Archive of Our Own ^beta

“He fucking what!” 

The sound of dozens of objects clattering and smashing to pieces on the floor echoed the bellowing voice from the usually calm and quiet man.

Cale Barrow, notoriously known as the White Star, clenched his fist and hissed through the pain following his ill advised action. The veins on his temple bulged as he forced himself to calm down and lean back into the plush padding of his desk chair. Even after living for centuries inflicted with this curse, it was difficult to grow accustomed to the feeling of his heart trying to rip itself apart every waking moment of his life. He quickly learned that the best thing to do when it became too much, was to close his eyes and do nothing. He could only hope the crest of the sensation would pass without incident. 

Eventually his patience was rewarded with the wave of pain ebbing to a dull ache. When he was coherent enough to think again, he focused his attention back on the unsightly face of one of his minions. The barer of bad news.

Sayeru gulped as he felt himself pinned under that heavy gaze. You’d think a proud leader of the bear tribe would snap under it. Rise to the challenge as any self respecting beast persons’ instinct would no doubt be screaming at them to follow— but Sayeru knew better. He wouldn’t have lived to this wisened old age and earned his place as a close second in command to the most powerful being in their world otherwise. He could only dip his head down lower, hoping his show of deference would be enough to ease some of his master’s rising ire. 

“So Cale Henituse was the one who took it then…” The White Star’s lips ticked up in the smallest of smiles. It didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Heh…ha- hah, HA HA HAH— ah-“ The White Star’s manic fit of laughter abruptly cut off as he bent over at his waist. His hand once again clutched over his heart where it threatened to finally beat it’s way free from it’s mortal prison. 

Sayeru felt himself tempted to sway forward, but he remained rooted in place. The burning concern sitting heavy in his throat as he valiantly swallowed it back down. The White Star hated any reminder of his weakness. 

“Haaah, that man is really trying my patience.” The white star muttered under breath. The second bout passed much faster than the first. He sat up once more, somehow resuming a regal pose despite the pain in his gaunt frame. 

“This Silver shield fellow has really stepped out of line this time master! We can’t just keep ignoring him and his sneaky little tricks! I say we take the battle to their front door, wipe out their families and crush them at their roots!” Dorph loudly proclaimed from his post at the White Star’s side. 

Sayeru felt his annoyance grow at his blockhead rivals thoughtless comments. He refused to acknowledge him, keeping his gaze focused solely on their master. The White Star’s opinion was the only one that mattered to him. 

Said man was seated in a more lax pose now, his chin resting on the palm of his hand while his index finger tapped out a lazy rhythm against the mask on his face. The soft tap, tap, tap being the only noise to fill the room for a long moment. 

The tapping stopped.

Their master sat up a bit, a sharp gleam in his eyes. “Perhaps this can be an opportunity.” He wondered aloud. Before either Dorph or Sayeru could question him, he was already out of his seat and fingering through the spines of the books on his shelf.

“Ah, master! No need to trouble yourself with such a trivial task! If you’ll just tell me what you’re looking for-“ Dorph was silenced with a leisure wave of their master’s hand. His mouth snapped shut as quickly as he’d jumped to offer his help.

The White Star’s right and left hands were left floundering as they waited for their master to finish his search. Each second ticking by at an excruciatingly snail like pace. At last, he pulled a book from the shelf.

The leather bound monstrosity looked ancient. It was practically a sneeze away from turning to dust— yet somehow, the man was able to leaf through it without a care.

He must’ve found whatever he was looking for as the man dropped the open book onto the table with a heavy thunk. 

“To think the day would come where this thing would actually be useful.” The White Star sighed, just a hint of giddiness lining his words.

Sayeru dared to peak over his master’s shoulder, trying to figure out just what had the man so excited. The blurred near illegible text meant nothing to him though.

“Master… this is…?” Dorph made his confusion known first, the one saving grace to his obliviously blunt personality. At least in Sayeru’s opinion.

“A spell. Or, well, curse really. A way for me to steal an ancient power that’s already been claimed.” The White Star spoke nonchalantly about it, as if he weren’t just shattering his two most loyal servants entire world views.

“That’s-! No, wait, but that’s-“ 

“Impossible?”

The White Star really smiled this time, amusement making the rest of his visible features appear all the more youthful as he delighted in Dorph’s dumbstruck flailing. 

He took pity on the Lion tribe’s leader who seemed to be stuck in an infinite loop of flapping his mouth silently like a fish. He Further expanded that “Nothing’s impossible if you’re willing to bare the consequences.” Spoken in a knowing tone.

“And the consequences for this. What would they be?” Sayeru cut to the chase. The White Star’s attention now shifted back to the Bear tribe leader, heavy and belligerent, but Sayeru refused to back down. He had to know.

The White Star sniffed. “Death, obviously. If the acquisition should fail the curse caster would die in unimaginable pain.”

For once, Dorph and Sayeru were in sync for something. Both turned incredulous looks their master’s way, one’s the White Star immediately began to downplay. 

“It’s not as if death means much to an immortal man such as myself. Is it troublesome? Sure. Will it set back our plans by a few years if it fails? Maybe. But the benefits should we succeed are more than worth it.”

“Benefits? What benefits could possibly outweigh the threat of painful death?!?” Sayeru’s voice had nearly disappeared into a squeak! He couldn’t imagine anything would be worth the price should this go wrong.

Even Dorph seemed hesitant, though he was usually the more fanatical supporter of hair-brained ideas like this. And here Sayeru thought Dorph was ignorant to the meaning of the word ‘consequences’.  

“The cost does seem pretty steep… especially seeing as I have no recollection of anyone ever having pulled off a feet like this, ever.” Dorph spoke cautiously. 

The White Star scoffed in the face of both of their realistic concerns. He pressed a finger to the page around a smudge that looked vaguely like “succ”.

“It says here that the spells was casted successfully before. Besides, this book was created well before either of your short lives even begun their conception. Of course you wouldn’t have heard of such a thing!” He snipped defensively. 

When neither Dorph or Sayeru seemed moved, he continued to outline his reason for placing his bet on this dubious spell/curse.

“We know Cale’s found the fifth ancient power recently. However, the damage done to his plate while it was unbalanced must’ve been severe.” He placed a hand over his chest where the painful tearing sensation was still thrumming away under skin. “His body isn’t like mine though. The chances he would live through a second round of unbalance are slim— and even if he does survive, he’d be in no condition to fight.”

The White Star stepped confidently out of the shadows of his desk, the dying rays of a setting sun casting a blood red gleam against the edges of his white mask. “And I will be at my most powerful!”

Dorph seemed to light up with understanding. The Lion beastman practically vibrating out of his fur as he yelled “Then we kick them while they’re down! We’ll truly be trampling them under our feet!”

The White Star looked satisfied with this answer. He turned back to the book, his fingers resting on the lines where the spell was probably tucked away when Sayeru cleared his throat.

