Chapter 21 – [1805]

On the following morning, after much convincing, the Crown Prince and Changwoo were able to get the King's permission to distribute the unwanted presents out in the city square. The catch to such a dangerous trip outside of the palace was the idea of it benefitting Junseung’s future by getting to know the citizens that would one day be his people. If the commoners sees the Crown Prince handing out goods, the chances of the people having faith and trust in the prince would increase. As the youngling personally hand out the items to the commoners, in an organised line, and passed on healthy words, Changwoo kept his guard up while standing beside the prince. Though the area were already covered with the King’s guards for extra security, Changwoo still felt the need to protect his younger friend.

While Junseung was doing his own good deed, Changwoo caught a familiar face from afar from the corner of his eyes. Watching them were Prince Youngtae, dressed in raggy, villager clothes. It was no surprise that the prince was present as it’s well known around the palace that the prince was free to leave the palace whenever. Hence the prince would kill time painting the city, the people, or taking good long walks. It was said that the Prince knows every corner of Jongno and has a good recollection of where the best sceneries in Jongno were. For someone so free compare to Junseung, Youngtae was a bigger fellow just like the King. He was tall and fit for his age, unlike the stumpy Junseung. The older prince wore a soft smile on his face as he glanced toward his younger brother, Junseung. Once he lock eyes with Changwoo, over the heads of the shorter habitats, his smile deepened and he nodded toward the cautious fellow. Once Changwoo returned the friendly gesture, the boy rose his head just in time to see the Prince’s departure.

With a sense of worry, Changwoo pivot toward Junseung for confirmation, hoping that the younger had no knowledge of the prince’s presence. As Changwoo knew very well that the Crown Prince had never taken a liking to his half older brother, and the prince’s visit could have easily ruin Junseung’s mood in front of the people. While Changwoo was occupied with his own thoughts, he didn’t noticed another familiar figure before them.

“You’re very pretty miss, here’s the perfect gift for you. I think it goes well with the color of the dress you’re wearing,” Junseung said as he held out a red cloth with the designs of a yellow flower and white rabbit sewn onto one of its corner to the girl in a lavish white dress.

The lass bend her knees and lowered herself into a very lady-like bow but did not take the cloth immediately, and instead said, “I’m grateful your highness. However, may I ask for a favor instead?”

Junseung raised an eyebrow, “A favor…?” Favors were usually done by and through his father the King. Someone must be in power or has some sort of authority to do another any favor. As he was new to this whole favor proposal the boy grew anxious to hear the young miss’s request, even if he cannot grant her her wish, “What is this favor of yours..?”

The girl noticed the worry look in the Crown Prince’s eyes and a smile gradually glowed on her round face, “If it’s not too much to ask, can I borrow the boy next to you for a moment? I have something to say to him. I promise to return him quickly once I'm done with him,”

Junseung turned to Changwoo, the only boy next to him and the only one lost in his own world. Unknowingly Junseung pointed a finger toward Changwoo and stuttered to ask, “H-him?”

“Yes, please your highness. I'm his younger sister your highness,” the girl said, keeping her smile. She was slightly pleased by the shock expressed on Junseung’s face before the royalty elbowed Changwoo.

“Changwoo, is this your s-sister?” Once the Crown Prince’s elbow came into contact against Changwoo’s folded forearms the lad look up.

There his jaw slightly dropped, “Eunmi? Why are you here?” The lass only smiled and stuck out her tongue playfully.

As the sun sit directly up in the center of the sky, the Crown Prince had finally allocated his five-hundred plus goods and kept his words to giving Changwoo away on their time. Thus, the abundant royal guards and Junseung waited for Changwoo under the trees’ shadows after the minister’s son promised to keep his meeting with his sister short. Across from the shaded area, Changwoo and Eunmi were exchanging words that were barely audible to the Crown Prince and guards. Soon after Junseung had began pacing the dirt road as he wait.

