Chapter Text
If there are three things, Jeongguk knows to apply to Taehyung, it would be these:
One, he's a doctor. He's saved Jeongguk's life more times than the witcher is prepared to admit. Two, he has never seen him go anywhere without that darned lute.
And three, he's reckless.
So why does it come as a shock, complete and utter shock when Taehyung throws himself in front of Jeongguk to save him from an attack?
Jeongguk has never considered himself a particularly caring person, not by a long shot — the witcher mutations haven't completely erased his emotions but they definitely dulled them and Jeongguk doesn't remember when he last cared about something. Anything.
Not until now, that is.
The name he usually tries to stray away from slips from between his lips, barely above a whisper as his mouth opens ajar. Taehyung's eyes look as bright as ever, even with a sword sitting in between his ribs, and he looks— he looks like himself, even with the sad smile playing on his lips.
"Hi, Jeonggukie."
There's blood that gushes from his mouth. Jeongguk swallows, and before he knows it, he swings the sword in Taehyung's direction, missing him and hitting the man behind him with force strong enough to cleanly decapitate the man's head.
An angry shout. He grabs Taehyung who is stumbling aimlessly, still grasping the weight of the situation.
Taehyung's body has always been light, but there is an unimaginable lightness that Jeongguk feels for the first time.
"Jeonggukkie," Taehyung mutters, swallowing hard. "Remember when you refused to admit you care about me? Well, look at you now."
"Shut up, don't move," Jeongguk mutters, pressing down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, if only just a bit. "Talking will only make it worse."
Taehyung is in his arms. He's going to be okay. He has to be okay.
With his eyes as glassy as the morning rain, Taehyung places a hand on Jeongguk's shoulder, leaning his head on top of his shoulder, with a soft kiss pressed on the witcher's neck.
"Thank you for being my friend and lover, Jeonggukie."
— Three months earlier
The sound of tearing paper fills Jeongguk's ears; he tugs on the notice nailed to the noticeboard a little too harshly, resulting in it ripping at the top.
He sighs and closes his eyes. There has been a headache forming for some time now, and he knows this because of the familiar prickling at the back of his head.
The two swords are heavy on his back and his neck is a bit sore, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for him. Scrunching his nose, Jeongguk smells the scent of cheap ink on the paper and groans lowly.
This won't be a well-paid job, but it will be a paid job, nonetheless.
The letters on the paper are messily written, almost as if they were written by someone who has barely started to learn how to write. Skimming over the words, Jeongguk shakes his head and pockets the notice.
There's a man he needs to talk to about the job, and he's not looking forward to it.
In the small village of Livendale, Jeongguk doesn't expect to find any serious work, but it doesn't hurt to check, especially now that he's riding through it.
Bam, his horse, follows him slowly, as he navigates through the village, trying to find a man named Jihoon who issued the notice. He finds him in the furthest distance — watching his wife as she does the laundry.
"Hello, are you Choi Jihoon?" Jeongguk asks, his voice raspy and slow from the lack of talking. He likes to converse with Bam, but only when nobody is around, and he doesn't do it often.
The man looks up. The years haven't done him any favors — he looks tired and old, but most of all, scared.
"Master witcher," the man speaks, standing up from the makeshift bench. "You must help us."
Jeongguk sighs as the man's words make everyone's eyes around them turn to him. Do people truly not know how to mind their own business? Alas, Jeongguk doesn't blame them — it's not every day one sees a witcher riding through their village.
"That's why I'm here," Jeongguk mutters. "About the notice."
"Ah yes," the man nods. "I didn't think anyone would pick it up, but here you are. Our savior."
Jeongguk dislikes that title for many reasons. Most people around him would disagree with it, for one.
"In your notice, you mentioned a mansion? Who lives there?" Jeongguk asks, raising an eyebrow as Bam neighs behind him.
The old man rubs his temples, "A long time ago when I was a mere boy, the Lees lived there. But it has been abandoned ever since they were killed by some bandits who robbed the place."
Jeongguk purses his lips and lets the man continue.
"After that, the town survived on the well that sits in front of the mansion. But ever since a fortnight ago— not one who has been sent to get water has returned. We don’t know why, but the rumor has it there had been a fight. Our well barely works, and our lads don't know how to fix it, master witcher. You have to help us."
Narrowing his eyebrows, Jeongguk sighs. A lot of things didn't add up, but if he had to use a bit of his witcher knowledge, he would say the place is haunted by wraiths. Wretched wraiths, useful for nothing else but giving Jeongguk a headache.
Wraiths spawn when someone is killed and isn't laid to rest properly. It would make sense if the bodies of the people who died in the fight didn't receive a proper burial.
Sighing, Jeongguk nods. "I'll take the job, but you pay me exactly as much coin as you wrote it down on the notice."
Jihoon nods, "I know it's not much, master witcher, so thank you for helping us."
Jeongguk doesn't reply, instead, he grabs Bam's reins and walks them out of the little crowd that gathered around them. Once, safely away from the people, Jeongguk saddles Bam and follows the small path that starts to go uphill.
It's not far, and Jeongguk can see a house in the distance — there's a big fence around it, with a well placed in the middle of the courtyard.
His fingertips itch, thinking of casting a simple protection spell before entering the abandoned area.
Jeongguk's ears pick up on a strange sound. At first, he thinks he imagines it, but after a few seconds of calm music coming from the strings of a lute, Jeongguk looks to the left, where a man sits in the grass.
The man is beautiful and definitely looks like someone Jeongguk would pick out in a whorehouse if the man worked there. The clothes he's wearing are far from expensive but they still look taken care of.
A song spills from the man's mouth and for a second, Jeongguk stops Bam, just to listen.
"Wolves asleep amidst the trees. Bats all swaying in the breeze— But one soul lies anxious, wide awake. Fearing all manner of ghouls, hags, and wraiths—"
That lute he's playing is the single most expensive thing the man owns, and even though it looks a bit roughed up, it still works perfectly.
