Archive of Our Own ^beta

Whispers in the morning were Beomgyu’s favorite thing to wake up to. A wheel of exciting things and general distractions were happening and so he was half assured of a quiet morning. The only thing on his list was to keep quiet and that would be it. Easier said than done: although tired, he was a bit of a happy pill in the morning and had been warned enough times that maybe that was not the best for other people.

The bedroom was empty, his brother nowhere to be seen. The clothes from the day before were neatly folded in front of the bed closest to the door. On the other stool, a shirt and pants combo carelessly laid —crumpled— waited for their owner. Taeyong had always been neater than him. Beomgyu was training today anyway, he wasn’t dressing up for anyone.

After dressing up, when he stepped out of the bathroom, he peeped into Minho’s room. It was empty too. Guess both his brothers had better things to do than lightening the weight of having breakfast with their parents.

As he made his way towards the eating area, he was filled with a weird sense of nostalgia. His brother rarely had breakfast with him anymore. Minho’s studio was open day-long (for whichever reason, it wasn’t like he had a fixed set of classes scheduled) and he had managed a room nearby so he was practically out. Now Taeyong… Beomgyu’s best guess was that he had probably just taken Minho’s bed. It was but a mere hypothesis that could be proven right or wrong if Beomgyu himself would attempt to sleep in Minho’s room one night. The most surreal thing was that the middle child was still living in that house, he was the successful one after all.

Beomgyu needed a toast and some coffee and he could be out too.

The whispers had turned to normal tone speaking once they heard him make his way through the bathroom. Once he entered the kitchen he became part of the conversation whether he wanted it or not. They were speaking not minding him there, that was good with him.

“Morning, Beomie.” He just waved at them. His mother turned back to his dad, “As I was telling you, it just seems like a trap that they would make the guard at fault take the investigation."

“Well, they disappeared in his shift, makes sense they would give him the chance to straighten his mistake back up don't you think so." His dad seemed puzzled by her remarks.

“C'mon sweetheart. What do you think about this, Beomgyu?" His mom, as always, was testing if anyone under that roof could match her premonition inclinations.

“I have no clue what you're talking about, guys. I'm guessing it has to do with the kings' disappearance?"

“Yes. The word came with the milk today. The person who was on guard by the royal chambers the night the highnesses disappeared was put on charge of finding them." Beomgyu’s father was sipping his coffee as if of course that was the thing to do.

His son wouldn’t agree. He took a bite from his toast. “And how much time did they give to them?"

“Hm, it was either two or three months."

“Yeah, no, they want a scapegoat," he said matter of factly.

“That's what I say! See, honey? Even Beomgyu can tell." Ah yes, the microaggressions that do not hurt at all.

“But why would they do that?" His dad was looking at him with sorry.

“They're gaining time until they can come up with a strategy to avoid a civil war, of course."

Beomgyu stopped chewing on his toast. “War? Why?"

Now his dad seemed to be the knowledgeable one. “Well, knights and dancers have been one step from war since forever. A balance maintained only for our inability to beat the other, which I find hilarious."

That seemed dumb. And borderline offensive since Beomgyu had wanted to be a knight ever since he was a teenager. He tried not to dwell too much into it. The knight-dancer thing was stupid.

“Anyways, as of now, we must be grateful that we have a well-distributed council and that none of the dancers will be stepped on by those arrogant knights." Beomgyu's mom was starting to take a stand herself. That was therefore his cue to leave. Sometimes it's better to step away, —faster, if you can— when you don’t agree.

Beomgyu stood up and headed toward the sink. “You two are too pessimistic." Damn it, was it that hard to keep it in?

“Oh, right, because you think the sword thing is the one legit and credible out of this right?"

“Have a nice day," said Beomgyu, and he walked out, picking up the rusty sword that lay by the entrance door.

The town was loud that morning, with voices and comments all around. Probably the news. Beomgyu wondered if war was to be expected for real, irreconcilable differences manifesting. He sort of understood why they would take over now that the kings had disappeared: unofficially with one of them being a dancer and the other one being a knight, it made sense they would keep some sense of order, a concept holding the kingdom together. And yet, the idea of war felt wrong, even more, when kings were supposed to be neutral.

He had never had a problem with knights. Or maybe it was because he wanted to become one, an actual knight, and work as one, not of family descent, like Soobin. But for the public eye, Beomgyu had always been a dancer. The only time he had felt wronged by a knight’s doing about being a “dancer” was when he attempted the trials for the Royal Guard training.

The reason why the overbearing noise in town surprised him came back to how early it was. Beomgyu himself was not an early bird by nature but once he was up, he would become active. Since he had to go to his job in the afternoon, he could only train in the morning. And so he would wake up early and head towards the Ardeip woods.

That was the thing! That was what he wanted to mention to his parents. What was the point of growing up hearing about the story if they wouldn’t have it in mind when retelling the facts and the possibilities? The Stone that held the sword and the heel. That was probably what his dad wanted to call as an answer, he could bet, but it was a bit too unrealistic to suggest it as a possible solution in front of Beomgyu’s mother. Not that they had any call on how to possibly solve a problem that was not their own. But since they were gossiping...

Anyways, the Stone. The sword and the heel. It was a local tradition, or a legend would be a more appropriate designation. If you could take the Sword out of the Stone then you could become king, you had been deemed worthy by whichever magic inhabited the forest and the land and that particular set of props. Beomgyu didn’t know who had placed the sword there, or when the heel was added. But it had happened before, releasing them out of the Stone. Enough times for it to be a trusty sign, but not so much to avoid the general population worrying about war. Because if the problem was that the kings’ spot was empty, the urgent matter (and why everyone feared hostilities) was who would be the right one to fill in that spot. A tricky subject to go over since the conversation about it hadn’t happened when the legit rules had been around. Why not recur to the one way that was there for everyone to try, the one that had the general population’s acceptance?

Although, perhaps… No, Beomgyu was being too optimistic. He liked believing the fairy tales and that taking the sword would solve everything. The thing is, the heel acts as a second point to grab the stone. If you look at it, it appears like the heel being there would make it easier, but no, it was impossible. A fourteen-year-old Beomgyu had visited the Stone with Soobin, and neither of them nor both together could even make it flinch. It was an important moment for him, it made the impossibility of it materialize in his mind. Sometimes you live in ideals and possibilities and it’s necessary to go over the stuff yourself to hit reality once and for all. The story of the Stone had been like that for wide-eyed Beomgyu. The other dream, he would not give up on it, even if a majority of people would say he had no choice over and over. His parents were a hard thing to ignore, but everyone else could suck it.

He passed Soobin’s house knowing he wasn’t there. He had mentioned the day before about accompanying Huening Kai somewhere early in the morning. Soobin was a bodyguard and worked as a particular for a dance crew.

Beomgyu arrived at the gates and had no more time to think about this.

To leave town you have to cross the gates. There’s a giant wall surrounding both the castle (on the highest ground) and the town. To leave you didn’t need a permit unless you were carrying selling products. Those things the castle had a register of to know how to distribute or who to turn to in case of a crisis. To enter back in was the same unless you were an outsider in which you were gonna be asked about your purposes about visiting.

He waved at his friend who worked at the wall’s guard, Wooseok. He had come with Beomgyu when he participated in the tryouts for the Royal Guard and almost got into a fight with someone when he couldn’t make it in. Beomgyu walked through the thick-walled gate, a tunnel of a sort, being one of the few making the way out in opposition to all of the people walking in. A royal knight was leaving town at the same time as him. He seemed to be about the same age and height as Beomgyu, and he looked stressed. Where Beomgyu left the road to walk into the woods, the knight kept the trail that would take him to the nearest town and soon after, out of the Kingdom. A trail Beomgyu had never taken.

There was a small clearing immediately after the wall, enough so the wall guards could see if anyone ever tried to attack their side. The Ardeip woods was too surrounding the entirety of the town, after the clear. It held high and skinny trees, and, somewhere within it, the actual Stone. There was a bit of magic surrounding it: it was never in the same place. If you were to look over maps, the cartographers would always locate the stone in a different spot.

It’s easy to spot if it wants you to spot it. It gets harder when there’s no need for it. Beomgyu had only seen it once and that had been enough for him. Seeing it again would only make real the absence in the throne and everyone else’s worries. He had no time for them.

👠

Beomgyu had always wanted to be a knight. Maybe because he once saw Soobin’s dad practicing with his sword and was stunned by the way light reflected in the blade of the sword. And maybe it had been that one time the knight king Taehyung had organized a public demonstration where he organized a routine that mixed both dancing and weapon maneuver. Because, at the end of the day, if you ask what the difference was between knights and dancers, is how they fight. There where knights are all about weapon use (what can I say, they have an eerie disposition to maneuver anything metal), dancers are experts in hand to hand fighting. And, remember how there is some magic running around here? It is in their veins too. And so, some dancers have a perception/illusion ability that always works on knights. They move faster, whereas the others move with more precision and strength, and they can foresee their moves or trick their eyes. A knight could never pierce through a dancer, and just like that, a dancer could never take on a knight (their hits just don’t work). A dancer and knight going head to head could fight for centuries and though there would be ups and downs, no one would defeat the other. And so peace, it was a bit of a forced way out. You have to work together when you cannot outdo the person in front of you.

The problem of course is that apparently, they did not understand this and so to be a dancer or a knight was passed down like now we passed professions. Which is ridiculous, the thought that fighting would be an everpresent need for all the people in town. As a dentist’s child would most likely grow up to become a dentist, here happened the same. Not that every possible work field was to fight, so, that made for the rest of the population that didn’t really care about it but still passed it down as belonging to a faction thing. For example, none of Beomgyu’s parents had actively been in the dancer’s work sphere, but he had been raised as one, having learned the family tricks and characteristic moves, those that were not to be taught to others for they made the secret family inheritance.

And here he was, Beomgyu, with the sword his brother had lent to him in exchange for working the afternoon shift in his studio. Trying to remember the sword movement he had seen the Royal Guard make when they made their way to the wall to close the gates for the night. He did not have a good memory for those details. Where did the sword even come from? He had asked but Minho hadn’t answered.

Beomgyu practiced in the morning because of that: the ship in the afternoon and the lesser amount of people snooping around in the woods. In a world that considered nights sacred and for the social, mornings were quiet, and only selected jobs required to be out so early. No one could see him fail this way.

Soobin couldn’t train him. Beomgyu wished he could. But it was less of a time availability thing as it was a matter of character. Soobin just couldn’t teach Beomgyu because sometimes (most of the time) Beomgyu was too much. And he liked to joke, but he also liked to be precise. And Soobin not only liked to ignore Beomgyu when he was in his extra mood, but he also absolutely despised the idea of split society after something as dumb as the disposition they could have to certain fight styles. Which not all of them abide by so then, why had they both been raised into different factions and with different goals? And so Soobin would go on about why the idea of knights and dancers just didn’t make sense and Beomgyu would still be trying to wield that heavy sword by himself. Also, Soobin hated waking up early for something he didn’t believe in (this thing, this he didn’t believe in) and so he had fallen asleep enough times for Beomgyu to just “I can do it on my own, Soob, don’t worry.” It had hurt that his friend wouldn’t… go down this path with him, but he also understood that something like that could happen when there wasn’t anything given back. Soobin couldn’t go against his own beliefs only because Beomgyu needed help. That determination he could respect and admire and aspire to.

The woods would watch him as he tried and tried, striking his sword on rocks because he didn’t dare to damage trees.

He had tried and asked his parents for help to hire an instructor. But they refused. “Why do you want so much to stray to something you’re not? Dancers can do so much these days, you don’t even have to do the dance part! You could be anything! But no, you chose the knight thing. Do you hate us that much?” So yeah. He would not ask them for much after that. His brothers were the one reason he could truly do anything: Minho had early decided to dedicate himself to customer services and he was great at it. How had that old lady trusted him her shop? No one knew, but he took over once she decided to leave town. He then modified it so it could be what it was now. And Taeyong, he was the star. He was both the leader of a dance crew and a personal dance instructor (and an expensive one too, fame could allow higher selling prices). So Beomgyu could do anything he wanted to, his parents had already ensured survival and wellness for their family line. They could also keep Beomgyu in their house until he figured out what to do. Once he failed the admission trials for the Royal Guard…

The sword fell to the ground. The clinking echoed enough to make some birds fly away.

He had stumbled and the sword slipped from his hands. The blade, however, pointing upwards, had fallen towards him. He could avoid it by a hair, but he had a long cut from his elbow to the side of his right palm, made in an attempt to push the sword mid-air away from him.

Beomgyu was not used to seeing blood, even less his own. He got closer to the ground and finally sat on it. He knew that when you feel dizzy you make sure the fall it’s not so big you can hurt yourself. And he also knew that blood should stay inside of his body, so he took his cloak and half tied it, half-wrapped it around his forearm.

The birds were back at chirping and he could almost hear his mother’s mocking tone in his head. They could not find out about this. He let himself fall back on the dried grass and leaves. Eyes closed and deep breathing, he counted the things he could hear. The air between the branches, and the nearby river current. There was a horse somewhere close enough to hear its neighs. He couldn’t let anyone find him like this.

Beomgyu opened his eyes and made a list: the most immediate was to get the cut checked out, in case it needed stitches or something. He didn’t think so since the cloak was fairly dry: he wasn’t losing blood at a fast pace, it was probably a superficial wound. He hoped it was.

The next thing he knew, he was back in town and knocking on Ryujin’s door. When Yuna opened up, he considered turning around and leaving. “What do you need, stranger?” Yuna had seen him once a week for the past year.

“Is Ryujin here?”

Yuna was resting on the door frame, enjoying wasting his time. “You know she’s not.” Beomgyu didn’t, but he could’ve figured. Then Yuna saw the cloak around his arm, “What do you have there?”

“I got cut and I think I need stitches.” Yes, he needed them after all. With a cut that long...

“We have thread! Do you want me to do it for you? You’re right-handed, right? You’re never gonna get that yourself.” Well, she did have a point.

“Would you? I guess I can give you a free timeslot in the studio afterward, I'm heading there anyway.” Yuna had already stepped to the side and closed the door behind him. She signaled the sofa while she looked for the supplies.

“I mean, I’m not quite sure what I would do there, but sure.” There was something about the excitement in her voice that didn’t correlate to what she had just said.

Beomgyu heard her scrambling stuff around until the sounds stopped. “Have you done this before?”

Yuna walked back into the room with a needle in her right hand and a bottle of whiskey in her left one.

“No.” She smiled.

⚔️

There was a thing about a smiling Soobin entering the studio that just made Beomgyu extra grumpy. It was most likely that he wasn’t drunk enough to nullify the pain.

They just stared at each other until Soobin’s smile fell. “Well, are you not gonna ask me why I am like this?”

“No.” There was one thing that could bring balance back to Beomgyu and that was the beauty of annoying Soobin. To be fair, it was quite an easy endeavor: he just entered the studio looking like a princess about to sing to her animal friends in the well-lit morning forest but said nothing. So he wanted to be asked about it, a thing Beomgyu had already decided not to do.

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine today?” Soobin was back to being in a good mood and irritating Beomgyu back. This was not going as planned. As nothing that day was. “I’ll tell you anyway. I met someone.”

Beomgyu’s eyebrows shot up. That was not something he could have expected. Although it did go well with the whole in love aura he was giving. But Beomgyu had always thought Soobin would end up with…

“Kai’s friend, we met him today. He is so nice and so polite, and quiet and he is so smart!”

Too many coordinates, Beomgyu needed a second. “So the guy is Huening Kai’s friend? I thought you were just meeting with Kai today? Also, you like this guy because he’s smart?” Beomgyu was feeling a heartbreak that was not his own.

Soobin didn’t seem phased by anything. “Yes, yes, and no. I like him for so many things that right now I can’t remember them.”

Bullshit. “So you have a crush. Who would've thought your hypocrite conscientious objector ass would have a love at first sight moment.”

Soobin gasped. “That is so not what I am but I can tell you’re going through something so I won’t kick your ass about it.” Soobin neared the register desk behind which Beomgyu was sitting. The tall chair was not Beomgyu’s favorite, but aesthetics mattered, and the damn desk was tall. “So what’s up with you? You look deflated.” Soobin hopped onto the desk and wiggled until he felt comfortable (or as comfy as he could get on that table).

Beomgyu lifted his sleeve and showed him the bandage in his arm. It was long and stiff and it itched. Also, it hurt still, Yuna didn’t have anything to locally numb the pain.

“Oh my god, what happened to you?” Soobin lifted his feet and spun, landing on Beomgyu’s side of the desk.

“Calm down and go back to that side, Minho will kill you if he sees you here.” Soobin looked hurt and as if he were about to say how much Beomgyu’s brother loved him (it was true), so instead: “I had a bit of an accident while training and I cut myself. Yuna stitched the cut and I'm not sure she even knew how to sew things that were not skin so… I'm guessing I'm gonna have a sick scar.”

“Ah yes, the girlfriend of your best friend attempted murder on you but you still think it was out of the goodness of her heart, I’m acquainted with the trope.” Soobin had a fundamental dislike of Yuna exclusively based on how alike Beomgyu and she were and how much more fearless she seemed (read: respect for older people? nonexistent).

“You’re just jealous I went to them and not you to sew me back up,” Beomgyu teased.

“Of course I am, did you see my embroidery? It’s not perfect but it’s more than what Yuna could ever do.”

“Dude, you’re being petty now. I am this close to taking your best friend title and giving it to someone else. Probably Yuna since it bugs you so much.”

“Aw, Beomie, you’d miss me too much to do that. Where else could you find a lovely Sagittarius like m- I see you smiling, is she a sag too?” Beomgyu nodded. How funny was that he was bringing up the one thing they had in common. “I hate this, she’s even taking this from me.”

“I mean, she can’t take away her birthdate from you, that’s something she had no voice in and that you don’t own. Anyways, stop the pouting, I have never spoken this much about Yuna in my life, I think that was enough.”

“See, you don’t like her either!” Soobin said, victorious.

“I didn’t say that. But she got all creepy excited over seaming skin so… Better keep her away from my mind for now.” Beomgyu rested on his left arm and tried not to think about the fresh wound that would still burn from underneath the bands. “I can’t wield the sword with this cut, it will open right back up.”

Soobin looked at him with something like sorrow. Like how you look at the first stone you tried to make skip over calm waters, knowing there would be a second shot after that one because nothing works out the first time. Beomgyu hated it. “Maybe it’s time for a rest?”

“What should I rest from Soobin, I do nothing all day and then I have to face my parents being the only one in the house that doesn’t provide.” He was lashing out at the wrong person, he would change the subject as soon as a self-deprecating comment would stop being so in hand.

“Hey,” Soobin called at him. His awful learned trait of making eye contact (Beomgyu blamed himself for it) was the truest pain in the ass in this situation. “You work so hard every day. Don’t say you don’t. You work so hard that you even hurt yourself. And you probably did because you were alone out there and guiding yourself through all of this. You are doing something, you’re doing too much I’d say. And if you can face that, then that’s perfect and by all means, keep doing so. But you hurt yourself and you say you can’t train as of right now so maybe taking a rest instead of being an option it’s more like, mandatory. And the other thing,” Soobin doubted. He was not in the same position, but paradoxically, he was. Soobin had two older siblings and him being the youngest, he was the favorite. So he had maybe a little bit of pressure, but not as much because he would be forgiven… And also, he had gone along the family path. The general knight training that one could get in school, Soobin had taken it, and he was therefore apt to work in the general field of the justice force. So he was… employed. By Beomgyu’s brother nonetheless. “Do you work here for free? Does Minho not pay you? Because I know this could be out of place but that would be exploitation, I think.”

He was right, of course. “No, I do get remunerated by being here.”

“Do you not consider this a worthy job?”

Oh, Soobin, Soobin, Soobin. So delicate with his words but just as precise as his sword. Scratch that, Soobin had always been a combat knife kinda guy. He was correctly putting Beomgyu back into his place. He needed that.

Beomgyu took a deep breath. “You’re right, I'm just complaining because I can and stress takes the best from me.” Soobin only smiled as an answer. He knew too that Beomgyu was avoiding the main issue. “Now, do tell me about this guy you met.” He was willfully giving in to the gossip. Also, he needed to reload with content to roast Soobin the next time he saw him.

“So, he’s a royal guard.”

“I see, precisely your type, part of the system and all.”

“We all have our flaws, Gyu, do you want me to list yours?”

“Please proceed with your anecdote.”

“I thought so.” Soobin was still on his side of the welcoming desk, and he furthered the intrusion by sitting on it again. “He’s Huening’s childhood friend and they have a relationship like you and I have.”

“So they hate each other's guts?” Beomgyu commented.

“Hm, you’re right, they’re nothing like us. No, they’re super sweet and always know what the other one is thinking.” Ah, to have a friend like that.

“Nice.”

“Right? And, well, apparently this guy was leaving town for some job he had and he was saying farewell to Huening Kai since he had to head out, like, on the spot. They didn’t even give him a day’s notice or something. Imagine being exploited that way.” Beomgyu couldn’t but he sure wanted to.

“How on earth did you guys know to go then?”

“Oh, they have fancy communication skills in the castle. Kai woke up to a letter in his window and then he just cracked my window trying to awaken me by throwing rocks at it. He didn’t want to go alone so early and we were already set to go get breakfast together from the day before so… make it a few hours earlier and I got to meet the love of my life. Thank you, Kai.” Soobin was a dumbass. It’s ok, Beomgyu was well aware of it.

“I see. And did you have a nice time?” The sweetness embedded in his tone made for the teasing tone to fit just right.

“Yes, mom! I made a new friend and he proposed that we all meet when he gets back!”

“That’s my boy!”

After a couple of seconds, they both burst into laughter. “I hate you,” said Soobin in between tears.

“Right back at you.”

“Choi Beomgyu,” Ryujin shouted as soon as she walked into the studio, her voice overpowering the bell by the doorframe. “What on earth does my girlfriend mean with stitching wounds and I don't know what?”

“She was the one doing the skin poking and you’re mad at me? Unbelievable.”

“There’s a medic you could’ve gone to! Also, I am worried about you, what if it gets infected, and you just die on the spot… and Yuna gets blamed for it?”

“Aw, Ryujin, so nice to see you do after all worry about me and not the potential murder charges over your significant other.” Ryujin had made her way toward the counter and was trying to push Soobin so she could also sit on the goddamn thing.

“Ooh, he pulled the significant-other-card,” added Soobin in a high pitch.

“Besides that, I didn't force her to do anything, she just very eagerly sewed my wound. So go take it out on her.”

“Damn, you sure are delicate today,” answered Ryujin, lowering her voice back to normal and acting as if she hadn’t just burst through the door with a murder intention.

“Are you all for real?”

They were gonna drive him nuts.

👠

Beomgyu had said he would rest. It was a lie. The only thing keeping him cautious was the memory of the needle in Yuna's hand.

The tree branches were singing, invited by the wind. He was back at the clearing in the woods, waiting to make a move. But there was so much to a knight's training, he just either didn't know what or lacked the discipline to force himself to do them.

After angrily staring at the sword in his left arm, he decided maybe falling back to what one knew wouldn't be that bad. Just because he didn't want the dancer’s title, it didn't mean he disliked the art. He wished that by being born to it he wouldn't be denied other things, but dancing had nothing to do with this other unfairness.

So he left the sword aside and took a stance. You could call it “dance” as it had always been called by knights, but it was too a martial art if you will. When the goal was to take on your enemy, the rhythm could help too. Beomgyu bent his knees and tried to stretch them again, summoning the required flow. It was hard taking into account that he was avoiding stretching his right arm tendons. You never know all the muscles involved in a single move until you have to avoid a 30 cm poorly stitched cut to open up again.

He tried again, this time pulling the right hand towards his left breast as if making an oath. He folded his left arm on his back as if he were to bow, for equilibrium. Balance of some sort, although having his arms pulled in by his torso helped little.

That was the thing he was bothered by too. He had taken the first step of the triangle, and he was already in the perfect groove. Beomgyu hadn't practiced the moves since he was fifteen.

After a minute of wobbling around the base step (right front and back, now left front and back, repeat), he knew he should add some spice. The straight-up fact was that if there's no one facing you with murdering intent, you're just dancing. And every performance deserves a bit of spice (that's how Taeyong would say it, with those precise words, when he was talking Soobin into learning some steps).

So Beomgyu widened his pose and began rotating on his knees, like a limbo line he was trying to avoid from all sides, in counter-clock circles. And when the balance was just right and the momentum enough, he stretched his left leg up into the air, as the right knee straightened and held his whole weight. His torso had gone downwards in the same motion, mirroring the left foot in the air. And just before he could fall, the leg completed the circumference and he took an extra turn and a stumble afterward to hold the impulse within. Not perfect, but decent enough. The music of the river could take the acrobatics out of him.

