Eunhae Fanfic: Crowning the Dawn (Part Two)
Title: Crowning the Dawn (Part Two)
Authors: tremmy_chii ; fishiesftw
Pairing: Hyukhae / Haehyuk
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: We do not own anyone, anything, except for this fanfic. :3
Summary:
After Prince Eunhyuk hears the news about his father's remarriage, along with the crushing pressure of the throne, he flees from home only to face unexpected obstacles. To make matters worse, the prince even falls in love with a villager, who is much more than what he sees at first glance. All's fair in love and war, but two dishonest hearts are bound to greet pain.
Word Count: 3036
Romance, Fluff, Humor
A/N: Oh, uhm, sorry for the confusing pairing? We tried to make them as equal as possible cause Tremmy thought, EUNHYUK IS A PRINCE, HE SHOULD BE MANLEH D: and Annie thought OHHH, BUT DONGHAE IS ALSO MANLY. Thus, it is both Hyukhae and Haehyuk \O/ ... Don't kill us. OTL
Two long and painful years passed by for the young prince. During this period, he noticed his father becoming more attached to Lady In Hye, who started to become needier and more demanding with her requests and sudden rush of authority. However, Eunhyuk had no right to interfere with the life of his father thus ending up keeping his feelings to himself for the duration of the noble’s stay. Jong Seok had also been a nuisance, always challenging a duel, always trying to beat the prince in his studies. The fated day came when the king of Ulymphia decided to call his son to the throne room to have a conversation. Eunhyuk, who knew this would lead to topics he wouldn’t want to discuss, took the risk of a childish decision to hide upon the calling for his presence. Unfortunately, Hyemi had discovered him hiding under the bed of his late mother’s room, which had been left untouched since the day she passed away. The maid dragged him to the throne room, and from there, the conversation began.
Hyemi closed the heavy doors and smiled through the cracks at the very last moment. “You’ll be fine,” she had mouthed, and Eunhyuk was caught contemplating what luck he had to be blessed with a friend like her. The Prince pulled his white gloves higher and fixed the pendant on his neck. How could he even try to escape the inevitable?
“…You have called for me, Father?” the prince’s voice resounded through the spacious room, catching the attention of the king, who had his back turned. The throne room was built directly in front of the glowing sun, making it easy to receive light and warmth. The sun passed through windows of stained glass - especially through the largest one placed behind the throne itself. It had the image of Ulymphia’s royal symbol with bright colors bouncing off the mirrors and gold decorations.
“My precious son,” the king smiled at him, the edges of his eyes wrinkling from old age. He took the few steps of stairs down to greet Eunhyuk. “You’ve grown so much these past years! Ah, you look so tall, strong, and responsible enough to rule this nation!”
Eunhyuk managed to form a smile at the praise being pointed towards him, but he felt discomfort in his stomach when his father began to discuss about becoming king. Unknowing to the both of them, the Prince’s eyes dimmed with tire and pressure.
“Because you are my only son and have finally reached the age of eighteen, I will declare the crowning ceremony exactly three months from today,” the king announced, the corners of his lips tugging upwards as he grinned happily at his son. “After that day, you will be known as King Eunhyuk of Ulymphia!”
“I won’t let you or this country down, Father,” Eunhyuk bowed.
“I know you won’t, son, I know you won’t…” King Dongyi’s voice trailed off as he embraced Eunhyuk, tearful at how fast time flew by. His eyes caught sight of the pendant and the king could only think of how proud both he and Queen Yeonhee would be.
Eunhyuk placed his hands on his father’s back, letting the man hold him. He ignored the twinge in his heart as his father pat his back and looked at him with such proud eyes, with such confidence in him. ‘How could I refuse?’ Eunhyuk thought bitterly.
“Your mother…”
‘He never talks about my mother,’ Eunhyuk’s head shot up.
“…would have loved to see you grow up to this point…”
He touched his neck, searching for the pendant.
“…and I know that you must’ve been lonely without a mother; needless to say, I was a bad father to you, Eunhyuk, I was always busy and I never had the time for you…”
‘You can start spending time with me now.’
“…but I love you and your mother loves you too - I’m sure she’s watching over us from heaven as we speak - and I want to be able to provide you with the love you deserve by starting over so…”
‘What do you mean ‘starting over’? Why do we need to start over?’
Feeling uneasy, the prince just gave the king a simple nod of his head and waited for something else to be said. However, the next few words that left his father’s mouth frustrated Eunhyuk to the core.