The man seems to notice him from the tall grass, stopping the song. "Ah, hello!"
Jeongguk narrows his eyes when the man stands up, stumbling towards him almost as if drunk. But the witcher cannot smell any alcohol on him, so that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Would you be so kind as to give me a ride to Novigrad, my dear gentleman?"
Jeongguk blinks. Once, twice.
"No," he replies, courtly. He tugs on the reins of his horse once again, trying to get out of helping this man, even though he's going to Novigrad himself after he finishes off the wraiths.
But the man jumps in front of a horse, "Oh come on, can't you help a poor man, sir? I was robbed, I have no coin and my legs won't take me far."
Jeongguk sighs. Most people either fear the witchers or resent them. So this one must be truly desperate, to even ask something like this.
"Why do you need to go to Novigrad?" Jeongguk asks, "And I only have one horse. So you better walk your own."
The man purses his lips, "Which part of I got robbed did you not understand?" he asks, "I would have gotten myself a horse a long time ago if I had any coin to spare!"
That's fair— Jeongguk feels like an idiot.
He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Jeongguk likes being alone, it’s his thing. Being on the Path alone is what makes it better, even if an occasional small talk with villagers is a nice change. Bam is the only company he needs in the long run, so he’s completely fine with how his life works.
“And I need to go to Novigrad because that’s where my friend lives. I’m certain he will aid me if he learns of what happened to me,” the man adds, dusting off his dirty trousers.
Jeongguk’s tongue pokes his cheek as he contemplates what choices he has. His stash of coins is small, and the amount he will get for the wraith job won’t be large. They have about two days of travel before reaching Novigrad — and in that time, they have to eat. Not only that but until he finds a job and gets paid, he won’t have any coin.
And he refuses to be a beggar.
“When you take me with you, I shall sing the best songs this world has to offer, and you will be charmed by my wonderful voice,” the man says, and to emphasize his words, he pulls on a string of his lute which makes a melodic sound.
Jeongguk clenches his teeth, “If I take you with me, you will be silent the entire ride.”
“Oh don’t be like that, witcher. I’m sure even you enjoy music once in a while,” the man teases. “Everyone does. A life without music is barely a life.”
It takes everything for Jeongguk not to roll his eyes as he starts to ride on. The man follows him amusedly and Jeongguk wonders how he has gotten himself into the situation when all he tried to do is to get paid. Now he’s got a leech on his tail that will probably annoy him until he agrees.
“I’m Taehyung,” the man introduces himself, “A bard if you will. I have sung in every court you can imagine, and they all loved it.”
Jeongguk looks ahead, making Bam go just a tiny bit faster so Taehyung cannot keep up easily anymore.
“And I don’t care,” Jeongguk says, looking back at Taehyung who is falling behind the horse. “Good luck on the Path.”
It’s then that Bam starts galloping, leaving Taehyung in the dust. He knows it wasn't the nicest thing to do but he’s a witcher, a loner. He doesn’t do deals unless they bring him the coin he desperately needs. In the distance, he sees the manor he’s trying to reach so he speeds up until he reaches it.
Looking up, he checks whether he can see Taehyung in the distance, and feels a bit of satisfaction when the bard is nowhere to be seen. He dismounts Bam and leaves him at a safe distance away from the manor — casting Quen, Jeongguk jumps over the spiky fence and right into danger.
Jeongguk doesn’t hear anything, but he can pick up on the prodding smell of decaying corpses. The well, right in the middle of the property, seems untouched by the blood spilled around it. Jeongguk’s eyes narrow, at least four bodies lay scattered, dried blood dirtying the grass below.
The bodies in front of him are the ones of the bandits and the farmers – it would be unheard of for wraiths to haunt a place they didn’t live in, despite dying in it. Unless they had some connection to this place, the wraith wouldn’t have spawned.
Just to be sure, Jeongguk burns all of the corpses with Igni , making sure there’s nothing left of them.
Looking around, Jeongguk reaches towards his sword with one hand, pulling it out of a scabbard on his back — his other hand reaches into his pocket, hoping that he has some specter oil left. Thankfully, it’s there, so he spreads it silently onto his sword.
He isn't sure whether it was wraiths that inhabited this abandoned land — since the man said something about the Lee family dying when he was merely a boy, and the man hasn’t been a boy for a long, long time. He’s sure the wraiths would have come out a long time ago if that were the case.
When Jeongguk sees a ghostlike figure from the corner of his eye, he thinks he might be right after all.
Hiding behind a well, Jeongguk notices an open door leading inside the mansion. He would have to be fast if he doesn’t want the wraith to see him. The sun is fading into the horizon and he has to find the wraith’s body before it does so.
Wraiths form when a person who was wronged in any way dies — the body will remain intact as long as the wraith lives and although it’s possible to kill the ghost itself, finding the body and destroying it is far easier.
When he sees the wraith disappearing behind the corner, Jeongguk takes his shot. He picks himself up and with soundless footsteps dashes through the open door, with his sword still in hand. The wraith must be outside, so Jeongguk should be safe for some time.
Sighing, Jeongguk’s shoulders sag, “Let the search begin.”
The funny thing is, Jeongguk is more than sure he’s searched the entire house by now. The upper and the lower floor. There’s no secret there must be hidden tunnels he’s unaware of somewhere in here, but those were most likely kept as a family secret so he doesn’t have a good chance of finding them.
The body is nowhere to be found. It could possibly mean the person died somewhere else, but the wraith decided to haunt the mansion ground for a reason only the ghost knows. Jeongguk sighs — this means he will have to take on the wraith itself.
He’s not particularly excited about it.
With another layer of specter oil applied to his silver sword, he walks out of the house freely. It’s not in his intention to hide from the wraith anymore, he’s here to lure it out. There’s a slight hissing he hears and he knows it’s close, but there’s something else— something—
Jeongguk swings the sword in the direction of a sound that’s coming behind him. The sword stops right before it could cut the throat of the person, barely grazing it. Taehyung stands there, a bit shocked and frozen in his spot.
