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It was a very well-known fact that Yu Dan doesn't get much sleep.
Sleep comes easy to him — sure. Having nightmares and waking up with a full body shock? — sure. Every time he closes his eyelids, monsters and curses alike flood his vision — and well, Yu Dan, he's a curious kid — he starts looking for why, when, what, and the last thing he'd remember is a bloodied figure surrounded by blood (he can't tell if it's his or someone else's) and his own hands outstretched for reasons he can't recall.
So, it's safe to say that yes, Yu Dan has developed insomnia. He physically can't lie down and just dream — not at the desolate apartment he calls home, nor at school — because even then he would take a nap — and apparently ten minute naps are enough for a spirit to mentally scar you for life.
On most days he would just skip and not bother with school, it's not like he can pay attention with constant fatigue and pangs of sleepiness assaulting him throughout the day. He'd rather go to Banwoldang anyways.
(He isn't a kid anymore — no one around him is a kid anymore and he thought that everyone got past his unusual appearance — but the dirty looks he’d receive from teachers and students and classmates, hell even the plants, would make him cower and hide away.)
Skipped school days meant more time spent at Banwoldang — more time with the stupid fox and the residents Yu Dan has come to recognize as family. He would bring his books and the occasional dessert over and attempt at studying, but it seems that whenever he was present, some tragedy would have befallen him — and he'd seek out fox head because who else could (would) help him? — or a domestic fight between who had better charms and bracelets would break out. Either way, he doesn't focus and get much studying done.
Instead, he sleeps at the dining table or on the plush living room couch, not the veranda, never the veranda. (He's learned his lesson to never sleep by the veranda. the memory of his pale and sunken body still haunts him.) For today, he’ll have to settle for the couch. He closes his eyes and expects mutilated monsters to come out and continue their streak — but they surprisingly don't. The fact that they don't in itself makes Yu Dan blink his eyes wide open and come face to face with a certain fox.
(Suddenly, he wants to go back to sleep.)
"Already awake, sleeping beauty? You just closed your eyes."
Yu Dan thinks a vein is about to pop. "As a matter of fact, no, I'm not. This is an illusion caused by a spirit and I'm actually asleep."
And at that, the priest lets out a soft chuckle, "How amusing. and you think I would let a spirit pass through and enter my domain?"
Yu Dan — Yu Dan has no answer to that. He lets out a frustrated sigh and faces the back of the couch so his eyesight isn't smothered by the irritating gold. "Goodnight," he very eloquently says.
And the fox — surprisingly enough — listens and walks away, his geta hitting the wooden floor with a soft thud, gradually softening as he travels out of reach. Something in Yu Dan churns at the fact the fox went off, but he ignores it and attempt to sleep again, hopefully with no ghosts or spirits accompanying.
(Yu Dan mulls it over for a second — it would be a stretch, but it still makes sense — maybe the fox's presence kept away the bad spirits?
He brushes it off, though.)
This time the one who wakes him is Chae Seol — her hair messy from playing and helping around the shop — trying to nudge him awake. He doesn't move and curls in on himself even more, muttering out a meager, "Five more minutes..."
Chae Seol however, decides to have none of that. She shouts at the top of her lungs, "Wake up human! Unnie made curry for dinner!" Her nudging evolves into aggressively hitting his ribs and — ow — he finally decides to get up — already got up at the mention of food.
The smell of potatoes, carrots and caramelised onions get stronger as he sits down next to Heukyo and faces the twins, with Do-ssi beside her and the fox youkai sitting at the head of the table. An assortment of side dishes — pickled radish, kimchi, fried sausage — a big pot of curry in the middle of everyone with set plates of rice in front of each chair.
Dinner was delightful — courtesy of Heukyo's hard work — Yu Dan had polished off three plates of curry, even he hadn't known he was this hungry. He helped Chae Woo clear the table up and sat back down on the couch when the fox youkai approached him.
"If you feel tired, go home. You're cluttering our shop."
Yu Dan turned his head at his remark, about to make a comeback when he realizes that Yeah. He's right, it isn't like this is this home. He simply nods and collects his belongings, when he notices the fox make a face. A very weird face.
