CH 7: Sung Jinwoo and Hwang Dongsoo Meet Again (P2)

"Must be nice being free again, Greed." the murmurs of the students from both genders, spoke in different tones regarding the misunderstanding. Be it casual, mockery, gush, or indifference, all fell silent when they heard the coldness of Jinwoo's tone. His grin? Long gone.

The misguided sexual tension from before has now become stiff and strained. [A/N: Why did I write this? I don't know. Just did...T^T]

It affected everyone.

Pin-drop silence would be the best way to describe the aura of the room.

"It's Dae-Hyun." the bulky man sternly corrected. Another line of silence was exchanged between them, before Jinwoo broke it off, a few seconds later.

"I didn't know you took so much pride in your name?" he asked with sarcasm hinting at a hidden meaning. A taunt Hwang Dongsoo would rather ignore than acknowledge.

"I do," he replied shortly, surprising Jinwoo a bit. However, Jinwoo was quick to notice the eerie stillness of the lunchroom and decided that this isn't the place to talk anymore. It was better when it was loud and boisterous, but now it's dead silent. Shame.

"Let's go, Greed," Jinwoo intentionally called out. Dae-Hyun sucks in a sharp breath before releasing it in a sigh. He knew Jinwoo wasn't one to remember names so it was useless to complain, so he lets it go and stands up creating a chain reaction of loud scrapes, before following Jinwoo out.

Everyone is left baffled by their anti-climatic showdown, but they didn't protest. Instead, they shuffle back into their seats and chat away like nothing ever happened.

Meanwhile, Jinwoo and Dae-Hyun trudges up the stairs in nerve-wracking silence, as Dae-Hyun felt increasingly nervous with each step he took. It's as if something heavy, weighed down on his body, the more he walked up.

It was terrifying.

He wasn't ready to die yet. He'd just become a free man.

The creaking of the heavy aluminum door grates open. Dae-Hyun's eyes which were locked onto the ground flits up.

The light that silhouettes Jinwoo's back grew dimmer and dimmer as the cold blue eyes glowed brighter than the sun itself. Overshadowing it. The cool wind that made the day shaded has become winter snow causing Dae-Hyun to shiver on his toes.

The madrigal of festive heat grazed his skin as he walked out the doors, trailing behind his previous master, whom he grew to admire and respect.

Despite the past issues of hate and vengeance, it soon dissipated into withering pappuses of deserted nights after millenniums of embarking on many journeys and fighting alongside him in every battle.

The very idea of killing him for a brother whose face he had long forgotten was stupid and nonsensical. He ceased to care for spilled blood as he didn't wish to harm him.

Dae-Hyun approached him out of the will of his heart to follow him in the living and death again. (Except for the death. He wanted to be alive for a little longer.)

However, he should have known. His master had trust issues and the demons of the past knitted the knots that tied them together. Now that he is set free from the shackles of loyalty, his master doesn't trust him, and to be honest, he wouldn't trust himself either if the roles were reversed.

"My Ki-"

"Cut the crap. What are you here for, exactly?" Dae-Hyun looks at him with piteous eyes that made Jinwoo's stomach churn. He didn't know what could happen now. Hwang Dongsoo was trash he needed to take out in the past. Garbage that could be removed easily, but now? He couldn't quite tell. The spell that instantly made all his undead soldiers submit to him has been removed.

Hwang Dongsoo was a man–, a human, he killed with his own hands. He killed his brother first, then him during his quest for vengeance, and he can't rule out the possibility that his human side that was locked dormant for years grew a seed of hatred that he's sure as hell has bloomed into a nuclear bomb, waiting to go BOOM.

If he does indeed, try to kill him, he'll just have to murder him first and hide his body in some abandoned power plant way out in the rice fields.

Anyways, as Jinwoo is trying to come up with a master murder plan, Dae-Hyun is sweating profusely in his spot as he tries to come up with a believable reason for his stunt, but he can't think of anything.

He looks around, eyes scanning anything and everything but his master's (previous) orbs. He thinks his hardest but nothing came to mind. Absolutely nothing.

He knows Jinwoo doesn't possess the abilities of sense but his skills were honed and sharpened to the point that mana isn't needed.

Individually, he's stronger than all of the other soldiers. It didn't matter. He can't and won't and wouldn't lose to them. To the soldiers.

It's just the way it is for a self-certified War God.

Eventually, Dae-Hyun spoke. He didn't tremble, he didn't shiver, and he didn't flinch. He conveyed with the confidence of a subordinate and not the arrogance of a human.

He went down on one knee, placed his elbow on the shin, and bowed his head. Not daring to look up.

"My King, I know you do not trust me because I live again. I know your extreme distrust of humans due to the many trials of betrayal performed by them and because of my upbringing." he paused a bit and cursed himself for sounding like Beru. He didn't want to sound like him but he was never one to apologize as a human and that affected him in this life too.

"I just want to let you know that you can kill me any time but let me live for three more days. Since I like my new name and I'd like to spend some time with my new family." He winced at his words. It sounded like a sob excuse. Didn't even sound genuine but, he remained steadfast. Didn't move. Didn't lift his head.

He just kneeled and continued to kneel, despite the growing ache in his bones. He will stand up when Jinwoo tells him to, forgive him, or gives him the death sentence.

"What was your name again?" Jinwoo asked, his voice resounding in the cold breeze of the summer heat.

"Dae-Hyun, my King."

"Dae-Hyun, stand," he stood. His height was on equal grounds as his King, but their status and power were miles apart.

"I don't care about your apology or your reasonings. What I care about, is the results and your actions. If your performance doesn't line up with your words? I'll end you, right then and there." He paused for a second, to look into Dae-Hyun's eyes and was slightly surprised to see that his obsidian peepers were crystal clear. Not a wisp of red was seen, so he continued.

"Do you understand?" he stated. His tone was much more direct and firm.

"Yes, my King." At this, the rigid mood was lifted and the gentle wind returned.

"Dae-Hyun," he called out with his back turned, as he stared at the view of orange tiled roofs and the littered streets of back road Seoul.

"Yes?"

"Call me, Jinwoo from now on," he said with his head partly flicked to the side. He didn't smile, but his voice sounded quite tender, and that was enough.

"Okay, Jinwoo."

They stood on the rooftop, gazing at the scenery in poignant silence. Both reminisce about their past regrets as well as the memories of their time spent with the army and the K.D Company.

This went on, for a couple of minutes before the reverberant dings and dongs of the school bell were heard. The sweet moment came to an end as they needed to head back to class.

Once they did return to their respective classes, they heard an unsettling rumor being passed throughout the school. It was a rumor about them being ex-boyfriends. Both men face-palmed as they internally scream at their demise.

'Today will be a long day.' thought both of them as they strode in with their heads high. They were both going to need a series of large cups of Starbucks coffee after school.