Chapter Text
Yeon scoffed as he lowered the letter that his father had sent. The ridiculous man had finally showed signs of life after years of living in the shadows.
"Really?" He huffed out a laugh. "He's more stupid than I thought, what an idiot," he threw the piece of paper aside, a mocking smile on his face. "What does he take me for?" Yeon muttered incredulously.
His father had always been absent, and whenever he appeared, it was only to ask for favors from his son. His latest letter had been to tell Yeon that he was stupid enough to have a child with a human, and now, he wanted Yeon to take care of it. Yeon was stunned at this, and he didn't understand why he had to be the one responsible for his father's mistake. The older fox had mentioned something about how this would help Yeon; make him grow as a person and end with his loneliness, but he wasn't interested in any of these things. Besides, he already had Shin Joo by his side.
"What's the matter, Lee Yeon-nim?" Shin Joo asked, confused at Yeon's reactions.
Yeon turned to face him. "I doubted my father's idiocy," he said. "Now he wants me to play his role instead of facing consequences."
Though Shin Joo was confused, he decided to leave quietly and let Yeon process the information by himself. After all, even though they didn't know yet, this letter would change Yeon's life.
Lee Yeon was firm on his decision of disobeying his father's command. In the end, that child wasn't his responsibility, and he was no one to decide how that kid should live. Besides, it would be better if Yeon continued to live as a lonely man and didn't get involved with anything family related.
However, as the days went by, Yeon kept thinking more and more about the letter, and maybe —just maybe— he began to worry about the well-being of the child. He knew that humans were particularly cruel to foxes, —and most creatures in general— hence why they preferred to live in the shadows, so he could only imagine the boy's current situation. Maybe he could take some time to check up on that child. Just a quick visit to see who he was and how he lived.
Yeon was right on time to save the kid from an Agwi. The boy was alone, injured, and scared, looking at the mountain deity with curious but fearful eyes. The fox almost left without him, as the kid seemed too human to even fight for his life, but he had proved Yeon wrong, and he decided to follow the person who would now be his older brother.
Shin Joo's face was priceless when he came back to see Lee Yeon cleaning the kid's wounds. Even after Yeon explained who the child was, Shin Joo was still confused; he would have never expected him to take care of a child, especially since this had been his father's order.
It was Yeon's idea to name the boy Lee Rang, even though Shin Joo protested because he thought it was important for the name to have a proper meaning — Yeon didn't care about meaning, because with time, Rang's name would create its own meaning; one that would be so unique that it would only be associated to him. Ever since that day, Lee Yeon and Lee Rang became brothers, and had a simple life at Baekdudaegan.
"Hyung, wait for me!" Yeon heard his brother's voice exclaim, followed by rushed footsteps and occasional stumbles.
A hundred years had gone by since Yeon had read that letter, and despite many things that had happened, he was now happily living alongside Shin Joo and Lee Rang.
"You're too slow for my patience, kid," he said when Rang finally reached him.
Rang smiled, completely unaffected by his brother's words. "Did Taluipa ask you to help her again?" He asked, changing the topic.
"As usual, of course," Yeon replied. "And you already know you can't come with me, why did you follow me?"
The younger fox sighed. "I'll wait for you outside, can't I?"
Yeon stopped walking and looked at Rang. "I appreciate your company, but I have to go alone."
"Why?" Rang protested, as he always did whenever Yeon had to leave.
"Her rules, not mine," The older said, then placed a hand on Rang's shoulder. "I'll come back sooner than you think, so go back to the house and don't worry too much," he gave one last smile to his brother before he continued his path.
Rang sighed again as he saw his brother walk away, but he obeyed Yeon's command and went back to the house where he, Shin Joo, and Yeon lived. He didn't like to be left alone, but if Yeon had asked him to leave, then there was a reason, and Rang could never question his brother. So, even if it scared him to be alone, he didn't mind as long as his brother came back.
Meanwhile, Yeon arrived at the place where he usually met with Taluipa. The woman was already there, and she looked at Yeon with her cold gaze. "You're late," she said.
"You always say that," Yeon remarked with a smile. "But tell me, why do you want my help now? Is there another demon on the loose?"