"Is there something on me? I'll gather my things and head off. Sorry for the inconvenience."
"..No." the fox adds on, "Just for your knowledge, you are always welcome at our shop. Head home safely, Yu Dan."
It's a Friday when he goes over to the tea shop. It’s dark out — even though the clock displays noon — heavy clouds hung overhead, almost ready to burst with the volume of water they hold. He quickly enters the shop and greets Do-ssi and the twins — Heukyo was in the kitchen, and the fox was nowhere to be found.
Time passes quickly. No one except for a couple who claimed they felt eyes following them everywhere — and started fretting over cures and amulets and whatnot — entered the shop. Fox head had consulted them and pushed a candle towards them.
("Light the candle only when the clock hits quarter past one in the morning. Immediately extinguish the fire after fifteen minutes, no more no less.")
Before Yu Dan knows it, he's eaten his fill for dinner — they had homemade hotpot for the occasion, something about sun showers and foxes — and the rain continued getting heavier. He could hear the droplets violently splattering on the wooden roof and knocking on their windows. He thinks that if he tries to go back now, he'd be abducted by the god of rain.
Chae Seol approaches him with concern and asks in a worried voice, "How will Yu Dan go home? You won't walk in the rain like this, right?"
Yu Dan thinks that walking isn't a possibility with how harsh the wind is. He also thinks the plants by the garden have been pulled out of their flowerbeds. "Probably not. Would it be okay if I stay the night then?"
A sharp voice cuts through his question, "Absolutely not. We do not have any extra rooms or futons to let you sleep in. As a host; your discomfort is my responsibility."
An awkward silence follows the youkai's comment. Since when did he care about his discomfort? At that thought, the fox shoots him a dirty glare — not like the ones he's received his whole life — it's full of frustration and concern, Yu Dan thinks.
"But what other choice do I have? You're not going to throw me to my demise out there, are you? What if a rain spirit captures me?"
The fox for once, doesn't have anything else to say. He averts his head and looks out of the window — it's still raining heavily and tree leaves are being threatened off their stem.
Yu Dan continues, "It'll be fine if i just sleep on the couch, right? I've taken naps on here many times before, and you didn't seem to have any problems with them. Please?" Yu Dan pleads.
And at that, the fox faces back to Yu Dan, contemplating on the negotiation he's been offered. After a heavy silence filled with audible rain, he huffs a sigh and reaches his hand out to Yu Dan.
The hand goes past him and cups the nape of his neck, "Fine. Don't blame me when you wake up with a cramped back and a sore neck." And with that, Baek Ran releases his hold on him and leaves to his room.
(Yu Dan thinks the humidity of the rain has crept into the wooden walls. He clutches at the area where the fox just held. Why else would his face feel so hot?)
When everyone retires to their room and are sleeping the night away, Yu Dan is alone on the couch in the living room, staring out the window. It's cold and still raining so heavily. He can't sleep — doesn't want to sleep — he's afraid of who or what would come when he closes his eyes.
He lies down and attempts to get a wink of sleep — to which he isn't granted. Staring at the worn out and old wooden ceiling doesn't provide him good dream material either. He's in the middle of zoning out when he hears shuffling from behind the couch — his back immediately straightens and his form goes rigid and his breathing has stopped.
The shuffling and scraping on wooden floor get louder and louder with each thud and Yu Dan gathers the courage to peek over the couch and face whatever spirit that could've gotten past the fox priest's barrier and—.
—Chae Seol and Chae Woo are staring up at him with big, glazed eyes. They aren't dressed in their usual hanbok, instead leaning more to modern pyjamas — Chae Woo has a duck themed set while his sister matches his with a flamingo themed onesie.
There's a small part of him that thinks maybe it's a spirits illusion and what's cowering in fear Infront of him is maybe the spirits’ trembling in excitement. It overtakes him almost immediately — like an impulse — and he reaches out to touch both their cheeks with his hands. It feels soft and squishy and chubby — not an illusion then. He breathes a sigh of relief and flops back down on the couch.
