At a tavern not so far from the Royal Palace, a tall man is sitting alone at one of its corner tables. On his table, there are more than five or six tall bottles of alcohol already empty, and in his hand, there is another bottle from which he is pouring the white liquid into his cup. Yet, the man does not show any signs of being drunk or at least affected by the alcohol. One cup after another is being poured straight to his mouth and to his stomach, but it looks like he could not be defeated by such liquid. 

There is a small stage at the centre of the tavern. As Kyuhyun's table sits in a corner of the tavern, it is quite far from the stage, but he can still see a female street singer and a younger boy sitting next to her playing an instrumental. The street singer is quite young, probably in her early twenties, and the boy looks cannot be older than twelve years old, but he is already quite skilled at playing musical instruments. The boy and the girl look somewhat alike, so Kyuhyun can guess that they are brother and sister. 

After the girl finishes each song, she would always bow and say thanks to the audience. Each time, the guests in the tavern would give her a big round of applause and give her encouraging words. But this time, after she finishes singing a classic love song, a group of men start to approach the stage where she is sitting. The men are clearly drunk, as they keep staggering in their steps. But their voice is strong as they call out for the girl and talk to her with explicit profanity. Suddenly, one of the men reaches forward to her, but to Kyuhyun and everyone else's surprise, she swiftly avoids the man's grip, leading to him falling down onto the ground. 

At this scene, the surrounding guests start to laugh at him.

- Haha, what a loser. Go home!

- He even lost to a girl, so embarrassing!

The man starts to be enraged by this. He quickly stands up and approaches the girl with much stronger force. But he could not get much closer to the girl before he is down on the ground again, this time, feeling like an extremely sharp object had just stabbed him in the back, completely knocking him out.

Seeing their friend attacked right before their eyes, the group of men, powered by alcohol and their own sense of masculinity, start shouting loudly:

- Who? Who dares to do this?

Immediately, two flying objects start coming at him, with a speed and force that he could not just stop or avoid. The flying objects hit his head, knocking him to the ground. This sends the rest of the group to both awe and scare. When they look more closely at the flying objects, they turn out to be a pair of chopsticks! Their two friends, who are in their prime years, had just been knocked out by two pairs of chopsticks. Before they know it, a tall man wearing all-black clothes already stands before them. Kyuhyun only takes one look at the two men lying on the ground, then at the group of men, and says with a firm voice:

- Drunk and disorderly in a public space. Do you know what punishment you deserve?

One of the men starts to feel enraged again:

- Who are you to punish us!

But Kyuhyun only smirks at the man. He takes out the sword that has been sitting peacefully on his side. 

This immediately has an intimidating effect on the men. The one standing closest to Kyuhyun starts to notice his outfit. 'This could not be a commoner', he thinks to himself. 'His clothes are quite nice. His sword looks like it is from the Royal Palace. He is also wearing a jade plate. Besides, he has an outstanding poise that only a nobleman or an official can have.'. 

At this series of rationalisation, the man begins to calm the group down, then turns to Kyuhyun apologetically:

- I am terribly sorry, nauri. It was just an accident. Just an accident.

Then, not waiting for Kyuhyun to reply, he and the group hurriedly turn away and swiftly run from the scene.

Not bothering to follow them, Kyuhyun turns to check on the girl and her brother. When he sees that they are not injured, he turns to get back to his seat. But a hand quickly grabs his elbow, and a voice as soft as a songbird starts talking:

- Nauri, thank you for helping me and my brother. If I can do anything to return the favour, please tell me.

Kyuhyun turns to look again at the girl. She is obviously trained in martial arts, Kyuhyun thinks to himself, otherwise, she could not have avoided the man's grip that swiftly.

- That's ok. - Kyuhyun replies indifferently - There's no need for that. 

The girl is about to say something else, but Kyuhyun has already left for the door. She continues to look at his dark and tall figure, but it is quickly blending into the crowd, and after only a few seconds, complete gone.

*****

At the Lee's residence, seven people sit around a small table in the guesthouse. It is obvious who is missing from the table, and Kyuhyun keeps staring at the empty seat. But staring at it will not make that person present there.

- So, Kyuhyun, any news about the strange building in the Palace?

Lee Youngwoon's voice brings Kyuhyun back to reality.

- No, seonsaengnim. I haven't gone back since last time.

Lee Youngwoon nods his head.

- Being careful is important. Don't try to do anything rash.

Kyuhyun feels like Lee Youngwoon has just emphasised the phrase 'do anything rash' directly at him. But he does not say anything else. He has been doing that a lot lately. Holding onto words that he cannot say and keeping his mouth shut.

After the meeting, Lee Youngwoon asks Kyuhyun to stay behind to talk with him privately. After a long minute of silence, Lee Youngwoon finally breaks the ice first.

- Tell me how you are doing, Kyuhyun.

- I'm just doing what I have been told, seonsaengnim. Staying in my job to get close to officials in the Ministry of Defence. And keeping an eye out any strange events in the Palace.

Lee Youngwoon nods his head. He stays silent for a long while, as if composing in his head how to say the next sentence. After what seems like too long, he speaks up again.

- Sungmin keeps asking in his letters how you are doing.

At this, Kyuhyun raises his head to look carefully at the older man sitting in front of him. He looks deep inside those eyes of his teacher's to see carefully his intention, but Kyuhyun could not see anything other than care and concern.

- Seonsaengnim, please tell him for me that I am very busy these days with my job, and also with my training. I hope he will understand.