Annoyance laced the White Star’s posture, his head turning stiffly back to the bear tribe leader with a glower. “Whatever pitiful reasons you’ve come up with to try to stop me won’t work-“

“Oh, no. I wasn’t going to stop you.” Sayeru calmly cut in. “I was merely going to suggest we wait until nightfall to cast the spell.” The White Star had already been benevolent enough to not call out Sayeru’s insolent behaviour— but this… he raised a brow. 

Sayeru knew he was treading on thin ice here, he had to be confident in his reasoning. “We don’t know how the curse will manifest on the targets body. It may cause a scene, or end up with the target passing out in front of an audience if we’re not careful. The less time we give them to be aware of the curses’ inflictions, the less time they have to investigate it and discover a counter measure-“

“Thus, increasing our chances for success.” The White Star finished thoughtfully. 

“So the coward can actually come up with something good in that snivelling head of his.” Dorph teased with an edge of honest to god respect in it. Sayeru growled at him anyways. 

The White Star raised a silent hand, stopping the inevitable fight before it could even kick off the ground. 

“You bring a valid point to the table, Sayeru.” Their master placed an approving hand on his followers’ shoulder. 

”We’ll wait until nightfall then.”

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Cale stared unseeingly up at the obnoxious mural he knew stretched across the ceiling of his room. He lay there, listless, trying to figure out why he was even awake at this godawful late hour.

Going through his mental checklist of reasonable reasons yielded no results. 

He didn’t feel the urge to go to the bathroom. 

There were no lights on anywhere in his periphery to interrupt his sleep cycle.

A slight shift of his arm and foot assured him the children were all sleeping soundly around him; only the occasional soft snore breaking the otherwise peaceful night. 

By all means, there was nothing about this situation that required his conscious presence. He’d even been in the middle of a good dream too! The crown prince was about to give him 100 gold plaques and ship him off to a little farm on a deserted island with the war over.

So why on earth was he awake right now-

‘Cale! Wake the FUCK up! Augh— I’m feeling real shitty here and if you don’t wake up soon, I’m about to make it everyone’s problem!’

Ah, that’ll do it. 

Cale winced as his latest mental hitch-hiker screamed a colourful list of expletives into his thoughts. He probed his mind for a volume control button. There wasn’t one. Damn.

When she continued to whine and complain, saying things like she ‘felt strange’ and how she ‘didn’t know what was happening but it was shitty and she didn’t like it’, he finally stopped pretending to ignore her.

“When did it start?” He whispered as quietly as he could to not disturb the sleeping kittens and dragon sharing his bed. 

It was a rather idiotic design. The ancient powers sounded like they were taking a chisel to his brain most of the time, so why they couldn’t hear the thoughts he thought really hard at them was beyond him.

‘Hmm, hmm, I think… a little bit ago? Fuck, I don’t know! I just started feeling like ASS out of the blue all of a sudden and bam! Whoop! AGH-‘

‘Will you please shut up! Heavens, you’re making it sound like someone’s trying to rob your tomb— which, perfectly understandable reaction— but I know where you were buried you broke bitch and you haven’t got nothing to steal!’ The Cheapskate snapped at Sky Eating Water.

Huh, he must’ve been asleep before this too, considering how grouchy he sounded.

The two ancient powers got into a verbal beat down, yelling louder and louder overtop each other in his mind as Cale was powerless to stop them. That is, until Super Rock stepped in. A voice of reason to break the squabble.

‘Settle down, both of you! Goodness, you’re both centuries old so start acting like it!’ Super Rock’s voice sounded heavy with disproval for the two.

Both the Sky Eating Water and Cheapskate quieted down, cowed by the authoritative command of a person who they viewed as a leader back when they were alive.

‘Now, Cale, while I have your attention…Are you trying to sacrifice yourself-‘

‘Aigoo, not this again!’ Cale groaned and rolled over on his bed while pressing the heels of his hands over his ears. A useless action since there was no way it’d blot out their voices either way.

His shifting also had a secondary drawback. The tug of the blankets shifting under them had the kids squirming and wiggling on the bed. A pair of blue groggy eyes blinking sleepily towards the source of the pull. 

‘Hu…man?’ When Raon’s eyes adjusted enough to the dark, he was startled further awake by what looked like Cale trembling in pain.

“Human! What’s wrong?!?” Raon yelled out loud in his panic, definitely waking Hong and On in the process if they weren’t already.

Cale decided then and there that he might as well play dead. Maybe then they’d eventually give up the verbal attacks both internally and externally, a tag team effort between his ancient powers and the children. Not that either party realized it. They’d have to tire themselves out eventually…probably.

His plan was foiled though by the loud slam of his door being kicked open and nearly off it’s hinges. 

‘Damnit, it’s too early for this.’

Cale could only bemoan the loss of his precious sleep as his room lit up. His bed becoming a spectacle for the dozens of people entering and flocking around to stare at him. Choi Han was the first to break the spectator streak, grabbing his shoulders and hoisting him up in a seated position, before vigorously shaking him back and forth like a loan shark shaking down a client for all the spare change they had on them.

“Cale-nim! What’s wrong? What happened? Who did this to you?” He spoke fast, the words practically slurred together in his rush.

Cale tried to defend himself, tried to get Choi Han to stop shaking him— but his attempts to speak only seemed to cause the man to start shaking him faster! Cale was seriously starting to worry that his head was about to fall off his shoulders.

“What? What is it Cale-nim? Please say something-“ His hands were, at long last, pried off Cale. Ron firmly placed his body between Cale’s bed and his many visitors as he once again took on the role of a faithful butler.

“If you wish to receive a response, perhaps you should try listening to the person trying to speak.” Ron said with a massively judgmental side eye towards Choi Han. Said man seemed to shrink under the gaze, the tips of his ears colouring red in shame.

It took Cale a while to recover from that. The room was still spinning when he managed to string together enough words to attempt to assure everyone he was fine.

“Nothing happened. I’m fine-“ his attempt ended in a dry cough. 

‘Hmm? That was strange, I was feeling fine a second ago… my throat must just be dry from waking up too early.’

He turned to Ron, meaning to ask for some water— when he started coughing again. He managed to duck his head into his hands in time, thankful that he didn’t make the mistake of coughing all over the deadly assassin. 

This fit was lasting much longer than the last cough. His whole chest felt rattled in the aftermath as he tried and failed to heave deep breaths through what felt like a pin sized hole. He didn’t even notice the wetness between his fingers until someone gasped and pointed it out.

He blinked down as the sight of four red hands swam back and forth in front of his face and— Woah, was it just him, or did they seem to be zooming really close to his face and then suddenly getting really far away again?

Someone screaming his name was the last thing he remembered before everything went blissfully black again.

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.

It was a curse. A bad omen. A message from the gods some might even say. Well, Cale says it’s bullshit. Deruth had already exhausted his resources to get hundreds of doctors from not just the territory, but the entire western continent to look at him. 

None had any good news to share. Some were even branded quacks and thrown out of the estate by Violan herself as they suggested it was a divine fate from the gods. 

Whatever these black marks were that suddenly appeared on his body, they were the work of no god. He had contacts for them. Both of which shook their heads when asked about his situation.

