--

16

--

Seungho had a very long talk with you about listening to him and obeying his orders. He admitted that it was lucky you were there to completely disintegrate an entire army of skeletons, but your energy levels dropped so low that you almost died. He conveniently left out the part where Myungsoo gave you enough of his energy to revive you, frowning mentally when he knew you were probably feeling very attached to him at the moment with his energy coursing through you.

He sighed when your thoughts started to wander and sat back in his chair, wondering what exactly Myungsoo was going to do when he had to leave for training. Seungho wasn’t going to be the one to tell you, that was for sure.

“... Are you listening to me?” Seungho asked, raising an eyebrow at you, even though he clearly knew you weren’t paying attention to him at all. You didn’t answer him for a moment.

“Oh. Yeah. I’m listening. I’m really sorry. I panicked, and it was the first thing that came to my mind.”

“You know, most people run away from battle when they panic, not run into battle.”

You smiled at him sheepishly before shrugging your shoulders.

--

The regular training room still hadn’t been fixed, so you dove deeper into the castle to the knights’ training area and found everyone working harder than usual. There was minimal conversation, and the silence was so loud, you felt uncomfortable.

Byunghee was watching over everyone like a hawk and appeared by your side with a grim expression on his face.

“Everyone seems so serious today,” you said, your eyes settling on Myungsoo. He knew you were there, he could feel your eyes on him, but he refused to look. Instead, he concentrated harder on his attacks, getting yelled at by Soohyun when he missed his mark.

“Myungsoo, I know you’re tired, but what if you needed that shot to survive? You have to make every attack count, because you don’t know which one could be your last.” Myungsoo wiped some sweat away from his forehead and furrowed his eyebrows, getting back into his stance quickly to continue.

“I don’t think this kind of training would be beneficial to you just yet,” Byunghee said, pushing you gently out of the training room. “And I don’t want anyone getting distracted, so shoo for now.”

--

With Seungho busy, the only thing you had left to do was visit the town. Joon and the other demons were helping rebuild whatever had been destroyed, under the direction of Sunggyu and Dongwoo.

By the time you went out there, the demons were gathered in a group, laughing and rough housing with each other while Sunggyu and Dongwoo were sitting on a bench, talking and laughing together.

The town looked just like it did before, like an entire army of undead didn’t come rushing through it. There was no smell, there were no dead parts anywhere. Everything was normal again.

Everyone greeted you as you approached, and you bowed, smiling politely. You didn’t really know what to do with yourself now. You could wander the castle, the town, the forest outside. But beyond that, you’d never seen much more of the land of the dead, and you were definitely afraid to go by yourself.

You made your way to your usual eatery and sat down with a slightly glum look on your face. The cooks seemed to notice your down mood and made your favorite, and lots of it. You sat there and stared at it for a second until you could smell it, then you couldn’t stop the smile on your face as you picked up your eating utensils to eat.

--

Woohyun searched the castle for you. He knocked on your bedroom door a few times before opening it and sticking his head in, noting that the room was empty.

“If you’re looking for the Arch Mage, last I saw, she was eating in town,” Sunggyu said as he passed by Woohyun with a small smile on his face. Woohyun blinked a few times before closing your door and hurrying towards the town.

He opted out of the hardcore training the knights in training were going through. He would probably benefit from it, but there were only a few weeks left until the end of the month, and he had his work cut out for him on winning you over.

Woohyun tired to talk to Myungsoo about him giving you energy instead, so Myungsoo could save his for training. Not to mention, the more energy he fed to you, the more attached you got to him, and the shorter his lifespan got, but Myungsoo refused to listen to Woohyun telling him that it was part of his plan to secure your future with Woohyun.

“Not if you don’t live all the way through your training. How are you planning to extend your own life? I don’t suppose you have any vampires lined up for you, do you?” Woohyun asked Myungsoo sarcastically.

“What other warlocks depend on.”

Woohyun frowned. He’d met plenty of warlocks before in his short life, and the ones that lived the longest called the way they lived for so long their biggest weakness, their crutch.

“An eternity stone, huh? I hear it’s probably the most painful thing to fuse to your body. Depends on where, too. The best place is over the heart, but that’s where it hurts the most.”

