~Chapter 13~

Scar

Key’s POV~

            I turn my head toward the noise. It can’t be a monster, could it? I slowly reach for my fan in my sleeve and prepare for an attack. I use to hide my weapon in my chest area, but I found it to be too obvious. So, I loosened my cuff and hide my weapon in my sleeve instead. I stared doing this around two years ago. I actually never took my weapon out unless there is true danger. I hope that I don’t need to use it here…

            “It’s just me!” A male yells with his hands up as he appears from behind the bushes.

            “Heechul hyung?!” Jonghyun hyung yells.

            “You two know each other?” Gun Tae asks.

            “Hey little boy~ Gun Tae right,” The male asks.

            “Yes, Gun Tae nods. “This is K–”

            “Kim Kibum, nice to meet you. I am Kim Heechul, your future friend.”

            “So you are a fortune teller?”

            “No, my master told me that I am part of the cycle.”

            “Part of a cycle?” I furrow my eyebrows and look at Jonghyun.

            “Uh, hyung, how do you know me? I only know you because of the future,” Jonghyun says.

            “I have my ways,” he smiles. “What are you doing here? You guys have been roaming the mountains for pretty long now.” Before I could ask him how he knew, Jonghyun perks up.

            “Have you met Taemin!?”

            “I have, are you looking for him?”

            “Yes, we have been looking for this mountain that he was looking for.”

            “I’m afraid you are a bit late on that. Taemin has already gotten to the right mountain and even made his way back.”

            “You’re kidding,” I huff.

            “But, you are welcomed to visit the mountain anyways. I mean might as well go see it since you have been traveling for days and I don’t want your trip to be in vain.”

            “I think it’s best to do that. We have already passed the curfew of a three day travel,” Gun Tae says.

            “You already passed curfew, what’s another day away? Besides, you have been sleeping on the ground for a while and eating little food. I am sure you wouldn’t mind getting a free meal and a warm bed to sleep on.”

            “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Jonghyun cheers as we gather our belongings. Another day wouldn’t hurt.

Minho’s POV~

            I lie on the roof and stare at the shining stars above. They look so beautiful, so free. It would be great to be a star. People look up at you and make wishes upon you. You on the other hand will look down on this world and never understand the true hardships of being a human. But what am I kidding. At least being human gives you the benefit of taking action. Stars are just there, no one even knows what they are anyways. For all I know, they could even be as useless as a rock!

            I shake my head to get rid of the useless thoughts. For some reason, for the past month, the male has been appearing in my dreams less often. Even when I am lonely, he only appears for a split second and then he is gone. I am afraid that I will forget him, but I know I can’t, even if he stops appearing. Hi stunning, white wings, his gentle smile, his soft and comforting touch, and his magical presence can never be forgotten. And even if I tried to forget, Lee Taemin’s not going to have me forget.

            I did believe that they looked alike when I first met Taemin. I remember seeing Taemin’s wide eyes when he discovered me in my injured state. Instead of turning me in, he led me to his room. It was like he wasn’t even thinking of harming me. His kindness impressed me and it made me even more curious about him. That’s how I started to watch over him and teach him martial arts. Now that I think about it, I think I never got my flute back. I remember I dropped the flute before I net Taemin. He was holding it, wasn’t he? The flute I have now is the one I received from His Majesty when I was still his son, but the flute I dropped was a gift given by Key hyung. How could I have forgotten?

            I walk on the roof toward Taemin’s room. I see Jiyeon knock on Taemin’s door and enter it while holding a tray with bandages and medicine. What is she up to? I crouch down and try to hear their conversation from the cracks on the roof tiles.

Taemin’s POV~

            “You were right, it’s poison. Apparently it is a poison the dark clans use on their strong enemies. There is no way I could find a cure so I was just wondering if you could…you know, treat it.”

            “I don’t think I am good enough to treat this. My father was the expert; I only learned a few things from staying with him in the palace,” Jiyeon sighs.

            “I get it,” I say. “Mind bandaging it then? It hurts a lot since it rubs against my clothes when I do things with my arms.” Although I am desperate for her to tell me she has a cure, I know that she doesn’t. It hurts me to think that no one out there can save me, but I don’t have a choice. What confuses me is why I was poisoned in the first place. I am no hero, no mastermind, no warrior. Why did they harm me and not someone like Jong Kook hyung or something? “You must be a prodigy,” I remember Jiyeon saying. Is that why they harmed me? Now that I think about it, I was the secret weapon, the warrior, in my angel times. Maybe this applies to this time as well? But I am merely human now, what can I do?

            “Done,” Jiyeon says as she ties the bandage across my chest. “If you need any more bandaging, just tell me.” She helps me tie my sash.

            “I will. Thanks Jiyeon,” I say and lead her out of my room.

            “What was Jiyeon doing in your room?” Minho hyung says, startling me.

            “Where did you come from?” I ask him in shock. I was about to cover my chest, but I remembered that Jiyeon already helped my dress up. With a calmer expression, I cross my arm across my chest. For some reason, hyung is staring at my arms, as if he is fascinated by the way I folded them or something.

