Namjoon had lost even the slightest bit of interest in the rest of the world at that moment. When Rae quickly paid Aura for the Attan napkin holder and stormed out of the curio shop, his only instinct was to do the same. Her head hung low when they walked towards the car, locks of her straight, dark hair concealing her face from him.

"Did.. did something happen back there?" Namjoon mustered up a hell lot of courage before asking that.

"I mean.." he continued when she did not answer. "I know you have been upset since morning, and.. rightfully so. But I thought you were feeling better?"

"I was." she nodded and finally looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot red and tears streamed down her cheeks - it broke Namjoon's heart into too many pieces.

An electric panic raced through his body and instinctively, his hand went to and clutched hers on her lap. A frown arched over his eyes and a similar misery as hers washed over him.

"He had tweeted about it in the morning," Rae informed, in between her sobs. "He practically invited the press to ruin this day for me and Dakota."

She sniffed, her lips twitching and getting sucked in between her teeth. Namjoon took away his hand and caressed her red ear.

"He didn't have any right to," he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But.."

His words got stuck at the base of his throat, when Rae crashed into the side of his body. She had seen the hand near her ear as an opening and took the opportunity. Namjoon slowly placed his hovering hand on her shoulder and gripped it to comfort her while she continued to sob.

"Don't let him spoil the rest of the day, Rae," he spoke in a succouring voice. "It's Dakota's day. You gotta stay strong for her, no?"

"I can't. I can't. I'm so done worrying about everything and everyone. What do I get in return? I.. I'm so tired. I just want.. I want to be coddled for a change. I don't see anybody volunteering for that!"

"I'd do it," he said. What came over him, only the clouds knew. He palmed her arm in reassuring strokes and spoke, "I'd coddle you any day."

Rae wiped her cheeks and nose and rose her head. "What about your lover?" She asked, her eyes fleeting between holding his stare and oogling at his plump, beautiful lips.

Namjoon took a few seconds before speaking. "What about her?"

"They're a she?"

He sighed and looked away. A glint of red spread all over his cheeks and neck and ears as he let her stare at him. "Yes," he whispered, trying too hard to not let it out. "But her being anywhere near shouldn't interfere with me coddling a close friend of mine, right?"

Namjoon thought he had made a superlative sarcastic remark. He looked back at her with a smirk, but before he could say anything more, she pulled his face against hers, and kissed him. Their hands rested awkwardly over each other, her mouth opening up for him, their tongues swirling - a little too passionate for a first kiss. Even if he was taken aback at first, it was hard to tell anymore.

His heart fluttered like the wings of a caged bird, trying to escape through this long-awaited release of passion and love. He wanted to stop, something nudged at the back of his brain, telling him this was wrong, that this was not how it should have been but he could not stop. He had waited for so long, a little indulgence seemed fair to him.

She was on an otherworldly plane, her lips smacking against his in a rhythm that had the potential to rid her of all her worries. Her fingers nested through his hair, pulling at each follicle she could fit between them. She was thankful for the privacy partition in the car hiding her from the rest of the world; she knew she must look so needy and desperate for Namjoon's affection, she wouldn't have been able to look anyone straight in the eyes anymore.

When his hands flew to her shoulders, she almost cooed his name out against the kiss but he stopped her. Namjoon's grip was not lustful anymore, it was that of a warning. "Rae," he whispered, pulling away from her mouth, but keeping his forehead stuck to hers, "wait. You're.. you're upset! I don't think this is the right way to do this."
Rae's cheeks flared up in ignominy; her lower jaw hung from her face, ashamed of how she threw herself at him just then. "You're right," her words were barely a whisper when she withdrew herself from him. She spent the rest of the journey, staring at her phone and fixing her hair.

****

The house was in an absolute mess. Dakota and her friends were all sitting on the living room's floor, scattered, playing games on their phones. Taehyung and Jungkook had joined them too, and the former's proximity to Dakota did not go unnoticed by Rae. Jimin was in the kitchen, helping out Seokjin with the frosting.
"Noona, hyung," he called out when he saw Rae and Namjoon walking towards the kitchen, "oh, hyung, what's up with your hair?"

