Early the next morning, Jungkook rushes to pack his belongings into a bag. He doesn’t need much, just enough clothes to get by. When he finishes, He scribbles a note to his parents, explaining his sudden departure.

 

                                                                                                   Mother and Father, please don’t too be alarmed to find I’ve left home without warning you. I promise this time will be good for both myself and our family. I will write to you again when I settle in. Best, Jungkook.

 

   Jungkook leaves the note on his bed, closing the door slowly and slipping out into the courtyard. When it feels safe, he rushes toward the stable, bag in hand.

    The soft neigh of the stable horses loudens as Jungkook approaches. Among them the loudest, a black long-haired stallion jumps at the sight of Jungkook.

    “Woah there, Jet, it’s only me.”

     He promptly reaches for the center of Jet’s face, the tufts of fur down with his hands.

    “Are you up for a ride?”

    Once Jungook’s fastens the harness onto Jet’s back, he hoists himself up onto the saddle. He kicks his heel light into Jet’s side, and the horse takes off.

    “Let’s go!”

---

    Once he’s far enough away from the manor, he slows his stride. As he’s riding, he’s looking frantically to find Hoseok. The slow panic of running away from home has his heart in knots and his blood boiling. As he reaches the town, he asks roaming people if they had seen Hoseok. Many rolled their eyes at his name, some said nothing at all. He should have expected nothing less from an infamous troublemaker. At the last resort, he stopped at the tavern.

    Jungkook hitched Jet to a wooden pole outside the building while he ventured inside. The inside was noticeably barren, but that was to be expected so early on in the day. The first person Jungkook approaches is a man standing behind a bar and wiping down a glass.

    “What can I get ya, Son?”

    “Sorry not looking for any liquor, I was hoping you could help me find my friend? He’s a frequent customer here, so you might know him, Jung Hoseok?”

    “Oh, Hoseok? Yeah, I know em’. He’s in here almost every weeknight.”

    “Great So you could tell me where to find him?”

    “He did tell me he’d been working as an apprentice at the blacksmith’s, as long as he hasn’t gotten himself in trouble yet, your best bet is finding him there.”

    Jungkook sighed and thanked the man, turning on his heel to leave when the man behind the bar cleared his throat loud enough to stop Jungkook in his tracks. 

    When Jungkook turns his head over his shoulder, the man has his palm out. Jungkook reaches in his pocket for a coin, then pressing it firmly into the man’s hand.

    “Everybody wants something from me. It’s never just out of the kindness, always an ulterior motive.” He mumbles under his breath as he exits the building. He glances toward town, trying to gauge where the Blacksmith was located. Perhaps close enough to walk. 

    Jungkook scans the signs as he walks; after a few minutes, he finds a shack looking building marked ‘Blacksmith”. As he approaches, Jungkook knocked on the closed door, but when there is no immediate response, he starts to think he’s reached a dead end.

    “Who’s there?”

    Jungkook perks up at the sound of a familiar voice.

    “Hoseok? It’s me, Jungkook.”

    The latch to the door unhinges, and Hoseok emerges with prominent soot smears on his face.

    “Jungkook! What are you doing here!”

    “I’ve run away from home, and I need your help.”

---

     Hoseok hands Jungkook a cup of tea and beside him on a wooden stump.

    “So what you’re telling me is that you actually took my drunken advice to lie to your family and run away from home?” Hoseok couldn’t hold in his laughter.

    “This is serious. I already packed all my things and left a note.”

    “This is so brazen of you, Kook. I’m honestly a little shocked.”

    “After our conversation the other night, I realized that I haven’t really been living a fruitful life stuck up in that stuffy manor.”

    “And this was your first choice of rebellion? Bold.”

    “I want to start anew. Somewhere where it doesn’t matter who my family is or what my status is.”

    “Is there such a place in our kingdom?”

    “I can think of one, on the coast. An old orchard that’s been long abandoned by my family. They would never think of looking there, my mother hates the smell of citrus.”

    “And where do I fall into this?”

    “You’re my only friend, Hoseok. I was hoping you would come with me, but seeing now that you’ve started working, It seems impossible.”

    “Of course, I’ll come!’

    Jungkook is taken aback by instant agreement.

    “You will? But what about your apprenticeship?” 

    “I was only here because my parents wanted me to learn a trade, but I could care less.”

    “So you’re serious? You’d just drop everything and come with me?”

    “When do we leave?”

---

    “I have to go home and pack my things and fetch my horse, will you wait here for me?”

