A bird flew over the clear skies of Banyeok. Carefree and lazily flying in the vast skies, the bird seemed to embody the ideal image of what humans often used them to represent. In the clear and cloudless sky, the bird had all the sky to roam around, their wings taking them wherever they wished.
A gunshot resonated in the air and in a blink of an eye, the bird fell down from the sky and gravity pulled it closer and closer to its death. Or maybe the gunshot had already killed it. Maybe it hadn't and nothing, but death awaited the bird back on the ground,
Geon-uh turned away from the window, not wishing to dwell any further on the sight he had witnessed. It just a simple hunting game, nothing more nothing less. He didn't want to assign any philosophical meaning to it and drive himself further into despair.
He was feeling shit without it anyways,
He looked towards his bed, glancing lazily. The bed frame was huge and extravagant. The pillars were red, symbolizing the royal color of Banyeok and on the top, on the ceiling of the bed was a phoenix engraved. The crest of the royal family. The symbol of Banyeok. The indicator of bloodshed. Well, it was called a phoenix but in reality, it was a 'Bonghwang'. Although still a bird, it was actually a mix of multiple birds. It had the head of a pheasant, the body of a duck, the mouth of a parrot, the legs of a crane and the tail of a peacock but since it was often displayed in the color red, overtime it became easier to just call it a phoenix as the Bonghwang, similar to the western notions of a phoenix, also represented immortality. While some people believed that by being the mix of multiple birds, the Bonghwang ideally meany harmony, Banyeok displayed the Bonghwang as a symbol of immortality. A symbol of the new era that had dawned and a reminder that this era was here to stay.
While the bed frame was elegant and extravagant, the bed was far from that. One of the pillows were on the floor and the other pillow was found on the side of the bed, messily put. The sheets lay partially on the bed and partially on the floor, crumpled. It was anything but befitting of royalty.
Geon-uh walked towards the bed and stared it. If anyone looked at this mess, they would've thought that there had been a robbery or some sort of assassination attempt in the King's room, but he knew that it wasn't the case. This mess was made by none other than him. Although he didn't know what exactly had happened, every morning when he woke up, he more or less found the room in this state. While initially he found it scary and had some guards look over him, he eventually ended up dismissing them after realizing that he just simply couldn't fall asleep with them around.
He bent down to pick up the pillow which was laying on the floor. As he dusted it, he put one knee on the bed and stretched, trying to put the pillow on the other side of the bed. He turned and looked up at the phoenix engraved on the ceiling of his bed frame. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt like someone's eyes were on him. He immediately got off the bed and shook his head. Seriously, what was wrong with him these days? He glanced at the medication on the counter. He should probably ask for a higher dose.
Geon-uh walked towards the bathroom. He had to snap out of it. Whatever was going on with him was not of priority. The priority was always the kingdom. He couldn't afford to let this kingdom slip from his hands. He couldn't let this precious country of his to suffer anymore.
As Geon-uh splashed water on his face, he found some of the color returning to his face. He looked at himself in the mirror as he wiped his face with a towel. The man that stood in front of him was no more the troubled Geon-uh but the King of Banyeok, Geon-uh.
That's what he was. He was always King first, Geon-uh second.
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"Wait, where is the truck going? What about Hyuk?" asked Yeonwoo, panic laced in his voice as he saw the truck back away and head towards another direction. Unless their amazing truck had teleportation abilities, he was pretty sure Hyuk was still in the car.
Minjoon looked at Yeonwoo, an exasperated look on his face. "Do you see the door on the gate? Do you really think it is enough to fit the XV-710? Trucks and other vehicles have another entrance. Anyways, since your friend is injured, we can't have him taking part in the evaluations so he will be transferred to the medical bay for the time being. What a useless person."
"You shot him." Murmured Reno, under his breath but Minjoon caught a hint of it.
Minjoon narrowed his eyes at Reno and once again his murderous aura returned, "Did you say something?"
Although Reno was mentally a fairly strong person, he was still taken aback and honestly slightly afraid of Minjoon. He turned his head to the left and said, "Nothing."
Yeonwoo was thinking the exact same thing as Reno but maybe he just had a little bit more common sense and hence he didn't voice it out loud.
"That's more like it." Said Minjoon, running his hand through his hair. By now, the darkness had slowly faded, and the sun was rising. Unwillingly, Yeonwoo had to admit that Minjoon looked like a model in this morning light. If they were in different times, there was no doubt the company agencies would be behind him to scout him.
"Follow me." Said Minjoon as he walked towards the door in the massive Imperial Gates. Reno and Yeonwoo quietly followed behind him.
Minjoon raised his left arm and knocked on the door thrice, with an equal interval between each knock. There was a small window on the door, just enough to look out. Someone from inside the gates opened the flaps to that window and Yeonwoo could see a pair of black eyes peeking out him and looking around.
"Minjoon, you're finally back. A bit late this time, don't you think?" said the person inside. Minjoon glared at the man, a glare that if directed towards Yeonwoo or Reno it would've sent shivers down their spine. But the officer behind the window flap merely smiled in return as his eyes turned into crescents.
Yeonwoo and Reno exchanged glances. Maybe being locked up in the imperial palace had driven all the people inside crazy. Or maybe there was some virus being spread inside that turned everyone mad. Some sort of pandemic.
Minjoon pointedly ignored the smile directed at him. "You have not followed protocol."
The man behind the window sighed. "You're such a stickler for rules, Minjoon. This is why no one likes you. Such a waste of looks."
"Pro.to.col." repeated Minjoon, enunciating every syllable.