Dnd then Yu Dan asks the multimillion won question, "Why are both of you down here? Shouldn't you be upstairs in your room sleeping?"
They flinch when he asks as if scared of his response. Chae Seol clutches her brother's arm tightly and timidly says, "The th-thunder and lightning. It's scary and we didn't want to bother unnie or Do-ssi. Unnie gets really mad if someone interrupts her sleep."
"And where is the fox?"
Chae Woo speaks up this time, "He's awake, but he tells us to not disturb him after ten o'clock."
Shitty fox.
Yu Dan looks between them a few times before giving in, "So your next best choice was to look for me?" The twins hastily nod while lightning flashes through the window — both twins jump and scurry to hug his lower half, he places his hands on their backs in an attempt to soothe them.
Yu Dan guides them to the couch — its big enough for one person, and it might get a little tight with three people, but he'll make it work. It's been a while since he's slept with someone warm next to him — he thinks the last time he did was with his mother.
He decides to lie down on his back first and guide the twins to lay next to him — Chae Seol was between him and Chae Woo. He shifts to sleep on his side, or else one of the twins would fall off — a thought he would rather not entertain.
He props his head up with his hand and pulls the blanket — they dragged it to the living room with them — and covers both their bodies with it, leaving only a few squares for himself. That's alright he figures. Young children tend to get colder easily.
Both twins had fallen asleep while he moved around and tried to get comfortable in their tiny, shared space, when he finally settled an arm over Chae Seol and watched both of them sleep. Thunder still clapped outside albeit not as strong as a few minutes ago — the rain must be dying down already.
He is still looking out the window when his eyes start to get heavy and they're drooping down and its warm — so warm — that he can't help but follow the twins into sleep.
Yu Dan sleeps well that night.
Ever since his first stay over at Banwoldang, Chae Seol and and Chae Woo would always pester him to stay the night. Never mind if he left in the afternoon or the evening — the moment they saw him get up and leave they would rush over and insistently tug on his pants — they even threatened to take his scarf and hide it in their shop.
When asked why, all they would say was, " Yu Dan is really warm!" " Yu Dan keeps us safe!" " Yu Dan keeps the bad ghosts away!" — which should be wrong, considering he is a walking spirit magnet. But no matter what excuses he could come up with — even Heukyo wasn't able to coax them — he would always end up staying the night on the couch, the twins tucked tight with him.
The only time he'd be able to escape the twins’ wrath was when they handled chores around the shop or when they were out — he would quietly slip out of the shop and head back to his desolate apartment. Unfortunately, if he didn't stay overnight at Banwoldang for at least two days, they would willingly seek him out and pester him back to the shop.
And what of Baek Ran, Heukyo and Do-ssi? They werent very happy with it at first — especially Heukyo — but with the Chae Seol's insistence in overnight stays and the domestic aftermath in the morning made them softer.
(Baek Ran wakes up the moment dawn arrives. He meditates for half an hour and proceeds with his morning routine — brushing down his tail and ears and fitting into the day's clothes — he opens the shop by half past eight to officially start the day.
The sight that greets him, however, has him scoffing and pulling a blanket over the human pile — Chae Seol is on top of Yu Dan with drool spilling out of her mouth and dripping all over his shirt, and Chae Woo is half-clinging onto her sister and half-dangling off the couch.
He thinks he could get used to sights like this.)
It's when he enters the antique shop and he realizes the couch he sleeps on is gone. The dust beneath the couch is still there — so it must have not been long ago since it disappeared. The twins are attending errands for Do-ssi and Heukyo is out for groceries herself — I don't trust kids with my shopping list she'd say — the fox isn't present in the open living room and Do-ssi is the only one in the dining room.
He eyes the empty spot where his couch used to be while he approaches Do-ssi at the dining table and he settles himself down opposite of him. Multiple papers are scattered across the table — some even falling to the floor — cluttering up the dining room. he reaches down to pick one up and it reads, 'Utility billing for January xxxx-November xxxx'.