Myungsoo scoffed and looked down at the stone walkway of the castle. “I’ll probably deserve that pain once this is all over.”

“You’ve already talked to Seungho about getting one?”

“Yeah. He’s getting it made and sending over to the knight’s training den. After I leave here and arrive there, it’ll be the first thing I have to take care of.”

Woohyun shook his head from his thoughts as he entered the eatery. You were finishing up your food and sat back with a satisfied sigh as the cooks cleared away your plate. “That’s better. We like seeing you smile.” You laughed and thanked them before rolling over onto your side in the chair, eyes catching Woohyun’s.

“Oh. Woohyun.” You sat up and furrowed your eyebrows slightly in confusion. “I thought you’d be training with the other knights in training.”

“I’m not a knight in training, so they kicked me out,” he said with a grin, making you smile a little bit wider. “Care to join me for a walk?”

--

You and Woohyun walked for a little bit, taking the usual path down to the forest clearing. You sat down in the soft grass and stared up at the night sky. The full moon was going to be back in a few weeks, and you were excited to spent time with Myungsoo that night.

Woohyun sat down next to you and noted the fond smile on your face. He wondered if you would ever love him the way you loved Myungsoo. It wasn’t fair. His face went slightly dark as he sighed and turned away from you.

All he wanted was for you to love him, too. Was that too much to ask for? He knew you cared about him, at least, and that was a start.

“Piece of gold for your thoughts?” Woohyun asked, staring down at the ground. Your eyes moved from the moon to Woohyun, and you smiled at him slightly.

“Nothing in particular. I’m just feeling... like I’m floating? Like yesterday didn’t really happen, and it was all a bad dream or something.” Woohyun nodded until your eyes went sad. “You almost died yesterday because of me...”

“I was careless. It won’t happen again,” he said quietly, turning his head to catch your eyes. But your eyes were far away by now, probably replaying the events of what happened yesterday in your mind. You were always the type to brood.

“Hey, I said not to worry about it. You’re worrying about it,” Woohyun said, reaching out to cup your face with his hands. You immediately focused on him and felt your heart skip a beat from the way he was looking at you. But for some reason, you could only think of Myungsoo at that moment and pulled away from him, rubbing your arms.

Woohyun blinked a few times, his hands still hovering in the hair where your face was for a moment before he lowered them. He didn’t know what Myungsoo’s plan was, but Woohyun felt like he was never going to be able to reach you.

--

Two weeks passed, and you hardly got to see or speak to Myungsoo. He came by during the day sometimes and fell asleep on top of your covers next to you, saying only a good morning before rolling off your bed and going back to training.

You tried to go by and visit him, but Byunghee always made you leave within a few minutes. After that, you went to the town to eat, wandered around the marketplace. You heard from the other merchants that Mir was coming back soon with a new stock of items to sell from around the land of the dead.

Seungho called you into the library to study every now and then to keep your mind off of things, and kept conversation with you to see how you were doing. He frowned a little bit when you told him the battle with the High Priest seemed like a distant dream to you.

Woohyun spent as much time with you as he could, telling you about the different places to visit around the land and his adventures. You got curious one day and asked him about what he did, what his job was.

“My job? I guess I don’t really have one. After... After Gyuri died, she left her entire fortune to me. I asked if Seungho wanted it, because rightfully, it should really belong to him, but he only asked me for her portrait, the one he hangs in his study.”

“The one he covered up?” you asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Yeah, that one. Don’t ask me why it’s covered, I don’t know.” There was some silence in between you as Woohyun disappeared in the library and came back shortly with a large folded up canvas.

“What’s that?” you asked, eyeing the canvas. Woohyun unfolded it, shoving books out of the way as it covered the entire table.

“A map of the land of the dead, so you can see how much there is out there that you haven’t seen. I’m strong, I can fight. I suppose I lack the finesse the knights have with their training, but I have an advantage with Gyuri’s blood. I’ve explored a lot of these places.”

You leaned over the table and followed the trail that Woohyun pointed out, listening as he told you stories about what he saw. He could tell you were listening, but your mind was on something else, and he had a good idea about what it was.

