Yunho mopped the floor in the hallway. The school was almost empty. The teachers were already in their warm houses and most of the students had long left the huge building. Only a small group of hard-working students still spent their afternoon in the school library. The shelves were filled with thousands of scrolls and old books. These were books about health and medical records, some scientific experiments, the history about Daejeon and the nation of Gongju during the great king Jaejoong’s era. So, these people had a great knowledge about their past and how Daejeon became the place of banned people.

“See you tomorrow, Jung!”, his workmate said goodbye.

Yunho nodded at him and finished his work. He went to his cabin, changed there, and put his uniform into his locker. Somehow, he felt strange, as if something terrible had happened to someone. Probably it was because Yoongi was brutally beaten up by his classmates earlier. He hoped it was just a feeling about that and had nothing to do with Taehyung.

“Jung!”

Someone called for him. Who was that? Whose voice was that? It appeared in his mind only. Someone tried to talk to him through telepathy. It had to be a fighter of Gongju, who had mastered this skill.

“It is me, Seung-gi. Jung, listen! King Shim Changmin got murdered! We do not know why and by whom yet. The last people in the palace were Doyoung and Jimin. Stay alerted about these two!”

Jimin? No way he would kill the king. He wanted to look out for the new leader of the Black Army. Doyoung was the boy who should arrive here soon together with the other two called V and Taeil. Why was he back in the palace? Were the other two in Daejeon or still in Gongju with Doyoung? Yunho was shocked about this news. The king was dead? Should he return to Gongju then?

“Stay in Daejeon and capture the boys who were send by the king. They might be members of the Black Army too! Bring them back to Gongju immediately!”

But V and Taeil owned Bujeoks, so they could not be members of the enemy… except they no longer had their amulets. Was this the case? Since king Shim Changmin was a fighter of the Black Army, did he really send s to Daejeon for the Red Rose?

“If you come across a member of the Black Army arrest him immediately!”

Yunho gulped. This meant he needed to capture Yoongi the next time and hand him over to the soldiers of the kingdom.
Lee Seung-gi’s voice disappeared of his mind and Yunho left the huge building in deep thoughts. How could this all happen in such a short time? Jimin had just visited him earlier to tell him about Shim Changmin’s real identity, now the king was dead… Was this coincidence?

On the way home he thought about Yoongi. It still made him pretty sad that he had lost his beloved son to the Black Army and needed to arrest him. Yunho did not live far away and would arrive home in a few minutes, so before he returned, he went to his favorite food bar and ordered a warm soup. Even while eating he could not think of anything else. What had become of his younger son? Maybe Taehyung was already a member of the Black Army just like Yoongi. Maybe his sons joined the enemy because this was Yunho’s punishment for his betrayal. He had betrayed Bona once in his entire life, but he never told her about it and always kept it a secret from her. Why? Because he was afraid that she would leave him and take their sons with her. Now, Bona was dead for over eight years. Was this the punishment for Yunho because he never told her? Was his family cursed because of this? His mind slowly wandered to Jimin, the unwanted son. He never cared about the woman he had impregnated. She was a beautiful Kisaeng, a courtesan, from Gyeryong. A young woman from lower rank, who worked in Gongju and had to keep company to a bunch of guardians and officers of the kingdom with other Kisaengs. She was educated, a great dancer and her poetry was amazing. Her last time she served as a Kisaeng, she got together with Yunho. When she informed him about her pregnancy, he had asked her to abort the kid or kill herself. He felt bad for Bona because he loved her so much. But in the end, he could not remain faithful. Jimin’s mother died right after giving birth. Some other Kisaeng cared about him, but in the end Jimin returned to Gyeryong and grew up all alone. Yunho was not fair, and he knew it all too well.

He should at least tell Yoongi about Jimin. Yes, someone should know about the blonde boy and Yoongi as his older half-brother was ideally suited for this. But how would he react to that? Would he resent him? Certainly.

Yunho finished the soup, paid the bill and made his way home.

