Namjoon focus

When Namjoon put on the mourning clothes it felt as if the rough white fabric was made of iron. With slow movements he tied the sash of the same material around his waist and stared into the mirror. His face looked like he felt. The shock and exhaustion of the last two nights had deepened the lines in his face. He looked aged.

"Namjoon?" a soft female voice asked for him and he turned around to his wife, clothed in the same simple fabric as him. He wanted to smile at her and his son, but his face would not obey him. Instead he felt tears burning at the back of his eyes.

Soojin saw his sorrow and in the next moment Namjoon felt himself embraced in her gentle hold and held onto her like she was the only thing saving him from collapsing. And maybe she was. Maybe knowing that there was still family, still someone who needed him and loved him more than anyone else, was giving him the strength to keep standing and going on. When they parted, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Yusin, come to your father," he told his son who had been looking at his parents with unsure eyes. A four-year-old could not understand what death meant, but he was shaken by seeing his father cry, so he ran over quickly to fall into Namjoon's arms and hug him as well. "Let us go and say goodbye to grandpa, shall we?"

He lifted his little boy into his arms and looked at Soojin who nodded at him and they left his residence for the throne hall.

Minister of rites Choi had already prepared everything for the funeral ceremony. The throne hall was decorated in the white cloth of mourning, his father's open coffin was standing in front of the throne pedestal with three bowls of food, three stacks of money, and three pairs of shoes placed in front of it. Namjoon suppressed the sob that threatened to crawl up his throat. He was not supposed to cry, he was supposed to be strong and carry on.

Taehyung and Jin were already there, the younger looking like his face was covered under a grey layer of ash, eyes staring through anything in his sight. Namjoon squeezed their shoulders when he reached them. He could not trust his mouth for words, so that was all he could give.

"Your highness," minister Choi said quietly behind him and Namjoon turned around to receive the funeral coat of his father, a silken fabric of the royal blue sewn with threads of gold and silver.

Slowly Namjoon walked up the stairs to the throne and lifted the folded coat over his head to call his father's name three times. Every call seemed to awaken memories from his childhood. How his father had patiently taught him the bow and took him out to hunt, how he had talked about his wish for a great Silla that treated their people with benevolence to fulfill the wish of his mother queen Jang, or how he had told him that he believed that Silla would become great under Namjoon's reign.

After the last call his throat felt raw and itchy and his chest empty. With soft legs he wobbled down the stairs, more falling than walking into the embrace of his brothers before he unfolded the coat and covered his father's figure with it while Taehyung and Jin placed the coins on his eyes.

Minister Choi must have given the signal for his men because they came over with the coffin lid to seal off his father's corpse. Tomorrow he would be carried to the family tomb under the hill and the royal family would dine and cry over their loss.

Together the three brothers left the hall and went down the stairs to reunite with the rest of the mourning family. Consort Kang needed her handmaiden and concubine Oh to support her weak legs and tear-shaken body, and Yusin had also begun to cry in his mother's arms.

Taehyung's eyes focused when he found his mother like this. "Let her rest," he whispered towards the two holding her and straightened up. "I will come to take care of her later."

Concubine Oh and Miso curtsied and turned to walk away with the first lady.

"Shall we walk for a bit?" Jin asked the rest, including Soojin with a warm smile.

Namjoon just nodded. He could not bear to spend all day in his room and ponder over the happenings. That was advisor Min's task for now and he trusted the man with this case. What he needed was the reassurance of his family, so he lifted up his son again and slung his other arm around his wife, and guarded on each side by his two brothers they left the yard to take a walk through the palace gardens.

"It was not Jungkook," Taehyung said quietly when they passed the banquet hall. "He would never do that."

Namjoon did not answer. He was not willing to think about that. Thus, when no one answered him, Taehyung fell back into silence.

They walked on and on, each having their own thoughts, until they reached the tea house pond and crossed the bridge to sit down inside the small shrine-like house.

"For us it is exactly like this," Taehyung said, gesturing at the water that surrounded them. "The palace is a small island, distant to the things around. We mourn by ourselves, we laugh by ourselves. We are an own little world. Who out there can truly feel the same as us? They only lost a face, we lost a father."

Namjoon placed a hand on his brother's arm. "This is how every family feels when they lose someone. The true pain can only be felt by those closest to the dead."

Jin joined their quiet conversation. "And that is good. If everyone in the kingdom would fall grieving and feel this pain-" He placed a hand over his heart. "-then nothing would work anymore. All would come down." His warm earthy eyes looked at their youngest brother and Taehyung seemed to understand.

