Chapter Text
“Let’s make another deal.”
Yoon-Ho narrowed his eyes as he looked across the table at Choi Jong-In, who had the same sly smile he had whenever they spoke with each other. That expression of his always hinted that he was about to do something at Yoon-Ho’s expense.
He was already suspicious from the moment the redhead requested to speak with him, preferably in a room where they could sit across from each other. Choi Jong-In could be very unpredictable in the things he did, like how he managed to go to a room that was forbidden to him.
Yoon-Ho already noticed how Choi Jong-In was being suspiciously nicer than usual. He wasn't making his usual critiques nor was he blatantly ignoring Yoon-Ho when he spoke.
While he wasn’t necessarily kinder to him, the man wasn’t going out of his way to rile Yoon-Ho up either. The rather sudden change unnerved Yoon-Ho and only made him more cautious of Choi Jong-In.
Based on those current events, he couldn’t help but suspect that the redhead was planning something. He wouldn’t be surprised to discover if Choi Jong-In was actively looking for a way out of the castle. If he could, Yoon-Ho was certain the other man would find a way to get back at Yoon-Ho for keeping him from leaving.
Despite his suspicions, the only way Yoon-Ho could find out his true intentions would be to go along with the redhead’s actions and see what he would do.
“You want to make another deal,” Yoon-Ho repeated, wary of whatever the man had planned.
“Correct,” Choi Jong-In responded as he took out a deck of cards.
“We’ll play a game,” the redhead stated as he shuffled the cards. “If you win, I’ll stop making comments every time I see you and do whatever else you want me to do during my stay here.”
That was something that Yoon-Ho would greatly want, particularly the part where the other man promised to do what he said instead of simply ignoring him.
However, Yoon-Ho was aware that Choi Jong-In had something he wanted too as he watched the redhead distribute the cards between them. It was likely something that would be difficult for Yoon-ho to grant. Otherwise, there was no point in the man proposing a bet in such a way, especially since this wouldn’t be the first deal they have made.
“And if you win?” Yoon-Ho prompted.
“If I win,” Choi Jong-In continued, looking up at Yoon-Ho with his usual smile. “I want to leave.”
Just as Yoon-Ho was about to turn down the deal as soon as he heard the other man’s condition, Choi Jong-In continued.
“The dungeon.”
Yoon-Ho blinked in confusion as the other man chuckled.
“You thought I was saying I get to leave this castle if I win,” the redhead teased, making Yoon-Ho frown.
“The dungeon isn’t exactly the most pleasant place to be,” Choi Jong-In explained. “I’ve been here long enough to want a change, so I want an actual room. It doesn’t matter where it is as long as it’s more comfortable than that dark cell. I haven’t made any escape attempt, have I? And with the shadows and Min Byung-Gyu around, it wouldn’t be hard to notice if I did suddenly disappear.”
Yoon-Ho frowned. He knew the redhead was reasonable in his request, but giving him another room in the castle wasn’t that difficult for Yoon-Ho to grant. He didn’t understand why Choi Jong-In felt the need to suggest a deal to request a room. He knew they didn’t get along at all and that the other man would complain about a lot of things. However, Choi Jong-In never made any demands despite his complaints except for something he genuinely needed like clothes.
“To sweeten the deal, how about I keep the teasing to a minimum?” the redhead said when Yoon-Ho didn’t respond. “I won’t guarantee that I’ll stop, but as long as you mind your business, I’ll mind mine.”
Yoon-Ho opened his mouth to answer but ended up staring slack-jawed at Choi Jong-In, his eyes drawn to how soft the redhead looked at that moment.
The castle didn’t have many windows, so not much light was coming into the room, especially since it was winter. But even with the little sunlight that did make it into the room, it cast gentle rays on Choi Jong-In.
Yoon-Ho never really looked at the man more than necessary, and Choi Jong-In never looked pleased to see him. But right now, the man had a genuine smile as he looked at him. Yoon-Ho noticed how deceivingly gentle he could look with his almost ethereal appearance and the way he was smiling softly in that moment.
And he hated how it made saying “no” to the redhead more difficult.
