How My Brother And I Kidnapped An Assassin

15. We're all Hiding Something

"Oh- uh, nice to meet you too!" Xiaojun said, bowing down frantically as well. Even though Hendery wasn't the prince of their kingdom, he was still a prince regardless, of the country of Xiaojun's descent as well. "It's- it's an honor, sir."

Hendery straightened his back up, nodding at Xiaojun. "I have heard good things about you from these two," he said. "I really appreciate it."

Xiaojun's face was getting red. "It's- it's completely fine, I think they exaggerate-"

"You're, like, the only one who's bothered to help us in our entire life, Xiaojun," Chen Le spoke up.

"Uh- oh, your highness, did you bring people with you here?" Xiaojun asked, changing the subject. Yes, he liked helping people but he hated accepting compliments and praises.

Hendery frowned. "No, I- I came alone," he explained.

"A-alone?" Xiaojun asked in disbelief. Since when do royals travel alone without bodyguards?? Shouldn't Hendery of all people know about the recent assassination attempt on the Korean royal family??

Then who was the noble who got out of the carriage a little far ahead? It was getting dark, so Xiaojun couldn't see that far and see the person's face.

"Yeah, we were with Hendery all day," Yangyang explained, titling his head. "Why, what's wrong-"

"Chen Le?"

The four of them turned around, though Hendery, being prepared and having recognized that voice, took out his long sword, surprising them as he pointed it at Park Jisung's face.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one to think that way, as he caught himself staring at another sword in front of him.

Xiaojun's eyes widened even further. "Prince- Prince Jisung?!"

Jisung didn't say a word, his eyes solely focused on Hendery. "No means to hurt you, your Highness," he said with caution. "But what are you doing here?"

"I could say the same to yourself," Hendery replied, tightening his grip on his sword. "I don't mean harm to them or your people, but you did startled me."

The two princes stared at each other, not breaking eye contact, when Chen Le spoke up. "Okay, is this you guys trying to prove dominance or something-"

"Chen Le!" Xiaojun harshly whispered to him, obviously not wanting to upset the two princes; he didn't know that Chen Le had already met them. Multiple times.

At the mention of Chen Le, Jisung put down his sword to look at him. "Chen Le, I- uh, I came- I came here to look for you," he stuttered.

Um, what?

That was a first. "Uh... that's cool," Chen Le said, hands behind his back. "Nice."

"You guys are all boring," Yangyang said, ignoring the punch that Chen Le gave him on his arm. "Well, Prince Jisung, Xiaojun, we have been taking care of the plants and I found a lot of worms."

"Yangyang does have a thing for worms," Chen Le added.

"Your highness, may I request a moment with you?" Hendery said, stepping backwards a couple of steps. "In private?"

Jisung looked back to where his carriage had stopped, where his guard was leaning against it, watching him. "If you must," he said, following wherever Hendery led him.

***

Johnny grabbed the nicest jacket that he owned that he brought with him and put it on. "I'll be right back," he said, looking for his shoes.

Donghyuck, who was at the table eating noodles, looked at him, quickly swallowing the noodles in his mouth. "Excuse me, what?"

"I said I'll be back," Johnny reiterated, making the I'm-watching-you signal to Mark, who was seated besides Donghyuck at the table. "If you hurt him, I'll fucking kill you-"

"That's the brother I know, all right," Donghyuck mumbled before picking up some more noodles with his fork. "Look how high I can carry this, Mark-"

Johnny walked through the living room and opened the door, already knowing who was going to be at the front porch.

Ten didn't bother to speak until Johnny closed the door behind him. "You didn't even let me knock."

"You didn't have to," Johnny said. "I've been anxiously checking the time."

"Of course you have," Ten muttered under his breath. Johnny had an obsession with checking the time if he knew he had something coming up.

Back in Neo City, before Johnny left with Donghyuck, Ten promised to meet at Xiaojun's address at exactly 10 PM today, even though he himself didn't know where Xiaojun lived. All he had to do was ask around, though, and that had been easy to do.

Johnny walked towards Ten, pressing a soft kiss on his lips. "I missed you," he whispered.

Ten grinned, wrapping his arms around Johnny's neck. "And so did I," he said. "Man, I hate being busy, though."

"Yeah, and I don't really like being out here," Johnny added. "But I can't have anyone hurting Donghyuck, you know."

"Uh, yeah, about that, how has your research been?" Ten asked him. "With you know, the robot."

Johnny shrugged. "Not much. All I know is that he's not a robot."

"He's- then what the fuck is he?" Ten crossed his arms, tilting his head in confusion. "Didn't he have wires and enhanced abilities or some shit?"

"Yeah, he still has bones and blood and all that," Johnny explained. "I think the term Donghyuck has been using is superhuman, which sounds fitting."

Ten rolled his eyes, grinning as he looked away. "Your brother is definitely more creative than you."

Johnny placed a hand over his chest. "You hurt me, you know that?"

"Crybaby," Ten muttered. "Anyways, really? Nothing?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, not much, unfortunately. And, you know, it's like I can tell anyone about him, you know."

"Yeah, that's true- WAIT!" Ten snapped his fingers at Johnny a couple of times. "FUCK! I- I think- do you know the royal scientist, Jung Jaehyun?"

Johnny frowned. "You're going to ask him?"

"Duh, definitely!" Ten exclaimed. "The King gave him that position for a reason! But yeah, Jaehyun can help us, he knows everything, no doubt he'll help, especially if it means finding out who is responsible for the attempted assassination on the King."

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, sounds good- wait, everything?"

"Yeah, everything," Ten repeated. "Why, what's wrong?"

Johnny looked back at the house. "He better not pry or bring up stuff that the government officials have access to in front of Donghyuck," he whispered. "Like him being adopted."