When he got home, he found his son asleep on the couch. But how did he get here? How did Yoongi know that his father lived here? The boy was sound asleep. He looked so warm so peaceful, so innocent, but his father knew that he was now anything but all that. The Black Army had turned his soul black, made him a person to live in hatred and pain. Completely deep in thoughts, Yunho covered him with a fleece blanket. If only he had not have left him and Bona back then, but he could not change anything about that now. Yoongi woke to the touch of the fleece blanket immediately and sat up suddenly. He just stopped in time, so that his tired face was in front of his father’s and their eyes met. Both shrank back a little. Yoongi leaned back reflexively and looked at his father in confusion. Where was he? Why was his father here?

Yunho got up and brought him a glass of water. The boy always kept an eye on him. He took the glass out of his hand and slowly drank the boiling water.

“It works wonders, the drink.”, Yunho interrupted the silence and smiled at his son and asked him how he had found his place.

“I... I have no idea!”, Yoongi replied doggedly.

Did he have to meet his father so soon? He was not ready to fight yet. How should he fight him in this state? He would not be able to win. The water accelerated the healing process, but he would still not be able to defeat his father.

“I think Jimin brought you here.”, Yunho stated and picked up a piece of paper from the table with a short note on it, “‘Take care of your beloved son. You do not want to lose him yet. Your little spy, Jimin.’.”

Yoongi asked curiously and finally got up. Yunho took a seat on the couch and gestured the boy to sit down, which of course Yoongi did not. Yunho took a deep breath and raised the middle corners of his brows, as he became sad and apologetic about this matter.

“He... he is my son.”, he replied hesitantly.

Yoongi opened his eyes and thought of his younger brother. Was Jimin his new name thanks to the kidnapper? Did he have a new identity?

“Taehyung? He returned and left a note? Where is he?”, Yoongi wanted to know, took a step to his father and grabbed his arms, “Where is he? Where is my brother?!”

Yunho shook his head and loosened Yoongi’s hands.

“Jimin is not Taehyung. He is just your half-brother. Jimin is my illegitimate son.”, he admitted with an apologetic expression.

Well, that was pretty much the scariest and strangest confession that Yoongi had ever heard of his father. Was he for real?

“What exactly do you mean? Is that a joke? It is not funny, you know…”, the boy asked just to be on the safe side and stepped back.

“I am unforgivable, but I hope you can do so someday.”, Yunho apologized and continued, “About sixteen to seventeen years ago I went celebrating a successful assignment with some colleagues of mine. We drank a lot and there were Kisaengs for entertainment.”

Yoongi lifted a brow and stared at his father. He was confused, shocked, disgusted, and furious about his words. In Gongju it was totally normal for soldiers, guardians, and other officers to celebrate, get drunk and hook up with es like that, but never had Yoongi imagined his father to be one of these men. How could he? Was he not happy with Bona?

“At the time your mother became pregnant with Taehyung too. I cannot put an excuse for why I did it… It was a mistake.”, Yunho continued ashamed and buried his face in his hands, “It was just a slip. I am really sorry about it. I could never tell Bona and for years am living with this guilty conscience. I feel sick when I think of it.”

Yoongi gritted his teeth tightly and clenched his fists. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down, but it was impossible. He felt more than just disgusted.

“That suits you so well. That is the way you are. You are not reliable. Trusting you was a big mistake of my mother! Having you as a father is like hell! You just ran away from your responsibilities when Taehyung disappeared. You left us alone!”, he yelled at his father and flames embraced his fists as he became more and more furious, “You are disgusting! You are a coward who is not man enough to stand up for his mistakes! You left us and you left this other son of yours because you were afraid to face the consequences!”

Yunho uncovered his face and looked at his son. Yoongi’s pitch-black eyes sparkled, and his flames glowed and became bigger. Yunho got up immediately and stepped towards his son, but the boy lifted his fists and took a stable position. The pain from his bruises was gone now. He was ready to attack as his hatred towards his father became insanely huge.

“Damn you! Seeing you makes me insane!”, Yoongi yelled and threw a punch at his father.

Yunho blocked his fist with his forearm and pushed the boy back. Yoongi frowned wildly and jumped for another attack.

