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pasteidolons · 3 months ago

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𝔥𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤 - 𝔩𝔧𝔥 || 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔦𝔦

pairing: lee jihoon x female!reader genre: historical au, fluff, angst, smut (later routes), supernatural members: choi seungcheol, wen junhui, kwon soonyoung, jeon wonwoo, lee seokmin, kim mingyu, boo seungkwan, lee chan, xu minghao, hong jisoo warnings: crass humor and language, blood, violence, mentions of suicide, alcohol, minor character death, 660's sexism, crossdressing, medical procedures, political upset, historical inaccuracies for the sake of plot progression word count: 16.6k summary: riding the highs and lows coming from the crown ordered raids and sieges, the hwarang find themselves in deeper trouble when mysterious figures begin emerging and demanding something strange- you.

taglist: @hipsdofangirl

𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔦 || 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔦𝔦𝔦

𝔉𝔢𝔟𝔯𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 6𝔱𝔥, 662 - 𝔖𝔢𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔢𝔬𝔩, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The new year sweeps in not unexpectedly, but with a gust of cold that chills you to your core. Seorabeol sits under a blanket of snow, much like it had when you first arrived a little over a year ago now.

You finish eating breakfast with the captains a little earlier than they do, you excuse yourself to make them some tea before their morning briefing. Thankfully, the halls remain warm, so you don’t need to worry about the winter chill as you make your way back to the main hall, the smattering of captains sitting around.

“Thank you,” Eunseok says as you set down a cup for him, a smile on his lips as he wraps his cold fingers around the steaming cup. You make your way around the hall to give the captains their drinks, most giving you a curt but appreciative nod as you do so.

“The monks at this temple have been nice enough to let us stay here this long,” Jihoon calls out, disrupting your thoughts as he speaks to the captains, “but Shoshin is getting crowded.”

“Especially with all of the new guys coming in,” Mingyu agrees, nodding his head.

“If we could get a bigger space, that’d be good,” Junhui adds, a tinge to his voice as if he’s thinking about how little room there is to move around these days. “Even in the overflow buildings it’s stuffy.”

“Most of these kids are nobles too, not accustomed to living like this,” Mingyu sighs, not vouching for them, just knowing it would take some time to acquaint themselves with their newfound home.

“If we can find somewhere bigger to host us,” Seungkwan says, “I’m sure the newbies would be more appreciative.”

“What about Bulguksa Temple?” The man sitting next to Youngmin speaks up, glancing over to the map hanging in the front of the room.

“Bulguksa?” Suh Kangjoon frowns, looking towards the map, “Isn’t that a bit far?”

“Maybe,” the man shrugs, “But it’s one of the only places big enough to accommodate the Seorabeol Hwarang. And its position would allow a tactical advantage in times of panic, it’s a relatively easy place to fortify.”

After he’s done speaking, the man leans back in his chair to see what the others have to say. Kim Gongmyung had joined the Hwarang on Soonyoung’s excursion to Hanseong in early autumn of last year. His family’s school is quite popular there and his academics gained him notoriety with the nobles of the area. “Besides, it’s closer to the border so if there’s a need to intercept or fend off any Baekje loyalists looking for trouble, it’d put us in the best spot to do so.”

“Those are good points,” Youngmin nods enthusiastically, “An exceptional amount of detail as always, Gongmyung.”

Even if the chief thought it to be a good idea, a few voices rose in opposition.

“Isn’t it a bit… presumptive to do something like that?” Seungcheol frowns at Gongmyung, his hands atop the table, fingers tapping along the wooden grains.

Gongmyung’s smile flickers as he turns to the colonel, “Then would it be better to be negligent of the possibility, the high possibility, that the loyalists are up to something again?” His question leaves little room for the colonel to answer before he begins speaking again, “It’s a lovely thought, thinking that we’re safe now, but we all know it’s not true.” His deflection of Seungcheol’s statement leaves a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths.

“I agree that the loyalists need to be stopped, but to place our personal interest there instead of being directed to do so by the Crown or the council is…” Seungcheol trails off, clearly thinking more inwardly than he was expressing outwardly.

“So, then, what should we do?” Another voice piques up, questioning Seungcheol. “Wait until the bastards are knocking at our door to actually do something about it? Or maybe wait until they’ve actually captured Munmu and have burned the palace to the gro-”

“Dongyoung,” Gongmyung interjects, “Watch your mouth.”

“My mistake,” Dongyoung scoffs after a moment of staring at his brother for interrupting him, “Couldn’t stop myself.”

Kim Dongyoung is the younger brother of Kim Gongmyung by blood, and only by the same father. Dongyoung had joined the Hwarang with Gongmyung in autumn and had accompanied him to Seorabeol.

“He has the tendency to run his mouth like a child still,” Gongmyung explains, “I apologize.” His attention then turns back to Seungcheol and away from his brother, “So, don’t take it too personally, please. I’m sure someone like you is needed to make the Hwarang successful. Even if your arm is unusable in a fight, your smarts and tactical abilities will prove all the more useful.”

You see Seungcheol biting back a retort towards Gongmyung’s sour wording, the tension between the two only cut by another voice.

“I don’t think I heard you correctly, Gongmyung.” It’s Jihoon, his voice low as if he’s trying to stabilize the tone so as to not sound angry. “Seungcheol is smart, as you said. He is not useless and not replaceable, make sure you don’t forget that.” The commander only speaks when there’s something important to be said, having spoken up now means that Gongmyung’s words must’ve gotten to him.

“My arm, though…” Seungcheol mutters out, seemingly unable to finish the thought. Jihoon’s words remind him of what he once was, causing him to frown at the reality of it all.

“I didn’t mean to cause such a disturbance,” Gongmyung sighs out with false sympathy, “I’ll be sure to keep my thoughts to myself next time. Seungcheol is quite a beloved member, I see, it’s nice to see such a tight knit group. I can only hope the new members share that sentiment.”

Jihoon’s eyes seethe with anger as he glares at Gongmyung, but before he’s able to snip back, Youngmin steps in and tries to calm the air.

“For now,” He begins, looking at each member of the opposing parties, “Let’s just keep matters on finding a new headquarter location. Gongmyung, would you mind coming with me? I’d love to continue our earlier conversation.”

“Of course, Chief.” Gongmyung says and rises to his feet at the same time Youngmin does, the two begin to leave the room, quickly followed out by Kangjoon.

“May I join you as well?” The latter asks before the two step out of the hall.

“Of course,” Youngmin accepts, “I’d like you to hear what Gongmyung has to say, it may help you with strategy points.”

“Thank you,” Kangjoon says with an appreciative smile as the three exit, shortly followed by Dongyoung who scoffs at the encounter before slinking out after them.

“Who’s the asshole that invited them to join us?” Seungkwan frowns once the sound of their footsteps falls out of earshot.

“That asshole’s still in Hanseong,” Junhui huffs, “When Soonyoung gets back I might just wring his neck.”

“The Kim’s father is friends with a few pro-military councilmen,” Mingyu muses, “Interesting to see that they’d join us if they share those same beliefs.”

“They’re probably playing some sort of superiority game,” Jihoon says, his arms crossing over his chest. “Just listen to the bullshit that Dongyoung spouts off, and it looks like it’s rubbing off on Youngmin. And that’s definitely not good.”

“Youngmin’s always been like that,” Seungkwan adds, “Easily deceived by those who act nice and appear virtuous but are just vipers waiting for the right time to strike.”

“And Gongmyung’s the deputy commander with Dongyoung in a captain’s position,” Mingyu shakes his head, “They’ve rooted themselves deep.”

Jihoon’s gaze travels to Seungcheol, who’s been staring at the patterns in the wood since his conversation with Gongmyung. “Don’t listen to him,” the commander says to him in hopes of cheering him up.

“Gongmyung is a skilled orator with a proficient education to back it,” Seungcheol laughs dryly, “And not only that, but he’s also skilled with a sword and bow. With a gifted Deputy Commander, the Hwarang have little need for a colonel now.”

“Seungcheol-” Jihoon begins to protest as the colonel rises to his feet and starts to head for the exit. The commander’s voice trails after Seungcheol as he leaves quietly, no one daring to stop him.

“Of all people…” Mingyu sighs out, crossing his arms as he leans back in his chair, “Even the wang-do are avoiding him now.”

“Why?” You question and turn to the captain, “It’s not like he’s done anything wrong.”

“It’s his attitude,” Junhui responds in the elder’s stead, “It doesn't matter what you say to him, he takes it the wrong way regardless.”

“Not to mention the smartass tone he’s been taking up,” a twisted frown settles onto Mingyu’s face, “it’s no wonder the men are scared shitless of him.”

Their words confuse you, even though you haven’t been here as long as the other captains, Seungcheol was well liked among everyone in the Hwarang. After he’d received his injury, it seems as if that demeanor has taken a turn for the worse.

“Can’t you come up with an excuse to get Gongmyung the hell out of here?” Seungkwan asks, turning towards Jihoon. “There’s barely been a moment of civility since he got here.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Jihoon’s expression turns sour, “Youngmin’s all over the guy. Besides, he brought in a bunch of warriors from Hanseong, their allegiance doesn’t solely lie with us yet. They’ll pack up and leave the second we tell him to get lost.”

“Fuck him though!” Seungkwan does little to quell the irateness of his voice, “You’re the goddamn demon commander, make the impossible happen!”

Jihoon barks out a snarkish laugh, “Fine, Boo. How about I make you commander so you can kick Gongmyung and his thugs out?”

“Hell no,” Seungkwan snickers, “That’s too much work.”

It eventually comes to fruition that Gongmyung isn’t to be trusted, having no other captains speak out on his behalf.

You’re going around once more to distribute tea to the men when you stop by Hansol, who’d been quiet for most of, if not all, of the prior conversation. He looks up at you, as if he had felt your thoughts wander over to him.

“What are your thoughts on Gongmyung joining?” You ask as he sets down his teacup onto the tabletop.

Hansol sighs as you begin topping off the cup, “As any group begins to grow in numbers, it’ll have more and more people with differing opinions.” You pull the pot away from his cup, staunching the flow of the liquid, “Although, if one intends to be the catalyst for change instead of it occurring naturally, the group will begin to kill itself from the inside out.” His words hang heavy as you stand next to him, unsure of what to say next.

Gongmyung’s acceptance into the Hwarang, from your perspective, wasn’t to tear them apart, but maybe to cause dissension among the members. You’re not fond of him, but his treatment towards Seungcheol and the colonel’s receptiveness to the critiques is what worries you the most. It’s not as if his arm would work again overnight, it would take a miracle to happen, and Seungcheol doesn’t seem like the type to frequent shamans.

Sometime later you find yourself wandering back to your room, the meeting dissipating with little to be done with the newest arrivals. Although cold outside, the setting sun gives off little warmth as you trapeze yourself through one of the gardens. The reddish-maroon of the sinking star unsettling you.

You still have Seungcheol in mind as you pause for a moment, staring up at the shifting hues of the heavens. A conversation you’d heard in the news of Seungcheol’s injury had spurred the conversation of the Furies as well as a serum. By the way they’d spoken of it, it made it seem as if the item was only used in dire circumstances, and it was highly secretive. You weren’t even supposed to know about it in the first place, but Soonyoung had let slip some information on it and now you can’t help but think about it.

If you were to try and learn of it yourself, it’s no doubt that you’d find yourself in a world of trouble. Yet, you are the daughter of a physician, surely you have more medical knowledge than them?

Falling onto your better judgment, you return to your quarters. Even if you’re worried about Seungcheol, you’re not sure that there’s much you can even do for him at this point.

When the sun finally drops below the horizon, it seems as if Shoshin Temple bursts to life with activity. But the sounds aren’t boisterous, not the gaiety induced ones of the captains rough-housing, these were more ominous. You hear footsteps charge past your room, never seeming to cease as the men run off to an unknown location.

Despite trying your best to keep out of it, your curiosity overtakes you, amalgamating in you slowly creeping out into the hall and following the sound of the commotion. The sounds take you to the main hall, the door left ajar so you quietly make your way inside.

“To think that Seungcheol would’ve…” You can hear Youngmin’s voice, a seriousness in it as he comes into view. Jihoon and the other captains stand around him, each looking to be in a different stage of shock or disbelief.

“What the hell were you all doing?!” Jihoon shouts out towards the other captains, his grief seeming to take shape in the form of unbridled anger, “I told you to watch out for Seungcheol! Was there some fucking part of that that you didn’t understand?”

“You can’t blame us for this,” Junhui retorts defensively, “Who would’ve thought that he’d drink that shit? He was also in charge of that stuff so how were we supposed to know he had it?”

“If he’d hidden it in a vial we wouldn’t have known,” Mingyu adds, glancing from Junhui to Jihoon, “And suppose that it does treat his arm… Everyone who took it went crazy. It didn’t work.”

The serum… is that what the captains are referring to? You don’t have enough context on the situation to understand fully, but has Seungcheol taken whatever it is?

“Seungcheol had been trying to improve it,” Hansol interjects, “He’d hoped his arm would heal before it deteriorated too much… Maybe he felt as if there wasn’t any other way. Regardless of that, when he realized his failure he ignored Seungkwan and tried to kill himself.”

“Kill himself?” You gasp aloud, momentarily forgetting that you aren’t supposed to be here. Slowly, all eyes shift to you, Jihoon’s gaze quickly meeting yours.

“What are you doing here?” He asks and suddenly you’re unable to speak. His gaze holds an iciness that causes your throat to clam up, restricting any words that are trying to form. It’s the same way you felt upon entering Shoshin the first time, a mixture of anxiousness, suspicion and animosity.

“Jihoon,” Youngmin says, his hand moving to rest on the commander’s forearm, “I think it’s time you tell her what’s going on. She is Heo’s daughter, after all.”

Your eyes grow wide at the mention of your father’s name. Why is he being brought up all of a sudden?

“I’m going to make this clear,” the commander stares at Youngmin with a grimace, looking back to you after a moment and sighing out lengthily, “The Hwarang don’t need you. There’s a chance that you’ll help us find Heo, but even without you, we’ll find him one way or another. Do anything strange and we’ll have you killed.” Your limbs feel frozen in place as he speaks, you’re able to stutter out an ‘Okay’ before he continues. “I’m going to tell you what’s happening here, but keep in mind that if you tell anyone else about it other than those that are in this room: it’s your own head.”

“Are you… going to kill me?”

“Not yet, but don’t think that means you’re free to run off.”

“We never told you why your father was here in the first place,” Youngmin steps in, allowing you to break your gaze with Jihoon. “He was developing a… treatment of sorts.”

“Like the one Seungcheol took?” Words forming on your lips, testing out how shocked you sound.

The leader of the Hwarang nods solemnly, breathing in deeply before responding, “We first learned of it when one of the Crown’s men brought it to us. They told us it was obtained through trades with merchants in Tang.”

The curiosity of it all, as dreadful it may be, swirls inside of you. Culminating into something you’re not sure you have the words to describe.

“A foreign drug said to augment a man’s healing and bolster their strength,” Hansol sighs out, “Anyone who drank their fill would, supposedly, be able to fight off a guhin with no issue.” His voice serious, despite having alluded to a mythical beast, “Any of their injuries would heal almost immediately, unless they were decapitated or pierced through the heart.

This all sounds like something your father would’ve told you as a child to fuel your imagination, not something that was feasible now.

“Yet, that power comes at a price. It spirals whoever drinks it into an unreturnable madness, they seek out human blood to satisfy their hunger instead of food or drink.” Hansol continues, looking at you with a wary gaze, Heo took it upon himself to try it out on some of the Hwarang so that an attempt to perfect the serum could be worked on.

“My father?” You’re not sure how surprised you sound, something within you twinges but it’s probably the knowledge somewhere deep inside that you knew your father is connected to all of this. Yet knowing that he was using his skills to try and work on this… serum, makes a pit begin to form in your stomach. “So that night where you all found me...”

“We keep the men who’ve taken it to a temple just outside of Seorabeol, if they were kept here people would’ve become suspicious,” The explanation doesn’t tell you how you’d come to find them, but you can infer that they’d probably escaped. “As long as they don’t get any blood they stay relatively quiet.” With the way Hansol relays the information, it makes it seem as this is just a nonchalant topic for him, and it may have very well been. But to you, it’s alien but helps you put together a few things you’d been wondering since your arrival here.

“Are you okay?” Mingyu asks, a tinge of concern to his voice, “You don’t look great.” He stops himself, scoffing inwardly before continuing, “Of course you’re not, this information would sicken anyone.”

“I think we’ve told her enough,” Jihoon interjects before Mingyu can continue, “We need to think about what to do with Seungcheol.”

“I guess…” Junhui frowns, crossing his arms, “But he was practically dead when Eunseok took him out of here.”

“This was a new draught of that shit, though,” Jihoon sounds as if he’s trying to contain himself, to keep his hopefulness on the floor, “we don’t know if the effects are any different from the last batch. And if it’s supposed to do what it's meant to, then that cut isn’t going to kill him.” His eyes flicker to the leader, “Youngmin, can you watch over him? I know Eunseok’s taking care of him but he’s just a kid and I don’t think that-” A pause as he catches himself fretting, he gives himself a second to straighten up, “Tonight will tell us if he’s meant to live or die, and whether he’ll be sane or not by the end of it.”

“Of course, isn’t Seungkwan with him as well?” Youngmin asks before he turns on his heels and heads towards the door.

“He’s guarding the room,” A curt response from Jihoon before Youngmin nods and exits the main hall, the sound of his footsteps dying down after a moment.

“I want you to keep everyone away from the captain’s wing,” Jihoon looks towards Mingyu, a frown dancing on his lips, “Especially Gongmyung’s men.”

“I know,” Mingyu huffs looking to where Youngmin had exited.

“Junhui, go and check on Hwangnyongsa.”

Another order from Jihoon, Junhui nods wordlessly and begins to head towards the main exit of the headquarters. As he passes, you see a glint of the same hostility he’d held towards you on the night of your first arrival. It’s tense and suspicious of you, an itch of gooseflesh overcoming you as he walks out into the night.

“Hansol, go to the inner courtyard, if the Kim brothers or their men show up, keep them busy,” And before Hansol’s even left the room, Jihoon’s gaze settles on you. “I want you to stay with one of the captains.” His concern stems not for the care of your well-being, that much is evident in his gaze, but more to the fact that tonight isn’t a good night to be wandering around alone.

“I’d stay away from Hwangnyongsa, they get rowdy at night,” Mingyu notes, his teeth biting at his cheek.

You nod, thankful for the suggestion, but even with his warning, you’d be limited in where you could go.

“I think I’ll stay here,” you assert to the remaining men, nodding to yourself that this is probably the safest place you could remain within the compound.

It doesn’t take long for Hansol and Mingyu to take their leave, heading for their respective locations around the headquarters before you’re left alone with the commander.

The main hall feels suffocating, mostly from Jihoon’s quietness and the thoughts of what had transpired here merely an hour beforehand. Your gaze shifts from looking out of the main entrance to the commander, his brow furrowing and eyes looking sullen. It’s easy to see that the events of tonight are eating away at him, his concern for his second-in-command utterly gnawing at his very being. His eyes close and he lets out a quiet sigh before speaking again,

“You might think you know who Seungcheol is, but this… It’s not really who he is. He’s an intelligent man who is more than just a sword. The colonel sees the full picture rather than what lies duly in front of him.” Another sigh as if he’s reminiscing, “His guidance helped me through a lot more than I’d like to credit, but his words were always more commandeering than his blade. In a way he was more powerful than me, without him, the Hwarang would’ve regressed to the likes of the Wonhwa.” A subtle smile curling on his lips, “He was like my big brother.” Hands balling into fists atop the table, there is a sincerity that drips from his words bitterly.

“He must mean a lot to you,” you say softly, your own hands falling into your lap, your back hitting the back of the chair as you lean.

