TIME HAS COME FOR MY CAMEO TO APPEAR !! PLEASE BE NICE TO MY TWO BABIES <3

JR          &          JB

Jongup was sitting with Junhong at the entrance of the village watching the wristband made by Youngjae when they were in Mato, before everything started. The angel and young warlock looked sad and tired, they had the impression the war would never end and that they would have to hide for the rest of their life, and would still when the sons of their sons would be old. They were getting tracked down like wildfowl. The humans who got caught were brought to the witch's lair, who was getting herself called The Queen of the country, but for the Matoki there was only one king. Kim Himchan.

Himchan's parents hadn't wanted to leave Mato, even after their son cried out of his body all his tears, they still refused, saying that if the city fall, they would fall with it but that their son must stay alive to lead his people to a safe place. A few matoki had remained in the city. The king did asked the young mage to seal their lips, to not say a word about the survivors of the battle in the mountains. Effectively, when the witch's troupe arrived in Mato, they tortured their inhabitants for days and months without them saying a word about the prince, his angel, the young mage. It looked like no one knew about the true reason the witch was doing that war, she wanted the boy, but the king had promised the boy's father he would protect him with his life, and it was what he did. The only person who knew about the golden hair boy that brought dead back to life, brought the secret of his existence in his grave. Letting the witch and the shadow the only persons who knew about him and his power.

When they were walking in the forest in the research of a place to hide, Himchan was still a Prince. When the elves finally came to help them, they gave the prince the terrible new that he was now the King. But the king of what ? His city had been taken and destroyed, he hadn't been able to save half of his men, the other half was tired and wounded. They all lost someone, the blonde boy wished he could use his power to bring them back, he had already done that by the past. How many times did his father died and he brought him back to life because he was so scared to be left alone. Yet, the priest knew it was bad, his son couldn't continue to play with life like this, he knew God was calling him by his sides and when his son had left for the war with his new found friend, he had opened wide his arms to Death, greeting her like an old friend.

Contrary to Daehyun, who had accepted his father's death better than Youngjae's, Yongguk had cried and mourned for days the death of his parents and his little sister. Junhong knew that even if he had saved her from the , it had been only a question of time before the disease that was killing her from the inside since she was a baby had reason of her. At least, she could have lived a few weeks more after her brother's departure for the war. Such as Youngjae's family, they died on their way to the elves' village, like most of the part of the peasants, famine killed a lot of kids too during that trip. The magic creatures that were against the domination of their species and who fought for the equality between humans and them, revealed their true shapes to their friends. It's like this that they learned the royals guards were angels for a big part of them. The doctor was just a shape shifter, often he took Himchan's place by the past for the people to not be suspicious about the prince's identity. When people thought he was visiting the royals, only the true Himchan had been there while the Doctor took his place with the kids of the city.

Himchan and Yongguk joined the two younger at the entrance of the hidden village of the elves in the wood. It's been two years now since they were here, training day and night, waiting for a sign of the gods. Waiting for the next battle. Yongguk stayed up while the new king sat next his guardian angel, slipping his hand in the other's one, he watched his own wristband next Jongup's one. “Maybe … Youngjae's alumet really worked against magic...

– Not against magic … I would say, it was more like … for magic.

– What's the truth about Youngjae ?

– He was … so pure … it was like he was absorbing our magic, making us feel like humans.”

Himchan nodded as he seemed to be content with the answer he got. Since the start they had decided to use Youngjae's alumet as a sign to recognize people who were on their side or against them. Because, in those time of crises, where humans were sold as slaves or eaten as food, there were some who were too afraid for their own lives, they were ready to sell their own kids to stay alive. They felt honored to be some magic creatures' slaves, they mostly felt honored to stay alive.

The four friends stood up as the fifth member of their band came back from the forest. They didn't know what Daehyun always went do in the forest, they only knew he didn't want anyone to follow him, so they simply thought the blonde boy went mourn in the forest, not wanting anyone to see his tears. It was true that Daehyun mourned Youngjae even after two years, but he didn't lose hope. The last time he did felt Youngjae, he knew it was him who had been in his body, it was the first time he was being possessed but it had been such a nice feeling. Who knows ? If he had could take his friend's body, he was sure he would had been able to bring his friend back. Many times by the past he had tried to save his friend, trying to prevent him to leave Mato, to go to the war, to walk to his own death. He had tried to bring him back as he was used to do with his father. But for that he needed the soul to want to come back and for his body to be in good shape or the person would die anew. As he felt so lonely without Youngjae, he tried to bring back his father again, but that last one had refused, telling him that he had to accept his death. Since, Daehyun kept searching Youngjae's soul, in that world and in the other world.

