Chaeyoung’s hands trembled as she placed the final stone on the hill that had become Hoseok’s grave. They did not have the body, of course. No skeleton to bury. No ashes to scatter. No family member to comfort. Not even a proper funeral. Mingyu would not allow that.

The only thing they could do was build this stone fortress in a corner of a random field in Busan that Jungkook had granted. All ten of them gathered around this field early in the morning with heads hung low and somber expressions. The majority of them had not known the bright man for long, and yet, the news of his death had shaken them all.

Hoseok had arguably begun this entire journey. From the moment Chaeyoung was born, he had predicted her future and had dedicated his life to serving and protecting her. Like her very own guardian angel. And all throughout their journey he had been planning, strategizing, leading revolts and doing everything in his power to ensure her success.

Chaeyoung exhaled shakily as she placed a handful of white roses on top of the ash-grey stones, a tear slipping out the corner of her regretful eyes. She wished she had more to give him than a bouquet of flowers whose pure-white shade was incomparable to the pureness of his own resting soul. He deserved so much more.

She felt Lisa’s long fingers intertwine with hers as they all took a moment of silence, and squeezed them tight, borrowing some of her strength. As images of Hoseok’s cheerful smile flooded through her mind, she could only hope that his death would not be in vain.

~{❀}~

“Do we know how he died?” Jisoo asked softly, her eyes swollen from the tears she had secretly wept for the loss of her good friend. Chaeyoung had forgotten that they knew each other long before she had even stepped foot inside the Hope Inn – both of them working together to secretly protect the princess for the past decade.

Immediately after the short funeral, Chaeyoung had gathered the group in one of Jungkook’s posh meeting rooms, each of them seated on gold-cushioned tall chairs around a grand round table, for an emergency meeting.

“It appears,” Namjoon sighed, standing up from his seat in an attempt to calm the flustered crowd, “Mingyu discovered that he was in correspondence with us and immediately called for his execution. Luckily Daesung has written to inform us that he was able to take over Hoseok’s duties and will continue to lead the rebellion in the city capital on his behalf. But this means he will have to juggle court duties at the same time and it is only a matter of time before Mingyu catches him too. We need to gather our resources and strategize. Time is no longer on our side.”

A grim silence befell the group as they grieved Hoseok’s loss while simultaneously trying to strengthen their mindset to move forward. Because no matter what, they had to keep going – to finish what they had started. That was what Hoseok would have wanted. What he sacrificed his life for.

Jimin rolled a large map of goryeo out on the table, pinning it in each corner to stabilize it as he began to voice his suggestions.

“I believe the best battlefield would be Gaegyeong which is a few miles north of the city capital. We should avoid the southern cities as they are all heavily patrolled by the King’s men, whereas the north is less patrolled and would therefore provide us with a more even playing field,” he explained, circling the tiny dot that represented Gaegyeong in bold red chalk.

(here is the map again for anyone confused about the geography)

Everyone looked up at him with raised brows, surprised at his level of expertise and leadership. Throughout their journey, he had come up with many intricate, clever plans that had saved them on more than one occasion. There was no denying Jimin’s political competence. It was almost as if he was born to lead. No wonder Lisa was smitten by him.

Jimin shrugged as everyone continued to gawk at him, running a hand through his dark hair nonchalantly, “what? I have always enjoyed politics and strategization.”

Chaeyoung wished she could say the same about herself. But truthfully, she had never even witnessed a war, let alone been involved in planning one. And with everything occurring so fast all around her, she could not help but feel overwhelmed.

“Well then please continue, Jimin,” Namjoon encouraged him with a small, impressed smile, “how do you think we can we win this war?”

Chaeyoung and Lisa exchanged a small smile at how Jimin’s face lit up at the encouragement.

He rose from his seat with an enthusiasm that caused even Yoongi to grin in amusement as he laid out all the juicy details of his plan.

“Well according to Sir Sun Tzu, in war we must appear weak when we are strong and strong when we are weak. Now, we already know we have only about half the soldiers Mingyu has,” Jimin explained, beginning to mark four lines across the map in every direction, “which is why I think we should take 1/4th of our best warriors to the battleground in the beginning, leading an attack from the north. The other side will underestimate our strength and waste vital manpower in hopes of a quick victory. This is when we begin an ambush from the west, east, and south, surrounding them from all corners. I have already planned some formations that could help us tremendously.”

“Wow, Jimin, you have outdone yourself,” Taehyung leaned back and slapped his back with a huge grin on his face as he studied the various battle formations in front of them.

Namjoon nodded slowly in agreement, “that sounds like a solid plan and may provide us with a chance to decrease the numbers. We can take half our boats and our best warriors to Gaegyeong right away. Some can remain there on stakeout while a group breaks off and hides in the west. The rest will travel on land and approach from the south.”

“But with that many soldiers, we are bound to be detected by Mingyu’s officers,” Jungkook argued, “especially if we are travelling on land. How are we to pass through the country capital to even reach Gaegyeong when it is completely filled with the King’s men?”

Suddenly, Seokjin had an epiphany, finally contributing something to the discussion and proving himself to not be completely useless in battle planning, “Namjoon, what about the Ilsan tunnels that Jackson led us through? Is there a route through there that leads to Gaegyeong?”

“It is a twisted path and will prolong the journey by a few days, but yes there is a path to the town,” Namjoon nodded, “it will allow us to remain completely undetected by Mingyu’s men but if we are to use it, we must move quickly and take enough provisions to last a week. I will send a letter to my men in Ilsan to organize everything right away.”

“I think it is also important to note that the goal in war is not to defeat as many officers as possible, but to defeat the right people. Once we defeat the le