It was a new day at the Park pharmacy. Jimin was working from home, he needed to prepare Jungkook's medicine, the one he was wishing to keep secret. It's been two days since he was in the palace, between the order of the herbal ointments for the troops, the royal family's custom gifts and this medicine, he didn't have much time to rest anymore. It was bound to get busy, Jimin was aware, but he didn't think it would become so hectic he couldn't even spend time with his sister.

"Jimin, lunch is ready" Mina said from outside his shed. He put down the tea bag and sighed. Jungkook's prescription required a doze everyday morning, so he needed to make at least a month-worth or dozes to give the Prince as soon as possible. He also wants his plan to start as soon as possible so that was another reason for him to speed up. 

"Brother! Do not make me wait any more time, I am starving." His sister said again, this time with more urgency.

"I'll be right there Mina, give me a moment to wash my hands" he told her, walking to the small table after a few minutes. 

The facts are that Jimin was the better cook in the house, and when he had this much work, he didn't get to eat very tasty food. He smiled tightly when his sister asked about the meal "It's good" he lied. 

"I'm getting better aren't I" she exclaimed proudly and started talking about the new recipe she came up with. No wonder the taste is odd, this is one of her experiments, Jimin thought.

"Thank you, little sister. I have to get back to it though" he said and got up after finishing his portion. 

Inside his shed, all he thought about was the plan. Was Jungkook going to suspect anything? Was he going to fall for it? Will he continue drinking the tea? For how long? All those were critical questions he needed the answers for. 

The truth was, Jimin was lucky. He was lucky enough the Prince wasn't well and had whatever it was with the itchiness. Being a pharmacist with considerable knowledge about his craft, he needed his revenge to use that expertise, it would maximize the success. 

In short, the best solution was to poison Jungkook, yet he didn't know how to do it without raising doubts. Don't get him wrong, he did think this through many times and found ways to shake the suspicion from himself, but the issue still remained. He would be an easy target for everyone.

The unconditional conviction was that he was ready to give his life in exchange for his revenge, but the plan was to get out of it alive. Jimin was smart, choosing a detectable poison was not an option. After months of readings and research, he studied his plants enough to find something that would achieve his goals without leaving a trail. 

Dracni.

The Dracna is a red flower that grows everywhere on this side of the country, and it was cheap too. It is widely used by the people of people who do not use sugar or cannot afford it, the petals add a certain sweetness to food. 

One of the purposes of Dracni in pharmacy was the relaxation of muscles, and thinking of that, Jimin will have to go into the mountains and pick them to make the new medicine he promised the Prince for his troops.

The most interesting part about Dracni was their root. Most people would disagree because they are not edible or used for anything else, generally thrown away first. But Jimin found a gem in one of his books, a little piece of information that was mentioned quickly, lowering relevance to a reader's eyes, but not Jimin's. Not someone who has diligently studied the art of poisoning for a year, acquiring every book he could find, hoping they contained valuable information. 

Vracyne, the strongest undetectable poison.

It was a highly toxic substance that was very rarely present in nature, and if so, in minimal quantities. It can be fabricated, but Jimin was no chemist. The reason that book mentioned it quickly was because he needs 50 times as many roots to produce one doze, the size of a teardrop, for one person. But that doze was capable of killing a grown man in seconds.

The back of his store was pretty much a Dracni garden at this point, but he couldn't be too bothered because he loved the flower. He thought its beautiful bright color brought life to his world of blues and silvers.

Jimin could wear red if he'd wanted, but there was this silent code amongst people around the world; everyone wears shades in the range of their elemental color. If they wish not to, they can choose to wear browns or blacks. It wasn't written anywhere, but everyone just decided to silently agree and truth was, one is more comfortable wearing their natural color than another's anyway.

Looking down at the empty teabag on the table, he decided to separate the 30 day batch into 2 groups. The first one had shaved pieces of 3 Dracna roots, the second contained 6 -this time ground- not to bring attention to the larger volume of the bags. Of course, a quantity that small will do no harm to the Prince, for the poison to actually affect him, it needs to be purged out of the root into liquid form. But Jimin was patient enough to wait. 

