Archive of Our Own

Chan landed with a muted thump, his cheek scraping hard against the carpet. The wind was knocked out of him, his skin starting to tingle with pain. But his eyes were filled with fury as he looked up at the shadowy figure before him. He pursed his lips together, letting just enough spittle to pool on his tongue to spit at him but his face was grabbed and held in a vice-like grip. 

“There is no point glaring at me like that, Chan - or should I call you Teacher?” The man knelt down in front of Chan, his snowy white fingers which were reddened a little at the tip clutched onto Chan’s chin, tilting it up and angling him just right to look him in the eyes. 

“I have no student by the likes of you!” Chan’s voice was borderline grating on the man’s ears. After all, it had been days since Chan had anything to eat or drink. His lips were cracking in the middle, his skin a deathlike pallor. But despite all of that, his eyes were bloodshot red, his neck bulging with the veins that ran under it and down into his shirt. 

Hyunjin’s eyes followed the path of his veins and dipped down into his shirt, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the man held captive. He fought harder, his body wiggling but to no avail as his hands were tied behind his back. 

Chan could only curse internally. Hyunjin, already crouched low, leaned into Chan’s personal space with that same crazed look in his eyes. “Teacher, you understand the circumstances now, right?” Hyunjin smiled, his smile dripping with malice while his eyes curved into crescents. And for a moment, Chan almost thought that the little boy from so long ago had appeared before him again. 

But the illusion was shattered when Hyunjin opened his rosy red lips again and whispered, “I’ll torture you to death.” A shiver ran down Chan’s spine but he fought to keep his face calm and his body still. 

“It isn’t too late, Hyunjin. It doesn’t have to end this way.” Chan licked his bloodied up lips before he spoke, completely unaware of how Hyunjin’s eyes were trained on the drop of ruby that oozed out of his plush bottom lip. 

Hyunjin smiled, this time the crazed look receded in his eyes and he reached his thumb out to gently wipe away the blood on Chan’s lip. Then he brought his thumb up and licked it clean, right as Chan was watching.

“I don’t think so. I want to tear apart your flesh and drink your blood, that would be the greatest happiness for me. So yes, it has to end this way and I will end anybody that tries to stop me.” Hyunjin stood back up, his height towering over the collapsed Bang Chan as he looked down on him with a mad glint in his eye. “So just stay here for me, Teacher, and no one else will die.” Hyunjin’s smile faded away back into his cold mask as he turned his back and strode out of the room. 

Chan could only look on, his eyes dark with something unfathomable as he watched the figure disappear completely from view. He tried to wriggle his hands from behind his back but could only feel the coldness of the metal cuffs against the thin fabric at his wrists.

Although his legs weren’t tied up, he continued to sit on the floor in a daze. There was no use running, there was no use trying to escape. Chan knew whose heads were on the line if he even did manage to escape. Besides, now that Hyunjin was the most powerful man in the whole realm, there was hardly anyone left who could hold a candle to his strength and power. 

This was fine, Chan tried to reason with himself. He might have been locked up for the rest of his life but at least Jeongin would still be able to live- as long as the silly boy didn’t come looking for him. Chan tried to reassure himself that Jeongin would be smarter than this and leave the country while he still had the chance, anything to get away from the shadow of Hyunjin’s claws but Chan also knew Jeongin’s personality. That child would stand and fight if that meant he could bring his Teacher home. 

Chan was still lost in his thoughts when the door to his room opened and a healer and a mage stood silently in the doorway. The mage had his hand out to stop the healer from approaching until he determined that it was safe to enter. Chan could feel the man’s spiritual energy, thin like a needle, poking through every corner of the room and circling around his body but never getting close. 

When the mage finally put his hand down, the healer moved forward and dropped to his knees before Chan, his eyes scanning over his body for any wounds. Chan had always been good at recognising auras and could tell by a glance that the mage behind was of the earth elemental. Healers, on the other hand, were all water elementals. Well, except for one. 

While the healer cupped his hands a fair distance from Chan’s face and whispered a spell, the mage had crept behind Chan and was currently undoing the cuffs with another spell. But freedom was not felt for long as the earth under their feet broke through and obsidian chains shot out, quickly wrapping themselves around Chan’s hands and feet. 

Chan instantly felt his body lose all his spiritual energy, the tank running to zero and felt his limbs grow heavier with the weight of being a pure mortal. His face blanched as he wondered about the lengths that Hyunjin would go to to keep him here. 

“Relax, this is all that we have come here to do.” The earth mage spoke and Chan noted how deep the man’s voice was. In front of him, the healer was still healing the random lacerations he sustained from the last battle, his whole body glowing a faint blue hue as he sutured the wounds up with his magic. 

Chan watched the skin quite literally stitch itself back together and looked at the healer with appreciation. However, it seemed that there would be no getting through to these two as the healer and mage immediately left him once they were done. 

Of course Chan could understand, their goal was to keep him alive and that only. But seeing as how Hyunjin already had a healer prepared for him, Chan wondered how much torture Hyunjin was planning to inflict on him and did Hyunjin hate him so much that he wouldn’t even heal him himself?

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

The chains clinked as Chan curled up at the foot of the bed. On second thought, the room was rather spacious, especially since there was barely anything inside of it. Of course, Chan knew why there was only a bare bed in the room. He was the one who taught Hyunjin that the easiest way to break down a man’s mind was to leave him with an expanse of nothing, such that he could only live in his delusions. 

Chan didn’t know he had been such a successful teacher that his student never once forgot any of his teachings and instead had used them against him. He glanced down at his arms, the wounds might have closed but the scars still remained. The long one running from his right thumb to his elbow was from him protecting Jeongin from Hyunjin’s sword. The deep cut in his left forearm was from him defending against Hyunjin’s strike, one that would have decapitated him if he hadn’t been careful. 

He was by no means clumsy. Chan had been on the list of the top few mages by this time in his career, even though he didn’t look a day over 25. His halberd had claimed the lives of many demons and he was respected by all. Chan could summon the winds and control hurricanes, he left a path of destruction in all those that he deemed unclean in his eyes. 

Chan the Protector, Chan the Brachium. He was once a treasured person too. He knew that the people would still call him that dignified title that he had never cared for, only if he gave himself up for them. 

He didn’t know why Hyunjin was like this. Was this the failings of a teacher? Why had his student strayed so far from the light?

