Joonghyuk and the creatures regarded each other carefully, with similar expressions of curiosity being reflected amongst all their faces. The creatures then turned their attention to Dokja, wordlessly asking him about his relation to Joonghyuk and why they were here together.
"Ba-at?" [Who is he?]," Biyoo asked, her innocent eyes shining in wonder at the two humans in front of her.
Kim Dokja's eyes flitted over to Joonghyuk before smiling back at Biyoo.
"Biyoo, this is Yoo Joonghyuk... my..." His smile faltered as he struggled to find the right word. 'Friend' wouldn't have been right, after everything the two of them had already been through together, but they also weren't officially lovers yet…
Luckily, Joonghyuk noticed Dokja's internal struggle, so he answered Biyoo himself.
"We're companions."
At first, Dokja looked at Joonghyuk, shocked. But as he digested his words, a small smile overcame his face as he turned back to Biyoo. "Yeah, we're companions."
Biyoo beamed at Joonghyuk.
"Ba-at!" [Nice to meet you].' The other creatures followed suit with their own greetings.
Joonghyuk frowned, not understanding them so he looked to Dokja for help. Dokja softly chuckled at his confusion. "They're saying, 'Nice to meet you"
Joonghyuk nodded and faced the creatures before him. "It's nice to meet all of you, as well." Dokja tried his best to contain the joy welling up inside of him. It was a dream come true that all of his favorite people were standing right in front of him, looking adorable together. But he realized that the group was missing someone.
"Biyoo, where's Bihyung?"
Before she could answer, the person in question yelled out. "Biyoo, Popo, Griffin! Where are you?" The sound of crunching leaves got closer to the small forest clearing they were currently occupying. Before he could yell out again, Bihyung stumbled into the group. "There you all are! I thought I'd never find the three of you," he said, rushing over to them and making sure they were okay. After a moment, he finally noticed Dokja's presence. "Oh, so you came to visit them?"
"Of course!"
Bihyung frowned as he looked up, taking note of the night sky, the moon glowing brightly above the forest. "Why didn't you just visit tomorrow. It's already midnight, you should be sleeping."
Dokja rolled his eyes. Crossing his arms against his chest, he retorted sarcastically.
"Well, I could ask you the same. Why aren't my babies already sleeping?"
Bihyung avoided looking into Dokja's narrowing eyes. He shifted nervously from foot to foot, reluctant to give the explanation. "Well... we were supposed to be sleeping in that abandoned mansion. But, some people went inside, and they started talking about something weird..."
Dokja frowned, "Weird how?"
"I don't know." he shrugged. Dokja sighed, exasperated.
"Where did you even find an abandoned mansion, anyway?" Joonghyuk asked, making his presence known to the dokkaebi.
Bihyung jumped back, not expecting to see another human there. He looked to Dokja for answers, "Who is he?" He asked, pointing at the stranger.
"Yoo Joonghyuk, my companion." Dokja said proudly. He was really starting to like how those words sounded.
Bihyung was perplexed, going deep in thought as he squinted at Joonghyuk. "Yoo, huh... why do I feel like I've heard that last name somewhere?"
"Of course, you would..."
"Really?"
"Well, he's also the crown prince of the Seoul Empire."
Bihyung froze in his place, his brain short-circuiting. Quickly recovering, he bowed deeply to Joonghyuk. "G-Greetings, Your Highness. I apologize for not—" But before Bihyung could, Joonghyuk raised his hand to stop him.
"Stop, just answer my question." Joonghyuk ordered. Bihyung froze, for the crown prince himself had just spoken to him! As for what he said… Bihyung's mind blanked out on him. Desperate to not seem like too much of a fool in front of Prince Joonghyuk, he turned to Dokja for help. Sensing the dokkaebi's silent plea, Joonghyuk repeated himself, making sure to emphasize each word this time.
"Where did you find the abandoned mansion?"
"Oh, about that, it's somewhere in this forest. I can lead you the way if you want, Your Highness!" Bihyung was unusually enthusiastic now.
Joonghyuk, with his curiosity piqued, turned to Dokja. "Do you want to go?" he asked.
Dokja's eyes widened. He'd thought that they would just come here to play with Biyoo and the others for a bit and return, but it seemed like their little meet and greet had turned into a small adventure. Not able to resist having an excuse to spend time with his favorite people, Dokja nodded. "Sure, why not? Bihyung, lead the way."
"Alright, but remember that there are some people there, so we need to be careful," Bihyung warned.
Dokja waved him off, "Don't worry about us; we can fight. Besides, I'm sure Joonghyuk will protect us," he assured with a cocky smile.