“…I will be remarrying.”
Eunhyuk looked at his father, his eyes sharp and slightly intimidating. “To who?” he asked, sure of the answer already, but he wanted to hear it from his father himself.
“Lady In Hye, I thought you-!”
“How could you?” Eunhyuk hissed through gritted teeth, his hands balling up to a fist. King Dongyi widened his eyes, taken back from the sudden hostility of his son. “How could you ever replace Mother?”
“It’s not like that,” the king reasoned. “Lady In Hye could be your mother - she can provide you the feeling of a family, something we could never give you--!”
“You mean something you could never give me! You never made the effort to love me; you never fulfilled your placement as my family! For twelve years I have always been alone: I ate alone, I studied alone, I trained alone, I cried alone! My dead mother was better than you and she had no choice but to leave.”
“Eunhyuk, I was busy,” King Dongyi spoke up, reaching out to the young adult. The prince took two steps away from him.
“Ah, yes, busy, so busy that you couldn’t see me but you could meet up with Lady In Hye,” Eunhyuk narrowed his eyes.
“She’s a wonderful woman,” the king uttered, the sorrow and guilt sinking into his heart.
“She is not! How could you replace Mother like this? What do you think Queen Yeonhee would think of you?!” Eunhyuk raged. He glared at his father through moist eyes.
“She’ll take great care of-”
“She and her son are nothing but trash!” Eunhyuk shouted at the top of his lungs. His anger caused his breathing to become unsteady, causing him to sit down on an antique chair.
“Where are your manners?!” King Dongyi pounded his palm onto the table.
“I’m telling you the truth, Father!” Eunhyuk cried. “That lady is deceiving you! She wants our wealth and my throne for Jong Seok and that is it!”
“You will not raise your voice at me!”
“Her son is a sick fool,” Eunhyuk stood up. “Mother would never approve, your Highness,” Eunhyuk spat, overturning the table and slamming the door on his way out as the china and his father’s heart shattered.
Meanwhile, two figures had been eavesdropping behind the doors to the throne room. They were none other than Lady In Hye and her son. Both had their ears glued to the surface of the doors, still listening. Lady In Hye had a frown on her face as she absorbed in what the prince had just called her and her son. The wrinkles between her eyebrows deepened and she pulled her son away, mumbling something about “regret” and “gone forever”. Jong Seok had a smirk pasted on his face as he followed his mother to their room on the other side of the palace. Something told him that his revenge on Prince Eunhyuk was coming.
Disapproving of his father’s decision, Eunhyuk exited the throne room and angrily marched to the place he felt the most undisturbed in-his bedroom. The prince plopped himself down on the bed, his fists curling into the expensive material of the bed sheets until his knuckles turned white. Why would his father even think about marrying that woman? The thought of Jong Seok becoming his stepbrother made Eunhyuk’s nose crinkle. Hyemi spent the rest of her day worried over the silence and inactiveness of the Crowned Prince.
Eunhyuk later decided take a walk outside the palace once all servants and workers had reported to their quarters, believing that the fresh night air would relieve his stress. After grabbing a coat and wrapping it around himself, Eunhyuk headed towards the front gate of the palace. There, he ordered the guards to open up for him-which they strongly disagreed to-before he walked out into the cool evening air. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times; feeling a little less worked up, he began his nightly stroll.
Inside the palace, Lady In Hye was cackling gleefully as she gave orders to her henchmen. Her son was smirking the entire time with that dirty grin glued onto his face as he watched his mother carry out her wretched commands.
“I want you guys to make sure Prince Eunhyuk never sets foot into this palace again,” she instructed sternly. “Am I clear?”
“Crystal clear, ma’am,” one of the men replied immediately. “We’ll make sure he won’t be able to walk! Instead, he’ll be crawling for the rest of his life!”
“I don’t want him crawling for the rest of his life,” she glared at the man, causing him to sink down from his position. “I want his life to end…I want him dead.”
Her henchmen gulped and nodded, all at the same time. They quickly rushed out the doors and out of the palace, searching for the prince who was currently alone and vulnerable.
