Archive of Our Own

A small rock rolls down the cliff in front of him. A bird of prey squawks in the distance. A bead of sweat trickles from underneath his hat all the way down his neck.

If he’s being entirely honest with himself, he should’ve prepared this a little better.

Mingi glances down at the cliff again, then looks left, right. He shuffles the tiniest bit backwards, until his feet are fully touching the sandy path again.

He breathes.

He’s fine. This is fine. Everything is fine.

Mingi has always loved exploring.

When he was a young, scrawny kid, he was always running around and getting himself into trouble. He lost count of how many times he’d been stuck in a tree because he wanted to see the view better, or the amount scoldings he got from his parents for wandering off in unknown places.

He never understood why they were so upset with him; surely they also wanted to see what was on the other side of the forest? Didn’t they feel the same itch he always felt when he learned about interesting new places?

His parents tried to find a compromise by giving him all sorts of books to read, filled with stories of faraway lost kingdoms, pirates with gleaming piles of treasure and battles with dragons. Instead of the books placating his sense for adventure, it only got worse: he went out in search of the lost kingdoms and treasures instead.

The itch never went away. Mingi was always looking for adventure and new places to discover. Whether it’s a hidden back alley in a small village or a centuries old rock, Mingi would explore them with the same amount of curiosity and adoration.

Nobody was surprised when he announced he was moving out of his parents’ home to study archaeology. As far as everyone knows, he worked hard, graduated and proceeded to build his reputable career by traveling across the world, taking part in official and fancy archaeological projects.

Mingi had realized early on that the study wasn’t so much focused on exploring. He sat through hours of boring lectures, soaking up the knowledge he admitted was fairly interesting, but it gave him no opportunity to actually apply said knowledge. The handful of expeditions were boring; they only visited places that were already partially dug up and the students were under absolutely no circumstances allowed to go off on their own.

So technically, yes, he graduated and is working on a career. It’s just not as reputable as people think it is, nor are the projects fancy, or official. More like the opposite, honestly. He has simply learned to use the connections he’d forged in university wisely and he makes sure not to leave an obvious trail, avoiding any suspicion. His personal expeditions aren’t exactly… according to the rules.

It’s why he has to weasel information out of unsuspecting colleagues and he has to bend over backwards to try and get his hands on valuable notes without anyone realizing they’re missing; which also explains why he’s currently about a millimeter away from tumbling headfirst down a cliff— the scraps of information aren’t always the most correct or up-to-date.

Mingi pats the pocket of his sweat-soaked shirt, feeling underneath the leather bands crossing his upper body, and sighs in relief when his hand finds the familiar shape of his communication device. It’s a bricked and manually enhanced thing, probably illegal in several countries, and it had been given to him by an unimpressed Yeosang after yet another close call rescue mission. He had shoved it into Mingi’s hands with a stern look, demanding he’d take it with him and put it to good use instead of constantly trying to send himself into an early grave.

The communicator nearly slips out of his clammy hands and he curses. This expedition is already turning out to be more of a challenge than he thought it would be, he doesn’t need Yeosang’s wrath on top of that.

Carefully booting up the device and pressing the correct buttons, he quickly leaves a short message for Yeosang; he’s okay (for now), he encountered a minor setback (a dangerous and quite frankly gigantic cliff cutting off his route), he’ll be back on track before he knows it (it’ll take weeks to figure out the sheer size of the cliff and find a way to safely cross it). He finishes the message off with a cheerful kissy sound and tucks the communicator back into his pocket.

Now he just has to find a way to get himself out of this predicament, and preferably in one piece.

A thrill runs down Mingi’s spine and his lips curl into a smirk; challenge accepted.

His game plan is short but sweet: inching backwards at the pace of a snail and hoping for the best. He blindly reaches out to the side, praying to whatever deity likes to protect adventurers that he doesn’t stick his hand into some poisonous moss, and grabs hold of the nearest tree branch. It feels sturdy enough, only producing a small creak when he puts a little weight on it, and Mingi decides it’s safe. Probably.

Clutching onto the branch for stability, he starts shuffling backwards.

Time seems to slow down and he swears it’s been hours since he nearly became intimately acquainted with the pointy rocks at the bottom of the gaping abyss.

As he manages another shuffle, the ground suddenly shifts. Big chunks of sand slip loose, leaving his left foot to dangle over nothing. Mingi lets out an embarrassing squeak and he barely manages to hold onto the branch, leaning all his weight onto the remaining ground, straining every muscle in an attempt slip down himself.

A few more rocks roll down, launching themselves towards their demise.

Mingi carefully moves his body, finding more stable footing with his right leg, and hauls himself up using the branch. He waits with bated breath— but the ground doesn’t shift any further. He continues backwards, slowly putting one foot behind the other, trying to keep his weight as balanced as possible. The rifle tied to his backpack catches on a tree; he frees it from the claws of mother nature with a frustrated tug.

When the sand beneath his feet starts to feel more like the compact mixture of the trail he had been following earlier, Mingi feels confident enough to let go of his trusty branch. He takes a couple of big strides away from the cliff, silently thanking his parents for blessing him with long legs.

Sweat drips down his face and the hair peeking out from underneath his hat sticks to his forehead. He falls into a crouch, breathing heavily. Shrugging off his backpack, he lets the breeze cool his back a little as he inspect his stuff. The tree had only lightly scratched the surface of the backpack, and he can’t find any tears or other serious damage. His rifle seems perfectly fine too, so he straps the weapon back onto the side, and hoists his backpack onto his shoulders again.

The next step is to try and trace back his movements as far as possible, since he isn’t going to waste any energy attempting to catalogue the full extent of the cliff. His plan is to end up at the colossal rock he passed on his initial trek through the dense forest, since it had seemed like a good place to set up a temporary camp. With this idea in mind, Mingi gets up and starts walking.

As he’s making his way past the heavy leaves blocking his path and stepping over half hidden boulders, he unlatches the water bottle from the belt slung across his hips and gulps half of it down.

Before setting off on this particular expedition, he had memorized what little knowledge he was able to gather about the ancient forest. A small, pitiful pile of random notes, a paragraph from a single book and a stolen travel log was all he had been able to get his hands on. According to one of the notes, there’s a river running directly through the thick woods, with a few streams splitting off in several directions. Mingi had already encountered the main river only a few days into his journey, so technically he should come across it again. And if he doesn’t, chances are high he finds one of the smaller streams at some point instead.

His goal is to explore the ancient woods, leisurely scouring a decent chunk of the area, before ending up at a massive waterfall. The few descriptions he had heard of the size and beauty of it had intrigued him enough to plan this expedition, even with the tiny amount of information he could go off.

If Mingi is being entirely honest with himself, the plan to find his way back to where he came from was doomed from the start. He hasn’t recognised a single landmark that he had noted on his map, and he’s pretty sure he might be lost. Well, fuck.

Standing still and kicking himself for his dumb ideas isn’t going to get him anywhere, though, so he continues to walk.

It takes him less than an hour before he hears the familiar clattering of water, and the promise of a running river brightens up his mood significantly. Mingi changes his direction, veering off the path and heading straight towards the sound.

He’s pushing aside some disgustingly sticky vines and thorny shrubbery when he suddenly finds himself stepping into a small clearing, surrounded by trees. In the middle is a thin stream, entering the clearing on one side, twisting itself through several corners and disappearing into the thick trees on the other side. Mingi lets his eyes roam around, analyzing.

There’s a decent amount of protection from the elements, several spots in which he could safely set up a camp, no obvious signs of prey or predators— it’ll do.

Mingi kneels down at the edge of the gently rushing water. He puts his backpack down, grabs a tiny device from a small, hidden pocket and unhooks the big cup dangling from one side. With one smooth movement, he sweeps the cup through the water and fills it to the brim. He puts it somewhere relatively out of reach so he can’t accidentally knock it over and throws the device in the water. Like the communicator, the small bit of technology had been another one of Yeosang’s aggressively manufactured gifts; this one had been ungracefully launched at his head after he had nearly succumbed to a fever, and it was accompanied by a scolding that had lasted two hours total. He’s learned his lesson and now dutifully filters his water.

He rummages through the remainder of the items in his bag and pulls out whatever he needs. Tools and tarp for setting up his temporary camp, some prepackaged stuff for dinner, and a clean shirt to change into so he can wash and dry the one he’s currently wearing.

His fingers curl around a shape he doesn’t recognise. It’s a device, not unlike the ones Yeosang makes, but he doesn’t remember ever seeing this particular one before. Inspecting it up close, he turns the thing around and checks every single angle. With a frown forming on his face, Mingi finds that there is absolutely nothing on the outside that tells him what it’s good for. It’s about the size of an acorn and made out of smooth metal plates, held together by tiny screws. The only thing that stands out is a small green light that blinks at odd intervals.

