Dasom sits docilely in the cart next to Jongin, unbothered by the jolting motions caused by the wheels being dragged over the uneven roads as she admires her wooden likeness. The pretty little creature was quite the spoiled beast and had been at first very displeased with her new surroundings that were surely much more humble than what she was accustomed to. She was especially cold to her new companion, having chirped and squeaked with dismay when Sehun, the straight-faced attendant who had accompanied Baekhyun, had handed her off to Jongin earlier that morning. 

Jongin had carried her a little ways into the woods behind the Kim home, his fingers having suffered a few upset nibbles and scratches since he had foregone the cage in favor of carrying his subject in the futile hopes they could bond a bit. By the time they had reached the worn stump by a creek where he often carved when he wanted solitude and a serene environment, he was worried the beast would bolt when he finally set her down. Contrary to his beliefs, she only turned her back to him and groomed herself as she ignored him. However when Jongin did not proceed to bother with her anymore and only began to carve quietly, the coy creature seemed to be upset at receiving her own cold treatment and began to sniff curiously at his hands and the piece of maple bark he had chosen for the statuette. 

Once the general shape of the mink started coming to light, Dasom groomed herself and almost seemed to pose for the artist, as if she knew what he was doing. By late afternoon when Jongin was putting the finishing touches on the figurine, Dasom was practically purring in delight, touching her nose to different parts of the sculpture so that a highly amused Jongin could hardly get his knife in. Despite the situation he was in, he had not been able to resist coaxing the little wooden minx to touch its own nose against Dasom in a friendly greeting. This had so startled the little creature she had finally allowed Jongin to finish working, uninterrupted. 

Now sitting in the horse drawn cart across from the two richly dressed young men who had come to fetch him, Jongin has lost all of the tranquility he felt while carving. There are many things that he should be feeling right now. Maybe remorse at having to leave his family, who in his twenty one years he has never had to leave for longer than two nights at a time. Or concern over his mother who had gripped his hands to the point of bruising his wrists, her eyes heavy with the silent plea that he take care of himself and not be discovered. He should certainly be feeling some kind of fear or self preservation as a Magic person who would soon be surrounded by the exact people who could do him the most harm should he be discovered. Maybe he could even be feeling some kind of nervousness as a craftsmen about to have his work judged by the King of all his country.

Instead Jongin finds himself consumed only by the thought that for the next month or so, he will be living in the same building as Lord Do. He is distracted with wondering if he will see the lord upon arrival, or if the palace is so huge that their paths will not cross at all. But it had been Lord Do in the first place that had recommended his skill to the King, so perhaps he would be the very one to present him. 

That thought brought a whole new dimension of chaos to Jongin’s mind as it suddenly occurred to him that he might actually hear the lord’s voice. This realization so overwhelms him that for a moment the young woodworker can of think nothing at all before he feels his neck and face flushing. A snort from the other side of the cart snaps him out of his reverie and he looks up just in time to catch a smirking Baekhyun glance out of the carriage window.

“Ah, we’re here!” He gives Jongin a look as if they’re sharing a secret. “Home-sweet-home for the next few weeks.”

Dasom refuses her cage in favor of clambering onto Jongin’s shoulder when Sehun opens the little gate of the wooden enclosure. The serious faced attendant only shrugs and follows Baekhyun out, handing the empty cage to one of the men unharnessing the horses. Baekhyun is already climbing the stairs that lead to the entrance gate of the palace while Sehun waits on the bottom step with an expectant look at Jongin. Two guards standing by either side of the gate incline their heads at Baekhyun and Sehun as the trio passes and Jongin feels the anxiety that had all this time been missing finally well inside him at the sight of the imperial courtyard unfurling before him, ending with the imposing palace looming above their heads. Another shorter set of stairs leads them up to the bright red door of the main building where a eunuch dressed in green waits with his hands neatly folded behind his back. He inclines his head at the three young men and taps the door which immediately jolts and begins to open from the inside, shocking Jongin so much that he almost drops the carving of Dasom and the furry, little muse chatters unhappily from his shoulder. 

It is slightly darker and cooler inside of the palace walls, windows lining the halls and letting in some natural light. From the ceiling hang silken streamers of the royal blue and beyond them Jongin can see the wooden tiles and rafters painted brilliant blues, greens, and reds. He has never been in a room with such a high ceiling and the young man feels his neck strain as his head tilts back and all around, trying to take in all the splendor of the room. Jongin is absentmindedly wishing for a way to capture the image and show it to his family, when the hall opens up into a larger room in the center of which burns a low fire in a stone fire pit. There are open windows along the walls and one large circular window in the ceiling that allowed the smoke and some of the smoldering heat to escape, leaving the room at a comfortable temperature. At the end of the room is a raised dais on which a young man and woman kneel on soft looking cushions. The floor just before the dais is lined with similar cushions and Jongin follows Sehun and Baekhyun to kneel on them. The young carpenter feels sweat gather under the hem of the only formal hanbok he owns and he is suddenly awestruck with the realization that he is in the presence of the great King and Queen of all Korea. He swallows heavily, gripping the statuette of Dasom harder between his palms in the hope it will help control the trembling in his fingers. The little mink on his shoulder gives a goodbye sniff around his hair and touches her wet nose to her wooden likeness before scampering down his arm and up the dais to settle on the Queen’s shoulder.  Jongin keeps his head lowered in a low bow but hears the Queen coo at the little creature. 