In the meantime, Prince Eunhyuk was still walking with no certain path in mind. Instead, he was following where his legs were taking him. Although he was staring at the ground the entire time, Eunhyuk’s senses were alert; he noticed instantly when a shiny object appeared at the corner of his eye. He took longer, wider strides while watching the object; he wanted to be sure whether or not he was in danger. However, a hooded and masked man emerged from the shadows, clutching a small knife. The prince knew this was going to turn ugly, so he ran; he ran as fast as his legs could take him. Normally, Prince Eunhyuk would fight, but tonight it was different: he was weaponless and completely vulnerable to attack. Eunhyuk cursed under his breath when he failed to slow down at a curved, rocky road. Tripping on tree roots as he escaped, Eunhyuk looked back to see that the man was still following him. He sharply turned a corner behind a wall of hard stone before turning a corner yet again. He sprinted as quickly as he could, scrambling past houses and tall grasses while trying to get rid of the person following him.
Luck wasn’t on his side that night as a loud swoosh was heard from behind him. The man had thrown the dagger he was holding, Eunhyuk realized as he tried his best to dodge the knife, moving quickly to the left. He wasn’t fast enough - the weapon slashed the prince’s right side deeply. He winced in pain as blood seeped through his clothes, one hand clutching the wound. Eunhyuk turned around and looked through fuzzy eyes; he noticed his attacker was gone and out of sight. Although escaping from attempted murder was a good thing, the price of being isolated with a fatal wound was just as bad as it was good.
“Shit,” he cursed, the hand on his cut turning bloody. After stumbling over to a nearby tree, the prince held onto it with his other arm to try to maintain his standing position. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but it only resulted in another cry of pain. The more movement he made, the deeper the dagger dug into him.
A few meters away from the struggling prince was a man happily humming a tune as he twirled a sharp piece of discarded metal and carried a box of jewelry (it was most likely stolen) with him. His clothes were tattered and worn out, but he didn’t seem to mind as he continued to walk freely in the dirty shoes wrapped around his feet. His hair was quite messy even though he had tied half of it back with a ribbon, but the color was a deep golden brown that literally glowed beneath the moonlight. He was smiling in contentment as he hummed a random melody on the spot, eyes curving into crescents to form a smile of their own.
“Donghae wins again!” the thief smiled, tossing a silver ring up and catching it.
The happy tune fell silent when the young adult heard a strange sound that seemed to be near him. The sound was human-like and whoever was producing them seemed to be in great pain. Grunts and heavy panting was heard from his left. Donghae turned towards the direction of the sounds to notice a silhouette of a man leaning against a tree. He quickly hid his ring into his shirt and walked a few feet closer to the figure. Donghae thought the man appeared as if he were dying, judging from his stance; his prediction was deemed correct - after he finished his thought, he witnessed the man collapsing straight to the ground. The burglar widened his eyes and cautiously walked over, squatting down to search for the origin of the bleeding.
“MURDERER!” he heard someone cry and jerked his head to find an old man who just shouted out to him. Donghae looked down at his hand and saw himself clutching onto the sharp metal. The old man couldn’t have possibility thought he murdered the guy with the metal, right? The thief decided to ignore the accusations being thrown and examined the face a bit more. Ignoring was also a bad idea as well, because the old man’s cries were being heard be the residents of the village and people were beginning to crowd. Donghae saw pitchforks and torches, and he immediately carried the unconscious person into his arms.
Not wanting to be identified as the notorious thief, Donghae hurried home with the bleeding victim in his hands; disappointingly, the box of jewelry was left behind midst the haste of fleeing. The blood leaking from the wound began to stain the robber’s clothes and soak through it. The fact that blood was now also on his skin motivated Donghae to run faster, and soon, they arrived at his house, a little shack next to a creek and far from large populations.
There, the man was placed onto a decent bed. Donghae tried to observe the person, but his eyes went straight to the wound. Donghae felt a slight sting in his side as well when he attempted to imagine how bad the cut was. As the night went on, the man before Donghae groaned and sweated in his slumber. Donghae bit his lip - the man, probably about his age, was losing a great quantity of blood and if he died - if he died…it would be Donghae’s fault for letting him die, wouldn’t it? Donghae scrambled for medical supplies. Being a thief didn’t mean he was pure evil. Maybe he could demand payment for it, to make up for the jewelry he left next to the tree earlier!
The brunette removed the coat and top off of the unconscious body. Donghae took a deep breath and held onto the handle of the dagger. With one eye closed, he slowly pulled out the dagger and quickly wiped away the oozing blood with a nearby shirt. He disinfected the wound with a few herbs he kept in the kitchen before bandaging the entire waist to prevent anymore blood from leaking out. He cleaned up the mess and tossed his blood-stained clothes into a bucket of water. Laundry could wait another night. Afterwards, Donghae clothed the male and sat next to him, waiting for the stranger to wake up.
