Curled Horns

7. Noble Visitor

Yunho had dismissed Mingi early that evening to prepare for his meeting with Yeosang. For a while, Mingi had just idly wandered the corridors and admired all paintings and other hangings he could find before he had retired to his room. When he went to sleep, he noticed once more the pressure of his horns on the pillow so close to his eye. Uncomfortable, he concluded to use his next free evening to pay a visit to Seonghwa. The tailor probably burned with curiosity about Mingi's new job. Mingi would tell him everything diligently as Seonghwa trimmed his horns.

In the morning when Mingi collected Yunho's breakfast, the entrance hall was in a disarray. The gate stood wide open, like the yawning mouth of a monster, and the room crawled with unfamiliar people. Their armour and flags looked different from the ones of their kingdom. At first, Mingi mistook them for a delegation sent to help with the restraint of the pixie criminal. He brushed past them awkwardly and dodged their clamour as he slipped into the kitchen.

The cook noticed the distress on Mingi's face and gave him a kind smile.

"A lot is going on, right? Don't worry. You will meet them all during dinner. They are the royal embassy of the Choi kingdom," she explained patiently. Mingi lit up when he remembered. The prince called San had been scheduled to arrive today.

"I see. I just hope I don't get trampled." Clumsily, Mingi loaded the tray onto his arms and gave her another smile. She hurried to hold the door open for him and he slipped outside with a goodbye.

Once more, Mingi danced his dangerous choreography of dodging thundering hooves, barricades of horns and the weapons clanging to their hips. He exhaled only once he made it up the stairs.

In the same manner, as the day before, Mingi woke Yunho. If the crown prince detected the early morning confusion on Mingi's face, he didn't mention it. He just dragged himself out of his soft sheets as soon as Mingi had fastened his clothes.

"The Choi prince has arrived this morning. I didn't see him yet, but his men fill out halls."

Yunho readied Mingi's teacup and nudged it over to him. The fruity aroma relieved some of Mingi's tension and brought a sleepy smile to Yunho's features.

"Ah, right. I'll have to take a bath before I meet San. Do you mind accompanying me?"

Mingi quickly shook his head, and they commenced with their breakfast. Once they were done, Yunho led Mingi into one of the adjoining rooms. Inside was an enormous bathtub, more of a pool in Mingi's eyes. It was round; the rim decorated with stone statues of gorgeous female demons holding basins that provided steaming water to the pool in a never-ending cycle.

Yunho left his accessories on for his bath, too much of a hassle to take them off. While he undid his pants, he motioned Mingi to loosen his top for him once more.

"Tell me about that scar of yours, Mingi," Yunho asked him over the rushing of water in the steamy tower. They were surrounded by ceiling-tall windows that took up half of the wall. The steam fogged them up, but Mingi could still see the volcanic glow of the heat outside.

His fingers fiddled with the strings. He was vigilant that his claws wouldn't scratch Yunho even if they would barely hurt him.

"I've had it for some years. It's from the time my horns overgrew and tried to stab me through the skull."

Astonished, Yunho glanced at him. He rose his arms to help Mingi take his shirt off and stepped out of his pooling pants. His hooves met the water first, testing the temperature before he dipped his body inside. Cautious if he would slip, Mingi watched his back. The black tattoos under his skin dipped low until the swell of his behind.