diadem | hyunho

8. lashed out

MINHO:

One of the maids come into my office, informing me that my father demands my presence in his chambers as soon as possible. I sigh— I don't have a good feeling about this.

I climb a flight of stairs, leading me to two wooden doors, intricately carved and designed to suit my father's taste. I take a deep breath before knocking on the door thrice. I hear the shuffling of footsteps behind the door, and I could already see myself completely drained out after having this conversation with him.

"Come in, son," he says with a creepy smile only villains can pull off so perfectly, leading me into his office. I didn't like it when he called me that, although I actually am his son. He never really treated me like one. I take a seat in front of his desk, facing him.

"I'm sure you're well aware of our kingdom's standing in terms of military and defense. I've been noticing that we've been growing weaker for a while now, ever since your ruling period began," he says, and I already begin to dislike the direction this was going in. Usually in situations like these, I'd just listen to him spew his bullshit and walk away, but I felt the need to correct him. He was trying to get on my nerves about this entire military thing and it was working.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but I think you've got it all a bit wrong. Our army has been been doing exceptionally well since the past month or so. We've been keeping track of their progress and to be frank, we're in a much better position than before. We could always improve, though. Please continue," I say and I see him roll his eyes. He sharply inhales before taking a seat on his revolving chair.

"Look, boy. I don't have time for your crap. I'm asking you to do something, you do exactly that, are we clear?" He says, trying to look all powerful and intimidating. I sigh as I hesitantly nod my head. Even after all these years, I could still never find enough courage to to argue with dad. Once he sets his mind to something, there's no going back. It's not like he gives a damn about what I think, anyways.

"I've sent orders to the Oh's family for shipments of extra arms and explosives. They're very special and one of a kind, so you can imagine how difficult it was to cut the deal with them. Since you're the king now, I need you to ensure that these weapons reach here without a dent or scratch, and that they can pass through security smoothly without any issues. Are we clear about that?" He smiles evilly as he narrates his "plan" to me.

"Aren't the Oh's a bunch of criminals? Their weapons are definitely illegal to be carrying around, let alone be used in our defence force!" I scoff. What was he thinking, risking the safety of our family and kingdom like that?

"Ah, you're always one step behind as usual. That's exactly the reason why I need you to ensure smooth proceedings with customs. What are they going to do, say no to the king? Be a little smarter, Lee Minho!" He says in a provoking manner. It was honestly getting on my nerves, but this was nothing new.

"I get that you have a plan and all, but what happens if we're caught? We'd be left worse off than now!" I exclaim, though I really had no intention of executing his plans. I'm not a puppet of his that he can simply control.

"I've got THE perfect plan for that too! It's so simple, really. If we get caught, we blame it all on Hyunjin! After all, he's just starting to get familiar with this place, he's bound to have some slip-ups," he claps gleefully with the biggest smile on his face, satisfied with himself as though he came up with a plan to achieve world peace.

Now, let's rewind. Did he just say he'll blame it on Hyunjin?

"What the hell, dad? You're totally crossing the line!" I raise my voice at him, furious. He scoffs. Does he actually think I'll go forward with his stupid requests and sacrifice Hyunjin for it?