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Looking around himself, Jaejoong has a clear picture of what had happened during the attempt to kidnap Junsu from Yoochun’s side. The picture is not pretty at all. He is upset that Junho would act so impulsively, which meant the man hadn’t changed one bit since they met. The healer regrets missing out on the action when it’s most critical, but most of all, he blames Yunho for the mess he is in.

With just a team of escorts made of ten odd guards, the king is still able to fend off a few hundred soldiers on Junho’s side. Many newly recruited rebel soldiers are mostly injured or dead because of the close range battle with the king. They should have an idea what Yoochun can do, after the close shave, yet they are agreeable with the general’s unrealistic idea of taking the king on.

Undaunted by Yoochun’s prowess, Junho still thinks he can force the king’s troops out of their land via coercion. To escalate the illusions he is having, the general now wants to bump off the king to add on to his mission, even though Jaejoong had him agree before that they will just keep their activities a secret. Jaejoong is appalled.

More than that, Jaejoong is also furious, cross with Junho and everyone else. He attributes the growth and flourishing of the general’s rebel troops to the low profile they kept. They were successful in going unnoticed, but now that Junho have blown their cover, he will need more than just luck to salvage the situation, and luck is hardly ever on his side. Jaejoong knows that their men are not well equipped or even mentally prepared enough to face off with the king, but Junho is being an by insisting that they do.

“You can’t do this!! We are not ready!!” Jaejoong concludes, toning down a little. But he is ignored as the willful man gets back to working on his ores. He thinks he had made his point clear enough to the healer. His obdurate heart will not change.

“Look! I went through all this trouble to get us something useful so we can continue with our plans!! How can you deviate from the original plans without taking in any considerations for me or my opinions?!!” Jaejoong feels that his intentions are being disregarded to an unacceptable extent, and he is afraid of the consequence. Shoving the information he took from Yunho’s house into the general’s face, the healer is enraged when Junho chooses to grab a whole of it and tosses it into the dirt nearby.

“I CARE!! That is why I am doing this!! We all care for you!! YOU have no idea!!” Junho’s pertinacious temper showed, staring Jaejoong down, lifting his heels slightly to tower over the healer.

“YOU are NOT doing anything!! WE are going to leave this place and hide till the time is ripe!! All this is thanks to a certain someone!!” Jaejoong edged towards Junho and stared up at the taller man’s face, pale face flushed from annoyance. Jaejoong hardly ever loses his temper in the past, but he is doing that more often nowadays, and that irritates him too.

“WAIT FOR WHAT?!! IT’S BECAUSE OF YOUR INCESSANT PLANNING AND NEED TO THINK SOME MORE THAT CAUSED YOU SO MUCH MORE. CAUSED YOU YOUR… YOUR… TO HIM!!! AM I RGHT?!” Junho stammered a little towards the end of his sentence. He meant to say ‘ity’.

“WHAT?!!” Jaejoong’s blood is currently boiling at a dangerously high temperature.

“I don’t know what you have to do or did to get those!! But my guess is as good as yours!! I will NEVER use them!! NEVER!!!” Junho pointed at the now muddy pile of stolen parchments while Jaejoong’s volcano threatens to erupt.

“THAT is going to tell us whatever information we don’t know and will never get from your STUPID informants!!!” Jaejoong grabs Junho’s top at the chest and tip toes to par up with the man’s height, one hand pointing at the information that lay in the dirt.

“WHY ARE THOSE STUPID PIECES OF PARCHMENTS SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?! I will tell you why!! YOU OFFERED YOURSELF TO HIM IN ORDER TO GET THEM DIDN’T YOU?!! YOU…” “SMACK!! SMACK!!” Junho reeled back as Jaejoong slaps him on both cheeks before he could blink. What Junho does best is assume, insulting Jaejoong as a result.

“IS THIS HOW YOU TALK TO YOUR ELDERS?!!” Jaejoong then reaches for the man’s clothes again and tightens his grip there, choking Junho as he stamps his feet on the general’s own. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE BROUGHT UP WELL!! LOOKS LIKE I AM MISTAKEN!!!”

Shoving Junho, the healer left the puzzled man. “Wait!! What do you mean!! Elders?!”

