Ki Ha skipped over to Sung Hoon with a big smile on his face. "P… Sung Hoon! Sung Hoon. Guess what I've done?!" Sung Hoon turned around. "I've asked Jinwoon to come and work at the palace as a chambermaid." Sung Hoon frowned. "Why would you tell hi… her that!" Ki Ha looked confused.
"She's not going to work. What… Never mind. You wanted to help but she's not going to work at the palace. The elder will never allow her to work as a mere chambermaid." Ki Ha looked disappointed but he was glad that Sung Hoon appreciated his effort.
"Let's hurry and finish up. I'll explain everything to Jinwoon later and take hi...her to the elder when we arrive at the palace." Sung Hoon patted Ki Ha's back. "Thank you anyway." Ki Ha was surprised. It had been years since Sung Hoon had shown his soft side.
It didn't take long for them to pack everything up and have breakfast with the rest. Do Hun and Jae Jin were not happy that Jinwoon was leaving. "You have to come visit us as soon as possible!" Jae Jin wanted to grab Jinwoon's hands but Beom Seok slapped his hand away.
"Stop being dramatic. But Jae Jin is right. Don't be a stranger." Jinwoon didn't know these people long but they felt more like family. "You made her cry!" Do Han glared at Jae Jin and Beom Seok. Jinwoon whipped away his tears before trying to give them a smile.
"I'll try and come by as much as possible." Beom Seok gave Jinwoon the bag with clothes and smiled while giving him a pat on the back. "Take care. If you experience any trouble, you can always come here." Jinwoon's lip was trembling. "I'll… I'll be… fine. I'll… I'll let you know when I arrive." Sung Hoon reached his hand out to help Jinwoon get on one of the horses.
"I'll walk." Jinwoon shook his head. Sung Hoon laughed. "They are gentle beasts. I don't want something to happen to you." Jinwoon pulled a face. Even on Earth, he had never been close to horses. He hesitated. "I'll be next to you all the way." Sung Hoon reached out again.
This time Jinwoon took his hand. Sung Hoon lifted him up like he didn't weigh a thing. Jinwoon looked down at Sung Hoon. "How do I steer?" Sung Hoon laughed. "You don't have to do anything. They are smart animals." Jinwoon was not impressed. After making sure that everything was packed, Ki Ha indicated that they could leave.
Jinwoon turned around and saw that Beom Seok, Jae Jin and Do Hon were still standing there. He waved and smiled when he saw the other waving back. He even laughed when he saw Jae Jin and Do Hon start to jump up and down.
"Don't forget to bring back souvenirs!" Jinwoon burst out laughing. "I will!" When he couldn't see them anymore tears started to fall again. "Don't cry. You'll see them often." Sung Hoon was looking up at him with a soft smile on his face.
Jinwoon didn't know if he was saying it to cheer him up. 'Will I have that much free time?' Jinwoon whipped away his tears and looked around. He had never been in this part of the forest. "How far is it from the capital?" "It will take around three hours." Jinwoon frowned. "Are we that near?"
Sung Hoon shook his head. "Ki Ha has a talisman to get us nearer. We can shift into the capital. We'll find a place to shift." Jinwoon had no idea what Sung Hoon was talking about. After walking an hour they reached a clearing. It was a perfect circle in the middle of the woods.
"Alright. Everyone ready?" Ki Ha didn't wait for an answer and took out a green paper. He lit it, making the paper turn bright red before turning green again. Jinwoon felt like he was on a rollercoaster and boat at the same time. He had to close his eyes or he would throw up.
"Are you alright?" Jinwoon slowly opened his eyes and saw Sung Hoon looking at him with concern. "S... Ugh." He grabbed his mouth because he really needed to throw up. Sung Hoon quickly lifted him off the animal's back. Jinwoon started to run when he felt his feet touch the ground.
