Chapter Text
“You said this was supposed to be a simple courier job.”
“I know what I said,” muttered Yeonjun as he yanked on Soobin’s sleeve dragging him down an alleyway. “But even simple jobs can get complicated.”
This was not how Soobin had expected to spend his summer. He had been looking forward to lazy days eating snacks and watching anime and playing video games. Not trapezing across two planes of existence with someone—or someones—following him and Yeonjun. Because this was starting to feel dangerous. This was not something Soobin had signed up for.
Oh, it sounded like a good idea when Yeonjun pitched it to him. Not much different from any other job they had taken with the Guild. Pick up a few items that needed to be delivered and take them to their destinations. Soobin would get some hands-on experience. Maybe he would get to sightsee a little bit if they had some extra time. Maybe he would get to spend a little more time with Yeonjun—
Not that that factored into his decision…
Often.
Yeonjun cursed low under his breath as they cut through a market. “There’s at least five of them following us.”
Soobin nodded in acknowledgement even though his brain was still trying to process the math. Five was enough to be a party. Five against two were not great odds to begin with. Two against a party that knew each other and balanced each other out was even worse.
Soobin knew that he could hold his own in a fight. He had made it through college and had successfully gotten his Masters. He had passed the adventurer license exam. He didn’t have as much practical experience as Yeonjun, but he was dependable and consistent.
Beomgyu had smiled brightly—and called him boring. Taehyun insisted it was a compliment. And Soobin supposed that coming from Beomgyu it really must have been.
For the first time Soobin regretted leaving his dangpa at home. It was a cumbersome weapon. Heavy to hold and hard to maneuver. It didn’t leave his hands free the way his bow and arrows did. But if this were to come down to a fight their options were limited to long range and close range attacks. The loss of the heavier mid range attack would put them at a disadvantage.
Yeonjun seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “I’m going to circle back. Lead them somewhere open where you can have a clear line of sight. I’ll try to slow them down a little.”
Soobin nodded. “The courtyard we passed by this morning. It was roped off because the fountain was under construction.”
“I’ll meet you there,” said Yeonjun. “Here. Take this.”
Yeonjun passed him the bag of holding that contained all of the items they were transporting for the job. Soobin took it and hooked it onto his belt. He turned back to find Yeonjun standing closer than he was before. His eye focused and intense—
And Soobin had the insane idea that he was going to kiss him.
Instead, Yeonjun grinned. “See ya.”
He swatted Soobin’s butt—a strangely reassuring gesture—before he ducked his head and split off from Soobin. Joining the flow of the crowd going in the opposite direction as if he had always been a part of them.
Soobin turned and started walking toward the courtyard. Trusting Yeonjun’s intel. Trusting that he would accomplish his goal. Trusting that he would be there to have Soobin’s back when the time came.
In the meantime, he had his own job to do.
Soobin turned and started to walk back towards the courtyard with the fountain.
He absently wondered why they were being followed. It must be because of one of the items they had been charged with transporting—but as far as Soobin could tell none of the items were worth enough to send a whole party after.
Some jewelry, a cursed shield, a chest, a few spell scrolls, a protection amulet…
Soobin shook his head as he tried to refocus on his task.
It didn’t matter.
What mattered was getting out of this.
Whatever this was…
—
“Soobin-ssi?”
Soobin blinked as he refocused. Mentally he scolded himself for drifting off—while in the middle of a conversation with the President of the University.
“Yes, sorry,” replied Soobin as he corrected his posture.
President Lee gave him a sympathetic smile. “We’re almost done here. I just have one more question.”
Soobin nodded. He hadn’t been all that surprised to be summoned to the President’s Office. They all had—even Beomgyu. It wasn’t every day that a devil appeared on campus. It was in the best interest of the University to investigate how and why that had happened. Soobin had filed a report about the battle but unfortunately he was just as clueless as campus security as to how—
“All of the eye witnesses present have cited an interesting detail about the Bone Devil.” President Lee shuffled through the paperwork on his desk. “Two different colored eyes. One blue and one green. This trait hasn’t appeared on any other Bone Devil on record.”
President Lee set down the paperwork and folded his hands neatly on top of the stack as he looked at Soobin from across his desk.
“I have to ask, Soobin-ssi. Do you know or have any suspicion as to why this Bone Devil would have this particular trait?”
Soobin swallowed.
And then he shook his head.
—
“Are you even paying attention?”
Soobin swatted away Yeonjun's hand when he tried to flick his forehead. “I’m paying attention.”
