Chapter Text
The wind had been rather strong that day, a foretelling of a storm coming in soon.
The villagers, while still tense from the recent events that had taken place, carry on with their businesses and run around doing errands and deliveries in preparation for the coming days.
All of whom are unaware of the standoff between two individuals in a quiet home, with its tenant cold and unmoving on the floor next to them.
"Who are you?"
"Now, now, there's no need to go this far, Joonghyuk-ah." the man chuckled, clearly amused and unbothered despite his current position.
It only served to agitate Joonghyuk further. Jaws clenched and sword drawn menacingly, resting just on the man's deathly pale neck that it started to bleed lightly. The reaper had seized forward the moment the man stopped talking in their first greeting.
In hindsight, it was reckless. It could've been a trap meant to lure and harm him— it was unlikely the case but he can never know what the cause of his suffering for weeks has up his sleeves.
"How do you know my name?" Joonghyuk snarled, blade pushing further into his neck and subsequently more blood flowing. This time, the man did flinch albeit a little, but Joonghyuk took it as a win.
The man laughed again, though this time there was a shift in his tone. Joonghyuk didn't know what it meant, but he knew it wasn't out of fear.
"I know a lot of things." He responds cryptically. By the look on his face, he said it on purpose. Then he pauses, before shifting his eyes to the corpse lying innocently beside him, "Well, I know most things."
Joonghyuk's eyes follow and look at the dead man too. His soul hadn't lingered, whether it had set off to wander on his own just to make Joonghyuk's job more infuriating than it already was or, the reaper turned back to the man at the end of his blade, perhaps it had been taken without his consent.
The suspicious man seemed to catch onto his train of thought and jutted his bottom lip out. No way, Joonghyuk gripped his blade tighter, there was no way this man was fucking pouting at him.
"Aw come now, I know the odds aren't really doing me any favors here– But I'm innocent, really!" he whined, "He was already like this when I got here!"
"Give me one good reason why I should believe you."
A beat of silence passed. The man opened his mouth to reply, but paused and shut his mouth to reconsider his response. It was almost comical, the way Joonghyuk could practically see the cogs turning in his head.
"Well…" he finally says, though Joonghyuk felt like he had an idea of what his answer was going to be.
"Maybe … I do look a lot more incriminating than I thought I was-" he admitted slowly like Joonghyuk thought he would, "But– I swear! I'm being set up here. I just came over like you did because I felt something off happen in here, and well, believe it or not, this guy is kind of my acquaintance and client so I-"
"Who are you and what is your relationship with the deceased?" Joonghyuk cut him off, admittedly he was starting to get tired and more annoyed by the man's half-assed tirades.
"What are you, a guard? Wait wait wait, sorry that was an automated response, uh.. Well he's a client and an acquaintance, he's an author of sorts and well, he reaches out to me to read and edit his works." the man explains before eyeing the blade still on his neck, "Do you mind putting that down now? I don't plan on doing anything-"
"Name."
"Bastard- Dokja. Kim Dokja, yes as in reader. I'm a, uh, gumiho that's apparently being set up here." the man grumbled out, "Now put that down and introduce yourself too."
"You clearly know who I am," Joonghyuk responds, unable to help himself.
"Yah!! Rude bastard, did that master of yours not teach you any manners!" the man snarked loudly, annoying Joonghyuk further.
"... Yoo Joonghyuk… Grim reaper." the reaper relents and the man– fox gives him a large satisfied grin.
"Now, was that so hard? Can you please finally put that sword down?"
"Give me one good reason-"
The man groans out loud, "You are so fucking stubborn- I keep telling you I'm not the one who did this! Besides, hypothetically, even if I was the one who killed this fellow, it's not like you can do anything about it! Not to mention I don't even have a good motive for killing him! What kind of idiot would kill their own client? That's bad for business."
He despises himself for admitting it, but Kim Dokja made good points. Without a good argument, Joonghyuk slowly lowered his blade but still kept a sharp gaze on Kim Dokja.
" Thank you ." the fox harrumphed, his pale hand reaching up to mournfully rub his bleeding neck. the blood had flowed down and stained his white robes a fragile red. Joonghyuk almost felt bad, knowing all too well how annoying it was to clean.
Still, Joonghyuk leveled him a stern glare and crossed his arms, "Tell me everything you know."
