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Seo Juntae can say, without a doubt, that he loves being a shrinekeeper to Na Baekjin, Dragon God of the Seas and Lord of the Ocean Folk.
Juntae is part Mer, and growing up with the humans hadn’t been easy. He had been ignored and avoided at best and shunned and bullied at worst. To say his childhood hadn’t been the happiest is definitely an understatement.
But then he had found his way to the Shrine, was generously offered a position, and ultimately found a home.
So now he lives his days tending to Baekjin’s beautiful Shrine and its surrounding grounds and also keeping his Lord company.
It’s an unspoken but obvious thing, but Juntae is Baekjin’s favorite. Somehow, Juntae has found himself endeared to the reserved, taciturn god who isn’t really known to be friendly with anyone. Baekjin seems not to mind his presence, maybe even enjoys it a little. Juntae is the only shrinekeeper he actually chats with, and Baekjin is not the type to needlessly chat and socialize.
Juntae takes the notion with joyful pride and a good measure of modesty. He feels he is just doing his duty, providing his Lord some gentle company when asked, and making things convenient for him to the best of his ability.
He is here to take care of his Lord Baekjin’s home, and he will do so with a sense of duty and responsibility, as well as some good humor.
Said good humor is probably why a special task has befallen him: keeping track of and entertaining Geum Seongje.
Geum Seongje, a wandering seven-tailed gumiho who has somehow made the Shrine his home, is Lord Baekjin’s husband.
Or at least Juntae has categorized him as such.
Because how could he not be?
Arrogant and insolent, Geum Seongje is the kind of gumiho that lives up to his kind’s fierce and feisty reputation. Gumiho are born of fire and combat. They are beings who thrive on violence and bloodshed, beautiful and charming they may be with a fox’s grace.
Seongje comes and goes from the Shrine though there seems to be no real reason for him to. Gumiho wander, and yet, he comes back and stays for a while within the austere, hallowed walls that are surely not to his typical style or taste.
He wanders and swaggers around the grounds, dressed in his flashy burgundy and purple robes lined with gold, fox ears perked and alert, auburn tails boldly unfurled like a peacock’s train. He smokes a pipe that emits smoke with a distinct scent, an alluring combination of citrus and spice. He unsettles and disturbs human devotees, somehow sensed by those sensitive enough but hardly ever really seen. He also intimidates and frightens the other shrinekeepers who only want to accomplish their sacred duties and not have to deal with a gumiho with a sharp, fanged grin and a pointed, irreverent sense of humor.
And yet, Baekjin lets him stay, even seems to miss him when he’s not around. Somehow, despite how Seongje comes and causes chaos, pokes and prods in places he shouldn’t, asks questions of the god like he actually requires and demands answers, this veritable force of nature gets to stay.
And if that is not true love from Baekjin, Juntae doesn’t know what is.
Juntae is also nothing if not Baekjin’s most trusted and devoted shrinekeeper, so he does this task dutifully, too.
Besides, he likes Seongje. The gumiho may be obstinate, a problem, even unpredictably cruel, but he’s always been friendly with Juntae, if not an actual friend.
So Juntae doesn’t mind it at all when he’s told by one of the other shrinekeepers to come and collect Seongje from the back of the Shrine. The other shrinekeeper looks ashen and stressed, and Juntae suddenly fears for the worst. It doesn't take more than that to get him to rush off to go to Seongje as directed.
It’s sundown, and the sky is getting dark. It doesn’t take long for Juntae to arrive at the back of the Shrine where the sand fades to mountain and forest. He knows these grounds like the back of his hand. His search leads him to the Shrine’s Great Tree, a tree so old it has stood within the Shrine for centuries, likely even sprouted from the ground before the Shrine had even been built. It has granted the Shrine protection from the elements, but also likely from entities that have no business being there.
There’s a figure in shadow under the tree, but the distinct scent of citrus and spice from a pipe proves it is who Juntae is looking for.
“Seongje-nim?” The shrinekeeper calls out to be sure.
“Here.”
The word comes with an illumination of light, chasing away the sinking shadows, and Juntae closes his eyes instinctively.
When he opens them, he finds himself looking at the gumiho himself.