“Fine,” Yoon-Ho eventually agreed, forcibly looking away from the other man as he picked up his cards. He managed to hold them in his hands after struggling a bit while Choi Jong-In picked up his own, still smiling.
Yoon-Ho hoped the man wouldn’t be as distracting during the game as he was right now.
It was only after Choi Jong-In won the second game with ease that Yoon-Ho began to regret his decision.
“Looks like I win again,” the redhead announced as he revealed his hand of three of a kind.
Yoon-Ho scowled as he stared at his hand which consisted of only a high card. He placed his cards face down harder than necessary, conceding the game.
“Another round,” Yoon-Ho growled while Choi Jong-In simply grinned in response.
“Very well,” Choi Jong-In answered as he gathered the cards.
At this point, Yoon-Ho wasn’t upset about losing the deal. He was just annoyed at how arrogant the redhead looked whenever he won. Now it was just a matter of pride.
However, despite how he felt about how quickly he was losing, Yoon-Ho couldn’t help but notice how Choi Jong-In was much more relaxed while they were playing.
Yoon-Ho had only caught glimpses of the redhead when he was relaxed. It was typically just before he would enter whatever room Choi Jong-In was currently in, usually with the other man reading a book.
However, as soon as the redhead noticed him or anyone else in the castle, his guard would instantly be up. His face would become unreadable, regardless of the expression he had. Even with a smile, Yoon-Ho knew it was a mask of his true feelings and would have a hard time deciphering how he truly felt.
But recently, Yoon-Ho had noticed Choi Jong-In acting differently than usual. At least outside of the obvious ways in which the man seemed to be nicer to him for some reason.
It was evident in the way Choi Jong-In would have usually made some sort of critique by now. It was always about something related to Yoon-Ho whether it was him or the castle, but now, the man remained quiet.
In fact, Choi Jong-In had been quieter than usual in general, which Yoon-Ho would have greatly enjoyed if Igris hadn’t expressed his concern about it to him a few days ago. However, Yoon-Ho didn’t think it was something he should get involved with, considering how the redhead seemed to hate him the most in the castle.
Therefore, Yoon-Ho had expected the rest of their game to continue in silence when Choi Jong-In suddenly spoke up.
“So how long have you been a beast?”
Yoon-Ho blinked at the sudden question and gave the other man an inquisitive look. It wasn’t like him to ask such questions, especially since he never seemed too interested in speaking with him unless it was to purposely rile him up.
“Games are supposed to be fun,” Choi Jong-In stated as he shuffled the cards. “You don’t look like you’re having fun.”
“You wouldn’t be having fun if you were the one losing instead,” Yoon-Ho retorted.
“I’m not though,” Choi Jong-In replied, smiling more as Yoon-Ho glared more intensely at him. “So how about a conversation while we’re playing? It will distract you from getting a headache from thinking so hard.”
“Unless the problem is the question being one you don’t want to answer?” Choi Jong-In asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Yoon-Ho scowled but decided to go along with the redhead’s suggestion. He had already agreed to play with the man anyway, so he was stuck there until they were done.
“Six years,” Yoon-Ho said shortly as he watched the other man deal the cards.
“That’s quite a long time,” Choi Jong-In responded as he placed Yoon-Ho’s cards in front of him.
“I’ve gotten used to it.”
“I see,” Choi Jong-In stated, pointedly looking at the way Yoon-Ho struggled to hold his cards without ripping them.
When Yoon-Ho glared at him, the redhead only smiled innocently in response. Not wanting him to ask more questions related to him being a beast, Yoon-Ho changed the topic.
“Do you have any family other than your sister?”
Choi Jong-In paused and tilted his head in question at Yoon-Ho, seemingly not expecting a question from Yoon-Ho.
“You said it yourself. It’s better to have a conversation while we’re playing.”
“Hmm, I did, didn’t I?” Choi Jong-In muttered.
Realizing that the topic might have been a sensitive one, Yoon-Ho was able to take back his question, but the redhead already begun to answer.
“No, Hae-In is my only family member,” the other man said as he changed a couple of his cards. “Our mothers passed away, and we have no contact with our father.”
