adorn

chapter 6

park jihoon

it has been three days already. it has been 72 hours since he had had something in his mouth. what's worse his last meal was a mere ball of stale rice with a red topping jihoon believed was some soybeans. his stomach churned, as he walked the same path yet again. the people who lived in the cottages, cast him begrudging looks, or if one had a tinge of sympathy towards the orphan, just closed the door, not letting him ask for food.

jihoon dismissed all of these actions with a feeble wave of a hand. he tried to diminish his motions to a bare minimum so that he doesn't lose energy. the scarcity of it was caused by his famished state. every step was enough exertion, and the awareness that he had no destination whatsoever made the situation even more pathetic if it was possible.

if one looked at him from the distance, they would see a scrawny figure struggling to make its way. his legs were wobbly, his whole body trembled and the grumbling of his empty intestines was like a shameful reminder of how much he had gone downhill. his clothes were stained, bedraggled, he had no shoes. the only streak of light in his current state was that it was spring, so he wouldn't freeze to death even at night.

it was only natural for the villagers to keep him at bay. some looked at him with disgust, others mocked that he carried some disease, and should get back to the place he came from. but where could he come back, if it was the place he came from?

he had a loving mother, a room to sleep in, food to eat every day. unfortunately, his prime was taken away from him along with the one person in this world who cared for him. his mother was killed by a sickness which had been like a parasite, every night showing its presence by her abrupt fits of coughing and troubles with breathing. when he turned eighteen he managed to obtain a post as a helper on the field. it was an ungrateful task, on long, sweltering summer days he was forced to work from sunrise till sunset. during wintry weather the owner of a farm, a man around his sixties who was too old to work manually anymore overused his worker. he acted as if he had a servant – jihoon couldn't say no to being sent miles away to give the grains to ones in need of food in exchange for money, his duty was also to feed all the animals, keep the stable in a decent state, chase after every sheep that made it out of the sheepfold. if he didn't, the old man would sack him, and so jihoon humbly accomplished every task even those which weren't to his liking at all. he wanted to be grateful for he always got a reward in return – food and a mattress to sleep on.

two months ago, the weak, demanding farmer passed away, out of nowhere a stranger appeared, claiming to be the deceased's only son and everything he had ever possessed was now in his hands. jihoon had no objections to having a new man to serve on, but the other kicked the boy out before he could protest. that's how he had no other choice but to beg for food or steal it, find lawns comfortable enough to sleep on, and wash in the river flowing in the proximity.

the sun was more bothering than unusual. the sultry day seemed heavier, burning sand underneath his feet scorched his skin. he whimpered, scowled, and looked up.

"even you are against me?!" he shouted, sticking his finger out to point at the warmest circle on the horizon.

then as he lowered his eyes, a woolly construction caught his attention. after blinking a few times, the outlines regained the edges, shapes. these were two towers with sharp ends. a circle window was located on each of them which made the view similar to the fairy tales his mother used to tell him to sleep.

the magical world with no worries. the king with a diamond crown on his head, heavy staff in his right hand, and his descendant, the prince standing on his left. the beautiful boy, dressed in the orchid shade with frills and laces. the material of his clothing airy, prettily coating his perfect arms, torso, hips, legs. adorned with pearls around his neck or choosing white gold rings for this or that gathering, he reminded one of a painting. but what was the most important, or at least jihoon's mother always was of this opinion, underneath all this luxury, wealth, there was a heart.

a heart similar to the ones normal humans had, but his heart was better. it was brimmed with goodness and eagerness to help the poor and defeat all the evil spirits which would harm innocent people.

"bullshit."

the boy chuckled after hearing his own remark. as a little kid, he dreamed of his prince every night. he wanted to have one for himself, he wanted to be with him, protect him as a knight in silver armor. and his mother, this woman who was definitely out of her mind back then encouraged him. her assurances of how one day he will enter the palace, see his prince and stay with him forever made jihoon repelled as his older self reminisced of the past.

soon after, he got snapped out of his thoughts by the mourns of his stomach that most probably had eaten all of his other intestines already and was now starving again. jihoon looked up again. the towers and windows didn't move an inch. it wasn't his subconsciousness then, bringing the things he dreamed of unbeknownst to himself.

"well, mother... you could have been right. but only partially." the boy spit out, dragging his work-worn legs. I will enter the palace, I will see the prince, I will... abduct him so that we stay together forever. or maybe until the moment the rich king provides ransom to save his beloved son."

his body shivered after hearing what he had said but he wasn't about to change his mind now. if only the monarch follows his orders, no one will get hurt. least of all the prince.

finding a long-desired destination, he felt a sudden rush of energy. in this castle, he saw the last opportunity to prolong the time before he dies from hunger, thirst, and poverty. 

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