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they were like two meteors, each crashing into what the other loved most.
—
"we have bestowed war upon the Yoon Empire." Emperor Beomseok declared, staring into his son's eyes.
"you did what?! why would you declare them war?!" Seungcheol felt shaken, sight rapidly switching from his father to his mother.
it had always been clear that his father and the Emperor of the Yoon Empire could never form alliances— but this took it too far.
"Seungcheol, please!" his mother, Empress Hwayoung, held onto her son's arm. she had felt long ago that, one day, the disputes would turn into war.
it was inevitable.
"what's done is done. we won't take the declaration back." and with those words from the Emperor, Seungcheol knew he needed to be prepared for anything.
—
miles away, sitting anxiously in his seat, was Prince Jeonghan, faced with the same news.
"...just why would they declare war upon us?" his mother, Empress Yoon Hyesoon, shared her son's speechlessness.
Emperor Joonwoo walked in circles, thinking about his next move. "it was obvious that it would happen. we need to inform the army."
"and the people?" Jeonghan looked at his father.
"we can use them to stall."
the Prince couldn't believe his ears. "use them to stall?! are you out of your mind?! we need to get them to safety!"
"Jeonghan. you will listen to my words as long as I am Emperor."
left with no words, Jeonghan watched his father and mother leave the hall. his mother only glanced back at him with an expression that echoed "I'm sorry.".
—
the Prince of the Yoon Empire sat in his chambers, questioning everything had ever known about his father, his mother and the relations he had to the Choi Empire.
he remembered a time when he and the Prince of Choi used to attend the same royal academy... a time where everything was far simpler.
"I really can't stop thinking about you, huh?" Jeonghan looked out of his window, gaze wandering over the royal garden.
it was the late summer. some flowers were already losing their colour, while some still bloomed as strongly as ever.
"...are you thinking about me too?"
—
"Jeonghan!" the voice of a young Prince Seungcheol halled through the academy. the addressed turned around, spotting his friend.
"hey! did you finish your classes already?" Jeonghan couldn't suppress his smile, seeing his friend so energetic.
"sure did! Haeun almost set a book on fire today."
"I did not!" Lee Haeun, a princess their age and another friend of the two young royals, walked closely behind Seungcheol. she adjusted her hair before greeting Jeonghan with a smile.
"how come you two don't have to attend the dance lessons meanwhile I do?" her expression could already suggest how much she enjoyed dancing lessons.
Jeonghan shrugged. "I don't know. something about it being better suited for 'royal ladies'?"
"that's ridiculous! you princes have to dance at all the balls as well," rolling her eyes, she continued, "but I don't exactly expect any of these royal administrators to know what they're doing."
it was true— none of the students of the royal academy understood most of the enforced rules. most of them made no sense anyway.
thinking about it, Jeonghan got a particularly good idea to mess with the system.
"you guys," he began, wearing his signature grin, "how about we sneak out during the weekend and visit the village?
Haeun, ever the sceptical one, raised an eyebrow. "you know damn well we're going to get that deducted from our grade if they catch us—"
she pondered for a moment. "ah, fuck it. I'm in. Seungcheol?"
he shrugged. "sure. but Jeonghan's taking the blame if we get caught."
the other two made eye contact before grinning.
"deal."
—
Seungcheol heard a faint knock on his door.
"Prince Seungcheol... his imperial highness ordered for you to help with the plan for the upcoming war." one of the maids called.
"yes, I— I'll be right there."
it felt real now. the night before he had thought that, maybe just maybe, it was all just a horrible dream.
he didn't know how to feel about it. he knew the doom both the Choi and Yoon Empires would face. the destruction, the despair— everything.
the only winner to war was death.
the haunting image couldn't leave his mind; thousands of corpses, scattered around the grounds of two Empires merged through hatred.
and yet the only face he could picture fully was Jeonghan's. the friend he used to cherish long ago, when the world seemed brighter, and being heir wasn't a responsibility filled solely with guilt.
