Yunjae. Feel free to make guesses.

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POV from Yunho

Recently, I have been volunteered for a job I didn’t know I signed up for. To take care of the king’s lover.

I am hardly approving of what that stupid man did to the boy… but what can I say. I feel like I was the cause of all the fretfulness… all the apprehension… all that contempt… they are experiencing when around one another. The kid. I was the one who suggested that Yoochun go make it up to him and try to play nice… but what happens after that was way beyond what I expected. The outcome was utterly disappointing… since I didn’t contemplate the possibilities beforehand, that Yoochun might bring the odium up a whole new level.

That idiot apparently can’t keep his hands to himself the moment he gets to spend ‘quality time’ with someone he desires so ually. It is frightening to know indeed! I never knew his aggravated state of misguided characteristics will bring him as far as to someone.

Alas, what is done is done. As a friend, I advise him to just stay low for now. As a man, I advise him to repent. The boy will probably hate him for a long LONG time… but what to do? It can’t be helped. That’s life. You reap what you sow. The can only hope for his victim to suffer from the Stockholm syndrome, for him to be forgiven.

The fear in that kid’s eyes whenever he spots Yoochun lurking nearby is very obvious… yet that guy has no idea. He thinks that the kid hates him. Which is true… but more than animosity… I can safely say that the kid is just plain terrified of him. Brief skin contact between them will result in the boy throwing fit and activating his terrestrial locomotion… especially fresh after his traumatizing experience.

Currently, things between them are definitely getting better. At least the kid appears to be letting his guard down around his assailant subconsciously. I am glad that the abstinence I taught my friend worked enough to improve their relationship, even if it’s hardly significant. The man needs to know when he shouldn’t push the limits.

As for me. I have always made it a principle in life not to do things to someone, against their wishes. The only person I have pressurized to ensure that he does things my way… Yoochun. Can’t blame me for being so hard on him right?

The beast for a man may be a big boy now… but he will always be impulsive… hot headed… annoying and gruff. Just like a spoilt little boy who would do anything to get what he wants. Except he communicates with his sword. A weapon such as that should have never fallen into his hands. It becomes hazardous.

I am half a year older than him… yet I feel like I am a century older at times. And wiser. If I don’t say so myself. Appa has always drilled into me, my job scope. Apparently, Chun’s appa… he is very worried about Yoochun’s mental and emotional development. The man wants Chun to grow up more… ‘healthily’… if you get what I mean.

II can only say that Chun’s appa truly regrets bringing him up that way. Nature together with nurture produced a truly deadly combination… which is the monster that Chun houses within him. 

People always say that everyone has a dark side to them. I won’t deny having that side myself. I do hate enough to want to kill… but that side of mine is pretty well kempt. Picture a bonsai tree that needs to be maintained. With patience, self control and an exceptionally good temper, I have been the better man. Chun needs to learn those.

I am just glad that the kid has had some kind of an effect on him. I have NEVER seen Chun’s eye mollify so much around someone. Even when he flares, his eye doesn’t burn with such insane fury. That is amazing, and rare. The genial look he has on whenever beholding the boy’s presence… is priceless… to me… and I believe…that is what he appa would’ve wanted to witness as well.

Anyhow, back to the accursed job I am assigned with.

I am now the boy’s guardian, so I shall stop addressing the kid as ‘the kid’… or ‘the boy’. His name is Junsu. A good child. I am not surprised. I have heard a lot about him… the story of what happened on the battle field that led to his fateful meeting with Chun.

There are many versions, but the sole conclusion comes with him being plain obtuse and naïve. Dim witted? I choose to explain it otherwise. He is pretty courageous I must say. But, aside from courage, I can reaffirm that love makes people act very erratically. Mostly formidable… yet things that they never thought they would ever do.