Cale poked at one of the curling black lines at his collarbone. Rosalyn slapped his hand away.

“Please stop messing around. You might make it worse.” She gently chided as she offered him a fresh cup of tea to fiddle with instead.

Cale didn’t pout. 

He didn’t accept the teacup either. 

Rosalyn sighed as she put the cup down on the end table, casting a quick heating spell to keep it a consistent temperature. 

“That’s a waste of magic.” Cale pointed out. She just folded her hands in her lap and lifted a sleek brow at him in question. Bemused.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” She quipped back, bending down to grab a book and idly flip through the pages. Cale felt a sudden spike of annoyance with this entire situation. 

Rolling around in bed was good. Having the chance to relax while enjoying snacks and drinks to his hearts content was good. Not being expected to do anything was good. But having someone watch over him while he did this, with the added pressure of hundred’s of people’s concern for his well being piled onto his shoulders was  t e r r i b l e. Really ruins the mood and makes this slacker routine far too stressful to enjoy.

“You being here is a waste of time. This whole situation is a waste of time. If you’d all just let me into the library to look-“ 

“No.” Rosalyn pinned him down with a hard stare. She returned to flipping through the book the second he deflated. 

“You’re in far too delicate a state to move around like that. Besides, do you really think you’d be able to keep up with a dragon like Eruhaben-nim who can read through hundreds of book in an hour?” She phrased it as a rhetorical statement. Though, it wasn’t really her fault for acting so cocky. It’s not like anyone else knew Cale could probably get through thousands of books in that same time.

She took his silence as defeat. “Mhm, didn’t think so.” Mid reply, she took out a pen and circled a passage in the book. 

“Was that-“

“Unrelated.”

Cale flopped back into the sea of comforters as he draped an arm dramatically over his face. 

“You’re terrible.” He grumbled. “That’s why I’m the one monitoring you.” She chirped back, continuing to underline words and sentences as she flipped through the section. 

“Is it to bore me to death?” He poked back dryly, only half trying to annoy her out of the room. She immediately saw through the attempt. 

“Because I won’t let you get away with anything.” She replied in a sing song voice. Damn her and her unflappable logic. 

Hong padded over to his pillow and curled up into a ball at the crook of his neck, purring softly in the hopes of providing some comfort. On was close behind him, sitting on the other side of his neck as she gently kneaded the soft fleshy pads of her paws into his cheek.

A heavy weight settled on the pillow just above hid head, causing it to sink in and tilt Cale’s head back so he was now looking into the deep blue upside down eyes of the baby dragon. 

“It’s ok Human, we’ll keep you company so it won’t be so boring.” Raon tried to sound cheerful as he gently tapped Cale’s forehead with his tail. Hong and On meowed in agreement. 

Cale could only hold back the sigh he would’ve let out next.

It wasn’t fair. The children were so worried about him. If only there was a way for him to be able to explain to them that this body he occupied was a villainous character, so their worries were really misplaced.

He was always meant to be a bad guy, and bad guys didn’t deserve peoples’ sympathy.  

Cale was just about to try to tackle the explanation, when the door to his room burst open and a flustered looking golden elf stumbled into the room. Somehow, he even made flapping around for balance look ethereal. 

“We found it!” Eruhaben crowed, a very old yellowed paper held precariously in his hand.

Rosalyn jumped from her seat by Cale’s side. She rushed the dragon disguised as an elf, her eyes sparkling in worship. 

“Eruhaben-nim, your excellence truly knows no bounds!” She gushed, quickly going to grab the paper from his hand and look through it herself. Eruhaben was left puffed up and preening to empty air, his over inflated ego blinding him to the fact that Rosalyn had long since left with the paper in tow.

“Ahem, indeed, a simple task like this is mere child’s play for a great dragon like myself!” He practically purred around the words— only, for his ego to be shattered by the annoying little whelp of a dragon he couldn’t help but be fond of. 

“What took you so long Goldie gramps??? I thought you knew everything!” Raon growled unhappily from his spot on the bed, his body semi curled around the crown of Cale’s head. 

Eruhaben could only clear his throat in his fist, pretending to straighten the collar of his wrinkle free robes as he deflected with a frankly lame excuse. “Well, living as long as me means you just have that many more memories to sort though. And this text is ancient, even compared to me. I just needed some time to remember the coordinates to the location I stored this particular scroll is all.”

Cale could tell the dragon was lying through his teeth, but he saw no point in calling him out over it. Eruhaben did find the information they needed in the end. Raon had no such compunctions. He took the elder dragon’s words at face value, mulled it over, and bluntly crushed any remaining face the elder dragon had left to salvage.

“I sure hope I don’t end up as forgetful as you when I’m that old Goldie gramps.” Raon hummed. He even nodded his head for emphasis, never even realizing the killer blow he just dealt.

“Cale, look at this! That last doctor was half right! This technically is a curse!” Rosalyn shoved the paper into Cale’s face, her voice just as bubbly and excited as earlier. Before Cale even had a chance to attempt to read the paper, she was already pulling it away and pointing to several other parts.

“Hmm, from the looks of it, this spell was originally meant to transfer an ancient power from one host to another before the original host died— but something went wrong.”

She flipped the paper over, her frown deepening as the text became illegible with a giant ink blot covering the rest of the notes. She shook her head in frustration.

“The details about the last successful case they used it in are lost. But from what I gather, it looks like all the previous tests before this resulted in the deaths of one if not both of the parties involved-”

The children all cried out in shock. Raon even dug his claws into the pillow on either side of his head, the feathers beginning to spill out as he yelled directly into Cale’s ear. “HUMAN, you are NOT ALLOWED to die! I FORBID you to die!”

The effect of his growly and threatening claims were halved by the amount of tears currently spilling all over Cale’s face and into his hairline.

Cale’s felt an uncomfortable twist in his chest at the display. He slowly sat up, ignoring Rosalyns half hearted protest as he pulled Raon, and the kittens into his lap and embraced them. 

He didn’t say anything to try to coax them, couldn’t. What words could he say, when he swore he would never make any more promises he would break. The children hiccuped, a brief pause in their whimpers and cries as they registered their new locations; before each of them buried their faces into Cale’s chest and began to truly wail. 

Cale just patted their backs soothingly through the mess, and let them cry as much as they wanted. Rosalyn and Eruhaben were quick to take the hint and leave the room.

When the tears gradually began to putter out, the children were so exhausted from the cry fest they began to sleepily cuddle together in his lap. Raon was fighting it though, still stubbornly blinking up at Cale through rid rimmed eyes. 

“Human, you can’t die… you really can’t… what will I do if you… if you-“ Cale rubbed a soothing firm hand down the length of the baby dragon’s back. For the first time since the the children broke down, he answered Raon’s question.

“You keep living.” He answered as factually and to the point as he could.

Raon whined as he tucked his wings closer around himself, his head firmly placed on Cale’s thigh as he refused to accept that answer. “But how? How can I keep living when you’re not there?”