Eunmi hopped up and down before Changwoo, hoping she could earn her brother's agreement to her terms by appearing cute. Afterall acting and being adorable is her one and only deadly weapon. But Changwoo scoffed at her plea. “You want me, this kind brother of yours, to search for a boy you just saw yesterday out on the streets but know nothing about? Eunmi, if I was going to undoubtedly give you up to some stranger in the end than I wouldn't have fought so hard to keep you away from even the friends I have. I will pretend I didn’t hear you ask,” Changwoo said sternly.

Changwoo saw the matured frown on Eunmi’s face and knew she will be stubborn til the end, “Did I ask you to give me away? I just want you to find him,” she uttered before grabbing onto Changwoo's sleeves and tugging it, "Please Changwoo, my kind, kind brother~"

Quickly Changwoo clicked his tongue to dismiss her -ups before pondering on her words. It was true that she didn’t ask to be given away, however nonetheless a stranger was a stranger. Very little are known when one’s a stranger. “Why are you so interested in him? You’re still too young to be getting heartaches,” the boy spoke, trying to divert the subject matter.

Eunmi stomped her foot and released her clutching on her brother's clothes, “What do you know about heartaches? Please just find him for me, I just know that it would be a big loss if I let him go,” she appealed softly. It was true, like Eunmi Changwoo had never been in love or experienced any sort of relationship. So who was he to talk? When he had never even given girls or women a thought, especially since he spent most of his time keeping the only girl, his sister, important to him from any boys and men. A sigh from Changwoo slowly broke the ice between them—he knew how stubborn his sister is.

“Alright, alright, tell me everything you remember about him again. I’ll see what I can find out about him. But if I find him and I don't like him then you better give up on him,” With a wide smile Eunmi gestured for Changwoo to lean forward and downward as she tiptoed to whisper the details into his ear.

Junseung raised his eyebrow again. Is this what close siblings look like? He thought to himself. Though Junseung had more than one half brother and plenty of half-sisters, he was not close to any one of them. But he knew that it was because of his position as Crown Prince. As Crown Prince he was taught that even his siblings could threaten his future as King. Slowly he watched how Eunmi detached herself from Changwoo and how her cheeks were much redder than they were before. “Just what are they talking about?” He mumbled softly.

“Can you remember it all?” Eunmi asked in which Changwoo replied with a nod and pursed lips.

“I think so. It was more detail than I thought but it makes it easier that way. I’ll look into it for you so go on home, mother is probably looking for you to help her fix grandfather’s afternoon meal,” he said. She hummed before patting him on the arm.

“Thank you, I’ll wait for any news while making grandpa his meal then, Changwoo,” as she was about to leave with a 180 degree swing of her body, she stopped and swirl her head around toward him. “By the way, did a friend of yours ask to marry me?” The question threw Changwoo off guard. He knew he would only put pressure on Eunmi if he admitted that the friend he was referring to was the Crown Prince. But before he could sweat it, Eunmi’s next statement put him at ease. “Is it Chuho again? Seriously, if I see that troublemaker again I’m going to pull his ears for bothering you with his childish teasing again,” she vocalized with an annoyed expression before smiling, then before leaving she waved to Junseung as a token of her appreciation. Once the gap between her and Changwoo widen, the Crown Prince took the opportunity to step toward his friend.

“Your sister is lovely. I can see why you’re very protective of her, Changwoo,” Junseung commented. Changwoo only sighed once more as they inspected her walking away.

Youngtae repeatedly slapped his nervous left hand with the rolled up paper in his right. After some thought, he was about to make a difficult decision. The paper was his own painting he wished to gift to Junseung yesterday for the lad’s 15th birthday. But after witnessing the earlier ongoing event, he was certain that his younger brother would have handed his painting away even if the Crown Prince did not know who the painting’s owner was. While Youngtae took heavy steps toward the bookshop, ready to sell his city painting, with his head hanging he bumped into another body and stopped to look up.

