[CHAPTER FOUR]
; MINGHAO
➖
"So you're telling me that you knew about the engagement for a whole month and decided not to tell her own blood brothers?" Inseong questioned, leaning against the wooden practice sword which he held like it was a cane.
"..Pretty much?"
"God Soo Ho, you should've told us, I would have ripped Huang Fu's head from his neck!" Jihan groaned, swinging his wooden sword at the air, annoyed.
"I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone!" Soo Ho blurted out.
"And since when should you listen to Suji?" Jihun questioned, tossing his sword to the ground and taking a seat next to Sun Woo who sat beside Ji Dwi.
"When she could literally prevent me from having children with that sword of hers!" Soo Ho snapped, slight fear in his eyes.
The three brothers bursted out laughing. "The way you worded that! That was so funny!" Jihan snorted loudly.
"Where's Suji now?" Sun Woo suddenly asked.
"She went to go talk with Da Xia," Ji Dwi informed.
"Hey.." Jihun started, glancing around at the number of bodies.
"Where's Ban Ryu?"
-
"Let me come to a conclusion, you knew my father because my father used to go to your flower shop daily?" Suji concluded, occasionally glancing behind her to see if Ban Ryu was still there and hadn't run away.
Ban Ryu was also surprised to find out that the large bulky man with a skin full of tattoos used to be the owner of a famous flower shop.
The man whose name turned out to be Jaeo nodded with a light smile. "The good ol' days."
"Um, tell me how you went from a kitten to a lion?" Suji blurted out. Ban Ryu sent a quick glare at Suji for her bluntness, he still feared the man and walked uncomfortably behind Suji.
"I only worked at the flower shop because my grandma owned it. I stopped working when I got older and decided to do what I enjoy to do, fight!" The man whose name turned out to be Kim Jaeo. He was a close friend of Suji's father and was glad to see the once little girl was now a healthy warrior.
Suji glanced back at Ban Ryu who was in disbelief at the irony. Suji chuckled and faced forward, following Jaeo into a tight hallway where there was a door every three steps, left, right, left, right, all doors shut closed.
"It's nice to see a friend of my father's. It's hard to find them these days, they either hate my father, are envious of him, only know him for his title or just don't know him personally." Suji chuckled.
Jaeo looked back and grinned. He then asked her if she was going to follow her father's footsteps, to continue his work. Ban Ryu blinked, not knowing what he meant but Suji nodded in response, sending Ban Ryu a wary side glance.
"Yes I am. I'm planning soon, we've waited for too long."
Jaeo stopped at a door which was a couple of doors away from the end of the hallway. He turned to Suji and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Just so you know, I will be here by your side. If you need any help, send me a message. We may not know each other but I knew your father and I owe my life to him for saving my ass multiple times."
Suji nodded in appreciation, bowing her head respectfully. "Thank you, Jaeo. It means a lot to me."
Jaeo then motioned to the door that stood behind him, "This is his room. I'll be out of your way, it was nice meeting Jinyoung's little girl whose now all grown up. Stay safe, Jiho."
Suji sent Jaeo a small smile as the large man moved to leave the hallway. He stopped by Ban Ryu and placed a hand on his shoulder; Ban Ryu flinched visibly at the sudden heavy contact. Jaeo sent Ban Ryu a smirk and patted his shoulder.
"Treat her well."
Suji tried to keep in her forming laughter as Ban Ryu choked on air.
"H-He-I-"
Suji chuckled and knocked on the door, sending Ban Ryu an amused look. The door opened seconds later, a young Chinese male appeared at the doorway. He had sharp eyes with a baby face and he was thin in size.
"Wen Minghao?" Suji immediately went straight to business, her face serious.
"Who are you?" His voice was quite high compared to Sun Woo's and Soo Ho's, and definitely very high compared to Han Sung's.
"Jiho Choi. I go by the name Suji. I know your cousin very well, Junhui."
A small brightness flashed behind the young male's eyes at the mention of his Chinese cousin and Ban Ryu felt his heart drop. He had a feeling that the two were close. Minghao's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Who are you to him? And who's the guy behind you?"
Suji felt herself swallowing a large lump in her throat before hesitantly responding, "I'm his fiancée. That's Ban Ryu, a close friend of mine. Your sister told me you would be here. If you don't believe me then I can leave with news that you'd wished to hear."
Suji turned to leave but Minghao quickly went to grab her wrist, "You know my sister? How is she?"
Suji noticed the desperate look in the older brother's eyes. He probably hasn't seen his little sister in a long time because of Huang Fu.
