Roughly Twelve Years Ago In The Seong Clan Library

  Tae followed closely behind Eun-U. The promise of getting to see the library was more than enough to entice him. The large wooden doors opened and Eun-U gestured for Tae to go inside. Tae hurried passed and felt his heart lighten at the sight of all the shelves filled with books and scrolls.

  “You said you knew how to read,” Eun-U said, still in the doorway, “So I’ll leave you to it. Spend as long as you like here. I’ll send someone to check on you around meal time unless you show up in the kitchens before then.”

  Tae nodded, staring at the stacks of written treasures before him. He heard the doors close as Eun-U left, but was too engrossed in examining the shelves to turn at the sound. Seems the section he’d wandered into was filled with the musings of the great scholars. Tae found a familiar title, one his mother had mentioned to him, and slid the book out of the shelf. He mentally marked where he’d found the book so he could return it to its place later, before he hunted for a place to settle in to read it. It took a bit of winding through the shelves before he found a window. Tae sat, leaning against the wall beside the window, and eagerly opened the book.

  Between his captors’ teachings, and what his mother had taught him, Tae was able to understand what was written. Some phrases did take him a few tries as the way a scholar wrote was a bit different, but he was still able to fully immerse himself. The shuffling of pages nearby pulled him from the book and Tae glanced around for the source of the sound. A little ways down the hall like shelves stood a familiar figure. It was a pleasant surprise to have it be someone he recognized.

  Tae pretended to continue to read, keeping an eye on Hyuk. The young man snuck glances his way as he browsed the shelves. Tae smirked to himself. It made sense for the man to be curious about him. They’d only interacted a few times in morning training after all, and Tae knew everything about himself, especially his eye and hair colour, sparked curiosity.

  “You could always come and sit beside me when you find whatever you’re looking for.” Tae said. He had to fight against the smile that tugged at his lips when Hyuk jumped in surprise. Tae lifted his head so he could look squarely at Hyuk. The delicate features of the man’s face were accentuated by the flush of embarrassment that reddened his cheeks and ears. “What, thought I wouldn’t notice you?”

  “I’d hoped you were as engrossed in your book as you appeared to be.” Hyuk sighed. “I was going to ask if I could sit by you after I’d found the book though, so I’ll take you up on that.”

  After a few moments Hyuk found the book he’d been looking for and made his way to Tae. He sat on the other side of the window, his back to the wall as well. The two sat in comfortable silence reading. Tae closed the book he’d just finished feeling satisfied. It was everything he remembered his mother saying it was. He pulled his legs up to his chest, arms wrapped around his knees, book still in hand. He rested his cheek on his legs and watched the pretty boy next to him read.

  Hyuk was bathed in the soft sunlight. It made his dark brown hair glow slightly. His long eyelashes only added to the femininity of his appearance. Tae wondered to himself if that was why he felt more comfortable around Hyuk than the others. It was strange to him, this sense of peace around another person.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  It’d been years since he’d felt safe around anyone. He knew that the only reason he felt as safe as he did around Eun-U was that oath the man had made. But Hyuk hadn’t done anything like that. He should feel uncomfortable, he should be wary and feel a sense of unease being this close to someone without a weapon within easy reach. Instead he felt calm.

  Tae was learning that there were lots of new things he hadn’t felt, seen, or heard before. Everything about the Seong clan was foreign to him. There were guards, they’d be stupid not to have any, but they were only stationed at the gates and outer walls. He’d been told they also patrolled outside. But they weren’t at every corner like he was used to. Then again, they weren’t trying to keep people in and worried about their captives escaping. There were no slaves here. Instead, all they worried about was keeping people safe.

  Tae closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of sunlight against his skin. He trusted his senses to tell him if anyone else approached. He let the warmth and quiet sooth him and relaxed.

  ***

  Hyuk couldn’t help but flick glances at the stunning man beside him. He’d focused intensely on his book when Tae-Hwan had finished his own. Another glance revealed that Tae-Hwan was resting. Hyuk was mesmerized for a moment. The man’s white hair glittered in the sunlight. His sleeves were pushed up slightly exposing his arms and Hyuk realized that they were covered in scars. The sunlight made them more apparent as they almost seemed to reflect the light.

  A couple were clearly burn marks, others were clearly from his fights in that horror of a training arena he’d told them about the other day. Hyuk stared trying to figure out what was up with Tae-Hwan’s wrists, there was something odd about the scars there. He felt his eyes widen when it clicked into place. Those were scars from being shackled for too long. Hyuk gripped his book as he realized that they looked just like the scars he’d seen around Tae-Hwan’s neck. He glanced at the man’s feet. They were obviously covered, but Hyuk knew that if there were scars like that around his wrists and neck, there’d be ones just like them around his ankles.

  How was he still sane after living through that? Hyuk questioned. Then he realized there was a good chance that the man wasn’t fully sane. In fact, Eun-U’s behaviour made a lot more sense now. Tae-Hwan was as skittish as a wild animal, obviously with good reason. Eun-U had been very careful about who their guest interacted with, he’d talked to people before introducing them to Tae-Hwan, laying out some groundwork. He was likely worried that something would set Tae-Hwan off and knew that things could very easily go wrong very quickly.

  Hyuk had previously decided he wanted to try to befriend the mysterious new man. The man was a skilled fighter and there was much Hyuk could learn from him. Now however, there was more to it than the curiosity he’d felt before. Now he wanted to befriend the man so that he’d feel a little less alone. There was so much that would be different here, so much to adjust to, things he wouldn’t know or understand. Maybe, just maybe, if Hyuk and the others supported him it would be a little easier.

  Tae-Hwan’s breathing deepened, and Hyuk couldn’t help but watch as the man’s face softened. He was absolutely stunning. The man looked both incredibly handsome, and otherworldly beautiful. The sight of him that first day had been enough to convince Hyuk that there was truth to the stories of guardian spirits and deities that walked the earth among them. The few moments he’d seen the man genuinely smile Hyuk had felt like his heart would stop. He’d once scoffed at the tales of being bewitched by the beauty of crafty spirits. Now he completely understood them. If they could mesmerize with the same effortless grace… Hyuk knew he’d never stand a chance.

  He felt reassured watching Tae-Hwan breathe. The man felt like he belonged in a more mystical world that sometimes Hyuk was worried he’d blink and the man would vanish. The sound of Tae-Hwan’s breathing was soothing. That, combined with the warmth of the sun, Hyuk felt his eyes grow heavy. He felt the book slip out of his hands as he slipped into an unintended sleep.