I think to myself sometimes too. If my appa were to be in danger… would I do the same for him? If Chun is in trouble… what would I be willing to do for him. As a friend, not king. Stupid things? It’s laughable when I came to a conclusion that I will do what is best. I will not act beyond my means. I still have a lot to learn.

Anyhow, I have learnt a lot about myself from Junsu too. He will grow up just fine. Though he is being unrealistic most of the time, I will attribute it to him being young and credulous. He still has a long way to go from becoming matured enough to make correct judgments. It’s just a pity that he will be taking up loads of responsibility from now on. He is barely even adult... yet going to have a kid of his own.

Even though it’s not all that weird for people to have children at his age, it’s simply mind boggling that he will be the one that bears the child. His unsuitability to carry a child, and the glitches of nature, is surely starting to show, with his obviously deteriorating physics… and that is also the cause of all my problems and unease. He is very ill.

I witnessed before, how much valor his possesses. He used to be a very energetic kid… fighting Chun all the way until a couple of months ago. I guess it was when he is into his second month that he started to wither like a dying flower. It started out with fatigue… then very bad morning sickness… or all day sickness to be exact.

Then now, he is just bleeding on and off, scaring the hell out of Chun every time he does that. I fear for his life. I will see him squirming in pain for half the day… and out cold for the other half. Chun is really affected by him too. Very perturbed.

My job includes making sure that the man doesn’t kill all the physicians… before we run out of those talents. It feels good to see that Chun actually cares about someone who is not his already deceased appa… but it is also tiresome to see him hopping mad half the time.

At least when Junsu is with me, there is the best of both worlds… Chun feels more assured, and Junsu feels more comfortable. I really am the social glue. Good to know.

My next task. To get someone who can help this poor kid. He is definitely going to die a slow and agonising death if his condition doesn’t improve soon. Then Chun will be next… I think he will go unhinged, and then kill himself, after the boy does. Not good.

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“Have you found someone we can consult?” Yunho was busy reviewing a few of the appeals from the people, choosing which needs Yoochun’s attention, when one of his own men approached him with positive news.

“Sir. I’ve gotten words from some of our injured soldiers that they have encountered this special healer during their fight in the northern plain.” The man started excitedly.

“Special healer? We need a named physician. A qualified one. Not some quack.”  Yunho felt a little disappointed, but he knows it can’t be helped. The advisor have already brought back countless amount of what claims to be qualified physicians, and allowed them to have a shot each, at trying to cure Junsu, but to achieve poor results. Yoochun is already clutching at straws, and so is he.

“It’s… I’m not sure if he is qualified. Sir. I went to investigate yesterday… but he wouldn’t see me.” The man replied. “But the soldiers did assure me that he is very good at what he does! They showed me their meliorated lesions! Very impressive for hideous wounds like that.”

“We don’t need a shaman. We need some apothecary of sorts. Don’t let the search get to you.” Yunho encouraged the man. Rejecting the suggestion that they should seek the man out.

“Sir. I still think we should give this man a shot. I have a gut feeling that he is the one we are looking for.” The man is persistent. Yunho is surprised. “Sir. You see… this man not only treat wounds… the villagers say that he is very good with herbs too.” The man said hopefully.

“What do you suggest then? He wouldn’t even see you. What makes you think it will work?” Yunho asked questioningly.

“I asked around the village, and they said that he is usually like that. He likes to keep things to himself.” “Plus, I don’t think I have a rank that is high enough to make him budge.” The man answered.

“Who is he to demand the king’s presence then? We are not that desperate yet.” Yunho turned his attention back to do whatever he was doing prior to the conversation. “Continue the search.”

“Yes sir.” The man said dejectedly. He is at the verge of a nervous breakdown, since the king is practically breathing down his neck too. He doesn’t see how Yunho can keep his cool. “Sir… I just figured that maybe… you can get him to move. As the royal advisor.” The man muttered again before bowing low and making a move.

“Wait.” Yunho heard him, and as much as he seems to be the one in control, he is also tensed and fearful that Junsu might really die on them. “… Bring me to him.”

