Kyungtak stares at the man in front of him as the other does nothing but sit still in his wooden prison and stare right back at him with a faint smile on his lips.

„Tell me your true intention.“ He demands,drawing a soft sigh from Moosuk.

„I already told you my true intention.“ Moosuk replies.“I am here to protect this city from nearing danger.“

There it is again,that certain rush of anger shooting through Kyungtak's body as he tries hard to keep his composure in front of the intruder.“I can protect this city from danger very well even without you.I have my men to help me,you are not needed.“

„I might not be needed for other kind of dangers,but once this one arrives,you will want me to help you.I do not doubt your abilities nor your men's skills.But I am certain that you have never faced something like this before.“ Moosuk looks at the officer in earnest,his gaze so piercing that Kyungtak finds something deep within him react to it.”I'm not here to offend you or doubt you.All I want to do is help.I don't want the people of this city to go through the same as the beloved people in my hometown.”

Kyungtak looks at him questioningly.”What happened to them?”

“Many of them died,others fled and families were torn apart.”

Sadness is all Kyungtak can see in Moosuk's eyes and he had seen that kind of look often enough to be able to tell that no one could ever feign to feel such great amount of sorrow.

He remembers the dark days after his mother's passing during which he spent his time inside his room crying while cursing at himself for being so disgustingly weak and helpless.And during one night,Kyungtak caught a glimpse at his own reflection and saw the pain he felt in his heart displayed through his very own,reddened eyes.

He will never forget that look,nor the feeling accompanying it.

The guards' eyes are on him as if they can sense that he is struggling to remain unfazed.

“Tell me what the danger is.”

Moosuk's eyes widen in slight surprise once he notices the calmness in Kyungtak's voice.The strictness is still there,but by far not as evident as before.The officer is starting to trust him and that's what he needs right now,Kyungtak's trust.

“May I talk to you about it privately?”

The scepticism is immediately back in Kyungtak's dark orbs.”Why would there be the need for us to talk privately?”

“I'd rather give you the opportunity and time to hear about the situation first so you can decide how you are going to handle it before telling your men about it.”

There is no reason to find Moosuk's reasoning odd,for Kyungtak does prefer to come up with a tactic first before giving orders to his soldiers once expected danger is heading their way.

Silence surrounds them as the two men stare at each other before Kyungtak looks at the guards.

“Leave,do not come back in before I tell you to.”

The guards look at Kyungtak for confirmation before excusing themselves with a bow upon seeing him nod in response to their questioning gazes.They are not doubting Kyungtak's ability to handle everything himself,but it's odd for the officer to give in to a prisoner's wishes.

“Talk.” Kyungtak commands once the guards are outside,but Moosuk hesitates as he looks at the other prisoners.

“May I step closer?”

The officer takes a deep breath,his patience growing thinner with each passing second.”You may.”

Moosuk's lips curve up into a smile as he gets up to approach the officer and something about that sight has Kyungtak looking away almost coyly before he takes another deep breath and looks right back at the intruder.Only the wood of the prison is separating them by a few centimetres.

“The danger I am talking about is a creature which consumes blood of humans to survive and kills everyone it can feed on.It-”

Moosuk pauses when Kyungtak draws his sword,its point dangerous close to Moosuk's throat.

“How dare you to come here and cause such a ruckus,even lying to get my sympathy and make me listen to you just to feed me with such ridiculous lies?”

“I am not lying.” Moosuk retorts calmly,remaining on his position to continue looking straight into Kyungtak's eyes despite the blade threatening to cut into his skin.”Please believe me,I am not lying to you.What reason would I have to do so?”

“Absence of sanity.” Kyungtak replies.

Moosuk gulps carefully before parting his lips to speak.”You are a very observant man,so I'm asking you.From what you have seen of me,do you really think that I am lacking sanity?Look into my eyes and tell me whether you truly think that I am lying.Whose judgement can you trust more than your own?”

And Kyungtak does stare into Moosuk's eyes.

Several years of being a police officer have taught him judge people and trained his knowledge of the human nature.He learned to see through liars and the many masks of deception they put on.And he trusts no one's judgement more than his own.

