[CHAPTER SIX]
; TRUST ME
➖
"What kind of consequences are we talking about here?" Ban Ryu slowly questioned, setting down his tea cup.
"Stripping his title as highest official, making him serve time in prison, pay for a fine, I don't know," Suji shrugged, "Kill him?"
Ban Ryu wasn't even drinking tea but he still choked on his saliva, "What?!"
"I'm kidding,"
Ban Ryu's shoulders relaxed.
"Maybe."
Before Ban Ryu could protest again, Minghao asked a question. "How can we help you?"
Suji kept quiet, deep in thought before tapping her fingers on the table when an idea came to her mind. "Ah, I have two different jobs for the both of you."
Noticing that they were waiting for her to tell them what their jobs were, she continued.
"Ban Ryu, I want you to watch over my family and make sure your father doesn't get to them. Once he finds out that I'm against him, he'll do anything to find a way to stop me."
Ban Ryu didn't realize it but he nodded without hesitation. "Of course Suji, for you, always."
He didn't know why he said that but Suji simply smiled and placed a hand on his arm, "Thank you so much."
Suji turned to Minghao who watched her with expectantly, "As for you, well, I need a spy."
-
"Where the hell have you two been?" Sun Woo questioned as soon as Ban Ryu and Suji walked through the doors of the Hwarang House.
"We were visiting someone." Suji simply answered before turning her head to look at someone.
The others blinked at the face of a young handsome man but Da Xia gasped loudly at the sight of the man. "Minghao!"
Before Minghao could even blink, the arms of his younger sister was thrown around his tall frame, making him stumble back a bit. A smile started to grow on his face when he recognized his younger sister. "D-Da Xia! I-I can't believe it's you! You've grown into a beautiful girl!"
Da Xia gets flustered by the comment but grinned up at her brother, "You kinda got uglier but hey, I missed you!"
Minghao's smile dropped and he lightly pushed Da Xia off him, "At a time like this and you're still going to call me names? Some kind of reunion." He muttered under his breath but couldn't stop the smile from growing onto his face.
Da Xia laughed loudly, "Ah, I truly did miss you."
A clear of the throat interrupted the moment, making everyone glance over at Jihan, "I'm sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment but who is he? Where are you getting all of these Chinese boys from, Ji?"
"He's Chinese?" Yeo Wool questioned, eyeing Minghao curiously.
"Can't you tell? Plus, the boy's carrying a damn wushu stick," Jihan snorted, pointing at Minghao's wushu stick that was held in his right hand.
Minghao stepped forward and bowed, "My name is Wen Minghao,"
The others go to greet him back but Han Sung is the first to pick it out and asked in a innocent tone, "Wait.. Wen.. As in Wen Junhui?"
The others froze from Han Sung's question and they snap their eyes to Suji who was already watching them with serious eyes.
Minghao spoke up before anyone could say anything, "I'm Da Xia's older brother, and Junhui was our cousin."
-
"Why didn't you tell the other four about this?" Sun Woo asked Suji who sat on Soo Ho's bed with her legs crossed.
After the news of Minghao being related to Junhui, the boys immediately attacked Suji with questions. Suji had Ban Ryu distract Han Sung, Yeo Wool, Soo Ho and especially Ji Dwi and then grabbed everyone else to the boys' room to tell them everything about her visit to Minghao and then her entire plan that she's been hiding from everyone including Sun Woo, Ah Ro, and Soo Yeon — who wasn't informed of the plan and just knew of Suji being the heir to the throne. After half an hour of blurting everything out, everyone was finally aware of the situation. Everyone in the room — Sun Woo, Inseong, Jihan, Jihun, Soo, Minghao, Da Xia, Minjae, Eunha, Ah Ro and Soo Yeon — wasn't hesitant to take part and help Suji with the plan.
