“You have some explaining to do.”  They were back at the house, it was very late in the night but Mark couldn’t think about anything other than Jinyoung.  His body was shaking with all the possibilities running through his mind about what could be happening to him.

“I’m sorry.”  Mark’s voice was hoarse, and he realized he wasn’t in any state to be talking.  “It’s too much to explain, Jinyoung and I weren’t supposed to be here.  They weren’t supposed to be here.  Everything was supposed to be okay.”  Mark felt tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t have the will to wipe them away, he knew there was no stopping them once he started.

Bambam wasn’t one hundred percent either, his face puffy and his eyes red, but he was able to pull himself together knowing that Mark had suddenly found himself in an even worse situation.  “I understand, just try to breathe.  The more you think about bad possibilities the more anxious you’re going to get.”  Bambam wrapped his arms around him and Mark couldn’t stop himself, he buried his face in his shoulder and let himself go, full-blown sobs wracking through his body.

“This is entirely my fault, I should have never let Jinyoung get involved with me, and this was all a mistake.  He could’ve been safe.”  Mark was speaking through sobs, his mind spinning and his heart aching.

Yugyeom and Bambam exchanged looks, unsure how to handle the situation.  “Mark… I’m sorry.”  Bambam pulled him closer, knowing this was the only thing he could do.

“I can’t just stay here, I need to find him.  There has to be something I can do.”  Mark looked up at Bambam, shamelessly wiping his tears on his shirt.

“Do you have any idea where they could’ve taken him?”  Yugyeom asked.

“I…”  Mark thought for a moment, it was to be assumed royal guards took him away, but where would they bring him, or rather, who would they bring him to?  “They would take him back home, to Jinhae.”

“Jinhae, all the way there? Wait- you walked all the way here from Jinhae?!”  Yugyeom looked at him wide-eyed.  “I wouldn’t even think that was possible, that’s quite a distance away even by carriage.”

Mark had no idea how far they had walked, he couldn’t have imagined it had been this far.  “That’s the only place he could be.  We need to go, what if- we need to go now.”  Mark suddenly got up, newfound fire behind his eyes.

“Mark, calm down.  It’s the middle of the night, we’re not walking there.  You know firsthand the journey is life-threatening on foot.”  Bambam held Mark by the arm.

“No!  Jinyoung could be hurt we need to do something!”  Mark didn’t mean to yell, but he couldn’t hold back, ripping his arm away from Bambam’s grasp.

“Stop!”  This time, Yugyeom grabbed him and was able to hold him back.  “It’s the middle of the night, if we wait until the morning we can take a coach there, it’ll be much faster if you wait.  There’s nothing we can do, you’ve been up all day, and if you push yourself any further without rest you’re going to collapse.”

“No!  That’s too long... I can’t…”  Mark knew he was fighting a losing battle.

“Just try and sleep, we’ll find a coach to take us in the morning. ”  Mark knew they were right, and he hated it.

Mark finally agreed, but sleeping wasn’t something he could do.  As soon as he climbed into bed all he could think about was how lonely it felt.  Jinyoung’s soft breathing, his warmth, the way he felt when he held him tightly in his arms.  It was all gone.

“Sorry, all carriages are being prepared to take the men and supplies to the northern kingdom palace military training ground tomorrow, there will be no coaches leaving other than those.”

Mark was a mess; Bambam had almost dropped a dish when he first got a glimpse of him in the morning.  No sleep paired with crying all night didn’t do any justice to his looks; he resembled a zombie.  “You have to make an exception, this is important.”

“More important than making sure the palace receives its soldiers?”  The man sneered back.  Mark realized there was no convincing him and backed down.  “That’s what I thought.  This whole kingdom’s in disarray and you want me to make a special exception for you, a simple villager, unbelievable.”

“The whole kingdom?  What’s going on exactly?”  Bambam questioned the man.

“Have you guys been living under a rock?  The northern palace has been a mess since last week when our high ruler died.” 

