Sharing the news of Gikwang’s destroyed home was hard for Doojoon. As the leader and the eldest he took the responsibility upon himself. Above all he had witnessed it first hand. It was his duty to bring the news to his friend and teammate. Silence had fallen for several minutes. No one dared to speak a word in their telepathic connection. The dead silence was almost scary. Every mind had numbed, awaiting Gikwang’s reaction that just didn’t come. They found out that Junhyung was with him, but even he was overwhelmed with the lack of reaction. Since Doojoon had announced that he had bad news, Gikwang hadn’t moved from his standing position beside the tree. Junhyung kept a close watch the whole time Doojoon spoke and after finishing. He hadn’t moved, spoken or expressed anything. The beast tamer was just mindlessly staring at the ground, into the distance. Only when Junhyung’s hand rested on his shoulder, Gikwang flinched and raised his head to meet Junhyung’s eyes. He was met with a sad smile.

“Doojoon-ah, we’re heading to the village.” Junhyung announced.

Gikwang stared at his friend for a while, with a questioning raised brow.

“Let’s go check it out and continue our search for Paro later. There are times when a mission can be interrupted for a little while.” Junhyung spoke, this time to Gikwang alone.

Hesitantly Gikwang nodded. “Yes, we’re on our way.” He let the whole group know.

“Baeri and I are on our way to the village as well. We’re quite close to it.” Hyunseung followed.

He was eyed by Baeri who seemed rather confused, but also elated with this decision.

“I know you want to be there for him.” he told Baeri alone with a small smile.

The girl smiled back gratefully. Gikwang was her best friend and being separated in such a situation wasn’t easy for her. He was going through one of the most difficult ordeals in his life. She couldn’t afford not to be by his side again. That one time it had happened, was one time too often. Allowing it to happen was out of the question. And so they packed what there was to pack and departured. Doojoon’s group had decided to meet up with Dongwoon and Chaima, who were both awful with directions. They left after their final preparations. They had buried the corpses and created a gravestone for the whole village. Mostly taking use of Doojoon’s abilities, but also Yoseob’s who cast a protection charm and prayer over the village. They had left one grave open, for Gikwang to close. It was their way of giving him an opportunity to say goodbye.

* * * * *

Gikwang and Junhyung arrived to the village first and walked in from a different place Doojoon and the others had found it. Although the straying wood, stones and other objects lying about were cleaned up, the destroyed buildings and their surroundings gave the village a somber atmosphere. A lonely one. Gikwang carefully inspected everything, all the destruction, all the losses. He recognised everything but was shocked at how it all had changed, how much everything was wrecked to the point that recognising it was difficult. In mind he reminisced memories of his childhood, but also the more recent ones in the village. Everywhere he passed, he could see himself with the villagers, the tribe. His family. The most painful memories were the ones where he watched everyone laugh with him, teach him things and the fights he had been in. A hurricane of emotions raged within him, almost numbing him from his judgement and consciousness. The only thing he wanted to do was grief. He held himself in though.

Once he arrived at his own house, Gikwang’s fists tightened with his nails digging into the already bruised flesh from the earlier clenches. This time he even pierced through the layer of protection, that was his skin. He was rendered completely speeches while staring at the bump in the ground in front of the place he was born. The sand seemed freshly moved and replaced there. He realised what it was, the grave of the passed tamers. Wordlessly he continued his walk towards the pile. It didn’t take him long to discover the grave that was left open by the others. His eyes fell on the boy, whose life according to Doojoon, was fed on by the Vex. The flowers in the boys hands were Hyejoon’s work, he guessed. She was the delicate one in the group and the men would have never come up with it. Gikwang took the shovel that they had left behind as well and threw the first batch of sand over the boy’s body. He kept shoveling and disregarded the world around him completely.

Gikwang even failed to notice that two others had joined him and Junhyung around the grave. Both Baeri and Hyunseung watched the beast tamer, just like Junhyung had been watching over him. While the healer’s eyes locked on the boy, that was slowly being covered with sand, Hyunseung and Junhyung briefly met eyes. When the grave was firmly covered and Gikwang hit the last pats with the back of his shovel, he finally pierced the tool into the ground. He never took his eyes off the spot where the boy’s face was supposed to be. Baeri was to his left, a few steps behind, gazing at the same spot. She couldn’t get the soft features of the boy that had yet to hit puberty out of her mind. It probably would be burned in her dreams as well, for the next few days to the least. Junhyung finally placed his hand on Gikwang’s shoulder, attracting his attention. With hollow eyes the latter turned his head to face the shape shifter. With a nod he released the shovel and followed Junhyung.  Hyunseung motioned for Baeri to tail the duo along with him and without questioning she did.