"Nothing," Namjoon blushed, running a swift hand through his mop of dark hair, "the wind, probably."

"Rae," a familiar voice altered their line of vision and brought attention to a frantic Jason running down the stairs, "oh, dear Rae! I heard about the entire.. morning.. fiasco. What a load of bullshit! How are you holding up?"

"Better," she replied, with a warm smile, "I went Downtown to clear my head, Jason. It was well overdue." Rae placed the napkin holder on the dining table tenderly, without a sound, but did not look up to meet anyone's eyes.
A body suddenly collided with hers from behind and grasped her into an embrace, and while it shocked the living light out of Rae, she quickly smiled. "Mummy," the 18-year old squealed, "what did you bring?" Dakota picked up the artefact and regarded it carefully, observing the design and the hollow of it, trying to decipher the functionality of the queer showpiece.

"Duckling, that's a napkin holder," Jason informed, looking at her with adoring eyes. The mother-daughter duo saw Jin quietly close in on him and take his hand as he spoke, "the design you see is a visual rep of an Attan festival."
"It's so colorful," Dakota cooed, her chin still perched on her mom's shoulder.
"Yeah," Jin returned, "it's their famous festival of colors; they throw or smear colored powder on each other and drench each other in colored water. It's.. super fun actually. We've been there."

"Oh yeah, mom, that brings me to the point I was gonna take up with you later. Did you know they are dating?"
"Well, I've heard of it," Rae replied, smiling widely.

"Well, what the hell?" Dakota articulated so as to look done with everything, "you were introduced to seven potential suitors, and one of them is already dating someone else. And.. you didn't even.. ask one of them out yet? What's going on, mom?"

The adults laughed out, and Namjoon, who had been standing quietly a few metres away, chuckled, shying away from making eye contact with Rae. "At least Joon made sure to accompany her while she was stressed," Jason added on to the awkward hilariousness of the situation.
"Oh, no no," but got stopped by Rae immediately, "he went there on work. We just happened to be going to Downtown at the same time. It's not like we hung out or anything."

"Oh," Seokjin cooed, a little dismally and shrugged, eyeing his brother with disappointment. Namjoon was quick to excuse himself from the midst of them and headed upstairs. Dakota excused herself too, and Seokjin walked back to the kitchen.
When Rae looked back in the direction of the stairs, her heart seemed to stop mid-beat. Staring right at her face was probably the world's most beautiful smile - all 32 teeth out, dimples, nose scrunch and everything - as Namjoon spoke to Yoongi at the bottom of the stairs.

The conversation looked jovial, but the effect it had on Rae was definitely not. She had to turn away as quickly as she looked, a sensation of pain trying to rip open her forehead from the middle. Rae clutched a nearby hand - who's hand she had no idea - and situated herself on a nearby chair.
"Rae-rae!" Jason placed a hand on her head and sat down on a chair beside her. Looking around to see what may have triggered it, he was prompt to pinpoint it.

"Ah, I see," he spoke to her in a low voice. Ironically, his heart swelled seeing her in a state that must have been utterly miserable.
"You'll get used to it," he said, his smirk was distinct in his diction, "you know how it is, you had it with your mum. I'm just.. happy - or should I say pleased? - yeah, pleased. He's been waiting for this for 20 years, let him have it."
"What?" Rae pinched the bridge of her nose. Her voice was barely a whisper when she probed, "what do you mean?"

"I didn't know about it," he continued, "Jinnie told me the other day. And, honestly, I'm glad it's him. We may not always land on the same page but Namjoon is a really good person." He sighed and pulled his gaze away from his friend in misery and looked at Namjoon and Yoongi still conversing.
"If I had known before," he went on, "I'd have told you straightaway. You two.. are a good fit. In my opinion, at least. Do you need something? Water? A painkiller? Him?"

"Jason!" Rae warned when the other would not stop, "clearly, I look like I'm unaware of what you're talking about. Would you care to elaborate?"

"Oh," Jason's lips twitched when he looked back at her. Her hair was a mess from being clutched at for too long. Her eyes were a scarlet haze, just like an overcast evening preceding a rainy night. "You don't know?" he asked, and whether it was sympathy that accompanied the enquiry or just curiosity, it was hard to tell.