When Chan closed his eyes, he could only see the mountains of remains that were left in Hwang Hyunjin’s wake. For someone capable of the power of healing, all Hwang Hyunjin knew how to do was topple the mountains and raise the seas. It was as if he also knew that washing away the sins he committed with the tsunamis he commanded would not work but he still did it anyway - whether it was glee or malice, Chan did not know. 

Chan’s dulled eyes traversed the room he was shut into. There was a window on the side, not large enough to fit his whole body through but big enough for the sun rays to hit him in the face. There was a simple box in the corner of the room and Chan guessed that was where his garments were kept. 

If Hyunjin really sought to punish and torture him, there was no way that he would let Chan leave this room. And filled with the guilt of raising a monster with blood on his hands, Chan felt that this was indeed his comeuppance. 

He was the one who took that boy in when he was 15. 

He was the one who taught the water elemental all the basics and fundamentals he needed to know. 

He was the one who sought higher learning material for water elementals just so that his student could become more proficient in his learning. 

And he was the one who truly loved Hwang Hyunjin, even though he would never be able to admit it. 

The pain of losing his loved one was worse than the pain in his body, his heart felt like it had been stabbed the moment Hyunjin had turned on him and the guild. 

By the time Hyunjin had climbed onto the highest ranking position in Levanter, there was no stopping him anymore. He listened to no one and even his former Teacher was unable to put a dent into his plans. He got what he wanted and razed the rest to the ground. 

Chan closed his eyes, his face marred with pain. His thick eyebrows furrowed together, knitted so tight that it seemed that there was no way to relax them anymore. His eyes were dark with something that looked like regret, just where had he gone wrong? 

What did he do to push Hyunjin off the edge like this?

Though he was stumped for words, there was a deep, dark part in the bottom of Chan’s heart that whispered to him that he knew exactly why Hyunjin was like this now. He shushed that part of his consciousness, locking it back into the parts of him that he didn’t dare to access. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

The first night after he had been taken prisoner had gone smoothly. The guards barely bothered him and to be honest, acted as if that there was something dangerous about Chan although he couldn’t fathom what they could possibly be thinking about with his hands and feet bound with chains that sealed his powers. 

The second night didn’t go as smoothly. It seemed that Hyunjin had finally remembered that his dearest Teacher was in the palm of his hand. 

Chan had been sitting by the bed when Hyunjin stormed into the room, his red cape flurrying around behind him like the arcs of crimson blood that followed Hyunjin wherever he went. “Teacher,” Hyunjin smiled gently, his hands spread out as he came closer to Chan who only looked back at him with indifference in his gaze, “Aren’t you curious about what I did today?” 

Chan could feel his feet grow cold but he forced himself to look at Hyunjin unblinkingly. Back when he had sent Hyunjin to the Mountains of Miroh for his first solo mission, he had told him sternly that he couldn’t show fear in front of the wild beasts. If he wanted to live, he had to look them bravely in the eyes, he couldn’t cower away. 

Of course, Hyunjin also knew what his Teacher was thinking. They had always been linked like that, their thoughts arriving at the same destination despite being from the opposite starting points. 

“What have you done?” Chan asked tiredly, humouring the man as he did so. 

“I took down Jype,” Hyunjin smiled wider but the gross feeling in Chan’s heart spread as he did so, “I didn’t think it would be so easy but they were nothing without your protection.” Hyunjin crept closer, curling around Chan like a snake, squeezing onto him like he wanted to eat him whole. 

Chan gasped, his breath leaving his lungs automatically as he looked at Hyunjin in horror. He had given his whole life to make Jype the guild that it was today. And what about the mages under Jype? What about the innocent civilians protected by the guild? 

Hyunjin clearly liked the way Chan’s emotions flitted across his face, the horror that shone in his eyes alone was enough to assuage the pain in Hyunjin’s own heart. 

“You wouldn’t. You promised you would leave them alone.” Chan’s lips moved but his voice was just above a whisper. Hyunjin watched with relish as Chan’s brown pupils shook, his face draining of any sort of colour in an instant. 

Chan had half a heart of hope and half a heart of despair buried in his chest, pumping anxiety all throughout his body. But the look on Hyunjin’s face wasn’t so easy for him to read. Hyunjin tilted his head to the side, his gaze still pinned on Chan’s face. 

“You said you wouldn’t.” Chan choked out, in the heat of the moment he had fisted the silky material of Hyunjin’s black shirt. Hyunjin, pulled forward by Chan’s grip, only towered over Chan with a smirk hanging from the corner of his lips. 

“Do you really trust me?” Hyunjin muttered, his tone ice-cold. It was almost as if he had poured ice cubes directly down Chan’s back. The older man froze up and left his arms bulging with the veins that threatened to pop out from under his skin. 

That was his last straw. What Hyunjin said, he definitely could do. Chan fell back against the bed, sinking deep into the rather soft duvet. His eyes were listless as they stared into the corner of the room, seeing but not looking. 

When Hyunjin saw this, a mocking smile rose onto his face. 

“We were both your students but you only care for Innie? What kind of teacher are you? Did you even notice that I’m injured?” Hyunjin scoffed as he pulled his silk shirt up, the white of the bandages in stark contrast to the black. Chan stared at the starchy bandages with streaks of red seeping through. 

He didn’t want to acknowledge that he had just assumed the scent of blood lingering around Hyunjin was of others and not Hyunjin’s own blood. 

“Hwang Hyunjin, you need to calm down. At the end of the day, you grew up with Jeongin. The two of you were like brothers, can’t you let him go?” Chan pleaded. Evidently, it was the wrong move as Hyunjin’s smile only grew harsher. 

“You only have Yang Jeongin in your eyes. He doesn’t know how lucky he is, to have his little life redeemed just on account of his Teacher. They all don’t deserve your protection.” Hyunjin’s voice was cold but Chan knew that he was agreeing to let Jeongin off, as long as he followed through with his plans. 

Chan prayed to all the gods above that Jeongin was smart enough to stay out of trouble and hide away from his senior brother. Since Hyunjin had spoken this much, it probably meant that the guild had been destroyed but the mages were able to hide or run away in time. 

Little did Chan know that this was merely the beginning. 

Hyunjin leaned in even closer, the scent of honey and milk that always floated around him was tinged with the metallic smell of blood. “Of course, I can’t just let them go for free.” Hyunjin smiled and this time it looked like a thousand roses had bloomed with his smile but Chan knew that there was a serpent under the bed of roses, waiting to devour him in one bite. 

