It was already late at night and most of the capital citizens have already gone home. The Moon Festival was a success, as well as the Hwarang’s performance that made the entire capital talk about them.

Jidwi walked on the almost empty streets with Ahro behind him, the female physician had her head casted down.

“Are you...” Ahro cautiously starts, “Are you really the King?”

Jidwi stopped walking, making her stop as well.

“Yes.” he answers after a few seconds of silence.

She looked up at his back that was facing to her— face contorted into a worried frown. He turned around to look at her and she immediately looks down.

“Why are you not saying anything? I am the King.”

Ahro tried to look up at him but falters when she remembered that this is the King of Silla who is in front of her— she ended up looking away instead, eyes scanning for possible passer-by that might hear their conversation.

“Do you not understand how big of a confession this is?” he says when the other did not made even a single word.

“It’s not that, Your Majesty.” she immediately counters, “I was just reminded of everything I have done to you.”

Jidwi looked at her, flummoxed at first but then a chuckle escaped his lips.

“What in particular?”

Ahro was finally able to look up at him this time, “Well...that...”

He looked at her and crossed his arms over his chest as her head started to fill with memories of how she treated him from the first time they have met— her face contorts into a mixture of fear and of deep regret.

“Why did I do such a thing?” she says, biting her lower lip worriedly. “I’m done for.”

He watched her with an amused look as she berates herself. She finally looks at him and he tilts his head a little.

“Are you going to kill me?” she then asks, fear and worry visible in her eyes.

Jidwi stifled another amused chuckle at her question— he looked away from her and pretended to give her question a serious thought.

“Well, since we know each other, I will allow you to choose how you die.”

Ahro who had then looked down, snapped her head up at him with shocked and terrified eyes as he looked at her once again, the two of them sharing eye contact.

“What do you think about being boiled to death?” he nonchalantly suggests and she audibly gulped at that.

Jidwi laughs at her reaction and turned around, walking away— she looked at him in disbelief but immediately follows.

Chunhwa and her maid were making their way back to Hwarang House when someone had caught her eye.

“Huh?” she suddenly halted as she looked at Sunwoo who was running around as if desperately looking for someone.

“Is there anything wrong, My Lady?” Damyi asks, grabbing her attention. She looked at her maid and back at Sunwoo who was a few distance away from them.

“Damyi, would you go back to Hwarang House first? I just have to check something.” she says distractingly, and without waiting for her maid’s reply walked away towards Sunwoo’s direction as fast as she could.

“But— My Lady?” Damyi tries to call her back but the young maiden did not even looked back at her and had already disappeared from the small crowd.

“Aish. Where did he run off to?” Chunhwa says frustratingly as she looked towards left and right.

She had been following Sunwoo for almost 20 minutes already and he had suddenly disappeared. Chunhwa pouted and finally decided to go back to Hwarang House as Damyi must have been already worried over her being gone for long when she almost bumps into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Chunhwa says, looking at the person she almost bumped into.

Jidwi stares at her in return and she lit up when she recognized him.

“Oh? You’re that Hwarang from earlier. I’m sorry, it seems that I keep on bumping onto you today.”

“Ah, no. It’s okay. Please don’t apologize, Lady Heo.” he immediately says, as if snapping from a trance.

“By the way, have you seen any other Hwarang passing by in this area?” she asks, looking again towards left and right but dawning upon her that they are probably the only ones in the area at this time of night.

“What do you mean?” Jidwi asks— only one person popping out in his mind.

“Well, he looks like this and he is a bit taller than you I think?” Chunhwa says, imitating Sunwoo’s signature frowning look that he almost laughs because the similarity is so uncanny.

“Ah, you mean Sunwoo?” he says, still trying to stifle his laugh.

‘She’s so weird as always. She looks so cold at first but then suddenly funny at the next moment.’

“Sunwoo?” Chunhwa echoes the name, eyebrows furrowed and Jidwi nods.

‘Of course, he might be using an alias for all I know!’ she tries to think positively, but his next words had extinguished the growing hope in her heart.

“If you’re looking for him, he had already gone home with his sister just a few moments ago.”

‘What?’

“He has a sister?” she looks at him as if not believing his words.

“Yes. He has. Is he not supposed to have a sister?” he looked at her weirdly.

She looked taken a back for a moment before shaking her head.

“Anyway, it’s late. I think I should go back to Hwarang House now.” she sighed and turned around to walk away but a hand grabs her wrist.

Chunhwa turned back in surprise— Jidwi who was holding her immediately let go, embarrassed at what he suddenly did.

“Yes?” she asks after a few seconds of silence.

He cleared his throat and spared her a look before looking away.

“As...as you have said it’s already late. A maiden like you should not walk alone at night.” he slowly looked at her and looked away once again.

“I’ll walk you back to Hwarang House since I’m also going back there anyway.”

Chunhwa looked at him with a raised eyebrow before nodding.

“Well, if you insist. Come on, let’s go. My maid must be crazy worried by now.”

“What made you believe that Banryu was not the one who destroyed the instruments a while ago?” Jidwi asks as they took their time walking back to Hwarang House.

Chunhwa made a soft humming sound as she thought of an answer and shrugs.

“I don’t really know to be honest. It was just a gut feeling that he was not the one who did it.” she answers after a while, kicking a small pebble on the way. Jidwi smiles at the small action.

“But we can’t always trust our gut feeling, you know.” he side comments.

