~A/N~ Happy Sunday reading ^^

“Tell me exactly how much he has learned.” Jiyong says rounding on Youngbae the second the servants had left the tent. Youngbae scratches his head and shrugs.

“I don’t know…all I know is that 4 days ago he couldn’t say a word to me or understand anything that I said, and this afternoon when I went to check on him and Dara he was able to hold a short conversation.”

Jiyong takes a deep breath, his eyes tracing around the room in a way that suggested that he was trying to catch a foothold while thinking. “Alright…when will he be brought here?”

Youngbae shrugs delicately, “after dinner is over,” he says. Jiyong lets out a sigh and then nods.

“Alright, let’s get a more thought out plan together.” He says, clapping his hands together and moving to the desk in the corner across from where Daesung had slept previously. He sits down and turns to face Youngbae. “So, having him work with the girls tomorrow…good idea; it will keep him out of Seunghyun’s way while also helping him so that when they do spend time together again…Seunghyun won’t get frustrated as easily.”

Youngbae nods slowly, a look of semi-disbelief on his face. “Yes, I suppose that if absolutely everything works out perfectly then….” Jiyong throws him glare and flicks his head to the side in a way that would have created a rather sassy hair flip if it weren’t for the fact that Jiyong lacked hair.

“It’s the only plan we’ve really got at the moment.” He says, and Youngbae nods.

“Yeah, you’re right, you’re absolutely right. But you have to admit, Jiyong, this is a terribly ridiculous situation to be in.”

Jiyong laughs softly, “Yeah, yeah I guess it is a little strange…but the will of the Gods be the will of us all.”

***

Daesung had had the most extraordinary day, and then to top it all off, he finds out that he won’t be spending the night with Seunghyun. Yes! He thinks as he tries to keep a straight face. It was hard to manage considering his inner self was doing a tap dance over the great news. Tonight he would be going to Jiyong and Taeyang’s area and staying with them, and then in the morning he would get right back into learning with Dara and now Bom.

He had been frustrated at the beginning of their lesson, finding it hard to commit the sounds and words to memory along with the hieroglyphs used to depict them, but after a short while, something inside him had clicked and he found it all profoundly easier than he had before. The short conversations that he was now able to have with Dara and the other girls, with whom he was eating dinner at the moment, were no less than miraculous to him and he assumed that they also found it strange.

When Taeyang walked into the small tent that Daesung and Dara had spent the entire afternoon working in, he was more than surprised by what he came into contact with. Daesung was actually really proud of how that moment panned out. He had been anticipating Taeyang’s visit because Dara had mentioned that he might. He had practiced his short speech in his head while he learned more throughout the afternoon.

Daesung figured that he must have really impressed Taeyang for there to have been this sudden change in plans, and that just made him want to work harder. It also made it all the more comforting and relaxing to sit with the cleaning girls for dinner.

Cleaning girls…that name felt wrong to Daesung, but he couldn’t really think of a better description for them as what they did was clean…but they were of higher rank than most of the servants. He makes a note to ask Dara about it the next day, and throws himself back into the confusing conversations and the food. He might not be able to fully understand them, but he understood much more than he ever thought that he could have.

***

“Daesung!” Jiyong cries, and for a second, Daesung is reminded of the enigmatic tour guide that had captured his interest what seemed like a lifetime ago. He was sitting at the simple desk in the tent that Daesung had slept in previously, so he was really close to the entrance.

“Jiyong.” He responds, a smile on his face. It was hard for him not to react to Jiyong’s exuberance in that way, just like he hadn’t been able to ignore Jiyong’s incredible knowledge the first time he met him.

Jiyong grins and waves Daesung closer while standing up. “Youngbae went to get you some clothes for tomorrow.” He says as he leads Daesung into the larger tent where he and Youngbae slept. “I don’t know why he feels the need to do those things himself when there are large numbers of servants around to do it for him.” Jiyong nods to himself as if he was agreeing with his own logic and then tilts his head and looks at Daesung.

Daesung smiles lightly, “You talk very fast.” He says, and Jiyong’s eyes scrunch up as he smiles brightly and lets out a quick laugh.

“Sorry.” He says, and then attempts to slow down. “How was your day?”

“Fun, I learned a lot.” Daesung says, and Jiyong smiles again.

“Good!” He says, and Daesung sees a flicker of something in Jiyong’s movements that indicate that he might have wanted to give him a hug or something. “Right, so, tomorrow.” Jiyong says, and Daesung nods.

“Tomorrow…?” He echoes, and Jiyong nods and gestures for Daesung to sit down while he paces.

“In the morning…Breakfast with Dara and her girls, yes?” Daesung waits a second and then nods, “And then you will be with Dara and Bom until Lunch.” Jiyong stops in his pacing and fixes Daesung with a stare until he nods. “If no one comes for you, go with them for Lunch.” Daesung nods, then shakes his head and gives Jiyong a confused look.