Confused, he shoves it back into the pocket it came from. After relaying a quick and equally confused message through his communicator, he pushes the unknown machinery to the back of his mind and gets to work; there’s only so much time until the sun sets and has things to do.

The entire process of setting up a camp and preparing food is like second nature to Mingi. He’s done the whole thing from start to finish so many times he could do it with his eyes closed. He doesn’t, for the record, because Yeosang will probably scold him if he tries. But he’s pretty confident that he could, if he had to.

It doesn’t take long before he’s sitting under his temporary shelter, happily munching on some dried meat. Drops of water cling to the lines and grooves of his stomach, occasionally dripping onto his pants. As he’s about to take another bite, his communicator beeps. It’s laying on a small patch of dry grass, only a short distance away from him to ensure he doesn’t get any water on it. Again, he doesn’t need Yeosang’s wrath. When he’s about to reach for it, a small glint of something catches his attention. There’s movement in his periphery and Mingi freezes immediately, every single muscle poised for action in case of danger. Keeping his breathing shallow and as quiet as possible, he strains his ears.

Nothing.

The only thing he can hear is the harmony of trees rustling overhead and the soothing flow of the river. No stepping on branches, no crunching of dead leaves, no breathing or growling or hissing, absolutely nothing.

From his research, limited as it might have been, he knows that there are no settlements or villages in these woods. The fauna spread throughout the area consists of predator and prey like any other place, but there aren’t supposed to be any dangerous creatures that would seek him out to attack.

Still, Mingi is absolutely sure he saw something, move out of the corner of his eye. He glances towards the rifle next to him, leaning against his backpack, just in case he needs it.

He waits. Observes. The quiet continues, the peacefulness unbroken.

A songbird whistles an intricate tune. Mingi slowly swivels his head from side to side, scanning the clearing and the surrounding trees and shrubs. Nothing out of the ordinary.

If he had been any less experienced he would’ve assumed he’s going crazy or on the verge of dehydration, but he knows himself better than that. He jots the odd experience down into his worn notebook, making sure to add the date and estimated time in the corner.

With one more final glance towards the general area where he saw the movement, Mingi decides to let it go and goes to grab his communicator instead.

There’s a short message from Yeosang waiting for him.

“Mingi, you absolute dumbass. Mark the cliff on your map and send me the details. Whatever you do, just don’t be an idiot and go off trail. Also, no idea what device you’re talking about, I only gave you the usual ones but I guess I can check my basement. Mingi, you better stay safe and uninjured or I swear to— if you get yourself killed I’m personally flying over there to murder you. And stop cockblocking me with your terrible timing!”

Mingi chuckles and throws the device back in the grass. He’ll send a reply once he has a good update on his current situation.

After he’s swallowed the last of his dinner, he gets up to stretch. There’s an ache beginning to pull at the muscles in his neck and his legs are already killing him, but he welcomes the sensation. It makes him feel alive, plus a good night’s rest will do wonders for him, hopefully.

The sun has already begun to set without him realizing it and the air brushing past his bare torso is cooling rapidly, sending goosebumps up and down his arms.

Quickly collecting all the belongings he’d scattered across the clearing, he cleans up after himself. He rinses a few things off and puts everything away. He tugs a clean long-sleeved shirt over his head and leaves a warm sweater out of his bag so he can grab it when the temperature really starts to plummet.

A last check of his lantern confirms that there’s enough oil left to last him through the night, so he sits back down underneath the coarse plastic tarp of his shelter. With one hand resting on his rifle, he gets comfortable.

The sound of the rushing stream soon helps him drift off to sleep.

He doesn’t notice the tall figure standing near the edge of the treeline, nor does he see the gleam of moonlight being reflected on silver.

When Mingi wakes up the next morning, it’s bright and early. He slept well, all things considered, and as he takes stock of his surroundings, he’s pleased to see all of his supplies still where he left them. After doing a quick sweep of the clearing, he doesn’t see any signs of nightly visitors. He stretches with a loud groan and begins his usual morning routine; a quick bathroom break behind a tree, some protein-packed breakfast and filtering another cup of water so he can fill his bottle.

Settling down on a sunny patch near the river, he lays out his map, breakfast in hand.

Clearly, he went off trail yesterday, which presents him with the issue that he has no fucking clue where he is. His finger follows the path he walked yesterday, from where he entered the ancient forest all the way to where he guesses the cliff must be. He taps the paper and makes a small note with his pencil. It’s not ideal, both the fact that there is a whole cliff messing up his plans and the fact that he’s kind of lost, but he’ll have to make do.

The map is not very detailed, but it shows the main river and if Mingi squints he can make out what he thinks are the smaller streams. He observes each one and its surroundings according to the map, mentally noting things he can look out for to determine his location.

He finishes eating, gathers his things, double checks if he really has everything, and sets off in a random direction. Somewhere halfway across the globe, Yeosang cringes in his sleep.

Mingi walks for a few hours before he realizes he’s officially lost. He hasn’t run into anything he’s seen on his map. It seems unrealistic to him that he’s either walking in circles or somehow managing to dodge every single landmark, but he can’t think of a different explanation.

Once again fishing out his communicator from his pocket, he sends Yeosang a short update. The round light at the bottom blinks sadly, indicating that his battery is almost empty.

“Fuck.”

He immediately pauses. There here should be a power bank tucked away somewhere in his bag, so he starts looking for it. As he searches every single pocket, his eye falls onto the unknown device again. Mingi is about to ignore it, when he realizes the green light is blinking fast— a lot faster than it did when he first found it.

Something uneasy settles into his stomach. That can’t be good.

Just when he’s found the power bank and plugged the communication device in, an almost deafening roar assaults his ears and the air whips around him wildly, sand and dirt flying into his eyes. He snatches his backpack off the ground, slings it onto his back and dives off the path. His hand immediately unsheathes a knife from his belt.

The roaring continues and as the sound turns choppy, Mingi realizes it’s a helicopter. As far as he knows, there aren’t any official expeditions in this area and knows Yeosang isn’t coming to save his ass just yet, so he assumes whoever is currently hovering above the ancient trees is not going to be friendly.

He’s trying to think of what to do when another sound reaches him: a set of thundering footsteps, steadily getting closer.

Mingi has no time to lose. He shoves the knife back into his belt and quickly rips his rifle from its ties instead; with practised fingers, he grabs some ammo out of his coat and readies the gun for use. He jumps back onto the path and sprints away in the opposite direction, dodging trees, using rocks and boulders to try and throw his pursuer off, alternating between left and right until it makes him dizzy.

The footsteps behind him don’t falter, and the helicopter still circling above them is making it difficult to properly keep track of them.

Unfortunately luck isn’t on his side today. His foot catches behind something and he slams into the ground, the air getting knocked out of his lungs.

He’s able to get back on his feet, although a little wobbly, before he’s forcefully turned around. Mingi doesn’t hesitate to immediately aim his rifle at the guy now standing in front of him.

“Now, don’t you think that’s a little hasty?” his pursuer says, grinning widely. “Listen, sweetheart. We don’t want any unnecessary trouble, but it’s very simple: you have something we want, so why don’t you be a good little boy and give it to us, hm?”

Mingi glares down his barrel. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The grin turns sharp. Though the guy is much shorter than him, he reeks of danger and every single alarm bell in Mingi’s head is going off at full volume.

“Wrong answer, darling. But I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll give you one more chance. Give us the CR1024 and we’ll both go our merry ways.”

The helicopter slowly lowers to the ground, seemingly unbothered by the trees it’s chopping into pieces.

Mingi doesn’t budge.

“Fuck if I know what that is. Why would I be carrying anything you would want in the middle of fucking nowhere?” he replies gruffly. The tiny guy is getting on his nerves and he doesn’t like the fact he’s outnumbered.

Just as the other guy is about to reply, the helicopter door flies open and another guy jumps out with a growl. “San, wait!”

He manages to land in between Mingi and the tiny guy and proceeds to point a handgun right back at Mingi. There’s a feral glint in his eyes. “Let’s play fair, shall we?”

Before Mingi can reply, before he can even fully register what happens, there’s the sound of a gun going off followed by a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Completely caught off guard, he gets knocked to the ground, forced to let go of his rifle to catch himself. Tiny guy sees his chance, and while the feral gun-wielder pushes the nozzle against his forehead, he starts ransacking Mingi’s backpack. From his less-than-ideal position in the sand, he gets a glimpse of the helicopter; one accomplice with a half ponytail is steering the thing, another one is observing them intently through the open door, holding a smoking gun.

“Ah… there we go,” tiny guy mumbles. He stands up, dusts off his pants, and gestures towards the helicopter with a sharp nod. The nozzle disappears from his forehead, and before he can faceplant into the sand, tiny guy holds him up by his jacket with a surprising amount of strength.

