ⓟⓐⓘⓝ ⓐⓝⓓ ⓢⓤⓕⓕⓔⓡ
"Miss, are you the last descendant of naagin?"
Hye-In raised her head a bit, her body straightened up as she was bending down to pick up the firewoods. Zeno was asking her from above, he was sitting on the tree branch. The lady immediately released the woods she was holding once her eyes caught him trying to jump down. He's doing a spin in the air and Hye-In spread her arms swiftly to catch him, carrying the Yellow Dragon in her arms. "You alright?" Her voice asked softly, Yoon was right, his skin was very smooth and he was very light for his body size.
"Wah, miss is so strong!"
Hye-In let out a few chuckles when Zeno did flying gestures like a bird childishly. He was too cute for her. But for some reasons, Hye-In could feel something behind those giddiness. Yona had told her that she believed in Zeno, he was truly the Yellow Dragon. Although he might look like a normal human, he felt like a warm and golden patch of sun. "Indeed I am, Zeno. How do you know it?" Hye-In put him down and picked up the firewoods again, giving him some as he wanted to help her.
"Zeno could feel it! Naagins are considered as the most beautiful clan! And miss is beautiful!"
Hye-In shrugged. "I think it depends on the eyes of the beholder."
Zeno puffed his chest with a sheepish grin. "And I think miss is the most beautiful!"
The innocence he bore only made Hye-In smiled wider, he was truly adorable as he kept bouncing on his feet cutely while trying his hardest to carry the firewoods. However, she can't help but notice how lonely his eyes got sometimes in a while. It was like he had experienced a very bad memory that one did not want in a life—losing loved ones. That said, they were similar to each other in that way. They walked back to the campsite together and Zeno kept humoring her by showing his hilarious tricks he learned during his journey.
Obviously, Hak would be envious of the Yellow Dragon getting attached to her although they only met less than a day. He kept giving side-eyes to Zeno and that sight alone almost convinced Kja that he might be the Dark Dragon. Jae-Ha could only widen his smirk, knowing Hak would have another rival in Hye-In's harem. Jae-Ha was no a fool in noticing this kind of affair—he was well aware that Hye-In was in some kind of poly-relationship with Hak and Shin-Ah. And he can't deny that he wanted to be a part of her harem as well but, his twisted mind wanted to challenge Hak and Hye-In first.
"Oi, what are you looking at?!" Hak growled at Jae-Ha who had begun to have a nosebleed.
The Green Dragon only held his nose, giggling like a maniac and that resulted him with a punch on the face. The night with completed mission of gathering all the Dragons went chaotically but everything was all good if you didn't count the loud bickering between Hak and Kija. And Zeno was really bold to even request to sleep with Hye-In—he didn't even think that everyone except Yona would have a different idea of sleeping when it involved Hye-In. Shin-Ah had to hold Hak back from murdering the newfound Yellow Dragon, thankfully.
The next morning came in a blink of an eye and now the team was on their way back to Yoon's home, as he had suggested to go back and meet the priest. Their journey had gotten even livelier and as expected, Ik-Soo was found lying on the floor with his head bleeding and the house was very messy. If Hye-In didn't have any idea of his usual recklessness and clumsiness, she would have thought that someone had barged in their house and messed everything up. Thanked goodness that wasn't the case. However, it was pretty funny to her.
It seemed like the priest was too hungry, thus he slipped and fell so hard until his head bled. Hye-In wondered how could he still have his life attached if he had been living alone like that up until now. How did he wreck the housez starve and hurt himself falling as it was a matter of his routine? Ik-Soo sure was a weird priest. But he was a cutie. Hye-In adored that. That got her thinking, perhaps she had a soft spot for slightly dumb and cute things. "Maybe I do." Hye-In muttered as her eyes were locked on Hak, Shin-Ah, Zeno and Ik-Soo.
