Haknyeon looked between Hyunjae and Hwall as they walked back to Lee residence. It was weird for Hyunjae to not be talkative and for Hwall, he was usually quiet but it was still strange. Haknyeon said goodbye to the two when they went into Lee residence.
Once they walked in the main door, Hwall bowed to Hyunjae and went off immediately. Hyunjae also absentmindedly waved him off and walked away to his chamber. He stopped by the pond and stared at the moonlight refelction in it for a while. There's no way the world was that small, right? But the way Hyungseo drew the portrait just seemed familiar and reminded him of that little boy he saw 10 years ago. Oh, he forgot to ask Sunwoo about the handkerchief, too.
"Have you thought about it?" Hyunjae didn't look at Sangyeon as he came to stand beside him.
"Aren't you too impatient?" He put his hands behind him.
"It's better to get it done quickly. The faster you accept, the faster we can start the operation."
"....."
"Juyeon said he'll do it if you accept too. So, think about it well and fast." Sangyeon made to leave when,
"I'll give you an answer."
"....."
"After three days. I'll have my answer ready after three days."
Hyunjae continued to stare at the pond. Sangyeon nodded and walked away.
"Come on! You can do it!" Younghoon kept on cheering Youngjae who was trying his best. Youngjae squeezed his eyes shut and exerted all his energy. He tried and tried and....... yelled.
"Ahhhhh I hate this." He dropped bottoms down and sulked. Younghoon and Joonyoung looked at him pitifully.
"It's ok. It takes time to be able to fully transform." He patted Youngjae's shoulders, giving him a warm smile.
"But, I thought I was good at learning....why can't I learn the one important thing essential for a gumiho but know all those petty tricks." He huffed. He was mad at himself and the two older foxes noticed.
"Youngjae, nobody is good at everything. It may take time but you'll get the hang of it." Joonyoung said. Chanhee and Changmin got back from picking berries at that moment.
It had been a couple of nights after they last went down to the capital. It was good for them not to have a lot of exposure with humans. Joonyoung decided the interactions they had the past few days were enough. He didn't want to risk knowing more about them or any more humans.
"Changmin, I'm gonna run tonight, wanna come?" Younghoon said as he helped Changmin with the berry basket. Changmin shook his head.
"Nah, I don't wanna go again after today's berry picking. And also, I just ran, like, a day ago." Younghoon frowned then turned to Chanhee. Chanhee thought for a while and nodded.
"Sure, it's been weeks since I ran." Younghoon nodded excitedly.
"I wanna run with you guys too....." Youngjae slumped down his head and pouted.
"He still hasn't succeeded yet?" Changmin asked Younghoon quietly. Younghoon shook his head.
Gumihos are, of course, nine-tailed foxes. But it takes time for them to be able to completely transform into their fox counterpart. After the gumiho is successful at that, he or she can transform into any living being they wish. Their power can continue to improve as long as they consume human liver. But Joonyoung, Chanhee, Changmin, Youngjae, and Younghoon only consume human liver a few times a year when Joonyoung goes by the morgue to collect them.
Youngjae, though Joonyoung feeds him most of the liver, somehow couldn't fully transform yet. But then, it would be a lot faster in another way. That is to make a human fall in love with the gumiho and consume his heart. It was said that if a gumiho has the heart of the one who truly loves him, then that gumiho can become the most powerful spirit.
But Chanhee thinks that's cruel for both the human and gumiho. The five of them had silently agreed not to take that path and just try on their own. So far, Joonyoung and Chanhee had succeeded. Changmin and Younghoon could change into their fox counterpart but haven't succeeded in transforming into other beings yet. But they don't think it's really necessary.
As the others gathered by the bonfire Joonyoung had started, Chanhee waited for Younghoon to go run that night. They had the habit of running around the mountain at night in their fox forms. It was to exercise their power and also a good way to release their inner desire to be free, free from having to hide away.
"Ready if you are." Said Younghoon as he walked up to Chanhee. Chanhee nodded.
A spark of pink glowed around Chanhee as he concentrated on using his energy to transform. Younghoon also emitted a pale white glow.
"I still think your fox looks a lot cuter than the actual you." Youngjae commented as he watched the pink fox.
The fox, Chanhee, gave him a glare and left, 'accidentally' hitting his tail in Youngjae's face. Youngjae sputtered from the fox fur stuck in his mouth and nose.
"So.........tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Why did you suddenly arrange this 'training trip'?" Sunwoo said as he galloped slowly along the mountain road with Hyunjae beside him.
"What do you mean? We always go on training trips."
"But we went on one last month. It's not until like a week later that we decided on the next one."
"I just want to spend time with my favorite dongsaeng, is that so hard to understand?" Hyunjae said in a fake hurt voice. Sunwoo glanced at him suspiciously. He just knew something was up.
"I might have to go somewhere." Hyunjae said, avoiding eye contact with Sunwoo and keeping his eyes on the road.