"Rae, here," Jin converged in on them from behind Jason and placed a dish with a sole slice of sponge cake on the table between them, "oh, what's up? You look.."
He didn't care to finish his sentence and ran his long fingers through her hair. When he decided her hair was finally fixed, he looked back at his boyfriend, "what happened? What did you tell her?" Jason shrugged, "I.. I.. I didn't know Rae didn't know.. about.. Namjoon."
Seokjin stopped in his tracks and turned to face Jason. His eyes were tiny spheres as he stared at him in awe and horror. "Oppa!" Rae summoned, "tell me what's up."

"Nothing serious, Rae," he nervously chuckled and patted her head, "Jason is just messing with you."
"Oppa!"she warned now. From the looks of it, her patience was close to evaporating completely. Rae was tired of being treated like a child, as if she was to be protected. Her ego was hurting and it was evident in her vanished smile. "I know it's something about Namjoon. And it includes me, for some reason. And something that happened 20 years ago? I want you to tell me what it is and you'll tell me what it is right now."

Seokjin gulped the little amount of saliva that had formed on his tongue. Other than that, his throat was going dry at the thought of what was coming up. He had no problem disclosing the secret that bound Rae and his brother together, but he feared Namjoon's reaction to it. He would be furious if he got to know his Jin hyung had confessed on his behalf. But, right now what was more worrisome was facing Rae. She was no more in the mood to take no for an answer.

"Tell me," she demanded again.
Jin sighed. He eyed Jason one last time before making a decision. Dragging a chair to situate himself in their midst, he started.
"This is probably not known to you, largely because Joonie didn't want you to know. Initially because you were younger, then because you fell in love with another person, and later because.. well, I don't really know why, you should ask him yourself. The thing is.." he hesitated once again, "the thing is.. Namjoon fell in love with you in high school and has been in love with you ever since."

He stopped and looked at Rae. Her mouth hung open, but her previously arched eyebrows were now relaxing. Her gaze was fixated somewhere on the floor and she looked as if she had not registered the information completely.
"It's.. me?" she asked, her right forefinger pointing at her own chest. When nobody answered, she looked up. From a few feet away, Jimin's eyes met her. Standing near the kitchen counter, the sneaky youngster had been listening to the entire conversation. He smiled at her affectionately, as if in congratulations.

"It's me?" she asked again, this time looking directly at Seokjin.

"Yeah, why? Did you know about this and think it was someone else?"

"Nothing," she murmured and stood up. "Do me a favor," she spoke again before leaving, "don't tell him I know."
They watched as she walked away, stalled once to speak briefly with Yoongi before heading upstairs.

****

Namjoon stood in front of the mirror in his washroom, still, staring at himself. His fingers roamed around his lips, still trying to believe what happened just a little while ago. If he closed his eyes, he could still see her face from so close when she kissed him, still feel the softness of her lips against his, the heft of her tongue in his mouth, the lust, the urgency..
He quickly looked away and stared at a random marble tile on the floor. Maybe he shouldn't have stopped it, maybe Rae wouldn't want to do it again, maybe this is the right time to confess his true feelings.
He slapped his own forehead in exasperation and placed himself on the toilet seat - pants on. "What an idiot you are, Kim Namjoon!" he scolded himself and then, laughed out. Not a miserable laugh, or that filled with self-pity but one mocking his own actions.

****

An influx of guests started in the evening. Not too many, just enough for it to feel like a party. The parents of Dakota's friends were there, Moira brought her partner, two of Dakota's cousins showed up, and a few other guests. Yoongi sat at one of the extra tables laid out for the guests and absent-mindedly watched the house chef cook. Fire emerged from the tossing wok and disappeared into the chimney above and for some reason, that kept him entertained for a while.

"Drinking already?"
He heard a goofy voice behind him and straightened his posture. And when Hoseok appeared in front of him and clinked his glass of whiskey with his can of beer, he smiled. "It's a kid's birthday party," Yoongi reminded him, "what else would we do? Play dumb charades with the birthday girl?"
"Ah! True, true. Suck it up for Dakota, she's a good kid. Or, do it for Rae. She's a good kid too."