Joonghyuk nodded resolutely, "Of course, my star." Bihyung raised an eyebrow at those words but shook his head and pretended he hadn't heard them. It wasn't his business anyways.
----
"Here we are..." The group was huddled together under the cover of some trees and plants as they looked on at the building before them. The mansion exuded an eerie aura. Its brick walls were full of large cracks, the wooden doors were rotting away, and most of the windows were shattered. It was a wonder that the mansion was still standing. Though, what caught the group's attention the most were the clusters of people going in and out of the mansion. The people occupying the mansion were armed, with most equipped with swords or other weapons. As they walked the sparse armor on their body clanged loudly.
"What are they doing here..." A hint of shock tainted Joonghyuk's voice. His eyes sparked with recognition.
"Why? Do you know these people?" Dokja asked, still observing the individuals.
"No, I don't know them, but..." Joonghyuk looked at the mansion and the symbol on its entrance doors. "This is the Kaizenix mansion... the ruined ducal... my mother's home before she became the empress."
Dokja widened his eyes in shock before inspecting the mansion closer. "Then... how'd it end up like this? Once your mother became empress, the duke would've passed it on to another heir, right?"
"Well, according to the reports I gathered, the duke didn't have another child besides my mother. Once she became the empress, our cousins became greedy for the inheritance rights. The duke saw past their attempts and refused to give it to anyone, fearing they'd run it into the ground. Instead, he decided to intentionally dismantle his own ducal, hiding all the money and assets in a location unknown to anyone. They say that the one with the key can acquire the rights to the ducal, but I have no idea where it would be..." Joonghyuk explained, his eyes on the mansion.
"Then why are those guys here?" Kim Dokja questioned.
"Maybe they're trying to find the treasure or something?" Bihyung suggested, his gaze fixed on the people.
Dokja hummed, considering that possibility. However, the group's attention went to two men that had emerged from the mansion in the middle of a conversation.
"Looks like the empire will be even more chaotic when this ducal comes back..."
The other man nodded in agreement.
"You're right. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when our lady told us her plans."
Dokja and the others frowned in confusion, wondering what they could've been talking about. "They're not here for the treasure...?"
Dokja leaned forward, hoping for more details from the conversation. "What are they planning..." Joonghyuk muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"How would the Kaizen ducal come back, unless they find a new duke to oversee it..." Bihyung pondered.
"If that's really true, then whoever they work for must've already found the key..." Dokja added.
"So the question is, who has the key." Joonghyuk concluded, while the others nodded. Joonghyuk went through a mental list of possible nobles and aristocrats—perhaps one of his cousins?, In his eagerness to hear more info from the men, Dokja accidentally trampled over a branch. It let out a loud crack into the otherwise silent night. The bustling around the mansion came to a standstill as the armored men looked in their direction. Several disappointed stares were pointed at Dokja.
"Sorry..." He whispered guiltily, curling in on himself. When he noticed that Joonghyuk was about to unsheathe his sword, Dokja grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Joonghyuk, you can't do that."
"Why not? I said before I'd protect you."
"Those people were probably hired by nobles. What do you think will happen if they report back about how the crown prince was in the forest slaughtering people in the middle of the night with a bunch of creatures?" Dokja whispered harshly.
"If I kill all of them, no one will report back."
"Yoo Joonghyuk..." Dokja sent him a warning glare, making Joonghyuk click his tongue.
"Who's there!?" The men made their way towards the group's hiding spot. "Come out now!" From the distance came the sounds of swords unsheathing, but neither Dokja or the others dared to move. Right as the individuals were about to charge with their swords, a frog emerged from the plants in front of them. "Oh, it's just a frog..." the attackers lowered their swords, slightly embarrassed with themselves.
Dokja let out a sigh of relief. Beside him, Bihyung also started relaxing as the attackers walked away, but then his body tensed up again as he felt something. He leaned over to Dokja. "Hey, stop touching my nape."
Dokja frowned at him," Huh? What're you talking about?, I'm not touching your nape.."
"If it's not you, then who could it b---" Bihyung didn't even finish what he was saying when he came face to face with a black snake. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH-" Bihyung leaped out from the hiding spot, his scream cutting off when he saw the attackers looking in their direction.
They saw Bihyung, and upon gazing at his horn, black eyeballs, and red irises, they let out their own screams of fear at the 'monster' that had leapt up at them. "AAAAAHHHH-"
Realizing he'd given away the hiding spot, Bihyung continued screaming for a whole different reason. "AAAAAHHHH-"
"Who are you?!" one of the armed men yelled at Bihyung, but he just ran away in panic. With their spot compromised, Dokja and the others also started running away, and the attackers chased after them.
"BIHYUNG, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"
"I'M SORRY!"