He looks at every single spot on Moosuk's face and tries to find signs of betrayal in Moosuk's mimics,but he can't find anything.

And although what he said sounds just as ridiculous as what the other intruder – Dr. Jin – told him about himself coming from the future,Kyungtak feels that he is saying the truth just like he felt that Dr. Jin said the truth albeit not wanting to admit it because of his ill feelings towards the man he deems as a troublemaker.

Kyungtak puts his sword back into its rightful place and watches how relief washes over Moosuk's face.

“The creature killed too many people already.It came in the middle of the night and terrorized my hometown together with its underlings, blood and life out of everyone it could get a hold of.” Moosuk lowers his gaze.”It was not the first time that our town was under attack and it was certainly not the first time for me to fight against other beings than humans,but this creature is different.It's not a spirit but a living creature.”

Kyungtak stares at the other as if trying to figure out whether to believe him or not before voicing out the very first question coming to his mind.”You...face those things often?”

“Yes.” Moosuk pauses as if to contemplate how much he should tell the officer.”Fighting against spirits and other non human creatures belongs to my responsibilities as the town's night watchman.”

“Night watchman?”

“Yes.I patrol through the town during the night when most spirits are active and fight against them when they try to harm someone.Not every spirit is bad,some are simply there because they cannot let go of someone or try to protect them from evil spirits...like the spirit watching over you.”

Kyungtak's eyes widen momentarily upon hearing those words and he barely suppresses the urge to look around and search for any sign of a spirit near him as he stares at Moosuk in shock,the other once again looking at him.

“A very beautiful woman with kind eyes and an even kinder smile.And judging by how similar the two of you look I assume her to be your...mother.”

'He could've been lurking around in the city for a while now without me knowing about it,questioning different people about my family so he can pretend to be able to see my mother's spirit now.Everyone here knows that my mother passed away years ago.I can't believe him so easily,not in this matter.' Kyungtak tries to convince himself,unable to trust the other fully despite his earlier judgement about him.

“You don't believe me.” Moosuk smiles.”She tells me to ask you about the small scar you have on your left inner thigh,a mark left by a dog's teeth when you were five.”

The officer finds himself rendered speechless as he listens to the other's words,memories of the mentioned happening and its scar occupying Kyungtak's mind.

It happened years ago on a sunny day on which the annual festival of their city took place and everyone was enjoying themselves on the market place.

Almost everyone.

Kyungtak and his mother stayed at home,having no right to show themselves next to Minister Kim as his concubine and son respectively on such great festivities where everyone else was present.Kyungtak's mother did not mind,but she knew that Kyungtak did and although his friends Yonghwi and Young Rae have promised him to buy something nice and give it to him once they were back from the festival,Kyungtak could not help but feel left out.

He wandered around in search for something to play with and his curiousity ended up driving him towards the neighbor's dog which did not waste any time and stormed towards him to bite into his small thigh as it deemed Kyungtak as a dangerous intruder.

The young boy had been lucky to have a mother who bothered to follow him and chased the dog away before worse could happen to Kyungtak.She carried him to the doctor – knowing that he most certainly stayed behind in his house like usual – as fast as her feet could carry her,suppressing her tears until Kyungtak was taken care of.

No one beside Yonghwi and Young Rae ever bothered to ask him why he had been walking strangely for a while after the incident and Kyungtak never bothered trying to explain anything to anyone,not even to his own father.

He is sure hat the only people who know about his scar and are still alive – Yonghwi and Young Rae – would never tell strangers anything about him.

So which other option does he have beside believing the stranger that it was his mother who told him about the scar?

No matter how much he wants to distrust him,Kyungtak has to admit that all logic is on Moosuk's side.

Deep inside,he knows that Moosuk is saying the truth,but his pride and lack of trust or the ability to show that he does trust someone beside himself prevent him from admitting that he believes in the almost inimaginary things Moosuk is telling him.He does not know what to say nor what to feel as he turns around and walks out despite hearing Moosuk calling out for him.

“Go back in.” He commands once the guards turn around to face him before he gets onto his horse and heads home,the cool wind of the night making his heart race as he remembers Moosuk's words.