He left out a sigh and started to feel the heaviness of the exercise. Beomgyu released his hands from the fixed position they were and tried to stretch only the left one. He was breathing heavily when he heard the applause.

“That was awesome."

Beomgyu quickly turned towards the voice, already feeling his face reddening. He did not like audiences at all.

A young man was standing by the big oak. He looked like he belonged to the forest but also not at all, out of place in a way. He had black hair and a smile like a cat. Beomgyu hadn't had that much experience with cats and so, he feared them.

“Thank you. Who are you and why are you watching me?" A compliment is a compliment, but also, creepy.

The guy seemed surprised at Beomgyu's fast ways.

“I’m sorry, that was abrupt from me. I was just passing by.” Something about the way he stopped that sentence made it sound as he had way more to add and didn’t know how to word it for it to sound just right. “Ok, don’t freak out, but I’ve been passing this spot quite frequently at the same times you happen to be here…” He said with such a tone enough to imply that he wanted him not to misunderstand.

The thing is, he had said nothing, and the few words this out-of-the-air dude had laid out there were creepy as hell. Luckily Beomgyu only had a sword to carry with him. And well, his bag, but his escape plan made it possible to get that too on the way.

“Ok, bye.” Beomgyu turned and with the tip of his feet lifted the hilt of the sword and grabbed it. Then with the scabbard, he trapped the top handle of his bag and threw it towards himself in a swift motion. In less than a minute he was stepping away from his usual spot and heading toward the town.

“No, wait, wait. I don’t mean it in a way you should be this alarmed, no, I just-” He was following Beomgyu.

“Please don’t follow me, I'm trying not to die today,” he said over his shoulder. The guy was taller than him and something told him that even if on a good day he would’ve thought higher of himself, enough to consider himself capable of beating this person, his wounded arm was a big con. And he’d rather it healed other than open the cut back again by fighting a stranger.

“And I’m trying to tell you that I can help you.” You see, that’s what any dealer would say too, but Beomgyu was curious. If this person had seen him before, maybe he would know his preferred fix.

Beomgyu lifted the sword, with the scabbard on. “Speak.”

“I train too, I just do it by the river and at night. I come to the area to have lunch almost every day. On the way there, to my favorite spot, I sometimes see you in what can only assume is your usual spot. And I couldn’t avoid noticing that maybe we are trying to learn each other’s specialty. A thing I hadn’t suspected until today. Are you tired yet?” He asked, smiling at the sword. Beomgyu’s left arm was trembling slightly. “Here,” said the man, putting up his index, as if he was trying to make a point or as if he was pointing at the sky, “try to touch it with your sword.

“No.”

“Wh- How am I supposed to prove my point if you-”

“I am right-handed and I’m hurt. So I cannot make it, I can assure you from now. Instead of letting you humiliate me just because, what if you just end with what you were saying?”

The young men seemed faced by how to-the-point Beomgyu was. “I want to be a dancer. But I was born to a long long line of knights. I work at the wall guard even, and I don’t like it one bit. So, I was thinking, I see you practice with your sword almost every time I pass the area. And up until now, it didn’t occur to me that maybe we could help each other. So that’s what I’m proposing.”

Beomgyu let the sword-holding arm fall back at his side. He smiled.

“So you see me do some pirouette and now you decide to speak to me because I am suddenly useful to your dream? You’re a sweetheart aren’t you?” The mocking in his tone was just enough to make the other guy uncomfortable.

“I mean, when you put it like that it sounds awful, but I am being honest. Besides, you had never seen me, it felt inappropriate to interrupt.” Until now, Beomgyu added in his mind.

“Why would I say yes?”

“Oh, I don’t have leverage, or, I don’t know, a way to force you into this,” his voice was sounding the most sincere now, almost vulnerable. “It was truly a proposition that just occurred to me. You can say no. Although I am a bit stern and I know where you practice, I could just come and annoy you until you say yes…” He left that hanging as if considering. Then he shook his head. “But no, if you refuse right now, I’ll take it. Imagine a total stranger just walking up to you in the middle of the woods with a proposition like, no.” He shuddered. Then he looked up to Beomgyu who was staring at him with an eyebrow up. “Ok, yeah, I get it now. I’m Yeonjun,” he introduced, extending his hand.

Beomgyu was fascinated by this mess of a guy: he had walked up to him, gave off a villain vibe with an ‘I have something that might interest you’ speech, and then he had proceeded to fumble over his words and backtrack and finally give his name. This guy wouldn’t survive one single encounter with a witch, he could bet.

For some reason, that made him trustworthy to him (you didn’t hear it from me, but Beomgyu too wouldn’t survive an encounter with a witch): “Beomgyu.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Can’t say the same, won’t.”

“That’s fair.”

⚔️

Heavy breathing and the current of the river made the background. In two weeks Yeonjun and Beomgyu managed to meet almost every single day. Their training was a bit different, but since Yeonjung had serious balance issues, Beomgyu would just make his ab workout, or leg workout, and laugh when the other inevitably would fall because a fish jumped at him. The running and the reflex exercises they would do together, Beomgyu with the additional extra of not using his right arm.

One time at noon, they were drinking water and laying by a tree. The sunlight casting through the treetops made for a nice shadow texture on their skin. Boemgyu had his eyes closed and the faint reddish spots would make him feel a tickle he was sure he had imagined. He could hear Yeonjun sighing by his side.

It was funny if you think about it. Beomgyu had to start behaving as if a piece of metal was a part of him, while Yeonjun had to start thinking in each part of his body as shapes and harmony. His body was already a whole, but he required a change of perspective: the entirety of it mattered when managing and showcasing movement. Meanwhile, Beomgyu had to work on his strength, and his coordination, and his basic attack steps. Just so, each of them had advantages that their lifetime training backgrounds provided: Beomgyu could use his left arm and his legs in a way knights were not trained to, which could both be an advantage and a disadvantage depending on who you asked. Yeonjun was convinced it was the former because it meant that, in a life or death situation, those movements would kick in and he would achieve his final form in a terrain where keeping to a form didn’t matter (because you either lived or died, as one was trained to think when handling sharp metal objects). Beomgyu thought it would be disadvantageous because it would lessen his attempt to fit in the canon he was so desperately trying to infiltrate, to diverge from the norm seemed like cheating. He didn't have the mindset yet. In Yeonjun’s case, the strength he already possessed was essential to certain movements that Beomgyu could’ve only dreamed of.

With his eyes closed, Beomgyu heard the sound of paper crumpling and just general movements from his side. He opened one eye and caught Yeonjun pulling stuff from his bag.

“What are you doing?"

“Setting some sort of lunch. I know you skip it sometimes and that just can't be."

Beomgyu sat straight and turned to face him. “I mean, it's only when it gets late for my job but… thank you, that's sweet of you." There was something magnificent about Yeonjun: he was nice and detailed and blushed like now when receiving compliments he didn't expect nor ask for. And god did he like to receive compliments. Beomgyu didn't mind giving them, and so it was nice.

Beomgyu took the sandwich Yeonjun was giving him and waited so they could eat together. “You always had dark hair?" Ice breakers, he had about a million.

Yeonjun smiled. “Yes. I always wanted to get it to be a bright color, but I could never choose."

“There's this rumor between the dancer community that all the legends had pink hair at least once. One of my favorite dance teachers had it. Maybe you should try it, I bet it'd look great!"

Yeonjun seemed to be thinking about it. “What about you, is that blonde your go-to shade?"

Beomgyu grabbed a strand and looked at it. “Taeyong once dyed his hair this color and I got fascinated. I promised I'd stay in this shade until I either didn't like it anymore or Soobin got it. I just know he'd look better than me in it and that can't be."

“This Soobin guy sounds fun."

“He's a dumbass just like you, you'd love him," he teased.

“Excuse me?" It was so easy to annoy him.

“What, we are friends now, whether you like it or not. That comes with a full package of bullying, sorry to tell you." He took a bite and witnessed until Yeonjun finally accepted there was no answer to that.

“I see." He was halfway through his sandwich already. “You don't like those?" Beomgyu had been caught in the act of removing the tomato slices from his food. He shook his head. “I won’t add them again then." Yeonjun smiled. Sour memories of tomatoes being a sacred fruit in Beomgyu's household made this the weirdest shade of heartwrenching. He appreciated this straightforward acceptance.

They took a couple more bites hearing the river. The sun was at its highest point. Beomgyu was reminded of the dancing salons in school where they would make them imitate complicated figures to the fingertips. He hadn't liked it that much, but the side yellow light had been his favorite. That and resting on the parquet, making faces at the mirror with friends who had known what to do with their lives.

Not nostalgia, not now. Besides, he still got a similar light to that one in Minho’s studio, so it was fine.

“So, since we're friends, may I ask why you wanna be a knight? Not that there's anything bad about it I just… being born to it I guess it loses the magic."

Beomgyu could understand, he felt the same given they were both in a reflected situation.

“Maybe this is how I rebel to my parents," he said, jokingly. Yeonjun just drank some water while watching him. “Tough crowd. Well, you know Soobin? He's my best friend and he's from a family of knights. We used to hide in the closet by the gym in his house. He would read the books he sneaked in from the library and I would watch his dad practice. His main weapon was the sword. And I don't know, maybe it was the light entering from the tall thin windows, but in the faint bluish glisten, I might've had a religious experience, or my first love even.” The suffocating air of the close space and the touch of the old fabric of coats waiting for winter to be used again made for the sensory flashback. “I wanted to do that. It was a dance far sharper and different than I had ever seen." Beomgyu had a vivid imagination. The bunny that was munching on the tomato slices by his hands came too close to him and he was back in the woods with the bright sun above.

“Seems like a lovely memory." Yeonjun had rested his cheek on his shoulder and was watching him. “So, why are you here now? Something must've gone wrong along the way," he said, his voice lowering and acquiring a doubtful tone by the end as if maybe that was an intrusive question that he shouldn't be asking.

Beomgyu, however, had no trouble answering.

“I must've told my parents at some point, but not around the age I knew it for the first time. Minho was having trouble and they were so proud of Taeyong for fully aiming for the dancer career that I just decided to lay low. I never assumed they weren't gonna be proud of me for what I had chosen, I just thought that Taeyong deserved the spotlight then. Spoiler: they did not love my election when I told them.” Beomgyu let out a sour smile. “And they've been quietly and not so subtly hinting that at me since then. I do think it's mental torture at this point, but they won’t say anything directly and I won’t bring it up because I do in fact like having a roof above my head. They still let me live there so, until the moment they kick me out I'll try my best. Of course… the admissions to the royal guard training, I failed those." Beomgyu took a moment to let it sink in. He liked to forget about it, because who would want to remember the moment the one thing you wanted to do had been yanked from your immediate future with a ‘you're not good enough' note attached to it?

He didn't dare look at Yeonjun. He wouldn't know what to do with the pity.

A sigh and a fresh start. “Realistically I know I wasn't prepared, but I didn't even think I had done so poorly. Besides, there are rumors about them not only being elitists but that having contacts is almost a requirement. And I sure don't have those. You know who does?" Yeonjun denied it. “My fucking parents. And you know what they did when I asked them to talk to some of them for a recommendation or if they could even introduce me? They said they didn't want to bother them. So yeah. I can be anything I want as long as it is what they want me to be. And so, I am training to get in there on my own."

The bunny had finished the tomatoes and was now sniffing his pants. Beomgyu didn't dare to pet him in case it ran away.

“Oh, hi buddy!" Yeonjun had leaned towards him. The bunny was on the other side of Beomgyu’s leg, given he had tried to hide the slices where the other guy wouldn't see them (which of course, failed) whereas Yeonjun was sitting at his right. He did try to pet the bunny. Yeonjun managed a scratch or two on the tiny head before the bun escaped. “Cute." Then he turned to Beomgyu, who was trying not to let the blush show. “I'm sorry your parents did that to you."

Like honey falling into the right cup of tea, in his chest, he felt thankful. He only nodded and waited until Yeonjun would get away. He couldn't breathe with him so close.

“What about you, why did you decide to become a dancer?" You give and you take.

Yeonjun smiled and laid back in his tree, hands behind his head as if the world belonged to him.

“What a good question. Let me tell you the story of the almighty Yeonj- where are you going, come back!"

👠

As part of the chores attached to managing the studio, Beomgyu had to sweep the floor and clean the ceiling-tall mirrors along the wall. They had to keep the image, his brother had said, but they were both allergic to dust so, they could either clean or just claim it was for the aesthetic while sneezing and losing all of their clients. Beomgyu preferred to sweep and Minho would rather use the damp cloth to go over surfaces, so they made a nice team. Cleaning the mirrors was the most exhausting task and so they had to pull the shorter stick or make a very good offer to not get that task, like doing the entire cleaning including the bathrooms. They used to clean together but now they had different shifts. When Minho wasn’t suspiciously having a life outside while Beomgyu was in charge of the studio, and he was there with him, they had a blast. Minho has always been extra nice and easy-going. Taeyong had always been a bit quieter, but Beomgyu knew there was more to him than that, after all, they had been roommates during all of their life. Anyways, that day was one of those where Minho was out and Beomgyu was doing his end of the cleaning deal, especially now that no one was using the rooms. The studio had two separate rooms, and the closer it got to the end of the day, the likelier people were to arrive since not everyone dances as a job. Those who did would schedule sessions in the morning. For example, Taeyong’s crew would come by twice a week during Minho’s morning shift.

Beomgyu’s right arm was better. The one thing that had been extra hard doing while having the wound had been holding the broom. So he had been tracking the state of it by how much of the floor-sweeping he could do. He could almost fully do it. In a couple more days he would tell Yeonjun he was ready for the sword, and hopefully, he’d believe him.

Yeonjun.

He had told him his reasons too, why he wanted to be a dancer. Yeonjun loved it the first time he stepped on a stage. It had been a joke, similar to a dare: the knights of his grade would go up and do a presentation in exchange, the dancers would learn how to use a sword and face each other. But for Yeonjun, it changed everything: the spotlight and the love of an audience. Causing admiration and giving his human form to music… It had been beyond anything he had experienced before.

Beomgyu could almost picture it, the silhouette in the beam of light. The stars in the eyes of a kid who would forever chase that feeling. It was beautiful if you didn’t count the obvious fall it followed. Similar to Beomgyu’s situation, his parents did not like this dream of their son. He had been smarter than to tell them upfront, and just proposed he took some courses out of curiosity. His parents paid for one or two of those before they asked.

The dumbass confessed. Yeonjun wanted to become a street dancer, like Taeyong and his crew were. Yeonjun’s parents were horrified. There had been no discussion other than a harsh “no”. He was the heir of a long lineage of knights, and most of them were part of the royal guard. And that was expected of him too, with the added that he was an only child and the only one to carry the name, the sword, and the honor. You know, no pressure at all.

As the dust collected, something in his chest felt heavy and uncomfortable, like a creeping thing that he should catch and remove. There was a bit of jealousy on Beomgyu’s end. Yeonjun was living Beomgyu’s dream, the one he had wanted to accomplish since he learned that the only sword wielders allowed nowadays were knights of the crown of any level. Otherwise, he'd have to leave town because there was no job for the mere citizens that wanted to use swords (as an example, Soobin’s weapon of choice was a knife). Maybe the swordsmith, but he was a lifetime away from getting into that job. He was a bit scared of the fire too, so better to stay away from molten metal.

Add to the feeling that Beomgyu had failed. The thing that Yeonjun didn’t want to do but had to, the damn royal training, he had overcome it just like that, not even intending to be good at it. A part of Beomgyu that desperately wanted to be in that position and be able to do just as easily the same things wanted to grab Yeonjun by the neck and slam it around until some sense entered him.

But, it wasn’t his fault. There was no fault to distribute at all. There wasn’t evil to blame people for. It was a matter of luck, and they had it twisted. Wishing to trade places now was vain and a bad-thoughts trigger. Wondering about what could have been if things had been different was useless. Time travel magic was forbidden anyways.

He collected the dust and threw it away. Then he put back the broom in the utility closet and walked back to the counter. It was still a few hours till closing and no one had stepped in that afternoon. The business was as usual. A group was supposed to come by in half an hour. He looked around. When he thought too much he was prone to getting anxious.

Briefly, he wondered what Yeonjun would be doing by then. He didn’t have to think much because he was most likely sleeping. When they met a month ago, Yeonjun worked the day shift at the wall guard. After talking a few days, Beomgyu had discovered that Yeonjun had asked to change to the night shift. That way, when his shift at the wall ended, he could meet Beomgyu in the early morning. They would train until after lunch and part ways. Yeonjun would sleep the rest of the day, and wake up for his next shift.

Beomgyu felt bad about his previous ill feelings towards Yeonjun. He was giving so much of his daily life for this dream and he was over here being unnecessarily mean. Yeah, in his mind, but it counted right? Oh no. See, when you think too much it all comes back to one hypothetical thought that got away from the realm of fiction. Beomgyu buried his head between his arms. He wanted to sleep, just to drown his mental voice.

Then, the bell at the door.

Some weird surge of adrenaline made him suspect that after thinking about him that much, he must’ve summoned Yeonjun. He discovered after lifting his head that it was not the case, thankfully. Beomgyu was not sure how he could’ve looked Yeonjun in the eyes if it turned to be him.

It was Huening Kai.

“Welcome to this empire of the damned,” he greeted with a lazy smile and sad eyes he couldn’t mask in time.

“I can’t tell if you’re having a good day and being your prankster self, or if you’re having a bad day and this is your sarcastic way of telling me you need a hug.” The kid sure knew the exact words for every moment. “For real though, are you okay?”

“I’ve been better, but don’t worry, I'm working through it.” Beomgyu retrieved a couple of sweets from a drawer and spread them on the counter. “Take your pick.”

“Pf, weird coping mechanism, I like it.” Seeing him now, Huening didn’t look that good either. He was, as Beomgyu, fairly easy to read. If the loud people are suddenly quiet, something must be up.

“Are you ok, Kai? Did something happen?” Beomgyu had a slight idea or two about what could have him in this mood.

Huening Kai didn’t seem surprised that his humor had been called out. He appeared on the edge of making a decision, probably to tell or not. One more look at Beomgyu’s calm eyes and he seemed to settle for something. Maybe Beomgyu was the best person to tell.

“I think the person I love does not like me back.”

You see, Beomgyu was expecting this, he was not expecting that verb. Love? In this day and age? No way. A flash of the sunlight through leaves and bird chirps distracted him for a second, but he was back with Kai in a second. The guy looked troubled by his confession and seemed in the process of asking himself if there was a way out, or if Beomgyu had even understood what he was talking about. He did.

“Would you rather keep it anonymous or can we name them? Because I have a suspicion about who you might be talking about and it could make the conversation less hypothetical and easier. It’s all good if you rather not tell me, we can still talk about it,” he assured.

“You know?” His eyes… he was terrified. Beomgyu was permitting himself to assume that Huening wanted to know who he thought it was.

Beomgyu swallowed. It wasn’t that serious, but a bit of him felt extremely empathetic about being placed between this metaphorical sword and wall.

“Soobin?”

Kai let the air he was holding go. “Yeah.”

“What happened?” An unsuccessful confession was the scariest thing Beomgyu could imagine so he hoped it wasn't that.

Kai let out a small laugh and looked towards the side. “I think he likes my best friend."

“Oh."

Soobin had met Huening Kai when Taeyong hired him to join the crew in the security guard spot. Kai was the youngest member of the crew and Soobin liked small and cute things. They had immediately clicked. That's how Beomgyu and Huening had met: from one point onwards it was hard to see Soobin without Kai and vice versa.

Beomgyu opened the drawer again and took out a chocolate bar. “Time for the heavy machinery.”

Kai let out a laugh. “It's so weird.” Beomgyu opened the chocolate, giving him time to sort his thoughts. “I was so sure that he had feelings for me too, that he just didn’t know about them.” Oh, so they were skipping over the part when he confessed to loving the dumbass? That was a given fact and that was it? Cool. Imagine love, Beomgyu could never… Well, he could, in this case, he had known (or at least, firmly believed) that Huening had feelings for Soobin. And he too thought that Soobin liked him back. He was just being extremely oblivious. Turns out not.

“Why… How can you be sure he likes this other dude?” A dumb question coming from Beomgyu, who had very clearly been told by Soobin about the crush as if it were the morning news.

“Well, he didn’t directly tell me, but he did explicitly say he had a date today. And his whole demeanor,” he paused as if picturing Soobin right in front of him, “changed. He looked happier and giddier than I've ever seen him.”

Beomgyu could only define nostalgia when he felt it, but seeing Kai right now, he looked nostalgic. As if the thought of the love he had was so old that he could only consider it a memory. As if he was grieving the feeling. Beomgyu rested a hand over his. It was warm, just as Kai always was.

“You said he likes you best friend?”

Now the smile was sour. Well done, Beomgyu.

Kai was nodding. “He comes back to town today. He’s been out on a quest for almost a month for things related to his job… they first met the day he left. And I'm pretty sure they’re getting together today, and he is Soobin’s date. I received his letter saying we could meet tomorrow and that he’d probably had news for me then. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but something just… makes sense when I think about them together. But that’s probably because I can't picture myself clicking anywhere. That’s another issue though,” he ended quickly with a shake of his hands. While doing so he had removed his hand from under Beomgyu’s. That seemed not to be his intention since he took it again, with both hands this time.

“But didn’t your friend know that you liked him?” It seemed like a shitty move to snatch your bestie’s crush right in front of their noses. Beomgyu was getting weird vibes from this guy, but that was probably influenced by the sight of Huening’s sad expression.

“I am not what you could call vocal about my love life. I know it’s weird, but it’s always been that way. On the contrary, Taehyun is always straightforward. Sometimes he gets a bit shy about it or waits to tell me, but he always does. He is a bit like an unstoppable force,” he said, with a laugh. Then he must’ve seen Beomgyu’s expression because he was quick to try and change the frown. “He is super sweet. He told me right away about Soobin, just before he left. And I didn't dare to tell him how I truly felt, about both Soobin and the situation. I fear now it is not only late but my friend… he has so much going on, it wouldn’t be fair of me to just drop this on top of all the stressful things-” he went quiet. Huening Kai was playing with Beomgyu’s fingers, caressing knuckles as if it were a game. Beomgyu didn’t mind.

“So you will leave it as it is?” The other way to say the same would’ve been so you’ll do nothing? But that would’ve sounded a bit too rude.

“I’ll accept it as it is. I guess this is what happens when you wait too much, hoping the other person takes the first step. Cowardice, am I right?”

“Damn right,” answered Beomgyu in a higher tone, trying to up the mood. Kai laughed and then looked at him.

“I’m sorry I dumped all of this on you, I understand it could be a bit much and you and I maybe are not that familiar-”

“Oh, c’mon. First, I asked, second, we’re friends! It’s truly ok, don't worry.” Beomgyu was fine with this. His mind felt at ease now that his attention had successfully been canalized in one single thing.

“How’s your training going? Soobin mentioned you met a guy who’s helping with it?”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. “Yes. He is so funny, something tells me you'd love him. If I ever get the chance, I'll introduce you both.”

“Oh, nice. Is he a nice teacher? Is the spirit of knighthood entering your body as we speak?”

“He’s ok. And there’s so much I can do with this cut. I couldn’t locate the town's witch to get some ointment to speed the process, but I guess in no time I should be able to wield a sword. I don’t think anything is possessing me right now either, although I wish it were as easy.”

“My friend could find them for you! I’ll make sure to mention it to him and then, well, either Soobin or I could bring the salve to you, I know you have a full day's schedule.” Kai, with his heart fresh broken, was still the sweetest soul around.

“That would be so nice of you, I think I'm gonna cry,” said Beomgyu as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.

Huening rolled his eyes. “Don’t mention it, it’s the least I can do.”

Beomgyu smiled at him. It was nice being taken care of, and it was nice opening up to other people, maybe that’s why he did it so often. Never the real important stuff, of course. Another flash to river water and paper-wrapped sandwiches. That was different though.

The bell by the door announced the incoming group. Kai stood up to leave. “That's my cue. Thank you for chatting with me and for the candy.”

“Anytime.” He meant it.

⚔️

The weather was lovely. Not a cloud in the sky, and a sun that was enough to warm their skin but not burn. Beomgyu lifted his sword and slammed it down towards the right, trying to stop it right before hitting the tree branch. He couldn’t avoid leaving a dent in the wood, and so he readied to do it again. Behind him, he could hear Yeonjun doing the steps. He would still complain about doing them every day.

