"I want her," The blonde-haired man says.
He points a long pale finger at Tiana.
Agust D leans against the wall with a foot propped up.
"She's not for sale, Yoongi," he responds.
He gives the man a lazy look.
"It's King Min Yoongi to you!" The man s...
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Agust's eyes widen as big as the white porcelain dishes the king eats from. He's not sure if he heard Chin-mae right, but he thinks he said something about Ae-Ri getting the death penalty.
"AD!" Chin-mae yells with tears now in his eyes. "We gotta do something!"
Ae-Ri is like a sister to Agust and he can't believe what he's hearing is true. He is sure this is his brother's way of getting his attention.
"Why is Ae-Ri receiving the death penalty?" He asks.
Chin-mae chokes out a sob.
"I-I don't know," he responds. "I was on my way to the palace after coming back from Yangdong and heard it from the palace guards. In Yangdong, the vendor said that what you were looking for was sold to be gifted to prince Taehyung. I was going to negotiate with him for it."
AD's shoulders relax.
"That's something you heard. How do you know they were actually talking about her?" Agust asks.
"Because they were describing what she looks like! Nobody fits Ae-Ri's description, AD! People in this time and age do not dress like her!" Chin-mae says, raising his voice.
The panic returns to AD. He grabs his conical hat and places it on his head.
"Let's go to the palace," he says.
Agust looks over at Jungkook who is looking more awake after hearing the news of Ae-Ri. His eyes are wide and glassy.
"Look for Jin and let him know where I am. We'll take care of that thing tomorrow morning," Agust says.
Jungkook nods his head at Agust. He's never seen Agust look unstable before. He's always been calm and seems unfazed when dealing with unfortunate circumstances.
AD, Chin-mae, Young-ho, and Jungkook leave the hanok and head in the direction of the palace. Jungkook parts ways from the group when they make it to the forest. He goes to where the plane is to see if Jin is there.
***
It's hard for Tiana to keep her eyes from looking away from Ae-Ri's disheveled form. She was told that if she looks away, Ae-Ri will receive a harsher punishment than flogging. The maid uniform she was wearing is decorated with splotches of blood from the whip ripping open her skin. Although Tiana knew Ae-Ri for less than a couple of hours, her heart feels heavy seeing her get flogged. She's getting flogged for trying to save Tiana's butt.
Flashback
Tiana had just finished pouring tea for the King for his third meal. Since her bold move from the first meal, the King has been more in her face. He's been having her stay until he is finished eating his meal. During his second meal, he took so long, that she thought he was never going to finish it. While he ate, he kept his dark and slender eyes on her as if she would disappear if he blinked.
