Annyeong, Soojin! [Ateez Fanfiction] ✓

24

The Wise Monkey's POV:

3!

2!

And 1!...

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It hadn't been so easy.

That dusk, Wooyoung waited near the gate, he waited and waited; even when he was late to reach the gate, he had to wait. But Soojin didn't come. When Wooyoung went to the maid's quarter, one of the women had plainly told him no one was supposed to meet the girl. A frantic Wooyoung tried to enquire further, but the woman only said she couldn't disclose any further, she couldn't understand the specifics of what he was asking( or was he saying?) anyway. Extremely worried for his sister, he was forced to head back inside the palace until he could find out about her in the morning.

It was the same night Prince Jaejoong came rushing to his brother to tell him about the rumour his cruel heart had been ecstatic to hear.

"I heard that the arrogant wench had been put to her place," he smirked. 

"It's a shame you take interest in rumours of others' palaces now too. Resembles the trait of a few of those 'lower class' that you say you despise, leeches in your words, you see. Quite hypocritical, I'd say," Hongjoong had plainly responded, not bothering to face him as flipped through the pages of a book.

"What did you say!" Jaejoong growled in anger.

"I'd like to head to sleep now, brother. You can excuse yourself."

"I'll see to your attitude when we reach home," Jaejoong pointed a finger at his brother. "You're lucky I have to go have a word with the queen."

But there was nothing Hongjoong knew of that required having a further meeting with the royals who were hosting them. 'What for?' Hongjoong kept it in his thoughts knowing he wouldn't get an answer. "It's not the most appropriate time to meet a royal of that position as a guest." But Jaejoong only walked off ignoring his words.

It was the same night Soojin was kept shut in the quarters by the order of the queen as the girl slept peacefully under the effect of some drug, unbeknownst to anything that was coming her way.

When Soojin woke up the next morning, she was met with the same luxurious confines of the palace. Her eyes moved to and fro in dismay as she searched her brain for an explanation, and the way she was so suddenly woken gave no alms to lessen her anxiety, rather only made her brows move in a quizzical contortion and lips move in a frown. A fellow maid was aggressively shaking her in annoyance. 

"Get up, you conniving woman!" she said. "You need to go outside." She and the other maids dragged Soojin by her arms all the way to the outside in the East Wing of the estate. Throughout the way, while passing the quarters, while in the halls, while at the final steps detached from the inside of the palace, Soojin kept asking and asking,

"Where are you taking me?"

"Why are you dragging me?"

"What happened last night?"

"Why did I sleep?"

"Please at least tell me if my brother's safe!"

And even when none of her questions were answered, her intuition said a few. The will to mend things were long gone; her intuition screamed hopelessness, submission, it had sensed danger that affirmed on not finding a clear coast ever. She was already crying when she reached outside, under the open, bright blue sky with a white canopy of clouds and no sun, where a group of people were standing in clusters. One she realized was her brother, as he seemed like he was begging Master Choi Jongho of something with crying eyes and kneeling legs, and then Mingi far behind as he was following around a bunch of law enforcers with a loud, questioning, almost yelling mouth. The helpless Jongho tried to pat Wooyoung and told him to stop kneeling in front of him, and cruel Jaejoong stood smirking next to his sober, sympathetic brother, all of them also accompanied by several palace workers, the whole group around a twenty in numbers. It was almost at the same instant when the officers from the East Gate, Soojin dragged from the opposite direction, and the royal siblings had reached the waiting group.