~Chapter 62~

The Race Against Friends

No One’s POV~

            After Jong Kook and Jimin returned utterly defeated, the king sent out a royal decree. It stated the Peacekeepers and the ex-crown prince Choi Minho conspired against the king and used dark magic to wipe out the army. They are deemed a national threat and should be killed on sight. Whomever can bring the king their heads shall be awarded as commander and rewarded with gold. The decree was sent out all over the country and finally reached Taemin. After hearing the news, he immediately confronted Minho.

            When he asked Minho about how the battle ended last time, Minho lied that Taemin’s master came and aided them. Of course, Taemin was shocked since his master rarely contributes to the worldly affairs, but trusted Minho and never questioned it. Now that he has heard the decree, he can’t help but feel lied to. As soon as Minho heard the news, he tried to prepare himself, but now that he is face to face with the love of his life, Minho cannot help but feel helpless and guilty. He struggles to find the right words, but after seeing Taemin’s face full of disappointment, he knew lying any more would be unwise. He always wanted Taemin to be honest with him, yet he is ironically the one that lied this time.

            “Before I tell you the truth…you have to promise that you will try your best to stay calm,” he finally says, only to be met with Taemin’s flaming eyes.  

            “I don’t have to promise anything,” he says through gritted teeth. His jaw is clenched so tightly, you can clearly see the strain on his face. Seeing how unwavering Taemin was, he knew he finally messed up.

            “Okay, okay, I didn’t mean it that way…” Minho tries to coax him. “I just really can’t bear with the thought of you being hurt because of me…I…I really don’t know how I can explain things without disappointing you even more.”

            “All I need is the truth from you, hyung,” Taemin says before slamming the banner with a copy of the decree written on it onto the table. “Honestly…how can you expect me to not be angry? ‘Ex-crown prince, Choi Minho, wiped out the entire army,’ ‘dark magic,’ ‘kill on sight,’ ‘bloodthirsty demon.’ None of this was mentioned when you explained what happened to me. That’s what pisses me off. I didn’t even bother you with the Peacekeepers since you were healing, and there you were lying to me.”

            “W-wait, what about the Peacekeepers?” Minho stutters in surprise, not expecting Taemin’s confession.

            “You…don’t tell me, you knew all along?” Taemin’s anger was quickly replaced with both fright and sadness— fright because he was afraid Minho knew, and sadness because he couldn’t believe Minho has been knowing Heechul’s whereabouts, yet he did not bother telling Taemin or helping him. When Taemin saw Heechul with the Peacekeepers, he nearly killed them out of rage. If it wasn’t for Mr. Dragon and his vow to not kill ever again, there would be blood on his hands.

            “I’m sorry, Taemin-ah,” Minho utters. Before Taemin even realized it, a tear slipped from his eye and streams down his cheek. Taemin rarely cried, as it is not the coping mechanism he enjoys. He usually does not like showing his weakness. Yet, he would always be able to cry in front of Minho and his hyungs. This time, he did not cry in front of him and needed his comfort, but he cried because of him. He then lets out a bitter laugh, as more tears stream down.

            Minho wanted to reach out and touch him, but quickly retracted his hand when he met with Taemin’s eyes. No matter how upset Taemin was with him, his eyes always showed him warmth and love, enough to console Minho even if Taemin were to ignore him for days. This time, Taemin’s eyes were so full of rage, so full of disappointment that Minho felt like nothing he can do or say will ease his anger. Minho not only lied to him, but his actions were equivalent to a complete betrayal. “Speak,” Taemin orders. “Before I completely run out of patience.”

            “After I helped the monsters and civilians settle, I came back to help you. The minute I saw how bad your condition was, the way Kai was struggling, how much you were in pain, I went mad. I nearly out from the anger and I—” Minho’s breath hitches as he fights with himself internally. He knows that he should find a way to make Taemin take the news better, but he also knows that if Taemin doesn’t know everything now, he would risk hurting their relationship even more.

            “I have been training with the Peacekeepers for many years. Recently, I mastered their ultimate move and I am able to control the strongest of monsters…but I knew regular monsters cannot fight off Jong Kook hyungnim. Without even thinking much of it, I summoned their greatest weapon…a weapon they have been working on for years now. I used my flute to…” Once again Minho struggles with his words and takes a breath before he continues. “I had Heechul hyung scare away Jong Kook hyungnim. At the last moment, I lost control over him,” Minho confesses. “Before I completely fell unconscious, he was already ripping the soldiers to shreds. When I woke up, I heard that the Peacekeepers tried their best to tame him.”

