Be With You | Park Seonghwa

1

Your legs and lungs were burning from running for miles now.

You had no time to catch your breath, and how could you, when you had trespassed into your own homeland and your own people who once looked at you as a beacon of hope now thought of you as the reason for their misfortunes?

Finding a good cover under a fallen tree, you slid under the branches, not minding the sharp edges digging into your skin. You wrapped the bandages around your hands tighter, ready for a fistfight if the situation called for it, but you were going to rely on your daggers for the most part of it. You heard the faint sound of careful footsteps- you were sure it was the guards from the border- they must have followed you. That meant that your identity was exposed. Taking a few deep breaths, you gripped daggers in both your hands, and as soon as one of the men jumped in front of you- unaware of your presence, you sliced his calves, earning a yelp of pain and you made your way to the next cover of trees, narrowly dodging arrows. You ran almost a mile before you noticed something strange-

There were two sets of bows being used- they were different in built and colour. That meant...

There was someone else being chased as well.

Before you could think of creating confusion and leading both the parties in the possible suspect's direction, you felt strong hands grip your arm and cover your mouth, a low whisper in your ear telling you to shut up and freeze if you wanted to live.

You didn't protest- you were at a disadvantage. You could feel the man's hard built against your back, the hilts of his daggers digging into your back. You waited till the passage was clear.

"Follow me- we're both being chased so I think it's better if we stick together for now."

A subtle nod from you gave you your freedom and you gasped for air before running along silently with him, his hood drawn over most of his face. His hands guided you along his path and you followed- you'd follow for now but you would attack at the slightest suspicious move from him.

"There!" Someone yelled and you both cursed before he took your hand and started running, surprised to find you matching his pace. You were out of your own arrows so you borrowed one from his quiver, successfully targeting the man closest to you. He was just going to comment on it when you spotted an arrow aiming for him and a reflexive push from you saved his heart but not his shoulder. He winced in pain, tripping on his feet and you took the chance to take more arrows out of his quiver and shoot them on anyone nearby.

"Hey, get up, we don't have time for this," you shot another arrow, glancing at him.

"Give me a second," he groaned, getting up and the hood fell from his face, revealing dark tendrils of hair matted to his forehead.

"How many are after you?"

"Just a few," he loaded his own bow with some effort and covered your back, shooting. "You?"

"Just a few," you grinned, "Think we have enough arrows?"

Which was how the two of you ended up shooting everyone, mostly just injured while some may have died. You finally turned, looking up at the tall and very-

Very handsome man in front of you, his sharp features highlighted in the dim rays of sun that fell on your faces. You whistled, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" He countered, scanning you, "And why are there so many guards after you? Aren't they from the border?"

You made a quick decision to lie, "They caught me trying to cross the border," you said, when in reality, the opposite had happened- you entered here. "You?"