Daniel's Madness [WonKyun - Eng. version]

V. Tea time

ChangKyun never considered himself a coward. Fear was one of the many emotions he could feel, but he always kept them under control. He never let himself be carried away by feelings, not even love. But apparently, that had changed when he reached that twisted world.

Since he fell through that endless hole, he realized that he was a coward for hiding the feelings he had for the boy from the farm next door and for running away all the time. He was afraid of dying, and he was already getting tired.

Maybe he was also a fool, and that was what led him to take the other kukri that was in Wonho's belt and to stand in front of him, holding the knife with his trembling hands, but with determination in his eyes.

He wanted to show that he wasn't useless or a coward. He could fight, he could do something to help instead of hiding like a scared puppy.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Wonho muttered without leaving his defense position. "Get behind me. Now."

ChangKyun knew by his warning tone that he should obey him, and still he did not listen to him.

"I want to help," he said, trying to sound firm, pointing the weapon towards a soldier who was approaching them with a mocking smile on his lips.

"You're not helping, you're going to get us killed."

Wonho was very angry, he was sure he was going to lecture him in case they got out alive from there. He swallowed when a soldier made a sign to another with his neck, who ran toward ChangKyun with a shout and with his sword in the air; the only thing that the human could do was close his eyes tightly, experiencing what in many movies happened when a character was about to die.

He saw his grandfather sitting in his chair, smoking a cigar in a cloud of smoke and watching him play with his toys on the living room carpet. He saw his grandmother scolding him for getting dirty on the crops. He saw his father concentrating on fixing an old clock so he could put it up for sale in the store.

And he saw himself running across the field towards a person who was waiting for him with open arms...

Just then, a metallic sound echoed in the forest clearing and his heart stopped. He didn't feel the pain he expected and opened one eyelid slowly; Wonho was now in front of him, protecting him with one arm and ready to make a counterattack that he never carried out. The hybrid watched with wide eyes what had just happened in front of him: the soldier remained motionless, and had a knife stuck in the neck by which the blood slipped seconds later. His face lost its life and he fell to the ground like a sack of stones, being observed by the rest of stunned soldiers.

The forest clearing remained in a terrifying silence until it was interrupted by a laugh that echoed from the colorful trees. The soldiers looked frightened in all directions, raising their weapons to the unknown danger. Wonho sighed shaking his head as he recognized the laughter and relaxed his body, knowing what was to come.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?" The voice asked in an amused tone. Then, a knife flew through the place and caused another soldier to fall dead to the ground. The rest went together in terror before he spoke again. "About seven soldiers, well, now there're five... went to a forest to stick their noses into other's people's business." Another soldier fell dead with a strangled cry, taking a hand to his bleeding throat pierced by a small knife. "And, oh, shoot! Those four soldiers had the bad luck to run into a house they should never have found."

When another soldier was killed by the unknown guy, ChangKyun clung to Wonho, having no idea what was happening.

"That house was a hat shop," he commented with boredom, before another victim collapsed on the floor. "The owner inherited it from his father, a poor crazy man obsessed with hats. Who the hell has a hat shop in the middle of a damn forest, you ask? I don't even know myself, he was a lunatic."