Yoon picked up a nearby rock and lobbed it at the unsuspecting priest. It hit him on the back of the head, and he collapsed on the ground. Yara ran over to him and nudged his arm with her foot. He was knocked out cold.
Not missing this opportunity, Yoon started rummaging through his clothes and to his surprise there was nothing there. It was empty. He abruptly turned around when he heard a small yelp.
His sister's small hand was being clasped by an even bigger one. The hand was attached to an arm, and that arm belonged to the now awake priest. Who was looking at the twins with soft, tender eyes, although both of them had almost killed him.
"Sorry I have nothing." He said in a choked voice.
Yara screamed and her brother tugged her arm free before he grabbed a pick-axe, that was readily next to where they were standing.
"Don't..." Started Yoon as he held the axe in front of him. "D-don't move." He could feel his sister trembling behind him. He was going to protect her, the way he had been protecting her since they were young. "There have been rumours in the village recently. About a stranger seen loitering around, who is said to possess a golden pearl."
"You're from before..."
Yoon ignored him. "That's you right? Hand it over. That golden pearl!" The priest didn't reply, but he started crying. There was a moment of shocked silence. "Crying won't help you!"
"I'm sorry," the priest apologised, with genuine concern on his face. "I gave that golden pearl to another child. That was my last one." He started crying more. Yoon and Yara just stood there in disbelief. Neither of them knew what to say. "But if I find something else, I'll bring it back here for you, ok?" The priest smiled, and that was when blood started dripping down his face.
Yara gathered up her courage and stepped out from behind her brother, then she carefully walked towards the bleeding man. "It's bad to be an airhead you know." She giggled a little.
"Ra, stay back!" Yoon stepped in front of her again and pointed the pick-axe at the older male. "As for you, what my sister said is right. Being an airhead won't help you. It's eat or be eaten here!"
The man chuckled and said, "it's alright though, I'm not in pain. There's no need to worry."
Yoon blushed and yelled, "I wasn't concerned! I'm the one who was just about to kill you." Oh, there goes Yoon's tsundre side.
IIk-Soo got to his feet and bowed. "Well, then I apologise for the interference."
"Did you hear what I just said!"
The older male began to walk away, swaying from side to side. Clearly, this man wasn't alright.
"W-wait!" Yoon shouted, stopping the man in his tracks. "I'm not done talking about the golden pearl! Stay at my place today!"
"Ah, that's great. To be honest, I was going to sleep outside." He scratched his head and walked back towards them. "My name's Ik-Soo."
Later that evening, they were all in the cramped hovel. Ik-Soo was lying on the floor covered in the blanket. Yoon was leaning over him to make sure he was ok. Yoon might not show it, but Yara knew despite his tough exterior he was really a caring guy.
"Ra, hand me that medicine over there." Yoon pointed to the little tub that was in the room's corner. He was quite a skilled medicine maker, and the same goes for his older sister. "He's got a fever, but he's still alive. All I have to do is apply a little of this."
Yoon unscrewed the lid and swabbed a little on his finger, then he wiped it gently on the cut on Ik-Soo's head.
Unbeknownst to the twins, Ik-Soo was still awake, and he was smiling to himself.
And that was how Yara and Yoon had met the priest known as Ik-Soo.
☽
After their first meeting, Ik-Soo would constantly visit them and he would bring them many things each time he did.
One time he had even taught them how to make sandals. Yara and Yoon were a natural at sandal-making, and they would sell them to the people in the nearby village for food and other things. They never had to go hungry again.
And now here they were living with Ik-Soo and they had both grown up to be beautiful, young people, who looked after the priest and helped out at the village; selling the fruits and veg they harvested. Now and then they would still sell the sandals they had made. Ik-Soo still wore the very first pair they had given him, even if they had become more and more worn out.
They had reached the group, and Yoon was the first one to speak up. "Ik-Soo, even though I said that the princess did not know of the world, that practical knowledge of 'reality'..."
"We don't know it either," his sister continued.
"I don't know about Yara, but it makes me uncomfortable."
"Yoon, Yara." Ik-Soo wasn't sure how to reply to that.
☽
"Hey, Ik-Soo." Yoon's voice broke Ik-Soo out of his reverie. "You don't know, but your words are absolute for me."
Yara nodded in agreement. Ik-Soo was their saviour and she would listen to anything he said. It was the only thing she could think of to repay him.
"That's why in the end, if you tell me to go, I'll go." Yoon smiled at him. "I'm sure it's goodwill for someone like us." Yoon put an arm around his sister's waist.
"And besides, you seem totally fine with us leaving." Yara laughed.
"Words," Ik-Soo began. "There can be power in them. Sometimes they become words of power, so if you say it's fine, that may become the truth, and it will become fine. But no that won't work... Lonely, Lonely. I'll..." He started crying and Yoon just stared at him for a moment.
The salmon-haired boy rubbed his watering eyes and said, "how annoying. It's not like we're saying goodbye for good."
He knelt down and started petting the priest on the head, while Yara put her arms around both of them.
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