Seungcheol shook his head, trying to get rid of the face that would always smile at him like he was the sun.
they were separated now, fighting on different sides. they were no longer acquaintances— they were rivals.
both of them knew that choosing anything other than to be on their own Empire's side was a selfish betrayal, never to be forgiven.
—
"no! let me out there, I need– I need to be by his side!" Jeonghan's desperate voice echoed throughout the palace halls, his screams terrifying the maids and butlers.
he was being held back by his mother, who was losing the strength in her arms due to crying.
the war was ongoing, leaving no mercy to anyone— villagers, soldiers, women and even children. it was a ruthless bath of blood and ashes.
"Jeonghan, you can't! you're the heir, you– you can't be on the same battlefield as your father!" his father had, without telling his wife and son, stormed out the palace, beginning to fight in the war on his own.
Jeonghan knew. he knew he couldn't leave this hell, his fate of becoming Emperor if his father died in this battle.
he had always known he'd be the ruler one day— just not like this.
he collapsed into his mother's arms, tears starting to fall from his eyes.
why? why couldn't we live in peace?
—
"shh! be quiet, boys!" Haeun hissed, glaring back at Seungcheol and Jeonghan, who were following closely behind her and giggling like schoolgirls staring at their favourite bands.
"come on, we won't get caught!" Jeonghan snarled back, a playful glint present in his eyes.
"and even if one of the guards on patrol hears us, we can just escape into the forest." he continued.
but Seungcheol wasn't so sure about that. they had always been advised to not leave the academy grounds, sure. but the forests were even more restricted than the villages around the inner city.
from the time they were just small children, imagining their lives as fairytales, their parents, grandparents and other advisors had told them the stories of roaming beasts in the forests of this continent.
"...let's just hope we won't be seen, then." Seungcheol murmured, unconsciously holding onto the hem of Jeonghan's jacket.
the wind blew the strands of their hair into their faces, and small leaves flew past them. it was another autumn night, just before Halloween— a tradition none of the royals ever celebrated.
royal scholars of the academy always said that these traditions were for the commoners only, that royals didn't need to step down to the low ranking people.
kings, queens and their family had other events for them to take part in.
"what is that..?" Haeun stopped in her tracks, staring at a pumpkin engraved with a face. "is that one of those Halloween activities?"
Jeonghan shrugged. "probably. I think it would be fun though."
"kinda sad we don't do that." Seungcheol spoke absentmindedly, looking around the streets.
many of the houses were decorated with pumpkins, wreaths in autumn colours and scary looking decorations.
"was Halloween the festival where they dress up to ward off evil spirits?"
"wasn't that the other one? I honestly have no idea." Jeonghan replied to his friend.
"guys, will you stop it?" Haeun hit Jeonghan's and Seungcheol's shoulders. "there are guards over there." she hinted towards a direction not too far from them.
just as they wanted to walk into a different direction, Jeonghan stepped on a tree branch. Seungcheol and Haeun were quick to glare at him, and he immediately cursed himself.
"hey, who is there?!" hearing the yell of the guards, the three royals ran into the first hideout spot they could reach— the forest.
"intruders! get them!" another guard's command hollered through the quiet village streets. soon most of the guards were chasing after the three friends.
Jeonghan ran face first into the thicket of branches, trees and bushes. there was no marked path they could follow, so Seungcheol and Haeun just went after Jeonghan's direction.
when they couldn't hear any of the guards following them anymore they slowed down, catching their ragged breath.
"oh my fucking– god." Haeun cursed, clutching her jacket close to her chest. she adjusted her posture before looking at Seungcheol, and then to Jeonghan.
"well... at least it was an adventure?" Jeonghan tried to talk himself out of the situation he had got himself and his friends in.
Haeun's gaze glimmered with silent rage, before she began to yell out: "are you kidding me?! don't joke around when we could literally get lost in these forests!"
"Haeun, stop." Seungcheol placed a hand on her shoulder, "he stepped on a branch— how could we know it'd be there?"
the princess sighed, ruffling her hair in frustration. "okay, sorry Jeonghan. I didn't mean to get so loud—"
a low growl echoed from between the trees of the eerily dark forest.