“Lunch…with Dara?” He asks, and Jiyong takes a breath and looks as if he’s about to say yes, but then shakes his head.

“Lunch is at midday,” He says slowly, and Daesung nods. “Youngbae will…no…” He shakes his head and slashes his hand through the air in a striking movement before sitting down across from Daesung and peering over at him. “This is hard.” He says, and they sit quietly for a moment.

Youngbae enters a couple of seconds later and greets them almost as exuberantly as Jiyong had earlier. “Look!” He says, holding up a small bag. “I have clothes!” He sounds excited, and almost like he’s talking to a small child. Jiyong tries exceptionally hard not laugh, but Daesung nods and looks from the bag to Youngbae. “They are for you…to wear.” Daesung nods and holds out his hands but Youngbae waves his hands away and throws the bag out toward Daesung’s bed.

“I was just trying to explain the day to Daesung but I’ve hit a snag…” Jiyong says, gesturing toward Daesung who found himself unable to follow what was being said.

“Were you being overly detailed? It’s not like he’s completely fluent yet.” Youngbae replies, sitting down and shrugging his shoulders.

“Right. So, Daesung…lunch, not important.” Jiyong says, switching his focus rather quickly from Youngbae to Daesung who just nods, deciding not to press the issue. “After that you will probably study more.” Or follow Youngbae or me around and learn other things. He thinks, but decides that Youngbae was right and he had been letting his excitement at this whole language breakthrough thing get the better of him.

“Yes, now, I think it is time for bed. Jiyong and I have a lot of things to do in the morning.” Youngbae says, and Jiyong nods before ushering Daesung up and out into the other area.

“Alright, goodnight!” Jiyong says cheerfully, before bouncing back toward his bed.

Daesung smiles brightly and sighs contentedly. “Goodnight.” He whispers, before closing his eyes.

***

“I haven’t seen you in this good a mood in a very long time.” Seunghyun says coolly during breakfast. Jiyong just shrugs his shoulders before taking a delicate bite of food.

“You haven’t seen me in a long time.” Jiyong says, and Seunghyun raises an eyebrow but nods in concession.

“True.” He says softly, before concentrating on his lack of appetite and leaving Jiyong to chatter excitedly to everyone in their vicinity.

While he had been taking care of Daesung, Seunghyun had found it unnecessary to eat in the dining are with everyone else for breakfast or lunch, opting to utilize the great weather outdoors while they still had it. This left dinner as the only meal that Seunghyun would take in the dining area, but Jiyong and Youngbae only very rarely ate dinner during festival preparation times. Because of this, Seunghyun hadn’t seen them for the short time that he had been with Daesung…

But now that he had spent a night without Daesung sleeping on the cot across the tent from his, Seunghyun was vaguely desperate. He couldn’t really explain it, as he hadn’t really been enjoying the young man’s presence while it was constant, but when he woke up this morning he was missing something. So, like the truly desperate man that he was trying to pretend not to be, Seunghyun had made his way to the dining hall to eat with everyone else, in the hopes that Jiyong and Youngbae would have brought Daesung with them.

His hopes, however, were soon dashed as it became apparent that Daesung was not there. It turned out that Youngbae and Daesung had woken up before Jiyong and had left the hall before Seunghyun had arrived. Seunghyun was trying extremely hard not to be as unhappy about that as he really wanted to be.

“--and be sure to arrive on time, Seunghyun, I don’t want to be waiting around for you when I have things to do, alright?” Jiyong says, and Seunghyun looks up at him in confusion.

“What?”

Jiyong sighs, and it is as if everything about him is disappointed and weary; Seunghyun wants to know what miracle it was that managed to restore Jiyong into his pre-festival preparations self. “Lunch, today…”Jiyong says, as if trying to lead Seughyun through the conversation. Jiyong sighs again. “I was going to send a servant to alert you but you came to breakfast so I was caught off guard. But I want you to have lunch with Youngbae and I…and depending on how the morning goes, Daesung may be there as well.”

Jiyong says it carefully, almost nonchalantly, but Seunghyun knew the Oracle reader too well. No, Jiyong was deliberately trying to bait him into revealing something…but he couldn’t fathom what it was that he wanted.

“Yes, of course…I will meet you…?” Seunghyun says, hoping that his face was blank and hoping that whatever it was that Jiyong was looking for hadn’t shown; he hated it when Jiyong read him like an open book.

“Someone will come and fetch you…I’m thinking a nice relaxing lunch. I’ve been far too stressed lately.” Jiyong says, and the flash of triumph in his eyes leads Seunghyun to believe that he hadn’t been able to hide anything.

“Alright.” He says, and turns back to his plate.