They walked through a street and from a short distance away, Gikwang percepted an unfamiliar construction in the village. It was half an orb, drilled into the ground, made of grey marble. The closer they got, the better he could see the details. It had an opening, big enough for a person to go through. From the opening he could see that the walls were at least half a metre thick and he estimated diameter of about 20 metres. Gikwang already realised what the construction was for and who created it. He wouldn’t be the leader if he couldn’t predict something like this now, would he? He would have probably laughed or scoffed if not for the inappropriate moment and the contradicting feelings inside. Without a word and without looking back to the three others, Gikwang stepped into the dome. Behind him the wall closed like a ripple in the water. Inside was an orb of light, illuminating the inside of the dome. Gikwang guessed that that was Hyunseung’s work. And that was the moment he could finally let himself go. He closed his eyes and laughed sorrowly. After inhaling a long and sharp breath, he released a cry.

From the outside Baeri visibly flinched at the sound of Gikwangs loud shriek. She could almost touch the agony, the sorrow and the anger that raged through him. It had reached her. It made her shiver to the bone. The elf wrapped her arms around herself, in an attempt to calm down. It failed. She couldn’t remove her eyes from the wall that closed right behind Gikwang. Her curiosity took over her mind, almost controlling her. It was soon shook apart upon hearing the loud sounds of crashes and collisions of things inside. She heard things break, fall, being thrown and smacked apart. Gikwang’s voice echoed as well. With every shout, every groan and every roar she could feel herself shattering and falling apart. She finally knew what he was doing inside that thing and it pained her. Letting his emotions explode like that was painful. She was almost sure of herself that he would hurt himself. She had to intervene. With that intention in mind, she turned around abruptly, facing Junhyung.

“Let me in!” She demanded.

Junhyung looked down at the shorter girl and calmly shook his head. “I can’t.”

Baeri’s eyes narrowed and she tried again, this time with a firmer voice. “I said, let me in there.”

“And I told you, that I can’t.” He repeated himself.

The shapeshifter was silenced by the elf’s grip on his collar. He peered down at her, waiting for whatever she had to say.

“Yong Junhyung, I swear to god, if you don’t let me in… I… I… “

“Save your breath.” He interrupted her. “I can’t. It’s Yoseob’s spell and Doojoon’s work. I don’t have any power to do so.”

That was enough for him to get released from the girl’s iron grip.

“And even if I did, it’s better for him to be on his own right now.” He added, followed by a sigh.

Baeri drew in a sharp breath. “Even if he hurts himself?!” She asked, her loud voice booming over the silent village and forest.

Junhyung could only look away from her eyes. “That’s how he dealt with it last time. We’re just helping him grief.”

“You mean, helping him destroy himself.”

With those words she turned to Hyunseung, who had been watching her closely ever since they arrived in the village.

“Hyunseung… let me in. He will hurt himself!” She almost begged.

Her anger piled up with Hyunseung’s apology to her. Her last resort were the others. She had to get in there somehow. The crashing noises from inside only confirmed her wish. The more seconds were ticking away, the greater the chance of Gikwang actually being physically hurt as well. She had no time to spare and slowly grew desperate.

“Yoseob… Doojoon… “ She called out to them in a shout. “Let me in there. Open it. Gikwang… you have no idea what he’s doing in there.”

“We can’t.” The bubble of anger finally burst, leaving only hollow desperation behind. “We can hear him, Baeri-ah. We can hear him all the way from here.”

“Please…” She tried again, falling to her hands and knees. “Please let me in. I have to see him. I have to stop him.” Her nails dug into the dirt beneath her hands and clenched to fists, leaving her fingermarks behind. “Please…”

“Yoseob, let her in. I can’t watch this anymore.” Junhyung finally said.

Even Baeri was surprised at this sudden change of heart. She raised herself onto her knees and looked back over her shoulder to Junhyung. He simply nodded to her accompanied by a single word. “Go.”

The elf didn’t hesitate, nor wait. She immediately shot to her feet dashing towards the marble tomb. She heard Yoseob’s faint whispers and saw the wall open once again to grant her entrance. She ran through without second thought and came to a halt soon after entering the construction. She stole a peek over her shoulder, only to see that the wall was firmly closed behind her. Staring back into the cave, she had to squint her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the lack of light inside. Hyunseung’s light was enough for her to see what was inside the cave, quite comparable to a lantern lit street at night.  The terrifying sound of a crash echoed through the cave. Baeri’s head whipped to the right seeking the source. Upon discovering the only thing that could be moving inside this tomb, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Baeri’s hands immediately moved to , blocking the scream that wanted to make its way out of her lungs.

