Chapter Text
This corner of the forest—or village, or whatever people called this place—was known as Mirk. There was no sun this time of year; only dark clouds and heavy rain. One was lucky to have a day without the downpour. Today was not that day. The water fell from the sky as if there were no tomorrow.
Usually, Jongho never paid any attention to the weather, but for some reason he found it sombre that night. There he was, leaning against the wall near the balcony door, both hands buried deep inside his linen trousers and an unreadable expression on his youthful face. Before him, separated from the balcony by twin doors made of clear glass with a wooden frame, was the murky backyard.
Jongho gazed outside, his brown eyes tracked through the harsh wind and pouring rain, and the backyard below blurred, indistinct shape. If he averted his gaze further, the shadows of pine trees on the border of the backyard welcomed him. None of it could give him peace.
Jongho intended to bring his worries to sleep. He had tried, to no avail; he was too restless and couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. The day that he dreaded the most would come tomorrow. While Jongho mulled over his inner turmoil, a sudden warmth engulfed him from behind. A warm gush of wind followed by a deep voice whispered in his left ear.
“You're supposed to be in your bed and fast asleep now, not staring at nothingness on the second floor in a secluded area like this, Jongho.”
“And you’re not supposed to sneak into Youhe* dorms in the middle of the night, Mingi. If the elders know, they will punish you.”
The man behind him snorted, “They won’t catch me.”
Jongho didn’t move an inch. From the reflection on the glass doors, his eyes met with Mingi’s. Mingi lazily rested his chin on Jongho’s shoulder. His lanky left hand hanging loosely around Jongho’s shoulder, his slightly taller body slouched against him. Mingi’s flame-like hair brushed against Jongho’s burgundy one, and he let his sharp gaze bore into Jongho’s.
Under normal circumstances, Jongho wouldn’t have even thought twice about throwing Mingi off, but tonight, he leaned back slightly into Mingi’s solid presence, allowing it to anchor him. Jongho knew that Mingi knew what was going on inside his mind. Above anyone else in the Runa clan, Mingi had once stood where he was now.
“Why don’t you join the other Youhe? They are sleeping so they can be ready for tomorrow,” Mingi tried again.
Jongho released a heavy breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
Mingi sighed, “It’s just a coming-of-age ceremony. You’ll be fine.”
Jongho felt a tremor of fear. It wasn't just a ceremony; for a red-haired bearer like him, it was a near-death sentence, his abilities—the ability to grant wishes with equal consequence—demanding the most dangerous first mission. He worried about his future, but more about Mingi's past.
His gaze fixed on his and Mingi’s reflections: his red-wine hair a stark contrast to Mingi’s flame-like strands. The two colours mingling in the darkness. Their hair was the mark of their status in clan, a constant reminder that they weren’t like the others. While every Runa faced their coming-of-age ceremony at 24, the red-haired bearers could expect far more dangerous first mission.
The Runa clan was always full of special people. They claimed themselves as secret keepers, and yes, Runas had special power. Among those Runas, those who were born with red hair had a very special place in the clan. Either male or female, those red-haired Runas were bearers—they could carry a child inside their body. Runa’s people believed that it was an honour as a human, ‘cause they could bear the future of their special clan. Not only that, but those with red hair also possessed great rare ability, and this made this small community exist for centuries. Jongho was one of those people. He was the first person in Runa’s history who could grant wishes with an equal consequence. Together with the nature of his power, his supernatural sense was above anyone else. He could thread his way through every dimension just to find an equal consequence for every wish. His power was admirable yet dangerous. Since he could remember, his childhood was filled with training together with fellow red-haired and Mingi.
“But.. Mingi is a rare case,” said Jongho in his head.
