❛ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ❜ | jsc

17

sungchan and bom had found a peaceful place close to the inn sungchan was staying at. bom had taken a basket with all different kinds of tasty foods in it. as she happily ate her self made sandwich, sungchan silently sat next to her, not having any appetite.

bom noticed how he hadn't eten anything. "why aren't you eating?"

"not hungry" he mumbled, picking a flower and ruining it. that's how he felt, a ruined flower in a field with beautiful flowers around him.

bom sighed as she put her sandwich down. "you seemed very shocked that i was your soulmate, how come?" she asked.

"you told me you already had a soulmate, isn't it weird that you're suddenly mine?" he answered her. her cheeks turned red of embarrassment, regretting that she had told him about the boy.

"it just- disappeared" she remembered when she felt a sharp sting and her soulmate mark had suddenly changed to a dove. she had recognised the little mark but couldn't place where she had seen it before.

only when sungchan had been on the mission for two days already, did she realise where she had seen the little dove before.

when sungchan proposed to her, his sleeve slit down a little, showing the dove on his wrist. even though she knew he was getting closer to his soulmate, him proposing to her meant he took the marriage serious which was the only thing she needed to say yes to him.

sungchan shook his head at her. "there's something fishy about your situation, something had to happen." he told her as he got up it, walking away from her.

she quickly got up as she ran after him. "sungchan wait- nothing happened. stop walking so fast!" she bumped into his back as he had suddenly stopped with her realising it too late.

"couldn't you warn-"

"shut up" he said, quickly covering her mouth. she furrowed her brows, following the gaze to see what he was looking at.

a group of bandits rode past them, hurrying somewhere, making it hard for sungchan to see who they are. he noticed a girl tied up on the back of one of the bandits, but before he could take a better look at who the girl could be, the bandits were gone.

he let out his breath that he didn't know he was holding in. "wasn't that that girl you're friends with?" bom asked him, grabbing his attention immediately.

"what?! that was aera?" he asked her. she questionably nodded her head, being taken back by his sudden concern since they were just friends after all.

a horse stopped at the pair. "sungchan have you seen a group of bandits riding past here? they got aera" renjun breathed out, trying to catch his breath.

"yes and we need to go now"

"we?" renjun asked him. the moment he asked, sungchan climbed on renjuns horse, sitting behind him. "we don't have time for arguing just go!"

"wait what about me?" bom asked, panicking. "just- make sure you get somewhere safe" sungchan told him, leaving bom behind as the two boys rode off to chase the bandits.

after a ride of almost an hour, they managed to keep up with the bandits, following them from a distance. the bandits suddenly stopped, making the two boys forced to make a stop too.

they watched how the group slowly began making camp, as it was getting darker, night soon to come. sungchan got off renjuns horse as renjun did so too, tying the horse on a branch.

"what do we do now?" renjun asked sungchan. "we wait until they've fully made camp, have gone to bed and then we sneak in"

"that's the most stupid idea i've ever heard. that only works in books. we will totally get caught" renjun objected. sungchan glared at him. "do you have a better idea?"

renjun slowly shook his head. "thought so. this is the only chance we have on rescuing her"

and so they waited for night to fall and the bandits to fall asleep. when the last bandit left into one of their tents, sungchan woke renjun up, who had dozen off. "wake up, they're sleeping"

renjun immediately opened his eyes, being wide awake. he got up as he pulled his hood over his head. the pair left renjuns horse as they carefully made their way over to the camp.

sungchan looked around, noticing a big tent right in the middle. "that's where aera must be" he whispered, receiving a nod from renjun.

"who is aera?" a sudden voice said. sungchan felt his heart beating faster as he turned around, only to be met by one of the bandits. he eyed renjun, panicking, but noticed renjun was just as scared.

"no one?" sungchan carefully brought out. the bandit raised a brow as he looked at the pair up and down. "you look like people from the palace. i don't think you would be here for no one" he noted.

sungchan didn't know what to say, scared that he'd get captured. "so what's the palace like?" the young bandit asked them, his eyes sparkling and his expression bursting with excitement.

renjun and sungchan looked confusedly at each other.

"is it big? do you have a lot of dogs there? i love dogs" he continued.

sungchan cleared his throat. "we don't have a lot of dogs... mothe- the queen doesn't like animals" he honestly told him.

"i know i'm a bandit and all, but i've been born into this life. i want to be able to try something new, like living in the palace! please take me with you, please? please, please, please" the bandit bagged.

"if you help us free aera maybe i will consider" sungchan promised him. he didn't know if this answer was the one he'd been looking for but it was the only one he'd get.

the bandit gasped. "no way! you guys are the best" he wheezed, waking other guards up. a much older guard tiredly got out of his tent, noticing the pair from the palace.

"i know you! you're trying to take the girl! stop them!" the man said as he pointed towards renjun. sungchan didn't hesitate and grabbed renjuns hand, running back to where his horse was.

"wait we can't leave aera here" renjun tried to object. "but if we won't get out of here alive it is useless to rescue her" sungchan told him, pulling him with him.

the young bandit had grabbed his horse and rode towards the two boys. "hop on! you'll be faster this way" he told them.

renjun got on immediately, knowing sungchans words were true. the young price however, didn't know if the young bandit was to be trusted. he was a bandit after all. after he turned around to see he was followed by multiple bandits he also hopped on.

the three boys rode away, loosing the group of bandits who were chasing them. as they rode, the bandit turned his head around.

"my name is chenle by the way, zhong chenle"