“Are you making new friends, Dasommie? I’ll be jealous if you like someone more than me,” she whispers gently and Jongin swallows, already wondering if this could be some sort of concealed warning to know his place.

“Welcome to my home, Jongin-ssi! It is a pleasure to have you here, and an honor I am sure; Your skill comes very highly recommended by some of my most trusted friends. Please, raise your head.”

“Oh my, Dasommie has good taste. He’s very handsome!”

“But not as handsome as me, right?”

“Does such a man even exist?” 

After spending most of his life living with two married couples, Jongin has gotten pretty accustomed to the playful banter that happens between lovers. However there is something surreal, almost bordering bizarre, about watching the monarch couple of his nation flirt back and forth like a young couple in the midst of their courtship. Though he, like the rest of the common people, had before caught glimpses of the King and his bride as they rode out of the city for political trips, or had seen the imperial palanquin be carried throughout the streets of the town on occasion, this is Jongin’s first time seeing his monarchs so close. He is surprised by how young they both look, even though he did know that the King was born only the year after Jin Hee and was actually younger than his eldest sister.

The King is indeed handsome with a sharp chin and his sloped nose, but there is an almost childish roundness around his cheeks and youthful vibrance to his skin. The Queen is an elegant beauty, with cat-like slanted eyes and a kittenish curl to her lips. The lines of her face are sharp but taper down to a softened chin and a long, slender neck. Jongin remembers the week of his tenth birthday there had been many parades and fireworks near the palace to welcome Lady Chen, the youngest daughter of a powerful nobleman from the Northernmost cities that bordered the Chinese Empire. Back then, Jinki had taken Jongin up the mountainside where his family still raised cattle and had shown his son all the colorful lights that lit the normally dark city and had said it was all to celebrate Jongin. 

“Jongin-ssi, I apologize that we have disrupted you on my husband’s whims, and that you were put to test on such short notice. But it would seem that you already have a very pleased customer.” Dasom chatters as if in agreement from the Queen’s shoulder while the King pouts at his wife.

“Your happiness is not a whim, my love! I only wanted to gift you something special for a special occasion.”

“Any gift from you would have been lovely, Minseokkie. You know I keep all of your trinkets.”

“But this will be no mere trinket! A true work of art; Your gorgeous likeness, immortalized by a master.”

Jongin feels himself flush at both the flattery of his skill and the romantic teasing between the couple. 

“With all due respect, My Lord, I am only a humble woodworker four years out of my apprenticeship.”

The King finally turns the full weight of his gaze on Jongin and the young man swallows. With a thoughtful expression taking over his face, King Minseok looks regal and formidable. 

“True talent cannot be taught, Jongin-ssi, only refined with experience. Please,” he says and gestures for Jongin to come forward with the sculpture he has been gripping like a safety line in his hands. The young woodworker begs his knees not to buckle as he moves toward the dais and extends both his arms with his head lowered. He does not raise his face again until he feels the weight of the maple mink disappear from his hands. King Minseok takes only a moment or two studying the wooden creature before he hands it to his wife with an almost sheepish smile at Jongin.

“She’s the true connoisseur,” He explains.

Lady Chen receives the carving with both her hands and brings it into her lap where the real Dasom scrambles to join it, rubbing their flanks together. The Queen smiles fondly and down the back of the wooden creature that is perfectly the same size and shape as the real mink. The carving is in a resting position, the mink’s head inclined up as if to look faithfully into the face of its master. The forepaws fold daintily beneath a narrow chest pushing up the carved fur there, appearing downy and soft even in the wooden form. The carved skin by the base of its wooden tail appears to wrinkle slightly, the tail frozen mid motion as it swings pleasantly around the little wooden body. The tiny nails of the back paws rest against each other, one crooked as if it had broken and never grown back properly. The Queen fondles this little detail of the wooden statuette and turns to fondly examine the detail on her own pet. Dasom lets her back paws be pulled into the Queen’s hands, distracted in her attempts to groom her wooden twin.  

“It seems the model herself could not be more pleased,” hums Lady Chen. “There is no higher compliment. As Kyungsoo-yah says, you are truly an artist.”

The name is unfamiliar to Jongin but the King’s expression softens into a satisfied smile. 