“I am your uncle! You might not remember me, but I remember the both of you! Fancy forgetting the person you played together with for half your life.” Jaejoong huffed. He wasn’t planning on revealing his identity, but out of pure rage, the healer had spilled the beans. He did not want Junho to feel stressed around him or create any form of animosity between them earlier, hence the tightly sealed lip. Most of all, he felt that it will be strange to have someone older than him, call him ‘uncle’.

“You are the little girl I played with?!” Junho’s eyes are so wide now that they look like they are ready to pop out from his sockets anytime. Junsu is equally stumped as he hides behind the pillar, biting his lips as he watches the duo thrash things out earlier. The boy just emerged because of the overly loud brawl.

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The next morning… back in the fortress

“WHY is he still crying!!?! DAMN IT!!!” Yoochun sighed loudly as he held his face in both palms, bent forward on the chair he is seated on. “Just FEED him already!!”

“Your majesty. The nanny is done with the feeding… it’s just. The baby is not stopping.” The trembling caregiver answered as she held baby Changmin, trying desperately to pacify him, since the baby wouldn’t stop wailing, though there isn’t any tummy bloatedness or discomfort. There is only one explanation for the colic, but the lady does not dare breathe word about it, since she still wishes to go home for dinner.

“WHAT the HECK is the problem then?!!” The king half yelled as he rubs his forehead, soothing the throbbing ache between his brow-line. The lady’s lips quivered as she thought about what she needs to say to pacify the king as well. Both father and son are in very bad shape because of a missing somebody.

“Your majesty… perhaps if you were to cradle him, he might stop… He might just be terrified and craving for a familiar touch.” The lady chose her words really carefully, pausing to check out the man’s expression before continuing every time she spoke.

Yoochun’s head shot up from his palms as he glowers at her. Squealing in fright, the lady backed away a little, about to collapse onto the ground in fright as the man’s black pupils pierces through her. Standing up in one single motion, the father of the baby made his way over, heavy footsteps dragging against the ground he walked on, scaring the lady less.

Then, just as the female thought her life is over, the king extends both arms out and takes the baby from her. “Shhhhh… I know. I know.” The man whispered into baby Changmin’s tiny ears as the baby lowers a pitch. “Appa will bring umma back… so be a good boy.” The unusual softness is exhibited only for the baby, in times like this.

“CHUN!!” Just as baby Changmin stops crying, Yunho, whom Yoochun had summoned, finally appears. “What happened last night!?! I thought you were on your way back to the capital?! What happened?!” Yunho just got news of Junsu’s kidnap after returning from his ‘recceing’ trip around the area. Unbeknownst to Yoochun, his friend had been out all night, busy mapping the whole northern borders for suspicious and possible locations for hiding a small army. He hadn’t found anything, but he knows he is close.

“Someone took him.” Yoochun’s eyes were bloodshot indicating lack of sleep as he places the now nearly asleep baby onto the bed beside him and looks up at Yunho. The advisor can sense the king’s anguish. The man did not even bother to treat his own bodily wounds, allowing the dribbling blood from the cuts to dry by themselves. No armour, no horse, no weapon and no Junsu. That was all the information Yunho got from the king’s servants, describing the king upon the man’s return earlier.

Frowning, the advisor went up to the king and examined his wounds while the other runs his fingers through his own thick black hair. He does that whenever he is troubled. Yunho pats the man on his back in response, trying to ease the man as much as he can.

“I couldn’t find anything. There were many casualties, but there just weren’t any identification on them! I CAN’T TELL WHERE THEY ARE FROM!! OR WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACK.” The man raised his voice, tone rough and impatient, scrunching the bed sheets below him into a ball within his fists. “THERE IS NOTHING!!!” “WHAT DO I DO?!”

Yoochun had actually gone back to the scene and flipped through every single corpse for clues as to where his beloved might be, but Junho’s man had nothing on them but their armours and weapons.  It appears more like they were on a suicidal mission to begin with. The king is at a lost and almost stayed out all night had his subordinates not requested for him to come back to ease the baby he left in the fortress. Only he stood a chance with the picky baby, who wouldn’t allow anyone to coax him except his parents.

