castle runaway. ᵈᵒⁿᵍʰʸᵘᶜᵏ

FIFTY EIGHT

Monique's POV

Haechan and I searched the whole house because of how bored we were. Upon searching the place, we came across a chessboard. Of course, he cockily challenged me into a fight. I shook his hand while smirking.

"Deal."

We set up the chess board on the living room table. Haechan will be playing the white pieces while I will be with the black. He did some stretching on his fingers but I just rolled my eyes and made the first move.

Our chess fight went on for a few more minutes and it was intense. He was also good at it. In the middle of our fight, I laughed at him because he was sweating so bad. His hairs near his forehead were wet.

He just glared and laughed along, but nervously. I moved another piece and he did the same after. Bit by bit, his chess pieces were getting eaten by mine and all is left was the king. All my pieces surrounded his.

"Checkmate." I announced and crossed my leg over the other. Haechan groaned in defeat and let himself fall on the floor. "What?! You're so good at this!" I tossed him a handkerchief and he wiped it on his forehead. "I was bored in the castle. Mark taught me."

He smiled and folded his legs. "Can you tell me more about this Mark?" He asked. I smiled and hugged my knees. "He's my swordsmanship teacher. He's also the head knight of the Royal Knights. He was a good man."

"I can tell he was." Haechan cupped his cheeks and continued to listen. "Ever since we were young, he already helped me on trying to escape the palace. That's why he trained hard to get his place as the head knight so he can control the guards, but he failed to do so.

"I begged for him to teach me swordsmanship so that I can defend myself. At first, he did not want to, but he reconsidered. He was a good fighter and also good at fencing. He taught Jisung that as well."

"Who's Jisung?" My smile widened because of how cute Haechan is right now. "He is a fencing student of Mark. One of my close friends, too. He is a year younger than me but he's taller. Maybe even taller than you," Haechan pouted because of what I said.

"I want to see him again, I really do. He promised me that when I come back, he will be the head knight. I believe that he will," I said. "Back to Mark, he also loved me.. romantically." He nodded. "Yes, you told me that."

The both of us suddenly became silent, then he asked honestly, "Did you love him?" He did not sound angry or jealous, just pure confusion. I shrugged. "As a friend, but we were not on the same boat," My lips formed into a small smile.

"I love someone else." As I said that, my gaze landed on him, and he was looking at me too. We gave each other smiles and I immediately looked away, blushing. I stood up and cleared my throat.

"Anyway, it is already lunch so I am going to help you cook something for us." I said and started to put the pieces inside its set. "Hmm, fine. Bring your shield." He said while walking to the kitchen. I didn't understand what he said but then I recalled the event when I first cooked.

I chuckled while hiding back the chess board to its place under the book shelf. "I will." I replied and followed Haechan. He started to prepare vegetables for a soup. It was also getting cold outside, looking like it is going to rain any time soon.

He took a carrot and peeled its skin and cut off the green part of it. He laid it on the chopping board and started to chop it. I watched how he sliced it. "Can I try?" I asked. He smiled and nodded, handing me another carrot and the knife.

I did the same thing he did earlier but I chopped the carrot slowly. When I made sure I was getting the hang of it, I started to slice it in a fast manner. I was a fool for doing so because I cut my finger.