The fox rolled his eyes, but surprisingly relented without much of a fuss, "I felt something off about this house than the last I've been here so I decided to swing by. Found the front door open for some reason and let myself in, as you do-" That wasn't normal at all, Joonghyuk felt compelled to argue but couldn't say anything as he had done the same just moments before, "-and well, I came in just in time to see something leap out of the window. I was going to check it out but then well.."
Kim Dokja made wild gestures to Joonghyuk and himself.
The reaper ignored this and turned to look at the window Kim Dokja had mentioned and, sure enough, it was indeed left open, just wide enough for someone to go barreling through. Joonghyuk hadn't noticed it earlier but now that he was aware of it; he can feel a strong breeze coming in.
Finding no counterargument or contradiction to the fox's retelling, Joonghyuk could only sigh. He had an inkling the fox was still hiding something from him but couldn't find a way to bring it up or prove that he was indeed hiding something.
"You are suspicious," Joonghyuk announced.
Kim Dokja claimed to be innocent in the matter but had no proof of said innocence. Yoo Joonghyuk truthfully wasn't allowed to interfere with the matters concerning the cause and time of death, but that didn't mean he couldn't find out whether or not Kim Dokja was lying to him.
"You have no proof of your so-called innocence, and you obviously aren't telling me something– the truth or something that would lead me to the truth. That is what makes you suspicious." He continued, ignoring how Kim Dokja was giving him a look full of grievance and irritation.
"Alright, fair enough," the fox huffs before giving him a sly grin, "But what can you do about it? You can't interfere truthfully and I am not obligated to tell my secrets-"
"You aren't allowed to leave my sight until you are proven innocent or guilty." Joonghyuk declared, eyes neutral in contrast to Kim Dokja's which had widened to saucers.
"Wait.. what?! Do you even hear yourself right now? You're joking, right?" the fox laughed nervously, his unsure smile dropped to a thin line when he realized Joonghyuk still had a plain, unamused expression on his face, "You're not …"
"You are to stay with me for the foreseeable future, just so I can confirm you aren't lying." Joonghyuk didn't know why he was saying it, but his gut was telling him not to lose sight of Kim Dokja.
"... Fucking ikemen-" Kim Dokja muttered incoherently to himself while pinching the bridge of his nose as a means to soothe himself, "Are you even hearing yourself right now, you bastard?"
"Kim Dokja, I'm merely interfering to clear my name before it hinders my performance, nothing else."
"... Are you seriously trying to convince me to confess? Bastard, I'll give you points for trying but I'm really– Why do I even bother.." Kim Dokja trailed off with a deep sigh, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
Without a word, Joonghyuk slightly raised his sword. Kim Dokja followed the movement and his shoulders slacked in disbelief.
"Can't believe I'm being coerced in this day and age… Fine, I'll play along. I want to get to the bottom of this too."
"What the fuck…" Han Sooyoung muttered to herself. Joonghyuk turned around and realized that she was staring at Kim Dokja as though he had grown a second head.
"What the fuck, indeed." Kim Dokja nodded solemnly in agreement after taking a slow sip of the tea that Joonghyuk had prepared for them. Han Sooyoung smacked him upside on the back of his head. "Ow?!"
"Yah! Are you in need of a new coat or something?" That one had been directed toward Joonghyuk, eliciting several complaints and protests from Kim Dokja, all of which were blocked out by the demon and reaper, "I'm just saying, but white doesn't seem like a good color for you."
Joonghyuk could only grunt at the stupid, yet true statement, and turned back to attend to the meat he was grilling in his slightly improved kitchen. It should be big enough to serve at least 3 people… Just right then, because no doubt the leech— Han Sooyoung would be unceremoniously staying over to eat his food, again .
The trip from the third victim’s house to his own was thankfully an uneventful one, despite the fact that Kim Dokja was cursing him under his breath the whole way back as though Joonghyuk couldn’t hear him perfectly.
{
“Wait you’re telling me the only reason you’re on this quest to find the killer is that Sooyoung bullied you into it?”
“Shut up, Kim Dokja.”
“You’re dodging the question here! Really, Sooyoung of all people!?”
“Kim Dokja.”
“Yoo Joonghyuk?!”
}
As soon as the people heard of the death of the author, the cause as suspicious as the last two, a handful of villagers decided to protest against his presence at his front door. They carried all sorts of things from pitchforks to stakes, Joonghyuk even spotted one holding a shank under her robes.
Kim Dokja whistled in amusement from where he was perched by the window, discretely peeking at the commotion going on through the slits and gaps.
"You weren't kidding when you said this would hinder your performance, they really want you out of here." the fox mused.