Even though he wasn’t born with red hair, his flame-like hair was the only one in the clan. No one before him or after him that born with hair like his. Just like how rare his hair was, Mingi’s gift was one of a kind. He could teleport, not just in terms of moving to a different place, but he could move to another time and space. It was almost similar to Jongho’s power. That’s why Jongho was close to him. Jongho wouldn’t admit it loudly, but he considered Mingi his brother. Mingi could understand what other people didn’t. While Mingi’s gift was unbelievable, the consequences following his power were also great. The elders said Mingi's age would be shorter than most people, and it would make him somewhat fragile. Mingi was scared of a lot of things. When Mingi and Jongho were children, Jongho protected Mingi more than the other way around.
Jongho remembered Mingi’s coming-of-age ceremony last year. Mingi, along with another Youhe at that time, got a special grade A mission. The head of the clan announced that his mission was to steal a key from the dragon chamber in Dragon Dynasty. The problem was that the dynasty had become extinct a thousand years ago. Mingi’s mission was extremely dangerous because not only did he need to travel to the past, but also to infiltrate the royal family of the Dragon Dynasty. While the higher-ups considered it suitable for him because of his power, Jongho worried sick because of it. Mingi might have a scary face and sturdy body posture that could intimidate people easily, but Jongho knew of all people that he was a scaredy cat and soft at heart.
Jongho still begrudgingly held hard feelings because of that event. He wasn’t physically there during Mingi’s coming-of-age ceremony because they prohibited Runa’s clan members who were below 24 years old from witnessing the ceremony. That’s why Jongho didn’t have a single idea of Mingi’s departure and lost contact with him. Jongho heard about his mission the very next day after the ceremony and found out that Mingi didn’t even say goodbye to him.
It was the longest and hardest time of Jongho’s life. He was tortured by his thoughts about Mingi’s whereabouts and condition. No one could guarantee his safety or his life. No one could guarantee he would come back. Some days, Jongho couldn’t even sleep because, yes, there were some youhe that never came back from their missions. This ceremony was like a death sentence.
But then, three months after his departure, Mingi returned. But this Mingi wasn’t the same as Mingi when he left. There was something peculiar about this Mingi. His fingernails were all black. His facial feature was sharper, as well as his gaze. His body got firmer, his muscles were prominent, and his stance was like that person who is ready for combat. His demeanour and aura changed as if he were a completely different person. His mission was a success and made him an official adult in the clan. But then, Mingi’s mental condition was spiralling down. He lost his appetite, his visions were always blank, and he barely talked to anyone. He isolated himself even when he was with Jongho. Jongho didn’t give up, though. He was stubborn enough until this peculiar version of Mingi bothered him enough to open up to him.
“Jongho,” Mingi called.
“Hm?” Jongho replied while preparing some food for Mingi’s dinner. Since he was barely out of his room, Jongho tried to bring a tray of food to his room every single day. There’s a wooden table near the windows. It used to be Mingi’s working desk, but since he came back, he hasn’t used it.
“What will you do if you lose something so precious to you?”
“Depends,” Jongho answered shortly. He pulled one of the chairs and sat. His hands pointed at the food and said, ”Depends on what precious thing we are talking about now, and anyway, please eat your dinner. I’m not gonna leave until you eat.”
Mingi contemplated for a while before he rose from his bed and made his way to Jongho. Jongho raised his eyebrows because instead of sitting, Mingi stood before him while unbuttoning his robe. Before Jongho could complain about what he was doing, the younger man gasped. There was a realistic dragon tattoo on Mingi’s body. The head of the dragon clung to his shoulder and rested on his right chest. The dragon’s body surrounded his body, and the tail disappeared below his navel. With a swift movement, Mingi took something from the pocket of his trousers. Mingi then sat and showed it to Jongho. There on his palm were two objects. The first one was a ring; the band was silver, and the Centerstone was deep indigo. The second one was a beaded bracelet, the hook of the bracelet was silver, and those beads were made of stones of the same colour.
“I’m tied with one of the dragons in the dynasty.”
Jongho was flabbergasted by Mingi’s confession. His mouth agape and his round eyes searched for any expression on Mingi’s face that screamed “jokes!” just as the older one used to do, but he found none. Staring at Mingi’s nervous but serious face, what came out of Jongho’s mouth was, “Huh?”
