[CHAPTER THREE]
; REASSURANCE
➖
"I'm sorry for your father but do understand it is what needs to be done." Suji apologized, approaching the young female who sat with Eunha, Ah Ro and Soo Yeon. Her brothers and Soo went on a walk with the Hwarang group to cool down their raged emotions.
Soo Yeon had kept her mouth shut the entire time while Ah Ro kept muttering things under her breath about how crazy the current events were. They stood where the public stood since Soo Yeon wasn't allowed to stand with the family members and the Hwarang so Ah Ro accompanied her.
Da Xia slowly nodded. "It's okay. My father and I used to be close but we drifted apart after my mom left. I always had a feeling my father was doing something since him and Minghao are always—"
"Minghao?" Suji cut off, her eyebrows furrowed.
Da Xia nodded. "He's my older brother. My dad practically controls Minghao, I'm kind of glad that my dad drifted away from me, I feel bad for Minghao though." Da Xia continued to explain small details about him.
"Where is Minghao?" Suji questioned.
Da Xia told where she assumed her brother would be and Suji immediately dismissed herself. Suji began to quickly jog around the palace before a body collided with her from around the corner. Suji let out a yelp, quickly catching herself from falling over.
Suji snapped her head to see a familiar face and her scowl instantly wiped off from her face.
"Oh, Ban Ryu!"
"Suji! I'm sorry for bumping into you," the male's eyes were slightly widen in surprise, his hard expression relaxing into a soft expression when he recognized the girl.
"It's fine, I apologize as well."
"How are you feeling?" Ban Ryu asked, watching Suji carefully.
Suji nodded at him. "I'm well. How are my siblings?"
"Alright, Soo is a little shaken up but Yeo Wool and Han Sung went to go cheer her up while your brothers went to go with the other guys to go spar."
"I see. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine as well. Where are you heading?"
Suji hesitated whether to tell Ban Ryu where she was heading. She began to inform him on how she was planning to find Da Xia's brother and dig out information from him.
She waited for his response when she finished explaining and was surprised when he nodded. "Okay, I'm coming with you though."
"What? Why? You don't need to,"
"What if this Minghao kid is dangerous?"
"So what? You're going to protect me?" Suji scoffed, her tone filled with disbelief.
Ban Ryu blinked a couple of times. "Uh.. Yeah I am..?"
Suji snorted but shook her head anyway. "Sure, let's go before the others find out and stop me."
-
The walk to the location of where Minghao was at was quite far. Da Xia had predicted that her older brother would be at a bar—where the entertainment was two people fighting—which was on the other side of town. In the short time Da Xia and Suji talked about Minghao, Suji learned that Minghao studied in Wushu and was very skilled in using nunchucks.
The two decided to take the quiet road in the forest and their footsteps were the only noise heard.
It was a comfortable silence yet Suji could feel a slight tension from Ban Ryu. "So, how are you and Soo Yeon?" She asked, trying to start a conversation.
Ban Ryu glanced over and shrugged. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah.. I've noticed for the past few months that she doesn't exactly have the hugest interest in me.."
"What do you mean?"
Ban Ryu sighed. He looked over at Suji, making eye contact with the female. "I can tell that Soo Yeon likes Inseong too."
Suji's lips formed into an 'o'. She kept quiet, not sure of what to say. Suji could also tell that Soo Yeon liked both Ban Ryu and her brother.
"Ban Ryu.." she started, noticing the gloom look on his face. "Soo Yeon is just confused of her feelings right now, she'll come around."
"I guess so.."
Another silence came upon them, making Suji mentally cringe at the awkward tension. They may have gotten on good terms but the two haven't personally hung alone before. Usually they'd speak at night, when they both couldn't sleep. The silence was comfortable, unlike the current situation.
"I didn't know Jun proposed.." Ban Ryu started, trailing off. He glanced over at the female before looking at the family of trees.
Suji cleared her throat, "Yeah.. On the day of our anniversary."
"Who knew?"
"Nobody. Soo Ho did find out a month ago though.."
"You should have told us."
"What good would that do anyway? It's not like we could have celebrated.."
"I'm sorry.."
"No, it's okay," Suji paused, "Jun knew we were both quite young to get married but he wanted to propose before it was too late. It seems as if he already knew he was going to die.."
Ban Ryu turned over to Suji to see her frowning at the ground. He grabbed her wrist and made her stop walking. She looked up him and then froze when he slowly wrapped his arms around her. "That night was unexpected for us. It was all Huang Fu's fault for the unfortunate things that had happened. Jun may be gone physically but he'll always be in our hearts, most importantly, yours."
