"what did he say?" asked jongho when san stepped into the armoury to retrieve his weapons and armour for the inspecting of the condition of the army. they were advised by the royal commander to do this before they plan out the ambush so that they have a general idea of what the army was good and bad at.
san groaned, fastening and securing the straps to his joints and important organs, "he wanted to come. bet he's already at hongjoong hyung trying to mix up some way to get himself into the army or some shit."
jongho chuckled, "i like this jung wooyoung. he brings something else, something fresh into the castle. we need some rule breaking here and there."
"you say that like you and noona didn't break enough rules years ago." san rolled his eyes, picking his weapon now.
jongho and haneul were best buddies before haneul went on the trip around the world. they would break loads of rules that were set by the queen and every time they got caught, they'd just blame it on the other and somehow, they'd get away with it. in fact, jongho was the one that took the blame during the last few meetings haneul had with minseok, and haneul was forever grateful for jongho because of that.
jongho grinned, "those were good old days, in fact. you were so boring and followed every single rule your father made for you. we both knew you needed some spiciness and look at you now! you're dating the resident rule breaker called jung wooyoung. what a big twist."
"shut up." san grumbled. he finished picking out his weapon: the usual, 35-inch long sword that he normally uses to duel with seonghwa. jongho smiled at the choice, and he himself chose a similar, but shorter sword that would be more practical in short-ranged fighting. there, they would have two types of sighting methods they can use against the soldiers to test their abilities and skills.
when the two walked out of the armoury, the army immediately stood in attention and with their backs straighten and hands neatly on their sides. "at ease!" the commander yelled as they stood with their legs separated and hands now folded behind their backs. (a/n: ok if this is inaccurate i am so sorry. this is what i remember from like six months of ccf so bear w me)
(a/n: ok mid-way to writing this i saw the mmt announcement of the postponing of ateez concert in europe and my entire heart just broke. been looking forward to it since october and now it's postponed.. and tbh i don't even know if i can see them when the postponed date arrives because idk if im gonna be in uk or is on holiday then. sighs. but i'm really glad they aren't coming bc it is getting bad in uk and im just glad they wouldn't be risking to get covid while touring. i just. yeah)
san scanned the crowd of soldiers, each of them holding a prideful expression on their faces like they were proud to be on the army, like they weren't forced to join it once they turn eighteen. jongho nudged san and san followed jongho's eyes, eyes widening when he saw a grinning wooyoung standing in the corner. what the hell? he knew wooyoung would be coming but he didn't expect the younger to be in full sorcerer gear along with hongjoong at his side, who clearly did not want to be here.
"your highness, they're yours to command now." the commander said as he slipped past the crown prince and first cousin before standing off to the side to let the two command the army. san sighed, standing straight and with his loudest voice, he yelled out to the army,
"as you all know, we will be planning an ambush against the park gang, hopefully in a few days' time. before that, however, we would need to know where your abilities stand so that we could plan out the ambush accurately and successfully. do you understand?"
a united "yes, sir!" was shouted from the army. san stepped aside and allowed jongho to explain to the army what they were about to do in a few minutes. that they were going to break off into groups and they each have to duel the prince, jongho, seonghwa or the commander himself. this would allow them to double check their fighting skills. then, they'll split off into groups where they'll have to do some practical thinking, further helping san and jongho decide their next actions of ambush as this will help them understand how well the army is at damage control.
as jongho was doing all those explaining, san walked over to where wooyoung and hongjoong stood, where wooyoung beamed even more. "hey, sannie!" wooyoung said in his most cheerful voice ever.
"hyung, i thought we agreed not to let wooyoung come here with his training gear on?" san completely ignored his boyfriend and looked at hongjoong pointedly. hongjoong sighed, "i tried, san, i really did. but this boy is truly remarkable in the way where he just convinces you to do things you don't wanna."
san raised an eyebrow, "what did he promise you?"
"that he'd cook lunch for me for a month."
"he can't even cook, hyung," san deadpanned, to which hongjoong opened his mouth and nothing came out of it. san turned towards wooyoung, "and your explanation? i thought you said you'd only come and watch."
wooyoung chuckled, "i never said i'd just come and watch, sannie. i said i'd come, but i never said i'll just stand here and watch. where's the fun in that? so i convinced hongjoong ssi to change into training gear with me so we'd help them prepare for, you know, any magical attacks!"
san laughed drily, "right. what did i say to you right before i left? i'm not risking to lose you anymore! so, please, wooyoung, just stand there and watch. please."
wooyoung shook his head, "nope." emphasising the 'p' sound. jongho finished talking just about that moment and the soldiers were starting to split into their separate groups. jongho went over and grab san, "hey, just let it go. if he wants to train, then let him train. like i said, you don't want him to get out of your sight either, do you?"
san looked at jongho, "but he's gonna-"
"you're not going to lose him if you keep him in your sight. just let him be, yeah? look, he'll actually benefit us a lot if the soldiers trained with him. imagine if the park gang did bring a sorcerer along with them. wooyoung will be a huge asset to us." jongho explained, his point clear and reasoned.
san sighed, "fine. but he's going to go under my watch." jongho nodded, agreeing with san's decision and so, the training started.
—
a/n: oK OK IM SORRY IF THIS DIDN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE AND IF CHARACTERS R JUST SO OUT OF CHARACTER. i am jet lagged. i am sad. i am heart broken. i am missing home.
remember, underneath all these writings is just a fifteen-years-old girl fighting to do well on her gcse and missing home 💔 anyways i love u guys thanks for reading this n i'll update u if i get to see ateez or not! (would be extra sad if the new updated note when i publish this is no)
new updated note when i publish: still no news :( it's ok my hopes of seeing ateez r going 📉📉📉