The two sat inside the carriage after the shoes were done. Seonghwa guiding the horse and Yeosang sitting and smirking to himself. Whatever was going through his brain, Seonghwa had no plans to find out.

"How often do you repair those shoes?" Yeosang asked.

Seonghwa was surprised. His cousin never bothered to ask anything.

"Every six weeks."

"Oh."

Seonghwa was even more surprised to hear that the simple word held so much disappointment but he didn’t bother to question that either. Why would his cousin even sound disappointed?

He hated leaving his comfortable chair anyways.

Seonghwa guided the horse to the barn and there he handed the reigns to Hongjoong who didn’t so much as glance at him and just walked away silently, guiding the horse.

Strange. 

All the times Seonghwa had been there, Hongjoong never spoke but gave a tiny smile and a nod of the head. But this time there was none.

Leaving it at that, Seonghwa went back to the house where Yeosang already was trying to fix up his appearance and when Seonghwa walked into the house, he found his cousin literally crying while hugging his mother and showing her his damaged coat tail.

"And then it FUCKING FELL!" Yeosang explained, waving a hand over his face to cool down his face.

"Yeosang! What kind of language is that? No Lord speaks like you!" his mother scolded.

"Mother you don’t understand this horrible situation!" Yeosang whined, collapsing by his mother's feet where she sat on a sofa.

"Don’t sit on the floor. There’s a lot of germs down there."

Yeosang moved to sit beside his mother and continued complaining about everything so Seonghwa simply went back out the house and headed to his horse. He didn’t want to hear every single ‘horrible’ detail that had happened that evening.

Aurora had arrived back safely and was in her stall waiting since earlier that day. Seonghwa pet his mare and changed her shoes before going into the paddock to trot.

That was how Seonghwa spent his evenings and from far away, Hongjoong watched.

._._.

Hongjoong had immediately locked the mare in her stall when they got back earlier that day and he thought it was going to be okay since Seonghwa had made it clear to Jaehyo to not bother him but unfortunately, he had still been yelled at for "taking advantage" of Lord Park's hospitality and dirtying his perfect hands.

Whatever, Hongjoong at any other time would have felt bad and agreed that he had done wrong but after Seonghwa kept on defending him, he didn’t feel that bad anymore.

The worst part about getting back was raking up all the hay that had been kicked but luckily, they weren’t scattered that much and were easy to rake up.

So there he was in the barn loft watching Seonghwa trot with Aurora in the paddock. He didn’t usually go up there but he had been looking for a mallet and so happened to spot the tall male out on the field through a window. 

He stopped and watched, admiring the way Seonghwa's jet black hair fell over his forehead. And when the horse began to move, the hair blew up exposing the pale skin underneath. 

He looked ethereal.

"WHERE'D YOU GO, HONGJOONG?"

Hongjoong released a sigh and went down the creaky ladder to get his work done. Staring at Seonghwa would have to wait for another time.

._._.

Seonghwa led Aurora into a stable and began stripping her of the equipment. His family didn’t like that he dealt with his own horse and would much rather have someone do it for him but Seonghwa didn’t like the idea of having someone do everything for him so he did it himself.

"Hwa? Dear?" a woman’s voice called into the barn just as he finished replacing Aurora’s water with a clean fill.

"Back here, Mother!"

A clack of shoes echoed in the barn and soon enough, Seonghwa heard the ruffle of a dress get closer.

"Dear Hesus, child! How could you possibly work back here?"

Seonghwa shrugged, knowing that his mother couldn’t really see him and just hummed.

"I’m going back to the house now."

He wordlessly linked his arm into his mother’s one and guided her in the dark back to the house.

"So they tell me that you defended a worker and allowed him to ride with you," the Duchess said, looking up at her son. "Would you care to tell me about that?"

Seonghwa sighed, knowing he would have to say it eventually and nodded.

They were now in an area where the kerosene lamps shone and so he could now see his mother clearly.

"Yeah. The worker, Jaehyo, wasn’t being nice to him and I didn’t like that. It doesn’t matter if everyone thinks that Hongjoong is a peasant because I believe that if someone treats him as such, then they’re lower than that," Seonghwa said with a frown. "I hardly know him, Mother, but he's one of the nicest people I’ve interacted with."

"But dear, like you said, he's towards the bottom of the ranking system. You cant be like that. It’s not how it was meant to be," she calmly explained, laying a hand on her son’s shoulder.

"Mother," Seonghwa began, taking a seat on a bench and patting the spot beside him so she could sit.

"Just because he's towards the bottom doesn’t mean that he deserves unfair treatment. Have you seen him? He's so, so hardworking and he NEVER complains. He begins from the ass crack-"

"Language."

"From the break of dawn until night and then goes home. He lives through each and every day knowing that he only gets minimum wage. So don’t you think he deserves kindness?"

His mother remained silent, staring into the night sky with a tired smile. Her small wrinkles around her eyes showing the many years that she lived and the reflection in her eyes showed the wisdom and lessons life had given her.

"Yes, my dear. You are right. Just don’t do anything foolish, alright?"

"Yes, Mother."

Seonghwa felt happiness within him settle and he was glad that his mother sided with him.

"Your aunt said the maids would prepare dinner for all of us so let go in."

Seonghwa stood up, holding his mother’s hand in his larger one, and walked into the house only to be met with Yeosang dramatically retelling the story of the anvil to his father and Seonghwa's father.

"And it nearly crushed my foot!" Yeosang complained, clutching his tailcoat to his chest.

"So how did you avoid it?" Seonghwa's father, The Duke of Sacheon, asked.

"The blacksmith caught it midair," Yeosang answered boredly.

The older men nodded in understanding and stood up to head to the table once they heard a little bell ring, indicating the food was ready.

