"Who are you?"

 

As Seonu heard Raina's question, all the blood drained out of his face as he desperately tried to think of something. Raina, seeing him lost for words, brushed past him, knocking the bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums out of his hands. She walked and walked until she was in the woods behind Hwarangdo where she finally let the tears, that had welled up in her eyes, fall. 
 

 

 

Raina closed her eyes and leant against the bark of a tree as tears ran down her face, mourning the loss of the real Kim Seonu when she heard the cracking of a twig. Hurriedly wiping away her tears, she turned around to see Suho.

 

 

"I got wounded while sword fighting" he said, brandishing a bloodied arm sustaining a shallow cut, with a sheepish expression that turned into one of concern on seeing her face.

 

"Have you been crying?" Suho asked, concerned.

 

"No" replied Raina, swallowing her emotions as she rippped a strip of cloth from her robes. She was about to bandage his arm when Suho took ahold of her wrist.

 

"I don't like seeing you hurt. Tell me who the man who made you cry is. I will kill him." Suho said fiercely as Raina shrugged off his hold on her.

 

"Don't be silly," she admonished while tying the cloth around Suho's arm as a pressure bandage. Without looking at him, she said, "I just felt lonely." 

 

Removing her hands from his arm, she said,"You're good to go."

 

She was about to turn away from him when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder along with warm fingers tilting her chin up until she was looking at him.

 

"I'm here for you if you need me, alright?" Said Suho, gazing into her chocolate eyes, trying to convey the sincerity in his words. He watched as Raina nodded. "Thanks," she said before leaving, heading back to Hwarangdo. She had to do something to distract herself from thoughts about Seonu. Entering her quarters, Raina set about writing the second book of the 'Hwarang : The Beginning' series. 

 

 

 

As night fell, Raina stood up from where she had been sitting the whole day and stretched, her legs numb and her hand aching from writing for so long. She hadn't left her room after she had entered it in the morning and it had been Pi Jooki's duty to bring her food when it was time to eat. Staring at the latest books of the Lustful Student, Raina sighed before locking the doors to her room which held the potentially incriminating evidence and headed out to the bridge near the pond, a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

 

 

 

Seating herself on the railing of the bridge, Raina blinked back the tears as she remembered what her father had unintentionally revealed on the day, Seonu had appeared.

 

 

He had cried in her arms, lamenting the fact that his childrem had died before him and Raina had correctly assumed that he had meant Seonu but once he had introduced her to him, she had cast aside all suspicion foolishly. Gulping down a copious amount of alcohol, she tried to drown her sorrows by drinking and that was how Yeol found her.
 

 

Yeol had been strolling through Hwarangdo, a couple of minutes before curfew, enjoying the beautiful moon that graced the night sky when he saw the resident physician at the bridge overlooking the pond. Noticing the tear tracks on her face, Yeol slowly slid himself into the seat next to her and stared at the pond before saying, "It's okay to cry once in a while," when he noticed her surpitiously trying to wipe her eyes. "It's a healing process."

 

 

At his words, Raina started sobbing and let herself being drawn into his arms, her head resting on his chest as she cried her eyes out. Soon the alcohol kicked in and she drifted off to sleep, feeling a sense of safety that calmed and soothed her as she listened to the loud heartbeat of Yeol.

 

 

 

Sensing that Raina was asleep, Yeol gathered her fully into his arms and carried her to her quarters, bridal style. Aware that he had only a few minutes till curfew, Yeol supported the sleeping Raina on his knee as he knelt in front of the locked doors of her quarters, attempting to pick open the lock with the aid of the blue butterfly clip he had removed from Raina's hair before giving up. Cursing under his breath when he heard a bell ring, indicating the beginning of curfew, he tried to stand up when he fell, Raina falling with him.

