~Chapter 43~

Your Best Friend Always Has Your Back

Jimin’s POV~

             I put my arm over Taemin hyung’s shoulder, ready to back for telling me to pay him back with my body the other day, but I stop as I look at him. Although he is wearing a mask, his eyes are darkened, almost like he is extremely upset. Did my joke go too far? I know I made him dress up as a girl and made him think he was going to be given away, but I wouldn’t put my savior in harm’s way. Jimin-ah, you went too far, I scold myself, but say nothing to him as I had to settle with the other men. Although they were upset, the men did not even think that we hustled them, as they thought the lousy fighter won by pure luck and the Bead Thief lost due to his cockiness.

            After they exchange the directions to the Peacekeepers and provided some more information, Taemin hyung and I leave the arena. Like we promised Taemin hyung after he saved us during the banquet, we cannot expose his identity. After the fight, Baekhyun hyung led Kai in a different direction so he cannot bump into Taemin hyung. Despite getting the information that we wanted, Taemin hyung is clearly upset. Now with his mask off, I can see his face fully and it isn’t full of anger like I guessed, but pain. I must have really given him a fright back there with the bet and hurt his pride. My chest is heavy with guilt as I bow down. “I understand that my joke went too far. Please forgive me for my disrespect. I will accept any punishment you bestow on me.”

            “Do you think I’m so thin-faced that I would punish you for simply pulling a prank on me? You got me the information I wanted; I should be more than grateful,” he says monotonously.

            “May I aid you on your trip to visit Minho hyung. I will do my best to you,” I offer, hoping he would be kind enough to let me make up for my crude joke.

            “No need,” he says and passes me a bamboo whistle. “my master taught me a few spells. Although this looks normal, I can always hear it as I linked myself to its tune. If you ever need me, blow it.” I gratefully take the item, tie it to my neckless, and tuck it in my lapel to keep it safe.

            “How would you contact me? It would be improper if I made you sneak into the palace every time.” Again, Taemin hyung puts out his hand, this time holding out a chain with multiple round bell-like silver orbs hanging from it in.

            “Although people in my time call these ‘harmony balls’ or ‘angel calling bells,’ don’t worry, it’s not only for pregnant people,” I look at him. “Uhh, don’t worry about it,” he says, clearly acknowledging my confusion. “Just know that I will send my energy to this chain when I need you and you will hear the small bells sound. As long as I am alive, the bells will react to my signal.”

            “Thank you,” I bow and fasten the bell ornament chain onto my waist sash. “If the bells react when you are alive, it would’ve been a good idea to give some to your hyungs.”

            “Yeah, if only I knew about this years ago,” he smiles, yet it seems so ingenuine. I scold myself silently again, as I realize that mentioning his separation with his hyungs is uncalled-for. I usually am always able to speak politely and carefully, but around Taemin hyung, I keep saying the wrong things.

“The sun will rise in a few hours. I think it is best of we part ways for now,” I suggest.

“Sounds good,” Taemin hyung says and flashes a small smile. “Thanks for helping me. My master told me that someone can help me get Minho hyung’s location, but it comes with a price. Hopefully, what I gave you is enough.”

“The honor is mine,” I bow. “Until next time.”

Jonghyun’s POV~

            “Hyung, I think I’m ready,” I whisper to Onew hyung, who is still accompanying me in my room. After the talk with Onew hyung, I feel much better about my relationship with Key and I’m ready to face him. I also don’t have the heart to make Key stand outside my room in the middle of the night any longer. It guilts me, knowing how Key is standing outside although the cold night breeze has already chilled him. If I leave him out there any longer, he might get sick.

            “Uhm,” Onew hyung smiles as he my head once more. “See you.” After he gathers all his items, he exits the room. I hear him exchange a few words with Key outside, but then leaves. How can I get Key to come in the room…If I call for him to come, he might feel too shy. If I ignore him, he’ll just keep standing outside in the cold…I nod to myself as I think of an idea. In a lot of dramas, they get the attention of their lover by acting more hurt than they really are. Since I’m already injured, and Key doesn’t know about my condition, even if I exaggerate just a bit, he wouldn’t know.

            I take a breath before I prepare everything in my head. With a deep breath, I sit up despite my injuries objecting. My breath hitches as I realize I’m actually not all that healed, and my wound is actually on the verge of tearing. Ah, screw it, I say to myself and roll off my bed. With a loud thump, I land on the floor loudly. I groan partly truthfully and partly acting. Although I am in pain, I usually wouldn’t be this dramatic. I hiss as I squeeze onto my injuries a bit too tightly and let the skin tear, forcing them to bleed once more. The doors swing open and I hear rushed footsteps coming my way. “Are you okay?” I hear Key’s gentle yet worried voice, almost like he was scared to startle me. His cold arms carefully wrap around my waist. Avoiding my injuries, he lifts me up and helps me back on my bed.

