Luckily, Taehyung managed to return to the dorms before sunrise. It was lucky, as the Hwarang had a training session observed by emperor Min himself. The men were buzzing with excitement, except from Taehyung and Seokjin, who had their own thoughts intruding their minds.
They were cleaned, fed and prepared before they marched to the palace. For the vast majority of the men, it has been quite a while since they have been seen by the public. To some passerby's, they were captivating. Jimin himself was almost distracted until he realised who was amongst the crowd.
"Taehyung-ah! Seokjin-Hyung!" He yelled out with a scream. Many turned their heads to glare at the small man, but Jimin was far too ecstatic to care. Seokjin turned his head and smiled; happy to see the younger's eye smile once again. He had to quickly snap forward though, as he didn't want to be reprimanded.
As his body tingled with joy, Jimin ran to the house with a spring in his step. He could not wait to tell Namjoon and Jungkook who he saw. Namjoon was startled by the ecstatic Park Jimin bursting through the front door. Jungkook poked his head from his room- his eyes lit up as he saw his precious Hyung breathing heavily against the doorframe. He jumped into the older's arms with a glorious smile spread from cheek to cheek.
"I saw Seokjin-Hyung and Taehyung! Taehyungie was probably at the front but Seokjin-Hyung smiled at me!"
Namjoon nodded and smiled, relieved to hear the news about his friends. He was thankful that they were okay and returned to his work. Jungkook was still smothering himself all over his hyung and proceeded to kiss his soft cheeks.
The rice farmer lingered in Taehyung's mind.
He was intimidating. His hands traced his face like velvet. His eyes pierced through his own. A chill was sent down Taehyung's spine at the thought of the sheer dominance that pinned him.
"Was he a monster?"
Suddenly, the words of the farmer was all he could hear when the hwarang were stood before the emperor. The image was spitting, but the scar made the emperor seem incomplete. Like an empty canvas, the place where Taehyung pictured the scar to be was only left for his imagination to paint.
When he turned, he could see Seokjin. He had a sense of worry radiating from him, as if he could already tell that something was wrong. Classic Seokjin. Of course he would know that something was wrong, he practically raised him.
It wasn't long before the Hwarang had swords gripped tightly in their palms. With his hands sweaty and his fingers digging into the leather, Taehyung swung. A dummy was stood before him, with its chest suddenly exposed from one swing of the sword. Taehyung could only maintain focus when the chief observed him, but even then, his swings were uncoordinated and his strength was suppressed.
"That scar looked like it hurt."
Stuffing poured out of the dummy's head like a river of crimson red blood.
"Call me Agust."
What was so special about the month August?
His hands felt just like his uniform. Silky.
Seokjin noticed Taehyung's dream-like movement from across the field. Everybody else seemed so in sync, but Taehyung was drawn away in the same way a moth is drawn to a light.
Or is Taehyung the light?
With his sword resting in his sheath, Seokjin strode towards the younger with distress clouding his eyes. What was bothering him? He needed to be protected. Invisible monsters clawed to him and Seokjin was tempted to desperatly dash at those spirits who attempted to harm him.
"Taehyung, what's bothering you?"
Taehyung was rescued from his trance. He was suddenly left facing his worried hyung who had his held out. He wanted to spar with him.
"It's nothing Hyung."
The drums echoed through the field, signalling the beginning of the sparring. From the corner of his eye, Taehyung caught a glimpse of Emperor Min observing with his eagle eyes. It was as if there was an individual set of eyes piercing each and every soldier. The rice farmer lingered in Taehyung's mind. His eyes watched every movement of muscle with a blank stare.
Taehyung bit his lip hard until a salty taste filled his mouth. Seokjin furrowed his brows- Taehyung's discomfort made him lose grip on his sword.
"Hyung,"
Taehyung began slowly, his eyes suddenly shaking wildly into a tremor. His mouth opened and as he did so, he could feel Agust's presence, as if he was coming up to him and wrapping his arms around his torso.
"I need to tell you something."
