The 6 flying daggers spent about 2 weeks at The Ilsan temple, taking time to refuel and rest before the long trip ahead. Jisoo and Yoongi had spent the majority of the time practicing their fighting skills while Seokjin practically set up camp and lived in the kitchen. Lisa was usually strolling through the mountains, enjoying the picturesque view and marvelling at the beauty of Goryeo.

As for Taehyung and Chaeyoung, they often coincidentally found themselves in the same place at the same time. Both would rise early every morning, continuing their training sessions. Then, Chaeyoung would head directly to the library to study war strategies, Goryeo history, philosophical theories, and geography with Namjoon, and Taehyung would already be there painting another type of enchanting flower. In a strange way, they had developed their own routine and he had become a comforting constant in her unpredictable world of instability – something she could depend on.

Lunch always came next, where they would test one of Seokjin’s new recipes and almost die of satisfaction while Jisoo and Yoongi tried not to kill each other over which one of them was responsible for washing the dishes. Chaeyoung would try her best to maintain the peace while Lisa and Taehyung watched, utterly entertained.

Now that they were fully rested and Chaeyoung’s strength and knowledge had increased, they were ready to desert their safe haven and officially begin their journey to reclaim the stolen throne.

“One of the first resources we require if we are to overthrow your brother,” Namjoon announced to the group early that morning as they began packing their bags, “is weapons. The best place to acquire this is a town called Donggyeong which is—”

“Down south, near the Eastern ocean,” Taehyung finished his sentence for him, and then looked up at the 6 surprised faces that were staring at him with a shrug, “it’s located right beside Daegu, so I’ve been there multiple times.”

Namjoon nodded, obviously impressed with Taehyung’s geographical knowledge, “it will be about a week’s journey, and it will be physically strenuous as we must first travel through the mountain villages to get there. I trust that the two weeks you spent here were used wisely to prepare, because if any of you hinder our progress by even a smidge, you will be left behind. Understood?”

The group nodded collectively – except for Yoongi who just scoffed and rolled his eyes, but everyone knew by then that was the only form of agreement he could conjure.

“So… Jennie’s a pretty name,” Chaeyoung said casually as she and Taehyung finished packing their bags and began following the rest of the group out the doors. In these 2 weeks, she had also tried to extract any information possible from Taehyung or Yoongi about the conversation they had concerning ‘Jimin and Jennie’, but both of them were impossibly good at keeping whatever secret they were protecting.

Taehyung grinned, “are you still hung up on that conversation? It’s been 2 weeks, princess. Build a bridge and get over it.”

“It must belong to an equally pretty woman,” she pointed out, blatantly ignoring his comment and keeping her face as expressionless as possible.

“Is that a question or a statement?” Taehyung raised a brow, throwing her an amused side glance.

She exhaled in frustration, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and looked at him expectantly, “well, what do you think?”

“What do I think about what?” he chuckled in bewilderment as they began walking down the winding path down the mountain.

“Is it a pretty name or not?”

He sighed and looked away, “I feel like this is a trap.”

“Is she as pretty as her name or not? It’s a simple question Taehyung.”

“You know, I couldn’t help but notice that you completely missed the Jimin part of the conversation and are ruminating over the Jennie part.”

She pouted, her brows furrowing in annoyance, “damn it, the name sounds even prettier when you say it.”

He laughed, and she felt her chest swell with satisfaction at the sound despite the frustrating topic of conversation.

“Who’s the jealous one now?” he smirked at her, causing her to scoff in bafflement.

“I am not jealous,” she claimed, although the air suddenly felt suffocating and her skin burned with frustration, “I’m simply curious about what secret you two are harbouring with such dedication.”

“It is not my secret to tell,” he said with a small, knowing smile, “but if it makes you feel any better, Jimin and Jennie are our childhood friends from Daegu.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” she muttered, “what would make me feel better is if you stop saying her name.”

He sighed incredulously, “you’re the one that brought up this topic.”

“Yes, well now I’m done with it,” she snapped and practically stomped away towards the front of the group, her blood boiling even further upon hearing his soft chuckle as he watched her walk away.

“I hate men,” Chaeyoung muttered as soon as she fell in step with Lisa, knowing full well that Taehyung was only a couple steps behind them. She could already picture the amused grin on his face without even looking back.

“Hey!” Seokjin looked over his shoulder at her, offended.

She smiled and added, “except Seokjin.”

Then, Yoongi cleared his throat from her right side and raised a brow at her expectantly, causing her to chuckle.

“I hate all men, except Seokjin, Yoongi and Namjoon,” she corrected herself, peeking a glance over her shoulder at Taehyung and not surprised to see him rolling his eyes.

“You know,” Namjoon suddenly turned around from the very front of the group, “it isn’t too late to join a nunnery. I know a couple places and I could set up a few meetings.”

Taehyung almost choked at that, “please don’t.”

“Why not?” Chaeyoung glanced over her shoulder at him innocently, “you don’t think I can do it?”

He smirked at her, his eyes dark, “with that body? No.”

“Is that your way of saying I’m attractive?” she whirled all the way around to face him, raising a curious brow and walking backwards down the stone pathway as he walked forward.

“Let’s just say it would be an injustice to mankind if you decided to become a nun.”

“More like an injustice to you,” Yoongi muttered from in front of them, causing Taehyung to shoot a glare at his back and Chaeyoung to turn around with a satisfied grin.

They continued walking along the wide path descending from the temple for several moments, with Namjoon and Jisoo leading the way, Yoongi and Seokjin directly behind them, followed by Lisa and Chaeyoung, and Taehyung trailing closely behind.

Chaeyoung scanned the scenic view in front of her with a soft sigh, staring at the ragged stones of the mountain and the blend of aqua river and jade-green plains below in awe. The air was brisker up there due to the high altitude, stinging on it’s way in but cleansing her homesickness on it’s way out. With a subtle smile, she noticed how the sound of the rapidly flowing waterfall beside them was more faint and soothing than she remembered.

This was the Goryeo she loved. The Goryeo she needed to protect.

Chaeyoung was so preoccupied with these thoughts that it took her a couple moments to realize just how much colder the air had become. Smoky, rolling clouds began invading the sky, stripping it of its liveliness and casting a dark, ominous shadow on the world beneath it. What started out as gentle, hair-ruffling breezes, quickly transitioned into howling gusts of wind so powerful that they could hurl a man straight off the edge of the mountain.

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