Everlast | yang jungwon 정원

[0.52]

There's an overwhelming silence that consumes the room, one which makes my heart feel as if it's greatly suffocating within my chest.

All of our allies have joined together in the large area of Jungwon's room, to discuss our alarming new discovery. Jinnie's letter sits in the middle of us, openly displayed as we're all gathered around it in a large circle.

"This is insane. Is this really happening?" Taehyun utters in disbelief from where he sits across from me, next to Jay. As I nibble on my thumb nail nervously, he flicks his eyes up to meet my own, a worried expression painting his face.

I sigh as I cast my gaze downward away from him. He really shouldn't have followed me to Hania, now he too is stuck in this whole mess.

"Do we have any idea of a plan?" Jake asks with a frown, his hands clasped together tightly in his lap.

"I say let's wait until Sunghoon and Leah get back with news from the council. It'd be best to wait until their official orders before we try to make our own." Sunoo replies while patting Jake's shoulder, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"I say we should fight." I speak up, raising my gaze at everyone around me. "I'm tired of Sorian thinking they can just waltz in here and cause harm. We should fight back before more harm can ensue."

"Is war what we want?" Jay questions with his eyebrows furrowed together, a deep frown on his face. He reaches for Jinnie's letter and slowly scans over it once more with his eyes. "We can't let their kingdom take Jungwon for their own greed, and Minji for ransom. What if it's best to hide, as Jinnie had said?"

"War is inevitable, Jay hyung. Sorian has already initiated the first move. It's already begun." Jungwon retaliates from beside me, a stoic tinge to his voice. "We can't let them take the lead anymore. I think it's time we fight back."

I gaze at Jungwon who sits beside me, his dark eyes meeting mine and for a moment, softening. I give him an encouraging smile, to which I receive a nod in return.

"I agree." Heeseung announces from where he sits on the other side of me. He leans outwards to meet Jungwon's gaze, giving him an affirmative nod as well.

"Me too." Riki quips in, raising his hand quietly. His demeanor has been quite closed off ever since the mention of the ambush, I can tell he fears what the outcome may be.

"I too want to fight back against them." Sunoo speaks up, shifting a bit in his spot. "I'm exhausted from fearing for my life, knowing that Sorian could attack at any moment. But even so, it's best to wait for the council's opinion on the matter."

"Then let's do just that." Jungwon agrees, slumping his back against the backboard of his bed.

I gaze at Jungwon, before allowing my eyes to fall on Jay. He looks scared, worried. But still, he nods along to Jungwon's words with a forced brief smile flickering across his lips.

I lean my side onto Heeseung's shoulder with a sigh, allowing myself to wallow in worries as my lips form into a pout.

Heeseung lifts his arm up to drape around my shoulders, pulling me into his side as he ruffles my hair endearingly. I hear him whisper something into my hair, which makes a brief smile flash onto my face.

"I'm proud of you, bug."

As everyone falls into small talk amongst each other, I find myself staring off into space. There's this shameful feeling bubbling up in my chest, one that causes my smile to falter and instead become replaced with a frown.

I've told everyone that I want to fight. But can I actually pull it off? Will we be able to pull it off?

I lift my head from my brother's shoulder as l turn back to glance at Jungwon. He's gone silent, instead of engaging with the others. His arms are crossed over his chest, his legs are sprawled out in front of him, and his head leans back against the backboard, eyes closed in thought.

"Jungwon?" I ask quietly while scooting closer to him, so that my voice won't disturb any ongoing conversations.

He merely opens his eyes while glancing down, meeting my gaze with a stoic look. I frown at his cold expression- a huge contrast to the openly affectionate Jungwon I had seen earlier.

"What are you thinking about?" I try again, while leaning my back against the backboard beside him, maneuvering the fabric of my green skirt around so that it lays across my legs.

His unreadable eyes scan over my face for a moment, silence filling the small space between us, our shoulders colliding together. He suddenly lets out a sigh and cats his gaze downward, his cold demeanor faltering at my presence.

"It could've been any other day of the year, why did Sorian have to choose the one day in celebration of my mother?" he reflects quite bitterly, his eyebrows knit deeply together.

The air is tense, and suddenly it begins to make a bit more sense as to why Jungwon has been so closed-off and cold since Jinnie's letter arrived.

He's disappointed, agitated by the fact he won't be able to celebrate his mother's special day peacefully.

Why is it that something must always go wrong on Queen Eunjoo's birthday?

For instance, the year the Sorian spy was killed by Eunjoo's gift. And now this year: Sorian planning an attack on the same day.

It can't just be a coincidence, can it?

"Oh, Won..." I frown sadly, taking his face into my hands as I caress his cheeks gently. He stares down at me blankly for a moment, a pout on his lips before he leans into the touch.

"I miss her..." he mutters quietly while gazing up at me through his eyelashes. His words are spoken so painfully low that it's barely heard above a whisper. He looks so fragile.

My eyes, which were focused on the boy's cheek- where his dimple would usually peak through, flick up to meet his own. His eyes shine with anguish, an emotion that causes my heart to pang sorrowfully.

Without saying anything, I softly press my lips against his own. It only lasts a few short seconds, for I remember that any one of our friends could look over and see our intimacy.

It's a bit hard for me to find the right words to convey in these dire situations, It's like all my remarks and comments get sucked straight out of me.

But I understand him— to an extent. My life before I found out that my brother and Riki were still alive was rough and mournful. But it's not like I can compare our situations, because his mother is actually gone. And now her birthday will be ruined, once again.

"Let's win this, for her." is what ends up slipping out of my mouth as I nibble down onto my bottom lip in uneasiness.

Jungwon's eyes glimmer purple as he stares deeply into my eyes, a bit of a surprised expression on his face. Before I know it, he's turning his head away from me, causing my hands to drop from his face. He looks down to his shirt, where he then lets out a heavy breath.

"Are you sure you want to fight in this war?" he asks while fiddling with the hem of his tunic. "Things are going to get terrible, are you ready to endure that?"

My jaw clenches subtly at his words, but I nod even though his gaze is casted down. "Completely." I affirm— even though I'm not completely sure my words are true myself.

Jungwon looks up at me for a moment and gives me a sympathetic smile, to which I sadly return. He discreetly slides his hand into my own, intertwining our fingers as our arms rest between our bodies.

I give his hand a soft squeeze, nodding my head affirmatively as he stares back at me with his eyes shining with acknowledgement.

"Then we shall fight." he declares, trying to keep up an act, to which I slightly smile back- but on the inside, my heart aches painfully for him.

I find myself looking back to our group of friends, who either laugh within their small groups, or just chatter with small smiles on their faces- attempting to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

I hope that this isn't the last time I get to see them smile.

"For her.." I whisper under my breath, just to myself.