His heart is heavy with sorrow as he rides through the night and remembers the precious time he had with his beloved mother,the heartbreak upon losing her haunting him once again.A stranger shouldn't be able to do something like this to his heart,but he does.

And it hurts.To be reminded of his mother's absence hurts.

The cry of a woman pulls him out of his reverie and although his heart is still aching,Kyungtak forces himself to will the feeling of emptiness away as he looks around and searches for the source of the cry he heard not long ago.

When he hears another cry,Kyungtak immediately signals for his horse to move towards the source of the earsplitting sound.He tries to stay as focused as it's possible for him at the moment as he gets closer to the agonizing cries of pain.But when he arrives at what he assumes to be the source of the noises,Kyungtak finds himself forcing his horse to halt in shock upon seeing a creature rising itself off the ground and higher into the nightsky before it flies away,its grey wings moving fast as it flees.

Never in his life has he seen something like this before.

Overcome with a strong force of panic,Kyungtak immediately forces his loyal companion to move again,only to make it halt once he sees the pale woman – corpse,his mind corrects – lying on the ground.He gulps,fearing to discover something he doesn't want to if he shall get closer.But he knows that his duties demand for him to go and see what is wrong with her although he doubts that it's necessary for him to see her upclose to know how her condition is.

After getting off from his horse,Kyungtak approaches the body on the ground,his breath hitching when he sees just how pale she is,the only color he can find on her are the two dark marks on her exposed neck.

'The creature killed too many people already.It came in the middle of the night and terrorized my hometown together with its underlings, blood and life out of everyone it could get a hold of.'

Kyungtak repeats Moosuk's words in his mind,realization about how near the danger Moosuk told him about is to him and the people of this city slowly dawning on him.

Rushing back to his horse,Kyungtak gets on its back before riding back towards the prison where the guards and soldiers are looking at him in wonder upon discovering his return.

“Get the stranger out.” Kyungtak barks as he stares at one of the guards,satisfied to see the young lad hurrying inside to do as told.

“Officer Kim-”

“It's alright,I'll take care of him myself.” The officer cuts the guard off before he could ask the question Kyungtak knows is inside everyone's head at the moment.

Why would Kyungtak demand a prisoner's release so suddenly?

But they barely have time to think about it when Moosuk walks out with the young guard who was told to get him right behind the stranger.Kyungtak frowns when he spots the smile on Moosuk's lips.Releasing him is like admitting defeat to him,Kyungtak knows.But he has a crime to solve and the stranger is the only clue he has at the moment.

“You will come with me.”

Moosuk nods and approaches Kyungtak once the other beckons for him to step closer,soon getting on the officer's horse with Kyungtak's help.He can feel Kyungtak tensing up once his hands are on the officer's hips,the reaction bringing a questioning look as well as a smile of amusement on Moosuk's face.

“Loosen your grip.” Kyungtak orders through gritted teeth and only then does Moosuk notice just how hard he is gripping on the other.

“My apologies.”

Kyungtak doesn't answer,only leading his horse into riding away from the prison and back to the house where he spotted the lifeless body of the woman earlier.His eyes are not always on the path lying in front of him,automatically searching the sky for the strange creature he spotted not long ago.

Moosuk notices the subtle movements of Kyungtak's head,his gaze darkening.”You saw it,didn't you?That's why you went back to get me out of there.”

“I don't know what I saw.” The officer admits,feeling the wind hitting his face as he motions for his horse to go faster,the stranger's grip on him tightening.

It doesn't take long for them to arrive at their destination and Kyungtak is rather relieved to see that her body is still there as if to prove him that he did not imagine the things he saw just a few minutes ago.On the way back here,the officer started to doubt his own sanity and his eyes' honesty.

Moosuk is the first one to get off the horse before Kyungtak follows him,the two men immediately approaching the lifeless body lying in front of them.Kyungtak is about to tell Moosuk to have a look at the mark on her neck,but he doesn't even have the chance to speak before Moosuk brushes her hair aside and discovers the bite mark himself,as if he knows exactly where to search.

“It's here.” Moosuk speaks before letting out a sigh,soon looking up to meet Kyungtak's eyes.