Yoongi chuckled and took a sip from his glass. When he didn't reply for a while, his extroverted companion started again. "You.. seem nervous. Is anything on your mind, hyung?"
"Can't say no now that you've caught me red handed, huh?" Yoongi smiled rather meekly, "my mother is about to show up any minute now. I'm just a tad bit anxious about that."

"Woah! Ms. Min will be here? I didn't know she was invited," Hobi seemed legitimately surprised. He was leaning towards Yoongi for more information.

"Oh no no! She's just back in town and must have a word with Rae. I didn't even have an idea. Moira informed me." His glass was already near his lips by the time he finished and he made sure to take a large gulp.
"So why are you anxious?" Hobi asked, "is it because you haven't courted the alpha enough yet?"

Yoongi scoffed. "Min Alma doesn't give a shit about all that. I'm not even here to court the alpha. Just make connections, she said. You know, while she was trying to convince me. I'm just.." he sighed, "I don't know why I'm anxious."
"I understand," Hobi replied before they gradually slipped into silence again.

Everybody else upstairs was busy getting ready. While Rae had not left her room since she had returned to it, and only invited Dakota and Moira in, the omegas were moving in and out of each other's rooms, as if at a frat party. Taehyung had lost count of entering either Seokjin or Jimin's room, and finding them romancing their partners.
"Guys," he sighed, looking somewhere in between Jimin and Jungkook as they stood in front of the mirror, literally stuck to each other. The taller one rested his chin on Jimin's shoulder, whispering compliments in his ears. When Taehyung barged in, they looked back only to see an exasperated 25-year old.

"Lock the door if you don't want me to walk in on you guys, no?" he said, turning around to walk out but got stopped by his friends. In a fit of laughter, they helped each other gloss up for the party downstairs. They had each received one fancy item of clothing from Rae to wear for the party and had gladly adorned themselves with it.

Jimin got a lovely blouse in soft pink, with a row of 3D flowers going round the neck. The sleeves gathered both near the shoulder and the wrist in neat pleates. Jungkook wore a plain yet eye-catching satin button-up in the color of a shiny slate and Jimin could not take his eyes off him.
They both showered Tae with compliments when he came into Jimin's room, wearing a pretty red dress Rae had presented him with. He completed the look with a pair of black slacks that matched with the delicate embroidery on it.

Seokjin and Jason twinned in white. And although the former perceived the silk, the abundance of sparkly stones on his bell sleeves and the sheer back to be over the top, he believed his boyfriend when he called him "my handsome prince".

They went downstairs, hand in hand, and greeted the other omegas. Yoongi was quietly sat, drinking, in his glossy red suit, awkward and feeling overdressed in an obvious way. Hobi, on the other hand, was cheerful, admiring the accessories Taehyung had incorporated in his look. He wore a light blue shirt with a white blazer and pants and, as always, looked ravishing.

When Dakota came downstairs, wearing a simple red evening dress, Taehyung's cheeks acquired a similar tinge. He had got it for her from his boutique and it pleased him to see that she chose to wear it.
He.. liked her. She was free-spirited, and antsy, and often reminded Tae of his own youth. And while he knew she reciprocated the affection, he was never willing to act on it as long as she was underage. But today, he had decided to speak with Rae and ask for permission to date her. At least, for as long as she was in Osira.

Rae was only a few steps behind Dakota. She paused on the top of the stairs, like the authoritative figure that she was and intended to be, before descending them, almost as if floating. Like her daughter, she had chosen to wear the outfit that the youngest Kim had picked out for her. When she caught his gleaming eyes among the crowd, she decided to smile back.
The hem of her ivory full skirt hovered only inches above the floor, making her look so much taller, and while the body-fitting crimson blouse made her look intimidating, the poet sleeves added a certain charm to the look. "Noona," Jimin greeted her first at the bottom of the stairs, "you look so good. Can I take a picture? It's for a blog I'm going to post for Dakota's birthday."

