Everyone else would groan when they wake up from a nightmare, but Howon is not ‘everyone else’. He does not groan. He just blinks.

Well, if it is the same nightmare you have been having since waking up from a near brush with death dated a week ago, you probably would not, too.

The 23-year-old man stares at the thickly thatched course straw that was made into a roof. He can feel his heart hammering hard under his chest, his backside is drenched as if he just ran a whole mile. He runs his free hand through his hair, eyes closed in desperation to get rid of the horrible images that dance around his mind.

“Nightmare, again?” He throws his gaze towards the half-opened door, where Myungsoo’s jet black hair peeking out. The younger is scanning the whole of Howon with his solemn eyes . He lets out a sigh. Myungsoo must had felt his distress from the nightmare and came in to check.

“Uh,” he grunts, not answering the obvious question. “Why are you here?” And yet asks a more obvious question. He rises into a sitting position, quite carefully to not bother his right arm that is in a cast. He hates it when the two best friends, Sungyeol and Myungsoo, fuss over him, taking care of his injuries when Howon himself is being careless over his own body. Sungyeol always complained afterwards when nobody even asked him to do so, and Howon makes it obvious that he does not like Myungsoo around after knowing the fact that the younger saved him from his supposedly damned death.

Call him an ungrateful bastard, but Howon hates the fact that he had managed to live on, when both of his parents had died in agony.

“Breakfast,” Myungsoo replies simply and leaves the room. As someone with a ‘feeling’ essence, he is fully aware of Howon’s dislikes towards him. He still treats the older the same though, as if Howon just woken up in a foreign country, half alive, half dead about seven days ago. Howon knows that his anger is uncalled for, but he needs to direct his hate to someone and Myungsoo’s nonchalance just happens to aggravate the foul emotion. Howon grunts again, because he has to fumble out of the bed all by himself to the dining room.

Sungyeol is already waiting, on the table full of dishes he has cooked. The lanky guy grins in pleasure upon seeing Howon entering the room.

“Hello there, Mr. Patient,” he waves, and Howon feels like slapping that grin off his face. Sungyeol the smooth surface of the dining table. “Do you notice something different?” Sungyeol then laid his head on the table, closing his eyes while making a lewd face as if trying to it. “Hmm? Hmmmmm?”

He is making fun of the incident where Howon accidentally blew up their dining table in the middle of their dinner, in which the poor table had burned to waste. Howon was blinded with rage by then, and his body chose that time to surprise them that he actually has magic. Sungyeol could not stop weeping over it because he had built the table from scratch (“I choose, cut and trim them by myself!” then he continued crying), until Myungsoo convinced him that he would make the planks so Sungyeol could build another table again.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed how your face has become uglier by days,” he barks in disdain. Sungyeol sits up straight and glares at him. Then he turns to complain to Myungsoo who has start gulping down the soup, before a calming sensation engulfed the whole room and Howon is forced to relax.

“Eat.” The youngest between the three of them looks undisturbed. Howon complies and proceeds to take a seat with much trouble. With his right hand in a cast, eating is twice the hardwork. That’s probably the reason why Sungyeol only cooks soupy dishes with the meat torn into pieces. The first day Howon woke up, Sungyeol actually cooked a chicken curry and Howon could not even touch the meat. Being a mind reader, the lamp-post probably had read his thought and proceeds to cook dishes that are easier to eat.

To live with a mind-reader and an emotion-reader (he can even control your emotions, ugh), Howon has never feels like smacking himself in the face for being a nothing-reader until now.

 

 

 

Apparently Howon could only start a fire when he is enraged, he learns. He is squatting down in front of the pile of dead leaves, left hand stretching out like a fool because nothing actually came out. He glanced at Myungsoo who is about ten feet away from him, feeding the horses and chickens without turning left and right. Good, at least the younger doesn't see this embarrassing side of him. He quickly stands up and proceeds to wash his hand at the river.

Let's sort this out. So he is currently alive, parents dead because of a secret that they should not know. He was almost killed, a stab wound on his chest that is still healing becomes a daily reminder how he nearly died but was saved because when he escaped, Howon actually ran far enough to cross the border and landed himself in another country. Mu country. The land of Magic, or so they called.

The very reason why his family had to die, because they found out that a banished Mu folk has illegally live in Han country and is planning a revolt using magics.

Being left to die alone, Myungsoo who 'coincidentally' live in the forest (because who the heck would live in a forest? Even Howon himself, as a Minister of Defense’s son, only goes to forest during hunting season), sensed his pain from far away and came to save him. Also 'coincidentally', he came from a family of healers and has enough knowledge to treat Howon's injuries.

The more Howon tries to justify Myungsoo's action, the more Howon hates him because he is of Mu, saves him with magics, also the fact that magic is the source of all of his pain.