"what– what was that..?!" Haeun almost lost her voice as she looking around anxiously.
"don't tell me those stories they'd tell us are true..." Jeonghan too seemed slightly frightened.
the three went closer together, each checking one of the directions before them.
until another growl, a howl, scaped from the leaves, and a wolf as big as a bear jumped out from the dark.
Haeun began to scream, eyes wide. Jeonghan tried to pull her and Seungcheol away before the wolf's claws could grasp them, but he only had the time to pull Haeun out of the wolf's reach.
"Seungcheol–!" the warning was too late, and the wolf had already scratched past Seungcheol, the force made him fall to the ground and wince in pain.
Jeonghan and Haeun had to think quickly— but how could they, in a situation filled with fear?
Jeonghan turned around, pushing Haeun before him. "run! we need to find the guards!"
not knowing what better to do, they fled the scene, trying to find the guards of the village. if they had expected it, maybe they wouldn't have left Seungcheol there.
the last thing Seungcheol saw were the beast's claws, blood dripping from them onto the forest ground.
the emotional scars of that night went far deeper than the physical ones.
—
the Emperors of the Yoon and Choi Empires had died. their wives and sons were devastated, but there was no time to grieve— Seungcheol and Jeonghan had to be crowned Emperor.
neither of the fallen rules had gotten a funeral. the war was ongoing, taking lives and destroying the lands.
by now it was almost impossible to tell where the Yoon Empire ended and the Choi Empire started. the grounds the people used to live on were soaked in blood, flesh and tears.
"...Jeonghan." Empress Hyesoon stood in the frame of the door leading to Jeonghan's chambers.
the prince was dressed in the most formal attire he had, saved especially for the day he'd be crowned.
"I know how you're feeling, I... even I haven't processed it yet. but, please, don't lose hope." she sat down beside her son, pushing the strands of hair out of his face.
"I've asked the Lee Kingdom for help." she stated, making Jeonghan's eyes spread wide.
"you asked for their help?"
"yes, I did," she confirmed before she continued, "but they requested something in exchange for their military help in this war."
"...and that is?" he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
when they were still friends, Haeun used to often tell them that her father was eager to form alliances, toying with the idea to marry his daughter off to the heir of a strong Empire.
but he wouldn't do that now that the Yoon Empire was at war, would he?
"King Daejung asked for you to marry his daughter, Haeun."
fuck.
"but– we are at war! is that man crazy?!"
"Jeonghan, please!" his mother stood up, facing her son directly.
"we don't have the time to question his requests! we need all the help we can get, no matter the cost! or do you want your father's death to be in vain?"
no, no he did not want that. his father died fighting— Jeonghan shouldn't dishoner his death by simply giving up.
he had to fight too. he had to protect his Empire, his people, the ones he loved.
he wouldn't back down now.
—
Haeun and Jeonghan were standing outside the nurse's hall, awkwardly scratching their arms and looking to the floor.
they had been scolded endlessly by the academy's headmaster, and given three months of detention.
after some minutes of hesitation, Haeun broke the silence: "...my parents have decided to withdraw me from the academy." her voice was a mere whisper, unsure and silent. the opposite of what she usually was.
"they said they'll send me to a mannerism school for young princesses." she huffed, "can you imagine me? being there... among all these traditional ladies?"
Jeonghan shook his head. "no. you're more rebellious than those princesses."
he inspected Haeun's expression. she presented a smile on her lips, but he knew it was likely just a front, build up to ease the tension between them.
Seungcheol had been in the nurse's recovery hall for two weeks, having his wounds treated and resting as best as he could.
Jeonghan felt a sense of guilt. he was the one who suggested sneaking out of the academy, after all.
"should we check on him?" Haeun's voice called Jeonghan back into reality. he fidgeted with the hem of his sleeves for a moment, before nodding.
"yeah, I think we should."
they pushed the door to the hall open, walking inside and searching for Seungcheol's bed. once they spotted him, they quickly made their way to his bedside.
