"How do you feel?"
"Terrible."
"I think it's a pleasant day too. Are you excited to go back to Baekje?"
"No."
"I ate fine this morning, thanks for asking."
Chan listened to the small conversation between Hyunjin and Minho behind him and Changbin, relaxing when the two didn't take it any further and get into another fight. The older was eerily calm and quiet throughout their entire journey, only speaking when Chan or mostly Hyunjin had something to say such as questions about dinner or night-watch. The man didn't try to run- mostly due to his injuries, but Chan knew that the prince was stubborn (both of them were) so he should've attempted to escape by now.
But Minho seemed like he couldn't get along with anyone. And to think that Chan had to take care of enough children. To make matters worse, Hyunjin seemed to love teasing him too- honestly, Chan believed that the children back in Ungjin were tamer than the two beasts behind him.
Chan was glad that he was the one tending to Minho's injuries- he wouldn't- and didn't want to know what would happen between the two if Hyunjin volunteered. One of them would end up injured- dead, maybe.
But their personalities clashed so much that the conversation came to Chan as a bit of a shock.
"How long until we get to Baekje?" Minho questions, Changbin shrugging. Those two have talked little. Maybe after Changbin's bluntness, Minho thought it'd be a wonderful idea to keep from resisting the older anymore. And for good reason, too. If Changbin said he'll tie up Minho again, he'll do it. Yongbok wasn't here to stop him, and honestly, they were all dying to return to Baekje.
Chan wasn't the one to complain about any mission (especially when he has to take care of the army every single fucking day) but this might be the worst mission he's ever been on. Every single time there was an upside or even a hint of luck, everything turns out like shit.
"To the border, maybe a week. To Ungjin, at least a week and a half."
"I can't wait to get out of Silla." Chan hears Hyunjin stretch, cracking his fingers as his horse let out a small nicker. "I can't believe you lived in that village actually- shouldn't you be... a nobleman at least."
Minho didn't reply, and Chan could already see the glare he gave the younger. He wanted to turn around and maybe extinguish the conversation before it kindled. But decided that Minho would be mature enough to keep from kicking Hyunjin off the horse- wait, is he?
"How was it?" Minho murmurs, the long-haired guard letting out a small squeak of surprise. "The village, I mean."
That might be the most Minho's said in days. It surprised even Changbin, Chan glancing at him as he frowned and nodding to himself. The Baekje guard was also taking an interest in their conversation. He doesn't know- maybe there was interest in a certain conversation that could end up in a fight. There was that edge that will surely spice up their bland journey back home. Not that Chan was instigating the fight!
"Burned down. I don't think any of the buildings survived. But at least the crops didn't die," Hyunjin answers, Minho nodding with a small, affirmed hum. "But those villagers were assholes. Not to mention that one guy who tried to kill us and ran us- Nevermind-"
Minho sighs, relieving Hyunjin of his glare.
"It's awful to think about what had happened to the village." he murmurs, staring down at his saddle, surely reliving the memories he spent in his long-considered home. "They're good people."
"Why didn't you return? Everyone else did."
"I just wanted some time to think."
"With Jisung?"
"He followed me- and saved my life more than once, so I let him stick around."
"You know, the villagers blame Jisung for burning down the village," Hyunjin comments and Chan wished he could reach back and hit the Goguryeo guard for sputtering such things. Jisung wouldn't do such things, but he was clearly provoking the older. And yes, they weren't perfect people, but goddamn! Chan should've beat some sense into that kid before they departed for Baekje.
"No, Jisung wouldn't do that- on purpose, anyway..."
"That's what I said, thank you!" Hyunjin exclaims, feeling his stare train from Chan's back to Changbin. "He wouldn't have the guts to burn down an entire village, but to do it accidentally? That's something I can see him doing any time." Hyunjin pauses, taking a breath before tilting his head from one side to another. "Well, not any time-"
"But we're not sure he did it until we figure out what exactly happened," Minho says. His words lacked their usual bite, and he stared at Hyunjin while doing so. He seemed to tame himself when talking about Jisung. Chan wondered what had happened between the two that caused Minho's attachment to the younger. He mentioned that Jisung saved his life more than once, but what for? If he was seeking the reward promised by Yongbok, why didn't he tie up Minho like the first time and meet up with the group?
Clearly, something else was driving him, and maybe Minho was the only one to know?
As if on cue, Hyunjin asked Minho, "What is Jisung to you?"
To Chan, Jisung was a... Chan didn't grow up with siblings. He's just never met them- and, in a way, Jisung represent an excited little brother (who also had an alcohol problem, but they don't talk about that).
While the Baekje guard hadn't known Jisung for that long, but long enough, Jisung was fun and comforting to be around. He didn't talk much, and when he did, though, it was always reassuring to hear his voice. To Chan, he was in charge of the morale in the group. Like Changbin leading and Chan providing for the team and Hyunjin protecting them, Jisung had a role (and an important one too) in the group.
He didn't complain; he was always excited when he sees something pretty and shiny but restricted himself because he understood that he hung around guards. Even when Chan assigned him for many night watches, he happily agreed. Or that time he did dish duty, ruining his bandages and his freshly sewed wounds. He didn't say much and did it. He was the one who even found Minho in the first place.
And that one time Chan had woken up to hear Jisung and Minho murmuring to each other. Chan let them leave, wanting to see where Jisung's loyalties lay. He knew it was stupid. But he just wanted to test the waters. He just wanted to know more about this new unknown colleague. About an hour later, Chan was about to go and search for them only for the two to return, Minho still bound and gagged as Jisung helped him back to bed and a newly acquired jar tucked under Jisung's arm as he returns to his spot by the door.