That day they had gone for a run and came back tired enough to just jump into it: Beomgyu did his back exercises (push-ups are hell, but they also helped strengthen the wrists) and Yeonjun did his stretches. Then, Yeonjun proposed this exercise: try to hit the branch, but don’t. He had been trying this exercise with the eight possible angles of attack. The point was to test his precision and distance, but also his physical condition: you don’t know when mid-fight you’ll have to change the route of your strike, and so it’s better to start doing so from the beginning. Beomgyu’s physical condition was not the best and apparently, his sword was extremely heavy.

“May I hold it?” Yeonjun had asked as if Beomgyu were to say no. He passed it and Yeonjun opened his eyes in surprise. “I wasn't expecting it to be this heavy. I was gonna suggest a wooden sword for practice, but this might help you enough, just be careful not to hurt yourself again.” And he had returned it. Turns out knights trained with heavier swords than the ones they would use in battle. That way, once they went to their actual weapon it would be easier to manage the weight. “Do you have a special link with this sword?” Beomgyu didn’t, it was the first and only sword he had been able to get his hands on. It was rusty and not properly being taken care of. “I see,” and Yeonjun returned it, with that look on his face, as if he were planning something again.

The other comment had to do with his freshly healed wound. Huening Kai had kept his word and not even two days after he sent Soobin on his daily visit to the store loaded with a salve from the witch. Beomgyu had applied it diligently every single day and in a week he could convince Yeonjun to let him start with the actual sword.

“I can’t do this anymore, how is this even part of dancing?” Yeonjun was starting the complaints early. He was less likely to throw a tantrum when it came to popping and isolations, but the three steps were what annoyed him the most for some reason.

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. It was time to reveal how the movements worked together. The crushing of some leaves assured him that the sword was safe in the ground. He turned to face the other boy.

“Well, you probably noticed I'm not teaching you much of dancing per se, we don’t have music, but I am trying to teach you the basic steps of the underlying martial art. This one comes with a philosophy that is quite useful too.” Beomgyu approached the center of the clearing, where Yeonjun was. They had chosen Bomgyu’s favorite spot to practice that day.

“Balance?” asked Yeonjun once Beomgyu positioned himself in front of him. The younger one nodded.

“Balance. Power and force can only be displayed when there’s balance. Add movement and you have both a dance and fight style.” Beomgyu bent his knees and started doing the same steps Yeonjun had stopped with a minute ago. Right forward, and back, left forward, and back, repeat. “C’mon, let’s do this.”

Yeonjun looked conflicted, but he tried to do the steps. Except he just didn’t seem capable of coordinating them with Beomgyu’s.

Beomgyu stopped, looking at Yeonjun’s feet. “Maybe we should’ve started somewhere else.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Yeonjun exclaimed, still doing the steps.

“Don’t panic, I’m just talking about rhythm.” Yeonjun seemed even more taken aback. Beomgyu quickly lifted his hands signaling no. “Ok, that probably isn't good when you want to be a dancer, I'm sorry for my word selection. No, what I mean is you have rhythm, look, you’re following the steps in a timed sequence. But identifying my rhythm makes you stumble.” Yeonjun stopped the steps. He seemed a bit sad. Beomgyu smiled at him. “Look, you have your beat within. The beat of your heart it’s the most useful tool for learning rhythms you’ll ever find. Even more, because it can beat at different speeds. We don't have a way to access music here but it’s important that you can not only recognize it but that you can identify other people’s rhythms. Think about it when you're jumping rope, and have to catch the right moment to step into it. Or when you’re looking for the perfect counterattack, you have to have a notion of your opponent’s moves! Yes, a lot of dancing is about how you portray movement with your body with performative means, but it’s also about fitting in in a group choreography or not stepping on your partner's toes if it’s a duet. You’re dancing with me now, so please, watch.” Beomgyu started the steps. “One, two, three and so. I never count them because I get confused and worried if I am having my feet in the right position,” he joked. When there was no answer Beomgyu looked up.

Yeonjun looked concentrated on the floor, following Beomgyu’s boots. The frown on his forehead was framed by his dark hair. The funniest part is that he was in such a tense stance that he seemed about to either snap or attack him. Beomgyu hoped neither of those.

“You can enter whenever you want, we spent years having this as a morning ritual.” Which was a half-truth, they would all run away as soon as possible. Minho had always stayed the longest, the perfect eldest child.

Yeonjun was sawing a bit. Beomgyu noticed his knees had started bending. He was coming to it.

And then, Yeonjun took the step. When taking the front step, both their right feet were facing each other, then they went back, and then it was the left one at the front. They did a few more steps before Beomgyu spoke up again. “Now, this is a bit closer than the recommended distance for the martial art part. But if we widen our steps even more and add the arm movement,” he said, as he did so. He also started slowly moving his steps to a side, making them spin. Beomgyu raised his arms, one after the other, making outwards motions. His dad had once said that, if done well, the dance could look like a bird taking flight. That was his favorite image to look for when seeing people dance, even if they weren't doing the same style as them now. Yeonjun had stumbled when Beomgyu took his attention from their feet, but he was catching back up. He too was adding the arms movements. They made eye contact. “See, now we’re dancing!”

They were near when they took the front step, and stray apart immediately after, like waves on the beach. Beomgyu cleared his throat. “Now, I could tell you to attack me, but that would be deadly for you.”

Yeonjun let out a laugh at the same time Beomgyu picked up a sound. A fast pace, crushing leaves, approaching. Beomgyu took Yeonjun’s shoulder and pulled, sort of directing him to stand behind him. All the while, he turned to face the guy that was running at them from the left. The sword passed by the side of his face when Beomgyu used his right hand to divert the double grab of the weapon the guy had. A simple ankle action was enough to cause them to trip, given the momentum of the run-up. The person ended on the ground, their sword had fallen away from their hands.

“So, what was your intention?” asked Beomgyu, eyeing the royal emblem on the kid’s armor.

On the side, Yeonjun was laughing enough to end up sitting on the floor. “That was so funny. Taehyun, you should’ve seen your face.” Ah, so he knew him. There was no need after all of stepping on his chest and pressing for an answer. Beomgyu took a step back and waited. Yeonjun crawled the distance to the laying man. “You ok?” He lent his hand so the guy would at least sit.

“My dignity has been stolen,” the Taehyun guy said, with an emptiness to his expression that just made the affirmation hilarious. Beomgyu smiled a bit. The name rang a bell but, to be fair, there were far too many similar names around. Without going further some examples: the missing king and Beomgyu’s brother. “Anyways, I knew you’d be around the area so I came to say goodbye, I guess. Did you guys know you’re just by the sword? It’s like, right behind those trees,” he said, pointing west.

Beomgyu didn’t know, he didn’t care that much either. Although he hadn’t seen the sword in a while, he wondered when it would appear again. Squinting he could spot a sword of two nailed on the ground. The court of the sword proofed Taehyun’s words.

Yeonjun was not interesting in finding the sword. “You’re leaving again? Didn’t you just come back?” Taehyun sighed, nodding. “Do you have a clue about their whereabouts?” Taehyun looked at Yeonjun piercingly, as if maybe he was trying to get a message across.

Beomgyu felt incredibly out of place and considered going back to his sword. The upward attack strikes were the hardest for him, gravity was a bitch.

“Oh! Right! I’m sorry.” Yeonjun apologizing caught Beomgyu’s attention. He had missed something in that conversation, something that shouldn’t have been said apparently. “I don’t know how to continue, I’m sorry.”

Taehyun gave him a look and took the lead in changing the subject. “So, we haven’t been introduced,” he said to Beomgyu, who was slowly retreating.

There was no escaping it now. “I guess not. I’m Beomgyu,” he said, approaching the two of them, sitting on the ground. Taehyun held a hand out and Beomgyu shook it.

“Taehyun. You had a good strategy there, do you have dance training?” As Beomgyu sat, he thought about how nice dance training sounded opposite to being a dancer. Like it was just another work experience or a language he happened to know but it didn’t define him. He nodded. “Nice, me too.”

Beomgyu was left in shock. Wait. “And you’re a royal guard?”

Taehyun let out a short laugh, “What gave it away, I wonder.” He then looked down at the emblem, the proof in his chest. A memory attached seemed to strike him then because the smile was no more. Beomgyu wanted to ask him so many things, about the training, about how he did it, was it hard having that background? But then he remembered the empty crown and how the entire Royal Guard was probably just in crisis at this point.

“I’m practicing to enter the royal training myself,” he said with a resigned expression. It was hard, but he didn’t mention so. Call it dignity, or whatever.

“Oh, nice. I wish you luck then, they’re about to open the training admissions again soon.” Both Yeonjun and Beomgyu turned to Taehyun and then to each other. That sounded sooner than expected. Beomgyu had been willing to wait until next year if that was what it took. But now, there was determination in their eyes, and the silent agreement of setting everything aside to fully focus on the training. “I’ll see if I can let out a word about you, I won’t be back here by then,” Taehyun said, holding his chin. Beomgyu thought about hugging him right then and there. Also, that implied he even knew the exact date of the training trials or he was truly gonna be outside of town for a long while.

“Are you gonna be out for too long? Is it ok, if I ask that even? No, never mind, just forget about it.” He changed his mind mid-question. He had no business snooping in the matters of the crown. Beomgyu looked at his hands trying to avoid whatever could follow that weird intermission he had made, and then he looked up at Yeonjun. He caught him looking at Taehyun and giving him a little nod.

“Ok so, Yeonjun thinks you’re trustworthy,” Taehyun said.

“And why on earth would you expose me like that?” Yeonjun complained.

But Taehyun didn’t give him the time. “My current mission… I was tasked to find the kings.”

Oh.

Beomgyu’s expression must’ve been clear as water because Taehyun continued immediately. “Yeah, I was by their door that night, keeping watch. There’s no evidence anywhere. I didn’t hear anything and, by the guard-keeping system, they knew it wasn’t me: another guard had me in sight at all times, he was my witness in a way. But someone needs to at least attempt to look for them until the council decides what to do if there’s no news and things get more complicated.” The rumored war, Beomgyu guessed.

“The council?” Beomgyu had paid absolutely no attention in class about the politics of the kingdom back in school. Maybe he should pull out those notebooks again or ask his parents.

“Yeah, it’s like the emergency way to go in case the crown is empty: four representative members of society have to discuss and agree on every single decision for the people and the kingdom. It’s rather an unusual clause because when a ruler is absent, usually their partner comes first in line and then their offspring. Only when there’s no direct line the council is formed. Here they are the knights Namjoon and Hyuna, and Taemin and Sana for the dancers. They were all not helpful at all for my mission.” Taehyun took the hair out of his face, a sign of stress.

Beomgyu was only familiar with Taemin, he was a close friend of Minho.

“What do you mean?” Beomgyu asked.

Yeonjun seemed to know this story well, he was ripping grass and distracted. Or not, because he lifted his eyes and smiled at him when he discovered Beomgyu was watching him. Beomgyu returned his attention to Taehyun.

“Well, the council had to decide what to do. And of course, I was the first one to be called in to testify. They already knew the story and my witness asserted that I had not moved from my spot all night. Sana is an expert in body language, she could tell I was being truthful. And Namjoon believed her, but he still agreed that I needed some sort of penalization. Sana said I needed a chance, and Hyuna proposed that I take care of the actual investigation, tracking whatever clues I could find and so on. Taemin… he’s a friend of my sister. I could tell he knew this endeavor would be hard if not pointless, so he suggested I get access to any resource I might need. They fought over every single thing they said, but ultimately they agreed on everything. They gave me three months with the possibility of an extension that I can already tell I will need to use.”

“Three months are nothing though!” Beomgyu was convinced this was a trap. He had barely met the guy and wanted to get him out of that deal immediately. How had he even agreed? Ah, free will was not an option of course. The damn system, as Soobin would say.

“I know. I’m trying to get my stuff in order so things go smoothly,” Yeonjun turned to his friend with a frown.

“What the hell does that mean?” He asked. Beomgyu had understood, maybe this was Yeonjun’s first time hearing about this too.

“It means that I have to find my sister and make sure she does the required paperwork to ensure the inheritance process goes well.” And he said it with a straight face as if it was a fact.

“Tae… maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself?”

Beomgyu didn’t think so. Once Minho had gathered him and Taeyong and they discussed what to do in case their parents… He had been fifteen then. It made sense to Beomgyu if any of them felt or thought that something could happen, then they should, by all means, be ready.

“I don’t think so, but I see why you could think that.” Taehyun then took impulse and stood up. “Speaking of, I have to leave. My informant is in a closed-off town and they don’t let people in after a certain hour.”

“It’s the middle of the morning?” Someone (Yeonjun) didn’t want him to leave.

“Yeah, but I already checked all the towns close by, and the longer it passes, the further away anyone with a clue could go.” He picked up his sword from where he had dropped it after Beomgyu’s tripping and headed to where the neighing of a horse could be heard. “Farewell now. Yeonjun you know how to reach me if anything happens,” he said, followed by a wink. “And Beomgyu, it was nice to finally meet you. Good luck with the trials!”

Finally? Taehyun was away by the time Beomgyu caught up. “He’s nice,” he let Yeonjun know. He received no answer. After considering, Beomgyu hopped closer to him. “Are you okay? You seem a bit shaken off.”

Yeonjun was still looking in the direction Taehyun had left. He turned back to Beomgyu, with the attempt of a smile on his face. “Yeah, I guess I just miss him.” He reclined back, taking the sun. No more eye contact. “We met during royal training. He’s my best friend. It’s hard seeing your friends go through problems you can’t do anything about. And straight up not seeing him because he takes month-long trips outside is excruciating. We were about to become roommates just before all of this happened.”

“Damn. I’m sorry you don’t get to see him as much as you want.” Beomgyu did not always know what to do with confessions and vulnerability.

“It’s fine, it’ll pass. Against popular belief I do have other friends, they’re just not Tae.” At that moment, a memory from the recent conversation resurfaced. “Oh, the admissions are starting soon! We have to get going!” He stood up in a single jump, which was impressive, and offered his hand to Beomgyu. “Come on, hurry. We don’t know how much time we have until you don’t die in front of a sword.” Beomgyu stood, a little resilient.

“I appreciate the trust. How will we know though?” Beomgyu let go of Yeonjun’s hand to shake his pants from leaves and grass.

“Well, I'll start bringing my sword with me. You’ll have to survive me.”

“Doesn’t sound so hard. You must’ve meant that you’ll have to survive me,” Beomgyu answered with a cheeky smile.

“That’s it, give me twenty.”

“Yes, sir.”

⚔️

Beomgyu had come to think of the daily intensive training as torture. But the soreness of the next day equaled in his mind to gainings. He was getting better. Yeonjun was scary with a sword, but he was a nice instructor. Basic sword fighting wasn’t as hard. Like with everything, it was a matter of practice. The one thing he was sorry for was not being able to give Yeonjun back the same level of dance training. He could go deeper into what was the martial aspect of it, and the philosophy of movement and flow, but actual performance-orientated skills he had little knowledge of. His favorite and the one he was good at was hand finishes and some popping. He could even instruct him in isolations. But besides that, he couldn’t teach him much. And he was so sorry for it, Beomgyu felt like he was taking advantage of the deal.

As it had come to be for him, he was in the dance studio, sulking.

He was quite good at receiving attacks, which was good for survival, but the key of sword fighting was to attack. Beomgyu had thought that the killer strategy was to wait for an attack and somehow defeat the opponent in the counterattack, it was that way with the fighting style he grew up with after all. Yeonjun had quickly made something clear: “You will have better odds if you take the offensive, that’s widely spread knowledge between knights.” However, they had been heavily focusing on defensive skills for the last week or so. “You had a chance to practice your attack strikes so far. That’s because you can attack anything and anyone. But to practice the defense stances, you need something to defend yourself from. Sadly, that’ll have to be me for now.” And he had delivered. Beomgyu could tell Yeonjun was good exclusively because of how much his attempts at attacking, if they ever seemed to go overboard, he could hold the sword back. A control Beomgyu knew he lacked yet. He would know once Yeonjun deemed him apt to go on a full fight. He feared the moment because Beomgyu could see himself swinging between two axes: a flame towards the attack that could grant him his dreams, and the wash of cold water that he identified with possibly and by accident hurting Yeonjun.

The bell by the door of the studio brought him back to the mirror cleaning he was doing. How could a mirror this tall get this dirty? It made sense in the lower parts, where kids would reach, but at the top? Just, how? Tip-toeing on the ladder and to a side, through the corner of the door opening in the room at the back, Beomgyu watched as Soobin walked in. He was spinning in his place looking for him. Cute.

Beomgyu dried the part of the mirror he was scrubbing, stepped down from the tiny ladder, and went to meet Soobin. Only by getting closer could he see the dark cloud above his head. Figuratively, of course. Beomgyu was sure he would’ve found out already if Soobin had made the town’s witch (whoever they were) angry.

“Welcome stranger, may I offer you something, maybe a space to practice your cool attack poses? You pick up lines, maybe?”

Soobin had smiled upon seeing him, but it fell right out of his face as soon as the words registered in his brain. “One day, dude, you could give me a moment of peace.”

Beomgyu laughed in his face and turned to the counter, where there were some pastries Minho had left in case Soobin appeared. “I have to keep you on edge because as soon as I put my guard down you'll roast me. And I just have a feeling I'll forget to hold you accountable for it. Now come here, I can eat these now.”

“You never give me food, what is this? Is it a trap?” Soobin was already munching on one of the egg tarts.

“No, Minho had a feeling you might show up today and since he loves you he bought these. He forbade me to even look at them until you came here… Do you even like egg tarts?” Beomgyu had a decent memory for his friends' preferences, but he was having a bit of trouble remembering this one thing.

“I mean, it’s a gift, I'm not gonna quit them now. They’re good!” Soobin was a sweetheart. Beomgyu understood his brother’s fascination with him from time to time.

“So? What are you so worried about?” One thing Beomgyu would never deny is that he loved to gossip. He liked to know what was going on. Not obsessively, but now that adulthood was starting to feel real, catching up with friends was an activity falling victim to the new distribution of their times.

Soobin seemed to have a very serious concern given he had to ponder over it. “I think something is going on with Huening Kai.”

Eye contact was the hardest to maintain when knowing stuff you shouldn't repeat to specific people. Soobin wanted to transmit some sort of worry with his eyes and his eyebrows and his pursed lips. And Beomgyu could only take so much before bursting out the information he did possess. “What do you mean?” Playing dumb is always the way to go. At the same time, Beomgyu picked up a tart and tried to focus on it. He took the tiniest bite and waited.

“He’s just… weird lately.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for starters, he doesn’t invite me to do stuff anymore. We only see each other in the moments the dance crew is active. And even there…” Soobin went quiet. Beomgyu couldn’t tell if it was because there was a limit to the things he could spread out, or maybe he couldn’t put into words the specific feeling he got in those moments. Soobin looked sad.

Beomgyu understood. He had feared that he might know what this was about and he had been correct. Kai was starting to stray away, probably to protect himself from the punch in the gut of his best friend and the guy he had liked for so long now being together. Or well, as far as Beomgyu knew, they weren’t together yet, but asking in that precise moment could be anticlimactic given Soobin didn’t have the slightest idea of context or why the subjects could be related.

“How does that make you feel?” The solution was always to make them answer themselves. Or at least that could work when he didn’t know how to not spill his knowledge.

“What question is that? I feel awful, my friend is ignoring me and I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Well, what did you do about it?”

“What do you mean?” Soobin seemed surprised.

So was Beomgyu. “What do you think I mean? Did you ask him to do stuff too? Or perhaps did you just ask him what’s wrong? Maybe it doesn’t even have to do with you.”

Soobin remained quiet and avoided eye contact.

“Please don’t tell me you did nothing,” Beomgyu begged. Soobin scratched his nape and took another bite of egg tart. “You, sir, are a dumbass.” Angrily munching his egg tart, Beomgyu considered just ignoring Soobin for eternity and maybe adopting Huening Kai as his new best friend. But then Soobin looked sad. Maybe less calling out and more teaching? “You understand where the flaw is, right? You can’t just expect Kai to carry the weight of the relationship for the both of you and just sulk when he doesn’t. It’s a ship, you both have to row to get somewhere, or to fight the current, or to stay afloat. Also, communication is key, Soob. You and I talk, and when something bugs you about something I said, you ask. So do I when it’s the other way around. This is not restricted to you and me, you can and should be allowed to do so in every relationship you have. Speak up if something worries you, friend.” And Beomgyu’s holy teaching hours were closed. He would take the rest of the egg tarts as payment.

“You’re right sometimes, I hate that.”

“Of course you do. I hate when you’re right too.”

They kept quiet. The people in the street were being loud, maybe the royal guard would soon make their way to foresee the closing of the gates.

“What about your crush, how is that going?”

Soobin sighed. “It’s barely going at all. I can’t believe I finally met someone who seems to like me back and they’re never in town.”

“Are they even from town? Every time I ask you, they’re away. Last thing I knew you both had a date, right? Like two weeks ago or so?”

“Yes,” Soobin said, “they are from town. And yes, we had that amazing date. The thing is Tae is in this super-secret mission that happens to be extra hard and he’s so dedicated that I don’t even dare to propose he chills for a moment. What are they gonna do, kill him if he doesn’t see it to finish?”

It had to be poetic justice of a sort. The name and the hardness of the situation, the unnamed outcome that Soobin had just jokingly proposed… all of it led Beomgyu to the memory of someone. It felt so coincidental that Beomgyu’s eyes were tearing up a bit. It was probably the dust. “Does…” How could he even formulate the question? It was probably better to throw it out there now that Soobin’s frown was starting to pinch. “Does this person happen to be named Taehyun and they are part of the Royal Guard? They maybe went on a long quest at the beginning of the month and they have an older sister?” That was all the data Beomgyu had to double cross-references with Soobin.

They must’ve been spot on because Soobin was straightening his back as if freaked by this outburst of information on someone he had barely mentioned. “You know him?”

“So all of that checks out?”

“Yeah.”

Wide-eyed, they were just contemplating each other. “I guess we are talking about the same person. Wait. Is he perhaps about my height and has silver hair?” Soobin nodded. “Woah, what are the odds?”

Soobin was still processing the news. “How do you even know him?”

Beomgyu was mentally patting his back for how well he could forge associations. Thinking back to that one conversation with Kai, the name of the knight must’ve been mentioned at some point, he just hadn’t had enough information to make the connection.

“He ran at me with a sword and I disarmed and tripped him. Then he turned out to be friends with Yeonjun. He crossed with us on his way out of town.”

“This is great!” Soobin had passed to the next stage of whatever process he was going through. It seemed to be time for acceptance and excitement. “In a way, we all know each other! We should get together when Tae comes back.”

“Sure,” said Bemgyu, although he had his doubts. “Will you speak to Kai then?”

It looked like Beomgyu had thrown a bag of potatoes at him while Soobin was trying to balance on a loose hanging rope. Harsh returns to reality there. “Yes. Yes, I should go do that right now.”

“Sure,” agreed Beomgyu, not believing him one bit. Some of that doubt must’ve slipped into his intonation.

“You don’t think I will?”

“I think that by your standards you would need from one to two working days to wrap your head around the idea of confrontation, and then maybe one more to gather the courage. But sure, if you say you’ll go now-”

“You are a piece of shit and I hope your hair falls out,” Soobin threatened as he walked towards the door.

“Love you too,” answered Beomgyu. Now that Soobin was filled with rage, he might do it. “Wait, one last thing.” Soobin stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “How’s Taeyong doing? I haven’t seen him that much recently and I was worried…”

“You are the babiest person I know.” And a piece of shit, Soobin sure was in an oscillating mood. “I love that from you. Taeyong is fantastic, leading strong and that. He seems to be considering opening some spots in the crew, but he's still pondering over it.”

Interesting. “Thank you. Have a nice evening, Soob.”

Soobin smiled. “You too.”

⚔️

When the official day of the admissions had been announced, both Beomgyu and Yeonjun became a knot of nerves. It wasn’t that far away, and Beomgyu was working his ass off for this. Like, literally. He was even sleeping better than ever because of how exhausted he would come back home.

His defenses were good. He had a firm stance and an affinity with the use of the sword's forte. Right when he was feeling bold enough to attempt a counterattack, Yeonjun had seen right through his intentions and stopped. They left the swords to a side, Beomgyu’s old rusty sword, and Yeonjun’s shiny family relic. They switched to branches.