“It sounds a little childlike when you say it aloud,” the absinthian smile still clinging to him. He sits, probably thinking the worst outcome for his longtime friend, reminiscing on their past and contemplating what it may mean for the future. Jihoon’s position leaves him unable to divulge this with most others, yet by sharing them with you, he can hold off on the truth for a while longer.

“The only reason we didn’t get rid of that serum is because we thought we could heal his arm with it somehow… Because I thought we could heal him,” the smile fades away, replaced with a grimace. “I should’ve seen this coming.” His own hands fall away from the tabletop and to his sides, a relent in the tension building in his shoulders, “We need Seungcheol. We can’t lose him.”

An anguish coming over him due to the morality of his friend. It’s hard to watch, and you’re nowhere near close enough to him to offer him substantial comfort or advice.

“It’ll be okay,” quiet words leaving you as you straighten up in your chair, his gaze flickering over to you.

“Do you have anything to back that statement up?”

“Back in Toehwa-hyeon, I saw my father treat a lot of people. Most of them believed that they’d recover, and my dad said it was because they had a strong heart,” you say slowly, trying to space out your words coherently. “Seungcheol never seemed like the type to give up fully, and if we all think that he’ll recover then…”

Jihoon lets out a small laugh with a smile and shakes his head, “The Commander of the Hwarang being cheered up by a physician’s daughter. Who could’ve ever imagined this?” A spark igniting in his eyes, returning to the glowing embers and eventual blaze that he so often carries. “You’re right, though. Seungcheol drank the medicine with the intent of getting better and fixing his arm, we just have to believe that he’ll recover.”

𝔉𝔢𝔟𝔯𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 7, 662 – 𝔖𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The night breaks into dawn long after you've retired to your room. A clattering of noise and the rise of voices rouse you from slumber and pull you back to the main hall. Upon entering, you find that the captains have gathered, each in conversation with one another. This scene isn’t interrupted until Eunseok enters.

“It seems as if the hardest part for him is over,” The youngest nods, a collective ball of tension in the room dissipating instantly.

“How is he?” Mingyu asks, looking to Eunseok.

“Still asleep,” he nods, “he was in and out of consciousness the entire night, but he looks peaceful now.”

“Has he gone crazy like the others?” Junhui’s question is blunt as he blurts it out into the space.

Eunseok shakes his head in the negative, “Not seemingly. But we won’t know until he wakes up. But as for now, he looks as he always has.”

Before another captain is able to ask Eunseok of Seungcheol’s status, the doors open and Gongmyung strides into the room.

“Good morning everyone,” A cheap smile painted on his face, “How are you?”

You can hear Junhui let out a soft, “Fuck,” at the sight of him.

Gongmyung scans the faces of the captains after their muffled hellos, “You all look… gloomy.”

“Isn’t it obvious that it’s because we’ve got to see your beautiful face every morning?” Junhui bites with a snicker.

“What a… cute response,” Gongmyung’s quick to brush away the insult as he turns to the other captains. “Is the reason you all look so down because of what happened last night?”

“Ah, actually,” Youngmin begins, fumbling over his words. His gaze hops from captain to captain, looking for someone to relieve him of trying to offer an excuse to Gongmyung.

“Jae,” Junhui’s elbow finds the older’s side as he whispers, “make something up!”

“You see,” Mingyu says after a moment, he too, stumbling over his words, “Well… Uh, yesterday…”

“Didn’t you say you used to act for the nobles in your village?” Seungkwan scoffs at him quietly, “Be quiet and let someone else do the talking.” You think he’s talking about himself, but instead of speaking up, Seungkwan looks to Hansol, who begins speaking almost immediately.

“As you may have heard, an incident occurred last night at the headquarters,” voice plain as he speaks to the Deputy Commander, “We have yet to gain full knowledge on the situation. If we were to make a statement now, it is a risk of polluting fact with falsities. Later this afternoon I’m sure we’ll be able to provide a much more detailed report.”

“Hmm,” Gongmyung mulls over Hansol’s statement for a moment, “I’ll look forward to hearing all about what happened later this evening, then. For now, I’ll return to my men.” He waves everyone on his way out, a strange smile cutting across his face before he exits.

“That was easier than it should’ve been,” Seungkwan huffs, watching the door close with a soft slam.

“What do you mean?” You ask, attention turning from the door and to Seungkwan.

“Gongmyung isn’t stupid, unfortunately,” Jihoon frowns and looks at you, “We shouldn’t have let him in here. The only person missing from our ranks is Seungcheol, it’s not going to take him long to realize that something’s happened to him.”

The Deputy Commander had most likely suspected what had occurred but decided to not press the issue. Before you can think on it for too long, the door opens once more and Choi Seungcheol shuffles in.

A small laugh as he looks at them, his voice sounding a little weak, “Come on, it’s not like I’m some kind of monster.”

Eunseok rushes to him, offering assistance to stand but is waved away by the Colonel, “You should be resting, are you okay being up like this?”

“I’m tired… sore… but I suppose that’s a side effect of my new condition,” Seungcheol’s brow furrows slightly as he looks down to his hand, “Those who’ve taken the serum have found it difficult to do work in the daylight.” His face is a bit pallid, but with the way he stands and moves, it doesn’t seem like he’s hindered all too much. “I’m no longer human,” the words echoing around the room with a chilling effect. Each and every captain fell silent to them.

“Who cares about what you are?” Youngmin speaks up after a moment and steps towards Seungcheol with a bright smile, trying to lighten the mood, “All that matters is that you’re alive.”

“How’s your arm? Healed?” Seungkwan questions, looking down to the colonel’s once bandaged limb.

“I don’t think I’ve fully recovered yet,” Seungcheol notes, flexing his fingers at his side, “It seems to have healed for the most part.”

Despite the disturbance and subsequent chaos of the night prior, it seems like Seungcheol’s wish to use his arm again had come true.

“You can’t go out in the sunlight though, right?” Mingyu asks, voice concerned, and his brow furrowed, “Will you still be able to fight with us?”

Seungcheol nods, slowly moving his head as if he’s mulling over a thought he’d been holding in for some time. “I think you should tell everyone I died.”

“What!?” Junhui shouts out, unable to hold in the burst of confusion. “The fuck are you on about?”

“I should serve in the Corps from now on. It’ll show them, and even more so, us, that success isn’t some far off dream.” Seungcheol says, looking at the frazzled captain.

“Have you lost your goddamn mind Seungcheol?” Junhui’s voice shakes with every word, “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Of course, I do,” Seungcheol frowns, “The Crown has ordered us to keep the serum a secret, and if I,” a small hum as he postulates his next word, “die, that secret remains so. Researching in secret will give me more ability to track side effects and even give me the potential to remove them. What reason do we have for me not to if we’re going to use it?”

The movements of the captains easily show that they’re against Seungcheol’s idea, although no one but Junhui has said anything against it. None of them wish to banish their friend to a life of hiding and secrecy.

“We were given this task by the late King himself, carried on by his son…” Youngmin trails off, “This may be our only choice.”

“This is what you asked for, isn’t it Seungcheol?” Seungkwan shoots him a look, “You’ve always been the type to take things into your own hands so I can’t fault you for that.”

“Sometimes I think you know me too well,” the colonel chuckles.

Jihoon, who’s stayed silent for a majority of the conversation, scoffs at the remark. “This means moving the Hwarang to a new location can’t wait any longer. If we’re going to hide Seungcheol from Gongmyung and his crowd, Shoshin wouldn’t allow us to do that easily.”

“You’re right,” Hansol affirms, “If the Colonel intends to begin researching again, then we’ll have to expedite our move.”

A nod from the commander as he turns to face the captains in full, “Even though none of you slept well, we need to get to work.” He looks to you, “You should get some rest, I know you didn’t sleep well either.”

You want to stay and help them, but with how fatigued you are from staying up so late you can only nod your head at him before quickly shuffling back to your room.

The same thoughts that had plagued you last night as you tried to fall asleep plague you as you now lie on your bedding. Your father’s work… Are you safe under their pretext of safety still? Thoughts still buzzing around your head as you eventually find yourself drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 4𝔱𝔥, 662 – 𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔲𝔨𝔰𝔞 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Bulguksa Temple has proven a better headquarters than that of Shoshin Temple, you’d come to this conclusion in the subsequent weeks of your arrival in March of this year. There’s much more room for the men to freely roam and train, and the view was even more astonishing than the last. The only downfall is the longer trek to the city of Seorabeol itself. On some days you still find yourself lost on the winding paths to the temple, but for the most part you can guide yourself around with little assistance from the monks who reside there.

On this particular day, you find yourself wandering the seemingly endless grounds for the Hwarang’s colonel. When you think you spot him standing in one of the shaded courtyards of the temple’s grounds you shout out to him.

“There you are, Colonel,” You call out, a tray held tightly in your grasp. The sun hangs in the sky above you, a slight burn beginning to burgeon on your clothed shoulders as you approach. “I’ve brought you your lunch.”

“Oh, hello,” he turns to you with a smile and beckons you closer, “Thank you.” A bird chirps in the branches of the tree above him, you look up to find the small creature before returning your gaze to him. You offer him a smile before extending out the tray to him.

“It’s really gotten warm lately, hasn’t it?” You note, stepping into the shade once he’d taken the tray. Fingers rising to your shoulders to feel the heat of the sun that had soaked into the fabric.

“It has,” he nods, moving to set the tray down on a stump beside him, “Although the increased sunshine has been more disagreeable than the warmth.”

“Ah, is it?” The sun doesn’t feel but so harsh on you, but the heat that swells around the compound has been making you sweat since the sun broke over the horizon. Yet, to Seungcheol his disposition probably found the light unbearable from his days in the shadows.

Sometimes it feels unreal to call Seungcheol dead, the night where he’d taken that serum to transform him into a creature lustful for blood, feeling more so like a dream whenever you recall it. As he stands before you now, you can hardly imagine it.

A light breeze wafts through the greenery around you, parting enough leaves in the tree from a few beams of sunlight to fall onto Seungcheol. For a moment, his hair turns a silvery white and his eyes seem to turn a deep crimson.

Your eyes widen and you take a step back, unsure if it were a trick of the light or your own imagination.

“Is something wrong?” He asks, his hair now normal and his eyes once again brown. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, and I know I’m not at that point yet.” Maybe you had imagined it.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 6𝔱𝔥, 662 – 𝔖𝔢𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔢𝔬𝔩, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Soonyoung had asked you to accompany him on his rounds this morning with an excitedness in his voice that would’ve been hard to turn down. So, now you find yourself briskly walking with him through the crowded streets, the blues of his robes shining brilliantly in the midday sky.

“It’s been a while since you’ve asked me to come on patrol with you,” You note as you pass a vendor selling sickeningly sweet treats.

“I know, right? Hanseong kept me pretty busy.” He sighs out, having only just returned from his trip to the northern city just a few weeks ago. “Junhui and Mingyu didn’t mess with you when I was gone, did they? How was it when I was away?”

“Everything was fine, and they didn’t bother me,” You assure him with a small smile.

“That’s good,” He returns the smile as you continue to walk. “Any updates on Heo though? Did you find any leads?”

“No,” the smile from your lips quickly leaving.

“I see…” His own smile quickly disappears as he watches you, “I stopped by his place with the information you gave me but… It didn’t seem as if anyone had returned.” The somberness of the male begins to transfer to you, a feeling of hopelessness beginning to overtake you momentarily.

“Thank you for taking the time to check for me, I know Toehwa-hyeon isn’t on the direct path back.”

“Don’t thank me for that,” He waves you off, “The fact that you can’t freely come and go as you please is completely the Hwarang’s faul—”

“Soonyoung?” You question as he’d stopped himself mid-sentence. He’d looked glum ever since his return from Hanseong. “How about you, though? I know it’s been a while since you’ve been back in Seorabeol.”

“I do feel like the city’s changed, the people too,” he muses, glancing at the faces that pass by. There’s a solemness to his tone that wasn’t typically there in conversations you’d had with him prior, had something happened in Hanseong? Before you can question him on it, his head jerks to look above the crowd, standing on his toes and waving to someone across the way.

“Find anything over there, Seungkwan?!” He shouts out above the clamor of the street.

“Nope,” the older replies as he saunters over, “Nothing out of order here.” Seungkwan is out for patrol too, but his route takes him through a different path through the city. “Normal for now, at least. Things will change once the king comes back from his family villa. Rumor has it that he’s going to address the Hwarang.”

“Is he really?” You question, brow raising in surprise.

“Yep, it’s got Youngmin all flustered,” Seungkwan chuckles, “Our dear leader really respects the Crown, as well all have to, I guess.”

“I see,” you nod, “I hope it actually happens, then, right, Soonyoung?”

Soonyoung looks lost in thought before he hears his name, stumbling out his words as he responds, “Ah, yeah, right.”

You look to Seungkwan to see if he’s caught on to the other’s oddness. But he’s stifling his mouth with his hand, coughing into it.

“Are you alright?” You question him as his hand falls away from his mouth.

“I’m okay,” he waves you off, “I probably just caught a cold from patrolling late one night or something.”

“Well, try to take care of yourself,” a sigh leaving you. As strong and intelligent as the men were, they hardly ever took care of their basic needs, “I have some cold medicine back at the headquarters, I’ll give you some.”

“Thanks,” Seungkwan smiles, “I guess it is good to have you around at times.” Something catches his attention, and he breaks his gaze away from you and into the crowds of the street.

“Is something wrong?”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” A voice rings out and you follow it to see a man holding the wrist of a woman trying to get away from him.

“Let go of me!” She cries out, trying to pull herself away from his grip.

“We’re soldiers of this great kingdom, fighting hard every day to kick these loyalists’ asses! You owe us some drinks, and maybe even a little company.” The man says, and it’s then you realize it isn’t just him, but two other presumed soldiers are harassing this woman.

“Are you guys seeing this?” You question the two captains.

“Yeah,” Soonyoung frowns, “Stay here.”

Yet, before Soonyoung could step forward, Seungkwan seems to be several steps ahead, reaching the group already.

“Soldiers don’t seem to be what they used to,” he tuts, “throwing that rank aloud doesn’t mean you’re owed anything.” The crowds coming to watch the scene shuffle away from Seungkwan as he hovers his hand on his blade, glaring at the men. As the harassers catch the blues of the Hwarang’s robes they seem to stiffen.

“You’re a Hwarang, aren’t you?” One of them asks, furrowing their brow.

“And you must be the smartest one out of these men,” Seungkwan’s tone is condescending as his hand now rests on the hilt of his sword. “Now, what’s it going to be?” A snide, predatory smile as he grips the hilt, no happiness deriving from the grin as the soldier’s faces pale.

“Why don’t you leave us alone? This doesn’t involve you.” The one presumed to be their ringleader remarks.

“If you really want to get out of here unscathed, you should probably follow your own advice,” Soonyoung scoffs, now saddling up beside Seungkwan.

The sight of two Hwarang seems enough to deter the men from their endeavor. Their faces draining of color before they scamper off like scolded dogs.

“If they’re just gonna run off like that when they see us they shouldn’t have tried to start anything in the first place,” Soonyoung sighs, watching them disappear into the crowds.

“Aren’t you going to go after them?” You ask, looking at them as you walk over.

“And charge them with what?” Seungkwan questions, retracting his hand away from his blade and crossing his arms, “Didn’t think you were the iron fist kind of person.”

Before you can protest that that’s not what you meant, the woman whom the two Hwarang had intervened for speaks up, “Thank you for saving me.” She gives both Seungkwan and Soonyoung a bow, more grace in her movements than you could ever hope to have. Even if you dressed like a girl you’re not sure you’d even come close.

Seungkwan’s hand lands on your shoulder before you’re able to feel any sorrier for yourself. “Seungkwan?” You question as he pulls you forward to stand next to the girl.

“Just go with it,” he says and steps away from the two of you, his hand under his chin as he looks over both of you. You smile softly at the girl, embarrassed as to what the Hwarang is making you do. She returns the smile, beautiful on the outside but there is something almost… strange about it.

“Just as I thought,” Seungkwan nods, “They look just like each other.”

And then it hits you, the girl standing before you looks just as you do whenever you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirrors dotting the headquarters.

“Really?” Soonyoung questions, tilting his head at the two of you, “I don’t think they look alike at all, Boo.”

“Dress ‘em up like a girl and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Seungkwan insists.

“Captain Boo…” The woman says, looking at you, “She seems troubled.”

She? Had the woman caught on to you so soon? Stuck in your thoughts she smiles at you once more, “I want to thank all of you properly, but I’m afraid that I’m in the middle of something important. My name is Ahro, I hope I’ll be able to repay you soon, Captain Boo.”

And with that she too disappears like a wisp into the crowds of Seorabeol, the strangeness of her presence lingering long after she’s left.

“It looks like she likes you, Seungkwan!” Soonyoung nudges the elder with his elbow.

“Is that really what you think, Soonyoung?” The other laughs, “You’ve got a long way to go before you’re at Junhui’s prowess levels.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Soonyoung shouts at the other, clearly offended by the remark.

Their bickering fades away as you look to a puddle on the ground left from the rain the night prior. Looking into it now you see the resemblance that you and that woman had had. “Ahro…” You hum as a gust of wind causes the water to ripple and distort your figure.

“Let’s get going!” Soonyoung calls, now further down the street as he’d begun walking back to Bulguksa.

“Coming!” You shout out to him as you look up from the puddle and begin to chase after him.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 11𝔱𝔥, 662 – 𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔲𝔨𝔰𝔞 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The main hall of this temple is open enough so that most, if not all, of the Seorabeol Hwarang can fit inside of it with ample room to spare. It’s a little strange to see all of these faces in one place, seeing as at Shoshin, only the captains and a few other members took priority of occupying the main hall. Yet, as Kwak Youngmin stands proudly in front of his men, any thoughts of the prior location escape your mind.

“By now it’s probably not our best kept secret, but King Munmu has asked us to act as his guard as he returns from his family’s villa to Banweolseong.” Youngmin beams excitedly as the hall begins to erupt in chatter.

“Guard him?” Junhui looks shocked as he turns towards Mingyu, “What’s that about?”

“I don’t know,” he shakes his head in disbelief, “I thought we were just going to get the usual ‘Keep up the good work’ spiel.”

“Our work at Wonweol and Ongsan must’ve gotten through to them,” Jihoon nods, a hidden smile pulling at his lips.

“The leadership of Silla resting on us,” Seungkwan muses almost gleefully, “That’s big.”

“Exactly right,” Jihoon agrees, “We’ve got to do beyond our best for this.”

On the opposite end of the hall, you can hear Suh Kangjoon speak up, “Guarding the king… That’s quite the promotion for us.”

“It truly is,” Gongmyung notes with a sigh, “If only Seungcheol were alive to see it. He would’ve been overjoyed.” Another lamenting breath tiptoeing on faux sympathy, “To have lost such an ally…”

Kim Gongmyung and all of his followers had been told of the colonel’s passing. Actually, the incident surrounding Seungcheol’s transformation had been hidden, only a few of the Hwarang knew the reality of the situation.

“I think doing our best to serve and protect the king is what Seungcheol would’ve wanted,” Youngmin interjects himself into their conversation.

“Yes,” Gongmyung nods, “Of course. This is an excellent opportunity for us to gain favor with the masses.”

“We ought to assign roles at this point. I’d like Jihoon, Seungkwan, and myself to—” Youngmin begins before being cut off by Jihoon.

“Sorry Kwak, but do you think Boo can sit this one out?” The commander’s arms cross over his chest as he glances towards the third party.

“Why’s that?” Youngmin questions, confusion sweeping his features.

“His cold hasn’t recovered fully. And despite me telling him to take care of himself, he neglects to do so,” He sighs out, looking back towards Youngmin.

“Is this true, Seungkwan?” Youngmin looks at the swordsman, “Are you alright?”

“Lee’s just babying me again,” Seungkwan says with a dismissive gesture, “I think I’m alright.”

“Don’t give me that shit,” Jihoon frowns, “You nearly coughed up a lung earlier.”

