Rewritten Fate (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction-New)

Assassination Arc (IV)

--Continuation of the Flashback--

The afternoon wind blew gently, the clouds were drifting slowly in the sky. The sun was starting to go back home, as well as the little animals that were out searching for food. It was such nice comfy weather, a really suitable time to relax. But all of them seemed to have no effect on the occupants inside the living room.

'How nice it would be if I can watch the cloud outside...' 

Yona thought as she sadly looked at the orange sky. 

'Instead, I need to spend my precious time with him...' 

she looked at the other occupant from the corner of her eyes, the almighty King Joo-Nam. The said man didn't even bother to look back at her, even though he obviously knew what Yona was doing. He kept drinking his tea with the absolute elegance that made Yona feel envy.

Unconsciously, she let out a tiny sigh, which didn't go unnoticed to the old king. She turned back to her warm tea and kept staring at it. They had been drinking tea for quite a while now, but the awkward atmosphere had yet to lessen. The silence between both of them didn't even help any better.

Honestly, she felt a little timid around this old king. She couldn't help it since he was the almighty emperor who she hadn't encountered before. 

She had absolutely no knowledge and no information regarding this so-called emperor. Although, she would be lying if she said she didn't admire him, not when the said person had this unrivaled charisma. She could practically feel his strong aura, the aura of a veteran leader.

She didn't realize that she had zoned out for quite some time and only came back to the world of living after hearing a deep voice talking. 

"Staring at the tea will not make it gone." The King remarked. She blinked a few times before staring blankly at the old man in front of her.

"Ha...ha..." she forced out a half-hearted laugh before taking a sip. But as soon as she tasted it, she choked. 

'It's so BITTER!!!' She felt like crying and already did internally. 

She forced herself to gulp it down before she really spits it out. The bitterness had even numbed her tongue; the taste was still lingering there. She eyed the tea with utter horror. 

'This taste even worse than any medicine that I've ever drinks before!'

"How is the tea?" She heard the king asked. She stared blankly at him, hesitated to answer him, unsure of whether she needed to be honest or not. 

"It's...delicious...?" she answered, or more like questioning herself. But the king didn't comment it. Instead, he just nodded. Yona could practically see a gleam in his eyes.

"It's a tea from far away." he said with a hint of amusement, making Yona's jaw almost falls off. 

'Am I supposed to say anything there?!' She thought. 

It seemed like the old king also had a good humor sense. Not only that, like all old people ever existed in this world, they had ways to just make fun of their younger generation just for their own amusement.

'oh well, they have lived their life for a long time... guess they just need a stress relief after walking those stressing journey... But even so! It doesn't give them any right to tease us like that!' she pouted. 

Suddenly, an image of a certain old general of the Earth Tribe with an annoying smirk flashed to her mind, making her more irritated than before.

"Yona." Her own thought was broken by a single call of her name. Startlingly, she looked at King Joo-Nam. "Y-yes?"

The king didn't resume the conversation. He looked long and hard on Yona, scrutinized her thoroughly. His piercing eyes made Yona feel naked like he could see through her every little lie. It seemed like he is contemplating something.

"Who are you?"

That single question froze Yona.

"...pardon?"

Her heart was hammering and she could feel cold sweat starting to form on her head. She didn't take into account that her Grandfather would find her out. After all, she had worked really hard to conceal the fact that she was from the future. 

'Does he know?' she observed him cautiously.

"You are not Yona, are you?"

Even though he posed that as a question, it didn't exactly sound like one. It was more like stating a fact, firm and confident with every word that he let out. His stares were intensifying, daring her to contradict him.

"What... are you talking about, Grandfather?"

The king scoffed. 

"A two-year-old child cannot talk this fluently," he remarked sarcastically, which made Yona bite her bottom lips as a result of frustration. 

'Of course. No normal two-year-old child can talk like I did. And to think that I don't even realize it!' she mentally scolded herself.

Seeing her gone quite, the king let out a deep sigh. 

"A normal child doesn't show this kind of maturity either, young one," he said, giving chills on Yona's body. 

Yona didn't dare to look at him at all, opting to stare at the floor.

'What now... he has caught me. I should have known that things won't go smoothly.' she mused. 

She pressed her lips into a thin line, her forehead was adorned with frowns. 

'Well... grandfather already through a lot, he has a vast experience in the battlefield...' she let out a big sigh. 

King Joo-Nam heard it but didn't say anything. His gaze didn't leave Yona, even when Yona was busily musing there.

On the other hand, Yona was weighing the pros and cons of telling him her amazing story. 

'Telling him might make my life easier... but can I? And what part should I tell him? All of it? Or only the summary?' She was clearly distressed, as this is not an easy problem. 

She closed her eyes, replaying her past life which was not pretty in the least. 

'But...' she opened her eyes again and turned her head up, looking straight at the source of her stress. Her eyes were meeting with expectant eyes.

"I'll be blunt then, grandfather. I don't trust you, and thus, I don't think I can tell you," she said firmly. 

She knew that she was being rude, what with this disobedience and all. But she couldn't tell him, couldn't tell her father or even anyone about her life journey. Because war made and shaped her into what she was right now, an individual who felt suspicious of anyone and cautious about anything. 

It wasn't that she liked to be distrustful toward the others, but she preferred to be safe than sorry. She just hoped that this old emperor would not be insulted with her show of distrust.

But it seems that her worries were all for nothing as the king just scoffed. 

"You think I haven't known that?" he rolled his eyes. 

"I already knew that you are a hard one, I was just gambling. It would be great if I get an answer. Though it wouldn't be a problem if I don't." he said with a deadpanned face.

Yona didn't even know how she should act. She just stared at him in disbelief. 

'Is this how the supposed supreme emperor acts in his daily life?'

She shook her head to clear her mind. 

"If that's all, then I'll excuse myself, Grandfather." she bowed, wanting to be out from the older one's sight as quickly as possible. But it seemed that indeed, today, the lady of fortune was not on her side.

"Let's have a match." the king stated, motioning for his servant to come. Yona could only give him a puzzling gaze.

"Huh?"

To Be Continued