"I'm going to adopt them,"
The children dropped their bread as they stared at him with wide eyes.
"What...?" Han Sooyoung questioned.
"You heard me." he said, firm in his decision.
Yoosung interjected, uncertainty written all over her face "But Ahjussi…" Just like that, his former confidence had melted away upon seeing the girl's unsure look.
"Ah, that's right, maybe I shouldn't have decided something like that on my own…" Kim Dokja put a hand on his neck, Yoosung's words making him unsure if they'd agree, "You two don't have to be my children if you don't like me, I'd like to support the both of you, though… I just want to make sure you two are taken care of, one way or another…" The girl froze and looked at him with panic.
Yoosung hurried to reply, "I-it's not that we don't like you, but..." She then looked down, and Kim Dokja noticed that she was clutching on firmly to the dress' hem, her eyebrows furrowed together. "We're peasants, there's no way that the Duke and Duchess would allow that…" Yoosung sent a pleading glance over to Gilyeong, not able to find the words to explain herself.
"Yeah hyung, if you had two peasants like us as your children… we'll probably make you look bad…" Off to the side Yoosung nodded in agreement. Ah, so that's what it was. Even when they were struggling like this, the children didn't think they deserved better, and were still considerate to others even at their own expense.
While his heart twinged on how much the world had damaged these two innocent children, he was also immensely proud of them for being so selfless in the face of their toils. These two were truly deserving of a better life, and their statements only fueled Dokja's determination to take care of them once more.
He walked over to the two children and crouched down, giving the two new pieces of bread. Patting Yoosung on the head, he gently reassured the two, smiling at them. "Don't worry about anything like that, you two shouldn't have to struggle anymore. I'll do my best to give you a good life, no matter what."
As soon as he said that, Yoosung's eyes became misty, and her face twisted as she tried holding back tears. She suddenly sprung forward, hugging him around the waist. Dokja was a bit surprised, but smiled at her nonetheless. He then turned to look at Gilyeong who was staring at them and then extended his arms. Taking the invitation, the boy tackled him into a hug too.
Han Sooyoung, meanwhile, remained silent by his side. She was more than aware that no words would make him change his mind.
------
The children were still a bit hesitant to accompany the two adults as they headed to the Duke and Duchess's countryside abode, the home that the group would be staying in for the week, but Kim Dokja encouraged them that it would be okay. When the group arrived at the residence, Kim Dokja and the kids went straight away to speak with his parents about his desire to adopt the kids.
While Dokja prepared a backup plan in case the two didn't agree, Hades and Persephone were more than willing to welcome two new family members. Persephone squealed in glee knowing that she already had grandchildren that she could spoil to death. The whole time she was hugging the two and pinching their cheeks, rambling about all the presents and food she was going to make for them. The children, though bashful at the onslaught of affection, were filled with relief and joy that they were accepted.
Hades and Dokja looked on fondly as Persephone fussed over the children. Other than nodding along to his wife, Hades didn't say much about Dokja's decision, aside from one remark."You're just like your mother, Kim Dokja."
Dokja could feel his eyes welling up as he heard those words. All he could do was smile and nod at his father, not trusting his words with how tight his throat had gotten. He had to look away, the pride and affection in his father's eyes would be too much to bear all at once.
Following that, Dokja summoned the maids and instructed them to immediately bathe the children and dress them, also to take their measurements for future occasions. The children were quickly ushered to the bathroom.
While waiting for them to finish their bath, Dokja took a book and sat on the couch in the living room, not looking up when someone sat on the sofa across from him
"Damn, you're really serious about those two, huh…" Han Sooyoung kicked her feet up on the table separating the two sofas, her arms spread out on the couch like it was her throne. "Hey! Didn't anyone teach you it's rude to ignore a lady?" When Dokja continued to do just that, she huffed, annoyed. She folded her arms, " At least tell me if you plan on taking them with you to the hunting tournament, you probably don't want them there to see whatever you gonna do this year…"
Finally looking up, Dokja raised an eyebrow and questioned, "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you tell me earlier this year that you were planning on doing something for the tournament? You said something along the lines of ' it'll be so big, Yoo Joonghyuk will have no choice but to submit to me'" or something to that effect." Han Sooyoung mimicked him, using an obnoxious drawl.