“The price for their salvation is… you.” Hyunjin whispered into Chan’s ear. 

Chan felt his body tense up immediately, a foreign warmth was slithering under his skin and coiling in his belly. He had an inkling of where this would lead but didn’t dare to believe it at all. 

“Tell me.” Chan croaked out as he steeled himself to hear the answer. 

“Please me.” Hyunjin spat out as he savagely sank his teeth into the fleshy lobe of Chan’s ear, startling a loud gasp from the older man. The candles went out with a flick of his wrist and Chan heard his own heartbeat in his ears as the night of torture began. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“You need to eat.” The healer said plainly, still holding onto the lukewarm bowl of congee. Chan didn’t know his name but he memorised the man’s cat-like eyes that flickered over him worryingly whenever he had been called to heal him. 

Chan didn’t reply. His eyes continued to stare blankly at the ceiling above him. There was no point to his life anymore, he thought. Once regarded as the hero of Miroh, he had been reduced to no more than a plaything in the royal palace. 

A broken bird with broken wings but Chan couldn’t put down his pride. He refused to eat and drink and only laid in his bed, day and night. No matter what torture Hyunjin had inflicted on him, the healer would be there to patch him up again. 

But Chan couldn’t stand the pity in the healer’s eyes.

There was a time in his life where he wished he was as close to Hyunjin as when they laid side by side in the king-sized bed that Chan never rose from. Those times were gone now and he could barely suppress the pain of losing the one he had cared most for. 

The healer, seeing Chan’s reaction (or lack thereof), sighed and shook his head at the mage. Before the freckled man could think of something to say or do, the doors were forced open again and Hyunjin rushed in. 

His face was turning red and his fist was enclosed tightly around the collar of … Jeongin? Hyunjin shoved and threw Jeongin by the bedside, the boy’s beat up face lying right next to Chan’s. 

Chan shot up like an arrow, ignoring the soreness in his back and waist as his hands cupped and roamed over the blue black skin on Jeongin’s face. 

“You… What did you do to him?” Chan choked out, his tears threatening to escape but he held them back in with sheer willpower. 

Hyunjin stared at the pitiful reunion between the teacher and student, his mind blanking rapidly. 

Before Chan could check for any more wounds, Hyunjin picked Jeongin up by his collar again and dangled him around with ease. “Your actions have consequences.” Hyunjin said solemnly. His words were cryptic but they all knew what he meant. 

With one hand holding onto Jeongin, Hyunjin raised his other hand to slap Jeongin in the face but before he could do so, Chan launched forwards and grabbed at the bowl in the healer’s hands. 

“Enough. I’ll do it. I’ll eat and take care of myself.” Chan sighed and his eyes fluttered close, “Please, let him go.” 

Hyunjin lowered Jeongin back to the floor and with a flick of his wrist, the healer hefted Jeongin’s body up and brought him outside, the mage hot on his heels. 

Meanwhile, Hyunjin sat down gingerly at the side of the bed, his dark eyes trained on Chan who sipped slowly at the congee. He reached out a hand, pretending to not see how Chan flinched, patting gently at Chan’s curly bedhead. 

“Now, this wasn’t so hard, was it?” Hyunjin murmured softly. The light in his eyes had long twisted over like the reflective scales of a snake, slinking around in the darkness. 

Chan only looked blankly at his old student before forcefully pulling his face into a stiff smile. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

Chan stared out of the window and watched the world pass by another day. 

He wasn’t sure if he even knew who he was anymore. The things he said, the actions that he took, Chan couldn’t believe that the man in the mirror ws even him. 

Tired, baggy eyes looked back at him. His face was pale, so pale that he could see the purple and green that clustered and spidered around his eyes and along his jaw. He also lost some weight, despite being fed daily. Chan wondered if he was going to die soon- could it be possible? 

But no, Minho would find some way to revive him from the brink of death, as he usually did. He had finally found out the name of the healer that he had seen on the first day he was captured. And the trusty mage that accompanied him was Felix, both of them apparently being picked up by Hyunjin since Chan had no prior recollection of them in Jype. 

But the two of them never got too close to him and kept a firm distance from him this entire time. He knew that this was out of consideration (or fear?) for Hyunjin. The man wouldn’t like it if his belongings were touched by another, Chan as his teacher knew this much about him. 

This was alright. Chan didn’t want anyone else getting hurt on account of him, this was a burden that he couldn’t bear. To have his own life determine the fate of others, it was the last thing that a person like Chan would have wanted. 

The world outside had Jeongin, his student. The world outside had Changbin, his friend and aide. The world outside had Seungmin, the adorable student that Changbin had taken in. 

But inside these four walls, there was someone that Chan had always wanted. Though, the way that he had him was completely different from the way that he had imagined. 

Hyunjin was vile, he was rude and he wanted to see Chan cry in pain and beg for mercy. Part of Chan wanted to yield but another part of him, his dignity, forced him to feign confidence and nonchalance and it only made Hyunjin even angrier. 

But this was okay. As long as Jeongin was safe from the student that he loved the most, as long as his guild members could keep their lives, Chan would pay the ransom for their lives. 

The door unlocked and opened slowly from the other side. Chan didn’t think that it was Hyunjin, it was a little too early in the morning for him to be paying attention to him, he thought. 

“Medication,” Minho muttered and then explained very helpfully, “for last night.” A porcelain bottle entered Chan’s field of vision, and fit itself snugly in his hands. Chan watched as the blue-tinged tendril of energy circled around his body, checking for any other wounds or ailments that he had to solve. 

“Are you feeling alright?” Minho asked, his voice tinged with what Chan could perceive as concern. How strange, in the time that he had been here, it felt like Minho had been the only one who had ever felt a sliver of concern for him. 

After all, in the eyes of everyone else, Hyunjin had imprisoned his own teacher and tortured him relentlessly. But everyone was too scared to discuss the tyranny of the long haired devil. He who had once been the promising hero of the magical world was now a strange ruler who did everything on his own whims. 

“How could I possibly be feeling alright?” Chan’s voice was just above a whisper, so much so that Minho had to lean in the slightest bit to catch what he was saying. 

The once strong man had been reduced to a puppet in a room, a bird in a cage. Despite his pity, there was nothing Minho could do but relieve his pain and heal his wounds. He couldn’t even touch the bird in the cage, no one was allowed to. 

“It’s best if you go quickly. Nothing good will come out of you being here.” Chan turned to face the blank wall, his eyes set forward stubbornly but his hands gently closed around the bottle of ointment he had been given. 