 

 

Yeol held his breath as the sudden movement caused Raina, who was on top of him, to open her eyes sleepily and gaze at him with deep eyes and an adorable red tint dusting her cheeks as she cupped his cheek and leaned in until their lips brushed together. Yeol strangely felt his heart beat even faster even though she leaned out, smiled at him before falling asleep, her head buried in the crook of his neck, her hair tickling his face. The smell of flowers filled his senses as he slowly stood up, Raina in his arms, before making his way to his dorm room, fortunately passing the guard with ease.
 

 

 

Bursting in, Yeol didn't have the time to enjoy everyone's shocked gazes as his arms nearly gave way. Hansung, who had been standing nearby, stepped forward and took the sleeping Raina from Yeol's tired arms and gently carried her and placed her on Jidwi's bed as the rest gathered around the exhausted Yeol, b with curiosity.

 

 

He quickly explained that he had stumbled upon her crying and she passed out due to drinking a jug of alcohol. As the boys took in this information, Suho suddenly spoke up.

 

"I knew that there was something wrong. In the morning, she was crying as well."

 

Seonu who heard this, couldn't hide the guilt he felt and it caught the attention of Banryu who strode over and pinned Seonu against the wall by the neck. This sudden action shocked everyone and they all watched as Banryu almost snarled out, "What did you do?"

"What's it to you?" Retorted Seonu as he glared with equal intensity at Banryu.
 

"You tell me what it is to me when the girl I like, cried herself to sleep because of you." This time, Banryu did snarl. Suho repeated in disbelief, "The girl you like?" He then advanced on Banryu and started to beat him up.

 

"What's it to you?" Seonu roared before Banryu, who had been lost in his imagination of what would happen if he replied to Seonu's question, let go of him and sneered, "Of course, what can you expect from a peasant who doesn't know how to treat women."

 

As the tensiom increased as Banryu and Seonu glared at each other, Suho diffused the tension by catching Hansung and Jidwi who were approaching Jidwi's bed. 

 

"What do you think you're doing," Suho excalimed as the duo settled on either side of the sleeping Raina.

 

"Sleeping on my bed," said Jidwi, patting his pillow.

 

 

"Sleeping on Jidwi's bed," said Hansung, snuggling close to Raina. They both closed their eyes  when they were dragged away from Raina, Yeol dragging Hansung by the ear while Suho dragged Jidwi by his robes.

 

 

"You two are both sleeping on the floor," said Suho,"and so are you, Banryu."

Banryu looked at Suho in confusion which turned into panic at his next words.
 

"I heard you ually assaulted a young maiden in the backyard of Okta." With the exception of Suho, everyone else exchanged anxious looks as Suho, who was ignorant of exactly who was 'assaulted', threw 3 pillows on the floor. 
 

Banryu attempted to regain his cool exterior as he tossed the rest of their pillows on the floor.

 

 

"You're not getting away that easily, Mr. Casanova." Said Banry, grumbling under his breath. In the end all of them were sleeping on the cramped floor. Seonu and Jidwi were fighting for space along with Suho and Banryu while Hansung was edging away from Yeol who was insisting on draping himself over the innocent maknae.

Raina who woke up with a blinding headache, was surprised to see herself in a different room. Slowly sitting up, she held back a gasp on seeing six men asleep in the floor. The shock soon turned into mirth as she took in the situation

 

 

 

Seonu and Jidwi were scooping, Suho's and Banryu's limbs were so entangled that they looked like one body while Yeol was cuddling against to a pouting Hansung. Holding back her laughter, she tiptoed out of the room, a fond smile on her face as cast that scene to memory. It was amazing blackmail material. Giggling to herself, she made her way to her quarters without being questioned as to why she was exiting a Hwarang dorm room in the early morning.


 

Raina trusted them enough to know that they hadn't done anything to her but she couldnt be sure. Suho and Yeol had blatantly stared at her revealed cleavage through her translucent inner robes, Banryu had straddled her in the back yard of Okta, in the process, briefly kissing her, Jidwi had cornered her and kissed her, Seonu had stared at her chest the first time they had met, outside her house. Looking over the facts, only Hansung could be trusted. 

