Seonghwa appeared in the morning as if nothing had ever happened. He didn't excuse Hongjoong's behaviour by claiming illness, and he pretended not to have played a role in the incident. Instead, he dumped a mass of utensils on the table in the foyer and elegantly swished the lower parts of his garments before he settled down.

San eyed him over the rim of his cup from narrow eyes.

"Why aren't we in the classroom today?" He didn't distort his voice into artificial nonchalance. His tone was biting and had no shred of mercy for the shaman.

Gracefully, Seonghwa inclined his head.

"I imagined you would want your peace here today. You seemed agitated last evening, so I wanted to offer my compliance to meet in your territory." Seonghwa set apart the pliers he had prepared to extract some scales from San's tail. They were one of the last steps needed for Seonghwa to finish with the bookbinding until the ritual.

San eyed them as if they were a venomous snake.

"This isn't my territory. It belongs to the king, just like anything else here. No choice is mine."

Once more, Seonghwa smiled patiently, as if he were dealing with a child. His patronising attitude had San's eyes darken. His brows pulled together, the last patience he had gathered so laboriously since the morning disappearing.

"All choices made for you are in your favour and you are free to deny them," Seonghwa said.

With a huff, San placed his mug down and reached for the pliers. When he neared his tail with them, Seonghwa made a protesting sound. A single glare from San shut him up.

"My choice."

San plucked out his scales, leaving shallow, bleeding wounds. He dropped the bloodied objects on the tray Seonghwa had brought. Wordless, the shaman gulped as he watched San ignore the healing ointments and cleaning rags he had brought.

In front of their eyes, San's wounds sealed. With a metallic clang, he dropped the pliers on the tray.

"That should be enough. Don't underestimate me, Seonghwa. I am a dragon."

The corners of Seonghwa's mouth twitched. He tried to hide his crude smile behind his sleeve, but the right corner curled far enough to his eyes that San caught it.

"An imoogi, you mean."

The rage that had boiled in San's gut all night sparked. When his eyes narrowed further, Yunho shuffled in his corner by the door. The threatening aura around the dragon darkened to near blackness.

"Do you believe that allows you to look down on me?" San's voice had lowered to a growl, his fangs flashing. The glow of his eyes penetrated the cloud of darkness he spread through the room.

Seonghwa lifted his hands. He was still unperturbed, not bothered by the inflamed dragon.

"I just wanted to clear up any misconceptions. You profit off this deal just how we do. If you insist there are no secrets between us, you do better also not keeping any." The gleam in his eyes was sly, but he was nowhere as imposing as the powerful dragon that breathed down his face.

"We may work together, but I believe we are not on the same level of perception." San's claws dug into the tabletop, leaving deep marks in the polished wood.

Seonghwa smiled with the grace of an angel.

"This matter can't concern you this much, mighty dragon king. If you are as dignified as you claim to be, the love between two humans should brush by your conscience. You, too, didn't marry the king out of affection. You are free to do as you please, so you should regard his personal feelings as well." Seonghwa's grin turned sinister, the sharpness of a fox shining through his glamorous veil. He was still beautiful, but beyond that charm laid a dark truth.

San's senses spiked when he picked up on the threat wavering off Seonghwa. His shoulders tensed, antlers on his head growing subtly as he resisted the need to burst out of his human skin. Ghostly, his scales shifted under his human mask like a snake coiling through his insides. Between fascination and horror, Seonghwa watched them glimmer under his skin.

"I don't appreciate being lied to. I might have forgiven the king his hesitance to tell me since he seemed too busy, but from you, who claimed to look after me, I expected more. You groomed me not into a human standard, but into what was befitting of your affair with the king!" San hissed, split tongue getting stuck around the syllables. Outside, the skies rumbled with the thunder that came to aid San's agitation. A nearby open window let in the scent of the nearing storm as the heavens obscured over Hanyang.

"You needed supervision, for you were new to our world. I helped you be a good spouse, helped you become part of our culture, and helped you prepare for the ritual." Seonghwa beckoned his hand around, underlining how much they had provided for the dragon. San's snarl didn't deter him.

"You got everything worthy of a dragon apart from the one thing that was never yours to claim. Has your greed made you blind? You came here, and you knew this deal was destined by fate, never by Hongjoong."

San breathed in the crackling air, trying to calm himself. The fury fed by Seonghwa's aloof attitude simmered low once more.

"I am displeased by the part you played in this matter. Patronising me. Distracting me from him. Deciding where I slept and what I was allowed to do whenever it came to him."

"It's not as if he wanted you," Seonghwa spat. "How difficult do you think it is to be with someone you don't love? You can't fathom his pain."

When San rose to his feet, Seonghwa came with him. Thunder crashed over them and someone yelled outside at how deafening the noise was. In his corner, Yunho scaredly looked between the fighting duo and the enraged skies.

"I know exactly what it feels like. I came here to live among those whom I found fascinating and knew would receive me. I married a king I didn't love and withstood my confusion when I gathered so many mixed signals. I took every insult upon me, every punishment dealt out so boldly. Not once had I someone who accepted me as Hongjoong understands you! I met only disgust and deceit!"

