the older boy smiled cheekily, "pesky heart problems won't keep me from doing what i want."
lee jihoon, eleven
"oh jihoon!" kitae said in a singsong voice as his striking blue eyes appeared from behind the wall. jihoon looked up from tickling chan and waved at the prince. taking this as his chance, chan leaped up from the ground running to seungcheol, yelling that jihoon was going to kill him. "careful with channie," he laughed, "you weren't actually going to kill him right?"
jihoon smiled mischievously, "who knows." kitae back away from jihoon playfully before laughing again.
"it's been a while jihoon, and i've got lots to tell you." the boy grabbed jihoon's arm pulling him outside.
"going to the back?" jihoon asked, nudging his head in the direction of their usual hangout place. the prince's smile widened.
"not today. today, we're going somewhere special." kitae grabbed jihoon's hand and started to run, pulling him along.
"h-hey!" jihoon laughed, as he almost stumbled over a rock, "slow down! where are we even going?"
the boy turned his head, eyes sparking in the sun. "you'll see when we get there."
jihoon's eyes widened, when he realized where kitae was dragging him. "the castle?" he said, between breaths. the prince let out a bunch of coughs before nodding his head. jihoon gulped, was this even allowed?
after letting out a tired sigh, kitae smiled. "don't worry, you're not gonna get in trouble or anything. after all it's the prince who invited you." jihoon relaxed after hearing his words. "now dear jihoon," kitae took a deep bow and extended his hand.
snorting, jihoon elbowed him. "alright joker, let's go."
the two boys passed through the castle gates and jihoon could only awe at the giant, gleaming building sitting in front of him. kitae chuckled, "we're not going inside today. perhaps in the future i'll get the chance to show you around."
jihoon nodded, slightly relieved. kitae took his time walking jihoon through the gardens while talking about the events in his past weeks. "...seokmin is actually really kind! and you know that kid wen junhui? i still can't beat him in battle. he's definitely gonna be the captain of the guards when he grows up."
half listening, jihoon nodded along to kitae's talking. he was getting a little distracted by the different flowers and fountains placed around outside. the scenery was breathtaking behind the walls, it was a shame only some people could see it.
"jihoon, spacing out again?" kitae poked at the boy's forehead. "i said, we're almost there!"
"it wasn't the gardens that you wanted to show me?" the prince shook his head rapidly. the two boys walked behind the castle to an area filled with trees. grabbing jihoon's wrist, the two pushed through the branches reaching a wall.
or more specifically, the wall that surrounded the kingdom.
"what's so special about this?" jihoon asked, kicking the wall lightly.
"look up!" the boy looked up only to see a large chuck of the wall missing. "have you ever seen beyond these things?" jihoon shook his head. "then, come on!" kitae excitedly waved beckoned jihoon over to a nearby tree.
scurrying up the branches the two stopped once they had a good view. jihoon's eyes widened. he had never seen so much... space. there were plains of green grass stretching on.. forever. mountains in the distance, animals flying in the sky and roaming on the ground.
"one day, i want to take down these walls." kitae said, "so that everyone is free to explore and travel!"
"travel.." jihoon murmured, "that sounds.. interesting."
"it really does, right?" kitae nodded along, "to be honest, i don't really want to be king... dongyun would probably do a better job than me. but even if i happen to become it one day, it won't stop me from doing what i want. screw all the people who say i'm too weak, too sick. i won't let my heart problems stop me."
jihoon stared at the boy who had such strong determination filling his blue eyes. "remember jihoon, nothing is impossible so dream big."
dream big...
lee jihoon, thirteen
song kitae stopped showing up.
and this time, it wasn't because of his duties.
the boy with eyes blue as the ocean, blue as the sky, the one that inspired jihoon so much, the one that helped him so much was gone.
how could a boy who never let anything stop him get stopped by two words?
heart failure.
dream big because nothing is impossible.
what a lie.
somethings just won't change.
trente-quatre
Start from the beginning