Yoon-Ho looked inquisitively at him as he changed his own cards.
“Mothers?”
“Hae-In is my half-sister. Same father, different mothers.”
Choi Jong-In placed his cards on the table after that, revealing his hand of two pairs.
Yoon-Ho looked at his own hand and let out a low growl when he saw that he only had one pair, making the redhead hum in satisfaction.
Choi Jong-In held out his hand for Yoon-Ho’s cards. Yoon-Ho hesitated slightly, not wanting to accidentally scratch him but managed to drop the cards into the redhead’s open hand. The conversation of Choi Jong-In’s family quickly ended as the man asked a different question.
“What about your family?” Choi Jong-In asked as he reshuffled the cards.
Yoon-Ho wasn’t too surprised by the question because he had asked the same thing of the other man, but at the mention of his family, he left the familiar longing and despair he felt for the past few years.
“I. Still keep in contact with them,” Yoon-Ho answered in a low voice. “They don’t know what has happened to me.”
Yoon-Ho had made sure of it through Byung-Gyu and would get regular updates on how they were doing. From what Min Byung-Gyu had told him, his family was doing well, but they wanted him to come home soon. However, even if they were to accept him in his current form, he couldn’t bear the thought of what could potentially happen later on
“I see. It must be hard for you not to see them,” Choi Jong-In stated in a quiet voice.
Yoon-Ho remained silent as he stared at the table. It sounded like the redhead was being genuine in his sympathy for him, but what he was truly upset about was reminded of his family.
He didn’t blame Choi Jong-In as he couldn’t have known, but remembering them was painful. His only way of contacting them was through letters that could never fully convey their true feelings, and it tore at his heart. Even his memories of them had begun to fade as time passed.
“Is. The beast thing permanent?” Choi Jong-In asked tentatively in a soft voice, interrupting Yoon-Ho’s thoughts.
“As far as what the shadows have told me, no, but they don’t know how to get rid of the curse,” Yoon-Ho answered.
Of course he had searched for every possible way to get rid of the curse. Since the shadows appeared shortly after he was turned into a beast, Yoon-Ho assumed they were somehow connected to his transformation. Unfortunately, even though they knew more than he did about the curse, they didn’t know how to reverse it either.
Yoon-Ho gritted his teeth as Choi Jong-In nodded and didn’t press him for more as he continued shuffling the cards. They sat in silence, only the sound of shuffling softly echoing through the room.
Just as the redhead was about to deal the cards, Yoon-Ho got up.
“You win,” Yoon-Ho stated, not wanting to play any more games.
Their current conversation was only reminding him of a past he couldn’t go back to, and their previous conversations hadn’t been much better. Yoon-Ho didn’t want to see how much worse it could get from there.
Yoon-Ho saw Choi Jong-In about to say something, but he cut him off, not wanting to hear any of his pity or anything related to what they were talking about.
“I’ll get your room ready for you. It should be ready by tonight.”
Yoon-Ho waited for the other’s response, but when he heard nothing, he began to walk away.
“Thank you,” Choi Jong-In replied in a low voice.
Yoon-Ho paused for a moment before grunting in response and continued walking, leaving the other man in the room alone.
Jong-In watched as Baek Yoon-Ho walked away, a bit taken aback by how suddenly the beast had left.
His original intention had been to get some information from Baek Yoon-Ho that could help Jong-In persuade the beast to let him leave. Something personal that he could use to manipulate Yoon-Ho, or at least Byung-Gyu, into letting him go.
However, he didn’t quite get what he had expected. Jong-In was no amateur when it came to cards, so he already knew he would win, regardless of Baek Yoon-Ho’s level of experience. He was just glad that Min Byung-Gyu had a deck of cards at hand because there weren’t many other games he would be guaranteed a victory in other than board games.
Contrary to his expectations, it seemed like the beast was far more sensitive and sentimental than Jong-In had expected. He had assumed the beast would get angrier with each loss and eventually give up, agreeing to Jong-In’s demands. In reality, Baek Yoon-Ho seemed to give up because he was more upset by the direction their conversation had taken rather than Jong-In winning.
