Chapter 6: Target I
Hwarang proceeded to the assassins territory as they called it. He was about to go through the network of labyrinths leading out to the open courtyard of their territory when he heard a familiar voice.
"Hwarang!" A small high pitched voice called and he sighed in exasperation before veering around with a straight face to look at the young girl about sixteen years of age dressed in an exquisite green silky hanbok gown embellished with blue embroideries.
Her brown hair was let loose and braided with hairpins on it.
Her brown doe eyes gleamed with delight when she stared at him with feelings swirling into her brown irises.
"I'm busy Princess Yeonhwa." His tone was clipped as he uttered the words with a hard face, his cold emotionless black eyes peering into hers like daggers.
The Assassins had a natural domineering demeanor and a powerful aura, so they appeared rigid and insensitive as they were trained to get rid of their sensitivity and feelings to cultivate them to kill without remorse or empathy.
Hwarang had been one of the most prevalent assassins in the kingdom and unfathomably, the princess had grown infatuated with him, even though he couldn't reciprocate the feeling and she was well aware that the Hwarangs could never get married since their lives were devoted to serving the kingdom.
Yeonhwa was slightly scared of him, his dark aura always made her spine tingle whenever she tried countlessly to converse with him, but she confidently did because she let the fact that was the princess and they served the kingdom console her.
"Really? What are you busy with?" She queried, her straight aristocratic nose wriggling when she asked in dissatisfaction since she had wanted to spend some time with him.
"Business, I have to go." He said with a nonchalant attitude and without waiting for her to stem a reply, he swerved around and proceeded into the labyrinth structure leading into their territory.
He was already sliding his feet across the tunnel of the labyrinth structure when he felt her small grip on his arm, halting him in his movement.
"Wait a minute!" She said with a small voice, eyes pleading with him.
His brows creased in irritation as he stared at the frail figure clutching on his arm which he towered above.
He abhorred the fact that she nagged him a lot like the over pampered princess she was and the fact that she always thought she could get whatever she wanted, created a tremendous disparity between the two and their feelings.
He gradually but firmly shoved her hand aside, making it fall to her side and her shoulders dropped in displeasure.
"I like you Hwarang." Her small voice echoed in the tunnel but he just stared at her with a blank expression, her eyelashes blinking and her small hands clutching her gown in anxiety.
"A Hwarang can't get married and give his entire commitment to his family, the only forte we're allowed to stay committed to is the kingdom." He replied in a clipped tone and a stoic expression.
"I know but, my Father will make an exception for me, you know he'll do anything to make me happy." She stated frantically as she fiddled with her gown in nervousness.
"I never said I wanted to marry you, princess." His voice was now lower as he spoke under his breath, his deep baritone voice reverberating in the hall and she gulped softly.
"W-what? I'm the princess, why wouldn't you want to marry me? You'll have a good life and you might gain access to the throne." She remarked with a wavering voice as she chuckled nervously, listing out all the benefits he could gain if he married her but he scoffed darkly as she spoke.
"Are you trying to bribe me into marrying you?" He queried rhetorically and she instinctively took a step back with shaky gasps escaping her lips.
"I don't accept. Princesses should marry a prince charming, not a demon who has drenched his hands with blood, you're only dazed by my beauty but very soon you'll see, that behind our beauty lies a hideous monster, don't ever do this again." He warned sternly as he turned to leave.
"Don't you want to become king? You'll be elevated to the top, only a fool would reject my offer." She stated in displeasure her face etched with a scowl.
"I take fulfillment in my life as a Hwarang, even a king doesn't hold a candle described in relation to the power we wield, just because we conform to the king doesn't mean we're powerless, we're only devoted to the prosperity of the kingdom." He veered around gradually to look at her face before saying,
"So, don't think for one minute that we are inferior to the king when we're no less than a god, so if I wanted to be committed to someone, then you're below my standards princess, a mere human that's why I'm rejecting your offer." He said blatantly leaving her with her mouth hanging open in perplexity.
"What?! How dare you?!" She yelled frantically but her lips immediately pressed shut when he started moving closer with daunting slow steps, like a predator about to attack its prey.
"Don't ever raise your voice in front of me, I'll rip off your tongue and even your father won't be able to save you." His threats came out in a low deadly growl, his black icy eyes glowering down at her and her body trembled with goosebumps manifesting on her skin.
He turned his back against her and proceeded towards the courtyard while she watched his retreating figure in wariness and silence.
"Hwarang!" A voice called him just as soon as he emerged from the tunnel into the spacious courtyard, some of them were training as usual.
He whipped his head to the side where the voice erupted from.
It was Joonho, a close alliance he had formed with over the years in the Hwarang training.
Joonho half ran toward him with a cheesy grin on his face, his demeanor was oddly light for a Hwarang but it was overlooked with the deadly skills he possessed coerced with his silent anger that burned more.
As per the norm, he was gorgeous in an underrated sense.
"Joonho." He called.
"Does the princess like you? I just saw the both of you in the tunnel but I quietly went back." Joonho remarked with a cheesy grin as he raised his brows teasingly.
"She does, but she's below my standards, and bitchy too." He uttered with a nonchalant unfazed look.
"Ahh I see, we can't get married anyway, so let's have merriment with as much women as we can, speaking of which, I haven't seen you in the Gisaeng house for some time now." Hwarang rolled his eyes outwardly in exasperation as he sighed.
"Because I'm not a womanizing fuck like you." He replied blatantly before proceeding to enter the traditional house after catching a glimpse of the dark skies and the dim light of the moon shining down on them.
"Aisshh you're so uptight, no, all of you are actually." Joonho complained behind him as he slid open the hanji screened door.
"You act like a clown for a Hwarang even though you harbor deadly skills." Hwarang remarked and Joonho's brows creased but it suddenly switched to a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips.
"Actually, Master Zhong ordered me to go on a mission with someone and I chose you." Joonho blurted out, though it was not the first time he was forced to tag along with Joonho, it annoyed him that Joonho always chose him to be his partner.
"You can do it alone, can't you? Why do I have to tag a long?" Hwarang snapped in vexation as he glared at Joonho.
"It's Master Zhong's order, besides he said our target harbors tigers in their sanctuary as guards." Joonho informed with a perplexed look.
" You could easily take them out, with or without tigers, besides don't act like its your first time killing feral animals when we've always hunted for them as kids from Master Zhong's training."
Joonho chuckled, he knew hwarang was right and he could easily take out the tiger as they acquired the deadly powers of Maitreya.
"It doesn't matter, it's Master Zhong orders." Hwarang sighed, he didn't mind actually, he had grown allotted and drawn to killing, it had become a dark part of him that he acknowledged wholeheartedly and became one with it.
He liked the feeling of fear and terror they induced in people but amidst all, they never hurt the innocent as they had grown up with rightful moral teachings from the monks, they were trained not only physically but morally and mentally.
"Who is the target?" He queried and a grin tore through Joonho's lips.
"Beok Ohgyun, the Minister of finance." Joonho replied.
They went into the weapon inventory where their weapons were stored.
Daggers, smoke bombs, swords, ball and chains and so much more resided inside the inventory arranged neatly.
Hwarang selected a sword and unsheathed it from its scabbard as he scrutinized his eyes on the sharp blade and sheathed it back into the scabbard.
"Let's go."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone