Hwarang resigned to the assassins territory but he didn't retire to bed rather, he trained relentlessly under the dim moonlight alone as everyone had retired to bed already.
He stood in front of a bricked wall, black eyes flaring up in rage before slamming his clenched fist with brute force against it.
A hollow dent appeared on the wall as it splintered and cracks ran down on it from the effect of the single punch.
"I'm not in love with her!" He hissed in rage beneath his breath before driving his fist with more force than before into the cracked wall making debris of the brick fly as its hollow dent deepened and cracks stretched on the wall that threatened to crumble.
"I'm a killer." A low growl escaped from his lips as he collided his clenched fist against the wall with brute force and the wall came crumbling down with a loud thud.
Blood dripped from his bruised knuckles but he couldn't feel the pain. As a Hwarang, they were taught to be immune to physical pain with varieties of rigorous and brutal trainings.
"You said you would kill her without batting an eyelid yet it appears like you would kill yourself because your fate together is inconceivable." His body slowly veered around as he heard Master Zhang's voice.
"I was training. You don't have to tell me what my fate is, I know exactly what it is." Hwarang said with a rigid voice as he proceeded to head back in but halted when he heard Master Zhang speak.
"So it seems. Human feelings are something we shouldn't harbor, these trifling feelings will only wither away with time, so don't get too distracted by it lad. I once was allured but with time, I realised how insignificant it was." Master Zhong remarked and his brows creased in disbelief.
"You..were in love?" Hwarang asked with a slight uncertainty.
"That was what I believed." Master Zhong replied in a clipped tone.
"I never said I was in love with her." Hwarang retorted, averting his gaze as he shook his head in denial.
"You don't have to say it. I caught you staring at her like a man dazed not by beauty but by an inexplicable thing I couldn't quite fathom." Master Zhang remarked and he gulped softly, finding it hard to deny when he knew it was the truth and a bitter one, stuck like the bile in his throat.
She was an inexplicable girl that even he couldn't quite fathom and he eventually got too intrigued and lost in her enigmatic essence.
"There's no thing or feeling. Like I said, I'd kill her without batting an eyelid." He stated firmly with an unwavering gaze and a voice as cold as the midnight breeze blowing on them.
His figure basking in the darkness and dim moon light illuminating on him made his black eyes blacker than the deepest depth of abyss.
"Fine, as you say. I'll leave you to your training." Master Zhang said, not arguing anymore and proceeding to head back inside while Hwarang merely watched his retreating figure.
He found it hard to believe Master Zhang that a dark creature like him was capable of love. No, he didn't feel things like love and he never would. His heart was cold and dark, not retaining a bit of warmth in it or a flicker of light. It was dead and unfeeling or so he thought.
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The Hwarangs were summoned by the king to the palace where they barely ventured as they resided only in their territory.
The Hwarangs assassins were only a few in number yet their resilience and strength was incomparable to none.
About thirty of the Hwarangs marched into the palace as they conformed to the King's summoning.
The guards and maids would avoid their gazes like a plague and whenever they moved past them, they would shudder in fear from the menacing aura they emanated and the cloak of melancholy weighing heavily around them.
They halted in front of the double engraved doors and the guards opened it to let them move into the King's throne room.
They proceeded with elegance in their movements and halted in front of the king. Although, they served the kingdom they didn't bow to the king as they were worshipped like gods.
They lined up in two rows in a horizontal position as they stood before the King.
King Jingheun sat proudly on his throne room, dressed in an exquisite gold robe embellished with fine red embroideries, a black gat sat on his head.
A wide grin cracked through his lips when the Hwarangs assassins came to his view.
His three sons sat next to him with his daughter, princess Yeonhwa.
His three sons seemed to harbour detest and jealousy in their eyes when they looked at them like forbidding creatures, obviously because their Father took more pride in the Hwarangs more than he did his own sons unfortunately, they all possessed no mark of Maitreya making them seem useless in his eyes.
"It's an honor to have the embodiment of a god in my abode. Your mere existence are a blessing and a gift to this kingdom, elevating us to greater heights." The King remarked with a delighted chuckle leaving his lips.
The Hwarangs didn't utter a word as they listened to what the king had to say but their mere icy gaze made them shudder.
"Regarding the reason I summoned you amidst your busy schedules...." The king's words slowly faded into space as it amounted to nothing but muffled mumblings and everything went numb as if the world had suddenly disappeared into a void of infinite vacuum when his eyes darted up to the upper floor of the building to catch sight of Nari sitting with her Father beside her.
Her forest green eyes staring blankly into space. She was dressed in a fine silky jade gown with beautiful green embroideries that contrasted with her captivating eyes.
Her hair was braided beautifully with hairpins placed on it. She looked ethereal as always, if only she knew how stunning she was.
"Hwarang." Joonho whispered his name breaking him out of his trance like state.
"W-what?" He found himself almost stuttering but quickly composed himself as he averted his gaze from her to look at Joonho.
Good thing they were in the second row behind the front line so no one noticed them.
"You're lost." Joonho whispered with a snicker.
"I'm not." He said immediately in denial as he shrugged his shoulders and looked straight forward in focus but it took all his resolve to not tilt his head upward and steal a glance of her.
Joonho let out an exasperated sigh before looking straight ahead at the king, not saying anymore.
"...We shall assist the Baekje kingdom to support them and fight against the Goryeo kingdom threatening their lives. They are our allies retaining a hundred and twenty years alliance with Silla, so my dear Hwarangs, let us aid the Baekje kingdom in their distressing moment and claim victory once again." King Jingheun exclaimed with enthusiasm as he sprouted up from his seat.
"Yes Your Highness, we swore an oath to serve the kingdom and we shall stand by our words." The Hwarangs echoed in unison and a wide grin tore through his lips.
"The Hwarangs have never disappointed me with their undying loyalty, I don't know of a way to reward gods or I'd have done it already." King Jingheun remarked, a spark of pride in his eyes.
"You actually can." Yeonhwa's small sharp voice echoed in the throne room and everyone's gaze averted to her.
"Father, I want to get married to Hwarang, the most remarkable of them all and as he's the most befitting for a king, I think he should take the throne. A Hwarang as the ruler would surely make the kingdom prosper more and thrive to greater heights." Hwarang listened as Yeonhwa spout all the nonsense she could muster from her mouth and a dark scoff resonated from his lips.
The King was obviously puzzled and left in bafflement at her words.
"What are you saying Yeonhwa! We are your brothers yet you speak of a stranger taking the throne." One of her brothers snapped with a twisted face in rage while the others supported him as they clamoured noisily.
His eyes darted to steal a glance of Nari to see her reaction but it was blank.
Before the king could stem a reply, Hwarang chipped in.
"Princess Yeonhwa, don't flatter yourself, even if you crawled on your knees and begged, I still won't marry you. Once again, my life as a Hwarang is fulfilling and the title of a king is beneath me." Hwarang said with a drawled nonchalant voice as he peered darkly at her with his icy cold unwavering gaze.
"Please forgive my daughter. She's only a child and children tends to make mistakes." King Jingheun said with an apologetic look while Yeonhwa was left speechless with flushed cheeks from having being embarrassed in front of everyone.
Her brothers meanwhile had a smile grazed on their lips from satisfaction.
"The child is forgiven, she's just a child after all." Hwarang said and when he glanced up one last time, he caught Nari trying to stifle a laughter from breaking loose from her lips.