"Hyung?" Hoseok croaked out. He started to prop himself up on his elbows but winced when he realised he was shot in the shoulder. Emperor Min rushed from the window to Hoseok's bedside, kissing his shoulder and forcing him to lie down again.
"What happened Hyung?" Hoseok uttered out again, suddenly frowning at the sight of his lover's face.
"Don't worry about it sunshine, you're safe now and that's all that matters. You have to rest now," The emperor said softly, caressing Hoseok's cheek- his skin was as soft as the Hwarangs' silk. Hoseok couldn't help but feel worried for the emperor, since he was always on his toes since when he started ruling the kingdom. Although he previously wasn't always quiet and uptight like he is today, Hoseok still loved him nonetheless. He concluded that ruling just made him more tired. Besides, he always treated him right, so nothing has actually changed between the couple.
Emperor Min kissed Hoseok on the head and left him in his room to rest. A Hwarang soldier swiftly moved past him with his head hung low. The emperor could only imagine the sadness that was simply oozing out, escaping through every crack in his skin, but the Emperor couldn't feel it. He continued to keep a straight face as he watched the funeral preparations from an upstairs window. The Hwarang were all dressed in the same silky black robes, and the guests were building up beyond the castle gates. The only commoners in the castle were the injured boy and his elder, who was assisting him with his injuries. The emperor liked the boy's loyalty, as he should be resting, but he decided to attend the funeral anyways.
The ceremony began. Taehyung and Seokjin were one of the six who were carrying the soldier's coffin through the town. Jimin and Jungkook followed the rest of the soldiers with solemn looks on their faces. Jungkook had a hand on his hyung's shoulder, with his other hand curled tightly into a fist. The poor man was quite anxious, since he was standing within viewpoint of the entire village, and he felt like he grabbed too much attention since last night. The smaller man next to him simply felt worried, since Jungkook insisted coming to the ceremony instead of resting as advised.
The emperor had twice as many guards as he did the other day, with all of the soldiers breaking out in a sweat due to their attentiveness being sharper than their sheathed swords. The emperor didn't say a word throughout the ceremony. The villagers whispered amongst themselves, saying that the emperor was in fact, grieving just like the rest of them. In reality, the emperor only had a cold heart towards all of this, though his eyes could not focus on anything other than the coffin, and the symbol engraved on the arrow.
The Hwarang were sent to celebrate the life of their fallen friend with the villagers. A banquet was set up after the ceremony- Seokjin and Taehyung took this opportunity to meet up with Jungkook and the others.
"Why do you look so pale Taehyung?" Seokjin asked, noticing the younger's hands trembling. Taehyung attempted to make eye contact, but could only see the farmer with his garments fluttering in the wind. The temptation to flee was grasping at him, making Taehyung struggle to pull his feet towards the others. Seokjin looked away sadly, feeling helpless that he couldn't help his troubled younger.
Before they could even reach the table, Jungkook wrapped his free arm around them. He squeezed them tightly with the half of the strength that he had. He noticed Taehyung's complexion, and suddenly found himself too nervous to say a word. He could tell by the trouble that clouded his eyes that he was trapped, chained, restrained to something. After all the years of running to the fields, he couldn't tell what could possibly be bothering him.
Namjoon also hugged Seokjin, but he instead gave Taehyung a tap on the back. Everybody was silent.
"Taehyung-ah, I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of this," Jimin's honey-sweet voice ripped through the storm in Taehyung's mind. He looked to meet with Jimin's saddened eyes, which almost made him tear up himself. He barely saw Jimin cry, and whenever he did as children, Taehyung often cried with him. It didn't matter what it was about. He noticed everyone's solemn faces, and how they all sat without an ounce of happiness in their bodies. Whatever, or whoever, attacked the ceremony last night killed one and injured two others.
"Come, Taehyung, lets eat before we all have to go home," Jimin said as he pulled out a chair for Taehyung. The group of men politely ate the food layer out before them in silence, with an odd question coming from either Namjoon or Seokjin, asking how everybody was. Jungkook tried to make the situation as happy as possible since he claimed that "the Hwarang soldier would have hated everybody to be so sad in the celebration of his life."
And so, everybody smiled. Taehyung and Seokjin shared memories they had with the soldier, and told everybody on the table about the famous Jung Hoseok. Namjoon, Jimin and Jungkook went wide-eyed as the soldiers talked about how polite the dancer was and how shy he actually was behind castle walls. Seokjin explained the significance of his veil, which made Namjoon shake his head.
"He isn't an object, I don't understand why nobody else can actually touch him."
All was going well. The men immersed in deep conversation, with the odd tear or two shed by Jimin. All was well, until someone pulled a chair to their table.
A man, who wasn't dressed very well at all, sat himself down, stopping the conversation almost immediately. Upon the sight of the muddy rags, Soekjin and Taehyung went pale in the face. Jungkook's eyes widened and Jimin and Namjoon looked curiously at the stranger. The soldiers swallowed nervously; Jungkook suddenly quivered. Jimin only became worried at the youngest's sudden gesture, so he stood up at once.
"Jungkook! Lets get you back to bed, you're shaking," He said with dread grasping him. Jungkook shook his head wildly, with his eyes still fixated on the stranger.
Taehyung was surprised that Jungkook was just as terrified as he was. Jimin and Namjoon were alarmingly calm, truly looking as if a stranger had just randomly sat himself down on the table. In reality, this was something much more than that.
"Hyung, don't you find it odd that this stranger looks just like Emperor Min?" Jungkook finally spoke, breaking a whisper.
Jimin placed his palm over the youngest's forehead. Namjoon furrowed his brows.
"Jungkook, this man looks nothing like Emperor Min."