            Tears of both anger and sadness flow down Taemin’s face as his legs give out and he sits down to keep himself upright. He just found out that the Peacekeepers used Heechul as their ultimate weapon. Once Minho found out, he didn’t turn against them or tell Taemin, but instead kept the secret and trained with him. While Taemin was healing, Minho has told him many times that he has something to tell him, but to find out like this, in this manner, Taemin couldn’t handle it.

            Seeing that Taemin was not going to yell at him, hit him, or even kill him, Minho decides to continue talking. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. He’s at the point of no return. He couldn’t be turned back by the time I found out…I didn’t want his transformation to be like this, but at this rate he is our weapon. If I master controlling him, I can face the king without worry. I thought that if we could use him to end this for good, then it won’t be too late to try to convert him back. I just thought—” Wonshik and Moonkyu happen to come into the cave at this moment.

            Immediately after seeing Taemin’s puffy eyes and pale face, Wonshik rushes over and wraps his arm around his shoulder. Seeing that they are back, Taemin quickly puts his mask onto hide his face. “I—” Minho tries to continue talking but is then cut off by Taemin’s hand raised up, signaling for him to stop.

            “I need some space right now,” Taemin says with a quivering voice. “Before I do something I may regret later.” With Wonshik by his side, Taemin exits while Minho just freezes in place, not even sure what he should do. Moonkyu may not know what went on between the two, but he decided to stay with Minho. He may need the support, he thinks, and simple hands him a handkerchief.

            After Joon told Onew to go back to the modern time period, the two conversed until sunrise, not able to heed to each other’s decision. Joon wanted to send Onew back so he can one, feel at ease that Onew is safe and two, use it to motivate him to stay alive. He is not sure if he can defeat the king as the emperor clearly has the upper hand. Onew on the other hand feels that Joon needs as many people by his side as possible and losing Onew and Jonghyun will not be beneficial. They both know that the stress of the battle is straining their relationship as they both want the best for their loved ones.

            While the two lovers struggle to come to an agreement, Taehyung and Baekhyun have been working tirelessly. Onew has made monster hunting crossbows for the two and gave them blessed arrows as well. The two have been sneaking out of the palace to hunt and collected bags and bags of monster beads despite their low level of martial arts. With Kai’s dagger, Baekhyun has been able to protect himself if they missed and the monster tried to devour them. Their goal was simple: collect as many beads as possible and when time comes, consume them. They do not understand why the emperor told them that one of them is a dagger wielder and the other is the vessel, but they must work with what they have. Either way, they will die when the king transitions, so why not prepare themselves to fight?

            Although their decision may be flawed, they understand that there is no way they can win if they let the king have control over them. The couples are all struggling simply because the king only sees them as a threat. His goal is to create a division. It is now their turn to take on the burden. If their friends can start off as regular people and work their way up to be the great heroes of their time, so can they. While they sneak off to collect beads, Jimin continues to go on missions for the king. If anything, they are simply racing with Jimin to see who can collect the most beads.

            Taehyung hisses as Baekhyun helps him apply some medicine to his shoulder blade and round his left arm. During one of their missions, he was slashed with claws before Baekhyun was able to kill it in time. Luckily, the monster did not have poison in its claws and he only left with superficial injuries. “His majesty has arrived!” the eunuch announces loudly. Baekhyun and Taehyung look at each other with wide eyes and quickly dress Taehyung up. Just before the king enters, they were able to put everything away.

            “Your humble son greets Your Majesty,” Taehyung gives him a proper welcome and bows formally.

            “Your humble servant greets Your Majesty,” Baekhyun says as he notices Jimin next to the king. So, have you officially become his lackey? The king waves his hand to signal for them to stand.

            “I’ve come here to give you some good news,” the king says. “Your lovely Minho hyung has become a demonic cultivator and fallen in the evil path. Now, no one can pose a threat for you as the crown prince,” he says and firmly places his hand directly on top of Taehyung’s injury. Taehyung luckily was used to keeping a blank face, so his pain did not show. Baekhyun bit his lip nervously but quickly adjusted himself to not give their secret away. “That is, if you yourself stay obedient.”