“Well, from the beginning I never really doubted his words,” He says, almost to himself. Then, clapping his hands together, he raises his head to smile at Jongin. “We have prepared a room for you where I hope you will be comfortable during your stay. Please, take today to familiarize yourself with the palace grounds. Our Baekhyunnie can take you around and tomorrow morning you can meet with my wife and decide how you will want to proceed. But today, feel free to settle yourself in, and I am sure Kyungsoo-yah will want to greet you as well. Baekhyunnie?”

A pair of hands settle firmly over Jongin’s shoulders and he feels his neck crack from the way his head jolts around to meet an impish smile. Baekhyun massages his shoulders a little more roughly than is necessary but Jongin feels it might be somehow disrespectful to shake him off in front of the King. So he disguises slipping out of the hold as moving away to stand and bow once more to the King and Queen. 

Jongin follows Baekhyun and Sehun out of the room through a different door than the one they had entered, to the left of the dais. The door leads down another hall that opens up to the outside. Jongin takes the moment to breathe in the air that’s gotten crisper and cooler with the season. He only has a moment to appreciate how large the grounds inside the palace walls are before they go through another doorway and are once more in an enclosed part of the palace. Baekhyun pauses to turn to Sehun who is walking just behind Jongin.

“Sehun-ssi, would you please take Jongin’s bag to his room? I will take him there later, but I think it would be appropriate for him to greet my master before he settles in.”   

Jongin trips over nothing and staggers forward a bit before righting himself and whipping around to give Baekhyun a wide eyed stare. The demon in human form only gives him an innocently bemused look while Sehun looks at him a little judgingly. 

“Are you alright, Jongin-ssi?” He asks resignedly as he reaches out for Jongin’s small bag of belonging’s. The woodworker can only dumbly hand it over as he stutters at Baekhyun.

“Uh, y-your master? Lord Do is here?” He says stupidly and immediately wants to knock his own teeth out. Wasn’t he himself fussing over the possibility of running into the lord earlier?

Baekhyun gives him the same kind of indulgent smile Jin Hee spares Rahee when she is being particularly childishly ignorant. 

“Well, he does live here, Jongin-ssi,” He coos. The impudent little-

“And since he was the one to use his influence to recommend you so highly to the King, I do think it would be appropriate you thank him? Or greet him at least, since you’re here.”

Jongin swallows heavily and tugs at his hanbok nervously.

“It, uh. Yes, of course. I should, right?”

Sehun glances suspiciously from Baekhyun to Jongin before seeming to think it’s not worth the trouble, bowing slightly to them both and walking away down the hall without any more glances back. The moment he’s out of sight and Jongin is alone with Baekhyun in the halls he rounds on the attendant, ready to shake out whatever the little demon is scheming but is cut off when Baekhyun gives a rather disorienting squeal and throws himself at the woodworker, gripping his arm and tugging it excitedly.

“This is working out so well, I can’t beliiieeeeeve it! Oh, how should I take you in? Kyungsoo doesn’t know you’re here yet. Maybe i’ll just walk in normally and we can surprise him?” He dissolves into a bout of giggles and wiggles Jongin’s arm so hard that the woodworker worries he might pull it right out of the socket. He pushes the shorter man away roughly, unconcerned now that there is no one watching them. 

“What are you planning, Baekhyun? Who doesn’t know i’m here? Are we going to greet Lord Do or not?”

These words seem to somewhat bring the attendant back to his senses and he snickers a little before clearing his throat and swiping his hands down his already immaculate robes as if to clean them. 

“Right, please follow me Jongin-ssi.”

“Oh, come off it,” the woodworker mutters under his breath; the formality sounds more like a taunt coming from the mischievous attendant. 

He tries to focus on the waning irritation to distract himself from the nerves rising like bile in his stomach. What will it be like to see Lord Do in his own home? How should he greet him? How does he normally even act around the lord when he goes to Jongin’s stall in the market?

Jongin’s mind draws a blank as he tries to remember all of his past interactions with the lord and realizes they have only ever really communicated through Baekhyun, and it was only vague formalities. He tries not to get disheartened, thinking of the way Lord Do always seems to linger at his stall more than anyone's, and maybe they’ve never exchanged words but certainly it wasn’t just in Jongin’s imagination the way Lord Do had looked at him with a loaded gaze on more than one occasion? Besides if he went by Baekhyun’s teasing, the attendant was also hinting at something more between them. Of course, Baekhyun was an incorrigible tease and that could all have been only at Jongin’s expense. 

While he is still  preoccupied with his own fretting Jongin almost bumps into Baekhyun who has stopped just outside a closed door. The attendant is leaned over listening through the screen as if trying to discern if there is someone inside or not. He turns to Jongin with a conspiratorial look in his eyes that sets the tan male on edge and has him almost glancing over his own shoulder to see if the look is really meant for him. Before he has the chance Baekhyun is knocking on the door with one hand and gripping Jongin by the elbow with the other.

“Lord Do! We are coming in now!”