King Kim :: 왕김

장 6 육

NAM-JOON

"That's you guys." Principal Collins folds his hands and smiles warmly at us.

As I head towards the door, Caspian grabs onto my shoulder. I turn to look at him.

"I'll be in my office if you need me." Caspian gives me a stare, I nod. 

Raena takes the lead into the hallway, and she keeps her head low, looking at the schedule.

Raena seems a bit shy when she hesitantly looks up as I tower over her. She pulls back some of her golden fine locks that had fallen behind her ear. Fixing her glasses, she says, "First period you have.. World History with Mr. Willis."

She sheepishly smiles, looking up at me. "We have the same first period." She points down the hallway, "His class is right down here." We begin to walk.

These classes seem a bit odd to me. "World History? There's a class for that?" I ask.

"Sure is." She nervously giggles, "Actually, it's one of my favorites. Government is a close second." She holds her books closer to her chest. She smiles back down. "Mr. Willis is a really good teacher."

We pass by many other students rushing to class, followed by slams of lockers and distant chattering. We walk silently for a moment. I could sense that she was a bit anxious, not sure why.

"But, um, that's pretty cool." She begins, "Didn't know Mr. Nguyen had a nephew." 

Caught off guard, I respond. "Uh, yeah. He doesn't mention our side of the family a lot." I fibbed.

"By the way, your English is really good." She sounds impressed, "You sound just like a native."

I smile to myself, "Yeah, my private tutors-" I paused as I cleared my throat, "I mean, I just watched a lot of American TV shows." I nodded into believability.

"Oh, that's amazing." Her cheeks glow a pale pink, "That's really incredible."

As we reach the classroom door, the bell rings. I trail in behind Raena, trying not to draw attention to myself. I manage to keep my head down, but with my luck, I have already captured stares and odd looks from other students.

"Miss Raena Rose.. saved by the bell, again." A tall older man approaches us; I'm assuming Mr. Willis. He tilts his head, looking at me. "And newcomer..?" He questions.

"This is Kai." She moves to the side to introduce me. "Kai Wu. Foreign exchange from China."

I slowly pick my head up, looking at the classroom. All eyes were on me. I give an awkward smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kai." He nods his head, "Go on and take a seat. We're about to get started."

I find the nearest desk and sit. Raena follows behind and sits next to me. She pulls out her textbook, flipping through pages while adjusting her glasses. 

Mr. Willis sits at his desk, "Alright! Where are my current events at?" He looks around the room. The room is silent. 

Raena looks down, "Shoot." She mumbles to herself. Another moment of silence passes. 

"Come on, guys." Mr. Willis groans in annoyance, "No one? Current events are due every week. You guys know this."

Raena sinks in her seat with her hand partially covering her face. Mr. Willis looks over in her direction.

"Not even from Miss Raena Rose?" He asks, surprised.

Raena sighs, "I'm so sorry, sir," She pleads, "I completely forgot about it. The coffee shop had me working late all week."

Mr. Willis grunts, shuffling through some papers on his desk, picking one up. "Well, lucky for you. A new story just came out this morning, coming from South Korea."

My head perks up, listening.

Mr. Willis clears his throat, "It says here that.. the country of Iskoia, which is within the regions of South Korea, their royal family is under attack and is being dictated by Kang-yoo of North Korea."

My heart begins to pound.

"King Kim Nam-Ji of Iskoia is now a prisoner and is fighting for his life and kingdom back.." He pauses to understand what he is reading. "But, during all of this, his son, Prince Kim Nam-Joon, somehow managed to escape from imprisonment, and no one knows of his whereabouts?"

My breathing hitched.

"From an insider, it says that Kang-yoo has sent out troops to find the Prince for a death penalty." He finishes.

I stare at him with internal turmoil. My heart is in the pit of my stomach. The class is still silent.

"I didn't even know Korea still had royal families." Raena interjects.

"I didn't either." Mr. Willis tosses the news article onto his desk. "And this is why we do current events. To keep us updated with what is happening in the world." He pauses. "Who knows, maybe there will be a Korean War part two soon."

My chest tightens.

Mr. Willis sighs and moves on, "Alright, open your textbooks to chapter thirteen. We'll be starting off with the European middle ages."

+++

The dismissal bell rings, and I burst out the door and down the hallway to Caspian's office.

Without knocking, I swing open his door. He looks up at me in shock. 

"You mean to tell me that Kang-yoo is sending his troops after me?" I spat at him.

He stands up from his desk, "Kai.." He says quietly. He gestures to the door.

I huff, and I close it.

"Please take a seat." He motions to the chair in front of his desk.

Still standing, I continue raging. "A death penalty? Did you know about this?" I ask him.

"My prince, please sit." He begs one last time.

Fuming, I sit down. Caspian follows.

"We had already expected this from of Kang-yoo." He begins.

"We?" I stop him.

 Caspian sighs, "Your father, the agency, and I. It was expected. That's why the agency was made. This is why you are here." He explains. "These types of threats are normal from the enemies. It's not an easy one to take lightly, but I can assure you protection." He looks at me sincerely.  

I clench my jaw, shaking my head.

"I can only imagine the pain you are going through right now." Caspian softly speaks.

Caspian digs through his drawer and pulls out a touchscreen phone. "To relieve you for right now, I put my phone number in it. So, if you're ever away or in need of help, call me." He slides the phone over to me and I grab it.

"Don't worry about it too much." Caspian tries to make light, "Now, get back to class! And stop reading the news!"

I stand back up, heading towards the door, "Yeah, tell that to Mr. Willis."

"Will do so." Caspian turns back to the computer.