“No you’re not,” replied Yeonjun as he resettled into his chair with a frown. He jumped back up in order to place the back of his hand against Soobin’s forehead. “Are you sick or something?”
Soobin shoved his hand away again. “I’m not sick.”
Yeonjun still looked unconvinced. “You’ve been really out of it lately.”
“I have a lot on my mind,” muttered Soobin with a shrug as he glanced down at his half eaten hamburger.
Kai was looking between the two of them anxiously. He gave a short laugh as he clapped his hands. “Which is why I think a road trip is a great idea! Get away from it all! Have some fun! Get some party bonding time in! Right, Taehyun?”
“Hyung has been out of it lately,” replied Taehyun without looking up from the book he was reading.
Kai let out a sigh as he slumped in his chair. Pulling Tobin out of his own chair in order to hug him to his chest.
Taehyun placed his bookmark between the pages and set aside his book. Soobin wasn’t even sure what Taehyun was studying these days. He had graduated and passed the Guild entrance exam. Beomgyu’s magic was stable. And yet…Taehyun was still studying…something.
Whatever it was he seemed pretty dedicated. And Soobin tried his best to set aside the irrational envy that he felt. He picked up some fries and shoved them into his mouth. Jealousy was not a good look for a paladin trying to follow the Oath of Devotion.
“If you have a lot on your mind,” said Taehyun as he studied Soobin from across the table. Soobin fought the urge to fidget. “Then maybe getting away for a little bit would help.”
Yeonjun threw up his hands. “That’s what I’ve been saying.” He glared at Soobin as he folded his arms across his chest. “If you’d been paying attention.”
“Yes. Thank you,” said Soobin as he continued to pick at his fries. “Very helpful.”
“We do need a feasible plan,” added Taehyun as he held up his hand to count off with his fingers. “Supplies. Transportation. A location. Lodging. Funds. I could ask Beomgyu-hyung to portal us to—”
“No, no, no,” said Yeonjun. “No portals. We should do a legit road trip in a legit car.”
“Yeah!” chirped up Kai excitedly before he cocked his head to the side. His smile slowly dropping. “But where are we going to get a car from?”
“I can get us a car,” replied Yeonjun.
Soobin raised a questioning eyebrow at that. Yeonjun ignored him.
“Okay,” said Taehyun with a nod. “Where do we want to go?”
“Switzerland!” said Kai and then immediately laughed at himself.
Taehyun grinned. “That’d be a hell of a road trip.”
“There’s always Jeju,” suggested Yeonjun. “Or somewhere in the mountains like Yeongwol?”
“Soobin-hyung, don’t you have a friend from Jeju?” asked Kai. “Do you think he’d let us crash there for a few days?”
Soobin had been trying to stack his french fries into a tower. It wasn’t a very good or stable tower—mostly because Soobin was too busy thinking about the warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea, the smell of salt in the air—the tower collapsed and Soobin dropped the fry he had been holding.
“I have access to a place. It’s near Jumunjin beach.”
It was Yeonjun’s turn to raise a questioning eyebrow and for Soobin to ignore him.
Soobin didn’t owe Yeonjun an explanation.
Not anymore.
—
On the second day of his third year in college, Soobin met Yeonjun for the first time.
Soobin hadn’t even noticed Yeonjun at first. He was too caught up in his own nerves to focus on anything but his feet.
The first two years of college had mainly focused on general education. Now that Soobin was starting his third year he would need to be officially evaluated and the results of this evaluation would determine if he would be able to follow in his family’s footsteps as a paladin or if—
“Shit,” muttered the girl standing next to Soobin. “That’s Choi Yeonjun.”
“Ah,” said her friend. “We got the legend himself.”
Soobin glanced up out of sheer curiosity. It was easy to see who they were talking about. There was only one person who was about their age standing around with the evaluation team. Slim build. Tall—but not as tall as Soobin. Handsome. And relaxed. He seemed comfortable—with himself, with this whole situation—in a way that Soobin only dreamed of being.
And if that wasn’t intimidating enough…
“Rumor has it he’s never lost one of these eval fights. Not even his own.”
The girl next to Soobin sighed. “What are the odds that he’d be at our evaluation?”
Her friend nudged her. “Just think about it, if you beat the legend—you become a legend!”
Which…was true.
But as the head evaluator called for attention—Choi Yeonjun turned to face them. His eyes scanning over the crowd. And though his body language was still relaxed—there was no denying the sharp, analytical way he sized them all up.
