haven - zb1

13

Breakfast was a simple, quiet affair. Everyone knew they needed to move forward after yesterday's activities, but none of them knew exactly what had to be done. The rain poured on, unending and too heavy to do anything, so once full and bored, slowly they slunk off to do their own things.

Soon, the only ones still sitting around the table were Jiwoong, sipping coffee, Quanrui, pushing fruit across his plate, Gyuvin, his plate still full and Yujin, who mainly was there to wait for Gyuvin. To break the silence, Jiwoong asked, "What are the two of you planning to do today?"

Gyuvin and Yujin seemed unsure, so Jiwoong added, "Definitely not training for now. We'll have to wait for the rain to die down."

Yujin perked up, "I wanted to show you something. I found something here that I think you'll like." Jiwoong looked intrigued too so Yujin elaborated, "I was wandering around and I found a really cool pavilion and a lake."

It was as if the caffeine finally kicked into Jiwoong's system, "You must have found the Lunar Pavillion." Quanrui leaned back and watched his senior's elated expression, now not exasperated but slightly amused.

"The what."

"The Lunar Pavillion. Traditionally, it's where we'll receive our challenge."

"How does that work?" Gyuvin asked, scrunching his nose up. Jiwoong shrugged, "We were told that spirits led the previous generation. You could say that all that hand holding resulted in...what our elders are like now. But maybe it'll be better with us."

Gyuvin had polished off his plate and Quanrui decided to desert his uneaten food, so the four decided to head for the Lunar Pavillion.

Luckily, Yujin clearly remembered the route and after navigating the paths, they found the breathtaking view. When they finally reached the safety of the pavilion, Gyuvin lowered the air dome he created to shield them from the drizzle and they took in the sight.

The rain was starting to lighten, and the sky was pretty pale blue. Yujin breathed in the lovely rain scent, a warm sense of peace enveloping him.

"This place is nice huh," Jiwoong let out a long exhale, "Makes you feel like everything's all good and peachy."

"You're losing it old man," Quanrui scoffed, but he closed his eyes as the wind rustled his hair.

"Are we sparring today?" Gyuvin asked, snapping his fan open as if it wasn't already windy enough.

"We should," Jiwoong said thoughtfully, "After all, there truly isn't anything else to do here."

"I'm sitting out," Quanrui announced, "Zhang Hao did a number on me."

"You were really cool though," Yujin said, a little quietly. The former looked stunned, before coughing shyly and thanking him.

The drizzle had finally ceased, the weak rays of sun gradually warming the chilly air. "We should start heading back," Jiwoong suggested, "Find the others and figure out what to do next."

"Alright, captain," Gyuvin joked, and they followed the eldest down the stone path. Yujin turned to give one last look to the serene, still lake, before hurrying behind the others.

-

They took a detour, mostly because Jiwoong wanted to take a look around. Indeed, they were still incredibly unfamiliar with the palace they were to live in for an undisclosed period of time.

The further they walked, the denser the foliage grew, until they were practically shoving it away from their faces just to see the path before them. "There's so much plant here," Quanrui complained, after Jiwoong accidentally released a branch that smacked Quanrui cleanly in the face.

"Does this mean we're not supposed to be here?" Yujin suggested, swatting leaves from his head. Jiwoong ignored both their remarks, determined to push through.

Finally, they stumbled into a clearing, where before them was a small room, similar to their own, but isolated, no gardens, no pools and no balconies. Just a simple, lonely room.

"What room is that?"

It seemed like Jiwoong had been purposely looking for this room, and he replied, breathless from awe, "That's his room."

"Oh."

"Usually, the heirs avoid entering the room, mostly out of respect. But also kind of because they're scared of what would happen if they did."

Yujin looked crestfallen, but then Jiwoong added, "But I think recently, the elders have been encouraging us to enter the room. Mainly so we can understand more of him, his history and his roots."

"Then...should we try going in?"

The door was faded, worn wood, looking so fragile Jiwoong hesitated before lightly pressing the tips of his fingers against it. Light dust clung to his fingers but the door didn't crumple so Jiwoong pushed the door open. The intense musty smell hit them instantly, Quanrui raising his hand to his nose, the air users gently clearing the air around them.

"Huh," Quanrui remarked, the first one to poke his head into the room. Besides the layer of dust lining every bare surface, the room was quite tidy and neat. The four carefully entered the room, Jiwoong cracked open an ancient book on a table and was instantly engrossed. Yujin knelt down at the large, stuffed bookshelf, dragging his finger across the spines, then winced at the dust he agitated.

Then, he noticed that while most of the books were even and of the same height, there was a slim book that would have gone unnoticed had he not dropped himself to that level. Yujin spared a quick glance to the others, who were all busy themselves, then he plucked the book out.

"What are you doing?" In his fright Yujin nearly dropped the book, when he raised his head he noticed the five other heirs approaching the room. "How did you find us?" Gyuvin asked, mostly baffled they made their way through all the plants easily. Zhang Hao gave him a look, then gestured mildly at the two House of earth heirs. "Ah, right."

The five newcomers looked intrigued and curious, all started to look around the room too, picking books off the shelf or poking miscellaneous trinkets. Gunwook even patted the untouched bed, whistling at how dusty the sheets were.

"How long have you guys been here?" Hanbin asked. "Forget that," Taerae interrupted, "What's new?"

Jiwoong shrugged, "Just some good history."

"Are we allowed in here?" Woohyun asked, tearing his attention from an open book he cradled in his arms. "Who knows," Jiwoong shrugged, "But this is more interesting than the library here."

When greeted with their clueless expressions, Jiwoong sighed, "There is a library here. But it's small and boring. Everything there has been copied into our own libraries."

The nine were gradually losing interest in reading, so Zhang Hao suggested they head to the training grounds. "Anyone interested in sparring today?"

Hanbin immediately volunteered, an excited smile dancing at his lips. "Then I'll give it a go," Taerae beamed his signature grin, and Hanbin high-fived him energetically, eliciting peals of laughter when Taerae nearly fell over from the force.

As they all got up and dusted themselves off to leave, Yujin slipped the book behind his back as he trailed at the back of the group heading off to train.