“Tell me what happened. Details.” Yunho is not exactly seeing the clear picture, but he is getting a rough sketch. “You need to calm down and analyse the situation with me.” Yoochun exhaled deeply.

“I was with Junsu in the carriage… then I heard some rustling sounds from say... a few meters away? So I looked out. There wasn’t anyone there at first… so I got suspicious.” Yoochun is obedient and readily recalling the series of events aloud. Yunho is thankful that his friend is cooperative for once. Yoochun knows Yunho will be able to help.

“Which direction were they coming from?” Yunho asked inquisitively, spreading out his map on the table before them as he marks out the regions. Yoochun shrugged and stamps his feet on the ground, frowning even more deeply as he fails to come to a conclusion.

“All I know is that they were coming from all four directions, sides first. They weren’t putting in much effort when attempting to attack the carriage. I say they were probably trying to lure us into the hillside. Then this rock came from above and... AISH! I think they were trying to force us out into the open!!” “BASTARDS!!” The king spat.

“They probably wanted to do a more thorough job with you. Having you stranded with nowhere to hide is more advantageous for them. Not a bad plan I must say.” Yunho stated the facts as he nods his head approvingly, not knowing to feel happy or sad about it. Battle strategy happens to be the duo’s forte. So Yunho knows the person who planned this is definitely equipped with adequate knowledge for battles and sure kill tactics. A warrior with a rank. All evidence points to Junho.

“Then I tried to get Junsu out of there… but they…” Yoochun choked on his words. “Do you think they will hurt him?” “Because of me?”

“I don’t know Chun.” “I can’t tell you for sure.” Yunho said without blinking.

“Those bastards wanted me dead… they set off a few hundred arrows on me and my son!!” Yoochun said through clenched teeth, looking at Changmin as he sleeps soundly. “We barely escaped.”

“They only did that after capturing Junsu?” Yunho had one last definitive question, hands busy making notes. It is not that Yunho is too smart for Junho. It’s the fact that Junho had rushed into the kidnapping without devising an effective plan to divert the suspicion from himself. Jaejoong is right about him being too impulsive.

Yoochun got Yunho’s point without having the advisor write it out for him. Eyes widening, Yoochun gaped at Yunho while the man smirks victoriously. After all, all they needed to do is calm down and think things through, and the answer will surface naturally.

‘Why take Junsu?’ ‘Attempts to kill Yoochun.’ ‘No identifiers on them.’ ‘Ambush.’ All this safe assumptions Yunho had made and gathered screams revenge attack, from someone they thinks is the most highly possible culprit. Junho. ‘The enemy only went all out with a full blown attack after Junsu was out of line of fire.’ Bingo!

“I might have an idea who is behind this.” “What about you?” Yunho asked and Yoochun inhales sharply, relaxing all his muscles all at once. At least he knows Junsu is alive and well, and possibly in the best hands.

“What if we are wrong?” Yoochun cast an earnest glance at his friend.

“We are usually ALWAYS correct.” Yunho simpered.

“What set him off then?” “I am pretty sure he wasn’t half as aggressive when we met… when I spared him.” Yoochun huffed. “He was well behaved when we sent him off…”

Yunho remained silent, but he knows the likelihood that he was the one who set Junho off is high, with what he did to Jaejoong. Yunho have yet to figure out the relationship between the brothers and the healer. That is also the final part of the mystery for him. Jaejoong might be Junho’s lover for all he knows, and he might have made a of the man, and tolerance for that is low.

Silently thankful that Yoochun does not know a thing about Jaejoong, Yunho is sure his friend will not be too pleased to know he MIGHT be the one to screw up everything AGAIN.

“We wouldn’t know what he is thinking about would we?” Yoochun shrugged, agreeable. “He might already be plotting something in his head.” Yunho suggested, knowing that it is unlikely. He is after all, the one who probably pushed Junho over the edge.

“How did you get the idea that it might be him at the first place?” Yoochun watched his friend while the man rolls up his maps and took out another one, marking the messy piece of parchment with more ugly symbols. Yunho’s handwriting isn’t the best looking.