He hates himself more knowing that he now has magic, even though he doesn't understand how that even happened. Howon closes his eyes tight. Since when did everything start to go wrong?

"Do you want to try fishing?" The familiar quiet voice pulls Howon back to Earth. He quickly spins around but loses his footing. He would fall if Myungsoo doesn't put his hand on Howon's back to balance him. "Careful."

Howon mumbles out few words of appreciation. This is more embarrassing than Myungsoo seeing him extending his hand towards the pile of dry leaves, trying to make a futile effort of making a fire.

"What did you say?"

"Do you want to try fishing?" he repeats. Howon scrunches his face in confusion. How, exactly? But then Myungsoo juts his lips out, pointing at Howon's hand. He looks down, and watches in mesmerisation as the water from the river flowing through his left hand, giving a cooling sensation.

"Apparently you're not just an essence, you're a magician. Instead of having one type of magical power, your magic has many branches. Seems like you can control water, too," he explains. That is the most sentence he ever heard from Myungsoo, but not like it matters. Myungsoo can be talkative when he is with Sungyeol, it's probably Howon who’s holding him back. Howon stares at his wet hand, and turns to Myungsoo.

"I don't know how to catch a fish, though," he admits. Being a minister's son, he is used to live in luxury. Today is the first time he actually hold a rake, though. Because Sungyeol has to go to the capital to grab few necessities, so he was asked to accompany Myungsoo today.

"You can use your magic to control their movements," Myungsoo explains. "Sungyeol uses a spear, but I don't think you can use a medium right now. But you can utilize your magic to your advantage." Howon nods his head, but that doesn't mean he understand.

"But I don't even know how to use magic. All these times, I use them unconsciously." Upon hearing that, Myungsoo pulls Howon into the river. Howon is glad that he already rolled the end of his pants, or else they would get wet. Myungsoo is quite an impulsive one, he notes in his mind.

"Point your palm there." Myungsoo directs his hand to the river, about ten metres from where they are standing. "Now, feel it. Can you feel the water?" Howon nods as he feels a flowing sensation inside him. "Build an energy there. Make a wave, bubbles, whatever kind of energy you can create. Then push that energy towards us."

"I thought your essence is feeling? How do you know how to use this kind of magic?" He asks, but still complies.

"I know a magician, someone with your kind of magic, really well." Myungsoo's tranquil orbs suddenly become uncomprehendable. Howon is curious, but he doesn't want to pry. Instead he focuses, and manages to pull the wave to them. Myungsoo jumps onto a big stone nearby, calmly observing Howon from on top of the stone. Howon is amused when he notices a lot of fishes are trapped between the waves.

"Choose your fishes. If you want to make it easier, change into a circling wave." Howon obeys. A sudden thought crosses his mind. To be honest, Myungsoo is not that bad. Maybe he does not dislike Myungsoo that much. "Now you can just grab them with your hand. Put them into this pail."

Howon delightfully catches the fishes in ease. This is the first time he does this kind of things, and he can feel his adrenaline rushes for succeeding at his first try. If only he knew fishing is this easy...

"If Sungyeol uses a spear, what do you use?" Howon asks out of curiosity. Myungsoo's lips make a grim line.

"I don't do fishing. Neither is slaughtering. Sungyeol takes care all of our protein intakes."

"Why?"

"They will be in pain." Howon pauses at that reply.

"So you leave the troubles to Sungyeol, because you don't want to feel their pain but once they're dead, you're all good?" Howon raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that you being a coward?"

Myungsoo gives a sneering look at him.

"Better than hating someone for saving his life, because despite telling himself that he wants to die, yet on the inside he thought otherwise."

 

 

 

"Are you two fighting or what?"

Howon groans, loudly. Why is a Lee Sungyeol born a busybody?

"Hey! I'm not a busybody! I'm kind enough not to read you guys' mind because I want to play fair, in case someone wants to talk. Sheesh, seems like my kindness is not appreciated." Sungyeol loves complaining, Howon takes a mental note. Since the first day he woke up in Mu, he can safely say that Sungyeol complains about more than one hundred different topics a day. He complains about the weather, about the squeaking bed, the creaking door, the leaking bucket at the well, the fruits that always fall on their shack's roof—

"Oh look! Ugh, it's going to rain. Why is it always cloudy everytime I'm out?"

And he complains about the weather, yet again.

Howon is out again today, being forced to accompany Sungyeol who is in charge of feeding the horses, because according to Sungyeol, "Myungsoo doesn't want to be home alone with you, so you have to follow me or else he will make me feel pain." It's a pain to be left alone with Myungsoo too, but being with Sungyeol also makes his ears hurt.