His eyes landed on Soobin—
Before moving on.
Even in that fraction of a second, Soobin felt a slight chill run down his spine. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it wouldn’t be easy to dethrone the legend.
Soobin knew that he had done well in the written and oral part of the evaluation. He knew that those were weighted just as heavily as the physical challenge. But he couldn’t quite shove down the nerves that were threatening to overwhelm him.
His hand shook as he selected a flat stone. Flipping it over to see what number he had drawn.
This…this had always been his downfall.
And what good was an adventurer who couldn’t control their nerves in a fight?
There were ten students being evaluated. Out of the ten, Soobin had drawn three. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they lined up in order.
The girl who had been standing next to Soobin had drawn number 1. She looked like the very definition of what a paladin should look like. Armed with a sword and shield. Her armor polished and gleaming under the early afternoon light. Her face determined as she took up a solid fighting stance.
Soobin learned a lot about Yeonjun that day.
But it was the first lesson that left the biggest impression.
Yeonjun was wearing mismatched leather armor. It looked as if he had scrounged through the school’s supply and had put on whatever fit. He had strapped the armor over a hoodie and a pair of drawstring athletic shorts.
And Soobin knew that these evaluations didn’t mean anything to Yeonjun—but it was almost insulting how casually he was dressed.
And maybe that was the point.
Because the knife Yeonjun drew…
There was nothing ornate about it. In fact it looked like it had been spray painted matte black. The paint flaking off here and there. The leather wrapped handle was patinated with age and use. The blade perfectly balanced and Yeonjun perfectly one with it as he absently spun it in his hand as the Proctor read off the rules for the fight.
Soobin couldn’t help it. He leaned forward and asked the girl who had been so keen on beating the legend, “What class is he?”
The girl glanced back at him and scoffed, “Bard from the College of Swords.”
“He’s a fourth year?”
“Yeah—” the girl half turned towards Soobin. The disbelief was clear on her face. “Are you new here or something?”
Soobin never got to answer. The whistle blew—
And Yeonjun took off.
He was fast. And it wasn’t as if Soobin had a whole lot of experience fighting—but Yeonjun moved nothing like the kids he had faced off against in sparring matches.
The same must have been said for the paladin he was facing because she immediately went on the defensive. Curling in on herself as she pulled her shield squarely in front of her.
It was a good move. One trained in her for years and years. Soobin would have probably done the same thing.
Yeonjun didn’t slow down. His knife cut through the air so fast Soobin could barely track it. The sharp clang of steel glancing off of the shield rang through the air. Seemed to ring especially loud in Soobin’s ears. He wasn’t the one in the fight and yet his heart was racing, his breath coming out in short uneven bursts—
It was a mistake to get in so close.
The paladin used her shield to bat Yeonjun’s knife away. Her sword already swinging down—the blade bathed in a golden white light.
A divine smite.
For Oath of Devotion paladins, a divine smite was their belief in honesty, courage, compassion, honor and duty manifested into magic. Pure radiance unleashed.
Yeonjun was fast. He had made a whole show out of being fast. And yet he remained rooted in place as the sword descended upon him. The blade digging into the leather armor on his shoulder. Even from where he was standing, Soobin could see that the sword cut through the armor, blood splattering as the smite connected. And even though the paladin had been trying for a hit—she seemed more surprised than anyone to have managed it.
And in that small fraction of a second where she hesitated—Yeonjun shoved his knife point between two plates of armor. Right under the armpit. Ready to push his knife into the paladin’s heart.
Soobin could hear her gasp even from where he was standing. The grip on her sword wavered as if she wanted to pull away. Her instinct to run overriding her training to fight. And once that happened…the fight was well and truly over.
Yeonjun withdrew quickly. Rolling his injured shoulder as if to test it.
The Proctor called the end of the fight and a healer rushed the field ready to tend to the shoulder. Except Yeonjun waved him off. Choosing instead to return to the starting position.
Ready.
Soobin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He glanced around at his fellow paladins and knew that they had all received Yeonjun’s message loud and clear.
Come at me with your best.
I can take it.
—
Yeonjun managed to borrow a station wagon.
Soobin didn’t ask how and Yeonjun didn’t bother explaining.
“You’re bringing your dangpa?” asked Yeonjun.
“Ah, yeah.”
