A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

Cholongkkoch Goes To The Library

Three days later, after Taehyun and Soobin were long gone, Heulin decided that Cholongkkoch had behaved herself enough to take a trip to Shinkisoku and go to the library. It was on these days that she took Cholongkkoch with her on Mae's back, and Kai got to ride along as well.

Shinkisoku was a small enough town that both Heulin and Cholongkkoch could frequent the area and nobody would ever have any questions. It wasn't like their presence was made known to the King and his Consort on a regular basis. It was just two women, traveling to town when they needed things. Farmers did that all the time, making trips into town. Plus, Cholongkkoch very much enjoyed the library, and Heulin could leave her there for hours sometimes while she ran about, did her business, often did some fine lady on the way, and then came back to return for her. Cholongkkoch would be none the wiser, locked up in a good book.

Seokjin was waiting for them when they arrived, and once Heulin knew Cholongkkoch was busy, she left to do her 'shopping.' The first thing Cholongkkoch saw was a poster that was now hanging on the library's wall, right in the entranceway. It had a huge tiger on the front, painted with big bold black stripes. "The 17th Annual Tiger Festival," it read in big letters. "Come One! Come All! Pay your respects to the Lost Prince Beomgyu."

"Lost Prince Beomgyu?" Cholongkkoch wondered out loud. Her mother never talked to her about this.

"Everybody knows the prince," Seokjin explained. "Or does your mama not talk to you about this often?" Seokjin was wise, and while he did not know everything, he knew that Cholongkkoch lived a very sheltered life and her mother controlled what went into the house and what did (and didn't) get out.

"I know of the King, and I know of his consort, and I know they live in the castle. But Mama doesn't pay much attention to kingdom matters. Her focus is on me, and making sure that I can grow up into a beautiful flower, just like my name."

"Well, everybody should know the Prince. Haven't you been to the festival before? It's required of every citizen."

"I have not. Mama always writes to the King and tells him that we cannot come, because we live so far away."

This startled Seokjin, who wondered, but you live not too far from Shinkisoku, and the Naeil Castle is not that far away even from here. It would be a journey on foot, but less than a day's ride. But Seokjin shoved that thought aside for just a moment, and rolled the other thoughts over in his head.

"You really do not know the story of the Lost Prince?"

Cholongkkoch shook her head in a firm no.

"Uh, Cho-yah," Kai asked, "are you sure we should be learning about this? If Mama hasn't told us about it, maybe it's not our position to know.

"But we know about the King," Cholongkkoch said. "I'm curious. There was a prince?"

Seokjin nodded, and he took Cholongkkoch to the second floor, where the history of the Naeil Kingdom was printed on many a scroll. He pulled down a couple of different scrolls, unrolling them, showing her the declarations from years gone past. "He was stolen in the middle of the night. To this day, nobody knows what happened to him, but we all still firmly believe that he is out there somewhere."

Seokjin showed Cholongkkoch a painting next, a reproduction from a printing press. It was a painting of King Namjoon and his Consort, Yoongi, with a small baby in between them. And he was a beautiful baby, with a rare smile on his face, all dressed up in finery. Cholongkkoch stared at the picture with a peculiar look on her face. For a minute, she could have sworn she had seen this picture somewhere before. Perhaps in one of her adventure novels? No, that wouldn't be right.

"He is very handsome," she said. Then, she shook her head. Cholongkkoch had always been told by her mother that she was too fat and ugly to attract a man. It made no sense to say any of them were handsome, even if she did think so. She would never attract a suitor. Then, her mind unwillingly went to the man who had stopped by her tower last week. His name had been Taehyun. And he had been handsome. But Taehyun probably had a wife at home, where he lived within the castle walls. Just because he came to Shinkisoku didn't mean she would ever see him again.

And besides. If he came over to the tower while Mama was home, then there would be trouble to pay.

"I'm surprised you've never been to the Tiger Festival before," Seokjin said. "You should definitely come out. See if your mama will take you. They have the best food. The street vendors sell steamed chestnuts, and sometimes it's really cold outside for the festival, so they really warm you up inside. And they sell strawberry cakes that are so good and delicious, but they're so big that you have to share them with somebody!"

Cholongkkoch thought of who she might share a strawberry cake with. She first thought of Taehyun, then shook her head. No sense sharing a cake with a man she just met! So she figured she should probably share it with Kai.

"And," Seokjin said, "the most beautiful thing is, at night, everybody lights a lantern and puts it into the ocean. It's quite the sight to see, all the lanterns going out to sea like that."

"But why do they put them in the water?"

"The hope is that the lanterns will go all over the world, and that someday, the Lost Prince will see one and return home." And Cholongkkoch found herself smiling, suddenly full of hope. There was a Lost Prince out there, and everybody wanted him to return home!

She wanted to help...somehow.