Another deep sigh. "Welcome to the Imperial City of Banyeok. To enter, you must present a royal seal. If you have multiple guests with you, you require the special military pass to enter."
Finally satisfied, Minjoon took a seal from the inside of his jacket and presented it. Yeonwoo stretched a bit to take a peek of it. It was his first chance to actually look at a royal item and he sure as hell wasn't going to skip the chance to do so.
The royal seal hung from Minjoon's hand. It seemed to be made of white marble and had a hanja on drawn on it. While Yeonwoo was someone who was good at Korean even at the age of 7, a kid that young would've never had the chance to learn hanja, or the Chinese writing, so he had no idea what was exactly inscribed on the seal. If he had to take wild guess, it probably had the hanja for Banyeok. The inscription was done in deep red color. The color of blood.
A silence settled between Minjoon and the officer. After a couple of seconds, the officer groaned out loud. "Seriously? You want me to do the whole thing? I'd rather die out of embarrassment. When Senior Ming came he never bothered with all this nonsense. Looks like he went to park the truck this time, huh."
Calmly, Minjoon maintained the same posture, "Protocol."
The man sighed, "Identity confirmed. Deputy Officer Minjoon has been granted entry into the Imperial City, the ever-lasting Banyeok. In order to let other outsiders into this Kingdom, Officer Minjoon is required to present the secondary pass as well. Failure to present the seal will result in a subsequent investigation and possible actions against the officer and his companions."
Yeonwoo and Reno exchanged glances, they both had the same expression on their face. Speaking like this was making them crack up. Maybe it was cause they had never really had to be on official business and such, for them societal norms was still stuck in the past and thus this sort of formal language was hilarious. How long had it been since they heard actual polite and honorific language?
Minjoon, however, found nothing amiss and was instead satisfied with the upkeeping of protocol. Reaching into his uniform once again, he presented another pass. Yeonwoo peeked at it yet again.
It looked almost exactly the same as the previous pass except for one minor change. On the top right corner of the seal there seemed to be some sort of symbol. Yeonwoo frowned, not really recognizing the creature on it. It looked like some sort of bird but it was probably some mythological creature that he didn't recognize. Seemed like the royal crest.
"Royal permission confirmed. The door shall be opening shortly." Said the guard.
Yeonwoo looked at the gate in front of him, his heart beating erratically. He was going to enter the Imperial City. Never in his life had he imagined this would happen. Well, he wasn't the type of person who thought about the future anyways, ever since the rebellion happened, his first and foremost goal was to keep himself alive. But if he had even dared to dream of the future, entering the Imperial City was not something he would've imagined.
The door opened without so much so as even a creak. Seamlessly and quietly, it opened, welcoming Yeonwoo and Reno into a completely new phase of their life. In front of the door stood the guard who had just completed the entrance procedure.
The man was short. If Yeonwoo was right, he was probably around 5'1 to 5'2 much shorter than he was. Young and lean, he wore the same uniform as Minjoon minus a couple of stars indicating his rank was probably lower than Minjoon. His hair was a light brown and extremely curly. However, his most striking feature was his toothy smile. Being greeted by such a warm smile genuinely took Yeonwoo aback. He always had the impression that the Imperial City was a dark and cold place. Not to mention, the past 15 year he had spent in the most grim and depressing place one could imagine. A place where laughter and smiles were scarce and instead it was filled with anxiety and apprehension. Yeonwoo was so used to the fact that that was the norm that a genuine smile managed to get him surprised.
Also, the treatment they had just seen from Minjoon didn't really help either. With the attitude Minjoon showed anyone would believe the Imperial City and the people who lived in were captives.
Giving a small salute to Minjoon, he turned towards Yeonwoo and Reno, "Welcome to the Imperial City of Banyeok! It's been so long since they brought someone from the outside to the inside, you can't tell how excited I am. I am Keno, a junior officer of the Imperial Army. As much as I'd like to say that you're going to see around office, I regret to say that's the case. I wonder if it's cause I'm so friendly but I'm always on guard duty. And while guard duty seems like an important job trust me it isn't—" he took a deep breath and continued "—like look at these huge walls, you think anyone is going to sneak in? And for a nation that has such fancy cars and stuff, why can't they install automated verification systems? Seems pretty backwards, doesn't it?"
Another pause and Keno continued speaking, "Anyways, no point complaining. No one is going to listen to my comments. Also, damn you both are quite some good-looking men! I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a job here. Ah, but I still think Officer Minjoon is the most good looking."
Yeonwoo and Reno exchanged glances, disbelief written all over their face. This guy is so talkative!
Before Keno could continue his rant about the most good-looking men he has seen in the imperial city, Minjoon interrupted him. "The reason you were stationed here is because you are incompetent. End of story."
Ouch.
"Now, get back to your duty and stop slacking off. If I find you wasting time again, I'll put in an application to deduct your salary and demote you. You can go back to washing military clothes."
That immediately shut Keno up. A look of disappointment came over his face and Yeonwoo found himself feeling bad for him. He reminded him a bit of Hyuk. He had a feeling the two of them would get along just well.
"Have a good day." Was all Keno murmured as the Minjoon walked away with Reno and Yeonwoo in tow.
Yeonwoo looked at Jeno and gave him a small thumbs up. Regardless of the fact that he was from the imperial city, he seemed like a nice person. Better than Minjoon and that senior officer anyways.
In an instant, Keno's face lifted up and gave him another huge smile. Before Yeonwoo could respond, Reno nudged him. Yeonwoo turned and looked at Reno, a look of question on his face. Reno pointed his face in the direction in front of them.
Yeonwoo's jaw dropped.
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