baby jungoo uwu
(most of the chapter takes place at the same time as the last one)
Kim Taehyung
I paced the eerily silent halls, night bringing about a suffocating and tense silence in the castle. With both King and Queen gone, it was easy to see how things could begin to spiral out of control but yet remain so..composed.
The mourning period gave us time to think of where to go next and what exactly to tell the nation in terms of who from the three of us was to step forward to become King or Queen.
However, that was a matter that needed to be pushed behind for the time being. For now we just needed to focus on staying alive, and hoping we can make it through this war.
I lit and blew the candles lining the walls as I passed them, allowing me to see the corridor ahead. I came to a stop before reaching the rooms, hearing footsteps behind me. I forced my way into the mind of the person behind me, to hear their thoughts.
Shit, I heard Shin Hoseok's voice, immediately turning around. He was crouched down, the sudden attack painful.
"Oh, God!" I exclaimed, running over to help him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it was you."
"It's okay, your Majesty," He groaned, standing up. "I can't blame you. I shouldn't sneak up on you like this, but it's rare that you're alone."
"Why do you need me alone?"
"Nothing bad, I just wanted to tell you something," he peered around. "however these walls have ears. Could we maybe go to the gardens?"
"Sure," I shrugged, leading the way out into the nippy air. Hoseok walked over to the nearest bench, where I sat myself down. "is everything okay?"
"Okay, listen. Since my trial, I have been trying to redeem myself, but the Dynasty still has a tight grip on me. I went over there earlier and I caught wind of some things and I thought I should let you know," he said. "their ballistic power could match the Royal Navy and Army, and they somehow have hold of biological weaponry and airplanes too. They're a force to be reckoned with, your Majesty."
"Why are you telling me this?" I blurted out, ignoring how the hairs at the back of my neck stood on end. "If anything you should reach out to Namjoon, Hoseok and Generals Lee and Seunghyun-"
"No!" Hoseok exclaimed. "The first three? Sure, but he..Seunghyun. Be careful with him."
"Why's that?"
"Because he's working with the Dynasty. I've seen him at plenty of meetings with Mina," he said. "and I'm telling you this because no offence, but you're the only one here who could make something happen. Cause damage."
I knitted my brows in confusion. "I-"
"Don't ask me to explain, I guess you just have this flicker of something in you and you'll put up a mean fight for what you stand for," he chuckled. "maybe that's why Jeongguk is so crazy for you."
I immediately bowed my head, cheeks on fire. "Answer me this," I said. "why won't you join the Guard? From what Jooheon has told me, you're an exceptional soldier, but was forced out due to PTSD."
He stopped his pacing, slowly sinking into the space on the marble bench beside me. For moments, Hoseok only stared at the ground and even when I tried to listen to his mind, I could only hear multiple things at once and nothing clear enough to be able to make out what he wanted to say.
"It was my first year out on the front line and I was doing well, we were claiming back land really effectively. Until we reached this old, run-down house, part of it fallen to the ground. As I moved inside, I saw a little boy; no older than 14 years old, bleeding to death."
"What happened to him?" I asked softly.
"I helped him without hesitation, doing my best to stop the blood," his voice broke. "but I noticed that he was a rebel. But, he was a child, your Majesty..I-I couldn't just leave him there to die like that. I had to help him, I had to."
"That's treason." I accidentally pointed out, hoping it was quiet enough for him to not hear me.
"I know, your Majesty. But he died. Regardless of anything I did to help, he bled out on the battlefield.
I don't know how the Dynasty caught hold of it but I got that black envelope in the mail and it was either I was in or I was killed," he sighed through his tears. "I never wanted to hurt anybody."
"I forgive you," I announced. "like, honestly. I'll pardon you for this, quietly, and you're free to do whatever you want. You've been through enough."
"It would be an honour to join the Guard, if you were to do that, your Majesty."
"So that's settled," I stood up with a smile. "consider it done right now, unofficially. Now go get some rest; if what you told me is true, this castle is going to go through hell and back tomorrow."
I wandered the gardens for a little longer after he left, enjoying the company of the moon, stars and flowers on a rather cold night. Mindlessly, I held a fire ball in between my palms to keep myself warm.
However, that nearly went flying at my brother's head when I rounded a corner and spotted him sat alone, eyes fixed on the navy sky. "Hyung?"
"Oh," he snapped out of his daze. "you should be resting."
"So should you," I sat beside him. "is everything okay?"
"Is it, Taehyung?" He looked to the sky. "I mean, in the span of a few months we managed to lose both our parents, our country is about to go into shambles and we're about to head into a civil war."
"I know but we'll figure it out, we always do."
"No, Mom and Dad always did; or better yet, they always taught me how to do it. How to fix everything, because it's what I was good at," he sighed. "but now..how can I fix things without their help?"
I didn't respond, silenced by the ache in my chest which only intensified as I saw tears slip from the corner of his eyes. "Put it into perspective. I'm the eldest, and technically the heir. They want me to be King but I am in no way prepared to be King - I wasn't trained to be King the way you were."
"What? I wasn't trained."
"You were. All the fighting you did, the way Dad pushed you, the way he made you become best friends with the son of the best General we'd ever had, all that practice," he whispered. "you were the first choice. I was just going to be the forgotten Prince, probably working in a hospital or used for Press. Not to rule a country. It's my truth."
"But that doesn't take away from your worth, Seokjin. It doesn't mean you wouldn't be a good king."