Minho nodded, knowing the value of his life but he couldn’t help but say, “Your guild has gone into hiding. Yang Jeongin is with them. I fear that this is the most that he will do for you.” 

A message and a warning in one, Chan admired how Minho was able to get his point across so easily. It wasn’t that easy for him. 

Still, the piece of news made him feel warm and happy inside. It meant that all his efforts until now had not been wasted, Hyunjin had spared them and there was nothing that could make Chan happier than this. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“Be honest, which of your students do you love more,” Hyunjin smiled wickedly, his fingertips swirling patterns into Chan’s shoulders, occasionally brushing against the thick white band around the man’s neck, “Me, or Jeongin?” 

He was like a tiger watching his prey, his dark eyes lingering on Chan’s face, watching the man twist his features into a grimace that he tried so hard not to let show. “You’re no student of mine.” Chan replied, his voice broken and resigned. 

It was true, how could Chan call himself Hyunjin’s teacher after all that? Chan had already solidified the idea that he only ever had two students- Jeongin and Jisung. The man before him was never his student, he couldn’t teach him the proper ways of the world- he had failed as a teacher. 

Hyunjin, on the other hand, didn’t look too pissed at his words, unlike the other times where Chan had angered him by saying something wrong. Perhaps in his mind, he had already surpassed his teacher, there was nothing more that he had to look up to at this point. 

“That’s right, you only had eyes for Jeongin. Both Jisungie and I were never good enough to be your students, right?” Hyunjin’s light tone carried a barb within it and Chan fought hard to push down the despair in his heart at the man’s words. 

“I… Hyunjin-” Chan tried to explain but his lips were swallowed up into a deep kiss. A firm pressure pressed down on his hands, pinning them down to the bed where he ceased to fight back. He laid there, letting Hyunjin do as he wanted to. 

If only, if only him doing this could quell the fire in Hyunjin’s heart, Chan was willing to do anything. 

His glazed eyes went in and out of focus on the long-haired man in front of him. Sometimes he would pepper him with light kisses, sometimes he would steal all his oxygen away and sometimes he would leave deep indentations in Chan’s skin, making him look like a sorry painting with the deep and dark hues marring his skin. 

Hyunjin did as he wanted, Hyunjin took what he wanted and Chan couldn’t do anything but let him have it. His hands, empty of the magic powers that he once wielded, would grab onto anything for purchase. His eyes, the ones that many would look upon in adoration, were filled with unshed tears. 

Chan continued to lie there, thinking and wondering if all this would actually make Hyunjin happy. If he could use himself to pay for the hurt that the man suffered, Chan thought that it would be worth it. 

So Chan could only weakly raise his hand in a moment where Hyunjin was too preoccupied with other matters and light pat the man’s soft black hair. If only he had been less stubborn in keeping everything to himself… would the outcome be different? 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“Your Majesty, it was reported that Jype has regrouped again and is planning a coup.” A soldier reported from the outside of the room. Hyunjin, his hair in a messy halo around him, laid on Chan’s bed as he listened to the soldier’s detailed report, looking over every once in a while to Chan who was sitting on the edge of the bed and quietly listening. 

Chan turned towards him, his bright eyes asking him a question that he dare not verbalise. Hyunjin only smiled, though Chan couldn’t be sure if there was poison or sweetness in his smile. 

“I’ll go take a look then.” Hyunjin said sweetly as he rose gracefully from the bed, pulling his outer robe on as he did so. Chan could hear the warning bells going on in his head. This wasn’t right, Hyunjin was going to do something that he was going to regret, Chan was sure of it. 

In a desperate attempt, Chan threw his arms out, causing his chains to clink slightly, as he wrapped both arms tightly around Hyunjin’s thin waist, rooting them both to the spot. “Don’t go, Hyunjin.” Chan whispered out. He tried saying it in the soft, sultry way that he knew Hyunjin liked but the man was adamant on leaving. 

“I’ve spared them once for your sake, Teacher. But they don’t know what’s good for them and constantly try to go against me. Does your heart not hurt for me all the times that I’ve come back injured?” Hyunjin turned around and held Chan firmly by the shoulders. “Of course, it’s because you care about everyone except for me, right?” And there the demon had shed it’s skin once more, Hyunjin’s gaze was cold and the smile on his face was nothing but eerie. 

Chan closed his eyes, knowing that this time Hyunjin left, he would be successful in levelling the land that Jype sat on. He would not allow any one of them to leave alive lest they grow like a thorn in his side. 

There was no stopping Hyunjin once he was determined. 

So Chan pushed hard at the man, letting his arms fall as the force of his actions flung him to the side of the bed. He turned his head away from his former student, they both knew the outcome of what today will be. 

Hyunjin looked on with glee as he shot one last look at Chan before leaving the prison-like room and made preparations to finish the enemy. What he didn’t know was that Chan had already formed an idea in his mind. 

Chan stumbled over to the door after some time, knocking and pounding on it until the guards on the other side opened up. Chan sank to the floor, his forehead was beaded with sweat and he clutched his abdomen, his face paler than it had ever been before. 

“Healer Minho… Call Healer Minho, please.” Chan croaked out before doubling over again in extreme pain. While the guards debated what to do with him, Chan swept them from under their feet and knocked them out with a few simple kicks. 

He straightened himself from his curled up position earlier and it was uncovered that his simple white robes were dyed red. Where he should have two healthy, functioning hands there were only two bloodied stumps. 

It was the only way he could escape the chains without alerting the caster of the system and Chan knew that he was going to bleed out soon if he didn’t get moving. But with his hands still sitting in the metal cuffs, there was no way for him to use them so Chan could only start running and hoping that no one would stop him. 

As he was stumbling down the darkened halls, halls that he had never once stepped foot into, he stumbled right into the arms of someone that he was very familiar with. 

“Esteemed Teacher, what are you doing?” Minho gasped as he righted the man back into standing and his eyes inevitably trailed onto the two bloody stumps. “What have you done?” Minho asked in horror, his hands hovering over the place where Chan’s wrist once was. 

But Chan could only croak out one word in all his pain, “Hyunjin…” 

It wasn’t hard to guess what was going on and why Chan was taking the most extreme measure now. Minho knew that if he didn’t help him, there was no way that Chan was going to survive the blood loss, his crimson blood had already lined the halls that he had walked down like some sick red carpet. 

