They lost. They lost against Minister Lee's recruits by three orbs.
"No point in regretting now." Changmin commented when they all gathered at their basecamp before they left. He took a seat beside Younghoon who was still passed out.
"Sorry, I couldn't protect him, Changmin." Hyunjae said, fiddling with his belt. Changmin shook his head and mouthed an it's ok.
"Is Hyungseo hyung going to be okay?" Hwall asked.
"He'll wake up soon." Joonyoung reassured him. He felt tingly as if someone's eyes were on him. He looked around and met eyes with Sangyeon. Joonyoung turned away quickly. Juyeon who was also watching Joonyoung, noticed.
"Joonyoung, did you get hurt anywhere?" He asked, walking beside Joonyoung.
"I'm fine. You and Youngjae went through a lot though." Joonyoung slightly pouted making Juyeon grin.
"It was mostly Youngjae. I just supported him from behind." He said, rubbing his nape.
"I know Youngjae. He is capable on his own but he pulled through because you were with him. Thank you. For taking care of my brother." Joonyoung smiled at him. Juyeon blushed at the comment.
"Ye-yeah." He replied.
Youngjae frowned at the interaction between the two. Then he shook his head and slapped himself.
"Yah! Did you also get hit on your head hard?" Haknyeon exclaimed, eyeing Youngjae cautiously. Youngjae glared at him.
"No. Well, yes but no." He muttered. Haknyeon shook his head at his friend's weirdness.
The journey back to Hae Baragi wasn't pleasant at all. Youngjae, Haknyeon and Hwall glanced at each other then at the others. All of them had depressed looks on. Hwall kept his arms around Hyungseo who was slung over the horse beside him.
"H-hey, Chanhee!" Sunwoo called out hesitantly. Chanhee turned to him with a bored look. Sunwoo jogged beside Chanhee and the two walked side by side in silence.
"Do you like my name?"
"Huh?" Sunwoo looked at Chanhee, confused.
"You called me yet, you aren't saying anything. Do you just like calling my name?"
Sunwoo pulled a disgusted look until Chanhee glowered at him. He cleared his throat and stood up straight.
"I just wanted to thank you for helping me with that Ju..." Sunwoo trailed off, trying to remember the name.
"Jungwoo. You don't even remember the guy who introduced himself to you?" Chanhee snorted.
"Well, I wasn't paying attention and he isn't particularly that interesting."
"But you remembered my name the first time, so I must be interesting?" Chanhee teased. Sunwoo side eyed him and scoffed.
"Well, yeah."
"Yeah?" Chanhee's eyes widened, not expecting this response.
"You got the most hideous visual and the way you walked in my yard carrying those wild flowers swaying those non-existent hips and flipping your hair-"
"Wait, hold up! I do have hips and I do not sway them. And I do not flip my hair!" Sunwoo smirked at Chanhee's reaction.
"Nah, you did. That's part of why Hyungseo wanted to paint you. You flipped your hair flirtatiously and waved your hands around like you were sprinkling pixy dust." Sunwoo made a sprinkling gesture and mocked Chanhee. Chanhee scowled at Sunwoo's actions.
"I did not do any of those things." He stated, visibly fuming. Sunwoo observed the scarlet tint creeping up on Chanhee's neck and ears and giggled to himself.
"Whatever you say." He said finally and put his hands behind his back as he walked ahead.
"Yah, Kim Sunwoo. We are not done talking. Come back here!" Chanhee yelled and jogged beside Sunwoo again.
Hyunjae watched the squabbling duo from behind. He did not kiss the actual Chanhee earlier but he wished he had.
"You're about to poke a hole." Changmin commented from beside. Hyunjae did not look at him. Changmin sighed. He glanced at Younghoon beside him on a horse. He pushed back the small strand of hair on Younghoon's face.
"I'm glad both Younghoon and I are gumihos." He mumbled. That caught Hyunjae's attention.
"Why?" Hyunjae asked. Changmin looked back at Sunwoo and Chanhee walking in front of him, then back at Hyunjae.