Though the day Jisung and Minho disappeared from Soraebol, Chan wasn't very anxious about them leaving. He was sure Jisung would return with Minho like the night prior. Jisung seemed loyal enough. He followed orders. Surely he would return.
But he didn't and Chan noticed a shift in the group's attitude. It was a little more empty without the four of them.
Chan remembered the conversation he had with Changbin days prior. Minho was still asleep from his injuries and the two Baekje guards went out to search for the remnants of the cart- if any. But it wouldn't hurt to try.
They rode along the direction the cart would've taken to reach the next town over, though seeing nothing. They even went to the aforementioned town, questioning commoners and some guards (they were careful enough to keep from mentioning the specificities) though all said that no cart has traveled through the town in many weeks.
Chan remembered their ride back to their camp, filled with silence and quiet murmurs of the forest.
"Alright, spit it out-" Changbin had said, turning to the older beside him. He replies with a small hum, Changbin arching an eyebrow. "You think too loud. You want to say something, don't you?"
"Of course I do, but..." Chan shrugs. "I don't think you want to talk right now."
"You're right, I don't. I hate every single guard from Baekje," Changbin huffs, smiling when Chan laughed lightly at his poor attempt to lighten the mood. "But I'm always willing to listen, Chan. You don't even know how much Yongbok rants to me."
It took a moment for Chan to reply, and by the time he did, Changbin was already looking forward, accepting that Chan was hesitant to talk and didn't push it further.
"Don't you think... Don't you think it's a little harsh for us to give up on Jisung now?" Chan whips his head toward the younger, furrowing his eyebrows with a deep frown set on his otherwise bright face. "I mean, it's only been two days. The cart could be in the next town, and we could make it if we-"
"Chan..." Changbin starts, the older's blabbering coming to a halt as the younger shook his head. His previous cheery tone suddenly dropped, turning to Chan with his eyebrows strewn together and a sigh. "I know you care for Jisung, and- me too, okay? Ever since he traveled with us, it's fun to be around him and I even joked with him a few times. But- As much as I care for Jisung, I also care for Yongbok- more than Jisung."
Chan stares at his friend but nodded. He didn't need an explanation. He cared for Yongbok too, maybe cared for him as if the younger was his immediate family. He understood what Changbin was trying to get across and agreed with him too. How long had they been gone from Baekje? Two- three months? Maybe coming to four. They promised the prince they'd return with Minho as quick as possible, and with tensions rising between Jisung and the Silla guards- it'd be wiser if they left now before anything drastic happens.
"But can't we do something?" Chan questions, Changbin letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Think about how Yongbok's feeling right now? He's probably scared, thinking that we won't come back. We all understood the risks of coming to Silla, but we did it anyway. He saved us from dirt and mud- and- and back then we were sure we were going to live like that forever until we died. That's just how society worked right?" Changbin mutters, Chan nodding in understanding. "And when he saved us from that, we both pledged our lives to him. We considered him our brother and our king for years. We helped him find what truly happened to Minho and- shouldn't we follow him first and Jisung second?"
"No, I- You're right..." Chan shrugs, his eyes falling to the front of his saddle. He felt guilty for even bringing up the subject. Maybe he just wore his heart on his sleeve, easily accessible to anyone. It made him look weaker- for a general to be such a... pushover. It didn't feel great.
"Minho's more important than Jisung. I know that sounds... Selfish, but it's true. We promised Yongbok no harm should ever come to his brother, but look at him! He can't even breathe without hurting and he hasn't woken up since we saved him." Changbin paused and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and his chest rising before falling slowly. "So, as much as I sympathize about Jisung's disappearance, it's our jobs as a general and a personal guard to follow Yongbok first. To fulfill our duties."
Chan loved Changbin, and he considered the younger his brother. He looked up to him. They confided in each other- even if Chan was the polar opposite of Changbin, their years together only seemed to grow shorter. They were both born in dirt, servants to an unforgiving society. They were both scouted by Yongbok and offered a new life. And they've been together on enough missions and lunchtimes and dinners to know details and stories from each other. So they knew and understood one another, even if their personalities were nowhere alike.
And to hear Changbin open up to him so freely. In the middle of a mission, no less. Usually, when they were sent to do something, Changbin would set his sights straight. He would continue pursuing the purpose of the mission until they finished it- no distractions, no laughs. But to see him go out of his way to search for Jisung- even if it was up until the next town over...
Chan trusted Changbin. And if he knew this was for the best, then Chan believed it as well. And he had a point.
They had to place Yongbok first and Jisung second.
"Jisung is- He's..." Minho's quiet voice pulled Chan back to reality, the bandit shifting on his saddle. He sighed quietly before continuing. "He's a friend. I- I don't know... He's just so- he's so stupid..."
Hyunjin laughs at that, nodding with a small hum. "Yeah, he's- he's a good kid. Kind of wish I knew him better."
"I want to save him, as he did to me many times before. It's- it's- He's stuck next to me every single day that it's weird not having him around."
Minho and Hyunjin fell to silence and from the corner of his eye, he sees the two staring at each other, conversing with unspoken words through their determined eyes.
And for a moment Chan thought that Hyunjin or Minho would mock each other.
Until both of them turned their horses and galloped toward the direction they came from.
---
YOOO THE NEXT CHAPTER YALL
The NExt ChAPTER IS JUSt- Chef's kiss-
I don't want to spoil too much but it has something to do with Jisung and Minho (yeah, I know, wow that's a huge surprise)
Also @burntt._.toastt will be going back on the first few chapters (1-20 or so) and will be edit or combining chapters later at night(She said around 8:00 PST). So if yall get notifs on chapters pls ignore them, they're just small maintenance work.
Thank y'all for understanding
Have nice day <3