"Oi," Yoongi tried to steal her attention, just as she was about to agree, "why are we all dressed up like an award show's red carpet event, huh? I look like a clown."
"You look very handsome, Yoongi," she smiled at him, and pinched the bridge of his nose. A clicking sound startled them, making them realize Jimin had already taken the picture he wanted. "Jimin-ah!" Yoongi rebuked, but only politely.
"I warned, hyung," the younger said in delight, displaying a full smile, his eyes squinting into narrow slits. This time, Rae knew why it didn't affect her. She took her eyes off of them and looked around, in search of a particular someone. But he was nowhere to be seen.

She decided to go round the room, with Dakota and greet the guests who had showed up. Mr. Wales had made sure to gather the gifts in the studio and stored the birthday cake Lou had brought, to bring out later. The guests smiled and shook hands with Rae, and it probably was a big deal for them to be able to stand next to the Alpha, to get to make small talk with her. But, right now, for Rae, this was all a formality and a way to pass the time before her guest of preference showed up.

Leaving her daughter with her friends, she walked back to the kitchen. Rae absolutely loved her outfit, especially the pretty sleeves. She toyed with it, trotting towards where she saw some of the omegas assembled. "What are you all doing here?" she walked into the kitchen only to see them drinking merrily, "emptying my alcohol cabinet, all of you? Good Lord!"
"Rae-ah!" Seokjin invited her in their midst and put an arm around her shoulder, "I remembered something when I saw your outfit. I was in the library yesterday, you see."
"Which library, Oppa?"
"That's not important. So, what happened is.. I was at the library, and, you're not gonna believe this. I saw a dude - around mid 20s - looking up little girls' skirts."

Rae's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? You reported him, right?"
"Oh God!" Yoongi scoffed, "don't entertain him, Rae." When everyone laughed out, or at least giggled, Seokjin finished his joke, "I didn't know they had a section for that." She looked at him in awe for a little while - first, with the confusion and when she realized the joke, with a sort of bewilderment. "Are you serious?" she asked with the straightest face ever.

Seokjin opened his mouth for what seemed like a reply, but didn't give her one. He instead turned to face the opening of the kitchen and yelled, "ah, Namjoon-ah! You're finally here. Woah! Look at him, Rae, he looks good huh?"
Rae had no more time or headspace to ponder over a dad joke. For the moment she turned to see her most-awaited guest, her heart stopped. It was quite possibly a dream, she concluded, nobody could look this good in a simple green shirt with a butterfly brooch.

"Hyung," Tae expressed her surprise through his own words, "you look really good," and then continued to add his own remarks, "I like how you added the white t-shirt and kept the buttons open. Woah! And the pants really go well with this. Would you like to tell everyone who asked you to style it like this?"
Namjoon sighed, and Rae's heart skipped another beat. "My very handsome and talented brother, Kim Taehyung suggested me to style it like this," he said, "please go to him if you need quick fashion advice."

Mr. Wales brought out Dakota's cake, giving rise to another round of cheering. The birthday girl was weirdly more energetic today, more positive, and definitely less antagonizing towards her mother. When she made sure to take the first piece of cake to her, unlike the last few years when she would just make a cut on the icing and leave for her room, Rae looked obviously shocked. The latter looked across the room at Moira, who only smiled back at the development.

She spoke to everyone. Again. Went around making small talks with the guests, asking them to not be shy and help themselves with the food. Moira accompanied her sometimes, while Mr. Wales did the other times. Her eyes rarely ever left Namjoon's form, either across the room or only a few feet away. But she could not find a single way to start a conversation with him. Not after acquiring the forbidden fruit of knowledge that had been kept from her for 20 years.

Rae still couldn't believe it. 20 years? How is that even possible? How can someone be in love with another for 20 years of no reciprocation? It's impossible, she came to that conclusion several times throughout the day. Maybe it was another of Seokjin's jokes. Or.. maybe it was true after all. Oh, how she wished it was true! She needed answers.
But for right now, she needed whiskey. She walked back to the kitchen, where Yoongi had settled himself for the evening.

On seeing her approach, and the person tailing her without her knowledge, he took out a new glass from the shelf and prepared it for her. "Here," he handed it to her when she was finally there. Just as she had touched the brim to her lips, Tae walked in with his own motive.
"Noona, hi," he greeted her, with a wide smile.
"Hello, Tae, are you enjoying the party?" She smiled back, completely unaware of what's about to come.
"Of course. I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Sure, what's up?"