“You know my mission, right? Right. To get that key, I had to get inside the dragon chamber. I thought it was just a name, but it was literally a chamber for a dragon.”
Mingi stopped to roll those beaded stones between his fingers. He licked his lips, then continued, “I met him there. He was one of the royal dragons. I almost pissed myself right there when I saw his dragon form. He was HUGE! It was a real dragon. His scales were magnificent, black and deep blue, like a clear night sky. That’s why he gave me this, to remind me of him. Anyways, at first, I thought he was gonna end me there, but he was just lonely. And... and you must see his human form, Jongho. He was breathtakingly beautiful. He never ceased to amaze me. Long story short, I worked myself to be his bodyguard, and we just fell for each other. I was thinking not to come back. That key is never worth Joong’s existence.”
Mingi stopped his long rambling as if overwhelmed by what he had spilled. He took a long and deep breath while rolling the beads on his hand again. “Sorry… I don’t think I’m ready to tell you the rest.”
A tear escaped one of his sharp eyes when he diverted his gaze to Jongho. “Joong saved me right before they destroyed the main house. Now, I'm stranded here knowing they have become extinct… I- I’m devastated, Jongho. I couldn’t live without him. What should I do?”
Jongho tried to say something, but he couldn’t find the right words to say. A hot, sharp twinge of jealousy pierced his heart. How could Mingi ever think to leave him in the clan while he had been worry-sick about him? They had grown up together! What kind of person—or in this case, dragon—could make Mingi risk everything? But Jongho couldn’t bring himself to voice his thoughts. The Mingi in front of him was fragile, and a bigger part of Jongho’s heart broke to see him in that state. So, Jongho did something he was usually reluctant to do. He stood and brought Mingi’s head to his chest. He hugged Mingi.
Mingi sobbed in his arms. His big body shook, and he clutched Jongho’s arms around him. Jongho held him as Mingi broke down into pieces. Jongho didn’t know how long they stayed in that position, but he listened to every detail of what Mingi had experienced those three months that felt like a year to Mingi.
His dragon lover’s name was Joong. From Mingi’s story, their relationship was serious. The tattoo on his body and the jewelry were the tokens of their blossoming romance and proof that their relationship was real.
Mingi suddenly clawed Jongho’s upper arms. His eyes were frantic when he looked at him,” Jongho! You can grant wishes! Can you… Is it possible for you grant my wish to meet Joong right now?”
Jongho inhaled sharply, ”You know that wishes come with equal consequences. Going against the time and the will of universe can cost you your life. Not only yours, but mine as well! I can be careless about mine, but I can’t lose you, Mingi. Not anymore.”
Mingi’s eyes widened at Jongho’s sudden outburst. He slowly released his grip on Jongho. He nodded to himself. “You are right. That’s what Joong told me.”
“What did he tell you?”
“To not go against the universe’s will. He asked me to wait until we are reunited,” Mingi said absentmindedly as if replaying Joong’s words in his head.
Jongho breathed out. “Then listen to him. Until then, you have to live well.”
Then, Jongho saw a small but heart-wrenching smile crossing Mingi’s face for the first time in months. He brought the bracelet to his lips and kissed it. “Will do.”
After that, Mingi picked up the spoon and started to eat.
“You’re overthinking again.” Mingi’s voice brought him back to the present.
“You can scold me later, Jongho.”
Before Jongho could question Mingi’s statement, his visions darkened, and he lost consciousness. Mingi caught his body. He adjusted his hold on Jongho and carried him to Youhe’s room. Mingi put him in his bed and covered him with a blanket.
“I’m sorry for doing this to you, but you need this sleep,” Mingi whispered while running his hands through Jongho’s hair.
Mingi stayed for a few more minutes to watch Jongho’s sleeping figure. “I’ll see you during the ceremony tomorrow. Rest well, Jongho.”
Then Mingi disappeared into thin air, as if he had never been there at all.