Namjoon looked out onto the water that happily reflected the summer sun, so unbefitting for a funeral. "If you feel pain, it is a good thing," he said and finally could smile a small smile. "It means that father was a good man who cared for others and treated them well. It means he was a good king."

Now Jin smiled as well and they shared a moment of mutual understanding. Only Taehyung kept sulking, so Jin rubbed a hand over their youngest's back to comfort him a little.

Namjoon turned to Soojin. "I think he fell asleep," he said quietly, placing a hand in his Yusin's neck. "We should bring him back."

She nodded softly and rose back to her feet, Namjoon following her. "You should find your mothers," he told his brothers and left them behind after a nod from Jin.

"What will happen now?" Soojin asked him once they were crossing the bridge. "Father-in-law died from the hand of an enemy, so will we have war?" She looked scared.

Namjoon shook his head. "If I can avoid it, we will not have to kill a thousand to revenge for one. I trust that advisor Min will find a way to settle this without a battle," he replied and looked at her convincingly. A war should be their last resort.

"That is good then. I was scared to see you leave," she admitted.

"Why would you be scared?" he asked with a soft smile. "I would be the last to die on a battlefield."

"Uhm, I..." she stuttered and looked down. "A child should see their father when it is born," she said eventually.

Namjoon's eyes widened. "Am I to be a father of two?" he asked elated, all the sorrow forgotten for the moment of happiness.

Soojin nodded and smiled at him. "Royal physician Jo told me when he took my pulse yesterday. At first, he thought it was the shock from the scene we all witnessed that night, but then he corrected himself."

"I am going to be father again," Namjoon said happily, not quite able to comprehend the news. He had been so nervous when Yusin had been born, and he enjoyed all the little moments he had with his son, so he was elated to hear that he was blessed with another child. Advisor Min deserved a raise of his payment. "Is it a boy or a girl?" he wanted to know.

But his wife was just giggling at his eager demeanor. "We do not know, yet," she said, and a wet sob shook her body.

Namjoon was quick to hug her against his side. All of this was a little too much for someone as sensitive as Soojin and even he himself had struggled to understand which were feelings of sorrow and which were feelings of joy, but they would work through this together. He would take care of his family; his brothers and his wife and son were all he had now. And he would do everything to protect them from the lurking shadow of king Hwon of Baekje.

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Yoongi focus

The king's funeral had been yesterday, and only now Yoongi was finally free to interrogate the three culprits he had captured during the disastrous night. His first priority had been to find more spies within the palace, so he had questioned the kitchen personnel about the girl Ahn Harin to find a pattern he had overlooked before.

They had told him that she had been distant with the other servants but diligent in her work, so that the cooks and the kitchen head had found her worthy of presenting the dishes during a fest. Her physical appearance had promoted that idea. Thus, now it was Yoongi's job to find people who behaved the same and sort them out to avoid further trouble.

He greeted the prison guards and went right through to find the girl.

"Wake up," he barked at her when the cell was opened for him.

The slim frame rose slowly as if to taunt him and when she was sitting as straight as the confines of her shackles allowed her to, the look she greeted him with was arrogant and filled with hate.

Yoongi was unbothered. He had seen stronger wills break easily. "Do you know a man called Heo Chulmoo?" he asked her straight away.

"Never heard of him," she said coldly.

"Do you know a man named Jeon Jungkook?" he rattled down his second question.

"He's the third prince's handsome watchdog," she replied this time.

"Did you talk to one of them?" Yoongi inquired. "Did they inspire you to do what you did?"

"Advisor Min, you're asking the wrong questions," she dared to taunt him.

"And what would be the right question?" he asked her with a risen eyebrow.

"You want to blame someone when there's only me to blame," she said. "You should ask me directly who made me do it and not assume."

"But I already know who made you do it," Yoongi replied with a shrug. "Your words made it clear to us that Hwon is trading his words for actions now."

For that she had no reply and only looked at him with more hate.

"I suppose he either bribed or threatened you," he played out his thoughts. "Since a thread would become too burdening over a long time, it's probably money he promised. Let me guess." He put a finger to his chin and pretended to think about it when it was as clear as water to him. "Your family's poor, a sick family member maybe, no means to gain enough money to keep all the siblings alive."

Her face turned from hateful to sad and hurt.

"You achieved your task," Yoongi said dryly. "Your family will live well. So, since you'll die for certain, why don't you tell me everything?" He looked at her with a tilted head. "Do you hold a grudge against Silla?"

She shook her head.

"Then help me, so that I won't implicate innocent people and make their families sad," he said and sat down on the wooden bench that was aligned with the wall of the cell.