Seongje is sitting under the tree, settled among its deep-seated roots and illuminated by orbs of warm orange light that hang around him and near the ground.
The gumiho has summoned his fox fire to help Juntae see.
Seongje is smoking as always, gaze idle and listless as smoke clouds his view, but his fox ears are perked in alert.
His fancy, flashy robes are seeped with blood. There’s also some on his face and hands, claws still unsheathed. His hair, thick, lustrous, and usually gathered up in a high ponytail, is loose and trailing long down his back.
Miraculously, his tails, his pride and joy, seem to be untouched by signs of carnage, so whatever worry and fear Juntae has felt, they lessen. He lets relief fall over him in a gentle wave.
“Is any of that yours?” Juntae asks after Seongje’s golden feral gaze finds him, and he’s gotten more control of his emotions. He watches as the gumiho’s lips lift to one side with a touch of a cocky smirk.
“Kit,” Seongje replies to him, his voice raspy around the pet name he’s graciously bestowed on Juntae. “Is that a question to ask your Seongje-nim? Have some faith.”
Despite everything that seems to have happened and the aftermath, Juntae soon finds himself giggling.
Seongje, with his arrogance and cheek, has this odd way of giving comfort when Juntae is nervous or afraid. It usually happens when Seongje gets caught up in fights that leave him, well, like this.
Juntae doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Seongje and the fighting he seems to need to live and breathe.
The Mer are generally peace-loving unless provoked. The sea is already fickle and violent in its own way, so the Ocean Folk just ride the tide and live in harmony with the rolling waves.
Juntae may only be part Mer, but he lives this way, revering the sea and looking to his Lord Baekjin for guidance and protection.
For Gumiho, though, the fire is in their blood, and they must shed it to quiet the burn even for a while.
Juntae doesn’t know how Baekjin does it, how he doesn’t go crazy whenever Seongje must go out there and fight to protect the Shrine.
The Shrine is said to not have been the same since Seongje had arrived and decided to stay. The Gumiho have enemies, and these enemies come uninvited where Gumiho settle even for a while. And the Shrine has come to be known as Seongje’s home, so quite often, Seongje has to face enemies beyond the Shrine’s impenetrable barriers.
The Shrine may be protected by Baekjin’s power, but Seongje sees it as his responsibility that nothing gets too close. They usually come for Seongje anyway.
So he fights and sometimes comes back like this: bloodied and weary.
It doesn’t happen often but Juntae worries every time. Perhaps it’s a failing of the part of him that is human, but he can’t help it.
He has come to care a lot for Seongje, too.
The one Lord Baekjin has a unique bond with.
In Baekjin’s keeping is Seongje’s Soul Pearl, the source of Seongje’s near-immortal life force and supernatural abilities.
The untouchable Dragon God of the Seas has somehow tied an impetuous, volatile gumiho to him by a small act of mercy and compassion.
His Lord says little about it. Baekjin doesn’t say much about Seongje in general either, but again, Na Baekjin is not known for being expressive and effusive with his words. But the protective way he has kept the Pearl in his care for years, decades, centuries.
How is anyone supposed to question Baekjin and his unspoken feelings, knowing what it is he keeps close and protects?
And so in his own little way, Juntae tries to help and take care of Seongje, his Master's precious mate, when he can, and Seongje lets him.
Juntae’s presence seems to calm and soften Seongje little by little, the gold in his eyes fading to its more normal-looking dark hue. He also beckons Juntae closer, and of course, Juntae obediently and trustingly obeys.
“Look at you,” Seongje says, crooning softly like he’s speaking to a baby, which Juntae is compared to him. Seongje is more than half a century old. “The fox fire really brings out the Mer in your blood.”
The gumiho has told Juntae before of how fox fire illuminates and exposes truth along with burning down whatever the one who wields it desires. Only the most powerful of gumiho can effectively use fox fire. Gumiho are also known as tricksters and masters of illusion. Such power that can burn down illusions could certainly backfire on one with little skill.
With Juntae though, it shows his Mer parts more clearly. As when he stands close to Baekjin, the fox fire reveals the rainbow hue of his scales, shimmering and shining by his eyes, the sides of his temples, along the curve of his cheekbones, the lines of his throat. His eyes also look redder compared to their normal brown in daylight.