Hak can be cute sometimes with his jealousy overflowing whenever he saw her getting too close with men and women and he can be quite dumb whenever she dominated him in bed—specifically when she had his sensitive shaft in her hand. That's adorable of him. Hye-In let out a chuckle and shook her head, and as if he could sense her vulgar thoughts, Hak snapped his head towards her and flashed her his sharp threatening eyes. For some reason, he felt that she was laughing at him.
Back to the priest, Ik-Soo was happy to see the group had certainly group and Yona looked like she had experienced many things. Yoon didn't waste any more time to ask about the prophecy, what were exactly 'the sword and shield that protect the king' and what did 'the sacrifice must be made' mean? They had no ideas on those and they were hoping to be enlightened by Ik-Soo. However, the priest just smiled softly and unexpectedly, he turned his ahead towards the naagin.
"Is Yona the king? Or is it the current king, Soo-Won? That sacrifice—will there be bloodshed?" Yoon asked.
Ik-Soo breathed in and out. "We'll need some more time before the sword and shield appear. When the time comes, you'll know. And regarding the sacrifice, only the honored one would know when is the right time."
Hye-In had her heart beat faster—that's how it was. Her heart will immediately tell her when was the time to act and by then, she had to say her farewells to everyone. To Hak—how heavy it was in her heart to have a mindset that someday, she will have to be apart from him. But everything must occur according to the prophecy. It was her role. Although, it might take a toll on her, what needed to be done had to be done. Until then, she will enjoy her life to the most and love Hak with all of her soul and body.
Unconsciously, her hand had moved to reach his scarred hand, although it might feel rough to one's hand—to her, it was the warmest hand ever. That hand belonged to a man that loved her for who she was and accepted the way she was. It was the hand that held her every night and made her feel beautiful. Oh how deeply in love she was with him. Hak sparred her a questioning look but he took it in his hand nonetheless, holding her close to his side without any hesitation.
"I love you, Hak."
He raised an eyebrow at the sudden affection. "I love you too but what's happening right now? Should I be concerned?" His teasing voice filled her ear as he had leaned down to whisper and lightly bit her earlobe. He told her to behave like a good girl as they were at the priest's house—unless she desired to be pleasured there. Anything she wished to be treated and pampered, Hak will fulfill it. "And I mean anything, anywhere and anyhow." His fingers playfully glided on her collarbone exposed after tugging her innerwear.
Hye-In squinted her eyes childishly and if it wasn't because of fake coughs by Yoon, those two would have lost in their own world flirting each other. The young boy only gave them a disgusting look and Hye-In only laughed in reply, saying he will understand that once he grew up. That got him blushing very hard. Anyway, back to discussing the real situation there, Zeno surprised everyone by asking a very serious question but Hye-In once had the same question as well.
"What do you want to do with the four dragons? You two were chased from the castle, so Zeno knows you need fighters to survive, but what about after that? Will you keep running?"
Yona hardened her gaze. "No."
"No? Then will you defeat Soo-Won, who usurped the throne and retake Hiryuu Castle and the crown?"
That might sound impossible and nonsense to attack the castle but it's not about whether they can or can't. Zeno asked if that was what she wanted to do and he claimed that it wasn't impossible to take a single castle with the dragons' true strength. For some reason, Hye-In had a feeling that right now she wasn't seeing the same cheery and happy Zeno she barely knew—it was like he was someone else, showing his another side that he had to mask it in front of people. She didn't expect him to go after the princess like that.
Later, all the dragons except Zeno had a talk with Hak and Hye-In to discuss whatever was happening at the moment. But, it was bizarre of Hak to stay silenced throughout the conversation, even when Kija asked him about the King. Hak remained quiet and went ahead, leaving the question unanswered. Kija then mentioned about how Hak must have hated King Soo-Won badly until it reached the point where he refused to speak about the King. Hye-In shook her head, voicing out her disagreement with that statement.
"It's actually far from that." She moved her hand to her forehead to slick back her bangs.
