The Truth Hurts [exo]

18

"Get up," I heard as the covers were lifted from my face. "Take this."  

Jongin settled a canteen of water by my hands along with a packet of powder but a metallic stench made me shrink away.

I sat up and covered my nose. "Is that..." The words faded as I saw the blood staining Jongin's pants. There was a deep gash in his calf and my stomach turned when I saw the blood bubble up slowly. 

"Take it already." Jongin shoved the powder and water into my hands as he gritted his teeth. He sat down beside me and I was scared of the pained expression on his face. 

I stared at the injury and could barely hear my own voice. "What happened?" 

He chuckled as if the deep wound was just a scratch. "I'm not telling you anything until you eat your medicine." 

I looked down at the things in my hand and shoved the contents into my throat with a gulp of water. "Tell me!" I grabbed the bag from my side and ripped out some fabric that had bundled the weapons together. 

"Calm down." Jongin winced as I poured water over his leg and rolled his pants up carefully. "It's nothing." 

I stopped working to give him a glare. "What do you mean?" I flicked his forehead and then looked back down to inspect the injury. "How is this nothing?" 

"Don't worry about it. I just got a cut." Jongin tried pulling my hands away. "It'll heal by itself." 

I shook my head and began wrapping the white fabric around his leg despite his protests. "Where did you go last night?" 

He let out a hiss as I bound his leg tightly to stop the bleeding. "I didn't go anywhere." 

I lifted my eyes to look at him and wondered if he really thought I was so stupid to believe such a lie. "Just tell me the truth. I know you well enough to know that you never stay still." 

We stared at each other for a few moments before I went back to work. I knew that if he really didn't want to tell me, I could never force it out of him. He had his own reasons to keep secrets and I had to believe it was for my own good that he kept things to himself. 

"I went back to Mrs. Kim," he muttered and I saw that he wouldn't look at me. If he could only tell the truth like that, I'd have to take it. "I asked her where I could get medicine for you." 

"And?" I prompted him. 

"I went and got stopped by a mob." When he realized I was confused, he continued. "They recognized me and attacked." 

"How?" 

"With swords and fists," Jongin scoffed. "I thought I had taught you enough to know how most people fight." 

"For the record, you haven't taught me how to fight at all. And I meant to ask how they recognized you." I looked over his calf to make sure that I had every part covered. 

"I might've...said some things when I went to the pub." 

I tied the knot and glared at him. "Like what?"

"That I had a princess with me," he mumbled, obviously ashamed. 

I didn't know why I wasn't surprised that he had said something like this. "You told the enemy that you had me?" 

He nodded sheepishly but sucked in a breath when I tightened the knot around his leg. I had planned to go back to the town and join in the celebrations but if they were on the lookout for a princess, I would have to be extra careful. 

"Now what?" I sat back and hugged my knees. "We can't run with you like this." 

Jongin laid down and sighed. His arm was draped over his forehead. "I don't know. My leg will be fine by tomorrow but I guess we'll just sit here for now." 

I watched him for a few seconds before standing up. "I'm going to get something to eat." 

"Don't wander off," he called when I got out of the tent as if he knew what I had planned. 

- 

I could see the village lights. I was only a hundred steps from the town square and the loud cheers and music slowly reached my ears. I could smell the roasting meat and freshly grilled vegetables. How could I miss something like this? 

With a goal in my mind, I knew I'd be able to make the journey despite my illness. 

I pulled on my hood to make sure my face was covered as I mixed into the crowd. Even though it was cold and late in the evening, children were still up and running around. There were platters of food that occasionally distracted people from a dancing trio in the middle of the square. I walked over to the baked goods and rice cakes, trying to find Luhan or Mrs. Kim. 

A few people looked at me strangely, wondering why I was covered up. But they couldn't care less as the festivities continued. More people crowded in and soon I was barely noticeable. 

"Luhan!" I called when I saw his light brown hair peeking out from under a stand. I saw Suni beside him and the both of them looked up, trying to find the owner of the voice. "Over here!" 

I beckoned Luhan over and when he finally recognized me, a smile grew on his face. "You made it!" 

I nodded but behind Luhan, Suni wasn't as happy to see me. 

"But I thought you were with Jongin. How did you..." Luhan scratched his head. 

I shrugged. It was pretty miraculous that I had run away from camp and Jongin hadn't even noticed. I had to make sure he was asleep before bolting; I even poked his wound a few times to check. 

"Anyway, I'm glad you're here." Luhan handed me a cob of corn that had sat uneaten on his plate. "Have some." 

I was just about to take it when I saw Suni seething in the back. "I want to look around first." I thanked him anyway but asked for a small box of rice cakes. I wanted to bring some back for Jongin. I knew he'd be mad at me for leaving but I hoped he would forgive me if I gave him some food as an apology. 

"No problem." Luhan picked out the prettiest pieces and placed them into a small container for me. I thanked him again before blending back into the crowd; I could literally feel how much Suni wanted to hurt me. 

I picked up some small bites to eat along the way as I pushed to the middle of the crowd. Everybody was clapping in time with the drums as a group danced wildly in the centre. Back at the castle, we'd call them beasts but this seemed a lot more fun than court dances. 

One man pulled me into the circle and I had to hold onto my hood to keep it from falling. He led me through a dance and I tried to keep up but I was never good with choreography. I tried incorporating what I knew from dance classes back at the castle but soon I was tired and dizzy. 

I excused myself and pushed my way out of the crowd. Coughing, I had to lean against a building to catch my breath. My head spun a little and I almost decided to go back to camp. 

But I hadn't even visited half of the festival yet and there was still so much more to see. 

"Hey, lad!" I turned around and saw a stumpy man running towards me with a stack of papers. "Hand these out, would you? We just got them printed." He dropped the pile in my hands and ran back into a building that I assumed was the printing press. 

I groaned and thought about dumping the papers in the forest and going back to the party. But then I looked down and my eyebrows furrowed when a portrait of myself stared back at me. 

Beside that portrait was a picture of Jongin. Except...it wasn't his name underneath his face. 

Who was Kai? 

The words underneath our pictures were words from my father. I was missing and they thought Jongin was the culprit. 

I dropped the stack but kept one poster for myself. I needed some explanations. 

I ran back to the stand that displayed the colourful rice cakes which were diminishing in number by the second. "Luhan!" I yelled. "Where's your grandmother?"