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the night is quiet and dark. what little moonlight shines is not enough to cast away pitch-black walls and merging shadows. a lone man hides himself among the darkness on a beachfront with a draped cloak, sneaking above short overhang cliffs and across soft sands to the white noise of the sea crashing against the shore. he was tasked to collect various materials from the camp-patrol site and pass this intel on to the local adventurer’s guild.
careful not to alert any of the unsuspecting treasure hoarders, the man swiftly scores all the materials before quietly sneaking over the grasslands back to the city. finally some ways away from the dangerous commission, he shakes out his tense muscles and takes the hood off his head with a short huff of satisfaction, revealing short blond hair that seems to glow under the moonlight. the walk back to the guild’s front is serene, with local foxes nesting up in corners of the village or taking strolls around. the simple lanterns are lit up in the village the man passes through, providing some relief and safety. just a bit more, and the familiar quiet hum of inazuma city at night graces the ears.
as always, katheryne is there to greet, “hello, jeonghan. back already?” her unnaturally consistent smile has never once wavered ever since the man- jeonghan- first met her, and it has honestly been a little unnerving. he just nods in response before fishing out the bound up documents from his satchel and handing them over along with his handbook.
“great! that’s the last one for today. here’s your rewards for completing your daily commissio-“ she’s cut off by a loud yawn from jeonghan. “sorry, katheryne. it’s late. thanks for your work!” sluggishly- but still in a hurry- jeonghan grabs his book (now finally stamped with completion) and his rewards, and heads off into the night back home.
as he walks out the city, he repacks his satchel to fit all the new rewards, humming a tune to himself. the jangle of the bag and his own voice distracts him from the presence now lurking around him. his home is away from inazuma city, and further from konda village.
after moments of calm and quiet, jeonghan hears an unnatural rustle of leaves. it snaps his senses into overdrive as he quickly pulls his hood back up, silently cursing himself for not doing it earlier. focused on his path ahead, he tries to listen for anymore errors in the winds. unfortunately, that’s usually left up to his friend, minghao, but he’s not joined him on a commission in a bit. it was probably because he often travelled to sumeru for a reason only the archons would know. that doesn’t stop jeonghan from having his teasing guesses anytime he does see him.
this time, a twig snaps. now jeonghan knows he’s being followed for sure. he’d been walking around in odd-shaped circles for the better part of ten minutes and it seems this person had yet to figure it out. the area is getting more sparse of vegetation, which is sure to reveal the stalker anytime now. jeonghan finds an abandoned shrine temple and a plan kicks in.
he can just barely see a glimpse of pink fabric glinting at him in odd intervals so this person must be inexperienced. jeonghan quietly scoffs, who was stupid and desperate enough to find rookies to carry out stealth missions? he rolls his eyes as he ducks behind statues and a smaller shrine. steadying his breaths, he hears a male voice mumbling something to himself with exasperation. finally, the rookie reveals himself right in the center of the kitsune statues. jeonghan strikes.
a slim dagger forms itself out of a dark mineral coated in a yellow light, as the geo vision attached to his satchel glows that same warm yellow. quick as lightning, jeonghan apprehends the stalker, holding the knife close to his neck in a chokehold. the rookie begins to yelp but the blade pointed at him shuts him up quick.
“p-please! please let me go!” the rookie pitifully begs, hands only hovering over jeonghan’s arm. he squirms uncomfortably, trying to get away from him. “answer me this,” he says calmly. the rookie cannot stop blabbering and sputtering meaningless sounds out of fear. “who are you? and why have you been following me?”
the rookie cries out, immediately begging to be released so he doesn’t get in trouble. “in trouble? with who?” with no answer, jeonghan intensifies the threat by extending the tip closer and closer to the man’s neck. only then does it all spill out.
“i-i swear, sir! i-i’m not lying- mister seungcheol sent me- sir, please don’t kill me!”
the name makes jeonghan drop the now-bawling rookie to the ground. “seungcheol, huh?” he leaves the rookie to scramble off, walking toward the stone wall just over the horizon. the yellow-glow blade dissipates into thin air.
the lights are still on within the house he approaches, leaking out brightly through paper screens. changing into indoor slippers at the entrance, jeonghan heads straight to the dining hall, “seungcheol-“
“ah, jeonghan-“
the two stand in tense silence, waiting for the other to speak first. it’s seungcheol, jeonghan’s roommate and lover, who does. “-…i see you are back safe.”
jeonghan ignores it, moving toward the man, “why, on the almighty shogun, have you sent for someone to follow me? not to mention, a rookie,” he scoffs under his breath, “i feel insulted that you should send for such an amateur after me.” he unpacks the rewards for seungcheol to look over. the man laughs as his eyes scan the various pouches being opened.
“ah, well. i knew he wouldn’t do it successfully. i told him it’s an honour to get to practice his skills with the most stealthy adventurer on the guild currently. he certainly wasn’t going to be any good against you, my dear.” seungcheol glances up at jeonghan, “and by your face it means that he really did do an astonishingly bad job?”
“oh, so laughable, seungcheol!” jeonghan rubs his temples. “losing sight of me enough for me to hide, walking on crunchy grass, stepping on a twig?!” he throws his hands up in the air with an exasperated frown, words too limiting to express his true feelings. seungcheol chuckles, coming over to stand beside him. “no matter, i’ve already dropped off extra mora for the psychological damage that i assume you’ve afflicted on him.”
jeonghan folds his arms, “my question isn’t answered.” seungcheol looks back, wrapping his arms around him. most likely to earn favour, which jeonghan rolls his eyes at. “i was just worried-“
“worried?” jeonghan hastily tightens the pouches and dumps them back into his bag, briskly walking away with it. “unbelievable, cheol-“ his voice wanders off into the hall before coming back out, midway through an annoyed mumble, “you know i am capable of taking care of myself, right? i don’t need you to keep looking over my shoulder. this is my job!”
seungcheol tries to calm him by holding his arms or his wrists but jeonghan always slips out of it. “jeonghan-“
“no! i-… just…” his eyes close and he sighs to compose himself, standing in the middle of their living quarters. he’s tired after the day and would rather not fight anymore. “don’t explain anything. i already know; you care so you send them.” jeonghan drags his feet as he heads off to wash himself. “i just wish you would trust me a little more.”