It was not often that the royal staff made a commotion. After all, they were used to all sorts of deities and creatures who would visit the Choseon, the royal palace and gardens. However, despite the frequency of his presence, there was one person they could never really get used to.

“Is he here?”

“I saw him walking around the gardens. It was impossible not to see him. He had a legion of servants on his tail.”

“He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

“Oh, very. But don’t let that face deceive you. He’s as ruthless as he is handsome.”

It was almost comical, the way the conversation would remain the same everytime he was present. But it was unavoidable given who he was. Kim Taehyung was just as feared as he was adorned. Handsome as he was dangerous. There was power in his every step, a command in his every word.

Contrary to popular belief, he was neither hot-headed or vengeful (a stereotype for men of war). What made him feared was his rationality, his fairness, and above all, his apathy. Undeniably the most level-headed of the four council members, he was often given the responsibility of making sure royal events ran as smoothly as possible.

“What is the update in regards to the tour of the realms of elements?” He asked as he stared down the koi fish in the royal garden.

“The guardians have discussed amongst themselves in regards to the order. It has been decided by them that the tour will start in the farthest realm and end to the realm nearest the citadel. Lady Joohyun will be the first one to be visited,” one of the eunuchs quickly answered.

Taehyung nodded in reply. “Good. Send some messengers to the other council members notifying them of this. Especially the prince. He needs to know. Tell them that we need to discuss the order of who will accompany the songbird on the tour.”

“Yes, sir.”

Taehyung finally stopped staring down at the pond and started to walk. The eunuchs immediately followed his every moment, careful to make sure they did not lag behind but also would not accidentally bump into him when he would stop and slow down his pace.

“Is there any update about the songbird? Have the preparations for the debut concert been going well?” he finally asked after a few moments.

The eunuchs were about to answer when Taehyung stopped in his tracks. He turned slightly, enough for his profile to be seen by them.

“You are all dismissed now.”

There was a moment of confused silence before they finally began to move away, bring along with them the sound of panicked footsteps and shuffling. Taehyung stayed frozen to his spot as he continued to stare at the sky before he began to walk. His relaxed pace became faster and faster until he had already started to run. In the blink of an eye, the silhouette of a man changed into one of a large, ferocious, regal tiger. As it let out a loud roar, a portal opened in front of it. It charged into it. As soon as it entered, the portal closed and there was a moment it was completely surrounded by a vivid sea of colors before everything came into focus to reveal a beautiful hanok. A group of guards stood at the entrance and as soon as they saw the tiger, they bowed to it and proceeded to open the gates.

Once more, as the tiger walked, it transformed back into a man. The servants at the front of the gate bowed down deeply to him as he walked. One servant in particular quickly made her way to him.

“Lord Taehyung,” Lalisa greeted as she bowed. “What brings you here?”

“How is the songbird? I would like to meet with her.”

---

Seulgi was greatly surprised when Lalisa and Yeri came bursting into her room, babbling and ordering her to dress up and go to the garden. Ever since she had collapsed in the hallway while talking to Yeri and had gotten a great fever afterward, Lalisa had basically locked her up in her room until she could confirm that Seulgi’s body had finally adjusted to all the changes.

She was rendered speechless as the two other girls quickly dressed her and pushed her towards the entrance of the garden before leaving her alone. Before she could even ask what was going on, her own question was answered by a low voice that came from behind her.

“Songbird.”

Seulgi turned to see the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. She let out a soft gasp at the sight of him before an overwhelming fear overcame her.

He walked towards her with an unreadable expression on his face. Every inch of her body was yelling at her to run but she remained frozen in place. Then, either out of madness or tiredness at the constant fear she felt, she felt the sudden urge to answer back to him.

“I have a name, you know.”

He lifted an eyebrow at the sound of her voice as he continued walking towards her.

“You’re quite bold, songbird.”

Seulgi clenched her teeth and just as he stood in front of her, she looked up at him defiantly with fire in her eyes.

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