Like Mother: A Hwarang Prequel

Chapter 3: Searching

When I wake up I could tell I'd been thinking of him even in my slumber.

I need to stop this misbehavior and go back to focusing on finding Jinheung. I wish there were something I could do while I'm here. I feel useless.

There's a knock and a gentle voice that says, "Your Highness, breakfast is served. Prince Onjo would like it if you could eat with him."

That's new.

"I'll be out in a minute." Quickly, I jump out of bed, swing open the closet, and pull out my nicest outfit. I throw it on and then do my hair and makeup, finishing up with a little tiara. Is it too much? Nah. I open my door to find one of Onjo's servants waiting. He leads me through the hallways towards the grand dining room where Onjo waits i. his seat. When he sees me he jolts right up and comes to pull out my chair, and I feel my blood level rise again.

"Good mo- You okay? You seem flustered." He rushes over to me and I want to tell him to stop because he's making it worse. He reaches out and supports me by the shoulders. I think I'm going to faint - but I don't. He carefully guides me to my seat and sits me down.

"Thanks."

"I'm worried about you," he says, and my insides prance around.

"Don't. I'm fine."

He snickers and says, "I have an urgent matter to attend to and have to go over to Silla. Come with?"

"Are you kidding me? I just got away from there."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. So you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I have a lot to do here. Can I ride your horse?"

"Of course. I have five. Just take your pick."

Is he showing off right now?

He smiles back at me.

Onjo's servant interrupts us to let us know that it's time for him to go.

"I'll be back in a few hours," says Onjo. Then he turns to his court lady and says, "take care of her."

I can feel myself blush.

Man, do I love horses. And Onjo's are so well groomed and cleaned.

"Your Highness," says one of the servants. "Prince Onjo suggested you try riding Snowflake here. She is very friendly and calm."

"Oh, that boy."

"What...Is so amusing, Your Highness?" He hesitantly asks when I laugh.

"Nothing. Inside joke. Which one of these babies is the fiercest?"

"That would be Shadow here, Your Highness," he explains as he leads me towards a handsome, black beauty.

"He's perfect. I'll take him."

That evening, I'm awake in bed until I hear the gates open. I slip out and glide towards the window, and sure enough it's Onjo's carriage. He's only been gone for a few hours but I can't stand being away from him. I get back into bed and wait.

A few minutes later, there's a knock on the door. "Sookmyung, you awake?" He asks softly in his deep voice.

"Yeah, come in."

He's holding a large, finely wrapped box, presumably a present, with a grin on his face. I make space on the bed so he could sit beside my legs. I love presents.

"I got you something," he says as he slides it over to me.

Doing my best to hide my excitement (and probably failing to), I unveil the red ribbon, then the blanche lid. It's not what I'd expected. At all. As I stare at the painting, the image of my laughing kind brother briefly passes through my mind. The painting is of the two of us, tall, proud, and, I guess, royal. I let the tears fall naturally as I take a moment to simply miss him. I slightly forget Onjo is here.

He pulls me close immediately and kisses my head. It's actually a bit comforting. "We're gonna find him," he says sternly in his manly voice. It's hot how confident he sounds.

Then, for the first time, I feel like opening up my wounds in front of someone. "I just hope he's safe."

"If your mother is taking care of him, that means he is, doesn't it?"

I pull away to catch my breath. "You know my mother, Onjo. She's capable of any crazy thing."

"I know. I'm still having my men look into this, okay?"

I nod. "Thank you. All the best private investigators in Silla just gave up. I know they did everything they could, but..."

"I know," he says, cutting me short. And he does know. That's one of the things I like about him - he gets me. "If your- I mean, when your brother returns, how do you think things are going to change?"

"Everything will be better - everything. The officials are tired of my mother and they're not a big fan of the idea of marrying me off just to maintain the kingdom. They just really want Jinheung to claim his throne already."

"Right. Do you know if they're doing an investigation of their own?"

"I'm pretty sure they are. Pao tells me that Minister Park has been acting "extra shady" recently."

"Wait, were those his-"

"Yeah, those were his exact words."

We laugh quietly so not to wake anyone.

I'm now very tired and Onjo can tell.

"Alright," he says. "Well, I'll let you get some rest now." He kisses my forehead and turns to leave - but I catch him by the wrist. A little startled, he looks down to my hand and then to my face.

"Why don't you stay?"

He slowly and seductively grins.