Jae-Ha hummed. "Haven't you noticed? Whenever you say that name, Hak's face darkens. It's not because of hatred. The King must have been a very dear friend."
"Is that true, Lady Hye-In?"
Hye-In sighed. "I'd rather not be talking about this. I might be one of the causes of whatever was happening right now." She waved her hand leisurely and told them that she will go after Hak. Knowing him, he will definitely go for a walk to clear his mind and to ensure he won't do anything stupid, she had to be there with him. It was getting late and it had started to rain. Hye-In was immediately reminded of the night of her tragedy and her knees suddenly became weak to hold her body weight.
"Fuck—out of all times—" Her breath was getting heavier. Her hand reached the tree beside her to stabilize her body. The panic had begun to scratch her from inside, imaginary claws gripping her neck to block her respiratory system and Hye-In could feel tears mixed with raindrops drowning her into the harsh attack. Memories of that bastard, Han-Jae visiting her chambers every night to steal her dignity relived in her head and everything suddenly looked red.
Out of the blue, there was a hand patting her head and Hye-In quickly grabbed the body to feel the body warmth. She was extremely frightened and fragile, however, not once had she ever expected the hand would belong to the man that caused all of her nightmares. Once his face came into her vision, Hye-In immediately let out a scream and pushed her body away from him, tripping over her feet. "How—WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Her inner voice kept chanting the words, 'please stay away' repeatedly in her head.
The culprit only smiled, feigning the innocence. "I'm only here to see you after the other day. I was worried about you, my lady."
Hye-In backed away in panic, hurting her palms in the process—she didn't even realize that there were thorned vines behind her. "Stop, don't take any steps now!" Hak, she needed Hak right now. Or else she would lose her sanity. He kept laughing over her pathetic face, noting how weak she had became ever since she ran away from him. Honestly, he never expected to witness the strongest fighter in their clan to be that pathetic. As figured, she would have been stronger if she just stayed by his side.
The man licked his lower lip. "I thought I already carved in your mind that I'll always be watching you? Could it be that it is hard to remember my words?" He approached her. "Then, would you like me to remind you with my body?" He walked closer and Hye-In tried to fend him off by swatting his hands and throwing rocks at him but Han-Jae could effortlessly avoid them. It was a hilarious sight for him to watch her struggling to run away from him. But, his grin slowly disappeared when she kicked him hard on the face.
"That's it, my patience is running out." He fixed his jaw with a crack and tilted his head aside before grabbing a fistful of her hair.
The naagin writhed her body violently, trying her hardest to be released instantly. Her hand grabbed his leg and forcefully pulled it to trip him over. Using a bit of her leftover strength, Hye-In wrestled with him to immobilize him before wobbly getting up to run away yet he still managed to yank her hair. Hye-In let out a scream when he started to drag her somewhere else. "Let me fucking go, you basta—" She tried to jump on his body to backflip him but his grip on her hair was very strong.
Han-Jae spitted his blood. "You, my dear, need to be punished. An obedient lady shouldn't practice violence." He brought her to a secluded place, panic grew bigger in Hye-In's head once he yanked her face to kiss her on the lips forcefully. The eyes of the evilness started to glow and Hye-In could feel her body lose its control. "Ah, it has been a long time since our bodies touch each other huh? I wonder if I still remember the sensitive spots on your skin. Let's find out together, shall we?"
He was compelling her.
Hye-In weakly shook her head. "Please—anything but that—"
"But you are such a good girl in doing that." He pouted mockingly while ripping her clothes.
"Hak—Hak—" The name fell off her lips desperately as she had completely lost control of her own body. Tears filled her eyes as she had to endure the disgusting lips he trailed on her skin. "Hak!" As if the universe answered her prayer, a powerful blow of the familiar polearm came out of nowhere to push him out of the way. Her eyes immediately searched for the savior and the same name fell off her lips again. Hye-In was a strong warrior but, in the presence of Han-Jae, it seemed like she had lost all of her strength. It might be because of all the tortures and abuses back then.
