If there was only one thing he hated, it would be awkward silence.
A small pond filled with koi fish burbled nearby. They sat on the steps in the backyard of Hyewon's cousin's clinic. Ten minutes had already passed by without either of them speaking a word to each other and with each second, he became more and more anxious. A few meters away was Prudence, the horse they had ridden here, grazing peacefully on the grass.
Stupid, he berated himself in his mind, if you had to get caught, at least do it right.
Feeling restless, Riki pulled out some of the grass from the soil. It was better to address the wound then let it fester. "So that's why you came here." he spoke first, breaking the silence, averting eyesight as he shredded grass into tiny pieces.
And of course, she promptly ignored him.
"Hey." The prince poked her. "Say something. Yah, did you suddenly become mute?"
Before he could register it, Hyewon faced him sharply. "What do you want?"
By now, he was used to her glares. But with the combination of her hard tone and the fierceness of her glower, he actually felt somewhat intimidated. He swallowed. "Uhh... are you okay? You seem kind of mad."
No duh, Nishimura.
That didn't improve her mood. She rolled her eyes. "No, Nishimura, I'm super happy-go-lucky and overjoyed at the fact that you eavesdropped on my private conversation." Hyewon purposely made her voice high-pitched and whiney, which made him flinch. She dropped the act. "Are you stupid? Do you never listen? You were supposed to wait outside! That was a reserved conversation between Heeseung and I, Nishimura. Don't meddle in my affairs, it's none of your business."
He opened his mouth to defend himself. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on something so serious. If he had known what their conversation was about in the first place, he wouldn't have done it. But he didn't say that. Instead he asked bluntly, "So? Is it true? Are your powers not working?"
Her body visibly stiffened. Was that the wrong thing to say? "How much did you hear?"
"... All of it," he admitted.
She turned away from him and looked into the pond, gazing at the fish swimming peacefully in the water. "Well? Do you really need me to answer that question then?" Hyewon sighed, her eyes reflecting the small pond. "Yes, they aren't working. There. Are you happy?"
Her tone was bitter and... tired. Her eyes were glassy and they seemed as if they might close at any moment. Riki didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't really good at comforting people and to be fair, he didn't really know how she felt. But seeing as this situation came to be because of him, he felt compelled to try. "But..." he trailed off. "You still have your sword-fighting skills, right? They're pretty formidable."
That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Hyewon's head whipped back to him. With words filled with contempt, she snapped, "Of course I can't expect you to understand." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "You can barely control your own powers. Unlike you, I worked so hard to build my power up." She swayed slightly as her voice broke. "Now it's all gone."
The prince wrinkled his nose. He knew he was being inconsiderate, but wasn't she being a bit too melodramatic? It wasn't like they were gone or anything.
He put himself in her shoes. Riki tried to imagine himself as her, loud, bold, Hyewon, a fearless, remarkable swordsman (it hurt his pride to acknowledge it) with strong magic.
Don't forget pretty too, his mind reminded before he shushed that thought. Not now.
How would he feel if her powers suddenly malfunctioned, had nightmarish visions every night, and was found out by a certain snoopy prince?
Not very happy, he admitted to himself ruefully. He wasn't sure whether to be horrified or concerned that his results were oddly similar to her actions.
What to do, what to do, what to do? He racked his brain. Should he call for Heeseung?
No, he thought to himself. This was a problem between himself and Hyewon and he'd resolve it on his own.
Having no idea what to do, he gave up and decided just to try to wing it. Riki patted her back awkwardly. "Hey, I'm sure it's going to be fine."
What a way to start a speech.
He continued. "You'll regain your control over your magic one day. There will be more mercenary butts for you to kick. You're the most powerful person I know... at least I think? You work hard, glare hard, and threaten hard. You're a Chiye, but then again, so is Heeseung so maybe that's not the best example." Gods, he was rambling. He coughed, "Even if your powers never work properly again, you don't need your magic to be strong. You're already strong, brave, and you're really good at sword fighting, even better than me. My point is," he added hastily, "is that magic doesn't define how great of a person you are. And even though we don't get along well, I know you're a good person minus personal hostilities. Well, unless you turn out to be a spy for the West, then we'll have some problems." Riki shifted uneasily. Did that sound insincere?
She stared at him, her face undecipherable for a few moments before she spoke. "Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice? Don't you hate me?"
Riki fell quiet. Did he? He didn't even know the answer himself. Sometimes, he thought he hated her, her bold ways of snapping back and the disrespect she had for him. But he was also grateful for her, standing by the sidelines and protecting him, especially when they encountered the mercenary back at the villages. Even though she mainly seemed upset at the prospect, she didn't complain much and followed her duty, something he could respect.
"I might not be fond of you, but I don't hate you." he says carefully. "Not anymore, at least."
