A Lily of the Valley ~ Alchemy of Souls

-Chapter Thirteen-

Yul could smell the faint scent of alcohol as he walked to the door of the room where Jang-uk and Park Dang-gu were waiting for them. He gave a faint smile, wrinkling his nose a little bit and sliding open the door to his friend's flushed faces.

"You're here, Yul! Let the party begin!" Dang-gu exclaimed, holding out a wine glass to Yul, his other hand raised in the air with his half-empty glass. The deep red liquid sloshed inside.

He could tell Dang-gu was already drunk, though Jang-uk seemed unfazed, despite the sheer amount of empty glasses stacked neatly on the table in front of him. Uk met his confused look, saying, "I can stomach as much as I like with the ice stone."

Yul sighed. "So Uk is not to spill any secrets tonight, huh?"

Dang-gu nodded, pouting and frowning at Uk. "No fun!" He clinked his glass against Yul's, gesturing for him to drink.

Yul downed the glass in one drink, eager to drown out his headache with the fine wine. He tried not to dwell on the events that had happened at Jeonjingak with Aera. He hoped that coming to Songrim with his old friends would clear his head.

Jang-uk pointed to a bird flying about outside, its large and impressive wingspan stretching out across the sky above the courtyard. It was adorned with gold and red feathers. "Hey, Yul, what kind of bird is that, bird friend?"

Yul smiled at the old nickname, remembering something he had almost forgotten from long long ago.

"What is he doing?" Yul asked, confused.

"No idea," Dang-gu said, equally baffled. "Seems he's gotten himself distracted."

"Again," Yul sighed.

"I didn't know Uk liked birds." Dang-gu lowered his chin and looked at Yul. "You're the bird friend."

At the sound of their voices, the bird stretched its broad wings, causing Uk to jerk back, and flew away.

Uk scrambled down the tree, face excited and flushed.

"Did you see that?" Uk said happily. "It hit me in the face when it flew off. I've never seen such a pretty bird. I think it liked me!"

"Where did it go?" Yul asked, searching the trees and sky.

Leafy limbs waved silently in the afternoon breeze, and smaller birds and insect noises receded into a low hum. But no large wingspan appeared.

"Hey!" Uk said, still excited. "Yul, get out your bird whistle! You can call it back!"

Yul blinked, momentarily confused about what Uk could possibly be referring to. Then he remembered the carved wooden whistle he'd gifted the girl who lay buried with his memories of Danhyanggok, now hiding under sadness and tinges of anger.

"I don't have it anymore." Yul said simply, his face blank but his mind beginning to turn with the forgotten memories, now freed.

"What?" Uk asked, confused. "Why not?"

"I lost it. And I'll probably never see it again," he mumbled.

He braced himself for the pain that would come with the memory, but he now found that he could think of those years after Danhyanggok freely. He was glad. But—what had changed? HIs dreams—of the four women—were still there. In fact, his dreams were stronger than ever, the last face on the women refusing to show itself. He shuddered and downed another glass, ignoring the sensations it gave him. HIs knees began to give, and Uk leapt up to catch him and seat him in a chair.

Yul knew he wasn't really drunk, just buzzed. In fact, he had never really gotten himself drunk in his life, and he prided himself on that.

"Can't handle the liquor, Yul?" he asked slyly, his grin becoming bigger. Well, that's alright, I'll wait for you to start blabbing.

Yul gasped and put a hand over his mouth, trying to stop words from pouring out. "You won't catch me this time, Uk."

It had been their little game—his and Dang-gu's and Uk's—to get one another to talk when the liquor hit. Anything said was fair game for bribes. Although it had become rather unfair after Uk had the ice stone. He remembered their most recent gathering, a year ago...

"Hey, Dang-gu, next time you blab I'm telling Master Park!" Uk grinned, slapping him on the shoulder.

"You wouldn't dare, Uk!" Dang-gu yelled, grabbing Uk's arms and pinning him to the ground. "I never told you Cho Yeon was pregnant!"

"There it is again!" Uk laughed, his breath smelling of beer.

Yul joined in, patting Dang-gu on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure the baby will look just like you!"

"Shush!" Dang-gu smacked Yul, causing them both to giggle harder. "Cho Yeon won't be happy if she knows I told you! Feign ignorance, we aren't married yet!"

"I knew it would happen, after you told Master Heo you and Cho Yeon had been together, and there was a possibility..."

Yul's head snapped up, and he glanced at Uk questioningly.

"Yep, that was when you were about to die, buddy. So you missed the utter awkwardness when it happened. 'Remember that time when... uh... Cho Yeon can't do it!'"

Yul laughed, the camaraderie around the room easing his memories of the horrible time the blood parasite had threatened his life. The dull ache in his chest was suppressed, and he felt a heavy burden lifted off his shoulders.

"Hey, Dang-gu, better not drink any more..."

Uk took off Yul's hand that was clamped over his mouth, pinning it to the table. "Go ahead, I'll wait."
"I—won't talk, Uk. You won't catch me saying that Cho-yeong gave Aera and I a lily of the valley."

Uk gasped and dropped Yul's hand, his joking expression now turned to one of shock.

"You blabbed, Yul!" Dang-gu exclaimed, rolling his head from side to side. "That's no good."

"A...lily of the valley?" Uk asked slowly, keeping his voice low. His hand went up to clutch at Yul's shoulder, holding on so tight Yul yelped and shoved it off, wincing at the sudden circulation of blood flowing through his veins again. "Those are extinct. They're gone. Why didn't she tell me? Why did she give it to you, Yul?"

Yul felt that their evening was ruined, but he squelched his disappointment and straightened, saying, "I have no idea. I meant to talk to you about that. Any Jinyuwon relic that resembles a scarlet thread?"

Uk gasped.