third person
genre: angst, Hwarang au, ft. Han Jisung
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"No path started as a path. Someone must walk on it for it to become a path. You must pound and break the hard land, and pierce through it for the water to flow out."
(Y/N) jumped and giggled to herself as she stood in the middle of the hallway of the Hwarang house.
"Seungmin is so cool," she said, giggling once more.
Just then, another female Hwarang who goes by the name of Moo Yeon, comes up to her, in her hands a box wrapped in soft, blue cloth.
"(Y/N)!" Moo Yeon calls.
"Yes?" the girl replies, the smile still on her face.
Moo Yeon hands the box to her, which she takes gratefully.
"What is this?" (Y/N) asked.
"I don't know, I was only told to give it to you." Moo Yeon then left, saying that she was still needed for another assignment.
Meanwhile, (Y/N) went to her room, sat on one of the wooden chairs intended for studying purposes, and placed the box carefully on the table. Once she was sat, she fixed her light pink hanbok first before tending to the knot, undoing it before fully uncovering what was inside the cloth.
It was a wooden box, adorned with gold inscriptions of some language she could not distinguish. Ignoring the designs, she opened the lid of the box, and saw a bottle and a note, for her older brother, Han Jisung.
"What is this?" she asked herself, "This is for Jisung, not me."
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(Y/N) brought the box with her, searching for her brother when she found him sitting by the stairs of the study area (which she prefers to call classroom) of the Hwarang house. Creeping up to him, she blew a puff of air into his ear.
Jisung jumped up to his feet, looking at his grinning sister, the familiar box held firmly in her hands.
"Why do you have that?" he asked.
"I don't know," (Y/N) says, looking down at the box, "a Hwarang gave this to me, I read the note inside and saw your name. So, here I am, with the box. But don't worry!" she exclaimed, "I didn't look at the contents of the note, I promise."
Jisung smiled softly at his sister, he thinks she looks so adorable. But his smile faded away when he remembered what his grandfather told him yesterday.
"Why did grandfather send that to me, though?" (Y/N) thought out loud to herself, "Couldn't he have had that sent it to you directly?"
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"If our family cannot join Master Young Shil, I will kill myself and (Y/N)." Jisung's grandfather said.
"W-What?" he asked, bewildered. "W-Why...why (Y/N)? What did she do wrong?"
"You witnessed the insult I suffered, did you not?!"
Jisung shut up. Earlier Master Young Shil had made his grandfather a stepping stool when he rode his horse on the way to the Palace, which was a great insult to the Han family. Generations had passed by and both the Park and Han families were allies, until a mole had spread false rumors about the both families, and they started hating on each other, thus beginning the family feud.
"If things go wrong this time," his grandfather continues, "(Y/N) will have to be his stepping stool. If not, worse."
He started thinking of the worst-case possible scenarios, but he quickly wiped it away from his head, refusing to believe the circumstances of the situation the Han family had gotten in.
"I cannot let the Han family heiress live like that."
"Are you..." Jisung speaks in a hesitant voice, "threatening me?"
His grandfather reached into his hanbok pocket and pulled out a black bottle.
"Place this poison on your sword," he says. "Just a slight nick, and he will die. At night, bring me the head of the King. That way, we are able to redeem the pride of the Han family, and join Master Young Shil. If not, we will assassinate him..."
Jisung gulped.
"...and make (Y/N) the queen of Silla."
"What?! But then, if (Y/N) becomes queen, then she will have to marry that bastard of a crown prince of Baekje?! No!"
The old man slapped his cheek harshly, "Since when did I teach you to raise your voice at me, hm?! I'm your grandfather!" he calmed down for a bit, taking a deep breath.
"If you fail at killing the King, (Y/N) and I...will drink this poison."
If there was one thing Jisung hated, it was this. Choosing between his family and the good.
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"What is that, though?" (Y/N) said, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at his sister, and saw that she was reaching out to touch the box, but he was quick to take the box back.
His pupils shot back and forth, nervously thinking of a conversation to keep (Y/N)'s head out of the box.
"Don't...don't you have training to do? Is it not time for your lecture? Grandfather will scold you if he finds out you skipped," Jisung says.
"Okay," she pouted and stood up.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a figure in a Hwarang outfit, and she noticed it was Seungmin, the most promising Hwarang today.
"Oh! It is Seungmin!"
The girl instantly grinned, running up to the male as she latched onto his arm. Seungmin looked at her and smiled. He ruffled (Y/N)'s hair and gave her a small smile, a sparkle in his eyes evident.
"Wow...why do you always look so cool?" she asks.
"Thank you," he chuckled. "But you're better looking."
(Y/N) rolled her eyes playfully, "Just admit it. I'm beautiful, aren't I?"
Seungmin nods, "Very much."
Jisung eyed the two as they talked happily, walking along the corridors of the House as they both made their way to the lecture area.
He has to make this quick.
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After keeping (Y/N) distracted with the sewing activity Master We Hwa had assigned for all the female Hwarangs, Jisung secretly grabbed a knife from the rack and poured the oil all over the blade.
He poked his head out of a corner of one of the buildings of the House and eyed Seungmin, who was busy training himself and his sword fighting skills.
Jisung walked over to the younger Hwarang, with the poisoned sword held tightly in his hands. Once Seungmin noticed him, he stopped his actions.
"Will you..." his subordinate says, "spar with me?"
"Later."
"No. Now."
Seungmin was hesitant, but agreed. They both went to the sparring area of the House, and the young Hwarang discarded his sword and picked the sharpest out of the rack. He noticed that aside from the sword he used earlier, another blade was missing from the rack. It had the screws in his brain go rolling, but he never put too much thought to it and faced Jisung, who was already standing across him.