            His eyes scan my body and I can seem them slowly sinking deeper and deeper in worry. I quickly blurt out that I wanted something to drink to quickly distract him. He nods and pours me a quick cup of tea. He guides me up to lean against the wall and blows the liquid, making sure it’s not too hot for me to consume. He gingerly places the cup onto my chapped lips and helps me drink it, as my hands are all cut up from the battle. After a few cups, he sits there, still looking at my injuries in silence. Before I could think of what to say next, he touches my bandages tenderly. Despite the thick layering, I can feel the cold touch of his hands. It really is cold outside. After rummaging through the first aid material, he starts unraveling my bandages lightly. He switches them out with new ones and helps me stop the bleeding.

            Although the room is completely silent, I catch no sense of tension or awkwardness. Key is simply immersed in taking care of me and I have no intention of shooing him away. Waiting for the right moment to speak, I let out an “I’m sorry,” just to interrupt his apology. Key repeats himself and looks at the ground in shame.

            “Jonghyun hyung, I…” Key usually is a very honest person and never struggles to speak his mind. This time, seeing him hesitate to pick the next words to say, I can’t help but feel obligated to help him. Saving him from the task, I cut him off with a warm embrace.

            “I’m sorry I was acting so coldly towards you before the battle,” I say. “Sometimes I get too caught up with my emotions. Next time, even if you think I don’t want to see you, never stand outside in the cold like that for so many hours.” I pat his back. “You know I care about you, so abusing yourself like that can’t possibly make me feel better, understood?” I can feel his once tensed up body slowly relax and melt into my hug. He nods his head slightly and I gently rub the back of his head.

            “I’m sorry,” he hesitantly whispers.

            “Mm,” I hum. He places his arms on my back slowly, returning the embrace.

Minho’s POV~

            I notice that my body is no longer in immense pain. As I slowly regain consciousness, I sense that all my injuries have successfully healed, and my energy is slowly returning. Last time I woke up, I was quickly put back to sleep so I can continue to heal. This time, the sunrays are not blinding me, and I notice it’s thanks to a set of dark curtains covering the windows. My eyes eventually adjust to the dim lighting and I see a few Peacekeepers peacefully sleeping in the room as well. How many days have I been unconscious for? My body has fully healed, but I don’t know if that naturally or because someone healed me. I can’t possibly estimate how many days I’ve been away from my friends. These Peacekeepers were the one that healed me and took me back here when they knew my life was in danger. They kept mentioning their hyungnim, but I haven’t seen him yet.

            Now that I am in their lair, I should stay put and see what information I can take back to my friends. The hardest part is finding their hideout, but now that I’m already here, I can’t waste such an opportunity. The thing is, they know I am part of Heroes’ Rebellion and that I am loyal to the king. They held Taemin’s soul fragment against me, but the White Masked Hero already explained that I is a lie, “If I were to tell you Lee Taemin can come back without their help, would you believe me…When this is all over…when everything is at peace...I’ll help you. Heechul hyung went on a quest to find a way. We just need more time. The Peacekeepers are lying to you. They don’t have a real soul fragment,” I recall his words.

            If I continue to pretend to believe in their lies, would that be too suspicious? I also cannot pretend that I am staying with them because I’m grateful that they saved my life. When I came to them injured, I lied and said my friends knew and attacked me at the banquet. I got it. Naturally, if I lost my standing in Heroes’ Rebellion and the Palace due to my ‘betrayal,’ I would have nowhere left to go. I have no family and no friends to turn to. Even if I were to escape, if anyone from Heroes’ Rebellion or the Palace spotted me, I would be arrested. They will simply think that I am staying here because I have nowhere to run to…Even if this is the case, my personality wouldn’t simply give up and not put up a fight. I’m too stubborn to abandon my friends and they can guess that. If anything, they will be suspicious of me since they can easily guess that I am sticking around to spy on them. Do they really think that I would betray everyone for Taemin’s soul fragment? But then again…I did decide to die along with Taemin because I knew that his soul cannot exchange for the lives that will be shed due to the war…Ugh, I cannot guess what the Peacekeepers are thinking. How much do they know about me and what’s their plan?