“Are you trying to sell me medicine?” He scoffs, crossing his arms with a frown, “There’s no way in hell I’m taking what your mother’s doctor prescribed anymore. It tastes like persimmons.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to—” a frustrated grunt from the commander, “Just do what I say, for once.”

You recall giving Seungkwan medicine some time ago after he’d been coughing while out on patrol, had it not helped him? It could be dust particles in the air, you know that the buildup of dust in the temple caused you to sneeze incessantly some mornings.

From the corner of your periphery, you see someone raise their hand.

“Is something wrong, Soonyoung?” Youngmin asks, having seen the younger calling for attention.

“I’m uh, I’m not feeling so great either,” Soonyoung frowns, his eyes looking panicked.

“You too?” Youngmin hums in defeat, “You should try and take care of yourself. I was hoping we could all go and guard the king.”

“I’m sorry,” Soonyoung bows his head in apology.

“No, no, don’t worry about it. Your health comes first, always!” Youngmin tries to brighten his tone to detract from the now somber mood. “I’m sure we’ll have another chance to do something great together!”

Jihoon and Youngmin continue discussing the precession that’s to take place, when suddenly, the commander turns to you.

“What’re you going to do?” Jihoon asks, an eyebrow raised as he poises the question.

“What do you mean?” You say as you look to him, “Are you asking if I want to go with you?”

“I am,” He nods and after a moment of silence asks, “Are you?”

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course it is!” Youngmin smiles, “We won’t mind. Besides, you’re practically one of us, I’d love for you to accompany us.”

Another moment of hesitation before Seungkwan laughs aloud, “Why don’t you go? It seems a lot safer than what happened at Wonweol and Ongsan.”

“Yeah,” Soonyoung nods, “I can’t imagine any loyalists would try to do anything when the king’ll be so heavily guarded.”

“I’ll go, then,” you nod firmly towards the commander.

“Alright,” Jihoon nods back with a small smile, “I thought we’d give you the job of running messages when needed. It’s not going to be the easiest job but I figure you can do it.”

Later that day you and the able captains and Hwarang left Seorabeol. Traveling about an hour or two outside of the city as you wait for the king’s caravan to greet you in a small village that you can’t remember the name of. You never actually saw the king, but you follow the Hwarang back to Seorabeol, arriving at the gates of the city just as the sun dips below the horizon. The walk through the city is brisk, and in no time the caravan disbands and you and a few other Hwarang stand outside the palace gates. By now, Youngmin, Junhui and Gongmyung are probably greeting officials and other important members of the king’s retinue.

You shift on your feet for a moment, the sole aching slightly from the trek earlier, but you have a job to do. Jihoon had tasked you to tell the Hwarang when to change their shift and to carry any important messages when needed. It’s something of a glorified page position, but it’s not an entirely useless role… probably.

“You’re the messenger?” A voice says as you approach them, “This isn’t a vacation, you know.”

“I’m not here to relax, Dongyoung,” you sigh as you stand before him.

“Is that right? Then why did we take someone here who can’t even use a sword?” Dongyoung scoffs, the light from a nearby brazier flickering across the sneer on his face.

“I’m here to do what I can,” You state firmly before beginning to relay your message. “The Chief is currently paying his respects to members of the court, everyone else should continue guarding.”

“Message understood,” he says flippantly, causing you to look confused with how he didn’t retort on it. “What? Surprised I actually listened to you?”

“Oh no—I just—”

“It’s a job,” He frowns, “It’s not personal. Now you’ve delivered your message, get going.”

You don’t ever speak much to Dongyoung, mostly on account of his brother being Gongmyung, but maybe he’s more responsible than you thought him to be.

After he shoos you away, you continue to make your rounds, delivering messages to the Hwarang stationed around the castle. They’re easy to spot, wearing their white robes instead of their normal blues. They seem laxer now, maybe because the loyalists had been driven out of the capital for the most part, the Baekje revivalists fleeing back to the territory of the old kingdom.

As you think that, and begin to approach another member of the Hwarang some distance away, your blood runs cold. A prick of gooseflesh running along your spine as your heartbeat reaches your ears. You can taste the blood in the air, looking around the trees encasing the palace and finding nothing. It’s not until you look at the castle walls and the walkway situated on top of it, does your stomach sink. Three figures jump down from the wall, landing on the dirt ground with a cloud of gritty dust.

“You’ve found us, then,” A familiar voice sighs out as they turn to you, stating your name somewhat cooly. The figure, flanked by two others, is haloed in the moonlight as you squint your eyes to try and get a better look at his face. “Not too slow.” Their piercing gaze fires into you, the name ‘Hong Jisoo’ battering through your mind as you remember the distinctive voice and way he carries himself. The last you’d seen him had been at Ongsan, and you face him now with much more dread than you’d had that day.

The two figures beside him must be Hwan Minhyun and Xu Minghao, the people whom other Hwarang had encountered during the battle at the fortress. You know they have ties with the inner court and had tried to stop the Hwarang’s efforts during the battle at Wonweol and Ongsan.

“Why are you here?” You question, trying to keep your voice steady.

“You mean ‘how’ did we get here, don’t you?” the one on Jisoo’s left, questions. “Man made obstacles are meaningless to a Demon.”

“We’re here for only one reason: you.” The other speaks up, crossing his arms.

“Me?” You take a step back, the pounding of your heart unrelenting as you stare at them. “I don’t understand.” How do they know your name? “What do you mean by Demon? Is this some kind of joke?”

Jisoo scoffs, “You of all people are asking that? Maybe you’re the one who’s joking.” He steps forward, toward you, the shadows seeming to cling to his robes as he walks.

When the man you now presume to be Minhyun speaks, it’s soft, almost caring in a way, “When you’re injured, do you heal quickly?” Your breath catches in your throat as he continues, “You heal faster than anyone around you, right?”

This knowledge about you is unknown to almost everyone except for you and your father… How do they know this?

You’re about to try and pull yourself together to defend yourself from the accusations when the other man, Minghao speaks up. “Wouldn’t it be better to just give her a demonstration?” His hand begins to reach for the quiver on his back before Jisoo speaks up.

“Minghao, do you really think I’d let you hurt a female Demon?” His voice slightly agitated as he glanced at the other.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Hong.” He scoffs, “She’s being stubborn, what do you suggest we do?”

Jisoo breaks his glare, only for his eyes to settle on the blade at your hip. “Her family’s name is a demon’s, she carries the Demon of Taebaeksan’s blade. Isn’t that enough evidence?”

“My… name?” What’s wrong with ‘Heo’? His narrative, largely unknown to you, is cause enough for you to continue to panic.

“Then again, it’s not like we need your permission to kidnap you,” Jisoo muses, looking at you with a frown, “Come with us or we’ll have to take you instead.” His hand outstretches towards you like a lure trying to bait in a fish. You step back, away from him, when you feel two figures brush past you.

“Woah there,” Mingyu says as he stops, feet hitting the ground as his hand reaches for and pulls out his sword, “This really isn’t the place to try and pick up a woman.”

“You again?” Jisoo asks as he steps back, a sneer on his lips, “For a noble you really do like to keep it simple.”

“The same could be said to you,” Hansol says to him, also reaching for his blade. He looks back to you, “When we heard you hadn’t given your messages out on time we came to look for you.”

You nod and step back once more, your legs becoming unsteady as if the adrenaline that had been coursing through you suddenly left you at once. A hand catches you before you fall, pulling you further away from the skirmish.

“Stay back here,” Jihoon says sternly, looking towards the trio of assailants. His hand guides you to his side before he lets go of you, reaching for his blade. “I thought you’d be here for the king,” He says to Jisoo, “What do you want with my page?”

“I don’t have any interest in you or this kingdom right now,” Jisoo says, looking past the commander and at you, “This matter only concerns us Demons.”

“Demons?” Jihoon scoffs, narrowing his eyes at the foe. He seems confused by the statement, perhaps hoping there’d be a more coherent and understandable reason for Jisoo’s presence.

“Haven’t seen you since Ongsan,” Minghao notes, looking over to Mingyu and Hansol.

“Looks like it’s fate,” Mingyu huffs out, “not that I’m particularly happy about it.”

“I don’t feel great about this reunion either,” Hansol sighs and pulls out his sword, Mingyu following suit.

The tension lays thick in the air, settling into your throat so that you find it hard to speak or breathe. With the slightest movement that could set them off, you reflexively reach for the blade at your hip so that should anything arise, you’ll be ready.

“Don’t worry about them,” A voice from behind you speaks up. Cloaked in the shadows from the nearby forest, Chan slowly approaches you. “Jihoon’s asked me to escort you back to headquarters.”

“Are you telling me to run?” You ask, gaze shifting from Chan to Jihoon, who’s still locked eyes with Jisoo.

“I am,” Chan nods, reaching out so that you might take his hand, “Even if you stay there’s little you can do.”

You shake your head, his hand falling away back to his side, “I’m going to stay.”

“What do you think you’ll be able to do here?” Chan doesn’t sound condescending, just confused as to why you’d wish to stay and endanger yourself further.

You think to what the three intruders had said to you prior, the want to know more about what they’d called you sought itself out with more priority than your own safety at the moment.

“You have a reason, I see.” The Hwarang shakes his head, not waiting for a response as he sees the conviction already dead-set in your gaze. “I can admire that. But I do have my orders. You may want to stay because you want to do what you believe is right, but I have to do the same.” His hand outstretches towards you once more, a pleading look in his eye as he quietly asks for you to go with him.

Before his fingers are able to brush against the linen of your robes, an arrow whizzes by, buzzing before it lands with a solid ‘thunk’ in a tree behind Chan. Gaze traveling back to where it had been fired, you find Minghao lowering his bow, his hand still hovering over his quiver should he need to take another shot.

“She said she wanted to stay,” Minghao sighs, grabbing another arrow before loosely notching it, “You have to learn to respect a woman’s wishes.”

Mingyu lurches forward with his sword in retaliation for the attack on his fellow Hwarang, hoping to land a blow somewhere on Minghao’s abdomen. The strike though, is easily dodged by the bowman, who merely steps aside and watches as Mingyu’s feet falter as he moves to sling his bow over his shoulder and reach for the sword at his hip.

“Minghao’s temper is going to get him in trouble one day,” you hear Minhyun note with a frown as he witnesses the event.

“Evidently so,” Hansol agrees, sword still clenched in his fist, “You don’t seem like you’re going to stop him, though.” He then moves to strike the unarmed foe, swinging his sword in a downward motion to try and disrupt the lax stance Minhyun was in.

“And here I was,” a clanging of metal as Minhyun seems to unsheathe his sword in a blink of an eye and move it upwards to counter Hansol’s blow, “thinking we could just talk this through!”

“Who the hell are these guys?” Jihoon says through grit teeth as you hover your hand over your blade once more. Behind you, you can hear Chan slip back into the tree line, presumably to go and fetch help for the commander and captains. Minghao and Minhyun are showing much more prowess with a blade than you’d thought, and with Jisoo still standing, you know it’d take more men than the three Hwarang to defeat them.

For now, though, you put your faith into Jihoon and step back from the fight, an action that draws appraisal from the commander, “Good. Don’t be an idiot and draw your sword. Leave this to me.”

“Don’t you remember the last time we fought?” Jisoo frowns and you recall the fight that Jihoon had found himself entrenched in. The way that the stranger speaks of it unsettles you, as if he’s taunting the commander with the memory of it. “Maybe instead of going easy I’ll just get rid of you.”

Jihoon laughs at the absurdity of the statement, “I’d love to see you try. I still haven’t paid you back for killing one of my men at Ongsan.”

The rivalry sparks between them, a fire igniting in their gazes before Jihoon takes the first step. They run towards each other, their swords clanging together and ringing out through the nighttime sky. Blades screaming against one another as they’re pulled apart by the respective opponent, Jihoon seeks to swing again only to be parried by Jisoo with ease.

“What the hell are you?” Jihoon asks as the two part once more, his breathing heaving as it seems as if he’d thrown his all into his last strike.

“Haven’t I already said what I was? A Demon,” Jisoo frowns, barely looking scathed by the short skirmish, “but not just me, or them, but her too.” His gaze flickers over to you for a moment before looking back to Jihoon. “We’ve come to relinquish you from watching over her.”

“Sounds like bullshit to me,” Jihoon snorts before tightening his grip on his blade. This time, it’s Jisoo who strikes out first, their blades greeting each other with a shuddered clangor. They exchange a few more blows, a strand of Jisoo’s hair edging too close to Jihoon’s blade and quickly getting cut away. The cut strands flutter to the ground and settle by his feet. Instead of looking scared at how close a blade had come to his body, Jisoo shows what seems to be the tiniest bit of surprise before lowering his sword.

Jihoon, seeing his opposition falter, lowers his blade as well, taking a step back. Around them, you see that Hansol, Minhyun, Mingyu and Minghao have stopped fighting as well.

“Fighting like this is going to get us nowhere,” Minhyun frowns and looks over to Jisoo, “We’ll only attract more people.”

“I can’t help but feel that that’s targeted at him,” Minghao bites, “I know when to stop, the only one here who’s got an issue with that is—” His gaze trails towards Jisoo as he speaks, biting back a retort.

A deep, almost exasperated sigh from Jisoo, “We don’t have to stay. We’ve only come to verify that the lead was correct.”

“Do you think we’ll just let you walk away?” Hansol questions, his sword still raised towards the trio.

“You three might survive,” Jisoo nods, moving to sheath his sword, “but how many of your men will we have to kill before we escape? Are their lives that expendable?” Jihoon, Hansol and Mingyu remain angrily silent, knowing full well they can’t accept that risk. Jisoo smiles at them, he and the two others begin to make their way to the forest’s edge, but before they disappear completely, their leader turns and says one last thing to you.

“I will be back for you.” Not wanting to meet his gaze, your eyes travel to the embroidered yellow azaleas on his robes before they vanish in the denseness of the forest.

The words whip through you like an icy chill, curling around your stomach with a fear you haven’t felt since you were a child.

“Are you okay?” Mingyu asks after he’s sheathed his sword and takes a few steps towards you.

“I’m… alright,” you nod weakly, clenching your fists so they won’t shake.

“You’re bad at lying,” he laughs lightly, “Just wait here for a bit, we’ll have some other men take a few rounds and make sure those three don’t come back.”

“Thank you,” trying to sound as appreciative as you can, you look from Mingyu to Jihoon, who continues to stare into the darkness of the woods as if to try and spot the three figures.

“Do you have any idea why they came after you?” He questions after a moment, locking eyes with you as if to probe your mind.

“I’m not sure…” you relent, not knowing whether Jisoo’s words were accurate or not. Were you really what he said, a Demon?

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 20𝔱𝔥, 662 – 𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔲𝔨𝔰𝔞 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The incident on the night of the eleventh never comes to the attention of any other members of the Hwarang, save for the commander’s most trusted captains. In lieu of that, life at Bulguksa remains relatively unchanged, the usual grumblings from Gongmyung and his crowd continue as usual and the captain’s antics remain unbothered.

On this balmy morning, you walk through the halls, coming upon a line of Hwarang gaily chatting among themselves as they wait. Suddenly a door opens from the beginning of the line and Gongmyung comes racing out towards your direction.

“Never have I felt so violated,” He huffs exasperatedly, coming towards you. “This is absolutely horrendous!”

“Is something wrong, Gongmyung?” You ask with a tilt of your head, wondering what has the Deputy Commander in such a tizzy.

“Everything!” He pants out, a thin line of panicked sweat trailing down the side of his face, “Why am I meant to disrobe in that room of utter brutes!?”

His sentence makes you furrow your brow, what exactly is going on?

“Someone who calls themself a physician who Youngmin met while conversing with the King’s council arrived today,” the Deputy Commander does his best to straighten his robes and adjust his long strands of hair that had gone askew. “He’s holding physical examinations.” With a frown he nods his head towards the door he’d raced out of moments prior, “That monster said I should take my clothes off in front of near strangers! When I refused, he tried to take them off of me himself! And the other captains just stood there! Without doing anything!”

Seeing as your particular… situation might not be the best for a physical examination in a group full of men, you think about returning to your room before you ask, “What’s the doctor’s name?”

“I think it was Namekawa Yasuo, some man from Yamato,” Gongmyung huffs indignantly.

“Doctor Namekawa!” You nearly jump at the familiar name.

The other takes a step back in surprise, “Do you know him or something?”

When you’d arrived in Seorabeol with your father’s letter and a few fragments of some from your father’s collection, his name had been among the signatures. It was your intention upon arrival to seek him out, your father had always called him a trustworthy man. Once in Seorabeol, you found that he’d been away on some patient’s request, and after that you’d quickly gotten swept up into the world of the Hwarang.

“I’ve got to go!” You brush away his question and barrel past him towards the door he’d exited from.

“You’re going in there willingly?” Gongmyung calls out from behind you, shaking his head in disgust.

Almost immediately when you open the door you wish you hadn’t.

“Alright, next,” the man you presume to be Dr. Namekawa calls out, motioning forward a Hwarang. A nearly fully disrobed Hwarang.

“My turn!” Junhui shouts and steps forward, only wearing the pants worn underneath his Hwarang robes. “You’re looking at years of training right here,” he laughs almost comically as he approaches the doctor’s station.

“I think you’re fine, Wen,” Soonyoung scoffs, in a similar state of undress as Junhui, “it’s your head he should be looking at.”

“Are you asking me to beat the shit out of you?” Junhui turns to look at him, a grin split across his face.

Dr. Namekawa rolls his eyes at him before speaking, “Wen Junhui, you’re fine. Next!”

“Hold on!” Junhui says, taking a step closer to the doctor and flexing his arm, “You’ve gotta make sure I’m in prime condition!”

“As healthy as a horse,” Namekawa reels, sitting back in his seat, “I’ve seen more than enough, thank you.”

“You’re holding up the line, Wen,” Mingyu calls out, and you spot Hansol standing next to him, both with unamused expressions on their faces. “For the love of— please get moving.”

“I just don’t think he’s had enough time to fully make sure I’m okay!” Junhui complains, “I’m trying to make sure I can bulk up more!”

“This is supposed to be about finding medical issues, not boasting,” Hansol sighs, his arms crossed over his chest, “Move.”

Your mouth hangs open in shock, it’s now easy to see why Gongmyung had made such a hasty retreat. Shaking your head, you pull yourself from the room and back into the hallway, feeling a creeping heat of embarrassment rise up your neck.

“What are you doing here?” The Hwarang who’s first in line questions, “Is something wrong?”

“Oh!” Turning, you see Chan gazing at you perplexedly. “Hi, I heard Doctor Namekawa was here.”

“Ah, so you want to speak to him?” A tilt of his head. “I’ve been briefed on your situation, so I understand what you’re trying to do… But I’m not sure that this is the way to go about it. I’m sure he can speak to you once the physicals are complete.”

You nod, “I just think they might take a while, some of the captains…”

“I’m aware,” he laughs, “if you want me to, I can try to get things moving a little faster.”

“Would you?” Eyes widening, “I’d be thankful if you could.”

“Of course,” the smile still lingering on his lips, “Just leave it to me.” With that he walks into the room and towards the doctor, “Excuse me, Doctor Namekawa? Please let me look after those whose symptoms are minor, I’m sure you could use a break?”

You stand in the doorway, unable to hear his response, so you step back into the hallway and wait for the doctor to exit. Namekawa Yasuo leaves the room a few moments later, his attention turning to you when you call out to him.

Namekawa’s eyes narrow as he looks at you, inspecting you as if you were one of his patients. “I need to fetch some medicine from my things, would you mind giving me a hand?” He questions, his gaze softening once you nod your head.

On the way towards his things, the two of you walk through one of the courtyards and come across Kwak Youngmin walking towards you. He nods at the doctor before glancing at you, “I see you’ve found her already.”

“Thanks to you,” Namekawa nods with a smile at the leader.

Your brow furrows as you search both of their expressions before the doctor speaks up once more, “I came to Bulguksa to see you. Youngmin told me that Heo’s daughter was staying with the Hwarang.”

