What Am I Left With? • Monsta X

iv.

On the third day, he stumbled down the long road from the beach to the castle wearing clothing he'd stolen from the ship, playing the part of a lost traveler. It wasn't entirely a charade; he was indeed far from home and traveling, but his destination was no mystery.

Several two-legged strangers passed him before one stopped to talk with him. As they spoke to him, looking at him in the eyes, he shuddered, his hatred for the two-legged race so intense that he was finding it difficult to interact with them, but he had no other choice.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the two-legged asked.

"I'm not," Hyungwon replied in their ugly language, the syllables scraping at his throat. "I've been wandering for days...I'm quite lost, you see..."

"I knew you didn't look familiar," the two-legged beast mused, fingers scratching at his chin. "Where exactly are you from? And where you are going?"

Hyungwon couldn't give an answer for the first question – he could neither proclaim the truth, that he had swam up from the depths of the ocean many fathoms below the Above, and he did not know any two-legged shelters he could claim to be from – so he merely answered the second. "I've heard of a castle nearby, I was hoping to stay there until I can find my way."

"You're in luck," the two-legged creature said, baring his teeth at Hyungwon in what was meant to be a friendly gesture but came across to Hyungwon as intent to devour. "I was on me way there myself, have some business to discuss with the lord of the estate. I can take yuh there, if yuh'd like. But you'd have to talk with the lord yerself if yer looking to stay there."

"All right," Hyungwon agreed, and the two fell in step, Hyungwon fighting simultaneous urges to recoil from the ugly creature or to eat him whole. Strangely enough, though, two-legged creatures had stopped being appetizing to him since he had wound up in the Above. However, if his choir hadn't eaten during the hunt – if they'd been captured before they'd had the chance to feed – they'd be starving.

That would be his first goal, then – to keep them alive long enough for him to figure out how to help them escape.

--

The castle was staggeringly big up close. Hyungwon and his choir had made the cave their shelter, and although there were narrow passages that led farther back, they had gone largely unused. The main hollow of the cave had big enough to fit all seven of them, but there wasn't much excess room once it was full. And yet the two-legged creatures were greedy enough to build a gaping monstrosity to shelter not only their kin but their trophies as well.

He followed the two-legged merchant in, eyes wide as he took everything in. He still wasn't used to seeing so many colors; every floor was covered in rugs of the most intricate designs, golden threads dancing across the fabric. Walls were softened with vibrant tapestries depicting foreign lands and majestic creatures that Hyungwon didn't have names for. He could almost understand why the two-legged creatures felt the need to collect so many trophies. He'd never known that there was so much to see.

"The lord of the castle is Lord Barrymore," the merchant explained as they were led by a servant deeper into the two-legged creatures' lair. "He's the one yuh'll have to make your case to. He's a kind man, but he's fiercely protective of his family, especially his daughter. She's supposed to be married off soon, but rumor has it that he's been refusing offers from her suitors because he's not ready to give 'er away."

That bit confused Hyungwon. Sirens didn't have a set age for marriage – in fact, they didn't have a marriage custom at all, really – but how old could this two-legged daughter be? Hyungwon had been just a child when he'd last seen his parents. Did the two-legged creatures pick mates so soon?