“Let’s just say I am naturally smart.” Yunho got the slightest clue from Junsu, but Yoochun does not need to know that either.

“Whatever man. Just find me his location.” Yoochun tugged off his cotton shirt, not even blinking with the stinging pain of his cuts and bruises. He man’s body is indeed an impregnable, impenetrable fortress by itself.

“Will be working on it now.” Yunho answered before tossing Yoochun a porcelain bottle of antiseptic, sealed with a wax paper at the lid. Seeing Yoochun apply a generous amount of the transparent yellowish solution on the lesions he can reach, Yunho is reminded of Jaejoong. He can’t help but compare how Jaejoong would handle every small abrasion with such tender care, to how rough Yoochun is with his own skin.

The determination to find Jaejoong, and to resolve the differences and dispute between them became greater with every minute’s passing. Puffing out his chest, Yunho sighed. “Chun ah. Do you think I am too soft sometimes?” He asked without thinking. The two best buddies would talk about anything on the surface of the earth, always asking for each other’s opinion.

“You bet! You chose to act like that. No one forced you. Peaceful my ! You will just become marsh after some time.” Yoochun tossed the bottle of solution back to Yunho after he is done, pulling on a new set of garments. "Too soft!"

“Do you think I have become less of a man since I left the battle field and became your advisor?” Yunho asked again, without looking at Yoochun, focusing on the maps while Yoochun joins him at the table, attempting to distinguish the specific features in their topography venture.

“You are the smarty pants. The advisor thing suits you. But I like you better on the field. You should see how fierce you were. Even more bloodthirsty than me.” Yoochun clacked his tongue rudely and laughed when Yunho glared at him, mouthing profanities. Yunho on the other hand, is feeling relieved to see Yoochun looking more at ease at last.

“You are right. I should be more domineering. Talk with the fist instead. Be more assertive.” Yunho concluded that he will just do what he used to do. Jaejoong is too tough a nut to crack with peaceful talks and gentlemanly gestures. Yunho is more or less decided, he will screw Jaejoong however ways he wants until the man comply and submits to him. Yunho does not want to spend the rest of his life trying to please Jaejoong.

The side of Jaejoong that he dislikes, he will crush it. He will train the healer to be more docile, instead of waiting for the other to change for him. The advisor is sure that he can change Jaejoong by coercion. He will get his point straight across instead of always teasing and appearing so amicable all the time. No more nagging like a henpecked mister nice man. He will stand up like the man he is and Jaejoong has to accept him that way, since there will be no way out. 

“How hard did you do Junsu to knock him up?” Yoochun was sipping on freshly brewed tea when Yunho asked the question, unthinkingly again, hands still meddling with the magnetic stone compass. Yunho had a sudden inspiration to just tie Jaejoong down for life, whether he likes it or not, and the inspiration comes from the big guy sitting next to him.

“PFFFT!!” With an unintentional loss of masseter and buccinator control, the map they were working on is soaked and stained with blackish liquid. Yoochun ended up spitting out the tea he was swishing around in his mouth. There are some things that this duo does not delve into details too after all. What happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.

“YAAHHH!!” Yunho roared, startling Yoochun. The king hasn’t heard Yunho do so for a very long time, and it sounded somewhat refreshing.

“WHAT?! YOU ASKED THE QUESTION FIRST!! WHO ASKS THIS SORT OF THING?!” Yoochun got defensive.

“ MAN!! AIGOOOO!!!” Yunho tried lifting the map off the table to drain the pooling tea and saliva, but the paper tore before he was done. There goes his one night worth of hard work, gone down the drain.

“You know what chingu?! Screw this!” Chucking the useless pieces of scrap paper on the floor, the advisor looked at Yoochun with an evil grin.

“What?” Yoochun asked, curious.

“I have a way to find them. No unreliable maps involved… and much faster. Want to help me out here?” Yunho’s facial expression just got creepier.

“You are the man! Tell me what I need to do, and I will do it.” “The faster the better!” Yoochun got up as well and stretched himself with a slow work out.

“We will draw the rebels out. Let them show us the way to their camps.” Both man smiled slyly, rocking their heads back and forth slowly, strategist sides emerging.

TBC

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