“Yes, well.” she nods, kicking another pebble away on the road.

“I just know that Master Banryu could never do that.” she smiles a little and surprisingly, a memory of another faceless young boy having tantrums about having two fathers that wants him to be perfect came into her mind.

“You seem to trust him, My Lady.” Jidwi muses at her.

“Oh, no I don’t. After all, he’s still Minister Youngshil’s adoptive son so he can’t be easily trusted.” Chunhwa chuckles humourlessly.

“It’s just that even if I have only spent a few years here in Silla, I also grew up together with him and almost every child of the ministry officials out there. Let’s just say that Master Banryu is the type to always have second thoughts when doing something that questions his definition of right and wrong— if that characteristic of him since he was young still haven’t changed that is.”

“However,” she stopped from her tracks as she looks at him. “I don’t think you grew up here— as I have observed by the way the other Hwarang men sometimes treat you.”

Jidwi stopped walking as well. He turned his head to look at her in the eye.

“What’s your name, by the way?” she asks him, curiosity visible in her eyes.

“Jidwi. My name is Kim Jidwi, My Lady.” he says after a few seconds of silence.

“Jidwi...” Chunhwa echoes, nodding to herself. They started to walk forward once again, still in their slow pace.

“I’m Chief Instructor Wi Hwa’s nephew from a far away country. I did not grow up in Silla.” he immediately supplies before she could ask him further more.

He wanted to tell her who he is but somehow, something was stopping him. He doesn’t know what it was but, he wanted to keep his real identity from Chunhwa for now— or maybe because Ahro had just found out about his real identity that he couldn’t risk for another person to find out that he is the King on the same night.

“Ah, so that explains why.” she was about to ask more questions in order to feed her curiosity towards the man when a voice echoed through the streets.

“My Lady! My Lady!” Damyi calls, running over them.

“Oh? Damyi.” Chunhwa says as she watched her maid make her way towards them. She then looked around and realized that they are almost in front of Hwarang House.

“My Lady, where have you been? You were gone for so long that I was so worried to death!” her maid fusses, checking her from head to toe for possible injuries but Chunhwa softly chuckles as she placed a comforting hand on Damyi’s shoulder.

“Aigoo, you shouldn’t have worried yourself too much. I have a Hwarang with me on the way back here. I’m safe.” she says reassuringly and that’s only when her maid realizes that Jidwi was standing beside her mistress.

“Besides, you know I can protect myself anyway. I can handle being alone.” she adds, winking at her.

“But still My Lady!” Damyi retaliates, “It’s not safe to be outside this late and you should already be asleep by this hour.”

“Eh, it’s just for today. Sleeping late once won’t hurt me.” she waves her off with another wink.

“Anyway, thank you for walking with me, Master Jidwi.” Chunhwa turns to Jidwi with a small smile.

“It’s nothing. It is a Hwarang’s duty to its visitors back safely.” he says nonchalantly.

‘But, I actually wanted to spend a little time with you too...now that I have recognized you.’

“Well then, I shall go inside first. Goodnight, Master Jidwi.” she gave him a small bow and turned towards her maid. “Let’s go.”

Damyi turns to Jidwi and bowed deeply before following Chunhwa who had already started walking back inside Hwarang House.

Jidwi watched her as she walks away from with a small smile.

“Goodnight, Chunhwa.”

‘You seem remember the children here in this place and yet you couldn’t even recognize me. Have you forgotten about orabeoni?’

“Rather than humiliate Hwarang, we made them look even better.”

The ministry officials who were against the Queen Regent were gathered at Minister Youngshil’s residence the next morning. They were all seated on the table— Minister Youngshil sat on the head position.

“The entire capital is talking about them.” one ministry official says with disapproval.

Almost everyone in the table started whispering in agreement about what the ministry official had said.

“We just made the Queen happy!” another one says in distaste. “I told you that we must stop Hwarang from the—“

He was cut off and shushed by the person across him, gesturing towards Minister Youngshil who seems to be in a deep thought—his fingers softly tapping the surface of the table.

“I know.” he says after a few seconds of silence. “Master Wi Hwa is better than I expected. He is making Hwarang his own.”

“That is why we must come up with an idea!” the minister who was shushed a few moments before says exasperatedly.

“I heard the Queen sent Princess Sookmyung to Hwarang House.” the minister on the left side of Minister Youngshil says, looking at him.

“Not only she sent the Princess, but also, she had sent the late Lord Guhae’s granddaughter at Hwarang House as well.”

“The late Lord Guhae’s granddaughter? That dog is still alive?”

“Didn’t you know? It’s the young lady that paid respect to us last night at the festival!”

“That is why I think we should plant someone too.” Minister Youngshil speaks once again. The ministry officials looked at each other and then back at him as he continues.

“We must know why the princess and the queen’s original dog, who had finally showed up after hiding for so long, were sent to Hwarang House.”

Author's Note:

That awkward moment when what you're
writing follows you in your dreams .__. lol 

Please do inform me if there are any typo or grammatical
errors. I'm actually sick today and my head is spinning so
I did not get the chance to thoroughly check this one. I may
or may not be able to update on Saturday due to my condition
but if ever that I won't be able to do so, I'll make up to my absence
and promise to give you guys a double update next week. So yeah.

Hope you guys like this chapter!!
Hope my silent readers could drop some comments as well!
Your comments serve as an added motivation to me. hihi : )

- flyingjunmyeons [20170510]