“I see,” you realize, your eyes widening as you look towards Youngmin.

“I knew that Namekawa and Heo knew each other,” Youngmin smiles softly, “So I thought that maybe the doctor knew of his friend’s whereabouts.”

Even if the Hwarang wanted to find your father for reasons other than yours, this slight clue was still enough for you to feel happy.

“Thank you,” a bow to Youngmin and one to Namekawa, “both of you.”

Namekawa then goes on to say how you’d left just before he arrived at your father’s clinic in Toehwa-hyeon when you’d gone off to Seorabeol. He’d received the letter you sent but once arriving had no idea of where you’d gone or how to find you.

“I apologize for not seeking you out sooner,” he sounds remorseful, “It must’ve been difficult. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

“About my father…” the words leave you and Namekawa’s face turns grim, you already feel as if you know the answer.

“Unfortunately,” he says once your words have trailed off, “I do not know where your father is residing.”

“Oh,” utter defeat lamenting in your voice as you speak the singular word. You almost feel bad now for feeling so hopeful that Namekawa would have some earth-shattering news about the whereabouts of your father.

“I hear, though,” Namekawa coughs into his hand to clear his throat, “that you’ve become involved with the treatment… You do know what I’m referring to, right?”

“Are you able to explain it any more?” You’d learned of the serum, seen what it had done to those who’d taken it. But why, why is your father involved with it? “I want to know what my father was experimenting for.”

“Heo was working under Crown orders with the Hwarang to create what are called ‘Furies’,” Namekawa’s voice is low as he speaks, gravelly with a seriousness that permeates into you. “Furies are humans with near supernatural strength and speed. They heal incredibly quickly as well.”

“Furies?” The word lingers familiarly on your tongue, it takes a moment, but you realize you’d heard the word before. Soonyoung had tried to explain to you what they are on the night that Seungcheol had been injured last year.

“The contents of the serum are called pimul,” Namekawa crosses his arm, tone still low, “in Tang they call it ‘al iksir’ and in Yamato it’s ‘ochimizu’. It’s meant to grant immortality.”

These words sound like some sort of fantastical fairytale than what’s meant to be real life. Yet, the seriousness of the doctor assures you that it isn’t a sick joke.

“I’ve heard of its healing and strength giving properties,” you nod, “but doesn’t it cause the drinker to go mad?” Recalling the night you had stumbled into Seorabeol and the nobles who’d been attacked by the rouge Hwarang furies causes you to shudder. “And even if that doesn’t drive you insane, the smell of blood can set you off too…”

A heaving sigh as Namekawa nods solemnly, moving then to pinch the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, “So you’re aware of that as well…”

“Why was my father doing this?” You plead more than ask, trying to search the depths of your mind to reason with yourself and come to a believable situation that would’ve caused Heo Jinsang to work with such a vile creation.

“That may have been why he left,” Namekawa suggests softly, “His morals would no longer allow him to work on such a thing.”

“And yet we were given the pimul by the Crown to help strengthen the Hwarang…” Youngmin frowns and looks towards the sidewalk.

“It was an experiment,” Namekawa shakes his head, “and it failed. It’s probably best to leave it behind, I’m sure the Crown has abandoned its ambition with it as well.”

The leader looks up and frowns at the doctor, probably unhappy to hear that Namekawa would question the Crown’s once official decision.

“You’ve seen what it’s done to your men,” Namekawa insists, “It’s inhumane and you know it better than I do.”

Youngmin lets out a huff of air and then falls silent. You know that he knows how detrimental it is to his men, painfully so. Yet, the pimul was given to him on official orders and a secret request from the former King.

“I understand that you’re one of the King’s doctors, yet…” A voice from behind after a moment of silence. Your eyes widen at the sight of Seungcheol in the daylight, knowing that the sun’s rays have an adverse effect on him. “You’re not a member of the Hwarang, you have no right to object to our methods.” His face paling in the light, lost of all color, almost as if he were a walking corpse.

“Are you okay walking around like this?” You ask him quietly, your voice teetering on worry and a whisper.

“You look pale, Seungcheol,” Youngmin frowns at the colonel, “You should be resting.”

“Don’t mind me,” Seungcheol shakes his head and then turns to the doctor. “We use the serum effectively and at our own discretion.” His gaze hardens when they lock eyes, his voice becoming gravely serious, almost as if he’s been offended.

“It’s far too dangerous to—” Namekawa begins before being interrupted by Seungcheol.

“We have and will continue to work on Heo’s research.” His voice, behind the veneer of quiet anger, sounds weakened. “I am living proof of its effectiveness.”

“You may be right,” Namekawa cedes before raising another point, “But that doesn’t mean you’re not forcing your body in ways unseen with the eye.”

“I’m perfectly healthy,” Seungcheol insists, “With continued research and alterations to the serum, we’ll have less casualties and more success.”

“And are you planning on sacrificing your men for your success?” Namekawa frowns, “These men aren’t just common folk, many are the sons of nobles, aristocrats! Sons who will be missed should they just disappear.”

“It’s not as if we’re force feeding them pimul.” Seungcheol’s agitated at the doctor, you don’t know the last time he was able to see his own family since becoming a Fury. “The men who devote and give their lives to the Hwarang are the foundation of my work, they did not and will not die in vain.”

“But—”

“I think that’s enough,” Youngmin steps in before the doctor can say anything else, “from either of you. Let’s discuss this at another time.”

To you it seems that neither Seungcheol or Namekawa would ever come to a civil agreement on the ethics of the serum’s usage. But that was an opinion you feel is best not said at this moment.

The anger in Seungcheol’s face subsides, and the corner of his mouth turns up into a smile before he bows and leaves the three of you wordlessly.

“So…” Youngmin says as Seungcheol recedes back into the headquarters inner buildings, “How did exams go?”

“About that,” Namekawa begins, “It’s a bit troubling.”

“Troubling?” Youngmin asks, confused, “What do you mean by that?”

“What do you mean ‘What do you mean’?” Namekawa frowns, “The amount of injured and ill men you have is nearly a quarter of your forces!”

“That’s—” Youngmin’s voice catches in his throat, “Are you sure?”

“I am not only sure, but it is the definite truth,” A disparaging shake of his head, “What have you been doing to these men? Cuts, lacerations, bowel pains… Need I mention the lice?”

“I’m embarrassed to hear that, I really am,” Youngmin looks as such, his ears pink as he drops his shoulders. “What can I do?”

“Set aside a space for the ill and those needing medical attention, for starters. I can send some pyrethrum powder for the lice,” Namekawa lists off and you can see Youngmin mentally making a list, “Second, this place needs to be cleaned. I can’t help you otherwise.”

“Of course,” Youngmin nods, the tinge of embarrassment still riding his tone, “I’ll have everything seen to immediately.”

And so, the Hwarang are ordered to clean. Those who are able-bodied enough to hold a broom or a rag are sent to the main hall, Youngmin quickly barking out cleaning orders and sending them all over Bulguksa to thoroughly scrub the temple down.

“Why the hell are we doing this?” Junhui grumbles as he sits on his knees, scrubbing at the wooden floors. “I can think of nothing less I would want to be doing right now.”

“Stop complaining so much,” Mingyu sighs and calls him over, “Help me lift up this cabinet, it’s a great way to show off your muscles from earlier.”

You’re walking into the main hall with a bucket of water when you hear Soonyoung cry out, causing you to jump and spill some of the liquid onto the floor and your shoes.

“A RAT!” He nearly screeches, hopping behind Hansol when he spots the gray creature dart out from a bookcase.

“Calm down Soonyoung,” Hansol looks as if he’s holding back a smile, trying to keep the reserved demeanor he usually has, “It’s not that bad. It actually looks like it’s eating that—is that dried up tteok?”

“Yeah!” Soonyoung says, leaning forward to get a look at the rat’s snack, “Who the hell hides their sweets back here?!”

A grumble from the other side of the room, you look over to see Kangjoon holding a boom, “Why are we bothering ourselves with work a servant should be doing? I’m a strategist, not a cleaner.”

“Why don’t you show us your school’s technique, then?” Mingyu scoffs, “You said it’s prized knowledge, maybe it can help us here.”

“Shut it!” Kangjoon says angrily, “The Pohang style wasn’t designed to help with housework!”

“You’re a little bit of a bully, huh, Mingyu?” Dongyoung snickers as he peeks out from behind one of the various shelves, “Those old-timey tactics of his wouldn’t even allow him to hold a broomstick, let alone make a dent in this mess.”

Kangjoon’s stare hardens at Dongyoung, “You should watch your mouth… Compared to the techniques from Tang it may be outdated, but I can assure you it still holds up.”

“Oh,” Mingyu looks past Kangjoon and out one of the doorways, “Youngmin’s coming.”

“Chief!” Kangjoon spins on his heels towards the door, “Look at this, the room was so filthy you couldn’t even walk properly, and with my guidance it’s—” He stops once he realizes there’s no one standing in the doorway, “Where’s Kwak?”

“You’re an idiot,” Mingyu rolls his eyes.

“Damn you, Kim,” Kangjoon spits venomously, “You tricked me!”

“An idiot and a kiss ass,” Mingyu hums, “Quite the multitasker. Don’t you ever get tired being such a two-faced asshole, not knowing which mask to wear?”

Kangjoon fumes and angrily stomps down towards the other end of the hall. You see this as an opportunity to proclaim your findings.

“I brought you all some fresh rags and water to help you clean the floor with,” you announce, holding out the bucket and handful of cloth to the captains.

“Thanks!” Soonyoung says as he bounds over, swiftly taking the items from your grasp and heading back to his work station.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 21𝔰𝔱, 662 – 𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔲𝔨𝔰𝔞 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 “This looks to be adequate enough,” Namekawa Yasuo had arrived early the next morning to check the cleanliness of the headquarters. He now stands in the main hall, a look of approval on his features as he notes the sheen of the floorboards.

“Right?” Junhui beams, “See? The doc can acknowledge my hard work.”

Kangjoon lets out something of a guffaw at the statement, “Compared to the nuances of strategy, it’s not like tidying up is a magnificent feat or anything.”

“All you did was complain,” Junhui frowns.

“Yeah,” Soonyoung nods, “And Seungkwan got to rest all day! Sounds like he was getting special treatment while we worked our asses off.”

“Not my fault,” Seungkwan raises his hands to show he’s innocent from that decision, “Jihoon’s the one being overprotective.”

“It is your fault,” Jihoon snaps at him, arms crossing over his chest, “You’re not taking care of yourself, that’s why you’re coughing up a lung.”

“I will admit,” Hansol say, looking around the space, “It is nice seeing the headquarters put together.”

“It does look different,” Jihoon nods, also taking a moment to admire the cleanliness of the main hall, “I hope to keep it this way.”

“Then we should clean every day,” Mingyu laughs aloud.

“Great idea! Make sure you scrub the baseboards Soonie,” Junhui jokes along with the other while Soonyoung’s eyes go wide.

“But you’ve got the most energy and the biggest muscles, Junhui! Don’t think I’m letting you slide on this,” the younger argues to the two others.

“I’ll help you,” you offer with a smile, knowing that he’d need it.

“Really?” He perks up, “Yeah, we don’t need them anyway, you and me against the world!”

“Hold on,” Junhui interrupts, “I didn’t say that I wasn’t going to help…”

Jihoon lets out a laugh, “Wen, there’s some trash over there, mind taking it out?”

“Hooold on, we’re not starting until tomorrow, right, Soonyoung?” Junhui looks to him for help.

“If you keep flailing your arms like that you’re only going to stir up more dust,” Hansol sighs as he watches Junhui scramble to big up the assorted pieces of garbage.

You laugh at the scene until something catches your eye, you spot both Namekawa and Seungkwan duck out of the room and head outside. Brow furrowing for a moment, you think to follow after them but stop yourself as it isn’t any of your concern.

After the ruckus in the main hall dies down, you grab a broom and head outside to sweep away fallen debris from the walkway leading to the main hall. You’ve just started to sweep the broom across the agate stone when a figure appears before you.

Head turning up from looking down at the azalea embroidered robes, all you can spurt out is a “You!” before taking a step back.

“You’ve got ancient blood running through your veins and yet you clean up after these humans?” Jisoo sounds saddened on the verge of disgust as he looks at you.

“What are you doing here?” You question as the grip you have on the broom handle tightens as he chuckles at you.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to fight me with that?” He shakes his head, biting back a laugh, “Was your family not blessed with brains?”

You don’t respond, instead look around for anything or anyone who could help you. Of course, the entrance lies empty, all of the captains still squabbling somewhere deep in the compound.

“Calm down,” Jisoo sighs, his laughter ceasing, “I’m not here to fight today. I only want to know what, if anything, you have to do with Heo Jinsang.”

Stunned by his statement, your lips part in shock, “My father?”

“…Father?” Jisoo looks surprised by your answer, “Heo Jinsang is your father?”

“Yes,” you nod, “he is.”

The man seems shocked at first, then that emotion melts away as it looks as if he’s putting the pieces of a puzzle together. He opens his mouth to say something else but a voice behind you stops him.

“Sneaking into your enemy’s base alone?” Jihoon’s voice rings out as his footsteps approach, the sound of dirt under foot crunching growing nearer and nearer. “I thought you’d be smarter than that.”

A few other pairs of footsteps and you turn and see him flanked by both Mingyu and Soonyoung.

“In broad daylight too,” Mingyu shakes his head at the intruder, “Figures.”

“Get away from her!” Soonyoung’s more than a little adamant, his hand already hovering over his sword.

“The Hwarang only come in bushels, huh?” Jisoo says, seemingly wanting to egg the men on.

“Watch it,” Jihoon says sternly, the tension between the two becoming more palpable by the second.

Surprisingly, it’s Jisoo who tries to sate it. “If you want to fight, then I’ll be happy to do so… But I’m here for other reasons, more specifically, to issue a warning.” His eyes grow dark and his tone more serious at his next statement, “Stop trying to turn humans into Demons.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jihoon frowns as he watches the other carefully.

“What makes you think that we’re going to listen to you?” Mingyu pokes at Jisoo.

“You’re all idiots,” Jisoo shakes his head warily, “Can’t you see that I’m trying to help you?” He rolls his eyes, “Forget it, it was useless trying to say anything to you.”

“This is our base,” Soonyoung raises his voice, “You should shut up before we decide to do something about you being here.”

Jisoo ignores the captain’s words and turns to you, a coldness in his eyes as he speaks, “Heo is with us now, don’t you understand what that means?” He searches your eyes for a spark of recognition, but it doesn’t seem to click so he elaborates further, “Your father has abandoned the Crown.”

“What…?” You say, still puzzled by what he means.

“Why are you here?” A cold smile to match his gaze creeps onto his lips, “I think you should ponder on that. Carefully.” With that final statement he turns on his heels and seems to disappear into the shadows. You’re not sure if he just did, your mind too caught up in what he just said.

What or who were the Demons? Your father is with them? You thought Hong Jisoo’s family to be just opposing the opposite side of the court that favored the Hwarang, was it a ruse and he’s actually some sort of revivalist? Does this mean that your father is working with them?

Who are these people that call themselves ‘Demons’? And what do they want with you?

“Who are they?” You look at Jihoon, “The Demons?”

“After fighting them, I can say that they’re not like any human I’ve ever fought,” a shake of his head, “Not even close. I’ve fought against people from each kingdom but none of them… They’ve never been that powerful.” He muses for a moment and nods, “I’d say ‘demon’ is a pretty accurate descriptor.”

“If the commander thinks they’re demons, they really just might be,” Mingyu says, his brow furrowing at Jihoon.

“He is the Hwarang’s Demon, after all,” Soonyoung notes, the same concern from Mingyu’s tone riding in his.

“This is serious,” Jihoon looks at them, trying to quell the playful argument. You feel the tension in your shoulders ease after a while, the dread of seeing Jisoo on familiar ground eventually dissipating as the moments pass. With his arrival, and how easy it was for him to come unexpectedly, you’re sure that you’ll have to have a higher guard now as you walk the headquarters.

𝔖𝔢𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 7𝔱𝔥, 662 – 𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔲𝔨𝔰𝔞 𝔗𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Compared to the year before, it seems as if the Hwarang aren’t being called on to do as much. Both the raid on Wonweol and the attack on Ongsan seem like a distant memory as you look up at your ceiling from your bed. In a way, you’re thankful for the peace wrought on by this year. It’s allowed you to take up looking for your father again and help more around the temple. The night rolling in and covering your room in a shroud of darkness, the sound of the crickets outside chirping away keeping you awake.

You push yourself from your bedding and rise to your feet, maybe a walk would help you become sleepy. Right now, you are anything but tired.

Treading quietly across the floor, you open your door, the hinges creaking as you push it open. The halls are quiet as you trapeze through them, in some rooms you can hear loud snoring, in others, nothing at all. You don’t catch sight of anyone until you reach the end of the hall that opens into a courtyard, a figure standing in the shadows as they look up towards the sky.

As you edge nearer to the greenery, you can see that it’s the commander, standing still as the moonlight cascades down onto him. His foot taps in subtle anxiousness, as if he’s waiting for someone.

This isn’t something for you to see, but a quickening curiosity takes over you as another figure approaches the commander from the other end of the courtyard.

“I’m sorry for asking you to come out so late, Jihoon,” Seungcheol’s quiet voice rings out through the nearly empty space.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jihoon turns from gazing up at the stars and looks to his friend with a small smile, “It’s a little difficult to talk during the day.”

You’ve lost all chance to either leave or inject yourself into the conversation, so you just stand and watch their conversation unfold before you.

“How are you doing?” Jihoon asks, his once soft gaze hardening with concern, “Don’t bullshit me, I’ve barely seen you since you went to Hwangnyongsa.”

Seungcheol merely smiles softly, “I’m feeling alright since the sun’s down. If I was going to complain I’d talk about the heat or humidity.”

“I know you don’t like the sun,” The commander notes, “and everybody hates the humidity and heat. But you know what I’m asking, Seungcheol.”

“Are you asking if I’ve gone mad?” The colonel asks simply, his brow raising. “If you’re worried about me, I’ll let you know that I don’t regret taking the pimul; I’ve regained the use of my arm, I’m able to carry a sword when I thought I’d never do so again.”

Seungcheol’s smile doesn’t seem to be the answer that Jihoon is looking for, and a frown overtakes him. “At what cost, though?” His voice low as he asks, pressing further, “When you become a Fury, you lose a part of yourself… Maybe even too much. I’m sorry if I’m not taking this lightly, I’m worried about you.”

“You’ve always worried too much, Jihoon,” Seungcheol says, brows knitting together as he cannot fully understand his friend’s concern. “This was a gift, a miracle, even!”

“One man’s miracle is another’s curse,” Jihoon sighs out with a scowl, “I don’t like the monkey’s paw aspect of it.”

“How scary!” Seungcheol chuckles, “I’d be a fool if I ignored one of your famed hunches.”

“You’d be a fool if you joked about this,” the scowl still present as Jihoon crosses his arms, “I’m not trying to be funny.” His fingers tap along his robes as he shakes his head, “You should be standing side by side with Youngmin and me, you’re a colonel, our colonel.”

“You’re acting odd,” Seungcheol’s lighthearted tone vacating, “Are you okay?” He suddenly looks over to you, locking eyes with yours as a small smile dances along his lips.

Jihoon follows his line of sight and catches you eavesdropping into their conversation. “What are you doing out here?!” He questions as you panic in place.

“I’m sorry,” breaking your gaze with Seungcheol you look to the ground, “I wasn’t sure if I should say something and then the two of you began talking…”

“You’ve got more important things to worry about than me, Jihoon,” Seungcheol sighs out and looks at the commander. “Gongmyung and his men, for starters. I’ve heard he’s been acting stranger than usual these days.”

“I’ve been working on that,” Jihoon relents, dropping his arms to let them fall to his sides.

