"Keep an eye out," Hyunjin whispered in Erin's ear, gazing around as people raced around the town. "They should be arriving soon."

A week had passed since the Guardian meeting concerning the crimson flag and while on this day, it was something only few were focusing on, it was still a concern.

Erin crinkled her eyebrows, gazing in the same direction as him. The townspeople frantically filled the streets, all wearing their best hanboks and singing hymns as they made their way to the wedding ceremony taking place at a field between the forest and Guardian Building. Smiles filled their faces as they carried gifts and pots of food and more, ready to shower the bride and groom with love. 

On the contrary, Hyunjin's face was dead serious with a glint of concern. She sighed, wiping her sweaty hands on her gold hanbok and turning to him. He wore a red hanbok and had his hair gelled back. He fiddled with the bouquet in his hands before glancing up to meet her gaze.

"You aren't talking about the bride and groom, are you?"

He shook his head no, "why Seungmin and Chaeyeon decided to still go through with this wedding is beyond me. An event like this is the perfect target."

"Mentioned any of this to Nathan?"

"Chan too. They say I'm overthinking it." He sighed. "At least I know you and I have a similar way of thinking. That's why you looked petrified at breakfast."

Her eyes widened, "you noticed?"

"Of course, I did. Lucky for you, everyone else seemed more interested in the wedding and pestering Seungmin than your odd behaviour. You've been thinking the same thing as me."

"Well duh. As you said, the perfect target. I'll keep an eye out and you do so too. Get Jeongin in on it too. But at the end of the day, this wedding is about Seungmin and Chaeyeon. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. We might just be paranoid."

The left side of Hyunjin's lip curved into an uncertain smile, "I really wish we are just being paranoid. I just want this day to go well. For him."

***

The wedding ceremony took place in an empty field. Rows of pillows for the guests to sit on were split in half by a red carpet aisle. In front was a dais with two large thrones in the centre, both made of mahogany and red and gold cushions. In these thrones, sat the Seungmin and Chaeyeon, squeezing each other's hand. Chaeyeon wore a red and yellow bridal hanbok with a pin tying her hair up and holding her bridal daenggi which complimented her headpiece. Seungmin sat beside her in a scarlet groom wedding suit, a groom belt and a headpiece. Beside each other, they seemed so happy, as though the had just conquered the world. And Erin wished it to be true as she awarded her best friend, Seungmin, with a proud smile but she couldn't bring the smile to meet her eyes.

Sitting between Nathaniel and Jeongin, Erin found herself staring at the woods more often than the couple in front. The priest rambled on about love and purity but everything inside her told her this was wrong. Glancing at Hyunjin, she was shocked to see how nonchalant he seemed. She even questioned whether he had forgotten about his concern. Fortunately for her, Jeongin seemed just as anxious as her as he held her hand throughout the whole ceremony, squeezing it momentarily.

"Jeongin, what the heck!" Erin scolded him when his grip on her hand tightened significantly. "You are crushing my bones! Stop it!"

He failed to respond nor did his grip loosen. Instead, he kept his gaze fixated on something in the forest. She tried following his gaze only to see a bush slightly moving.

She sighed, shaking her head, "it's just the breeze, calm down."

"There's no breeze," he responded.

She pulled her hand out of his grip forcefully, "then it's probably just a deer."

"Last I checked," he exhaled sharply, eyes widening as he grasped her arm instead. His nails pierced her skin through the fabric of her dress, earning a wince from her as she shuffled away from him. Nathaniel shot them a glare but didn't bother asking what was happening. She tried to remove his hand once again but this time it was futile. His grip was quickly tightening, forcing her to mumble curses at him under the breath.

"What, Jeongin?" she snapped, catching all the Guardians' attention but thankfully, no one else's. "Last time you checked what happened?"

He pointed towards the bush again and she immediately noticed a man's head peeking above it, holding a bow aimed at Seungmin. She eyes widened at the sight, finally realising her concerns were valid. Hyunjin was already out of his seat, sprinting to Seungmin but Erin knew it was too late. The man was already letting go of the arrow.

"Last time I checked," Jeongin mumbled. "Deers can't shoot an arrow."

Are you guys actually enjoying this story? Because I don't want to make anything you guys don't like and since it is a Christmas advent, I want this to be like a present from me to you. Of course, I know war doesn't necessarily scream the festive season but I have been planning to write this story for a while now and it is one that has gone through a lot of editing and altering and a long thought process before I published it.