Beomgyu had the moves but not the transitions. Yeonjun had to try to demonstrate as user-friendly as he could how both attack and defense techniques could mix. That week was the one where Beomgyu received the most bruises. So did Yeonjun. They were even fighting on another level of mixture: Beomgyu would accidentally reset to hand to hand techniques when his free hand was allowed the space or his feet saw the opportunity to trip the other, and Yeonjun would unconsciously be changing his usual stance to the movement associated to the dance (which made it harder for Beomgyu to trip him).

A week before the admissions, Yeonjun deemed it safe to go on with the real deal. And when Beomgyu was about to grab his sword, Yeonjun stopped him. “Take mine,” he had said, grabbing the sword and giving it a look, like it was an old friend. “Yes, it's my family sword. But I’ll quit the guard by next week and fully chase a job more dance-orientated. I won’t be using it anymore, and I think this sword deserves to be in hands that want to wield it. I think you’re that person. I can take yours in exchange if accepting it just like that feels weird for you.” Beomgyu was out of words and a weird fullness in his chest made him turn around and get himself together. He was not crying in front of him over such a nice act. Yeonjun even had the nerve to ask if he was okay and if he needed a hug. I won’t tell you what he answered.

So yeah, they practiced with each other’s swords. And Yeonjun was right. It was way easier with his family's sword. It was lighter and maybe even shorter than the monstrosity he had been carrying around. Yeonjun hadn’t had that much problem adjusting either. After some initial swings, he was ready to get back to it.

On Friday afternoon, Beomgyu had walked in the palace terrains. The royal castle had an extra outer wall that at some points became part of the castle when it reached the small mountains in the back. In that sort of fancy and well-equipped front yard (it had the size of half of Beomgyu’s street but whatever) was where the royal training program developed almost in its entirety, except some field orientated training missions that meant going into the woods or towards the mountains in the north.

There were so many people. Once Beomgyu told them their intention, he was invited to a big tent, where he had to give a little demonstration. With that, they meant to survive a hyper-trained soldier. And Beomgyu did. He too managed to trip that guy, but it wasn’t something the people in the room read coded as a no-do. Some of the guilt and the weight lifted from his shoulder as he had proceeded to put his sword against the guy’s neck. He had tried hard not to read too much into it, but he could tell he had impressed them. It made him happy, and that was enough. They brought up a list and asked for his name.

That’s when it took a turn. The knight with the pen had lifted his eyebrow and gave him another look over. “Look kid, you made it in. But besides that, you already have two recommendations. We could’ve even skipped the demonstration altogether.”

Two? “May I know who they are from?”

The knight had nodded. “One is for one Choi Yeonjun, first of his class during his training period, a night-shift guard of the Wall. The second one is from the head of the Strategic Planning Department, Kang Seulgi.” Beomgyu had no idea who that was. Something told him that asking that in that spot would blow over his good first impression.

“Thank you-”

“Here it says that we should let her know when you arrive. I’ll send someone to fetch her. You can wait outside or just stay here for the others’ admission.” This was a nice guy, Beomgyu liked him.

He decided to wait out, so he said his farewell and took with him the letter with all of the instructions of how training would be. He couldn’t wait to get home and read it.

Yeonjun had left a recommendation for him. He had said he should be considered. Even taking into account that he was about to quit the Wall Guard, which gave him credibility and weight. Oh. That surely wasn’t why he was quitting next week and not this week. How on earth would he even say thank you?

After a moment, he thought he could put a word in with Taeyong. Beomgyu was not hyper-aware of just how important his brother’s crew was in the dancing community. But it must have been important since he had so many contacts. I mean, the one council member, Taemin, Beomgyu had mentioned him during a diner recently (you know, refreshing the politics knowledge) and Taeyong himself had mentioned that he had been part of his crew for a couple of years. And Ryujin herself was a part too, so maybe it was an important set of acquaintances he had there.

Yes, he would leave a word with Taeyong about Yeonjun. Beomgyu didn’t have much, but he had this. And if this was all he could give, then he’d do it. He could also speak with Minho so Yeonjun could get access to the studio… Although now that he was quitting his Wall Guard position, maybe he could even work with Beom- Oh, he would probably have to quit the dance studio job too. Damn, he hadn’t taken that into account.

When would he even see Yeonjun from then on?

Suddenly, the desperation to find out about the training program schedule sat in him. He started opening the letter but stopped when a couple of boots stopped in front of him. Looking up, Beomgyu noticed that he wasn’t used to feeling intimidated. Considering he was of average height and all (he was in between his two brothers, Minho being the tallest and Taeyong the shortest) but this person… Maybe it was because he was sitting on the grass.

“You’re Choi Beomgyu right?” She asked. The uniform-like suit and the dark long hair pretty much shined when being against the sharp setting sunlight. Was he about to be kicked out of the premises? Fun.

He nodded.

She smiled. “Very nice to meet you, I’m Seulgi!” And she extended her hand. Beomgyu stood up and shook it. She seemed nice.

He must’ve looked puzzled because she immediately added: “I’m Taehyun’s sister.”

Oh. “Nice to meet you,” he answered. Taehyun, he had left a word for him after all. “You recommended me, even though you don’t know me. Thank you,” followed by a bow.

“It was nothing, truly,” she smiled. “Tae said a friend could use the help and it’s just a word exchange with the guard. Done.” She started pacing and he followed. Beomgyu still had questions.

“Not that I don’t appreciate what you did, but Tae said he was going to leave a word. I was surprised to find that you did it instead.”

Seulgi smiled, looking at the castle. “He asked me to. Do you know about his mission?” She was side-eyeing him. Beomgyu nodded. “Well, then you must know why he can’t leave his name in stuff.”

“Uh, not really. I promise I know what his mission is about and how this news has been received in the town, but I'm not sure why he should omit his name inside the walls of the castle. I guess most of the people here know about his mission, right?”

Seulgi seemed to both loosen up and tense up. “They do know, yes.” She gave him one last look as if assessing him. Then, she made a decision. “Well, you see, proof says he’s innocent. Without a doubt. But sometimes, when you are not in the scene and something big as the kings’ disappearance happens, you need someone to blame for the absence. And a vast majority of the people in here do blame him, even though he just happened to be the knight on guard by their door that night. If it had been a day sooner or a day later, it would have been upon someone else. But my little brother had to carry that fault. And that’s why he didn’t leave a word in your favor. He knew that it would probably go against your luck. So he asked me.”

“I see.” Beomgyu felt like giving thanks again would overdo it, but he tried. Seulgi just put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him, she was smiling.

“There’s no need. I know both your brothers and they did so much for me back in the day.” Did his brothers for real know everyone in town? Had he done wrong asking his parents for help when in reality he should’ve asked his brothers all along? To be fair, it was kinda hard to get a hang of his brothers nowadays, Taeyong with his crew and Minho… doing whatever the hell he was supposed to be doing.

Maybe Beeomgyu could do something for Taehyun too.

“Taehyun, he mentioned… trying to set some things in order.”

It was almost immediate. A barrier standing between them. “Ah, he told you.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes anymore. “He has this idea… of an imminent end to his mission. I believe there’s something he’s not considering, mercy. Not only the council members would never let someone’s life go to waste just because, but I also don't think the kings themselves would let something like that happen.”

Beomgyu couldn’t tell if she was for real or just a tad bit delusional. He didn’t agree with her, but she did work in the castle, whereas Beomgyu only had the outside story. It was not his place to question her. They were at the gates of the castle. Seulgi had stopped her walk. “I’ll be leaving now,” Beomgyu said.

“I didn’t ask you but, did you make it in? Will I be seeing you around here?” Something was refreshing about Seulgi asking if he had succeeded, even though by the guard's statement, with her word was enough.

“Yes. Thank you so much again for leaving a recommendation on my name,” he said, lowering his head. Maybe he didn’t agree with her on the blind faith, but she had done a big deal for him that day.

“It was my pleasure. Send my regards to your brothers, and have a safe trip home!”

Beomgyu left the castle behind, too much in his head to even consider that he had made the first step towards what had been his dream for over years now.

⚔️

The training was both not as hard as Beomgyu had imagined and exactly as difficult as he had foreseen. Not the physical part, all physical pain could be faced, but the rumors, the dirty looks, the losing of clothes, or the stealing of his full armor and having to fight without it… It had been hard.

But coming home on weekends only for his parents to not be able to say one word: fantastic, worth every second. Who cared if he had to patch himself up every two days because his training mates were immature. Who cared if he had been sword fighting without basic protection and was covered with bruises and cuts. He could deal with them, nothing could bring him down. Besides, the town’s witch seemed to reside if not in the castle, right by it.

Within the walls of the castle, they had healing ointment in hand for every type of hit Beomgyu had received so far. He was covered in scars and bruises, but they didn’t hurt nor open back up, and so he could keep going. The castle’s resident healer seemed troubled by how often she saw him. Beomgyu was betting on how much more time would it go by before she would send him to meet the witch himself to at least get a protective charm.

The very real fear of finally being kicked out of home since he was not providing as much… that he could live without, but he was trying his best as well.

He had spoken to Minho one early morning a few days into his training. The program worked as a boarding school, so he was set free on the weekends and was supposed to be back there by Monday mornings. He had bribed the gate guard into letting him out for twenty minutes, the time in which he ran to the dance studio, to intercept Minho. He looked extremely surprised to see him, but he listened to Beomgyu as he rearranged some things on the entrance counter. Beomgyu tried to convince him to give him the late-night shift on the weekends (a shift that was most likely not used —and the studio remained closed— since no one could take it because, you know, they had a life). The training only guaranteed a job once it was done, but they wouldn’t pay you during. Basically, without the job at the studio, Beomgyu was left with no income for as long as training would last. Minho had agreed.

Beomgyu had also asked who had taken his afternoon shifts and was surprised to hear both Yeonjun and Huening Kai were now in charge of the place when Minho was not. Not always together, they would split the days between them too. Beomgyu had missed the window to introduce them, but they had met just the same.

Minho had taken Beomgyu’s recommendation into account and turns out, Beomgyu had been right: Yeonjun was perfect because he could not only manage the entrance business but also get involved with the groups that came in, practice their routines, and make accurate suggestions to them.

Beomgyu was glad. Something inside him felt like he had in some way paid Yeonjun back. But it also felt empty. That one morning, when he set the new shift with Minho, he kept waiting to cross paths with Yeonjun, maybe magically pass by him while he would be on his way to whatever he did the rest of the day when he was not working for his older brother. But Beomgyu made it back into the castle terrains in time to start another week of surviving.

It had been two weeks since the last hug he had given Yeonjun when he told him he had made it in. When he thanked him-

Sometimes, when training with others, he could hear the whispers too. He who made it in with recommendations, he who was not a knight, what was he exactly doing there? And even though he tried not to let them get to his head, sometimes he felt shame too. Sometimes he purposefully forgot about the long way leading to the point where he’d be holding a sword that was not his, with the reputation of other families on his back. And Beomgyu would feel unworthy then as if he had cheated his way in.

Those were tough nights. Moments where he wished he could get out of his head and hear his friends talk. But he had made almost no friends there so far. Not everyone had the same background, there were even a couple of foreigners that made it into the program exclusively for how good their handling of weapons was. There were maybe a couple of other dancers around, but they had luckily not been given such harsh treatment as Beomgyu had. His faith in making friends relied exclusively upon those who didn’t make his life impossible, like Felix, who genuinely seemed not to know why Beomgyu was fighting with no armor, and Shuhua, who every morning threatened to go and fetch every single possession every other recruit had and just throw it into the fire. One day Beomgyu would open up to them about just how bad and inadequate he felt, just maybe not yet. It was hard having heartfelt conversations when sleeping was only possible in the small window they had of the sun not being up. It was spring so they were on the way to even shorter nights.

On the second Friday after training, Beomgyu was coming back home. He had a big cut on his left cheek and he hoped this one would heal enough to not leave a notorious scar. He had barely avoided that one attack, but he had paid accordingly. You should see the other guy, he had been lucky to have armor. Beomgyu’s cut was bright red for now but closed given the witch’s ointments.

He had enough time to make it home, leave the sword (which he would have to polish and take care of once he made it back), change into another fit, and he would scurry right back at the studio, he was about to miss the window in which he could intercept the person with the shift before him. He wished it was Yeonjun.

He had noticed that he missed him. From seeing him every day, every morning, to not seeing him at all. Beomgyu wouldn’t even know how to contact him now without going all stalker and asking Minho about his shifts. Beomgyu didn’t even know where he lived. It seemed like meeting him had been like a moment of pure luck and not seeing him as regularly hit as if it had been a dream. Similar to dreaming with someone you like and that you’ve never met, with a sweet aftertaste. But the idea of it being over did not sit well with Beomgyu. Maybe he would go and ask Minho after all.

As if summoned by the thought, Minho was on his way out when Beomgyu open the front door of the house.

“Oh, hi.” Beomgyu passed by his side and wondered why his intentions were always quicker than the act of doing them when it came to it. Because right now he could not grasp the idea of asking his brother about Yeonjun.

“Beomgyu what the hell happened to your face.” Minho was following him up to his room. Beomgyu wasn’t expecting that. Their parents had seen the effects of the training on him before and the reaction had been… using the word minimal would still imply they had a reaction, which they didn’t. Beomgyu couldn’t possibly look worse this time around.

“Just, side effects of training with no armor and bloodthirsty knights,” he said, attempting to joke. Minho didn’t seem to find it funny.

“What do you mean no armor, I thought they provided it?”

And how could Beomgyu tell him that he had one, it just was taken by people who still got what they asked for when facing him? They both entered the youngest’s room. “They do, my helmet just got off in the middle of a fight, nothing serious.” Beomgyu took off his shirt and winced a bit when raising his left arm, but it was ok. He reached for a shirt in his drawers.

“Beomgyu, what happened to your armor?”

“Minho, I promise-” but Beomgyu understood why he was asking. He found Minho watching his rib area, where, upon lowering his head, he found a violet bruise the size of a small baby, that extended to his back area. Beomgyu sighed and slipped the shirt on. “They took it and I haven't found it yet. But I will. Don’t worry, they are not having it easy.”

Beomgyu took a vest and decided not to change his pants, he was about to be late. Looking back at Minho, he looked impotent, like he wanted to say something but knew that it would have no effect. Not because of Beomgyu himself, but because it was something that truly could only be solved from within. Then, he seemed to remember something and he left the room.

The younger one just shrugged, picked up his bag, and started the walk back out. Minho intercepted when he was exiting. “Wait, let me walk with you, I'm taking the same path.”

“You have a compromise?” Beomgyu closed the door behind them. “Or is it just the good old escaping the creators?” Minho laughed.

“You know it. A bit of both.”

They didn’t live far from midtown, the way they were heading. The studio was on a side street from the main one, and it wasn't the biggest nor the most popular place to hire so they had a pretty chill client flow. Unexpectedly, from seeing no one during the afternoon shift, Beomgyu was starting to receive more groups at the late hours during the weekends. Last week he had to even deny a group the entrance because there was no more space.

“Here, drink this,” said Minho, handing him a little vial. Beomgyu took it and inspected it. It was two inches tall and had a clear liquid (he was sure it had a slight tonality he just couldn’t pinpoint given the darkness). “It’s medicine, it’ll make you feel better.”

Beomgyu was a trusty person by nature. And that’s precisely why he was holding back. “You just happened to have this on you?”

“No, idiot, it’s what I went to look for in my room.” The room he didn’t sleep in anymore in the house he was leaving when Beomgyu arrived. His parents weren’t around so why was Minho there to begin with?

“This is highly suspicious,” Beomgyu mentioned as he opened the vial. It had a slight grass smell. He looked at Minho with doubt. Minho didn’t push him, he just gave him his reassuring smile, the one Beomgyu couldn’t say no to. He knocked his head back and just swallowed it, trying not to figure if it had a taste at all.

“You’ll feel better in the morning, I promise.” Minho extended his hand and Beomgyu returned the vial. Damn, he was sure he could’ve found someone else to ask about it. The curiosity that had laid dormant for so long about Minho’s doing had been awakened.

“I hope so, gotta go to work,” Beomgyu said, with a smile. “It’s today, Saturday night and then I get the afternoon to night shift on Sunday right?”

Minho nodded. “If you want to. I do think you should rest though. Aren’t you overworking yourself a bit?” He was. He knew he was. But he really couldn’t be at home, and he didn’t feel like annoying anyone else during the weekend.

“It’s fine, we never opened Sundays before, maybe people have no interest at all coming that day. Last Sunday I opened and not one soul walked in.”

“You do understand that if that repeats then I can’t pay you right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m also sure that now that you have more employees you have to distribute money differently right?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t that hard. Taeyong helped me a bit, he’s accustomed to working with a big group. Both Huening and Yeonjun were great additions now that you are not available. Thank you for referring them to me.” Beomgyu hadn’t mentioned Huening, he had no idea how that had happened. Maybe Soobin? Maybe Minho had it wrong and it had been Taeyong the one to recommend him… or maybe Huening had just shown up with an uncheckable story. Beomgyu would play along.

“I’m glad. Yeonjun helped me so much to get into the program. Since he wants to dedicate himself to dancing I thought referring him to you guys was the least I could do. And he works so hard too.”

“Indeed.” Ok, they were in theme, this was when Beomgyu would ask- “I have to turn here. See you tomorrow? Let me know if you need more medicine or if that was enough!”

Beomgyu barely managed to say farewell before Minho disappeared in a side street. Great, he still didn’t know how to contact Yeonjun without exposing himself to third parties. Maybe he should just go the old way and visit the postal office.

Beomgyu made it in time to the studio. He found Ryujin there. She told him Huening had to leave ten minutes earlier and had asked if she could cover for him until the next employee could take over. She didn’t know it would be Beomgyu.

They could catch up then. It was nice sharing with friends. Yuna even showed up at one point of the night and they ate all together. Beomgyu even showed them the scar Yuna’s patch up had left behind. They were not impressed.

⚔️👠

Beomgyu could double-check with Huening what had happened the next week.

The third week of training had gone pretty much the same as the last two, but not quite. For starters, his wounds were much better. You see, the witch ointments didn’t heal you, they just closed what was open, like cuts, but the pain and the damage would still be felt. The blood wouldn’t be lost and so the healing process could start sooner, it would just take the normal speed. That’s why bruises, like the one Minho saw, were unavoidable.

Except that after whatever Minho gave him, his bruises had nearly healed, they were in the yellowing stage the morning after. The cut in his face was gonna heal and would most likely not leave a scar. By the time he made it back to the castle, it was pretty much gone. Beomgyu had no clue what it had been, but he didn’t get to see Minho again before going back for training and so he added it to his mental to-do list. Just by where Yeonjun’s name was written. Beomgyu was avoiding trying to think about him because there was an emptiness he couldn’t bear when remembering. He missed the sunny mornings by the river and the laughter.

Now, this week. The training worked strictly. To get them used to awakening and getting ready at a certain time and with relative speed, the knight in charge of their group would knock on their door and start the clock: they had five minutes to get ready and line up outside. For context, there were two groups, each with fifteen individuals. Shuhua, Felix, and Beomgyu were part of group B. This instance was where the disappearance of the armor played in his favor: Beomgyu was ready in no time and was one, if not the first, to step out. The knight in charge, Jihyo, had looked at him weird the first two days but said nothing. She had been the one sending him to the healer at the end of each day.

Now, that routine stayed the same until Wednesday morning. On that day Beomgyu woke up to Jihyo’s call, pretty much just stepped outside of his bed, and walked out. Call him lazy but sometimes he would just go to bed ready with the clothes for the next day. His armor would have been in the bag by his bed and, as usual, it was empty when he passed by it. He stepped outside and sent a sleepily good morning to Jihyo, who smiled at him.

Quickly after him, Shuhua and Felix walked out too. They didn’t have their armor either. Beomgyu had looked at them as surprised as Jihyo. From the room, frenzied voices were arising. Neither of the ones already waiting in the hallway said anything. The door opened a couple more times until six people were standing outside. No armor on sight.

Jihyo’s watch marked the time was up, but not even half the people were outside. “Now kids, why do you think they won’t come out? Maybe they’re having a bad hair day?” Jihyo asked as she walked towards the door. Shuhua had giggled but added no more. The knight knocked on the door. “I will go in if you don’t come out immediately. You do not want me to go in, I promise.”

Jihyo stepped away and soon after the door opened, letting everyone missing from the line up out. “Was that so hard to do?” Jihyo had a pleased expression on her face. Call Beomgyu imaginative, but he thought it was because neither of them had their-

“All of our armors are missing. How could we even train like this?” They even had the nerve.

And so did Jihyo. “Well, Beomgyu has been training without his armor for over a week now and that didn’t stop him nor you from fighting with all that you have so I’d say it’s safe. I mean, he is still up and well, surely if he can handle clean sword hits and cuts as you’ve been delivering, you can do so too?” Beomgyu was flustered, this did feel similar to when someone else’s parent would go to school to ask why his kid was in such a bad mental/emotional place. But, imagining Yeonjun’s sword cutting clean against these people gave him such a weird vindictive pleasure. He said nothing.

“But isn’t it a crime stealing everyone’s armor?” There was a directionality to the question. Beomgyu could read in between the lines. He would purposefully aim for the face of this dude later.

“It sounds like you’re suggesting Beomgyu could’ve done this, in which case I can testify he didn’t move all night. I sleep next to him and I am a very light sleeper, I would’ve noticed.” Felix was an angel and for what.

Jihyo didn't even seem to care. “I know it wasn’t him, he looked as shocked as I did. Besides, he’d be the first under suspicion, I deem him smarter than that.” Jihyo clapped as if it was a closed issue. “So, we’ll go as planned. If any of you feel like you can’t train at all without your armor, then maybe this is a good sign that this is not the job for you.”

And that had been it.

The funniest part was when the next day, Beomgyu’s armor was back in his bag, and by Friday, everyone else’s was back too.

He didn’t have to visit the healer before going back home. A quick trip to drop the sword and armor combo, and then he was off to the studio. He had to open it because sometimes there was a time when no one could manage it at night. Guess there went his chance of intercepting Yeonjun. Last Saturday no one could cover the space before Beomgyu arrived so they had to adjust it. But it was good. An hour interlude before opening again. It was a work in progress.

And now here he was, listening to some old tune while the people danced. From the entrance table, you could see a bit of the first dance room through its reflection on the mirror. The second one was following the hallway and there was no way to check it. It was empty for now, but there was a group coming soon. The thing with this space was that it was exclusively for dancing. The hardwood flooring was enough for complicated choreographies, but not for hard training, so a more fighting-orientated dance would be best to do in other training rooms in the area.

His parents were still not talking to him. He could manage it for a few more weeks, speaking with Shuhua and Felix had happened naturally and the friendship was sailing. Beomgyu missed Soobin. And well, of course-

“Finally.” Huening Kai was walking through the door. “It’s so hard to find you, none of your brothers are any help.”

“Welcome. I think that if you ask them unprompted to find me they wouldn’t know how to either, so don’t sweat it,” he joked. It was a lie, they would know exactly where or how to find him. Sometimes he thought it ran in the blood.

Huening left the bags he was carrying on the floor and hugged him. Soobin only hugged him when he saw he needed it, but never as a hello. Beomgyu felt cared for. “What brings you here, stranger?”

“Well, I thought, what a better way to spend Friday night than with my good friend and confidant, Choi Beomgyu.”

“Damn, is Soobin suddenly busy?” The halt in Kai’s smile was enough. “Well, his loss anyway.”

“As if.”

“No self-hating in this household, friend, not after 9 p.m.”

“Ah, so you’re gonna tell me you don’t miss him?” And Beomgyu hated that his first thought, even though they had been talking about Soobin, wasn’t him. Quickly, divert.

“If I answer that, and you accidentally spill that information, I’d never see the end of it.” He sighed dramatically. “So no, I don't miss the one known in the streets as Soobin.”

Huening rolled his eyes and laid the food containers on the table. “Minho lets us eat here now?” Beomgyu asked, mischievous as ever.

The panic in Huening Kai’s eyes was palpable. “Oh, we’re not allowed? oh no, I didn’t m-” Beomgyu laughed loud enough so Kai would know he was joking. “That was not funny.”

“Sure it wasn’t.” Beomgyu snatched a container and peeked inside. It smelled delicious and he was starving. “So, what’s new?”

Huening passed him the napkins. “Well, now I work for both your brothers.”

“I heard.”

Huening eyed him, with caution. “Did you perhaps speak with Minho lately?”

“I have, yes.”