Seongje hums thoughtfully as he takes an easy drag from his pipe with his sharp, assessing gaze still on Juntae. He remains seated and seems not to think of it much that Juntae is hovering.
“Pretty…,” the gumiho says airily, and Juntae can’t help it when he blushes.
Seongje doesn’t seem to see it or care as he continues on in the same light tone like they’re just discussing something mundane like the weather. “Wolf really should come by more often. Also work on mastering his fox fire.”
And Juntae near explodes at the mention of Seongje’s very elusive, very aloof, and very pretty brother that Juntae may sometimes watch out for.
Just in case he decides to come by to check if Seongje still comes and stays for a while.
Wolf Keum has some very strong opinions about his flighty peacock of a brother having found a place to call his home outside of their den and an unexpected husband he wears the colors of so proudly.
Juntae almost expires at the thought that Wolf would even know he exists and that he maybe, just a little, waits for one of his rare visits to the Shrine.
“A-anyway, Seongje-nim!” Subject change, subject change! “We should get you inside! It’s getting cold out here. A-and surely you’ll want to clean up before Baekjin-nim comes back!”
Seongje puts the pipe back between his lips as he seems to contemplate this. “Should I?”
Juntae nods hard. “Yes! Of course!”
The gumiho exhales. “Would he even actually care though?”
Juntae looks at Seongje and takes him in. Leaning against the tree like that in his bloodied clothes, it looks like he has no plans of moving soon. His eyes are dull, which is almost sad to see on one usually so vibrant and energetic.
Maybe the fight has taken a lot from him.
“Of course Baekjin-nim would care,” Juntae assures him loyally.
“Mm,” Seongje hums, smirking wryly. “Of course, why wouldn’t he?” His tone is weary but sarcastic, like he’s wholly convinced of something and would be deaf to protests to it. “‘Going to be tracking blood and dirt on his pristine floors again, giving his precious underlings more work than they need…
“Attracting more trouble than I’m worth.”
The last words are spoken quietly as if he’s speaking them to himself, and Juntae feels his heart sink a little.
“...Did Baekjin-nim say those things to you?” Juntae asks carefully.
Na Baekjin is not the type to chat, not the type to complain.
Not the type to air out his dirty laundry in public.
He doesn’t speak much of Seongje, and he also doesn’t speak much to Seongje in front of others.
Juntae has seen them spending time together: watching the sea from the balcony overlooking the Shrine’s entrance, taking walks during the small hours by the beach as the tide lowers, sitting together in one room while Seongje smokes and Baekjin reads.
These occasions are rare, with Seongje still following the call of his wanderlust, and Baekjin also accomplishing his duties as the Sea God, but Juntae has thought such closeness could give Baekjin the opportunity to express his feelings toward this restless, fiery creature he keeps to himself.
Then again, Baekjin is also the type to be blunt and sharp with his words when he does decide to speak.
And Geum Seongje, rough and callous as he seems, hides a softer, sensitive heart that maybe Baekjin himself has overlooked.
Juntae feels for them.
He really does.
Seongje seems to mull over Juntae’s question, and eventually, he pushes it aside with another smirk.
“When does Baekjin ever tell me anything? Don’t worry your adorable little head, Juntae-ya,” he tells him as he finally pulls himself up to stand among the uneven tangle of roots under him. “You should worry more about making me presentable for your master.”
Seongje lifts his arms up from his sides to show Juntae the damage. Juntae is relieved that no blood drips from his sleeves at least.
“There is no saving your robes, Seongje-nim,” Juntae is sad to report, and he watches as the gumiho wilts.
Then straighten again in no time, waving it all away lazily like it’s nothing, the pipe going along with the motion.
“Then we’ll have to visit my tailor tomorrow to have them replaced. You’ll make time to accompany me, yes?”
Juntae is Baekjin’s shrinekeeper, but he has also become Seongje’s shopping companion. He says he values Juntae’s opinion on his clothing; Juntae feels Seongje just feels lonely going alone for errands such as this.