She had gotten a glance at Gikwang’s eyes. They terrified her. The amount of uncontrollable rage she saw, made her bones clatter in fear. It wasn’t the gentle eyes of the Lee Gikwang she knew. These eyes were bright golden, filled with madness and lacking any trace of a conscious mind. The last worrying the healer most. She was unable to take her eyes off him as he moved from one place to another, while shouting, grunting and roaring as he violated any object he could sight. When he couldn’t Gikwang resorted into punching the wall, sending the sounds of sickening cracks to Baeri’s ears. His clothes were ripped and her friend reminded her of a bull taunted by a red flag, a demon that had lost his mind. The more she watched the scene, the more she wanted to scream. They were held back in a few muffled hiccups. Her joints were shaking uncontrollably and she felt like she could fall apart in a violent rain of sobs. Gathering her courage Baeri attempted a desperate call, hoping he would reach him.

“Stop it!” Baeri screamed from the top of her lungs. “Lee Gikwang, stop this madness at once!”

Her calls remained unheard and Gikwangs scream resonated through the tomb as he threw another punch at the wall. Baeri called again and again, but her words wouldn’t reach him. Clenching her fists, she ran to her friend and embraced him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. Gikwang shook and continued his rampage undisturbed. Baeri pressed her palms firmly against the beast tamer’s chest and abdomen and took a deep breath. She felt the tears, she had been holding in ever since Gikwang entered this thing, finally flowing down her cheeks as he slowly lost the feeling in his limbs. She felt his muscles loosen and tightened her grip around his waist, without an intention to let go. Finally taking notice of the girl on his back and realising what she was doing, Gikwang let out a desperate roar as his legs gave in and his arms wouldn’t move according to his wishes.

The healer allowed him to slump in her arms, never releasing her embrace as he fell to the ground. Even on the floor, Gikwang remained in her tight and protective hold. She was taken aback by the amount of injuries he had brought upon himself in a short amount of time. Several bones in his arms were broken, his left wrist fractured, there were sprained and sore muscles. In tears she started the process of healing every single injury. Baeri had no idea how much time had passed since she entered and how much time had been lost with Gikwang in her arms, finally calmed down, even though it was by force. The effects of the paralysis started to wear off and when Baeri felt Gikwang stir, she was afraid that he would start his rampage again. Contrary to her expectations, he wrapped his arms around her, cautiously at first, but eventually even tighter than her hold on him. Their position changed and Baeri found herself sitting in between the tamer’s legs, hugged from behind. She felt his chin rest on her head and his arms wrapped firmly around her torso. Strong enough to constrict her breathing and probably for bruises to form. But she didn’t mind. Not at all.

“I’m sorry,” he softly whispered. “Sorry you had to see that.”

After a short silence Baeri responded, in a louder voice although it remained a whisper. “You despicable fool. Don’t go destroying yourself like that.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Gikwang repeated, as he loosened his grip slightly.

“You better be.”

Another silence fell, this time a peaceful one. And this one didn’t last long, with Gikwang’s interruption.

“Baeri-ah.” He called out to her in a soft voice.

“Hmm?” She hummed in response.

“I decided.” He spoke again, confusing the girl in his arms with his vague words.

“No one knows what will happen from now on. There’s no guarantee I will be able to say this after everything is over.” he continued.

“What are you talking about?” Baeri questioned, growing more bewildered with every second passing.

“There’s no guarantee that I will make it… that I will live to see what happens after this mission. So…”

“Yah…” Baeri tried again.

“Just let me finish.” she was interrupted again. “Banolim-ah. We’re best friends right?”

“Yeah?” Baeri hesitantly responded.

“Well, what if I tell you, that I like you more than just friend?” He clarified. “That I love you.”

Baeri released himself from Gikwang’s grip and abruptly turned around, staring the boy dead in the eye. She was looking for any hint of it being a joke or him mocking her. The sincerity in his eyes however, pierced her like daggers.

“I wanted you to know.” He concluded, cupping the stunned girl’s cheeks in his hands.

He started closing the distance in between them, expecting Baeri to either slap him away or run. What happened though, was beyond his expectations. The words that rolled over the elf’s tongue and reached his ears initiated the closing of the space between them. The pressures of their lips against each other, started the kiss that ended this moment of grief with an unexpected turn of events, the beginning of them together.

“I love you too,” were the words Baeri had returned.