Doyoung preceded the other two boys. Since their ‘cuddling’ he had not spoken to them anymore. He just wanted to do his job and run away. Taehyung and Taeil of course followed him side by side. Mithra, the dragon-like being, flew next to its owner.

“How far is it?”, Taeil wanted to know, exhausted from the trip.

The older boy just shrugged. The two friends exchanged a suspicious look.

“Are we... lost?”, Taehyung asked unsettled.

Doyoung stopped and turned to face them. Again, the two boys exchanged a quick look.

“Well, the truth is... I led you guys on the wrong track on purpose. And now I have no idea where we are.”, their new comrade replied unsympathetic after all.

Both boys shrieked at the same time: “What?!”

Doyoung quickly tried to come up with a reason, but he had none. At least none that he should tell them.

“You heard right”, he added with a shrug.

The boys were confused.

“And... Why did you do that?”, Taeil asked with a calm attitude.

Doyoung took a step or two back. Suddenly he was stressed and insecure. He seemed vulnerable.

“From now on, you have to go on without me... There is something I must take care of.”, he explained after long consideration, “If you manage to reach Daejeon today, then you are up to the assignment. If not… then you must return to Gongju.”

What was that out of the blue? Was he serious or did he joke?

“What do you mean by that? I do not understand…”, Taehyung questioned him all confused.

Mithra flew over to him and placed himself in the arms of Taehyung. It trembled and made the boy realize that something was fishy. The two friends took a few steps back and felt the tension. Something was definitely off.

“Who are you? Why is Mithra suddenly afraid of you?”, Taehyung bombarded him with questions.

“Hey, hey, hey… Do I look different? I am who I am.”, Doyoung assured them, “Calm down. Mithra is always like that. Are you afraid of me too now?”

Then he grinned mischievously and waited for a reaction.

“What the hell? Why should we continue without you?”, Taeil wanted to know.

It was that time again. The anger simmered in him. He held back to not start a fight with the older boy. Doyoung slowly began to feel uncomfortable, went with quick steps towards Taehyung and took Mithra from his arms. It wriggled wildly and tried to escape his grip.

“What- What are you doing? Let him go!”, Taehyung ordered in utter shock.

Doyoung gave him a warning look and nudged Mithra gently on the forehead. The dragon-like being disappeared suddenly in an ice-blue mist of glitter. Taehyung and Taeil stared at their comrade with shocked expressions.

“Where- Where is Mithra?”, Taehyung asked and grabbed Doyoung’s forearms, “What- What did you do?”

By touching him Taehyung once more he felt the extreme heat of the older boy’s body. Doyoung only stared him in the ice-blue eyes and suddenly, flames appeared on his forearms, burning Taehyung’s hands. He let go instantly and jumped back. His palms hurt a lot. He cooled them with his abilities and gnashed his teeth. Taeil hurried to his best friend and stood in between them. His fists were lifted, ready to attack or defend any moment.

“Do not dare to touch me again.”, Doyoung warned him and put out the flames on his forearms, “Mithra is gone. If you want to see it again, then better hurry up and find your way to Daejeon. Otherwise, Mithra will be in... a better place, I think...”

Better place? It was threatened and might need the help of both. The boys were shocked and confused about their comrade’s actions.

“What? Why? Are you crazy?”, Taehyung yelled at him.

Doyoung gave him an annoyed look and finally said: “Mithra is my property. How I treat it is up to me only. If you cannot make it to Daejeon in time, consider Mithra dead, because you will not make use of it if you do not get there. King Shim Changmin ordered me to leave your side before we enter the city. He wants to test you guys.”

Taeil looked at him rather disappointed.

“You are lying. Why would king Shim Changmin want that? You are not telling us the truth. Nothing you are saying makes sense!”, he said suspiciously.

Taehyung felt betrayed. He just wanted to punch Doyoung, but a brawl was not much of a help either. Yes, the anger was reflected in his eyes. Taeil stepped aside and kept the older boy in the eye.

“Well, alright. He did not order it.”, Doyoung finally admitted and sighed, “My original assignment was to lead you to Daejeon and help you with finding the Red Rose.”

Neither of his answers were good enough for the other two.

“You said earlier that he ordered you to leave us!”, Taehyung stated and lost and lost every single drop of trust in him.

“Damn why?”, Taeil shouted this time, “Why?”

His disappointment was great. Doyoung stayed silent. He had already told them everything, what else did they want to hear? He shortly glanced at Taehyung and his Bujeok then glanced at Taeil and his covered eye. These boys were not to mess with. There was a long and miserable silence.

“Why are you making such a big deal of it?”, he asked after a long pause.

Then everything happened fast. Suddenly he crashed into a tree. Black blood streamed out of his nose. Immediately he covered his nose with his palm and wiped the blood away. Taehyung pressed him firmly against the tree and wanted to swing a fist a second time but did not. His best friend looked at him in surprise and tried to calm him down. He had never seen him like this before. Taeil was the one who lost control in anger, but this time it was his friend. Taehyung had extraordinary strength in the arms and legs. He pressed his left forearm against Doyoung’s chest with all his strength and had lifted his right fist ready to punch. His Bujeok glowed and made his left arm all icy and hard. Doyoung was not afraid, although his heat could not hurt Taehyung anymore. Not the slightest. He lowered his hand and stared Taehyung straight in the eyes. The red circle around his pupils became very bright.

Taehyung hissed angrily and yelled at him: “Speak!”

First Doyoung only looked at him all hateful, then he threatened the boy: “Come on, dare to hit again. I am going to kill you!”

His blood kept flowing and stained Taehyung’s sleeve.

“Oh really? Who is the one bleeding right now? Your body heat stands no chance against the ice of my Bujeok. In your position, I would not bite off more than I could chew.”, Taehyung stated and pressed even harder against his chest.

Doyoung his lips that were covered with his black blood and then spat in Taehyung’s face, which is why he got punched a second time. He had a laceration on his lip now. Again, black blood oozed out of his wound. Taeil jumped in this time, immediately dragged his friend away and smacked him to the cold ground. He made it impossible for Taehyung to get back up. A quarrel between two stubborn boys was the last thing Taeil needed out in the woods.

“Guys, calm down! We can talk it out peacefully…”, he suggested carefully.

His anger from before was gone because he was shocked about his best friend’s mood. Taehyung could not understand why Taeil had dragged him away. Doyoun