"We, gumihos, are immortal. We only die once killed or willing to die. People like us, "Changmin smiled to himself, "Creatures like us can only rely on each other for warmth. For love."
"What if Younghoon was human?" Hyunjae asked. He stared at Changmin, "Will you still choose to love him? Regardless?"
"I might. But I don't think I'll be able to live normally once he's gone. After all, a human dies when he comes of age while a gumiho lives forever." Changmin spoke. Hyunjae kept silent. He had the feeling Changmin wasn't finished talking yet.
"And if that happens, I would rather die than live alone without him."
Hyunjae casted his eyes down at the ground. It's not like he can choose who he loves, right?
"I won't interfere in your matters." Changmin turned to him with a firm look in his eyes, "But you should be aware of the consequences. This is one thing that you cannot play with." Changmin warned.
"What happened with Doyoung?" Taeyong asked Yuta who was riding his horse beside him. Yuta shrugged.
"Do I look like a mind reader, dear brother?"
"I'm asking because you were with him the whole day."
"Oh, then is Taeyongie jealous because he wanted to be with dear Doyoung the whole day?" Yuta spoke in a baby voice making Taeyong glare at him. He shook his head and galloped towards Doyoung.
"Hey, how you feeling?" Taeyong said, noticing Doyoung's blank expression.
"Huh? I-I'm good. Yeah..." Doyoung said. Taeyong tilted his head to get a better look at Doyoung's face.
"Why the long face?" He asked. Doyoung looked up at him and sighed.
"Nothing. Just that Jungwoo and Haechan messed around with the Hwarangs and caused misunderstandings." He said. Taeyong chuckled.
"What did they do now?" He asked, amused.
"They transformed into their own teammates and tricked them. And..."
"And?"
"Just that... Some of them reminded me of.... Jaehyun." Doyoung whispered out the name so lowly but Taeyong heard. He halted his horse and turned to Doyoung.
"Why him?" He asked, voice unintentionally hard.
"I noticed that they also have some hidden feelings going on. It became obvious when Haechan and Jungwoo messed around with them." Doyoung said, not noticing Taeyong's conflicted expression.
"Whatever their relationship between them doesn't concern you, Doyoung. You don't need to put your attention on those kind of stuff."
"Yes, but... I don't want anyone to go through what I did." Doyoung mumbled. Taeyong sighed out of frustration.
"Doyoung." He spoke making the younger freeze. Taeyong looked at Doyoung who was avoiding eye contact.
"I thought I told you to forget about Jung Jaehyun. He was nothing but a liar. He used you to achieve his own success. He manipulated you into his plan."
"I know.."
"You know? Then why are you still talking about him?"
"Because!" Doyoung finally let out a cry but Taeyong wasn't fazed. Taeyong noticed the small droplets of tear brimming at the corner of Doyoung's eyes.
"Because..," Doyoung's voice was ever so soft, "Even though he lied to me, used me, it doesn't matter. Because I'm still the love stricken fool I was back then." He spoke, lips trembling. Taeyong looked at him disapprovingly but Doyoung could care less.
"I want this to be the last time you ever mention that name." Taeyong spoke coldly and rode ahead of Doyoung, leaving him slouching down.
Yuta who was watching the whole interaction from behind shook his head. Taeyong was still the impatient angry man when it came to Jung Jaehyun. Doyoung wasn't better either. He was what he said he was, still the love stricken fool for Jung Jaehyun.
"I see that story hasn't ended yet." Kun said. Yuta didn't know when he got beside him but he nodded anyway.
"It's not gonna end until one of them comes to sense." Yuta said. Kun nodded knowingly.
"It is a shame though. That Jung Jaehyun kid turning out to betray us. If it wasn't for his betrayal, he would've made a fine addition to the team. He was quite a talented man." Kun said. Yuta looked at him, curiously.
"I guess so." He mumbled.
"If it wasn't for the nature of human's greed, I would say he and Doyoung would have had a happy ending. Can't say the same for Taeyong though."
"It's not because he's human." Kun paused at Yuta's comment.