“I didn’t kill her on accident.” You blinked rapidly a few times and looked up at Woohyun. Woohyun was staring blankly at the map, and his face suddenly seemed to age years and years.

“Gyuri... You know by now that she was old, right?” You nodded. “She was really old. And one day, she decided it was time for her to leave the world and rest peacefully after living a long life.”

You pushed yourself up off of the table as Woohyun’s expression turned sad. “I think it was... it was a year after she picked me up off of the street, confused and not even really alive. She sat me down, and told me that it was her time to go, and that I needed to help her.”

You could see Woohyun’s chest rising and falling, even though he didn’t need to breathe. It was probably an unconscious habit.

“I asked her why Seungho couldn’t do it. I thought Seungho was in love with her, so he’d do anything she asked of him. Then she told me it was because he was in love with her that he wouldn’t do it. She told me she would’ve done it herself, but she didn’t want her blood to go to waste.” Woohyun held out his hands and stared at his forearms.

“Seungho found us when she was near death. I had her almost completely drained. He ripped me off of her. We fought. Scars on my back are from his energy sword. That took a few months to heal up. And Dongwoo came to preside over Gyuri’s will. We found out she left everything to me, and Seungho was in anguish for the longest time after she died. It’s only been about nine years, but to him, I’m sure it feels longer.” Woohyun closed his eyes and sighed.

His eyes snapped opened again when he felt your arms wrap around him. He blinked a few times in confusion as you hugged him, laying your head on his chest with your eyes closed. He brought his hands up and wrapped them around you, burying his face into your hair. 

This was the only comfort you could really provide for him, and Woohyun needed it. He definitely needed it.

--

After telling you about Gyuri, Woohyun seemed to be more comfortable to be around. He came around in the mornings to keep you company and took you shopping for things in the marketplace after you finished eating.

You spent your afternoons lazing with him in the hammock in the garden, but there was this feeling you had that made you feel like you were betraying Myungsoo.

--

On the night of the full moon, you waited for Myungsoo at the usual spot in the gardens. You heard footsteps coming in your direction and turned to see him coming towards you, smirk on his face.

“Hi, Myung-” You didn’t even get to finish your sentence before he wrapped his arms around you and kissed you passionately.

--

You were in a daze the next few days, thinking only of the time you spent with Myungsoo on the full moon.

Woohyun watched you sigh dreamily and frowned.

--

“What are you going to tell her? It’s not like we’re going off on vacation for a few weeks or something,” Sungyeol said as he and Myungsoo packed up their things. Their training was finished, and they would be leaving soon.

“I know what I’m doing.”

--

You stood across from Myungsoo in the garden. He looked a little bit different that night. His hands were in his pockets, and he was staring off into the distance. You approached him slowly, making his eyes move to you with a blank expression on his face.

“Hi. You wanted to see me?” you said with a smile on your face. Your smile faltered when Myungsoo didn’t return it. Instead, he stared down at the ground and breathed out a heavy sigh.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“I know. The knights said that all the knights in training finished their training, so you’d be leaving soon. But you’ll be back,” you said, smiling brightly at him.

Myungsoo stared at you with that unreadable expression on his face. “Do you know how long knight’s training is?”

“No. But I know you’ll be back by the end, and I’ll get to see you again.” You’d heard from the knights that they were leaving soon, so you prepared yourself for a few days for Myungsoo’s imminent leave.

“You might not,” Myungsoo said, making you confused.

“Why not? You are coming back, right?”

You watched as Myungsoo turned away from you. He looked up towards the sky for a moment before turning towards you, serious expression on his face.“I am. Training takes a hundred years, though. And last I checked, you aged like a human. Are you going to be alive to see me come back?”

You stared at him in a daze before he turned and left you alone in the garden with one thought on your mind.

What?

You walked in a daze all the way back to your room and flopped on your bed, hugging your pillow. You didn’t understand. A hundred years? He was going to be gone for a hundred years? But Myungsoo was a warlock, who aged the same as you and all the living. How was he going to survive a hundred years of training?