Seungcheol nods, a gleam of satisfaction in his eye before he gives you a simple nod and walks away into the depths of the compound. You’re about to return to your quarters before Jihoon calls out to you.

“I haven’t dismissed you yet,” he says as you begin to turn. You freeze in place only to turn to face him fully once more. “I know you’re not an idiot so you shouldn’t act like one.” His voice is low, almost a whisper as he doesn’t wish for anyone to overhear him, “The more you know about us, the more danger you’re putting in front of yourself. It’s easy to die around here, you’ve seen that… Do you understand?”

“I’m sorry for imp—” you begin before he cuts you off, raising his voice.

“Don’t be sorry,” his head shakes, “Just be careful and stay out of trouble.” When it seems like he has nothing more to say, he raised a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinches it, quelling some sort of thought before he turns of his heels and begins to walk back towards his room.

“Commander,” you find yourself calling out. Jihoon looks so… dejected and lonely after his talk with Seungcheol, you have to say something. “Can I help with the research?”

“What the hell?” You hear him say before he turns to look back at you, “Of course not.”

“I don’t have my father’s knowledge or expertise… but I want to do something to help,” you insist, feeling responsible as if your absent father’s duties had been passed to you. “I can read his notes and help explain them, he left a lot of research material at his clinic in Toehwa-hyeon… There’s got to be something useful there. I can find something to help.”

“Heo continued his research here, don’t you know that?” Jihoon takes a deep breath as to not fume so much, “Even if we tore his clinic down to the foundations to get any scrap of information, the chances that we’ll find some new research is slim to none.”

“I can do my own research!” You push, hands clenching at your sides.

“You’re not thinking about this hard enough,” His gaze hardens, “Could you accept responsibility for things if they go south?” A sigh as he sees you begin to stumble and scramble for words, “Look, your father’s one of the top doctors in the kingdom with the knowledge of Tang medicine. He couldn’t figure that shit out. Someone like your or me with no outstanding medical knowledge isn’t going to do much better.”

Jihoon’s right and you know it, even if you don’t want to admit your faulty thinking. It’s highly ambitious of you to think that you could find a cure-all to the pimul and what your father had done to the Hwarang. As you look to Jihoon, you try and look as stoic and unbothered as possible to stop him from seeing how heartbroken you feel.

His mouth turns into a wry smile at your attempt, “You want to help and that’s what’s important. I won’t forget that.” Jihoon nods his head to show appreciation, “But you have to wait for now. The Hwarang dug themselves into this hole so that means we have to find a way out.”

Even if his demeanor is cold most of the time, there’s a hidden sincerity behind that face that only peeks through sometimes.

“I get it,” he continues, “your father was a part of the research team and you feel responsible, right? We’re still looking for him, and either we find him, or we don’t, you’ll just have to wait.” When you continue to silently object him, he frowns a bit, “Furies are bad news, in a perfect world we would’ve never gotten involved. But this world is far from it, and they might be our advantage should Goguryeo try and help those revivalists. Only as a last resort though, the cost is still too high.”

A shake of his head, “Never mind that now, though. This is between you and me though, okay?” His words hold the same tinge of threat that you’d heard on several occasions before. You nod almost out of habit at this point. “Also, the next time you take a stroll, be more cautious of who and what you may be stumbling in on.”

#seventeen x you #seventeen x reader #seventeen fanfic #seventeen imagines #jihoon x you #jihoon fluff #jihoon angst #jihoon x reader #jihoon smut #jihoon seventeen #jihoon imagines #woozi x you #woozi x reader #woozi smut #woozi fluff #woozi angst

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pasteidolons · 25 days ago

Text

𝔥𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤 - 𝔥𝔧𝔰 || 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔳

pairing: hong jisoo x female!reader genre: historical au, fluff, angst, smut (later routes), supernatural members: lee jihoon, choi seungcheol, wen junhui, kwon soonyoung, jeon wonwoo, lee seokmin, kim mingyu, boo seungkwan, lee chan, xu minghao, yoon jeonghan, choi hansol warnings: crass humor and language, blood, violence, mentions of suicide, alcohol, minor character death, 660's sexism, crossdressing, medical procedures, political upset, historical inaccuracies for the sake of plot progression word count: 15.7k

taglist: @reiofsuns2001, @lovrehani, @hipsdofangirl

𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔦𝔳 || 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔳𝔦

𝔍𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 3𝔯𝔡, 665 – 𝔖𝔢𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔢𝔬𝔩, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Just before the year ends, it’s decided that Seungkwan’s condition had worsened and he’d contracted both what your father had once called phthisis. The disease isn’t uncommon, but it is incurable. You’d had suspicions that he had contracted phthisis when he’d first begun to lose strength, but never wanted to admit to such a devastating thing. The entirety of the Hwarang is shaken by the news.

It’s decided that he and Youngmin are to be sent to Daegaya, where Namekawa Yasuo can look over them as they receive treatment.

Despite them leaving, Seorabeol is still on high alert. The Hwarang remain on standby at Kim Seokmin’s residence as the year begins to shift to the next. Your hope that the thoughts of war would wane lasts only three days into the new year.

“So, we’re moving soldiers to prepare for battle?” You ask as Junhui and Mingyu walk outside of the residence, towards the improvised training site.

“Nah,” Mingyu shakes his head, “I think they’re just trying to scare off Baekje with all of the soldiers at their disposal. Best case scenario is that they get too freaked out by all of our men so they run away with their tails tucked before we even see them.”

“With common sense, they’d already be leaving,” Junhui adds, “We outnumber their men by a pretty big margin.”

“That sounds great and all, but we’re dealing with some stubborn fuckers,” Jihoon shakes his head as he joins you, Hansol following close behind.

“It’s simple math though, isn’t it?” Junhui frowns.

“Did you forget Ongsan?” Hansol sighs.

“We won that, though.”

“Barely.” Hansol shakes his head and crosses his arms, “If they have already put forth this much effort, I’m certain that they’re prepared for our men.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll start preparing for the worst then,” Junhui says bitterly, it looks like Hansol’s words have gotten to him.

𝔍𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 5𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔎𝔦𝔪 𝔖𝔢𝔬𝔨𝔪𝔦𝔫’𝔰 ℜ𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The Hwarang remain on standby at Kim Seokmin’s residence as the year begin the shift to the next. Your hope that the thoughts of war would wane fades only five days into the new year.

A coalition of soldiers claiming to be from Baekje invaded a town on the western front of where the Baekje-Silla border once was. Violence broke out and suddenly, the war had begun. Groups of these revivalists began to spring up in the kingdom as well, the closest having come to try and instigate fights with the Hwarang on the outside of the city.

You find yourself caring for the wounded Hwarang along with Lee Junghwan, him running errands for you as you tend to those who require the most attention. Most of the men you tend to aren’t suffering from life-threatening injuries, it’s one small thing you can take solace in.

The fighting had begun on the third, and now on the fifth, it doesn’t seem to relent at all. You hear disparaging news every day and it only worsens when Jihoon walks into the common room one evening.

“We’re leaving.” Jihoon announces abruptly, “We’ll reconvene in Daegaya and use that as our new base of operation. Hansol, gather the injured. Mingyu, Junhui—round up everyone who can still move and secure an escape route. Eunseok?”

“Yes?” The younger responds.

“Get rid of any unnecessary weapons that we can’t take with us.”

“Consider it done.”

Everyone nods once the orders are received, and Jihoon looks to leave the room quickly.

“Commander?” You call out.

“What?” He asks, “Is there something else?”

“Um, who should I go with?”

“…Right…” He sighs, “Eunseok, take her with you, will you?”

“Very well,” Eunseok nods and looks to you, “Let’s go now.”

𝔍𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 6𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔒𝔲𝔱𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔖𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔫 𝔈𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔢𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔢𝔬𝔩, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Your feet slap the road as you race down the wooded path only pausing to catch your breath as your partner stops beside you.

“Are you alright?” Eunseok asks, sounding almost as out of breath as you, “We can stop if we need to.”

“We can’t afford to do that,” you shake your head at him, gently pressing your hand to the fabric of the knapsack on your back to ensure that the documents are still there “I’ll be alright.” Wiping the sweat from your brow, you take a deep breath and urge your aching feet to move once more.

“As the sun sets, it’ll be harder for us to be seen in the dark,” Eunseok notes, looking up to the amber sky. The sound of rustling leaves in the forest disturbs the two of you as you walk, the captain takes a hold of your wrist and pulls you into the nearby shrubbery as a pair of footsteps begins to tread on the path.

“You!” An unfamiliar voice shouts, “Come out!”

Seeing no other alternative, Eunseok and you leave your hidden path, your hand on your blade as you step out in front of a group of soldiers. You sigh in relief upon the sight of them, as their uniforms don’t seem to be from either Goguryeo or Baekje. However, they do seem to be regarding the two of you with suspicion.

“Sorry about that… We’re from the Hwarang.” You say and the main soldier cocks his head to the side.

“The Hwarang?”

“Yes, we’re on our way to Daegaya—” You begin but a hand on your forearm causes you to stop speaking.

“Wait…” Eunseok says cautiously.

Before you can question him, the soldier shouts out to the troop, “We’ve got some enemies from the Hwarang!”

“What—” the air ripped from your lungs as Eunseok’s grip tightens as he pulls you from the path, racing into the brush to try and get away from your newfound enemies.

“What’s going on, aren’t they on our side?!” You ask, out of breath as you continue to run, stumble and trip in the foliage.

“It…” Eunseok says as you come upon an open clearing, pausing to catch his breath, “It might be more accurate to say were.”

Perhaps sensing that maybe Silla could lose, some men had decided to betray the kingdom…

“Stay behind me,” Eunseok murmurs as several of the pursuing soldiers begin to climb their way out of the brush. His voice curt, your attention is drawn from the soldiers momentarily as Eunseok reaches for something in his pocket.

“Is that—” You don’t say the word as you answer yourself when the tiny vial of red liquid is produced from his pocket.

“It will be necessary if I hope to protect you from them,” he says. Before he’s able to take the lid off, the whistle of an arrow through the air halts conversation. Eunseok lets out a strangled grunt as a dull thunk resounds and he falls to his knees. The vial falls from his grasp, shattering on the forest floor.

“Eunseok!” You cry out, falling to your knees next to him as his hands lay wrapped around the arrow that had sunk into his chest. Blood blossoms from the wound, you know that you don’t have the tools out here to save him but if you could just get to Daegaya— “Hang in there!”

“Leave me,” cognizant enough to pull himself from his grim realization, Eunseok ushers you to stand, “Save yourself!” He falls to his side then his hand still grasping the arrow embedded within him, your heart drops to your stomach as you realize that he isn’t long for the world.

You rise to your feet, angrily looking towards the men who’d effectively just killed your friend. Grasping the blade by your side, you unsheathe it, ready to fight the soldiers.

“You betrayed the Kingdom, didn’t you?”

“We decide where our allegiances lie,” one of the soldiers spits out.

“You vowed to protect the kingdom and yet you ran at the first sign of trouble. Aren’t you at all ashamed to call yourself a soldier?” For someone like yourself, who’d witnessed first-hand from the Hwarang what honor really means… These warriors had committed an unforgivable sin. Honor isn’t something they think highly of.

Then, you notice several of their archers pointing their bows in your direction. In an instant, a shooting pain skins across your arm. One of their arrows has slashed a gnarly cut near your shoulder, causing a bolt of white-hot pain to sear through you. However, the Demon blood within you heals that wound, sealing the cut within seconds.

Another arrow embeds itself into your side, and while staggering, you don’t fall to your knees. Instead, with shaky hands, you pull it from your side and it too closes momentarily.

“What the hell— they hit her, she should be dying right now,” One of the soldiers closer to you says, taken aback. “Is that a monster?!”

Hearing them call you a monster makes your heart hurt, you grimace at them as you speak, “I’m not a human, but it’s you who are the monsters. Turning your backs on your allies… That’s more monstrous than I’ll ever be!”

“Kill it!” They seem immune to your words, panicked frenzy overtaking them as the archers move to notch more arrows. “Shoot at it until it’s dead!”

Yet another wave of arrows soars at you, some striking, a majority missing. You pull those that hit your leg, stomach and shoulder out, feeling the flesh torn by the blows slowly healing itself. Your body feels weary.

“You despicable pieces of shit.” A voice says, calmly, but loud enough to be heard from across the clearing. “Abandoning your kingdom is one thing, but attempting to harm such a noble Demon with your disgusting, clumsy weapons…” Just then, you feel an arm wrap around you and pull you to your feet.

The soldiers’ eyes go wide at the sight of the man pulling you to his chest, his free hand holding his sword lashing out and slaying the two closest soldiers to you.

“Jisoo…?” The serious blood loss causes your vision to blur, however, you can recognize his tone anywhere.

“…Save your strength,” he says quietly, “You may be a Demon, but you took a battering back there. It’ll be a moment before you fully heal.” Compared to the handful of other times you had met him; his words now are gentle and comforting.

This man, who time and time again took pleasure out of attacking the Hwarang… Why is he helping you?

The archers watch him carefully, close to being ready to launch another volley of arrows at the two of you.

“Who the hell are you?!” Their leader cries out, “Are you with that monster?!”

“So, what if I am?” Jisoo questions, his tone flat.

“Then we’ll kill you!” The soldier says, “My men and I will shoot you to death!”

“Shoot me? To death?” You feel his chest move as he huffs out several short puffs of air, “Don’t make me laugh. I didn’t think it was possible to meet someone so unbelievably pathetic and ludicrous.”

He laughs now, not jovially, but almost taunting the soldiers standing opposite to him. A sigh leaves him as he lets go of you, letting you step behind him as he faces the archers.

“This will only take a moment,” he murmurs to you softly, only then to turn to face the now even more panicked warriors. “Let’s make this quick, shall we?” With a fluid motion, he holds up his sword, “If you want to attack me, you’d better give it your all. It’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

All of the archers aimed their bows to shoot-- and then Jisoo vanishes like smoke before your very eyes. It’s only seconds later when you hear the sounds of flesh being sliced apart.

“You’re a monster too?!” One of the soldiers screams out. The hiss of arrows leaving notches dances along with the sound of slaughtered men in the encroaching nighttime. Yet, Jisoo dodges each arrow with ease, killing the men easily with quick slashes.

There’s an elegance to the way Jisoo moves, and as horrific as his actions are, you’re entranced by it all.

“Slaughtering you bastards is child’s play,” Jisoo frowns as the last man falls. He flicks his sword, ridding it of most of the viscera attached to it, before sheathing the weapon, “You’re not worth my time.”

“Are you feeling any better?” He asks as he walks back over to you, “You should have healed enough to walk by now…”

You nod, now able to stand without limping, “But… Why did you help me?”

Jisoo doesn’t have time to speak before the sound of rustling in the underbrush pulls both of your attention to a shadowy figure emerging from the woods.

“Oh,” They say, sounding relieved, “I’m so glad you’re alive. I was so worried that those stupid humans would have tried to kill you.”

“Huh…?” Who is this person? They aren’t dressed for any particular side in the conflict, and you can’t put a voice to a name.

“Ah,” They seem to tune in to your confusion, “Are you having trouble recognizing me because I’m dressed like this—? We met before, in the city.”

“Oh!” You say, now looking closely at their features, the mirror somewhat coming into place, “Hak Ahro?”

“You do remember me,” a smile graces their lips, “That makes me very happy.”

“You look… different than what I remember though.”

“I can explain,” they say, gaze traveling off to the tree line, “but when we first met, I couldn’t really tell you that I was actually a man.”

“The Hak clan of Mahan.” Jisoo’s brow raises, “So, you must be one of the Demons from the west.”

“I am,” he nods, “I have you to thank, Hong Jisoo. Thank you for protecting my sister from those wretched humans.”

“Sister…?” You can’t help but wonder aloud, not sure what’s even happening.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Ahro smiles as another figure exits the forest.

You squint to get a better look, when they come into view your mouth opens and you yell out, “Father!”

“It’s been some time,” he says softly, “How have you been, my child?” For a moment it feels as if you’re back home, yet if you were unaware of all that he has been accused of by the Hwarang, you may have welcomed him with a tight embrace… However, you take a step back as he comes closer.

“What’s the matter?” He asks with a concerned expression.

“Is it…” You don’t want to ask him this but you want to confirm your suspicions, “Is it true that you were performing research that turned humans into monsters with the Hwarang…?” Didn’t you become a doctor because you wanted to save people’s lives?”

“Let me explain,” Ahro says, “sister.”

“Am I really your sister…?”

“Yes! And I’m your twin brother,” Ahro says with a smile, “After the Heo village was destroyed, I was adopted by the Hak clan. This is proof alone of our relationship.” He motions down to the sword at his side, a near exact copy of yours. “It’s the left partner sword to yours. It’s a family heirloom that has been passed down through generations of our family.”

“Father,” you look at Jinsang, “Is what he says true?”

He nods solemnly, “Yes, we were hoping to speak with you about these matters eventually.”

When Sooyoung visited you at the Hwarang compounds a while ago, she told you that you possess the blood of a Demon. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, that you have a twin brother who’s standing right in front of you to confirm that, either…

“You are the heir to the Heo legacy, meaning you are destined to lead our clan to greatness,” Jinsang smiles, “Finally, you’ve come to accept it. Nothing could make me happier.”

Questions that had lied in the recesses of your mind that you’d had about yourself for years are finally getting answered. All of the things Sooyoung and Jisoo had said… You are a Demon.

“So, what the hell are you creating fakes for?” You’d almost forgot that Jisoo’s here as well, until he speaks towards your father. “What you’re doing is disgraceful, sullying the nobility of our Demon heritage.”

“Don’t you see?” Ahro frowns at him, “It’s to restore the Heo clan.”

“With the aid of the Hak clan, I have finally perfected the pimul.” Jinsang says sternly, “With this, we can successfully overthrow Silla and take credit for its success. If that were to happen, the powers in this kingdom, or any kingdom, can no longer control us!”

“It’s time for us to reclaim what’s rightfully ours and seek vengeance against the humans who destroyed our village,” Ahro adds, looking at your dour expression. “Are you not excited to lead the Heo clan? We can now create a life of peace, where no one would dare threaten us ever again.”

There is much to take in, you remain speechless after everything Ahro and your father say. Do they really think that pimul can defeat Silla and restore your people?

“…This sickens me.” Jisoo says with a sigh, “You want credit for destroying a kingdom? All you’re doing is interrupting the petty squabble of human affairs. Such an endeavor is beneath us.”

“Sure, look down your nose at us,” Ahro grimaces, “But weren’t you working with the loyalists as well, Hong? What makes you think you’re any better than us?”

Jisoo seethes with contempt. His eyes glowing with hatred towards Ahro. To what extent he’s been involved with the loyalists, you’re unsure. At least you know it isn’t for something as selfish as trying to gain notoriety for toppling a monarch.

Instead of answering your brother right away, he fixes his gaze on you and speaks calmly, “Mind if I kill all of them, right here and now?”

“No,” you shake your head, “I’ll speak to them. I am the descendent of the head of the Heo clan.”

He smiles at this, “Hah, seems like yesterday that you didn’t even know you were a Demon.”

You take in a deep breath before addressing your brother, “I have seen many men in the Hwarang become Furies… If you think that serum is our solution, then I think we have no need to restore our clan.”

His eyes widen, “You mean to say— You think we should just grit our teeth and accept the death of our clan, our family? Our real parents were murdered, and you don’t want revenge? You’re so naïve.” Ahro tries to calm himself. “Besides, with or without the Furies or the pimul, humans will continue to engage in pointless conflicts until the extinction of their species. With all of the corruption plaguing the future of this kingdom… Drastic steps need to be taken, to prevent what happened from ever happening again.”

“Ahro…”

“This is going nowhere,” Jisoo sighs, “But it’s to be expected.” With an air of composure, he unsheathes his blade and stands in front of you.

“I believe killing another Demon is a punishable act that makes the offender a ‘Stray Demon’, does it not?” Jinsang questions pointedly.