He wanted the plan to be executed in the span of a few months, just the time for people of the palace to trust him and not suspect him of anything. His motive for these small amounts was born from the many scenarios he'd created in his mind, all the outcomes he'd imagined. This was the best way, he thought to himself.

---

"Crown Prince Jungkook" The King greeted when his son entered the room. 

"Good morning my King." he bowed, his face twisted, clearly troubled. 

"What brings you here, my son" he asked.

"I am here to present my apologies for displaying my fire in the presence of the Queen" Jungkook said, although despite him. 

The King sighed and shook his head "My son, what you did was indeed disrespectful. A Queen shall never be the target of anybody's element, yet there you terrified her in her quarters as you lost your temper" he stated, making him bow even lower in embarrassment. 

He didn't regret anything last night, he didn't care about scaring Queen Sunmi, in fact he would've loved to terrify her more if he could.

What he was ashamed of was disappointing his father over the fact that he did lose control for a minute. He had gone through so much training to prevent that, he was very hot blooded though, more than any Pyre in the palace. 

He generally blames it on his motherless childhood and him being General of the Royal Army, battle can really mess with a man's head. But yesterday was different, he felt weak for letting her rude comments affect him.

"I understand my King, I deeply apologize-"

"But I will not make you take blame for it" the King continued, making him raise his head in confusion. "Queen Sunmi can be spiteful... I have turned a blind eye on her treatment towards you because I know you can take care of yourself, but I will not have you lower your pride and apologize personally." he said with a visible frown on his face. 

"No my King, she is a Quee-"

"You are my son. My firstborn. You've done so much for this kingdom and I will not let you be addressed in such fashion, called names, looked at differently" the King added, his voice was calm but definite, he was serious.

"I am grateful my King" Jungkook said as he felt his eyes sting slightly, his heart filled with warmth and his throat tightened. He yearned to hear these words from his father, the recognition and acknowledgement in them was so fulfilling to him. With a smile, he stood back up and thanked the King once more before leaving the room. 

What a great start of the day, Jungkook thought as he walked around the large water pound. He spotted a few yellow daisies in full bloom and approached them, crouching to the floor as he lightly touched them. But just as he was getting comfortable, one of the petals caught fire and he snatched it away fast before the others did too. He pursed his lips, maybe I'll keep away from real flowers. 

He walked back to his room leisurely, thinking about anything and everything that crossed his mind, until something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. It was a girl, new to the palace he presumes as he'd never seen her before. What was more interesting was that her smile reminded him of someone, none other than his pharmacist. Though her brown hair could give away that she was Thera and not a Liquis like him.

Speaking of whom, sir Park ran over to her with something in his hand. Jungkook couldn't tell what it was from that distance, but they seemed to feel the stare since Jimin turned and bowed to him. The Crown Prince gave a curt nod and continued on his way back to his quarters and decided to take a short nap before tending to any of his duties, he was lazy indeed.

Aside from fighting for his country and admiring nature, Jungkook had other hobbies. His favorites were calligraphy and cooking. He couldn't do the latter at some times of the day, as it wasn't always appropriate to have the Crown Prince making his own food, so he generally opted for practicing his penmanship in his free time. This once however, he just wanted to sleep and rest. The outburst he had the night prior used a lot of his energy.

"Crown Prince, sir Park wishes to see you" one of the court ladies said from outside his door, making him open his eyes reluctantly. Just as I was starting to fall asleep, Jungkook thought.

He opened his door and was met by the lady alone, another one who did not look at him in eyes. He gave her a questioning hum before she realized. "Oh, he is in the living space Your Highness" she said and led him to the man.

"Sir Park, what can I help you with?" he spoke up, grabbing his attention.

Instead of one, two people bowed to him and he recognized the girl from earlier, his sister. "It is a pleasure to meet you my Prince, thank you for all you do for our country" she said while Jimin smiled at her.