“What the hell?” Jeongguk hisses at Taehyung. “Get the fuck out of here!”
“But I want to go to Novigrad with you,” Taehyung pouts, “I don’t have any other choice, witcher!”
Jeongguk looks around frantically — they are in a wraith’s den, and this dumb, dumb human decided to walk in here freely without a doubt in his mind. He doesn’t have much time to get the bard out of here before the wraith shows up and tears him to pieces. And Jeongguk along with him, if he were to try to protect them both.
“I said, get out.”
“But—”
“Taehyung, you will die, if you don’t get out of here now—”
“Wow, so you’re threatening me now, just because I asked for your help? Such a gentleman—”
Just as Jeongguk’s witcher medallion starts shaking, a loud roar is heard behind them, and they promptly turn around, only for Taehyung’s eyes to widen and for Jeongguk to let out a silent curse. The wraith is fast, storming towards them at high speed and Jeongguk moves quickly, casting yrden on the ground to create a contained space where the wraith’s powers will be muted.
Jeongguk feels Taehyung’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t have time to think about it as he’s launching towards the wraith to contain it in the place where the spell is effective. If the wraith moves out of it, its powers will be right back in full swing.
Unfortunately, Jeongguk isn’t as interesting as Taehyung is to the wraith. It launches towards the bard instead and Taehyung makes a run for it — Jeongguk manages to jump between them and cut the wraith's hand. That enrages the monster, roaring once again before it attacks Jeongguk with its claws, but the witcher moves away at the very last moment.
“Kim~”
Jeongguk’s eyes widen at the strange voice coming from the wraith’s mouth but he doesn’t let it distract him for long . He casts yrden once more, the spell taking effect and causing the wraith to lose some of its power, so Jeongguk can attack it from behind. Since wraiths are immaterial beings, yrden along with the specter oil makes them material, which lets Jeongguk get enough hits in for it to lose its stamina.
As Jeongguk is about to deliver his last strike to finish it off, the wraith moves — moves out of the yrden circle and once again, tries to float towards Taehyung, who took shelter in the horse stable. Jeongguk runs after the wraith but at the least expected moment, the wraith turns and slashes Jeongguk’s cheek open. The witcher hisses, and when he opens his eyes, he sees the wraith disappearing behind the giant door of the stable.
A silent shout is ripped from his throat as he tightens his grip around the hilt of the sword once more and follows the wraith into the stable, ready to take a swing or prepared to see Taehyung’s body lying on the ground with blood pooling under it.
A human has almost no chance of surviving an encounter with a wraith.
And yet, as the breathless Jeongguk bursts into the stable, he sees Taehyung standing in the middle of it, with the wraith nowhere to be found. When he comes closer to Taehyung, he sees him looking down at a pile of dust.
Specter dust.
The only thing left behind after a wraith is killed.
Jeongguk comes closer, slowly, calculating steps as he kneels down to the dust, examining it closer. As he makes sure it’s actually the remains of the wraith, Jeongguk’s cat-like eyes glance up at Taehyung, who seems to stand there, looking terrified but also not.
Without a thought, the sword in Jeongguk’s hand is pointed at Taehyung’s neck. Slowly, Jeongguk stands up without a blink of his eyes, keeping them trained on the man in front of him. Taehyung looks worried now, not even scared but worried — and that only intrigues Jeongguk more.
“Who are you?” he asks, his yellow eyes boring into Taehyung. “What happened here?”
Taehyung gulps, shaking his head, “I don’t know— I promise. It just combusted. Poof. The end. I wanted to run but there was nowhere to go and I hid in the corner of the barn—” Taehyung points at the very corner of the room where hay lays. “—Hid inside the hay and hoped for the best, you know. It was scary, witcher.”
Jeongguk isn’t convinced. There aren’t many creatures that can kill a wraith, and a human definitely isn’t one of them. He weighs his options as he looks at Taehyung from head to toe, trying to figure out whether the man in front of him is lying. When he finds nothing that could indicate that, Jeongguk removes the sword.
"I'll take you to Novigrad,” Jeongguk mutters, thinking that perhaps keeping someone like Taehyung close would be good. Who knows what kind of hidden powers he might hold, maybe ones that he doesn’t know he has yet? Maybe taking him to Jimin would be a good idea. Maybe he could determine whether Taehyung has been chosen to be born with Chaos in his blood.
Most people get scared by the yellow cat-like irises that witchers are known for. But Taehyung just smiles, giving him a big toothy grin and a crinkle in his eyes.
“Thank you, I promise not to cause trouble, but I do not promise not to play my lute from time to time.”
Jeongguk doesn’t care to reply, he only sheaths his sword and starts walking out of the barn. Taehyung follows him closely, muttering something about the wraith and how it gave him the scare of his life, but Jeongguk tunes it out.
When they get to Bam, Jeongguk sees that Taehyung left the lute by his horse, a wise choice to leave it out of the manor’s ground. Sighing, Jeongguk mounts the horse and waits for Taehyung to pick the lute, before slowly moving towards the village.
“Hey, may I join you on your horse, witcher?” Taehyung asks, walking side by side with Bam. “I must admit I am fairly tired, running from that monster exhausted me.”
Jeongguk stops Bam and looks in Taehyung’s direction. “Walk until we get to the village, I’ll try to get you a horse there.”
There’s an instant pout on Taehyung’s lips, “Ah, well. I was looking forward to holding onto the strong witcher, but I suppose that works as well.”
Jeongguk rolls his eyes.
The village is kind enough to give them a horse, but not until Jeongguk agrees to only half of what he rightfully earned for the job well done. Given that the wraith wasn’t that hard to get rid of, it still gave him a scare when it went after Taehyung.
Not that he cares, the bard is nothing if not annoying.
“Thank you for the horse, witcher,” Taehyung says, once they are riding their horses just outside of Lindenvale, “May I ask for your name now? It’s quite strange calling you witcher all the time.”
A low groan rumbles in Jeongguk’s throat.