“However, the crime of creating fake Demons, to me, makes you even lower than that.” Jisoo’s voice is stoic, bordering on anger, “Besides, as a Demon lord, it is my duty to crush those who have strayed from the path of righteousness.”

“I see,” Jinsang nods, “However, it’s a little unfair to expect me to cross swords with a Demon lord.” He puts two fingers to his lips, whistling loudly. Then— From the line of trees in the nearby darkness, pairs of red eyes begin to flash. What appears to be red-eyed, white-haired Furies begin to emerge, birthed from the foliage. It’s not only one or two, either. But nearly two dozen of them appear in front of you.

“You’ve sure been busy creating all of these Furies, haven’t you?” Jisoo sneers, “Jinsang, I could kill you over a thousand times and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“The human world is about to enter a new era…” Heo laughs, “We Demons need to rid ourselves of these archaic customs and adapt to survive.” Attention turned to the Furies, “Kill this man and feast on his blood.”

Once again, he whistles and the Furies gather around Jisoo and you, their bloodlust rampant in their eyes.

“You think you can kill me and feast on my blood?” Jisoo chuckles, raising his sword, “What a joke. Do you really think any of you weaklings stand a chance against me?!” He storms forth, slashing with grace at every Fury that stands in his path. However, striking anywhere other than a vital organ on a Fury means they can still heal… Furthermore, these Furies look to be a huge improvement over the ones the Hwarang have.

Just as that thought comes to mind—

“We’ll come back for you. Next time, I hope you give us a good answer,” Ahro says and you begin to run after the two, but before you can even get close to them, both vanish like smoke.

“I lost them…” Jisoo huffs, turning around and slaughtering every remaining Fury after seeing the two disappear. He looks irate as he quickly sheaths his sword. After a moment, he turns to face you, “Why are you out here in the first place? Where are the Hwarang?”

You’re unsure if you want to share or not, Jisoo’s been working with the loyalists, however… No matter how extreme he may take things, he has just saved you.

“I was on my way to Daegaya.”

“Got it,” he nods, “They abandoned their post and ran with tucked tails away… Those pitiful dogs wouldn’t stop barking about protecting you. Why are you here alone?”

Heart heavy at the thought of Eunseok’s death, you can’t find it within yourself to put it into words. Perhaps your silence tells him all he needs to hear, and he slowly turns away.

“… How ironic. Turns out the only one capable of keeping you safe when you needed them the most was me—not them” His words are strangely playful, and he smiles smugly without any real malice. Although your doubts about his character haven’t faded completely… It is true, he had kept you safe.

“What do you plan to do now?” He asks.

“I… will head to Daegaya.” You state, “I have to rejoin the other warriors as soon as possible.”

“Return to the Hwarang?” He frowns, “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

You know that he isn’t fond of the Hwarang in any way, so you wonder if this is just another insult to them. Normally, you feel as if he has no right to tell you how to live your life, however – just for today – you don’t stop him from explaining.

“All of those areas have been taken over by the loyalists,” he says grimly, “But, if your idea of a good time is seeing the rotting corpses of your friends, be my guest.”

“Well…” Thinking back to all that has been going on as you fled the Kim residence, his words make sense. And if Jisoo had never stumbled upon you, you likely would have been brutally murdered as well. Even if you do head to Daegaya, you have no idea if it would do yourself any good.

“Let me let you in on a little secret—the road to Daegaya is already being heavily monitored by Baekje infantry.” You stare at him in disbelief, how had they managed to surround the kingdom so quickly?

“That can’t be…”

“They won’t make it out of the capital,” He says plainly, “It’s only a matter of time until the Hwarang run out of allies and they’re forced to give up. If you go now, you’ll just be a burden for them. Don’t go.”

A dull pain resonates throughout your chest. “Is that… true?”

“What good would lying to you do to me? The kingdom’s done for.”

As much as it hurts, you think Jisoo may be telling the truth. His crimson eyes stare at you solemnly.

“… Isn’t that more reason for me to reunite with them? If I can tell them the road’s blocked, then maybe I can prevent them from walking into a trap.”

“Darling,” he sighs, closing his eyes, “You’ve got a real thick skull.” Jisoo then turns from you, beginning to walk towards the darkness. You watch him become engulfed by the thick trees and you’re unsure if you should follow him or not.

It takes you a moment, and it doesn’t seem as if he’s manipulating you in any way, so you trust your instincts and run after him into the forest.

Jisoo, you find, is hiking up, away from the main path. It seems as if he’s aiming for higher ground.

“The court sent a message to every major house in the vicinity of Seorabeol,” He says as you walk behind him, “‘The Tang are meant to aid us, should recovery attempts fail, burn all that you have.’”

“What are you trying to say…?”

“That when push comes to shove, people care about themselves more than a higher power, humans are selfish creatures.” Jisoo stops to turn and look at you, “You wonder why families turn their backs on the King? It’s because he asks them to do errant things.”

From the ledge you stand on, you have a clear overlook of Seorabeol, of the flames licking buildings and the catastrophic nature of war. You watch with bated breath as the city crumbles bit by bit.

“Like it or not, this war has been decided.” Jisoo frowns, “When things fall apart like this, no matter how much you or your friends fight, it won’t change… Look, you and I are Demons, everything here, including the Hwarang, is a footnote, really.”

You feel powerless as Jisoo says that. No matter how much you believe the situation itself is unfair, it won’t change anything.

“But… it’s still not over yet.” Maybe you want Jisoo to acknowledge that there could still be a chance for the Hwarang, for the kingdom. You don’t fully trust him yet, but you trust him enough to think that he respects you enough to be truthful with you.

“We still have the Tang reinforcements, like you said—”

“Do I have to spell it out for you? They’re done!” He says, “Who in their right mind would willingly join a losing side? Face it, it’s over.”

“But—!” You want to offer one last rebuttal, but a sudden loud roar comes from the city. It looks as if the loyalists have breached the walls.

You fall quiet, and the two of you share a heavy silence. He’s waiting for you to speak first. However, you don’t have much to say. But for the sake of breaking tension, you ask him a question.

“What will become of the loyalists now, then?”

“They’ll rip Silla to shreds.” He states, “Anything that can be taken will be taken—their land, their ranks, their armies. Everything.”

“Why?”

“Same bullshit reason as for anything else,” he shrugs, “Money, political clout, power, and honor. Humans would give up their own family members if it meant gaining any one of these things.” The directness of his answer surprises you. You thought that he’d keep everything concerning the loyalists from you. Yet, his indictment on humans annoys you.

“So, you think the only reason people fight is for money?”

“Humans don’t fight with honor. It’s all just glorified robbery sprinkled with bullshit platitudes. All they care about is their false honor and money.”

You shake your head, “There may have been many wars that have been fought over the reasons you describe, but… Not everyone fights for money or political nobility.”

“Humans are all the same.” Jisoo insists, “The pursuit for power and money is only matched by the lengths they will go to protect it. All these weaklings can do is drag people down in their desperate attempts to survive. Or have you already forgotten the poor souls who tried to attack you earlier… Muggers, thieves, two-bit warriors, all the same.”

“Even then, my father and brother were working to benefit their own people by overthrowing the King and making their name from doing so…” You say pointedly, “How’s that any better than humans who act on their selfishness?” Jisoo’s silence pushes you to continue, “Besides, there are plenty of people who aren’t fighting for themselves, but rather to protect the people they care about.”

“You must be talking about the Hwarang.” Jisoo’s shoulders fall as he breathes out a lengthy huff of air, “I guess I can understand what you’re trying to get at…”

“Huh?” You can’t help but say aloud, not expecting him to meet you halfway at all. The Hwarang don’t follow the same, cynical blueprint he attributes to the rest of mankind…

“Yeah,” he nods, “and they just happened to pick the losing side. Shit happens.”

The losing side… You glance at the burning city; can this really not be changed at all?

“If they lose this, Daegaya will be next…” Jisoo notes, just as a gust of wind blows past you.

“Ah,” a voice calls out, “We’ve found you two.”

That voice…!

“You’re safe!” Sooyoung cries out, flanked by Seulgi. “I worried myself sick, thinking that you may have been caught in the crossfire.”

“What- What are you two doing here?” You ask incredulously.

“I was looking for you,” Sooyoung says, “I have an urgent message for you.”

“What is it?” Your head tilts as you ask.

“It’s about your father…” She hums, “This will take some time. Do you mind joining us?”

“But I need to find the Hwarang…” You state.

“… They are still trapped within the city, or at least the outskirts of it,” Seulgi frowns, “It would be dangerous to try and return you to them at this time.”

Your heart sinks, hoping there was a different way to go about things.

“… Let’s go,” Jisoo says to you quietly, “All of your so-called errands you have to do for the Hwarang can be handled by other people. However, the only person who can stop Jinsang is you, the heir of the Heo clan.” The resolve within his voice drains whatever hesitation lay inside your head.

“Okay,” you nod and turn to Sooyoung, “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Of course, right this way.”

You follow Sooyoung to a village situated in a mountain pass near Seorabeol. There’s a serene aura that permeates from the air of the village, setting it apart from any other place you’ve ever visited. For some reason, a strange nostalgia washes over you. So, this is a Demon village—

“It’s this building,” Sooyoung says as she motions to an ornately decorated building straying off of the main street, “The others have already gathered, so let’s make our way inside.”

As you step inside, you see both Hwan Minhyun and Xu Minghao standing there.

“Took you long enough,” Minhyun says as he crosses his arms, “You were with her, weren’t you, Jisoo?”

“What a way to start the new year, huh?” Minghao notes with a shrug of his shoulders, “Well, I saw it coming though.

“In a good mood are we, Minghao?” Jisoo asks.

“Well, for the Baekje peoples, this war’s been everything we wished for and then some,” he responds, “Kinda sucks that they needed Goguryeo to help them out, though.”

“So, a senseless conflict fought over absolutely nothing is something they wished for?”

“Well, maybe the humans are dealing with more than we think.” Minghao frowns, “They have priorities other than defending their clans, unlike us.”

“Hmph,” Jisoo notions, “You’re starting to sound like one of them.”

“Let’s leave it there, shall we?” Sooyoung interrupts, “Let’s get started.” She looks at you, “This may be a little difficult for you to listen to…”

“Don’t worry,” Jisoo says, “She’s a little tougher than you give her credit for… She and I just fought Jinsang, and his pathetic band of Furies.”

“With Hak Ahro as well?” Her eyes widen, “So, can I assume that means you understand a good amount of what’s going on now?”

“…Yes,” you nod.

“For them to sustain the number of Furies they have… They will need many lives to feast upon.” Her lips curve down, “So, currently, they’re heading to—”

“They’re going west, aren’t they?” Jisoo states, obviously not a question.

“Exactly.”

“Then we’ve heard enough,” he sighs, “We’re going to head there immediately and wipe out every single one of those Furies.” His gaze travels toward the exit, getting ready to leave.

“Wait!” You cry out, reaching for his sleeve, “I’ll go with you!”

“…With me?” He asks, almost taken aback, “Are you serious? Or does the fact that I’ve kicked your friends’ asses over and over again not mean anything to you?”

True, he seems to have loved antagonizing the Hwarang… Even so, there’s a peculiar way he’s made you feel recently. He may not understand much about the human world, but you’re learning to see him as someone who holds his principles to a higher standard than others.

“Please, let me go with you.” You urge, “In the past, you may have been an enemy of the Hwarang, but… even I can agree that the Furies and pimul need to be destroyed.” If your father and his army are eventually going to cross swords with the Hwarang, then it’s obvious that serious blood would be shed. The thought of losing more friends, like you had Eunseok, is something you can’t handle.

“Are you sure…?” Sooyoung seems surprised as well to see you behaving this way towards Jisoo, her eyes widen as she looks at you. Eventually she speaks again, “I’m going to make this request of you as well, Hong. Please, allow her to join you.”

“…What?” Jisoo asks.

“With you by her side, I am certain you have what it takes to keep her safe.” Sooyoung states.

“Are you serious?” Minghao exclaims, “It’s like throwing a rabbit into a wolf’s den.”

“I want to honor her mission from stopping her brood from committing any more egregious sins against our people,” She states, “With Jisoo by her side, then I have faith that she will live to see that through.”

“So,” a sly smile erupts on Jisoo’s lips, “Everyone’s finally caught on to what I’ve been saying all along— that I can protect her.”

“What?!” Sooyoung shouts, “How dare you make this about yourself?!”

After the room’s cooled down, you find yourself at the entrance of the village, a goodbye party awaiting your departure.

“Please stay safe on your journey,” Sooyoung says, “If anything happens, I’ll have Seulgi act as a messenger on my behalf.”

“Thank you so much, Sooyoung,” you say gratefully as she turns to your companion.

“Jisoo, be sure to watch out for her?” She says firmly, “If you let any harm come her way, then you know what punishment will await you.”

“Who the hell do you think you’re speaking to?” He laughs, “You think I’d hurt my future wife?”

“What is with your obsession with marrying her?!” Sooyoung shouts, “You’re simply acting as her bodyguard!”

“Oh,” Seulgi pulls you aside, “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Huh?”

𝔍𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 14𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔴𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 Afterwards, Jisoo and you find yourself back on the road. Seulgi had stated that the men of the Hwarang that made it to Daegaya are now heading west as well. You wonder how all of them are doing right now… Your heart clenches heavily in your chest at how much you miss them.

“The road ahead of them is going to be a long, bloody one.”

Jisoo had been proven wrong, you find, as to the outcome of the battle for Silla. In the final moments, when all had seemed lost to the Baekje loyalists, a barrage of Tang soldiers were able to capture them by surprise, securing the city with the aid of their general, Li Chi.

While Silla suffered tremendous loss, they would live to see another day. And now that they can steadily rise to their feet with Baekje defeated, they look to their northern neighbors, Goguryeo, for vengeance in the role they played in securing Buyeo Pung’s rally for aid.

The Hwarang, loyal to their Kingdom, have followed King Munmu to Ungjin as he convenes with Tang forces to plan for the upcoming war with Goguryeo.

“And it’s inevitable that some of them will die, if not flee at the first sign of danger. However, your life is no longer on that path. All that you can do now is hope that whatever bad news gets to you in time… Are you ready for that?”

“Yeah…” You nod slowly, “I made up my mind a long time ago.” If the Hwarang can keep their resolve to fight even when things seem bleak, then you can keep up yours as well.

You must complete your mission. You must defeat your father and brother. In your own way, it’s almost as if you’re helping the Hwarang from afar…

“Let’s get going,” Jisoo says quickly, “Time is wasting.”

You glance to the road behind you one last time, and then to the path in front of you, the uncertain future awaiting you.

For the trip, Jisoo had secured a horse to make the travel time less. He pulls himself onto the creature, plopping himself down on the horse’s back, and then reaches a hand out to you. You stare at his coarse hand for a moment, taking a few moments to place your hand in his. He grabs you tightly and pulls you up to sit behind him.

“Hold on tight,” he says, gently nudging the horse to tell it to go, “If you don’t, you’ll fall right off.”

“Okay,” you nod, but uncertainty resides in your voice. You’ve actually never ridden a horse before. You have no idea where you should place your center of balance, or where to put your hands or feet… So, if you don’t want to fall off, you have to grab tightly onto Jisoo.

“You aren’t holding on tight enough,” he says, noticing your loose grip.

“But I am…” You say quietly. Now that you think of it, you’ve never been this close to a man before, either. Just thinking about it makes you feel sheepish, and you become a little quieter as you retreat into yourself.

“As soon as we hit Hanseong, we’re going straight for Heo.” He states firmly, watching the path ahead, “If I’m right, they’re probably going to meet with local leaders to plan out attacks on Silla forces. In fact, they’ve probably already met with some of those bastards already.”

“Right…” You nod solemnly. In order to rebuild your home, your father and Ahro said they needed to gain power by helping overthrow Silla. In order to gain power, however, Jisoo said that great sacrifices need to be made. So, you have to do whatever you can to stop them.

Holding onto this newfound resolve, you tightly embrace Jisoo as you gallop towards the west.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 29𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔴𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 The wind whispers past your cheeks, its song whistling through the pines in the summer night air. Thick fog covers the mountain path, blanketing the rows of trees in front of you. The fresh scent of dew cupped on the leaves hits your nose immediately. The roads to Ungjin are still plagued with the remnants of the felled Baekje forces and pushing Silla men.

For Jisoo this is both enemy and allied territory. In order to avoid being detected and engaging in unnecessary violence, you had no choice but to abandon your horse some weeks back and travel down a minor off-trail path. Your mind has been elsewhere, focusing on the hope that the Hwarang had arrived in Ungjin safely. Visions plague you, some in which several members hadn’t survived the onslaught at Seorabeol, and had been left to suffer alone on the battlefield as their life fades atop the cinders.

Instead of heading straight for Goguryeo territory, Jisoo and you settled on arriving to Ungjin first to reunite you with the members of the Hwarang.

Your arms and legs are scraped by the scattering of branches sticking into the path, your eyes struggling to see through the opaque dark,

“Calm down for a moment,” Jisoo sighs out loftily, “At this pace, you’re only going to overexert yourself well before we reach an inn.”

“I appreciate your concern,” you begin, swatting away a few gnats flying in your field of vision, “If we want to get to Ungjin as soon as possible, then we need to be quick about it.”

“Well, it isn’t going to happen simply because you will it,” his voice holds a calm resolve, “Tonight, we rest here.”

“But—!” You begin.

“Munmu has already foolishly aligned himself with the Tang.” His lips turn downwards into a frown, “It will be some time before they are prepared to stage another large-scale battle. Without a war to fight, Jinsang will have no master to give his bone, stifling his plans momentarily. So,” he looks to you, his eyes glinting in the moonlight, “quit your incessant rushing. Nothing you do now will be of any consequence later.”

He’s right. You hate to admit it but he’s right. Your feet are swollen, throbbing to the point that if you might take another step, you may topple over. You’d been aggressively jaunting through the rough, dimly-lit terrain for who knows how long.

“As luck would have it, I believe there’s an abandoned home over there. Why don’t we look inside?” He says, not asking, really. His feet carry him forward to a black mass of a building that you had only just been able to make out the outline of until you near it.

Its dilapidated exterior doesn’t bolster much to its structural integrity, but you nonetheless follow Jisoo’s lead.

The house itself is very modest in size. A fine film of dust coats nearly every inch of it, giving you the notion that it had been vacated some time ago.

“Is it really okay for us to stay in someone’s house?” You ask tentatively as you step across the floorboards.

“Hm,” he shrugs, noting the worn interior, “I would rather call this a hut than a house. It’s austere, isn’t it? But it’s obvious that no one lives here, so surely the former occupants won’t mind.”

Although the thought of intruding on someone’s home unsettles you, you do need somewhere to rest. You can’t run the risk of dying or being caught before finding the whereabouts of your father and brother.

Jisoo finds a room with some dingy bedding arrangements, so at least you won’t be sleeping on the floor. His eyes dart around the room before he steps toward a sunken hearth, lowering himself to take a pinch of soot between his fingers.

Being alone with him in this derelict house is nerve-wracking. Without anything to contribute to the moment, you watch him examine the fireplace in silence.

His eyes thin as he hums to himself. After a moment, he reaches his hand into his pockets, taking pieces of flint from inside of it to try and ignite a flame.

“Jisoo?” You call out, “If you’re trying to start a fire, I can do it.”

“Just be quiet and sit back,” he says, intent on his work, “This will warm us soon enough.”

“But isn’t building a fire more difficult than that?” Back when you’d lived with the Hwarang, or even with your father, it was rare that you’d need to build a fire from scratch. More often than not, you could rely on the hospitality of neighbors to provide materials when they were unavailable.

“Yes,” he nods, “it can be quite difficult. But only a human would shy away from difficulty. It’s only in their nature.” Jisoo holds each piece of flint in his hands, clapping them together in a swift motion to produce sparks. Once more, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a piece of parchment to use as kindling over the small, sunken fireplace, then continuing to clap the flint.