Minho stuck his hands over the bloodied stumps and casted a spell under his breath. The blood immediately stopped spurting out the gaping wounds and Chan gasped at the icy cool feeling that came and went so suddenly. 

But the pain was still there, or so Chan thought. He could barely tell the difference between the pain in his heart and the pounding pain in his hands. 

He looked straight at Minho, neither overbearing nor underservile, his gaze firm and his jaw set. He had come so far he had to continue with this, he had to save his guild. 

Minho also knew what the man was thinking but it was difficult for him to help, in the sense that his magic was for healing and not much for fighting. But there was one thing that Minho could do for Chan. 

Minho reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. It was slightly yellowed around the edges but the inscription on it was still readable. Of course Chan the Brachium was able to read runes, what could he not do?

He knew what the runes meant and he knew how priceless the item was and Minho was giving it to him now out of goodwill? Minho thrust out the paper even more, willing Chan to take it but forgetting the fact that the other man had lost both of his hands. 

“I’ll have to trouble you.” Chan whispered, his pale lips moving ever so slightly as he reigned in the pain that was threatening to tear him apart. 

“You know you’ll probably die if you proceed with this?” Minho asked before he decided if he should help the man any further. 

Chan nodded, somewhat nonchalantly. Death was something that he had been contemplating for a while now. While there was nothing he wanted to do more than to be with Hyunjin, the circumstances that surrounded them and the place that he had in Hyunjin’s heart did nothing but disappoint him to no end. It almost felt like this life wasn’t worth living anymore. 

“If I can stop him from doing the one thing that he will regret endlessly…” Chan trailed off but the meaning was clear between the both of them. This was indeed something that he had to do. Minho nodded, finally choosing a side as he kept the piece of paper in his hand. 

He wrapped an arm around Chan’s thin waist and brought his thumb to his mouth, his sharp canines easily breaking through his skin. Just a drop of blood would do and the runes started to glow with a faint white light once it was activated. 

“Thank you, Minho.” Chan said as the winds rushed around them and the swirling vortex sucked them in. 

The next thing they knew, they were in a large clearing and the distant sounds of thundering hooves and horrified shrieks filled the air. There was no time to lose, Hyunjin and his men had already reached the place. 

Chan knew where they were. The old guildmaster had once told him what the contingency plans were in case the guild ever fell into trouble. But Chan couldn’t believe that this very day would come because of him. 

“Esteemed Teacher.” Minho called out, breaking the man out from the trance that he was in. Minho gestured in the direction of the noise and Chan nodded. Indeed, that was the direction where the rebuild guild would be located. 

A small town, a small guild. Just thinking of how the once resplendent Jype would be reduced to this small place made one feel like shaking their head in disappointment. 

Chan strode forward, following the sounds of the townsfolk screaming in fear and the thick smell of blood that wafted around Hyunjin’s troops. 

And then he saw it. The guild split all the way down the middle, no doubt a product of Hyunjin’s sabre. Townsfolk and guild members alike were running around amok and trying to evade capture by the armoured men. 

Chan could make out the figure of a man causing vast destruction in the guild hall. He danced around the small building, slashing here and striking there, all the while keeping the appearance of a young gentleman. 

Hyunjin didn’t even bother using his monstrous powers, he had just been using his physical strength and his sabre to cut down everything in his path. And the one that he had been fighting with was none other than Changbin, Chan’s best friend. 

Chan could barely catch up with the battle, his eyes darted around as he tried to make sure that both Changbin and Hyunjin were okay. Even he was confused with the feelings that arose in his chest and tugged his heart in two different directions. 

“I’ve got it from here,” Chan turned to Minho and said in a steady voice, “You should keep your head down and take shelter, Hyunjin will not forgive you for this.” This was the best advice that he could give the healer but truth be told, the both of them knew what was to come the moment Minho had found him in the halls. 

Minho only nodded and darted off, leaving nothing but the scent of herbs and minty freshness in the air. Chan expected this, it truly was every man for themselves and Minho had already helped him so much thus far. 

Every step that he took closer to the fight felt like it was weighed down by lead and Chan could barely suppress the stuffiness in his chest as he watched the two deliver endless blows at each other. 

“Teacher!” A voice gasped out and someone hurried over to his side. Of course, it was Jeongin. He was looking a little worse than usual, his face was haggard and there was a gash in his side but he was still holding up well. Chan felt a tinge of pride in his heart- at least he had raised one of them right. 

Jeongin threw his whole body at Chan, barreling into his side. It had been so long since Chan had felt the genuine warmth of someone who loved him and tears welled up in his eyes. However, he couldn’t keep his eyes off the battle no matter what, it was to do with life and death and he didn’t want anyone to die. 

“Jeongin, take everyone in the vicinity and get them to go far, far away.” Chan instructed and when his student didn’t say a word nor did he make any noise Chan finally tore his eyes away from the battle. 

Jeongin was silent. His eyes were wide and unblinking as they stared at the empty sleeves dyed red. His teacher lost his hands. His teacher lost his ability to summon the winds and direct the gales. What was left of a mage if he didn’t have the hands to cast spells with?

“It’s fine, Jeongin. Your Teacher is a capable person.” Chan let out a small smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes no matter how hard he tried. Jeongin tried to pretend that he was seeing things because of the tears crowding his vision. He pretended that Chan had given him one of those effervescent, bright smiles that he had shown him during his childhood days. 

This man, this father figure of his. He was his everything. And so he had to listen to Chan, he had to trust him no matter how bad his gut feeling was screaming at him to pick up his teacher and run far away from the world. 

He raised him better than this. So Jeongin listened. 

Now that the people were rapidly starting to disappear from around them, Chan found the courage in him to step closer to the battle. It was still as fierce as before just that each side had a number of wounds by this point. 

Chan knew that though Changbin was strong, one of the strongest in the whole guild, there was no way that he would be able to overcome Hyunjin on his own. Chan didn’t know if he should be horrified or proud that he had raised such a tyrannical student. 

“Hyunjin.” His voice was as soft as a sigh and yet it pierced through the barrier around the two and penetrated deep within the mind of the long haired man. Hyunjin looked up immediately, uncaring of the fact that he was still locked deep within battle. 

It took a slash from Changbin to return the man to his senses, his wicked smile growing even deeper as he realised that Chan had gone against him. Chan had chosen others over him, again. It was always like this.

“You’re too late, Teacher.” Hyunjin spat out and kicked himself a few feet away from Changbin. And then they could see it. With the last slash from Hyunjin’s sabre, he had formed a pattern so detailed and exquisite. 