“We have enough men to fight it.”

“Having many fighters is not enough.” Moosuk stands up,now approaching Kyungtak once more and making the officer realize just how much taller he is.”They also need to know how to fight the danger awaiting them.”

“My men do know how to fight.”

The taller man nods,letting out a small laughter which has Kyungtak glaring at him.”Of course they know.And I'm sure that they are more than strong enough to win battles against humans.But the opponents they will go against this time around are no humans,they are dark creatures of the night.”

And once again,the intruder manages to make Kyungtak's heart burn with rage.He feels insulted.He is the one to train his men himself and they lose to no one when it comes to fighting skills,that's what they are known for.But this man in front of him is once again implying that he is better than them.

“I told you before.I am not doubting your skills nor your men's.I just want to say that they are going to go against a new kind of danger and will need to get ready for it the most suitable way.” Moosuk explains once he sees the look the officer is giving him.”And I am willing to help them and you.”

Kyungtak hesitates,his gaze then wandering to where the corpse is lying.The woman used to have life in her,but now nothing but her body is left.Her eyes are clouded by emptiness and the lips which used to be red would never let words through again.

He doesn't want to give in.But he has to if he doesn't want more people to lose their lives like her.

He doesn't know to which extent he can trust in Moosuk's skills or his ability to show him and his soldiers how to win against the creature he saw today,but he will need to give the stranger a chance to prove himself.

He has nothing to lose.

“What will you need to...prepare us for the battle?” Kyungtak asks,hating how delighted Moosuk is upon hearing the question.

“Just you and your weapons.” Moosuk replies.”And your trust.”

Kyungtak looks at Moosuk scrutinizingly.”You will have to earn the third one.”

“I'll work hard then.”

Kyungtak would've expected to find the trails of mockery on the other's face,but he doesn't.Moosuk's words are ones of sincerity and Kyungtak almost feels guilty for always seeming to assume the worst of the stranger.But he just can't help it.His full trust will not be gained after only one evening.He doesn't know Moosuk well enough and he prefers to be careful around strangers.It's better than giving someone a chance to abuse his trust.

The officer approaches the woman on the ground before closing her eyes.He then looks at Moosuk.

“We will go and tell someone to take her away first.After that we can retreat for the night.”

Moosuk nods in agreement.

Kyungtak sighs as he stares at the ceiling,thinking about today's happenings with a heavy heart.Too many things happened.Things which bother him to no end.No matter how many times he tells himself to just let go of bothersome thoughts for now,nothing can put him at ease.Especially because the stranger is sleeping in his house today and he feels uneasy to close his eyes with possible danger so close to him.

He then remembers the empty eyes of the woman who lost her life today.He had seen many people die,but he would never be able to get used to it or the sight of lifeless bodies so close to him.

Kyungtak saw his mother like that.

It almost seemed like she was sleeping back then,but when Kyungtak saw how pale she was and how the liveliness disappeared form her beautiful orbs...he knew that she wasn't sleeping.No one cried over her death except him and he had been angry at the world for not feeling one ounce of sadness over having lost such a precious person.

And the anger is still engraved inside his heart.

He would never be able to forgive his father for treating her like a nuisance.Just like he treated him like one back then.

'Do not cry,you weakling.' Kyungtak orders himself,trying his best to not let go of tears he has been holding back for so many years.

Hearing the sounds of cloth rustling coming from inside Kyungtak's room,Moosuk would love to go in and put his mind more at ease,sensing what could be troubling the officer's mind at the moment.But to do as he wants to would only make things worse at the moment.

“He used to be such a bright child.”

Moosuk turns around to face the ghost of Kyungtak's mother,his lips curving up into a smile.

“But anger made him like this.Anger over his father.Anger over the world which wronged him for way too many times.” She looks at the night watchman sadly,forcing herself to smile.”Please take care of him for me,would you do that?”

He nods,not daring to speak because he fears Kyungtak to hear him if he does.

She continues to smile,disappearing slowly.For now.

He knows that she is going to return,simply because she is not able to find peace just yet.