Not bothering to take offense to her mocking impersonation of him, Dokja took a few moments to digest her words.Although it was a minor event in the novel, it was an event to be dreaded. Not only did 'Kim Dokja' always try to kill the prince at the tournament, but he was skilled enough to come in second for most years of the hunt.
While the original 'Kim Dokja' was skilled with a sword, he was nowhere close to matching his skill, despite his recent efforts to try to regularly sword train in secret. No matter how many times he went to practice with Heewon or how many books he read on the matter, it was still a struggle. The only progress he'd made was building up some of his muscle strength and being able to get a few good swings in before depleting all his energy.
He bemoaned the situation he was in currently, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Should he just pretend to be ill? No, that probably won't work…but maybe…He desperately searched for an excuse to not attend. Though he didn't get far before he heard gleeful shouts from the room's entrance.
"Hyung!"
"Ahjussi!"
Looking over at the sources of the delighted squeals, Gilyeong and Yoosung were laughing and running towards him, hugging him on both sides. He grinned at them. The maids had done a good job scrubbing away all the dirt and grime from the children. Their hair was shiny and soft, and Dokja could see the youthful blushes that highlighted their faces.
"You both look good in those clothes, much better than before."
They were no longer dressed in the cloth scraps from before. The maids had given Gilyeong a simple white button up shirt overlayed with a brown vest, along brown slacks and a matching flat cap. As for Yoosung, she wore a layered dress. The under layer was a long white dress reaching her ankles, with the sleeves and collar being ruffled.
On top of that was a forest green bodice dress, tied in together over her chest and the skirt split down the middle to show the white dress beneath.
"Really Ahjussi?!" she looked at him eagerly, her eyes sparkling. His smile wavered a bit, he's not that old yet to be called ahjussi, but he knows that she wasn't trying to be rude. He just nodded at her.
"Yeah, both of you."
Glancing over at the other child, Gilyeong's eyes weren't quite focused on his face. Rather, it looked like he was staring at something slightly below it.
"Is there something wrong, Gilyeong?"
The boy continued to stare intently before asking, "Hyung...I just wanna ask," he pointed towards Kim Dokja's neck."What's that?"
Kim Dokja cocked his head in confusion. His neck? What could be on his neck that was so stran—Dokja let out a strangled gasp as he quickly covered his neck, leaning away from the children to try to conceal it further.
He gave Gilyeong an embarrassed smile and muttered, "Ah... it's a.... mosquito bite.." He murmured the last word. Gilyeong gazed at him with his big, innocent eyes before nodding. He exhaled a sigh of relief, but suddenly the witch across them spoke up.
"Yeah, a really big, bad mosquito bit him alright, it left him sore for the rest of the day." She snickered at him from where she sat. Dokja glared at her, hoping he could muster up Yoo Joonghyuk's murderous intent. However, she just grinned back, unabashedly evil, and strutted out of the room.
Gilyeong looked at him, worried, "Did you kill the mosquito Hyung?" Dokja couldn't bring himself to meet the two naïve pairs of eyes staring him down.
"Errr, no, it flew away before I could..." he mumbled out faintly.
Yoosung tried to encourage him, "Then make sure to catch it or kill it when it comes back, Ahjussi."
"Yeah hyung, if you ever see one again, just tell me. I know a bunch about bugs, I'll help you get rid of it! Gilyeong proudly proclaimed. As endeared by the children as he was, he knew that if anything would be killed, it would be him. So, he chose to change the subject instead of responding.
"How about we go to the garden, there'll be lots of animals there for you two to see." The two kids exchanged glances before nodding excitedly.
"Ok," they exclaimed adorably. He held their hands, the three of them linked together as the children talked animatedly to each other, him in the middle.