Everyone sat in silence, not making any sound. 

Seonghwa was deep in thought. Thinking of a variety of things. His horse, the next time he'd be in a race, when the next hunt would be, Hongjoong. He was focused and he only snapped into reality when he heard his father call his name.

"Seonghwa."

"Yes, Father?"

"I have news for you."

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow in surprise and nodded to indicate he could continue.

"There’s a man betting twenty million won on you for the next season and I expect that you win. He said he’s willing to have you go third place lowest but if it’s lower, it’s a lost cause," his father spoke, looking him in the eye. 

Seonghwa nodded, already planning on how he’d beat best time and ensure his win but his father wasn’t finished.

"If you win, he’s also allowing a marriage to his daughter, the young Lady. But he'll only consider marriage if you prove worthy after the hunt. You must bring back several kills so he can see you are capable of providing."

Seonghwa gulped. He did not want to get married. 

"Father, please tell him I’ll accept but tell him I am not ready for marriage but I am thankful for the offer."

"What do you mean? There’s a perfect opportunity to get married to a wonderful young lady yet you decline? Nonsense. You better have a valid reason."

An image of Hongjoong flashed into Seonghwa's mind but it lasted a matter of milliseconds before it was gone. He was certain it didn’t even flash but he couldn’t even convince himself that it didn’t.

"Listen, Father, currently I am more focused on my career so I wouldn’t be a good husband to her. I wouldn’t be at home and I would arrive home late, leaving no time for her. Besides, I turned twenty around seven months ago and I believe I am still quite young to be getting married."

His father analyzed his face and wordlessly began eating once again. 

"I’ll tell him that. You better not regret this in the future," his father warned with a glare.

"I won’t," Seonghwa replied, a smile on his face.

"Yeosang should get into a sport if those are the kinds of deals they provide," The Duke of Yeonsu joked.

"Father!" Yeosang exclaimed, coughing on his food. "That is a horrible idea! My hands and feet would be damaged in a matter of seconds! Not to mention my perfect skin! Oh, Mother please say no!"

"He's just teasing," his mother reassured. "You were never a strong boy nor one that liked going outside so there’s no way you’d thrive out there doing sports."

"Exactly," Yeosang agreed, giving a pointed look to his father. 

Seonghwa didn’t interact much after that. Just allowing the others to converse while he listened. It was getting late and so he decided he would start heading home before his parents would.

He saddled another horse and mounted it, heading onto the dark streets with a trot. The moonlight lighting the way.

After a while, he set the horse into a gallop enjoying the breeze that hit him. It was crisp and cool, causing his hair to fly all over the place.

He was nearly halfway home when he saw someone briskly walking along the road. He planned on going straight past but one thing stuck out from the person. 

Which was the height.

He pulled the horse into a walk and stopped beside the tiny male.

"Fancy seeing you here, Hongjoong," Seonghwa greeted. 

Hongjoong slightly jumped when he heard the voice was talking directly to him and he snapped his head up, making eye contact with the male.

"Oh, hello Lord Park," Hongjoong replied, bowing slightly before quickening his paces.

Seonghwa was puzzled. Why was he speeding up?

"Why are you running away?" Seonghwa asked, urging the horse to move forward.

"Ah, I’m sorry but shouldn’t you be going home? Won’t they miss you?"

"No. They’re back at the Yeonsu Estate," Seonghwa explained, watching how Hongjoong tried to desperately escape.

"Oh."

It remained quiet with Hongjoong speed walking and Seonghwa up on his horse slowly walking beside him.

"Get on," Seonghwa instructed, pulling his horse to stop in front of Hongjoong so he couldn’t escape.

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly get on. I’m not even allowed to get too close to you," Hongjoong explained, trying to sidestep.

"It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. They don’t decide what I can and can not do nor can they decide what you do after you leave the barn. So get on."

Hongjoong was hesitant. He didn’t want to get in trouble but it was Seonghwa that was telling him what to do so he listened and pulled himself up behind the male with great difficulty.

"Tell me where to go."

Hongjoong explained the direction to his house and Seonghwa set off in a quick trot with Hongjoong tightly grabbing onto the male’s sides.

It was amusing. Seonghwa couldn’t help but laugh internally at the way the tiny male insisted on a lot of things but always ended up being proven wrong or doing something else.

"Just around the bend then that’s where I live," Hongjoong said, leaning close to Seonghwa's ear.

They rounded the bend and the tall male was honestly shocked to see where the smaller lived. 

It was pitiful to an extent.

Several families seemed to be sharing one cramped house and the state of the house itself was utterly horrific. There wasn’t any proper door, the windows looked like they were about to fall off, there were cracks in the walls but somehow it still seemed like a lively place.

Flowers and shrubs surrounded the place and vines covered the roof to make it look almost magical but even so, the poverty was displayed clearly.

Several little children stood outside the door staring in awe at the giant beast and the handsome Equestrian.

Hongjoong swung his tiny leg over the side of the animal and even though he didn’t want to, he grabbed onto Seonghwa's calf to help himself down.

"Thank you so much, Lord Park," Hongjoong said, bowing.

"No problem. If you ever need a ride, just ask."

"Oh, I could never," Hongjoong replied shaking his head. 

"No, really."

Hongjoong smiled at him before bowing once more and walking towards the house. 

"Have a good night, Hongjoong!"

"You too, Lord Park."

Seonghwa made sure the male made it to the door before turning his horse and going back home.

Something about Hongjoong was calling for the taller male’s attention and he was hoping to figure out what it was.

Was he so lonely he started wanting a friend? Or was Hongjoong's personality just that exciting to be around?

Whatever it was, there wasn’t any time to figure it out. There was a race to prepare for and a hunt he wanted to attend.