Runaway | BTS FF/AU ✓

Chapter 28

A week has passed since Reese reunited with her personal guard and best friend in the tavern. She has always made sure to keep tabs on him, going so far as to lie about where she was going to Taehyung and SeokJin.

Reese hurriedly shoved a pair of clothes into her shoulder bag, keeping in mind that it was for Hoseok. The clothes he was wearing were torn, she saw when he showed her his injuries in his tavern room. She bit her lip at the thought- he was hurt because of her. Reese knew it was his job to fight for her and to keep her safe, but she couldn't help but think it was her fault that he would soon scar once his wounds were healed.

Today, she planned to look for a place for Hoseok to stay in while they figure out what to do. Just tomorrow he would be unable to pay for another night. Reese needed to figure something out soon. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she clasped SeokJin's cape around her body.

"Where are you going?" a voice suddenly asked, startling her.

Reese whipped her head around, staggering back as she made eye contact with a certain pink haired man.

"Jimin..." she whispered.

The man sighed as he gestured for her to sit. She hesitantly obliged, nervously sitting down in front of him in a chair.

"What's wrong? You've been staying up all night in my library for the past few days, reading all the medical books I have," he interrogated.

Her mind flashed to her guard, seeing all the red and white bandages wrapped around his arms, back and leg. The man had been slashed and cut by his opponent's swords, fighting so that she could escape. Reese couldn't begin to imagine the pain he must have felt.

The princess felt guilty that she had been lying to everyone since the beginning. They've all shown her so much kindness, yet she repays them with lies. Reese felt that things were going to get worse.

"Listen, if you can't tell me, then I will leave that up to your discretion," Jimin sighed. "But, be careful from now on. People will get suspicious if you keep going in and out of the castle without me."

"W-What?" she gawked.

"I know you have been using my name to get out of the walls," he confessed.

Reese took her eyes away from his, looking down at her hands. She nervously and guiltily fiddled with her fingers. She was caught red handed and now she was afraid of what was going to happen.

"You're from Asilrya, there's no doubt about it," he concluded. "I saw it when you stared at that tulip. There aren't many in the neighbouring kingdom, yet here, they infest half the town. And that hairpin..."

Reese unconsciously palmed her hip, right where the accessory was tucked into her dress. She felt compelled to look at Jimin and shocked by an ever so gentle expression on his face.

"The moment I laid eyes on it, I recognized it," he continued. "My mother created it."

"What?"

Reese couldn't believe the words she was hearing from the physician's mouth. His mother... created her hairpin? The gift from her own mother, his constructed with beautiful jewels and ingenuity?

"But then..."

"That's right, I'm from Asilrya," he nodded. "Before my family and I came here, my mother gifted the queen with that hairpin, thanking her for her influence on the women living in the kingdom. Because of her, my mom could open a store to sell her crafts. She was so happy to see her dream come true, and I was happy too."

Reese remembered visiting a humble store a few minutes away from her castle. She was amazed upon seeing the simplicity of the store, but seeing the intricate jeweled sitting inside made her fall in love with it. However, she also remembered-

"You were that boy!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I was the clumsy boy who slipped and spilled his cup milk on the princess of Asilyra," he chuckled.

The animosity and fear in her heart began to melt away. She began to feel comfortable about Jimin, because he came from her home.

"I'm tired of the war between Asilyra and Adarewien," Jimin scoffed. "Everything was perfect during the alliance between the two kingdoms. But now that Namjoon has taken over our kingdom, he doesn't plan to stop there. Eventually he will stab Adarewien in the back, and initiate a coup."

"He'll try to overthrow Taehyung?" Reese gasped.

"At this point, it's likely. I've heard that he his preparing his army for something huge," he answered. "Whatever it is, it won't be good for either of us, or Hoseok."

"Hoseok is holding up at a Tavern, we need to go to him."

"Couldn't agree more," Jimin nodded with a firm smile. "Let's save our home."