***

“You’re such a fast learner!” Bom cries excitedly, her hands flapping in front of her in a display that reminded Daesung of something from his past.

“Thank you.” He says, tilting his head down and blushing; he’d always had issues with compliments.

Dara grins and aps the side of her head, “I told you!” she says, and they both laugh.

It was nearing mid-morning and Daesung could now say with confidence that he could read…whether or not he understood what it said. He was extraordinarily pleased with himself, especially since he had never been this quick at absorbing anything in his entire life. He remembered trying to learn French in High school because he thought it would make him look cool, and instead he had just ended up feeling frustrated and stupid. He shakes his head to clear it of thoughts of his past.

“So, what’s next?” He asks with a smile, and Dara and Bom grin.

“Practical application.” They say at the same time, and Daesung pauses for a second trying to understand before tilting his head to the side.

“We’re going to go and check on the main room! It will be a test, you have to talk to five people.” Dara says, and Daesung pouts.

“I don’t like tests.” He says, trying to sound as sullen as possible.

Bom laughs, “Oh stop it. And don’t pretend you don’t like talking! I know you do!” She says, and he smiles at her, his eyes scrunching up in amusement.

“Okay.” He says, and Dara claps her hands together before standing up and motioning for them to do the same.

“Let’s go!” She says, pointing dramatically out the tent before leading the way forward.

***

Youngbae could practically taste the tense atmosphere before him. He was doing his best to ignore it and continue eating his lunch and making conversation…but it was far too oppressive to let him do anything but feel slightly uncomfortable.

Jiyong was sitting across from him, and from the forced cheerfulness in his voice, Youngbae could tell that he was trying his hardest to diffuse the situation through inane chatter. Seunghyun was to Youngbae’s left and Daesung to his right; in retrospect, sitting them across from each other had probably been a poor idea. Daesung hadn’t said a single word since Seunghyun had joined them by the Nile for lunch, and Youngbae didn’t like the implications of that.

Jiyong clenches his teeth and Youngbae is a little worried for what might happen next.

“I’m sorry if I’m boring you all with my voice, I suppose I should just remain silent for the rest of the meal to allow you all to enjoy your food without interruption from me.” Jiyong says haughtily, and Youngbae freezes, wondering if he should reassure Jiyong or just stay silent.

“I’m sorry, Jiyong.” Daesung says quietly, and Youngbae snaps his head to look in his direction. “You just talk so fast that I can’t always understand you…”

Seunghyun’s spoon clatters to his plate and Youngbae watches as Jiyong throws him a look of disgust before turning a beaming smile on Daesung. Seunghyun looked thoroughly shocked.

“Of course!” Jiyong says genially, reaching over to pat Daesung on the hand in a gesture of reassurance. “I forget so easily. You are, of course, totally forgiven for not joining in the conversation.” He says while nodding, and Daesung smiles hesitantly. Youngbae grins inwardly, it seemed that Daesung could hear the falseness ringing through Jiyong’s entire being, but probably couldn’t put a finger on why Jiyong was acting like that.

Youngbae teeters briefly on the edge of apologizing also, just so that Jiyong will smile and reassure him that he isn’t in trouble, but he holds it back when Jiyong shoots him a look before relaxing.

“Seunghyun, do tell the table why your face is doing that thing.” Jiyong says rather imperiously, and Youngbae and Daesung both almost drop their spoons in shock at his audacity.

But as with most things that Jiyong does, he gets away with it. Seunghyun shakes his head and takes a breath. “Sorry, I had trouble sleeping last night and had a lot on my mind this morning…” He trails off for a moment before fixing a perplexed stare on Daesung. “You’ve learned quite a lot in two days.” He says, his voice slightly absent.

“Yes…motivation helps me learn…I guess.” Daesung says, his eyes cast downward as he fiddles with his spoon on his plate.

“Motivation.” Seunghyun echoes, “Yeah.” He says, and then closes his mouth and stares down at his plate in thought.

Jiyong looks pointedly at Youngbae from across the table. Youngbae just shrugs, which causes Jiyong to roll his eyes. So, thinking quickly so as not to cause Jiyong to have a fit, he decides to try and change the subject.

“I was wondering, Seunghyun, how many of your boat attendants have fallen into the Nile this season?” Jiyong look up at the sky and Youngbae assumes he’s sending a prayer up to the heavens. “Last time you came here you told me you’d lost one to a crocodile.”

Seunghyun shakes his head to clear it and then quirks a smile. “None so far this season, though one of the attendants dropped his fan and actually considered diving in after it.”

Jiyong laughs, and Daesung smiles a little bit. “Because your wrath was potentially worse than a nibble from a crocodile?” Jiyong asks with a grin.

“Gods I hope not.” Seunghyun says with a smile.