 

 

Shaking off her thoughts, Raina prepared herself for a day of boredom. A few hours later, Raina exited her room in search of Yeol. Spotting him near the bridge, she nervously hurried over, her heart beating fast. He was fanning himself with a fan as he gazed at her while she continuously dogged his attempts to make eye-contact with her. 

 

"Thank you for last night. I'm really grateful," Raina said apparently entranced by her feet when she felt a fan under her chin, tilting it up. Cursing herself for blushing once she met his gaze, Raina was surprised when he suddenly leaned in and placed his lips on hers, the fan still tilting her chin up. She automatically kissed him back before he broke off the kiss, his other hand still behind his back. Smiling at her, he nodded to himself before taking his leave. Raina touched her lips which were still tingling after the kiss. She didn't notice Yeol, who as soon as he was out of her sight, slid behind a pillar and leaned against it. 

 

 

Yeol peeked out from behind the pillar and smiled as he saw Raina touching her lips before she was approached by Hansung, who dragged her away, not before glaring at him which shocked Yeol as he realised that the little maknae liked the resident physician. Leaning back against the pillar, he placed his hand over his beating heart and exhaled loudly. He was proud of his talent of reading people but with Raina, that wasn't the case. She was an enigma. An enigma that drew him in. Yeol drew himself out of his thoughts and was about to open his fan when he noticed a blue butterfly on it. Smiling softly as it flew away, he voiced his thoughts.

 

"I'm falling for you and I don't think I'll be able to prevent it Just exactly who are you, Miss Raina?" 

 

 

////////////

 

 

Master Wehwa fiddled with the alcohol bottle he had chanced upon the previous night. He had been fishing in the moonlight-lit night when he had accidentally spied on Yeol and Raina. After Yeol had carried Raina off, Master Wehwa had pocketed the alcohol bottle and had headed back to his quarters, his mind whirling.

 

Now, with a clear objective in mind, he strode out of his quarters and headed towards the kitchen where Pi Jooki was. 

 

Entering the kitchen, he was pleasantly surprised to see the Assistant Chief Instructor. Taking a seat at the table and said, "Shall we have a bet?"

 

"On what?" asked Pi Jooki. 

 

"There are six completely different Hearings with one important common ground. They all like Miss Raina"

 

"Their physician?" asked Pi Jooki in disbelief.

 

"Yes. These men are Jidwi, Seonu, Banryu, Yeol, Suho and Hansung.  Now, tell me. Who''s willing to place a bet on who Raina will chose?" 

 

He grinned at Pi Jock's pseudo-hesitation before he coerced the Assistant Chief Instructor to participate as well. The three kitchen boys joined as well and now all 6 men were betting on who Raina would end up with.

 

The Assistant Chef Instructor choose Suho. Pi Jooki chose Jidwi. The kitchen boys chose Banryu, Hansung and Yeol. Master Wehwa didn't specify whom he was betting on even though Pi Jooki pestered him. A secretive smile crept up on his face as he wondered how this bet would end.

 

/////////////

 

 

Raina was in the middle of hanging out the laundry to dry when the sheet she had hung to dry was whipped back and Raina found herself gazing into the coal, black eyes of Jidwi as he pulled her flush against his body, his arm holding her by the waist. 

 

"What are you doing?" she hissed as she looked around, hoping no one would stumble on them in a compromising position. He didn't answer but kissed her nose, an undecipherable emotion in his eyes before releasing her. Raina watched as he took the rest of the laundry and draped it on the wooden racks to dry. He then dragged her by the hand to a secluded corner where he made her sit before lying down, resting his head on her lap while playing with her hands which rested on his chest. There was no need for words as they enjoyed the comfortable silence between them. Occasionally, Jidwi would kiss her fingers and Raina would raise an eyebrow at his sudden bout of public affection but accepted it with a slight blush painting her face. 