Before him was a boy, probably around Junseung’s age. The Prince waited for the other to either apologize or speak first, but the boy did neither. Instead he gestured a nod as an apology and acknowledgement before leaving. As Youngtae walked through the entrance of the small shop, he was simultaneously amused and offended. Not before long the store's owner greetings from behind a counter pulled him back into the purpose of him stopping by.

“What can I help you with today young man?” the jolly bookkeeper question with a grand smile under his black and white stache.

In the small store with a wide open window across from the counter, books and paintings were displayed about the whole store. Paintings were hang up and books were either lying side by side or organized onto shelves installed into the walls.

“You sell paintings here, right?” Youngtae inquire directly. The older lad let out a humble chuckle after hearing his question.

“Do you have a painting to sell or are you looking to buy one?”

Youngtae hesitated for a moment. Selling his painting meant putting a price on it and prices normally represent values. “Uh I…, I uh,” he stopped himself from stumbling and instead placed his painting on the counter between him and the man. “How much would this be?”

“This?” The elder grabbed the paper and unroll it slowly, “Did you paint this young man?” the man ask with small, impressed nods.

“I—”

“Seokhwan,” a voice came from behind Youngtae, causing him to turn around and the man behind the counter to lower the artwork. Youngtae recognized the boy from just moments ago.

“Oh Wootae, did you deliver what I asked you to?” The shopkeeper asked, an indirect answer that he was Seokhwan.

“Yes,” the boy, Wootae, exchanged a quick glimpse with Youngtae before the oldest in the room robbed his attention.

“Thank you,” the old man sang, “here’s the book you asked for, I hope you'll like this one like you did the others,” as the man put down the painting and reached under and behind the countertop to grab a book, Youngtae happened to see the name of the blue paperback. He thought to himself, Jongno: the Great City? Youngtae was familiar with the book, a book that spoke of the good coming in and out of their hometown Jongno. No one, uninterested in Jongno, would ask for such work. After the owner handed the boy the text, the returned newcomer left quietly. Once the boy was out the door, the old man went back to examining the painting. “Now, let’s see how much this is worth—”

Hastily Youngtae stopped the older from continuing, “Mister, the boy that just left. Do you know why he wanted that book?”

A surprised expression was drawn onto Seokhwan’s creased face, “Who?”

“The child who just left, you called him Wootae?” Youngtae was in a hurry to know in case the boy gets too far away. But the older man kept his composure, unable to sense and read the urgency Youngtae was in.

The older closed Youngtae’s painting before answering, “Ah that child. He’s a regular here, he has an interest in geographies and villages’ features. He has been purchasing books related to this town lately, but anyway I’ve look at your painting and the price of it is—” Seokhwan trailed off when Youngtae stop him again.

“It’s alright mister, I change my mind. I’m not going to sell this painting, sorry,” Youngtae politely took back the paper and hurried out of the shop.

“Oh? I was going to say the price of it would be very high though,” the old man mumbled after-the-fact.

Youngtae tried to chase the teen, scanning any and every direction around him for any signs of the lad. After searching the roads, including the small back roads, the prince could not get a glance of the long gone Wootae. After a while, he found himself in an area with little to no one around. It was the perfect place to rest and catch his breath. As he plopped to ground lying on his backside with his painting clutched in his large hand, he shut his eyes for a moment to hear himself breathe and to listen for any sound of nature. It wasn’t long when he heard the snorting of an animal, particularly a horse. Quickly he opened his eyes and lifted up his head to see the image of an approaching horse. Surprisingly it had no saddle. As the mammal pluck at the grasses around them, Youngtae tiredly sat up to welcome the animal. “Where’s your owner? Did you sneak out from your stall? Your owner may be looking for you right now,” Youngtae said. However, the horse was not bothered by his words or appearance. Instead it inched closer to Youngtae as time went by.

Youngtae was seen feeding and picking grasses for the mare when Wootae entered the picture. The boy watch as the man played with his mare. Moments later Youngtae noticed Wootae and put a pause on grooming the animal. “Oh...it’s you again,” Youngtae breathed before locking gazes with the boy in red and brown.

End of Chapter Twenty-One.