Red Silk - end
Youngjae and Daehyun's life together is long, slow and peaceful. Yet to every happy ending there is the flip side of the coin - rarely mentioned, but lingering, nevertheless.
Youngjae often tells him how happy and blessed he is to live away from all the drama and with the one he loves, but the elder can't help but notice the human wither with natural age. Youngjae's famously pale, youthful cheeks are now wrinkled with decades of mirth and tension, hard work causing him to become frail.
Daehyun observes these changes carefully and "ages" along with his companion - realistically, as the shapeshifting spirit prides himself with. But under the facade of spotted, lined skin is physical strength of a hundred men; within him, knowledge collected over thousands of years.
He takes care of the other man when Youngjae's hand shakes while stirring the pot, kissing his forehead to ease the stress that sometimes surface. All along, the bubble of worry grows in Daehyun's gut about their inevitable fate, but the raccoon dog spirit keeps it under control.
Until one evening when the gentle male crumples onto the floor with a seizure, losing consciousness. He's fallen sick before, but Daehyun knows that this time without his aid, Youngjae will die before dawn.
The pepper-haired spirit sobs into Youngjae's neck, hugging him close, keeping him as warm as he can. What was the point of an eternal existence full of loneliness, after all? He whispers chants that relieve pain and induce deep rest before kissing his lover's parched lips, slipping out of the door into the forest.
He comes back hours later, face tear-stained and visibly tired. Despite his worst fears, Youngjae is still warm, his chest is rising and falling with soft breaths. The spirit pulls out the electric blue orb from within his own chest, gasping at the unpleasant sensation. Daehyun slips the orb at the spot where Youngjae's heart should be, and moments later, the human opens his eyes. Sitting up, they both notice that his physique seems to have aged back 20 years.
Daehyun smiles as the other gapes in awe. "What have you done, Dae?" Youngjae's voice is soft in surprise.
The elder male is silent before he climbs into the bed and strokes Youngjae's hair, holding him close. Although the spirit is now mortal, it is impossible for the full effects of his life energy to be transferred, but at the very least Youngjae's life has been prolonged.
"The exact thing you would have done for me if you were in my position," Daehyun whispers before kissing his temple softly.
---
Youngjae dies just a month shy of his 106th birthday.
The same day also marks the last time that Daehyun ever assumes his human form. By then the couple's friends have already passed on; it is the younger generation that attends the funeral service at the beach on the same day, mourning silently as the male's remains are engulfed by bonfire.
Daehyun's demeanor is cold and distant when the villagers come to express their condolences. By the next morning, he is gone.
The spirit hunts for food in the forest, little rodents and leaves of plants and Daehyun somehow feels the creaking of bones, muscles straining under his weight. This was the life he maintained before Yongguk's family summoned him, before Youngjae.
He misses his lover deep in his core, every moment of each day - the soreness never dissipating.
Daehyun loses count of the years that pass before he ventures back. It's been long enough that no one recognizes the pet anymore. The village looks different now, with a large, strange-looking mansion in the center. Tired puffs leave him as the raccoon dog sits and observes the structure, tail swaying gently from side to side.
A young girl exits the house, squealing immediately when she sees Daehyun. He raises his hackles, but his heart tenses and there's a sudden pain that shoots through his body, crippling him long enough for the girl to pick him up and run back into the house. The rich brocade hung on the walls remind him of the life that he selfishly snatched Youngjae from, and the spirit feels a twinge of guilt.
"Papa, papa look! I found a pretty dog outside!" She screams, holding Daehyun up like a prize as he dangles helplessly in her grip. The tall, built man leans to inspect him with surprising interest - Daehyun had expected his scrawny self to be mercilessly thrown out of the house.
"Don't hold it so carelessly, Minnie, it's not a puppy anymore," The father chides her as the girl pouts.
"Okay, I'll take it upstairs right Papa? Then I'll put it down, carefully!" Cuddling Daehyun close, she patters off without waiting for a reply.
The child puts him on a chair at the veranda, overlooking the fiery setting sun. "Wait here okay, doggy?" She titters, bouncing happily on the balls of her feet at her new toy. "I'll ask the maids to make you some beef, alright?" Daehyun's empty stomach grumbles at the mention of food, but his voracious appetite had left him long ago.
He curls into himself and closes his eyes, the sun's rays warming his ragged fur.
---
"Daehyun?" The familiar husky voice and tap on his shoulder awakens the spirit with a start. His wide gaze settles on Youngjae's youthful figure, smiling gently at him. "Hey there."
He springs up in his seat and gives the other a bone-breaking hug. "Youngjae!" He cries, the feeling of once again being young and in his lover's arms making him giddy with joy. "I-is it time to go?" The prince kisses him on the lips slowly before nodding.
Daehyun nearly screams jubilantly, clasping onto Youngjae's hand tightly. "Finally!"