 

 

This was how Jidwi had imagined it in his mind but when he tried to help her with the laundry, Raina slapped his hand away and completed the task herself. She then crouched down to gather her things when Jidwi knelt down next to her and raised his hand, holding it above he head, shielding her face from the sunlight. Raina stopped gathering her things and looked at him, a soft smile playing on her lips. As they stared at each other in comfortable silence, neither of them were aware of the motionless Seonu who was staring at them, his face emotionless.

 

 

////////////////

 

 

Yeol, Suho and Hansung were watching the princess from a distance. Hanging was suitably impressed as he let out a childlike exclamation. "She looks like a princess. So pretty"

 

"Pretty maybe but not beautiful like Raina. Besides, she's not my type." Suho mused. 

"Probably came her for a husband and hopefully not me. I'm already promised." said Yeol.

"To whom?" asked Hansung eagerly.

"The resident Physician," replied Yeol with  a smirk.

"Raina?" Hansung and Suho said in sync.

"Obviously"

"YAH!"

 

////////////////////////////

 

 

Raina was carrying a pile of medical texts when someone grabbed them from her. Glancing at the retreating figure of Seonu, she sighed before following him. The duo entered her quarters and she watched as Seonu turned to face her after placing the books on the table. He opened his mouth to say something but Raina held her hand up, effectively stopping him. She had no right to be angry at him, had no right to feel betrayed because it would be hypocritical of her to do so. Gazing into his warms eyes, she smiled at him turning on her heel and exiting the room, leaving a very bewildered and confused Seonu. 

 

 

////////////////////

 

The next day, Raina was walking around the market with Sooyeon who was endlessly pestering her with questions on her love life. 

"So how did you react? Once you find out that he isn't your brother?"

"I walked away."

"This is good. No offence to the real Kim Seonu who unfortunately passed on but this is great. Now you can officially have feeling s for him. With the inclusion of Seonu, how many guys does that make? Four unless you have something else to tell me?"

"Yeol might have kissed me yesterday."

"WHAT? You could have opened the conversation with that, you know?"

"I could have but I didn't."

"I really wonder why I'm friends with someone like you."

"You love me and you know it."

"I sorely regret that decision now"

 

/////////////////////

 

Raina returned to Hwarangdo and was on her way to her quarters when she was confronted by Banryu. 

 

He dragged her by the hand until they were standing under the bridge connecting the library and the study hall. He then turned to face her with increasing palpitations and nervousness painting his face and was about to speak when Raina side-stepped him but stopped in her tracks at his words.

 

"I-I like you." he said and watched as Raina slowly turned around, her shock evident on her face. Gathering in his courage, he leaned in and his confidence was bolstered when she didn't back away. Just as their lips brushed together, Raina drew back, the mantra 'I can't. Not with him' repeating in her mind. Banryu was left feeling hurt at her rejection and decided to verbally express it. 

 

"I accidentally overheard your conversation with Miss Sooyeon. You like me so why do you always draw back when I take a step forward? Why do you always withdraw at the last second, as if you remembered something the prevents you from standing on the same step with me?"

 

Raina stared at him, unable to speak. She knew he was right. She did like him against her will but she couldn't act on her feelings.

 

 'Because you're my brother,' she replied in her head sadly. 

 

//////////////

 

 

The next day, Raina was absorbed in a medical text when Jidwi entered her quarters. Without glancing up at him from her seat at the table, she grabbed a nearby needle. 

 

"Why are you here?" Raina asked

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"You must be getting a good nights sleep, seeing that you're so chipper"

"What would you do if that wasn't the case. Sleep with me?"

"I'd find an unnoticeable way to put you to sleep permanently." Raina said, brandishing the needle and smirked when Jidiw physically took a step back. The power of a needle was something to be feared. 

