화랑 - a tale of curiosity [ON HOLD]

🌸chapter two🌸

"This name is the given name of King Jinheung." The bodyguard said, then smacking his hand over his mouth.

"You're telling me, you're the king that is meant to be sitting on that throne in, the palace?"Ji-ae asked, hearing something when she first arrived that there wasn't a King on the throne, rather his mother was.

"Yes."

"Then, why are you here? Talking to me?" She asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the idea of talking to royalty.

"We made a deal." He answered, making Ji-ae soften her gaze a little.

"I didn't think that someone would be the king." Ji-ae sternly spoke through a hushed voice but footsteps that came to a halt behind her made Sammaekjong quickly pull her up and put a hand across her chest, almost like a shield.

"Leave her be." He ordered the new man,  making Ji-ae instinctively reach for her knife, however, she forgot she placed it into her bag.

"She knows who you are. The Queen's orders are to kill who ever sees your face. And she will die." Ji-ae looked at the man who wore posh armor alongside with clean cut facial hair and a sword; that looked expensive.

"You will leave her be." Ji-ae stood frozen, clutching onto the back of Sammaekjong's robes as though her life depended on it - where in this case, it did. "Ji-ae." She looked up to him wearily - fear evident in her eyes - giving a small hum in response. "I want you to return to your room. Walk out of this room, straight past this man and don't come back in here again until we meet again." He slowly lowered his hand from across her chest and she took a shaky step forward, coming nearly face to face with the blood thirsty man.

"Sam--"

"He won't hurt you. Carry on." The man was now snarling at her, his fingers wrapped around his sword handle, just wanting to sink his sword into her stomach. Ji-ae then kept her gaze forward, avoiding his at all times to get past him and when she did, she quickened her pace towards her room, quickly closing the door behind her.

She chucked her bag onto the floor, where she heard a series of clunks. She looked over to see the contents spilling out of it, mainly the canvas of Sammaekjong. Ji-ae walked over, picking it up along with her pencils and shook her head at disbelief when she realized she was drawing the King.

🌸

When tomorrow's sun rose from the horizon, Ji-ae was already found to be sat at the market again, this time with a sketchbook rather then a canvas, it was easier to carry around.

She hadn't seen Sammaekjong today, neither the Queen's henchman, and she really didn't want to see him. But who she did see allowed her to put her mind at rest. She watched as the curious young noble man - like he always did - observe all the little trinkets on the market's table's, holding them to his eye level and flicking different vases, he was innocent in all ways and enjoyed the simple things that came naturally to the surrounding.

Unbeknownst to her however, Hansung was also amused by her. With the way her hair fell as she leant down to focus on the drawing she had in her hand. He was amused by the fact that her hand moved swiftly across the paper, and created beautiful drawings.

Yesterday she was there, and when he looked back over to her, he saw that's she had disappeared. His curiosity got the better of him that time, causing him to wonder over to the place he always saw the girl to be drawing. He looked out into the crowd, still not seeing her but as he turned to walk away his foot crumples a piece of paper on the floor, hearing the sound caused his ears to perk up and look to the ground and there he saw a creased piece of paper. Picking it up; he uncrumpled it and found a portrait of someone familiar and then it clicked. It was him.