“Jeongguk,” is all he says, not bothering to elaborate. Taehyung will think of it what he will. He’s more than sure he’s heard of rumors about him.
“White rabbit, huh?” Taehyung says, “You look a little fiercer than a bunny.”
Jeongguk shakes his head as he grips the reins tighter, speeding his horse just a bit.
“Hey,” Taehyung says, leaning over to Jeongguk as he grabs the reins of his horse right out of his hands. “Stop please.”
Jeongguk gives him a pointed look, “We haven’t even left the village and you already need a break—”
Taehyung shakes his head as he turns his torso around to grab something from the bags on his horse. He takes out a flask of water and a clean cloth, then makes sure to walk his horse right next to Jeongguk’s. The witcher looks at him with suspicion in his eyes, trying to predict Taehyung’s next move.
“Lean forward a bit, please,” Taehyung says as he lets the water spill onto the piece of fabric. Taehyung gently grabs Jeongguk’s face with one hand, which is almost instantly met with a slap on the wrist from the witcher — Taehyung raises his eyebrows and gently cups his face again.
“What do you think you're doing?” Jeongguk snarls, his voice deep, almost angry. Nobody touches him without explicit consent, and even then, Jeongguk hates being touched. But Taehyung’s soft fingers (that should definitely be calloused by playing the lute so much) don’t let him go, his strong grip keeping his chin in one place. Taehyung almost timidly cleans the dried blood off Jeongguk’s face — tries to thoroughly clean the wound that was inflicted by the wraith.
Jeongguk admits he forgot about it, the sting of pain so familiar to him, it almost feels natural.
Taehyung's fingers on his cheek make him feel strange — it's been so long since someone has touched him and he's forgotten the feeling of someone's careful fleeting touch.
After a few moments, Taehyung moves away, “Was training as a doctor for some time. Realized it wasn’t for me. I prefer music anyway, it’s a lot better on the ears than the screams of your patients.”
Jeongguk doesn’t reply, he stares forward. He watches as trees go by, wondering whether the rest of the journey will be filled with Taehyung's voice. He would lie if he said he didn't find it impressive when Taehyung grabbed his lute to tug on the strings, filling the air with a soft melody, accompanied by unfamiliar lyrics.
A pretty voice, and a pretty face.
But a very annoying personality. These two days will be hellish.
Jeongguk isn’t looking forward to it.
“So—”
Taehyung only needs to open his mouth for Jeongguk to feel the incoming headache.
“Why are you heading to Novigrad?” the bard asks, his bright eyes full of curiosity and wonder. Jeongguk doesn’t bother replying, knowing that the air will soon be filled with the Taehyung’s voice once again. “I bet it’s a lady waiting for you there. A handsome witcher like you must have someone.”
Biting down on his tongue, Jeongguk sighs. In the distance, he sees the sun rising — they have been riding all night without stopping, and Taehyung is nowhere tired enough to shut up. The bard is practically spewing word after word, without a pause in between. The feeling of tiredness seems like a foreign concept to him.
The deep voice is something Jeongguk would love to listen to if he heard it somewhere else. Perhaps on a stage, where he could silently walk away if he didn’t like it or had enough of the stringed instrument accompanied by a pretty bard signing out his heart.
“I’m looking for jobs,” Jeongguk replies, his cat-like eyes finally giving Taehyung the attention he’s been craving and has been trying to get for the last few hours. With a big smile, Taehyung speeds up his horse so they are walking side by side.
“Ah yes, witchers and their jobs, god forbid they found themselves a nice normal job, settle down, and enjoy life," Taehyung teases, poking at Jeongguk’s shoulder, who only gives him a death glare — but Taehyung either doesn’t notice it or he ignores it, since he keeps on smiling.
Jeongguk sighs as he decides to indulge Taehyung a bit more, “I’d not fit the role of a husband.”
“Why not?” Taehyung asks.
“Witchers are sterile. If I were to ever marry, I couldn’t give my wife a child,” he explains, though, the words in his mouth taste foreign. He doesn’t want to marry — the thought of marriage was the last thing on his mind before he became a witcher. And that was a long, long time ago
“Ah, is this all that men are good for, in your opinion?” Taehyung teases, his smile never fading.
“I don’t care what men are good for. Or women for that matter. As long as they pay me,” Jeongguk mutters, shaking his head. “I don’t interact with people unless I have to, so I would appreciate it if you shut up.”
A relationship with someone other than his swords feels impossible to him. Although the thought of having a romantic relationship doesn’t disgust him, the scars on his face, back and limbs may disgust his partner. And Jeongguk doesn’t want to deal with that. Even if on lonely nights, he thinks he’d like warmth next to him as he sleeps.
Taehyung’s mouth falls open in a small ‘ o’ as he nods. “Alright, if that’s what you wish.”
Strangely, Taehyung does indeed shut up, just as Jeongguk requested. Which is good — because Jeongguk’s sensitive ears can finally get a well-needed rest. But it’s also odd, because, in a way, he misses the constant rambling of the bard.
The only sound accompanying the horses’ hooves is the hissing of the wind that ruffles the tree leaves in its path, and for Jeongguk, the almost hushed reminder that wolves are hidden in the woods around them. But they are far enough to not need worry about it.
“May I play?” comes the silent voice of the bard behind him. “I won’t if it annoys you.”
There’s an unexplainable pang in Jeongguk’s heart as Taehyung’s voice comes out softer than before, almost as if he’s afraid of angering the witcher. Jeongguk has never cared what people think of him, and if it were anyone else riding behind him with a lute in his hand, he would say no.
“Yeah, go ahead,” he says after a moment of contemplation.
“Thank you.”
The melody of the lute fills the air, but the music is hushed, almost as if Taehyung is afraid of playing it louder. In a way, Jeongguk is thankful — it’s a pretty sight when he looks back at Taehyung who is already looking at him, his fingers pulling onto the strings of a beat-up instrument.