Donghae yawned and stretched out his muscles. He didn’t deserve to have to do all this work all of a sudden. Yup, he’ll have to charge extra on that payment. Donghae clicked his tongue when he realized he would have to sleep on the cold floor. The change of position from the edge of the bed to the ground allowed the moonlight to peek through a hole and perfectly land on the wounded male’s neck.
His attention came to the necklace that the stranger was wearing. It was a beautiful sapphire and Donghae immediately knew it was worth a great value. He imagined and estimated the value, eyes gleaming when he calculated the months he would not have to work or steal to feed himself. The thief reached out to touch the pretty pendant, but was stopped when his fingers were just an inch away. A hand had gripped his wrist, and it definitely wasn’t his own. Donghae looked to see that the stranger was now awake and alert.
“What are you trying to do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the person in front of him as he pushed Donghae’s wrist away from his neck.
“Err…” Donghae nervously laughed and reached in to touch the man’s shirt. “I…was wondering what material your shirt was made out of! It’s soft.” ‘Smooth, Donghae, smooth,’ he mentally rolled his eyes. The thief proceeded to rub his hands all over the man’s torso to feel the fabric. ‘It is really soft though,’ Donghae noticed and started to wonder if the man came from a well-off family.
Donghae’s hands were slapped away harshly and he jumped in surprise and pain. “That hurt!”
The stranger sat up from the bed slowly, clutching his wound.
“The wound’s fresh, it’s not wise to move around with that,” Donghae scratched his head, watching as the other struggled to stand, using the walls to support himself. He stood up as well and reached out to lend a hand only to have it ignored as the male pushed himself forward. Donghae scoffed, pride a little scarred. The bandages were already pink. “Did you hear what I just said, blockhead?”
Donghae furrowed his eyebrows as the conversation became one sided, “Fine, do what you want; I don’t care. Just pay up, you’re responsible for things I’ve lost saving you.”
The man walked towards the door, but lost balance the moment his injury brought up a stinging pain. He staggered to the ground, groaning and hissing.
Authors: tremmy_chii ; fishiesftw
Pairing: Hyukhae / Haehyuk
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: We do not own anyone, anything, except for this fanfic. :3
Summary:
After Prince Eunhyuk hears the news about his father's remarriage, along with the crushing pressure of the throne, he flees from home only to face unexpected obstacles. To make matters worse, the prince even falls in love with a villager, who is much more than what he sees at first glance. All's fair in love and war, but two dishonest hearts are bound to greet pain.
Word Count: 3036
Romance, Fluff, Humor
A/N: Oh, uhm, sorry for the confusing pairing? We tried to make them as equal as possible cause Tremmy thought, EUNHYUK IS A PRINCE, HE SHOULD BE MANLEH D: and Annie thought OHHH, BUT DONGHAE IS ALSO MANLY. Thus, it is both Hyukhae and Haehyuk \O/ ... Don't kill us. OTL
Two long and painful years passed by for the young prince. During this period, he noticed his father becoming more attached to Lady In Hye, who started to become needier and more demanding with her requests and sudden rush of authority. However, Eunhyuk had no right to interfere with the life of his father thus ending up keeping his feelings to himself for the duration of the noble’s stay. Jong Seok had also been a nuisance, always challenging a duel, always trying to beat the prince in his studies. The fated day came when the king of Ulymphia decided to call his son to the throne room to have a conversation. Eunhyuk, who knew this would lead to topics he wouldn’t want to discuss, took the risk of a childish decision to hide upon the calling for his presence. Unfortunately, Hyemi had discovered him hiding under the bed of his late mother’s room, which had been left untouched since the day she passed away. The maid dragged him to the throne room, and from there, the conversation began.
Hyemi closed the heavy doors and smiled through the cracks at the very last moment. “You’ll be fine,” she had mouthed, and Eunhyuk was caught contemplating what luck he had to be blessed with a friend like her. The Prince pulled his white gloves higher and fixed the pendant on his neck. How could he even try to escape the inevitable?
