The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

30 | Before the Moon Wanes

For a moment, which seemed to stretch for an eternity, the three remained silent in that corridor in Taeil's wake. The stench of Sunghyun's blood had dissipated and the blood on his body had dried off, sticking to his shirt in clumps.

'What a mess,' Taeyong sighed, the tiredness clear in his voice as he ran his fingers through his hair.

'Was it really necessary?' Doyoung said to the other two. 'There was no need for either of you to be that rude to Senior Taeil.'

Taeyong and Dal-ae glanced at each other like two children who were caught playing after hours and were now receiving a scolding for it.

'You saw how he spoke to me,' Dal-ae said. 'Had I been soft, he would have charged at me right there and thrown me into the dungeons.'

'Do you really think I would have let that happen?' Doyoung returned and Dal-ae went silent.

'And you,' he turned to Taeyong. 'What excuse do you have?'

Despite his exhaustion, Taeyong suddenly giggled. 'I have a good one,' he said.

But Doyoung was not in the least bit amused. He crossed his arms over his chest and peered over his glasses. 'Let's hear it, then.'

'You are going to regret taking that tone with me, Doyoung,' Taeyong said, a playful smile on his face.

'We'll see.'

'Fine, then,' Taeyong said, looking absolutely smug. 'I wasn't exactly supposed to say anything. I was told to keep this a secret specially from you but since you choose to be so annoying, I have no other choice.'

'Specially from me?' Doyoung asked. 'What are you onto? Who are you talking about?'

'I know who killed Sunghyun...' Taeyong said and waited for Doyoung to piece it together.

'Wait a minute,' Dal-ae said. 'Yesterday Sunghyun was causing trouble in the pantry for Doyoung, right?'

'Mhm,' Taeyong said, his eyes on Doyoung who was starting to realize.

'And Jaehyun was at the Night Mansion yesterday too, right?' Dal-ae said.

'Correct,' Taeyong said, loving the embarrassed expression on Doyoung's face. 'So, then, if we put two and two together, what do we get?' he asked Dal-ae, who was smiling now.

'Is it really true?' she asked. 'Jaehyun killed Sunghyun...'

And the moment she said it out loud, Doyoung's face turned red but the other two saw a smile creeping up his face.

'Good girl,' Taeyong said, patting Dal-ae on the head.

'I can't believe he actually killed Sunghyun,' Doyoung sighed, shaking his head.

'He came to afterwards,' Taeyong said. 'It was a fair fight. Jaehyun had challenged Sunghyun to a duel and won but it's still murder. So, do you see now? I had to snub the whole matter with Senior Taeil otherwise Jaehyun would have had to do time in the dungeons.'

Doyoung nodded slowly, the smile still apparent on his lips.

'It was unfortunate though that Dal-ae stumbled upon the body,' Taeyong sighed. 'I should have taken care of it right away.'

'It's not your fault, Master. You have been working all day,' she said, patting his shoulder, then added, 'Why don't you get some sleep? I will prepare your things for the day in the meantime.'

'No, it's fine,' Taeyong replied. 'I am up already. Besides, humans need sleep more than we do. You should go and rest.'

She was about to argue but Taeyong firmly added, 'I mean it, Dal-ae. Go and rest.'