“Sorry it had to come to this, but you left us no choice,” he says, sounding everything but regretful. “Until next time.”

He lets go of his coat and walks off, following the other guy up the rope ladder and into the helicopter. It quickly begins to gain height, but Mingi isn’t done with them yet. Despite the searing pain in his shoulder he snatches his rifle off the floor, cocks it, aims, and pulls the trigger. It pierces right through the window, leaving a matching wound to the gun-wielder’s left shoulder, seconds before the helicopter finally gains speed and disappears into the sky.

Mingi sags onto the ground, gun dropping next to him. What the fuck had just happened?

Groaning, he realizes he’s in serious trouble. He needs to check his wound, send a message to Yeosang and find a safe place to stay until he can be picked up; all he really wants to do is take a nice, long nap.

With a shaking hand, he feels around for his communicator. Fuck. It’s in his backpack, charging.

It takes him way longer than he wants to admit, but he somehow succeeds in getting the cursed thing off his back. All of the pockets are either open or completely messy, but he’s surprised to find nothing of value has been taken. As he searches for the communicator and the power bank, he notices the small, unknown device is missing. Had that been the CR-something these guys were after?

He doesn’t have the energy to think about how weird this all is and he focuses his remaining strength on getting the communication device out of his bag. When he finally holds it in his hand, vision getting blurrier by the second, he sends out a short alert message to Yeosang.

Mingi doesn’t know how much time has passed by when he finally gains some lucidity again.

A glance at his shoulder tells him his wound is still bleeding, the red liquid beginning to seep through his coat. It’s by no means his first rodeo and he’s had his fair share of injuries, but the sight still leaves a nasty taste in his mouth. He reaches for his water bottle, struggling to get it off his belt. Some of the water spills onto his shirt, dripping down his chin as he tries to keep his hand steady enough to drink. He hooks it back onto the loop it came from and takes a minute to recover from the effort. Then, he reaches for his rifle, still laying in the dirt next to him. His fingers refuse to cooperate, pain clouding his mind and making it difficult to focus, but after several frustrated attempts he finally manages to tie it onto his backpack again. Mingi might be on the brink of death in the middle of nowhere, but he’ll be damned if he leaves his treasured rifle behind.

Somehow, he ends up back on his feet. His legs shake. He flings his backpack onto his uninjured shoulder and nearly keels over.

He has no clue what he’s doing, or where he is, for that matter. He’s functioning on an autopilot he didn’t even know he had. The message he’d sent to Yeosang contained his coordinates in encrypted information, something that had been programmed into the device by default, but he’s sure his friend takes his innate need to move into consideration when he plans out a rescue mission. Plus, staying in one place when wounded this badly is kind of like handing yourself on a silver platter to whatever predator happens to pass by first.

Mingi staggers down the path, not paying any attention to where he’s heading. His entire focus, dulled by the blinding pain radiating from his shoulder, is aimed firmly at his feet as he tries not to trip again.

A tree branch whacks him in the face. He barely notices.

The path underneath his feet slowly changes. The soil occasionally begins to make way for oddly symmetrical stones, and it’s almost as if they’re shaped like… bricks?

Even in his half-aware state, Mingi notices that bricks are an unusual sight in a forest, one that is supposed to be centuries-old and very much uninhabited.

He stops. Stares at the bricks peeking through the dirt. Blinks.

Suddenly, Mingi registers the eerie sensation of being watched; he curses his addled brain for not noticing sooner. Obviously he can’t use his rifle, he can barely stay upright. The only feasible option his mind can muster up is using one of the many knives strapped to his body to defend himself. That is, if he can stay conscious for long enough to grab one and wield it.

As his hand slowly inches towards his belt, the world begins to spin. His knees buckle and he hits the ground for the second time that day.

His vision blurs. He must be dreaming, completely delirious from the pain and blood loss, because Mingi swears he sees a man walk towards him. He’s dressed in a fancy armored suit. A long sword is strapped to his side. Mingi shifts his eyes upwards with a herculean effort. Instead of seeing who this dream apparition is, he’s met with an arrow pointing directly at him; and he promptly passes out.

Soft humming fills the air.

It’s a melody Mingi doesn’t recognise, but it kind of reminds him of old baroque pieces. Something a bard would play at a tavern, maybe. Jongho would absolutely ace that melody; he would add a lilting harmony, even. The vision of Jongho plucking away on a lute in a tavern makes him giggle. He imagines Yeosang gracefully sweeping past the table in a velvet dress, carrying drinks.

The humming stops. Mingi frowns. He was enjoying that, why did it stop?

“Are you awake?”

That confuses Mingi. Why would Yeosang ask him if he’s awake?

“Open your eyes, I know you have awakened.”

Mingi is pretty sure Yeosang doesn’t speak like that; the voice isn’t deep enough and the choice of words seems a little too much. Besides, why would he wake up? He’s exhausted, napping for another five minutes won’t hurt.

“Sir?”

His eyes fly open and he shoots up.

Mingi immediately regrets not taking things a little bit slower and squeezes them shut again, the sunlight making spots dance on his eyelids. Dizziness and nausea hit him like a truck and he almost topples over, clutching his head.

“Pray do not worsen your state. I have healed your ailments, but your body still needs to recover.”

It’s the same voice he heard earlier, the one humming a sweet melody.

This time, Mingi opens his eyes a little more carefully, letting his hands fall off his face.

He’s met with the most gorgeous man he’s ever laid his eyes on crouched at his side. His dark hair falls effortlessly over his forehead, framing two of the prettiest brown eyes Mingi has ever had the pleasure of looking into. His features are sharp and serious, yet there’s an inherent kindness to them that captivates him. It takes some genuine effort but Mingi manages to tear his eyes from his beautifully shaped lips, and he observes the rest of the ethereal-looking stranger.

His suit clings to his well-defined body, like it was tailored specifically for him. It is decorated with fancy silver armor, protecting his most vulnerable spots. His fingers are adorned with dainty silver as well, though Mingi isn’t sure whether the jewelry is supposed to function as support or if the sole purpose is to highlight the beauty of his hands. There’s a claymore at his side, recently polished and glinting in the sunlight, and he can spot bits of a sturdy wooden bow and a leather quiver strapped to his back. Mingi drags his gaze back and meets the other man’s eyes.

“Eh?” he says, eloquently.

The angel’s expression softens a little further. “You seem to be ailing still. Do not worry, you shall be well soon enough. Pray accept my deepest apologies for aiming my weapon at you. I had to ensure you were no threat.”

Mingi nods, slowly. He’s about 90% sure he’s got some serious brain damage because nothing about this situation makes any sense to him.

He looks around, taking in his surroundings. He’s laid onto a stone table of sorts, with some soft moss functioning as a pillow. When he lets his eyes trail further, he gasps.

They are surrounded by massive stone walls, some covered by ivy and moss, some crumbling and damaged by time. Mingi supposes it’s a ruin of what once must’ve been an impressive castle. He can still see a few arched windows, some imposing pillars and a long, winding staircase.

“You must rest some more. I shall observe your wound once your countenance has improved.” Mingi doesn’t want to be dramatic, but the man’s voice sounds like heaven to him.

“Where am I?” he asks. As much as he wants to listen to the kind stranger speak forever, his curiosity is simply overwhelming him. His head swims with both dizziness and the sheer amount of questions he has. “Who are you?”

He’s met with a slightly exasperated but understanding look. The man rises up to his feet and walks towards the nearest window, leaning against the wall, eyes still fixed on Mingi.

“My name is Yunho. I am a High Knight, tasked with protecting and defending the Castle under Her Ladyship’s orders. I have brought you here to tend to your wounds and to ensure you heal well. I shall answer any questions you may have, though I humbly request you do not overexert yourself until your state is more acceptable.”

The only thing that keeps Mingi from bursting out in unhinged laughter, is the dead serious look on Yunho’s face and the fact that he hasn’t bled out on the forest floor. He has no idea what a high knight is, nor can he recall hearing of a castle or a ladyship during his investigation into the forest. It was supposed to be uninhabited, damn it; this completely throws everything he thought he knew straight into the trash.

It suddenly occurs to him that his shoulder feels pretty great all things considered, especially since the last thing he remembers is his coat turning a concerning shade of dark red. He looks down at his shoulder where the bullet had hit him. Yunho must’ve partially undressed him; his coat is gone and there is a bandage underneath his shirt.

“What did you do to heal me?” his voice comes out a little rough and he clears his throat before continuing, “I know this wasn’t some easy scratch to treat.”

