[CHAPTER X]

Dyed Red

Taekwoon kept pestering Ravi for few days straight trying to come up with a plan to divert his father’s attention and steal the Moon.

“Ugh, you’re annoying for someone who doesn’t talk much,” Ravi grunted.

“Just hurry up with that spell or whatever you’re doing,” Taekwoon grumbled and shot a lasering glare at Ravi.

“Look, I’m trying my best here. Okay? Just go outside and play and stop distracting me already!”

“… You sure are demanding. Even though you’re only a Kim Wonshik.” Taekwoon mumbled as he made his way out the door.

“Ya!”

Apparently, Ravi has been using an alias for his name and by chance, Taekwoon found out. Since then, Taekwoon would bring up Ravi’s name whenever he wanted to annoy the man or to make him work faster. It worked and it irritated Ravi to no extent. Taekwoon’s patience had completely run out and have been doing everything he could to strengthen himself. Taekwoon has been learning how to use swords and daggers in case his power runs out like it did during his training sessions. He also learned a few spells from Ravi to protect himself as well. Everything he did was in order to successfully carry out their plans.

Ravi said that although Taekwoon’s father doesn’t leave the house a lot, he makes trips outside once in a while to attend council meetings with other higher ranked officials in the Underworld. This meant a good opportunity to steal the Moon while his father was away for a day. It was the only way they could trespass into the bathhouse without having to go in head-to-head battle with Taekwoon’s father.

*   *   *   *   *   *

A week before Taekwoon and Ravi decided to commence their plan, Taekwoon went down to the secret base to meet up with Hakyeon. In case something goes wrong during the plan, this would be the last time in which Taekwoon may ever see Hakyeon again. The very thought of it happening made Taekwoon very anxious. He has been working so hard during his training and on top of that, he kept worrying about Hakyeon’s situation as well.

“To think we get to talk to one another so quickly! It’s so rare now. But I’m happy. Hehe.” Hakyeon giggled like a child. It seems like he was in an extra good mood that day.

Hakyeon continued talking about his day and how the bakery seems to be doing better recently because of the extra help he got. Although Taekwoon didn’t like the idea of it, he was slightly relieved that Hakyeon was back to normal.

“So, um… what’s your ideal type?” Hakyeon suddenly asked Taekwoon.

“Huh?”

“Just wondering.”

“I don’t know,’ Taekwoon replied even though he wanted to say ‘Cha Hakyeon’ out loud.

Hakyeon was all that Taekwoon wasn’t but he was attracted to that personality and cheerfulness Hakyeon had. Even though he has never met Hakyeon, Taekwoon was set on the fact that Hakyeon was his ideal and possibly the only one he would ever fall in love with.

The one who always gave me strength, the one who climbed the rough road with me, was you.

The one who always comforted my cold, frozen heart; my dark rough self with warm words, was you.

I can’t be with anyone but you.

“I see… so about that marriage, I told you about before…” Hakyeon said as he started playing around with the pebbles around him and circling his finger on the ground that Taekwoon could hear.

“I decided to go with it.”

What?! Taekwoon shot up from his spot.

“I’ve been talking with her more since she’s been coming to help out with the shop and she’s really the best anyone could ask for. My family loves her a lot and she’s amazing. She even laughs at my jokes that no one ever does because they think it’s dumb. I don’t know but I feel like it won’t hurt to marry a girl like her after all and it helps my family too.”

Hakyeon kept on talking about how he’s become attracted to this girl’s innocence and gracefulness on top of being someone so perfect that no one else could compare. His way of talking about the girl was exactly how Taekwoon thought about Hakyeon. Taekwoon felt his heart starting to crumble into darkness and without being aware, tears began to stream. The tears blurred his visions yet his heart was hurting too much to notice it. Taekwoon could only cry in silence as Hakyeon continued talking about ‘her’. Hakyeon didn’t know that he was breaking his lifelong friend’s heart who was sitting on the other side of that door.

That night, Taekwoon couldn’t stop his tears from streaming down his face despite wiping it so much that his eyes were beginning to burn. He hid under the covers and even Hyuk’s comfort wasn’t enough. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to wake up from the pain he felt inside. If only his heart didn’t feel anything, if only it was frozen solid than he wouldn’t be suffering as much as he did now. Why did I have to realize these feelings? Why am I so powerless? Taekwoon continued to question himself as he passed out to sleep.

