HIM THEY CALL THE CRUEL KING (Completed)

09

The three of them began to head towards the village as fast as they could.

"Why did you wait for us? You had to go back home and look after your mother. What if they had approached her by now?" D worryingly asks Ho Seok.

"Don't worry. They won't, I have already told someone to take my mom to their house until I come. They won't betray me." Ho Seok says.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. What do we do now? What's the plan?" Ji Min asks.

"What's the plan? You were supposed to come up with one. We both are relaying on you." D replies.

"My plan was only up to you getting inside the palace and let you out if in case you wouldn't make it. And you see all these mess? You did it. I mean, how come you couldn't recognize the King? Didn't you see him the other day?" Ji Min questions.

Ho Seok stops the cart and turns back to them. "What's that? When did she see the King other than today?"

She replies hesitatingly. "In the market the other day, he saw me I guess. We didn't interact, he was just riding the horse with the soldiers and I happened to stand still on the road seeing them approach me and, Ji Min saved me. I... I really didn't want to make you worry about me, so I told Da Won, not to tell you. I'm sorry for that."

Ho Seok sighs and starts to move the cart. "Can't believe that you both have started hiding things from me. What would have happened if I didn't find you at the right time today? Forget about finding you. Why did you sneak into the palace? I need to know this badly." Ho Seok asks D angrily.

D exchanges her gaze with that of Ji Min. There's a blank expression on Ji Min's face. She then starts to explain the truth.

"I'm not a visitor. I came here because of my paper work. I wanted to know about this place and the King to set a documentary on this. It wasn't the King I wanted to speak to, it's Kim Tae Hyung. And all this mess happened because I failed to identify Tae Hyung and explained everything to King. It's my bad. The King must be soo mad at me. I'm sorry for all these troubles. I don't want you all to involve in this anymore." She says.

"What do you mean you don't want to involve us anymore? When you needed us, you used us and now when the trouble is over you, you are asking us to walk away? I'm not letting you suffer alone." Ji Min stated.

"Me too." Ho Seok joined. "Now tell me what's the plan? We are close to enter the village."

"Ok fine, listen. Ho Seok, you and Ji Min will go get your mother and head to Ji Min's place. You will find Da Won there. And I, I will go look for Seok Jin." D says.

"Seok Jin? Now who is this?" Ho Seok questions.

D sighs. "You don't know him. He is a son of an astrologer who works in the King's palace." D answers.

"Was working." Ji Min corrects as he exchanges his gaze with Ho Seok's. "He is no more now."

There's a silence for a moment and then D speaks in a soft low voice. "Seok Jin is that person whom you all call psycho."

Ho Seok seemed to listen to her as he kept the cart moving.

"But why do you want to go after him? Why is he involved in this?" Ji Min questions being pissed.

"Because I used his name to save you. The King now believes it's him who helped me and he will surely go after him now. I put him in trouble, so, I'm going to help him." D states firmly.

Continuing further, "few days back, he accidentally collided with me and our quarrels lead to know each other. He used to say that the King will take me along if he sees me. And few minutes later, I got to see the King, but there's no surity that he had actually seen me and I too clearly can't recall his face. That's why I failed to identify the King. When I met Seok Jin for the last time, he said that the King possibly wouldn't have seen me and that's why I'm here and also warned me about future events. He said I will be facing the King soon and I needed to leave this village as soon as I can. And now, and now if I see all this, I feel like I should have believed him." D explains.