To say he is shocked is an understatement — this tea shop had evaded their billing for 11 months straight? It's a miracle on how civil officers haven't detained them yet. Yu Dan looks at Do-ssi who is bending his back over at these papers.
He coughs into his hand and clears his throat to make his presence known — Do-ssi finally notices him and pauses his calculations midway. "So, what's with all these bills? Has karma finally caught up to all of you?"
At that, Do-ssi makes a face. "What karma, boy? I'll have you know we just received these. Apparently, the mailman just left them at a house a few blocks down. Humans are so irresponsible!"
Yu Dan agrees. No one was responsible enough to take care of him after his parents' passing. But still a question remains, "And the couch?"
"Ah, that old thing. We sold it off to an antique furniture shop a few streets away. It managed to cover almost all our bills, but we still have a lot more to pay back. Expect more things to go missing until we cover everything."
"So, this is what happens when you get no customers? Businessmen ought to learn from you lot."
"Did you just come here to insult our shop? Get out of my face, boy! Mr. Cheonho is in the garden tending to the plants. Go bother him instead of me."
"Tch, since when did I ever mention meeting that fox? I brought my study material over — I'll make use of this time to study responsibly."
"Do whatever you want." and at that, the conversation ends. Do-ssi looks back down to his papers and starts muttering gibberish to himself.
It's a quarter and a half past five when Heukyo and both twins burst through the door simultaneously — Yu Dan shuts his book close when they enter — it's a sign to stop studying. They were out of breath, possibly from running from the market to Banwoldang?
A chilly gust of wind engulfs the shop as they opened the door — right, winter is approaching soon. He should ask his noona for any winter clothes that don't fit her anymore.
"So, why the rush?" Yu Dan glances between the twins. "Did a monster chase you into hiding?"
"No," Heukyo speaks up when she catches her breath. "The clouds started to look green, and the air felt hotter and more humid than usual."
Chae Woo jumped up and shouted, "It's hail! It's going to start hailing soon!"
"What's all this noise about?" Baek Ran has made his appearance. Maybe he also noticed the clouds from the garden.
Yu Dan glances and turns to look at him, he jabs a finger to Heukyos and the twins direction and says, "They said its hailing soon, better keep all your clothes before they turn into ice."
"And what about you?" the fox asks, "How will you go back?"
"Hmm, run back home?" Yu Dan replies, muttering to himself on how long it'll take before hail starts to fall as he looks at the clouds.
"No. Stay the night." the fox finalises. "The clouds look heavy, they're about to drop any second now."
"But where will I sleep? You sold the couch." The fox shifts into silence when Yu Dan points it out, his face contorting for a moment.
"You can— " he starts, "You can sleep with me. My bed's big enough for at least three." The fox averts his gaze when he finishes, opting to look at the vase of gardenia on the living room table.
The whole shop is silent. Not even Do-ssi has anything to say at that. No one speaks for a minute, pure silence encapsules Bandwoldang. Yu Dan thinks he should say something.
"Okay, sure." Yu Dan agrees. "No problem, I'll just sleep on the floor, yeah?"
"I said my bed was big enough for three, why are you-” Baek Ran's face is getting redder, from anger or embarrassment, Yu Dan is not sure. "Never mind, do what you will."
Time flies; the twins story tell to him about their adventures in the street markets — there was a youkai who kept stealing from other stalls, going as far as to sabotaging opposing stalls — Heukyo complains on how no one had lizard's tail or any other conspicuous ingredients that definitely shouldn't be sold at a normal human market.
"I'd ought to have done it myself," she said. "Getting a lizard's tail."
Yu Dan doesn't ask her how she'll acquire one.
When night falls, the weather is a disaster. Its hailing so heavily he's worried the shop's roof will fall apart — and to think he wanted to walk back home in this weather sends a chill down his spine.
Chae Seol and Chae Woo were set on making him sleep in their room — but surprisingly, Baek Ran denied claiming that There isn't enough space in your room. I wont risk the both of you falling off your bed. So, that was that.
