Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

46 |2| Skirmish

She hides her face and hair under the hood, hoping that she won't stand out too much and won't attract any attention. Madam Eurielle is feeling under the weather, and she had asked for Akira's kind help to shop for her groceries at the market. She was unwilling at first for the fear of bumping into any of the Nyla's young masters in town, but she doesn't have the heart to say no to the lady who has been nothing but helpful to her, so she figures that a quick trip won't hurt.

She makes sure that she has the list of items to be bought at her disposal and she keeps repeating them in her head, so that she'll be able to grab whatever she needs the moment she finds them. The lesser time she spends in town, the better. She decides against bringing Golden with her because they for sure would be able to spot her horse and her trip wouldn't be as successful.

She walks to town, hands in her pockets as she grips the money Madam Eurielle handed over to her. The first thing she spots as she merges with the crowd in town is the wish fountain; one that indeed made her wish come true. She sees two people making their wish there, but she chooses to only pass by them. She figures that the charm won't work twice because she already had one granted, so she ignores the sign claiming that anyone's wishes would come true. She makes her way to the market, already checking off a mental list as she sees the items she needs one by one from afar.

Potatoes, check. Milk, check. Broccoli, check. And pears... okay, she found it. She hears an uproar arising from the central square but she deafens her ears towards the noise as she picks the best-looking onions. She wants to pay for the onions but even the sellers are distracted by the noise. It takes a few waves of her bills to finally be able to catch the old man's attention.

He mumbles, "Looks like some youngsters having a fight. There are three people against one, that poor young man doesn't look like he can get up." He returns her change.

She doesn't comment anything as she drops the onions in her paper bag, with them being the last on the list, and shoving the change in her pocket. She pays no heed to the fight because it's none of her business; all she wants is to return back to the library as soon as possible, check up on Madam Eurielle and get buried in the book she picked up this morning.

She is already heading for the direction of the residential area as she pretends to be blind towards the unfair fight. Her hand aches to help the poor young man who has bled on the ground, smearing the stony floor with his crimson blood, and his body is sprawled on the ground like a broken doll. But she doesn't want to get involved in a fight she's not supposed to, and she wouldn't want to attract any sort of attention. The onlookers are only standing by the sides, being witnesses to the skirmish that's happening between the three youngsters and their one opponent, who's currently too weak to fight.

None of them offer any help; it's either they're scared or they don't bother. Akira is not the former; she would break their bones if she could, so she's conflicted when she sees the victim bleeding on the ground. The perpetrators are not done with him as they kick him non-stop, causing the victim to only be able to shield himself weakly with his arms held above his head.

She is about to turn away but stops dead in her tracks when she sees the man on the ground with his arms up trying to protect himself and she gets a good view of the left side of his face; she sees the birthmark. Kang Yeosang. The palace doctor is currently being beaten up by three people, and he couldn't do anything about it.

So will she do anything about it?

Wooyoung's words ring in her ears: If we happen to see each other in town, just move on. Don't bother to try and pretend like we know each other.

She has to pretend that she doesn't know him- but is it wrong to help someone who's currently being beaten to death even though you don't know the person? She debates with her conscience and her choice to be ignorant. Time is ticking; another second she takes to decide is another kick to the frail doctor's body.