Searching (AnY Fan-Fic)

Chapter 5

"I'm leaving."

Soo-won's eyes widened at Ji-ah's sudden proclamation. "Leaving? What do you—"

"Soo-won."

The said male froze at Ji-ah's tone. The meeting had ended a few minutes prior, and the two cousins had ended up taking a stroll together after everyone else had been dismissed. Ji-ah's proclamation had come out of seemingly nowhere, especially given that they hadn't spoken a single word to one another since they left the meeting room. 

"You and I both know that I can't stay," she told him gently. 

Soo-won looked down at her sadly. "You can always stay," he told her. "Please, stay."

Even though this was what he had signed up for, he wasn't sure that he could handle losing another friend. 

"I'm sorry," Ji-ah apologized, cupping Soo-won's face in her hand as she smiled up sadly at him. "You, Hak, and Yona have been the best little siblings that I could have asked for, but we both knew that this day was going to come."

She was right. Yona may have never noticed, but Hak and Soo-won definitely had. Ever since Ji-ah and Yona's mother had died, Ji-ah had been different. She was quieter, less outspoken, and she seemed almost distant from those around her. While she was always there for those that she cared about, she was just never the same, and the boys lived in constant fear that one she was just going to drift away, never again to return. Whether that meant physically or mentally, they were never sure. 

Well, not until now anyways. 

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it," he leaned into her hand and sighed. It was strange how she always managed to make him feel like a child seeking his mother's comfort. They were the same age, but Ji-ah had always been the adult of the group. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"I figured that I would head out with Elder Mundok," she answered casually. Causing him to deadpan.

"That's today," he stated with a pout. 

"Yes, yes it is."

"What about guards?" He asked, going full on fretting younger brother. "And where do you plan on going? What about supplies? Do you need me to prepare anything for you?"

Ji-ah laughed, her shoulders shaking as she pulled away from her cousin. 

"I don't need any guards, Soo-won," she smiled lightly. "I'll be with Mundok for a while, and then I'll be on my way to a close friend's house."

"Alone?" Soo-won fretted. "What if you get lost? Or attacked by bandits? What if your weird psychic powers stop working and you trip over a tree root and get lost and can never find your way back?"

"Soo-won!" Ji-ah laughed harder than she had in a long while, and it was because of the man who killed her father… That was admittedly a strange feeling. "Weird psychic powers?!"

Soo-won flushed and gave a small pout, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "How else do you explain how you manage to see without actually seeing?"

Ji-ah only giggled in response. 

Once her giggles died down, her smile turned soft. "I'll miss you," she said, pulling the boy into a gentle hug. 

"I'll miss you, too," he whispered, burying his face in her hair. 

"Soo-won?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me that you'll make sure it was worth it," she requested quietly, tightening her grip on him ever so slightly as he did the same. "Promise me that you'll bring this land back to the prosperous nation that it once was."