𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇 ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐰𝐧

⇛ 𝐂𝐇. 𝟐𝟖

"oh, i'll introduce you." lili said. "these are my bodyguards. won, joo-doh, mu-ah and gyoku. won. these are my.. fr-frien... acquaintances; yona and the happy performance group. won came here to do some business. he saved me when some thugs assaulted me."

"hey, you're..." jae-ha trailed off. "we met last night, right?"

you already knew about that but you had to act like you didn't. you didn't think it was a good idea to blow soo-won's cover by acting like you knew him. it was better that way for lili.

"you know this man?" you asked and soo-won's face seemed to drop but he quickly regained his composure.

"last night we met at the inn. i didn't know you were lili's bodyguard." jae-ha replied.

"they really are a flashy bunch, aren't they?" lili asked, referring to your group. "...won?"

"huh? ah, you're right. yes..."

"hey, did you guys figure out hiyou's location? we only have a lead towards a shop called utsuro." lili continued.

you could feel the tension at that moment. the tension between you, soo-won and yona was intense and you were sure the rest of the group would notice too.

"miss!" zeno called, running over.

"zeno. huh? where's thunder beast and shin-ah?" yun asked.

"it's probably a big problem."

"what do you mean a big problem?" kija asked.

"in the sea there is..." zeno froze, his eyes widened as he stared at soo-won. you looked at them, confused, wondering if they knew each other.

"what about the sea?" yun asked.

"oh, right. right. from the other side of the sea, a ton of ships are coming here."

"what did you say?!" jae-ha exclaimed.

"where are the ships from?" yun asked.

"we haven't gotten that far..." zeno replied. "mister said that hiyou might come out so they're guarding that area."

"hiyou's trading partner, huh?" kija mumbled.

"but bringing many ships isn't unusual..." jae-ha said.

"lili!" yona suddenly yelled. "is there an elevated spot near here where i can see the sea?"

"yes."

"show me the way."

the two rushed away and you tapped kija to get his attention. you told him to follow them and he quickly did. you knew hak would kill you all if you left yona alone. plus, you needed to stay beside lili's side. once everyone reached to a higher spot, you urged kija to put you down. he was hesitant at first but eventually listened. you steadied yourself on your leg, looking ahead at the sea.

"it's far away and i can't see clearly but that's..." kija said.

"those are definitely ships coming from southern kai's direction." jae-ha added.

"there are too many ships for just trading." yun said.

"i wonder if it's a group going on tour?" zeno pondered.

"doubt it." you shook your head.

"are they trying to start a war?" lili whispered and then her voice got louder. "this is a problem. they've bought such a large fleet without sending a notice to the general or the king. we already have our hands full with hiyou here..."

"we'll have to make them return home." soo-won said and everyone went silent, staring at him, oddly. he looked confused and you nearly laughed at him. his face was cute.