Timeless Love || Jinx (Manhwa)

Chapter 1: Looking for a cure for Lord Joo

The leader of the Joo clan was sitting in his chair, looking at his advisor in front of him as he briefed the current situation of his land prior to the sunset months, when days would start to get colder and shorter, and with them often came scarcity and danger. His people were preparing for the winter, hurrying up with the crops and goods necessary as most of the young people were "missing"; however, the most important reserve, one specifically made for the young leader, was running low. He needed that reserve, there's no way he would survive the winter if he didn't had them. His people needed him, and without his treatment they would be doomed.

He was the defender of his land ever since his father passed away years ago, being his labor to protect the merchants and his townspeople from any danger, be it foreign or within his own. It was his duty, as he was the only legitimate son of the previous leader, and like a fool, he's been unable to do it properly for a thousand moons. Some days, especially the ones where the weather was humid or cold, he couldn't move his limbs correctly, and his training sessions with the sword were painful to fulfill. He wasn't in a position to not be good at what he did, and so the importance of a cure was enormous.

He looked for answers, all of them unfertile, leaving him in a worsened state. He was giving up when he recurred to a more traditional way, a witch doctor months ago. The man told him the diagnosis in the span of a night: Joo Jaekyung was cursed. The man claimed that a demon filled with rage had taken over his body because of the previous lord's passing, and now sought the destruction of his land in retaliation for the unfinished business his deceased father had before parting this earth. Joo Jaekyung had something clear: If he was unable to protect his village, a lot of people would die. So he took the doctor's advice, and began looking for the cure. The first one was a farm girl from a farm nearby, who died shortly after arriving in the Joo household. She was followed by another one, but his pain didn't go away so she had to die too. He tried half a dozen of variations before finding the relief he longed so much in the body of a young man, who was the first of a long list of names of said cures, that now he was lacking.

―My lord... the last reserve just stopped breathing, we... we are empty...

The words of the advisor angered him greatly, tightening the grip he had at the bottom of his robe, never looking away from the man. The man looked towards the ground, hoping he didn't woke up the beast inside his lord.

It was known all across the land belonging to the Joo's that the demon who had taken over their leader was the same one who made him as unpredictable as the earth's snoring, and would unleash said ill spirited attitude on whoever was in front of him. The young lord looked at him, taking the sword out of its sheath, letting out that piercing sound metal causes when it's moved quickly, threatening to cut him only with its metallic sound. The man whimpered in the ground, sure that his fate was going to imitate that of the dozens of advisors before him that had angered the man in front of him, he closed his eyes with strength but didn't moved another inch of his muscle.

―You'll find a way to replenish the reserve so that the demon doesn't take over, or I'll add your blood to the long list in my hands.― Replied the young lord, paying close attention to the man, piercing his stare on his neck.―If we have to deal with it the old way, we'll do it. I won't spend a winter wondering if it'll be my last, but I'll make sure it's yours.

The advisor nodded, bowing in an exaggerated way towards the lord as he was exiting the room to find a replacement of the cure for his demon. The last cure was being buried in the mountains as of now, having succumbed to its injuries from the last time the lord needed help with dealing with the demon. None of the young men in the villages nearby or even his own wanted to be the next one in the long list of names that entered the Joo household to help, but were never seen again. The young lord caressed his shoulder, where an old injure was screaming at him for help. The demon was going to attack him anytime soon, and with his latest cure gone, it was only a matter of time before it killed him too.