If that didn’t hit him right in the heart, he wasn’t sure what would. Still, he powered on. Raon needed him to be a strong support for him, and Cale wouldn’t let him down.

“You can start by eating delicious meals every day. Then, try to run around and have fun with On and Hong. At the end of the day, you must make sure to find the most comfortable bed and sleep very well. You have to live a full and happy life.”

Raon tucked his head under his paws, a sad little sniffle coming out from under them as he whispered back “I don’t think I can.”

Cale pulled Raon out of his hiding and brought him face to face. He schooled his expression into the sternest, most confident look he could muster as reached for the most encouraging words he could find. 

“Raon, you are a dragon. Dragons can do anything. There’s no such thing as a challenge too big for a dragon to tackle in this world.”

The baby dragon’s wings fluttered, a subconscious reaction to the praise for his species. While the little dragon was obviously still upset, he seemed to be considering Cale’s words.

He placed the baby dragon down next to his siblings. On and Hong shuffling in their sleep as they accommodated the extra bulk of their warm scaly brother. 

“Besides, no one ever said you have to do it alone.” 

Raon looked back down at the sleeping kittens, his tail wrapping protectively around their smaller forms as he slowly allowed his head to fall beside them. His eyes were already fluttering closed, exhaustion taking it’s tole as he mumbled out the dregs of his finally sleep laden request.

“Cale?”

“Hmm?”

“Please don’t die…”

Cale remained silent.

After a long moment of watching the gentle rise and fall of the children’s sleeping breaths, he quietly slipped out of the room.

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Rosalyn and Eruhaben were waiting for him in the study. Neither of them asked about the stains of tears on his shirt. They got straight to business instead.

Joining them were Choi Han, Beacrox, Ron and Mary. The others had remained behind in the Super Rock Villa to continue training at Cale’s behest. 

“No need to drop everything for me. The war won’t suddenly pause because a single person’s feeling unwell.” He’d reasoned at the time.

As much as his statement had drawn heavy skepticism and protests, he was still right in the end. Even this small team of people seemed rather wasteful in the grand scheme of things.

“Any updates on the spell then? Is there a way to reverse the process?”

Rosalyn’s face fell as she glared at the paper now copied and spread out before each of them.

“No, the stupid author seemed to be a fan of writing nonsense!” She circled a section of the passage and passed it back towards him.

“This is as far as we’ve got. We believe the key is somewhere in here, but I can’t make heads or tails of it with the excessive flowery language!” Cale huffed in amusement. The petty part of him deeply satisfied by this act of revenge even if it came at his own expense. 

He looked down at the passage, quickly skimming over the words when something grabbed his attention. Cale pulled the paper closer, his eyebrows furrowing as he read the words over and over again in his head.

‘Wait a minute, parts of these were all Korean riddles! Which means the sections following them that don’t make sense must be the way to reverse the transfer… but if there were 5 different riddles here, that could only mean—‘

“There’s a different technique depending on which ancient power you were trying to steal.” He answered his own question out loud for the room to follow.

“What!” Rosalyn practically lunged across the table to see what he was talking about. Cale made room for her, even pointing to each part as he slowly explained. “This part is a riddle, and depending on the answer, the following words are the method to reverse the spell.” Rosalyn tore the sheet out from under his hand, her eyes moving rapidly back and forth as she let out a gasp of bewilderment.

“You’re right! It make a lot more sense when I look at it this way!” But then her voice faltered, worry replacing her previous excitement as she looked back towards the riddles.

“But none of these riddles even make sense? How do we even begin to approach them?”

Ron took a look this time, his hand holding his chin as a frown settled over his grizzled old face. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen such a riddle before either.”

All eyes simultaneously landed on the lone dragon in the room, the unspoken question hanging heavily in the air. Eruhaben looked around the room, his eyes widening as he realized what this meant.

“Don’t look at me. You humans barely made sense to me on a good day. I was always more fond of interacting with the straightforward elves.”

Despair took a heavy toll on the room. The depressing atmosphere almost threatening to crush everyone’s spirit. 

“Who the hell even writes such absurd bullshit riddles like this? What insane sort of creature would tear and eat its own flesh and die?” Rosalyn voiced the frustration of everyone in the room. Everyone but two people.

“A candle…” Choi Han’s voice softly mumbled the answer. 

Cale immediately snapped his eyes towards the man. Choi Han had a faraway look in his eyes, unfocused, as if he was reliving a memory from long ago.

Rosalyn was quick to round on him too, a downright accusatory look flooding her face as she seethed through gritted teeth “You knew the answer this whole time?!?”

Choi Han was quickly brought back to the present, his hands waving in-front of himself in a flailing display as he defended himself. 

“I- I only recognized it after Cale-nim mentioned the resemblance to riddles!”

The man looked so deeply apologetic, like a kicked puppy, that even Rosalyn couldn’t stay mad at him for long. 

“Where in the name of all that is holy, would you even hear riddles like this?” She questioned instead, her eyes still fixed in a deeply judgement stare down with the paper she’d previously marked up.

“It was a… popular game back home?” Choi Han answered as though even he were questioning it. But no one had time to pay attention to the man’s inability to tell a believe-able fib. 

Rosalyn only spared him a look, before getting back on topic. “So the answer to that one was a candle huh. If this is really related to the elements, I guess that would represent fire…” She quickly moved her finger down the list and stopped over the next riddle. 

“And what about this one? What wears clothing in it’s infancy but gets rid of it when reaching maturity?”

Choi Han seemed to think harder on this one. He scratched his chin slightly as he answered. “I believe the answer to that one was bamboo.” 

“Bam what now?” 

“Ah, it’s a… type of plant.” 

“…”

Choi Han really couldn’t lie to save his life. 

Cale took pity on him this time, swooping in before anyone could further question the man. “It must represent the wood element then, such as my shield power.”

Ron followed his young master’s lead, taking control of the situation to get everyone back on track. “Playing this fun little riddle game can wait for later. Young master, if you could, do you happen to know which of the powers is currently affected by this spell?”

Oh. Right. Cale had almost forgot the reason they were even looking at the riddles in the first place! He thought back to the night this all started, how he woke up to the dismayed yelling of one of his powers. A quick check of the tattoo on his chest confirmed his suspicions when he noticed the fading mark in comparison to the other deep black tattoos. 

“It’s a water element.” 

Rosalyn quickly stuffed the paper under Choi Han’s nose as she rushed him to point out which of the riddles may allude to water. However, despite the man’s best effort, he just shook his head and deflated like a sad balloon.

“I’m so sorry, I really don’t know! It’s been so long— and I was never that into playing these games.” Choi Han blurted out in a rush, his eyes almost teary with regret as he looked to Cale.

“I’m so sorry Cale-nim—“

“It’s the third one.” Cale pointed to the middle riddle. He’d ignored all the theatrics up to that point.

Mary peered down at her own paper, her monotone voice reading the riddle out to the room. “What is a leg but cannot walk?” 

