Yoongi had been taught by Song Il-Kook for around eight months, he was raised by him. He was taught reading and writing all over again. Even if the little boy was already very good at both, Song Il-Kook insisted that he learned everything from scratch. He even had to learn about the ancient signs, language, and history of Gongju flawlessly. Actually, it was not that difficult, however, there were many words and concepts that Yoongi had never heard of in his life. In the last few days, he had read the written word 'Dokkaebi' very often. He memorized everything about it by heart. In fact, Yoongi would have been studying all of this together with a comrade named V, but somehow some stupid officer captured Song Il-Kook’s friend named Yoochun and the whereabouts of the young boy were now unknown to them.

“Show me what you have learned today.”, demanded the nobleman and interrupted Yoongi.

He had crept quietly into Yoongi's room and had sat down on the newly made bed.

“Uhm… Yes, of course… I practiced calligraphy and the story about Gongju. I enjoyed it a lot. The characters, icons and badges are kinda difficult, but I have got them all written down and noted.”, Yoongi answered nervously, “And I am already progressing with the ancient language.”

He showed Song Il-Kook what he had written and even read it out loud.

“Very well done! I am proud of you. You are catching up quite quickly”, the nobleman praised him.

He glanced at Yoongi's clepsydra, a clock that measured time by the regulated flow of water.

“Oh, it is so late already? Wash up and go to bed, my son. Hurry up.”, he commanded with a gentle voice.

He no longer called the little boy ‘kid’, instead he used the term of ‘my son’. Yoongi did not call him father at all. It was not easy for him to call anyone other than his real father by that. After all, it had only been about eight to nine months since he last saw Yunho. Yoongi sighed because he did not want to sleep yet, but he knew he had no other choice. In the evening the little boy always had to sleep at eight o'clock. Song Il-Kook received a visit from a group of men every single night. All were dressed in black. Until now Yoongi had only seen those men twice and that because he had to go to the loo in the middle of the night. Before that, he had never known about all the visits and Song Il-Kook did not mention anything of this later on either.

Yoongi changed into his sleeping garment, whilst Song Il-Kook disappeared in the hallway. As the little boy finished, he could not help it. He was way too curious and hid behind his door so he could listen to the nobleman entering the bathroom. He locked the door. This was his chance! This opportunity would not come again, so Yoongi simply had to take it. Song Il-Kook always needed about fifteen minutes until he was done. He would always walk into Yoongi’s room to blow out the candles and wish him a good rest. Yoongi was very curious, and he really wanted to know what the nobleman did every single night with all these men. It was a secret. It was about time that Yoongi got more information about Song Il-Kook’s private matters. As the nobleman did not allow the little boy to join them, Yoongi was determined to crash the gathering.

He carefully glanced into the hallway before he left his room. He walked on his tiptoes and reached the black stairway. He hurried downstairs with his breath on hold. He ran straight to the living room. The little boy slid open the door and walked right inside. The entire room was barely recognizable. At daytime the room would not look like this at all. The silky curtains were shut, the table was covered with a black blanket and there were so many black cushions spread all over the floor. It had never been dark like this ever before. Son Il-Kook had to like the color black. At least it seemed like that. Yoongi hid beneath the round table. The blanket would cover him perfectly. It was an ideal place to hide, at least the little boy thought so.

“He is never going to find me.”, he whispered to himself a little bit nervous.

His heartbeat went faster with every second that passed. He heard the nobleman leaving the bathroom. His footsteps echoed through the hallway. Song Il-Kook went into his own room.

After about ten minutes he left. He wore a black garment now and also a black hood covering his head. He walked into Yoongi’s room before he went downstairs, but the little boy was not in his bed. He knew right away where the child went. He rushed into the living room with soft steps. He immediately found him because the blanket was uneven. The little boy had pulled one edge lower than the rest. It could not be overlooked. He lifted the black blanket and pulled the little boy from beneath.

“Listen, my son. I know you are curious. My friends and I, we are talking about topics that you cannot understand.”, he started to explain calmly.

He was not upset the slightest. Yoongi lowered his gaze in shame. He felt bad about what he had tried.

“You can join us later when you grow up and become a little older. You will get a better picture of what we are doing. But for that to happen you need more time and you also need to learn our fighting techniques.”, Song Il-Kook explained slowly.

He was a little overwhelmed, but he wanted to join no matter what. He wanted to study everything that Song Il-Kook needed or wanted him to, even though the little boy did not understand why the nobleman claimed a specific fighting technique. Back when he lived with his parents Yoongi had watched his father practicing all the fighting methods of Gongju’s officers. Maybe the nobleman was a high-rank officer?

Song Il-Kook led the little boy back to his bedroom and told him to not repeat it ever again. He wanted the curious boy to trust him a little more when it came to his daily night visits. Yoongi nodded still ashamed of his attempt to hide in the living room. He felt awful to have ever done this to his new family member. His pitch-black eyes were fixed to the ground, he did not dare to look into the nobleman’s face.

“Hey, how about a pre-practice session?”, Song Il-Kook suggested out of the blue as he had noticed the disappointment in his adoptive son’s eyes, “I will show you the first steps of our fighting techniques. Would you like that?”

He wanted to cheer him up a little and it really worked. Yoongi nodded with a smile.

“Well, then you should sleep now. Time will pass faster this way.”, Song Il-Kook said with a demanding attitude, while he the little boy’s hair back from his forehead, “We should give you a new haircut. Your hair is way too long. You are below a beginner; it would only disturb you while practicing. When you are aware of all techniques you can grow out your hair again.”

Yoongi touched his black hair. Yes, it has grown a lot these past eight months. He nodded again and covered himself with the blanket. Song Il-Kook blew out the candles in the room and left. Yoongi could hear the knocks on the front door. The guests were finally here. The little boy shut his eyes instantly. He wanted to grow as fast as possible. He was eager to join the others. He wanted to be a part of Song Il-Kook’s mysterious life.

Two weeks had passed since the guests had visited Song Il-Kook. Since then, Song Il-Kook had postpon