The 25-year old opened his mouth to speak but before he could put his point across, got interrupted by an anxiously approaching Moira. "Rae, Yoongi, Ms. Min is here," she said, paced, out of breath, "be rea.."
She only got half her sentence in as Min Alma made her presence known. "Happy birthday to your daughter, Alpha." When she spoke, her enunciation seemed to bring the world around to a halt. Intimidating was only an understatement. Rae was sure if the two of them were put in a room together, any person would think of Alma as the Alpha instead of herself.

"Of course," she managed a smile, "she should be around, if you wanna wish her yourself."
"No time, Rae. Don't mind, but I got to see my therapist after this. I would prefer to speak to you for now. I'll leave her gift with your assistant?"
"That works too."

Alma looked around, at Yoongi, Tae, Moira, the chef and even the guests outside, far away from them. "Isn't there anywhere more private?" She asked, "don't you have a conference room in the mansion?"
Yoongi looked away and rolled his eyes. "You will come too, Yoongi," she finally spoke to her son since she arrived.
"Of course, mother," he replied, emptying the remnants from his glass.

"I'll have my staff open up the conference room," Rae addressed her again, "in the meantime, can I ask them to get you something? To eat? Or drink?"
Alma sighed. "Maybe I'll meet your daughter after all. Yoongi, I'm sure you'll accompany me." "Of course, mother," he said, getting up from his seat, a little wobbly from all the alcohol he'd been drinking since the advent of the evening. Rae turned once towards Tae and mouthed a "sorry, gotta go" before following the Mins out.

The conversation between Alma and Dakota was only short-lived before an employee at the Smith household came by to notify them about the conference room being opened up. A curt birthday wish later, the older woman followed her host, her son quietly tailing them. It would be an understatement to say the rest of the guests were curious about this sudden departure. Jimin, with his Polaroid camera in hand, walked up to Namjoon standing nearby and poked him about it. The latter had to strain his eyes away from the love of his life walking away to speak to one of the maknaes.
"Do you know what this is about, hyung?" Jimin asked, his pout exemplifying for some reason. "No, Jimin," he smiled but only little, and sipped on his glass of rum and coke. "Maybe," he continued, "it's something about Ms. Min's tour."

He was right. Min Alma was dying to part with the information she had gathered during her recent expedition to Ika. Like her son, she had started her career as a psychiatrist, quickly becoming a star in the area of child psychology. More often than desired, she received counseling requests from parents of children who were struggling with their given temporals. When explained why this is completely normal, she would usually receive a snapping comment or a stinky eye and her competitors would soon take the case in, giving false promises to those same ignorant parents who could have otherwise helped their children.
She was grateful her son followed in her footsteps, but in the process of helping other children, she never realized when she had lost the trust of her own. Alma had started the MM organization in the living room of her apartment, gathering like-minded individuals who wanted to help these children and anyone else who was being discriminated against. When she learnt about the new Alpha's daughter, she introduced herself to Rae, quickly winning her trust with friendship and empathy.

"Please take a seat," Rae pointed towards the empty seats in front of them. As the mother-son duo took seats on the opposite sides of the table, Rae fixed herself at the head of the table. Alma's assistant placed a fat journal in front of the alpha and even went to the lengths of flipping the pages to what was supposed to pique her interest.
On top of the page, in bolds, was written Ika. That was the only written word on the page, the rest of the entry was made with letters cut out from newspapers. Fascinating, Rae wondered, but does Alma do this on her own? She had no more time to fixate on this as the older woman started to speak. As if on a caffeine high, she started spewing information at her. While Yoongi's pupils got wider with every piece of news, Rae listened on calmly.
"You.. don't seem very taken aback?" Alma asked the alpha.
Rae sighed. "Victor was here a few days ago. For the Alpha conference. I've already heard this from him."
"What an idiot!" Yoongi remarked, "why would he openly talk about something so discriminatory?"

