Almost Killing the Prince | Minsung ✓

-XXII-

"Minho?"

There was silence.

"Minho?"

Jisung turns his head, glancing back at the open door of the small quiet hut. He leans over to catch a glimpse of the entire cabin, finding it empty save for a cricket or two, basking in sunlight slowly turning gold.

Jisung calls for the older again, only to receive a small reply from the cricket.

The thief thought that he could replace his bandages himself, thinking that the older was sleeping in because of how late they came back the night prior. So after Jisung finished his chores, he sat out in front of the hut, placing fresh bandages, a bucket filled with water, and the jar of ointment on the steps beside him.

For a moment he thought he could do it on his own- cleaning a wound and wrapping a bandage around a hand seemed easy enough. It was like treating any other wound, pulling off the dirtied bandages and carefully dipping his hand into the icy water before tapping it dry with a piece of cloth. Then he'd place the ointment on it before wrapping it in a fresh set of bandages, using his teeth to tie it off.

However, as he got to his right hand...

Jisung cursed at his left hand for being so useless. Some villagers that walked by gave him curious stares as he did so. His left hand shook too much, the bandages ending up uneven with some bits of his skin poking out before he hisses in frustration and had to pull it off again. He considered retrying, but Jisung didn't want to waste any more bandages if he failed.

So he looked for Minho, though the older wasn't there, even when Jisung slid the door open to his bedroom.

He turns, eyes darting across the small hut once more in case he's somehow missed the bandit. But no, the house was truly empty.

Jisung considered just trying again on the bandages, but as he stepped out of the hut, staring down at the supplies he used- he only became curious about what happened with the older. Jisung neither heard nor ever see the older walk out of the hut, nor did he visit the fields.

Where was he?

"Excuse me," Jisung bows to an old man nearby, blinking up at him. "Do you know where Minho is?"

"Lee Minho?" He questions, Jisung nodding in affirmation. He gestures toward the forest with a shaky hand, Jisung turning towards the direction he pointed. "He went over to the river some time ago."

Really? Jisung hadn't seen him go earlier- or maybe he did and brushed off the memory. Either way, he bowed in thanks, returning to the steps of Minho's hut.

He decided that the older was probably busy at the moment, doing... whatever it was he was doing. Jisung decided he could do the bandages himself.

However, as he glances toward the direction of the fields- toward the nearest river, he wanted check up on Minho. He considered the reason was because of his self-acclaimed title of being the older's personal guard, and to make sure a bear didn't eat him.

Though his imagination went back and forth at each other. He tried to reassure himself that Minho was fine, and that he was a more than capable fighter. But was he capable of fighting a bear? He has been gone a while, and it was usually the time the older would return to cook dinner. And no matter what he was doing, he would usually return-

So what was he doing? Where was he?

No! Jisung shouldn't think such things- Minho was fine.

"Orabeoni, orabeoni!" Jisung perked up as a little girl from the village ran up to him, pointing toward the fields. Jisung hummed, arching an eyebrow at the girl as he tapped ointment to his right hand. hissing when his hand twitched and pressed onto the healing wound. "There's a monster in the forest!"