Yunho frowns. “I merely used the powers in my possession, naturally. Your injury was worsening rapidly, and though I cannot recall ever observing a similar wound, I am capable of healing any ailment due to my studies under Her Ladyship.”

“Powers?” Maybe he is concussed.

“Allow me to demonstrate.”

It only takes a few long strides of Yunho’s stupidly long legs before he’s back at Mingi’s side.

“If you would be so kind as to remove your garb?”

Mingi stares at him before he finally understands that he has to take his shirt off. After battling with it for what feels like an hour, he plops it onto the floor next to his stone bed.

Gently, Yunho removes the bandaging stuck to his shoulder and upper arm.

Considering it had been bleeding heavily not that long ago, his wound is looking much better than he was expecting.

Yunho closes his eyes. Both of his hands hover just over the wound. He mumbles something in a foreign language, the vowels and consonants gliding and dancing across his tongue in a way Mingi has never heard before.

He’s been sceptical of this entire thing from the start. Sure, his wound has healed a little too well to be normal, and sure, the guy seemed completely genuine. But the situation is so absolutely ridiculous that the only rational explanation must be a strong concussion or just very vivid hallucinations.

Despite all of that, his rationality and everything he’s ever known about reality fly out of the window the second light forms underneath Yunho’s palms.

Several softly glowing rays reach out towards his shoulder, almost like they’re caressing the injury, bathing his entire arm in a warm glow. His eyes grow wide when he realizes the wound heals further. It’s closing up, the skin stitching itself back together, leaving behind a barely visible scar.

The light dims and Yunho retreats his hands.

Mingi blinks at him.

“Rest, for you will need your strength to recover. I shall wake you when you have slept enough.”

He can’t find it in himself to protest. His mind whirls, completely shocked by what he just witnessed. Was that… magic? Does Mr. Handsome actually possess magic?

The second he closes his eyes, he’s fast asleep.

Mingi thinks he can get used to waking up to the lovely sound of Yunho’s voice. He’s humming a different song, a little more melancholic than the previous one, but it still sounds just as beautiful.

“Mornin’” he rasps out. He could really use some water.

He sits up and finds Yunho standing at the same window as the day before, in the same outfit, weapons still tightly strapped to his body. “I assume you feel well-rested? You slept for an adequate amount of time.”

Mingi nods. He feels great, actually.

Looking around, he spots his bag near the end of the stone table he’s been laying on. Everything seems to be intact. He stands up, pleased at the lack of nausea or lightheadedness, and starts looking through it after having a swig of his water bottle. There’s a handful of protein bars left, so he grabs one and starts chewing. He turns around to face Yunho.

“You want one?”

Another frown forms on his face and Mingi kind of wants to smooth it out.

“I am unfamiliar with that kind of sustenance, so pray do not mind if I humbly decline your generous offer.”

Mingi shrugs and shoves the entire bar into his mouth, depositing the wrapper in an empty pocket.

“They’re kinda shitty anyway, you’re not missing out on much. I’m sure you have better things to eat,” he says with a lopsided grin. Yunho’s eyes zero in on his lips.

“Forgive me, for I do not fully grasp your use of language, and pray do not worry about me, kind sir. I do not require the same nourishment as you do; my powers lend me the strength needed to sustain my body.”

He promptly chokes on his protein bar and Yunho immediately rushes over to pat his back, magic already sparkling at his fingertips. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” Still coughing, Mingi waves him away; Yunho only takes a single step back, his face twisted in a worried expression.

“Please don’t call me sir, no need for that. My name’s Mingi.”

Concern melts into a small smile. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mingi. I shall honor your request.”

Although he would love to laze around and engage in completely pointless conversations with the loveliest man on the planet, he can’t ignore the curiosity threatening to consume him whole anymore.

“Now, I believe you said you’d answer any questions I have, right?”

“Yes, I would be delighted to be of service and satisfy any inquiries you may have,” Yunho answers. Internally, Mingi curses his stupid fancy talk and the way his choice of words makes his mind jump to entirely different situations in which he could be of service and satisfy.

“If you would be so kind as to accompany me on a brief stroll? Some light bodily exercise will benefit your well-being greatly.”

Mingi agrees, grabbing his backpack. They start walking through the ruins together at a comfortable pace. His gaze roams past the walls, ivy and decay, soaking in every little thing he can see. “What is this place?”

With his hands clasped firmly behind his back, spine ramrod straight and his posture the perfect picture of strength, grace and honor, Yunho answers.

“This was once Her Ladyship’s Castle. It was crafted from the highest quality stones, by talented artisans and craftsmen, and it was Her Ladyship’s sole residency. The High Knights of her Order, including myself, studied in the Castle, for that was the simplest method of spreading Her precious knowledge.”

Mingi hums. “What happened? I’m assuming that didn’t happen, like, yesterday. Besides, when I tried to find information on this forest, I saw anything about castles or orders or knights.”

Confused, Yunho pouts.

“I am afraid I do not entirely understand; forgive me if I cannot answer all of your inquiries, though rest assured I shall most certainly try to do so, to the best of my humble abilities,” he begins, still pouting a little.

“Her Ladyship was a force to be reckoned with. There were other Lords and Ladies, naturally, but none were quite as powerful. Most were entirely the opposite of Her, for they were filled with greed and hatred, wishing to use their magic for self-serving purposes instead of good. Where Her Ladyship so graciously lent her power to aid those in need and worked to spread her knowledge to her Order of Knights, those terrible Lords and Ladies merely sought evil.”

Their pace slows down a little. Mingi tears his eyes away from an intricately decorated marble pillar and glances over at Yunho. There’s a hard look on his face, his eyes cold and lips set in a grim line.

“I am afraid I do not possess the exact knowledge of what transpired that one fateful night. The entire Castle was entirely unaware of those despicable men and women conspiring together, and one night, several enchanted armies attacked. We… fought, as much as we could, despite the numbers being overwhelmingly in their favor. I am sure it must not come as a surprise to you, when I speak of a loss so devastating that I struggle to find the words to describe it properly.”

He talks about the bloodshed of that night, the many lives lost and the survivors gravely injured. Once the place had been bathed in blood, the attackers fled.

“It still pains me to think of the damage sustained by both the Castle and Her Ladyship.” Yunho’s voice grew soft, quiet. “Her legacy, tainted by such a horrible turn of events. Her life, cut short so viciously. I had sworn to protect Her, I had vowed my life for the High Knights, yet I failed to commit to the one task I was entrusted with. I should have perished alongside the Order.”

They’re standing still in the middle of an impressive hallway lined with pillars. A soft breeze picks up and ruffles their hair, tugs at their clothes. Mingi tries to work through the barrage of information thrown at him. He supposes it’s not too far fetched to think that those greedy assholes tried to wipe the Order from history as well. Considering magic is a thing, apparently, he can easily imagine a stuck-up Lord waving his hand about and erasing everything from paper. Then, the Order and its knight would only be a memory, soon to be replaced and forgotten.

“I will have to disappoint you, Mingi, when I divulge that I could not tell you how much time has passed since. That night is the final memory I seem to have, for I have been wandering through these ruins ever since. Time is not easily kept track of within these crumbling walls, and it would not be beyond reasonable suspicion that I am kept here by some form of magic, for my existence is partially magic. I am not limited to the Castle grounds, though I might as well be, for I have nowhere else to go.”

Yunho breaks their eye contact with a sigh, his shoulders drooping with the weight of the centuries he’d been stuck roaming around a forgotten ruin.

Without really knowing why, Mingi decides to change the subject. Instead of asking about the Order or magic like he was planning to, he asks about the forest, and Yunho seems relieved as he explains the general layout and most common flora and fauna.

A day passes like that. Before they realize it, the sun is already beginning to set and an owl hoots in the distance.

Yunho dutifully herds Mingi back to his temporary bed, claiming he needs another night’s worth of sleep before he’s fully healed. For some reason, Mingi lets him.

They spend the next few days exchanging information, Mingi asking more questions about magic and the Castle and Yunho returning the curiosity by inquiring about the modern day. He’s blissfully unaware of technology and anything pop culture related, which Mingi thinks is a little endearing. He shows his communicator, his water filter device and explains how Yeosang designs and makes them himself. Mingi explains some slang to Yunho, who in turn tries to get Mingi to speak a little more civilized. He fails, only because Mingi likes to see him pout when he doesn’t understand what he’s saying.

At one point they sat down and looked over his map, Yunho pointing out inaccuracies and Mingi marking things with a pencil. He’s already formed a hypothetical route in his head, hopefully avoiding the cliff this time around, but still ending up at his original destination. His notebook is already full of new scribbles, not a single empty spot left, completely filled with all sorts of information.

Time does go by a little oddly, Mingi thinks. According to his watch and his travel log, it’s been about a week since Yunho found him and took care of his wound. They’ve spent all their time together, talking, laughing, learning about each other and their respective worlds. He’s gotten used to Yunho’s presence and his funny way of speaking.