"She's doing fine, now if you want to talk more, how about you invite us into your little private room so we can get to know each other? I think you'd want to sit down by the news I'm about to tell you."
Minghao opened the door wider, letting the two enter the room. The room was plain but had a nice comfy bed and a few furniture that a typical bedroom should have. Minghao informed that he lived in that room with his father and the mention of his father made Ban Ryu glance at Suji. Minghao seated himself across from Suji at the small circular wooden table, Ban Ryu beside her, and poured the three of them a cup of steaming hot tea. He began to tell little information about his own life, how his father wasn't exactly the best father figure, how he was separated from Da Xia for business reasons, and how Junhui and him were practically brothers.
Suji brought the small cup to her lips, glancing at Ban Ryu who kept quiet the entire time. Suji then decided to blurt out the two things that were the reason why she had come to find Minghao in the first place; the death of Junhui and the death of Huang Fu. She also provided background information about her relationship with Jun and the execution of Huang Fu. Minghao looked heartbroken at the news about his cousin passed but the news of his father being executed made a look of relief flash across his face.
"Truth be told, I'm sad by the news of Junhui but I'm glad he found a lady and shared memories with her until the end. Thank you for being there for him while I couldn't." Minghao smiled sadly, staring at his tea cup.
"Where were you?" Suji asked, setting her tea cup down.
"Pardon?"
"Jun was forced to help Huang Fu with his plans to kill my family and I. Where have you been all this time? I assume that you knew of your father's dark intentions." Suji said, staring at the boy with such seriousness.
Minghao glanced up from his tea cup, making eye contact with Suji.
"I pretended to take interest in his little plan and once we found out that you were the Warrior, I confessed to my father how what he was doing was wrong. He beat me and threatened to kill me if I showed my face and interfered with his plans on the other side of the city where you guys were. So, I've been hiding here for months? A year?"
Ban Ryu gaped at the male, placing his tea cup down abruptly. "W-Why didn't you seek help? How could you stay here for months!"
Minghao looked down in shame. "I-I don't know.. I was afraid I guess. After my mom left us for another man, she didn't bother to look back at her kids and it really hurt me. I was hurt and scared because my father is quite powerful, I don't know why or how but there's people working for him."
Suji stayed quiet for a moment before opening her mouth, "I came here to ask about the plan of your father's. The entire plan."
Minghao nodded and poured out his father's plan to Suji. Apparently, after Suji and her family was — supposed to be but are not —executed, he would try and kill the Queen and take her position.
Ban Ryu glanced at Suji, and she knew what he was trying to say. His step father was also competing for the throne. Ban Ryu told Suji of his own father's intentions during one of their night discussions that they have often when they can't sleep at night.
Suji turned to Minghao, "You have potential, Minghao." She said, glancing at Minghao. The boy seemed to be full of doubt and fright.
"Would you like to come back with me and help me do something? Your father is dead and his people are useless, I will protect you though."
Minghao nodded rapidly, "What is it? I'll help you,"
"What I'm about to tell you is something extremely classified," Suji glanced at Ban Ryu, knowing that he was against his father and his intentions as well, "And if you turn against me then I kill you."
Minghao gulped but nodded with determination shortly, "Of course."
Suji nodded and then turned to Ban Ryu. "What I'm about to disclose stays between us three. Only the older folks from the older generations, Sun Woo, Ah Ro, Soo Yeon and my family knows this secret. I've kept this secret for my entire life now but I decided to take action," Suji started but Ban Ryu cut her off.
"Are you sure you want to be telling me then?"
"We may have hated each other in the beginning but I trust you Ban Ryu. I'm sure you can help me." Suji turned extra serious, "I trust you Ban Ryu. Will you trust me?"
He nodded without hesitation, "Of course I will."
"Okay good. Just to warn you, this is a lot to take in, you've been warned. Now, this secret became a secret when I turned eleven."
"The day your parents passed away.." Ban Ryu muttered, remembering the day when Suji got nightmares because she was reminded of her horrible past.
Suji nodded, "Ever since, I created this plan."
"Plan for what?" Minghao asked, nervously holding his tea cup in his hands.
Suji glanced up from her steaming tea.
"The plan to take back my throne."
•
exams are coming up and — honestly i feel so bad for you guys since you have to wait a whole century for a new chapter, thank you so much for still supporting me though
(THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE HUGE SECRET SUJI WAS KEEPING IN FOR ONE ENTIRE BOOK. WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE BACKSTORY.)
—fathercoups