Deciding to get some rest,Moosuk slowly closes his eyes and listens to Kyungtak's movements until the officer finally drifts off to sleep,pulling Moosuk into the peaceful lands of dreams with him.

Murmurs can be heard as Kyungtak approaches his soldiers with Moosuk right behind him,the stranger now not really a stranger to them anymore after news of Kyungtak demanding for the man to be released spread like a wildfire.But all sounds die down the moment Kyungtak gets off his horse,soon followed by Moosuk.

“Good morning,Officer Kim!” The soldiers cry out in unison,having lined up to greet their leader and Moosuk can see Kyungtak's second in command staring at him.

Kyungtak nods in recognition.”I hope that all of you are in a good shape today because neither me or the man behind me are going to go easy on you or let you slack off.His name is Kang Moosuk and he is going to help me getting you ready for something that is beyond any of our imagination.New danger is nearing and we need to be prepared for it to protect our city and our people.Are you ready for it?”

“Yes,Sir!” Comes the reply despite the general cluelessness about what exactly the officer is talking about is clearly written on the soldiers' faces.

But they don't need to know more than what their leader is telling them.Their duties include the protection of the town and to do as their leader tells them to in order to keep danger away from their beloved city.

They don't trust the stranger,but they trust Kyungtak and that's more than enough of a reason to follow the stranger as well.

The second officer is eager to talk to Kyungtak about it and clarify things,Moosuk can see it in the way he opens and closes his mouth from time to time without actually saying anything,hands clenching into fists as Kyungtak introduces Moosuk.

“You.” Kyungtak looks straight at one of the younger soldiers.”Go and get his horse and belongings.”

“Yes,Sir!” The soldier salutes before running away to do as told.

“The rest of you can go and practice the art of sword combat until your comrade is back.”

“Yes,Sir!”

Kyungtak approaches Moosuk who is smiling at him.

“They seem confused.” Moosuk notes.”But they still do everything you tell them to.Even your second in command.”

“It's not on them to question my orders no matter how little they know of the reasons behind those.” Kyungtak replies,earning himself a nod of understanding from Moosuk in return.”And Jihyuk knows where he stands.Even with you here he is still my second in command.I will inform him at a given time.”

There is great pride in Kyungtak's eyes and although Moosuk sees a hint of arrogance in those orbs,he decides that he prefers this look over the broken one he saw yesterday when he spoke about the officer's mother.He knows that look all too well.The look of a lonely boy who misses his mother.

Moosuk sees the way Kyungtak is watching over the soldiers with care,the strictness he shows towards them only there to help leading them in unity.Kyungtak is a good leader,Moosuk can tell just by the way he talks to them.Strict but respectful.

Soon enough,the sound of a horse approaching can be heard and the soldier who was sent away not long ago is back with Moosuk's horse and his belongings.He gets off the majestic animal before leading it towards its owner,giving everything that was taken from Moosuk back to the intruder.

“Thank you.” Moosuk says,causing the soldier to bow briefly before he excuses himself to find a partner to practice with.

Moosuk smiles as he carresses the horse standing in front of him.”He was taken care of well.”

“Why would it be taken care of any different?Its owner is the problem,not the horse itself.” Kyungtak mutters before walking towards the soldiers,leaving a grinning Moosuk behind.

Kyungtak's tongue is indeed sharp,cutting at all the right places with every word he speaks.But Moosuk doesn't mind.Because behind that fierce attitude,there seems to be a good heart.Kyungtak can cut him with his words as often as he wants to.Moosuk is willing to endure it for the sake of peace between them.And Kyungtak's fierceness is actually quite...refreshing.

“Night Watchman Kang.”

Moosuk is pulled out of the reverie by the voice talking to him,the name Kyungtak is calling him by sounding rather foreign to him after having been called either 'Moosuk' or 'Officer Kang' for so long.He immediately takes his sword before walking towards the officer.

“Yes.”

“They are ready.” The officer replies before gesturing towards the soldiers who are now warmed up and more than ready for whatever Moosuk and Kyungtak have planned for them,determination shimmering in their eyes.

Moosuk looks towards Kyungtak who only raises his eyebrows back at him as if to ask him why he is staring at him.But Moosuk doesn't reply,only stepping closer until he is standing right next to Kyungtak with only a few centimeters of distance between them.

