Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

thirty four

Hyewon suddenly felt a twinge of longing for Yeonjun. Okay, maybe not all men, she subsided, reminding herself of the only male friend she had that treated her like his sister.

She jabs her weapon into the pits of the stomach of the dummy, feeling mildly satisfied as she feels her sword sink cleanly into the straw. She was about to yank her sword out of the dummy when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Feeling aggressive, aren't we?" Prince Jake remarked as he appeared beside her side. He squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the victim of Hyewon's anger. "What did this poor fellow do to earn your animosity?"

Her grip on her sword tightened, but she forced herself to relax. It would be incredibly rash to exert her on an aristocrat, let alone rude to someone who did nothing to earn it. "Just having one of those bad days, Your Majesty," she replied shortly before withdrawing her weapon and sliding it back to its sheath.

The prince only raised an eyebrow. "Are we using titles now, Warrior Cho? I thought we had already gotten to know each other after last night. Please, call me Jake and I won't call you Warrior Cho. Really, these titles are simply exhausting. Are the people here this traditional?"

She reddened at the reminder of her slip in formality from the previous night. Jake must've noticed because he hastily added, "Don't worry, What happened last night stays last night, sorry if I had made you uncomfortable, Hyewon."

She bit at her bottom lip, "Pardon me, Your Majesty. It won't happen again."

Jake waved her away. "I thought we just got past the formality," he joked.

"Sorry, Yo- Jake," she amended reluctantly. Oddly enough, all her anger vanished at his relaxing, comfortable aura. Did he have this effect on everyone? she wondered.

They awkwardly stood there in silence for a good few minutes, not knowing what to say to each other until Jake broke the silence, "You seemed quite angry earlier. Do you mind me asking what it was about?" he inquired politely. "Perhaps I can help you with your dilemma."

"Well..." Hyewon trailed off. What could she say? Oh, I'm currently having love problems. Why do all of you men have to be so complicated?

Jake studied her before letting out a snort. "You remind me of my own girl back north. She would always start throwing things around whenever we fought. Had the most colorful curses I ever heard. A fiery girl from the fiery south," he chuckled to himself.

That certainly piqued her interest. "From the Southern Kingdom?" Hyewon questioned curiously. "Don't royal families typically prefer marrying someone from their own kingdom?"

He shrugged. "Not all the time. It mainly happens with the smaller kingdoms, two minor forces combining as one. It started as an arranged marriage," Jake smiled wryly. "Not anymore though. We're engaged to get married after the war when I take over the kingdom. Frankly, I find it mildly amusing how love can blossom in the strangest places."

Hyewon felt a twinge of resentment in her heart, before she scolded herself for feeling that way. It reminded her so much of her and Riki's story, two polar opposites falling in love. Why hadn't her love story ended like that? At least someone would get their happy ending...

Forcing a smile, she feigned happiness. "Oh, congratulations! May you two have a prosperous and happy life together..."

The prince smiled genuinely. "Thank you. But enough about me, I presume you're having love troubles of your own? If you're fine with informing me, who is it?" he asked, cocking his head sideways like a puppy.

She kicked at the straw that had fallen from the dummy. "We broke up," she replied blatantly, trying to keep out any emotion in her voice. "Told me we could never work out."

"Oh..." The bright smile on Jake's face fell. "I'm so sorry for the unfortunate end of your relationship with..."

"Prince Riki."

His name slipped out of her mouth as easily and quietly as taking a breath. Hyewon didn't know why she felt so comfortable sharing her private life with someone she had not too long ago met. Embarrassment was a rare feeling for her, but nonetheless, she found herself looking away.

Jake's mouth formed an O. "Forbidden love?" he asks carefully as if afraid he was stepping on a touchy subject.

Nodding wordlessly, she replied quietly, "For a few weeks. He ended it last night."

"Oh, gods, I'm so sorry..." Jake's arms lifted up from his sides slightly before he dropped them back to his sides. "How long have you known each other?"

"Since late fall."

Saying this, Hyewon realized that it hadn't been that long since she had been introduced to Riki. It was only midsummer, which meant it had been only 7 months. She still remembered the burning hostility that had brewed between them in the earlier months... oh, how simple life seemed back then without love. Now, it was filled with several complexities in the tangled web of love.

The prince in front of her seemed to be at a loss of words as if thinking pensively of what to say to her without making it look like pity. "Maybe you two need some time away from each other," he suggests softly. "As a prince, I can relate to Prince Riki being stressed and pressured especially under times of war, I've done my own share of things I wasn't proud of. Give him some time to think. Perhaps he had a reason to end ties with you. If he doesn't come to you to talk it out in a month's time, then whatever comes afterwards, you owe him nothing. Love has to be a two-sided effort, not one. If you're the only one fighting for you two, then you two weren't meant to be. Simple as that."

Hyewon folded her arms and shook her head. "He's done with me, I'm sure that he has no intention of ever getting back with me again," she replied firmly.

"Just give him a chance," Jake sighed as if talking to a stubborn little child, "You never know what one's thoughts truly are by one glance. At least, for the sake of your relationship, give him one last chance. After that, you don't need to ever speak or interact with him ever again."

"What's the point? He made his decision and I've made mine."

"Look." Jake grabbed her shoulders. "There's nothing to lose. I know that you're hurt, but don't you think you'll regret it in the end if you don't give your relationship one last shot? You're probably reluctant to try again and unwilling to get hurt-"

She cut him off. "Are you calling me a coward?" Hyewon demanded, glaring at him.

Moments of silence passed by until Jake replied coolly, staring at her straight in the eye, "And if I am? I wouldn't necessarily be wrong then. Running away from your problems won't solve anything, nothing will unless you try."

Opening her mouth to retort back, something made her stop to pause to think over his words for a bit. Hyewon poked her tongue at the corner of her cheek irritatedly, "Fine, I'll give him only three weeks to talk to me. Deal?"

The prince nodded reluctantly. "Good enough, I suppose. Three weeks. Nothing more and nothing less." he agreed amiably with no argument, removing his hands on her shoulders, casually brushing them off of his robe.

"Alright then." She pursed her lips in deep thought. Why did he care so much about her faltering relationship? He had no reason to, as far as she saw. Perhaps he was trying to gain her favor? Well, she had no claim to her name really, most of the nobles hated her. Hyewon peered at Jake, studying him carefully. Maybe she was thinking too much of it, she decided. For whatever his reason would be, she'd just leave it alone unless it appeared to be of greater importance later on.

She had been zoning out for a while until Jake waved his hand up in and down in front of her face. "Hyewon? Are you alright?"

Hyewon blinked before turning a bit red at being caught staring at him. She snapped back into focus, "Uh... yeah, I'm alright." Wanting to change the subject, she hastily asked, "Since you're here, do you want to have a spar?"

A smile blossomed through Jake's face. "I never thought you'd ask."

A/N: very unedited, i feel like it was rushed somehow (?) i actually had this chapter written earlier i was just dreading publishing it bc i didnt know what to edit for it sorry if it's disappointing