So once he notices it’s been a week, he begins to feel the urge to scrub the layers of grime and dirt from his skin. For some reason there’s a surprising lack of blood clinging to him and his clothes, but he supposes that must be a perk of Yunho’s healing somehow.

“You don’t happen to have any fancy bathing magic, do you? Some convenient kinda cleaning trick?”

Mingi is draped across a window ledge, one leg dangling in the air, head cocked to the side and a lazy grin on his face. Teasing Yunho has become his favorite pastime over the previous days.

With an exasperated sigh, scarily similar to the ones Yeosang heaves when Mingi says something a little dumb, Yunho shakes his head. “No, I cannot utilise my magic for such purposes, but you may be delighted to learn about the naturally warm spring of water located on the Castle grounds, particularly carved for such needs.”

The idea of freshening up in something other than a freezing cold river sounds like music to Mingi’s ears, and so they set off towards the spring. It doesn’t take long before they head down a small set of stairs and arrive at the body of water in question.

From Yunho’s description, he had expected something masterfully carved like the rest of the castle, and he was not disappointed. The round pool of water, shallow on one side and gradually deepening towards the other end, has several ledges to sit and lean back on. Pretty engravings decorate the stones lining the pool and it’s sheltered from the elements by something that vaguely resembles a stone pergola, half overgrown by ivy. Mingi has to hold himself back from diving straight into the water, and instead pretends like he has perfect self-control by dipping in his hand first. The temperature is lovely— not too warm, not too cold. “Though most of Her Ladyship’s magic has since disappeared, some of her influence is yet to be erased. Feel free to peruse the pond.”

Well, that explains it. Satisfied, Mingi pulls his hand back and shrugs off his jacket. He beings to unbutton his shirt, when he catches Yunho staring at him.

“Like what you see, High Knight?” he teases and adds a little shimmy for good measure. Startled, like he wasn’t aware that he had been ogling Mingi, Yunho immediately turns around and busies himself with observing the grass next to his feet instead. Mingi chuckles.

He continues undressing until all of his clothes are in a pile next to the pool. His backpack and weapons are a safe distance from the water, and for once he doesn’t feel the need to keep an eye on them.

When Mingi steps into the warm water he can literally feel the tension seeping out of his muscles. He wades a little further, until he reaches a ledge to sit on, half submerged. The water gently moves and ripples around him and he hums, pleased.

“Why don’t you join me?”

For the second time, Yunho startles. He turns to face the pool again, his eyes flying all over the place like he doesn’t know where to look, doing his very best to avoid Mingi’s glistening chest and shoulders. “I— you—,” he stutters and Mingi decides to take pity on the poor guy.

“Just jump in, Yunho. I’ll even turn around so you undress.” He twists around, putting his arms on the stone ridge instead and resting his head on them, eyes closed.

He can hear the sound of fabric rustling, metal and wood clinking onto the floor, and soon enough there’s a splash of water sending small waves throughout the pool.

“You can resume your previous position now. Pray accept my gratitude for your kind consideration.” Mingi thinks a simple thank you would’ve sufficed, but he’s beginning to appreciate Yunho’s fancy way of speaking. It’s kind of endearing, really.

“No problem,” he replies as he lifts his head again. Turning around, he sits back down.

Yunho is also half-submerged in the water, surprisingly close to him. Unlike the knight Mingi has absolutely no shame at all, so he greedily stares at the exposed skin and sculpted muscles in front of him. Once his gaze slides upwards, the tips of Yunho’s ears are bright red. “Why must you observe me so intently?”

Surprised by the sudden bold question, Mingi is temporarily speechless.

“Does it bother you?” he asks instead of answering. Sure, he likes what he sees, but if it makes Yunho uncomfortable he’ll reign it in.

“It… does not bother me, no. But I must be honest with you, I am not used to such undivided attention.”

“Really?” Surely he must’ve had hundreds of people in line, fawning at his feet?

“The Order required the entirety of our day and night, for we had much to learn. And we only sparingly had the opportunity to venture outside of the Castle grounds.”

Mingi hums. “Must’ve been kinda lonely, huh?”

He gets a soft nod in reply. “Although I have never felt any regret for my vows to Her Ladyship and the Order, I will admit that on occasion, my heart surely resented me for it.” Yunho shifts a little, the water splashing against the tiles.

“There was one day, on which I received a courting offer; I humbly declined. I know I was not alone in being on the receiving end of such offers, for I know many other High Knights had accepted theirs and attempted to keep it hidden from Her Ladyships’ watchful eyes. But my duties demanded my entire being, so I felt I could not commit to the promises of marriage, which I would never be able to keep.”

Despite having learned so much about this ancient world already, it still manages to baffle Mingi. It sounds so wildly different from today, and although he’s sure that there are still many people in a similar situation, the entire concept of courting and knightly duties leave him a little stunned. His mind wanders a little. Would Yunho want to be courted? Or would he actually appreciate the modern day approach to dating with, less strings attached and not immediately thinking about marriage? Wait— why is he even wondering about that?

“So, you didn’t get up to anything fun, in between all the studying?” he asks, innocently trailing his finger across the water.

“Fun?” Yunho raises an eyebrow.

“Oh c’mon, you know what I mean. Nobody that caught your fancy? No nightly rendez-vous, no sneaking out, no adventures?”

Mingi glances at Yunho’s face. His lips tugs into a grin when he sees a lovely pink dust the knight’s cheeks. “We did not have time for any leisure activities besides our studies, no. Mastering our power required the majority of our day. Courting or marriage was out of the question,” Yunho answers curtly, fiddling with the silver hugging his fingers. Unable to resist the urge, Mingi reaches out and grabs one of his hands. He lifts it up, running a thumb along the jewelry, inspecting it up close. The blush travels all the way to Yunho’s ears.

He decides to have mercy on the poor, blushing man. “What a shame. So, no funny stories either? Of a High Knight getting caught replacing all the sugar with salt, or something?”

When Yunho shakes his head in reply, his hair flops around. He kind of reminds Mingi of a puppy.

“High Knights do not engage in such immature behavior.”

He snorts. “If only I had been more like you guys, my grades would’ve been so much better.”

This prompts Yunho to ask him about his studies, so he indulges and starts explaining how the modern education system works. He summarizes his entire archaeology study as much as possible, Yunho listening intently with a fascinated look on his face; though his expression quickly changes into something more stern when Mingi mentions skipping classes and failing exams. Without either of them realizing it, they gravitate closer to each other.

As they’re sitting in the water, thighs almost pressed together, Mingi realizes he likes Yunho. He likes their conversations, how they can talk for hours on end without either of them getting bored. He likes how can make the knight laugh so hard he nearly topples over or how he will blush so prettily and so easily whenever he teases him.

He likes Yunho. Well, fuck. That’s bad. Very bad, even. Obviously that’s not going to work out, at all. Mingi goes on his expeditions alone because he doesn’t want to drag anybody else into danger with him; he’s already on the fence about involving Yeosang and his new boyfriend as much as he does. Besides, Yunho is some sort of ancient knight, stuck in time, able to wield magic. He can’t even begin to try and wrap his head around what sort of trouble that could possibly end up spelling. He forces the thought out of his mind, shoving it deep down where it came from.

Soon enough, the sun starts to set once again. They get out of the pool, pretending neither of them are trying to steal glances at the other as they’re drying off, and head back to what has unofficially become Mingi’s bedroom. He sits down on the stone table and fluffs up his moss pillow. Yunho lingers somewhere nearby, a little awkward, like he usually does.

“I… Forgive me if I am being too presumptuous, Mingi…”

Clutching the moss pillow to his chest, he turns to look at the knight, eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. Is this what he thinks this is?

“If I am not mistaken, you are to resume your travels tomorrow, correct?”

Oh. It’s not what he thinks it is.

“Yeah, that was my plan. Not sure at what time I’m going to leave exactly, though. Why?”

Yunho hesitates, his eyes flitting all over the place, avoiding meeting Mingi’s.

Then, it’s like he makes up mind and he straightens up, one hand resting on his sword, looking exactly like the highly trained knight he was supposed to be.

“Let me accompany you.”

Mingi is pretty sure his jaw hits the floor. “Eh?”

“I desire to accompany you on your travels, starting tomorrow. Your presence is enjoyable and I shall greatly regret your absence once you depart; therefore, I hereby offer you my services as a knight. I shall escort you wherever you wish and I vow to protect you to the best of my abilities.”

His first instinct is to say fuck yes but the rational part of his brain stops him from blurting it out. He has worked too hard, for too long, to keep others safe from his ridiculous adventures. Mingi knows that he’s breaking the law, he knows he is abusing his position and his connections. He’s run from law enforcement more times than he can remember.