"I don't know. Maybe I can never fly like the flower petals over there, or as though I have wings but," he paused. "I want to try crawling. And then walking, until I can run. After that, we'll see."
"And you will," I seized his hand. "You will fly higher than anybody because you will be the King to reshape this country, okay? Mom and Dad may have been a good support system for decisions but you have me, Haneul, Minhyuk, Taemin, Jaehyun. The entire council. The Millitary. And a pretty kick-ass Elite Royal Guard right behind you. I'm sure none of us will hesitate to have your back. But we'll just take it slow for now."
"I guess so."
"Why don't you train with us? Maybe boosting your skills will bring up your confidence?" I suggested, smiling as he turned to me. "Everything else will fall into place after."
Seokjin suddenly threw himself at me, holding me tightly. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Me too, hyung. Now let's go inside, it's freezing."
The two of us made our way back into the castle, feeling far less empty than we did in comparison to when we left.
"Where's Jeongguk?"
I hummed. "I don't know. He went swimming last time we spoke."
I closed my eyes momentarily.
Baby.
Yeah?
There you are. I was just wondering where you were, it's late and cold out.
I'm on my way to our room.
Where did you go?
I went to visit Mina, to try and speak some sense into her. It didn't work.
It could never work, she's hellbent on this war.
I guess so
Apart from that, is everything okay?
Just come and see me, okay?
"I'll see you in the morning." I told Seokjin, taking off towards our rooms, where Jeongguk was perched on the edge of the bed, eyes squared on a spot on the floor. He was in such deep thought he only noticed my presence when I touched his thigh.
"What's wrong?" I asked softly.
"You know when you want to see the good in everybody?" He said. I nodded. "What if you went into somewhere thinking that you would have to see the good in someone, to believe that they're a good person. But then when you get there, you don't even have to try to see them as a good person, because you can tell they are."
"Right."
"Why does it hurt more than when they're purely evil?"
"Because you know they're making a mistake," I threw my arms around him. "I'm sorry, Jeongguk."
"I wish this could all just end. That this Dynasty never came to be and that everything would just fall into place," he sighed. "I'm so exhausted from trying to make ends meet."
"I know you are, and honestly I hope so too. I hope we don't get to anything close to a war, and that we can come to an agreement before then," I whispered, laying back on the bed with him in my arms. "I promise you that things will be okay. Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do, Tae."
A comfortable silence ensued his words, nothing heard apart from our breaths and the almost inaudible sounds of my fingertips brushing his hair.
"I love you."
The statement boomed from Jeongguk, bouncing off the walls until it quietly faded away into silence. He sat up.
"I-"
"I love you, yeah," This time there was more conviction and less seriousness in his voice, a lopsided smile on his face. "Jesus fuck, I really do love you."
I reached up, gripping either side of his leather jacket and yanking him back down until he was close enough for me to witness how his brown irises would thin and swirl into red and blue, the tip of his nose against mine. "I think I love you too."
I reached up, kissing him as if it was both the first and last time I would be able to do so. I felt him shift and drag a hand through my hair before laying over me, one hand now secure around him whilst the other curled around the hem of his shirt.
Two sudden knocks pulled us out of whatever daze we were in (or were heading to). I groaned. "Yes?"
"Your Majesty," one of the maids replied. "there's an emergency."
"Right now?" I sat up, Jeongguk mirroring my frown.
It was at that point that Taemin burst into the room frantically, crimson eyes glowing wildly.
"What happened?!" I shot up.
"He isn't here," he sighed, producing an exasperated groan so powerful, one of my lightbulbs exploded. "they took him. They have to."
"Who took who?"
"The Dynasty. They took Jaehyun."
***
The entire castle was on lockdown, the court placed into the main hall for easy surveillance. Despite being awoken in the early hours and not even having time to get into their uniform, the guard stood proud and powerful, arms at the ready. Namjoon, both Hoseoks, Jimin and Jooheon also joined them, each sat with some form of weaponry.
I sat beside Haneul, Taemin pacing before us like he had been for the past few hours. It was almost 9am, and the room had given up on chatting to keep the faith alive, opting to stay silent.
Suddenly, Jooheon groaned in frustration, laying on the floor. "I'm going insane."
"This is all we can do," Taemin sighed. "We can just-"
The doors of the hall swung open, all eyes turning to Jaehyun, beaten to a pulp. He stumbled a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground, bleeding heavily from his mourn & the wounds on his body. I forced my way through the crowd formed around him, flipping him over.
"Jaehyun," I tapped his face, but he didn't respond. "Come on, Jaehyun!"
"He's alive," Seokjin said calmly. "take him to the-"
I looked to him after he stopped talking. "To where?! Where?!"
"Taehyung.." Haneul nodded to Jaehyun, even Jeongguk stood speechless beside her. I turned back around, noticing the newspaper sheet taped to the front of his bloody shirt.
On it read an article, a lengthy and detailed article on me and "mystery soldier", the evidence presented firmly supported by the two photos of Jeongguk and I last night; the exact moments in which I pulled him down and kissed him.
"What?" I said breathlessly, ripping the newspaper from Jaehyun's shirt, the Dynasty crest printed beneath it. I looked back at the sheet in my trembling hands, also now in the hands of the majority of the nation. My heart pounded away in my chest, lungs now only there to take up space, no air reaching them anymore.
They know.