Kai sighed. “Then you must have questions.” Beomgyu nodded but didn’t add anything else. He’d give him the space to develop it as he pleased. Huening looked around and brought closer a second stool Beomgyu hadn’t seen before. Now they had two stools, neat. “I lied. You must know this: I said you had referred me to him. But I wanted to get a moment to breathe away from Soobin, and since you weren’t at the studio anymore I figured he’d visit less. And I deduced that there probably was a free spot so I just ran with it. I’m sorry, that’s not what a good friend would do and you have been nothing but nice to me.” Huening was already attempting a bow and joining his hands. Beomgyu took them and separated them.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m just surprised that I didn't know, I would have referred you to Minho if you had asked, just as I did with Yeonjun. I’m also surprised you didn’t ask Taeyong, but you must have your reasons I presume.”

Huening nodded. “Taeyong leads and it’s too close to Soobin. I didn’t want him to know where to find me when I'm trying to set a distance.”

“So he has reached out? Because I heard that you were maybe ignoring him?”

“Oh, I forgot you two are friends.” Huening was hiding his face behind his hands.

“Hey, it's ok. I promise I didn't say anything to him. Only that he was being a douche, but not for the reason you might think. Taehyun did come up in our conversation, but briefly and because of another subject. And it was a long time ago, like probably a month or so ago. If this makes you uncomfy then we can talk about something else.”

Huening looked at Beomgyu from in between his fingers. “I don’t wanna feel what he makes me feel anymore.” Beomgyu extended a hand and Kai took it. No matter how his heart was breaking, it was not a road to take alone. “That’s why I didn't want him to follow me. And it worked for a while, but then he started to ask me to do stuff like I always asked him. To be honest, I hadn't noted so far that he never started the stuff we did together. But it was like a bucket of cold water, noticing that it was always me the one insisting. So I started this plan, to remove myself. It just got harder when he started trying to hang out.”

“I can see why you do that. I would probably do the same. But,” and Beomgyu took a moment to make sure he was being heard and that it was the correct mood, “I don’t think you should just abandon him like that. Maybe abandon is not the word, ignore him? It’s cold-hearted and even if he doesn’t feel the same, it’s a bit cruel to deny him an explanation on why you're fleeing the friendship. Imagine it was the other way around, imagine I suddenly stopped talking to you.”

He let a moment, in case Kai wanted to add something. It didn’t seem to be the case. “I’m just suggesting it to you. I know he hurt you, but I don’t think he knows that. The least he deserves is an explanation.”

Kai looked alarmed. “I won’t tell him about my feelings.”

Beomgyu patted his hand. “Yeah, as I was saying it, I wondered why you would ever do that. I don’t know if I could either. It’s just a thought, you don’t have to do it. But, consider that even if you do manage to heal apart from him and get away from the friendship, he is sort of starting something with Taehyun.”

Kai’s face contorted. “I know. I don't want to leave this friendship but…” If pain could be described, it would be his exact expression at that moment. Beomgyu hated that they were having this conversation right now, in the entrance hall of Minho’s dance studio.

“Hey,” he called. He was meddling too much, he didn’t like reminding his friends of the hard times. A friendship breakup was painful, and the heartbreak behind it could be even more. He was done interfering there where he couldn’t take a solid step. “I think that’s enough. I’ll be here in case you want to, I don't know, get drunk over it, or just fill with chocolate, or break some glass. You can count on me. I’m sorry I suggested such awful things.” He shut it when Huening hugged him.

They let go when they heard the bathroom door opening and closing back up. To Beomgyu, the mental image of someone stepping out of the dance room and finding them all hugging and emotional hence why they tiptoe their way into the sanitary just made him want to laugh. Which felt a bit anticlimactic, but they were getting there.

The bell announced the other group Beomgyu was expecting and so he took their name and stepped out of the desk to show them the way to the second room. “You eat up or else it’ll get cold,” he said to Kai before stepping away.

Getting emotional was not a thing Beomgyu had foreseen after not seeing friends for so long. Maybe he should’ve, he had foreseen a nostalgic mood within him with the changes that had overtaken his life. The free mental care job also felt a bit burdensome, but he wouldn’t mind. Friends were there for each other, and he had been lacking with his new schedule. However, Beomgyu had to get better with the intrusion part: the decisions of his friends were to be respected, even if he didn’t agree with them. He had already spoken up his mind, pushing for more would be rude and out of place.

When he made it back to the food and Kai, the younger looked significantly better and put together. Maybe this was enough of the emotional endeavor.

“So, I hear you know Yeonjun,” Kai commenced as if nothing from the previous conversation had gone down.

Beomgyu laughed. “Yeah, you could say so.” This was the chance to get in contact with him again, as Huening didn’t seem like he would let him hang on to a question (cough, like Minho, cough). “He’s the person who trained me before I made it into the program, the one I said you should meet, remember?” Kai nodded, ready for this reference. It wasn’t far-fetched to think that, given Yeonjun and Kai were now co-workers and they must’ve talked a lot. Although, they both were pretty close to Taehyun too. “You didn’t know him before?”

Kai denied, chewing. “It’s quite weird, but since we both correlate to different parts of Tae’s life, it does make sense. Yeonjun goes more with the path Taehyun decided to follow, whereas I go with his life background. I’ve known him all my life.”

Beomgyu understood. “Kinda like me with Soobin.” If one thing Bemgyu refused to do was to start censoring just how big Soobin’s presence was in his life. Huening seemed to agree, a future when mentioning Soobin would be acceptable didn’t seem far away. For now, it was in Beomgyu’s best interest to go back to Yeonjun as a subject. “You both work the same shifts?” He had understood they took turns instead, but as Kai had mentioned, they also seemed to speak quite often.

Kai nodded. “Sometimes. Minho sort of trained us together and then left us to figure it out ourselves. It’s quite hard to get a hold of him nowadays, but sending someone to fetch Yeonjun is way easier. The only time Minho intervened with our schedules was when he told me you would inaugurate the night shift on the weekends.”

“Wait, you don’t see Minho?” That was… concerning.

“Well, sometimes he takes the morning shift, but most of the week I manage it. And Yeonjun has the afternoons. And our shifts are significantly shorter since the dance crew is still part of my responsibilities.” Right, the third brother. Kai was tied to all of them.

“That’s weird.” Beomgyu wasn’t… no, that’d be lying. He loved meddling, but he also recognized that it wasn’t his best trait and so he kept himself in check. From an early age, he had followed Minho around. He knew his older brother to be responsible, leaving his usual shifts didn’t sound like a thing he would just do. The studio was, as far as Beomgyu knew, his major income source. Although, that did explain why he had hired two new people instead of one.

“I don’t know where he lives either, so that’s why I can't just send someone to look for him.” Meaning, Huening also understood, as Beomgyu did, that Minho no longer lived with his parents. And yet, last week he encountered him there.

“So if you need help managing the space, you just call Yeonjun?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m guessing he does the same?”

“Yeah, at some point it turned more into a ‘we’ll figure it together’ instead of a ‘one of us knows better’ situation. Although, three weeks in and I don’t think I'll be calling him as often. I kinda already know how to deal with some stuff that at first could be stressful. It was mostly a matter of how to solve stuff from the day to day that we had never faced before, for example: how to tell a group that both our rooms were already in use, you know?” Yes, he knew. Scary first times that are less scary when you have a backup. Maybe that’s why he had been lucky: Minho had given him two weeks of companionship while Beomgyu learned how to deal with customers and big groups and stuff of the sort.

It was not Beomgyu’s place to question his brother's managing skills, he had to remind himself of that. He wondered how much his parents knew about this. Asking them about it could also be detrimental, so he’d go with care around the subject. Beomgyu hoped he would meet Minho soon because apparently, the way to find him was by hope alone— much like this one other person Beomgyu was dying to meet again.

“That’s nice, at least you’re not alone… I guess?” He was struggling to focus again on the conversation, the worry about how secretive and on-the-air the management of the studio was, crumbling in his mind when the steady figure of his older brother was erasing itself from the picture.

Kai laughed. “When was the last time you spoke to him, he’s unbearable.”

“You mean Yeonjun? I don’t remember him being that annoying,” Beomgyu said with a smile, scratching his chin. Had he embellished reality? Huening was a peaceful being too, few things could upset him as far as Beomgyu knew.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I’m teasing you.” Huening was giving him a devilish smile. Beomgyu felt like he was missing a whole bunch of context. “You have no idea why he would be annoying to me, the only person who he sees regularly that also happens to know you?”

“Nope, not a clue. Does that mean he doesn’t know Soobin yet?” Sometimes, when Beomgyu didn’t understand something that was being said, he just skipped right over it: why torture oneself late at night on a nice Friday? Besides, something in his mind wanted to intrude, something tiny and distracting, like hope.

“No, but I get this uncanny feeling that they would get along well… Maybe that’s the solution to getting rid of him.”

“Yeonjun or Soobin?”

“Honestly? Both.” Damn, Huening was acting unhinged. Beomgyu kinda loved it.

“Damn, has your heart hardened that much?”

“Dude, I haven’t seen you in a month but I've heard of you every single day since you entered the doors of that castle, it’s exhausting.”

Well, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. If Huening was avoiding Soobin, then that only left- “You guys speak about me?” It was a scene hard to picture, Huening Kai and Yeonjun just chatting away about Beomgyu. There couldn’t possibly be much to say about him.

Kai looked astonished. “Yeah, is this the first time in this entire conversation you caught the idea? Are you Soobining Yeonjun?”

“I-” well, that was impossible to ignore. “Why are you telling me this?” Why are you breaking the code, Kai? It felt as wrong as it could have been if in all the times he had been presented with the opportunity, Beomgyu would have said either Soobin or Huening what he knew from the private conversations he had with the other one.

Huening was smiling. “I have a hunch you might think about him too.”

He caught him in the spot. How could he even… start to deny it? As his face heated, Beomgyu wondered if maybe not thinking about it had led to this exact moment. If he had taken the time or a single moment to process his emotions, he wouldn’t be as surprised or scared right now of possibly being corresponded. Of even being seen in that light by a person he had only recently discovered he missed.

Beomgyu didn’t answer, and Huening changed the subject. “Taehyun is back in town. He told me he met you at some point?” Bless him.

Beomgyu nodded, still lightheaded from revelations. “Yeah, we saw him when he was leaving for his latest quest. How is he? Any closer to finishing his mission?” It was a wild assumption to make that Huening would know about the specifics of Taehyun’s task, but since Beomgyu knew… He would still be subtle about it, not to reveal anything.

Huening sighed, munching on the latest of his food. “I don’t think he is, no. He is not finding the information he needs, and the sources are running low. He doesn’t have that many people left to question.” They were both codifying the theme, Beomgyu was damn sure Kai knew. He wouldn’t let him know he did too though. That was Taheyun’s issue.

How could he ask for how much time left the mission had though? Taehyun had helped him get into the program, Beomgyu didn’t want to be ungrateful. “Do you know if I can see him at any point?”

Huening Kai turned to him, an eyebrow up. “Well, as I understand he had a tiny trip to make this week, and then… then one of his last informants is in a town by the frontier of the kingdom so you might want to catch him before that. I’d say your best chance though is either speaking to Soobin or just running into him when he goes to the castle to give his report.” Kai was picking at his nails. “Speaking to his sister could even be your one guarantee, since she works there and I understand you can’t leave the castle during the weekdays, right?” Beomgyu nodded. Three good chances, he’d plan to meet Soobin the next day.

“Thank you.” Huening had been a river of answers from which to fish that day, the least he could do was show how grateful he was.

Kai smiled. “Don’t worry about it, I like catching up and catching you up to stuff outside. Sounds scary being in the castle.”

“It is! But it’s also fantastic! We haven’t even had our first field mission but so much happened already, I feel like I'm partaking in an adventure in one of those chivalry books!”

“Nice. Do tell, not much happens here.”

And so, the story of the construction of the martyr and the following collective armor disappearance, and rumors heard in the night in the voices of Shuhua and Felix, and maybe opening a closet or two to let metal rest for a couple of days was told.

👠

Beomgyu had hoped it would happen when they were older and had their families already, but not everything went according to plan. And so, here they were, the Choi family having dinner all together after months of being scattered around.

It was a Saturday night and no one had reserved the studio. Beomgyu's parents had intercepted him on his way to work, “Try to be here for dinner." If he had known why he would've just not. But parents are smart and they know their children.

That way, when he made it in time for it to be still dinner, Beomgyu could tell right away something was different. First off, Taeyong's lucky bag was lying by the door. And he could hear the conversation from the entrance.

It would be a lie if I don't tell you that at that moment Beomgyu considered leaving. But then Minho made his way downstairs and caught him right in the act. To be precise, it looked like they caught each other in consideration. But no one dared propose to the other to take the leap of faith out the door together. They already knew Minho was there, and if Beomgyu didn't make it for dinner they would never let him live it down. Besides, with Taeyong being there he would probably take the attention from them.

They made their way to the dining room. The general tendencies sometimes lean toward expecting the best from the people we love. And they loved their parents enough to forget the long life dynamics.

The food was beef with a selection of side dishes. The beverage was beer. Beomgyu knew what his limit was and how much was a dangerous amount to consume being in the same room as his parent. There is a level of calm you want to keep when facing the people you don't want to hurt with your honest opinions. Liquid courage tends to lead you away from that road.

Beomgyu’s strategy was to stay as quiet as possible. A goal that died immediately as his mother decided to start with him.

“So? How's the adventure going?" It didn't sound mean-spirited, he appreciated the word selection.

“It’s going quite well. I'm making friends and I think the knight in charge of our group might not despise me as much as the rest."

“I see your face is better too, did you stop getting in front of the punches or did they finally pity you?" It was the joking tone, the one that intended to mask the true message. However, everyone at the table caught it.

Only his and his mother's cutlery could be heard. If she was gonna act like what she said meant nothing, so would he. “I guess so. Did I tell you guys I met the head of the Strategic department?" Best to change the subject.

Upon taking a peek out of his plate, Beomgyu saw both his brothers' eyes on their mother. They were being reminded of how things were and preparing themselves for it if their turn came.

Taeyong turned to Beomgyu. "You met Seulgi? What does she say? I haven't seen her in a while." God bless his soul, Beomgyu would hug him afterward. He had not just met Seulgi as he was making it sound, but the distraction was needed. And Taeyong had followed along like the perceptive brother he was. Minho was still trying to open a hole in his mother's forehead but looked away as soon as she returned the gaze.

“I thanked her for recommending me. I had already made it in when they saw her name on the list, I wouldn’t have to try if I'd given my name first. So yeah, I'm a genius with a sword,” he bluffed. His mother huffed but it was covered by Minho’s cheers and Taeyong patting on his hair.

“That’s my brother.”

From the other side of the table, his father was smiling at him. Nice.

“How did it happen though? Seulgi I mean?” Taeyong was focusing on his food, asking out of curiosity.

“I met her brother.” Beomgyu had to keep it low. “What about you Tae, how is it going for you? I feel like I haven't seen you in months!” It was true, they had slept in the same house during the weekends, but besides sleepily good morning greetings or an on-the-way goodnight, no conversation had happened.

“Well, I opened a few spots for my crew. Not so many because Huening Kai sent his resignation notice a week ago.”

Beomgyu didn’t choke on his vegetables, but almost. “He’s leaving? But…” Beomgyu spared a glance at Minho, who looked surprised as well.

“Well, he always liked singing better,” Taeyong told them with a smile. The shock to the news softened a bit with that, but they were all put back on edge when their mother’s huffed laugh echoed in the room. “Anyways, there’s this one recruit Huening is training to take his place.” Taeyong gave both his brothers a look, expecting a reaction.

To be fair, it was a weak ass clue for any of them to react. Their father started with “Well, what about-”

“Is it Yeonjun?” Minho asked as if it made sense that way, like testing the waters.

“Yes!” Taeyong seemed happy that the void space he had provided was being picked up on. He turned his attention to Minho while Beomgyu was left to ponder on his side. He felt so happy, he was smiling at his lap, trying to hide the joy from his parents. Yeonjun had made it into a dance crew! Oh god, he worked for both his brothers now, someone save that poor soul. “Did you introduce him to dance basics?”

Now, “dance basics” is a term mostly used in families of dance ascendants to note the part of dancing that wasn’t the performance. The martial art part and what made the moves so specific to a certain lineage, that's the basics (and some terminations in the movements). It was like a code.

“Uh, no. He works at the dance studio some afternoons, but I never saw him dance, even less taught him. I heard he’s good though.”

Taeyong seemed about to ask the rest of the family but he caught Beomgyu’s blush. It looked like he was going to drop the conversation then, but Beomgyu felt like he did have something to add. “He taught me the basics of sword fighting. And I may have taught him some things in return.”

Taeyong laughed at him. “Well, you did incredibly well. He gives the pumbalki* such an interesting spin. I’m impressed that he's only now learning to dance. It’s not in him yet, but he has a will that in no time will get him wherever he wants. The fact you already gave him the basics means he only has to work on the performance. He does have a bit of resilience to working in groups, but Kai is good at that.” Beomgyu was not expecting a congratulation. What did he do with the big tall wall he had built the minute he confessed to knowing Yeonjun?

“He’s… something.” Beomgyu wanted to add more, but not in front of the rest. He would intercept Taeyong later to tell him about Yeonjun and just how much he meant to Beomgyu. Maybe he would even tell him more than he had said to himself. Taeyong had always been a good listener and a supportive brother.

“What did you do today, dad?” Minho asked next. The rest of the evening went on about their father’s registers over the watercourse surrounding the northern part of the castle (the currents that came from the mountains and that at one point would become the river by which Yeonjun and Beomgyu used to train), and about the neighbors, and about who had kids and who didn’t.

It was not as awful as it seemed when it started.

⚔️👠

The Sunday shift was all Beomgyu’s. It used to be the one day the studio would close, but since there were so many hands available with various time availability, Beomgyu had suggested it and Minho had accepted. Maybe it turned out to be another popular day to dance as the night shift had been.

He opened two hours before noon, took an hour break to go have lunch with Ryujin, and then made it back for an afternoon shift. This day Beomgyu would only work until sunset, no more. The next day he was supposed to be within the walls of the castle between the first clarity in the sky and when the sun was already visible.

A group did happen to pass by in the morning, and they came back after Beomgyu had his lunch break. They had preferred the room in the back for some reason. He was no one to judge, but he was a bit worried. He had never seen these people before and the name they signed in by was not on the records.

Nothing happened though. Beomgyu spent his day reading about the ancient records on cavalry and giving thanks that he didn't have to go on a life-changing quest to get his title. He passed over some mentions of the Stone in the woods. How ancient had it been? There was no explanation of where it had come from, but from one period to the next, there was a sword in the stone. Another few centuries later the heel appeared. By that time, the concept of the factions already existed, so it kinda made sense.

At one point Soobin passed by. He looked like he had stumbled out of bed and crawled to the studio. Beomgyu couldn’t figure out how to ask him about Huening and so he didn’t. Soobin looked bad, and soon after Beomgyu found out it was because Taehyun had told him about his mission. The mission officially ended next week.

“Next week? But, and extension-?”

“He requested it but since he gives constant updates on his reports, they know there’s not much more he can do. And so, instead of granting him another three months, they gave him a month. He had to pull all of his strings to see if they would grant him this one last week. Technically tomorrow ended the extra month he had to… do the thing. But since he only has one more person to track, they agreed on one week more.” Soobin was, just as he was, censoring Taehyun’s mission. It was kind of funny how neither of them wanted to admit to the other if they knew it. The same had happened with Kai… why was Taehyun not telling them that they all knew? He probably knew that they all knew each other, then why?

“Are you ok?” This was a question that Soobin wouldn’t be able to answer given he wasn’t aware of Beomgyu knowing too.

“I wished… I knew earlier what his mission was.”

“Did you just find out?”

“He told me a few days ago when the request for one more week was in but it hadn’t been approved yet. I guess he panicked in case they didn’t authorize it.” Soobin was close to slipping up about keeping Taehyun’s mission a secret.

“Did you talk to him about how that made you feel?” Ah yes, vague ass questions.

Soobin sighed and deflated on the desk. “No, I don’t know how I feel. I mean, just a big amount of general bad feelings, but that seems unfair to pin on Taehyun. His mission is quite hard and complicated and it makes sense he kept it from me… but this long? Only to reveal it when it’s so close to being done? It feels like maybe my time is not as valuable as his.”

It was one of those moments when Beomgyu would shake Soobin up and down and make him see that the answer was right in front of him. But at the same time, he understood both sides. Taehyun was… he was probably scared shitless and in so attempting his best to leave everything ready for when it was done, for when no more extensions were available. And for Soobin, the person he liked and was getting to know had just opened up to him about a very definitive deadline, which was in a week (less if you count he told him when the last extension was still under revision). The solution was to talk it out. That exact thing Soobin had shared about his feelings and worries with Beomgyu, but to Taehyun.

Beomgyu took Soobin’s hand. “It’ll be ok.” That was less a lie and more hopeful thinking. Seulgi had said it so surely, that nothing drastic would happen, and yet… Maybe Beomgyu was starting to understand the delirium he had thought Seulgi was under. That was mean, but Beomgyu had been trying to speak to her all week but she was, first, nowhere to be found, and second, she pretty much ran away from him the one time he did find her. Not suspicious at all.

In conclusion, Beomgyu hadn’t been able to speak to Taehyun as he had intended since the last time he met with Kai. Asking Soobin now, another of Kai’s recommendations to get a hold of Taehyun, seemed way out of line.

Soobin left soon after, with a pensive expression and the promise to see each other the next weekend.

It was darkening already. Beomgyu could hear the people in the back room packing up. Good, he hated having to kick people out (or nicely tell them it was closing time, whatever).

Then, the doorbell. He had the “sorry, we’re about to close” in the tip of his tongue when he saw Yeonjun. And that did take a bunch of brainpower out of him.

“Your hair.” It was bright pink.

Yeonjun let out a little laugh. Not only pink, but it was also longer. Just how much time had they gone by without seeing each other? “Hello to you too, stranger.”

Beomgyu was stunned. There’s a before and after seeing Yeonjun walking in with his sun-setting colored hair by the time the sun was painting those same colors outside. Beomgyu loved the light. “Hello,” softly. “What are you doing here?” Not so softly.

There’s an image to uphold.

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “One can’t even miss a person nowadays, huh.”

The people in the back room walked out. They all gave Yeonjun a good stare, after which some proceeded to ignore him and others to hide little giggles. The head of the group said his goodbye to Beomgyu and walked out, followed by his crew of which some also said goodbye, some continued in their weird ‘Yeonjun is here mood’.

Beomgyu waited until the last of them were out the door to speak up again. “What the hell was that? Are you like… respected now? Do people know you on the street?”

“I guess so. The pink hair does make it easier.”

“It looks good on you, by the way. I was right!” Credit where it is due.

“Yeah, you were, whatever.” Yeonjun rested his elbows on the desk, giving Beomgyu his back. Rude. “You know how hard it is finding you? It’s like you disappeared from the face of the earth. You made it into the Royal Program and I never again even saw your hair.”

“Yeah, probably I should've at least told you where my house is. But I've been here whenever I was not there! You work here now! How have we not crossed paths?”

Yeonjun turned to him, a frown on his forehead. “You’re the younger brother right?” Beomgyu nodded. “And would you say Huening Kai appreciates you a lot?”

“Debatable. Maybe you are his favorite now, although he did have some complaints about you.”

“Did he now? So interesting.”

“Yeonjun, elaborate.”

“Oh, yes. Well, I know Minho is your brother so I asked him about you. Kai slipped up that you were still working at the studio. But Minho wouldn't give me not even a little clue about your work schedule. He wouldn't disclose them to me, to see when I could visit you. Something about privacy and stuff.”

Beomgyu laughed. Yeonjun didn’t. “Wait, for real?” The dancer nodded. “Woah. But Huening-”

“You see, I know I am acting like the victim here, but maybe I am. Huening works with both your brothers, what were the odds that he knew about this horrific plan of keeping me from seeing you and proceeded to act as a bridge of information? I couldn’t tell, but I'm pretty sure every single time we had dance practices this last month, it was probably either around the time you were working here or heavy enough for us to not move a single muscle afterward.”

“Weak. Also, that sounds all like lies. And Huening knew my shift schedule, you should've asked him!"

“Wait, he did? Damn, I just assumed that Minho hadn't told him or he was just mindlessly following your evil family plan."

‘Evil family plan’ sounded funny.

“How are you here now then?”

“Taeyong told me.”

“He just told you? After trying to, how did you say it, keeping you from seeing me?”

“Well, he did look at me extra tenderly and told me you were gonna be here all day. Did you perhaps tell him something?”

Ah, family dinner the previous day. Beomgyu and Taeyong had a heart-to-heart conversation over more beers they snatched to their room. Maybe something about Yeonjun had slipped into that exchange.