The song is almost sorrowful — long and drawn-out tones make it seem sad, melancholic. Jeongguk doesn’t let that bother him as they ride on.
“For your dolly Polly sleep has flown— Don't dare let her tremble alone—”
Jeongguk cannot put his finger on where he has heard the tune before, so he shrugs it off, surely the song is nothing but a lullaby to scare little children into being good. Namjoon probably sang it to him when he was still a child in training. It’s been so long since he’s seen the older witcher.
Perhaps he should take some time and visit him soon.
The two days pass without any complications and Jeongguk is thankful for it. By the gates of Novigrad, he sees guards patrolling around the city and he sighs, knowing that they will be nothing but a nuisance.
“Thank you, witcher,” Taehyung says, smiling, “I wouldn’t have gotten here without you. Not many people would help me, so thank you again. May we meet once more and hopefully then I shall be able to repay the debt I owe you.”
Jeongguk narrows his eyes, then raises an eyebrow at Taehyung, “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah,” Taehyung mutters, “I would think you would want to get rid of me as soon as you can.”
That’s true. Jeongguk is looking forward to being alone on the Path, which is why he doesn’t understand the hesitant feeling telling him this shouldn’t be the end just yet. There’s something about Taehyung that isn’t quite right, and he has to get to the bottom of it before he lets them part.
“You’re coming with me until I figure out how you’ve beaten the wraith,” Jeongguk says, dismounting Bam and grabbing the reins from Taehyung’s hands, so he’s in control of his horse. “First, we are going to go see Park Jimin, after that, depending on what he says, we will see what to do with you.”
Jeongguk can hear Taehyung gulp, “What are you saying?”
“No human can beat a wraith by making it combust. Therefore, there’s something inhuman about you and I intend on finding it out.”
It’s true — Jeongguk is determined to figure out who Taehyung truly is, once and for all, and to ensure the safety of those around him. If Taehyung were a sorcerer, unattended and uneducated, that could be a disaster for more than just him.
“Okay, but I can assure you, there’s nothing magical about me. I’m just a little ol’ me,” Taehyung shrugs, giving Jeongguk a boxy smile. The witcher doesn’t return it, instead, he starts walking, leading the horses behind him with Taehyung still riding one of them.
Park Jimin's house stands two streets away from the Novigrad's main gate — it's not far but it's enough for Jeongguk to get strange looks. The witcher armor he wears stands out as one that’s not of the Novigrad's soldiers, and the piercing yellow eyes give it a different meaning.
Taehyung curiously looks around, almost as if he’s seeing the city for the first time — Jeongguk doesn’t ask whether that’s the case or not, because frankly, he doesn’t care. He couldn’t care less about what happens to Taehyung after they part.
Softly, he exhales as he leaves the horses at the stable, before making Taehyung follow him through the maze of the streets — Novigrad isn’t foreign territory for him, he’s been here multiple times, but the strange and quite bizarre contracts he’s gotten in the city make him wary of it.
However, they paid well, therefore he’s fine with it.
It’s the reason he’s back here, hoping to get another set of jobs and get some coin that he desperately needs.
“There’s nothing about him that could indicate he possesses Chaos, Jeongguk.”
Park Jimin is known for his smarts and witts and his pretty smiles that can be deadly should you decide to cross him. But there’s nothing on his face if not a frown, mirroring Jeongguk’s own.
A silent grunt escapes the witcher as the mage comes closer with a raised eyebrow. Jeongguk leans back on the table and crosses his arms over his chest, his medallion creating a cling as it hits the metal of his armor — he watches Jimin as he places a hand down next to him and looks him straight in the eye.
“It’s time to tell me why you think this little human possesses magic,” Jimin mutters, his blue irises burning just a little brighter to show that he’s not joking. “I trust you completely, Jeongguk, but I know that everything you do has a reason. I simply want to know what’s the reason for this.”
“First of all,” Taehyung speaks up with a hand raised, “I’m not a little human. And second, Jeongguk thinks I possess magic because a wraith has combusted in front of me.”
Jimin raises an eyebrow and looks back at Jeongguk to confirm whether what Taehyung is saying is true. When all he sees are cat-like yellow eyes piercing through Taehyung, Jimin takes it as a confirmation. Jeongguk is a bit annoyed with the human, mostly because he jumps into conversations when he doesn’t need to, and he talks just a little too much for the witcher’s liking.
“So the wraith became specter dust? Just like that?” Jimin directs his question towards Taehyung instead of Jeongguk, who scowls because of it.
“It went poof . And there was just dust,” Taehyung shrugs. “I promise, I can’t use Chaos.”
Jeongguk watches Jimin place a hand on his chin — they stand in silence for a few moments before Jimin looks back at Jeongguk. “Did you destroy the body?”
“Never found the body.”
Jimin hums, “Maybe someone destroyed it as it was trying to attack Taehyung?”
It’s a plausible conclusion. It is the only logical explanation that Jeongguk could believe that didn’t involve Taehyung having magic. Yet still, a feeling deep down is tells that isn’t the case. And he cannot shrug the damned feeling away.
“That seems like an awfully big coincidence,” Jeongguk mutters, his eyes never leaving Taehyung’s, who doesn’t seem to be backing down from the intimidating glare. There’s something strange about Taehyung that Jeongguk cannot place.
Maybe it’s his beauty, or maybe it’s the way he irritates Jeongguk with his monologues that don’t seem to end.
“It is,” Jimin confirms, “But it would only make sense. Taehyung doesn’t have Chaos, he doesn’t possess magic. He’s just a regular human.”
“Sorry to disappoint, witcher,” Taehyung mutters, just a tiny bit melancholic, almost as if he’s sad he didn’t fulfill the Jeongguk’s expectations. Perhaps it’s for the best — Taehyung discovering he has Chaos would only turn his life upside down, and now, without magic in his veins, Taehyung can live a normal life, free of worries — other than when he’s going to be robbed next.