            “The roof,” he says.

            “Spying on me again?”

            “No, I was just heading over here and was previously on the roof so I decided to stay on. Hey, why are you questioning me, aren’t you normally super good at sensing people?” Right, I normally can sense people well. Did I lose that ability due to the poison?

            “I was talking to Jiyeon.”

            “You were talking with Kai last time and you still noticed Key hyung and me.”

            “I was on guard back then. I was seriously injured and just met you guys, of course I was a bit more weary.”

            “And why are you not now?” Because I’m dying, silly.

            “Because I trust you,” I reply. A smile appears on his face and he wraps an arm around my shoulder.

            “You better! Hey, you still didn’t answer me, why was Jiyeon in your room?”

            “I was wondering how she was so I asked her to come to my room to chat.”

            “A young male and beautiful young maiden in the same room after sundown…I don’t know, that sounds fishy to me~ Did you take advantage of her?”

            “Hyung!” I yells and was about to hit him, but I stopped. What if the bandage rubs against my skin and hurt it even more?

            “Is something wrong?” He must have noticed me hesitate.

            “I was just distracted.”

            “By?” His face is slowly changing, showing how much he is worrying. His eyes are wider and his eyebrows are slightly furrowed.

            “By the jealousy in your tone,” I smirk and mehrong him.

            “Naughty Taemin wants a beating?” Hyung grabs me and nuggies my head. I grimace as his grip tightens around my chest. I manage to push him off and hide my face, calming down before he notices any pain.

            “Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine, just wondering about some things.”

            “About?”

            “About you,” I say. Although it is meant for a distraction so he won’t pay too much attention to what I just did, I was always curious about him. I guess this is just about time to ask him…you know, since I don’t have much time left.

            “Fair enough. You told me about you, I guess I should let you know about me too.” We both walk back into my room and sit down. “I was twelve…”

Kai’s POV~

            It’s not like I’m in pain or anything. I just have no energy….all the time. My eyes are always tired and I feel like a bit of movement away all of my energy for the whole day. Sometimes, my heart leaps though, that tells me that Taemin hyung is hurting. After I gave him half my bead, I can sense him. I know my bead has been dissolved, but it is still there, in his body. As long as he is alive, I can sense him. I feel so useless. I rarely get out of bed now. The new clan member, Jiyeon noona, is the one that brings the meals to me. Usually, Gun Tae would feed me the food as well, but he has been gone for days.

            I’m afraid that I will turn back to a wolf. It was hell. People hunted me, other wolves tried to kill me, and what’s worse is the horror in people’s eyes when they saw me. I felt like a monster. I was a monster. I don’t want to go back to that time. I want to stay human. I want to stay useful and I want to be able to not be thought as a bloodthirsty monster. I don’t want them to judge me by the beast I am, but me, Kai. I would rather die than go back. I didn’t suffer for a thousand years just to go back to my original form…

Taemin’s POV~

            I close my eyes and imagine how the situation was for Minho hyung. He was the king’s favorite. He had potential for becoming the future king of Korea. At the age of twelve, he was both a top scholar and perfected his swordplay. His personality was lively and he won both the hearts of all females in the palace. Men of all ages either admired him or were proud of his great performance. He was the prince everyone loved and protected…until one day…“Some mysterious men claimed themselves to be the Peacekeepers. They offered to teach me their martial arts and told me it would help our citizens. I learned their techniques and how to cast spells. Of course, what they taught me wasn’t just martial arts. They actually trained me to be one of them…”

~FLASHBACK~

            Young Minho played the flute happily in front of his younger sister Naeun, Her Majesty, and His Majesty. Suddenly, the queen covers her ears in pain as they bled. Naeun on the other hand rolled around and cried as deep gashes formed on her body.  Shocked, Minho drops the flute, stopping the horrific scene in front of him. He never knew that he would hurt them. He loved them, they are his family. At that moment he was too scared to realize that the Peacekeepers had intended for him to hurt them. He was only a child. He just wanted everyone to be happy.

            Before he could explain himself, he was grabbed by the palace guards. He screamed and he screamed for his father to let him go. He shouted and cried and tried do get out of the guards’ hold. No matter how hard he screamed, how hard he tried to shake out of the guards’ grip, he failed. They put him in the cell for three days. They left him there crying until his eyes have swelled up, until he couldn’t cry anymore. His voice became hoarse and he could no longer scream for his father. He was broken.

            “His Majesty decided to release you first thing in the morning,” the guard said. Excitement exploded inside him at the sound of it. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face even after the guard left. “You didn’t know, did you?” A young male approaches from the shadows. “Don’t worry, I sneaked into the cell. No one knows I’m here.” The boy stepped closer to young Minho and smiled, showing off his dimples. His hair was medium length like all the other palace children, but his hair was down, not in a bun like the others. He flicked his bangs and squatted down in front of Minho.

            “Who are you?” Minho said after a long pause. He never saw this boy in the palace before. How did he sneak into the cell without being caught? Minho thought.

