You could see the teasing grin splitting his face in the shy moonlight, while the rest of his features hid in the generous shade of his hood. Your fellow assassin was leaning on the outer castle wall as he waited for you to slip out of your wing. To any onlookers, it would look like you were sneaking out to meet a secret lover, but your feat was much darker.
"Does the king know about this?" He continued to say, and although you could only see his lips moving, you knew him well enough to know that his eyes were sparkling with mischief and chaos.
You secured the mask over your lower face as you rolled your eyes at him, "He knows."
Minho knew, of course. He even wished you luck and watched you disappear into the dark to carry out whatever task Jisung assigned. You might've been a royal behind castle walls, but your duty as The Cage's assassin stood, nevertheless.
"Well, then, let's go, y/n," Hyunjin laughed before pulling his mask up and the two of you darted across walls to reach the cluttered rooftops of the city.
You relished the feeling of the wind rushing past you as you ran. It was liberating, and your heart beat with a different kind of energy. Exhilaration. The castle was suffocating. Had it not been for Minho, you would've escaped it long ago.
You could see Hyunjin, a few houses to your right, leaping from one rooftop to another. A smile tugged at your lips. Missions with your best friend were always enjoyable. It has been a while since you last performed a dual attack.
Your friendship with the assassin goes years and years back, when you were still a beginner at your craft. You were sent on a mission to the outskirts when you first spotted him, getting beaten up by members of the Thornhood.
You would've ignored them, but seeing that they were members of your rival organization, you had to step in. They were two fairly young criminals so taking them down wasn't a tough task. Knowing that you were from the Cage was enough for them to retreat after a short brawl and you were left with a blooming bruise and a battered boy. You remember turning to look at him and pushing your hood off. "Are you okay?"
"No," he groaned as he tried and failed to stand. You stretched a hand to help him then and took him to your quarters.
The founder wasn't exactly pleased with your decision, but he soon found potential in the boy you saved. You learned that his name was Hwang Hyunjin and that he was an orphan, just like you.
Hyunjin was the first friend you had in a while. He trained with you to become an assassin under the Cage and before you knew it, the two of you were roaming the kingdom and spreading terror in every aristocrat's heart.
Hyunjin was passionate and lively, and his entrance into your life was like a splash of paint on the dull canvas that was your everyday. Despite it being so dark and grim. You form bonds in the most unlikely of ways, that's what you learned when your fellow assassin became your closest friend.
Despite being trained killers, you cared for each other just like regular people did. Hyunjin was like your older brother, constantly teasing you and joking around, but beyond protective at times. After all, what did either of you have besides each other?
You were the perfect pair. A duo of darkness. And your friendship was like a permanent bloom, never wilting.
"Who's the target?" You asked once he came to run beside you, black cloak fluttering in the wind.
"The head of the Lin farms. He's ignored us for long," he answered, and you took in the information silently. The greedy man has been stealing from local farmers for years. You've sent him many warnings, but he never took them to heart. It seemed that Jisung had enough.
"I have to ask," Hyunjin changed the topic, and his tone became mischievous again, "How is living at the castle like?"
"Suffocating," you sighed, earning a breathy laugh from the male assassin. "Do you miss our quarters?"
"Truthfully, yes."
"Don't worry, they miss you over there as well."
"You pretend as if I haven't visited in ages," you scrunched your nose.
"It's just... strange. Who would've thought you would end up tied to the crown prince, out of everyone available?" You could understand the pure disbelief in his voice. If someone told you, five years back, that you'd be falling for the prince and reigning with him, you'd laugh in their face.
"And he's king now! Never thought you had it in you, y/n," he teased, and you wanted to smack him. "Jealous?"
"No," he contemplated for a while. "I'm actually proud."
"That's my best friend on the throne, who also happens to be heading to assassinate someone with me. It's ironic," he mused. "When will you stop?"
"Stop what?" You furrowed your eyebrows and he shrugged, "You know, all this assassin stuff."
You became silent. When will you stop? You've thought of that before, and the thought scared you. You knew that you'd have to stop one day, settle down and see to royal duties. Today, however, wasn't the day.
You spotted the Lin mansion ahead and felt for your daggers. Today is not the day. "I don't know, Hyunjin."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
