~Chapter 58~

The Fairy, the Wife, and the Secret

No One’s POV~

            Taemin pets the baby dragons with skepticism as he tries to ignore the two beaming eyes glued onto him. A chill runs down his spine as he feels the pair of eyes follow his every move to the point that he stops moving altogether. Taemin had enough and finally lets out a sigh as he gives Wonshik a side glance. “What do you want?”

            “I feel myself falling deeper and deeper into your spell,” Wonshik hums sweetly. “Have you always been this entrancing?”

            “Did the dagger do more damage than we thought?” Taemin shakes his head and gets up. “Go find yourself a doctor or something.”

            “Where are you going? I can help you,” Wonshik says and stands up with haste. 

            “Listen stalker, I’m leaving to get away from you,” Taemin says monotonously and turns around.

            “Please, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

            “Well you sure aren’t doing a good job,” Taemin holds back a laugh. The usually playful and energetic Wonshik is now acting like he is in a trance. His voice is soft and gentle, almost like he is a shy child asking for a new toy. His eyes shine with sincerity as he stands in from of Taemin who is still dressed as the White Masked Hero. “What’s going on with you?”

            “A beautiful lady such as you should not be dressed like this. Why must you hide your beauty. If people were to know that the White Masked Hero was a fair young lady, the entire country would lay at your feet.”

            “H-huh? Lady?” Taemin nearly stumbles. “What in the world are you spewing.” Without a moment of hesitation, Wonshik takes a hold of Taemin’s hand with a quick swoop and places it onto his chest.

            “You thought I wouldn’t find out? I fell in love with you the moment we met. The heavens must have sent me here to reunite with you, my Little Fairy.”

            “Your Little Fairy?!” Taemin squeaks. “We need to take you to Mr. Dragon right away. I think your brain is damaged.”

            “No, please hear me out,” Wonshik pleads. “In my whole life, I have never been this drawn to a woman. From the first time I saw you, it almost felt like the heavens have drawn us together. I am willing to give you everything. I am willing to be your slave. Why must you deny your identity?”

            “Look kid, I’m a man.”

            “Do you not believe in my sincere words? I know, I know I have been around a lot of women and you must be skeptical of me, but I am willing to drop everything,” Wonshik falls to his knees and raises his hand, swearing to the gods. “I swear that every word I say to you is the truth. Please, be my wife.”

            “What are you even talking about?! What gave you the idea that I’m a woman? Listen kid, I’m not going to be your wife or anyone’s ‘wife’ for that matter. Whatever lie you fed yourself, forget it before you get yourself hurt.”

            “I know that it has not been that long since we have lived together but I hope I have left you with a good impression. I hope that you can tell that I am pouring my heart out for you.”

            “Unlike you, I haven’t forgotten that you are kept here as hostage only for you to try to steal from us and help out the terrible king. I know for a fact that you can’t accept the fact that I’m a dude and quite frankly even if I was a woman, I wouldn’t be into you, you womanizer. Now if you excuse me, I have some monsters to check on,” Taemin tears his hand away and quickly leaves. As he exits the cave, he hears Wonshik’s voice shouting behind him.

            “One day you will see the love I have for you, Little Fairy!”

            Jonghyun offers Key water as he sits down next to him in front of the fireplace. The soldiers have set up camp and the army are resting for the night after a long distance. Key takes the water graciously and gulps down half the bottle before passing it back to Jonghyun, knowing very well that he gave Key the water before he drank it himself. With a smile, Jonghyun drinks the rest of the water and sets the bottle to the side. For a while, the two men sit beside one another in a comfortable silence as they enjoy the calm nighttime air. The stars tonight are especially bright since it was a new moon. The warmth from the fire and the occasional crackling sound of the burning wood is all that can be heard as the soldiers keep quiet to not alert any unwanted guests. Feeling the aura from Jonghyun and Key’s monster-slaying weapons would keep them away, but it does not hurt to be safe.

            Key looks at the reflection of the orange fire dancing in Jonghyun’s eyes. As the light from the fire dances around, he notices how sharp Jonghyun’s jawline was, how perfectly his lips curled up, and how tempting his face looked altogether. Key smiles gently as he appreciates the male’s comforting presence. Although this is his first time leading an army to eradicate an entire unknown territory, having Jonghyun with him has eased his worries. He has slayed monsters with the male countless times and even spent long nights talking about life. Needless to say, having Jonghyun around is the best gift the king has given him on this mission. Although his hate for the king is enough for him to kill the man without a second thought, he is grateful he allowed Jonghyun along. “What are you staring at me for?” Jonghyun asks softly. Key breaks from his gaze and immediately reaches his hand out to wipe off some dirt on Jonghyun’s face.

            “Your untidy state was bothering me,” Key lies, hoping Jonghyun doesn’t make fun of him for staring at him for no reason other than to simply admire him.

            “Thanks,” Jonghyun says as he wipes his face onto his sleeve, hoping to clean off all the grime from the trip. “Hey…you know…I was thinking…”

            “Yeah?” Key looks at his friend with concern as Jonghyun fumbles with his thumbs, struggling to find the right words to say.

            “It’s funny how indestructible we act like we are,” Jonghyun finally says.

            “What do you mean?”

            “We are this country’s most powerful heroes and at the prime of our youth. We are constantly sent to settle problems around the land, and we have always come back with the glory of our victory. It’s almost like all the civilians put all of their hopes on us, nearly praising us like gods. They know that no matter what, we will return with victory and continue to keep them safe.”

            “That sounds about right,” Key agrees. “What’s wrong?”