"Where? How long?"
"I don't know."
Sunwoo halted his horse. Hyunjae rode a bit more and stopped ahead of Sunwoo.
"What do you mean by that?" Sunwoo asked. He wouldn't be worried normally but Hyunjae's whole posture and mood was making him anxious.
"Did your Father finally snap and do something?"
"It's not Father. It's unrelated to him. I just have this thing going on that I need to be a part of."
"What is it?"
"I can't disclose the details to you. But I thought you would want to know if I disappeared suddenly." Hyunjae turned around and smiled at Sunwoo who was frowning.
"You aren't doing anything dangerous, are you?" Sunwoo felt even more anxious when Hyunjae smiled at him and shook his head.
"Don't worry too much. You know me. I'm not going to do anything that costs my life." He said then started galloping at a slow pace. Sunwoo followed behind closely.
"I worry because I know you, hyung. Just stay safe, please." He said quietly.
Hyunjae didn't reply. Either he didn't hear because Sunwoo's voice was too low or he simply pretended not to. The moonlight shone down on them and crickets could be heard. Other than that, it was a peaceful silence, one that could only be heard in nature.
"Let's rest by the stream a bit. We did fight quite a lot today." Hyunjae said as he reared his horse right to the stream. Sunwoo followed.
These 'training' trips were something Hyunjae arranged for them monthly. They went somewhere secluded and practiced sword skills, bow skills, martial arts and everything. Sunwoo enjoyed these times. He felt thrilled slashing his sword around and moving freely.
The two sat by the stream, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Then they heard a rustle behind them. Hyunjae didn't think anything of it. They were near the mountain so there ought to be wild animals nearby. Sunwoo, however, was scared.
"Ummm, hyung? I think we should move on now." Hyunjae frowned. They had just decided to spend the night here.
"Why?" He whined.
"It's just that.."
"You're scared, aren't you?"
"What? No! of course, I'm no- Wahhh!!!" Sunwoo screamed mid-sentence as something came rolling down the slope behind them. Sunwoo and Hyunjae immediately backed off but peeked at the 'thing'.
"It's...it's a fox?" Hyunjae started speaking as he crept closer to it. Sunwoo grabbed Hyunjae's sleeves but he shook it off, "It's bleeding."
"What?"
"Sunwoo, get the towel from my bag." Sunwoo nodded and rummaged through Hyunjae's bag. He found the brown towel and threw it to Hyunjae. Hyunjae took it and dabbed it on the fox's shoulder. The fox let out a little whimper.
"I didn't know there were white foxes." Hyunjae said. He waited for a reply from Sunwoo and looked back when it took long, "Sunwoo?"
"Have you seen pink foxes as well?"
"Huh? Are you crazy?" Hyunjae lifted the fox a bit into his lap and continued to clean up the blood. It seemed it had badly scratched and cut itself.
"Then why am I seeing one?"
"Wha- oh." Hyunjae went speechless when he saw what Sunwoo was staring at.
An actual pink fox.
While the two were distracted by the bizarre sight, Hyunjae's arms carrying the fox felt heavier.
"I'm sorry....." Hyunjae looked down where the voice came from and his eyes widened in astonishment. He couldn't get out another word before Younghoon covered his eyes and Hyunjae passed out.
Sunwoo was bewildered by Hyunjae passing out that he didn't notice the pink fox coming towards him. He only knew when the fox knocked him down. He groaned at the force his head hit the ground. The fox put his front paws on Sunwoo's chest as Sunwoo looked into it's eyes. He gulped.
His eyes widened more as the fox transformed in front of his own eyes.
Chanhee was leaning his hands against Sunwoo's chest and peering into his eyes. Sunwoo felt as if he was being hypnotized by his blue eyes. Even at that time, he couldn't help but notice the nine tails fluttering around behind Chanhee. They were also pink with fur that looked velvety and Sunwoo wanted to try stroking it. Chanhee's hair was fluttering slightly in the breeze the night brought. It had such a beautiful pink shade that Sunwoo was sure Hyungseo would've envied.
Sunwoo couldn't get any words out as he stared at the view in front of him. He swore he could see a halo around him. Slowly, he recognized him.
Then, it registered in his head.
"Oh my, you are....a gumiho? But I thought they weren't real."
"You weren't supposed to see us." Chanhee dipped his head down in front of Sunwoo, leveling their gaze.
"Please don't eat me! I have a weak heart, you won't like it!"
"Ew! No! I'm not gonna eat a random person's heart."
With that, Chanhee blew a puff of smoke into Sunwoo's face.
At least, I can brag I met a pink fox in my afterlife, he thought as he lost consciousness, too.
A/N: Again, facts in this book are made up. So what I wrote about the gumiho changing and consuming and stuff are not actual facts but just made up to fit the the storyline. Same with Hwarang.
Hope you're enjoying the book!