Refresh (Stray Kids Hwang Hyunjin)

Four

"Morning Hyunjin," a voice echoed around the spacious room, making the boy's head immediately shoot up.

It took him a while to find the figure, but took longer to actually recognise who it was. With a groan, Hyunjin buried his head in his pillow.

"It's five in the morning, leave me alone," he tried voicing out through the pillow.

"Training starts today," Eunbyul simply uttered, sitting on his bed.

"Can't we do it later?"

The princess chuckled.

"You have a packed schedule. It's either now or never... And I'm not talking never as an answer."

Sighing, the Fifth Prince finally sat up and looked at the girl. Her hair was already put up in a neat bun and she wore one of her typical purple ball gowns. Purple was their family colour, meaning everyone from that side of the royal family wore purple. Eunbyul's mother, the Third Queen had picked it herself. Well, technically she wanted white but that was for the King's family to wear, so Hyunjin and his father had already indirectly booked it. Purple was second best followed by red, which the Second Queen generously took.

"How long is it?" He eventually asked, making the girl's smile grow.

"Should be less than thirty minutes considering how good you are. I just know we'll be done and back in the palace before breakfast."

Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow.

"Back in the palace?"

"I find that it's easier to concentrate on the mind when you are completely surrounded by nature. I'm taking you down to the river."

Hyunjin rolled his eyes before nodding.

"Fine. I'll be there in a second. Just let me change first," he motioned to his pyjamas with a chuckle.

"Of course," Eunbyul responded, laughing too. "I'll be waiting outside." And with that, she left the room.

***

"It's not working!" Hyunjin groaned, opening his eyes to look at Eunbyul.

The girl seemed unbothered by him and was simply hovering off the ground with her eyes closed. Unlike Hyunjin, her face wasn't at all stiff or tensed in any way. It was just neutral, peaceful.

Slowly, she lowered herself back to the ground and opened her eyes, sighing when she saw the Fifth Prince.

"Well if you are giving up ever other second, it won't work. You need concentration, patience and most importantly faith. You're pack all three of those," she explained before huffing. "Close your eyes," Eunbyul finally instructed.

Hyunjin didn't bother. He just raised and eyebrow at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's not going to work."

"Just do it."

"This is a waste of time-"

"For heaven's sake, Hwang Hyunjin, just close your eyes!" She yelled and finally, he did as she commanded.

"Happy?" He asked in annoyance.

"Very. Now inhale... And hold it for ten seconds... Then exhale for five seconds... Then repeat."

And so he did. He had repeated almost nine times before giving up.

"I don't have time for this," he huffed, opening his eyes and standing up.

Eunbyul simply watched and she sat cross-legged on the soft, green grass beside the river bank.

"They have probably served breakfast by now. We'll be late," he uttered the first excuse that came to mind.

"It's been five minutes since we came out. The sun has barely risen."

"Your point is?"

"Sunrise is at half five, breakfast is at half seven. Connect the dots."

"Look, I just don't want to do this," he admitted, raising his hands up in defeat.

"Do you not want to do it or do you not know how to do it? Because not long ago, I remember you asking me to teach you how to connect with the universe."

"And little did I know then that the universe was picky about who it opened up to," he snapped.

"It's not picky," she chuckled. "Why should it help you when you don't even have faith in it?"

"I do! Well, did. Not sure how I feel now," he sighed.

"Belief doesn't come from the brain, Hyunjin. Saying you believe and thinking you believe means nothing. Belief comes from a place you can't control and change with thoughts. A place that only changes when you t you feel for something. The heart and the spirit."

"That sounded so cliché."

"The universe is cliché," Eunbyul shrugged.

"I'm so done with this," he began to walk away, only to be stopped by the First Princess.

"What about the girl?" She asked. "Don't you want to ask the universe about her?"

"The girl?"

"The one you've been having strange dreams about."

He shrugged.

"I've done all I can, even black magic. She'll come when she comes."

"So that's it? You're giving up? Come on, I know you're more than this."

"You don't get it, Eunbyul. I've done everything there is to do."

"Maybe not everything," a sudden familiar voice came with the wind. The two members of the royal family glanced at each other in confusion before gazing around to find empty terrain.

"Who or what was that?" Hyunjin eventually asked, after confirming that apart from them, no one was there.

"I don't know... But I know I've heard that voice before. Just not sure where."

And then the voice came again, only this time the words seemed ten times more familiar and so did the voice.

"Everything is going to change."