“A bridge.” Cale answered with confidence. “And a bridge is almost always built where people need to travel over water.”

Choi Han did a double take. In fact, most of the room was looking at Cale oddly now. 

He didn’t seem to notice. 

Cale focused instead on the words next to the riddle. “The pressure against a bottled up damn will always burst. One must reveal their heart to a trusted one and have that same trust returned in harmony. Only then will balance be returned…”

he stared speechlessly at the paper. A weak nervous laugh rang loudly in his head.

‘I awlays did have a romantic heart.’

It took all the remaining strength in his body to stop from slapping his hand to his face and groaning. Cale never signed up for any of this.

Rosalyn draped her entire upper body over the table surface, her face smooshed down against the wooden grain as a weak voice emanated from her limp form. “We’re doomed.”

Eruhaben looked back and forth between Cale and Rosalyn with a confused look, while Ron just appeared thoughtful. 

“Is that really so bad?” Eruhaben’s small voice stretched out like a turtle peeking out of it’s shell to assess the danger.

Rosalyn just waved a dramatic hand in Cale’s direction. “Have you not seen this man? He’s about as transparent as a vial of dead mana!” Cale had a feeling he should feel offended by that.

Choi Han was too busy being stumped about a different part to even take note of Rosalyn’s misery. “What does it mean by in harmony though? Are we supposed to tell each other secrets at the same time?” Mary’s added in a quiet voice. “I interpreted it more as a confession between two lovers.” 

Rosalyn raised her head from the table, just to groan “that’s even worse!” Before letting her head fall back down with a thunk.

Ron hummed, throwing his own two cents into the mix. “It doesn’t sound like it necessarily has to be a love confession to me. Perhaps words of devotion, like a promise of loyalty between two parties?”

Beacrox stood from his spot at the table, his chair making a loud screech against the stone floor. He walked around the table towards Cale with purposeful steps before stopping mere inches from his knees. 

Cale craned his neck back to look up at the man. He was suddenly very aware how dangerous literally everyone in this room could be if they wanted to be.

“Young master, do you like the food I cook for you?” It wasn’t so much phrased as a question, as it was a demand. Cale was nearly sweating with nerves, but none of that reached his face.

“Yes, you always cook the best meals.” He responded like his life depended on it. It helped that it wasn’t even a lie. Beacrox’s food was always a delight to eat, scary murder chef aside.

Beacrox looked satisfied by this response, his head dipping once like a done deal. “Then I shall cook meals for the young master for the rest of my life.” 

“…ah, that would be great. Thanks.” Cale responded, his voice thankfully steady despite how massively confused he was by the whole ordeal. 

Cale didn’t even notice everyone’s eyes on them until a look of disappointment filled Beacrox’s eyes. 

“That clearly didn’t work.” 

The dreary atmosphere returned with 10 times the strength. Cale himself was stumped as to what to do in this scenario. Then Choi Han gasped.

“What if we’ve been looking at it all wrong!”

His voice sounded so hopeful, the others couldn’t help but feel their own gloom abate slightly. Rosalyn sat up, still leaning on the table but obviously paying attention now.

“Well, in stories, there’s usually more than one way to break a curse. What if this riddle is only one of those ways?” Choi Han started slowly.

“What are you getting at?” Rosalyn hurried him along, now fully seated upright and leaning towards Choi Han with a vested interest.

“What if we got rid of the spell caster? They’re the one who’s trying to steal Cale’s power right? If we took them out of the picture before the transfer succeeded, wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume the ancient power would return to the original holder?”

Ron smiled wickedly at the implications. His hand reaching towards his sleeve as though giddy at the opportunity to solve their problems with violence.

“That might work in theory, but how are we supposed to know who cast the— oh!”

Rosalyn’s eyes lit with understanding. Everyone at the table came to the same conclusion at once.

“The White Star.” 

He’s the only one who would know about Cale having the Sky Eating Water— and he had the most to gain from stealing it. The White Star’s plate was also unbalanced and, as far as they knew, he still had yet to obtain his own water related ancient power.

Beacrox was already heading to the exit of the room.

“Where are you going?” Choi Han called after him, confusion in his voice.

Beacrox paused for half a step, his hand already hovering over the knob of the door. He turned back slightly, his voice coming out steady and determined.

“To prepare enough meals for the long trip ahead. We‘ll be paying the White Star a visit in the east, will we not?”

Ron looked on proudly as his son left the room without so much as a dismissal. 

“Sounds like we have a lot to get ready then!”

Cale was busy packing his clothes the next night. The kids had left the room earlier, taken on a quest to help Rosalyn and Eruhaben prepare the items they’d need to take with them on the ship. Usually Ron would’ve been the one to take care of his wardrobe, but he and Choi Han had already been sent ahead to inquire for any available ships at the dock they planned to depart from in the Ubarr territory. 

He was in the process of deciding between two seemingly identical white shirts, when a knock at his windows startled him into dropping them back on his bed. He whirled around, the power of the shield already thrumming under his skin and ready to burst forth at a moments notice. 

He was met with the oddly unnerving sight of a sunny smile and cheerful wave as Alberu signed for him to open the door to his balcony and let him in. 

Cale heaved a long suffering sigh as he purposely turned his back on the man and went back to his shirt comparing. Alberu was persistent though. He refused to stay ignored. By the fifth repetition of knocks against the glass door, Cale finally had enough.

He stuffed both shirts into the travel bag, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to take extra, and marched his way to the door. He wrenched it open, uncaring if he was acting rather rude in front of their future king.

“Your highness.” He greeted, his voice clipped. “You better have a good reason for showing up like this.” Alberu let out a dramatic huff. “Ever the eloquent one aren’t you.” Cale narrowed his eyes, his arms crossing as he held his ground. Alberu had long since stopped caring for formalities between them. Something must be wrong.

“What did you do? I’m a little busy, I don’t have time to entertain you today.” Cale made a shooing motion towards the prince, wanting to get a head start on preparing the ships for their departure as soon as possible. Alberu wasn’t making it easy for him though. 

He stepped forwards, twirling a stray lock of Cale’s shoulder length hair around his finger as he innocently asked, “Can this crown prince not be worried for the most promising hero of all the lands-“ Cale pushed his hand away to further express his shut down of any further conversation.

“Seriously, your highness. I really don’t have time for this.”

Alberu flinched, an unreadable look flashing in his eyes as he stepped back to put a respectful distance between them again. 

“Forgive me, my joke was in poor taste.” Alberu’s tone was whisper soft with what sounded like honest remorse. It almost made Cale feel bad for speaking so harshly to the man. In the end, it was Alberu that broke the silence that had descended between them again with a humourless chuckle.

“You know, you’re usually so quick to try to spend my money and demand I clean up your messes— yet when you actually need my help you-“ Alberu cut himself off with a broken sigh. “It doesn’t matter.” 

Cale cocked his head, curious as to why the prince had skipped whatever he was going to say earlier. He was distracted from the thought by Alberu’s follow up statement though. 

“I’ve already prepared a ship for you departure in the Ubarr territory.” 

