Disarray

Ki-Tae had used his days to seek an audience with the General but he was ignored despite the mention of the 10 Commandment, this was fruitless as he knew the chance of a General responding was almost non-existent but took it upon himself to try. At least this way, he could justify his next cause of action. Jinwoo had been missing for a couple of days and this worried everyone, with Ki-tae assuming the worse, but never let out his thought for it could affect the mindset of his entire Guild and throw them into further disarray. Death was inevitable, that much he knew but two deaths in such a short span were sure to rear its ugly head regarding their morale. A-Yeong had updated him about everything she knew, as well as the last assignment was given by Jin and he then informed the remaining members of the Guild concerning the description of the culprits. But with Woojin absent, he had sent him a written text message, including the disappearance of Jinwoo.

She had sheltered Gyeong from this harsh reality for she was likely to blame herself, she made sure she was focused in terms of her school life, including her friends within it. I mean, it would be weird if the only friends she had were full-grown adults. And Joon-Gu was too immersed in his games to even pay attention to the fact that Jinwoo was missing. The gloom like atmosphere of the remaining members was very apparent to all but Joon-Gu.

Seated around one another, they stared off into space but to onlookers, it would appear they were spectators to the game that Joon-Gu so much enjoyed, with the child upping his game to impress his Guild Members.

"You see that, everyone! The Great Kim Joon Gu has struck down the enemy's alliances!" Joon-Gu would brag, finishing his sentence with a conceited laugh that brought everyone back to reality.

"By the way, where is Woojin?" Joon-Gu would ask them and this seemed to trigger Geun as he instantly grabbed him by the neck, the look in his eyes was that of pure hatred but not for Joon-Gu.

"H-Hey, cut it out, Geun!" Joon-Gu would mutter, clearly terrified as he futilely attempted to push the much bigger Geun off of him in a bid to break his hold but before it could go any further,Dohyun intervened.

"That is enough, Geun!" Dohyun would warn in a voice that shook the very room, this brought Geun back to his senses as he composed himself and letting go of Joon-Gu's neck, causing him to fall flat on his ass.

"What the hell was that about?" A-Yeong would ask with a raised brow, clearly expecting an explanation from Geun.

"I will never accept him as one of us! Not even if it means me severing my limbs!" Geun would say but A-Yeong would roll her eyes in annoyance and mutter to herself before taking out her phone, "Men…".

"It does not matter if you accept him or not. Just like you complaining about the heat from the sun, it makes no difference." Joon-Gu would say, slowly getting up from the ground in which he crashed onto mere seconds ago.

"What was that, fatso!?" Geun would grit his teeth, moving towards Joon-Gu once more but he would halt upon seeing a crying Joon-Gu.

"You think you are the only one sad about the death of Master Jin? You have no right to take the mourning upon yourself. Do not mistake my silence for a lack of grief!" He shouted, before breaking down into tears. This would attract a saddened expression from everyone but the angry Geun.

"Pfft! This is pointless! I am going out for some fresh air!" Geun said, hurrying towards the exit.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?" A-Yeong asked, clearly pissed. He just made Joon-Gu cry and didn't even offer an apology; he was acting like a major jerk and this was something A-Yeong did not like.

"It is fine, let him go," Dohyun instructed his sister, she would comply despite wanting to protest, with the door shutting upon Geun's exit.

Ki-Tae would enter the room at that moment, he was eavesdropping on the entire conversation and knew just how hard it must have been. Dohyun would attempt to explain himself but a gesture from Ki-tae hinted that he needed absolute silence. Taking this silence as disappointment, Dohyun's head would sink in shame as Ki-tae closed the distance between them.

Placing his hand on the shoulder of Dohyun, he would proceed to speak "Do not apologize for your weakness, these are hard times. I understand what you all are feeling more than anyone but now is not the time to mourn." Walking past him and out the door. Ki-Tae followed the tracks of Geun to speak to the youngster and it would not take long for him to find him.

He was sitting at the edge of the cliff with his head buried in his laps, clutching his knees with both arms, looking down the horizon. Ki-Tae would simply sit beside him but he was so lost in thought, he did not take note immediately.

"Not now, Dohyun." He would mutter, barely audible, without paying the presence beside him any heed. At least not till Ki-tae spoke.

"So, you see Dohyun in me, Geun," Ki-Tae responded, this shook Geun as he nearly fell off the cliff with Ki-tae letting out a burst of heartfelt laughter. "W-what are you doing here, Master!?" Geun asked, clearly embarrassed.

"I noticed that you felt sad, what kind of man would I be if I didn't do anything about it? Tell me, what is wrong?" Ki-Tae would say and upon hearing this, Geun would look down at his laps in silence but a few seconds was all it took in the end for him to start speaking.

"I do not know. I am mad at everything. I hate I couldn't protect Mast- I mean, Jin. Now, Jinwoo might be dead because…." Geun would say, before laughing but this was not because he found anything funny, but this was the best way for him to cope with his pain and inadequacies.

"Mostly, I am mad.... at myself." He said, looking defeated. Tears finally dripping down his cheeks like a gentle stream.

"Let me tell you a story about Jin," Ki-Tae replied, causing the teary eyes of Geun to dry up in almost an instant.

"I think it started when I was just about 6 years old." Ki-Tae would say.

A young Ki-tae would be seen walking down the hallway of his school. He was quite popular due to his excellent academic record, unlike his much older brother that studied in the same school and labeled a loser. Ki-Tae had red hair styled in a buzz cut, with amber colored eyes. He could best be described as a pretty boy due to his feminine like facial features. He had the standard uniform that consisted of a navy-blue jacket, a long-sleeved collared white shirt, a tie, matching dress trousers.

"Hey, did you hear about the fight with the seniors?" He heard two girls gossiping but the silence that followed upon them seeing him allowed Ki-tae to guess just who was involved in that fight.

He was ashamed of his older brother and wondered why he always got in trouble despite their family being one of considerable reputation. He was dragging the family name down the drain but Ki-tae had had enough. The day went on as usual, with Ki-tae starring in all his classes drawing envious glances from his peers. The Driver of the Wang household would pick his young master as usual but Ki-tae would notice his brother was not in the car and would ask the driver just where his brother was but the silence the driver maintained told him his answer.

"Father is probably scolding him." He thought to himself.

After all, this was not the first time something like this had happened, Jin was picked up early from school due to the incidence the girls were talking about.

He had reached home and would be enraged as to why Jin was bringing down the family name and had moved to confront him to tell him to act his age, he was already in his mid-teens yet still behaving like a kid.

Barging into his room, he saw a shirtless Jin, but what caught his attention was his scar riddled back which made Ki-tae gasp in disbelief. Jin was startled and quickly wore a shirt but it was already too late, Ki-tae had seen it.

"H-How did you get those scars?" Ki-Tae would ask but Jin would reply with a broad smile and say.

"Oh! This? It is nothing." He said, parting his red hair to the side.

This threw Ki-tae off guard and he forgot what he wanted to ask his brother. All he wanted to do right now was get out the room and that is just what he did with Jin's face-palming himself and cursing his carelessness but brushed it aside as nothing. He was a kid, after all, he would probably forget in no time.

"Mother, I am back." Ki-Tae would say, running for a hug in which she accepted. Hugging him tightly with so much affection and warmth, but why was she trembling? It was almost as if she was relieved to see Ki-Tae.

"Did you miss me that much?" Ki-Tae would joke in which the mother would nod with a warm smile that would put angels to shame. She was an average height lady, slightly overweight, and loose flabby skin around her arms, and legs with pale skin, gray eyes, and long black hair.

"I sure did, Kitty."