"Because Yeo Wool loves gossip and will spread it like wildfire, Ji Dwi is literally the hidden 'king' right now and would tell his mother, and Soo Ho is in love with the Queen. I'd rather not have them get in the way and ruin my hard work."
"Aren't you Soo Ho's sister?" Minghao looked over at Soo Yeon.
Soo Yeon snorted, "Yeah but I'm not an imbecile like my brother, I know when to speak and when to keep my mouth shut."
"Yeah but she doesn't know when to identify whether it's her brother's buns or another man's buns." Eunha giggled making Soo Yeon choke on her spit. She turned to glare at Suji who snorted at her.
"You told them?!"
"Nah, it was just the latest gossip in town for a good few days." Jihun laughed.
"Wait, what about Han Sung?" Minjae questioned, remembering the boy after looking at Tae Oh who slept peacefully in Inseong's bed, not fazed by the loud talking in the room. Tae Oh was a deep sleeper.
Everyone turned to look at Suji who shrugged, "The boy's too happy and innocent, he doesn't need this burden on him when there's already more than ten of us in action."
Inseong smiled, "Han Sung really does have a special place in your heart, huh?"
Suji chuckled, "He has a special place in everyone's hearts, we can all admit that."
Sun Woo cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact with anyone, "It's true, he's really adorable."
Suji looked over at her siblings and they all bursted out laughing.
"Please Sun Woo, he's your damn son and we all know you love him so much, you'd take fifty strikes for him." Jihan snorted.
Soo smiled, "And he admires you very much too. You and Suji in fact, we all could tell that he looks up to you two and would even put your lives before his, that's how much he loves you both."
Suji and Sun Woo look at each other and the two let out soft smiles.
"As if we'd ever let that boy put our lives before his, we're going to make sure nothing happens to him, right, Suji?"
Suji smirked at Sun Woo, "You bet your ass I will."
Da Xia smiled at the determination and love — for the young boy — in the two warriors' eyes before Soo Yeon started to speak up, "So we're going to keep this a secret from them? Not even one word?"
Suji broke eye contact with Sun Woo and rubbed the back of her neck, "Well, I was planning to speak with Soo Ho."
"What? Why? He's going to freak once he finds out you're gonna kick his woman off the throne," Jihan exclaimed.
Jihun made a face, "When you know that she's like old enough to be his mother, y'know, since Soo Ho is like a few years younger than Ji Dwi and Ji Dwi is the son of the Qu—god get this horrible taste off my tongue please."
Suji ignored Jihun, glancing around the room,
"The only true fighters here is me, Sun Woo, Minghao, Jihun and Jihan."
"Isn't Soo and Inseong fighters too?" Soo Yeon asked, motioning to the two oldest siblings before Suji.
Soo shook her head, "I'm only good with the bow and arrow, when it comes to combat fighting, I'll get knocked out in two seconds."
"What about him?" Minghao looked at Inseong who seemed offended by the fact that Suji didn't consider him as a true fighter.
"Yeah, I can fight," Inseong frowned.
Eunha snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, with a bamboo stick only. You fight like a dying fish."
Inseong's jaw dropped and looked at Suji, "You're going to let her continue to disrespect me like this?!"
Suji shrugged, holding back a laugh, "I'm sorry but Eunha's right. You scream when fists are being thrown and knifes are being swung at you."
"Hear that? You're just good at being loud, brother." Eunha grinned before shooting out of the room as Inseong stood up with a glare on his face.
"Eunha, get back here you rascal!"
-
"What did you want to talk about, Suji?" Soo Ho asked Suji as she brought them to the waterfall, alone.
Suji stared at the flowing water, "Do you trust me?"
Soo Ho turned to Suji with a wide smile, "Is this what you're so serious about? Of course I trust you!"
Suji continued to avoid eye contact, "If you had to choose one person who would it be, me or the Queen?"
