Chapter 9.
Caught.
Soo-ho and Yeo-wool went to the Okta store.
Ban-ryu went to Park Young-shil's house. Seeing his father being mistreated by his stepfather made him clench his fists. Anger surged through him and he was annoyed at his own father for always sucking up to the other official instead of standing up to him. Why did he have to bow down to the other man? Ban-ryu's hatred for Gakan rose exponentially and before he did something he would later regret, he too headed for the Okta store.
But it was like fate was against him that night because some unforeseen events occurred with Soo-ho's sister, Soo-yeon. Obviously, this led to an enraged Soo-ho, whose temper Yeo-wool failed to tame, but Soo-yeon had quickly knocked her brother out before he could physically hurt Ban-ryu.
...
Sa-do had no idea what she wanted to do. It felt strange to be alone after being forced into the constant company of her Hwarang roommates. It felt bizarrely empty without them. Guided by her footsteps she soon found herself at the doors of a modest hut, far, far away from her own house. Nonetheless, Sa-do smiled. Entering through the open gateway, she stopped in front of the door and knocked.
After some shuffling, the door opened to reveal Jang-sik. "Sa-do?" the man questioned, wondering if he was dreaming.
Sa-do wasted no time in throwing her arms around the elder man who easily wrapped her up in his warm protective embrace. "How have you been Ahjussi?"
The servant chuckled. "I am alright. I did miss you terribly though. The Gakan's house is empty and boring without your mischief." Smiling widely, the Hwarang allowed him to pull her inside his house and close the door behind them. "You just knew, didn't you?" Jang-sik asked teasingly, "you just knew I prepared dried squid today."
Sa-do grinned as she rushed before him into the kitchen, already knowing her way around his home. It was funny how she was more familiar here than her own house, where she didn't know much beyond her room. The aroma of the seafood wafted through the small space. Jang-sik took out a bowl and served her some of the dried squid, which she happily accepted. Sa-do updated him on everything that had happened so far in Hwarang.
"YOU FAINTED?!"
Sa-do bit her lip. She should not have said that. "Yes. But I am fine now so-"
But her weak argument was raptly cut off by a furious and panicking Jang-sik who didn't want to hear any of it. "You promised me you will look after yourself. I don't care how badly you needed to pass that exam. How could you be so careless?"
Sa-do held her head down in shame understanding his concern. After a while Sa-do finally asked what had been bugging her constantly for days now. "Did father ask about me?"
Jang-sik frowned, struggling to give her the simple one-word answer. "No," he finally choked out with some difficulty.
Sa-do nodded. It wasn't like her father visited her when she was at home anyway. She could count the number of times she had seen her father in her whole life with her two hands. She was not at all surprised therefore, to find that Park Young-shil had not even noticed that she was missing. But that didn't mean it didn't make her heart ache.
Putting on a smile she said chirpily, "that's a relief. Imagine the trouble I would be in if he found out."
Jang-sik didn't call her out on the lie and changed the conversation to much lighter topics. The man stayed up through the night, talking and having fun with Sa-do. When it was time to leave, she gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for being my guardian angel, Ahjussi," she whispered, her voice muffled by his shoulder.
This made Jang-sik laugh as he patted her head fondly. The bone rank system never stood between them. Neither did their social status. It didn't matter if he wasn't her biological father. Or that she was a True Bone and he, a Half Bone. Or that he was a widower who had lost his wife to the plague many years back. Jang-sik was Sa-do's family, end of story.
"Well, somebody has got to keep an eye on you considering how much trouble you get into." When Sa-do left his house, her heart felt a lot lighter and she was put at ease.
...
Ji-dwi had gone to the palace to visit the queen. As per usual, any meeting with his mother left him in a foul mood. He was waiting outside for the others to come. Pa-oh was there to keep him company. As usual, the old man was worried about him. Ji-dwi smiled at the emotional man before humoring him, "come to think of it, they often treated me incorrectly. I will write all of their names and I will punish them in all sorts of ways such as tearing them to pieces and boiling them in a hot pot."
