The villagers all stared at the man in complete and utter shock. From the man's clothing, which was a white vest and a beige coat with the addition of smart suit pants, the villagers immediately recognised this man's status. High, in fact, extraordinarily high. No one could afford even the fabric of these clothing pieces at the village.
It was Renjun.
Hannuri's body naturally fell out of their grip, her fingers shakily grasping the dirty under her hands. Like never before, her timid eyes traveled up to meet Renjun's. He seemed shattered. Even more hurt and heartbroken than she was.
- SEVERAL HOURS AGO -
Renjun and his father had returned to the mansion with no sign of the white rose girl. Renjun was frustrated to say the least, not being able to see the girl who he kissed and not being able to get a proper answer from her. At the same time, he was extremely conflicted. The type of love he felt towards white rose girl never seemed like love. It just seemed like a yearning in which it's a simple necessity for him to love her and her only. Even he knew that this wasn't the love that he wanted.
Yes the white rose girl appealed to him more than anyone else in the ballroom did, but it was because she wore an expensive gown and an elegant smile. The white rose on her mask was the first and only sign to tell Renjun that she was of high calibra. He had always thought they were the perfect fit, but now, he wasn't so sure.
He wanted to adventure into a love that wasn't so rigid. A kind of love that allowed him to break boundaries and set his own rules. He wanted to truly love someone, regardless of status and wealth. He just wanted to love and be loved.
The only person that came into mind was Hannuri.
Throwing his thoughts to the side, he clambered up the stairs, finally knowing what he truly wanted. He was ecstatic to know that he has his thoughts sorted. He hadn't seen Hannuri for a whole day and honestly, he knew deep down that he missed her.
He knocked on her door with a smile on his face. To his dismay, there was no one who responded. He knocked again, yet again receiving no response. Furrowing his eyebrows, he tried to twist the handle to find that it was locked.
"Hannuri?" Renjun called out. He heard shuffling behind the door and immediately, his eyes lit up. The door opened.
It wasn't her.
The foreign maid seemed shocked to see Renjun, her face falling into extreme surprise as she bowed in a 90 degree angle.
"Your highness" The maid said robotically.
"What are you doing in that room?" Renjun tried not to sound rude, but out of desperation, the tone just kind of slipped out.
"I-"
"Your highness, how can I help you?" The head maid walked up to him, her elderly face wrinkled as she smiled.
"Where's Hannuri. Byul Hannuri" Renjun repeated, a sort of panic arising from his stomach.
"She was fired, sir"
He didn't even have the time to react. He knew exactly who did this. Anger brew inside of him, like a dormant volcano finally erupting within him. His entire body was tensed too the point his veins could explode. Pushing the head maid to the side, he stormed into his fathers office with little to no hesitation.
"What the fuck did you do to her" Renjun slammed his hand against the table in front of his father. He had always been deathly afraid of his own father, the King, but in this situation, he had no restraint. He was furious.
"Language, Renjun" The King, oddly calmly, stood up, placing his hands behind his back.
"Father, why did you fire her?! She didn't do anything wrong. She has a life to live and you're stripping her away from her only source of income" Renjun spat, stepping towards his father. Even the King himself felt silently threatened by Renjun's stance.
"She didn't do anything wrong? Really, now" The King tutted "She put you in danger and you're defending her"
"I was the one who forced her out with me and I was the one who forced her to do things with me. Leave her out of it" Renjun continued to retort
"Shut up" His fathers eyes darkened "It's humiliating"
Renjun scoffed "Bring her back. I won't talk to her again just fucking bring her back"
The Kings laughed wryly "I won't let her taint you again"
"She is not tainting anyone. Father, you never cared about me. You never took even a second to be proud of your own son and you never" Renjun hollered "...you never even treated me like a son. I was a weapon to you, father"
The King broke "You do not disrespect your father over some filthy maid!"
"You're the one who abused me and everyone around me-"
"You're in love with a disgusting servant!"
"So?!" Renjun screamed. He was losing his mind "So what I'm in love with her. She actually notices me, father. You never did"
"This is exactly what I'm afraid of" The King grabbed his glass of wine and threw it to the ground. The pieces exploded into little fragments, as if that was the fragments of Renjun and Hannuri's memories. He stared down at the glass pieces, everything inside of him twisted and turned.
"You are the Prince of this Kingdom, Renjun. You will be the King soon and you're telling me you want a worthless nobody who doesn't know how to do anything to ascend into royalty?!"
"I don't care" Renjun shook his head "I'll leave this stupid excuse of a family. I'd rather to be a dirty, worthless nobody than your son"
Renjun's father rose his hand as the boy squeezed his eyes closed. He waited for his father to send a slap down to his face, but he felt no pain.
"You're not leaving" His father concluded, sitting down.
"I will and I won't ever come back to this mess of a place"
"Guards" His family rubbed his temple "Take him away and lock him inside his room"
Renjun's eyes widened, hearing the heavy footsteps of the guards. He didn't know what he was thinking, perhaps he wasn't thinking at all. Crouching down, he picked up a piece of broken glass on the floor, placing it against his neck.
"Take one step closer and I'll..." Renjun pressed the ice cold glass to his neck, fear coursing his veins. He backed up against the window, finding the wall giving him support.
"Drop that, now" His father slowly stood up, watching in horror as Renjun threatens him with his own life.
"Let me go" Renjun voiced, pointing a finger at the guards.
"Renjun just put it down first" His father pleaded, reaching his hands out but Renjun was not having it. He was sick of this family.
"I said, let me go"
"Renjun"
Renjun roared "Let me go father please"
It was a sort of beg that sounded like a demand. His father was caught off guard with his sudden change in attitude. Renjun was fighting for the love he wants and even if his father will never be proud of him, he knew Hannuri would.
"OK" His father uttered, careful not to startle his son.
"You can go"