"I don't think he realises this is problematic."
"This is not all," Ms Min commented, as Rae turned the page. "I'm sure you're wondering why Valerius is allowing all this. Well, guess what? Valerius Wang has acquired the same disease as your father, Rae. Or something similar. Cancer, but I'm not sure of where. Also, this still stands as an unverified rumor that I've heard on the streets. Ikans have apparently not seen Valerius in months, only heard from him on Twitter.."
"Why are all these old people wilding on Twitter?" Yoongi scoffed.
His mother continued, "Valerius was an evil dictator, we all know. But it was somehow acceptable to the people of Ika. He was stern and made fruitful decisions for his people. However, it seems as though they do not like Victor. With his father out of the picture, or not in a state to advise him, Victor is making decisions and drastic changes in the clan left, right and center. This outlawing same-sex relationships is not something that the people would accept. Ever. There have been protests already in parts of the capital and other townships.
"There have even been rallies against mandatory conscription apparently. I mean, that is the soul of Ika and the people don't like that either now. Alpha, are you listening?"

Rae looked as if she had zoned out for a second when Alma called her out on it. Yoongi knew there was already too much on her plate right now, but still wondered what his mother's point of talking about Ika was. "Yeah, yeah, I'm listening," she said and stared at the paper-cut letters on the journal's otherwise white page.
"Rae, they want a new leader." Her head cocked up at the revelation. What exactly was Alma implying?

Yoongi stole the words from her lips. "Mother, what are you implying here?" "I'm not implying anything," Alma returned, "I'm only a mediator here, conveying the messages from Ikans to you."
"This can't be the general consensus. They would never betray the Wangs."
"What if the Wangs were betraying them? Would they still not look out for themselves and their coming generations? Victor is an incompetent ruler, who acts on his whims. Why would the people want someone who doesn't care about them? Alpha, they want a new ruler. They want you."

Rae's head hung low, the tips of her locks touching the top of the table. "Are you asking me to wage war against Ika?" she asked, her head still hung, "or a strategic coup d'etat?" When Alma didn't answer for a while, she finally looked up. "I'm not asking you to take a decision right now," the older woman said, "but eventually, as soon as we can. You've already won the hearts of people from every clan. It's no wonder that they want you instead of anyone else. Maybe we can.."
Rae put one hand up, signalling her to stop. "Let's talk about this on Monday. I'm not in the proper headspace for this. I.. hope you understand."

Namjoon had sighed a breath of relief when he saw Rae walking up the stairs with Yoongi and Alma. Ever since he had come downstairs, there hadn't been a moment where he could lift his eyes off her. If he did for a moment or two, it was probably only because someone spoke to him. She looked so beautiful, dreamy, like a fictional princess. He was proud of his younger brother for designing the outfit for her, that not only accentuated her beauty but made her feel beautiful in an obvious way. From the way she glided across the room, talking to one guest and then to another, smiled gracefully, spoke with authority, oozed confidence with every single gesture and movement, it was clear to him that she knew she looked pretty.
He was also aware of the fleeting glances she threw his way, and the way her cheeks flared when he returned them. She would tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smile a little more whenever he did that and he couldn't but think about how much he wanted to lay down at her feet and worship her. Namjoon had no intention of being her knight and going on wars for her, he had no intention of parting from her even for a second. Rather, he wanted to be a poet in her court, weaving words with words in praise of her beauty and bravery, a painter rebuking himself for never being able to capture how enamored he was with her in any of his paintings of her. Or even the fool, making her laugh all day. Anything. Absolutely anything to never have to part from her.

The kiss from earlier in the day had not left him, would never leave him. A wait of 20 years was not easy, but so so worth it. Although if he was asked to wait for it again, he probably would not be able to. Maybe it was finally time to pursue this. He blushed when he saw her coming down the stairs again, something a little unusual for an individual his age. Their eyes met from across the room but Rae quickly looked away. His eyebrows crooked, meeting over his eyes. Her usual reaction constituting of a shy smile and tucking of hair behind her ear were gone.
As he watched from the opposite side of the room, she shook hands with Min Alma and Yoongi gave her a curt hug before she departed. What confirmed Namjoon's suspicion about something being off was when Yoongi put an arm around her and patted her shoulder. His heart sank into his body cavity, heavy with melancholy for his beloved's apparent sadness. Namjoon sighed, following her movement with his eyes. As if on instinct, his feet took him towards her.