“I want all of you to go and collect stones,they need to be as big as your fists.Get as many as you can find and bring them back here.Take your time.They will be very important for the practice today.”

It's a strange order and none of the soldiers wants to believe that they will really have to do something that ridiculous,their eyes immediately on their leader as if wanting to as him whether Moosuk is being serious with his words.

Kyungtak nods their way.

“Yes,Sir!” Comes the collective reply before they storm away to collect the stones like Moosuk wants them to,their leader's nod of approval making them act in a hurry.

“Stones?” Kyungtak asks once the soldiers are gone.”Why are you telling such great fighters to collect stones like fools?”

“Why did you let them?” Moosuk asks back.”It's because you know that I have a good reason for it,isn't it?Please have a little more patience.I will reveal everything soon.”

Kyungtak doesn't reply.

Not that he has the chance to.

Jihyuk is approaching them.”Officer Kim,could I have a word with you?Alone?”

Kyungtak nods in agreement before leading Jihyuk away from Moosuk to talk with him.

“Why is the stranger here to train the soldiers?” Jihyuk asks,trying hard to not raise his voice against the first officer despite the slight anger he is feeling.”Why are you trusting him so much?”

He knows Kyungtak long enough.The officer is no one to trust strangers easily and it irks him to see how the trust he had to work so hard for throughout the years is easily being given to a stranger the officer arrested yesterday.He had been there when Kang Moosuk was put into prison and he saw the glares Kyungtak threw his way.

But then Kyungtak suddenly released the stranger and now even went as far as to give him the right to order the soldiers under his and Kyungtak's commmand around.

He can't help but feel slightly betrayed.

“I will explain everything to you in detail after the training.” Kyungtak replies.”But for now I need you to have faith in my decisions just like you always had in the past.I thought you know better than to question me and the things I do.”

“It's not you I'm questioning,it's him.” Jihyuk retorts with a mild hiss,but the piercing stare he receives from Kyungtak in return silences him in an instant.

Kyungtak does not like to be questioned,much less by his own men and Jihyuk knows that he is going too far.

“Put some trust in him for now.”

Jihyuk truthfully doesn't think that he will be able to do that after only one order from Kyungtak.He can't bring himself to like Moosuk just yet and he doubts that things are going to change in the near future.But if Kyungtak asks for his trust,then he will trust the officer.

“I will try.” Jihyuk replies.”I will go and see how the soldiers are doing.”

Kyungtak nods in response before he watches Jihyuk walking away,letting out a soft sigh when he sees who is approaching them the moment his second in command is gone.

Young Rae is walking towards them with a rather troubled Yonghwi next to her and the look of determination she has makes Kyungtak shake his head softly.He knows that look all too well and he is starting to lose his patience in dealing with her.He still adores her,but his friendly feelings towards her are never able to prevent him from feeling bothered in her presence.

“Officer Kim.” Young Rae smiles.”What a nice coincidence that I get to meet you here.”

Yonghwi shakes his head in the background.

Kyungtak smiles despite his inner yearning not to.”I wouldn't call it a coincidence.I practice with my soldiers at this place every single morning and everyone knows it.Everyone including you,dear Young Rae.”

The girl's smile falters a little upon noticing the harshness of his stare directed at her.Yonghwi gets a hold of his arm to pull her away,but she refuses to follow him or give in to the mild force he uses on her.

“I would like to invite you to enjoy a meal with me and my brother this evening,would you give us that honor?”

Kyungtak knows that if he shall agree,he will end up sitting at one table with no one else but Young Rae this evening.Yonghwi will not be there despite currently being used by Young Rae to deceive Kyungtak into believing that it is going to be nothing more but a friendly dinner together.

One look at his friend who is busy shaking his head only confirms his suspicions.

“I apologize.I have to decline your kind offer.” Kyungtak says.”I will be busy the whole day long and will barely have time to enjoy a meal with you.”

It's very clear that Young Rae is disappointed and Kyungtak does feel sorry for her to a certain extent.But he doesn't want to give her hopes and encourage her behavior by giving in.

