Chapter Text
“You fucking dumpling!” Yeong Shin yelled.
Beom Pal and Chang just stared at him, both dumbfounded. The magistrate confusingly pointed to himself. “Are you talking about me?”
The ex-chakho closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. “No, I’m talking about the idiot who hurled himself to those monsters, thinking he was strong enough to pull it off.”
“Ah,” Chang nodded. “I’m the fucking dumpling.”
Before Yeong Shin could say another word, Seo Bi entered the shack they were staying at and immediately smacked the back of his head. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she frowned. “You’re not any better, Yeong Shin!”
The three men were now seated together on the floor, heads down with their hands placed neatly on top of their laps. The physician stood in front of them, her hands rested on her hips as she rambled, scolding them about being reckless and dumb.
“Picking these herb was hard enough,” Seo Bi nagged. “And now I have to use it all on you three idiots!”
“But Seo Bi,” Beom Pal started, careful with his tone. “Didn’t you get them for us to begin with?”
Chang and Yeong Shin, with wide eyes, turned to the magistrate with sheer horror. Seo Bi scoffed and turned around, her hands, still gripping on her waste. The hunter and the former prince anxiously gestured Beom Pal to apologize. Beom Pal stared at them with confusion.
Seo Bi turned to them again, her lips curved into a painfully forced smile. “I see. Then let me treat your wounds now.”
The magistrate smiled to himself proudly. Yeong Shin and Chang, however, both gulped. The three of them did not say anything as Seo Bi began treating their wounds. The physician was a skilled healer and in no time, none of the boys were bleeding and all stood up, feeling refreshed.
Seo Bi wore the same grin and clapped her hands together. “Now, I will continue my research. You three better start finding your own herbs if you want your wounds treated.”
With that, she walked off merrily.
Yeong Shin clicked his tongue. Chang smacked Beom Pal’s head.
“There goes our lifeline,” Chang sighed gloomily.
***
Weeds . Fucking weeds.
They were all the same damn weeds in their eyes. Beom Pal groaned dreadfully as he picked the soil in search of herbs. The three of them began searching through the forest first thing in the morning. Yeong Shin rolled his eyes.
“Shut up,” the hunter grumbled at the useless magistrate. “We won’t be suffering like this if you weren’t such an idiot.”
“You people keep complaining like there’s no plague going on,” Chang shook his head in disapproval.
Yeong Shin spat. “Have fun getting grass stuck on your wounds then, Your Highness .”
“Hey,” the former prince warned. “Fuck you.”
“Yeah, fuck me!” Yeong Shin barked angrily. Then he paused upon realizing what he had said. “Wait no.”
Beom Pal quietly moved to a different spot, sparing himself from the bullshit of the other two. He meekly dug through the soil, hoping he wouldn’t find bugs or creepy crawlers of any sort.
***
Yeong Shin briskly walked down the forest path in hopes of avoiding Chang, but the former prince was eagerly following him.
“Yeong Shin!” He called. “I heard what you said!”
“Yeah, no shit,” the hunter hissed. “Now, fuck off!”
“No!”
Chang chased after Yeong Shin, who was rapidly sprinting at this point. Chang quickened his pace and just as he was about to grab on to the shorter man, the rarest, most unexpected incident happened. Yeong Shin tripped.
The ex-prince would’ve laughed but when the other lost his balance, Chang got a hold of his vest, and both harshly rolled down the ground. They grunted and got themselves an awful lot of bruises and scratches, but nothing too serious. When they got up, the two immediately stiffened.
“Shit,” the ex-chakho managed to utter.
“Shit, indeed,” agreed Chang.
They stumbled upon a pile of sleeping undeads. Yeong Shin looked up at the sky and saw that they had little time left before the monsters woke. So they ran further, making sure the monsters never got near the shack they found deep into the forest. The two were certain that Seo Bi could defend herself should they attack her, but they weren’t so sure about the magistrate.
Just to make sure, Yeong Shin made an extremely faint trail of blood. Shortly amidst their running, the pair began to hear inhumane screeches, and they were getting nearer.
Ahead of the two would be the edge of a cliff with a lake below, and onto the water, they jumped.
“Fuck,” Yeong Shin exhaled as he paddled his foot to stay afloat.
Chang looked at him expectantly. The hunter groaned.
“ Chang , please shut up.”
The other grinned. “I’m not even saying anything--.”
Yeong Shin hushed him as he looked around suspiciously.
“But--,” Chang tried to continue.
The tiger hunter placed a hand on the prince's face. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
A high-pitched scream from afar could be heard getting louder and louder. Chang turned to Yeong Shin frantically. Not long after, a figure, just a few meters away from them, could be seen jumping off the cliff.
The two extended their necks curiously as they saw a person sink. A few seconds later, none other than magistrate Beom Pal violently emerged from the water, wailing and gasping for air. He immediately stopped when he noticed Chang and Yeong Shin, looking at him unamused.
“I wouldn’t want Seo Bi to see that if I were you,” Chang chuckled. Yeong Shin nodded in agreement.
***
“Let’s see,” Seo Bi began. “That would be the fifth time this week. Am I right?”
Beom Pal nodded as he winced in pain. The physician was expertly stitching his new wound and when the pain subsided, the magistrate frowned. “I’m sorry.”
Seo Bi tilted her head as she wiped the blood on her dress. “What for?”
“I couldn’t get the medicinal herbs you needed,” Beom Pal admitted grimly as he bowed his head.
The physician patted his shoulder and smiled. “That’s alright. Knowing you three, I knew you wouldn’t be able to find any.”