"You mean 'Peang Hyung'?" Pa-oh corrected him quickly.
The young king kept his face emotionless as he continued, "yes. That's what it is called. I will let them be punished that way. Got it?"
Pa-oh's expression was so serious when he bowed and said, "the guard, Pa-oh, will take Your Majesty's orders," that he burst into laughter. The sound of footsteps caught his attention and he quickly silenced his guard before shooing him away. Ji-dwi watched Jae-won walk over, his shoulders hunched. Did something happen to make him look so detached? He didn't even notice Ji-dwi in his daze until the other Hwarang pulled on his sleeve to halt him.
"Why are you coming now? Do you know how long I have been waiting here?" Ji-dwi asked but Jae-won gave no reply, his eyes downcast. "What happened? You look like a lost puppy?" Ji-dwi didn't understand his own alarming concern. When was the last time he was this worried about someone else? But he was so used to the happy, calm, smiling Jae-won, that this abandoned look scared him.
Finally snapping out of his stupor, the shorter boy looked up at the faceless King. "Is it usual for parents to forget about the existence of their children?" The vulnerability in those familiar black eyes shook Ji-dwi. What had hurt him so badly? Or rather, who. With the Queen as mother, Ji-dwi wasn't familiar with maternal or even familial love, having spent most of his life alone. But he knew his mother did everything in her power to keep him safe. How could a parent forget their child?
A lone tear escaped Jae-won's eye as he was met with silence for an answer.
"I have met you before," Ji-dwi stated. "At Dayiseo," he clarified on getting a confused look. Jae-won's jaw dropped open and he turned away. The King smiled. He had him distracted.
"No... I mean it could be anyone... It wasn't me for sure. I would have remembered," he finally stammered unsurely through his words. He really was the most terrible liar.
Ji-dwi spun Jae-won back to face him and looked into his eyes asking, "really? Are you sure?" daring him to break eye contact. "So, I didn't help you to get into Hwarang? Wow! I didn't know you were this ungrateful." He was teasing obviously but the other boy looked down, embarrassed. "You know, I should just administer 'Peang Hyung' on you." Jae-won raised an eyebrow in question so he elaborated, "the punishment where they boil people in pots."
"That's just barbaric," the younger boy gasped aghast and Ji-dwi let out a laugh. "How did you know?" Jae-won questioned after a few moments of silence.
Ji-dwi locked his index finger under the other's chin as he forced him to look back up. "I remembered your eyes," he admitted as he leaned down to stare into those familiar midnight black orbs. It had taken him a while to figure it out, but he had eventually matched it with that of the stranger in the bamboo hat from that day. He didn't let Jae-won know but right now he had needed to snap him out of his devastated state.
There were the sound of footsteps and Seon-woo joined them looking pretty lost as well. "What's up with you? Shouldn't you be happier after attending your mother's memorial?" Seon-woo didn't answer Ji-dwi.
Not long after, Yeo-wool arrived with Ban-ryu carrying a knocked-out Soo-ho on his back following him. The other three looked on in confusion wondering what could have caused such a situation. Yeo-wool skipped to their side, throwing his arms around Jae-won and Ji-dwi whispering to the trio, "I know it looks like a weird situation, but I will tell you once we go inside."
Ban-ryu looked at the others before calling out in a hushed whisper, "hiya! Why are you leaving this to me?" They all somehow managed to pass the unconscious Soo-ho across the wall and were carefully making their way back. But as soon as they made a turn, Yeo-wool and Ban-ryu let out a gasp.
The guard was standing before them and he no longer seemed drunk on 'the end' wine. The five gulped. This did not look promising. Ji-dwi subtly pulled Jae-won back, out of the immediate reach of the bulky man. The guard hit Yeo-wool on the head with his sheathed sword making the Hwarang yelp in pain.