Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

44 |1| Acceptance

As soon as they step foot on the beach, Jongho runs like he's never been there, completely diposing his shoes to let his feet get buried in the sand. The young masters of the Nyla palace - San, Wooyoung, Jongho, Hongjoong, Yeosang and Seonghwa - had agreed on this day to spend time together at the beach, just to let loose and walk away from their duties at the palace for a while. For the past one year since the incident, they continued on with their lives as normal as possible, although there was a pronounced change in the atmosphere in the palace. They still gathered for tea as usual every day, and although it went unacknowledged, all of them had felt at least once that it was weird to have only 6 of them at the long table.

Today, they decided to gather, and for once, let go of their agony. Every one of them have their regrets.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa smile when they see the younger ones playing around on the beach; Jongho is running around trying to catch San, who keeps on shouting that they're by the beach. Yeosang is crouching over, his hands busy trying to build a sandcastle, while Wooyoung is aggressively threatening to topple it down. When Wooyoung managed to kick the top part of his sandcastle, Yeosang immediately stands up and chases him, chaos ensuing as he desperately tries to grab Wooyoung's clothes.

"You'd think they'd be mature by now... they're adults but they still act like kids," Hongjoong laments, a smile still playing on his lips. "Can't believe that one of them is supposed to be ruling a kingdom right now."

"It's better to see them like this, right? Rather than having them shrouded with sadness everytime we see them," Seonghwa replies. "Reminds us of what it's supposed to be like."

The blacksmith side-eyes him, trying to study his expression without being too obvious. He notices that Seonghwa is merely looking at the sea, his face serene. He doesn't look too happy, but he doesn't look sad either. He's just... neutral. Like he's not even thinking about anything. "Do you... still blame yourself for what happened?"

"It's hard not to, but it was their choice. They chose to walk in there, knowing what their fate will be. We were the ones who were clueless but that's all in the past, isn't it?" he sighs, "And that's why we're here today. To forget. To forgive ourselves."

"Have you?" Hongjoong suddenly attacks him. "You told everyone else to forget about it and there was nothing we could've done to save them, but have you ever really let them go? You're the oldest and I know you think you have to act like you're strong, but it doesn't have to be that way. Stop pretending."

The oldest doesn't answer but he stands up, seemingly wanting to join the younger ones. But his feet stay glued to the spot, his fists balled and lips pursed. He closes his eyes, listening to the waves crashing on the beach as his memories and regrets play in front of him like a movie, with Akira, Yunho and Mingi's face presenting themselves clearly. As the last scene of them lowering down their caskets into the earth stops, he opens up his eyes. He tries to hide his surprise when he finds Hongjoong standing in front of him, staring at him with a concerned expression. Hongjoong's features soften when he sees the oldest opening his eyes, then a smile slowly creeps up on his face.

"I let them go one year ago," Seonghwa lies through his teeth.

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows. He knows Seonghwa is lying; he can never hide his expression when it is all bared in his eyes. He decides to accept his answer anyway, and he gestures towards the others. "Would you like to join them? They seem to be having so much fun."

"Thought you'd never ask," he grins, already breaking into a jog to join them.

Jongho suggests them to play volleyball, and although there is a strong protest from San because he knows how fierce Jongho could get when playing, the rest decides that it's not a bad idea. They do warn him not to knock anyone out, and Jongho lazily agrees before excitedly running to the carriage to take the ball they've brought from the palace. They divide themselves into two groups, with Yeosang, Jongho and Hongjoong on one side and San, Wooyoung and Seonghwa on another. Hongjoong starts the game by serving the ball, and soon they've spent almost the whole morning playing the game. The game ends as Wooyoung lifts up his hands in defeat, with him lying on the hot sand and mumbling about how he needs water desperately. Besides their carriage coachman, some fishermen and two seashell collectors, they are the only ones who came there to have some leisure, and it is as if the whole place is theirs. Their day quickly turns into night as they swim around in the waters, sunbathe, laze around on the sand and watch the sunset.