The topic itself was already hard to bring upon Soo Hoo so Suji just wanted to be quick and straightforward because even if she stalled time, the reaction will still be the same and she wanted to just deal with everything right now as quick as possible
Suji may have seemed calm on the outside but inside she was freaking out. She knew that Soo Ho was going to react in a way that Suji was afraid that it would be the end of their strong friendship, and Suji didn't want to lose anybody else, especially Soo Ho. He had a very special place in her heart, since he was willing to be her friend even when she was the 'Warrior'.
Soo Ho stared at Suji with confusion, utterly lost as to where the conversation was heading. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Suji paused, "If you had to keep one person in your life while the other one is no longer in your life, who would fill what place?"
Soo Ho opened his mouth but no words came out. "You would be.."
Suji sighed, knowing that Soo Ho was indecisive since he was blinded by love at the moment. "I know you have strong feelings for the Queen but I hope you know that the chance of the Queen returning your feelings is unlikely."
Soo Ho clenched his jaw, "..What do you know, Suji?"
Suji shut her mouth at the sound of Soo Ho's hurt tone and she instantly regretted at making that comment, but, it was the truth. "I know that the Queen wouldn't date a man, a boy who is around the same age as her own son."
Soo Ho looked away, "Why did you want to speak with me? What is this about?"
Suji already felt the tension beginning to build. She should have known that it was better to keep her mouth shut, then to try to persuade the hard-headed man.
"I can only tell you if you trust me."
"I do trust you!" Soo Ho frowned, looking at Suji who slowly met his eyes.
Suji furrowed her eyebrows. "Why are you suddenly raising your voice at me?"
"I-I don't know, you're confusing me. Why are you suddenly asking me if I would choose you or the Queen?"
Suji gave Soo Ho an incredulous look, "Are you serious? How is that confusing? That shouldn't be difficult to answer!"
Soo Ho blinked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you should be choosing me instantly. I don't mean to be conceited and I don't want to sound rude but the Queen doesn't even care for you, you're just another warrior in her eyes." Suji muttered. She knew it was a harsh thing to say but she wasn't going to stand on the sidelines and watch Soo Ho blindly fall in love while the Queen didn't give one damn about him. She cared about Soo Ho and sometimes the truth hurt but it's better to know the truth so he doesn't let the same mistake happen again.
"Why are you being so harsh for?" Soo Ho snapped, his eyes forming a glare.
Taken back, Suji let a glare form in her eyes, "I'm just stating the truth, this is to prevent you from getting hurt."
"Well I'm getting hurt by the fact that you don't even care for my feelings and think that you can just raid on everyone's love life. Just like Inseong's and Princess Sookmyung's love life!"
"Excuse me? What do you mean by Inseong's and Sookmyung's love life? There is no love life between them!" Suji snapped back, turning her entire body towards Soo Ho.
"You wouldn't know since you're always preventing Inseong from expressing his feelings!"
"What?! Inseong doesn't like Sookmyung because she hurt him!"
Soo Ho paused and his tone quietened down for a moment. "How did she hurt him? Huh?"
Suji turned quiet, glancing over at a bunch of bushes. "S-She.." Suji inhaled deeply, "She was Inseong's childhood best friend and when Inseong found a girl he liked, she sent her away."
Soo Ho's eyebrows furrowed, "Sent her away? Where?"
"Jiae was her name," Suji smiled softly at the mention of the girl, "She was a peasant but Inseong met her one day when he was playing at a park with my mother. They became friends and Inseong visited her almost everyday."
Soo Ho watched as Suji picked at a skin on her finger, "It was obvious that they liked each other and at the time, Sookmyung also had a huge crush on Inseong. I know they were young but Jiae and Inseong really liked each other," Suji frowned, "But Sookmyung, she was always the stupid one when we were younger, that's why she was never the mother when we played family."
Soo Ho held back a snort at Suji's blunt tone, knowing it wasn't a good saturation to be laughing in.