    “I haven’t anywhere else to go, anyway.”

    “Perfect. I’ll be back in a blink of an eye.”

    Hoseok graces Jungkook with one last smile before running off in the opposite direction. In the meantime, Jungkook plops down on the grass beside Jet, who’d been eating away at a bush. Jungkook plucks a few pieces from the ground, twisting them into knots until he’s formed a chain of blades of grass. When it’s long enough, he wraps it around his ankle, tying the final knot.

    Jungkook has always enjoyed creating, but his parents never truly encouraged his passion. That isn’t practical for someone like you. You should learn a sport, like archery or jousting. 

 “It’s typical, only having their own intentions in mind when “deciding” my future. Perhaps I was only born with that in mind: “Becoming the perfect pawn,” but that was never part of my plan. It’s not that I didn’t want freedom, it may just be the fact that I never had any way out.”

Until now. Jungkook hears the approach of footsteps, and when finally looks, he sees Hoseok returning with a cleaner face and a horse lead in his hand.

“Ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“After you.”

Jungkook mounts his horse first with a swift motion, Hoseok follows.

“It’s a long ride, so brace yourself. We may not get there until the sun sets.”

“I’m ready for anything.” 

When Jungkook tosses his head over his shoulder, all he can see is the gleam of the sun cast over Hoseok’s smiling face, and for some reason, it catches him off guard. Embarrassed by his reaction, Jungkook quickly turns away and takes off.

“H-Hey! Wait for me!” 

Hoseok hurries to catch up.

 Jungkook leads, and Hoseok follows in suit. The two trek down the dirt road until they disappear, out of sight, over the grassy hillside.

---

    The two arrive just moments before the red hues of the autumn sky fade to black.They both tie their horses to a nearby post and take a moment to take in th white brick building surrounding by a large plot of citrus trees. 

    “Wow Kook, this is almost as big as your family manor.”

    “It was my grandfather's. He built it before he married into nobility.”

    “I’ve never heard you speak of him.”

    “He was a good, honest man. Probably was the only good and honest thing about my family.”

    “ What ever happened to him?”

    “I never found out, it seemed as though my father had suddenly lost all contact with my grandfather. He stopped showing up to familial outings and no one said anything.”

    “ Maybe he's still here after all these years, hiding away from your power hungry parents.”

    Jungkook elbows Hoseok hard enough the have him keel over.

    “Don't joke about that. He'll be rolling in his grave.”

    “I'm just saying, you never know these days. You shouldn't always believe everything you're told. A little speculation keeps the mind attentive.”

    “Ha! That's rich coming from you.”

    “Let's just unpack”

    While Hoseok brings the bags to the rooms, Jungkook peruses the parlor. He notes the picture frames on the wall, many of which are covered by a discolored cloth. Some of the portraits of Jungkook’s father as a young boy standing with his grandfather.

    “Things really haven’t changed much here.”

    He lifts a tarp covering a painted portrait of his grandfather.

    “Grandfather.”

    Jungkook lays the tarp back over the portrait and makes his way upstairs.

---

    Jungkook steps outside onto the balcony, fluffing his damp shirt from his body as he leaned his arms onto the metal railing, looking out across the empty courtyard. Suddenly he can hear himself think for once. The smell of the sea and the silence will be good for the mind.

    But then amongst the silence, he hears humming coming from between the trees.

    “Hoseok?”

    Jungkook leans over the railing to get a better look.

    “What?”

    Jungkook turns around to see Hoseok standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

    “I heard humming.”

    “Well, It wasn’t me.”

    “Who could possibly be here?”

    “Perhaps one of the workers came back to finish picking.”

    “At this hour?”

    Jungkook looks back out to the courtyard, squinting his eyes to try to see better. He can make out a figure moving through the rows of trees.

    “Hello?”

    “Hello?” A voice responds to the quarry.

    “Who’s there?”

    “Who’s asking?”

    “The owner of this land.”

    “And what land is that?”

    “Are you playing games with me?”

    “Games? I don’t quite understand, Sir.”

    “Stop this nonsense! I demand you show yourself immediately, or I’ll fine you for trespassing!”

    The other sighs, moving closer.

    “Fair enough,”

    He drags his hand over the branches, touching each fruit with the tips of his fingers until his face comes into light.

    “It’s a man,”

    He stares up at Hoseok and Jungkook, eyes as white as snow.

    Hoseok leans into Jungkook, whispering something in his ear,

    “And he’s blind.”

 

 

 

Who could that be???!!!