Seungcheol was currently talking to one of the nurses, who was changing one of his bandages for him, when he saw Haeun and Jeonghan from the corner of his eye.
"oh my god–" the words slipped from Haeun's lips before she could stop herself.
a big, brutal looking scar now crossed Seungcheol's right side of his face, and the longer Haeun and Jeonghan inspected Seungcheol, the more scars they spotted on his body.
"oh. it's you guys." Seungcheol's face seemed to darken immediately.
"we, um, we came to check up on you." Jeonghan didn't know why it felt hard for him to speak all of the sudden. it was as if his airways were sued shut.
Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. "after two weeks? are you kidding me, Jeonghan?"
Haeun and Jeonghan were startled, not expecting Seungcheol to raise his voice like that— or to react so harshly at all. he was usually the calm and composed one of the three.
"we– I thought you—"
"just stop talking, Jeonghan!" Seungcheol snarled, glaring up at his— well, were they still friends now?
"if it weren't for you, none of this would have happened! if you just didnt suggest that stupid idea of sneaking out the damn academy, I wouldn't be lying here, scars all over my body!"
Jeonghan didn't know how to answer. hell, he felt like he had just forgotten how to speak completely. but something twisted deep inside him was telling him:
"Seungcheol was right. it's all your fault that he was attacked. aren't you ashamed of yourself? and you're supposed to be a prince..."
…
that day was the end of Seungcheol's, Jeonghan's and Haeun's friendship.
—
"you... look different." Haeun said, looking at her past friend. "like you've personally walked through hell and back."
"well, maybe I did. it felt like it, at least." Jeonghan whispered back as he avoided her gaze. all the memories from back then came back to him in that moment.
the guilt of that one night had been eating him from the inside out like a parasite, never to be found.
"are you going to fight?"
"with all that I have. even if it means killing him."
—
the sounds of blade against blade and raw screams echoed through the battlefield. the land looked like it had been wiped of any life there ever was.
the soldiers couldn't even tell who belonged to the enemies, or to their own side anymore. everyone was drenched in dark red blood.
this wasn't just war— it was the hell of two Empires.
Jeonghan fought soldiers of the opposing side with all his might. his armour was heavy, seemingly wanting to pull him to the ground.
his arms and legs wanted to give up with every second he moved more, and a warm liquid he identified to be his own blood was running down his forehead.
"your imperial highness, behind you–!" one of the soldiers called out to Jeonghan, but he was already struck by a blade of his enemy's side.
"argh, who—" once he looked up, a pair of brown eyes locked with his own.
"Seungcheol?"
"Jeonghan?" the confusion was visible in both of their faces as they stared at each other. it was as if the other people around them just disappeared into thin air.
after a few, long seconds of Jeonghan staring up at Seungcheol, his eyes softened. was this was recurring love felt like?
what was this feeling he never felt before?
"hah," Seungcheol huffed, like he couldn't believe who he was seeing, "I honestly thought you'd be too cowardly to fight in the war."
"as if." Jeonghan murmured back, face darkened. his chest tightened with something he couldn't identify.
"all I want is for this war to end."
the words hung in the air like the last bit of hope left in both of them.
they could fight for as long as they wanted, scream at each other for eternity— but they just wanted peace.
they didn't want any of this. even if they had gone separate ways, they wouldn't have started a war because of it.
in the end, to blame were their fathers.
"but how? how can this end?" Seungcheol's voice turned from harsh to soft, almost breaking.
"it feels like it will go on for as long as we live—"
"maybe that's the problem." Jeonghan realised. he gripped Seungcheol's sword, which was beat into the ground next to his head, and held his own blade closer to Seungcheol's neck.
"this war can only end when both our lineages have no way to continue." his voice was shaky, and he couldn't believe he was saying this.
"we can end this if we just... died."
Seungcheol stared down at him, his hair falling in front of his eyes. it had started to rain, making the fight all the more unpredictable.
but he knew Jeonghan, his old friend, was right.
"this war ends with us."
Jeonghan brought up the courage to smile once more at the person he unconsciously had loved more than he thought, bringing his hand up to Seungcheol's cheek.