Cale was stunned. He looked at Alberu in awe. Only a prince of his status could think so far ahead to have ships ready to sail at a moments notice!

‘Being rich is the best…I must make sure to scam more money out of the bastard while I can so we can live as comfortably as him in the future!’

Still, while the two may have dropped most formalities between each other, that was no reason to be ungrateful. He bowed a proper 45 degrees to the prince. “Thank you your highness.”

Alberu’s lips ticked upward in a wan smile. He even reached out to rustle Cale’s hair despite the half hearted grumpy protest that got him. “Just make sure you bring it back in one piece. I’ll charge you a gold coin for each scratch I see upon it’s return!”

Cale gaped at the the criminal fees Alberu just tacked on like a joke. He took back everything he ever thought about Alberu being a soft or easy target, he was clearly a better scam artist than him! 

“Never mind, I don’t need you ship anymore-“

Cale’s backtrack was cut off as Alberu pulled him into a tight hug. He froze up, not sure how to react in this situation. No one had tried to initiate a hug with him in…in longer than he cared to remember. 

Alberu had tucked his face into Cale’s hair at some point, pressed so close to his scalp he swore he thought he felt the prince mumble something along the lines of “as long as you get back in one piece…”

Cale allowed Alberu to hug him for a minute longer, before slowly trying to peel his way out of the more or less suffocating position. Alberu quickly released him, stepping back while straightening his clothes and clearing his throat.

“I suppose I should take my leave then.” Alberu said, back to his normal cheer masked voice. Cale dipped his head again in thanks as he watched the man leave the same way he came in.

“What a weird guy that prince is.”

.

.

.

The ship Alberu reserved for them was far more luxurious than anything Cale had expected. Sure, on the outside it was a small manoeuvrable ship. Perfect for the stealth mission they aimed to use it for. However the interior was a completely different story.

The entire lower deck was dressed to the nines in a downright sinful combination of comfort and opulence. Every inch of the place looked like it was designed with the passengers’ pleasure in mind.

The bed was soft, plush and warm. Perfect for keeping out the chill from being so close to the sea. The tables were nailed to the floor, any sharp corner sanded down to a smooth edge in case a person stumbled when the ship tilted. 

Even the bathroom still included a fully functioning tub, complete with hot water sourced from some magical land that Cale wasn’t even going to begin trying to puzzle out.

His initial worries for On and Hong’s discomfort melted away as they explored the ship. Alberu even had the foresight to stuff the cupboards full of Cale and his kid’s favourite cookies for the ride over.

They quickly settled into one of the rooms, taking a moment to unpack a few of their belongings, before Cale set them loose on the rest of the ship. They’d be leaving the dock soon. It was best for the kittens to get their energy out now, before battling the inevitable bouts of seasickness once they hit more turbulent waters.

In the meantime, Cale pulled out the rolled up scroll with details on the spell cast on him. He looked through the detailed notes taken by previous researchers on the past trials.

From the looks of it, he and the White Star were safe from suffering the fate of both of them dying. If they were trending towards that path, Cale would’ve long since lost feeling in all of his limbs. 

Morbid thoughts aside, he compared his experience as most similar to trial two. In this one, only the person who the spell was cast on ended up dying. In their case, it was an overdraw of life energy along with the ancient power that resulted in the ‘failure’ outcome. The caster still ends up with the ancient power though.

The paper crumpled where he held it. Cale couldn’t allow the White Star to gain this power, even if he had to drag the man down to hell with him. As long as he could buy them time, give the children a chance to grow up in a happy environment… nothing else really mattered.

He would never tell anyone else about his plans of course. No one ever seemed to agree with his ideas for some reason. Cale didn’t really understand why. It was a logical conclusion to divert the train onto the tracks with a single person if it meant saving the many, wasn’t it?

Then again, Cale was never very good at solving those moral puzzles.

He rolled up the parchment and set it back on the bedside table. He’d been so absorbed in his thoughts he barely even felt the time passing. One look at the porthole revealed the sight of a setting sun. 

They’d set out at noon…meaning he’d been sitting in this room for a few hours at least. Cale stretched his arms above his head, then stood up. He should probably check in on the kids, make sure they hadn’t terrorized half the crew or destroyed anything in his absence. They were a surprisingly destructive bunch considering their small size.

Maybe if he was lucky, Beacrox would already be serving dinner in the mess hall.

.

.

.

With their bellies full and tuckered out from half a day of fun ship exploring, the kids didn’t take long to fall asleep in their usual cuddle pile. Even the gentle rock and sway of the ship wasn’t enough to wake them from their exhausted slumber. 

Cale hadn’t used up nearly as much energy unfortunately. Quite the opposite. He felt like a battery, freshly charged by the strike of a lighting bolt. The electric currents buzzed annoyingly under skin, causing just enough discomfort to have him up and wandering the halls. 

However, the same rocking that pulled the kids to sleep earlier was quickly making Cale nauseous. He made a sharp turn for the stairs leading above deck. A breath of fresh air should do the trick in this case.

The salty tang of the sea swept wind hit him square in the face the second he emerged from his hovel. He squinted his eyes against the sting, giving his body the time to adjust to the cooler temperature by the door, before daring to step further out.

It was quite above deck, not a soul in sight. Cale imagined most of the crew and his companions would be resting in their cabins by now. Only a skeleton crew was needed to ensure they remained on course. 

The Helm was a good distance back from here though, tucked away and sectioned off by 4 thick walls to withstand monstrous swells in case they hit a sea storm. He made his way carefully across the slick deck, heading towards the bow of the ship, an area that usually received the least traffic.

He was just pulling himself up the last few steps to reach the top, when he faltered. Another person had already taken up roost here. 

Cale was just about to head back down and find somewhere else to brood when the person turned around. Choi Han’s black eyes seemed to twinkle under the light of the moon.

“Cale-nim?” Choi Han called out hesitantly. He was still mostly in the shadows. It wasn’t surprising Choi Han didn’t immediately recognize him.

“Mm.” He responded, almost by default. Looks like he couldn’t turn back and pretend he didn’t see Choi Han now. He pulled himself up the last step and walked over to the railing next to Choi Han.

The two of them stood there, side by side, enjoying the night view of a calm sea in each other’s silent company. Of course, the silence could only stretch for so long.

“Cale-nim. You already knew the answers to all of those riddles after you saw them.” It wasn’t a question. Choi Han didn’t sound judgemental. Hell, he didn’t even sound upset! It would be so much easier to deal with it if the man reacted with anger.

But this Choi Han wasn’t the same one from the novel. This version just sounded so…sad, so small. Cale fixed his eyes on some point off on the horizon, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation.

“Mm, I knew the answers.” He didn’t try to hide it. Choi Han would’ve figured it out eventually.

“Those were Korean word pun riddles. A lot of them use word play that can only be understood by a native Korean speaker. Cale-nim, you aren’t originally from here. Are you?”