"Ugh, this hay is way too much for just ten horses. Is Myungsoo trying to kill me?" There he is. Howon rolls his eyes, shifting the bag of apple slightly in his hand. Carrying a bag using one hand is hard. Seems like Myungsoo plans his revenge very well. When they arrives at the humble stable, Howon poured the apples into a long, half-cylindrical container right in front of the horses. Thank God he watches Myungsoo yesterday, at least he knows what to do.

He glances at the lamp-post, who is clueless on where to put the hay.

"Is this the first time you doing this?" he questions, because Sungyeol looks like he doesn't even know what to do. "Put it here."

"Eoh," Sungyeol complies. "Myungsoo handles all the feedings all these times, so I could careless about them. He can sense their feeling, so whatever it is, taking care of them is his priority. Hey, what do we do with the chickens?"

Howon squats by the horses' food container, watching them eat the apples in diligence. "Think he feeds them corns. Can you see a big sack by the coop? That is it."

A few minutes later, Sungyeol comes to him.

"Yah, we're out of water. The drinking barrel for the chickens is empty."

"Then, what do you expect me to do?"

"Use your magic. I'm a mind-reader. I cannot wield water." He kind of makes sense. Howon agrees and stands up, walking towards the river but not near enough to directly be in touch with it. He wants to try bringing the water towards the barrel from a distance. It is a success.

"You learn so quick, eoh. Seems like water controlling is more of your essence rather than fire,” Sungyeol praises. “Come, we need to hurry home. It’s getting dark, I heard dead spirits will lurk around after dusk.”

Once they are home, dinner is all ready on the table.

"Uh." Sungyeol stops at the doorway. Howon who is struggling in carrying the bag of raw chicken doesn't notice that until he bumps into him and both of them are sprawled on the ground, Howon lies flat on the ground. Sungyeol doesn't take his eyes off the dining table despite all that. Howon looked upwards, his cast tangled between the mess of Sungyeol and chicken parts everywhere. There stood Myungsoo in Sungyeol's pink apron with a scowl plastered on his handsome face.

"Dinner's ready. Eat if you want to eat, leave if you don't." What does he mean with that? Both he and Sungyeol are starving, there's no way they're skipping dinner. Howon grunts and struggles to stand up because apparently Sungyeol is still in deep shock. He nudges the lamp-post with his feet.

"Myungsoo, you cooked?" Sungyeol manages to say once he is seated, his portion of rice is still smoking hot in front of him. The younger lets out a low grumble.

"Yes, I do. I cleaned the fish, then I cut it," Myungsoo pokes the center of his fish with a fork, with so much force. Howon jerks a little. "And I put it in a sizzling oil, fry it til it dries. I can do it, see? I can cut a fish.”

“Yes, I know you can handle cutting a dead fish. But Myungsoo,” Sungyeol sighs and hold the piece of fish that is too fried and crispy, staring at the poor dead animal. “You’re bad at cooking.”

Too late. Howon has already ate a mouthful, when that too salty sensation hits his tongue. He feels like throwing up. Myungsoo stabs into his rice.

“I don’t care. Finish all of this or I will toss you to the crocodiles.” Howon isn’t sure whether the ‘you’ includes him or not. Sungyeol hisses, contemplating his fate. He turns to Howon, talking in a hushed whisper.

“Psst, I’m gonna grab some fishes when he’s not looking. You go start a fire outside. We’re gonna have roasted fish, just between us two.” Howon feels like he should mention the fact that he still could not light a fire on his own, but the words never escape his mouth.

 

 

 

Howon watches as the cast is unbinded from his arm. Myungsoo sets out another smaller wooden cast in place, and that makes the older grimaces. He hates those kind of things. But at least now he can use his right hand a little.

Once Myungsoo is finished, he stands up and writes something on a small paper.

“You’re good to go, now. Sungyeol will keep you company during your stay in the capital. You just need to eat a lot of liver to compensate your bloodloss, but all in all, I believe your caretaker will take a better care of you compared to me,” he briefs, and hands out the small notes to Howon. Howon takes it with a raised eyebrow. “Give this to your caretaker. He’ll know what to do.”

Howon cannot decipher what to make of his relationship with Myungsoo. Sometimes they’re good, but sometimes Myungsoo can be as sensitive as young girl having menstruation. Howon mentally shivers remembering Myungsoo’s small tantrums two days ago. That fish was a disaster.

Sungyeol is already outside, mounting Howon’s and his belongings on the black horse Sungyeol always ride. A younger, fairer horse stands beside it, letting out harsh breaths and looking angry. Howon guesses that’s the horse he’s going to ride, so he reaches out to it. He has experience with horse, no matter what he was the son of the Han country’s Minister of Defense. But the young horse is starting to stand on it’s hind legs, making a rearing stance. Howon backs out a little, and another hand reaches towards his horse.