It goes against everything he’s ever stood for to allow someone to come with him, even if that someone is technically more well-equipped to handle danger than anybody else.

But how does he tell Yunho that? How is he supposed to find the words when his mind blanks at the thought of leaving him behind?

“Yunho,” he trails off, unsure of how to continue, “I appreciate your offer, I really do. But I just think… I think it’s better if you stay.”

The strong, knightly mask on Yunho’s face cracks the tiniest bit and it feels like a dropkick to the gut.

“Listen. I work alone for a reason. What I do is dumb and dangerous, which you saw when you found me basically half-dead. I don’t wanna get anyone else into trouble.”

A muscle in his jaw twitches painfully from how hard he’s grinding his teeth. Mingi is sure he’ll take his words back and wind up on his knees begging the knight to come with him if he doesn’t force his mouth shut.

“But I am offering you my protection! You have not been able to observe the full extent of my magic, but on Her Ladyship’s honor I promise you it serves very well for both offense and defense. I beg you, Mingi, allow me to change your mind; let me be your companion starting tomorrow.” There’s a desperate note to his voice that Mingi tries to ignore.

“No.”

A whirlwind of emotions flash across Yunho’s face.

“Would you be so kind as to entertain me with the reasoning behind your foolish declining of my offer, which greatly benefits you?”

Yunho’s voice is cold, disappointed. Hurt. Mingi balls his hands into tight fists, nails leaving indents on his palms, breaking skin.

“Why can’t you accept no for an answer, aren’t you supposed to be an honorable knight? I said no! It would only be a burden to try and keep someone else alive, don’t you get it?” he bites out. “You know absolutely fuck all about the world outside of this forest, how do you think that’s gonna go, huh? Just drop it.”

After a silence so loud it makes his ears ring, Yunho gives him a curt nod. “As you wish.”

He leaves, the sound of his boots harshly clacking against the stone hallway echoing between the castle ruins. Mingi feels like a small part of his heart leaves with him.

It hurts. He didn’t mean a single word he said, but he’s terrified. He has never been this interested in anyone before, never felt so attached, only a few days after meeting. And it’s not just because Yunho looks like he was carved by the gods themselves; he has a golden personality and being around him feels like soaking up rays of sunshine. Hurting someone so kind, the human equivalent of an angel, who went out of his way to bring him back from the brink of death, is easily the worst thing he could have ever done.

Even though Yunho has been stuck in time for centuries and even though he’s from a completely different world, Mingi can’t deny the instant connection they have. He might not be a sappy romantic like Yeosang, but if he had to find the words for it, he can only describe it as love at first sight. And that’s why has to say no: to keep him safe.

Who knows what will happen to him if he tags along? He could get seriously hurt, or in his well-meant naivety and urge to help, could be taken advantage of by the wrong people. Not many things scare Mingi, but that sends an icy chill down his spine. Selfishly, he wants to keep Yunho safe. If he has to rip out his own heart to do so, he will.

The next morning is quiet. Uncomfortably so. The lack of a tall knight trailing behind him or bounding ahead like an excited puppy is glaringly obvious and Mingi tries not to notice it too much. It doesn’t work.

He packs his bag and shoves his stuff in their respective pockets with more force than necessary. With a quick look-over he takes stock of his food supply, noting that he probably has enough to complete the expedition with if he rations them well.

After double checking his rifle and remaining ammo, he does the same for all of his knives. Once he’s sure he’s got everything strapped nice and secure he immediately heads down the stairs, not wanting to waste any time getting sentimental. It’s no use, there’s nothing left for him in these ruins anymore anyway. He made sure of that.

As he begins heading down the path he’d marked out on his map, each step getting him further and further away from the castle, Mingi feels a pair of eyes boring into his back. It takes every single shred of willpower not to turn around, fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness.

He continues his journey.

The forest is less dense than before, and the path is blissfully free of treacherous vines. The new route he had mapped out is supposed to be relatively easy and straightforward, but then again, this entire expedition was supposed to be normal and it turned out to be anything but.

Mingi removes his hat, wipes some sweat off his face with his arm, ruffles his hair a little and puts it back on. The cool breeze that gently blew through the ruins doesn’t reach the forest, apparently.

Mentally kicking his own ass, he quickly cuts off that train of thought. No more thinking about crumbling ruins or gorgeous High Knights. Absolutely not.

He keeps up a good pace, wanting to make as much progress as possible. Suddenly he remembers something and he scrambles to get his hands on his communicator— only to find it completely dead. Empty. Off. No matter which buttons he presses or how hard he slaps the stupid thing, nothing happens. Not even a single, miserable bleep.

With a deep sigh, he pockets the device again. Although his memory is a little hazy and muddled, he’s pretty sure he had succeeded in sending Yeosang the IADS-alert (it stands for I Am in Deep Shit and it was Yeosang’s own idea, thank you very much). All he can do is hope that his message was received and that there’s a rescue mission being set up. Of course, Mingi is no longer in desperate need of a hospital and a blood transfusion, but it’s not like he can give an update on that now. He supposes Yeosang will probably accurately guess his plan, and will have some sort of transport ready to pick him up at his original final destination.

He trudges along the path. A little bored, he tries to distract himself like usual by whistling a song. It doesn’t take him long before he realizes it’s one of Yunho’s ancient melodies and he groans. Regret creeps up his throat and he swallows it back down before it chokes him, trying to convince himself it was the right thing to do.

Mingi is so lost in his own head, wrestling with his thoughts, that he fails to notice the way the scenery has slowly changed; how the trees no longer seem healthy and alive, or the lack of any small animals. It’s not until he feels something wrap around his ankle that he snaps back to reality and— what the fuck?

A thick, decaying vine tries to climb up his leg, and another one latches onto his foot. Mingi unsheathes one of his longer knives with practised ease and slashes through the invading vines. It takes him much longer than he likes, the vines being stubborn and sticky despite their rotten appearance. He doesn’t stick around to see if they really die once he’s sliced them in half, and starts to run.

As though they react to the ones that he cut off, more vines appear, all in several stages of rot and covered in mold. They slither over the ground like snakes and lower themselves from overhanging crooked tree branches. He dodges most of them or crushes them underneath his boots; he swishes his knife through the air in hopes of hitting as many as he can. His other hand finds a second knife from where it’s strapped to his thigh and he wields both of them with precision.

He sprints forward as fast as he can, not even trying to make sense of the situation, his only goal being survival.

The vines seem to multiply by the second. They reach for him, hungrily trying to curl around whatever they can reach. Mingi can’t figure out any rhyme or reason to their movements, so he just keeps swiveling his body as he runs in an attempt to cover as much space as possible, swinging his knives down on every single vine he sees.

It was morning when he left, the sun just starting to rise; but now the forest is as dark as a stormy evening.

He has barely jumped over another ravenous vine when something hard and sharp purposefully scratches down his face and Mingi panics. He barely manages to knock whatever it is away from him with the blunt end of his knife, putting all possible strength behind it.

It makes him stumble a little but he manages to save his balance. As he bolts down the path, he throws a single glance over his shoulder. Not only are the vines trying to catch him; so are the barren, dead trees.

Mingi continues to run, hacking left and right, his mind running at full power to try and formulate some sort of plan. Nothing about this makes any sense to him, he has no way of anticipating what might come at him next, and all he can really do is try to steer clear of the trees that are beginning to loom over the path, caging him in. He assumes it’s some sort of magic, which doesn’t surprise him anymore after getting to know Yunho, but this is nothing like the warm and light power that te knight harnesses. This is evil, rotten to the core and greedy for blood; it’s only focus being to harm and hurt.

His foot nearly slips on some brown moss. It moves on its own, trying to get him to trip. A wolf howls menacingly in the distance, another howl follows shortly after, much closer to him. Something big and heavy runs alongside him next to the path, bright red eyes occasionally gleaming at him from where the owner is hidden between the dead trees. He’s pretty sure he sees a vulture circling low overhead, feathers torn and mangled and bones poking out of its chest.

Mingi slashes his way through another heavy layer of decomposing vines with a grunt.

There’s no way he can make it out of this unscathed. His knives can only do so much against the endless attack of this bloodthirsty version of Mother Nature, and there’s nothing else he has on him that could possibly stand a chance. Even if he somehow would have enough time to wiggle his rifle out of its fastenings, he doesn’t want to waste any of his hard-earned ammo on fucking trees and grass.

He keeps running, slashing, running, and punching his way through the constantly changing forest and Mingi can’t remember how much time has passed— and he’s so incredibly exhausted that he doesn’t notice the enormous oak tree until it’s too late.

With a sickening thud he slams right into the trunk.