＊＊＊
Soo sat alone on the bench, staring at nothing in particular. She knew everyone was surprised by her wicked actions, she was surprised herself.
When the execution was over, everyone came to apologize in pity. She could see in their eyes that they viewed her differently and she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.
"Miss Soo?"
Soo slightly jumped and looked over to see a face that looked familiar. She stared down the male in the orange robe and her eyes widen slightly in realization. "Dan Se? Han Sung's older brother?"
The male nodded as he stood a good distance away from her.
"I noticed you from afar and you seem troubled, may I ask what's the matter?"
Soo offered the male to sit next to her and he hesitantly accepted it. Soo sighed when he took a seat. She began to tell him how she felt afraid of how everyone would view her since her little act in the execution.
"The world is already crazy. Your act of impaling Huang Fu's hand and ripping the knife back out may have been a little painful and shocking to watch it but everyone understands where you're coming from. You had a man targeting you and your family for your whole life, it's not like you would stay completely calm and sane when you're around him." Dan Se told, trying his best to reassure the girl.
"We all knew that the man deserved it. Plus, you're a sweet and calm girl Soo, if you showed that much hatred towards that man, it says a lot about him."
Soo giggled. "Thank you Dan Se, I needed that."
Dan Se cracked a small smile.
＊＊＊
"So, what's the plan?" Ban Ryu asked, observing the large warehouse in front of them. You could tell the building was built a while ago but the sounds of people fighting and yelling showed that the place was still up and going.
"We're going to walk in there and ask for Wen Minghao." Suji answered, beginning to take steps toward the entrance. Ban Ryu grabbed her arm and yanked her back, making her let out a noise of surprise.
"What? We're just going to waltz in there?"
"I said walk but if you want to waltz then—"
"What if we get pounced by skilled fighters in there?"
"Then we fight them? Honestly, I know you suck at fighting but swinging a sword around isn't difficult."
Ban Ryu rolled his eyes at Suji's smug look when she made the comment about his fighting skills. "I suck at fighting? I can take you on right now,"
"Don't tempt me Ban Ryu, now let's go and head back, I don't want to stay on this side of town, I can smell the drug dealing and the gang violence in the air." Suji walked off again, marching straight towards the entrance confidentially.
"Smell?" Ban Ryu raised an eyebrow at the word before following after Suji.
Suji entered the large room, scanning the crowds. The room was filled with people sitting around drinking beer while two bloodied men stood in the centre of a ring, fighting each other with their fists.
The room turned silent when they noticed her.
"A girl?" Someone questioned.
"What's a girl doing here?"
"She's pretty,"
"Hey doll, wanna have a fun time?"
Suji ignored the comments, feeling Ban Ryu inch closer to her. It may have seemed that Ban Ryu was being protective over the girl but really, he was uncomfortable with the atmosphere and the people. He wasn't used to buff men with a whole lot of tattoos. He was grateful for living on the richer side of the Capitol.
"I'm looking for a man named Minghao." Suji announced boldly.
"Who's asking?" A particularly large man asked, stepping forward. He stared the two newcomers down, giving an intimating stare. Ban Ryu felt a chill go down his spine.
Suji remained unaffected by the suppose threat. "I'm asking, now is he here?"
"Who are you?" The same man asked, stepping closer.
Suji took a step forward as well, ignoring Ban Ryu's whispers of protest. "I'm Choi Jiho, Who the hell are you?"
The man's eyes slightly widen. "Wait.. The next—"
Suji's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You remember?"
The man nodded. "Of course, it's been a very long time though. Where have you been?"
"Hiding. Now I would love to sit around and catch up about how we have some kind of relation with each other but I need to know if Wen Minghao is here."
The man glanced around and nodded, motioning for the two to follow him. Suji began to trail after him but stopped when she didn't feel a presence behind her.
She turned her head. "Ban Ryu? Are you coming?"
"You can go, I'll wait outside."
Suji rolled her eyes. "God, you rich people make me sick. And you want to come along to protect me? That's a whole lot of bull."
Ban Ryu blinked at her before shaking his head. Suji groaned and grabbed Ban Ryu's wrist. "You'll get jumped if you're by yourself out there, it's best to come with me. Now come on!"
Ban Ryu ignored the feeling in his chest as he let Suji drag him along to the man.
•
i feel so bad for always updating every blue moon and idk if i should continue this book unless you guys are okay with the very slow updates
—fathercoups