Everything else goes unnoticed - the little girl screaming for her father with food spattered all over the floor, nothing but stray raccoon dog hairs left on her chair.
Youngjae often tells him how happy and blessed he is to live away from all the drama and with the one he loves, but the elder can't help but notice the human wither with natural age. Youngjae's famously pale, youthful cheeks are now wrinkled with decades of mirth and tension, hard work causing him to become frail.
Daehyun observes these changes carefully and "ages" along with his companion - realistically, as the shapeshifting spirit prides himself with. But under the facade of spotted, lined skin is physical strength of a hundred men; within him, knowledge collected over thousands of years.
He takes care of the other man when Youngjae's hand shakes while stirring the pot, kissing his forehead to ease the stress that sometimes surface. All along, the bubble of worry grows in Daehyun's gut about their inevitable fate, but the raccoon dog spirit keeps it under control.
Until one evening when the gentle male crumples onto the floor with a seizure, losing consciousness. He's fallen sick before, but Daehyun knows that this time without his aid, Youngjae will die before dawn.
The pepper-haired spirit sobs into Youngjae's neck, hugging him close, keeping him as warm as he can. What was the point of an eternal existence full of loneliness, after all? He whispers chants that relieve pain and induce deep rest before kissing his lover's parched lips, slipping out of the door into the forest.
He comes back hours later, face tear-stained and visibly tired. Despite his worst fears, Youngjae is still warm, his chest is rising and falling with soft breaths. The spirit pulls out the electric blue orb from within his own chest, gasping at the unpleasant sensation. Daehyun slips the orb at the spot where Youngjae's heart should be, and moments later, the human opens his eyes. Sitting up, they both notice that his physique seems to have aged back 20 years.
Daehyun smiles as the other gapes in awe. "What have you done, Dae?" Youngjae's voice is soft in surprise.
The elder male is silent before he climbs into the bed and strokes Youngjae's hair, holding him close. Although the spirit is now mortal, it is impossible for the full effects of his life energy to be transferred, but at the very least Youngjae's life has been prolonged.
"The exact thing you would have done for me if you were in my position," Daehyun whispers before kissing his temple softly.
---
Youngjae dies just a month shy of his 106th birthday.
The same day also marks the last time that Daehyun ever assumes his human form. By then the couple's friends have already passed on; it is the younger generation that attends the funeral service at the beach on the same day, mourning silently as the male's remains are engulfed by bonfire.
Daehyun's demeanor is cold and distant when the villagers come to express their condolences. By the next morning, he is gone.
The spirit hunts for food in the forest, little rodents and leaves of plants and Daehyun somehow feels the creaking of bones, muscles straining under his weight. This was the life he maintained before Yongguk's family summoned him, before Youngjae.
He misses his lover deep in his core, every moment of each day - the soreness never dissipating.
Daehyun loses count of the years that pass before he ventures back. It's been long enough that no one recognizes the pet anymore. The village looks different now, with a large, strange-looking mansion in the center. Tired puffs leave him as the raccoon dog sits and observes the structure, tail swaying gently from side to side.
A young girl exits the house, squealing immediately when she sees Daehyun. He raises his hackles, but his heart tenses and there's a sudden pain that shoots through his body, crippling him long enough for the girl to pick him up and run back into the house. The rich brocade hung on the walls remind him of the life that he selfishly snatched Youngjae from, and the spirit feels a twinge of guilt.
"Papa, papa look! I found a pretty dog outside!" She screams, holding Daehyun up like a prize as he dangles helplessly in her grip. The tall, built man leans to inspect him with surprising interest - Daehyun had expected his scrawny self to be mercilessly thrown out of the house.
"Don't hold it so carelessly, Minnie, it's not a puppy anymore," The father chides her as the girl pouts.
"Okay, I'll take it upstairs right Papa? Then I'll put it down, carefully!" Cuddling Daehyun close, she patters off without waiting for a reply.
The child puts him on a chair at the veranda, overlooking the fiery setting sun. "Wait here okay, doggy?" She titters, bouncing happily on the balls of her feet at her new toy. "I'll ask the maids to make you some beef, alright?" Daehyun's empty stomach grumbles at the mention of food, but his voracious appetite had left him long ago.
He curls into himself and closes his eyes, the sun's rays warming his ragged fur.
---
"Daehyun?" The familiar husky voice and tap on his shoulder awakens the spirit with a start. His wide gaze settles on Youngjae's youthful figure, smiling gently at him. "Hey there."
He springs up in his seat and gives the other a bone-breaking hug. "Youngjae!" He cries, the feeling of once again being young and in his lover's arms making him giddy with joy. "I-is it time to go?" The prince kisses him on the lips slowly before nodding.
Daehyun nearly screams jubilantly, clasping onto Youngjae's hand tightly. "Finally!"
Everything else goes unnoticed - the little girl screaming for her father with food spattered all over the floor, nothing but stray raccoon dog hairs left on her chair.