But he doesn’t sink to the ground, crying out in pain like he expected to.

Instead, the tree instantly curls its bark around him. Branches bind his legs, hug his fingers, hands, arms, and Mingi realizes the tree is trying to swallow him whole. He panics.

“F— fuck, no! NO!”

He desperately tries to wiggle free and he just barely manages to turn his head to one side, but nothing he does seems to actually get him somewhere; he’s been immobilized within seconds.

“FUCK!” Mingi yells, his voice hoarse.

His legs are rapidly disappearing and he can barely feel them anymore; his left hand has already been completely swallowed by the oak. The branch curling around his neck tightens, threatening to cut off his airways. He can see bark closing in on his face out of the corner of his eyes. Mingi struggles, but it’s no use. His breathing becomes erratic, panic having fully set in and the gravity of the situation hitting him.

The wolves howl. There’s more of them now and they stalk around the oak tree. Multiple vultures line the branches of neighboring trees, sharpening their beaks, waiting for a potential meal. Rotting vines claw their way up from the floor, excitedly lapping at the bits of him that are still visible. The entire forest seems to move in on where Mingi is being buried alive.

“Pl— please, no…” he rasps out. This can’t be the end for him, it can’t. He has so many things left to do; he needs to make it up to Yeosang for putting him through all the stress of having to pluck him out of countless dangerous situations, not knowing if he’s dead or not. He has to apologize to Yunho because he’s an asshole who is unable to handle his own feelings and deal with them like a normal person, he has to make amends for hurting him and, fuck, Mingi hadn’t even properly thanked him for saving his life in the first place. He’s such a fucking idiot and now he’s reaping the consequences.

The oak has almost covered Mingi entirely, only a small glimpse of his face still visible.

Then— a blinding flash of silver lights cuts through the foliage.

A long, gleaming sword effortlessly slides through the trunk of a tree. A skillful hand summons several glowing arrows, and with a sharp snap of a bow, aims them directly towards the savage pack of wolves. They scatter, ears flat in their necks, whining; their retreat scares off the vultures in turn and they flee, becoming one with the gloomy sky.

The bright, gently pulsating light illuminates the forest. The disgusting vines curl into themselves, like they’re being burned.

Someone steps through the trees, surrounded by a radiant halo, almost like it’s coming from their very being. Silver arrows fly through the darkness, piercing every harmful thing in their way. They walk directly towards the oak holding Mingi.

“Y… Yun?”

Within seconds Mingi is free from the gigantic tree, tumbling out of the trunk and slamming onto his hands and knees. He takes big lungfuls of air, coughing and choking and he claws at his chest and throat because he can’t fucking bre—

“—athe, Mingi, please, you have to breathe. You are safe, Mingi please look at me.” A desperate voice pierces through the panic clouding his mind and he’s forced to raise his head as two hands cup his face.

Crouched in front of him, looking just as ethereal and gorgeous as Mingi remembers, is Yunho in all his knightly glory. His magic flows around him, finally getting to function at its full power. The sword at his side seems to thrum with life, the same goes for the bow laying in the dirt next to him.

Mingi breathes.

Everything hurts, his throat feels raw and his lungs ache, but he breathes.

He looks at Yunho. The knight looks just as terrified as he feels, eyes wide and watery and raking all over Mingi in attempt to assess the damage. He doesn’t like this look on him; he’s supposed to be happy, with wide smiles and rosy ears. Or stern as he’s trying to scold Mingi for his bad habits but fails because he looks too cute.

“’M fine,” he croaks.

It has the opposite effect, because tears begin to stream down Yunho’s face.

“You— of course you are not fine, you fool. Why must you be so—” He sniffs and gently runs a thumb along Mingi’s jaw. “Please, let me heal you.”

After a tiny nod from Mingi, they shuffle around a bit, mindful of his injuries. He tries to speak, to tell Yunho where he thinks his worst pain is, but Yunho gently shushes him.

“Pray do not strain yourself. Let my magic run its course and rest a little, please.” He whispers the last word and Mingi can’t find a good reason to object, so he lets Yunho move him around as he pleases.

They end up sitting against a tree somewhere off to the side, a safe distance from the oak that had captured Mingi. He’s settled between Yunho’s legs, two long arms tucking him against his body.

Yunho’s hands glow and Mingi feels the familiar rush of his magic, healing every little scrape and ache that he has.

His head lolls to the side, resting against Yunho’s shoulder.

A beautiful melody reaches his ears and he feels the broad chest behind him vibrate with each note.

He has never felt so safe before.

“I’m sorry.”

The humming stops and Yunho makes a questioning noise. “When you asked to join me… I said many things I didn’t mean, and I hurt you. You didn’t deserve that, especially considering I hadn’t even thanked you properly for healing me. So… Yunho, thank you for saving my life, and I’m sorry.”

When Yunho replies, Mingi feels his lips move against his neck.

“Mingi, I appreciate your expression of regret and although I was merely performing my duty, I accept your gratitude. Do not think I cannot fathom your reasoning for declining my offer of companionship, because I do. Your assumptions of my hurt are correct, but your genuine remorse soothes my inner torment.”

“Actually, I don’t think you do.”

After getting a little too close to knocking on the pearly gates not too long ago, Mingi feels like he can finally see things in a new light and he’s not going to let this opportunity slip away from him.

“Yes, I declined your offer because I wanted to keep you safe, that’s true, and I do travel alone because I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. But that’s not the only reason why I lashed out and tried so hard to get you to stay,” he says, focusing on the way Yunho’s pretty fingers gently stroke his arm. “I like you. A lot, to be honest. And it scares me, because I have never felt so strongly about someone else before. I had so many questions, concerns, thoughts, I was overwhelmed.”

He clears his throat.

“Maybe I should’ve talked about it. Maybe not. I don’t know. But I shouldn’t have hurt you, so, I’m sorry.”

Yunho doesn’t reply right away, and he kind of understands that. Sorting through thoughts and feelings before blurting out something you might regret is a skill Mingi could probably use.

Regardless of what his reaction might be, Mingi resolves to accept it, no questions asked. If Yunho can’t forgive him he can fully understand that and will eventually learn to live with it, even if it breaks his heart. Though, the fact that he’s willing to listen and hasn’t stopped running his hands up and down his arms makes a tiny spark of hope light up beneath his ribs.

A soft hum vibrates through Yunho’s chest and when Mingi blinks, he’s being repositioned again, carefully, despite already being mostly healed.

Now, he’s the one leaning against the tree instead. Yunho is next to him, long legs folded underneath him.

They sit in silence for a little bit.

Yunho looks at him, intently, and for the first time since they met, the roles are reversed. Mingi feels his face grow warm, unused to being on the receiving end of such a stare.

“I will admit, our situation is quite unlike anything I have had the honor of experiencing before, nor have I ever come across similar affairs during my studies. You tend to leave me lost for words, with my cheeks aflame and heart threatening to boil over, too full of feelings. At first, I thought I was simply happy to finally have company after centuries of desolation. It felt wrong to assign these feelings to you as their cause, yet deep down I knew I would not have felt them so strongly had it been anyone else.”

He doesn’t break their eye contact when he once again reaches out with both his hands, cupping Mingi’s cheeks, brushing a thumb over the soft skin. Yunho gently bonks their heads together, keeping him close.

“Both of us fought our own battles, unaware of the struggles of the other; we both dealt with them in the ways we know best. For that, I shall not blame nor judge you in any way. I accept your apologies and your words, and humbly ask you to do the same for mine.” His voice lowers to a whisper. Someone shuffles even closer— or maybe they both do.

“I did not merely offer you my services as a knight because I enjoy your presence and wish to see you unharmed and well; I withheld the other reason from you due to my fears of it only being my hearts’ response to no longer being solitary. Mingi, I wished to join you, for I adore you and wish to spend many more days by your side, seeing the world you have described so vividly with my own two eyes.”

A smile so wide that it hurts his cheeks forms on his lips, and Mingi decides to start his effort of making it up to the man next to him right there. “Yunho, will you do me the pleasure of accompanying me during my travels?” he asks with a cheeky smile, trying to copy the same kind of fancy speak.

Yunho smiles at him, a pleased look on his face and a playful glint in his eyes. Mingi thinks his beauty deserves to be immortalized in a museum.

“As you wish.”

They leave the battlefield of shriveled vines and battered trees behind, continuing on Mingi’s journey together.

Even though the forest seems to be normal again and no longer out for his blood, Mingi still jumps at every single branch that creaks and subtly tries to avoid walking too close to the edge of the path, out of reach of any malicious greenery. He might be a seasoned adventurer and he’s faced many different kinds of danger before, but he’s never experienced something to out of his control before.

Despite his best attempts at hiding how jumpy he is, Yunho notices. He slowly adjusts his path to move closer to him until their shoulders brush.

