red haired herbalist.

05

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chapter five
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eyes fluttering open, yuta squints his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the lamp in front of him. he looks at the book, papers and study materials for the exam, below him and realized he had once again fallen asleep on his desk. it was pretty dark, and very early in the morning when he woke up, and stretched himself to relieve his cramped muscles from the uncomfortable sleep position to sleep again but this time, comfortably on his bed.

soon, it was late dawn and yuta got about two hours of sleep in twenty four hours. the curtains are pulled to their sides by the herbalist, welcoming the cool wind and warm sunlight into the room. inhaling the fresh morning breeze, he gets ready for another day.

and while getting ready, he remembered getting called to the palace by the prince's friends, but not telling him why. curious, yuta gets ready quicker than usual, eager to get to the palace faster. well, we know what yuta was eager for was not going to the palace, but meeting the prince.

arriving at the castle gates, yuta noticed an old man entering the palace only after showing something what seemed to be like a necklace, or just a mere rope with a pendant attached to it. he had seen quite a few people who passed through the huge gates only after showing the unknown thing.

"oh, yuta-ssi!" one of the two guards, slightly bows, followed by the other guard.

yuta bowed back in response, "good morning" he smiles.

"pleasant morning to you too! are you here to meet prince jaehyun?"

"actually no, it was youngho and taeyong who called me" yuta replied before continuing with an own query of his, "i've seen people show something to you guys before entering the gates, what is it?" he asks to both the guards.

"do you mean this?" one of the guards takes out a chain underneath his scarf, a small glass slate with a few writings on it, framed in metal, hanging onto it as a pendant.

"its a identification piece" the other guard says, "everyone working in the palace has one. you're not allowed to enter without it" he explains.

yuta looks at the shimmering glass piece, wanting to have one of his own, his name engraved on it with the title of court herbalist. "but you're an exception yuta-ssi, since you're a friend of the second prince!" the guard cheerfully says when he noticed the red head's smile fade, looking at the pendant.

that was a kind gesture by the guard, only that he didn't know that wasn't the reason why yuta's smile faded. the boy just wanted to prove how much of a great herbalist he can be. it didn't bring him down at all, it only motivated him to study harder and get a pendant of his own.

smiling at the guards before thanking them, yuta proceeds his way into the palace grounds.

🌹

taking big strides, the man puffs his chest out, his shoulders broad, he walks with an intimidating aura across the corridor, cautioning the other workers nearby.

he reaches the prince's lounge, only to be stopped by two guards blocking his way by crossing their spears.

"let me pass, i need to see the second prince" the man says.

"apologies, lord haruka. his royal highness is expecting a guest" one of the guard says, not daring to look at the person in the eyes.

"is this person he's meeting with more important than me?" haruka scoffs, his eyes traveling to the open garden outside, right next to the corridor walls. he focuses on the red haired male walking with youngho. he seemed to be very attracted to the herbs and pretty flowers to which haruka throws a disgusted look.