Taluipa crossed her arms and looked away. "You know I wouldn't have asked you to meet here with me if it was something as simple as that."
"Then what is it?" Yeon asked, mimicking the woman's action.
"I'm just here to warn you," she replied. "Try to keep a low profile, and don't go to the human village too often."
Yeon raised an eyebrow. "I'd ask why, but I already know you won't answer."
The old woman looked at him again. "You'll find out soon enough," she then stood up. "That's all for now, you can leave."
The fox scoffed. Taluipa was always short and vague when she spoke, which frustrated him more than he'd like to admit, but he would never doubt a word she said. As he walked back to his home, he kept wondering what the old woman meant; Yeon's life already seemed peaceful, and he had learned to be happy even without Ah Eum, so he didn't want anything to be taken from him again. Yeon had learned his lesson with Ah Eum, and he wouldn't let it happen once more, which is why he'd make sure to protect his loved ones this time, no matter what it took.
When Yeon opened the door to his house, he was received by Rang's smile and bright eyes. "I'm back," he announced, also smiling. "Where's Shin Joo?"
"I don't know, he hasn't come back," Rang stated as his smile faded. "He said he was only going to the market, and he doesn't usually take this long, should we be worried?"
Yeon thought for a second, Taluipa's words replayed in his mind. "Let's give him some time, and if he doesn't come back by sunset, we'll go looking for him."
The younger nodded, satisfied with his brother's answer. "What did Taluipa say?" He asked out of curiosity.
"Nothing interesting, she called me for nothing," Yeon lied, complaining as he normally would so his brother wouldn't have any suspicions. He didn't like to keep secrets from Rang, but he thought it was the best for now, as Taluipa hadn't said much.
They went silent after this, because even though Rang was skeptical about Yeon's reply, he decided to stay quiet. He'd learned long ago that there were some things that were better left unsaid, and again, he would never doubt Yeon's actions. Well — at least that's what he wanted to believe, because he had to admit that he had lost some faith in his brother all those years ago, when he left him to chase after Ah Eum and beg for her reincarnation. Rang grimaced at the memory, he didn't like to remember those times, so he tried to focus on something else.
"I'm going to take a walk," Rang announced, and Yeon looked at him with confusion.
"Do you want me to go with you?" The older asked, as he always did whenever Rang had something to do.
"No, it's okay," Rang said. "I'll come back later."
The half-fox walked with no clear destination. It was usual for him to take walks during the evening, and he had already memorized the path that he normally took; he'd walk close to the Han River, where he could touch the water and pick up azaleas that he'd later share with Yeon. Today was no different, as he realized that he had reached the village that led to the river. Rang didn't like to pass through this village, —his hatred for humans was still very strong, and he was pretty sure that it would never fade— but there was no other way to the river, so he had to continue as if nothing happened.
Rang sighed as he walked through the village, observing the humans' behavior. He had always been curious as to why they hated foxes and other mythical creatures so much; creatures helped humans many times, yet they wouldn't hesitate to call them monsters and act as if they were only a symbol of destruction — some kind of threat that could kill them at any moment. And yes, that was true, but not every creature was evil, and even the evil ones wouldn't usually attack without a reason. Also, if humans thought they were a threat, then why weren't they scared? Shouldn't such powerless creatures be afraid of the unknown and powerful? The only thing that Rang knew was that the humans had hurt Yeon, and they had also hurt him, which led him to believe that they were completely ruthless and cruel.
He would always be fascinated of how different humans and magical creatures were — he'd even dare to say that they were total opposites. Humans were common, found on every corner of the whole world, easy to intimidate, and fragile. On the other side, mythical creatures were powerful, clever, agile, and —most of them— immortal. Then, there was Lee Rang: the illegitimate child of a celestial fox, and the one that crossed the boundaries between creatures and humans.
Lee Rang's father knew the consequences, and every creature was warned about the dangers of having children with humans, but that hadn't stopped him from getting involved with a human woman. Rang had feared that something similar would happen to Yeon if he kept going after Ah Eum, and he wasn't too wrong, but Yeon and his woman hadn't gone that far.