“…You have called for me, Father?” the prince’s voice resounded through the spacious room, catching the attention of the king, who had his back turned. The throne room was built directly in front of the glowing sun, making it easy to receive light and warmth. The sun passed through windows of stained glass - especially through the largest one placed behind the throne itself. It had the image of Ulymphia’s royal symbol with bright colors bouncing off the mirrors and gold decorations.
“My precious son,” the king smiled at him, the edges of his eyes wrinkling from old age. He took the few steps of stairs down to greet Eunhyuk. “You’ve grown so much these past years! Ah, you look so tall, strong, and responsible enough to rule this nation!”
Eunhyuk managed to form a smile at the praise being pointed towards him, but he felt discomfort in his stomach when his father began to discuss about becoming king. Unknowing to the both of them, the Prince’s eyes dimmed with tire and pressure.
“Because you are my only son and have finally reached the age of eighteen, I will declare the crowning ceremony exactly three months from today,” the king announced, the corners of his lips tugging upwards as he grinned happily at his son. “After that day, you will be known as King Eunhyuk of Ulymphia!”
“I won’t let you or this country down, Father,” Eunhyuk bowed.
“I know you won’t, son, I know you won’t…” King Dongyi’s voice trailed off as he embraced Eunhyuk, tearful at how fast time flew by. His eyes caught sight of the pendant and the king could only think of how proud both he and Queen Yeonhee would be.
Eunhyuk placed his hands on his father’s back, letting the man hold him. He ignored the twinge in his heart as his father pat his back and looked at him with such proud eyes, with such confidence in him. ‘How could I refuse?’ Eunhyuk thought bitterly.
“Your mother…”
‘He never talks about my mother,’ Eunhyuk’s head shot up.
“…would have loved to see you grow up to this point…”
He touched his neck, searching for the pendant.
“…and I know that you must’ve been lonely without a mother; needless to say, I was a bad father to you, Eunhyuk, I was always busy and I never had the time for you…”
‘You can start spending time with me now.’
“…but I love you and your mother loves you too - I’m sure she’s watching over us from heaven as we speak - and I want to be able to provide you with the love you deserve by starting over so…”
‘What do you mean ‘starting over’? Why do we need to start over?’
Feeling uneasy, the prince just gave the king a simple nod of his head and waited for something else to be said. However, the next few words that left his father’s mouth frustrated Eunhyuk to the core.
“…I will be remarrying.”
Eunhyuk looked at his father, his eyes sharp and slightly intimidating. “To who?” he asked, sure of the answer already, but he wanted to hear it from his father himself.
“Lady In Hye, I thought you-!”
“How could you?” Eunhyuk hissed through gritted teeth, his hands balling up to a fist. King Dongyi widened his eyes, taken back from the sudden hostility of his son. “How could you ever replace Mother?”
“It’s not like that,” the king reasoned. “Lady In Hye could be your mother - she can provide you the feeling of a family, something we could never give you--!”
“You mean something you could never give me! You never made the effort to love me; you never fulfilled your placement as my family! For twelve years I have always been alone: I ate alone, I studied alone, I trained alone, I cried alone! My dead mother was better than you and she had no choice but to leave.”
“Eunhyuk, I was busy,” King Dongyi spoke up, reaching out to the young adult. The prince took two steps away from him.
“Ah, yes, busy, so busy that you couldn’t see me but you could meet up with Lady In Hye,” Eunhyuk narrowed his eyes.
“She’s a wonderful woman,” the king uttered, the sorrow and guilt sinking into his heart.
“She is not! How could you replace Mother like this? What do you think Queen Yeonhee would think of you?!” Eunhyuk raged. He glared at his father through moist eyes.
“She’ll take great care of-”
“She and her son are nothing but trash!” Eunhyuk shouted at the top of his lungs. His anger caused his breathing to become unsteady, causing him to sit down on an antique chair.
“Where are your manners?!” King Dongyi pounded his palm onto the table.
“I’m telling you the truth, Father!” Eunhyuk cried. “That lady is deceiving you! She wants our wealth and my throne for Jong Seok and that is it!”
“You will not raise your voice at me!”
“Her son is a sick fool,” Eunhyuk stood up. “Mother would never approve, your Highness,” Eunhyuk spat, overturning the table and slamming the door on his way out as the china and his father’s heart shattered.
