1: Confusing path.

Jisung had no idea where he had taken a wrong turn, but he had gotten lost on his way out of the store.

Where did all the trees come from? Was he in a park? Where was there a park this fancy near where he lived? Jisung's neighbourhood could hardly be called safe, especially when random attacks could happen anywhere.

However, moving with the Hwang siblings; Hyunjin and Yeji was the only good decision he has ever made in his life. He hadn't been mugged since moving in with them a year ago. Yet, around here, it was only a matter of time considering that thirty past eleven was such an insane time to go out at night, but that was Jisung.

He did enjoy taking unexpected routes when he had the time, but this level of change in his surroundings was quite disconcerting. However in his defence he had college work to finish, the deadlines had taken a huge toll on him and he absolutely could not drop out now when he has spent his days trying to finish the world while barely eating or drinking anything.

It was only now that he was strolling through a narrow alley, carelessly taking turns until he stepped outside to what seemed like a forest.
Then downward, where there was no paving at all, and instead a path, and when he looked right back up, there were trees. Maybe the effect of four hours of very fragmented sleep.

So, the stress of the year had clearly gotten to Jisung a little. It was alright; he had detached himself and strolled past the well-known blocks into Dobong-gu's most picturesque mountain park. Yeji would strangle him for taking so long and worrying her, but that was a problem for later.

He was getting a little bit worried. The path led upward, and Jisung wondered if he should turn back rather than continue climbing what appeared to be an actual mountain which is unusual in an urban setting.

It took him a while to climb the mountain and surprisingly enough he wasn't tired at all. The path opened into a courtyard, and Jisung could only stare dumbstruck by the intricate, ancient-looking buildings standing before him.

God, had he stumbled into a monastery? These were definitely temples, that were totally a tourist trap that charged a fortune for a one-day ticket. Can't blame it though because they were actually gorgeous looking ones with fine artefacts and wooden carvings.

He squinted his eyes, wondering if there was a polite way to go knocking into a random monastery's door at midnight and ask for directions. Was anyone up? Wait, no, did anyone even live here?

"Who are you?" Like on cue, Jisung heard someone asking him coldly which sent shivers down his spine. Feeling alert, he turned around and immediately locked eyes with another pair of watchful eyes.

"What the fuck?" Against the shine of moonlight, was the most ridiculously handsome man Jisung had ever seen. The glow of the white hanbok might have knocked all air out of him if the cold, expressionless beauty of that face already hadn't.

Fuck, he had totally walked into a set, hadn't he? The beautiful, ethereal-looking actor in his period piece outfit was pissed because Jisung must have interpreted his shooting but looking around Jisung saw no camera crews nor any equipment.

One moment the man was standing far away from him and the next second marched towards him while unsheathing his sword making Jisung jump, who, only by the strength of his will, did not scream in alarm.

Am I going to get murdered during cosplay?

"How did you get past the guards?" Asked the man, and his voice was deeper than Jisung could've guessed. Now that he saw him closer, he noticed his facial features which were insanely sharp. No wonder on how the man has managed to knock out Jisung's breath

But wait a second.. guards? Do cosplayers do method acting or something?

"Good evening to you too! Pretty moon, isn't it?" Jisung smiled confidently, but was met with an impenetrable blank stare. Jisung's charms were usually an infallible means of escaping trouble. Jisung had discovered his opponent in the man's reserved, cold posture.

The grin didn't disappear completely but turned just a little self-deprecating. "Uh, well, I think I took a wrong turn somewhere? I swear to God that I was strolling down the alley just a short while ago when I found myself in the middle of some trees. I don't know how I ended up like this in the middle of a filming set or monastery? Are you an actor or a monk? Cause damn, if you are a monk, you are wasting your life with that kind of face..."

When Jisung realised the man was obviously not paying attention to him and was instead just sort of staring at his thighs where they peeked out from under his slightly too small basketball shorts, the rest of his sentence trailed off, his usual tidal wave of words dying out. Even though Jisung had a very difficult time reading the man, he would have concluded that the look was horrifying.

He was going to get stared into intimidation, wasn't he?

The man jerked his face away. He seemed to have straightened his already rigid posture even more. "Indecent," the man hissed, his hold around the sword tightening.

"Excuse me?" Jisung turned to look at his outfit, and to him, despite the shorts being kind of short, it wasn't improper. He had a t-shirt on. The night was very hot, as it was summer. Not to mention his two pigtails that he tied up on the way back in order to avoid getting sweaty skin. He must have looked ridiculous.

Still, maybe this was some kind of monastery rule. He'd been to Italy once, and you weren't supposed to go to any churches without covering your shoulders. He immediately untied his pigtails and bowed.