After a few more seconds, the sparks turn to embers over the parchment. He blows air into the flame, creating a fire where one hasn’t been seen for ages.

Although he’d been the one to suggest staying in this house, he doesn’t look tired in the slightest. Perhaps, you wonder, if he’d only suggested it for your sake….

“Sit closer to the flames,” he says quietly, “Even if it’s summer, it can get quite cold at night.”

You nod, moving over to sit by him near the flames. Your hands extend, hovering over the embers licking up into the air.

A shadow twists and flicks upon his face as he gazes quietly at the hearth. You realize now that there isn’t much you know about him, let alone the history of his people or where he comes from. To you, they’re simply Demons who are ideologically and politically opposed to the Hwarang. And that, as a Demon woman, you’re their target.

This is the extent of your knowledge, as his people have enshrouded themselves in secrecy for generations, so much so that even you hadn’t known you were a Demon. All you know is that Hong Jisoo, Hwan Minhyun and Xu Minghao are all fierce, cunning warriors. Everything else is a complete enigma to you.

“…Jisoo? Would you mind sharing some stories with me about our people? About the Demons?”

His eyebrows raise as he glances to you, “Where did this come from?”

“If what you, Sooyoung, my father and my brother all said is true… Then I, too, am part of the Demon clan, right?” You shift, “But I can’t help but feel so disconnected from it all. I have no idea where Demons came from, how long they’ve been around, or what they even are… That’s why I want to know more about myself, and about all of you, too.”

You’re staring into his face now, watching his scarlet eyes fixate on the fireplace scornfully.

For a moment, he’s silent, until he begrudgingly turns his face to your direction.

“I’m not a historian. I don’t know how the Demons came to be, nor when they decided to settle on this land. But one thing I know for sure is… The cycle of strife and bloodshed between Demons and humans is a tale as old as this world itself.” He lets out a huff of air, mulling over his next words, “We Demons will never lose to a human if it’s a one-on-one battle. But, what humans have, that we do not, is the gift of numbers. A tiger may be the toughest hunter in the forest but there is a limit to how much prey it can hunt. Human greed, however, has no limit,” an old log within the fireplace snaps, releasing a burst of light spiraling towards the hole in the ceiling, “Thus, Demons decided to exile themselves as a measure against their destructive forces.”

Your brow furrows as he speaks, waiting patiently for him to continue.

“Some Demons chose to resist the stain of inferiority encroaching upon our lands. Their resistance proved futile. In the end, the humans exterminated them without remorse.”

“If you were ever told the legends about ‘Demons’ in the past…” You recall the stories from your childhood.

“This is where their legend bears its origin. Some of them—those that survived, at least—are still alive, living in the shadows all across the land.”

How many Demon clans have gone into hiding…? How have they coped with their fate?

Listening to him speak of his people’s history so coldly raises so many questions.

“You mentioned something about how many of the Demon clans went into isolation to disappear for human society…” You begin, “What compelled you to align yourself with Baekje-Goguryeo and oppose Silla?” It’s peculiar that he’s violating his self-imposed exile when the rest of your kind is in hiding. Re-entering human society as a force of reckoning in the middle of a heavily politicized conflict rings out as especially strange to you.

He’s expressionless, thinning his eyes slightly in reaction to your question.

“There is nowhere left to hide for us. Nowhere left to run. Nowhere untainted by the curse of humanity.”

“…What?”

“The average human knows nothing of our existence. Unlike the leaders or cultural elites, who have been well-acquainted with our people for ages… Seven centuries ago, some lords of the Samhan approached our people, successfully currying favor with those willing to share their Demon powers with mankind… One such example was your clan.”

Your lips part in surprise, unable to form a coherent exclamation of surprise.

“During the Battle of Giryeong, it was your ancestors who aided the Mahan confederacy to push back the Han.”

The Battle of Giryeong was a momentous one, still spoken about today. Had the Samhan not pushed back Han forces, the three Kingdoms now would never have taken root…. To think that your ancestors had such a hand in influencing the battle’s outcome astounds you.

“The Hong and Hwan clans realized the threat posed by the Samhan and allied with the Han. Our current allegiance with Goguryeo stems from the fall of the Han, simply a continuation of our previous arrangement. Minghao’s clan, on the other hand, appears to be serving the remaining Baekje loyalists and their former Yamato allies with intentions that are unknown to me.”

He hums, staring at the flames once more, “However, this shall be the last time our people involve ourselves with the paltry concerns of human conflict. Goguryeo is no longer dependent on our aid, either… Their newfound numbers of Furies will most certainly absolve us of our positions.”

Your mind goes to the thought of the Hwarang, and your gaze falls to the floor. The flame continues to crackle, punctuating the silence between the two of you.

“We start early tomorrow morning. Perhaps it would be better for you to rest now.” He states, fixing his posture.

In all honesty, you want to continue talking with him a bit longer, but you know of what’s to come tomorrow. There’s still so much of the mountainous range that you have left to trudge through, so you need every minute of rest that you can get.

“You’re right,” you nod, moving to your feet. It isn’t until you walk to the bedding do you see how moldy and musty it is. “Jisoo… do you really expect me to sleep here?”

“Excuse me?” He asks, “How many other rooms do you see?”

As you listen carefully for any sound outside the house, you realize there’s nothing. Not a single bird or insect. Seemingly, the only life in the nearest mile is Jisoo and you. That’s right; just the two of you, alone…

“What’s wrong?” Jisoo’s voice pulls you from your thoughts, “Haven’t you crawled off to sleep yet?”

Although both of you are Demons, and in spite of how you’re dressed, the fact remains that the two of you are sleeping under the same roof like it’s nothing. Not wanting to tip him off suspiciously about your behavior… Just in case, you discreetly pull the bedding from beside his bed towards the far corner next to the hearth. No matter how sly you try to be, he catches onto it immediately, smirking mockingly at you.

“I noticed how uncomfortable your eyes had been shifting, but now, it all makes sense.” He chuckles.

“Do you have a problem with that?” You question, “I am a woman, I have to be more safe than sorry.”

Jisoo snickers lightly at you, his eyes thinning as they dart toward your direction. He speaks sharply, just above a whisper, “Do you think I’d make a move on you?”

“Of course not!” Your face is hot, and not because of the fire.

“I’m messing with you,” he shakes his head, “You think I’m some sort of ill-mannered creep, don’t you? Demons hold tradition and decorum to a high standard. I won’t lay a finger on you until our marriage is finalized.”

“Marr–? I have no intention on marrying–”

“Forget it,” he interrupts, “Just get some sleep. Tomorrow will be even more grueling. It would be in your best interest to rest.” Jisoo spits his words out at you harshly, but you know his intentions are kind. Nevertheless, you slip tentatively into the damp, mildewy bedding.

Although, it hasn’t gone without saying that you’re still skeptical of him. But for now, you have to trust that he won’t lie or take advantage of you while you’re under his watch. More than that, it’s far more pertinent that you should worry about your father and Ahro’s whereabouts. The thought of your father’s new Furies overwhelming the Hwarang with their savage hunger is terrifying. You need to do whatever it takes to stop them.

Your eyes shut uneasily, falling asleep as the fire crackles hauntingly behind you.

𝔍𝔲𝔫𝔢 30𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔴𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 As you awake, you feel as if you cannot move. Every inch of your body aches, and it feels as though you’d only just closed your eyes to go to sleep. Turning, you see Jisoo sitting where he’d been the night prior, giving you the oddest sense of time dilation.

Sunlight refracts through the window, illuminating the dust flitting through the air. A sparrow chirps brightly outside… It truly is morning.

“Good morning…” You say tentatively as you pull yourself from bed.

“So, you are awake…” Jisoo nods, “As soon as you’re ready, we’ll leave.”

Although it feels as if you haven’t slept at all, at the very least you’d been able to recuperate from the previous day, just in time for a physically-demanding trek.

“Jisoo?” You ask as you begin to gather the few belongings you’d brought with you, “Did you stay up the whole night?”

“Well, not the whole night…” Or so he claims, but you have another idea. It was likely he observed the fire until sunrise, stoking it quietly in anticipation of morning.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I don’t recall doing anything to deserve your gratitude,” he says as he pushes himself from the floor. “Just hurry up and get ready, you want to find Jinsang as soon as possible, right?” Jisoo sneers as he speaks, swiftly exiting the room as he finishes talking.

Your initial impression of him had been a curt, egotistical man who intimidated and murdered his foes without remorse but… Perhaps there’s a bit more to them than you’d realized- maybe, deep down, he has a soft heart.

Ever since you’d been separated from the Hwarang, moments like these turned out to be far and few in-between. But you find your lips curling into a soft smile ever so slightly, and your chest feels a bit warm.

Jisoo and you traverse the mountain path, walking through the dense rows of trees stretching as far as the eye can see, at long last, you reach a milestone, the Ungwon Pass at Cheonhwangbong, the tallest peak on this range. It’s a positive sign that Ungjin isn’t too far away. Yet, just as you’re about to pass by a Silla security checkpoint stationed along the path by a nearby village, a voice calls out to you.

“Hey!”

Surprised, the two of you turn and greet a familiar face.

“Minhyun!” You shout out, surprised and confused all the same, “What are you doing here?”

“I am en route to deliver a confidential letter on behalf of Goguryeo to a certain… other ally.” He says quickly, “What a coincidence to run into the two of you on my way there…”

“You would do best to ignore their orders,” Jisoo says, “Consider the current balance of power. They no longer need us to serve as couriers to help their cause.”

“I had a feeling you’d have a snarky remark,” Minhyun sighs, “Yet, I am here of my own volition. I figured there to be no need to cast Goguryeo aside just yet.”

“Suit yourself, fool,” Jisoo murmurs.

“Well, the two of you have made excellent time to Ungjin but…” His brow furrows, “Just how do you plan on passing through the check over there?”

“Ah, well… Oh.” You begin. Jisoo had taken the lead so decisively that you had never stopped to think there would be an issue. You glance at him worryingly, but he seems unfazed, answering Minhyun with a deadpan delivery.

“I have a pass. It should work, no problem.”

“I hate to be presumptive but, things have changed quite a bit since when we were given those passes.” Minhyun responds, “Since those passes are valid under the condition Goguryeo hasn’t become an opposition to Silla. I am certain that, if you present your pass, they will stop you to verify your identities. And while she may be okay… You… Hm.”

“Enough of your riddles. Why don’t you just say whatever it is that you’re getting at?”

“I recommend that the two of you find another path,” Minhyun says curtly, “Perhaps something more remote, to sneak into Ungjin.”

Jisoo leers at Minhyun irritably, visibly annoyed by his suggestion. “‘Another path’? Are you seriously expecting the two of us to discover a more suitable path to enter Ungjin on this mountain?”

“Hey, I’m just trying to give you some advice. Wouldn’t want there to be any trouble for you.”

“In case you weren’t aware, Silla won their battle, I doubt there will be issues for those trying to ‘flee’ back home.”

Minhyun’s arms cross, “You underestimate the humans. Just because they won, doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to make points about those who dare threaten their Kingdom. They aren’t pushovers and will not be so understanding to your reasoning.”

“Damn you,” Jisoo’s voice lowers, “Where do you get the gall to speak to me so audaciously?!” He’s fuming, and his voice only becomes louder with each smug refutation from Minhyun.

If they continue to bicker publicly, then the soldiers stationed nearby will surely notice. You need to find a way to calm him— “If the two of us have an issue entering the city, then it may arouse the suspicion of both my father and brother to our plans… Although the trip may take a bit longer, we should probably look for another route.”

Jisoo’s lips purse momentarily, carefully thinking over what you’d said. “You make a good point. We wouldn’t want to raise either of their suspicions.” He straightens himself, “Vey well. If you feel up to the challenge, then finding another way won’t be too difficult. I don’t care how taxing the trail is, though. You’d better not whine at all, got it?”

“Yes,” you nod, “I understand.”

“Well,” Minhyun speaks up, “I will be on my way. Do be careful.” Without another word, he spins on his heels and vanishes along the thick forest’s path behind you.

Taking a moment before setting off, you look to the sky above, watching a few birds circle overhead before turning to Jisoo and nodding. The two of you walk away from the checkpoint, towards an uphill trail that is far from the well-trodden path.

“Already out of breath, are you?” He muses, “I told you this would be too much for you to handle.”

“No,” you vehemently shake your head, “I’m fine.” The steep inclines around the area are dotted with wide, thick boulders, which makes your grueling hike all the more laborious. The rocky grit underfoot isn’t much better when—

You feel yourself falling, traction lost underfoot as you nearly tumble off the side of a cliff into the valley when a hand grabs ahold of yours. It’s hard to shake off your horror upon seeing Jisoo standing at the edge of the cliff as you hold onto his sleeve for dear life.

“Are you okay?” He asks simply, pulling you back up to steady yourself on the trail.

You’re silent for a moment, steeling your nerves from your near-death experience. The thought of him rescuing you once more stands at odds with your initial impression of him.

“Why aren’t you answering?” He looks you up and down, peering at you from every front facing angle, “Are you injured?”

“No… no, I’m fine.” You say hurriedly, “Thank you.”

“Hmm…” He says, turning on his heels, “Let’s go.” Jisoo then begins to trudge through the woods, keeping your hand tightly clasped in his.

“Uh, Jisoo?” You query, trying your best to keep your steps in line with his, “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Um, you’re still… Holding my hand…” As you say this, he forcibly yanks your hand as he marches forward.

“You’ve already proven a danger to yourself up here,” He notes casually, “Stick close to me, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod, slightly embarrassed at his statement, but you do as he says and weave your fingers into his. His grasp is surprisingly warm and comforting, despite his grip being firm, you almost forget that they belong to someone who can easily kill you at any given moment.

Suddenly, you remember the question that you’d wanted to ask him earlier and tug at him slightly, “Were you trying to pass through the checkpoint earlier for my sake?”

Initially, he has no response, instead just choosing to glare at you from the corner of his eye, “Female Demons are different than male Demons. Although your wounds regenerate, your stamina is only a bit higher than any normal human’s would be. It’s their resolve that’s their strength.” His hand raises to move a branch from his path before he speaks again, “The female Demons are often left behind in our villages to watch over the elderly and young while the males who ensure their survival.”

So… The natural instinct for male Demons is to guard the well-being and safety of their women. Jisoo rarely minces his words, but his comment offers you a unique insight that explains so much of his behavior. In a way, it reminds you of the Hwarang’s imperative to keep you safe.

“This journey will be over soon enough,” he murmurs, “Be patient and keep holding my hand.”

Prior to this, you don’t think anyone could have convinced you that you’d be willingly crossing into Ungjin hand-in-hand with Jisoo, yet, as soon as you get to the other side of the range, you’ll arrive. Are the stories true? Would your father be waiting in the underbelly of Ungjin, trying to orchestrate a war with his army of Furies? You anxiously await the future, worrying yourself about whether or not you can stop him in time.

𝔄𝔲𝔤𝔲𝔰𝔱 1𝔰𝔱, 665 – 𝔘𝔫𝔤𝔧𝔦𝔫, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 By the end of your brutal hike though the unforgiving mountain ridge, you arrive in Ungjin safely, although it feels as if your feet are ready to fall off. It’s a stroke of good luck that neither your father or Ahro heard of your travels.

Your first order of business is reuniting with the Hwarang after weeks and weeks of separation. And so, you set off in search of their headquarters, but… The building is vacant, as all of the soldiers had seemingly embarked on a campaign for their next battle.

“The Hwarang are heading to Hanseong?” Jisoo questions as you reunite with him at the inn you’re residing at.

“Yes,” you nod, “or at least that’s what Doctor Namekawa wrote to me.” They had been tasked with guarding the territory around the city, so they mobilized their troops and marched north immediately after receiving their orders.

“How unbelievably foolish of them…” He sighs, “Their lives were spared in Seorabeol, and now they’re just as eager to throw them away.”

“What?” You question, “They’re not being foolish.”

“Do tell me, then, how else should they be described?” He asks, leaning against a wooden support beam outside of the entrance, “They intend to stake out Goguryeo territory when Silla’s main army is still flushing out Goguryeo and Baekje soldiers on their own? They aren’t there to take the city, merely die as they wait for Munmu to send his men in.”

Your brow furrows, is Jisoo actually showing concern over the well-being of the Hwarang?

“I’m in no position to judge whether or not they’re making a wise choice, but… I don’t think they’re the type of people to get hung up on the likelihoods of winning and losing.” In your experience, the Hwarang warriors are more interested in never having to compromise on their strict set of standards. It’s a lifestyle that lats beyond your scope of understanding since you aren’t actually a warrior, “All of them adhere to O Gye foremost, and this is an example. Of that, I am certain.”

He raises an eyebrow irritably to your suggestion. Just looking at him makes your stomach churn nervously, and contemplate how odd it feels to interact with someone so unapologetically cold.

“Adhere to O Gye, their principles, huh?” He taunts, “Open your eyes. They rely on instincts more than logic. What makes them any different to a wounded beast lashing out at those who maimed them?”

“Beasts?” He dismisses them to a degree that you can only describe as willful ignorance. You’d never met someone so incapable of empathy. It escapes you how he can mistake their sense of conviction as a desperate show of self-defense. However, as much as you want to argue, you chose not to say anything further.

Just as much as he’s been basing his remarks on assumptions, you realize you may as well be committing the same sin. In essence, there isn’t much of a point to arguing how other people decide to live their life.

“Forget about the Hwarang,” he sighs angrily, “I couldn’t care less at the moment. Have you been able to ascertain the whereabouts of Jinsang and Ahro?”

“Unfortunately, no,” you shake your head. You’d worded as hard as you could to get concrete details from Namekawa as well as some of your father’s old colleagues in the area yet they’d all come to dead ends.

“If they are as adamant as they claim about going through with this, then the potential war will be chaos.”

Feeding your father’s army of Furies will require a gratuitous amount of blood, which could cost the city—Silla and even Goguryeo— thousands of lives. You need to find a way to stop your father before there’s any chance of putting innocent citizens at risk.

As you embrace this resolve, Jisoo speaks unexpectedly, “Whatever… I will see to it that both of them are removed, as well as their army of fakes. Why don’t you consider staying with the Namekawa man you spoke of earlier? Or, even stay at the Hwarang’s headquarters?”

“…What do you mean?” His question blindsides you and begs clarification. “I can deal with my father and brother myself—”

“My agreement with the Park Clan’s Princess was that I would escort you west. Nothing more, nothing less.” He states abruptly, “The deal never included a guarantee to dispose of your father or your brother with you.”

“But the entire reason we came to Ungjin was to stop them…”

“How delusional can you be if you think they will entertain any of your asinine opinions? If they’re even in this city, that is.” He says, raising a good point. Nothing you’d said upon encountering them last had gotten through to them, nor had your leads within Ungjin gotten you anywhere.

So, you ask him a question, “Do you honestly plan on killing them both?”

You may as well have been asking a ghost as your question hovers awkwardly without an answer. His silence is telling. Refusing to look you in the eye, he chooses instead to stare blankly at a passerby.

“It’s only a matter of time until they expand their army of fakes. Do not go near them. To them, you are nothing more than a bothersome fly. Got it?” He speaks in a hushed tone before, without another word, vanishing into the crowd of people bustling in Ungjin’s streets.

For all intents and purposes, your arrangement is over. This isn’t an issue, per say, but what are you to do at this point? To prevent the spread of Furies, Jisoo has only one option. But you can’t let him do that, you need to stop him.

𝔑𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 19𝔱𝔥, 665 – 𝔗𝔬𝔢𝔥𝔴𝔞-𝔥𝔶𝔢𝔬𝔫, 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 After gathering your bearings in Ungjin, you realize that your father isn’t there, nor is your brother. Your days remain listless until it occurs to you that your past may reveal some future questions. Your childhood home, which had been left unattended for however long, is the last place you can visit unannounced.

You find that the trek there is easier than that of the secret paths you’d had to take with Jisoo. As a citizen of Silla, you had no issue on the roads or security checkpoints.

