Days of Grace | vkook

°9: Only a "lucky grab"?

   Goddamn.

Can it get any worse?

Taehyung was making his fourth lap around the block now, but no matter how many houses he passed, he just couldn't find the one where Minsu wanted to meet him.

"It's the white one with flowers on the upper windowsills and next to the smithy. It shouldn't be that hard to find, though."

"But it is!" Taehyung hissed and dropped the bag to the ground, grabbing his dark-brown hair in frustration.

It must be here somewhere. So why can't I find it? he shouted internally and spun around his own axis once more.

Everything had been going well so far. Except for the little incident at the palace, Taehyung had left the royal grounds unseen and without any further interruptions. By now, he should've already completed his mission, yet he was still searching for the venue, at least half an hour late.

Needless to say, the draining rummaging was getting slightly on his nerves: the boy was damn tired.

"Pssst!"

The sudden whiz made Taehyung jolt. He instantly picked up the bag from the dusty ground and searched for the source of the noise.

"Here," he heard a well-known voice say and soon noticed a silhouette in the alleys. Her petite figure was completely enveloped in a black cape, and with a brief wave, she signaled him to follow her into the dark shadows.

Taehyung looked cautiously around, but since it was almost midnight and nighttime activities weren't common in residential areas, he took slow steps towards her.

"I thought you were— oh my goodness!" Minsu gasped when she saw the long scratch on Taehyung's thigh. The skin gleamed in a bright, unhealthy red, and small clumps of mud were lodged in the open wound.

It's gonna get inflamed badly if it's not treated fast!  shrilled in her head as she observed the rest of his lightly battered appearance. What on earth just happened?

As if Taehyung heard the worries captivating her mind, he just shrugged off his injury, mumbling, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Of course it is! C'mon, you careless fool! You can tell me about your adventure while I properly treat your wound." Minsu insisted. With that, she turned around, disregarding any protests from his side, and led them to the place they should've met ages ago.

"You've got to be kidding me... that's the smithy you talked about?!" Taehyung exclaimed as he saw the shop squeezed between two buildings. Only the dilapidated sign hanging loosely above the door revealed to passersby what lay behind it.

"Yes? What did you expect?"

"Dunno, perhaps a smithy??" he huffed, causing the girl to whisper small 'idiot' at his rude remark.

That's a good one coming from you, she thought, recalling the visit to his "home".

Yet, she didn't dwell on the topic and opened the front door to her home, gesturing for Taehyung to enter. Squabbling around wasn't exactly what Minsu had imagined doing at such a late hour, especially not in her current urgent state.

"I assume your raid was successful?" she asked, eyeing the bag that was pressed tightly against Taehyung's chest.

The latter nodded in approval as he followed her into the house.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"Is anyone inside?" he asked, pointing towards the door she was leading him to.