Chapter Text
Ting-
The bell signaling the arrival of a customer ringed.
The face of the brunette at the desk glowed in a refreshed surprise as she welcomed the man who entered.
“Dokja-ssi, what brings you here today?” she inquired in a gentle tone.
The man scratched his cold cheek as he answered, “Yoo Sangah-ssi, I have a bit of a favor to ask. If you don’t mind.”
“Of course! Anything for Dokja-ssi.”
He rubbed his hands together as he collected his thoughts, “Do you remember our talks abouts rare flora?”
She hummed in agreement.
“And… do you remember that one story I always mention?”
“How could I forget? It’s the reason Dokja-ssi decided to live here in our quaint border-village after all.”
Dokja’s lips twitched upward at that remark.
“Then Sangah-ssi must remember the Roses I mentioned that grow on those castle walls, no?”
She hummed in slightly confused agreement.
A proper smile breached Dokja’s face as he finally reached his point.
“Yoo Sangah-ssi, I wish to add those flowers to my Garden.”
Sangah was stumped. Dokja had always been attracted to items rumored to be magical. His home and Garden were filled with such peculiarities. But the story and its castle were both fictional. How exactly was he planning on getting those specific roses?
He reached into his coat and took out a scroll. He placed it on the table and rolled it open revealing a hand drawn map. He turned it towards Sangah’s direction.
“…”
“…?”
“Did Dokja-ssi draw this himself?”
“… Yes,” his face had warmed a bit.
Sangah looked at him fondly. “This is the most beautifully crafted map I have ever seen,” she teased.
Dokja flinched then let out a sigh, he still looked a bit pink. “Let’s get back on topic, shall we?”
She nodded.
He ran a hand through his hair, recollecting his thoughts.
“This map shows my interpreted understanding of where that Castle might be. … I’m planning on going there in three days.”
“And…” he continued while casting expectant glances towards Sangah, “I could use… a guide.”
“Oh!” she perked up, “ohhh, of course Dokja-ssi. I’ll make sure we get in and out of that forest, no problem!”
Dokja took a step back from Sangah’s enthusiastic determination.
“That soothes my worries, Yoo Sangah-ssi. Thank you,” he bowed his head and moved towards the door, leaving the map on the desk for his pathfinder’s convenience.
“No problem. I'll see you on...?"
"The tenth," he clarified.
”Right, I’ll see you on the tenth,” she said as they waved each other good bye.
~•°•~
“Dokja-ssi, it’s getting dark. We should probably set up camp.”
Mist emerged from Sangah’s mouth as she uttered these words. She stared at the man carrying the unknown boy they had found in front of her. The name ‘Lee Gilyoung’ had been stitched into his rucksack.
Dokja stopped and looked towards the sky, Gilyoung followed his gaze, the clouds that had glowed pink, purple and orange were now turning an angry gray. A harsh cold breeze was building up.
The three then looked at each other and came to agreement.
They quickly found a cave and took refuge.
A blizzard had set in.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“So…,” Dokja awkwardly began as they all stared at the storm outside, “Does anyone here know how to start fire?”
The other two dumbfoundedly turned towards him.
“…?”
They both shook their heads.
“Seems we’re woefully underprepared then…”
He watched as their faces started to show traces of other emotions. Yoo Sangah panicked and Gilyoung… he only seemed resigned. Dokja shook himself out of those thoughts and instead focused on his surroundings.
“Well…,” he began, “there’s no need to fret.” This seemed to calm down Sangah and give some kind of hope to the boy. Dokja took off his bag and searched through it, “I have a small stove I brought for cooking; the radius would be small but,” he took out a box the size of his hand, “It should provide a good amount heat.”
Sangah gave out a relieved sigh and the boy looked at him like he was a wonder.
Once Dokja set it up, the three huddled around for warmth and crouched there for a while.
Just as they started to feel nice and warm again, Dokja stood up, got a flashlight and went towards the back of the cave. The other two watched him then peered behind him. They jumped slightly; there seemed to be a deep and dark tunnel. Even with the flashlight, there seemed to be no end to it.
Sangah followed the brown-haired boy who immediately rushed toward Dokja and hugged his leg.
They stood there watching for a while peering into the darkness.
An uneasy feeling tightened around her heart and as if he could sense her very thoughts, Dokja offered words of what he seems to register as comfort.
“By all means, Yoo Sangah-ssi, the tunnel should be empty,” he pets the boy’s head as he thinks, “it should be connected to an entire network of caves. If I’m right, it would span the entire mountain, but only have a few openings. One or two of these openings being streams and others being closed off.”
Dokja-ssi has an odd sense of what is and isn’t meant to be worried about, Sangah thought as she furrowed her brows.
He met her gaze as he continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll go in and confirm my suspicions. You and Gilyoung can shift to that corner over there.”
…Is that alright?
“Okay… just make sure Dokja-ssi keeps himself safe.”
Dokja gave a refreshing smile as he replied, “Course I will.”
