Into the Fire

“You have to get your down here. It’s your father!” Se Hoon screamed into the phone.

The Institution was in total chaos, and Jong In was at the other side of the city.

The crown prince didn’t bother to say anything and rushed to his car immediately. The black sports vehicle tore through the cold night.

─

The arrival of the crown prince was announced throughout the ongoing court trial. A man with an evil smile stood across from where the king was.

Jong In never had a good rapport with the man to begin with, and the fact that he dragged Jong In’s father into this mess infuriated the crown prince in every way possible.

Jong In was ready to jump in to save the king, the irresponsible young crown prince style, but Chang Min beat him to it.

“You are to stop where you are, young man.” The king’s voice roared through the court room.

“But Father!” Jong In complained.

Chang Min gave his son a firm look and it was enough to silence the prince.

“Oh, Jong In, you’re here!” Yeong Min cooed sweetly.

“I almost didn’t recognise you. You’ve grown so much!” He said, voice full of adoration.

Yeong Min was extending his arm to brush Jong In’s hair away from his face, but the young man turned his head to the other side, purposely avoiding the older male’s touch.

“I’ve been well. Thank you.” Jong In faked a respectful tone, knowing that every one’s eyes were on him.

“You are to be seated, Your Highness.” the Judge interrupted, reinstating the order of the trial.

Jong In had no choice but to sit down and watch his father’s fall.

─

“Okay. Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?” Jong In’s voice hollered through his private study room.

He kicked his table with such a force that sent his friends crouching in fear at the other end of the room.

“Yeong Min accused your father of killing the last crown prince. He claimed to have gathered enough evidences to send your father to jail.” Joon Myeon explained calmly, rubbing his temples to clear his thoughts.

“What? But that’s like 20 years ago!” Jong In exclaimed in disbelief.

His friends just shrugged.

“Uncle Seung Hyeon asked my father to replace him on his coronation day. He promised he would return, but he didn’t. We all know that’s what happened.” Jong In stated in frustration.

He couldn’t believe what he had heard.

“We believe your father. Besides he had already vowed in front of the High Priest 20 years ago. He certainly wasn’t deceiving the whole institution just to get the throne.” Baek Hyeon reassured the raging crown prince, standing next to the oldest in the gang.

He was the calmest of all, or maybe the second calmest after Kyeong Soo, but the later could not be counted. He always had that poker face on so Baek Hyeon still held the position as the calmest of all.

“But Yeong Min knew which buttons to push. We may believe your father, but the rest of the people are sitting on the fence right now. I guess, your father had no choice, but to comply to Yeong Min’s request for a trial.” Chan Yeol butted in.

“But why now? Why only twenty years later?” Se Hoon asked innocently.

“That’s what I’m about to find out.” Jong In stated confidently, leaving the room in a hurry.

“I’m not cleaning up after your right now, Kim Jong In!” Kyeong Soo finally opened his mouth, but he was too late. Jong In was already gone.

─

Jong In wasted no effort in toning down his hostility. Yeong Min’s guards were ready to him out when their master himself raised a hand, signaling for them to stop.

“It’s okay.” He said. A sick smile was plastered on his face.

The guards finally left the two alone, albeit reluctantly.

“I was expecting you sooner, my dear.” Yeong Min said, standing by a cabinet full of expensive-looking bottles, his collection.

On his hand was a glass of red wine, Yeong Min’s favourite.

“Would you like a glass?” He asked politely, still smiling.

Jong In was still standing near the door. There was no way he would be able to restrain himself if he were to step any closer to the evil man. The late crown prince’s cousin or not, Yeong Min was not a good man. Jong In had established that knowledge ever since he was little.

Jong In had to clench and unclench both of his fists to keep his anger at bay, but the crown prince wasn’t known to be cool-headed.

“Just cut it out, Yeong Min!” Jong In snapped.

“Oh, feisty.” Yeong Min chuckled, swirling the garnet liquid on his hand.

“You should have just jumped on me this evening, Jong In. That will save me some tricks to end your father.” He shrugged casually before finally sipping the drink on his hand.

“You!” Jong In flew towards the older male, but it was nothing Yeong Min hadn’t anticipated.

Jong In was a breath away to knock some sense to Yeong Min, but the later had used his power to send dagger dangerously close to the prince’s throat.

“Not so feisty anymore, eh?” Yeong Min asked cunningly.

The metallic dagger danced a thread away from Jong In’s pulse, following the movement of Yeong Min’s fingers.

That old douche bag, Jong In cursed in his head.

The crown prince was caught off guard for a second, but he had been trained to defend himself and he wasn’t about to put all those lessons to waste.

With a strong flick of his hand, the dagger was on the floor.

Yeong Min who was unbothered initially, finally put down the glass on his hand. His eyes looked threatened for a second, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“Ah, I forgot you’re a telekinesis user. Rare gem, I understand, but I have to destroy you unfortunately.” He said, mockingly.

Yeong Min jutted his hand, a crack was heard somewhere in the room. Something just came to life and Jong In was not interested in finding what it was. He his heel before swishing his left hand to bring the bookshelves behind Yeong Min down, making it fell on top of the older male.

The prince ran out of the room, pushing his palm into the air to slam the guards into each other.

He ran as fast as his feet could take him, and out of all places, his feet had brought him to his father’s study room. As useless as it was, Jong In still remembered to lock the door behind him before going deeper into the room. He had to think, and he had to think fast.

A loud metallic growl could be heard, and Jong In’s head snapped in alarm. All this while he thought that Yeong Min’s metal dog was dead, but he was wrong. Ah Reum, as the owner of the evil dog liked to call it, howled after breaking through the door.

Jong In stood by the table. His hand was gripping its edges for dear life. He was thinking to smash the table right into Ah Reum’s head, but the metal dog was twice the size of a great dane and throwing things at it would be rather useless.

Jong In was cornered and he had nowhere to go. Could this possibly be the end of him, of the royal family, of the institution?

As the crown prince continued to back away, his body finally met the wall. Behind him was a fireplace his father liked to stare at whenever he had so many thoughts in his mind.

Jong In cursed silently in his head. His hand was on the ivory wall when his fingers brushed over an old phrase, Gods save the royal family.

“That’s it.” He said in victory.

“Gods save the royal family!” He exclaimed as he jumped into the fire.