As the implications of what he’d done began to filter in, Jin realized— even though it was posed as a question, it had never been a choice.
From the moment he mentioned Ahn-Bo to his Abeoji, the tie had been created. It didn’t matter in the end if his friend thought he was safer here, alone, and chose to stay on his mountain. Now that Jin had circled him in ink on an otherwise blank page as someone special, someone Jin cared about, Bo-ah would never be safe from the threat of Jeong Yeom anywhere in Joseon. It was why he’d always allowed the appearance of self-isolation that Abeoji seemed to prefer. If there was nobody to care for him but Yeom, then the bind was ever tighter, ne? But now that the truth was revealed, now that Abeoji knew there was something or someone that Jin would do anything for— even willingly sell a soul into the same Menagerie he was bound to— it was a loose thread. A piece of leverage Jin had willingly handed over in exchange for the only solution he could conceive of.
But what alternative had there been?! He’d wracked his brains for weeks, studied up on every possible scrap of information on werewolves and subduing them that could possibly be had (very little in the end), but nothing had turned up a viable solution to their predicament. Or even an experimental one. Jin might have tried that first if it had been an option. But it wasn’t. And he was still, in a way, trying to convince himself that he’d made the right choice. For both of them. But somehow— as Ahn-Bo pressed a sweet kiss against his forehead and Jin clung to him like his life depended on it — he felt like it was the biggest mistake he could have made.
In the end, even Ahn-Bo-ah had to come to the only reasonable conclusion there was to be had. He agreed, and Jin felt a pit sink into his stomach like acid.
He peeled himself away and wiped at his watery eyes that had started to betray him somewhere in the midst of the kiss and Ahn-Bo’s agreement. Jin tried to forget how doomed they were and instead forced a pleased little smile on his face. “Jinjja?” he asked quietly. But there was nothing to confirm. There was only… moving to the next step.
Jin forced himself to suck in a steadying breath as darkness continued to fall around them. By now the last scraps of sunlight were sinking down past the horizon and the forest was cast in a blue-black light, almost completely dark. The sounds of wildlife were growing louder and Jin knew, werewolf and vampire or not, they needed to find shelter for the evening. There was more to be had of this conversation, certainly— details he didn’t want, but probably needed to share before he marched his friend into a jail cell. But all that could wait until after they were fed. Once he could tuck Ahn-Bo-ah in and sing him a lullaby and pretend, just for a second, that he wasn’t selling his friend’s soul off under the guise of ‘no other choice.’
Rubbing a tired hand over his face one last time, Jin gave a short nod. “Geurae, we should… probably get going then. I’m hungry,” he offered as means of temptation, but there was no part of Jin that was likely to keep food down at all. He stood and shouldered his sack again before noticing, right by his left foot, his wand laying in the dirt. Whoops. Jin quickly picked it up and brushed it off. He really was terrible at keeping track of it, wasn’t he?
From the moment he mentioned Ahn-Bo to his Abeoji, the tie had been created. It didn’t matter in the end if his friend thought he was safer here, alone, and chose to stay on his mountain. Now that Jin had circled him in ink on an otherwise blank page as someone special, someone Jin cared about, Bo-ah would never be safe from the threat of Jeong Yeom anywhere in Joseon. It was why he’d always allowed the appearance of self-isolation that Abeoji seemed to prefer. If there was nobody to care for him but Yeom, then the bind was ever tighter, ne? But now that the truth was revealed, now that Abeoji knew there was something or someone that Jin would do anything for— even willingly sell a soul into the same Menagerie he was bound to— it was a loose thread. A piece of leverage Jin had willingly handed over in exchange for the only solution he could conceive of.
But what alternative had there been?! He’d wracked his brains for weeks, studied up on every possible scrap of information on werewolves and subduing them that could possibly be had (very little in the end), but nothing had turned up a viable solution to their predicament. Or even an experimental one. Jin might have tried that first if it had been an option. But it wasn’t. And he was still, in a way, trying to convince himself that he’d made the right choice. For both of them. But somehow— as Ahn-Bo pressed a sweet kiss against his forehead and Jin clung to him like his life depended on it — he felt like it was the biggest mistake he could have made.
In the end, even Ahn-Bo-ah had to come to the only reasonable conclusion there was to be had. He agreed, and Jin felt a pit sink into his stomach like acid.
He peeled himself away and wiped at his watery eyes that had started to betray him somewhere in the midst of the kiss and Ahn-Bo’s agreement. Jin tried to forget how doomed they were and instead forced a pleased little smile on his face. “Jinjja?” he asked quietly. But there was nothing to confirm. There was only… moving to the next step.
Jin forced himself to suck in a steadying breath as darkness continued to fall around them. By now the last scraps of sunlight were sinking down past the horizon and the forest was cast in a blue-black light, almost completely dark. The sounds of wildlife were growing louder and Jin knew, werewolf and vampire or not, they needed to find shelter for the evening. There was more to be had of this conversation, certainly— details he didn’t want, but probably needed to share before he marched his friend into a jail cell. But all that could wait until after they were fed. Once he could tuck Ahn-Bo-ah in and sing him a lullaby and pretend, just for a second, that he wasn’t selling his friend’s soul off under the guise of ‘no other choice.’
Rubbing a tired hand over his face one last time, Jin gave a short nod. “Geurae, we should… probably get going then. I’m hungry,” he offered as means of temptation, but there was no part of Jin that was likely to keep food down at all. He stood and shouldered his sack again before noticing, right by his left foot, his wand laying in the dirt. Whoops. Jin quickly picked it up and brushed it off. He really was terrible at keeping track of it, wasn’t he?
![[Image: HjIYkam.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HjIYkam.png)
* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.