“Not that I can recall. Maybe your begging finally paid off.”

“Excuse me? As if I were to beg over your schedules.”

“That’s not what the people say.”

“And who is this so-called multitude?”

“Well, for starters, Huening. I guess I could go and ask any of my brothers and they could also provide some testimony. I’m guessing you haven't figured I see Ryujin often too, she’s in your same dance crew I’ve heard! Congrats on making it in!”

“Thank you. I think Huening might have a big role to play in it, I don't think I would've made it in otherwise.” Yeonjun rested his chin on his hand, splayed on the desk. He seemed pensive.

Beomgyu just shook his hand. “Not to shit on any other organization’s preferred methods of accepting new people in, but Taeyong is unavoidable. His judgment on your dance moves is definitive, he is the last and only judge if you can be in his crew or not. And he might seem nice on the outside, but he won’t take any half-doers. So if you are in, that means you impressed him. A hard thing to do if I may say so myself.”

“I mean, do you know people who didn’t make it in, or are you perpetually surrounded by pure talent?” Yeonjun seemed skeptical. Which made sense given more than one of Beomgyu’s close friends had made Taeyong’s cut.

“Well, Huening was not allowed in immediately. And me neither.”

“Wait, you tried to join the crew?” Yeonjun seemed more surprised by this than anything else.

“I mean, I was unemployed, I tried a bunch of things. Taeyong took one look at my routine and told me to try again next time. Plus a bunch of advice I didn't care to follow anyways. I don’t handle rejection too well,” Beomgyu added with a laugh. He then clapped, as if getting back on track. “But yeah, Huening told me soon after we met through Soobin that he did take Taeyong’s advice. He also asked one of his sister’s friends for help too. And so, next time, Taeyong saw it in him. That’s why I was worried about him leaving, it seems… I don’t know, I guess it makes me sad after knowing and seeing him try so hard during the time I’ve known him. But, I should be talking about this with him and not gossiping with you.” He directed a dirty look at Yeonjun as if he was the one bringing up the conversation.

“Wh-what did I do? Incredible, you’re incredible.”

“Thank you.”

“You know it wasn’t a compliment.” Beomgyu shrugged. “But yeah, he’s leaving. He’s training me too. He lets me use the front room when he’s in charge and comes from time to time to give some comments or just general encouragement. But when we’re in the dance crew… he’s off.”

“I see.” Beomgyu had probably already scheduled in his mind a conversation with Huening about the decision to leave the crew. But then, Taehyun’s deadline was so soon. How could he even question what was going on with Huening when probably everything was going on with him. “I am really glad you could find a teacher. I know I shouldn’t, but I keep getting the feeling that I didn’t do enough to help you. To even equate how much you helped me-” Yeonjun seemed about to speak, but Beomgyu took his hand and looked at him pointedly. That seemed to quiet Yeonjun for a bit. “Wait, let me say it. Maybe you don’t feel it that way, but I do. So I would like to apologize. Even if you don’t feel like that’s a thing that’s due, it would mean a lot to me if you let me say it.”

Yeonjun went from looking at Beomgyu with a frown to looking at their hands intertwined. He seemed to ponder over it and then, he nodded. “Go ahead then.”

A chance. “I truly am sorry that I couldn't do more. Not because I didn't want to, but because I lacked the type of skills you were ready to learn. And I keep thinking that even if I didn't know that much about dance, I knew people who would’ve been so much more helpful to your journey. But I latched onto you for three months and you taught me almost everything you knew would help me make it into training. And then I disappeared behind those walls with a simple thank you. I could've done more instead of just exploiting your kindness and for that, I'm so sorry.” Beomgyu let go of Yeonjun’s hand and took a step back, lowering his head. There was enough distance between the desk and the wall so he didn’t feel caged.

Then, the sound of Yeonjun moving. Or well, it was the sound of his clothes. His steps were so soft over the ground, they could barely be heard.

Beomgyu could sense him near.

The subtle touch of hands over his shoulders brought him back to reality. Beomgyu looked up to find out Yeonjun had made his way around the welcome counter. It felt familiar noticing again that he was taller than him.

“I accept your apology. I don't think it’s necessary, but if it means that much to you, I understand.” Yeonjun smiled and went back to the other side. “I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, first, if you hadn’t taught me the steps, I couldn't have survived a day outside without a sword. But also, I think there’s something about your technique that makes every step I take now unique. And you didn’t force me to stay, Beomgyu. It was a mutual agreement, and we both stayed. We could’ve left at any moment, but we didn’t. And this will surprise you, but it is fun spending time with you. I missed it.”

If Beomgyu wasn’t feeling like a mushball, he would’ve said something snarky about the delight of spending time with him or something along those lines. Yeonjun must’ve picked up on this because he looked away and waited for a moment until Beomgyu could put himself back together.

“You’re about to close right?”

Speaking of. “Yeah.” Beomgyu went around the desk and Yeonjun and turned the sign to its ‘closed’ side. He then made his way back and deflated on his chair. It had not been a tough day, but work is work and he was glad it was over. “Have you heard about Taehyun lately? I haven’t seen Huening in a while and I can never esteem which of you is the one more instructed in Taehyun’s matters.”

“Well, I do live with him now. Or, I guess I take care of his apartment since he’s gone so often, calling him my roommate would only work if I got to have domestic experiences with him. Or maybe it’s me who provides a roof for him when he’s in town.” Yeonjun seemed to be thinking about it.

“Wait, so you moved? I thought that hadn’t worked out.”

The bittersweet smile gave it away. “Well, it didn’t work before when I lived with my parents, who wanted me to do something I didn't. I left the Wall Guard and, at the same time, I moved in with Taehyun. Soon after you put a word in for me with Minho. So yeah, a lot has changed since the last time we saw each other.”

“Dude, your hair is pink, bet.”

Yeonjun laughed and grabbed a strand. Then, he opened his eyes wide. “Wait, no. I can’t forget to mention this. This is Tae’s last quest for his mission. He only got this last week. Do you perhaps know this?” Beomgyu nodded. Soobin’s visit that same day sure sped up this conversation. “Well, he has to travel to a frontier village, south. That’s like the closest border, so it’s a two-day trip there and another pair back. He wants to know if you’d go with us.”

Beomgyu was still making the maths about the journey when the last bit registered in his mind. “Me?”

“Yeah. He wants to get us together one last time, and half of us are qualified to join him. The council had agreed on giving Tae every resource he asked for and you are under royal training, so they sort of speak up on your behalf. If you agree to come, Tae will file the request so that you will be excused from training for how long the quest will last, we guess it will be around four days. If you don’t want to go, then I'll just let Tae know about that and that’s it.”

Oh, Beomgyu wanted to go. And he also wanted to see Taehyun, a task he had tried and failed at for two weeks already. “Yes. Yes, I’ll go.”

Yeonjun smiled. “I’ll tell him that.”

Beomgyu started to grab his bag, ready to march back home. He refilled the drawer with some candy, he had noticed that they were rapidly disappearing, probably Kai’s doing. “Ah, so it’s you who leaves those there!” Yeonjun seemed amazed.

“I mean, yeah, did you think Minho did? He has been a bit all over the place, I don't know if you have noticed.”

“Yeah, I know. What are you doing by the way?”

“I’m getting ready to go home. I have to close, remember?”

Suddenly timid, Yeonjun said: “Oh, yeah. I was wondering if perhaps you would like to have dinner with me?”

So they were on the same line after all.

“Sure.”

⚔️

“Choi Beomgyu-”

It wasn’t a shout for him. Beomgyu had heard his name in the voice of the knight that had called Jihyo while she was overseeing a pair of trainees sparring. They seemed to be exchanging a few words, and it appeared to be about him. It was the Wednesday immediately after Yeonjun had told him about the quest, Beomgyu could tell what this was about.

The sun shone above their heads and they were practicing some basic forms of hand to hand to get used to the weight of the armor and to not be completely useless in case a sword flew away mid encounter. There had been complaints and one simple answer: Jihyo called to the middle the loudest one and Beomgyu. She even let them start with swords. The look on Jihyo's eyes was clear to him, he had a mission. After a couple of attempts, Beomgyu could successfully get rid of his rival's sword, so he threw his away too. It had been a weird few seconds. The air was heavy and the whispers tried to paint a picture Beomgyu couldn't relate to. The sweat could be felt in his back and his hair. The guy jumped at Beomgyu but with one movement of his right hand, the punch had been diverted. With a movement of his left one, Beomgyu caught one of his rival's knees. Immediately after, the guy was on the ground. This was not a hard exercise at all, it was second nature.

Jihyo had clapped and said, “And that should never happen to you or, at least, you should aim to be Beomgyu in this situation." And she had walked away to speak with the knight.

An important law they had learned is ‘practice with your buddies, but not in public' and so Felix and Shuhua weren't going against each other. It's very important to know how your friends fight, that way you can either help them or get out of their way in the middle of a battle. But one has to keep their abilities and alliances close by. Beomgyu knew pretty well how both Shuhua and Felix fought, but he wouldn't let the others in that training program know that.

It was still morning and the sun was going easy on them. Spring was turning into summer rapidly. The grass was shining each day when they arrived, and it looked torn by the time they left. But it was back as new when dawn came so the gardener must've had some magic in his thumb. Or an association with the town's witch.

Beomgyu was lying on his side. He and another girl (Chaeyoung?) were let go after successful attempts of surviving with no sword. Soon they'll be up against each other so they had spoken a bit about it. Now they were letting the sun shower them.

Later, as soon as he finished his lunch, Jihyo called him outside. The chants of ‘oooooh' filled the room.

“You know what this is about, I'm guessing?"

Wide. “Uh, what do you mean?"

Jihyo rolled his eyes. She didn't look happy. “I have a message to deliver to you with a permit to miss training for the next two days. A knight asked you to join his quest and that claim was approved. You know about this?"

“Yes." Something in Jihyo's words felt off. Beomgyu noticed so far that he had no idea how she felt about Taehyun's mission and the disappearance of the kings. The subject hadn't come up.

“Well, here you go." She handed him a letter with a green wax seal. The royal seal was maroon so that must be the council one. She seemed to still want to say something and so he waited. “Be careful. I know you're going out with a small party of people, but you represent the crown as soon as you step out wearing that armor and holding that sword. Also," she stopped for a minute, looking through the other end of the hallway. It was empty. “Be careful. There has been something off about this whole thing since the beginning, but the council won't disclose anything to the rest of us. That's not a good sign, the kings always told us everything. I fear for your friend, so do as much as you can to help him, but don't forget about yourself. Be ready for anything." Jihyo ended by whispering. Beomgyu nodded, captivated by the secrecy of the whole statement. He had foreseen a ‘be safe' or an ‘everything will be alright', not a ‘beware'.

As soon as Jihyo gave him the confirmation that he could go and get his belongings ready, he sort of understood. He was now part of Taehyun's quest. Taehyun who was damned since the moment his schedule made him stand outside of one particular door. Taehyun, who had until Monday to achieve the impossible.

Now Beomgyu was attached to his mission too.

⚔️👠

Dawn was a popular time to get together with people. Not for any particular reason, but if they got together early during the day then they wouldn’t call that much attention upon themselves. It was a bit scary watching a group of people head out, even more, when two of them had the royal armor on. One could wonder what it could mean that this group was heading out when there had been no updates on the state of the crown since the depiction of the investigation surrounding the disappearance of the kings.

The sky was slowly lightening, revealing a greenish light blue. The clouds in the sky didn’t seem to contain rain. The sound of a bell and the paws of a dog were the only hints of life in the street.

Beomgyu had left his house in silence, not wanting to awaken his parents, and had found Soobin along the way to the studio, the designated meeting point. The surprise in his friend's eyes was too big for him to quickly explain why he was here and what was his link to Taehyun. If Soobin was part of the people involved in the quest, Beomgyu could make a fair bet of who else was gonna be there. He would've won: Kai was laughing at a joke Yeonjun made when Beomgyu and Soobin turned around the corner.

Beomgyu had been ready, Soobin not. On the other end, as soon as Huening saw them nearing over Yeonjun's shoulder, the smile was gone. Maybe, just as Beomgyu, he only knew about Yeonjun being there.

Yeonjun turned and smiled at them. He gave half a hug to Beomgyu and waved in Soobin's direction. The guard looked really out of place.

“Am I the only one who had no idea…" and he caught himself because it would've sounded rude as hell. That other people would be here too, maybe?

“I knew Yeonjun was gonna be here, so that's about it for me," Beomgyu provided with his sweetest smile. How to cover your best friend's ass when not even they know what's wrong? Considering, he was probably super lost. He had been expecting to go on a quest with his close acquaintance slash love-interest and turns out he's now faced with the one friend that won't speak to him, the new member of the dance crew he works for and his friend from a lifetime. And he had no clue.

Beomgyu’s coat of mail filled the silence with its clicking.

“Yeah, Taehyun operates on a weird line sometimes. He probably forgot that just because he knows us all we don't necessarily know or speak with each other." Never mind, Yeonjun is a dumbass too. Beomgyu had zero intention of telling him all of them knew each other. “Hello, by the way, my name is Yeonjun."

Soobin took his hand, a confused frown on his face. “Yes, I know. I've seen you in the crew. I'm Soobin."

Yeonjun turned back to Beomgyu with a surprised expression. Beomgyu nodded at him like it was obvious. “Yes, that's him." His best friend, who he always mentioned. It was curious, Soobin knew him, but Yeonjun didn’t. Had Huening Kai’s distance been so contagious?

Speaking of, Huening had said once that he was reserved about his love life. Maybe Taehyun was too and that's why the math equation was only now solved in Yeonjun's mind. He didn't know about Soobin's relationship with Taehyun. Hopefully, he just didn't know the name, because Beomgyu couldn't imagine having the mission Taehyun had and on top of that not telling his roommate and confidant about the other things in life. Or maybe they just hadn't had the time to chat and mention this relationship. Beomgyu certainly hadn't had time to speak with Taehyun either.

Soobin looked on the verge of becoming the personification of confusion.

“I still don't understand what's going on."

“Yeonjun is roommates with Taehyun and he trained Beomgyu so he could pass the royal training admissions. He works here, at the studio, with us and is about to take my spot on the crew." It was the first thing that Huening had said to them that day. The words were for Soobin, but he was looking at Beomgyu. Maybe he thought he wouldn't know about that last bit, about him leaving. Beomgyu showed no reaction.

Soobin on the other end.

“Wait, you're leaving the crew?"

“I'm sorry I'm late, I had to take a detour." Taehyun arrived just in time. Soobin turned to him still with shock and worry in his expression. “Is everything ok?"

Was it? Would it ever be? Beomgyu waited, in case Soobin would raise his previous complaints, or just mention what was going on.

Huening was faster than him. “We're not used to the early rising. Let's get going!" He turned and headed in the direction of the gates.

And that was it. Taehyun followed and so did Soobin.

Beomgyu spared a look into Yeonjun's direction. He looked lost. “What was all of that?" The pink hair was not shining since the sun rays were not visible yet.

Beomgyu wished he could say it, the entire background of those three. “It's not my story to tell." Beomgyu took his hand and led them to follow the others.

They needed horses. The castle had already set five of them apart for them by the town's wall. No one saw them leave that morning except the guards by the wall. They were handed the horses, one each, and introduced by their names. After their belongings were set, they rode out. Beomgyu said his goodbye to Wooseok by the door, who wished him good luck.

In no time they were making their way across the Ardeip wood.

“I’ve crossed this place too many times and only seen the sword once these last months,” Taehyun commented. He was looking around as if waiting for it to appear. Beomgyu was impressed by his ability to ignore how almost everyone else wanted to ask him questions.

The birds were chirping and the sun was starting to make its way in through the leaves. Beomgyu smiled when he felt it in his cheeks, and scrunched his nose when it reached his eyes. A cold morning breeze gave him a little shiver. Spring sometimes had winter remnants in disguise. Blackberry seemed excited about the trip, Beomgyu could tell in the way she was happily marching. He petted her mane.

“So all of us knew? About your mission?” Ah yes, Soobin, the official hater of the day. He would calm down soon.

“I guess so. Why?”

Both Huening Kai and Soobin turned to look at Beomgyu who was last in the congregation. Yes, he had known all along. “Surprise? I think I knew since before you even.” That was directed at Soobin, but only then did the other two notice they had the same reaction. They had accidentally crossed stares while checking if it was them Beomgyu was speaking to.

Beomgyu looked past them, at Taehyun and Yeonjun who were at the front. They seemed very interested in not meddling in that conversation.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” That had been Taehyun. Beomgyu pulled a bit from Blackberry’s strap so she would lean a bit to the right. As if summoned by the very first thing Taehyun had said, the sword and the heel were ahead of them in the road. Between the trees by the sides of the road, the court of swords that always appeared surrounding the Stone could be spotted. They were swords nailed to the ground sporadically within a twenty feet ratio. The court was the main reason parent’s didn’t like it when kids went looking for the Stone.

“What even are the odds?” Yeonjun sounded both impressed and ready to tease Taehyun’s luck.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m the Stone Whisperer or something.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Not that I know of, Soobin. But if there is, maybe I'm it.” Taehyun laughed, a bit as if the silly thing was too much for him to bear within.

“This is the actual last solution right?” Huening asked, with doubt in his voice.

During the previous months, Beomgyu hadn’t seen a lot of Taehyun to understand his body language. That sort of psychical knowledge didn’t run in the Choi family as a magic trail left behind by their ancestors. But he had seen a lot of Yeonjun. And he understood what it meant when his back straightened like that and when his shoulders looked anything but relaxed. This conversation had happened before.

“What do you mean?” Soobin asked Kai.

Taehyun answered instead. “Yes. If I were to not find them… they could accuse me of their disappearance. That in itself is a serious thing to have in my name. But if I don't find them, then it means the crown is empty and the kingdom will most likely go to war. Within itself.”

Yeonjun had arrived by the sword and was passing by it. The Stone, big enough to hold four adults standing and more if they were willing to gather close, had appeared in the middle of the road they had taken, so they had to go around it. It looked like an obvious clue left there, in the middle of the way. Maybe the Stone was mocking Taehyun after all.

“The biggest issue they left behind was that no one could take their spot. They left no order on what to do to name a successor or if they had someone in mind to fill the spot. All this time while I've been trying to find out what happened to them,” he took a pause when surrounding the Stone, “the council has been debating what to do. Who will rule when there’s no one else. They thought about a week back to release an official statement about tryouts to get the sword out of the Stone, but the logistics of when and where will the sword appear are impossible to foresee. Besides, making such a statement would be an indirect confirmation that I have had no success finding the kings and that by itself could launch the war. Imagine dancers and knights alike scavenging these woods trying to find the Stone. It’s so peaceful as it is.” He went quiet while looking ahead.

Soobin and Huening were too focused on Taehyun to even consider the Stone, but now that Beomgyu was passing by it, he found it was quite beautiful. It didn’t look that big now that he was older, he had been half his current size the last time he saw it. It looked to be about the same size as the sword Yeonjun was now carrying, that one that had belonged to him. This sword, however, shined far more. It had leaf-like golden details on the handle. The pommel was entirely golden and in the center had a greenish translucent stone. It shimmered as the angles from which he saw it changed. Beomgyu wondered if it was made of gold, but he was scared to touch it, and he wouldn’t know just by touching it either. The heel was interesting: it looked, opposed to the sword, in a fair bad shape. It had been red once, but now it looked darker as if it had been burned by the sun. He couldn’t pinpoint the material, but somehow it looked velvety. The heel though, as he was leaving it behind he caught a twinkle from it: the inner part was golden too. A weird placement to such detail, given that, if on the feet, no one would see it.

“You are right, of course. If the sword and the heel were to be released, then that person could rightfully take the crown and save my ass at the same time.” Beomgyu turned back to face the road, leaving the Stone behind. Taehyun didn’t seem to believe such a thing was possible, not by the way he had said that last bit. “I think you should all tell me your deepest darkest secrets, I promise I won't spill them in the afterlife.”

Yeonjun hit him in the arm from his horse, almost falling in the process of reaching him. “Shut up, dumbass. You’re not gonna die.”

Both Soobin and Huening turned back to look at Beomgyu. He had this conversation with them before. He tried to smile at them, but he couldn’t.

⚔️👠

“Now what do we have here?” The blond girl asked as if expecting an answer. The thing was, none of them could move. Their eyes were starting to cry given they couldn’t blink either. Spatially they had all been frozen on their way to immobilize this person, so they could barely see each other: they were forming a semicircle of frozen statues around the entrance door. “Oh, right, you can’t speak. Let me adjust it.” With a snap of her fingers, they could breathe again, blink to will and even move their mouths. They couldn’t move their bodies through. “Now, speak up. Who are you and why are you here?”

Beomgyu had been the closest to her since he hadn’t been the most enthusiast about breaking in. Before she could cast the spell, he had managed to turn around. Taehyun and Huening were the furthest in followed by Soobin. Beomgyu couldn’t see them either. Only Yeonjun’s hand was on the frame for him, but the owner’s position was a mystery.

“You left town the night before the kings’ disappearance and you are the only person with not a single registration in town. Who are you and what do you know about the kings?” Taehyun sounded funny as if he were about to let hell loose over this lady even when he couldn’t move at all. She didn’t seem impressed, but rather as amused as Beomgyu was.

She closed the door at her back and walked among their frozen figures. Beomgyu remembered that Taehyun had mentioned an alleged report of she being magical, but for some reason that didn’t register in their minds when they walked into that cabin. To be fair, there wasn’t much they could do even knowing so, they hadn’t, as far a Beomgyu knew, been provided with tools to face such a menace.

“I’m the within walls town’s witch.” She said, her steps coming to a stop. She was probably in front of Taehyun. “And I have nothing to do with this disappearance you speak about.”

“No, you’re not.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not the witch of the town, I met him and you are not him.” Taehyun sounded sure. As far as Beomgyu knew, Taehyun had gotten him the ointment for his cut oh so long ago. If this person had left town the day before the kings went missing, it made sense they were not the same person Taehyun had met. Therefore, she was lying.

“I see. I can explain who I am, what I know about the kings —which is nothing— but only if you put the swords away. I don’t mind answering your questions, but the use of force is unnecessary. You could’ve all waited by the door and we’ve been making tea by now instead of you all getting cramps. And you, I can’t touch you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Soobin asked. For how annoyed he sounded, Beomgyu didn’t think she was talking to him.

“I mean, there’s something about your friend that has to be protected. I’ll tell you about it too if you pay the price.”

“That sounds so sketchy,” Yeonjun commented from somewhere at Beomgyu’s right.

“What can I say, a witch has to make a living.”

“Wait you mean money? Why you gotta say it as you’ll ask for a human sacrifice?” Huening’s voice sounded strained like he was barely holding on.

“I mean, did it occur to you that you just broke into my house, maybe I want to scare you back a bit? Also because of the aesthetic.” She was Yuna level of sassy and Beomgyu was too close to bursting a laugh. It would ruin the mood, so he hold it in.

“Can you please-” Beomgyu had no clue why Kai sounded like that, but it couldn’t be good, he was on the edge of something.

“Yes, yes.” A pause. “Wait, you should know that I just stopped you, but as soon as I lift the spell, both your gravity and inertia will kick in. I’m especially telling you, pretty boy,” and she snapped her fingers.

Many things happened at once. The sound of something falling. Beomgyu managed to look at his feet before the whole weight of Yeonjun fell on him from the right. Another snap. However, he could still move. He caught Yeonjun and either he was sturdier than before or Yeonjun’s intent hadn’t been to take him down at all because they were both standing still. “You ok?”

Yeonjun looked embarrassed and nodded. Beomgyu could figure he had tried to snatch him back away from the witch, but she had frozen everything before Yeonjun managed the movement of pulling instead of pushing.

“Dude, when I said no swords I thought it was understandable that I meant general hostility. Can I leave this one frozen?”

Beomgyu and Yeonjun turned to find Kai on the ground, Taehyun kneeling by his side, and Soobin mid impulse of throwing a knife at the witch.

“I don’t mind,” Beomgyu provided, with a smile.

“Me neither,” said Taehyun, and that was it. Soobin remained frozen while the rest sat to wait for the tea.

“Guys, this is by far the meanest thing you have done to me,” Soobin said.

“You let me cut your hair back when we were twelve, I think this is very nice of us.” Beomgyu had nearly caused Soobin’s mom a heart attack back then. Soobin rolled his eyes and pouted, but said no more.

The blond girl came back with a tray with a teapot and five cups. “My name is Somi,” she introduced as she filled the cups and handled them. “I was the town’s witch apprentice until she died four months ago.”

