Yesterday's one-on-one conversation with Jungwon has got me thinking about quite a few things. Specifically, when he mentioned that things regarding the war would become terrible.
Things like;
What if something terrible does happen?
What if things get out of control, and one of us gets hurt?
I lean against the brick wall while heaving a sigh, finding my gaze to land on the boy that's occupied my mind. His dimples peek out as a bright smile adorns his face, smiling brightly as he converses about something with Jake, the two of them clad in formal wear for the occasion.
Jungwon looks quite handsome this evening. He's presented in a royal blue coat, one which accentuates the gold detailing along his front torso, from the neck to the sleeves. His trousers are white, to match the undercoat which peeks out at the neckline, and his tall boots are black.
His extravagant attire is paired with a golden crown which rests upon his slicked back hair, showing off the glimmering purple gem that's encrusted at the tallest part of the piece. There's also a feathered masquerade mask stuffed into both of our pockets— for a few reasons, actually.
Number one, being that since it's still Jungwon's mother's birthday, we should still look nice and try to have fun for the occasion.
Number two, being that if something were to go wrong with the council's plan, we'd at least sort of blend in with the masked crowd— if it were to come to that risky scenario.
Those are the reasons why all of us got dressed up in the first place.
Plus, Jay and I made a few too many gowns for the event, I might as well wear one so our weeks' worth of hard work won't go to waste.
Besides the overbearing thoughts of paranoia regarding the war driving me insane over the night, other thoughts have also clouded my mind.
Thoughts like;
What would you even call Jungwon and I?
We aren't a couple, as none of us has thought to bring up that topic before. We've confessed our reciprocal feelings to each other, but we haven't made anything official.
Would I regret not making a relationship between us official if something were to happen to one of us?
Before it's too late?
Definitely. And that fact is eating me up inside.
I'm snapped out of my thoughts- quite literally, as my brother snaps his fingers in front of my face, causing me to flinch.
I look up at him with wide eyes, to which I receive an expecting look and hum in return. "Huh..? I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I ask sheepishly while lifting off of the cold wall behind me.
Heeseung lets out a sigh as his shoulders sag downward, walking towards me before placing a warm hand atop my shoulder.
"Come here for a second." he guides me a little further down the corridor, at a good distance from the rest of the group.
"Hee, what is it?" I question with a frown as we come to a stop, just before a lit torch along the brick wall.
"I don't like the idea of us having to separate from each other tonight," he begins, his eyebrows knitting deeply together. "I'm getting a really unsettling feeling about this whole ordeal.. so please promise me that you'll stay safe with Jungwon, okay?"
My stomach churns with uneasiness at his words, but I nod in compliance anyway. "I will, I promise." I affirm before letting out a deep breath, starting to feel the paranoia kick in again.
I look around warily while clasping my hands together tightly, puffing up my cheeks with a sigh. "This is so terrifying." I state, averting my gaze to the group of royal guards that pass by, their metal armor clanking down the corridor loudly.
"Hey-" Heeseung calls out while reaching for my arm, "We're going to be okay, Bug." he reassures while pulling me into his embrace, resting his chin atop my head.
My body briefly stiffens up at his words, but I quickly melt into his embrace as I let out a shaky sigh. Wrapping my arms around his torso and clutching the fabric of his coat surrounding his shoulders, I hold on tightly to his figure— as if it's the last time I'll be able to.
When Heeseung pulls back, a small smile tugs at his lips, eyeing me in amusement. "By the way, that's a nice dress you've got on." he compliments, causing a smile to tug at my own lips.
"Why thank you, I made it myself." I curtsy while smiling proudly, before the two of us softly break into a fit of laughs.
"Am I missing out on the fun?" A whiny voice intervenes, causing me to direct my gaze towards the oncoming figure.
"Oh yeah, you're missing out on all the fun, Nishimura Riki." I exaggerate while snickering at his feigned frown, which only causes him to roll his eyes before lightly hitting my shoulder.
"You know what? You're so annoying, Lee Minji. I was just coming to check up on my dear friends." Riki retaliates while crossing his arms in front of his chest, looking off innocently.
I drop my mouth open dramatically, before letting out a scoff and pushing him away from me. "You're just salty that I'm a better swordsman than you. And I surpassed you in under two weeks, might I add." I huff while turning my head abruptly, flicking my hair to the side. "And call me Noona." I warn.
"Okay Noona, that was uncalled for. And I am starting to regret taking up the offer to train you. You only surpassed me because I am a great teacher. See? I'm just that good." he responds while scrunching his nose in annoyance.
"Oooh, you just admitted that I'm good~" I point out with a grin, enjoying the way he purses his lips together in a thin line.
"Wow," Heeseung intervenes while snickering to himself. "You two still bicker like you are children."
Heeseung places one hand atop my shoulder, while the other lands on Riki's shoulder. He gives me an amused look, one eyebrow raised.
"Alright, break it up, children. Or I will send you both to time out."
I brush his hand off my shoulder, shaking my head from side to side as a one-sided smile tugs at my lips.
"Hyung, now you sound like our parents." Riki sneers in amusement, causing Heeseung to shrug as his own lips tug into a downwards smile.
"I have always been like a third parent when it comes to the two of you. I swear, I don't think you have changed at all. You still bicker like the two kids who'd fight over who gets to play the PlayStation at three in the morning." Heeseung reminiscences while running a hand through his hair. "Gosh, sharing a room with you two was a nightmare."