“What?!”  Yugyeom exclaimed.  “The high ruler, as in, the king of the northern kingdom!?  How did he die?!”

“I’d like to know that as well, I haven’t heard any details other than that he has died, it didn’t take them long to find a replacement either.  The whole situation is really fishy if you ask me, I don’t trust that new guy, what was his name?  King Park, the former ruler of Jinhae I believe.  I’ve heard of him, nothing good I’m afraid.”

Mark felt his stomach drop.  “The Parks, they’re the new ruling family of the entire kingdom?” 

“Yes, came into power last week, declared war on the western kingdom this week.  This guy moves fast, I heard he was supposed to make some sort of alliance with them but his plans fell through, this entire situation is completely uncalled for.” 

Mark he had no idea how bad the scope of this situation really was.  He knew he had to be linked to the cause of this.  He knew he had really messed up this time.  “That doesn’t make any sense; didn’t the old rulers have anybody to inherit the throne?  Why did they hand it over to another family?”

“I only know what I hear; I’m just as confused as you are.” 

“Mark, are you okay?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  Bambam said.

“I’m sorry, this is just… a lot of information to digest.”  Mark felt his mind swirling again, unable to think straight.  He felt like he was going to pass out.  “I need to sit down or something.”  No way, there was no way.  If King Park was now ruler, there was no way Jinyoung wouldn’t suffer the highest consequences possible.

“Mark, where are you going?”  Mark walked out of the building, into the streets.

“I need air, I can’t- I feel sick.”  Mark crumpled his body into a ball and kneeled on the side of the street.  “This can’t be happening.”

Bambam leaned down next to him and rubbed his back soothingly.  “Please, just try to stay calm.  Jinyoung is fine, Jinyoung-“

“Seoul.”  Mark said.

“Huh, Seoul?”

“That’s where the northern palace is right, Seoul?  That’s where Jinyoung is, they would’ve taken him there.”

“What, I thought you said they would’ve brought him home to Jinhae.”  Bambam looked utterly confused.

“Seoul, they will bring him straight there.  I’m certain.”  Mark talked in a robotic voice, like he was trying to recalculate a plan of action in his head as he spoke.

Yugyeom finally walked out of the building and jogged over to them.  “It’s no use, he said all the supplies our city can offer are being transported today, and then the soldiers that have to report for mandatory duty are being transported tomorrow.  There’s no way we can get out of town.”

Mark hadn’t noticed before, carriages lined up the road filled with various supplies to be donated to the palace to aid in the upcoming war.  “That’s it!”  Mark didn’t think before he got up and ran over, noticing that the carriages were packed and ready to leave, he made sure nobody was looking before he crawled in the back.

“Mark, wait, what are you doing?  Are you crazy?!”  Bambam called after him as he was halfway in. 

“Shhh, don’t alert them.  It’s perfect; these carriages are going straight to Seoul, right?  I can fit in here, there’s room, I just need to careful and I’ll be there by tomorrow.”  Mark thought it was perfect, but Yugyeom and Bambam didn’t look so sure.

“That’s dangerous; you’re going to get yourself arrested if they find you.”  Yugyeom walked over to him and tried to pull him by the arm.

“No!  Please, there’s nothing else I can do.  I can’t wait here, Jinyoung is in trouble.  Jinyoung is going to die if I don’t do something.  I know my plans are crazy but there isn’t anything I can do by just waiting here.  You can’t stop me.”  Mark was resilient and they had learned by now there was no arguing.

Bambam has stood silently while Yugyeom was trying to dissuade him, engrossed in his own thoughts.  “Let him go, Yugyeom.”  He said, and Yugyeom backed down immediately and turned his attention to him.

“Bambam, what if he gets caught?  He’s out friend now; I can’t let him do this alone.”

“Then I’ll go with him.”   Bambam said, again looking years older than he actually was.  The amount of maturity he was able to portray when he was being entirely serious about something was amazing.

