Labyrinth of Love

Like the Sun

Flashback:

The princes of the Dong Bang kingdom were practising swords play. Their swords were shining in the bright sunlight just like lightening strokes appear piercing the dark clouds. Metal clashing against metal produced an echo which could be heard from far away. Both of them were attacking each other relentlessly. Their eyes followed their movements keenly. They showed great reflexes.

Prince TaeHyung was swift and had a lot of control on the sword. However, crown prince, JaeJoong had a better reflex as well as more experience in fighting. He had led the army of Dong Bang thrice at the battlefield starting from a very young age of seventeen and had never lost a battle. At twenty, he was now the youngest military general of the kingdom. Thus, the king had ordered JaeJoong to train his younger brother, TaeHyung.

Young TaeHyung had huge potential and he was a stubborn fighter who refused to give up easily. Though, not much of expert, still his zeal and vigour were giving JaeJoong a hard time. The crown prince tried to study his younger brother's movements for a while.

What JaeJoong noticed was that TaeHyung had honed his offensive skills way more than the defending techniques. True, at times, offense was the best defence but a skilled warrior should perfect both offense as well as defence. Another thing which JaeJoong observed was, TaeHyung liked to show off.

Thus, JaeJoong quickly decided his strategy. He gave an opening to TaeHyung for him to strike. The younger prince took the bait and charged. JaeJoong was cautious and he could have easily avoided the strike fully but he took it upon him partly. TaeHyung, impressed by newly learnt skills, tried another master stroke of the sword. This time JaeJoong took advantage of TaeHyung's weak defence and with a swift counter stroke threw his sword away, making him give up. TaeHyung dumbfounded, could only stare at his elder brother, trying to figure out how his win quickly turned out to be his loss.

JaeJoong smirked a little, obviously knowing, what exactly was going through TaeHyung's mind. He helped TaeHyung up and returned his sword. The younger prince was of course not looking pleased. The crown prince knew that TaeHyung would keep practising, stubborn as he was, to perfect his swords play.

JaeJoong sighed knowing TaeHyung's intention. Carefully he chose his words and spoke, "Don't over exhaust yourself, dongsaeng. Take a break and then practise."

"Losers don't deserve break," came a curt a reply from Prince TaeHyung.

"It does not make one a loser if you lose while learning. This is all part of the lesson. Winning or losing does not matter, at least not here. All you need to do is learn right now." JaeJoong tried to make his brother understand.

TaeHyung huffed in annoyance and said, "You won so, it's easy for you to say. Loss only brings despair whether it comes on battlefield or while you are practising. I only want to learn how to be best so that I can win. I hate losing."

JaeJoong chuckled at the words spoken by TaeHyung. "Victory and defeat go hand in hand. To learn how to win, you need to learn how to lose. One more thing TaeHyung-ah, try to make yourself a good warrior but don't run after proving your supremacy. If you try to prove yourself the best, remember in that way, you will be giving too much importance to your opponent and that's not desirable. Concentrate only on your ability. Do not try to wait for the others to make a mistake."

TaeHyung only listened to JaeJoong but said nothing in return. JaeJoong sighed and told him, "Think over what I said just now. In future, it would help you become a great warrior." The crown prince put his sword in the sword stand and walked out of the practise arena, leaving TaeHyung with his thoughts.