“When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.” 
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

 

Kim Taehyung always believed he was a man who never ran out of things to say, yet today, he is frozen and his tongue is tied, nothing that would come out of his mouth would do justice to the truth behind the situation. 

 

He is stuck in between an anxious, flushed Jungkook who is out of breath as sweat stained his collar and stuck to his unruly, chestnut hair, and a frantic, menacing Yerim whose usual feminine face was alarmed in anger and surprise as her nimble, gentle fingers gripped tightly around the sheath of her sharpened dagger. 

 

Two people from the opposing worlds that co-existed in Taehyung’s life that were never destined to cross and never should, yet here they were face to face, and collided violently into one another. 

 

Never in his entire lifetime would he have expected to face circumstances like this - Jungkook embarrassed, caught off guard, and heavily intoxicated against an armed Yerim ready to attack whoever came her way. Taehyung nearly swore that as he blinked, he saw his father’s cold expression flash on Yerim’s face, and that the Velaryon blood in her was stronger than he thought. 

 

“Taehyung-oppa, why is he here? After the months you have been missing and father looking for you, you show up conveniently with Hanyang members by your side?” She leans over to him, and clings on his forearm tightly as she whispered frantically in his ear. 

 

Taehyung thought they’d never even think of looking for him, especially his father Jaejoong as he wasn’t a true blood son, but only the accident of his incident with a famed entertainer. In fact, he thought his father was glad that he would be gone for good, yet he felt shame thinking that his uncle Heechul would have thought differently. 

 

Yerim’s father Heechul had that same streak of care and affection that she had, and had welcomed Taehyung with open arms in the family, even from the moment he was acknowledged as his father’s son. He always flashed a bright, genuine smile, fed him whenever he was around, looked out for him, and taught him many of the tricks and trades that a Kim would learn from birth. 

 

His first book was a gift from Heechul himself, about knights and damsels, but the damsel had saved herself and even the knight from the peril of the monster, and he had always tucked it in his worn out leather bag wherever he was around. He must have worried Heechul greatly, but know that he crashes like an uninvited storm at the Haeyang faction celebration - he must be in great trouble. 

 

“It’s a long story, Yerim-” Taehyung stutters as he agitatedly waved his arms around her as he spoke. 

 

“Long story, you show up in your father’s house with our own enemies-” Her voice gradually gets louder and pitched higher as she gets even more agitated with the situation, before Jungkook covers with his scarred palms, and she grips on his wrist trying to rip his hand off . 

 

She nearly throws up at the throbbing scent of alcohol from his breath in her nose, and this makes her want to throw him off the balcony even more. 

 

“Jungkook, let go of her!” Taehyung insists, before Jungkook lowers his palm and steps backwards before a hysteric Yerim could rip off his head from his body. 

 

Taehyung closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before gently stepping forward and resting his gloved palms on her clothed shoulders. 

 

“Yerim-ah, I can explain. Jeon Jungkook and I, and including Park Jimin, the heir of the Hanyang clan is here in peace. I promise you that, Yerim-ah, I never break promises that I make- We brought Jimin here so he can forget about a girl he rejected and find celebration and enjoy himself for once-” He calmly explained in his usual level-headed, charming manner, before he was cut off suddenly by her blunt remark. 

 

“Forget about me? How I rejected him?” She blinks at him with a blank expression, and both of them are standing there in silence unsure how to react. 

 

Yerim nearly laughs to herself about how she had nearly forgotten about something she had thought so insignificant while Jimin had taken it to heart and affected him personally. A part of her felt sorry and so selfish for treating him like that, even though she truly wasn’t. 

 

“You risk years of allegiances and alliances for a party? Taehyung-oppa, you can’t just do this!” She whines at him while playfully smacking him on the arm, and tries to a hide a cheeky smile at how ridiculous and insane her cousin can be and how he hasn’t changed after all these years. 

 

He grins back teasingly. “You know me, Yerim. Always pushing the boundaries! Just- I ask you of one thing and that you tell no one, not even Uncle Heechul that I was here with Hanyang clan members. Please.” His smile drops into a serious, somber expression as his booming cackle turns into a murmured plea, as he looks at her with desperation and hope. 

 

She frowns at being caught in between, by having this much power in her hands, and falling for Taehyung’s irresistible charms and his enchanting words. She hated how Taehyung had such a powerful control over her and he knew how and when to use it. 

 

Looking around skeptically to make sure no one was around that could see them or even overhear their conversation, Yerim takes a firm glance at both Taehyung and even Jungkook, that Hanyang boy she utterly despises, yet her decision is final and knows from her heart that there is only one thing she would say. 