            “Your humble son does not dare to disobey you. I vow to always follow you until the end,” Taehyung says. I do intend to stay with you until the end…even if I have to drag you down with me, he curses in his mind. As if he was pleased with Taehyung’s answer, he pats on his shoulder with great force and lets out a crisp laugh. If a stranger were to see their interaction, they would think the king really loved his crown prince, but in reality, he came to give him a personal warning.

            “The court has long known this, but I shall pass along the message myself. I will step down and resign due to my declining health. I know you will become a wise king,” he says with a proud smile plastered on his face.

            “I do not dare take on such a responsibility.”

            “Oh, but you are my crown prince. By the end of this month, you shall be the ruler of this country and I shall watch over you. Do not fret, I won’t leave you. Your father will stay by your side for many years to come.”

            “To be an extension of Your Majesty and continue your great legacy, your son is honored. I shall not disappoint you.”

            “You’re right,” the king says and pulls Taehyung into a tight embrace. With his hand practically digging into the crown prince’s injury, Taehyung could not help but wince just a bit. Jimin happened to notice this but was not sure if he was mistaken. Why does he look like he is in pain? “I came here to give you this good news. I shall return to my chambers for a good rest.”

            “Your son shall walk you back.” Taehyung bows and stretches his right arm out.

            “No need,” the emperor says. “You take it easy, my son.”

            As soon as the emperor exits the crown prince’s hall, Taehyung clutches onto his injury and lets out the groan he was holding back. Finally, safe to react properly, Baekhyun helps him undress and sighs as he sees the injury has reopened and ripped even bigger. “I’ll try to be as gentle as I can,” the older brother says as he carefully dresses the injury.

            “Don’t worry, this is nothing,” Taehyung says through his teeth. “There are far worse things that will greet us in the future…”

            That night, Jimin returns to the crown prince’s hall. He ruffles Gun Tae the wolf’s head and quietly enters Taehyung’s room. Baekhyun dozed off while reading over his notes and is peacefully sleeping besides Taehyung’s bed. Jimin politely lifts Baekhyun up and tucks him into his own bed. Baekhyun was a heavy sleeper indeed. Next, Jimin sits down on the ground next to the crown prince’s bed and stares at the sleeping male. He looks so tired… Jimin says to himself.

            The prince rolls a bit slightly in bed and the blanket that was hanging on the edge of the bed starts to fall off. Jimin quickly catches it before it hits the floor and tries to tuck the prince back in. But before he was able to drape the blanket over Taehyung, he notices a few dried reddish-brown spots on the blanket. Is that blood? He can’t be injured, can he? He looks up and sees Taehyung wrapped up in bandages that is now stained with dried blood. That answers that, he sighs. His injury must’ve been bleeding…How severe is the injury?

            Although he knows Baekhyun is weak and not much of a bodyguard or soldier, he couldn’t help but throw a glare at his direction, almost like he wanted to say, ‘how can you let him get injured?’ He unconsciously reaches out his hand forward, wanting to comfort his injured prince. The moment he notices his outstretched hand, he retracks it and looks back at the blanket.

            Careful to not wake up Taehyung, he places the blanket on gently and stands up. “Don’t worry, my prince, I will soon return by your side,” he whispers nearly inaudible. With a swift turn, he exits the room. Little did he know, Taehyung was awake and witnessed his kind act and hopeful words. Taehyung smiles to himself and falls back to sleep. Soon, I shall be your king.

~Comments are loved~

I have been dealing with a lot of family issues so I am very occupied even though I am on summer vacation. 

On a good note, I started writing some of part 3 (the final story of the trilogy and SPOILER it will be a HAPPY ENDING!) so no worries, I will definately finish this series.

Burning History which is part II will end soon (hopefully) and we will get to enter a somewhat more cheerful story in part III. Just for my own personal way of keeping track, I will post a 'new story' for part III so look out for the link for that so if you are interested, you can follow my story until the end! Writing fanfiction is how I de-stress so honestly, I am not trying to write "college-level writing" so I'm sorry to those that do not enjoy my writing...I just hope if you do read my fanfiction, it can be a source of entertainment for you. 

I wish you lots of health and happiness. Until next time~