lee heeseung - breathe

- three -

The air around you was heavy with darkness. You felt that if the silence remained any longer, the night might just crawl into your throat and ears and nose and choke you all up. The air was sliced by a grating voice, "Where have you been?"

"Caring for a patient with my mother, Sire." You mumbled.

"A patient is more important than this job- this incredibly important job and all the benefits i give you out of my own graciousness?"

You swallowed thickly and kept your mouth sealed, eyes fixed at your feet. You couldn't give away how important your patient was- that he was no ordinary patient. You didn't expect any good to come of it.

"I'm back now." You said sourly. "The patient is up and walking so I'm not as necessary."

Your boss sighed heavily. "I have a small assignment for you right now, but I have something planned. Do you know of Prince Heeseung of the Lee Dynasty?"

You felt your body stiffen and clenched your fists tightly until your nails dug into your soft palms. "Ye- yes. I do, Sire."

"Good. I will tell you as the time comes, but I have assessed your skills and deemed you appropriate for the assignment. But I'll tell you this- you must be prepared to do whatever it takes."

Those simple words chilled you to the bone. They seemed like a mild encouragement, a mild forewarning at first, but you knew the truth of the phrase.

If it came to it, you must be prepared to kill.

———

As you'd mentioned to your boss, Heeseung was up and walking around. He helped you tend to the garden outside although he had to take constant breaks.

Heeseung was currently seated on the verdant ground, leaning back against an oak as the sun dappled warmly on his pristine features. You, meanwhile, we're up to the elbows in dirt as you moved small potted flowers to the ground. Heeseung also had smudges of dirt across his arms but less so since he'd mostly been sitting and passing you comments as you worked.

A bird sang somewhere in the oak as you rinsed your arms from a bucket and wiped your hands on your apron. You tramped across the bright emerald grass to stand in front of Heeseung. "Hungry?" You asked. His eyes were closed but he donned an amused smile and nodded. You smiled back at him- not that he could see. "You're helping me today."

"What?" His eyes fluttered open.

"What's wrong, you're highness?" You asked sarcastically. "Too much hard work?"

"Uh...no." He picked himself up and followed you back into the house. Once you reached the kitchen, he'd regained his rather peaceful demeanor and washed his hands.

Although you didn't like to admit it, Heeseung was generally kind and funny. The only thing you found odd about him was that you never got the full story about how he got injured- but then again he could simply not be comfortable sharing. You assumed the latter.

"Boil some water, please." You waved a hand at the pot cabinet and left Heeseung in search before going off for potatoes and spices. You first arranged the potatoes on the cutting board with a clean knife and started pulling boxes of spice out of the cabinets above your head. You sighed at the realization that one of them was out of your reach. You'd accidentally put the rarely used spice there one day- who knows how or why -and now it was proving to be detrimental.

You glanced sideways at Heeseung and considered asking his help but he'd found a box of matches and was figuring out how to light the fire for the pot he'd found and filled. So, you stood on your tiptoes and your fingers brushed the edge of the shelf. You propped an elbow onto the countertop and if it weren't so cluttered you would have climbed up onto it. You took a small hop and came down with a clang and a shriek. You righted yourself and pressed your body forward as you regained your balance. A warm hand had come to clutch your elbow.