powerboys | If you can't solve this, then your problem is ddaeng

"Yeah, that'd be good." Room sounded good. He hadn't slept anywhere inside in a while. Now if he could get a bath out of the deal too, he wouldn't have to look like a complete ruffian when he arrived at the palace. Yoongi reached up, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. He had definitely pissed this guy off and he couldn't blame him.

Fumbling around a little - he was good with weapons and bad with tense social interactions - Yoongi got a pouch from inside his cloak and quickly opened it, finding a coin and holding it out to the man, bowing his head a little again. "For your trouble."

"What?" That had never happened before. And he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to take it. Who the hell tipped the guy who mopped the floors. Huh. Weird. He frowned for a moment and then lowered his head, not sure if it was a trap or not. "You don't have to tip me. I get paid. Sooner or later." But still, the gold was intriguing. He could buy so many things.

Tentatively, he held out his hand, unsure if he was about to have his hand cut off or something. It might sound dramatic but some of these barbarians could be dicks. "You could give the coin to my owner. The owner! I don't -- I'm my own owner."

"I've mopped a lot of floors in my life. You are more deserving of a tip than he is." Yoongi knew what it was like to clean up after warriors, his time serving as the youngest member of his troop had been formative in many ways. He pressed the coin into the man's hand and then pulled back, looking down at his sword. He had wrapped it up in rags, using twine to cover the sheath and handle. Clearly still a sword, but less recognisable as a special sword. He didn't want to get robbed nonstop.

"Where is good to eat in this town?"

"Uh... nowhere." Jiho couldn't take his eyes off the sword as he clenched the coin in his hand, nervous but admittedly curious. "The food here isn't bad, I know that much but you risk food poisoning if you eat at the tavern down the path." Jiho should know, many a guy came back from it and wrecked the toilets. It was a depressing job and he just wanted to save himself extra work. "What do you like to eat?"

Given the guy tipped him, he felt a little bit more generous than he'd usually be. "I can fry you noodles if you want. It won't take a moment and I always wash my hands."

"Yeah? That sounds great. Washed hands and all." What a way to get back into the mindset for the palace. Yoongi smiled at the man, boy, wondering a little. He did look northern, didn't he? Might just be a coincidence, something from down the line. "Name's Min Yoongi. What about yours?"

If he was saving him from food poisoning, he deserved to know a name at least, Yoongi decided. He doubted his name had travelled that far yet, he was a fair bit away from where it had all happened.

"Baek Jiho." Jiho bowed politely to the man but he knew he had to be careful, he was a warrior and he had to be respectful, polite and wash his hands. Always. Not that most warriors tend to notice but hey, it was easy to win points that way. "I'll make you some noodles, Min Yoongi-nim. Please sit down." Jiho set his mop aside and walked across the floor as carefully as he could.

"I'm not a cook but I can make the basics and I'm clean. I don't have any diseases either." Not to brag but he still had all his teeth. Which was an achievement in this small town. "Is there anything else you want, water or beer?"

"That's fine. I have something." He didn't trust any water in a place like this and he didn't fancy terrible beer either, so he would stick to the bottle he had with him. There was something to be said for the stuff they brewed up north, namely that it was too strong for anything to make it any worse than it already was. "Are you from around here, Jiho-ssi?"

"Uh, I think so." Jiho laughed awkwardly as he washed his hands in the little water dispenser nearby and then looked at Yoongi, unsure what to say. "I'm an orphan. And I don't remember a lot of my past, I hurt my head as a kid. I came to work here when I was ten so I guess whether or not I did come from here, I can remember being here the longest." The same job, the same cramped little sleep space on the floor, the same people who thought he was too stuck up and lazy. He couldn't remember a life not here. "You're from the north, right?"

"Yes. Far away from here, up the mountains." Which he admittedly missed sometimes. Maybe he could travel there again some time, see his parents. He did want to tell them about Jungkook's deeds, even if he wasn't sure where to start with his own. "You look a little northern yourself, that's why I asked. But then, we are all probably more mixed than we realise. It doesn't matter much."

"The north is pretty cool, right? That's what I hear. Very mountainous. Very scary Gods though." Or so he thought from the tales he heard. He smiled at Yoongi and bowed a little. "I will be back with your noodles, Yoongi-nim."

Jiho headed around the back to use the kitchen, swiftly cooking and then frying some noodles and adding what few vegetables they had. It wasn't the best but he could at least make something. He came back out and set the plate down nervously. "Is that okay? Do you want some meat? I can go get some." He had some gold now, after all.

"No, no, that's fine." Sure, he loved meat, but he had a feeling it would have to come out of this man's money and, hey. He was hungry now, he didn't want to wait around for whatever. Instead he started eating, showing his approval with the sounds he made. He swallowed and nodded, looking at Jiho and gesturing to him. "Keep me company, maybe? If you can."

He frowned, rubbing his ear. "Sorry. I haven't been around people in a few weeks now." Might be good to slowly get used to social interaction. "Not all our Gods are scary, Jiho-ssi. Just so you know."

"I can if you don't ruin the floors again... not that you did! Just-- that was a joke." He had to not get too familiar, he might still get stabbed yet. He sat down next to Yoongi, a little anxious and unsure. He wasn't very good with people himself, he mostly talked to those who worked here and he wasn't great with that part either. He was a shy boy and talking could be tricky. "I didn't mean to offend, Yoongi-nim. Your Gods are amazing, I pray to them. I pray to all the Gods."

Unusual but he didn't know where he came from and he always kind of felt like he was unlucky and he just needed a bit of support from the Gods. Not that he ever got it. But any God could be his God so why not beg them all for a break? "The northern Gods are big on punishment... all the legends seem to end with someone getting hurt."