            “This mission…the odds of us succeeding is very slim, am I right?” Jonghyun’s words immediately slaps away all the calmness he felt moments ago. Even before the army set out, Key knew very well that the odds are against them. The enemy is two or three times larger than the number of soldiers he was given, the food supply is minimal, the weapons aren’t catered to monster slaying, and the road is long and hazardous. Indeed, this is going to be a very difficult battle. “If I were to die…Don’t ever be like that monster and kill yourself…” Key thinks back to the time that he and Jonghyun hunted down a monster that ate human flesh. After the monster was killed, its partner killed itself out of despair. Key’s heart feels heavy at the though of Jonghyun not being by his side, but he quickly puts on an indifferent expression. 

            “Why would I die?” he asks. Jonghyun clears his throat and sits straighter, almost like he was struggling to find what to say next.

            “Oh…I meant…ah since we are so close, don’t feel too sad and—”

            “If I were to die too…how would you live on?” Key looks at him straight in the face.

            “What?” Jonghyun blinks a few times, confused.

            “If you were ever to leave this world, I must live on because you will live through me. The things you’ve done, the ways you influenced me, our memories…will all live through me. As long as I keep living, you will too. I will never ever accept the fact that you died, and I will never ever let you die. No matter what, you will live on.”

            “Oh…” Jonghyun says in awe, caught off guard by Key’s response. He doesn’t know exactly why he had to bring up such a dark topic, but they are going to war after all. If everyone were to come back alive, that would be a miracle.

            “If I were to die—”

            “I won’t be able to live on,” Jonghyun finishes Key’s sentence without a moment of hesitation.

            “Jonghyun hyung…” Key says slowly. “Would you want me to die if you were gone?”

            “No, I would want you to live on. Live a better life even without me.”

            “Then what makes you think I would be okay if you were to die with me?” Key hits Jonghyun’s arm lightly, almost like he was punishing him for giving such an unideal answer.

            “Promise me, that you would try to live the best life possible. That you would try your hardest to make this life the most meaningful. That you would never give up on your own life because of me,” Jonghyun cups his hand on top of Key’s and gives it a gentle squeeze.

            “I promise…as long as you promise me this…” Key uncontrollably tears up as he stares deeply into Jonghyun’s eyes. “No matter where you are. No matter what you become…you will always watch over me, support me, and love me.”

            “I promise.”

            Kai dashes through the forest, zooming past the dense trees and plants. With every step, his paws dig deeper into the moldy soil, propelling him further and further. He is traveling through the forbidden forest in his wolf form so he can conserve energy and travel faster. With every passing minute, his legs lose their feeling, almost like his body was trying to hide its tiredness from him. The troop would take much longer to march to the forest and make their way through it due to their large number. Without even a wink of rest, Kai has surpassed the army for quite a distance. Even when they set up camp for the night, Kai took this chance to skip sleep and give himself an even greater advantage. With his hyungs’ lives on the line, Kai does not dare to take any risks. Even if his heart were to stop from exhaustion, it would be worth it.

            Eventually, his body gives into the strain and collapses. As he was moving at such a quick speed, his body skids onto the forest ground, giving him numerous abrasions. He does not even bother hissing at the pain and just focuses on catching his breath. Come on Kai, you can’t give in now, he tells himself. His ears perk up as he hears a familiar voice, “Just because I’m still recovering from the chains, it doesn’t mean I can’t beat you up!” Kai was following their bead’s connection all the way here but was not able to pinpoint Taemin’s exact location. With his voice in range, he must be close to the territory. He quickly forces himself to get up opposing his legs’ cry for more rest and limps toward the voice.

            With one smooth movement, Taemin tied Wonshik to a tree as Moonkyu chuckles. Wonshik has been follow Taemin around calling him ‘Little Fairy’ and trying to seduce him with his words. The two do not know where Wonshik’s love for the White Masked Hero came from, but his belief that he is a woman and is his future wife is enough to drive them both crazy. Although Moonkyu is close with Wonshik, he can’t help but to be a bit pleased as Taemin left Wonshik tied to a tree. At least with him ‘subdued,’ he can’t run around asking for the White Masked Hero’s hand in marriage.

            Before Moonkyu can enjoy his rest, he almost gets a heart attack as he nearly gets trampled by a humongous wolf. He lets out a cough of disbelief as he gets up from the ground and holds back a yell. The wolf was ginormous. Its sharp claws dug holes into the ground as its bright blue eyes intensely stares at him. Its grayish brown fur is swaying in the wind as its heavy breathing echoes through the still air. The wolf was clearly not one of the monsters from the den so Moonkyu immediately fell into deep terror. He quickly bends down, grabs a large branch, and holds it up in front of him. Unfortunately for him, he looked anything but threatening. His usual brave façade could not be upheld since his lack of a true weapon stripped away all of his confidence. Before he can make a run for it, Kai’s voice nearly scares him half to death, “Take me to my hyung.”

            Minho clutches onto his flute with uncertainty as he looks at the Peacekeepers. He has been hiding his secret from Taemin for quite a while now and he can’t help but feel the guilt eat him alive. Although he knows his actions might cause a rift in their relationship, he is certain that this is the only way he can defeat the emperor. “Is everything ready?” he asks them.

            “It’s hard to tell. We are not entirely sure if you would have full control,” one of them answers.

            “Well time is running out,” Minho says impatiently. “I can’t just practice for much longer. We need to take action.”

            “Minho, we can’t risk everything like this. You have to master the—”

            “Then tell me, how much longer would it take for me to master it?” he tightens his grip on his flute. “The longer we wait the closer we are to our deaths.”

            “We can’t get it done if we are too rash. What did rushing get us so far?” another Peacekeeper says. Minho presses his lips together in frustration and stands up.

            “Let’s keep practicing.”

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