The blonde boy felt so frustrated, always wondering why he hadn't been able to bring Youngjae back … and he had found only one explanation which could be resumed in one name : the shadow. He had took Youngjae from him. Daehyun knew it and his new goal in life was to find that shadow and to make him pay for everything he did, and mostly to take back his friend from him. The new priest -who had succeeded to his father's position, same as Himchan did- barely talked since Youngjae's death, yet, he accepted to stay with his friends. They all thought the shadow was Hermes, yet they kept calling him by his nickname. Hermes had been a friend, the shadow was their enemy. Walking in the village they talked about the past, usually it put them in a good mood to train their skill to fight, but this one wasn't the kind that warmed their heart.

“I heard John rallied the shadow's sides...

– It's because of me … he saw me when I-

– It is not.” Daehyun interrupted the mage. Since the shadow had officially appeared by the witch's sides, a lot of their allies rallied the opponent camp. Were they forced or not ? They didn't know about it, but what was sure was that, that shadow was someone powerful. Was he using Youngjae's power ? That was also another mystery. The only thing they knew was why that nickname : the shadow, because he was always standing in the witch's shadow, acting in the shadow. He was the witch's general and some even said he was the one to control everything, staying backward.

The news fallen like a rock falling from the sky and hitting them directly in their stomach, the General found them. He was known where they were hiding and he was on his way to the elves' village. After one year of being the witch's official general, he had finally found one human who knew where they were and he had managed to make him talk even if Junhong had sealed his lips to not. That was how they knew the shadow was indeed someone really powerful, or a powerful creature.

“ Yongguk !!” Junhong exclaimed himself, stopping on his way to close the village's doors.

“ What ?” the elder turned to the mage, his tired -yet fierce- eyes piercing through the boy's soul.

“Yoo is in the forest with his mother...”

The boy had passed by the angel and the mage when walking to the forest with his mother. They had to go clean their clothes in the river's water, it was the only place they could do it because they couldn't squander the too rare water like this, yet they had to clean their clothes. It was every Monday, the little Yoo went with his mother in the wood. His father had named him like this because of Yoo Youngjae, the boy that brought hope. Yoo was two years old, since he was born he had known only the war, but he liked to listen to his father's stories about a time when there were peace and magic creatures lived hidden from the humans instead of slavering them. So the little Yoo didn't know the danger, he thought magic creature were all as nice as the mage with white hair. When he saw someone with white hair approaching him and his mother, the little boy smiled to him, and the stranger smiled back to the boy while his mother hidden him behind her. “Are you living with the elves ?” the stranger asked with a smirk clearly appearing on his face. That's how Jieun knew the other wasn't a friend. She gulped, swallowing down her saliva in her dried throat, unable to form any answer, taking a step back as the stranger took a step forward. “Come on! Be smart ! You better answer yes, even if you're not. Because if you say no, you're no use for me and you can say your farewell to life, and your baby too.” Jieun gasped when the second the stranger finished to talk, she saw appear in front him her baby boy. Watching behind her, she noticed that he wasn't here anymore, so it wasn't an illusion at all. She did learned with the mage how to recognize magic creature, and with the other's ears and his completely grey eyes, she knew it was a Drow, a dark elf. The drow had his hand on the boy's head.

Jieun was scared but her motherhood feelings got the better of her and she charged her enemy. The drow was too stunned to react when the female human burst into him making him release the little boy who ran away as soon as his mother told him to. That was what he had learned through the two years he had lived. He had learned to talk, to walk and to run, but mostly to run away when his parents or an adult he knew would tell him to. So that was what he did, he ran away, sinking himself further in the forest that was getting darker as the sun got down. The drow couldn't failed in his mission, he grabbed the woman by her arm but the instant after he was no more holding her as a strong man had appeared and had managed to drag her a few feet away, just enough for him to not reach her. The drow could feel the man was actually only a human, but he looked stronger than the average ones and he was sure he would do a good watchdog. “Oh... and who have I the honor to ?” he smirked but the only answer he got was the man's sword being pointed to his face while the woman hide in his back. Soon the man was joined by four other people, in which, three of them weren't humans. An angel, a mage, and something he didn't knew... but he knew it wasn't human. That was Jaebeom specialty, to detect whoever was human to who wasn't.

“Be careful … I don't think he came alone...” Himchan said standing next Yongguk who had his sword pointed to the drow.

“Oh... you're smart … your majesty …” Jaebeom answered with his usual cynical tone while the woman grabbed her boyfriend by his arm. “Yongguk !! Yoo ran away!!

– We have to find him before the Shadow !” Yongguk burst to his friends and turned an angry face to the drow who was chuckling. “And you … you better shut up if you want to live. Lead us to your chef.” Yongguk pressed his sword against the other's neck who stopped to laugh, but couldn't remove the smirk from his face. “Sure...” he answered as he was being turned by the strange blonde boy, leaning toward him he whispered, “you smell good...” and pursued his lips as to kiss the blonde boy who hit his head telling him to keep walking. The band walked further in the forest with their prisoner, taking the same path the little boy just took moments ago. As they kept walking, they met the drow's companion who did nothing to save his friend, he said nothing and let himself being capture easily. Junhong knew the other to be a dark mage, he felt his magic reacting by itself to the other's presence, but he wouldn't risk himself to fight against him. He knew he wouldn't win but that, he didn't say it to his band, praying in his mind for them to not have to fight against each other.

