"This house is shit."
Jisung ignored what Yunseo said and continued cooking.
"No wonder Eun-gi let me live up there," he scoffed. "Idiot."
He remembered that by the time he was adopted, Yunseo's family was still living down here in the village. It must be weird that a distant royal clan lived here, but considering the troubles their ancestors had done to get the power back, it's no longer questionable.
When the king killed Yunseo's wife and son, he had no one else left except Jisung. Even so, the child was not his heir. His dead son was the one he could pass down the tradition to get their name back.
Now that Yoongi is here, he wanted to do the same but his plan failed.
His plan to kill Eunkyung failed twice, and Yoongi survived from the explosion. He did not know how to approach the other three daughters because they barely go out like their youngest sister.
So he wanted to use his last plan.
"The explosive substances we have right now is enough to blow up this entire village." he sang. "Their economy will slowly get affected because this village produced good wheat for the kingdom. They also have healthy horses. Ah, and more."
To be frank, deep down in his heart Jisung was against this plan.
He wanted to live in peace but what made him blinded was Seungmin.
He was furious that Seungmin got Eunkyung.
The jealousy inside him had put a veil between him and the heart. He refused to hear what it told him because he knew that would only make him lose her. Even now, he is losing.
Another reason was because he had no other place to support his life. Money and necessities were all from Yunseo. He should be grateful at that and return it with a favor - taking down the king.
Of course, it seem impossible because the Cho ancestors had failed but Yunseo was so determined. The rage and revenge that came from the death of his family was eating him alive so he gathered as many men as he could to be his allies. He was near to achieve it but not until a few days ago. That disappoints both of them.
"Food's ready." Jisung announced while bringing the plate to the table. He returned to the kitchen and ate there. He did not want to be in the same table as Yunseo.
This was their routine for the past week. They couldn't do anything. Yunseo was still trying to reach out for his men. Jisung only went out to buy groceries. He was tempted to go to the river near the cottage but it was too risky for him.
Their life were boring.
However the next day, Jisung decided to go to the river. Just right behind the cottage was the forest, and he needed to walk for a minute to reach the river.
The guy brought along extra clothes. These days the weather were too hot so he wanted to cool off a bit. He did not have to worry about the people finding him there because no one goes beyond the forest due to the current situation.
Sound of water splashing against the rock was so fresh in his ears. The tall trees covered most of the sunlight. The morning definitely would be dimmer and a little cooler than the afternoon later.
Jisung dipped his body into the river. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips. He closed his eyes while leaning on a huge rock, feeling the cold water wetting his bruised body. He missed being this calm.
Around fifteen minutes passed, he was still underwater. The guy swam around and encountered fishes swarming his feet. This is definitely something he needed after a long restless time.
He sighed again, where did all the good moments go?
He returned to the ground and sat on his previous cloth. Water dripped from his hair and bare body. Jisung did not bother putting any clothes on to dry himself.
Reaching over a water bottle, he drank it and looked around. Nobody was really there. At least he's safe whenever he wanted to go here.
As his eyes roamed around, he caught something stood still on the ground. It was an old wooden signboard. The guy went there to read it. He remembered seeing this when he was still young.
They don't take this off, he thought while shaking the signboard a bit. The wood was firm. He hummed at the sturdiness.
Just then, he noticed small writings carved at the bottom corner of the sign. He leaned over to read the messy letters.
은, 미나! ♡
(eun, mina!)
Eunkyung, he muttered under his breath. With that, all of the memories from ten years ago flooded his mind.
This forest is exactly the place where Mina was stabbed.
༆
Even though she needed to stay home for two weeks as ordered by Eunji, Eunkyung still went out a few days after.
Her reason was, she's rested enough for five days after being rescued and they have kept her for another four days. She was dying out of boredom.
On top of that, today was the first day of the evacuation process.
Yoongi had spent the money they have to buy necessities for the villagers. The king could not even protest him because the queen was also on the prince's side. It's like everyone in the family was against him. No doubt, Yoongi is more functional than the king.
In her emerald gown with tiara on top of her head, Eunkyung got off and looked around. There were volunteers arranging the food, drinks, toiletries blankets and others. As soon as the prince's arrival was announced, everyone stopped working and bowed respectfully.
He gave a short speech inside the building while Eunkyung looked around. The princess was supposed to stand by his side but her being her, she refused to and preferred moving around while listening rather than standing like a statue for five minutes. If only her sisters were there as well, she would have received a thirty minutes lecture for not acting like a real royal family.
Yes, even after years of living with them, Eunkyung still disliked the protocol.
The speech finally ended and they resumed their work. Yoongi prevented Eunkyung to help.
"What am I supposed to do then?"
"I told you not to come," her brother gave her a thin smile, not wanting the people see him scolding his sister in front of public. "You actually still need to rest, Eunkyung."
"Will you allow me to shop around?"
"No. Just stand and watch."
She let out a groan but obeyed nonetheless. For her, it is better to escape from the castle for awhile. At least she could talk with the volunteers.
The problem is, she is not friendly. The people found her a bit intimidating unlike her older sisters.