I don't sense any malice... Either she does not share Jimin's grudge, or she is an even better liar than her brother, Jungkook thought as he read the room.

"It is a pleasure having you in the palace, I am glad sir Park brought you with him" Jungkook smiled softly and she returned it out of politeness.

"I apologize my Prince, I hope we did not disturb you. Mina insisted on meeting you to express her thanks for the royal family and all they did when our father passed"

That was the truth. Jimin was not lying even though he wished he was. Back home, he had a talk with his sister where he suggested that she comes along and see what's inside the palace walls. Excited as she was, she already started talking about how she would like to meet the royals and present them gifts and whatnot.

---

"Mina, I will allow you to do this with any other member of the family, just not him" Jimin snapped.

"But why Jimin? Why must you hate him so much? All they did was help us when dad died, they gave him a proper funeral that we couldn't afford, and even sent us money and goods to slowly get back on our feet. How can you be so ungrateful brother!" Mina shouted for the first time in a while. They never agued this badly about something in months.

"Because they were also the ones who killed him Mina! Maybe not all the family but definitely their Crown Prince. He doesn't deserve your goodness. That's why..." he pleaded but she turned him away.

"I will not listen to you this time Jimin. I will do as I please and Crown Prince Jungkook will receive the same treatment as the others" she finished and went back to her room.

---

There he was, hearing gratitude in the name of the man he wants to kill. Yet again, maybe this is a good thing because if he was ever suspected of treason, his sister would not be.

"My Prince, I have brought you a thirty-day tea assortment. This is a special one, to be consumed after breakfast every morning" Jimin subtly said and made sure to include the frequency mentioned in the prescription for Jungkook to recognize. He nodded and took the wooden box from him.

"Very kind of you sir Park. If you'll allow me, I would like to speak with you for a moment" Jungkook started and Jimin looked at his sister before leaving with the Prince.

"What might it be my Prince?" Jimin asked, curious.

"Have you had any talk with Queen Sunmi recently?" he asked and the other shook his head.

"No, not really."

"Has she asked you to make her any sort of gift?"

"No my Prince, are you suggesting I should?" he inquired.

"I am not suggesting anything sir Park, in fact, I would rather you don't" Jungkook said, locking eyes with the shorter.

"Your wish is my command, I shall not" Jimin said, with no questions asked. What a selfish man, I am not even surprised...

"Good. I trust you can find a way out of any request she makes. Blame it on me if you have to" Jungkook said and he knit his eyebrows in confusion, before mentally shrugging in disinterest.

Jungkook went back to his room after the brief meeting and laid back again. Bored as he was, he started playing a little with his fire, sending it from one finger to another.

What should I do about that woman... She won't get off my back will she-

Suddenly, intense pain surged in his chest and fire bursted through his clothes on that area. He quickly removed his robes not to burn them and tried to stop the flames but they wouldn't subside. With his hands to his chest, he tried covering the fire to give it smaller room to die but it only blazed hotter, burning his palms out of the way.

"What is this" he gritted in pain.

He poured some water on himself creating clouds of steam in the room but it didn't seem to work either. He decided to try and suffocate it correctly with a blanket, and just as he was reaching to grab one, the fire completely disappeared. 

His hands were shaking when he tried touching his chest again."What..."

There he was, in front of the mirror, the skin on his torso totally unharmed, just as if he'd been hallucinating. Jungkook believes that a fire hot enough to burn his own hands would also leave a scar on his chest, but what he saw were faint pink lines instead. Pink lines looping into a clear yet unknown pattern. It almost looked like a branding, and at this point he didn't even know if it was truly there or just a fragment of his imagination.

This was no normal. That day, he started noting down all of the odd happenings that had taken place in his life recently for the sake of simple documentation, before he meets a Master Pyre or an Element Specialist, whomever can help him best.

---

Hello everyone! 

As you've read, Jimin's plans are slowly starting to take form. 

How about Jungkook? What do you think is happening?

-Aida-