Seungcheol, too, smiled, silent tears building up in his eyes.
they lifted their swords and— slit open each other's throats.
Seungcheol fell to the floor next to Jeonghan, each of their weapons falling out of their hands. Seungcheol took Jeonghan's hand.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
they didn't have to say what they were apologising for. they knew each other like that. even after all these years, their mutual understanding never perished.
"Jeonghan, Seungcheol— oh god, what have you two done?!" Haeun's yell pulled them out of their bubble one last time.
she kneeled down beside her old friends, fighting her tears.
"you– why would you do this?! have you got no brain?!" her voice cracked, as she held the hands of both Seungcheol and Jeonghan.
"Haeun... please lead these Empires to glory." Jeonghan spoke, mustering his last strength.
Seungcheol chuckled. "you wouldn't even have let it get to this point— of a war taking place."
"but I– I was never taught to rule! you two can't just know that I can do this— what if I fail?!"
"we trust you, Haeun." Seungcheol whispered, closing his eyes and letting his head sink to the cold ground.
"you'll be the best Empress history has known." those were Jeonghan's last words.
and the two friends, now together again, in a relationship only they could define, drifted off into an endless sleep.
—
the war was declared over, as neither of the empires had an emperor left to rule. Haeun, as the empress of the Yoon Empire, was made ruler of both empires by the last wish of Jeonghan and Seungcheol.
and although the days passed on, it still felt like the scars of the war would never heal— millions of deaths, destroyed homes and broken hearts.
the lives lost could never be replaced, or even compensated. there epild always be someone mourning, for as long as this generation lived.
"your imperial highness?" one of the maids walked up behind Haeun, a careful tone to her voice.
"the memorial of the passed rulers will be revealed shortly. the royal advisors request you hold a speech before the reveal."
Haeun pondered for a moment, then turned around and nodded. "I will be there shortly. thank you for telling me."
it felt surreal to her— her only friends were gone now, and she was left to rule their empires. the voices in her head were nagging at her;
"what if you can't live up to their expectations? what if you fail? can you even rule on your own? can you honour their legacies? what if they died for nothing?"
Haeun tried her best to ignore them. she knew her own abilities, and she knew that Jeonghan and Seungcheol trusted her.
she vowed to rebuilt and keep these merged empires safe from any further harm. it was the least she could do.
—
Haeun's parents, Seungcheol's mother, Jeonghan's mother, royal advisors, and even commoners had gathered for the reveal of the memorial dedicated to Jeonghan and Seungcheol.
with expectant glances on her back, Haeun stepped up to the front. these people she looked down on now— they were her responsibility, her lifeline, her promise.
"today marks the day where we remember two rulers— once united in friendship and academics, then turned against each other through the differences their fathers couldn't place aside." her voice may have appeared steady, but she felt herself tremble.
"they were... far too young for the pressure put on them. but despite everything, they endured it, and faced the war with all their might."
a light breeze passed by, making the remaining leaves on the ground turn and fly off to the heavens. maybe they'd pass by Seungcheol and Jeonghan?
"they ended the war in the most... self offering way. anyone would call their actions insane— but they were just like that. causing mischief and following their heart." Haeun held her hand close to her chest, trying not to let her tears flow.
"Seungcheol and Jeonghan. they cherished each other more than the pride of their empires. if it wasn't for that unconditional feeling, whatever it may be, the war would have taken many more lives. today we want to honor their sacrifices. thank you."
Haeun walked to the side while a few men gathered around the memorial to reveal it. when the curtain fell, gasps from the crowd echoed.
the memorial depicted Seungcheol and Jeonghan, standing side by side, their blades etched into the ground between them. their crowns were lying on the ground before them.
because their bond wasn't defined by a crown or title, but by the choices they chose to make.
"it's– too real," Haeun whispered, feeling her breath slip away, "as if they're standing right there, alive and well."
this memorial, a tribute to a friendship and two rulers with hearts made of gold, would stand strong for centuries to come.
—
the remaining pieces of the two meteors formed something greater than anyone had done before.