~•°•~
After what seemed to be a few hours or so, Yoo Sangah’s worry had begun to peak.
She had passed the time by getting to know little Gilyoung. First, she tried to ease him into opening up by introducing herself. As she explained her likes and her job, she noticed that Gilyoung remained uninterested, only giving his name in a small murmur, his voice akin to the small wisp that left his cold mouth.
So, determined to help this shaken boy, she switched tactics. She started by describing the moment she met Dokja. The change in atmosphere was instant. With a small twitch, all the boy attention was fixed on her, even if he still avoided her eyes.
She began with Dokja’s awkward demeanor. Told him about his nervousness and the way he tried to not scare her away and the way he wasn’t quite sure on how to approach and ask for help. About how he was embarrassed to get lost in a simple border village where farming was abundant. Where all the fields were large and looked similar as they grew the same crops and where the houses were all spread apart. Where signs and maps were scarce, as all who had lived there had been there their entire lives. She told him about Dokja’s luck on finding the one other person who was from out of town and how she showed him around town, noting that he seemed more interested in the architecture and the weeds and flowers, barely noticing the people around. The way he quickly scanned each notice board and poster, noting down the directions to the places he’d deemed important.
She told him about the library they worked in together till he got bored and moved on to the next job that fit his fancy. How he had managed to read every book there and his still frequent visits to read whatever came by that week and about all the small selfless favours she’d seen him do for her and other kind people.
She told him about his house that was deep inside the woods, filled with what he believed were all kinds of possibly-magical peculiarities.
She told him about his love for a particular story and how it had brought them here.
When she had completely finished her story, she’d found Gilyoung staring at her with starry eyes. The shine reminded her of the ever-elusive man she called her closest friend.
Indeed… she thought, it seems like these two kindred souls have found some comfort in each other.
She thought it was obvious, considering the state they had found the poor boy in and the look in both their eyes as Dokja took him under his wing.
“It’s too late to go back right now,” Dokja had said after giving Gilyoung something to eat and wrapping him in a thick quilt, “The castle’s closer than the village at this point. He’s kept himself somewhat warm, he just needs to sit near a warmer fire for a while.” He turned towards her and smiled, “he’ll be fine.”
After finally looking into those bright eyes… Sangah really hoped that would be true.
The two sat in companionable silence, waiting, until the aforementioned tipping point. Yoo Sangah stood up.
A small voice, “Noona…?”
“Ah, Gilyoung. I’m just going to go check up on Dokja-ssi. Okay?”
A sudden voice spoke from the depths.
“Whatever for?”
“!!”
The two whipped around towards the tunnel. And there he was in slight amusement, Kim Dokja himself… along with an injured woman.
Sangah stared at the second unexpected guest as Gilyoung plastered himself against the pale man, quick as an arrow.
“Dokja-ssi! What happened? Is she alright?”
“Not really. It looks like she injured herself then fell from a small height and tried to drag herself to some semblance of safety. Get my bag.”
Sangah helped as Dokja treated the wounds. There were gashes that seemed like claw marks and bruises and tears. Looking at the blood made her head spin. Gilyoung sat opposite, giving the woman weary glances.
“Now what?” Sangah asked after they laid the woman on a travel mattress.
“Now, we press on,” he said so with a tone of indifference.
“Press on? Dokja-ssi, are you sure?” Sangah was in a panic, “We have two injured, it’d be safer to go back. “
Dokja stared between the party. After a moment or two he sighed. “Eh, you’re probably right. But,” he gestured toward the mouth of the cave, “how are we gonna get through that?”
The blizzard was still howling outside.
The three stared deliberating.
“That…,” Yoo Sangah slowly hung her head low.
Dokja looked at her forlorn expression for a moment and opened his mouth. “I’m going to do what I came here to do.”
Gilyoung looked between the silent Sangah who was looking at the ground and the determined Dokja who stared down the storm.
“I’ll go alone through this damn cold if I have to.”
She whipped her head towards him in shock, “Dokja-ssi!”
He turned towards her with a smile on his face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll take my bag with me. Ah, of course I’ll leave you all the necessary supplies.”
“Dokja-ssi…”
“It’s close. The three of you can wait for me if you want, but I suggest that you leave as soon as the storm dies down. The kid can walk and I believe Yoo Sangah-ssi is strong enough to carry her,” he gestured towards the woman.
“If you think it’s a bad idea to take them through the open snow,” he took a notebook out of his pocket, “I managed to make a crude diagram of the caves I explored so far. If you follow this path, you should be able to travel some distance in safety.”
The brown-haired duo stared at him, like they were watching a family member go to war, after he gave the notebook and debrief to Sangah, and as he packed his bag, tears came to their eyes.
Gilyoung hugged his leg and refused to let him go, asking to go with him.
Dokja pet his head and reassured him.
They gave each other a brief farewell and he was gone.
Sangah brought her hands near her paining heart and thought.
This... This definitely isn't alright.