“It’s been tough for you, hasn’t it?” Sungyeol asked.

Tough probably wasn’t the right word. Frustrating fit Seulhee’s feelings much better. Not being able to speak to anyone besides Sungjong, not being able to truly enjoy the city like she had wanted. Not being able to reconnect with Sungyeol during her time here in the capital.

She hadn’t thought it possible, but he was taller than she remembered, and even though she wasn’t horribly short, she had to make an effort to keep up with his pace. He slowed down a little when he realized her difficulty.

Sungyeol seemed to know the lay of the land around this area, but unlike Sungjong, he didn’t have all the stories to tell. Seulhee had a feeling it was because he had spent so much time at the Royal Academy that he hadn’t gotten out much or associated with people outside of there.

After a period of extended silence—Seulhee had no choice, of course—Sungyeol bent down and whispered in her ear, “We can go somewhere private where you can talk, if you’d like.” The fact that he was talking to her like this, his head right next to hers, made her nostalgic of the days when they had shared everything with each other. She nodded, and so he took her hand and led the way to wherever they were going.

Eventually, they arrived a tavern. Seulhee wondered how this place would be more private than out on the streets, but once they scaled a flight of stairs and entered a room, she figured out the answer for herself. The room contained three chairs and a desk, and she figured that it must be where Sungyeol worked on things for the conspiracy.

“The walls are spelled to keep sound in,” Sungyeol said. “You can talk now.”

Even though he said this, Seulhee felt choked for words. Sungyeol had told her a lot about what he had felt and gone through in their one encounter, but she herself had yet to really open up. At last, she said, “I’m sorry.”
Sungyeol shook his head. “There really isn’t any need to apologize. What’s done is done. It was more my fault than anyone else’s.”

“I wish it would stop.”

“What?”

She sighed and looked him straight in the eyes. “All this avoiding each other and awkwardness and nostalgia. Are we friends or not? I don’t want every moment to one where all I can do is remember the good old days and wish I could go back to them.”

“We can’t go back, Seulhee. We’re different people now.”

It was true. Both of them had changed, become more mature, taken on the responsibilities of adults. But even so. “We are different people, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends like we used to. Maybe what we need to do is start over.”

“Start over?”

“Might as well. We’re no better than strangers at this point.” She extended her hand to him. “I’m Seulhee. It’s nice to meet you.”

Much to her surprise, Sungyeol took her hand and shook it. “I’m Sungyeol.”

When they let go of each other’s hands, there was a brief silence. Then, out of nowhere, they both burst out laughing.

“That was stupid,” Sungyeol remarked.

“Not as stupid as the time you hit your head on the table,” she countered.

“No, what about the time you ate that cake even though it tasted horrible because I told you my mother would be sad if you didn’t?”

“How was I supposed to know that you made it and not your mother?”

Somehow, they had fallen into their old bantering ways, and it felt comfortable. Seulhee watched Sungyeol laugh at the memory and smiled. “You haven’t lost your smile or your sense of humor. That’s good.”

“You haven’t lost your feistiness, either,” he answered. “I was beginning to think you’d gotten soft.”

To prove a point, she got up and punched him in the arm.

“Hey, what was that for?”

“All the past months,” she declared, her voice tinged with momentary anger. But it died as soon as it had surfaced, and she threw her arms around Sungyeol and began to cry. It had been a while since she had last cried. Perhaps it had been the day she had received that letter from him, months ago.

Seulhee felt a drop of wetness splash on her shoulder, and she looked up to find her friend shedding tears as well. “Geez, only you would be able to make me cry,” he mumbled. “I’m almost twenty-one now, and I can’t even endure it like a man.”

She let out a watery chuckle. “It’s my revenge for all of those times in the past where you played pranks on me.”

“I thought you said we were starting over,” Sungyeol pointed out. “No revenge allowed because we haven’t known each other for long enough to have a reason to want revenge.”

“Fine, fine.” She let go of him. “But if you do anything starting from now on, I won’t hesitate to get back at you.”

The two of them left Sungyeol’s office and went exploring some more. Several hours later, he escorted her back to the palace gates, where Sungjong was waiting.

“Ah, there you are. Did you two have a good time?” Sungyeol and Seulhee both nodded and smiled. “That’s good. Why don’t we go in now?” He motioned for Seulhee to come with him, and she did, waving goodbye to her ‘new’ friend.
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First SeulJong, then SeulYeol…so much fluff, lol.