Hwarang (ON HOLD; UNDER EDITING)

06

Su-Jin charged through the forest at full speed. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, or atleast, before night.

I can get out of here before sunset, right?, she asked herself. Her question was answered quickly; no.

She stopped her horse. She looked ahead to try and see the end of the forest, but no luck. She sighed and told her horse to start running again. A few minutes later, she stopped again. She got off her horse and tied him to a tree, allowing it to rest. She walked around the forest, but didn't go too far away. She started humming a children's song called 'Cinderella' while walking.

**

Ji-Dwi was in a forest, resting his head on a tree bark next to his horse, his eyes closed. Just as he was about to take a nap, he heard something, no, someone.

Huh, impossible. Have I gone crazy? Have I been outside too long?, he asked himself.

He removed his head from the tree he was leaning on and listened more. It was a female. He stood up and started walking; following the sound. A few seconds later, Ji-Dwi spotted a girl that looked just about his age. Her face was covered by a mask and her dress was cut; ending at her knees. Her coat's hood was resting on her upper back.

Ji-Dwi found himself staring at the girl. He listened to her more. He recognized the tune;

Cinderella?, he thought. The said song was a song he heard from his grandmother before. He stayed and watched her performance. The girl then started to sing the lyrics of the song, making Ji-Dwi watch her more intensely. Her voice was that of an angel's. The girl started to walk along the side of the lake she was standing in front of in the forest as Ji-Dwi continued watching her. She soon ended the song, Ji-Dwi then clapped for her, which caught her offguard for a moment. She quickly took out her sword as Ji-Dwi spoke;

"Nice performance. You're voice is very pretty".

She remained standing, holding her sword while giving Ji-Dwi a weird look.

"Calm down, princess", he told her.

She was taken aback with what he said. Ji-Dwi took notice of her expression and pointed at her crown resting up on her head.

She quickly raised her free hand up to her head and felt her crown. She took it off in a hurry and hid it inside her satchel.

He chuckled a bit and the girl asked him, "Nuguseyo?". He looked at her and said, "Jinheung or Ji-Dwi Rang, king of Silla. Just call me Sam Maek Jong, Maek Jong or Ji-Dwi", he answered without hesitation.

Why is he so...calm?, the girl asked herself.

"Neon nareul?", he said, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.

She hesitated before answering, "Su-Jin".

"From?", Maek Jong asked.

"Gungnae.", she answered.

"I'm guessing you are the princess then?"

Su-Jin nodded, "Yes."

Maek Jong walked closer to Su-Jin who was still holding her sword. She was still also wearing her mask.

"I told you to calm down, I do not mean any harm.", he told her. Su-Jin slowly nodded as she put away her sword.

"So what are you doing here, princess?", he asked her, wanting to start a conversation.

"Um, I was sent by my parents...", she said.

"You were kicked out of Gungnae?"

"Ani. Some people saw me and started to hunt me down. It was too dangerous to still have me stay there so my parents decided to let me out and travel to Silla."

Maek Jong's eyes widen at the mention of his kingdom.

"Why Silla?", he asked Su-Jin.

"The queen of Silla is my mother's friend and my mother told her that I would be travelling there and marry...", Su-Jin trailed off and turned to look at Maek Jong slowly.

"Marry...who?", he intrigued her.

Su-Jin freaked out and started screaming in her head; Omo, what will I say!? 'I was told to marry the king'!? I can't tell him that! He is the king! What to do, what to do, what to do-

"Uh...hello?", Maek Jong waved his hands in front of her, interrupting her mental crisis.

She snapped back into reality, "N-no one. What about you? Why are you here?"

Maek Jong was about to answer when he realized that it was getting dark. Su-Jin also looked up where Maek Jong was looking at and noticed it too.

"Great, it's getting dark...", she muttered sarcastically.

"Wait here", Maek Jong said as he walked away. He later returned while pulling his horse along with him.

"I'll keep you company, and you can do the same for me. Both of us are alone anyway. How about it?", he suggested.

Su-Jin thought for a moment.

"Hmm, okay, sure. Where will we sleep though?", she asked.

"We can just lean on that tree over there", he answered while pointing at a big tree.

"Okay, but we should eat first", she said.

"Alright", he agreed as they both ate their packed food.

**

Both of them finished eating their food and drank water. They also fed their horses well. By now, it was already dark and the stars and moon were showing. They decided to get some sleep. And with that, Su-Jin's first day of travelling ended.

Annyeong~!
Aigoo, do you know how fucking confused I was with writing this!? Jinjja, it's because I didn't know what my baby Hyungsik's name was here (ahaha sorry babe)! I didn't know if it was Jinheung or Ji-Dwi or Sam Maek Jong or what! At first, I typed Jinheung, then after checking the internet, it said it was Ji-Dwi or Sam Maek Jong, then I retyped every. single. name of his! Then, I got confused whether it was right or ok for me to put Ji-Dwi, so I changed them to Sam Maek Jong, but I guess the universe wasn't happy with that and I thought it was too long. I TYPED SO MANY 'JINHEUNGs', 'JI-DWIs', AND 'SAM MAEK JONGs' THAT THEY DIDN'T EVEN SEEM LIKE WORDS ANYMORE DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MANY TIMES HIS NAME WAS MENTIONED IN THIS CHAPTER?! I got so confused T^T...I was like; ?¿?¿. Anyway, thanks for reading my rant (or not), that's all, thanks! Saranghae!

- Eunji