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The following evening…

“Which way to the healer’s house?” The same man, running in front of Yunho’s horse, asked for directions from the villagers as he tries to remember his way around. The village dwellers are all ready to wrap up a day’s work, and are casting Yunho weird glances as the man stayed on horseback.

Yunho can hear people murmuring. Some were curious about his origin, some who knew him were cursing him under their breaths, but he didn’t mind. He IS after all, in the formal northern territory. A couple of ahjummas even shoved their children into the safety of their huts, away from Yunho’s field of vision, as if afraid that he would kidnap and eat them for supper.

The man does not emit an aura of a killer like how Yoochun would, but he can sense that the people there are still uptight around him. “May you be kind enough to guide us to the legendary healer’s house?” Yunho asked a random lady with a gentle voice as he got off his horse effortlessly. Flashing his megawatt smile, he untied his sword’s sheath from his own girdle and fastened it around the horse’s side. With this gesture, Yunho managed to earn enough faith and inclination from the people to be his voluntary ‘GPS’.

Unknown to the group of people headed for the single stone hut deep into the dense wooded region, someone is watching them from behind a tree. A pair of ambrosial coal black pupils kept their every movement within his sight as he switched his hideout, dainty pair of feet wrapped in clothed flats, shuffling across the grassy ground surreptitiously.

The mysterious figure shifted soundlessly amongst the thickets and finally made his way closer to the group as they knocked at his door patiently. He recognizes the tallest men of them all, and also the person that was seeking his help just the afternoon before.

“I don’t think he is in, sir.” “Do we wait for him?” Yunho did not reply.

Wrapping his cloak tighter around himself, the man turned away from the path headed to his doorstep, and threaded carefully back where he came from, into the mountains. With more light footsteps, the hooded figure dodged the swaying tree branches and was about to make it to an opening, exiting the woods, when he felt a heavy blade resting on his thin shoulder.

Bating his breath out of pure consternation that someone from the group had spotted him, the clandestine person turned his head slightly, just for a quick glance of his pursuer. “How did you know?” he asked. His melodious airy voice, coupled by the soft breeze, would make anyone curious about the face hidden beneath the hood. Even the way he spoke is glorious in a very awe inspiring manner.

“Planning to stay out tonight?” The taller, bigger man with the sword asked in return, his deep voice penetrating the stiff atmosphere.

The figure did not reply. Instead, he shied from the blade within a single swift motion, stooped down low and took a swing at the taller man’s shin with a long slender leg. A movement so nimble and balletic that it almost caught the other man off guard, as the man leapt up in response, nearly taking the hit.

Before the bigger man can recover from the sudden attack, the cloaked figure is up straight and sticking a small blade right beside his carotid. “I know why you are here. Leave. I have made myself clear to your man that your request is being rejected.”

“I can’t seem to make myself take no as an answer, sweetheart.” The taller man attempted a head and managed to tear the other’s thin wrist from his neck. “Besides. Threatening the king’s advisor might very well earn you a death penalty. Do you have a death wish?” Gaining the upper hand and holding the cloaked figure firmly in a suggestive back hug, the man positioned the thick blade of his sword on the back of the shorter man’s slender neck, before whispering. “Don’t want to get into trouble?” “Let’s talk then.”

“Only at my place. I am not going anywhere with you.” The taller man couldn’t resist the urge to unveil the ‘secret’ hidden under the grey clothe and slowly removed the other’s hood, slowly bending forward for a peek at the person he holds subjugated, in front of himself.

A gasp came with the final revelation of the bounded man’s face. An exclamation suggesting that one have never seen anything so exquisite before,

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 POV from Jaejoong

Jung Yunho… the person I least hope to see right now! Aside from his bastard counterpart, Park Yoochun!

What sorcery did that man employ to detect my presence within the woods? I could have gotten away…

What has he come to ask of me? 

TBC

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