“It was just a slip, you say. I guess, you give a damn about Jimin then!”, Yoongi continued to scold him and threw another punch.

Yunho grabbed his arm mid-air and twirled his wrist to lock his arm in his back. Yoongi lifted his other hand and tried another attack. He aimed for Yunho’s stomach, but his father noticed and let go of him to block his attack. His father was quick. Oh boy, how Yoongi longed for landing a hurtful punch into his father’s face, to break his jaw and make him bleed in pain. He wanted to mess up his stupid face. Yes, the boy hated his father more than before. It had been years since he last felt so angry. Hatred was reflected in his pitch-black eyes. Yoongi wanted to kill him right now and right here. Yunho lowered his hands and looked at his son with a sad expression. Yoongi had indeed become an enemy. The boy concentrated all his energy into his fists with flames and was about to strike a powerful punch when his father suddenly grabbed both his arms and knocked him down. His flames went out instantly, and he felt his power vanishing rapidly. What just happened? Was Yunho so much stronger than the boy? He used to be a skilled martial artist master of the kingdom’s public school, and a strong guardian of Gongju. He was born into a fire tribe and had a lot of years of practice, so of course he was powerful. Yoongi tried to free himself, but he could not.

“Get off me!”, he yelled angrily and tired to shake his father off.

Yunho held his wrists tight and pushed him to the ground with his knee. He would not let go of the boy easily.

“I have a question for you. Listen to me carefully.”, he said out of nowhere and became all serious, “Did you know about the one of the Black Army getting killed? Do you know who it was?”

Yoongi was baffled. Who got killed? Song Il-Kook? This was a nifty change of subject. Yoongi’s furiousness vanished in a blink of an eye, and he became worried in the next second. His anger towards his father was gone. All he could think about now was the wellbeing of Song Il-Kook.

“I do not know what you are talking about…”, he admitted with a worried expression.

Yunho scrutinized him, paid attention to his body language and waited a brief moment before he finally let go of the boy. He then informed his son about the events that took place.

“King Shim Changmin has been murdered and there is a rumor that a fighter around your age of the Black Army was the one who murdered him. Tell me, was it you? Do you know about this?”, demanded his father almost furious.

Yoongi did not know what Yunho was talking about. He had been in Daejeon the whole time. From here he could not teleport directly to Gongju, since the barrier and the enchanted forest protected the kingdom from this skill being used outside the three places. So how could he have done that? It was not him, but he had no idea about Shim Changmin getting killed either. Did his foster father know about this? This was a serious matter. He needed to inform him about it instantly.

Yunho grabbed his arm and pulled him over to stare him right in the pitch-black eyes. Yoongi gulped as he was overwhelmed by this situation.

“There... there is no young fighter besides me. I am the youngest member of the Black Army.”, Yoongi admitted ignorantly, “The others are all over twenty as far as I know... I was the last one to join them.”

Yunho pushed his son away and clenched his fists. He was not happy about this information either. He hated the fact that his son had joined the enemy. Yunho nodded with a frown and suddenly waved with his right hand. He wanted the boy to leave his place.

Yoongi looked at his father in shock. What was that supposed to be? First, he told him about Jimin, then he asked him about the murder case of the king who was a member of the Black Army all along and now he wanted him to leave. Yoongi was sure that his father was supposed to arrest him, now that the king was killed. But his father was not capable of doing it.

“Do you know why I joined the Black Army?”, Yoongi asked his father suddenly and continued with an angry stare, “Because we are a big family in which no one fools the other. No one even thinks of betraying the leader. We are loyal fighters, unlike you. You even are not able to arrest and hand me over to the soldiers of Gongju. You are a coward. I can rely on everyone in the Black Army, which... which I could never do with you… And you confirmed it with this Jimin-story. You are trash.”

Yunho looked at him with a sad face. Yoongi frowned and lifted his head, clicked with his tongue, and then disappeared in a pitch-black sea of mist. Tears welled up in Yunho's eyes. Yes, this had to be the punishment for his unfaithful act. He was a terrible husband, a terrible father, and a terr