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An hour later, the three young men arrived at the stables with a displeased looking head chief awaiting them. The travel from the capital was supposed to be less than an hour but since it was a tandem of Youngho and Yuta along with Minhyung who ran the errand, it took them over an hour to succeed in the task given. Because heck, the three can't walk without goofing and fooling around. 

Whenever, and wherever. 

So when the three caught sight of the old man who was crossing his arms on top of his chest, a look of displease on his face, and one foot tapping on the grassy ground, all of them knew that they were in a situation messier than anything. 

"Annyeong," Yuta greeted warily, raising one of his hands in the air awkwardly. He was answered by an arch of the brow from the head stable chief. 

"Noble Jang asked us to run some errands so it took us quite a while to return home," Youngho lied and the stable chief laughed haughtily. 

Minhyung eyed his hyungs, smiling uneasily when both glanced at him. 

"Oh really?" the three heard the chief asked which prompted them to look in front only to witness the old man's wrath. 

"Let me guess," he started, stepping closer towards the three. In response, the young men started stepping backwards, smiling uneasily. Yuta was looking behind, making sure they weren't landing on a pit hole yet again, just like the old times whereas Yeongho had his hands raised up to his chest, as if telling the old man how sorry he was. Minhyung on the other hand, just grasped both of his hyungs' arms on either side of him as if doing that would save him from some serious scolding.

"You three spend many hours in the plaza, listening to ridiculous stories from wandering narrators you enjoyed so much of hearing that you forget your duties hear in the stable!" Each word of accusation from the stable chief kept on getting louder and louder. 

"We didn't linger on the plaza too much, the narrator was telling lies!" Youngho argued and the old man chuckled. "Oh really?" 

"Yes! Really!" Yuta added. "We never get to hear the end of his story actually, because we hurried here!"

It's true though, at some point. The narrator was telling ridiculous stories about the royal family so people started escaping the scene. It's not because of their will to come back to the stables quickly.

The stepping forward and backwards continued until the old man let out a battle cry answered by a scream of terror coming from the boys when he raised a huge wooden rod before running towards the group, swinging the piece of wood in the air. 

Youngho and Yuta immediately let go of Minhyung's arms, leaving him behind as the two went their separate ways, trying to escape from the furious stable chief. 

Being caught off guard, the youngest of the three was left with no choice but to shut his eyes close, curl his body inwards and fist his knuckles as tight as he could, awaiting the hit from the old man which, unexpectedly, did not come. 

Instead, when he opened his eyes to check where the yelling man is, he witnessed him chasing after the two older guys, his rod waving in the air. 

When the old man noticed Minhyung giving him weird looks, he stopped tunning for a while to  tell the youngest "Mistress Lee was looking for you, she's waiting by the shed." 

Almost instantly, the side of the young stable boy's lips curved upwards as his mouth sported his biggest grin of this day. 

"Thank You!" He exclaimed as he bowed at the older politely, before turning in his heels to run where the stable was located. That kid was always so enthusiastic when it comes to the lady and the old stabler was always at awe at how the kid seemed to like the noble lady very much. Can he actually feel the bond they share?

Old man Yoo chuckled, shaking his head, letting out a soft , "That kid, really," only to frown deeply when he realized his stable subordinates are getting away. 

He whipped his head to the direction where Youngho and Yuta went. 

"Yahhhh!!!!!"

〰〰〰

"Mistress Lee!" 

Minhyung's grin turned even wider the moment he caught side of the noble lady's back figure. At the mention of her name, the thirty-seven year old lady turned her head to seek the owner of the voice, her eyes already turning to crescents when their eyes met. 

She turned body fully, facing the young boy who was jogging up the hill to get to her, all smiles. 

"What brought you here?" Minhyung panted when he reached her place finally, his eyes darting towards the huge box on her hands. 

The woman just stared at him affectionately, cherishing this moment with him. Unfortunately for the younger, he didn't get the chance to witness the weight of her gaze because he was busy ogling the box she's carrying. 

However, since Mistress Lee never responded to his question and he could feel her stare from his peripheral vision, Minhyung brought his eyes towards her face, eyeing her in curiosity. 

It's just that, the affectionate stare was already masked by a cheeky one she's so used of showing. "You're turning twenty-one in a few days, right?" 

"Ah, that." Minhyung started, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes, that's right." He nodded, his gaze fixated on the grassland beneath them. 

Mistress Lee smiled, "Are you preparing something?" as she inquired. 

The guy shrugged lightly. "Not that much. Just a small celebration as a thank you for another year from the almighty." 

The female nodded, copying him. She too, focused on the grass on their feet only to have her eyes glancing back to the stable boy when he let out a startled "Ah!"

She raised her brows in question when she saw how Minhyung was staring at space. "Maybe drink some liquor as well for my coming-of-age ceremony?" He glanced at her, as if he wasn't sure of his plans yet. 

The older nodded in understanding, contemplating on his words. After a while she said, "Don't forget to do it in moderation though!" 

Mistress Lee was answered with a contagious smile so she too found herself cracking up. 

Yes, everything felt right at this moment. It's as if nothing is faulty and nobody could ever steal this moment from them. 

"Ah, by the way!" The woman hollered. She presented the guy the box on her hand and once more, Minhyung's eyes focused on the thing resting on her hands.