Now Jong-In felt a bit bad for him, and he hated it. He didn’t want to feel bad for his captor, but it was hard to do so when said captor looked like a kicked cat when he was upset. If Baek Yoon-Ho hadn’t ended the game, Jong-In might have himself just so that he wouldn’t have to look at the beast in his misery. He would have won either way, so it wouldn’t have mattered how the game ended.
At least he was getting a new room. Jong-In wasn’t certain he would get one even if he asked, so he decided to make a bet for it to not only get information out of the beast but also to see how trustworthy he was. Fortunately, it showed that the beast was good at keeping his word.
It was also nice for Jong-In to play cards with someone again though.
Despite having the shadows for company, he was starting to feel lonely whenever they weren’t around during the day, which was less time than Jong-In thought the more he was in the castle. Jong-In spoke with Min Byung-Gyu a lot less after overhearing his previous conversation with Baek Yoon-Ho.
Despite Jong-In’s intention to not offend him this time, the beast still seemed displeased by Jong-In’s questions.
Jong-In sighed and leaned back in his chair, absent-mindedly continuing to shuffle the cards in his hands. If things kept going like they currently were, he would need to find a way to get out as soon as possible. Especially since he had no idea how Hae-In was doing and had no way to communicate with her.
He vaguely remembered Min Byung-Gyu saying that he sent someone to ensure that his sister would be safe, but he had no idea if he could trust the person Min Byung-Gyu had sent. Jong-In knows that Woo Jin-Chul, his childhood friend who was appointed as a knight a few years ago, could watch over Hae-In in the event that something happened to him. However, Jong-In also knew how busy Jin-Chul was, so it would be better for Jong-In to get out as soon as possible and see how Hae-In was doing himself.
Not only was he worried about her and what she was currently doing, but he also missed her presence. Having Hae-In around helped keep him grounded and not get lost in his thoughts as much, especially without their parents around.
In the castle, the shadows would mostly leave him alone with Beru really only popping up occasionally. It was typically when Igris and Bellion were busy or weren’t interested in doing what he wanted, which was rarer than Jong-In would have thought. The two shadow knights never looked too interested in entertaining Beru, but most of the time, they would end up doing so anyway to appease the ant.
Even when they did keep him company, Jong-In could never get used to the eeriness the shadows had. He wasn’t intimidated or scared by them, but it certainly wasn’t the same as conversing with a human being. Or something similar to a human in Baek Yoon-Ho’s case.
Hae-In also understood him without Jong-In having to explain himself or worry about being misunderstood, unlike nearly everyone else currently with Jong-In right now. He and his sister had lived together for long enough to not need to be concerned about that. The last person Jong-In had that he could have been like that with was his mother.
A sudden snap shook Jong-In out of his thoughts, and it took him a moment to realize that his thumb had slipped and nearly scattered the cards he was holding. Luckily, the cards had landed on the table, but it prompted Jong-In to get up and find something else to do. Reading books were helpful with that, though even that activity would only work for so long.
Jong-In made his way to the library, taking the cards with him. He should probably return them to Min Byung-Gyu since it wasn’t likely that he would be using them again anytime soon based on how his last game went. Even if he were to play with the shadows, it would probably make him more uncomfortable with having to look at the shadows more while playing cards.
Jong-In didn’t know how much longer he could take being in the castle. If it weren’t for the library and being somewhat entertained by the shadows, he wouldn’t know what he would do with the only living beings here not really caring what happened to him so long as he was still alive. He couldn’t even go anywhere with much freedom since he was technically a hostage here until who knows when.
If he didn’t lose his mind worrying about his sister first, then it would be from being imprisoned in the castle.
A few hours later, Yoon-Ho took Choi Jong-In to where the redhead would be staying from then on.
“This will be your new room,” Yoon-Ho stated as he gestured to the room Choi Jong-In would be staying in.
Choi Jong-In walked inside and looked around. While the room didn’t have much in it, it had the basic necessities that a bedroom should have. Yoon-ho had no idea what the redhead actually liked. However, Yoon-Ho knew Igris was one of the closest ones to Choi Jong-In, so he helped Yoon-Ho with getting the room ready. What Yoon-Ho was aware of was that the other man had requested quite a few blankets when he was in the dungeon, so he made sure to get extras for his bedroom.