"I suppose. Life is harsh up north. It makes the people harsher and the Gods as well." Yoongi had thought about it a lot, really, even talked about it with Namjoon. He hadn't thought back on the topic in a while, now that he actually had a God in his acquaintance. Now that he was a God's champion. Things were weird. "If you pray to any of the northern Gods, then pray to Jackson. He's different than the others. Do you know his story?"

"He's the rock that got manipulated by the thief and then became vengeful? He's also into punishments." Or so Jiho had been told. Every tale he heard from the northern men who stopped off here was all about how bad he was and how one day he would be punished for not doing some minor task brilliantly. He would have hated to be raised in that kind of culture, sounds exhausting! Everyone wanted to kill and torture each other. "That's the story, right? Cause you shouldn't ever mislead a God. And I wouldn't, not ever."

"There are different versions of the tale. I believe there are different versions of every tale, really." Yoongi knew a lot about this particular legend, after all, his lord had studied it intensely, tracking down different origins and any written records. But that meant that he could tell it now. "Jackson was a stone guard, put in place by the Gods to guard a trickster, a thief. But although he was meant to only be stone and feel nothing, he fell in love with the trickster. He became a God out of love and he fought for his love. That's why he is worshipped as the God of love where I come from."

"He's the God of love?" Oh. Jiho didn't know that. He liked that version way more. He felt weird inside just hearing it, like his heart hurt and he had to try and not show it on his face. If he did, he'd look crazy. He didn't know why but that legend alone just rattled up his insides from the start and hearing it like this, it made his chest ache. "I think that suits the story better, if he is a lover not a fighter. I just always hear it the other way."

Then again, he mostly spoke to fighters. "Do you pray to him often?"

Yoongi nodded. "Our main Gods are divided by causes we fight for. I pray to the God of honour, because it's what binds me to my family, to my lord. I pray to the God of duty, because it's what keeps me going. I pray to the God of love, because it's what makes the fight worthwhile."

There were more beyond that, but they were minor. At least in his opinion. He didn't fight for fame or fortune, not any more. Even when he had, it was for his family's sake more than his own. He reached for his belt and jingled the stones he had chained to it a little. "That's his symbol. It is said that no matter what happened with him and the trickster, his love never ended and he is still fighting for it."

"Wasn't the thief a mortal? ... He's probably really dead by now." Jiho laughed a little and then smiled, weirdly relieved about the northern Gods after talking to someone less scary about them. "I guess your Gods aren't scary so much as different. It's like the eastern Gods, they scare me too but I'm sure they're not so bad. Even if I hear the east is getting worse these days."

He didn't know himself but he did know that the champion of the east, Cheon, did a loooot of bad stuff. It was passing down the land these days and few people hadn't heard of it. And rumours of angry Gods and angry people filled him with unease. "I'm sure I know very little. I've never left here."

"The thief... Not much is certain about him. Only that he was a trickster and that he was punished by the Gods." Yoongi shrugged. Maybe Namjoon knew more, but he couldn't recall anything else himself. "Either way. Love can last longer than life, mortal or not."

He still loved Ten, after all, even if it the nature of how he loved him had changed. "You should leave. Come with me, if you are not attached. There is better life. Maybe you'll find something or someone worth fighting for too, Jiho-ssi."

"Come with you and do what? I've never done anything like what you do? I clean floors." He would love to leave, more than anything but how could he when he would just get in the way and probably die. He shrugged and looked down at the piece of gold in his hand, studying it lightly. "I can't fight. I can catch a chicken, I'm really good at that." There was a farm nearby and if they got loose, he always caught them. The lady there was nice, she'd tip him in fruits!

Jiho wanted to go but... could he? "What do I have to do for you, Yoongi-nim? I can clean your sword and your boots. And I can wash clothes."

"Boot cleaning would be highly appreciated, but you are better off not touching my sword." Yoongi thought about it, realising that he was being impulsive. But hey, he had started to feel lonely and the Gods weren't always the best company on empty roads. "I can show you how to take care of my horse and how to fight. Maybe I'll teach you how to ride. In exchange, you can wash clothes and clean boots and maybe we can take turns cooking."

He figured he had a thing or two to teach him there too, especially over campfire. "You seem bright. You can have a future outside of being stuck here, no?"

"I don't know. It'd be nice if I did. I won't bother you for too long. We could just go to where you need to and when we get there, I can venture back. Might be handy to pick up some skills." Jiho shrugged and then smiled a little, somewhat excited by the prospect of leaving this dump. "I should warn you though, Yoongi-nim... I'm so unlucky. My bad luck never rubs off onto people but it does screw me over a lot. So if something happens to me, just go ahead and leave."

Knowing his luck, he'd stab himself in the foot or something. "Are you sure I can? ... I can carry and clean, I can do that well. I just don't want to be in your way."

"Venture back or do whatever else you want. I will pay you for your services, but we don't have to decide all of that right now." He smiled and finished his portion of noodles, already feeling more himself. Now if only he could wash and sleep, life would be a lot more bearable. "Pray to whatever Gods you want for good fortune on our travels, Jiho-ssi. I really need a room, a bath and rest and tomorrow we can leave together."

"I'll get you a room, hang on." Jiho smiled and got up, running to fetch a key from behind the counter and dropping his gold without noticing. When he came back, he stood on the coin and then held the key out to Yoongi, bowing politely to him. "There's a bath on the same floor as your room, I'll tell the maid to heat the water ready for you. Have a good rest, my lord. I will see you tomorrow."

"Move your foot, Jiho-ssi, you are standing on your money." Yoongi couldn't help but be amused, even if his smile was gentle. He ruffled Jiho's hair as he passed him, taking the key and throwing it from one hand to the other and heading in the direction Jiho had indicated.

If you can't solve this, then your problem is ddaeng

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