            “My father is the king’s companion, so let’s say I’m family.” The male said. No one dares to claim themselves as royalty…How dare he? “I know each and every route in the palace. I can get in and out of the palace even with my eyes closed. His majesty even took a liking in me and gave me a special mission outside the palace. Let’s just say I’m the palace’s spy.”

            “My father already decided to release me. Why are you here at this late hour? What, do you want to interrogate me? Well listen ‘spy,’ I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just trying to show them my skills. I was just listening to the Peacekeepers-” The male clicked his tongue multiple times, and Minho stopped talking.

            “The king won’t buy that, no he won’t. Look, let me cut it to you quick and simple. His Majesty loves you since you are his son, but what you don’t understand is his undying love for Her Majesty. She’s a monster-”

            “How dare you!?”

            “Don’t cut me off when I’m trying to explain things to you,” the male said and quickly locked Minho’s pressure point so he can’t move or talk. “Don’t worry; I’ll unlock the pressure point after I’m done. I’m going to say this nice and simple, so listen to me.” Minho wanted to cover his ears, to make the boy in front of him mute, to make him disappear, but he couldn’t even move. He was forced to listen. “Her Majesty is a fox, a beautiful one I may also add. She gave up her magic bead for his majesty to live, so her life is his life. As long as she is alive, he is too, and vice versa. You see, the Peacekeepers are monster hunters. They control the supernatural world. They want her dead, but of course who’s going to face the king? They can care less if he dies or not, as long as the supernatural is taken cared of. That’s where you come along. They used you, you idiot, and now you’re going to die for it.” The male unlocked Minho’s acupuncture point quickly after he finished.

            “My father won’t harm me. He decided to forgive me.” Minho said in a half-desperate tone.

            “Oh he won’t?” The boy then chuckles while hugging his tummy. “Why else do you think he decided to release you first thing in the morning? If he really forgave you, shouldn’t he let you out now? It has been three days. A mere anger can’t keep the prince in the jail cell for this long.” The boy got up and looked down at the prince. “Don’t believe me?” It’s true, why else would appa want me to stay here another night? They can simply say that I died in the cell or maybe kill me the next night, saying that I caught something in the jail cell. It wouldn’t look right if the king killed me. He can’t explain to the citizens that their queen is a fox…but he can’t kill me. He won’t kill me. Appa isn’t that heartless…is he? Minho thought. Father won’t send assassins to kill me, would he? “I’ll take it as you do. So, let me ask you another question,” the boy stuck his hand out and reached into the cell where Minho sat. “Do you want me to save you?”

~FLASHBACK~

            “And Key hyung did save me. He brought me outside the palace and into the temple where people rarely visited. I intended to cover my face to hide myself. I didn’t want to shame my father, but then again I thought how shameful it would be for me to die? My elder brother died from fighting in war not too long before the incident. I didn’t want the Choi family to have no son…” Without realizing my own actions, I reach out and hug him. I shush him, telling him that what he said was enough for me. I finally understand why he always makes sure his face is covered. Now I know why he used to not say his name and it hurt me. It made me feel the sorry he had all along. It made me feel his solitude. He must have felt so much pain living on when he wasn’t supposed to, when he knew his father is still hoping he was dead…

            “I’m sorry I asked. I’m sorry I was so curious and made you tell me what happened in the past.” I keep repeating apologies and hugging him, making sure he understands what I’m saying. “But you know what?”

            “What?” Minho hyung finally says.

            “I don’t think you need to cover your face. No one knows that you are the prince but Onew hyung, Joon hyung, Jonghyun hyung, Key hyung, and me and we all accept the fact that you are alive. We are happy that you are alive. You don’t need anyone else out there to tell you otherwise. We all accept it and we are glad you are alive. You don’t need to hide yourself. You don’t need to be afraid of people seeing you because no one knows who you are but your close companions. I won’t feel angry, ashamed, nothing like that, when I see you. What I see in front of me isn’t a sinful prince that went against the king, but a brave young man that is trying to protect those around him.”

            “But His Majesty still wants me dead.”

            “But I want you alive…and for now, that’s all that matters. If…if you don’t worry about others, but the people in front of you, life will be much easier. Don’t think about how much you failed in the past, but how much you are trying to redeem yourself now.” After a long moment of silence, I pull away from the warm hug and look at his gentle brown eyes. “I-I’m not good with my words…I-I’m sorry if I offended you or made you feel burdened…I-”

            “Thank you,” Minho hyung says and embraces me. “Thank you so much, Taemin-ah. I never felt so…complete in my life. Thank you for wanting me to be alive.” 

Question...Do you guys not like my story anymore? I have way less subscribers in this story than in Angel Wings and people do not comment as often...Mind telling what is making you not like the story as much as Angel Wings? Also, if it has to do with me not updating often, I'm sorry. I had a time period where I was dealing with some things and I couldn't find the inspiration to write. I will try to update all my fanfics once a week! Please forgive me! Love you!