Give & Take

Twice Shy

"The Earl is dead. Lord Kim is dead," the mayor said as if it was a very important ordeal and demanded his full attention. Minhyun nodded as he looked at the autopsy reports.

"He had a lot of enemies," He replied casually.

"In my mansion! What on earth was he even doing in there?"

"Obviously walked into a death trap," Minhyun replied with an amused tone. The mayor grunted and scratched his head.

"I can't believe it. My own banquet! A death!"

"Get to the point, mayor," Minhyun sighed. "Are you asking me to investigate this... Murder?"

"No, there's no need to. Like you said, the Earl had a great deal of enemies. It could be any one of them! It's too much of a hassle. As long as I keep the story under wraps, everyone else shouldn't be bothered by it."

"Aren't you afraid people would accuse you of the murder?"

The mayor snorted and adjusted his belt. "If I was afraid of something like that, I wouldn't be mayor in the first place."

Minhyun could only roll his eyes a little. Says the man who almost threw up from a decapitated hand. He kept his thoughts to himself though. "Okay. Then, what sort of jobs do you have for me today?"

"There's a couple that requires your attention. The most outstanding one is some sort of magical screature wreaking havoc in the middle living areas. There's not much information about it but as long as you stop it from coming here, I don't have any problem with that. There's also a couple of smaller stuff like the usual, missing people and the never ending list of traitors and rioters."

Minhyun nodded and picked up all the files laid before him. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Minhyun. Always such a great hero."

Minhyun shrugged and walked out, going through the files to see which he could finish faster so he would have an excuse to go home quicker. His eyes settled on the magical creature, his interest sparking but if it was in the middle living area and there was no exact location in where it was, Minhyun knew it would take probably a couple of days so he opted to do it later. For now, he settled for the simpler ones. Missing people and traitors. He let out a sigh, reminding himself that even if he didn't kill for Baekho's sake, he was still killing. For the mayor, for the rich snobs. And while that thought never once used to unsettle him, now it did. How many more people did he have to strike down before the town was finally peaceful? He knew the answer and he didn't like it.

~~~

When Baekho woke up again, the sky already held a pinkish purple hue. He noticed the tray of food in the bed and slowly pushed himself towards it, putting on the gloves before eating it slowly since he knew he was bound to throw it out if he gobbled it down like the first day. His stomach was still unused to regular food after years of living with nature but he had to tough it out if he wanted to survive now. Once he managed to finish his meal, he brought his cuffed leg forward and felt around the bed for the key. He felt dumb for not putting it aside first so now it was lost within the sheets. He found it gradually and gulped as he slid it into the lock. It fit and he turned it. It popped off and Baekho rubbed his ankle, somehow feeling like he was forgetting something. He got down the bed and walked around the room, relieved that he was out of his restraint. He eyed the door and the window. The urge was tempting but he knew he had to fight it. He opened the bathroom door and gasped at the sheer size of it. It was like someone had put a steaming hot pool inside. He didn't know how to take a bath like this. He noticed a shower head but didn't know what that was since the other room he was in didn't have it. Confused, he decided to wait for Minhyun to come back to ask him or the maid, anyone who knew the house better than him.