.thirteen.
The four teenagers went into the village, and no one seemed to recognize the two youngest princes in line for the throne of Goryeo. It was understandable though, since they didn't leave the palace often and the villagers didn't much know what they looked like. Only other nobles and the royal family got to see them on a daily basis. All the villagers knew about them were descriptions they got from word of mouth. That wasn't enough to provide them with an image of what the two boys looked like.
Jung walked side by side with Minji, while Soon Deok and Baek-ah walked together awkwardly. They got along, even though they didn't talk much. But the person Soondeok really wanted to spend time with was Prince Eun.
The village was lit up by lights, music, and fireworks in the sky. Even if the princes had dressed up in their royal attire, most people might have not noticed them since everyone was too busy having fun. Minji watched everything with awe. New Year's celebrations were nowhere near as beautiful in the present time. Most people in Korea celebrated the New Year following the western calendar like most of the world did. She looked everywhere, taking everything in. Soon Deok, Baek-ah, and Jung found it rather amusing how she seemed to be mesmerized by everything. They didn't realize that it was something new to her.
Jung had been showing Minji around the village when something caught her eye in the distance. It was her friend Hajin, and she was with her servant Chaeryung. The two girls were talking about something when Hajin hurriedly ran off into the woods.
Minji grabbed Jung's arm and excused herself for a moment. "Jung oppa, I just saw my friend run into the woods over there. I'm going to see if something is wrong."
"I'll go with you." He quickly offered.
But she gave a shake of her head. "No. Please stay here, I'll go find her."
He was hesitant, but gave a nod of his head, promising that he would stay behind. Minji left the prince with his brother and Soon Deok and took off in the direction of the forest nearby. The two others who were accompanying them watched with confusion as she disappeared from sight.
Minji followed her friend into the darkness of the woods and stood a few feet away from her when Hajin stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened in surprise and she clamped a hand over her own mouth at the sight before her. The attackers who had been in the palace were standing in the forest, their leader standing before them, wearing a dark brown fur around his shoulders. He had quickly given the order and the men were executed right before their eyes. That was when Hajin took off running in the opposite direction, startled.
Minji ran after her and called her name, "Hajin!" She whispered.
Her friend once again stopped and turned to face her. Relief immediately washed onto her face whens he saw someone familiar. She ran into her friend's embrace, just as two men collided into them. One was being chased by the other, and they noticed that one of them was fourth prince Wang So. The other was one of the assassins which had tried to hurt the crown prince during the ceremony.
The assassin wasted no time and pulled Hajin from Minji's embrace, taking her hostage and holding his sword to her neck. Minji stood off to the side helpless, while the fourth prince contemplated what to do. When neither of them said nothing, Minji yelled to the fourth prince, "Do something before he hurts her!"
But the fourth prince gestured to the startled young woman in the assassin's arms. "I honestly don't care if you kill her, so just do it already."
"What?" Minji said in disbelief.
The assassin hesitated, not knowing what to do. But he didn't realize that the fourth prince's words were dead serious. He didn't know Hajin, and he sure as hell didn't care if she died or not.