“Well, if that is all,” Taehyung stands up from the chair, “I’m going to take my leave. Once again, Jeongguk, thank you so much for helping me, and I hope that if we cross paths again, I will be able to repay your kindness.”
Jeongguk doesn’t reply as he watches Taehyung close the door behind him. He stares for a little too long at the spot where the bard stood just a minute before.
Jimin shakes his head.
“For the first time since I’ve meet you, I’ve seen you care for someone else and it turns out they are human.”
Stirring from his thoughts, Jeongguk is almost scandalized at the choice of Jimin’s words — he hasn’t cared about anything for a long, long time. And he doesn’t intend on starting now, especially not about a person he helped once and will never see again.
“You’re not serious,” Jeongguk scowls at Jimin.
Jimin shrugs, “You cannot force yourself to believe he’s something more just because you want to see him again, Jeongguk. If you want to see him again, go as a friend, not as someone trying to uncover a mystery.”
The words Jimin utters make no sense to Jeongguk — he won’t pretend like Taehyung isn’t a subject of interest to him, but it's only due to the unexplainable incident with the wraith. There has to be something more about him, about the wraith.
“You know I’m right, now go wash up, I shall prepare the guest bedroom for you.”
Jimin is wrong, he was only ever interested in keeping Taehyung around for the sake of discovering what he was, there's no alternate motive to it — Jimin is wrong , and Jeongguk will make sure it stays that way.
He won’t think about Taehyung anymore, and sure as hell, he won’t search for him.
That was the last time Jeon Jeongguk and the weirdly handsome bard have crossed paths.
They cross paths again only two days later.
There’s a notice board in front of the tavern, ironically named Hope — the tavern itself looks worn down and barely held together. Jeongguk can’t think of a reason he’d ever want a drink from a place like that. And yet, in the mix of voices coming from within, there’s one that stands out.
Jeongguk’s ears pick it up automatically, and his eyes blur the writing on the notice he’s holding — the melodic voice still makes the hair of his arms stand up, but this time, Taehyung isn’t singing, he’s apologizing.
Stuffing the notice in the pocket, he makes his way towards the commotion with soundless steps. He promised himself he wouldn’t actively seek out the bard, but he has to help a man in need, right?
Taehyung stands in the crowd of three thugs with a smudge of red dirt on his cheek and a stained shirt — by the smell of it, Jeongguk recognizes the sweet, strong smell of Cintrian Faro. Taehyung doesn’t notice him, the three men take up all of his attention. He looks livid — Jeongguk can almost see the anger radiating from him.
His clenched fists, however, slowly relax and his shoulders sag when he exhales.
“Look at the mess you’ve made,” one of the men says, “I don’t think this one is suited to bring us our drinks. Besides, we would prefer a fair maiden… over you.”
Taehyung purses his lips, “It’s funny because none of the maidens wanted to serve you, so they sent me.”
The three thugs take this as an insult and two of them stand up, one with a raised fist to which Taehyung doesn’t flinch. He just stares back at the man with his arm crossed over his beer-stained chest.
“Say that again, you arsehole,” he says.
“Sorry, did you not understand the first time?” Taehyung blurts, placing his hands on his hips in a condescending manner. “All of the ladies in our tavern found you repulsive. They had to send me to serve you or else you would have been left without anything to drink.”
“You little—”
As the fist of the man flies through the air, Taehyung doesn’t move. He stares at it directly with nothing but fiery courage in his eyes, almost as if he doesn’t believe the hand will reach him. And to Jeongguk’s disbelief, it’s true.
Before he knows it, his own body moves, grabbing the sword from his back — it lands on the man’s neck, just inches away from piercing the skin. The fist stops midair, as all eight eyes stare at Jeongguk in shock.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jeongguk addresses the man. “I would hate to make Taehyung here wipe up blood from the floor along with the beer.”
“It’s a bloody witcher,” one of the men whispers to another, “Let’s get out of here, the disgusting mutant is not worth a fight.”
As the three scatter, Jeongguk places his sword back into the scabbard. Taehyung nods.
“All good here, Jeongguk,” he smiles, shrugging. "Just another normal day here at Hope."
Jeongguk raises an eyebrow, "Do they often bother you?"
Taehyung hums, "Not them particularly, but if you are referring to annoying drunks, then yes. But worry not, my dearest witcher, I can handle myself. Although I have to thank you for today, I might have lost a tooth if it weren't for you."
Jeongguk doesn't reply, he just looks around. He hopes that the insides of the tavern are in a better shape— it doesn't look busy, though Jeongguk knows it's not rush hour. There are a few men sitting at the tables in front of the building, so perhaps there are more inside.
"Come," Taehyung says, giving Jeongguk a blinding smile as he wraps his arms around his bicep. "I'll get you something to drink. Free of charge, as a thank you for saving me."
Jeongguk wants to say no, that he doesn't have the time to sit around and drink — but his protests cannot be uttered in time as Taehyung is already pulling him towards the entrance with a suspicious amount of strength.
Or maybe, just maybe, Jeongguk's legs betray him, following Taehyung's lead without any restraint.
Curiously enough, the insides of the tavern are lovely and well kept. The flowers of different shapes and colours grow on just about every available surface. The air, despite the stench of people that haven’t bathed in months, smells like a garden of flowers.
"Come, I'll introduce you to my friend!"
Taehyung seems too enthusiastic for Jeongguk to mention he doesn't feel like meeting people, and he thinks it would be a spoil if he were to wipe that smile off the human's face. So Jeongguk sighs, inhaling the sweet scent of flowers, as he lets Taehyung drag him around.
With a fresh pint of beer in his hand, Taehyung leads him up the stairs, where he imagines the living quarters of the staff are. Being taller than Taehyung, he looks down at the bard and realizes that the smile on his face never disappeared. It only changed from a Cheshire grin to a normal, a little less alluring turn of the lips.
It's pretty, Jeongguk thinks. He's never been the one to care about the beauty of the world around him, but, he thinks, he might make an exception just this once.
