When Fates Collide | ATEEZ

𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕺𝖓𝖊

Three Years Later

Three years had passed since Seonghwa vowed his allegiance to the Nation as their new King.

The eight districts had seen drastic changes, with the Imperial Guard's new military strategy pulling thousands of people out from poverty. The program provided them with food and shelter as well as new skills in combat and farming, bringing the previous business-minded generations back down to their basic needs with a sustained emphasis on community. The new Imperial Cabinet oversaw the entire process, with the young King heading the operation alongside General Kim, Lieutenant Song and newly appointed Lord Jeong and Captain Choi.

The dynamic relationship between the young officials earned various reactions from the people. Most of the older generations were skeptical, with them not finding their security in the young leaders as they quickly began changing things within the Nation. The younger generations and those greatly affected by the poverty however, saw the changing of roles in the Imperial Cabinet as refreshing. To them it was a sign that their voices would finally be heard in a society where anyone from Districts 4 to 8 were previously over-looked.  

Once the program was underway, the older generations began to see the hope that the new King was providing for his people. Everyone saw how much more involved Seonghwa was with the condition of the Nation which all in all shifted their hearts to sincerely respect and admire their King.

The one thing that still remained a mystery throughout the Districts though was that of the identity of Choi Arae. She worked closely with General Kim and Lieutenant Song and became well-known as an instructor of the Imperial Guard. Other than that, only rumours were left as to who she really was and where she came from. Some thought she was a visiting Commander from another Kingdom, others assumed she was in a relationship with either the General or the Lieutenant, but the most popular rumour seemed to be that she was the King's mistress.

"Mistress? Captain Choi's King Seonghwa's mistress?"

"Shhh! Not so loud you idiot!"

"Yah! You didn't have to hit me!"

"You deserved it!"

"Ahem."

The two soldiers turned around slowly, their gazes meeting the girl they were just talking about with her arms crossed and an unimpressed expression on her face.

Their eyes widened before immediately bowing to her, "We're so sorry Captain Choi!" They apologised in synch, making Arae shake her head at them.

She sighed looking at their name tags, "Seo Changbin, Han Jisung. If you have time to sit around and spout nonsense like that, then I guess Lieutenant Song isn't pushing you hard enough?"

"N-no ma'am! Lieutenant Song has given us lots of work to do! We were just taking a break because we were too tired." Changbin responded with his head still bowed to her.

"I don't mind if you take a break. But you both need to remember that you're the ones who signed up to be Guards for District 8. If you are not ready for this type of responsibility then I'd advise you to go back to training with everyone else. Your role is to protect the people in these camps, you cannot overlook any one of them." She lectured as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

The two soldiers bowed again while apologising again before proclaiming that they would work harder to not let her down. She cracked a smile before nodding to them and turned to leave.

"Do you actually think she's his mistress?" Jisung whispered to his comrade, making Changbin look at him with disbelief.

"Get to work." Arae instructed firmly, staring straight at them as they flinched and scurried back to their posts.