Picking Up Old Hobbies

ARGH!

Hyeon delicately rubbed the small of his back to soothe out the muscle aches.

It's been almost two days. Haruma thankfully let him take yesterday off to visit Dr. Coty to recover after his near-drowning and to bandage up the siren bite. While he didn't have complications from almost dying in a watery grave, his hips on the other hand...

The memories of him begging and being exposed in such a way made his ears turn red. Hyeon aggressively washed the window, hoping the recollections would scrub away as well.

*The wolf growled in his ear, "Please, what?"*

*"P-please, Master!"*

The redness spread to his whole face. He was rubbing the towel against the glass so hard, it was bound to crack.

*That bastard. I'll only call him Fenrir in my mind. Stupid wolf. Stupid Fenrir!*

"Are you done wiping?" a voice said from behind. Hyeon was startled from being interrupted during his insulting thoughts.

Haruma was inspecting the windows and criticized, "You're wiping the glass too hard. I can see smears in multiple spots and you're only halfway done when you should be almost finished."

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll correct it before the end of my shift," Hyeon responded without looking at his superior. He was still flustered since Haruma saw the condition of his body after carrying him to his room.

_______________

*Hyeon sleepily opened his eyes as someone lightly poked his cheek. The fuzzy person above him slowly focused into an expressionless Haruma. They were in his living room with him laying on the couch. He was burritoed awkwardly in a white sheet like a poor attempt to make a straightjacket. When wiggling his body like a caterpillar, the movement caused something wet to leak out from...back there! The lethargy faded at the feeling.

He was almost free from the cocoon. With a WOOSH, a hand flung open the blanket, flashing everything to the world. In the midst of Hyeon's struggle, he had forgotten about the fox who must've decided to help free him.

"SIR!" He replaced the blanket to cover his sensitive parts.

"I have to wash you," Haruma said, gesturing to the bathroom.

"What? N-no, it's fine...," he stammered.

"Master Fenrir said I need to clean you." The crazy fox demon removed the blanket corner that was sheltering Hyeon's private area.

He quickly put the sheet back on, this time wrapping it around his waist. Doesn't anyone know the definition of privacy or decency here?!

"It's okay...really. I can do it myself," Hyeon reassured.

"Master told..."

"HARUMA. I can clean myself. I'm a big kid, yeah?"

Haruma became quiet and contemplated. They stared at each other for ten or so seconds.

"But Master Fenrir said so."

THIS GUY, Hyeon bitterly thought.*

_______________

In the end, Hyeon lost the battle despite being insistent that he could shower without aid. Overall, he didn't want to discuss what happened that night with Haruma and the other party didn't bring it up. It was their secret.

"Hmm," his supervisor hummed. "Don't forget about Master's dinner in a few hours." He left the hallway.

*Yeah, yeah.*

At least his shifts always ended on time. As long as Fenrir doesn't summon him, Hyeon should be finished by 7:15.

Today, he'd decided to try practicing bo-staff with Shika. It's been a while and there was a painful reason why he quit a while back, but being in this animal hell was do-or-die.

_______________

7:31.

*I hope he's is still there.*

After he delivered the dirtied dishes to the kitchen staff, Hyeon had to hustle back to the other side of the castle to his small apartment. Next time, he should just bring a change of clothes with him since it was out of his way!

Passing by some windows on the third floor that had a decent view of the garden below, Hyeon could see a small figure in the garden. Shika was wearing a white dougi, the traditional uniform worn by most martial arts. Hyeon was a little embarrassed to show up in Adidas jogger pants and a generic red t-shirt from a local department store.

Shika was practicing his bo-staff stances.

*Ah, a horse stance man, I see. And a black belt at that.*

As if Shika was riding on a saddle, his legs were bent past shoulder width. His straight back and swift transitions between striking the staff points up and down made it look effortless. Hyeon wondered if they would be compatible as sparring partners. He preferred the cat stance which focused on graceful balance rather than the powerful thrusts Shika was generating. They could practice a few times a week to see if—

Wait, am I seriously considering getting back into this? Do I deserve to after what I did?

Hurrying to the castle's entrance while getting unfriendly glances from the other servants, he opened the heavy medieval-like doors. Although Hyeon saw Shika from a few stories up, he was now gone and nowhere to be seen. Oddly enough, the only remnant that he was here was the lone bo-staff on the grass. Did he forget it there by accident?

Walking over to the wooden stick, Hyeon picked it up and compared its size to his own height. It was a little taller than he'd like.

Oh, and someone was attacking him from the back.

Hyeon twisted to the side. As soon as he moved, the front tip of an opposing bo-staff swung across the air, perpendicular to the ground. If he wouldn't have acted quickly, that would've slammed into his ribs.

"Somehow, I knew you'd come," Shika said with a mischievous grin. The dang deer used the bo as bait to jump him! Hyeon gripped the staff with a right underhand and left overhand. His left leg swooped behind him to prepare for an uppercut strike.

A smile erupted when the rush of a looming fight traveled through his body.

*Yet, somehow, I couldn't stay away,* he remarked to himself.