Of course, Juntae agrees with a smile and a nod. “I’ll have my day free for you, Seongje-nim.”
“Excellent,” Seongje says with approval around a satisfied purr. “For now, however, I’ll have to get washed up--”
“If I may, Seongje-nim,” Juntae interjects as politely as he can. “May I make a suggestion?”
“Speak.”
“Perhaps you’ll like a bath--”
Seongje makes a face. It’s dark and getting cold. He does not want to take a dip in the nearby river at this hour.
Juntae hurries to quickly make his point.
“--with me assisting you. In your fox form.”
Dark eyes touched with gold stare at him, and Juntae doesn’t know why he suddenly feels uneasy.
Seongje calmly takes a drag from his pipe then exhales, eyes still on him.
“Oh…” he finally speaks after a while, his voice low and drawling. “Wolf would be so jealous…”
“Seongje-nim!” The yelp comes out of Juntae before he can stop himself. Nor can he keep his hands from rising up to cover his red face as he nearly dies of embarrassment.
The gumiho’s sharp cackles don’t make it better.
“Seongje-nim…” Juntae whimpers pitifully from under his hands.
Being Seongje’s entertainment is certainly part of the job, unfortunately. And since Seongje has picked up Juntae’s…affection for his stubborn, attractive brother, Juntae hasn’t really known a day of peace.
Perhaps Juntae makes it too easy. Somehow, any mention of Wolf can fluster him. Never mind when Wolf himself is actually around. He’s especially distracted and clumsy, and Juntae is pretty sure Wolf thinks he’s dull and stupid.
If he even thinks of him at all.
He’s broken out of his state of abject humiliation and misery by a gentle nudge by his knee. When he peeks through his fingers, he finds himself staring down into mischievous golden eyes. Something shifts and unfurls from the corner of his eyes, and he sees seven auburn tails.
Seongje has shifted into his fox form.
Normally, a gumiho’s fox form is larger than an average fox, maybe twice its normal size. But Gumiho are shapeshifters, and they can change their appearance however way they want. They can also make their fox forms smaller if they wish, so right now, the fox only reaches to somewhere around Juntae’s knee. Maybe a little lower.
The perfect size to be easily picked up and also to look especially adorable to garner sympathy and forgiveness.
Seongje the seven-tailed fox gives him another gentle nudge with his little pointed nose.
Juntae eyes him with a morose pout. “Wolf will not be jealous,” he informs Wolf’s brother who will tease him about him when he has the chance. “He doesn’t even know who I am.”
Despite how he may be acting right now, Juntae has accepted this: the fact that he is nothing special and thus not worthy of any particular attention from anyone, especially gumiho who lead more exciting lives and have most likely met more exciting people.
Most days, Juntae doesn’t mind this, and he tries not to dwell on it long.
It’s a fact of life, and there are people who are not meant for things more than the life that they are given.
He is lucky to have been taken in by Baekjin and given a duty that he can accomplish happily with utmost diligence.
To wish for more than that seems greedy and ungrateful.
So for now, Juntae leans down and gently pets along the little fox’s head and ears and watches it preen. He is careful even as his hands pet further, carefully and politely avoiding touching Seongje’s tails.
Touching a gumiho’s tails can bring bad luck, after all.
He will focus on this task before him and try to forget everything else.
“Let’s go, Seongje-nim?” Juntae asks as he leans down a little more and opens his arms for the fox to jump up into. “Don’t worry about getting me dirty--”
He isn’t able to finish speaking because the fox has jumped up and made himself comfortable against Juntae while still keeping his tails away.
Juntae is in his white shrinekeeper robes and now they’re soiled by dirt and blood.
Seongje isn’t the only one needing washing up now.
The fox gives Juntae a gentle nuzzle as if to console him before tucking itself closely and comfortably against Juntae's chest and shoulder.
Juntae sighs about it but doesn’t complain. After securing the fox in his hold, he starts making his way back into the Shrine, barely noting how the fox fire is following them. They will fade once they’re safely within the Shrine’s walls.
It will be a while before Juntae can retire for the night, but he doesn’t mind.
A shrinekeeper’s work is never done it seems, especially with masters like he does.