“Well?” Yoon-Ho asked.
The redhead had complained about nearly everything in the castle since he arrived. It wasn't unreasonable for Yoon-Ho to expect him to have something to criticize about the room this time as well. Even though Yoon-Ho did put more effort into making sure the room would be sufficient, he wouldn’t be surprised by any complaints Choi Jong-In had.
“It looks nice.”
Yoon-Ho had been prepared to give a retort to whatever the other man was about to say but was caught off guard by the compliment instead.
He watched as Choi Jong-In went around the room to get a feel for it, not quite inspecting the things there but more to see what there was.
Almost like a curious fox inspecting his new home.
The atmosphere quickly changed when the redhead spoke again.
“So, are you open to more deals?” Choi Jong-In asked smugly.
“No,” Yoon-Ho said immediately as he glared at him.
Yoon-Ho didn’t hate making deals with him, but he had enough of seeing the man’s smug smile for a while. The redhead really was like a fox the more Yoon-Ho looked at him.
Choi Jong-In chuckled and shrugged. “Worth a shot. There’s not much else to do while I’m stuck here.”
Yoon-Ho watched as Choi Jong-In went over to the window and looked outside of it.
It was then that Yoon-Ho saw the other man gripping the side of the window before loosening his hold as he stared through the glass. It was brief, but it was enough for Yoon-Ho to know how Choi Jong-In actually felt for once.
Yoon-Ho already knew that he wasn’t happy to be here and even less happy to have little to do in the castle. But seeing it affect Choi Jong-In to the point where he couldn’t hide it like he always did was something else.
While he despised Choi Jong-In’s sharp tongue and slyness, even Yoon-Ho, who interacted with him the least, could tell. The redhead was clearly more subdued and less impudent than he was when he first arrived.
Yoon-Ho didn’t want to have to deal with the potential intruders that could come as a result of letting Choi Jong-In go. However, it made him feel guilty for keeping the redhead from leaving when Yoon-Ho saw him like that.
“If you want something that doesn’t involve leaving the castle, you can just ask,” Yoon-Ho stated in a softer voice.
Choi Jong-In turned to Yoon-Ho, his eyes slightly widened. When he didn’t say anything, Yoon-Ho continued.
“And if you want to play cards again, then we can.”
Choi Jong-In stared at him for a bit, his face as unreadable as always. But this time, it wasn’t because he was smiling like usual. His face was impassive, ironic considering how Yoon-Ho never saw the man making that face when they were playing cards earlier.
Then, slowly, Choi Jong-In gave him the same soft smile he had when he suggested the card game to Yoon-Ho.
“I’d like that.”
Yoon-Ho was starting to regret refusing another game with him.
“It’ll be fun winning again.”
The regret quickly faded.
“I’ll leave you to get used to your room then,” Yoon-Ho said instead, turning to leave and closing the door behind him.
Yoon-Ho let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. The way Choi Jong-In always knew what to say to get on his nerves was aggravating. Yoon-Ho knew it was on purpose, though he was starting to wonder if there was some other reason for the other man to do so besides the fact that he enjoyed it.
It was only when Yoon-Ho had calmed down and looked up that he finally noticed Igris standing outside the room.
“Did he like the room, my lord?”
“Yes, he did. Thank you for the help,” Yoon-Ho answered
Igris nodded, and as Yoon-Ho turned to leave, he realized that he didn’t know how long Igris had been standing there. He didn’t think the shadow knight would mention anything unnecessary to anyone about what he might have seen, but, just in case, he turned back to Igris.
“Not a word of what happened to anyone, especially Byung-Gyu.”
“As you wish.”
Satisfied with his response, Yoon-Ho walked away, but the image of Choi Jong-In’s gentle smile began to make its way into his mind again.
While he would never admit it aloud, Yoon-Ho secretly hoped he could see it again soon. The sight was much more preferred than the smug expression the redhead usually had.
But to Yoon-Ho, any expression would be than whatever expression Choi Jong-In was making while looking out the window.