Chapter Text
Seo-bi, Beom-pal and Yeong-shin were left to exchange confused glances as Chang continued to address the man in a respectful manner. For a moment, the man, who they now knew as Min, took a second to study Chang's face.
Beom-pal found himself shifting awkwardly as the atmosphere grew tense. "What brings you all here?" Chi-rok asked simply, his face lacking any emotion as he continued to eye the prince.
Chang shifted and glanced over at the rest of the group, who remained still, before looking back to Chi-rok. "We're travelling through. The night is almost upon us and we haven't found a place to stay."
He watched as the man studied his face once more before returning an emotionless expression, only to glance at the four of them once more. He looked to Seo-bi and Yeong-shin for only a second, before his wandering gaze moved over to Beom-pal. He gave him a once over, seemingly interested in him more than the others.
Beom-pal became extremely uncomfortable under the older man's gaze. It was like a cat who had caught a whiff of catnip, his eyes staring at Beom-pal like a hawk.
"You look familiar." He said suddenly. His words left everyone in the room still, apart from Seo-bi who furrowed her eyebrows at his comment. Beom-pal shifted awkwardly, almost like a guilty child, to the point where his ears had gone bright red as the others stared at him in a confused manner.
"I look familiar to him?" He wondered to himself, thinking back to whether or not he'd ever come across this man before.
"I can't remember where I've seen you." he continued, his interest growing. This only made Beom-pal even more anxious. Chang observed the situation carefully, wondering where this was all leading to.
Seo-bi and Yeong-shin watched as Beom-pal squirmed from the situation. They had never seen him in such a nervous state before, almost like a rat stuck in a cage; terrified and vulnerable. "It's on the tip of my tongue." he persisted, now walking over to an uncomfortable Beom-pal.
The others' eyes followed as the man stood a little too close for comfort to the magistrate. Beom-pal spoke shakily, "You might... Know my uncle... Lord Hak-ju...".
This caused Chi-rok to stop dead in his tracks, his face hardening as his expression turned into that of shock. Upon hearing Beom-pal's comment, Seo-bi, Chang, and Yeong-shin all stared at the man, who now stood speechless.
"You... you are related to him?" he questioned, his voice hardening even more than it already had. Beom-pal felt himself tense up even more, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
"Mhm...?" The man studied Beom-pal's face like it was a painting, his eyes narrowing as he did so. It was as if Beom-pal's features reminded him of something, something that he loathed.
"What is your name?" he inquired, his expression still stern. Beom-pal cleared his throat, now feeling the eyes of the rest of the group on him as they observed the tense situation. Beom-pal gripped the end of his sleeves, swallowing thickly.
"Cho... Beom-pal..."
"Cho Beom-pal..." he repeated, a hint of disgust in his tone. This caught the attention of Seo-bi, who raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction. Beom-pal could feel his heart rate accelerating as the situation he found himself in was becoming more and more awkward.
Chi-rok continued to observe his face. It was almost as if he were searching for something within his features, something that he found either nostalgic or dreadful. Chang stepped up behind Chi-rok, his gaze one of disapproval.
"I believe you should stop interrogating Magistrate Cho now." Chi-rok's expression hardened once more in slight annoyance, but he didn't dare question the prince. He took a few steps back from Beom-pal, his gaze still lingering on him.
Seo-bi was now stood observing Beom-pal, concerned of his behaviour. Yeong-shin was also doing the same from the other side of the room. Beom-pal could feel their glances at him and averted his gaze, still feeling slightly flustered. Chi-rok walked into the back room of the house, gesturing the others inside.
"You said you needed somewhere to stay, hm?" Chang bowed his head curtly in response, before the group followed Chi-rok into the back room. The room was rather bare, containing little furniture apart from a small table and a futon in the corner.
"Please, sit."
As their host sat down in front of the table, Chang and the others followed and made themselves comfortable, their minds still reeling from the strange encounter.
All except Seo-bi, who was too preoccupied studying the magistrate, who sat unusually still with his eyes wandering, almost as if trying to avoid her gaze.
Upon noticing this subtle shift, Seo-bi raised an eyebrow once more. This was very out of character for the magistrate, who usually acted rather carefree. Now here he was, behaving more reserved than usual.
Seo-bi's mind began to wander with thoughts, wondering why the man, Chi-rok, had appeared so taken aback at Beom-pal's relation to hak-ju. She knew of their family's rivalry, but this reaction seemed to be more of a personal distaste.
Meanwhile, Beom-pal's mind was still in a daze over the previous event that had just taken place. He noticed Seo-bi staring at him from the corner of his eye, her gaze of concern directed mainly at him.
In the corner of the room, sat opposite to the futon, was another room that could faintly be seen from behind a curtain. It appeared this curtain was in fact the door, and it was wide open. Seo-bi's eyes wandered to it from Beom-pal, taking notice of the items that could be seen from within through the open curtain.
Seo-bi's eyes widened a little at the sight within the room. It was a weapon's room by the looks of it. But the most surprising item was that of the severed animals, which she could only assume to be from hunting.
Chang noticed Seo-bi's gaze and followed it to the weapon's room. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he took in the sight. Beom-pal and Yeong-shin both took note of the room, and shared wary glances between one another. Chi-rok observed the expression on their faces, a slight smirk crawling onto his face.
"Are my possessions worrying you all? I'm an archer of the Royal Commanders Division, it's normal." Chang noticed the smirk, immediately suspicious of the man's intentions. His expression hardened, which was seen by Chi-rok. "Something of that sort." he replied simply.
It was now evening, the sky a shade of orange and pink, and a faint chill could be felt in the air. Seo-bi stood by the open back door, observing the trees that moved gently with the breeze. The sound of footsteps approaching interrupted her thoughts, causing her to turn.
Behind her stood the familiar figure of Chang, his gaze lingering on her for a moment, before he stepped over and joined her viewing of the outdoors. The sound of footsteps approaching interrupted her thoughts, causing her to turn. Behind her stood the familiar figure of Chang, his gaze lingering on her for a moment, before he stepped over and joined her viewing of the outdoors.
"You should rest." Chang said simply, noticing how tired Seo-bi was. She didn't say anything in response, instead, focusing her gaze on the forest before them.
Chang let out a soft sigh, aware of her tendency to ignore the need to rest. He, himself, was tired as well, his eyes lingering on the side of her face as they stood silently by the door. "You need to look after yourself." he said suddenly, causing Seo-bi to flinch.
She turned her head to him, her eyes meeting his. "Listen, I'm just worried about this guy's intentions." Chang raised an eyebrow in response, wondering if she was referring to Chi-rok. "What makes you think he has ill intentions?"
"When I was in the room I saw something. That same plant that brought back the king."