Kai’s POV~

            “Hey,” Taemin hyung says as he sits beside me on the palace rooftop. I turn to look at him and notice that he has a loose cloth covering his face. The moonlight outlines his face as he is looking forward. He must be so mad that he can’t even look at me…I think to myself. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed together, creating a crease on his face. I nibble on the inside of my lip nervously, awaiting a scolding from him. He changes his position and surprisingly sits himself behind me, leaning his back against mine. He slouches a bit and leans onto my back even more comfortably. The heat from his body radiates onto mine and warms me up slightly on this cold night. He shifts a bit more and finally sighs again. “How much longer?” he asks quietly. Does he mean how much longer do I have to live? I struggle to form an answer, as I myself do not know how much time I have left.

            “Depends on the supply of monster beads I take,” I finally reply after much hesitation. I fumble my thumbs around as I hear him sigh.

            “No, I meant how much longer were you planning to hide this from me?” he says painstakingly, his voice slightly shaky. I freeze as my heart sinks. I feel his body softly shaking against mine. My emotions jumble up as I struggle to find the right way to react. Taemin hyung is crying…because of me. My vision starts to blur as my eyes water themselves. As the tears flow down my face, I continue to stay as still as possible so Taemin hyung can remain leaning on me comfortably. I hear him sniffling behind me and I cry even harder. I bend down to my knees and cry in them as I blame myself for hurting my hyung.

            “I was afraid you’d worry,” I utter. “I knew you would be upset.”

            “You’re my best friend,” Taemin hyung’s voice cracks as his tears continue to shed. “I’m supposed to be here for you. I-I—” he chokes on his words and exhales painfully. “Ahh why the hell am I crying?” He frustratingly slaps his palms onto his face and wipes the tears. “It’s not like you’re dead. Why should I cry?” he tries joking, but only manages to get in a few chuckles as he attempts to hold down his tears. I can’t take it anymore. I straighten up my back and try to turn around, but stop as soon as he utters, “Don’t look at me.”

            “I won’t,” I say and turn around to face his back. I reach forward and pull him into a gentle hug. His loosens his folded arms, places a hand on mine, and pats it a few times. “Don’t blame yourself. It was my choice to hide it from you,” I too sniffle and try to calm down my crying. I am just too touched. Taemin hyung has always been burdened with a lot of responsibilities, so it warms me knowing that despite all that he is going through, I still am someone that he cares about. He still has the time and energy to care for me even with everything that he is facing. After a while, I feel Taemin hyung wipe his face a few more times and both our crying has subsided.

            “You hid a secret from me, so you can’t be mad at me for hiding something from you,” Taemin hyung finally says. He pats my hand to signal me to leg so and I back up a bit to give him some space. Taemin hyung straightens his back and unties the black face-covering. “Grr why did I cry? Now I’m not going to look as handsome.” Although I am not facing Taemin hyung’s front view, I can tell that he is pouting by the sound of his voice. I smile at his childishness and await his reveal. As he turns around to face me, I slowly see that his milky-white skin is flawless. His jawline is now sharp and much more masculine than how it was years ago. With him facing me entirely, my jaw drops as I realize that his face is completely healed. His eyes glimmer under the moonlight and his puffy eyes are forming a slight shadow on his face. Despite the heavy crying, I cannot deny his handsomeness. Taemin hyung looks almost the same as he was years ago, yet more attractive and mature.

            My body feels as if a heavy burden has been lifted off of it as I pounce forward and hug Taemin hyung again, this time twirling him around in the air as my laughter echoes through the silent night. “Ahh~” I scream happily as he starts giggling as well. I finally put him down and examine his handsome face once more. “When did your face heal!? You kept this from me?!”

            “Consider us even~” Taemin hyung sticks his tongue out and teases me. “I was healed by my master before the banquet. I actually disguised myself as a eunuch while Gun Tae disguised as the White Masked Hero.”

            “I knew something was up, but I wasn’t exactly sure what was your plan,” I slap a hand on my knee. “Ahh you got me good. Wait, Gun Tae has a human form now?”

            “Yes, my master honestly is amazing. He always has a solution to everything. Gun Tae can now switch back and forth between his human and wolf form now.”

            “This is great! But hey, I only kept one secret from you. You kept so many from me!” I complain.

            “Please,” Taemin hyung scowls. “Don’t you dare compare my secrets to yours.” And with that, the air turns serious once more.

            “I’m sorry…”

            “Baekhyun hyung knew but I didn’t!? How is that even fair!? Like come on Kai, I know that you like him and all, but I knew you much longer! You’re picking someone over your best friend?” I nearly choke on my own saliva.

            “Wait what? I like Baekhyun hyung?” I lean back, surprised. “What do you mean??”

