Chinese Trumpet Creeper || extraordinary you

[1] The Beginning

For as long as he could remember, Ha Ru had been serving the Prince. In fact, his entire family had served the royal family, so it was no surprise that he was to do the same.

Still, while some of his ancestors had to work with terrible kings or princes, Prince Baek Gyeong was not a bad person to serve. Yes, he had his days where he could be easily angered, and showed it. However, that anger was rarely ever directed at Ha Ru himself, and while the two were not exactly best friends, they held no animosity or discomfort against each other.

That being said, Ha Ru waited outside the doors of the King's chambers quietly. Only Prince Geum Jin Mi and Prince Baek Gyeong stood inside the room where the King lay in his bed, dead. Across from Ha Ru were Lord Baek Dae Sung and his son Joon Hyun, who waited on the other side of the door.

Ha Ru watched Lord Baek warily — he always stuck suspiciously close to the Prince — when the man raised his gaze to make direct eye contact with Ha Ru. He quickly turned his head away, so that he was facing the door. There was no sound at all coming from behind the paper-thin doors, and Ha Ru suddenly wondered if it would be alright for the next two, sole men in line for the throne to be alone in the same room, unsupervised.

But before Ha Ru could actually worry, the door opened and Prince Gyeong stepped out, his face indifferent. Before the door could fully close behind him, Ha Ru saw a glimpse of the Crown Prince standing still with watery eyes.

Without a word, Gyeong continued to walk away, with Ha Ru immediately on his heels, and Lord Baek and his son bringing up the rear. None of them spoke as the guards opened the doors and they walked out of the pavilion. The Prince was not the type of person to speak constantly, and nobody was foolish enough to dare initiate a conversation with the given atmosphere.

At the bottom of the steps, Ha Ru saw Lord Eun Moo Young approaching them. He stopped at the steps and bowed when Gyeong stopped next to him.

For the first time since Gyeong had been summoned to the King's bed, he spoke. "Your Excellency doesn't seem to visit often, though I have waited for you."

Lord Eun immediately bowed his head. "I apologize."

Gyeong merely turned his head to Ha Ru, muttering, "Let's go," before leaving immediately. Ha Ru briefly nodded at Lord Eun before following suit, though Lord Baek and Joon Hyun chose to stay behind.

As they walked, Ha Ru wondered what Lord Eun and Lord Baek had to discuss. It was highly possible that they were merely discussing political affairs; however, the question of which brother would be the next king, and which brother they would support, were subjects of political affairs.

Ha Ru glanced at Gyeong's side profile as they walked, which remained as stoic as it had before. There was no sign of any emotions at all except indifference, though Ha Ru had the sinking suspicion that the Prince wouldn't feel that way for long.