 

Yes. They think she doesn’t know, but she does. She knows very well, probably even more than they do. 

 

She was who Seulgi dragged aside in one of the smaller powder rooms of the manor, and secretly whispered her admiration and love for one of the guests of the party. 

 

“I need to tell you something, Yerim.” Seulgi grasps her hands and wraps them around her own as she softly confides to her by the crimson silk curtains pleated behind her inky hair. 

 

“You can tell me anything, Seulgi. Anything and I will protect it with my life.” Yerim responds hesitantly, her eyebrows raised in confusion not thinking Seulgi would tell her anything of significance and that this was just one of those silly games they played as children with the princess. 

 

“I’m in love. I know I said it- I’m in love, Yerim! I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before, but it makes my heart flutter and makes me sigh because it feels amazing!” Seulgi squeals excitedly and jumps around which makes Yerim giggle and laugh along with her. 

 

“Another one? What happened to the Crown Prince? Have you forgotten him so easily? I thought you were looking forward to nothing but marrying him and becoming Crown Princess? Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? ” Yerim tantalizes her jokingly, still caught in a stir of laughter that made her belly hurt. 

 

Seulgi stops laughing, and suddenly Yerim feels awfully guilty she kept laughing. 

 

“But the fact I needed to tell you this is because I can’t be in love with him and neither can he be in love with me! Not only do I have to remain unmarried in case the Crown Princes marries me, but it is because he belongs to the Hanyang faction. It’s doomed from the beginning, Yerim and we cannot be, but I love him so much, Yerim!! And I think he does too!” Seulgi agitatedly croaks, tears filling her eyes and her voice becoming weary as she nearly breaks out weeping at her situation. 

 

Yerim doesn’t know what to do, as she doesn’t even believe this is happening. Loving another from another faction is doomed from the beginning. Nothing would come of it unless you would want both yourself and your lover dead, and buried separately as far away as possible from one another, cold in each of their family’s tombstone maulouseums. 

 

“M-Maybe, things can be different with the two of you? After the Prince chooses his bride?”

 

“But what if he chooses me, then I can’t marry him! I wouldn’t be able to marry the love of my life, to marry my one and only Park Jimin and I’m doomed! I’m cursed!” Seulgi sobs, the painted pink tint of makeup on her pretty face washed out by the flood of her tears, and she is crouched on the ground with her chin resting on her folded knees on the marble floor. 

 

Yerim bites her lips and looks away because what she offers is more than she can give, but with Seulgi she would do anything. Anything for her. 

 

“I can serve as your messenger, Seulgi. Maybe I can get my father to propose the marriage directly to my father so it can go well and cross party lines and bring peace to our factions?” 

 

Seulgi bolts off the ground and looks at her with pleading, hopeful eyes and a cheerful smile as she envelopes the younger into a tight embrace. 

“You would do all of that? For me? Oh, thank you so so much, Yerim- I knew I could trust you with this and you’d know what to do! I know nothing can repay what you’ll do for me, but I am so grateful!” 

 

Yerim flinches at the memory, but accepts that she cannot do anything about it and it is set in stone. She cannot change time and break her promise. Especially to Seulgi. 

 

“I’ll promise to protect your identities for once. For tonight, only. Because I have sworn to protect someone and make her happy, no matter the circumstances.” The two boys sigh in relief and murmur prayers under their breaths once they are assured of their safety, as Yerim looks at Jungkook with careful suspicion. 

 

“Thank you, Yerim-ah- I knew I could trust you-” Taehyung nearly jumps into an embrace around Yerim before she pushes him off and points a threatening, demanding finger at him. 

 

“On one condition- You ensure your friend here, this Jungkook guy or whoever he says he is- keeps an eye on that Jimin that he wouldn’t even think of breaking Seulgi’s heart. I will pass along any messages from her to Jimin through you and Lord Jeon as long as I can see he is keeping her happy. If I see her cry because of him for any reason - I will not hesitate to cut off both communication and your heads- Understood?” 

 

Jungkook and Taehyung watch her with wide, dreadful eyes and raised their arms in surrender as she points her dagger towards them to fulfill their promise before repeatedly nodding their heads at her before she hides her dagger in her pocket once again. 

 

“We promise that, Lady Kim. Jimin is of gentle nature and a warm heart, and would do nothing of the sort. She makes him happy as much as he makes her happy.” Jungkook promises sincerely with his palm over his left , and bows respectfully at her, even if the effect of alcohol makes his movements sluggish and clumsy, he is still charming and polite. 

 

Yerim turns around, and warmly smiles even if there is fear and wariness swarming in her wondering if those promises meant anything, but for now they were enough. 

 

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Now both of you get out of here before I kick both of you out of this party myself-” 

 

Taehyung and Jungkook sped past her and bolted down the tower staircase in the speed of lightning as the wooden door slams loudly against the pavement walls, and she smirked to herself at how afraid they were of her. 

 

They would be even more afraid if they weren’t true to their words. 

 

...

 

This is the scene Jennie has rehearsed for all her life. This is it. This is what she’s been waiting for and finally the moment it is here and it's happening. This ia the role that was created and carved by the gods for her, and finally she’s playing her part and speaking her lines. 

 

She looks behind her, and her father Jaejoong is watching, hands clasped expectedly and a knowing, confident smirk on his handsome face as he gives her a nod of approval before she walks towards what they have agreed on. 

 

The Crown Prince was who she was walking towards. As the eldest son of the King, he held future and promise in him as he represented the future in his tall, muscular six foot-two frame, and his picturesque, elegant features, and the sense of confidence and pride yet co-existing approachability and friendliness he carried with him wherever he went. 

 

Crown Prince Chanyeol is the most desirable marriage prospect in the kingdom, as he was twenty years of age, yet still an unmarried bachelor with no past history of lovers nor mistresses, and Jennie was determined she would be the only one who would change that. 

 

Each faction had submitted their candidates for Crown Princess, with the Hanyang candidate Lady Park Chaeyoung, Lord Donghae’s eldest daughter, and the Haeyang candidate being Lady Kang Seulgi, an aristocratic yet impoverished family who was distantly related to the far more superior Kim clan, and this decision severely angered both Jennie and her father that left scars unseen yet felt. 

 

Secretly, however, the faction candidates for Crown Princess have only been rumours swarming in the noble circles and the common folk below them, yet if she had caught the attention of the Crown Prince before the candidates are formally introduced and selected, then she can defeat the entire system altogether and get straight to the prize. The Crown. Marrying him would secure her future as the next Queen once he becomes King, and no one else in her lifetime will get in the way of that. 

 

She gracefully walks down the asphalt staircase watching every step she made with her velvet slippers and the golden trail of her empire waisted gown flowing streaming behind her, and all those around her cannot help but linger at her gorgeous clothing and her well known beauty as she makes her way to the Crown Prince, but he is unsuspicious and unaware that she is even approaching him. 

 

The topaz gemstones glimmer like shooting stars in her caramel coloured curls pinned up towards the crown of her head, and it brings one’s attention directly at her defined, enchanting features and the indigo hue in her slanted eyes. Jennie walks over by the edge of the rectangular, wooden dining table stretched elongated to the end of the high ceilinged hall, and stands beside the Prince, who sits at the head of the table, as indicated by his position and all those seated around him enchanted by him and roaring in laughter to everything he says. 

 

“Your Royal Highness, Such a pleasure to have you join us here at the Haeyang Annual Feast.” She rests her nimble, jewelled fingers on his broad shoulders as she speaks in a subtly flirtatious, yet courteous tone in her soft spoken voice. 

 

Chanyeol turns around suddenly in surprise as the voices around him quiet down and stare down at the two of them quietly and suspiciously before the heir breaks into a wide grin and stands up in his towering figure and elegant posture to greet the young lady. 

 

His large hands gently tug on her smaller ones, and he bends his torso down to press her knuckles against his pursed lips. “Lady Kim, Thank you very much for the gracious, amiable welcome to your household. Your father has been nothing but accepting of me, and my family.” He looks down at her once he releases her palm, and laughs heartily before he thanks her in his warm,smoothing husky voice. 

 

She smiles back, the rose tinted hue on her lips accentuated as the corner of her lips stretch to show her pearlescent teeth, before she discreetly tucks her fingers between the crook of his elbows. “You are like family to us, Your Royal Highness. In fact, I would very much like if you could take the time so that we could catch up on all the years we’ve missed, if that is alright with the young gentleman accompanying you-” 

 

“No need to worry about it, sister. We have kept His Royal Highness so busy and occupied, but it looks like it’s time we give him some space.” Her older brother, Seokjin humorously chides with his exuberant personality, nudging their eldest brother Joonmyun on the side of his ribs, before Joonmyun secretly sends a wink towards Jennie’s direction once the Prince has been looking away. 

 

“Of course, if my entourage sets me free- I am yours, Lady Kim.” 

 

Jennie hopes- no, she obliges, she knows, and believes truthfully, wholeheartedly that this is it. He is hers, and she is his, and the kingdom will be hers as destined. 

 

…

 

The calm buzz of the night lingers in the pristine, manicured palace gardens that carve intricately like a maze around them, and Jennie takes in the cool breeze that brushes against her. She turns her head towards Chanyeol’s direction, and he responds immediately with an affectionate smile that she relishes because that smile is only reserved for her and nothing else. 

 

“Do you ever imagine your future as King, Your Royal Highness?” 

 

“Do I? It is something I’ve prepared all my life for and a duty I know I will have to take, so yes.”  

 

It’s not the answer she wanted to hear, but definitely the genuine, rehearsed answer he would give as the future ruler of the kingdom. Of course. She needed to be even more specific than this for him to give her what she really wanted. 

 

“Do you ever imagine who you would like by your side when it does happen? Who you’ll marry? Your future Queen-” Suddenly, Chanyeol halts their gentle stroll against the sculpted cobblestone beneath their feet, and his amiable expression now unreadable and cold, especially under the shadows that hide his expression in the darkness. 

 

“Trust me, Lady Kim- but I know what you’re doing. I know your plans, and I’m not angry or surprised, but more expectant. I was surprised it hadn’t come much sooner, to be honest. Expected that you would play your cards like this so that I may ask you for your hand in marriage, but if I have to be honest with you- You’re a beautiful, intelligent, and amazing young woman with so much potential and a great future in front of you- but I do not believe I am the man for you-” He speaks distantly, coldly and indifferently, unable to look at her in the eye yet the pain she felt in her heart made it feel like he had stabbed her himself with a dull knife. 

 

“Your Royal Highness, Wait-” She hears how hoarse and despondent she sounds, and scolded to herself to how her mother would react to how hopeless she sounded and how a Kim lady would never put herself to shame like this. 

 

Suddenly, he was gone. Jennie hadn’t even noticed the sight of him leaving, or the sound of his footsteps progressively becoming more distant, when the shame and embarrassment that ate her up was muted out by the sound of her miserable, desperate crying. Her makeup had smudged and her once immaculately intact locks tangled in a mess, and she couldn’t bare to look at a mirror just imagining what she looked like at the moment. 

 

How foolish of her to think he would easily give up his heart like that? That he was so easy to play and that he was fool? Just because of his unruly hair, cheekish smile, and laid back demeanour that hid his gift for intuition and reading others intentions? The Prince was more than what he looked and what people thought he was, as he put on this front that made him way less intelligent than he actually is.

 

And that is what made him so dangerous. He put on a front and kept his cards close to his heart, tricking all those who underestimated his abilities until they lost under the impression he wouldn’t notice their games, and lose under his own terms as he defeats them with a cheekish grin on his handsome face. 

 

She should’ve known- to play this game you either win it all or lose it all. She forgot that she, too, was capable of losing. 

 

...

 

Min Yoongi believed he was born with the calm, serene graces of the earth and the gentle tranquility of the air, but he forgot that Velaryon blood ran in his veins. He didn’t look like a typical Velaryon- he came from the northern islands of Velaryon where they were pale of skin, yet ebony of hair and darkness loomed in their eyes, but in nature they were the same, and even more so. 

 

The blood of his ancestors who were conquerors, rulers, warriors and fighters stained his usual level headed temperament, and the fire in him awoke when he encountered the filth of his lifetime foe of Hanyang filth.

 

His identity and existence has been molded and formed by the very lifeblood and dignity of the ancient lineage of the islands of Velaryon and the pride of the Haeyang forefront that it is only natural for him that he would die happily for a just cause that meant so much to him that he would be nothing without it.

 

To see the living embodiment of the very personifications that threatened his cause made his blood boil and lose control over his usual calm temperament. In the corner of his eye, he recognizes Kim Taehyung, the Hand of the King’s bastard son with that courtesan alongside Jeon Jungkook, the stepson of the King’s steward, and a Hanyang through and through. 

 

Yoongi squints skeptically as he figures when was the last time he saw the two troublemakers, and what they were doing snaking in between the bustling crowd that was concerningly unsuspecting the identities of these traitors in Haeyang territory. He sips on the dark mulberry wine in his golden goblet as he ponders, and thuds it ungracefully against the dining table once he remembers. 

 

Ah, yes. He had last seen the two troublemakers in a brawl between the Hanyang and Haeyang clans, as much as these skirmishes and clashes were far from unusual and a rarity - Yoongi had to deal with the consequences of not being a responsible noble for making peace between the two houses while the two youngsters walked away unscathed and untouched. Well, maybe except Jungkook. Physically not maybe, but politically- clean. 