"That's because you're an imoogi," Seonghwa hissed back.

A moment later, all breath was knocked from Seonghwa's chest when San shoved him against the wooden pillar nearest to them. The shaman collided with the solid surface, his lips parting in a startled noise.

Maddened by the shaman's glinting beauty that had fooled him, San came after him. His claw dug into the wood behind Seonghwa's waist; nothing more than a threat.

"Aren't I the one you need for your blessings?" San roared, his skin eclipsing as his true form threatened to burst through.

"You are and all I asked of you was to sit tight and wait until you got your half of the bargain in return!"

Temper was beautiful on Seonghwa's features, but it wasn't intimidating. The dragon loomed over him, claws poised even when he knew he wouldn't spill blood over this matter. He wanted Seonghwa to submit, wanted him to agree to his mistake. Every second of defiance from the mortal ripped at the thin string of San's nerves.

Rain thrummed on the roof and the courtyard so loud they barely understood each other. Yunho flinched at yet another bolt of lightning that flashed in the clouded room.

"How is it you had to be the one to protect the king from me? Why couldn't the king protect himself?"

Seonghwa gritted his teeth, withholding the answer.

"Was he too weak? Too kind? Did he care less about me or more than you wished? You are in no better place than I was, Seonghwa. You are merely jealous because I could marry him when you, as a man, never could."

Seonghwa's usually warm expression was cold as ice. All grins were gone as they glared at each other.

"You have no right to speculate about him. You never deserved to marry him, and you never deserved his attention. You got it only because it was his fate."

Accompanied by thunder that carried San's voice as if on wings, the imoogi opened his mouth to bite back, but he didn't get as far. Before that, the doors to the foyer flew open and slammed against the wall when the violent wind caught them. Seonghwa's papers whirled through the air and the cold air shoved at the window and door frames, rattling them.

Hongjoong's hair was plastered to his forehead as he laid sight upon the two men. Eyes wide with doubt, he hurried closer.

"San," he begged, voice ever so vulnerable. "Please, you don't have to fight us. I am sure you understand our situation." His plea was better than that of Seonghwa, but not enough. The dragon snarled, displeased by the lack of respect.

"He isn't making it easier."

Hongjoong raised his hands. Distracted, he beckoned at the group of servants and guards that hurried after him to check out the commotion to leave. The doors remained open, letting in the wind and the rain that grasped at San's hair. It whispered to him, agreed with his fury and his worth over that of the humans.

"What do you want to hear? I can apologise if that is what you want."

"I don't want your apology," San barked. "I want his." He glared at Seonghwa again. Jaw tight, the shaman looked back.

When Hongjoong fell short, a tense moment passed.

A bitter laugh tumbled from San's lips.

"Of course. You tried to tame a dragon when you couldn't even tame your love for this man."

San's claws slashed down on Seonghwa without a second of hesitation. The shaman threw up his arms to protect himself, eyes clenched shut.

However, San didn't hurt him. His claws sliced through the thread holding the norigae on Seonghwa's waist and took the hypnotically dangling item away from him.

For a moment, San stared at the many knots and the ornament that combined the meanings of beauty and marital happiness. His claws clenched around the item, squeezing the golden adornment.

Careless, he flung the accessory in front of Hongjoong's feet.

"You picked your path, King of Joseon."

San backed away from Seonghwa. The king was helpless, trapped between holding back San to apologise and checking on his lover. He bent down to pick up the norigae, his fingers cradling it ever so preciously.

San turned on his heel and marched out of the room. Nobody called after him, and when Yunho struggled to decide whether he should follow, Hongjoong motioned him to stay.

Alone, San stormed out into the rainy day. The skies were black as if it were night and the rain crying down on Hanyang sent its people into a frenzy to cover their heads and anything that needed to stay dry.

San left the palace walls. He delved into the city, between the scurrying and confused commoners that gazed after his colourful robe with fleeting eyes. They dragged their harvest and their crafts under their roofs to protect them from the storm.

Like a ghost, San crossed the city. He found no joy in the cosy inns and the warm glow of the houses.

Rather than down the path leading from the city, San disappeared into the woods. He followed no man-made streets and instead wandered the underwood that cradled his clothes with tender care and paid attention not to hurt the mighty creature thundering across its midst. He didn't mind the rain in his hair as the trees allowed it through, for the water was his element.

Several wild animals were concerned at the anger he exuded as he stomped past their homes. His icy silence at their fearful calls soothed them as they wouldn't be victims of the dragon's rage.

Nature cradled San and welcomed him back home. Away from deceptive and arrogant humans, from those who used him for their gains.

Out here, San could forget about their ritual and their need for him that they gazed upon so lightly, as if the past never proved how dangerous it was to anger a dragon patron.

San picked a massive tree he liked and climbed it. Between gnarly branches, he curled up and closed his eyes. He would stay there and not return until the humans had a proper reason he should forgive their disrespect.

The rain didn't let up the entire night. Wherever Seonghwa and Hongjoong walked, it came down twice as hard.