It's not only about him but also about her reputation.That a woman is acting this bold to get a man's attention is being frowned upon by everyone and Young Rae is more than lucky that Kyungtak is not one of the men who would immediately tell everyone about her advances and ruin the reputation of not only Young Rae but the rest of her family as well.

He doesn't want her or his dear friend to get into trouble thanks to her doings.

And her brother as well as his past feelings for her are the reasons why he is still trying his hardest to be gentle with her despite rejecting her firmly every time.He honors her brother as a friend and he honors her and the feelings he used to have for her a long time ago.Kyungtak doesn't want to taint any with bitterness.

“I see...” Young Rae lowers her head.”Then I will leave you to your duties now.”

He nods and watches how she walks away,past her brother who remains standing in front of Kyungtak and Moosuk no matter how much the distance between him and his sister grows.

“Don't you want to accompany her back?”

“She can manage the way to our home just fine.” Yonghwi replies with a smile.”You seem so stressed because of her,I apologize on her behalf,my friend.”

Kyungtak shakes his head.“Don't feel troubled because of that.”

Yonghwi nods before his eyes are on Moosuk who has been watching everything in silence.”And who are you,my friend?”

“My name is Kang Moosuk.” The fighter introduces himself with a slight bow.”I am a guest in your city.”

“I see.” Yonghwi drawls.”It's surprising that Kyungtak didn't arrest you already.He has the tendency to arrest every single stranger coming into our city.

Kyungtak glares at Moosuk once he sees the grin of amusement on the other's lips.

“He did arrest me but then showed mercy and released me.”

“Oh?” Yonghwi laughs softly before leaning in to pat his friend's back.”It's the second time you released a prisoner.I knew that your heart is more beautiful than you make people think.”

“I released Dr. Jin because he is of no real danger and your sister seems to trust him.I have trust in her judgement.”

Yonghwi nods.“And what about our new friend here?”

Kyungtak follows Yonghwi's gaze and stares at the night watchman who is keeping quiet throughout the discussion despite the discussion being about him.“He could be quite useful in the future.Who knows.”

Moosuk doesn't mind to be viewed as someone who could turn out to be handy to Kyungtak in the future.He is here to offer a helping hand to the officer after all and as long as Kyungtak allows for him to help,he is fine with whatever Kyungtak thinks of him.He just wants the people from this village to remain safe.

One life has been taken already.And Moosuk is not willing to let the dreadful creatures of the night kill more people.

“I see.” Yonghwi smiles.”Well I will leave you alone now,I might have to go and have a talk with my sister.”

Kyungtak and Moosuk nod in return,watching how Yonghwi turns around to walk back into the city where his sister is most probably thinking of another way to be alone with Kyungtak and make the engagement she yearns to have with him possible.

“She seems very fond of you.”

“It's none of your business.” The officer retorts with a frown.

Moosuk sighs before nodding in agreement.”True.I apologize for talking about things I shouldn't be talking about.”

The other man does not reply and Moosuk looks at him apologetically.He should've known better than to get too personal with Kyungtak,especially now that they still don't know each other well enough to discuss about such matters.

“Here are the stones!” Comes the sudden announcement from behind them and when they turn around,the soldiers can be seen carrying many stones in their arms as they rush towards them.”What do you want us to do with them,Sir?”

“Just place them over here for now.” Moosuk replies before gesturing towards a spot to his right,watching how the soldiers do as they were told after answering with a clear 'Yes,Sir!'.

Everyone then goes back into their usual line up as they wait for Moosuk,Kyungtak or Jihyuk to give them another order.

“You all know how to use your guns,am I right?”

“Yes,Sir!”

“And you practiced shooting before,am I right?”

“Yes,Sir!”

“Good.” Moosuk says.”But this time around,I don't want you to shoot just anything.I want you to shoot the stones.You will form pairs.One partner remains here while the other partner of each pair walks over there with some stones.”

Moosuk gestures towards the tree standing about 30 meters away from them.”Group one,the one which will stay here,will form a line and face the direction I pointed at just now.Group two will stand across from their respective partners facing them and throw one stone into the air as high as possible on my command to throw before stepping back a little because I will command for group one to shoot the stones.”