The little boy had never stopped running, the only thing that stopped him was when he ran into someone. His whole body was recovered with a black mantle. The stranger removed his hood and crouched down to put himself at the boy's level, smiling warmly to him. “Mister !! Beware !! There's monster !! He wants to kill my mama !” the boy said breathlessly as the stranger helped him to stand up.

“It's alright, they won't do anything to your mama if I tell them to not.” the man answered standing, his shadow recovering the boy's little length. “Show me where they are.” He ordered but it didn't sounded like an order to the little boy who thought he had found a friend who could help him and his mother. Slipping his little hand in the other's warm one, he dragged him toward where he had left his mother when she had told him to run.

When the two groups met, the drow and the dark mage thought it was the signal to attack, Yongguk and his band were too stunned to react and soon they got their own weapon pressed against their throat. The Shadow was witnessing the scene with an annoyed look, his hands on the boy's shoulders. He watched his two man dominating easily the other group of four people with his grey eyes and spoke right before the others got their throat slide opened.

“I am the Shadow and I command you to stop.” He said with a soft voice and the drow and the dark mage stopped, yet not moving away. “Good, now you all listen wisely to me and you will all take a step away from each other.” The voice of the general was soft and Yongguk and his band found themselves forced to obey. They couldn't disobey even if they wanted, the Shadow was controlling their bodies. “Very good, now you all put down your weapons. We don't want anyone to get hurt.” The Shadow spoke and the others obeyed. The general released the little boy who started running to his mother but Jinyeong caught him on his way with one hand on his collar, a hand that the Shadow slapped, “let the boy go back to his mother.

– Yes general.” and Jinyeong released the boy before bowing putting a knee on the ground. At that moment, the hothead Jaebeom burst to his chef, “To me you- with Jr. but we-

– Do I need to make the translation ? Back off!” The Shadow started to get angry, and it was never a good thing to be around when he would be. “I'm sorry master...” Jaebeom bowed and stood next Jr. before putting a knee on the ground him too. When finally his own men were under control the Shadow rubbed his temples. It was too much for him, that's why he hadn't wanted the two to come with him. Only more problems. He sighed and watched everybody.

Since the start Daehyun had his tears falling down on his cheeks, he couldn't believe it. So it was the reason as why he couldn't bring back Youngjae. The Shadow had took possession of his body. Daehyun was furious and he managed to break the spell the other had cast on him to run toward him, charging him. But the Youngjae easily disarmed him and was now holding him by his two wrists that he slowly forced Daehyun to lower his arms as the Shadow had his eyes plunged into the blonde boy's ones. Suddenly a big flashlight appeared and Daehyun was jerked away from the Shadow. “Youn...” Daehyun had to gulped before he could say it out loud, it had been two years since he hadn't pronounced that name, “Youngjae ?” he was leaning on his back on the ground and wasn't even thinking about standing up, his legs wouldn't allow him to. The Shadow smiled and crouched down next to him, putting a knee on the ground. “I'm glad you remember me … Death.

– I'm not the Death.” Daehyun shook his head, tears back in his eyes. He couldn't believe the other was his friend. Youngjae wasn't like that. Youngjae would never work for the witch. Youngjae was on their side. Youngjae was nice and not that .. monster.

“ And I am not the Shadow.” Youngjae answered sadly bringing his warm fingers to Daehyun's cheek, striking it slightly, rubbing lightly the tip of his fingers on his friend's skin as he caressed his cheek.

“ Youn.. Youngjae … which side are you on ?” Daehyun asked not believing that it was actually happening, that wasn't the reunion he had dreamed about. He had thought he would join his friend in the world of the dead after his fight against the Shadow. Youngjae took some time to think about his answer watching the priest's lips, remembering the first time it had touched his as he brushed his fingers on it. Then his look became stronger as he watched back Daehyun in his eyes.

“On my own.” He recovered Daehyun's face with his hand, his fingers outstretched, ready to hit him again with his light. Daehyun closed his eyes, accepting the hit but still refusing to believe it. Youngjae had been their motto, their reason to fight and to survive during those two last years. And he had betrayed them … it wasn't Hermes who did. Daehyun opened his eyes again, he had so much question to ask the other. What did happened ? How could he changed so much ? How was it possible for him to be alive ? Why Junhong hadn't could hear and/or feel him those two last years ? So much questions and yet he hadn't the time to react. “I'm sorry Daehyun.” Youngjae said and his light hit him right in his face.

3409 words