Meanwhile, two figures had been eavesdropping behind the doors to the throne room. They were none other than Lady In Hye and her son. Both had their ears glued to the surface of the doors, still listening. Lady In Hye had a frown on her face as she absorbed in what the prince had just called her and her son. The wrinkles between her eyebrows deepened and she pulled her son away, mumbling something about “regret” and “gone forever”. Jong Seok had a smirk pasted on his face as he followed his mother to their room on the other side of the palace. Something told him that his revenge on Prince Eunhyuk was coming.
Disapproving of his father’s decision, Eunhyuk exited the throne room and angrily marched to the place he felt the most undisturbed in-his bedroom. The prince plopped himself down on the bed, his fists curling into the expensive material of the bed sheets until his knuckles turned white. Why would his father even think about marrying that woman? The thought of Jong Seok becoming his stepbrother made Eunhyuk’s nose crinkle. Hyemi spent the rest of her day worried over the silence and inactiveness of the Crowned Prince.
Eunhyuk later decided take a walk outside the palace once all servants and workers had reported to their quarters, believing that the fresh night air would relieve his stress. After grabbing a coat and wrapping it around himself, Eunhyuk headed towards the front gate of the palace. There, he ordered the guards to open up for him-which they strongly disagreed to-before he walked out into the cool evening air. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times; feeling a little less worked up, he began his nightly stroll.
Inside the palace, Lady In Hye was cackling gleefully as she gave orders to her henchmen. Her son was smirking the entire time with that dirty grin glued onto his face as he watched his mother carry out her wretched commands.
“I want you guys to make sure Prince Eunhyuk never sets foot into this palace again,” she instructed sternly. “Am I clear?”
“Crystal clear, ma’am,” one of the men replied immediately. “We’ll make sure he won’t be able to walk! Instead, he’ll be crawling for the rest of his life!”
“I don’t want him crawling for the rest of his life,” she glared at the man, causing him to sink down from his position. “I want his life to end…I want him dead.”
Her henchmen gulped and nodded, all at the same time. They quickly rushed out the doors and out of the palace, searching for the prince who was currently alone and vulnerable.
In the meantime, Prince Eunhyuk was still walking with no certain path in mind. Instead, he was following where his legs were taking him. Although he was staring at the ground the entire time, Eunhyuk’s senses were alert; he noticed instantly when a shiny object appeared at the corner of his eye. He took longer, wider strides while watching the object; he wanted to be sure whether or not he was in danger. However, a hooded and masked man emerged from the shadows, clutching a small knife. The prince knew this was going to turn ugly, so he ran; he ran as fast as his legs could take him. Normally, Prince Eunhyuk would fight, but tonight it was different: he was weaponless and completely vulnerable to attack. Eunhyuk cursed under his breath when he failed to slow down at a curved, rocky road. Tripping on tree roots as he escaped, Eunhyuk looked back to see that the man was still following him. He sharply turned a corner behind a wall of hard stone before turning a corner yet again. He sprinted as quickly as he could, scrambling past houses and tall grasses while trying to get rid of the person following him.
Luck wasn’t on his side that night as a loud swoosh was heard from behind him. The man had thrown the dagger he was holding, Eunhyuk realized as he tried his best to dodge the knife, moving quickly to the left. He wasn’t fast enough - the weapon slashed the prince’s right side deeply. He winced in pain as blood seeped through his clothes, one hand clutching the wound. Eunhyuk turned around and looked through fuzzy eyes; he noticed his attacker was gone and out of sight. Although escaping from attempted murder was a good thing, the price of being isolated with a fatal wound was just as bad as it was good.
“Shit,” he cursed, the hand on his cut turning bloody. After stumbling over to a nearby tree, the prince held onto it with his other arm to try to maintain his standing position. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but it only resulted in another cry of pain. The more movement he made, the deeper the dagger dug into him.
A few meters away from the struggling prince was a man happily humming a tune as he twirled a sharp piece of discarded metal and carried a box of jewelry (it was most likely stolen) with him. His clothes were tattered and worn out, but he didn’t seem to mind as he continued to walk freely in the dirty shoes wrapped around his feet. His hair was quite messy even though he had tied half of it back with a ribbon, but the color was a deep golden brown that literally glowed beneath the moonlight. He was smiling in contentment as he hummed a random melody on the spot, eyes curving into crescents to form a smile of their own.
“Donghae wins again!” the thief smiled, tossing a silver ring up and catching it.