The runes glowed with the blood that was shed upon it and Chan quickly recognised the formation. Actually, he had already begun to suspect that this was going to happen the moment he saw Hyunjin dancing around with Changbin instead of finishing the job in a couple of blows exchanged. 

He was right, Hyunjin had drawn a rune so disastrous that the surrounding hills and valleys would be levelled when it activated. There would be no souls left in the vicinity, all of Jype and the innocent lives of the townsfolk would be reaped the moment he wanted it to, leaving just Hyunjin and his men who had already retreated far away. 

“Don’t do this, Hyunjin.” Chan whispered but it sounded like a warning in Hyunjin’s ears, making him frown with displeasure. What right did Chan have to order him to do anything? Surely he didn’t really think that Hyunjin still saw him as a teacher? 

But it was more of a plea to Chan, the last candle in his little heart that was on the verge of breaking. 

“You can’t stop me.” Hyunjin flew towards Chan, hugging him by the waist and preparing to take the two of them away. Jype and their town could be swallowed into the ground for all Hyunjin cared, he just wanted to bring his captive home. 

Chan closed his eyes tiredly as the earth started to rumble all around them. Changbin had also realised what was going on and was trying to contact the guild members while Hyunjin watched everything with fire burning in his eyes. 

“I cannot allow this to happen.” Chan whispered, so soft that only Hyunjin could hear it. His stubbed arms pushed against Hyunjin’s chest as he created some distance between the two of them. 

And then Hyunjin saw it. He saw how Chan managed to escape from the palace. He saw the crimson runes staining his fair skin as he undid the knot of his robe, letting it fall open. He saw the moment the breath in Chan’s lungs became still air. 

Chan’s skin glowed red with the writings of the rune. It was a curse that had been so long forgotten that almost no one could read it. Well, except for Hyunjin and Chan. 

“I’m so sorry, Hyunjin.” The words were carried along the wind, floating past Hyunjin’s ear and falling into the chasm of silence. 

Hyunjin watched Chan’s body fall to the ground. Or rather, he watched him crumble at the knees and his torso fell to the ground, shattering onto the rocks below. Chan disappeared, his ashes carried along on the wind that was once his friend. 

Hyunjin thought that he heard Changbin scream but it felt like he was underwater, everything was muffled to him. Noise and silence rushed at him all at once and he slowly sank to his knees, watching the empty space before him. There were no ashes, there was no dust. There was nothing to show that there once was a man standing there. 

He held his pale hands up at the spot that Chan was once standing at. He tried time and time again to summon his healing powers, the powers that he had never once used for the man that he would never be able to find again. 

A life for all of the lives of the people in the region. 

Hyunjin held back a dark chuckle, this was just what Chan would do. 

It was while his back was turned that a heavy broadsword was brought down onto Hyunjin’s back, cutting deep into the flesh below. No sound escaped from his lips despite the devastating pain, it was almost as if he could not comprehend the pain. 

He didn’t grasp fully what happened after that but Hyunjin could feel someone grabbing onto him and then the wind swirled around him and he was gone. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“Your Majesty,” Minho’s brows were furrowed with worry as he finished up with the wound on Hyunjin’s back. The man hadn’t spoken once at all the entire time that he had been knitting up the horrific wound on his back. 

Hyunjin sat dazed, his eyes unfocused as he watched the plain wall. They were in Chan’s room, the room that he had been kept prisoner since the day he had been captured. There was nothing left of Chan, the white collar that Hyunjin made especially for him, the bloodied robes that he hid the runes under. All that was left of him were the pair of hands that still sat within the handcuffs. 

Pale fingertips and veiny hands ended at the wrist where there were jagged edges instead of a forearm, instead of a whole Chan. Hyunjin cradled the pair of hands that were left after releasing them from their chains. 

He held them close to his heart and placed a soft kiss on the back of Chan’s right hand. 

“Teacher, you have abandoned me yet again.” Hyunjin whispered darkly as he rose from the bed and walked out of the room, not sparing a glance for Minho who had saved his life and patched up his wounds. 

Minho looked on with an unreadable look in his eyes and his hand firmly clutched against a corner of the bloody robe that he had torn from Chan before he left the man. 

The days that followed had everyone on tenterhooks. The man that their emperor had obsessed over for so long had died and apparently not a single piece of his ashes was found. The palace gates were closed and the emperor refused anyone that wanted an audience with him. 

To the ones that asked nicely, he merely sent them away but those who had tried barging in thinking that they could take advantage of his moment of weakness were executed on the spot… catastrophically.

Hyunjin sat in the throne room, his long fingers twirling around the crown that usually sat atop of his head. Beside him, on the Queen’s throne was a plush velvet cushion. The thrones were elevated so that people standing below couldn’t see what was on the red velvet cushion. 

Only Minho knew that the thing that Hyunjin hadn’t let out of his sight for days was the pair of hands that were left behind by his teacher. Minho walked up to the landing just under the throne, his brows furrowed together as he watched Hyunjin stare off into space. 

Minho was one of the few people who were allowed to come and go as he pleased but he didn’t quite know if Hyunjin had realised he was partially the cause of Chan’s death and why he hadn’t killed him off if he already knew. 

After all, it wasn’t hard to guess and Hyunjin was the sharpest, most cunning man that Minho had ever met. 

It took a while before Hyunjin’s eyes fell onto the lone man’s figure. Their gazes met head on with Minho’s eyes belaying a sense of mixed emotions while Hyunjin’s were swirling with something that Minho could only place as regret and madness. 

“Your Majesty,” Minho bowed as he spoke, “It’s Yang Jeongin. He’s demanding to see you.” Minho couldn’t understand why this kid named Jeongin was so intent on sending himself to the lion’s den every single time. 

Sure, the first time was because Chan was being held captive and as his teacher’s student there was no way that he could sit still and watch his teacher and father figure get abused. But after Chan’s death, Minho thought that the boy would at least have the sense to not waste the second life that his teacher had fought for him and live out the rest of his days in anonymity and far, far away from Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin’s stone cold face became even colder as he dropped the crown in his hand and used both hands to pick up the red velvet cushion, his actions reverent and careful with the severed hands. He held it close to himself, as though he was a child defending his stash of candy from the neighbourhood bully. 