His thoughts come to a full stop when his rabbit medallion starts to shake— Jeongguk, without a second thought, steps in front of Taehyung, almost as if to protect him.
"What's—"
Jeongguk turns around, places his hand over Taehyung's mouth to shut him up to which Taehyung protests, and gives him a dirty glare but doesn’t shake the hand off. A pint of beer spills on the floor with a splash where Jeongguk drops it.
Jeongguk listens. The faint sound of music and chatter can be heard from downstairs, but what catches Jeongguk's ear is a faint melody — it's being hummed softly, a striking voice that stands out from the rest.
Taehyung mutters something but the witcher doesn't understand it. Slowly, with his free hand, he takes out his silver sword, careful not to make a sound.
That is when Taehyung decides that enough is enough, pulling Jeongguk's hand off his mouth. "If you would stop being so stubborn I could tell you—"
"Taehyung, shut up," Jeongguk says, looking at him with a blaze in his eyes. If there's a monster around, he needs to get rid of it before it hurts people.
"No, I will not shut up— Let me just explain—"
Jeongguk takes a soundless step forward, locating that the sound is coming from behind the door on the left.
Before Taehyung can stop him, Jeongguk kicks the door open without a warning, and it scares both Taehyung and the figure sitting in front of a makeshift vanity.
The figure screams and Jeongguk points his sword at it, with the intention to harm — but before he can do anything, Taehyung jumps in front of his sword, preventing him from doing any damage.
Jeongguk recognizes the type of creature before he can get a proper glimpse at it — the two marvelous horns decorated with flowers stick out of a mess of hair and a set of piercing blue eyes stare back at him in panic.
"For God's sake, Jeongguk! This is the friend I wanted to introduce you to!" Taehyung waves his hands around to emphasize his words. "You're being unreasonable right now!"
"Taehyung, he is an incubus," Jeongguk mutters, his voice calm despite the panic that's rising within him — Taehyung had his back turned towards the creature, it could strike at any moment and Jeongguk wouldn't have enough time to react.
Taehyung rolls his eyes, "I know who and what he is, witcher."
"Then why—"
Shaking his head, Taehyung sighs, "Not every non-human creature is a threat to you. This is Hoseok, he's the friend I told you about."
Looking past Taehyung and at Hoseok, Jeongguk squints at him, "Did you charm him?"
The incubus just shakes his head, "No, I would never!"
"Hoseok here is only part incubus. He doesn't feed on the life force of humans, he's fine with human food," Taehyung explains. "Honestly, witcher, do you ever do your research?"
It's true, Jeongguk was a little reckless. He does do his research before diving into a fight and he doesn't kill everyone, especially not sentient creatures if they aren't harming anyone.
"I wasn't going to kill him," Jeongguk mutters, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from the bard. "I was just—"
"He was just trying to protect you, Taehyungie," Hoseok butts into the conversation. "I don't blame him. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, white rabbit. I've heard a whole lot about you."
Jeongguk blinks at Hoseok, "That's not why I did it."
With a raised eyebrow, Hoseok shrugs. "Okay then, witcher. It doesn't matter why you did it, though I do admit I'm happy you opted out of killing me ."
Taehyung suddenly groans, “I give you a free pint and you spill it everywhere.”
Oh.
Jeongguk looks to the spilled mess he left behind and feels a pang of guilt. The last few days have been a rollercoaster — he’s never before felt so many different emotions in his life.
“I— I’m sorry,” he says, the apology foreign on his tongue as he contemplates offering to clean up, but ultimately deciding against it. He really needs to start looking for jobs and cleaning beer from staining the wooden floor isn’t one of them.
“It’s fine,” Taehyung waves him off with a sigh, “I’m used to it.”
“Did they give you trouble again, Taehyungie?” Hoseok asks, looking at the bard.
Taehyung shakes his head, “Different set of drunks this time.”
“Ah,” Hoseok mutters.
A moment of silence passes when Jeongguk decides that it’s time to go.
“I’m going to leave now,” he announces as he looks at Taehyung, who is still staring at a big puddle of beer before he steps over that exact puddle to leave through the hall. He hears the soft voice of Hoseok call behind him telling him to have safe travels, yet there’s no sound coming from Taehyung.
Jeongguk doesn’t know why his chest feels so heavy.
The next day comes sooner than expected.
After he left the tavern, Jeongguk pulled out the contract he ripped from the notice board, and got a small stash of coin for getting rid of a dozen drowners that were causing trouble by the Novigrad port. After that, covered in drowner guts, Jeongguk stalked to Jimin’s house where the mage only gave him a side-eye before telling him he smelled like shit.
Thankfully, the bath he took was enough to give his muscles a break and get rid of that awful stench.
For once, he decided to actually sleep through the night instead of meditating and it felt quite refreshing. As he opens his eyes, he’s met with a ceiling above his head, not the usual treetops. The bed is a lot more comfortable than the ground he usually sleeps on, and he’s thankful for it.
Though, he does admit his back is killing him from the softness of the mattress.
Once he finally drags himself down the stairs, Jimin is already drinking tea by the window, looking at the of the kids playing outside. Jeongguk knows Jimin senses his presence, but he doesn’t say anything.
He grabs a mug, identical to the one Jimin’s holding, and pours himself tea.
“Do you think our childhoods were taken from us?” Jimin asks, “Yours as you were sold to the witchers, mine when I accidentally set my parents’ house on fire by the magic I never knew I possessed?”
Jeongguk hums, “I don’t remember much of my childhood. How can I miss something I never had?”
“I suppose that’s true,” Jimin says, finally turning around to look at Jeongguk. “Not yet in armor? Is it a holiday?”
Jeongguk looks down at his simple white tee and linen pants, realizing that he didn't bother to put on his armor. He feels somewhat bare, but he doesn’t let it bother him too much. “Yet. I’ll go hunt for contracts in a little while.”
“Any luck yesterday?”
“A few drowners. Basically got nothing for it.”
Jimin hums, “Monsters are going extinct around here, apparently.”
“ Apparently.”