"And she got mad that Inseong paid more attention to Jiae and her young mind was so cruel, one day she faked an incident and sent Jiae away."
"What do you mean she faked an incident?" Soo Ho questioned.
Suji shrugged, "I mean what I said. I saw Jiae getting dragged by Sookmyung's guards one day and Jiae told me Sookmyung pretended to get hurt and blamed it on Jiae. Sookmyung's mother instantly sent Jiae away before anyone could do or say anything."
"Where's Jiae now?"
Suji frowned even deeper, "I don't know, and I'm still guilty till this day because I couldn't do anything."
"But you were young and it all happened quick,"
Suji simply stared at the ground.
"How did Inseong react?"
Suji made a sour face, "Horrible. I ran back to the house to tell him and he cried his heart out. He ended his friendship with Sookmyung and he went to search for Jiae. He couldn't find her of course and Sookmyung's damn mother wouldn't tell us since we were 'only kids'. Stupid woman, she can't even take care of her own kids, what am I saying, she sent Sookmyung away because she was sick—" Suji stopped when she noticed Soo Ho's furrowed eyebrows.
"Oh, sorry," Suji gave Soo Ho a bitter smile, "I didn't mean to insult your girlfriend."
Soo Ho rolled his eyes, "Look, whatever you wanted to tell me, you can trust me, I'm your best friend."
Suji snorted, "Funny, you say that yet you're obsessed with the Queen."
Soo Ho clenched his jaw, "What does this have to do with the Queen? Why are you suddenly dragging her into this?"
"I'm not dragging her into this, she already made herself a spot in this."
"What do you mean?"
Suji shook her head, "I can't tell you if you don't trust me."
Soo Ho groaned loudly, throwing his hand up, "I do trust you Suji! I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play at!"
Suji turned and faced Soo Ho. She looked him dead in the eyes, "Me or the Queen?"
When Suji caught the hesitancy from Soo Ho, she mentally sighed. She should have known that Soo Ho couldn't be allowed to know that she was planning to overthrow the 'Queen' and take back the throne. Soo Ho would probably side with the Queen and 'protect' her even though Suji was just planning to take the throne and let the Queen live a normal, commoner life. Suji wasn't going to take the Queen's life but just give her a few punishments.
Suji sighed, putting a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind picked up. "That really hurts, Soo Ho, especially when we've been close friends while she's just your crush."
"Suji," Soo Ho frowned, watching Suji let out a disappointed sigh, "I really do trust you, I do—"
Suji snapped her eyes back to Soo Ho's and gave him a mini glare but he could see the hurt behind her eyes.
"If you truly did trust me, then you wouldn't have hesitated when I asked you if you would have chosen either me or the Queen."
"Suji—"
"I'll see you around." Suji muttered before reaching down to pick up her cased sword. She walked away, heading back to the Hwarang House. Soo Ho simply watched her walk away.
Suji didn't know what to feel. She knew she shouldn't have brought it up to Soo Ho but she didn't just want to leave him in the shadows, she had to try, and she did. With just one question asked, Suji's strong friendship with Soo Ho was affected and Suji could tell that they weren't going to be the same with each other like they used to.
"My first good friend after Mak Moon and there he goes." Suji sighed to herself.
But then she paused, "Wait, there's Dog-Bird.." She shrugged nonchalantly, "He's more like a sister." Suji mentally chuckled, Sun Woo would have strangled her if he heard that Suji had called him a 'sister'.
The brief happiness from the joke disappeared as Suji was suddenly reminded of the incident that had just happened not too long ago.
Suji shook her head from the sad feeling in her and she continued to walk, feeling her chest hurt by the fact that Soo Ho didn't run after her or even attempt to call her back.
•
i just started school a few weeks ago and it's more harder (tests and exams coming in f a s t) so that's the 728274838 excuse as to why i rarely update
sorry my dudes
but yikes my babies suji and soo ho are on a break now oh nooooo
—fathercoups