She let out a barking laugh. "That's great to know." Hyewon paused, wiping at her eyes. "Thanks. If it means anything, I don't hate you either."
"Fantastic. We're in a mutual agreement to stay civil with each other from now on, no?" He stuck out one hand dramatically, before feeling childish, recoiling at his actions.
But before he could embarrassingly withdraw his hand, with a snort, she took his hand and shook it. Her hand was warm and smooth and fit perfectly into his. A small smile toyed at her lips. "That won't stop me from being better at swordplay, though." she commented lightly, causing Riki to deflate.
"You really had to rub it in my face, huh?" He said in mock pain, but secretly relishing her beautiful smile. He could look at it for days and never get tired of it.
The guard elbowed him hard in the gut. "Of course. Can't let you get a big head now, can we, Prince Riki?"
Prince Riki. Realization hit him. He lets out a loud gasp. "Oh my gods."
Hyewon eyed him. "What now?"
"You actually called me by my name face to face without any hostility! That's a development!" he says excitedly before earning another jab.
To his credit, she actually looked flustered, but she tried to downplay it. "Well," she starts, "Do you always want me to say your name like I'm about to tear your face off?" She leans closer, her voice dropping an octave. "Cause I can. Both to the name part and tearing-your-face off."
"As charming as ever, Hyewon."
She chuckled rather darkly. "I know."
"So you're okay with me listening to your talk with Heeseung now, right?" he asks hopefully.
Shrugging, Hyewon picked up a rock and chucked it into the water, scaring a bunch of koi. "Nothing I can do about it now. But..." she wagged a finger at Riki's face. "If I ever find out that you eavesdropped on another private conversation, I will end you. Got it?"
He gulped before nodding. The serious expression on her face made it look like she was not kidding.
"Oh, goody. You two kids are getting along. I was wondering how long it would take for you to make peace with each other."
The two whipped their heads around to the intruder. Heeseung poked his head out the door. "Are you two staying for lunch? Rena wants to know whether she needs to cook more servings."
Riki was about to decline his offer, but Hyewon answered first. "Sure, tell her to cook two extra servings." She turned to him. "Did you eat the lunch I gave you?"
"Yeah." He lied. Truthfully, he was afraid that she had poisoned and had intentionally lost it. She seemed to believe his lie before his stomach growled.
She raised an eyebrow. "Right. We'll be staying for a while." she told Heeseung.
"Alright. Rena will call you guys inside when it's ready. Enjoy your chitchat or whatever."
When her cousin closed the door, the atmosphere fell quiet again, but it was... different. Not comfortable, but not strange either.
Hyewon tilted her head towards the door. "Do you want to go back inside?"
He shrugged. "Do you want to?"
Riki turns to face her, waiting for her response, only to flinch back in surprise. Since when were they this close? Only a few inches separated their faces. If he made the wrong move and leaned just slightly towards her, his lips would land on her cheek.
His. Lips. On. Her. Cheek.
Are you crazy? he scolded himself. He shut his eyes tight, trying to get that fantasy out of his mind, but the image was already burned into his mind. But now that he thought of it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea actually.
How would she react to that though? Would she pull back? Would she return it with one of her own?
What bizarre thoughts he was having. Perhaps there had been something slipped into his drink during breakfast. They were in a protector-charge relationship. Things between them were to stay professional, no strings attached. There was absolutely no way that she'd approve of it...
But why did it feel so sour?
"Do you have constipation?"
"What?!?" His eyes flew open at the abruptness of the question. The prince stared at her in shock, aghast. "What did you just say?"
"Hey, don't blame me. You had a scrunched up look on your face like-" She imitated his face, her nose wrinkled and eyes squinted tightly.
"Oh." Riki scratched his nape sheepishly. Well, that was embarrassing. "Sorry."
Hyewon hummed before returning to what she was doing: throwing random things into the pond. That is until...
"Hyewon!" Heeseung bursted through the door loudly. He panted, one hand propping open the door. "Someone's at the door."
"And?" Back to her snappy demeanor, the guard, annoyed, gave him the stink eye. "What now, Lee?"
"Your mom. Aunty is here."
(no, that was not a witty, OVERUSED comeback from heeseung)
A/N: a very meh chapter, the conclusion was decent. i couldnt bring myself to edit bc my brain was outta ideas and i had originally wrote this last night abt 20 hours ago before bed. i really want to bang my head on the rikis speech, IT WAS SO CRINGE. and do you know whats worse? I CHECKED MY STATS AND APPARENTLY THERE ARE 55+ OF YOU GUYS READING THIS STORY AND ITS NEWEST DISAPPOINTING CHAPTER WHICH IS SO AGHHH.
this aint worth the reads, i feel like i gaslighted half of yall into reading this bc of the blurb 🤭
im having an emotional breakdown guys :,) thank u for dealing with me