Cale closed his eyes. He’d always dreaded the day this happened. The ship where they were all buddy buddy/ no hard feelings had long since sank to the bottom of the sea. It had been far too long for Cale not to have realized Choi Han was a fellow transmigrator. 

Choi Han had to know this. He would also know that Cale purposely never revealed himself to him, despite knowing this. 

“Mm. I was originally Korean.” He opened his eyes and dared to meet Choi Han’s. The man was already staring at him. “I came from the same place as you.”

Choi Han’s face underwent a variety of expressions, not all of which Cale could read— but he didn’t need to. He could fully understand the final expression resting on Choi Han’s face. Pain.

“You knew. You knew, but you never said anything.” Choi Han sounded lost. He sounded like a child being told that Santa wasn’t real for the first time. Cale couldn’t bear to look at the raw emotion on his face anymore.

“It was safer not to.” He mumbled the excuse he’d been telling himself for years. The same excuse he used to distance himself from people. To not get hurt again.

“Safer? How? Why would it matter if I knew we came from the same place—“ 

“Because I’m not like you Choi Han!” He snapped. The built up annoyance, pain, and fear of the past few days finally bubbling over until he couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Look at me.” He whirled around to face Choi Han again, spreading his arms wide. “Do I look particularly Korean to you?” When Choi Han just gawked at him, mouth open in a soundless question, he dropped his hands back to his side with a dry chuckle.

“Of course not. What sort of Korean has natural hair as red as this?” He pulled at a longer lock resting in his periphery. “I didn’t come here the way you did Choi Han. I stole my body. I took over a person's life and no one even noticed! Hah…no one even noticed the original Cale went missing...” 

Cale felt like he was walking on the edge of a skyscraper. The feelings of guilt and regret he’d been pushing back for so long finally had a chance to surface. He tried not to think about it. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t his fault— he had no control over waking up in this body!

But the truth is, deep down, he knew it wasn’t true. When he thought back to those first few moments waking up in Cale’s body, it hadn’t been fear or homesickness that had filled him. It was a relief. He was relieved to be free of that hellish life, relieved to play a different role.

What if the original Cale was still out there somewhere? What if there was a way to bring him back? For all he knew, the original Cale spent every waking moment trying to find a way to get back, while he was just here, enjoying the benefits of a body he was never supposed to have!

Choi Han yanked him off the edge of that skyscraper and back to the safety of the roof. He slapped his cheeks to draw him out of his spiraling thoughts. By the time Cale’s vision cleared enough to focus, Choi Han’s face appeared a lot closer than he remembered it being.

“Cale-nim, focus on me.” Choi Han repeated again sternly. How many times had the man said that same sentence by now? Who knows. Cale could only follow his instructions and hope he hadn’t caused the man too much trouble while he was out of it.

“It wasn’t your fault. You are no more at fault for ending up here as I am. You being in someone else’s body isn’t your fault either.” He spoke each word slowly, his eyes searching Cale’s to make sure he was following along and not still zoned out.

“Neither of us asked to be brought here. If you need someone to blame, then blame that damn god of Death for something! You have done nothing to be ashamed of, nor anything to feel guilty for.”

Cale hummed noncommittally. Still unable to accept that reasoning, even if he knew Choi Han wasn’t trying to lie to or trick him. 

It was hard to break bad habits. Especially when they’d been beaten into him over so many years. 

Choi Han seemed to sense the wall growing between them again. He dropped his hands. He turned back to the railing and leaned over it to look back towards the sea. His next words were spoken to the air, directed at no one in particular, but Cale still knew it was for his benefit.

“People are far more forgiving and willing to help than many realize.”

They sank back into a somewhat charged silence. Cale found himself leaning back against the railing again, looking up into the night sky this time. After giving himself the time to calm down and truly digest everything that happened, he felt a weight lift off his chest. 

There was something cathartic about finally talking to someone about this. To have a fellow confidant aside from a four year old dragon. His eyes tracked the blazing trail of a falling star as it shot across the sky.

He was suddenly reminded of a night very similar to this. There had been two people with him at the time. A lot more alcohol involved too…

Oh, what the hell. 

Cale pulled out the bottle of wine he’d stashed away secretly into an emergency spatial pouch he kept on himself at all times. Choi Han had turned a blind eye to him till now, but as soon as he caught a whiff of the pungent wine, he grabbed the bottle over Cale’s hand.

“Cale-nim…” Choi Han’s voice came out strained, pleading almost. 

Cale met him with a challenge of his own. “What, still trying to stop me? We already know what’s going to kill me, I doubt a drink or two is going to speed up the process.”

Choi Han flinched at his blunt words, but he refused to let go. Cale raised a brow at his stubborn behaviour, before an idea came to mind.

“I’ll let you take the first sip if you want.” He goaded the man, wiggling his brows in what his team leader had dubbed a ‘suggestive manner’. This got more of a reaction from his fellow transmigrator. 

In Choi Han’s spluttering, Cale managed to wiggle free of his grasp and drink nearly half the bottle in one go. 

‘Haah, that felt good.’

It was only just enough to give him a pleasant buzz. His cheeks were probably as ruddy as a tomato after that stunt, but his mind was still perfectly clear. Cale tossed the bottle, remaining wine and all towards Choi Han. 

“You should loosen up a bit yourself, Ahjussi.” He smirked at his own clever jab. Cale’s smile only grew more wicked as Choi Han nearly dropped the bottle as a result.

“Cale-nim! Please don’t tease me like that…” Choi Han grumbled like a scandalized maiden. Cale just hummed as he went back to his star gazing. 

Not long later, he heard the tell tale sounds of liquid sloshing as Choi Han eventually caved under his insistence. When he was sure Choi Han was a few drinks in, he allowed himself the opportunity to reminisce.

“You know, we used to spend nights together like this too. My previous team and I.”

Choi Han, looking just the slightest bit tipsy, turned his head to stare at his profile.

“My previous team leader, he was always coming up with the most absurd games— like the singing game.” Cale continued, his heart feeling lighter with every secret he let slip.

“Oh. Whass the singing game?” Choi Han slurred a bit. The man was apparently a light weight.

Cale’s eyes grew distant as he recalled the fond memories of those nights. “It was stupid. Team leader would pick some embarrassing song, usually something sappy and romantic, and we’d all take turns singing a verse as emotionally as possible.”

Choi Han snorted, his hand coming up to cover his mouth as his eyes widened in horror. He quickly tried to cover up the laugh as if afraid he’d just committed the most heinous of offenses. “I didn’t mean to laugh, I swear! It’s just…you and singing? I can’t imagine it!”

Maybe the alcohol had gotten to him more than he realized. Cale found himself hit with a sudden streak of competitiveness. He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to side eye Choi Han.

“Hmm, should I give you a demonstration then?” 

Choi Han looked like he was still having a hard time believing it. So, Cale took it as a challenge. He crossed his arms as he searched his records for a good song to fit the scenario. 

His eyes snapped open with a giddy thrill as he thought of something perfect. He flicked Choi Han on the forehead when the man seemed intent on laughing himself stupid against his half of the railing.