Joonghyuk didn't grace him with an answer and flipped over the meat to cook the other side.
Han Sooyoung snorted, “They look like they want him fucking dead if you ask me.”
“It’s a good thing I didn’t then.”
“Alright you little fuck-”
Joonghyuk didn’t hold back a pained groan when the two once again entered a rather loud banter with one another for the nth time since they first stepped into his house. Turns out, Han Sooyoung had let herself into his house without remorse.
In retrospect, he should’ve realized that the two were familiar with one another considering it is a rather isolated village with only a handful of supernatural beings around. There was no way he could take into account the level of chaos the duo could hold though.
For better or worse, Kim Dokja had also managed to convince (coerce) Han Sooyoung in helping him find the culprit behind the killings.
“I’d look into the people who are new to the village, other than this guy,” she suggested with a thumb pointing laxly in his general direction as he was rummaging through drawers for a wok or pan to use, “We’ve had plenty of wanderers these past few days, he’s just unlucky enough to have the body to pull off some murders.”
Kim Dokja merely hummed in thought, “That’s not a bad idea. It would be best to stop by Heewon’s tavern, then. Gods know there’s always a new face hanging around there every time I drop by.”
“You mean once every full moon?” Han Sooyoung snorted, “It’s already a miracle that I’m seeing you in the flesh instead of a penned letter.”
The fox rolled his eyes and coughed into his fist, “You’re exaggerating, I haven’t been away that long. The last I saw you was at Hyunsung’s promotion party.”
“Dokja, that was 2 months ago.”
“...”
Han Sooyoung grinned at her proven point. Joonghyuk chose this moment to lay down the meat he cooked on the table in front of them before she can say more on the matter.
“Thanks, mom.” she teased when he distributed plates for them to eat.
Joonghyuk served her the smallest cut of the meat.
“Hey!”
They decided to head out to the tavern the next day as the crowd around Joonghyuk’s front gate wouldn’t let up until the middle of the night. This prompted the three of them to stay in his rather vacant house that is wholly unprepared to cater to guests.
While Han Sooyoung complained loudly about having to sleep over a blanket on the cold, hard floor, Kim Dokja made himself comfortable on the floor without much fuss.
Joonghyuk almost felt impressed and mildly concerned if not for the white that suddenly invaded his vision. Joonghyuk could wager there were nine tails sprouting from under Kim Dokja’s robes, all of which curled around him like a cushion or blanket. This only served to make Han Sooyoung complain louder.
There was no reason for Kim Dokja to lie about what he was when they had first met, but Joonghyuk had his reservations when he said he was a gumiho. But seeing his tails before him now, watching them unfurl and cover over Han Sooyoung’s middle in lieu of a blanket, Joonghyuk can’t help but feel like Kim Dokja is one of a kind.
From what he’d heard from other reapers, gumihos were supposedly full of malicious intent– cunning creatures that dabbled in trickery and dark arts. Maybe he was being made a fool the entire day, maybe the demon was humoring him again by not exposing the suspicious gumiho.
Joonghyuk turned away from the duo to stop that train of thought before it could derail.
Yoo Joonghyuk tried not to think too much into it when he woke up warm and well-rested despite the tension he had subconsciously built up over the third death.
Han Sooyoung was not subtle in her judging stare. Joonghyuk fiddled with the wrinkles of his robes under a black cloth he had conveniently found folded in the closet of the household and promptly fashioned into a cloak to somewhat hide his identity.
It wasn’t much to hide his height and voice, but it should do the trick for going out and about during the day without trouble.
Originally, Kim Dokja had suggested going to Heewon’s alone but Joonghyuk firmly rejected the idea of separating from Kim Dokja on grounds of suspicion. Han Sooyoung gave him her first deadpanned look of the day during their argument on the matter.
The cloak currently donned over his figure was an impromptu solution when Kim Dokja brought up the fact that he would no doubt be stopped and harassed the second he stepped out of his house thus, the fox argued, Yoo Joonghyuk should stay at home and lay low.
Kim Dokja had his jaws left ajar in disbelief, so Joonghyuk couldn’t help but smugly cross his arms. The fox merely sighed in defeat and adjusted the front of Joonghyuk’s cloak to cover his face better.
“The two of us can head to Heewon’s tavern,” Kim Dokja begrudgingly explained, hands still busy adjusting the cloth, “Sooyoung can go over to get some information from Hyunsung-ssi on the progress of their investigation.”
