"Yun, what's this?" Sen inquired, taking a pinkish object from the boy's hand.
"Oh, that? The white dragon's scale," he replied, sitting down. Ki-ja looked at him aghast.
"What?" he cried. "Impossible! It must be a fake!"
"So you're casually selling off your "sacred" scales, huh?" Hak asked as he hung up the laundry. "I can hear the previous snakes rolling in their graves."
"Sell my scales—who would do such a thing?" Ki-ja protested. Sen shook her head and sighed.
"We may be poor, but not that poor. Ah, I can picture the disappointment on the actual Dragon's face as he sees his scales being traded like vegetables..."
"I did not!"
"So if we eat it, will our right hands become as huge as his?" Hak mused. "Or will we become as stubborn as him?"
"Will I regain my purity if I consume it?" Sen added thoughtfully, earning Ki-ja's killer glare.
"As a matter of fact, this scale is a charm that fulfills love," Yun explained. Jae-ha and Hak exchanged a brief glance before bursting into peals of laughter.
"Fulfill? As in always be by our beloved's side while never actually being romantically involved with them?" Sen snickered. Ki-ja flushed beet red.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," he protested. "I do not feel that way towards the princess! Furthermore, this scale business is nonsense. Running a deceitful trade under the Dragon's name is insolence, it's blasphemy! Yun, how could you purchase this accursed item?"
"As if I would," Yun replied with something of a grimace. "I got it as a freebie along with two bags of salt."
"Ki-ja, I don't think this is as bad as you make it seem," said Jae-ha, snitching it from Sen. "They're just modeling love charms after the four dragons. It's one of those things a girl ought to have."
"True," Sen agreed. "I once had one, but my then-lover broke it by stepping on it. Good riddance, if I say so myself."
"Well then, it seems like you don't need one," Jae-ha told her. He looked around and upon catching sight of the princess, called, "Oh, Yona! Come here, I have something for you."
"No, it's not a charm," Yun corrected, skimming through the paper that came with the scale. "It's a so-called love potion."
Jae-ha, who was about to give it to Yona, froze.
"Sorry, my mistake," he said apologetically, hiding it in his sleeve. The confused Yona shrugged her shoulders and went back to practice archery.
"What is a love potion?" Ki-ja asked, puzzled. Yun turned the paper and cleared his throat.
"The man I like instantly returned my feelings once I made him drink this!" he read in a monotone voice, clearly unimpressed. "We're getting married next week! (Anonymous female, eighteen.)"
"That is a love potion," Jae-ha confirmed. Ki-ja shivered.
"Is this not more of a curse potion?"
"Love is both a blessing and curse," Hak muttered. "It's like a double-edged sword, hurting you if used incorrectly..."
His statement was followed by an awkward silence.
"Hak, you're such a killjoy," Jae-ha said. "We finally got our hands on something interesting, and that's all you have to say?"
"Interesting?" Ki-ja yelped. "It's the work of a demon! We should return it whence it came!"
"Oh?" Sen asked with an innocent smile. "Is there no one you would like to use it on?"
"No!" he replied firmly. Jae-ha leaned closer to him and whispered something in his ear. Ki-ja jumped away and covered his face.
"N-No!" he protested in a quivering voice, although he did not seem as resolute as before. "I do not have any impure thoughts about the p-p-princess!"
"It doesn't really matter," Yun told him. "We don't know if it's poisonous or just an aphrodisiac, so even if you were eager to use it—"
Jae-ha licked the scale.
"What did I just say?" the genius pretty boy shouted. "Why can't any of you monsters listen to what I say for once?"
"It's sweet, kind of like sugar candy," Jae-ha said, licking his lips. "But I don't feel anything. I think it's a scam."
"Great! Now give the scale to me, and I'll make sure there are no toxic—"
Sen broke a little piece from the sugared scale and popped it in her mouth.
"Why do I have zero authority here?" Yun screamed. Sen seemed not to notice him and frowned.
"Ugh, too sweet," she complained. "It doesn't seem to be poisoned, though..."
She barely finished the sentence before Jae-ha collapsed next to her. Sen turned a ghostly pale and she backed away. Ki-ja hurried over to help Jae-ha up.
"Hey! Jae-ha, hang in there! Yun will soon make the antidote!" he cried. Sen curled up under a tree.