            “Kai, stop acting~” Taemin hyung shoves my shoulder in a friendly manner. “You don’t have to be shy.”

            “I swear I don’t like him!”

            “Oh? Then why do you spend so much time with him? You walk him to his room at night, he visits you and brings you food that he prepares himself, and just hours ago, I saw you tenderly escorting him out of the Monster Arena.” Taemin hyung imitates the way I gently walked Baekhyun hyung out and made a ‘you gotta be kidding me’ look.

            “Taemin hyung, you got it all wrong. I walk him to his room and spend a lot of time with him because he gets bullied by others in the palace and he is helping me write down my story. I’m afraid that once I start to lose my humanity, I’ll lose my memory so he’s giving me a hand. He feeds me because I keep covering somebody’s shift,” he smiles as he knows that I am hinting at him for always making me take his place. “So, I don’t eat enough. And about walking him out, he’s a fragile person. He doesn’t practice any martial arts and doesn’t have any internal energy. If I don’t take care of him, what if he gets hurt? I’m just taking care of him because he’s a nice guy.”

            “Look, I’m not against it so you don’t have to deny it. He’s a nice guy and luckily for you, he doesn’t care that you’re a monster, so you already knocked down that barrier. The only problem you have now is to keep yourself alive long enough to take care of him for the rest of his life.” Taemin hyung nods proudly.

            “Hyung, just because you’re gay, Minho hyung’s gay, Onew hyung’s gay, Joon hyung’s gay, Jonghyun hyung’s gay, doesn’t mean I’m gay or Baekhyun hyung.”

            “You sure about that?” He raises an eyebrow.

            “Hyung, being gay isn’t an illness. Just because I’m surrounded by all of you male couples, doesn’t mean I have a thing for guys.”

            “Birds of the same flock fly together~”

            “Hyung!”

            “Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” Taemin hyung puts his arms up. “But hear me out,” he sits down next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I’m just saying this because I don’t want you to follow me around all the time and to live a life that only revolves around me. It doesn’t matter if you end up liking a girl, a guy, a dog, cat, horse, bird—”

            “Hyung!” I cry, cutting off his list.

            “I’m just saying…If you love someone, don’t just look pass it. Because one day, you might end up regretting it.” Taemin hyung looks at me. “Take me and Minho hyung for example. Yeah sure we love each other, but have we ever had the chance to fully enjoy loving each other? In Heroes’ Rebellion, so many things happened that preventing us from having even a relaxing day to enjoy each other’s presence. As the White Masked Hero, Minho hyung was too busy struggling between the Peacekeepers, the king, and my death. If anything, the only days we spent happily together was when we went monster hunting and that sure as hell wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Now look at us…one’s trapped with the Peacekeepers while one is trapped between figuring out what’s right and wrong. If you want to love someone, don’t hold back. Protect who you love and enjoy yourself while you can. Look at Joon hyung and Onew hyung for example. They’re not going to waste time figuring out their feelings, fighting, or whatever. They know their time together is precious, so they support and love each other at all costs.”

            “Hyung, you know I don’t have much longer to live—”

            “So, during this time, love to the fullest. You can’t leave this world behind regretting everything. Even if you don’t think you like him, or if you just don’t want to admit it,” Taemin hyung coughs jokingly. “Don’t do anything that you will regret. Leave him with great memories of your interactions, so even if you are to leave him one day, he can survive thinking about all the beautiful memories.”

            I think back about all of our conversations and feel immediate guilt as I think back to the times he looked out for me when my claws appeared and when he cried, afraid that I am risking too much for Taemin hyung. Although our relationship started off as me protecting him from bullies out of kindness, he silently took care of me and asked for nothing back. All I do is make him worry and now that I am slowly losing my humanity, he is taking care of me. I don’t know if I like Baekhyun hyung or not, but I do know that I feel safe and support when I am with him. He is a kind person and I shouldn’t make him worry too much.

            “Monsters are supposed to live for a very long time…We are supposed to have very long lifespans and can even turn into celestial beasts if we live long enough without evil in our hearts. Now that I barely have a bead and continuously steal beads from other monsters…I don’t know how I will end up. I just…” I hesitate for a while, but finally speak my mind. “I don’t want to die just yet.”

            “Do you know any other method besides stealing beads?” Taemin hyung asks. I shake my head, ‘no.’

            “Only celestial beasts that lived long enough would know. The monster world is really a mystery as they either kill each other off for beads or leave each other completely alone. Even Joon hyung only knows minimal information. Although we are all monsters, we do not know much because we never interacted much or done much.”

            “There’s no almighty monster leader or something?”