Truly, Minho was a little stunned. He wondered to himself, if Hyunjin was going to be like this now, why didn’t he show this side of himself to Chan from the beginning? It wasn’t hard to see the tolerance and acceptance that Chan showed to Hyunjin, was it that the man in question just couldn’t feel it himself? 

But Minho was a little surprised when the doors were busted in before Hyunjin could even make a decision and a smaller figure shot forwards like an arrow, taking himself all the way to the base of the throne. 

Jeongin was looking a little worse than when Minho had last seen him. It was a fact that Chan’s death had been announced all over the magic world and Jeongin was looking every part of a mourning, filial student. 

He was so caught up in his emotions that he hadn’t even noticed the strange velvet cushion that Hyunjin was cradling like his own child. 

“You,” Jeongin was seething in rage, to the point where his neck veins were visible and his face was dyed a shade of red, “You ungrateful, lowly dog! You bit the hand that fed you, you killed your own teacher!” 

Jeongin had been raised by Chan since he was a mere toddler and with Chan’s strict upbringing, he didn’t have a chance to learn proper cuss words and so he sounded like a very upset gentleman when he yelled at others. 

But the words that were aimed to hurt and damage completely crumbled in the face of Hyunjin’s shield of nonchalance. He had been called worse, this was nothing to him. 

“Why are you here?” Hyunjin said simply but his mind was racing with ways to make Jeongin leave before he could see their teacher’s hands in his embrace. 

“I’m here to tell you all the sins you have committed, scum!” Jeongin roared, his hand raised into a fist as he bolted up the stairs, trying to knock some sense into the man on the throne. But Minho moved faster and held the boy back, not letting him fulfil his death wish and provoke the emperor. 

“Let’s hear it then.” This time Hyunjin smiled that same wicked smile that everyone was familiar with.

“You’re not repentant, are you?” Jeongin choked out, his eyes turning misty. “Our teacher gave his life up for you, for so many times he has sacrificed himself for you and all you know how to do is take, take and take and yet you have never thanked him or apologised to him, have you?” Jeongin fought against Minho’s hold, his emotions getting the better of him. 

Hyunjin stilled in his seat and raised a brow. Jeongin had said something interesting. 

“So. Many. Times?” The words came out awkwardly stiff and there was a tinge of confusion in the man’s phoenix eyes. 

Jeongin scoffed, his eyes glaring holes into Hyunjin’s head as he said, “Are you truly clueless or are you pretending not to know, you ingrate?” 

Hyunjin rose from his seat, tugging his cape over the velvet cushion as he descended down the stairs and stood right in front of Jeongin. “What are you talking about?” His eyes were dead serious, with no more trace of that craziness that he usually wore as a mask. Of course Jeongin knew it was a mask, he had grown up with the man after all. 

“You don’t know, do you? You don’t know any one of the things Teacher has done for you?” Jeongin was truly horrified, one look into his eyes and one could tell how serious he was. Hyunjin’s eyes flashed dangerously as he stepped closer to Jeongin and one hand reached out to grab at the boy’s collar. 

“What are you talking about?” Hyunjin asked again as his hand holding onto Jeongin trembled ever so slightly. 

Jeongin chuckled but there was no mirth in his eyes, only pure sadness as he whispered into the thin air, “Teacher, he doesn’t know anything that you’ve done for him… he doesn’t know anything at all…”

And then Jeongin fell to the floor, sobs wracking through his body, rocking him back and forth as he cried all the tears that he didn’t dare to shed before. He cried for Chan, he cried for himself and he also cried for Hyunjin. 

“When I was young, I fell down a lot,” Jeongin gasped through his sobs, “But no one ever knew because Teacher would bring me to his room and heal all my scrapes and wounds.” 

“That’s impossible, Teacher is an air user, only water users can heal.” Hyunjin retorted, his eyes never leaving the boy collapsed at his feet. 

Jeongin looked up, his face solemn as he replied, “Teacher was born with dual elements of water and air, he never used his water abilities in front of anyone else.” This was news to Hyunjin. After all, he had only been under Chan’s tutelage in his early teens and was the last of Chan’s students. 

Hyunjin went quiet, his gaze cold as he realised that this was a part of Chan that he had never known before, despite being so close to him in other ways. 

But then a query rose in his heart, “Then… that time, why didn’t he…” Hyunjin trailed off, his jaw clenching as the painful memories tore through his heart again. 

“You want to ask why Teacher didn’t save Jisung back then, right?” Jeongin accurately guessed Hyunjin’s question. “Not only did he not save Jisung himself, he stopped you from using your healing powers on Jisung and that caused Jisung to die.” Jeongin spelled it out for him and Minho who was quietly watching the exchange also raised his eyebrows at his statement. 

“Did you ever stop to consider, in that pea-sized brain of yours, why Teacher took you into his residence for a whole month to train? You damaged your own core element during the monster attack by expending too much powers that your body didn’t even have, you were on the verge of death! How could you heal someone when you didn’t even have the powers for it?” Jeongin spat out, uncaring of the way Hyunjin’s face paled. 

“He took you in because his residence was full of water mana, he was trying to build your core back up but before you got better you were involved in another attack and stupidly tried to save Jisung with your little powers- you could have killed yourself!” Jeongin yelled. “And then against all of Teacher’s instructions, you casted a healing spell on Jisung and almost destroyed your core. You blacked out and when you woke up, Jisung was gone and you blamed Teacher for your own incompetence.” 

Hyunjin didn’t want to hear anymore and took a step back but he couldn’t seem to turn away from Jeongin. 

“Teacher was injured too.” Jeongin said softly, “He was injured from the demon attack and his internal organs were in a mess but seeing your life hanging in the balance, he fought to bring you back to the guild and cleaved his core into half. He gave his water core to you and from then on, he couldn’t heal anyone anymore.”

“The attack… Jisung’s injuries were too grievous. Teacher wasn’t able to save him because of his injuries and Jisung’s body had already gone cold. He couldn’t lose another student so he put his own life at risk to save you…but you never knew what happened and he couldn’t tell you either. The moment you woke up you took him as an enemy, he couldn’t even explain himself.” 

“He should have tried harder!” Hyunjin roared, tears streaming down his cheeks as his free hand grabbed blindly at the air, looking for something to stabilise him before he fell. The shock took control of his body and he could hear his blood rushing in his ears. 

All this time… Chan had never said anything. 

“The whole time you were grieving Jisung, did you not think that Teacher was grieving him too?” Jeongin sobbed thinking about his senior who always kept special snacks for him and sneaked him out to play when their teacher wasn’t looking. 

