~ a lily among thorns~

"what's in front of you"

A/N: I wrote the chapter when listening to this song. Listen to it whilst reading the first half lol so cute.

Nari skipped down the hallway to the bedroom, shuffling open the door. A big grin remained on her face as she continued to gambol on inside. Yeo-Wool sat on his bed, smirking at her sudden high spirits.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked, looking up at her from where he resided.

Nari closed her eyes dreamily, giving a twirl. Opening them again, she let out a big sigh, clinging to her bedpost.

"Have you ever noticed how bright the sun is? Or how beautifully green the trees are?" she sang, clasping her hands together. "Or what about how pretty the birdsongs are when they sound in the early morning?"

Yeo-Wool scoffed. "They've been like that ever since you were born. Why are you only noticing now?"

Nari fell onto her bed, pulling the sheets up to her face to hide red cheeks.

"Just because!" she giggled, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Perhaps that little trip you took did cheer you up after all...," Yeo-Wool sighed with a smile, happy to see the girl merry.

"Of course, it did!" Nari exclaimed, shoving her face further in her blankets. "But...that's not all."

Yeo-Wool raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh? Then what else has you skipping around this late in the afternoon?"

Nari peeked out at Yeo-Wool, her insides feeling fuzzy.

"Something happened just then," she began, unable to contain a smile. Instead of continuing, she shoved her head back under the covers from shyness. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. Yeo-Wool stared at Nari with amusement, curious to dig up something more.

"You can't just leave it at that," he protested, leaning forwards. "What happened?"

Nari slowly appeared from her pile of blanket, unable to take her eyes off the ground in embarrassment.

"Well..." she said slowly, fiddling her fingers. "It's Ji-Dwi."

Yeo-Wool's smile faded as he processed her sentence.

"Ji-Dwi?" he questioned, straightening his posture.

Nari nodded enthusiastically, her cheeks flushing pink. "Long story short, he found out that I'm a girl-"

"What?!" Yeo-Wool cried, jumping to his feet.

Nari flung up with him, holding out her hands to signal it's alright.

"Don't worry though!" she laughed, before twisting her arms shyly. A sweet smile lined her lips. "He swore that he'd protect me."

Yeo-Wool was silent for a moment, before letting out a scoff.

"You've completely fallen for him!" he cried, unable to hold back his laughter. That didn't stop the words stinging his heart.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Nari asked, twirling around dreamily again.

"Yes," Yeo-Wool stated bluntly, crossing his arms. "You don't even know who he is."

"I don't exactly know who you are either," Nari reasoned, but with a pout. "Does that mean we shouldn't be friends?"

"Sure, you do!" Yeo-Wool argued. "You know that I'm the son of a noble official. You know that I was born here, and you know I'm associated with the others as well. Ji-Dwi however...he just came out of nowhere. No one has ever seen him until now."

"But I am like that as well!" Nari contended.

"And you're a girl dressing as a male in Hwarang. Do you see my point?" Yeo-Wool mumbled with annoyance.

Nari smiled guiltily, unable to argue with her friend's logic.

"That is true," she sighed, but her smile was quick to reappear. "But how bad could it be? He has proven to me he is truthful...I suppose...But even so, he's just a foreigner from the West. If my mother had possessed the same attitude as you, I wouldn't exist!"

Yeo-Wool's chest tightened. "Now it seems like you're saying you already want to have his children..."

"That's not what I meant!" Nari laughed, giving Yeo-Wool a playful pat on the head. "You know what I mean."

Yeo-Wool sighed, looking the girl in the eyes.

"Why can't you see what's right in front of you?"

"What's in front of me?"

"Exactly." 

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A/N: Ok so I know its a pretty short chapter today, and I apologise. I'm exam-prepping (yay..). Gotta get them good grades, ya know? Thanks for understaandddinggg. I wasn't actually going to update today but I didn't want to disapoint so here's a cute little chapter for ya'll to (hopefully)  enjoy <3