“Better pay attention now, there won’t be a second time.”

Cale began the song with a humm, his the gentle baritones swaying with the boat and melding with the gentle laps of waves against the hull. He recalled his team leaders advice from back then to get more emotion in his voice.

‘Remember dongsaeng, you have to think like you’re singing about the most important thing in your life. That’s the best way to draw forth the raw passion of your manly youth and make all the ladies fall for you- ack’

‘Stop teaching our dongsaeng weird things!’ 

His lips pulled back into a genuine smile, his humming becoming a notch more melodic as he finally opened his mouth and began to sing the first verse.

 

Every night in my dreams

I see you, I feel you

That is how I know you,

Go on~

 

He thought about his true dream to sing this part. He thought about his ideal slacker life, of a nice farm where he could raise the children in peace; surrounded by the people he cared about.

 

Far across the distance 

And spaces between us—

You have come to show you

Go on~

 

Cale thought of the efforts he went through to achieve his dream. He thought of the many locations he planned to build small vacation villas so they could slack wherever they pleased and still get a change of scenery every now and again.

He pressed on for the next two verses, thinking of his love for money, how it makes his life easier and is the only constant that would never betray him. By drawing inspiration from these things he truly cared about, the emotions he could portray in his voice became far more fluid and tangible.

Choi Han could only stare, completely enraptured by Cale’s performance. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t bear missing a moment of it. To think he was just teasing Cale not even a few moments earlier, doubting the man could draw forth enough expression to make the song sound anything but flat. 

Cale made him feel the love he had. The pure desire in his voice perfectly matched the lyrics of the song. He almost felt himself growing jealous, wondering who or what Cale could be thinking about to sing this way.

By the fourth verse, Cale started to slow down. It seemed like he was about to stop even! Choi Han didn’t want it to end though! 

Even after all these years, the melody when sung by Cale awoke his memories of the original song. It was a classic after all. He only had to dig a little bit to find the rest of the matching lyrics. 

When Cale finally sang his last verse, Choi Han took over. His voice was slightly off key, a bit less steady compared to Cale’s masterful performance, but still flooded with emotion. Choi Han poured all of the feelings he currently had into the song.

 

Love can touch us one time

And last for,

A lifetime!

And never let go till 

We’re gone~

 

He pressed a hand to his heart, thinking of the warmth Cale had brought him since the day they met. He’d spent months ignoring it. Hiding this growing lump of affection under the label of admiration— but he knew that wasn’t what it was. 

This chaotic ball of turbulent red emotion was far too possessive to be something as innocent as admiration.

Cale had seemed almost shocked when Choi Han actually jumped in. However, his eyes were warm as he tapped his foot to the beat of the rhythm. Acting the part of a human metronome. 

Choi Han was quickly losing confidence as he came towards the end of his first verse. His voice was a lot scratchier, not nearly as used to or prepared for the sudden duet. 

Cale seemed to realize this as well. He started singing along with Choi Han for the next verse, the two making eye contact as Cale smiled encouragingly to keep singing.

Choi Han’s voice steadied, his eyes fixed on Cale’s face as he let his real feelings for the man bleed into his words.

 

Love was when I loved you

One true time, I hold~ you

In my life we’ll always

Go on~

 

As if communicating telepathically, they each gave each other time to shine. 

 

Choi Han: Near, (‘I will always keep my love nearby. I won’t let Cale fight this alone!’)

Cale: Far, (‘My dream slacker life is still far away…but I won’t ever give up on it!’)

Choi Han took over again, Cale falling back to hum the accompaniment. 

 

Wherever you are~

I believe, that the heart does

Go on~

 

Choi Han felt like he was experiencing an adrenaline rush. While the two never talked it out beforehand, he just felt like he knew the next verse needed to be sung by Cale. It was like… the two had fallen into a trance, dancing around each other with their voices.  

By the time his part was done, he was nearly panting with the effort. His blood felt like it was on fire! He looked towards Cale, curious if he was the only one experiencing this, when he noticed a faint glow around Cale’s neck.

At first he thought it must’ve been some necklace or jewelry catching the light of the moon, but it just seemed to keep glowing brighter and brighter as Cale sang. When he leaned in to get a better look, he felt a bolt of shock hit him square in the chest.

It was the curse mark! Something was happening to Cale’s curse mark!

His first instinct was to worry, concern for Cale’s well being jumping to the forefront of his mind. He was almost tempted to stop Cale from singing; but then he recalled the words on the note to reverse the spell.

‘Only when those who trust each other share their hearts in harmony…’

Understanding hit him like a speeding truck. Harmony, the two of them were singing their hearts out in harmony! Choi Han had to see this through to the end then! Maybe this really was the way to break the curse!

Meanwhile, Cale was busy singing, his throat aching as he let his voice fade towards the end of the verse. He felt content to end it here, not having come to the same mind blowing epiphany as Choi Han. Cale was just happy with the result of their little singing game— but Choi Han immediately jumped into the next verse. 

Cale was blind sided for a minute, his eyes locking with Choi Han’s again for a second, before noticing the way the man was urgently gesturing at him to sing as well. He wasn’t sure why Choi Han was acting this way, but he didn’t question it.

He was ready when Choi Han finished his part, easily taking over as he belted out his line with just as much enthusiasm as before. 

They ended the song in a duet together, Standing so close their shoulders were touching— and since when was Choi Han holding his hand??? He almost slipped up the last note when he noticed, but he refused to ruin the otherwise perfect performance. Cale would’ve pulled his hand away, but then again, his hand was starting to get pretty cold. The temperature must’ve dropped significantly since they were so close to the water and all.

By the time they both finished, Cale was finally coming down from the high of singing again after so long. He felt a pleasant rush of warmth travel up his arm, the soft breath against his skin causing him to open his eyes with a start. He was shocked to see Choi Han had for some reason brought their linked hands up close to his face. His hand was cold, but it wasn’t that cold.

He was about to question what Choi Han was doing, when the man himself seemed to realize the weirdness of his own actions. Choi Han quickly dropped his hand while retreating back. A lot father back than necessary. Now Cale was really beginning to feel insulated.

“Cale-nim… are you alright?”

‘Hmm? What was Choi Han talking about, I feel-‘

It was only when Choi Han mentioned it, that Cale noticed something really did feel…off. 

His heart was still beating way too fast, as if he’d just finished running a marathon. Then there was that weird glow, the light practically shining into his eyes as he squinted them and tried to find their source.

Only, when he looked for it, he realized he was the one emitting it! More accurately, the curse marks around his shoulder and collar were glowing white.

The glow grew so bright he had to shut his eyes against it, bringing his hands up to act as an extra shield against it. The light exploded outwards, encompassing the whole ship for the briefest of seconds, before it disappeared.

When Cale looked back, his skin was now clear of any marks. A certain ancient power was also cheerfully swearing like a sailor in his head once more. He stared at Choi Han, the man staring right back.

“A true heart to heart harmony, huh?”

Cale never would’ve thought a singing game would’ve been the answer to all his problems.