*   *   *   *   *   *

 “What happened to you? You’re not bugging me like usual.” Ravi asked.

Taekwoon didn’t reply. He was too exhausted and hurt to say anything.

Ravi shrugged and continued back to his work.

“Have you ever fell in love with anyone before?” Taekwoon finally said something.

“Why you ask?” Ravi bewildered by Taekwoon’s sudden questioning. “… I have.”

“Than, does it hurt? As much as it’s hurting me right now?” Taekwoon looked at Ravi with sadness in his eyes.

Ravi could tell something was wrong between Taekwoon and that Cha Hakyeon. He sighed.

“It did. It hurt so much to the point that I almost gave up on everything and myself.”

“How did you get through it then?”

Ravi remained silent and looked down. His own memories came back torturing him as well.

“I didn’t. That’s why I’m slightly relieved that I got caught and exiled down here to the Underworld. The one I loved back in the Heavens betrayed me and tore me apart. The only way I could distract myself from the heartache was through all of this… witchcraft and experiments.” Ravi looked dejected as he sighed at his surroundings.

Taekwoon finally understands why Ravi didn’t seem to trust anyone at first despite having such a warm personality. It was because he was betrayed by the person he gave his everything to. Seeing how Ravi was so depressed after remembering his past, Taekwoon decided not to pester him for more details.

The two were sitting there together, quiet and thinking about their broken hearts.

*   *   *   *   *   *

One night, as Taekwoon was finally asleep without having to cry himself to bed, he had a dream. A nightmare to be exact. He wandered through the endless black corridors as his arms reached out to hold on to something. He kept racing forward through the corridor and saw the back of a silhouette. A person was walking away from Taekwoon without looking back. Taekwoon wanted to scream and shout for the person to wait but his voice wouldn’t come out. No matter how much he ran and how far he tried to reach his hands to grab onto the person, the distance between them only felt further and further. When Taekwoon finally woke up from this nightmare, the tears that stopped for a few days, came back to him again. The image that he saw in his dream haunted him.

He knew that that dream wasn’t ordinary and it was definitely a bad omen. It was as if it reflected on Taekwoon’s situation that he desperately wanted to forget but couldn’t.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Then the evening came and the three of them decided it was the perfect opportunity to make their move while Taekwoon’s father was away for a meeting. As Taekwoon dismissed the housekeepers and lying to them that they had a night off, the three was able to search the bathhouse as thorough as possible.

The bathhouse was bigger than what they had imagined as they trespassed through the entrance. High columns surrounded the entire room with glistening marble tiled floors. The ceiling was so high that it was almost frightening. At the very center of the ceiling was an opening that allowed the night sky to peek through. Usually, that would be where the moon shined through but that evening, the clouds were thicker than usual to the point where no light could reach.

“Let's hurry and look for it. Hyuk, keep a lookout at the entrance just in case okay?” Ravi asked.

Hyuk nodded and stood by the entrance while Ravi and Taekwoon began their search.

The room was massive and much more luxurious than any other place in the mansion. Taekwoon and Ravi searched as thoroughly as they could but couldn't find what they came to look for.

“Where could it be?” Ravi muttered.

“Do you think it's inside the waters?” Taekwoon suggested.

“Could be. Wait here while I dive inside to see.“

Taekwoon continued scanning every corner he could while waiting for Ravi to finish his search. The water wasn’t deep but it was too hot and foggy to see anything from above. Moments later, Ravi emerged from the hot bath waters.

“Anything?”

Ravi shook his head. Could it be they guessed wrong? Could this not be where his father hid the Moon?

‘Think there could be anywhere else in this mansion that your dad might have hidden it?’

Taekwoon doesn't know. This was the only plausible area he could think of but they didn't find it. Just then, a shimmer hit Taekwoon’s eyes. It came from the falling bath water inside of the gargoyle’s mouth. Taekwoon swam through the waters and peeked inside to see what was blinding him. Just as he reached the inside of the mouth, the door from behind them slammed open.