 

Flames engulfed the city around them as the swirls of fire rose up to the heavens, and a thick layer of smoke filtered through the city that left a charcoal tint to the city. Yoongi coughed against his blood stained sleeve as the polluted air filled his lungs, and evoked tears from his eyes as he struggled to breathe and could see nothing in his midst. 

 

He clutches on the pile of debris around him, as the haphazardous remains pushed heavily against his lithe legs, and penetrated hard enough that he was afraid he would no longer feel his legs afterwards. Gripping on his age-old Valyrian steel sword, he stood up proudly amidst the wreckage around him and the uncertainty of who was on his side and who still remained alive. 

 

“Jongin? Jongdae? Minseok? Where are all of you?” He yelled into the void, as his voice was swallowed by the seemingly endless darkness as no one responded and his voice was gradually eaten up by the harsh sound of the growing fire around him.

 

Yongin staggers through the remains that he violently thrashes away from him, swinging his sword around as he is determined that he will end the battle on his own terms, and on his own terms alone. No one beats a Min at battle. 

 

A distant gurgle of help is heard around him, and Yoongi digs into the closest pile of debris by him desperately unearthing to find the source of the voice, and to retrieve him as soon as possible. Party sides or factions are far from Yoongi’s priorities now, as one’s life is more important than alliances for now. One life. One life he will spare from the many he has slain before noon today along from his enemies’ faction. 

 

Underneath a fragment of a cheap, thick linen covered roof one of the vendors uses for their fruit stalls, Yoongi pushes off the hazard off the scrawny body tangled in rubble, and to his surprise- sees the scratched, wounded face of Jeon Jungkook - a Hanyang frontman. 

 

Yoongi clears anything suffocating him, and patiently waits for him to open his eyes, not even worrying the boy may attack him once he recognizes they are both from opposite factions. It seems like lifetimes later when the life surges back to consciousness, and once the boy had taken a simple glimpse at Yoongi, the older stands up and walks away casually as if he had not saved his life even if he could’ve easily killed the boy. 

 

Yet things are different now. Yoongi had spared him once, but here he was over-extending his welcome and the mercy he had shown him, and crossing into his own domain. Into the sacred grounds of his ancestors and those on his side. 

 

Enough was enough. Yoongi’s fist clutched around the metal handle of his Valyrian sword and he unsheathes it from the leather scabbard tucked to his belt, and nearly comes stomping down the spiraling staircase- until a delicate brush against his bicep makes him nearly drop his sword to clatter against the ground. 

 

“Lord Min- We’ve talked about this.” It was the Grand Princess Seungwan, shaking her head in disagreement and disappointment as she eyes at him knowingly. 

 

Yoongi could not break his promise to his fiancee. To the love of his life and his future wife. Not this time. He could not bare to break her heart in his lifetime, and there was no way he was going to let her watch while he erupts the Haeyang headquarters into chaos while he tears a Hanyang trespasser into shreds. 

 

Yet the sides still applied. Factions stills existed. The reason they congregated and only these specific people were invited to this function was because of the years of allegiances forged by the ancestors before them, and the ones they have made recently, yet swore to oblige for centuries to follow. The law is the law, and if these traitors decide to cross on their revered territory- there will be consequences to follow. 

 

“But Princess- They are crossing into Haeyang territory and they are clearly Hanyang’s-” 

 

“Yoongi, please- For the sake of the kingdom. For today- Isn’t today supposed to be for celebration?” She embraces him from behind and rests her chin on her shoulder, affectionately rubbing her cheeks against his jawline, and Yoongi scolds himself at how he cannot find himself to refuse to his future wife. 

 

“Do this for me, love. Spare Jeon Jungkook and his companions. Jungkook has been a dear friend and cousin growing up, and it would mean everything to me if you would let him live in peace. For me. That’s all I ask.” 

 

Yoongi lowers his sword and sighs morosely as he returns his sword into its scabbard. Seungwan warmly smiles at him in gratitude, and presses a soft kiss on his lips, almost childlike, and chaste. 

 

It pained Yoongi at how sweet, unblemished and incorrupt was the woman he was about to marry, and how lucky he was, when his own hands have been stained with blood for years. 

 

...

 

A/N: And here it is guys- the grand finale to Act 1!! I hope you guys are really enjoying the story so far and I'm so thankful for your constant support and love!! (95 subscribers I'm Shook) But once again I love all of you and dedicate all of this for you guys. <3 School and work is starting for me so my updates won't be as often but when I do update, I'll make sure they're of quality and length. Love ya guys! xoxo PLEASE COMMENT/SUBSCRIBE/ UPVOTE!!! (Feel free to DM/ message/ spam my wall/ just say hi!!)

 

Song: "All I Can Think About Is You" by Coldplay