A part of you clings to the naïve hope that your father awaits your arrival as you open the door to the old clinic, but all that remains is a dusty workspace. The yard is long overgrown, cobwebs hang from the ceiling and thick dust coats every surface.

During the last conversation you had with your father, he seemed set on building momentum with his army, toppling Silla and increasing his notoriety, but… Is that really what he wants to do?

A wave of nostalgia hits you as you enter your old bedroom, which remains untouched since the last you saw it. You recall the memory of your father using it as a patient room long before it had been a suitable bedroom. He’d been kind to the poor and nobility alike in his treatment, not regarding how severe their illness was, either. He was remarkably kind, giving a personalized touch to each of his patients without expecting anything in return. A cherished, well-respected member of the community.

Surely, all of this has to be some sort of misunderstanding… His impetus for creating the pimul was for giving Silla a shot at rebuking Baekje forces. In hindsight, it had been a shallow pursuit, birthing what is, arguably, one of the most heinous creatures to live. You’re beginning to grow angry about it when—

The front door creaks as it slides open. You freeze out of panic, slowly turning your head over your shoulder to sneak a quick peek.

“Is someone in here?” The voice is unmistakable.

“Father?” You call out to him, your voice shaky as you catch a silhouette slink towards you.

“Ah,” he says softly, “You’ve returned home as well, huh? I’m happy to see you safe and sound, I was worried that you may have gotten swept up in the battle, or worse…” Tiny tears begin to form behind his eyes, it’s an expression with which you’ve been familiar with. You almost convince yourself that your last conversation had taken place in a nightmare rather than reality.

However, you know better than for it to be true.

“Where’s Ahro? Has he not joined you?”

“Indeed,” he nods. “I have ordered him to complete another assignment.”

You flick your eyes back and forth, trying to sense if any Furies are nearby, but you can’t. This may be your only opportunity to speak candidly with him, and perhaps even convince him…

“Father, tell me something… Do you really plan on creating more Furies as a way of manipulating Goguryeo’s army? That can’t really be what you want, is it…? You dedicated your life to becoming a doctor in order to save innocent people from dying!”

When you were a child, your memory of your father was of his incredible work ethic; how he’d pour himself into books. He invested himself in his patients. You remember peeking into his room one night as he flipped through his books with only a lantern as company. There’s no way that level of dedication could have faded so easily.

“Unlike you, my child,” he frowns, crossing his arms, “I am not a direct descendent of the Heo Clan. My family’s bloodline has been long since diluted, making me closer to humans than Demons. As a child, my life nearly succumbed to a severe illness. This is what motivated me to put forth all of my energy into practicing medicine. It was a desperate wish to save those who suffered like me.”

“So—!” It’s just as you expected, he still possesses an innate desire to care for others.

Your joy, however, is short-lived as he continues, “Yet, the funny thing is that no matter how much the medicine evolves, humans are twice as efficient at creating tools of destruction and, in my experience, are more eager to test them on their fellow man than to help him. If this vicious cycle continues, then all that will remain are poor, lonely orphans like you and Ahro. I cannot, in good conscience, allow these imbeciles to run this land into the ground so petulantly.”

The mood in the room shifts. You look on in hoor as his body begins to radiate a blinding aura as if he’s being engulfed in flames. Two sharp horns begin to poke through the flesh on his forehead, akin to some kind of beast that you had only seen illustrated on various temple walls. His eyes slowly changed from a deep brown to gold, nearly paralyzing you with their bright, ominous glow.

“Father…?”

“Witness the Demons’ true form,” he says with a smile. “As Demons interbred with humans, our people distanced themselves from reaching their full potential, and I was resigned to suffering the same fate. Thanks to my serum… my Demon blood has been reawakened from its dormancy after years of suppression.”

“You drank the pimul,” you breathe, eyes wide in horror. It’s a nightmare scenario, and suddenly whatever delusions you’d had about expecting to compromise with your father are abandoned.

Not only had he been creating Furies, he’d become one of them.

How recently he’d drunk the serum is a mystery, but it’s clear that the man who raised you is gone and the one in his stead is a monster.

“Between Ahro and myself, who has also discovered the means to unlock his true Demonic potential, and an army of Furies unhindered by sunlight… No one can oppose us. With this serum at our disposal, mankind will cower and learn how futile waging a war against our people would be.”

You shake with disbelief, tears streaming down your cheeks as the realization of his crimes sink in. Your time with the Hwarang granted you lessons upon which you otherwise had no perspective. When working in such a close capacity with people from different walks of life, one understands that getting your way is challenging—compromise is key. For the Hwarang, having the Furies made this particularly difficult… For your father, however, without anyone to challenge him, there was no one to inform him of what an egregious sin he had and is committing against humanity.

“Please, father, snap out of this.” You plead, “Do you truly believe that you will be able to easily curry favor with Goguryeo and eventually usurp power in the process?”

Even the Hwarang, as strong proponents of Silla, had been at the mercy of the bureaucracy, which had only served to frustrate and disenfranchise them. It’s hard to believe that your father and Ahro will be capable of avoiding the same issue.

“If you think that Goguryeo is sitting in any position to exploit and dispense us…” He shakes his head with a smirk, “Then you are mistaken. It is they who should be afraid of us annihilating every last one of them. In fact, we certainly have the means to do so.”

His eyes beam with an electrifying, almost unrecognizable madness, “Come with us. As a pure-blooded Demon, by rearing a child with the Furies, we can guarantee your offspring will be even stronger. If that were to happen, our clan will give birth to a new generation of Demons.”

He wears a malicious smirk as he extends his hand towards you. You look for an escape route, only then to be stopped as your father moves with heightened agility, grabbing your arm before you can even begin running.

“Let go!” You cry out, trying to swat him away.

“Illuminate me,” a voice says with calmed anger from the doorway, “How do you expect to rally your people and form a new clan if you are nothing more than a bitter, senile idiot?”

A glimpse of yellow in the corner of your eye has your head whipping to gaze in the direction of the voice, “Jisoo!” You shout, his name almost getting caught in your throat as you look towards the entrance, “What are you doing here?!”

You almost feel the need to pinch yourself to believe that it’s actually him, but he makes no secret out of his irritation when he glares at you from the corner of his eye.

“Could ask you the same question.” He tempers, “I thought I told you to stay in Ungjin, and yet here you are. Care to tell me what you think you’re doing?”

When an answer doesn’t come from you, Jisoo dismisses you, shifting his angered gaze towards your father.

“Not only have you committed the ultimate crime in producing more fakes, but now you’ve stooped low enough to become one of them?” His hand lingers over the hilt of his sword, “It appears as though you’re practically begging for me to kill you.” With that, he unsheathes his blade, something about the sword intriguing you as it stays in the sunlight. Rather than reflecting the sun, as a blade normally does, it produces its own shimmering gleam, giving it an ethereal, blessed quality.

“Drink all the serum you wish, Jinsang,” he sneers, “but never in your wildest dreams will you be capable of measuring up to what a true warrior can be.”

Your father lets out a grunt of frustration; partly out of embarrassment of Jisoo’s mockery, but mostly in the knowledge that he is no warrior. After a moment he grabs hold of your arm and shoves you towards where Jisoo is standing. You brace yourself, thinking he’d move to avoid you and charge at your father.

Instead, Jisoo catches you flying toward him, wrapping his arms securely around you as you land, “Huh?” You crack open an eye, surprised to have not hit the ground face-first.

Taking this ample opportunity, your father bolts towards the house’s back door.

“Wait!” Jisoo shouts, letting go of you to run after him. You chase after him, only finding yourself standing in the back alley. “He got away, huh? Should’ve guessed that rat would slip from my fingers.”

Heo Jinsang had disappeared, successfully evading Jisoo’s brief pursuit. As the latter darts his stern eyes towards you, you find yourself staring intently at the ground.

“Thank you for saving me earlier…” you murmur as he raises the corner of his mouth flippantly.

“Your thanks are unnecessary,” he states, “Instead, I demand that you answer my earlier question. I told you not to go near them nor to pursue them. Why have you disobeyed that?”

“Because I am a member of the Heo clan,” you state, looking up at him, “If my father and brother are plotting to commit these heinous crimes, then I can’t let the burden fall on you to take care of everything, Jisoo.”

“Were you not listening to what I told you before?” He frowns, “Female Demons pale in comparison to what the male counterparts can do in battle. Your presence benefits me none whatsoever.”

“I get that, but…” You frown, “If you were in my shoes, would you listen to yourself? Could you honestly live with passing your burden to someone else?”

The question seemingly catches him off-guard. Jisoo looks at you inquisitively, and together you stay silent as the wind rustles some leaves atop the cold ground.

After a long pause, he speaks, “Understood… Perhaps I’m being forward, but I see in you the virtues befitting the leader of the Heo Family. All I ask, however, is that you refrain from acting so recklessly. Do not allow these rash thoughts to cloud your judgment, or else your leadership will suffer.”

You nod slowly at his words, taking them in.

“Anyone who even thinks of taking you under my watch will be punished without mercy,” it almost sounds like a promise. “Come with me, I’m sure you’ll feel better watching me peel the flesh from their bones with the swing of my sword.” Jisoo then turns on his heels, heading back into town.

The thought of him promising to murder your father and brother still unsettles you but you suppose it is far better than being left in the dark as to where your father is or what he had been hoping to achieve. You run after Jisoo, leaving your house behind.

By the time you find an inn to stay in, the sun has set, dipping into the orange horizon. Jisoo had led you there, to the inn decorated with modest lighting and accessories, when lo and behold you find Hwan Minhyun waiting inside for you.

“You made it back safely—What is she doing here?” He asks, surprised by your presence.

“Are you acting coy?” Jisoo questions, “Do I have to spell it out for you, or are you going to quit playing the fool?” He shakes his head, “Enough of that, what have you uncovered?”

“There’s quite a bit to report,” Minhyun says, settling himself down at a nearby table, “I hope you have the time to listen to it all.” With the way he glances at you, you’re unsure if you should listen in, but just as you’re about to leave, Jisoo stops you.

“She has inherited Heo blood. She has the right to listen to this.” Jisoo says as he sits across from Minhyun, “It is up to her, that is, if she has the stomach for it.” In typical fashion, he’s speaking of you in a dismissive tone, but you now take it to mean that he’s respectfully acknowledging your agency in the decision to stay.

No matter what Minhyun has to say, if it regards your family, you have an obligation to sojourn. So, you too take a seat at the table, “I am ready for whatever it is you have to say. Please allow me to remain here.”

Minhyun nods, taking a deep breath before he begins, “In regards to Hak Ahro, he appears to be in Hanseong with warriors from Goguryeo. To make matters worse, he has a band of Jinsang’s enhanced Furies as well.”

Hanseong… If you recall correctly, then that’s where the Hwarang had been told to go. If Ahro is leading a band of Furies alongside Goguryeo forces there…

“It looks like the Hwarang is going to have their hands tied with those Furies, aren’t they?” Jisoo asks, nearly putting your thoughts into words.

“Exactly.”

Your hands clench at your side, worry pervading through you. The Hwarang had suffered many casualties in the Baekje raid on Seorabeol and on top of that, Seungkwan wouldn’t be able to join them either in his condition. Doctor Namekawa had said as much when he wrote you last.

“Negotiations between Tang and Silla are still ongoing in Ungjin,” Minhyun nods slowly, “If their talks begin to grow more… intense against Goguryeo…”

“Then we’ll have a full-on war on our plate,” Jisoo exhales out, “The perfect opportunity for Jinsang and Ahro to unleash their sick beasts onto the field.”

“I assume they will organize their Furies and march them to Hanseong as soon as possible. But then again, there aren’t too many areas there in which they could hide their army.”

“Interesting,” Jisoo muses as he runs his index finger atop the wooden table, “For now, keep a watchful eye on their movements.”

As you listen to their conversation, an urgent feeling of panic rages within you, and you realize that you’re suddenly drenched in cold sweat. If Jisoo’s prediction comes true, then the innocent people in both Goguryeo and Silla will be helpless against the tide of Furies, eager for the taste of blood. Everything's coming together and it horrifies you to imagine sacrificing entire towns for the purpose of feeding their insatiable hunger. It’s a violation of the world’s sacred order, and you’re running out of time.

“What of Minghao?” Jisoo questions, “Has he decided what to do with the remainder of the Baekje families?”

“He’s been a ghost, even on the battlefield,” Minhyun explains, standing from the table and making his way to the exit, “Perhaps he’s grown tired of playing a part in this sick game.” He then leaves you with that, bowing lightly as he departs the room.

Jisoo stays quiet for a moment before turning to you, “I’m stepping out. Get some rest.”

“Okay,” you nod as he stands, “Please be careful.”

“Unless an emergency arises, do not leave this building.” He warns, “Otherwise, we may have a repeat incident of earlier today.” Jisoo lingers a moment more, gazing into your eyes to assure himself, then quickly flies out of the door.

Once nestled in bed, you close your eyes and drift off to sleep. In your deep, dreary slumber, a dream comes to you. The setting is your childhood home, not the one in Toehwa-hyeon, but the one prior to that… Your arm is being pulled along by someone.

Through a muted, white haze, you watch smoke billow into the sky, tall flames surrounding you as you try to flee hastily.

“This way!” The shout of the boy pulling you cries out through the night.

The village burning before you evokes a strange sense of déjà vu. Beside you lay a small hill where you’d often pick flowers and the pen that housed your livestock. Those places, like the memories attached to them, are becoming reduced to ash and cinder, and in the distance, you can hear shrieks of terror.

What’s going on? Who could do such a thing? Where are your parents?

“The fire’s spread here too!” The boy shouts in anguish as flames block your path, encroaching on you slowly.

You hear a man call out to you and the boy from a way away, “Over here!” Although his identity is unclear, you understand him to be one of your relatives, “Quickly, hold onto me, the flames will catch up to us soon!”

You and the boy do as instructed, holding on tightly to his robes as he leads you into the forest at the outskirts of the village where the air is clearer.

“We’ve run far enough,” the relative says, “I don’t think the fire can reach us here. We should be safe.”

“Uncle,” the boy asks, “Why did this happen? Where’s dad? And mom?”

Suddenly, you recognize who the boy is. It’s Ahro.

“It was becoming too dangerous because of the fire,” your uncle grimaces, “We had no choice to leave them behind.”

And this man…

“Unforgivable,” he laments, “The humans have cruelly summoned calamity and misfortune to our people. Are they punishing us for refusing to help them aid Baekje? They destroy our homes for wanting peace?”

On that night, it isn’t your father, but a distant relative who saves you from being burned alive. He later assumes the title of ‘Father’ and raises you. Heo Jinsang.

You awake with a jolt, tears streaming down your face hysterically. For whatever reason, your mind needlessly exhumed a memory that you had unknowingly suppressed years ago. Now, it’s all coming back to you…

Humans had destroyed your home, killing dozens of your people, including your parents. In a selfish grab for power, they wiped the village from existence and attempted to absorb the land. Heo Jinsang made one thing abundantly clear… Continuing to allow humans to rule barbarically, and further their destructive tendencies, it would only produce more orphans like you and Ahro.

Although you’re opposed to the idea of using Furies, of all things, as a force to counteract mankind’s penchant for destruction… At the same time, there’s a method to their madness, and you can’t bear to think about how they coped with the memory of your people’s genocide.

A knock at your door snaps you from your stupor.

“Pardon me,” one of the inn’s attendants asks, “Are you awake?”

You rise to your feet, wiping away the tears on your face before you open the door, “Is something the matter?”

“I have a guest asking for you,” he says, “May I send him in?”

“Ah,” you say with bated breath, wondering who it could be, “In a moment, let me arrange my room first…”

After tidying up your quarters, the attendant opens the door and ushers in your surprise visitor.

“Oh?” they ask, sounding surprised, “Is it just you in here?”

“Minghao!” You say, equally befuddled, “What are you doing here…?”

“Well, Minhyun asked me to come so I came as quickly as I could…” He glances around the room, “But it looks like I’m a little late.”

“It would appear so.” You say, knowing that Minhyun may not come back, “However, I believe Jisoo will be returning momentarily.”

“That so?” He muses, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me to stick around a while longer, then.” Minghao studies the room meticulously and, eyeing a spot to sit, plops onto the floor quietly.

You watch nervously as he pulls his quiver from his back, inspecting the points of each arrow.

“Um…” you say, gaining his attention.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Is it true that Hanseong may be the center of the next battle soon?” You ask quickly, “I’m worried about something Jisoo said.”

As you express your concerns, Minghao suddenly freezes, his finger gently pressed to one of the arrow’s tips, “Well, I’d be lying if I told you there wasn’t a high chance of that happening.”

Images of your burning home are recalled to mind, if this were to happen, there wouldn’t be only two orphans left. And the friends you care for so dearly will be swept into another fray…

“Calm down,” Minghao says, sensing your worry, “We were able to weasel the Hwarang away from Hanseong for the time being.”

“Huh?” You ask, not understanding.

“Oh?” His brow raises, “Did they not tell you? Silla has no intention of letting Hanseong fall under siege or be lit ablaze. They want that city for their own, the Hwarang are merely there to see to it that it stays intact until the Silla forces arrive in full… Not that Goguryeo will let that happen.”

Just as you’re beginning to put the pieces together, the door opens once more, “I thought I heard a familiar voice in here… Hello Minghao.”

“Don’t look so surprised,” Minghao says as he looks to Jisoo, sliding the arrow back into his quiver, “You’re the reason I’m here. Let’s cut to the chase. I’m a busy man, you know?”

“There are some questions I need answering. It won’t take much of your time…” Jisoo then goes on to recount what has happened since you last saw him in Sooyoung’s village. He mentions encountering your father, and describes in great detail Jinsang’s plot to gather blood in order to feed his army. The most crucial detail, however, is his proposition to use this army to manipulate Goguryeo into doing his bidding.

“Got it,” Minghao nods his head solemnly.

“Well, what do you have to say?” Jisoo questions as he sits across from him, “Do you expect them to fall prey to his little schemes?”

“As much as I want to give them the benefit of the doubt… They’re hurt,” Minghao begins, “Their failed attack on Silla left them vulnerable and Yeon Gaesomun is crazy.”

“What do you mean ‘crazy’?” Jisoo’s head tilts to the side.

“Other than killing his king? He is—was— undefeated in battle, and his pride is hurt. He’s bitter and will do anything he can to seek out victory. If I know him, then I don’t see him rejecting the offer to use Furies if it guarantees him victory.”

“What a circus,” Jisoo huffs. The only thing he hates more than mankind is greed, and he makes no secret of his disdain.

“Can you convince him not to use the Furies?” You plead to Minghao. “Neither humans nor Demons have the means of handling them if they start outnumbering us. Even if Goguryeo wins, it’s only a matter of time until the Furies are turned on them.”

“I know,” he nods, “To be honest, the very notion of them requiring outside intervention of any kind offends me… Leave it to me.”

“Can we depend on you, Minghao?” Jisoo queries.

“Learn to trust your comrades, you bastard,” Minghao frowns and then straightens himself. “That’s it then? That’s all you have to say? I suppose I’ll be on my way now.” He rises to his feet, slinging his quiver back across his back, smirking wryly as he moves towards the door. Without another word, he saunters out of the room.

A few days later you learn that the Tang-Silla talks have ended and forces are beginning to move out of Silla and into Goguryeo territory. Yet, this comes after a skirmish in Hanseong, leaving the Goguryeo forces there and the Hwarang locked into a bloody stalemate. You later learn that neither Mingyu or Junhui had been there. Seungkwan, too, was absent as his condition worsened to the point that merely holding his sword is enough to exhaust him. Your curiosity drives you up the wall, and you want to learn more about their status, but Namekawa is away, his letters becoming fewer and far in between.

Around the time you heard news of the stalemate, rumors that Youngmin had surrendered to the Hanseong forces to allow his fellow Hwarang to fall back raced around Silla.

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