“Way to kill the mood,” Beomgyu commented. The witch threw a cookie at him. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know if you are aware of how the title goes from the current witch to the next one.” The silence hinted that they didn’t. “Well, when the witch of the town seems fit to pass on the title, they take an apprentice. Someone from town that has a leaning towards magic and that wants to learn the ways they can teach. This process has to be known by the town, how else would they agree on accepting someone that has no history with that area of expertise. How could a town trust a young stranger that claims to know? That’s why it’s a very neighborly endeavor.”

The cookie was vanilla and cinnamon and the tea from some set of herbs Beomgyu couldn’t identify.

Somi gained a wave of sudden anger in her tone. “I was born in the town by the castle, but then I was raised in another place. When I came back to visit family and the witch offered to train me in their ways, she never specified that I was supposed to take her place. She died a week before the kings’ disappearance and left a letter with my name explaining all of this. I was so mad.” Somi left her cup on the center table. She had finished her tea already. Beomgyu was close to doing so too. After a breather, she continued. “In the letter, she said that, given she had kept my apprenticeship a secret, she had cast a spell in the door. As soon as someone entered the witch’s house, they would know they were facing the witch of town. Even if they had never seen me before. Once the first person took the step through that door, the rest of the town would forget who the witch was before, and that would allow them to accept me, a stranger. You said you had met the town’s witch,” she said, signaling Tae, who nodded. “Do any of you does not know who the witch is now?”

Beomgyu and Yeonjun lifted their hands, and Soobin said “I don’t either.” Now that Beomgyu had finished his tea, he was starting to feel bad about Soobin. When he turned back to leave his cup on the table, he caught Kai’s surprised stare.

“You don’t know who the witch is?”

“No,” he admitted. It made sense now: he had seen the witch before, he knew he had visited them with his family, but now he couldn’t remember their face at all. “I guess that makes sense, with what you said,” he said as he turned back to Somi.

“Yes. And so, I knew that was my chance to run away.” Taehyun exhaled, disappointed. Somi didn’t seem affected by his disapproval. “I didn’t want the position in the first place, and a spell that I could tweak was already in place. All I had to do was leave all the basic books on the counter with a letter for the person who wanted to take my spot. I also left a note on where they could find me and a spell to summon me in case that happened to be necessary. It hasn’t been activated yet so I guess they are doing well. I left sooner than I expected because the wind told me that something big was about to happen and the witch would be needed. So I left town that night. Turns out the kings disappeared the next day. But I don't know anything about that.”

Kai left his cup on the table and soon after, Yeonjun did too. Taehyun seemed to be pondering over something. Beomgyu couldn't take it anymore: “Could we, perhaps, let Soobin move?”

Somi laughed. “Sure, just beware,” and she snapped her fingers. Beomgyu managed to duck before the knife passed, soaring through where his head had been a second ago. He had forgotten Soobin was facing his direction.

“Thanks,” Soobin said, happy of the attempted murder and who had it been directed towards now.

“You almost killed me,” Beomgyu said as if coming to terms with it.

“I know, one second sooner and all of our problems would be solved.”

“Pf, you wish.”

Soobin sat next to Beomgyu and patted his back, to console him. “So, what was the thing about not being able to touch Tae?”

Somi looked at him confused. Then she scanned their faces until she stopped on Taehyun. “That must be you, right?” He nodded, slowly laying the cup on the table. “Finally.” She moved her fingers as if pinching the air and pulled towards her. The four cups on the table slid until they were in front of Somi. After a snap of her fingers, all of the cups flipped on their respective dishes. She grabbed Taehyun’s one and soon after Yeonjun’s. “Yep. See this,” and she placed Yeonjun’s cup in the middle of the table. The five of them got closer to look in. “Watch how the leaves have a shape. It doesn’t matter what shape you see, it’s there.” She then placed Taehyun’s cup at the side of Yeonjun's. “Can you spot a difference?” Taehyun’s cup was wiped clean. They all looked back at the dish and there were all the tea leaves. “They won’t stick. I can’t tell you what comes into your future because I mustn't ruin it. So it must be important. Hopefully, it’s a good thing, and if not, my condolences.”

Somi seemed in a good mood. Taehyun was the exact opposite. Panic looked to be setting in, but you could only tell by how big his eyes were. Soobin had made his way around the table and was laying a hand over Tae’s shoulder.

“Oh.” They all turned back to Somi. She was inspecting one of the other cups. She then scanned them and stopped in Beomgyu. “You have consumed Baum water.”

“I have what?”

“It’s a nourishing sort of water, super rare. It speeds healing and growth, maybe you consumed it when you were hurt?”

Baomgyu had been physically hurt so much that last month that it could’ve been at any point. “The only reason I'm mentioning this is because of how rare it is. The only place I knew to have some left was in the witch’s storage. It’s so rare that it’s only saved in case a queen or a king gets sick or seriously injured. Any other use may as well count as illegal.” Maybe she saw Beomgyu’s panicked expression because Somi immediately added, “Of course, that’s by the witch law. I won’t tell. It does seem curious that you consumed it somehow given you said you don’t know the witch.”

Maybe the castle nurse liked him. Maybe-

“Beomgyu, Minho is the town’s witch.”

Three heads turned to Huening Kai. “No way.” Yeonjun seemed the most surprised. Soobin was speechless and Beomgyu…

“Pf, as if…” Although, it would explain the absences, and the secrecy, and the weird vial availability at any time. “Wait.”

“Wouldn’t you know if your brother was the town’s witch?” Soobin asked.

“I don’t know, does Taeyong know? Did you know?” Beomgyu then looked at Yeonjun. “Did you know?” He denied.

Beomgyu remembered that one night after Minho had seen his bruises. The earthy tasting water in that tiny vial. The image of his brother disappearing in the alley. What had his brother gotten himself into? “Woah, am I related to all the important people in town?”

“I don’t know, are you related to one of the kings and know how to find them?” Dread had settled in Taehyun’s voice and demeanor.

“Oh, right.” They were awkwardly reminded by his comment that their main mission, the only reason they were finding of all of this, was because Somi had no information that pertained to their quest. No clues except that something big was coming for Taehyun.

“Maybe we should get going,” Soobin mentioned. They all agreed.

Somi opened the door for them and said she’d be coming to town soon, to either retake her position as the town’s witch or just train someone who wanted to. No one said much to her. The mood was rapidly decaying now that the knowledge of how futile the trip had been was catching up with them.

The sun had long ago set by the time they made it to the inn they were staying at.

⚔️👠

They had to be back by the next day, Sunday. And so, they were drowning their sorrows in alcohol.

The last thing Beomgyu knew for sure was that they had ridden all night and day since meeting Somi. They were at the town before their own with almost a full day of advantage, only the Ardeip woods between them and home. This was, of course, not good news. They were coming back to Taehyun's final due date. This was when he had to give his report on the missing kings. And he had nothing to add, no one to point at, no clue. He was convinced they were alive, but he wouldn't say why. Beomgyu was sure he was tipping the edge of delusion, the same he had assumed in Seulgi's eyes.

They had made it to this town and they caved in. They were half a day’s ride away from the castle's town. And absolutely no one wanted to get there. To say they collapsed in their respective rooms was an understatement. By the time they woke up again, it was night and there was still time. The eve of doom’s day.

Beomgyu and Kai woke to a note slipped down their door. It was signed by Taehyun and it said that they should go take a drink with him, that it was on him.

Now, everything was spinning. The laugh of the people at the bar, the band by the stage, Huening hanging from his arms, or maybe it was Beomgyu the one who couldn't hold himself up. There was laughter and music everywhere and the joy was tainted by how short it felt. In the blur of alcohol time could be erased, and yet, it felt short.

Warmth and spins and was Soobin kissing Taehyun at the side of the dance floor? And Yeonjun handing Beomgyu another pint and jumping from arm to arm following a rhythm he had forgotten he could enjoy too, second to duty and first for the fun of it. Maybe he understood Yeonjun now, the smiling of the people at the tables felt like encouragement for more spins and flourishes. Maybe he could even sing, it had been a while…

And now he was swinging with Taehyun in his arms, and nothing had ever felt so delicate. Beomgyu had meant to say thank you but why was Taehyun thanking him? And then he was too out there and now Yeonjun was hugging Tae.

Now Soobin was in Beomgyu's arms and they were thirteen again, convincing each other that they weren't alone and that everything would be alright even if it didn't seem like it at the moment. Blue and purple lights in the night, laughter that belonged to none of them, and the feeling that letting go was the right thing to do but neither wanted to.

By the time Beomgyu took a deep breath again, Yeonjun was there, waiting to look into his eyes, making sure he was okay. He would know, every time he had dropped his sword Yeonjun had been there to pick it back up and ask if he was alright. To lend it again to the younger, hilt first and blade pointing at himself, as if it was natural to trust Beomgyu would never hurt him. He had been right too many times before.

Taehyun was talking about how he wished his sister would've signed the papers, and how his parents knew nothing about how close he was to die for a cause he wished he still believed in. Soobin was patting Huening's shoulder in a corner, who was sobbing mumbling about losing best friends over things he couldn't have done anything about. And Beomgyu maybe lost a tear then, that ended in the place Yeonjun's head touched his chin since the pink-haired was resting his forehead in his shoulder.

And maybe everyone cried that night at some point, and maybe everyone felt a sense of release after it.

Beomgyu would only remember light touches and changing light, the music he could never reproduce the lyrics to, and tenderness that was born in the center of his chest only to reach every single one of his friends be it in a hug, or a pat, a kiss on the cheek and a kiss on the lips too.

Lashes against skin and hair between fingers, the sure thing he would remember is how they all woke up in a mess of limbs, beds pushed together and five people tangled in sheets and mushy feelings of acceptance.

They had to go.

⚔️👠

Blackberry was eager to travel. She was the only one. Maybe the horses of the others too. The riders however did not share the enthusiasm.

The sunbeams of an early Sunday morning were bathing them from the east and leading the way home. Yet, there is a special feeling about coming back to a place you won't be well received in. Beomgyu had already made up his mind that he would ride with Taehyun to the castle and intercede in his name. He had no value in his voice or his name except for the armor he was carrying which he still hadn't fully won. But he was willing to put his future on the line too. A just cause ought to be defended, even when the crown he was due to swear to was seemingly against Taehyun's endeavor. He was so close to recalling the name of that school friend who had dedicated to the study of rhetoric and law, maybe it was time to call in favors or make promises he would pay with lifelong service. Yet, all of it sounded worthwhile if it meant Taehyun’s salvation.

Beomgyu and Blackberry had fallen behind the party. Taehyun was leading the group —because no one would dare go first and lead him towards what awaited him in town— and Yeonjun, Soobin, and Huening Kai were surrounding him as if protecting all possible sides. Closeness was their way to show they cared. It was also the desperation of a foreseeable loss pulling them together.

Beomgyu was the one that knew him the least and yet, maybe a bit selfishly, he felt like he owed Taehyun the most. Call it guilt, but as of now, he was sure that no thank you would equate to the actual feeling Beomgyu was harboring. And so he was giving them space: he might not belong to that circle yet, but he would accompany them to the very end. He imagined that, if they were to have more time, he and Taehyun would've grown as close as brothers.

He was brought back to reality when Blackberry stopped. The others had been still for a while and she couldn't pass.

“I think it's time to take a break then," Taehyun said. His voice sounded weird as if he was already thinking about something else other than resting. They were soon to be out of the Ardeip wood, ten or fifteen minutes away from the clear before the wall, it was a weird place to stop. Maybe Taehyun had developed cold feet…?

Yeonjun turned around and looked at Beomgyu with something eerie in his eyes, worried but also surprised. Once Taehyun hopped out of Toffee, Beomgyu understood what it was. Without the knight blocking his view, he was now able to distinguish the golden gleam and the lesser reddish darkness. The sword and the heel were there in a small clearing. He should’ve noted the court, they were far into the ratio, mere steps away from the Stone.

Soobin sighed. “Do you all think he finally lost it?"

Huening gave him a look and hopped off his horse, holding the straps and leading it to the noise of a nearby river.

No birds could be heard as Beomgyu and Soobin hopped off. Soobin lent the straps to Beomgyu and left to follow Taehyun. Beomgyu walked both horses to rest by the river as well.

When he walked back, Taehyun was trying to remove the sword, Soobin was sitting by a nearby tree watching him. Kai was standing by Tae, holding the knight’s sword. Yeonjun was still on his horse, poorly hiding the look of pity. Beomgyu walked towards him.

“Are you okay?"

Yeonjun came back to his senses at that moment. He shook his head a bit and jumped off his horse. Beomgyu was petting it. Blueberry was pretty and nice, he liked the caresses. “I'm fine." Yeonjun had landed right in front of him. From the distance and the comfortable minimal space, Beomgyu wondered if Yeonjun had been the one he kissed the night before. He wished so.

“I'll go feed the horses, I can take Blueberry with the others too if you want." Beomgyu felt like he was better out of the picture for now. His goal was to let Taehyun's closest hold him in case he truly was about to go into some sort of meltdown.

Yeonjun looked in the direction of the sword and then back at Beomgyu. “That would be great, thank you." Beomgyu nodded and was already getting away when, “And do come back please, you've been distant today. It would be nice to be all of us together…" Yeonjun seemed to not know how to fully finish that sentence, so Beomgyu nodded one more time and took off. He tied Blueberry next to Blackberry and grabbed the apple bag. He took a moment and stared at the reflection in the water. Golden could make what’s transparent seem opaque and resplendent with the proper light.

It looked familiar, the trees and the water, maybe a bit more greener given spring had fully embraced the area. He closed his eyes. If he listened attentively, he could almost make the music-

Then, a noise.

Beomgyu opened his eyes. That had been a step. He skimmed the area with squinted eyes. A single step in the forest, an early Sunday morning. He could be paranoid, but his friend back with the rest was walking towards a possible death sentence. A merchant perhaps? But they would've made their way to the city earlier, and on a Sunday the commerce was so slow. Most of them were at rest. Maybe just an animal? But he remembered it sounding heavy. The bigger animals were up north, closer to the mountains.

A single step in the middle of the forest. Maybe he had just imagined it. Maybe a bird's nest had fallen from a tree, that could be it. The horses didn't seem alarmed, they were the best assets to catch surprise attacks. Yeah, no, he probably was overreacting.

Beomgyu gave Toffee her apple and marched back to the small clearing. He was met with Huening walking towards Soobin and Yeonjun and Taehyun on the Stone trying to get the sword and the heel out, respectively. As he walked towards the Stone, Beomgyu noticed Soobin had a bunny on his lap, and Kai was getting closer to it, probably with the intent of petting it.

“The only other time I saw a bunny was when we had lunch around this area, remember?" He said to Yeonjun, who was red from the effort.

“Yeah," the pink-haired mumbled at the same time Beomgyu took a seat by the Stone.

Taehyun let the heel go and tapped Yeonjun's leg so he would take a break too. “C'mon, we already know you can't pull it on your own. You guys have been here before?"

“We practiced in the woods for months, but I only know the way from the castle, not the other way around. It could be a spot we’ve been before, we moved so much around.” Beomgyu wanted to, but he couldn’t focus on the conversation. The bunny had distracted him back to the subject of oddities and he was thinking again of the noise he heard.

“Honestly, this could be it,” Yeonjun added, looking around after sweeping his forehead. He took a step down and sat on one of the Stone’s edges, still higher than Beomgyu, but closer than before. Teahyun hopped off and took a couple of steps back. He was watching them, and then he glanced through the area. He stopped his eyes on the horses as if that meant something. Yeonjun continued: “The Stone and the court are eye-catching enough to change the entire landscape? I would like to think I’d remember. I had the greatest dance teacher here.”

Beomgyu felt flattered. “Why thank you, that’s so nice of-”

“The river, I mean.”

“Nevermind, don’t speak to me again.”

“Humiliating, I love it.” Soobin was laughing as the bunny was snuggling against his hand. It had run so fast from Yeonjun’s touch that other time… It probably wasn’t the same rabbit.

Beomgyu could hear Yeonjun laughing to himself as Huening walked back towards them, to the Stone. He climbed it while mumbling about doing extra physical activity. “Why are we even trying?” he asked, as he patted the pommel as if it were the head of his pet dog.

Taehyun was still standing a few steps away, like leveraging perspective, trying to get hold of a thought that was escaping him. “If it truly is my last hope, I might as well invest in it since we have tim-” He stopped. Beomgyu could see Soobin turning his head towards Taehyun as he did so too. “Did you just move it?”

Three heads turned towards Kai, who was mouth open staring at his hands on the handle. He let it go and closed his mouth. “Yes, half an inch I think?” Huening kneeled to watch at the base. “Yes, it moved.”

“Well… what are you expecting then? Take it off.” Taehyun’s eyes were scary.

Kai didn’t like that order. “So like, I don’t wanna be king you know? Besides,” he grabbed the handle again and pulled upward, even changing position so the motion wouldn’t only come from the strength of his arms. The sword stayed the same. “I can’t. I think the heel is stopping it.” He took a step back and brushed his palms against his pants. He then jumped off and headed towards Soobin again.

A word remained stuck into Taehyun’s throat. “Well, it makes sense it would be a job for two then.” He walked back to the Stone and sat by the heel, “You ready?” he asked Yeonjun. The older one nodded and stood again, nearing the sword.

“I didn’t say anything before, but isn’t that cheating?” Soobin had one rabbit and Kai’s attention again and he had suddenly recovered the nerve.

“I don’t care, I'll die today.”

The following silence was enough to respect whatever his intention might be. Beomgyu turned in his spot and moved back, so he was not resting on the Stone anymore. He could look at them now.

Taehyun was holding the heel, Yeonjun was in charge of the sword. “One, two, three, pull!”

A breeze ruffled their hair. Branches above them started moving from the wind, and as if woken up by the motion, birds started chirping.

Oh. That was it. The memory was associated with more than the visual landscape of the place. It was the sound and the feeling of wind caressing their cheeks, ruffling their hair. Beomgyu crossed looks with Yeonjun, who seemed to have just then understood it too. He smiled at him and Beomgyu maybe forgave his comment about the dance training.

The silence, however, explained why he had been so focused on the step sound: he wouldn’t have heard it if the woods had been filled with the usual sounds. Which brought him back to why or who had that been, and why had the forest been so quiet.

With suspicion in his mind, Beomgyu stood up and started checking around, hiding it behind the excuse of stretching.

“Wait.” Beomgyu turned back to Taehyun, who had stopped his attempts at the heel. “Of course,” Taehyun jumped off the Stone and looked at Beomgyu. “Could you take my spot? I think it’ll be better if I can instruct you guys from afar. It’ll give me a better view of the operation, I’ll direct you.” There was a shine in Taehyun’s eye. He did have big eyes, Beomgyu was probably seeing things.

“Sure,” he agreed, making one last scan of the surroundings. He climbed the Stone and accepted Yeonjun’s hand once he offered it. Beomgyu took the heel. It was soft, not as deceiving and conditional as velvet… It reminded him of the moss in the river, the one climbing the oldest stones. But dry, which was the most surprising.

“Pull towards your direction, since the heel is going the opposite way as the blade. Be careful not to cut yourself please,” Taehyun signaled. Beomgyu rolled his eyes and caused Yeonjun, who was standing facing him, the sword and the heel in between them, to laugh. Maybe Taehyun had been told about the reason behind his arm scar, the one he had to get the ointments for… from Minho.

Things had been tying together from so early on. Beomgyu felt his muscles tensing, the ghost of pain on said scar being summoned by the memory. He could see Yeonjun’s right boot acting as a block so he wouldn’t slip back. Yeonjun’s other knee was trembling. From below, Beomgyu could hear Yeonjun struggling with breathing.

In no time, he was sweating too, his fingers threatening to cramp from the weird grasp the heel required. It wasn’t a shape or an angle he could get used to. He could bet trying to get the sword would be a much more natural experience.

They stopped, not too long after, when it didn’t work. Both the heel and the sword were grasping to the stone as if no one had tried to take them out. ‘Magic indeed’ was all Beomgyu could think of while cleaning the sweat off his forehead. He rested on a hand, away from the sword, and looked up. Yeonjun was looking around, assessing something. Where had the wind gone now that they needed it? With the sun lighting his hair and the dust particles flying around, Beomgyu had to hold the breath that almost escaped him.

“You okay down there?”

“Peachy.” He answered. How could Yeonjun have that look on his face after such an effort? Besides, Beomgyu could swear he had never seen it before. Fondness, that’s what it was. And maybe he flushed a bit and that’s when he caught Taehyun with a thoughtful stare, his eyes lost in some great scheme none of them could see. Different from before, he looked like the embodiment of logic. Delirium was but a bad suspicion.

Over his shoulder, he caught both Soobin and Huening giving him a thumbs up and he couldn’t for the love of it decipher what the hell they meant. But it was nice seeing them together again. Yet, he knew there was a scar between them that he would soon find about. Maybe Kai or Soobin remembered last night better than Beomgyu did and had their conclusions.

Looking back at Taehyun, Beomgyu wondered what he had gotten out of such an eye-opening evening. Maybe one day he’d… right. Maybe it was for the better not to formulate things that would happen in an idyllic future just yet.

“Should we go again?” Yeonjun was stretching his arms up, looking at Taehyun for feedback. He was getting invested in this. Maybe this is how they would remember each other, making time to avoid a thing they were not ready for. In a familiar clearing in the woods, the one they had walked through their entire life until the final moments of them as a whole, just as they had marked each other enough to feel like a wound, the mere knowledge of one of them being no more.

Taehyun had a hand holding his chin. He was mumbling something. “Yeah, yeah, go for it.”

Beomgyu grabbed the heel as Yeonjun took the sword’s handle and after a nod to each other, they pulled. Not a minute had gone by when Taehyun spoke up again, stopping them. When turning to him, Beomgyu found him with his fist closed, biting his lips.

“Could you perhaps, trade positions?”

Beomgyu locked eyes with Yeonjun. They were both confused. “Sure,” said Yeonjun, as he lent his hand to Beomgyu. He helped him up and then they went around the sword with tiny steps. Yeonjun sat on the Stone, facing the heel.

Beomgyu was once again in front of the sword. He recalled the last time he had seen it, lit by the sun. He should’ve asked Somi why the stone in the pommel glimmered, maybe it had to do with the magic holding it there. It glistened now too. The leather by the handle was still warm from Yeonjun’s touch. He took it with his right hand and positioned himself over it, so he could pull from his shoulder. The left hand secured the other one by positioning closer to the guard, the handle was long enough to have space for both.

It felt weird, touching yet another sword. Another one that didn’t fully belong to him. None of them had, but they did, in a weird sense. Yeonjun’s crown of the head was directly in front of him. So pink and bright.

Feeling the stare, Yeonjun looked up. “You ready?” he whispered, they were close enough to not need louder words.

As Beomgyu nodded, Taehyun gave the order, “Pull!”

The eye contact was cut short when Yeonjun slid back at the same time Beomgyu’s arm rose. First, the stone was left behind, and then the heel slipped off the blade.

⚔️👠

Just as the heartbeat of a healthy person won’t stop beating, some sounds cannot be stopped. In this case, the woods were alive. Its heart would beat as well, a welcome symphony made of all living things within it. Sound within sound.

The wind was blowing strong and the river was suddenly crashing against the rocks, a beat they were lacking before. The birds were flying from one tree to the other, chirping while delivering the news. Leaves being pushed along the ground turned it into a mobile landscape.

The bunny ran away.

The silence between the five people was one of astonishment.

Beomgyu had tripped backward in a sitting position, mimicking Yeonjun in front of him. Each of them was holding an item.

Taehyun was still in the same spot he had been before.

Both Soobin and Huening Kai were now standing, doubting if to run towards them or not.

How do you continue when a shift in your reality has occurred, when the magic you grew up hearing about turns to be real? Maybe magic is not the right word. Magic existed, they knew that. Let me rephrase. What about a legend? A story you have heard so many times before about being worthy enough to do the deed, an achievement that could grant you a crown, maybe, but that wasn't the important part. Because to solidify just how unreachable it was, chances were everyone had once visited and tried to remove the sword from the stone, the heel too. And it hadn’t moved. It hadn’t even budgeted. It was a sure thing that years and years of rust and collective belief had petrified the chances of a blade sliding against stone, of velvety red moss shooting in the opposite direction. A sort of satirical version of spinning the bottle, when the person you liked just happened to be in front of you, being pointed by fate in your direction. And yet, it never felt like luck, like an expected result, not when your heart and decision-making skills are the things that terrify you the most.