When Rang arrived at the river, he realized that he had gotten lost in his thoughts again. He always did that, and it often led him to have bad thoughts or remember his worst memories, which was why he was trying to stop doing it, but he had been failing a lot lately. He kneeled next to where the water streamed and caught some with his hands to splash it on his face. He liked the refreshing feeling of the water on his skin, and it felt even better after his mind had drifted into the dark side again.
The half-fox looked around as he sat on the ground, breathing in the scent of nature and humidity that was so particular of this place. Nature made him feel at ease, as it reminded him of the times when Yeon, Shin Joo, and him lived at Baekdudaegan. He had already lived a little over a century, but the memories he treasured the most were those about his life at the mountain. He smiled at the thought of his old home; he could get azaleas effortlessly, run around without a worry, and climb trees to annoy his brother. But then, his smile faded when he remembered why they didn't live there anymore, the sight of the deadly flames was still engraved on his brain, and Geomdeong's cries still haunted him to this day—
A sigh escaped his lips. He had done it again.
Sometimes, Rang couldn't help but hate the person he had become. It was only natural for people to change, but Rang often missed the innocent boy who enjoyed every moment with happiness, and he knew Yeon did too. He wished he could have had more time to live happily, but he had been almost thirteen when Yeon left and the humans attacked, and being a child, he was still too weak to defend the mountain by himself. Had he been the person he was now, he would have torn those humans apart, but he couldn't change what had already happened.
Seeing that his efforts to stop overthinking had failed, he decided to go back to the house. He stood up and walked over to where the azaleas were, then he grabbed some to take with him and put them on the sack he carried around all the time. He took a deep breath before walking back to the village, ready to be betrayed by his mind again, but at least now, he had the comfort of knowing that his brother was waiting for him.
This time, he didn't have to walk through a large crowd, which is why it was easier to hear other ongoing conversations between the meaningless humans. His sensitive hearing could catch snippets of conversations that didn't make sense for him, but there was one in particular that caught his attention. The first thing he had noticed was that one of the many people around him wasn't a human — there was another fox around, and that immediately made Rang feel tense. Then, the conversation ceased, and everyone stopped to look at the human and fox who were talking when the human woman let out a horrified scream.
"It's a fox! There's a monster in our village!" She exclaimed; her finger pointed at the confused fox who looked at her with an unreadable expression.
The rest of the humans gasped, and the poor fox didn't have any time to react when the crowd began to gather against him, attacking him with whatever they could get their hands on. Rang's breath hitched, the scene was too familiar to him, and he froze in his place. Should he help the fox? Should he run away? His mind went blank for a moment, and just as he was about to leave and ask Yeon and Shin Joo for help, he heard the crowd's angry chant turn into frightened shrieks. The fox had become aggressive, and he clawed at anyone who dared to come near him.
At the scene, Rang reacted quickly, and he took out his weapon —one of the two axes that he used to fight— to throw it at the fox. He didn't aim for the fox's body, but he made sure to make it get close enough to him so he would get the fox's attention. Just as Rang had planned, the fox turned to him, rage and madness clear in his eyes.
"Are you siding with the humans now?" He asked, his tone furious and stern. "Shouldn't you be helping those of your kind?"
Rang didn't reply, and instead, he took out his other axe, knowing that the fox would try to attack him. At least his plan had worked, and the humans who survived had been given enough time to run away and hide. The angry fox began to run towards Rang, who prepared for the upcoming attack, but before anything could happen, the half-fox saw as the latter was stabbed —no, impaled— by a sword — Yeon's sword.
"A fox shouldn't be killing people so recklessly," Yeon said as he retreated his sword, and the fox turned into dust in front of Rang.
Yeon looked at his younger brother. "Are you okay?" He asked, and he received a nod as response. "Good, now let's get out of here."
Rang nodded again, and he was going to walk and follow his brother back to the house, but an uncomfortable feeling stopped him. He noticed that Yeon stopped too, a frown formed on his face as he looked around, only to find that the humans were gathered around them, looking at them with mixed expressions. The younger looked at his brother with fear, unsure of what to do, but Yeon seemed to be as scared as him — both brothers maybe even more scared than the humans themselves.