“W-what?  No, Bambam, you of all people-“

“Just because I’m not as strong as you doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself.  You said it yourself; it’ll be safer if he doesn’t go alone.”

“You don’t have to do that, Bambam.  I don’t want to put you in danger; I’ve already caused you guys enough trouble.”  Mark interjected.

“No, please.  Yugyeom will be leaving for mandatory service tomorrow and I’ll be out here alone anyways.  It’s better this way, I’ll have something to do instead of staying here alone worrying about Yugyeom.”

“Bambam…”  Yugyeom looked like a sad puppy as he walked over to him and pulled him into his arms.

“We would’ve had to say goodbye tomorrow anyways, it’s only a one day difference.  You knew this had to happen, if you don’t report for mandatory service you’ll get in trouble.”

“Just one day without you feels like an eternity.”  Yugyeom, suddenly realizing how cheesy that was, cringed violently and Bambam laughed.

“You’re an idiot, seriously.”

“You still love me, though.”  Yugyeom was trying to smile even though he was still distressed.

“Of course, I’ll always love you.”  Bambam leaned into him and Mark felt like the moment was so personal he had to look away.  Their goodbyes reminded him fondly of when he had to do this not too long ago; he smiled somberly at the memory.

There was scuffling around them and he realized people were arriving to take the carriages away and he saw signaled to Bambam that if he wanted in they had to go now. 

“I promise I’ll get back safely.”  Mark heard Bambam say before he was running over to Mark who was crawling in the back of the carriage.

“I know you will, I’ll stay safe as well.”  Yugyeom smiled before he realized he should get out of the area as well, as Bambam followed Mark and squeezed himself in amongst the supplies.  They were lucky they were both on the thinner side, or else they might’ve not had enough room.

Minutes later they heard voices getting louder and people boarding the fronts of the carriages.  They both let out a sigh of relief when they didn’t bother to check the contents before they decided to leave.

When the carriage started moving they were both jostled a bit but they stayed quiet as to not alert anyone of their presence, trying to communicate with hand motions and whispers alone.

His limbs were still sore when he tried to move them as he sat up and saw a sad-looking Bambam tucked into the opposite corner.  He belatedly realized they weren’t moving anymore.

“We’re not there yet, I checked.  I think we’re just taking a break or something, we’re in another small town.”

“Oh.”  Mark said, realizing it was okay for them to talk.

“Hey Mark, can I ask you something?” 

Mark nestled himself into the most comfortable position he could.  “Yes?”

“How can you be so… brave, even when Jinyoung isn’t around?”

“Brave?  I’ve been a mess for the past 24 hours.  I wouldn’t call that brave.”

“That’s true but your spirit is so strong.  If anything like this happened to Yugyeom I’d probably just sit in my house and cry.  You were willing to break my arm to try and run after Jinyoung, I think that’s really admirable, even now you’re pushing through with trying to save him.”

Mark listened to him speak and he felt the more clearly than he had ever before.  “You miss Yugyeom, right?”

“I wanted to be brave too, that’s why I volunteered to come along, but now I feel awful knowing that I left him in such a hurry.  I didn’t get to say goodbye properly, I just feel… empty?  Incomplete?  I’ve never felt like this before.”

Mark felt like his son was coming to him with his problems hearing Bambam talk to him like this.  “Jinyoung once got upset when I told him I didn’t have any passions in life other than to be with him, and I’ve finally realized what he meant.  You as a human being are not incomplete without your significant other, you are a whole even without them.  No matter how much you love someone it’s dangerous to think you can’t live without them,” Bambam was looking at him weirdly, like that was not what he was expecting him to say.

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t miss him?”

“Not at all, what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t depend on someone else to have something to live for.  I mean, I always feel like if Jinyoung wasn’t around there won’t by any reason in living on but we shouldn’t think like that.  We should live our own lives knowing that we can always move on, no matter how hard it is. If anything happens to us the people we love will want us to move on by ourselves.  We can worry all we want but we shouldn’t automatically assume our life can’t move forward when they aren’t around.”

