Chapter 6

Hwayoung did not want to be piggybacked by Do Kyungsoo.

She was pretty sure he was doing it grudgingly too, but to think from a logical perspective, there was no way she could walk with her ankle in such a state. It hurt, it was probably swollen and sprained. Hwayoung could only hope it wasn’t a bad sprain.

Kyungsoo walked at a decently fast pace behind the white haired boy who weaved through the streets and alleys lightly. She could only see her back from where she was.

The rain hadn’t stopped yet, though the sun had risen so the sky wasn’t so dark. It was unnerving walking outside, especially with her hood down, though Hwayoung supposed that at that point, no one really would’ve found her any less suspicious if she pulled it up. Not when she was travelling with the prince and a boy with white hair that anyone could tell was Marked by first glance.

It wasn’t long after when they turned to a more secluded part of the Second Sector. Hwayoung squinted around her through the rain, on the alert for guards, though the streets seemed to stay empty from commoner and soldier alike. No one wanted to be out in such weather, and even the crown prince’s threats weren’t enough to stop people.

The boy led them down an alley, then turned at one point and reached for a door. It was blended in with the wall so well that Hwayoung didn’t even notice it until he gave it a slight push.

She stared at the entrance dubiously. It was dark inside, and it wasn’t nearly light enough around them to light up much of the insides. He didn’t look like the sort of person who would trick them, but past experiences had taught Hwayoung there was no one she could really trust just by their looks and their personality. There was almost always something people were hiding.

“Go in,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you. Both of you are more than capable of defending yourselves.”

Kyungsoo scanned him one more time before stepping inside. His steps jolted when he mounted the single step upwards.

Behind them, a pale colored light flooded into the room and she turned around just as he shut the door behind him. From his open palm, light shone, bright enough to illuminate all her surroundings and for her to see what was around them.

There was a simple bed in the corner of the place, and now that Hwayoung could see, it wasn’t very large. A table that looked like it was on the verge of crumbling, a chair that wasn’t in a better state than the table was, and a pile of clothing that didn’t seem to have been folded. On the corner nearest to her, there was what looked like dried herbs. They were a dark color, perhaps dark enough to be black.

“You can get off now,” Kyungsoo said in a monotone. “How long do you think it’ll take for you ankle to heal?”

Hwayoung thought of the fall. She’d cushioned the worst of it with her power, but her ankle had hit the ground rather hard and at the wrong angle. She tried to put a bit of weight on it when Kyungsoo set her down, though the only thing that greeted her was the familiar flare up the side of her. She flinched and immediately moved her balance to her uninjured foot. “I should be able to walk faster tomorrow.”

That obviously wasn’t exactly enough for Kyungsoo, because he raised a dubious eyebrow in her direction. “In all this time,” he said, “when has simply walking sufficed?”

Hwayoung glared at him. “I can speed myself up with my power.”

“And when this rain stops, there’ll be more guards out there searching for both of us. Unless you have any sort of plan that involves walking and not getting killed and getting out of here in one piece, walking isn’t going to work!”

She fought the urge and grab him by the collar and shake him. “Is it my fault that it’s sprained? There was nothing we could do—”

Behind her, the white haired boy cleared his throat awkwardly. “I didn’t bring you here to argue,” he pointed out. “You—” he turned to look at Kyungsoo. “You’re the prince, aren’t you? Do Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo stiffened, and then slowly, his lips turned into a mirthless smile. “I don’t think I’m a prince anymore.”

“No, you still are,” he said back casually. “Just a runaway one. And you’re Windwalker, aren’t you? The Marked with blue eyes. Everyone knows you.”

She forced a smile at him, all the while trying to test how much weight she could put on her foot. Her attempt and friendliness probably turned into a grimace, though he didn’t comment on it and instead scanned her head to toe. Finally, he gave her a weak, tired smile back at her. He looked so exhausted that Hwayoung felt a pang of pity.

“Oh Hwayoung,” she said, stretching out a hand towards him. It felt odd saying her own name like that in front of a person who was pretty much a stranger — she didn’t dare trust Kyungsoo much before, and she’d barely met him. For all they knew, he could refuse to help them (in fact, from the way he’d been acting in the beginning, Hwayoung felt as if it wouldn’t even be a surprise if he did refuse). Still, after seeing his power, he was probably their best bet on getting out of the city and trusting her name to him would be the first step to actually convincing him (Besides, Hwayoung tried to reassure herself, my name doesn’t really matter. No one recognizes it anyways. I have no family for them to find).

He eyed her outstretched hand dubiously for a couple seconds, and then finally, reached over and shook it. His grip was light, tense, almost as if he was ready to let go and bolt at any moment, if anything would call for it. “Baekhyun,” he finally said, hesitance detectable in his voice. “Byun Baekhyun.”

Kyungsoo lingered at the back. Baekhyun scanned him, then retracted his hands and tucked them behind his back too. “Why do you need my help, then? It’s not everyday that you stumble across one of the most famous assassins in the Second Sector and the runaway prince, together.”

One of the most famous assassins. She probably looked like a mess, soaked head to toe and ankle sprained badly. She had left most of the coins she had at the inn, and going back there was a definite no which meant they didn’t have money to buy food either. Kyungsoo wasn’t in a better shape than she was — he looked exhausted (which wasn’t odd. Hwayoung had barely seen him sleep properly) and he’d probably used his power too much already. Now they were standing in a tiny room in an awkward triangle, three of them dripping rainwater all over the wooden floorboards, yet no one making an effort to actually move into a more comfortable position. It didn’t feel like a proper situation for one of the most famous assassins in the Second Sector.

“So?” Baekhyun prompted once again.

Hwayoung glanced at Kyungsoo once. His lips were pressed together, and it was obvious they had the same question — was it even safe to tell him everything? Was he trustworthy enough?

He obviously saw the exchange