The instructions are odd and highly foreign to the soldiers and they can't help but exchange a glance of confusion before following Moosuk's words.Jihyuk doesn't say anything,but Moosuk knows that he is yearning to protest.What he is about to do is highly questionable to people who don't know the reasons behind everything.

But Kyungtak knows and he is gifting Moosuk with a look of understanding.

He saw the creature disappearing into the nightsky yesterday and it would be of a great advantage for his men to know how to bring that kind of creature down.It's not everyday that they have to shoot at something flying around the sky which is moving faster than their horses do.

“Would the two of you like to join?” Moosuk asks,avoiding Jihyuk's piercing glare.

“Sure.” Kyungtak agrees before looking at his second in command.”Get some stones and go over there.”

“Yes...” Jihyuk answers with a bow before he gets some stones and jogs away with them in his arms.

Moosuk is glad that Kyungtak is not protesting.He is sure that Kyungtak doesn't like it one bit to receive orders from someone else,much less a mere stranger who does not have a special rank or any title other than the one as the night watchman to impress him with.

Kyungtak's rank is higher than his and that he is willing to do as told by Moosuk is such a great deed that Moosuk cannot help but view the officer as a man of honor.He knows that Kyungtak is doing all of this for the sake of his people and that he is willing to push aside his pride for them tells Moosuk a lot about the other.

'What a great man.' Moosuk thinks with a smile.

“You can retreat for today.” Kyungtak tells the soldiers who are more than exhausted,having gone through several close combat and shooting practices today that makes their bodies are hurt.

It has been a long time since they had to train this hard and they would've never expected anyone's training methods to be worse then their leader's.

Crying out a loud 'Yes,Sir!',the soldiers walk away with whimpers and groans escaping from in between their lips.

Only Kyungtak,Moosuk and Jihyuk remain.

Moosuk doesn't say anything,only walking away to put some distance between him and the two officers as he pretends to train the art of sword combat by himself,moving as if fighting against an invisible opponent.

“May I ask for the explanation you promised me earlier?” Jihyuk inquires.

“You may.” Kyungtak says,taking a short glance at Moosuk after he speaks.”A woman died yesterday,I assume you have heard of her death.”

Jihyuk nods.”The doctor still didn't manage to define the cause of her death.Why are you asking?”

“Because I saw the one who killed her.” Kyungtak takes a deep breath,not really knowing how to tell Jihyuk everything without sounding like someone who had lost his mind.”And he is none of the kind of murderer we've faced before.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know exactly what it was,but it was not a human being and Night Watchman Kang is the only one who faced something like that before.I'm not asking you to believe everything I'm saying or what he is saying.But I'm asking you to have trust in me.I know how absurd it sounds,but I saw it.Whatever it is...I saw it.”

Jihyuk is doubting and struggling to believe Kyungtak and the officer can't really blame him for it.He would be doubting his own words too if he was Jihyuk.And even now after he saw the creature by himself everything still sounds so ridiculous and unbelievable to him.

Jihyuk looks up and wants to answer him when they can hear Moosuk hissing at someone.

“Show yourself!”

The night watchman is facing the woods and make Jihyuk as well as Kyungtak feel uneasy.

“Show yourself or I will drag you out!”

Kyungtak runs to where Moosuk is.”A ghost?”

“No,humans.” Moosuk replies before storming towards a big tree not far away,Kyungtak and Jihyuk following him suit.

The fighter holds his sword up and is about to use it on whoever is behind the tree when he can hear the sound of a child's cries filling the night along with the plead of a man for mercy.

Moosuk halts and lowers his sword,soon taking in the sight of a man hugging a crying boy in his arms while trying to comfort him by swaying him back and forth.But the child does not stop to cry,not until Kyungtak crouches down next to the man and places his right hand onto the boy's chest.

“Put your heart at ease,little one.No one will harm you.”

Moosuk looks at the officer and feels his heart tremble once he sees the smile on Kyungtak's face.That smile is so gentle and warm that he would've doubted it to belong to Kyungtak if he didn't know better.

'A man full of surprises.'

----

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