The palace gates loomed in the distance, but Yunxi didn't look at them anymore. It had been months since Han Ji left, and yet every stone, every corner of the capital whispered his name. The benches in the royal gardens where they used to laugh under the moonlight felt like hollow ghosts now. He began to avoid the palace entirely, creating excuses whenever his father mentioned court visits.
Even the riverbank, where Han Ji once teased him about being too clumsy to catch fish, had become unbearable.
"If I keep going back there… I'll never move on."
His mother noticed first. She could watch him stare too long at nothing, fingers tracing invisible patterns on his sleeves. His father, Minister Kim, was too busy with court matters to notice, but even his siblings whispered about how quiet Yunxi had become.
One evening, his mother sat beside him in the garden of their estate. The autumn air was crisp, scented faintly of osmanthus.
"Yunxi… you've lost your light lately," she said softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "Your laughter used to fill this place."
Yunxi forced a smile. "I've just been thinking too much, that's all."
She studied him for a moment longer, then sighed. "Perhaps you need new surroundings. Your father and I have discussed sending you to the royal academy. It will do you good—new faces, new lessons....new friends maybe."
He wanted to protest, but maybe she was right. Maybe distance was what he needed.
---
The Royal Academy
The academy was a place of ambition and heirs. Sons of dukes, princes from vassal states, and high-ranking officials' children—all gathered here. Yunxi quickly stood out—not because he wanted to, but because of his quiet intelligence and composed demeanor.
It was there he met He Ju, a young prince from a neighboring province. Unlike Han Ji's fiery arrogance, He Ju was warm, easygoing, and strangely patient with Yunxi's guarded heart.
"Why do you always sit alone?" He Ju asked one afternoon, dropping unceremoniously beside him under a willow tree.
"I like the quiet," Yunxi replied.
"Then I'll be quiet with you," He Ju said with a smile, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Over the years, they became inseparable. He Ju was attentive, always making sure Yunxi ate when he forgot, always there with gentle humor when the weight of the past threatened to crush him. Yunxi grew fond of him, truly—but fondness was not love. Not like the reckless fire that had once consumed him for Han Ji.
---
The King's Decline
By the third year, whispers spread across the academy and capital alike: the king was ill. The physician's prognosis was grim—he wouldn't last long. Yunxi overheard one such rumor in the halls of the academy, his stomach twisting as he remembered the king's warm voice praising him as "Han Ji's cherished friend."
Was Han Ji still in the south? Did he even know?
---
The Return of Shadows
Four years passed. Yunxi was nearly a man now—taller, sharper, his once-boyish softness replaced by quiet steel. He had done well at the academy, enough that his family was proud again.
Then came the rumors.
"They say the Crown Prince returned to the capital into the nights," whispered servants in the markets. "Seen cloaked, vanishing before dawn."
Yunxi told himself he didn't care. He made his choice. I warned him—if he left, it was over.
One night, his father came into his chambers, unusually grave.
"Yunxi," Minister Kim said, placing a token in his hand. "Take this to the palace. Give it directly to Her Majesty. Do not fail me."
Yunxi hesitated. "Why me?..
What is th....why are sending this to Her Majesty, father? What if...."
His father's eyes flickered with unspoken desperation. "Because… she will trust you."
"Trust me? She was your friend not mine." Yunxi pressed, he didn't want to step feet into the palace. Not now that he had the night comings of the Crown prince.What if anyone got the wrong idea? Yunxi didn't want to do this but his father....
---
The Palace Encounter
The palace hadn't changed, but to Yunxi, it felt foreign now. As he slipped through the corridors toward the queen's chambers, he caught sight of someone in the shadows—the Crown Prince's bodyguard, the ever-loyal Jian. Yunxi's heart lurched.
He hid quickly behind a pillar, waiting until Jian passed.
Inside the queen's chambers, the queen herself greeted him with a weary smile.
"Yunxi," she said, accepting the token. "You've grown. Your mother must be proud."
They spoke briefly, the queen nibbling delicately on the cakes Yunxi's mother had sent. Yunxi had lied, their were servants He didn't trust, and he couldn't just ask Her Majesty's servants to leave, it would be fishy. Everything bad gone smoothly, he had not met anyone he didn't want accept Nian and he didn't think he saw him. So he knew he left quietly, relief washing over him.
But outside, in the moonlit courtyard, a familiar voice sliced through the night:
"Where are you coming from? I didn't know you were friends with my mother?" The prince emphasized as if trying to get something from Yunxi. He had got the letter that was sent to the minister before and even returned it to the sender to send it again. "I had you brought cakes, who is the caring person, Yunxi?"
Yunxi froze.
Han Ji stood before him, taller, colder than he remembered. The prince's eyes were unreadable, but there was a storm beneath them.
"That's none of your business," Yunxi said evenly, trying to walk past.
Han Ji didn't stop him—just watched, jaw tight.
---
Days later, they met again—this time, by chance, on a deserted path near the academy. Han Ji blocked his way, his presence like a wall of ice.
"So," Han Ji said, voice low, "you've learned to ignore me now?"
Yunxi laughed bitterly. "Ignore you? I learned to survive without you, Your Highness."
Han Ji's eyes flickered. "Survive?"
"Yes." Yunxi stepped closer, anger finally breaking free. He was done with being the vulnerable one. "Do you remember what I told you before you left? That if you walked away, if you abandoned us, there would be no us left to return to? Well, you chose to leave, Han Ji. You chose yourself over everything we had. I thought we were friends."
Han Ji's hand twitched at his side, as if restraining himself.
"And you know what?" Yunxi continued, voice shaking with fury. "I moved on. I stopped waiting for a ghost. Whatever we had—it's gone. I refuse to chain myself to a someone who treats people like they're disposable."
He turned to leave, but Han Ji's voice—quiet, wounded—stopped him.
"Yunxi…"
"Don't," Yunxi snapped without looking back. "You made your decision. Live with it."
And then he walked away, shoulders rigid, rage and heartbreak burning in his eyes.
Han Ji stood there, utterly still, watching the boy who couldn't even find his way in the palace grow on him. He smirked, "So you have grown feathers? This would be fun if only..."
Han Ji knew from the beginning, Yunxi would turn out like this. But he one knew one thing for sure. 'A toy he once owned, will always be his.