Soobin was literally in the middle of tying his trident—carefully wrapped for travel—to the roof of the station wagon. He thought that much was obvious. It wasn’t exactly an inconspicuous weapon. Standing taller than even Soobin by almost fifty centimeters.
“For any particular reason?”
Soobin tugged on the last strap to make sure it would stay in place before he turned to face Yeonjun. It was true that usually his trident lived under his couch collecting dust—but for whatever reason Soobin found himself asking,
“Do I need to have a reason?”
“No. It’s just…”
Yeonjun looked away and Soobin…Soobin was just so…tired.
“It’s just…what?”
Yeonjun glanced back at him. He opened his mouth to say something—but Soobin never found out what. A portal opened on the sidewalk and Beomgyu, Taehyun and Kai walked through. Their arms full of grocery bags and luggage and weapons—
And too much enthusiasm.
“ROAD TRIP!” yelled Beomgyu as he raised his fists over his head. “ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP!”
Kai—and even Taehyun—joined in on the chanting.
“Yes, yes,” said Yeonjun as he left Soobin in order to wrangle the rest of their party. “We’re all excited. Stop annoying the neighbors.”
Which Soobin did appreciate. Especially since the grumpy old man who lived on the first floor of his apartment building was already glaring at them from his window. Soobin gave him an apologetic bow.
“Haven’t you been to practically every plane in existence?” asked Yeonjun as he helped Beomgyu toss their luggage into the back of the station wagon.
“Sure,” said Beomgyu with a shrug. “But I’ve never been to Jumunjin beach in a car! Actually…now that I think about it…I’ve never been in a car before. This is a big day for me, hyung.”
“I keep telling him not to get his hopes up,” added Taehyun as he slung his arm around Beomgyu’s shoulders. “You’ve ridden on a bus. A car is just a smaller bus.”
“A smaller bus driven by my hyung!” exclaimed Beomgyu. “I’m putting my life in his hands!”
“We’re literally in an adventuring party together,” replied Yeonjun.
“It’s still exciting!” said Kai. He had already crawled into the backseat of the station wagon with a bag of snacks and Tobin. “This is our first, official, non life threatening adventure together!”
“Didn’t you hear? I just finished explaining how hyung has all of our lives in his hands!” said Beomgyu. “In his hands!”
“Hey,” said Yeonjun. “I’m an excellent driver! Soobin—tell them—”
Soobin started. He glanced around at his friends. “Yeah, hyung can drive.”
Taehyun snort laughed. “Glowing endorsement, hyung.”
“Whatever,” muttered Yeonjun as he absently spun the car keys around his finger. “We better head out. It’s going to take us like three hours to get there.”
“Yeah! Let’s go!” yelled Kai.
It took them another twenty minutes to go. They needed to reorganize the luggage—Kai suddenly wasn’t sure if he had packed a phone charger and Beomgyu wanted the snacks buried at the bottom of the bag—and after all that they needed to reorganize people. They played an intense game of kai-bai-bo—and for once Soobin didn’t want to win. But when had luck ever been on his side?
Soobin buckled up in the front seat. Taehyun had won control of the music and was pulling up the playlist he had made.
Yeonjun sighed as he settled into the driver’s seat of the car. Making one last visual check on everyone in the rearview mirror before turning the car on and pulling away from the curb.
Beomgyu was already eating a bag of chips. They hadn’t even made it to the first stop light. He held out the bag for Kai to take some.
“Hyung,” said Beomgyu in between bites of chips. “What is this place we’re going to?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Soobin could see Yeonjun quickly glance at him and away.
And it wasn’t like it was a secret…
It just felt like one.
“Oh,” said Soobin as he slumped further in his seat. “It was my grandpa’s house.”
—
Soobin only got to see his grandfather during the summer.
His memories from those visits were getting fuzzier with time but he could still clearly picture his grandfather’s house. A small hanok that sat on a hill near the sea. Built from soil and timber and stone. Its curved roof made of dark tiles.
And it would take Soobin years to realize it—but his grandfather often liked to get tipsy and sit and stare out into the vastness of the ocean, out into the expanse of the night sky.
And sometimes after a little too much makgeolli he would tell Soobin stories about how back in the day he used to be an adventurer.
Soobin loved to listen to these stories the most. They were always exciting and funny and harrowing and everything that adventurer stories should be.
They were also just stories. Stories told to entertain a kid stuck in a remote village all summer.
As Soobin grew up he was able to piece together what was fact and what was probably fiction—like his grandfather’s favorite story.
The one about a cat with mismatched eyes.
One blue. One green.