"I don't want to die," she muttered, staring blankly into space. "Please spare me, I'm too young... not yet... I can't die just yet..."
Although it went unnoticed by the panicked people around him, Jae-ha stirred. His eyes slowly fluttered open to see Ki-ja leaning over him.
"Oh! He's moving!" the white dragon exclaimed. He wanted to stand up, but the world spun before his eyes and by the time he came to his senses, Jae-ha was on top of him.
"I hate rules..." he said in a low voice, his eyes burning with an odd flame.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Ki-ja asked, feeling that this was highly improper.
"I hate many things about my predestined fate... most of all, the four dragons... So why?"
"Jae-ha?"
"Why is it..." he mused, brushing his fingers against Ki-ja's lips, "that whenever you come by... my heart will not stay still?"
"Yun! Help! Get him off!" Ki-ja yelped. Yun watched the two thoughtfully.
"No change in behavior," he said, writing it down on a piece of paper. Exasperated, Ki-ja threw a punch at Jae-ha with his right arm, which the green dragon elegantly dodged.
"If you dare come near me," Ki-ja threatened, "I shall not hesitate to give you a taste of the White Dragon God's Holy Power!"
Jae-ha grinned and jumped away.
"As if," he said with a laugh. "This thing's real. Now, if only I could remember which way Yona went..."
"His true intentions are out!" Hak shouted. "Quick, run after him!"
Ki-ja did not need to be told twice. He immediately rushed after Jae-ha, Hak not far behind. Yun stood still for a while, looking at a tree where Sen had once sat. It seemed that amidst the chaos, she had escaped.
When Hak and Ki-ja finally caught up to Jae-ha, they found him staring across the clearing with a partly alarmed and partly amused expression.
"What's going on?" Ki-ja panted. Jae-ha wore a strange smile.
"I dissolved the potion in water," he said, lifting a cup, "but it seems there's no need for it."
On the other side of the clearing, they saw Sen kneeling before Yona, cheeks flushed and eyes hazy.
"I don't understand you," the brunette sighed. "Nay, that's a lie; the one I do not understand is myself."
"What?" Yona asked, confused.
"I've been with girls before, but why can none of them compare to you?" She held Yona's hand like it was the most precious treasure and kissed it affectionately. "Although after seeing a beauty rarer than a daytime star, it would be strange to remain unmoved. How am I to keep my cool when those gray eyes of yours stir a fire in my heart every time I look into them?"
"Uh... I... I don't know...?" Yona stammered, unsure of what to say. Sen stood up and caught the princess in her embrace, their noses almost touching.
"What is there to know?" she murmured. "You only have to feel. Feel whether this is right or wrong..."
Her lips nearly touched Yona's. At that moment, she felt a great force lifting her up, ruthlessly ripping her away from the princess and throwing her to the ground. Hak stood before Yona protectively, giving Sen an icy glare. Jae-ha was snickering in the background and Ki-ja looked away, cheeks red.
"Hey! That hurt!" Sen complained, holding her head. "What's wrong with you?"
"Oh, don't worry," Jae-ha laughed as he helped her up. "He's just come to terms with the fact that you're better at seducing women than he is."
"Of course not. Hak's the best at anything and everything he does," Sen replied reverently. "Every drop of my blood sings his praise and even sunlight is faint compared to his glory."
"I thought you liked Yona," he teased. "Don't her gray eyes of hers stir a fire within your chest, unlike those of other women you've been with?"
Sen stared at him thoughtfully for a moment before remembering what he was talking about. She smiled brightly and bowed to Yona.
"Excuse me for my questionable behavior," she apologized, "but that love potion messed up my mind. I promise I have no interest in you whatsoever."
"What's a love potion?" Yona inquired. Sen snatched the cup from Jae-ha and gave it to her.
"Have a taste!" she suggested. "It's hard to explain. Best experience it."
"Princess, no! Don't drink it!" Hak cried. Yona took a sip.
"No! Why? Sen, why?!" Ki-ja screamed. "You have corrupted the princess's pure soul!"
"It's just a drink," Yona told him. "It tastes nice and sweet. Here, Yun, drink some!"
"I'd rather n-mrrrph!"
Yun was forced to swallow a few drops.
"Do you know what that thing does to you?" Yun coughed, glaring at the princess angrily.
"I'll give some to Shin-ah!" Yona chirped as if she had not heard Yun at all. "Spending all those years in a cave, I doubt he's ever tasted something this refreshing!"
