Day 374
A. Hak and Soo-Won [Decked out in traditional wind tribe garments and accessories, Hak is sitting on the edge of a small wall pouting over his recent chastising by Mundok. Not that he didn't deserve it, because of his inattention the Princess of Kouka Kingdom had been abducted. Soo-won had effectively shut down the entire town and because of that Hak had been able to find her and get her back, but it had been too close. Soo-Won stands next to him, blaming himself for the trouble they'd gotten into.]
Nah. It's my fault. I let the Princess get into danger. They definitely won't be letting me in the castle anymore.
No way! The King and Yona love you, Hak! There's no way they would do that.
I dunno about the Princess... [Even at the tender age of 6, the Princess only had eyes for one person and one person only.]
If there was someone that would say that, I would persuade them.
[He meant it too, Hak knew that. Even more, after today Hak knew not only did Soo-won mean it--he was capable of it too.]
You're amazing... To be able to get all those guys to ally together and be so open about it. It was sort of like you were the heart of the entire town.
It wasn't... [Soo-Won falls silent for a moment, obviously shocked at Hak's praise.] It's because you were there, Hak. You're always so strong, Hak. Dependable and cool. I wanted to be like that. After seeing you, I wanted to get closer to you. I wanted to be more like you. I always think that.
[Soo-Won turns to look at Hak with seriousness in his eyes, hand reaching out into the sky between them.]
It's frustrating. Even though we're so close, I feel like I can't reach you at all.
You...are my goal.
[Uncomfortable with the compliment from Soo-Won of all people. A noble and completely amazing in his own right, Hak doesn't know how to react so he just ruffles Soo-Won's hair before saying anything.]
Wh-What are you doing, Hak?
Your goal is too small. If you're reaching for something, go for the heavens.
[Hak leaps off the ledge of the wall and takes a few steps away. That someone like Soo-Won views him as a goal, he can't help but feel like he needs to become someone worthy of a goal such as that.]
I'm going home. I need to get some training from Gramps and study.
[He needs to improve himself until he was on equal footing with Soo-Won as soon as possible. Because of that, Hak takes off in a sprint away from his friend without watching where he's going. It's because of that, he runs straight into whoever is observing this scene and falls to the ground because of the impact.]
Hey! Watch where you're going!
[Even though he was the one running, not you.]
B. Hak and Yona
He's courting you?
[Hak laughs hysterically as the thirteen year old Princess explains why she's trying to avoid the second son of the Fire Lord by hiding behind Hak.]
Those lines really irk me! He's so annoying!
Why don't you tell him, then? Tell him "I have my sights set on Soo-won."
[Her face blooms into a bright red blush, a painful reminder of why Hak hates coming to the castle these days. This is the very reason he yet again rejected King Il's request to have him appointed Yona's personal bodyguard not more than five minutes before this.]
...but it's just one sided. If I said that, Soo-won would catch wind of it too.
Not my problem. Get along with Kan Tae-Jun. Sometimes you need to listen to what people tell you.
That's so cold, Hak. If it was Soo-Won...he would never say that.
[It was a direct hit, hitting his emotions in the guts and making him see red. He didn't mean the words that fell from his mouth next, but they felt good to say in the moment before storming away to beg Mundok to go back home to the Wind Tribe.]
Well then...you can go cry to Lord Soo-Won to protect you, right?