"Taeil! Father! Anyone, please!" Jungwoo called into the snow-covered night, receiving no reply.
"Maybe I should just go back?" Jungwoo glanced over his shoulder at the looming castle that was still in view, but a muffled moan hindered his thoughts.
"Father?" Jungwoo rushed to a heap of snow that was suspiciously lumpy and brushed it away, revealing his cold and coughing, but alive, father.
"Jungwoo?" He whispered, voice hoarse from hours of yelling into the concealing night.
"I'm here, it's okay now," was the last thing he heard his tearful son say before he allowed his eyes to flutter shut.
When the light finally invaded his senses, he was met with the sight of Jungwoo, who was anxiously biting his nails as he sat by his father's side.
"Jungwoo?"
Said boy shot up from his chair, taking his father's hand in his own shaking one.
"It's okay, I'm home now."
"I thought I'd never see you again. But the Beast? How did you escape?" Taeil asked incredulously, scanning Jungwoo's body for any sign of injury. His son gave him a reassuring smile.
"I didn't escape, he let me go," Jungwoo answered solemnly, the tears threatening to stain his cheeks not going unnoticed by Taeil.
"That horrible Beast?"
"He's different now, he's changed."
A rustling sound came from the single bag Jungwoo had managed to pack in his franticness to find his father and he curiously lifted the leather flap.
"Hi!" Jisung squeaked as he toppled to the floor.
"Oh my God, Kun is going to kill me," Jungwoo mumbled to himself as his father and Jisung talked animatedly to each other.
"Jungwoo, why'd you go away? Don't you like us anymore?" Jisung questioned with a pout, and Jungwoo unconsciously cooed at the teacup.
"Of course I do. It's just that-" Jungwoo's reassuring words were interrupted by a heavy knocking. He stood from the chair, giving his father a confused gaze, and opened the door, expecting to see Jaehyun leaning against the doorframe. He was surprised to find D'arque standing on his porch with a polite smile on his wrinkled features.
"Can I help you?"
"I've come to collect your father." The man stepped aside and Jungwoo noticed the wagon that was hidden behind his frail body, the wooden spokes and daunting bars seeming to laugh at him.
"My father?"
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him."
"My father's not crazy," Jungwoo argued, taking on a defensive stance between the door and the entryway to his and his father's shared cottage.
"He was raving like a lunatic!" Someone yelled, the voice belonging to none other than Lee Taeyong, who had stepped from behind the rickety wagon.
"No, I won't let you," Jungwoo concluded and began to shut the door, but his father's weary call stopped him.
"Jungwoo?"
"Ah, Taeil. Tell us again, old man, just how big was the beast?" Taeyong asked, although Jungwoo could hear his teasing undertone and was starting to gain a deep hatred for the red-haired man.
"I'd say he was at least eight, no more like ten feet tall," Taeil stuttered, his confidence wavering under the men's judging stares, even Jungwoo had begun to stare at him like he had lost his mind.
"Father, are you really losing it?" Jungwoo whispered to him, attempting to avoid D'arque's and Taeyong's prying ears. "He's hardly taller than me."
"It's true, I tell you!" Taeil insisted, completely ignoring his son's words as he lived in his own fantasy of the 'beast' he believed he encountered. D'arque scoffed at the old man's persistence before he flicked his hand, and in one swift movement, Taeil was trapped in the burly arms of the orderlies. Jaehyun stood from his hidden position with a smirk on his face, oblivious to the lustful stares being thrown his way by Taeyong.
"You can't do this," Jungwoo hissed, latching onto D'arque's thin arm. The man shrugged him off, surprisingly strong for his thin bones and graying hair.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, poor Jungwoo. It's a shame about your poor father." Jaehyun strolled up to the house casually, his hands in the pockets off his pants and a fake sympathetic smile on his face. The mischief in his eyes revealed his hidden motive, and Jungwoo swore he almost slammed the door in the flirty man's face then and there.
"You know he's not crazy, Jaehyun," Jungwoo spat, pushing Jaehyun back with his pointer finger.
"I might be able to clear up this understanding if..." Jaehyun trailed off and flashed Jungwoo an expectant smirk. The crowd that had gathered at the commotion clapped at Jaehyun's suggestion, while Jungwoo could only flinch in disgust.
"One little word, Jungwoo. That's all it takes."
"I have a word for you, pretty boy." Jungwoo grabbed Jaehyun's collar in his hands, bunching the fabric and yanking the man closer to him.
"Never." He seethed, shoving Jaehyun as far away as he could manage. The doors to the carriage slammed shut, and Jungwoo jumped in alarm. His head was spinning as he tried to conjure a plan that would avoid him being forced into a marriage with the person he most hated.
"The mirror," he whispered in realization before sprinting into the house, clutching the gold decaled mirror delicately.
"My father's not crazy and I can prove it!" He shouted, successfully gaining the attention of the drama-hungry crowd. "Show me the beast," he ordered, once again being blinded by the familiar white light. Lucas appeared in the foggy glass, and Jungwoo couldn't help the guilty smile that graced his lips the longer he stared at the sorrowful man.
"You gonna show us?" Jaehyun asked, clearly annoyed at Jungwoo's reaction that he had pined for for years. He held the mirror proudly above his head, much to the crowd's pleasure, as they oohed and ahhed at it.
"Is it dangerous?" One woman asked, examining the image intently.
"Oh no, he'd never hurt anyone." Jungwoo quickly shot down her fears, as he was ready to do with any negative comment thrown towards Lucas. "Please, I know he looks vicious," and he certainly did with the scowl permanently etched onto his face, but Jungwoo saw past that at the sadness that had forced Lucas to become so angry. "But he's really kind and gentle. He's my," Jungwoo struggled to spit the word out, the feeling so wrong on his tongue, "friend."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had feelings for this monster," Jaehyun commented, his gaze never wavering from the image in the mirror. Jungwoo winked inconspicuously at the raging man.
"He's as crazy as the old man!" Jaehyun snatched the mirror from his hands, causing Jungwoo to release a pitiful yelp. "The beast will make off with our children. He'll come after them in the night!"
"It's a scar, not a personality trait!" Jungwoo screamed, finally snapping at the people who talked about someone they had never even met before. The crowd was silenced for a split second before Jaehyun intercepted the quiet.
"Kill him," he chanted, the crowd following suit. Jungwoo grabbed his hair in frustration, pulling on the faded blue locks. Fires blazed and sparks flew as everyone prepared for a fight that was caused by their own misjudgments.
"Through the mist, through the woods, through the darkness and the shadows. It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride. Say a prayer, then we're there at the drawbridge of a castle, and there's something truly terrible inside." Jaehyun sang as he danced around the bonfire he had created. The entire scene felt like a nightmare to Jungwoo, who could only sob and scream at the cult-like circle forming around Jaehyun and his sick notions.
"It's a beast, he's got fangs, razor sharp ones. Massive paws, killer claws for the feast. Hear him roar, see him foam, but we're not coming home, 'Til he's dead, good and dead, kill the beast!"
"Stop, please," Jungwoo whimpered helplessly.
"If you're not with us, you're against us," Jaehyun said, all pity for the boy he had so dearly loved gone the instant he discovered Jungwoo's twisted love for the dangerous 'man'.
"Bring the old man."
The mob does as told, placing Taeil next to his sobbing son.
"Can't have you running off to warn the creature, now can we?" Jaehyun giggled sadistically, dragging Jungwoo by his arm into the basement of his once cozy cottage, Taeil being hauled by a struggling Taeyong. The two were thrown into darkness, the bolt locking into place behind them. Jungwoo's wrists were sore from Jaehyun's grip, eyes watering and head fuzzy, but he found solace on the stone floor of the basement.
"We'll rid the village of this Beast. Who's with me?" Jaehyun yelled to the crowd, pitchfork held above his head as confidently as Jungwoo had once held the mirror. The mob yelled in agreement, men and women rushing off to fetch horses and extra weapons for the massacre they expected.
"Through a mist, to a wood, where within a haunted castle, something's lurking that you don't see every day!"
The crowd followed behind Jaehyun's black stallion, who led the way to the woods he had traveled a plethora of times over the years.
"It's a beast, one as tall as a mountain! We won't rest 'Til he's good and deceased! Sally forth, tally ho, Grab your sword, grab your bow. Praise the Lord and here we go!"
"We'll lay siege to his castle and bring back his head!" Jaehyun's sadistic smile never faded, and the only person to realize who had truly been the crazy one all along was trapped in his own basement.
"I have to warn Lucas," Jungwoo panicked, "This is all my fault. Oh, father. What are we going to do?"
Taeil gently patted Jungwoo's back, rubbing soothing circles against the tousled fabric of his shirt. "It's okay, we'll think of something."
Jisung watched the exchange with a heavy heart, longing for his own father beginning to creep in. He glanced around the garden he was in, eyes spotting an old metal contraption leaning against the peeling fence, and an idea sprang to his mind.
"We don't like what we don't understand, it frankly scares us
And this monster is mysterious at least! Bring your guns, bring your knives, Save your children and your wives, We'll save our village and our lives, We'll kill the beast!"
And as the mob sang, Jungwoo cried for the boy he believed he'd never get to see again.