❛ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ❜ | jsc

14

aera smiled gracefully as she admired the daisies she had been adorning renjun's hair with. the friends were seated in a corner of the garden, in the part where sungchan would not be able to accidentally find aera.

she had taken the fallen flowers from where they had layed on the grass after being nibbled on by the bunnies that roamed around the garden.

she admired renjun, whose head was in her lap as his hands clutched a book he was currently focused on, his nose scrunched up as his eyes followed the plot.

he was ethereal today, with the sun hitting his face, giving off an angelic glow. she smiled when she saw his lips curl up a bit at something funny he just read.

she instantly tried to cover up her fond expression when he looked up at her.

"aren't you going to continue playing with my hair?" he asked and playfully pouted as she realized her hands hand stopped weaving the flowers into his hair.

renjun noticed the faint blush on her cheeks and sat up, smiling at her as he carefully marked his progress in the book, putting it down. he patted his lap and motioned for her to la her head down. "its your turn."

as aera lowered her head, renjun almost let out a gasp as the sun illuminated her features; the soft illusion of high cheekbones and her eyes becoming pools of honey. if it was possibly for him to fall even more in love with his best friend, this would have been that moment.

"you're beautiful." he whispered to her and she smiled contently.

"you've been telling me that everyday for the past week." she told him and he laughed.

"well you are." he replied cheekily and allowed his fingers to brush through her long and soft hair.

he watched as her eyes curiously gazed at the clouds above, one of her arms extended upwards, fingers tracing the outline of a cloud that she thought was shaped like a dove.

for the first time in a week since sungchan had proposed to his soon-to-be wife, aera hadn't spared to boy a single thought and she knew it was because renjun had been making even more time to be by her side and cheer her up.

when she was with renjun, their moments were always filled with soft laughters and soft gazes. he made her feel safe and he helped her forget the pain that came with losing a soulmate.

she put her hand down and tore her gaze away from the dove shaped cloud, opting to look at renjun instead. "you leave for your commission tomorrow right?"

renjun nodded. "this time we're going to the countryside to take care of the border for a few days. it's going to be much more relaxed than the usual commissions."

aera frowned. "i'm going to miss you even if its only for a few days."

renjun had a thought. "why don't you come with us? this one isn't dangerous at all and it'll be fun to escape the palace for a bit."

aera grinned. "really? you want me to be there?"

"i always want to be with you." renjun answered honestly.

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aera sat on the back of renjun's horse, her arms wrapped around his waist as they waited at the gate for the rest of the soldiers to arrive. she smoothed her skirt down. today she wore a shorter skirt to accommodate the traveling but she was still uncomfortable. she was annoyed at the fact that a lady wasn't supposed to wear pants, she he to sideways in order to sit charmingly.

"are you excited?' renjun asked, turning his head slightly back.

the moment that aera wanted to answer, her face had paled, all of the color from her face disappearing in an instant as a royal horse stopped next to renjun's. sungchan stared at aera's arms wrapped around renjun and he glared at the boy, feeling jealousy yet sadness.

renjun rolled his eyes at sungchan and placed his hands over aera's rubbing his thumb in small circles to comfort her. she was grateful for the gesture and hid her face in his back and renjun asked, "what are you doing here?"

"is that any way to greet your prince?" sungchan asked bitingly.

renjun scoffed. "I'm sorry your majesty. could i ask what you are doing here, prince sungchan?"

sungchan was looking at aera as he spoke. "as a soon to be king, i decided to join in."

the short trip to the countryside near the border was uneventful. to make things more endurable, renjun had rode his horse at a much faster pace than normal. making it so that aera didn't have to think about sungchan.

she smiled as she felt the wind in her hair and laughed with renjun when they finally stopped at the small inn at which they would be staying for the duration of his commission.

she pulled an apple out of her bag and fed the pretty horse as renjun went inside to confirm everything with the inn keeper.

sungchan approached her, his eyes hesitant but his voice reaching out to the girl he loved. "aera."

aera froze, her body went rigid at the sound of his voice. she slowly looked him in the eyes, not knowing what to do or say.

"aera please. it isn't like what it seems like." he brought out, his eyes filled with sadness. he studied the look on her face, noticing she wasn't getting angry at her. as he did, he took the opportunity to close the space in between them, one of his hands resting on her cheek.

aera couldn't move or say anything as he told her those words, she wanting to push him away, mentally and physically, but she couldn't find the ability within her. it wasn't until she felt his lips press onto hers that she used her arms to shove him away.

sungchan looked at her with a hurt expression as she let out heavy breaths, tears forming in her eyes. "sungchan stop. i don't want to have anything to do with you anymore. I don't have any feelings for you anymore." she half-lied. in truth she had no idea if she still did. she spent all of her time with renjun, suppressing thoughts of sungchan that she didn't really think about her feelings for him.

sungchan felt his heart break, it was the same feeling that aera had endured when she saw him propose to bom.

in a flash of light, both of their soulmate tattoos disappeared and aera fell to the ground, clutching her heart in pain while sungchan was able to grab a wall to keep him on his feet. this time it wasn't an emotional pain she felt, but a physical one.

renjun exited the inn just to take in the situation in front of him. he noticed how aera was laying on the ground in pain. he ran to her side as he wrapped his arms around her, glaring at the boy who he expected to have done this to her.

"it will be okay aera," he whispered to her and pressed his lips to her forehead.