Jisung looked at him dead in the eye, his face showing no expression.
"My apologies, master." he says.
Seungmin raised his left eyebrow, "What? Why do you always apologize?" he sighed. "I told you over and over that you and I are the same. Well...minus the fact that I'm younger than you."
That sent a small smile to Jisung's face, but it faded as quick as it appeared. And, with his face draining all emotion, he started to attack.
Seungmin was alarmed, but did well to block all Jisung's attacks. Since he was trained to sword fight, he was able to predict his next attacks.
When they were both far away from each other to catch their breaths, Jisung spoke.
"Avoid it if you can," he says seriously. "You cannot lose. You cannot get nicked. That is the most I can do for you."
"You are better in sword fighting than I. Why are you being so serious?" Seungmin asked.
"If you can, make sure to kill me," he says. "And I shall do the same."
Without further ado, Jisung moved forward and attacked him. Another sword fighting session started, and things seemed to slow down when Jisung had managed to cut off a part from Seungmin's hanbok.
"What has gotten into you?!" the Hwarang yelled.
"You talk too much," Jisung said in a dangerously low voice. "Do it in the afterlife."
And, without any warnings, Jisung ran to him with his sword pointed directly at him, ready to kill him.
But just as his blade was about to come more than five inches from Seungmin, two hands appeared and held the blade tightly, the person's palms being pierced instead of the Hwarang's chest.
Jisung held his gaze up as he stared at the intruder, and horror struck his face.
It was (Y/N).
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"What is this?" she asked herself, "This is for Jisung, not me."
Looking around, she quickly made sure that no one was around and opened the note, unfolding the paper carefully not to create suspicious creases on the neatly folded note.
Written in Chinese characters, four words were formed, in blood red ink.
You must kill him.
(Y/N) eyes widened as her fingers trembled, dropping the paper. She knew who her grandfather was talking about. The King of Silla.
Seungmin.
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"No," (Y/N) said as she recalled the events of earlier. Her grandfather wanted Jisung to kill Seungmin, the rumored King of Silla.
Without a second thought, she ran towards the two, and held the poisoned blade in her hands, an inch away from her chest. She felt the sudden rush of pain surge through her every vein, and she swore she could feel the consciousness slipping away from her each passing second.
"What..." Jisung was momentarily at loss for words as he stared at his sister, "what have you done?!"
"What are...you doing?" (Y/N) spoke softly, but her voice held firmness. "Why are you doing this?"
"Let go." Jisung tried to pull back the sword, but the girl's grip was strong. "Let go!" he yelled.
"If I do...you will cut Seungmin again."
"(Y/N)."
Seungmin could only dart his eyes back and forth at the True Bone and the half-breed, his gaze occasionally settling on the blood-covered hands of the girl. His heart pricked at the sight, and he wanted to take the pain from her.
If there was one thing he hated the most, it was seeing the girl he loves getting hurt.
"Why did you put..." her pupils started to glow a light shade of grey, "the oil grandfather sent...on your blade?"
(Y/N) fell to her side, and Seungmin was quick to catch her falling body before it came in contact with the hard asphalt. Jisung retreated his sword back, and he let go of the blade, the girl's blood staining the ground as the two males did anything they could to keep her conscious.
"Don't touch her!" Seungmin shouted at Jisung, his arms protectively wrapping themselves around (Y/N)'s frail frame.
The older subordinate couldn't speak as his eyes were pinned onto his younger sister, his sibling whom he loved to death, whom he promised of a good life once their duties come to an end.
"Why did you do it...Jisung?" she says, "You are a good person."
Her eyelids started to drop, and Seungmin could only tap her cheeks to keep her awake. Jisung tried to touch his sister, but the Hwarang pulled the girl to his body closer, his eyes throwing death glares at the subordinate.
"What have you done, you jerk?!" he screamed. "What do you know about this?!"
"Poison," Jisung said, his eyes still glued to her, "it is poison. Venom."
(Y/N)'s body started to shake, and Seungmin couldn't bear to just sit and do nothing. He stood up and slid his arms under her body and ran to the physician's office, leaving Jisung behind.
"Please stay safe, stay awake," Seungmin mumbled as tears collected in his eyes, threatening to fall down any second.
"Seungmin..." she whispered.
"Yes?"
"I am fine...Changbin will heal me."
The male Hwarang nodded shakily, "Yes. Do not give up. You still have to finish that sewing activity Master We Hwa had assigned, remember? So you could give me your finished work?" he said, and a tear finally fell from his eye.
"Please...don't hate my brother. I love him so much."
"Okay, I won't." he said, as more tears followed, landing on (Y/N)'s blood-stained hanbok.
"Also...I want to tell you something...a thing that I might never say to you again when...my time comes. I fear that...my feelings will never be uncovered...if I keep this...to myself more."
"What is it that you want to tell me then?" his pace slowed down, and he forced himself to move faster to bring (Y/N) to Changbin, the physician of the House, so she would have the chance to live longer, but his system wouldn't. It's like his body had a command center of its own.
"I...love you...Kim Seungmin."
His world stopped. Seungmin's feet came to a halt as his brain processed what the dying girl had said. And when he looked down at her, he noticed that her chest wasn't moving anymore, and her eyes were staring directly up at him. Her orbs, that were once a bright shade of (E/C), now clouded a dull gray.
Seungmin brought the girl's body down, his hands gripping her cold ones as tears trickled down his cheeks. He inched closer to her and placed a kiss on her forehead, hot tears finding home on her pale face.
"I love you too, (Y/N)."
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- pealix_lee 💖