It was your normal bright sunny day at the park. Kids were playing on the playground; running after one another as they played tag, or hiding due to their game of hide and seek. Their parents would be sitting under the cool shade, sitting at picnic tables as they chattered amongst themselves while keeping a close eye on their children.

Elsewhere, however; two girls were secluded from the chaos. From time to time, a child would come over and ask them if they would like to join in on their games, but they politely denied their offers. Neither girl had the energy like them due to the activities they had previously done.

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“You know…Kings and Queens were strange back then.”

Son-Naeun glanced over at her best friend, Park Chorong; a look of confusion crossing over her face.

The two girls were sitting next to each other on separate swings at their local park. Naeun was swaying side to side, while Chorong stared at the ground, hands in her lap. The older girl looked as if something was troubling her.

“I suppose they were,” Was Naeun’s response as she knitted her eyebrows in thought. “What made you think that?” It wasn’t like for Chorong to say things out of the blue. Sure she’d spew facts and opinions from time to time, but they hadn’t been speaking of anything having to do with kingdoms.

Chorong only shrugged her shoulders. “I was just thinking, really,” She paused before continuing. “Kings and Queens would execute people, right? Well, I heard they even executed their own family. Now when I think about it; that seems a bit overboard, don’t you think?”

Naeun wasn’t too sure how to reply to that explanation. The younger didn’t know too much about Kings, Queens, Princes, and all of those in relation to them; so she was speechless. “Well…”

“You don’t have to answer. I was just wondering what you thought.” Chorong’s line of eyesight turned to her friend. “What do you think it was like during that time? I’m not talking about fairytales, either. I’m talking like…for real.”

A light frown appeared on Naeun’s delicate facial features; hands tightening her grip on the metal chains that supported the swing. What was it like during the time of Kings and Queens? There were still some today, right?

“To me, it sounds like they had a rough time.” Naeun’s words passed through her lips slowly as she stared at her stretched out legs. “Executing your own family or anyone in general...even if I were Queen, I wouldn’t allow it to happen.”

Chorong smiled slightly at the choice of words the brunette spoke. “I’d have to agree with you there,” Her smile left after a moment of silence. “Unfortunately…the King and Council most likely wouldn’t agree with you.”

Naeun pursed her lips. “It depends on the crime, doesn’t it?” She remembered when Chorong had mentioned sometime a week ago that the higher the crime, the higher the consequences would be. “Like, if someone in the family killed another…they’d be executed?”

The older girl fell silent. Huh. She taught Naeun a little too much, had she? “Correct,” Chorong nodded once. “And if they stole something, they probably wouldn’t be beheaded. Maybe only receive lashes…”

Hearing this made a shudder go throughout Naeun’s body. To receive lashes…it even hurt her back just thinking about it. “I would take lashes any day. As long as I don’t die, that is.”