Lee Youngwoon looks surprised at this answer, but after looking carefully at the young man before him, he does not say anything else. He has known Kyuhyun since he was five years old. Besides, he is best friends with his parents for more than half of their lives, so he can say with confidence that Kyuhyun is just like a miniature Jun Kihong. Stubborn and determined, those are the two traits that distinguish Jun Kihong from anyone that Lee Youngwoon has met, but at this moment, Lee Youngwoon does not know whether to be proud or scared for Kyuhyun that he resembles his father so much. After all, those are the two traits that got him and his whole family killed.

After a long moment of silence, Lee Youngwoon lets out a sigh and speaks even more softly.

- Kyuhyun ah, you take after your father... so much

-...

- Your father... was always impatient to change the world.

-...

- But, Kyuhyun ah, that's exactly what got him killed. So I am asking you to be patient and to wait until the right time comes. The right time will come, Kyuhyun ah.

Kyuhyun does not say anything for a long time. But just as Lee Youngwoon thinks that the conversation has come to an end, Kyuhyun speaks up again.

- Then, seonsaengnim, can I ask you something?

- Of course, anything, Kyuhyun ah.

- Seonsaengnim, what are your plans exactly? 

- My plans, Kyuhyun, have always been to slowly infiltrate the Royal Palace and to change things from the inside. Violence has never been part of my plan, as you know. If we can resolve things in peace and civility, then why resort to violence? wouldn't it be so much better if no more innocent blood has to be shed?

- But what if the Royal Palace is too rotten from the inside to change? What if there are no innocent people and there are just us versus them? Then, would you resort to violence?

- Slow down, Kyuhyun. I hope that things will never have to come to that. Things can still be changed, and people can still be saved, Kyuhyun. You're young. You're impatient. I understand it. But don't let it get into your head. Once it is in your head, it will change you forever. Trust me, Kyuhyun. 

Kyuhyun does not say anything anymore. He could not say anything anymore. Lately, he has felt like everyone in this world has left him behind. Even the person that he thought would never leave his side, has happily joined sides with the enemy. And everyone is still happy with that. Everyone has moved on with their lives. Except for him. He feels as if he is still standing in the rain that day, saying goodbye to everything that is good and kind in this world. In the end, he is all alone again, and nobody can understand that feeling. Nobody can help him now except for him.

So he quickly stands up and says goodbye to Lee Youngwoon to head back to his residence. Lately, solitude has really been his true and only friend.

*****

The road back to Kyuhyun's residence seems darker and more lonely than usual. In the market that is normally crowded until midnight, only a few vendors are scattered to different corners. The different lively sounds of street singers, musicians and magicians are nowhere to be heard. Past the market are the little houses built side by side, and are often filled with children's noises, parents' shouting, and other commonly heard noises in a household. But today, the houses seem solemn and quiet, as if exhausted from a long working day, or perhaps expecting some invisible storm. A storm that Kyuhyun cannot foresee.

Kyuhyun is so immersed in his own thoughts that he is just now realising that behind him, there are two steady sets of footsteps following him since the Lee's residence. 

'Who has the nerves to follow a government official', he thinks to himself, then makes a sudden turn into an alley. 

The two dark figures quickly follow him into the alley, but are immediately confused when they reach the end of the alley and find no one there.

Just when they are about to leave, Kyuhyun jumps off the roof of one of the nearby houses, still without any landing sound. His sword pointing directly towards them, he asks firmly.

- Who are you? Why are you following me? 

A soft voice like a songbird utters shakily.

- Nauri...

- It's you?

Kyuhyun asks while putting his sword back into its cover. When he gets closer to them, he could see more clearly the faces of the street singer and her brother from a few days before. 

- What are doing here? And why are you following me?

The street singer takes a moment to collect herself before she can answer his question.

- Nauri, we have been following you because... because... it's quite difficult to say.

- Try me. - Kyuhyun's voice is still firm as ever.

- We...we are from a group up in Mount Bukhan¹...

- The San-ui Aideul²?

- Nauri, you know about us?

The girl's face seems enlightened by the little recognition that Kyuhyun has shown her.

- What do you want?

- Nauri, it's just that... we want you to be a part of us.

- What? - Kyuhyun scoffs in the most obvious way. This, if not some kind of a conspiracy, is just purely ridiculous. - You do know that I am a government official.

- Yes, we know, nauri.

- And you are asking me to join a rebellious group up in the mountains?

- Don't think of it as a rebellious group, nauri. It was a group founded by disillusioned government officials. They wanted a place where they could live freely and just be themselves, where no politics or life's troubles can reach them. That's why they are based so deeply in the mountains, so no one can find them. And you, nauri, are just like them. You have also been disillusioned from government ideals, and I think you need this place.

- What?

- I'm sorry to be blunt, nauri, but we have been watching you for the past few days, and you just have that look.

- What look?

- It's all in your eyes, nauri. You look like you just want to burn this whole world, with yourself in it.

Silence. 

The street singer does not dare to speak any longer, and Kyuhyun does not know what to reply to what has just been said about him.

He looks more carefully at the girl. Her head is still lightly bowing to him in the manner when a commoner speaks to an official or a nobleman. Part of him, at this moment, wants to take his own hands, reach that elegant neck of her, and strangle her to reverse the words that had been spoken. But part of him knows that it is probably the truth.

- Nauri - the girl whispers to him while handing him a small piece of paper - you don't have to decide now. But whenever you feel like you need our help or just our company, this is the instructions on how to get to our base.

- ...

- Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you are not all what I said you are. But, nauri, I am hardly ever wrong about this, and I hope I can see you there soon.

When she finishes speaking, she takes her brother's hand and lead themselves out of the alley, and into the darkness just like where they came from.

Leaving Kyuhyun there. Speechless. Confused. But, also, partly determined.

*****

1. Bukhansan: a mountain to the north of Seoul, Korea.

2. San-ui Aideul: Means children of mountains.