Yeonjun was too stunned to speak. Beomgyu was in a similar position, but the silence and the flush in his ears and the guilt would not let him be quiet. “What now?”

The heel in Yeonjun’s chest was being held by his left hand, while the right one had helped avoid his falling from the Stone. The sword’s forte was laying on Beomgyu’s right shoulder, the hilt by his head. He was holding it there by the middle of the blade. One wrong move and he’d cut himself clean in the palm of his hand. Again.

“You’ll be king, kid.”

Four heads turned towards Taehyun’s side, behind which two figures were standing. They were about Taehyun’s height, one a couple of inches taller than the other. The horses’ neighs reached them as the figures removed their hoods. Taehyun looked pale, still facing the Stone where Yeonjun and Beomgyu rested. His eyes were wide open and his lower lip trembled. He turned slowly, facing the two people behind him. Then, he dropped sitting on the ground. That allowed Beomgyu and Yeonjun to recognize the intruders and explained why Soobin and Kai had fallen to their knees seconds ago.

It was the kings.

“Not now, don’t worry,” Said Jimin, lifting a hand, a kind smile on his face, trying to calm the pair by the Stone.

The kings… the kings were back. The kings were there.

⚔️👠

Beomgyu had never been on that side of the castle. The soon-to-be-knights spent most of their time outside in the gardens of the castle and the dining room for the staff. He had been led there by Jihyo herself, signaled a very specific cobblestone to stand in, and waited. Yeonjun was by his side. They had in their hands the sword and the heel, respectively.

The younger wanted to talk about it, he wanted to scream at least, but there were two lines of guards in between the columns, at each side of the room, from the thrones to the big wooden door they had entered through. Beomgyu could recognize this was not the moment.

The throne chamber was a spacious room, with square columns and overall gray details. The thrones were facing the door, no canopy above them Beomgyu noticed. There was a feet-wide window that went from the floor to the ceiling behind the thrones, lighting the entire room with a yellow luminescence. Both thrones were too gray and square-ish, they looked quite uncomfortable. They were raised over the level of the rest of the room, six steps leading up to them. They were the same height. Beomgyu couldn’t have guessed which throne belonged to which king.

The only sound in the room was from the coat of mail from the guards’ armor. Maybe even Beomgyu’s, but he was as still as one could be. Yeonjun, on the other hand, was subtly hitting secret beats only his mind could hear. He was by far the most bizarre in the room: long bright pink hair and an ancient burgundy heel in his hands. He didn’t seem affected by it, and every guard was making an astounding job at keeping the composure. They had been in that room for over ten minutes.

In such a wide space, echoes traveled from afar. They tensioned when steps could be heard in the hall, and several voices went along. If the betting pool was an option, Beomgyu would say it was a discussion.

Beomgyu and Yeonjun were standing side by side, a step and a half in front of the guard line that went from the thrones to the door at the right of the main hall of the room. At the other side of the hall, they had direct sight of the other guards. With the layout as it was, as soon as the doors opened, they could appreciate the situation by just turning to the left.

Through the door frame, Soobin and Huening Kai were being walked in. They did not look happy at all, and after they took a couple of steps in, Beomgyu could figure why that was. Immediately behind them and the guards keeping them in place, another set of guards was walking in, dragging a chained up Taehyun. He was not moving. At Beomgyu’s right, Yeonjun's frame tensed up. A metallic sound from behind them kept them in place.

How had they even got there, all Beomgyu could remember was the sounds, the fear and the adrenaline numbing the memory.

Soobin and Kai were left to stand facing Beomgyu and Yeonjun, at the other side of the hallway. Taehyun was dropped closer to the steps leading to the thrones, on the right side of the room. The same row of guards that were looking over Yeonjun and Beomgyu were handed the end of the chains.

The frown on Soobin’s forehead meant he had no clue how this could turn out, but he did not like it so far. Beomgyu felt the same way. He technically could turn everything to mayhem and try to release his friends, but the guards behind them all largely outnumbered them, and he had no practice with the sword at his hands. An unplanned outburst as such did not look plausible or like it could equate to freedom at all.

They were in silence for ten minutes. A period that felt like coming to terms with the idea of death and guilt and writing an imaginary will in their heads, leaving the stuff they didn’t own to the people they loved the most that weren’t in the room at the moment.

The slight sound of chains signaled the moment Taehyun came back to himself. His four friends turned to look at him, still laying on a side, scanning the room as if that were his usual wakening ritual. Then, he struggled to straighten himself, an effort he seemed to chase only to give them his back. Taehyun was kneeling facing the thrones. In silence, embracing fate.

Beomgyu could see in the face of his friends how that was enough. Soobin looked wrecked, and Kai was on the verge of utter despair. There was something about their body language that made clear to whoever might be looking their way, that they had given up.

Steps could be heard again outside. This time, with the sound of a multitude.

The doors opened once more.

First, the council members walked in. They seemed so stoic, ignoring the presence of the pairs at either side of the hall they walked through, but they were taken aback by the sight of Taehyun. Namjoon and Sana stood by the throne at the left and Hyuna and Taemin stood by the one at the right. They were all facing the door and everyone who was pouring in.

Beomgyu figured they must have been the castle’s staff: a scream gave away the moment Seulgi walked in. She ran towards Taehyun and kneeled by his side, grabbing his shoulders. They were speaking in fast whispers. A hand movement from Hyuna stopped the advance of the guards, who were about to retrieve Seulgi from there. She stayed by his side, hugging his frame as the room filled.

People were slipping into the space behind the guards. Beomgyu found Jihyo, who was closely followed by the people on the training program. Felix and Shuhua only recognized him once they found the position they would stay in for the entire assembly, behind Soobin and Kai’s side. They even waved at him, not being able to pick up on the specific aura of the room.

The doors closed after everyone had made their way in.

Five minutes passed before everything was back to relative silence. The main hall was still clear, the people hiding in the shadows behind the guard lines. The light was entering from the window behind the thrones. Beomgyu could only guess the sun had to set soon.

Then, the doors opened again. Music, resembling a high pitch mumble, accompanied the entrance of the two tall figures. The yellow light perfectly garnished the kings’ facial features, Taehyung’s hard-soft edges, and Jimin’s delicate traits. They made their way in long strides, slowed by the apparent heaviness of the royal mantle, but their facade fell once they made it halfway through the hall and saw Taehyun on the ground.

Taehyung stopped his steps while Jimin launched at him, checking if he was in good condition. Seulgi had to step aside to grant him access, but she almost burst into tears when Jimin looked at her inquisitively. No, she did not know why he was like that, chained. Taehyung was looking at the members of the council, who were either denying with his heads or shrugging. Sana was scanning the lines of guards and the sound of Taehyun’s voice came back to Beomgyu, the memory of a conversation and something about her being able to read body language.

“Release him,” ordered Taehyung to no one in particular. A guard stepped in and offered Seulgi the key. She doubted for half a second before snatching it from their hands and kneeling to the other side of Taehyun, to release his hands and feet. Beomgyu couldn’t be sure, but he could swear Jimin told them something at that moment along the lines of standing up. He then did so himself and joined Taehyung as they climbed the steps and took a seat. The mantles were long enough that they covered the steps once they had reached the thrones, but while turning the possibility of measuring them vanished.

The council members then turned around and, lowering their heads, took four steps back from the kings, standing between Taehyun and the rest of the quest members. Yeonjun grabbed Beomgyu’s hand at that moment and pulled him so he was standing behind the council members that were near the right side of the hall, facing the monarchs. Only then he could see that Hyuna had been waving her hand telling them to do so, to position themselves that way. A glance to the left and Soobin and Kai were now facing the kings too, their backs to the door. Baomgyu was standing three feet away from Soobin. Yeonjun was still holding his hand.

“Dearest knights of the crown, members of the auxiliary council, special guests," those were them if Jimin's pointed stare meant something, “welcome to this legislation assembly. We understand you haven't seen us in a long time, we apologize for it.” Yeonjun was calming down, his heartbeat could be felt by Beomgyu when he slightly brushed a finger over his wrist. “In this session, we will try our best to give a thorough explanation of our absence and the causes behind it, as well as an update on our current will." Jimin looked around, assessing the mood of the hearing. It was hard to pick the vibe in the dark corners of the room filled with armored people and tension. “Is the royal transcriber ready?” A person walked to stand in front of the platform of the thrones, by the steps. They nodded and then both Jimin and Taehyun stood up.

“Since you all have nowhere to sit we thought we should stand too. It is not a long story, but it may cause you some anger,” Jimin warned, undoing the mantle’s bow holding it from his shoulders. Taehyung by his side did the same. Both pieces of red cloth fell in a soft thump. They were dressed as commoners underneath it, no golden details, not even a vest. Simple white shirts with brown pants and boots.

“The reason you might experience the feeling of anger is that we went against one of the basic rules of leadership we once swore to lead by. At the same time, we kept following them, but it is entirely up to discussion since only we benefited immediately from our decisions. Some of you might have been directly harmed by the way we acted. For that, we are sorry and willing to make up for it.” Taehyung’s voice was significantly lower than Jimin’s, it gave an even more serious shade to the apology. Beomgyu was convinced it was aimed at Taehyun, but he could just be reading the situation from the things he knew. Taehyun was standing now, but he looked so small, even with Seulgi by his side, who was shorter than him.

“We left. We were not abducted, we were not killed. Yes, we left blood behind. That was to confuse every possible investigation and so no one was charged with our disappearance or murder in case the thing we wanted to solve didn’t happen on time.” The silence in the room was not as clean as before. Rumors and whispers filled. Taehyung remained silent for a minute, giving them the time to exchange impressions. Beomgyu had nothing to say. His mind worked fast and was already trying to knead together the things he did know: Seulgi’s belief, Jihyo’s comment, the step in the woods. The king cleared his throat. “We left precautions, but we failed to consider the speed of old rivalries and how they could come into play with us gone. That’s why we came back. That and because the thing we were chasing after happened.”

Beomgyu couldn’t even ask himself what that could be. With his peripheral view, he caught Soobin looking at him.

Jimin took the word then. “We noticed we had a successor problem in our hands. We already knew there was no way to solve this ourselves, and so we opted to let the kingdom follow some sort of natural development. And by natural, of course, I mean magic. I assume you are all aware of the Stone in the woods?” A general murmur arose. Jimin smiled. “So did we. But just to be sure, we decided to consult the witch of the town.” This made the quest members look at each other. The only one that didn’t move at all was Taehyun, divided from the rest by the line that the council made. “Do you know the witch of the town? I fear we stumbled upon a personal problem when we showed up at their doorstep. And so we became the keepers of a secret, and they became ours.”

The door opened again and some people turned to check who it was. Beomgyu was one of them, only to find Somi and Minho trying to blend into the crowd on the right side. Somi waved at Beomgyu, absolutely not getting the atmosphere, while his brother just stared at him in utter confusion.

“They helped us with getting away in silence, we helped them modify one date in the registers of the doors. Then, we just vanished. The plan was to be far away to let the ground and the town believe that we were gone for good, but close enough to come back in case anything fired back. A member of the council kept us updated with how things were being handled and that’s how we found out we were being looked for. That, of course, wasn't new, we were expecting it. Except for the person who was tracking us: he was exceptionally good at it and almost found us three times. The last one was two days ago when they tracked the witch and we were in the same house, visiting her.”

At that moment, Beomgyu felt nausea. Or maybe just general dizziness. They had been so close and yet…? If he felt physically ill from the deceive, how could the others, Taehyun, who had been far more involved, still stand?

“We had escaped him twice before, one of those in which we willfully decided to follow him instead. And he almost found us then too. That man is here, in front of us. After today he will become our private guard in exchange for the hardships he was faced because of us and just how skillfully he could manage every single rock on the way.” Taehyun had lifted his head. He was as tense as a bowstring could get before being fired. He said nothing, still. Seulgi was far more transparent: her shoulders were still down, even after the revelation. She was mad.

Taehyung picked up from where Jimin had left off. “Speaking of rocks, the soil answered. After a register of two sightings a year for the entirety of the last decade, the sword appeared three times a week a few days after we left the kingdom. Yet, no one could remove the sword. We were away, on our little vacation, waiting for a suitor to turn up. The land knows its people, far more than people know themselves. We decided to trust it, even when our solution was to take a little rest period to do so. This is what we meant when we spoke about benefiting from this decision. It was selfish, and it could have been done differently. Yet, we were tired, and we had a suspicion the land wouldn’t provide unless it was an extreme situation. So we added those two factors and bolted. In our clumsy solution, the guard by our door the night we took off had to carry the weight of our planned vanishing. He was the one who tracked us, and he was presented with the sword multiple times. This is something the witch told us the last time he almost caught us at their house. Yet, he hadn’t tried to pull it out, not even once. To us, this was far more valuable proof. He would not be king, but he was something.” They were smiling at Taehyun.

Beomgyu looked at a side, expecting to read whatever Soobin could be thinking: he did not look happy at all. Yet, a stronger grasp in his hand made him turn back to Yeonjun. He was petrified looking upfront. After doing so himself, Beomgyu understood what it was: the kings were looking at them now.

“We were already on our way back, and stumbling upon the guard’s quest was a big surprise. We knew things were hard and his timeline to find us was soon to be over. We were coming back to make sure no one had to suffer consequences they did not deserve. However, the witch was smart. They made them a simple tea leaf reading that revealed a couple of interesting things. First and foremost, the land had chosen the guard. The land trusted his judgment. That’s why it covered him in a magic repellent field: no magic could be cast upon him, and no reading could be made about him. The witch’s reading came back blank.” So that was the explanation then. The earth… liked Taehyun? To be fair, if it were up to Beomgyu, he would too trust every decision Taheyun could make, probably. “The guard wasn’t alone though. Tea leaves tend to speak about a future, linked sometimes to a past. Reading the past is the hard part, unlike common misperceptions. Future could change, but the past is set on… anyways, she said the people who had drunk from the cups had crossed the sword that same week, the day before she dared to say. And the leaves said they would come upon it again. She didn’t tell us why, but she did recommend we go near them. Both of us last saw the sword seven years ago.”

“If you ever get the chance to see it… to see it in its place, go for it. Sunlight triggers its glow,” Jimin added. He seemed to be growing comfortable talking to the crowd, like a minstrel about to sing to them of the sword and the heel. His eyes were smiling in anticipation of the revelations. Beomgyu’s hands were sweating, he felt self-conscious about Yeonjun being subject to it. The sword on his left hand felt so heavy suddenly, eager to be talked about.

“We have our theories, as we are sure Taehyun, the guard, must himself have. The reality is they did find the Stone again. In all of its glory, in a clearing in the woods. Not so far from the door, just by the river. We almost gave ourselves up, one of us tripped.” Damn it. Beomgyu should’ve told the others immediately.

“But,” Jimin took the chance, “we were forgiven. Gladfully the horses kept quiet.” He then gave Beomgyu a small wink no one else noticed. Beomgyu wanted to leave this place. It was all a build-up to a revelation he already knew. What was even the point… he liked formalities, but not when he was being called upfront about holding back useful information from his friends.

“The point of this is that both the sword and the heel were successfully removed from the Stone, by members of that quest.” The people in the room all reacted to the information. It didn't take a genius to figure it had to be one of the people in the center of the hall, either the four behind the council members or the one in front of them. The ones who knew what to look for had already spotted the heel in Yeonjun’s right hand. In a moment of doubt, Beomgyu tried to let go of his hand. Yeonjun seemed surprised, but he set him free. He did receive in exchange a worried look: Are you okay?

Beomgyu didn’t have time to reassure him. Hyuna had already taken a step in front and turned around, making eye contact with anyone she could. The room was back to quiet expectation in a matter of seconds.

“On a Sunday morning, when the woods’ creatures sang again and the river awoke, these two removed the sword to the southeast and the heel to the northwest.” The council members moved so Beomgyu and Yeonjun could be in the direct eye line of the kings. Taehyung waved his hand, asking for them to step closer. They walked together into the yellow light coming from the one window in the room. From that angle, Beomgyu could see better the design, it was a stained glass window. The whole yellow part was the cape of a knight and, to give the idea that he was far away, he was hand-sized in the top right corner. It was non-discernible unless you were two strides away from the thrones’ steps. “You two are sons to this castle’s knight training program. Yet, it’s not the path you both follow as of now. And that’s perfect as it is. We will not require you to change your entire life to abide by the things that were decided the moment you removed those elements from the Stone. Yet, you will be advised and informed from now on in the matters of the crown. And, when the time comes and we are old enough to give up ruling, you two will take our spot. You can and shall get ready for it. As of now, you are the successors of the crown.”

It felt more like a sentence than a welcome, yet both of them kneeled to their kings and accepted fate.

⚔️👠

“What will we do about this?”

They were back in the woods. Sun was gone, but rain clouds were lightening the sky a bit. Beomgyu found out that Yeonjun could make a fire with his hands and some metal, friction, or something like that. He called it an old family trick. Now the pink hair was sprayed in Beomgyu’s lap and, as if magnetic, his hands were already playing with it. For sure longer than when they met.

Beomgyu cleared Yeonjun’s forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we were told we’ll be kings. Doesn’t that-” He scratched his chin. “It’s a bit sudden. Should we run? Have a dreamy run into the sunset?”

Beomgyu laughed. In his chest, he felt the pressure. “I think we lost the time stamp.”

“Oh, c’mon.” Yeonjun sat up. Beomgyu missed the touch. He crossed his legs, an attempt to disguise the feeling. “You can't possibly be ok with all of this."

“I mean, not to say I am, but why not?"

Yeonjun was looking at him, incredulous. “You? After you tried to train yourself when you received no help when you asked for it? After giving it your entire being to certain training that would allow you to become the thing you wished the most for so long? Now you'll just accept this change of fate?"

“I mean, I didn't give it my all-"

“You have bruised so much that your brother gave you the last bits of an almost lost prohibited potion." Beomgyu should've spoken with Minho in private, but Somi had intercepted them so fast once the assembly was over.

“You would've done the same."

“That's precisely my point! You and I might be completely different, but once we aim for something we won't let it go just because."

Ah, there it was. “What you're saying is you don't wanna do it. Do you want my approval to run away? Because I won't mind, I can even go with you!"

Yeonjun seemed even more lost. Beomgyu feared he was not getting it, but he also didn't want to spell it out for him.

“No, no. The drastic change, the spontaneity. That doesn't work for me. And I'm not saying I don't... I guess I'm just taken aback because of all of this. When I add your reaction it just- It's weird. I was expecting we could work through this together but I am unable to read you right now." Yeonjun scanned Beomgyu's face. He smiled remembering something. “You are not even reacting right now. Does your- our future matter to you so little?"

Beomgyu couldn't even phantom how to answer. It was fantastic, just how away they were and yet, in the same position. At the same time, it sounded like a discussion starter, but their voices were so soft. “It's not that I don't care. I'm just taking my time to process it. Besides, if we were to run away —hypothetically— doing it now it's just so damn obvious. We are probably surrounded. So no, it's not that I don't care, I'm just taking my time. And they will wait for us too." Beomgyu looked away. A single sword reflected the fire through some trees. The stone was near. “You know about Taehyun's theory, right?"

“I tried to ask him, but he was in a weird mood after they released him. He didn't even go back to his home, I think he just went back to our apartment. I bet he's sleeping right now."

“So you have no clue at all?"

“I have my theories. Are you implying you know Taehyun’s?"

“I pride myself in reading people fairly well. I think he might've arrived at the same conclusions that we probably did. I'm guessing you already noticed every time he was met with the sword, we were near. Not once, not twice but three times." Yeonjun agreed, his hair swaying as he nodded. “And it wasn't working any other way." The combinations to extract the objects he meant.

“It was the things we chose to do, right?" The dancing, the knight wannabe.

Beomgyu nodded. He couldn't take the heel, just as Yeonjun, who had practiced carrying a sword all his life, couldn't get this one out of the Stone. “I guess so. The thing is, I don't like to believe in fate. And this thing, it's leaning quite a lot to it."

“You are not a fate enthusiast?"

“I went against my parent’s wishes to be something they don't approve of and I had a shit ton of problems to do that too. No, I don't believe nor like the idea of fate. Do you?"

“I want to say no but... I did find you in a forest during the one moment of my day I had free. And then it turned out that you could not only teach me stuff no one else would but both your brothers helped me reach my dream life or start the road there in some way."

“Yeah, maybe, but that wasn't me. I’m not to be credited with the doings of my brothers." Beomgyu was being ascribed with way more than he felt comfortable with.

“Oh, no, you're right, it was probably fate."

“Oh, hell no."

He was laughing. They were still not understanding each other but Yeonjun was laughing.

Taking a more serious tone, Yeonjun tucked a strand of pink behind his ear. “I don't care. I guess it just happened so quickly. From Tae on his dying steps to suddenly we becoming successors of the crown. And Tae is alive. I guess it's too much, and from being a side character I suddenly find myself being in the center of it. And I’m not sure I know how to take it." Yeonjun looked at him. “So we’re back at square one. How do you feel about it? You avoided my questions.”

Oh, so he had noticed that but he couldn’t read between the lines. Maybe he should spell it.

“Well, I'm not as stressed as I should be, I think I'm still in shock. I have a bunch of feelings to go over that I can't even stop for a second on the crown thing. Me? King? Please.” Beomgyu pushed his sword away from him. Not the one he just acquired (which he had to figure out what to do with it, did he return it? What was the protocol?) but the one belonging to Yeonjun's long line of family predecessors in the knight work field. “They said we had time. I’m guessing we won't be bombarded immediately by whatever it meant pulling that sword out. And yet…”

A spark flew away from the burning wood. Beomgyu flinched a bit. “And yet, I find myself stuck in this situation, with you.” A white spot neared the fire, a rabbit curious of the lights and with few survival instincts. Yeonjun was straightening his back, readying himself to talk. “And I don't mind it,” Beomgyu said.

The rabbit was running away. The ups and downs of the hop took away the sensation that he could have worded it better.

“I don’t mind all the things I don't agree with because now I know we agree on that too. And we can complain together. And we can choose together what to do next.” It was turning into an extensive pointless list. “What I'm trying to say is: these hardships don't bother me as much because I'm not alone. Even more, I face them by your side. That’s enough for me.”

Yeonjun’s eyebrows were furrowing, he was trying to read through it. Beomgyu wished he did so accurately because there was no way in hell he was explaining it further.

“You,” Yeonjun said.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.” Beomgyu started readying himself for the worst-case scenario, whatever that might be. “You could use some honesty.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t say it, can you?”

“What?”

“That you like me.”

He didn’t know who he was messing with. “I mean, I thought it was obvious at this point.”

The easiest way to get a flush from Yeonjun was straight-up truths. An honest admission, so unashamed that Yeonjun would need a second to catch up with reality.

After some confessions, the most terrifying thing was silence. Beomgyu didn’t like empty spots in speech. “You know, I understand you might not feel the same. In that case, we can totally abdicate in some cool ass way because monarchy is dumb and the people ought to have a say. Damn, I feel like I just made Soobin so proud. I can go stay with him for the night, you don’t have to-”

“Beomgyu.”

He couldn’t look Yeonjun in the eyes. It felt like a moment to look each other in the eyes, but he suddenly had the urge to run away extra fast and never look back. Except he did believe they were surrounded or had at least a crown officer looking out for them. The idea of being knocked down by a town’s guard felt way more embarrassing than facing Yeonjun. Rejection was bearable, the shame though…

“You are really cute and I adore you, dumbass.”

When Beomgyu faced him, Yeoonjun was closer than before. “You do?”

“I thought it was obvious too.”

Beomgyu laughed, suddenly feeling the fire by their side as warm as it was. “Are you going to kiss me?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Pf, I do.” And he kissed Yeonjun instead.

It was another type of dance, how to move your lips and where to place your hands, figuring each other out as the seconds passed. Yeonjun tasted sweeter than Beomgyu had imagined, and his hands were as certain as to when he would perform, delicate, but being aware of their role in the choreography.

For the first time, Beomgyu wondered if maybe the music came from within them instead of being something he could perceive outwardly. If he was just translating feelings into melodies. Kissing Yeonjun felt like birds in the early morning and jumping headfirst into the river when the heat was unbearable. It sounded like the type of alcohol that makes you feel in the clouds and the cheers of a crowd that doesn't know just how much you hurt inside. It was like hugging a best friend and being mischievous. Beomgyu liked kissing Yeonjun.

They had to make a decision though.

Beomgyu strayed away, holding Yeonjun from the shoulders. His lips were so red and distracting. “Are we doing this then?”

Yeonjun smiled. He knew all the things that went into the question. “Yeah.”

That was it then.