He stared at Junhoe then the light.

What should I do?

"Monster, just be sure of one thing." he heard Junhoe say. "Today, I will kill you." he approached him slowly until he could see his blood still falling from his injured hand.

"D-don't approach me!" he stuttered as he was walking back, escaping from his senior.

The strange thing is that they didn't seem to be disturbed by the fog nor by the blinding light.

Jimin was the only one who could see them.

"It's your final day." Junhoe smirked before raising his fist.

Jimin quickly turned down and headed toward the light.

"Don't you think you can escape from m-"

Darkness.

????

A ray of sunshine woke him up, he opened his eyes and found himself facing a blue sky, a color he had not seen since the beginning of winter.

He couldn't detach his eyes from it because it was so relaxing to watch the light color while a gentle breeze caressed his face.

He felt something tickling his arms, he sat down and found two pink rabbits around him.

"Wait, pink rabbits?" he furrowed. "Who did this to you?" he took in his arms and stroked his light pink fur.

When he looked up, he gasped when he saw the beautiful landscape in front of him.

Oh, how beautiful the scenery was with its green carpet decorated with multicolored flowers and its sun that shines its light on the universe. There are high mountains that touch the sky, blue sky with the beautiful clouds that have strange but pretty shapes but.

"W-why is it spring here?" he widened his eyes. "But it should be snowing!" he said before picking a weird flower he has never seen before.

He stood up and kept observing multicolored birds flying around a river which changed color every five seconds. He looked for a projector or something that might be playing with lights but there was nothing, no device or anything like this. The water seemed to naturally change colors. "What it is.."

He started walking and let his eyes get lost in the green and endless fields , bordering the many hills. The floor he was walking on had nothing to do with marble or concrete, it was so soft that he didn't feel his steps, he would think he was walking on marshmallows.

He had no idea of what happened after crossing the light earlier nor where he was right now, but he wouldn't say that he was complaining because it was very pleasing to see. For the first time, he had that weird feeling of freedom and peace.

The smell of refreshing trees has awakened his desire to contemplate this beautiful landscape. At the top of the hill the big chestnut trees, the oaks and the bread apples stood under the blue sky. In the center of the hill, he saw an old giant castle that added to this landscape a character both romantic and mysterious. "I wonder who's living there." he mumbled to himself as he admired the majestic beauty of its Gothic architecture.

The greenery was as green as a plain freshly planted. The wind whipped the grass, making it dance with a certain grace, which made the view more dynamic. His gaze was later attracted by these titanic mountains which majestically enthroned at the bottom of this panorama, their magnitudes similar to that of a building overhanging the village. The wind was present and well, it was rustling the leafy trees with a beautiful sound accompanied by some birdsong, which delighted his heart.

It was simply a beautiful overview of a beautiful art of colors.

He kept walking until he spotted a house in the middle of the expanse. A solitary house that seemed so small and insignificant in the face of the giant mountains rising behind it.

"You seem lost." a voice surged from behind.

He turned and found himself facing a short guy with a beautiful pastel pink hair. His eyes were very small and his skin was pale.

"Oh, who are you?" Jimin asked as he approached him.

"My name is Woozi." the stranger smiled. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jimin."

"Oh." the pink haired rubbed his chin. "Very strange name." he mumbled.

He kept eyeing him and saw his hair. "I can't seem to recognize you, what creature are you?"

The diamond haired seemed confused. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you..uhm.." the small guy kept staring at him and observing his features. "I really don't know what you are."

Jimin chuckled nervously. "And..uhm.. what are you?" he asked.

"I'm a dwarf." Woozi said proudly. "I may look small but don't judge my physical appearance, alright? It annoys me."

"Alright."

"I am small but I am very strong! The king even made me one of the most important guardians of the kingdom!"

"Oh." Jimin nodded with a smile. "I see."

I must be dreaming, yes, it is confirmed.

"I know someone who may guess what you are." Woozi said.

"Who?"

"Follow me."

????

He followed him to discover more wonderful landscapes.

Crevasses enclosed impetuous torrents, whose clear waters clashed against the rocks, and ended at the bottom with splendid and magical cascades.

In the center, enthralling placid and magnificent, an immense lake collected all this beneficent water, in a deafening and restful crash, in the manner of a peaceful garden. The humidity of a recent rain added layers of mist to the enchanting and vaporous forms.

In the foreground, the same hills that sloped down to the lake, dotted with flowers.

"It is here." Woozi said when they stood in front of a big mansion.

He whispered like a secret code to a small flower that was stuck on the wooden door. "Come in."

"The master must be in his office." he mumbled.

"The master? Who?" Jimin asked.

Woozi escalated the marble stairs and headed to a particular room.

They entered a large office, where the smell of vanilla was reigning.

"Your grace, we are here to see you." the dwarf said.

After a few moments, someone appeared behind the book shelves. "Oh, Woozi. What a pleasure to see you."

Jimin stared at the man amazed, surprised, astonished by his breathtaking beauty.

His tall posture suited perfectly his long white dress with golden embroideries on the sides and on the sleeves.

His hair was incredibly beautiful, a snowy white, it was long and reached his lower back and framed a pretty round face where two almond-shaped eyes glowed with a sapphire blue color. "Oh, we have a guest." he smiled to Jimin.

He walked with such an elegance, such a class.

"Your grace, this is Jimin. I met him earlier in front of my house." the pink haired bowed to him.

"Oh, I am delighted to meet you." the man smiled.

"I-I am delighted to meet you too." Jimin blushed.

"He seemed quite lost, he doesn't even remember his kind." Woozi added.

"Mmm." the tall man rubbed his chin and kept turning around Jimin. "Your hair.."

Jimin nodded. "Y-yes, my hair is str-"

"Very beautiful." the beautiful stranger mumbled.

"S-sorry?" Jimin widened his eyes. In all his life, no one has ever said such a nice thing about his hair.

"Amazing." the long haired caressed his hair gently.

"Be careful, it might bur-" the young boy was surprised because it didn't seem to hurt him. "You can touch my hair!" he exclaimed.

"Oh." the man stopped. "Am I not allowed to touch it?"

"N-no!" Jimin waved his hands. "It's alright, you can!"

The stranger smiled to him.

He then saw his ears, they weren't regular human ones, they were taller and sharper.

It reminded him of one of his favorite fantasy characters, Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings.

He widened his eyes and pointed his finger to him. "Y-you're an elf!" he exclaimed.

The man chuckled. "Why do you look so surprised?"

"I have never seen an elf before.."

"Oh? But there are elves everywhere in Fantasia!" he laughed.

Fantasia?

"D-did you just say..Fantasia?" Jimin was confused.

He had been hearing this name during the entire morning without knowing what it was.

"What is Fantasia?" he asked.

The stranger and Woozi shared a confused stare. "Are you sure you are alright my dear?"

"Yes." Jimin nodded.

"Well, Fantasia is..our kingdom."

Oh?

"You look very lost Jimin." the elf chuckled. "I will prepare you a tea and I'll let you rest for a little."

"Thank you." the younger blushed.

"Whoever you are and wherever you are from, I must introduce myself to you. I am Taehyung, the Duke of Vulas." he politely bowed to him. "And." he gently kissed his cold hand. "Welcome to Fantasia."