"Hands off her!" Hak gritted his teeth. Those angry eyes reflected her pain untold, and they were her sword and shield. There was an explosion in his words and Hak was even angrier when Han-Jae only laughed louder. His clench around his weapon had became tighter and Hak had never felt murderous lurking in his body as he was now. He can't see anything clearly now, only the sight of lifeless Han-Jae getting soaked with blood had his mind focused at.
Han-Jae chuckled evilly. "It seems your boytoy is here. Tell me, Hye-In, does this man pleasure you better than me?"
"Don't ever speak her name out of your disgusting mouth again!" Hak shouted at the top of his lungs while charging forward with the tip of his polearm aimed to Han-Jae's neck. The blow from the clash was strong. It almost snapped the trees around them in half. And Han-Jae could deflect it easily, it's all because of her parents' strength and power. "How dare you touch her—" Veins almost popped out from his neck, it was clear that he was very mad and angry. He was taking a stroll to relax his mind, not once he had thought to hear her screams in the woods so sudden.
Han-Jae wiped the blood trickling down his cheek. "I WAS HER FIRST! SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE! THAT VULGAR BODY EXISTS ONLY FOR MY DESIRES!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Hak yelled, his polearm swung over his head however, Han-Jae caught in his hand.
"I don't wish to waste my time." He yanked the weapon and Hak raised a punch to his face. "That's nice. But I shall be back now, until next time, darling." Han-Jae threw a wink at unmoving Hye-In as she was currently compelled to stay there. As if she was drugged by him. Or perhaps, she was when he forcefully kissed her on the lips before. The bastard avoided Hak's charged attack and gave him one last smirk before disappearing in a fog.
Hak let out an angry shout. "Come back here, you imbecile!"
"Hak—"
His head snapped to her figure lying on the ground helplessly with dirt and mud messed her clothes up. "Hye-In." He eagerly almost crawled towards her, hands dangling by his sides. Had he reacted quicker, he would have been able to prevent Han-Jae from touching her. Had he not left her alone because of his uncontrollable anger, this kind of thing wouldn't have to occur. She wouldn't have to go through all this pain again. "I'm sorry—I'm sorry—" Hak pulled her into his embrace with sobs coming out of his mouth. "I shouldn't have left you alone—"
"It's okay. It's okay." Hye-In weakly muttered with a smile on her lips, stained tears face was looking at him with eyes full of love yet he could see pain and suffer behind those amber globes. "You're here with me now." He was but what if one day, he couldn't reach her fast enough to save her on time? Her body was limp because of the drug but Hye-In struggled to move her hand to his face to reassure him that she was indeed fine. He was crying for her and she couldn't stand to see him like that anymore. Her thumb delicately swiped the tears under his right eye.
"Was this all for me?" She was referring to the tears.
He nodded his head without a word, only the sound of his cries echoed there.
Hye-In exhaled softly. "I guess I'm the bad guy here, I made you cry. I'm sorry, Hak." She was sorry she dragged him into this matter. "But I'm gonna need you, Hak. Please stay with me, hold me in your arms tonight. I don't think I can survive alone—"
Hak lifted her body to pull her closer, her head was moved towards his lips and slowly he kissed her forehead. "I told you before, you can use me all you want. Anything for you, I will make it happen. I swear I will kill him for you, Hye-In. I'll make sure he won't be able to touch you anymore. You'll never have to experience pain again. So please don't ever say you're the bad guy." After all he was the bad guy there, he had let that happened to her. "And I will hold you not only for tonight but forever until you discard me away—"
Hye-In immediately covered his mouth with desperate eyes glaring at him. "Don't ever say that. You know I won't leave you. I won't stop loving you, Hak."
"And I won't stop loving you too."
14/4/23