After a short chat with Jimin, Jeongguk is back in his armor, his swords strapped on the back, feeling better than he did the day before. Jimin is reading a thick book when he shuts the door behind him on his way out.
Jeongguk intends on going to the other side of Novigrad today. See if there are any issues that need solving — that’s what he’s good for, isn’t he? Resolving issues.
Maybe he really should settle down with someone, like Taehyung suggested. The thought disappears as soon as it crosses his mind. No witcher has died in his sleep and he doesn’t intend to be the first.
He takes his time, walking slowly through the streets of Novigrad but speeds up when he starts getting more and more looks. Over time, he’s gotten better at ignoring them — still, it doesn’t mean he’s immune to them.
There should be a notice board right at the end of the street, in front of a whorehouse. A few contracts catch his eye, so he pockets them, deciding that the sooner he starts, the sooner he will finish.
He briefly wonders if he’s in the mood to pay the whorehouse a visit- but promptly decides against it. He knows it’s mostly women that offer services, and though he appreciates their company, he leans more towards the men. And more importantly, he’s too broke to afford them anyway. Taehyung’s face flashes in front of his eyes for a split second and he shrugs it off.
As he’s about to leave, his ears detect the sound of frantic footsteps headed in his direction — he sees a crying woman, perhaps in her forties, running towards him.
“Master witcher, help us please!”
Jeongguk narrows his eyes, as he stays quiet — he knows she will explain the situation as soon as she catches her breath.
“Something horrific has happened,” she cries, “Please, you must help!”
“What did?” Jeongguk asks, slightly intrigued — he assumes a monster has found its way into the city and it’s causing chaos. If people are panickingl, they pay more, so Jeongguk knows to hear the lady out.
“There has been a murder. No, multiple murders. It’s horrific, I have seen it with my own two eyes, who could do such a thing?” the woman cries, her cheeks stained with tears.
“Murders?” Jeongguk questions himself rather than the maiden in front of him — and yet, that doesn’t stop her from replying.
“Yes! Please, master witcher! Let me show you, I’m sure you will be paid handsomely if you track down whoever is doing this!”
That piques Jeongguk’s interest. The coin is always a good motivator.
“Show me,” Jeongguk demands, watching the woman nod, her petite feet carrying her back to where she came from. Jeongguk follows soundlessly, his cat eyes glancing around to see whether anyone is paying attention to them.
The stink of rotten flesh hits Jeongguk’s nose from a few meters away. It’s not uncommon for him to smell such things but when the foul scent finds its way into Jeongguk’s nostrils, it makes him grimace on the spot.
There lies a man, young, but not young enough to be a boy, disemboweled with his guts lying across the stone floor. His eyes rolled back and mouth agape, waiting to wail the cry that was never uttered. Jeongguk has seen similar scenes before but something about this one just screams monster.
Guards surround the corpse with the man dressed in unusually white clothes in charge — Jeongguk assumes it’s the coroner, ready to take the body to the morgue.
Two guards turn around, taking in the sight of the witcher, and squint in suspicion. Jeongguk, with all his might, resists rolling his eyes as he practically sees the gears in their heads turn, trying to figure out if he could be the killer.
“I’m here to help,” he says instead, though his palm itches for the sword strapped to his back. He doesn’t like humans, they are just as unpredictable as monsters, if not more.
“Don’t take it personally if we don’t believe you,” one of the guards says, “Shit like this has been happening all over the city in the past few days, right after my guards spotted you strolling around the streets.”
This time, Jeongguk lets himself roll his eyes, “May I check the body?”
The coroner shushes the guard who was about to protest against Jeongguk’s wish, “Yes, please, go ahead, witcher.”
Jeongguk gives him a polite nod as he steps forward, eyeing how the guards tighten their grip on the hilts of their swords. He kneels in front of the body, narrowing his eyes as he takes in the sight in front of him more clearly.
The skin of the male is pale, almost ghostly white, and his eyes wide in horror — Jeongguk doesn't doubt for a second the man did not have a chance for a prayer before he had his guts ripped out. Maybe this monster was just bloodthirsty since all of the organs seem to be there. None of them are missing.
“It matches the other victim,” the coroner says, coming closer while the guards step away, “Almost down to the last details.”
“Another victim?” Jeongguk echoes, watching the coroner closely.
“My name is Kim Seokjin, I’m the one who examined the bodies,” he introduces himself, “We found the other one a few days ago along the same street. I have yet to determine the time of death for this one — it might be tricky seeing as it was thrown into the river, and as you know, water is a great preserver.”
“He’s been dead for at least seven hours,” Jeongguk says and doesn’t elaborate further – he can see the curiosity in the coroner’s eyes but doesn’t give in to explain. “I need to see the other victim.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Kim Seokjin replies, “You don’t have the clearance to visit the morgue. And even if you did, it would be in vain as one of our new interns wrote the body off ready to burn. So there’s nothing left of it."
Jeongguk doesn’t say anything, he only grunts in annoyance. The scene screams monster but Jeongguk isn’t too sure — the cruelty, yes, it’s something that a mindless being would be more capable of doing than a sentient being but Jeongguk would never put it past humans to act in such an inhumane way.
“But, I can tell you that the water carried the body here from the north of Novigrad,” Seokjin mutters.
Jeongguk side-eyes the coroner, “Why?”
“Why do I think so or why I’m helping you?” Seokjin asks, looking directly at Jeongguk’s yellow eyes. When the witcher doesn’t bother replying, the coroner sighs, “The man has traces of red dirt under his fingernails. The kind of dirt you can only find in the north, and I’m helping you because you might be able to stop this madness. Let’s be honest, you have a better shot at figuring it out than these hotheads.”
The guards protest as soon as they hear the insult aimed at them but Jeongguk only nods as a thank you and kneels down to the body once more. The eyes, now hazy and white, are still open and Jeongguk closes them gently, allowing the man to finally rest.
“Make sure he gets a proper burial. The last thing this city needs is a wraith.”