--

“Seungho, I don’t understand.”

“He’ll be gone. It’s his decision, I can’t really do anything about it.”

“But how is he going to live that long?”

“Eternity stones. Warlock creation made specifically for them. It’s like slapping an Achilles’ Heel on yourself, but it’s the only way they can extend their lives without bonding to a vampire.”

“Why can’t I get one too, then? Why do I have to get bonded to a vampire?”

“Because,” Seungho said, staring at your frazzled self, “your power would overload it, and you would die after it got destroyed.” Seungho watched as your expression went from anger, to sadness. It was like watching a kicked puppy get denied food, and it broke his heart to watch you get up and leave without another word.

--

You were still in your bed, tossing and turning when the ceremonial bells sounded. That meant the knights and the trainees were getting ready to leave. Joon stood in your doorway, unsure of what to do.

“I’ve laid out your clothes already. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the ceremony? I think it’s bad luck if you don’t. You should come. It’ll be the last time you can see him for a while.” Joon left, closing the door softly behind him.

You sighed heavily. You wanted to stop him from leaving, despite how selfish it seemed. You were nothing but grateful for the way everyone treated you in Rivedon, but you wanted to stop Myungsoo from leaving so bad.

--

Myungsoo glanced around the crowd, unsurprised that he didn’t see your face. Dongwoo and Sunggyu were in the crowd, and even Hoya and Sungjong came by to say goodbye. But you would show up eventually, he knew you would. He knew you too well, which was going to make it so much harder to forget you while he was gone.

He listened to Seungho give his speech, then hand it over to Byunghee, who gave his own speech before passing it over to Soohyun. Soohyun said something vaguely about how proud he was to take these trainees and turn them into men, and then Myungsoo spotted you peeking around the corner of the castle to the courtyard.

Your eyes looked so sad, and Myungsoo could feel his own heart twisting and squeezing.

Help me find the strength to say what I’m about to say next without giving in...

--

The trainees had a short period of time to say goodbye to everyone as the knights waited at the castle gates. Myungsoo bid goodbye to all of his friends, and they left him alone as you approached apprehensively.

You had a speech all lined up for him, but as soon as you met eyes with him and saw him carrying his things in a bag over his shoulder, you forgot everything you had to say.

“You have to forget me,” Myungsoo said. It seemed like the world around you disappeared, leaving a quiet space for you and Myungsoo to talk. When you didn’t say anything, Myungsoo continued. “These hundred years, I’m going to use to forget you. I’m going to forget I ever had feelings for you, and you should do the same. I won’t be the same person I was when I come back.”

“I’ll wait for you. I don’t want anyone else but you, Myungsoo. I can’t just forget about you like that!” you said, voice turning desperate. Myungsoo blinked a few times, and you could see his chest rising and falling as he breathed deeply.

“I can.” He held up his hand, and your eyes started to water as you saw that his finger was bare. He took the ring off. “Your duty should be to the people, and not me. Stop being selfish.

“You should forget about me. I’m going to forget about you. You weren’t that special to me, anyway. You can’t pretend you didn’t know that I don’t get attached to people easily. You thought those kisses meant something?”

You froze. Myungsoo could see the tears threatening to spill from your eyes, and he turned to head towards the gates. He was the last one there and walked out without a glance back towards you.

Woohyun could see you quivering and ran forward to catch you before your legs gave out on you as you sobbed in his arms.

Myungsoo could hear you crying on the other side of the gate and closed his eyes, clenching his fists. He knew that if he turned around and saw you in tears, then he would drop everything and run back to you, hold you in his arms, and tell you that everything was going to be fine, and that he wouldn’t leave, and he’d stay with you forever.

Sungyeol gave him a look of pity and grabbed his shoulder. “Are you okay, Myungsoo?”

Myungsoo sighed and pushed himself away from the gates and started walking. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Sungyeol caught a gleam in the moonlight around his neck. So, Myungsoo didn’t get rid of the ring after all, he thought, a small smile on his face.

Myungsoo was determined. He was going to spend a hundred years training until he was strong enough to protect you, and as long as he could do that, he didn’t care who you loved, as long as he was by your side.