For a moment, Minho believed that he was truly dead- that he's finally bitten the dust after avoiding death for so long.
His luck had run out, Sunmi's dead, he and Jisung had been captured. And to think that he'd not anger one royal family, but two. What next? Will Goguryeo suddenly find out about them too?
But no, Minho didn't want to give his life up yet. His luck may have run out, but his motivation still hadn't. Honestly, fuck fate or luck or whatever superstitious bullshit every other individual believed in. Fate had done nothing but fuck him over time and time again. His luck had run out years ago. And all he's done is fight for himself in this dark jungle. And you know what? Being alive for this long was a huge 'fuck you' to fate.
But when Jisung thought about fighting all those guards back in the town, Minho almost punched him for it.
Why would the thief be so willing to throw his life away like that? For the mere thought of protecting Minho? Jisung once said it might be fate that kept them together, he almost believed it (if fate was willing to forgive him). But he shouldn't be so... What was it? Imprudent?
Either way, Minho was glad that the younger was beside him, appreciating his presence when they were being carted away.
Minho could still almost feel the shorter's warmth against his cheek.
But then again...
Jisung had said he caused the crown prince's death. The Silla crown prince? Kim Woojin was it- the one announced assassinated seven years ago when Sunmi barely recognized Minho as an adult.
Minho remembered when he heard the news back then. He was in the rice paddies when he overheard some women talking about the death of the crown prince- saying that an assassin plotted to kill him, murmuring that he was his trusted best friend.
While there was an official letter written and pinned to the village news board, no one can actually read it besides a few of the villagers (And Minho, but he didn't want to be caught up in anything regarding royalty). So it was all a rumor to them still, especially when the letter disclosed no information besides his sudden death.
But was that Jisung? Was Jisung the assassin?
Minho didn't care much then, but as a supposed crown prince, he understood all the commotion Silla produced because of the sudden news. Their supposed future king was dead- and without a new heir, who would lead Silla to that promised future?
Sunmi told him that the crown prince had it coming- that he was irresponsible for not taking more precautions. Minho only told her that a prince wouldn't need to take so many precautions inside a fortified palace, but still felt for their prince's death.
But to hear it from Jisung himself- he had killed the crown prince? Was it the reason for his refusal to kill anyone? Was he so scarred from the memory that barely being provoked to kill had him throwing fits?
Even so, if he had some part in killing the crown prince, what was his reasoning to protect Minho? He was a crown prince as well, the same as Kim Woojin.
Maybe he felt guilty? And that protecting someone close to the status of his previous life was a way to redeem himself.
Minho wanted to tell him, "You don't need to redeem yourself," or "Surely, it wasn't all your fault?"
He knew Jisung would deny such things- he's known the thief long enough that he was stubborn in things like this. And that the younger was just wasting his life away pursuing Minho.
Not that Minho didn't appreciate his presence, though...
Blinking his eyes open, Minho stared up at the bright sky above, squinting when the sun spilled from between the trees and spotted his face. He heard the crackling of fire nearby and the soft nickers of horses, smelling the sweet spring grass and the aroma of a meal dancing in the air.
He lays there a moment more, waiting until his eyes adjusted to the sun before he shot up- though hissing when pain struck his side.
"Woah- be careful." Minho whips his head to the man leaning against the tree beside him, hair long and pulled back into a small ponytail. For a moment, Minho's gasped, thinking that it was Jisung, only to furrow his eyebrows when his head cleared and his eyes adapted.
The man sat up beside Minho now, his hands gentle as they pressed the bandit back to the splayed thin blanket, resting his head on a bundle of clothes.
"You broke a rib," he laughs out, light and harmonizing with the blue sky above.
"Jisung..." Minho breathes out, turning his head to the side. He sees a campfire, with something cooking in a small metal pot above the flames. He tried to look the other way only to find the man staring down at him curiously. What had happened? Where was...
"No, Hwang Hyunjin," he hums, though jumping back when Minho's eyes shot open, sitting back up again and staring at the now long-haired Goguryeo guard wide-eyed.
"Where's Jisung?" Minho questions, groaning in pain. His sides were on fire, and his headache only added to the pain. He hurt all over, more so than when that arrow shot at his foot. Peeking down at himself, bandages covered his torso, hugging him that it somewhat restricted his heavy breaths. Maybe it was for the better anyway- as he continued to heave and cough, feeling stabs of pain each time he took a breath.
"Calm down," Hyunjin furrows his eyebrows, attempting to lay the bandit back onto the blanket, but to no avail as the older only slapped his hand away. Hyunjin sighs, scoffing and gesturing to the bandit. "You've been asleep for a couple of days."
A couple of days? What had happened during then? What had happened to Jisung?
Minho remembered their capture and the journey to the capital. He remembered Jisung confessing his alliance against the Silla Crown Prince- and him being shot with an arrow. Minho remembered their time in the town, and Minho's fall from the cart.
What had happened after?
"You've cracked a couple of ribs and you hit your head on the way down- but hey, at least your injured foot is on the way to recovery," Hyunjin shrugged, picking apart some dead grass and chucking it toward the fire. The Goguryeo guard eyed the bandit from his spot beside the blanket. Minho laid back down on the bundle, sighing and shutting his eyes. "By the way, you should try to eat. When Chan and Changbin return, who knows when we'll leave? We've been in the same place for a while, and it would be dangerous to stay." When Minho didn't budge, he sighed, shaking his head. "And you wouldn't be a help to Jisung if you're like that."
