✓ the hooded princess • kim seungmin

f i f t y o n e

"This house is shit."

Jisung ignored what Yunseo said and continued cooking.

"No wonder Eun-gi let me live up there," he scoffed. "Idiot."

He remembered that by the time he was adopted, Yunseo's family was still living down here in the village. It must be weird that a distant royal clan lived here, but considering the troubles their ancestors had done to get the power back, it's no longer questionable.

When the king killed Yunseo's wife and son, he had no one else left except Jisung. Even so, the child was not his heir. His dead son was the one he could pass down the tradition to get their name back.

Now that Yoongi is here, he wanted to do the same but his plan failed.

His plan to kill Eunkyung failed twice, and Yoongi survived from the explosion. He did not know how to approach the other three daughters because they barely go out like their youngest sister.

So he wanted to use his last plan.

"The explosive substances we have right now is enough to blow up this entire village." he sang. "Their economy will slowly get affected because this village produced good wheat for the kingdom. They also have healthy horses. Ah, and more."

To be frank, deep down in his heart Jisung was against this plan.

He wanted to live in peace but what made him blinded was Seungmin.

He was furious that Seungmin got Eunkyung.

The jealousy inside him had put a veil between him and the heart. He refused to hear what it told him because he knew that would only make him lose her. Even now, he is losing.

Another reason was because he had no other place to support his life. Money and necessities were all from Yunseo. He should be grateful at that and return it with a favor - taking down the king.

Of course, it seem impossible because the Cho ancestors had failed but Yunseo was so determined. The rage and revenge that came from the death of his family was eating him alive so he gathered as many men as he could to be his allies. He was near to achieve it but not until a few days ago. That disappoints both of them.

"Food's ready." Jisung announced while bringing the plate to the table. He returned to the kitchen and ate there. He did not want to be in the same table as Yunseo.

This was their routine for the past week. They couldn't do anything. Yunseo was still trying to reach out for his men. Jisung only went out to buy groceries. He was tempted to go to the river near the cottage but it was too risky for him.

Their life were boring.

However the next day, Jisung decided to go to the river. Just right behind the cottage was the forest, and he needed to walk for a minute to reach the river.

The guy brought along extra clothes. These days the weather were too hot so he wanted to cool off a bit. He did not have to worry about the people finding him there because no one goes beyond the forest due to the current situation.

Sound of water splashing against the rock was so fresh in his ears. The tall trees covered most of the sunlight. The morning definitely would be dimmer and a little cooler than the afternoon later.

Jisung dipped his body into the river. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips. He closed his eyes while leaning on a huge rock, feeling the cold water wetting his bruised body. He missed being this calm.

Around fifteen minutes passed, he was still underwater. The guy swam around and encountered fishes swarming his feet. This is definitely something he needed after a long restless time.