“You do not have to worry so much. I cleansed every last bit of the lingering magic that attacked you,” he begins. Fingers thread through his own, and some of the tension in his body settles. “I assume you remember my retelling of the night that destroyed the Castle?”

Mingi nods.

“Well, this was a remnant of the same magic, deformed and abused by evil and greed, that was turned so cruelly against us. As part of my duties, I attempted to cleanse parts of the immediate surroundings of the Castle, but I was unaware it had spread over such a vast distance.” Yunho’s explanation is tinged with remorse and Mingi softly squeezes his hand.

“You did your best, though.” He is rewarded with a small, grateful smile.

“I tried to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities, though I am afraid that I have failed them. I could have prevented you falling into its wicked claws.”

Any objections Mingi tries to utter get cut off by a firm shake of Yunho’s head. “Pray do not try to soften the blow, I need to face my lacking in its entirety. Though perhaps, this was all fated to happen. These past moments have given me insights I could have never gained otherwise.”

Pulling Mingi to a halt with him, he stops and stands perfectly still in the middle of the path. His face is serious, a firm resolution showing throughout his entire body language.

“I hereby declare that I, High Knight Yunho of Her Ladyship’s Order, abandon my duties and break my vows to serve the Order until my death. Instead, I vow to dedicate my remaining days to my dear companion, with Her Ladyship’s blessings.”

He mumbles something else, again in that language that Mingi can’t even begin to understand.

Yunho smiles at him, like a burden has been lifted off his shoulders, and he opens his mouth to say something when he is abruptly cut off by his magic. Usually, it’s contained under his practised control, but now it’s swirling around him, dancing wildly.

Confused, he looks around, eyes following the streaks of silver floating through the air.

“Oh, your sword!” Mingi points at the weapon and Yunho lets out a soft gasp.

The claymore has started to shimmer, like it’s turning transparent. He quickly reaches behind him to shrug off his bow and arrows, unclasping it with hurried fingers; they are pulsating with a silver glow as well.

Within a few seconds, the light surrounding the weapons grows so bright they both have to shield their eyes.

Then, it dims.

The weapons are gone, the leather band at Yunho’s side empty and his hands holding nothing but air. Only a small, thin sliver of silver magic remains, and it lovingly twists around the jewelry on his fingers, nudging the delicate bands.

“What the—”

“Her Ladyship has accepted, and has sent Her blessing,” Yunho mutters.

He looks both happy and sad at the same time, a bittersweet smile thin on his lips, like he doesn’t really know what to feel. Mingi closes the short distance between them, and pulls him into his arms. Yunho sags into the hug, wrapping his own arms firmly around Mingi’s waist, head lowering to rest on his shoulder.

“I guess Her Ladyship is more than satisfied with how you held up your duties,” Mingi hums. “And now you finally get your chance to have some fun, or perhaps, try courting a handsome, dashing adventurer…”

Yunho snorts and pinches him between his ribs. With a squeak, Mingi lets go. “Don’t attack me! I’m still recovering!” he pouts.

“You look perfectly recovered to me, my dear adventurer.” Amused, Yunho grabs his hand again and tugs him forward along the path. “Now, let us continue. We shall not reach your destination before dusk if we linger for too long.”

Thanks to Yunho’s insistence, they complete the journey just before the sun begins to set.

The final destination on Mingi’s map is an impressive, almost otherworldly waterfall. It seems to reach all the way from the heavens down to several meters below them, ending in what is the start of the main river that rushes through the forest.

In front of them is a big patch of grass that was supposed to be empty, and a place for Mingi to set up his camp— instead, there’s a familiar face standing next to a rusty and wonky helicopter. “Yeosang!”

They rush towards him. “Did you get my alert?” Mingi asks while scooping him into a hug.

Yeosang squirms and lightly pats his arm.

“Only barely. It fell away right in the middle of your coordinates, actually. I had to cut my date with Jongho short to try and figure out where the fuck you were.”

“Then, how…?”

Mingi releases him from the hug and Yeosang steps away, safely out of reach in case he decides he wants another. “I put a tracker in the seam of your hat, and there’s another one in the leather band of your rifle.”

He blinks. Not sure whether he should be thankful or offended, he decides to ignore this new information entirely. Turning back to where Yunho is still standing off to the side, observing their conversation with barely contained interest, he waves him over.

“Yeo, this is Yunho; Yunho, this is the guy I told you about, he makes those funny devices and usually saves my ass.”

Clearly suspicious of how Mingi ended up with a random man tagging along on his journey through an uninhabited ancient forest, Yeosang holds his hand out for Yunho to shake. Yunho stares at it, unsure what to do.

Wanting to prevent an awkward situation that needs more explaining than he currently has the strength for, Mingi swats the hand away and pulls Yunho towards the helicopter.

“Right, let’s get the fuck out of here, I’ve seen more than enough of this forest. Yeo, I have some crazy things to tell you.”

A few weeks later, Mingi peeks around the door of Yeosang’s unused office room. He spies Yunho and Jongho sitting behind the desk, fully focused on the computer in front of them.

“— so they’re called lanes? And that is the top lane, that’s mid and that’s… bot?”

“Basically, yeah. In between is the jungle, but you don’t need to worry about that yet. Just focus on this first.”

“What are those?”

“Oh, minions. And those are turrets, by the way, and you have to—”

He smiles at Yunho’s starry eyes staring at the game in front of him. If he had a tail, it would be wagging furiously.

Mingi turns around, keeping his footsteps soft as he walks back to the kitchen to grab some coffee. He’s halfway through his first heavenly sip when Yeosang suddenly storms out of his basement, slamming the door.

“Song Mingi.”

Oh boy. He throws a glance at Yeosang from over the rim of his cup, raising an eyebrow expectingly.

“I’m going to need you to repeat what happened with those guys who ambushed you, start to finish, in perfect detail.”

Mingi does. Yeosang’s expression is serious, almost grave. When he recounts the part where the device was plucked from his bag, the stormy look on his face deepens. He nods.

“Do you realize who they were?”

Obviously, he doesn’t have a single fucking clue; it’s not like they politely introduced themselves before threatening him over something he was completely unaware of.

Yeosang sighs. “They’re a… group of criminals, technically. I made a device for them some time ago, but they didn’t hold up their end of the deal, so I kept it. When I packed your devices for you, it must’ve slipped in with them. Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t bother anymore because I hadn’t heard from them since, but I guess they decided to take matters into their own hands and started tracking the device.”

Pieces begin to fall together in Mingi’s mind.

“They call themselves ATEEZ, and they dabble in a little bit of everything. Thievery, hacking, smuggling weapons, underground fights… you get the point. And they—”

A cute ringtone cuts him off. Yeosang fishes his phone out of his pocket and promptly pales.

“Put it on speaker,” Mingi demands and he does, sliding the button to accept the call.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Kang Yeosang, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Mingi recognises that voice. Sharp smile, tiny guy, eyes that scream danger.

“Who’s asking?” Yeosang keeps his deep voice stable, despite the concern etched onto his face. He swallows, worrying his lower lip between his teeth.

“Now, Yeosang, I know our last meeting was… less than ideal, but let’s not play any games.”

Jongho enters the kitchen, followed by Yunho. He immediately walks over to Yeosang, wrapping an arm around him protectively. Mingi holds his hand out to Yunho, who happily takes it and moves to lean into him, nuzzling just below his ear. Despite the serious situation, Jongho pretends to gag. Mingi sticks out his tongue at him.

“I’ll get to the point. We have a new… endeavor, of sorts, but unfortunately we lack some brainpower and muscle.” A voice in the background protests, and immediately quietens down again after a muffled slap. “I have recently been made aware of a certain connection of yours, and I want to make a deal with you.”

Yeosang huffs.

“Why would I want to have anything to with you people after last time? You’re insane.”

“Ah, yes I am, I can’t deny that. It was a silly mistake on our behalf, sorry about that. However, if you accept our deal, I’m more than willing to discuss how we can make it up to you.”

There’s a short moment of complete quiet in the kitchen. Yeosang exchanges a look with Mingi and a certain kind of understanding seems to pass between them.

They both know that there’s only the illusion of choice. If Yeosang refuses the deal, there will be consequences. It probably wouldn’t take long for ATEEZ to find more information on them, potentially discovering Jongho or Yunho, which would put them in danger. But if he accepts, he can try to haggle in their favor, ensuring the protection of one of the most feared groups of criminals currently alive.

“Alright. What’s your deal?”

The voice on the other end of the call makes a pleased sound.

“I knew you were reasonable. Here’s the deal, Kang Yeosang,” the voice purrs, a grin clearly audible.

“… we want you and your friends to join ATEEZ.”