Minho wanted to search for the younger, he really did. But with how each breath felt like a stab to his chest and his pride, it was too strong for him to acknowledge those words. Minho was already planning his escape to find Jisung.
Really, it only surprised him how much he cared for the thief- how every memory he's spent with Jisung came crashing onto him as he lay on the blanket. Maybe he really did consider him as a friend. But the way he felt whenever the other looked at him made him think otherwise. It was a weird feeling- something that provoked a shiver whenever he did.
And it weirded him how easily he could open up to the younger. Minho sometimes compared him to Sunmi with how easy he could talk to him. The bandit even talked to Soonie about it, and the horse agreed. Jisung was a weird individual, but he captivated all of Minho whenever they talked.
Maybe he and Jisung knew each other from a past life- reincarnated into what they are today.
He opened his eyes when he heard the neighing of horses, their hooves coming to a halt as they padded nearby on the dirt.
Hyunjin picked himself up from the ground, greeting the two men that hopped off their horses.
They murmur something to the Goguryeo guard that Minho can't quite hear from where he lies. He tried to sit up, holding his sides to get a hint to whatever they were talking about. Though the paler one of the Baekje guard nudges the other, gesturing toward Minho, who stared at them.
"Your highness, you're awake," the taller Baekje guard heads toward the bandit, crouching by him with a small, simple smile, dimples on either side of it. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm okay," Minho grunts, furrowing his eyebrows.
The shorter guard with a mean look walked over, crouching beside the taller. He huffs out, holding out his hands and gesturing to something, before clasping them together.
"I've already written to your brother about your discovery. He should know of your arrival, more or less."
Right, Minho almost got used to Jisung that he forgot about Yongbok's orders to get him.
"I've never changed my mind about returning to Baekje," Minho barks at them, groaning and regretting his choice to raise his voice. "Where's Jisung? He was with me on the cart-"
"Does it matter?" The paler one asks, reaching down to help Minho only for the younger to wave him off. "You'll be able to return to Baekje, your home."
"Baekje isn't my home!"
"Even so, you can't go anywhere yourself with injuries like those," The shorter guard points out, eyebrows raising behind his bangs. "You'll die. So the best thing you can do is stick with us."
"At least tell me you know where Jisung is," Minho mutters, voice dropping to nothing louder than a light breeze.
The two guards look at each other, then glance up at Hyunjin, who only shrugged and gestures to Minho.
"We-" The paler coughs out, eyes darting from the two guards to Minho. "We don't know where Jisung is. We've been searching for two days now."
"He's probably halfway to the capital by now," Hyunjin lowers his gaze, Minho staring at the three.
"Is that it? That's all you have to say?" Minho scoffs, furrowing his eyebrows. "You've basically left Jisung- it's only been two days. For all we know he could be in the next town over- not to mention that you were chasing the cart, right? And you just left him on there?!"
"Your highness, no offense, but we did not go to Silla for Jisung, we did this for you, for your brother," the shorter Baekje guard rasps out. He was straightforward, unlike the two other guards. He didn't talk with such sugar coating on his words and stared at Minho when he did. He seemed to put his job before anything else, and persuading him would be near to impossible, it seemed. "We're here to bring you back to Baekje no matter the cost. And if one of us is captured or killed- if it's not you, then it's best if we keep moving forward."
The guard beside him nods, pressing his lips together into a thin line and a small sigh.
"He's right," Hyunjin mutters out, crossing his arms. He avoided Minho's stare, instead eyes falling to his boots. "Jisung would have to fend for himself. Silla guards are already looking for both of you."
"Right, and unless you want us to tie you with rope again- please rest. We're leaving tomorrow morning." With a small bow toward the bandit, he stands, heading to his horse to tie her to a nearby branch. The other guard sighs, doing the same as Hyunjin returns to his spot beside Minho.
Minho sighs quietly, shutting his eyes with furrowed eyebrows. He chews his lip, swallowing a lump in his throat at the news.
He would call them selfish for letting Jisung go so easily. For abandoning someone Minho's considered a friend, and someone he assumed the three guards considered as a comrade. All for the sake of Yongbok?
Though he isn't any better. He was refusing to return to Baekje because of his own selfish needs here in Silla. Why couldn't he give Yongbok, his own brother, a chance? Surely, he knew this was for the best- yet Minho still refused. To say that Minho considered his brother to be one of the most important people in his life seemed like blasphemy- and it would only take a small "okay, I'll go." to prove that he cared for Yongbok. But he couldn't.
And especially with his situation with Jisung...
To think he made a new friend, only to lose it moments later. He guessed it just wasn't meant to be. It was a false vision, a mirage. And Minho couldn't do much, anyway. A rib, maybe two, was cracked, his foot injured. Even breathing hurt him. Maybe this wasn't even a friendship. Minho wondered if he was only desperate for companionship after his grief and Sunmi's passing. Maybe that's why he was so attached to the guard- because he helped mend a crack in Minho's heart, even if it was for a little while.
Even so, he can't blame these guards, they're merely messengers of what needs to be. If they refuse to rescue Jisung from wherever he is, it's their call.
Minho lays back down on the makeshift cot, blinking his eyes open.
He felt something constrict him- something that tugged at his heart. It made his stomach churn, however; it felt like a weight off his shoulders.
But he assumed it was only the bandages around his torso, nothing more.