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IT WAS THE following day and Minnie was exhausted after everything that happened yesterday and last night. So-hu had calmed her nerves when they arrived a slightly familiar house, and he had cleaned Minnie's wound before he brought her to see their father and sister. Minnie had spent the night sobbing into her father's arms as he held his first born daughter for the first time after all these years. Soo-yeon had sobbed in So-hu's arms as he assured her that their sister was actually there, alive and well.
When So-hu first walked through the kitchen doors, where their father and younger sister sat in silence, Kim Seub refused to believe that it was his daughter that was clutched to his son's side. The older man argued that his first born daughter was dead, the Queen wouldn't have kept this from him. After So-hu forced Minnie to show their father the bracelet gifted to her from the Queen herself and after hours of explaining how she survived to him and their sister, they all cried together.
Their father asked why Minnie had become a Hwarang and she explained to them that the Queen had found out who she was and asked her to protect the King of Silla. She left out the details of the Queen threatening her because she knew of her family's respect and loyalty to the royal family and especially the Queen.
Minnie had brought up the topic of their mother, noticing a lack of presence. The young women felt Soo-yeon freeze in her arms at the mention of their mother and So-hu had been the one to explain to a confused Minnie that their mother had passed away years ago after Soo-yeon's birth. She didn't know how to take the news, instead Minnie decided to focus on the family before her - the ones who looked so relieved and happy to have her back in their lives.
Currently Minnie's was squished between over excited brother and sister as they made their way through the crowds and towards the beginning of the parade for the Hwarangs. Soo-yeon's was dying to show everyone that her sister was home, as for So-hu he was also excited for everyone to see his sister but he also couldn't believe that the time had come where he would protect the Queen.
"I can't wait to tell Ah-ro you're actually here." Soo-yeon squeals, clutching on to Minnie's arm. The older sister just grinned at her sister's pure happiness for her return, she wasn't expecting things to go so smoothly as they were so far.
Minnie was reminded that things weren't actually going as smoothly as she thought, just as herself and So-hu parted from Soo-yeon and walked to the front of their fellow Hwarangs, behind Chief Wi-hwa and their instructors. Minnie first noticed a distracted Moo-myung as he searched the crowd for someone, although he looked relieved to see Minnie looking fresh and bandaged up. Moving her eyes from her her friend, she then noticed a emotionless Ban-ryu as he stood in the middle of his group of usual friends. His eyes darkened when he saw Minnie walking beside a grinning So-hu.
"You're okay?" Moo-myung mumbled, as they began walking by the cheering crowds either side of them. Minnie was between Moo-myung and So-hu, one loving the attention of the capital, while the other man looked as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world.