Five people rushed at her, trying to confiscate the potion.
"Yona, that liquid is diabolical! Pour it out!"
"No, give it to me! I want to use it on Hak!"
"Research, everybody! I can multiply it. Yona, that thing belongs to me!"
"It'll only be safe in my hands! When I was sixteen, I came across this love potion that—"
"Princess, throw it away! It's dangerous!"
Yona panicked and decided to do as Hak commanded- toss the accursed liquid away from her. It was a cruel act of fate that the drink splashed onto the people surrounding her, some drops falling into their mouths that were wide open while yelling at her.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" the princess gasped. "Really sorry!"
"Yona, what have you done! Can a simple apology reverse time?" Sen lamented melodramatically. "The damage has already been dealt! What good can a little "I'm sorry" do in a situation so dire?"
"Isn't it just a drink?" Yona asked. "Though truth be told, I do feel a bit dizzy."
She sat down under a tree and closed her eyes.
"Maybe I didn't drink enough," she mused. "Maybe..."
...
A strange scene entered Shin-ah's eyes as he came back from gathering firewood.
"Yona," Ki-ja breathed, "Princess, I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Must I rip out my heart to prove it is beating for you?"
However, the princess promptly ignored his advances as she tugged on Yun's arm instead (who was busy casting affectionate looks in Shin-ah's direction).
"Yun... I've always seen you as a young boy, never realizing how mature you were..." she whispered. "You are the bravest person I know, and I may... I may have come to like you."
"I don't understand," came Hak's voice from another direction. "You're one of the worst people I know, yet my heart beats faster every time I see you. Darling Sen, just cast me a look and I'll be satisfied..."
His wish was not recognised. Sen stared at Ki-ja, infatuated.
"He's beautiful," she sighed. "Shining gloriously, casting light into my dark life, burning like the Sun. But we're worlds apart and as different as day and night, and I know we could never be..."
"Yun, I know this is a bit forward, but... will you marry me?" Yona asked sheepishly. Yun didn't even look at her as he called out to the masked man.
"Shin-ah... My dear Shin-ah, will you believe me when I say I love you?"
"Why can't I get enough of you?" Hak murmured as he wrapped his arms around Sen. "Dearest, there aren't enough words between heaven and earth to describe my feelings for you. You keep me alive at the darkest of times..."
"Hey!" Jae-ha, who had remained silent up until that point, cried. "Stop it, now!"
Sen gave him a blank look as he tried to pry Hak off her.
"You can't do this to me," he muttered feverishly. "I knew it ever since I first saw you in Awa, yet I tried to deny it. I can't do this anymore, because I love you too much, my dear Hak—"
"Hullo!" a bright voice called out from behind them and was promptly ignored. "Is this a rehearsal for a theatrical group?"
Shin-ah shook his head.
"Eh, too bad, I love theater," the blonde boy sighed. "Then tell me, please, what's happening?"
Shin-ah shrugged. He honestly believed that every single one of his comrades had gone insane. The boy went up to Hak and slapped him clean across the face. The man's hazy eyes turned clear again as he glared at his attacker.
"Who are you and what was that for?" he shouted angrily. He then looked at the less than impressed Sen in his arms and tossed her away.
"Why you?" he cried. "There are five other people around, why did it have to be you?"
"It's not my fault!" Sen protested indignantly. "Who told you to be looking at me? And are you trying to break my back today?"
Her words did not reach Hak as he had run off to separate Yun and Yona. Sen rubbed her back and looked up, only to see the three dragons staring intensely at the newcomer. She picked herself up and smiled at him.
"Hi, I'm Sen," she introduced herself. "Are you lost?"
"Nope! Zeno travels at leisure," he said, pointing at himself. "If you want to thank Zeno for saving you, please invite Zeno to dinner, ma'am."
The boy's stomach rumbled audibly, as if to prove a point. Sen laughed.
"This lady accepts your request," she said, imitating Zeno's way of speaking. "If all else fails, this lady shall give you her lunch."
"Lady indeed," came Hak's snort from across the clearing. Sen smiled at him.
"As long as I'm a lady in your heart, no title can give me more pleasure," she said. Hak promptly ignored her and turned to the stranger.
"By the way, who are you?"
"Just a traveler," the boy said lazily. "Also, what are those three doing?"
