Chapter Text
01) YOU
Hakyeon never would have thought that the day he longed forever in his life would be today. Though now that he wishes the things happened differently and they were in different situations.
He decided to take the longest path to go home. He often take this road to avoid the loneliness of his extravagantly decorated room or the cold gazes that are waiting for him at home with thousand of questions inside.
Hakyeon is a scholar and a loyal subject to his majesty just like his father. As the only son to the family he studied and achieved his father’s dream; but if he had a choice?
Like every other typical scholar he loved books. He knew every legal and illegal book seller in the town. He spent most of his life inside their shops reading his days away. If you can’t find Hakyeon inside his huge room or his office at the castle, you’ll most probably find him in a quiet corner of one of these book shops behind a mountain of books. Books were his escape. He found refuge in them; and he always dreamt of becoming a traveler, in one of those books that he had read more than hundred times, who explores and discovers different new places. Instead of his childhood dream he became an official for the king who's confined in a room filled with stack of papers and nosy people peaking over his office at any given time. If only he had a choice…
He often thought how it would feel like to be a different person or the son to different parents. If only he had a choice…
While having thousand noisy thoughts running through his head he finally reached home. He saw Hongbin: his most loyal servant and the lifelong friend, waiting for him outside like always. If Hakyeon wasn’t working in the castle, two would go almost everywhere together. They were inseparable; but today Hongbin had to stay back to help the household with the preparations for the celebration tonight, though Hakyeon had no idea as to what was it about.
“Hakyeon! You’re late! Where have you been?” was the greeting he got from Hongbin. Despite everyone’s judgments he gave Hongbin the freedom to call him by his name though he was supposed to call Hakyeon as ‘The Young Master’. Hongbin has been with him every time he needed a friend, disregarding the time, the place or the situation that Hakyeon was in. It is only the nature for them to become brothers through all the odds and ends.
“Was caught up in a book”, was Hakyeon’s reply.
“Hurry inside. Master was worried about you and everyone’s waiting for you”. Hongbin rushed Hakyeon inside towards the garden which was crowded with high class officials. He always despised the company of them and would rather call them strangers if only he had a choice.
Thinking back he never had a choice in anything about his life. Everything was predetermined in his life. Life always had a plan for him not that he had a plan for HIS life.
He greeted his father letting him know that he has arrived and greeted few other people, for them being the ones that he worked every day with.
Hongbin left him in the middle of the crowd saying that he should help serve the guests at the party. After the departure of Hongbin, Hakyeon took his drink and slowly walked out of the crowd finding a quiet corner.
It’s not that he hated celebrations in fact he LOVED celebrations. It’s just that he didn’t find it to his taste to celebrate anything with the people who boasted about their wealth at any given situation. He loved celebrating with town’s people. Once when he was just a kid he sneaked out of the house to see lanterns with Hongbin among hundreds of friendly strangers; but after being caught Hongbin had to be the one who got beaten up in his place. So he decided not to sneak out of the house in any special occasion. Of course he still would go out secretly once in a while.
Someone accidently knocking over him was able to draw him out of his slumber. He turned around.
“Sssoooww…rrrryyy…” the man said while stumbling.
Hakyeon knew that there would be no use of arguing since he knew that the man is drunk to his core.
“YOUNG MASTER, BE CAREFUL!” another voice joined in and Hakyeon saw a man rushing towards them.
“I think that we should get going now, master”, the man said while putting his arm around the drunken man and trying to get him to stand straight; and then the man turned to Hakyeon,
“sorry for the inconvenience. Have a good night sir” he said with his gaze held down.
Hakyeon gave one last look to the drunken stranger before he’s being pulled out by the second stranger.
Hakyeon completely forgot about the insignificant incident that took place in the evening, about the drunken stranger and his companion. Never he thought that this would become a life-changing event.