Some swear words coming atcha.

CHAPTER FIVE | The Bandit and His Demon

When Jeongin opened his eyes, he saw his feet dangling above the ground.

“Huh? Where am I?! Why can’t I move?”

He lifted his head and struggled to move his arms. Thick ropes were wrapped securely around him from his shoulders to his thighs, and one rope hung down from a tree branch so he was suspended in the air. The more he struggled, the more the ropes tightened and spun him in a circle.

“What is this?! Let me go!” He shouted.

“I would stop moving if I were you.” A male dressed in a brown tunic with a wide open collar and light armor plates that covered his upper and lower arms, stepped out from behind a tree and casually approached the young boy. He held a dagger in his right hand as he pointed at him.

“Those ropes will tighten the more you struggle, so I’d suggest you settle down unless you want the life squeezed out of you.” He informed him with a sly grin.

“Who the heck are you?!” Jeongin barked, feeling the ropes tighten like he said they would. “Are you planing on eating me?”

The man chuckled. “Eat you? Do you see my eyes? Do you see them glowing red? I’m no demon, kid. So I’ll have to pass on that.”

Jeongin inwardly sighed in relief.

“But! My associate up there, he’s a demon, and I’m sure he would find you quite tasty.” He told him, referring to the male in the tree who was sitting on a high-up branch. His big red eyes watched them in silence.

“That doesn’t answer my question though. Who are you?”

“How rude of me, your majesty, I should introduce myself.” He curtsied mockingly and flipped the dagger around in his fingers. “My name is Lee Minho. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“If you know who I am then why did you tie me up?!”

Minho causally strode over to a tree stump and sat down with his leg crossed over the other. He shrugged, “I guess you could say I’m a businessman, and you just so happen to be my business.”

“Business? What kind of businessman ties someone up like this? Especially a king!”

Jeongin struggled again and felt the ropes tighten once more.

“One who deals with lives.”

“With lives? Then you’re….”

“An assassin? You can call me that. Bandit, assassin, I do a lot for a living.”

Jeongin made a sudden realization. “So it was you back at the bar? And you that shot the arrow at me?”

“That is correct!” Minho clapped. “My partner and I tracked you down two days ago. It wasn’t hard, but we weren’t expecting you to have such a strong demon already at your side. Luckily, Jisung was able to send him off on a wild goose-chase while we kidnapped you. Fooling him was a lot easier than I had anticipated.”

Jeongin peered around in search of Hyunjin. But as he said, the demon was nowhere to be found.

“And I must say, For the ruler of a kingdom that is so against demons, you were pretty quick to make a contract, weren’t Yah?”

“I didn’t make a contract with anyone!”

“Oh really? Then what kind of demon voluntarily protects a human without some strings being attached?”

Jeongin went silent.

Minho nodded, “There is no point in lying to me kid. It’s easy to become desperate in this world.”

“I’m not lying!” Though he couldn’t bring himself to tell him the whole truth about the matter, what little pride he had left was urging him to defend himself.

“He’s not lying,” Jisung interjected.

Minho looked up to his partner, “what do you mean he’s not lying?”

“He has no chain like you and I do,” he stated, while running his hand along the invisible chain that connected himself to Minho by the contract they had created.

When a demon and a human make a contract, they become bound together by a chain that is unseen to both the human and any other beings. But unlike most demons, Jisung was gifted with the ability to see these chains as well as the auras that other demons, and sometimes elves, possess.

While it is normal for a demon to see its own chain, it is rare to have the vision to see the chains of others.

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s just in a weird place?” Minho suggested, skeptically.

“No. I promise you, there isn’t one.” Jisung claimed firmly.

Jeongin struggled a bit, feeling uncomfortable with the roughness of the ropes, “I told you! I’ve never made a contract with a demon! Now let me go!”

“Interesting…” Minho hummed, and turned to face Jeongin again, “Give me one good reason why I should set you free?”

Jeongin thought of excuses in a rush. “B–because I’m a king! You’ll be punished if you harm me!”

Minho laughed. “Hate to break it to you kid, but kings mean nothing to me but a sweet cash reward. Besides, your kingdom thinks your dead. Nobodies going to know or care what happens to you at this point.”

“Then—then! Uh… I’m only a boy! You seriously wouldn’t kill a child, would you?!”

Minho laughed even more hysterically. “Sorry, but I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.” He lodged his dagger into the tree stump and clapped his hands. “The only value you have left is the one on your head.”

“Value? I’m plenty valuable! I can…. I can…” he trailed off, unsure what his next words would be.

“I’m listening.” Minho cupped his ear with his hand to hear him better.

Jeongin was silent. His expression went bleak.

“Are you done? Was that all you had?” Minho tsked. “That’s a shame.”

He retrieved his dagger and marched over to the dangling boy.

“I have to admit. I feel a little sorry for you kid. Just a little.” He made a tiny space between his thumb and index finger as a visual.

“To be hated by your entire kingdom? Now no one is even looking for your body because they don’t want to know what happened to you. Your people are just happy you’re gone.”

Jeongin’s face darkened further. “Be quiet.” He muttered.

“Didn’t you hear how they celebrated your death back at the bar?” Minho pointed his dagger at Jeongin’s face. “They loathed you.”

“Shut up!” Jeongin raised his voice threateningly.

Minho grinned, “How did a boy like you become the king? Your father was the greatest king this kingdom had ever had, yet he left a little like you to take his place.”

“ you!” Jeongin spat into Minho’s eyes.

Minho reeled back and disgustedly wiped the saliva away.

Jisung, who was quietly watching the scene unfold, chuckled to himself. Who knew a young boy like him would have the guts to do something like that when his life was in their hands? He found it quite amusing.

“That wasn’t a smart thing to do.” Minho wiped his hand on his leg and raised his dagger. He drew closer to Jeongin and held the blade an inch away from his neck. The boy tilted his head to the side in fear of being cut, but his expression remained cold and resentful.

Minho smiled crookedly.

“Do it again,” He challenged him.

Jeongin stayed silent. His eyes alternated between Minho and the dagger.

“That’s what I thought,” He huffed. “You’re lucky my client wants you alive.” He pressed the blade against the boy’s skin, prompting him to close his eyes and tremble slightly, “Or else I would cut you down for doing that.”

An idea suddenly came to mind, and Minho raised the dagger to the boy’s cheek. The cold metal grazed his skin.

“You know what? He said he wanted you alive, but he didn’t say anything about roughing you up a bit.” He slid the dagger across his cheek and Jeongin whimpered at the sharp pain.

Gold blood dripped down his cheek and quickly converted to red.

Jisung spotted it right away and sat up.

“Minho, wait.” He jumped from the tree and landed soundlessly on the forest floor.

“What?! I won’t kill him, I’m only trying to cause him a little pai