That seemed to reach something inside of her, just as Yoongi had hoped. A girl who was willing to sacrifice herself for her family must know the value of family, so it was natural for her not to cause another family unhappiness.

"I was a maid at the palace in Daejeon," she began to talk. "I went to the palace to get money for my family, but it wasn't enough to support all of them. My lady must have told the king about my concern, because one day I was called to a man who said that if I'd do this one thing for him, my family would no longer suffer from poorness."

Yoongi nodded to show her that he understood. It had been similar for him. His place in the army had guaranteed his family a good life, so he could relate to her motive. Just not to her willingness to die, but he supposed that a small maid had no choice to decline such a task.

"They told me that one day I'd find a small paper pouch with poison under my pillow, and when that was the case, I should poison the king on the very same day," she said, voice trembling with fear. "I didn't know it would be the little prince's birthday," she cried. "You must believe me, advisor Min. I didn't know."

"I believe you," Yoongi stated flatly. He had no reason not to. "Do you have an idea who gave you the poison?"

She shook her head.

Yoongi sighed. Now he would have to find out who could freely enter the servant quarters without being noticed. What a bother. "Who told you what to say when you were captured?" he asked on. Namjoon had explained to him that those words had been Hwon's words when they had parted ways back in the day, so someone must have told her that this would give away the man behind.

"They made me learn it when I agreed to take on the task," she told him. "I remembered it ever since."

That made sense since someone like her was illiterate. Yoongi sighed at the prospect of what was still to do and stood up.

"Advisor Min? Advisor Min!" the girl shouted when he left her behind.

"There's nothing more to ask," he told the guard who locked the door after he had stepped out. "You can hang her tomorrow."

The guard nodded and Yoongi gestured him to open the next cell.

"Master Heo," he greeted the man who was sitting behind a table and reading a book. "I apologize for coming this late. I hope you didn't live too uncomfortably during my absence."

"It is appropriate considering the situation," the gray-haired replied and put down the book. "Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"I'm advisor Min," Yoongi introduced himself and bowed his head.

"Which ministry is advisor Min from?" the man asked, face not giving away any of his thoughts.

"I don't think that this should be master Heo's concern," Yoongi answered flatly. Explaining his position always held a certain risk since his closeness to the crown prince made him a great spot to attack, so he liked to stay vague about himself as long as possible.

"The ministry of justice I suppose," the man concluded for himself. "I assume that I'm a reasonable suspect for the murder of his majesty since my time of arrival and my last name appear less than coincidental."

"Yes," Yoongi confirmed. It was interesting that the man revealed his family background by himself. He had probably assumed that they had come to this conclusion by now.

"But may I add that I didn't even come close to the king that night," master Heo noted.

Yoongi remembered that the teacher had missed out on most of the evening due to his needle, but that did not matter. The only thing Yoongi needed to know was since when master Heo resided in Jungseon. The guests of the palace had no right to visit the servant quarters, so the master would have had to slip in at night which was not unreasonable with his abilities, but if he had left Daejeon before Ahn Harin was sent off, how would he know which servant to give the poison to?

"How long has master Heo been teaching at his own school?" he asked, ignoring the man's comment.

A small frown wrinkled the place between the strong eyebrows of the teacher. "For more than ten years," he answered then.

"Great," Yoongi concluded. This almost completely removed the suspicion of the sword master. "Now my second question which master Heo was kind enough to mention by himself: what's master Heo's relationship to the grand princess of Baekje?"

The old teacher sighed. "Grand princess Heo is a far cousin of mine. I didn't even see her once in my life," he said serious, and Yoongi could find no flaw in his eyes or demeanor that would give away he was lying. But with stone-faced people like this master it was hard to tell. "I assume there is a third question regarding my life in the northern kingdom."

"Yes, "Yoongi agreed. "What would make a member of a powerful family like the Heos choose to live in the mountains of Goguryeo?" This had been the question that had bothered Yoongi the most, so he was curious to hear the answer.

To his surprise, master Heo lowered his head. "I was a general during the Northern War," he said, making Yoongi perk up. A general degraded to a teacher? What a miserable life. "But I brought shame upon myself in a fight against Rouran and was exiled by the late king Hwon."

Now that made sense. A general would never leave his kingdom behind for personal reasons, but if it was like this, Yoongi could see why everything had turned out the way it was now.

"Thank you, general," he said to the gray-haired and only realized his slip of the tongue after the master's head jumped. This was embarrassing. "I mean master Heo. I'll initiate your and your disciple's release after reporting. I hope you can bear with this place for a little longer."

"Advisor Min is only doing his job. I will not make it difficult for him," the sword master replied and bowed his head to bid his goodbye.

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