“Hush, Wendy,” Myungsoo comforts it softly. It’s a girl, Howon questions in silence. Myungsoo gently the fur at her withers. “It’s okay, young girl. You’re going to work from now on.”

Strange, the horse is the one that’s getting calmed down, but Howon feels like a swoosh of tranquility hits him.

“Myungsoo, you’re really not going to go with us?” Sungyeol asks as he ascends onto his horse. The younger shakes his head in return. “I doubt we will return anytime soon. I have a feeling that we will need to investigate this matter further, the townspeople are already start spreading things about stolen magics and dead souls.”

“It’s okay. Once the time has come, I will see you there.” Sungyeol grimaces at the reply, but then he reaches to pet his horse.

“Jeremy, bid your goodbye. You won’t be spoiled with luscious fruits until God knows when.” Howon snorts at the lamp-post’s choice of name, which receives a glare from Sungyeol. “Jeremy, when he’s not looking, you will kick his off Wendy, okay?”

“Send my regards to everyone.” Myungsoo waves as the two horses begins to move.

 

 

 

Mu country is much bigger than Han, Howon’s birth country. The security is lax because Howon does not see any guards patrolling along the way. A major difference to Han, because in the capital alone there are two different types of patrols, each one is comprises of over a hundred soldiers.

“That’s because we don’t have a security system,” Sungyeol answers despite he is not asked of questions. He must has read Howon’s thought without himself noticing it. Sometimes Sungyeol just happened to read, even though he tries hard not to, so that people can have their privacy. Howon glances at the lanky guy who is munching on his apples while his left hand holding the reins. “We depend solely on the priest, he is our everything. Our ruler, our protector. But people with barrier essence is more than welcomed, they’re like your said guard. They protect this country.”

Howon takes a look at the stalls along the street. Most of them are quite similar to Han’s. Food stalls, fruits, jewellery, appliances. But what stands out the most is the magical shop.

Palm-reading stands, Clairvoyance stands, Magical Apparatus shops, Magic stones, and the list goes on. Howon muses, so these kind of shops exist...

“Don’t trust the palm-reading and clairvoyance one,” Sungyeol interrupts. “Despite knowing that those kind of predicting magics never exist, the folks are so gullible that even I am embarrassed those kind of stalls can still stand til now.”

“Oh, so there are no such type of magic?”

“No way. Magics are created to ease our life. But it should not directly change the rule of life,” Sungyeol explains, still munching on his apples. “Fate, the past, the current and the future should never be touched. The most important is, the dead cannot be brought back. There are different types of essence out there, sometimes you can’t even imagine that it could exist. Teleportation, elemental control, levitation, mind-reading, emotion-reading, barriers, metamorphosis... Whatever they are, there can’t be magic that can see the future, or else it will be a taboo.”

“There are no way those magic will ever exist, huh?”

Sungyeol pauses.

“Actually there is. If the orb wants it to happen, then it can exist.”

“The orb?” Howon raises an eyebrow. Sungyeol nods.

“The Orb of Eternity. It’s the source of our magical power. See the tall tower there?” Sungyeol points out. Howon turns to look. It’s a tower about 40ft from the ground, the only tall building he can spot there. It’s very hard to miss such building. “It’s located at the very center of this country. Below it contains a reservoir, and below the reservoir is the Orb of Eternity, buried into stones twenty feet into the ground.”

Howon nods understandingly. This is new to him.

“The priest guards the reservoir, by creating a strong barrier around it. That’s why our priest is a magician. If he is simply an essence, he would not be strong enough to protect all of us.” Sungyeol munches on his apple again. Howon feels like smacking him down, because he still can’t use his right hand fully and his left hand is holding the reins. “Being a magician means to have both offense and defense magic. But the current priest is an essence of barrier. He can cast strong barrier enough to protect the orb and us, and it is amplified with another two essences of barrier.”

“I know one of the barrier essence personally. He is a fun guy, I’m sure you will like him almost instantly.” Sungyeol winks. “It’s a shame he’s just an essence. If he were to be a magician, I would like to keep a fun priest around for a hundred year. By the way, do you know that our priest is now 147 years old this year? He's an old man. Old, old man...”

Howon cannot resist. He reaches an apple in his own bag, and throws it at Sungyeol.

---

Yeah, the boys eat rice for breakfast.

If you're confused, magic only exists in Mu country. There are three types of people in Mu: normal citizen with no magic, essence who have one type of magic, and magician who can use different type of magics.

Essence, like how it suggests, is essential to every magic user. It's like the core of your magic. Even magician used to be essence, once.