"Sorry I stumbled into your monastery with bare knees, and offending your temple rules? If you could just tell me where I am and then maybe point me to the nearest bus stop, that would be cool."

The man frowned but did not look at him yet. "You do not know where you are?"

"No! I have no clue. I mean I've been pretty checked out lately, but this is the first time I've actually gotten lost two blocks from my apartment. It's honestly insane."

The frown deepened. "You are lost."

"Yes!" Jisung let out a breath of relief. Finally, some progress. The conversation felt dry as fuck.

"You are in the Geumgangsan, Lee clan's residence." With his eyes still fixed sharply away from Jisung, the man spoke again. Jisung, for his part, fixed his gaze on that attractive face.

"...Where?"

The man said, "Is there something wrong with your hearing?" and Jisung was unable to determine if he was kidding. Normally, he would have welcomed some humor to lighten the mood, but given the circumstances, he did not think it was all that funny.

Where the hell were the Geumgangsan? He'd never heard of that name. "I, uh, sorry, is Geumgangsan somewhere in Seoul?" This made the man glance at him, but like burned, he immediately turned away again. Jisung was starting to worry.

"I do not know where Seoul is. Down the mountain is Silla town. You must have passed it on your way here."

"Silla town...?" Another place Jisung had never heard of. Fuck, what kind of fuckery was this? He was pretty sure he would've known about a monastery close to his home. He was good at navigating the city, and he was good at remembering important places.

There was a moment of silence, where Jisung had a tiny mental meltdown. As a university student, he was used to those. The plastic bag he carried felt suddenly desperately heavy on his hand.

"Why are you not dressed properly?" The man asked, causing a good deal of confusion and halting Jisung's silent descent into complete madness.

"Look, dude, I do not know when you last left this monastery, but outside people do not wear robes all the time," Jisung argued, feeling offended.

"I night-hunt frequently," The man replied, tone cold. "This is the first time I have ever seen a man dressed so scantily in public."

Jisung kind of could not believe this, since he would see a lot of people with beer bellies hanging around during the hottest days of summer. But he only paid attention to the first portion of the remark.

"Night-hunting? You are a hunter?" What kind of hunter wears robes and uses a sword? Jisung thought it hilarious to picture the man in robes prowling around looking for prey.

There was a pause. "You have not heard of cultivators?"

"Like, from the C- dramas?"

Even though it appeared as though the man had no facial muscles movement at all, the look directed at him seemed unbelievably. Jisung was starting to get tired of the never ending conversation. He just wanted to go home. The homework doesn't finish itself. Yeji would murder Hyunjin if Jisung didn't show up.

"Look, I don't know where this is. Can I at least borrow your phone? I'll just... just call my roommate to inform her I'm not dead in a ditch, and then I will walk back down the mountain and leave you alone. I'll just...sleep under a tree or something."

He was definitely being frowned at again. "I am not familiar with your vocabulary. What is a 'phone'?"

Jisung stared. The handsome man stared back, eyes carefully on Jisung's face and not an inch lower. Then Jisung brought his palms up to rub his eyes, sighing miserably.

"No phone, no clue about where I am. The world's hottest monk is judging me for wearing shorts. Fuck, maybe I am a disaster." His voice was muffled, but he could tell the hot monk had heard him.

The man hesitated for a moment. "It is not wise for a non-cultivator to wander around after dark."

"Right, probably not," said Jisung. He didn't know about the non-cultivator part because it was insane, but the thought of climbing down a mountain after midnight did not exactly inspire confidence. With his luck, Jisung would probably stumble and knock his head somewhere in the mountain.

"...You may stay for the night. In the morning, you will be issued a punishment for breaking in after dark. Once that is done, you are free to leave." Jisung let out a sound of disbelief.

"Wait just a damn second. A punishment? Isn't that a bit unreasonable? I didn't know any monastery rules!"

"That will be taken into consideration when designating the punishment."

"Fine, whatever. I'll take the punishment. But isn't it still a bit unfair to make guests follow your monastery's rules?" Jisung was too tired for this. He nodded once, already making a plan about sneaking out come morning.

"This is not a monastery." Jisung frowned.

"It's not? What's with the rules, then? And the robes? No, wait, is this a cult? Did I stumble into a cult?" The man glared at him and that was enough to make Jisung shut his blabbering mouth. He did not want to lose the opportunity to spend the night.

"Follow me and be quiet." Jisung motioned zipping his lips, but the man had already turned.

He did not check to see if Jisung had followed, and for a brief moment, Jisung considered simply turning around and returning home-his impending death at the hands of a mountain -but in the end, he gave in. Everything would surely make more sense in the morning.