 

"Are you coming to the Moon Festival? I won't be able to perform properly if you're not there, cheering me on."

"I'll attend but you can forget about me cheering. 

"I figured." 

 

There was silence and Raina wondered if he wasn't going to leave when Jidwi swopped down and placed a kiss on her cheek before exiting the room, giving Raina no time to react and as she felt the heat rise up to her cheeks, she wondered exactly why Jidwi was acting like he actually liked her. She wasn't going to take his feeling for granted because for all she knew, it could be a hoax, a ruse and she wasn't willing to get let someone inside her heart that easily and end up being betrayed by them. The innocent Raina had long been replaced by a guarded Raina, a girl who wasn't gullible. Not anymore.

 

 

//////////////

 

 

While walking through Hwarangdo, Raina spotted Seonu and immediately ducked behind the nearest opaque object she could find, the object being Suho. Hiding behind his tall, large frame, she inwardly winced as she realised how pathetic she would look to a complete stranger but she had her reasons. She didn't want to face Seonu because she knew that it would bring up a bunch of mingled emotions and her heart would hurt, as proven by what had happened when they had been in the same room. Peeking from behind the bewildered Suho, she sighed as she noticed Seonu walking off, not having noticed her. Flashing Suho a smile, she hurried towards the gates of Hwarangdo, intent on leaving the premises before she encountered Seonu, not aware that her presence had triggered a faint memory of Suho's.

 

Suho had accidentally seen Raina and Barnyu talking under the bridge connecting the library and the study hall and seeing the duo close to each other had triggered a faint memory along with the green-eyed monster, more commonly known as jealousy. The harder he tried to remember, the harder it became. Deciding to ask somebody as to what happened on the night they had sneaked out, Suho continued on his way, wondering why his memory was connected to Banryu and Raina.

 

//////////////////////////

 

 

It was night when Raina arrived at the performance area. She slowly walked though all the tents that were there, looking for the Hwarangs when she chanced upon Yeol who smiled at her before leading her to tent. There, all the Hwarangs were getting ready for their performance. She smiled as they looked at her while Yeol said "Miss Raina will be helping us get ready."

 

Hansung shyly called her over to help tie his belt and Raina gladly walked over to him, eager to hide behind the maknae from Seonu's piercing gaze. She didn't realise that Seonu and Jidwi both had left the tent because she had distracted herself by straightening Hansung's outfit and had also been distracted by Hansung playing with her hair. She only hoped that no one had spotted the besotted smile that painted Hansung's face as he stared at her because it would lead to unwanted and complicated drama. After helping, Suho, Yeol and the other Hwarangs with their clothes, she walked though the maze of tents, looking for Jidwi, Seonu and Banryu when she heard Jidwi's voice from the tent on her left. 

 

 

Peeking through a small hole in the tent, Raina saw Jidwi conversing with somebody, a female. Shifting slightly to have a better view, she silently gasped as the Queen came into view. From how Jidwi addressed the Queen as "Mother" she realised that Jidwi was the Queen's son. In fact, Raina remembered Jidiw wearing a bracelet with the secret royal symbols engraved in gold but hadn't realised sooner that Jidwi was royalty. However Seonu was in possession of the bracelet now. He must have procured it after the fight that had taken place between him and Jidwi in the door maze.

 

 

She didn't realise, that while coming to these conclusions, a man was approaching her from behind and before she knew it, she was knocked out despite her futile attempts at freeing herself.. Fortunately, she came to within a couple of minutes and when she did, she was in the tent the had been occupied by Jidwi and the Queen, who was now standing in front of her with her back facing Raina. When the Queen turned around, Raina couldn't hide the smirk that played on her lips when she saw the shocked expression on the her face.

 

"R-Raina?"

"It's been along time, Jisoo."

 

 

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So how was it. Anyone noticed any thing weird at all? Hope you enjoy. R&R

Andrianna2016