Hyejoo came to find that Shanliang was nothing like Xiwang.  

People worked hard, but they did so with smiles on their faces and more than enough food on their tables. At night, the streets were crowded with people hanging out, chatting, drinking together, and singing and dancing in the middle of the streets. 

Hyejoo was quick to get the hang of it, and she soon enough started to hang out with Lucas and Jungwoo's friends. She noticed how close Lucas was with Ten, the guard that lead her to King Taeyong the first day.  

But Hyejoo's resolve wasn't weakened by all the fun and games. Everyday, before and after work, she meditated, just like Chaewon had taught her, and trained her sword skills, trying to figure out how to fight with two swords.  

It was challenging, especially because her sword was very different from Chaewon's. Hers was stronger and heavier, while Chaewon's was lighter, but also swifter. It was tough to keep her balance while swinging both swords with different shapes and weights, but Hyejoo managed to make her hands cooperate with her, using her own sword on her right hand and Chaewon's on her left.  

There was not a day Hyejoo didn't think about Chaewon, not a night she wouldn’t fall asleep with her smile on her mind. Thinking about her and the promise they held gave Hyejoo the strength she needed to wake up every day with a smile on her lips, ready for another day of hard work at the brothers' workshop. 

Jungwoo and Lucas had a rather big house for a non-noble family. She got installed in a spare room by her own, a great relief for someone who was trying to hide her... physiognomy. But even so, Hyejoo had to face some awkward situations. Lucas was used to bathing with his brother, so when he nonchalantly asked Hyejoo to join, she had to come up with an excuse, saying because she didn’t have brothers, she was never used to it and liked to have her own privacy.  

Hyejoo had came back from her early morning practice when someone knocked on the door. She volunteered to go open it, since the brothers were still having breakfast. 

“Good morning, Hyungjoo.” 

“Good morning, Ten! Lucas is having breakfast, wanna come in?” Hyejoo smiled at him. 

“I will come in, and it's alright that Lucas is having breakfast.”  

Hyejoo irked and eyebrow and let him step in, closing the door and following him inside. 

“Ten.” Lucas seemed surprised to see him, but there still was a smile on his lips. “Want to join us for breakfast?” 

“I would, but I’m on duty.” Ten gave him a sad smile. “I’m here to relay an important message from His Majesty, so please pay attention.”  

Hyejoo leaned against the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee on her hands and eyes fixed on him. 

“Please, be at the castle gates tomorrow by midday. His Majesty has an announcement of the utmost importance.”  

The brothers and Hyejoo exchanged a look. 

“And what exactly do you want for you to tell us right now what that announcement might be?” Lucas wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk. 

Ten chuckled out loud. 

“You wished. To say the truth, I’m just as clueless as any of you.”  

Hyejoo took a sip on her hot coffee, wondering what could be so important for Taeyong to summon them. 

♚♚♚

Turns out he hadn’t only summoned them. Hundreds of people stood waiting by the castle gates for the King to give his speech. 

When Hyejoo was about to turn to Lucas, loud cheers and applauses erupted as King Taeyong appeared in the balcony.  

“Thank you everyone for joining me today,” Taeyong started, as the crowd calmed down. “I appreciate your warm welcome, as I will now appreciate your full attention. As you know, my dear son, Jisung, died in war, in order to protect our people and our kingdom. May his soul be at rest." The king touched his heart and faced down for a second, before raising his head again and scanning the crowd. "After this tragic occurrence, I understand that the lot of you are concerned about the future of the kingdom and the succession of my bloodline. It is my greatest wish to assure that Shanliang continues to be ruled under the same values of truth, honesty, fairness, and kindness I strive to uphold today, even after I have left. For that reason, starting in a month, there will be a competition.”  

People started whispering and looking around at each other in confusion. 

“What kind of competition, Your Majesty?” Someone asked. 

“Yes. First of all, each family is encouraged, although not required, to present at least one contender, man or woman, to enter the competition. Then, the volunteers will compete in a series of trials. They can either be a physical test, a sword fight, or even a history test. I will personally supervise the trials and judge not only the skills, but the character of the competitors.”  

More whispers and muttering around.  

“The purpose of this...” Taeyong continued, and silence followed. “Is to find one person worthy and capable of being trained under my guard... and become my heir.” 

Hyejoo's eyes were fixed on Taeyong the entire time. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as she clenched her fists in determination. So that's what he had meant on the first day. That the time would come when she could prove her worth. 

♚♚♚

Later that day, after work and late practice, Hyejoo was having dinner with the brothers. She was quieter than usual, eyes fixed on her food. 

“Hyungjoo, is everything alright?” Lucas asked, making Jungwoo also look at her. 

“Hm, yes, I’m fine.” She faked a smile. 

“You’re thinking about the competition. You want to join.” 

Hyejoo met his eyes and gave him a small smile. 

“You also want to join.” She answered. 

Lucas laughed. “I don’t. I hold the king very dear, but I don't find myself fit of being an heir. I like my job and I don’t intent to abandon it. I think you have nothing to lose, though.”  

There were a few seconds of silence. 

"W-What about you, Jungwoo?” She turned to him. 

“Oh, no no. I don’t like fighting. I can barely hold myself up as a weapon smith, can you imagine me as a swordsman?" He chuckled and pointed at his own tall, skinny figure. "You should do it. You seem pretty passionate about swordsmanship. I think you'd do great." 

Hyejoo looked at the both of them.  

“Then, it's decided that you're going to sign up.” Lucas finished with a smile.  

There was nothing that could stop her now. She would win the competition and return to Xiwang as prince and heir of Shanliang, ready to take Chaewon with her. Chaewon's prince would be her, and only her. 

