~ a lily among thorns~

"you ran into me first!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A constant banging was what woke the Hwarangs up that morning. Nari struggled to open her weary eyes, still tired from the exciting adventure she'd shared with Yeo-Wool the day before. She could sense the others starting to stir around her.

"What is that?" Yeo-Wool whined, feeling his delicate cheeks with his eyes still firmly shut. "They really never let us sleep."

Suho stretched out his arms, grunting unhappily.

"What is that noise?!" Ban-Ryu complained, rolling around on his bunk.

Seonu and Ji-Dwi both sat up in sync, seemingly the least annoyed at the inconvenient sound. Nari was quick to follow, letting off a loud yawn. She then looked at Seonu, who appeared to be growing an expression of disbelief.

"It can't be..." he murmured, eyes widening.

"What is it?" Ji-Dwi asked in return, whilst Nari looked on puzzled.

"I know this drum sound," Seonu declared.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After getting dressed, the Hwarangs had followed the beating sound to their lesson room, being met with a strange man bashing sticks against a series of drums with great enthusiasm. They looked on in awe, except for Seonu who stared at the musician in confusion.

"Move over," Nari, whispered to Yeo-Wool who had taken a seat on the step.

He shuffled over, giving room for his friend to sit.

"Who do you think he is?" Nari continued, staring at the scene before her with curiosity.

Before he could answer, Hansung jumped in the spot besides Nari, a bright grin on his face.

"I don't know but he's good!" he exclaimed with admiration. "I wish I could play the drums like that!"

Nari smiled warmly at Hansung, giggling to herself as she imagined him clanging away with a pair of sticks to an unkempt rhythm.

"Listen up!" a voice demanded from the centre of the room, hushing the talkative Hwarangs.

Nari turned her eyes front, spying their teacher.

"The palace will host the Thanksgiving Festival soon," he continued with a chuckle. "You will present the Queen and the people with the gift of music and dance."

The Hwarangs began murmuring to each other with surprise.

"Are you telling us to dress up, dance and play music for the Queen?!" Banryu questioned sternly, unamused at the presented idea.

"I'm not telling you to perform for the Queen. I'm telling you to present the people with dance and music," the teacher replied with a laugh. "So that they can enjoy it and be happy. This is your second assignment...you must bring enjoyment."

Seonu lowered his gaze with discouragement, whilst Ji-Dwi buried his head in his hand, already embarrassed. Nari, however, couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"This sounds so fun!" she whispered excitedly to Yeo-Wool and Hansung beside her.

Hansung nodded enthusiastically in return, whereas Yeo-Wool tried to at least fake a smile.

"This man here will teach you how to play instruments and how to dance. He is Master Woo-reuk. You should be honoured to hear his music first-hand," the teacher stated, motioning to the person standing beside him.

"Is he really Woo-reuk, Master of music from Gaya?" Yeo-Wool asked skeptically.

"Who?" Nari began.

"Is he really that famous?" Suho inquired over top of her.

"I have heard of him," Hansung explained with awe. "There's no instrument he can't play."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Master Woo-reuk played on for hours, demonstrating the art of harmony and rhythm to the quite clueless men before him. Finally, he stood up, ready to let his students join in.

"Rhythm doesn't suppress the freedom of the melody. Rather, rhythm gives the melody strength to carry on without getting tired," he spoke with wisdom. "Now, all of you! Loosen up and feel the rhythm! Do you understand?"

"Yes!" the Hwarangs replied with unison, eager to begin learning themselves.

"Very good," Master Woo-reuk said. "Now I will split you into partners. You will work together as a team to develop your skills."

The man began partnering off the men. When he reached Nari, he laid his hand on her shoulder and pointed across the room.

"Partner up with him."

Nari looked at Yeo-Wool, who she had hoped to be with. He glanced back at her with distress, knowing that sending her off to someone else would be risky, concerning her identity. Nari gulped, about to protest, but Master Woo-reuk had already moved on, now matching up Yeo-Wool and Hansung. Defeated, she glanced to the other side of the room to see who she would be with, her eyes meeting with...Ji-Dwi's.

"Oh no..." she sighed internally. "He's already suspicious of me...now I have to partner with him?"

Nari stood up straight, forcing a smile on her face.

"Just act natural! Everything will be fine!"

Slowly, she made her way to where Ji-Dwi was standing. He rolled his eyes at the sight of her.

"Yah!" Nari yapped, offended by the gesture. "I'm not that bad."

"Whatever you say," Ji-Dwi replied, causing Nari to redden even more with anger.

"Quiet everyone! Practice begins now! With your partner, I want you to drum together, keeping in time with one another." Master Woo-reuk instructed.

Nari side-glanced at Ji-Dwi, who was smiling smugly to himself.

"Too easy," he thought.

Sitting on the steps together, the two began composing a rhythm.

"Yah! You're going too slow!" Ji-Dwi complained to Nari, ceasing his drumming in frustration.

"It's you who's going too fast!" Nari defended herself, secretly shocked at how good the Hwarang was with instruments.

Ji-Dwi sighed, placing the drum down beside him.

"Let's stop this and practice the dancing instead."

"Alright," Nari replied lowly, slightly humiliated at his words.

Listening in to the music that the master was playing, the pair began elegantly swaying through the air in time, letting the rhythm control their movements. Their interpretations of the harmony must have been different, however, as not long after they began, they had run into each other.

"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!" Nari yelled out in pain, hopping around with one shoe in her clutch.

"Yah! You ran into me first!" Ji-Dwi argued, clinging to his ribs which had collided with Mouse's elbow.

"I'm going to take a break," Nari grumbled, hobbling towards the physician's room.

"Alright...but we still need to practice. Meet me by the river later today," Ji-Dwi instructed, but Nari kept her eyes before her, not sparing him a glance.

"Did he just ignore me?!" Ji-Dwi mumbled to himself with shock. "If only he knew who I was, it would be a different story."

And the Hwarang couldn't help but chuckle.