Everyone had gone to their respective rooms, and their lights were out, while he stood in front of the fox's room, hand placed hesitantly on the door. It's just a door, what are you so afraid of? Just slide it open, Yu Dan, he tells himself.
After mulling it over for a few seconds, he opens the door and finds the fox out of his formal clothing and dressed in simple nightwear with a brush in hand — he certainly didn't expect that. Yu Dan thought the fox was more likely to stay in his outerwear even in bed.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?” the fox scoffs. He adds on, as he brushes his tail “And do you think I'm so foolish as to not own sleepwear?" Yu Dan jumps at the question, "How did you—"
"Have you forgotten? Concentrate long enough and I can read the minds of anyone nearby."
Ah, right. He had forgotten.
"Tch, whatever. Just pass me a blanket and a pillow, I'll sleep on the floor."
The fox raises a brow at that, "Who said you were sleeping on the floor?" He gestured to the bed, "The bed is big enough for three. Haven't I told you; your discomfort is my responsibility."
"You—" Yu Dan shouts. he thinks he should be mindful of other tenants. his lowers his voice, but the aggressiveness is still there, "Don't you know two men sharing a bed is—"
The fox pauses his grooming, "What about it? There's nothing wrong with that." He cuts him off. After looking at Yu Dan's bewildered face to his meaningless statement, he resumes his task, ensuring that his tail was clean.
Yu Dan doesn't know how to retaliate, so he just gives in and sits awkwardly by the bed. Should he lie down immediately or wait for the fox to finish? The silence is suffocating, he thinks.
"You can sleep first. I need to handle one more thing before I sleep." The fox says as he gets up and moves to leave the room. Before he leaves, he looks back and says, "Goodnight, Yu Dan."
He doesn't know why it feels so hot when winter just started — his face is burning and he doesn't know how to calm down. Maybe he caught a common flu? Or maybe a youkai was clinging onto him unknowingly — but that can't be, he’d notice right away.
The only thing Yu Dan can do now is to sleep. But he can't — his eyes refuse to close shut and the room is too cold and—
(—and the twins aren't around him. It doesn't feel warm even with the blanket surrounding him — the cold is biting at him.
He lays on the bed and faces the wall — well, the next best thing he can do is calm his heart down in one way or another — and can only hope the night ends soon.)
When he wakes up — when did he sleep? how did he sleep? — it's to a face full of golden fur. He looks down and sees that Oh, Yu Dan is using Baek Ran's tail as a pillow and his face burns, his hands releasing the soft thing and raises them to cover his face.
His hands tingle from the feeling of cold fur to his hot face and thinks, There's no way that the fox hadn't noticed he was hugging it so tightly. Why didn't he say anything? Maybe—
his thinking is interrupted by a knock on the door. He sits up and mutters a soft come in. 'Who could it be at this hour?'
When the doors slide open, it’s Chae Seol and Chae Woo standing at the doorway. They're trembling (shivering?) and hugging each other tightly and Chae Woo speaks up, "Can we— Can we sleep with Yu Dan?"
"Why?" he asks, to which Chae Seol replies timidly, "The lightning! And thunder, they scare us..."
Yu Dan looks out the window and sees dark clouds and hail falling but not much lightning and thunder. It's there but not as many as the first night he stayed over.
He thinks children will be children and lifts the covers up — inviting them in. He can only hope that the fox doesn't mind the additional company, he did say the bed was big enough for three people.
The twins scurry over and jump into the covers, Yu Dan places them between him and the fox — who has his back to him. He thinks that its warmer now and pulls the blanket over the three of them and mumbles a goodnight. The twins move impossibly closer to him and thank him, but he's already asleep — oblivious to the warm smiles on their faces.
When Baek Ran wakes up, he feels that the bed feels more packed than usual. well, that shouldn't be right, wasn't it just him and Yu Dan?
He opens his eyes and — ah. It's a sight he's quite used to — Yu Dan had an arm wrapped around the children protectively, and his tail seemed to agree. He lets his eyes linger for a moment more before he goes back to sleep. It seems like Banwoldang will have a day off today.