♚♚♚

A month. Hyejoo had already been practicing every single day, but after the announcement, the brothers were so supportive they reduced her workload so she could practice harder. She had to master the two swords until the competition, and it still was a tough task.  

Lucas decided to help her, training with her when he got some free time. Turns out he was also a great swordsman, better than Hyejoo would expect, although it was only logical. Since he made weapons, he had to understand how they were best used. But, like Jungwoo, he didn't like fighting and preferred a quiet, craftsman life. 

Practice had been especially tough that day. Lucas had constantly bested her right side the whole day and she became so frustrated her focus suffered a great deal. 

But now, Hyejoo was finally back home. A warm bath was what she needed to rest her sore muscles, so she headed directly to the bathroom. Her mind drifted to the competition, trying to imagine what kind of trials were to happen. What if she couldn’t do it? What if she was overly confident and lost in the very beginning?  

No. Hyejoo wouldn’t lose. She couldn’t afford to lose. Wining the competition was a big step towards her end goal. She would win because Chaewon was her motivation. She would win because the prize she would receive was bigger than just becoming Shanliang’s heir. 

When the water started going cold, it was time to head off and maybe go help the brothers with dinner. When Hyejoo got up from the bathtub, she realized she'd mindlessly gone to the bathroom and forgot a damned towel. 

“Hey guys, can any of you bring me a towel?” She shouted, close to the door, covering her body. She could never be too careful. 

“Just a sec!” Jungwoo shouted from the other side.  

Hyejoo stood behind the door and tried to cover her body as much as she could.  

But the door suddenly flew open- 

“Here you go, Junwo- oh my god-" 

“Get out!” Hyejoo snatched the towel from his hands and covered her exposed body. 

“What the hell?!” His widened eyes stared at her from head to toe, as everything he could see now was her feet, shoulders, wet, draping hair and her terrified features. 

“I said out!”  

“LUCAS!” He called, his feet glued to the floor. 

“GET OUT!” 

“What’s going on?!” Lucas stormed inside the bathroom, his gaze jumping between the both of them. 

“Hyungjoo-“ 

“Please-“ 

“He-“ 

“Leave!” 

“He’s a woman!” 

Hyejoo couldn’t look at any of them. She kept her head down and her hands holding on the towel like her life depended on it. But she couldn’t keep her head down when Lucas let out a loud chuckle. She raised her head and found Jungwoo staring at him in disbelief as well. 

“Really, brother? You're so naïve.” Lucas laughed, messing up his brother’s hair. 

“Y-you knew?!” Jungwoo asked, his chin almost reaching the ground. 

“How didn't you know?” 

“Are you kidding me?! Do you know how hard it is to change my voice? Do you know how long it's been since I've used this voice? And you're telling me it was all useless?” Hyejoo let her real voice talk. 

“I’m sorry, I just assumed you had a really good reason to keep that disguise, and I don't judge you for it. But why don’t we discuss this while having dinner? Jungwoo, come on,” Lucas said, leaving with his still stunned brother. 

Hyejoo didn’t remember being so embarrassed in whole her life. And to think Lucas had known all this time. She felt ridiculous, but also relieved that he never treated her differently, knowing she was a woman. 

After getting dressed and breathing deeply a few times, she opened the door and left the bathroom. As she stepped in the main room, she was greeted with a smile from Lucas and a weird look from Jungwoo. She sat and with much effort, looked at them. 

“As I said earlier, I don’t judge you for your choices. But now that you know that I know, I would like to know a bit more about the real you.” 

Hyejoo gulped and nodded. 

“My name is Hyejoo. And I’m sorry for lying to the both of you. It’s not easy for me either, but for my own safety, I decided to hide my identity when I ran away from Xiwang.” She explained. 

“Hyejoo...” Lucas repeated. “Pretty name you have, but I assume you want us to keep calling you Hyungjoo.” 

“Yes, please. People aren’t supposed to know I’m a woman, and now I’m worried I make it too obvious.” 

“You don’t. But I spend all day with you and well, we do physical labor, so it's really not hard to tell that your structure is not that... masculine, even with the baggy clothes you wear.” Lucas scratched his head. “Would you like to get your hair cut? Jungwoo is also skilled with hair.” 

Hyejoo widened her eyes. “No! No, I like my hair like this. I’m used to the ponytail now. But thank you, I appreciate your help.” 

Lucas chuckled and turned to Jungwoo, who was still in shock. 

"Don't mind Jungwoo here." Lucas chuckled. "I don't think he'd ever seen a woman so... candidly, so he's a bit distraught. And I think he's sort of worried he invaded your privacy." 

Jungwoo lowered his head and nodded weakly. 

"Oh." Hyejoo irked an eyebrow. "Don't worry, Jungwoo. We used to change in front of each other all the time at the guard, men and women together, so I'm really not about that privacy thing, like I said. I only said that because... well, it's obvious. I screamed in the bathroom because I was scared that you'd out me as a liar and a traitor, or something like that." 

"We'd never do something like that." Lucas patted her back with a smile. "You've been taken in our household, so no matter what, you're our brother Hyungjoo. Your secret is safe with us, got it?" 

"Thank you." Hyejoo smiled back and sighed in relief. 

There were times Hyejoo couldn’t understand what was going on in their heads, but she was glad to have Lucas and Jungwoo as friends... no, brothers. With the both of them backing her up, she was sure going to ace this competition. She wouldn’t disappoint Lucas, Jungwoo, Chaewon, or herself.  

---

A/N: Please look forward for this competition Hyejoo wants so bad to participate! ^^