            “None that I know of. The monsters that lived for over a thousand years have magical powers and became celestial beasts for deities or other celestial beings. And keep themselves secluded from the human world. Only lowly monsters like us are around as far as I know.”

            “How can I differentiate a celestial beast from a powerful monster?”   

            “The higher the cultivation of a monster, the more beautiful and unworldly they are. Powerful monsters have a strong killing aura while celestial beasts are naturally healers due to their pure energy. Since celestial beings tend to belong to someone above, they have symbols that show their ownership. Oh, don’t be mistaken though, powerful monsters and celestial beasts can take human form, so it’s honestly hard to tell. You would have to get really close to see their ownership marking or be able to get their energy’s aura to tell. Why are you asking anyway?”

            “I just want to know in case I ever encounter one. If I do, maybe I can ask them a few questions!”

            “Pfft, you make it sound so easy. If you can just casually bump into one, I would’ve found one already and asked how to save myself.”

            “True…” Taemin hyung pouts in defeat. “Wait, you said the beasts can be under someone. Can powerful monsters be under someone as well?”

            “Definitely. The weaker monsters can be controlled by someone and the stronger ones can bind themselves to an owner for whatever reason. The monster or beast will be marked by a symbol while the owner would have an object to summon them.” Taemin hyung pulls out a pale green crystal whistle and shows it to me.

            “Kinda like this thing?” he asks. I touch the cold object and nod after feeling the spiritual energy radiating from it.

            “How’d you get this?!”

            “From a dragon I encountered. I helped saved his babies while he and his wife were terribly injured. After dropping me off, he gave this to me.”

            “You made a pact with a dragon!?”

            “Honestly, my master taught me how to link my internal energy with objects like whistles and bells too, so I didn’t think much of it. Mr. Dragon told me it’s to return a favor. I’m sure I can just give it back to him after he helps me.”

            “I can’t believe you just got a dragon to link its spirit with you and you’re just so casual about it.”

            “It’s not like I fully comprehend the situation!” Taemin hyung flails his arms.

            “Hyung, dragons are celestial beasts! They are extremely rare because they were hunted by people back in the day to be their slaves. They disappeared off the face of the earth and were never found again. People thought they went extinct.”

            “He’s a celestial beast? Why did he need my help then?” Taemin hyung asks nonchalantly. His unenthusiastic expression is frustrating to look at. He seriously doesn’t understand how powerful he is to have a dragon working for him!

            “Hyung, you said you saved his babies?”

            “Yeah, when I bumped into them, his wife and kids were terribly injured. I transferred internal energy to them and apparently that was enough. He told me he owed me his life and I had him fly me back after I realized how many days I was gone for.”

            “He let you mount him!?”

            “Uhm,” Taemin hyung nods.

            “Okay…” I try to calm myself down before I scream any louder. “Basically, they needed your help because when a dragon gives birth, they lose all of their spiritual power. The babies take three days after birth to gain their own spiritual power, meaning only the father had spiritual energy. Because he is protecting his wife and kids, he must have been injured by a powerful monster and couldn’t possibly heal his wife and kids. On a side note, this is also why dragons were so easily hunted by humans. Anyway, you have an immense supply of internal energy, so you were able to heal them enough for them to survive. Although your measly human internal energy isn’t enough to completely heal them, you were able to extend their life long enough for the male dragon to gain enough energy to heal them. You see, celestial beasts are not always invincible. They also need help of others, which is why they tend to have a master of some sort. To repay you, he decided to make you his owner.”

            “But he didn’t need to do that.”

            “Exactly why I’m surprised! Celestial beasts are extremely picky with their masters, so I thought a regular human wouldn’t be easily chosen. Not to mention he let you fly on him, meaning you are put in the highest level! Most celestial beings are only companions of their owners, not a steed. If anything, he could’ve just given you a scale and call it a day.”

            “A scale? Like his dragon scale? On his body?”

            “Yeah! Dragon scales can be used to heal. It’s an extremely difficult item to attain so he could’ve just given you one and let you go.”

            “Then why did he decide to make me his master? He didn’t tell me about it and just gave me the whistle.”         

            “Honestly, I have no idea what this dragon is thinking…”

            “Hey, but on the bright side, I can go and ask him if he knows how to save you!” Taemin hyung and I cheer. “I’ll go right away—”

            “Wait, don’t you want to go visit Minho hyung first? We just found out his location.” Taemin hyung halts for a bit and then smiles warmly.

            “Minho hyung can wait a bit longer. My best friend’s chance of survival is much too important to look past.”

~Comments are loved~

I'm curious to see how many people actually still read my fanfiction...