What they feared the most happened. They were caught.

It was Taekwoon’s father.

The moment he saw the three of them inside the bathhouse, he was furious.

“Who the hell are you?!” He glared at Ravi. An unknown face trespassing his sacred place.

Alarmed, Ravi moved back with Taekwoon immediately. Along with Hyuk, the three were on their guard ready for anything.

“Explain yourself Jung Taekwoon!” His father drew his blade from his side.

Taekwoon didn’t say anything. He knew it would be useless to explain or even try to make up a lie for his actions. There was only one outcome now that they have come to this. He looked at Ravi and Hyuk, signaling the two to get ready to fight. It was the only other option in their plan that if they were to get caught, they would have to kill his father. There was no other choice.

Taekwoon made the first move as the other two spread out to surround his father. Taekwoon drew out his sword as well and ran up against his father. Their two swords clashed with one another and in that moment, Taekwoon could feel why his father was the Ruler of the Underworld. From just a single clash, there was fear and power as their blades crossed. Just as his father was about to overpower Taekwoon with his strength, Ravi threw a fireball at him. Hyuk ran towards the elder master to protect Taekwoon as well.

The three fought the Ruler, side by side while trying to defend themselves and one another. Although it was three against one, they were still being overwhelmed by Taekwoon’s father. He was too strong and they were beginning to feel the exhaustion.

Taekwoon’s father used their exhaustion to his advantage and knocked Hyuk out of the way, causing the hound’s body to slam against the wall. Ravi who got worried about Hyuk for a second got hit by a powerful magic right afterward. Taekwoon’s legs were giving out and his powers were at their limit. He drew every ounce of strength he had left to try and defend himself but it was hopeless. They were too weak.

“You disappoint me time after time. You are just like your mother, foolish. I have given you many chances to prove yourself worthy of my successor and this is what I get in return?!”

Taekwoon had no strength left to fight as he kneeled down on the floor, panting for air. His father walked towards Taekwoon, lifting his blade in the air, ready to make the finishing move.

Taekwoon shut his eyes, ready to be killed.

“This is the end. You can only blame yourself for your weakness and ignorance.”

His father swung the blade and just as it was about to slice across Taekwoon’s neck, a fire flew at his father.

“Dammit! Move you, idiot! Don’t you dare give up now!” Ravi defended Taekwoon with every breath and power he could find. “If you die here, what about Cha Hakyeon?!”

That’s right. Hakyeon was waiting for him. They made plans to meet again during the next full moon. If he dies here, he won’t be able to hear that cheerful and gentle voice ever again.

He can’t give up.

Taekwoon lifted himself off the ground and grabbed the sword that was lying next to him. He channeled every remaining power that he could find within him. He has to fight. He has to win for any chances to see his light again.

Taekwoon’s father was also about to get back up but before he could do so, Ravi cast a binding spell of chains to pin him at his spot. Hyuk also got back him and saw the chance to attack the elder master. The two of them bounded Taekwoon’s father’s movement and Taekwoon saw an opportunity to strike. He held his sword and threw it straight at his father, piercing right through his heart from the distance.

“To think, I would be defeated by you of all people,” Taekwoon’s father said while he struggled to stand up. “You really are my son after all, merciless, but don’t think that this is over. You are still too weak to take my place. They will be watching your every move…”

And his body fell into the waters. Just as his father’s corpse submerged deep into the waters, the sky began to clear up. The light of the moon shined through the ceiling onto where the body had sunk; as if it was weeping at the death of the powerful Ruler that watched over the dead in the Underworld for many centuries. Its light was so bright that it blinded Taekwoon as he looked up. The light that cried for his father seemed to be a welcoming for him, the new Ruler.

Taekwoon stepped into the dyed red waters, ignoring his father’s body and dragged his feet across to the gargoyle’s mouth. Using every last bit of his strength to reach inside it. He felt something attached at the other end and removed it.

It was the Moon.

“So? You found it?” Ravi asked.

“Yeah.” Taekwoon barely able to reply.

As he turned around to show it to Ravi, his vision began to blur and his conscious disappeared.

“Ya! JUNG TAEKWOON!”