The happy tune fell silent when the young adult heard a strange sound that seemed to be near him. The sound was human-like and whoever was producing them seemed to be in great pain. Grunts and heavy panting was heard from his left. Donghae turned towards the direction of the sounds to notice a silhouette of a man leaning against a tree. He quickly hid his ring into his shirt and walked a few feet closer to the figure. Donghae thought the man appeared as if he were dying, judging from his stance; his prediction was deemed correct - after he finished his thought, he witnessed the man collapsing straight to the ground. The burglar widened his eyes and cautiously walked over, squatting down to search for the origin of the bleeding.
“MURDERER!” he heard someone cry and jerked his head to find an old man who just shouted out to him. Donghae looked down at his hand and saw himself clutching onto the sharp metal. The old man couldn’t have possibility thought he murdered the guy with the metal, right? The thief decided to ignore the accusations being thrown and examined the face a bit more. Ignoring was also a bad idea as well, because the old man’s cries were being heard be the residents of the village and people were beginning to crowd. Donghae saw pitchforks and torches, and he immediately carried the unconscious person into his arms.
Not wanting to be identified as the notorious thief, Donghae hurried home with the bleeding victim in his hands; disappointingly, the box of jewelry was left behind midst the haste of fleeing. The blood leaking from the wound began to stain the robber’s clothes and soak through it. The fact that blood was now also on his skin motivated Donghae to run faster, and soon, they arrived at his house, a little shack next to a creek and far from large populations.
There, the man was placed onto a decent bed. Donghae tried to observe the person, but his eyes went straight to the wound. Donghae felt a slight sting in his side as well when he attempted to imagine how bad the cut was. As the night went on, the man before Donghae groaned and sweated in his slumber. Donghae bit his lip - the man, probably about his age, was losing a great quantity of blood and if he died - if he died…it would be Donghae’s fault for letting him die, wouldn’t it? Donghae scrambled for medical supplies. Being a thief didn’t mean he was pure evil. Maybe he could demand payment for it, to make up for the jewelry he left next to the tree earlier!
The brunette removed the coat and top off of the unconscious body. Donghae took a deep breath and held onto the handle of the dagger. With one eye closed, he slowly pulled out the dagger and quickly wiped away the oozing blood with a nearby shirt. He disinfected the wound with a few herbs he kept in the kitchen before bandaging the entire waist to prevent anymore blood from leaking out. He cleaned up the mess and tossed his blood-stained clothes into a bucket of water. Laundry could wait another night. Afterwards, Donghae clothed the male and sat next to him, waiting for the stranger to wake up.
Donghae yawned and stretched out his muscles. He didn’t deserve to have to do all this work all of a sudden. Yup, he’ll have to charge extra on that payment. Donghae clicked his tongue when he realized he would have to sleep on the cold floor. The change of position from the edge of the bed to the ground allowed the moonlight to peek through a hole and perfectly land on the wounded male’s neck.
His attention came to the necklace that the stranger was wearing. It was a beautiful sapphire and Donghae immediately knew it was worth a great value. He imagined and estimated the value, eyes gleaming when he calculated the months he would not have to work or steal to feed himself. The thief reached out to touch the pretty pendant, but was stopped when his fingers were just an inch away. A hand had gripped his wrist, and it definitely wasn’t his own. Donghae looked to see that the stranger was now awake and alert.
“What are you trying to do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the person in front of him as he pushed Donghae’s wrist away from his neck.
“Err…” Donghae nervously laughed and reached in to touch the man’s shirt. “I…was wondering what material your shirt was made out of! It’s soft.” ‘Smooth, Donghae, smooth,’ he mentally rolled his eyes. The thief proceeded to rub his hands all over the man’s torso to feel the fabric. ‘It is really soft though,’ Donghae noticed and started to wonder if the man came from a well-off family.
Donghae’s hands were slapped away harshly and he jumped in surprise and pain. “That hurt!”
The stranger sat up from the bed slowly, clutching his wound.
“The wound’s fresh, it’s not wise to move around with that,” Donghae scratched his head, watching as the other struggled to stand, using the walls to support himself. He stood up as well and reached out to lend a hand only to have it ignored as the male pushed himself forward. Donghae scoffed, pride a little scarred. The bandages were already pink. “Did you hear what I just said, blockhead?”
Donghae furrowed his eyebrows as the conversation became one sided, “Fine, do what you want; I don’t care. Just pay up, you’re responsible for things I’ve lost saving you.”
The man walked towards the door, but lost balance the moment his injury brought up a stinging pain. He staggered to the ground, groaning and hissing.