He passed Joongi, Ohseong and Hojun, who were also throwing up their lunch. 'Thank god. I'm not the only one.' After throwing up all his breakfast, he walked back. Chulwoo had already put out some food and drinks. He looked at the others. "I can understand Jinwoon but I can believe that you three can't use to this." Hojun glared at Chulwoo. "This is our second time!"
Chulwoo laughed in Hojun's face. "Whatever. Drink and something. You'll feel better afterwards." The four of them followed Chulwoo's advies. After 30 minutes they finally feel better. "Ready to go." This time Ki Ha waited for them to reply. When everybody nodded. Sung Hoon helped Jinwoon back on the back of the animals and they started to walk again.
Jinwoon looked around in disappointment. Gone was the rainbow forest. All he could see was trees with green leaves. After seeing trees in multi colours, looking at these green trees was boring. What excited him was the number of animals. They looked like chipmunks but were the side of cats. They had long bushy tails and large ears.
"What are those?" "We call them tree cutters. The name is actually deceiving. They eat leaves. They are harmless rodents." Ki Ha looked at the tree cutters. "They are really tasty. Roasted with some hot pepper sauce." Chulwoo hummed in agreement. "Or in soup." The two began giving each other tree cutter recipes. Jinwoon looked at the tree cutter and felt bad for them.
"Don't feel bad. They can reproduce like crazy. They have a litter every 3 months. And each female can have up to 8 babies. They reach adulthood after a year. They are more a pest than anything. If they are not hunted, this forest will disappear within a year." Sung Hoon had seen Jinwoon's face.
"That's also why this forest has just one type of tree. These trees are green all year round and they can handle the tree cutters." The other nodded. "We used to have a forest just like at Beom Seok sir but the tree cutters had all their leaves. Before the trees could produce buds, the tree cutter would eat them. Making many trees die."
"Why are there any tree cutters at Beom Seok's place?" Jinwoon hadn't seen any of them there. "There are many predators there. This part of the forest has special wards against carnivores. That's why the tree cutter can thrive here." Jinwoon looked at the tree cutter again. He still thought that they were cute.
They walked further and Jinwoon noticed that the space between the trees was becoming wider. After a while they arrived at the tree line. Jinwoon's mouth fell open. They were standing in front of a large gate but the place looked familiar. When they came closer he noticed that it was the same place as when he was Tae Jinwoon but the place looked bigger.
There was a large wall with a high gate, next to the wall was the beginning of another forest. They walked past the gate and went towards the forest. This forest was quiet with no animals. 30 minutes later they stopped walking. Ki Ha walked forward and pushed at the wall. The wall was pushed back before sliding away. Jinwoon's eyes grew wide.
They walked through the gate. "Welcome to the palace." Sung Hoon grabbed Jinwoon's hand and helped him off the animals. Jinwoon was staring around with his mouth open. What he could see was mind blowing. It had the old Korean palace style he knew but there were also stone buildings that looked very Westerns.
"We'll be bringing these to the storage." Chulwoo, Joongi, Ohseong and Hojun took the animals with carts and left. "Ki Ha, go with the others and make sure that everything is documented. Let's go." Sung Hoon pulled Jinwoon with him. Jinwoon tried to pull his hand away but Sung Hoon held tighter. Jinwoon looked around but he saw nobody walk around.
Sung Hoon saw Jinwoon look around. "Everybody has to stay inside until the 49 days are over." Jinwoon didn't understand why he was feeling relieved. They walked towards a wooden house but up closer he saw that the wood was actually stone. Sung Hoon pulled the door open and led Jinwoon inside.
Jinwoon's steps faltered. The inside was amazing. From the inside it seemed that the building had just one level but it was actually a two story house. They were standing inside the hall with a marble staircase leading up stairs. "Where are we?" Jinwoon looked at Sung Hoon with shock.
Sung Hoon gave him a sly smile. "You're in the prince's private house." Jinwoon pulled away looking around shocked. "Are you crazy? We can't just come here?! What if the prince comes?" Sung Hoon took a few steps closer. "The prince has just arrived."