~ a lily among thorns~

"not so fast"

"Which one of you liars is the king?!" Seonu growled, sword bared.

Nari didn't hesitate a moment. Anger surging through her veins, she wrenched her knife from within her gown, pointing back at Seonu with a deadly glare. She was on her feet in an instant.

"How dare YOU come in here and accuse US of such deceit! Is this some feat to draw attention from yourself?!"

Seonu crossed his eyebrows, not expecting to be blamed in return.

"Stop making excuses...," he said slowly, reaffirming himself. "I know it's one of you and I'm not leaving until I get a confession!"

"Then you're going to be standing there for quite a while," Nari answered firmly. If looks could kill, Seonu would have been pierced straight through the heart.

Both Hwarangs refused to budge, standing face to face with only revenge on their minds. Ji-Dwi dwelled in the background awkwardly, unsparingly sharing his judgement through expression. Slowly, he began wrapping a piece of cloth around his hand.

"You were quick to defend yourself," Seonu continued. "You must be desperate to hide your secret."

"You can hardly talk. Wasn't it you who barged in here first?" Nari retorted, taking a step forward.

"It must be nice having privilege," Seonu growled. His fingers squeezed down harder around the handle of his sword. "Being able to take who you want...kill who you want...I should have realised as soon as you started lingering around Ah-Ro."

"The only privilege I have is being able to kill you. As for Ah-Ro, is she aware she's courting with a monster?"

At that statement, Seonu thrust his sword forward, aiming straight for Nari's neck. Ji-Dwi jumped up from the bed, gripping onto the blade with his bandaged hand, preventing the harmful attack.

"I saw that one coming," Ji-Dwi mumbled to himself, having prepared for the moment. He turned his head to Seonu, irritation in his eyes. Anyone who drew a sword on Nari was at risk to Ji-Dwi's fury. "Mouse isn't the one you're looking for," he stated sternly, pushing away the weapon. "It's an impossible possibility."

Both Seonu and Nari turned their heads to Ji-Dwi, uneasy about what he meant.

"Impossible?" Seonu probed. He took a good hard look at Nari. She stared back at him nervously. "So, the rumours are true."

Ji-Dwi breathed in, closing his eyes with regret as he realised his mistake.

"What rumours?!" Nari retaliated, growing scared.

Seonu raised his chin, lowering his sword slightly.

"Word travels quietly around Hwarang. Could it actually be true...that you're a girl?"

Nari scrunched up her face with anger, a façade to hide her harrowing emotions. Her arm was growing sore as she continued to extend her knife towards an impending threat.

"Well, if that's the case," Seonu carried on. "I suppose you are an unlikely suspect. You look to young anyway."

"Quit with the illusion," Nari snarled. "Stop acting as if you're the innocent one. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is that it'd be a shame to spill such rotten blood in an upheld and respected household."

What she said wasn't true and she knew it. If Nari had truly believed Seonu was the monarch she'd been hunting, her knife would've been in him already. However, she was beginning to have her doubts about the whole situation.

Seonu ignored the girl's frivolous speech, concluding there was no longer value in her presence. He instead turned his attention to Ji-Dwi. Seonu was hesitant to point a sword at the man he called 'friend', but vengeance got the better of him.

"You then? Give me reason to believe your innocence."

Nari pushed furiously on Seonu's arm, not happy with his accusations.

"It's not Ji-Dwi, I swear it!" she exclaimed desperately. Ji-Dwi brought the frantic girl into his side softly, urging her to be still.

"I could say anything to defend myself. You either believe me or you don't."

Seonu glared at him, a fresh aura of rage seeping over his body. He lifted his sword speedily, stomping forward.

"I'm going to ki-"

"Stop!" Nari pleaded, bursting into tears.

Seonu halted with surprise at her sudden crash of emotion. Everyone fell silent, the only sounds heard being Nari trying to contain her sobs. Her thoughts were a mess. Just moments before, she thought she'd finally found her end-point – the person she'd hunted for so long. Now everything was unclear, her secret had been washed into the limelight once again, and she was being forced to defend the person she loved most dearly.

Ji-Dwi pulled Nari around gently to face him, stroking her hair.

"Don't cry," he soothed, and she rubbed the tears away from her eyes sulkily. "For someone who's so strong, your tears get the better of you."

Nari sniffed, hardening her expression. "Only the truly strong aren't afraid to show their real emotions."

Ji-Dwi nodded, letting her know he agreed. Seonu watched on carefully. Suddenly, a voice echoed from outside.

"All Hwarangs are to report outside! Assembly has been rescheduled."

After all the happenings of the past half-hour, no one had noticed the ceasing rain. Nari pulled away from Ji-Dwi and headed for the door. Placing both her hands on its surface, she hung her head low.

"Let's sort this out later...obviously none of us are guilty."

"It would seem so," Seonu murmured cynically, his eyes stuck on Ji-Dwi.

Nari pushed open the doors, disappearing into the hall. Ji-Dwi hesitated, before walking out to follow her. Seonu swiftly brought the sword up to his neck before the man could exit.

"Not so fast," he growled.

Ji-Dwi felt the warmth of blood slowly trickle down his neck as the blade dug into the shallows of his skin.

"Let me tell you something," Seonu continued, his voice quiet but deadly. "You may be able to fool her, but you can't fool me. I'll get a confession out of you; you can count on it."

Ji-Dwi brushed the sword away from his neck, walking out as if ignoring Seonu's threat entirely. But that wasn't the case. The man was very well aware of the dire situation at hand. He'd spent his whole time in Hwarang trying to convince Nari that he was something he wasn't. Now that he'd achieved his goal, he realised it may have been the wrong path to take. Afterall, if Nari were ever to find out, it would hit harder than anything else. Ji-Dwi reflected on the night he'd walked and talked with the girl, discussing the theme of hiding. She'd told him that it wasn't shameful to be secretive, and that there was a time for everything – even hiding. He had clung to those words so desperately. They had proved to be a source of comfort to his wallowing feelings on deception. However, at this moment, he realised there truly was a time for everything – and that this was not a time to be hiding.