“I’d suggest going out through the back though,” Han Sooyoung suggested as she brushed past them to the door that led to the backyard, “That stupid ass cloth isn’t going to hide shit if you ask me.”
“Definitely not– at least, not without some light magic.” Kim Dokja corrected with a small smirk.
Before Joonghyuk could ask for an explanation, the fox waved a hand. Joonghyuk felt something light go over him and seep his cloak, giving it a light shimmer and wave of magic flowing out of it.
Illusion magic, no doubt. Joonghyuk almost thanked him if not for the teasing finger that tapped his nose as the fox also brushed past him to follow Han Sooyoung. He blinked in surprise before scowling at his back, trudging after the duo out the back.
{
Yoo Joonghyuk was no stranger to rumors and gossip regarding his origins in the undead realm.
One time a woman got overly friendly with him, acting as though they were companions, and talked loudly (bragged) about how they had copulated many nights once upon a time.
Joonghyuk originally hadn't denied those claims, it was hard to when he doesn't even remember a single shred of memory from his past life. He wouldn't have known he had a life before being a reaper, if not for the passing conversations and woes of other reapers.
Sadly, he had become a famous topic of discussion amongst others yet again. This one resulted in many other female reapers approaching him hoping to enjoy a night with him as if the first woman's over brazen claims had given them hope of staking their claim on him.
The first woman, a blonde pale but fair, Joonghyuk had grown to be disgusted by, had touched him lightly on the arm in one event. Joonghyuk immediately recoiled from her touch as if he had touched boiling hot coal.
There was no need for memories if the mere touch of this woman made his skin crawl this badly. Her touch felt foreign, too uncanny like it wasn't right.
Joonghyuk made sure to make it firmly clear that was never interested nor had he ever had a night with her, all to steer away from any other attempts at bothering him.
And if the woman had grown to flinch and turn away every time they were in the same vicinity as each other, it was none of Joonghyuk's concerned
Unfortunately, all this is nothing in the face of gossip and rumors.
'With a face blessed by the gods and body sculpted by the most passionate of artists' They had leered at him and whispered amongst themselves when they thought Joonghyuk wasn't around.
They had speculations. Guesses and bets about who or what he was in his past life.
General. Hero. Mercenary. Maybe even a prince.
Yet again, Joonghyuk was stumped.
He wished he knew who he was too.
}
Perhaps he should’ve asked Kim Dokja what exactly the villagers were seeing in the illusion magic he had cast over Joonghyuk. He is thankful for the peace of being able to walk outside without a migraine caused by recent events. While they no longer gave him disdained faces or kept their distance, he can’t help but wonder what exactly they saw to not see him as a threat.
He wasn’t oblivious to his visage, after all. While they were apprehensive of his presence, most villagers still stared unabashedly at his appearance or body, especially those of younger ages.
“Oi!! Watch where ya steppin’!!”
Yoo Joonghyuk grunted, thrown off his train of thoughts, as a gruff looking shifty man shoved him aside. He glared at his back as he stomped away.
What an asshole . Turning back towards the front, he comes face to face with Kim Dokja who seemed distracted.
“Kim Dokja?” No response. The fox was still in a daze, eyes unblinking as they stared at something– someone behind Joonghyuk, his mouth a thin line.
“Kim Dokja.” He called again, this time placing a hand on his shoulder. That did the trick as Kim Dokja flinched at the touch and black eyes snapped to him, looking sharper than anything Joonghyuk had seen on him. There was clearly something wrong here. He narrowed his eyes at the fox, a silent query on what his problem was.
Kim Dokja scrunched up his face before turning to look behind them again, “That man…”
“Was rude, I am aware.”
“No–” he shakes his head, “Well, yes, but not exactly the point I’m trying to make…”
Joonghyuk can practically feel his blood pressure rising. The hypocrisy of this man to tell him he lacks communication skills when he clearly lacks them as well.
“Kim Dokj-”
“Let’s carry on for now.” Kim Dokja speaks at the same time as he, effectively cutting off his question, “It wasn’t anything important, I hope.”
The fox turned away and walked forward to the busy tavern in front of him without further explanation..
Wasn’t anything important? Sure, if that’s what he would like to call it. Joonghyuk looked over his shoulder, eyes shifting from each individual in the area to look for anyone suspicious. There wasn’t anyone in particular that stood out to him.
Frustrated, Yoo Joonghyuk grumbled under his breath and walked after Kim Dokja, unaware of the pairs of eyes that were watching him curiously.