"But, you still love us though." I poke at his stomach playfully, a mirthful smile adorning my face.
Heeseung scoffs, rolling his eyes as a small smile takes over his features. "Of course I do, you two are my family."
"So what I am hearing is.. you only love us because you are obligated to?" Riki questions while raising his eyebrows suspiciously, squinting his eyes as he leans closer to the older male's figure.
Heeseung places his palm against the flat of Riki's forehead, pushing him backwards as strings of complaints leave the younger boy's mouth.
I merely laugh at the sight of the two bickering males, clutching my stomach as strings of hair fall in front of my face.
"Oh, shut it." Heeseung grumbles as he holds the younger back from swinging at his head.
My laughs only die down once I spot the rest of the group heading our direction. I clear my throat, signaling to the bickering duo to stop their brawl— which they only do once Riki finally lands a hit on Heeseung's neck.
"Neck slice!" he shouts out.
I stifle my laugh while turning to the rest of the group with my hands clasped in front of me, pursing my lips together while squeezing my eyes shut.
"Neck slice?" Sunoo amuses as his arms are crossed over his chest, averting his gaze to Riki's figure in amusement.
"Yeah, like this," Riki responds before doing the same to the older male— 'slicing' his neck with the side of his hand.
"Ow-!" Sunoo grumbles as he grabs onto Riki's arm and shoves his hand away, flicking his forehead with his finger harshly.
"Ow Hyung, why so harsh?!" Riki complains before slapping his hand over the area Sunoo had flicked, which starts to turn bright red.
I grab onto the back of Riki's collar and pull him back from the older male, shoving him between Heeseung and I as I stifle by bubbling laughter.
The group breaks out into a fit of soft giggles, Taehyun making his way up to stand on the other side of me with a bright smile on his face.
"It's time to get into our positions." Jungwon speaks up after clearing his throat, thus creating a sudden silence.
"Alright.." Heeseung responds as he turns to look at me. Without saying anything he pulls me into another hug, which I quickly respond to.
When we pull back from our hug, I turn to face Riki, who scrunches his nose in distaste, but ends up initiating our hug first.
"Actually, can I talk to Taehyun for a moment, first?" I question while turning to face the said male, who looks surprised by my sudden request.
"Alright, don't take too long. I won't be inside the castle since I'll be stationed with Shu at the front gate, so yell out to Jay or Jake, they'll probably be the closest to the passageways." Heeseung speaks while tapping the sword at his side. "Remember the word we yell if something goes wrong?"
"Hot sauce." I respond with a nod, clearly remembering the word I had suggested.
Heeseung ruffles my hair, which causes me to grumble because my hair was put together nicely, now there's a bunch of frizz piled at the top. I shove his hand away before grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him away, which causes him to laugh as he wanders down the corridor.
"Stay safe, Bug!" he calls out, to which I respond by throwing up a thumbs up, "You too, I guess!"
"I'm going to head off with Hee Hyung, I'll be stationed near the entrance of the castle. I'll catch you all later!" Riki excuses while giving a sheepish smile to everyone, before rushing off after the older male.
When the two males turn the corner and make it out of sight, my smile instantly falters, a sigh escaping past my lips.
I turn back around to pull Taehyun a bit further down the corridor, leading him away until looking up into his eyes with sincerity. "When this night is over and things with Sorian calm down, I'll get you to a portal and back to earth as soon as possible, alright?"
Taehyun sends me a small smile, before abruptly grabbing onto my shoulders and pulling me into a gentle hug. "It's a bit scary and overwhelming in this world, but it was my own decision to be here. Please don't feel like it's your own fault for me being here."
"I can't help but feel that way.." I respond lowly while pulling back from his embrace, my gaze focused on the purple flowy material of my dress skirt.
"Well stop that, then." he remarks while heaving a sigh. "It's seriously not your fault for my stupidity." he laughs, "let's just stay safe tonight, and wherever this night may lead to. Then we can focus on getting back to earth. Our safety is what's most important, okay?"
"Alright." I smile softly, nodding my head before pulling him into another quick hug.
"I'll most likely stay by Jay's side during the event, if you were wondering where I'd be."
"You two get along quite well." I point out as we begin to walk back to the rest of the group, a small smile adoring my lips.
"He's very friendly, and makes good food." he responds, causing me to chuckle.
"Good clothing too." I remark while tugging at the formal coat he wears.
"Hmm yeah, that too!"
We come to a stop in front of Sunoo, Jay, Jake and Jungwon, the four of them surrounded by a bunch of metal armor clad guards.
"Let's all stay safe. I'm really hoping that the Sorian troops won't get past ours in the forest. I hope that Sunghoon and Leah are okay." Sunoo breathes out with a frown, to which Jay places a hand atop his shoulder comfortingly.
"Me too." Jay agrees, eyes downcast.
"...I need to attend to the ball now...i'm supposed to be serving the appetizers." Jake excuses as his eyes flicker between everyone's figure, his usual glimmering eyes suddenly dulled.
The heavy atmosphere has arisen once again. These are our final goodbyes, before a new— unknown chapter begins.
The six of us all exchange hugs and goodbyes, along with "stay safe!'s before we head off into our own directions.
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☻ AUTHOR'S REST STOP
(my first note omg)
just wanted to give a quick visual representation of what minwon's outfits look like 🤭 ok bye