"Excuse me?" Kun quirked his brow. Yuta turned to him with a thoughtful look.
"His greed wasn't because he was human. Everyone has greed, even gumihos. Especially you." Yuta said, smirking slightly and galloped ahead. Kun watched as Yuta joined Jeno and Renjun.
"Kun, you're scowling." Jungwoo said. Kun immediately replaced his scowl with a smile. Jungwoo smirked.
"That's better. Though it's scary you can change in a second." Jungwoo said.
"Shut up."
The ten Hwarangs trudged into the gate of Hae Baragi with heavy steps. Hyungseo and Younghoon were still on the horses, unconscious.
"Now, now, everyone lighten up! You win some battles, you lose some." Hoseok tried to cheer them up.
"Professor Jung is correct. Instead of letting this incident get you down, remember this as a lesson. It will be of great help in the future." Namjoon spoke.
Namjoon glanced at Jungkook who came in with the Hwarangs. Jungkook shook his head.
"Everyone get back to your rooms and rest up. We'll sent medicine for Hyungseo and Younghoon." Namjoon said and walked back inside. The ten Hwarangs walked back to their rooms silently.
It was evening by the time they got back. Dinner was delivered to their rooms. Changmin sighed as he sat down beside Younghoon's bed.
"He'll be alright. He's a strong guy." Juyeon said, picking up a tray of food and putting it in front of Changmin.
"I know he'll be alright. He always is. Problem is, he's also always getting hurt. I don't like that." Changmin sighed again.
"Eat something. You're gonna need it." Juyeon pushed the tray towards Changmin and went away.
"Maybe it's because I'm already with you but I can see everything that's going on." Changmin chuckled to himself once he was alone. He glanced at Younghoon who was still sleeping, breathing softly.
"Chanhee, Sunwoo, Hyunjae...." Changmin said as he ate a mouthful of rice and gulped it down.
"Joonyoung, Sangyeon,...... Juyeon, Hyungseo......" He took another gulp of his rice. He bit his spoon and looked in the distance thoughtfully.
"I wonder how their story will end." He spoke to himself.
"Changmin hyung!" Youngjae walked in. Changmin gave a hum in acknowledgement and slurped some of his soup.
"How's Younghoon hyung?" Youngjae asked, sitting down.
"He's fine. But the injury won't go away as quick because it was done by a powerful imoogi but he'll survive. He always does." Changmin replied. Youngjae nodded in agreement.
"By the way, Hyungseo woke up. He said he got ambushed but he isn't sure who did it. Maybe one of the imoogis but he's also fine now. He still has a bit of a headache."
"I wouldn't be too sure it's the imoogis." Changmin mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. It's good to hear he's awake now." Changmin adjusted the blanket on Younghoon. Youngjae nodded then frowned.
"He said he feels a bit of regret he couldn't be of help."
"Hyungseo?"
"Yeah."
"It's a miracle he's alive." Changmin chuckled.
"Yeah.. oh by the way, Hyunjae suggested we go out tomorrow! Professor Kim gave us a day off. You know, to recover and rest up."
"Where are we going? And I'm not coming with if Younghoon's not awake by then."
"Hyunjae said there's a town nearby and it's having a lantern festival! I've never been to a festival before! Have you?"
"Well..." Changmin though to himself then smiled, "Yes, I have. I went to one with Younghoon before."
"I won't ask further." Youngjae muttered and got up. Changmin laughed as Youngjae stomped out of the room. Then his laughter ceased.
"That was also the day we lost Hyunjoon, wasn't it, Younghoon? Maybe I shouldn't have suggested going there that day. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation at all." Changmin talked to Younghoon but of course, the latter was still asleep.
Changmin sighed again. He could clearly remember the events of that day.
The screaming of the people. Man holding up spears and pitchforks and chasing after them. The angry roars and cries of those people.
And the fire. The blazing fire that took down a whole residence. It was a day Joonyoung, Younghoon, Changmin and Chanhee erased from their memories due to the horrible guilt that stuck in their hearts.