Yoongi focus

Anil Temple was huddling into the corners of Apsan Mountain in the south of the capital. It was a place Yoongi barely visited, but now he had a dire need to do so. It was half an hour's ride to reach the place that would make most people speechless.

"Master Min," the head monk greeted him with a warm smile when he entered through the gate.

The yard beneath the temple was filled with neat rows of young monks who performed sword practice, a sight that would make most believers lose faith. For Yoongi this was a sight to be proud of. Anil Temple was the first school of spies he had established after he had become head of spy bureau. It was his firstborn.

"Monk Han," he greeted the man back. "The palace is in dire need of loyal servants," he explained while watching the practice of the monks.

"Then master Min came to find the right place. Should we go inside?" monk Han asked him politely. He nodded and followed the old man to the side-building.

On a small table beneath a window that opened into the forest steaming tea was already prepared. Yoongi snorted quietly at the sight. He should be used to the master's foresight by now, but it never ceased to amaze him.

They sat down and monk Han poured them two cups. Yoongi blew on it and drank.

"The palace has suffered severe losses over the summer," he explained what he knew master Han knew. "I want a personal guard for every royal family member, and I need one of your physicians."

The monk nodded, blowing on his own cup. "I suppose you want some men with outgrown hair?" he asked then. To allow good cover, Yoongi ordered some monks to grow out their hair to pose as common people.

"If possible, yes. But to be honest with monk Han: at this point I no longer care," Yoongi sighed in response and let his gaze sweep out of the window. He felt like he had failed his task of protecting the Kim family in every way possible. He should not have trusted the ministry of personnel blindly but sent out his own people to investigate. He should not have wasted time with finding the assassins but thrown everyone out after the late emperor's murder. He should not have leaned back after finding Tasung but searched further. He had grown old but was still so green behind his ears.

"I allowed myself to send someone after your physician Jo," the monk said after they had sat in silence for a while. "Is master Min interested?"

"I am," Yoongi replied and looked at the monk. Nothing could shock him anymore, so he was not at all surprised to hear that there was more to physician Jo than his impressive pharmacy and fame.

"If one digs deep enough into the dark circles that reside within the capital, one can find whispers of the name Silent Kim," monk Han said. "Physician Jo Woobin there is known as Kim Hyunjoong. If the price is high enough, he will adjust his treatment of a patient to his employer's wishes."

"Why did we never hear of this before?" Yoongi wanted to know.

"Because no one ever expected a renown and praised medic, who saved innumerable lives, to be a killer," the monk admitted. "And barely anyone can afford him. My man reported that he expects to be paid in gold."

Yoongi's eyebrows raised at that, and to his discomfort, his respect rose with them. The fact that physician Jo charged this high showed that he was not interested in killing for people with petty grudges. Paying in gold for a kill was bound to make the attempter think thrice. How unfortunate that gold was not an issue for Hwon.

Yoongi was burning to know what that twofaced silent bastard had thought when he had stuck his death-bringer into the consort. Had he pondered over the reasons, had he felt nothing, did he know who was behind it? He must have known. Someone with half a brain working in the palace could figure out that they were targeted by Hwon. He must have known, so why did he damage his own kingdom? Indifference? Was that it? Or someone who was excited to see the world burn?

"Were you able to find him?" Yoongi wanted to know.

Monk Han shook his head. "In his pharmacy, the most expensive ingredients were missing, so I suppose he left this life behind."

Yoongi considered it, but then he shook his head. "He is only good at one thing, and he seems arrogant enough to do the same again. Spread word to look out for new pharmacies opening."

"How far should master Min's order spread?" the monk asked him.

"Hang prayers in all the temples in the three kingdoms. I want everyone to look for him," Yoongi ordered and rose. "I must leave."

Monk Han stood up as well and bowed to him. "May Buddha's light be with you."

"I've been enlightened long ago," Yoongi murmured and stepped outside where the new monks were still practicing. "What I need is a wonder."

"It is not my place to speak," the monk said quietly behind him. "But did that wonder not happen already?"

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Jungkook focus

The funeral of grand princess Kang was even worse than that of queen Soojin and the late emperor Kim.

"I want him to die!" the little princess cried in the arms of her brother. Taehyung looked like someone had disemboweled him, leaving only an empty shell with eyes staring into nothingness. "I want the garbage king to die in the worst way possible!" she screamed, face covered with tears.

Jungkook's heart hurt at the sight of the siblings, and he wondered if the pain in his chest would ever subside. Since Taehyung had woken up from the sleeping draught of physician To, he had cried himself to sleep every single night, making Jungkook's heart moan with sorrow. And Jimin was no different. Although he held his lover until the sobs turned into soft snores, his face became hollower with every passing day.

Jungkook, seeing his two best friends slowly withering away from loss and fear, felt useless. He could not say anything to make it better, nor do more than holding them to make them feel safe from the world that seemed to grit its teeth at them and breathe its rotten breath down their necks. But he was just as scared as them, scared that the next one vanishing was Taehyung or Jimin, and now that he looked at the little princess, also scared that she might follow her mother too early.

If he had not been sure of his feelings before, it became much clearer with the emotion that rose in his throat at the sight of the little princess' strong will breaking. He felt hate, such seething hate for the human trash who had caused his loved ones to suffer like this. With every tear of the princess his desire to skin the man alive grew stronger.

And when unexpectedly his eyes met her painfilled ones, a thought crossed his mind like a flash of lightning, and he could finally see the whole picture with blinding brightness, making him wonder why he had not thought of it before. The fortune he had been told as an infant was not one of death for his family, it was one of liberation. He was the one to free his family from suffering; he was the beast slayer, the brother born to swallow his brother. He was the light bringer, the peace that king Namjoon dreamed of.

His heart raced in his chest, leaving no space for pain. There was only determination. He had to leave. He had to leave now.

Silently, he turned away from the mourning crowd and vanished between the bushes to reach the guest quarters. Everything was so clear now. Why had he not seen this before?

Back at his residence, he grabbed his daggers and sword and wound a bundle with clothes. He would steal a horse from the stables and would be in Gimcheon before the royal family would even notice his absence. If he changed horses on the way, he could be in Daejeon in three days.

But when he stepped outside, his plan crumbled to pieces at the sight of advisor Min who waited for him with crossed arms.

"Where are you running, little soldier?" the man asked him coldly.

Jungkook took a deep breath and stood proudly. "To fulfill my destiny."

To his surprise, the shorthaired nodded. "If you ever need help," the man said, eyes meeting Jungkook's heavy with meaning, "ask for officer Woo Dohwan."

He threw something at Jungkook which the younger caught surprised. It was a pouch filled with jingling money.

"What..." Jungkook breathed out shocked. Advisor Min allowed him to leave? He even encouraged him to find help for his plan?

The advisor curled a finger at him to come closer. Jungkook followed. He gestured him to give him his hand. He did. The man placed something cold into his palm.

It was the green dragon jade.

"Don't forget who your real family is," advisor Min said, his voice raw and his black eyes swirling with emotion.

"Never," Jungkook whispered and closed his fingers around the pendant. Then he marched through the doors to follow his fate.

"Jungkook," he was called a last time. "Do you remember what it means to serve the king?"

Jungkook did not look back when he answered. "It means to take all the hatred in his stead, so that he can be loved and praised by the people."

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End of Book 2