The three dragons turned and stared as one. They whispered amongst each other and finally went to Yun.
"Yun, us brothers have come to a conclusion," Ki-ja said slowly.
"I don't know how to put this," Jae-ha continued. "Well... The Yellow Dragon has been chatting leisurely with Sen up until now."
They all stared at the boy in surprise. He looked back with wide eyes.
"Hmm? You called?" he asked. His eyes turned wide as he laughed. "Oh wow, on closer inspection, the White, Blue and Green Dragons are here as well. Now we're all together as a big, happy family!"
"So for one, we know the Yellow Dragon is delusional," Hak commented. No one was listening to him.
"What? You're the Yellow Dragon?"
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Heavens, why are you speaking so casually to the least relevant member of the group?"
"I don't get your problem. Zeno speaks properly and doesn't bother anyone. Isn't Zeno a good boy? By the way, my name's Zeno," the boy said.
"That's the laziest self-introduction I've ever heard!" Yun yelped.
"Brother Zeno, you carry the sacred dragon blood in your veins, how has it come to you not noticing us sooner?"
"It's not about noticing or not noticing... but Zeno is just leisurely traveling, without real care about the other dragons," Zeno said.
"Without real care?" Jae-ha repeated in disbelief. Everyone else from the dragons had been obsessed with their identity, whether glorifying it like Ki-ja, treating it as a curse like Shin-ah or fearing the fate it brought like himself. Not caring seemed so strange.
"You are traveling at will, as the wind blows, running about without responsibilities?" Ki-ja asked. "What about your village?"
"Zeno left it a long time ago."
"Our master could have been searching for you, yet you wandered about aimlessly? Speaking of master, don't you feel anything when you look at Princess Yona?" Ki-ja spluttered. This Yellow Dragon was too much for him to comprehend. Zeno blinked at Yona, her red hair, her gray eyes, and blushed.
"Don't feel anything? Haha, that would be untrue! She's super cute. Zeno's heart is pounding!"
"I know, right? Wait, that's it?" Ki-ja asked, surprised. "No burning limbs? None of that initiation?"
"That initiation that had me thinking: take me, torture me, do whatever you want...?" Jae-ha inquired. Sen and Hak shivered at the thought.
"No deep voices in your head?" Shin-ah put in.
"Indeed, an invincible man has come among us..." the three of them agreed. "Is he really that strong or just terribly simple-minded?"
"Oh, but if you're traveling, you might not want to join us..." Yona said sadly. "We're looking for the four dragons to lend us their power, would you—"
"Okay," Zeno said happily. Everyone froze.
"Zeno doesn't mind tagging along as long as you give Zeno food," he continued. The group agreed to his request the second it was spoken. After that, Ki-ja stepped up.
"I am Ki-ja, and I carry the power of the white dragon in my arm," he said. "What may your powers be?"
"Uh, Zeno isn't very powerful..." the boy admitted. "But Zeno's body is really sturdy!"
"Really? How sturdy?" Hak asked, punching Zeno in the face. The boy tumbled backwards and stared at Hak in awe.
"What was that?" he cried. "The power of that hit was crazy!"
"No, it's just that you're a regular person!" Yun exclaimed. "Your skin is white and squishy and you're my height. The Thunder Beast, on the other hand, has a rock-solid body and an imposing aura. I'd be convinced if he claimed he was the Yellow Dragon."
"I've kept quiet up until now, but actually I am the Yellow Dragon," Hak said proudly, arms crossed.
"If you were a dragon, you'd be the Evil Dark Dragon!" Ki-ja protested. Hak considered his words and grinned. Evil Dark Dragon doesn't sound half bad...
Sen perked up as well.
"I'm a sorceress," she said, "as powerful as the Dragons themselves, if not even more so. Fire turns into stone at my command and trees shiver and shake as I pass by..."
"Don't give Hak ideas," Jae-ha advised Ki-ja. "Sen, no one's buying your magic story."
"Okay, I haven't perfected it just yet," she admitted. "But how about we eat and go to bed? I think we all need time to process this, well, this."
She pointed at Zeno. The boy smiled cutely.
"Well said, Sorceress Sen, let's discuss this tomorrow. I'm going to sleep."
And with that, Yun climbed into the tent. Soon, Yona joined him. The two being the frailest of the group were the only ones to sleep inside. Later, the four dragons put out the fire and went to sleep outside as well.