“That doesn’t stop me from feeling distressed, but I understand.”

“Yugyeom is smart, he’ll do the best to take care of himself as long s you do your best as well.  There’s no need to worry.”  Mark felt like he was spewing lies, considering the situation he was in currently, but he saw Bambam calm down a bit after talking and he knew he did the right thing.

“I can do this, we can do this.  Jinyoung is going to be alright.”

Mark didn’t realize it before but he had changed a lot since he met Jinyoung.

Mark knew it would be dangerous to even let anyone see his face under the circumstances, so trying to get out inconspicuously was going to be a rough task that he hadn’t planned for.  Every now and then Bambam peered out the back to see what was going on, but townsfolk were always buzzing.  There were no chances to leave.  If they reached the military base their cover would be blown, so they had to think of a way to get out and fast.

“Hey,” Bambam whispered.  “I think we’re leaving the city.  There’s not a lot of people, we have to get out now but I don’t know how-“

“You need to jump.”

“What?” Bambam was having a hard time keeping his voice low.

“We need to get out, you need to jump, duck and roll.  You’ll be fine, trust me.”

“Are you crazy?!”  Bambam realized he spoke too loudly and Mark covered his mouth.

“Shhh, it’ll be fine.”  The carriage slowed down a bit and Mark wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.  “Just do what I do.”

Bambam didn’t even get a chance to reply before Mark shoved him aside and jumped right out the back, rolled, and made it out safely.  Realizing if he didn’t follow suit he would be left behind, Bambam copied, flustered he almost tripped but Mark was able to catch him.  

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“Oh my god!!  You are crazy!! How am I alive, what the hell did I just do?”  Bambam said, breathing heavily in Mark’s arms.

“Relax Bam, you’re fine.”

“Where did you learn how to do that?!”

“Royal kidnappings are common, it’s standard we learn some things to avoid being captured.” 

“Ow, my knee hurts, my back hurts, my…. wait- what?  Royal kidnappings?  Mark… if you don’t tell me everything right now I’m leaving.  This is too crazy, what did I agree to?”

“Wait,” Mark dragged Bambam off to the side of the road, into the trees.  “I agree you deserve to know.”

Bambam was lying on the ground trying to soothe his sore body when Mark started talking.

“I can’t explain everything right now but basically both me and Jinyoung are princes and we were both arranged to marry different people but you know we kind of liked each other more so to get out of said marriages we decided to just run away from the palace in Jinhae and I’m pretty sure we’re in a lot of trouble now because Jinyoung was taken away and we may or may not have been the cause of the entire conflict starting the current war.”  Mark said all in one breath, bracing for Bambam’s reaction.

“I… what?!”  Bambam started at him dumbfounded.  “That’s really funny Mark, don’t scare me like that.”

“That’s the truth…”  Mark just stared at him awkwardly until Bambam realized that yes; that was the truth.

“Are you completely insane?!  How in the world did this happen?  I can’t believe this, so you think Jinyoung is…”

“His father is the new ruler, so my best guess is that they would’ve brought him back to his family, at the palace.”

Bambam simply put his head back down on the ground.  “I’m going to need a moment; just let me lie here for a moment.”

“Sorry, you probably wouldn’t have agreed to help if you knew.”

“I probably would’ve been more hesitant, but I still would’ve helped.”

“Thanks,” Mark suddenly remembered the predicament they were in.  “Where are we?”

“It looks like some wooded area between the military base and the town, but I’m not exactly sure-“Bambam finally picked himself up to take a look at his surroundings.  “Oh, I believe that what you’re looking for.”  Bambam pointed up at the huge tower obstructing their view, the palace.  If the palace back in Jinhae was huge, this place was larger than the entire town.

“Great!  We’re close too, we just need to go there and hopefully Jinyoung is there and-“

“You’re really great at acting like you have a plan when you really have no idea what you’re doing, right?”