Eunkyung was about to follow her brother like a lost child when a hand tapped her shoulder. She turned, "Yes?"
There, Soobin grinned while waving his hand, "Hi."
She gasped, "What are you doing here?" she asked with a hint of shock and happy. Her face lit up at the presence of her old friend.
Soobin glanced around, "Do you know Minhee from the village? I'm helping them moving their stuffs."
The princess nodded, "That little boy? I met him twice. You know his family?"
By this time, the two friends walked out from the building. "My family is close with him. Ever since his father died I take care of him and help his mother's restaurant." he presented his hand to a courier. "Minhee is excited to meet you."
Hearing his name, Minhee turned around. His face lit up when seeing Eunkyung next to Soobin. He ran towards her, "Pretty Princess!"
She laughed while lifting him up, "Well hello there, handsome boy." she pinched his nose and Minhee giggled. "Are you going to live here?"
Minhee nodded excitedly. "Soobin hyung said the pretty princess lives here too so I'm moving here!"
Eunkyung narrowed her eyes to Soobin who blinked a few times. "Really? Pretty Princess?"
"He-" the tall guy stuttered. "He called you that first so I acknowledge you as the pretty princess..." his voice gradually got lower as he felt heat creeping up his cheeks. Eunkyung just chuckled. Just then Wangja, Minhee's mother, came and bowed to her.
"I want to show my gratitude for your help." the woman handed her a small wrapped box. "This is a herb I always make whenever Minhee fall sick. I heard what happened from Soobin."
The princess gladly took it. Minhee tugged on her tiara in awe. He lowly gasped, "It twinkles..."
"Do you know what it's called?" Eunkyung asked. Soobin had already excused himself to join the volunteers while Wangja got inside to look around.
Minhee shook his head. "Never seen this before. It's pretty."
"It is a tiara." she said while giving the herb to the driver. "A tiara is usually for a princess but you can have one too, for your mother."
"Really?"
She nodded with a hum, "Do you want to look around for this twinkle?"
Minhee cheered loudly while kicking his feet excitedly. Eunkyung couldn't hide her smile at his cuteness. She informed her brother and brought along a guard before showing Minhee the jewelry shop.
From afar, Soobin had the brightest smile on his face. His heart warmed up at the sight of the little boy with the princess.
A few hours passed.
There were ten families in total arrived and settled in the orphanage house. Eunkyung returned with Minhee after buying him some toys and snacks. She wanted to buy the jewelry but decided not to at that moment because stealing could happen especially when people lived under the same roof.
Minhee ran to Soobin who just went down from upstairs. The young boy lifted a plastic bag in his hand, squealing. "Soobin hyung look what pretty princess bought for me!"
Eunkyung sighed as she approached them, "He still doesn't want to call me by my name."
Soobin stifled a laugh, "Is he wrong?"
"What?"
Ignoring the response, Soobin crouched down to see Minhee's toys. Eunkyung just blinked her eyes at him in confusion before shrugging, well, maybe I am pretty.
"How are you returning home?" She asked the tall guy. Minhee pouted.
"Soobin hyung is not living here?"
"I'm not. This place is just for the villagers, for your safety." Soobin patted his head and got up. He held Minhee's hand to bring him upstairs. Not long after, he returned to the waiting princess.
"Do you have a ride?" she asked again.
"I used the courier earlier but I can just walk."
"But it's far." she looked around to see Yoongi talking to a woman who's in charge to take care of the house. "I will send you a driver."
"Wait, Eunkyung–"
She left.
Soobin sighed. He caught up to her at the entrance, "Eunkyung,"
"Send him home please." the princess commanded a courier who was supposed to go to the village to carry more stuffs. "It's on the way to the village."
"Will do, Your highness."
Her friend pursed his lips as he shyly bowed at the driver of the courier. He turned to her, "Are you coming here everyday? You're not fully healed yet, aren't you?"
"Not everyday, maybe in two days I'll come. What about you?"
"I'm coming if I don't have anything to do at home." he shrugged. "I'm free these days."
"Ah," she nodded. "I will see you in a few days, then." the princess opened the door for him which made him slightly panicked but she wouldn't budged. Embarrassed, the guy got in and she closed it.
"Have a safe ride, Soobin." she smiled.
A smile that melted his heart.
The courier took off. Soobin leaned his back when the princess vanished from his view. A content smile made its way to his face. The thought of her helping him for the smallest thing ever made him fall for her. Harder.
༆
i have a serious problem. a crisis.
this story is actually 3/4 done. but the problem is i think the so-called cLiMaX is gonna be only one chapter and it is kinda... weird...? because this story have around 2000+ word counts each chapter.
but then i've read so many tips saying that writers shouldn't make the situation (that im gonna write) too long because of some reasons. but still, i feel weird and i'm afraid if the ending is gonna be so easy and people will like,
eh?
.....
ANYWAY, two reasons i didn't update are because first, i was job hunting since last friday and got rejected by all shops idk how many– countless (╥﹏╥) my motivation went downhill (but i got accepted yesterday :> )
second, because of the crisis mentioned above.