Jisung was a ray of sunshine. In the very beginning, he didn’t get on well with Hyunjin but after a couple of punishments for “disrupting class”, they had forged a bond that couldn’t be broken. They got on like a house on fire and there was always the sound of laughter coming from their training grounds. 

When Jisung died, Hyunjin had felt real pain for the first time. The kind of pain that tore one’s soul apart and made them wish that they were dead. There was no one he could blame for Jisung’s death… except Chan. 

He didn’t know that he had passed out when he casted the spell. He had always thought that it was Chan’s doing and the man had never corrected his thinking. He thought that Chan was responsible for Jisung’s demise. The great Brachium who was revered by so many didn’t even spare a glance at his student who was dying and didn’t let his other student save him. 

Hyunjin clutched at his heart, feeling like it was tearing apart once more. All this time, he thought that Chan was uncaring, cold and pure evil. He didn’t realise that he was the one who had grown into that character he was forcing on the man. 

“He didn’t tell me, he didn’t tell me,” Hyunjin’s facade was crumbling, his hands reached up to tug at his long, black hair and as he did so, something fell out from his cape and rolled onto the ground below. 

The severed pair of hands were exposed and Jeongin’s eyes widened at the sight of them. He reached a trembling hand out. 

“Don’t touch him!” Hyunjin roared and grabbed at the pair of hands, bringing them straight to his chest and holding them there like they were a precious treasure. Jeongin quickly realised that these were the last true remains of their teacher. 

Jeongin looked straight at Hyunjin with tears in his eyes, “Hyung… If you loved him like he loved you, why did you treat him like this?” 

Chan was like a father to Jeongin, a child who was orphaned and rescued by the guild. He didn’t really understand the concept of romantic love but deep down he had always realised that Chan treated Hyunjin a little differently. Was it because Hyunjin had joined them much later? Jeongin didn’t know but he did know that Chan was always appropriate, hiding his feelings deep into his heart. 

But Jeongin was practically raised by him. He could see through his thoughts since he had moulded himself to become Chan’s mini me. He could understand the short glances that Chan would take at Hyunjin and he could feel the sadness in his eyes when Hyunjin had rebelled against Chan. 

“He loved you so much, Hyung. How could you do this?” Jeongin whispered and that was all it took for Hyunjin to break apart. 

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“Did you hear?” 

“Yeah, Jype finally took action against the emperor. Seems like they’ve finally had enough.” 

The whispers of the common folk were like voices in the wind, travelling over the hills and valleys until the whole magic world knew of what had transpired. 

Hyunjin sat still, the waterfall behind him roaring and rushing only calmed him even more as his eyes were fixated on the lone man who came closer and closer. Hyunjin had been meditating at the waterfall for days now, knowing and waiting for the man who would come. 

He sat cross legged on the surface of the lake that the waterfall opened up into. This was Chan’s favourite place to come and meditate, everyone in Jype knew that. The previous guild master had even built a decent sized hut for him near the lake so he could go there anytime he wished to. 

“Teacher Seo.” Hyunjin acknowledged as the man stood on the edge of the lake, the water wetting the soles of his boots. 

Changbin didn’t say a word but his eyes were fixated on the items in Hyunjin’s lap. 

Chan’s hands. 

Hyunjin didn’t have a weapon, it also looked like he wasn’t planning on fighting back. 

Changbin knew what Chan had felt towards his student. He also knew that Chan was prepared to not do anything about his feelings in his lifetime. And above all, Changbin knew that Chan would be glad if he could be laid to rest with the person that he loved the most despite him being the person that also hurt him the most. 

“I will not hold back.” Changbin warned. 

Hyunjin nodded, he expected this much of the new guild leader anyways. And he was sure that Changbin was also here for a personal grudge, seeing as how Hyunjin was the one who single-handedly ruined his best friend’s life. 

Hyunjin was on the defence in the event Changbin wanted to take Chan’s last remains with him but the man hadn’t said anything else and Hyunjin didn’t want to bring it up either. 

Changbin raised his hands that were glowing with the fire that kept stars alive. “In the next life,” Changbin spoke softly, “make amends to him.” 

The last thing Hyunjin saw was the rising steam of the lake water as everything in front of him boiled and vaporised. There was a split second of pain where he felt like his body was being torn apart and then nothing. He had fallen into oblivion.

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“And then the legendary hero Seo slayed the evil emperor!” The little boy announced as he knocked the black robed doll down with another heroic looking doll dressed in red with flames running on the edges of its sleeves. 

The two other kids in front of him cheered and clapped as the evil emperor toppled down onto the grass ungracefully. The three were seated on a grassy patch outside a moderately-sized hut and the aroma of something cooking filled the air. 

“Brother, what happened to the legendary guild?” The youngest boy asked cutely. 

“Of course they rose to the top, Innie! And when I grow up, I’m going to join that guild!” The little boy puffed out his chest as he said proudly. 

“We’ll see about that, you can barely even hold a sword up, Sungie.” The last boy scoffed and picked up the sword technique manual that he had thrown aside to watch the mini puppet show. 

Before the puppeteer boy could say anything, a voice came from inside the hut, “Innie, Sungie, Minnie, come in and eat before the food gets cold!” The three boys scrambled into the house, trying to beat each other to the dining table. 

An elegant man stood at the head of the table, laying down the last dish as he caught sight of the little rascals. His dimples made an appearance as he watched the rascals fight for the seat closest to him. 

“Alright. Minnie gets to sit next to me today, since the rest of you already got your turn.” The man smiled and sat himself down with his three children. Sungie had rice stuck all over his face and Innie was struggling with the chopsticks that he was being forced to use because ‘he couldn’t just use his hands’. 

But in a split second, the man’s smile dropped and a flash of panic entered his eyes. He stood up abruptly, his chair screeching back as he did so. The man rushed to the door, directly making eye contact with the stranger that had crossed the barrier he had set up outside the family home. 

The man outside caught sight of the teardrop-shaped birthmark on his neck and the father of three hurriedly covered it up with his hand. But before he could say a word, the stranger had traversed the entirety of the courtyard in a few strides and stood before him. 

“I’ve finally found you, Chan.” The stranger whispered as he tugged him into his arms, holding him close and breathing in the minty fragrance on his body. 

“You…” Chan was at a loss for words. But something about the man was so comforting that Chan couldn’t help but wrap his arms around his waist and draw him even closer to himself. 

“You came back.”